Filippa's TBR list

Hello peepz! Today I'm going to put my TBR list of 2015 out on the blog, just like Emma did yesterday. Although, I'm going to write down the books I have read so far this year, too, but I'll mark them as strikethrough. I'm re-reading some books and there will be a "(R)" at them. 
     So here we go:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone by J.K Rowling (R)
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling (R) 
4. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling (R)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling (R) 
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling (R)
7. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K Rowling (R)
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling (R)
9. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
10. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
    
11. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
12. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
13. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
14. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
15. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
16. Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
17. Cress by Marissa Meyer
18. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
19. Paper Towns by John Green
20. Looking for Alaska by John Green
21. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
22. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 
23. Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
24. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
25. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
26. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
27. Silent Echo by Elisa Freilich
28. Det Är Så Logiskt Alla Fattar Utom Du by Lisa Bjärbo (it's a swedish book, and the title basically means It's So Logical Everyone Gets It Except For You)
29. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
30. Frostbite by Richelle Mead
31. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
32. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
33. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
34. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
35. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (R) 
36. The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa
37. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings 
38. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
39. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
40. The Kill Order by James Dashner
41. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
42. Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
43. With Hitler to the End by Heinz Linge
44. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
45. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
46. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas 
47. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
48. Emma by Jane Austen
49. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 
50. This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Yeah... It's a long list since I'm a pretty slow reader, but whatever. If there are some books that I don't read this year I'll just read them in 2016. I hope you recognize most of the books. If not, then you should google them or go to a library or book store to see if it's something for you. 

~ Filippa ~

Shatter Me Book Review- Spoiler warning!

Emma here! I finished Shatter me a couple of days ago, and now it's time for a review of it! Shatter me was by far one of the best books I have ever read. and I mean seriously. It was so well written, composed and unique in it's way. There were beautiful metaphors and sentences worth to quote on every single page. So let's get into the story.

Shatter me is a about a girl named Juliette. She's 17 years old, and has suffered from a curse since the day she was born. Her touch is lethal. 264 days she's been held captive in a dark cell, all alone. Until one day, when she gets a new cellmate. Adam is gorgeous, and he treats her like she's human, and not a monster. But is he really who he claims to be? All her life Juliette has longed for someone to love her, but can someone love a person they cannot touch? The world that Juliette lives in is destroyed. There's not much food left, and people die on the streets everyday. The climate is unstable, and the government has been taken over by The Reestablishment. They came with promises to provide everyone with homes and food, but it runs out that the new government is corrupt. So Juliette is constantly torn between wanting to get out of her cell, and afraid of what she might find outside. Does she really want to see the world out there? Or is it finally better in her cell? 

Anyway, one day Juliette and Adam gets company. Guards invade their cell, and they get taken somewhere. Juliette then wakes up in a big mansion, which is owned by a guy named Warner. He is only 19, so quite young, but he has so much power that he seems older. But despite Warner's handsome appearance and striking blue eyes, there's something about him that's... off. Juliette soon finds out that he's a cold blooded murderer, and he wants her to be his torturing devise against the opposers to The Reestablishment. But the worst part is that Adam works for him. Adam, who Juliette fell in love with the second she saw him. While Warner tries to convince Juliette in the most cruel ways that she too is a murderer and a weapon, Adam is appointed the task of watching over her. It turns out that he's only there for her, and Juliette also finds out that he can touch her. Someone in the world can finally touch her. 
One slight problem is that Warner seems to have formed an obsession with Juliette. He's with her at all times, constantly being to be seductive and claiming her as his own. Since there are cameras in Juliette's Room, she and Adam have to keep their relationship secret. 

Now, I don't want to spoil everything for you. I thought that this books was exciting all the time, except for in the beginning, when it was quite slow to get into. I don't have many things to complain about, but there are a few. Firstly, everything was quite obvious. I mean I knew right from the start that Juliette and Adam would fall in love with each other. I also knew that he must've been a traitor, because it seemed to good to be true that he was there with her in her cell. Then, it was obvious that Warner would get obsessed with Juliette by the way he was acting from the first time he met her. These things that were meant as cliffhangers weren't very surprising. But that is just a minor fault. 
The other one was that it was quite difficultly written as some times. I love that it's written from Juliette's perspective, and it's not surprising that she's on the brink of madness in the beginning of the book. But there are sentences that she thinks in her mind, but it's not that obvious that she's thinking them, and some sentences are crossed over or end without a punctuation. This could be considered as a uniqueness and beauty of the book, which I thought too in the beginning. However, after a while it only got irritating as I was reading. 

But these negative things are nothing compared to the good things about the book. There was so much feeling in it that I had to put down the book occasionally to breathe, almost as if Tahereh poured her soul into it. I don't know if the author herself has experienced the kind of loneliness that Juliette does, but it certainly seems like it. I got so incredibly sad at times when Juliette was lonely and doubted herself, but oh so happy when she and Adam had cute moments. Oh by the way, there were reaaaaaalllllyyy hot moments in this book, I can tell you ;) I was like whhhoooaaa calm down peeps. While were talking about this; OH MY DEAR GOD ADAM. Adam, Adam, Adam. He's just perfect in such an imperfect way, you know? He's got faults, but also amazing traits and he is described as completely gorgeous too. I need to read the rest of the trilogy now, but I haven't bought the two books remaining yet. They're called Unravel Me and Ignite Me, and then there's a sequel series called Destroy Me (Written from Warner's point of view) and Fracture Me (From Adam's point of view) which I need to read to. 

I highly recommend this books, and I'd give it a 9/10, because of the same reason as Filippa. I'm saving my ten for something amazing, even more amazing than this book. But seriously, READ IT! Especially you Filippa, 'cause I need someone to fangirl with. Now. 

~ Emma ~

Emma's TBR List!

Hi, Emma here. I'm currently writing a review for Shatter Me, and I'm sorry it's taking such a long time. It's just that I'm trying to be active on Quotev so I write fanfiction whenever I can these days. But anyway to keep you satisfied while I keep writing on my book review, I thought I'd post my TBR (To be read) list for 2015! I'm already on my eleventh book, so even though I don't post here as often as I should, I still read. Don't you worry ;) By the way, the books aren't written in order, so I'm just randomly picking books I feel like reading whenever I'm done with one. 

Anyway here it is: 

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 
• The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
• The Death Cure by James Dashner
• The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis 
• Paper Towns by John Green
• The Young World by Chris Weitz
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Currently reading!) 
• The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
• What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones 
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 
• The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
• A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
• A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin 
• A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin 
• A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin 
• LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien 
• LOTR: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien 
• LOTR: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien 
• Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki 
• Wallflower by Stephen Chbotsky 
• Anne Frank's Diary by Anne Frank 
• Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt 
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 
• The Circle by Sara Bergmark Elfgren and Mats Strandberg 
• Fire by Sara Bergmark Elfgren and Mats Strandberg 
• Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
• Tempted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Awakened by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Destined by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Hidden by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Revealed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Redeemed by P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 
• Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi 
• Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi 
• Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi  

Yes, I do realize that this will be difficult to obtain. I'm a fast reader, but these are many books. But hey, it won't hurt if I'll just have to finish them next year, right? So, here's at least a little look into what books I want to read, and I've heard great things about these books. I'm the kind of person who likes to know what books are really good before I buy them, so I don't waste time on a bad book. If one of you has the time and willpower to count these, let me know! ;) 

~ Emma ~

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare book review - Spoilers alert!

Hi guys, it's Filippa. Last week I ordered Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess, but they haven't come home yet, which really pisses me off. Clockwork Angel ended with a cliffhanger - it wasn't really the worst cliffhanger, but it made me want to read more. But I don't have the rest of the books so instead I've decided to continue the Throne of Glass series and read the third book now (Heir of Fire). 

In this review I won't be describing everything that happens, because I think that you should only read this entry if you have read the book yourself. So if I mention something in the entry and start talking about it you will know what I'm talking about and I won't have to describe it in detail. 

However, Clockwork Angel started off with a prologue that first was about Will and Jem, and how they found a dead girl in an alley, and then about Tessa when she came to the harbor and was expecting Nathaniel, but instead was greeted by the Dark sisters. I think the prologue was really exciting, and I got this very mysterious and feeling when I read it. I knew there was something up with the Dark sisters, and I instantly fell in love with Jem (even though he only said a few words). I know that there are lots of girls who are very into Will, but I just found him a rip-off of Jace from The Mortal Instruments. I don't have any problems with him, I really like him (he's funny and stuff). It's just that he ain't my type.
     Although, Jem is almost exactly my type. I really LOVE him. I don't think that he is very much alike anyone in The Mortal Instruments, he's just himself. The whole idea about his illness/addiction is very exciting, even though it breaks my heart that he is dying. 
     Tessa is a character that also felt like a rip-off, but of Clary from TMI. I didn't particularly like Clary in The Mortal Instruments, and I didn't really like Tessa either. For example when Jem and Will were going to the Dark sisters to see if Mrs Black was alive again Tessa kept nagging about how she felt obligated to come with them. You don't have to play hero all the time like every other main character in every other book in the world; it's annoying. She had some moments where I thought of her as a reasonable girl, but as soon as something happened she just had to be a part of it, even though she's not skilled or trained or anything. She should have understood that she would only be a burden if she joined them when they were going to fight. 
     In those cases I liked Jessamine more. Because she didn't want to fight, and if they really would have needed her they would have asked for her help. Like when those clockwork things attacked the institute she helped them, since she was the only shadowhunter there and she knew that they needed her. She was a bit annoying with everything about not liking the Nephilim, but I have a feeling that her character will develop and she will become as awesome as Isabelle from TMI. I just think that she will feel obligated to help the Nephilim at some point, and when she fights she will realize that she belongs with them. 

As I've said before (in my City of Heavenly Fire book review) I love Cassandra Clare's writing, her ideas, and just her books in general. But however there are a couple of things that annoys me; just little details. As for an example, the kissing seen in the attic with Will and Tessa. They are just sitting there on the floor, having a moment. I would have enjoyed the book more if Cassandra had made me wait even longer for their kiss, if she would have prolonged it I would have been even more excited and jumpy when I read it. And since the book is supposed to be in the 1800's I think it felt a bit too rushed that they kissed as early as in that scene. The fact that it apparently went a bit fierce when they kissed also made me question Cassandra Clare once more. 
     Since I'm already on the subject of things I didn't like about the book I have another thing to say. In the entire book, it felt like Cassandra Clare couldn't really find a way to write it as if it took place in the 1800's. It felt as if she had made a great idea for a book series and then thought that it would be fun to write it in the 1800's. So every now and then in the book there were things that explained that it obviously was in 1878. Sometimes there were thoughts from Tessa that went a little like this: "Ladies shouldn't do that, they are only supposed to be home and take care of the house and the children, what an unladylike thing to do" or "He shouldn't do that, it's not supposed to be like that" etcetera. It's as if Cassandra Clare was trying to much to make it seem like 1878. If someone pics up a book that takes place in 1878 it's expected that the character's may act differently, so you don't have to be like "oops, don't forget this is 1878" because I already know it!

Now that I've finished hating on the things I didn't like, here comes the things I really liked: 
JEM! But you already know that, so moving on. Just in general I really liked the whole plot line. The idea of these clockwork things and the Magister, and how Tessa's a shape-changer, Jem's background story of the demon who killed his parents and made him addicted to that poison, just everything. 
     I love love love plot twists, so I almost screamed when I read and realized that it was Mortmain who was the Magister, and not de Quincey. And Nathaniel... Oh my God Nathaniel, I did not see that coming. I seriously thought that he was a good guy and just was a fool who happened to get tangled into a big mess along with the Magister. I would never have guessed that he was a traitor and worked for Mortmain. It was one of the best plot twists ever, in history. Cassandra Clare, your books are my life! 
     I also loved all the little details in the story that didn't have to be there for the story to go on, but that made it easier to understand some thing and still made sense. Like when Tessa and Jessamine were in the park and Jessamine defended them with her parasol.That was when her parasol was introduced for the first time and it also made it clear that Jessamine still could fight if she had to. Just all those little details made me like the book even more. 

I would give this book a 7/10. If it wasn't for how she tried to make everything seem as if it was the 1800's with all her little explanations that annoyed me, I'd probably have given it 8/10 instead, but it is as it is. And of course I recommend the book to all TMI lovers out there, or just if your into urban fantasy. 

~ Filippa ~ 

Crown of Midnight Book Review

Hello to all of you book lovers out there! I am glad to inform you that I finally finished Crown of Midnight, the second book in the Throne of Glass series (in case you somehow didn't know). The fact that it is my sister who owns the book series makes me really sad, because I just want to take them and put them in my own bookshelf. Sometime in the future I guess I will buy them on my own. 

Crown of Midnight basically starts off a little while after Throne of Glass ended. It starts with Celaena sneaking around somewhere, you don't really know. She sneaks inside a bedroom and is about to kill a person when he wakes up and she lifts her blade. I don't have the book anywhere near me right now so I can't double check, but I think that that was the prologue, and it ended when she raised her blade and was about to kill him. I think this prologue was really well written in a mysterious way. You didn't really know where she was, but you understood that she was on a mission from the king - since she became his Champion in the end of the first book. The title Champion was just another name for the King's Assassin. So she was  on a mission to kill somebody, on the King's order. 

Even though Celaena's an assassin I really liked it how Sarah J. Maas still made Celaena a girl with a conscious. Because out of all the people the King had ordered her to kill she hadn't murdered a single one of them. When she had found the person she was supposed to kill she had given them a choice; either she would kill them, or they would fake their own deaths, leave this city, travel far away and never use their true name ever again. In order to save their own lives all of them had faked their own deaths and escaped the cities they lived in and travelled far away from there - as Celaena had commanded. 

But no one knew about this; she couldn't tell anyone. If the King found out that she wasn't doing her job he would kill Chaol, then Nehemia, and then Nehemia's entire family. So instead Celaena collected body parts from outside a place where they threw corpses (from some healing place I think it was) and took heads from people that looked as similar as possible to the people she was supposed to kill. Then she brought them with her to show the king so he would believe that she had killed them. 

Also there was a group of rebels who the King suspected were going to try to make an uprising. So he ordered Celaena to kill them and gave her a month to do so. But Celaena happened to know one of the persons she was supposed to kill, so she gave him the month to fake his own death and leave, but also to give her information about the group of rebels, so she would know what she was dealing with - and if the King was right about the group, or if it was just some rumor. 

All of this happening just made me want to read more and more. Because there wasn't only the problems with killing people. At the same time Elena had given Celaena missions in the castle, other things were happening; a riddle had to be solved in order to find out how the King had conquered so many parts of Erilea in such short time, and why all the magic had disappeared as that happened. 

And also, in Throne of Glass, Dorian and Celaena ended things romantically, and in this book there is also a lot of drama around that. Things like "Do they still love each other" and "Will Celaena fall for someone else" or "Will they both move on", and it's just really fun to read. 

I seriously cannot describe my feelings for this book. I won't tell anything more about the plot line, because this is a review WITHOUT SPOILERS from this book. Although you kind of have to have read the first book to understand anything in this entry... The things above are only a little more detailed than what the description on the book tells, so the few things I've "spoiled" aren't exactly real spoilers. 

But however, this book was so amazing, better than the first one. And from what I've heard from my sister, the third book is going to be even better! Was there anything I didn't like about the book? No, actually not. I loved everything, there was nothing that disturbed me or made me not want to read the book. The character's weren't perfect either, and that I loved. 
     Everything in this book was filled with mystery. There was always more to know, to find out. Both about the characters, and about the plot. Like for example; If you found out one thing, that could lead to another thing that would give the story even more meaning, and then that thing could lead into something even more interesting that would make even more sense. So yeah, this book was pretty amazing, one of the best books I've ever read so far in my life. 

I would give it a 9/10 (I'm saving the 9.5 and the 10 for the next books, since there will be six books in total). But seriously, if you haven't started to read the Throne of Glass series you have to. It's one of the few series that I'm telling you guys that you really have to read. It's just so freaking fantastic! 

~ Filippa ~ 

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - Book review (Spoilers alert!)

The Fault In Our Stars. There's so much to say about that book. The plot, the character's, the book cover even. I don't really know where to start, so I'm just going to make a summary of the book. 

It's about a sixteen years old girl called Hazel. She's got cancer in her lungs, and she knows she is going to die from it. The only thing that doctor's can do is help extending her life, and it has worked so far. Hazel usually just sits in her room, reads book, watches movies and TV shows, so her mom just decided that she was depressed, and sent her to a support group for kids with cancer. There she makes a friend, Isaac, who has cancer in the only eye he has left. And one day at support group Isaac brought his friend, Augustus Waters. Hazel and Augustus immediately becomes friends, and they both know that they probably will become more than friends. But Hazel don't want to hurt Augustus, knowing she might die soon, so she calls i off and tells him that they cannot be more than friends. 
     But as friends, they recommend books to each other, and Augustus starts reading An Imperial Affliction, by Peter Van Houten, by Hazel's recommendation. It's a book about a girl with cancer, and the book ends in the middle of a sentence, because she either dies or becomes to sick to continue telling the story. So Hazel and Gus finds Peter Van Houten's assistants e-mail and asks if Peter could by any chance answer their questions. He replies by saying that he cannot write anything down that someone could make into a sequel, but if they ever happen to walk by his house in Amsterdam they are more than welcomed to his home. 
     So after that Augustus decides to use his cancer-wish on a trip to Amsterdam, taking Hazel and her mother with him. When they are in Amsterdam they are having a good time, but when they decide to visit Peter Van Houten he's the rudest man they've ever met and they immediately get out of there, without the answers to their questions. Then they decides to go to Anne Frank's house instead. Although, there's no elevator in Anne Frank's house to they have to take the stairs. However, Hazel manages to take it to the top of Anne Frank's house with some help from Augustus and Van Houten's assistant, who payed for the visit. When they reached the top they kissed, and all the old people around them applauded. 
     On their last day in Amsterdam Augustus tells Hazel that his cancer, which was gone for fourteen months, has come back, and that there is nothing they can do about it except extending his life a little more. But he is going to die, very soon. 

So as they got home Hazel and Isaac (who now is completely blind) holds a pre-funeral for Augustus so that he can attend his own funeral. 
     But then when he really died, at his real funeral, Peter Van Houten is there to tell Hazel something, but she doesn't want to listen to him. She hates him. Although they later find out that Augustus sent a letter to Peter in his last days, which Peter's former assistant sent back to Hazel, so she could see what he wrote his last days. 

And that it basically the whole book. There are many details that I didn't write down in this little summary, but this was the most important parts for the story. 

First of all, I LOVED the book, of all of my heart. I made me laugh and cry and everything in between. I especially loved when they egged Monica's house (not mentioned in the summary) and all of those funny little details. And the circle of virgins, God I loved that part. It was so simple, yet so creative of John Green. 
     The whole book is written from Hazel's perspective and John Green really nailed it when it comes to her thoughts and everything. It just really seemed like I was inside of her head the whole book, and I didn't even notice that it was a guy who had written the book. 
The character's too, were fantastic and so real. Especially Augustus, he was just so funny and was the best romantic ever. 

John Green, I love you!

There wasn't anything I didn't like, actually. Only one thing that maybe was a little weird, and that was that Hazel's mother so quickly agreed on letting her go to Amsterdam. And there also were some other stuff that felt a little rushed, but otherwise there was nothing wrong with the book. 
     And the ending, oh the ending was perfect. I do, Augustus. I do. I died a little on the inside. Or actually, I died A LOT on he inside. I cried for so long after finishing the book. And then I for some reason the decided to watch the movie only about half an hour after I finished it (p.s, I have seen the movie before) and then I cried even more. 

I would give the book a 9/10. And I guess I'm giving it a nine out of ten only because I'm saving my ten for something else (you see what I did there? Hazel saved her 10 for something worse when they asked her in how much pain she was on a scale from one to ten). I recommend the book to anyone who likes realistic book and/or romantic books. Just please read it if you haven't. 

I don't really know what else to say about the book, it was so freaking amazing. So I guess that's it. Okay?
Okay.

~ Filippa ~

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Book review - Spoilers alert

Throne of Glass is about a girl named Celaena Sardothien, who is an assassin. The most feared in whole Erilea, actually. But she made a fatal mistake; she got caught. As punishment she got put to work in the salt mines, where people rarely survive more than a month. But she did. She survived long enough for the crown prince to find her. And why was he looking for her, you might ask? Because he needed a champion to represent him, in his father's competition. A competition where the winner would serve the kingdom for a couple of years before they earned their freedom.

And as the contest starts, one by one people are eliminated. But also, one by one the contestants are mysteriously and brutally murdered, and Celaena finds out from a long dead ancestor to the royal family, that there is a greater darkness lurking within the castles walls that she must stop, before it kills her. 

Determined to win the contest, and to win her freedom, Celaena fights until the very end, for herself, and the ones she loves. That is, she's growing feelings for the crown prince, and he is getting feeling for her. Although they know that they cannot be together; she's the most famous assassin and he's the crown prince. 
At one point of the book she finds a secret path from her chamber; a door that leads down to many different halls and room and tombs, and even an escape way unguarded, that leads out of the castle. Down there she also finds one of the contestants fetching some sort of demon that's responsible for all the murders that's been. But she doesn't tell anyone, because then they would find out about her secret escape way from her bedroom, which she may need for some other time. 
So instead she just continues to keep a low profile and make it through the competition. When she had finally gotten to the final test, where she was supposed to fight in a combat against Cain (the contestant that had raised the demon) she got poisoned right before the test. The poison made her dizzy and hallucinating and she was about to lose, when suddenly the same spirit that had told her that there was a greater darkness lurking in the castle, removed the poison from her body, and finally she won. 
After the gain, she and prince ends things before it becomes to serious. The whole book ends with her becoming the king's very own champion, and she will serve the kingdom for four years before she's free. 

So that was a summary I made of the book. God that took some time...

What I really liked about this book was all the things that I understood even though it wasn't said directly. Like for example in the beginning when Chaol brought Celaena to the prince you could tell that she was very observant and smart when he was trying to confuse her, since she instead only got to memorize the hallways better. You also found out how sassy and bold she was, and that she always thought one step ahead. 

I also really liked how the triangle drama in the book was. It wasn't like every other drama, because here you barely noticed it. You always knew that the prince and the assassin fancied each other, but what I almost missed was it kind of seemed as if Chaol also fancied Celaena, although he kind of never expressed his feelings in front of anyone. 

I also just in general loved the whole Idea of this world and this story. I love where the storyline is going and how the characters developed through the book. I can pretty much imagine how they will continue to develop in the other books. 

Was there anything I didn't like? No, not really. The whole thing about the book's just amazing, the plot's amazing, the characters were amazingly well thought through and everyone had a purpose. I've never read a book about assassin's before, but I think I will start to read more of that from now on. 
I would give this book a 8.5/10. I know it's kind of low since I've described this book as incredibly fantastic, but my sister told me that the second book is better, and the third even better than that one, so I have to be able to give higher scores for the sequels. And of course I'm really looking forward to read the sequels, but I took a little break to read the Fault in our Stars (I know, I haven't read that book yet, I'm a terrible person, I even watched the movie without reading the book). But after TFIOS I will read the second book in this series. 
I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy. If you're not into the least bit of fantasy, then don't read it, because the whole world is made up, and the names and country's may have some weird names, etc. But if you like fantasy I don't think it really matters how old you are. It is a YA book, but really, I believe you could read it as long as you're at least twelve or something. 

~ Filippa ~  

To Kill A Mockingbird Book Review- Spoiler Warning

Hi guys, It's Emma. Finally, it feels like it's been forever since I posted here! You see I've only been reading books for school, and other books that I didn't think you all would enjoy reviews of. I finished HP and The Prisoner of Azkaban but I assumed that most of you must've already read it or seen the movie. I also read City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, but Filippa had already posted a review of that so... Here I am again at least!

The book I'm going to review this time is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. You might have heard of it, it's an American classic. Students read it in School, but I thought I'd give it a try. My grandmother actually gave it to me as a birthday gift. Should I film a haul of all the books I got? Haha I'll probably do it anyways, but it would be nice to know what y'all think.
Anyway, here we go. To Kill A Mockingbird was published 1960, and takes place in Southern Alabama, in a little town called Maycomb during the 1930's. The main character is a girl called Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, and in the beginning she is only six years old. Her life revolves around her brother and father, Jeremy "Jem" Finch and Atticus Finch.
If I should use modern language I would say that Scout is a tomboy, who hates the idea of being a little girl. Personally I think that's because she has grown up with only males, except their cook who's a woman. In the beginning of the book, Jem always tells Scout that she should stop being a "little girl" when she's scared. Because of this it's not surprising that she's a tomboy.

The book starts with the summer when Scout and Jem meet Dill. He's a boy from Mississippi who happens to stumble upon them one day. They start playing together as children do, and become great friends. Dill is particularly interested in one thing; The Radleys. The Radleys are Jem and Scout's neighbors, but they are an odd family. The only family member who is ever sighted is Mr. Nathan Radley, who passes by their house every day when he goes to work. The funny thing about the Radleys is their son. Arthur "Boo" Radley. It's rumored that Boo is crazy, and that he once stabbed his mother in the leg with a pair of scissors. His father refused to put him in an asylum, and so he keeps him locked up in the house. At least that's what people think. Nevertheless, no one has ever seen him in many years, except for Miss Stephanie Crawford. But she is the town gossip and will make up anything to get attention, according to Scout.

Dill, Jem and Scout make it their lives' purpose to get a look at Boo Radley, but it takes years before they're even close to that. 

After about half of the book, the storyline changes. Atticus is the most popular lawyer in town, and he gets quite a peculiar case one day. 

Before I start explaining this, there's one thing I should explain. Since this book takes place in the southern US during the 1930's, there's a lot of racism in this book. The servants and cooks are all black, and people look down on them. I just had to explain this so that you don't think I'm a racist. 

So, this case is about a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. Mayella Ewell, the victim, is the daughter of the not-so-popular Bob Ewell. So Atticus has to defend the black man, Tom Robinson, and becomes exposed to the anger of the citizens of Maycomb. This also puts his children in danger of the people who think that defending a black man is a sin. 

This book was very different from the books I usually read. It wasn't sci-fi or dystopian, nor was it a romance novel. However, I actually really liked it. I love the main character, Scout, because she stands for who she is and doesn't let anyone mock her ever. She is only six, yet she seems so much older. 

The book had a very interesting storyline, but I must admit that it was difficult to get into in the beginning. However, it got way better towards one quarter of the book.

Over all, I really liked the book. It have me quite a large view of what the 1930's in the US looked like, and the characters were very developed. I still probably wouldn't have picked it up myself if it hadn't been a gift, but I'm happily surprised.
I would recommend this to older readers, since it takes a lot of reading in between the lines to really understand the book. Harper Lee doesn't always describe what people are thinking, sometimes you have to figure that out yourself. Also, there were some difficult words that I had to look up. Otherwise I think it's a book that could suit many people. I mean, there's a reason it's an award-winning book ;)
~ Emma ~

Finale Book Talk! - Spoilers alert

Hi there, it's Filippa! And finally I've finished Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick.

First of all I just have to say how amazingly beautiful the cover of the book is. Nora's dress and hair is perfect, and the fact that Patch is shirtless once again makes everything even better. 

However, before I start talking about the book I want to say that both me and Emma have been on a one week trip with church, so we're both very sorry that there hasn't been any updates lately. And my computer has been on repairing and I got it back only a few days ago. 

But back to the book! It was actually about one and a half week ago I finished the book but for already mentioned reasons I haven't made a "book talk" until now. 
The book is the fourth and last in the Hush, Hush series, and to be honest, I got a little disappointed of it. I loved the book in the beginning, with the same old Hush, Hush atmosphere and all the drama, love, lies, everything. I loved how Nora and Dante were training together and how Scott and Vee's romance grew bigger, and just in general how the story expanded into something really great and thought through, and I was thinking that the ending was going to be something epic and amazing. 

But as I got closer and closer to the end I felt more and more as if the ending wasn't going to be as great as I hoped. And I was right. The last battle, or whatever you want to call it, felt rushed and not well made at all. It was as if the author wanted to make it epic, but it just felt lame. Don't get me wrong, I loved the series as a whole, but the last hundred or fifty pages felt lame and speeded up. 
And when Scott died I barely understood what was happening, I thought that he was hurt or something, but a few lines later he was apparently dead. And everything with Vee moving to the UK also felt wrong somehow. As if Becca Fitzpatrick just threw something together at the ending and didn't put much time into it, because she didn't know how to make all the pieces fit together.  
But don't get me wrong here either, I love Becca Fitzpatrick's writing otherwise, it was just the ending of the series that ruined a lot for me. 

Well, I don't really have much to say otherwise about the book. I'm really sorry for this short book talk but there wasn't very much for me to say about this book. 
I hope you still enjoy this blog though, and soon there may be a surprise post on our blog, as Emma mentioned in an earlier entry. 
Bye!

~ Filippa ~