Top Ten Tuesday Fifty

Ten Characters I'd Love To Revisit As Adults

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This weeks topic was one I honestly didn't look at very far in advance, so although I was excited for it, I also didn't have that long to create this list.  However, I did still enjoy making this top ten, plus this is my fiftieth TTT post - yay!  But anyway, here are some of the characters I wouldn't mind revisiting, and so enjoy!

1) All the main characters from We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach - 

Now this may seem like a strange one even if you have yet to read it, considering the premise of this one.  But, if maybe some things hadn't happened, then I would have loved to have seen what would have happened to all four of these characters as they grow up.  

2) Wanda from The Host by Stephenie Meyer 

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I've kind of given up on all hopes of a sequel to this one, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to know what happened next, or even a couple of years after the end of the book.  I'd just love to find out how it all went with the humans trying to revolt and with Ian and just everyone basically. 

2) A from Everyday by David Levithan - 

After this ending, I need to at least have a little bit of an idea what happened next for them.  As much as I really liked the ending, I still wouldn't mind catching up and seeing how events unfolded a couple of years down the line or so.

3) Aaron from Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher - 

Aaron was one of my favourite characters in this, and we didn't really see what happened to him or get an idea of what was going to happen to him at the end of the novel.  So of course I wouldn't mind coming back in ten years or and seeing how he's got over certain things that happened and just revisiting him. 

4) Annie from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

 - Okay, so she may not have been a main character, but she's still been through quite a bit and honestly I just want to see if she's okay after everything.  Like, how's she coping?  I need to know!

6) Max from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

- I think Max may be the character I most want to revisit, as his story ends quite abruptly and we never really get an explanation of what happens with him after the end of the novel, or even for parts of the novel.  Plus I'd just love to find out more about him outside of his time on Himmel street.

7) Basically everyone from the Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephenie Perkins - 

If I could, I would love to revisit all the main characters from this series and see how they've all grown up 5 years or so down the line, and see if certain people are all still friends and just to read more about them.  I really wouldn't mind.

8) Eleanor from Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - 

Anyone whose read this might understand my reasoning for this, as I really just need to know what happened to her after the novel.  I have so many questions (too many probably) and I'd also just like to revisit her a couple of years later.  I also wouldn't mind seeing Park again, but I feel as though I've already done multiple characters from a lot of books so.

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April Wrap Up

I can't believe April's already over!  Despite setting myself some pretty high goals this month for reading and being really motivated to stick to them at the start of April, it wasn't a great reading month for me as I only managed to read three books once again, a number I really want to improve upon next month.  Nonetheless, here are the three books I did read, as well as the book I am currently reading.  And so, enjoy!

1) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - 

As I said in my March Wrap up, I actually started this at the very end of March, but I managed to finish it quite early on in the month.  I was really excited to continue on with this series as it had been a while since I read the fourth one, and the recent Shadowhunter Tv show had really got me in the mood to return to the world.  I really enjoyed continuing on with the series, and actually found I prefered this book to the last one, something I really wasn't expecting to happen. As always, I loved the characters, the storyline (even if it was slightly slow to get started) and I can't tell you how excited I now am to read the final book.  

2) The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig - 

My second book of the month was quite an impromptu one, but one I'm really glad I did end up picking up.  It was one I'd heard only a bit about beforehand, so I was quite excited to go into without the hype and high expectations that often comes with some of the books I read.  Fortunately, I ended up loving this one with all its time travel and pirate adventures, and I really enjoyed reading about and watching the storyline and plot that this followed slowly unravel throughout the book.  I also adored so many of the characters in this, especially members of the crew, and I'm so glad I decided to give this one a go.  

3) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - 

My third read ended up acutally being my last full read of the month unfortunately, despite the first two books taking me only a week or so to get through.  Ever since the adaptation of this one came out last year, I've been interested in reading it before seeing the film, and so I finally decided to pick it up last month.  Unfortunately though, I wasn't much of a fan of this one and considering giving up on it at quite a few points.  I just didn't like the lack of plot and found the humour to sometimes go a little over the top and too far, although I will admit that at times it wasn't too bad.  However, overall it just wasn't a book for me and I'm not sure whether or not the film will be something I'll be watching anytime soon.

4) The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa (currently reading) - 

Finally, I haven't managed to get a ton of reading done the rest of the month as I've had barely any time and so I am barely 150 pages through this one at present.  So far I am enjoying it, but I'm just not loving it enough to actually make time to read it.  Hopefully soon I will be able to find time to read again!

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Top Ten Tuesday Forty Nine

Top Ten Bookworm Delights

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  I can't tell you how excited I was for this weeks topic, as its so unique and such a fun one to have a go at!  However, I only managed to come up with seven as I haven't had as much time as usual, even if I would have loved to have done ten.  And so, enjoy!  

1) Reading outside in the summer - 

This may be one of the key reasons why I am currently extremely excited for summer, especially as this year I will have even more time to read.  I just love getting home in the afternoon and going to sit in my back garden and read with the sun still high in the sky.

2) Finding a beautiful quote in a book - 

This is kind of a given for me, as I absolutely adore a good quote.  The only thing better than the quote itself is the moment when you find it hidden in one of your favourites. 

3) Finding amazing books at the library - 

If I had made this list even a month ago or so, then I probably wouldn't have put this on here.  But recently, I can't tell you how much I've been loving going to the library and finding a book I otherwise never would have picked up.

4) Meeting someone who loves one of your favourites as much as you (especially if its an underrated book) - 

I can't tell you how happy I am when I find out that someone else has not only read, but also loved a book I adore.  Not only do I now have someone to share my emotions and feelings about the book with, but I also have someone who I give and share book recommendations with!

5) Books with stunning covers - 

As much as I try not to, I do sometimes judge a book by its cover.  But as much as this may seem like a bad thing, it sometimes isn't actually too bad as it means me picking up and giving a book ago I wouldn't be interested in otherwise.  Plus, books with covers that are like works of art are just too pretty to ignore.

6) When I discover a sequel I didn't know about - 

Okay, this might sound strange, but I can't tell you how often I have read a book and only months or so later discovered it had a sequel - I literally spent the entirety of the Numbers series like this.  And after months of thinking that a story I loved has not only ended, but sometimes ended a little open endedly (obviously if its clear nothing's been resolved I figure out there's a sequel), I can't tell you how exciting it is to discover that you get another book! 

7) When your OTP finally get together - 

I think this a moment everyone can relate to, and everyone loves.  When the two people you've been shipping from the start, after going back and forth for so long finally get together.  It's just great.  

8) When one of your most anticipated releases comes out - 

Now I'm not usually one to be completely up to date with new releases, and it normally takes me a while to pick one up, but even I can agree that the moment you pick up a book you have been waiting for forever is a pretty great moment.  After all that anticipation, its finally in your hands.

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The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

This is one I recently picked up completely spontaneously from the library a few weeks ago.  I hadn't heard a ton about it before I picked it up, but I did know bits and pieces and so was excited to get straight into.  I ended up reading in 4 days, which is pretty impressive for me, and absolutely loving it!

This books follows Nix as she and the rest of the crew on her father's ship attempt to gain a map back to a place from his past.  As you can probably tell, this book includes time-travel, something I don't think I have ever read about in a book before, and certainly never like this.  I loved the whole idea of this ship that navigates through time using maps from that specific point in history, especially as this allowed myths and legends to suddenly become real as well.  Even though a lot of this book does happen in one single place, I still really enjoyed seeing where they would travel to next and what adventures they would come across.

I also loved the centre idea in this as Nix's father attempts to find her mother, who he lost many years ago.  I liked how this created a family dynamic in this book, and, although I sometimes found Slate's manner towards his daughter a bit too distant, I did like how this allowed for there to be tension between them that changed as the story progressed.  I also liked how many different topics were all woven into one story so seamlessly that they were noticeable but never at the forefront.

Throughout the book, we meet many different characters, including both those on the ship and those we meet in Hawaii.  I loved the diversity in the cast of characters, with all of them so unique with different ethnicities.  In general, I have to say I liked pretty much all the characters, especially some of the members of the crew, who I found to be a great relief from the key plot.  I also loved Nix as a character, and found she grew alot in this book, allowing her to know exactly what she wanted by the end of this book.  I also thought she was just a really great, strong female character who thinks for herself, particularly towards the end of this.  But my favourite character of all had to be Kashmir, her best friend on the ship.  He was just such a fun yet dynamic character who could both provide some comic relief as well as some more serious issues.

The only character that really annoyed me was Blake, as I just didn't really see the motives behind alot of his actions.  I didn't really understand why he played a part in a story that could have survived without him, and why he suddenly kept popping up everywhere just to create an unnecessary problem.  On top of this, I just wasn't a fan of his character and found him to be annoying from the offset.

Sticking with characters, I have to say that I really enjoyed the romance in this.  I loved how it wasn't anything near insta-love and how even by the end it was still developing.  I found it to be quite realistic due to how slow-burning it was, my only problem coming from the addition of a love triangle.

And, as always, I can't write a review without discussing the writing style.  Although there wasn't anything amazingly unique or different about the writing in this book, I did still find it extremely engaging once I got into it.  It was very easy to follow and helped the plot to move at a fast but reasonable pace and just overall made the story that much better for me.

I couldn't end this review without talking about the amazing settings that appear in this story.  One of the huge benefits of time travel is getting to see so many different and beautiful places, such as Hawaii and India.  I love book which includes travel, so I loved this aspect, as well as being able to see the history behind these places, an added bonus for me.  I really enjoyed taking a glimpse into the past, and although I don't know how accurate it all was, I did like the idea of it being based off actual events rather than being completely fictitious.

Favourite:

Character(s): Kashmir, Bee

Scene: The party

Quote: Sometimes a person has to let go of something to take hold of something else. 

Relate a:

Song: We Come Running  - Youngblood Hawke
Trees - Twenty One Pilots

Other Book: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Rating:

4/5

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Top Ten Tuesday Forty Eight

I'm Top Ten Books that will make you laugh

Top ten tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This week's topic was one I was really unsure about, as I'm definitely not one for straight up, laugh out loud books, but more one for perhaps subtler humour in books.  So, I did manage to come up with a list of books that definitely made me at least chuckle, and hopefully they might make you laugh a little too!  And so, enjoy! 

1) Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan - 
I think alot of people know by now how much I enjoyed this one, alot of this down to the humour that was intertwined into it.  Although it wasn't always front and centre, it definitely did play a role and really broke down some of the more serious sections of this pretty funny book.  

2) The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan -
 I can imagine this series making quite a few peoples list this week, as it is just full of witty remarks and comments left, right and centre.  Who doesn't laugh at some of things Percy comes out with?  

3) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - 
Although I wasn't a fan of this book as a whole, I did think that the humour in it worked and did make me laugh, something which definitely saved this book for me

4) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan - 
As is the case with pretty much all of Levithan's books, this one is great for some hilarious and sometimes pretty unique humour (if that's even a thing!) and will have you laughing along with so many of the characters and some of the things that happen throughout this book.  

5) It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini -
 Although this book does deal with quite a serious topic, it also takes quite a humourous, more cynical approach to the whole situation that I couldn't help but love.  

6) The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - 
Yes, so this isn't one known for its humour or anything, but I honestly can't help but laugh at some of the things these characters come out with, even if it is never a focus of any kind. 

7) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - 
Finally, not only is this a great book on its own, it also has some of the funniest lines and banter that I've read in awhile.  I always loved the conversations between the characters and AIDAN, and honestly couldn't help laughing at so many different things.  

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