Eleanor by Jason Gurley

When I initially chose this book I was taking a chance, as it is not my usually genre. However, I was incredibly drawn by the plot. It definitely did not disappoint. Gurley writes a thrilling novel that draws you in from the beginning and just keeps running. The use of time is a great way of telling the story, and adds an intriguing twist to an incredibly dark story. This was the first book by Jason Gurley that I had ever picked up, by I am interested to get into more of his books. 

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

K-Drama Traker

Completed
-Boys Over Flowers
-EXO Lives Next Door
-Moorim School
-Flower Boy Ramen Shop
-Shut Up Flower Boy Band

In Process
-Descendants of the Sun (Episode 3)
-Secret Message (Episode 2)
-Cheese in the Trap (Episode 1)
-Because It's the First Time (Episode 1)
-I am Sam (Episode 2)


Currently Watching
-Modern Farmer

ARC Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Book: Gemina (Illuminae Files_02)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Rating: 4/5

Format: Paperback ARC received at BookCon 2016

Favorite Character: Nik

When I first read Illuminae, I was completely drawn in. The book is a work of art and tells an epic story in a way I had never imaged. The use of the case files brings a new level of depth to the storytelling. After reading Illuminae, I read the Starbound series by Amie Kaufman. I thought it was interesting how the three books were all based on a different set of main characters whose stories slowly started to become intertwined. I find it interesting that they decided to go that direction with this series as well, though I do not know how I feel about it.

Since I am reviewing the ARC copy, this will mostly be based on my initial reaction. Once the full book is released, I will reread it and review it again. Since a lot of the art was not complete, it did feel a little vacant. 

Pros: Gemina has the same face paced action as Illuminae but in a whole new way. Whereas Illuminae's central conflict was man vs. machine, Gemina explores the chaos of man vs. man. Hanna and Nik are both interesting characters with well-designed backgrounds and plenty of character flaws. There are multiple plots twists that made me throw my book in the air, then quickly grab it to get back to reading. Just like with Illuminae, I found the style of story telling to be wonderful 

Cons: With Gemina I had the same problem as with the Starbound series, which is the complete switch of main characters and plot. During Illuminae, I got incredibly attached to Kady and Ezra and the plot they are entangled in. While I understand that this book is telling a different part of the story, it did seem a bit disconnected. The new characters and new enemies really took me away from the story of the first book. It also felt a bit messy at times with the plot, and I often felt like there was too much going on. With three different sources of enemies, it was a bit much, and I felt that they could have left one out and been a little cleaner. 

Overall I enjoyed the second book from this series, and I am excited for it to be released in October. Once I read the finished copy, I will be doing another review that contains spoilers and reviews more specific information about the story. 

Books Read in 2016

January
1. Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale (4)
2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (4)
3. Frostbite by Richelle Mead (4)
4. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (3.5)
5. The Testing Guide by Joelle Charbonneau (-)
6. The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (3)
7. Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed (3)

February
8. Fat Dad, Fat Kid by Shay and Gavin Butler (5)
9. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (5)
10. Steel Scars by Victoria Aveyard (4)

11. This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (4)

12. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (5)

March
13. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab (5)
14. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki (5)

April
15. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (5)
16. Winter by Marissa Meyer (3.5)
17. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (5)

May
18. The Crown by Kiera Cass (3)
19. Gemina (ARC) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (5)
20. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (4)
21. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (5)

Currently Reading: 

Currently Listening To: Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

February 2016 Wrap-Up

Hello everyone! It's the end of the month again which means it's time to talk about the books I've read this month! It was a busy month and I didn't get quite as many in as I did last month, but I also red some very good ones. So let's get going!

Book: Fat Dad, Fat Kid

Author: Shay & Gavin Butler

Genre: Youtube, self-help, weight loss, non fiction

Rating: ★★★★★

Format: Paperback

I have been watching Shaytards for years and had pre-ordered this book a long time ago. Overall I really enjoyed the book. It caused me to think about health and my own personal struggle in a way I hadn't before, and has really helped me a lot. As Shay says is the book, he is in no way a professional on health and weight loss, he is just a person that did things and got results. I enjoyed this book as a fan of the Butler family and as someone looking to improve the way they live their life. :)


 

Book: Glass Sword (Red Queen #2); Steel Scars (Red Queen 0.2)

Author: Victoria Aveyard

Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, distopian

Rating: ★★★★★

Format: Hardcover
Oh god. Oh oh god. So after waiting a year for this book, it finally arrived. So I kind of had the same problem with tis book that I had with the first one. The first half of the book really dragged for me, and I kept fading out of interest. But then at right abiut the half way point shit went cray and I could not put the book down. And that ending. THAT ENDING. WHY. I want more! And I don't want to wait! I feel like I need to post a full review of this book just to get out my feelings. The third book needs to be her, now.
Steel Scars was at the end of the book and was the novella I hadn't read yet. I felt very 'meh' about it, especially after the intense ending og Glass Sword. I found I rally didn't care. (★★★★)

Book: This Shattered World (Starbound #2)

Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Genre: YA fiction, sci-fi

Rating: ★★★★

Format: Audio Book
This book took me forever to listen too, mostly because the first third of it really dragged on. The next third got a little better, and the final third was much better. I didn't like it as much as the first book and I was happy when I got a glimpse of Tarver and Lilac. It's an interesting concept to follow a different couple each book, but it is slso a bit jarring in terms of staying in the story. Not too bad though, good enough tht I'm listening to the third now.

Book: I'll Give You the Sun

Author: Jandy Nelson

Genre: YA fiction, contemporary, lgbt

Rating: ★★★★★

Format: Hardcover
This book was one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read, and was also incredibly heart breaking.



That's it for Feburary! If you have any questions about any of the books I read this month or if you just want to talk about the,, feel free to reach out to me on here or on instagram @drunkbibliophile.

:3

January 2016 Wrap-Up.

So I've decided to no longer do book reviews for every single book I read. (As you can see by how well I've been updating!) Instead I will consolidate most reviews into end of the month wrap-ups, and only post individual reviews for some books.

So to kick it off, here is JANUARY 2016!

In January I read seven books, due to school taking up a lot of my time and the busy season starting at work.

Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale (4)
This was the only book I gave a full review to (link is in the 4). I've read a lot of Star Wars books but this was my first Doctor Who book. I thought it was enjoyable and a quick read, but it definitely wasn't as good as watching the show.

 

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (4)
Frostbite by Richelle Mead (4)
One day I was bored and flipping through Netflix and I found the Vampire Academy movie. I had the first book sitting on my shelf for a while, and I decided to just go for it. God that movie was terrible but I watched the whole thing. I then read the book which was better. I got pretty into it and ended up buying the next two books. I think I finished the second one in one day and started on the third. Then I made the mistake of spoiling the end of the third book for myself accidently, and completely lost interest in the series. Maybe one day I'll go back, but no time soon. As for a review, it's pretty much what you expect and nothing too extraordinary.

 

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (3.5)
The Testing Guide by Joelle Charbonneau (-)
I had tried to read The Testing last year and just could not get into it. When this year started I created a TBR jar where I wrote down all the books on my TBR shelf and put them ina jar. I then shook it up and pulled one out to choose a book. So far this is the only book I have used these means to choose and will most likely only do it in moment of terrible indecision. It was very Hunger Games/Divergent and followed the generic female lead dystopian evil government plot. Nothing about it was really interesting and I didn't care enough to continue the series. :/

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (3)
Cue my sudden need for contemporary, and this was the first book I chose. As my rating suggests I found it pretty 'meh'. As you can see, so far 2016 is a pretty meh year. Nothing much to say about this book.

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed (3)
This was an incredibly stressful book and made me incredibly angry. Not at the book, necessarily, but at the subject matter and characters. Ninty percent of the people in the book are absolutely terrible. I ended up staying up until 5am finishing this, huddled in bed with the lights off so Joe could sleep. The ending made me even more angry, when I thought about all the girls that have to live this as their reality and don't have a prince charming to come to their rescue. Grrr I'm getting angry just thinking about this book.




That was my January. It was a rough month. So far February has been a bit better so we're getting there!

Book Review: Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

Book: Deep Time

Author: Trevor Baxendale

Genre: Doctor Who, Science Fiction

Rating: 4/5

Format: Paperback

Favorite Character: n/a

So I recently got back into Doctor Who with season nine, as it has started to resemble the Doctor Who I used to love. I have read a lot of Star Wars books in my time but never any Doctor Who books, so I decided to give it a whirl. I enjoyed this book. It was interesting reading the Doctor instead of watching him. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as the show because there is a certain pacing the book lacks, but I did enjoy Clara more. (I dislike her.) The story itself was very Doctor. The whole shows up to a group of random people on an adventure knowing more than they do, getting into danger and people dying, aliens, timey-wimey, then saving the day. Marco set my nerves on edge and I did not like him at all. He was just the type of person I don't want to be around, to the point where I don't even want to read about them.

Overall this was a nice quick read and I think I may pick up some more Doctor Who books in the future!

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.