Monthly Update | April 2015

April Update 2015

Currently Reading:

1. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Books Read in April:

1. On the Fence by Kasie West
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
   ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5 stars)
3. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
   ★★ (2 out of 5 stars)
4. Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout (aka J. Lynn)
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
5. Tempting the Best Man (Gamble Brothers #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (aka J. Lynn)
   ★★ (2 out of 5 stars)
6. Losing It by Cora Carmack
   ★★★½ (3.5 out of 5 stars)
7. Wait for You (Wait for You #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (aka J. Lynn)
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
8. Six Days Earlier by David Levithan
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
9. Believe Me, I’m Lying by Jordan Lynde
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
10. Half the World (Shattered Sea #2) by Joe Abercrombie
    ★★★★½ (4.5 out of 5 stars)
11. All Lined Up by Cora Carmack
    ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
12. Never, Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
    ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)

May TBR:

1. Bloodlines series (The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle) by Richelle Mead
2. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
3. The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

GoodReads Reading Challenge Progress:

So far I’ve read 27 books out of my goal of 75 this year and according to GoodReads I am 3 books ahead of schedule! I ended up deciding to delete the individual Bane Chronicles novellas and just add the bind-up version of all of the novellas instead. That’s why my book count has gone down instead of going up. 🙂

Books I Bought/Received in April:

1. On the Fence by Kasie West
2. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer
3. Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer
4. Lux: Consequences (Opal & Origin) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5. Half Wild (Half Bad #2) by Sally Green
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
7. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

TBR Jar Pick:

I haven’t finished The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer yet, but I’ve already picked my next TBR Jar book! It’s… *insert drumroll*

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith! Which you probably could have guessed from my May TBR pile. I probably won’t get to it this month, but I will try to finish The House of the Scorpion and get my review up as soon as possible! In the meantime who’s read The Geography of You and Me? It seems kind of like your typical contemporary romance story, but I can’t wait to start it!

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Quantity wise this month was an amazing month for me. I read 11 books and 1 novella which is more than I’ve done in a really long time! Quality wise though, not so much. Many of the books I read I gave only three stars. None of them really stuck out or amazed me. I have been trying to push myself to read books out of the YA genre. April was a New Adult experience and I’ve noticed how similar a lot of NA books are. I’m still looking for an amazing NA book so if you have any suggestions I’d love to know! I’m really loving Colleen Hoover. I am also excited to continue Bloodlines, the first book wasn’t amazing but I’m slowly getting used to Sydney’s voice.

How did you guys do? I’d love to know! School’s almost over and it’s almost summer vacation and that means more time for reading! It also means finals are coming and I’m super nervous.

Until next time, happy reading guys!

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Let’s be friends!

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Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead | Book Review

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) by Richelle Mead

Genre: Paranormal, Vampires
Publication Date: 2011

Synopsis: 
(from GoodReads)

Blood doesn’t lie…

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets – and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir – the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir – is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty – a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning.

-SPOILERS! You have been warned!-

Richelle Mead has a way of writing that just sucks you in right from the beginning and doesn’t let you go. I felt that way while reading Vampire Academy and I felt that way about reading Bloodlines too. But I will admit that the story was slow at parts especially in the beginning. We read from the point of view of Sydney in Bloodlines, Rose was mentioned in the beginning of the book but that’s basically all we hear from her. Although I found Rose annoying at times during the Vampire Academy series I really did like her as a character and was sad that we didn’t get more from her.

Bloodlines is very different from Vampire Academy main character wise. Rose in Vampire Academy was this badass, fierce girl who always stood up for herself and what she believed in, Sydney on the other hand isn’t really like that, she definitely thinks things through more and is more hesitant to take action. It took me a while to get used to her voice. Not saying I don’t like her, I do like Sydney. I found I connected with her way more than I did with Rose. She made me so frustrated at times though, especially when she refused to stand up for herself. I understood why she couldn’t since she was already in bad standing with the Alchemists but it still made me sad to see her think so lowly of herself.

Toward the end of the book you do see tiny changes in Sydney, she’s already going through some character development and I can’t wait to see how she turns out by the end of the series. I’m excited for her and hopefully she’ll finally stand up for herself especially when it comes to her father.

On the topic of Sydney’s dad, Keith and him have officially made my most hated characters ever list. I really wanted to strangle them every time they were even mention. I have never hated a character this much before. Sydney’s dad is basically the reason why Sydney has such low self-esteem and is so conscious of her weight! Ugh, they both just make me so mad I don’t even think I’d care if they died, that’s how much I hate them.

On a lighter topic, ADRIAN IVASHKOV! My poor baby, it was literally heartbreaking to see him so sad, stupid Rose! Just kidding, I think what Rose said to Adrian, although kind of harsh, was exactly what he needed to hear. Because he’s not a victim and needs to stop thinking that he is. He needs to know that he can be extraordinary if he’d only try. I love him so much and I really hope he gets a happy ending because God knows he deserves one.

I’m so excited to see him and Dimitri’s partnership in The Golden Lily! Not too much drama please! I want them to be friends!

I never really liked Lee, there was something weird about him from the beginning. Jill is another character I didn’t really care for, I think I dislike her more than I disliked Lissa. Ah well, I guess we’ll see how that works.

Overall, a fun book, but nothing much really happens. A solid start though and I know that the next books will be even better than this one. I can’t wait to read more about Sydney and the rest of the gang’s adventure, I know Richelle Mead will take us on an emotional roller coaster, I’m excited!

3.5 out of 5 stars

★★★½

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Buy Bloodlines

Book Depository
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles

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Leave your thoughts on Bloodlines in the comments below! Did you catch the twist with Lee like I did? Thoughts on Adrian and Jill being bonded? Will it last do you think or will it be broken like Rose and Lissa’s? I’d love to know what you guys thought! 🙂

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Let’s be friends!

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Read my review of Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead here.
Read my review of Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead here.
Read my review of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead here.

Monthly Update | March 2015

March Update 2015

Currently Reading:

1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Books Read in March:

1. Undivided (Unwind #4) by Neal Shusterman
   ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
2. Just Call My Name (I’ll Be There #2) by Holly Goldberg Sloan
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
3. All Fall Down by Ally Carter
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
4. Before the Fall: Arrival by Ally Carter
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
6. Half A King (Shattered Sea #1) by Joe Abercrombie
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
7. Confess by Colleen Hoover
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)

April TBR:

1. Bloodlines series (Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows, The Ruby Circle) by Richelle Mead
2. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
3. Half the World (Shattered Sea #2) by Joe Abercrombie

GoodReads Reading Challenge Progress:

So far I’ve read 26 books out of my goal of 75 this year and according to GoodReads I am 8 books ahead of schedule.

Books I Bought/Received in March:

1. Lux: Beginnings (Obsidian & Onyx) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
2. Confess by Colleen Hoover

TBR Jar Pick:

Still The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, I’m such a slacker.

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I only bought two books this month, I’m so proud of myself. My main focus this month is to finish the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. My English teacher is also letting me borrow his book Half a World the second book in the Shattered Sea series (he let me borrow the first book in March) that’s another book I want to finish as soon as possible since it’s not mine. We’ll see how this month goes, I’m already in a bit of a reading slump because of my obsession with Netflix…

I also got an iPad Air this month so I’m excited to play on that 🙂

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Let’s be friends!

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