Top 5 Wednesday: Futuristic Books

Okay, so another Wednesday is upon us, so it's time for another Top 5 Wednesday!

As I've mentioned in the previous post, this series was created by Lainey (check out her Goodreads page). There is a group on Goodreads, which anyone can join and begin participating. Also, here is a list of all people who are a part of this series.

So this week's topic is Futuristic books, and let's get right into it, shall we?

5. 1984 by George Orwell

This is actually one of the first futuristic book I've read and I loved it. I felt eerie everytime I read this book and I just think it has really strong writing, which sucks you in and makes you think

4. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This was one of my favorite books of 2014, so that goes to show that I loved it. After reading The Hunger Games and Divergent I had a lot of trouble finding a futuristic/dystopian book that I loved as much, and I've tried many well-loved books and just disliked them. Until I read this one, and fell in love with it. The story is fast paced, griping, exciting and unpredictable. And the characters were awesome.

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Again, a book I read a long time ago and it was flipping amazing. It was funny and witty and insightful. I just loved the characters, the setting, the whole concept was just spot on.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I am kind of chucking all three books together, and cheating a bit, but I want to point out the story, not necessarily a particular book. I loved how Divergent started out to be one thing and kind of progressed through out the series, and just threw away everything that was believed in at the start. I loved the characters, the story, the writing, but what really did it for me was the whole progression of the plot line.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First dystopian YA book that I read and my favorite of the bunch. Great concept of a futuristic world, vividly depicted and so well written and imagined. The characters were amazing, the plot was great, and even though I really didn't like Mockingjay, it still was way better than some other dystopian books I read. So yeah, amazing.

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Anti-Heroes

So, I saw this series on Youtube and I loved it so much that I really wanted to include it in my blog. As far as I know, anyone can join, so if anyone wants to they are free to join the Goodreads group.

This was created by Lainey I believe over at gingerreadslainey, so you can check her channel out if you wish. Also, here is a complete list of people participating in this series.

I hope that it's okay that I am doing a blog post even though most people seem to be doing a Youtube video.

Let's get on with the list:

5. Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling

I just love Draco. He isn't the main character obviously but I still feel like he is someone who struggles with what is the right thing to do, and is someone who portrays who an upbringing can sort of define and destroy you. He just screams anti-hero to me.

4. Dustfinger from the Inkheart series by Cornelia Funke

One of my favorite characters ever. He is just so morally gray, always struggling and he's just trying to do what's best for him and to somehow get by. Really adore him.

3.Meursault from The Stranger by Albert Camus

I love this book to pieces. I think Camus did an amazing job in representing a man faced with the absurd of life, and Mersault is the anti-hero we can all completely relate to.

2. Artemis Fowl from the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

One of the funniest and most entertaining books ever. Artemis Fowl is a 12 year old evil genius and a criminal mastermind, and honestly what's not to love about that?

1. Amy Elliot Dunne from Gone Girl by Gilian Flynn

One of the greates female anti-heroes that ever was. I just love to hate her.

There you have it, favorite anti-heroes! I really like this kind of post so I am looking forward to future Top 5 posts.

***I have no idea why this didn't go up yesterday, but since I already wrote it, I am posting it a day later

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

I actually love Zoe's videos and I have been watching them for quite some time. When she announced she was writing a book, I was intrigued by it. All of the other people with book deals on Youtube were writing non fiction books, and Zoe's was to be a novel, fiction that is. So I became quite excited to read it. So I got it as a present, and when I started it I really wanted to like. I truly did. But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case. 

The writing was a bit shaky, and unconsistent at times. It screamed "unexpirienced writing". At least for me. The dialogue was really awkward at times. 

But, all in all, the writing itself wasn't all that bad. 

The problem is the whole thing is so cliché. From the characters to the plot. It is so predictable. Annoyingly so. I just couldn't deal with it at times. The gay best friend who has an impecable sense of fashion? The snarky bitchy girl best friend? The mysterious boy with touseled hair and a guitar? My eyes almost popped out of my head from rolling. 

Of course, the grand problem is the instant love between Penny and Noah. They've known each other for 2 hours and already, Penny declared their pieces were slotting in together. He was her soulmate after just a day together. And she is fifteen. Fifteen! I get how a girl can get excited about a boy, but it was so blown out of proportions. And unrealistic. Some teenage girl will read that and she will think this is how it's supposed to happen. I was so put off by that. It was too much. 

The book had it's bright moments. I thought Noah's sister was cute, and I liked the whole "inciting incident" thing a lot. That would've been an awesome quote if they hadn't known each other for about 4 hours when they said it. 

In the end the book fell short for me. I am very sad to be giving it a 2/5 stars (Goodreads), but it is what it is. 

My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Winter Romances

When I first saw this book I was really intrigued to read it, because the stories were written by some amazing authors. And then I saw this edition of the book. It has pretty pink pages. That is basically why I had to have it. Still I really enjoyed reading it, and it's just so beautiful.

Alright, the ratings are as follows:

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell - 5/5

Amazing, as always. In my eyes, Rainbow Rowell can do no wrong. I loved how this was a short story, but Rainbow found a way to make the romance work through years, and make it believable, as she does in all her books. This is definitely my favorite story out of all. 

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link 1/5

I actually manged to finish this one! But it was ridiculous to me, completely. It kept getting worse. The characters had no depth whatsover. They were just there. Really didn't like it one bit.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña 4.5/5

I have never heard of this author before but I really liked this one. I would love a full story with these characters and I will check out more of the author's work.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han 3/5

It was okayish, but it was flat, and I just kept thinking Elf. I was kind of disappointed, because I heard great things about Jenny Han's books, but this was just... okay. And again, Elf.

It's a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown 5/5

Loved this one, it was sooo cute. I loved how the romance wasn't pushed even though it happened in a few hours span. It was believable. Which surprised me. Really great.

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan 4/5

This one was really good, but it had a sort of melancholic/sad feel to it. And I was kind of bummed after reading for some reason. But nevertheless, I loved the writing.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black 2/5

It was fine at first, but the whole time I was dreading the twist, and when it happened I just hated it. It was so obvious to me, but I kept thinking maybe it won't happen. But unfortuantely it did. And it was bad.

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman 5/5

This one was so good, I loved it. Haven't read anything by Gayle Forman yet, but this was great.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire 3.5/5 

Liked it a lot, but I kind of lost interest towards the end a bit, it seemed rushed, and flat. It was still good.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White 5/5

Another author I haven't heard of before, and another story I absolutely loved. It was quirky and fun and still sort of deep. Checking more out definitely.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter 3/5 

It was nice, but the plot was stretched too far for me, especially the ending. It was so unrealistic and it put me off a bit.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor 1/5

I couldn't finish it. I was so over it by the third page. 

So all in all, it's a 3.5 rating, buuut I feel that because there were only 3 disappointing stories, and I enjoyed the rest, 4 stars seems more adequate.

Best Books of 2014!

I would say that this year has been a rather successful one when it comes to reading. Unfortunately, I opened a Goodreads account mid 2014, so I am not completely sure how many books I have read or which books I have read for that matter. I am just not that organized. Still, I do have a rough sense of the books and it will be more than enough for my Best Books of 2014.

(If I did a full review for the book, there will be a link to it, so you can check it out.)

14. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

A great classic, really enjoyed it, it became one of my favorite books ever.

13.  Landline by Rainbow Rowell
I was hesitant to read it but I ended up loving it. It was so emotional and breathtaking. Adore it.

12. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I really like reading about mental illness. It's something that intrigues me and I am studying it, so it's always interesting to me. This was really good, loved the characters and the story.

11. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
A really fun and beautiful roadtrip story, with good music, which is always nice.

10. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Really late to the party, but I loved it, and finally a dystopian book that didn't disappoint.

9. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
This took me by surprise, because I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. But it was just amazing with superb writing.

8. Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Such a unique and special writing style, amazing point of view, amazing setting. Just really, really great.

7. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Again, such a unique writing style. Really beautiful and sort of poetic.

6. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
I have never cried so much. I couldn't sleep. The ending was just so perfect. I am actually still recovering even though I read it more than 6 months ago.

5. Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Yes it had some problems, but in my eyes Rick Riordan can do no wrong and I loved this book, especially Nico's point of view, it was amazing and I am so sad that it's over.

4. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
The best title that ever was. Read it in one sitting, it was beautiful and remarkable and important and I adore it forever.

3. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
I was so excited for this book, and it lived up to my expectations. It was brilliant. Cassandra Clare can do finales justice. I am in love with the Mortal Instruments series, and this was a proper ending to the amazing series.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
This is such a page turner, a gripping story that just sucks you in. The characters are so diverse and morally gray, and the story is so twisted. It's basically amazing.

And finally...

1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I couldn't resist putting this to the top. Because honestly, I have never connected more to a character than I connected with Cath. She spoke to me. I loved the love story. I loved the writing. I loved the characters. I love Rainbow Rowell, she is pure genius.

The Mortal Instruments Series VS The Infernal Devices Series

VS

I've been thinking about doing some different styled posts, rather than just writing reviews, so I came up with the idea of kind of comparing these two series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

These books were written by Cassandra Clare and they are both set in the same universe, the world of the Shadowhunters. 

The Mortal Instruments has six books in total: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire.  

This is a urban fantasy young adult series and this is basically a series that everyone has read and/or heard about so I don't think that I have to go into the plot. It is based around Shadowhunters, who are basically half human-half angel warriors who protect the world from demons. I love this series. I think the world is really amazing and intriguing and I love the way it was built. Every book adds on to the main premise of it, and you are always discovering new things, but they are nicely interwoven into the already existing story. I adore the characters in this book, everyone of them. I usually don't get along with main characters that are youngish girls, they tend to annoy me at one point or the other, but I really like Clary. She is a strong character. Maybe not so much at first, but she has great character development and really develops more and more with each book, and kind of ends up being really great. I love every single character in this book. I really do. Jace, Izzy, Alec... I feel like her characters are complex in a way and I just enjoy them so much. They change so much through the series and grow with it, which is great. And Magnus Bane is one of the greatest characters ever, obviously. I love the plot here. It has twists, and it's gripping and these books were definite page turners for me. I read them so quickly and I couldn't get enough. Especially City of Glass and City of Heavenly Fire, which were my favorite. This turned into one of my favorite series ever and I can't wait for the next installments. 

With that being said, I picked up the prequel series, which is set in the Victorian era and deal with the lives of the ancestors of the characters from The Mortal Instruments series. 

The Infernal Devices series consists of three books: Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. I was hesitant to pick this up, because I am not a big fan of books taking place in that era, but still everyone was saying how they actually prefer The Infernal Devices so I had to see for myself. Now, when I read the first two books, I was not impressed at all. It wasn't bad by any means, it could never be, but to me it could never have been compared to The Mortal Instruments. The thing is I don't like Tessa very much. I don't hate her, but I am not the biggest fan. But I love all the other characters so so much. I may even dare to say that I prefer them to the MI characters. Maybe. I don't know. But, I do love them. Will and Jem are amazing and have an amazing relationship which is so beautiful that it's painful. I adore them honestly, both in their own way. But for me, the plot in these books was underwhelming for me. I don't think it's very thought through, and I don't know, it seemed stretched somehow, and I just didn't find it exciting. I was not really into it that much. But, after reading Clockwork Princess and bawling my eyes out for three hours and not sleeping throughout the night, I was inclined to say that I loved the books. I think the ending of Clockwork Princess was one of the saddest and most beautifully written endings that I have ever read. Honestly, that was the best part of the whole series. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I just loved it a lot.

With all that being said, I would give The Mortal Instruments series kind of an edge, because I just didn't enjoy the plot in The Infernal Devices. But I do love the characters in both series and the world and the writing really sits well with me. 

More Than This by Patrick Ness

This is my first encounter with one of Patrick Ness' books and I really enjoyed it, hence I will be picking up The Knife of Never Letting Go next. 

This book is about a boy, who actually drowns and dies. But, he wakes up in a house in which he lived in as a child in England (which is strange, because he lived in America now), kind of battered and bruised, but somehow alive. 

That is basically all you need to know about it, and all I knew going into it. And I think that is the best way to read this book, and just let it unfold on itself, which will be surprising and unexpected. 

I really liked this book. It was more than it seemed to be at first. To me, it felt almost layered. As the book went one, it got deeper and deeper, uncovering more and more of its so-called layers. This seems as though it's one thing, but then kind of changes and reveals something unexpected. Throughout the story, you never know what is real and what is actually going on. You are left guessing and kind of choosing for yourself, because there are different options, so to speak.  I really liked that, I generally enjoy that kind of setting. This book was very thought provoking and when I finished it, I ended up thinking about it for days. It kind of lingered with me. 

With all that being said, it took me ages to finish this book. I can't even remember when I started it. I just took me a lot of time to get into it, and when I finally did I found it a bit slow. For me, this meant that at times, I felt completely detached from it. So that kind of ruined the experience for me and I even thought of putting down. I ended up sticking through it, because I did in fact like it, but it just took a lot of effort to finish it. 

Anyways, this was all in all, a really good book, and I gave it 4/5 stars on Goodreads. Definitely recommend this one if you like slow, thought-provoking books.