Line Bookaholic

I love reading books, especially dystopia, sci-fi and (YA) fantasy. I also love graphic novels and comics.

Life update

Hi everyone! 

 

I have been really off this site these past weeks, it proves having a baby cat is a lot of work. Just kidding! (well, it is, but it is not the main raison I've been absent). I am currently deciding on what to do next (as in my career) and a lot is happening inside my mind. I was off work for about eleven days and spent my time searching for a new job. Then a few days after being back to work I fell during a party and twisted my ankle. So I took time ouf of work again. Now I've been back for 2 weeks and I just feel like it is not my place. I need to do something else. So big news, I will start working as a freelance translator in April. This being said, I won't have much time for my reviews. I am trying to figure out how to launch a business, how to survive the holidays and how to plan a last minute 10 day trip to Florida (going there for our 10 year anniversary in January!). So a lot of stress right now but this is also really exciting. 

 

I hope I'll spend more time here next year but my excuses if you don't see a lot of posts in the next months. I will still read your posts and reviews and interact with you because it is always so much fun!

 

Hope to chat with you soon :)

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Line.

#58 - Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Two Dark Reigns - Kendare Blake

Two Dark Reigns is the third book in the Three Dark Crowns series and once again it was brilliant!

 

What I love the most about this series is the really unique touch it has. Honestly, I’ve never read a story like that. It is really dark and full of weird magic but it is so amazing you will never want to put it down. I was not expecting something that dark and creepy and I am so glad I choose to read this series. This was really something different than the YA books I am used to reading and it was refreshing.

 

SPOILER FOR ONE DARK THRONE

 

The events of the book follow what happened in One Dark Throne, Katherine is the queen crowned, Mirabella & Arsinoe are in hiding on the mainland and Jules is sailing back home because she is devastated by Joseph’s death. Katharine will soon discover that being queen is not that easy: she does not know whether her sisters are dead or alive, she is haunted by some presence since she climbed out of the Breccia Domain and she is lost without Natalia. She will also soon be threatened by something she had not expected…

 

I am really happy about all that happened in this book, it was full of mystery and really stressful but I enjoyed every page of it! I totally recommend reading this series.

#57 - Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (re-read)

Scarlet - Marissa Meyer

Another re-read as part of my Lunar Chronicles reread (I am trying to read all books before the end of the year). I already posted about this book when I first read it in 2015, you can find here my opinion on the first 3 books in the series.

 

I liked it beter than the first time I read it though. Again, this world is really one of my favourite and I am falling in love with it all over again. I totally recommend it.

 

 

#56 - Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot

Even in Paradise - Chelsey Philpot

I needed a contemporary standalone and it was perfect. I loved the story, the character and the atmosphere of this book. I definitely recommend it.

 

This is not a light contemporary book; the content is quite heavy and full of drama. I enjoyed the dark and secretive atmosphere of this book.

 

There is a mystery you discover at the beginning of the book and you just want to know what the secret is. Honestly, I was expecting something bigger than that, but I did not see it coming so that is a good thing.

 

I recommend reading this, really original story with great characters!

#55 - Cinder by Marissa Meyer (reread)

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

I decided to re-read the Lunar Chronicles because it is one of my favourite series ever. And I still love it as much as the first time I read it.

 

I fell in love with this story and its characters all over again. If you have never read this series I totally recommend it to you. If you love sci-fi and YA, you won’t be disappointed!

 

The whole series is inspired by fairy tales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel & Snow White, but there are also a lot of things that reminded me of Star Wars in there!)

 

I don’t really know what more to say about it, I think I already wrote a review that you can probably find on the blog. Also, as I have already finished the entire series there are things I know are going to happen so I am afraid of revealing spoilers.

 

I definitely recommend this series if you have not read it yet because it is totally amazing.

Because everybody loves kittens right ?

 

Meet Merlin, my new friend and reading buddy. He is one of the reasons I'm late with my reviews.. he LOVES sleeping on my computer ;) 

 

Line.

September Wrap-Up

I know it is almost November  but I noticed I had not posted my September Wrap-Up yet so here it is!

 

I've been really busy with with work and other stuff these past few weeks and I have not been able to post as much as I would have liked. Also, I did not read that much either. Still, I managed to read a few books in september.

 

I only read 4 books and I am really behind on my reading challenge. But I don't want to pressure myself to much about it and I just want to read whatever I feel like reading!

 

You're Welcome, Universe - Whitney Gardner  Save the Date - Morgan Matson  The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken  A Reaper at the Gates - Sabaa Tahir  

 

Also I just adopted a baby cat so expect a lot of pictures of him with books :) 

 

Line.

 

#54 - A Reaper a the Gates y Sabaa Tahir

A Reaper at the Gates - Sabaa Tahir

I remembered being really excited for this book after finishing A Torch Against The Night but then I did not pick it up directly after it came out. I also thought I would read this really fast but I also took my time reading it. I could not totally focus on this book and I can’t say why. Not because it was bad or I was not interested in the story but I was not into it as much as I would have liked to. I think it was a bad time for me to read this and I should have picked up a lighter book (that is what I did right after though). Still, I enjoyed this book!

 

I think this book was my least favourite of the three because I was not happy with what happens to Elias in it. I am actually kind of sad and furious about his storyline. However, after the events of the last book I was expecting to see less of Helene Aquilla and it was a great surprise to see that she was so present in the book. I love her character and I think she is really interesting. She was less torn between staying faithful to the Empire and helping Elias in this book but the poor girl has a lot of bad things happening to her. I feel like Laia wa also way less present in this book but I did not really care. I can’t say why but I am not a fan of her.

 

The storyline was not predictable and full of surprising events. I just think that it was a bit too slow sometimes.

 

This book was massive and it took me a lot of time to read it but I still really enjoyed it and I will definitely read the next one.

#53 - The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken

I FINALLY decided to read this book. Honestly it had been on my TBR for ages and with the movie coming out I decided to see if it was worth the hype. And IT IS (I immediately ordered the following book).

 

This is a post-apocalyptic book where teenagers are suffering from a kind of virus that killed most of them and the one surviving end up with strange powers. That is why there are locked in “rehabilitation camps”. Honestly, those are my favourite kind of books; I could never grow tired of this. We have seen thousands upon thousands of stories involving diseases and teenagers but I just LOVE that. Anyway, Ruby is among the one surviving and she is sent to Thurmond of which she will escape and run for her life.

 

Ruby is my favourite type of character. She is a normal teenager; she has her fears and she is no superhero. But she is also a real badass when faced with danger, I thought she was weak at the beginning but the more danger she faces, the angrier she gets and she is such a strong character. I loved everything about her.

 

The other characters were interesting as well, especially Zu who is one of my favourites. I hope we will get more of her in the coming books, but I am not so sure about it.

 

The relationships between those teenagers were interesting and particularly well developed. Even in their condition, they still are teenagers and so they behave like ones.

The middle of the book was a bit slower and I think it could have been a little bit shorter but honestely, it is just to find a flaw in the book!

 

I can’t wait to discover the rest of the series (and watch the movie as well!).

#52 - You're Welcome Universe by Whitney Gardner

You're Welcome, Universe - Whitney Gardner

This is a masterpiece! Seriously, this book deserves so much more! I want everyone to read it.

 

I don’t remember when or why I bought this book, maybe there was a discount or something. I had heard great things about it but did not know more that than. I decided to pick it up last month expecting a fun contemporary read.

 

Fun, it was. But it was also so much more than that! The main character is totally amazing, and I liked every aspect of her personality. Seriously, she is the best.

The main character, Julia, is going to the Kingston School for the Deaf but she gets expelled and has to go to a “mainstream” school. Julia is amazing because she is an independent teenage girl, but she can also be vulnerable sometimes.  She will meet new people and experiences new things at this school, and of course she will have some bad experiences to.

 

The story is an ordinary one, the only difference is that Julia has a disability. And I LOVED how it was introduced in this story. I don’t know how to explain but even if you knew Julia is Deaf, it is not what you noticed at first about her. I even sometimes forgot. And I think it’s great because it could help a lot of people realized that people with disabilities are just like us and that their lives is not so different. They don’t need help all the time, they don’t need pity most of all and they just need to be treated like everyone. I think it was shown perfectly in this book.

 

I fell in love with Julia and her (diverse) family. I loved that her family is so diverse, but it does not feel forced. Sometimes I have the impression that authors try to include diverse characters but just to include them, if you know what I mean. I thought that Julia family was so great!

 

It is a coming of age story about a young girl who does not totally fit into society because of what other people think of her. And it was beautiful. Everybody should read this book!

#51 - Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Save the Date - Morgan Matson

I’ve listened to this as an audiobook and I thought it was a great way to read this book. I am not sure I would have liked it as much if I had read the physical copy.

 

Charlie Grant is the youngest in a family of 5 brothers and sisters; she is the only one still living at home. Their mother is a cartoonist and she draws about their family. Charlie’s sister is getting married and Charlie is excited about having all her siblings in their house again, which had not happened for 5 years. She has been planning this for months and she can’t wait to have the perfect weekend with them. Unfortunately, all will not go according to plan.

 

I think it was really funny that everything was a total disaster in the wedding planning, and every time you think it couldn’t be worse something even bigger happens (it’s funny cause I am also currently planning my wedding and some of those things could totally happen to me).

 

The characters were great and even if you only have Charlie’s point of view you also get to know them a little bit better.

 

The whole book is a about Charlie not wanting things to change, it was the main theme of the book and I thought it was really well done. In the end, you get that changes are scary but they can be for the best too.

 

If you have read Megan Matson’s books before and you enjoyed it, you will definitely enjoy this one as well. It was a funny, cute and entertaining read.

#50 - War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

War Storm (Red Queen) - Victoria Aveyard

I had been really excited about this book after finishing King’s Cage but then I forgot about it. I hadn’t bought it and I don’t know, I just forgot which is weird as Red Queen had been one of my favorite read. I just kind of lost my interest for this series over the year. It is kind of sad. But I still enjoyed reading War Storm and I think the ending was great.

 

I still don’t like Mare or Cal. I actually hate them and I was not rooting for them at all, I kind of did not care about their problems. But I really enjoyed reading about Iris and Maven, I wish there were more chapters about them. I needed to know more about Iris Cygnet who is an amazing character in my opinion. Maven is just a little piece of shit but I can’t help but love him. Farley is a fierce and badass woman and I liked her. The other characters I did not really cared about.

 

I got confused a lot of time reading this book because I felt like there was a lot of coming and going everywhere and I did not always get why they were leaving or where they were going. It was confusing for me as it had been a while since I had read a Red Queen novel and I did not really remember the name of the different places. But this is just my own fault, I should have read a recap or something before starting War Storm.

 

The pace was too slow in my opinion; there were many pages where sometimes nothing was happening at all. And then all the action happened in the last pages. I have to say, the final scene between Mare and Maven.. oh my. It was intense!

 

I cannot really elaborate on the plot without revealing too much information on the series thought. I would recommend to read this if you have been a fan of the series or if you enjoyed the first books, it is still worth it!

 

Despite the fact that I did not enjoy it that much, I am really sad this series is over because I have been reading it for years now. I remember reading Red Queen while I was supposed to be studying for my exams at university. It is one of the first YA book I read back in the days when I started watching Booktube and writing reviews so it means a lot to me.

August wrap-up

Again, August was not a really good reading month. The weather was quite nice and I used to go out a lot with my friends to make the most of  it (we are not used to dry and warm weather where I live). Oh, I also went to several festivals again and celebrated different things with my friends, so not a lot of time to read.

 

But I really enjoyed the books I read, so that is a good thing :)

 

So here are the 7 books I read in the month of August (well, I thought I did not read that much but in the end 7 is pretty good!):

 

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E. Lockhart  Orpheum - D.S. Murphy  Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst  To All the Boys I've Loved Before - JennyHan  P.S. I Still Love You - Jenny Han  Always and Forever, Lara Jean - Jenny Han  War Storm (Red Queen) - Victoria Aveyard  

 

Including 3 audiobooks which is a lot as I usually listen to one every month.

 

September is here and it will also be really busy, I have a dancing show coming up at the end of the month and I have to train at least 2 times a week for it, so I know I will be exhausteud and won't have as much time to read as I would like to (also started playing Zelda again and man, this is taking so much of my time!)

 

I hope you had a good summer!

#47, 48, 49 - To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (series review)

Always and Forever, Lara Jean - Jenny Han P.S. I Still Love You - Jenny Han To All the Boys I've Loved Before - JennyHan

I’ve marathoned this series on Audible so I decided to write a review of the entire trilogy and not one review per book. I am a bit confused about what happened in which book so let’s just write something about the three books!

 

The whole trilogy was one of the cutest things I’ve ever read. Honestly, I am typically not a huge fan of cute stories where nothing real bad happens (I love drama!) but this series was just amazing.

 

Lara Jean and her family are great characters. I especially love how Lara Jean is a “good girl” and totally assumes it. She does not want to do stuff to impress people, her best friend is not really what you’d call a “good girl” but Lara Jean stays true to herself anyway and she does not get influenced by other people. I really loved that about her. The only problem I have with that is that it does not seem realistic to me (or relatable). Peter, on the contrary, is really realistic and reminded me of a lot of people I knew back in high school. He seems like a jerk but once you know him better, you understand he’s a good guy (and you cannot help but love him for that). All the characters were really well developed and even if you only got Lara Jean’s point of view you get the feeling that you know all of them really well (Do I need to say how much I love Kitty? She is so funny and cute).

 

The storylines of the books were easy to follow, a bit predicable but not in a bad way. You just follow the life of an ordinary teenage girl and it was refreshing to read that. Nothing (too) crazy happening to her (well, if you forgot the part about the letters), she is just having a regular life and I was glad for it, I really needed to read something like that.

The romance is one of the best I’ve read in YA contemporary; even if most of it was predictable, I really loved how it was handled. I was really rooting for this relationship and it was sometimes really cute.

 

The last book was particularly interesting as Lara Jean is going through her last year of high school and leaving for college. I know from what I’ve read that college is a really big deal in the US, for us here, it really not is such a huge change. Most of the time you go study in the nearest city or even if you are going to another city, no matter where it is, you can come back every weekend if you want to as the country is really small. So yeah, it changes quite a lot because you become an “adult” but apart from that, most people stay at home. But here it was pretty clear that Lara Jean’s life was really going to change a lot; she won’t be home with her sister and her dad anymore, she will have to make new friend,s live in a new city all by herself etc. which can be pretty scary! And I think the author did a wonderful job here. She perfectly shows that going to college (as a metaphor for going into adulthood) includes a lot of changes but it does not mean some things can’t stay the same. The really important part is staying true to yourself and I think it was beautifully shown in the last book.

 

I can’t express how much I loved this series and how emotional I was at the end of it (I finished it on my way to work and it was so hard to focus after that!).

I don’t want to say too much about it because really, apart from telling you to read it because it is cute and well written and absolutely amazing I don’t know what to say.

#46 - Of fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst

 

I just marked this book as finished on my Goodreads and I noticed that there were a lot of bad reviews. But as far as I am concerned, I think it was a great and entertaining book.

I really had fun reading it; it was fast-paced, the characters were nice, and the setting was original. I wish the magic system was a little bit more developed though, I feel like there should have been more explanation about it. I was waiting for something that never came.

 

But we all agree to say that the most important part of this book is the romance. I could describe this book as an impossible love in a magical setting. Because I think I know why people are disappointed; when you read the description of the book, you may expect something more than that. But, this is “only” a romance novel. But that was totally fine with me.

 

I think the romance is cute and I liked learning more about those two characters. However, it is true that everything that happened beyond that was not relevant and I did not really care about the supposed war. The story could have happened in a contemporary setting it wouldn’t have made any difference to me.

 

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute (same sex) romance.

#45 - Orpheum by D.S. Murphy

Orpheum - D.S. Murphy

I read the first part of Orpheum back in the beginning of this year so when I saw that it was updated I wanted to read the rest of the story. I really enjoyed it, but not as much as the first part though.

I always love the mix between ordinary and extraordinary things in books, it is so great to see those two worlds collide. It was again in this book, really well done.

 

I was a bit confused at the beginning because I was not sure about how the story ended and I had forgotten about most of the character’s names. But after a few pages it was easier, and I was really into it.

I don’t really know what to say because I don’t want to reveal any elements of the story, even more so if you have not read the first part of the book, but I can tell you that is really great and I definitely recommend this.

Currently reading

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

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