The Book Blogger Test

This post is looonnnnggg overdue, but I've finally managed to finish answering the questions! I was tagged by the lovely Joy@ Thoughts by J and Jaz @ Fiction in Fiction in Fiction.

You can check out their tags HERE FOR JOYS'S and HERE FOR JAZ'S! 

1.What are your top three book pet hates?

- An infuriatingly indecisive main character who simultaneously leads on two guys and goes back and forth between them. A character that does that doesn’t deserve either guy. So basically, I can’t stand love triangles.

- Books that haven’t been taken care of e.g. dog-eared, creased and especially when I see someone just shoving a book (even textbooks) in their bags.

- Books with grammatical errors/spelling mistakes (yes a lot of published books have mistakes and it pisses me off. Even an abundance of too-short sentences in a paragraph tends to annoy me.…

2.Describe your perfect reading spot

I read anywhere and everywhere! Dining table, on the living room floor, couch, kitchen counter, bus, train, bed. But I guess my favourite would be in bed where it’s warm and comfortable J   

3. Tell us 3 book confessions

- I’m a huge hypocrite with my book pet hates. I say I hate love triangles (AND I DO!!!!!) but sometimes there are love triangles that I can tolerate/accept. I say I hate books centred entirely on romance (AND I DO!!!) but there are certain books that I like which tends to focus more on the romance than plot. I say I think main characters who can’t decide between two guys shouldn’t end up with either one of them, but more likely than not, I’ll still ship her with one of the guys. So yeahhh….

- Romance books are my guilty pleasure. I imagine myself as the female characters and live happily ever after with the ruggedly handsome, astonishingly caring and loving men who would move mountains to be with the girl they love. (i.e. me hahahaa)

- I read a billion books at once…because for some odd reason, ( especially the past few months) I tend to get bored with a lot of the books I start reading, so I'll begin reading another book…then one day I’ll feel like it’s time to resume/finish offthe first book. At the moment, I’ve started Eleanor & Park, The Statistical Probabiltiy of love at First sight, The Geography of You and Me, Take Me On…

4. When was the last time you cried at a book?

I can’t remember O____O For most books that I “cry” in, it’s more I shed a few tears/become slightly teary but I don’t full on cry or bawl my eyes out. The only book that pops into my head is Adeline Yen Mah’s “Falling Leaves” which I read more than 5 years ago….

5. How many books are on your bedside table?

Currently The Statistical Probability of Me and You, The Geography of You and Me, Take Me On, How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You, Down London Road. (And several magazines haha!)

6. What is your favourite snack whilst your reading?

ICE CREAMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!! And Chocolate. Or just food. hahah!

7. Name 3 books you would recommend to everyone

- Harry Potter (all 7 books), because if you haven’t read Harry Potter, we legit cannot be friends.

- The Pact by Jodie Picoult – My mind still wanders to the ending and everything that lead to the heartbreaking truth in The Pact. I suffered a severe book hangover after reading this.

- Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles– I believe deep down, every girl has a soft spot for the typical good-girl-meets-bad-boy book. It’s been overdone; the plot and characters have been recycled a billion times but I strongly believe every girl should read at least one book with this storyline and characters during their lifetime. 

8. Show us a picture of your favourite bookshelf on your bookcase

Yes, it's messy, but so is every other shelf and space in my room. 

9. Write how much books mean to you in just 3 words

More than ice-cream.

10. What is your biggest reading secret?

Despite having lived in Australia (almost) my entire life….I haven’t read many Aussie books.  I’ve never even touched Melina Marchetta’s books, never read Looking for Alibrandi nor Raw Blue, NOT EVEN THE BOOK THIEF or any of those highly regarded and exceptionally awe-inspiring Aussie books that everyone seems to love L

11. Tag 5 people

I tag:

1. You

2. Book Bloggers

3. Anyone who loves books and is willing to answer the above questions

4. Anyone who wants to do this

5. Anyone who has time to do this :) 

Review: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Art of Lainey 

by Paula Stokes 
Publisher: HarperTeen  
Release Date: May 20th, 2014  
Format: e-ARC 

 "Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

 And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game. 

 What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

Despite enjoying The Art of Lainey, I must admit the storyline and characters have been recycled a millions times. The book commences with our main character getting dumped by her “too perfect, too-hot-to-handle” boyfriend. One minute they’re fine, and the next, he dumps her publicly with the typical “it’s-not-you-it’s-me” excuse. As you can probably guess, Lainey is wounded and confused, and decides to orchestrate this intricate plan to win him back. In comes Micah, Lainey’s classmate, workmate and someone who’s in the same boat as she is – just been dumped, and still hung up on his ex. So what happens when these two collide? They act as a couple, instigate jealousy in their respective exes, win them back…but falls for each other in the process.

The characters weren’t outstanding unfortunately. I mean, I did like them only because there was nothing to hate, but there was nothing spectacular about them. A few months down the track, they’d simply blend in with all other hundreds of characters I’ve read about.

What did make The Art of Lainey unique however, was Lainey’s use of the ancient Chinese military book titled “The Art of War”. As soon as I read this, I literally cracked up laughing. Which teenager reads or takes inspiration from a book written thousands of years ago? Okay, if it was above love, I’ll accept it but war? REALLY? I found it incredibly amusing how a book as antiquated and philosophical and The Art of War could apply to a purpose as insignificant as a teenager’s quest to win back an ex. (So maybe thousands of years ago, winning back – or kidnapping- an ex/lover/anyone triggered war between two territories, but NOW? No way….) I honestly didn’t understand how she managed to manipulate certain concepts to fit her situation and tactics, but nevertheless, it was quite interesting and rather intelligent of Lainey to utilise the book to her own advantage.

The Art of Lainey is a quick, fun and relaxing read, with characters and a storyline that has been recycled countless times but is nevertheless very enjoyable. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Kasie West will definitely devour this J Unfortunately, this isn’t a book I’d invest my money in but I do recommend borrowing it from the library. Perhaps you’ll learn some helpful tips if you ever decide to start a “war” with someone!

A massive thank you to HarperTeen for providing a copy of The Art of Lainey for review! 

Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (JUST IN TIME FOR HEIR OF FIRE)

Crown of Midnight 

by Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury   
Release Date: August 27th, 2013 
Format: ARC 

 "A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached. 

 It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend." 

 From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil. 

 Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

 Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

Adarlan's Assassin is back as the King's Champion, and this time she's deadlier than ever.

Throne of Glass immediately shot up to my all-time favourites list when I first read it in 2012. Between the sassy, fiery and fearless protagonist, some kick-ass action, layers of mystery and a certain handsome Captain of the Guard, I couldn’t resist the book’s charm! I'll admit that after more than a year, my memory of ToG was a little fuzzy, but luckily Crown of Midnight started off in such a way that I didn't need to skim through my review of the first book in order to understand what was happening.

Crown of Midnight admittedly started off slow; I wasn't exactly bored but my mind did occasionally sway to other things whilst I was reading it. However, the real action picked up soon and I was able to completely immerse myself in this fantastic sequel.

The highlight for me for the majority of the book was obviously Celaena and Chaol's relationship/interactions. I'm a firm Team Chaol (wait, do the 'Teams' still exist? It doesn't feel like a love triangle anymore) and I absolutely loved his banter with Celaena, his protectiveness and most of all, his love for her. All the things he did, said, thought and felt touched me, and honestly, if they don't end up together by the end of the series, I'm going to chuck the world's biggest tantrum. And no one wants to see that.

Celaena unveils another side of her a few times in this book; one that is ruthless, uncontrollable,  and the epitome of 'deadly'. It's a side that no one wants to see, and suffering her wrath is not something anyone wants to experience. Ever. Unleashing this side of her scared the crap out of me, but it did add some heart-thumpingly intense scenes, and demonstrated exactly what the world's best assassin is capable of.

There is so much I loved about this book. I loved Celaena and Nehemia's beautiful friendship. I loved Chaol's fiercely selfless actions to protect the person he loves most in the world. I loved Dorian's newfound vigour, aggression and desire to do something right for his country.I loved the new revelations, some that were slightly predictable, others completely mind-blowing. I especially loved the ending. It set the scene for the next book, which by the way I'm willing to trade my first newborn for and was a revelation I had not seen coming. Thanks to that though, I've set my expectations for Heir of Fire miles high and I'm expecting something monumental to happen, something along the lines of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Remember the war? Yeah, that's exactly what I'm anticipating in the next (few) books in this highly recommended series!

Sooooooo guys READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY! I was literally chanting “HOLY CRAP. HOLY CRAP” all throughout the last few chapters of the book – my friends can vouch for me. This is simply a sequel you cannot miss!

A massive thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for providing a copy of Crown of Midnight for review! (So sorry for the super late review!!! But at least it's just in time for Heir of Fire :D) 

Throne of Glass Ambassador: Heir Of Fire Competition + Excerpt

Hey lovelies! Last year, I was approached by Bloomsbury Australia asking if I wanted to be a Throne of Glass Ambassador since I loved Throne of Glass sooooo much. I was legit flailing and squealing and jumping and screaming YESYESYES OF COURSE!!!

Today, I'm honoured to share with you a fantastic competition for Heir of Fire, which is released later this year in September. 

Now, I know many, MANY of you are dying to get your claws on a copy of Heir of Fire and even better, I'm sure y'all want a SIGNED copies of one of the most phenomenal series to ever exist!

OH! And there's more! Not only will you win incredibly exciting prizes, you'll also have your name featured in Sarah's next book that's being published in 2015. HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT? 

So what do you have to do?

Send in your own fan art or short video about why you love the series! The best entries will also be featured in the Heir of Fire trailer :) 

Sounds wonderful eh? 

The Competition will close 4 June. 

Also, in the past few days certain Heir of Fire extracts and videos have been released!

You can read an Heir of Fire EXTRACT HERE. 

Click HERE for a video of Sarah J Maas talking about Throne of Glass!

You can find more information on their Facebook Page. 

And last but not least, I'd like to wish all the loving mothers out there a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY<3333 

Movie Review: Divergent

I don't usually write movie reviews since for me movies are simply 'good', 'bad' or 'average' and there's nothing further to elaborate. However, after watching Divergent I was overcome with so many FEELS that I needed to write them down. This review will probably be all over the place so my apologies! :D

Book to Film:

I've realised that when a book is adapted into a movie, most hardcore fans of the book(s) prefer the movie to stay faithful to the book(s). I, on the other hand don't particularly mind. I believe that since it's an independent film, the directors/producers can add/delete scenes as long as it suits the movie. As long as the plot doesn't change significantly and there are no plot holes, I'm completely fine with it. Also, as long as the more important scenes/fans' favourite scenes and the scenes that drive the plot forward are brought to life then I'm content. The rest aren't important.

Having said that, I felt that Divergent remained quite faithful to the book. I mean, the last time I read Divergent was probably early last year (my book's been in my friend’s possession for a good part of last year) so I'm a little fuzzy over specific scenes. However, 90% of the ‘memorable scenes’ were included in the movie and if any scenes that didn’t appear in the book were added, or certain scenes were altered then I applaud the director for adding/changing those scenes because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MOVIE. J

Casting/Acting:

(I actually wrote an entire paragraph on my phone but when I opened up the file the next day, for some reason the paragraph wasn’t there. *sigh* I must’ve accidentally deleted it on the bus =.=’).

Anyway, back to the review!

Tris: Holy Moly Tris’s actually was superb! To be honest, when the cast was first announced last year, I was 100% skeptical of Shailene. Back then, she looked nothing like the Tris I’d conjured up in my head, and no offense, I didn’t find her very good-looking. After doing some googling/research/stalking, I discovered that she was generally perceived as an extremely talented actress and so my doubts began to fade. Fast-forward a year later, I’m sitting here wondering how the heck I ever doubted her ability to bring Tris to life. Shai was perfect as Tris. I mean, no, she still doesn’t fit the original image of Tris but after watching Divergent, that ‘original’ Tris doesn’t exist anymore. Shai is Tris and Tris is Shai. Every time there was an emotionally demanding scene or a scene that required screaming/yelling/anger, I legit felt goose bumps on my arms because her acting was just so damn good. I can’t wait for Insurgent now! Bring on more Tris/Shay <3

Oh, and one more thing. I believe Tris is described as small in the book, but obviously in the movie Shai is quite tall. Once upon a time, this was a contributing factor to my dislike of Shay as Tris, but now? I LOVE HER HEIGHT BECAUSE WHEN SHE STANDS NEXT TO THEO, THEY LOOK PERFECT TOGETHER.

 Weheartit 

Four: HDAUHDSUIHDSAUIHDIASU FOUR WHY ARE YOU SO HOT AND SEXY AND GORGEOUS AND PERFECT?!?! I remember as soon as Four appeared on screen – the scene where Tris jumped off the roof, landed on a net and Four helped her down- all the girls in the cinema (me included) started swooning/screaming/giggling. Honestly, I don’t know how Tris was able to answer him after he helped her down…I mean, I would’ve just melted into a puddle of goo.

Four is unapproachable, a demanding, no-nonsense instructor who could frighten anyone into silence with one piercing look. Theo did a fantastic job executing all of Four’s identifying traits. While I fell in love at first sight with Theo’s looks, I must admit he also didn’t fit with my image of Four. The ‘original’ Four was leaner…and I felt a little more sensitive but like Shai/Tris, Theo James is now the one and only Four for me!

Other Characters:

•  Throughout the movie I was slightly confused. Was Edward ever introduced to us? I remember seeing his name on the rankings but were we ever introduced to him as a character?
•  Also, I didn’t realize this until someone mentioned on Twitter (sorry, forgot who!) Was Uriah introduced to us? I think he was on screen for less than 5 seconds before he disappeared. And we never got to see him again. Uriah was one of my favourite characters in Divergent and it’s a pity Uriah didn’t play a bigger role in the movie.
•  -I had no complaints regarding Christina and Will’s characters. I can’t remember any specific lines, but I do remember many of their lines were snarky, hilarious and definitely appreciated!
•    OOOHHHH HAVE I MENTIONED HOW JAI’S ACTING WAS IMPECCABLE?!?! Well it was! Now, he was exactly how I imagined Eric! Those piercings, tattoos, expressionless face and unforgiving personality truly brought Eric to life.
•    Every time Caleb and Tris spoke or walked next to each other, my mind would immediately jump to Augustus and Hazel’s scenes together in The Fault in Our Stars. Did this happen to anyone else?

There were some laugh-out-loud moments, which were a fantastic bonus! The books weren’t intended to be comical so I’m glad the scriptwriters decided add in some humorous dialogue and lines J

If you couldn’t be bothered to read the my 900+ words review, no worries, just read this paragraph. I have three words for everyone – GO WATCH DIVERGENT!! So far it’s one of my  favourite book-to-movie adaptations, the others being The Hunger Games, Catching Fire & a few of the Harry Potter films.

~WATCH DIVERGENT~

~WATCHING DIVERGENT!!!!!~

*Image credits go to Weheartit