The Coffee Book Tag

*all graphics used in this post were made by Giselle herself! creds to you, gee!!

The always awesome, ever so great Giselle over at A Book and a Cup of Coffee recently tagged me in The Coffee Book Tag, and I just had to do it! Despite my lack of a knack for coffee, I just loved the idea and premise of this, so here goes it. 

So this series isn't tough to get into, but the fans are extremely loyal and scary. That series is Divergent. The fans will attack and defend at even the slightest bit of a diss against their favorite Fourtris moment. 

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I always see along with My True Love Gave To Me become more popular during the Winter and I certainly don't see why not! Everyone loves a good holiday romance, so why not enjoy a good peppermint mocha while reading these three jolly stories.

My favorite children's book has to be Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo! That little mouse brought me so much joy as a child and I can still remember reading this story out in the backyard when the year was nearing November.

Cress by Marissa Meyer is the last book I read that had me on the edge of my seat. This book was full of suspense and incredible plot building. It was completely enthralling and kept me turning the pages faster than my mind could keep up. Watch out for my review of Cress! 

A book that I've been seeing everywhere lately is Winter by Marissa Meyer! Considering this the final, epic installment of the Lunar Chronicles, the promo is incredibly well deserved. After hearing so much about Winter, I picked up Cinder and haven't been able to put the series down since. I'm currently reading Winter and am extremely excited to read this finale!

Shoutout to Heidi Heilig and The Girl From Everywhere which I am so extremely excited to read! Heidi is extremely sweet and I've heard nothing but amazing things about her debut, which is why it is one of my most anticipated reads!

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Although I enjoyed most of this book,  I found it terribly slow. While the writing was impeccable, I just could not dive into the book as much as I wanted to. I ended up skimming the ending in order to move on! Though this was a tough read for me, I've heard greater things about the sequel, This Shattered World, so I'll give that a shot soon!

The Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin. The trilogy had me on an intense roller coaster ride with no seatbelt. I was pummeled and spit on, and brought so much pain, but I loved it. Of course there could never be enough Madness, so with Michelle writing the Shaw Chronicles I will be left satisfied for now - especially knowing that there's more to come.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. There is something so unique about the writing style of this book that was captivating and intriguing.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling had me dreaming of dragons and faraway lands for weeks. Considering Harry Potter is all magic and a giant castle, it seems only fit that I'm dreaming of attending Hogwarts and visiting distant wizarding worlds.

Yikes, considering I've only ever read one classic I guess by default it's my favorite? (slaps self) My by default favorite classic would be The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

and now I tag you, yes you, to complete this extravagant tag - even if you don't drink coffee (like me)

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

4.5/5 Stars

Published by Feiwel and Friends

Published February 5th, 2013

Synopsis: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison -- even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. 

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have informational to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

In Scarlet, Marissa Meyer was able to create an enthralling and explosive second installment that left my heart racing and my little fingers struggling to turn the pages as fast as I read. This story was epic, adventurous, romantic, and incredibly driven. After quickly finishing Cinder, I knew I was gonna be hooked on this sci-fi meets fairytale escapade, but I had no idea I would be this addicted. Marissa Meyer continues to lure me in with her excellent writing.

For most of this story we are focused on the introduction of two new characters; Scarlet and Wolf, which may seem a bit distressing considering where we left off in Cinder. However, Marissa Meyer is able to quickly tie and entwine these two stories together before we ever begin to wonder how the two were even remotely related. Scarlet is just as charismatic, if not more feisty than Cinder, and has a certain spark to her that is unsuccessful in waning, even after all the crap and stress and terror  that she has to endure. Wolf is an incredibly complex character, one that takes a bit of time to warm up to simply because he really is a 'big bad wolf' (haha wow red riding hood reference ya see). He had a bit of charm and a sense of protectiveness, but it was definitely the relationship between Scarlet and Wolf that had me enjoying his character. Although there was a tad bit of instalove in this book, it was nice to see these two character come together, fall apart, and ultimately rekindle what spark was left.

The most important detail about this story was the friendship between Cinder and Captain Carswell Thorne. Thorne has to be my favorite character of this entire series. He reminds me of bit of Nikolai Lantsov from Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy and anybody who knows me knows I am in love with Nikolai's character. Thorne is super charming and sarcastic, combined with comedic wit and a surprising kindness. Together, Cinder and Thorne work together like Steve Rogers and Tony Stark pre-civil war - knocking heads, yet having a good ole jolly time, getting stuff done, and essentially growing a bond.

For many, Scarlet was better than Cinder, but in my opinion, both were marvelously unique and unlike each other. Scarlet was an awesome, invigorating, and modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. It was able to capture the essence of the classic tale without misplacing the fascinating world Marissa Meyer has created. The plot line was comparable to a good burger and a tall glass of lemonade on a hot day- juicy, delicious, and refreshing. As of writing this review I have already read Cress and am now reading Winter, so if that doesn't speak millions about how wonderful this series is, I don't know what will!

little red was a tender young morsel, and the wolf knew she would be even tastier than the old woman ...

Ten Books I'm Grateful For

I've been watching this meme float around a lot, so I've finally decided to join in the fun! This meme was created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday there is a new list that involves all things books! 

top ten books I'm grateful for

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: I am very grateful for the magic and happiness this book, series, and world has brought me. Without it, I have no doubt in my mind that I would not be who I am today, and for that, I am thankful - to J.K. Rowling, to the fandom, to Harry himself. 

2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: This was the one book that brought me back into reading back in middle school and I will forever be in debt. 

3. Legend by Marie Lu: Legend came to my attention when I was entering high school, so having this story and these characters with me throughout the stress of being a mere freshmen was very comforting. Marie Lu's writing got me through high school! 

4. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo: This story brought me loads of happiness when I was younger and now that I sit here, cradling my copy of it, I am being washed over with waves of nostalgia. 

5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: The Grisha Trilogy brought me a mass amount of happiness during a time when I felt as if the world was crumbling down. I was lucky to have a book like Shadow and Bone guide me out of the dark.

6. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken: TDM brought to light the importance of friendship and I will forever treasure the happiness the Black Betty gang brought me. 

7. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: I'm extremely grateful for Victoria Aveyard and the amount of kindness she alludes - plus Red Queen was damn amazing so

8. Winter of the Ice Wizard (Magic Tree House #32) by Mary Pope Osborne: Do you guys remember this?! These books were my favorite back in elementary school and I'll forever be thankful for the adventures they brought me on. 

9. Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli: Do you remember that cute little golden retriever by the name of Biscuit who taught you how to read back in the first grade? Well yep, I'm grateful for Biscuit. Without Biscuit, I would never have learned how to read. 

10. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan: oh Percy, the wonders you brought me as a child - thank you. 

I'm hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy some turkey, fatten up on some sweet potatoes :) 

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

4.5/5 Stars

Published by Feiwel and Friends

Published January 3rd, 2012

Synopsis: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future. 

I honestly cannot believe I put off reading this book for so long. Marissa Meyer was able to captivate me from the very first page - pulling me in and urging me to not stop reading until I finished, and that was exactly what I did. Cinder is a genius retelling on the classic fairytale Cinderella in which the world is instead set in a sci-fi, futuristic world, with everything from cyborgs to hover crafts. With brilliant writing and an elaborately developed world, Marissa Meyer was able to take Cinderella and morph and transform this classic into something out of this world - literally.

When going into this book I had very high expectations, but Marissa Meyer did not fall short. I was completely engaged with the characters and engrossed in the plot line; falling in love with those who deemed worthy and whole heartedly loathing those who were not as peachy. Cinder was an especially clever and stubborn main character, making her extremely relatable to teens like myself. She is warm-hearted, tough, and selfless, especially in times of panic and chaos. Along with this, she is incredibly intelligent, allowing me to thoroughly enjoy all the parts in the story in which she embraced her cyborg parts. Prince Kai is able to find humor and light in the dark of the most chaotic moments, and has his heart in the right place. Kai and Cinder are super cute together (I am Kaider trash), especially because the romance seems so naive.

Cinder, now that I think of it, was full of edge-of-your-seat moments and times where you'd think the whole world was going to come tumbling down. However, because the characters were so well established, they were able to carry the story forward and keep the plot hyped up and action packed. I have nothing but good words to say about the writing and the establishment of the plot.  It was enthralling and chest deep full of witty liners and wonderfully entertaining characters. 11/10 would recommend - so pick yourself up a copy of Cinder!

I am quite invested in this world now and since writing this review, I have already made it through about a fourth of Cress and am currently working on my review of Scarlet - oh how you've ruined me Marissa Meyer!

even in the future, the story begins with once upon a time ... 

YALLFest (pt. dos - Friday festivities)

After months of preparing for YALLFest, I am sad to say that the festival has come and gone, but I am extremely sad happy. This had to be one of the best weekends of my life, despite it being so quick to come and go. I was able to meet all the authors I wanted to, except for Margaret and Kami, and even then I was able still to get my books signed by them!

On the trip up, I was packed to the brim with books, leaving little room to bring anything back (because I was expecting to not!). However, I was able to collect a total of NINE ARCS - five of which are my most anticipated reads of 2016!!

(From top to bottom)

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Glittering Court (12 chapter sampler) by Richelle Mead

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

Friday afternoon during YALLCrawl, I was able to meet the beautiful and ever great Victoria Aveyard. What was especially great about this opportunity was that she knew me! As soon as I went up to her she went "oh, you're Lillie! It's so great to finally meet you, how are you?" Earlier that day I tweeted her (as well as Leigh Bardugo) that I was entirely too nervous to speak to them and had to write down what I wanted to say, to which they both replied to not be afraid and were both complete angels. Along with this, on Saturday I woke up bright and early to try my chances at getting entrance to the secret Scarlet Guard meet up and to my luck I was able to get it!! I spent months waking up from dreams of getting this and so when it finally happened, I couldn't help but shed maybe a few tears of joy. 

Friday night I was able to attend the Red Carpet Preview in which I watched authors Greg Neri, Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, Adam Gidwitz, Nicola Yoon, Richelle Mead, and Brendan Reichs speak about themselves, books, and take shots roasting each other. Penguin Teen provided all of the audience members with two ARCs and cute tote bags, as well as previews and bookmarks! Since my mother was with me, I have an extra copy of Salt to the Sea and the Glittering Court and will most likely host a giveaway for that if anyone is interested!  

              

 Following this was a signing session in which I was able to meet the strikingly amazing and funny Leigh Bardugo. When meeting her, I told her my name was Lillie and she went "the Lillie from the internet?" and I said "yeah! @ shadow and bone on twitter minus the a!" Leigh started to laugh and went "hey I know you! It's nice to finally meet you, Lillie!" 

This made my night that much better and we continued to discuss the antics of the Grisha trilogy and Six of Crows. I asked her what her favorite Nikolai quote was (because fave character ever) because I wanted to use it as a senior quote and she said "well my favorite Nikolai quote isn't very appropriate for a senior quote! It's 'my mother is the oyster and I am the pearl'" Then she told me a more appropriate quote would be "Overstatement is an understatement."   

Along with these two authors, I was able to get my copy of Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead signed! 

YALLFest!

So as you all know if you've been following my twitter, you'll know that I am going to YALLFest in Charleston, South Carolina this weekend! As we speak (or rather, as you read this) I am on my way to Charleston! Words cannot express the amount of excitement I have for this weekend or how long I have been waiting for this opportunity! 

This is the first book event that I will ever be attending and hopefully it is not my last. At YALLFest I will be graced with the opportunity to meet and speak with at least half of my favorite authors, which completely blows my mind. 

As of right now, I am planning on meeting Leigh Bardugo, Victoria Aveyard, Marie Lu, Alexandra Bracken, Rick Yancey, Sabaa Tahir, Richelle Mead, Margaret Stohl, and Kami Garcia!! I know this may seem like a lot considering that lines may get long super fast, but this isn't at all a lot in comparison to the 60 sixty sixty authors attending! Plus, I swear I'm good at time management, so I know Marie Lu and Sabaa Tahir are at the same table at the same hour, and the same goes for Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia, so I'll be killing two birds with one stone!

It would be so awesome to bump into other authors on the street and I know people have in the past years, so I will be bringing along some random books by David Levithan and E. Lockhart (and others) just in case we do so happen to bump into each other. 

I hope I get the chance to pick up book swag and ARCs, as well as meet up with Kit and meet my favorite authors with Gee!! This weekend is going to be one of the best of my 17 years of life - I can already tell. Updates to come all weekend, so follow me on twitter if you want, but I'll also post a cute a lil post on here after it's done. Weeeee, see ya soon! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo

Here is where I share with you my anticipation for upcoming books! Breaking the Spine has introduced me to this and I am super excited to get to participate. Please feel free to comment what books you are looking forward to as well!!

~~~

Last week we were graced with this beautiful title for the sequel of Six of Crows: Crooked Kingdom!! I'm very excited about this sequel and while I know it is still in the works and terribly far away from release, I can't help but rave over this duology. Isn't the title awesome!? It leaves so much space to theorize where this story will take us. Where we were left off with Six of Crows leaves my mind thinking up the craziest speculations and eventually I'm almost certain I will lose my mind. All I can say is that I hope the pages to this book are stained too, because it'll look phenomenal next to my precious copy of Six of Crows. 

Crooked Kingdom is expected to release September 22nd, 2016! 

What's your WoW this week? 

10 Book To Movie Adaptations I Have Yet To See

I've been watching this meme float around a lot, so I've finally decided to join in the fun! This meme was created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every Tuesday there is a new list that involves all things books! 

Top ten book to movie adaptations I have yet to see

1) The Scorch Trials (by James Dashner)

2) Gone Girl (by Gillian Flynn)

3) Insurgent (by Veronica Roth)

4) The Great Gatsby (by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (by Stephen Chbosky)

6) The Martian (by Andy Weir)

7) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (by Jesse Andrews) 

8) 1984 (by George Orwell)

9) The Outsiders (by S.E. Hinton)

10) The Host  (by Stephanie Meyer)

The Halsey Book Tag

I've been a bit obsessed with Halsey's album Badlands for quite some time and I've seen this tag a couple of times (specifically on Lady Knight Reads), so I decided to join in on the fun! 

1) Castle: your favorite queen

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen --- queen of my heart. The first time I heard Castle I was actually automatically reminded of her, so it's seems only perfect that she's my answer now!

2) Hold Me Down: a series you just can't seem to quite no matter how hard you try

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass! The first two books in this series were not that bad, but then as we got into The One and The Heir, I realized how unnecessary they were - but I can't put them down! They are somehow incredibly intriguing and difficult to put down. 

3) New Americana: the friend group you'd want by your side during the apocalypse

The Black Betty Gang from The Darkest Minds series by Alexandra Bracken! Not only are they incredibly fun, but I think they'd be especially useful when the world is falling apart. Also, considering the amount of turmoil they endure in this series, the apocalypse would be a piece of cake. 

4) Drive: a couple that needs to communicate better

All throughout In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken, I wanted to slap Ruby and Liam for not communicating as well as I hoped they would. It was overall frustrating, but the amount of Rubiam scenes I did get made my heart flutter.

5) Hurricane: favorite standalone

Papertowns by John Green. I know some people have problems with this book, but it's one of my favorites and just so happens to be sitting right in front of me, so that must be why I chose it.

6) Roman Holiday: cutest contemporary couple

Eleanor and Park from Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park. I thought the chemistry between these two was incredibly sweet and innocent, and it was just so refreshing from some of the romances featured in books nowadays. 

7) Ghost: most tragic break-up *scroll down if you don't wanna be spoiled!!*

Not entirely sure this counts as a break up, but I'm gonna say J*** and D** from the Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu. This broke my heart into tiny pieces, but the epilogue fixed my heart right back up with disney band-aids.

8) Colors: one of your favorite characters who cause you a lot of pain because of the terrible decisions they make

Adelina Amouteru I'm looking at you. Adelina from The Young Elites is, surprisingly, one of my favorite characters despite her dark soul, but the more we see of her, the more my hurt hearts. She continues down such a dark path, that it almost seems impossible that she'll be able to fix it. 

9) Strange Love: a character people dislike, but you love

Maven Calore from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - and that's all you're getting out of me!

10) Coming Down: best sexy time scene

That one clace scene in City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. Nice one folks, put that down in the record books!

11) Haunting: a book or character you're still thinking about

Pretty sure I've spent 90% of every waking moment since reading The Darkest Minds thinking about Liam Stewart. Other than that, Kaz Brekker you have my heart. 

12) Gasoline: favorite (self-) destructive character

I don't really know one? Maybe you could answer this question for me?

13) Control: best villain

Well considering that I dedicate this song to Adelina, I'm gonna have to make her my answer for the second time. Every time I hear this song I automatically think about Adelina and the amount of crap she and other people, because of her, have to endure. You go girl, be that villain.

14) Young God: characters that secretly worship each other

Dorian and Chaol.

15) Trouble: toxic relationship you ship

The first thing that came to my mind was The Darkling and Alina from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, so I'm sticking with it, but really I think Alina should be an independent woman. 

So that was my Halsey book tag and now I challenge you to complete this tag as well! 

Waiting on Wednesday: The Shaw Confessions by Michelle Hodkin

Here is where I share with you my anticipation for upcoming books! Breaking the Spine has introduced me to this and I am super excited to get to participate. Please feel free to comment what books you are looking forward to as well!!

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So, the lovely Michelle Hodkin who wrote the Mara Dyer Trilogy just announced that she will be writing a spin-off entitled The Shaw Confessions and I am so fricking excited! According to this article from EW, the series will be told from the viewpoint of Noah Shaw himself, and it will explain all that has happened after the supposed 'happily ever after.' Noah will be inheriting riches beyond his wildest dreams, and even has the chance to find others like himself and Mara. However, as he and Mara begin to search for others, it becomes clear that both of their goals are both completely different - and now Noah must choose between the girl he loves and world peace.

While I am still emotionally distraught due to all that they went through in the trilogy, I am still stoked to see how Michelle Hodkin goes about writing this new trilogy! The first book is slated for release in the summer of 2017 - and though it is quite a hefty lump of time away, I will remain eager and faithful to Madness.