Book Haul!

Hi Guys!  I have another book haul already!

Aren't they lovely???

Hunted, by Meagan Spooner: I LOVED the Starbound trilogy that Meagan Spooner co-authored, and Beauty and the Beast retellings are my jam so I HAD to get this one.

One Was Lost, by Natalie D. Richards: This book was an impulse buy.  I read the synopsis and it sounded so cool!  This is a horror/thriller novel and I'm a huge horror fan so I picked it up and will hopefully read it soon.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee: Since I've followed Mackenzi for years on twitter and watched her journey with her first book This Monstrous Thing which I absolutely loved, I had to get this one.  Plus the synopsis is AMAZING and I've heard so many wonderful things from people who've read it already.

A Conjuring of Light, by V. E. Schwab: This was the luckiest find ever.  I spotted this one at Barnes and Noble yesterday while tutoring at 50% off with an additional 10% off for members.  So yeah, for $12 I definitely picked this up so now I have the whole trilogy to marathon!

Bigfootloose and Fancy Free, by Randy Henderson: This is an adult Urban Fantasy novel and is a sequel to a novel I read and ABSOLUTELY LOVED.  The pitch to me sounded like urban fantasy Arrested Development.  It's great.  Also, I love humor urban fantasy, and am currently writing a novel in that genre so I'm trying to accumulate more books of this type too help spark the creative juices!

Ice Like Fire, by Sara Raasch: Super excited about this one.  It fills out my Snow Like Ashes trilogy so now I have another High Fantasy trilogy to marathon!

And I Darken, by Kiersten White:  I have read every Kiersten White book but this one and its sequel, so I'll need to pick that one up soon.

Can you tell what my favorite genre is from this haul?  Hmmm?  Cough, High Fantasty, cough.  The boyfriend took one look at my stack and said, "so I take it you're really enjoying Game of Thrones then, right?"  Love that man.  

~ Charlotte

Book Review: The Rose Society

Rating: 5/5

Note to Readers: This review has spoilers for the first book, so if you have not read this series yet, you may do better to read my spoiler free review of book one.  This review is spoiler free for The Rose Society but in order to review the book I do discuss some things from book one. 

This sequel really, really added a lot to the series overall. At the end of the last book, Adelina had inadvertently aided in Enzo's murder and was cast out of The Dagger Society.  She and her sister Violetta are on the run, and end up teaming up with Magiano, a young elite who can imitate the powers of others, and The Rainmaker.  Together they form The Rose Society and vow to capture and rule the throne of Kenettra rather than let Raffaele let Queen Maeve of Beldain - a young elite who can bring back the dead - take it for herself.

This book really developed Adelina's relationships with others including and especially her sister who we only got flashbacks of from the last novel.  Her relationships with others as her use of her powers which rely on fear and fury help to illustrate her descent into madness and villainy, and this book like the last one dealt heavily in the grey area between good and evil.  As readers, we still root for Adelina even though she does horrible things, but her motives and actions can be redeemable as we see inside her mind.  This book was fantastic and thought provoking and incredibly dark- much darker than anything Marie Lu has written thus-far.  The comparisons to Game of Thrones are spot on with the political drama and the fantasy elements.

While this book wasn't quite as fast paced as it's predecessor, I flew through it and absolutely loved every minute of it.  A strong sequel to a strong book.  Absolutely recommend!

~ Charlotte

Friendship Friday #3

 Hi Guys!  I'm starting a new book review blog meme!  I'm so excited to announce Friendship Friday -- a review meme to highlight friendships in books!  I am a huge fan of friendship in books, even though I'm a huge romance nut, and friendship rarely gets as much attention.  Please feel free to participate in Friendship Friday and please link to my blog so I can come see your Friendship Friday post!

Rose and Lissa are one of my all time favorite Ladymances.  Rose cares so much about Lissa, and devotes her life to her protection.  Not only are they working together, as Lissa is a Vampire Princess and Rose is her protector, but they are also long time best friends.  I absolutely love these two and they are one of my absolute favorite friendships in all of YA literature.  

Book Review: The Young Elites

Rating: 5/5

This book was a whirlwind!  The Young Elites takes place in a 14th century Italianesque setting where a plague called the blood fever has ravaged the population.  The survivors of the blood fever are left with markings, such as different colored hair, splotched skin, or strange eyes and are called Malfettos.  However, some of these Malfettos were marked with more than just physical traits and were gifted with powers.  These special Malfettos are called The Young Elites, as they are all young in age and elite in power.  This novel follows Adelina, a 16 year old girl who murdered her abusive father with her powers of murderous, demonic illusions.  She is then taken in and saved by a group of these Young Elites, and learns to control and harness her powers.

This novel was fantastic.  It was such a great high fantasy novel with such a unique premise and interesting characters.  The Young Elites is like no YA book I've ever read, and Adelina is like no heroine I have ever seen.  For one, "heroine," isn't exactly the term I would apply to this character.  Marie Lu is masterful in the way she has crafted Adelina in that the reader finds themselves rooting for her despite the bad, sometimes murderous things she does.

This novel is all about the grey area between good and evil, and there is no stark evil character.  The characters and groups you think are the good ones turn out to be a little more multi-faceted than that, and same with the "villains."  What Marie Lu has done with this concept is pure genius in my mind, and her writing style is so cinematic and sucks the reader in.  I couldn't put this book down, and absolutely loved every part of it.  For sure one of my favorite fantasy novels I've read recently, if not ever.  This novel was masterful and delicious and I highly recommend it!

~ Charlotte

Waiting on Wednesday #2

"Waiting On"Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases.

This week I'm spotlighting one of my absolute most anticipated reads which is Lucky in Love by Kasie West!

Isn't that cover adorable!  I can't wait to read this one, which will be out in July!  

From Goodreads: In this new contemporary from YA star Kasie West, a girl who wins the lottery learns that money can cause more problems than it solves, especially when love comes into the picture. 

Maddie doesn't believe in luck. She's all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment --

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie's life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she's talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun... until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn't sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn't seem aware of Maddie's big news. And, for some reason, she doesn't want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

With tons of humor and heart, Kasie West delivers a million-dollar tale of winning, losing, and falling in love

If that description made you as excited as it made me, then follow one of the links below to preorder this adorable novel!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

~ Charlotte

Top 5 Wednesday: Hate To Love Romances

 It's Top 5 Wednesday!  This Week's topic is Top 5 Hate to Love Romances -- ships that you love but feel like you shouldn't.

So let's just get right into it!

#5: Aelin and Rowan

Loving these two against my will has definitely happened.  I had been so Team Chaol before, but by the end of Heir and Fire I had completely changed my mind.  Rowan and Aelin are the cutest in the entire world.  I absolutely loved them by the end of the third book and after book four I was completely enamored. 

#4: Tessa and Jem

It's really Tessa and Jem AND Tessa and Will, I'm sorry that I absolutely love both of these ships, and I really wanted Tessa and Will to be just my OTP, but I started to love Tessa and Jem as well by the second book.  By the end I loved both ships so much I couldn't choose at all.  So even though I want Will and Tessa to be the OTP, I love Tessa and Jem as well.

#3: Alina and Mal

It's more a everyone hates me for loving them ship because everyone tends to choose Alina and The Darkling instead.  But I really loved Alina and Mal.  They're fantastic and so, so cute.  Especially in the third book.  I shipped them throughout the series and the ending made me super happy.

#2: Reena and Sawyer

These two made me kind of hate loving them because they had such a complex relationship.  There were definitely times when I wanted Reena to be with someone who would have been probably better for her in the long run, but by the end I realized that Sawyer was absolutely perfect for her and her baby and I ship the two of them so hard.

#1: Feyre and Rhysand

I wanted to be Team Tamlin.  All through book one and the times after, I was fully Team Tamlin no matter what everyone said about how hot and beautiful Rhysand was.  But it took about fifty pages of ACOMAF and I was completely in love with Rhys and wanted Feyre and Rhys to be together forever.  They are my ultimate favorite ship that I hate to love because I was so hardcore Feyre and Tamlin and feel almost bad about loving this pairing so much, but they're obviously so great for each other and definitely won me over.

Hope you enjoyed this week's Top 5 Wednesday!  Please comment below your top "Hate to Love Romances" -- I'd love to see your picks!

~ Charlotte

New Release Tuesday 6-27-17

Welcome to New Release Tuesday, where I highlight a new book each week released TODAY!

Today, the new release I'm featuring is The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee.

From Goodreads: An unforgettable tale of two friends on their Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe who stumble upon a magical artifact that leads them from Paris to Venice in a dangerous manhunt, fighting pirates, highwaymen, and their feelings for each other along the way.

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Witty, romantic, and intriguing at every turn, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is a sumptuous romp that explores the undeniably fine lines between friendship and love.

So Excited for this book!  Comment below to share your most anticipated release of today!

Book Review: Winter

Rating: 4.5/5

Note to Readers: This review has spoilers for the first book, so if you have not read this series yet, you may do better to read the series before coming back for this review.  This review is spoiler free for Winter but in order to review the book I do discuss some things from the previous books.

Holy cow this book was great!  This book is a retelling of Snow White and a conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles series.  It follows our crew Cinder, Kai, Iko, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, and Thorne, with the addition of Winter and Jacin.  Winter and Jacin's story, a retelling of Snow White, is entwined with Cinder reclaiming her throne on Luna as she is the true heir to the throne as the Lost Princess Selene.  

Marissa Meyer managed to juggle nine different perspectives -- sometimes more since Levana was given a chapter or two -- and made it a cohesive book.  I loved this book and thought it wrapped the series up wonderfully.  I thought if anything it was just a bit wordy -- over 800 pages, but there was so much content and story that it made up for it.

The ending of the book was my favorite part, and since this review is spoiler free I can't mention it other than to say that it wrapped the series up in the most perfect way.  This was absolutely a fantastic book and a great conclusion to one of my favorite series.  

~ Charlotte

Music Monday #1

It's Music Monday!  Music Monday is a meme I made up for pairing my love of classical music with my love of YA books.  Feel free to participate and link my blog in your posts so I can come see what you've chosen!

This week, I'm pairing one of my favorite books with a gorgeous piece (that is also the audition excerpt that haunts my nightmares!).

A Court of Thorns and Roses and Mendelssohn's Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream

I'm picking this partly because of the Fey association, but also because the haunting undertones of this piece underneath a playful exterior remind me of the Court of Prythian, specifically the Spring Court.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book and piece in the comments below!

~ Charlotte

Mini Book Haul!

Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to share some books I picked up today at Barnes and Noble!  This was super unexpected and I ended up buying FOUR new books I'm super excited about!

Aren't they pretty????  I'm so excited about all of them!

A novel about a blogger?  I've been wanting a contemporary and love SwoonReads published books because I think that platform is fantastic so I couldn't leave it behind!

I've heard nothing but good things about Elise Kova and was so excited to find this on the shelves!  I snatched it up immediately because high fantasy steampunk with dragons.  Um, yes.  Even my boyfriend got super excited when I brought this one home and asked to read it after me!

Since my major in college is actually Viola Performance, the idea of a fantasy novel with music elements excited me to a giddy level of craziness.  This book looks fantastic and I can't wait to read it!  Plus, blurbed by Marie Lu, which means it had to be good since Marie Lu is incredible :)

Finally, a Graphic Novel!  I am currently reading Winter by Marissa Meyer and am super excited to get another glimpse into this wonderful sci-fi universe she created through Iko's perspective!  Plus a little birdie told me the sequel to this book is coming out soon so I wanted to get it in preparation for the release of volume two!

Those are the books I picked up today!  Hope you decide to look into these as well!  If you've read or enjoyed these books, please comment below as I would love to hear your thoughts :)

~ Charlotte

Friendship Friday #2

 Hi Guys!  I'm starting a new book review blog meme!  I'm so excited to announce Friendship Friday -- a review meme to highlight friendships in books!  I am a huge fan of friendship in books, even though I'm a huge romance nut, and friendship rarely gets as much attention.  Please feel free to participate in Friendship Friday and please link to my blog so I can come see your Friendship Friday post!

This week, I'd like to highlight the friendship between Cinder and Iko.  These two have been together since the first book and have progressed and become even better and stronger together.  They're absolutely one of my favorite Ladymances of all time.  These two fight alongside each other, work alongside each other, and laugh alongside each other.  I absolutely love this friendship between these fabulous robot and cyborg ladies and can't wait to finish Winter and review it soon!

~ Charlotte

Waiting On Wednesday #1

"Waiting On"Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases.

This week I'm spotlighting one of my absolute most anticipated reads which is Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner!

Just look at this cover!  Yowza it's so cool!

From Goodreads: When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...

If this sounds as awesome to you as it did to me, preorder from one of the links below!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite "Unlikeable" Protagonists

Hi Guys!  It's Top 5 Wednesday again and this week's topic is Favorite "Unlikeable" Protagonists.  I'm taking this to mean the protagonists that readers tend to think are "whiny" or "weak" in reviews but that I really enjoyed and thought were great characters.  So without further adieu, let's get into it!

#5: Chaol Westfall

As much as a lot of people hate on Chaol, I still have a soft spot for him and he's kind of my squishy little cinnamon roll.

#4: Grace Brisbane

This whole series gets a lot of slack, but I loved it so much.  Grace and Sam were both readers and I thought this book was similar to Twilight, but done in a way that actually was affective for me.  It's one of my favorite paranormal romance trilogies of all time and I love Grace as a character as well as Maggie's writing in general.

#3: Princess Eadlyn

A lot of people have been bothered by Kiera Cass' female characters, and while no they aren't the strongest of women, I still think they hold their own pretty well and for what the series is, they make it really fun.  I really enjoyed Princess Eadlyn's perspective and rooted for her as a character.

#2 Alina Starkov

Now this character in my mind is incredibly badass and strong, yet I have heard her bashed quite a bit.  I love her however and think she's fantastic.  

#5: America Singer

As with her daughter Eadlyn, this is a controversial choice of character to enjoy, but I honestly really liked America for this series.  She gave a great lens into the scope of what Kiera Cass was writing and fit perfectly into this world and story.  

So those are my Top 5 Wednesday picks for this week!  Comment below with your Top 5 favorite "unlikable" protagonists -- I'd love to see your picks!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Swear on This Life

Rating: 3.5/5

I didn't know much about this book going in other than it was loved by Colleen Hoover, and since I love Colleen Hoover I decided to give it a try.  The premise was awesome -- a girl reads a book and realizes it was written by her childhood crush she's lost touch with and is about their story.  She's hurt and feels like it was an affront for him to take her story, especially since it's a very emotional and hard one for her to deal with.

For me, I thought this book was really good, but I honestly was hoping for something a little different when I went into it.  It dealt with much heavier topics than I thought it would, and I honestly think the book would have been a little stronger if it hadn't tried to conquer so many emotional and hard hitting topics.

However, I read this book in a day, starting it before a college class, then -- unable to put it down -- read and finished it during my college class.  This book is incredibly addicting and Renee Carlino is a fantastic author with a really great writing style that sucks you in.  It's much more character driven than plot driven, but there's still such a compelling story that -- as I found -- this book is incredibly difficult to not put down.  For that, this book earned that extra half star as I was super impressed with the fact that I just was completely unable to stop reading this book until I found out what happened.  Also it made me cry (which isn't hard, but still is a cool thing for a book to do) and had a really good story.

~ Charlotte

Book Review: By Your Side

Rating: 4/5

This book was super adorable.  It is about a girl named Autumn who gets trapped in a library for a long weekend with the schools resident bad boy.  She barely knows him, and has feelings for another guy from school she's known for years, but that starts to change after this weekend.  This book was absolutely adorable and was a wonderful light and fluffy contemporary.

I loved Autumn's character.  She was very well developed an multi-dimensional. The thing I was especially impressed with was Kasie West's portrayal of Autumn's anxiety disorder and how it came into play with stressful situations such as being stuck in a library, as well as social situations like normal, everyday friend drama.

Kasie West is one of my go-to authors for fluffy adorable contemporaries.  This perfectly fit my fluff craving that I always seem to get after reading long fantasy series.  I read this book in less than two days in basically an evening and a morning, so it went by very quickly and I could barely put it down.  It was super cute and addicting, just like Kasie's other books.  If you're a fan of the cute, feel good, John Hughes movie-esque, contemporary books, this is the book for you!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin

Rating: 5/5

Note to Readers: This review has spoilers for the first and second books, so if you have not read this series yet, you may do better to read my spoiler free review of book one or my spoiler free review of book two.  This review is spoiler free for A Court of Wings and Ruin but in order to review the book I do discuss some things from book one and book two. 

This novel was the best in the series and one of the best conclusions I have ever read!  Not only did it tie up all the loose ends for this trilogy within the series and world of Prythian, but it left a lot of openings for sequels and future series based on this world which made me super excited to see what Sarah J Maas does in this world next!

The novel begins where book two left off.  Feyre is posing as a spy to infiltrate the Spring Court in Tamlin's lands.  She is gathering information while pretending that Rhysand manipulated her, but really just is trying to turn Tamlin's court against itself and break it from the inside as in book two it was revealed that Tamlin had been working with Hybern in order to get Feyre back.  

This book had some of the best battle intrigue and scenes I've ever read.  I'm not usually a fan of reading about rebellions or wars, and maybe it's just that I've really gotten into Game of Thrones recently, but this battle was fabulous for me.  I absolutely loved every part of it.  

We met so many amazing new characters, found out so much more about Elain and Nesta's newfound powers as they were turned to High Fey from The Cauldron at the end of book two, and grew to love old characters even more.  Probably my favorite and most refreshing part of this book, was that Feyre and Rhysand's love for each other and their bond stayed strong throughout.  There was never any waver in their love for each other and there was none of the "end of act two drama break-up then get back together" bit that so often is added into books to add tension.  But there was so much tension from the story itself that the unbreakable bond and love between our two main characters was a huge relief and comfort to me during this novel.

I absolutely loved this book, despite the fact that I've heard that some people still prefer book two (as book two was incredible!) I still think that each book in this series has gotten better and stronger, and this is definitely my favorite of the series!  Also, it is for sure one of my favorite conclusions to a trilogy or series ever.  It was masterfully written and plotted, and if you're reading this by some chance Sarah J Maas, I need a Vassa spin off book okay thanks so much.

~ Charlotte

Book Recommendations: Best Books to Read With Tea

For me, the best books for tea are steampunk novels, so here are some of my absolute favorite steampunk novels!  I'm suggesting tea flavor pairings for each book as well!

This novel by Andrea Cremer is so fun and cute, with lots of action and adventure as well.  I highly recommend it!  It's a fantastic read.

Tea Pairing: Raspberry Herbal 

This fantastic book takes the idea of finishing school for young ladies to a whole new, literal, punny level.  I absolutely adored this book about a flying assassin school for girls.

Tea Pairing: Earl Grey 

Susan Dennard is such an enchanting writer.  This zombie/steampunk trilogy by her is not only getting fabulous new covers, but is also a fantastic series!  Highly recommend it!

Tea Pairing: Chai or Rooibos

The Night Circus is a classic for steampunk.  A several perspective novel about a traveling magical circus, this novel is enchanting and inspiring and magical all at once.

Tea Pairing: English Breakfast 

Can't go wrong with Cassie Clare!  Everything this woman writes is well plotted, well written, and keeps me turning the pages.  This foray into the steampunk genre is one of my favorites in the entire steampunk canon and I highly recommend it!

Tea Pairing: Peppermint or Green

This is a hidden gem, and I absolutely love this book about two girls who solve mysteries and hunt vampires together in a steampunk world.  I picked it up on a whim from BookOutlet and was not disappointed!  

Tea Pairing: Orange Pekoe

Hope you enjoyed this fun Steampunk recommendation post -- I certainly had fun writing it!  

~ Charlotte

Friendship Friday #1

Hi Guys!  I'm starting a new book review blog meme!  I'm so excited to announce Friendship Friday -- a review meme to highlight friendships in books!  I am a huge fan of friendship in books, even though I'm a huge romance nut, and friendship rarely gets as much attention.  Please feel free to participate in Friendship Friday and please link to my blog so I can come see your Friendship Friday post!

This week, we're talking about the friendship between Feyre and her sisters Elain and Nesta.  I think the three of them are so sweet together...well, Nesta can't really be described as *sweet* but you know what I mean!  They care for each other so much, and a lot of their motivations throughout the series is for the good of their family -- the three of them.  Especially the bond between Nesta and Elain, which motivates almost all of Nesta's choices, is one of my favorite sister bonds ever.  Thought these three are sisters and not technically *friends,* there's still so much friendship between the three of them and caring that I'm so proud to share them as my first Friendship Friday pick!  

~ Charlotte

Book Recomendations: Summer Contemporaries

 When the sun comes out, it's the perfect time to start reading those cutesy contemporary novels!  I love light and breezy contemporaries, especially between Fantasy series'.

On the Fence is so, so cute!  I loved this book so much, all of the Kasie West books are also super cute.  I totally recommend this one as well as the other books she's written!  They're so adorable.

This book by Huntley Fitzpatrick is a little heavier in topic than most on this list, but I really loved it and it's super wonderful for summer.  It's set on an island and the main character is super snarky, which for me is a setup for a FABULOUS read.  

I loved this novel, it's basically about what life would be like if you were really best friends with Taylor Swift.  The main character is super adorable and relatable and I absolutely adored it.

Book Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

Rating: 5/5

Note to Readers: This review has spoilers for the first book, so if you have not read this series yet, you may do better to read my spoiler free review of book one.  This review is spoiler free for A Court of Mist and Fury but in order to review the book I do discuss some things from book one.

Holy heck was this a fantastic sequel!  This is one of the best follow ups I have ever read.  Not only did it expand on the world building of the second book, but it introduced new and likable characters and developed the characters of the first book.

This novel picks up where A Court of Thorns and Roses left off.  Feyre is engaged to Tamlin and they are to be married.  But life at The Spring Court is different than it was before Under the Mountain and so is Tamlin.  Feyre feels trapped and like she can't fully be herself.  Despite her deal with Rhysand to spend one week every month with him, he has not made hide nor hair of himself, until the day of the wedding when he senses her doubts about marrying Tamlin through the bond forged by their bargain and interrupts the vows to claim her for their deal.

This novel was a fantastic follow up as I said before.  It was a really fantastic book and I really enjoyed the world building.  The stakes have been raised immensely since book one, and while the first book resolved itself to a sort of conclusion by the end, this one leaves off right in the middle of the action so I'm quite glad to have book three nearby to start.  Book two focuses a lot on the fantasy and world building elements of the story, building into the climax of the trilogy superbly, so there is a lot less romance than there was in the first one (though there is still quite a bit, and yet again there are quite a few mature elements in this installment as were in the first so younger readers and those who aren't a fan of sex scenes, this book is probably not for you), but does so in a way that makes you care a lot more for the characters and invest even more in the romance.  I absolutely adored this book and must get my hands on everything else Sarah writes!  Again, 5/5!

Top 5 Wednesday: Top 5 Side Ships

It's Top 5 Wednesday!  This Week's topic is Top 5 Side Ships -- ships that don't involve the main character of a series.

So let's just get right into it!

#5: 

I can't make this list without including Magnus and Alec -- I'd like to see someone try to make a side-ship list without those two...

#4:

This is sort of cheating since I haven't read the books and have only watched the show, but since the show is based on the book and I DO plan to read it eventually, I am including Daenerys Targaryan and Khal Drogo since they're ADORABLE.

#3:

Baz and Simon!  Those two are so cute and I love their love so much.  Even though it *technically* isn't considered Canon in the actual (fictional) Simon Snow universe.

#2:

Mor and Azriel...I really want them to get together in book 3 since I haven't read it yet but I think they're adorable.  Also Amren and Azriel are worth a mention, but this is coming from a girl who hasn't finished A Court of Wings and Ruin yet so this might change in a few days!

#1:

However could Hermione and Ron not be on this list?  They are obviously my favorite ship, even though they may count as main characters and not side characters, I don't even care because they're my favorite and I'm not making this list without them.

Alright!  So that was this week's Top 5 Wednesday!  Do we share a favorite ship?List your Top 5 Side Ships in the comments below!  

~ Charlotte