Top Ten Tuesday: Ten of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Last week I planned on participating as well, but the news of the attacks in Brussels made it feel too trivial to me and therefore difficult to concentrate on. I just wanted to follow the news instead of writing blog posts. Everyone I know is fine, but news like that still affects you in some way.

But now I'm back! This week's topic is ten of my most recent 5 star reads, and I'm really excited about this one! I've rated a few instalments of the same series five stars, but I'll only mention one book in of every series. So, without further ado, here is my top 10:

1. Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

2. The Book of Ivy and The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

3. The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski 

4. Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

5. Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard

6. Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers

The next four books on this list, I actually read in December 2015:

7. Radiance (Wraith Kings, #1) by Grace Draven

I'm not sure if I now would rate this book 5 stars but when I read I just couldn't put it down!

8. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Loved this one!

9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

My first Dickens! And I loved it! I definitely recommend A Christmas Carol as an introduction to Dickens!

10. Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, #2) by Ilona Andrews

Last year I fell in love with Ilona Andrews! I love the Kate Daniels series and the Innkeeper Chronicles, I haven't read any of their other series, but someday I will!


Which books did you rate 5 stars recently? Have you read any of the books mentioned? Let me know down below!

Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. 
Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

I must admit that Rebel of the Sands was mostly a cover buy. I saw it in a store in the beginning of February at a reasonable price and I decided to get it! I just couldn't resist that shiny, gorgeous cover! I didn't have high expectations of this book, but in the end I did enjoy it.

The book started out slow for me. I couldn't connect with any of the characters at all, and Rebel of the Sands could barely keep my interest throughout the first half of the books. I did, however, really like the setting. I haven't read many books that are set in the desert, so that was a nice change from other young adult novels.

I almost put this book down and marked it as a dnf, which is something I prefer not to do, even if I'm struggling to read a book, I always try to finish it. I'm glad I did continue on with this one, though, because the second half redeemed this book for me! I started to like the characters more and the reader is introduced to a lot of interesting secondary characters! Which is always a huge deal for me, secondary characters can make or break a book for me. In this case, it definitely made it better for. The pacing and writing style also improved and I started to enjoy the book after all!

In the end we do get some plot twists that I didn't see coming and it made the book so much more interesting! Another thing that needs to be mentioned is the fact that the cover is absolutely stunning! And so shiny! All things considered, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. And I'm most likely going to pick up the next book in the series!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Movie Review

First of all, I have to mention that I'm a huge fan of the original Pride and Prejudice novel by Jane Austen. I previously read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and really disliked it. However, watching the trailer of the movie adaptation got me interested in the film in the end. Unfortunately, I shouldn't have wasted my time after all, because the movie was horrible as well.

One of the first things that bothered me was the fact that the movie draws heavily on the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation by Joe Wright, at times, especially in how some scenes were shot. For example, Mr Collins' proposal to Lizzie is filmed almost exactly the same, as is Elizabeth's argument with both parents afterwards and some shots of the ball at Netherfield are too alike to the 2005 adaptation as well. Which is disappointing to say the least, you would expect a new adaptation to differ from the previous ones, you want them to add something new. Of course, the zombies are new, but even if you consider this as a zombie movie alone, it is also severely lacking. After The Walking Dead, zombie movies don't have an excuse to be so bad. Just look at Shaun of the Dead, this movie is excellent, even with a limited budget!

In addition, this film also didn't mind copying the lake scene from the BBC series with Colin Firth, which is of course not in the novel. I don't appreciate adaptations copying this scene, especially because it wasn't in the book. To me, it doesn't add anything of value to an adaptation.

Then there are the characters, I didn't like this portrayal of Mr. Darcy at all. From the moment the audience is introduced to him, I couldn't help laughing at how ridiculous it was. For one, the actor looks too young to play Mr. Darcy and to be honest, his voice made me sputter in laughter, and not in a good way. It was ridiculous. Mr. Wickham suddenly started to show up everywhere, which was probably what annoyed me the most! He shouldn't be at the Netherfield ball, nor at Rosings. At all! 
The only character I suddenly liked more than I ever had before, was surprisingly Mr. Collins. Math Smith does an amazing job! It's by far the most entertaining portrayal of Mr. Collins I've ever seen!

Another thing I found quite strange is the fact that Elizabeth and Darcy's dance at Netherfield wasn't shown at all! It's one of my favourite scenes in every adaptation and the fact that it didn't even make it into this movie shows that the selection of original scenes could have been so much better.

Furthermore, the original Pride and Prejudice lines delivered in this movie felt too rehearsed and not believable at all ,it's like the actors didn't understand what they were saying. The exception being Mr. Collins once more.

This movie is in one word ridiculous (and not in a good way) and I advise you to stay as far away from it as possible!

Stacking the Shelves: March Book Haul Part 1

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Each week bloggers write about the books they got during the week. This week I purchased three books and borrowed four from my friend. Without further ado, here are the books I got this week:

1. The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski 

I'm currently reading this one, but I'm feeling slumpy so I might put this one aside for a little while.

3. The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski 

3. Stars Above (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

I've already read this one and loved it! Review to come!

These are the books I borrowed this week:

4. Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2) by Laini Taylor

I read the first book in the series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, last year and I really liked it! However, since then I haven't felt the urge to pick up the other books in the series. But since I'm borrowing these from my friend, I will read them soon! I'm excited to see how things will turn out!

5. Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor

6. The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken 

7. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire

These are the books I got this week! Which ones did you get? Did you read any of the books mentioned above? Let me know down below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books On My Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten books you want to read in Spring! I'm currently reading The Winner's Curse and I'm actually hoping to finish the trilogy before Spring, but if I don't those will be the first books I will be reading. This tbr wasn't hard to compile but I'm not sure if I will get to all these books (probably not, but I live in hope).

1. The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1) by Alison Goodman 

2. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson 

Oh, man! I LOVE this cover! It makes me smile every time I look at it!

3. Assassin's Quest (Farseer Trilogy #3) by Robin Hobb 

4. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

I'm borrowing this from my friend, and I actually can't believe I haven't got to this one yet! Hoping to rectify that soon!

5. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

After reading Illuminae, I've been wanting to check out more science fiction and this adult novel looks so interesting plus I haven't heard a single bad thing about it!

6. Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood

I've been in the mood lately to read something about witches and I hope this one will be good! If you have more recommendations about witch books please let me know!

7. Chew, Vol. 5: Major League by John Layman, Rob Guillory (Artist)

I really need to read the rest of the series because I'm already starting to forget what happened previously, so I might have to reread everything first!

8. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

This one was a Christmas present from my dad, Peter, and I can't wait to read this one!

9. Mort (Discworld #4) by Terry Pratchett

This would be my first Terry Pratchett book and I'm really excited to read it!

10. Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2) by Laini Taylor

I'm borrowing this book and the rest of the series from my friend, so I better not wait too long to read this one! Plus this counts towards my goal of finishing series!

Which books are on your Spring tbr? Have you read any of the books mentioned above? Let me know down below!

Ten Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten characters everyone loves but I dislike or just don't get. This was a difficult topic but I managed to find a few.

1. Clary - The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

2. Jace - The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

3. Greg Gaines - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

I liked the humour in this book but I didn't like Greg at all, he was so unfeeling and I really couldn't relate to that.

4. Devi Morris - Fortune's Pawn (Paradox #1) by Rachel Bach

Most of the characters in this book, really. I struggled to get through this book, but the ending made me purchase the second book anyway, so maybe things will get better.

5. Alexia Tarabotti - Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger

I regret buying this series, I still have the last to book to read, but I'm not sure if I ever will. If I didn't own them I already, I wouldn't bother with it.

6. Lincoln O'Neill - Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I liked Beth but I didn't think Lincoln was a very believable character.

7. Alex - Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver 

I didn't like him from the start. No, just no.

8. Theodore Finch and Violet Markey - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

This might be shocking, but I didn't like the book all that much and because of that I didn't like the characters all that much either.


Which characters do you just don't get while others love them? Let me know down below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books To Read If You Are In The Mood For Antagonistic Love Stories

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Ten Books To Read If You Are In The Mood For X. I chose books which feature a romantic relationship in which the characters start out as antagonists. These are my favourite kind of romances, I excluded Beauty and the Beast and all of its retellings because those would be  a list on their own. Enjoy!

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

3. Starflight by Melissa Landers

4. The Duff by Kody Keplinger

5. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

6. The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason

7. The Vampire Dimitri by Colleen Gleason

8. The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews

9. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

10. Radiance by Grace Draven

11. The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

12. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

13. De Guillotine by Simone van der Vlugt

14. Fox and O'Hare Series by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Have you read any of these books mentioned? Do you know other antagonistic romances? Let me know down below!