Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Funniest Characters

Top 5 Tuesday is something created by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm. Her blog is amazing and you can find the link to the September Top 5 Tuesday topics here. This is actually really hard. I’m trying to find characters that aren’t cliche and/or comic relief. These are the characters that have always made me laugh and smile with their witty (or not) dialogue. Hopefully, you find them as funny as me.

Dorian Havilliard

This picture was drawn by the wonderful and talented taratjah. The link to her blog, where she posts more amazing artwork like this, is here. Dorian amuses me so much. I never expect him to have a sassy side, so when he does, it always surprises me and makes me snicker.

Rhysand

This work of art was also drawn by taratjah, whom I have a link to above. Rhysand has sass that is always on point and he knows when to be funny and when to tone it down.

AIDAN

AIDAN just makes me chuckle (when he’s not killing people “for the good of the fleet”, that is). I love how he pretends to not know what humor is and then make terrible jokes at Kady. And sometimes he says the funniest stuff. I got this quote off of From Parchment To Books.

Nikolai Lantsov

NIkolai has always made me smile at his antics. I enjoy reading about him and his relationship with his Triumvirate (I hope I’m spelling that right). His sense of humor always brings to my face. This beautiful portrait was made by Melanie @ meliesscribbles.

Cardan Greenbriar

This artwork was made by the exceptionally talented Salome @morgana0anagrom. Cardan is such a unique person and the stuff that he does makes me smile. I hope everything turns out alright for him in the next book.

XOXO

Annalee

What are your favorite funny characters? Have you read any of these books? Tell me in the comments below!

The Girl Of Fire And Thorns, by Rae Carson

Title: The Girl Of Fire And Thorns

Author: Rae Carson

Page Number: 423

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Format: Paperback

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads Rating: 3.8 (out of 71,445 people)

Synopsis

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king-a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Fierce enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring determined revolutionary thinks she could she could save his people. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. It is very empowering and I like how it has lots of women with different body types. That is not something that I normally see in books, fantasy especially. The plot was also not something that I normally see.

I loved Elisa a lot. She is one of my favorite protagonists of the year. I loved her determination and incentive to get things done. I also liked how she asked for help when she knew that she was out of her depth. She also took control when needed and spearheaded quite a few things (that I don’t want to spoil). Elisa has changed a lot over the book and it made me really happy. I was invested in her character and I loved watching her change and become who I knew she was meant to be.

The plot was interesting. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I just haven’t read a plot like that. It was very fast-paced and action-packed. Relationships were pretty important to the plot, because I was constantly wondering who to trust. There was a lot of political scheming, which I enjoyed because I always like there to be planning of some kind before everyone dives into action and we saw that a lot.

The writing was really good. Especially for a debut novel. Her style isn’t distinctive, but I think that it will develop when I read her next books. Rae did a good job describing the setting, but sometimes it felt a little bit lacking. I think that this will improve in the next book, but I can cope if it doesn’t.

The romance was confusing. It was a sort-of love triangle. Like, Elisa was sort of attracted to someone, and then another guy came along and she forgot about Guy 1 for a while. It was weird. I was happy (-ish) with the ending and the way that it dealt with all the romance. I still wish that there wasn’t a love triangle and all but at least it was dealt with (MAJOR SPOILER: by killing off the 2 guys END OF SPOILER).

I really enjoyed this book, despite some issues, and I highly recommend it. I got the summary off of the back cover. Thanks for Reading!!! Have a Great Day!!!

XOXO

Annalee

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Covers of 2019

I published my first Top 5 Tuesday and nothing terrible happened! Yay! So now I am back with another one. You can find the link to all of the September topics here if you want to do it yourself. This one is pretty hard for me, because I don’t pay attention to covers very much. Which means that I will be scouring my bookshelf for likable covers.

Aurora Rising, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The cover of Aurora Rising really calls to me. I really love all of the constellations at the top of the cover and the drawing of Aurora. I hope that the next cover is just as good.

The Modern Faerie Tales, by Holly Black

Even though these stories weren’t my favorite, the cover is stunning. I love the butterfly over the dagger and all of the colors a lot.

We Rule The Night, by Claire Eliza Bartlett

The phoenix and the fire in the background immediately caught my eye and held it. I love how all of the flames and feathers are so distinctive.

Rebel, by Marie Lu

Technically, this book hasn’t come out, but this cover is too beautiful. I mean, the butterfly and all of the colors coming out of it? I sincerely hope that the inside is better than the outside.

We Hunt The Flame, by Hafsah Faizal

The cover for this book is so pretty! I love the gold with the purple background. I can’t wait to read this book!

Have a Great Day!!! Thanks for Reading!!!

XOXO

Annalee

What are some of your favorite covers of 2019? Let me know in the comments!

The Midnight Star, by Maire Lu

Title: The Midnight Star

Author: Marie Lu

Page Number: 316

Release Date: October 11, 2016

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Books For Young Readers

Format: E-Book

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads Rating: 4.13 (out of 26, 891 ratings)

Synopsis

There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen.

Adelina Amouteru is done suffering. She’s turned her back on those who have betrayed her and achieved the ultimate revenge: victory. Her reign as the White Wolf has been a triumphant one, but with each conquest her cruelty only grows. The darkness within her has begun to spiral out of control, threatening to destroy all she’s gained.

When a new danger appears, Adelina’s forced to revisit old wounds, putting not only herself at risk, but every Elite. In order to preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

Review

This book was my favorite book in the Young Elites trilogy. I had my expectations lowered a bit after reading The Rose Society, but they didn’t need to be.

When I read The Young Elites series, I could see Marie’s writing style grow. She found her groove during this series. More in the last book or two than the first one, but she found it. Marie’s writing transported me to her world and what a ride it was. She described a world that was having its tables turned by ambitious new rulers and magical imbalances. This world was vastly different from the one in previous books, but that was okay. It interested me and all of the changes that happened to it kept me hooked me on the story.

The characters also changed a lot during this book. Some of those changes were bad, but I think that most of them were for the better. All of these characters grew closer to me as the story went on, and I wanted the best for all of them. Sadly, that didn’t happen most of the time. Some of the characters died, and some lived, at great cost. I wish I could have helped them through some of their problems. I enjoyed watching all of the characters grow individually, and as a team, and I wish I could get more with them.

I think that the plot from this book was the most interesting plot of the whole series. I loved the way that the gods were involved. It is not a trope that I normally see. I wish that we had gotten to see more of Adelina ruling her kingdom and working with her Roses before the inciting action happened. I was kept in my toes throughout the book and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I loved the ending a lot and the way that it tied everything together. I don’t think that the series could have ended any better.

Thankfully, there was not a lot of romance in this book. I feel like it would have dragged away from the original plot and ruined the vibe of the book. There was a lot of friendship and teamwork in this book, though.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend the whole series. I got the summary from Goodreads. Have a nice day!!!!

xoxo

Annalee

Top 5 Series That I Need To Finish

Okay, so this is my first Top 5 Tuesday. I hope it goes well and I don’t accidentally blow something up. Thank you to Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm for creating this and for all of the lovely topics. And now, for my top 5 series that I need to finish.

Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

I loved the first book in this series, which came out last June, and have been anxiously awaiting the second one. It’s release date is December 3rd, but I don’t trust it. Children of Virtue and Vengeance was supposed to come sometime this summer, but it has kept getting pushed back! I can’t wait for more from Zelie, Inan (hopefully), and the rest of the gang.

Three Dark Crowns, by Kendare Blake

If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know that I really love this series. All of the queens are so amazing and I am so happy about who got the crown and all of the events that happened afterword. I think that Five Dark Fates comes out today (but I’m not 100% certain), so I will try to get my hands on that and read it as soon as possible.

Aurora Rising, by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

The first book in this series came out over the summer and I loved it a lot. All of the characters captivated me and I wanted more with them. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book and I can’t wait for the sequel.

The Nevernight Chronicles, by Jay Kristoff

I read Nevernight a while ago and I keep forgetting about it whenever I go to the bookstore or the library. I want to know more about Mia and Mr. Kindly. And whether my theory about Mr. Kindly as the narrator is right. Hopefully, I’ll remember this wonderful series the next time I have access to it.

Renegades, by Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite authors and I have enjoyed all of her books so far. Supernova comes out in November and I will, hopefully, be getting it then. After Archenemies, I need to see what happens with Nova and Adrian!

What are some series that you haven’t finished? Do you need to read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Books I’ve Read Over The Summer

Hello lovelies! How has your summer been? Are you excited for school (if you still go)? I am! I read quite a few books over my summer break and I can’t wait to share them with you! I can’t wait to get back to blogging on a regular schedule and making awesome new content!

This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson

This book talked about all things gay. I read it during June, for Pride month, and I was really happy with it. I loved how it tried to be inclusive and explain many things to teens of the LGBTQ+ community. That being said, there are parts of this book that are not PG. There is an entire chapter on sex. It there is a big, bold warning, but if you are not comfortable with that, then there is your warning from me. Juno was very funny and relatable. I loved this book so much and I wish that there was a sequel for it.

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

This book was one of the most fast-paced fantasy books I have read. I really enjoyed it, but it caught me by surprise. Agnieszka was a relatable main character and I enjoyed how she developed throughout the book. She and the Dragon (the lord of the local area) have to use magic to fight the Wood, which is trying to corrupt everything and take over. There’s magic lessons, political intrigue, and a confusing romantic sub-plot. I would recommend this book for people who read and enjoy fantasy on a regular basis.

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik

Of course, once I realized that Naomi had published more than one book, I had to read her next one. I loved this book even more than Uprooted. We had 3 main characters, Miryem, Wanda, and Irina. All of them were feminists and powerful in their own way. They worked together to defeat a common evil and I loved their chemistry. Spinning Silver was just as fast paced as Uprooted, and I have just accepted that as her writing style by now. The world was splendidly well built and I can’t wait to read her next novel.

Aurora Rising, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I grabbed this book while I was in Wisconsin after it came out, and I am so glad that I did. I really liked how this book based itself on friendship and found family. There was definitely romance in it, it just wasn’t front and center. I loved all of the space action and sort-of magic. I loved all of the characters and wish that they didn’t have to go through what they did. The plot was original and I loved that a lot. I can’t wait for the sequel to come out so that I can learn what happens to these guys.

Tithe, by Holly Black

I got The Modern Faerie Tales containing Holly’s whole Faerie series. Don’t hate me if I say that I definitely prefer The Folk of the Air series. The romance in this just felt creepy and off. I liked Kaye, Roiben, and the rest of the characters a lot. They were very complex and individual. I have not read a plot like the one in Tithe in a while, so it was pretty nice, except for a couple of scenes. I really liked the magic aspect of this book and how I could discover everything with Kaye. Even though I didn’t agree with some of the things in this book, I still enjoyed it (for the most part).

Valiant, by Holly Black

Valiant sort of takes place after Tithe, so I would recommend reading that first. Lucky for you, this mini-review will not be spoliery. We are introduced to a new cast of characters (but we see our old friends once or twice), who have their own issues and problems to deal with. I liked this book a lot better because the romance aspect of the book seemed a lot less problematic to me. This book took place in NYC, so all of the Fae there weren’t doing very well due to the iron. That interested me a lot and I was glad that it was part of a side plot. Valiant was a lot better than Tithe, at least to m

Ironside, by Holly Black

This book was okay. I liked that we got a really good culmination to the story that tied everything together really well. Kaye and Robien worked on their relationship, sort of, but I still don’t completely ship them. We saw Luis a lot in this book, which was pretty nice, but we didn’t see as much of all of the other characters in Valiant. I loved the magical/bargain aspect of these stories. I really liked how real all of the characters seemed so real. The plot was pretty interesting, but I’m not get into it because I don’t want to spoil anything. I would put this book right between Valiant and Tithe, rating wise.

I enjoyed most of the books that I read this summer. Because I read the The Modern Faerie Tales, I got a bonus short story called The Tale of Lutie-Loo. If you want to hear about that, don’t hesitate to tell me in the comments and I will work on it. Thanks for Reading!!! Have a Great Day!!!!

XOXO

Annalee

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? How was your summer? Tell me in the comments!

Haitus

Yeah. Another one. Summer is really hectic for me, so I probably won’t be posting a lot (if at all) from now until late August-early September. I might still be around, but it will be sketchy. I hope all of you have a great summer!!!

XOXO

Annalee

The Unexpected Everything, by Morgan Matson

Andie had it all planned out. When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing – if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected. And where’s the fun in that?

I really really enjoyed The Unexpected Everything. It was the summer read. I would describe it as a romantic comedy that a lot of people can relate to.

The writing style was lighthearted and fun. I really enjoyed that because it had the air of anything-can-happen. Not many of the books I have recently read have that quality. The setting was described very well and I enjoyed learning about And it’s environment. The way that the setting was portrayed seemed accurate and relatable. The setting could have been described a bit more, but it was okay. All in all, the writing style helped with the mood and the setting and I enjoyed reading them.

Andie: Andie was a good main character for this story. But she was pretty bland and cliche. I liked how she interacted with her friends and family, and her interest in animals. Andie was also very relatable. I enjoyed her well enough, but thought that she could have been more interesting.

Clark: Clark was also pretty generic, but he has one thing going for him. Clark was a 19 year old novelist. It really helped my self-esteem. Otherwise, he was a pretty boring love interest. If the author has put a little more thought and effort into him, I would have really liked him.

On The Come Up, by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip-hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But it’s hard to get your come up when you are labeled a hoodlum at school and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself in the middle of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri just doesn’t want to make it – she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Insightful, unflinching and full of heart, On The Come Up is an ode to hip-hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you, and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn’t always free.

I absolutely loved this book. I wish I had picked it up sooner, but there wasn’t time. The plot was phenomenal and the characters were so unique and talented. I loved the writing and wish that I could write like Angie could. Maybe one day I will.

I really liked the tone of Angie’s writing. It fit the story really well and it added a layer of vitality to the story that would probably not have been there otherwise. Angie described the setting very well and I could picture it down to how the school looked. Angie doesn’t have the most distinctive writing style, but her stories are unique. I don’t see very many other people writing stories like this. The way that Angie portrays Bri and her thoughts in this novel feels so real to me and it made Bri more relatable to me.

Bri and all of the other characters were very well-written and I wish I could have met them in real life. The characters were very diverse and I loved hearing about them. Most of them had arcs and changed in some way. I really liked how the teenagers were represented and how realistic they were. All of the characters had motives, which sometimes clashed, so the plot was moved forward. I really loved the dynamics between Bri and her family. They were very unique and I have never read anything like them. I hope that we hear more about Bri and her family in the future.

I can’t talk very much about the hip-hop aspect of the book, because I don’t normally listen to that kind of music. I don’t like rap in general, but I am sure that Angie did fine with it. I read the rap parts like I would a poem, and they seemed fine to me from that perspective. If I am wrong, please message me and I will double check.

The plot was very detailed and in-depth. It was not the easiest read, but I think it needs to be read. I wonder if this book will be turned into a movie like The Hate You Give was. It is certainty good enough. I do not live in an area like Bri, so I do not know how accurate things like gang violence and those plot details were, but I am going to assume that Angie did her research and that they were all right. Once again, if I am inaccurate in this, don’t hesitate to contact me. I really enjoyed the fact that friendships played a big part in the plot. So did family. It made everything more relatable. I love Angie’s talent and I can’t wait to see more from her.

I really loved On The Come Up and I would highly recommend. I got the book summary from the inside cover. Thanks for Reading!!! Have a Great Day!!!

XOXO

Annalee

Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun

Before he inspired the world with Hamilton and was catapulted into international fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspiring his Twitter followers with words of encouragement at the beginning and end of each day. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda’s audience grew, these messages took on a life of their own. Now, Miranda has gathered the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artist (and fellow Twitter favorite) Jonny Sun. Full of comfort and motivation, Gmorning, Gnight!, is a touchstone for anyone who needs a quick lift.

This review will probably be on the short side because there were 10-15 words on each page. And there were 200 pages. So, not very many words. Did that impact how much I liked the book? Of course not! I loved this thing! It is really helpful when you are trying to get something done, and have lost motivation.

The writing style was very much like a Twitter post. Which is what these were. If I had come at this looking for errors in things like sentence structure, my head would have exploded. As it was, the content and the way that the tweets were written was incredibly sweet and I loved it immensely. I am thinking of making one of the quotes my blog tagline, because of how motivational they are.

The art was phenomenal!!!! I loved it so much!!! It was very detailed and I really liked how it varied from page to page and stuck with the theme of the tweet that Lin-Manuel had on that page. The drawings breathed life into the motivational sayings that were on each page. All of the illustrations were simple and sweet, which helped get the point across.

Sorry for the really short post. This book wasn’t the longest, and I didn’t have much to run with. I highly recommend it for everyone. I got the summary from the book jacket. Thanks for Reading!!! Have a Great Day!!!

XOXO

Annalee