Top Ten Tuesday #20 (September 1st): Top 10 Characters I Just Didn’t Click With

September 1, 2015September 30, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks12 Comments

It’s Tuesday, and you all know what that means! It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is ‘Top 10 Characters I Just Didn’t Click With’ and doing this, I’ve realized there were a lot more characters I didn’t click with than I thought! Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Eadlyn from The Heir by Kiera Cass

Ah, Eadlyn. What can I say? America may not have been the best character, Eadlyn definitely takes the cake between the two of them for annoying characters! She was just so stuck-up and snobby throughout most of the book and although I praise Kiera Cass for taking a more unconvential route with her character, it just didn’t fully work out with me.

2. Nora from the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick

Ugh. I don’t know, I feel kind of guilty putting her on the list (hopefully I’m not the only one!) but I just didn’t click with her. She came off as a bit too helpless and needy for my taste. (And she literally burst into tears one time because of the upcoming danger she’d be facing…no joke.) I did like the books though, mostly! (You can check out my review on them here, here, here and here.)

3. Bella from the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer

Do I even need to explain this one? I mean, I suppose I liked the books okay, when I read them several years back, but I just didn’t click with her character. Nope.

4. Cassia from the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie

One of the main reasons I most certainly did not enjoy this book (and series) is because of the main character herself, Cassia, who is definitely one of the blandest characters I have had the not-so-pleasure of encountering. I honestly have no words

5. Adam from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

Ughhh someone has to put this guy in his place! Dude. Stop being so needy and MOVE ON. Not to mention stop being such a darn jerk!! I was okay with him in the first book, but I was most definitely wrong in doing so because soon after, needless to say, I did not like him!

6. Tariq from The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Can someone please get some bricks to knock some sense into this guy? I just didn’t like his character at all; he definitely cannot take a hint, and it was incredibly annoying to watch him pursue after a girl who obviously isn’t interested. -_-

7. Grace from The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater

She’s an okay character, I suppose, but she was a bit too angsty at times and there was just something about her that didn’t sit right with me. Afterwards I warmed up to her more though, but that initial feeling never really completely went away. I still enjoyed the series though, which is good. 😉

8. Laurel from Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

I recently finished this novel, and I just didn’t click with her. Especially not at the start. The book itself was okay (although it really felt like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, from the POV of a girl) but it took me a while to warm up to Laurel, and even then, it wasn’t fully.

9. Rose from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Although I really like the series overall, in the first book I just didn’t click with Rose. She was reckless to the point of being a bit ridiculous, and her attitude just didn’t sit well with me. Of course, I liked her a lot more by the end of the series, but in the first book, she wasn’t the best for me.

10. Tate from Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Although I liked Ugly Love okay enough, I wasn’t a fan of Tate. I really wanted to be though, but I just didn’t care for her much and she fell pretty flat for me.

I actually wasn’t expecting that I’d be able to make it to 10! I usually like most of the characters in the books I read. But there we have it! What characters did YOU not click with? Do we have any in common? Let me know in the comments below—and feel free to link your TTT post if you have one, I’d love to check it out! ❤

Happy Tuesday!

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh | Book Review

August 16, 2015August 18, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks19 Comments

(The Wrath and the Dawn #1)

Published: May 12th 2015

Synopsis:

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

The Wrath and the Dawn_bookcover — Add to Goodreads

My Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)

Book Information

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Retelling, Young Adult

Page Count: 388

Format: Hardcover

Hello! It’s been forever since I’ve really done a worthwhile post—this past week has just been memes really, and I feel terrible for that! It’s been over a week since I last posted a review, and that really isn’t good. Not to mention I have yet to go around to a lot of your blogs and reply to your comments. I’m sorry, guys! I’ve really been trying to, but I just don’t seem to have the time, and I have no idea how things just got so out of hand. Anyway, please hold your sticks and stones for now, I really am super sorry. 😦

Anyway, gloom and doom aside, today I finally have a review, on, as you may have guessed, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. This A Thousand and One Nights retelling has been super hyped up before and since its release, so I was super excited to see that this was the chosen book for the August read-along hosted by Bibliophile Gathering. Now, I’m going to be completely honest here and say that going into this book, I hardly had any idea what A Thousand and One Nights was about. I’m not sure whether I’m supposed to know this fairytale before reading this book, but I didn’t. Either way, it didn’t affect the reading experience. This book was amazing and I really loved it. I totally understand the hype and it met my expectations in a completely unexpected way (if that makes any sense)!

Quick Summary

The eighteen year-old Caliph of Khoresan, Khalid is a killer. Every night Khalid chooses a new bride, only to have her killed as sunrise. It all comes as a surprise when brave Shahrzad volunteers to be his bride. But Shahrzad is more than what she seems, as her clever mind is set on getting revenge on the man who killed her best friend and so many others. Problem is, she might just be falling in love with him… But how could she, when he’s proven, time and time again, to be a killer?Read More »

Top 10 Tuesday #17 (August 4): Ten Fairytale Retellings I’ve Read & Want To Read

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks11 Comments

Hello! It’s not Tuesday, but I’ll consider it the time for another Top Ten Tuesday,(a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish)! This is an edited version of the post I had originally scheduled; for some reason this didn’t post as it was supposed to and now I’m 2 days late on this one. Oh well! I’m loving the topic and I’m definitely not going to be passing it up! XD
This week’s topic, as you can tell by the title of this post, is Ten Fairytale Retellings I’ve Read and Want To Read! I’ll be dividing it into half; 5 retelling books I’ve read, and 5 that I want to read. So, let’s get to it! As usual, in no particular order:

Books I’ve Read

1. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Cinder (Cinderella), Scarlet (Red Riding Hood), Cress (Rapunzel). This series is amazing!! If you haven’t read any of the books in this series yet, then you must start it now, I promise if you like fairytale retellings and fantasy, you won’t regret it.

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Based on Beauty and the Beast. This book was amazing! I absolutely loved it!! Sarah J. Maas turned a classic fairytale into a whole new world of fae and magic. You can check out my review on it here if you’re interested!

3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Loosely based on/Inspired by Cinderella. This isn’t exactly a direct retelling of Cinderella, but the series is a [very] loose retelling of the story, and a great one at that!

4. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
Loosely based on The Little Mermaid. I just finished this one today, and boy, was it quite the story! I absolutely loved it. It was a beautifully written contemporary with fairytale elements mixed in, and it was a very unique retelling of The Little Mermaid.

5. The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling
Based on Cinderella. This one is quite the unique retelling! Instead of being told from the perspective of Cinderella as you would expect, it was told instead from the POV of Cinderella’s stepsister instead. Cool, right? It was an amazing story!

Honourable mentions: Fairy Tales series by Melanie Dickerson (Including retellings of Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White & Cinderella), Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (Cinderella), Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hudge (Beauty and the Beast)

Books I Want to Read

6. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Based on A Thousand and One Nights. I just started reading this one recently. I’m not that far into it yet, but I’m really liking it! I’ve heard great things and the story seems really interesting.

7. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Based on Rapunzel. This book has been getting lots of hype and I really want to know what the hype is all about! It seems like a very interesting retelling of Rapunzel.

8. Splintered by A.G Howard
Based on Alice in Wonderland. This one, I feel, has also been getting lots of hype! I can’t wait to read this, I haven’t read many Alice in Wonderland retellings and this one seems great.

9. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Based on Little Red Riding Hood. I haven’t read many Red Riding Hood retellings, now that I think of it, and I really want to try this one out, especially after reading Cruel Beauty, also by this author. I have a feeling I’d really enjoy this book and I can’t wait to read it!

10. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
Based on Aladdin. This book sounds amazing! What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? What would happen then? Well, I guess this book delves into that! There aren’t enough Aladdin retellings, and this one seems great! Can’t wait to read it.

Honourable mentions: The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz, Entwined by Heather Dixon, Spelled by Betsy Schow, Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, The Child Thief by Brom

That’s it for this week’s belated Top Ten Tuesday! Do we have any books in common? Have some retelling recommendations? Let me know in the comments below! ❤

WWW Wednesday #18 (August 5)

August 5, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks17 Comments

Hello! How are you all on this fine Wednesday? I am taking a little break from my sighting around Quebec to take the time to update you guys on my reading! Let’s get to it—It’s time for WWW Wednesday, a meme formerly hosted by MizB @ Should be Reading and now hosted by Sam @Taking on a World of Words. To play along, answer the three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

I’m currently reading 3 books (kind of a relief after these past weeks of reading 4-5 each week, lol). I’m really enjoying both of them, and I’m constantly finding an excuse to read them! Even though technically I’m supposed to be spending time with my family and visiting places around Quebec, hehe. 🙂 The writing in The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is so beautiful, I’m loving it! And Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares and The Wrath and the Dawn is a really interesting read.

Recently Finished

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Hide and Seek by Sara Shepard
Your Voice Is All I Hear by Leah Scheier
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I read 5 books this week, as you can see. They were all great, I’m happy to say! Me Before You was a touching and wonderfully written story (it managed to get me to shed a tear, actually! And if you know me you know how rare that is for me). Hide and Seek was thrilling and suspenseful, just like its predecessors. Your Voice is All I Hear is another great book, but my emotions are still a bit all over the place. And I was so excited to read Every Last Breath, I’m so glad I received it before I left for Mont Tremblant, because I got the chance to read it on my trip. It was really good! I would say I’m pretty happy with it.

WWW Wednesday #17 (July 29th)

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks46 Comments

Hello! It’s time for WWW Wednesday, a meme formerly hosted by MizB @ Should be Reading and now hosted by Sam @Taking on a World of Words. To play along, answer the three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I am currently reading 2 books; (a record low for me these days) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes & Hide and Seek by Sara Shepard.

Recently Finished

I finished 6 books this past week:

Before Vengeance by Louisa Lo
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
Like Candy by Debra Doxer
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

So far I only have a review on Simon vs, [which you can check out here] but I will be posting a review on Made You Up later this week, along with a review on What You Left Behind. Hopefully. I’m still trying to sort out my thoughts on Yes, Please, so I can’t really guarantee a review on it yet. In any case, I did enjoy the majority of these, especially Simon vs., Made You Up and What You Left Behind.

Top 10 Tuesday #13 (July 07): Top Ten Hyped Books I’ve Never Read

July 7, 2015 Analee @ Book Snacks43 Comments

Hello fellow bookworms! I’m back from my unofficial hiatus (you might’ve noticed I haven’t been interacting as much on my blog or on other blogs) with a Top Ten Tuesday post. This is a popular meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, today’s topic is ten hyped books I’ve never read. Now, I can basically use my list for books I want to read this summer, since those books are pretty hyped up (like We Were Liars, Extraordinary Means, etc.)—you can check out that list here—but I’m going to make another list, since heaven knows my list of to-read hyped books is endless! Book titles link to Goodreads, and you can hover over the cover to read the synopsis from Goodreads. So, in no particular order:

1. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

I really want to read this! Especially since the second book, The Heart of Betrayal, releases today. It just seems so interesting!

2. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Or anything by this author, like Vicious. I have A Darker Shade of Magic currently waiting on my shelf and I’ve heard such great things about it that I’m just itching to get to it.

3. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

I really hope I can read this book this month. Ever since it’s been released (and before!) I’ve heard so many things and it seems like a great book.

4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Another hyped up book! It also has a movie if I’m not mistaken, so I really want to read this to see what the hype is all about and then watch the movie. 😉

5. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I’m trying not to sound too repetitive, but this book seems great! I’ve heard lots about it and it seems like a very intriguing thriller.

6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I have my fingers crossed to read this book this month! If I can get past my review copies and other books, I will definitely be making time for this one. The cover, the synopsis, and all the great reviews has me intrigued!

7. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Don’t kill me! I haven’t read this book or the series, BUT I do plan on reading it. Someday.

8. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover (or anything Colleen Hoover, really.)

This book has been on my TBR for a while now, and I’m actually currently reading it! It still counts for this list, since I just started it today and am only at the beginning of it. 🙂 This book has been really hyped up, well, actually, basically all of Colleen Hoover’s books have been hyped up. So yeah.

9. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

This is the first in a series, and has a TV show based off of it. To be honest, I’m not that interested in these books at this moment, but I will probably still read the series one day. It’s pretty hyped up, and what can I say? I like to know what the hype is all about. 😉

10. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (or Since You’ve Been Gone & Second Chance Summer)

Morgan Matson’s books have been hyped up as well (obviously, since she’s on this list) and the most notable books I know that have been hyped up (I’m not sure whether or not she has other books written aside from these three, but oh well) are Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Since You’ve Been Gone and Second Chance Summer. I really want to read all three of these!

Oh! I also forgot to add The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I really want to read this one, I’ve heard wonderful things! And I also want to check out the movie, too.

So that’s it for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday! What hyped up books have you never read? Do we share any in common? Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments below or feel free to link your post!

Happy Tuesday!

-A