Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I've Read

Top Ten Favorite Covers of Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they post a new Top Ten list  that bloggers are welcome to join in and answer. 

Hello! How have you all been?

Today's top ten topic is favorite covers. So here's my list:

GRACELING by Kristin Cashore

DARKEST MERCY by Melissa Marr

EONA by Alison Goodman

SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Maas

STORMDANCER by Jay Kristoff

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore [REVIEW]

Bitterblue
(The Seven Kingdoms #3)
by Kristin Cashore

Summary from Goodreads:

"The long-awaited companion to "New York Times" bestsellers "Graceling" and "Fire" 

Eight years after "Graceling," Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. 

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart."

Rating:

If you ask me to make a list of my most anticipated sequels, companion novels and/or books part of a series, Bitterblue would be one of those on the top half. Reading Graceling made me adore Bitterblue so much, being only a child with a big responsibility already weighing on her shoulders, I wanted to see how she faired.

Nine years after the events of Graceling, Bitterblue is now 18 years old and has been ruling the kingdom after Leck’s death. The people of the kingdom have been left broken and disoriented, and it’s Bitterblue’s job to help them get back on their feet. But how do you heal an entire broken kingdom that is still haunted by a deceased powerful mind-manipulator’s oppression?

Book Haul [7]

I haven't thought of a name for a weekly meme of book hauls so let's just go with what's posted above.

For now, I'll call this the "Whatever it's called" Book Haul. It's only temporary, I swear. I just haven't thought of a clever name for it. So this is pretty much just like In My Mailbox by the Story Siren, This Week In Books by Pop Culture Junkie, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews and all the other titles with the similar concept here and there. This is a weekly post showcasing the books you received for the given week, either bought online or from a physical bookstore, borrowed from the library or from a friend, received for review or won from a giveaway, etc.

Hello! How's everybody doing on this fine day?

Let's jump straight into the books, shall we?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Read Because Of Another Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books I Read Because of Another Blogger

    

    

1. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

          - Found this from numerous blogs giving it high ratings; and since Faeries are one of my weaknesses, I just had to read it.

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

          - I saw it on one of my friends on GoodReads and when I managed to find a copy at a nearby bookstore, I read it greedily.

3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

          - I first caught sight of it from Kristi of The Story Siren. I fell in love with the entire series since then.

4. XVI by Julia Karr

          - Maria of Bookchilla: Reading is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac and a friend of mine from Goodreads put this on her TBR, and so did I.

5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

          - I didn't bother to check this book out when I saw tons of copies of it on every bookstore I go to. But entering The Young Adult Book Club and other GoodReads groups that have a ton of girls giggling and ogling over Jace made me want to see what the fuss was all about.

6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

          - There was a rave about this book all over the net so I decided to check it out too.

7. Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

          - The same with Wicked Lovely, I saw this on Kristi's site. Basically, her blog was the first one I followed so most of the books I started reading were those that I saw there.

8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

          - It had gone viral... and I got infected.

9. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

          - Definitely eye-catching so I understand why I saw it all over different blogs, sadly it didn't capture my heart.

10. Matched by Ally Condie

          - This had positive feedback from my Goodreads friends so I decided to read it too. I'm still bummed that I didn't feel the same about it as they did.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

        

Fire
(The Seven Kingdoms #2)
by Kristin Cashore

Summary from Goodreads:

"Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans. 

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story."

Rating:

After reading Graceling, I was intrigued to read Fire. However, I didn't love it as much as I loved Graceling. 

Fire's story was magnificently written; few parts were slow but majority of the chapter were laid out appropriately. At first, I hated how some of the events in the book were left out not answered as soon as they occurred but Kristin Cashore had very good ways in unraveling them. I guess I was just too impatient. 

Overall, this book was pretty good. I laughed, I cried; I got confused, i understood. Although I found all the details a bit too much to carry in one book, I still enjoyed reading it and I'm looking forward to Bitterblue.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

        

Graceling
(The Seven Kingdoms #1)
by Kristin Cashore

Summary from Goodreads:

"Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. 

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. 
With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more."

Rating:

I don't have much to say about Graceling. I just absolutely L-O-V-E this book! Kristin Cashore is amazing! 

I like the characters. The plot of the story was wonderful. The cover rocks! This book was well written and a definite page-turner. 

I felt like I was Katsa herself as I read throughout Graceling. I did not regret buying this book and I find its price a steal!