Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

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. 

I'll be quoting my own reviews here. They pretty much sum up how I feel about these sequels. :)
So without further ado, I give you my list [in no particular order].

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EONA by Alison Goodman
Definitely better than the first book, albeit heftier.

"Alison Goodman’s world building skills were truly commendable. The action scenes were awesome as well and her writing, although long and descriptive in a way, was beautiful all the same. I have to say this was a very fitting ending to this duology. It was a little sad at some point but just like how Eona and Kygo had felt, I agree that their decision was the right thing to do even with all the sacrifices that had to be made." - from my review of Eona

SCARLET by Marissa Meyer
I LLLLOOOOOVVVVEEEE me some Wolf!

"He’s not the typical book boyfriend I’d giggle and ogle over. He’s shy and has a totally different persona but all the more swoon-worthy." - from my review of Scarlet

DARK TRIUMPH by Robin LaFevers
"While Grave Mercy was focused on Ismae’s life and how she came to be a handmaiden of death, Dark Triumph shows Sybella’s story. If I thought Ismae’s situation was dire when she took refuge with the Convent of St. Mortain, Sybella’s case was incomparable. Oh, how cruel life has been for this young lady. If I wanted to hug Ismae back when I was reading about her, I want to smother Sybella with all the love for all that she has been through." - from my review of Dark Triumph

Book Haul [18]

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My "Weekly Book Haul" 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.

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Hello everyone! How was Thanksgiving? I hope you had a good time!

Here is my book haul for this week:

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

        

Beautiful Chaos
(Caster Chronicles #3)
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Summary from Goodreads:

"Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending."

Rating:

I am disappointed.

I started reading Beautiful Chaos with a huge smile and ended up with a frown on my face.

After the great adventure I experienced with Beautiful Darkness, I expected Beautiful Chaos to surpass the excitement and thrill of the 2^nd book of the Caster Chronicles. Sadly, it just dragged on; and to think that I was really, really eager to see a lot of great things from this book.

There were several elements that bothered me while reading Beautiful Chaos, and they are as follows:

THE PACING. It didn’t bother me that the first book, Beautiful Creatures, started out slow; I get it. There were a lot of things I needed to sink my brain into. Then came Beautiful Darkness that blew me away with such a thrilling adventure, which up until now, I could still not get over by the way. Unfortunately Beautiful Chaos came out slower than the first and just happened to be even less eventful too.

CHARACTER INTERACTION. None of the characters wanted to tell anybody anything. They’ve always been so secretive during the first and second book, and it’s obvious that keeping secrets just gets them deeper into trouble and yet they keep doing so. I really wanted to jump inside the book and slap each character senseless. When will they ever learn???

PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. Another thing the characters don’t seem to learn or improve at. The constant “I don’t know” and “We need to figure out soon” is really getting old. They keep saying they’ll figure it out and yet ‘till the end, they still haven’t. They keep trying to find a way to solve it fast but then end up with something else to worry about. It’s an endless cycle.

THE NUMBER OF PAGES. 500+ pages of all of talk and worry and not much going on is a pain. There are some chapters that I felt asking myself if they were really necessary to the story or not.

CLIFFHANGERS. Another endless matter. How many moons will it take for anything to actually happen that’ll push me off my seat?

NOT ENOUGH LINK. Seriously?! He turns into a quarter-incubus and that’s when he gets pushed aside? I had seen him in a more significant role as a mere mortal than now when he’s got more power in him. Not cool.

So there. I feel so bad for ranting out but I really had such high hopes for this book. I’m a little skeptical about reading the next after this. I don’t know if it would get anywhere at all.

In My Mailbox [11]

In My Mailbox [11]

hosted by The Story Siren

I've been waiting for this to come out so.. Yay! ^_^

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

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.

Dream Dark by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

        

Dream Dark
(Caster Chronicles #2.5)
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Summary from Goodreads:

"When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning...

Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won't be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin -- it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.

In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, readers witness Link's heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters."

Rating:

So when they said short story, they really mean short. 

I don’t know if this highlighted on Link’s transformation or on the glimpse of Beautiful Chaos. My guess is, it’s probably the latter because there wasn’t much to say about the former; considering it was like 30 pages or so. 

I grabbed a copy of this after immediately seeing that it was about Link. Who doesn’t love Link? So, I was really happy to get to read something focused on him even for just a while. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t such a big deal to it. And the ending seemed a bit confusing. I guess it will probably make sense when the third instalment of this series comes out. I didn't read the content about Beautiful Chaos, I'd rather wait for it to be published than go restless over this teaser. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books That Are On The Top Of My TBR List For Fall

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books That Are On The Top Of My TBR List For Fall

        

        

1. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

          - Who doesn't want to read this? I know the ARC's available online but I'd rather wait for the real thing. I'm not much of an e-reader.

2. Vanish by Sophie Jordan

         - I'm curious about who the cover is and what's in store for Jacinda and Will's relationship.

3. Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stolh

         - I loved the first 2 books so I'm excited about this one too.

4. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

         - It's kind of like a girly version of "Lord of the Flies", I want to see what it's all about.

5. Forgotten by Cat Patrick

        - It has a very interesting synopsis.

6. Devoted by Hilary Duff

         - I've read the first book out of curiousity now I want to see how Hilary develops as a writer/author.

7. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

         - Beautiful cover, intriguing summary, 'nuff said.

8. Enclave by Ann Aguirre

         - I've seen this many times on the shelf of a bookstore I constantly go to, I think it's about time I pick it up.

9. Meridian by Amber Kizer

         - It sounds dark and mysterious, I want to know if this has something new to offers to the whole raving angel-themed books.

10. The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

         - This has been in my TBR list for a while and now that it's coming out I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Hopefully those that are just about to come out this fall would be available here in the Philippines as per their expected release dates. I'm really excited to get my hands on them.

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

        

Beautiful Darkness
(Caster Chronicles #2)
by Kami Garcia & 
Margaret Stohl

Summary from Goodreads:

"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems."

Rating:

Oooohhhh!!!!! I can’t stop ogling over this book. Beautiful Darkness has definitely kicked this series up a notch! 

At first though I wasn’t pleased with how it was going. At Beautiful Creatures, I already wasn’t fond of Lena so when Beautiful Darkness started out with all of Lena’s dramas and taking Ethan for granted (not that I liked Ethan that much, but he really didn’t deserve being treated like crap!), I was getting all peeved. I wanted to smack Lena right on the face. Yes girl, I know you’re grieving but stop being such a crazy b****! 

Sorry ‘bout that, can’t help it.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was getting annoyed about what was happening, but as soon as Ethan, Link and Liv went into the caster world, I got hooked! I mean, what an adventure! Of course, I’ve loved Link during the first book but now I am truly as close to worshipping him. He’s just amazing! He’s funny, he’s cute, and did mention he’s really funny? Liv is another character that I loved. She’s simple and yet she’s weird too, but in a good way. I like the brainiac character such as she is. 

The plot was absolutely brilliant, slow at first but worth the wait. I was overwhelmed with all that was revealed throughout the story and electrified to finally taste the blood of action and fighting that I’ve anticipated for – since we’re reading about people with powers here – that didn’t much occur from the last book. 

I really enjoyed reading this book. Also, I’m intrigued about the cliffhanger at the ending about Ridley so I will be looking out for the next book. 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

        

Beautiful Creatures
(Caster Chronicles #1)
by Kami Garcia & 
Margaret Stohl

Summary from Goodreads:

"Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."

Rating:

Beautiful Creatures was written, shall we say, “Beautifully”. Garcia and Stolh’s writing technique really made this paranormal romance book into an immense page-turner. It was a catchy read, so now I know why it became widely popular. 

The plot was good; a bit stereotypical, it was somehow Twilight-ish only with a caster goth rather than a vampire. I like the mystery in it. I like how the anonymities unravelled and how it was sequentially revealed in the right moment at the right time.

Moving on to the characters; Ethan mostly reminded me of Sam from Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. He was obviously created and moulded from a girl’s imagination, but compared to Sam; Ethan is manlier and less emo. Lena is, well, not much of memorable character. First, she was weird, next she’s in full-paranoia, then suddenly sarcastically annoying. She’s practically crazy, but then she has this gooey, girly mind where she wants to go to the prom, receive jewellery as gifts, etc and that was funny. I mostly like the minor characters, Ridley and Link. Link is hilarious, while Ridley may seem like a bitch on the outside but a sensible and caring person on the inside. They were fascinating and intriguing. 

Overall, the book was good. I like how well it was created and it was enjoyable despite a bit of cliché in some events.