Series I Need To Finish

Oh boy, where to begin here? I'm the queen of not finishing book series and to give myself a little kick up the butt, I figured this list would be a good way to help me start these series again. Since most book series are YA series, this list consists pretty exclusively of that genre.

Here we go....

1. Harry Potter

Why don't I just start off with the most offensive one of the list? While I have some vague memory as an early teen reading Harry Potter, I'm not sure if I ever read all of them. So I decided a re-read was in order.... in 2014. I bought the fancy new copies and told everyone that I was finally going to experience Harry Potter in its full glory. I loved book one, was annoyed by the similarity of book two, LOVED book three, was slightly bored with book four because I already knew what would happen (I knew it with the other books too, but book four is such an action driven story that I couldn't enjoy it) and wanted to punch Harry in the face in the beginning of book five. So I stopped.

While I enjoy the amazing world building of J.K. Rowling, Harry is a brat throughout the whole story and when he hit his teenage peak in book five, it meant I couldn't handle anymore. I want to finish this series, because all the other characters are amazing - Hermione is wonderful, Ron is funny, the twins are amazing,... If only someone else was the chosen one!

 

2. Percy Jackson

Another offensive listing, but one that's on here because I love it so much. You've read that correctly, I haven't finished the Percy Jackson series because I love the books so much and don't want it to end. I'm currently on book four of The Heroes of Olympus series - a series that has five books, so I'm almost finished.

However, Percy has been such an amazing character and I love reading the books so much, that I want to savour them. Between reading for the blog and a neverending reading pile for uni, there never seems to be a good time to just sit down and fully focus on Percy for a few days. Until I have that luxury, I won't be finishing this series - though I'm dying to know how it ends!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Throne of Glass

A more recent YA favourite that has a lot of readers really excited. The reason why I read book one of this series, A Throne of Glass, was simply because people were excited about it. I'm not into fantasy, the covers don't appeal to me and the synopsis of the books sounds too video game like for me to enjoy. But I want to know what other people love and why they love it, so I was excited when I started reading this.

The reason this series is not finished is because I'm not that motivated to finish it. While the first book was an enjoyable read and better than I expected, it just didn't strike a cord with me. I understand why so many people love these books, but with another 50 unread books just lying around, this series is at the bottom of my list. Sorry, Sarah J. Maas fans!

 

 

 

 

 

4. His Fair Assassin  

And the wildcard - the series that is inexplicably on this list and which I am even surprised I haven't finished yet: His Fair Assassin. I read book one, Grave Mercy, and was OBSESSED. These books are basically like one of my favourite tv-shows, Reign, and I loved reading every single page.

However, when I finished book one, I didn't have book two yet. I needed to buy it, which meant it would be a few days before I could start reading it. That's when I made the ultimate mistake: I picked up another book. And by the time the second book in the series arrived, I was already in another world with other characters. I even brought this book to my trip to Boston, figuring it was the perfect plane read, and stranded after 20 pages. I'm out of it. I lost the world. And it's all my damn fault. But these books are perfection, and I can't wait to lose myself in them once again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what series are you not finishing and why? Any of my list on it? 

 

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell : Updated with Paperback info at the end!

RATING: ★★★★★

Publication Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: MacMillan Kids UK
Genre: YA
Pages: 528 pages
Goodreads

I love Rainbow Rowell. I love love love love her. She could write my grocery list and I would enjoy reading it. She could write my monthly bills and I wouldn't mind reading them. Whatever Rainbow writes, I'm a fan. However, I was worried about Carry On. Fangirl is one of my favourite books of all time, but I just wanted that into the Simon Snow parts (I might even have skipped some of them...) and I just wasn't that interested to see the story of Simon and Baz develop...

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.

Review

Sometimes it pays off to not have high expectations of a book. I knew I'd read Carry On, simple because Rainbow Rowell wrote it. What I didn't know is that I would absolutely completely fall in love with the story of Simon Snow. 

As I've mentioned many times before, I'm not overly into the whole "chosen one" idea (aka Harry in Harry Potter) and I don't love fantasy as much as I love contemporary stories, which makes it even more remarkable that Rainbow completely sold me on this story. My favourite thing about this book is the amazing characterisation. Simon is the chosen one of this story and he's still an enjoyable character! This is the first chosen one that doesn't act like a brat. Or selfish. Or has a pity-party every chapter. Or IS ACTUALLY JUST A NICE PERSON. I loved Simon;  he was funny, clumsy and completely clueless about so many things, but not cocky about it. Together with his best friend Penelope, who is also funny, but completely in control and smart, there are so many laugh out loud moments in this book.

The other great thing is the love story in this book. If you've read Fangirl, you'll know that Simon and Baz are nemesis who will fall in love eventually. The way this is played out in the plot is great; it's never too fast nor too slow. You can slowly see their relationship transform through "realistic" things (realistic for a magical world obviously) and can see them get closer and closer together. At not one point does the love story take over the general plot, the quest Simon and Baz are on together, which was such a relief for me. I love seeing LGBT representation that shows that, just like with heterosexual relationships, characters can be in a relationship without it being their only story.

So, just as the last few books I've read, I loved this one. Even with all my issues with chosen ones and fantasy stories, this book was just amazing. In true Rainbow Rowell fashion, it's fluffy, easy to read and incredibly comforting. Exactly what I wanted out of this book.
 

Update: Carry On is now the most AMAZING Paperback book!

I want to thank Macmillian Children's publisher for sending me all of this! Carry On was published as a paperback a while ago and when I finally got back to my London place, all this amazing stuff was waiting for me. I can't wait to colour in this paperback version of Carry On! Did you already colour it in? What colours did you pick? Which should I pick? Such an important decision!!

 

Not only did I get the book, I got Kindred Spirits, Rainbow's World Book Day story as well, which I will review later this week! I can't wait to read a new Rainbow Rowell story again and to really delve back into her world. I also got some amazing postcards and the coolest balloons! 

Hunky Baz!

Messy hair Simon!

Matching Simon and Baz!!! They're now in my room and every time I see them I just get a smile on my face. And it makes me want to re-read Carry On so badly - after I colour the cover in!

 

 

 

When Everything Feels Like the Movies - Raziel Reid

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Arsenal Pup Press
Genre: YA
Pages: 176 pages
Goodreads

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

When Everything Feels Like the Movies is the story of Jude and his life as a transgender teen in high school. It is based on the true story of Larry Fobes KIng and the homophobic act that changed his whole life. I won't discuss it too much here, because it gives away the plot of the book, but there's a great summary here if you're okay with spoilers.

Everything Feels Like the Movies is such an important book. Jude is gay and openly interested in female clothing and make-up. Combine this with high school and it means that a lot of other teens are close minded. In a YA publishing landscape where straight white girls are the norm, this book was a breath of fresh air. Homosexuality, drug use, abortions,... Literally everything is discussed and I think teens reading this book will feel more comfortable talking about those issues.

However the way all those issues are handled in this book made me feel very uncomfortable at times. While Raziel Reid addresses all the topics that are important for contemporary teens, he kind of brushes over them at times. Abortion is casually mentioned, Jude takes hardcore drugs like they're M&Ms and every single homophobic remark that is made seems to completely miss Jude's feelings. Everything is glamourized, which makes sense for Jude's obsession for seeing life as a Hollywood movie, but I just wish we saw Jude's feelings more. Is he ever hurt? How did he build up those walls? When Everything Feels Like the Movies is such an important novel and I wish I got more insight into the main character and his thoughts. It was superficial and rushed and I wish there were 100 pages added to make the whole book more intense.

Another thing that bugged me was the flatness of the side characters. Again in line with Jude's Hollywood vision, it's all about him and everyone else is caricature of themselves. Jude's mom is the heartless stripper, his best friend is the slut, his father is a runaway dad, his stepfather the abuse asshole,... While they all are those things, I wanted to see them more in depth too. How did they become these people? Has Jude known them as anything else? Here is so much potential to show human problems and it is just glanced over by the author.  

Overall, When Everything Feels Like the Movies is an important book that will definitely get people talking. If you want a book that reads like a Hollywood movie, then this is the one for you. I however was left with an empty and unsatisfied feeling about Jude and his world. I can't wait what Raziel Reid will write next, but I just hope it's more in depth than this novel.

Scarlet - Marissa Meyer

Rating: ★★★★☆

Publication Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA
Pages: 452 pages
Goodreads

You might have missed it, but I LOVED Cinder and so it's no surprise to see a review of Scarlet on here so soon after. Marissa Meyer had me hooked and I couldn't wait to see what she was going to do with these characters!

Just like with Cinder, I struggled to get into this book. The beginning was once again slow, with too much time spend on one character and too much information that isn't interesting thrown in the mix. Setting up the mundane lives of characters can be important, but the, for example, great focus on Scarlet selling her vegetables just wasn't interesting and didn't draw me in. Maybe it's because I read this book right after finishing Cinder, but it was too slow and it took me a few days to get through the beginning.

However, just like with Cinder, once you persist through the beginning, there is a very enjoyable story. Scarlet is a great character, who is very different from Cinder and yet never compared to her. Both girls are allowed to show their strength and weakness in this story and it's very rare that this happens without it being a competition. This made the book enjoyable and made it easy to get invested in each character.

The plot was original and full of twists and turns I didn't see coming. The best addition to the cast was Thorne, who builds up a friendship with Cinder and is able to guide her through this book. Thorne is an attractive guy, Cinder is a beautiful girl, and yet there's never any romance. Other YA authors, take note - it is possible! Their friendship is funny and endearing and I really enjoyed reading about it.

This book was amazing once again. Not only did we meet a bunch of new and enjoyable characters, we also got to know Cinder better and see how her journey developed. Though it's not an easy thing to merge two different storylines together, Marissa Meyer does an amazing job in this book and creates something that will really transport you out of your own life.

 

Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Publication Date: December 25, 2012
Publisher: Atria/ Emily Bestler Books
Genre: YA
Pages: 239 pages
Goodreads

Warm Bodies is a pretty clear cut Romeo and Juliet tale; the characters live in a world where zombies are threatening to kill all humans. R, a zombie, meets Julie and decides to save her instead of kill her. He instantly falls in love, aided by the fact that he ate her boyfriend's, Perry, brain and has his memories inside of him. Of course, this romance isn't accepted by either humans or zombies. With language reminiscent of the play at times and the infamous balcony scene included, there's no doubt that Warm Bodies is a play of the famous Shakespeare love story.

Except that it just kinda misses the mark on everything. R is a zombie, which means that, especially at the beginning, his communications skills are minimal. While R is also our narrator and able to explain everything as a human to the reader, when it comes to talking he doesn't get much further than 2 words. Yet, Julie, who has seen R and his friend kill all of her friends, still has an instant liking for him and an unexplainable trust in his goodness. While many argue Romeo and Juliet have the same thing, they actually are able to communicate (Romeo has some of the most beautiful speech in all of Shakespeare's work), she did not see him kill all her family and they lived in different times where teenagers were expected to pick partners for life. This is not the case in Warm Bodies and the whole storyline just falls flat with the love story. It doesn't make any sense, it's not believable and we never get a good grasp on Julie and why exactly she's so naive.

Besides that, everything else seems easily fixed too. All the problems, serious problems as in zombies killing all of mankind, are brushed over by the end and, though this is kinda a spoiler but not really if you read one page of the book, a happy ending is easily attained. Again, we are offered no explanation about how it exactly happened and what it means, the reader is just supposed to believe it.

For me, the appeal of Warm Bodies is non existent. The writing is not annoying, but it also never takes you into the world. This book is one of those books that make people say that all of YA sucks. It's simplistic, the characters are flat and undeveloped and while I enjoy the attempt at a modern Romeo and Juliet, it just misses all the marks that makes Shakespeare's story such a classic. 

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

Rating: ★★★★★

Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: YA
Pages: 390 pages
Goodreads

The internet has failed me. For YEARS I have seen the Lunar Chronicles books pass and while everyone seemed to love them, no one really told me why. And that's why I didn't read them until now. AND HOW I LOVED CINDER. Next time, please let me know when I'm blatantly ignoring a book series that I could be falling in love with - it's what the comment section of this blog is all about after all!

Cinder is the story of the future world where a cyborg mechanic named Cinder meets the prince of her country in a most crucial historical time. Cinder is, like her fairytale namesake, stuck with a stepmother that hates her and one evil stepsister, but surprisingly also one nice one. When the prince asks her to fix something for him, she's suddenly thrown into a major medical problem which is basically the future version of the plague. Mechanics aside, the real problem is is whether a cyborg can help a human being, and a prince at that, save the world.

Now the first 50 pages of CInder had me in belief that fantasy isn't for me and that I wouldn't enjoy reading this book after all. We're introduced to Cinder and for me, the whole "she's not like other girls" vibe was just laid on too thickly. We get it. YA narrators are never like other girls and are special little snowflakes. But then again, they are not because they do things other girls will do and most importantly, what's wrong being like other girls? That pet peeve put aside, I struggled through these pages and after them, I was completely hooked. 

I'm still on the fence of Cinder as a character. She shows some amazing moments, but sometimes she just read too generic for me. I like the play on the original Cinderella character; not only is Cinder poor, she's also a cyborg while the prince is a human which is something just not done in that world. It made the divide between the two characters bigger and more believable when Cinder insists on constantly lying to the prince. However, at times I felt that Cinder was just kickass just to be kickasss. It was fake and out of character, but since there are more books in this series, I'm very excited to read them so I'll get a better grasp on her as a character.

A character that I did fall in love with is Lunar princess Levana who is just AMAZING. She's mean, cunning, intelligent and beautiful - exactly everything I want my villain to be. She doesn't hesitate to do whatever she needs to do to get what she wants and she manipulates absolutely everyone in the process. I loved how brutal she is and I can't wait to read more about her story in the other books.

Overall, this book was far from perfect. Cinder is an average character and the big plot twist at the end is something most readers will see coming before the halfway mark. However, I LOVED this book. I can see all its flaws and I can discuss them and yet I still absolutely adored it. It was just so much fun to read and so easy to escape in the world that Marissa Meyer created. This book really transported me from my own life to Cinder's and I think that's an amazing achievement for any book - so just for that reason, I can't give this less than 5 stars.