July TBR

Here are all the books I plan to read in July:

(I will be traveling throughout July, so I am limited to the books that I take with me and borrow online.)


Start and Finish:

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

2. Storm and Siege by Leigh Bardugo

3. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

4. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Finish:
1. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Review: The Kiss of Deception

Hey everyone,

It has been a little bit sense I have done a review like this.  Get ready for some opinions!

Taken from

Summary:
Book by Mary E. Pearson
A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.
Taken from Goodreads

Review:
4/5 Stars
I was recommended this book a long time ago, and while the concept intrigued me, I was hesitant to read it.  Finally I managed to borrow the audio book from the library and listened to it.

I was instantly shocked, in a good way.  I found I could not stop listening to this book.  I finished it in four days, which for an audiobook that is 14 hours long, while I was working 8 hour days was impressive.

So back to the book.  I was pulled in instantly.  This land was magical and enchanting.  I thought that the main part of the book would be the romance between the characters, but it was much more about the mystery.  I was constantly stuck between wanting to google who was who and not wanting to know.  The truth is told about 60% through the book, and still now I am not sure if that was too quick or too long of a wait.

Lia was a decent character.  I understood where she came from and why she left in the beginning.  I loved her relationships with her brothers and Paula.  Like any good main character she has flaws.  I hate that she lied to her best friend.  I understand the reasons, but I fear that this will cause a problem in later books.  Also I felt little character development from her.  In the end she was still a princess, like the book had lost all of the progress she wanted to make.  This I was okay with because it leads me to believe that in the future she will try again and succeed.  Finally it was a little hard to understand her knife skills.  I am assuming they grew suddenly because of her "gift" but it was unclear and seemed sudden.

The main problem I had with this book was the "gift" was unclear.  It took me a long time into reading it to understand what exactly she could do.  I did not mind the mystery, but even after it was explained, or assumed, I was still wondering constantly if there was more to it.  Some more clarification would have been nice.

Now on to the boys.  I will leave this as spoiler free as I possibly can, but for the sake of someone who has not read the book, I recommend skipping this paragraph.  I, like every other reader, started out with a clear mindset believing extremely that one boy was the assassin and the other the prince.  As I was listening though, I started to wonder about the fact that it seemed so clear that each was one of them, and I began to question it.  Now, this has nothing to do with the writer and is totally the audiobooks fault, I began to pay more attention with they would be talking to figure out who was who.  Suddenly I noticed that the voice of the assassin matched one boy and the prince matched another.  This unfortunately ruined the big plot twist in the middle of the book, but I still loved what the author did by trying to trick the reader.

I loved the journey in this book.  All of the places that I got to read about were so well described.   I do wish I had the physical book so I could have seen a map, but again that has nothing to do with the writer.  The second have of the book was my favorite.  I loved the ending and plan to start the next one as soon as I can get it.

Things I loved about this book:
-royals becoming poor
-free person becoming a slave
-questioning who she really loved
-Vagabonds
-Quotes to start chapters
-Different POVs

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

What is the Opposite of a Reading Slump?

Hello everyone,

What is the opposite of a reading slump?

Me. Right now.

Yesterday I finished two books, reading over 300 pages.  It was great.  Normally after I finish a book I have to wait a few days to start reading or continuing another one.  But today I woke up, after finishing two books, and I started to continue another one.

I am very happy with this update.  I have a few more days before I leave to go back to school for this summer.  My goal is to finish two books before then.  If I use most of my free time towards reading, I think I can do just that!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Read 5, Buy 1 Completed #1

Hello everyone,

I completed my first Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge! Here is a little update:

Read:
1. The Crown by Kiera Cass
2. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
4. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
5. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Bought:
1. Siege and Storm/Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Check out HERE for while I am counting these two books as one and to view them being unboxed.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

A Package Arrived

Hey Everyone,

I ordered a few books the other day and they came today. 

After finishing Six of Crows, read more HERE, I had to order three other books by Leigh Bardugo. 

I plan to read this books while I am back at school this summer RAing for some events.

Now how does this package affect my Read 5, Buy 1? I already owned the first one in a digital copy so I am not counting this as a buy.  The second two I am counting as one sense they are a series.  I am almost done with five books read, in fact today I finished number four.  That means as soon as I am done with one more I will have read enough for this package!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Character Names

Hey everyone!

Another Top 5 Wednesday! This week was more difficult for me to do than last week.  I came up with three almost immediately, and then I was left running through my book shelf trying to remember character's names.

Favorite Character Names: 
Fairly self-explanatory. Names you like for whatever reason!

1. Cassiopeia from The 5th Wave Trilogy
Not only are these books some of my favorites, I love anything to do with the night sky.  As soon as I learned that Cassie's names was short for Cassiopeia, it made my number one favorite name in any book.

2. Inej from Six of Crows
Six of Crows is my number one favorite book right now, and I actually had a battle with myself on who's name to choose.  After some debate, I picked Inej because I truly believe the other person I liked their personality and therefor I loved everything else about them.  Inej is just such a pretty name, and I like how it rolls off the tongue.

3. Eustace Scrubb from The Chronicles of Narnia 
"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." -The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I read this quote when I was young, and have never been able to not love that name.  It's like an ugly critter.  You find it so repulsive, it becomes cute.

4. Warner from Shatter Me Trilogy 
This one I have to wonder if I just really like the character and not the name.  The only reason why I say it is the name, is because in the books he asks Juliette to call him something different, and I remember cringing and saying no out loud.  I like your name, please do not change it.

5. Murtagh from Eragon 
This name has been with me sense I was little.  I never seemed to be able to get it out of my head.  For a long time this was going to be my first borns name, then I realized I needed to name them something more sensible like Phoenix or Sunshine.  But this name will forever stick with me as a top 5 favorite names.  And who knows, Phoenix will need a cool little sibling.


You can join the group on Goodreads to see what the future categories will be!
Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

A Six of Crows Appreciation Post and Review

Hello everyone,

I have some amazing news for you today. I have found an amazing book.

Back in September, some of my friends and I traveled to a book store for some fun.  We used to make jokes that we were a murder (group of crows) because of how obnoxious we were when we went places. I saw this book called Six of Crows, and my friend Sarah and I joked that I needed to buy it for our group.  The book was $20 so I said I would look online.

Months passed.  I would periodically check online and in stores.  The book dropped to $15, but me being me, I refuse to pay more than $10 for a book.

Finally Audible offered me a deal to buy any book for only $7.  I chose this one.  Quickly I realized that there were too many names and I was getting confused.  I was going to have to spend some real money on this book.

Summer came and I was dying to read it.  The summary and the few chapters I had listened to left me wanting more.  I had to go to a few book stores to find it, because at this point it was not a new book.

I went home and I started it right away.  I had it done in a few short days. I loved it so much.

Taken From

Summary:

Taken from Goodreads

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Review:

5/5 Stars

The characters were so interesting, and I loved how we got to see from their different perspectives.  The ending left me wanting more, and I already have my eye on the next one that comes out this year in September.
I have not read a book this good in a long time.  After finishing the book it left me wanting to go on an adventure and longing to read more.  Days later I am still thinking (and dreaming) about this book.  If you read nothing else in your lifetime, spend the money, get this book. I already want to re-read it.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Top 5 Wednesday: Book Theme Songs

Hey everyone!

Today I thought I would try something new. I love watching the BookTubers do there Top 5 Wednesday, so I found the theme for day and I am going to be trying it!

Book Theme Songs: 

Songs you associate with different books, whether it's because of the lyrics matching the story, the tone fits the story, or just because you listened to it a lot while reading that particular book! Taken from Goodreads

1. Black Water by Of Monsters and Men for City of Ash by Cassandra Clare

I believe this one mainly goes with it for me because I listened to this song on repeat when I read this book.  But I also think it goes well together because of the dark theme of the song and the water which is a big part of the end of this book.

2. Monsters Calling Home by Run River North for Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This one is simply because I listened to it a million times while reading the book.  The title goes along well with some of the themes in the book, but other than that they don't match too well

3. Renegades by X Ambassadors for the Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

The entire book is about the last of the human race trying to fight back and survive, making them renegades.  I also feel like the sound of the song matches the lost feeling the people have in the book.

4.  Rivers and Roads by the Head & the Heart for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

This song always reminds me of the fight and the nature of this book.  Most of the book takes place outside with the main character fighting to stay alive, forget her pain, and become stronger.  This song always makes me think of fighting to be the best you can be.

5. The Lament of Eustace Scrubb by The Oh Hellos for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis

Well this song was LITERALLY made for this book, but every time I listen to it I get a huge urge to read the book again.

You can join the group on Goodreads to see what the future categories will be!

-Happy Reading

Amanda Lyn

Reading List 2016 (June Update)

At the beginning of this year, I planned to read 30 books.  I sat down and made a list of 30 books that I planned to read, but I knew that the list would change a lot.  So every three months I sit down and edit my list.

I am reading 30 books in 2016. Here is my June update.
These are in no particular order, just how I typed them out.

Read Already:
1. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
4. Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard
5. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
8. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
9. The Crown by Kiera Cass
10. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
11. The Winner's Curse by Maria Rutkoski
12. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Currently Reading:
1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
3. The Winner's Crime by Maria Rutkoski

To Read:
1. Graceling by Kristen Cashore
2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Will be released in September)
3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
5. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
6. The Young Elite by Marie Lu
7. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
8. Damien by Herman Hesse
9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
11. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
12. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
13. Paper Towns by John Green
14. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
15. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

(Edit had been made on June 4th 2016)

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn