Hello Bookworms,
If you have been here for the last couple months then you would know that I already read Illuminae but I wanted to give it a read before I read Geminia. I wanted an excuse to read it again what can I say? I loved this book. 

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Hardcover, First Edition, 599 pages
Published October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more--Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

MY THOUGHTS:
Honestly I loved this series. I do. There is something about the emotions behind this book that really gets to me. The need for survivial. The need to love. It just, it is beautiful. I loved reading this book the second time just as much as the first. If not more. This series has a pull that I haven't read in a long time. I can't really describe what it is. But believe me, if you want a roller coaster of a book, a good roller coaster, pick up Illuminae

​You can read my first review here 

​Katelyn 
​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSEeWBRSsR2aTwC8rDjAXkA
 twitter @scripturienting
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Dear Bookworms,
ka;kdjijeoi jrnf d 
​

Curtsies & Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)
by Gail Carriger​4 Stars
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published November 2013 by Hachette Little, Brown & Co
Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for
decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy--won't Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
by Maggie Stiefvater 
​5 stars
Hardcover, 409 pages
Published September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press (first published September 1st 2012)There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff 
4.5 Stars
This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

BRIEFING NOTE: Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff , Marie Lu
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless. 

Dear Bookworms,
So my little writing fiends, you know that feeling when you are working on notes and outlining when all you can think of is writing? That is the state I am in now. My ideas are flowing and growing the more notes I write, and the more I just want to put pen to page. I am hoping I can soon start, maybe the next time we do a writing update I will be able to tell you I have written a good chunk of it. I want to try to write 5,000 words a week. If I do that then by the time I go back to school I should have at least 55,000 if all goes to plan. 
For this week this is all I really have to say. I think from here on out I will post a little quote from whatever I write. Follow me on instagram for a more regular update on my reading and writing at @scripturient101
Katelyn Costello

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover, 409 pages
5 Stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
Published September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press
“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

OH MY GOD... This book was so good. I don't know how to formulate my thoughts right now. This book. This book was sooooo good. I sort of regret putting it off for so long. But I feel like that happens to a lot of people. I blame this on that synopsis. So I want to bring you around to the synopsis that Stiefvater wrote after the book was published:

A host of co-dependent teens with a battery of psychological issues comb rural Virginia for a dead Welsh king with dubious magical powers. Trees talk; hitmen put down roots; dead people live; living people die. Cars are described in loving detail. Fuckweasel. A house full of psychics tells everybody the future and drinks a lot on-page considering it’s a young adult series. Nobody kisses anybody, which is weird because everybody loves everybody. There’s rich boys! Poor boys! Sad boys! Angry boys! Raven boys! Collect them all!

This description much better suits the books. These characters are so flawed but so lovable. they make decisions that you hate, but can back. It pulls at your heart strings and makes you want to scream at the characters. It is perfect. One of the things that I loved about it the most was honestly how missleading the synopsis is, because since you go in thinking it is more of a romance the desire to follow the mythology, and the paranormal elements were surprising but pleasing. Stiefvater, created such vivid scenes that I actually got creeped out at time, got chills. If you have read it, Noah, the scene with Noah I read that as I went to bed... so creepy! It was great!
I would suggest this book to so many people, but know there are heavy  themes in it. Including: Poverty, verbal and physical abuse, death, and a possible hint at suicide.  But I feel like these theme were approached well and in a believable way. I feel like because of these themes it leans to the higher end of the YA range, but not anything I am opposed to. 
GO GET THIS BOOK!
Katelyn Costello
Tell me your thoughts on this one:
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Curtsies & Conspiracies
Gail Carriger
Hardcover, 310 pages
​4 stars
Amazon | Barnes and Nobel | Book Depository
Published November 2013 by Hachette Little, Brown & Co​
Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy--won't Mumsy be surprised? Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a field trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

In this sequel to New York Times bestselling Etiquette & Espionage, class is back in session with more petticoats and poison, tea trays and treason. Gail's distinctive voice, signature humor, and lush steampunk setting are sure to be the height of fashion this season.Curtsies & Conspiracies

This book is the second book in the Finishing School series, I did a review of Etiquette and Espionage where I talked about how I liked it but it wasn't like my favorite book ever. I threw the word cute around alot (WHyyyy Kate why?)  but I don't know what changed between this book and the last one but this one felt so much more grown up than the first book, but of course still had so many of the elements of the world that I loved. In this book we have the same spy elements that are fun to imagine you are along for the journey, but now we have *GASP* boys! Mademosiselle Geraldine's school for girls and Bunson's school for evil genius' combine as they head to *gasp* London! I loved this change of setting, I personally have a baby... okay large obsession with Victorian England and Steampunk, which makes this series absolutely perfect for me.
This book pulled in aspects of the first books plot but built it up making it even more intricate like you would want from any second book and led to us learning much more about characters. I am exited to continue this series once I finish the list of other books I am reading but I would defiantly suggest continuing on the series, I laughed a lot during it.  

Dear Bookworms,
This month sucked for reading. I just wanna put that out there now. I am four books behind on my goodreads reading. But it is okay, I probably have that many started right now that I just haven't finished. I am not going to do a tbr for this month. I am just gunna work on finishing the books I started and maybe starting some others. 

​4 Stars
​Nicholas Flamel's heart almost broke as he watched his beloved Paris crumble before him. The city was destroyed by Dee and Machiavelli, but Flamel played his own role in the destruction. Sophie and Josh Newman show every sign of being the twins of prophecy, and Flamel had to protect them and the pages from the Dark Elders.

But Nicholas grows weaker with each passing day. Perenelle is still trapped in Alcatraz, and now that Scatty has gone missing, the group is without protection. Except for Clarent—the twin sword to Excalibur. But Clarent’s power is unthinkable, its evil making it nearly impossible to use without its darkness seeping into the soul of whoever wields it.

If he hopes to defeat Dee, Nicholas must find an Elder who can teach Josh and Sophie the third elemental magic—Water Magic. The problem? The only one who can do that is Gilgamesh, and he is quite, quite insane.

4 Stars
​​Thor's hammer is missing again. The thunder god has a disturbing habit of misplacing his weapon--the mightiest force in the Nine Worlds. But this time the hammer isn't just lost, it has fallen into enemy hands. If Magnus Chase and his friends can't retrieve the hammer quickly, the mortal worlds will be defenseless against an onslaught of giants. Ragnarok will begin. The Nine Worlds will burn. Unfortunately, the only person who can broker a deal for the hammer's return is the gods' worst enemy, Loki--and the price he wants is very high.