 Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) By Amie Kaufman Hardcover, 599 pages 4.5 Stars Published October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers BookDepository | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | GoodReads Summary: 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. 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 Review: So first thing first, my local library didn't have a copy of Illuminae, so I borrowed the audio book, but it is definitely one I want to actually read, because of its interesting format. But the version I listened to wasn't just one person reading to me, it had a full cast of voice actors. It was really fun to listen to all of the chaos and different layers of the book. I would definitely suggest it. I would give this book a 4.5-star review. I thought it was really fascinating to listen to the different layers of the book using the different structures. There were some points near the end that I felt it was sort of predictable but I never, never thought a robot would pull at my heart strings so much. This story engaged me from the very first scene. At times I felt like I was in a combination world of I am Legend and IRobot.  I found it very easy to follow the story. The actual format of how the book was set up drew me in from the get-go. Clearly, everything that is happening is a report, so what happened why was this report so interesting? What was Kady and Ezra's key roles that made them so important? I personally really liked their relationship. I found it similar to a couple I am writing and "realistic" for long distance relationships. That is if you forget the fact that they were in space, running for their lives from an enemy spaceship that is.
This was the first Sci-fi book I have read in a while... I don't think I read any Sci-fi last year. So this was a good fantasy pallet cleanse for me. I a looking forward to the next book in the series Gemina. I think I would recommend this one to a friend for sure. I was listening to it constantly: As I cooked dinner, when I drove places, or before I went to bed. It was with me all the time. But that is just a plus side of audio books. Update: I got a hold of the ebook and am reading it that way now too. I can see what everyone means about the format now! It is so cool! At times it is like a script, while others it is us diagrams like of the ships, and filmstrips with information. In some places there are even stamps that say classified across it. It really was a interesting and new way of reading. It was awesome! I get they hype! If you can you should definitely get your hands on this one. What did you think of this book? Let me know on twitter @scripturienting or on Facebook The Scripturient 101 and Follow me on instagram @scripturient101
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Hello Bookworms, January has passed clearly lol, we have made it into our first month of 2017 and this month has flown by for me. I am back at school now and am itching to read... just not the books I need to read for school.... oops. But I did get through several books. So how did I do on my list.... not great... 1. Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas 2. The Inquasition by Taran Mathuru 3. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare 4. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake 5. Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson I did get through my first book on my list. The review of this one will be up in February. I didn't get through any of the others... mainly because the list of people waiting for it from the library was longer than I was at home. I am waiting on ebooks now so they are still on my list just shifted around a bit now that I have moved on through the month. Check back in next week for what is on my February TBR.  Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses Book #1) By Sarah J. Maas When I read this I went in blind, I knew relatively nothing about it, I just heard how amazing it was. I thought it was pretty good, until I heard that it was a Beauty and the Beast Retelling! Then oh baby oh, it got 10x better for me. It seems more like a romance set in a fantasy world then just straight up fantasy to me. But hey that isn't the worst thin in the world now is it?  Illuminae (Book #1 The Illuminae Files) By Amie Kaufman Rating:4.5 As I said in my review that came out Monday, this was my first Sci-Fi book in a really long time, it did not disappoint. With a very strong, okay a Bad-ass female protagonist named Kady, and a broken Artificial Intelligence named AIDAN they clean up the mess left by higher ups. Review>  Witch and Wizard By James Patterson I did a reread of Witch and Wizard, I have reread the first few books a few times but never finished the series. I am hoping this time I will actually be able to finish the series. I have never felt like there was anything wrong with it, other things just come up first. DNF The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson 2 stars This book, so this book came out in 2008... I wouldn't say I have been trying to read it since then but I have tried to get through it several times.... I just don't think it is going to happen. I made it about 4 and a half hours into the audiobook and I don't really have an interest in following through to the end. So I think this one is going to have to go back onto the DNF pile where it came from. Currently Reading The Race (Issac Bells #4) By Clive Cussler It is 1910, the age of flying machines is still in its infancy, and newspaper publisher Preston Whiteway is offering $50,000 for the first daring aviator to cross America in less than fifty days. He is even sponsoring one of the prime candidates-an intrepid woman named Josephine Frost-and that's where Bell, chief investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency, comes in. Frost's violent-tempered husband has just killed her lover and tried to kill her, and he is bound to make another attempt. Bell has tangled with Harry Frost before; he knows that the man has made his millions leading gangs of thieves, murderers, and thugs in every city across the country. He also knows that Frost won't be only after his wife, but after Whiteway as well. And if Bell takes the case . . . Frost will be after him, too.  A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2)
By Sarah J. Maas Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost. Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people. Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two. With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.  A Court Of Thorns and Roses By Sarah J. Maas Hardcover, 1st Edition, 416 pages 5 Stars Published May 5th, 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads Goodreads Summary: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. My Review: This book was amazing. I have been hearing about this book for months, but couldn't get my hands on it at school (I need to fix this ASAP) but OMG. I started this out not really knowing much about besides that it was great. It wasn't until I was part of the way through and saw my friend Emily's review of it (you should totally check her out @paperbackthrills (Instagram) and paperbackthrills.tumblr.com) that I realized that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Okay so I have book obsession, but I also have a Disney obsession.... I can name most Disney songs by the first few cords..... yeaaaa so long story short Belle is my favorite Disney princess. Freyre is such a wonderful strong character, who I have to admit at times I didn't like. They girl is just to stubborn at times, but when you look at her past, you see why she has put us such a stiff wall against her emotions. I thought Maas created a very interesting world, I would love to see her notes about the world. I haven't read many retellings, but I enjoyed the fact that if you knew the tale, you could see where Maas twisted the tale to fit her own. Lucien is my favorite, he is like the dorky sidekick, that really isn't all that dorky. This story was a book that pulled me in, and I felt things for, I didn't want to put it down. I may or may not have been yelled at because I sat in the same place for six hours... while my brother got me food and water. What can I say? I was comfy. I am reading the second book now, and I can't wait to finish it and for the third book to come out! Court of Wings and Ruin Book #3 out May 2nd 2017 Happy Reading! Katelyn Costello  Hello Bookworms, This week has been a very busy week for me writing wise. As you may already know, I have been actively going over my first draft of The Frituals. But I also have another book that I have had done for a while. About two years. I have done some things I regret it, which I won't get into too much right now but if you want to hear more about the publishing (or lack of) that I have done with Silver Manor, I have been thinking of doing a series of post on it. So I have two books almost 3 in the works right now. Silver Manor has gone out to Beta readers: 2 I found on Goodreads and one is a family friend and former teacher of mine. Thanks, Peggy <3 I am still looking for a few more Beta's so if you would like to help with that there will be a thing at the bottom of this post. The Frituals The Frituals is all editing right now. I have been reading it, and fixing grammar, finding out where I need to expand chapters and fill plot holes. Yesterday I posted this photo:  I started writing out the chapter number, and details of that chapter, You can kinda tell that some of the cards are different colors. That is because I have multiple points of view in this book, so this way I can see where I need to focus more. Shauna: Blue Taytra: Orange Jamie: Light Green Moraine: Pink Paulo: Dark Green Damian: Black Lyra: Yellow Phillipe: Red Ward: Brown For example, in part one there are twelve chapters, the characters we see are Shauna, Taytra, and Jamie. Shauna is the main character, so it makes sense that we read from her POV the most. Shauna has 8/12 Taytra has 3/12, and Jamie has 1/12. I plan on continuing this process this week mapping out the rest of this book before going back in and editing it. If you want to start reading to get a taste of it, the first three chapters have been posted to Wattpad. I also will need to go back in and start planning for the second half of my second book in this series. My goal is that this first book will be available for beta reading by May. Keep checking back here for updates and future application for that! Thanks for reading, If you have any questions about this outlining style you can tweet me at @scripturienting or I suggest checking out Vivien Reis's Video How to Outline your Novel- The Storyboard- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3XmqvUmVn0 Or ShaelinWrites Video How to Outline Your Novel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNcaL1pDC5A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BCnLYNe94c Both of these writers/ YouTubers have a ton of writing knowledge, and I have enjoyed watching their videos lately. Hello Bookworms, It is the time of the month where we go over what I have been reading and how those books were rated in my mind. This month was my first month as a book blogger and I got through quite a few books. I am pretty happy with this number. Seven books is really good for me. Sadly I wasn't able to compleate my goodreads goal. As I write this post on Wednesday I have read 57 of my 75 book goal for the year so I got 76% of my goal. I go through periods of time where I read a lot, or a read very little. A lot of my reading is done by listening to audiobooks. My dad got me hooked when I was young. But anyway the majority of the books on my lists will most likely normally be books I listened to, but hey who doesn't like story time right? This month my ratings had an average of 4.2 with a small issue you will see with the latest book I read which would have brought that rating down to a 4. But because of said issue, with the audiobook. Any way, how did you do on your goodreads goal? Did you complete it? What is on your to be read list for January? I can't wait to hear from all of you Love Kate The Crown- Kiera Cass The first book I read this month was The Crown by Kiera Cass, as I said in the review. I loved the first three books in the Selection series but I wasn't a fan of the books focusing on Edlyn. 3 stars 279 pages Full Review > The House of Hades |
Katelyn CostelloA lover of words, reading and writing. Archives
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