For those that dont know, WWW is a meme and this meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. And it involves answering the 3 Ws!
Agh I am writing this at 11pm on Wednesday. School is kicking my ass this quarter. I need to spend some really lengthy time just doing homework this weekend to get ahead.
Okay, okay, okay it might take me a while to finish my currently reading, so I might not see you guys this next Wednesday. I have so much going on. But, I will be reading and trying to bust some posts out. I swear eventually I will be on top of everything.
“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s theme is:
Books you would like the throw into the ocean
Now, this post is going to be really short. I dont think I could even come up with a book that I hate enough to write for this list. It would be so disrespectful of me to do such a horrid thing.
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
No seriously, that is the list. I have never read a book that I hated as much as I hated this book. I read this years ago in like a day just so I could see the movie, and I hated the book so much I didn’t go see the movie.
I absolutely hate it.
I could never compare my hatred for another book as much as I hate this one.
I remember there was controversy over bookstagrammers burning books for cool photos. But, I would not care if they burnt all of the copies of this book for Instagram.
Anyways, that is the post. I saw the topic at 9pm on Tuesday and thought “Hell yeah, I can bash If I Stay.” That is literally the only reason I decided to write today.
If you don’t know what WWW is, then why do you live under a rock? Just kidding! It is a meme and this meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. And it involves answering the 3 Ws!
I finally finished Kingdom of Ash which has ended a huge series. I think I am going to take some time to read a few stand alones or smaller series.
“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s theme is:
Places in books you want to live
Ah, I am so excited about this one. I think about this a lot.
Clearly some of my answers are going to be very obvious but I will try to surprise you as best as I can.
Hogwarts
Reason: Ummm do I even need to explain
2. Terrasen
This is such a beautifully described place. And I love the smell of pine so I think the Pine forest would suit me well.
3. Torre Cesme
I mean just for the library alone. And to meet the Baast Cats. I would love it there.
3. New York
I mean this is from a lot of books that I love, most recently, Dash and Lilly and What If It’s Us. It has also been my dream to move to New York. So, any excuse to talk about New York, I am game.
4. Doon
I have loved Doon ever since I read the books. I think it sounds so beautiful and I also really want to go to Scotland.
5. Wonderland
More specifically, the Wonderland that Marissa Meyers creates in Heartless. And probably before the Catherine becomes evil.
6. The Maze
I love the Maze Runner. I do not think being in the Maze and living in the Maze would be great. But, the men there. Oh my goodness. I would do it just for that.
7. Watford School of Magicks
Not as great as Hogwarts, but I loved Carry On and would love to see this other magic school.
And with that, I end my list. I could not think of ten places. I really like these places.
“Aelin Galathynius has vowed to save her people ― but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. The knowledge that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, but her resolve is unraveling with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, friends and allies are scattered to different fates. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever. As destinies weave together at last, all must fight if Erilea is to have any hope of salvation.
Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an explosive conclusion as Aelin fights to save herself―and the promise of a better world.”-Goodreads
My Review:
Here it is…
The long awaited post.
The Throne of Glass series was one of the first books I heard raved about when I began this book blog and getting started in the Book community. And here it is, I have finished the final book in this series.
It has taken me a while.
I stopped reading the series for awhile and then I picked it back up but I had to restart. But, here I am. I have finished. It has been a lot of focus and sweat and tears and just everything to get this series done.
And when I say crying, I mean CRYING.
To put into perspective the last few hundred pages I had to read of this book, I cried for 5 hours the night that I finished. I had 300 pages left in the book and I just decided to finish it one night. I meant to read a little, but once I had read the first 100, I was already in tears and knew that I just needed to keep going. I finished it in a few hours and just tears.
I mean I had to drink so much water for how much I cried.
UGGGHGHGHGHGFfke;lfrefhaeorgklhdaklgf (sorry I got crazy)
This was such a good book. I have so many feelings about it.
First thing is first. This was the best way to end this series. I think that it was a really really good book. It made me so happy and so sad at the same time.
Second thing, I am looking back through my notes on the book and the biggest thing I wrote about in the beginning was how my Mom bought me a bootleg copy of this book. I swear. The pages are not the same quality and the binding was so bad. but, I still read it and I am pretty sure I am reading the right book.
So, I am going to try and make this into a spoiler-free review but I can not 100% guarantee. This will most likely have a few spoilers that I will forget to not mention. But, I will try to list a warning.
The story started off a little confusing but I think I just forgot a few things form the ending like names and such from EoS after reading ToD. I just was very excited to see when Chaol met up with the group again and dropped the hugest bomb on them.
Then there was a lot of sex, like right off the bat. I do not think that the other books had NEARLY as much sex as this one did. I mean there were a few heated moments in the others but this book had more sex scenes than all the others combined, I swear. And Maas kept putting them right in between really intense action scenes which really tickled my funny bone.
I also hate it when the POVs get interrupted during the action scenes. I get that it builds suspense. But, some of the POV changes just hurt my brain. There was one point where we had three storylines going and three chapters in a row left off with a cliffhanger and when we got back to the original chapter, I did not care anymore because I wanted to learn about the last one and I forgot all about this other storyline.
Maas does have unique way of using POVs and I really do like her use of them. I have read other multiple POV stories that just confuse the hell out of me. I think that Maas makes a great use of them, other than what I just stated above. I like to see how everyone’s story comes together in the end and where they all end up.
Two of the characters are in captivity together. While most books would probably put two characters who are friends or have a strong well built relationship together, Maas puts two characters who barely know each other. It then grows these two people closer together and makes a strong trauma-bonded friendship. I think that was a cool aspect because it was not just two friends suffering it was two strangers who became friends.
Aelin is such a strong character. Before I read this series, there were not a lot of strong female leads in the books I was reading. But, now I think this really opened the way for even stronger female leads and more badass women in fantasy. Aelin has been a near and dear friend to me these past years reading this series so I am really glad that I was able to read about her and hear how her story ended. I cried a lot about the ending. well actually, I cried a lot throughout the whole book for her. I felt as though she was a real presence in my life. I am really sad to see her go but thankful for everything she has taught me about being a woman and being a queen.
Rowan, Chaol, and Dorian have been the most amazing co-main characters in the world. They have al taught me about love and loss. I felt strong connections to them all. (If they were real people, I would consider polygamy). I think everyone they ended up with in the end was spectacular. All of their journeys really teach you a lot about the world.
Manon will always hold a special place in my heart. She went from someone who felt as though the world was rotten and dark and hating everyone, to learning to feel feelings and to have love for those surrounding her. She also rides dragons, (which let me just say Maas, I almost threw your book in the garbage when that one part with Abraxos came up).
Yrene, Lysandra, and Evangeline were phenomenal. Lysandra really held her own and is trying to make her way in a male dominated society. Evangeline melted hearts and showed strength even though she was young. And Yrene showed how women can save the world.
The plot of this story was really good. I think the story was really long and drawn out but it was not a bad mix. The only storyline that seemed too drawn out and almost unnecessary was Lysandra and Aedion’s POVs. Mostly because they kept losing battles and it was just the same thing every time we focused on them. I think Maas could have played with the impersonation storyline a bit more. I am really upset that Nox Owens and Aelin did not meet up at the end.
As you all know, I cried a lot during this. I strongly felt as thought Maas was going to pull a Divergent on us. SPOILER ALERT: but she did not and I am so grateful. I would not have been able to handle that loss.
Ugh, I have so many things to talk about with this book. I loved so many things. I think that if you have not started reading the series yet, you need to. It is one of the best stories that I have read in a long time. I dream to read the series again like it is my first time. Who knows, maybe in a year I will go back to reading it and not remember anything.
Anyways, I do want to put this series behind me. I think this review was a little jumbled. I have been writing my thoughts down into the a journal when I read. But, I am not sure if that is helping since I do not put spoilers in my reviews. I think I am going to start doing review/discussions. Like an overview at first but then a deep dive later so I can talk about what I liked. We shall see…
It is spring break for my school, but because of the pandemic, I stayed at my apartment.
I am basically doing a Marvel movie marathon.
I am watching them all in release date order, which I have never done before, and it is pretty fun. but, the week has left me with little time to read, hence the small amount of posts.
I got straight As in all of my classes this last quarter. I think this was one of the hardest quarters I have had. The classes were so boring and online school is really testing my patience. Thank god we are almost done with that.
I have been doing a lot of research into when I can get my vaccine. I want it so badly. My co-workers and I are planning on starting hot yoga once we all get the vaccines.
I am excited for next quarter which will start on Tuesday. I just paid for my last textbook and for my tuition. After this, I am going to just peruse my courses that are uploaded on Canvas.
I have 200 pages left to go in the Throne of Glass series. I am super excited about finishing it. I have not had this strong of a connection with a series since I read The Maze Runner or Harry Potter. I am just ready for it to be done but sad to see it go.
I did not have a lot to update you guys on but I needed something to post for this week. So hope you had a good time with this tiny post.
“In Prentisstown, Todd has been brought up to believe that the Spackle released a germ that killed all the women and unleashed Noise on the remaining men. After discovering a patch of silence out in the swamp, his surrogate parents immediately tell him that he has to run, leaving him with only a map of New World, a message, and many unanswered questions. He soon discovers the source of the silence: a girl, named Viola.” -Google
Review: Okay so please please please read what the synopsis says of the movie.
Go on.
Do it.
I wrote it above so you did not have to look it up.
Okay, you read it?
Now forget it.
This movie was nothing like it described. First, the germ was not mentioned in the movie at all. Like, not at all unless I was not paying attention enough. They did not “unleash” the noise on the men. He does not discover a “patch of silence.” He has no map and the girl is not the “source of the silence.”
That being said, I thankfully did not read that before I went into the movie. I just am a huge Tom Holland fan so I went to see it. But, my god, I would have been so confused if I had read the synopsis before I saw the movie. So, I am sorry if you have not seen it yet and had to read that. It just does not accurately portray the movie at all.
I think the synopsis goes along with the book and not the movie. But, that was just something I wanted to pick at before we went into the actual real review of the movie.
Just, if you are expecting what it says on Google, they only got it half-right. Trust me.
Now, dont get me wrong, the movie was good. Just, holy cow, not what I was expecting.
Also, the trailer is misleading too. Not as much, but holy hell there was a lot in the trailer that was not even breached in the movie.
UUUUGGHGHGHHDIHFdklfhsdfjklf clkjnlkvbitenfovtguv (oops sorry I was angry)
And holy cow I am going to have a few spoilers in the next paragraph.
So many questions were left unanswered. Like what are the Spackles? We get one glimpse but nothing else. Why do they not attack women? Why are women not affected by the noise? Why did the Prentisstown colony leave the original civilization? What does the original civilization look like? Like, where are the other civilizations? If Todd had a good or was supposed to have good control over his noise, why did he suck so bad at hiding everything? What was Nick Jonas’s role? Why were there so many supporting characters with no explanation? Who was the preacher? What did the Preacher want?
WHAT THE HELL?
Literally, so many questions. I went into this movie blind, and I came out with even more questions than I did when I knew nothing about the movie.
The story was exciting. It had a really good motorcycle/horse chase in it that really got my heart rate up. (SPOILER) But, then the horse just died (sorry grandma) out of nowhere. Like, they did not have to end the chase that way. (SPOILER) And do not get me started on the dog.
The story starts off really interesting. It opens with a quote that I did not have time to read because my roommate who I went to see the movie with was giggling the entire previews. (Our local theater played the same 3 ads for twenty minutes. We could not stop laughing at the heroine addiction commercial because it was a guy floating in an elevator. You had to be there.) It goes on to bring in Tom FREAKING Holland and his cute puppy. We kind of begin to understand the noise, but as I said earlier, I still have so many questions.
We get introduced to his town and then to his father and his father’s male partner? Lover? Roommate? Friend he shares a bed with? I am not sure. That was not delved into. I am not even sure it was his real father because the synopsis said surrogate parents. But, he kept calling him Dad. I dont know. It was kind of a confusing movie.
And then comes the spaceship, (not a spoiler it was in the trailer) and Todd finds it and here starts the adventure in the plot. He sees a girl for the first time and comically is trying not to freak out while also thinking she is hot while she is not trying to freak out because she can hear his thoughts.
She gets captured by a man who can do A LOT with his noise. Why can no one else control the noise like he can? UGGGGHHHH. Anyways, Todd tries to help her get out of that town and they go on a crazy adventure, yadayada, normal thriller movies plot line.
But, holy god the plot did not answer a lot of questions. Now, the books the movie was based on is a trilogy. So, it would make sense that they are laying the ground work for a sequel, but that much ground work is intense. I dont even think they will be able to make a sequel because this movie was just such a bummer. Like, the rotten tomatoes score is a 21% as of March 18th at 10:07pm PST.
Death Note (2017) got a better score than this movie. Pitch Perfect 3 got a better score. A movie called Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009) got a better score than this movie. Holy crap.
I enjoyed this movie. I dont think this was the worst movie to exist. But, really. The disgusting, live-action Death Note got a higher ranking than this movie. Oh god.
Ugh, this is making my head hurt. Let me talk about something that did make sense; the casting.
Tom Holland was fantastic. He played the dorky teenager seeing a girl for the first time really well. Also, he played the hero role really well, but, he was not as good as Daisy Ridley. He also had quite a few shirtless scenes that I very much appreciated. I, again, only watched this movie because I knew Tom Holland was going to be in it.
Now, they really are setting up their movie for failure in two ways. One, they got the movie buffs who read the premise or saw the trailer and thought it would be good, who are now all leaving the theaters confused and disappointed. Two, the hoards of teenage girls who came to see this movie because pretty Tom Holland was in it are going to be PISSED. you wanna know why? Because that the ass shot that we got WAS BLURRED. Like seriously. I mean he was great being the dorky kid who has never seen a girl before. But, you have got to be kidding me. The fact that I was teased with an ass shot and then not given it made me want to scream. Those two groups were probably a majority of the people going to see this movie and they are all not going to be giving good reviews of the movie.
Now, Daisy Ridley was AMAZING. I have only seen her in the newer Star Wars movies so I was excited to see her play this role. And she did it REALLY well. I think she outplayed everyone in the movie. She was probably the biggest role. She passed the Bechdel test. She had an amazing performance. I think that if the movie wasn’t so confusing her role would have been even better. Like, her character was great, but she was only allowed to be awesome for a little bit. Like, just so much was going on it was hard to focus on her I feel like. I think that she somehow had a smaller role even though SHE WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER (you cannot tell me Todd Hewitt is the main character) because she was a woman. Women in film are not represented well. But, maybe that will be another post.
The other actors were great. But, those two got the most screen time. Shoutout to Cynthia Erivo, playing Hildy, who was the only other living female in the movie who got a speaking part. She was a badass town leader and mayor of the town.
So, now that I am unpacking everything, I get more and more frustrated. One, the movie was confusing. Two, the ass shot. Three, there will most likely be no sequel, I am calling it. Four, the female representation SUCKED, but what can you expect from a movie where they literally have no women in one town. Five, the animals.
When I was in the theaters watching the movie, I had a great time. When we left, I had exclaimed how I was a little confused, but I thought it was pretty good. My roommate chalked it up to the sequel needing to come out. But, now that I am here and did research and am reflecting on the events in the movie, I am unsure about my resolve that this was a good movie.
And, I try not to outright say I do not like things.
But, this movie, kind of sucked.
It is a great movie to watch once. I think it was cool. But, by god there was so much missing. I dont know. I dont want to deter anyone away from the movie. I actually want a bunch of people to watch it so that we can get a sequel. But, yikes.
Anyways, I hope you guys had a good week. I have been a little MIA and just putting out random stuff because the last two weeks I have been so stressed about finals so I have not read that much. But, today before the movie I did a lot of reading, and hopefully next week there will be a decent amount of posts.
The movie theater in my college town has opened up again!
(If I am being honest, I dont think it ever closed.) But, that is alright because it opened up and I went to see Raya and the Last Dragon with a few friends from my club.
One, I met this girls the night before so I was super nervous because I did not want to embarrass myself by crying at a Disney movie. But, it was all good. I cried but so did they.
Two, I was a little freaked out because I knew I was going to review it but I dont want anyone getting mad I went to the movies in a pandemic. I wore my mask the entire time (even though I didnt have to) and we brought our own candy and did not shared a popcorn with our hands. We used cups and split the popcorn up.
Anyways,
OH MY GOD THAT MOVIE WAS GOOD
I was crying my heart out at the end. Disney is great at making tearjerkers with fantastic messages. I mean the message of this story was beautiful. It was like trust the people around you. Trust thy neighbor.
I dont know.
It was so good.
AND…
It passed the Bechdel test. In fact, the heroine, Raya, did not have a love interest at all (except I am very sure their was tension between her and Naamari). That is huge in my book. And Raya, a girl, saved the world. I just hope that this shows little girls around the world that they do not need a man to save the world.
So, the plot was fantastic. I do not know if there is a Southeast Asian folklore (is it called folklore or what would it be called?) about this story or if they just made this up but it was phenomenal. It had me on the edge of my seat most of the movie. Clearly, it is a Disney movie so it will be all happy go lucky at the end. But, it did so good at keeping it suspenseful!
AND THE CAST WAS AMAZING
First off, this was a movie with ties to a Southeast Asian culture actually had a cast with an almost full Southeast Asian respectively cast. It was so great to see that representation. I thought they casted this so well. Secondly, the actors were so good. Everyone’s voice fit their role (obviously) and they just were so good. Awkwafina is one of my favorite actor because she is so funny. I think that she played Sisu so well! She was still showing off her funny side while taking on a serious role in the story. Everyone else was really good especially Kelly Marie Tran (Raya) and Gemma Chan (Naamari).
Ugh, I cant get over how good this movie was. I am so glad that the movie theater was open. I did not want to pay $30 on Disney+ to watch it.
I was so happy to see this movie and I think that everyone should go see this movie. I of course am writing this two weeks after seeing this so I am forgetting things. But, I liked it and it made me literally cry.
It is Monday night and I did not write anything for Monday. But, I have this great website I wanted to share with you guys so I will make this a quick post for Monday.
So basically, it takes a whole bunch of white noise sounds and compiles them so users can create their very own atmosphere. I found it on TikTok a few days ago and it changed my life.
In other words, you can be vibing, doing homework in your room but transported to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Or you can be listening to the haunting but serene sounds of the Torre Cesme Library. Or, my all-time favorite, Celeana’s Bedroom.
LIKE THEY HAVE LITERALLY ANY SOUND YOU WANT
and if you can’t find it…..
MAKE IT.
I have not tried the making sound feature. It is too hard. Like literally I can’t figure it out but I only tried for one minute and then got bored.
Anyways,
This website is the best. I told my friend about it and I got roasted for listening to a Hogwarts library audio while in our school’s dining hall.
Hey, it was better than listening to the guy five tables down complaining about wearing his mask.
Anyways, I hope someone else thinks this website is as cool as I thought it was. I am literally addicted and I listen to everything I can. I like to listen to a playlist about the books I am reading so that I feel as though I am in the story more.
So, that was my quick Monday night post. Sorry for it being late and sorry for it being short. I was lazy, okay? We all should know this about me by now.
Published September 5th 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Pages: 660
“Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea’s last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold.
After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need—and will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries shadows from his own past, and Yrene soon comes to realize they could engulf them both.
In this sweeping parallel novel to the New York Times bestselling Empire of Storms, Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience if they wish to save their friends. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, deep in the shadows of mighty mountains where warriors soar on legendary ruks, long-awaited answers slumber. Answers that might offer their world a chance at survival—or doom them all . . .” –Goodreads
My Review:
Okay, to everyone out here who has finished the ToG series and ACOTAR AND Crescent City, leave me alone. I know I am late. To put into perspective how long I have been trying to finish this series, I finished Queen of Shadows before Tower of Dawn came out, and then I stopped reading for like four years. But, I am now jumping back into the game. I re-read all the books. I just did a review of Empire of storms. And here I am done with Tower of Dawn.
What a long road it has been.
And it isn’t over yet. I still go tone more book to finish. It is going to be a crazy time.
Even after starting this series back in 2016, I still have not been spoiled the ending of Kingdom of Ash. It scares me a little because do people just not want to talk about it because it is that horrifying? Or was it just so good the book community is still in shock? Or am I just not in the right circles?
I DONT ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW. DO NOT SPOIL IT AT ALL. I HAVE BEEN LIVING PEACEFULLY AND EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SPOILER FREE.
Anyways,
Tower of Dawn.
What an exciting book.
When I tell you how much I disliked Chaol at the beginning and how much I loved him at the end. Was that a universal thing or just me? I feel like the fourth book just made him seem like an asshole and he just never recovered from that. Until now.
I am glad we got this whole other perspective to the story. It was kind of nice to going back to only having three POVs. I love Maas and her POVs but Empire of Storms and Queen of Shadows was insane with the switching. This was a nice break. But, I am sure the Kingdom of Ash is going to have all the OG POVs and Nesryn and Yrene and Manon and Elide and Lochan and literally everyone who has a name in the story.
Gotta love it
Also, I did not think that this story would be such a big part of the whole series. I was told once a few months after it came out that it was utterly unnecessary to read. UM WHAT? This gave us like the biggest plot twist ever and if I had to just get that summarized my Kingdom of Ash, I would have been PISSED.
So, if you are reading ToG please read this book. Don’t let people lie to you.
You learn kind of really important information like almost vital information to the entire war that is happening. When the whole thing drops about Maeve my jaw hit the floor. It was insane. And when Yrene did the thing.
OH MY GOD SHE SO SWAG!!!
I am really trying to keep this spoiler-free but I cant say much without ruining it. As usual.
Also, can we talk about Yrene. What a beautiful person! She was so nice. I thought she had an amazing personality. She was described so beautifully and she was so badass!!
Lets go back to Chaol’s character development in the story. I think he starts off as an arrogant ass and ends up as a less arrogant ass. But, all improvement is good. And who doesn’t love an arrogant ass, am I right?
I mean seriously, look at him.
Also, while looking for fanart I found this. WHAT THE HELL? Is this real or did someone just make this. I couldn’t find any art credits. I…….This would have looked so well on my shelf instead of the shield. BUT I AM NOT DOGGING ON THE SHIELD, just saying I would have preferred a person on the cover.
Also I found this really cute art piece. I am going to show it but it contains a little spoilers (even though it is obvious that they get together in the end).
How talented is that.
I love it so much.
I love their whole story arc. I also love that Chaol hated himself for a moment because he kissed Yrene. It just makes me happy to see him get some revenge.
Ugh, the whole story was amazing. I honestly think this beats out Crown of Midnight for my favorite book in the series. It is so good. The emotions are raw and intense. It deals with really hard issues in life. It has some badass women in there. It leads up to the ending really well. The beginning was a little slow and the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked but, you cant have the new love birds die just yet can you?
Wink Wink
Anyways, I think I am done for today. I am trying to figure out if more people will read my stuff on the weekends or if posting on the weekdays is alright. I just see the weekends as my time to write. But, I can change it up depending on what people prefer.