Top Ten Books on My Autumn TBR

Hejsan!

Idag är det tisdag och jag är hemma och sjuk med feber och hosta och troligtvis lite allergi. Yay :(

Top Ten Tuesday organiseras av The Broke and the Bookish, en annan bokblogg på engelska. Klicka bara på namnet för att komma till sidan.

Denna lilla vecka är temat de tio böcker som ligger högst på TBR-listan inför hösten. Tror inte jag kommer läsa så mycket i höst, men ska ju till bokmässan och köpa lite. Vet dock inte vilka jag kommer införskaffa där, så får basera listan på böcker jag vill och borde läsa under höstmånaderna.

10. The Young Elites ~ Marie Lu

9. Spökstaden ~ Ransom Riggs

8.  End of Days ~ Susan Ee

7. Rebel Belle ~ Rachel Hawkin

6. The Copper Gauntlet ~ Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

5. Dreams of Gods & Monsters ~ Laini Taylor

4. City of Heavenly Fire ~ Cassandra Clare

3. Opposition ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

2. The Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

1. A Darker Shade of Magic ~ V.E. Schwab

Hej då!

Read-Your-Bookshelf-A-Thon

Hellu!

Tänkte bara snabbt tipsa om ett Read-A-Thon som tar plats inte nästa vecka men nästa vecka igen, mellan den 22 och 29 september. Det heter Read-Your-Bookshelf-A-Thon och passar perfekt till dom som har en TBR dom behöver minska och kräver den där extra lilla motivationen.
Det här Read-A-Thon har ganska simpla regler. Du börjar med att välja en bok på din bokhylla, var som helst, som du tänker börja med att läsa. När du är klar med den så rör du dig till boken höger om den du just läste och så vidare.
Jag har en perfekt sådan plats på en av mina bokhyllor. Det här är böckerna jag hoppas kunna läsa under veckan:

   

Skulle vara toppen om jag kunde läsa alla, men blir nöjd om jag hinner med de två första. Behöver dock verkligen läsa Cinder snart. Alternativet är att jag startar på ett annat ställe med de här böckerna:

  

Får se vad jag bestämmer mig för. Skulle gärna ta mig igenom allihop, men det vet jag att jag inte kommer klara av. Tyvärr.

Hej då!

Covers in the World #4: The Darkest Minds

American covers:

It seems most people like these covers a lot, but I don't really get the appeal. Maybe one day... They're not ugly, don't get me wrong, but I'm not impressed.

Australian cover 1:

I'm sorry, but this is rather boring. A close-up of a girl's face? Very creative...

Australian covers 2:

Yes, please! Pretty colours, pretty backgrounds aaaand they match! Send them my way!

German covers:

I was already tired, but I think these covers might actually make me fall asleep.

French covers:

Oh, I really don't like that. I can't for the life of me remember what that type of filter/picture is called, but it's not my cup o' tea. Not at all.

Indonesian covers:

Do I prefer these to the American? Nah. But they're nice.

Polish covers:

I don't know. While they're boring, they're also classy. I like the colours and the kind of mysterious dark/horror vibe I get from them. I'll say I like them :)

This was the fourth post in my blog series called Covers in the World. Did you like it? Hate it? What country's covers did you like best? Leave a comment and tell me. Or don't. It's your choice.

Hej då!

Book Haul ~ Augusti 2015

Yay!

Min första Book Haul! Tog bilderna med min läsplatta (ooh, så avancerat) så de blev bättre än om jag skulle ha tagit dom med datorn. Här finns totalt 12 böcker som jag samlat på mig i augusti. Skulle egentligen varit en bok till (The Little Prince) som jag beställde i augusti, men den har inte kommit än. Jaja, har i alla fall alla de här godbitarna :)

Death Most Definite ~ Trent Jamieson

Death Most Definite var ett totalt impulsköp från Book Depository. Kollade in deras bargain shop och hittade den här för typ 50kr så jag slog till. Det är första delen i en trilogi och är en adult fantasy/sci-fi tror jag. Innehåller både spöken och skräck och utspelar sig Australien! Är faktiskt ganska förväntansfull. Hoppas den är lite cheesy, som Supernatural.

Since You've Been Gone ~ Morgan Matson

Kommer inte riktigt ihåg om jag köpte Since You've Been Gone i augusti eller sena juli, men det var på gränsen. Har hört mycket bra om den på både BookTube och på andra svenska bokbloggar. Jag brukar inte läsa contemporary, men ibland måste man göra undantag.

Throne of Glass ~ Sarah J. Maas
Crown of Midnight ~ Sarah J. Maas
Äntligen! Har superhöga förväntningar, så jag köpte andra boken också innan jag ens hunnit börja på första. Ska ta tag i dom snart, jag lovar! Aaaah!

Opposition ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout
Sista delen i Lux serien om aliens. Är spänd inför sista boken, men också lite ledsen över att den redan är slut. Och gillar inte omslagsbytet, men vad kan man göra? När det kommer till den här serien köper man verkligen inte böckerna för omslagen ;)

White Hot Kiss ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

Låt inte omslaget lura dig! Ser ut som en spin-off till Fifty Shades of Grey, men det är de inte. White Hot Kiss är första boken i Jennifer L. Armentrouts nyare trilogi om gargoyler, vari sista boken kom ut nyligen. Kikade på första meningen och den höjde mina förväntningar rejält.

The Iron Trial ~ Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Hade hört så himla mycket bra om The Iron Trial från BookTube och den har redan blivit översatt till svenska, så jag tänkte att "Nej, nu måste jag minsann läsa den!" Och det gjorde jag. Den var superbra! Har redan gjort en recension och den kan ni gå och läsa om ni har lust.

The Copper Gauntlet ~ Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Copper Gauntlet släpptes på Adlibris den 31 augusti, så jag slog till samma dag. Har läst The Iron Trial redan och det var väldigt bra, trots att den är rätt lik Harry Potter på flera sätt. Dock gillade jag huvudkaraktären väldigt mycket.

Rebel Belle ~ Rachel Hawkins

Miss Mayhem ~ Rachel Hawkins

Bok ett och två i Rachel Hawkins nya serie/trilogi. Har sett fram emot att få tag på dessa enda sedan jag läste Demonglass (hittar dock inte Spell Bound i inbundet format någonstans) och har bara hört bra saker om båda två. De ser ganska flickiga ut, men jag har blivit lovad att huvudkaraktären är väldigt badass.





End of Days ~ Susan Ee
End of Days är sista delen i trilogin Penryn & the End of Days och jag har velat ha den här boken hur länge som helst! Hoppas Susan Ee inte gjorde ett stort misstag när hon bestämde sig för att korta ner de plannerade 5 böckerna i serien till bara tre.

Dreams of Gods & Monsters ~ Laini Taylor
Måste läsa innan bokmässan! Men den är ju hur gigantisk som helst och fonten är ännu mindre än de förra böckerna i serien. Hur ska jag klara av att läsa den här innan 26 september???

Hej då!

Book reviews: The Iron Trial | White Cat | Days of Blood & Starlight

Title: The Iron Trial
Author: Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Original title: The Iron Trial
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Series: Magisterium #1
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 295
Finished: 04/09/2015
Summary: Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.
Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.
All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.
So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.
Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.
The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

My thoughts:
Okay, so here's the thing; this book has a lot of things similar to Harry Potter. I still loved it, but at the same time I felt the authors could've worked a little harder on making it less Harry Potter-ish. I mean, there's even a Death Eater on the cover (kind of)! But don't worry, The Iron Trial is in a lot of ways also its own. I especially liked Call, the main character, for many reasons, but I won't mention them all since I don't wish to spoil you. I just really appreciated his personality and humour and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, his story, from his point of view. And the sidekicks were totally loveable characters as well and I felt they all developed through the story though it's not a very long book. Actually, the characters overall were pretty awesome.
Also, it built up to the ending in a really good way. I almost missed my train to school because I was so caught up in reading towards the end. I loved that! Plus, the story held a good pace and for the first time in a long time I felt I'd rather read a book than sit with my laptop. It was a great feeling and maybe I can throw this reading slump off my shoulders and start truly enjoy reading in my free time again.
I give this book a 4/5 stars. It would've probably gotten a 5/5 stars if I hadn't felt so many times that it was so alike Harry Potter. I think they could have tried a little harder to make it its own story completely. I expect more from the upcoming books. I'm so excited for The Copper Gauntlet! Aaah!

Rating: 4/5

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Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Original title: White Cat
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Curse Workers #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310
Finished: 07/09/15
Summary: Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.
But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.

My thoughts:
I admit I bought this book a little bit because of the cover. A little. But can you blame me, really? I mean, just look at it! It's gorgeous!
Anyway, White Cat is more than a pretty cover. It's not a normal YA fantasy novel. It's a bit different from all those books that are all the same, and that's what makes this book stand out so much. Firstly, it's written from a boy's point of view. I really wish we's see more of that in the YA community. It's always girls; almost as if it's part of the genre to have a girl as main character. I'm not saying it's not cool to read from the points of view of badass young women, but boys should be seen too. At least to encourage more teenage boys to read.
Secondly, the atmosphere is darker in a much more professional way in White Cat than in many other novels that try but never fully succeed. It loved the family relations and the relationship Cassel has with many of the characters. It felt very real.
Thirdly, the world was so cool and rather unique. Magic in a new way.
And may I just say I loved Barron as a character? So well done; I applaud you, Ms Black.
Overall, a truly unique book amongst the sea of YA. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story with twisted elements of darkness.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor

Original title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Series: Dauther of Smoke & Bone #2

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Format: Hardback

Pages: 513

Finished: 08/09/2015

Summary: (Spoiler alert!) Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
This is not that world.
Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

My thoughts:
I've been meaning to pick this up for at least a year. Now I finally got that little extra push of motivation to read it, as I'm going to the Swedish yearly Book Fair this year, and guess who's going to be there! Laini Taylor! So I want to have read the whole trilogy before I meet her in the end of September.
I knew from non-spoiler reviews on Goodreads that this book was supposed to be pretty sad. It was not just "sad". It was heartbreaking. But in that amazing way that feels great no matter what way you put it. I was, I don't know, fifty-ish pages into this book and I was already both depressed and obsessed.
I can't say too much about it since it's the second book in a trilogy and I don't want to spoil anyone, but let me say a few things.
The characters! So real and so well described I felt I knew them in real life. I was so into the story, I almost felt I was the characters. I felt their sorrows and their grief and regrets. Not much happiness, because there's little of that in this book.
I especially like Karou as a female protagonist. I felt she was rather just a person than a girl. That's something I've come to realize I don't like about most YA novels; it's made so very clear that the female protagonists are females. I wish it could just be natural that they're girls rather than... forced.
What I liked less about this instalment of the series was the pace. It felt sooo slow at times and it was just misery and depression and badness. But, that's the only downside with this book, and I guess all the slowness was a build up and  it was a good way to introduce all the new characters.

Rating: 4,5/5

Ten Series I Haven't Finished Yet

Hejsan!

Idag är det tisdag och jag är hemma och sjuk med feber och hosta och troligtvis lite allergi. Yay :(

Top Ten Tuesday organiseras av The Broke and the Bookish, en annan bokblogg på engelska. Klicka bara på namnet för att komma till sidan. Dom är bra.

Idag skall jag lista de top tio serier som jag påbörjat men ännu inte avslutat... oboy. Då kör vi.

  

10. Mara Dyer ~ Michelle Hodkin

9. Beautiful Creatures ~ Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

8. Vampire Academy ~ Richelle Mead

  

7. Engelfors ~ Mats Strandberg & Sara Bergmark Elfgren

6. The Cahill Witches ~ Jessica Spotswood

5. Hex Hall ~ Rachel Hawkins

  

4. Penryn & the End of Days ~ Susan Ee

3. Lux ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

2. Daughter of Smoke & Bone ~ Laini Taylor

1. The Mortal Instruments ~ Cassandra Clare

Jag skäms mycket.....
Hej då!