(Late) Autumn Bookhaul

Even if winter is almost here, I have been wanting to post my autumn bookhaul for quite some time now. I bought most of these back in September, but haven't read them all yet (had no time at all). So I'm just going to make a brief introduction to them. 

- Another (Vol. 3 & 4) I got the first volume for my birthday back in June, and really enjoyed it, so I was really looking forward to finishing the series. My friend gave it to me knowing it was a short series, since I am not going to be following typical series with 40, 50 volumes. I have no time and no money for that. But Another was a great manga, and I'm really looking forward to watch the anime. It was creepy and confusing (very, very confusing at first) but everything got sorted out and I'm glad that the ending was unexpected. Sort of. 

- Naked Heat, by Richard Castle (Nikki Heat #2). Yes, my obsession about the show got into my bookshelves. I enjoyed the first book, and since they aren't that expensive I thought about reading the rest of the series. Haven't had time yet, but here it is. It looks good. 

- The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. This is a book I have to read for my English class in school, but I have wanted to read it for years now. I knew I would have to read it in 12th grade, so I just waited for it. And now that it's here I have only 100 pages left and I really love it but, like always, I don't have that much time to read lately... 

- Looking for Alaska, by John Green. I can't believe I haven't read this yet. After TFIOS, Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines, there's only this and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. So I need to read this. And it actually looks really good and, you know, it's a John Green. 

- The Slow Regard of Silent Things, by Patrick Rothfuss. I love Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind is one of my favourite books ever. And when I saw this had come out, and it was about Auri, a character I have always thought she should be more developed, I got really excited. But, you know, Patrick should've been working on Kvothe's next book which I have been waiting for for ages, and not in other works... But it's great anyway. Can't wait to read it. 

So overall they all look pretty good, and I can't wait to read them! I'm still reading stuff from my spring and summer bookhauls, so I still have lots left... My excitement never decreases, though. 

City of Heavenly Fire, by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #6)

Synopsis: 

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

I can't believe I hadn't written about this yet; but I guess it's true I just needed time to think it all through, to recover from the book. Because it really did kill me. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days and days after I finished it. It was mainly because of what I read, but the fact that The Mortal Instruments, a saga that I've grown up with, spent all my teenage years with, was over also destroyed me... 

Since it's the last book in the series I just need to spill everything out and talk and talk about everything that's happened, which means it's a post full of SPOILERS. I'm just warning, because I've seen people complaining about getting spoiled after reading something, so I'm just saying it in advanced. If you haven't read City of Heavenly Fire, don't read this. 

I am going to start my saying that my favorite thing in TMI and my ultimate ship is the perfect couple that Alec and Magnus make. So after they broke up in City of Lost Souls I was devastated, and nothing mattered most to me than them getting back together and getting the happy ending they have always deserved. And I got to say that they did get it. Which made me the happiest person on Earth after crying for over fifty pages. (If you've read more posts from me you'll probably think I cry a lot but that's it, I'm really emotional, and books and TV shows get tears out of me all the time).

I have to say that I ended up liking the ending. I knew from the beginning that it was the last book, so there was no way it was ending happily ever after for every single character; some of my beloved ones had to die and I was really worried. Since it came out and before I had the opportunity to buy it (which I did halfway through July while I was in Scotland) I spent my time thinking about the characters and who had more chances to die. I am very used to my favorite characters dying, but I knew I wasn't ready for TMI to finish and rip my soul again and again. But for months I was sure Alec was going to die. I was so so so so so worried... My favorite character was in my mind the one with more chances of dying. There was no way that Magnus and Alec could fix the immortality problem (Alec wasn't going to become a vampire or anything because it would be too cliche and nothing like him, and Magnus didn't look like he could lose his immortality that easily), and Alec looked the most likely to die and for his death to have a big impact on his friends. Isabelle wasn't going to be the Lightwood to die, obviously, so Alec had more chances than someone like Jace and Clary (obviously the two main characters couldn't be the ones to die)... Even though we already lost Max so many years ago in City of Glass and losing another Lightwood would be plain cruel... Idk, I just had that constant anxiety and pain in my heart. But then, after everything, Simon was the one to suffer. I must say I loved Simon in the last book, since he got way better than how he started in City of Bones, and I wasn't actually expecting him to be the one who ended tragically. I got so very sad with the scene with Magnus's father. It crushed my heart. For this really brief moment, barely half a page, I thought everything could end greatly and that Magnus could give his immortality to his father in exchange of going back to their world and everything could be perfect. But then I remembered why I admire Cassandra Clare and why I've enjoyed her books so much. Even though the ending of Clockwork Princess was... not that good, since she managed to make everyone happy in different moments of time; I enjoyed this ending way more. Not because it made me happy (which it didn't) but because it wasn't typical or stereotyped and I deeply enjoy that. But the ending ending did have too much happiness in it, which I disapprove of in a last book, but every author does it differently... So Magnus couldn't get rid of his immortality, and they didn't find it that easy to go back home. Someone had to sacrifice themself, and I wasn't expecting it to be Simon... An incredible amount of sadness just suddenly stroke me and I couldn't believe I was crying again. I had been crying some pages before when Sebastian died, because he was one of my favorite characters too and his becoming the Jonathan in Clary's dreams and then dying was too much for me. And everything was sad and sad and sad and the ending came and there were lots of pages left for everything to be more or less fixed in the epilogue. More or less because a happy ending, a completely happy ending, isn't believable after everything that happened. But the wedding was nice, the way they got Simon to the party was good but Simon "remembering" Isabelle and stuff was too nice to be true. Too safe, Cassie. The book should've felt sadder. It should have been more... torture to us. It was too safe and happy at the end. Oh, and Simon's band being named The Mortal Instruments was just epic. 

Speaking of Simon, one of the best things in the novel was the awkward "I swear I am not attracted to you" scene in the tunnels when Simon was supposed to feed on Alec. Vampire & gay shadowhunter. Perfect scene. I laughed so much.

My favorite thing (and one of the saddest ones) was the chapter about their deepest dreams. When entering the demon realm to save Magnus, Luke, Jocelyn and Raphael (RIP, I loved him. Had forgotten he was just a 14-year-old kid, though, until he died... I got really sad), they get absorbed by a demon that feeds on their dreams and then they experience their heart's deepest wishes. Isabelle's made me sad because it revolved around Max and even though I don't remember much about him, since it's been a really long while since I read both City of Ashes and City of Glass, it was really emotional. Clary's was also very sad, because Jonathan (my beloved Jonathan a.k.a. Sebastian) was her brother, her good, older brother and she was getting married to Jace and her mom had had a daughter, Val, with Luke and everything was too perfect to be true... I didn't like Simon's that much because I felt this sort of betrayal towards my Sizzy feelings; I hadn't pictured Simon and Clary as a couple in a long time and didn't thing he could be still thinking about it. But Alec's was also sort of sad. His strict father was proud of him, everyone was happy because of his engagement to Magnus (Malec!) and Max was there too... And Jace's dream didn't appear and he said he had seen nothing and it got me really worried but then afterwards everything was figured out. So I loved that chapter. 

Another awesome thing which was the most popular thing I have since in Twitter, Jem stealing Church. It needs to comments, it was just as epic as it sounds. 

I also liked the idea of introducing our new main characters, Emma and Julian and everyone else that's going to be in The Dark Artifices next year, but after some chapters I got really tired of them and even though I found them cute I couldn't stop thinking that they are going to have a series of their own so they shouldn't steal screen time from Jace and company. But I think Emma's strong and she's going to make a good main character, sort of like Jace. Emma, I'm going to love you so much. 

Someone I am not going to complain about being there is Jem. Let's take a minute to talk about how perfect it was to have former Brother Zachariah in the book as handsome young Shadowhunter James Carstairs. I loved how Isabelle kept saying how hot Brother Zachariah looked, it really made me smile. And then he was there, going to see Tessa! Part of me got really happy, even though I couldn't stop thinking about Will... And then Jem telling Jace stuff about the Herondales and everything... But Tessa. Tessa, couldn't you mention Will's name or even say Jem's name out loud? I needed that. 

There are characters who I liked way more in this book than before. While I didn't like the way Maia had been dealing with dating Jordan, I really did like how she fought for the NY pack and showed how strong she really is. 

I am still mourning for all the lives lost during the books, and mainly in City of Heavenly Fire. Jordan, who I had grown to like and feel sorry for. Raphael, who deserved a bigger storyline. Sebastian, who had always a Jonathan inside. Simon's memories (which ended up being fixed too swiftly and happily for my taste, but whatever). Maureen died, yeah, but she was insane. She had to die. And Amatis did too, which was sort of sad for Luke, but she hadn't been developed that much so I didn't feel it that much. The other known person who died was Andrew Blackthorn, and that was the trigger for TDA, so it was okay. But, even though I couldn't have been able to handle it and I would be complaining now, I wish Cassie would've been a bit more... bold with deaths. 

Let's take a moment and admire Clary and Jace's scene at the cave. Finally. After six books. 

There were so many beautiful quotes in the book, so many sassy comments that I couldn't stop laughing about... I'm going to share some (there are thousands of good quotes, so read the whole book again!): 

“Brother Zachariah,” Isabelle said. “Months January through December of the Hot Silent Brothers Calendar. What’s he doing here?”“There’s a Hot Silent Brothers Calendar?” said Alec. “Do they sell it?”

“You're pining," said Jace.

Alec shrugged. "Look who's talking. 'oh I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why—” 

“Herondales." Zachariah's voice was a breath, half laughter, half pain. "I had almost forgotten. No other family does so much for love, or feels so much guilt for it. Don't carry the weight of the world on you, Jace. It's too heavy for even a Herondale to bear.”

Sassy Jace. Sassy Alec. I am so glad I met them through Cassandra Clare's writing. I am so thankful for TMI and TID and everything that's about to come... But mainly TMI because it means growing up for me, going through my teenage years and growing up just like Clary. I was younger than her when City of Bones came out, and now I'm seventeen so these books meant so much to me... The characters have grown on me, to story has developed more and more and it ended up being perfect and I am really thankful for it. When you love evil characters like Sebastian, you know that the author is doing something good while giving them the deep stories that make them so lovable. For that and for Clace, for Malec and Sizzy, for being so human that both good and bad characters have died, I am thankful (even though it helped me survive, it was too good to be true to have all the ships stay intact. But if Cassandra Clare had killed Alec, I would've been forever and ever dead. Ever). Thank you for Alec's evolution. He was the best thing that's happened to TMI, because he's learnt a lot from Jace ;)

Thank you, Cassie. 

(PS. I'm probably going to keep remembering more stuff to comment on later on and probably be modifying the post, so... idk)

Update

I feel like I'm always apologizing because since school started I have been incredibly busy and had no time to come around. You have no idea how busy. Exams, essays, extended essay,... I never thought I would have so many things to do until I found myself in the middle of all of it. 

But I'm gonna write a small list of the things I want to post about soon, maybe even later this week when I finish my exams. 

- I went to see Mockingjay Part 1 on Friday! I was really excited about it, but even though I liked it, it felt a bit disappointing because nothing much happened throughout the movie. The next one's going to be the death of me, with so many deaths and tears and action that I won't be able to register it all the first time. I'll try to re-read Mockingjay for then, because I really couldn't make it last week. 

- I haven't been reading much since the summer ended, for obvious reasons, but I still have many books to update about, from the summer and the few reads I accomplished since then.
- City of Heavenly Fire!!!!!!!! I read it back in August, and I can't believe I haven't written its post yet. I just needed time for it all to set down and for me to recover from the death that it meant. 

- I wanted to post the picture of my autumn bookhaul, but I feel like with November almost over, it would be a bit too late... I'll think about whether to post it or not, because I want to do a winter one with everything I'm looking forward to get for Christmas. So we'll see.

- I also went to the Maze Runner premiere, but it's been so long... I should've posted about it when I had a really strong opinion about it after watching it but couldn't make it, so I'll try to say something about it soon. 

- So I've been introduced to the KPop world lately (meaning almost a couple of months ago) and got really, really obsessed with it, so I may even write a post about what I think about it in general and, idk, make an introduction to it for those who don't know anything about it. And talking about Asian culture, I have been watching some Korean dramas lately too. Real good. 

- I know I haven't really talked about my music taste in general or my main idol because I didn't mean to talk about music when I first started writing this blog, but I think it's time to share more about me because, like I've said before, this blog is supposed to be mainly about me and my opinion about stuff (that's why people read it, at least) so I may introduce you to Taylor Swift now that her new album's been out and maybe share my excitement because I finally got tickets to see her!! So yeah, whatever.

- I may even start to talk about TV shows in a more serious manner, because I think I've only posted about Orphan Black and Arrow before, and I really watch a lot of shows. Like, a lot. 

So sorry I haven't been online much lately, but I'm going to try and come back for real very soon. Thank you for everything :)

Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell

Synopsis: 

Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there's romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. 

Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...

This book is the best thing ever. Most relatable piece of YA literature I've ever read. Definitely one of my favorite things these year. It was just... wow. Cath is... me. Like, I feel so identified with every thing she says. All these quotes..., such as "In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't Google)." Everything is so true. 

The book was really unique in its way, being the exact life of a 21st century fangirl and every day problems. Family. Friends. School. Love. The Simon Snow thing is just exactly like the Harry Potter one. I guess that was the point though, and everything was so accurate... The characters are great, every one in their way, from Reagan to Wren, Levi to Nick... 

All the details in the book were so accurate... Creating FanFixx.net for fanfiction.net, the Simon Snow series for the Harry Potter one (all the quotes, the newspaper articles about it, the story itself... so perfectly done), everything had been thought. 

Fangirl has provided me some of the best and most realistic and relatable quotes ever. From "How do you not like the Internet? That's like saying 'I don't like things that are convenient. And easy. I don't like having access to all of mankind's recorded discoveries at my fingertips. I don't like light. And knowledge." to "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you awake?" "No.” (the moment when you know you're a 21st century teenager). I'm gonna use all the quotes from now on. And I can't wait to have more of Rainbow Rowell in my life. I need it. It's addicting and necessary. 

I loved the story. And the characters. And the fact that Cath wrote a gay fanfiction. 

And Levi. Wow. I would definitely fall for him too (besides the fact that the guy I'm in love with in RL is exactly like him in almost all the details... Like, who else speaks of bisons?). Levi was a real guy, as in not too fairytale-like, but not too movie-like or unreal. Not too perfect. His behavior was true, it was real, and that's what I appreciate the most in this book. How there's always an outgoing sister, and there's the fangirl one (who I am). There's always people who disappoint you, people who surprisingly friend you and are there for you, no matter how different you are. People who don't look like they are. People you need to care about. People you need to let them care about you. 

Fangirl is a book about life. Just like I said about Eleanor & Park, so I guess that's what Rainbow Rowell writes about. In its better way. Being a teenager nowadays is something special, something different. And, if like Cath, real life is something happening in your peripherical vision, that's being a fangirl. And you should be proud.  

The Fault In Our Stars movie

I finally got to watch TFIOS a couple of weeks ago, and it was everything that I had expected, or even better! :) I was so excited about it, and it did not disappoint me a bit. I am really glad that's happened, because usually almost everything disappoints me... 
The movie, overall, was pretty loyal to the book, and the only things they missed weren't that important, even though I would've loved to see the "Lonely, vaguely, pedophilic swing set seeks the butts of children" scenes :) But I was watching the movie, and I fell for Augustus Waters all over again... Ansel Elgort was great, with his smile and his performance. The cigarette metaphor, all the scenes with Hazel (Shailene did an awesome job too, in my opinion)... I loved it. 
I loved the fact that I finally found out how to pronounce Lidewij's name, which was something I was dying to know while reading the book.
The movie was beautiful... I am so happy about the adaptation to the big screen. John Green should be proud :) And the trip to Amsterdam, and Birdy's Not About Angels in the soundtrack, and Ansel with Shailene... It was great. I was watching, and I suddenly found myself in the part when they're leaving for Amsterdam, and that felt too soon, and then they love each other, and then he says he's sick and then... I started crying in that bench in Amsterdam that morning... And even if everything was sad from that point on, it was beautiful. And the quotes... 
So yeah, it was a great movie, and even if it's sad, which is why some people refuse to watch it, it is so beautiful that deserves us seeing it over and over again. 

Just One Year, by Gayle Forman (Just One Day #2)

Synopsis:

When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

While I was really, really excited to see the story from Willem’s point of view, this one was sort of a disappointment. I expected Willem to be much more of a deep character, one of those I love and will always remember, but, even if there were many things in his life that seemed to be trying to help him become one, the way he acted was too… shallow? I don’t know how to find the right word. The first example of awful behavior in my opinion is the fact that he didn’t even ask Lulu for her real name. Really? And then when they are pushed apart by another accident, he decides all he wants to do is find her?

I loved the way he travelled the world looking for Allyson, from Mexico to India. But I’m not a fan of the way he treats women in general, all there in his way to Lulu, important and useless at the same time. His mother was an interesting character, with a beautiful name and love story as background, and then mysterious attitude in her relationship with Willem. I like Kate, but I don’t think her relationship with Willem is realistic. Meeting in Mexico, and then talking again months later and with all that trust and like they knew themselves since forever? Sort of weird, but nice. Willem meets so many people during his journey, and he grows sort of attached to everyone. Everyone that seems distant (his mom, his uncle) at first, ends up perfectly happy with him. The ending is too perfect. When he gives up, finds something to do, fixes his relationship with friends and family, Allyson suddenly appears. And they kiss. Out of nowhere.

Don’t get me wrong, I love these books. A lot. I’m really grateful to Gayle Forman for writing them. But these cannot end like this! After a year, they find each other. And then what?? I need to know. I really need to know. I see myself in a couple of years acting like TFIOS Hazel and Gus and sending letters to the author for answers. But it’s also a good ending; it makes me think that the purpose of the story isn’t them as a couple, them loving each other, but all the accidents that happen and bring them together or apart, all the small things that happen in life, coincidences and all, that change the path we follow. 

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

Synopsis:

Two misfits.

One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

I ran into this book by pure chance. I was looking for Fangirl, but I couldn’t find it, no matter how many bookstores I checked, so I decided to meet Rainbow Rowell by Eleanor & Park instead. And it didn’t disappoint me a bit.

Eleanor & Park is a story about life. It shows us the worst part of it, but also the best one, and it’s both depressing and hopeful at the same time. Eleanor and Park are both so different, but also similar in so many ways. This book made me smile a lot, but it also made me sad so many times. There are all those hopeless scenes when you think everything, no matter how unfair it is, can’t be helped and I don’t know what to do about it. But then there’s another scene where everything, no matter how awkward, is better only because Eleanor and Park are together. They are just so brave, fighting to be together no matter what.

But then the ending arrives, and everything just breaks down into pieces. I don’t understand Eleanor. Then I cry. Then I still cannot understand. Why does it end like that? And then, last sentence, a trace of hope. The end. It’s like the whole novel had a pace, a getting-to-know-each-other pace, and then suddenly she’s gone and everything comes crashing down to the ending.

But I loved the book so much… Hope, dreams, disappointments, tears, laughs, music, comics, family, friendship, love…; the story is life. And we should all read a love story as hopeful and realistic as this one. 

Just One Day, by Gayle Forman (Just One Day #1)

Synopsis:

Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

This book was the best thing I’ve run into for a long, long while. I fell in love with it in the third page, when my mind had processed how beautiful Gayle Forman’s writing is. Even in the first scene, where Allyson and Melanie are just waiting there in line to see a play, everything was told really naturally, really gracefully and with complete honesty. And that’s the kind of writing that I enjoy reading the most.

About the characters... the secondary characters, meaning everyone who’s not Allyson or Willem, were pretty strong in the novel, allowing the main characters to express themselves with other people who reflected different characteristics of theirs. Céline was a part of Willem that he didn’t show to Allyson (or Lulu), just like her friends, both Melanie and the ones she met at university, and her family helped developing the character. Since the story was focused on Allyson, Willem was sort of an unknown character to us readers; we only knew what Allyson knew, which was interesting. He remained sort of a mystery throughout the whole novel, and that’s why the second book in the bilogy is about him, about his life and his feelings.

The story didn’t have much of a plot, since it was mainly about finding that guy Allyson spent a day with. But I like the idea. I don’t think it’s feasible in real life, I mean, it’s only one day; that many things and feelings and obsession happening in a day? I find it beautiful that she spends a full year looking for him, but I don’t see it that realistic. But the thing about the book, how I interpret it, is that the important thing is not the stuff that happens, meaning the action is not the main thing. It’s a story about hope, memories, love, and, above everything else, accidents. 

Walking Disaster, by Jamie McGuire (Beautiful Disaster #2)

Synopsis: 

Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

I really enjoyed this book, way more than I expected. The first one, Beautiful Disaster, was good, but it was quite a typical love story between these two people that are completely different but that are completely attracted to each other and, of course, they have to end up together. And because of it being predictable, even if I found it pretty good, I think I liked the sequel better. Seeing everything from Travis's point of view was awesome. I guess it must be really difficult for a female author to write from a guy's point of view (it is difficult, I've tried it), but I think she managed to do it quite well, even if Travis may have been a bit too soft for the outer image he tries to give, he was too nice, too perfect all the time. Even his flaws were perfect! I don't know, it wasn't that realistic. But honestly, I have no idea about what do guys think about all the time. 

The storyline was good, but it hasn't changed from Beautiful Disaster, so... I liked how Travis really changes during the novel, and seeing the world through his eyes makes everything different. America and Shep were different from Travis's eyes. I like how we got to know more about Travis's family, his parents, his brothers, and Shep. Some details, like the engagement ring he buys before they split up, were nice to know because they had been omitted in the other book. But what I really found too much was the epilogue; knowing about their children, their names (Abby's fake ID names), and what Travis did for a living was a bit out of the theme of the book, like it didn't match the casual way of narrating things in the book. 

But overall, it was a nice book, and it kept me completely absorbed and obsessed during the day it took me to read it, just like the first one. It's easy to read, it's quite nice, and, even if it's a typical love story, we all need to read that sometimes. 

Paper Towns, by John Green

Synopsis: 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life — dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge — he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues — and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

John Green never disappoints me, no matter what I read. From TFIOS to An Abundance of Katherines, they are all special in their unique ways. Only John Green can make us laugh, cry and think so deeply with the same page. And Paper Towns was a perfect example of it. 

There’s a problem in this book with verb tenses. Chapter nine in the second part was in present tense, suddenly, when everything had been in past tense and will continue from chapter ten in past tense. That shocked me, because I started reading the chapter and I knew something was different, but it took me some time to notice the verb tenses. And then, the third part is all in present, but that’s fine. The third part was my favorite. The road trip, epic. 

The characters are greatly developed, and real, which is the most important thing. Everyone has their virtues and, more importantly, their flaws, and that’s what I love about John Green’s books. Even Q wonders why he is friends with Ben when he ends up drunk at that party and all that, but Radar reminds him that we should like people for what they are, not because of what we want them to be, and that’s a huge lesson in life. They speak the truth, and that’s pretty valuable. 

Paper Towns tells a story about friendship, love and identity, and it’s full of deep characters that evolve throughout the novel (which is what I value the most) in a very common environment that makes it possible to identify ourselves with them. 

When Margo disappeared, I knew she was going to be disappointing. All those comments Ben made about how she just wanted them to keep her as the centre of their worlds, how she just wanted to be the centre of attention, was exactly as I expected the ending to be. Then we find out she didn’t put those clues out for them to find them, and that she didn’t want to be found. And then Q finally learns that Margo doesn’t exist, not as they want her to be. And that’s what the book is about. There’s a different Margo for every one of them, and that’s what happens in real life. We see things and people the way we’d like them to be, and most of the time, they turn up to be very different from what we imagined them to be like. And that disappoints us. But that’s how we are, that’s how life is, and that’s what John Green is trying to show us. 

The book was fresh, written in this John Green way of his that I’ve learned to know and love. I loved learning about paper towns and contemplating philosophical questions about one’s identity. If you love John Green or simply enjoy new but at the same time old stories, this is your book.

The Fiery Heart, by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #4)

Synopsis: 

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure — and re-education — looms larger than ever.

This may be one of my favorite books in this whole series. It had a lot of romance, which is exactly what I needed at the moment, and the couple was Sydney and Adrian, which made everything better. It’s taken me a long time to finally find this book, because I can’t find it in my country and I needed to get to London or somewhere to finally buy it, but it was definitely worth waiting for it. 

My first thought when I saw that I’d be reading chapters from both Sydney’s and Adrian’s perspectives was begging that this wasn’t going to be another Allegiant. But it wasn’t. Hearing from Adrian’s point of view was interesting, because I’ve always wanted to know more about his way of seeing the world, but it was also a bit disappointing, because I thought very differently of him. Nonetheless, it was great seeing him so in love with Sydney, and also getting to know how he’d felt when he was with Rose. Something else I enjoyed from his point of view was getting to know how Lissa is doing and everything that’s going on at Court and in spirit research. 

And Sydney… she’s changed so much since we first met her in Blood Promise, and I’m so glad she did! She’s become such a different character… and even though I miss that smart, architecture-and-cars-loving girl who was deeply afraid of the evil creatures of the night, I also like the strong, fearless woman, someone who stands up for her believes and who’s learned about love, that she is now. When I first read about her, I could have never suspected she would end up being so in love with Adrian, who’s just her opposite in every single aspect. But they are so great together… And the escape plans, and the she-eats-and-he-doesn’t-drink deal, and the time together at Court… 

So, as you may have guessed already, my favorite thing about this book was their romance, but there are many other things to comment about. 

I deeply dislike Zoe. I never liked her, but the ending of The Fiery Heart, that made me desperate. There was a moment or two throughout the book when I thought I glimpsed some hope for her, but then she just betrayed everything that being sisters means. Little sisters are never horrible in books, but this was unbearable, and Sydney kept trying to fix things with her all the time. It’s also partly Sydney’s fault, because she’s been obsessed with Adrian all the time and there was no way of hiding that, but even though, there’s this unmentioned sisters’ code that’s expected to be respected between sisters everywhere, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include selling said sister to the evil Alchemists who will mess up with her mind. 

Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Neil, Trey… I personally think there are too many characters around at the moment, and the worst thing is trying to have them all in love with someone else in the group, setting up all these couples… it was a bit too much, in my opinion. But I really like Eddie and Jill... And Ms. Terwilliger and the witches, and Marcus and his followers… there’s like thousands of things going on at once. 

And about the ending… poor Sydney. I do not want to see her giving up. And she won’t. For Adrian. But she’s going to go through really tough things, and I’m worried. The Alchemists can be really cruel. But Adrian and the others are probably going to go on a mission to save her and end up with the Alchemists’ re-education and all that… Because Silver Shadows will be the last one, right? I don’t want it to end… just like I was really sad for Vampire Academy to end, but then Bloodlines appeared. I guess we’ll see. But either way, thank you Richelle for all these books. 

The Making of Harry Potter

So about a month ago, on May 2nd, I was in London for a long weekend with my family when they decided to give me a surprise and, guess where they took me? To the Harry Potter Warner Studios!! I was so excited when I saw the bus with "The Making of Harry Potter" written on the side, because I've been wanting to go there since forever! 

So the experience was as good or even better than I'd imagined, and I could see everything, from the real Great Hall to the clothes and wigs the actors used, and their wands. I saw the Gryffindor common room, and Albus Dumbledore's office (with the Sorting Hat and Godric Gryffindor's sword!!). There was the Burrow's inside, Hagrid's hut, the Ministry of Magic and even the Potions class! The Knight Bus was there, and so were the Nimbus 2000, 2001 and the Firebolt. The Horcruxes and other special objects, such as the golden snitch, the Remembrall, the time-turner and many more, rested in a glass box for all of us to see! And butterbeer, it was so much sweeter than I expected! Seeing the goblins, seeing Aragog, Buckbeak, Dobby and even the mandrakes and baby Voldemort was... wow, can't find words to describe it. And the miniature model of Hogwarts that was used for every take of the outside was right there! And the Diagon Alley... I think that was the best thing of all. Every single shop had all the inside arranged, and Gringotts, and Fred&George's shop... everything. The inside of Ollivaders was impressive, with over 7,000 hand-made wand boxes with names on it. JK Rowling had one, and also did Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, and many more of the people who helped make our childhoods literally magical. And the shop!! Wow. Everything, from clothes and cloaks and everything from every one of the houses, to chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's All-Flavoured Beans (which, of course, I had to buy!). It was awesome. 

Being able to visit the set may be the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long while (if not ever). So if you live in London or ever go visit it and you're a true Potterhead, that's the thing you must do. 

PS. I'll update this post soon with some pics of my visit, if you'd like to see them :)

Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #1)

Synopsis:

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I expected so much out of this book!! It was great, I loved it, and I really recommend it if you're looking for something good in the young adult genre. I knew what the trilogy was about before starting Shatter Me, and I knew there was going to be a love triangle, so it was obvious that Adam and Warner were the ones she was going to choose. Don't get me wrong, I like Juliette, but I just think she's sort of stupid some times. She hasn't eaten in ages, and she's sitting in front of the most delicious food in the world and because of her stubborness, she decides to starve herself to death to prove a point to Warner. And then she faints, what a surprise.
I've heard that Warner is one of Juliette's love interests, and I can see how he is interested in her, but with all the awful things he's done in this book, how is Juliette ever going to change her mind about him? Something big has to happen for her to forgive him and then love him? I don't know, but I know I will be a fan of Warner, if the excuse of forgiveness is good. Because I really like his character now (compared to Adam, who's too good to be true. Unbelievable), and I would love him to evolve in a way that's believable, that's what worries me the most.
The idea of the story is great, perfectly original and unique, so I sort of thought that Juliette would be the only one with "special powers"? But no, the ending had to become the new X-men movie... That was weird. And there are so many other things that were so wrong in the book, like the way Juliette has never been able to touch anyone but then her lifetime's crush appears and wow!, she can touch him. Of course. And Warner, her potential second love interest, too? Who can believe that? Just like the way the first three chapters go on in that cell without her saying anything special about Adam, and then he suddenly becomes the guy she's been in love with forever?
But overall, the book was fresh, which I think is the most important thing these days. And that's why I loved it. Can't wait to read more about Juliette, Adam and, more importantly, Warner ('cause I love deep characters the most)!! Read it. For sure. And tell me what you think. 

Divergent movie!!

Sorry for not posting this earlier, but I've been really busy and haven't had time to write something this long until now... 

So I finally watched the Divergent movie!! I went to the cinema a couple of weeks ago, on April 30th. The movie was supposed to be out on April 11th here, which I could understand, since the world premiere wasn't that much earlier, but on April 30th? It had been more than a month since a huge part of the world had seen it. 

Nevermind, I finally did. And it was amazing! I was so excited, counting down the days and the hours until I finally got to that cinema room and sat down with my best friends, one that had read none of the books, one that read up to Insurgent and the other one, up to Allegiant. 

After reading the last book in the trilogy, my perspective of the story as a whole and my conception of the characters had changed, and I kind of wanted to know what people with different knowledge about the books thought of the movie. 

It was fantastic. I enjoyed it so much! I just kept thinking how well pictured everything was, and how much I loved the cast. I'll keep saying it forever, but Shailene is the perfect Tris Prior. The Tris in my head was abolutely normal, not too pretty, not too smart, not too anything... (except maybe too brave?) so it made it so easy to identify oneself with her, even if I'd never choose Dauntless... And Theo... omg he's perfect <3 

The only weird thing about the characters was seeing Miles Teller and Ansel Elgort in those different roles when they both play Shailene's love interest in The Spectacular Now and The Fault In Our Stars, respectively. It was weird, but I got used to it fast enough. 

I'm not going to spoil you about the ending of Allegiant  if you haven't read it yeat (why haven't you????), but just let me say that some scenes really got to my heart because of Allegiant. The scene when Tris slides down the steel cable with the Dauntless initiates... wow. And when her mom dies... wow. Allegiant feelings all over. I cried, and not because of what was happening. 

So the cast was great, and the movie itself was awesome. The settings, the clothing... and it was so loyal to the book! Except of that weird scene where Tris just stabbed Jeanine in the hand and injected the serum to her, in order to make Jeanine stop the simulation from finishing its work and killing all those children and innocent people from Abnegation... They kept showing Christina in the simulation, how she was about to kill those people... 

Some things were kept the same way, some things weren't, but it's a movie adaptation and it was as loyal as it could have been (not like City of Bones...). So I'm really happy it was done this way, and I'm probably going to watch it again soon and maybe add things to this post, because the second time it's when I start noticing all those details I'd missed the first time. 

Now everything we have left is wait for Insurgent next year and for Allegiant parts 1 and 2 on the next few years :)

Have you seen Divergent already? You liked it? What faction would you choose? 

#TMITuesday

The release day for City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, the sixth and last book in the Mortal Instruments series, is finally coming soon for you English-speakers. On May 27th, the ending chapter of the series following Clary, Jace and the rest of the Shadowhunter world will be released, and it will be over... But let's not think about that. Let's think about how kind Cassie Clare is by letting us read or see a new piece of writing or drawings belonging to any of her works every Tuesday. 

Until now, we've been able to see Cassie reveal 3 COHF secrets, an exclusive first look at the new drawings of Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Maia, together with some quotes, and some exclusive excerpts from the book, including one from the prologue (the one that came out today) which features Emma and the rest of characters that we'll be able to see soon in Cassie's new series The Dark Artifices, also set in the Shadowhunter world. 

So if you haven't checked them out yet, go do it here!! The only thing you have to do is share it, whether it's by Twitter, Tumblr, e-mail or Facebook, and be back next week for more exclusive content! Remember to mark your calendars for City of Heavenly Fire, released on May 27th!! :)

Spring bookhaul

So here where I live we celebrate this holiday called Sant Jordi (literary Saint George) on April 23rd where we buy and sell books and roses. It's one of my favorite days of the year because I get to buy and receive any books, and I just love that. So here's a picture of the books I've got this year during this last couple of weeks in order to celebrate this holiday: 

• Heat Wave, by Richard Castle. I've been watching the TV show Castle lately a lot, and grown kind of obsessed with it, so when I saw this at the bookshop the other day, I just had to get it. For sure. I just hope it doesn't let me down, because I really really love the show. 
• Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. I finally found it!! I've been looking for this book like crazy! I found out recently that the reason why I couldn't find it is because it hadn't been published here until March (unfair!), but that doesn't explain why I couldn't find it in English either. So a friend bought it for me, and I was so excited to read it that I started it on Friday night, and by the afternoon of the next day it was already over! I'm going to write its review soon, as soon as I'm done with my exams, because I really liked it! Can't wait to read the other two. 
• Just One Day, by Gayle Forman. I've been looking forward to reading this for a long time now, and I found Just One Year, the second book, the other day but I couldn't find the first one, so I asked my dad for it as my Saint George present, and here it is! 
• Brahe and Kepler, by M. Pilar Gil. I have no idea what this is, but it doesn't look bad for an Spanish book. I guess I'll have to try and see. That was my mom's present. She wanted to buy the first book in the Mara Dyer series (which is what I wanted the most) but couldn't find it anywhere so... I guess I'll have to look for it somewhere else. 
• Marvelous Disaster, by Jamie McGuire. I loved the first book, it was great, and I really wanted to know more about Travis, so reading from his point of view may be nice. But I just feel like every time an author wants to do this, they ruin it, so I hope this one's fine...
• Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell. While this one was in my list, I wanted Fangirl first but couldn't find it anywhere, so I bought this one, which looks awesome and the kind of story I need to read right now, and I'm pretty sure I'll love it. 
• El guardián invisible, Dolores Redondo. Literary "The invisible guardian", this book was a recommendation from one of my teachers, that teacher I love and who reads everything I read. I've always liked her recommendations, so why not this one? It's a mystery novel, which I haven't tried yet, but it looks quite good and I really want to start it. 
• Emma, by Jane Austen. Another classic to my shelves. I've been buying all these books in English lately, from A Tale of Two Cities to To Kill a Mockingbird, and the only one I've read so far is Wuthering Heights (awesome!), so I couldn't help but getting this one too, because I would really want to read it. The only problem is that these books in English aren't as easy for me as the ones that belong to the young adult genre. These are classics, and its English is quite older and way more difficult. But I have to try. 

So these are the new books I've got this week and that I'm really looking forward to reading. The next one I'm going to buy is probably The Fiery Heart, because I'm travelling to London soon and it will be the perfect opportunity to buy books in English, and I just can't believe I still haven't read that one! I'll keep you updated :)

Enclave, by Ann Aguirre (Razorland #1)

Synopsis:
New York City has been decimated by war and plague, and most of civilization has migrated to underground enclaves, where life expectancy is no more than the early 20's. When Deuce turns 15, she takes on her role as a Huntress, and is paired with Fade, a teenage Hunter who lived Topside as a young boy. When she and Fade discover that the neighboring enclave has been decimated by the tunnel monsters - or Freaks - who seem to be growing more organized, the elders refuse to listen to warnings. And when Deuce and Fade are exiled from the enclave, the girl born in darkness must survive in daylight - guided by Fade's long-ago memories - in the ruins of a city whose population has dwindled to a few dangerous gangs.

I have this friend who's insisted on me reading this for a long, long time, and I finally did, a couple of months ago. I really liked it, but it was more or less what I had expected. The story itself wasn't bad, it was quite original, another dystopian novel to add to my list; but the way it was told wasn't that magical.
I love Fade, and I really like Deuce. She's so badass to be only fifteen, even though I imagined her even younger. Since I read the book in Spanish, the names had been changed. Fade was Van, and Deuce became Dos, so it's difficult for me to imagine them differently.
Some things were pretty predictable, while others where a breath of fresh air. I think the story is really good, and the characters can be more developed than they are right now, which is why I'm really looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy.
I don't know how to imagine the Freaks, but I imagine the enclave perfectly, kind of a smaller version of the caves in Stephenie Meyer's The Host, but way less organized. I think the love story was quite forced, going from Deuce's thoughts about Fade concerning hunting, the Freaks, admiration and respect to suddenly start blushing because she's been thinking of Fade's lips. And they hadn't even talked that much! So I would like to see more of them talking sincerely in the next books.
It was kind of a worse version of Legend (because that was so good!), but with fresh ideas that caught me and got me hooked, even if it wasn't from the beginning (the trip to Nassau was soooo boring in my opinion, I couldn't get past it). But if you're looking for something to read, Enclave is a great choice! :)

The Selection, by Kiera Cass (The Selection #1)

Synopsis:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I've had this on drafts for quite some time now, and wanted to publish it as soon as possible. I had read about The Selection on many different sites, and also heard from a friend, and the opinions were so different... Some people hated it, some people loved it... So I decided to give it a try. 

The synopsis makes it sound like a typical romance love-triangle novel, but it kind of surprised me. The idea isn't that unique, but Kiera Cass develops it well, transforming a kind of simple plot into something nice and fairytale themed, a princess story. There's the girl, her poor boyfriend, and then there's the prince. At first sight, the easiest thing would be to thing that the prince is rich and all that but he's not a good person and that's all. That would be easy. But he's not. Prince Maxon is amazing. He's rich, handsome, smart, funny, a complete gentleman, a good friend, trustworthy... Absolutely perfect. And it doesn't take much for America to find out. About half into the book I decided I prefered Maxon way over Aspen, but it has nothing to do with being shallow. Maxon grows really close to America, but he doesn't love her as much as Aspen does, or that's what it seems. Aspen's love was epic. And now America has this huge problem. She makes friends with the Prince, and he promises to send her home when she's ready and wants to leave, but she doesn't seem to want that, not now that she's finally made some friends, even if they're from places far away from her hometown. 

I enjoyed life in the palace, and I really like the Queen. I want to know more about her. I love Maxon, but I don't think I know yet who's America going to choose (that's why it's a trilogy). I think the storyline is too simple and the characters aren't that deeply developed, but I enjoyed reading it and will go for The Elite and The One. 

An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green

Synopsis:

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

This book was amazing. I was attracted to it since the moment I first heard about it, and it didn't disappoint me. After reading The Fault In Our Stars, I felt like reading more of John Green, and I've started to really admire him. I want to read Looking for Alaska next. 
So about the Katherines... the title itself was very intriguing, and the synopsis. There's Colin Singleton, and he only dates girls named Katherine, which is incredibly weird. And then you meet Colin and you grow fond of him and all... 
There aren't that many characters in this book. I mean, there's many people in the background, such as the Katherines (Katherine XIX is more important than the rest of them), but there's only a few characters that have importance in the book. There's Colin, and his best friend Hassan, and they both decide to go on this road trip that's supposed to help Colin move on from his last heartbreak, when Katherine XIX dumped him. And then the two guys from Chicago end up in this town Gutshot in Tennessee, in the middle of nowwhere, where the archduke Franz Ferdinand is supposed to be buried. There they meet Lindsey and her mother Hollis, and Lindsey's friends Katrina, Chase and Fulton and her boyfriend Colin. After they're offered a job there, Colin and Hassan decide to stay for a while, and that's where the story takes place, in Gutshot, TN. 
Okay, I kind of felt like Colin and Lindsey were going to end up together since the moment they met. She's a girl, Colin's single, and she's not a Katherine, which is why the story is different from the rest of Colin's life. I really ended up liking Katherine XIX, so I would like to have known more about her, but that's not her story. 
I enjoyed anagrams because it had been a while since I read a book that included them, and I didn't hate the fact that Colin was obsessed with his theorem and maths were used a lot to explain it. Some people that have read it the only thing they do is complain, about anagrams and about maths, but that's a huge part of what makes the story unique. 
I loved the plot. The idea was original and nice, and no one had thought of writing that before John Green did. The characters are developped in a way that reminds me of TFIOS, and I love the way John Green writes. It's beautiful. 
The book is addictive, with all these random facts that Colin knows about everything and this way Green has of making us love the characters. I really, really enjoyed reading it, and I hope to see more of John Green soon :)

Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (Divergent #3)

Synopsis:

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories. 

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

I'm gonna write my general opinion, spoiler-free, and all that now, and then write my real reaction to the book, full of spoilers... I never do that, but I need to this time. I really, really need to. This initial rant is written assuming that all of you have read the first two books, and I'm aware that I may be one of the last people who haven't read Allegiant, but that's just a matter of where we leave, so... 

So I'm just going to say something about the book that you'll know if you just open the page. The book isn't from Tris's perspective like the other two are. I mean, it is, but it's also told from Tobias's perspective, depending on the chapter. I'll leave you to think about that... 

I loved the book. It was great. It's been a while since I read the previous two, so I don't remember them all that well, but it was enough. The plot in this book is really different from the other two, changing escenarios and introducing many new characters in the story. It first looked like Veronica Roth had to end the series someway and didn't know how, so she came up with a new plot for this one, kind of. But now I'm starting to think that this may have been thought in advance, maybe at the beginning of Insurgent, clearly not while writing the first book. 

I want to say that I loved Tobias in this final book. Maybe it is because of being able to see the world from his perspective, but I just grew more and more fond of him, fell in love with him all over again. It looks like he's grown as a character in this book, now that he and Tris really know each other and all that, but maybe it's my point of view because I don't remember the last two books that well, I don't know. 

I don't like the new characters in this book. They aren't well-developped and they aren't that deep. And I love deep characters... I just think they could've been better. 

There was a lot of happiness in this book, but also a lot of sadness. I think it was a great ending chapter to  an awesome trilogy. 

*spoilers start here*

Wow. I don't want to ruin anyone's excitement to read Allegiant if they haven't read it, so don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled, but that book ruined me. I'm permanently marked by it. Just like it happened with Clockwork Princess, I'm not going to recover. Clockwork Princess ripped my heart out leaving a permanent wound, and Allegiant just made it worse, making me feel the pain all over again... Books are ruining me. 

But let's talk about the ending book of the trilogy by Veronica Roth. I just think she went kind of crazy while writing this book and came out with all these GPs and GDs and all these genetical things that came out of nowhere. I don't really know how she invented those, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't her plan when she wrote Divergent. Not only she made the world inside the book worse, but she also decided to torture poor Tobias by making him a false divergent, making him genetically damaged. That's such a horrible word... I didn't like that in the book, the fact that the genes became such an important part of the plot... 

Let's see if I can write about the important thing in the book now. The heartbreaking event that changed me and that I haven't been able to say it out loud or written it yet, and I finished the book a couple of days ago. Tris dies. Omg I wrote it. Haven't said it. Will never be able to... It's such a huge thing that the main character dies!!! How can that even cross a young adult novels writer's mind? I mean, I think it is magnificent. It is so awesome that Veronica dared to do that! I hate her and admire her for that. It made me think of what would have happened if Katniss died in The Hunger Games. Can you imagine that?

Caleb is the character that I hated the most. He's not a good brother. No matter how much Tris loves him in her inside, Caleb is not a good person and I don't think he deserves what Tris did for him. Not only did he fail her in multiple ways, but he only intended to sacrifice because that was what everyone expected from him. I don't hate him completely, but I don't particularly like him. I like Peter better :)

As I said before, I loved Tobias in this book. Watching him find out he was genetically damaged and then reading and getting to know the way he sees Tris, the way he sees his parents and the rest of people... that was perfect. The way he suffers, the way he loves, the way he hates, the way he forgives... I love him for every single detail. And Tris was just as amazing as always, being the epic heroine she is and filling the book with her shining light.  

No matter how devastated am I after reading the book, Allegiant was an epic finale for the awesome trilogy. 

*spoilers end here*

Books that made my 2013

I've been wanting to do this since New Year's, so I'm finally doing it now. I just wanted to mention some books which made my 2013 special, but they don't have to be books that came out in 2013, and there are many that did come out that I haven't read yet (they haven't been out in my country, for example), like Allegiant. So this is my list. 

1. Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #3). That book marked my life. There's a before and an after in my life concerning that book. Reading it was painful, but I enjoyed every second of it, and I want to do it again. Even if crying for over 30 pages is not good for my health...

Read my review in: Clockwork Princess

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Read it quite early in the year, and I think I've read it more than three times since then. It's become one of my favourite books, and I love it for that. 

Read my review in: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

3. The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green. Read it not many months ago, that book was epic. And there's a movie coming up this year! Not the typical cancer book, I enjoyed reading it as much as I cried because of it. Absolutely magnificent. 

Read my review in: The Fault In Our Stars

4. Divergent, by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1). I thought it was going to be just another Hunger Games. And it is, more or less, even though the author's perspective and idea is unique. I loved it, and ran to buy Insurgent and to do the countdown for Allegiant. Now that I'm reading the third one and waiting for the movie on March, I'm happy to have listened to the critics and read another dystopia. 

Read my review in: Divergent

5. Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin (A Song of Fire and Ice #1). I have this friend who insisted on me reading George RR Martin's masterpiece, and reading the first book made me want more, so I think I'll be fine for a while :)

Read my review in: Game of Thrones

6. Splendor, by Anna Godbersen (The Luxe #4). I had been waiting for over four years for that book, and when I found it, my world was completed. But the ending... it broke me down. After years of waiting excitedly for it, I think it disappointed me so much and it made me so sad that I won't be able to recover. 

Read my review in: Splendor

7. Legend, by Marie Lu (Legend #1). A new discovery I made in 2013! Read it and its sequel, Prodigy, as fast as I could, and now waiting for Champion to get to my country so I can finish this awesome dystopian trilogy. 

Read my review in: Legend

So what books made your 2013 special?