Tag: geek heaven
Document Your Life – July 2015
2015 June Wrap Up
2015 June Book Haul
Document Your Life – May + June
#Rainbowthon Wrap Up
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – REVIEW
A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in a new adult fantasy trilogy inspired by Beauty and The Beast.
Published: May 5th, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA childrens
Pages: 432 (hardcover)
Audiobook length: 16 hrs, 7 min
Synopsis by the publisher:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.
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The Writing
After reading (and loving) The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, I had extremely high expectations for the writing in this book. I was not disappointed!
The writing in ACOTAR is just as beautiful, but different as it is written in first person perspective.
Maas has a unique way of building up fantastic fantasy worlds that you can picture with ease even though they are so detailed and well made.
The way she writes about the emotions of the characters is also perfectly done and her writing is poetic and beautiful while it is brutal and real at the same time.
The Characters
Feyre was an interesting character that I really liked from the beginning. She is a strong female protagonist in a world where she had to be a grown up at a young age. But even though she is such a strong character she has her shortcomings which made her an even more relatable character.
Feyre had a lot of character development through this book and I’m really looking forward to seeing how much more is to come in the next two books.
Tamlin was very mysterious at first but definitely a character that charmed me early on and had me invested in the story and the love interest.
Lucien and Rhysand found their ways into my hearts as well!
Needless to say: this book is packed with interesting characters!
The Plot
Beauty and The Beast shone through in the story so many places and I loved it! Fairytale retellings can have a way of becoming somewhat cliché, but not this one.
It had just the right amount of inspired pieces as well as being a truly original story with twists and turns that I did not see coming. It had fantastic build up to the dramatic pieces and the last fifty pages or so really had me at the edge of my seat (almost to the point of nail biting).
I loved the way the story wrapped up in the end!
Thoughts
I loved the story from the very beginning, but for some reason it took me a couple of chapters into it before I was really invested in the story. This could be that I was sort of on my way into a tiny reading slump, but thankfully I found my way back and when I got into this story I was hooked!
This was a refreshing, sexy and unique read! I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year before getting my hands on the next chapter of this epic story.
Oh, and let’s not forget the stunning artwork on the cover! It deserves mentioning! Designer Donna Mark did an amazing job!
I have no doubt that this will be just as much of a success as The Throne of Glass series has become.
Sarah is a brilliant writer and I’ve loved all of her work so far! Her books are future classics in the making!
Want your own copy of ACOTAR? Click on the Amazon or BookDepository logo below:
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I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson – REVIEW
I listened to I’ll Give You The Sun on Audible.
Published: September 16th, 2014
Publisher: Dial Books
Pages: 371 (hardback)
Audiobook length: 12 hrs, 57 min
Synopsis by the publisher:
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
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The Writing
Nelson’s writing in this book is so beautiful and unique! The way she makes you see all the paintings in front of you so vividly is amazingly well done!
It was funny, puzzling, different, beautiful and heart breaking.
The beautiful pros and flows of the book captivated me from the very beginning and held me in its grip the whole way through.
The Characters
Noah: He was such an interesting character. To follow him as he struggled with love and his sexual orientation was both heart warming and breaking at the same time. I just wanted to jump into the book and help him out.
And these invisible portraits that he makes in his mind described all of his feelings in such a unique way with so few words.
Jude: She was definitely my favorite and it was probably because she was the one that was easiest to relate to for me. Her thoughts on love, boys and family was really a treat to read. And how she follows her grandmother’s “bible” made me laugh out loud while listening.
The Plot
I think this is the first time that I’ve read a book that has two different plot lines that does not go over the same period of time. But it worked out so beautifully and it was one of the things that really made this book so different and wonderful.
And the way that Nelson intertwine those timelines was handled perfectly!
I did see some of the plot twists coming, but it didn’t really spoil the joy of the book in any way and I can’t really pinpoint why.
Thoughts
I’d heard so many good things about this book before I started it and I was a little afraid that I had gotten too high expectations, but amazingly enough it lived up to my expectations and then some!
It was just a beautiful book that had me going through so many emotions as the story progressed and the characters developed. I really connected with the twins and when the story was over I wanted it to be more.
A gripping and wonderful story about family, love, growing up and realizing that life is not going to be what you expected. Just as this book ended up meaning so much more to me than I ever expected!
Definitely one of my favorites for 2015!
Do you want your own copy of I’ll Give You The Sun? Click on the Amazon or BookDepository logo below:
Body Loving by Christina de Vries – POEM
When was the last time
You looked in the mirror and said
I love this body of mine?
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When there was nothing you’d like to change
Nothing to improve or work with
When you didn’t compare yourself to strangers?
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Ask me. The honest answer is
I can’t even remember
And scary enough, I’m not alone in this
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Thrown at us from every direction is the guide
Wanting people to become unrealistic creatures
Wanting us to show it all, but makes us hide
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Creating a dream to become something unreal
To try to get results only photoshop can make
And when you don’t get there, what do you feel?
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The shame of not being good enough
Some break down because of failing
There’s only so long a person can act tough
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I don’t love my body. I wish that wasn’t true
How perfect it would be to only see
The miracle that makes me and you
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Think of all this wonderful body can do
It heals itself, loves and handle pain
Let’s stop the shaming and say thank you
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Thank you for letting me feel
For taking me places and creating memories
For being something to be proud of and not conceal
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It’s time to focus on getting better from the inside
Using time well spent by giving out a compliment
And stop judging on what is on the outside
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Learn to see the beauty of a broken soul
To love all that makes us human
Appreciate the mistakes that makes us whole
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Body shaming is just another word for hate
And why should we talk down about
The one thing keeping us grounded, unique and great?
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It’s long overdue to turn body shaming into body loving
To take care of it as our most important asset
Because without it, we truly are nothing
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You might never see perfection but love it anyway
For all it gives you and where it takes you
Repeat after me and say:
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I love my body!
I love my body!
I LOVE MY BODY!
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Scream it to the world so they can all hear
Write it in the sky and at the bottom of the sea
With those four words, chase away the fear
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Of never becoming a copy of a lie
Embrace that miracle that is you
And kiss those body shamers goodbye
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Life is too precious and too short for shame
Take a break. It’s time to love yourself
Besides, how stupid would we look if we were all the same?
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©Christina de Vries – Geek Heaven
Christina de Vries 