Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Will Probably Never Read

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Intentionally Sad Contemporaries

1.) If I Stay by Gayle Foreman - Goodreads

I'm so picky about my contemporary and I just can't do the super sad ones. I don't like going into a book knowing I'm going to cry my eyes out. Typically that means I won't cry. But I do want to watch this movie. Sad movies I can do.

2.) All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - Goodreads

This book just came out and I've been seeing this one around the blogosphere a lot lately. I will not be reading it. We all have our trigger warnings and for me it's suicide. I just can't do it. I'm sure it's a perfectly lovely story but it's just not one I'm going to do.

3.) Paper Towns by John Green - Goodreads

I don't know if this is sad. My experience with John Green makes me think it is. I like John Green. I thought I would hate Looking for Alaska but I didn't. However I will probably never read Paper Towns. But I've heard it called "manic pixie dream girl road trip." Nope.

Books With or About Aliens

4.) The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy - Goodreads
You know what else I don't do, aliens. I have a pretty serious irrational fear about them. I blame my brother for torturing me with his ET doll when we were kids. The main character has the same name as me and there are aliens killing people. NOPE!

5.) The Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Goodreads
Supernatural romances are already hit or miss for me but add romance with an alien and I'm going to have to give this book a hard pass. I loved my first JLA book and I want to read more but not this series.

6.) Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - Goodreads
That's right, another alien book. I really can't. Like I said, irrational fear. Everyone loves this book by Vonnegut, it's a Sci-Fi classic. I love Sci-Fi (I know I'm an enigma, I love Sci-Fi but hate aliens) but the character is abducted by aliens so, absolutely not! 

Books That I Just Can't Invest My Time In

7.) The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - Goodreads

It pains me to say this because you know I love me some epic fantasy, especially those written by Sanderson. But there are just too many books in this series to invest my time in it. I should have read it years ago when I first heard about it.

8.) Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace- Goodreads
It's a classic and when I tell people I like to read a lot of them ask me if I've read this one. I really have no interest. Not only is it disgustingly long but the idea that the ending is a chapter of nothing but a stream of consciousness? I'll pass.

Even the Synopsis Makes Me Uncomfortable

9.) Fifty Shade Darker and Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James - Goodreads

Notice I didn't say Fifty Shades of Grey. Yup, I've read it. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I hated it! And a scroll through the synopsis of the next two books makes me realize I will not be reading them.

10.) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - Goodreads
One of my friends who is a big reader just like me tried to read this book and could not finish it. She said the author invents a lot of words and phrases making it hard to understand. Not to mention the main character is a serial killer and rapist. I think not.

That's my list. You've seen a few of my trigger warnings. They range from suicide, to aliens, to stream of consciousness, to erotica, and serial rapists. What books will you probably never read. Should I still read any of these books? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Audiobook Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Title: An Ember in the Ashes Author: Sabaa Tahir Published: April 28, 2015 by Razorbill (Penguin Group) Narrator: Fiona Hardingham and Steve West (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible) Synopsis: AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and pulse-pounding read. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world with echoes of ancient Rome, it tells the story of a slave fighting for her family and a young soldier fighting for his freedom. Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

An Ember in the Ashes was one of my most anticipated debuts of 2015. I've heard amazing reviews and the synopsis struck me almost immediately as a total "me book." So I snagged a pre-order and started reading the e-book. Then on Twitter I saw Brittany from The Book Addicts Guide and Katie from Polished Page talking about the audiobook and how much they enjoy the narrators. I had previously considered getting it on audio so I quickly switched formats. I'm glad I did because it was a perfect audiobook. Fast-paced, action-packed, a thrilling world, and characters you easily connect with. The narrators did a fantastic job creating an atmospheric and engaging read. If you like audiobooks and are considering reading this book, I definitely recommend that format. But what about the book as a whole?

Well for one thing I really liked the characters in An Ember in the Ashes but I didn't totally love the character arcs for some of them. If you follow me on Goodreads you may have noticed that most of my status updates about this book were about the characters. They are one of the things that made the book so enjoyable and as they changed so did my feelings about the book. Our two main characters are Laia and Elias. They come from different backgrounds but they are incredibly alike. Both are determined and strong. Laia has this amazing inner strength and refuses to give up in the face of tremendous adversity. She however had this amazing character development starting as not only a terrible spy but an unwilling one and becoming so tough. Elias however starts as tough on the outside but vulnerable. In a morally corrupt world Elias has honor and compassion. My only problem was with his character development. He started off in such an amazing place but throughout the book he does some things that make him much more odious. Usually I enjoy that but here it kind of made him unlikable at a time where he needed to be the most likable. But that being said both characters felt incredibly realistic and relateable, which is always what I like to see.

But the book was also full of amazing secondary characters. First and foremost, the books antagonist, the Commandant. I have seen some nasty villains in my day but she makes them look practically huggable. She is cold and calculating with what I can only assume is a black hole where her heart used to be. But I love a good villain to hate and she afforded me that in spades. Then there is Helene, Elias' best friend. She is an incredibly complex and well-rounded character with a really amazing character ARC. And Laia's chapters are populated by a host of interesting characters both from the Resistance and the servants at Blackcliffe. Speaking of these secondary characters, I do want to mention that there was a pretty heavy love triangle here and some insta-love especially from Laia's side of things. I'm not opposed to love-triangles but it definitely complicated the story in a way it didn't need to. I felt the uncertainty from the characters and it made me keep the romance at arms length so I never really connected with it.

But one thing that I did connect with was the world of this book. I've said it before but I'll say it again, my favorite fantasy worlds are those that have a history and mythology to them. That's what An Ember in the Ashes felt like. There was a past here, a past that most people assume is just stories but as the book develops that mythology and magic is shown to be true. I love when stories are slowly introduced only to have a role in the plot later, it always makes things so interesting. But of course I can't talk about the world without mentioning what the synopsis refers to it as a "brutal Roman-like world." To me it seemed like a combination of The Winner's Curse and A Song of Ice and Fire. The Winner's Curse because it is a world where one group of people, the militaristic one, has conquered another. A Song of Ice and Fire because of it's brutality, and intentional violence. It is a world where violence is not only accepted but encouraged.

And because violence is a huge part of the world, it also a huge part of the plot. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. There is a really serious body count here and I would definitely advise you to avoid this book if you have trigger warnings for torture. There are some things that happen here that are just brutal. That's the only way to describe them. It's the kind of situation where the more you think about it the more uncomfortable you become about it. As I mentioned before, Laia's portion of the story is about spying on the Commandant but that woman is not to be trifled with and there is so much suspense to Laia's chapters. She is working as a slave and as such, she is treated as a slave. It's not an easy life for her. Things are also not easy for Elias. He wants to be free of the violent military academy but his main plot point revolves around the trials to choose the new emperor. And these trials make The Hunger Games seem like child's play. Some of these challenges are just horrifying! They're hard to read and the more I think about them the worse they sit with me. It will set your heart pounding from beginning to end. But there is also a fair amount of mystery and surprises along the way. It was when the mystery was high and the violence was low that I enjoyed the book the most.

And while the violence was extremely gratuitous that is not what I didn't like the most about the plot development, I was incredibly engaged in both plot lines. It was the narrative style that I didn't love. Changing perspectives isn't always my thing. In the case of An Ember in the Ashes there was just so much going on that at times it felt hard to keep track of it all when you weren't involved with them all at once. I think my biggest problem was that at times the two stories would connect and then at other times they were completely independent. And while they did come full-circle in the end there were some moments where I had wished they didn't change perspectives so often. It just felt like two different stories instead of one cohesive story for me.

That being said I really enjoyed An Ember in the Ashes, there were just some things that didn't completely work for me. It's one of those books for me that I enjoyed a lot while I was in the moment and then when I think back on it, I see more of the things I didn't like. All in all though a really great debut.

I give The Wrath and the Dawn by Sabaa Tahir 8 out of 10

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow/Buy. I know a lot of people have loved this one and I can see why, it's definitely a thrilling read. It may have been a case of the hype monster or it may have been something else. I would recommend this book to people who are fans of fast-paced and action-packed stories that don't mind gratuitous violence. Especially if you like odious but realistic characters. And despite the criticism I would absolutely recommend the audiobook.

Have you read An Ember in the Ashes? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

The Big Bang Book Theory Tag

I was tagged by the fabulous Jessie from Jessie Reads Everything. I love the show The Big Bang Theory even though I don't watch it regularly, it's a hilarious show. Friends but with nerdy character. What's not to love. And this tag is full of funny and slightly nerdy questions so obviously I love it. Let's do this thing!

1.) The Fish Night Light

A book that may have been rocking it's crazy but was still kind of brilliant.

Jackaby by William Ritter

I seriously loved this book. It's totally weird with eccentric characters and there's no chapter 13, on purpose. But it's a great historical mystery with a fun fantasy world. 

2.) The Hawking

The author that would be your equivalent of physics genius meets Stephen Hawking.

I mean J.K. Rowling is the obvious choice. She is the queen! I would have the world's largest fangirl moment if I met her, I would probably pass out and babble like a crazy person if I did meet her.

3.) The Euclid Avenue

The book so full of bumps and (plot) twists that it proved annoying to read.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

So much hype around this book. It had some good things about it but there were just to many twists and bumps for me. It just didn't feel creative.

4.) The Spock Napkin

The book for which you had low or moderate expectations, and then it was so beyond awesome that you wanted to hug it and love it and shout about it forever.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

This is the book that made me realize that I was just not reading the right contemporary novels. It blew me away that's for sure.

5.) The Awkward Fanboy

The book that seems to follow you around the blogosphere, and you know you don't want to read it but it won't leave you alone.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Speaking of reading the wrong contemps. I really have no interest in this book despite everyone loving it. I frequently cry in books but never books I know are going to be sad. That's not my thing.

6.) The Classified Materials 

The book with a spoiler so huge, when anyone asks you just can't even say because the spoiler is such a big part of it.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Mostly because of Crown of Midnight spoilers. Usually I compartmentalize my feels for this book but then I think about what happened to... But also.... OHGOD... Runs away and desperately waits for Queen of Shadows.

7.) The Jiminy

The book that gets mistaken most often for the wrong genre, and you're constantly arguing for why it's this other genre/subgenre 

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Grey

I get it, time travel or dimensional travel is hard to categorize. But ask yourself this question. How is this possible? Supernatural powers or technology. If the former it's fantasy, if the latter it's Science Fiction. There is so much talk of technology and science in this book it's really no contest, yet people still question it. IT'S SCIENCE FICTION YOU GUYS!

8.) The Adhesive Duck

The book that was all cute and cuddly and then WHAM YOUR FEELS AND OW YOUR HEART AND WHAT JUST HAPPENED.

The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace

I have tried super hard to compartmentalize my feelings about what happened in that one scene. If you've read the book you probably know what I mean. Also, that ending? *dies*

9.) The Zazzy

The book that's got so much personality that it's just ZAZZY and there's no other word for it.

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

This book is just so freaking adorable. It has so much personality and ships, and it was embarrassing how much I giggled while reading it!

10.) The Hot Troll

The book that you thought was beautiful and fabulous and then it turned out to be horrible and gross.

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

I wanted this book to be beautiful and wonderful. It sounded like the perfect book for me and I loved my first book by the author. But the twist was predictable and it was just full if the sads!

11.) The Zarnecki

The book with an antagonist so evil/mean/disgusting that you'll drive many hours just to knee him/her in the... Well you get it.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Seriously there are few villains worse that Teren Santoro. He is just diabolical. But I just finished An Ember in the Ashes and the Commandant deserves a serious well, you know.

12.) The Train Tour

The book with the development/ending/sunken ship/whatever that proved so upsetting you contemplated running away forever so you didn't have to deal with your feels.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

NOPE. NOPE. NOPITY NOPE.  At the time I didn't mind it as much as I do now. I get what you were trying to do Veronica Roth but in my opinion you did not succeed and you kind if ruined a characters redemptive arc.

That's it friends! I DID IT!!! So fun! Thanks to Jessie for tagging me and Terri  from Reading by Starlight for creating the tag. I am going to tag Britt at Please Feed the Bookworm, Stephanie at My Bookish Itinerary, Octavia and Shelley at Read.Sleep.Repeat and YOU... YES, YOU! Everyone should do this tag. This is how I feel now...

April Wrap Up and May TBR

April Wrap Up

April was a good reading month for me. It marked the second month in a row that I read at least a dozen books including some that I absolutely loved. I had two 10 star reviews this month including a backlist book I have been procrastination and a debut (that's my third 10 star debut).

I'm also killing my challenges. I'm ahead of schedule for my Goodread Challenge of 120 books, having read a total of 44 books so fat this year. As for my other challenges I've read 13 books for Netgally/Edelweiss Challenge (3 this month), 8 books for the Debut Author Challenge (3 this month), and 9 books for the TBR Pile Challenge (3 this month). I'm on track for all three but I may need to read more of my TBR shelf. 

Books Read in April: Historical Fiction

1.) At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]

2.) The World Before Us by Aislin Hunter Rating: 7 out of 10 [My Review]

3.) The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak Rating: 10 out of 10 [My Review]

4.) The Revelation of Louisa May by Michaela McColl 
Rating: 8 out of 10 [My Review]

5.) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]

6.) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker 
Rating: 9.5 out of 10 [My Review]

7.) Skandal by Lindsay Smith Rating: 8.5 out of 10 [My Review]

8.) Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 
Rating: 10 out of 10 [My Review]

9.) The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey Rating: 8 out of 10 [My Review]

10.) Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee Rating: 9.5 out of 10 [My Review]

11.) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 
Rating: 9 out of 10 [My Review]

12.) The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs Rating: 8 out of 10 [Review to Come]

Other Posts:

Discussion on Strong Female Protagonists
An Ember in the Ashes Release Day Blitz and Giveaway

To Be Read in May: Adventure/Survival

I can't believe it's already May! Although I am excited. May is always my favorite month. It has perfect weather, my birthday, and at the end of it BEA where I can see all your lovely faces (stay tuned for birthday and BEA related posts!) Plus so many amazing books come out this month.

So May was supposed to be my freebie month. I usual have a non-theme every six months so I can read some of the books I have been putting off because they don't fit in with the theme. But I looked at my books and I realized they actually do have a theme so I'm running with it. I 'm also a glutton for punishment so after reading a ton of emotional reads in April I am now reading a ton of  suspenseful and action-packed reads. So I'm sure there would be tons feels this month too.

ARCS

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest by Melanie Dickerson - Add to Goodreads

Described as "Swan Lake meets Robin Hood" with mention of a "dangerous poaching ring" has me intrigued. It sounds like it has a strong female protagonist and some romance

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh - Add to Goodreads

I've heard great things about this debut which is a retelling of A Thousand and One Nights where a prince takes a new bride every night and she's dead by dawn. The MC has a clever plan to survive. 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik - Add to Goodreads

This is a fantasy where a malevolent wizard known as "the Dragon" takes a young girl as his assistant. Friends who have similar taste in fantasy have loved this one.

Hold Me Like A Breath by Tiffany Schmidt - Add to Goodreads

Fairy Tales meet Organized Crime. Yes, please. I'm really intrigued by this story of a girl who has a disease that makes her vulnerable to touch and her family sells organs on the black market.

New Releases

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - Add to Goodreads

I'm basically done with this book which came out of Tuesday. It's brutal and action-packed. I'm listening to the audio which is fantastic. I'm so glad I saw Brittany and Katie recommending it on Twitter.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - Add to Goodreads
I need this book in my life. Seriously everyone is loving it and it's Sarah J. Maas so clearly it's brilliant and there will probably be a badass lady.

NIL Unlocked by Lynne Matson - Add to Goodreads

I loved NIL and the story of surviving and getting off a creepy island a year before you mysteriously arrive. This is probably the most survivally book on the list.

A Series to Marathon

Legend, Prodigy, and Champion by Marie Lu - Add to Goodreads
I loved my first Marie Lu book, The Young Elites, and found it brutal and fascinating. I'm guessing this is a little less brutal but it's dystopia so there will be a survival angle and I've heard good things.

Classic

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - Add to Goodreads
So this doesn't really fit the theme but I want to read more Jane Austen and this has been referred to as her "Gthic parody." I love Gothic fiction so I'm excited to see Austen's take even if it is a parody.

That is my plan for May. Don't forget to stop back for all the reviews. Are you reading any of these books? Have you read any of them? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!