T5W Test 1

Wow, it was really hard for me to make a list for this T5W*, mainly because this was the year I actually committed to my reading, so there are many series -completed, uncompleted, popular, non-so-popular, etc.- that I haven't had the chance to read. That said, let's begin!

5. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

When The Darkest Minds was released I remember saying to myself: "I am gonna like this one". But back then it was really hard to find a place to buy books that also delivered to my country, and that the shipping rates weren't so high. It wasn't until I switched to digital format that I was able to get all the books in the series at a reasonable price. 

4. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I have not read any book by Cassandra Clare, I know she is a very popular best-selling author but, to be honest, I am dreading it is all hype. This is the first series of her I am giving a chance and if I like it, I will continue onto reading the Mortal Instruments. Since I know the share the same universe but different timelines, I am not too worried I will start this one first.

3. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

With both, the last book and the movie coming out soon, I feel like I have to hurry up and read this one as soon as possible; I read the first chapter a couple of months ago but after reading so many bad reviews I got a little bit discouraged, but I think I got over it now. 

2. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

This highly popular series has been tempting me for a few months, but I haven't had the courage to commit to it, mainly because it gives me the vibe of it being one of those high maintenance series (does that make any sense?).

1. Fever by Karen Marie Moning

Two of my favorite booktubers have recommended this series several times, claiming it is highly entertaining and addictive. It wasn't until last month that I was able to get all the books in this series, I can't wait to start it!

Which series on this list have you read? Are you starting any new series next year? 

*T5W was created by Lainey from GingerReadsLainey.

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Review: The Martian

Title: 
The Martian

Author: 
Andy Weir

★★★★☆

4.5 out of 5 stars

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

I consider this to be one of the best books I've read this year. It is smart, funny, with an original story and a lovable main character (yes, I fell in love with Mark Watney, 'cause of science). The story is told in such a way that it makes a serious/stressful situation feel lighter when injected with the perfect amount of humor: 

Teddy swiveled his chair and looked out the window to the sky beyond. Night was edging in. “What must it be like?” he pondered. “He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man’s psychology?” He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”

LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.

This book I enjoyed from the start and was rooting for Watney to succeed until the very end. Highly recommend.

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JIBIC Test 1

Inspired by the latest Top 5 Wednesday topic: “Disappointing Eye Candy”, we decided to do it in reverse and talk about a few books we loved but made us yell: “Good Lord, that cover!”

1. The Historian

Such an interesting book! This was an instant favorite for us. The amount of research the author did is palpable and then she applied it into a story that not only makes sense historically, but is able to add a supernatural element seamlessly. Then you see the cover, and it doesn’t tell you anything. The image they chose -with the weird Renaissance man- feels like it's just pasted there, being random. You don't necessarily need an image to make it have meaning, but if you're going to make a type arrangement, at least try a little harder - talking about the second cover - that is just bad photoshop layer effects (careful there with Bevel & Emboss). The fourth cover tried to be better, drawing inspiration from the concept of vampires with the "blood" brushes but it fell a little short and just needed one extra push to make it interesting.

2. The Golden Compass

This one is especially sad for us, given how majorly awesome this book series is. Somehow, after 20 years, there isn’t a single edition of this book/series with a decent cover. No one has managed to create a concept that captures what this book is really about. Let us tell you something, this book isn’t about a girl and her bear, not even close. Yes, it’s true that Iorek, the Panserbjørn, was a pretty important (and cool) character but a secondary one still. Where are the dæmons? Where is the actual object this book is named after (or at least an appealing representation of it)? They could have even played around with the concept of Dust. So much content to choose from, so many wasted opportunities. 

3. Mage Heart

Definitely, not a favorite, but still a good read, “Mage Heart” has some of the worst covers we’ve ever seen. It is difficult to pick favorites between the awful typography, no cohesive color theory, the weird blurry images, the overwhelming clutter, the amateur-looking Photoshop…It’s all pretty bad. We must give props to the designer that made the cover for the latest edition, though. The 2012 cover definitely redeemed itself with a high-quality illustration and a better use of typography. However, it’s still a little off with the concept, because: Why is there a Geisha? She wasn’t Japanese. 

4. Ella Enchanted
This was a great book to read when we were in our teen-years. Even now, it's just a good story. Something interesting happened with the covers here: The first one has a more mature style that doesn't appeal to its target audience; the second one feels like they wanted to bring the story into modern times. It's basically the same concept as the first one but overdid it with the Photoshop; The third one is actually good, with a lovely illustration and well integrated typography. They got it right and they should have stopped there; but no, because the fourth one is just terrible. Somehow, the last cover turned this book into a weird modern-day fairytale comedy, not to mention the fact that it connects it directly with the awful thing that was the movie. 

What do you think about this topic? Do you have any books that you loved but couldn't deal with the cover? Let us know in the comments below. We want to hear from you! 

Read you next time,

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Review: The Raven Boys

Title: 
The Raven Boys

Author: 
Maggie Stiefvater

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 stars

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

WOW. Here I thought that maybe I was getting too old for young adult after so many low rated books but, this one

Blue is a non--so-gifted (by comparison) young girl, member of a clairvoyant family, all of them strong, talented, independent women that make a living out of their gift; one day she finds herself involved with 4 pretentious students from a local private school that are in the search for an ancient welsh king's resting place.

The Raven Boys has different narrators, each voice different and unique, I found every character interesting in its own way. All the supporting characters have a purpose and are easy to remember. There are a lot of clues scattered around and even though I saw one of the big twists coming, it didn't make me like this book less. The four boys are all so different it made me wonder if they would actually be friends in real life at first, but then, the way the author delivers the story, made me feel fond of their non so conventional relationship.

The romance isn't as important as you would think, yet. There's going to be a love triangle, it is more than obvious, but it isn't insta-love, so it is not going to be shallow. The story itself is a little slow at the beginning but it picks up towards the middle, and part of me likes that because many things I thought needed to explained, are getting explained.

The ending wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the book, not because of what happens, but because I needed more; while I felt the plot was wonderful, complex and magical, the resolution was a little bit too convenient for the sake of the sequel, meaning, not much happens.

 Highly recommend. 

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