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AMindNeedsBooks
Hi, my name's Donna. I'm a 20 year old Literature and History Student you likes to read (a lot) and make youtube videos.
Once again I really enjoyed this (not quite as much as Shadow and Bone, but it was still good). I especially loved the end of this book- the end battle was awesome and just everything that went down at the end there has me craving Rise and Ruin. There was also a new character introduced into this book who I loved! I will hopefully be filming a review for this, if not I'll type up a full review and link it back here.
I absolutely flew through this book and read it in pretty much one sitting, so clearly I loved it. I really liked the world and magic system (though I would have liked more information on how the magic worked) and the Darkling, well he has me feeling very conflicted. I'm going to be filming a full book review (it will probably go up in a couple of weeks) to discuss it in more detail, but I can't wait to start Seige and Storm (I had to physically stop myself from starting it last night). Would definitely recommend it (and if you have read this, I would recommend you check out Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy, they very much remind me of one another).
I'm giving this 3.5 stars overall. I did find it was over-hyped and (at least to me) it came across as trying to hard. It did redeem itself in the final part, and this part was also the most exciting in terms of action; if you're a fan of video games you will probably enjoy this book, however as someone who was never hugely interested in this I found it hard to get into, and Winston hard to relate too. Full review on my blog: http://donnareadsbooks.tumblr.com/post/61486520548/review-ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline-random-house
I'm not sure I can write anything coherant about this yet (I literally finished it about 5 minutes ago and am still digesting). I'd really recommend it though, especially if you're looking for a light, fun read (However: while it is not quite the punch in the stomach Eleanor and Park was, do be prepared for feels*). I'll be making a video review when I can make my thoughts into sentences so keep your eyes out for that, and do let me know if you plan to read it; I can't wait to start discussing it with everyone. *I even cried at one part
A Dance with Dragons: After the Feast. George R.R. Martin (Song of Ice & Fire 5 Part 2)
I'm glad I've finally managed to catch up with this series, though a part of me wishes I had paced it more, as I now find myself stalking anything about the Winds of Winter. There some aspects of this book I didn't enjoy so much but I liked it for the most part, I'll be discussing it more in a booktalk soon.
Since this is technically half way through the book I'm not gonna say much until I've finished the second part. I am enjoying it, but I'm still not sure how I feel about how he decided to split AFfC/ADwD- it certainly has given both books a very different feel to them from the rest of the series.
I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this book over all. With Storm of Swords being so good this did come across as a bit of a disappointment. It's almost as if we're at step one again and George has a lot of things he has to set up for the story to go forward. I'm ok with this, but it did make for a slower book and I just didn't enjoy it as much. I'm also really unsure how I feel about the way he decided to structure this (along side A Dance of Dragons) I'll make a verdict on it when I've read that I guess. I'll be recording a booktalk during the week to discuss my thoughts in more detail.
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3.5 stars. Full Review: http://donnareadsbooks.tumblr.com/post/59768929030/review-the-rise-of-the-hotel-dumort
I'm not going to fully review this, because like with most Austen's I feel like I need to read it twice before I'm really ready to tear it apart. However I do have a few thoughts to share.This is probably my least favourite of the Austen's I've read, but I still did enjoy it. I always enjoy her writing style and narrative voice and I really enjoyed the exploration of the theme of reading (and what is worthwhile reading). Catherine's pleasure in novels at times gets her into trouble as she appropriates novel like situations to her own life. However, while pointing out the dangers of 'living within your imagination' Austen also shows that reading novels (as opposed to more 'serious' fiction)is a worthwhile endeavor. This is definitely something I'll explore more when I read this again.I also thought Catherine went through some good character development throughout the book, especially the growth in activity, as she rather passively follows the characters around in the early parts of the book (not that you can really fault her for this, especially when she arrives in Bath and is dependent on others to introduce her into society). Moreover, I enjoyed Henry Tilney as our romantic lead. He was sweet, though I can't help but find he encouraged and took advantage of Catherine when he tells the story of the cabinet to her on the way to Northanger Abbey. While Catherine runs away with the idea, Henry certainly seemed to plant the seeds in her head. Finally we have the Thorpes, Isabella being a quite typical female villain. It was easy to see her duplicity from the start, however there was enough mystery surrounding the Tilney's behavior also, to keep the plot ambiguous while I was reading.
Wow, this book. I absolutely flew through this one and I had such a hard time putting it down, I can't wait to get a booktalk up and discuss it with you all. Though Baelish you better keep your hands of Sansa or there will be hell to pay.
I'm definitely enjoying these more as the series progresses and can't wait to get started on the second part. I'll be reviewing it when I've read both parts.
This was engaging and a very enjoyable read that certainly left me with food for thought. I read it in preparation for a class and I'm definitely going to be following up on this topic and likely writing my class essay on it. I also really enjoyed the writing style, Showalter's style is easy to follow and easy to read (which was a nice break compared to other historical texts I have read.)If you're in any way interested in the topic I'd certainly recommend it, especially as a great starting point.
If I'm honest I didn't enjoy this as much as previous times I have read it and it's probably more of a 3.5 than a 4 stars. However I still love this series and I think it does improve in the following books. I'll be making a booktalk discussion video for each book in this series as I read them.
The Diviners
This book was fantastic, especially as a first book in the series. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel and will be filming a video review sometime this week.
