Recommendation of the Month!!

I know I have been M.I.A. lately, mainly due to me slacking off and being completely uninspired. I haven't read much lately to be honest, but today, a friend of mine reminded me of a good book that I have already read but have yet to recommend to you.

If you are a fantasy reader and fan like I am, you have to try The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. The first book in the series is The Name of the Wind, and it is simply fantastic. I can't tell you what it's about since I don't want to spoil too much, but it's just one of those books you can not help but adore. It is wonderfully crafted by the author; its characters and settings so rich it'd be hard to tear yourself away from them.

Simply put, these novels make up one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. It has everything that I love about books and reading, and if you like the said genre, try it out. If you don't trust me, I hope the thousands of 5-star reviews will encourage you even more! Happy reading!

Fifty Shades of Complete Nonsense

For about two months now, I have been so out of the loop when it comes to books and what people are reading. I don't know if it's because of lack of inspiration, lack of ideas, or just pure laziness, but I just wasn't feeling it unfortunately.

However, these past few months, statuses about a certain not-so-little book from my friends on Facebook are being posted. You may have heard of it.

The reader in me just knew I had to pick Fifty Shades of Grey especially when my non-reader friends started raving about it, and asking me what I thought about it. Going into this, I had no idea what the book was even about - that was how out of the loop I was! I then found out its genre, which I haven't even tried before. To be honest though, my curiosity got the best of me. Why were so many people reading and raving about it? Is it really as good as everyone says it is?

So I read it. I finished it in a day. Here's my opinion. This has got to be one of the worst stories I've ever read. It was, and I don't think I've called a book this, just a complete waste of time.

First, the writing. It was like reading the worst fan fiction story ever. Fifty Shades of Grey was repetitive and unimaginative, as if the author found it impossible to come up with other ideas to make up this story. Chapter 14 sounded like Chapter 1, Chapter 17 sounded like Chapter 14 again, which makes it sound like Chapter 1... you get the point. There's no plot development whatsoever. Also, the events and situations just felt so incredibly forced (like a horribly acted soap opera) that I couldn't help but laugh in some parts.

The characters - just pure cliches! Predictable, abusive, self-indulgent, messed up, and obsessive - scary combination, and not executed very well either. There's of course the needy, dim-witted girl, who just needs a tough man to fill in the emptiness in her life. She wants her life to be spontaneous, exciting, exhilarating, and complete. Then there's the brooding male character. Good looking. Attractive in every way. Mysterious. A little dangerous. Actually has a huge heart. Note that he can be a little intense, abusive, and degrading, but "she likes it, so it's okay!" Yeah. That makes total sense!

As for the plot... was there even one?

Overall, I tried to enjoy this for the sake of entertainment. I tried. I failed. This book had no purpose, no plot, no likable and believable characters... I can go on and on. I will tell you this; if you like this genre and this style - PLEASE go to good, quality fan fiction websites. They will be so much better. I promise you.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult - dystopian

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review: After hearing so many rave reviews on this book, I finally decided to go ahead and give it a try. I want to go ahead and say that first off, I really enjoyed this book. But before I say the things I loved about it, I'm going to mention one tiny little flaw I found I just didn't like. I didn't like that we didn't really get to see or catch a glimpse of the city of Chicago. While the idea of the five factions was fascinating, I found there's many things left to be desired. I wanted to find out more about the world outside the factions. How is the actual city of Chicago? How's the factionless? I wanted to see the entire world, to see what it has become. To me, that's the true point of a dystopian. Then again, that's also just my opinion.

That being said, I was still thoroughly entertained. The author, Veronica Roth, is excellent at story telling. She's able to draw her readers in with just enough details and descriptions, making the pace of the story perfect. I found that the world that was available - the factions - were awesome. I also really liked the characters, especially the main male lead. He was just very realistic - none of those typical male characters you read about nowadays. And also, I simply found the overall plot to be incredibly compelling. I couldn't stop reading - even at 2am, when I should be sleeping, I didn't want to stop as I wanted to find out what happens next.

So yes, I would definitely recommend this to YA fans and readers, adults, and dystopian fans. Must read for sure. It's a unique book and a unique story, told wonderfully. I am impressed and can't wait to read the sequel! Hopefully we get to see more of the actual city of Chicago, outside the factions, to get a real feel of what happened to it and what made it into what it is now. Overall, 4.5 stars!

last one to read this.

I may be the only one that hasn't read this book yet, since everybody's been talking and raving about it. I finally bought it though - only because I missed book buying so, so much - and I honestly can't wait to dig into it.

I hope it's good. If you've already read this, what did you think of it? Is it really as good as everyone is saying? No spoilers please, but I'd like to hear what you think! :)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

When I first saw the trailer for this movie adaptation, I was so excited, mainly because Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is a book I love so very much. To me, it was genuinely heartfelt and beautifully written - definitely one of my favorite reads.

The movie, however, was disappointing. To me, it felt nothing but an attempt to emotionally manipulate its viewers. It was so obvious to me, in my opinion, that everything about the movie - the writing, directing, music, among many others - just seemed contrived, silly, and just plain cheesy.

The biggest disappointment for me though, was how the main character of Oskar Schell was portrayed. Oskar Schell (in the book) is such a loveable and dear character; one can't help but sympathize, empathize, and root for him.

In the movie, Oskar was portrayed as, in my opinion, a disrespectful and out-of-line child. His sadness and anger towards the people around him and the situation itself are not believable. In fact, it was just simply annoying. How can I like a movie with such an unlikable protagonist?

For me, I was just disappointed. I would not recommend it to fans and readers of the books.

I love Lord of the Rings.

I also love Google.

Happy Thursday!!!

Book/T.V. Show Recommendation!

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I have been watching the show, The Game of Thrones, for a while now. I have to say, I am getting a little obsessed with it.

To be honest with you guys, before HBO made this epic fantasy-ish show, I didn't know that it was just an adaptation of a very popular book series, which I know is a shame. I only started reading the books when I found that out. That being said, I read the first book and managed to finish it in two days. I loved it. I was surprised at how easily I fell for the characters. They're believable; as the author, George R.R. Martin, really knows how to paint them in such a realistic way. I especially love the fact that this series has many strong female characters. For a fantasy/medieval power story, this is definitely a big deal!

Most especially though, he sure knows how to tell a story in an incredibly engaging way. It is such a complex story though that I don't think I will write a proper review for them because it will be hard to do so without spoiling it.

So, I'm just going to go ahead and say that yes, you MUST read the books. They are so well written, the characters are awesome, and the combination of many different types of genres is just pure entertainment to me. And yay for strong female characters ;)

As far as the show goes, I love it. I believe that it is good to be watched on its own, whether or not you have read - or planning to read - the books. I think it tells the story well, and the actors do a very, very good job portraying such badass characters.

wizarding world of Harry Potter (with pictures this time!)

You all know I have been wanting to go to the Wizarding World ever since they released this park, and finally, I did go two weeks ago. There seriously are no words to describe the feeling I got when I first stepped into this park. So, I figured I'll just leave you with photos from the day and with me saying, that if you can go here - tomorrow, the next week, next year, two years from now - GO! It's amazing.

I was one happy muggle.