Musing Mondays #12

MUSING MONDAYS is a weekly meme created and hosted by Jess from A Daily Rhythm.

Thank you so much Jess!

My Musing:

I don't think I've ever introduced you guys to my fandom-related necklace collection... So let's do it!

Firstly the Deathly Hollows necklace which I acquired in 2013 in Oporto. An old man was selling them in the street and I had been looking for one for so long that I didn't even hesitated when I saw them all dangling from a rope.

As you can see I have it exposed in my J.K.Rowling shelf next to my Harry Potter series and first two books on the Cormoran Strike triology.


Next up comes my Mockingjay necklace wich I got in Madrid just a few months ago in February of 2015. I went to a street market called "El Rastro" with my friends and I saw this tent full with fandom necklaces and I literally screamed and runned straight to it. As soon as my friends caught up with me and saw what the yelling was all about they just said "Typical Rebeca..."! So that's where I got this beauty that's currently hanging by my Hunger Games triology.


And last but not least comes my Shadowhunter's necklace which is really just the Angelic Power or Enkeli rune but in necklace form. I got it in the same place I got the Mockingjay necklace and I have it near my Mortal Instruments series.

So here you have it! I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and if you have funny stories or just fandom related merch that you want to share do not hesitate to leave a comment down below!

Rebeca's June TBR

During the entirity of this month I have a group project to do for college so I know I won't get much reading done. But I've been sent quite a few books from publishers in exchange for a honest review those will be my top priority.

• Ninelands by K. E. Boyer
• Prince of Conjurers by Laurie L. Bolanos
• The Sacrifist by T. Mason Gilbert
• Musical Chairs by Sheila Levin
• Fresh Meat by B. Bentley Summer

Since I'm only posting this TBR on the 6th I've already read and reviewd the first book on this list, you can check my review here.

Feel free to tell us about the books you're planning to read this month in the comments' section down below!

Review: Ninelands by K. E. Boyer

Ninelands

By K. E. Boyer

book rate: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) 

Published by: K. E. Boyer

Date of Publication: April 15th 2015

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Page Count: 220

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis provided (shortened):

One morning, twelve-year-old Jamie Collins hears strange sounds coming from the attic. Being the son of a wizard and capable of magic himself, this doesn’t seem too odd. But when he goes upstairs to explore, he discovers something totally unexpected: Minkel, a delightful, elfish creature, who intends to take him, his sister and his friends to Ninelands, a place Jamie never knew existed.

Meanwhile Zard—the future head of the Ketch clan of wizards, who are at odds with the Council of Elves—wants to get hold of Jamie for his own dark purposes. Suddenly Jamie finds himself caught in a dangerous web of magic and he must choose whether or not he will train to be a wizard and join his father in the fight against evil.

Review:

"Ninelands" is the first book in the Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures series and I have quite a lot to say about it so keep reading!

Firstly there's something I really want to get out of the way so let me start with that. This is definetely one of my book pet peeves: characters that talk to themselves... a lot... and in an unrealistic way... It just never sounds right to me, like the character is slightly dumb... But I'm aware it may mean nothing to other readers so I want to make clear that this is just my opinion! Now, I took the liberty of picking an excerpt to better demonstrate my point of view:

"He scratched his head and glanced into the hall.

-Maybe Mom dropped something up in the attic.

But the attic door was closed.

He went to the top of the stairs to listen.

-Mom is down in the kitchen with Megan.

He went back to his room and looked up at the ceiling.

-So what made all of the noises?"

I'm hoping you got my point so lets move on to more important aspects of the book, the characters (apart from the talk-to-self thing) are adorable and I found it impossible not to love them instantly. Now take this super fun kids and put them in this amazing world called Ninelands and you have the potential  to tell a pretty fantastic story! But that's the main problem I found in this book... It just has a lot of potential and never really makes use of it. I felt lik 80% of "Ninelands" sounded more like an instruction manual about how a certain world is and how things happen there than actually about living in that world. I know this is the first book in a series and therefore I expected the rest of Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures to be incredibly captivating and magical and mind-blowing. But "Ninelands" specifically felt more like the novela before the series than the actual first book to me.

On the other hand, I did really enjoy some ideas this book explores. And to be fair and not just quote an excerpt I dislike from "Ninelands", I will also quote my favourite:

"It all starts with a child's imagination. That is why humans are always coming up with new tools. Or new and better ways of doing things. In your world, children's imaginations grow and magically change to become creative. So that they can invent things as grownups. To imagine something and turn it into an invention for all humans to use is pure magic."

A slow-paced book introducing a possibly adictive and really fantastic series, that's how I would describe "Ninelands".

Teaser Tuesdays #1

TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.

My Teaser (spoiler free):

"And anyway, I suppose when one was confronted with the choice to believe in the existence of an Armenian drag-queen horse trainer or not to believe, one would will believe."

-page 161, "Night Film" by Marisha Pessl

Musing Mondays #11

MUSING MONDAYS is a weekly meme created and hosted by Jess from A Daily Rhythm.

Thank you so much Jess!

My Musing:

I've just finished "Losing Hope" by Colleen Hoover and as I'm participating in A Tree of Reveri's Read-a-thon I have to choose and start my next book as soon as possible (not that I don't do this on a regular basis but let's just say today I have a little extra motivation ;)).

I trying to decide between "Night Film" by Marisha Pessl and "I Am the Messeger" by Markus Zusak. Let me know what you think I should read next in the comment's section below!

                   


                      OR

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

We have been nominated for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award by The Reading Habits of a Recovering Daydreamer and we are very glad she chose us. Thank you Alie!

The Rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site
• Put the award logo on your blog
• Answer the 10 questions they sent you

Questions from "The Reading Habits of a Recovering Daydreamer":

1. What is the first book that made you cry?
Rebeca: Harry Potter and the Hald Blood Prince.
Isabel: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2. Do you read non-fiction? If so, what genre(s)?
R: Dramas mostly.
I: No, not really.

3. Which author makes you wish you'd written his/her book?
R: In a good way? J. K. Rowling. In a this-book-has-so-much-wasted-potential-it-should-totally-be-rewritten? Melissa Marr.
I: Non. If the author thought that was the best way to write her story, then she has that right! I don't have the write to say that somebody's ideas are bad or her opinions wrong. I have the right to dislike the book, but not to change it.

4. What's your favorite quote?
R: "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." - Albus Dumbledore
I:  "But what if Shakespeare - and Hamlet - were asking the wrong question? What if the real question is not whether to be, but how to be?"- Gayle Forman, Just One Day

5. What's your favorite holiday? Least favorite?
R: Visiting a new city. Going to the countryside.
I: The same as Rebeca, I just don't mind the countryside, I mean, I live in the countryside xD Is not that bad people!

6. What's your favorite campy film (or TV show, book, etc.)?
R: Right now... I guess The Kill Order by James Dashner. (I really hope campy means what I think it means though hahaha)
I: 

7. Which is worse: love triangles or instalove?
R: INSTALOVE! Definitely the worst for me.
I: I'm sucker for love triangles. But I'm not totally against instalove. In some books it's a bit exagerated. I find that sometimes people mistake instalove with insta atraction. But I do believe in insta atraction. People just have a tendecy to mistake both of them. You can not possible love a person you know nothing about, but you can feel atractted to a certain person the moment you see him/her. Your opinion might change when you actually meet her of course. 

8. If your life (or maybe a fantasized version of your life) were made into a movie, who would play you? Who would play your significant other?
R: I'd love it if Zooey Deschanel played me and Alex Pettyfer played my significant other!
I: Miley Cyrus would be me and Zac Efron my significant other. Seriously people, I couldn't care less about celebrities. I stopped having celebrity crushes when I was 12.

9. Which composers/artists/songs would be on the soundtrack of your biopic?
R: Cold Coffee by Ed Sheeran.
I: Something by Ed Sheeran or The Head And The Heart

10. What's your favorite kind of event/performance to attend (musical, opera, ballet, football game, concert, etc.)?
R: Ballet performance! Or a concert of a band/singer I really enjoy.
I: None?! I mean I never found interest in those type of social events. I like to go just because of the ambient that surrounds people. I know it's weird, but I like to observe people in these type of things

Review: The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins


Book Rate: ★★★☆☆


Brief Introduction (from goodreads):

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…


Review:

I aquired this book with very high expectations (Gone Girl high) and I started reading this book with very low expectations ("this is so not like Gone Girl, total waste of time" my fellow reviewers said). I finished this book not blown away but also not disappointed, I mildly enjoyed it to be honest.

I found it immensely interesting to realise how we sound different in the minds of each person whose life crosses ours, I believe this was the main advantage of reading this 3-prespective narrative about three very (and maybe not so very) different from each other. I found some characters to be more intriguing than I initially had thought they would be but I also felt very frustrated as we got to know better the remaining charcaters.

I can't say the storyline was predictable, it wasn't. But I wasl thought it could be improved regarding certain excerpts. It's far from being a 5-stars story but it's also far from being a 1-star story. A very solid 3-stars book.

If you're feeling like reading a mistery book that will not necessary blow you away but will definitely keep you a good company, then this is it.

Please let me know what you thought if you've read it!

P.S.: Do not go into it thinking it's like Gone Girl, IT'S NOT.