I’m a Moody Reader and Proud: Monthly TBR Discussion

May 14, 2018May 11, 2018 fangirlfury14 Comments

A new month in the book blogging community often brings book hauls, the previous month’s wrap-ups, and of course, to-be-read posts for the month. Let me start by saying that I commend anyone who creates monthly TBRs.

GIVE ME YOUR MAGICAL PLANNING POWERS, PLEASE. AND EXTRA HOUSE POINTS TO THOSE WHO STICK WITH THEIR MONTHLY TBRS.

But Fangirl Fury, you always refer to your organization and planning skills when giving advice about blog scheduling. You’re absolutely right, as I live by Leslie Knope’s matra of “Jammin’ on my planner!”.

However, I have the hardest time choosing and planning out all the books I want to get to within a month. The reason why? I’m a moody reader.

By moody reader, I mean that I tend to pick up books that I am specifically in the mood to read. I’m in the mood for a British contemporary? Then I’ll be picking up Sophie Kinsella or Jenny Colgan. I’m craving a Marissa Meyer book? Then I guess it’s time yo read Renegades! My point is that by not setting a list of books that I need to get to, I give myself more freedom to choose what I want to read. And I realize that most people’s TBRs are composed of books that they want to read, not books that their TBR magically spits out at them. I feel like that could be a book lover’s dream or worst nightmare.

Another aspect of creating monthly TBRs that keeps me away is the pressure of sticking to your TBR. Creators tend to feel stressed about hitting all the books on their TBR if they’ve shared their list with their audience. Insert overdramatic example here:

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN’T READ SIX OF CROWS THIS MONTH! HAVE YOU NOT READ HARRY POTTER EITHER? BUT IT’S MY FAVORITE!! WHY? WHY?

A bit of a drastic example, but there’s a certain pressure when sharing your monthly reading goals. There’s been a lot of discussion in the book community about this feeling, the main point being that READING SHOULD NEVER STRESS YOU OUT. I’ve recently seen bloggers, especially larger-scale creators in the Booktube community, stray away from sharing monthly TBRs to alleviate some of this stress.

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I am not saying that monthly TBRs are pointless. People enjoy creating monthly TBRs so they can stay on track with their personal reading goals and have an idea of what they want to get to in a certain month. When it comes to planning my own reading, I tend to plan when I need to read advanced readers’ copies by so I can have a review ready for release day, or when I want to reread series by in time for the next installment or film adaptation- To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is definitely my summer rereading goals.

What do you think of monthly TBRs?

Do you create monthly TBRs? If you do, do you find yourself stressing out over getting to all your books? Share in the comments!

Tower of Feels: Tower of Dawn Review

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018 fangirlfury5 Comments

Since Tower of Dawn is the sixth (technically seventh if you count The Assassin’s Blade) installment in Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series, I will not be providing a summary today. I love my non-spoiler folk, especially since I just read ToD in April and I myself spent 8 months avoiding spoilers, but when it comes to the love of my life, Chaol Westfall, your girl needs to talk some spoilers about her man.

In lieu of a summary, I’ve answered what I’m sure are your burning questions (Aelin’s nickname isn’t Fireheart for nothing) on how to go about reading Tower of Dawn:

Do I need to read The Assassin’s Blade to read Tower of Dawn? No, not necessarily, but I recommend that you read The Assassin’s Blade because by Tower of Dawn, all 5 stories have significantly come into play. If you are trying to plan out your Throne of Glass series read or reread, I recommend that you read The Assassin’s Blade in between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows.

Do I need to read Tower of Dawn to read Kingdom of Ash? Obviously, Kingdom of Ash has not yet come out, but I 100% believe that Tower of Dawn is necessary for character development and plot development. There are a LOT of new details that honestly can be considered to be plot twists about the magic system and dark forces our characters are facing.

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

Warning: Spoilers for the Throne of Glass series and Tower of Dawn below

Many of you know that Chaol is my #1 fictional boyfriend. I’ve loved him since Throne of Glass , I used to consider Crown of Midnight to be my favorite ToG book because of all of its Chaolness (despite the whole Nehemia thing and Celaena basically wanting to rip him to shreds), and I should probably make my first bookish candle one inspired by him. So even I’m still trying to figure out how I did not read Tower of Dawn immediately after its September 2017 release. I’m trying to chalk it up to the fact that I had really wanted to reread the first five ToG books beforehand (which I’ve ended up doing this year) and fall semester stress.

I’m sure it’s again no surprise to you guys that I loved Tower of Dawn. It’s easily made its way into my top 3 ToG books and most definitely a favorite read of 2018. There’s just so much world building in this installment, as Chaol and Nesryn journey to Antica and the Southern Continent. I’m not sure if we’ll get anything else from the ToG world after Kingdom of Ash, but my spin-off predictions now includes with one of our new ships and a new favorite OTP of mine starting a new life together as rulers of the Southern Continent…

I still need to look into some ToD fanart, but does anyone know what a ruk acutally looks like? I feel like I finally understand what a wyvern is supposed to look like, but now I have to figure out this giant, but awesome bird??? Are we going to get an Abraxos and Kadara ship now???

As you may tell, I’m quite excited to discuss some new ships (really Haley, a wyvern and a ruk??), but I do want to talk about character development beforehand. We get three perspectives in ToD, Chaol, Yrene, and Nesryn. Chaol experiences the most development, from coming to terms with his disability to overcoming his anger over the past. There’s that one chapter, Chapter 55 to be exact, that was just so heartbreaking, as Chaol faces his past in Anielle and his actions from Crown of Midnight, including his bitterness over his relationship with Celaena/Aelin.

But fear not, because Yrene was there to save the day! I am SO happy with Yrene and Chaol as a couple, and I’m so excited to see more Yrene in Kingdom of Ash. She’s easily become one of my favorite characters, and I’m really excited to explore her and the healers’ magic, not to mention her BOND with Chaol. Below are some of my favorite quotes from Chaol AND LADY WESTFALL (!!!):

“Yrene could have sworn it was far more than the dawn that shone in the captain’s brown eyes as they rode into the city” (177).

“And that this moment, flying together over the sands, devouring the desert wind, her hair a golden-brown banner behind her…

Chaol felt, perhaps for the first time, as if he was awake.

And he was grateful, right down to his very bones, for it” (489).

If I can’t have him, I’m more than happy that Yrene can.

And speaking of OTPs, I am HERE for Sartaq and Nesryn. If Tower of Dawn remained as its intended novella, I think there would’ve been a chance that Nesryn and Chaol set sail as a ship, but I think Chaol needed Yrene for his own development. I also think Nesryn and Sartaq’s personalities fit really well together, and while Kingdom of Ash is not going to be a light-hearted read, I could use some more of Derala’s teasing:

“Sartaq gave her a knowing, cocky grin. As if he’d fully decided what would come after and nothing she could say would ever convince him otherwise.

And from the courtyard just a wall away, her sister shouted, loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear, ‘I told you, Father!’ ” (648).

And while Chaol and Yrene definitely make some discoveries of their own, I was shocked by Nesryn and Sartaq’s finding out that Maeve is QUEEN OF THE VALG?? And those giant spiders definitely didn’t help adjusting to that fact Rereading Throne of Glass this year allowed me to pay closer attention to plot details and set-up for later installments, but I would love to know how much and how long ago SJM had everything planned out. How many notebooks did she use??? I really want to go back to Heir of Fire, for example, and look for owl references when Aelin meets Maeve.

If you’re planning to reread Empire of Storms AND Tower of Dawn before Kingdom of Ash, I recommend checking out Jenna of jennaclarek’s awesome Eos meets ToD reading guide. I know a lot of EoS readers were upset that we didn’t get Chaol and Nesryn in that installment (little did we know what Sarah had up her sleeve), so I think this is a really awesome way to experience our full cast before the final book.

This is so far from perfect but I made a preliminary EOS+TOD reading guide if you’re interested! I may tweak this when I use it later this summer but let me know if you use it & it works!! Shout-out to SJM for ruining my life (in the best way) 😁 #ThroneofGlass #KingdomofAsh pic.twitter.com/KDCHGi6bGM

— JENNA⚡️ (@jennaclarek) April 25, 2018

If you want more ToG content, check out my guest post with my rankings of each book over on Literary Sea!

Have you read Tower of Dawn? What’s you favorite ToG ship? Share in the comments!

Top Five Wednesday: Making My TBR Bigger

May 9, 2018May 5, 2018 fangirlfury15 Comments

Across all of your favorite bookish blogs, this month’s Top Five Wednesday posts are going to be a different in that we’re all going retro! Welcome to Top Five Wednesday Rewind Month. This month I’ll be using T5W posts from the past, i.e. before I joined the T5W family back in May 2017.

My first rewind is going back to July 2016, where one of the month’s topics was “Most Recent Additions to Your Wishlist.” Blame it on finals stress and not wanting to do anything else but read, but my TBR went from about 65 to 90 books real quick at the end of April. Today I’ll be talking about my 5 most recent additions to my TBR.

newfireborder Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor- One of my best friends IRL loves YA fantasy and when she found out that I haven’t read Strange the Dreamer yet, she made me add it to my TBR immediately. I think I’m going to pick this one up later this summer or in the fall closer to the release of Muse of Nightmares.

Ship It by Britta Lundin- Blame Kristin of Super Space Chick’s Booktube video about Book Expo & Book Con on this TBR addition! I love books that incorporate fandom, so Ship It sounds right up my alley. Britta Laudin is also a writer on Riverdale, so that makes me even more interested.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo- I’ve seen a ton of positive hype around To Kill a Kingdom since its March release, and this is another one that my best friend has thankfully pushed on to my TBR. I’ll take any book with The Little Mermaid vibes! I also really enjoy reading standalone fantasies every once and a while.

Not the Girls You’re Looking For by Aminah Mae Safi – I saw a few bloggers haul this one from the LA Festival of Books. I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews for this diverse read that features feminism and female friendship.

Burn for Burn by Siobhan Vivian and Jenny Han- Being a huge Jenny Han fan, I figured that it’s time to check out her Burn for Burn trilogy with Siobhan Vivian. I also adored Siobhan Vivian’s The Last Boy and Girl in the World two summers ago and Stay Sweet is on my summer TBR. I plan on borrowing the trilogy from my library, but I actually found Burn for Burn among the library’s used books for sale! I think I also saw Fire for Fire for sale, so hopefully Ashes to Ashes will pop up too.

What are some books you’ve just added to your TBR? Share in the comments!

College YA Meets 90s TV: Finding Felicity Review

May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 fangirlfury1 Comment

Summary:Caroline Sands has never been the best at making friends. Especially in Arizona, where her parents’ divorce sent her and her mom for a fresh start. Being the new girl and being socially awkward didn’t make finding friendships so easy. What was easy? When her mom started worry about her, Caroline invented a whole life for herself, using the beloved characters of her favorite TV show, Felicity. But it’s now time to head off to college and Caroline has plans to start a “new” life for herself, even if it means taking a tip or two from Felicity. However, Caroline’s plans come crashing down when her mom discovers her lies about her high school friendships. Her ultimatum? Prove in the first semester that Caroline is able to make nonfictional friends and a healthy life for herself at college. If not, she’s headed home to Arizona for good.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

If you’ve been following me even for the tiniest bit, you’ll know that one of my reading obsessions of 2018 has been college YA. Currently a college student myself, I’ve just been craving stories with settings and characters I can personally relate to at this stage of my life. I’ve been quickly adding more college YA books to my TBR, but I’m trying to take my time getting through them so I’ll always have the genre on my TBR (not to mention the other 90+ books that are waiting to topple over me). So next on my TBR was Stacey Kade’s Finding Felicity.

As the title suggests, our main character, Caroline, loves the ‘90s TV show, Felicity. You do not need to watch the show going in. Before reading, I never saw the show and I only watched the first two episodes the day I started the book. Stacey Kade does not include spoilers for the show because odds are if you enjoy Finding Felicity, you’ll love Felicity. The show follows a college-aged protagonist who decides to go to college in New York City, against her parents’ expectations to go to Stanford and become a doctor.

I’m sure true Felicity fans will pick up on more, but I did enjoy how Stacey Kade includes elements from the show in the book. There’s bigger plot points, like Caroline wanting to go to Ashmore because Liam will be there, and smaller moments, like when Caroline tears up in class and her classmate asks if she’s okay.

Now, CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A BOOK LIKE THIS WITH PARKS & RECREATION OR FULL HOUSE? YOU WANT ME TO WRITE IT? That’s good because, I already have the first twenty chapters or so planned out.

I’ll keep you up to date on my WIPs one day, but I just love how this book incorporated fandom love. Caroline also loves watching films and other TV shows, including the HGTV channel.I’m a firm believer that everyone needs some Fixer Upper in their life, and I think Caroline would agree.

Outside of its fandom aspects, I really appreciate Finding Felicity because Stacey Kade shows that transitioning to college and making a new life there isn’t that easy. While her situation is a bit unique, we see Caroline struggle to find friends and adapt to Ashmore, but along the way she starts to form some relationships and we leave her at a great starting point. I think it’d be really fun to see Caroline every year of college, like Felicity!

Overall, Finding Felicity is a cute college YA read that will warm your heart and make you crave pizza, as it seems to be the food of choice for Caroline and her classmates. Pizza is truly its own food group for us college kids.

Have you read Finding Felicity? Have you seen Felicity? Share in the comments!

Monthly Recommendations: BOOKTUBE MADE ME DO IT

May 7, 2018March 6, 2019 fangirlfury5 Comments

Since I’ve started blogging, less of my recommendations have come from BookTube, but I am extremely grateful for this book community. I consider 2015 the year that I REALLY prioritized reading and BookTube helped me a lot in finding books that I now consider to be my all-time favorites. While I discovered a lot of hyped books through Booktube, like Throne of Glass and The Lunar Chronicles, today I’m going to be mostly focusing on some “smaller”/ the hype is not all over your face titles for May’s Monthly Recommendations topic, Books BookTube Made Me Read.

UlOf9Umvsg7F — Andy is basically 2015-me without Booktube.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel- Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index was the BookTube-A-Thon pick for their 2017 readathon. I’ve never completed all of the BookTube-A-Thon reading challenges, but I find it really fun to read the one book that everyone’s encouraged to read. I ended up loving Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index (floating around my pool while reading may or may not have influenced my love) and it did make me tear up a bit.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff – The Illumiane Files have rightfully taken over Booktube since Illuminae came out in 2015, and I thankfully fell into this hype. I remember seeing everyone’s Illuminae ARCS in their BEA 2015 hauls.

Escaping the Hype: How to Find Non-Blog Book Recommendations

May 4, 2018April 29, 2018 fangirlfury14 Comments

Many of us readers obviously turn to book blogs and Booktube for book recommendations- and sometimes the best cookie or cake recipe. It’s a known fact that we need the most sugary best form of energy for reading.

But whether its for review purposes, blog tours, sponsorships, etc., sometimes the same books are being hyped up and discussed across the various book communities. I myself am also guilty of this—hyped books are often hyped for VERY good reasons—and I often find myself wanting to read books that maybe aren’t taking over social media feeds.

Today, I’m going to discussing how you can find book recommendations outside of the book blog sphere. I use these resources myself and I hope that they can also help you in your TBR adventures.

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It’s in the blurbs. A book’s cover art can be oh-so gorgeous and distracting. But take a step back and look at the blurbs on the dust jacket, especially if you’re enjoying you read a lot. Often, these authors’ own work is similar to the title you’re reading. It’s a great way to discover new authors, and it’s also really fun to see authors that you know and love have such kind words to say about your current read! Besides its college YA vibes, one of the reasons why I’m excited to pick up Mary H.K. Choi’s Emergency Contact is because of Rainbow Rowell’s blurb!

Check out book publications, magazines, and websites. They’ll often provide the latest releases in a variety of age categories and genres, and they tend to highlight backlist titles. Your local library also may have printed magazines, like Book Page. My favorites include:

Take a trip to the bookstore or library. This is me giving you permission to break your book-buying ban, as well as encouraging you to support your local library. If you’re in need of some TBR inspiration, I recommend going to either book haven with no books in mind.

Just explore the shelves and pick up whatever peaks your interest. If you’re tentative about buying a book that you have no idea what it’s about, I recommend going to the library and checking it out. And if you love that book and it becomes a favorite, you could always then go buy your own copy! I’ve done this with many of the books on my shelves at home.

I can name at least 10 books on these shelves that I originally borrowed from the library and then bought my own copy.

See what books your favorite authors are talking about on social media. I love following authors on social media, especially on Twitter, to stay up to date on their own work and to see what books they’re excited about! I remember picking up The Mothers because I saw Nina LaCour and Rainbow Rowell reading it, and I don’t know if I would’ve discovered Monica Hesse’s books without Ruta Sepetys!

So excited to see this! THE WAR OUTSIDE by @MonicaHesse is coming Fall of 2018 via @LisaYoskowitz and @LittleBrownYR pic.twitter.com/MSH7FASIPb

— Ruta Sepetys (@RutaSepetys) March 21, 2018

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Where do you look for book recommendations? Share in the comments!

Empire of My Tears: Empire of Storms Reread Discussion

May 2, 2018April 30, 2018 fangirlfury1 Comment

I, Haley of Fangirl Fury, have conquered the beast that is Sarah J. Maas’s Empire of Storms for the second time. Meaning that I have also conquered my #1 rereading goal of 2018 by rereading SJM’s Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Queen of Shadows, and EoS. Can we all just take a minute to appreciate that I’ve already reread 5 books in 2018– not to mention the 30+ books I’ve read this year overall??

If you’ve been here for a while, you know that I am not a big rereader. Like many, I am distracted by all the shiny, new releases and have a big backlist TBR. That being said, I used to feel like I wasted time by rereading books. However, I’m quite happy with my decision to reread the first 5 ToG installments because they reminded me how much I love this series and SJM’s writing (even if it meant putting off writing a paper or two, like I’m doing as I write this review).

Because EoS is the one of the latter books in ToG, there will be spoilers from here on out for ToG and even A Court of Mist and Fury. You’ve been warned by Leslie.

So Empire of Storms caused a big stir when it first came out in September 2016 among ToG fans. People were quite upset with SJM for not including Chaol in this installment (little did we know that he’d be getting his own book a year later), and many felt that the book didn’t fit in with the earlier installments. I think was laregly caused by that EoS is more slow-moving and world-building heavy than the past books, since Aelin and company are basically preparing for the war to come in Kingdom of Ash.

I love Empire of Storms mainly for its world-building and character/relationship development. Not that I’d recommend skipping any of the books, but EoS is especially important in understanding Aelin’s family history and relationship with the Gods and what she must do to bring Erawan down, aka sacrifice her life.

All I’ve been thinking about since my reread is if SJM WILL REALL DO THIS TO US??!? In a way, I think I’d appreciate if SJM did sacrifice Aelin for the sake of authors not saving all of their characters/ everyone not having a happily after/ a “realistic” ending.

HOW HORRIBLE AM I??BUT ALSO DON’T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO ANYONE PLEASE, PLEASE.

That last chapter, with Maeve disappearing with Aelin in the iron box and Rowan calling for HIS WIFE, was enough for me to rename this book Empire of Tears. AND I SEE YOU SJM, throwing that marriage shocker at us twice in 2016, the other in a teeny book called A Court of Mist and Fury. I admit that I used to hardcore ship Chaol and Celaena, but I am here for Rowaelin, and Lysandra and Aedion, and even Elide and Lorcan. Yes, even I felt sympathy for Lorcan at the end of EoS, EVEN THOUGH HE PRETTY MUCH ROYALLY SCREWED UP EVERYTHING. I think he’ll have to do something major in Kingdom of Ash to get Elide to forgive him or at least convince her that sending out his power to Maeve was for her sake. I know some people complain that SJM just pairs off her characters, but I really don’t mind because I think her pairings work really well. The only ship that I’m not too sure about, but still appreciated their flirting and uh, moments, is Dorian and Manon. I love them each as characters (let’s be real, Abraxos and Manon are the best ship in this series) and their relationship is fun, but I can’t see the King of Ardarlan and Queen of the Crochans and Wing Leader of the Blackbleaks having the happiest ever after.

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As much as I could keep rambling on about my love for Abraxos and Manon (I screamed when the Thirteen come to fight), and my fear for basically everyone in Kingdom of Ash, I’ll be leaving you with some of my favorite EoS quotes:

“This thing between them, the force of it, could devour the world. And if they picked it, picked them, it might very well cause the end of it” (94)

“Aelin shrugged. ‘Rowan’s always looking for an excuse to show off. Dramatic rescues give him purpose and fulfillment in his dull, immortal life.’ ” (251)

After writing this discussion, I plan on moving on to Tower of Dawn shortly after, where I can finally reunite with my love, Chaol (UPDATE THAT I HAVE FINISHED TOD AND I SHALL NOW REFER TO IS AS TOWER OF FEELS). 2018 is going to be the year of Sarah J. Maas. I’ll reading A Court of Frost and Starlight sometime this week, and then there’s Catwoman: Soulstealer in August, and then that little finale called Kingdom of Ash coming out on October 23. And I also believe 2018 is the year that we’ll be getting the Throne of Glass guide/encyclopedia. I am so excited to be getting 4 new SJM books this year, but I’m also slightly afraid she won’t come out with anything else for a while!?!

Have you read Empire of Storms or any Throne of Glass books? What are your thoughts on those last two chapters?? Share in the comments!