To-Be-Read: Dec 2015 & Jan 2016

To-Be-Read: Dec 2015 & Jan 2016


Hello guys:)

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg and
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

In a previous blogpost, I said that I wasn't gonna read throughout December. Well I kind of lied. I bought a ton of books as you can tell from my book haul post and I want to read them as soon as possible. There are also some books on wattpad that I want to read so I'll put those books in this post as well.


TBR: Books on my bookshelf

1. Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

TBR: Books on Wattpad

1. Seeing Through New Eyes by PhoenixFeather146
2. Try and Catch Me by kirch_123
3. The Beta's Anchor (Liam Dunbar) by dxrk_heart

Try and Catch Me
by kirch_123

Seeing Through New Eyes
by PheonixFeather146

Two out of the three books that are on my Wattpad TBR are fan fictions. One of them is a Dramione/Harry Potter fan fiction and the other on is a teen wolf fan fiction.

   Hopefully I finish reading all these books by the end of January next year. If I do manage to do it, I would be posting a Wrap Up post in February :)

The Beta's Anchor (Liam Dunbar)
by dxrk_heart

-Natalie

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Trailer Review

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Trailer Review

ITS TIME FOR US TO RETURN TO OUR FORMER GLORY!!!!

  Hey guys! THE ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER FOR FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM DROPPED QUITE A WHILE AGO! Can you believe this? We're going back to the wizarding world people. Whoop whoop!

Book cover 1

Book cover 3

Book cover 2

  For those of you who don't know, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them is actually a book that got released quite a while ago, as apart of the Hogwarts Library collection. The book is actually a Hogwarts textbook and it is mentioned in the HP books. If you have never heard of this book or seen it, here's a background of the book. This book is basically a list of creatures that you can find in the wizarding world. This books is also in the point of view of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley as it is their shared textbook. In the book, there are annotations from Harry and Ron which express what they feel about the creatures. The annotations are actually really funny in my opinion. Just a side note, there are actually three book covers to this book (as far as I know), so don't get confused. It is also not under J.K Rowling's name but it's under Newt Scamander (a fictional character from the wizarding world) and on some covers it says 'Property of Harry Potter' (doesn't that gives you a Half-blood Prince vibe?).


  So now for the trailers itself (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trailer) . It gave me the feels because it started like how Prisoner of Azkaban started, with 'Lumos Maxima'. It was kind of weird to hear someone else apart from Harry Potter saying the spell. In the trailer they said that some of the creatures from this 'case' that a woman was carrying has escape (And just note that this movie takes place before the Harry Potter series because it is a prequel). From what I've heard, the movie is going to be in the point of view of Newt Scamander and I assume it's going to be him who would search for the creatures that escaped. It might be just me missing paranoid but I could have sworn I heard Maggie Smith's voice in the trailer (Maggie Smith plays Professor Minerva McGonagall in the HP movies). You guys can check out the trailer on your own and maybe share your thoughts on this matter.

  That's it for this blogpost. I'm just happy that we're going to get to visit the wizarding world again. The sad thing is that the movie only comes out in November 2016 and that's like a year away :(

-Natalie

Book Haul: Book Fest & Malaysia

Book Haul: Book Fest & Malaysia

Hey guys :)

  I recently went to a book fest and had a road trip with my family to Malaysia. I bought several books during the period of time and I thought it would be a good idea to do my very first book haul.

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg & City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare

  The books I bought from book fest are Girl Online by Zoe Sugg and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. Both of these books are on my want-to-read list so I thought I would buy these books during book fest since they were on sale. I wanted to buy a Hitler books called Look Who's Back but those were sold out. I have to say, I didn't think about the sequels to the two books that I bought when I was buying them. I also kind of regret buying City of Bones since the book that I got was not the one with the cover I wanted. The City of Bones that I bought is the one with original cover on it. The one that I wanted was the latest cover :(

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

  Let's step away from my decision making and book cover problems for a minute and focus on these two books that I bought shall we? (From the back of the book) Girl Online - Penny has a secret. Under the alias Girl Online, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, her crazy family and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets Noah: a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog. But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever. I've wanted to read this book since Zoe Sugg announced that she was releasing this book (I'm a major fan of hers). I had to control myself from borrowing the book from my friend and reading it before I bought it. I've heard good reviews about and my friend told me that Penny (main character) reminds her of me so I obviously have to read to see what she means.




The covers I wanted

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

  Now for the City of Bones- Clary Fray is seeing things: vampires in Brooklyn and werewolves in Manhattan. Irresistibly drawn to the Shadowhunters, a secret group of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City - and the danger of forbidden love. I wanted to read this book before the movie comes out years ago but back then, I wasn't really that excited about reading. Now that the tv series is coming out, isnt it the perfect time to start reading the series. I thought the movie was great and I went to read reviews of it online and a lot of people said that they didn't really followed the book. I don't blame them though, the book is quite thick (it's thicker than mockingjay and they split the mockingjay movie into 2 parts). Since then, I've wanted to read the book to understand the story more. I've attempted to read the book twice now but failed both times. Personally I think it was bad timing so let's hope that now would be a good time for me to start the mortal instruments series.



All the 7 books side by side

   So... What did I buy in Malaysia? My dad bought me the entire Harry Potter series as an advance birthday gift! I've wanted the entire series since I was 11. The entire Harry Potter series have brought me into this magical world of reading and books so thank you so much J.K Rowling for writing this series. So which cover did I get? For this series, I managed to buy the entire series in the book cover that I wanted! If I'm not wrong, the book cover that I got is the latest book cover there is. I might actually do a separate blog post on the series and the new book cover.


The case/box for the new cover

Yup, that's all that I bought. I'm proud of myself for not buying too much books because I literally have no more space on my bookshelf. I need to get a new bookshelf :(

Hope you guys enjoyed this blog post.

-Natalie :)

Wattpad Book Review: Draconian

 Hey guys. I recently have been into reading Dramione fan fictions and I stumbled upon this one when I was searching for a new Dramione book to read. If you don't know what or who is/are Dramione, it is basically the ship name for Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling [ they are one of my favourite OTPs out there just saying ;) ].



Draconian by hepburnettes on Wattpad

  Draconian by hepburnettes on Wattpad, (in my opinion) is by far the closest thing you can get from the original HP series. This book is about Draco and his three friends - Pansy, Blaise and Theo, three years after the final battle. There is however a little twist - Harry didn't defeat the Dark Lord. This entire fan fiction is basically based on an alternate timeline that doesn't exist in the original HP series. My favourite thing about this book is how the author portrayed Draco. In my opinion, the way she portrayed Draco is very similar to how J.K Rowling herself portrayed Draco. Obviously there are some differences. Since this book takes place when the dark side are taking over the wizarding world, the characters are darker, and more lost. There are a lot of deaths, torturing and cursing through out this book (since you know the dark side took over) so you've been warned.


  This book has 50 chapters!!! That's absolutely crazy right? Some of you might be wondering, is this book like some of the books on Wattpad that has more than 30 chapters but the chapters aren't long? Fortunately, this isn't one of those book because all the chapters are long and the book is actually completed.

Dramione fan art (not mine, image from google)

  So.... Dramione. The Hermione Granger in this book is not the Hermione Granger that we all know from the books or movie. In this book something happened to Hermione that makes her not herself (you have to read the book to find out what). Draco helps her out and you get to see their friendship blossom in the first half of the book and in the second half of the book, may or may not get to see something more. I think the way the author wrote this book and how the author wrote all the Dramione fluff is really amazing and detailed.

The Golden Trio in Philosopher's Stone

  How about the Golden Trio? Like I said, something happened to Hermione in this book and Draco helps her. Since this takes place after the Dark Lord won the final battle, Harry and Ron are fugitives. Yes Harry survived the final battle even though he didn't win it. Just read the book and you'll see why. SO, Harry and Ron. You actually don't get to see them in the first half of the book but don't worry, you won't even notice that they aren't there, I promise. But the real question is, does the Golden Trio exist at the end of the book? You just have to read to find out. ;)

My favourite quote from the book.

  On a side note, my favourite character in this book has got to be Theo. I know some of you might be confused who Theo is or why he is my favourite character but you just have to read this book. I bet you, you'll fall in love with him at least once in the book. He's the character that you'll love one minute and then the next minute, you'll hate him but then you'll love him again. I think he's character adds the laughter to the book (if that makes sense).


  Overall, I give this book a 5/5. It just one of those books that you couldn't believe you didn't read it sooner. So now you know about this book, go read it. Here's the link ---> Draconian by hepburnettes on Wattpad

 
  HAVE FUN READING IT :)


-Natalie

November 2015 Wrap Up

This November, I read three books. I'm actually proud of myself for that cause this is my first time trying book blogging and I'm still building my book shelve (which is currently really small).


Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

  So, the first book I read this November is something that I have wanted to read for the longest time and that is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I've heard a lot of good things about this book so I was expecting a lot from this book. I WASN'T DISSAPOINTED. This book was one of the greatest book I've ever read and I don't really read this book genres. From the back of the book: This is a world divided by blood - Red or Silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Sliver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to seventeen-year-old Mare, a Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. But Mare possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of her potential, the Slivers hide Mare in the plain view declaring her long-lost Sliver princess. Knowing that one false move will mean her death, Mare must use her new position to bring down the regime - from the inside. Now Mare has entered a game of betrayal and lies. This Red against Slivers, prince against prince and mare against her own heart...  This book has the perfect amount of plot twist that sometimes makes me want to stop reading the book and sit in a corner and cry and sometimes, those twists leave me speechless - in a good way of course. The worst part of reading this book in November is that I have to wait a few more months in order to read the sequel; Glass Sword. A part from that, this book has a 3.5/5 rating from me. The reason why it isn't 5/5 is purely because this book genre is not a genre that I'm used to as I've said earlier.


Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

  The second book that I've read is Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. From the back of the book: It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back? Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough. Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a stranger? Um... Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find? Go skinny-dipping? Wait... what? This book is right up my alley. It is AMAZING. One thing I like about this book is that there are actual music playlists in there. It's kind of cool that the author gives  us a few lists of songs and I think it's a creative way that we can get to know the characters a little bit better. One thing that frustrates me about the book is that some parts of the book didn't have an ending. I don't know how to explain it, you just have to read the book to understand what I'm talking about. My rating for this book is a solid 4/5.

The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

  The last book I've read this November is The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak. This book wasn't in my reading list but I just felt like I have to buy and read this book since it's by a fellow Wattpad author (and her books are incredible). From the back of the book: Stella will do anything for her sister-even stand in line for an autographed Heartbreakers CD... for three hours. At least she met a cute boy at the Starbucks beforehand. A blue-eyed boy who looks an awful lot like... Oliver Perry. Of course Starbucks guy is the lead singer for her least favorite band. Thanks, universe. But there may be more to Oliver than his world-famous charm, because even after she insults his music-to his face-he still gives her his number. Seriously, what is her life? But how can Stella even think about being with Oliver-dating and laughing and pulling pranks with the band-when her sister could be dying of cancer? I read this book in a span of a day and I do not regret wasting my Sunday like that. I actually like how direct the author made this book. Even though she made the book direct, she still could make me cry, scream at the characters, leave me speechless. Normally for teen fictions, I don't get attached to the characters but currently, I am VERY attached towards the all the characters. So, what's the one negative thing about the book? It probably is the length of the book. I know I said that I like how the book is very direct but it's sad that the book ended very quickly. My rating for this book is a very solid 4.5/5.

  So that is it for my November wrap up. I won't be putting up a December to-be-read list just because I still haven't decide whether or not I would be reading next month. I have national exams next year so I should be studying and preparing for it. I might do a December and January wrap up at the end of January next year. AND... I will be going to a book fest next week and I might blog about the books that I bought there.

-Natalie :)