American Panda ARC Review

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Gloria Chao's American Panda and was super excited to read it after hearing some positive feedback about it.

It is set to be released February 6, 2018!

The Hazel Wood Review

I received an advance copy of The Hazel Wood through netgalley, which is awesome. However, I must say that I don't understand or agree with their decision to cut out international reviewers. How can it be a bad thing to have reviewers promoting books in different countries? Isn't that a good thing?

Books to Cozy Up With This Winter

As weather turns colder and I'm getting more and more excited for winter break where I can drink coffee and just read without school deadlines, I've been thinking about some of my favorite books to read with a cozy blanket and hot beverage.

Here are a few of my suggestions!

Beauty Queens Review

I became interested in this book when I heard it was becoming a movie. I had never heard of it previously, but as soon as I learned the premise of it, I was intrigued by how it would go.

Warning: spoilers ahead!

The Flawed Ones Review

I received an advanced copy of this from the author in return for an honest review and so here it is! As usual I do my best to be as honest as possible about my feelings and not show leniency for authors.

Books I Really Want to Read Soon(ish)

This is in no specific order, but these are a few books that I've heard of recently that I want to read sooner rather than later. I can't guarantee I'll read these before any other books because some of my copies are at home or I don't own so I have to wait till I get home to check it out from the library (I'm trying to save all my money for travel right now!)

Anyways, here are just a few of my top to-reads currently!

Mask of Shadows Review

I received a copy of Mask of Shadows through netgalley, but I was really delayed in reading it and so it is already released! This will be spoiler free by the way!

And now here is my honest review of this book!

Miles Morales Review

I'm a little embarrassed because I had never heard of the Miles Morales version of Spider Man until I saw some buzz for this book. I had only ever seen the white Peter Parker versions. My fault for not doing more research in the comics, but also Marvel's fault for not spreading Miles as much as they do Peter. They could be doing so much more with their marketing for this because I believe it contains much better representation and diversity than what is largely in pop culture currently.

Bubblegum Review

I was reached out to by the author, Sari Taurez, in request to review her book, Bubblegum. This is her self-published first novel and it's set to be released October 9th!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Review

I was attempting to prep for the Becky Albertalli signing and checked out Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I wanted to read both of her books, but The Upside of Unrequited was checked out from the library for like a month straight so I still need to read that one.

Simon is being made into a movie if you didn't know, so go read it before the movie comes out!

Wonder Woman: Warbringer ARC Review

This was one ARC that I didn't think I'd be able to get my hands on so when I did, I had to read it immediately!

There will be no spoilers in this review!

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Review

I'd seen some buzz online about Gentleman's Guide and saw that it was getting some starred reviews when I noticed the author, Mackenzi Lee was coming to Illinois for a signing. I was already really intrigued by the concept and then at her signing, she was one of the most well-spoken authors that I've ever seen. I found her to be so intelligent and spoke of so much that I found fascinating! She's awesome!

Follow her on twitter because she also does brief history lessons about women in the past who've gone unrecognized. Her tweets have some really obscure facts in them and she never fails to make it interesting!

Invictus ARC Review

I absolutely loved Ryan Graudin's previous series, Wolf by Wolf, so when I saw she was coming out with a new book, I was so excited. This was on the top of my list and I'm so grateful I got the chance to read it!

History Is All You Left Me Review

Another selection from the library that I'd been meaning to read for so long!

This review will be spoiler free!

Spider-Man Homecoming Review

I saw the newest Spider-Man on Friday with a couple friends and so here's my review for it!

This will be free of all major spoilers, but will have some minor ones!

Caraval Review

This had been a book I'd seen around a bunch and heard some positive feedback for it so when I was looking for a book to read at the library, I thought it was a good one to try.

Top Five Reads of June

Of all the books I read in June (check out my goodreads for a full list), these are my favorites. I'm thinking this can be a new segment I do at the beginning of each month to cover the previous month. I felt inspired to start it today because I got a little behind on review writing.

The Midnight Star Review

This is the final book in Marie Lu's The Young Elites series. It took me so long to read this one! I loved the two previous books but it just took me forever to get around to the finale. This review will have spoilers for the earlier books because that's unavoidable so read at your own risk!

If There's No Tomorrow ARC Review

Jennifer L. Armentrout has long been an author who I've enjoyed. When I had the chance to read her newest contemporary, I had to take it.

June Book Haul

All the books I purchased in June! I got a few others from the library, but those are not included here.

Orange is the New Black Review

With the release of the show's season five, I felt the urge to read the true tale of Piper.

Everything, Everything Review

If you don't know, this book was recently made into a movie. I usually try to read the book before I watch the movie or tv show, so Everything, Everything was on my list.

The Crown's Game Review

Evelyn Skye visited a bookstore semi-near me (it's still an hour+ drive) a while back and in preparation I had read The Crown's Game.

Windfall Review

Jennifer E. Smith has always been a fun and easy summer read. When I was browsing Barnes & Noble and saw she'd come out with a new book, I just had to buy it.

Fun fact: she actually used to live like two blocks away from me in small-town Illinois.

This Adventure Ends Review

I'd seen This Adventure Ends on netgalley before it came out and it looked so good to me! Except when I requested it, I was declined. Thus, I had to wait for its release and boy was it worth it.

As You Wish Review

I was super intrigued by this book by Chelsea Sedoti when I read the summary and would like to thank netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

As You Wish is set to be released January 2, 2018.

Genuine Fraud Review

One of the best books I've ever read was E. Lockhart's We Were Liars. I managed to get a hold of the ARC for her next book, Genuine Fraud which is supposed to be released September 5, 2017. Now I had high expectations for this next book, which is also a stand-alone.

Annihilation Review

I bought Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer at a bookstore in Santorini. Read about that amazing store here.

This was one suggested by the staff on one of their little notecards. I'm always up to try what other people enjoyed so I decided to take a chance on it.

This is the UK cover, I think, and the one I have.

Ramona Blue Review

Leading up to the Anderson's Bookshop signing for Julie Murphy, Evelyn Skye, Joelle Charbonneau, and Kimberly McCreight, I had to prepare by reading at least some of these authors' books. My first pick was Julie Murphy's Ramona Blue and here's my spoiler-free review for it!!! Enjoy!

Study Abroad Bookhaul

I left the US with zero books and managed to come back with twenty-two, not including any kindle books purchased. Considering this was over six months, I'd say I really restrained myself.

Bentwhistle the Dragon in a Threat From the Past Review

Full disclaimer: I was reached out to by the author to read and review this series. This is my HONEST review. I've previously said how it annoys me when youtubers, instagrammers, bloggers, etc talk up products that they don't truly care about and I refuse to fall into that. However, I will always go into parts that I did like as I understand every author works incredibly hard in their writing.

FYI there will be a lot of spoilers in this review as everything I have to say about it requires me to reveal certain things.

Zorba the Greek Book and Movie Review

I was recently in Greece for two weeks and was able to visit the islands of Crete, Santorini, and Mykonos. I also went to the mainland for two days and I spent that whole time in Athens. On Santorini, my mom and I visited this great bookstore called Atlantis Books. Click here for my post about that store. Nikos Kazantzakis's Zorba The Greek was one of two books I bought here.

Bookstore on Santorini

In Oia, Santorini you can find this amazing bookstore, Atlantis Books. The name comes from the fact that there's an archaeological site on Santorini called Akrotiri and it's rumored to be where Atlantis sank when the volcano near this island erupted.

A Court of Wings and Ruin Review

As many of you know, Sarah J. Maas is one of my favorite authors. This is the review for A Court of Wings and Ruin, the third book in A Court of Thorns and Roses, so there will definitely be some spoilers for the previous books. If you haven't read those, GET OUT NOW!

The Muse Review

This was a book that I was seeing carried at every bookstore I visited. It had a great eye-catching cover, with a statement saying it was from a "New York Times Bestselling Author." When I was at an amazing bookstore in St. Andrews with my parents, they offered to buy me two books and The Muse ended up being one of my selections.

The Hobbit Review

The first time I attempted to read The Hobbit, I failed after one page. I don't know what it was, but I learned the same thing happened to some of my friends when they tried to read it. This time I had downloaded it for free from Kindle Unlimited, which is $10 a month and you can then download for free any of amazon's qualifying books. It's amazing for people who read a lot because you can quickly earn back what you spent if you read enough.

I was about to leave for Budapest and was downloading everything I could for free onto my kindle. The Hobbit was one of them, as well as Fall In One Day from netgalley which I just reviewed. I decided to give it a chance again and this time I was successful.

Brief summary: Bilbo Baggins is hired to help dwarves steal back their treasure that has been taken over by a dragon. They must journey through forests and mountains and first make it their alive though.

I'm assuming the majority of you know what The Hobbit is about so that was a very simplified summary of what this book is.

Once you get into the book and past the beginning, it's super action packed and keeps you enthralled. I ended up finishing The Hobbit in one day! Bilbo's story is in one book while Frodo's was in three, so it's much faster than The Lord of the Rings (I've just read the first so far! I'll do a review of the whole trilogy when I finish it I think!).

Tolkien's writing style is fantastic in this if you ask me. He truly creates a world and thought about everything, the languages and the history. I think a lot of newer high fantasy stories fall short of creating the entire world their stories take place in, but Tolkien truly created Middle Earth. It's incredibly admirable when you think about just how much had to be thought of.

I loved the quirkiness and the way the book was narrated. I think Bilbo is a very relatable character because he wants peace, but also craves adventure. That is me so much where I want a memorable life, but sometimes I just want to lay in bed with a cup of coffee and a book. However, Bilbo was able to leave his comfort zone and find those adventures. Sometimes you just have to take a risk.

Slight spoiler ahead!!! Skip to where it says spoiler ended if you don't want to know anything!

I also loved that this had a happy ending, but not an unrealistic one where it's too happy. For God's sake there was a deadly dragon and a battle, how can everybody survive that?!

Spoiler Ended!

This was also much better than the movies. They tried to add too much to make it into three movies and after reading the book, I preferred it a lot more. Gandalf's weird relationship with Galandriel is taken out. Legolas is not in this. That brunette elf is not in the book nor a dwarf-elf romance.

Middle Earth is just an incredible fantasy world to explore and I really look forward to finishing The Lord of the Rings.

My Tolkien criticism is that there are no strong female characters. The movies had to add them in or make the female characters more important than they ever were in the books. I think this is the one big fault and while it shouldn't be overlooked, you still have to look at the time period that Tolkien wrote in. There are many better feminist books to be read, but I still say Tolkien is an important literary figure to study. We just have to acknowledge the misogynistic aspects. No book written during his time would be 100% politically correct and so we can't expect Tolkien to be.

Anyways...

This is a world that set the example for hundreds (probably thousands) of other high fantasy books, I believe Tolkien is a must read for any fantasy lover. You don't have to love the series or even like it, but Middle Earth was one of the first high fantasy worlds and so many other famous authors have been inspired by it. I think it's just important to understand the history of this genre and reading Tolkien is a way to do so.

I ended up enjoying The Hobbit much more than I thought I would and I highly recommend it to you all!

Fall In One Day Review

I received an ARC of Fall In One Day from netgalley and I had downloaded it to my kindle prior to my trip to Budapest. By the time I got around to reading it, I honestly had completely forgotten what it was about. Judging by the name, I thought it'd be some teen romance where the characters fall in love with each other in one day. Boy was I wrong, but I'm glad I was!

The real summary: It's 1973 and fifteen-year-old Joe's best friend, Brian, has gone missing. Nobody seems to worry too much though since he went missing along with his father. But as the world's eyes are turned towards the Watergate scandal in America, Joe is convinced the adults cannot be trusted. He starts his own investigation to try and find his friend.

I thought the Goodreads summary gave away a little too much, so that was my ultra-vague version.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was something unique and a change of pace for me that I found myself pleasantly surprised by how quickly I raced through it to reach the end. It was so intense and sad (might not be the best word, but emotional) at certain times that I became incredibly involved in the plot. It was well paced with suspense at the right times to keep you involved. It was also definitely darker than I expected when I had gone in expecting a cheesy romance.

I also learned a little about history. Ugh I don't want to give away what I learned, sorry guys.

One thing I didn't like, but eventually got past, was that it seemed a little too juvenile in the beginning. Joe's parents treated him like a ten-year-old when he was asking questions or making observations about Watergate. It took me too long to realize that he was supposed to be fifteen. I understand it can be difficult for a writer to write from the point of view of a teenager, but Terlson couldn't decide at first how a fifteen-year-old boy should be. They talked about boobs and teenage boy stuff, but were also so innocent as to the rest of the world. Teens are actually more mature and intelligent than adults usually think. Once you get past the set up, Joe falls more into character. You just have to get past that.

Also, I'm sorry but the title did not make sense to me. It was only referenced to once and didn't feel like it related to the story at all. Instead it was about how Joe liked when the leaves would fall from the trees in one day instead of a spread out fall. Maybe I'm dumb, but it didn't relate to the greater plot whatsoever in my mind and was instead misleading. Like I said before, I thought the book was about falling in love in one day, which if it was about that I probably wouldn't have liked it.

But remember, we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover.

Glad there wasn't romance in this book though! Instead I really enjoyed Joe's relationship with his brother. There was a little quirkiness added in with Joe's brother's friends, which made it more fun and not all dark and gloomy.

Overall, a really great read and the negatives that I found weren't able to deter me from giving Fall In One Day five stars!

Edit: Craig Terlson was kind enough to reach out to me after I posted my review and offered to explain the title to me a bit. He went on to tell me that it was to emphasize how a fall can happen so quickly and suddenly. The leaves can fall of the trees in just one day or somebody can make a mistake causing their own rapid downfall. It's about how quickly one's life can change in an instant.

Thanks Craig for reaching out to me!

Fall In One Day is out now guys so you should all go buy this wonderful book!!!

The Bone Witch Review

Spoiler Free

Summary from Goodreads:
"When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha — one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice."

I've been trying to read all the books on my kindle to make it easier to travel light and I decided to try out The Bone Witch as it sounded very intriguing to me.

First question: Is Tea's name pronounced like the beverage tea or like Tey-uh? I wasn't sure and kept switching between the two as I was reading.

Like halfway through the book they tell you it's pronounced Tey-uh.

I found this book to have a slow plot, but overall a good read. I saw on Goodreads that a lot of people were unable to finish the book because of how slow it was and that's understandable if you don't have much patience for long set ups. However, I ended up really enjoying The Bone Witch.

The world that the book is written in is incredibly intriguing and a diverse one. There are many long descriptions though about the food and dress of characters, as well as the daily occurrences in the city. You really enjoy this culture rich world though where people literally wear their hearts around their necks and magic is a daily part of their lives. The heartsglass concept, where their heart is a sort of magic filled necklace, was really interesting and the importance/significance of giving it away was cool and well done.

I would absolutely love to be an asha. They're some kick-butt women who are powerful, beautiful, and talented in a wide variety of skills. You'll look up to them and start yearning to be like them. The powers are so interesting and how much training they have to go through is amazing!

This book also features some challenging established gender roles and traditions, which is great to see. Hopefully it's developed more in the next book, because I would love to see a female Deathseeker! (They're the highly trained warriors who at this point have to be men).

Again I have to say the plot is very slow. It's a lot of training and Tea learning about the asha world. It's a little excessive on the descriptions and is a lot of background information. I did really enjoy young Tea, but I think the older her that we see is more interesting and action filled.

I think the next book will be better on having more plot and this was a lot of important background to know, but it's difficult when it's 90% of the book. It really just felt like a build up book and I think a lot of people will give up before then. The writing can also be a little abrupt at times where it doesn't flow too well, but the creativity of the world and its magic will help distract you from that so you don't notice it as much.

Overall, this book was good. The series has a lot of potential and by the end I really enjoyed learning about how much power Tea could have and what she'll do with it. It's a great set up for the next book, but you just have to power through all the extensive details given. In the middle I wasn't sure I'd want to read the sequel, but by the end I really wanted to know what would happen next.

The Bone Witch comes out March 7!

Favorite Edinburgh Bookstores

My favorite part about exploring Edinburgh is discovering all the great bookstores here. I keep finding more and wanting to buy books from them. I'm trying to restrain myself but when a bookstore has a great atmosphere, sometimes I just can't help myself.

Here are some of my favorite ones that I've discovered!

Blackwell's

Just a five minute walk from the center of my campus, Blackwell's is highly recommended for buying your schoolbooks. It might be a full-priced chain bookstore, but it's nevertheless fantastic. I walked in and it just has a great clean vibe. It's well-stocked and has a Caffè Nero attached to it so you can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while you read your recent purchases. While I adore secondhand bookstores, you can't help but admit that bookstores like Blackwell's are more likely to have what you're searching for and it will be much easier to find it.

Word Power Books

Word Power Books is basically two minutes away from the center of my campus and I walked by it numerous times before I got the chance to check it out. I adore Russian literature and I often saw in the windows books about Russian history and a beautiful copy of Doctor Zhivago, which I'd read while I was in Russia. I eventually walked in one morning when I was early for class and it's a fascinating and powerful store. The majority of its books are about activism and social change. I saw many feminist books and copies of The Communist Manifesto. It's an independent bookstore that's still full-priced, but you want to give it money as it's fighting against Amazon's takeover of bookselling. To feel inspired and motivated, check this bookstore out.

Till's Bookshop

Till's Bookshop is located on my trek back to my dorm from classes. The bookshelves go all the way to the ceiling and are packed full with books. I haven't had the chance to check out the shelves here as much, but it's a great secondhand store that you can spend hours at just staring at all the books.

Old Town Bookshop

Old Town Bookshop is located on my favorite street in Edinburgh, Victoria Street. Some people say the street inspired Diagon Alley and it has many other great stores to check out. There weren't as many books here that I wanted to check out, but in the back are some great old prints of Scotland. It also has that amazing tiny bookstore feel where you want to be quiet and gaze up at the full towering shelves. You'll feel incredibly scholarly here.

Armchair Books

Now Armchair Books is my favorite. It has a great selection for a secondhand bookstore and I cannot believe how the owners keep it organized. Everything is correctly sorted by author, something really difficult when the shelves look like this:

This is the bookstore to drool over: filled to the brim and giving off a warm homey vibe. The light fixtures are superb in adding to that effect and then you have the old rugs below you. It's the most idyllic bookstore I've ever been in. Yeah there are numerous bookstores that fill their walls to the top, but this one remains organized where you don't feel like you're in chaos. The great atmosphere makes you want to search every inch of these shelves though so you're still hunting through and able to stumble upon something great.

I can't wait to discover more here, even though they're so dangerous to my wallet!

What's the best bookstore you've ever been to? Tell me the story of how you found it!

You Before Anyone Else Review

Spoiler Free!

Summary from Goodreads:
"Model Finley needs someone to help her shed her "good girl" persona, so she'll try Eddie on for size.
New York City model Finley is fed up with hearing the same feedback at castings: she needs to take some serious action to wipe the "good girl" stamp from her resume if she wants to launch to stardom.
Enter Eddie Wells. He's shallow, predictable…and just as lost as Finley feels. Deep down, Finley is drawn to Eddie's bravado, his intensity. Except Eddie is hiding something. A big something. And when it surfaces, both loving and leaving Finley will become so much harder."

You Before Anyone Else by Julie Cross and Mark Perini is good. It honestly depends on what you're into. If you really enjoy contemporary romances that don't have huge emotional endings, I think you'd really like this book. While I enjoy contemporaries, they aren't my favorite genre and so they have to really stand out to make them great in my mind.

This book was good in that I was happy with the characters and the ending. The ending didn't go exactly as I expected, but I was happy with the decisions of the characters and thought it to be the best way to go.

The characters are also just good. It's a healthy romance where the Eddie and Finley are supportive of each other. They were also communicative which was so great to see. When Eddie's secret was revealed, Finley did freak out a little but she also waited for an explanation and actually heard it out. It didn't add unnecessary drama which I really appreciated.

However, that made it a little unrealistic in my opinion too. Finley suddenly had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and I would have freaked the f out or been like nuh uh that is way too much to handle. She's a little too much of a great girlfriend...

I also didn't really like Finley's roommate Summer, but I'm not sure exactly if I needed to. She wasn't too big of a character and didn't influence Finley much. Se wasn't a great character but I don't think it affected the actual story so I don't feel obligated to have an opinion on her. She wasn't enough of a focus for me to gain real feelings for her.

It's not the best writing in my opinion, but there isn't anything too negative I can say or think of and I would consider it a solid book. It's super easy and fun to read so I found myself enjoying it. It won't go under one of my favorites, but I don't regret reading it and I'd recommend it to people who enjoy contemporary romances.

Empire of Storms Review

Heads up this will be a LONG review! I have lots of thoughts and feelings so I'm sharing it all. This also means that there will be spoilers, sorry!

For those of you who don't know, Empire of Storms is the fifth book in Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series.

Summary taken from Goodreads:
"The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.
As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.
Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?"

Alright so since this isn't the final book we all know that Aelin does not succeed just yet. Instead, we'll be left on a cliffhanger unsure of what will happen next. Sarah succeeded in that and I am eagerly waiting for the next book. However while this was once my favorite series, I have developed a couple of issues with it.

So this book was LONG and filled with many different characters. A lot is happening in it and it's a little much in my opinion. Chaol isn't in this book at all. Dorian will not be referenced for long lengths of time. And then it felt like romance took the stage more in this book. Every character is being set up with another. Dorian's purpose in this book was literally just his awkward chemistry with Manon and then occasionally a little about his magic. Sorry if you disagree with me, but I was not a fan of Dorian and Manon. I really didn't care about it and I felt like it was there to just make them more relevant so they could have their own chapters occasionally.

Also all the people being paired up are all straight couples. Yes there are occasional references to being accepting of same sex couples, but all of the main characters are being placed into straight relationships. It's Rowan and Aelin, Dorian and Manon, Aedion and Lysandra, Lorcan and Elide. It was way too much setting all these up. I was just like, "Okay so everybody magically finds their significant other in this group and they're all straight?"

People say it wasn't enough for J.K. Rowling to just say Dumbledore was gay and I understand that. However, Harry Potter was written at a time where people weren't as aware of when things were problematic. They would just go along with the established social roles and not realize they should be changed. I'll admit I didn't realize when relationships that they were abusive, it took people saying, "No that's not okay to treat a woman like that" where I realized the issues and became more aware. I feel like Sarah is writing at a time where we have acknowledged that we need to do better and include more representation, but I don't think she's taken that extra step. There are no main characters in a queer relationship and I think Sarah could've done better. I saw Manon as being bi and since I don't feel her and Dorian, I originally shipped her with Elide. Hopefully the next book is better?

Also I'm a privileged white woman, if you ever see me being problematic please tell me! I might be completely ignorant and not realize it. If you explain to me what I'm saying or doing wrong and why it's wrong, I will do my best to adjust my behavior.

So I was a fan of Lorcan and Elide I'll admit, but I was still annoyed by everybody being matched up. This book also became VERY mature. A straight up sex scene occurred here. Now I'm a more mature reader and I enjoy books of an older level, but I still have an issue with it. I worked in a library and this series was originally in the Young Adult section, not the Teen. However, this book just ramped up that rating. I would even be hesitant to place it in Teen. Personally I think Sarah should have stayed consistent with the age level because many readers of the first few books are probably still a little young for Empire of Storms. It makes it difficult for libraries and booksellers because now you have to move the entire series up when the first few books were okay. This is just from my library experience though so if it didn't affect you, you can feel differently if you want.

Okay one more slightly negative feeling about this book before I get to the good stuff.

The third book, Heir of Fire, was the best in my opinion. I was so inspired about Celaena reaching rock bottom and being so depressed, but pulling herself back up and growing truly extraordinary to become Aelin. It was a lot about personal growth and managing grief that it was when I truly fell in love with the story. Queen of Shadows and Empire of Storms did not give me this feeling nearly as much. I no longer was overcome with inspiration and motivation to overcome my own struggles. I'll still feel an inkling of it occasionally, but never to that same extent. While still a great series, you can't help feeling disappointed when it's not as good as a previous book.

Despite all of these aspects of the book that I didn't necessarily enjoy, I continue to love this series.

Rowan and Aelin are absolute perfection and their support and love for each other never fails. It's so wonderful and when they're separated your heart wrenches right with them. I also enjoy how if you've read all the books and the prequel, you see everything come together. There's life debts from long ago being paid and interconnecting storylines.

There are so many amazingly strong women in this series too. It's awesome that you see them holding such positions of power and respect. Sarah nails it in having powerful woman and she's not afraid to make the series dark either. There's a lot of traumatic experiences that occur. Aelin's experience as a slave especially is never forgotten and continues to be a burden for her. When she's whipped at the end and headed to Maeve's dungeons, you know it's bringing back those horrible memories.

I think Sarah creates amazing characters, but she creates too many of them. I want to know the stories about all of the characters, but the book is spread too thin where there's too many characters to give them the proper time. I want to know about Darrow, Aelin's uncle's lover. Also for example, where the heck was Chaol during this book?

She actually recently released a statement saying there'll be a book dedicated to Chaol's activities so I'm a little appeased. Empire of Storms was already 700 pages, I understand it would have been insane to add another storyline.

This book was still great and kept me addicted towards the very end. Then I was crying and screaming at how she left it. Despite this, there are still a couple problematic things I saw and I think could've been done better. It's not perfect, but still a fun read to really dive into.

The Diary of A Young Girl Thoughts

I'm not going to write a review about this book because I don't believe we have the right to critique a diary written by a teenage girl when she was in hiding from the Nazis. I will never be able to understand what her family and many other families went through during this time where they feared for their lives solely because of their religion.

This is not a review and is just about how touching this book was for me personally.

Also there's spoilers in this review but they're history spoilers so you should know about this. Except I met a girl and when I told her I was going to Anne Frank's House she asked, "What's that?" I am ignorant at times as well, I'll be the first to admit I make mistakes at times, but there are some parts about history that everybody should know.

First of all, this book is a difficult but worthwhile and moving read. If you really don't know what this is, it's the diary of a Jewish girl, Anne, in Amsterdam from 1942 to 1944. Due to the German occupation of the Netherlands and since her family was Jewish, they eventually had to go into hiding to avoid being sent to a concentration camp. They hid in the top floors of a warehouse for two years and Anne wrote in her diary from the beginning to the very end. It's from the perspective of Anne talking about their daily life and also what was going on in the war. Eventually, they were discovered and captured.

I am disappointed I was never required to read this book in school, because it was so enlightening. I probably enjoyed reading it on my own more though rather than being required to, but still. I believe everybody should read this. It's also a little easier to read when you're younger because this is from the point of view of a young girl. Thus, there's a lot of talk of friends, boys, and getting your period for the first time. However, Anne was also a brilliant girl for her age and lived during a terrible time. You get the mix of the young girl, but also someone much older and wiser than they should be.

"On the contrary, beauty remains, even in misfortune. If you just look for it, you discover more and more happiness and regain your balance. A person who's happy will make others happy; a person who has courage and faith will never die in misery!"

She has some great tidbits and parts where she criticizes the adults' attitude towards the war. I think in some ways we receive a much purer account of the happenings through the diary of someone who hasn't had the chance to develop a bias or much of a political opinion.

Since she was so young there was a lot of hope and talk about "after the war." She had barely lived her life and people in their early teens are always thinking about when they're older so Anne was no different. There's one part where she talks about what kind of mother she will be and you just know she never got that chance. That was the hardest part about this book for me. Older people had already lived a larger portion of their lives and were able to have the more major experiences, but Anne and the many other children who died barely had a life. Their dreams and goals were never accomplished.

Except, Anne did achieve part of her dream:

"And if I don't have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself. But I want to achieve more than that. I can't imagine having to live like Mother, Mrs van Daan and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"

This was the moment where I started crying in my school library. I am happy that Anne got her wish in this respect as the cover of my book says more than 35 million copies have been sold. Anne's writings have also been read by millions of people that she's never met. It might not be the most enjoyable book to read, as she had wanted, but I do think it's useful and more meaningful than so many others. It is just heart-wrenching that World War II occurred for her to accomplish this dream. For being fourteen years old she was a superb writer as well. I wish she could have had a chance to write and live more.

"What I condemn are our system of values and the men who don't acknowledge how great, difficult, but ultimately beautiful women's share in society is."

Anne was talking about how much women have to go through to have children, but this quote reminded me of the Women's Marches that occurred around the world after Trump's inauguration and I think she would have walked as well. All she wanted was to spread happiness, although she was certainly not perfect herself. Teenagers are moody and dramatic and Anne was no different. This book is incredibly important because I don't think it hides that. It is still authentic as at times you roll your eyes at Anne and her behavior. I like that they show that even though a horrific war was going on, they could never stop being human. They still thought about boys, petty quarrels, or family traditions. Even though they were in hiding for being Jews, they never stopped being human.

This time period took away too many before their times and Anne's documentation of that is frightening in how fictional it all seems, but it truly happened. It can never be forgotten or allowed to occur again. We need to all try and share love and acceptance to become a better world.

Everybody ought to read this book because I think it'll affect everybody differently. It moved me so much and then seeing the house in Amsterdam made it all the more real. Overall, it is worthwhile and impacting.

Harry Potter in Edinburgh

Disclaimer: Sorry for my crappy photos, I only have my phone camera to work with and it doesn't always turn out the greatest.

That was the sign coming out of the airport when I arrived (after a 3 hour delay in Chicago and then missing my connecting flight in Heathrow to Edinburgh). It was a welcome sight after a stressful day.

Edinburgh is absolutely beautiful and an easy city to get comfortable in really quickly. It's pretty easy to learn your way around and it's also an incredibly safe city so you're not looking over your shoulder or tightly clutching your purse.

In addition to being a wonderful city that I'll probably rave about many many many more times, it's the birthplace of my all-time favorite series Harry Potter.

The Elephant House

She wrote some of the early copies of Edinburgh in The Elephant House (just a ten minute walk from my campus!) and the cafe has become a tourist hot spot. I think they do a good job of creating a balance though where in the front room there are Harry Potter souvenirs and all, but the back is still a normal spot to eat your panini and drink your latte. 

I bought a button because I wanted something small. And from the table I was sitting at was an amazing view of Edinburgh Castle and Greyfriar's Kirkyard (almost at that part).

When I decided to open the drawers at the table I was sitting out of curiosity I discovered notes and letters left for J.K. Rowling to find. It made me a little emotional because I started to think about how many people have come to this cafe to just be in the spot where magic truly arose from. She created such a tangible story for me and many others and I believe that's the true magic. While I've never met these people who left these notes I feel a connection to them that is unexplainable. This is the one series where it truly feels alive to me.

Greyfriar's Kirkyard

I spent nearly two hours in this graveyard... It was awesome. Not only is it a beautiful and historic graveyard, but J.K. Rowling also snagged some names for her characters from the tombstones. Take a peek at the last name on the list above and you'll see a man named McGonagall was buried there.

There's also a Thomas Riddell!! Spelled slightly different, but this is Voldemort's (or his father's) grave.

There was even a Moodie! Unfortunately, I couldn't find McGonagall's tombstone even though I was there for nearly two hours and I walked every inch of that graveyard! I will go back though and try again.

There are so many eerie skull and crossbones or skeleton images in this graveyard I loved it. This one was on the side of just a blank stone wall in the graveyard. They were so fun to seek out and then wonder about the story. Some graves were so damaged and old that the images and words originally on them were unreadable, which was sad. It's such a photogenic graveyard and I even saw people picnicking in it. 

This was my favorite of the entire graveyard. It reads "Non Omnis Moriar" and has a snake curled around an urn or some type of cup. I looked up what the Latin meant and it translates to "I Shall Not Wholly Die." If that is not the most Voldemort and Slytherin thing in the entire world than I give up on life. This was so cool to me I shared it with my friend Emma and my sister Casey (who both love Harry Potter as much as me). I still cannot get over how perfect this is because it's in the same graveyard as the original Tom Riddle. Did J.K. Rowling see this??? What does she think about it??? I'm going to tweet it at her I think.

Not Harry Potter, but Amazing Bookstore

Go to Armchair Books in Edinburgh! It's such an amazing secondhand bookstore. The books go up all the walls and it has a great selection too! I bought Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. It's near Grassmarket (which is so much better than the Royal Mile if you ask me), you get to do some shopping at more authentic Scottish stores, have a great view of the castle, go up Victoria Street (an awesome short little street), and then go up West Port to go to Armchair Books. There's also a cat cafe across the street that I really want to go to! The bookstore is a little more expensive than the majority of secondhand bookstores I've been too, but it's worth going just for the vibe and to stroll through the aisles.

Okay that's all for now, but Edinburgh is amazing and even if you don't go for Harry Potter, explore the city more. It's filled with so many hidden treasures to find that I'm only starting to uncover and as I'm learning in my Visualizing Scotland class, look beyond the bagpipers and tartan. Scotland is a country much more than those stereotypes and it's really worth getting to know.