Hexed (The Witch Hunter, #1) by Michelle Krys

Description from Goodreads:

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

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I recently read Half Bad by Sally Green and I was pleasantly surprised that for the first time in a really long time, I actually enjoyed a book about witches. Harry Potter series definitely has set an eternal sky-high bar for anything witch related. So, as I had just read a good witch book, I decided that maybe I should try another one - just to test the ice. I came across with Hexed and it had gotten plenty of good reviews and had a rating of 4.02 on Goodreads at that time, so I decided to give it a try. It ended up being what I had expected it to be - a relatively light read with teenager drama and  good looking guys.

There is this one thing that I can't tolerate: high school drama. And we got plenty of it in Hexed. I could immediately sense this mean-girl setting, which definitely made me less excited for the book. Indigo and her best friend Bianca have gotten into a cold war as Indigo has managed to catch herself the captain of the football team. Bianca of course can't stand this fact, and despite being Indigo's oldest friend, she tries to make her life miserable. I think I could have endured this without any struggle if it wasn't for the fact that Indigo herself wasn't the kindest person around. She pushed around and used her nerdy neighbour Paige who does everything Indigo says in the hopes of being her friend. NOO. I didn't like this at all. I just wanted to punch some sense into Indigo as all she could think about if her denim miniskirt looked good with her suede boots. Luckily though, she does experience some character development and I didn't hate her as much in the end as I did for the first 50%. 

To be honest, I'm in a hate-love relationship with majority of the characters who are in this book. The mysterious Bishop who comes around to ease as well as complicate Indigo's life was almost as infuriating as she was. He kept making these sexist remarks and suggestions which made (and luckily Indigo too) furious. However, the readers eventually learn something about Bishop which made at least me like him better. In the end, I actually found myself smiling to his remarks, and I think he was pretty good for Indigo, unlike Devon - Indigo's football captain boyfriend (yuck). I'm definitely rooting for Bishop and Indigo now, but I still can't completely forget his aggravating behaviour. However, now that I know that there is a reason behind it, I feel like it makes it a little bit less worse. And I suppose Bishop was kind of cute and sweet as well, even though the bad boy with tattoos and longish hair type isn't exactly my first choice. 

Most likely, the reason for the fact that I didn't really get into the story before I had already  read 50% was because of the reasons above. There was just too much high school drama and too little magic stuff. The action and interesting revelations however in the half way were able to save the story from utter disaster to which it was first headed. I wish the story was more concentrated on the new knowledge of magic and practising it, rather than Bianca-Indigo, one-oh-one, drama. Thanks to this, the story felt a little superficial and the time devoted to the drama could have been used more wisely - maybe on the establishment of Indigo's relationships and her feelings about the witchery. Nevertheless, even though the story in general didn't really bring anything original to YA genre, I found myself entertained by the story. It definitely had its funny and deep moments too, and I can see why some many had enjoyed reading the book. I just might be a bit too old for this type of books - not for YA genre but the unnecessary teenager drama. 

☆☆☆

Sunday Post (#8)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead." 

✿ What I read this week ✿

❄ Nihal of the Land of the Wind (Chronicles of Overworld #1) by Licia Troisi
❄ Deeper We Fall (Deeper We Fall #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

✿ Reviews ✿

❄ Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki ♡♡♡

✿ Memes ✿

❄ Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Will be in My Beach Bag This Summer


✿ Around the blogosphere and elsewhere ✿

❄ Watch Out For These Upcoming YA Novels
❄ Is It Cheaper to Buy Books Online?
❄ Which YA Heroine Archetype Are You?
(I was the Mystery Girl such e.g. Cinder from Lunar Chronicles)

✿ What else I've been up to this week ✿

1. First Summer Job Week. I'm sorry that I didn't post that much this week, but I have been just so exhausted after work that I've just slouched on the sofa and tried to catch up with my reading, but it feels so hopeless. I just ate and slept and worked the whole week. I'm sure it will get better though as I get used to working full-time.

2. Get-away Weekend. Like I already mentioned, my week was pretty consuming work-wise. So,  I decided to do a small get away and de-stress myself completely. I went to this family summer cottage with some family and I ended up having wonderful time. Good food, hilarious company, and some homemade peach wine were spot on!

3. Watercolour painting. I mentioned some weeks ago how I wanted to try out using watercolours, and now my equipment finally arrived in the mail! It has been pretty fun trying out different things, but I have to say it is rather challenging at certain areas as well - I feel like things to learn will never ends which is of course a good thing!

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Top Ten Tuesday (#16): Books That Will Be In My Beach Bag This Summer

Top Ten Tuesday this week is about 

❄ Books That Will Be In My Beach Bag This Summer ❄

1. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
2. Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) by Stephanie Perkins.
3. The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder.
4. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
5. Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1) by Diana Wynne Jones.
6. How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan.
7. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales.
8. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen.
9. Heist Society (Heist Society #1) by Ally Carter
10. The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

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I made this list while thinking of white sand beach, upbeat happy indie rock music, and maybe having a cool drink, and somehow all the books that came to my mind were contemporary books (except for The Howl's Moving Castle). So, I suppose that is the magic word today! A contemporary, romance book definitely is a good choice when heading to the beach - something light and easy to read. 

Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

Description from Goodreads:

Fifty years ago the Commander came into power and murdered all who opposed him. In his warped mind, the seven deadly sins were the downfall of society. He created the Hole where sinners are branded according to their sins and might survive a few years. At best. Now LUST wraps around my neck like blue fingers strangling me. I’ve been accused of a crime I didn’t commit and now the Hole is my new home. 

Darkness. Death. Violence. Pain. 

Now every day is a fight for survival. But I won’t die. I won’t let them win.

The Hole can’t keep me. The Hole can’t break me. 

I am more than my brand. I’m a fighter. 

My name is Lexi Hamilton, and this is my story.

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It had been a really long time since I had read a dystopian novel, so when I came across with Branded on NetGalley, I immediately requested it. I can't say that I had heard before about a novel in which there was a society which had created a new law system which dictates by branding the law breakers with neck tattoos so everyone could see what you had done (even though the dictator element is rather unoriginal). However, as intriguing as the description is, sadly I have to say that the book wasn't 100% to my tasting.

The concept in the book is just really intriguing, even if a bit used. A young woman is wrongly accused and convicted of adultery and receives a blue brand of it on her neck while shipped to the Hole where all the other Sinners live and work - not really an ideal place for physically and mentally vulnerable girl, especially when everyone thinks that she has committed a lust crime. The story in itself kept me captivated the whole time and I think that the twists and relationship buildings were intriguing, even though the authors could have worked more on the world building which was rather superficial. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the relationship establishment between Lexi and Cole. I was expecting insta-love, but there was none! And there even weren't that many typical smouldering looks exchanged in the beginning which made their relationship so much more believable and interesting to follow. After all, they were meant to be on the opposite sides. Cole was pretty dreamy from time to time with all his protectiveness and lopsided grins, but I didn't find him to be that original to be honest. Lexi on the other hand got all my respect for showing that even though she had feelings for Cole, he didn't end up being her whole world (even if Cole wanted so).

However, my main problem with the book was the writing. I mean, I consider myself as a pretty forgiving when I read debut novels, but I do have to set the line somewhere. The storytelling in itself wasn't really that bad, but the dialogues between the characters, especially towards the end, were just unsatisfactory. The conversing between Lexi and Cole was filled with cliches and was awkward at times - it was just too pretentious, but ironically it hadn't any impact on me. The conversations just made me cringe as they were so over the top and epic. Is it too much to ask if the chats were a bit more down to earth from time to time?

I'm actually a pretty bummed out that I didn't like Branded more. I read the first 50% in one sit as the story was really captivating, but eventually the less-than-mediocre writing caught up and made my progression with the book so much more difficult. I enjoyed the story, but I didn't appreciate the pro. I think quite many probably will enjoy the book though as the romance was pretty intense and a lot happens in this first book of Sinner's series. I, however, just couldn't get over the pretentious language which really made me like the book less. Actual rating 2.5.

☆☆☆

Sunday Post (#7)

"The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead." 

✿ What I read this week ✿

❄ The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton
❄ The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima 
❄ Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

✿ Reviews ✿

❄ Looking For Alaska by John Green ♡♡♡
❄ Vicious (Vicious #1) by Victoria Schwab ♡♡♡♡
❄ The Three  by Sarah Lotz ♡♡♡

✿ Memes ✿

❄ Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm dying to read
❄ Waiting on Wednesday 
❄ Stacking the Shelves
❄ Monthly Wrap Up

✿ Around the blogosphere and elsewhere ✿

❄ New Releases On June
❄ The First Official Poster for 'If I Stay'
❄ Want to link up your neglected reviews and give aways?
❄ Old vs. New Releases

✿ What else I've been up to this week ✿

1. SUMMER HOLIDAY!! (sort of). So I've have been enjoying my summer holiday for almost 2 weeks now - ahh, the bliss. No uni assignments, no studying until late into the night. The break definitely was welcomed after 2 months of constant reading for the finals. However, my summer job starts on Monday so my summer holiday won't be that long after all. But I don't mind having the job as it seems really interesting and of course I do need the money.

3. An appointment with an optic. The last time I went to see an optician was almost 3 years so ago so I thought it would about time to go and check my eye sight. Apparently, it hadn't got any worse even though my new glasses will have some adjustments. I'm pretty stoked about getting new glasses as I still have my first pair ever (which I don't even use that often anymore because I don't like them that much). 

4. A family tree. One of my cousins send me a this really extensive family tree from my mom's side. It was pretty cool (and sad) to learn some family history, like how my grand-grand-grandfather was from a pretty rich family, but when his parents died, the town hijacked the house and their lands. In other words, he and his siblings had to start from a completely clean slate and apparently the rest of my grand-grand-grandfather's life was pretty miserable.

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Monthly Wrap Up - May

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And so another month went by! I didn't get to do as much reading as I did on April due to my finals, but I'm pretty happy considering how busy I was. My favourite from this month definitely was The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton and the least favourite was Branded by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki. However, I was the most excited about Saga Volume 1 which didn't let me down with its phenomenal setting and unpredictable plot. 

✿ Book Haul ✿

The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May

How They Met, and Other Stories by David Levithan

The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo

Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Saga, Volume 1 (Saga #1-6) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Stables

Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

Nihal of the Land of the Wind (Chronicles of the Overworld #1) by Licia Troisi

Total: 9

✿ Books Read ✿

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima
Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki
Vicious (Vicious #1) by Victoria Schwab
Hexed (The Witch Hunter #1) by Michelle Krys

Saga, Volume 1 (Saga #1-6) by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Stables

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton

The Three by Sarah Lotz

Total: 7

 ❄ ❄ ❄

I'm so glad my exams are finally over and I can start my "summer holiday" which basically consists of working and working on a study I'm conducting with a few classmates, but at least I have a break from uni work before my last year starts. I know I'm going to be a huge ball of stress next year so I might well as enjoy uni-free life. And of course I'm going to achieve that by reading massive amounts of books!

Stacking the Shelves (#16)

It's Saturday and so it's time for Stacking the Shelves!

Here is my haul from this week:

❄ NetGalley ❄

Branded (Sinners #1) by Abi Ketner & Missy Kalicicki

Nihal of the Land of the Wind (Chronicles of the Overworld #1) by Licia Troisi

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Yay - my request for Nihal of the Land of the Wind got accepted! I'm currently reading it and even though I'm enjoying it, I have to admit that I thought it would have a little bit darker tone to it (which I would have preferred over the middle grade vibe). Nevertheless, it's an interesting fantasy book with lots of magic and high fantasy species.

Vicious (Vicious #1) by Victoria Schwab

Description from Goodreads:

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world. 

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. 

But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? 

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

❄❄❄

Are you looking for a kickass, I'm-a-superhero-but-also-a-villain book with intriguing characters? Well, you don't have to look anymore, just find Vicious! I knew I would end up being really smitten with this book even before I started it because the premise just is so unbearably cool and interesting. I read this book while I was travelling, and I hated the fact that I couldn't read it in one sit, but instead I had to put it down once in a while between transfers and moving around. Vicious wasn't just a wicked science fiction book but also had an important message about nothing being purely good or evil. 

The story mainly focuses on two pre-med students, Victor and Eli. Their stories are told in two ways; one storyline about the past when they were just students, and the other when they are in their 30s which is the present. Some other point of views were also included by the minor character which made characters like Mitch and Sydney to become more dynamic. It's difficult to say who was my favourite character as all of them were so complex and unpredictable. Sometimes the author forget to give the necessary depth to the supporting characters but I was so glad that Schwab had done exactly the opposite. While all the characters weren't purely good or evil (unlike the usual superhero books and movies present the characters), it was really interesting to follow how the characters highlighted each others' extent of goodness and evilness 

I can't remember the last time I read a science fiction novel which was set in the modern day. That's probably the reason why I was a bit hesitant when I first started reading the book, even though I was pretty excited as well as I had no idea how the novel would end up being. I loved the fact that as Eli and Victor were pre-med students, their conversations were filled with medical information and hypothesising about ExtraOrdinaries; people with extraordinary abilities, or  in other words, superpowers. I have always found the human physiology really interesting so I was so pleased when Schwab had decided to include some intriguing information about what might trigger these abilities to become manifested and why the abilities differ from each person. In fact, I found these speculations so fascinating that I could have read even more about them.

While reading the book, I could visualise everything that was happening at that moment in the story. The events were filled with tension and mystery and I'm 100% sure that Vicious would make a great movie (if the studio had a good vision and the budget was right). There definitely were elements of a superhero movie in the novel, probably because the author was trying to emulate a science fiction film in a form of a book. And she did a really good job doing that. But I really liked that instead of writing a book which clearly presented the superhero and the supervillain, this time the roles were almost reversed and it was difficult to determine who was the bad guy and who wasn't. I recommend Vicious to everyone who is interested in reading an unusual superhero book filled with complex character and intriguing plot. 

☆☆☆☆

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Description from Goodreads:

Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

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I have some very mixed opinions about Looking For Alaska. While I liked the story in general,  about having confidence in yourself, having regrets and how to overcome them, there were somethings that kept me from fully indulging myself in the story. I don't read contemporary books that often, and when I do, I'm usually pretty harsh on them (I don't even know why??) when reviewing the novel, so it might be why I'm being tough on this book as well.

John Green's writing is one of my favourite things ever. He has this very unique writing style which makes his books stand out with originality. It makes you almost think of how the protagonist is talking out loud, talking to the reader, and I can almost hear Green's own voice when I'm reading his books. The quirky, even a bit weird, dialogues are so much fun to read and the interactions between the characters never cease to surprise me. I will never stop loving Green's writing as it's witty, smart, and fun as I always seem to want to read another book by him (even though everything he does with the story isn't to my liking)

Even though I usually love John Green's characters as they are imperfect and flawed which essentially makes them human and realistic, I struggled to connect with Pudge and Alaska. Their story was really touching and definitely made me think about my own relationships, but Alaska especially was a bit frustrating from time to time. Of course that's part of her charm too - you can't decide if you love her or hate her. Green definitely knows what he's doing when he is trying to write complex characters, and he wonderfully succeeds in it, but I do want to identify with the characters too. And it didn't happen for me this time. 

However, despite the fact that I couldn't fully connect with the main characters, I was able to sympathise with them. None of them seem to have exactly an easy life despite attending a private school (or maybe that's one of the reason why they don't lead an easy life). One of the reasons why I liked Looking For Alaska, and Green's books in general, is because he always writes stories which are just heart wrenching. They aren't all about discovering who you are and what love is, but they are stories that could actually happen to you and show that life isn't all about rainbows and unicorns. There is certain authenticity in Looking For Alaska which makes you respect the book. 

Those who enjoyed Paper Towns by John Green will most definitely also enjoy Looking For Alaska. The Fault in Our Stars is one of my favourite books ever, but I feel like the other books by Green haven't been able to match with TFIOS. I still haven't read Will Grayson, Will Grayson or An Abundance of Katherines yet, but I do want to read them at some point as well. I love Green's style of writing so much that even if he wrote a manual for washing machine I would probably want to read it. Actual rating 3.5 

☆☆☆

Waiting on Wednesday (#18)

Waiting on Wednesday is about sharing a book every week you cannot wait to be published. This week, I'm waiting on

The Infinite Sea 

(The 5th Wave #2)

by Rick Yancey

Genre: Young Adult, Post-apocalyptic, Romance, Survival, Aliens 

Pages: 480

Expected Publication: September 16, 2014

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

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Ahhh! The Infinite Sea has to be in the top 3 of the most awaited books of 2014. I remember after reading only 20 pages of The 5th Wave and I was completely sold and just had this feeling that this series will be one of my favourites. Ever. Of course the first book ended phenomenally and now I'm left hanging and waiting for the book 2. I have so many questions and I'm sure that they will be answere. Hehehee, so excited!

Top Ten Tuesday (#15): Books I'm dying to read

Top Ten Tuesday this week is about 

❄ Books I'm dying to read ❄

1. Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas. I think this goes without saying, am I right guys?

2. The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey. I recently read The 5th Wave and it was simply amazing! It has to be one of my favourite reads of 2014, so it goes without saying that I'm so stoked for the book 2. 

3. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesley Walton. My love for beautiful prose is infinite and I've heard that the language used in this book is simply marvellous. I need to read this magical realism book. Soon.

4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I have no excuses why I haven't read this yet. 

5. The World of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. I've seen some of the artwork that is going to be included in the book and it was absolutely gorgeous. It's great that we get something like this before the next novel comes out. 

6. The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga #1) by Kameron Hurley. I really haven't heard people talking about this book but it sounds really intriguing! I hope it will turn out to be just that. 

7. Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa. Oh yisssss!

8. S. by J.J. Abrams. Have you seen a physical copy of this book and everything that includes? If you haven't, you need to see one immediately. It will blow your mind with all the  effort that has been put into the book. 

9. The Archived (The Archived #1) by Victoria Schwab. I finished reading Vicious by  the author just couple of days ago, and I really liked her style of writing. And since The Archived has a compelling premise, I just had to include this to my list.

10. Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch. I don't think there are any words how much I want to read this book - it sounds amazeballs. 

❄❄❄

I have a mighty need!