Books I know I need to read But for some reason are still gathering dust on my shelf

Do you know those books who just sit there, weather they're on your bookshelf or on your kindle, staring at you in silence? And you just know you need to read them, you want to read them, but for some unexplainable reason, you just can't bring yourself to pick them up and actually read them.

I thought, maybe, if I'll do a post about it and list all the books I need to read, my subconscious will get the hint and I'll actually pick those books up. Maybe by convincing you to read them, I'll convince myself too.
Or maybe, by the end of this post, some of you will shout at me to read some of those obviously amazing books.
It could be fun. Or it could be embarrassing.
Either way, It's worth a try, right? (:

                                            Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Yes, there is indeed at least one person (me!) who haven't read this book yet.
Shocking, I know. It seems like everything and everyone read this book.
I only know this about Red Queen: there is a girl named Mare who is a red, but has an ability no red should. So she's whisked away into court, where she finds herself in a love triangle. In the end, there is some plot twist everyone seemed to freak out about.
Yep, this is usually enough to sell me.
Then why, oh why, have I not picked this book up yet?
No idea.
Right now I'm chalking it up to the 'mysteries of the brain'. Along with all the other books I've been letting sit there and stare at me for ages.

                                          Throne Of Glass by Sarah J. Mass 

Wait! Before you start screaming at me with: "Why the hell haven't you read this books yet?!", you have to know I have a good explanation!
...
No, sorry, I don't have a good explanation. *sigh*. You can shout at me now, but I AM going to read this series eventually. Promise.
Those are not the kind of books I want to miss.
Why haven't I read it yet?
'The mysteries on the brain' (a.k.a I have no idea). 

A Court Of Thrones And Roses by Sarah J. Mass

See section above.
Yeah... I really need to get to this book too.
I just don't know yet if I'll start with this one or the other one.
What do you say? 

Demons At Deadnight by A & E Kirk

This book has been staring at me accusingly for a while now.
I had it on my kindle for... forever, and still haven't read it.
And I read nothing but good things about this series. I heard it's fantastic. 

                                           Apprentice by Rachel E. Carter

So I've read the first book last year (The Black Mage: First Year), quite liked it, downloaded the second book to my kindle and... *crickets*. You can guess what happened next.
I liked the first book. It was a very enjoyable read. And I get the feeling it's the kind of series that gets even better.
And yet... 

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

I've had Poison Princess for a while now on my kindle.
This books sounds super-interesting (post apocalyptic world and magical powers!) and has great ratings on goodreads.
And... like with every book in this post, I definitely need to read it. 

                                        The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Julie Kagawa has that way of bringing out your feels.
I read the Iron Fey series, so I know. Iron Fey was more than just amazing, it was beautiful. It was both fun and serious, sad and happy. I loved it. Completely and utterly. But it can leave an emotional toll on you. Not the tragic kind; It leaves you feeling like you were actually there with those characters, like you've actually done everything they've done and by the end you feel like your emotions just ran a marathon.
Only the greatest authors can get you to feel this way. And Julie Kagawa is one of them.
Which is why I still haven't picked up The Immortal Rules and The Lost Prince (her other series). I need to be in the right frame of mind for those two.  

Burned by Karen Marie Moning

Oh, I love this series.
I've read the first six books. The first 5 were AMAZING. Even though it had a rather closed ending (the 5th book), the author is continuing the series (It's still on-going). And so, after a while, I finally picked up the 6th book.
It was good. I actually quite liked it. I missed the previous protagonist (Mac) but I was ready to immerse myself into this one.
And then... I'm not sure exactly what happened (I get the feeling the fans roared), Karie Marie Moning decided to switch back to our protagonist of the first five books. Of course, I was thrilled. I was a bit confused but I was so glad to get back to our kick-ass-sarcastic protagonist I love so much.
Yeah... but something changed. I don't know what. I've read the first few chapters of Burned and... I could feel it - it wasn't the same. Even the writing style was different. Not to mention I was spoilered for something huge that happens in the book and... you know how spoilers can ruin it for you.
So, I put the book down.
But I can't get it out of my head. The series is still on-going. I just know I'll cave and try to read it again. I love those books too much to just forget about them.     

Chameleon by Kelly Oram

Have you read The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram?
Such an hilarious book. Fun, funny, good times.
Kelly Oram writes beautiful contemporary romance books. I think this is actually her first fantasy book series. Chameleon is a romance-fantasy trilogy. Each book follows a different character in this universe (they're all connected to each other).
I really loved The Avery Shaw Experiment. I should really pick this one up soon.
Along with all the other 15 (!) books in this post.  

                                          Shadow Study by Marie V. Snyder

When I heard Marie V. Snyder was making a continuation to the study trilogy, I was so happy!
The Study trilogy was the first thing I read in 2015. Needless to say, I loved it.
Night Study is already out, and Dawn Study is coming out next year... I really need to get back into it. 

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Oh yes, yet another sensation I missed the train to.
Will I like it? Will I not like it?
I have no idea. All I know is that *a lot* of people seem to love it. I should at least give this one a try. 

                                       The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told she would kill her true love.

How could one not read this book? Just read this first line!
Well, I have a complicated relationship with Maggie Stievafter;
I didn't like the shiver trilogy but The Scorpio Races was very interesting - I enjoyed it. And I have read the first few chapters of The Raven Boys. And while it was intriguing, it was also very slow paced.
Thing is, I've been hearing nothing but *amazing* things about this series. It can get one wonder if one should pick this book up again. 

    

Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins 

I love Rachel Hawkins books. They are always so funny and the protagonists are fantastic.
I read (and absolutely loved) Hex Hall. I just flew through these books in no time.
And Rebel Belle? Darn, this book did not disappoint. It was funny, it was kick-ass, it was just plain awesome. So of course, when Miss Mayhem came out, I immediately ordered it.
So what happened?
(If this book is here, something obviously happened).
Goodreads happened.
Rebel Belle average score on goodreads? 3.92. Not surprising. Rachel books tend to get even more amazing after the first book. It was the case with Hex Hall, after all. But then I saw this:
Miss Mayhem average score on goodreads? 3.54.
Oh, and lets not forget the third book that came out last month. Care to guess the score? 3.48.
Ah... 

Can someone tell me what in the world happened?
Goodreads pretty much scared me out of reading this book. I enjoyed the first one so much, I'm afraid it'll ruin it for me.   

   

Every Breath by Ellie Marney

This is kind of a retelling of Sherlock Holmes. In modern day. Oh, and also YA.
If you don't know, I'm a fan of everything Sherlock Holmes. And Doctor who too, if we're at it. Time Travel and a genius detective... I love that stuff. So much.
So of course I had to get this one.
And yet... I still haven't picked it up.  

                                           Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

So... I heard a lot about Alexandra Bracken.
Especially about her Darkest Minds trilogy.
When I heard about this book and the words Time Travel and a treasure hunt across
time popped out, I knew I had to get it.
So I did.
And it has been sitting on my bookshelf gathering dust ever since.
The end.  

And Last but certainly not least: 

                                    The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

Let me tell you, the hype around this trilogy is well deserved.

First time I picked The Kiss Of Deception, I put it back down.
Second time I picked this book, I couldn't stop reading it. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard toward the end, I thought I was going to explode before finishing it.
This book just keep you guessing. Trust me, you do not want to know much about it other than the synopsis before diving in. 

I know, I must read The Heart Of Betrayal. And soon. It's just that this book is really emotionally draining and that ending (!!!).
But the beauty of darkness is coming out very soon. I will do my best to read it before then. 


15 books. Wow, I can literally feel the pressure of reading them. I have to get to them ASAP. And I will. Hopefully.
Do you also have those books whom just sit there in accusing silence?
How many books (that are already out) do you have on your TBR list?
Any suggestions with which of those 15 books should I start with? (I'm pretty lost).
Do you also blame your inability to read these book on 'the mysteries of the brain'? 
Happens to the best of us... 

The cab - Temporary bliss

"You get busy planning you life, then it has the nerve to just go ahead and happen to you before you're ready." 

          -- Karen Marie Moning, The Fever series.  

Totally should have Book tag

So, I've seen this book tag going around booktube lately and I thought it would be fun to try it out, being it my first book tag and all. 
I'm basically going to say my opinion about a bunch of question that has the phrase 'totally should have" in them. Sounds like fun, right?
Let's do it (!). 

         *A book that totally should have gotten a sequel*
  

I'm going with Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover on this one.
I just didn't want this book to end. And when it did, I just wanted more. This book was AMAZING. I loved every single word of it, and all I want is more Sydney and Ridge! They are so perfect *sighing dreamily*.
I would have LOVED to get another book with those characters!
All this talk about Maybe Someday makes me want to re-read it for the 6th time.
If you haven't read this book yet - what have you been doing with your life? READ IT. 

*A book series that totally should have had a spin off*

I thought of quite a few options. I mean, who doesn't want their favourite series to have a spin-off? But it also needs to be fitting. Not every series, as much as you want it to, can have a spin-off.
In any case, I'm going with Harry Potter on this one. It would have been so good to have a spin-off series in the Harry Potter world. Can you imagine a spin-off of all the children of the characters from Harry Potter? Or maybe even a spin-off of Harry's father, his mother and their friends... how they got to know each other and all of their adventures in their years at Hogwarts.
Oh yes, I totally would've wanted to read this.

*An author that totally should have written more books*

Suzanne Collins, Kristine Cashore and J.K Rowling.
All these authors wrote some very good books. The reason I can't call them favourite authors of mine is because they've completely stopped writing more books.
An author grows with each book, gains experience and skills. I believe those authors could have been amazing if they just kept writing more.
Other than having a writer's block, I honestly don't get why an author would stop writing. It's a very sad thing. These authors (and more, like: Stephenie Meyer) totally should have written more books. 

*A character that totally should have ended up with somebody else*

99% of the time I ship the ship that will happen. It's too hard for me to read a book if my ship is destroyed. It's not to say I haven't come across books where my ship was doomed.

*If you haven't read the first 3 books of The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, skip to the next question. I'm going to say exactly who should have ended up with someone else and who did she actually end up with, so... consider yourselves warned* 

Cassie should have totally ended up with someone else entirely.
Instead... she ended up with Dean.
*sigh*
Not my ship at all. I was on an entirely different ship called Cassie & Michael.
Cassie and Michael had chemistry and they kept bumping into each other. From the beginning, you just knew there was something special between them.
With Dean? I felt none of that. They hardly talked, hardly had any real conversation or any kind of chemistry and yet somehow they ended up together.
I honestly don't understand how or why.
Granted, there is at least one more book in the series so it's not finished quite yet, but... the chances she'll change her mind for some reason look slim to none right now.
*Another sigh*
But who knows, maybe I'll get the surprise of my life in the next book and my ship will sail again. 

*A book that totally should have ended differently*

Carry on by Rainbow Rowell.
As I wrote in my review of Carry on: This. Is. Not. An. Ending.
The first 90% of the book? Pure amaziness.
The last 10% of the book? All hell breaks loose. Fast. Me? *blinking slowly*, putting the book aside, wondering what in the world just happened.
Seriously? Is this how it ends?
Yeah... no. 

*A book that totally should have had a TV show*

Definitely The Lunar Chronicles!
I got this idea the lunar chronicles would make a fantastic TV show while reading the third book. Something about this wold, those characters, all the complexity and awesomeness of it... I could just imagine it as a TV show. And that says a lot considering I'm not in the habit of wanting to turn books I love into movies\TV shows. But with the lunar chronicles... I felt like, in the right hands, it could be such an amazing show. Can you imagine the possibilities? Just thinking about it makes me all giddy inside.
There is always a risk to adapting a book to the big screen (Just look at the TV show shadowhunters. nope, sorry, I can't deal with this show. I love the mortal instruments too much), but if done right, wouldn't it be just amazing? 

*A book that totally should have been a movie*

I'm not too keen on book-to-movie adaptations. TV shows? They are usually much more capable of capturing the essence of the book (in those rare occasions) + they are longer and can actually adapt the *whole* book\series and not just parts of it (though they usually don't do it).
I find that I enjoy the movies of books I didn't like. Books I love, though... their movies either make me want to kill someone (probably the one who made the movie) or go into denial mode and pretend this movie doesn't exist. Usually I start with option one and ends up with option two.
So... what book should I nominate for a movie adaptation? I actually have two in mind: Wings by Aprilynn Pike and Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. They can turn to be great movies. They both have a very interesting fantasy element that has lots of potential (which I felt hasn't fully grown in the books). 

*A book that totally should have had one POV*

Usually, I don't have a problem with multiple POVs. If it's more than 2 POVs than it might get annoying, but I don't come across many books with more than 2 POVs. The only one that comes to mind is the Heroes Of Olympus series, and while it's true I didn't particularly like hearing from a few characters POVs, it didn't bother me that much.
The Rose & The dagger (by Renee Ahdieh) though... honestly? I did not see the point of condemning us to Irsa POV and a few other random POVs. It was annoying, boring and all I thought while reading those POVs was: "when will we get back to Shazi?" and: "What's going on with Shazi right now?" and: "Please let this chapter be over so we can go back to the real story."
Sorry, but you can't just randomly shove POVs at the readers. Multiple POVs are great when there is a point to them. When there is no apparent point to them? Yeah, not so much. 

*A book that totally should have had a cover change*

Richelle Mead has that habit of having ah... really strange book covers for her books. It happened with the vampire academy, with the bloodlines series, and the latest victim was the glittering court book cover. I mean, with the vampire academy and bloodlines I could at least understand there were humans on the covers that were supposed to be Rose and Sydney, but... well, ah... is the person on the glittering court cover even human? It looks *so weird*. 

*A book that totally should have not had a cover change*

Hmm... I have to say, I don't know. It's usually the other way around: I can't think of a book I've read that got a cover change for the worse. Maybe... Carry On? The previous cover was prettier, in my opinion.
What about you guys? something like that ever happened to you? 

*A book that totally should have stopped at book one*

Divergent.
Oh, believe me, I was a big fan of Divergent once upon a time. I loved books 1 and 2 very much. And then came along book 3 and... well. Let's just say I would rather it ended with book 1. 

And that's it for the 'Totally should've' book tag!
I hope you enjoyed it - I know I did (:
Tell me all about it in the comments bellow, and if you want me to do more book tags in the future.
See you in my next post! 

                                                        Plumb - hang on

"I tried everything to get to sleep last night. Well, everything except closing the book and putting it on the nightstand. Let's not get too crazy."  

  

Booktubers I follow

The short story of how I discovered booktube:
I was browsing Youtube when I came across a booktalk of one of my most favourite books. I was intrigued and so I clicked to watch it.
Said booktalk was of Christine Riccio from PolanBananasBOOKS. I liked her immediately and went to watch all of her other videos. Let me tell you, I had so much fun watching them.
If I wasn't the shy person that I am, I would have gone into booktubing. Then again, writing is much more of my thing.
Over time I came across a few other wonderful booktubers, whom I'm going to talk about in this post today.
Booktubers I follow, here we go:

                                   Christine Riccio from PolanbananasBOOKS

Christine is the one who introduced me to booktubing and I'm so glad for it. Becuase It's such an amazing world.
I'm always so excited whenever I see she posted a new video. She's so fun and funny and her videos always make me smile and laugh and vigorously nod in agreement.
She has two channels: PolandbananasBOOKS (there is actually a story behind the name) which is about, you guessed it, books. And another channel called Polandbananas20, where she uploads all sorts of fun and interesting videos (which don't necessarily have to do with books). If you love booktubing or if you're just looking for a way to get into this world, I highly-highly recommend you start with Christine.

Sasha Alsberg from abookutopia

Sasha is such a sweet and fun booktuber.
She just published her first book, called Zenith, with her friend Lindsay Cummings (who wrote The Murder Complex and The Balance Keepers trilogy, which I've heard about but never read).
As an aspiring writer myself, I can't help but both admire and cheer Sasha for writing and now publishing her first book. It gives people who want to write and publish their own book one day, hope that it's possible to achieve such a thing.
Congratulations, Sasha! 

Regan Perusse from PeruseProject

I enjoy Regan's videos. She doesn't do many Booktalks but she has great book hauls, wrap ups, book tags and book recommendations.
If you enjoy all of those, you should really check PeruseProject out. 

Kat O'Keeffe from Katytastic

I found Kat not long after Christine. And apparently, they are also very good friends.
I really enjoy all of Kat's videos. She's a great booktuber and I highly recommend you check her channel out. 

                                              Beth Crowley from bethj007

Beth Crowley is not exactly a booktuber but she has a lot to do with books.
I should probably explain this better:
Beth is a song writer who both plays and sing her songs. A lot of her songs are based on books, and let me tell you - she captures the book's essence in such a beautiful way that will take your breath away. She's truly amazing and extremely talented.
I first new her from her song Warrior, which is based on the mortal instruments. If you're new to my blog, then you probably don't know: The mortal instruments is one of my most-most-most (add a few more most's here and there) favourite books - EVER. Cassandra Clare is one of my most favourite authors - EVER.
Where was I? Oh, right. So Beth Crowley is an amazing artist.
Should you check her out? definitely.

                                               Come Alive by Beth Crowley

"Science is just magic that's been explained."  

--- Stitchers (TV show) 

Most anticipated books of May 2016

May is such an exciting month for new releases, people!
I've been waiting for these books for such a long time now, I can barely contain my excitement!
I'm SO excited for these books, guys!
Without further due, let's talk all about those amazing books:

                                              Dream On by Kerstin Gier
                                               Coming out May 3, 2016.

The second book of the Silver trilogy is here!
Kerstin Gier is a German author who's books are being translated to English. I've read her first trilogy (that was translates), Ruby Red, last year and boy, did I LOVE it. Time travel, sarcastic protagonist, swoon worthy romance... It was so good.
Her second trilogy, the silver trilogy, is currently being translated. The first book, Dream a little dream, came out last year and got me right back into the Kerstin Gier style. I really enjoyed it. It's yet another unique fantasy story with an awesome-sarcastic protagonist and a sweet romance.
I'm ready to jump right back into this world with Dream On.

                                        The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan
                                                Coming out May 3, 2016.

I did not see this book coming.
It was just after attempting to read Magnus Chase and the Sword of summer that I've heard about this new series.
I should probably explain this one better: Do you know how some people say they grew up with Harry Potter? Well, then I grew up with Percy Jackson. I've been reading books ever since I can remember but Percy Jackson was what got me from someone who reads books to an addicted reader. I read Percy Jackson and the lightning thief when I was 12 (and Percy was 12) and Blood Of Olympus when I was 17 (and Percy was 17).
Rick Riordan is one of my favourite authors of all times. I read - and absolutely loved - The Kane Chronicles, and I'll love Percy forever. The thing with the sword of summer, I had really hard time getting into it. When I first read it, it was, dare I say it, almost boring. It pains me to say this. But. and this is a huge but... when I attempted reading Magnus Chase and the sword of summer again not so long ago, from the second half of the book and especially towards the end, things got so much better and I got back those feelings I always get from Rick Riordan's books. I have high hopes for the second book in the Magnus Chase trilogy and I'm really excited for it.
So, back to The Hidden Oracle, when I heard about this new series, the trials of Apollo, I was ecstatic!
Another series in the Percy Jackson world? A god turned mortal? Apollo? Count me in!
Am I nervous about this book? after my experience with Magnus Chase, I'm terrified of having the same deal with the hidden oracle. Yet I'm still beyond excited to pick this book up.
After all, I won't know until I try, now won't I?  

Ruined by Amy Tintera
  Coming out May 3, 2016.

Is May 3 a special day for book releases, I wonder?
I read - and enjoyed - Amy Tintera's book Reboot. And so when I heard about her new trilogy and read the very intriguing synopsis... I knew I had to give this one a try.
A princess from a ruined kingdom, bent on revenge for her Parents murder and her sister's abduction, infiltrates a kingdom as a prince betrothed, and while planning her revenge finds herself falling for the prince.
Yeah, I'm going to try this out.

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
Coming out May 17, 2016.

This book is the debut novel of the author Evelyn Skye, so I actually don't know much about it. I have no idea about the author writing style or much of anything else... but this is the way great books are discovered, no? You can't just read authors you know, you have to try and experience new ones.
The reviews and general ratings on goodreads look really good, and the synopsis makes this book sound super interesting. It was what hooked me in.
This book is a fantasy-historical-fiction that takes place in Russia, which is interesting on its own because I never read a book that takes place in Russia - historical fiction or not.
There are two teenagers with special powers - the only ones in Russia. They are called enchanters. A boy and a girl. To determine which one is the best, which one will serve as the empire's adviser, there will be a contest. The winner will get great glory. The defeated will die.
And of course, the contestants develope certain feelings for each other, even with them besically trying to kill each other.
Now, doesn't that sounds just awesome? 

The Last Star by Rick Yancy
 Coming out May 24, 2016.

Finally! It is almost upon us!
The previous book came out in 2014.
And now, the third and final book in the fantastic trilogy "The 5th wave" by Rick Yancy, is finally almost here.
This trilogy is one of the most amazing-kickass-fantastic-awesome-unique-amazing (yep, I said amazing twice) ever.
I can't even begin to put it into words.
And so I'll just say: CAN'T WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON THE LAST STAR! 

"But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield."

        -- The 5th Wave, Rick Yancy.

Fleurie - hurts like hell