Hello interwebbers! Along with what I plan on reading this week, I'm going to tell you guys what I've been listening to lately. I have a 30 day free trial with Spotify, which if anyone isn't aware, is similar to Pandora, but you're able to create your own playlists and play them even when you don't have wifi. You just have to make sure you download the playlist, which can take up a lot of space on your phone. It definitely has it's pros and cons (think oooh so many songs but URGH SO MANY PICTURES I HAVE TO DELETE) but as of right now, I'm really enjoying it. I've had Disclosure's two albums on repeat and I'm IN LOVE. Disclosure is an EDM (electric dance musci) DJ, consisting of two brothers. You may be thinking of EDM as that loud, repetitive shit, which it definitely is, but Disclosure's vibe is way more chill. It's a nice in-between. My favorites are F For You, Help Me Loose My Mind, Molecules, and Confess To Me. Go check them out!

Read Last Week
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Currently Reading
Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino

To Read
Never Never by Colleen Hoover
Scarlet by Marisa Meyer

Happy readings! :)

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November 9 by Colleen Hoover

November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: November 10th, 2015
Pages: 307
Song I Played While Reading: Cecilia and the Satellite by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
Rating: 4 stars

Fallon mets Ben, as aspiring novelist, the day of her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon's last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationship and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. 

Oh, Benton James Kessler. Where art thou Benton James Kessler, BECAUSE I WANT YOU. NOW.
Colleen Hoover manages to surprise me with every one of her damn novels. Every. Single. One. You don't think she can write something as fantastic as her last one, yet she does. It's scary. How she manages to portray every emotion perfectly... I DONT UNDERSTAND.
This book is her most light-hearted one yet (if you can even call any of her books light-hearted) because Ben and Fallon were a riot together. They had an insane connection, and I can't even tell you the amount of times I had to put down the book so my heart would stop racing. Not only were they hilarious, but they were so swoon-worthy. Them together brought me nothing but pure happiness, and I was so happy to see that this book revolved only around November 9th. Sure, we see a little part of their lives as we progress, but this centers mostly on this one day over six years. Everything was perfect, from the pacing, to the plot line, and to the characters (especially TWO CERTAIN CHARACTERS THAT SHOWED UP AT BENS HOUSE AND GAVE ME A LEGIT HEART ATTACK, I CANT BELIEVE COHO DID THAT TO US).
But then, once we hit our fifth November 9th, I started getting bored with the story and a little annoyed at the repetition. I almost skipped through Ben's entire story simply because I was itching to see them get together. It was in no way a bad ending, so I only docked a star. Certain parts bothered me, while others didn't.
The one thing I love so incredibly much about CoHo's books is the depth. Her stories are fantastic, but we get so much more than what we read in the summary. There's usually at least one or two major issues that Hoover tackles beautifully, and this book was no different. I love the variety and how they each add such a breath of fresh air to the story.
Overall, fantastic, fantastic story, but the ending was just a little too repetitive for me. If I had to rate this on my CoHo scale, it would be third. So Hopeless, Maybe Someday, November 9, and Ugly Love. Never Never is up next and I can't wait to start it!

Quotes
"I turn around and face my closet again so he doesn't see the flushed look on my face.
He laughs quietly. "You were just thinking dirty thoughts."
"Was not," I quip.
"Fallon, we've been dating for two hours now. I can read you like a book, and right now I do believe that book is full of erotica."

"You'll never be able to find yourself if you're lost in someone else."

""Sigh."
"Did you just say sigh? Out loud? Instead of actually sighing?
"Eye roll.” 

""Fucking beautiful," I whisper.
She smiles and then ducks her head. “I feel stupid.”
"I barely know you, so I’m not about to argue with you over your level of intelligence, because you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty."

"You can’t leave yet. I’m not finished falling in love with you."

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The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Pulication Date: November 3rd, 2015
Pages: 65
Song I Played While Reading: None
Rating: 3 stars

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke was in. A keen observer of human behavior, your unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, destine help matter with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.

The Grownup can be described in one word for me: unexpected. I've been going back and fourth on what to rate this, simply because it had a crappy ending for me. I hate open endings, and this had the mother of all open endings. It's so broad that it almost negates the whole story. What was the point of writing this if you aren't even going to finish it? If you're going to throw us for that big of a loop? I'm a huge fan of Gone Girl because of the writing, and this story doesn't disappoint in that department at least. If you hadn't told me who the author was, I still would've guessed her.
Once we got to the middle of the story, I felt myself starting to get hooked. I was creeped out, trying to guess what was going to happen. Knowing Gillian Flynn (and having read Gone Girl) I was prepared for a huge, scary twist that would knock me off my feet. Instead, I was left with a gaping hole. I understand her idea behind the ambiguous end, but it was executed in such a fashion that I felt like the whole book was just one big lie. There's no definite answer for anything.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

More info on this book here
More about Gillian Flynn here 

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An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: April 28th, 2015
Pages: 446
Song I Played While Reading: Here We Go Again by Hardwell
Rating: 3.8 stars

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not boy their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk th execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the empire. They've seen what happens to those who do. 
But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the schools most finest soldier- and secretly, it's most unwilling. Elias want sonly to be free of the tyrant he'd being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realized that their destinies are intertwined- and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

SUCH FEELS. MUCH CONFUSION.
That about sums up how I feel on An Ember in the Ashes. Some parts I loved. Some parts I thought were super boring. Some parts I felt like I was reading from 1 dimensional characters. Other times I thought the were going to jump out of the page. DO YOU SEE MY CONFUSION?
The first 40% of this book, I wasn't too keen on this story. Nothing was jumping out at me and making me want to read more, except for some of the lovely people on instagram who informed me that I should, in fact, keep reading. It got better, bless you, Jesus, and I got hooked. HOOKED, I TELL YOU. Until the plot twist occurred and I thought to myself "That was it?" The ending, which is set up to reel you in for the next book (which I can't believe Tahir wasn't fully committed to writing, DAMN GIRL, TALK ABOUT A CLIFFHANGER), was so... anti-climatic? I literally don't even know. I'm split down the middle here. One part of me thinks it was awesome and dramatic and heart-wrenching and good gravy, Helene, you're killing me here, while the other half of me kind of pouted in annoyance.
This review is already annoying me cause I have an urge to just split it in half, name one side "My likes" and the other half "My dislikes" and call it a day since I'm so torn up.
I liked Laia, but wasn't overly impressed with her. I'm all for a middle-ground kind of narrator (nothing special, isn't overly heroic or overly evil, confused, blahblah) but there wasn't that one spark that made me connect to her. Sometimes she confused me because, damn, the girl didn't even cry. Like, at all. Or did she? See, I don't even remember. BUT, I had to give her kudos for sticking with the Commandant because DAMN THAT BITCH WAS CRAY AND I FEARED FOR LAIA'S LIFE.
(Also, the entire time I was reading AEITA I was calling her "Commandment". FAIL.)
Elias was a little higher on my "likes" list, since I enjoyed reading about his internal struggles and seeing his relationships with the people around him at Blackcliff. Plus, the boy was a hunk. But I still didn't feel a huge amount of love for him.
Helene was a character that I had a major like/hate relationship with. One minute I hated her guts (has she NEVER heard of girl code?), and the other minute I grudgingly could admit that she, yes, could be thoughtful and nice. But most of the time I was annoyed with her, more so than I was with the Commandant. Her blind loyalty and snobbiness infuriated me, especially over the female slaves. This was a part of the book that I couldn't comprehend. Everyone acted as if mutual consent over sex didn't exist. They threw around rape as if they were saying "having sex". It made me really uncomfortable and disgusted. I wish I could go back and tick off all the times someone says "Did he rape you?" or "I'm gonna rape you", but it would take too much effort. But know it's A LOT. And Helene's refusal to protect Laia against Marcus, when he always says he's gonna rape her and she gets furious over it, was incomprehensible. Just because she's a slave doesn't mean she deserves to be raped and killed. HELENE, THE LADIES HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER.
I really, really liked the plot and the way Tahir weaved everything together. She kept me guessing, and I have to hand it to her on that Third Trial; my god damn soul was crushed. That's the only time I cried in this book, and it was an ugly cry.
I hope Tahir talks more about the world because I'm super interested in it, especially on the politics and the diversity between the characters. Were the scholars originally middle eastern? I read somewhere that Tahir used inspiration from Kashmir. And then were the Martials where all the blondes came in? I'm always hesitant to bring up diversity in books since I feel like I don't know the correct way of wording it, but it was such a huge aspect that I couldn't help but try.
I'm VERY excited for A Torch in the Night, though I'm seriously questioning Tahir's mental state. How the hell is she supposed to wrap everything up in just one book? There's so much! Nonetheless, I have faith. I can't wait for Laia and Elias's next adventure!

Quotes
"The field of battle is my temple. The sword point is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release." 

""This life is not always what we think it will be," Cain says. "You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it."

"Suddenly, everyone is talking.
"Mirra and I set fire to an Empire garrison-"
"She could cut right to your soul with her eyes, the Lioness-"
"Saw her fend off a dozen axes once- not a bit of fear in her-"
I have stories of my own. She wanted to leave us. She wanted to abandon her children for the Resistance, but Father wouldn't let her. When they fought, Lis took me and Darin into the forest and sang so we wouldn't hear them. That's my first memory- Lis singing me a song while the Lioness raged a few yards away." 

"When Hand-to-Hand Centurion screams at me for poor technique, I barely hear him, instead considering what will happen to Hel and me. Is our friendship ruined? If I don't love her back, will she hate me? How am I supposed to get her on my side for the Trials if I can't give her what she wants? So many bleeding, stupid questions. Do girls think like this all the time? No wonder they're so confusing."

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Date: October 20th, 2015
Pages: 600
Song I Played While Reading: Survivors by Hardwell & Dannic (pretty fitting name, eh?)
Rating: 5 stars

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do today. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. 
The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet thats little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, exes Kady and Ezra-who are barely even talking to each other- are forced to fight their way onto the evacuating fleet with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. 
But the warship is the least of their problems. A deadly virus has broken out and ismutating, with terrifying results. The fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what the fuck is going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfirend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh
Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
GOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!
This book was
F
A
N
T
A
S
T
I
C
It was achingly beautiful, and heart-stopping, and witty, and romantic, and so incredibly sad. It's all of those, and more. And shockingly, this isn't like any normal book. This is told through military documents, emails, IM's, medical reports, interviews, pictures, and more. Yet this book is one of the most emotionally-charged novels I've read this year. I didn't think it was possible, yet it happened. These two authors are fucking geniuses.
Good lord, I don't even know where to start! The characters were incredible in this story. I cared about literally every single one of them, and my heart constantly took a beating because of it. Kady is my kind of girl: short, sassy, and a god damn genius. I WISH I was as smart as her. She's also so, so brave and kicked so much ass, I cried sometimes just because of her will to live. Ezra was SO adorable and these two together were an absolute riot. They balanced each other so well, with her working the computers and hacking into things while he was all physical power and ship savvy. I shipped them SO hard. Kezra? Ezrady? I SHIP 'EM.
There's nothing I love more than epistolary formatting in a book. And yes, I googled that shit because I knew there was a name for it because something so visually stunning couldn't NOT have one. Not only did it help me fly through this 600 page book, but it helped me visualize everything and made me feel as if I was smack-dab in the middle of the story. Those pages were Ezra and the pilots were attacking the Lincoln? I was flying alongside them, voices pouring into my ears and explosions lighting up my panels. It was almost jarring, since I would get so engrossed that when I would stop I'd have to blink a couple times and realize, damn, I'm on Earth. My head, even now, still feels like it's floating in space.
I loved the multiple storylines and how, even though this centered mostly around Kady, we got to see a lot of other people's experiences as well. It broadens the story, making it feel that much more real.
The ending was MIND-BLOWING. My heart was pounding and I had no idea what was going to happen. KAIDAN 4 LIFE. And then the realization on who was behind one of the mega corporations... oh my god. My jaw dropped. And then I wanted to cry because, god dammit, HOW CAN I BE AS COOL AND BADASS AS KADY IS?
I recommend this to everyone. Even if you aren't the biggest fan of sci-fi, just try it. There's something in this for everyone, and it's so much more than what it seems. It's a trilogy (thank you, Jesus) and what Kaufman and Kristoff are planning on doing is mind-bending. I bow down to these two. THEY'RE MY NEW KING AND QUEEN OF STORYTELLERS

Quotes
""I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short."

"I know this is all of my design- to leave her without hope. She would have never stayed otherwise. But some part of me wants her to rail against this end. To curse and kick, and scream at it. Wretched as it is, this is the only life she has. How can she go so quietly in this long good night?"

"The afflicted follow, wolves with lolling tongues and gunmetal claws.
One stops to hold out his arms and twirl in the fire extinguishers spray. One is shot through the kneecaps by a female comrade in their race for the door- I presume she thought ladies should precede before gentlemen.
Madness in many colors."

""Do you see?"
She says nothing. Simply stares.
"The universe owes you nothing, Kady. It has already given you everything, after all. It was here long before you, and it will go on long after you. The only way it will remember you is if you do something worthy of remembrance."

"He presses the triggers. And like roses in his hands, death blooms."

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Happy Monday!

Hi guys! I hope your November has been fantastic so far. Mine has been filled with work, work, work and some more work. But I don't mind. More money= BOOKS!

Read Last Week 
Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Currently Reading
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

To-Read
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Happy readings :)

P.S. NOVEMBER 9TH AND WINTER COME OUT TOMROROW, EEEP!!!!

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Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Publisher: Balzar + Bray 

Publication Date: October 13th, 2015

Pages: 478

Song I Played While Reading: Light Years Away by Tiesto

Rating: 5 stars

It's been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring's king, Angra, disappeared- thanks largely to the help of Cordell.

Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their lines for payment, they unearth something power and possibly dangerous: Primoria's lost chasm of magic. Theron is hopeful and excited- with this much magic, the world can finally stand agains threats like Angra. But Meira knows that the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm's secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe- even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?

Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Jannuari- leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell's growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter's security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?

As the web of power and deception is woven tighter, Theron fights for magic, Meira fights for freedom- and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter but for the world. 

Holy crap, you guys. This book. This fucking book blew me away. I had obvious high hopes, since I loved Snow Like Ashes. But it blew those expectations out of the water and left me gasping for air.

I've read a lot of "middle-child syndrome" being thrown around with this book. I understand why some people could've been bored with Ice Like Fire, since a huge chunk of this book is Meira adjusting to being queen and trying to figure out who that is. What does it take to be a queen? She's constantly at war with herself, trying to find a middle ground between Meira and Queen Meria. 

I'm all for inner conflict and character arc. Nothing brings tears to my eyes faster than that. Raasch flawlessly wove Meira's inner turmoil with the world building (since we travel around Primoria), the onslaught of new characters, the questions of "What the hecky poo is this chasm of magic and how do we handle it?", the worry of the debt Winter has to Cordell and trying to find support from other kingdoms, AND, of course, the love interests. Sounds like a lot, right? That sounds like something that would crush my shoulders and my soul, but Raasch managed to make it work. KUDOS!

Now, I'm not sure exactly what causes this, but in Snow Like Ashes I had issues adjusting to the story for the first 50 pages. Nothing was clicking and I didn't really care about the characters. Once I hit page 50, it as smooth sailing. Strangely enough, I had the same problem in this story too, so I'm assuming it's her writing? I'm not 100% sure, but I was actually internally panicking because I had forgotten all the side characters (it took me FOREVER to remember William and Sir were the same person), and everything felt a little jumbled. BUT, like I said, once I hit page 50, BOOM. I was in. 

The kingdoms Meira and Theron visit were absolutely glorious. I find the whole idea of a seasoned kingdom to be SO. FREAKIN. COOL. Summer did not disappoint, and I love how everything was in orange and red tones. Their culture, though dabbling in things that I definitely did not approve of, was still enchanting and I wish with all of my being that I could visit such a fun place like that. It's a constant party. Who wouldn't want to visit?!

Yakim and Ventralli were gorgeous too, but a little more subdued since they were Rhythm kingdoms. I found it super fascinating to read about the different cultures in these places! 

Now, for the first 250ish pages, I shipped Meira with neither of our love interests. Mather was being a little whiny poo head, and I didn't trust Theron. Their goals were too different, so I couldn't see it working out between them, anyways. I was little iffy with these two in SLA as well. This a rarity, for me to ship my girl with no one. Props to you, Raasch. But then Mather found his purpose in Winter and it wasn't long until I officially announced my ship: MATHERIA. The ending had me screaming for many, many, MANY reasons, and that was definitely one of them. The other reasons are able to be summed up in two words: PLOT TWISTS. And a bunch of crying emojis. 

Raasch has this ability to me care SO DAMN MUCH for Winter. Maybe because of how broken they were, or how beaten they were in those camps, or their ability to still stand up and proudly call themselves Winterians. Or maybe it's because I picture them as fuzzy snow bunnies. NEVERTHELESS, I care about these beautiful humans so deeply, and thats why I love this story so much and connect with Meira and ship her with Mather. I'm so incredibly proud of our mc and love the direction this story went at the ending (like, right at the ending. not the other stuff. *CRIES*). I absolutely cannot wait to see Meira kick ass and defeat the Decay once and for all. LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN.

Quotes

"I'll play along, you arrogant little pig. I'll pretend to be an obedient little queen until I can crush you."

"A seasons purpose? All I told him was that I wanted to see Yakim's libraries. I frown at the back of his head. sorting through the meaning of his words, and roll my eyes when it hits me.

He doesn't think I'm interested in the books for study and use. Which I believe is a lofty Yakimian way of calling me stupid.

"Oh, quite," I return. " I just love looking at books. Sometimes I can even make out a word or two."

""Horrible things have happened to us, are still happening to us, will happen every day for the rest of our lives, probably. What defines us is not our ability to never let them break us--what defines us is not letting them own us. We are the Thaw, and we will not be defeated by memories or evil men."

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