Strange The Dreamer Review:

So I just finished Strange the Dreamer and it was sooo amazing that I just had to do a review. I know I haven't posted in a while and I am super sorry but even in the summer I had school, that's how depressing and busy my life had been. Anyways I've been reading a lot less recently because I have time to watch Once Upon A Time, finally, so I've been trying to get through that, because it's so good. Anyways this isn't an update post but a review one so I will try to stay on topic, and will hopefully have a lot more posts coming up. Another side note is that this month the book club book is Thirteen Reasons Why, and since it is a super popular topic rn because of the TV show (which was fabulous), I will be rereading it and hopefully reviewing and also hopefully posting a book club post. (Btw I just realised I never posted an Acowar or a Lord of Shadows review and now it's kind of too late, but I will try to remember everything and post soon.)

Anyways enough with the updates and maybe posts, let's dive into this book: Strange the Dreamer. 

Strange the Dreamer Review:

Short Summary:

Strange the Dreamer is a new fantasy novel by Laini Taylor, author of the best-selling Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy. This book was published on March 28th, 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book is a somewhat coming of age story of a young man named Lazlo Strange, it is about how he discovers who he is as a person, and how he can reach his dreams. The story is about Lazlo who is a vivid dreamer, and who has always dreamed of finding the long lost city of Weep. This city was once a magical and beautiful city closed to outsiders but 200 years before the events of this story take place Weep closed its doors and was never heard from again. 15 years before the events Weep's true name was stolen and Weep was left in its place. 

This is a beautiful story of a young man's journey to find what he has spent his whole life searching for, and discover who he truly is. 

The characters in this book were so vivid and well developed that they felt almost real. I really enjoyed all the different perspectives of this book and thought that they all really added to the general story telling mood and plot. The two main characters were Lazlo Strange, an ordinary boy, orphaned by the war, and a young girl named Sarai (who if I can't say much about as it will spoil a good portion of the book). Going into further detail with Lazlo's character I feel very strongly in the fact that Laini truly brought this character to life through his descriptions of the world and everything else around him. Laini did a phenomenal job with all the characters in this novel but Lazlo specifically. His character was often the narrator more than others and the way he saw the world was just amazing to read about. He was a dreamer and made everything around his seem vivid and beautiful, even the worst of things and the most frightening. His character also really developed from a scared librarian to an explorer and friendly young man. His journey throughout the book was just amazing to see through his eyes and the eyes of his friends. 

The plot of this book was actually probably the best part in my opinion. Everything was just so thought through and developed. Every string led somewhere and every piece of information was useful. I especially loved how there were tons of mini stories inside the big one and with every chapter you would learn something new about one of the characters or about the history of something. I especially loved how at the beginning there were a few chapters that were dated all from different years and they truly gave us a bigger picture of Lazlo's childhood as well as Sarai's and how they were so different but they were both meant to play a giant role in the end story. The plot changed so much too, from one major conflict to another, to finally the biggest one of all. It was like a roller coaster and you would never know when the big drop was because it just kept dropping and dropping. This was a major reason why it was such a phenomenal book, there was no fluff and no extra unnecessary details. Every chapter, every word had a reason behind it, and together this made it so that you could never put it down. You could never get bored with a part and just leave it on the shelf. Although even though it was amazing the beginning took a little time to get into and used to (the writing style). So if you pick this book up make sure to read at least until page 150 and then decide if you want to put it down. A lot of the begging was backstory and Lazlo's history but once you get through it everything else makes a lot more sense and it just flows. 

Laini's writing style is like no other I have ever read. If you have never read one of her books before, as was the case with me, it takes a little bit to get used to but once you do it just flows like a beautiful river of art. All her words are so carefully chosen and all her sentences are so beautiful. Most of this book was narration with some dialogue and everything was just so lifelike and beautiful. The way that she described the characters and settings was just phenomenal, her writing style is like a dream. It feels like honey, smooth and sweet. It fit this book so well too, because it was a lot about a dreamer and how he saw the world. But her writing style, oh my, you just have to experience it. It is almost like you are dreaming and everything is right in the world. It is so flawless and it feels like you are floating in her imagination. It is just so whimsical and dreamlike, and also so mature, definelty not a book that younger children will truly appreciate. She doesn't just cut to the point in a harsh way but kind of drags things out beautiful with no excess. It takes you to another world (which in the case of this book is just perfect). I could honestly try to describe her writing style and how truly wonderful it is all day but to truly experience it you have to read this book for yourselves. And I highly highly recommend it.

The settings in this book were just so well written you cannot imagine. All the detail that Laini put into it just made it that much easier to imagine it. The scents, the colours, all so vivid. Especially whenever we went into Lazlo's mind, and his version of Weep, every time it just blew me away. The settings changed a lot in this book too, which made it that much more interesting and have such an adventurous vibe to it. At the start we start off with Lazlo's history and how as a child he was brought up in an Abbey and it was described as a dark time, with somewhat crazy adults never letting Lazlo do what he wanted or be the dreamer he was. Then it progressed to a time in his life that he truly appreciated as a librarian. Lazlo loved being in the Zosma's giant library, I think the biggest in his world, and he knew it by heart as he spent all his time there. So as readers we also got to know it so well. Seeing things through Lazlo's point of view made everything that much more interesting because he was just such a kind, optimistic and creative individual. The setting of the library brought hope and life to Lazlo because by reading about Weep and learning the language and more, he got that much closer to his dream and so did we. But those were just the initial settings. As Lazlo went on his adventure the settings were just so amazing. Each scene felt like you were there and was described in such detail that you were fully absorbed and you were never left with any questions. I can't describe how amazing the settings were later on as that would be too spoilery but I can assure you that they just kept getting better and better. 

Overall, this book was just phenomenal, and brought so much more life (and joy) to my life. Sounds weird I know but its so true. I really did not expect to like it as much as I did, mainly because I had absolutely no idea what it was about when I picked it up. All I knew was that it got a lot of excitement when it first came it, that it was written by a best-selling author, and that it had a very high rating on Goodreads. I actually picked this book up at an event that I went to, as an arc, and I am so thankful to them for giving me this chance. I never would have read this book if I hadn't picked it up (just from the hype around it) and started reading it when I didn't have my laptop. This book was so full of emotions and it made me laugh, smile, and giggle like crazy (and I know I feel like I say this about very book but I am 100% serious). As I was reading it, I even started logging my emotions every 50 pages or so on Goodreads and by page 80 I was "already totally emotionally invested", it was that amazing. I highly recommend this book to any Fantasy lovers, like me, who just want to try something new and are open to being completely swiped off their feet into Laini's crazy imagination. I would give this book a 9.6/10 because it was that amazing (but it can't be more amazing than my baby Acomaf). Overall, you all have to go read it right now. But warning this isn't a single book, it is a series of some sort (probably trilogy). And for almost the whole time I was reading I thought that it was a stand alone, how wrong I was. It literally left off in like mid chapter and just said to be continued. Ahhh. I actually cannot wait to get my hands on any of Laini's other books, and now I definitely have to go read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. I would actually say that this book surprised me a lot, and now I love it so much that it is probably in my top 5 books I have ever read, top 10 for sure (don't ask me to pick, it isn't fair, soo many). (Also random note, Laini is so cool that in Acknowledgements she literally just put TK and left it at that, like what, lmao)   

Guys thank you so much for reading or not reading, up to you! But I just love blogging and getting all my feels out. Hopefully I'm helping someone out there make some good reading decisions. But I usually love books, so you know maybe I'm not always 100% the best person to ask. But since I love book so much I am super grateful that I started this blog. If you guys ever want to talk to even just rant about books, comment or email and I would be glad to listen or rant with you. 

- Love, Kat Hearts 

Sarah J. Maas Book Signing:

Hey Guys, I know I haven't written in a while and honestly I am super super sorry. I have soo much work, and it's actually so true. I don't event know how I have time to do this post because I've been sick literally this whole week, and have sooo much to catch up on. But I just checked the last time I posted, in April, and I was like no wayyy can I not post. So here I am. Also because I actually have something to post about; I went to a book signing today.

SARAH J. MAAS'S book signing at Indigo!!! Sarah just released the last book in the ACOTAR trilogy, A Court of Wings and Ruin, on May 2nd. (Which I read, and loved, but didn't post a review for yet, super super sorry) And this month she is on tour for it. She released this picture on her twitter a while back, and the last stop is her first ever in Canada, which was amazing. So I've been planning to go to this event for a while, because I'm obviously obsessed with her and her amazinnggg writing!!! I have wanted to see and meet her for soo long that when she announced that she was coming to Canada like 5 months ago, I obviously freaked out and put the date down on all my calendars. I've waited around 2 years for an opportunity like this but sadly my plans kind of failed.

The Details: 
So this is what happened:
I first thought about going with one of my friends, but none of them are super into reading or Sarah J. Maas which is kind of annoying but you know, life. But anyways then I just settled for getting a ride from my dad, and by ride I'm saying like a 35 min drive, as its not exactly close.

So the very first thing that happened today, was I woke up at 10 instead of at 11, like I was planning to, but I decided to stay up so I'd have more time to get ready and all prettied up. Then obviously I stayed in bed for like 30 min texting my friend about how excited I am, so that kind of failed, aha. Anyways I decide to check twitter because I was curious if anyone was posting anything about the event and what twitter was saying about it and the very first thing I see about it is this:

 20 minutes later, or around that (as I'm freakiinggg out), I see this:

AHHHHH, was my first reaction. There was just no way I could have made it. Apparently there had been people waiting since 4am, like how wtf. And they ran out around 8am. My plan was to get there at 12:30, now looking back that was a terrible terrible plan because it definitely wouldn't have worked. I made this plan based on the fact that last time when I went to a Lauren Oliver book signing there were not that many people and I came around 30 min early and I got a wristband and everything. However for this event it was just crazy, everything was packed and crammed. I guess I underestimated Sarah J. Maas's following in Toronto. Like WOW! But it's not like I could've done anything anyways because to bus it would have taken 2 hours and my dad just did not want to wake up early. So anyways I was obviously heartbroken about not getting to meet her after waiting so long. 

( Side story coming up, just a warning (can be skipped, lol): )

This is why I really really wanted to get Sarah's signature, well one of the reasons:

Around November last year I wanted to order A Court of Mist and Fury when it got cheaper and I had been waiting a while for the price to drop. Right after I ordered it however I found an autographed version also on their website, Indigo's, but it was regular price, and there was just one left. At first, I was like I HAVE to get it, because it's my favourite book and all. But then I thought about it, and decided that I there was no point in waiting all that time for the book to get cheaper if I would buy it full price, then I could've just pre-ordered it. Then I was like wait why don't I just pre-order the last book, ACOWAR, and then I can get the signed version for the same price. This sounded like a good plan and I relaxed for about a day. Then I decided that I didn't care and that I wanted the signed version of my favourite book ever and that I could return the book I already ordered. But when I went to check online it was gone. I checked for weeks and weeks every single day but that was the last one, the autographed version never became available again. My soul was crushed but I still had a bit of hope for the 3rd book to come in a special autographed version. But then in a few months when it became available there was no autographed version, just an indigo special version with the fanart in the cover (which is still nice, and is what I got). I was heartbroken again... Then a few weeks later I saw the tweet and flipped because I could get Sarah to sign the book in person, which I never thought was going to happen! I was over the moon excited but it obviously is just not meant to be.... 

Anyways back to the story. So I decide that even though it was too late to get my books signed I still wanted to go. So I got all dressed up, brought all my books, and arrived around 12:30, as originally planned. When I got there everything seemed normal except that there was a sign that the event was at capacity and that the wristbands for the signing were all given out already. I walked inside and didn't see a single fan, I was so confused. I went up to a lady and asked her where the event was and she also said it was at capacity but that it was upstairs. I knew it, I knew there was something wrong it was too peaceful downstairs so I ran to the escalators (keep in mind I've never been to this Indigo in my life) and I was right, I was rising up slowly and holyy. The whole upstairs floor was overflowing with people there were crowds and crowds in lines everywhere and right in front of the elevators 5 Indigo employees telling everyone to go either left or right, away from what was behind them, the stage. So obviously I tried my best to get a good spot but I was at the back of the huddle of people on the right wing and the only spot that was available had the whole left side of the stage blocked by a white pillar. 

I waited and waited for about 30 minutes which is when a lady came out and told us all that they were going to start on time and a few reminders like not to video Sarah's conversation. The signing was going to take place after. So then we were all super excited and anticipating when Sarah was finally going to come out, and she didn't. Not until 1:15, 45 minutes after I got there, 9 hours and 15 minutes after the people who had got there at 4am (this commitment, what even) 15 minutes late (thanks for telling us it was going to be on time, lady). Anyways Sarah walked out and I could see her and everyone was going nuts, and the excitement that was in the air was amazing (sadly I couldn't even talk to anyone my age because I was still sick and I half lost my voice yesterday). Anyways I was clapping and trying to scream and I was so happy and then she say down and I lost any connection I had to her, even her little blonde head (I was so far back). Still the vibe was amazing and really intense and all the people were super excited and laughing at her jokes. 

The whole interview part was obviously the best part for me because that's the only part I could really partake in. Ugh. Anyways the lady asked Sarah a lot of questions some of which I don't remember, but I texted my friend a lot of it, me taking notes, aha. She started off by saying that the next TOG book, Tower of Dawn, Chaol's book, will be about 3 main characters Chaol obviously, Nesryn, and Irene Towers (who I have absolutely no memory of but it's ok, because it seemed like everyone else did somehow). Then Sarah was talking about when she cried when writing the books and she mentioned that in Acowar it was during the whole 670s pages and at first I didn't get it because my dad took my book, but then I looked over at the girl in front when she opened the pages and got it right away. Some other girl yelled 666 and I was so confused but everyone was laughing, and then Sarah talked about it. How it was a compete coincidence that the worst part of Acowar, literally everything bag that happened happened on page 666. It was so funny because then I got my dad to bring me the book and I saw myself. Then there was a question about Rhys's last name, and she hinted that it might be revealed in later books and that for now we should just call him Rhys "Hotpants", ahaha (she was hilarious). At some point a Hot Korean bodyguard also came up ahahah.... Then there was a question about what houses all the character would be in and for some reason I missed Rhys and only Rhys because I don't know why and I'm sooo sad because all I ever care about it Rhys. But anyways Sarah said Feyre would be in Hufflepuff, Aelin would be in slythrin/griffindor, Rowan would also be in slythrin/griffindor, and Manon would be in Slytherin. All I agree with except maybe Feyre, I feel like she would be Gryffindor/Hufflepuff. 

Then there was a question about her character's Starbucks orders. She joked about how Amren would definitely have just like a plain black espresso with like 4 shots. And how Rhys would just have an artsy latte, which I just laughed at. Then how Feyre would have English breakfast tea, just be like I don't like coffee. There was also a question about Aelin vs Rhysand in a fight and Sarah just went to mother hen way out, she basically said that she doesn't want her two babies to fight so Rhysand would probably just be like "show me your cool fire magic", direct quote ahahah legit. Then she would "eviscerate him", and then feel bad and be like "wana get a cup of coffee" literally direct quotes, deaddd. Then she asked which two characters she would want to go somewhere with and where (and with or without her husband, who was also there). Sarah played it cool and said how she would take Feyre to the Louvre, to show her all the pretty paintings, and she would take Aelin to the metropolitan opera house in New York, because she loves it there and Aelin also likes music and opera houses (?). Anyways she also talked about how when she writes she acts scenes out, and she has a giant mirror behind her desk and every time she writes a scene she acts it out in the mirror, lol. 

She also said how each of her characters has a little bit of her,but none actually represent people. Like they're not inspired by people. She also said that even though many people think that, her husband was not actually the inspiration for Rhys and how nothing really was. However, the really great realtionship between Rhys and Feyre was inspired by her relationship filled with love and the two seeming like equals. Awww. (She said she didn't want to sound too corny but the whole room awed together, and she said her husband was staring at her with a weird smile, lol, it was so cute). Then there was a question about what book she's reading now. And she said she was reading Flame of the Mist by Renee Ahdieh. It was so funny because she said that all she wanted to do all the way during her last book signing was curl into a ball in a chair and read, it was so cute because I could relate so much. Like I really should be doing homework right now, but instead I am writing a blog post, when all I really want to be doing is reading Always and Forever Lara Jean, ahhh it's my current read and its sooo cute. I actually just finished reread this whole series, and started reading the 3rd book fort he first time since I got it may 3rd (it came out May 2nd too :) ). 

Anyways so then after the conversation ended a lot of people left because I'm assuming they didn't get wristbands. Only the first 250 people did which says a lot. There were 5 groups, I don't know how many people in each but they were sorted based on when they got there. And I'm not even sure if they would have gotten through all of them because 250 is actually a lottt. But it was the whole day on a Sunday so I think it should have been fine. Last time I also went on a Friday or Thursday I think, so that's why it might not have been as crazy. As well, I'm actually kind of glad that I didn't come early because if I came at 9 and I just missed the wristbands I would've been super upset and it would've been such a waste of time, and then if I came at 8 and I was one of the last ones and then they didn't have time for me that would have sucked too. But in my opinion 4 is wayyy too early, so I don't even know how committed I was to this. I thought I was super committed but I guess other people, older people (who have their own cars and have loved Sarah for around 3 or 4 years) probably have way more inclination to get together with some friends and go all together at 4 am. But not me sorryyy.

Anyways basically after the event was over they right away organised the signing line and I got some pictures of Sarah signing people's books (because I could finally see her, as many people left). They said they were going to cut off your bracelet when u got to the front which really sucked for them because the bracelets were actually super cute. Also when I was just staring at Sarah signing people's books two girls came up behind me, after a few seconds they saw a lady with only ACOWAR to sign and they freaked out because the maximum was 3 books so they asked her to sign theirs too and even though she looked super annoyed by this (since she was probably waiting there from 4am) she said yes. I stayed a little while and saw other people with only 1 or 2 books but I felt too weird and bad asking them to get my book signed, I felt like it was cheating, and I was also sick and my voice was half dead. Anyways, i told myself that I would definitely just be there for 6am for the next signing, which considering how many people there were today Sarah has to come back to Canada! Hopefully she goes on a Tower of Dawn tour, if she does I will definitely buy the book (if not we'll see, as I'm not a huge fan on Chaol). So I wasn't too upset because there's always TOG and I can bring my ACOMAF and ACOWAR copies and get those signed too. So it's ok for next time I'll know and I have a plan, and hopefully it will be a bit closer so I could bus.  

Wow, this post is super long and I'm really sorry but I guess there's just so much to say. Anyways as I mentioned currently I'm reading Always and Forever Lara Jean, and I recently (Tuesday to Friday) read To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and PS I Still Love You both by Jenny Han. Basically I started reading the third book but I didn't remember anything so I went back and read the other two. And I actually listened to the first book as an audiobook because I was too sick to read. Then right before that I read ACOWAR (and I really wanted to put up a review but not I forgot everything ahhh, but hopefully I'll remember and ut it up soon), and before that I had reread ACOTAR and ACOMAF so wow I actually read a lot this month. But after this I'm not even sure what I'm going to read, I think I can finally go back to Six of Crows, which I started but only got through around 60 pages before having to read Acotar, then Acomaf, then Acowar (right when it came out). Lol this is a super intense post and if you stuck with it and rea dall of it wow you're a hero. Thank you so much for all the support and I'm super thankful for all my readers! Love you all! 

- Love always, Kat Hearts 

Books I've Recently (ish) Gotten:

Hey guys, I've been trying to post more often but I just always have so much school work, that I'm already procrastinating on. *sigh* Anyways, wow, I've been planning to do this post for a super long time. I can't believe I still haven't. I started writing this up in around November and decided to wait a bit. I know I said that I would post these posts more often and I'm really sorry I didn't. Here is a list of all the major books I've gotten since the Summer of 2016:

*So some of these books I have read already and some I have not. For some I had already read them when I bought them, just because I wanted to have them. ;) (you know the feeling, and I know you all do, you book nerds, when you read a book and you really want to own it?) I'll try to give a spoil free mini review for each book, or the story of why I bought/got it. I will also try to post them in the order of when I got them!

1. King's Cage
By: Victoria Aveyard
This book, for me, was the highly anticipated last book in the Red Queen Trilogy. Or at least that's what it was until I finished it and realised that a forth book had been announced and Red Queen was a trilogy no longer. I originally pre-ordered it because I thought it was the last book in the series and for some reason I have a thing about buying the last book of every series. Anyways so this book was really good and I don't really regret getting it that much, but I did really love everything except the ending. Since it is the third book of a series and I don't want to spoil anything I will tell you to go read the synopsis on goodreads here, or go read my review here.

2. A Court of Mist and Fury
By: Sarah J. Maas
OMG this book, as you probably know if you read my blog or my review of this book I was obsessed. (Fun Fact: One of the reasons I actually started my blog, was because of this book) This is my favourite book of all time and I love absolutely everything about it. I didn't buy it right away because I didn't know what it was going to be about, or just how fantastic it was really going to be so I originally read it as a library book. I have been waiting for around half a year now for the price to drop to a normal price, so that I could finally buy and and add it to my book shelf. I am super proud of the fact that I now have it. And I am planning to re-read it right before the third book ACOWAR comes out in less than a month (ekkk!)

3. Heartless
By: Marissa Meyer
This book... I actually am obessed with anything Marissa Meyer writes. I love love love her writing, and I couldn't get enough of the Lunar Chronicles until they ended. Still love them! (I even dressed up at Cress one time for Halloween, literally nobody knew who I was *tear tear*) I own Winter, because as I mentioned I always buy the last book in a series, because I guess I assume it's going to be the best, lol! Anyways so Heartless is a completely new and innovative take on the story of Alice in Wonderland. All the dark aspects of the original book, paired with Marissa's amazing talent, give us this fantastic and mind blowing history of how the Queen of Hearts came to be who she is today. I never wrote a review on this book, but it was phenomenal. I absolutely loved all the characters and had anticipated this book for a whole year, before I pre-ordered it and received it. Goodreads:  

4. Three Dark Crowns
By: Kendare Blake
I have still not read this book, but I have heard a lot of really good things about it. I originally bought it because I was going to a book signing and Kendare Blake was there and I really wanted to get her signature on her book. So even though I wasn't originally planning on buying the book, I'm glad that I did, and hopefully I can make some time soon to finally read it. Goodreads synopsis here:

5. Replica
By: Lauren Oliver
For the exact same book signing that I bought Three Dark Crowns for, I also bought Replica. I have loved Lauren Oliver's books for sooo long, and I couldn't wait to finally go and get her to sign one. I read half of Replica before the signing, and half after. It was a really good book, a two in one, that was about a world in which there were clones. I found this book really interesting but not one of Lauren's bests, so if you want to read my review it's here.

6. Empire of Storms
By: Sarah J. Maas
This is the fifth book of the Throne of Glass series, and as with all of Sarah's books, I obviously loved it. I was obsessed with the Throne of Glass series until i read Acotar, and I still am a huge fan. Its one of my favourite series. I am highly anticipating the release of TOG #6, this year! I don't want to say much else, for fear of spoilers, but if you haven't you should definitely go read this series! GR

I don't want to make this post too long, but some other of my recent additions to my bookshelf include (*GR = Goodreads Synopsis):

- From Ashes ~ Molly McAdams (I originally was going to buy this book, to make an order for another book have free shipping, but them it go sold out online. I ended up searching which stores had it in stock, and going to go get it. I then read it a few months later, and let me tell you it was sooo indescribably good! I was blown away, and it is still one of the best books I have read! GR)

- A Shadow Bright and Burning ~ Jessica Cluess (I received an arc of this book, which I really wanted to read, and I loved it. Review here)

- The Lovely Reckless ~ Kami Garcia (I also received and arc of this book, from a friend, and I first lent it to a friend then read it myself. It was an amazing read, and very quick. Absolutely recommend! GR)

- The Sun is also a star ~ Nicola Yoon (I also received an arc of this book, and I very recently read it! It was also a pretty great read, and very different from my usual. I hear this book got a lot of awards, and I sincerely congratulate Nicola! After reading this book I really want to read and watch the movie of her other book: Everything, Everything. GR)

- An Abundance of Katherines ~ John Green (I has a John Green reading spree in either grade 7 or grade 8, so I had already read this book. And I actually received it for free, at an amazing library event. I didn't like it much but it makes a great addition to my bookshelf! Lol GR)

- One Plus One ~ Jojo Moyes (I bought this book, in the summer at a library for 25 cents, which was an amazing deal for me. I has just recently watched the movie in theatres, and was excited to get a Jojo Moyes book for my bookshelf. However, still haven't had the time to read it. GR)

- Something Blue + Something Borrowed ~ Emily Giffin (I was obsessed with the Something Borrowed movie for the longest time. I think I watched it in around March 2016, and I make all my friends watch it with me as well, so in total I probably watched it at least 4 times. It was sooo good! Then one day I searched it up and realised it was a book
series and there was a second book. So obviously I went to the library and got it and read it. So I ended up watching the movie, then reading the second book, then going back and reading the first book. Then later in the summer I was at a library, and I saw both the first and second book for sale each for 25 cents, so I just had to get them. Great series, and super glad I have them on my bookshelf! :) GR)

(Some others that I got either for 25 cents or arcs include: Twilight, Matched, I am the Messenger, Along for the Ride, The Romantics, The Love that Split the World, Marked, Sarah's Key, Uglies, and a few others. ~ However, I read very little of these after I bought the book)

So all in all, those are the books I have gotten since the summer of 2016, I've gotten a few more but those are the major ones that are interesting and are worthwhile mentioning. I also finally got my bookshelf in September, so I bought a lot of filler 25 cent books from the library, that seemed decent. But the ones that stood out I already mentioned. I also received a lot of arcs throughout the year, but the ones that I read I also mentioned above.

I also want to give a quick shout out to the two books I pre-ordered a while ago and am so so excited to read, they come out on the same day and I've been anticipating both for a supeerrr long time! Now I just need to decide which to read first (although tbh I kind of already know) A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN (Acotar #3) and ALWAYS AND FOREVER, LARA JEAN (To all the boys I've loved before #3). They both come out on May 2nd 2017, and I'm hella excited for both of them!

Thank you to all my amazing readers for sticking with me, and reading my blog! I'll desperately try to make time for more posts! Luv you all, Kat Hearts.

King's Cage Review:

Yesterday I finally finished King's Cage. This is the third book in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. Just a side note, for some reason I had no clue that this wasn't a trilogy anymore, but a quartet, and for this whole book I thought it was the last book. The ending killed me (no spoilers) but I literally was like what? This cannot be the last book, and it wasn't... There's going to be a 4th one, but we don't know anything about that one yet. Sadly....

Now getting into the Review:

Synopsis:
The Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard consists of 4 books, so far 3 have been released, Red Queen, Glass Sword, and King's Cage. This is a YA sci-fi/dystopian story. Red Queen is about a girl named Mare Barrow who is brought up in a society divided by blood. There are those with silver blood, the royalty and the noble houses who all have powers like wind weaving, being really fast or strong, or controlling fire or water, and those who have red blood, the common people. Mare is an "average red girl", who is forced to suffer under this oppressive monarchy. Until one day, she meets a very nice gentleman, not knowing at the time that it was the crown prince, who she told her story too and who offered her a job at the palace. (I can't be calm about this part, sorry... His name is Tiberius Calore, or Cal and he is the best, nicest person ever, but he can't ever make decisions, but you'll find this all out later). Anyways, so on Mare's first day at the palace there is this big event to chose the strongest daughter of a silver noble, for the prince to marry, that is broadcasted throughout the country. On this very occasion Mare trips and falls into an area, where she should've died, but instead she released lighting from inside her body. And everything goes downhill from here. Mare is forced to pretend to be a lost royal princess, and is to marry Cal's younger brother Maven. This series is about the obstacles and people who stand in her path and how she faces them. As well as portraying her fight to free her people, the reds, from such terrible oppression. This is the basis for the first book, and if you haven't read it I highly recommend it and you should go read it right now! Then read Glass Sword and then come back and read the rest of this review. :) Sorry but since the last book, 2, has been out for more than a year I will probably spoil something from that book or Red Queen.


(I actually just realised I read Red Queen in like October or November 2015 or something like that, I had to wait a few months for Glass Sword to come out in February 2016, and then I had to wait a year! For King's Cage to come out February 2017, thinking it was the last book, and now I have to wait another whole year! What are you doing to me Victoriaaa... ;( But it's ok I'll survive, and I absolutely love the series, so I never want it to end. )

Anyways, so if you've finished any of the three book so far you know that there is currently a war, between the red rebels called "the scarlet guard" and the silvers. In this third book, other powers come into play, and we get a lot more introduction to countries outside of Norta, which is where most of these books take place. I really loved all the new developments throughout the series, and how we go from a small red town where Mare grew up to this thriving castle of silvers to hiding out in forgotten military bases, and underground. I absolutely loved the plot of all these books, and how it feels like this one long never ending journey that Mare goes on to discover herself, and what she can truly do.

I also just can't wait any longer to talk about the characters. Man the characters... I'm not even sure if I can put all of them into words. The most complex character by far is the forgotten prince, made King, Maven Calore. He has so many layers, most of which aren't very decent, but the part he plays specifically in the first and third books is huge and the impact he left on the fandom, and on me personally is as well. I think it's ok to spoil that in the first book he completely betrayed Mare, by leading her to think that he was someone he truly was not. Maven knew exactly what kind of person she wanted to him to be, and eventually completely betrayed her and revealed his true evil colours. Cal was exiled and the king was killed. In the third book Cal played a huge part as well, and in the second book he played the biggest role. In the first book, Mare couldn't choose between the two princes, until Maven betrayed her and made her choice for her. Honestly, I shipped Mare with Cal from their first moment meeting in that pub, where she tried to steal from him. After a while I realised that Cal was actually an amazing person, who was extremely kind, smart, and completely gorgeous, and that he really cared about the people of his country and Mare, but he had a few major flaws. Like his constant draw to power, his need to win, and his inability to make decisions. I have always thought that Mare and Cal bring out the best in each other and need each other to get through things. I really loved Cal for the whole 2nd and 3rd book, until the end of the 3rd book (but no spoils, you all have to go read it).

Even though a lot of the focus is on Maven and Cal (vs.) throughout the series there are a lot of other
important characters. (The first half of King's Cage Mare is Maven's prisoner, so that portion of the book is focused on him.) There is also a lot of focus on the main character, obviously, Mare Barrow. Mare is also a great person at heart, who really believed in her cause. She also has some pretty big issues and flaws, but at the same time she really does grow and change throughout the books, especially the 2nd and 3rd. Some
other characters that are important are Evangeline, Cameron, Farley, Kilorn, and Mare's Family (and Shade). Evangeline is "the most powerful daughter of a silver house", the house of metal. She was first engaged to marry Cal, then Maven, she is a character that has a very dominating personality and a big role in the first half of King's Cage, Mare really only ever talks to Evangeline or Maven at that point. Evangeline's character is also very deep and hard to see clearly, because at first she's portrayed as an evil person who doesn't care about anyone or anything, and later throughout the 3rd book is developed to have actual feelings and emotions. Cameron, is a "newblood", the term used for reds with powers (like mare being able to conjure lightning), who joins the scarlet guard. She also plays a pretty big role throughout the 3rd book.

For some reason, I felt like not as much happened in the 3rd book as in the other two, and nothing really new was discovered. I felt like it was too short, but maybe that was because for the first half it was just Mare trying to get out of her prison cell, which was actually not altogether boring. Overall, I'm happy that there is a fourth book, I just wish that is came out a lot sooner, and we didn't have to wait a year. As well, I was not very happy with the ending of the third book because it seemed very sudden, cut off, and like a complete change of character for a certain person (like back to where we started, even though we progressed so much throughout the latest two books, it felt a little unreal). However, altogether King's Cage did have a lot of development in characters and in information we know, about people, places, and powers. I really enjoyed reading it and absolutely can not wait until the forth book comes out, probably February 2018. Wow, that sounds so far away... :( I highly recommend this whole series, and I really love it. I would recommend this to any YA fantasy, sci-fi lovers, there's also a bit of romance, mainly about war though. This is a very interesting series, and I would give King's Cage 8.4/10 stars. I liked it but not as much as some of the other books, even though Cal and Mare were actually finally together for like at least half a book, my OTP. Please Victoria, don't break them up, we need them together, they're better together, if they're not together they will both be miserable.

Also I was reading when I was searching up if there was a forth book, there is and it was announce in 2015, like where have I been for the past two years, I know! But, there's going to be a Red Queen Movie! Probably... and Elizabeth banks is supposed to direct it, I'm super super excited! (Also shout out to Before I Fall, which is coming out March 3rd.) Anyways, thank you to all my readers as always for reading! Hope you're as excited for Red Queen #4 as I am, and for March, which is tomorrow!
- Kat Hearts

( Also this is super random but Cal kind of reminds me of Mako, from Legend of Kora, they both like to show off and there's many other similarities, lmao. ;) ) (Also none of the fanart or images I used, in this post are mine, but they are all super amazing, so I just wanted to share them! <3)

I'll Give You the Sun Review:

Hey Guys! Sorry I haven't posted anything other than reviews and tbrs in a while. I just have so much work this year and honestly I'm struggling of keeping track of everything. So I'll try my best to keep this blog going and on making it more interesting. I have some good news, I finally finished Harry Potter so I'll probably do some sort of review on the whole series as well as predictions and theories about characters and the series as a whole. So anyways for today you'll just have to settle with a review.

So for this month, February, the book club book is I'll Give You the Sun, and I just finished reading it a few days ago. I was completely blown away, and can't wait to discuss it on Monday. Especially since there hasn't been a book club in a while especially for me, with me missing the last one in early January, being in Dominican Republic and all.

So here's the actual review:

I'll Give you the sun is an unbelievable Ya novel about sibling love and just about the obstacles of growing up, and change. I really loved everything about this book from the characters to the plot, to the way it was written. It is written in two twins' perspectives, Noah and Jude, together these two perspectives tell a whole story, two halves of a whole. This was a very unique and interesting way of writing the novel, and in my opinion gave it more life and also had a lot more perspective. Noah's pov is of the earlier years, when they are both 13-14, while Jude's is of the later, age 16. They change so much in the 2 years in between and go through so much that this way of telling their story is super effective. I really enjoyed it particularly because when Noah was telling his story I got to see Jude from another's perspective and when I got to see Jude's pov I got to see Noah from her perspective. It gave it a wider range of feeling, emotion, and opinions.

I really enjoyed this book overall, and I just could not put it down. I didn't want to read it at first, because I had just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, finally, and I had been dying to start King's Cage, which arrived in the mail, the day after it came out. (Good news I finally started King's Cage, and so far it hasn't disappointed me). After I had read through the first 50 pages of the book, about 15%, I got very intrigued and I just could not stop reading, literally. I read the book in 2 days, flat, granted it was a Sunday and Monday (Family Day), but still. This book blew me away and I'm torn between wanting a sequel and being in love with it just the way it is.

The characters were amazingly deep and the two stories fit together so well and all the mysteries and questions were answered so perfectly. I absolutely loved the plot and the romance and the characters and everything. The title fits it so well and I'm super grateful that I was forced to read it. Haha. This book is just such a great inspiration about sibling love and also all the obstacles that people go through in life and how they get lost but always find a way back! This book made me feel so many things, it made me laugh out loud, smile like crazy, talk to myself, and almost cry. The writing style is so emotional and real. I also absolutely loved Noah and Jude and how their relationship progressed throughout the book. ( Parts of my Review on Goodreads, right after I finished it, :) )

What made this book that much better for me were the characters. I seriously can not imagine this
book without any of them. Noah and Jude are obviously the most important but for me Brian, Oscar, and Guillermo were almost just as important. I just loved how deep and real the character development went, and how many different sides there were to every character. Brian was Noah's best friend and love interest throughout the book, and honestly he wasn't my favourite character. However, it was super interesting how he changed throughout the book and how Noah did too, because of him. Brian went from the Boy who collected meteors and was obsessed with space, to going to parties and being "the ax", even though he always was. It was like he just didn't want Noah to see that part of him. I honestly don't even know where to begin with Oscar so let's just skip him for now. Guillermo is the resident professional artist in this book, being both crazy and exceptionally talented. He is also like the little bridge between almost every single character in the novel, some you don't even discover until the end. Guillermo's attitude and style were so unique in my opinion, and just the fatherly way in which he interacted with all the characters almost brought tears to my eyes every time. He agreed to mentor Jude in building a stone sculpture, and saved Oscar from the brink of death.

Now I want to dedicate an entire paragraph to Noah and Jude, and maybe Oscar if I can find the words, ;). So Noah... Noah's perspective is so heartbreaking in my opinion, because he has to work so hard for anything in his life, and nothing comes easy. Everyone thinks that he is the weird kid who draws and is quiet. In his earlier years nobody pays any attention to him really, except his mom, and then Brian. Noah is a really quiet person on the outside, but on the inside he is bursting with colour and ideas, an artist at heart. And him and Jude share(d) such a special connection, that nobody understood. Their relationship throughout the book was one of the main obstacles but also probably the best part. The bond that the twins had got broken along the way and they needed to fix it, but sometimes they just couldn't. I honestly love both Noah and Jude so much, but I liked Noah's pov a little more than Jude's. (Btw I am describing them based on their pov, at that specific time, they changed a lot, from how one saw the other to how the other was a few years later or earlier. You have to read it to really understand. It's almost like they switched personalities.) Jude is also very strange, but her perspective is 2 years later, after a very traumatic event leaves her broken. Jude was never as artistic as her brother but she loved making sculptures, she got into the Art school and needed a mentor to help her make a stone sculpture. Jude is super brave and adventurous as heart, but for most of her chapters hides behind a shell of the person she once was. When she is with Guillermo and Oscar the real her comes out, which is one of the things I love most about her. She also desperately believes in ghosts and superstitions after the tragic event, and her mother's death (that coincided...).

Okay I think I'm ready for Oscar now... But I can never do him justice. Oscar is such a complex character, in my opinion the most complex out of all the characters in this book. And obviously, drop dead gorgeous! He is Jude's friend and love interest throughout most of this book. But honestly, to me he's so much more than that. His and Jude's relationship is so complex, that they can only describe is as fate, but I would describe it as extremely good story telling skills. Oscar is the handsome stranger she meets in a church that takes pictures of her, but he is so much more than that. A few years before he had a terrible addiction to drugs and alcohol and almost overdosed, but Guillermo saved him. Oscar changed a lot since then but doesn't want to admit it, and Jude always sees straight through him, and always always brings out the best in him. He and Jude, are just perfect for each other, and everything around them falls into place. I can't do better than that, but he is my favourite character and no not just because he's hella gorgeous, but hello, but because of his so many layers and the part that he plays in both their stories.

The setting is definitely not as important as the characters but still pretty important. Most of the time Jude spends her time in Guillermo's studio, and Noah spends his time at home or in the woods with Brian. I think that overall the setting's, especially G's studio bring a lot of life to the already so real characters. The plot is also so intricately woven that I can't even begin to explain it. What you need to know is that it is the story of two people who get lost, and their journey of finding their way back to their true selves and each other (and not in a romantic way, not everything always has to be romance). And that you absolutely have to read it! Overall, I would rate this book a 9.5/10 and highly recommend it to any contemporary, romance, or just book lovers. It's amazing! The writing is so heartfelt and deep, and really brings forward real issues, with super cute scenes that will make you laugh and cry!

Thank you so much to all my lovely readers for reading! Or if nobody reads then hello to my future self. Lmao. Anyways if you read it and have any comments you can comment below. And I'd love to hear what you guys are reading right now! Until next time...
- Kat

Replica Review:

I not so recently finished (lol, sorry) a book called Replica, written by Lauren Oliver and published by HarperCollins. I originally wasn't that interested in this book because of the cloning theme and I read a book called cloning Miranda that I didn't particularly enjoy. However, I ended up picked this book up because I heard of a Lauren Oliver book signing and I absolutely had to go. To go you had to have bought the book to get it signed and they were also having a discussion about it, along with Kendare Blake and M-E Girard. If you want to read my report on that event here it is:! I ended up really enjoying it and below is my review. A key thing to keep in mind is that Replica is actually two completely different books in one: Lyra and Gemma.

But let's get into what Replica was actually about:

Summary:
Replica is the story of two completely different girls, Lyra and Gemma. The book is actually also split up into two different mini books each around 300 pages. One is told from Lyra's point of view, and one is told completely from Gemma's point of view. These point of views mainly differ because Lyra has spent her whole life at Haven and Gemma has spent her whole life in a normal home and school. Haven is a research facility on an island where scientists secretly create clones, called replicas. Lyra is one of the Replicas and has lived her whole life there not knowing many things and believing that her sole purpose in life was to be useful to others. Gemma, however, was brought up in a normal home with both her parents. Gemma has always been an outlier in her world mainly because she has a few health problems and isn't a typical "pretty girl". She has a best friend named April at the beginning of the book, but she also meets a few other people throughout the book. Gemma's dad was somehow involved in the creation of Haven and throughout her half of the book, Gemma is trying to figure out how she is related to Haven. Lyra on the other hand is fine where she is, she's not super adventurous and is quite content as long as there is no change. She is friends with a few girls and nurses, but in Haven friends are almost non existent. When Lyra is forced out of Haven because of a fire she is forced to join forces and try to survive in conditions she's never experience before. In this perfect blend of modern contemporary and science fiction two girls experience things they never have before, and are forced to step out of their comfort zones.

My personal opinion of this book is that I actually ended up really liking it. Firstly, because I love all of Lauren Oliver's books, I just really like her writing style. And secondly, because it was just super intriguing and interconnecting and I just couldn't put it down. I really appreciated all the different characters and seeing them from different perspectives, and getting that much more development out of each side. I also really loved Lauren's use of description and how real her settings seemed and of all the problems they faced.

The plot and settings of this book were both really intricate and both served a major purpose. Lyra's parts were first mainly at Haven, the research institution, and then all around the nearby area. Haven was a major setting in Lyra's POV because she spent almost her whole entire life there, and everything she ever knew came from that place. Haven played a major part in Replica because it is what brought the two perspectives together. Haven has so many different levels, that Lauren was forced to create and analyse. As in the personal and emotional level, the physical level, and the scientific level. What goes on in Haven is kept top secret so very few people in these two novels actually knew the truth, and the truth is what everything is built on. I especially love how the plot forced the two characters together, but that even after they met they had completely different perspectives and opinions. I also really liked how the settings that both characters visited were in both their points of views and you got to see a bigger picture because of it.

I also really enjoyed this book because of the characters. Gemma had such an easy going and relatable personality and character. I personally liked her more, because her portion of the book was more contemporary and also a lot of self-discovery. At first she was like a spoiled princess with some problems and problems with her dad not always being around, but as the book progressed we got to see so much more of her character. I really enjoyed all the people she met along her journey like Pete, Lyra, and Jake. Some of the characters could've had a bigger role and more plot leading up but overall the Gemma half was pretty good. On Lyra's side I actually enjoyed the characters less but the story more, it was really interesting. Lyra never wanted to get out of Haven or go anywhere at all, and then she was forced to. Her views on everything are very different from Gemma's and since I read Gemma first I knew some of the things that were going to happen, but not the full story. Also the characters in Lyra's POV were a lot more interesting because we got to actually see life inside Haven and what all the nurses did and how the Replicas were treated.

In conclusion, I would say that I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this book, and while reading each half was so intrigued I could barely put it down. Usually when I read a pretty decent book (so most) I can't put it down, but it really depends on the writing style. I really love all of Lauren's work, probably her others more than this one but I really did enjoy Replica. I would probably give this book about an 8.4/10 stars because I really did like Lauren's style, but some of the content wasn't as interesting as I would have liked and a bit cliche. The Gemma half was about a spoiled girl with daddy issues who was self-conscious about her body and wanted to break the rules a little bit. While Lyra's half was a bit less cliche it still followed the major plot of someone escaping a prison, or somewhere were they were raised and seeing the real world for the first time. Even though as I mentioned there were a lot of cliches, Lauren's writing style just makes everyone more interesting. She makes everything more emotional and also really funny at times.I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi and contemporary both. Also mainly towards people who are age 14-18 because it does deal with some very mature issues, but also because it features some scenes that some youngsters would not understand, it really is YA.  Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like both sci-fi and contemporary/romance but also like the whole clone thing, because that is a big part of this book. It was also super interesting how it was two books in one and you got to see different scenes but also some of the same from different perspectives.


If you read this book or have anything to say about it comment below! :) Thanks so much for reading! Talk to you soon! <3
- As Always, Kat

(Btw Lauren Oliver's amazing book, Before I Fall, is a movie and it's coming <--  out March 3rd, 2017. I am super super excited guys!!!)

February Tbr:

Hey Guys! Today I'm deciding to begin the New Year, February (after exams), with lots more posts. So today I will be posting a tbr for February. Yes let's just completely skip December and January, why not. Anyways I'll just quickly try to summarise what I read in January. Hopefully I'll remember enough to post some reviews sometime soon. I am also back on the Harry Potter train and I will be starting the 7th and final book right after exams. I am actually going to watch the 6th movie right now! So first things first...

What I read in January (according to Goodreads):
- Lady Midnight, By: Cassandra Clare
(Omg this book... It was actually amazing. I have no idea why I didn't read it earlier but if you haven't you really should)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (started again, lol)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (just finished two days ago)

I'm finally getting onto the Harry Potter bandwagon, I actually really like the world!
Anyways so now getting into my tbr:


1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (GRR: 4.61)
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Bloomsbury
(I will finally read the last book of the series soon, yay)

2. King's Cage (GRR: 4.26)

Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Harperteen
(Omg I am sooo excited for this book!!! I pre-ordered it like two months ago and have not so patiently been waiting for it since Glass Sword came out like a year ago. It comes out February 7th, 2017 and is the final book of the Red Queen trilogy.)





3. Six of Crows (GRR: 4.45)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
(I have wanted to read this book ever since Crooked Kingdom came out in September and all I heard was how good it was. I have heard a lot of great things about this series but I'm not quite sure if it's a duology or trilogy. If I like it #4 on my tbr will probably be Crooked Kingdom. Also the actual books are so beautiful like the pages are either red or black tinted and they're sooo pretty, I want them!)



4. Crooked Kingdom (GRR: 4.64)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
(#2 in the Six of Crows duology, and sooo gorgoeus!)









5. I'll Give you the Sun (GRR: 4.14)

Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Dial Books
( I heard a lot about this book last year for some reason, even though it came out in 2014. I've heard many great things and it is actually the book club book for February. And yes, I'm still in book club, even though I haven't posted one in ages, sorry :( )





Thank you so much to all my wonderful readers for sticking by me! Love you all, hope you're having a great 2017 so far. And I'm curious, what are you reading?
- Kat