Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads : Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

Cinder is set quuuiiiittttteeeee a while in the future. Like , more than 1000 years if I remember right. Actually , I don't remember at all but it's a long time until the book takes place. Anyway , Cinder is sorta sci-fi retelling of the Classic story of Cinderella which dates back around 9th Century I think - don't quote me here.

Cinder is a cyborg in the Eastern Common Wealth in a world where the Plague has made a come-back , becoming the most feared thing to the world. Or that could be Lunars.... we'll touch on that later.

Like the story , she lives with her step-mother and step-sisters but unlike the story she is a mechanic. A cyborg which works as a mechanic. Seems pretty fitting.

Lunars ,like I mentioned earlier, are a race which live on the moon - hence the name Lunars , I suppose. Because Luna means Moon and they live on it so that makes them Lunars. Get it? Oh the puns (Is that even a pun? It sorta is but sorta isn't? hmmmm). These people have the power to control peoples mind using bioelectricity , which is kinda scary. Like , ANY of them can force you do something. Like shoot yourself for example - which Queen Levana tries to make Cinder do near the end.

The story basically follows Cinder through her life as she gets to know the Emperor (Prince Kai) and her life slowly gets more and more dramatic because of the Lunars.

Basic story line explained , lets move onto Characters! :

Cinder -like I said- is a cyborg and is one of the main female characters. She is described to have mousy brown hair and to have a boyish figure. Which makes me extremely happy because I do not have a feminine figure either and I can at least share that with her. She is very sassy at times , and basically is working everyday of her life for her 'Family'. I hated all of them. Apart from Peony. Peony made me happy.

Emperor Kai is basically her love interest and I ship it to the max. He is amazing and if he wasn't fictional I would try and kidnap him to make him love me. I seriously would. Basically , he's a royal Harry Styles - just has different looks and way more likable.

Iko is Cinder's only friend. Literally. And she's an android. Iko gave me life. She is me and I am her. Simple as.

PEONY MADE ME CRY! LIKE , WHY! How could Marissa do that to us. I want reasons! She was the sweetest thing and she didn't deserve that. Not at all. She was so kind to Cinder and loved her like a real sister and didn't care that she was cyborg and she just gave me TOO MANY FEELS.

Pearl on the other hand deserved Peony's fate. She was just like Disney's Cinderella Step-sisters and I hated every bit of her. She could've died for all I care and it wouldn't phase me one bit. I didn't like her. Nope. Same to Adri.

 The world in this book wasn't so bad , if you took out the Plague , and the cyborg hating , and the Lunars. I could've dealt with it... probably. But anyway's , the whole of the world is a actually briefly mentioned (I want to know why Queen Camilla is in charge of England. Rule of thumb , each name must be used at least twice in British Monarchy. It would probably be another King William or Queen Victoria or something).

Overall , I gave this book a rating of 5 stars on Goodreads and I put it on my favourite shelf! I loved Cinder with all my heart and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series and maybe write up a review of each of those. Maybe. I would recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi or fantasy. And to those who like the ToG series.

Bye! ,
Bookish Delights x

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Goodreads : Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner.

Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince

Why do I always pick the sad books. WHY! That aside , this book is brilliant and I loved it. Maybe not as much as the other book's I've reviewed , based on the fact that this book wasn't entirely my thing. But I did enjoy it a lot.

As the Summary says , this book is about two teenagers who make a suicide pact because they're depressed. One , is science nerd , Asyel and the other is a former basketball champ , Roman who both find each other after Roman posts a message asking for a suicide partner. This leads to a friendship that turns into more pretty quickly , as they bond through the pact.

I feel awkward writing a review on a book that is about a real serious problem , and so I hope that anything I say will not come off the wrong way.

I loved Aysel. She was really realistic and I found her to be actually very developed , unlike a lot of characters I read about. Her story broke my heart , and her relationship with her mother was actually a lot like mine with my father. She was an amazing character in short.

Roman also broke me... a lot. His story made me cry even more! I felt so bad for him throughout the book and I'm so annoyed that I'm not in the book and that I couldn't help him myself.

I don't want to say much else , because I will go to deep and I will cry. And I probably will spoil it.

So , I have to end it here. Overall , I gave this book a rating of 4 stars and I recommend it to everyone.

Goodbye ,
Bookish Delights x

Top 5 Favourite Books!

Hello again! I am back but this time with a list instead of a review. I thought that just reviews would get a tiny bit boring from time to time , so I decided to do this! Let's hope this is a good idea. Let's do this!

Book 5 - Percy Jackson Series

 

I cant really choose just one out of these , so why not do the entire series! If you don't know what this series is about , It's a book about a boy named Percy Jackson and he's the son of a Greek God. He has to go on many quests with his friends and fights monsters and is just reaallllyyy cool. As-well as sad. A few of the books in the series will make you sob.

Book 4 - Rebel Belle

 

Technically , You should've guessed this , considering my review and all. I don't really think I need to talk about this but I shall link the review here!

Book 3 - Slave Girl

 

Slave Girl is a book in the My Story series. This book made me cry when I first read it , and every time after that I always caught myself trying not to cry. Slave Girl is about a African-American girl's life as a slave in 1959. I'm pretty sure the book tones down what actually happened , but keep in mind this is typically a children's book. It's written as a diary and tells her life basically!

Book 2 - Throne of Glass Series

People. If You have not read this series , you are seriously missing out! Sarah J. Maas is a magician! It's like she put words on a page and then cast a spell or something to make each word feel magical. Celaena Sardothein was an assassin , before she got caught and taken to a mine to work. The king decides to hold a completion and the winner would become his assassin , and the prince chooses Celaena to be his competitor. If I say anymore I will spoil , but It is a must read.

Book 1 - The Game of Love and Death

 

Jesus Christ this book is amazing! I don't know If I'll be writing a review so for now , this will have to do. The Game of Love and Death is a book set in 1937 America between ALOT of characters. For one , Love and Death are personified as people and sometimes they choose to play a game. The game is that the two have to pick a player and they have to fall in love against all odds. If they choose to get together , Love wins. If they don't , Death takes the life of her player. Now , The Players have many things going against them. Considering one is black and one is white , their love story isn't easy.

Thanks for reading , and I hope I've inspired you to read at least one of these.

Goodbye! ,

Bookish Delights x

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Goodreads : Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.

Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. 

Okay , first things first. This book is completely and utterly amazing. I don't think Francesca Zappia could've made it better if she had tried. Second thing , expect to cry.

Alex is a beautiful character and is so well written and honestly I love her so much. She's not perfect which makes her even better , and she knows she has flaws. Though I wouldn't count her schizophrenia as a flaw , more like a quirk. Anyway , she certainly is very entertaining to read about , and I just love how snarky and sassy she is. If I need revenge , I now know to glue their locker shut.

Onto Miles : The Male Lead. Miles came off really moody and not very kind at first , but the more I read the more I began to like him. I began to like his bluntness and his attitude , his backstory really interested me as-well. The German boy who everyone seemed to be afraid off turned out to be my most favourite character. I want him to become real and protect him with my life to be honest... I'm calling this the Nico Syndrom. Named so because of the overwhelming need to protect moody characters.

The Plot really got me into this book. Aside from the plot about the new girl falling in love and stuff , It was a mystery as well. I was always guessing what was real and what was not , but I really wasn't expecting HER to not be real! (You know who I mean if you've read this book) Adding to that , there was a whole myth story as well about a girl who died after the scoreboard fell on top of her at a school reunion , which becomes a huge part of the plot. Basically , this book was Romance + Mystery + YA which makes my little heart complete.

Overall , I gave this book a rating of 5/5 stars on Goodreads! I hope you'll think about at least picking this book up now , and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did if you do. Thanks for reading!

Goodbye,
Bookish Delights x

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkings

Goodreads : Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

I have to admit , I wasn't expecting much from this novel. It totally proved me wrong. This book absolutely blew my socks off and has made me think about judging a book by its hype a lot more.

The reason I didn't practically think I would like this book was because of Harper and the other characters. I thought Harper was going to be a whiny character who couldn't even fight and just got lucky. BUT , I now see that she is just as kick-ass as any fighter. In fact , I'm even going as far as to compare her to a certain Fire breathing Bitch Queen *cough* Celaena Sardothein / Aelin Galathynius *cough*.Harper actually really bugged me at first , especially with the whole lip-gloss thing , but soon I got into her character and found her super relatable. I'm known for having a lot on my plate and stressing myself out , unfortunately. I'm not going to touch on the other characters for fear I'm going to spoil the book any more than I have.

Okay , let's move on from the characters. The plot actually really interested me , instead of getting me mildly interested like I was for the Divergent series (Name dropping... Oops?). The plot was amazing and I don't think I've ever seen a book like it. I'm in love to be completely honest with you. I generally hope that I find my own Ryan or David as well... Maybe minus the Paladin thing. Too much drama!

Overall , I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I gave it a rating of 5 stars on Goodreads and I recommend this to anyone who likes YA Fiction.

Bye! ,
Bookish Delights x

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Goodreads : Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.  

Saint Anything was my first Sarah Dessen book and I don't regret it one bit. In fact , the only thing I regret is not reading this book sooner! 

All the characters were so well done , the little things they did intrigued me and the story line was developed really well. Sydney's and Layla's friendship was actual goals and Mac and Sydney had me rooting for their relationship since the beginning. 

I don't really read a lot of contemporary novels but this might just make me change my mind , the relationships between all the characters varied so much and I think that's what partially drew me in. Sydney's life at home is the saddest thing I've probably read in a while , that isn't fantasy. What with her older brother in prison and everything , and her parents who don't really notice her unless she does something that dissapoints them. And then the relationship she has with the Chatham family , with Layla , Mac and their parents comes in and it just makes you want to become part of their family yourself. I don't know about any of you , but I would definitely join the family pizza business .

And then we come to the topic of Ames , Sydney's brothers best friend. I had a bad feeling about him from the very beginning , and I was right to. He was literally the creepiest character in the book , sucking up to Sydney's parents to make sure he could spend extra time with her and then finding excuses to stay in the house and not leave. I'm so glad he got taken care of at the end and I would've preferred he was hit a little bit harder.

With that , I end this review. I hope you liked it and may have persuaded a few of you to maybe read and buy this book! I rated it 5/5 stars on Goodreads and enjoyed all 417 pages of this book and I hope you do to!

Goodbye ,
Bookish Delights x