2 Diva's Bookish Discussion - Allegiant Release Party

Sunny and  I went to the book release party for Allegiant, the 3rd and last installment to the Divergent series. It was held in the Dymocks store in the city and we sat in front of a stage where 2 hosts spoke to us about the new book. We were greeted with cupcakes with each faction symbol on it and a gift-bag with 2 posters, faction badges, an Allegiant t-shirt and a letter from Veronica Roth herself. 

We also went through a little quiz and each person who got an answer right got to pick a prize which consisted of well-known books. I sadly didn't get chosen to answer a question but Sunny was luckier than me. Some fans cam dressed up and also won a $30 Dymocks gift voucher. 

Sunny won this:

Amongst the fans, Sunny and I saw some familiar faces from the previous book event we went to for Penguin Teen.

Overall I love going to book events because it's nice seeing other fans and feeling like you're a part of a strong community. It's also good because we meet other bloggers who are in a Australia and get the latest bookish news. I think book stores need to hold more events because it's not very often that we get to them. I have already started reading Allegiant  but I'm trying to take it slow as it's the last book and I don't want the series to end but stay posted as my review will most likely be up soon. 

{Review} The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Review - May contain minor spoilers to those who have not read the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson series

I am lost for words. I think I've forgotten how much I love and adore this series. I loved this series so much I even missed all the characters. And let's not forget, Rick Riordan put all his fans through Tartarus by leaving us on the worst cliff hanger in the universe. So as soon as it was out in stores I bought it and I immediately started reading and then I see this:

Rick has some serious spunk...

I just never want this series to end! Rick just continues to amaze me with his incredible detail with the plot line. Not many author's can pull off such a heavily based mythological themed book without it becoming an info dump! You don't have to be a fan of Greek Mythology to be able to read this. Reading this series is like a learning experience, you learn so much about the Greek Gods and mythology it's crazy how it doesn't end up feeling like you're in class. Once you start reading there is no going back, Percy Jackson is the best series to introduce you to this amazing genre!

Rick Riordan is the master of writing mythological based stories.

House of Hades is the continuation of the epic journey that Percy and his friends have set out for them. Each character is pushed to the limit and relationships are tested. It was definitely by far my most favourite book in the Heroes of Olympus series so far and I cannot wait to see what's installed for us in the next novel. Why does it have to be a year!!!

Characters:
Obviously Percy and Anabeth will forever be my favourite characters. I miss Grover so much! It just feels like their trio is sort of incomplete. At first I didn't like the new characters in this series but they have grown on me as we get to know them a little more.

I absolutely hated Piper at the start and I still don't like her but not as much. She is  a lot less whiny and a lot more stronger. She has learnt how to use her abilities and accepted that she is the child of Aphrodite.

Jason is too perfect for me, he just doesn't seem to have any flaws and I don't have a good reason as to why I don't like him. I just don't! I think if we knew more of Jason's past I would like him. It's the fact that we started with Percy from the very beginning (gee he was only 12!) and we followed him along as he grew up. All these new character kind of popped up out of no where and it felt like they were intruding.

For me Frank was always just there...but he proved himself a lot in this book and he is much stronger but I just feel his character is a little bland. We need to know more of his back-story.

I LOVE Leo and even more in this book. Something crazy happens in this book and he is less of a 7th wheel which is great! He belongs more to the group and they realise how much they need him. He always manages to lighten the mood and he is just so funny! He just has the best lines and I swear he could easily be a comedian.

The two children of Hades (or Pluto, however you want it) I love. Hazel is badass and she becomes really powerful in this book. I always liked Nico but now I just love him! He is such a sad character and we see who he really is in this book. This book explains why he was always the odd one out. These two children were so vital to the quest. I hope in the next book we get a Nico chapter!!!

Overall I adored this book!!! All the anticipation was worth it and then when I bought it, it ended up being cheaper! Each and every character had a role to play and they were tested in their own ways. I just wish I didn't read it so quickly!!! I'm forever grateful it didn't end on another cliff hanger but I truly fear what Rick has installed for us next time round. (I think we got lucky) If you haven't already read this series you are crazy because you are missing out on so much!

If I could have rated it higher it would have been 10 stars.

Tag: The Book Sacrifice

Hey guys it's been a while. Just as a little update I've been reading House of Hades but I'm trying to read really slowly so it doesn't end! Anyways from the post title you can tell this is yet another tag. I got tagged ages ago by Kayla from The Bookish Owl and so I decided to do it now. I've been meaning to do it for a while now but I recently moved school and I've been very busy, especially with exams in 2 weeks.

This tag is created by Ariel Bissett who is one of the many booktubers I watch. Many vloggers have done this tag but of course, us bloggers can too! Here's her video:

Disclaimer: I just wanted to say that I took the scenario's from Kayla's blog and this tage is basically for everyone to join in!

Scenario 1:

An Over-Hyped book: Let’s start this off with a Zombie Apocalypse! Let’s say you’re in a book store, just browsing, when BAM! ZOMBIES ATTACK. An announcement comes over the PA System saying that the military has discovered that the zombies’ only weakness is over-hyped books. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you really hated do you start chucking at the zombies knowing that it will count as an over-hyped book and successfully wipe them out?!

Vampire Academy!

I don't know why I didn't like this book because I love the vampire genre! Maybe it was because I was reading it on my phone but my friend and I were reading it together and she didn't like it eiher. I have heard so many good things about this series and I know it's going to be a movie but I just hated the main character Rose (or whatever her name was). I found her really cocky and I could just not relate to her at all! At first I even thought she was a guy and then I thought she was a lesbian (not that I have anything against that) but I just found it so confusing! I don't know, should I give it another chance?

Scenario 2:

A Sequel: Let’s say you’ve just left the salon with a SMASHING new haircut and BOOM: Torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?

The Elite

I have to agree with Kayla on this one. As you know from my review this one left me with incredibly mixed feelings! America just annoyed the hell out of me and I just found her character was so different from the first one. I think the final novel will be the deciding point on whether I like the series or not. I just had so many problems and I found that the first one was so much better.

Scenario 3:

A Classic: Let’s say you’re in a lecture and your English teacher is going on and on about how this classic changed the world, how it revolutionized literature and you get so sick of it that you chuck the classic right at his face because you know what? This classic is stupid and it’s worth detention just to show everyone how you feel! What Classic did you chuck?

To Kill A Mockingbird

A lot of people have said they liked it but I hated it. I think it's because of the fact that it was required reading and anything we read in class the teacher shreds it to bits. I don't enjoy dissecting everything and wondering what techniques they used or what was the message the author was trying to convey to the audience! I just seriously disliked this book! But I guess I'm not a huge fan of classics anyways.

Scenario 4:

Your least favourite book of life!: Let’s say that you’re hanging out at the library when BAM global warming explodes and the world outside becomes a frozen wasteland. You’re trapped and your only chance for survival is to burn a book. What is the book you first run to, your least favourite book of all life, what book do you not fully regret lighting?

Nothing Yet!!!

I haven't found a book yet that I have extremely hated! I think that's a good thing and I think blogging has enabled me to choose good books. 

So here was The Book Sacrifice tag. I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you're a blogger I recommend this tag. It's loads of fun! Thank you Kayla for tagging me!

I bought HOUSE OF HADES!!!

Yes I know what you're thinking! As soon as I knew that House of Hades came out yesterday (and yes I've been counting down) I pretty much ran to book store (scaring the absolute hell out of the workers) and grabbed the nearest copy, which was actually really close to the doors because they had stacks of copies.

The lady was like, "we only got these in stores an hour ago and I've already sold 10 copies. I knew it was popular but I didn't know it was this popular!"

This is the cover we get in Australia:

I was really pleased because it was actually quite cheap for a new release. It was $17 which is pretty cheap in Australia since they're usually $20!

But I'm in somewhat of a dilemma here as I also bought The Fall of Five which is the 4th instalment to the I am Number Four series and both these books ended on cliff hangers so obviously I don't know which one to start reading. I had to wait pretty much a year for both of them and I'm just so torn! I'm leaning more towards House of Hades because the cliffhanger was worse in the last novel and let's face it...I love Percy. 

BUT I don't want to read it too fast because what if there is another cliff hanger? Then I have to wait another year!!! But then I don't want to be accidentally spoiled...AAAAH so many feels, so many decision!!!

The Elites by Natasha Ngan

‘There is a rumour that the Elites don’t bleed.’

Hundreds of years into the future, wars, riots, resource crises and rising sea-levels have destroyed the old civilisations. Only one city has survived: Neo-Babel, a city full of cultures – and racial tension.

Fifteen-year-old Silver is an Elite, a citizen of Neo-Babel chosen to guard the city due to her superior DNA. She’d never dream of leaving – but then she fails to prevent the assassination of Neo Babel’s president, setting off a chain of events more shocking and devastating than she could ever have imagined. Forced to flee the city with her best friend Butterfly (a boy with genetically-enhanced wings), Silver will have to fight to find her family, uncover the truth about Neo-Babel and come to terms with her complicated feelings for Butterfly.

Packed full of adventure, romance, exoticism and the power of friendship, The Elites is a highly compelling and beautifully written novel from a supremely talented debut author.

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to The Five Mile Press for giving me this book*

Review - Spoiler Free
This book was awesome! I hate writing reviews for books I loved because I never know what to say and I can never put thoughts into words so I'm really sorry if this review is a hot mess. To start off this review I just wanted to comment on the cover. It is so cool and probably one of the best covers I've seen recently. I'm so glad I requested this book and I'll tell you why...

The world-building for this novel was perfectly done. It's really important for books in the dystopia genre to have a clear world set-up. Sometimes I found it a little difficult to picture because it is completely unique to the books I've read in this genre although the writing and description of the world was still brilliant. This factor didn't lower my rating in any way. 

The characters in this book were unlike any I have ever read. Each had great supporting back-stories which created a sort of backbone to there personalities. Butterfly (Silver's best friend) had a very tragic past and the friendship they shared together was very strong. A lot of the secondary characters had a major influence on the plot which I liked because every character had an effect. Sometimes I felt like Silver was a little bland and boring but her character grew throughout the story and she grew stronger at the end.

A lot of the issues in the story is what I think we still face today. There was heavy racism and it mattered where you came from. These were some of the issues in which Silver was faced as she was a Red, and Reds were looks down upon in society. The story had a bit of history as to how Neo-Babel was created and it was interesting how the author created it. We had the familiar 'controlling government' which is very common in dystopians now but it was still unique to every other one.    

Overall I thought this was an enjoyable read which you should definitely take time to read. It is written in third person throughout this book which sometimes annoyed me but I got used to it quickly. There was a constant changing of locations and the focal point wasn't always on Silver which was okay but sometimes it confused me. For debut author, Natasha Ngan did a wonderful job for her first novel and I can't wait to see what other stories are to come. 

My final rating: