Holiday TBR

Long time no see!

This time round I'm not going to make any crazy promises I can't keep because I simply don't have the time to read or review anymore since I'm in my last year of high school. And recently I've been feeling the withdrawal symptoms as I miss all the fun that's happening in the blogosphere.

So here's my holiday TBR list!

1. Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

2. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

4. Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

And sadly for school I have to read these:

So there's my holiday reading and I'm excited (except for the school books). What's on your Christmas holiday list? If you've read any of these, did you enjoy them?

Discussion: What makes a book enjoyable?

Have you ever come across a book where you know the writing is terrible but you can't help but love it? Today I was talking to a couple of my friends and we started talking about a series that we love but the writing is not so spectacular.

If you've read Prince of Wolves, you probably can agree that it's not the best. But I can't help but love it. 

So the question is why?

Sometimes you don't need to have a reason why and it's as simple as you enjoyed the story and the characters. I loved the characters and the dry humour in Prince of Wolves. All in all, your enjoyment falls down to how much your involved with the storyline and the characters I think personally. 

Prince of Wolves in emojis:

Obviously I'm not saying that I can enjoy every book but there are just some where you can excuse the small flaws. 

What is the deal breaker for you? Does the writing have to be amazing for you to enjoy it? Do you read inside a particular genre? 

The Winter Starter Pack

Now that's its going into the colder months I thought it would be cool to share with you how I spend most of my winters! I like to call it the "hibernation mode" which basically means, I never leave my room unless I have to. (school and work) So here's the ultimate Winter Starter Pack for all us book lovers!

• Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate: I know a lot of people don't like tea or coffee so what ever your favourite hot beverage will do. I practically live on tea or hot chocolate during the colder months. There's nothing more satisfying than being in bed with a mug of hot chocolate warming your hands and reading your fave books.
• A cosy spot: Every book lover needs there own special reading spot but during winter it has to be warm! My bed usually works.
• Fireplace: I absolutely love my fireplace and sitting by it while reading is magical. You just get sucked up in your own little world, cocooned in absolute warmth.
• Cosy Pj's: I love my pyjamas and I practically live in them. As soon as I get home from school, BAM I'm somehow in my pj's. Reading while in them is so comfortable. 

If you liked photos like these, follow Bookalicious Delights on Pinterest for more :)

What are your favourite reading spots? Do you like the winter months like I do? Are you a tea or coffee person or neither?

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J Maas
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Release Date: May 5th 2015
Publishers: Bloomsbury 
Pages: 416
Genre: Fantasy
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Review

As soon as I heard of A Court of Thorns and Roses, this was exactly my reaction:

If you recently read my Top Ten Tuesday post, you'd know that Sarah J Maas is one of my favourite authors. She quickly amazed me with her Throne of Glass series with her ability to engage the readers with the amazing worlds she builds. A Court of Thorns and Roses did not disappoint with her new characters and faerie worlds. How does Maas manage to write so many crazy novels at once?

Feyre hunts for her family to survive but once she kills a fae mistaking him for a wolf she is swept into the world of Prythian. As punishment for her wrongdoing she must stay on the estate with the high lord, Tamlin in the Spring Court, but as secrets unravel, the safety of human existence is threatened.

I feel like I've fell in love with Sarah J Maas's writing all over again as I adore each and every character in this book. The characters had so much depth to it and I felt like I knew them personally. I haven't felt so emotionally invested in a story in such a long time as I felt like I was part of the world Maas created. 

Feyre is a bow and arrow wielding huntress that is incredibly strong willed. She did not take any crap from characters and took the insults in strides. Feyre had a great voice as I really got a sense for her hatred towards the Fae. I felt her struggle and her emotional torment between fulfilling her duty by protecting her family or being free and choosing a better life. Never at any point did she give up in trying to do what's right even if it meant making the ultimate sacrifice. And at the end where things got so intense, I felt the desperation. Sarah J Maas's writing is absolute perfection as she does in a way that makes you want to be a part of the story. 

"In our miserable human world a promise was a law; a promise was currency; a promise was your bond" - Feyre 

The fae in this novel were nothing but pure sexiness...Tamlin and Rhysand have sky rocketed to one of the top few on my book boyfriends list. Once again Sarah J Maas has succeeded in creating even more attractive males. This book doesn't let up on the hot and heavy stuff between certain characters and it was almost borderline NA but we can all handle it right? The romance, oh my god. You have to read it to be able to experience the feels I'm going through right now! 

This book has me thinking why aren't all Sarah J Maas's books a TV series or a movie? Her writing is in so much detail it's not hard to translate it onto a movie screen. Unlike Throne of Glass, I din't find it difficult to get into the story. Sorry if my thoughts were a little scattered, this is written at 1:00am because I just can't sleep after finishing that book. If you've read this feel free to discuss it with me! And for those who haven't...buy it now, in hardback. You won't regret it! 

Top Ten Tuesday

1. J. K. Rowling - I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Harry Potter series that first got me into reading in the first place.
2. Rick Riordan - No words can explain how much I love Rick Riordan for bringing Greek mythology to life in the Percy Jackson series. 
3. Stephenie Meyer - I am not ashamed to admit that I actually loved vampires that sparkled at a time. Twilight has received so much hate over the years and twi-hard fans are always being teased but I don't care. I actually loved this series once and I'm not ashamed to still support it. 
4. Sarah J Maas - This author is AH-mazing! Her Throne of Glass series is crazy and she is a master in the fantasy genre. Her writing is so detailed and the world she builds is flawless. 
5. Tahereh Mafi - I really hope Tahereh Mafi writes more because I am simply not satisfied with just the Shatter Me trilogy. I need more!

1. Josephine Angelini - She's another author that sparked my interest for Greek mythology. If you're a fan of that genre I seriously recommend her Starcrossed trilogy. It's an underrated book that needs to get more notice!
2. Wendy Higgins - Sweet Evil is another underrated trilogy which is a pity because it's such a good read! I recommend it if you like the whole angels/demons thing! 
3. Susan Ee - Susan Ee is the author of Angelfall which is such a kickass, apocalyptic book which always gets me out of a slump. I can't wait until the next book comes out this year! 
4. Stephanie Perkins - I am definitely a fan of her contemporary novels and she's one of the authors that got me into that genre. I used to hate contemporary novels because I thought they were boring but now my opinion has changed! 
5. Kasie West - I'm a huge fan of her writing and the characters she creates. I loved Pivot Point and I can't wait to read her other novels! 

So what are your top ten authors? Do we share the same favourites?

Introducing Bookalicious Delights!

Thanks to my amazing friend Laura she has been able to do this great design for me. She has been unbelievably patient with me as she has had to endure my ever changing ideas for this design. One moment I wanted to be self-hosted, and then the next I didn't. One moment I wanted this design, and then another I didn't. She took my indecisive personality in strides and in the end it worked out!

The different stages in her design

My blog is no longer called My Crazy Bookish World, it is now Bookalicious Delights!

Not say I don't love my old design, I just thought it best for a change. If you would like someone to do your design, please don't hesitate to contact Laura. She's amazing to work with and incredibly patient with your ideas.

Just as a side note, my URL will stay the same for now until I change it to the domain name I already bought. I just need to sort out some things with Bloglovin and everything. 

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard {Mini Review}

Author: Victoria Aveyard 
Release Date: February 10th 2015
Publishers: Hachette
Pages: 383
Genre: Dystopia
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository | Hachette

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

Review

Red Queen is such a hard novel to write a review on because I have such mixed feelings about it. I can't say that I didn't enjoy it because I did, I really did but I couldn't help but think that this was a cliche dystopian novel. From the summary I'm sure you can already tell but I was looking for something more.

The world building was well done in Red Queen which is what you need to make a good dystopian. I loved the way Victoria Aveyard described the slum area the Reds lived in since It created such vivid imagery in my head. I could easily picture what everything looked like and I really think it could be a good movie one day. The only thing I would have liked to know more about is the history of how everything got like that. There were many unanswered questions like why there was a divide between each class? If these small little holes were fixed it would be perfect ;) 

I loved Mare as the protagonist! She was so funny and she could be very arrogant at times. But I liked her keen sense of survival and to be honest I think she could have done well in The Hunger Games! She had a strong sense of duty to her family and would do anything to save her family. Mare was very relatable because she always felt second best to her sister and I think a lot of people can relate to that.

The romance didn't completely overtake the storyline which was good. A lot of it was focused on the war between the Reds and Silvers which I liked. I hate it when the romance take over completely like in The Selection. This novel had a good balance between romance and the conflict that's going on. 

I really liked Red Queen but there were a few faults. Not to say I didn't enjoy it and I'm excited to see what happens in the next one. Hopefully all the unanswered questions will be solved then. I definitely recommend it if you feel like a dystopian read at the moment because you will become so invested with the characters.

I give it 3.5 Stars!

Update

So you've probably been wondering where I've been. Especially since I said I was officially back and all but don't worry I haven't vanished. You must think I can't stick to my goals, especially since my New Year's Resolutions were only set about a month ago!

My Crazy Bookish World is undergoing some major changes and my main focus has been on that. It will have a complete name change and design and it's confusing trying to figure out whether I'm moving to Wordpress or not. I easily got lost in the amount of hosting websites and prices and I'm trying to create a solid plan. Laura has been a major help with my design and I don't know how she's put up with me ;) I am a very indecisive person and I think she's figured that out...I'm so excited to show you guys the new name and everything!!!

Currently I'm reading:

And my next upcoming reads I've planned are:

So that's just a little update on me. What's the latest news with you?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish which has a different theme every week.

I thought for a change I'd participate in this fun meme! Today the topic is top ten book related problems

1. No Sleep - Once you get into reading be prepared to lose sleep over it
2. Bookmarks - My worst problem is having no bookmarks! I lose all of them somehow and often the case is I'm reading more than one book. So...I have to resort dog-earing my pages
3. Space - I look at all the popular booktubers and I'm always so envious. They have heaps of books and space!!!
4. Money - I don't know about you but I certainly can't afford to by every book I want.
5. Time - Now that I'm in year 11 I have no time anymore! It's only week 4 and I haven't had a chance at all.
6. Spoilers - I can't stand spoilers and I feel like I have to ban myself from social media to avoid them
7. Judgement - I hate it when you're trying to explain your most favourite book to someone who doesn't read and you can just feel the judgement...
8. Attachments to characters - When you have to remind yourself that they're not real...
9. Bad Books - I hate wasting my time on books that I end up hating
10. The End - I hate that feeling of having to finish the book and return to reality.

Can you relate with me on this? With great books, come great sacrifices.

Blogging has affected my reading

Before I was a blogger it was pretty easy for me to find a book and enjoy it. I could go to a library, pick a random book and simply read it. No muss no fuss!

Since blogging it has affected my reading so much, both in good ways...and bad ways. I find that as my experience for reviewing novels grow, I'm so much more critical. I analyse what I'm reading way too much and I'm worried that it's ruining the ease to find a book.

Nearly every time I go to a bookstore and pick up a book I have to check the goodreads rating or read some reviews for it. Ratings on goodreads doesn't matter to me as much but it does help a lot in making my decision.

I noticed I'm so much more picky and I don't know whether that's a good thing. It means I don't waste time on books I don't like but it also means I don't give many novels a chance. I know I shouldn't worry and it just means my taste has changed over the years but my main issues are the slumps.

My last slump felt endless and I feel like blogging put a lot of extra pressure. With the new year I've decided not to worry as much and let myself enjoy the novels I'm reading but when it comes to reviewing a novel it feels like I'm picking it apart. I always hate it when people do that in movies and it's the same for books.

I know this was a weird discussion but it's been on my mind for a while.

Do you think reviewing books has affected your reading?

{Review} The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: Mara Dyer #1 
Release Date: September 27th 2011
Publishers: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 456
Genre: Paranormal
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Book Depository | Amazon |

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.
There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.
She's wrong.

Review

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer has always been a trilogy I've seen around but never have heard much about it. It was not until Sunny recommended it did I give it a chance and I'm so glad I did!  This novel took me on a whirlwind of emotions as I had to second guess every twist and turn the plot took.

Mara was the only survivor in a tragic accident with her friends. It was a miracle she survived but she didn't come out completely unscathed. She now suffers from severe PTSD from the traumatic experience of losing her friends and boyfriend in the accident. Mara doesn't remember anything from the accident, except from what her parents told her. She and her friends were in an abandoned asylum late at night and it collapsed. That's all that's to it right? Because she has PTSD she sometimes hallucinates and it's a battle to figure out what are hallucinations and what aren't.  

Mara and her family move towns in an attempt to start life anew in a new house and a new school. She thought that after losing her boyfriend that she could never love again, that was until she met a boy who was more alike her than she first thought. 

If I had to sum up this book in one word it would be creepy. Michelle Hodkin doesn't hold back when it comes to describing in detail. She succeeds in creating such vivid imagery and exploring some dark themes that authors tend to avoid. Since it's been ages since I've last read, it's been interesting reading in Hodkin's writing style. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is a perfect read for getting back into the swing of things because it jumps straight into the storyline. 

This book is not predictable. It was exactly what I needed to keep me engaged in the storyline. The whole time I was thinking, "What's going to happen next?" and I could not stop turning the pages. Throughout the novel it's like you're seeing everything as Mara and you never know what's a hallucination and what's reality. It's extremely confusing but in the good kind of way. By the end of the novel there's a bit of a cliffhanger that makes you second guess a lot that happened in the novel and you can't help but start the next novel immediately. So my advice, is to have the whole trilogy when you start this. 

The one thing that I praise this book for, is not having the "No-Parent Syndrome!" You know what I mean right? YA literature is notorious for having it and so many authors fall under the trap. The "No-Parent syndrome" is when the parents are at the beginning of the novel and then suddenly they just disappear and are absent from the whole plot. 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was centred around Mara's recovery from the accident. Her mum and her elder brother are always there for her if not overbearingly. This made the novel so much more realistic and I love how the book wasn't solely about the romance but also about family. It was just small things like this that made it just the perfect balance.

Now I'm sure you've been waiting on my thoughts of the romance! Am I right? Noah Shaw is the love interest in this book and can I just say that he is now my #1 book boyfriend! Let's just take a little look at his description:

“These were the things that added up to Noah that morning, from bottom to top:
Shoes: gray Chucks.
Pants: charcoal tweed.
Shirt: slim cut, untucked, thin and pinstriped dress shirt. Super skinny tie, knotted loose around his open collar, exposing the shadow of a screen-printed t-shirt beneath it.
Days unshaven: somewhere between three and five.
Half-smile: treacherous.
Eyes: blue and infinite.
Hair: a beautiful, beautiful mess.
”
- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer eBook

Has that got you interested yet? Not to mention he has a British accent!!! Noah Shaw is sooooo totally swoon worthy! He is the epitome of 'tall, dark and handsome' which is exactly my type. 

Mara and Noah's relationship was all about the banter. Witty and sarcastic comments thrown back and forth. It was a love/hate relationship at it's best. I'm not going to tell you much more, you're just going to have to read it ;)

In the end The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was a highly enjoyable read. There were a couple plot holes and unanswered questions but I feel like they'll be solved in the next books. It's one of those books that you can't help but love and fall in love with the characters. I definitely recommend it and please comment if you've read it. I need someone to fangirl with!

Do you like paranormal fiction?

Have you read this yet?

I'm back!

So...hey....I know it's been a while. But I'm finally glad to say that

I know I say this every time but I am so sorry for being MIA. Will you forgive me? This has probably been one of the biggest slumps of my life but the end of year 10 proved to be hella difficult. There was so much happening in my last term of school such as formal, exams, camp etc. Ya know, a lot going on! 

Also I've learnt that pushing myself to read just never works. In other words, I took a massive vacation from blogging and reading but even that's got to end sometime. I miss blogging and talking to the wonderful bookish community and now I think I'm ready to tackle 2015! 

But now that it's a new year I think it's only appropriate to set some resolutions. (That I'll actually keep)

So the goals are written down and set in stone:

1. Post regularly - this has always been something I struggle with but I am motivated to commit more time to blogging
2. Participate in some memes - I noticed my blog is so boring and I never do anything fun. Doing some memes might add something to this blog. Any memes you would like to see?
3. Create a new style of reviews - when I first started blogging I mainly took inspiration from how other bloggers wrote their reviews. I think it's time I do something more me, if you know what I mean?
4. Read 50 books this year - I know this doesn't sound like many but I'm going into year 11 and it's going to be hard juggling my time.
5. Start a Pinterest board - I've finally gotten on board with Pinterest and I actually love using it. Pinterest might be a fun way to create something new on my blog.
6. Focus on the AUS community - when I first started out I was always trying to get involved with international bloggers. But over time I've realised that it's so much fun talking to people close to home. The AUS community is so lovely and it's so easy to interact with them. Not to say I'll ditch my close international buddies ;)
7. Comment regularly on other blogs - my commenting game was so poor last year and I am so sorry for neglecting your blogs! I promise to make an effort.
8. Increase followers - this isn't high on my list as I am pretty happy with the followers I got. I'm not so worried about the numbers anymore but mainly the feedback I get. 

9. Bloglovin - I need to keep up to date with all the blog posts so I don't end up with over 100 unread posts

10. Review books - keep up to date with all my review books. My pile keeps getting larger and larger as I prolong the inevitable. 

So this is it! 10 goals for 2015. Sounds reasonable right?

What are your 2015 resolutions for reading or blogging?