Top Ten Tuesday: best / worst series enders

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.


This week is about the best and worst endings to series, and I'll give you some of both plus another category. It's actually kind of hard because there are many awesome series that are still ongoing or that are finished but I haven't gotten to the end of them yet. To be honest, the number of series I can't use because I still haven't read That Last Book makes this really hard >.<


Best series enders

Curse Workers series, by Holly Black

I know, you must be sick to the death of me blabbing about it in my TTT posts. I just really liked the ending, though I sure wouldn't mind more books about Cassel and Lila ;) 

Wicked Lovely series, by Melissa Marr


I really like the structure of this series. Books 1, 3, and 5 are about the 'main' couple while book 2 and 4 follow secondary characters but still relevantly figure into the whole thing. Book 5 just ties it all up nicely and I was satisfied with where the characters ended up.

Night Angel Trilogy, by Brent Weeks

I read the whole thing in a about a week and it's just... epic. The characters come so far and develop so much and the scope of it all is just... wow. I wouldn't have minded a bit more of an aftermath but I actually like that there's some openness at the end.

Soul Screamers series, by Rachel Vincent

I was really scared of how it would all end and it was certainly different from what I expected. I really liked it though. There was enough pain to make it all seem worth it but not so much that it left in me in book trauma.

Iron Witch trilogy, by Karen Mahoney

This is a really cool mixture of fairy lore, alchemy, demons, and romance. The ending rounded it off well and left me with a feeling of catharsis. This series is not getting enough love...

Demon's Lexicon series, by Sarah Rees Brennan

SRB's writing is hilarious. But she can also make you feel allll the heartache. Well, my heart was definitely sore by the end of the books, but I think the ending was realistic while still ending on a positive note.


Worst series enders

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games), by Suzanne Collins

This seems so harsh. I don't think I disliked this ending as much as many others did, but I just... the whole book wasn't really my thing. I don't remember it all that well because I only listened to it as an audiobook once, almost 2 years ago. But I think the first one was by far the strongest in the trilogy.

I dunno, there are also a couple other series enders I felt kind of indifferent about, or I'm not sure if they count because there are spin-offs. Off the top of my head, I can't think of an ending to a series I really hated.


Series enders that were 'bad' because I wish there was more


Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake
On the one hand, I like that it's a duology. On the other hand... somehow I got this feeling of unfinished business. I wish there was more. Or maybe I just want to go back into Cas' snarky brain.

If I Stay / Where She Went, by Gayle Forman

Again, not sure if this belongs in here. The ending was realistic and gave the reader a good idea of what Adam and Mia's lives might be like from there onwards. But I think Forman could just as well write another book that shows them 2 or 3 years down the road.

The Infernal Devices, by Cassandra Clare

Now don't get me wrong. I liked Clockwork Princess. It made me cry more than once. But that epilogue... mpf. I liked the first part of the epilogue but then it was just all too... neat. It was really close to feeling cheating (not relationship-cheating), like having your cake and eating it too. Maybe I was just braced for more pain? Maybe I just want more Tessa / Will? I really enjoyed the glimpse of them I got in the 4th installment of the Bane Chronicles. And I know there will be several spin-offs more. But just... it won't be the same.


So... that's that. Do you have any glaring disagreements? Fist bumps? Also, link me up to your own posts so I can slam my head into my desk because of all the obvious choices I forgot about ;)

Top Ten Tuesday: books I would like to see made into a movie

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.

This week's topic is the top ten books we would like to see made into a movie... in a world where movie studios don't butcher our precious books.


Honestly? I'm not even so crazy about books I like being made into movies. Not because of casting choices and the like but because when I read, that already is like a movie in my head. I also never imagine characters modeled on certain actors - they look a certain way in my head, but it's not like any real people I know.
That being said, here are ten books/series I would like to see made into a movie or TV series, in no particular order.

Laini Taylor - Daughter of Smoke and Bone
There actually is talk of a movie! But anyway, it'll probably be years until it comes out. The world building here is just so amazing - I would love to see Karou's Prague and the exotic places she goes to, as well as Eretz of course! The special effects/make-up would have to be out of this world amazing to pull it off though.

Kendare Blake - Anna Dressed in Blood
This would actually be cool as a series! It would mean more time to develop characters, plus new episodes could be written, for instance about some of the ghosts Cas hunted before he met Anna. It would be awesomely creepy!

Cassandra Clare - The Infernal Devices
I know it's been optioned with the same studio that made City of Bones, but again, it'll take forever until there's a movie - if there is. I would love to see it though! I'm a sucker for Victorian London :)

Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus
Okay, this is pretty much impossible to make into a movie, partly due to the narrative style and how much it relies on language as a medium, but wouldn't it be epic? It would be like 12 hours but whatever - while I was reading, I so wished I could see the circus for real and walk among the tents!

Holly Black - The Curse Workers trilogy
I know I feature this series all the time in my top ten lists! But it just somehow has a cinematic quality to it. It would have to be sharp, with quick cuts, an a lot of light and shadows - sort of in the style of old film noir movies!

Stephen King - The Dark Tower series
Definitely would have to be a series, this is a couple thousand pages too long for movies. But god it would be soooo amazing! But Stephen King would have to have a lot of say on the set or it wouldn't work. Or maybe the scope is too big and the series is better off staying a book? Hm...

Kim Harrison: The Hollows series
Too epic for a movie - this would have a to be a series! I'd love to see Jenks, Rachel, and Ivy on the screen! And Kisten *gets all nostalgic* I don't think it'll happen though. I remember Kim Harrison saying a few years back that so far she always declined offers from producers and the like.

Lia Habel - Dearly, Departed
Steampunk costumes, airships, and zombie battles! I would love to see this amazing mixture of Victorian and digital age! It's somehow like being in the future and in the past at the same time. And it would be great visually!

Melissa Marr - Wicked Lovely series
There's also been talk of a movie or TV series but I have no idea where that's at. It's one of my top favorite fairie series though so I'd love to see it on the screen! The characters are some of my top favorites :)

Anonymous - The Book with No Name (the Bourbon Kid series)
This simply because it would be batshit crazy. Quentin Tarantino would have to direct it. It would be funny and gruesome at the same time.

I'm not sure that those are the top most amazing-est picks I could have made. In fact, I bet that I'll check out other blogs and think 'damn, how could I forget?!' - so link me up, and let me know what you think of my picks :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters I would crush on

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.


This week's topic is: Top Ten Characters I would Crush on... if I were also a fictional character

 So... I guess this is kinda a book boyfriend post? Though I think the idea of 'if I were also a fictional character' sort of changes things around a bit. It means we know less about them than we do as readers? Not sure... anyhow, here are ten of my favorite unfortunaltely-not-real boys.

1. Varen Nethers, from Kelly Creagh's Nevermore
   Yup, I've put him in this kind of post before. He'd creep me out but I'd also feel very, very attracted to him. I just love dark and artsy and literate and damaged mysterious guys >.<


2. Will Herondale, from Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices
   I finished Clockwork Princess on Sunday and I just fell for him all over again. I have never read a character quite like him. He's inifinitely dedicated to those he loves and he has a wicked sense of humor.


3. Seth, from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series
   He's a long-term book boyfriend. I really liked him from the beginning and the way he treated Ash in a very respectful, open and honest way. He stays true to himself through it all and manages to acquire his own kind of power, and he always listens to all sides.


4. Cas Lowood, from Kendare Blake's Anna Dressed in Blood
   I just finished Girl of Nightmares and I'm crushing on Cas (or Theseus Cassio) again! Snarky. Self-deprecating somehow, but also very confident. Simultaneously sharp and insightful and blind in some respects. Determined. I don't know, I just realized I really missed his voice while reading.


5. Adam, from Gayle Forman's If I Stay
   Guitar-playing song-writing genius. He was also willing to do anything, go to any lengths for his girl. I liked that! From the way their sound was described, I'd also love his band.


6. Stephen, from Cat Winters' In the Shadow of Blackbirds
   This one releases today and I just felt with Mary Shelley and Stephen so much! He's a great person and what happened to him is awful. Can't really say more than that, just go read the book!


7. Ash, from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series
   Well... he's an ice prince of fairie with wicked sword skills. He's also loyal and sarcastic.
   Are you guys starting to see a pattern?


8. Kaidan, from Wendy Higgins' Sweet Evil
   He's a case of 'I'd crush on him but I'd eventually not really pursue him'. I'd watch from afar. Because even though I'd be attracted to him like mad, self-preservation would kick in. Or so I'd hope :P


9. Kisten, from Kim Harrison's The Hollows series
   Yeah, I still mourn Kisten... I haven't read him in a while but I really really liked him. Much of it comes from the way vampires are constituted in that series.


10. It's actually hard to pick these guys because once you think about it, if you just met them like that you might well not like them that much, or ultimately stay away. Because if you're not reading them, you don't see into their heads. Hm. Anyhow, here are a few more: Morpheus from A.G. Howard's Splintered, Cassel from Holly Black's Curseworkers, Alex from A.L. Weatherly's Angel series, Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, Adrian from Richelle Meads' Bloodlines, Ash from Black City by Elizabeth Richards.

 Yeah, I'm aware that I cheated a bit. And I must confess sometimes I like the guys in how they fit with their girls. Doesn't mean I'd personally get along with them or want them in my life. I am probably taking these lists way too seriously :P
Anyhow, show me some of your crushes!

Stacking the Shelves: in which I show my face with the Princess

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase all the books we got in the past week. Those can be bought, won, gifted, for review, borrowed, print or ebooks... no matter, just share what you got :)

Well, this week was both slow and at the same time awesome for me! Because of this:

Please excuse my unkemptness! I spent Good Friday in my PJs, aka ratty band shirt and oversized hoodie, haha ^^' But I FINALLY got my copy of Clockwork Princess on Thursday afternoon! Not that I preordered it months ago but amazong was being an ass or anything -__-'' And now that I finished Cat Winters' wonderful In the Shadow of Blackbirds, I can read it :D I'm a little scared though... it's going to break my heart either way :/

The only other book I got is Hamlet, and I actually bought it last week but forgot to put it into my haul. I need it for one of my classes, and it will be my first time reading it. Which is sort of embarrassing considering that I'm a postgrad student of English Literature. But I actively avoided the play this far - Shakespeare's tragedies are too good; they tear me up inside. Just think of Othello and Macbeth! That's why I read more of his comedies. Anyway, I got myself the Arden edition because I like their notes and introductions.

goodreads

I know what the play is about of course but I'm fuzzy on the details so I'm actually looking forward to reading it now! I'll get to it some time next week.

I haven't been very active post wise and the main reason for that is that I was sick from Monday afternoon to Friday morning. I found it hard to focus with the fever I had and couldn't stare at a screen or book too long because my eyes started to hurt.

But I posted a new review Friday night. It's for Florence by Ciye Cho, a mermaid book that I enjoyed a lot.

So... thoughts on my haul? My silly face? The books (no spoilers please)? Also, happy Easter to all!! May the chocolate bunnies be with you ^^ And please share links to you own haul!

Top Ten Tuesday: books I HAD to have and still haven't read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.

This week is about the Top Ten books we just HAD to have... but are still sitting on the shelf unread.

I admit that I sometimes have that problem, but at the moment I'm actually not too bad with my physical books. I have unread ones but they weren't OMG I need this right now!!! books. But my kindle is a whole different story... my resistance to buying ebooks is much lower because of cheap deals and freebies. I could cry at all the awesome when I scroll through what I have and sort of want to read it all at once...

1. My physical copy of Wither by Lauren DeStefano.
   I really want to start this series! But I bought this one in December and still haven't gotten to it somehow...


2. My physical copy of Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter.
   I really enjoyed the first book and was annoyed when I had to wait for the matching paperback edition. But now I have the sequel problem, aka 'what the heck happened at the end of book 1 again?'


3. Easy, by Tammara Webber
   I bought the ebook back before it was picked up by Penguin, but still haven't read it. In my ebook flood, I sort of forgot I owned it ^^' I hope to get to my many NA reads soon...


4. Flight, by Alyssa Rose Ivy
   I actually have quite a few of her books! But I just haven't gotten around to them yet because of review books and because I tend to privilege printed ones.


5. Untouched, by Jus Accardo
   There's really no excuse for not reading this one! It's a novella, for crying out loud!


6. Fallen Too Far, by Abbi Glines
   Another one I really want to read after all those reviews! I feel like I only bought it a couple weeks ago, but now we're already waiting on book 3?!


7. Dare You To, by Katie McGarry
   I was so excited when I got approved for it on NG! But I haven't gotten around to it yet. Soon though, since it's out in April!


8. The Eternity Cure, by Julie Kagawa
   Same. Though I haven't had it that long.


9. Masquerade, by Cambria Hebert
   I read the kindle sample and fell in love! I HAD to have it! But then review books happened and somehow I never seem to get to it >.<


10. The Infernal Devices Manga
    I really wanted it as soon as the first volume collection was out! I mean, Will and Tessa to actually gaze at!!! But it's still unread. Even though I love manga. I'm weird...

So, that's it from me! What books you had to have like right this instant are still collecting dust on your shelves?

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

Today is already the last day of the Top Ten event hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun,  Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and Jaime from Two Chicks on Books and Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.

Since this is also a week of looking forward, this last day's topic is about the books we're most excited to read next year. And again, it's very hard to limit that to only 10...
This list is without a couple books I'm excited about but already have ARCs for, though I haven't read them yet.


  Splintered, by A.G. Howard
I heard about Splintered ages ago and was immediately intrigued. A dark retelling of Alice in Wonderland! And now I keep reading all those amazing reviews and just can't wait to see for myself what it's like and whether I prefer Jeb or Morpheus... 


Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare
Will Herondale. That is... well, not all, but a great deal of it. Will breaks my heart like few book boys can. I would have included him in my book boyfriend post yesterday, but I read Clockwork Prince in 2011. I hurt. I hurt so much I actually cried ugly tears past midnight on Christmas. I just need to know how it all ends, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Will/Tessa though I don't see how it could happen. Don't get me wrong, I like Jem too. He's a wonderful guy, and I don't doubt that he loves Tessa and would do anything for her. I just like Will more and feel that I understand him better.


With All My Soul, by Rachel Vincent
I'm fairly new to this series, meaning I read it all in 2012, but I feel very bittersweet about it ending. I have grown to love Kaylee, Tod, Sabine, Emma, and the others so much! I think there will be a happy ending, though not one without heartbreak, but I will be sad no matter what because I'll have to say goodbye to the world Rachel Vincent created. I'll actually have to say goodbye to two of her worlds, because Oath Bound will be released in April as well. (Did that count as cheating?)


Dance of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin
 After the way Masque of the Red Death ended, I am extremely curious about and somewhat wary of the sequel. The writing will be phenomenal, I'm not worried about that. But nothing good could possibly be in store for Araby in a world as destroyed as hers, or could there? I hope she and Will can work things out, and I hope Elliott will deboard the airship before it lands *ahem*. I guess you can tell who I'm rooting for...


The Indigo Spell, by Richelle Mead
I thought this would be a trilogy, with The Indigo Spell concluding it all, but I recently heard that there will be more books. I am not at all annoyed with that, because I love this series even more than I did Vampire Academy. It's a bit more... grown up? Also, I really enjoy seeing it all from the alchemyst's point of view. Though how much longer Sydney's POV will be alchemyst-conform remains to be seen. Not all that much, is my guess...
Also: Adrian Ivashkov. Enough said.


The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, by Holly Black
Yup, this one does not have a cover yet. But I've wanted it for the better part of a year already. It'll be out in September. It shares its name with one of Holly Black's short stories that I've read... and re-read. I love that story, and I just can't wait to read a whole novel set in that world! I hope Dante will be in it. He was only a subsidiary character, but I really liked him. I also hope that the cover will be revealed soon!


Sweet Peril, by Wendy Higgins
Kaidan Rowe. Not the only reason I want this book asap, but an important one - especially since we were lucky enough to read a couple scenes from his POV. However, Sweet Evil also had a great heroine in Anna and an incredibly intriguing world that I miss. I'll definitely re-read it before digging into Sweet Peril when it comes out. May the Neph rebellion start soon!


A Darkness Strange & Lovely, by Susan Dennard
I loved Something Strange & Deadly to pieces, and I can't wait to read more of Eleanor and the Spirit Hunters' adventures! Susan Dennard posted a few teasers during NaNoWriMo, so I already know that there will be an airship crash in Egypt, and that part of it takes place in Paris. Yay! And there will be more Daniel.


Phoenix, by Elizabeth Richards
After pining for Black City for a year and then finally getting to read it, I'm already waiting... again. Thank god the sequel will be out in June rather than November. I really need more of Ash and Natalie and the Darklings! Elizabeth Richards dystopian world is just so intriguing, I simply need more of the conflict and plot and romance...


Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, by April Genevieve  Tucholke
Bad, bad boy. The description already makes it clear that River is a liar... but is he demonic in nature, too? And I'll have to wait until August to find out! Dark crumbling houses. Cliffs. Sea. Kisses in cemeteries. A boy crooked smile and a taste for coffee. Dear book fairy, let there be ARCs on NetGalley or Edelweiss...


Honorable mentions:
Gameboard of the Gods, by Richelle Mead 

The Eternity Cure, by Julie Kagawa (I dislike the cover change)

Gods and Monsters #3, by Kelly Keaton

Angel Fever, by L.A. Weatherly

Nevermore #3, by Kelly Creagh


Those last three have no covers, and in some cases also no titles yet. I just hope they really do come out next year, and not in 2014... 

What do you think of my picks, and what are you excited for in 2013? 

Stacking the Shelves: Dystopian & Steampunk Edition

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted at Tynga's Reviews that allows us to showcase all the bookish goodies we got in the past week. These can be print books, ebooks, bought books, borrowed ones, review books, swag... you got it, you share it.


Books I had ordered that finally arrived:

Black City, by Elizabeth Richards
Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The Infernal Devices Manga: Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare (illustrator: HyeKyung Baeck)
Parasol Protectorate Box (books 1-5), by Gail Carriger


If you've been following this blog for any amount of time you know how much I've been CRAVING Black City!! I got it yesterday and I'm already more than halfway through. You can see the sticky notes. I got Divergent today on a whim. I was feeling sad (I'll explain later) and buying books in a physical store makes me happy. I've wanted the Infernal Devices manga ever since it was first announced - I love the series and I love manga, so... perfect combination. I've also been meaning to read Gail Carriger's books for forever so when I saw a boxset (at a great price) would be out, I preordered it. I need more steampunk in my life.


From Netgalley:



Dance of Shadows, by Yelena Black
Elemental: The First, by Alexandra May


Bought:



The Secret of Ella & Micha, by Jessica Sorensen


For a blog tour:



The Breakaway, by Michelle Davidson Argyle

What did you get this week?