Tag Archives: top 10

The Top 10 Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romances In Books

Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is The Top 10 Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romances In Books. I decided to do two lists of 5, one for the dislikes and one for the likes, and while it might have been hard to come up for 10 for one of the other, coming up with 5 for both was pretty easy! Here they are…

Top 5 Dislikes 

1. Instalove

marry-a-man
Preach it, Kristoff.

I think most of this are tired of this. I mean seriously, it doesn’t make sense and it’s not interesting. Insta-attraction is one thing, but instalove, no way.

2. Hot & Heavy

I do not want to read about teenagers (anyone really, but especially teens) who think they need to get it on to show their love. No, no you don’t.

3. The Bad Boy/Girl

wickham-batman
Case in point: Wickham. Terrible human being.

I have NEVER understand why so many girls find bad boys appealing. They’re BAD. They won’t treat you well. They don’t care about safety. BAD BAD BAD. And don’t forget, it can go the other way around; there are plenty of nasty girls out there too.

4. Lying/Cheating/Playing Games/Manipulating

I think this goes with the previous one but seriously, I will never root for a relationship that is steeped in deception rather than trust. There’s nothing romantic about playing games and lying to each other.

5. Badly Done Love Triangles

BOOOOOOOOOOOO.

That’s all I’ve got to say.

Top 5 Likes

1. The Slow Burn

Keep it low and slow, make me want it, need it, feel it!

2. The Good Guy/Girl

peeta2
Always.

I like sweetness. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know this. Be a good person and I will be so happy when you find love!

3. Friends First

emma-approved-emma-knightleyYou know I love Emma and Knightley so. But seriously, I think friendship is an awesome foundation to a romantic relationship because even when you’re upset with that person or don’t feel all the sparks, you’re still friends, and that in itself means something.

4. Quips/Banter

“Do you always read at balls?” “Whenever I can get away with it.” Vin and Elend, ladies and gentlemen. That is Brandon Sanderson doing flirty quips right. We need more of this in books!

5. They Still Have Friends! 

emma-approved-friendsSeriously, don’t shut yourself out from other people. You still need other friends.

What do you like/dislike in romances in books?

The Top 10 Books Contemporary YA Books I Want to Read

Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I Haven’t/Want To Read From X Genre. I don’t read a lot of Contemporary YA, but occasionally there’s one I hear about that I think I might enjoy… but it can take me a while to actually get around to them. Here’s 10 that I’m thinking I’ll check out one day, in no particular order…

1. Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter

gr-gallagher1I’ve been thinking of reading these for a while, but it’s always daunting to start series! But one day, I will, because they just sound fun!

2. Magnolia by Kristi Cook

gr-magnoliaSet in the South, Star Trek references, and the whole we-hate-each-other-oh-wait-never-mind trope? Yep, definitely interested.

3. Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

gr-faking-normalI feel like a broken record because I keep mentioning that Courtney is a local author who I have seen multiple times at local events and I feel I should read her book especially since blogger Kayla talks about the boy in the book being like a contemporary Peeta but I have to admit I am terrified of the whole rape topic but ONE DAY I WILL READ THIS.

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

GR-faultinourstarsYes, I still haven’t read this. Stop giving me that look.

5. Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

gr-killerinstinctHey contemporary lovers, be proud! I read and enjoyed The Naturals, so I would like to read its sequel!

6. The Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod 

gr-lawoflovingI will have to read more reviews on this before I know if I actually want to read it, but anything dealing with schizophrenia initially piques my interest. Ever since writing a paper on it my senior year of high school it has fascinated me.

7. Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

gr-dont=touchSummer raved about this one and mentioned there’s a nice guy (always a win for me), PLUS it focuses on OCD, which is actually featured in my WIP and I really need to read a little more about it.

8. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

gr-ifyoufindmeThis one is highly regarded, plus it’s set in Tennessee.

9. Anything by Kasie West

gr-distancebetweenThe only Kasie West books I’ve read so far are Pivot Point and Split Second, which are contemporary with a paranormal/sci-fi sort of twist, and I think I need to read some of her straight-up contemporary I hear so much good about!

10. She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick 

gr-sheisnotinvisbleThis one just sounds very intriguing!

Which of these contemporary books do you love or want to read? 

The Top 10 Secondary Characters Who Need Their Own Story

Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is a freebie!

When this idea popped into my mind, I was worried I had already done a topic like this one once, but the closest I found was My Top 10 Most Memorable Secondary Characters, which I wrote in 2013 and was a list comprised primarily of secondary characters from The Hunger Games. Since then I have read a lot of great books with interesting characters and feel I could create a more varied list, PLUS, make the focus be about the story they could tell. This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles

throne-cressSource for Thorne art here

Marissa Meyer gifted us all with a short story about Thorne (that I still have not read!), but seriously, all Thorne fans know only a novel would suffice our desire for more Thorne.

2. Sturmhond from The Grisha Trilogy

sturmhond-grisha2

Sturmhond is basically the same person as Thorne, and again, we all want more. I would love to know what happens to him after the Grisha trilogy, but I would also love to know more about his life before!

3. Kiggs from Seraphina

kiggs-seraphinaI love Kiggs, and I would like to know how he grew up and what made him the way he is.

4. Elend from Mistborn

elend-mistbornOK, so I’ve only read book one, and I imagine there’s more of him in the next two books, but I would love to know the details of his royal upbringing, his antics growing up, and what got him started reading those forbidden books.

5. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley from The Harry Potter Series

weasleysAgain, I haven’t finished all these books either, but I just love Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and I’d love to know their backstory. Did they meet and fall in love at Hogwarts? How did Mr. Weasley end up at the Ministry of Magic? Did they always want a large family?

6. Finnick from The Hunger Games Trilogy

finnick-odairOf course, this list would not be complete without someone from The Hunger Games, and like many fans, I’d love details on Finnick’s backstory!

7. Gemma from The Young Elites

gemma-youngelitesImage on left found on Marie Lu’s The Young Elites Pinterest board

I find the whole thing about Gemma being from an aristocratic family and a malfetto, but not condemned like Enzo, really interesting within the world of The Young Elites, and I want more of her story!

8. Harriet from Emma

harriet-emma2I know this ship has sailed, at least for Jane Austen’s perspective, but I would love to know more about Harriet’s life after she married Robert Martin. I was a little surprised when, while watching Emma Approved, I became way more excited about Emma and B-Mart hooking up at the end than Emma and Knightley! It was just really cute! (Those paper cranes!) But when I read Emma, I also found myself really endeared to Harriet there. More please!

9. Caleb from The Divergent Trilogy

caleb-divergentI have some unanswered questions about Caleb, and I honestly found him so much more interesting and complex than Tris or Four. I need more!

10. Marguerite St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel

Marguerite-scarletpimpernelI know there are more of these books so there might be more about Marguerite, but I found her really interesting when I read The Scarlet Pimpernel, and my favorite chapter in the book is when she’s at home discovering who her husband actually is.

I was surprised to see this list was mostly guys! But I guess that’s because most of these books focus on a female character. In YA it’s a little more rare to get the guy’s POV, but sometimes I wish I could read their story too!

Which secondary characters would you like to see get their own story? 

My Top 10 Movie Anticipations for 2015

Hopefully early next month I’ll be ready to reveal the rankings of the movies I saw this year (it looks like so far I’ve seen 10 2014 releases, but I want to squeeze in a few more before I make that post), but for now I want to continue my tradition of sharing my most anticipated films for the upcoming year. It’s interesting to go back and look at the lists; my most anticipated films do tend to be ones I see and enjoy, but sometimes I end up not seeing something, being disappointed, or end up enjoying a movie I was unaware of when I made the list. But based on what I know now, here’s what I look forward to seeing in 2015…

10. Tomorrowland, Coming May 2015

This one looks interesting and it’s directed by Brad Bird, and I love not only his work with Pixar but also Mission: Impossible 4, so I’m hoping it’ll be good!

9. Kingsman: The Secret Service, Coming February 2015

This movie just looks like fun to me, and feels like it could be the premise of a YA novel.

8. The Jungle Book, Coming October 2015

junglebook
Clearly not from the upcoming adaptation, but I couldn’t resist…

So I was gonna be all like… “OMG, this movie’s going to be awesome because Benedict Cumberbatch is voicing Shere Khan!” and then I checked the IMDB page and found out it’s actually Idris Elba. Don’t get me wrong, I like Idris Elba and I think he’ll do a great job, but where did that come from? Was the Benny (I have no idea why I just typed that as his name) thing a rumor? Did he drop out? Did I just make that up in my head? Well, whatever, I’m still looking forward to seeing more about this one. Jon Favreau is directing (he did the first two Iron Man films) so that’ll be interesting.

*EDIT* I have been informed there is a 2017 Jungle Book with Benedict Cumberbatch and Christian Bale and Andy Serkis and Cate Blanchett so now that is really the one I am looking forward to! But hopefully this one will still be good. Though why two Jungle Book movies in two years?

7. Ant-Man, Coming July 2015

Ant-Man-Comic-Con_612x380About all I know is that Paul Rudd is playing a character named Ant-Man and this is a Marvel movie so yeah… I’m hoping it will be great, but I would like more details! (Oh, and Peggy Carter’s in it! That’s always a win!)

6. Mission: Impossible 5, Coming December 2015

There is no revealed plot for this movie yet, but I really, really liked M:I 4, way more than the first three M:I movies (though I do like them fine, some more than others), and I’m hoping this one will be just as strong. At least Jeremy Renner’s character is back (and Luther and Benji!), yay!

5. Peanuts, Coming June 2015

As long as I can remember I have had a deep love for the Peanuts so yes, I will be watching this, and I will probably (hopefully) love it.

4. Inside Out, Coming June 2015

First off, thanks to Maggie @ Macaroons & Paperbacks to tipping me off on this film before I started seeing stuff about it on Facebook, but FINALLY we’re getting a Pixar film that isn’t a freaking sequel! I just hope it turns out better than Brave… not my favorite.

3. Mockingjay: Part Two, Coming November 2015

I will probably cry all the tears, but I need to see Peeta be OK and Katniss finally love him.

2. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Coming December 2015

Um, because it’s Star Wars. I think this will be good. Allow me to be nerdy here for a moment… I’m just a tiny bit mad at JJ for what he did with the Star Trek timeline, though it IS an alternate universe and the films have a very wide appeal, both which I am grateful for, but also I do think it was rude of him to kill the Star Wars extended universe because of this film. But really, do you think this will be worse than Jar Jar? No, it won’t. I think it looks interesting (hello fun droids and strange lightsabers and helmetless Stormtroopers!) I’m looking forward to it!

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Coming May 2015

I have no words for this. I need to see this movie now.

Honorable Mentions: Insurgent (does the trailer make anyone else question if this is actually based off the book or not?) and Cinderella. I’m also mildly curious about Minions, Jupiter AscendingPan, and Jurassic World. I know everyone’s freaking out about seeing Chris Pratt with dinosaurs but I’m not particularly in love with either. Besides, I’ve only seen about 85% of one of the Jurassic Park movies and I don’t even know which one it was.

What 2015 movies are you eagerly anticipating? 

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books I Read In 2014, and this list is counting up to my favorite read of the year.

10. Code Name Verity

code-name-verityMy Review

9. The Screwtape Letters

screwtape-letters8. The 5th Wave

GR-the5thwave

7. The Leviathan Trilogy

leviathan

6. The Winner’s Curse

GR-thewinnerscurse

5. Harry Potter (Books 1-3)

gr-harrypotter3Review for The Sorcerer’s Stone/Review for The Chamber of Secrets

4. Seraphina

GR-seraphinaMy Review

3. The Grisha Trilogy

grisha-trilogy-coversMini Review for Shadow and Bone/Double Review for Siege and Storm & Ruin and Rising

2. Across a Star-Swept Sea

acrossastarsweptMy Review

1. Cress

cressMy Review

What were your favorite books of the year?