Book Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer

I never knew I could be as content with a book as I am now. 

Reading Winter has got to me one of the best reading experiences I've ever had. As the fourth and final book in the Lunar Chronicles, I had some high expectations. What I received was better than I dared to dream. Due to its intricate plot with a group of main characters, I knew that tying up all the loose ends would be a hard feat to do. I am happy to say that there weren't any loose ends or big questions I still had after reading this novel.

I truly don't have anything to say for the weaknesses of this novel. The pace felt slow about 200 pages in, but never felt as if it was dragging. The slow pace wasn't necessarily slow, in fact it was slow compared to the break neck action and danger found in the majority of the novel. All of the characters were true to who they were in the previous novels. Winter and Jacin, the two main characters newly introduced, were a breath of fresh air. I loved the dynamics of their relationship and how they had a fragile and complicated past as well.

I think my favorite couple out of the four core couples has to either be Thorne and Cress or Kai and Cinder. With Kai and Cinder reuniting at the end of Cress, the third novel in the series, I desperately hoped that Cress and Throne got their happy ending. Their relationship is so cute. Both have their insecurities pertaining to one another, but in the end they make each other better people. Scarlet and Wolf's relationship deemed stronger than ever in this novel. I love how they always support each other, no matter what changes occured. Winter and Jacin have great chemistry. They were childhood best friends and Jacin has stuck by her side since then. What I loved most about their dynamic was that because they've known each other for so long, I knew there was no other pretenses as to why they interacted.

The intricate world building of this series has truly paid off in this concluding novel. I was never confused throughout any of the novel as to the structure of how everything worked. As a reader, we have been both introduced to the Eastern Commonwealth and Luna.The political relationship between these two is tense to say the least, but I loved the political tension. In fact, the political tension between Earth and Luna really enhances the novel.

The last thing I want to talk about is the amazing turn of events throughout the novel. Marissa Meyer wrote an amazing novel and I literally would never have guessed some of the main things that happened. There were some major points in the final battle that I was blown away by. There were developments that I never truly saw coming and I loved every single one of them. The last 150 or so pages were downright amazing. They were so great to read and I was speeding through needing to know what would happen.

While not all my predictions came true, Winter was even better than my imagination and it was a wonderfully crafted novel. The Lunar Chronicles has been cemented as one of my favorite series with this conclusion and I could not be happier.

With that, I give this book

5 out of 5 Stars!

TBR For the Rest of the Year

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! Today I'm going to be showing you guys the rest of the books I'm hoping to read for the rest of the year. I normally don't do TBRs just because I don't normally stick to them, so the following books only include the ones I am for sure going to read.

Obviously, since I am currently reading it, I want to finish Winter by Marissa Meyer. I am close to
finishing the book and I'm really loving it. The world is so intricate and it really immerses the reader. Another novel I know I am going to be finishing soon is Sweet Temptation by Wendy Higgins. This novel is pure fun and reading it really takes my mind off of things and takes me to another place. I am also reading is Dawn of the Dreamer by L.G. Higgins. I am about a fifth of the way through and liking it so far.

  Out of these nine, the one that I am really anticipating is Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. It's being released on the first December and I cannot wait. There's a whole entire inter-galactic war that is about to take place and it is going to be amazing.

The Winner's Crime is what I am really nervous about. I completely loved The Winner's Curse, so I am hesitant to pick this up just because I don't want to be disappointed. I heard that this installment is even better than the first, so my hopes are up that I'll love it.

I am planning on reading The Body Electric this month. Hopefully I'll have enough time, and if not I'll be reading them next month. It was one of my goals that by the end of this year, I would have read The Body Electric, and I want to fill all my goals. It's been the only one that I haven't accomplished.

The others I just really want to read. Illuminae has a great concept and layout and I love the premise. City of Fallen Angels is the fourth out of the six in the Mortal Instruments, but I am reading Cassandra Clare's works by publication date. This means that I am reading both the Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices at once. I want to take the series slow, but I am itching to pick up City of Fallen Angels. I just got A Mad Zombie Party from the library and cannot wait to devour this book! I love Gena Showalter's writing style; I always have fun reading her books.


Have you read any of these books listed above? Are some of them on your TBR? I would love to know in the comments down below! :)

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys soon with another post!

Currently Reading #5!

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! Today I'm going to update you on what I've been reading.


As of right now, I'm reading three different books! This normally never happens. I usually stick to one book and then move right on to the other. This is probably why I haven't finished as much books and I usually have this time of the month. I don't feel a reading slump coming on, so that's good!

Winter is the one of the three books I'm reading right now and I'm adoring it! I just reached page 660 out of 824, which is 80 percent of the way through. I'm so close to the end and I can't wait to see how it wraps up! By Monday, I want this book read. Everything is coming to its climax, and I know the end is going to be amazing. This book is already spectacular. There are so many plots and sub plots that have to be resolved, so I'm glad Meyer didn't try to rush it and make the book any smaller than it is.

The other book that I have been focusing on is Sweet Temptation by Wendy Higgins. This novel is the fourth book in the series. Sweet Temptation actually recaps the first three books but in Kai's point of view and not Anna's. I'm really liking it so far. Yes, the book is not perfect, but it's a really substantial novel.Since Sweet Temptation is basically an overview of the three novels, I already know what is going to happen next. However, I really love reading from Kai's POV because it really clears up a lot from the series. I'm reading this through my online library on Overdrive, so I don't know what actual page I am on. All I know is that I'm also 80 percent done with this one as well. Once again, I'm hoping to finish it by Monday as well.

The final book I've been reading has been on the back burner. I kind of stopped reading it once I got my hands on Winter. The Dawn on the Dreamer by L.J. Higgins is a solid book. While it's not the best thing I've ever read, I love the premise of it. If you haven't heard of the book, Dawn of the Dreamer is actually a dystopian read that follows a girl throughout the corrupt society. In this world, dreaming is prohibited and controlled by a device implemented in everyone's body. This contraption doesn't work on our main character, Amelia, and she is studied by the government as to why. You can find it's goodreads page here. I'm just going to read this at my own pace and see where it takes me, so I don't really have a time that I am aiming to be finished by.




Have you guys read any of these or are any on your TBR? What have you thought of them? What are you currently reading?

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys son with another post!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Top Ten Tuesday: Adaptions I'm Looking Forward To!

Hey guys and welcome back to my blog! Today's Top Ten Tuesday is about all the book adaptations coming out that I cannot wait for! I'm not going to limit these adaptations to just movies; there's some great TV shows coming out or optioned as well! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and Bookish. Be sure to check them out! These are in no particular order!




1.) Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian was optioned for film in 2013 and just got its production company this year! I'm super excited to see how the film will be portrayed in the movies! I already know that if it does come out *fingers crossed*, I'm going to love it! The series is so much fun to read. Check out Armentrout's post about it here!

2.) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall was optioned way back when by Fox 2000, but is now being adapted by Awesomeness Films. I read Before I Fall a really long time ago, but I loved it! It was just announced in September that Zoey Deutch is going to play the main character, Samantha. Deutch has starred in both Beautiful Creatures and Vampire Academy, so she knows what she's doing.

3.) Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare

Shadowhunters is the television adaption of The Mortal Instruments. It's coming to ABC Family, or should I say Freeform (such a cringeworthy name!) in January! I'm sure you guys know that The Mortal Instruments was adapted in 2013 into a movie. (Guess what I'm watching right now?) I heard that the show derives from the book a lot, so I'm a bit nervous.

4.) Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I was so excited to hear the news that Shatter Me was being made into a TV show! Shatter Me is one of my favorite series, so I can't wait to see it on the silver screen. Find out more here! I think that Shatter Me will be better as a TV show than a movie just so that we can get all the back stories and everything.

5.) Mockingjay Pt. 2 by Suzanne Collins

To say I'm hyped for this is an understatement! Every movie in the series has been so good and I can't wait for this epic conclusion! I'm so nervous about you-know-what. Also this movie poster guys! So. good.

6.)  We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars kind of blew my mind when I read it last summer. E Lockhart wrote the script, so I know its going to be good! Find out more here!

7.) The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection has been optioned before for TV by the CW, but never made it to the screen. Warner Bros. optioned the film in April! Find out more here!

8.) Graceling

There hasn't been much news about the Graceling movie since it has been optioned for film, but I won't let that rain of my parade! I completely love the novel and hope that it will be made into a movie! Click here to go to the IMBD page about it!

9.) Angelfall

Angelfall was such an epic book, so I hope it is translated well when it comes to the big screen! As of now, the movie has a writer and producer and is in development. Learn more about it here!

10.) Cinder

There hasn't been much news about the movie adaptation for Cinder or any of the other Lunar Chronicles novels. I just went to one of the stops on Marissa Meyer's tour (post is coming soon!!) and she said that they are being secretive and nothing it set in stone. Maybe they'll see just how crazy the book community is about these books and will actually do something?


So that's my top ten book to movie/TV adaptions! Did we have any in common? What are some of your most anticipated ones?

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys soon with another post! 

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!


P.S. Sorry this is sooo late! :)

Movie Review: The Europa Report

Europa Report blew my mind, put it back together again by gravity, and then blew it up again. 

This movie was so much better than I anticipated. I watched it for my Astronomy class, and didn't have too high of expectations since the week before we watched Mission to Mars. *sigh* Europa Report was everything I wanted Mission to Mars to be.

The movie chronicles a space mission funded by a private corporation (not NASA!) to Jupiter's moon Europa. Instead of sending a probe their first, the company has only one shot of doing this, and decides to send six humans on a mission to discover if Europa has life.

Knowing the background of Europa was really helpful before watching this movie. I wouldn't have been confused per se, but I definitely grasped the concepts more and got a lot out of it. Basically what you need to know about Europa is that it is a massive moon that suggests that there is flowing liquid on the moon. Europa is encased in a thick layer of ice, and many astronomers believe that there is an ocean underneath said layer of ice that might have more water than all the terrestrial planets put together! This causes a great deal of speculation about whether or not there is life on Europa.

One thing I really like about this movie is that it isn't too far fetched. Europa is believed to have water, and it's not short of the imagination to suggest that we might go there one day in search of life. The movie accurately depicts how life threatening these mission are. Getting to Mars would be at least a two year mission, so travelling to Europa would be even longer.

As said before, the movie follows a crew of six and their ill-fated mission. Before even reaching the moon, one of their crew has passed. A cool thing about this movie is that it isn't in chronological order. That may bug some people, but it drew me into the story even more and really worked for me. There was never a slow moment in Europa Report, but the movie also never felt rushed. I felt as if I really knew the characters; I started connecting with them.

Another aspect I absolutely adored in this movie were the camera angles! The angles used in the movie reflect what camera angles there might be on a spaceship. There are times where, Rosa, one of the crew members, is filming a diary-esque vlog explaining the mission. Throughout the movie, we also seem camera angles really close to the characters faces, as if the camera from the spacesuits of the members were transmitting to us. The angles drew me in more than I already was, and I felt as if I was there with all the crew.

Throughout the movie, some weird stuff has been happening to the crew while on Europa. There is this distant light, seemingly luminescent. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat. While watching, I was making all the theories and predictions about what everything meant. I had a really fun experience watching this.

The best thing about the movie though, was the ENDING. HOLY CRAP. It was soooooo good! I raved to this to anyone who would listen to me. Seriously, the ending of the movie makes the film so much more better. It blew my mind. It was so good and creative, and was left reeling (in a good way!) afterwards.

To put it short, I definitely recommend this movie! There were minor issues I had, but nothing major. Europa Report is everything I want a sci-fi movie to be. It's fun, plausible, believable, has great acting, and actually has science in it! Imagine that!

With that, I give this movie

4.5 Stars (or 90 percent!)

Have you guys heard of this movie or watched it? If so, what did you think? What are some of your favorite science fiction movies? 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys soon with another post!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!




(Or not..I might just be binge-reading all of Winter! Haha!)

Book Review: Collide by Melissa West

Collide was an amazing conclusion to an epic series!

When I first read Gravity, the first novel in the series,  in January 2014, I was blown away. At that time, I was just getting interested in science fiction and didn't really know to expect from a dystopian alien novel. What I got was one of my favorite science fiction series out there. The first novel was a five star read for me, and the second, Hover, was deserving of all four stars. The Taking Trilogy has been a lot of fun for me to read.

I can't tell you much about the plot of this novel because it is the third book in the series. The first novel, Gravity, follows Ari and Jackson, the two main characters. Ari is the daughter of the Commander of the military and she is training to become an Operative. Jackson is her biggest rival in the school she trains at. Human on this Earth coexist with another species, Ancients. These aliens are assigned a human and every night while the humans are asleep, the alien species take a vital nutrient that only humans possess. One night, Ari can't find her mask that humans where so that they fall asleep. There is only one rule in her society: Don't Ever Peek. You're never supposed to figure out who is your assigned alien. Ari, our ever intelligent heroine, does peek and finds her alien to be none other than Jackson. She is blackmailed to help him, or else all humans will die.

This conclusion to the series was everything I wanted. Ari and Jackson, the two main characters in the series have so much chemistry. One of the things that I love about both Ari and Jackson is that they are each their own person. Both have distinct personalities, and yet our two main characters are so alike. Ari is headstrong as is Jackson, and they are both willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.

Another thing that I loved about Ari and Jackson is that they were a very strong couple this time around. In Gravity, the couple were both at odds with one each other and actually strongly disliked, or almost hated, each other. They matured throughout the first book and realized that they might just be a perfect match with one another. Their relationship was a newborn baby in the first book that went through adolescence in the second. Hover saw Ari and Jackson's relationship in the preteens and teenager stages; they didn't exactly know what they wanted and the relationship was filled with angst. By Collide, Ari and Jackson's relationship matured into adulthood; they understood and listened to each other. I really loved how I didn't have to read anything that was angst ridden. It was one thing in this explosive book that I did not have to worry about.

Another one of my favorite aspects of the novel is definitely the science fiction aspect. It's what truly makes the novel a great experience. The implementation of the alien race not only introduced some really great actions scenes and dilemmas, but political tension as well. I could never put Collide down; it was so action packed and never had a slow moment.

The alien species is not the only thing that contributes for it to be classified under science fiction. The Taking trilogy is set in a futuristic world with advanced technology in engineering, agriculture, architecture. In fact, it's futuristic in every aspect.

If you haven't heard of this series, I plead with you to pick it up! It's so much fun and Collide was everything I could have asked for. I only had minor problems throughout the whole novel, but it didn't really take away from the experience that much.

With that, I give this book

4.25 Stars!





Have you guys read this series? What is one of your favorite alien books?

P.S. Melissa West is releasing a full length novel that will take time before Gravity! It'll be published in April next year!

Book Review: Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry

Nowhere But Here was nothing like I expected.

I had a lot of issues with Nowhere But Here, the first novel in the Thunder Road series. The novel is written by none other than Katie McGarry, and I have always liked every book that I have read by her. If you haven't heard of her, she wrote the Pushing the Limits series, which so far has four novels out. McGarry has been pushing books like women did babies in the 1700s, and unfortunately, they've lost their luster. The past couple books have seemed really similar to me, and this one didn't stand out.

Nowhere But Here follows two main characters: Emily and Oz. Emily's biological father is part of a national bike club, and she is dreading coming to his town after she hears that her grandmother has passed away. Oz lives in the town where the club is dominant, and is about to become a prospect to the club. This means that in about six months time, he's supposed to be part of the big ol' group.

I'm sad to say that nothing really stuck out for me in this novel. The plot was a bit predictable the first half and I didn't like the characters that much. Emily seemed stuck up and wasn't open to new things,  and the same goes for Oz. What they know is religion; they don't ever stray away from what they've been taught.

The other half of the novel is a completely different story. The dynamics between Oz and Emily changed from dull and predictable to sexy and fun. I started really liking both the characters; they started to look at the world in a different way. The relationships that both Oz and Emily had with the secondary and minor characters were really interesting. I would not mind having a novel in this series about one of the secondary characters.

One of the main drawbacks I had to this novel was that I completely predicted the 'twist'. I didn't see if from a mile away, but I had an inkling and feeling for about half of the novel. To be honest, I am so tired of being able to predict the surprise twist. I've done it in TV shows and movies for quite awhile, and have started to get really good at it in books.

Basically, the second half of the book was a four star read while the first half was a two star read. The characters were dull and basic in the first half and I couldn't connect with them at all, but they developed really well and I was rooting for them in the end. The whole entire part of the plot that dealt with Reign of Terror, the club the book was centered on, was intriguing. One of the conflicts that really struck me was the club's rival bike group, which was actually a gang. Before reading this, I wasn't too clear on the differences between a motorcycle gang and a motorcycle club. Though I don't exactly know if the way Katie McGarry portrayed the gang or the club is realistic in real life, it did hold my attention.

Overall, the book was just about average. Romance wise, the plot has been done over and over, and I got bored. The last 100 or so pages were really cute. However, the biker aspect was what really held my attention. I didn't like the characters at first, but they grew over time, which is realistic. The secondary characters is what really kept me going in the book and made me keep on chugging when I didn't necessarily want to. Nowhere But Here was an average read that I would recommend if you don't mind reading a contemporary with some slow parts. If you like Katie McGarry's other novels, my bet is that you'll like this one as well.

With that, I give this book

3 Stars! 

Have you guys read this book? If so, what did you think about it? Have you read any of Katie McGarry's other novels?

Leave a comment down below! I would love to talk about it!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you guys soon with another post!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!