Friday 29 April 2016

25 Bookish Facts about ME!

Posted by Unknown at 16:06:00 2 comments
I wasn't tagged to do this, but I saw all these videos and posts about it and it looks like so much fun so I'm going to do this. These are more like confessions, which by the way I'm not at all ashamed about.

1. I started reading and fell in love with books at the age of 15.

2. My all time favourite author is Sarah J. Maas.

3. The novel/series that got me into reading was in fact The Selection.

4. Specifically YA, I'm obsessed with the fantasy genre.

5. I can't read two books at a time.

6. I can't listen to audiobooks. I can't really picture what's happening in the novel.

7. In terms of online reading, I download books off of ibookpile.com into my iPhone and read there.

8. Once for a whole week, I went to Chapters every single day and bought a book every single time.

9. Since I started reading, I am less stressed.

10. I love writing reviews on my blog, for myself and also for the readers.

11. I love re-tellings of disney princesses.

12. I'm a Hardcover person.

13. Following that, It stresses me out when the second book in any series are Hardcover and the rest are Paperback.

14. The Longest Book I ever read was Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.

15. Following 14, I read a 600 page book in 3 days.

16. I always use a bookmark for my reading. I have never Dog-eared my books.

17. I am not at all interested in adult books whatsoever, but I have read some.

18. I have the first two books in the Harry Potter series which I haven't read.

19. I organize my bookshelf atleast 3 times a week.

20. I don't have sticky notes sticking out of my book that I'm currently reading just to make notes.

21. Whenever I go to the bookstore and pick a book, chances are that I haven't read the back.

22. I have more books on my TBR than my Read pile.

23. I don't eat while reading because most of the time the crumbs fall onto it and that bugs me.

24. I have never lent my books to anyone.

25. I used to think that I will eventually grow out of reading but turns out it grew more.

So there you have it. What are some of your confessions? I would love to know.

Wednesday 20 April 2016

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahedith

Posted by Unknown at 17:07:00 2 comments

Sypnosis (from Goodreads):

One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all.


Night after night, Shahrzad beguiles Khalid, weaving stories that enchant, ensuring her survival, though she knows each dawn could be her last. But something she never expected begins to happen: Khalid is nothing like what she'd imagined him to be. This monster is a boy with a tormented heart. Incredibly, Shahrzad finds herself falling in love. How is this possible? It's an unforgivable betrayal. Still, Shahrzad has come to understand all is not as it seems in this palace of marble and stone. She resolves to uncover whatever secrets lurk and, despite her love, be ready to take Khalid's life as retribution for the many lives he's stolen. Can their love survive this world of stories and secrets?


Inspired by A Thousand and One NightsThe Wrath and the Dawn is a sumptuous and enthralling read from beginning to end.

My Review (5/5 stars!):
I had heard/saw a lot of mixed reviews about this when I saw how famous this book was getting at that time. I was really nervous about picking up this book because of those reviews. I had not read A Thousand and One Nights when I read this book so It's safe to say that u intact can read this without actually reading A Thousand and One Nights.

This book gave me all kinds of emotions but mainly a relaxed one. Since the names are actually chosen as in Arabic language it was easy for me to read it and connect to it. Which also helped me with imagining the scenarios that took place in the book.

As u read from the Sypnosis of the book above, that this is a retelling. This actually was my first retelling I ever read and I think that is the reason that I was nervous.

Characters:

Shahrzad or formerly referred to as Shazi (Protagonist):
She is the most fancy heroin I ever read about. Her perspective of pursuing matters were, I guess, appropriate. Her bravery and strength that she showed to Khalid was so original that I think every woman should have that level of. 

Khalid Ibn al-Rashid, the Caliph of Khorasan (Protagonist):

He is the boy-king is the Caliph of Khorasan. Although the perspective of Khalid is not shown that much but when it is shown, my mouth is wide open because of amusement or sometimes shock.



Jalal al-Khoury (Protagonist):

He is also known as the Captain of the Guard in other books. I actually liked him. He supported Shazi through out but only her good decisions. If her decision seemed crazy he would actually stop her. I guess best friend/family to Khalid.


Despina (Protagonist):
She is the "house worker" in this novel. After Shiva dies, Shazi feels like Despina may be her new best friend with whom she could share anything. 

General al-Khoury (Antagonist):
Father to Jalal, uncle of Khalid, (that was never a secret) is kind of against Shazi being alive. Throughout the novel he acts like a villain (which he is), and sometimes a generous person.

Jahandar (Antagonist):
Father of Shazi and I hated him. Actually I think hate is a really strong word so I'm just going to say that I strongly disliked him, a lot. I could connect as to why someone would be that worried about sending his daughter to the death camp (to Khalid), his reasons of, "revenge" very unreasonable (don't worry I did't give anything away).


Tariq (Antagonist):
Former lover of Shazi, he is exactly like Jahandar. Its like that scenario, 'my best friends brother'. Shiva is Shazi's best friend and Tariq is Shiva's brother. Throughout, he acts Irrational which excitedly makes him the villain of the novel.

The Plot:
The plot twist is the best part of this book. You start reading this book thinking that she will eventually avenge him but what comes of his life is shocking. I never would have thought that this book would make me think about what happened. I actually went a few pages back to check if I had missed anything but apparently I didn't. Khalid's story is so much more darker and intense than what one may think. That is the reason why I loved it so much.

Favourite Quote:
“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered.
“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest.
“No.” His hands dropped to her waist. “Destroy me.”

The Rose and the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn, #2)


Tuesday 19 April 2016

Contact and Review Policies!

Posted by Unknown at 10:08:00 0 comments
Thank you for considering me. Soon enough I'll offer criticism for authors that are new or are looking for criticism. I will charge but in exchange for criticism.

 I will accept
      - Paperbacks
      - Hardcovers  
      - only YA books (any genre within YA)
      - books from new authors
      - ARC's
     - finished copies of books
     - e-books
     - Book(s) published through fairly new publishing company
     - Self-published books

Contact me if you like something to be reviewed/promoted.

I will not accept:
     - adult books
     - Biographies, memoirs, poetry etc.

About my reviews:
My reviews keep changing from one book to book. They mostly consist of my own personal thoughts. But I can also offer more criticism by going in depth of character development, setting, plot and the whole premise of the book.

Currently Accepting Books to review!
      
Other places to find me:
Twitter: @readingcorner_b
Instagram: @bariasreadingcorner
BlogLovin': barias.reading.corner
Snapchat: readingcorner_b
Email: barias.reading.corner@gmail.com

Friday 15 April 2016

Blog Feature -- Sean, Kingdom Books Site

Posted by Unknown at 17:15:00 0 comments
I decided to do this feature because it looks so much fun and also I got tagged!
I am good friends with Sean from Kingdom Books Site on Goodreads. If you click the links below it will open up :)


Features:

Top 5 Wednesday
For this topic I will share with you my five favorite COMPLETED series and name my least favorites from each one. Also, I am super busy but wanted to get this uploaded so I won’t be explaining my choices. Hope you all still enjoy:)
These are my top 5 favorite series in no particular order:
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan
Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth
TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE BOOKS FROM MY FAVORITE SERIES:
NOTE: I ordered these with number 5 being my favorite installment out the 5 books I picked and number 1 being my least favorite. The amount that I enjoyed this series didn’t effect my order. This was solely based on the individual installment.
5.)
5 STAR RATING
4.)
4 STAR RATING
3.)
4 STAR RATING
2.)
4 STAR RATING
1.)
3 STAR RATING

-Sean, kingdombookblog
Mini RE-READ Review:
Sick Boy by Sean Waller
Rating: 5/5
This book is an all-time favorite of mine. I can’t express how emotionally attached I was to this book, and I think this was my first major book hangover.
Main Characters: Tim, Tess, Victoria, Mike, Lois, Evan, Dad, Mom, Stephanie, Jack
Characters: 10/10
-Tim is my favorite character of all-time now
-Tess was an amazing inspiration
Writing: 9/10
-great humor
-great dark sadness too
Pace: 8/10
-steady and smooth
-sometimes cancer explanations slowed down plot a little
Enjoyability: 9/10
-picked up at page 50
-so attached to the characters and plot
Fun Fact: Sean Waller was my 5th grade Social Studies teacher!
-Sean, kingdombookblog
Again, check out his blog. The content on his blog are amazing.


Tuesday 12 April 2016

Book sale -- Book Haul!

Posted by Unknown at 19:05:00 0 comments
My first Haul and its a massive one.
I bought 10 young adult-fiction books and 4 children's books.
There was a book sale at my Public Library and being the book nerd that I am, I had to go. I think this is the first haul thats so huge in number and its as much as 14 books.

So Without further due, here are my books that I purchased at the sale. (I took the pictures on my own phone)

Young Adult-Fiction

1. Harry Potter


I was walking out the aisle of the young adult section and saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I got so happy and picked it up. Further down, I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and thought Why not, so picked it up. I know these are different editions and now I have three editions, but not the whole series just those books.

2. Wicked Lovely 


I know I'm not suppose to judge a book by it's cover but I did. I just thought that the book covers look amazing so why not just pick it up. I've never actually read anything by Melissa Marr and now I can read something by her!

3. Memoirs of Geisha


This book got recommended to me by a Goodreads friend and just thought I would pick it up and give it a try. Its Historical fiction. I've actually never read anything in that genre so it's a new thing for me, to see whether I like it or not.

4. Blue Flame


I actually have no idea what this book is about. Even reading the description I was a bit nervous about this one. Regardless I picked it up anyways. Worth a shot.

5. Blue Bloods 

 
The book title is so similar to Blue Flame and I got so confused if it was a series or not. And then I checked the author. Different Author, almost same title. It's okay. One of my pet peeve's is that the book is bent from the corner. But I liked the description so why not.

6. All Good Children

 
From what I got from the description, I think this is a dystopian. If not then, its good to have a change in reading.

7. Everneath

 
I actually got excited when I saw "Advance Reader's Edition". I thought I would review it on my blog and promote the author. Then I saw the date. Published in 2012. But that didn't stop me from buying the book.

8. Tuck

 
Last but not the least. I saw this huge book and thought that it looked new, looked like it would be taking place in the fantasy genre (my favourite) and bought it. I have no clue what it's about but actually worth a shot. I think this again connects to judging a book by its cover.

Children's books
I bought 4 children's books for my sisters and they didn't want it. So I was like okay more for me.

1. The Tin Princess

 

2. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

 

3. Kind and Brave

 

4. A boy and a Bear

 

So that's it for my haul. Thank you for reading it all through. I will post reviews on them once I'm finished excluding Children's. Do tell me if your reading any of the above or planning or reading it or already read it. If you've already read it then tell if you hated it or loved it. Leave it in the comment below :)

Sunday 3 April 2016

Compulsion by Martina Borne

Posted by Unknown at 20:24:00 0 comments
Sypnosis (from Good reads):
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead—a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn't what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.


My Review: 4/5 stars!

A beautiful story with Gothic setting. This novel was a mix of fantasy and a little bit of dystopian. I got this book randomly when I was wandering through chapters and just thought it was nice. This is one of those books that I thought the story is good so I'll read it. I didn't know I would actually enjoy it. Plus, who doesn't like fantasy mixed with people who are using cell phones.

Barrie and Eight's relationship in this book was satisfying. I think if there was a love triangle in this book it would made my rating go from 4.2 to 5. 

The perspectives in this book is told by the protagonist, Barrie Watson. I would have liked the perspective of Eight in this novel, just to see what he was witnessing and thinking. Thats also the thing that would changed my rating.

Barrie's life is really messed up because of the situations that she was put in and also the situations that she witnessed. I think that would spoil the book so I'm not going to say more.

All together, Barrie and Eight make a really good team in terms of working together and finding stuff. Baria had her own problems that she would share with him. The most I liked about their relationship was that they first became good friends and then they became lovers. 

As everything goes about at the Watson Island, I was really happy that I picked this book and read it. I just want to pick up the next book to see what happens next.

If you liked my review I would love to hear what you thought of it, so comment below!











Dystopian

Posted by Unknown at 08:13:00 0 comments
Dystopian. Not one of my favourites but definitely enjoy reading it. My reviews for these books below will be hopefully up any time in the future, so stay tuned!

1. Legend by Marie Lu


I read this series back in 2015, and I remember loving every single book and the world building. This is perfect dystopian for people who liked Hunger games but loved Divergent.
Description: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.


From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.


2. The Selection by Kiera Cass


I read the first book and I wanted to get the second book from the library but someone took it out. I was really eager to finish the series so I downloaded copies on my iPod and read the whole series on iBooks. This is the series that made me a reader!
Description: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.


But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.



Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


3. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld


Now don't hate me for this but I haven't actually read the whole series in the series, just the first book. I never got to it. But I'm hoping to re-read it, which I'm really excited about.
Description: Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.


But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world-- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever...


4. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard


This book's plot twist was mind blowing. This is one of those books that made me want to read a couple pages back to see if I missed anything that it came down to this plot twist. I have to Applaud Victoria Aveyard for this amazing Dystopian.
Description: This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.


The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart ... 


5. The Program by Suzanne Young


I don't recall why I put this book down. Like it was really good but then I put it down when I got half of it. I'm hoping to re-read it.
Description: In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.


Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.



Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Well, thats it for my recommendations. Please comment below if you will read one of the books I recommended above. I would love to hear if you liked it or not. Also, I would love to hear feedback so that I can make it better for the next time!
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