The Coffee Book Tag

March 7, 2016March 5, 2016 / T.K. Lawrence / 9 Comments

Thank you to Raven @ Dreamy Addictions for tagging me to do the Coffee Book Tag! 🙂

The Coffee Book Tag

Here’s the tag:

Black — A series that’s tough to get into but has hardcore fans
Personally, I thought that it took awhile for me to become interested in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but once I did, I began counting down the days till the sequel’s release.

jeriwb.com

Peppermint Mocha — A book that gets more popular during the winter or a festive time of year
I’m not a big holiday book reader, but if I had to guess, a favorite classic read would probably be A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (which I have not read). One favorite “holiday” like book of mine is Winterspell by Claire Legrand, which is a dark fantasy Nutcracker retelling.

readeroffictions.com

Hot Chocolate — A favorite children’s book
It’s a well written autobiography, but it reads like a novel 🙂

http://www.amazon.com

Double Shot of Espresso — A book that kept you on edge of your seat from start to finish
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey, definitely. With most of the world / character development in book 1, every part of book 2 was filled with action and suspense. It is probably one of my favorite sequels.

http://www.amazon.com

Starbucks — A book you see everywhere
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. This book has been on my TBR for awhile, first the cover attracted me, then the synopsis.

http://www.amazon.com

That Hipster Coffee Shop — A book by an Indie author
For this one, I’m going to go with Chained by Susanne Valenti. It was an enjoyable and well written YA dystopia.

www. susannevalenti.com

Oops! I Accidentally Got Decaf — A Book You Were Expecting More From
After reading The Crossroads‘ plot synopsis, I was looking for a good ghost story. I got a ghost story, but it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting and I did not enjoy it very much.

http://www.amazon.com

The Perfect Blend — A book or series that was both bitter and sweet, but ultimately satisfying
So many books can fit this category, so I’m going to end up doing two: one for standalone book and one for series. For individual book, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. In the end, it was a satisfying read, but also very bitter and sad. For series, The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. At the end of Winter, my thirst to find out what would happen to the main characters was not quenched.

http://www.amazon.com

Green Tea — A book or series that is quietly beautiful
Definitely The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

barnesandnoble.com

Chai Tea — A book or series that makes you dream of far off places
Probably the Nancy Drew series by Caroline Keene. Nancy is always traveling for a lot of her mysteries and the books do a fairly good job describing all of them.

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

Earl Grey — A favorite classic
I’m not a big classic reader, but if I were to choose one, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I tag…

If you’ve already done this tag or you’re not interested, feel free to disregard this 🙂 If you haven’t done this tag and would like to, feel free to join–hope you enjoy! 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read In 2015

December 15, 2015December 15, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesdays are a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic of December 15, 2015 is: Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015. There will be a few series in the mix too, since I wasn’t able to decide on my favorite book of the series.

Here’s the list:

1. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

Special Book Set - Throne of Glass Series.

2. The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

3. Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

4. Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott

newyorkergoesnative.com

5. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

nerdist.com

Continue reading →

The Character Book Tag

December 13, 2015December 14, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 5 Comments

Thank you to Raven @ Dreamy Addictions for tagging me to do The Character Book Tag–I had a lot of fun doing it 🙂 This tag was created by Jeremysepicreads and MariaMuses and originally a BookTube tag. You can find the original tag videos here and here.

Rules

Pick 10 books off of your bookshelf.
You must own the books.
You must have read the books.
No e-book versions.
You can only use each book once to answer one question.
Note: I cheat and sometimes ignore this rule for some of the questions.

10 Random Books I Selected Off My Bookshelf

1. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

npr.org

2. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

shadowhunters.wikia.com

3. The Death Cure by James Dashner

mazerunner.wikia.com

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

harrypotter.wikia.com

5. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

reinodemismediasverdades.blogspot.com

6. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

kernelscorner.com

7. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

thebookslooth.blogspot.com

8. Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

9. Specials by Scott Westerfield

shortstuff25.wordpress.com

10. Winterspell by Claire Legrand

readeroffictions.com

CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT, if you’ve not read any of the above 10 books.

Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday: New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

December 8, 2015December 12, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 1 Comment

Top Ten Tuesdays are a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic of December 8, 2015 is: Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015.

Here’s the list:

1. Josephine Angelini

I only just finished reading Trial by Fire, but it is an amazing read complete with unique characters and world.

2. Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is a fantastic writer who’s developed the intriguing world of the Shadowhunters. In 2015, I read The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices.

Reviews: Clockwork Angel

3. Laura Hillenbrand

I don’t often read non-fiction, but Laura Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken was a fabulous read.

4. Stephen King

I’ve never read any of Stephen King’s horror books and I’m not sure if I ever will. However I did read Stephen King’s memoir On Writing and it is a great read for all writers.

5. Claire Legrand

I honestly cannot remember where I first learned of Claire Legrand’s Winterspell, but it was a great dark fantasy retelling of the Nutcracker.

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Character Quotes #3

December 4, 2015December 4, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / Leave a comment

Read It or Not Reviews Meme

“You cannot shy away from yourself. Look the world in the eye, and it can do nothing to hurt you.”
― Claire Legrand, Winterspell

The Bookish Alphabet Tag

November 29, 2015November 29, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 3 Comments

Hi Readers,
I was tagged by The Quirky Book Nerd to do the Bookish Alphabet Tag, which was started by Mariana @ Fireheartbooks. To do this tag, all you need to do is find a book that you own that begins with each letter of the alphabet. You do not need to have read this book for it to count. ‘The’ in the title does not count, so you could do The Half Blood Prince for ‘H.’ So here’s the tag:

A – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

http://www.amazon.com/And-Then-There-Were-None/dp/0062073486

B – Bird by Bird by Anne Lammott

newyorkergoesnative.com

C – City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

novelnovice.com

D – The Death Cure by James Dashner

mazerunner.wikia.com

E – Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein

barnesandnoble.com

F – Four by Veronica Roth

harperteen.com

G – The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

smcmlibrary.wordpress.com

H – The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

kernelscorner.com

I – I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

pakistan.jobz.pk

J – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

annarbor.com

K – King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green

bookcoverimgs.com

L – Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

kernelscorner.com

M – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

fictionalbooksblog.blogspot.com

Continue reading →

To-Be-Read List #6

November 28, 2015November 28, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / Leave a comment

On my To-Be-Read List #5, I read The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas, The Young Elites by Marie Lu, Winterspell by Claire Legrand, and Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs. I also read The Rose Society by Marie Lu, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, and The Island of Doctor Libris by Chris Grabenstein, which were not listed on my To-Be-Read List #5.

Here is my current To-Be-Read List:

Welcome to Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

ibookpile.com

The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr

paperbackswap.com

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

Angelfall by Susan Ee

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

allgeektome.net

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Andieh

myfriendsarefiction.com

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

brockpress.com

Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving themed Freebie

November 24, 2015November 25, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesdays are a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic of November 24, 2015 is a Thanksgiving themed Freebie. My Thanksgiving-related Freebie is top ten books/series I’m grateful I read this year.

Here’s the list:

1. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
By now, I think that I have established the fact that I am a huge fan of the Throne of Glass series. The series was amazing and I read all five books over the fall.

Special Book Set - Throne of Glass Series.

2. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
An Ember in the Ashes was an exciting fantasy read with dystopia elements. The writing was good and the characters were also compelling.

nerdist.com

3. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I read The Mortal Instruments series in the spring through summer and I loved all of the books. The world building, characters, and plot were all amazing.

4. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

I read The Inheritance Cycle over the summer and it was terrific high fantasy quintet that reminded me of Lord of the Rings.

5. Winterspell by Claire Legrand

This dark fantasy retelling of the nutcracker had sat on my TBR for well over two months, but it was worth the wait. I highly enjoyed the book.

readeroffictions.com

Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday: Book To Movie Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To

November 10, 2015November 8, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 2 Comments

Top Ten Tuesdays are a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. The topic of November 10, 2015 is: Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To

Here are the top ten book to movie adaptions that I’m looking forward to:

1. An Ember in the Ashes – The second book will not be released until 2016, but it was announced that there will already be a film adaption! According to IMDb, it will be released in 2017.

2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 — The film adaption of Suzanne Collin’s Mockingjay will be released in ten days from now: November 20, 2015!

3. Throne of Glass — I love the Throne of Glass books, so I was very excited when I learned that there would be a film/TV adaption. (See: Throne of Glass Optioned as a TV Show post)

4. The School for Good and Evil — I’ve read that there’s supposed to be a film adaption of Soman Chainani’s book, but there’s no announced release date or cast yet… 😦

5. Winterspell – I’ve not heard of a film adaption in the making for Claire Legrand’s dark fantasy retelling of the Nutcracker, but if there was one it would be really interesting to see how it was done.

6. Shadowhunters — After deciding not to make a sequel film to City of Bones, it was announced that a TV show based on Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments would be made.

The last three are already released film adaptions that I’ve not seen and I’m not sure whether I want to see them or not.

7. Insurgent – The sequel film to Divergent, based on the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.

8. The Scorch Trials – This movie is based on the second book of The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner. In the book, there are many…intense scenes of unattractive violence…which I think I’d rather not see.

9. Nineteen Eighty-Four — I actually do have no intention of watching the film adaption of George Orwell’s classic dystopia because the book itself was rather violent.

10. Eragon – A movie was made of the first book of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle. I actually have seen this and whoever made it, completely ruined the story line, characters, etc. As a result of my dissatisfaction with the film adaption, I have no intention of ever re-watching this.

The TBR Book Tag

November 7, 2015October 31, 2015 / T.K. Lawrence / 10 Comments

I was tagged by the Quirky Book Nerd to do the TBR Book Tag. Thank you for the tag!

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

I use GoodReads sometimes, but mostly I use it to archive my progress in reading. I guess that I use my TBR posts as a reminder to myself of what I want to read next.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-book?

Most of my TBR’s are print because I like paper books better. However Cassandra Clare’s Tales from Shadowhunter Academy novellas are only on e-book and I really love her books–also that series is about nine books, which is a good bit of my TBR.

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

Normally I read which ever book I either have on my hands at the moment or the one that sounds most interesting.

A book that’s been on your TBR the longest?

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White has been on my TBR for a very long time and I still haven’t read it.

1year100books.wordpress.com

A book you recently added to your TBR?

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Andieh.

myfriendsarefiction.com

A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?

readeroffictions.com

The cover of Winterspell by Claire Legrand looks so mysterious and foreboding that I was immediately interested. Plus the quote from Marissa Meyer refers to a darker version of the Nutcracker, which interested me.

A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand? I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and liked it, but I already have such a long TBR and generally I prefer fiction…