January/February TBR + Quick Life Update: Where Have I Been?

(Please feel free to skip the update but it will help explain my long hiatus! I miss you guys!)

Before I can even start telling you all what I have planned for the coming year of 2017 (sigh... time is getting on and I'm getting old), I need to explain where on earth I have been for the past few months; why haven't I been uploading videos and many posts, why haven't I been online much or tweeting every hour like I used to, why did I go quiet and didn't explain myself until the following year? WELL HERE WE GO! (I'm scared to explain myself because my excuses are pathetic but true...)

What happened was that our internet cut (we've had a bit of struggles with money lately because the price of everything in Auckland is super expensive and hard for us to afford now but we can't really move away either) and we couldn't have the internet reconnected until we paid the outstanding amount first. As you may have figured out, we still have not found the applicable funds but I'm waiting on a miracle or two that might happen soon otherwise it'll be back to the library for me to study this year.

That brings me to my second point: I was constantly bombarded by university work and everything was almost unbearable to handle thanks to the stress of everything - mostly considering my ADHD making it really hard to concentrate when I actually wanted to. It was my fault that I fell behind and therefore my extra time that I would usually use to read had to be used to catch up majorly on school work. However, by the grace of God, I managed to pass both semesters and (at this point I'm 99.5% sure I did) earn my Diploma in Applied Writing for level 5! Now I'm waiting on my level 6 course this year which sounds super fun! I'll give you guys a list of what I'll be doing this year so you can be excited with me - it's literally the type of papers that will help kickstart my career as an author!

Semester One:

• 601 Business and the Writer
• 604 Project - Planning
• 613 Research for Writing
• 605 Project - Execution

Semester Two:

• 605 Project - Execution (continued)
• 603 Practice of Selected Genre(s)
• 619 Publishing eBooks
• 602 Personal Career Plan

So in terms of my videos, my phone broke... twice. That's why I haven't been able to film or upload. I did have a couple of videos I could have edited and eventually uploaded with some weak wifi at the library but I get a bad feeling about old videos after a while and I just want to re-film them. There's something about uploading a six-month-old video that makes me feel like I'm lying to y'all about my current place in life (I'm just strange so I hope you guys can understand!). I plan to either get my phone fixed or try get another one soon but I'll let you know when something does happen. I'm planning to write more updates since it's easier for me to upload at least least twice every month so I hope that is alright with you until I get back on to my feet!

So enough with the boring information and know that my resolution for this year is to create a world of literacy for myself that will one day support my passion for writing books. I wanted to list a bunch of the books sent from multiple publishing companies in New Zealand that I've chosen to review next . You might recognise a few of these, if not all of them, so feel free to comment your thoughts and feelings down below (no spoilers please!) so that we can fangirl together!

Title: Life and Death

Author: Stephenie Meyer

NZ Publisher: Hachette NZ

USA Publisher: Little Brown Book Group

Title: The Chemist

Author: Stephenie Meyer

NZ Publisher: Hachette NZ

USA Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Title: The Severed Land

Author: Maurice Gee

NZ Publisher: Penguin Random House NZ

Title: A Million Worlds With You

Author: Claudia Gray

NZ Publisher: HarperCollins NZ

USA Publisher: HarperCollins

Title: Moon Chosen

Author: P.C Cast

NZ Publisher: Lighthouse PR

USA Publisher: St. Martins Press

AUS Publisher: Pan Australia (Paperback)

Title: Stealing Snow

Author: Danielle Paige

NZ Publisher: Allen and Unwin

USA Publisher: Bloomsbury

*****

Those are all the books I hope to read over the next couple of months! I may not finish them all as usual, especially since half of these books are considerably large and I start back university on the 20th of February, but I am super excited because they're all books that I really want to read!

Aside from everything else, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Please ask me anything you would like to know and I will try respond as soon as I can. Try to keep your New Year's resolutions and I'll try to be a bit more active this year (God help me succeed haha).

See you all real soon!

Bellz x

Find more out about me at:

Website: http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

Twitter: ellabellabellz

Instagram: FeathersandFaith

Snapchat: FeathersnFaith

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray: Book Review

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared. 

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

*I received this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review*

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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I am so happy that I was able to read this series by Claudia Gray. Thanks to HarperCollins NZ I now have a series that has not only pushed the limits of my brain in terms of science and physics through a YA novel, but I have found myself immersed in such a heartbreaking, and yet still beautiful, love story. I was given both the first book and this one as an ARC to check out and I am super grateful to have been randomly aligned with such a well written series. If I were to say anything about this specific book though, I would want people to know that there is nothing else like it and that in itself is more than enough reason to pick it up after reading the first. If you have not read the first book, A Thousand Pieces Of You, then you better or I'll hunt you down and replace your current TBR pile with just these two books alone! There's this saying, or just something widely known amongst many readers, especially on Booktube; the fact that the sequel is almost never better than the original. In this case we can happily skip over that generalization and get straight to the fact that this was the most heart-wrenching novel of the year (can I say century?)!

From what we saw of the first book, obviously the tides had turned; Marguerite and Paul ended up together; Theo wasn't really Theo, the Triadverse Theo hijacked his body; Henry Caine (Marguerite's father) didn't actually die - he was technically kidnapped; and we realised that the true enemy was in fact, Wyatt Conley, the millionaire and leader of the Triad Corporation. Now if you have just finished the first novel and you are looking for a review to give you a bit of closure, I'm sorry but I literally can't say much without spoiling it (that is why this is called a SPOILER FREE REVIEW!) - basically because this sequel has just as much twists and turns as the first, if not more. Even so, I'm here to try my very best. I absolutely loved how the story free flowed from the first, the way it interlocked in such a reasonable way through Theo and Paul - like Conley knew how to get to her by using the ones she loves. Marguerite undergoes another round of highly dangerous yet intriguing realities travelling through the dimensional realms in order to do what's right, but also to save her true love, Paul and her parent's science assistant, Theo. One thing that got me was the new worlds that she visited showed her a lot more about the possibility of fate - the one thing Paul tried so hard to prove in his scientific efforts - and how the soul can reanimate itself in so many different ways. I can definitely say that TTSAY transformed my appreciation for Theo as a concerned friend, but also helped me fall more and more for Paul's charms and everything about his personality that resonates throughout the entire book. Again I can't say too much without spoiling anything but I will tell you now that this one will have you in tears hoping to God that anything and everything will happen in order to help Marguerite succeed in her dimensional journey, even if it means sabotaging a life's work to ensure the safety of loved ones. Also visiting other dimensions and other versions of herself and her family will keep her questioning her loyalty and whether or not she was right about how a soul is always the same in every world and lifetime.

Marguerite definitely has a lot on her mind in this novel. She seems to question things much more and wonder whether she was misled by certain things and make it hard for her to make calculated decisions. Her loyalties are tested much more so it's almost heartbreaking to see how she goes through it all and still comes out mentally stable. She comes to a real development curve though which gains her better insight to the world of the dimensions and therefore gives her a clearer mind when it comes to the end of the book as her loyalties are truly tested in ways that no one would even begin to understand unless they saw it for themselves. Who knew families were so complicated! Marguerite eventually gets an opportunity to revisit the Russiaverse where she is know as a Duchess and has an older brother, Vladimir, younger sister, Katya, and a younger brother, Peter. There are complicated reasons as to why she feels she needs to visit again and unfortunately even coming back to this world doesn't help when she discovers something completely overwhelming for both her and the Duchess. I feel like the visit gives her more clarity on the virtue of life, not just through the previous lost of Lieutenant Markov and reliving that reality, but just seeing her 'siblings' again and something other that totally blows her mind.

I only just started this series about a couple of weeks ago but reading both back-to-back helped me see the major differences in either one and helped me develop my love for all the characters so much easily spending so much time with them. I'm really sad to have to wait a whole lot longer than everyone else to read the next installment due to receiving an ARC but at least I know I am fully ready to receive another dose of Marguerite and Paul having majorly romantic moments which make my stomach turn with butterflies and send my heart leaping with excitement. This novel is most likely one of Claudia's best work to date (I just can't see her original series, Evernight being as good as this!) so I'm betting on it that it will become one of the top selling series of the decade due to it's mastermind thoughtfulness behind it all. I don't think I can think of anything wrong with it and coming from a fully honest critic like myself, that hopefully sounds pretty good!

Overall I have given this a 4.75 stars out of 5 just naturally because it made me feel warm and gooey inside and I'm literally craving more like I crave coffee every morning. I need my next Firebird fix! Also one thing before I wrap this up, I can't wait until someone creates a Firebird device because I'm so down to own something like that. Hell, if it works then I'd love to find myself a Lieutenant Markov version of my partner, Chad (just kidding but seriously...)!

What do you expect to happen in this book? Do you believe in dimensions and the possibility of dimensional travel? What do you think the Firebird looks like? Any thoughts on the name for the next book? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below!

Go check out the awesome playlist I created specifically for this series on Spotify HERE!

Thank you HarperCollins New Zealand for the review copy! Go like their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Harpercollinsnz?fref=ts

Go add Ten Thousand Skies Above You to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Buy it on Book Depository with free shipping world wide HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

A Thousand Pieces Of You by Claudia Gray: Book Review

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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It has been a while since I've read a well thought through sci-fi book and I am ever so grateful that HarperCollins seems to have good taste in their authors. At first I found it hard to get into just due to the lack of a love story in the first few chapters, crazy information all at once which was hard for me to process instantly, and the fact that this was a major difference to my usual read. However, I did manage to push on through the novel and thank God I did because I ended up enjoying it more than I intended. I haven't read any of Claudia Gray's previous novels before, even though I always wanted to read her 'Evernight' series but I never managed to get my hands on the books, but this specific novel gave me the uttermost chills of excitement from the interesting storyline woven together with scientific facts (the majority) and a heart-breaking romance that will leave you wondering why you have not yet found someone like that.

Marguerite was the protagonist of this novel and reminded me of such a typical yet realistic teenager which really helped to reel me into the book. I hate when characters either do not have enough personality or self esteem to keep the novel interesting, or are just so fake that someone like them could never exist in real life. Yes, it's fiction. Of course you'll be expecting anything, I'm just stating my personal preferences. Meg (as Theo likes to call her) is a realist and goes through a lot of painful realities in a short amount of time. She has been battered and bruised, lied to and made to think the worst while she leaves her family behind to go track down the 'killer' of her father. Going through the story I grew to really like Marguerite as a person and respected the way she handled things as it was very much how I would have if I were stuck in her position, however I probably would have noticed something off or different about someone instantly if it were someone I knew quite well. I like how her talent is art and in every dimension she notices that the different versions of her there also like the same things and feel the same way; well let's say it's more than usually that would happen in one dimension to the next. Marguerite seems to be quite an on to it character, being able to pick things out easily and notice the differences between each world, the very minor differences. I guess that's how the daughter of two highly acclaimed scientists/physicists would be - and she seems to think she's the odd one of the bunch who isn't smart like her family which in truth is actually very much the other way around. Obviously as the main character, she is made out to be special so she is perfect for the dimensional travel but I'm honestly starting to get a little tired of that trope. Other than that small detail, I actually really loved this book.

The storyline played out amazingly well and worked out better than I had imagined. I have this bad habit of trying to predict at early points of the novel what might end up happening later but with ATPOY, Claudia Gray did the most amazing job at keeping you in the dark until just before the information is given about a certain subject or person and that made it all the more enthralling and anticipating. I like how there were very many obstacles and it almost always felt like they would be too torn down to keep going but they always managed to work around or get out of a sticky situation. In saying that, I guess that points out a very interesting message for the readers: No matter how tough the obstacle their is always a way around it or never give up because you might just win. I don't know, that's the part where I had to get a little cheesy. I like how even though the dimensions were set at the same time as every other, some had developed more and some had developed less so it made it interesting and gave the novel diversity of time. Thinking about all the dimension's that were mentioned, a few genre's could sneakily be mentioned thanks to those worlds such as dystopian and historical fiction of some sort. I can't say too much without giving anything away but the love story in this book will have your heart thumping with excitement and encouragement, but then ripped to pieces and then sewn back together with string and a knitting needle. Yup, ouch, painful. But honestly so good! I've already set myself straight into my ARC version of the sequel, Ten Thousand Skies Above You which comes out November 15th 2015 and let me tell you that this series will be something to keep an eye on. To be fully honest, it could be as big as The Hunger Games if it were to be optioned for a movie because this novel is just too good to pass on as just "mediocre young adult fiction".

Overall I have given this book a 4.5 stars out of 5 because again like I've said about other novels, I absolutely loved it and it had great content which continued to amaze me with how much sense it made for a science fiction novel, although it was not something that I would become obsessed with and will stand just before a 5 star novel. In other words, it's a great novel and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in science based novels, just not for those who are constantly seeking out another series to be enamoured with like I am with the Throne of Glass series for example. I truly do hope to get more out of the next installment!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? If you are planning on buying this book because of my review, please let me know in the comments below!

Go check out the awesome playlist I created specifically for this series on Spotify HERE!

Thank you HarperCollins New Zealand for the review copy! Go like their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Harpercollinsnz?fref=ts

Go add A Thousand Pieces Of You to your Goodreads list HERE

Go buy it on MightyApe with 1 day delivery in New Zealand HERE

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith

Unpopular Opinions Tag

I've recently decided that due to my laptop problem (my Macbook Pro broke if you did not see on my Twitter), I have decided to spend a bit more time on my blog and therefore writing more interesting posts. Yeah book reviews are good and I love writing them, but I feel like I want to make this a little more fancy and interesting by posting fun stuff every now and then. So that is why I have decided to do a written version of this Booktube tag for you all!

1. A Popular Book or series that you didn't like.

Personally I didn't overly like Allegiant due to the ending but the first two books in the series, Divergent and Insurgent I really enjoyed and they turned out quite well as movies. Now we're waiting for Allegiant to come out and I really hope that from how they've changed a bunch of  things in the other movies that they will change the ending of this too so I will be happy once again.

2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love. (I'll change this to a series that everyone loves but I hate)

I started reading the first Vampire Diaries book and to be totally honest, I could not get into it at all. I maybe only read like a few pages and I was already bored out of my mind. It was shocking to me because I absolutely loved L.J. Smith's other book series, Night World and I always wished that they would be turned into a tv series. I found the tv series of this to be a little more interesting but it still failed to keep my interest and  I ended up throwing the whole craze out the window.

3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don't like. 

This is not a spoiler because they're sort of but not really together at the beginning of the novel. Just read it and you'll know what I mean. To be fully honest with everyone, and I know from The House Of Night Online how many people really loved him and shipped him with Zoey, I really didn't like Heath. No matter how much he "changed" or became more romantic or whatever. I just didn't like him and the whole typical "Jock" thing isn't really my type anyway. *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT* I also felt like Zoey suited Stark a whole lot better just because he was willing to protect her til the day she died and that he was just a whole lot more suited to her than Heath was. Plus Heath obviously wasn't going to live as long as her so what would be the point in them being together in the first place?

4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for. 

I personally don't really know what the whole hype is about contemporary novels. I'm guessing it's more of a love story/romantic kind of vibe but I love fantasy so much that a book seems almost boring without any in it. Yeah I love romance but there's usually always some sort of relationship in a fantasy novel anyway. I definitely want to pick up a few of John Green's books at some point, such as Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns and The Fault In Our Stars as I know that they are good and almost everyone loves the movies. Here is an example of one contemporary novel I wouldn't be rushing into a book store for any time soon.

5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like. 

I don't know whether Kestrel from The Winner's Curse is really a beloved character or whatever but I know that the books are well known and she is known by Booktubers so that's enough for me. Plus there aren't very many others I could choose from as I rarely read a book where I don't like the main character. Kestrel just plainly annoyed me. I appreciated her love for music and the fact that she didn't let the fact that Arin wass Herrani sway her into not liking him. I felt like she never truly understood the Herrani's struggles even having one in place as a mother in a way. Kestrel is just one character that I don't particularly feel close to or relate to which are two really important things for me when reading a book.

6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into. 

Sorry Claudia but so far I am not having an easy time getting into your latest book, A Thousand Pieces Of You. It's not personal and I have yet to read your other books such as the Evernight series, but this was the only author I could come up with who is as popular as she is. I would say Nina Malkin because Swoon was utterly dreadful and a complete waste of precious reading time, though I don't think her status is high enough to reach the ranks of Claudia. In saying this, I have yet to finish the novel so my thoughts may change but right now this has to be my answer.

7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)

If Throne of Glass and Twilight aren't good enough examples of a love triangle then I don't know what else is. Don't get me wrong, I totally and absolutely love both these book series with a passion, I just find the love triangle so frustrating because does the main character really have to worry about two guys being in love with her and if so, it should be so hard to choose ONE of them straight away before she really stuffs things up. Personally for my own story as a comparison, I have made sure to have no love triangles because I don't feel like there is a need if you have an interesting enough plot and deeper issues. Other than that, these there still amazingly awesome series, I just had to say that I am getting sick of seeing the typical love triangle trope and I know a few people will agree with me!

8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

Ugh I know for a dead fact that I will NEVER EVER EVER read this god-awful series because 1. I am so not into reading erotica and shit about being submissive to a guy like that. 2. From what I've heard, the majority of the people who read it hated it. 3. E.L. James is a terrible author. 4. I don't consider erotica something to be up to my standards (not being cocky, just another reason to not read it. And yes, I do have a level of standards for books, just not often. And that's really saying something). The End.

9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

If I had of read the Maze Runner, I probably would have said that because literally everyone I know that has read that series thoroughly enjoyed the movies more than they did the books. But I haven't and I had to choose something at least vaguely relevant. So I chose the Twilight movies. I'm not saying that I didn't like the books, I absolutely loved them. But this is the only series I've read and watched the movies and loved both adaptations equally so that is as close to an answer as I can get! The cast was perfect and fit the book characters so well, plus the chemistry was on point. So an A+++ for both!

I really hope you enjoyed reading my Unpopular Opinions Tag! If you agree of disagree with any of my choices, comment down below.

I tag Ella from Once Upon A Bookish Time!

I also tag you if you are reading this! If you write a blog post such as mine or choose to film this instead, tweet the link to my Twitter @ellabellabellz and I will check it out and possibly even retweet it! If you don't have a Twitter then email the link to me at B.theclairsentient@gmail.com

Find more out about my writing career at:

http://ellafleming-christie.weebly.com

My YouTube Channel: FeathersandFaith