Wednesday Audio Waves: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

Hiya there!

I finally have got an alliteration idea for my audiobooks reviews!

I'm a bit of an odd duck and like having names for my review days and alliterations are my prefered form whenever possible. So much that I've been postponing posting my audiobooks reviews until I came up with a name! But now Wednesday Audio Waves is born and my first audio review is here!

I had never been a big fan of audiobooks (except the Harry Potter ones, read by Stephen Fry) but I have two of my bookish friends that are huge fans of audiobooks and that have very recently converted me! Both Nikki & Cassi love audiobooks and listening to them is their preferred way to re-read books.

I decided to give audiobooks a try because I want to be able to continue reading even when you cannot be reading from a book because you need your hands and eyes. Like cleaning the house or walking around.

And after asking both Cassi and Nikki for recommendations, I signed up for Audible and got The Scorpio Races as my first book! And it was as amazing as Nikki promised it'd be!

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

As my first audiobook (after a disastrous experience with a Sookie Stackhouse one) this couldn't have been a better choice! With dual narrators, one for Sean and one for Puck, the characters really came to life with their voices!

And the book was so atmospheric! I don't know if it was the book itself or the narration or a combination of both but I simply adored the vibe and feel of the book!

There was some real magical feeling to the book, with the capaill uisce, the race and the small town with traditions and mysteries and distrust of strangers.

I loved that both Puck and Sean had different reasons to want to run and win the race and that although both had the more to win and the more to lose, they both managed to not become real rivals. They began to work together and although the romance is on the light side, it is also quite deeply felt and rooted at the same time!

There's so much more than just the race, but there's also so much about families and what you'd do to keep yours together, to get freedom, to feel safe again... And the relationships between characters were do complex and well crafted!

If you haven't read this book, I do very much recommend that you do, and if you can? Do listen to the audiobook! It will add some more magic to the already atmospheric book! Very much deserving of 5 stars!

Friday Reads: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

As my second Friday Reads entry I have a book that I was dying to get my hands on but that arrived home while I was on vacation, and that I started as soon as I could but that didn't devour as quickly as I might have other books because I just didn't want it to end!

Maggie Stiefvater is simply a genius and I very much need to catch up with the rest of her books while I wait for the final book in this series releasing next year!



Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A review for Blue Lily Lily Blue is going to be very difficult to write, even more trying to keep it as spoiler free as possible!

Maggie Stiefvater's writing is flawless and I kept being surprised and scared and sometimes I needed to take a break from the book and read something else because I was genuinely scared of what might come in the next pages. Because if you want twists and new info and new worries at almost every turn of the page, this is your book!

Amazing writing, intricate plot, answers and even more questions, unexpected new characters coming up and turning into new villains, new unexpected grey maybe allies, existing relationships getting deeper, ships getting even more shipable... ah, the pain! I continue to love the ladies at 500 Fox street, the Raven Boys & Blue, and the Gray Man!

The more I read, the more complicated everything kept on getting and more scared you get because you know there's no way things can be resolved by the end of the book in a good way, or in any way. And once the book ends you are scared for what's to come on the next book, because you're sure that all the shit will hit the fan in the final book, and it is STILL ONE YEAR AWAY!!

Blue continues to be probably my favourite character in the book, she's so brave and she continues to reflect and grow and accept herself, no matter what new surprises she keeps on getting thrown at her face and dealing with her mother being missing. And of course with her non-existing-but-sort-of-meant-to-be relationship with Gansey... those two make my heart hurt and I love love love reading their sweet scenes, their unsaid conversations, the ones they actually have, and what they know that can't be but cannot help to wish for.

I would talk forever about this book but I don't think I can manage without some spoiler popping here or there, and I have to say that the book is much better enjoyed with as little previous information as possible. This is a 5 stars and some more kind of a book and I cannot recommend the whole series enough! If you haven't started reading this series yet, GO NOW AND START READING!




View all my reviews

Tell Me Tuesdays #16!!

Tell Me Tuesdays is a meme/feature created by the awesome ladies of Please Feed The Bookworm and La La In The Library where we can share how we choose the book we are currently reading from our TBR pile!

I'm always curious about that, cause as much as I tend to make myself a rough schedule for books to read and the like, I'm quite a mood reader and sometimes I just HAVE to ignore my schedule and read something else!

 Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

 Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

The third installment in the mesmerizing series from the irrepressible, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.


So, yep, Tell Me Tuesdays is back now that I'm back from my vacation/hiatus!! I've started reading a few books this week, because I cannot seem to be able to pick just one! I'm beyond excited about this two, and I'm loving Meira! Also, Maggie Stiefvater is cruel and keeps on adding twists and WTF moments at every turn and I'm not even halfway into the book!!

 So what are you all guys reading and how and why did you decide to pick up that book? Shiny new ARC? Comfort read? Scheduled for review? Must have new release? Tell me!!

Waiting On Wednesday #64!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Sooooo, what book am I absolutely dying to get my hands on this week?? Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

Goodreads Summary:

"There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Blue Lily, Lily Blue? I've fallen in love with Maggie Stiefvater's writing since The Raven Boys and I this series is simply fantastic and after the cliffhanger at the end of Dream Thieves I've been dying to read this one!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Mark This Book Monday: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new week, a new Monday and a few new entries of Mark This Book Monday!

For the first of them a quite long and quite rambling review of a fantastic second book in a series, that was also part of my September is for Sequels Challenge!

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was ecstatic when my copy of The Dream Thieves arrived in the mail just one day after release day, so I started reading it as soon as it opened the parcel!

The Dream Thieves has been another of those eagerly awaited books that has not only exceeded expentantions but completely blown me away! I loved the Raven Boys and fell in love with the characters and the story and their search and the writing and the pacing... and now with The Dream Thieves, the impossible has happened and I'm even more in love with the whole world and characters!

For some reason I took my time reading this book, not only cause of life and work getting in the way of my reading time, but also cause I tried my best not to rush through the book! There are so many details, so many things you might miss! So I did my best to slow my reading, even with taking little breaks after a few pages to let all that I had read settle in and give it a few swirls in my head.

I'm gonna try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, even more cause this book deserves to be enjoyed with all its twists and surprises intact!

This book could be said that it is Ronan's book, cause we really get to know so much more about him, about his past, his family and we get to understand him and ,in my case at least, love him and root for him in a way that I didn't think possible in Raven Boys. In book 1 I appreciated his loyalty to his friends, but really didn't understand his self deprecating and self destructive tendencies. Well, dear Ronan, the poor guy has so much on his shoulders, and half of it he doesn't even know what to think or do about it! He's not just a bit of a hero in this book beyond his unexplainable ability to talk to the trees in Cabeswater but he does learn some lessons about his heritage and even more important ones about himself.

Quite a bit of the focus is also given to Adam, his own conflicts with accepting himself and learning what the sacrifice he made to wake the ley line will really ask of it, but also of the way he deals with Gansey and Blue and how he seems to be too wrapped up on his own world of Adam proving his worth doing things the Adam way. He managed to get on my nerves a pair of times cause he simply seems to reject all help out of a misplaced sense or need of self validation, but there was a part of a conversation between Blue and Gansey that made me understand Adam a bit better, and I got to feel for him again so much in the final part of the book.

Gansey and his quest aren't so much in the forefront in this book, but that doesn't mean that his character doesn't continue to grow and have a lot of presence in the story. Gansey really is one, if not my absolutely favourite characters in the book. He's so complex with the many faces of him, his loyalty, his kindness and his naivete in some aspects. His search is still going, but there are very few new clues and very many new obstacles!

Blue and her family also get quite a development, we learn more about all the different pyschic females of the family, there's more Calla, there's more Penelope and there's more Orla, and one way or another all of them contribute greatly in their own little ways to the story. Maura also gets to be quite a bit more than just the pyschic mother of Blue.

Noah is still his own ghostly self, no more back story or any intriguing bit reveals about it, he's there as a good friend to the boys and to Blue.

And Blue, well if I had to pick a fave character, she'd be it! I love how she's trying to figure out herself, trying to be supportive of her friends, trying to understand all the boys even if sometimes Ronan acts like deserving of a good slap and even when Adam isn't helping his case at all... she's always being strong and proving everyone and herself that Blue is awesome being herself! She cares for the boys, she loves her strange family and she is managing to quite succesfully mixing both.

There are quite a few new characters, some more important than others, some that were in the background of Raven Boys and came front stage in this one. A new and rather disturbing character is the Gray Man. He describes himself as a hit man and it's looking for a rather mystic "object" on the orders of a collector. Every mention of the Gray Man made me think of the legends of the Green Man, and how his no use of his name or how unnoticeable he tries to keep himself, he seems to be taking a name that represents a character that has been represented by other people at other times. I don't know if that hunch will prove correct in book 3, or it'll be just an odd idea I had. He first comes trying to do his job, but as he learns more about what he's looking for he becomes more embroiled in the whole plot and more involved with our Raven boys and the Pyshic ladies.

The writing is fantastic, the plot is brilliant and keeps you on your toes with the twist and turns and all the little bits of information you keep on gathering. Character development is great and the way the relationships betweent the characters is fantastic. The romance doesn't have a big up front place in this book, but it is there, the progress or lack of progress of it, and it is still a bit of a motivatior for actions or lack of them. And that ending, damn! Why did it have to end with such an absolutely unexpected cliffhanger as that one!?

Really brilliant book, very much well deserve 5 (and even more) stars! Now forgive me while I go hug my copy of the book while rocking back and forth waiting for the next one!



View all my reviews

Waiting On Wednesday #7!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

 For this week's installment, my is-it-here-yet-I'm-stalking-the-postman release is The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.

Goodreads summary:

"The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…"

Why am I eagerly awaiting The Dream Thieves? For starters I loved The Raven Boys and I can't wait to hear what's coming next for the boys and Blue and after reading all the amazing reviews my fellow bloggers who got ARCs have given this one... I'm just gonna be biting my nails till my copy arrives in the mail!

What are you all (im)patiently waiting to read?

Mark This Book Monday: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater!

Another book that quite surprised me and totally blew away my expectations in a good way for the next Mark This Book Monday entry.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sometimes, upon reading the synopsis of a book you make up your mind on what you think it'd typically happen, and despite by best efforts to not do that, it had happen with The Raven Boys... I was expecting insta-love and maybe some typical cliches on rich school boys with a paranormal touch and I am so happy to say that Raven Boys was nothing like I was expecting and in the best ways possible.

Blue Sargent is the only one in her house that is not a clairvoyant or has any sort of physic powers, unlike her mother and her friends, but every year for St Mark's Day she has sat with her mother in a remote abandoned church to watch for the sould of those that would die during the year and she's never seen them. But this year, she doesn't go with her mother, she goes with Neeve, her mother's cousin/half-sister/relativ and she sees a boy, a boy named Gansey and she's told that he's either her true love or she's gonna kill him. Pair that with how she's always been told that if she kisses her true love she'll kill him, and Blue is sure that she wants to avoid love but intrigued enough to want to find more about that boy.

As it happens, Gansey attends a very exclusive school on Blue's town, the Aglionby Academy for boys, known as The Raven Boys. They meet by chance (or maybe fate) at the diner where Blue works and though they don't hit it up or fall in love, everything is set in motion from then on. Having a reading at Blue's house by her mum and friends for Gansey and the rest of his small group of unlikely friends is just the final push for the rock to roll.

This book is carried in the shoulders of its characters and they are such a complex mix that is a joy to read about them and try to discover more about each of them.

The fours boys, Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah are such an unlikely mix and so different from the very cliched stereotypes of the rich privileged boys that would attend an elite school, and their interactions and their relationship is one that makes you think of the "your friends are the family you choose" saying.

Blue and her family are such a ragtag of quirky and different personalities and as full of secrets as the boys. Whatever you see in the surface for them, is quite like an iceberg, there's even more unseen.

The plot moves at a slow but steady pace, building up on the mystery and the search of Gansey's own grial quest: finding the tomb of an old Welsh king. It is unclear if Gansey is sure of what he'll do when he finds it, cause even if it's said that you can ask a boon from the king if you find him, it seems that is the search what Gansey is using to find who he is separate from his family and his money, a quest to define himself. All the boys seem to be more or less involved on Gansey's search, some more out of loyalty, some cause they do want something out of the king. And Blue, Blue just can't help being drawn into the quest because she becomes part of the Raven Boys, she finds a different purpose and she just feels she needs to be there.

There's plenty of paranormal elements, but quite in a different and unique way, and it has plenty of gritty tough real world happenings to balance it, there's enough darkness and intrigue to keep you turning the pages and while the ending is quite final, it also leaves plenty of open doors and questions unanswered to be quite eagerly awaiting the next book in the series!

Raven Boys does deserve 4 and a half stars.




View all my reviews