The Fall Activities Book Tag

November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ 5 Comments

Thanks to Ariana @ The Quirky Book Nerd for tagging me! It’s super late, but it just recently started to feel like Fall in my part of the world, so I guess maybe it’s justified??? This tag was originally created by Ashley @ Dreaming Through Literature, so you should go check out her blog as well!

*Warning: Before I start answering these questions, I gotta give you the heads up that this post may have some weird looking formatting! My blogging software updated again, and now that beautiful rich text editor that I’ve bragged about before doesn’t wanna play nice with my screenreader anymore, so I am going to be typing raw HTML in order to make this post hopefully look pretty! I am by no means an expert on HTML, so this is gonna be interesting to say the least… Please drop me a comment if anything looks completely insane, and I’ll do my best to fix it! Thank you very much if you decide to continue reading this post! Now for those questions!!!

Apple Picking: A book on your TBR that looks so delicious you can’t wait to take a bite out of it.

Heartless Cover Heartless by Marissa Meyer

I absolutely loved the first three books in this series, and I can’t wait until I have time to start this one!

Corn Maze: A book that’s so much fun to get lost in.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog for a while, you know how obsessed I am with The Raven Cycle. I finished the last book a couple weeks ago, and I’m still not over the amazingness of this series! I desperately need a spinnoff series!!!

Haunted Houses: A book that scared you silly.

Anna Dressed in blood by Kendare Blake

I’m not one to read a lot of creepy stuff because I think some of this ghost business can actually happen, but I read this because of multiple recommendations. It was an amazing read, but I was terrified and slightly grossed out for the majority of it…

Pumpkin Patch: The latest book you picked up (purchased).

Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner

I’ve been researching tarot pretty extensively because one of the characters in my current writing project needs to have a reading, and my Google searches brought me to this book. I use the hero’s journey story to outline my writing, and I realized that’s basically what Tarot represents. So… This book is now patiently awaiting my attention in the Kindle app…

Scenic Drives: a book that is lyrically beautiful.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Ok so the whole Raven Cycle series is written beautifully, but The Raven King is unbelievably stunning! I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better ending to that series!

Pumpkin Carving: A book you didn’t like and wouldn’t mind carving up.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I thought this series was going to break the vampire cliches, and it started out really cool, and then the plot went down the drain… I could go on, but I’ll spare you my rant!

Hiking: A book that was a highly enjoyable romp.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I still love it! The characters are just so realistic, and I can always turn to this book when I need a good laugh!

Drinking Apple Cider: A sweet book to curl up under the covers with.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

I can’t do a tag without including Harry Potter because it’s like the greatest piece of literature ever written… I always seem to reread/rewatch it in the Fall and Winter months, and it’s absolutely perfect for this question! It’s just a cozy read even though people are trying to kill people throughout the whole series!

Jumping In A Leaf Pile: A book that reminds you of your childhood.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

AND… The Hidden Staircase Nancy Drew 2 The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2) by Carolyn Keene

Yeah, I know… I used the same series twice. But The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite Harry Potter book, and any Harry Potter book is going to take me back to my childhood! I was also totally obsessed with Nancy Drew when I was in fourth and fifth grade, so that’s why I included that one.

Scary Movie Night: Your favorite spooky read.

The Diviners (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray

I don’t read a lot of super creepy stuff, and I already used Anna Dressed In Blood, so I was pretty limited. I learned a lot from the writing style of this book, but I think I jumped every time I heard whistling for about a week after I finished it. You can click HERE if you wanna see my full review!

Bonus! Costume Party: A book with an eclectic cast of characters.

Blue lily Lily Blue Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven cycle #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

I told you I’m obsessed with The Raven Cycle… I think that’s the third book from the series I’ve used in this tag! This book has a very large cast of characters, and “eclectic” is a great word to describe them!

I Tag:

I think the majority of bloggers I know have already been tagged for this, but if you haven’t, I tag you!

The Dream thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

October 8, 2016October 8, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ 3 Comments

“He was brother to a liar and brother to an angel, son of a dream and son of a dreamer.” -Maggie Stiefvater, The Dream Thieves

Title: The Dream Thieves

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Series: The Raven Cycle #2

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery

Pages: 437

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: September 17, 2013

My Rating: ☆☆☆

Amazon

iBooks

Goodreads

Synopsis From Goodreads:

If you could steal things from dreams, what would you take? Ronan Lynch has secrets. Some he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself. One secret: Ronan can bring things out of his dreams. And sometimes he’s not the only one who wants those things. Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan’s secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surface—changing everything in its wake. Of The Raven Boys, Entertainment Weekly wrote, “Maggie Stiefvater’s can’t-put-it-down paranormal adventure will leave you clamoring for book two.” Now the second book is here, with the same wild imagination, dark romance, and heart-stopping twists that only Maggie Stiefvater can conjure.

My Thoughts: ☆☆☆

After my five star review of The Raven Boys, I was really hoping for a bit more out of the sequel. don’t get me wrong! The Dream Thieves is an AMAZING read, and I WILL be finishing the series, but I still ended up giving it three stars. Let’s analyze my reasoning and see what y’all think!

The Writing:

The writing of The Dream thieves is honestly what sealed the deal on that three star rating for me. The writing of The Raven Boys was tight! There was NO confusion about who was narrating at any given time, even though there were up to five points of view being shown. Every single word counted for something, and at NO point were you left wondering exactly why you just spent 30 minutes of your day reading that chapter. The Dream Thieves didn’t seem to have that tight writing style. It stays true to the characters and the series, but sometimes it almost became more like a decoration and less like a perfectly worded masterpiece. All the metaphors and descriptions are still beautiful and amazing and wonderfully full of things for me to learn from, but I did find myself flipping back a page a few times to see who was narrating. I guess the easiest way to describe the writing is that it had a dream-like quality, (pun totally intended), but I think that was meant to contribute to the plot of the story because so much of it took place in dreams. Oh don’t cringe over it taking place in dreams! These were dream scenes done right!

The Characters:

Oh my gosh the characters! Yeah… I thought I was over my fangirl stage, but no… These characters are just too amazing to be real! Oh wait… They’re not real… They’re just little bits of story! But if you’re a bookworm of any kind you will excuse my sleep deprived brain and know exactly what I mean! These characters are the kind of characters who seem like they should just come out of the pages and be real! And those character arcs…

Blue: Blue is undergoing a transformation, and I LIKE IT! She kind of had these preconceived judgements of people who I will not name at the beginning of the series, and I can see them slowly slipping away.

Gansey: Like I said before, I do not particularly care for Gansey’s character. It’s not because his character is badly written, but because of his personality, and I think that maybe he’s one of those characters that readers are supposed to love/hate until something major happens to make them drop everything and love them. Shatter Me ringing any bells for anyone??? anyway… I can kinda see him slipping a little into somebody I can’t help but love, especially in his interactions with other characters. He reeeeeally cares for Ronan and Adam and now Blue, and it is SO sweet when that shows through.

Ronan: Ok… Y’all know about my love for Ronan if you read my review of book 1, and that love didn’t lessen any after reading The Dream Thieves. In The Raven Boys, Ronan didn’t get much time at the mic, but his story really starts to show through in The Dream Thieves. We still have that multiPOV thing going on, but there’s a definite focus on Ronan. There were a few times where I kinda questioned whether certain things were true to his character, but for the most part I LOVED it! He went through a MAJOR transformation and admitted some stuff to himself and his friends that kinda shocked me, but now that it’s out I kinda feel stupid for not seeing it earlier… Let’s see if you can guess what it is!

Adam: Can someone please just pick Adam up and put his heart back together because oh my gosh! I almost cried a couple times! And I can’t even tell you why cause spoilers!!!

Noah: Noah didn’t get a whole lot of focus in this book, but he is definitely undergoing a transformation of his own, and I don’t know if it’s a good one or not. It makes sense for his character, but I have a feeling that it’s really going to destroy my little bookworm heart when he reaches the end of it.

Mr. Gray: Yeah! We have a new character! He gets some mic time, and he is quite intriguing! But he hurt Ronan so I hate him a little!!!

The Plot:

The plot structure was VERY tight, and there was no slow spot at the beginning like there was in book 1. It jumped right into the story, although the first chapter was a little metaphorical. I do think it worked for the opening though, and it definitely fits Ronan’s character. The Dream Thieves continued the trend of weaving the individual story of each character into the bigger picture, and it was done extremely well! I love watching all the stories intertwine and connect and fall into place like puzzle pieces right where I wasn’t expecting them to join. They’re woven so tightly together that you can’t have one story without the other without the plot falling flat somewhere. And the ending? The ending was a TOTAL cliff hanger that I will NOT spoil, but somebody goes missing… I feel like that should be followed by epic music but there is none…

In Short:

You’re probably all wishing I’d get to the point now, so… You should read it! But after you’ve read The Raven Boys! Don’t go starting in the midst of a series! EVER! The writing does get a little weird at times, but I think it’s a writing technique, and it doesn’t detract from the amazingness of the story enough to make it not worth reading! If you liked book 1, book 2 will only be a minor let down, and then you’ll get sucked into book 3 just like I am now! In fact, I am going to leave you to ponder over my review and leave me comments whilst I go read and then do algebra homework!

What are Your thoughts?

Have you read The Dream Thieves? Do you want to read it? Are you reading anything creepy for October? Tell me in the comments! Until next time… Happy spooky reading to all you bookworms! Oh come on… You know you’re reading something at least a little creepy! I’m thinking Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is gonna be my next creepy read! If you’ve read it, share your thoughts on that as well! From Cheyenne 🙂

The Coffee Book Tag

October 6, 2016October 6, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

This tag has been sitting in my “blog about this later” notebook for ages, so it’s about time for it to get posted. I think I probably stole this tag off of somewhere because I don’t have the name of the person who tagged me, and also I don’t know who created it, so let’s just say I’m a horrible blogging friend and call it good… Anyway… It’s a really nice cool Fall day outside, and I have a mug of french vanilla cappuccino on my desk, so what better time to do a magical tag where coffee and books collide? Grab your coffee of choice, and let’s get started!

BLACK: Name a series that’s tough to get into but has hardcore fans.

Sorry to all you Twilight fans, but I don’t get your obsession. I got three chapters in and stopped…

PEPPERMINT MOCHA: Name a book that gets more popular during the Winter or a festive time of year

. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer s Stone Cover Art I love rereading and rewatching Harry Potter around Christmas time. It’s kind of a tradition now for me to have a big HP reread and my family to have the movies on as we put up the tree.

HOT CHOCOLATE: What is your favorite children’s book?

Ok first of all… How dare you insinuate that hot chocolate is for children! I drink hot chocolate all the time in the Winter whilst I’m reading and writing, and it’s one of those drinks for any age. But i’ll be a good girl and answer the question now… I was really tempted to say Harry Potter again, but Magic Treehouse came before that. And Mummies in the morning was my favorite book in that series because Egypt!

DOUBLE SHOT OF ESPRESSO: Name a book that kept you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Throne Of Glass Uhh yeah… I’ve been procrastinating a review of this whole series because I just have so many complicated feels, but it definitely kept me reading!

STARBUCKS: Name a book you see everywhere.

The Fault In OUr Stars If you haven’t seen this book literally everywhere over the last few months, you must be blinder than i am. And that isn’t physically possible, so… laughs at own bad joke

THAT HIPSTER COFFEE SHOP: Give a book by an indie author a shoutout.

Ignite cover art You NEED to read this book! Erica Crouch did an amazing job putting an original spin on old angelic lore! And it’s free on Kindle so…

OOPS! I ACCIDENTALLY GOT DECAF: Name a book you were expecting more from.

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia After that amazingly epic creation that was Beautiful Chaos, I was really hoping for something equally as awesome. Beautiful redemption was good, but it was still a bit of a disappointment for me. It just seemed like maybe the authors were really sick and tired of the plot and characters and just wanted to end things now!

THE PERFECT BLEND: Name a book or series that is both bitter and sweet but ultimately satisfying.

The raven boys Ok so the whole entire Raven Cycle series is like too amazing to possibly be real. If you didn’t see yesterday’s review, just go read it, and it’ll maybe sum up my feelings for the first book. I’m on the last one now, and I’m still just as hooked as I was at the start! And I am hardcore shipping two characters that I thought I’d hate together before but now I may cry if they don’t kiss by the end of this! and i’m NOT telling you who they are unless you’ve already read the series!

GREEN TEA: Name a book or series that is quietly beautiful.

Entwined by heather Dixon Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to come up with something quietly beautiful?! People are always out to kill people in the books I read! But I think Entwined fits the description pretty well. It’s a retelling of The twelve Dancing Princesses, and it’s amazing! It’s also really special to me because it was my first official book review. I entered a Summer reading contest with that review, and I won! Now it’s kind of my go to comfort book.

CHAI TEA: Name a book that makes you dream of far away places.

These broken stars book cover art The majority of this book is set in another galaxy, so enough said! I’ll be reviewing it soon.

EARL GREY: Name your favorite classic.

A Year Down Yonder I know, I know… I can hear some of you scream, “that is NOT a classic!” I know it probably isn’t a classic in the usual sense, but it has a classic feel to me because it’s always been one of my favorite books. Also, I don’t read that many old classics because… there are no evil demon witch people trying to take over the world. I guess if you absolutely made me choose one, it would be

To Kill A Mockingbird.

What Do You Think?

That concludes the coffee book tag! Tell me what you guys would put together in the comments, and also please recommend me some quietly beautiful books because obviously I need them in my life… And also what are your favorite classics? I’m not tagging anybody specific because this has been around long enough that i don’t know who has and hasn’t done it, so if you’re a coffee loving bookworm and you haven’t done it yet, consider yourself tagged!

The Fifty Bookish Questions Tag

October 5, 2016October 4, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ 2 Comments

There is no friend as loyal as a book
I found this tag over on Kira’s Blog, and she tagged everybody, so I thought I’d give it a go! Kira has an awesome bookish blog, and you guys should really go check her out! And now… I have a feeling this is gonna be an extremely long post even by my standards, so let’s get started!

What was the last book you read?
Uhhh well… This is a scheduled post, but at the time of this writing, the last book I finished was Blue Lily, Lily Blue, which is the third book in The Raven cycle, (aka my current bookish obsession and the reason I am in total fangirl mode.)
Was it a good one?
YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!
What made it good?
EVERYTHING!!! Ok, ok… I guess if you made me pick one thing that made it awesome, I’d have to go with the characters. They’re just sO amazingly realistic and awesome and unique and mysterious and I LOVE all of them! But especially Ronan! I reeeeeeeally love Ronan! fangirls The writing is also amazing because their are four, sometimes five POV characters, and yet they’re all so unique that there isn’t any confusion over who’s speaking at any given moment. Let’s just say I’ve got a LOT to learn from Maggie Stiefvater about how to pull off multiple POV’s because I’m struggling with that right now!
Would you recommend it to other people?
Absolutely! You all just need to GO READ IT! actually you should all go read the whole Raven Cycle series because you simply cannot pick up the third book in a series without having read the two books prior to it! That’s like a major bookish crime and one that my little brother is guilty of! He won’t listen to me, but i have a feeling you share my opinion if you read my blog. 😉
How often do you read?
Everyday if possible and lots more on the weekends.
Do you like to read?
Ummm… Duh?!
What was the last bad book you read?
Ok… The term “bad” bugs me when it’s used to describe a book. There are good books, and there are not so good books, but any book deserves respect. With that out of the way, I’m going to say Born At Midnight, (Shadow Falls, Book 1), since I gave it two stars in my review.
What made you dislike it?
Ummmm… Just click here to read my review… Basically it was the writing, but I go WAY more in detail.
Do you wish to be a writer!
Yep! Just look at my blog name! Being a writer is my dream, and I’ll be bringing you all updates on my writing as I do NaNoWriMo this November. And btw… Ya know how I said I was starting a new project for NaNo since “Wishes” was too complicated to write like that? Yeah… I changed my mind again. The outline totally fell into place in my head, and now i cannot wait to write it for NaNoWriMo!
Has any book ever influenced you greatly?
Definitely! I’m not listing them all here though because that’d take forever…
Do you read fan fiction?
Sometimes… If I really like a series and want more from that world, I’ll read some fan fics for it. I think I’ve only ever really got hooked on fan fiction for Harry Potter, but The Raven Cycle may drive me to read more!
Do you write fan fiction?
When I write fan fiction, it’s usually only for a writing warm up for another project. Writing fan fiction for characters I know really well helps me understand things like plot and structure, and then I can apply that to my own work.
What’s your favorite book?
Really??? That’s like asking a mother to pick a favorite child! I’m gonna be predictable and say Harry Potter, but The raven King may be a close second. Can you tell I love The Raven Cycle yet? I will probably mention it about 50 more times in the remaining questions… Sorry!
What is your least favorite book?
Things fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is hands down the worst book I have EVER read! I had to read it for school, and I still don’t get it. I hate to down a book like that, but what even was the point of the plot? I passed my English class with the help of sparknotes.com!
Do you prefer physical books or reading on a device, like a Kindle?
Definitely eBooks! I’m a braille reader, and braille books are gigantic, so if I want floor space left over, I have to read eBooks! I mostly either read Kindle books on my iPad or listen to books from Audible.
When did you learn to read?
I started learning to read braille when I was four, and I’ve been an avid reader ever since!
What is your favorite book you had to read in school?
I honestly do not enjoy many books that are required for school, but i’m going to call this a tie between Tuck Everlasting, Number the Stars, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
What is your favorite book series?
Harry Potter/The Raven Cycle
Who is your favorite author?
J. K. Rolling/Maggie Stiefvater
What is your favorite genre?
Definitely young adult, but more specifically young adult fantasy.
Who is your favorite character from a book series?
Definitely Ronan from the Raven cycle! I just love him sooooooo much!
Has a book ever transported you somewhere else?
Uhhh yeah… That’s kinda what books do!
Which book do you wish had a sequel?
Ummm… I can’t actually think of one right now… I haven’t read a stand alone in forever!
Which book do you wish didn’t have a sequel?
Divergent! If Insurgent had never happened, all would be right in the world!
How long does it take you to read a book?
two to three days, depending on how much time I have.
Do you like when books become movies?
Yes, if it’s done right.
Which book was ruined by its movie adaptation?
The Lightning Thief! That movie was just NOT right!
Which movie has done a book justice?
Definitely all the Harry potter movies, and the Hunger Games.
Do you read newspapers?
No, boring, zzzzzzz….
Do you read magazines?
Yep, writing and craft magazines mostly.
Do you prefer newspapers or magazines?
Magazines definitely!
Do you read while in bed?
I almost always read in bed.
Do you read while on the toilet?
Yep… My iPad usually goes to the bathroom with me, I’m ashamed to admit… 😳
Do you read while in the car?
Yep. I usually listen to audio books on long car trips.
Do you read while in the bath?
Nope… I’d most likely end up dropping my iPad in the water, and that would be a sad day!
Are you a fast reader?
Very!
Are you a slow reader?
Ummmmmm… No. 🙂
Where is your favorite place to read?
Curled up in the window seat with my kitty.
Is it hard for you to concentrate while you read?
Nope… Reading makes me tune everything out for a while.
Do you need a room to be silent while you read?
Yes, definitely.
Who gave you your love for reading?
My mom and dad always read to me while I was little, and then my grandma introduced me to audio books, and I just never stopped loving books.
What book is next on your list to read?
After I finish The Raven King, I plan to start Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasco.
When did you start to read chapter books?
Probably in second grade or so.
Who is your favorite children’s book author?
Lemony Snicket!
Which author would you most like to interview?
Either J. K. Rolling or Maggie Stiefvater!
Which author do you think you’d be friends with?
Magie Stiefvater or Kami Garcia.
What book have you reread the most?
Definitely the Harry Potter Books.
Which books do you consider “classics?”
Anything that has an important historical or moral message and that is taught over and over again in school.
Which book do you think should be taught in all schools?
Anything that gets students interested in reading. If Harry Potter could be taught in school, that would be awesome!
Which books should be banned from all schools?
I don’t think any book should be banned from anywhere because books are sacred!

I Tag..

Anybody brave enough and with enough patients to tackle fifty questions! If you do it, drop me a link so i can see all your bookish answers, and does anyone wanna count how many times I mentioned The Raven cycle?
From Cheyenne 🙂

The Hogwarts House cup

October 1, 2016October 1, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

Hey people of Blog Land for the second time today! This post is for all you dumbledorks like myself out there who have always dreamed of participating in the traditional Hogwarts House Cup challenge! Ok… So it isn’t exactly traditional because obviously none of us can fly around on broomsticks or casts spells for points, but it’s been altered to make it possible for muggle bookworms to have loads of fun! I’m fighting on team Ravenclaw, and you can hop on over to Michelle’s awesome blog for all the bookish details. Basically, the amount of pages you read from October 10th to November 6th will earn points for your house, and you can earn additional points in competitions like making Harry Potter inspired dIY’s. There’s a Twitter and Instagram account to follow, along with a form to fill out and some important hashtags, so make sure you read Michelle’s post to find out the specifics. Hope you’ll come join the bookworm fun!

Book Review: Born At Midnight: Shadow Falls, (Book 1), by C. C. Hunter

September 16, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ Leave a comment

Born at midnight cover art

Title: Born At midnight

Author: C. C. Hunter

Series: Shadow Falls, (Book 1)

Pages: 416

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Published: March 29, 2011

Format read: Audio

Goodreads Synopsis:

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

My Rating: ☆☆

Ok… This is rough… I am giving my first public two star rating! But I feel it’s warranted, and I’ll explain why!

Born At Midnight really does not have the best writing in the world. Maybe I’m a hard critic since I’m an aspiring author who loves to pick apart writing, but it just seemed to me like the whole flow of the words needed a couple more rounds of edits before it hit the market! It certainly wasn’t horrible, and it definitely shouldn’t make you not read the book. It just seemed to me like the writing style was… let’s go with simplified. By that I mean that the writing style made it seem like the book was meant for middle grade readers, but there was some content in there that definitely was NOT meant for middle grade minds! It really just did NOT blend well, and it got my attention enough for me to mention it here. There were also a few descriptions of character actions, dialogue, and body language that just didn’t seem right. I was cringing a bit whilst reading it because it was just SO awkward for the characters involved in the scene that the awkwardness carried over to me… I mean, there is a certain degree of awkward that is good to have in a book, BUT come on… Enough’s enough! This kiss is getting gross and will probably be the thing that makes the two kissers avoid each other for the next thirty pages! And I’m blushing! Yeah, that’s another thing. The romance is a little weird, and it kinda takes over the plot a little instead of being just a subplot, but I think it might shape up to be better in the next book. I don’t care about your guy troubles; I care about figuring out what on earth you are so I can get on with my life!

WOW! That came out harsh! I’m going to reiterate that the writing should not stop you from picking up this book after reading my review, and that I am somewhat of a hard critic when it comes to writing style and words. I also listened to the audio book, so it tends to really draw my attention to writing style issues when I hear the words rather than reading them myself. I reeeeeally like where the plot is going, and I will honestly probably finish the series because I want to know how it ends. To me, it kind of seems like one of those pointless but ridiculously entertaining TV shows that you turn on for mindless entertainment after a long day.

I do like the characters a lot! They aren’t your stereotypical vampires, witches, werewolves, shifters, and fairies. There’s a really cool spin on some of them, and I want to find out how they develop over the course of the series. The main character seems a bit flat to me, but that goes back to the writing. The whole point of the book is that the main character gets sent off to this camp for supernatural creatures, and everybody knows what type of creature they are except for her. She sees ghosts, which really resonates with me, but she isn’t quite like the other creatures who see ghosts. She’s trying to determine her identity, and I love that theme. I have the other audio books, and I am planning to finish them, mostly because of that addictive TV show vib I mentioned! The plot did thicken at the end thankfully, so that’s enough to keep me going. Hopefully the writing will improve too, and I’ll be sure to post my reviews!

What Do You Think”

Have you read Born At Midnight? Are you planning to read it? Did my review turn you away? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or through any of my social links! I love to chat!

From cheyenne 🙂

The Reader Confession Tag

September 12, 2016 ~ Cheyenne Raphael ~ 6 Comments

Hey bookworms! At long last, (after I remembered that I forgot to add this to the todo list), I bring you the reader confession tag! Much thanks to The Quirky Book Nerd for tagging me! You guys should really go check out her blog because she is awesome, and I am sorry for forgetting to add this to a todo list so I’d actually remember to do it in a timely manor… School ruins everything!!! 😤

Anyway… It is now time to spill all of my bookish confessions onto a screen for the entire internet to see! Well… Ok… So in actuality it’ll only be the tiny corner of the internet that reads this blog, but it was a lot funner, (more fun???), to write the first time!

1. Have you ever damaged a book?

Not that I can remember… I read mostly eBooks, so those are kinda hard to damage! 😄

2. Have you ever damaged a borrowed book?

I am absolutely sure that I have never damaged a borrowed book!

3. How long does it take you to read a book?

Umm… It depends on the book, my schedule, what’s around to distract me, and whether we’re talking about actually reading a book or listening to it… I’m blind as a bat and read braille, so reading that way I can finish a 350-500 page book in 3 or 4 days if I really enjoy it. Now… By the end of the school day, I am usually SO sick of the feeling of braille dots, and my fingers and arms are tired from moving across a display and being raised up on my desk that the idea of touching my BrailleSense to read one more word makes me want to scream. Therefore, I have mostly been listening to audio books or having Voice Dream Reader read stuff to me. When I do that, I can finish a 350-500 page book in 2 days or so.

4. Books that you haven’t finished?

Twilight

Vampire academy

I’m sure some of you are screaming at me right now, but I didn’t make it through the first Twilight book, and I will NOT be finishing the Vampire Academy series. I think I made it to the third book in that one before I decided I just couldn’t take it any longer. I’m sure there are a couple other books that I haven’t finished, but those two are the ones that stand out.

5. Hyped/popular books you didn’t like?

Red Queen

You mean other than Twilight? Cause I reeeeeally cannot stand Twilight! I guess Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is the most recent. I’ll be reviewing that series soon so you can see all my wonderful thoughts!

6. Is there a book you wouldn’t tell anyone you were reading?

I will read whatever I wanna read, and if you’ve got a problem with it, you can just get over it! I do NOT value your opinion of what I’m reading, unless you wanna talk bookworm stuff! Then feel free to express your opinion! 😜

How many books to you own?

Well my Kindle library says 550, but I’ve got WAY more than that in other eBook formats that don’t show me a nice statistics screen.

Are you a fast reader or a slow reader?

I’m really fast among braille readers, but I have no idea how that stacks up in sightling terms! I keep up with my sighted classmates ok, so I’m just gonna say I’m a fast reader and call it good…. 😆

Do you like to buddy read?

Umm… Read this post! I’m thinking about starting a “Bloggers Bookclub,” so click the link above for my rambling and more details and drop me a line if your interested! And to actually answer the question for those who won’t click the link, (I know there are some of you crazy people), I LOVE to buddy read!

10. Do you read better in your head or out loud?

I read waaaaaaay better in my head! Like you DO NOT want to hear me read anything lengthy out loud!

11. If you were only allowed to own one book, what would it be and why?

The raven boys

Ok first of all, this is a horrible question and will probably give me nightmares tonight! Harry Potter was the first thing that came to mind, but that answer is probably way over used… So I’m going with The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater! It’s my current obsession, (review coming shortly), and I think I could read it again and again and still get something new out of it every time!

I Tag:

•Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff

•Emma @ Emma The Book Lover

•Anyone else who wants to do it

*If you’ve already done this or just don’t wanna do it, don’t feel obligated! But if you do decide to do it, drop me a link so I can see your answers!

Let’s Start A Discussion!

What did you think of my answers? Would you answer anything differently? What book would you choose to own if you could have only one, and what books have you not finished? Also, let me know if you’re interested in a bloggers bookclub because I think it really needs to happen! Let’s chat in comments!