A Very Large Expanse of Sea

Top Five Tuesday ~ U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Published on July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by Rukky @ Eternity Books12 Comments

Hey guys and qelcome to Top Five Tuesday!! Top Five Tuesday was created and is hosted by Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm.

Today’s topic is: Books that start with the letters U, V, W, X, Y, & Z.

This is actually part of a series that started the first Tuesday in July, starting from A and it will continue to the last week of July and end with Z. You can learn more about the topics and see the rest here!

P.S. I’m so sorry for posting this late!! I completely forgot!

Let’s get started!

U is for The Ultimatum by Karen Robards

I haven’t read a great book that started with the letter U, and I have exactly one book in my to-read shelf which is The Ultimatum. It’s about a girl who swindles con artists, and anything with con artists is a big YES for me.

V is for Vicious by V. E. Schwab

I loved Vicious because there was no good guy, everybody was crazy, and the science was amazing (which is a lot of praise coming from someone who doesn’t really like science…)!

V is also for A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

I loved Shirin, I loved the representation, I loved the characters, and I loved the message that was being sent by this awesome book.

W is for We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

One of my favorite fantasy novels! We Hunt the Flame was fun, with two amazing guys, one who is an annoying obnoxious too-full-of-himself pain and the other a broody assassin with a dark past. I loved the writing, I really liked the characters, and the rep was great!

W is also for The Wicked King by Holly Black

I didn’t really like The Cruel Prince, but I liked The Wicked King, and now I am super excited for The Queen of Nothing!!

X is for…nothing?

I don’t have anything in my read or to-read shelf for X, so I added two books for V.

Y is for You by Caroline Kepnes

This one is on my TBR, and it sounds perfectly deliciously creepy. It also happens to be the only Y on my TBR and read shelf…

Z is for…nothing?

I’m going to double up on W to make up for this one!

That’s it for this Tuesday! Have you read any of the books I mentioned above? Did you enjoy them? Did you also struggle to find books for each letter? Let’s chat in the comments below!

(Be sure to link to your Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday posts so I can check them out!!)

Tag Thursday – 2019 Mid Year Freak-Out Tag

Published on July 18, 2019July 24, 2019 by Rukky @ Eternity Books19 Comments

Good morning (/afternoon/evening/night depending on where you are) my dear friends!! I hope your week was spectacular! Today, I’m going to do the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag. I know, it’s halfway through July, and the middle of the year was June, but late is better than never right? This is my first year doing it, and hopefully I’ll continue doing it for many years to come! I think there are different versions of this with different questions (I think??) so this version is one I saw on Paws and Paperbacks!

Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2019

There are so many amazing books that I’ve read so far this year, but Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo definitely tops them all!

Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2019

The Wicked King by Holly Black. I really didn’t like The Cruel Prince, but this sequel made me really like the characters and also managed to make me super excited for The Queen of Nothing!

New Release You Haven’t Read Yet But Want To

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman. This sounds so cute and also seems to be what my life will possibly be like in the future (minus the cat!!), so I definitely want to read this!! It’s also a book about a girl who loves books so…

Most Anticipated Releases For the Second Half of the Year

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black and Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff

Biggest Disappointment

I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes and I was excited to read one of her older books, but Nobody was such a huge disappointment. It was so cliche, and so boring, and the MC annoyed me so much.

Biggest Surprise

I really didn’t expect much from My Lady Jane because it was a historical fantasy with a bit of romance. To my surprise, it turned out to be amazingly hilarious, super entertaining, and refreshing. And the cover is beautiful as well!

Favorite New Author

Lisa Gardner. I loved her D.D. and Flora Dane novel, Look For Me, and I’m definitely going to check out the rest of her mysteries!!

Favorite New Crush

KAZ BREKKER!!! 100% no doubt about it. Actually, the whole crew from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardguo is my new favorite crush!

Favorite New Characters

Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and Wylan from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardguo, Nasir and Altair from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal, Nate from Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, Nate from One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus, Shirin from A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi, Aza from Turtles All The Way Down by John Green…and I think I’m going to stop here.

Books That Made you Cry

No book has made me cry yet…I don’t really get emotional like that when I’m reading.

A Book That Made You Happy

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan was different from my usual read, and the struggles of Lila as a stay-at-home mom of two who is married to a food critic made me laugh a lot and definitely made me feel happy.

Most Beautiful Books You’ve Bought So Far This Year

Lol, I haven’t bought any books this year? But I think that the cover of Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore is gorgeous!

What Books Do You Need to Read Before the End of the Year?

Including my most anticipated releases: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, Dear Wife by Kimberly Belle, and The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall

Tagging/Nominating:

So it looks like no one gets tagged for this? People just do it, so I’m not going to tag anyone! If you’d like to do it, go right ahead!

P.S. No pressure. If you don’t want to do the tag. That’s absolutely fine. If you’ve already done it, please share the link so I can check it out!

And that’s it for today! Have you done the 2019 Mid Year Book Freak Out tag? Have you read any of the books above? What did you think? Let’s chat in the comments below!

Monthly Wrap-Up: April 2019

Published on May 4, 2019June 25, 2019 by Rukky @ Eternity Books12 Comments

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fantastic Saturday! Today, I’m going to share with you my Monthly Wrap-Up for April 2019.

April has been a great month for me in terms of reading. I’m still ahead on my Goodreads goal, I managed to read a lot more books, and I’ve been catching up with my book tags! I also didn’t take any hiatuses, so that’s also very good! Let’s break everything down!

Books:

Covers are from Goodreads

This month was pretty good for me reading wise. I managed to finish 9 books, which is roughly two books a week which I think is pretty good. Click on the titles to visit my reviews.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A great mystery with twisted characters and a satisfying end.

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An engaging historical mystery with great characters, and an intriguing, yet predictable plot.

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins // ★★★☆☆ One sentence summary: A confusing, yet interesting book with a satisfying ending.

I Found You by Lisa Jewell // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: An intriguing mystery with a slow build-up and a great, yet predictable, ending.

No Exit by Taylor Adams // ★★★★☆ One sentence summary: An action-packed thriller with a determined, and courageous main character.

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A cute contemporary romance with an important message.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green // ★★★★★ One sentence summary: A painful yet amazing read with a great main character. (Review to Come)

I also had, sadly, one DNF. Blanca and Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore. I wasn’t in the mood for it, so I DNF’d. However, I may try to read this some other time.

Total Number of Books Read This Month: 9

Did Not Finish: 1

Tags:

Only two. I did a third one yesterday, but alas, it was already May 2nd. However I’ll sneak it on here anyway…

The Bookish Adventure Tag (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Mystery Blogger Award (Thank you so much Meeghan!)

The Liebster Award (Thank you so much Umairah!)

Great Posts From Around the Blog-O-Sphere:

How To Request ARCs From Publishers, Tips To Succeed & Basic Etiquette – A Guide by Jenn @ Jenniely

let’s whisper // DO YOU GENUINELY LOVE THE CONTENT YOU’RE CREATING AND CONSUMING? by Ilsa @ A Whisper of Ink

#NewBloggersWelcome! Edition #10 + End of Hiatus!!! by Evelina @ Avalinahs Books

Review + Recipe: The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth + Chicken Parm Recipe! by Christina @ Recipe and a Read

Anything Else?

An announcement. Tomorrow’s post is going to be the last one that I’m doing for a while. May is going to be very packed for me, and I’m going to be taking a month long hiatus, starting from tomorrow, till June 10th. On June 10th, I’ll resume my normal blogging schedule! I might still visit blogs and answer comments so feel free to continue sharing!

I did my first discussion post in a looooonnngggg time (I know this discussion was posted on May 3rd aka yesterday, but I had to include it lol). This is my second one ever, and after the amazing positive feedback, I’ve decided to come out of my shell and do more of these! You can check that post out here.

I also reached 100 followers yesterday!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! I’m so happy, thank you all so much, and be sure to check out my mini letter to you guys here ❤❤

That’s A Wrap!

So, April was a lot better for me compared to February and March. I got some more reading done, didn’t take any breaks, and kept up with my blogging schedule (mostly). I think I did more blog hopping as well. Once I’m back from my hiatus, I plan on discovering more new blogs, doing more discussions and interesting posts (because I know doing the same thing every week is boring and that you might be tired of this cause I honestly am), and definitely doing a lot more reading.

And that’s it for this wrap-up! Thank you guys so much for reading, and for helping me reach 100 followers! I’m glad that this was an awesome month, and I’m sad that I can’t be here for May. However, I do hope you have a great month, and I can’t wait to catch up once I’m back!

How was April for you? Did you get as much reading as you wanted done? Anything you’d like to share? Let’s chat in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday #19

Published on May 1, 2019June 25, 2019 by Rukky @ Eternity Books6 Comments

Hey, it’s time for WWW Wednesday! I hope you’re having a fantastic day! WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words.

The Three W’s are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Let’s get started!

All covers are from Goodreads

What I Just Finished:

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do Blanca and Roja. I wasn’t in the mood for it, it was slow, the writing was supposed to be all lyrical and beautiful, but I was just not into it. The magical aspects also weren’t pulling in me in. I only managed to get 10% in, so I didn’t give it much of a chance, and my library copy was due. So this is going to be on my ‘DNF for now’ pile. Maybe when I’m more in the mood for it, I’ll try to re-read it. However, that shouldn’t discourage you from reading it!

After much persuasion by a good friend of mine, I read A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi over the weekend and loved it! Shirin’s character was amazing and I loved the message that the author was sending. You can read my full review here.

Last night, I finished Turtles All The Way Down by John Green after another recommendation by the same friend. It was painful, heartbreaking, and so beautiful all at once. My review will be up hopefully on Sunday.

What I’m Currently Reading:

Yes I know. I read two books that I didn’t plan to, and I still didn’t finish this? I’ve been putting off Where The Crawdads Sing, but it’s actually pretty nice so far. I’m 10% in and I want to know Kya’s story and so I’m going to stick with this, no matter how slowly I go through it.

What I Plan To Read Next:

Actually, I don’t have anything lined up, as I’m planning on taking a hiatus (more on that coming in my Monthly Wrap-Up post on Saturday).

Have you read any of the books mentioned? What did you think of them? Are you a John Green fan? Let’s chat in the comments below! (Be sure to link to your WWW’s so that I can check them out!)

Top Ten Tuesday – Inspirational Book Quotes

Published on April 30, 2019June 25, 2019 by Rukky @ Eternity Books15 Comments

Hey everyone! It is time for Top Ten Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme originally created by The Broke and The Bookish, and is now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s topic is: Inspirational Book Quotes.

I don’t really know that many inspirational quotes. As far as I’m concerned, quotes are just quotes. I don’t really know exactly what fits the bill for an inspirational quote, so here are some that I thought sounded good or possibly ‘inspirational’.

Quotes from Books:

“You can’t live your life for other people. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.”
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
Winnie The Pooh by A. A. Milne

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”
The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

“If the decision you’ve made has brought you closer to humanity, then you’ve done the right thing.”
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

“The next time you face a room full of strangers . . . you might tell yourself that some of them are just friends waiting to be found.”
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kelypas

Quotes by Authors:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Oscar Wilde

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
Agatha Christie

“Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.”
Albert Schweitzer

That’s it for this Tuesday! Do you have any thought-provoking quotes you’d like to share? What does an ‘inspirational’ quote mean to you? Let’s chat in the comments below!