To Watch or To Read: Howl's Moving Castle

Book/Movie: Howl's Moving Castle

Author of Book: Diana Wynne Jones

Director of Film: Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli

Welcome to my first feature, To Watch or To Read?

I'll be comparing one book and its movie counterpart - discussing key differences and similarities as well as explaining which one I liked better. And... if you should watch or you should read. However, there are spoilers ahead! Be warned.

This will be my first time doing a book vs. movie feature for the blog, and because I love Studio Ghibli movies, my first book/movie I will be comparing is Howl's Moving Castle.

Fun fact - I never really watched Howl's Moving Castle in its entirety until now. I saw bits and pieces, but being able to watch it with knowledge of the book helped me love it even more. Studio Ghibli films will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Review] Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

Series: Red Rising #2

Rating: 5 stars

Version: Paperback

Release Date: January 6th 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

Golden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.

Can I just say that the saving grace of this book is Sevro? Honestly, I can write a whole post on Sevro, but for the sake of time and space, I will just review this book.

This book was amazing, don't get me wrong. But every moment this Goblin showed up I was like -

Sevro is so precious I swear

#ARCAugust Week 3 Update

As I didn't do a Week 2 update, here are all the ARCs I've read since my first update. 

My next few reads are... 

I'm at 6/12 - halfway towards my goal! Hopefully I can get to more ARCs this week. 

How has everyone's #ARCAugust been going? 

Top 5 Previously Released 2016 Books That I Want To Read

2016 is full of great books, and I don't think I have the time to read them all. Lately I've been focusing on finishing fall 2016 ARCs for #arcAugust, leaving all my other books in the dust. If only there were more hours in the day... anyway! Here are some earlier 2016 releases that I hopefully will get to (one day).

My Lady Jane has been getting a ton of positive reviews for being funny as hell (despite being historically inaccurate). I haven't picked up historical fiction in awhile, but once I catch up to #arcAugust, I'm reading this lively book next.

#ARCAugust Week 1 Update

August 1 - August 6

Book 1 - Fear the Drowning Deep

The Isle of Man mythology was something I haven't heard of, until I picked up this book. It's basically a darker version of The Little Mermaid (and it's genderswapped too!). So there was the insta-romance I had to deal with, but other than that, it was a fine read.

Book 2 - We Are Still Tornadoes 

A contemporary that takes place in college! And you usually have contemps that take place in high school, so this was much more relatable. The letter-writing format allowed me to connect with the characters clearly and their experiences over the course of their first-year resounded in me, too. 

Both ARCs were enjoyable and will be featured in ARC reviews coming in September and October. I took time after to read Golden Son, but the next book I'm reading is...

and

How is your #ARCAugust coming along?

[Review] The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi 

Series: The Star-Touched Queen #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

Version: HC

Release Date: April 26th 2016

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…
But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.

This book was phenomenal. It was beautifully written, with romance that parallels Renee Ahdieh's The Wrath and the Dawn. And, an Indian Hades and Persephone story? Definitely up my alley!

Maya is a princess of Bharata who carries a horoscope of death since her birth. Because of this, the palace staff and the harem is wary of her, save her sister Guari and her father, the Raja. As Bharata is at war with several other kingdoms, and Maya is the only unmarried daughter of proper age left, she is turned into a bargaining chip to secure her kingdom's safety and freedom. But Maya, forever a headstrong girl, has other ideas. However, her ideas didn't involve a mysterious prince in a kingdom known as Akaran, and now Maya is left to figure out her origin and her true identity, as well as save the one she loves most.

Discussion - Am I Rating Books Objectively or Am I Just Nice?

The idea for this discussion was a spur of the moment thing inspired by a conversation with my friend. As usual, we were talking about books we were reading, and at the time, I just went through two books I disliked and rated them 2-3 stars. Jokingly, I recommended that she read them. What she said next had me thinking -

The books you rate 2-3 stars I would give -5 stars, with your too nice reviewing. 

Now, am I too nice? I look back on the ratings I gave a year ago, and now I feel that I would rate some of them lower. These days, I give more 3 star reviews, fewer 4 star, and even less 5 star reviews. The more I read, the more I tire of the same overused plots and tropes, making me rate books lower.

Top Ten Tuesday (14) - Ten Books You'd Buy This Second if Someone Handed You A Fully Loaded Gift Card

Top Ten Tuesday is a an original feature/ weekly meme that was created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new topic is presented and this week's is: 

Ten Books I'd Buy ASAP If I Was Able To