Friday Favorites

This is a new meme I found, hosted at Wishful Endings. Here, I'm going to talk about my favorite series. If we share a common interest, or if you have a favorite series you would like to share, comment below!!!

Enjoy :) 

This series has been with me since my early childhood. It was one of the first book series I came to know, and love, and helped my love of reading flourish. I ended up putting the series down and actually forgetting about it for a while (while I was waiting for one of the books to come out coincidentally. You all know how a 13 year old's mind works). I came back to it years later and re-read all the books up until I stopped and found myself falling in love all over again. I finished the last book in 2013, shortly after BEA, where I got to meet the author as he released his new book series. There, we reminisced about his first series and he even signed my 8th book (which I was reading at the time)! To this day, he is still one of my favorite authors :)

The series made my laugh and cry, sometimes all at once. I came to really love the characters and some of the more traumatic events still stick with me. This was a series where I wanted to finish the last book so bad to see what happened, but at the same time, I didn't want to finish it because that meant it was over. No more "what happens next", no more traveling around with my favorite characters... just done.

Everything about this series, from the characters, to the plot, to the amazing and genuine author who wrote it, plays a part in making this my favorite series of all time. Beating out Harry Potter in my childhood memories as being the first series I came to love...... *drum roll*

Pendragon! I loved traveling to the different worlds, meeting other travelers and feeling like I was right there with Bobby through the whole journey! D.J. MacHale tells a great tale that will forever have a special place with me (his new series, The SYLO Chronicles, is shaping up to be a really good series as well!).

So tell me... what's your favorite series? Comment below!

May The Fourth Be With You: My Top Sci-Fi Books

Hello everyone!! Happy Star Wars Day!!!

I'm here to celebrate this awesome day for geeks and nerds, like myself, and I choose to celebrate it while also giving mega shout outs to some of my favorite Sci-Fi books and there authors :) Now, I've narrowed my list down to just the top 5 (they aren't in any particular order. Narrowing it down to just 5 was hard enough). So without further ado....

1) Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

This book was a great sci-fi retelling of the ever popular, Snow White. Self-exiled to a distant cold planet, Essie works fixing drones at a mine (7 drones to be specific). She works in peace until one day, a man named Dane crashes near her home. She agrees to help him repair his ship but is soon swept up into a calamity of events that she has spent her whole life trying to avoid. Now, she must risk everything, and figure out who to trust, for the survival of the galaxy and her life.

This was a truly great book and I could barely put it down. Essie quickly turned into one of my favorite heroines with her snarky and independent personality. All the characters were really heart-warming, even the 7 little drones. I also loved how it kept elements of the original Grimm's Snow White, as well as keeping true to the aspect of "happily ever after".

2) Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Let's follow up one science-fiction fairy tale retelling with another. Cinder has become a very popular science-fiction fairy tale series (much to my joy) so it is no surprise that it graces my list with it's spunky characters (looking at you Iko), dramatic plot, and budding romances.

If you haven't heard, the story centers around Cinder, a cyborg mechanic living in a futuristic world full of prejudice humans, a plague that threatens the lives of every human on the planet, and villainous Lunars, aliens who are able to control the whims of humans with just a thought. Her life becomes intertwined with the prince, Kai, and is instantly thrown into a struggle, and an attraction, that leaves her caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal all while trying to find a way to save the world, and people, she loves. I love Cinder's attitude and resolve through all of these trials so if you haven't picked up the book yet, get your booty to a bookstore and get started! (You might as well just buy the two sequels, Scarlet and Cress, while you are at it...)

3) Parasite (Parasitology #1) by Mira Grant

It's a decade in the future and humans are using parasites, a sort of genetically engineered tapeworm, keeps humans healthy and disease free. But now those tapeworms want a life of their own and start taking over their hosts. This book takes an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse idea.

Now it has been a while since I read this book but I definitely will be diving back into this series. I remember Sal, the main heroine, being downright hilarious! And she's not the only interesting character. There are a lot of characters to watch and enjoy, just within the first book! If you are a fan of Stephanie Meyer's, The Host, or just like zombie or viral apocalypses, this is a great book to check out :) The second book, Symbiont, is already out for your reading pleasure, with the third book, Chimera, coming out this November 24th :)

4) Teen Titans: Vol 1: A Kid's Game by Geoff Johns

What Sci-Fi list would be complete without superheros? In these comics, we find our famous "sidekicks", breaking away from their superhero counterparts and making a league of their own. Our little sidekicks are all grown up and fighting evil :') If you are a fan of Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, be aware that this is a little different. We still see Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg, but you see them in a new element. If you are also a fan of Cartoon's Network's Young Justice, be also aware that the superheroes you love (Robin, Superboy and Kid Flash) are a little different. It's like reading the Walking Dead comics and watching the tv series; they are just different. But different isn't bad :) They each have their unique qualities that make both worth viewing.

5) SYLO (The SYLO Chronicles #1) by D.J. MacHale

Last but not least, by my favorite author, SYLO. We see a typical high school student, his friends and family and the small town he lives in on an island, being invaded by the U.S. military called SYLO. Suddenly, a mysterious ship appears in the sky one night adds to the mystery. And then, if things weren't strange enough, a mysterious stranger named Feit appears with a weird red crystal called Ruby that bring strange powers to any who take it. Now, Tucker and his friends must work to rescue their cozy, little island town and possibly the world.

This is one of those books that pulled me in with the first sentence and keeps me hooked for the whole book. MacHale creates a great mystery that keeps you on your toes throughout the whole ordeal. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, BAM something else hits you when you don't expect it! It's fabulous! The book is jam packed with action and adventure as well. If this book sounds up your alley, pick it up and get reading (the second and third book, Storm and Strike, are already out!). If you like this book, try his other series, Pendragon, for a more fantasy based series.

There you have it! I hope I helped expand some of your reading lists. Even I have some books I need to go back and read now (plus series' to finish). Happy Reading!

The Soldiers of Halla (Pendragon #10)

Author: D.J. MacHale
Goodreads rating: 4.28
Pages: 594
Format: Final Copy

  Every question is answered. Every truth is revealed. The final battle has begun.

It was all leading up to this moment. Nine books—nine battles for nine territories—have brought Bobby Pendragon to where he is now. At last, Bobby and the rest of the travelers must join forces in an epic war against Saint Dane for not only one last territory, but for all of Halla. With more than three million books in print, the number one New York Times bestselling Pendragon series has a huge and passionate fan base, and these fans will not be disappointed as the series comes to an action-packed and satisfying conclusion in the tenth and final installment.

SYLO

Author: D.J. MacHale
Goodreads Rating: 3.83
Pages: 407
Format: Finished Copy from BEA13

Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when the U.S. military quarantines his island?

Fourteen-year-old Tucker Pierce prefers to fly under the radar. He’s used to navigating around summer tourists in his hometown on idyllic Pemberwick Island, Maine. He’s content to sit on the sidelines as a backup player on the high school football team. And though his best friend Quinn tells him to “go for it,” he’s too chicken to ask Tori Sleeper on a date. There’s always tomorrow, he figures. Then Pemberwick Island is invaded by a mysterious branch of the U.S. military called SYLO. And sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option for Tucker, because tomorrow may never come.

It’s up to Tucker, Quinn, and Tori to uncover the truth about the singing aircraft that appears only at night—and the stranger named Feit who’s pushing a red crystal he calls the Ruby that brings unique powers to all who take it. Tucker and his friends must rescue not just Pemberwick Island, but the fate of the world—and all before tomorrow is too late. 

#1 New York Times bestselling author D.J. MacHale brings his brilliant plotting and breathless pacing to SYLO, the first in this ultimate end-of-the-world adventure trilogy.

Raven Rise (Pendragon #9)

Author: D. J. MacHale 
Goodreads Rating: 4.25
Pages: 560
Format: Finished Copy

This is where it begins. The showdown for Halla. At stake is nothing less than all that ever was and all that will be.There's only one thing missing--Bobby Pendragon.

While Bobby remains trapped on Ibara, the battle moves to his home territory: Second Earth. Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde are left on their own to defend Second Earth agsinst the forces of Saint Dane. They must face off against a charismatic cult leader who has risen to power by revealing a shattering truth to the people of Earth: They are not alone.

The Convergence has broken down the walls. The territories are on a collision course. The final phase of Saint Dane's quest to rule Halla is under way.

And Bobby Pendragon is nowhere to be found.

The Pilgrims of Rayne (Pendragon #8)

Author: D.J. MacHale
Goodreads Rating: 4.15
Pages: 560
Reviewed By: Amy

When Bobby Pendragon first arrives on the tropical world of Ibara, he finds paradise. There is beauty all around and the people of Ibara are blissfully happy. It's not long before Bobby discovers, however, that they are also blissfully...oblivious.

The leaders of Ibara are keeping a devastating secret from their people, one that gives Saint Dane all the opportunity he needs to launch his final assault on Halla.

While Bobby struggles to learn the truth in time to thwart Saint Dane, Courtney Chetwynde desperately searches for Mark Diamond. On the heels of a shocking tragedy, Mark has disappeared. Worse, he seems to be under Saint Dane's influence. It's up to Courtney to find Mark and stop him from making a grave mistake that could change the future of all existence.