Top Ten Tuesday - Series I Haven't Finished

Tuesday is here again, and I rather liked the sound of this weeks topic so I wanted to take part. The list is 'Ten Finished Series I Have Yet To Finish' and I have so many for this, it's almost a bit embarrassing. Some of them are just inexcusable as I have the whole completed series on my shelves, I just haven't gotten round to actually finishing them...

1. Harry Potter By J K Rowling

Yep. I know. It's awful that I still haven't finished one of the most loved series of all time... So far I have read the first two and I WILL be continuing on very soon. 

 

2. Divergent Trilogy By Veronica Roth

Loved Divergent. Not so much Insurgent. I know I started the Allegiant sometime last year, but I borrowed it from a friend and she asked for it back before I managed to finish it. I'll get to it sometime but it's not really at the top of my want list right now.

3. The Darkest Minds Trilogy By Alexandra Braken

I do own Never Fade. I need to get on and read more as The Darkest Minds was brilliant.

4. Legend Trilogy By Marie Lu

I need Prodigy and Champion in my life

5. The Maze Runner Trilogy By James Dashner

Planning on reading The Scorch Trials very very soon in preparation for the next film

6. The Mortal Instruments By Cassandra Clare

I'm halfway through this series and have yet to continue and pick up City of Fallen Angels. Soon. It will happen soon.

7. Percy Jackson By Rick Riordan

I read The Lightning Thief... It was alright. But I've yet to be motivated to read further

8. Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy By Laini Taylor

Not only have I not finished this series, but I have yet to actually finish Daughter of Smoke & Bone... Halfway through and I'm yet to get hooked at all unfortunately.

9. The Grisha Trilogy By Leigh Bardugo

I tried reading Shadow & Bone last year but didn't particularly enjoy it. I'm wanting to re-try it and give it another chance in the future though as I do own the whole series.

10. Under the Never Sky Trilogy By Veronica Rossi

Not finishing this series doesn't bother me too much. After finishing the first one, I wasn't blown away so if I don't get round to completing it, I wouldn't mind too much.

Go Check out The Broke and the Bookish and join in the Top Ten Tuesday Fun!

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Virgin Book Review

Virgin

By Radhika Sanghani

Review

I did rather enjoy this. A lot. Because it was just so damn relatable 

Ellie is a virgin. We are reminded of this fact multiple times just over the course of the first few paragraphs. It’s even in the title, so it’s obviously going to be a very important part of the story. This is true. Her virginity is one of the main problems in Ellie’s life. Or so she thinks anyway.

It’s at this point where a lot of people would probably just say; “Why is it such a big deal to her…? So what if she’s 21 years old and still a virgin, there are a lot more serious problems in the world that she could be dealing with”  - even her closest friends point this out to her right at the beginning. But that is kind of why I enjoyed the book so much. It’s such a simple matter, in fact the whole book deals with such small problems that almost every person comes across in their lives at some point. For a quick read, it’s fun, hilarious and light-hearted, which I always love.  

“‘Did you actually search for virginity advice on Wikipedia?’ ‘See how desperate I am?’"

Ellie’s character is fab. She may seem a little whiney or annoying to some people (as i’ve seen in other reviews) but that just made me relate to her even more. I think that my own personal experiences revolving around university helped with this though. It has been compared to Bridget Jones’ Diary, and it’s very obvious as to why. Both protagonist characters are honest, hilarious, unlucky in love and just rather brilliant.  

 Ellie begins a journey to lose her ‘V-plates’ after a slightly embarrassing trip to the doctors, where she begins to question why she hasn’t gone and lost them already. We are thrown right into her past stories of misfortune and these kinds of incidents continue as her, along with her loyal besties Emma and Lara she struggles with conflicting thoughts about sex, shaving, first kisse, uni life and friendship.

There were some cringey moments. The writing could sometimes get almost too graphic, but it just made it even funnier. Let’s just say it’s not aimed at young teens, but it’s so brutally honest that you could still read it around this age. I would have loved to have read this a few years ago so I could learn a bit from it.

“If I could steer a wheel, I could let someone penetrate me.” 

I found myself laughing out loud on so many occasions. Sometimes it was because of something Ellie would say or do and other times it was because of something I’ve personally done myself that was similar. So I was just laughing at myself. 

Radhika Sanghani’s writing is so down to Earth and straight to the point, it makes it all so much more believable because I know that girls tend to obsess over even the littlest of things that may seem so small and pointless to others. And it doesn’t create a fairy-tale ending that happens a lot in contemporary fiction. Ellie accepts that she’s not the smartest or prettiest and miracles don’t just magically happen. 

And there’s even a motivational message behind it all, something to encourage and inspire young people going through their teenage years.

“‘I, Ellie Kolstakis, look amazing. I am a beautiful, confident individual and can have anything I want. I will go downstairs, I will be amazing and I will be brave. I am incredible.’"

To finally conclude, this is just so relatable (see how many times I can use that word to describe everything about this book). I think I read this at the right time in my life to enjoy it so very much.

AND I just found out there is a sequel. November 3rd needs to hurry up already. Woo

Rating:

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Top Ten Tuesday - Books On My Syllabus

As it's a Tuesday, I wanted to start taking part in The Broke and Bookish weekly book tag. This week is to list 'The Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught _______ 101' (such as fantasy, classics, world-building etc.). As a sucker for all things lovey-dovey, cute and down-to-earth, I decided to pick my top ten contemporaries. These books that I listed below also happen to be some of my all time favourite books as contemporary is easily my favourite genre when it comes to reading. They are kind-of in a particular order of preference, but it's very difficult to judge exactly which are my favourites as they're all so good to me. There are a few that are listed as the entire series because I just wanted to count them as one.

But without further ado, here are my:

Top Ten Books(/series) That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught:

1. Anna and the French Kiss Trio By Stephanie Perkins

2. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson By Louise Rennison
Yep. ALL of them. 'The Misadventures of Tullulah Casey' are also hilarious and brilliant.

ALL OF THEM

3. Winger By Andrew Smith

All the feels with this one

4. Fangirl By Rainbow Rowell

Although, any Rainbow Rowell book can easily qualify, 'Fangirl' is just more adorable and relatable.

5. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour By Morgan Matson

'Since You've Been Gone' is also a easy contender, but I kinda preferred this one.

6. Any John Green Book

An obvious choice when it comes to contemporary. I can never choose a favourite so I listed them all.

7. The Rosie Project By Graeme Simsion

First adult contender on the list. So much love for this book. Let's just not mention the sequel though.

8. Lobsters By Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison

This unexpectedly turned into one of my favourite books ever. Also, lobsters on the cover seems to be a common theme...

9. I've Got Your Number By Sophie Kinsella

Another adult one, such an emotional rollercoaster

10. Jill Mansell's Books

Maybe not all of them, but most the books I've read by her don't usually fail to make me go 'awwwwwww' 

Go Check out The Broke and the Bookish and join in the Top Ten Tuesday Fun!

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