The Harry Potter Tag

I was tagged to do this by both Michelle @ Book Adventures and Ariana @ The Quirky Book Nerd , these ladies are both absolutely fantastic bloggers so make sure you head over to their blogs and check it out! Seriously, do it.

This tag and all of these lovely Harry Potter themed images were created by Lashaan and Trang from Bookidote! The only rule of the tag: you cannot use Harry Potter books for any of your answers.

A book where you found the theme interesting , but you’d like to rewrite it.

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

A darker Peter Pan retelling with a potential love triangle between the MC and young adult versions of Hook and Pan? Yeah that drew me in right away, but it was not dark or twisted, the love triangle wasn’t as great as it should have been, and these versions of Hook and Pan were boring. If it were up to me to rewrite it I would actually add some darker, creepy elements to the story as well as make Hook and Pan a little more swoon-worthy.

You can find my review here. 

The first book in a series that got you hooked.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

I haven’t finished this series YET but as soon as I finished the this first book I went out and bought ALL of the other 3 books. So yeah, I guess you could say I was hooked and I can’t wait to finish!

You can find my review here. 

A book you wish you could have right now.

And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

There sure are a lot of books I wish I could have right now! Normally I would probably go with “Gemina” but I REALLY need some good old fashioned creepy horror right now and this book is sure to be perfect! I really enjoyed Kurtagich’s other book “The Dead House” and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed with this one either.

A killer book. Both senses. Take it as you like.

Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1) by Christina Henry

This book definitely falls under both senses! It was a five star read for me it had everything I wanted: a dark, twisted plot, morally ambiguous characters, and fantastic writing. Not to mention it is a horror book so it definitely is “killer”.

You can find my review here. 

 

A book that you found really confusing.

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

I read this book a looooong time ago and never reviewed it but I do remember when I read it that I was confused as hell! I felt like there was too much trying to be crammed in and at the same time nothing was explained well enough which all lead up to an unsatisfying ending. Not a fan.

Your spirit animal book.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I am a sucker for fantasy novels. Especially when they contain 100% badass heroines, unique and in depth world building/mythology, Thunder Tiger companions, and chainsaw katanas. There’s a lot going on but seriously best way to sum up this book: badass. I just really feel like “Stormdancer” is my spirit animal book, read this and you will know me! Not really but you should read it anyways!

A dark, twisted book.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Dammit! I already used “Alice” by Christina Henry….well just so you all know that’s my real answer! The next best thing to that, though, is anything Gillian Flynn writes especially “Dark Places”. It shows the very dark and twisty side of human nature.

You can find my review here.

A book that surprised you in a great way, reveals to be more than it is.

So at first glance at both the cover and the description you’d think this is some sappy, trope-filled, romance book when in fact it’s so much more. While it IS a very romance focused book it’s very unique, the writing is absolutely gorgeous and the stories are filled with original mythology. This was such a wonderfully surprising book!

You can find my review here.

***No obligations to do this tag and sorry if you’ve already done it before, if that’s the case please leave a link to it so I can check out your answers!!***

Brooke @ Brooke’s Books

Isabella @ The Book Pandas

Esther @ Chapter Adventures

Beth @ Reading Every Night

Nessa @ Bookish Nessa

Cassidy @ The Little Book Cottage

Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews

Christine Joyce @ The Book Harpy

Britt @ Geronimo Reads

Hannah @ A Mortal Reader

Donna @ Chocolate ‘N Waffles

Carrianne @ Carrianne’s Cuppa ‘N Critques

 

Book Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

 

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars. Since then, she has been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben’s innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother’s? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back? She begins to realize that everyone in her family had something to hide that day… especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find. Who did massacre the Day family?

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m ready to just throw my money at anything Gillian Flynn writes, she’s absolutely brilliant and yet I’m terrified of what goes through her mind when she writes these books! I’m warning you now, this book is not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.

Libby Day, was only seven years old when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas”, she then testified that it was her brother, Ben Day, that did the deed. The story starts now ,twenty five years after the murders, where Libby’s trust fund is finally dwindling down to nothing. This is when she’s approached by the Kill Club to start digging into the mystery of her family’s murders in exchange for money, and Libby will start to call a lot things she thought she believed into question.

So Things You Will Love About Gillian Flynn’s “Dark Places” :

1. The plot twists! Now since this book revolves around a mystery a lot of people will think they can figure it out before Libby does. You are wrong, I’m sorry I know a lot of people can do it but believe me when I tell you that you will not be able to do that with this book at all.

This will be your face, like it was mine. For real.

And this is how I picture Gillian Flynn as readers reach the end of “Dark Places”

2. The characters! Yep the characters are very VERY disturbed, all of them, it’s insane. Libby is a great, strong character and witnessing the murder of her family at a young age messed with her head royally, but who wouldn’t be messed up after something like that? However, despite Libby’s struggles she pulls through a lot of crap to get to where she is by the end of this book. We also get a lot of insight into the minds of Patty Day and Ben Day, all I have to say about them is that Patty put up with a lot of shit and that I liked her for the most part. I was not fond of Ben….at all.

3. The writing! Gillian Flynn is a damn good writer, seriously, I would read this woman’s shopping list. She does an excellent job of making you feel what the characters feel, even though I didn’t want to because the characters are all very troubled. I mostly felt creeped out, that’s the whole book, creepiness. I’m fairly positive that’s what Flynn was shooting for, and she nailed it.

Overall I am recommending “Dark Places” it really is a fantastic book.

Recommend?

I would recommend this for anyone looking to get their mind blown or anybody who is a fan of Gillian Flynn, this one will not disappoint.

Links: Goodreads / Amazon