Seasons Greetings!

Infinite Book Challenge

 

Where I say as many books as I can in a minute!

Random Magic Tour

This year I was invited to be a part of the Random Magic Tour. Celebrating and spreading the word about this very magical and very random book.

I did 2 videos about the book. The first was a Book Review and the second was a Mystery Feature. Both of these videos are on my youtube channel bookswithdylan, and are shown below.

I was sent these books by the author Sasha Soren, and was thankful to receive them. However my review and my opinion on the book is completely honest and my own.

It was so awesome to be involved in this, and I hope you enjoy my videos! 

Book Review: Random Magic by Sasha Soren

Mystery Feature: Christmas Cupcakes and Random Magic Reading

For more information about the tour, and to see the other booktubers on the December tour, watch the video below!

December Book Haul!

Check out more videos on my YouTube channel bookswithdylan!

Book Review & Talk: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Written by Veronica Roth
Pages: 525
Published: May 2012
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance

Second book in the Divergent Series.

Goodreads Synopsis...
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

My Review...
Where to begin with this book. Well I guess we can start by talking about how amazing this book was. It was so much fun to read, and just as fast-paced as divergent. The writing style was again very good, and easy to follow. And things just kept on happening, all the time.

Something that surprised me was the darkness that seeped into these covers. Because of certain events that occurred in the first book, Tris the main character was a very different person. She was still strong, but she allowed herself to be affected by the things that happened. I really enjoyed this, it helped to not only grow her as a character. But to also make her less of a robot and more of a real and likeable human.

There were also moments that made me laugh out loud. Maybe they weren't exactly funny. But there was definitely some awkward and very good sarcasm.

However this book was not ALL good. The answers I was looking for in the first book, were not given here. None at all! Nothing new was revealed, and I have to say that two books is too long to string me along. Also although I liked the enclosed environment that was present in the first book, as it helped to focus on the story. I would have liked to see a greater exploration of the setting, which didn't really happen. 

The ending was also a little bit annoying because although it offers that cliff-hanger, that makes me want the next book SO bad. It was not a surprising ending, and was a tad anti-climactic.  

I really enjoyed this dark, action-packed book and definitely recommend you read it. I cant wait for the next book in the series, which had better provide some answers.

I give this book a 5 out of 5! 
 
If you have read this book and want to discuss it with me, then watch the video below and head to my YouTube page: bookswithdylan

November Wrap Up & December T.B.R

I love December, and the Christmas holidays. So I decided to make this wrap up and t.b.r special. By having my christmas tree in the background!

Check out more videos at bookswithdylan

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Written by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Pages: 528
Published: September 2011
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Synopsis...
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

My Review...
Beautiful darkness is that much better than the first book in the Castor Chronicles series. It is more original, and much more complex. However it still has many annoying qualities, that books today seem to be plagued by. Firstly, all of the problems that happen between Lena and Ethan. The main romance of the book, could be solved if the just COMMUNICATE! I mean come on! Use your mouth, and stop sulking in the fact that you are in a difficult situation.

This leads on to the second problem, the romance. The love between Lena and Ethan, that built up in the second book is left in tatters in this one. The bond that they shared is an empty shadow of what it supposedly used to be.

The third, and final thing I will write about, that was a grievance with this book, was the lack of information. All of these amazing and fantastical things were happening. But there were so many holes in this material, it would have left lady gaga a little self conscious.  If your gonna tell me something, I need you to explain it to me, and prove it. I don't just accept whatever you dish out.

Ok well theres my little rant about this book, and if your thinking I must really not like it. You would be wrong. I really like this series, and this book was an improvement on the first. But I just expect more, from a world I am starting to love. I mean there are two authors. Two! Isnt the saying that two heads are better than one. My challenge to Garcia and Stohl would be to prove it.

Fix these things that take away from what was a well paced, exciting and fun book to read.

Make my 4 out of 5, a 5 out of 5.



Check out my video review and discussion of this book above, and on my Youtube channel: bookswithdylan 

Watch my review of the first book in the castor chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures Below.