Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

So, My Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book (in no particular order) are:

#1 - Magic

I'm thinking about any type of magic, no matter if it's with witches & wizards, some magical powers & abilities, magical world, demon magic, magical creatures, magical buldings, etc. Anything you can think of, as long as it's magical in some way, I'd be interested to check it out.

#2 - Chefs/Restaurants

Here I'm thinking about fiction books (not cookbooks) with characters that are chefs, bakers or something similar or characters that work at restaurants, bakeries, etc. It doesn't matter, as long as the setting is at place where there's food & cooking. These are usually contemporary romances or cozy mysteries, but it doesn't matter, the moment I read it has a cooking related theme, I want to read it. The same goes with movies, I love movies like that ever since I can remember, so I guess my love for movies with cooking has transferred to books, too :)    

#3 - Adventure Thrillers/Adventures

I'm sold when I see the word adventure. Especially if it's adventure thriller with excavations, or some ancient civilazitions, or something similar. You know, something like Indiana Jones & The Mummy movies, and I love reading books like that. But, it can be any type of adventure, even in another magical world, or a treasure hunt, or anything you can think of. As long as it take me on an adventure ;)

#4 - Fairy Tales/Fairy Tales Re-tellings/Re-tellings

I absolutely love fairy-tale-like books, as well as fairy tale re-tellings, so anything fairy tale related works for me, as well as re-tellings of the classics. 

 

#5 - Unique Setting/Unique World

Anything you can think of, and in any genre, as long as it has some uniquness compared to the real world. It can be some magical realm, some epic fantasy world, some alternate dimension, unique afterlife, unique magical (moving) castle, house or circus, steampunk world, unique society, just about anything.

 

#6 - Apocalypse/Post-Apocalypse/Zombies

I love apocalyptic & post-apocalyptic books, as well as zombie books. Often they're the same, but not always. I love when there's an apocalypse with different kind of twist: like Laura Bickle's The Hallowed Ones or Alexander Gordon Smith's The Fury or Jeyn Roberts' Dark Inside or even Kresley Cole's Arcana Chronicles. I also love when I meet zombies in another genre, like steampunk or space opera.

 

#7 - Misic & Other Arts

I love fiction books where the characters listen to lots of music (where songs are mentioned), as well as books about music bands or guitar players, or any other instruments. Also, any other art, no matter if it's poets or writers or musicals or graffiti artists, anything art related.

  

#8 - Road Trips

It can be a road trip around the country, or a trip in another country or around Europe or USA, anywhere. As long as the characters travel a lot & meet new people, I'm in ;)

 

#9 - Geeks/Nerds

Anything geek/nerd related. It can be a character, or about video games, or even books, but in such a way that it's geeky/nerdy ;)

 

#10 - Ghosts/Demons/Monsters

Anything with ghosts (no matter if they're good or bad) or unique afterlife/ghostly world, or UF with ghosts or demons or any type of monsters.

What about you? 

Leave me your TTT links!

Title: With All My Soul

Author: Rachel Vincent

Series: Soul Screamers, #7

My rating: 4 of 5

(Book read on April 29th, 2013, from my own copy)

Summary:

 What does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America? 

It's time to kick some hellion butt...

After not really surviving her junior year (does "undead" count as survival?), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble. She's going to find a way to turn the incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another in order to protect her friends and finish this war, once and forever.

But then she meets Wrath and understands that she's closer to the edge than she's ever been. And when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realizes she can't save everyone she loves without risking everything she has...

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

With All My Soul is the last book in the Soul Screamers series. I really wasn't ready to read this book, so I kept postponing reading it, because I was expecting an emotional roller coaster, and although I guessed (and expected) there will be a HEA for most of the characters, I was a little afraid what Rachel Vincent had in store for us, as well for Kaylee & the gang. 

But, I shouldn't have worried, I just should've read it the moment I got my hands on a copy. Why? Well, the reasons why I was afraid to read it it seems were unnecessary now. To be honest, With All My Soul was a little bit unexpected, but not in a *OMG that was so amazing* kind-a-way & definitely not in a bad way, just a little bit different. And although I absolutely wanted to fall in love with this book, and say that it was absolutely amazing, that just didn't happen for me. It was still pretty good read, some parts were amazing, some were great, but there were also some tiny things that I found a little bit irritating & annoying, but I still loved it, and it was a great ending for the series.

My most fav part about this book was definitely Tod. He still made me laugh & smile, you gotta love Tod. And his love for Kaylee is so amazing, and I loved the scenes between them. And yeah, now I absolutely love the title of this book - With All My Soul. 

But, as for Kaylee, unfortunately she irritated me a few times. I mean, yeah, I already knew she would do anything to save those she loves, and she never gives up, and usually I don't mind that, but how she went about all that here I found a little bit irritating & frustrating, so I started feeling that she didn't deserve Tod. It was unexpected, but that did happen to me a few times, although that feeling didn't stay with me until the end. I mean, I didn't mind when she told Nash about Tod & you know what, and I definitely didn't mind doing what she did at the end of the book, but I was definitely irritated when they were all fighting about who should do what, and blaming each other again & again. I don't know, after everything they've all been through, I think that mostly they should've gotten over all that, not forget, but definitely not throwing blame & flat-out fighting. I guess it's just me, but I was bothered by this, because I found it annoying, and it felt like same old, same old. And at first I liked that we got to see Em's sister & what happened to her, but I got irritated here, too, with Kaylee's decision to help & do you-know-what, and although she found a satisfying solution, I didn't agree with her and didn't like it. So, yeah, it was tiny details like those that I didn't like, but I guess the author decided it's time for lots of HEAs in this book after everything everyone has been through, and she did that while tying up loose ends & answering all the questions.

Some of the other things I loved in this book was the author's idea of soul mates. I thought that was really interesting, and it did answer something I was wondering about in If I Die. 

One of the biggest surprises that I loved in this book was Ira a.k.a the hellion of Wrath. I knew he will show up, and that he will probably play a vital role in the end, but what I was surprised about was how I felt about him. Although I found him terrifying at first, in the end I found him strangely compelling & interesting, and he was also funny, and he actually made me laugh, and I loved that he was actually a little bit different & definitely more powerful than Avari & I loved the way he irritated & enraged Avari. Yeah, that's what he does as a hellion, but I found it quite satisfying to do that to Avari, because he deserved that & a whole lot more. I never thought that I would love one of the hellions of the Netherworld as a character, but I actually did :) I just loved Ira as a character. Definitely surprising & unexpected, and a nice addition to the story.

Now, for the ending, I loved it. It was great, and the only way it could've ended. Kaylee's idea was so smart, and I loved the deals she made with both Ira & Avari, and the help Ira gave her when it came to Avari's deals. And in the end, I was happy with the ending & the way the book & the series ended.

As for the writing style, as always it was so good. When I started it, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. There was lots of action, some emotional scenes that got me teary-eyed, lots of romance, and plenty of suspense that will keep you turning the pages. This book was sweet, funny, sad & lots of fun. All of the characters I learned to love through the series in the end I still loved them, and I'm glad they all got their happily ever afters.

As for you, if you still haven't tried the Soul Screamers series, and you love books that will take you on an emotional roller coaster on a journey in one of the most terrifying worlds created in the YA a.k.a this Netherworld, and a world full of different creatures, then the Soul Screamers is a series for you, and I can't recommend it enough!

Challenges:

With All My Soul Mini-Reading Challenge 

 Don't Let It End Reading Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly feature with a different bookish theme hosted by Larissa at her blog Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life. 

This week's theme is Best TV Shows Based on Books. 

You can join HERE!

So, My Best TV Shows Based on Books (in no particular order) are:

~ Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire series

 

 

I absolutely adore this show! I didn't expect to get hooked so much, but I did. I've wanted to try the books for years, but haven't gotten around to them, and to be honest I'm glad, because it's better not knowing what will happen next!

 

 

~ Dexter based on the 1st book in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series - Darkly Dreaming Dexter

 

 

 I love the series. I got hooked, and although it has its ups & downs, it's still good, and I will probably watch it until it ends. I've read a couple of books & I enjoyed them a lot, although I still need to catch up on the book series.

 

 

~ The Walking Dead based on the graphic novels The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore

 

 

I've had plenty of love/hate moments with this show, but it's addicting & the last season was awesome, so I'm glad I didn't give it up. Guess who my fav character is ;) I haven't tried the graphic novels, so I don't know how it compares, although from what I've read, it follows them mostly.

 

 

~ Heartland based on the Heartland book series by Lauren Brooke

 

 

I am a little behind on this show, they stopped showing it here :( but I loved it, so yeah, I definitely need to catch up. 

 

 

~ Arrow based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow

 

 

Ok, so I might cheat a little with a few of these, but this show has been great so far, so I hope that will be the case with season 2, too.

 

 

 ~ Grimm loosely based on The Brothers Grimm fairy tales, as well as some other fairy tales

I absolutely adore this show. It's one of my top favs right now, and although the first few episodes aren't that good, later on it gets so much better, so I'm glad I didn't give up on it last year, because I got hooked, and this show is awesome!

 

~ Bones loosely based on Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan series

 

 

This show was great & lots of fun, and although it hasn't been as great the last few seasons, it's still good & fun, so I'm sticking to it, and probably will until it's on air. I've also read a couple of Temperance Brennan books.

 

 

 ~ Rizzoli & Isles based on Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series

 

   

I only watched this show a few months ago, and it was cute & fun, and I enjoyed it a lot, so I'm looking forward to the next season. Still haven't tried the books, although I have a few of them, so hopefully I'll get to them soon.

Once again it's time for Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon.

This will be my 7th time I'm participating (I thought it will be the 6th, but I was wrong, it's actually my 7th time, it's good that I checked ^_^). 

To sign up, visit this post HERE! 

As always, the read-a-thon for me starts at 2 pm on Saturday, and ends at 2 pm on Sunday.

On Twitter we'll use #dewey ; #readathon ; or #rahrahreadathon .

The last time I did everything in one post, so I decided to do that again, I'll just update this post with the mini challenges I'll participate in, as well as my reading progress & the wrap up in the end.

My Reading List:

Of course I won't read all of these, I just want to have a variety, so I have 3 graphic novels: A Match Made in Heaven, Courtney Crumrin Volume 3: The Twilight Kingdom & The Wolves in the Walls. Also, there's Chris Priestley's Christmas Tales of Terror - a collection of horror stories, which are usually intertwined, at least that was the case with all of his previous Tales of Terror, and I loved them, so I'm looking forward to this one quite a lot. Then the last Soul Screamers book With All My Soul, as well as Poison - a fairy-tale-like fun novel, and Speechless - a contemporary YA. There's also a good possibility I'll continue reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which I finally started a couple of days ago, and so far I'm enjoying it a lot.

Happy Reading Everyone & Have Fun!!!

Mini Challenges:

Introductory Questionnaire:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
- My home at Skopje, Macedonia.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
- Chris Priestley's Christmas Tales of Terror
 
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
- orange flavoured cocoa muffins with chocolate (yum)

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

- My #1 fav author is Neil Gaiman, my #1 fav tv show is Doctor Who, and my #1 fav book is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (since it was published, I've read it 3 times, and I can easily read it right away from cover to cover, I can never get enough of it).

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

- This is my 7nd time in a row that I've been participating in this read-a-thon, and I don't think I'll do anything different, just do some reading, blog hop, participate in mini challenges & have fun!

Turn the Page: 

My sentence from Doctor Who: Devil in the Smoke by Justin Richards: "I would rather read than disappear into the shadowy limits of the roof space any day!".

End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? - Probably hour 11 - but only because I fell asleep while reading, and didn't wake until hours later.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? - Speechless by Hannah Harrington was a surprisingly fun & fast read, and graphic novels are always a good choice, as well as anything from Neil Gaiman.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? - No, everything was absolutely awesome!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? - I think everything worked awesome, but I have to mention that all the cheerleaders did a fantastic job!
5. How many books did you read? - I read 5 books.
6. What were the names of the books you read? - Neil Gaiman's graphic novel The Wolves in the Walls, Hannah Harrington's Speechless, Doctor Who: Devil in the Smoke by Justin Richards, Chris Priestley's Christmas Tales of Terror & the graphic novel A Match Made in Heaven by Trina Robbins.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? - It's actually a tie between The Wolves in the Walls, Speechless & Doctor Who: Devil in the Smoke - I absolutely love these 3, and they're great reads for a read-a-thon.
8. Which did you enjoy least? - I did like them, but I have to go with the other 2 reads: Christmas Tales of Terror & A Match Made in Heaven, although they were still fast reads.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? - I wasn't a Cheerleader, but I have to say that they were awesome, so keep up the great cheering :)
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? - I'm 99,9% sure I'll participate again, I haven't missed one since the 1st time I participated. I will definitely join as a reader, and I might join the cheering, too.

 

Update #1:

Ok, so 6 hours has passed, and I read Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls graphic novel (loved it), and I'm still reading Speechless by Hannah Harrington, and so far I'm loving it. I have 100 pages to go.

Update #2:

I finished Speechless & I read Doctor Who: Devil in the Smoke by Justin Richards.

Update #3:

I also read Chris Priestley's Christmas Tales of Terror. The stories were ok, and I liked them, but just not as good as Chris Priestley's other Tales of Terror.

Update #4:

I also read the graphic novel A Match Made in Heaven.

Wrap Up:

Ok, so the read-a-thon was awesome. I did pretty good, although I wish I participated in more mini challenges. The 5 books I read are those above in my updates, and I also read 20 pages from The Shadow of the Wind. So, that's about it. See ya next time!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

 

 

 

 

Bronze Gods

(Apparatus Infernum, #1)

by

A.A. Aguirre

Publication date:

April 30th, 2013

 

 

Hy Breasil is grimmer than it used to be.

Before the Architect closed the door, there were regular crossings, and a great war decimated both humans and Ferishers. The native fae who refused to treat with the invaders faded; their bodies withered and died, stranding them as hungry, angry spirits that haunt the countryside.

That means there’s always trouble brewing in Dorstaad.

Janus Mikani and Celeste Ritsuko work for the Criminal Investigation Department, keeping citizens safe from things that go bump in the night. He’s a hardboiled cynic with an uncanny sixth sense; she’s determined to justify her promotion as the first female detective in her division. Together, they’re trying to keep a black tide from drowning the city.

But when the second body surfaces, murdered with the same type of infernal device, the entire CID must face the truth. There’s a madman on the loose, twining magic and blood… and only Mikani and Ritsuko can unravel the intricate, lethal conspiracy before the Royale killer completes his macabre plan, unleashing old, forbidden magic on an unsuspecting populace. If the maniac succeeds, it could mean the end of everything…

What are you waiting for this week?

 

Leave me your WoW links!