Favourite First Lines from Books

What makes a great first line in a book? My personal opinion is that the best first lines are the ones that immediately raise questions. If you don't understand what I mean, you most likely will in a minute. Here are some of my favourite first lines from books.

"First the colors. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try."
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love."
- The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

"Aliens are stupid."
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy

"She'd never killed before tonight."
- Falling Kingdoms

"My mother thinks I'm dead."
- Legend

"Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day."
-Daughter of Smoke and Bone

"Look, I didn't want to be a demigod."
- The Lighting Thief

"I remember being born."
-Seraphina

"Just before the start of Summer Half, in April 1883, a very minor event took place at Eton college, the venerable and illustrious English public school for boys. A sixteen-year-old pupil names Archer Fairfax returned from a three-month absence, caused by a fractured femur, to resume his education. Almost every word in the preceding sentence is false. Archer Fairfax had not suffered a broken limb. He had never before set foot in Eton. His name was not Archer Fairfax. And he was not, in fact, even a he. This is the story of a girl who fooled a thousand boys, a boy who fooled an entire country, a partnership that would change the fate of realms and a power to challenge the greatest tyrant the world has ever known. Expect magic."
-The Burning Sky

(That last one was kind of cheating, as it was ten sentences instead of one. It's just that it's my favourite beginning of any book, so I had to include the whole thing.)

The Fantasy Book Post Part 2

Here is my first Fantasy Book Post. In it, I rambled for a while about fantasy and gave some book recommendations. In this post, I'll be giving some more recommendations. For each book recommendation, I have included a (very short) description of the book, a rating in five different categories (characters, plot, setting, writing and overall) and my opinion on which fantasy category it fits into (high, medium or low fantasy).

The Falling Kingdoms series (6 books, 3 books published) by Morgan Rhodes
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Falling Kingdoms, Rebel Spring, Gathering Darkness (and three unpublished books)
Short Description: This series has been said to be like a young adult version of Game of Thrones. I don't know whether or not that's true, since I haven't read Game of Thrones, but I can tell you that literally everyone except the four main characters dies. Unlike many other epic fantasy series, this one has a fast-paced plot, so it's fairly easy to get into.

The Inheritance Cycle (4 books) by Christopher Paolini
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance
Short Description: This series is really long, and the plot is pretty slow, so if that bothers you, do not read this book. This is a dragon book, which means that it's about dragons (obviously). It's kind of similar to the Lord of the Rings. You know, lots of walking around a kingdom and epic battles.

The Graceling series (3 books) by Kristin Cashore
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 7/10
Setting: 7/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 7/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue
Short Description: This isn't really a series, it's just three novels that are in the same world. The books do connect to each other, however. I would suggest reading them in publishing order (Graceling, then Fire, then Bitterblue). You might find this series a little boring because the plot is pretty slow. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't suggest it to those who are new to fantasy.

The Elemental Trilogy (3 books, 2 books published) by Sherry Thomas
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 9/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: I have no idea
Books in Series: The Burning Sky, The Perilous Sea and a third unpublished book
Short Description:I have no idea what this series is, but I like it. It is basically made up of magic and questions. I don't really know how to explain it. It's unlike anything else I've read. Is it historical fantasy? Parallel universe fantasy? I have no idea. It has romance and a pretty fast plot.

The Grisha Trilogy (3 books) by Leigh Bardugo
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 7/10
My Overall Rating: 7/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising
Short Description: This series is very plot focused. It's pretty fast paced and easy to get into. Magic is a big part of this series. I would recommend it to those who haven't read much high fantasy. It's a pretty good introduction to the genre.

The Seraphina series (1 book published and a sequel coming soon) by Rachel Hartman
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Seraphina, Shadow Scale
Short Description: Dragons. That's all there is to say. Seraphina is great, but I would not recommend it for people who don't read a lot of fantasy. This book is interesting and engaging, but I would only recommend it to those who are big fans of high fantasy or dragons.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy (3 books) by Laini Taylor
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Books in Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Days of Blood & Starlight, Dreams of Gods & Monsters
Short Description: Angels and demons and parallel universes. I really enjoyed this series. Some people say that it's confusing, but I don't agree. The plot is a little slow at times, but it's pretty easy to get into. This series is kind of a bridge between low and high fantasy. I would recommend it for fans of either genre.

Eon series (2 books) by Alison Goodman
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 10/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: High Fantasy
Books in Series: Eon, Eona
Short Description: A girl dresses as a boy and there are dragons. It was a little bit hard to get into the first few chapters, but after that I got hooked. Engaging plot and writing. I highly recommend it to fans of high fantasy.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Short Description: This book is about racing water horses. I enjoyed it, but not as much as The Raven Cycle (a series by the same author). I found the book interesting, but I can see how other people might find it a bit boring.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
My Overall Rating: 8/10
Type of Fantasy: Medium Fantasy
Short Description: This is a fairy book. I haven't read many books with fairies in them, but I really enjoyed this one. It's a fun, quick read and I suggest it for anyone is likes urban fantasy.

How to Get Away with Murder (and Other Updates)

My friend told me to watch the TV show How to Get Away with Murder, and at first I wasn't especially interested because it's not the kind of thing I normally watch. But I've watched the five episodes that are out so far and I really like it. I think the story is told in a really interesting way. So, new TV show.

I finished watching series 1 of Elementary. I really enjoyed it, especially the last episode. I'm going to start series 2 today. Series 3 actually comes out in a few days which I'm really excited about. I won't be seeing that for a while, though.

I read the second book in the Falling Kingdoms series. I liked it even more than the first one. This series is one of my favourite epic fantasies.

I read the Revenge of Seven, the fifth book in the Lorien Legacies. I read all the other books a year ago, so I was worried I wouldn't enjoy this book because I wouldn't remember anything, but I actually had a great time reading it. The fourth book was kind of a disappointment for me, but the fifth book makes up for it.

I finished The Perilous Sea, the second book in the Elemental Trilogy. I was very impressed by it, mostly because of the unique way the plot was set up. I liked it more than the first book.

Right now I am reading The Young Elites by the author of the Legend trilogy. I am really enjoying it, in fact, I like it more than Legend. Next I'm going to be reading The Crown of Midnight and Unravel Me.

I went to two author events this month. One was with Veronica Roth and Tahereh Mafi. It was cool, but the place was really crowded, and some people got there at 4 in the morning. I bought signed copies of Four: A Divergent Collection and Unravel Me. The other was with Marie Lu. I really enjoyed it. I got Legend and The Young Elites signed.

Shatter Me, Elementary and Other Updates

I read the first book in the Shatter Me trilogy.  It started off really well, but then I started to get bored of it. I will read the rest of the series, though.

I also read the first book in the Throne of Glass series. It was pretty good. The plot was paced well and it was interesting. The world sometimes didn't feel real, though. And most of the characters didn't have much of a personality.

I finished the Old Kingdom trilogy. It is one of my favourite epic fantasy series that I have read so far. I'm really excited to read the prequel Clariel.

I read the first book in the Falling Kingdoms series. I really enjoyed it. I love books that are told from more than two characters' perspectives. I also love that no side or person in the book is truly good or evil.

After reading The Fault in Our Stars and An Abundance of Katherines I read John Greens two other books, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. They were both good. Paper Towns is my favourite book by John Green.

I've started watching the TV show Elementary. At first I liked it, but now I'm starting to love it. It's interesting to see the differences between Elementary and BBC Sherlock. It's making me want to read more of the original stories.

I watched the Maze Runner movie. The book series was honestly not my favourite, but I actually did like the first book. The movie was pretty good.

I am now reading The Perilous Sea, sequel to The Burning Sky.

The Burning Sky

I just finished a book called The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas. It was written in a unique way and I found it very gripping. It seems to be set on Earth in the 1800's, but in some kind of parallel universe with magic and mythological creatures. It is the first book in the Elemental trilogy, and unfortunately for me it is the only one that c=has come out. The next book comes out in September.

While I'm on that topic, here is a list of books I'm looking forward to reading in the next year:

• The Perilous Sea (sequel to The Burning Sky)
• The Blood of Olympus (Book 5 in The Heroes of Olympus)
• Silver Shadows (Book 5 in the Bloodlines series)
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Book 3 in the Raven Cycle)
• Fairest (Prequel to The Lunar Chronicles)
• Winter (Book 4 in the Lunar Chronicles)
• Lady Midnight (Book 1 in The Dark Artifices)
• The Revenge of Seven (Book 5 in the Lorien Legacies)

My Own "Best Books of the Year" Awards: Round 1

Epic Reads is doing their first annual book awards for young adult books published this year (Book Shimmy Awards Final Round). There are many different categories, and I liked the idea, so I have used it myself.I used some of the same categories as Epic Reads and I created some of my own.
List of Books I've Read Published in 2013:

1. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
2. Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
3. Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
4. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
5. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
6. Champion by Marie Lu
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
9. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
11. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead
12. The Elite by Kiera Cass
13. The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
14. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
15. Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes
16. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas 
17. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy 
18. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Best of Shelf:
The 5th Wave
Clockwork Princess
Crown of Midnight
The Dream Thieves
Champion

Leading Lady:
Tessa from Clockwork Princess
Cassie from The 5th Wave
Celaena from Crown of Midnight
Blue from the Dream Thieves
Elisa from Bitter Kingdom

Leading Laddie:
Will from Clockwork Princess
Tobias from Allegiant
Day from Champion
Ronan from The Dream Thieves
Magnus from Rebel Spring

Secondary Character Most in Need of His/Her Own Book:
Charlotte from Clockwork Princess
Captain Carswell from Scarlet
Nickolai from Siege and Storm
Nehemia from Crown of Midnight
Storm from Bitter Kingdom

Most Badass Hero/Heroine:
Celaena from Crown of Midnight
Elisa from Bitter Kingdom
Tris from Allegiant
Cassie from The 5th Wave
June from Champion

Best Friendship:
Celaena and Nehemia from Crown of Midnight
Will and Jem from Clockwork Princess
Ronan, Gansey, Adam, Noah and Blue from The Dream Thieves
Ruby and Vida from Never Fade
Cinder and Captain Carswell from Scarlet

Best Couple:
Percy and Annabeth from The House of Hades
Tessa and Will from Clockwork Princess
Elisa and Hector from Bitter Kingdom
Liam and Ruby from Never Fade
June and Day from Champion

Best Villain:
Mortmain from Clockwork Princess
Queen Levana from Scarlet
Clancy Grey from Never Fade
The Darkling from Siege and Storm
Warner from Unravel Me

Book to Look Forward Too:
City of Heavenly Fire
Blue Lily, Lily Blue
The Young Elites
Heir of Fire
The Infinite Sea

Most Emotionally Crippling Ending:
Clockwork Princess
Allegiant
Champion
The Fall of Five
Rebel Spring

The Feels Award:
Rebel Spring
Clockwork Princess
Allegiant
Champion
Crown of Midnight

The Hangover Award:
Scarlet
The Dream Thieves
The Burning Sky
The 5th Wave
Crown of Midnight

Best Book Fandom:
The Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson
The Hunger Games
The Mortal Instruments