Tuesday 30 December 2014

These Books Have it All

It's amazing what book vouchers and cheap books can do.  Being overseas, I've been forced to only read books bought, not borrowed, and it's done quite a bit to my book selection.  There's no second-rate books or books that bore me to death.  No.  Since I've been here I've read three books in a row that seem to have the whole package.  They've all got mystery, new societies or universes, a forbidden romance, deception, ethics and very very good concepts.

 The first of the three is a book called The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.

The protagonist is a girl named Kestral, a Valorian, daughter of the powerful wealthy general who took over the Herran land.  Despite her father wishing for her to be a soldier, she's not a natural fighter and would much rather turn to music.  She is, however, very deceptive, able to win any game, able to strategize perfect plans.

One day she goes into the markets and finds herself bidding for a Herran slave, and winning.  And just so you know, he's the love interest.  But he's not quite who he says he is.  He's pretty deceptive too.

It's a story set in a world of court policies and military plans.  It's a story of power.





The second book I read is called The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

One small town survived the war.  In it were two sides.  One wanted a monarchy, with presidency passed down the bloodline.  They wanted to live life for the good of the group, with arranged marriages and women producing children for the good of the population.  The other wanted a democracy, with the rights of each individual in mind. The monarchy side won.  And from that year onwards, the daughters of the losing side were forced to marry the sons of the winning side, a sign of peace.

Ivy is being forced to marry the son of the president, Bishop.  All her life her sister and her have been home-schooled by their father, turned against the system of their current society.  All her life Ivy has felt second best to her sister.  And for two years she's been dreading and preparing for this moment.  Her mission is to kill Bishop.

But maybe things aren't as they seem.  Either he's a really good actor or Bishop's not as bad as she thought he'd be.  Maybe her father isn't completely right.  And maybe the president isn't completely bad.  Maybe there is no wrong or right.  But then, what's right?

This one's a story of ethics and morals.  What's the right thing to do?


The third book I read is called A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray.

Marguerite's the daughter of two fantastic physicians.  All her life she's lived amongst science, taught that anything's possible.  She's had her sister and the extra family of all the grad students coming in and out.  Most importantly and recently are Paul and Theo.  Paul is large, a little awkward, and kinda quiet.  He's brilliant though, and he's the one Marguerite likes.  Then there's Theo, who's arrogant and flirty.  He's smart, but not quite as brilliant as Paul.

Marguerite's parents have just made a breakthrough.  They've created a device that can jump between dimensions (but all the stuff explained about that is too complicated to tell you here).  But before they're even able to test it out, Marguerite's dad is murdered and the prototype is stolen, the murderer and thief being Paul.

Soon Marguerite and Theo are on a quest after Paul, hopping from dimension to dimension.  But what happens when Marguerite meets a different version of Paul?  What happens when what happens is not quite what it seems?

It's just one confusing jumbled up story, containing everything, that you will greatly enjoy.


And you know what?  I could've made it four in a row if only I'd remembered to bring this book.


Oh well.  But guess what else these three books have in common?  They all have a sequel that hasn't come out yet.  Ugh.  I hate waiting for anticipated books.

  
 
Love,
M

Tuesday 2 December 2014

These MTV tv Shows

For some reason I haven't been able to stop watching mini marathons of these two TV shows, day after day, until finally I have now caught up.  And now I'm despairing over having to wait a whole week to see the next episode, with nothing left to do in my now empty life.  What can I say?  I'm obsessed.  These shows are so filled with romance, laughter, heartbreak and buckets full of drama. 

You know, I'd always thought these TV shows with the high school drama and the bad acting that's really addictive were stupid.  Well, I certainly got the addictive part right.


Let's start with the first of the two, Awkward.  I first saw it at a friend's house while some episode in season 4 was playing, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.  That was it.  I needed to know what had happened before.  So I went home, sat through the extremely awkward and inappropriate first episode, and after that I loved it.

Awkward is amazing, let me tell you that.  Jenna Hamilton, the main character is invisible, and she's a blogger that types out her deepest feelings, just like a lot of us bloggers like to think we do.  Her parents are freakin awesome, with her mum having had her as a teen, and her dad being disturbingly hot.  She also has a dramatic best friend named Tamara, who is obsessed with popularity.  And then there's Matty Mckibben, hottest guy in school, and his reputation certainly doesn't disappoint.  He really is hot.


Matty and Jenna literally have the best relationship.  I mean, maybe not at the start, but throughout the seasons they just need to be together.  And they do succeed, but every relationship goes through ups and downs, which means they go on and off, and yeah... it's complicated.  But I'm not kidding.  They're super cute, and they're good friends at the moment.  Matty's best friend, Jake is also pretty cool.  He's such a nice guy.


The thing about Awkward is that it's not stereotypical.  The kind of "head cheerleader mean girl" is overweight and has some major issues.  Then there's a Jesus obsessed girl, and these two make the "popular" girls.  Val, the school counsellor, is so quirky and makes an amazing friend, funnily enough.  There's also an Asian friend who gets swept into the Asian Mafia which is literally the funniest thing because Asians know all :')


And if Awkward isn't stereotypical, Faking It is even less so.  It's basically about two best friends who pretend to be lesbian to be popular in a very alternative school.  The only problem is, one of the best friends actually turns out to be a lesbian, in love with her best friend, and the other is really only doing this to get the "hottest" guy in school.

Amy's the actual lesbian best friend, and she's from a Southern kind of family.  Her mum's a weather woman into girly pageants and manners and stuff, and her step dad is like her mother. The interesting part though is her step sister, who's tiny, blonde and a bitch.  The thing is, she's actually got this huge secret that's so unpredictable when it comes out.  I actually want to spoil so bad, but I won't.


And then Karma, the straight best friend, comes from a hippy family.  Her parents are so funny and do drugs and stuff and yeah, they're hilarious, and totally in support of anything lesbian.  Karma may seem really annoying and a stupid character at first, but trust me, she gets better.


What I'm really interested in is Liam Booker, the "hottest" guy.  Man, he's perfect.  You may remember him as Mason from Wizards of Waverley Place.  He's an artist with a super funny gay best friend whom I love and is actually a whole character of his own, not just a sidekick, Shane.  He's also really good-looking and rich, which you'll find the details of later.  The only problem is he's a playboy, but don't worry, Karma tames him.


Now please don't judge me for explaining these TV shows I've been obsessing over.  I get that they may sound outrageous and stupid, but just you wait.  Once you watch a few of these episodes, you'll be converted too.  But if you don't, just know I'm not that insane.

Ugh.  Everyone has their guilty pleasures.  But I'm not alone.  I have quite a few friends that like these shows too, even though I may have been the one to introduce them.

Just try a few episodes, for me?

Love,
M

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Burn for Burn Series

Last night I finished one of my favourite series ever and I just can't get over it!  I can't believe it ended!  Do you ever get that feeling that the story can't possibly be over?  That the characters have left you and gotten on with their lives, and now you have to too?

The series I finished was the Burn for Burn series by two of my current favourite authors.  One of them is Jenny Han, who's book To All the Boys I've Loved Before was featured in my Chick Lits post.  The other is Siobhan Vivian, who's book The List was talked about in my Pretty or Ugly? post.

Now let me explain this amazing trilogy to you.

It's very John Tucker Must Die, which is a chick flick that if you haven't watched, you really should.  The only difference is that instead of three girls getting revenge on one guy, it's three girls getting revenge on their own three people.  Kat, the bad-ass girl, wants to get revenge on Rennie, her childhood best friend and queen bee of the school.  Lillia, a perfect popular girl, wants to get revenge on Alex, because she thinks he's doing something to her sister.  And last of all is Mary, the quiet new girl... She wants to get revenge on Reeve, the star quarterback, also the guy who bullied her in middle school.  And by 'bullied' I mean she almost committed suicide.

The first book is very much like a chick flick.  It's a little cheesy (according to a friend), light, fun, very high school.  There's just a little bit of supernatural that feels out of place, but it's incredibly important for later in the series.

Personally, my favourite of all the girls, since the very beginning, was Lillia.  I think it was just from the moment she was describing her Asian eyeliner.  It's not because she's popular or perfect... she's just less weird than the other two girls.  And she's Asian like me.  And she seems smart.  And the fact that her life is practically perfect (until this story starts) helps a little too.  She's also the one with all the romance..

Which brings me to the second book, where things get even more John Tucker Must Die.  By now the only one that really needs revenge is Reeve.  And you know how in the movie, one of the girls has to fake date John Tucker?  Yeah, well in this book Lillia has to fake date Reeve.  Except, she doesn't fall in love with the brother, she falls in love with him instead ;) ;)  And yes I know I've unleashed major spoilers but trust me, you haven't seen anything yet.  Just read it.  There's a giant ending.










And the third book is just COMPLETELY CRAZY!!!  Woah.  It's just as addictive as the other two, only waay more anticlimactic.  So much stuff happens and it's all a little creepy, like a fantasy horror movie.  It's still a little high school happy, but it's got a lot of supernatural. 

And then BAM... It ends.  One minute it's the most dramatic scene of your life, and the next there's an epilogue describing the next five years.  I don't know what to think of the ending, what to think of where the characters go or who they end up with or what they do.  I reckon some deserved better, and I'm not sure what to make of the final couple.  It all left me speechless...

I think I'm just going to have to accept that's where they went.  The story happened and then it was over and they grew up.  Some things were good, but not perfect, or maybe too perfect.  Some things were sad.  And honestly, I might say I would write the ending differently, but I can't imagine how.

Oh, and just as an after note: I was so overwhelmed when I finished the book that I tweeted about it, and BOTH authors liked my tweet!  That means both of them actually read it!!  They know what I think!!  I'm really starting to like this Twitter thing.  Come follow me @lyfoflittleme.

And I'll end this post with a huge recommendation for the Burn for Burn series, by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian.  The first book is called Burn for Burn, so search it up.

Love,
M

Sunday 26 October 2014

A Trip Down Memory Lane


Okay, I know I said I was going to be productive and "get into control" today, and I was, for a while anyway.  But then, while I was cleaning my room, I stumbled across a whole bunch of my old diaries and notebooks and couldn't resist reading them.  I spent literally two hours just flipping through the many pages of memories, and now I've decided to share them with you.

 
One of the first notebooks I picked up was this dream journal.  I recorded less than ten dreams before giving up, because, I mean, how does anyone manage to remember their dreams?  But there was this one dream from 2008 that I found so hilarious I just need to show it to you.
 
"2 nights ago I dreamt about my school having a pringle line.  They gave you a whole small pack of pringles.  I always got to the start of the line first.  My mum also packed pringles in my lunch box.  So I got 2 packs of pringles.  I can never get sick of pringles."
 
Bahahaha.  This just shows you what my 8 year old priorities were...
 
 
I also used to take notebooks on excursions and to camp, and we'd always write stuff in them during the bus ride.  Flipping through them today, I was living back some of those primary school memories.  The pages were full of drawings, hang man, truth or dares, and even a "crush" list written in code, because we didn't want people to know we knew who they were in love with.
 
 
It looks like a lot of people liked Xylophone. ;) ;)  I'm pretty sure Chair did.  In fact, I think I did too ;)
 
 
I also found two travel journals: one from when I went to America when I was 10, and another from when I went to Paris at 12.
 
In the America journal, I rated the food at Disneyland a 0/10 because it was that bad.
 
And I must say, the Paris journal was pretty cool.
 
 
It was filled with images and cool captions!!  I barely even read the actual journal.
 
 
 
I find that journals with pictures are much more visually appealing, and I enjoy looking at them a lot.  It's quite heart warming, looking at photos from the past.
 
 
This is one I found of two of my closest primary school friends and I.  We didn't want to get picked up that day, so we hid inside my igloo tent and buried ourselves in stuffed animals.  It didn't work, but my parents found it so cute that they just had to take some photos.
 
 


I also had some more random notebooks here and there, full of collected business cards, quizzes, drawings.  Here's some drawings.
 
 
I even invented a galaxy because I was a bit weird like that.
 
 
One of my notebooks was my "interview book" because I used to write a sort of newspaper for the family.  There are so many funny answers in there, but you probably wouldn't get most of them.  Here's one from my sister though.
 
"What do you think of Grandma and Grandpa?
They don't have much hair.  They're very nice"
 
Ahaha I was just cracking up at the hair comment.
 
I also had a notebook full of letters.  Every single Christmas card and Birthday card is painstakingly copied out in that book.  Here's one from my favourite primary school teachers in my last year:
 
"Dear M,
Congratulations on a fantastic year!  You are a mathematics and musical star!  Good luck at G****** next year and make sure you come and visit us when you are rich and famous"
 
 
Out of all the notebooks though, the most important by far are my diaries, which I am still writing to this day.
 
 
I skipped many months and a year or two in between, but other than that, these diaries have been going since I was 9 years old.  They were pretty badly written back then though.  Here's some excerpts.  Initials are used instead of actual names for privacy reasons, and for my own embarrassment...
 
I'm pretty sure I had a crush on this guy in 2009, but I didn't even admit it to my diary.  Anyhow, here's a story featuring DP ;)
 
"Eventually J told me.  It was about DP.  Who did he have a crush on?  N decided to ask him.  We watched her.  He answered R.  We knew he was lying."
 
Ah.  The badly written drama of afterschool care ;)  I couldn't remember any of the girls' last names...
 
For some more 2009 drama, I also found this mean girl in my group featured in many of my entries.  Here's just one story about EE...
 
"She told me that I had to listen to the teacher (that meany poop).  I was just too quick.  Then later AY made a wild guess and he was wrong.  We all said you thought wrong AY.  EE said you thought wrong M very wrong for no reason!  Mean huh!"
 
Wow.  Primary school arguments were really petty.
 
And of course, here's one featuring my lovely family friends who are still my friends today, and one of the games we played...
 
"We ran away from RM and our meeting place was the pool and the cellar.  We kept running away from him for he is the monster."
 
Skip forward 2 years and a bit, and I'm attending the testing day of the high school I go to right now.  Here's part of the entry I wrote that day...
 
"I had to wake up at 7am to get to C*** by 8am.  There were lots of people from the junior school but others were new as well.  I only knew MM, AW, IN and only sort of (hardly), AM.  We just mingled for a while before the tests."
 
Well, I certainly wasn't very good at writing down my feelings back in year 6.  It's funny thinking about the people mentioned, and my friendships or non-friendships with them now, in the present day.  I definitely know AM more than "hardly".
 
And here's a bit from my very last day of primary school...
 
"I always thought that this day would make me excited and I also thought I wouldn't cry.  But, I did.  Seeing LD's tearstained face made me burst into tears.  Everybody cried and hugged, except for some people.  I hugged GL the most.  As soon as I left the classroom I stopped.  But outside, LD and AA gave me the last hugs and I cried again."
 
 
 
And I think I'll leave the memories there.  It's 11:30pm and I should really be getting to bed before school tomorrow.  It's time to live in the present again.  It's nice to remember the good old days, but be careful not to mourn or feel as if you want to go back.  It's time to look forward.  Those days are over.
 
But here's some advice for you.  Start a diary or journal or something.  Record what you do or your feelings.  Because as you get older you're going to keep looking back at them, and they'll make you smile (or cringe).
 
Love,
M
 



Tuesday 7 October 2014

A Little Fan Art

When in need of something to draw, why not draw one of your favourite characters or a scene from a movie or book you love?  I mean, at least that way you'll feel a connection rather than just drawing something pretty or tumblr looking, or a close up of a body part, which seems to be a bit of a trend.

So today one of my friends came over, and we decided to paint the cover of a very pretty book we've both read.  I'm trying to decide whether it's better than the last book cover we painted.

Anyway, here are the fan artworks I've done so far.  I haven't done that many and most are from quite a while ago because I don't draw that often... Just warning you, some of them aren't exactly very good.

Well, here they are...

Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters 



June Iparis



Will Herondale, Tessa Gray and Jem Carstairs



Tris Prior



Lara Jean



Katniss Everdeen 



Celaena Sardothein



Jace Herondale and Jem Carstairs



Elsa
 
 
 
Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace
 


 
And here are the two painted book covers:
 
Cress
 

 
Allegiant 

 
 
So, which one did you like the best?
 
 
Love,
M


Sunday 5 October 2014

Pretty or Ugly?

This concept was swimming around my head at 3am, consuming my mind for a while there.

I finished a book called The List by Siobhan Vivian, and it was a good book.  It's about a high school with an annual tradition.  Every year an anonymous list is printed, listing eight girls, two from each grade.  One is announced as the prettiest, and one as the ugliest.  I know this sounds completely shallow and stupid, but despite the extremities and the deluded reasoning, everything was so so true.  All the different types of girls with their different points of views and intentions, it conveyed how we all think and feel and how we view beauty.

There's two sisters.  One is smart but thinks she's ugly.  The other is pretty but thinks she's dumb.  The book still ends that way.  She still thinks she's ugly.  She still thinks she's dumb. Because that's how insecurities are.  They hardly ever go away, even if they aren't true.  The funny thing is, that both girls are a little envious of each other.  They don't think the other is ugly or dumb at all.  They don't see that flaw because it's not there.



Then there's another girl.  The list calls her ugly.  The list calls her a man.  So what does her boyfriend think?  He's embarrassed of course.  He doesn't know what to do.  He makes her feel ugly.  And when people don't make you feel beautiful anymore, when they don't make your life better anymore, it's time to let them go, no matter how hard or sad you will feel.

There's a home-schooled girl, new to society.  When she suddenly feels like she belongs, like she has friends, she wants to keep them.  It doesn't matter that her mom is unhappy.  She wants to belong to the group.  She's nice and clueless, but all her "friends" start to find her weird.  She doesn't really belong.  They don't even care.



And what about the mean girl?  She's only mean because she's beautiful on the outside.  She can get away with it.  Until she's tossed out because she's ugly on the inside.  Replaced by the home-schooled loser.  What does this do to her inner ugliness?  Sometimes being alone sets your priorities straight.  Even when your "friends" come back for you, sometimes it's better to turn away and be beautiful on the inside, as well as the outside.

Then there's the girl that tries to be ugly.  She's making a statement.  She's dissing her past where she tried to fit in but never could.  But nobody cares about her statement.  It's expected.  She's not important.  Nobody cares.  Except for that one somebody.  Sometimes you need to appreciate the people already in your life, who do notice and care for you, who think you're beautiful.  Nobody else's opinion matters.  They are too self-focused, probably never forming one anyway.

What happens when you're not good enough?  You'll never be skinny enough, even when you look like a skeleton.  You'll always be ugly, no matter how many people tell you you're beautiful.  You'll never be like the perfect glossy girls in the magazines.



And then there's the ex-best friends.  The pretty girl ditches the ugly girl, but did she do it for a good reason?  The ugly girl made her feel so ugly.  The ugly girl was ugly.  The ugly girl read her diary.  The ugly girl knew what she was doing.  The ugly girl wrote the list.  One girl was supposedly too busy flaunting her boyfriend, one was full of crap, one was used to teach her uppity sister a lesson.  But what does the ugly girl know?  What gives her the right to call all these people out?  And the truth is, the ugly girl just wants to be liked.  She's desperate for it.  She's not making a statement.  She's still trying to fit in. 

The pretty girl is desperate to be liked too.  She cares so so much about what people think of her.  They define her beauty.  Their opinions count.  She must look the part for them.  She must wear the sophisticated dress to show she's above high school.  And when she decides to end the list, it's mostly for herself, because she's selfish.

Now scroll up and string the bold words together to make a sentence, because it's true.  Hardly anyone cares enough to view you as beautiful or ugly.  Everyone is too busy assessing themselves.  Everyone's intentions are selfish.  They want to make their life better, they want to make a statement to get people to notice them, they want to belong, they want to be prettier.  And it's funny how so many people view their own beauty on how other people think of them, because the truth is, nobody really realises whether you're beautiful or ugly.  They're not actually thinking about you at all.

So if you think you're ugly, you are.  You're the only one that thinks so, but nobody else has really formed an opinion either.  And if you think you're pretty, you are.  It's your opinion that counts.


 
Now here's a very true quote I found in the book:

"That's how inside jokes usually are...Funny to those inside, annoying as shit to the rest of the world."

Love,
M

Saturday 20 September 2014

The Maze Runner

This was my second Saturday movie in a row and I'm just sitting here wondering why all the good movies have to come out now.  Seriously, why not the holidays?  Anyway,

The Maze Runner was so freaking scary.  I don't care if it's classified an action movie or it's rated M.  I'm calling it a horror movie and rating it MA.  I didn't quite realise how heart pumping the movie would be while reading the book.  Seriously.  All the running, fighting, escaping, hiding from those grotesque creatures.  And then there was the suspenseful music and those screaming deaths.  My friend next to me was clutching my arm so hard and practically shaking.  I know I was shielding my eyes every now and then.

Okay, so if you didn't already know, The Maze Runner is about a boy named Thomas who is put into a maze full of boys.  He doesn't remember a thing and has no idea why he's there.  The maze works like this: There's a safe square in the middle where all the boys live.  Every night the walls of this square close off from the outside maze, protecting the boys from creatures called Grievers, and every day while the doors are open, Runners go out to map the maze.  Every month supplies are sent up a cage elevator, along with a new boy.  This all changes once Thomas arrives...

The Maze Runner, despite being one of the most scary movies I've dared to watch, was amazing.  I didn't get bored that's for sure.  I can't spoil any of the story, mysteries and character rivalries, so I won't discuss how great all that was.  Instead I'll just mention the hot Asian Runner.  I don't know if it's coz I'm Asian that I think he's hot, or if he's actually hot, but he was pretty fine ;).  Although, he's a little dumb looking, but still.  Thomas was okay too I guess.



Compared to the book the movie was a good adaption.  At least I think so.  I read the book ages ago so it's possible I'm forgetting things.  I know the ending was a little different though.  In the movie it seemed like such a fast dramatic scene.  I mean believe me, in the book it was pretty fast and dramatic too, but it seemed much more ordered.  The final fight seemed more planned.  In the movie it was more spur of the moment.

And then there was the actual ending after the maze.  I definitely didn't remember most of that from the book.  It was FANTASTIC in the movie though.  Wow it makes me need to watch the second movie. 

Basically, I'm just going to conclude that the movie was better than the book, for once.

Love,
M

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Procrastination and a Lack of Sleep

If I'm being honest here, the only reason I'm writing this post is because I'm procrastinating.  You see, I have this huge religion test on Thursday and I haven't even started going over the masses of information required.  The test is worth 50% of my grade and it's all about Church history of all the boring things.  I know, you're probably thinking religion isn't even that important.  But I find that trying to get as many As as possible is satisfying.

I'm not really helping my case by procrastinating though.  I'm not even doing anything useful with my procrastination time.  At least I could go for a jog or work on my sexual health assignment or practice a musical instrument.  No.  Instead I'm sitting here writing this nonsense. 

Okay, so here's what normally happens when I'm procrastinating.  I set myself a time to study and, well, I end up starting about 5 hours later.  First I check my phone, replying to every single message, creating a few new convos, and checking out my instagram feed and snap chat stories.  Then I sit there for a while longer while people reply.  This whole process takes about 30 minutes to an hour before I realise I should probably be doing something else.  So I get up and decide to watch an episode of something.  Another 45 minutes gone.  Then I might want to read, or play the piano, or aimlessly wander the internet, or watch another episode.  I'll probably check my phone regularly too.  Then finally, FINALLY, in the evening I'll start freaking out.  Depending on how close the test is, I'll either give it another night, or frantically study until 11pm.

 
 
 
Well, the important thing is that I always seem to get it done.  Procrastination is just part of the study process, right?  This is normal.  I still have two more nights of study, even though that won't give me much sleep and my brain won't exactly be in peak condition.

That brings me on to the next bit of my post.  My complete and utter lack of sleep.  I haven't even been studying in the last week but I'm still only getting around 6 hours of sleep.  I think it's just what happens after my late nights on weekends.  My brain can't adjust to waking up at 7:30am.

So now I'm a yawner.  I yawn in class, I feel exhausted, and then somehow I manage to read until 1am yet again.  Even after that I spend so much time lying in bed unable to sleep.  Do I have some kind of condition?  This lack of sleep thing messes with my social skills.  Sometimes, by the end of the day, people are continuously having to repeat themselves for me to hear.  I'm just so out of it.



Yeah, so basically this is the story of my life right now.  I'm tired and really don't want to study.  But I probably should if I want any sleep tonight.  So goodbye and thank you for reading up until this point.  Sorry for my rambling.  I think it's time to log off and get my life in check.

Love,
M

Thursday 11 September 2014

Kick-ass Book Heroines

Last night I stayed up until midnight finishing Heir of Fire, the third and latest book of the Throne of Glass series, which is one of my favourites of all time.  Heir of Fire was AMAZING, although it still wasn't as good as the first two books.  I think that's because there were no Chaolaena moments (if you've read the series you'll know what I mean).  What I did like about the book, however, was that it still had the mystery, magic, action/fight scenes, fantasy, some slight horror, and a whole bunch of complicated characters and secrets.  Celaena became so much more powerful, if that was even possible.  We also got a peek at her past, and I think Arobrynn is coming backkk.  I can't wait to see the look on his face.  Now I just have to wait a year or so for the next book, for Celaena to return.  I can't wait!

Anyway, on to the purpose of this post... One of the main reasons I love this series is because of the main character, Celaena Sardothein.  She is the perfect example of one kick-ass heroine.  So now, after reading the latest book, I've decided to share some of the most kick-ass heroines out there.


Celaena Sardothein from Throne of Glass - Sarah J Maas
Yup.  We're definitely starting with her.  First and foremost, Celaena is the most notorious assassin of Adarlan.  That means she kills people and can fight and stuff.  In the first book she's forced to enter the king's competition and pretends to be a simple jewel thief.  Boy did the other competitors get a surprise.  There's so much more to Celaena than just being an assassin though.  She's got amazing eyes and captures the heart of both a prince and a (hot) captain of the guard.  She's also got so many secrets and identities that I can't reveal without spoiling some of the best bits.  So just read it!  Trust me.



June from Legend - Marie Lu
June is a prodigy in a society focused on the military.  She scored a maximum score of 500 on the test.  She's smart, strategic and able to fight.  Then there's her partner in crime/future boyfriend, Day.  He's the most well known criminal.. and that's all I'm going to say.  Yeah, so June is awesome and you can tell she's pretty too.  J, if you're reading this, read this book!!!



Sydney from Bloodlines - Richelle Mead
First of all, ignore the book cover.  Sydney is way prettier than that.  Sydney's an alchemist in a world with vampires (don't let the vampires deter you).  She's a genius, and although she's oblivious to anything social, she's still a super organised genius.  She's also able to do magic, and although at the start of the series she's throwing amulets that zap people, by the latest book she's making rings of fire.  Sydney also has one of the best relationships I've ever read or watched or anything.  They're just the cutest :')



Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Who doesn't know Katniss Everdeen?  You know, the one that went in that battle to the death involving 24 kids in a corrupt world?  She's the one that wins of course, taking Peeta with her.  That's pretty kick-ass to me.  She's also got Liam Hemsworth (in the movie) pining after her.  I mean, damnnn...



Clary Fray from The City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
Clary is so much cooler in the book than in the movie.  First of all, she's super brave and has one reaaaally hot boyfriend (I imagine him to be Alex Pettyfer but hotter).  She's also got an evil brother and father, but that doesn't bring her down.  Equipped with a stele and many many blades, Clary's one small badass fighter.  She's even got some extra powers with the stele ;)



Kat Bishop from Heist Society - Ally Carter
Kat is a high society thief.  That's her family's business after all.  She's the mastermind behind the theft of paintings, jewellery, heirlooms and museum artefacts.  She's the leader of a crew of talented teenagers, including the one very rich (and gorgeous) W.W Hale the fifth, aka Hale.


Valkyrie Cain from Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Valkyrie's a blend of darkness and light, too powerful for her own good.  In fact, I'm pretty sure she's lost control of herself now.  She's so powerful and mysterious that she has three identities and runs around with a skeleton detective, solving mysteries and fighting bad guys left and right.  I can't wait to read the last book!  It's either the destruction of the world, or maybe she'll pull through and become Valkyrie again...



Tris Prior from Divergent - Veronica Roth
Yeah, Tris is on this list for the heck of it, maybe as a sort of tribute I guess.  I mean, she is divergent, and she has a smoking hot boyfriend.  The perfect blend of brave, smart and selfless, Tris is different.  She's brave enough to fight, smart enough to think of strategies, and selfless enough to do what's right.  So I guess that's Tris for you...


And those were some of the most kick-ass heroines you will ever find in books.  All the books listed above are also amazing so I seriously suggest you read every single one.

Now it's time for me to read about prissy girls in romance books for English... yayyy...

Love,
M