cool stuff – Book Delights

I was tagged by the lovely Mariana @Book is Glee! Thank you so much for nominating me for this fantastic tag, Mariana, I’m so excited to do it!

VITAL STATS

Name: Kellie
Nicknames: Kells, Bookworm, Ellie, Kellzy, Koala, Flamingo… (I’ve accumulated some interesting nicknames over the years haha)
Birthday: July 3rd
Star Sign: Cancer (I’m not as emotionally turbulent as those horoscopes alwaaays say…. except when it comes to books)
Occupation: Still a student!

APPEARANCE

Hair Colour: Blacky-brownish because my hair is unhealthy 😦
Hair Length: Long hair
Eye Colour: Very dark brown
Best Feature: Eyes? (not sure :P)
Braces: Nope
Piercings: Nopeee
Tattoos: Nopeee
Right or Left: I’m a righty!

FIRSTS

Real holiday: When I was two, I was lucky enough to visit California in the US. Unfortunately, I don’t remember anything about it. 😦
Best friend: She is super super smart and awesome!
Award: Music award for coming third in a piano competition yay!
Sport: Running/Cross country, although I’m super unfit now (since I haven’t been running much now :/)
Concert: I’ve never been to a concert, but I’d love to go to one in Carnegie Hall some time!

FAVOURITES

Film: This is hard >.< Maybe The Martian or Mulan?
TV Show: Teen Wolf (Season 5 is soo intensee), (I did like but never continued watching) How to get away with Murder…
Colour: Blueee!
Song: Probably something by Taylor Swift tbh 😀
Restaurant: Ahh I don’t have one.
Shop: Page One! (a local bookstore)
Books: Oh no it’s the favourite books question again >.<
Shoes: Trainers (I practically live in them)

CURRENTLY

Feeling: Tired (as always hahah)
Single or Taken: Sadly, I’ve never acted in any of the Taken films.
Eating: Apples
Thinking about: This post 😀
Watching: Teen Wolf (Season 5)
Wearing: I’m actually wearing pyjamas rn too haha. Highfive Mariana!

FUTURE

Want children: Haven’t really thought about it tbh
Want to be married: I guess
Careers in mind: I’m just as direction-less as a scalar quantity. (yay for science references :P)
Where you want to live: A cool house/large apartment with bookshelf walls!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

God: Not really 😛 (I really hope I didn’t offend you. If I did, sorry!)
Miracles: Sometimes
Love at first sight: I’m a romantic, so yes haha
Ghosts: Sort of.
Aliens: Yes
Soul Mates: I wish!
Heaven: Not really
Hell: Not really, but it does provide a good basis for most swear words!
Kissing on the first date: Depends on the person, I guess
Yourself: Yepp

Nominations: The amazing…

Anjie @Love Thy Shelf

Alice @Arctic Books

Bookspoils

I really hoped you guys enjoyed learning more about this, and if you’d like to do this tag, please do, because I’d love to learn more about you guys!! ❤

Cheers,

The Girl at Midnight, by Melissa Grey

3.5 Stars

Run, Echo, the voice in her mind whispered.
And rise

The Girl at Midnight was a fantastic take on the legend of the firebird. The incorporation of the firebird was interestingly done, and I really liked the concept of the Drakharin and the Avicen. However, I do wish that there was more background information on how the Drakharin and the Avicen came to be, or on the two species in general. What is the Drakharin society like? I also like the concept of the “in-between”, but how was the “in-between” formed? Or did it exist all along?

Though the book was a bit slow at the start, it quickly picked up the pace near the middle, and the story became much more intense.

What I found a disappointing about this book was how the book was a little clichéd. I figured at where/who the firebird was very early on in the story. That kind of dampened my excitement, and it was also why I didn’t give this book four stars.

I thought Echo was a great character. She is fiercely loyal to her best friend Ivy. She also has some conversations with different characters in the book (e.g. Caius). Dorian is also pretty funny.

“Ah, Tanith,” Dorian sighed. “Please, observe my sincere laughter.”
Silence.
“Cute,” said Tanith. “Too bad my brother doesn’t see it.”

And Tanith is seriously good at throwing shade!!

Romance was an aspect I don’t think was that well developed. Unlike many YA books, Echo already has a boyfriend, which I liked. However, I didn’t like how Echo warmed up to another person she felt an attraction to when she hadn’t even broken up with her boyfriend. I did like the new love relationship that blossomed between an Avicen and a Drakharin. I won’t mention who they are, because spoilers! 🙂

I think there will be a sequel, because the author ended the book on a somewhat open ending. I do recommend this!

Blurb

Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

Find it on…

Goodreads ○ Amazon ○ Barnes & Noble

Tag: cool stuff

A Tag: The Get to Know Me Tag

A Book Review: The Girl at Midnight, by Melissa Grey