BOOK REVIEW | Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (#1)

Genre: Young Adult /Alternate History

Publication Date: 2015

My Rating: ★★★.5

Goodreads Page

Goodreads Summary:

Germania, 1956. Over ten years since the Nazis won the war. 18-year-old Yael is part of the resistance, and she has just one mission: to kill Hitler.

But first she's got to get close enough to him to do it. 

Experimented on during her time at Auschwitz, Yael has the unique ability to change her appearance at will. The only part of her which always remains are the five tattooed wolves on her arm; one for each of the people she's lost. Using her abilities, she must transform into Adele Wolfe, Germany's most famous female rider and winner of the legendary Axis Tour; an epic long distance motorcycle race from Berlin to Tokyo, where only the strongest (and wiliest) riders survive. If she can win this, she will be able to get close enough to kill the Fuhrer and change history forever.

**No Spoilers**

I was sent this book from Hachette via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I heard about this book a lot on YouTube last year and the premise intrigued me. One of my favourite genres to read is alternate history and hearing that this book was not only about a world where Hitler won the war, but also had an action-packed motorcycle race in it, made it too good to pass up. I wasn't disappointed in my expectations, but it was very obvious when reading this that it was the first book in a series. 

I absolutely loved the sections that took place in the past and explored Yael's time through the Holocaust and beyond. It is a heartbreaking time period to read about, but also something everyone should be aware of. However, I didn't feel as though I got too attached to any of the characters despite the horror of the period; Yael's character was very cold and the other character's felt a bit underdeveloped/not looked into enough, because of her point of view. However, I imagine they will be explored more in the next few books. I think the main reason I found it hard to become attached to characters was that they either weren't in the book long enough, or Yael's character didn't care about them because she wasn't really Victor Wolfe.

I also would have preferred for the book to be longer, but to focus more on Yael's past, World War II, and how she got to where she was; I feel like those parts weren't particularly detailed and left me wanting to hear more about it. I also wanted to feel more sad about such a horrifying, awful, brutal events but the nature of the writing didn't impact me as much as I thought it would. I did find the undertones of identity and race quite powerful and I'm hoping the second book will develop that more.

There wasn't much description of the different countries they travel through, but the action-packed nature of the motor-cycle race definitely made up for it. It's definitely a page-turner and I couldn't stop reading once I picked it up. I read it in only a few hours, it was that addictive. It also had rather open ending and I would've preferred a bit more closure, but since this is only book one I'm excited to see how the series progresses. The final twenty pages were so exciting and shocking that it made it up for some of the things I found lacking in the book. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a fun read. I'll definitely be picking up the next book to see how the series continues. Graudin's writing is very exciting and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history/alternate history books.

BOOK REVIEW | The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Genre: Adult Fiction/Dystopian

Publication Date: 1985

My Rating: ★★★★.75

Goodreads Page

Goodreads Summary:

Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to the food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...

**No Spoilers**

The Handmaid's Tale is a book I often heard people talking about, but had never got around to reading myself. And I'm surprised I didn't pick this up any sooner, considering how much I love darker dystopians that differ from the recent YA surge over the past ten years (which I also love, but for different reasons). I finally decided it was time for me to pick this book up and I am so, so glad I did.  In the words of a true English Literature graduate: I wish I had studied this at some point. There is so much I could talk about regarding the feminist aspect, postmodernism, and narrators; it was simply a genuinely fascinating book.

As it says in the summary above, this book revolves around a world where society has completely changed how men are supposed to view women (and also how women are supposed to view women too). Margaret Atwood is an extremely powerful writer; her descriptions are vivid, yet they paint a shadowy picture of a not-to-distant future. She has a haunting way of showing that by trying to make a Utopia, where everyone is 'equal' or 'happy', not many actually are, and no-one is able to talk about it.

I think the reason this story is so powerful is that it shows a very scary and very real-sounding future -  especially since the main characters can remember the world before it changed. What made the story particularly haunting was the way it drifted from past to present, and showed that, although the two time periods jarred, they could be considered similar. I think this also adds so much to the feminist discussion. It portrays a world which believes it's doing something right for women, when realistically none of them are happy. Atwood looks closely at the common notion of women portrayed as objects. Although the society in this book has tried to make it so women aren't viewed like this, it rather ironically shows that they make women objects more than they previously were.

I also found the unreliability of the narrator throughout to be very interesting, especially after reading the Epilogue. I wasn't sure what to make of the ending at first, but I suppose that's the point! I loved it though, and found it added something to my reading of the book. 

Overall I found this book such a fascinating and interesting read. It probably won't be for everyone, but if you're at all interested in feminism or in darker dystopian fiction then I highly recommend this to you. There is so much to discuss and look at in this book, and I think Atwood is an incredible writer.

Top Five Wednesday | Disappointing Eye Candy

This week's Top Five Wednesday is Disappointing Eye Candy (aka books that looked beautiful, but were disappointing). As a quick side note, I just wanted to add that I've changed this part of the title from 'books that turned out to be awful' to 'books that were disappointing'. This is because it's not that I hated these books or that they were awful, but more that I didn't enjoy them as much as I hoped. I found this a difficult topic to choose books for but I managed to find five in the end.

1.Wormwood by G.P. Taylor

This is definitely my number one for this topic as I really, really didn't like this book. I had high hopes for it and was expecting to love it. It looked very gothic and I'd heard it was a great fantasy book. Unfortunately it fell very flat for me and I just found it boring and difficult to get into. That doesn't often happen to me with books which is why I always remember vividly that this book just didn't appeal to me. I love the cover though - it's so gothic and it just drew me in.

2. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This is a book that I know lots of people love, so I expect a few people will disagree with me here! I love the cover of this book, it's so pretty and it really did draw me in. I did enjoy the story, don't get me wrong, but I had a few problems with it that just meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. I do have a full spoiler-free review here, if you want more of my thoughts on it!

3. We Were Liars by E. Lockart

This book was a bit of a disappointment for me. I found the cover interesting and pretty, and everyone was raving about the book so I was very excited. I think that there was too much hype around this book though, which made me have higher expectations, so it was bound to fall flat. I loved the beautiful writing style and enjoyed the story but guessed the twist at the end, and I think I was just hoping for something more. I think if I'd read this when my friend first suggested it to me when it first came out, rather than after all the hype that followed, I might have enjoyed it more!

4. The Wind on Fire Series by William Nicholson

To be honest, I've not read this series since I was about 11, so if I re-read it then maybe I'd have different opinions. I bought all three of these books at once because they looked so pretty together and they sounded like fantasy books I would enjoy. I remember finding the first one slow to get into, but enjoyable, and I remember the last two books to be a bit disappointing in comparison. But they look lovely on the shelf! (And I wouldn't mind re-reading them as an adult to see how I felt about them now).

5. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I remember getting this book not long after reading Twilight for the first time (so I was probably about 14/15), and I was in a paranormal reading phase after that. This book cover looked so nice and the concept of werewolves sounded interesting so I picked it up. I remember finding the book just okay but it didn't live up to my expectations, unfortunately! However, I do love a lot of Maggie Stiefvater's other books so I highly recommend them too (they also have gorgeous covers!)

Those are my Top Five Disappointing Eye Candy books! Let me know what you guys think and what yours are too! If you did a Top Five Wednesday for this then leave your link below and I'll go check it out! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has said!

Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. She creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | Favourite Buzz Words

This week's Top Five Wednesday is Favourite Buzz Words (aka words used to describe a book that is a guarantee buy for you). There are so many words that immediately entice me to read a book so it was hard narrowing it down to five, but these are the ones that sell books to me the most!

1. Dragons

Generally, any book with dragons in it is guaranteed to sell it to me. I love fantasy novels as a rule anyway and ever since reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini when I was 10, I always try to pick up dragon books. I don't know what it is, but I just love them.

2. Psychological Thriller

I know this is more of a genre than a buzz word, but I'm still counting it! I adore psychological thrillers - I think one of the first ones I read was Sister by Rosamund Lupton and I fell in love with them. It borders horror without being scary, and it's the unexpected turns in the plot that can mess with your perspective when reading the book that intrigues me the most. I always enjoy finding a good book like this.

3. Plot Twists

This is kind of related to the above, but I love a good plot twist in any genre. I love reading a book and not realising the huge twists until they're revealed to the reader. It makes the reading experience so much more fun, and it also makes re-reading a lot more fun too, so you can hunt for those clues that you overlooked the first time.

4. Magic Powers/Gifts/Abilities

I really don't think this will get old for me. Whether it's in a fantasy, dystopian or urban fantasy book, I love characters with some sort of abilities , where they explore the scope but also the restrictions and limits of their powers. It always adds an extra dimension to the book that I enjoy.

5. Familiars

Again, this is another one that I don't think I could tire of. Familiars or some sort of creature that helps the main characters. I think this comes from my very deep love of pokemon, so if you tell me that a book is like Pokémon mixed with something else, then you've already sold it to me, hands down. (A good example of this was The Novice by Taran Matharu and Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott).

These are my Top Five Buzz Words, let me know what you think and what yours are below! Or if you've done a Top Five Wednesday let me know! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. She creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

2015 Reading Review!

I'm a bit late to the party, but I've decided to do my 2015 Year in Reading Review! This survey was created by The Perpetual Page-Turner, who has an amazing blog. I left out one part of the survey, so if you want to see the full thing you can click here!

Number of Books you Read: 149
Number of Re-reads: 15
Genre you Read the Most From: Young Adult

 

1. Best Book you Read in 2015?

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

2. Book you were Excited About & Thought you were Going to Love More but Didn't?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

3. Most Surprising (in a good or bad way) book you read?

Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Definitely in a good way!)

 

4. Book you "pushed" the most people to read (and they did?)

I don't think I really "pushed" any book!

 

5. Best Series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2015?

There's too many! But Probably Scott Westerfeld or Marissa Meyer.

7. Best book from a genre you don't typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

It's Not Me, It's You by Mhairi Mcfarlane

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

9. Book you read in 2015 that you are most likely to re-read next year?

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2015?

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Celaena Sardothien

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Maus by Art Spiegelman

13. Most thought-provoking/Life-changing book of 2015?

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

15. Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2015?

I'm afraid I can't think of any right now - I read too many books to be able to remember a specific passage off the top of my head!

16. Shortest and Longest Book you read in 2015?

The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer and 11.22.63 by Stephen King

17. A Book that shocked you the most?

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

 

18. OTP of the year (you will go down with this ship!)

Baz and Simon

 

19. Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year?

Celaena and Dorian

 

20. Favourite book you read in 2015 from an author you've read previously?

11.22.63 by Stephen King

 

21. Best Book you read in 2015 that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else/peer pressure?

Room by Emma Donoghue

 

22. Best 2015 debut you read?

The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

 

23. Best world building/most vivid setting you read this year?

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

 

24. Book that put a smile on your face/was the most FUN to read?

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell

 

25. Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2015?

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

 

26. Hidden Gem of the year?

Finding Jennifer Jones by Anne Cassidy

 

27. Book that crushed your soul?

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

 

28. Most unique book you read in 2015?

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

 

29. Book that made you the most mad (but doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it)?

The Rain by Virginia Bergin (And I didn't like it)

1. One book you didn't get to in 2015 but will be your Number 1 priority in 2016?

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

2. Book you are most anticipating for 2016 (non-debut)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

3. 2016 Debut you are most anticipating

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

4. Series Ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2016

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

5. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2016?

Blog more in general and read as much as possible (hopefully more than last year!)

6. A 2016 release you've already read and recommend to everyone:

I haven't read any 2016 releases yet so I will recommend some as soon as I have!

I hope you enjoyed this survey! Let me know about how your 2015 went in terms of reading, and let me know below if you've done this survey too! Feel free to link it for me to read if you have!

 

BOOK REVIEW | Before the Dawn (#4)

Before the Dawn by Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue

#4 The Ending Series

Genre: New Adult Fiction/ Dystopian/Romance

My Rating: ★★★.5

Goodreads Page

Goodreads Summary:

THE FOURTH AND FINAL BOOK IN THE ENDING SERIES.

A year ago, the Virus killed off most people in the world.

A year ago, strange things started happening to those who survived. Some of them transformed into something dark and sinister, while others evolved, becoming something more, something beyond human.

A year ago, Dani and Zoe were lost. They traversed the country to find one another, losing some of the people dearest to them along the way. They fought for their right to simply live, uncovered long-buried secrets, and discovered irreversible truths. And after everything Dani and Zoe have been through—even with the battle wounds that they bear—they’re still not safe.

It’s time for the struggling to end, for survivors to take back their lives, their families, their safety. It’s time to really begin to live, and to do that, they must wait for the first rays of dawn.

*This book contains some adult content and language*

**This Review Contains Spoilers**

So after reading the first three books in the series this time last year, I was finally able to read the denouement this year. This final book was only published in Autumn last year so I didn't waste to much time before diving right back in to this series. I don't often have spoilers in my reviews but as this is the fourth and final book in the series, it's I'm afraid I'll be going into some details that are spoiler-filled. So again, if you didn't see the warning above, this review does contain some spoilers! If you haven't already read this book but are interested in this series then you can read my reviews for After the Ending (Book 1),  Into the Fire (Book 2),  or Out of the Ashes (Book 3); please click on the links to read them if you're interested!

I did enjoy this book quite a lot and I found the entire series to be addictive and fun reads. I did, however, have a couple of minor problems with this book, but I think a lot of that came from leaving a whole year between reading the third book and this one. There are a lot of characters in this book (and this is true of the whole series), which was quite confusing as I was trying to get back into the book. I could remember a lot of characters and it was so easy to get muddled as so many characters have similar names  (e.g. Anne/Annie, Jake/Jason, Daniel/Danielle). So this made it a little bit difficult to get back into.

I also found that this book really didn't add very much to the overall plot of the story and felt a little bit unnecessary. There isn't much we learn in this book that's different from the others, and the 'kidnapping' of two of the main characters just felt a bit like plot devices that didn't add much. I think that the main reason I lowered the star rating, however, was due to the slightly anti-climactic fight at the end of the book; it ended so quickly. The book started off very exciting but I just felt like it simmered out by the end of the book, and,  like I said in the previous review, all the main characters (and there's a lot of them) felt extremely safe. I never felt like there was any danger of any of them dying, and I was right. Only one main character died, and it was one we never get chance to get attached to. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the happy ending and was glad to see the characters all get together and work things out, but it just felt too easy considering what they'd had to face, and I never once felt any fear that a character could be in danger.

Anyway, despite these minor issues I had with the book I still really enjoyed the series overall. I think most of my issues with this book came from leaving it so long between books. It's definitely worth a read as it is something unique that I've never read before. The characters are interesting and funny, the plot and concept of character's powers is so fascinating to read about, and they are just books that are easy to fly through. I think I read this 400 page book in little over a day! And I definitely read the first three books in under a day each. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this series and this is definitely worth picking up if you enjoyed the others. (But I would recommend refreshing your memories of the previous books first if it's been a while!)

Ten Books/Series I Want to Read this Year

I have a lot of books sitting on my bookshelf that I haven't read yet, and I'm sure everyone else knows the feeling! So, I've decided to make a post about the Ten Books/Series that I really want to get round to reading this year, in the hope that it will encourage me to pick up these titles sooner rather than later! So let's jump right in!

1. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

I bought the beautiful British box set of this trilogy last year and have still not got around to reading this! I've heard so many amazing things about this fantasy series, and I love Brandon Sanderson's writing so I definitely need to read this soon. These fantasy books look amazing and have so much hype around them on BookTube; needless to say, I'm very excited about reading them this year.

2. The Diviners by Libba Bray

I heard about this book over a year ago and, since hearing the plot, I've really wanted to read it. I finally got it last month so I need to find some time to read it soon.

3. The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan

This is a book series that I started reading when I was very young but didn't finish because my local library never had the next book in the series. I can't even really remember much about the ones I did read but I recently bought the box set of this series, along with the box set of the series afterwards (also by Rick Riordan) so I would like to get through them this year and remember what they were about! I love Greek/Roman Gods so this series really appeals to me. I imagine they'll be quick reads too as they're children's books so hopefully it won't take me long to get through the series!

4. The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simmons

I first heard about this historical fiction/romance trilogy from LittleBookOwl on YouTube about 4 years ago, and I've been desperate to read it since. It's set in Russia during the war and follows two characters. I have the first two books in the trilogy and they are huge (around 800 pages each, I think!), so I've been putting them off slightly. I'm not normally a big fan of adult romances, but the plot of this book just sounds fascinating and I always love the setting of Russia. Even if I don't manage to read the whole trilogy this year, I'll be happy to at least start it, finally!

5. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

This is another trilogy I bought last year and haven't made time to read, so I'm determined to get to it this year. I've heard a lot of good things about these books (although I've heard very mixed things about the final book!), so I hope I'll enjoy them when I read them. They seem right up my street.

6. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

I first read the Mortal Instruments series when the first book had only just been released (when I was around 14/15) ,and I finally finished both the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series early last year (when I was 22). I still really love the world Cassandra Clare built, and one of my favourite characters in the whole series was Magnus Bane. This book is a set of short stories about this character and I'm so excited to read it and find out more about this incredible character.

7. The Winner's Curse Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

There are currently only two books out in this trilogy, but I know the third and final book comes out in March so I definitely want to catch up on this series before then. I've already read the first book and am currently half-way through the second, so I'm well on my way to achieving this target! Very much enjoying this fantasy trilogy so far; it has a slight feel of Game of Thrones  about it, especially with the incredible world building and  focus on political troubles and betrayal.

8. Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter is the fourth book in the Lunar Chronicles, and it only came out last November.  This series is a re-telling of fairy tales with a sci-fi twist and they are very cleverly written. I had pre-ordered the book as I read the rest of the series earlier last year and was excited to read to conclusion to this series. I didn't get around to reading it last year so I will definitely prioritise it this year! (This is another huge 800 page but I imagine I'll fly through it, like the others!)

9. The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black

This is another book I first heard about on BookTube about a year (maybe two years?) ago and it sounds very interesting. I've heard it's a vampire novel that's unlike any other vampire book, which definitely intrigued me. I do love supernatural books and something about this (maybe the beautiful cover) has made me want to read it for so long. Definitely going to be picking this up soon!
 

10. Gone Series by Michael Grant

I actually had this series as an aim of mine last year but I didn't actually get around to picking it up, sadly. I have all of the books now, with the beautiful, colourful pages, so I'm definitely, definitely, going to pick them up this year and see what I think.

Those are my Ten Books/Series I'm determined to finish this year. Do any of you have a similar list of books that you want to get to this year? Let me know if you've written a blog post, or made a video, and I'll check it out. Also let me know if I need to get to any of these asap because you've enjoyed them!

Top Five Wednesday | Favourite Self-Published Books

This week's Top Five Wednesday is Favourite Self-Published Books. I have to say I struggled slightly to find out which books that I've read were self-published, but I've managed to find a few! I'm going on the basis that these books were originally self-published, so even if they were later picked up by a publisher, I'm including them here. So, without further ado, here are my top five!

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

Well I wasn't aware that this was originally a self-published book until I looked it up, but this was a fantastic book that I read last year. I know most people will have heard of it as it came out as a movie last year, and was very popular in the BookTube community, so I won't go on about it too much. It was a brilliant, witty, well-written book that had me laughing out loud at times, while other moments had me on the edge of my seat. Full of suspense and adventure, I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction books.

2. The Silent Deal by Levi Stack (The Card Game Series)

I was offered to read and review this book, by the author, in 2014, and I could not be happier that I did. This book is set in Russia in the 1830s, in a land of aristocrats and serfs. The main character, Viktor, lives in Aryk, a town with a mysteries and hidden past which no-one talks about, but everyone knows it is related to the cards. When Viktor meets the strange forest-boy, known as Romulus, they dive head-first into the enigma of the cards to discover more of the town's past, and their own. There is just so much mystery in this book, and it's sequel was equally amazing. I highly recommend checking this book out as not many people have heard of it. If you enjoy books with a historical setting then you'll love this. I have a full review of this book that you can read here if you're interested!

3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

After looking up self-published books, I discovered that one of my favourite classics was originally self-published: A Christmas Carol. I'm sure everyone will have heard of this short book, but if you've never read it, or have been put off by it being a classic, then I suggest just giving it a read. It's extremely short and beautifully written; definitely one of my favourite Christmas stories.






4. The Ending Series by Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh

The Ending Series, starting with After the Ending, is an extremely interesting and rather unique series of books set in a world suffering an Apocalypse. It was originally recommended to me by my sister when it was free on the Kobo store (which it still is if anyone is interested! Click here). She loved it and so I picked it up soon after and it had me hooked. The book follows two main characters who are friends on different sides of the country, Zoe and Dani, and alternates between their perspectives. It is set in America when a deadly virus hits, wiping out most of the population and leaving those who survive different. Although I had some problems with the series overall, it was still a very enjoyable and addictive read. I have reviews for the first three books in this series on my Book Reviews page if anyone wants to know any more about this Dystopian series.

5. Angelfall Trilogy by Susan Ee

I read this trilogy last year and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was a very different take on a post-apocalyptic world, using Angels in a way I'd never seen before. Although I had a few problems with the romance and some of the plot points, I did find this trilogy enjoyable and refreshing to read.

 
Those were my Top Five Favourite Self-Published books. Let me know what yours are! (And also let me know if you also struggled to find out which books were originally self-published!)

Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. She creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!