Tag: neal shusterman

*A little spoilery*

Today I thought I’d do a fun little post about 5 books that I read this year because of booktube. These books I had either seen a bunch of people do reviews on, or everyone put them in their TBR’s the same month, or they would be in everyone’s top favourite books of all time or something along those lines and I was curious enough to pick them up and give them a read.

The 1^st book I read because of booktube is The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I didn’t hate this book, but I also didn’t love it. Jude just wasn’t a favourite character of mine; I didn’t find her to be likeable throughout the novel. Some of her choices she made just didn’t sit well with me and the relationships she formed Locke and Cardan just seemed a bit odd and cringey, especially after they made her life hell for so long. I much preferred her older sister Vivi, I loved that she rebelled from her father Madoc and how she tried to pry her younger sisters out of the world of Faerie and give them a normal life back in the mortal world. I did enjoy the ending however and I am curious as to how the series will be continued so I will be reading on. ⭐️3/5 stars

The 2^nd book I read was Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. When this book first came out I seen it everywhere and everyone was raving about how good it was. I don’t read a lot of contemporary books but I was strolling through a bookstore one day and the title jumped out at me and so I immediately picked it up and proceeded to read it. I thought the plot was actually very captivating and original, I thought it was fast paced and entertaining. Aza as a character was very relatable and real, it was as if I could feel what she was going through and her anguish and pain was bleeding through the pages. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and I am glad that I bought into the hype and read it. ⭐️4/5 stars

The 3^rd book I read because of booktube was Graceling by Kristin Cashore. As fantasy is one of my all time favourite genres I regularly peruse YouTube for lists of fantasy favourites and Graceling would always make an appearance in those lists. I picked it up with not really any expectations, I just wanted to get into a good fantasy book as I was craving one at the time and I absolutely loved it. I thought the premise was amazing, people being gifted with different graces I just thought that was really creative and it was very engaging throughout the plot. Katsa, as a female protagonist was deadly, powerful yet still very feminine and graceful (lol) she was a joy to read and this book really caught me by surprise. ⭐️4/5 stars

The 4^th book that booktube made me read was The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. Another book that I didn’t love but I also didn’t hate. Again it was just because I couldn’t quite gel with Camellia. I thought she was terribly naïve throughout the first half of the storyline and kind of put me off her as character. I did think she progressed throughout the story line and started to read between the lines of what was going on at the palace. I thought the premise of the book was interesting and original, how everyone is born grey and the Belles are the beautiful colourful young girls who have the ability to transform other’s appearances to follow beauty standards and trends. ⭐️3/5 stars

The 5^th book I read because of booktube was Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Again at one stage in the booktube community it seemed like everyone was reading Scythe at the same time and raving about how good it was. I gave in and read it and of course I loved it like everyone else! I just thought it was so clever and refreshing. The premise of this book is just so thought provoking and it’s structured so well that I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen next. There are so many twists and turns and political machinations in the Scythedom and I highly enjoyed my time reading this book! ⭐️4/5 stars