Top 5 Wednesday: Books You'd Want To See As TV Shows

I am finally back with a Top 5 Wednesday -- a weekly meme that I have (unfortunately) failed to keep up on. It actually didn't take me very long to pick five books that I would love to see turned into television shows, so here they are:

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: I am currently reading Throne of Glass and I would absolutely love to see this turned into a television series. I know that a lot of readers would love to see this turned into a movie, but I would much prefer it to be turned into a television series so that Celaena had a longer period to develop. She is such a complex character and I would love to watch her on the screen for years!

2. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: Now, I already know that The Mortal Instruments is being turned into a television series (if you didn't know this it is going to be called Shadowhunters and they are currently casting characters!) but I just cannot suppress my excitement! This book will forever hold a special place in my heart, so I cannot wait to see it be reincarnated for a television series. 

3. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare: If The Mortal Instruments can be adapted for television, than why can't The Infernal Devices? I can imagine that it would make a wonderful spin-off series, and I would just love to see who they would cast as Jem!

4. The Pact by Jodi Picoult: I can imagine Jodi Picoult's The Pact would make a wonderful television miniseries. The novel is heartbreaking, realistic and emotive, and also expresses a powerful message that I think would impact a lot of people's lives. 

5. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: Now, I'm a sucker for vampire television shows (I've watched The Vampire Diaries and True Blood countless of times!), and whilst Vampire Academy has already received a movie, I can imagine a television series capturing a much darker vibe. 

What novels would you love to be seen turned into television shows?

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BOOK REVIEW: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

This review is on the second book of "The Maze Runner". I have provided no spoilers to the actual plot, but have provided an honest review.

Title: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner, #2)
Author: James Dashner
Publication: August 1st 2011, by Chicken House
Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
Pages: 359

Goodreads and Amazon

Rating: ★ ★ ★

The Scorch Trials picked up where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face an even more treacherous challenge on the open roads of a devastated planet. 

And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. 

Can Thomas survive in such a violent world?

I almost feel bad about rating The Scorch Trials only three stars, but I just cannot force myself to rate it anything higher. I had enjoyed The Maze Runner profusely -- Thomas really became an excellent protagonist, with the secondary characters slowly becoming well-rounded characters themselves. However, whilst The Scorch Trials was still a good book, I personally felt as though it had lost a little of what had made The Maze Runner great.

The Scorch Trials picks up immediately where The Maze Runner ended. This was definitely one of the novel's greatest strengths. Thomas and the group of Gladers, now only a small group, discover that whilst they may have escaped the maze, they have not escaped WICKED's clutches. Instead, they are still part of an elaborate experiment. Thomas and the Gladers are forced to navigate themselves through the Scorch -- a large expanse of sand and heat, occasionally touched by harsh storms. The Scorch is littered with infected humans, two of which become secondary characters. Their task? Fight through the obstacles placed out before them and get to the safe haven in two weeks.

I was very disappointed that there were large portions of this novel that Thomas left the Gladers for long periods of time. This meant that there was very little time to focus on Minho, Newt and Teresa -- three characters that I have grown incredibly fond of. Instead, a lot of this novel focused on Thomas building a new friendship with a new character: Brenda. At times I found her frustrating, almost infuriating, mainly because her personality was constantly changing and was unpredictable. Furthermore, Thomas constantly feels guilty for his growing feelings towards Brenda, and this is repeated continuously throughout the novel. It felt as though what made Thomas a good main character was overlooked because of his focus on her.

Overall, despite these faults, I did enjoy The Scorch Trials. It was a good sequel, flowing well from the previous novel. However, I do think it could have been a lot better if the novel had focused on Thomas and the Gladers, instead of having Thomas running around by himself or with a newly introduced character. There were a number of twists and turns along the way, some of which surprised me, keeping me reading because they were intriguing. But sadly, I still have to give this book three out of five stars.

What are your opinions of The Scorch Trials?

TBR: May 2015

Pinch, punch, it's the first day of the month! Hello May! As enter a new month, I have a new pile of books to get through! I have only chosen three definite books that I want to read, but we'll see how many that I actually get through. This month I have definitely decided to read the following: The Death Cure by James Dashner, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (which I actually started the other day) and Divergent by Veronica Roth.

The Death Cure by James Dashner:

It's the end of the line. 

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends -- the Gladers. But it's finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test. 

Will anyone survive? 

What WICKED doesn't know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it's enough to prove that he can't believe a word of what they say. 

The truth will be terrifying. 

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He'll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. 

The time for lies is over.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas:

Meet Celaena Sardothien. 

Beautiful. Deadly. 

Destined for greatness. 

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught. 

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament -- fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin's heart be melted?

Divergent by Veronica Roth:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue -- Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is -- she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprise everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are -- and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves... or it might destroy her.

What books have you got planned for May?