5 Summer Reads!

I don’t know about you but when I think about reading in the summer my mind screams CONTEMPORARY! And since a lot of people are out of school/ getting out of school soon and it’s finally staring to feel like summer, today I’m going to share with you 5 books that I think are perfect to read in the summer! (In no particular order)

#1: Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

I read this book last summer in less than a day and it was absolutely perfect for the time of year. It’s about a girl with anxiety but at the same time it’s a nice light contemporary with great family dynamics and an adorable love story.

#2: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

I also read this in one day (along with the sequal the next day haha) but To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is just a cute love story about Lara Jean who writes love/goodbye letters to the boys she loved and again, this story has an amazing family and is overall so cute.

#3: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

First of all this contemporary takes place in summer. Second of all it’s about a couple who meet online but fate brings them together in the same place and they meet and AH it’s so cute!

#4: Paper Towns by John Green

If you have nothing to read in the summer pick up a road trip book! It’s fitting, they are always fun and who doesn’t love a good road trip to find a missing girl… Especially if YOU are on a road trip and need something to read!

#5: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This cute, not my favourite ever, but so loveable and cute. I flew through it in a few hours and couldn’t help but oo and aw at the adorable romance. Everything, Everything would be perfect for an afternoon lounging by the pool or cottage tanning in the sun.

So there you have it! Five contemporaries I recommend for you to read this summer!

I am also planning on doing a “My Summer Reading Plans” post soon (I’m not even on summer break until the end of June though so I’ll do it closer to then) but let me know below, what is one book you are planning on reading this summer?

The Crown by Kiera Cass Book Review

Title: The Crown

Author: Kiera Cass

Genre: Romance, Dystopian, Young Adult

Pages: 279

Format: Paperback

Rating: 3.5-4/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Eadlyn became the first princess of Illéa to hold her own Selection, she didn’t think she would fall in love with any of her thirty-five suitors. She spent the first few weeks of the competition counting down the days until she could send them all home. But as events at the palace force Eadlyn even further into the spotlight, she realizes that she might not be content remaining alone.

Eadlyn still isn’t sure she’ll find the fairytale ending her parents did twenty years ago. But sometimes the heart has a way of surprising you…and soon Eadlyn must make a choice that feels more impossible—and more important—than she ever imagined.

Spoiler Free Thoughts:

I was really excited to sit down and read this book through. Last May I read the first four books in four days over a long weekend and I was deeply missing The Selection world. Like I said in my ‘5 Reasons Why… You Should Read The Selection Series If You Haven’t Already!’, these books are so light and fun. You don’t have to think too much while reading them.

The main character Eadyln is a bit of a brat still but she wasn’t as bad as she was in The Heir thankfully (she was so bad in that book). The rest of the characters are pretty likeable, you don’t get to know a lot of the boys who are participating in the selection, I think she should have developed their personalities a bit more.

The plot in general felt really rushed. When I got The Crown I was wondering how she’d wrap it up in less than 300 pages and I don’t feel like she did the best job, even 100 more pages would have been sufficient.

I feel like since The Crown is the fifth book in The Selection series I can’t say anything else without spoiling. But overal I had a fun time reading this whole series and I know a lot of people think it’s been dragged out too long and I agree but at the same time if Kiera Cass came out with another book in this world I would 100% read it. Let me know below, have you read The Selection series? If you haven’t read The Crown yet, are you planning on reading it?

Spoilery Thoughts: 

Okay to start off with who she ended up with, during The Hier I was rooting for both Kile and Erik but then at the beginning of The Crown I was leaning more towards Kile but when she was leaning towards Erik I started to as well because I knew she would choose him, it was a bit obvious unless Kiera wanted to take the same path as she did in The One.

Also when Eadyln said she was going to marry Henri and all that I was like uhm no because it just wouldn’t be a sensible choice. They hardly knew eachother because they couldn’t talk to eachother without someone else translating because he couldn’t speak English!! And honestly if she actually would have married Henri I would have been unset because (I might be remembering wrong) but I don’t think they kissed at all or had very many times alone together. And if Henri had learned to speak English who knows but they could have turned out to hate each other!! So I was pretty content with who Eadlyn ended up with.

The cliffhanger at the end of The Hier with Americas heart attack was kind of all for nothing, she just got better, she didn’t die or anything so I was like ???

But, like I said, it was a really fun read and I’m glad I read it. Let me know below, did you like who Eadlyn ended up with?

The Beauty And The Beast Teaser Trailer!

So I don’t know if many of you know but along with books I also loooooove DISNEY! And guess what just came out?

The teaser trailer for The Beauty and the Beast live action!

It’s only 1 minute and 31 seconds and it doesn’t show much but AHHH it looks good! The castle looks wonderfully dark and the rose is beautiful. And it’s Disney so we all know it’ll be a fantasticly magical movie.

Belle is my favourite princess because 1) she’s awesome 2) she reads! And also the fact that she’s being played by Emma Watson makes me want to see the movie 10000x more. Emma Thompson and Josh Gad are also in it, and Dan Stevens is going to play the Beast and Luke Evans is Gaston.

 

Now seeing this trailer has made me want to read a retelling, specifically a Beauty and the Beast retelling, even more specifically one that I’ve been procrastinating reading for a year now, A Court of Thorns and Roses!

Now I’m off to dive into that book, but you must go watch this teaser trailer but clicking here and let me know in the comments, what do you think about it and are you excited for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast?

Beautiful Book Covers!

There are two kinds of book nerds in this world, the ones who LOVE beautiful book covers, guilty of many cover buys and who gush over ascetically pleasing covers and then there is the more ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ type of people who think its only on the inside that counts.

I love pretty book covers and even though I know I shouldn’t judge books by the outside, it’s sometimes hard not to. Even though it is what’s on the inside that counts, the cover is what you see first of a book and if the cover doesn’t intrigue you somehow, then you will be less inclined to read the synopsis.

Today I am here to talk about my favourite book covers. I love looking at book covers and I tend to sort of ‘display’ my favourites on my shelf just to show them a little extra love. But there are a lot of beautiful book covers out there so for the sake of this post not being so long it takes years to write and read, I’m going to keep my list to 6 and choose the six from the books I own.

Here are six of my favourite book covers! (In no particular order)

#1: Magnus Chase: The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

This is kind of just a stand in for absolutely every Rick Riordan book because they are all absolutely GORGEOUS! The Sword of Summer is my favourite though because I just love the way the blue and pinkish orange and purple all look together, it’s so pretty!

#2: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Four words: this cover is EVERYTHING! (haha see what I did there) But seriously this book cover, from the typography to the vibrant colours, everything is stunning.

#3: The Book Thief: Special Anniversary Edition by Markus Zusak

Hahaha I can’t go one post without mentioning this book can I? The anniversary edition of this book is so pretty, the font of the title is perfect and the spine. Also it has this rough texture to it, like its a piece of paper, ah I love it so much.

#4: I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

I have yet to read this but apparently the book is just as good as the cover is pretty and I would give this cover an A+!

#5: The Martian by Andy Weir

I don’t really love the colour orange too much but with the subject of this book with Mark being stuck on Mars and all and the light and dark oranges in sort of an ombré effect, I’m in love with the orange on this cover.

#6: Shatter Me, Unravel Me and Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Thank goodness they changed to these beautiful ‘eye’ covers instead of sticking with the original Shatter Me cover because the up close eyes of this trilogy are beautiful, I couldn’t think of a better cover. And the two novellas with closed eyes, they are just so pretty!

I hope you guys liked this post! If you do maybe I can do a second one in the future talking about six more beautiful book covers!

Now, let me know below two of the prettiest books you own and have a good day!

5 Reasons Why… You Should Read The Selection Series If You Haven’t Already!

Today I am here to bring you the second instalment in my 5 Reasons Why series! I know most people know this series and have probably read it but it’s the people who haven’t read it that I’m targeting. I need to get you on board one of the most amusing series I’ve read.

The Selection Series. It’s some people’s favourite, and it drives some people up the wall. Today I’m here to tell you 5 reasons why YOU should read this series (if you haven’t already).

Brief summary (from goodreads) of the first book The Selection if you don’t know what the book is about:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

#1: It’s FUN!

These books aren’t deep, thought provoking novels. They are fun and light! Perfect to read over the summer or if your like me I read them over a long weekend last year (except for The Crown). The fun setting of a castle, all the dresses and the romance just makes it such a fun series. I just had a really good time reading all five books.

#2: You fly through them.

Like I said before, I read the first four books over a long weekend in May 2015, one book a day and it was a blast. And then when The Crown came out this year I read it in less than 12 hours as well!

#3: Parental Presence. (Mom and Dad aren’t dead!)

The parents aren’t always there but it’s a young adult series with parents, and loving parents might I add, which isn’t normally seen. The whole family dynamic in this series is good to be honest.

#4: Admit it, the romance is cute.

There’s a love triangle (yikes, I know) but the romance is cute even though sometimes it makes me roll my eyes from cheesyness or rip my hair out of frustration hahaha.

#5: If you are a fan of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, this series is for you!

If you like reality tv in general and you don’t get annoyed by drama and such then, why haven’t you read this series?

I hope I convinced any of you readers who haven’t read The Selection Series to read it or at least consider it!

And if you have read the series, what are your thoughts on it? Did you find it fun or blah, let me know in the comments!

The Trials Of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan Book Review

Title: The Hidden Oracle

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: Middle Grade, Mythology, Adventure

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5/5 stars

Spoiler-Free Thoughts:

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I’m so happy to say it did not disappoint me one bit! From the chapter titles being haikus to the loveable characters and all the references to the Percy Jackson and HoO series, it was all around awesome.

One of my favourite things about Rick’s books is the writing! It’s so fun and light and he adds so much humour into it, I ove it so much. Also the doing haikus as chapter titles was brilliant. They were all hilarious.

As always the characters were awesome. Apollo was so self centred it was so funny, and I also found that even though it was first person writing, he was very separate from both Magnus and Percy, he definitely had his own voice and personality, it was great.

You also got to revisit a lot of familiar characters, which I won’t say all of them because I wouldn’t want to ruin anything but if you love Nico and Will, especially together then READ THIS! The plot, like all of Rick’s books, was interesting, grabbing you in from the beginning, fast paced, never boring and adventurous.

Overall I am so satisfied (hehe unlike Angelica) with The Hidden Oracle. I had such a fun time reading it and if you’re caught up on all of the books in the Percy Jackson world and you haven’t read this yet, I 100% reccomend it. If you haven’t read any Rick Riordan books, or maybe only a few then what are you doing!? Get up and go read some Percy Jackson!!

Q&A! Get To Know Me!

Hey everyone! I hope you are having a good week! Thank goodness it’s almost Friday I am getting tired. But I am so excited to bring you my Q&A!

I got lots of questions on my blog post announcing the Q&A and I also asked on my bookstagram so I am going to answer them all for you!

Questions from the announcement blog post: (I will link everyones blog!)

“What would you wish for if you had three wishes and what would be your ideal superpower?” – TheOrangutanLibrarian

If I had three wishes I would wish for unlimited books but also unlimited time to read them all, to live at Disney with my family and to of course, to go to Hogwarts!!!

“If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, which would it be and do you have any siblings?” – Cath @ TrustInTheWords

I would choose not a food but a drink which would be Nestea (I’m pretty sure it’s only in Canada, I know it’s not in the USA) but it’s iced tea but sweeter and I love it so much.

I do have siblings, a little brother and a little sister, my brother is actually the one who took the picture for me in my head image!

“If you could read one more book for the rest of your life, what book would that be?” – Louise @ GenieReads

If I could read one more book, I would choose to reread The Deathly Hallows because HARRY POTTER!

“If you could bring one character back from the dead, who would it be and which camera do you use for your book pictures?” – Georgie @ GoodBookVibes

Harry Potter spoilers if you haven’t read The Order of the Pheonix yet!!

If I could bring one character from the dead I would bring back Siriua Black because I think he was such a good part of Harry’s life, he needed him and bam he was gone. 😦

I use a canon, I know that but I have no clue which one. (It’s my moms)

“Favourite song? Favourite flower? Favourite phone app? If you watch any tv shows, can you reccomend one, if not maybe a movie?” – Aldii @ PerfectionInBooks

Song: All I listen to is Hamilton and I and OBSESSED with all the songs, I have a new ‘favourite’ that I have on repeat every few days but my #1 favourite is Non-Stop because it just has everything.

Flower: THEY ARE ALL SO PRETTY I CANT’ CHOOSE!

Phone app: I was going to say Instagram but to be honest I’m mostly on snapchat and the filters amuse me more than in think they should, so snapchat.

TV show/movie: I don’t actually watch tv at all except for some reality shows with my mom, but my favourite movie is Hercules! (The Disney one of course!)

“Inspired by The Trials of Apollo, if you were a demigod, who would your godly parent be?” – Michelle @ The Writing Hufflepuff

Not only because my appearance is exactly how Athena’s children are described as looking, blonde hair & gray eyes, but I am 99% sure the Athena cabin is where I would belong.

“One book boyfriend to marry, who would you choose?” – Becca (without a blog, just commented)

I would choose Levi from Fangirl because c’mon, he’s adorable, and appreciates bookworms!

Questions from my bookstagram: (I won’t link their instagrams, that would take sooooo long sorry haha)

“What’s your all time favourite book?” – @fredi0701

My all time favourite book is The Book Thief! (Harry Potter is my all time favourite series.)

“What book would you like to rewrite and why?” – @merna428

I would choose to rewrite The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley Doyle with the same idea but not necessarily the same story line and with the characters acting differently. The idea has such potential but I just didn’t prefer the way it was written.

“How do you manage blogging with school?” – @the.sapphire

I try to have 3+ posts a week, at least one being a review but with school (or work if you are out of school) that can’t always happen am I right? I just try to write reviews right after I read the book if I have time and just making time for blogging in general. Now it has become just part of my life so I’m always thinking of new blog ideas and such but writing a post takes time so instead of scrolling aimlessly through social media I’ll just write a post instead. Also my semester right now has a way smaller homework load than last semesters because I used to have math, geography and business but now I only get homework in science sometimes, so that helps
Thank you so much to everyone who asked me a question! I had so much fun doing this and if you have any more questions just eave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer them!

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A Announcment! Ask Me Some Questions!

Hey everyone! I’ve been busy reading every free moment the past few days, I’ve been reading a bunch of really good books! I finished Every Last Word on Friday (I actually already have a review up for it, click here to read it!)  and man oh man, it was amazing! And then I was reading The Hidden Oracle, so that’s why I didn’t have a post up yesterday, I was sucked into the world The Trials of Apollo! (I finished it, and it was amazing as well.) 

And I started The Crown today and I’m now less than 100 pages from the end, I’ll definitely be finishing it tonight. But, this post is not about what I’ve been reading, I’ve decided that I’m going to do a Q&A!

I almost did a Q&A a few months ago but I never got around to it but I really have been wanting to do one recently.

But for me to give the A’s I need some Q’s! So if you have any questions for me, book related, blogging related, non-bookish related, then feel free to leave it in the comments! 

(If I don’t get a lot of questions I’m just going to make up some questions and answer them because I still want to do a Q&A hahaha)

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone Book Review

Title: Every Last Word

Author: Tamara Ireland Stone

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

If you could read my mind, you wouldn’t be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can’t turn off. 

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn’t help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she’d be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam’s weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet’s Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more “normal” than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts:

I really, really enjoyed this book for many reasons. It’s the first 5 star book that I’ve read since mid March when The Book Thief blew me away. Where I’m going with that is since I read The Book Thief I haven’t read anything deserving (to me) of a 5 star rating, that is, until I read Every Last Word. 

I loved Sam as a main character. She never annoyed me and I related to her in a lot of ways. Her struggles with her rude friends were hard to read about, I felt so bad for her but it was a good aspect of the book. I also loved all the people from Poet’s Corner, they were all unique and interesting and over the course of the book even though some like Caroline and AJ were more main than some of the others I still got to know them all, I loved it.

Sam and Caroline’s relationship was so nice to read about. They were there for eachother throughout the whole novel, it was wonderful. Also AJ and Sam’s relationship was so cute. Sam’s relationship with her therapist Sue was also comforting to read about, Sue was so loving and there for Sam, I couldn’t help but love her.

I adored the poetry aspect of Every Last Word as well, I have read so many contemporaries but I don’t think I’ve ever read one with such a prominent poetry aspect and I really enjoyed it. I loved reading everyone’s poetry, from Sydney’s food poetry to Emily’s sad poetry, it was lovely to read.

If you are big into contemporaries or poetry I highly suggest this book! It’s very quick to read but will definitely leave you wanting more!

Spoilery Thoughts: (don’t you dare read this if you haven’t read Every Last Word!!)

I DIDN’T EVEN SEE IT COMING! I thought everything was starting to be solid and happy in Sam’s life but then BAM. 

I was in English class just casually reading because all my work was done and then I read that part and I literally gasped. I had tears in my eyes, I had to suck them back in during class but I felt so bad for Sam, everything was going so well.

I couldn’t believe what happened. Caroline was one of my favourite characters! She was such a good friend to Sam and to find out what was happening was crazy to read. 

Thank goodness AJ was understanding because I really liked him and if he turned on SA or something crazy I would have lost it. And Sue was wonderful ah.

I just thought it was a cute contemporary about love, friendship and poetry but NOPE. That ending man. Thanks to Tamara for writing it because it took the book from a “Super cute! 5/5 stars” to a “WOAHHHHH 5/5 stars”.

April 2016 Book Haul & Choose The Next 5 Reasons Why!

Hey guys! I only got two books this month so I decided to combine my haul with a little survey that I’m going to do where you guys help me choose the next 5 Reasons Why that I’ll be doing soon!

5 Reasons Why is a little series on my blog that I started not to long ago where, wel, I tell you 5 Reasons Why… about something. My first 5RW was 5 Reasons Why… I’m Excited For ‘The Trials Of Apollo’ so click that if you want to check it out!

But first the two books I got in April:

Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Red Rising Pierce Brown

So there’s the two books I bought this month! Now I would like YOU to help me choose the next 5 Reasons Why between,

5 Reasons Why… I love Harry Potter So Much

5 Reasons Why… The Book Thief Is My Favourite Book

5 Reasons Why… I Love Hamilton So Much

So leave a comment down below of which 5 Reasons Why you want me to do most! Also, did you buy any books this month? How many?