Weekend Reads: Kiersten White and Jamie Mcguire

Between helping a friend move out at the last minute and going to a comedy club with another friend, this weekend has been kind of crazy. Regardless, I was able to get some reading done!

I started by reading In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo.

 

 

This book went back and forth between text and graphic novel. I had a really hard time getting in to this book. The first couple of text chapters jump between several characters and the graphic chapters don't seem to fit in the beginning which made understanding what was going on really hard for me. The theme of the story is also pretty dark which is something I wasn't really in the mood for. The writing and art is gorgeous but I just didn't enjoy the story and ended up giving it 2 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read was Beautiful Redemption Jamie McGuire.

 

I have been a fan of the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series ever since I read the first book in 2013. I actually wasn't sure how much I would love this book for two reasons. First, while I love all three of the previous books in this series, the last one wasn't quite as good as the first two. Second, the main Maddox Brother, Thomas, made a cameo in the last book and I kind of didn't like him. But seeing things from his point of view, and the rest of his story, in this book changed my mind. I really loved the plot of this book because it felt new and intense when compared with the others. This is tied with Beautiful Disaster for my favorite Jamie McGuire book. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars because there were a few plot holes that I just couldn't get over.

 

After loving the last book so much, I decided to jump right in to Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire.

 

 



As with Beautiful Redemption, I was worried about how much I would like this book because the two main characters, Falyn and Taylor, had a cameo in the last book that made me dislike them. Unlike with Beautiful Redemption, this book did not make me change my mind. The plot was boring and Taylor just did not fit in with the Maddox Brother image. Additionally, I hated Falyn. I thought she was conniving and ugly spirited (if that makes sense). This is, so far, my least favorite addition to the Beautiful/Maddox Brothers series and I gave it a 1 out of 5 stars.

 

The last book I read this weekend was Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White.

 

 

Can I start off by saying that I absolutely adore this cover! I did find it a little misleading though because I think it looks more like a contemporary fantasy while the story is more historical fantasy. I really loved this book! Jessamin was a feisty, no-nonsense protagonist that really made you feel for her. Finn was an interesting male character and Eleanor is the type of side character that you want to pull off the pages and become friends with immediately. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 5 stars except for two problems. First, I felt that Kelen needed more development as a character. Second, there were two scenes in the book (when Jessamin and Finn first meet and when Finn is showing Jessamin around his house) that were exact copies of scenes from Howl's Moving Castle and House of Many Ways by Dianna Wynne Jones. Still, the rest of the story was unique and I enjoyed it.

TBR Takedown 2.0: TBR

For those of you who don't know, a TBR is a To Be Read list and it gets longer the longer you're around. For me, I have two TBRs. I have the TBR that I actually own and are sitting on my shelf and I have a goodreads TBR that exists in the vastness of the internet but that I cannot complete until I purchase the book or borrow it from my library (this TBR numbers somewhere in the 2000s while the former is only a handful).

Many people have come up with different ways to shrink their TBR including getting rid of books and (the subject of this post) readathons. I decided to take part in the TBR Takedown 2.0 readathon which was started by Shannon of leaninglights. The dates are July 24th to July 31st, so I am several days late, but I am excited to give it a try. One part of readathons is the challenge or theme. This readathon has 5 challenges to complete. So, here are my selections for the TBR Takedown 2.0.

1. First Book in a Series
      For this challenge I will be reading Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie.

      I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and decided to just go ahead and read it for
      this (the second book, Thomas & January, is also out now). This is one of the books that has been
      on my goodreads TBR for some time (I added it in December of 2012) but I only acquired a copy
      last month.

2. Sequel Book in a Series
      I will be reading Dark of the Moon by Rachel Hawthorne.

 

      This is the third book in the Dark Guardian series. I absolutely loved the first two books

      [Moonlight (4.5 out of 5 stars) and Full Moon (3.5 out of 5 stars)] in the series and have been 

      wanting to read this one for a while, but I got sidetracked with other books.

 

3. Out of Your Comfort Zone

      The only book that I own that really fits this bill is An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

 

 

      This book is out of my comfort zone because of all the hype it has gotten on booktube. For some

      reason, the books that get a lot of attention on booktube are the books that I end up really

      disliking. I only purchased this book while I was on a trip to visit my cousin about 2 months ago

      but it seems like a book that will sit on my shelf for a long time if I don't just go ahead and read it.

      I did read the synopsis on goodreads and the book jacket, and it sounds like something I might

      like, so I'm just going to bite the bullet on this one and hope for the best.

 

4. On Your Shelf Over a Year

      I'm usually pretty good about reading the books on my shelf before they sit for too long, so I only

      had two books to choose from for this challenge. However, one of the books is a textbook that I

      picked up for personal reading. So, I'll be reading the other book, which is The Triumphant Cat:

      Verse, Prose, & Pictures; Gathered from the Ancient & Modern Authors; Selected & Edited by

      Marmaduke Skidmore, Esquire.

 

 

      I bought this book at a Library used book sale 2 or 3 years ago because I thought it looked cute,

      but just never got around to reading it.

 

5. Most Recently Hauled Book

      The book I chose for this challenge is from a haul so recent it hasn't even arrived at my house yet,

      The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter.

 

 

      This is another book that I have been wanting to read (I added it to my goodreads TBR in January

      of 2013) but only recently purchased. I'm looking forward to diving right into it when it gets here!

 

So there you have it, my selections for the TBR Takedown 2.0. I'd love to know if you are going to participate and what you are planning on reading if you do! Leave a list of your TBR or a link if you do a blog or vlog post. I'll do another blog post with my reviews/completion rate at the end of the readathon too.

 

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Links:

Shannon's TBR Takedown 2.0 vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PC06j9RsaM

Weekend Reads: J.K. Rowling, Gabrielle Zevin, and Katie M. Stout

Being a college student, weekends are the time when I am able to read the most. Some weekends I read more than others, depending on homework, sleeping patterns, and volunteering, but I always get my reading in. Therefore, I have decided to start a new series, Weekend Reads, that I will publish every Monday morning detailing all of the books I read during the weekend (Friday Night - Sunday Night).

J.K. Rowling gave the commencement speech at Harvard in 2008. Of course, videos of the speech have been making the internet rounds since then and quotes from the speech pop up just about everywhere. It seems only natural that they would turn this speech into something tangible and lasting, a book called Very Good Lives, which is the first book I read this past weekend.

 

 

This is the second commencement speech turned book I have read, the first being Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman, and I have to admit I was wary to start it. Based on my limited exposure, I believed that commencement books were less about conveying the speech to future generations than making a visually pleasing piece of memorabilia, all at the expense of readability. But Very Good Lives was not like that at all. While the book is visually pleasing, it is also simply designed with easy to read text. The book itself is very short (I read it during the 15 minute car ride from the library to my house) and very enjoyable. It goes without saying that this book was also very inspirational. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

The second book I read this past weekend was The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.



 

This book is not YA but that really doesn't matter because it is fantastic. I picked this book up because it was recommended by a booktuber I watch a lot, Regan from PeruseProject. The story itself is not full of roses, it's actually kind of angsty throughout most of the book. The characters weren't likeable either, which is actually what made me like them. The characters and the stories were human and gritty and real. The plot is like nothing I've read before and the fact that the story has closure while being circular is refreshing. I read this book in a couple of hours, it's not a big book by any means, and will definitely read it again! I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

 

The last book I read, tried to read, was Hello I Love You by Katie M. Stout.

 

 

 

I started reading this book because of the promise of hot Koreans and Kpop but I actually did not finish it because of some serious issues with the book. The main character, Grace, is the definition of a spoiled, rich snob. There isn't a single second where she doesn't give Americans a bad name. I cringed every time she spoke due to the sheer ignorance and borderline (sometimes outright) racism. Despite the fact that she continually professes she knows nothing about various subjects (including music and fishing), she acts superior to everyone and constantly tells them what they are doing wrong. There isn't a single second where she doesn't give Americans a bad name. I cringed every time she spoke due to the sheer ignorance and borderline (sometimes outright) racism. The Korean characters (all of them) were odd too. They were....jerks is really the only way to say it. The story itself was also very derogatory towards Kpop. Ultimately, I was only able to finish the first seven chapters but, given the overwhelmingly negative tone of the story and the unlikeable characters, I would probably have only given this story 1 or 2 out of 5 stars.

 



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Links:

Regan's vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fp8H5imGYM

Bookish Goodness: The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

I am an equal opportunist when it comes to reading. I will read just about anything with words on it: books, menus, manuals, shampoo bottles, anything! More often than not though, I find myself reading YA. Now don't get me wrong, I love YA. YA is by far my favorite genre. But sometimes reading YA can get a little redundant. Especially lately, it seems that all of the books I read have the same general plot, the same types of characters, and the same endings. So, I have been branching out into other genres. My forays have not always been successful but I have read several very good books. My most recent kick has been reading books written by Japanese authors. I've read several that were okay and several that were not okay. One author that I had been looking forward to reading books by was Yoko Ogawa. I started by reading The Diving Pool: Three Novellas, and absolutely hated it. I was almost too scared to read another book by Ms. Ogawa but I decided to try reading the book that had originally piqued my interest and I fell in love after the first chapter. This book was The Housekeeper and the Professor.

 

Going into reading The Housekeeper and the Professor, I assumed that there would be romance. Actually, I assumed it would mainly be romance. I assumed that the professor would be younger and the housekeeper would be older. Neither of my assumptions were true, and it was a pleasant surprise. This story was extremely bittersweet. I love the bond between the Housekeeper and the Professor, the Housekeeper and the Son, the Son and the Professor, and all three of them! The progression from complete stranger to integral parts of each others' lives seemed so natural. Ultimately, the only character I didn't like was the sister-in-law (I disliked her from the very beginning) and I especially disliked her relationship with the Professor. I feel like her part in the story was completely unnecessary and even detracted from the feel of the novel in some instances.

 

One aspect of the book that I especially liked was the fact that Ms. Ogawa did not name her characters. Normally when characters are named, it gives stories an outside-looking-in feel. By leaving her characters nameless, Ms. Ogawa made her novel feel more intimate.

 

Ultimately, I could not put this book down. The Housekeeper and the Professor is a must read. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars because even the parts I didn't like were still pretty good.

Bookish Goodness: A Jodi Picoult Double Feature!

A typical summer for me is usually pretty busy, what with summer classes and work. This summer is different. I have been taking things a lot slower and have had a lot of time for reading; this makes me very happy. The most recent book that I have read is 'Between the Lines' by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer.

I decided to read this book because its sequel, 'Off the Page', was recommended by Katytastic (an amazing booktuber) and I really can't stand starting a series in the middle (even if the sequel is capable of being read as a standalone). This is the first Jodi Picoult book I have read and, admittedly, starting with one she wrote with a highschooler (even her own daughter) might not have been the best idea. I do like the cover though. The ampersand in the O of Picoult is cute and the design really goes with the story.

 

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Warning: There are spoilers for the book contained in this review.

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At first glance, the concept for this story seemed very interesting. Who hasn't thought about their favorite character coming to life? But, while the concept sparked my interest, the story itself fell flat for me.

 

Despite having several YA themes, such as bullying and romance, they are not resolved at all, which bothered me throughout the story. The only part of the story that even slightly resolved itself was Delilah's fight with Jules and even that wasn't completely resolved. In fact, other than the romance, the more adult themes of this book are just barely mentioned. This led me to feel like the story would have been better suited as a Middle Grade book with the adult themes just left out completely.

 

Delilah as a main character was also a problem for me. She felt one dimensional and overdramatized. Her relationship with Oliver felt forced and weird as well. I especially disliked (and was severely confused by) her not recognizing him from Edgar at the end. I understand her mistaking Edgar for Oliver the first time because she had just seen him, hadn't heard him speak, and was in shock. But by the second time she had been with Oliver for most of the book and had had time to get to know Edgar. The two were nothing alike, beyond their identical appearance, which would lead me to believe Delilah should have been able to tell the two apart. As a result, Delilah was not relatable and this fact made reading the story rather tedious.

 

Oliver was also not a very good character. He did have one major flaw; he was not brave. But even his lack of bravery rang hollow as the story went on. He even tries several times to escape the book with barely any qualms or second guesses. And, despite his one great flaw, his character was practically perfect in every way. I get that fairy tale princes are supposed to be perfect, but the whole point of the story was that his "prince" persona was just a character he had to play while the reader was reading the story and that he had a personality and life beyond the story he was written into.

The one bright spot of this book was the illustrations. They were extremely detailed and gorgeous. I loved looking at them as I read because they helped me visual the story as I was going.

 

Overall, I wasn't very impressed with the book and have rated it 2.75 stars out of 5. I felt that the authors tried too hard to make it YA but didn't try hard enough to make the story flow well or to make the characters relatable.

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After reading 'Between the Lines', and disliking it greatly, I thought about taking a break from the series to read something else. In the end though, I decided to jump right in to reading 'Off the Page' by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer.

 

 

I have to admit that my expectations for this book were lowered by my opinion of the first book, but they were raised by the fact that the co-author, Samantha Van Leer, has grown from a junior in high school to a sophomore in college (life experience + more writing practice = a better story...I hope). So my expectation level going in to this book rested at a normal, oh-look-a-new-book-I-have-no-idea-what-to-expect level.

 

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Warning: There are spoilers for the book contained in this review.

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Okay, I lied. My expectations for this book were still kind of low. As soon as I began reading 'Off the Page', I realized that everything I had a problem with in the first book was still there, along with new problems.

 

I'll start off by saying that, even though 'Off the Page' was billed as a companion novel to 'Between the Lines', it really needs to be treated as a sequel. The authors do give a quick synopsis of the first book in the beginning of this one, but it is pretty heavy-handed and misses some key parts that are important to 'Off the Page'. I definitely recommend reading them both and in order if you are going to start this series.

 

As for the characters, I didn't think it was possible, but Delilah was even more annoying

in this book than she was in the first. Her expectation that Oliver would be all hers was a little ridiculous. Of course he's going to make friends at school. Just because you hate your school and can't/won't (I'm still on the fence about whether or not her lack of friends is actually due to the meanness of the school kids [which is undeniable in the case of two or three of the popular kids whose names I forget] or if she has purposefully isolated herself after what she perceives as insurmountably embarrassing events) make friends doesn't mean everyone else is the same. I also didn't like how she reacted to some of the situations she and Oliver found themselves in.

In the case of Oliver, he was once again too perfect. Even when he made mistakes (e.g. the "fairy" incident or the SATs) he came out smelling like a rose with new friends and perfect scores. It almost made reading his part of the story unbearable.

The best part of this book, besides the illustrations which were once again spectacular, was Edgar. This is especially true of his relationship with Jules (although I could do without the love triangle which wasn't fleshed out in the story very well at all). Edgar and Jules are the most relatable characters in the entire book. They react the way I would assume normal people would in their situation. I love how they develop, both as a couple and as individuals, over the course of the story: slowly but surely.

In the end, I liked this book but I didn't love it. I had to give it 3.25 stars out of 5. If there is another book, which is likely given the way 'Off the Page' ended, I will read it to see how Edgar and Jules end up, but I could definitely do without any more Delilah and Oliver.

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Links:

Katytastic's vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V7rqeI88Io

Bookish Goodness: A Book and Subscription Box Review

 

I'm bad at updating. I'm sorry. This life-thing kind of kicks my butt most of the time. On to the real content!

 

I love books. My first goal in life is to have enough bookshelves to house all of my books. My second goal in life is to own all of my favorite books. Anyway, because I love books, I love watching booktube channels! They give me so many recommendations for books, which naturally means that my second goal gets harder and harder to achieve every time I read. I was watching one of my favorite booktubers, abookutopia, when she featured a service called Uppercase Box, which is a subscription box for Young Adult genre book lovers (disclaimer: I'm mentioning both abookutopia and Uppercase Box because I liked their videos/product not because I am affiliated with them in any way or because they paid me, because I'm not and they didn't.) I decided to subscribe to Uppercase Box and received my first box in May!

 

Each Uppercase Box comes with a cute uppercase bag, a little note explaining the book pick, a book, and extra book-related goodies. For the May goodies, I received a Maze Runner themed bumper sticker, a reading themed pocket journal, and a gorgeous art print that goes along with the included book. As for the main attraction, the May book was The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey.

 

 

 

Because I received this book from Uppercase, I am dividing the review into two parts, one for the book and one for Uppercase itself.

 

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Warning: There are spoilers for the book contained in this review. If you do not want the story spoiled for you, please skip to Part 2 of the review.

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Part 1 ~ The book
  

I really liked the first 3/4 of this book. I think the premise was well thought out and the world was sufficiently developed. I liked that Echo was a strong, independent character. I liked that Caius was set apart from his people; not only because he was a prince but because he thought differently. The wit and banter that flies back and forth in the story is definitely a plus that bolsters the entire story! The last half of the book, however, was disappointing. Altair and Tanith's characters both fell far short of their potential and ended up being lukewarm villains. The resolution to the book was obvious and felt contrived. Overall, it was a nice read, but not something I would necessarily recommend to others. I might read the second book (or rest of the books depending on how far this series goes) but if I do, I will borrow it from the library, not buy it/them. As a debut book though, it was well done.

Part 2 ~ Uppercase Box

   As previously stated, I received this book as a part of the Uppercase Box program. As a whole, I am pleased with Uppercase. I really enjoyed the extra content that the author and site provided for the story. I especially loved the art print that was included! They were both great additions. I also liked that the book was signed. However, the book itself was in poor condition. There were stains on many of the pages as well as a stain on the cover, but the stains did not hinder the reading of the pages. The back cover had the paper torn and resealed in a way that does not protect the cardboard underneath at all. I am going to wait until after next month's selection to make a decision on if I will continue with Uppercase Box. If the book is damaged next time, I will cancel my subscription. After all, the main purpose of subscribing to this service is for the book!!!

 

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Links:

Uppercase Box - http://uppercasebox.com/

abookutopia's uppercase unboxing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kaxlEvOJS0

And so it begins.

 It seems like only yesterday that I was swimming at the pool, enjoying summer vacation, when suddenly I look up and we are already three weeks into the Fall semester. How in the world did that happen? Oh well, Autumn is my favorite season anyway.

Somehow summer flew by without my noticing it. I did get to spend a weekend at Lake of the Ozarks with my family. But, for the most part, I spent the summer doing classes and working at the Campus Bookstore.

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Well, this is awkward. After promising to update every Saturday, and actually starting my second post, I didn't. School started off at a run. I told myself that I would start posting again once the semester settled down (which usually happens after midterms). What ended up happening was that I came down with a bad case of Viral Meningitis. I was hospitalized for 3 days and was then sent home on bed rest for 6 weeks. When I was finally well enough to come back to normal life, I had so much schoolwork to catch up on, I just didn't have time to post. But I'm back now! So, look forward to new posts and a possible collaboration with another, absolutely brilliant blogger (who also happens to be my best friend). I'd love to hear your opinions! Are there any specific topics you would like to see covered in my future posts? What about topics that you really wish people would just stop bringing up?