The Little Paris Bookshop: A Lackluster Journey

When it comes to deciding what I want to read, I usually just go with whatever strikes my fancy. Sometimes it's the cover the catches my eye and makes me want to read the book. Other times, it's the synopsis that pulls me in. For The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, it was both! It was lucky for me, then, that Blogging for Books sent me a copy to review.

 

The cover really sets the mood for the beginning of this book and the letter is a nice teaser for a pivotal plot point! Unfortunately, that's where my enjoyment of The Little Paris Bookshop ends. It's not that this book isn't good. On the contrary, it was very well written! I can tell that the author has lots of writing experience, and she has a unique style that adds to the voice the story carries. For me though, this story was not very attention catching. A large part of this book is spent on the protagonist's boat trip. While the trip took the protagonist through one eventful meeting after another, by the third flashy new character, all of the chance meetings started to blend together. At the end of the book, I felt like I had read a lackluster accounting of someone's summer holiday. Instead of being a fun read, it had become a tedious chore, which is why I gave the book 2 stars out of 5.

 

While it wasn't my cup of tea, The Little Paris Bookshop will appeal to people who like stories about transformational journeys. I wouldn't recommend this book for anyone who is mentally younger than 'college' age. However, if you're an old soul or just like heart-wrenching stories, this book is for you!

Quick Life Update

Hi all! It's been some time since I posted on my blog so I thought I'd give you a quick update on what's been going on. The first thing that really sapped all my time was my final final's week. You read that right! My very last finals week as an undergrad! I had several papers, 3 days of Japanese exams, and a killer biology exam. I did pretty well, coming out of the semester with an A and two B's. After that, it was on to graduation!

 

I graduated with a Bachelor's of Health Science in Health Sciences with minors in Psychology and Anthropology, an Honors Certificate, and a Mutli-Cultural certificate.

 

 

Because I took enough Honors classes and kept my GPA high enough, I took part in the Honors Convocation Ceremony. As you can see, there was a lot of people. It was for everyone who earned the Honors Certificate, Department Honors, University Honors, and Latin Honors. The convocation speaker was great! He started out as lawyer and refocused to be a chocolatier; pretty cool! They also had the president of the alumni association speak, which sucked, because the alumni association has been doing some things to students that was not cool. So to have her stand up and give what was pretty much an advertisement was insulting. Then we received our Honors medals! They pronounced my middle name wrong and all I could hear was my mom yelling from the balcony "You pronounce it ___!"

 

 

The next day was my actual graduation ceremony!

 





 

I got to sit with several of my friends and, four hours later, it was over. This time, they pronounced my middle name right, but my last name wrong. It was a pretty exhausting weekend, but there was no time to rest! The next week, we worked the first half of the week and then went down to our parent's house for the end of the week. We did a little relaxing, but spent most of our time getting ready for our Study abroad trip to Japan (more on that later)! The next week was spent training the new guy at work, which was very, very tiring!

 

Then, on May 30th, we flew out for Japan! I'm actually sitting in a hostel in Tokyo as I type this, but you'll have to wait for my next blog post for more! I hope you all are having a good summer too! Do you have any travel plans? If not, what stay-at-home plans do you have?

ARC Review: Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff

You guys, YOU GUYS!!! I cannot believe that I got an ARC copy of Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff!!! I entered several giveaways and didn't win (congrats to those who did though!). I was pretty much resigned to having to wait to buy it on its release day, May 17th 2016. So you can imagine my unmitigated glee and terror when I saw that Emma of Miss Print had a copy up for adoption! I almost didn't message her about it because I was sure someone else had snatched it up before me. Then I figured, screw it, the worst she can do is say someone had gotten there before me, so there is no harm in asking. And oh my ~HAPPY DANCE~ it was still available! Seriously though, Emma just about made my year when she agreed to adopt it to me! I binge read it in between studying for my exams and it was absolutely brilliant. My love for this book is going to be pretty hard to put in to words, but I'll do my best!

 

 

I think I'm going to start with the only part of the book that was disappointing; the cover. Now, if you've seen any of Brenna Yovanoff's previous covers (if you haven't, here is a link to her goodreads page), you'll know that they are usually very unique and eye catching. I'm not sure what direction they were trying to go with this cover, but it is underwhelming. Even with the ombre, the color is just so blocky, and the people blend in so much, that I find myself not interested/drawn to any part of the cover. I also don't feel like the pose the people on the cover are in is very indicative of the story.

The writing was very captivating. I found myself caught up in the sentences and was farther along in the story than I realized! The characters were relatable in a subtle way. I especially saw myself in the main character, Waverly, but I don't want to say anything because I feel like it would give the book away. The plot itself was so intriguing. I have to admit that the story wasn't what I thought it would be based on the synopsis, but that isn't a bad thing! I honestly think that the direction the book took was better than the way the synopsis made it seem. There were a few plot twists, but they weren't the twists I thought they were going to be, so I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Overall, I have to give this book a 5 out of 5 stars! Other than the cover, I really don't have any  complaints. I would definitely recommend this book! Although, if you're a fan of Brenna Yovanoff's earlier works, I will say that this one is considerably less dark than her other books.

Bookish (Not so)Goodness: These Heroic, Happy Dead by Luke Mogelson

I like short stories. They're especially good for when I'm waiting in the car. It just so happened that I had several hours to kill and had These Heroic, Happy Dead by Luke Mogelson, which I received from Blogging for Books for review, in my backpack. I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while now because, as an Army brat, reading stories about the military makes me feel at home.

 



Unfortunately, I was beyond disappointed with this book. Actually, I have a serious problem with this book in that it only shows the stereotypical violent, maladjusted veteran/soldier type. There is no denying that there are people who have bad personalities or who find it difficult or impossible to adjust to civilian life but that isn't the only type there is! There are also veterans/soldiers who retire or decide not to re-up and adjust perfectly well to civilian life. There are also soldiers who are good, brave, kind men. I should know; my father is one of them! I also have many friends who are military or former military who are the best kind of people. It's books like these, ones that only acknowledge the ugly side of military life, that perpetuate negative stereotypes! As an army brat, and a future soldier, this really bothers me. You should represent the good with the bad. [Side note; I realize the author is a former soldier, but that doesn't mean his representation of military life isn't skewed.]

As for the writing, it was good in its form. The stories flowed well and the open-ends were very attention grabbing. The only story I actually liked was Kids. It was this odd dance between disgust and grudging acquiescence that made me rate this book 1.5 out of 5 stars. I wouldn't recommend it and I will be getting rid of it as soon as I possibly can.

ARC Review: The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

When I first saw the cover of The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy, I knew I had to read it! The cover is gorgeous and the synopsis was absolutely intriguing! Not to mention the fact that I love historical fiction! I was really thankful that Blogging for Books sent me a copy to read and review.

 

Unfortunately, the cover was the best part of this book. The chapters were split between historical and contemporary, and neither were my cup of tea. The historical chapters were choppy and rushed. I didn't really like any of the historical characters either. The contemporary chapters were well written, but I couldn't get over Eden's attitude and just plain bitchiness. If I hadn't had to review this book, I probably would have DNFd it after the first couple of chapters. Ultimately, I gave this book 1 star out of 5.



ARC Review: Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano + Giveaway

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've done a review. School has kept me extremely busy and I haven't had much time for reading. I'm back now, with an ARC review of Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano. The ARC was sent to me by the wonderful Emma of Miss Print. This book releases on May 3rd, 2016, and I am so happy I was able to get an early look at it! This will be a spoiler free review and all of the actual info contained within that is not my opinion can be found in the synopsis or on the cover (there is one spoiler, but it doesn't really give anything away, and you probably won't even notice it).

The cover was what initially caught my attention. This isn't really a big surprise because i am very much a judge-a-book-by-its-cover type person. I'm not usually a fan of people on the cover (side note: people's faces in pictures really freak me out. I don't even keep pics of family out where I can see it because I always feel like they're watching me, and books with people weird me out too) but the shadows and the positioning of the model really drew my eye. The font of the title is also really cool. I liked that the font fit the title but, as I read, it also ties in really well with the book.

After I saw the amazing cover, I had to read the synopsis. This also isn't very surprising because I read the synopsis of every book before I decide to read it. I liked the juxtaposition of being imprisoned but being free, being innocent but feeling like you should be locked up. I also really liked that the synopsis gave just enough of the story to reel me in, but not so much that it gave anything away.

Once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. It started off pretty slow, which surprisingly didn't bother me, and picked up a little bit as the book went on. It was never fast-paced, but I think that was a good choice on the author's part because the pacing of the book fit the circumstances the character found himself in. I also really liked the just-enough-but-not-too-much supernatural element it had.

The main character, John "Smoke" Conlan, was very intense and compelling. At first, I couldn't figure out his motivations, but they were slowly revealed over the course of the book. I wouldn't say he would be relatable to everyone, he certainly wasn't for me, but that actually made him seem more human. He struggled with his choices and made mistakes. He wasn't perfect. I also liked Pink. She wasn't as large a part of the story as I thought she would be, but she was a good foil for Smoke.

I did have two  problem with this book, which ultimately led me to rate it 3 out of 5 stars. First was the way some things were described in the book. Most of the characters in the book are in prison and they do stereotypical prison things, but most of these actions (and others) are described in a vague wording that doesn't impart how truly gritty and violent they are. But, there is one situation in the book that is told in excruciating, gruesome detail and I think the whole book needed to be told that way instead of glossing over the unsavory elements. By avoiding being explicit with the actions and situations of the characters, the author actually made me detach from the story. The second problem I had with the book was the epilogue. It read more like a joke alternate ending because, from what I saw, there was no lead up to it and it seemed out of character for Smoke to make the decision he did based on what he had previously been working toward in the story.

Neither of these problems kept me from reading and enjoying this book. Actually, I liked this book a lot and I think it will appeal to a lot of people. This is definitely a book that I would recommend and the more reviews there are, the more people will potentially have the chance to read it. I also know how hard it is to get ARCs. That's why I'm going to give away my ARC copy of Holding Smoke:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/956e23d70/

Bookish Goodness: Green Smoothies by Fern Green

Every student knows that mornings can be a hectic time. The choice between just a few more minutes of sleep and eating a health breakfast sometimes doesn't feel like a choice at all. Being a senior hasn't made deciding any easier for me. More often than not, I choose to sleep for as long as I possibly can and end up grabbing some kind of breakfast bar of skipping breakfast altogether.

A trend I had seen pop up on the internet a while ago was drinking smoothies instead of eating breakfast. This appealed to me for several reasons. First, I had the option of making a smoothie the night before and leaving it in the fridge for a quick departure in the morning. Second, I also had the option of making a bulk batch and freezing it, only defrosting a smoothie when I wanted to have it. Third, I've never really been a big eater in the morning (even when I did eat a normal breakfast regularly) so a smoothie seemed like a lighter, better option. All of these reasons made me want to try smoothies for breakfast, the hard part was finding healthy options, which is why I was super happy to receive a copy of Green Smoothies by Fern Green from Blogging for Books to review.

As the cover says, this book includes recipes for more than just smoothies, it includes recipes for juices, nut milks, and tonics as well. This made me even more excited to try the recipes out because there is more variety! The book starts out with an introduction that overviews the benefits of drinking smoothie, choosing between a smoothie or a juice, the various ingredients that can be put in to the different recipes, and the basic equipment you'll need. As an added bonus, there is a seven day juice detox plan and a page of tips for making your detox as effective as possible.

The recipes themselves are divided in to three sections: smoothies, juices, and shots & milks. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that each recipe details the health benefits that come along with drinking each. I also like that there is no added sugar to any of the recipes; each recipe is fruits, nuts, veggies, and herbs only! All of the recipes I've tried so far have been really yummy too!

Overall, I would give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. The cover is pretty cool and the layout is logical and intuitive. I like all of the extra information we are given beyond just the recipes, but my favorite part is that all of the recipes are healthy and, of the ones I've tried, delicious!