Dear October

Dear October,

Wow, you flew by. As a college student, midterms were horrible and made me feel a whole lot of stress, which explains why you weren't my favourite month this year.

Exams are never fun, but exams happening at the same time are even worse. I'm sure everyone can relate to this, since teachers love to schedule their exams simultaneously. Oh, how kind of them.

Because of all this stress, I desperately needed to decompress during the past month, so short and cheesy novels were my go-to (aren't they always?). Some people might have looked down on me because of that, especially when my stress got so bad that novels intended for ten year-olds were my choices, but I find that reading is the best therapy to cope with anxiety.

Obviously, when you have too many things to do at the same time, there'll be some procrastination going on, which happened quite frequently over the last month. Luckily, everything went well even with a bit less studying than I was supposed to, but I'll always wish I could be someone very strict with schoolwork and never late.

October, you made me reconnect with some old and, sometimes, very old, friends. I'm incredibly grateful for that, because you can never have too many friends, especially not when they've always been nice to you. I was glad to know more about who they've become, because the years, or months, of separation can completely change a person. I learned, however, that some people never really change, which can be a good thing when you need comforting.

You also made me go out of my comfort zone without really thinking about it, which I'm really happy about. As an introvert, I've always preferred small groups and cozy evenings, but I was able to go out and meet some people, maybe not as openly as some of my friends, but still acting like a normal person. I think everyone needs that reassurance at some point in their life, so I liked knowing that I might not be a complete alien.

For the beauty outside in this season, I was happy to be alive this month, even with all its ups and downs. I'll even go as far as saying a famous Anne of Green Gables quote, since it is, after all, my favourite book:

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Girl Online On Tour (Girl Online #2) - Zoe Sugg

Goodreads summary:

The sequel to the number-one bestseller Girl Online. Penny joins her rock-star boyfriend, Noah, on his European music tour.

Penny's bags are packed.

When Noah invites Penny on his European music tour, she can't wait to spend time with her rock-god-tastic boyfriend.

But, between Noah's jam-packed schedule, less-than-welcoming bandmates and threatening messages from jealous fans, Penny wonders whether she's really cut out for life on tour. She can't help but miss her family, her best friend Elliot . . . and her blog, Girl Online.

Can Penny learn to balance life and love on the road, or will she lose everything in pursuit of the perfect summer?


My review:

4/5

This book is cute, sweet and very much like Zoe, so I think that her fans will, like I did, enjoy reading it a lot. 

I liked how realistic the tour life is in this book. While Zoe has never really toured herself, it's evident that she knows a lot about this life and I'm glad it wasn't too good-looking. Penny's reaction to it was realistic, too, because anyone would be confused and have a hard time adjusting to this train of life, especially someone with anxiety. This part reminded me of Zoe a lot, because she's known to have difficulties when she's under a lot of pressure or surrounded by many people. As someone who can get panicky sometimes, I could relate to Penny when she started panicking, especially since it's well depicted. 

Penny's character is nice, funny and relatable for teenage girls. I enjoyed reading about her and I liked seeing her grow in this book, even more than in the first one. She matured a lot and by the time the book ended, she was more of a young adult than a teenager, which I thought was very nice, since I'm older than her and there were times when I couldn't really relate before. I did think she was too forgiving and didn't stand up for herself at the beginning and I hated seeing her keep quiet and then pity herself when she was alone, but I think it's where she grows the most. In fact, I was proud of her at the end of the book, when she realized she had to live for herself and say out loud what she really thinks instead of bottling it all up. 

I really disliked Noah at some point in this book, because I thought he acted like a complete asshole. He was part of the reason why Penny couldn't enjoy her life on tour with him, which I thought was really sad, seeing as he's the one who invited her. However, I'm glad he tried to make up for it, because it shows how deeply he cares about Penny and their relationship. I enjoyed seeing them together (which wasn't often, I must admit) and I think that overall, they have a cute relationship. 

It's great that we get to know more about Elliot's life, because he's an adorable character, although I must admit he's quite stereotypical. His importance in this book shows how close he and Penny are, even though they're both in a relationship. Their constant texting was heartwarming and I absolutely hated seeing them sad because they're such nice characters. 

The only thing I truly dislike about this series is how there's always a "bad guy". I don't find this very realistic, especially since I can't see the motives behind their actions most of the time. I may be too positive, but I don't think there are that many truly horrible people out there, so the fact that Penny, and sometimes Noah, are always assaulted made me cringe a little. 

I don't know if there will be another book in this series, but I will buy it if there is. Sorry, haters, but I truly like it!

Butterfly Dreams - A. Meredith Walters

Goodreads summary:

In a powerful romance for fans of The Fault in Our Stars and If I Stay, New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters tells the story of a troubled young woman and the unforgettable guy who teaches her to live—and love—to the fullest.

She’s waiting to die. . . . Corin Thompson is paralyzed by her obsession with mortality. Having lost both of her parents, she is terrified by the idea that she too will die young, and she loses control at any sign of illness. But when Corin connects with someone who has survived a very real brush with death, she begins to see the world in a whole new way.

He’s learning to live. . . . As Corin struggles under the weight of her neuroses, Beckett Kingsley is attempting to rebuild a life that feels all too temporary. With the ever-present threat of heart failure never far from his mind, he just wants to make the most of whatever time he has left. And that means pursuing the girl he never expected to find.

Together, Corin and Beckett finally learn to let go of their fears and take solace in everyday pleasures. Who knows what the future holds? After all, nothing lasts forever—the only promise they have is right now.


My review:

4/5

There are some books that you just know are going to be good. When I picked this one up, that's exactly the feeling I had, and I was not disappointed. 

While I was expecting some sort of love story, I was surprised to find that this story is more about Corin's mental illness. It wasn't a bad surprise at all, because her character development is absolutely insane. She goes from an unstable character in denial to an amazing woman who's been through many things and is now much stronger. It was great seeing her change so much while staying true to herself. Also, I loved discovering more about hyponcondriac people, because I don't know much about this illness. My mother's cousin has it, but I haven't seen her for a couple of years now and her mental state was just confusing to me then. Now, I feel like I understand a lot more about how she must have felt, because part of the story is told in Corin's perspective and she has to go through this every day. 

That being said, I still really enjoyed reading about her and Beck's love story. They're the cutest together and I loved reading what Beck thought of her, because he's the only one who can see her for who she really is, which I found amazing. They never give up on each other and I wish there were more stories like that, where the characters are always there for each other and they become strong as a whole. Beck's past (and present, to be honest) is very sad, especially since he was such an active person and he had to give up on anything close to exercice. I may not be like him, but with the way his feelings were explained, I really felt like I understood precisely how hard it was for him. I'm glad he gets better with Corin, because it shows how being together fights back their issues. 

Overall, this story is really great. I loved every page of it and I'm glad I got to read such an awesome book. 

(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Finding Audrey - Sophie Kinsella

Goodreads summary:

An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.


My review:

4/5

Still unsure about my rating, but I really liked this book! It's adorable, short and sweet, perfect to decompress.

I love how realistic the writing style is. I feel like I truly got to know Audrey, even without knowing exactly what happened to her. I think all of us got a pretty good idea of it, since most of us are well aware of how girls can be in school, so I kind of liked not to know what made Audrey so sensitive. Sure, I am curious, but it might be for the wrong reasons, because really, there's no need for me to know exactly what happened in her life. I perfectly understand why she wouldn't want to talk about it and I think that this is even better than if she had just explained every single thing about that traumatizing event. Some people might be annoyed by this detail, but I like its realism.

I like how this book explains the relationship between a psychologist and her patient. It could've been only briefly mentionned, but instead, Sophie Kinsella decided to fully include parts of their meetings, which I really enjoyed reading about. It must have needed loads of research, but it adds to the realism of the book, again. Many pieces of advice given by Dr. Sarah are important for me, too, which I found quite nice. At first, I didn't understand Audrey's need for sunglasses, because I simply thought she must look weird, wearing them all the time for apparently no reason, but when I actually understood why she couldn't take them off, I almost wished I could wear some, too. Taking them off is a big step for her, but we all know this is necessary, because she couldn't possibly live her life with them on all the time.

Audrey's progress truly made me happy. Sometimes, when she was with Linus, I felt like she progressed maybe a bit too much, because he's a bit like her hero and magically, she can do things she couldn't even dream of before, but I let that go and simply enjoyed seeing Audrey getting over her illness, step by step. Her appointments with Dr. Sarah reminded me that there would probably be a moment when she wouldn't be that well anymore, because you can't just go higher and higher, but it only made me want to read more to know what would happen.

I found Linus and Audrey's relationship absolutely adorable. Can we just talk about that paper kiss? Too cute. I loved how Linus helped not only Audrey, but her entire family, too. He's really caring and I love how he pushes Audrey to do her best, even though I feared it would be too much, sometimes. I wish I could find such a guy!

Frank was probably my favorite character. I love how rebellious he is, how much he cares about everything, from video games to his sister, and how serious he can be, as young as he is. He truly inspired me and I was touched by his actions more than once. He's a great part of the family, which is awesome itself. Sophie Kinsella never fails to create complicated, funny families that you get really invested in.

It's very different from the other Sophie Kinsella books I've read, but not in a bad way. I wouldn't mind it if her next books were more on the serious side, like this one, because I truly enjoyed reading it.