Zenith (The Androma Saga #1) - Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Goodreads summary:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

There is darkness sweeping across the stars.

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness: a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her fearsome glass starship the Maurader, she’s just Andi, their captain and protector.

When a routine mission goes awry, the all-girl crew’s resilience is tested as they find themselves in a most unfamiliar place: at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter connected to Andi’s past and a harrowing betrayal.

Meanwhile, on the far side of the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The final pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their ship—or just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles towards the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only thing certain is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

From internet sensation Sasha Alsberg and author Lindsay Cummings comes a new serialized space opera, full of action, fantastical intrigue, and steamy star-crossed romance. ​

For fans of popular sci-fi books and fantasy books for teens such as Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Wool by Hugh Howey, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.


My review:

3.5/5

I love Sasha Alsberg's channel, ABookUtopia, so I had to read her first novel, written in collaboration with Lindsay Cummings. I was a bit surprised by the length of it, even though I was aware that it was only part of a novel, but I wasn't disappointed at all.

I'm afraid that I can't say much about the novel right now, because I would have to read the entire novel, instead of parts of it, to have a real opinion about it. However, I can say that I liked what I read so far. I liked the writing, and the plot seemed quite interesting, even if it's just blooming at this point. Even though it's done in short parts, I feel like this one could have been a bit longer, because it would have been easier to understand the story and the characters if there had been a bit more explanations.

I'm excited to read the other parts of Zenith, because I really want to find out more about this interesting world and its characters. Also, this part ends on a sort of cliffhanger, so I can't wait to continue reading!

BookTube-A-Thon 2016: A Big Fail

Hi everyone! As you know, I participated in this year's BookTube-A-Thon, like always. I did a blog post about my TBR for this year and it made me so excited that I was convinced I would be able to read a lot and to even post a few reviews during the week. However, it didn't exactly go as I planned, which you'll see in the summary of my reading challenges. I hope you enjoy reading it, and I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts!

Monday, July 18

On Monday, I was as motivated as anyone could be, so I tried reading a bit before I went to bed at midnight and I read while eating breakfast. I focused on Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross, since it's such a short book. I was working that day, even though I wasn't supposed to, so I didn't get that much free time after that.

Tuesday, July 19

On Tuesday, I was finally free, so I read as much as I could. I started reading Frankenstein, but only for about 50 pages. I finished reading Hearts, Fingers, and Other Things to Cross, which made me very happy. I gave it 3/5. At night, I started The Cinderella Pact, which I really liked from the beginning. 

Wednesday, July 20

Wednesday was my reading day. I read quite a big part of Frankenstein, but I also started listening to I Was Here. I continued reading The Cinderella Part as well, so although I didn't finish a book on that day, I did get some progress.

Thursday, July 21

On Thursday, I started panicking because I had only finished one of my seven books, so I almost finished Frankenstein in one more sitting. Then, I read Zenith in one sitting, because it's a lot shorter than I expected it to be. I gave it 3.5/5. Somewhere between Thursday and Friday, I finished The Cinderella Pact, which I gave 4/5.

Friday, July 22

On Friday morning, I finished reading Frankenstein. I didn't feel like picking it up one last time, but since I really enjoyed it, I gave it 4/5. I wasn't supposed to work that day, but I did anyways, so I didn't have time to read after that. 

Saturday, July 23

Things went downhill on Saturday, when I had a really bad day at work. When I came home, all I wanted to do was sleep, so after trying to listen to I Was Here for half an hour, I went to bed and didn't get out until my alarm woke me up the next day, instead of finishing I Was Here and starting to read The Story Girl like I had planned.

Sunday, July 24

Finally, on Sunday, I realized that I wouldn't be able to complete all the challenges. I did finish I Was Here, and I gave it 5/5, but I didn't touch The Story Girl or Matilda, since I wasn't feeling all that well and I simply didn't have enough time.

Overall, I'm happy that I read five books, even though I wanted to read seven. I wish I had completed more reading challenges though, because I only completed four of them. 

I've been extremely busy since then, so I haven't read much at all and I didn't have time to touch my computer, let alone write a review for one of the books I read during BookTube-A-Thon. I'm going on vacation tomorrow for one week, but I won't have my computer and there won't be any Internet anyways, so you guys won't here from me for a few more days. I'm really, really sorry about that, but I hadn't realized how crazy my life would be during this week. I hope to post again very soon though!

I wish you all a good day :)

BookTube-A-Thon TBR

Hi everyone! As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of the BookTube-A-Thon, which I think I'm doing for the third year in a row. Since I've had a bit of a reading slump recently, I'm really excited to start reading more. Also, I'm not working a lot during that week (July 18th-24th), so I'll have a lot of free time to read. There are seven reading challenges and I intend to complete all of them, so here's my TBR based on the different challenges!

You can find all the information about this year's BookTube-A-Thon here: http://booktubeathon.com/  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1UucWZ0Ylg

Challenges:

1. Read a book with yellow on the cover

Hearts, Fingers and Other Things to Cross by Katie Finn

It's on my summer TBR, it's bright yellow and I almost started reading it the other day, so it's perfect!

2.  Read a book only after sunset

The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer

I'm scared of everything, especially at night, so I have to read lighter books after the sun sets. This one seems perfect!

3. Read a book you discovered through BookTube

Zenith (The Androma Saga #1) by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

I discovered this book because one of its authors is on BookTube (and a pretty big part of it, I would say), so this challenge is an easy one for me!

4. Read a book by one of your favourite authors

The Story Girl (The Story Girl #1) by Lucy Maud Montgomery

L. M. M. is by far my favourite author, but I'm guilty of not having read all of her books yet. This one has interested me for a very long time now, so it's about time I start reading it.

5. Read a book that is older than you

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I really hope that I'll like this book, because otherwise, I feel like it'll be really hard to read it during BookTube-A-Thon. It's a challenge though, so I accept it!

6.  Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Believe it or not, I've only seen Matilda once, and I can only remember one moment of the whole movie. Since everyone keeps mentionning both the book and the movie, I've been trying to remind myself to read it at some point, so it's the perfect time to finally do it.

7. Read seven books

Since there are only six books on my TBR right now, I'll choose the final one during BookTube-A-Thon. Who knows what I'll feel like reading?

If anyone has recommendations for me, please let me know! I also want to see who will participate this year, so I can't wait until it's July 18th :)

I'M BACK!

Hey guys! 

Before anyone mentions it, I'm going to state it clearly: I've been a terrible blogger. Awful, despicable, but mostly, just ABSENT. I do think that it's fine for me to be less active during the school year, because I am in college, so I should really do my best when I can, but the thing is that I didn't get back to it when I had the chance to do it. I could give you a thousand reasons for that, none of them being a lie, but the most important thing is, I believe, that I am incredibly sorry about that, and ashamed of acting like that, so I'll do my best to change the way things are right now. 

To do that, I have planned a few blog posts that I've been imagining over the past months, so I hope you'll enjoy those. I also have reviews planned, obviously, because reviewing is what I haven't been doing over the past six months or so. I hope I haven't lost all of my abilities in that specific kind of writing, because it's something I simply love doing. 

I hope all of you are doing well and will hopefully like the content to come!

Laurence

My Favourite Childhood Books

Hi everyone! Lately, I've seen quite a few videos about childhood reads on BookTube, namely ReadbyZoe's most recent one, which inspired me to do the same thing in a written form. However, you'll quickly realize that many of them are actually written for a much older audience than I was at the time (I only wanted big books, basically). Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this post and think about the books you enjoyed reading when you were younger! I'd love to know about them.

1. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (the obvious one)

As most of you probably know, I'm Lucy Maud Montgomery's biggest fan mainly because of her Anne series. I read the first book when I was about 8 years old and I never stopped loving this series. As of today, I've probably read LMM's books a hundred times (which isn't even an exaggeration), so I would highly recommend her books, especially this one. It's about a young orphaned girl who is adopted by a family who only realize when they get her that she's a girl, even though they had asked for a boy. Anne is my favourite character ever and I've wished I could be her countless times. Gilbert Blythe, another character in this series, was my first book crush and I swear you'll fall in love with him if you give this book a chance. It's set in the early 1900s and it's written in a poetic way that makes those books perfect for adults as well as children. 

2. Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Continuing the way I started this list, I have to tell you that this other series by Lucy Maud Montgomery caught my heart quite early in my life (in 2007, if I believe my library's archives). This book, although it might sound similar to Anne of Green Gables because it's about an orphan, but Emily's story is completely different from Anne's. It's much darker (but only because Anne is such a positive anc charismatic character while Emily's life is really sad and she doesn't have as much positivity as Anne does), but it's still written in the beautiful way LMM's other books are written and it presents incredible characters that you'll remember forever.

3. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

As a big fan of this TV show, I had to read the books, especially since they were some of my mother's favourite books. I think they might have been some of the favourite books I read, since I owned the three first of the series and my mother read them to my sister and me. I actually pretended I was Laura while my sister said she was Mary and we'd act some scenes together. I received a nightgown that looked exactly like one of Laura's dresses from my grandmother, who made it specially for me with a cap. I went to bed with little braids to look like Laura's TV show character and the nightgown was destroyed by the time I stopped wearing it, so you can probably see how obsessed I was with this series.

4. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

I started reading this series pretty young and it followed me throughout the years, so much that I actually got to review the most recent book of this series (which made my ten-year-old self very happy). It's one of the first series I recommended to my sister when she started reading, which brings back many old memories of us fangirling together. It's something that I would recommend to any young girl, because it makes you fantasize about being a princess in a realistic way. 

5. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I'm one of those weird little girls who didn't care about the types of books she read, so I read this book when I was 7 or 8 years old - before the movie even came out. I loved this particular book, but since I was so young, the sequels got too complicated for me and I ended up giving up on the third book. I do plan on rereading this series one day, maybe when I have children, because it made me wish so hard that I could have my own dragon (I pretended I slept under my dragon's wings when I was younger).

6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I have no idea what age I was when I first read this series, but I know for a fact that I was way too young, because the last one kind of freaked me out when I read it (my parents never put a veto on what I wanted to read since I read so much, but I wish they had a few times, because some books kind of traumatized me). I do remember that I wished I had such a large group of close friends, since it's always only been me and my best friend, as well as a few other friends, instead of me and my three best friends, like it's the case with the girls in this book. I wanted my own pair of jeans like that, too, and I truly think it's a fabulous idea for a series.

7. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I wasn't as young when I read this book, maybe 12 years old, but I'll count it. I did read this after watching the movie (which gave me a huge crush on Alex Pettyfer, haha), but I remember loving the complexity of the books, which was much more interesting than the movie. I think I read the first three books of this series, but I would have read all of them if they were on sale where I live (which they sadly aren't. They release one every three year or so and it sucks). 

8. Stolen Voices: Young People's War Diaries, from World War I to Iraq by Zlata Filipovic

This is one of the first non-fiction books I read and it really stuck with me through the years. I couldn't believe how sad those kids' lives were when I read this, especially since a lot of them were my age. It made me open my eyes to the world I lived in and I think it's one of the reasons why I'm so interested in history today, especially during wars. I would highly recommend it.

9. The Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant

As a young rider, I had to at least watch this TV show, which I very happily did. Steph, Carole and Lisa were my models and I wanted nothing more than to be as good a rider as they were, even though it's a known fact to all riders that they'ra actually quite bad in the version I watched (I was 5, so give me a break). When I discovered that there were books of this show, I was the happiest I'd ever been. I flew through all of the books I could get my hands on and they were my favourite ones. This is making me quite nostalgic, because I almost forgot about them and my 7-year-old self would probably never forgive me for that!

10. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

You didn't think I'd do such a post without including Harry Potter, did you? It's definitely one of my childhood favourites, so a list like this one wouldn't be complete without it. I watched some of the movies first, because they came out when I was quite young, but I went to every single one of their theater releases (which scared me of the theater for quite a while, because they were scary movies for a young kid and the loud noises made it even worse) and I read the books as soon as I learned how to read. I've always been called 'Hermione' as a joke in my family because of my love of books and my obsession with school and being right, so I remember loving her hair (which is embarrassing) and when I'd take off my Laura Ingalls braids, I turned into Hermione for the day, which was awesome (I mean, cosplaying two characters pretty much at once, how awesome is that?). Basically, I would completely judge you if you told me you haven't read/watched this series (sorry not sorry).

Web Series Wednesday - The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

If you're new to this YouTube world, or simply to web series, you might not know about this amazing channel. However, it's definitely one of the best and most famous web series out there, and for many reasons.

I discovered this web series, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, from Hank and John Green's YouTube channel, vlogbrothers. Hank posted a video back in 2012, when I wasn't subscribed to their channel ( or to anyone's, to be honest, because I didn't know YouTubers were a thing. Can't imagine living without YouTube now!). When I did subscribe to their channel, after having finished The Fault in Our Stars later in 2013 and discovering that John posted videos with his brother, I started watching all of their videos before I subscribed, because of how good they were. I wasn't that fast, so it took me a while to get there, but in late 2014, I watched this video and wondered: "does this really exist?" I was thrilled to find out that the series was entirely posted by then and I immediately started watching every single episode - which surprisingly didn't take that long, since I was so obsessed I preferred watching these to sleeping. I still do, to be honest.

The first reason why I like this series so much is that it's inspired by an amazing novel, Pride and Prejudice. It's the first Jane Austen novel I read and the first classic I actually chose to read, so this book has a special place in my heart. In Austen's book, there is an amazing romance, even though there's absolutely nothing explicit in it. It's just the fact that you know how the characters feel and you feel their love with them, which is just amazing. I watched as many adaptations of it as I could, so this series was no exception.

My second reason for loving LBD is the way it's adapted into a modern life story. I loved seeing all the little détails altered to make the story realistic and as dramatic in our society, because many things that were considered bad in the 19th century are simply normal today. The amount of work that must have been put in the creation of this web series is insane, which is why I admire it even more. If you've read the books and then you watch this web series, you'll realize how smart its writers are.

My final reason for watching this series instead of sleeping is how they represented each character. When you read a book, you create a precise idea of the characters and their surroundings that can be completely different from another reader's idea, which is why adaptations can be tricky sometimes. You could think a character's a real sweetheart, while someone could think he's actually calculating and evil. Sometimes, the author's writing or the main character's opinion influence our thoughts about a character, like it did for me in Pride and Prejudice. I thought Lydia was an annoying, irresponsible and self-centered girl because it's kind of how Elizabeth sees her little sister. However, in LBD, Lydia's character is taken very differently, which made me realize many things about her I had simply ignored. Her character in the web series quickly became one of my favorites, especially with the amazing actress who plays her, Mary Kate Wiles. I loved her videos, since she creates a channel of her own during the season, and I wish there had been even more of them. She's endearing and her way to talk and move cracked me up so many times that I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me I would react this way to her character before watching these videos.

I also loved the chemistry between the characters, the decoration, the music, the concept and the extras. I think this is a wonderfully well organized web series and I am glad I discovered such a universe. I read The Secret Diary of Lizzie, which is more personal than the videos, and I really liked it. I'm incredibly excited for the new novel that the writers are publishing, The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, since it's about a character I grew to love. I can already recommend both novels!

 

 

I highly recommend this series!

Shug - Jenny Han

Goodreads summary:


SHUG
is clever and brave and true (on the inside, anyway). And she's about to become your new best friend.
Annemarie Wilcox, or Shug as her family calls her, is beginning to think there's nothing worse than being twelve. She's too tall, too freckled, and way too flat-chested. Shug is sure that there's not one good or amazing thing about her. And now she has to start junior high, where the friends she counts most dear aren't acting so dear anymore -- especially Mark, the boy she's known her whole life through. Life is growing up all around her, and all Shug wants is for things to be like they used to be. How is a person supposed to prepare for what happens tomorrow when there's just no figuring out today?

My review:

5/5

This book is adorable and I loved it.

It's a short, cute and lovely story that I wish I had read years ago, when I would've been able to relate even more to Shug. Even though she's years younger than me, I relate a lot to her and I loved reading about her.

Shug's personality is really interesting, because she's authentic and honest, but she has flaws, too. She cares about her friends and family, but not so much about popularity, even though she wishes she could be with her friends without being excluded all the time. Her family has issues, but she understands them very well and she still loves her sister and her parents, which I thought was adorable.

I disliked Mark. I understand that he's at that age when you want to look cool and be in the popular crowd, but I hated the fact that he couldn't stand up for his best friend. I thought he would change and realize that he can't act like that, but I was disappointed to find out that he didn't. It's what felt the most immature in this book, the fact that so many of Shug's friends want to look cool and act horribly to do so. I'm really happy to be older than that.

I loved Jack. I could see why he would act like that, being older than him, and I thought he was really cute and nice. I was happy to see him grow up, unlike Mark, and stand up for Shug. He doesn't care much about popularity, which made me like him even more.

I smiled throughout the whole story (except once, I teared up a little because I could understand the deeper meaning of a conversation between Shug and her mother and I thought it was really sad) and it's so short that I would reread it anytime. I highly recommend it, no matter what age you are, because you'll find something adorable and easy to read.

The Lake Season - Hannah Roberts McKinnon

Goodreads summary:

Set in the weeks leading up to an idyllic New England wedding, this “enticing and refreshing” (Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author) novel sparkles with wry wit, sweet romance, and long-kept family secrets.

Iris Standish has always been the responsible sister: the one who studied hard, settled down, and always made the right choices—even when they came at the expense of her passions. Meanwhile, her sister Leah dropped out of college to “find herself” by hiking through Yellowstone and switches jobs nearly as often as she switches lovers, leaving Iris to pick up the pieces in her wake.

But now Iris’s life is coming apart at the seams, and when Leah calls her back to their childhood home with a desperate cry for help, she is thrust headfirst into preparations for her sister’s wedding to a man their New Hampshire clan has never met…with her own marriage and family on the brink.

Still, despite the rush of dress fittings, floral arrangements, and rehearsal dinners, Iris is learning to put herself first. And amid a backdrop of late-night swims and a soul-restoring barn renovation comes Cooper Woods, a high school crush who beckons with the promise of a new start.

While Leah faces a past that has finally caught up to her, Iris prepares to say goodbye to a future that is suddenly far from certain. As Hampstead Lake shimmers in the background, Iris must decide when to wade in cautiously and when to dive—and, ultimately, how to ferry herself to safe harbors in this “glittering…memorable” novel of second chances and the ties that bind (Michelle Gable, nationally bestselling author of A Paris Apartment).


My review:

4/5

This is your perfect summer novel. If you're going anywhere near a lake or any kind of beach, this novel is what you need.

I liked how this novel made me feel. Going to her parents' house is a way to take a break from her life for Iris, and I felt like I was on a break, too. This novel made me escape from my life and if that doesn't mean it's a good novel, then I don't know what does.

I found it hard to like all of the characters in this novel, first because I didn't feel very invested in the story (but that might be because the main character is my mother's age, so it's not exactly a book for someone my age), but also because I found some characters pretty annoying. Sometimes, I wished I could shake some of the characters, because I hated what they were doing. Also, since the novel starts when Paul has just told Iris that he wants them to get a divorce, I didn't understand what she could see in him, because I felt like I didn't know a thing about their relationship, except from their fallout. It made it hard for me to understand her feelings. However, I really liked many other characters, like Trish, Iris's best friend, Bill, Iris's father, Cooper and Iris's children. I loved the relationships between all of those characters, because their love is clear and deep.

I really liked how selfless Iris is. It also bugged me a little, because I wished she would do something for herself, but mostly, I was impressed. I thought it was very brave of her and I wished I could be more like that. I was really happy to see her grow and to realize how much of a difference this summer has on her, because there is a lot of character development in this book, as well as relationship development.

I read this book outside, on my patio on sunbathing, and it was exactly what I needed. I recommend it.

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

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

Goodreads summary:

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.  


My review:

5/5

This book is huge, but I absolutely loved it. It's totally worth the hours I spent reading it.

From the beginning, I fell in love with the world of this series. It's so complicated, with different houses and particular weather for all parts of the country. I was intrigued by the customs, the religions and the way they rule the country, even though it took me a while to understand everything. Some things about this world made me really want to live in it, while others made me happy I wasn't actually living in it. The author is crazy to have thought of all about this world, and I'm so glad he did.

I really liked the different chapters about someone in particular. The complexity of each family made me want to know more about them, even when it's not positive. I found it hard to believe that Daenerys lived in the same world as the other characters, since her part of the world is so incredibly different from the others, but I really liked seeing other people's opinion of her, no matter how bad it is. It made everything more natural and realistic, which I really liked.

I have to admit it, there are characters I don't remember the names of. Most of them aren't important characters, so it didn't make my reading experience too hard, but you need an impressive memory to remember all the characters in this book, because there are a lot of them. However, I loved the main characters (except for the horrible ones). The Stark are amazing, especially Arya and Jon (yes, I consider him a Stark), some of my favorite characters. I loved their wildness, which was refreshing compared to everyone else's politeness. I might be a nerd, but I also loved seeing how everything was ruled, mostly by the Starks, because I feel like they're the ones who we get to see rule the most. I found the discussions really interesting and the battles stressful, which made me want to read even more of this book. Weird enough, the character I identify to the most is Daenerys, because there are many things in this book that I would've done exactly like her. I do wish I could be Stark, though. I love them (although Sansa was annoying for the biggest part of this book). Tyrion cracked me up many times, which I loved when I was stressed about the events.

I really liked seeing a different kind of drama, because I really a lot of YA books where drama is all about boys and bad friendships. The drama in this book is about war, murder and bastards (the latter isn't much different to YA though, but I liked it much better), which is refreshing and very complicated, too. I found myself dreading some events, but impatient for others to come, which made me keep on reading for as long as I could whenever I picked this book up.

Seriously, I loved everything about this book, except maybe how long it took me to finish it. I'm incredibly excited to watch the TV show now, which I'll start as soon as possible. I really recommend this book!

Courtship Book Tag

The Courtship Book Tag is a tag comparing books to dating steps, which I find really funny and interesting. I've seen many videos of it on BookTube, so I'm glad to see that bloggers do it, too! The Glitter Aficionado recently did it and tagged everyone who felt like doing it, so thank you! It's really nice, so keep on reading!

You can click on the book covers to go to their Goodreads page.


Initial Attraction: A book you bought because of the cover.

 

You have to admit it: this book is gorgeous. I couldn't resist it, especially since I thought it sounded awesome. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Don't judge a book by its cover!

 

 

First Impressions: A book you bought because of the summary.

 



 

If you haven't read this novel's summary, here it is: "Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist. Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose. Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it. Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other. An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be. A lyrical new YA novel from the award-winning author of Chasing Charlie Duskin and the Gracie Faltrain series." When I read this summary, my only thought was: "what?" I couldn't help needing to know what would happen, so I read it as soon as I got it. It was a good decision, because I ended up really liking it!

 

 

Sweet Talk: A book with great writing.

 







 

If, for some reason, you haven't heard me rave about Lucy Maud Montgomery, you might not know that she has been my favorite author since I was eight and that this novel is my all-time favorite. Although it's supposed to be a children's book, I consider this as a novel for everyone, because its writing style is gorgeous and captivating. You'll want nothing more than to walk Prince Edward Island's red roads and see every single flower and tree described in this novel. You'll fall in love with Anne, Gilbert and Matthew and you'll dream of experiencing such a love story as there is later in this series. Please, read it, if only for its poetic writing.

 

 

First Date: A first book in the series that made you want to read the rest.

 

 





 

I highly recommend this series. I read it when I was about thirteen and I can't even count how many times I re-read it. It has great romance, time traveling and awesome characters and I swear it'll suck you in from the very first page.

 

 

Late Night Phone Calls: A book that kept you up all night.

 











 

This book kept me up very late for two reasons: 1) It was making me very paranoid about every noise in my house, and 2) I was incredibly intrigued and I couldn't stop reading. I know many people love the TV show Pretty Little Liars but dislike the books that inspired them, but I think that this series is so much better than the one Sara Shepard is known for. I read it incredibly fast and I loved every single page of it.

 

 

Always on my Mind: A book you cannot stop thinking about.

 



 

If you're an animal lover like me, you'll adore this book. It made me cry a lot, but it also made me think about what dogs really think and feel. It's really sweet and adorable, so you better pick it up as soon as possible if you haven't yet!

 

 

Getting Physical: A book which you love the way it feels.

 

 

I don't know about everyone else's editions of this book, but mine is paperback and has a matte cover with shiny textured writing, so I love to touch it. I loved reading it, too! I highly recommend it, even if most of you have probably already read it.

 

 

Meeting the Parents: A book that you would recommend to your friends and family.

 

 

 

THIS BOOK. It's amazing. It's really interesting, what with its scientifical détails and the fact that it's, after all, set on Mars, and it's so. incredibly. funny. It kept cracking me up, even when I would've been crying (or simply dead) if I were in Mark's place. I think it's a book everyone would love and I'm really happy they're making a movie of it, because even my friends who don't read will be able to know how incredible it is!

 

 

Thinking About the Future: A book or series that you know you'll re-read in the future.

 

 

Just yesterday, I had to force myself not to re-read this book, which was the first one I read in 2015. This book, as well as the other ones by Morgan Matson, are books that I will need to re-read someday, because I loved them to death. I you haven't read anything by her yet, stop everything and start any of her books, because I don't know a single person who regretted it.

 

 

Spread the Love: Who would you like to tag?

 

Simply anyone who wants to! It's a really fun tag and I want everyone to do it if they haven't yet. Let me know if you do!



A History of Glitter and Blood - Hannah Moskowitz

Goodreads summary

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies.

But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected.

This stunning, lyrical fantasy is a powerful exploration of what makes a family, what justifies a war, and what it means to truly love.


My review:

3/5

It's definitely a weird book, but I still liked it! It wasn't what I was expecting, but that isn't always bad.

I was confused when I started reading because of the narrator. There are parts like "this sucks, to change in the final draft" that took my interest off, because it was out of place and confusing. I realized later that this book is actually an attempt at a novel from a fictional character - I know, confusing - and that those are the fictional narrator's words. While I didn't get it at first, I came to love this part of the novel, because it makes the narrator unreliable and it had me questionning everything that happened when he wasn't there, since it could be complete bullsh*t.

I had trouble understanding the characters, because there is a lack of background for some of them. Also, since they're young, there's a lot of swearing, which I found weird sometimes. It felt out of place, especially when they were out of Beckan's mouth. I think the characters I liked the most were Rig and Tier, because of their relationship issues and how realistic they are, but, for them as well as for the other characters, I hated the fact that the narrator is unreliable, since it made me wonder which part of what's written is true and which one isn't. It was fun to wonder, but when you're trying to get to know characters and everything you read about them might be completely false, it's confusing and irritating.

One part of this book that I liked was understanding the relationships between fairies, tightropers and gnomes. I liked how interesting fairies are and how rare it is for them to be whole, as weird as it sounds, because I found that to be very peculiar. The way they start to accept each other in Ferrum is amazing and I liked how they used each other's abilities. I wish the ending was better for the population in general though, but I gess you can't always get what you want.

I found it really weird how everyone seems obsessed with the idea of love in this book. I know part of it is because of the unreliable narrator, but I felt like the l-word is pronounced a billion times in this book, in platonic or non-platonic ways, although it's almost never clear. I was always confused by who is in love with who because of that. Also, sex is a big part of this book, since Cricket, Beckan and Scrap are prostitutes, which is something I was really not expecting when I picked this book up. There's a lot of mentions about sex, although they're not really explicit.

The story itself is good, but it's a bit slow. I liked how the war changed aspects of their lives and how the main characters reacted to them, but sometimes Josha and Scrap seemed to react too much.
Beckan is strong and she leads her pack very well, which I liked to see. I was suprised by plot twists towards the end of the book, because I was absolutely not expecting them. The story's interesting and it kept me wanting to know what would happen, but I feel like a big part of it is about the past and not much actually happens. I liked the pictures and excerpts included in the pages, but some of them were unnecessary, in my opinion.

I enjoyed reading this book, my only problem with it is that I have a long list of "but" sentences to add to this.

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



Extraordinary Means - Robyn Schneider (Trailer)

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider : Trailer

Recently, I watched this trailer and I was amazed. As far as I know, book trailers are fairly new, so I'm always happy to Watch some, whether I've read the book or not. Most of them are fan made or of bad quality, but this one definitely impressed me. I had already heard about this novel, because some people on BookTube or Goodreads had mentionned it and I knew the author, but I had no idea what the book was about. Well, let me tell you this : I wasn't expecting a story like that, but the trailer looks amazing and covers the general idea of the story, at least for someone who hasn't read the book yet. I read The Beginning of Everything a few years ago, under the title was still Severed Heads, Broken Hearts. I really liked it, so I'm more than ready to read anything else by this author. I was already planning on reading this book when I first watched the trailer, but it's so intriguing that I want to read it as soon as possible now.

From what I've seen, it looks a whole different genre than The Beginning of Everything, but I'm not complaining, because the concept sounds really interesting and special. I'm not sure if the trailer represents the story well, but if it does, I think I'd love this book! I like how professional the trailer looks and how it could be a movie trailer, from the actors to the way it's filmed with the voice-overs. Well done!

I'm hoping to see more professional-looking book trailers in the future, because I think it's a great way to promote a novel and it helps the readers visualize the story. If you know some good book trailers, leave them below so I can check them out!

Also, if you read this novel, I want to hear your thoughts! I can't wait to read it now. Also, its cover is gorgeous. Everything about this book looks awesome!



Sugar - Deirdre Riordan Hall

Goodreads summary:

I’m the fat Puerto Rican–Polish girl who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her skin, or anywhere else for that matter. I’ve always been too much and yet not enough.

Sugar Legowski-Gracia wasn’t always fat, but fat is what she is now at age seventeen. Not as fat as her mama, who is so big she hasn’t gotten out of bed in months. Not as heavy as her brother, Skunk, who has more meanness in him than fat, which is saying something. But she’s large enough to be the object of ridicule wherever she is: at the grocery store, walking down the street, at school. Sugar’s life is dictated by taking care of Mama in their run-down home—cooking, shopping, and, well, eating. A lot of eating, which Sugar hates as much as she loves.

When Sugar meets Even (not Evan—his nearly illiterate father misspelled his name on the birth certificate), she has the new experience of someone seeing her and not her body. As their unlikely friendship builds, Sugar allows herself to think about the future for the first time, a future not weighed down by her body or her mother.

Soon Sugar will have to decide whether to become the girl that Even helps her see within herself or to sink into the darkness of the skin-deep role her family and her life have created for her.


My review:

4.5/5

I LOVED this book. I expected to read this in a couple of days, but once I started, I simply couldn't stop myself.

This book made me so, so , so sad. I hated how Sugar's family treats her, except for Fat Henry. They don't even give her time to breathe, they just shoot her without interruption. I was so angry that I wanted to cry and I had to stop reading for a couple of seconds once in a while to digest all of this. The worst part is probably the fact that Skunk and Sugar's mother don't even seem to realize how badly they treat a family member and they're completely guiltless. I would've punched them repeatedly. Also, the way Sugar sees herself made me really sad. I'm no stranger to confidence issues, even though I might not be fat, but her thoughts made me ache for her. The way her family members treat her doesn't help, which is another reason why I was so angry while reading this book.

All the anger and sadness I experienced made Even perfect to me when he arrived. I loved how he treated and how much better he made her feel. I was really happy when he realized how bad Sugar's life was and tried to make her realize it, too. He made a great difference in her life and I'm really thankful for him. He acted so sweet towards her that he made my heart melt and I would've cried at things he said or did sometimes. He's a great character and I loved how he and Sugar bonded.

I think this book is good at dealing with eating disorders because Sugar tried to change the way she eats, looks and lives for herself. She realized that always being breathless wasn't good for her and that there are other ways for her to feel better than to eat. I'm glad she didn't do it to please someone, because it would've been such a fragile change in her life.
I wish Sugar had realized that she isn't the only one with confidence issues. She always talks about people who aren't fat as confident and fat people as insecure, but weight isn't the only problem. It bugged me a little, because it's as if she's judging, too. I understood her point of view, though, I just wish she had realized people around her have insecurities, no matter how beautiful or confident they can seem.

There's an event that surprised me and that I wish didn't happen, especially since it seemed an odd moment for it to happen. However, things got better after and I liked how the story ended, so it wasn't too bad.

I highly recommend this book. It made me feel so much more emotions than any other book I read recently and I'm convinced I'm not the only one who experienced that.

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

 

BookTube-A-Thon 2015!

This year, I was able to take part in the amazing read-a-thon that is BookTube-A-Thon. I wanted to last year, but since I was new to this BookTube thing, I didn't really understand what it was and it was too late when I finally realized it's a read-a-thon. This year, I was prepared! I have to admit I only do it as a regular read-a-thon, with the reading challenges, but not the video ones, since I'm not a BookTuber.

This year's challenges:

1// Read a book with blue on the cover
2// Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name
3// Read someone else's favourite book
4// Read the last book you acquired
5// Finish a book without letting go of it
6// Read a book you really want to read
7// Read seven books
I changed my original reading list, but I still (kinda) managed to complete all the challenges. Here's what I did:

The second Sunday turned to Monday, the first day of the read-a-thon, I started reading The Death Cure, by James Dashner, to complete challenge number 1, which is to read a book with blue on the cover. It was quite easy for me, since I've owned the book for over a year and I really wanted to read it. I read half of it in about two hours before I went to bed, which was a great start. When I woke up, I started reading Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler, which is the last book I acquired. It was so good and short that I finished it on the same day! It made me tear up a lot, but I liked how it was more about grief than about love. I rated it 4/5.

On Tuesday, I was starting a new job, so I knew I wouldn't have much time to read that day. It's actually why I tried to read so much on Monday. I didn't bring any book to work, but I had my phone with me during lunch break, so I decided to start a book I had on my phone that was on my reading list for BookTube-A-Thon, Sugar, by Deirdre Riordan Hall. I cheated a bit, because I read this book to complete challenge number 2, even though Riordan is probably the author's middle name and this is the only first letter we share. I really wanted to read a book that I received to review during the read-a-thon and I couldn't find any book I own written by an author whose last name starts with a R, so I decided to let it count. I actually REALLY liked Sugar and I wanted to read it as fast as possible, because it made me feel so much anger and love at the same time (but not towards the same people). I finished The Death Cure when I got home. I liked it, but I didn't love it, which is why I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. However, I'm glad I finished the series! I can't wait for The Scorch Trials movie now, because it was actually my favorite book of the series.

On Wednesday, I was working again, so I had to read after work and during lunch break. I loved Sugar so much I finished it as soon as I could when I got back home. I highly recommend it, it was awesome! I made me feel sad when I was reading it though, but it was alright in the end. I ended up giving it 4.5/5, because there's one thing I didn't really like in the story. Afterwards, I started reading The Martian, by Andy Weir, and I loved every page I read that day. I realized it was quite long to read it, so I decided to read a bit of it every day while reading other books to complete the challenges. This is the book I chose to complete challenge number 6, because I had been wanting to read it for such a long time and I had just gotten it.

Surprisingly, I didn't read a single page on Thursday. I had a big shift at work and I came home wanting to Watch TV and sleep instead of reading, which is rare for me. I had a one-day reading slump, which wasn't exactly a good thing during this read-a-thon, since it made me late.

I continued reading on Friday, since I had a day off. I completed challenge number 5, which is to read a book without letting go of it. I was really excited by this challenge and wanted to read a relatively short book, but since I was late by this point, I realized a novella would be the way to go. I read Destroy Me by Tahereh outside in the sun (which got hidden by clouds towards the end of the book and made me shiver). I really liked it! I gave it 4.5/5, because there was a tiny missing spark for me. However, I really enjoyed it, especially the last scene. I started reading Choose Us by Caylie Marcoe to complete the seventh challenge, because I just wanted a simple seventh book to read.

In the early hours of Saturday, I finished Choose Us, which I unfortunately didn't enjoy as much as I expected. It saddened me a bit, because I thought it would be the kind of nice fluffy novel that'd make me swoon, but I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I was really busy on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be reading much. Before I went to a wedding, I started reading Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, because someone told me it was her new favorite book and I need to complete the third challenge. I read about 40% of it that day.

On Sunday morning, I read as much as I could of The Martian, because I really wanted to complete this year's challenges. I was working at 3 PM, but before that, I managed to get to page 209, which I was happy about. I read Finding Audrey during lunch break and I got to a couple of pages before the end, so I couldn't wait to get home and finish it. I did within minutes and I really liked it! I rated it 4/5. Then, I concentrated on The Martian, even though I realized I couldn't finish it before midnight. I stayed up until 2:30 AM, but I finished it, so I think I pretty much completed the challenges. I wish I had finished it before the read-a-thon officially ended, but I think a few hours delay is okay.

Overall, I (kinda) completed all the reading challenges! I'm really proud of it, even though I wish I didn't have such a busy week. I also watched many video challenges and updates from BookTubers and I have to say that ABookUtopia's videos were my favorite ones!

So that was my experience! Did any you participate?

Cocktails at Le Carmen - Isabelle Andover

3.5/5

Very good chick-lit!

I really enjoyed reading Cocktails at Le Carmen - in fact, I finished it in half the time I should've, considering I was - and still am - in the middle of finals week. It's light, funny, cute and easy to read, which was exactly what I needed. It's very similar to the Shopaholic series, obviously since it's about a woman who loves fashion and her dating experiences, but I also thought that the kind if characters and the plot were similar, too. I think it might be a bit of a negative point, because I didn't feel like I was reading a truly original work. However, it's not overly similar, so I was very well able to read without thinking of the similarities.

I liked the diversity in characters that this story has. We get to know Chloe's London friends, Paris friends, parents, sister, boyfriend, coworkers, etc. I feel like this adds a more realistic touch to the story, because a love story isn't usually just about two characters, it's about everyone around them, too. Also, it was clear to me that Chloe cared a lot about them, which made her a lovable character. I had a bit of an issue with some of the characters because I felt like I couldn't understand them well, since one minute I could think they would do something, yet they would do the opposite. It added to the surprise, but it bugged me a lot, because I saw them as unreliable.

I really enjoyed the plot, as well as the settings, because I thought it was interesting and realistic. Instead of living a glamorous life in Paris, Chloe experiments a lot of problems, just as anyone working in another country would. I liked the language contrasts, especially since I speak French myself, and I thought that the explorations that Chloe has in Paris were a great addition to the story, although they were a bit cliché. If you love books set in a foreign country, this is the one for you, because you'll get a lot of French and British culture while reading.

I wasn't exactly pleased with the ending, because I thought it ended quite abruptly and was a bit too "happily ever after". If only it had had more depth, I think it would've been great, but once more, I felt as if the author had only wanted to finally finish writing the novel. I think endings are very important to stories, which is why they should never be rushed.

Overall, I really liked this novel. As I mentionned it earlier, there are some things that I disliked about it, but my reading experience was a very nice one and I think that as far as chick-lot books go, this is a great one. I recommend it!

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

 

Interview with the author here: http://lauromantique.blogspot.ca/2015/08/interview-isabelle-andover.html .



Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

4/5

Are you looking for a super adorable romance that's going to get your expectations of love so high that it'll be impossible for you to have a relationship a tiny bit like that? If so, this is the book you should read. It's a quick, cute read and the love story is so perfect that it might be a little bit too much if you're not expecting a sickly cute book. It's not exactly a bad thing, but I do think that the ending was a bit too much like a "happily ever after" for a non-Disney story. I did love it, but I would have loved it a little bit more if it hadn't been that way. I still think Rainbow Rowell is incredible and that her characters are really interesting, so I want to read more from her!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8909152-attachments