Top Book Couples

 

Happy Valentines Day! Whether you have a significant other or not I hope you feel loved and valued today!

Since it’s the holiday of love, I thought I would list just a few of my favorite couples from book! Let me know if you agree with my list and who your favorite book couple is!

-Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan

My first couple I rooted for and I will always love them. Their relationship is sweet, cute, and just perfect. Forever a favorite.

-Tess Gray and Will Herondale from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I wish I could reread this series for the first time all over again just to experience these characters again. Will Herondale is my dream man and their relationship is the best combination of angst and love.

-America Singer and Maxson Clark from The Selection series by Kiera Cass

I am apologetically in love with this series. I relate a lot to America and love how her relationship with Maxon developed throughout the series and into The Heir and The Crown. It started out as a cute pair but grew into a mature and wonderful marriage.

-Khalid and Shahrzad from The Wrath and the Dawn duo by Renee Ahdieh

Wow what an underrated book. This couple is one of the most dedicated and supportive pairs in YA. They love each other endlessly while still seeing each other as their equal and their journey through the two books builds up so naturally.

-Cath and Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cute and funny as well. Rainbow Rowell’s writing makes you live in the book and this was no exception. I loved and laughed along with the characters

-Anna and Etienne St. Clair from Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins

Also an underrated couple and book but though some thought the book was too cheesy, I thought it was fantastic. St. Clair is actually the perfect man and I reread their cute moments all the time.

And of course the best couple of all time…

Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!!!

A surprise to no one haha. The definition of a perfect couple. I have read this book countless times and it is my favorite book with my favorite couple. Words can’t accurately describe how much I love these two. It makes every single girl in the world beg for a Darcy.

What did you think? Do you agree with or disagree with my list? Who would be on yours? Let me know!

 

My Lady Jane Book Review

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Rating: ★★★★☆

Published: June 7th, 2016

Pages: 491

Genre: Young Adult (loose) historical fiction

Synopsis:

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

Review:

This book was definitely an adventure and a lovely one at that. When I first opened this book, I was more than a little skeptical. I was told by a friend that it wasn’t really historical and kind of ridiculous.

And to be fair, that’s true. It is historical and contains characters from history but varies a lot. It also is ridiculous with the main plot being most of the characters periodically turning into animals.

But even with that- I loved it. I’m giving it four stars only because I had trouble getting into it at first. But even with that, this book captured my heart.

Let’s start with the characters. All the characters were over the top but still so endearing. Edward was wonderfully adorable and dorkish, Gifford was amazingly dopey and loveable, and Jane was perfectly hilarious and sweet. By the end, I felt like I was friends with all of them. Even when what they did seemed strange, it always fit the character.

The plot was a bit strange and I think the main reason is how much they cover and the timespan. From Edward being King to the takeover- a lot happened and it made the pacing a little weird.

But my favorite part was the narration as many other people who have reviewed this has pointed it. All three narrators were unique but each just as lovable as the last. Each had their own redeeming qualities and I liked how even though Jane and Gifford’s POVs were of the same scenes, they were still different from each other with their own thoughts on everything.

But the best part of the narration and the whole book was how the authors approached the narrations. Like I said before, the book’s premise is ridiculous and the three authors know it. They made it feel like I was in on an inside joke with all of them and we were laughing together.

Overall, though very long, this book made me laugh out loud more than once, turning the page anxiously waiting to see what trouble the gang would get themselves into next, and sad to let these wonderful and alive characters go.

What did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know!

Favorite Quotes:

“She took a deep breath. ‘They need signs of my strength, not my reliance on the men around me'”

“Armies aren’t very good about carrying libraries with them. I can’t imagine why. We’d fight so much less if everyone would just sit down and read”

“Because he was English and that’s what the English do under stress: they drink tea.”

“‘The fool thinks he is wise,'” G retorted. ‘But the wise man knows himself to be a fool.'”

“Yes, Gracie was a fox. No, really. She was. Literally. (We know. It’s too good.)”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion: The Notebook Dilemma

 

I hope you all a wonderful holiday season. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year- I always get swept up in the magic of it.

Another reason I love it is family! I have a large family and on Christmas, we all get together and spend all day together. Two of my relatives who sadly couldn’t make it were my godparents who live several states away. I haven’t seen them in a few years but they always make sure to send a gift for me.

Every year it has always been a gift and a special ornament. This year they gave me a beautiful snoopy ornament and a large notebook with self-positive quotes all over the front. As with all of their gifts, it was perfect and needed. But as I put the large notebook away, I realized something. I have way too many unused notebooks. I have standard ones I never used for school, old diaries that I never got around to, and now the huge one my godparents got me.

So I would like to do something with the notebooks but have no idea what to do. I thought about a bullet journal but I have such messy handwriting that it would just look bad. Such other ideas were creating a goal book of stuff I want to accomplish every day or every week, a book of stuff I did like steps I took and cups of water I drank, or grateful list of everything in a day that makes me smile.

What do you guys think? Have you done cool ideas with notebooks? Do you like any of my ideas or want to adjust my ideas? What other ideas do you have for my huge amount of notebooks? Please let me know!

 

 

One Of Us is Lying Non Spoiler Review

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Rating: ★★★★★

Published: May 30th, 2017

Pages: 361

Genre: Young Adult Mystery

Snopsis:

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.
Pay close attention and you might solve this.
On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.
Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.
Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.
Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing.
Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher.
And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.”

Review:

I adored this book. It is probably my favorite of the year. One thing that I am obsessed with, especially recently, is the true crime genre. I listen to podcasts, watch videos, and read books about whodunits stories and this book fits perfectly with that.

This book centers around the death of Simon, who writes a gossip blog about his school, and the four classmates who were with him when it happened. The situation itself is outrageous but McMagnus writes it knowing that but still makes it sound like it’s a true story I would read about in the weekend paper.

The book is basically a murderous Breakfast Club, which weirdly works out. It takes the basic plot of The Breakfast Club, five strangers of different backgrounds who are plopped together after getting detention. Only in this book, there’s an added element of a murder.

First addressing the case itself: I loved it. The part I was most worried about was the killer was going to be obvious from the start and, at least to me, I didn’t know what happened until close to the end. It was handled with the right amount of suspense that made me finish the book in less than two days. There’s no end to the list of suspects or possibilities and you will think of and then thrown out everyone until McManus FINALLY reveals the culprit.

But the part that makes this book one of my favorites of the year is the characters. It takes what everyone loves from the breakfast club, a group of kids from different social groups bonding, and expands on it. Each of the four suspects has their own voice that is clearly shown in their chapter. Another great part of the characters and they each have their own side story in addition to being murder suspect but the side story never feels weird or out of place, it weaves itself flawlessly into the bigger story.

This book had me gasping and freaking out over every twist and turn and wondering constantly whodunnit but mostly it had me sad when I closed it, upset to be taken out of this world.

What did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know!

Favorite Quotes:

“I guess we’re almost friends now, or as friendly as you can get when you’re not one hundred percent sure the other person isn’t framing you for murder.”

“Things’ll get worse before they get better,”

“No matter how awful the rest of my life is, my hair still manages to look good.”

“You’re not going to wither up and die from this, Addy,” Ashton lectures me as she shoves me toward the shower. “He doesn’t get to erase you from the world.”

The Princess Bride Book Tag

Since I haven’t been here in awhile, I thought no better way to come back here than with The Princess Book Tag. If you know anything about me, you know that Princess Bride is my obsession so I knew I had to do this when I saw the tag.

Westley: Favorite Hero

The first hero that came to mind is, of course, Percy Jackson. I’ve been reading these books since I was in the fifth grade and I’m in college now. I haven’t read any books by the author in awhile since I feel like I’m growing out of his works but that doesn’t mean Percy Jackson has any less of a soft spot in my heart. He is and will always be my favorite hero.

Princess Buttercup: Favorite Rags to Riches Story

The story of America Singer is a classic Rags to Riches story and that’s one reason why I love this series so much. (Even though only the first three books fit this criterion and the last two obviously don’t). Despite all the complaints about the main character in this series, I love her and will defend her forever.

Dread Pirate Roberts: Favorite Book With Pirates, or One You Want to Read

This counts right? I realized that I don’t read an abundance of books with pirates but there are pirates in this (even though I don’t know if we actually see them besides in flashbacks)

Prince Humperdink: Villain You Love to Hate, or One You Just Think is Funny

So this isn’t a funny villain, she’s pretty awful, but she’s such an interesting and unique villain. Even though she’s based off a classic one. I was so glad we got a whole book about Levana and got to see how she thinks and how it made her who she is in the Lunar Chronicles.

Rous: Best Fantastical Monster

It’s a little hard to think of these sweet fun loving girls as monsters but that’s what they are. My favorite thing about this book is how it takes our idea of monsters and turns them into something we love and feel bad for.

As You Wish: A Book With a Sweet Romance

This book is sickly sweet and I always read it, or at least the cute romance parts, when I’m having a rough day or week. Anna has my perfect life and I’m bitter.

Fezzick, Vezzini, and Montoya: Favorite Book Crime Group

I absolutely adore Feyre and the Night Court gang. They all of their own role and personality and they fit so well together which makes for a wonderful and funny series.

Inigo Montoya: Best Revenge Story

Though this may not be a revenge book in itself, Nastya’s story is a revenge story that is beautiful and heartwrenching.

 

Life Update + an apology

Hey guys! Oh my goodness has it been awhile. I haven’t been on here since August I think and I feel so bad for that so I am so so sorry.

But I’m home for the holidays and I am so hoping to get this blog back and running and become more dedicated to it.

So since I’m here I thought I would give a mini life update.

So if you didn’t know I’m a freshman in college at the University of Cincinnati double majoring in Communications and Journalism and getting a certificate in Public Relations and Creative Writing. Yeah, that’s a mouthful, sorry. I want to go into a career in public relations. I did well this semester, I got a 4.0 which I was super excited about and I LOVE my major and what I’m studying.

I got accepted into a sorority, Phi Mu. I know there’s a stereotype around sorority girls and all that but that all of that hasn’t been the case for me at all. I am so in love with it and the girls in it. The picture in this post is from our formal we had.

I’ve been trying to read regularly but it was extremely difficult as  I adjusted to college but I hope to fix and work on that. I took a creative writing class last semester so that helped me get back into writing and work on some of my pieces.

So that’s a little about me and where I’ve been these past few months! If all goes well I’ll be posting regularly and get some new posts up for you!

Popular Books I Didn’t Enjoy

One of the worst things that can happen to a bookworm is finally getting your hands on that book you’ve been hearing SO much about and finishing it…only to hate it. It’s especially difficult when you were excited to share in the joy that everyone got from the book. Here are some of the books and series that I just didn’t fall in love with.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

I tried with this series, I really did. Sadly, I only got halfway through the 2nd book until I just couldn’t bring myself to finish. I wanted to love it as much as everyone else, but the characters were lackluster and the plot was difficult to follow at times.

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is a bit of a different case than some of the other books on this list. I was a big fan of the first two books, but the series lost favor in my eyes after this one, even though many felt the opposite. I thought this book did the series an injustice. It felt rushed, unfocused, and I was extremely disappointed in how the love story was resolved. Overall, I thought this beautiful series deserved a stronger ending.

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner

I actually did enjoy the first book of this series, though not nearly as much as other people did. As the series continued, I lost more and more interest and I could probably only tell you a handful of details about anything that happens in the final book. I can’t even think of the main characters’ names off the top of my head.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

The Legend series by the same author is one of my all time favorite books and it holds a spot in my heart. But I didn’t read past the first book in this series. I saw many good reviews of this book but bloggers I trust, but I couldn’t find any element that drew me in enough to continue on.

The Delirum Series by Lauren Oliver

I don’t know if I would call this series popular, as much as well known. I’ve seen this series on blogs and videos so so so many times, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who really loved this series. This series just frustrated me so much. From the cover to the story line to the romance(s) to the finale. This series just left a bad taste in my mouth.

These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

I gave this star a 4 on Goodreads, so I must have liked it more in the moment. But I do remember being disappointed in the ending and didn’t have the heart to continue the series.

 

Did you also not like these popular books? Do you secretly hate one of the Book community’s moved loved books? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

 

 

Let’s Talk: Bringing Books to College

So as some of you may know, I am heading off to the University of Cincinnati this fall as a freshman to major in Communication and Journalism.

I leave in less than two weeks so of course I’m frantically buying dorm decorations, school supplies, and basically downloading every college checklist to make sure I have everything. But there is something I have no idea what to do about: What books to bring to college.

I have probably hundreds of books and they’re all in my room so I can access them whenever I want to. Of course, this is going to be difficult when I’m not home. SO my question is, what books should I bring if any?

Should I bring a few anticipated TBRs and hope they last until I come home? Or bring some favorites of mine? At home, I often reread some of my fave books or at least just read through my favorite parts. Or maybe bring a few of each? Or should I just not bring any at all? I know some people might suggest a kindle, and I do have kindle books, but I don’t have an actual Kindle. They are all on my phone and there’s just a few of them.

I’m really struggling with this. Does anyone have any suggestions or have been through this. Let me know!

Underrated: Sea of Tranquility by Katya Millay

Underrated in a series where every Tuesday I post a non-spoiler review of an overlooked book. Agree with my pick? Have a book that’s flown under the radar for too long? Let me know!

Sea of Tranquility by Katya Millay

Page Count: 426

Goodreads rating: 4.34

Published: November 13th, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romantic Fiction

Over the years I have heard people complain about how romantic YA contemporaries all follow the same plot. This book is a great example of a book that breaks the mold. Millay takes the standard misunderstood girl meets and falls in love with a tragic boy story and turns it down a dark path. I read this book for school and am so excited that it did. One of my favorite books now, this book takes dark twists and turns that keep you on your toes the whole time you’re reading it.

The tragic boy, Josh, has lost both his parents, younger sister, and his grandparents causing him to live alone and be an emancipated minor at 17. Nastya moves in with her aunt after an event in her past forces her to reinvent herself. Starting a new school is hard enough but Nastya has another problem: she refuses to speak. Josh tries to avoid anything that makes his life more complicated. And a girl with a secret past who refuses to talk is complicated. But when Nastya starts hanging out at Josh’s house, he realizes that he can’t ignore her anymore. As he gets to know her, she seems to have even more secrets than he ever expected. A book full of both heart throbbing romance and heart-shattering secrets, this is a must read.

If you want a romance that won’t make you sick with cliches, pick this up. Both characters are frustrating real. Learning Nastya’ secrets along with Josh was fascinating as I was on the edge of my seat the whole time/ Josh is both loving and strict with Nastya and acted as you would expect any teenager in his situation would react. I would read a sequel to this the minute it came out even though it ends perfectly. A great book that looks into if happy ending really do happen, read this book right away if you’re looking for a change but the cookie cutter books you’re tired of.

Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith Review

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Rating: ★★★★☆

Published: April 15th, 2014

Pages: 337

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Synopsis: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and—finally—a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel shows that the center of the world isn’t necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

Review: I came into this book with a little bit of cynicism. I love contemporary fiction, I do, but often those books turn out to be cliched and annoying. I assumed that this book would be no different.

And in a way, it wasn’t. Though I wouldn’t classify it as insta-love, the romance starts very quickly. The story of the gloomy new boy with a tragic past who meets a shy goody two shoe girl who then fall in love is a plot beaten to death. But what is different is the way Smith deals with this plot. The two main characters, Owen and Lucy, are self-aware. They know that their situation is one most people would roll their eyes at. They’re funny and two dimensional in a way these types of characters usually aren’t. Most importantly, they’re realistic. Yeah, the plot is a bit far fetched with the two main characters having such an attraction at first meeting that it propels a year long fascination with one another. And there are many cheesy quotes like

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Everywhere. What about you?”

“Somewhere.”

and

They were like a couple of asteroids that had collided, she and Owen, briefly sparking before ricocheting off again, a little chipped, maybe even a little scarred, but with miles and miles still to go.

I didn’t want to like this book, but I did. Smith’s writing is alluring, especially as the two points of views start to mirror each other’s. As the story continued to the end, I was engaged and rooting for this couple, which is exactly how you want to be while reading a book.

But what I loved most about this book is how the romantic relationship wasn’t the only focus on the book. It was also on the relationships Lucy and Owen had with their parents and I appreciated how two dimensional it was. Owen was protective of his father after losing their mother without being suddenly transformed into an adult. And Lucy’s relationship with her parents was so complex and her parents weren’t labeled simply as “absent”. There were there in the way they could be and Lucy had to come to terms with that.

Overall, this simple story was enduring and beautiful: The perfect summer read. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.

Favorite Quotes:

“But there’s no such thing as a completely fresh start. Everything new arrives on the heels of something old, and every beginning comes at the cost of an ending.”

“The most basic sort of love: to be worried about the one who was worrying about you.”

“When there was nothing but space between you, everything felt like a leap.”

“Not everything can last. Not everything is supposed to mean something.”

“‘It is what it is…’ he murmured, letting the words trail off at the end.
‘I hate that expression,’ Lucy said, a bit more forcefully than intended. ‘Nothing is what it is. Things are always changing. They can always get better.’”