And I apologize for that. I have been busy with school. I didn’t have time. But now I am going to try and actually do it this time.
I left because I had too much to do. I was running my blog by trying to lost every weekday and it worked out for a while but then I started to be unable to get ideas. The posts were exactly the same as other posts. I just was doing too much in this. So I’m back with less but better posts.
I have been working for the past month to get ready to do this blog again. I have been writing reviews for the books I read during my break. So you are gonna get those as my next couple of posts. But they aren’t great cause I’m still trying to get back in the game and I read them a couple of months ago so my reaction isn’t as great. But nonetheless I have finished them and they are coming.
I also now have started a book club with my friend Maggie. It’s just me and her but then I will have a deadline to actually be reading a book. I am excited to read with her. I think I’m gonna post at the beginning of the month what book we are going to read so you guys can read along. And then I will publish my review and maybe even a separate blog lost just for the book club discussion. I don’t know yet but I will figure it out.
I also want to do some tags and get more into this community so I want some people to follow and some tags to do so comment down below people and tags that I should follow and attempt.
Anyways, thank you to those who stayed. Hi new followers. And I apologize for my sudden disappearance. And welcome back to my blog. It is going to be bigger and better than ever.
Tell me down below how you all have been. I have been doing really well. I have one more year of school left. I just got a job. I don’t know anything else major in my life to update you guys about.
“My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster” –Goodreads
Review:
Well, let me just say that THIS BOOK WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. NICOLA YOON HAS KILLED ME AGAIN.
Okay, okay I am done freaking out…maybe.
But seriously this book started well proceeded well and ended well and when I say well I mean OUTSTANDING with capital O-U-T-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G (you know just in case you didn’t notice that the first outstanding was in all caps already I just had to spell it out for you again ugh). I mean how does she do it. I read The Sun Is Also A Star and that book was the book to end all books. Now, this is a book to end all books. I realize that I say this about a lot of books in my reviews but I tend to only read really good books because of other people’s review (don’t let me lie to you I am a shallow book lover and most of these books I have read based on the cover and people’s awesome IG pictures). Anyways, this books was great.
For a debut novel, I believe it was the best one anyone could have (other than but close to Harry P) and rightly so. I mean I saw this book everywhere, all over IG, all over Youtube, and it seemed like everyone was reading it. I bought the book back in January after I read Yoon’s second novel which left me as dumbfounded as this book did. I didn’t read it right then even though it was short and easy and fun. I had other priority’s and other books I needed to finish which I didn’t until this month but that is beside the point (#eternalshame). Then one marvelous day this month I was scrolling through Twitter when the trailer for this movie comes up. when I started watching it I didn’t know what movie it was but it seemed familiar and the at the end BAM the title popped up. I was so in love with the trailer it motivated me to read this book which if I just would have picked up the book I wouldn’t have needed the motivation from an outside source. So that is the story of why I decided to pick this book up today.
I opened this book up this morning after just coming off of another book which that blog post will come after this one because I thought I could make this a quick and easy blog post but of course I am ranting about this book but that is a good thing because I only have a lot to say about a book when I really like a book. Anyways you may be thinking what she only opened up the book today. No, that isn’t right, she procrastinates too much to read this in one day which is SOOO true but no I read this book in one day. If you are familiar with Yoon’s writing then you would see that a lot of her books are white space. She has lots f pages but a fifth of then are one lined or short little fragments of writing. This book even has drawings and pictures and diagrams and such. So it was a really quick and sweet read.
The plot of the novel is what makes this story the most amazing. A girl sick and can’t leave her house falls in love with a boy on the outside world. I mean it would be a pretty generic love story if she wasn’t sick but adding her disease into the story brings this whole new rebellious and dangerous vibe to the story. And then the ending of the story just left me in shock. I was dumbfounded by the events that occurred and couldn’t believe what happened. It was similar to the heartbroken but hopeful feelings I had at the end of The Sun Is Also A Star. Everything that occurs in this story makes you feel every type of emotion. I wanted to cry, laugh, dance, and love with these people in the story because of how amazing their story is.
Their story could have only been made amazing by Nicola Yoon. She has a really unique writing style that I find the most intriguing and why I can eat up her books in minutes. She keeps it clean and simple but still vividly detailed and always interesting. She also leave you begging for more at the end of her books which I think really gives her a greater appeal because when the books end all I know is that I want more but I know that her books are standalone books and there will never be more but that makes us desire more which I think give the greater appeal aforementioned. That may have made no sense but I am going to leave it there because this is my blog and I do what I want. Anyways, Yoon just engulfs you into the story and I don’t remember one moment today that I wasn’t begging for more.
Now to talk about what I hate talking about the most: the characters. I never really know what to say cause I always think characters are awesome even the bad ones because I don’t hate. I always end up just saying that the characters are amazing which in this book they were. I have four characters I am going to talk about because they to me are the main characters.
To start, we got Madeline a.k.a Maddy. Maddy is the girl that is sick and has lived her entire life in her house. The sickness is all she knows until Olly shows up. Olly flips her world upside down and makes a rebel of an angel child. Maddy is amazing. She is this strong girl but she is trapped in a cage. I feel sorry for her because she missed out on so much in her life because of this sickness. I thought her actions throughout the book are exactly what I would have done. I thought her to be a really good actual earthly character. Lots of characters are always doing things and making decisions I wouldn’t think I would do if I was stuck in the situation and I assume that I am a pretty normal girl that I am an average person like most of the authors portray their character to be. Anyways Maddy is a great character and I love her a lot.
Now to talk about the hunk of the bunch, Olly. Oh, Olly. I think I have a new fictional boyfriend. He was what every girl would dream of. he cared for Maddy, he wanted to be with Maddy, and he was so sweet with her. I wish I was Maddy. He treated her so right and genuinely cared about her sickness. His background was sad and I was fighting for him the whole time because I was afraid of what Yoon might do to him. Olly was just a perfect guy and you don’t meet many of those in books anymore.
The next two on the chopping block are Carla, Maddy’s nurse, and Maddy’s mom. I don’t have much to say about them because one Carla is only in the novel off and on for a short time and secondly because I don’t like her mom that much. Carla was probably what you hope a nurse to be, a best friend, especially when she has to watch her 8 hours a day every day. I feel like she was a real rock for Maddy when she is going through so many drastic changes and she is really there for her. Get yourself a best friend like Carla. Maddy’s mom to me was just kind of over bearing. I mean I get that all she wants to do is protect her daughter but sometimes I feel she could have been a little (or a lot) lenient on the rules and allowed some things and maybe her daughter wouldn’t have been so rebellious but hey I don’t have kids so I am not an expert on how to rule your teenager but I feel like I am an expert on being a teenager so… Also, I felt that she was just so crazy about her staying inside I don’t think she even thought about Maddy’s life and how what she was doing the wasnt living.
Love is the big motivation for this whole book. I mean love fuels all the action. Maddy, Olly, Mom, and even Carla are all motivated by love. But the love I am focusing on is the biggest one, Maddy and Olly’s. Okay, so most people on their reviews say they hate the instalove thing which is why I think this story is perfect for them. I don’t think it is instalove since they haven’t talked and then haven’t even met when they first see each other. It is only the fascination of a young girl who probably hasn’t seen many boys in real life before for a long time. I just wanted to say that before anyone knocks this before the try it due to their hatred of instalove which in my opinion is great and I love a little cheesiness now and then or all the time. Olly and Maddy have a love so rare it is amazing. Like you can chalk it up to hormones and such but I really do think they are in love because you can’t have such an epic journey together without love forming. At the beginning, they remind me of Romeo and Juliet ut don’t worry it doesn’t end the same. I am not going to talk about it anymore because you need to read it for yourself if you haven’t already.
Okay, I think that is it for today. I don’t have much else to say about this book except that it is AMAZINGLY AWESOME. I hope you all read this book or have read it. I really like this book and I highly recommend it to anyone. So this is the end of my post. I hope you enjoyed the post and I hope you have a swell day/evening/afternoon or whatever you may call the time your reading this. Thank you for reading!
Star Rating: 5
Have you read this book before? If so what was your favorite part (no spoilers)? Why haven’t you read it if you answered no? Will you read it now that I have written an amazing review on it? Please comment your answers below.
“In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home… forever.” –Goodreads
My review:
Well after four weeks I have finally finished this book and what can I say
IT WAS AMAZING!
I knew this book was gonna be good. I guess it didn’t fully come to par with my expectations due to its slow beginning but t came close.
I have been waiting to read this novel for a very long time. I was so excited to read it and I had it on my shelf waiting for so long. I mostly wanted to read this book because if the sequels cover (yes I am shallow) and its own cover. I also wanted to read it because everyone was raving about it. So I ordered this book so I was able to read Wayfarer the second installment when it came out. Obviously, that didn’t work out so well for me because obviously it’s February and I just finished.
This book took me FOREVER to read. I don’t know why it took me so long. I wasn’t even that busy these past four weeks. I think maybe it is a combination of school and the fact that I was reading two books at a time which I said a wouldn’t do but of course I did it anyways. I just never had the time or felt like reading I guess. I hope I can finish my TBR this month. I mean seriously this is the first book I finished in February and it’s almost over.
Okay, so let’s stop talking about how I fail at life and how amazing this book is. I don’t know where to begin so I am just gonna start with the plot. At first, I was really disinterested. I think it caught up with too much action way too early for my liking. I mean I didn’t hate it but I guess we didn’t really get a sense of Etta’s life before her sudden turn about. I would have liked a little more developments but all I got was about her relationship with her mom which I guess fuels a lot of her motivation during the story which was alright but I just wished for a little more of a slide into it rather than a shove off a cliff right into the action. Other than that I loved the story.
The concept of the story was good. I haven’t really read a time travel book before but this one was really good. I thought that some of it was confusing but I guess it doesn’t matter because the story was really good. I was held in suspense in many moments and not in others. I think Bracken could have made a little more sense with the fight scenes and even strung them out. Most of the parts I think she really could have taken sometimes one were choppy and one page or less (like the tiger I expected more(not a spoiler)). That is just my opinion, though. Otherwise, I thought the story was intriguing. With all the hype around it, it came close to expectations.
Now to Bracken. As I said above she could have elaborated more. Lots of things during fight scenes or chase scenes were repetitive. She shortened them a lot with no real suspense. It was like you started getting hyped up and then bam it was over. Lots of scenes were like that and could have been elaborated on more. It wasn’t just action scenes. Cute scenes could have been elaborated on more. Again it is just my opinion. Also, she went quickly through the end. I didn’t really like that. I wished for the last 40 pages to be 70 because it would have given room for some elaboration. I also thought she could have had a little more fun with the book instead of having this whole sense of urgency throughout the novel.
Etta was an okay character. She was kind of mediocre and basic. I thought at times she was to okay with what was going on around her. She didn’t act like she was shocked at all by the sudden change in her life. I don’t really think I liked her as much as other book characters. She just wasn’t written for the part. I do like how she is a strong figure and tries to do the right thing. I can’t get over the fact that she wasn’t freaking out because I know I would be if I ended up in a different time.
Nicolaus also was basic and kind of boring. The story wasn’t good because of the characters let me just say that. I mean they were good characters but they weren’t anything special. Nicolaus was just another guy who fell in love with the main girl. I didn’t really feel like he provided much other than to create a love story.
I know that those were pretty negative reviews of the characters but honestly, they weren’t unique, they weren’t exciting. I like books with exciting and unique characters. Usually, a story gets made by the characters.
I don’t have much else to say about this book. It wasn’t one of the best but it also wasn’t one of the worst. I am hoping the next installment will be a little better. I want to end this post here. I am sorry I haven’t really posted anything this month. I really have been buying and not gonna lie this is the only book I have read so far this month and I only have a week left. So now I am going to have to read right after reading this to attempt to meet my goal for this month. So I hope you enjoy this blog.
Star Rating: 4
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
I am finally doing my February TBR. I was super bus this weekend and I have no clue why I didn’t do it yesterday because I had a day off of school because of the foot of snow we received. I am now a week into February and have not finished a book or wrote this post but I guess better late than never. So let’s start.
This month I plan on reading 4 books. Last month i read five but two of the books I planned on reading I didn’t finish so I will read those two and hopefully finish them. Here is my TBR for February:
These two books I started last month and it has taken me forever to finish them and I am still not done with them I don’t know why I have read like a little every day. I guess I need to just sit down and read.
Great Expectations is for school and I don’t really know if I like it yet and it is super long so I don’t know if I will be able to finish it by the end of the month or what our reading schedule is so this is just an extra book just to incase.
So those are all the books I am reading. I am glad I have finally got this post done. I have been worried about finishing it. After I post this I am going to try and read Passenger to try and make a dent before school starts today. Hope you guys enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading!
I was not tagged by anyone but Beth from Reading Every Night did this tag and I thought it looked fun.
Rules:
Use the original banner.
Answer the questions!
Use lots of book covers.
Tag your friends.
What book are you currently reading?
The Fever Code by James Dashner and Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. technically I haven’t started Crown of Midnight yet but I am planning on starting tonight or tomorrow. The Fever Code I am enjoying. I kind of want to be finished with the MazeRunner series so I am kind of rushing through the story but I really like it so far.
What’s the last book you finished?
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. This story was fan-freakin-tastic. I loved it immensely. I am slowly writing my review for it but as soon as I get it up I will link it here. This was a fantastic read and I saw why so many people were freaking out about it. i cannot wait to read the others.
Favorite book you read this year?
How can I choose? Probably Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne or The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I Love love LOVED these books. I could rant for hours about these books but you should just go read my reviews of them. To read my review of The Sun is Also a Star click here. And for HP & the Cursed Child click here.
What genre have you read most this year?
I think Contemporary novels are what I have read mostly. These are a few of the contemporary (I think) books I read this year.
Honestly, I have no clue what I have read least but I guess I read one memoir type book so nonfiction and tried to read others but I didn’t like the others. The one non-fiction book I read was Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates. It was amazing and opened my eyes to a lot of things about sexism. I think everyone all genders should read this story. The things people wrote in the book and the statistics shown really open your eyes to so many problems.
What genre do you want to read more of?
I want to read more fantasy books. this year I have mostly read contemporary novels or classic novels in school and I have just finished Throne of Glass so I want to read those books and then more stories by Maas and other fantasy authors.
How many books have you read this year, and what’s your goal?
My goal of books was originally 50 but then I lowered it to 30 half way through the year because at that point I had only read like 5 books because of how busy I was with school. I am currently at 35 books this year.
What’s the last book you bought?
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. I ordered it like three days ago and as I said in my Book Buy of the Month of December, I love to spend money. I bought it because I want to read Wayfarer when it gets out and they both sound totally awesome. I am super excited for it to come in the mail.
What book are you saving up to buy next?
Can I say all of them? No, I’m just kidding but today in Target I saw Illuminae and Gemina by Anna Kaufman and Jay Kristoff and OH MY GOSH THEIR COVERS WERE AMAZING. I like instantly fell in love and i would have bought them but I am gonna check out Half Price Books for them any cheaper. They were so beautiful and the top of my TBR list.
How many books did you check out last library visit?
I only checked out one book and that was The Fever Code by James Dashner which is my current read from up above. I usually only check out one or two.
What’s a book you can’t wait to read?
I cannot wait to read the Illuminae or Gemina by Anna Kaufman and Jay Kristoff as I said two questions ago. I also cannot wait to read Passenger and Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken. I also can’t wait to start the Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas which I will start reading as soon as I am done with this post.
What’s a series you’d recommend to everyone?
A series I would recommend to everyone is the Harry Potter series. I mean duh. But other than HP I would recommend the Throne of Glass series to anyone. It is really great. I am having a great time reading them so far.
Who’s an author you’re hoping writes more?
I am hoping JK Rowling/Robert Galbraith write more because I absolutely love her. She has written my favorite series and she has written under Roberts name a fabulous mystery series, the Comoran Strike novels, which I am DYING for more. I also want JK Rowling to write more because I love how she writes and I would love for more Wizarding World stuff.
I don’t really have an answer to this one. I know Wayfarer is the last of the series for Passenger but I haven’t read Passenger so I don’t know if I will be upset over it’s ending. Also, the sixth Throne of Glass book is coming and that sucks cause I am really liking this series so far.
This list goes on for miles so I am not going to bore you with any more of that list.
My Tags:
My “tags” are anyone reading this that wants to do it. I really enjoyed this and I want anyone to do this and comment the link to your post answering these questions. Thanks for reading this.
I really think I like to keep my bank account as low as possible…
I have done it again. I bought a book this month which I swore I wouldn’t do because it’s Christmas and people can buy my books for me. I feel ashamed.
Anyways so the book I bought was Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. People have been gushing about this book. I bought it from Half Price Books Online. I wanted to get this book because I want to get caught up so I can get Wayfarer its sequel when it comes out in January. This is the cover of the book:
HOW GREAT DOES THAT LOOK! Ugh, I am very influenced by appealing book covers.
Also, read this synopsis:
“In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home… forever.” -Goodreads
That just sounds epic right? I am excited to read this book.
“Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.” –Goodreads
“Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.” –Goodread
“After cheating death, Veronica Welling is determined to savor every moment in her idyllic kingdom with both her true love and best friend by her side at last. At the same time, Mackenna Reid is enthusiastically building her new life and a theater with her prince. But just as their dreams of happiness are within reach, the world Vee and Kenna have chosen is ripped away, leaving them to face their most horrific challenge yet—their old lives.
Thrust out of Doon, the best friends are confronted with tormentors from their past and no way to return to their adopted land. When the MacCrae brothers rush to their rescue, the girls’ situation turns from nightmare to modern-day fairy tale. But their happiness could be short lived: unbeknownst to them, someone in their closest circle is aiding the witch of Doon in her bid to destroy the kingdom once and for all.” –Goodreads
“In this sequel to Doon, Kenna Reid realizes she made a horrible mistake choosing to follow her dreams of Broadway instead of staying in the enchanted land of Doon. Worse, she’s received proof she and Duncan are meant to be, along with torturous visions of the prince she left behind. So when Duncan shows up and informs Kenna that Doon needs her, she doesn’t need to think twice. But even if Kenna can save the enchanted kingdom, her happily ever after may still be in peril.” –Goodreads.
Author: Nicola Yoon
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Author: John Knowles
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Author: Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon
& Lorie Langdon