Monday, December 19, 2016

Bout of Books 18 - I'm participating!

Bout of Books 18 I'm not sure how much reading I'll be able to get in that week since that's the first week that I'm starting my new job, but I have been wanting to participate in a read-a-thon for a while now and I've done this one in the past and loved it, so figured I'd give it a go again. Here's the official blurb from the Bout of Books Blog - be sure to check it out so you can sign up as well!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team


I'll be keeping track of my progress >>here<<, so feel free to stop by and leave me some encouragement!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Wrap Up/Haul: November 2016

Physical Books Read:
Peter Pan by J.M. BarrieThe Trouble With WomenHighly Illogical BehaviorPaper Girls, Vol. 1

Audio Books Read:

None


EBooks Read:

None


November Book Haul:



Purchased/For Review:




November OwlCrate (Alice in Wonderland Theme):



Reviews Written:
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

ARC Review: Highly Illogical Behavior

Highly Illogical BehaviorTITLE: Highly Illogical Behavior
AUTHOR: John Corey Whaley
PUBLISHER: Dial Books
PUBLICATION DATE: 5/10/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 256
SOURCE: Amazon Vine/Publisher
MY RATING: 🦄🦄🦄🦄

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Sixteen-year-old Solomon hasn't left the house in three years. Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to go to the second-best psychiatry program for college (she's realistic).

Lisa figures if she can treat Sol's condition and publish her findings he could be her ticket to a scholarship. So Lisa ingratiates herself with Sol and his parents, introduces him to her boyfriend, Clark, and tells him her secrets. Soon, Solomon begins to expand his universe with the help of his new friends. But when their facades come crashing down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I had my eye on this book ever since I first heard about it. Before this book I had never read anything by John Corey Whaley before, but I was anticipating good things because I've heard rave reviews about his work. I was not disappointed. I was hooked from page one of this book. The way the story line came to be was a little weird for me, but the way that it was written and they way the characters interacted with each other made this such an enjoyable read.

CHARACTERS: All of the characters in this book are great, but my favorite has to be Solomon's grandmother. She was hilarious and so much fun and I loved the relationship that Solomon had with her.

I also like Solomon. Even though his condition is something that I don't hear about often, I felt like he was such a real character and a real person.

COVER: The cover is great and I love it even more now after having read the story and seeing how it ties in.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine/The Publisher for my honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.**

Monday, October 31, 2016

Wrap Up/Haul: October 2016

Physical Books Read:
FurthermoreAnd the Trees Crept InGirl on a PlaneGoing GeekThe Stonekeeper (Amulet, #1)The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet, #2)The Memory of ThingsThe Cloud Searchers (Amulet, #3)

Audio Books Read:
The Girl in the Red CoatWhere Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame

Ebooks Read:

October Book Haul:


Owlcrate:


ARCs from work:


I couldn't resist picking up this magazine:


I won this coloring book in a giveaway:


Some of the books I picked up at the library in October:


Reviews Written:

Monday, October 3, 2016

Review: Furthermore

FurthermoreTITLE: Furthermore
AUTHOR: Tahereh Mafi
PUBLISHER: Dutton Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 8/30/2016
FORMAT: Hardcover
PAGES: 416
SOURCE: Library
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Adventure. This book is just filled to the brim with adventure, color and magic. It was such a joy to read this book. Tahereh is amazing at creating these magical worlds. While I was reading, I could picture all of these colors and textures everywhere. She came up with so many imaginative pieces of the story and she was able to describe everything in a way where I had no problems whatsoever recreating the visions in my mind.

CHARACTERS: I loved Oliver and Alice's relationship. Are they friends, are they not friends, do they get along, do they not get along? It felt like a real relationship that would actually happen between two kids their age.

COVER: The cover is stunning. It's so bright and colorful and has so many tie ins to the story.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Review: Replica (ARC)

Replica (Replica, #1)TITLE: Replica
AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/4/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 544
SOURCE: Publisher/Amazon Vine
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.

Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing, they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever...

OVERALL IMPRESSION: As I'm sure most of you know by now, this book is a unique reading experience. The story is told from two different perspective, Gemma and Lyra. You can start on one side and read all of Lyra's story, then flip the book over and read all of Gemma's story, or you can flip back and forth reading one chapter of each girls' story alternating. I chose to alternate chapters. For me, this was pretty annoying. I wish the story had just been written in alternating chapters as it was frustrating to have to keep flipping the book over and try not to lose my bookmark and then when I set the book down, I had to remember which side of the story I was on. But that might just be me nitpicking.

The book itself was great. The further I got into it, the more desperate I was to keep reading to find out what was going on and what was going to happen next. The mystery involving this story was interesting to me. There were some things that were a little predictable, but it was still exciting and shocking all the same. I think the next book in the series will clear up some questions I have and give more insight into Haven and Gemma's parents.

CHARACTERS: I really enjoyed the group of characters that we follow in this book. I enjoyed learning about all of them and finding out who they were.

COVER: This book essentially has two covers. Both of them are nice. I like that they are the same but different.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Wrap Up: September 2016

Physical Books Read:
The Light Between OceansGirl in PiecesGeorgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin BrownSomeone I Wanted to BeThe Possibility of Somewhere

Audio Books Read:
Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1)

September Book Haul:








September OwlCrate:


Also, I went to DragonCon this month and got to see Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone from NSYSNC:





Thursday, September 1, 2016

Wrap Up: August 2016

Physical Books Read:
Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2)Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildMy GirlThe Assassin GameReplica (Replica, #1)Three Truths and a LieP.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Audio Books Read:
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

E-books Read:

August Book Haul:

I received my copy of the newest Harry Potter book on August 1st!


I forgot to take a picture of my August Owlcrate before I put everything away, but this was the book that included:
P.S. I Like You


A Half Price Books opened close to me so I had to go check it out and this is what I picked up:


Reviews Written:
Famous In Love by Rebecca Serle
Gemina by Amie Kauffman & Jay Kristoff
My Girl by Patricia Hermes

Friday, August 12, 2016

Review: My Girl

My Girl by Patricia HermesTITLE: My Girl
AUTHOR: Patricia Hermes
PUBLISHER: Pocket Books
PUBLICATION DATE: 1991
FORMAT: Mass Market Paperback
PAGES: 192
SOURCE: Bought
MY RATING: 

SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): When your Dad's an undertaker, you Mom's in heaven, and your Grandma's got a screw loose...it's good to have a friend who understands you. Even if he is a boy.

Thomas J. is Vada's best friend. They live near enough to each other to bike ride over and play, or even just hang out. The two are always together, sharing their afternoons, their adventures in the lake, and all of their secrets. Then something terrible happens to Thomas J. and Vada has to learn to fill her days without her best friend around.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I have only seen bits and pieces of the movie, never actually watching it all the way through, but I knew a little bit about the story line and when I found the book at a thrift store, I decided to pick it up and give it a try. It's a really short book so it didn't take long to read at all. I enjoyed reading it. It was a quick read to cleanse my palate after reading some longer books. The story was fun but also sad and emotional.

CHARACTERS: The characters in this book seemed very real to me. I could picture these kids running around together. The things they did seems very likely things that kids do. I wasn't a fan of Vada's father though. I understand that he was probably fed up with her hypochondria, but she was obviously fighting for his attention because her mother was gone. I just feel that he could have taken more time with her to explain things and just spend time with her.

COVER: The cover is fine. It's taken from the movie, which the book was actually written after the movie instead of the other way around.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Early Review: Gemina

GeminaTITLE: Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2)
AUTHORS: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/18/2016
FORMAT: ARC
PAGES: 608
SOURCE: Amazon Vine/Publisher
MY RATING:


SUMMARY (FROM GOODREADS): Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna's social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain's pampered daughter; Nike the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren't just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia--and possibly the known universe--is in their hands.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I wasn't a huge fan of the first book in this series, but I liked the format and the way that the story was told so I wanted to give the sequel a try. I'm glad that I decided to go ahead and read this one, but I ended up really enjoying it quite a bit more than I expected to. I felt like there was more action and it was more intense.

CHARACTERS: I enjoyed the characters in this book more than the characters in the first book. I really liked Hanna. She was such a cool character. She's smart, tough and can take care of herself, which she proves over and over.

COVER: The cover is really nice. I like the shades of blue.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine/The publisher for my honest review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.**