What I've been reading

So I totally missed the big book linkup that happened on Tuesday because honestly my life is just getting away from me. As they say the days are long but the years are short and every day with a baby in the house makes remembering that I have things outside of mom and wife stuff hard to remember. Still I wanted to share what I've been reading lately because I have read some AWESOME stuff lately! 


First and Foremost-----

The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews. OMG you guys. I had vaguely heard about this from other bloggers, had seen people post that they were reading it on GoodReads, and even one of my favorite podcasts mentioned it and it was only just a few weeks ago that I finally gave in and said "Fine. I'll give it a shot." I tend to avoid series lately because I just don't have the emotional capacity to invest in characters at the moment. Also some series just never end and others end without proper endings and I just didn't know what to expect. WELL. I am 3 books in and very impatiently waiting on the 4th to come in at the library and already have the rest of the books available on hold so I don't have to play this waiting game anymore. 

These books straight up rock. I love Kate and think she is hilarious and bold and my kind of bad ass female lead. I love that the love story bits are second hand and are taking their time to build instead of just jumping in and being like "HERE! LOVE STORY! ENJOY MINDLESS SEX SCENES!" Oh no we get some anticipation and build up and I am here for it. The world building is done so well without being tedious each book going back and explaining things over and over. Honestly I am hooked and am dying to get my hands on the 4th so I can continue. 10/10 would recommend to anyone that loves modern fantasy and magic settings. 

Endling the Last by K.A. Applegate- This is the first in what will be a series or I think trilogy maybe? Anyhow I picked it up because I liked the cover and also I have enjoyed K.A. Applegate since back when she wrote the Animorph series. This book is another high fantasy but for a bit younger crowd who maybe can't get into Lord of the Rings yet. I loved the characters and yay for more strong female leads! Basically it follows Byx who is afraid that she will be the Endling...the very last of her kind left in the world and goes on the quest with her as she meets new friends and enemies. Highly recommend if you like fantasy and are partial to younger fiction books. This isn't really YA as it reads a little younger in my opinion but the story is a great one and I'm excited for the next book. 

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren- Okay so this is a linkup book. I've seen several bloggers post this one and thought it sounded fun and easy which I was ready for after some heavy fantasy reading. This book was brilliant. I laughed so hard I cried. I adore Hazel and her "too muchness". I loved reading from Josh's POV as well and actually really enjoyed him as he wasn't what I consider the "typical" male lead. I mean sure this book is silly and predictable and ties things up in a nice little bow but honestly....couldn't we all use a little happy right now? Lighthearted and fun I would recommend to any hopeless romantics out there. 

And my Not So Awesome Pile- 


Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch- Oh I wanted to love this. I loved Love and Gelato and was so excited to see this book from the same author. I was even excited to see some characters that I knew. However this book just fell flat for me. I didn't like the characters. I felt like the "mystery" was being drug out and ultimately wasn't that big of a deal. I found myself putting this book down a lot and actually dreading picking up again because I felt the need to finish. It was a swing and a miss for me. Such a bummer. 

So that's what I've been reading lately. If you are looking for more books to check out be sure to click back to the epic linkup that I missed! 

What have you been reading lately? 

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Show Us Your Books: First of 2018!

I'm finally back for the best linkup of the month! Let's see those books!


Clothes Make the Girl (Look Fat) by Brittany Gibbons- I really love Brittany's voice. I listen to her weekly podcast and am part of the Curvy Girl Community. I loved her first book Fat Girl Walking so I knew I would be purchasing this one once it came out. I devoured this book. I finished it in less than 24 hours but to be fair it isn't that long. However I relate to her so much in this book. Shopping has always been rough for me. I'm never the same size in any store and when I'm in the plus section I'm usually reduced to tears in the dressing room because everything is designed for the elderly or it's some form of animal print. As if since I'm plus size I'm suddenly all to eager to look like a leopard or a zebra. I could totally relate to all the experiences that Brittany discusses in this book and I love her letter to her daughter about learning to love who you are just as you are. If you too have struggled with clothing and fashion I'd imagine you'd be right on board with this book too!

So Much I want to Tell You by Anna Akana- I've watched Anna on YouTube for a few years now and I've always found her to be super funny and very honest but this book was just something all together more. This book is a set of letters that she has written to her sister who committed suicide as a teenager. It's powerful in some places, sob worthy in others. I really loved how she faces the whole thing head on and admits her faults and embraces her strengths when it comes to life and how she handled her grief. Great read but maybe bring tissues.

The Troop by Nick Cutter- Yuck. Seriously that is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. I picked it up because I was in the mood for something scary and this was at the top of many lists. I didn't find it really scary though, mostly I was just grossed out and horrified. I can see how some people might find this scary but I spent so much of it horrified and grossed out that I wasn't scared at all just vaguely ill. This book can best be described as slightly Lord of the Flies meets Slither? Or some other disgusting gore flick. Can't say I would recommend this one but if you are into gross and creepy well...maybe it's for you.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman- Some may know Shusterman from the Unwind series which I didn't really get into but this series is another story! I loved this new dystopian world because it was very different from the other dystopian novels that I've read. Without giving too much away, Death has been cured. No one dies anymore. Not from disease or accident or anything they are immediately revived and go about their lives. But death is still necessary and so it is the Scythe's job to select random persons to die a permanent death. By any means. This book is so intense and the characters are just amazing. I could go on and on but honestly I don't want to give anything away and ruin it for you! This one is a 10 out of 10 and even more exciting the second book comes out today!

So there are my reads this month! Be sure to join the linkup and share your books!

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What I Read: February 2017

1. Second Hand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell- I enjoy cozy mysteries and I also enjoy magic so I thought I would give this series a go. Basically you have a witch running a clothing store and lots of shenanigans, mix ups, and general spookiness occur.  I got this book on audio book and I think that might have been a bad choice. While I liked the narrator's southern accent a lot it was a bit distracting over all. Still the book was pleasant enough and while predictable I wasn't expecting it to be a hard core mystery in the first place. All in all it passed the time just fine.

2. Mostly Void, Partially Stars by Joseph Fink, Jeffery Cranor- I love the podcast Welcome To Nightvale. It's strange, creepy, and utterly hilarious. I love the randomness of each episode that while they don't connect it all falls into place in the end. This book was the first few episodes along with the backstory of how each one was created. I loved seeing the creative process of how the episodes formed and how the characters came alive. This one is a pass if you aren't a fan of the podcast but if you have yet to dive into the world of Nightvale this book would be a great read along with it!

3. Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch- I admit I picked this one up because of the cover and the title. The cover reminded me of a Rainbow Rowell book and the title just appealed to me because I love Gelato and I love love. This book was cute. I liked the little mystery in it and I love the setting. It is geared toward a younger audience but if you like cutesy love stories set in foreign lands, you'll like this one. It did take a bit for this one to pick up however so if you can power through the first few chapters (about 50 pages) then you should be okay. Also I have no idea what is so strange about graveyards to people....maybe it is because we have lots around here and my husband even grew up next to one...it just doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother people.

4. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman- I adore mythology. I took three years of it in high school and two more in college. I powered through so many books on myths and legends that my local library ran out of material for me. So when I see a book about mythology I get really excited. When I see that the author is an author that I also adore? Yep. Sold. I picked this one up on Audible and was happy to learn that Neil Gaiman is also the narrator of the stories. This book was a quick one but I loved the way that Gaiman retold the old tales of Norse mythology. He brought to life the characters and made the stories as true and real as possible to the original tellings that were only told by word of mouth. I appreciated all the work that he put in to making this as authentic as possible. I really great read and would recommend to anyone with any interest in myths and legends of the Norse culture! 

That's it for me this month! Be sure to join the linkup!

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What I Read: Feb 2016

When Did I Get Like This? by Amy Wilson- A mom book that I picked up because I thought the title was funny. I thought I would relate to this mom more and in the first few chapters I did but then she moved on to when her kids were a bit older and I'm not at that point yet. Also she has three children and I only have the one so that was a factor as well. This book was cute at times but when she started talking about the craziness of preschool and applications being harder than college applications well...she kind of lost me. Benefit of being small town I guess is that I don't have to jump through all those hoops but yet I can't help but think that this author would totally judge my child and me for not going through all those hoops. 

Just an okay read and definitely just for the mommy/parent crowd.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai- This is a super quick read. I think I read it in about an hour. It is set up in poem style and at first I wondered just what I had gotten myself into since it suddenly seemed so short. However this story didn't need a lot of prose to make it a great story and it was a great story. I was immediately drawn in by the characters and once they reached the United States and started facing the daily trials of being different and "outsiders" I really related to them a great deal. I'm Hawaiian in a sea of Middle America White and there were plenty of times that I didn't fit in or that I was sorted out because I looked different.

This is a really beautiful little story and if you have an hour to spare to read it I would highly recommend it.

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes- This is the sequel to YOU and I admit I was eagerly awaiting this one to come in at the library. I really enjoyed YOU so I had high expectations for this one. Maybe my expectations were too high. Once again I really enjoyed Joe as a character and the writing is very well done but I found myself getting really bored at times and some of the situations and characters tedious. Then some of the more important parts were over so quickly that I had to reread them again to make sure I didn't actually miss something. The last 100 pages or so captured my attention again and I am wondering if there will be another book after this one now....

Over all I liked the book but not nearly as much as the first. Won't stop me from picking up the next one. (If there is one.)

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman- I really like Neil Gaiman's work. I'm not much of a fan of Terry Pratchett's however but I tried to give this book a shot. It had all the elements of a book that I would really love but I just couldn't finish it! I kept getting lost over various narrators and tedious tangents that I finally gave up. I'm not normally one to give up on a book and usually will stick with any book to the end, even if it isn't good but I just couldn't with this one. It was ALL OVER THE PLACE. I had no idea what time period we were in from one moment to the next or in fact who was talking at any given period of time. Maybe my brain was just too scattered this month to really focus on it or something but honestly unless you are really driven to read everything these authors write...I'd give this one a miss. 

That's it for me this month. Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? Be sure to join the linkup and share the books you read last month!! 

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Show Us Your Books: October 2015 Reads

Good Morning Everyone,

It is once again time for the best post of the month! 

Here are my September Reads: 

Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman- This is actually a book of short stories and as some of you may know I have a love/hate relationship with short stories. One one hand they can be brilliant and on the other they feel rushed and unfinished. This book had a mix of both but I am happy to say that most of the stories were completely brilliant and there was only one that just bored me to tears so I gave up and moved on to the next. I am a recent follower of Neil Gaiman. Yes I had seen Stardust the movie and loved it and I had seen Coraline and enjoyed it but I had never read anything by him until this year. I can say that I very much enjoy his sense of magical and strange. This book is filled with that sort of thing and I highly recommend for those that have a love of the truly strange and wondrous creatures.  

 

 

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day- I wanted to love this book more than I did. While I was very interested in one of my favorite female actor/director/writer/producers and wanted to know her story this was prone to a lot of tangents. It was also at times too nerdy for even me. I  I struggled to finish simply because it too SO LONG to get to the point. However I do admire that she doesn't gloss over the not so pretty parts of her journey. She openly admits the dysfunctional moments of her life. She goes into detail about how online gaming was an addiction and even reveals just how much work she put into something that to most people doesn't even understand. (World of Warcraft) My favorite section by far was when she decided to write the pilot for The Guild and then made it happen on YouTube. I love how she and the others involved threw themselves into a project that they literally were doing for free. It was awesome that she managed to make something from nothing. Long story short, I so admire Felicia for her work ethic and I think she is very talented but this book was just okay for me. 

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling- I read Kaling's first book and enjoyed it well enough. I liked her story even though it seemed repetitive at times. I picked this one up simply because I thought that she must have more to say that somehow got edited out of the first book. Well....not so much. I really felt like this was just a rehash of the same book. Same points....same struggles........and a whole lot of The Mindy Project fluff. Now this might not bother some but I personally did not even make it through the first episode of The Mindy Project. I didn't like any of the characters and it just felt like a Scrubs/Grey's Anatomy/ Doctor Love Show and eh just not my thing. She seems a a nice enough person but honestly this book didn't really need to be made. 

Books that I started but haven't finished yet: 
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers- This is a good book but it has a lot of things in it that are very similar to personal experiences of my own and honestly it keeps bringing up very bad memories...I may not be able to finish this one but I am trying. 


I didn't get much new reading done last month. I seemed to be struggling to keep up the ones I actually did read and I'm not sure if it was the books or the fact that I was busy but thankfully I think November is turning out to be a better reading month! 

Be sure to checkout the linkup for more reading recommendations! 

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What I Read: September 2015 Edition

Good Morning Everyone!

It's that time again! Best Linkup of the Month!

Here's what I read!


The Cure for the Common Breakup by Beth Kendrick- This book was just fun. It was a little predictable and silly but a great one to read if you enjoy lighthearted romance novel types. Also I am so tempted to make the The Cure of the Common Breakup Drink! Also it is labeled as Black Dog Bay #1 so I am hopeful that it will be a series! I had read another book by Kendrick before the Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service and it is one of my favorite books. Also silly, a little predictable, and fun. Sometimes you just need something light!

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky- I own the movie but I had never read the book. I have to say that I was really impressed with how the movie stayed pretty much true to the book! Charlie was even more awkward in the book version however but that was okay. It made me uneasy and I think that is how you are supposed to feel when you read this book. Everything has another level to it and every event feels like a life changer when you are a teen...some of them are life changing and you never even realize it. Great book and of course it has one of the best quotes ever, "We Accept The Love We Think We Deserve" Some of the truest words ever written.

Death by Tiara by Laura Levine- This is number twelve in this series and yep it was predictable as all get out. I never mind though because I have been reading the series forever and I don't mind that it is a cozy mystery with pretty basic and stereotypical characters. I love Jaine and I love her cat Prozac. Her parents are super hilarious as well. This is a good one to read if you don't mind that the mystery is simple and are just in it for the laughs. Another good one for light reading that doesn't involve any effort! 

 

People I want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann- I have a love/hate relationship with this one. I loved her wit and her blunt delivery. Some of the things she says I agree with wholeheartedly but some things I just couldn't get on board with, but the one thing that irritated me the most was that she referred to her husband as The HUBS through the whole book. Now this irritates me in general but since I got the book on audio book it was ten times worse. That being said this is a pretty funny book if you are into reading about the ridiculousness of the "mommy wars" and suburban life in general.

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen- I picked this one up on a whim and honestly I enjoyed it. It was a very quick read but the tension in it was very real. Basically the main character ends up stranded on a raft in the ocean. No one knows that she was even on the plane so no one knows where to look for her. Reminded me a bit of Life of Pi but not nearly as in depth. Still it was a good read.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed- To be honest I only picked this up because I saw it was going to be a movie with Reece Witherspoon. It was a good read and I can appreciate her determination to walk her way back to the person that she was....only to find someone better along the way. I did watch the movie and it did a very good job of telling the story and skipping over the slower parts of the book. If this isn't your style of book you might check out the movie.

Room by Emma Donoghue- Another one being made into a movie but I actually picked this one up because of this linkup! This story was really intense at the beginning but slowed for me toward the middle. Written from the point of view of a five year old, it can at times be a little frustrating to read. Jack has lived in "Room" all his life with his mother. "Room" is his entire world and he doesn't understand why his mother so desperately wants to escape from "Room" and from Old Nick. It was a good story but like I said it slowed at the middle for me and I had to kind of push through to finish it. 

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon- This is for my fans of JV fiction, or if you have kids that are ready for chapter books. A very cute story about a band of minions that are taking care of a castle and waiting for a new master to take over before the castle is decommissioned. A new master does arrive in the form of Molly, a young girl claiming to be the new wicked witch of the castle. Loved this one and I am hopeful it will turn into a series because I think Kyra will really love it when she is older!

Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison- So I've stated before that I'm not really into reality TV but when I was in college I did love to watch The Girls Next Door so when this book came out I knew that I would read it. It's a "tell all" style book where Holly Madison recounts her time at the playboy mansion as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends. It covers everything from how she got to the mansion, her time there, working on Girls Next Door, and after she left. I personally enjoyed the book but I took it with a grain of salt as well. There are always different sides to the same story and while I did enjoy Holly's side I felt that some of it may have stretched the truth a bit. I would recommend this one if you were a fan of the show, or if you just want to read some down and dirty secrets of the mansion.

Whew! That was a lot of books for the month! I can't wait to read about all of the books you read last month as well! Be sure to join the linkup! 

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Show Us Your Books: February Reads

Good Morning Everyone, 

First off thanks for letting me vent a little yesterday. I just had things on my mind that I had to get out and see in print in order to deal with them! 

Today we are on a much more fun note with the monthly book linkup! 

So here's what I read last month: 

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

I have read several books by Holly Black before (author of the Spiderwick Chronicles)  and I have to say that this book did not disappoint! It did have some slow going toward the middle but it more than made up for it by the end. It honestly did not end up where I thought it would have.

Hazel, the main character was really enjoyable to get to know. She was brave and strong and also a little damaged. Immediately a character with whom you could relate. I liked that she was never too far between completely believing in herself and utterly doubting herself. I also adored her brother Ben and felt like their relationship was really amazing.

The romance in the book was really well done for a YA book in my opinion. It wasn't too full of angst or just overtly sexual in nature. I liked that it wasn't the main focus of the story as well. Too often the "love interest" is what pulls the story forward and with this one it was definitely character driven. 

I really liked the idea of an entire town being completely aware of the magic around them and yet choosing to ignore it as if it would just go away. As long as you follow the rules you are safe...if you slip up then it is your own fault. For some reason this just really seemed like a plausible way to have magic fit in with the modern age.


Where She Went by Gayle Forman

This was the sequel to If I Stay which I read back in January. I was so looking forward to this book as I fell absolutely in love with If I Stay and I really wanted to know what happened to Mia and Adam. 

This book takes place three years after the first book and honestly at first I was a little bit irritated with it. Not to get too prosy here but the first book was all about Mia and played just like I imaged her cello playing. Smooth sailing and quick to read. 

With this second book however since it was written all from Adam's point of view I felt like it was like his guitar and very jarring and leaping from one point to the next. However once I got into the story and began to get to know Adam better (he was VERY underdeveloped in the first book) I fell in love with the story. 

Even though there were times when I wanted to scream at the characters and times when I didn't want to finish the book because I was getting so frustrated with how it was going...by the end I was completely satisfied with how it turned out and honestly I will miss the characters a lot.


The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

 

This one I picked up on a whim while browsing my libraries online book selection. It looked like something I might be interested in and admittedly the sample section of it had me hooked. However as I read...I was less hooked. This isn't a long book and it wasn't a bad book either...it just...didn't thrill me? I was hoping for more from Nicholas Flamel which is who I thought would be the main focus...however most of the book is written from the point of view of Sophie and Josh, two modern day teens that work with Flamel. I think that was probably the part I disliked the most as they are pretty unlikeable characters and are very...basic? I suppose that word will have to work. They just didn't do if for me. 

However the action parts of this book...which unfortunately are spaced out between LONG and tedious bits...are very good and left me intrigued and hoping for more. I feel like there is a lot of potential in the series...if only the characters were likeable.   


So there you have it! My reads for February! See anything you might like to try? Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the Comments! 

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

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