Month: June 2015

Five on Fridays #15

Posted June 5, 2015 / Five on Fridays, Weekly Memes / 4 Comments

Five on Friday displays the the top five things that have been on my mind this week! It could be book-related, but it may be music, movies, TV, personal life, food, etc. It’s been quite a few months since I’ve done one of these! It’s funny because the past two months have been incredibly busy for me; I would actually have A LOT to share… if I had taken the time to write them! Without further ado, here’s a big ol’ Five on Friday update! As you probably saw in my recent end-of-month wrap-up, May was kind of intense. I usually have a very nonexistant social life because Chris and I tend to be homebodies, but we were so freaking busy in May. We had birthday parties, a jam-packed Mother’s Day, trips to Providence and Boston, a Lego event, a graduation… Yeah, it was crazy. We didn’t get a lot of time to ourselves on the weekends, that’s for sure. It was nice to mix it up a little but it would have been better to have some free time intermixed. I loved being a bit more social (which I’ll get to in my final point down there) and getting to meet bloggers at BEA (which is in my fourth point). I guess this is here just to be like, yeah, this month was insane. Yeah it’s no secret that I’m damn antsy for football. As I’ve said, its my only hobby aside from reading. We’ve been watching the NFL Top […]

ARC Review: Even When You Lie to Me

Posted June 4, 2015 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

If you’re looking for a compelling novel that “explores sexuality – and its boundaries – in a way that’s both searingly honest and sympathetic,” you should probably go elsewhere. That was part of the blurb on the ARC, but I noticed the word “sexuality” was replaced with “relationships” on the Goodreads synopsis. I can see why it was changed, because that word would make a lot more sense. This was a tough one. It was compulsively readable – and really, I couldn’t stop – but at the same time… boring? Not sure how that’s possible, but it just was. I kept racing to see what was going to happen (more like see WHEN things were finally going to happen) but ended up disappointed by the end. This is a classic case of expectations (and a synopsis) leading to disappointment. I expected that this would be a romantic, sexual, forbidden love kind of story. It really was just about COMPLETELY self-loathing and self-conscious girl flirting with and pining over her English teacher. Things eventually get to the point you’re expecting, but it takes foreeeeever and happens way too late in the book to impact me. The main character, Charlie, is totally shy and complains about how ugly she is. This is, of course, off-set by the fact that her best friend, Lila, is the complete opposite. She’s confident, loud, and attractive. Because of course. They had a really weird dynamic; I don’t even know how to explain it. There was so much insecurity […]

Review: P.S. I Still Love You

Posted June 3, 2015 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

It’s kind of impossible to review this book. I think my review of its predecessor involved a lot of flailing, since it was easily in my top 2 favorite books last year. I definitely am leaning towards the same type of review… I’ve been staring at this blank screen for a while. I sincerely loved this. It completely met (and probably exceeded) my expectations. There was a LOT of pressure for this book to be spectacular! Everyone and their mother needed to know what happened next with Lara Jean and Peter. Seeing that the next book’s synopsis mentioned a love triangle definitely got some people upset. BUT WE LOVE PETER, WHAT R U DOING LARA JEAN?!?! I admit I was one of those people. But honestly, this book was so sweet and real. I don’t mind love triangles if they feel believable and realistic. I had been in similar situations when I was her age. Love triangles happen when you’re a teenager – they really do. I looooved John and I loooooooved Peter (yes, Peter gets a few more O’s for obvious reasons), so I felt like I was struggling along with Lara Jean. The whole book was just adorable. I’m not sure how else to describe it. As usual, Kitty was my favorite. I love everything about her. After reading a lot of reviews on the first book, many people complained that Lara Jean seemed a bit too young. This didn’t bother me as much in the first book […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #42: Movies & TV

Posted June 2, 2015 / Top 10 Tuesdays, Weekly Memes / 10 Comments

Ten Books I’d Love to See as Movies or TV Shows Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make lists of our top ten books (or something else!) based on that week’s prompt. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Book links bring you to Goodreads or my review. I’m sure I’m not the only person that would love to see Lara Jean, her family, and those adorable boys on the big screen. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han would be so freaking cute as movies. It would also give some well-deserved main character screen time to Asian American actresses! Even though I wasn’t a fan of When by Victoria Laurie, I could see it being a pretty interesting movie! There would definitely be a few things I would change, but the overall concept is too cool to pass up. I’m really bad at “dream cast” types of posts, so I can’t really begin to think of who I would want in this movie, but I’m sure there are plenty of options. This wasn’t a blockbuster book so I doubt it would gain movie attention, but again the premise is really awesome. I could totally see it on the big screen. I loooooved Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway. So much. There have been quite a few contemporary YA books-turned-movies, like The Fault in Our Stars and the upcoming All the Bright […]

Book Expo America 2015

Posted June 1, 2015 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 16 Comments

Yes I went to BEA last week… and it was awesome! It definitely was a mix of exactly what I expected, and a lot of things I didn’t expect. I’ll share my brief experience here – since I only went for the one day – and offer any tips for future conventions. I have to say that the best part for me was getting to meet bloggers in person and spend time with them! Definitely more exciting and fun than getting the books. Before BEA, I started talking to Alyssa about the fact that we’re both from/live in the same state. I found out that Brittany and Amy – you know the famous OTSP trio – were going to be coming up to stay with her for the weekend. They were only going to BEA on Friday; it was perfect for me because I wasn’t fully ready for the full three days yet and didn’t want to go alone. Earliest Wake Up of All Time I woke up at 3:45 in the morning to shower and get ready, which felt insane. I left my apartment at 4:30 to make sure I got to Alyssa’s for 5:00 so we could get our asses in gear. It was so great to meet the three of them! Brittany is someone I’ve always talked to on Twitter, Alyssa and I started texting and talking within the past month, and Amy is the person I have for Secret Sister! (Don’t worry, I did the reveal first thing in […]