Review: September Girls

Posted July 29, 2014 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

Review: Oh man. I have so many things to say about a book where barely anything happened plot-wise. Jesus. I saw this cover at the bookstore and the synopsis seemed like something right up my alley. I could see that it was a paranormal-esque book based on the description, but didn’t know what was up with these ~*girls*~ (wasn’t that supposed to be the point of the book? Figuring out the secret of the beach and the girls?). INSTEAD it was completely ruined for me by someones Goodreads shelf. Sad face. I also noticed people referencing it in their reviews, so maybe it was common knowledge and I’m just a little slow? Regardless, I went into this book already knowing what it was leading up to. There were a lot of mixed reviews…There was a pretty serious sexism-related debate between reviewers though, and oddly I agreed with both sides. Check here for a review that the book was sexist and here for one that didn’t think it was. Frankly, both perspectives are worth exploring–especially if for some reason you still want to read the book after this review. I absolutely never wanted to sit down and read this book because I dreaded it. I’m too stubborn to stop reading a book though. If it had been on my shelf for years, I may have stopped, but I JUST bought this one a few months ago and was determined to finish it. At any rate, this book was so effing slow. I’ve […]

Review: The Husband’s Secret

Posted July 28, 2014 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Review: I was surprised at how suspenseful a non-mystery/suspense book could be. I got wrapped up in this book so quickly that I spent most of my work day sneakily reading it on my computer’s Kindle app. I could absolutely not stop. The beginning was the most suspenseful part of the book. It kept building and building until I said JESUS what did this dude write in the letter?!?! Once you finally find out, the novel slowly starts falling together. I’ll say it for the hundredth time: I LOVE books with multiple perspectives/characters whose lives are somehow intertwined. I knew that the different characters in the book would end up coming together somehow but it took some time to get going. I think that helped though; you were able to learn about each character/family without getting caught up in the holy-shit part. The story follows multiple characters and switches between them for each chapter. It takes a good author to pull this off without being confusing (I’m looking at you, Jennifer Close. Ugh). Cecilia is the woman whose husband wrote the lifechanging letter. Tess is a woman who comes home to her mother’s house after her husband has betrayed her in the worst possible way. Rachel is an older woman whose daughter died at a young age. I’ll admit that I had sort of figured out what the letter was going to say before reading it, but that totally didn’t impact the novel for me. I was so happy to follow […]

Musing Mondays #1

Posted July 28, 2014 / Musing Mondays, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments

Musing Mondays offer six different topics to choose from to focus on each week. You choose which of the six is most appealing to you that week and run with it! Or, you can muse about anything book-related. Here’s what I chose to respond to this week for my first Musing Monday. Describe one of your reading habits. I’ve talked about this one before quite a bit, but I’ll reiterate. One of my reading habits is that I alternate between e-books and hard copy books. I can’t part with “real” books that easily. I love the convenience of my Kindle and being able to read in the dark, but there’s no better feeling than opening up a paperback and reading. I am trying to read through my extensive collection of books before buying more – but obviously that’s easier said than done. My mom bought me a Kindle for my birthday right before college, but I wasn’t able to use it much during the school year. I found it difficult to balance college studies/reading with personal reading. During the summers and lunch breaks at my internship, I would read as much as possible! I loved my first Kindle very much and it still has some books on it I have yet to read. This past Christmas, my boyfriend got me the new Paperwhite version because I desperately wanted to have a backlight. I love my new Kindle but definitely miss the keyboard and real keys (instead of the touch screen) […]

July Book Haul

Posted July 27, 2014 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 2 Comments

Here is my first ever Book Haul! I’m excited to share the books I’ve bought through the month of July. Because of my Kindle, and the fact that my financial situation isn’t looking so good, I don’t often buy copies of books like this. I hope I’ll be able to share a Book Haul each month, even if it just ends up being e-books. Well, without further ado, here are the books I’ve purchased in the month of July, where I bought them, and why. Let me know in the comments if you’ve read any of these! Niantic Book Barn in Niantic, CT This is the most amazing used book store. There’s a big barn (where the YA books are located), and a bunch of smaller shacks full of books. Everything has a great price and you could spend hours there. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan I remember reading this book a long time time ago. I can’t remember anything about it, but I vividly remember that cover. I have been wanting to get back into some of the faerie-related fantasy books I used to like. This book was only $1 Never Have I Ever (My Life So Far Without a Date) by Katie Heaney Katie Heaney writes a memoir about her life, and how she hasn’t had a second date in her 24 years. Most of the reviews seem pretty positive and the plot summary promises that its laugh-out-loud funny at times. The Purple Emperor by Herbie Brennan Book 2 […]

Seven Deadly Sins

Posted July 26, 2014 / Other Memes, Personal / Information / Etc. / 1 Comment

Okay so I wasn’t tagged in this, but it looks fun anyways! (Found on Woven Magic Books) Greed – What is your most inexpensive book? The cheapest books I’ve purchased would be The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (haven’t read it yet) and Class of ’98 by A.L. Player (LOVED it). Both were $2.01 on my Kindle. Those are the cheapest over the past year, but I have gotten some for free or for 99 cents on my Kindle in 2013. Wrath – What author do you have a love/hate relationship with? This is a tough one! Normally I either love or hate an author. There haven’t been a lot of instances where I dislike some of their books and like some others. I guess I would have to say Nicholas Sparks because his books feed into the super-romantic stereotype that is very unrealistic. I don’t like what they imply about romance at times, but I also have enjoyed many of his books. I am a sucker for The Notebook but wish I wasn’t! Gluttony – What book have you devoured over and over with no shame? Honestly, none. I don’t typically like to re-read books. I WILL re-read Harry Potter at some point. In the meantime, I can say I have never read a book more than once. In my opinion, there are too many books out there and I don’t want to waste time I could spend on a new book. Sloth -What book have you neglected reading due to laziness? I […]

Friday Finds #1

Posted July 25, 2014 / Friday Finds, Weekly Memes / 7 Comments

I find new books in a variety of ways. I head to Goodreads and do some browsing – sometimes I check out other people’s feeds or Read shelves; sometimes I look at their recommendations for me. I love going to Barnes & Noble and browsing the YA shelves to see new releases or find books by authors I like. I immediately add them to my Goodreads shelf so I don’t forget them (thank god for iPhones)…or I buy them on the spot. Lately, as I’ve gotten deeper in the book blogging world, I check out people’s blogs that I follow and see some of the reviews they’ve done recently. If any of the books sound interesting, I’ll add them to my shelf. Here are the ten latest books I’ve added to my shelf, where I found the book, and why it sounds interesting. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page Where I saw it: Review at Chrissi Reads Why I added it: I’ve seen this book many times at B&N and always thought it looked semi-interesting. Based on the title and cover, I could tell it was Wizard of Oz-related. I typically don’t like spin-offs like this, but there are a few exceptions. I’ve found myself becoming increasingly interested in books like this, but wasn’t completely sold and never even bothered to read the plot summary. Then, I saw a review by Chrissi Reads and decided to check out her thoughts. She seemed to like it a lot. I’ve […]

Booking Through Thursday #1

Posted July 24, 2014 / Booking Through Thursdays, Weekly Memes / 2 Comments

I’m going to do the past two Booking Through Thursday topics to get myself started. Do your reading habits change in the summer? Absolutely! I read SO much more during the summer. When I was in college it was essentially the only time I was able to read for pleasure. Lunch breaks, sitting outside at a table or under a tree, were my favorite time to read. There’s nothing that says “summer” more to me than sitting out and reading a book. I used to love making laps walking around my pool while reading too. Different kind of reading … what do you think about letters? Do you ever send them anymore? Receive them? Or do you just do email and texts instead? Do you miss the days when people used to write letters? I typically only write letters to my grandma at this point. There is something special about getting a letter or card in the mail, but it happens so rarely it doesn’t bother me when I don’t get any. I primarily email and text. I was sort of too young to even write letters when they were popular.

10 Books I’m Judging by the Cover

Posted July 23, 2014 / Book Lists, Features / 6 Comments

I won’t lie – I’m obsessed with books that have gorgeous covers. Contrary to the popular saying, the cover is the first thing you see that draws you into the book. The plot summary on the back is what seals the deal for me, of course, but no one has time to read the summary of every single book in the store and ignore the covers completely. It’s just not feasible. I’ve notice lately that the YA genre has been including these indie-esque covers with beautiful typography. Based on their covers, these are the 10 books I’m most looking forward to reading in the near future. Have you read any of these? Which should I start with? Which ones sucked? Comment below! To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all. I absolutely love Jenny Han. I’ve […]

WWW Wednesday #1

Posted July 23, 2014 / Weekly Memes, WWW Wednesdays / 7 Comments

What are you currently reading? I am currently reading September Girls by Bennett Madison. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on this book, so I’m really interested to see what my opinion ends up being. Most Goodreads reviewers hated it, while apparently critics love it. The book is about a boy who goes to a beach town with his family for the summer and discovers that the town is full of beautiful blonde girls. He begins to figure out the mystery of the girls (a mystery that I ruined for myself by reading someone’s bookshelf tag on Goodreads). What did you recently finish reading? I binge-read the entire Shadowlands trilogy by Kate Brian over the past few days. The third book, Endless, was released yesterday and I finished it within a few hours. That series was a total pageturner for me; once I started I seriously could not stop. What do you think you’ll read next? Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn has been on my bookshelf for months. People keep urging me to read it, so I think I’ll finally read that one next. It’s not my type of book normally; it seems a little to scary for me to read before bed. I’ll have to utilize all this spare daylight time in the office while my boss is out of town!

Review: Shadowlands (Series)

Posted July 22, 2014 / Book Reviews / 10 Comments

Review: Goddamnit Kate Brian, you never disappoint me. I can’t think of the last time I read one of her books and wasn’t completely shocked, intrigued, and/or baffled by the ending. Let me start out by saying that the only reason I read this book is because it was written by Kate Brian — I would usually never pick up a book that sounds this creepy. The other books I’ve read by her (primarily the Private series) can get a little freaky, but not this much. It took me a little while to get into, but that was mostly because I refused to read it at night and scare myself into thinking I was going to be murdered before bed. I just steamrolled through the second half of the book this afternoon because I could not put it down. I can’t even think of a good reason why this book doesn’t have five stars, but I kind of forced myself to give it 4.5. I like to reserve 5 stars for books that are completely lifechanging and/or would go on my “favorites” list. The book begins with Rory being chased by a serial killer through the woods and her escaping from him. Her family, which includes her father and her sister Darcy, is going into “witness protection” to the island of Jupiter Landing. Let me just say it is extremely unreasonable that the FBI had the family head off in a car by themselves while a killer was on the […]