Summer 2018 Reading List!

I GRADUATED!

FROM. COLLEGE. 

You guys, I am so happy/excited/nervous/relieved right now, I can't even fully express it. The fact that I don't have any more assignments or classes or homework is honestly just shocking to me. For the majority of my life, I've been ruled by school and now it feels like a massive weight has lifted off my shoulders. I'm not totally sure what I'll do with all this new freedom but I know I definitely want to spend a lot of my time reading! Here's a list of some of the books I've added to my summer reading list:

1. Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch 

I recently read the first book in this series, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I've never read a book that was so gruesome or so hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud and wanting to cry an equal amount throughout. I expect this next book will be just as good, if not better! 

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This is a book I've been wanting to read for a very long time -- I've been told it's the sort of classic that is easy to get into a fun to read (something I haven't experienced with many other classic books). Plus, I've been dying to watch the movies but refuse to until after I've read the book!

3. The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso

Honestly, I know almost nothing about this book except for the fact that the cover is gorgeous. Gor-ge-ous. I plan to buddy read it with my friend Olivia and I really hope the inside is as amazing as the outside!

4. Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

I enjoyed the first book in this series so much! The unique format and the interesting characters won me over completely. I am a little nervous to read this one since I've been told it follows different characters -- I'm generally not a fan of this. But hopefully this one will win me over just as the first one did! 

5. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Honestly, I'm a little ashamed to admit I haven't read this yet, especially as a self-confessed lover of all of SJM's books. Originally, I was so disappointed this book followed Chaol that I just had no interest in it. Chaol is my least favorite character in the series and I still can't bring myself to pick it up. But this summer I will!

6. Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Morgan Matson always writes the best summery reads and I can't wait to dive into her newest release! I haven't yet bought it but it sounds like the perfect book to bring to the beach or to pick up while lounging by the pool!

7. Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Another sequel! I'm very much looking forward to getting into this one -- the first book ended with so many unanswered questions. All I want to do is learn more about these characters and explore this world further! 

8. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

This is another book I've wanted to read for a long time but just haven't gotten around to. I love the cover and the sound of the premise and I'm hoping that this summer will finally be the time that I pick it up!

These are all the books on my summer reading list so far! I'm excited about the variety and the buddy reads I plan to particiate in. But I definitely need more books on this list! What are some others I should include? What books have you fallen in love with lately? Let me know in the comments below!

Summer 2017 Reading Goals!

So, I know this post is a few weeks late but -- hey -- better late than never!  I've only just settled down enough this summer to really buckle down and dive into the pile of books that has been growing all year long.  This year has been such a fantastic reading year for me -- I've already read 42 books so far!  This might not seem like a lot to much, but to me, it's great!  Last year I only read 52 books in all, so I'm way ahead of schedule this time around. 

At the beginning of 2017, I set my Goodreads (if you want to find me on Goodreads, go here!) Reading Goal at 60 -- I figured this would be a realistic but slightly more challenging goal.  I had no idea I'd be doing as much reading as I am this year!  Being only 18 books away from my goal has me feeling pretty ambitious though.  So, my goal for this summer is to read 18 books and finish my goal of reading 60 books in 2017!

I'm a bit intimidated by the task but I'm excited to read more, too!  I have so many books that I've been looking forward to finally picking up so I'm hoping this goal will push me to read more of them this summer than usual.  

Along with reading at least 18 books this summer, I'd also like to consistently post on here every weekday this summer.  This is something I've struggled with doing since getting into college because of the hectic schedule.  Now, I'm just out of practice and really need to flex my creative blogging muscle to get this done.  Plus, I'll definitely need to share all my thoughts on the books I read!

Here are a couple of the books I'm most excited to read this summer!

  

  

 And there's so many more I'm eager to read! 

What are your summer reading goals?  How many more books do you have until you reach your Goodreads Reading Goal?  Have you read any of the books I listed?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top Ten Best Beach Reads!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish in which we share out top ten lists relating to the bookish topic assigned that week.

This week's topic is...

Top Ten Best Beach Reads!

 

 

 

 

 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick 

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han 

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne 

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson 

Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum 

Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes 

My list is mostly romantic contemporary reads, which are my favorite beach reads!  They're all fairly light -- nothing that's going to send me into a crying fit.  I'd love to hear what books you like to read on the beach! Leave a comment down below and leave a link so I can check out your posts!

Top 5 Favorite Summer Reads

As much as I love reading in the fall and winter - getting all cuddled up with a huge blanket and a steaming drink with nothing but pages to keep you company - some credit has to go to summertime reading.  While it tends to be a bit more bright and slightly more sweaty, I've found it's a great time to totally immerse yourself in reading.  There's not a whole lot of holidays or distractions happening so you can focus on what really matters: fictional characters and their stories.  

And, of course, all this sun and warm weather pair perfectly with light, fluffy reads.  So, I wanted to share some of my favorite light, fluffy, summer reads!  

Top 5 Summer Reads

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Despite the fact that this book takes place throughout the school year (so there's approximately 0% summer in it), this is one of my all time favorite summer reads (or, lets be honestly, my all time favorite read whenever).  Full of great characters, genuine friendships, a swoon-worthy romance, and delicious French food, this is a definite must read.

2.  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Just thinking about this book makes me feel like I should reread it.  When I think about favorite contemporary YA books, this one always, always comes to mind.  I love the romance, the character growth and, most of all, the focus on family.  

3.  Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

While I wouldn't exactly describe this book as "light and fluffy", it's still an amazing read and would be a great break in the summer from all the rest of the fluff.  This book is sharp and chilling and really beautiful and it COMPLETELY BLEW MY MIND.  I still kinda feel like I'm trying to wrap my head around what happened.  Read it.

4.  Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Since You've Been Gone is just such a . . . summer read.  That's the best way I can describe it, really.  It evokes feelings of nostalgia and sunsets and melting ice cream and having the best playlist and sitting in the most comfortable quiet with your best friend on a warm evening.  It's wonderful guys.  Plus there's a list and I love lists. 

5.  Magnolia by Kristi Cook 

This one is one that I sat down to read and didn't stand back up until I had turned the final page.  Quick and gripping, it was a sweet red with just enough danger to keep me on the edge of my seat.  Plus, I was 100% in love with the Mississippi environment and southern atmosphere.  

What are your favorite summer reads?  What makes the perfect fluffy read for you?  And where is your favorite summer reading spot? 

Monthly Recap: July 2015

My goodness, this month has been crazy.  Like, crazy in a really weird way though.  Looking back, I haven't been doing a huge amount of stuff and most of it has been fun things like reading a ton, going to the beach, and hanging with friends.  I think I'm so exhausted from the anticipation of getting back to school.  I really like having summer break but I'm already more than ready to leave California and move back up to Washington!  And, even more exciting, when I move up I'll be renting my first ever apartment!  

As far as this blog goes, it hasn't been the best month for reviews and posts but I'm trying to get back into it!  Going to school really through off my blogging schedule and it has taken me a ridiculous amount of time to get it back but I'm slowly but surely getting back into the hang of thing.  I've been reading a lot so I have a lot of reviews coming so be on the look out for those!

Here are some of the reviews that have popped up on the blog this past month!

Reviews

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

This book drove me crazy with the stupid decisions the MC made and the less than believable premise but the mystery aspect was decent.  Two Teapots.

Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios 

I really enjoyed the idea of this book and the characters!  It did take me a while to get my head around all the new terms and jinni dynamics but I still had fun reading it!  Four Teapots

Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall

Holy cow, ya'll.  Put any other books you may be holding down and pick up this one because, trust me, you don't want to miss this awesome, twisty, dark read.  New all time favorite!  Five Million Teapots.

I'm hoping I'll have more reviews to reflect back on next month but, oh well!  I'm happy with how this month has turned out.  I know August is going to be crazy busy for me because it's the last month I'm home before moving but I'm still going to make this blog a priority!  I miss talking with you guys about books everyday!

Tell me, how was July for you?  What fun things did you do?  Any good reads?  Let me know in the comments below!

Review: The Burning Star

Title:  The Burning Star
Series:  The Star Series #1
Author:  Jessie Lane
Publisher:  Jessie Lane
Pages:  273
Format:  pdf file

Summary: She'll have to believe the unbelievable to survive.
The doctors have told Kay that she will die before she reaches her eighteenth birthday. Her mother’s determination to save her life leads them to a move outside of Asheville, NC to a new set of cancer specialists in the hopes to help her. But it’s not what Kay and her Mom find in the doctor’s offices in Asheville that lead them on the journey to save her before time runs out. It’s what Kay finds in the woods outside of Asheville, and an inhumanly gorgeous guy named Ryan, instead.
Myths and fairy tales come to life before Kay’s eyes, bringing her closer to the ultimate cure if she can stay alive long enough to get there. And if the cancer doesn’t kill her before she finds the cure, the secrets her mother has hidden from her may be the beginning of the end.
Can she reach her destiny before tragedy strikes?

My Review:  I was immediately drawn into this book by the blurb.  The main character was seriously ill.  It was something I hadn't experienced much in the books I normally read.  I really appriciated the fact that the author broke off from the YA norm.  This MC wasn't perfect.

Still, even with the illness, I thought Kay handled herself with surprising grace.  She just wanted to live life for as long as she could and I really admired her for that.  I could also really relate with how she was feeling in the book when she was around Ryan and Nick.  She wasn't confident and sure of herself.  She was a little shy and nervous about what they would think of her and I thought that was great.  In a story with a lot of craziness and magic, it was nice to have some normalcy with things like the character's love life.

I enjoyed her relationship with the other supporting characters.  The love triangle between her, Ryan, and Nick played out well though I did feel like the story could have done without it.  Still, I was torn between both boys while reading, something that doesn't normally happen with me.  Usually, I love one guy and hate the other but with this book I was completely undecided.  Besides the love interests, Kay had a great relationship with Brendan, too.  He was a great secondary character and I loved every scene that he was in!

I wasn't totally crazy about the writing style.  I felt like it could have used some more editing and development.  I caught a few grammar and spelling mistakes throughout.  However, those small mistakes didn't make the story line confusing.  Everything was still clear.

The plot line was interesting and I was really excited about the twists Jessie Lane put on faeries and the creatures that come along with them.  I thought that the twists really made this story unique.  

With an exciting take on faeries and an interesting plot and good female protagonist, this series is one I will definitely continue.  I'm excited to see where the author takes Kay and the gang next.

Three Feathers

Review: Easy

Title:  Easy
Series:  N/A
Author:  Tammara Webber
Publisher:  Tammara Webber
Pages:  318
Format:  eBook

Summary: A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

My Review:  I really wasn't sure what to expect with this book.  Before this, I hadn't read anything by Tammara Webber but I'd heard a lot about her work.

That said, I absolutely adore this book.  From beginning to end I was glued to the pages.

The characters were what really kept me at the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next.  They all held their own in the book and kept their personalities throughout.  Each character had their faults and were not perfect.  This made them easy to relate to and very realistic.

The plot was interesting and kept me on my toes.  I thought that Jacqueline handled everything that happened very well and, though I've never been through what she has, I could sympathize with her situation.  Though I was mad at her a few times; like when she kept what happened from her best friend.  She didn't let anyone know what happened when she should have been getting help and calling the police.  On the other hand, I could understand her embarrassment and humiliation over what had happened.

The only other thing that I really didn't enjoy was, in the middle of the book, the story began to drag a bit.  Nothing was really happening between Jacqueline and Lucas.  There were times in during the middle that I just felt like skipping a couple paragraphs.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this book.  The characters, setting, and (most) of the plot were believable and engaging.  I'm excited to see what this author comes out with next!

Four Cards

Review: Shadow and Bone

Title:  Shadow and Bone
Series:  The Grisha Trilogy #1
Author:  Leigh Bardugo
Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.
Pages:  368
Format:  eBook

Summary:  Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, the one thing she could rely on was her best friend and fellow refugee, Mal. And lately not even that seems certain. Drafted into the army of their war-torn homeland, they’re sent on a dangerous mission into the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh.

When their convoy is attacked, all seems lost until Alina reveals a dormant power that not even she knew existed. Ripped from everything she knows, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. He believes she is the answer the people have been waiting for: the one person with the power to destroy the Fold.

Swept up in a world of luxury and illusion, envied as the Darkling’s favorite, Alina struggles to fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But as the threat to the kingdom mounts, Alina uncovers a secret that sets her on a collision course with the most powerful forces in the kingdom. Now only her past can save her . . . and only she can save the future.

My Review:  This book was recommended to me by a friend on twitter who absolutely loved it!  I was excited to start it after hearing such good things and, let me tell you, it did not disappoint!  

I was hooked from the very first page and it did not let up from there!  I loved everything about this strange world Bardugo created.  The magic, the people, the setting.  Everything was so fascinating as I read, I really couldn't put it down!  

The characters were all very well written.  I adored Alina.  She was a strong female characters with a few realistic flaws.  I admired her strength and the way she handled certain situations.  She wasn't about to be manipulated and she fought with everything she had to keep her free will.  

Then there was the love interests: The Darkling and Mal.  When the story first began, I was very much rooting for one guy but as the story progressed, everything fell apart for him and Alina and it was all his fault and I was very mad.  I kept on waiting to hear that what Alina was told hadn't been true.  Whether or not it was true or false, you'll have to read to find out.  

I thought that the ending was great.  It wasn't painfully abrupt which was nice but it also left me craving the second book.  Shadow and Bone had a lot of great qualities: a mesmerizing writing style, believable characters, and a world you can lose yourself in.  I will be very eagerly awaiting the second book!  (Here's hoping he will somehow be able to redeem himself.)

Four Cards

Review: Onyx

Title:  Onyx
Series:  Lux #2
Author:  Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Pages:  366
Format:  Paperback

Summary: Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

My Review:  I feel like all my reviews of JLA's books are so repetitive; just a bunch of paragraphs gushing about how absolutely amazing everything is.  Really, I love all of the books of hers I've read and Onyx was no exception.  In fact, I liked it more than a couple others.

It was so nice getting back into this story.  I settled right back in with Katy and Daemon.  I felt like no time had past since the first book ended and it was awesome not having to rack my brain to remember little details from Obsidian (even though I remember everything about that book.  I've only read it like, six times).  It was nice how Jennifer slipped little reminders about Obsidian in the beginning of book two without full out summarizing the entire first book.

The characters were so alive in this book, as they are in all of Jennifer's books.  I feel like I am right there with them and that only makes the reading experience with these stories all the more enjoyable.  My heart was racing and my toes were curling right with Katy and I loved that!  Of course, Katy definitely earns some bonus points with me for being a book lover and blogger!  It's so cool how easy it is to relate with her from both a blogger's and reader's POV.

And then there's Daemon.  Daemon Daemon Daemon Daemon Daemon.  I love this guy.  Really, I love him.  I mean, I loved him before but after seeing this new, soft side of him, my insides are just all gooey and I want to tackle-hug him.  Major props to Jennifer for pulling off such a drastic character turn around so perfectly and seamlessly.  Daemon's transformation from hot jerk to hot sweet, sometimes jerk-ish was awesome!  And man, did I love seeing him jealous (as bad as that sounds).  He's just too adorable for his own good.

The overall plot was spectacular.  It moved at the perfect pace and kept me wanting more.  I was unable to put it down from the second I picked it up!  And trust me, I tried not to pick it up and start reading because I knew I wouldn't get any work done if I did.  It was seriously painful knowing the book was just a couple feet away and I wasn't reading it.  So I caved.  Obviously.

I'm already counting down the days until Opal, the third installment in the Lux series, is released.  The ending of Onyx left me at the edge of my seat.  With a wonderful writing style, beautiful characters, and a magnificent plot, Onyx is officially in my top ten favorite books.

Five Cards