June Book Haul!

The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. Loved the first book and I've heard great things about this one! I can't wait to read it.

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of my favorite authors, so it's high on my to read list!

The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout. First, I have to read the Covenant series though cause this is a spin off of that series!

A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. I love me some Mark Twain!

The Martian by Andy Weir. Looking forward to the movie for this one! Sebastian Stan is going to be in it! He is definitely one of my celebrity crushes.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. Love the show and my sister read the book and said it's great! I'm only on season 2 though!

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. Got it with Owl Crate actually!

Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson. Went to a signing for her and bought a couple of her other books since I love Kiss of Deception so much!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Throne of Glass #1-3 UK versions. My favorite series, so I had to have Sasha get the UK editions when she was in London!

Just One Day Review

Note: I feel like I have been apologizing for my slacking so much lately. I'm currently working on the Game of Thrones books which is a heck of a project. I'm nearly done with the fourth book though and then I'll take a break and read two shorter books. Then, I'm going to read the fifth book and I'll be done! I'll probably be able to go quicker through books then. Anyways, here starts the actual review now.

In Gayle Forman's Just One Day, Allyson is traveling through Europe on a post-graduation tour when on her last day she meets Willem. A boy obsessed with traveling accidents, he invites her to Paris. This leads to just one day together in Paris.

Alrighty, while I enjoyed Gayle Forman's If I Stay a lot, this book kind of annoyed me. However, I believe there's a reason for this. I had just finished the third Game of Thrones, a very mature book, and I felt like I needed something light and easy. I've had Just One Day for a while now, so I thought it'd be the perfect book. However, this was much too easy and light. I felt like it was too immature. I was used to the intenseness of Game of Thrones. There were quite a few things that annoyed me about this book though.

This is actually probably going to have some spoilers, sorry! I just need to describe what I disliked about the book.

So I could not understand how this girl could hate traveling through Europe! This was an insane gift from her parents and even though it may be a little too structured to truly experience where they were visiting, Allyson still hated the trip. Like what??? And then she decides to go to Paris with a guy she just met. While he might not have been a serial killer, he could have been!!!! That is so stupid. Then, they do random stupid stuff in Paris (in my opinion), they don't really see much of the city. They go on a canal ride (which is actually really cool, I did it in France as well), they go to a park, fall asleep on the grass, fight some guys, go to dinner, and then have sex in this art house thing. I'm sorry but if I had only one day in Paris, I would see as much of it as possible instead of napping in a park with a guy I just met. I don't care if you don't go to the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or the other touristy places, but walk around and see as much as you can and observe the culture of this incredible city!

Okay then, when she wakes up alone in that art house thing and waits quite a while for Willem, her freakout is perfectly understandable. However, then when she goes to college (months later!!!) she is still so broken hearted and has no will power to do anything. She is so self absorbed about this guy she knew for a freaking day!!!!! I'm sorry but you need to get over yourself at one point. Boys aren't the end of the world. Your happiness should not solely rely on this guy, you once again knew for only a day. I understand her parents were insane and controlling, but I felt like she seriously needed to grow some backbone and actually stand up for her own desires for once.

I liked the ending of the book a little more because she did start taking classes she actually wanted to and made a friend. She also stood up to her mom and got this really great job to save up money to get a trip back to Paris. I thought she was really independent finally and acting more grownup. Then, when she went to Paris she started to actually enjoy the culture (finally!). However, another thing that bothered me: everybody was WAY too helpful and nice to her. Everybody she met and she told her story to was like "OMG you poor darling let me help you with your quest with this convenient knowledge I have!" Literally every person she met was perfectly nice to her and willing to help her even though they'd just met. A doctor even released a patient's address. I don't care how star-crossed and beautiful your story sounds, that is ILLEGAL! They should not be giving out personal information like that! Also, Allyson claiming she fell in love with Willem?? I'm sorry, but you barely know this boy. You don't know his likes or dislikes, his moral views, he might have an STD with the amount of girls he's had! Their day together did not seem enough to me to fall in love. I'm sorry but their relationship, if you can call it that, didn't do a single thing for me.

Sorry if I sound like I completely despised this book and you enjoyed it. I really do think it was just a way too cheesy book for me after I finished such a mature one. I will never be the type of person though who is offended if somebody enjoyed a book I didn't, so no judging if you enjoyed Just One Day!

May Book Haul!

A list of the wonderful books I purchased in the month of May! I bought a lot, so I probably won't do summaries for them but I'll briefly talk about my interest for some of them!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Already read it, but I got the hardcover this month! I also got to meet her for a second time. She is my favorite author so check out her books if you haven't read them yet! Throne of Glass is her first series and A Court of Thorns and Roses is a new series she's doing.

The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. There's a review for this book already on my blog if you wanna check that out!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Absolutely adored this book. I had an ARC of it, but the hardcover came out in May. Probably some of the best character development I've seen done in a book.

Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire. I actually kind of hated the first book, Beautiful Disaster, but this was on sale for $1 so I figured why not!

Harry Potter 1-5 and 7 by J.K. Rowling. I already own them but my copies are a newer edition and I really wanted the soft cover ones that I grew up reading. Except I borrowed my older sister's so I never actually owned them! Now I'm working on finding all of them.

Mark Twain's Best by Mark Twain. I couldn't really find a picture of the cover of this book, but I have a slight obsession with the novella, The Mysterious Stranger, by Mark Twain. It's such an interesting read. It might seem a bit slow at first, but by the end your mind is just completely blown. I am so in love with it. I didn't like Huck Finn all that much, but The Mysterious Stranger is so different from it, I could talk for ages how much I adore this novella.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. I've just seen this book so much that I finally decided it was time for me to buy it.

Openly Straight by Bill Koningsberg.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. There's a movie of this book coming out soon and while it looks incredibly sad, I know I have to read it first.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh. This book's concept sounds so fascinating so I'm looking forward to reading it!

Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres. I love Ellen and this was a birthday gift (I turned 18 on May 14!).

Vicious by V.E. Schwab. Another birthday gift, but I've heard some really great things about Vicious! My sister absolutely loved it too!

Mosquitoland by David Arnold. I've heard so much about this book and seen it in so many places that I'd been meaning to buy it for a while, but I ended up getting it for my birthday!

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb.

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. Loved this book when I was younger, so I want to reread it at one point to see if it's actually as good as I remember.

Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan.

Vango by Timothée de Fombelle. I think this book was translated from French? I'm not sure, but it seems really interesting! A little obscure though.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. Another birthday gift! I loved this book, go read my review on it!

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout. What I am currently reading. Jennifer L. Armentrout is an incredible writer and I'm really enjoying it thus far!

Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout. The third book in a series, I've only read the first book so far but I got this one for free so yay!

Okay! Book haul over! I hope to post a new review soon, I've just been crazy busy and lazy! I graduated a couple days ago though so hopefully I'll get into a good routine this summer with reading and writing reviews.

A Book of Spirits and Thieves Review

Morgan Rhodes’ A Book of Spirits and Thieves is a spin-off prequel to her other series, Falling Kingdoms. This series combines the fantasy world of Mytica and modern day Toronto. A mysterious and old book that’s written in an unknown language is delivered to the Hatcher family’s bookstore in Toronto. When Becca opens it, she’s sent into a coma and her sister Crys is left to discover the truth. Wealthy Farrell Grayson, in Toronto, is given the opportunity to prove himself when he’s taken in by the leader of a secret society. In Mytica, Maddox encounters a pretty girl that only he can see. Together they must try to take down the merciless goddess leader of Mytica to get this girl home.

To be perfectly honest I was a little skeptical as I began this book. I really enjoyed the first Falling Kingdoms but I don't really like the direction that series is going in. I also thought this book was a little cheesy in the beginning. Crys was making fun of her sister for reading, which I got a little offended by, and I didn't like their relationship. However, I was quickly wowed by some of the mature scenes in the book. It may not be one of my favorite books or one of the best I've ever read but I ended up really enjoying it. I also became wrapped up in the story and its characters.

I especially loved how when Crys and Becca are separated they realize they should have gotten to know each other better and that all they want is to see their sister again. I also became really interested in Farrell's character. He has this huge thirst to prove himself and it just leads him into a darker path. However, I still really like him and I'm curious as to if I'll continue to like him in the next book and how his character will continue to develop.

While you don't have to read Falling Kingdoms before this series, it's really interesting because there will be little hints and foreshadowing that I would always freak out about. I'm a big fan of when minor details end up becoming something bigger, so I loved that I could find them in A Book of Spirits and Thieves. The world building may not be the best I've ever seen but Mytica does seem very real to me. I'm not sure if that's from reading the first three Falling Kingdoms that I have enough detail to picture the world or if this book is also able to vividly portray their world. However, I definitely did feel like I was in Toronto in this book.

A Book of Spirits and Thieves comes out June 23rd so I hope you all give it a chance! I know I was pleasantly surprised by it.