Author: Cristina (Girl in the Pages)

When You Just Can’t Commit | Finding the Energy and Time to Devote to Longer Books

Posted July 26, 2017 in Discussions / 4 Comments

I’ve always proudly said that I’ve always preferred paranormal and fantasy books over contemporaries. I loved getting swept away by the magic, the alternate universes, and the sheer creativity of them. My favorite books/series of all time are usually rooted in the fantasy genres (ACOTAR, Harry Potter, etc.) but I’ve noticed a rather disturbing trend- the older, and busier, I get, the more I reach for contemporary novels. I think this has less to do with the genre itself but rather with the fact that those epic fantasy tales are always so. damn. long. I used to breeze through a […]

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare | Review

Posted July 24, 2017 in Reviews / 1 Comment

Be still my Shadowhunter heart. It’s been seven years since I picked up my first book set in Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter world, and I have to say the first book in her Dark Artifices series has reminded me of exactly why I fell in love with the Shadowhunter world in the first place. Her characters are diverse and dynamic, the Institutes are interesting and vibrant settings, and the West Coast setting in Lady Midnight so perfectly captures what it’s like to live in Southern California…this book is a beautiful tribute to LA and so uniquely Californian. I’m in love. Now […]

Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland | ARC Review

Posted July 16, 2017 in Reviews / 6 Comments

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing a review copy! I have such a soft spot for Leila Howland’s Nantucket series, so I was thrilled to see a new book by her, although set on the West Coast. My NetGalley request to read Hello, Sunshine was approved with perfect timing as I had just listened to Leila’s podcast interview with Sarah Enni on First Draft, and learned about her time spent as an aspiring actress herself. It set the stage perfectly for my reading of Hello, Sunshine as I felt more connected and as though I had […]

Let’s Talk About Unhauling Books

Posted July 13, 2017 in Discussions / 20 Comments

Every time I move it’s brought to my attention just how many books I own. Compared to a lot of other bloggers, it’s probably not that many, but packing and unpacking them always leaves me feeling like they’ve multiplied. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all of my books, and don’t in any way think I own too many. However, many of my books have sat in boxes for years because I don’t have enough shelf space for them. My current shelf situation consists of two large Ikea Hemnes shelves and two smaller bookcases that are more for decorative […]

California Here We Come | Books Set in the Golden State [Part 2]

Posted July 12, 2017 in California Here We Come, Features / 6 Comments

It’s probably no secret by now that I am a beloved West Coast native and I LIVE for books set in California. I’m thrilled to see that a golden state setting is becoming more and more common, and will 100% prioritize books set in California on my TBR. I’ve decided to start compiling lists of the top YA books set in California and chronicling them on my blog. Today’s post features books set in both NorCal (San Francisco!) and SoCal. And no, NOBODY who lives in SF actually refers to it as “Frisco” so if you ever come to the […]

Lucky In Love by Kasie West | ARC Review

Posted July 10, 2017 in Reviews / 11 Comments

*Many thanks to Scholastic for providing a review copy of this book!* Lucky In Love was a book I wasn’t planning on picking up at YallWest, having had mediocre experiences with West’s other works (The Fill-In Boyfriend, The Distance Between Us). However, when I heard Kasie was signing the copies and got a look at the GORGEOUS ARC (seriously, the cover AND the back are too cute!) I knew I had to give her books another shot. While Lucky In Love won’t be topping my list of all time favorite books anytime soon, it was a very cute, very easy […]

June 2017 | Month in Review

Posted July 5, 2017 in Features, Month In Review / 13 Comments

The first “summer” month is over (can you believe that?!) and it seems like June passed by in the blink of an eye! Honestly I can barely remember what happened at the beginning of June (aside from starting my new role at work and dealing with a major heat wave here on the West Coast) but I ended the month with a lot of travel and reading surprisingly more books than I realized. So in news that will probably surprise no one Max and I went down to SoCal for a quick Disneyland trip to celebrate my promotion at work. […]

Rereading Sarah Dessen | Once and For All Review + Dessen Favorites!

Posted June 29, 2017 in Features, Reviews / 5 Comments

Most readers and bloggers can agree that Sarah Dessen is the Queen of Contemporary. Her books have been around long before YA was a well-known genre and I remember her books being some of the first I ventured into in middle and high school summers when the YA section at my local library was lacking and I didn’t even really know what a contemporary novel was. Over the past 12+ years I’ve read and loved almost all of her books, and with Once and for All out this Sarah has surely been on everyone’s mind! Lauren from Bookmark Lit and […]

YA For Different Ages | The Wide Age Spectrum of Young Adult Literature

Posted June 28, 2017 in Discussions / 25 Comments

As a YA reader that started reading the genre when I was nine and am now currently in my mid twenties, I’ve seen the genre evolve and expand in so many ways. I remember constantly rereading my favorite YA series (The Princess Diaries, The A-List, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, etc.) because new books weren’t coming out fast enough to keep up with my reading habits. Now my problem has become quite the opposite- there’s more YA books coming out every year than I will ever have time to read. However, one thing that amazes me is how expansive […]

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett | Review

Posted June 26, 2017 in Reviews / 6 Comments

It took me a while to get into this one, but when I finally did, I fell hard. I was actually feeling super into the romance, which let me tell you, is getting harder and harder for me with high school settings these days (#I’mgettingold). I will admit I pre-ordered this book mainly due to a combination of cover love and succumbing to the hype since EVERYONE seemed to have read it early, but I’ve never seen You’ve Got Mail (I know, I know) so I really didn’t know what to expect, or why people were flailing so hard. However, […]