Tag: books

When Tragedy Becomes Incredibly Important: Violent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson | ARC Review

Posted September 14, 2015 in Five Star Reads, Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review When I was at ALA this summer, I was pitched this book by an editor at Simon & Schuster when I asked specifically for heavier contemporary recommendations. The editor had worked on the collection himself and was SO excited about it, and it’s one of those instances in which I’m seriously glad that I asked for recommendations because it may not have been a title I would have picked up myself. I’m so glad that I spoke with that editor at ALA because this book is so intense and so bold in what it does: it doesn’t essentialize […]

Book Buddies Review: Nantucket Blue

Posted September 3, 2015 in Book Buddies Reviews, Reviews / 3 Comments

Cristina and Lauren Read: Book Buddies is a discussion style review I participate in every other month with my friend Lauren who runs the blog Bookmarklit. We choose a themed book for the month, read it, and the have a discussion where we both discuss themes and aspects that really stood out to us. Book Buddy Reviews are posted during the last week of the month.You can see our review in a Q&A format with half posted here, and half on Lauren’s blog! 1) How big of an impact did the romance aspect of the book have one you? […]

Firewalker (Worldwalker Trilogy #2) by Josephine Angelini | ARC Review

Posted September 1, 2015 in Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review It’s no secret that Firewalker was my most anticipated ARC of the year. I raved about Trial By Fire this January, and I adored the unique world that Angelini created that was a mixture of paranormal and science, with a dash of steam punk thrown in for good measure. It was different and complex and featured one of my favorite, and seemingly underrepresented, paranormal creatures: witches. You can imagine my immense emotional upheaval upon finishing this book and not deeming it worthy of 5 stars, or even 4 stars, but rather relegating it to the rather mediocre side […]

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia | Review

Posted July 22, 2015 in Reviews / 6 Comments

“There is no force in high school more powerful than one person’s blunt disagreement.” Made You Up was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year. I envied those who won ARCs of it at YALLWEST, and read many, many reviews raving about the story. However, I found that this novel was another victim of hype. While Alex’s story and disease captivated me, the plot, setting and circumstances were often so absurd and caricaturized that I found it hard to follow along. It’s no spoiler to mention that Alex has schizophrenia; it’s one of the major plot points […]

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan | Review

Posted July 15, 2015 in Reviews / 9 Comments

“A wave of intense happiness washed over me, and I told myself to carry this moment as a talisman of a time in my life when I was both truly content and lucky enough to realize it.” Do you like reading about royalty? Do you like witty, edgy, sometimes bordering on scandalous humor? Are you completely and unapologetically fascinated by the idea of a commoner and a monarch, an average person and a celebrity? If so, The Royal We is the perfect transcontinental novel for you, and you should be ordering it ASAP whether it’s delivered to you by USPS […]

Princess on the Brink (#8) by Meg Cabot- Reread Mini Review

Posted April 24, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments

*This review will contain spoilers. This is the installment in The Princess Diaries where all of the long standing tensions and plot points really implode. While a lot of readers may see this as a tragic ending to a lot of long-standing features of the series, I found it really refreshing. Sure, Mia’s neurosis is in full force in this book, and she acts pretty immature about certain things, but I actually think beneath Mia’s obsessing she has some really valid points. Mia is faced with the earth-shattering proposition at the beginning of the installment of being in a long-term […]

The Princess Diaries Reread: Volumes 6-7

Posted April 22, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

This is the second installment in my Princess Diaries Re-Read self-challenge in order to prepare for The Royal Wedding, which comes out in June! In this post I’ll be bundling my reviews for books 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, and 7.75 Princess in Training (6): This book kicks off Mia’s sophomore year, and centers around another one of Lily’s insane plots she drags Mia into (nominating her to be class president against her will…for Lily’s own benefit of course). While I actually liked the presidency plot because it was nice to see Mia grow into herself more and become more confident […]

YALLWEST: A Glorious Southern California Weekend

Posted April 16, 2015 in Book and Author Events, Giveaways, Travel / 39 Comments

This past weekend I was ridiculously happy and fortunate to be able to attend California’s first ever YALLWEST, the West Coast companion event to the extremely popular YALLFest event every year in South Carolina. I found out about this festival a few months ago and IMMEDIATELY knew I was going, no matter what. I booked a hotel, asked Max if he’d like to come along (henceforth known on my blog as “The Bookish Boyfriend,” as he’s certainly earned the title after assisting me all weekend!) and my plan was set, come hell or high water. After so many months of […]

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski | Review

Posted March 19, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 27 Comments

“People in brightly lit places cannot see into the dark.” How did I not read this book sooner? Sure I’d heard about it enough. I just went about my business, thinking this was nothing more than the usual and currently popular fantasy/dystopian YA love story. I am so delighted to have been proven wrong. I loved everything about this book, from the plot to the characters to the beautiful writing to the Greco-Roman inspired society. I don’t think I’ve been so passionate about a book since I finished Trial By Fire in January. The Winner’s Curse is the book […]

Discussion: The Cover Struggle

Posted March 18, 2015 in Discussions / 37 Comments

I have the epitome of a first world problem. Ever since starting blogging I have become so much more aware of the existence and accessibility of different covers: hardback, paperback, special edition, anniversary, international, etc. With a little research, it’s not too hard to gain access to these various covers either. Thanks to Book Depository, I can order a UK paperback without the long wait for the US one. Or thanks to my B&N membership, I can snag their special edition covers at a discount. A lot of bloggers even swap and trade amongst each other to get the covers […]