February 2017 Wrap Up

I feel like at the beginning of every single wrap up I do I make a comment about how fast the year is going. So, this time I won't. But, I will make a prediction. I predict this year will go by in a flash.

Feb has been a busy month for me. I went back to school which is simultaneously awesome and not awesome. I started college which is really different but somehow easy to slot into. I've found it really easy to make a new routine and settle in. I can already tell, just four weeks in, that it will be non stop work but I think it's going to be so worth it. I'm doing four pre-tertiary classes which I do not recommend because it's going to be a whole crap load of assignments and essays and tests. And, four exams to study for at the end of the year. It's a bit of a long and boring story of how I got to doing four pre-tertiary classes so I won't bore you with that. I'm looking forward to all of them though (except maybe maths), the syllabus sounds pretty good and most of them lead me straight into what I'm hoping to do at uni. I'm most looking forward to my music class because I don't do much solo work so it'll be a lot of fun. Also, I get an excuse to go to performances?? Brilliant.

It's also been so good to have so many new faces. It feels like a really clean slate and I'm so excited about that. It means I've been able to make new impressions and I feel more comfortable being the person I've become over the past year or so because I am most certainly a completely different person. I've been really happy and I'm just really loving the change of faces. I think it's so exciting and I can't wait to see what sort of relationships I've formed at the end of the year.

So, aside from school. The blog-sphere has been so crazy. Crazy good, though. I'm feeling really optimistic about this year in blogging. I have less time for it but, it's still incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. I feel like I'm doing so many things with the blog now and I'm just really excited about it all. I'm really looking forward to what else is to come.

Now, it seems like time to talk about what I read. I read quite a bit, although I am actually in a bit of a slump right now. So, that might effect my March reads. This month, I read:
-Under The Lights by Abbi Gline
-The Upside of Unrequited by Beck Albertalli (e-arc)
-A Million Worlds With You by Claudia Gray
-Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
-The Inconcievable Life of Quinn by Marianna Baer (e-arc)
-King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard
-Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

So, it was a pretty interesting month. There were some loves and some not so much's. Overall, fairly good I'd say. It was really nice and it doesn't really feel like I read that many books.

I'm hoping all of you have a fantastic March. And. do tell me, how was your February?

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

4 Stars

“Time passes. That's the rule. No matter what happens, no matter how much it might feel like everything in your life has been frozen around one particular moment, time marches on.”  

No doubt about it, this is a stunning book and a perfect reread. I think it deserves all the praise. Books about loss aren't spread too far but this is one that really sticks with me.

The thing that makes The Last Time We Say Goodbye different to other books about loss and death, is it's bluntness. It is so blunt, it doesn't make it sound romantic or anything. It could be described as morbid, which I guess it is, but essentially Lex just says it how it is. Other books I've read tend to sugar coat it but I personally don't think death can be sugar coated. So, this book really stands out to me and gives me all the sad feelings.

I've always had an odd fascination with grief and the grieving process of individuals, so you could say this book is right up my alley. It definitely has a big focus on the way Lex recovers from the loss and how it changes the way she interacts with others, and the way others interact with her. I like that it doesn't focus on some huge love story by trying to add romance where unnecessary. There is love story but it is appropriate and it adds to the story by helping us better understand Lex's grief and situation.

I also like that we can see how such a horrible event has given Lex the opportunity to change for the better and become a more thoughtful person. I think some times we forget that admist the bad, there are oppurtunities to better ourselves so it's nice to see that little reminder in Lex. I really appreciate the development she went through.

All in all, it's probably one of my favourite contemporaries. I love all the ideas it gives and it made me look at death just a little differently. It provoked quite a few thoughts and questions of my own about death and the afterlife. I love how it focuses on grief and we really get to look in to how it affects not only those grieving but those around. It's a good book, it's a very good book. I would absolutely recommend this.

Series I Need To Finish In 2017

I start a crap ton of new series in 2016. I'd just gotten really into the bookish community which lead to me discovering an insane amount of new books. To motivate myself to actually read them, I thought I'd make a blog post because I really need to finish them.

1. The Firebird trilogy 

Okay, I'm actually about half way through the last book at the moment so it's not really that bad but I did start the series just over a year ago and there's only three books. I never look forward to reading them but once I start I really enjoy them so that's probably why it's taken me so long.

2. The Grisha trilogy

I really loved Shadow and Bone but I haven't gotten around to the next book yet. I'm really hoping I'll get there soon because I really love this world.

3. The Raven Cycle

The first book was so good. I kept meaning to ask my friend to borrow her copies because I only had The Raven Boys but I never did. Never fear though, Dream Thieves is on it's way to my door so I'm really excited for that. It might take me a while to get through all four though.

4. Lunar Chronicles 

I'm loving this so far, absolutely loving it. I still have Cress and Winter left to go and I don't know how long it'll take me to get to them. Winter looks huge so that intimidates me although nothing should after A Game of Thrones.

5. Mara Dyer series

I quite liked the first book. I flew through it and the second book it sitting waiting for me but every time I'm looking for a new read my eyes just skim over it. I will pick it up someday though. Perhaps after my current read.

6. Shatter Me

I don't know how I felt about the first book but I do know that some pretty interesting stuff happens so I really want to read the rest of the books just to find out what happens.

So, there's six of the series I need to finish this year. Looks like I've got a lot of reading to do.

Lets Discuss

What series do you need to finish? 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

4 stars

“There was just something about her dying that I had understood but not really understood, if you know what I mean. I mean, you can know someone is dying on an intellectual level, but emotionally it hasn't really hit you, and then when it does, that's when you feel like shit.”  

There were so many hilarious quotes I could've picked to highlight in this review but instead I picked this one which hit me the hardest because it's the truest. A hilariously funny and awkward yet stunningly true book. Honestly, the first time I read this. I absolutely hated it. I didn't have any reason for it that I can find or remember. It's times like these that I wish I'd gotten into reviewing way earlier. Now, though, I love it.

I really love that it's just so different, it's not trying to be too ambitious or deep or thoughtful. It just is. That's my favourite thing about it, I think, the fact it isn't trying to be too much. It sounds kind of stupid in those words, like I'm dissing books that are ambitious, I love ambition but it's refreshing to read something like this.

I love Earl. I absolutely hated him the first time I read Me and Earl but I can't see why now. He is so funny and real, I imagine he would have been such a fun character to write. He really is his own and he doesn't care what you think of him. I also love that he wants to do well for himself and his family and he's going to do that. He was so real with Greg, when Greg was being a complete dickhead, Earl was there to put him back into place. I just love Earl, every book needs an Earl.

I feel like I should be outraged at the crudeness of this book but it so much fun. I can't imagine the amount of fun it would have been to write this, it demonstrates exactly what I love about writing and reading. You can write or read some very, very exciting and fun characters and this book exhibits some very fun characters. It's also about cancer but also not really about cancer, which doesn't make sense written like this but you'd understand if you've read the book.

I haven't seen the movie adaption of this but I really hope they haven't tried to make it incredibly meaningful with quoteable dialogue every couple of sentences that provokes deep thoughts. I don't think that's what this book is about. It makes me hesitant to see the movie in fear that it will be something the book is not. I have very high thoughts on Me and Earl.

I think this is such a refreshing read. It's quick and fun and you're going to have a good giggle to yourself. I love it, I feel like this wil be my now go to book when I need a laugh. I love Greg and Earl and Rachel and I love everything else. It really holds it's own too, when I first started reading it, I thought it would just be another The Fault in our Stars esque story but it doesn't need that to be successful. I want to shove it under everyones nose so they can appreciate the crude humour and the fun characters.

My Favourite Bookish Ships pt.2

Since writing my post on my favourite ships a while ago, I've gotten a lot more ships. Like, a lot. So, I thought it was definitely time to update it with a part two. You can find the original post here.

Celaena/Chaol

Oh, my god. These two. I adore them, I think they are so perfect together and ugh, I'm so annoyed about how Crown of Midnight ended. Ugh, Chaol is my love and I know he loves Celaena. You can't trick me Sarah J. Maas. I was never a fan of Dorian with Celaena and I'm really not sure how I feel about Rowan.

Elias/Laia

This really gets me. It's so obvious they care about each other and all that tension in A Torch Against The Night was really getting to me. They are beautiful and I hope nothing ever dares to tear them apart. I think they both really compliment each other and help them to be their best. So sweet and perfect.

Cinder/Prince Kai

Ugghhhhh. Cinder is so oblivious right now (I just finished Scarlet). She needs to get her act together and get her man. It's got that forbidden-ness that I love so much. I'm really rooting for them. I love them and I know deep down Prince Kai couldn't care less what Cinder is and I think that's precious.

Blue/Gansey 

I've only read the first book so far but god I love these two. Gansey is one of my favourite characters and he has such good banter with Blue. It's perfect. Honestly, they're adorable and I don't know why they aren't a thing yet. I'm not a huge fan of Blue and Adam, I know a lot of people are but it just doesn't do it for me.

Percabeth 

I only recently finished the Percy Jackson series and I can't get over Percabeth. It is so cute and makes me so happy. They are the absolute cutest and it reminds me so much of Ronmione which anyone whose read my original post will know is my all time favourite. I just want more books about Percabeth, I waited so long for it to finally happen.

Jacob/Queenie

I love Queenie and I adore how she was with Jacob. I immediately fell in love with the two of them. They are the sweetest and I could watch them all day. The ending of Fantastic Beasts really tore at my poor heart. So precious.

So, I think that about covers it all. I'm sure I'll have to write up a part three some time. I love all these ships with my whole heart and I hope you can appreciate them.

Lets Discuss

What are your favourite ships?

Valentines Day Reads

It's coming up! The big day. I'm a bit cynical and don't really do Valentines Day, I think it's a bit too commercial for my liking but I do really love cute contemporaries. So, I thought I'd make a list of fluffy and lovely books to curl up with on Valentines Day this year.

Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, or Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

These three are adorable. I love that they all link in with each other and they are a must read for a contemporary lover like myself. The characters are all unique and the stories are all unique. They are so cute and fluffy and make me smile like an idiot.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Another really cute one. It's super light and fluffy and relatable. I definitely think it's something a lot of us can relate to, I know I can. I think Levi is the cutest and Cath is just me in almost every sense. The characters have a bit volume which is a hard thing to come across in a contemporary sometimes.

Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 

This is the sweetest and perfect for someone looking for a light and fluffy diverse read. Becky Albertalli does a brilliant thing of slipping in diverse characters without a fuss which I think is important because that's how the world should be. Simon Vs is so cute and lovely and made me crave oreos so badly. Note, you should definitely have oreos on hand if you're going to read this.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

This is slightly heavier than the others but still really cute and perfect for a Valentines Day night in. It has gorgeous friendships too which is also wonderful for Valentines Day. It is so sweet and diverse too!

P.S I Like You by Kasie West

Another really cutesy, fluffy read. I really like Lily and her crazy family life. She's so quirky and I really like that. It's has one of my favourite tropes too. I thought it was so cute and one of my favourite contemporary reads of 2016. I found it to be a pretty quick read too. And the ending made my heart explode because it was so cute.

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

3 stars

“No matter where you go or what you do to distract yourself, reality catches up with you eventually.”  

Okay, weeelll I have a good few things to say about The DUFF and while I know I like it, obviously, because I reread it but my thoughts are still fairly unclear so this review may get messy.

I mean, I'm not loving the message that sex is something that can be used to escape from your other issues. Although, I'm a firm believer that whatever you do with your body is up to you and I don't think it's fair for us to judge each other on our sex lives. This being said, I like that the book deals with Bianca's insecurities of becoming 'that girl' or more bluntly, a whore or slut. Which I personally, don't think are real things. Though, the book kind of does give off that sex is bad and if you have lot's of sex you are a whore. Now, one of my best friends has a lot of sex but does this make her any better than me? Absolutely not. I'm not entirely sure that this book gives too much of a positive sex message.

But, being the sucker for romance and contemporaries that I am, I do kind of really like this. Aside from the not so great sex messages I do like the relationship with Wesley a lot. I am an absolute sucker for that kind of Wuthering Heights type crap and this gives me that. I also adore Casey and Jess, they are such beautiful friends and I love Jess's positivity. I aspire to be Casey and Jess, honestly, they are brilliant friends even when Bianca is kind of a bitch to them.

It's kind of a trashy read, one of those guilty pleasure reads (see, The Selection). It's quick and fulfils whatever I want to get out of a book like this. Also, you've got to keep in mind Kody Keplinger wrote this when she was 17, I know I couldn't write a book like this at 17. So given that, I'm pretty impressed. I don't have a lot to say for it though. I like it, it's trashy and reading it feels like a dirty secret but I like it.

Bookish Boyfriends Pt.2

It feels like eternities ago that I wrote me first bookish boyfriends post, I realised while looking back on it that it needs some dire updating. A lot has changed in my bookish world since September which includes so many more bookish boyfriends. You can find my original post here.

Elias Veturius

I love An Ember and A Torch and Elias very quickly become a very bookish boyfriend of mine. He is so good, like he's just a genuinely good person. He is so protective and beautiful, I really appreciate how much he's willing to risk for Laia.  He is so precious and I hope the world treats him well.

Chaol Westfall

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a total Chaol Westfall nerd. I love him so much, I would do anything to protect him and keep him safe from harms way. I fell in love with him immediately upon starting the Throne of Glass series. He is the thing that keeps me going throughout the series.

Peter K.

My word, there is not a lot of things that I wouldn't do for a piece of Peter K. He is so adorable and sweet and I just can't take it. To All The Boys is one of my favourite contemporary reads and I won't lie, 80-90% of the reason why is just Peter K.

Prince Kai

I want to shout about my love for Prince Kai from the rooftops. He is so gorgeous and pure and knows whats going on. I think he is wonderful and obviously still cares for Cinder (I'm only up to Cress, don't spoil me). The world needs more Prince Kai appreciation. Please and thank you.

Enzo Valenciano

Okay, I'm just going to say it, Enzo so moody in The Young Elites but he very quickly grew on me. When he was first introduced I didn't think I'd be here writing about him as my bookish boyfriend but here I am. He is so ugh. I can't explain him but I was totally in love with him.

So, there, an updated bookish boyfriends list. I'm sure in a few months time the list will once again need updating.

Lets Discuss

Who are your bookish boyfriends or girlfriends? 

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

3 Stars

“You've got the look of a girl who's no stranger to the page. I can tell. You've got words in your soul.”

From a few reviews I skimmed on Goodreads, I can see that people either love this book or hate it but I'm on the fence. There were good points and not so good points. All of which I'll try to touch on.

Firstly, the writing is very poetic. It's all metaphors and similes. Some of them lost me, some of them had me confused. The poetic style of writing reminded me of All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doeer but on drugs. I know a lot of people can't stand poetic writing, I for one don't mind it but it tends to lose my attention quicker. It was strange and hard to get into but not necessarily bad, that would depend on who you are.

Secondly, for a long time I had no idea what was happening. This could have been my fault as the reader but also it didn't match up with the blurb for a while. I don't feel like I learnt the world very well either. The way information was given was different but it was also kind of like a history lesson and as a bit of a lazy reader, I took absolutely nothing in. I was completely lost on the world.

It reminded me of Game of Thrones meets Throne of Glass. At first I thought it was literally just a rip off of Throne of Glass but it does have its differences and a very different style of writing and story telling. Where I found Throne of Glass more captivating, Nevernight was more dragging. There is no way I would've been able to marathon this book. The story telling reminded me a lot of the way George R.R Martin tells his stories and I liked Game of Thrones but it just isn't something I could devour in one sitting, I need a small piece and then I have to digest that before asking for seconds.

It had a pretty great plot twist which sort of woke me up as I was approaching the end. I say it was great because I really adored one of the characters involved and I think those are the best kind of plot twists. It was cool and well done in my opinion. It wasn't completely out of nowhere and as far as I can tell I can't see any major plot holes in it.

There were a lot of things I wish I got to know more about. I've been left with a lot of questions but not the good kind just the kind where there was a lack of information. I just don't have a complete understanding of the world Jay Kristoff has created here, I don't have a clear grasp of it at all.

I think I will read the next book because despite the not so great things I've touched on, it was pretty good. By the end I found myself really enjoying it. I think it's going to be very hit and miss with a lot of people. I really appreciated the unique story telling and lets be real, the beautiful cover. Not a bad read at all. It would be interesting to reread it now knowing what it's about and seeing what I pick up on without focusing so hard on trying to keep up with the plot.