All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

4 stars

“You are all the colors in one, at full brightness.”  

Oh my, f---ing god. This makes me feel all the things at once. I forgot how good it was, I remember reading it all in one night all while my Dad cooked tea except by the time tea was up I was crying so not my wisest idea. Honestly, I am so pleased I reread this. It deserves to be ingested and I feel like rereading it was the only way I could do that thoroughly.

Books like this hit me close to home because I am so damn terrified of losing some one I love. Falling in love with a boy and then having them taken away like that is a pain I can't imagine. All The Bright Places is so heartbreaking, I think it's probably one of the most heart breaking of this kind I've read. The thing that gets me is the bipolar Finch clearly suffers, it makes me so scared. It is so intense and so much at once, I couldn't imagine it. It made me so nervous when Finch was going through his manic period, which I consider a good sign, it means I connected with the writing.

I remember this being a book that stayed with me for a while when I first read it. I think it shaped me a little, too. I can't explain how it shaped me but I know it did, by the connection I felt when I started reading it again. I love it so much that I just came up with a story idea inspired very loosely by All The Bright Places which, admittedly, I will probably drop in a couple of weeks. Though, it proves how much this book affects me.

I love dual perspectives, just like I mentioned in my review of When We Collided, I think it's important to gather the perspectives of not only the person suffering but their loved one as well because mental disorders don't only affect the one person, they affect everyone around them. Especially their loved ones.

5 Word Reviews

So, I had a lot of fun doing my 7 Word Reviews blog post so I definitely wanted to do it again. Today, I felt a particular attraction to the number 5 so, I bring you 5 word reviews.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Gorgeous//Shocking//Sweet//Fleshy//Passionate

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley

Diverse//Hearty//Thoughtful//Different//Changing

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

Heart-wrenching//Australian//Incredible//Gasp//Poignant

P.S I Like You by Kasie West

Fluffy//Adorable//Cliché//Speedy//Uncomprehendable-sound

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riodan

Hilarious//Riduculous//Fast-paced//Action//Witty

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Addictive//Quick//Haunting//Dark//Strange

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Full Review Here

Dazzling//Magical//Romantic//Enchanting//Awe

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

3 Stars

“I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.”  

Hmm, not sure about this. Really not sure, this is one that didn't give me any nostalgia to reread or anything. It didn't really make me feel a whole lot. I'm pretty sure this will be a fairly short review, not because I don't like If I Stay, I do. It just doesn't give me that many feelings.

The thing I love most about If I Stay, and the reason I reread it is Mia's passion for cello and music. It reminds me of myself even though I tend to have a love hate relationship with my trumpet sometimes. It always makes me want to try harder with my own music and in my own band. So, I like it for the fact that it inspires me to work harder. I also feel at one with her when she talks about the cello being a dorky instrument. A lot of people my age, in my music class play the guitar or the piano or whatnot. I can sympathise with her when she says she doesn't feel like she fits in with her family because she plays the cello and likes classical music.

I loved reading about her family and her relationship with her family reminds me a lot of mine. Thinking about it, Mia and I are very similar. I think her parents are just hilarious and very non conventional but still fantastic parents. Honestly, I could've done without Adam and just had the family. It's nice to read about such a good and in tact family. They're so supportive and wonderful, I love it.

I liked the idea of it, I tend to like to believe that it's your choice when you let go and not the choice of your vital organs but I'm a romantic that way. I wish we got to see a bit more internal struggle with that staying or going. I know if it were me, I would be having an absolute rollercoaster of feelings. Although, it's a nice and quick read. It has some really lovely moments but I'm not in love with it as much as I'd like to be.

Three Dark Crown by Kendare Blake

3 Stars

“I want revenge." She whispers, and her fingers trail bloody streaks down Natalia's arms.
"And then I want my crown.” 

I've seen a lot of reviews of this and a lot of people didn't seem to like it. I actually quite liked it though, I didn't go in expecting too much because of all the reviews I've seen. So, I was pleasantly surprised by it. I had a few minor issues but there were quite a few positives too.

Starting with a couple of my issues with the book. I thought the pacing was slow and I don't think the world was explained very well. The whole book seemed to be a lead up to this 'explosion' style ending, which most books are but in this one, you could really feel it. It was dragging and felt like there was just things happening for the sake of filling in time. But, this could've been used to give readers a better grasp of the world and the plot and answer a few things. I found a lot of my basic questions I had upon beginning the book weren't answered. I just didn't completely understand which made it less enjoyable.

I did really like the idea. I think that's really cool, not going to lie, I did think this was a stand-alone so I did think we'd get to find out which queen wins. Alas, it has a sequel on it's way so we don't find out who wins yet although I have a theory that no one will. I really like the triplet queens and I like that Mirabella really had that sense of family still in her which complicates things a little. 

I like that not only are the triplets big players in the game, also Jules. Jules contributed to a lot of the story. It's almost like Jules and her relationship with Joseph sets the whole climax. Actually, there's no almost about it at all, it does set up the climax. I like that it revolves around the queens but it isn't all about the queens if that makes any sense to you at all. 

I love any books with royalty. It gives that really old timey vibe that I so like and it usually gives a high fantasy vibe too. I never even liked high fantasy before I started my blog. I'm just obsessed with that whole dark fantasy king and queen thing. I'm having a hard time trying to explain it so I'm just going to hope someone gets me. If you like royalty in books, you'll like this si what I think I'm trying to get to.

I really enjoyed it, not to mention that my copy is really gorgeous to look at. I'd recommend giving it a go yourself and seeing how you feel about it because as I said earlier, there has been some mixed feelings about and I almost didn't read it because of that. Hopefully you like it as much as I did. 

Insta-love?

I thought it would be interesting to start discussing tropes found in YA books on the blog. Some people love them and some people hate them. I want to know why and I want to tell you how I feel. Today, I thought we'd do insta-love because I know that gets a lot of people fired up. It gets me fired up, honestly.

So, if you're unfamiliar with insta-love, it is essentially instant love. Love at first sight. Whatever you want to call. Person meets person and falls in love, no buts about it. It's pretty unbelievable and I'm not totally convinced things like this actually happen in real life. In fact, I'm not convinced at all. I don't think it happens in real life because I don't think it's possible to actually love someone instantly. Be attracted to them? Of course, but not love.

This happens in several upon several YA books. To name a few:
-The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
-City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare
-Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
-When We Collided by Emery Lord
-Carol by Patricia Highsmith
-Looking For Alaska by John Green
-Almost any book by Nicholas Sparks

Those are only a few that I could think of off the top of my head but I think they're all really good example and I'm sure most of you have read or heard of at least one of them. There is a lot of them if you look hard enough. I'm sure if I had a good look at my bookshelf I'd be able to name quite a few. It's crazy how often it happens and it gets me thinking, why? Is it because these authors are just hopeless romantics at heart? Or, are they too lazy to actually write their characters properly falling in love? The last one is aimed at myself, whoops. I mean, it's probably the author tapping into what they think their readers want. I don't mind it and I'm sure there's people out there who live for insta-love.

I'm very on the fence about insta-love. I loved it in The Sun Is Also A Star because it was so sweet, I hated it in Looking For Alaska because I almost thought it was creepy. Which is weird because they were very similar. Which I think comes down to the differences between Miles and Daniel. Miles tended to sexualise Alaska quite a lot and that's where it my mind it was creepy because he hardly knew her. Whereas Daniel hadn't sexualised Natasha quite as much, it still happened but Daniel was still very fixated on talking to Tash and learning about Tash and it was all just very sweet. Which has all to do with the authors. John Green is quite blunt in his books whereas when Nicola Yoon writes I think she has a tendency to romanticise things. So, for me it comes down to the author and how well they've managed it. I think it can be done well and it can be done not so well. Just like anything.


But, I'd like to hear what you think of insta-love. Love it? Hate it? What's a book you've read with insta-love recently? Did it bother you? Tell me everything.

7 Word Reviews

I mean, it's pretty self explanatory but I thought it would be fun (and challenging) to try out 7 words reviews. As for why 7, I felt drawn to it. So, I'll dive straight into it!

Carol by Patricia Highsmith

Eye-opening//Intriguing//Sad//Beautiful//Anticipation//Passionate//Thought-provoking

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Full Review Here

Exciting//Sexy//Epic//Twists//Shocking//Fast-paced//Ass-kicking

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart Full Review Here

Stunning//Poetic//Shocking//Devastating//Different//Mystifying//Wow

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak   Full Review Here

Incredible//Devastating//Remarkable//Apprehension//Breath-taking//Pivotal//War

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Fluffy//Delicious//Tension//Fun//French//Decadent//Sweet

The Bees by Laline Paull

Captivating//Metaphorical//Interesting//Deep//Smart//Unique//Thoughtful

The Selection by Kiera Cass Full Review Here

Addictive//Quick//Romantic//Royal//The-Bachelor//Fluffy//Catty

Divergent by Veronica Roth

3 stars

“A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.”  

I remember this was an early read of 2014, when I was about 13/14 (technically 13 because I read it near Easter time). My best friend was obsessed with the movie and took me with her for her second trip to the cinema to see Divergent (I went because it got me out of hanging out with this boy who was kind of accidentally my boyfriend). Anyway, I got pretty obsessed too so immediately I told my mum I wanted the book. Shortly after, being the absolute legend she is, I found it sitting out for me on the morning of Easter Sunday. I adored it.

The funny thing about Divergent is that while I love the first book, Divergent, the other two don't seem to take my fancy up at all. I read them shortly after the first one but they just didn't seem to compare for me. I really loved the way the factions worked in Divergent and I think I wanted to see more of that. I don't think it has that much to do with the writing or general quality of the other two books. It more or less has to do with the fact it wasn't what I wanted and I didn't tend to enjoy it.

I love the idea of Dauntless and I love reading about it. I could never be in dauntless but god, it is so fun to read about. I can see myself being in Amity even though I long for knowledge, I don't think I could possibly handle Erudite. It would be cool to read more about Candor though. I'm obsessed with the whole concept of these factions, although in theory, they're probably the worst idea ever. All the qualities are good qualities and I think it would be pretty impossible to determine only one out of all of them. These impracticalities are what makes it so fun to read about though, who reads to read about the world they're in. If I read of the world I'm in, I'd be reading about reading and school and band.

I honestly skimmed past the last about 80 pages because I'm not entirely about all that. I just really love all the faction and initiation stuff. Although, The Hunger Games are a bit the same for me. I could really give or take the whole uprising thing. The first time round it's interesting but for a reread, I'd rather just read what I loved and I loved everything else so much.

Although, I love Divergent, it didn't blow me away. Therefore, I am only rating it three stars and not four or five. I do this because my opinions on Divergent especially are personal preferences and very much my personal opinions. I don't have a lot to say on it, in terms of plot and characters and world building so I can't give much of an in depth review of this one.