Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo | Book Review
Watch me spazz as I talk about Six of Crows without spoiling a single detail for you guys!
Rating: 5/5
"No Mourners, No Funerals"
Fictional Guys Have Ruined My Life
The title says it all. Fictional guys have pretty much
ruined my life and expectations for anything (and everything).
As someone who has read about 200+ books in last 5-7 years I
can proudly say that I have fallen in love with several people. All being fictional.
(*cue in music*)
I cannot remember who my first love was, but I can name my
current ones (your read correctly, there is an “S” there).
The thing about fictional guys is that they are flawed and
perfect.
He can be the crowned prince of a country, but underneath
the beautiful blonde hair and brown eyes is a caring sarcastic puppy that needs
to be held. He can be half-human with sea-green eyes and face that turns from
killer to sweetheart in a matter of seconds. He can be a geek that is into
tweed jackets and journalism as he discovers that he can see into the future.
Or maybe he can a scary thief that will rip out the eyes of any person who
hurts the one he likes. ( don’t forget cute princes that betray and hurt you!)
There are a lot of them…
The thing is, when you step into the shoes of the
protagonist of the story…their life becomes yours. You are part of their
thoughts and actions, and when they start falling in love with another
person…well so do you.
While you are off saving the world, finding yourself or
having an adventure…you are also falling in love with the guy next you.
(Leading guy or not).
I, personally, strongly dislike most romance novels, because
the main character has this instant falling in love thing that is SOOOO
unrealistic. I hate when romance leads the plot, because it is so predictable.
They meet and have instant falling in love moment, then there is a problem and
their relationship is at risk, finally everything works out THE END.
I know what you are thinking; ALL ROMANCES USUALLY FOLLOW
THAT SCHEME. Yes. You are right, but when there is more than romance in a story
it becomes more fun. Do I make sense? The leading lady has to safe the world
and figure out if the butterflies are her nerves or dokidoki feelings for a guys.
I love Maxon, Throne, Kaz, Percy, David, Kell, Dorian,
Magnus (Falling Kingdoms), and Howl…just to name a few.
It is hard, because you pretty much compare every guys you
meet to all these fictional guys and are like, “Nope, you’re nothing like
x-character. You’re not good enough for meeeeee”
Welcome to my life.
Look at how many books I’ve read this year!!! [click here]
#readwomen December
Living in Miami during winter times might seem like a bore.
Nothing expressed in every Christmas film known to man will occur down here in
warm, sticky Florida. While this might be disheartening to some (AKA me)
recreating the magic of Christmas is easy.
You don’t need cold winter nights under the blanket. Or cute
earmuff to protect your ears from the harsh icy winds winter has to offer.
Snow? Nope.
Even though the typical winter wonderland will be all but a
daydream here in Miami. You can still make your home Christmas wonderland and
do all the things the people up north do…like drinking hot chocolate (in 80F+
degree weather).
My wintery season will mostly consist of reading books and
drinking hot drinks during the hot weather.
Alongside enjoying the wonderful holiday season, I will
participate in a wonderful trend called #readwomen. It is a wonderful trend
that all of you should participate as well!
Dedicate all the books you plan on reading to just women
authors. If a woman wrote a story and published it with her beautiful name on
the cover, pick it up and read it! Let’s show support and appreciation to all
the wonderful female authors that grace us with such wonderful stories and
adventures!
Finding Hope by Colleen Nelson | Book Talk
Finding Hope by Colleen Nelson
*I was given this book by NetGalley and Dundurn for an honest review*
I was first attracted to this book by the simplicity of the cover.
Finding Hope explores the lives of Hope and Eric; siblings that reside in a small town. Lumsville is town where nothing happens and everything is boring. Except for Hope and her family. Her brother is a meth addict and her family is slowly falling apart. Hope momentarily escapes this madness through her poetry, hoping for a chance to escape.
The opportunity comes, and Hope packs her bags and heads to Ravenhurst Academy as a boarding student ready for a fresh start.
At first, Ravenhurst is better than anything Hope could've dreamed of. But as quickly as it started, her life at Ravenhurst goes spiraling down of control. With roommates, online boyfriend, school cliques, and her meth addict brother.
When I first began the book, I was not sure how I felt about it. The beginning was rocky, because there was no sense of a timeline. At one point I was not sure what time it was. The constant change of point of view from Eric and Hope I was not sure if it was weekend, weekday, morning, day or night.
Even though the beginning was strong, straight to the point of whom the characters were and what their stories were. But once Hope arrives to Ravenhurst time seems to flow better.
I was very intrigued by Eric, watching him go from high and semi-sober. (Kinda like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) The change in his train of thought demonstrated his two state of being of high and not high. Nelson does a great job showing the destruction drugs inflict on someone. She also did a marvelous and slow reveal of why Eric turned to meth. Why he chose to escape into a mentality of constant high.
Hope was raw. You really see her darkness through her poetry. Her poetry through out the story really gave the reader what she is really feeling and going through. She was easily manipulated which got her bullied by the Ravenhurst clique. This intense bullying made her weak, and nearly saw suicide as the only option.
Great portrayal of how abuse can emotionally destroy someone and cause their life to go on a downward spiral.
This book is not for everyone, and I would not recommend it to a lot of people.
There is drug abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and suicide thoughts. This can be a trigger book, and for those who suffer any of those thing should not read this book unless mentally prepared.
Finding Hope was raw. It was different. The subject matter was something new in the world of YA. It was short and heavy.
I wish we could have read more about Eric when he was put into rehab.
Rating: 4/5
Release Date: 04/2016
Winter by Marissa Meyer | Book Talk
This is the final installment of Marissa Meyer’s series: The
Lunar Chronicles.
The Lunar Chronicle is a retelling of the classic fairytales
of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. This story is told
several hundred years in the future at the Eastern Commonwealth (East Asian,
but mainly China). We follow the story of a young cyborg girl named Linh Cinder
(get it? Cinder = Cinderella).
You follow Cinder’s story as she learns about who she truly
is and what she must do with this new information.
-Spoiler from here on-
Winter, the fourth and final installment, of The Lunar
Chronicle is 800 pages long! Well 827.
Cinder and the Rampion crew successfully kidnapped Emperor
Kaito, and they begin planning their revolution to overthrow Levana and rescue
Scarlet in the process.
“At some point, we have to stop planning and start doing. I think that time is now”
I personally feel that Winter was the strongest of the four
books. All the characters went through a significant amount of development:
emotionally, mentally and physically (for some).
I do not want to give a big summary about the story, because I
expect that you have already read it or planning on reading it. So I am just
going to freak out about it and hope to have you freak out with me.
The Rampion crew grew so dependent on each other and you can
really see how much they care about one another. Cinder, Kai, Scarlett, Wolf, Cress, Throne,
and Winter wanted one another to be safe…and well not die. And they all gave
their best to make sure Cinder ascended the throne.
Though sometimes I felt their plans went too smoothly many
times. I am happy it all went well…but this is a group of teens and “college”
kids overthrowing a Queen in Luna. In reality, the world does not work that
way, but the Rampion team always had their plans be successful 90 percent of
the time.
Sneak into Luna, smooth, but Cress was left in the castle.
Scarlet and Winter sneak out, smooth, but Cress was left behind. Start a
revolution, smooth. Winter gets the plague and needs a cure, smooth. Destroy Levana,
smooth, but Cinder gets stabbed.
As someone who did not read Fairest, the truth about Cinder’s
mom, was mind blowing. But it did not excuse Levana actions!
AAAAH!
“Broken does not mean unfixable”
I would also like to mention how stressful this book was. I
congratulate Marissa Meyer for being capable of causing me to go through a
roller coaster of emotions.
There were several moments that I started trembling so bad
that I had to put the books down. Like when Cinder fell into the lake. There
were also several cute “doki doki” moment like the scene with Thorne and Cress
in that party wink wink
I am happy with the ending of this series. I can’t wait to
read the epilogue!
Rating: 4.5/5
Why I Read Books
Nothing against non-frequent readers, but reading helps the mind
and you become a better person.
I did not officially become an avid reader until I was in
middle school during the insane vampire craze the YA industry was going
through. Vampire story here, vampire story there. I did not have humble
beginnings, but those beginnings allowed me to have an escape and be someone
else for a couple of hours.
Reading a book is an experience. You take on a new name,
obtain a new life and go on an adventure you could never have in reality.
There are stories where you learn magic. Stories where you
slay mythical monsters. Stories where you find yourself. Stories where you go
on a spiritual adventure. Stories where you have to save the world.
The stories are endless.
The world is endless.
I read books to learn. I read books to become someone
better. I read books to become a villain. I read books to fall in love. I read
books to escape.
Instead of watching films or TV series, I read. Instead of
exercising and doing sports, I read. Instead of being productive, I read.
Reading is just another form of entertainment in the world.
It is the form of entertainment I enjoy the most.
Nothing can beat this view.
Currently Reading: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Dear November: A Letter to Myself
It is half way through November, meaning the year is nearly
over! (OMG). How fast does time go by? Hella
Anyways.
I wanted to talk about life, and by life I mean books.
(Which is life…along with food)
No, seriously.
Recently, Facebook threw in my face a really old picture of
me due to the throwback nonsense it does.
It was a picture of me four years ago. Dear sixteen year old
me.
God, that fringe…that cardigan…that everything. What was I
thinking? (I wasn’t…clearly).
Seeing that girl in that picture brought back a lot of
memories that I have locked away and tried to erase.
Seeing that girl in that picture blew me away, because that
girl would not believe anyone if they told her what she would become and who
she would lose.
Dear Sixteen-year-old Me,
You are terrified and confused. You do not want know what
you want in life, to the point that you question if life is even for you.
Believe the words, “It will get better”, because it honestly does. So much
better.
You grow confident, how the hell did you do it? I don’t
know, but it happened. When someone makes a comment about you, you look at them
in the face and smile. You no longer let it eat you up. You are aware of who
you are. Your faults and your gifts. You have the weirdest smile; your tongue sticks
out a little…embrace that. Practice in front of the mirror and laugh at
yourself.
College will come, and it will not be as scary as you made
it out to be. You stayed home, and that's okay…because you met the most
wonderful group of individuals and created a cult with them…and you, my dear,
as the Queen (metaphorically).
You will lose your best friend. I know. The girl who you’ve
known since you were 13, the girl who made you feel not so alone. She leaves.
And it is okay. But god it is going to hurt. You are going to cry, you are
going to feel like someone tore a part out of you. A big gapping hole. Empty.
The parting is gradual, but you feel it. You try, so hard, to make it work, to
keep the friendship, to make her keep talking to you. You are going to cry till
your eyes burn. You are going to rip some art and photographs up. You are going
to write letters that you will never send. Until you write one saying goodbye.
There is when you finally let go of those strings.
It will hurt like hell, but it is okay because remember this
cult I mentioned…well it is not a cult I was being dramatic. It is a group of
people and together (including you darling) create the Magic Kingdom of the
Piano Lounge at FIU. I know, hard to believe…you will be part of an actually
group of friends who adore you even when you are pain to be around.
There is Mom…she well…is mom and she is your support line,
she is the reason you are as strong as a diamond. The moment your confidence
falters, even a smidge. She picks you up before you can fall and pushes you
forward. There is your reading buddy,
thanks to her you will read about 50 books in a single year and made you
realize your real dream. There is your Knight, she will be the person who shows
you that when a friendship dies a new one blooms (also, your real mom swears
you are in lesbians together) because you will be super lovable to one another.
There is Thor, he is a giant teddy bear and he makes you realize that being
nice is better than being bitter. Then there is the Creator, he made all the
happen. He is the reason we all grew so close, because he got sick. Keep an eye
on him. Protect him.
There are more people you will meet and they will challenge
your life in a positive manner. They want the best for you just like you will
want the best for them. This fills that hole that she left you.
You even grew closer to your parents. ( I’m not lying, I
swear!)
You grow in a strong independent woman who is like 75% sure
what she wants with themselves. You become this girl.
Crazy right? I know. I can hardly believe it. Sixteen year
old me, thank you for not giving up on yourself even when you wanted to. Than
you for deciding to become the girl I am now.
Oh, and you go to Japan, which is pretty cool.
Thanks,
Twenty-year-old me
Incredible what one picture can do. Now I am excited who I
will become in four more years. Give me a couple years, I have great plans ahead of me.
Currently Reading: Winter by Marissa Meyer ( It is stressing
me out!...in a good way)
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Hi There, I am Ally M.G
Simply a girl who loves tea, blogs about her ever exciting life and wants to make her dreams come true.
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