The Darkest Minds Review

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

5 Stars

The Darkest Minds was the Better Read Than Dead book club pick for February 2016 and boy did I enjoy it. For those of you who don't know a "disease" swept through the country and seemed to only affect children. Those who survived were not the same afterwards and thus were sent away.

I found the beginning to be a little slow and was unsure about my feelings toward our main character, Ruby. However, when we were introduced to Liam and his eclectic bunch I just could not put it down. It's safe to say that I loved him. Maybe a little too much. Lol. I found Zu to be absolutely precious and also quite the mystery. I was drawn to her partially because we knew so little about her. Chubs however, rubbed me the wrong way for a good amount of the novel. He did eventually grow on me, so I encourage you to hold out hope. One character that I had severe mixed feeling for was Clance. He pulled me in so much, but my brain was telling me no. So I guess you could say I sensed something deep down. I like how Bracken gave these people such depth. No one's backstory, or personality even, is just black and white. There are so many shades of grey and I really appreciated that.

This was quite the adventure. While I have never seen what the East coast of the United States looks like in person, I could sense the destruction and general devastation through Alexandra's words. It was all so real to me and I felt bad for these people. You really get a great sense of the world she has created within her mind. I'm so glad she decided to put it on a page because it's incredible. I'd never want to live there though. Some things just felt a bit too cult-like for me. Anyone else get that feeling?

To sum up, The Darkest Minds was quite the page turner. In the end I was left feeling broken. I had developed such an attachment and man was I crushed. Book two in the series, Never Fade, is for sure in my future. Anyone is welcome to join Grace and I for book club. We read one young adult novel a month and discuss as we go. If you've read The Darkest Minds, let's talk about it.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Wild Swans ARC Review

Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood

5 Stars

To start off, I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with yet another lovely novel. I went into this book thinking it was basically about some family curse where the women die young and talented. I was wrong. This is a contemporary novel that, in my opinion, centers around family issues, finding your voice, and acceptance. Boy did I eat it up.

I found our main character, Ivy, to be smart, strong-willed, but also a tad whiny. I understand her issues, believe me, you will too. But sometimes I just wanted to scream at her for not speaking up when she truly needed to. It was one of the most frustrating things and often it had to do with her grandad. I absolutely adored Grace and Ella. I hope you will as well. These two, while young, can really teach you something.

On to my least favorite characters. I wasn't a huge fan of Alex, he seemed quite possessive, but maybe if there is a future book, he can redeem himself. My most hated character was Erica. However, you are made to hate her. She's the villain of this story and I think Spotswood did a fantastic job at creating her. At the end of the novel I really wanted more so I could know how her story turns out.

While I love the not-so-perfect family aspect of this novel, there is one thing that I love even more. Spotswood added a transgender character and delicately touched on all the emotions of the people around her. This person is in no way a focus of the story. I love that such a minor character has such an important lesson to teach the reader. While talking about lessons, I might as well mention Claire. I didn't plan on talking about her, hence her not being mentioned above. But Claire has some great outlooks on life. I would just like you to pay attention to some of the things that she says.

All in all, this was quite the enjoyable read for me. My family is not perfect in any way and I really love reading about other families and their issues. Especially ones that cause huge rifts. Another thing I appreciate is how while there is a romance, it's not at the forefront. The focus remains on this family the entire time. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good Summer read that isn't super lovey. Wild Swans is not some fluffy read and it's not some divine mystery like I initially assumed. Wild Swans will be out on May 3, 2016 for those of you who are interested. Be sure to come back and discuss it once you've read it.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Summer of Sloane ARC Review

Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

5 Stars

I am so incredibly happy that I was able to read this book early. Thank you so, so much to NetGalley and the publisher for "granting my wish". Summer of Sloane is a novel about friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, and finding yourself. I'm not going to say what, but a huge bomb was dropped right on the first page. WHAT?! I wasn't sure where it was going to go, but I needed to find out. 

The characters all felt very real and relatable in a sense and I found that quite refreshing. I will say I found myself very angry at Mick throughout the whole novel. The actions of this character just rubbed me the wrong way, but also it felt like that was intentional so it's not a bad thing. My favorite character had to be Finn. He was charming and funny, he just pulled me in from the very start. As I got to know more about him, I loved him even more. A book from his perspective would be welcomed with open arms. *wink wink* Or even just a sequel. I need more. Sloane is a very independent yet confused girl who clearly needs time to discover who she is and what she wants. I think that's one of the most enjoyable parts. I loved her thought process and how although her mind thought things were very black and white, her heart saw things as grey. I could go on forever about the wonderful characters in this novel. 

Schneider does a fantastic job at describing the scenery, man I wish I were in Hawaii. I'd like to also address the pool. A small fact is that Sloane has anxiety and she deals with it by building a pool in her mind, drop by drop, piece by piece. As someone who also has anxiety, I found this to be amazing. I have never heard of such a way to deal with it and watching Sloane do it was very calming. I haven't read a lot of books that talk about anxiety in such a real and helpful way. I think it was wonderful that it was included in this book even though it didn't necessarily need to be. Thank you, Erin.

To sum everything up, Sloane is a journey. While it is a fun Summer read, it is also a perfect example of how sometimes all you need is to get away for a little while. That focusing on yourself is not wrong, but also how things can change in a single moment. Sloane takes on a serious side as well. I recommend this to absolutely anyone who loves contemporary and even those who are unsure. For those of you who are interested, Summer of Sloane will be out on May 3, 2016. I do hope you'll get yourself a copy and discuss it with me.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Also, here are two of the pictures I took of my Sloane bookmark for the event called #SloaneAroundTheWorld. You can see everyone else's photos by looking up the hashtag on both Instagram and Twitter. You also might want to check out Erin's Blog.

                   

A Little Something Different Review

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

5 Stars

Around Valentine's day I was looking for a super cute read and so I picked up A Little Something Different. The title definitely fits. If you don't already know this is a love story and it is told from fourteen different perspectives, none of which are the actual couple. I must say, while that is a lot of vantage points, there was only one that bothered me. Her name is Hillary and boy did she just rub me the wrong way. Other than that, I enjoyed them all. I especially loved the meddling friends and the creative writing professor (the squirrel was cute too). Now on to the actual story. While I did give it 5 stars because I enjoyed it overall, I had no idea it was going to be full of so many near misses! It was incredibly frustrating, but I guess that's what you get when you don't have "instalove". Gabe and Lea were both so adorable and the connection was there. I just would have liked to see them as a couple as well as all of the before. Regardless of my little issues, I could not put it down. Maybe because I was hardcore rooting for these two to get together since there wasn't a whole lot else going on. If you're looking for a super cute and quick read, this is absolutely what I'd recommend. I picked the perfect book for a holiday about love. If you've read this, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you wish there were more to the story? Are you happy with where it ended? Let's discuss!

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Holding Court ARC Review

Holding Court by K.C. Held

5 Stars

Holding Court caught my attention because the description seemed so different. A book about a girl working in a castle who finds a body? Not to mention her "PTS", wow. I needed to see what this was all about and I'm glad I did. I found myself falling in love with Juliet, her gran, and yes, Grayson Chandler (There's an obvious need to use his full name once you read it). I can tell you Juliet's gran is absolutely hilarious. Back to the story, the focus of Holding Court is this mystery of who died and where did the body go? Even though I kind of figured out who did it around halfway through, it was still entertaining and I didn't know 100% that my suspect was indeed the guilty party until it was revealed. Bottom line, I could not put it down. I needed to know who had done the deed and I was also rooting for a certain couple. K.C. wove together an intriguing mystery that's also hilarious and adorable at the same time. If you're looking for a fun, quick read, then this one is for you. A special thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy. Holding Court will be available for purchase on March 1, 2016, grab yourself a copy and we can talk about it.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

City of Bones Review

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

5 Stars

I know, I know, I'm so late to the cool kids club with this one. Fuck it, I took my time and I'm glad I did because damn, I loved this book. I finally understand the hype surrounding this series and I am definitely going to continue with it. As late as I was, I finally picked this up because the television show, Shadowhunters, was starting this month. I don't know about you, but I struggle to read something once I've seen its adaptation so I had to hurry my ass up.

I loved practically all of the characters, but I was mildly annoyed by Simon. Clary had her moments as well, but let's focus on the good. Jace was so cocky, he didn't hold back in any aspect and it was perfect. Definitely the most entertaining character to read about for me. Isabelle’s confidence is for sure something I am jealous of. I found Hodge to be kind of sketchy throughout the book, but I feel like a sketchy character is always needed especially with a story like this one. As for Alec, I don't have a lot of thoughts there except for the scene where he gets a tad angry. DAMN. Lastly, I want to see more of Magnus. His character seems to just draw me in! Anyone else feel that way?

As for the plot, I felt it was very well paced with a few serious bombs dropped throughout. Seriously, WHAT?! I enjoyed the romance aspect as well and how it was in the background instead of the forefront. There is a couple that I ship and I don't know how to feel about it. If you've read it, you know. If you're behind on the times like I am, read it. Read it now. If you love adventure, sarcasm, action, etc. then this book is for  you. Book two is in my future for sure. I'd love to hear your thoughts, whether they're on the book, the movie, or the tv show. Just try not to leave any spoilers.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Gone Wild ARC Review

Gone Wild by Jodi Lundgren

4 Stars

I was able to read this gem through NetGalley and for that, I am thankful. All you really need to know going into this book is that two teens are on separate journeys to escape from their problems and their paths cross. Now I expected this to be way more enlightening, but it was still enjoyable to read. The journey was not quite amazing, it was more of an okay, clear your head type of thing. So don't expect some grand adventure that leaves you questioning your own life, this isn't that. It was nice to see the inner struggles that both of these characters went through and how they handled them. I haven't read a lot of books dealing with either topics and I'm sure there are a lot out there, but I'd still like to see more. This is definitely a quick review for a quick read, but I recommend it. Especially if you want something fast, easy, and slightly different. It'll be out September 1, 2016 if you'd like to get yourself a copy.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

The Princess Diaries Review

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

4 Stars

I picked up this book because I really wanted to read the adult book that has been added to the series. Being that I've never read these books, I felt that I should. Now, I breezed through this book. It was a quick, fun, light, and easy read. Not surprising since it's meant for tweens and teens. My main problem was how young Mia seemed, it might be just me, but I did not act like that in high school. Not even middle school, it read like 5th grade me was writing it. Yes, I said it was enjoyable, but my god, Mia drove me nuts most of the time. I'm really hoping to see her grow up because I don't know how much more of that I can take. I will definitely be picking up book 2 very, very soon. Have any of you read the series? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Xoxo,

Gabriella

First Book Outlet Experience

My very first Book Outlet order!

If you watch as many "Booktube" videos as I do, you've probably heard of Book Outlet. Book Outlet is notoriously known for their amazingly low prices or "read-iculously low" as they put it. On December 28th they had this Boxing Day sale where if you spent a certain amount of money, you got a certain amount of money off of your order. I managed to spend around $75 so I received $30 off of my purchase. I finally decided to give in and purchase from Book Outlet because they had ten of the books in The Princess Diaries series. I wanted to start reading them so I can read the new adult book in the series. Unfortunately, three of the books sold out before I checked out, but I was still able to get the rest. Anyway, I now see why everyone is so in love with this company. If you don't have a ton of money, but you fly through books like there is no tomorrow then they allow you to feed your addiction without breaking the bank. Only one of my books came with the wrong cover and I'm not even mad about it, it's still beautiful so no worries. Overall, I loved my books and I cannot wait to make more purchases in the future. I'll leave a list of the books I bought below. Have you ever used Book Outlet? If not, you can use this link to make your first purchase!

Xoxo,

Gabriella

Books in my haul and their links!

A Little Something Different

Lux Beginnings

Bewitching

Bound to You

Hide and Seek

Cross My Heart, Hope to Die

Disney Princess Comics Treasury

Don't Expect Magic

Everbound

Everybody Sees the Ants

Gossip Girl

The Princess Diaries

Princess in the Spotlight

Princess in Love

Princess in Waiting

Party Princess

Princess on the Brink

Princess Mia

The Heiresses

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

You may notice that some of the links take you to Goodreads, that's because those books aren't currently on Book Outlet.

Arrow Volume 1 Review

Arrow Volume 1 by Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Mike Grell

4.5 Stars

This year I started watching Arrow and when I was looking into purchasing the dvds, I was recommended this graphic novel. Of course I had to put it on my Christmas list! I read this in one sitting and while I did breeze through it, it was not what I expected. I figured it would have a lot more to do with the television show and it did, but it didn't in my opinion. I was a little confused as to where certain things fit in and whatnot. I just think that if they're going to put Stephen Amell on the cover, then it should be a lot clearer and be a lot more related. I hope I'm making sense. Regardless of my problem with that, it definitely was entertaining and completely enjoyable. I recommend this if you're looking for an extra dose of Arrow, but I wouldn't say you're missing anything if you don't pick it up. Also, I really enjoyed the artwork it really matches the feel. Let me know your thoughts!

Xoxo,

Gabriella