Thursday, May 26, 2016

Pretty Little Liars Book 3: Perfect by Sara Shepard

Hey everyone! I am sorry I missed this weeks NBT! I was out of town and super busy as usual. Anyway, I just finished book 3 of the Pretty Little Liars series!!! So far this was the slowest one, however it was full of the drama we know and love.

Emily, dealing with her feelings for Maya and realizing that she never loved Ben, because Ben was a guy. Emily and Maya's intimate photo booth picture is leaked and the people she hoped would never find out did. Emily has to move to Iowa and her mother is pissed!

Aria, kept her fathers affair a secret from her mother. Ella receives a letter about the affair and Aria's secret. Aria is kicked out of her house and moves in with her boyfriend Sean, but slowly Mr. Fitz, her English teacher begins calling and wanting to spend time with her. One night Aria and Ezra spend the night together and are interrupted when the cops knock down Ezra's door and arrest him.

Spencer, who wins an award for her history paper, but the paper is not hers, its her perfect sister Melissa's. When the family finds out a huge fight breaks out between siblings. Spencers rage geths the best of her as she pushed Melissa down the stairs and blacks out, only to wake up with a pounding headache locked in her room. She cant remember anything!

Hanna, loses Mona as her BFF and becomes friends with a boy who Alison called a Hermaphridite. Lucas has a crush on Hanna, and when Hanna shows up to Mona's birthday party uninvited and in the same dress, things get ugly. Luckily Lucas saves the day and their friendship becomes more..

The girls are still being taunted by the mysterious entity called A and Aria realizes a huge secret that she ended up catching on tape. Alison had a fling with Melissa Hastings boyfriend Ian. Hanna knows about it too and the unthinkable happens...

She knew too much-A
This was a good read. As I said before, it was the slowest read of the bunch so far but overall it was full of anger, drama and a group of girls who are no closer to discovering who A is.

Check back for a review on book 4, Kisses- A

Friday, May 20, 2016

A-Z Book Challenge

Hey everyone, I did something like this on my personal blog so here is a book version! Enjoy


A- The Austere Academy, A Series of Unfortunate Events book 5. I love this series and started reading it my sophomore year in high school!
B- Beautiful Creatures. I had high hopes for this book. The idea of this family of witches known as Casters was such a cool idea, and while I LOVE Ridley, this series feel short...

C- City of Glass. Oh.My.Gosh. This book was in short, AMAZING. This series was hard for me to get into, I found the overall idea hard to imagine and had a hard time falling in love with Cassandra Clares writing, However, I am a firm believer that certain books are supposed to be read at the right time and for me when the series first blew up was not it. I had to wait over 5 years before I felt compelled to give it another try, and I am so glad I did! Simon Lewis I love you!!!

D- The Diviners. This book is such a rollercoaster. It combines 1920's prohibition New York with a supernatural Force that is killing people for sacrificial reasons. I describe this books as The Great Gatsby meets The Zodiac Murders. Although those are 40 years apart it combines so many of the same elements to make up this amazing read!

E- Eclipse. While I don't like the Twilight Saga anymore I was hooked on it well before the movies came alone and ruined everything, minus Taylor Lautner without his shirt on LOL I have to say of all the books, this one was by far the best.

F- The Fault in Our Stars. I again read this well before the movie was made. It was recommended to me by a coworker and cancer survivor. She said she herself had not read it but all her friends had. I loved it! It was a heart wrenching read that made you feel so blessed to be alive and to live like Gus and Hazel and just love with all your heart,

G- A Great and Terrible Beauty. This book took me in total 2 years to read. That is because I am a very fickle reader. When a book gets a little slow I am one to put it down and not pick it up again. I have been working to correct this bad habit and I finished this book last month! Once I reached the halfway point it began to take off for me, This is Ashley's favorite book so I had to finish it and I am really happy I did!

H- The Hollow. This is the first book in my favorite series!!!! Yes, The Hollow trilogy is my favorite, It combines one of the only classics I like with some romance and made it a page turner! Its a FANTASTIC read!!

I-In the Shadow of Blackbirds. This book was outstanding! It combined the Influenza Epidemic with Spirit Photography and the supernatural. I love historical fiction so for me this was a no brainer. It takes place in a town called Coronado California, down in San Diego and it was a non stop rollercoaster ride of the supernatural and hysteria.

J- James and the Giant Peach. I LOVE this book. It is my 2nd favorite book of all time and i have read it at least 6 times. Roald Dahl is my favorite author and his imagination is something to be jealous of!

K- Kiss of a Demon King. This series The Immortals After Dark is amazing. My best friend Jamie got me hooked on them and this was one of my favorites. Sabine is the Sorceress of Illusion and she falls in love with a Warrior named Rydstrom. Its smutty and amazing!!!!

L- The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 1. This series is amazing. My husband and I started reading it senior year in high school and since we only had one copy we fought over who would get it during which part of the day! It takes the classic myths of the Greeks and gives it a comical and new spin!

M- Mockingjay. The final book in The Hunger Games series. It was an alright book. It was by far the slowest of the series but the ending made the entire book worth reading. Well it did for me.

N- New Moon. While I did like this book, Bella was by far the worst character ever written. She was a user and all she did was cry and have nightmares. Come on little girl, you got dumped, move on...am I right?

O- The Odyssey. I read this book in high school and I quite liked it! I love the whole adventure and the trials. Its a tough read if you are not a classics fan, but if you push through it, you may end up liking it like I did!

P- The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This was a hard book to read. Its about a VERY naive teen named Charlie and his first year of high school. He is so sheltered that when you read it, its almost as if he is a child and not 15 years old so it detracts from the overall outcome of the story. However I LOVE the movie and Logan Lerman so for me I will just watch the movie :)

Q- I sadly have not read a book starting with Q ... I'm sorry :(

R- Romeo and Juliet. This is one of the first books I asked my mom to get for me at the library. I had just watched the Version with Leonardo DiCaprio and I "had" to read the book and I did, however I didn't care to understand it, I just memorized all of Juliets lines and I still have alot of them memorized. My husband refuses to watch it with me because he says he can hear me repeating the lines :) 

S- Shiver. I read this book a few years back and really liked it. I was really into the supernatural romance reads and this popped up one day at the library and I could not put it down. Now I look back and it was entertaining but so weird...

T- To Kill a Mockingbird. This is my all time favorite book! I loved everything about it and I remember being little and asking my mama what her favorite book was growing up and she always talked about To Kill a Mockingbird. When my teacher passed it out in class I was excited to tell my mom. Little did I know that it would become the book that inspired me to read all the time. Atticus Finch is the most wonderful character in all of Literature in my opinion and I have a quote of his tattooed on me!

U- Unhinged. This is the second book in another re-imagining of Alice in wonderland. Its actually really good and slightly terrifying!

V- Vampire Kisses. I read this right after I finished the Twilight Saga, and was still wanting a vampire to love. They are super quick and fun and Alexander Sterling is by far a way better Vampire than Edward Cullen, and he doesnt sparkle!

W- Wicked. This was such a wonderful concept for a story. I loved the characters and the idea, however I cannot enjoy Gregory Maguire's writing, he is all too wordy for me!

X, Y and Z I have not read any with those letters in the title... Again I apologize, however CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I will make a point to find some titles so that I can add them to this list.

Hope all of you had fun!






Tuesday, May 17, 2016

New Book Tuesday!

Hello and welcome to another New Book Tuesday!!! I am really excited to share what I found at my local Library. I thought I would make this interesting and give you the synopsis before I reveal the picture, sound good? Each synopsis will be in quotations as I am using the ones from the book :) okay here we go!

1. "When fifteen year old Oscar Drai suddenly vanishes from his boarding school in Barcelona, no one knows his whereabouts for seven days and seven nights.
His story begins when he meets the strange Marina while he's exploring an old quarter of the city. She leads Oscar to a cemetery where they watch a macabre ritual that occurs on the last Sunday of each month. At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, a woman shrouded in a black velvet cloak descends from her her carriage to place a single rose on an unmarked grave.
When Oscar and Marina decided to follow her they begin a journey that transports them to post war Barcelona..."

2. "When fifteen year old Mallory boarded the General Slocum steamship that hot summer in 1904, her only thoughts were of Dustin and the kiss they had promised to share. Then Suddenly, the steamship caught on fire and within minutes, she along with a thousand others were dead. Now she lingers a ghost unable to leave her grieving family and Dustin..."

well, have you guessed them....


Now that you have read what they are about, would you read them????

Monday, May 16, 2016

Lets Get Inspired!!!

Hey Readers! I just did an inspirational post on my personal blog and since this is a blog devoted to reading, books and all things book related I thought I would inspire all of you!

This is my life story! I haven't gotten into Rainbow Rowell but she just gets me in this aspect!


more like One book, Million feelings. That's when you know a book is worth it, when you cant tell if you're happy or sad, mad or scared!

A book should be an event. If its not, its not worth your time!
The best Kind of dreams involve book, book characters and the like!
This is me! My husband is super supportive of my book obsession and whenever there is a book I want he never stands in the way, he in fact gets it for me!



Friday, May 13, 2016

The Series of All Series

Hey Everyone! Its been awhile since I have done a big post on here, besides New Book Tuesday. So I was playing Lego Harry Potter on my PS3 last night and was up late trying to beat a new level and it sparked a new blog post!!! I get all my best ideas at the most random times :) So... that being said I want to talk about Harry Potter! Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone came out when I was in the 4th grade and my teacher read it to us, Being the child I was I didn't have time for reading. I didn't care who Harry was and why he was a wizard. (yes this is completely true) As more of the books were being published and seeing how all my peers were enjoying it, I longed to read the series. When I finally decided to rent it from the library I could not get past Chapter 1 The Boy Who Lived and I quickly gave up. Once the movies started coming out and I watched the first movie I wanted to read the books even more, but again I became bored within the first chapter. It wasn't until my sophomore year that my best friend Jamie was talking about all the books and I saw how much passion she had when she talked about them. So she made me a deal I couldn't refuse. She said "Read the first book and if you don't like it I'll give you $5 bucks, but if you do end up liking it, the deal is off." Knowing that I would win i shook on it. Little did I know that this was the exact moment in time that I was meant to read it and I could not put it down and about a week later with my tail between my legs i asked her "Can I borrow book 2"?
Now that you know why I love the books I have some pictures to share with you!

In the Photo Challenge that my friend and I are hosting via Instagram the other day happened to be a Harry Potter themed day so this is what my picture looked like.A few years ago I took the quiz via Pottermore.com that places you in the right house and to my surprise and excitement I was a SLYTHERIN! So i had to show some house spirit as well as my top 3 faves in the series!!
Awhile back I was Tagged to do a favorite chapter themed picture and this is what I ended up making it look like. Here is also why I chose these chapters...
The Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. I chose this as my favorite chapter because I found it quite menacing that we get a glimpse into what is so unknown to Hogwarts students and we meet Firenze, who is a lesser know but wonderful character!
A Very Secret Diary from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I LOVED this chapter! Although it made my favorite character, Hagrid, seem guilty of a crime he did not commit, I loved that it gave you a glimpse into the past!
Moony, Wormtail,Padfoot, and Prongs from my favorite book in the series Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban This chapter for me was altering for the story as a whole. I loved learning about the 4 boys and I loved this chapter so much I have all 4 boys names tattooed on me (if you're jealous you should be :) I love that each boy was willing to go to extreme measures to help one of their own!
The Egg and the Eye from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I chose this chapter because...well... it has a mermaid!!!!
                                                 St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This is a very sad chapter and we get a glimpse into one of the most beloved characters, Neville Longbottom's Life and relationship or lack there of with his parents. A heartbreaking chapter that fills in alot of gaps!
                                                 The House of Gaunt from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. OH. MY. GOSH! This chapter had me spellbound (no pun intended) for days after I read it. There is so much that gets pieced together in the short amount of pages. We find out who Tom Riddles family is where he comes from, but not only that. We find out a secret about him as well!
                                                  Godrics Hollow from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I dislike the book very much. I only somewhat liked the chapter I chose to showcase only because we see where Harry and his Parents were from and where the deaths of Lily and James Potter happened. I feel like this book was so half-assed. There was no real passion in it for me like the other 6 before it. Even the battle of Hogwarts was not as grand as you would think.

I am a Harry Potter nut and if you have not tried reading the books because you were like me and got bored or you just haven't thought about trying them, I hope this post gives you the courage to do so!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Reading Slump Tips.

Hi everyone! If you're a major reader like Ashley and Myself then you know what it feels like to be in a reading slump. What is a reading slump? You know when you have finished a book and you are ready to start another but no matter what you can't get into any of the books you want to read? That is a slump. Its one of the most frustrating feelings in the reading world. How do I get out of them you ask? Here are some of my personal tricks and I hope that they can help you!

  • Don't force yourself to read. If you push it then you will become frustrated and it makes getting into a book harder.
  • Make a To Be Read (TBR) shelf, area or list of the books you want to read with in a certain amount of time. Here is an example of when I first made mine :)

  • After you have your TBR set up, try and only read those books. What I did was make a one shelf section in my living room and if I read as many as possible in a month I either get a new book I want or like last month I added in extra books once I had empty space!
  • Re-Read one of your favorite books. 
  • Find a book you started a long time ago and make yourself finish it. I started A Great and Terrible Beauty over a year ago and last month i made myself finally finish it. I was about halfway through when I picked it up again and told myself, no instagram or movies until it was finished. It turned out to be a really good book and I felt awesome once it was done :)
  • Make reading a priority. Give yourself 30 minutes a day where you sit down and all you do is read with no distraction!
I hope these help you out! Keep Reading!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

New Book Tuesday

Hey Everyone! Its another NBT and I am so excited to share what my husband got me! I am a huge Rick Riordan fan so naturally when I saw he had this coming out I had to have it! So excited to read it and to start a new mythological adventure!



Thursday, May 5, 2016

Dreamology by Lucy Keating

Hey friends! I just wrapped up the first book in my Goodreads book group. I had previously posted a picture promoting the group so this may look like a duplicate but its not, here is my review.

Dreamology is a story about a girl named Alice who lives with her father and bulldog named Jerry. Alice lives to have dreams about a boy named Max. They see each other every night during a regular REM cycle and have fantastic adventures. Little does Alice know that Max is very much real and when she and her father move from New York to Boston her life is about to be turned upside down.
Alice's mother left to do research in places like Madagascar when Alice was very young. Because of the abandonment she began to have nightmares. At a loss of what to do her father takes her to a place that researches dreams and she is placed in the hands of a man named Doctor Petermann, who turns her nightmares into vivid beautiful dreams.
Max has it all, a gorgeous house, a full work load at school and a beautiful girlfriend named Celeste. On a regular day he sees a girl he has known for years because Max is dreaming of Alice too. Alice decides to approach Max and he plays it off as if he knows nothing, hiding his fear that he is going crazy. What we find out is that Max was also placed in the care of Doctor Petermann after tragedy struck his family and now he and Alice are experiencing "Dream Bleeding" where reality and dreams are colliding and if they don't do something about it fast they could lose not only each other but also their sanity...
I am disappointed in this book. Upon writing a mini synopsis for this post i found myself getting excited again about this book but sadly my writing is what made me excited not the story. There were some great moments don't get me wrong. Max is adorable and sweet. Alice is a very different character and overall I liked all of the characters but I found myself getting bored with the plot. It was so back and fourth it was like reading a soap opera. I was beyond excited to finish to see if they ending would redeem the book and it did a little, however i have to give this book only 2.5 stars... The plot sounds amazing, the characters were good, the final result left me unsatisfied.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

New Book Tuesday

Hey Readers today is another NBT and I am sorry I am posting so late!! I am in a reading group via Goodreads and this book I happened to stumble upon via Instagram so I ordered it not knowing about the reading group and wouldn't you know it, its the book of the month!


Its a very Interesting read so far. Have any of you dreamed about a boy who becomes the "boy of your dreams"? What if he was real?... Think about it!