WWW Wednesdays! (July 2nd)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. 

To play along, simply answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I've been reading Prodigy by Marie Lu for quite some time now. I don't know why, but I can't seem to really get into it. I think I'm in a bit of a reading slump. Hopefully I'll finish it soon though!






What did you recently finish reading?

The most recent book I finished was The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. I really enjoyed it!








What do you think you'll read next?

I think I'm going to read The Devil's Reprise by Karina Halle next. I might even start it today and try to finish Prodigy later.

Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose

• Title: Dear Nobody: The True Diary of Mary Rose
• Author: Gillian McCain & Legs McNeil
• My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really sure where to start with this. First off, this is the real diary of a girl named Mary Rose. There is so much that goes on in Mary Rose's life that it's almost unbelievable. This story is an eye-opener and makes you realize that some people really do have it worse and you should be grateful for how lucky you are.

Mary Rose is a teenage girl that is dealing with a drug addiction, an alcohol addiction, cystic fibrosis, a crazy family, and much more. I honestly don't even know what to say about this story. Mary Rose was a strong girl and didn't deserve the abusive treatment she received on a daily basis.

It breaks my heart to think that someone would go through all the crap that she did. It's hard for me to review this because I can't really wrap my head around everything that went on. The fact that it was a diary made things a little less understandable because it jumped around a lot. Sometimes I was confused as to what exactly Mary Rose was talking about, but most of the time I caught on.

I don't really have anything to say about the other people in this story because you don't learn too much about most of them, other than one might be her friend at the moment or a guy she has a crush on.

I gave this 3.5/5 stars because I enjoyed learning about Mary Rose and how she lived, but there were some parts that bothered me. I think it's a little weird for someone other than Mary Rose herself to decide to publish her personal diary.

Do I recommend this book? Yes. It's such an eye-opener that I think it would be good for anyone to read.

Mini Review: Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World

• Title: Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World
• Author: Cecilia Bernard
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Format: Kindle Ebook

 

I actually saw this book at Target recently and came so close to buying it! Lucky for me, I found it on Amazon for free on Kindle!

This book is basically just a recap of the main points that you learn in Divergent with some pretty cool movie stills thrown in here and there. It covers all five factions and what they stand for, give a brief description of most of the characters, and tells how everything works in the world that they live in. It's definitely great if you're going to see the movie soon and you want a little refresher of the first book.

The movie stills were pretty neat to see. I actually wish there were more included in the book! I really liked that there were pictures of the actors/actresses for each character that the book talked about. There were also pictures of how some parts of Dauntless look which I thought were really cool. Basically, I thought all the pictures included were cool and made me more anxious to see the movie!

Overall, I really liked this book. It's super short, but it definitely helped refresh my memory of Divergent. I really recommend it if you are going to see the movie or if you just forgot some things from the book!

WWW Wednesdays! (March 19th)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

To play along, simply answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What are you currently reading?

Right now I'm reading Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World by Cecilia Bernard. I came so close to buying this about a week ago at Target, but last night I found it on Amazon for free on Kindle! It's super short so I'll most likely be done with it today.



 
What did you recently finish reading?

I finished reading Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. I really, really liked it! I can't wait to get my hands on the last book! I also finished reading Macbeth for school and I semi-enjoyed it!





 
What do you think you'll read next?

I'm thinking maybe Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I'll be honest though, I really don't know what I'm going to end up reading next. It always depends on what I'm in the mood for!

Beautiful Addictions by Season Vining

• Title: Beautiful Addictions
• Author: Season Vining
• My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book on Netgalley and the cover totally drew me in. I read the synopsis and thought, 'Hmm, sounds interesting!', so of course I requested it. When I got approved to read it, I was super excited! Let's just say I was a little bit let down.

I can't even bring myself to write my own summary because this book felt so scattered and I keep getting confused trying to write one. This book follows many different characters and it's a bit hard to follow until you learn who they all are.

This story totally feels like something you would see in a soap opera. Basically, it's a bunch of crazy drama that probably wouldn't really happen in real life. People aren't who they say they are and people are getting killed.

I think it's a totally cool concept, but because it was so all over the place it's hard to remember every little thing that happened. I do think it was entertaining, though. The fact that everything was so dramatic is what kept me reading.

The characters in this book were decent, at the most. Josie and Tristan weren't my favorite, even though the story was basically centered around them. Really the only two that I liked were Alex and Monica. They were the only ones that seemed realistic to me. Everyone else kind of seemed like they were just acting in a movie or something, if that makes sense.

The reason I gave this book 3.5/5 stars is because I was entertained throughout the book. I will admit, there were some times that I was thinking, 'Okay, enough already. Can we move on?' and I just wanted to skip through those parts. Overall, it's an entertaining read if you enjoy drama and mafia-type-stuff!

(I didn't have a favorite quote from this book)

Do I recommend this book? Maybe, maybe not. I guess it depends on what the person likes to read.

Book Haul #3!

I haven't done a book haul in what seems like forever! This one is going to consist of a couple books I got right before Christmas, the books I got for Christmas, and the books that I purchased this past month.

Starting with the books I bought right before Christmas:

• The 1st book I bought is Black City by Elizabeth Richards. I had never heard of it before, but the cover drew me in. I read the synopsis and thought that it was going to be pretty good and I'm excited to read it!
• The 2nd book I bought is The Disenchantments by Nina Lacour. I had also never heard of this one, but it looked sounded like something I might like so I picked it up!

The next books are the ones that I got for Christmas:

 

 

• The 1st book is Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards. It's the second book in the Black City series. I knew I was getting this for Christmas because I was with my mom when she got it. We got it on the same day as Black City because they were both bargain books so they were pretty cheap. :P
• The 2nd book is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I had been wanting this one for a while and I finally got it! I'm excited to read it!
• The 3rd book is Legend by Marie Lu. I have already read this one and I loved it!
• The 4th book is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I also knew I was getting this for Christmas because I picked it out. I read this one back in 8th grade and it was awesome. I just wanted to have my own copy.

 The last set of books are ones that I've purchased this month:

•  The 1st book I bought this month was The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead. This is the second book in the Bloodlines series. I've already read it and I loved it. I need the next book soon!
• The 2nd book is Prodigy by Marie Lu. I bought this as soon as I was finished with Legend. I'm really, really excited to read it!

(The last 6 books are ones that I got in the mail today from Book Outlet! :D)

• The 3rd book is Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. Very excited to read this! The only thing I don't like is that the cover doesn't match my Shatter Me cover, but I guess I'll just deal with it. :P
• The 4th book is Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. Super excited to read it and I really love the cover. I can't stop looking at it
• The 5th book is  Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan. Also super excited to read this! I've heard nothing but great things about it!
• The 6th book is Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I've heard so many good things about this book! Very excited!
• The 7th book is The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. I didn't plan to get this one, but I couldn't pass up the price. I've heard good things about it though!
• Finally, the last book I got is Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan. Very, very, very excited to read this one!

Have you read any of these? If so, let me know what you thought of them! :)

The Edge of Always by J.A. Redmerski (The Edge of Never #2)

• Title: The Edge of Always
• Author: J.A. Redmerski
• My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 Click here to see my review of the first book in this duology, The Edge of Never.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review may include spoilers from The Edge of Never.

 I'll be honest...I don't even know where to begin with this review. I saw The Edge of Always on Netgalley and I was beyond excited. I have been waiting so long for this to come out and I totally started fangirling when my request to read this got accepted. Also, can I just say that I could stare at this cover all day?

Anyway, The Edge of Always picks up a few months after where The Edge of Never left off. Camryn and Andrew are expecting a child and they couldn't be more excited. Everything is going really good for them and they're ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Then tragedy strikes and their relationship is put to the test.

Camryn is having so much trouble dealing with all of the tragic events happening (this is really hard for me not to spoil it :p) that she ends up breaking down without really realizing it. Andrew sees what's happening and is determined to get their life back to the way it was.  He decides it's time for another road-trip. On the road, Camryn and Andrew find new adventures, face new challenges, and ultimately make their relationship stronger than ever.

Now, where to start...first off, I really enjoyed reading this book. Camryn and Andrew are one of my favorite fictional couples. Their story is very unique and original and I think that's what really pulled me in. The whole road-trip and music aspect totally got me hooked because taking a road-trip like they did is one of my dreams and music is a passion of mine.

The adventures that Camryn and Andrew had in this book were incredible. They had some hardships, but their relationship became so much stronger because of them. I mentioned Camryn and Andrew's banter in my review of The Edge of Never, and I was so, so happy to see that it was still there in this book. I was actually afraid that neither of them would really get back to their old selves after all of the things that happened, but I was really happy when they did.

You do meet a few new characters in this book, but I'm not too sure how I feel about them because we don't see much of them. I know there were some that I didn't like, but no worries because I know I don't have to hear about them again. There is going to be a book about two of the characters that we meet in this book and I'm really excited to learn about them!

I gave The Edge of Always 4.5/5 stars because I really, really liked it. I couldn't bring myself to give it 5/5 stars because there were some things that I didn't like about it, but I also couldn't justify giving it only 4 stars because I loved it so much. Camryn and Andrew's story is definitely one I'll remember.

Favorite quote: "Our story is over, yes, but our journey isn't, because we'll always live on the edge until the day we die."

(I honestly had a lot more favorite quotes, but I decided on this one.)

Do I recommend this book? 100% YES. I loved it and I thought it was a great ending to Camryn and Andrew's story. :)

Escape In You by Rachel Schurig

• Title: Escape In You
• Author: Rachel Schurig
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I saw Escape In You as I was browsing the New Adult titles available on Netgalley. I'll be honest, this cover really drew me in. I don't know what it is about the cover, I just think it's cool! I had never heard of this book before seeing it on Netgalley, but I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that I would probably enjoy it.

Escape In You is about Zoe Janes and Jet Taylor. Jet is your typical party boy and womanizer. He has girls longing for him constantly. Zoe is a girl who's just trying to live life day by day. She doesn't have the best home life so she's always going out to try to escape her troubles. Zoe meets Jet at a party and she realizes that he would be the perfect distraction from all the crappy things in her life.

Jet sort of has hopes of things becoming more than 'just fun' with Zoe, but he knows that she's already decided that whatever happens between them is just for fun. That is until Jet starts to get under her skin and makes her feel things that she never intended to.

For starters, I just want to say how weird it was to write that little summary using the name 'Jet' because in the book, Zoe refers to him as Taylor, so that's what I'm used to. Anyways, I loved this book from the beginning. When I read a book that deals with things such as mental issues, it's usually the main character(s) that are dealing with the issue. Escape In You was a bit different because it wasn't the main characters dealing with their own issues; they were dealing with their parents' issues. It definitely puts a different spin on the story, but it was very well done.

I really loved the characters in this book. Zoe and Taylor are perfect for each other. While they both have their faults, they never judge one another, they just accept it and move on. Their friends were great, too. Zoe and Taylor both have a friend that is super supportive and it doesn't matter what happens, that friend will be there to help no matter what. (I forgot their names and I'm too lazy too look them up. Oops!)

This book isn't too heavy on the emotions, but there are some times that make you feel a little sad. For the most part though, it's not very heavy and seeing the characters change and develop throughout the book will make you happy and proud. Oh, and there are some pretty steamy parts as well. ;)

I gave this book 4/5 stars because I enjoyed it, a lot. I wish there was more to Zoe and Taylor's story, but it left off in a good place so I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with that! I think most people who enjoy New Adult books will enjoy this one. It's very entertaining and leaves you wanting more!

Favorite quote: "But with Zoe, none of it feels ordinary. Every minute with her is something bigger, something special."

Do I recommend this book? Yes! If you're into New Adult novels, you should definitely pick this one up!

WWW Wednesdays! (October 23rd)

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

To play along, simply answer the following 3 questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What are you currently reading?

I'm reading Escape In You by Rachel Schurig. I received a copy of it from Netgalley. I just started it last night and I think it's going to be really good! I'm also reading The Luxe by Anna Godberson. It's taking me a while to get through it, but I'm getting there!







What did you recently finish reading?

The only book I've finished recently is Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen. You can see my review of it here. I've been in a reading slump for a while now, so I haven't been able to read too much lately.









What do you think you'll read next?

I honestly have no clue what I'm going to read next. Maybe Allegiant by Veronica Roth since it just came out! Of course I'll have to go buy it first, though.

Breaking Nova by Jessica Sorensen (Nova #1)

• Title: Breaking Nova
• Author: Jessica Sorensen
• My Rating: 4/5 Stars
• Format: Ebook

 

 I first heard of Breaking Nova through GoodReads. I had read a couple books from Jessica Sorensen before, so I was just checking out other books by her. I found this one and immediately the cover drew me in. I read the synopsis and though that it would be a good book. From some of the reviews I read, it seemed like most people enjoyed it, so I thought I would too!

Breaking Nova is about a girl, Nova Reed, and a boy, Quinton Carter. Nova is broken inside. So many tragic events have happened to her and she just doesn't know how to handle it all. Quinton is in the same boat as her. He feels like he has nothing to live for. He should've died that night, and even though he didn't, he wishes he had.

Nova is just trying to get by as best she can. Then she meets Quinton. She notices the sadness in him and all she wants to do is try to help him and understand why he's like that. Quinton swore that he would never be happy again...until he meets Nova. He doesn't know why, but Nova makes him smile and he doesn't like it. Quinton doesn't want to feel anything; he thinks he doesn't deserve to. However, Nova is determined to try to get him to open up, even just a little, about his past, but she never tries to push him too far.

Nova and Quinton both has obstacles that they have to overcome before either one of them can truly be happy. Breaking Nova is about their journey of trying to overcome these obstacles.

 When I first started this book, it was pretty depressing. I was immediately on the verge of tears when I started. It's a very sad, depressing book, but it's totally worth the read. Jessica Sorensen's writing is phenomenal. Period. I seriously think that if it hadn't been for her writing style, I might've put this book down because it was making me so sad.

The characters in this book were great. They were extremely realistic and relatable. I can't say that I, personally, could relate to them because I've never been in their situation, but I'm sure others who have gone through similar situations wouldn't have a hard time relating to them. I loved how each character was different from one another. They all had different personalities that either made you love or hate them. Also, the development of the characters was incredible. Even though some didn't change very much, Nova definitely did and I was proud to see that.

The emotions in this book are intense. One second your heart is breaking and the next you're rooting for the characters' happiness. There are some scenes where I was like "Yay! This is finally happening!" but then I thought about it and was like "No, wait. This shouldn't happen like this!" Basically, it was an emotional roller coaster.

I gave this book 4/5 stars because I really, really enjoyed it, but almost the entire book is pretty depressing. There weren't enough happy moments to balance it out, so when I was reading this I was always feeling sad for the characters. But don't let that discourage you! It really is a wonderful, realistic story and I think most people will enjoy it. I will tell you, if you're looking for a happy, fairytale ending, you won't find it in this book. Not that the ending doesn't make you happy because in a sense it does, but it's not the happy ending that I thought was going to happen. Does that make sense?

Favorite quote: "For an instant, I have something to hold on to again, a reason to keep breathing, to live."

Do I recommend this book? Yes! Don't let the fact that it's not a super happy book discourage you. It's a great story and the writing is wonderful.