Reading + Writing Update – Biannual Bibliothon 2019 Day 1 & 2

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Happy Sunday!

I was going to do daily updates for the current readathon I’m participated in, the Biannual Bibliothon, but I decided to do a reading update every 2 days instead. It works out that this is the second day of the readathon (well, the very, very end of the second day) and also the day I post my weekly reading and writing update so yay. I’m tackling two birds with one stone. Anyways, let’s get into it!

This week was a decent reading week. Not my best, but I did finish reading 2 books and started on a third! On Tuesday, I finished the fourth and final book in the FABULOUS Raven Cycle quartet by Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven King. It was a good book but honestly, I wasn’t that satisfied with the ending. It seemed…too easy for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the characters and want them to live happily ever after, but the way things got resolved was strange, to say the least. I still really enjoyed it though and flew through it! The next book I started on was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Every month or so I need a little break from fantasy and magic, and desperately need to slip into some cute contemporary stories. Soooo, I chose Anna and the French Kiss and it was exactly what I needed! I actually only finished it a few hours ago…but hey, it got done and I had fun so that’s all that matters. Last but not least, I started my second read of the Biannual Bibliothon (whoops, forgot to mention that Anna and the French Kiss was my first read of the readathon!), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I mentioned in my goals for 2019 that I wanted to read more classics so here I am, reading classics! I’m really excited to read this and join the bandwagon, and I’m hoping I truly like the story but I have no idea at this point in it. I might be around 30ish pages into it so I still got a ways to go. If you want to see what I plan on reading for the rest of next for the readathon, check out my TBR HERE!

I think I’m done my writing break. While I took most of my winter break off from writing back in late December/early January, I think that was enough time for me to replenish my creativity. It felt so strange not to write, and honestly, I really didn’t like how it made me feel. I haven’t written a crazy amount this week or anything, but I did write well over 2,000 words and I think that’s a healthy amount when getting back into the swing of things. I’m working on a non-magical piece…actually the short story version of a later script I will be writing/adapting for my writing class. We are doing screenwriting but in order for me to fully create a fleshed out story, I need to write the in-depth short story for it first. My first draft of it was about 1,500 words and I’m looking forward to tackling the second draft tomorrow!

Anyways, that is all for this update and I hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post as well as my social media accounts linked down below. Thanks for reading 🙂

Last Blog Post: Biannual Bibliothon Day 2 – Christmas Party

 

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Bingeable Book Series!

Imagine this: curling up in bed with a hot steaming cup of coffee or tea with a stack of books at hand. Doesn’t this sound amazing? Well if it does, then definitely keep reading for a lot of bingeable recommendations!

The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

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Obviously you have to read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series before reading this one, but if you already have then you need to pick this series up. The Heroes of Olympus series follows a group of demigods who band together to defeat the all powerful, Gaia, or who is better known as Mother Earth. There are five books and they are The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus. These books include a wonderful cast of characters and pages upon pages of epic quests and fight scenes.

The Kane Chronicles trilogy by Rick Riordan

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Yep, more Rick Riordan because his series are so much fun to read in a binge session. While Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the Heroes of Olympus are influenced by Greek and Roman mythology, the Kane Chronicles is influenced by Egyptian mythology. It follows two siblings, Carter and Sadie, whose father disappears in a grand scheme to steal a valuable item from a museum. Later they learn that they are tied to the Egyptian world of gods and monsters, and that their father’s disappearance has to do with it. This series does not get a lot of credit for how good and fun it is, so when I see a chance I have to recommend it!

The Wrath and the Dawn duology by Renee Ahdieh

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Yes, yes, this isn’t a series but it is a fantastic duology that everyone needs to read. It twists around with the Arabian story of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and it is filled with action, suspense and swoon worthy moments. I currently have not read the companion to the first book, which is the Rose and the Dagger, but I am getting it in the mail today so I will jump into it as soon as possible!

Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

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This is a trilogy where you pick up the first book and then immediately after you finish you want to pick up the other two books. But wait…this trilogy isn’t going to be a trilogy for long because Tahereh Mafi announced that she is adding two more books to this addicting series! This means you have time to catch up. The first book follows a girl named Juliette who has been locked up in a cell for almost a year but eventually breaks out with the help of an unusual friend. She soon realizes her breakout was more than she assumed and suddenly her whole life is flipped upside down. Love, love, love these books and definitely recommend them!

Anna and the French Kiss trilogy by Stephanie Perkins

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I know, this isn’t really a trilogy but while the books follow completely different characters with each book, they do intertwine eventually. The three books are Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After. This is a contemporary trilogy and each book is different so I won’t go into too much deal other than say that there are heart throbbing romances and heart shattering heart breaks!

Those are all the bingeable series I have for you today and I hope you enjoyed.

July 2017 Wrap Up!

July was a busy, busy month full of working, reading and writing, and I cannot say that I am sad it is over! However, I am happy with the writing I got done and the books I read, and here is the complete, final list of them all:

City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

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I re read the first three books in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and really enjoyed diving back into the world! City of Bones, the first book, takes place in this magical world of angels and demons, where Shadowhunters (part human and part angel) slay demons to keep the world safe. In this book, we follow fifteen year old, Clary Fray, whose mother is kidnapped from their New York apartment one afternoon. Clary sets off to find her mother, and along the way discovers that this magical world is within her own, and that it is tied to her mother’s kidnapping. If you want a fast paced read with a broad cast of characters this book would be perfect for you! CoB – 4/5 stars, CoA – 4/5, CoG – 4.5/5 stars

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

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It was one of my best decisions to go out and buy this book because once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop! Eliza and Her Monsters follows Eliza, a girl who is the creator of a popular web comic called Monstrous Sea, and while her online life is thriving, her offline life…not so much. That is until she meets Wallace, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfic writer and she realizes that maybe her offline life could be just as good as her online one. This is a really cute and relatable read that is impossible to hate, in my opinion! 5/5 stars

Alex and Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz

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I was really looking forward to reading this book because well, Hamilton. If you didn’t know, this tells the love story of Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler, who both played huge roles in the shaping of the United States we know today. I loved the musical so I was really excited to jump into this. Although, while it was a slower pace than I prefer, it was still interesting and enjoyable. I don’t think I would pick it up again but I am glad I read it! 3/5 stars

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

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This was a book I had no expectations going into, and I was extremely surprised by how much I loved it! I appreciated the middle eastern influence in this story because I have not read many books influenced by this culture and I really enjoyed it. The Wrath and the Dawn follows our main character, Shahrzad, whose young king takes in a wife every new day only to have her killed the following night. But when Shahrzad’s best friend is the new victim of the king, she volunteers to be the king’s wife in order to avenge her friend, but things do not turn out the way she initially thought. I cannot wait to dive into the next book because I know The Rose and the Dagger will be amazing! 4.5/5 stars

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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During BookTubeaThon, it is a great idea to have at least one book, if not more, that is less than 300 pages, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower was my choice for that. Being a 211 page book, it follows high school freshman, Charlie, who has always struggled when it came to making friends and fitting in, but eventually he is taken under the wing of a two seniors, Sam and Patrick, and he finally feels like he fits in. This book deals with mental illness but is usually a really light hearted and fast paced read. This was a re read for me, and I loved it just as much as the first time! 4.5/5 stars

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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The Raven Boys was a book that had been sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, for a while now, and also going into it I had no expectations. Again though, I was pleasantly surprised by how whimsical and entrancing book this book was, and it made me definitely want to continue on with the series! In The Raven Boys, it follow Blue Sargent who every year stands with her psychic mother and watches blindly as the soon-to-be-dead walk by, but when the day comes when she an actually sees a spirit she approaches it and learns that the reason she can see this spirit is because they are her true love, or the person she killed. Conflicted and confused, she continues on with her life, until she meets the boy of the spirit and is flung into his adventure seeking world. This book contains a really fun cast of characters who were very different and unique in their own ways, and overall I thought it was a very solid book! 4/5 stars

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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Obviously this is a re read, as I have talked about this book a lot on my blog. I needed a light hearted and fast paced read to push through the last day of BookTubeAThon and as always, this book delivered exactly what I needed! Anna and the French Kiss follows an American girl named Anna who is sent off to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school. Terrified in this new element, she eventually meets a group of tight friends who welcome her into their group, but she can’t help but fall for the one of them, the charismatic, English Etienne St. Clair. If you enjoy contemporary, then you have to read this book because you will fall in love with it! 4.5/5 stars

Once and For All by Sarah Dessen

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I finished this book on the very last day of July and just flew through it like most Sarah Dessen books. While I wouldn’t say it was my favourite Sarah Dessen book, I did enjoy it and loved the characters! Once and For All follows Louna, a seventeen year old girl who is spending her last summer before college working for her mother, a famous, local wedding planner. One night at a wedding, she meets charismatic, serial dater, Ambrose. He tries to woo her but it is a lot harder than he thought, but he isn’t giving up now that he knows what he wants. This book is really fast paced and while it was fun, it was also really sad at times! It talks about some issues that are current in the US, but it is important that books acknowledge them, no matter how devastating they are. 4/5 stars

It is crazy to see that I read a total of 10 books this month because it has been so, so, so long since I have accomplished something like this. The BookTubeAThon has to take a lot of credit for that though, and I had so much fun participating this year for my second time! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and don’t forget to check out my last blog post: July 2017 Book Haul!

 

 

BookTubeAThon Day 7 Update

BookTubeAThon is officially over! And while I am very sad because it was such a fun, motivating ride…I am happy the week is over. I am really excited to keep reading though, and cannot wait to get more done! Anyways, here is what I got done on the last day of BookTubeAThon 2017:

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I had set some high expectations for today, because my overall goal for the day was to read and finish 3 books. I know! Crazy! I wanted to read Anna and the French Kiss, Once and For All AND City of Fallen Angels but sadly (and obviously) I did not accomplish that. I did however, finish Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, and got a third of the way through Once and For All by Sarah Dessen. I enjoyed re reading Anna and the French Kiss as always, and enjoyed what I read so far of this new Sarah Dessen book! I am planning on finishing Once and For All tomorrow, as well as starting City of Fallen Angels which I am very excited for. BookTubeAThon has been fun and wild ride but now it has sadly come to an end which is good, because I can go to sleep at a decent time! Below is my daily overview, as well as my overall wrap up for the BookTubeAThon which I will go more into detail with it in my July wrap up!

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DAY 7 OVERVIEW:

Books Completed: 1

Pages Read: 417 (337 of Anna and the French Kiss + 80 of Once and For All)

BOOKTUBEATHON WRAP UP:

Books Completed: 5

  • Alex and Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz for the challenges read a book in one day
  • The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh for the challenge read a hyped book
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephanie Perkins for the challenge read about a character that is very different from you
  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater for the challenge read a book with a person on the cover
  • Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins for the challenge read a book you bought because of the cover

So overall I completed 5 books and five challenges which I am very proud of! I hope you enjoyed following me along this week, and I will see you guys tomorrow with a new blog post.

BookTubeAThon Day 6 Update

I finally had a day where I could spend more time reading, and while I got less reading done than I would have liked, by now I have realized that is sometimes how it goes. Anyways, tomorrow is the last day of BookTubeAThon and while the thought makes me very sad because it was such a fun ride, I am also a tiny bit relieved to not feeling obligated to read so many books. I do enjoy reading all these books, but I could NOT read 7 books every week or I might go insane! Anyways, here is what I managed to read today:

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As of today, I have officially read 4 books for the BookTubeAThon and have completed 4 challenges: read a book in one day, read a hyped book, read a book with a character that is very different from you and read a book with a person the cover. I have changed my TBR and challenge order slightly, but for the majority the books are the same! But anyways, today was the day I finished The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, a book that had been sitting on my shelf for a while now, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I really loved the dark, mystical vibe it gave off, and cannot wait to continue on with the rest of the series! Apart from The Raven Boys, I also started Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and got 80 pages into that! I do plan on finishing it first thing tomorrow morning considering that I have to finish 3 whole books tomorrow, in order to complete all the challenges, so wish me luck…

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DAY 6 OVERVIEW:

Books Completed: 1

Pages Read: 273 (193 of The Raven Boys and 80 of Anna and the French Kiss)

I hope you enjoyed this update and I will be back tomorrow with the final one for BookTubeAThon 2017!

August 2017 TBR!

July was an okay reading month, better than the last few months, but I am still really behind on my reading goal, and I want to get a lot of reading done this summer. So, I have a slightly ambitious August TBR, and since I will be less busy, I plan on reading a LOT. Anyways, here is my TBR and I hope you enjoy.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

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I started this book in the beginning of July, but got distracted with others so I plan on finishing it this August. It is a fun, summery contemporary that is perfect for summer vacation, and follows a girl named Emaline who works at her parents realty place and there, she meets an artsy boy from New York that she can’t help but fall for. I am really excited because I expect to just fly through this book, and I know I will enjoy it!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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This was a book I purchased a while ago, and I really want to read it because I just keep hearing amazing things about it. Honestly, I want to go into it with no grasp on what it is about, but if you are curious then definitely look it up!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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I re read this not that long ago, but honestly, I love this book so much that I just NEED to read it again. This book follows a girl named Anna whose parents send her to an American boarding school in Paris. There, she meets a fun and loving group of friends and against her will, starts to fall for one of them. Hard. Again, this is another light hearted contemporary that is a classic and a must read!

Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout

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Since August is the month before I go back to school, I am in the school vibe and have the craving to read books that partially take place at school…so yeah, Obsidian is on my TBR! Obsidian follows a girl named Katy, who after a spontaneous move to Virginia with her mother, moves next door to two strange twins named Dee and Damon Black, and learns that there is more to them and their world than she thought. This book is like a sci-fi-contemporary, and I really love the combination and am excited to re read it!

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

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Yep! I am still re reading The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, and it has been so much fun because I just love this series. City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in The Mortal Instruments series, but without spoiling it, the main story line is that it follows teenaged Clary Fray whose mother is kidnapped from their New York apartment, and on her journey to save her, Clary discovers that her mother was part of a world of angels and demons, and that she too, has a place in it. This is my favourite series because of the characters and the plot line, and I am so happy to be back into this great world of Shadowhunters!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

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I feel like this is one of those classic YA’s that you should read if you like cliche plot lines…and guess what. That’s me! Hush, Hush follows a girl named Nora who never really saw herself falling in love, well at least not at her school. That is, until Patch comes along and things start to change. Throughout the story though, Nora becomes weary of Patch because he starts to know things that nobody should know, and eventually the truth about him comes out. I am excited to give this a try and hopefully I will like it!

Those are all the books I plan to read in the month of August, and you should comment down below any books you plan on reading this month because I would love to know!

Reading/Writing Update!

For the next month or so, I will be in the process of packing up my room and moving, but I did pick out quite a few books to keep with me, so that I always have something to read. Those books are City of Ashes, City of Glass and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare, Once and For All and the Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Anyways, but for what I have accomplished reading wise, is that I am now over half way through City of Ashes! Zoe Herdt from the BookTube channel @readbyzoe, is hosting a 24 hour readathon today, which I will be participating in in hopes of at least coming close to finishing this book.

Writing has also been very successful because from Monday to Friday, I have so far written just over 5,000 words, and I am hoping to reach a week goal of 8,000 by the end of the weekend. My story is kind of at a slow bump in the road, so I am going to go back, fix that, figure out where I want the story to go, and then keep on writing! Good luck to any others participating in Camp NaNoWriMo because the month is half over which means we need to start raking in those word counts! I put my word count goal as 30,000, but I am only about 9,000 from completing that so I am sure I will easily complete that. However, I did want to be at 50,000 words for my entire story by the end of July, so that last week of the month will be me writing hard!

That is all for my reading and writing update, and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Books I DNF…

Favourite Re Reads!

Re reading books I love is one of my favourite things to do, which can sometimes be bad when I need to read some new books on my shelf…but anyways, here are a few of my favourite books to re read!

lady-midnight-by-cassandra-clareLady Midnight by Cassandra Clare – I absolutely loved Lady Midnight the first time I read it, but now I am re reading it and it is just as amazing. Lady Midnight is a massive books but reads quickly in my opinion. I forgot how witty the characters were and how fantastic the whole story is, and I am falling in love with it all over again. I love re reading all of Cassie Clare’s books but at the moment this is definitely a favourite of mine to re read!

obsidian-cover5Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout – This book is such a quick, fun read that I can read multiple times but never get bored of it. Obsidian is part of a five book series, but it is hands down my favourite of them all. I think I like it the most because as the story progresses, the books grow darker and I just enjoy how light and fluffy the first one is.

fangirl_coverdec2012Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – I have read Fangirl twice now, and the second time was just as good as the first let me tell you. Fangirl is just one of those cute contemporaries with not only relatable characters, but relatable moments. I recommend anyone who hasn’t read it to read it, because you will fall in love with it!

gofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling – I doubt this is a surprise for any of you because who isn’t going to want to re read a Harry Potter book? I almost put the first book down, but overall I love the fourth one the most. Something about have the triwizard tournament and than the ball just makes me love the story even more.

anna-kissAnna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – Surprise, surprise right? Its not like I have read this book ten thousand times. I just love contemporaries and Anna and the French Kiss is a perfect one, okay? I re read contemporaries the most just because they are so fun, entertaining and super quick reads!

 

Those are five books I like to re read the most and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: 5 Things I Look for in a Book!

 

Trashy YA Novels

By trashy, I mean filled with YA tropes and clichés…but in the best way possible. I absolutely love trashy YA, I devour it because it is made of the most addicting things ever! Anyways, here are a list of five of my favourite trashy YA novels.

obsidian-cover5The Lux Series by Jennifer L Armentrout – These books are about a human and a hot, alien badboy falling for each other…how more cliché can it get? I read the first book in one sitting because I didn’t want to stop, and same with the second. The series falters a bit after the second, but I still really enjoy it overall. If you want a fast-paced, trashy YA series, definitely give this a go!

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The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han – Cliché count…this books takes place in the summer(1), it has a love triangle(2), it has a good boy and a bad boy(3), it has a girl who doesn’t think she is pretty but really is(4)…the list goes on and on and on. This is a very controversial trilogy because some people enjoy it while others don’t, but personally I think it is a lot of fun.

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas – This has a lot of romance in it, and also has the typical cliché of “good boy” and “bad boy” but I love it! It is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast and just makes you swoon. It is probably the least trashy book on this list, but still, it has its clichés that I adore.

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The Selection Series by Kiera Cass – I swear these books are the definition of trashy which is probably why I finished the first three books in two days…once you pick them up you do not want to put them down which is why I love all these trashy books. They always make me want to read. The Selection has romance and tension and is overall a really fun and entertaining read!

 

tumblr_mixxgtPAsX1s3jza0o1_500Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door and Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins – These are some of my favourite contemporary books, but they definitely fit into the category of trashy YA. They have such adorable romances and clichés that even though they are heavily used, you can’t help but appreciate. Once you pick up the first one, you want to pick up the next one right away and voila! You are once again sucked into the trashy YA’s.

Those are five of my favourite trashy YA novels, and I use trashy in a good way I swear. If you want to a quick, entertaining read definitely give these a try! Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!

 

March 2017 Wrap Up!

March was a good reading month which was great, because I plan on reading a lot of books this year. Anyways, here are the books I managed to read this month!

p-s-i-still-love-you-jenny-han-coverP.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han – Since the new and final book is coming out in May, I decided I should re read the first two books in preparation, but also because I just love this series. The first book, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, follows sixteen year old Lara Jean, who’s secret love letters have been sent out to all the boys she has loved before, and she finds herself digging a hole of lies to prevent her current crush from knowing the truth. This is a very quirky and relatable book that you can’t help but enjoy! 5/5 stars

Lola-and-the-Boy-Next-Door_PBLola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins – I had no real reason to re read this book other than the fact that I just wanted to. Lola and the Boy Next Door is about an expressive and unique girl named Lola who has a great life. She loves her parents, has a great best friend, a great boyfriend and is in her final year of high school, but when her first love who crushed her heart moves back next door, things get flipped upside down. This is such a feel-good book that leaves you all warm and fuzzy, and I definitely recommend it if you are in search for a good contemporary! 5/5 stars

before-i-fall1Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver – Since the movie came out this month, I thought it would be a good idea to go read the book before I watched the movie so I did and I really enjoyed it! Before I Fall is about a girl named Sam who has it all. She is popular, has a great group of friends named Lindsay, Elody and Ally, and is dating one of the most popular guys in school. But when her and her friends are driving back from a party one night, they get into and accident and Sam suddenly finds herself reliving that day over and over again. I thought this book really made you think about and cherish the life you have, and while it had a lot of darker and more serious elements, it was also filled with light and fluffy moments that I really appreciated. 3/5 stars

ruby-red-trilogy-by-kerstin-gierRuby Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier – I always forget how much I really do love the Ruby Red trilogy until I read it, and I am so happy that I decided to pick it up again. Ruby Red follows a girl named Gwenyth who comes from a family of time travellers, but it is believed that the time travelling gene has skipped her, and instead possessed by her cousin, Charlotte. But when Gwen is thrust back in time, completely unprepared, she finds herself living the life her cousin was meant to but not necessarily the life she wanted to. I really recommend this if you want an easy, fun book with a great romance in it! 4.5/5 stars for all three

Those are all the books I managed to read in the month of March and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: Reading/Writing Update!