July Wrap-Up

It's already the end of July WOW. This year has flew by hasn't it? So the end of the month means a WRAP UP YEAAAAH. I read more than I thought I would and unfortunately, next month i'll have to put my books aside to study. I know, shitty. So let's get started. SO first, I read Papertowns by John Green because the movie adaptation just recently came out. I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped I would, but oh well! After that, I read The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I really liked this book it was something different and original (even though it's a retelling haha). I read Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins which I LOVED so much. It was so cute and heart-warming and perfect for summer. Meanwhile, I ''read'' YES PLEASE by Amy Poehler. I didn't really read it because it was an audiobook. It was pretty enjoyable and it was my first audiobook. I'm not really into audiobooks but it was fun. While listening to the audiobook, I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I enjoyed, but it's not my favorite fantasy read, but I heard it gets better in the second and third books so I can't wait to read them. After reading Throne of Glass, I needed a romantic book or something, so I turned to Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. HA this book was great, I did not expected to like it as much as I did! I read it in almost one sitting. After this, I read Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins and I'm currently trying to finish Isla & the Happily After, aslo by Stephanie Perkins. I love those books. Stephanie Perkins is just a romantic book godess or something. Really I just LOVE those books. I don't really have an order like some people prefer Anna or Lola... I just like all of them equally. SO I read 8 books in total this month! I was planning on reading 4 or 5 but here we are. I am 43 books ahead of schedule for my Goodreads reading challenge and it's 165% completed.

Review: Lola & the Boy Next Door

About the book:   
Lola & the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Published by: Dutton Juvenile, December 2nd 2010 
Genre: YA, contemporary, romance
Pages: 372 pages


Synopsis: 
Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion... she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit- the more sparkly, more fun, more wild- the better. And life is pretty close to perfect in Lola's world, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend. That is, until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood and unearth a past of hurt and anguish that Lola thought was long buried. When talented inventor Cricket steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My thoughts: Stephanie has done it again. Another feel good and cute contemporary that has you hooked from the beginning. And Cricket, CRICKET is SO FREAKING CUTE. Can I just have a guy like that as a neighbor ? No ? PLEASE ? He's smart and cute and he tries so hard (in a good way). I loved that Lola has 2 dads and alll the familly things. We don't see that a lot in contemporaries, it's like the main characters do not have parents. Lola's fashion sense was a great touch to the book. OH AND the fact that Anna and Étienne  were a part of the book! YES!!! I think it was like closure for me for this story line because we always want a few other pages(uh hum chapters...) in contemporaries and  we kind of had it in this book so we could see they were still together. It was just perfect. Just read it.

My rating: 5/5 stars
Sad parts: More anguish than sad.
Funny part: Sometimes 
Romance:  Slow building and CUTE and feel good.
Who should read that book: If you liked Anna and the French Kiss, read this book. For god's sake JUST READ IT.

About the author: 
Stephanie Perkins is the author of Anna & the French Kiss, Lola & the Boy Next Door and Isla & the Happily Ever After. She also co-wrote and edited the book of short stories My True Love Gave To Me.

Review: Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

About the book:   
Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Published by: Dutton Juvenile, December 2nd 2010 
Genre: YA, contemporary, romance
Pages: 372 pages


Synopsis: 
Anna had everything figured out- she was about to start senior year with her best friends, she had a great weekend job, and her huge work crush looked as it might finally be going somewhere... Until her dad decides to send her 4383 miles away to Paris. On her own. 
But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna finds herself making new friends, including Étienne St.Clair, the smart, beautiful boy from the floor aboce. But he's taken- and Anna might be too. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?
My thoughts: 
This book was so cute and feel-good and fluffy and perfect.  I loved the fact that Isla (from Isla and the Happily Ever After) was in the book because it has proven that Perkins had an idea for Isla years before the book came out. Isn't that cool ? Anyway , let's go back to Anna and Étienne. THEY ARE SO CUTE... their friendship...even their problems are cute. I just can't get over the cuteness and the perfectness of what they have. 

My rating: 5/5 stars
Sad parts: A little
Funny part: Sometimes 
Romance:  Slow building and CUTE and feel good.
Who should read that book: If you like romance or even if you don't really like romance. Just read the damn book and enjoy yourself. Slow building and CUTE

About the author: 
Stephanie Perkins is the author of Anna & the French Kiss, Lola & the Boy Next Door and Isla & the Happily Ever After. She also co-wrote and edited the book of short stories My True Love Gave To Me.

Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

About the book:   
The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh 
Published by: Putnam, May 12th 2015
Genre: YA, Fantasy, 
Pages: 388 pages


Synopsis:
Every Dawn, the ruler of Rey kills a girl, his wife, for the night at least. But one day, he kills the wrong girl, Shahrzad's best friend, that's when she decide that she will get revenge for her closest friend, but things get complicated when she unexpectedly survives the night.

My thoughts: This book was crazy. I just loved the concept and the stories within the story was just fantastic. I can't wait to read the other book.

My rating: 5/ 5 stars
Sad parts: Not much
Funny part:Not much
Action: Yes  but not ACTION, action you know ?
Who should read that book: Book readers ?

About the author: 
Renee Ahdieh is a new author. her first book being THE WRATH AND THE DAWN. When she's not writing she cooks and she dances salsa.

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

About the book:   
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson 
Published by: Simon & Schuster, May 6th 2014
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 449 pages


Synopsis:
Emily is ready to have the summer of her life with her best friend Sloane. The only problem is, Sloane just dissapears along with her parents. With no clue where her best friend is, Emily is desperate to find her. And one day, there's mail for her. And it's from Sloane. Unfortunately it doesn't explain her dissaperance, it's just a list of things that Emily has to do.

My thoughts: This book was so fantastic. I can't begin to explain how this book touched me. I related to Emily so much because we are so alike. This book grew into me so much, I actually made a list myself. I'm telling you, this book is fantastic. This book is to the top. It's one of my favorite of the year for sure.

My rating: 5/ 5 stars
Sad parts: Not much
Funny part:yes
Action: Kind of
Who should read that book: Everyone should read it.

About the author: 
Morgan Matson grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles but halfway though a theater degree, she started working in the children's department of Vroman's Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature. Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she moved back East to attend the New School, where she received her M.F.A in Writing for Children. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, inspired by Morgan's three cross-country road trips, was published in May 2010. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a PW "Flying Start" book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Book Prize.

Review: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

About the book:   
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
Published by: Simon & Schuster, May 4th 2010
Genre: YA, Contemporary, adventure/road trip
Pages: 344 pages


Synopsis:
After a familly tragedy, Amy has to move from California to Connecticut. Here's the thing, her mom is already in Connecticut and Amy is asked to bring herself, along with the car. That's when Roger, an old familly friend tags along! And guess what, they will make an epic detour. 

My thoughts: I just loved the book, the mystery, the not insta love but really insta love aspect (hard to explain, read the book and you'll understand). Amy was so relatable (to me that is) she's like the kind of girl who's a mess aroung guys and just new people in general. I mean, that's me. I loved the fact that the characters grew a lot, it was a physical and psychological journey for both of them and it was just a great thing to read them (can i say that?) going through it.  

My rating: 5/ 5 stars
Sad parts: Not much
Funny part:yes
Action: Not really
Who should read that book: If you ever dreamt, even slightly to do a roadtrip, read this book, now.

About the author: 
Morgan Matson grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles but halfway though a theater degree, she started working in the children's department of Vroman's Bookstore and fell in love with YA literature. Following college graduation (and the proud bearer of an incredibly useful theater/English degree) she moved back East to attend the New School, where she received her M.F.A in Writing for Children. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, inspired by Morgan's three cross-country road trips, was published in May 2010. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a PW "Flying Start" book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Book Prize.

June Wrap-Up

June is already a memory, like what the hell? So june has been an OK reading month. I was planning on reading a little bit more but a super dooper cool thing happened, I got a job as a grad nurse. So I wasn't able to read that much but hey I read what? 7 books I think ! So I'll stop babbling and start talking about the books.

   So I finished the Hunger Games, read the sequel Catching Fire and the conclusion, Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collins. This trilogy was as good as I thought, but the third book was a little bit of a let down, I mean...it was good, but not as good as the first two.
  After reading the Hunger Games I read Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson for #monthofmatson and this book... THIS BOOK was so good. I'll have a review up shortly if you want more of my thoughts about it.
   Continuing on the #monthofmatson theme thing, I read Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson and I was blown away once again by Matson and she easily become one of my favorite author.
   I didn't have Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson so I couldn't conclude the #monthofmatson bu hey. I read Cinder by Marissa Meyer and it was awesome ! The sci-fi aspect and the Cinderella touch was just so cool! I'm not reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer because I don't wantto wait for Winter too long, so I'll read it in july or august (because I have to get caught up to The Throne Of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas before Queen of Shadows comes out in September)
   Finally, I just wanted a short book so I read The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Not what I expected, that's for sure. I didn't really liked it so there won't be a review up for it unfortunately. The book and the movie are so different and I much prefered the movie
   So that was it, all the books I read in the month of June !!!