Thursday, October 16, 2014

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

17286849Published: September 10th, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 438
Format: Hardback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.

Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words...and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

First off I want to start by saying that: I liked this book enough to give it four hearts (or stars, whichever you prefer), but not enough to give it five. While a lot of people often place this at the top of their Rainbow Rowell favorite list, it is not on mine, because I had a few problems with this book. Here are the things I didn´t enjoy that much: First of all, I found that I was kind of bored by all the fanfiction and to be completely honest I often skipped over the longer parts of fanfiction simply because I cared more about the actual story. Secondly, I thought that Cath was a little bit annoying at times, but I still did really enjoy her as a character.

Now on to the positives, I found the read to be very enjoyable despite the things I mentioned above. I loved Levi, I thought he was so sweet and lovable and I also really liked Reagan. The plot was enjoyable and I found Cath to be quite relatable in some ways (while in others not so much). The relationship between Levi and Cath is really sweet and I loved reading about them, they are just so good together. I also found that the more serious side to the story with Cath and Wren´s homelife was very interesting and Rainbow Rowell delivered once again. I like her books because they are so true. Just like Eleanor and Park, this book has a serious and very interesting element and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

Overall I found it to be a good read, just not the best and that is totally fine.


“Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and mildly socially retarded, I'm a complete disaster.” 

“Happily ever after, or even just together ever after, is not cheesy,” Wren said. “It’s the noblest, like, the most courageous thing two people can shoot for.” 

“And sometimes you held somebody’s hand just to prove that you were still alive, and that another human being was there to testify to that fact.” 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

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Published: July 9th, 2013
Publisher: Speak
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 338
Format: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the negihborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, 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.




If there is one thing I love reading when I´m having a bad day - it is Stephanie Perkins´ books. The pages of Lola and the Boy Next Door were filled with sweet words and wonderful characters. I loved every minute of reading this book, it´s just too bad it isn´t longer because I would love love love to read more about these two lovebirds. I loved how original and completely herself Lola is, her style and her personality. I also enjoyed the fact that none of Stephanie Perkins´ characters are perfect, they are all beautifully flawed in their own way and it is wonderful.

Now. Let´s talk Cricket. Because he might just be perfect. I loved Cricket and I still think about him sometimes, even though it´s been quite a while since I actually finished the book. He is just a sweetheart and you have to love him.

Another aspect of the book that warmed my heart was seeing Anna and St.Clair again, they are still as cute as they were in Anna and the French Kiss, and I can´t wait to see them again in Isla and the Happily Ever After. All in all yet another wonderful read from the mind of Stephanie Perkins.



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

The Merciless (The Merciless, #1)Published: June 12th, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Age Group: Young Adult (Horror)
Pages: 279
Format: Hardback
Rating: ♥♥♥

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned
Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next.


Previously, I've never read anything in the horror genre, mostly because I'm not a person that usually actively seeks out things that might scare me, but after hearing some positive things about this, I decided to give it a go - and I am glad I did. This book was really graphic at times, and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat while reading it.

The book reminded me a lot of Mean Girls for some reason, so I would say it's like Mean Girls and Satan had a baby and this is what became of it. It's twisted and very disturbing, and I thought that the horrific/gory scenes were done very well on the authors part. Not only were the truly gory scenes disturbing, but also just the whole feel of the book, it is truly just very creepy all over and you definitely feel uncomfortable reading it, so I wouldn't recommend it if you scare easily.

As for the characters in this book they were completely insane and delusional, some of the scenes in which Sofia is faced with each individual character are really disturbing, and I think those scenes were some of the worst, because while the gore was really gross, I thought it was worse to read about just how deranged some of these characters were.

But, although I did fly through this book and thought a lot of it was done well, it was at times predictable and the characters were not as developed as I would have liked, and that is why I have chosen to give it the rating that I did, because I liked it, I just didn't love it. However, it seems that this is going to be a series, and I can't wait to see what creepy continuation Danielle Vega has in store for us readers.

Overall a really interesting read, and it leaves me wanting to read more horror in the future.


Monday, May 12, 2014

The Beginning of Everything (Severed Heads, Broken Hearts) by Robin Schneider

16097364Published: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 335
Format: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his career as a jock, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for homecoming king, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met— achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, secret movie screenings, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one's singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

I adored this book, and I feel like I've been saying that about a lot of books lately, but it's true, I've just had a great time reading - reading books that are wonderful in their own way. So, first off I want to start with something as ordinary as the title simply because I think it is worth mentioning. As some of you may know the title of this book used to be Severed Heads, Broken Hearts, before it was reprinted to become The Beginning of Everything, personally I really like the original title and my copy of the book has the cover you see above. I like the original title because it is so spot on regarding the novel itself and I really enjoyed realizing that throughout the novel (but I also see why it was changed, because the new title fits as well).

I really enjoyed the novel as a whole, I liked all the little things that happened and the scenes at school where there was just a lot of banter and jokes - it was great. I liked the way that the romance was built up and how it didn't feel to sudden. I also loved all the references to both Harry Potter and The Great Gatsby - there were quite a few, but I loved it.

The characters in this novel are great. I loved Ezra, and how he developed as a character throughout the novel. I enjoyed his voice as the narrator and I liked the fact that he was the narrator because, I feel that I don't read enough books where there is a male narrator. As for his love-interest Cassidy, I liked her, but at times I became annoyed with her, but it was understandable annoyance and it was resolved at the end of the novel. The supporting characters in this novel were also great, I loved Toby so much, he is just so amazing and witty and overall great. Toby and Ezra are the two characters that I absolutely fell in love with in this novel, I love their friendship because I could relate to how nerdy they were, and it was just great. I also liked Phoebe, she was just a sweetheart, and there is this one scene where she is just amazing (badass, in my book).

As for the writing style, I really enjoyed it, but like with John Green some people might not like it, but I loved it. I don't think it's exactly like John Greens writing style, I just think that both Robin and John write the way that they speak, and I connot express how much I love that. The language is not that hard to read for those of you that are (like me) not form a english-speaking country.

Overall I just really enjoyed this book, I liked the characters, the plot, the writing. It was just great and I think that a lot of people might really enjoy it as well, so go read it!

“Sometimes I think that everyone has a tragedy waiting for them, that the people buying milk in their pajamas or picking their noses at stoplights could be only moments away from disaster. That everyone's life, no matter how unremarkable, has a moment when it will become extraordinary - a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen.” 

“I wondered what things what things became when you no longer needed them, and I wondered what the future would hold once we'd gotten past our personal tragedies and proven them ultimately survivable.” 

“There's a word for it," she told me, "in French, for when you have a lingering impression of something having passed by. Sillage. I always think of it when a firework explodes and lights up the smoke from the ones before it."
"That's a terrible word," I teased. "It's like an excuse for holding onto the past."
"Well, I think it's beautiful. A word for remembering small moments destined to be lost.” 

“She tasted like buried treasure and swing sets and coffee. She tasted the way fireworks felt, like something you could get close to but never really have just for yourself.” 


Sunday, May 11, 2014

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Two Boys KissingPublished: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 239
Format: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

The two boys kissing are Craig and Harry. They're hoping to set the world record for the longest kiss. They're not a couple, but they used to be.

Peter and Neil are a couple. Their kisses are different. Avery and Ryan have only just met and are trying to figure out what happens next. Cooper is alone. He's not sure how he feels.

As the marathon progresses, these boys, their friends and families evaluate the changing nature of feelings, behaviour and this crazy thing called love.


I was very impressed with this novel, I loved reading it. It was touching and heartbreaking, and absolutely wonderful. It is narrated by a group of gay men that have died from AIDS, etc. We get to know the stories of seven main characters, seen through the eyes of those who have died. Each of the stories are so touching and important, we see how some of them struggle and others don't, we see that it is widely exepted that they are gay and that it isn't, and all of the stories that David Levithan tell in this novel are so important and so beautiful in their own way.

I adored the characters and the voice of the nerration, and it is written so beautifully. I think it is an important book because it gives such a deep look into the struggles that some gay teens go through, it sheds so much light on issues that are pressing but are not being handled properly and it is just a great novel. It is sad in part but also optimistic in part and I loved that about it. Also, the way that Levithan writes it is so beautiful, of you are a person that loves beautiful quotes, this book is full of them. It is just a beautiful book and I think that while it can really help someone that is gay come to terms with themselves, people that are not gay can read it as well, because it has so many important messages embeded in it. Everyone should read this book - adults as well as teens.

“Love is so painful, how could you ever wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way?” 

“The first sentence of the truth is always the hardest. Each of us had a first sentence, and most of us found the strength to say it out loud to someone who deserved to hear it. What we hoped, and what we found, was that the second sentence of the truth is always easier than the first, and the third sentence is even easier than that. Suddenly you are speaking the truth in paragraphs, in pages. The fear, the nervousness, is still there, but it is joined by a new confidence. All along, you've used the first sentence as a lock. But now you find that it's the key.”

“Things are not magical because they've been conjured for us by some outside force. They are magical because we create them.” 

“You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will remember that, even when the precise words begin to blur.” 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

TO BE READ: Bout of Books 10.0

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.
So after considering it for a little while and watching Regan (PeruseProject) on Youtube I decided to participate in the Bout of Books 10.0 readathon *yeeey*. This is just an outline of what I want to read because I am horrible at actually sticking to TBR's, and I just ordered a huge amount of books online to be delivered by the time I go back to Norway on Monday. Which basically means that I might change my mind and that you should keep your eyes open for a book haul coming your way, possibly on Youtube (..most likely on Youtube). But, I don't want to waste your time anyone, so here are (some of) the books I will be reading:

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I loved the first book in this series and cannot wait to continue with this one. 

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1)
I've heard great things about this, but we'll see what I think.

12950372
I adored the first book and can't wait to read this!

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Obvious choice, because City of Heavenly Fire is coming out and I am so stoked.

9961796
I loved Anna and The French Kiss so much and this just seems so cute, I can't wait.

So yeah, that is it. I feel like it is pretty enthusiastic, but I can't wait to read all of these awesome books and I think I can do it. What are you reading for the readathon? I would love to know, so leave a comment and let me know. 

Hope you guys have an awesome day!
Until next time - Happy reading.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Future Reads #2

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me

LIES MY GIRLFRIEND TOLD ME by JULIE ANNE PETERS

When Alix's charismatic girlfriend, Swanee, dies from sudden cardiac arrest, Alix is overcome with despair. As she searches Swanee's room for mementos of their relationship, she finds Swanee's cell phone, pinging with dozens of texts sent from a mysterious contact, L.T. The most recent text reads: "Please tell me what I did. Please, Swan. Te amo. I love you."

Shocked and betrayed, Alix learns that Swanee has been leading a double life--secretly dating a girl named Liana the entire time she's been with Alix. Alix texts Liana from Swanee's phone, pretending to be Swanee in order to gather information before finally meeting face-to-face to break the news.

Brought together by Swanee's lies, Alix and Liana become closer than they'd thought possible. But Alix is still hiding the truth from Liana. Alix knows what it feels like to be lied to--but will coming clean to Liana mean losing her, too?


Kiss Kill Vanish

KISS KILL VANISH by JESSICA MARTINEZ

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.


She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Paper Towns by John Green

Published: October 16th, 20
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 305
Format: Paperback
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.
I read Paper Towns over Easter break, while I was back home in Norway. I decided to pick it up, 1. Because I love John Green's writing. And, 2. Because on the flight from London to Norway I spent my time shamelessly crying (ugly-crying/sobbing) while reading The Fault in Our Stars. So by the time I arrived home I was craving another John Green novel, and it did not disappoint. 

Paper Towns was, as everything I have ever read that Green has written, absolutly amazing. I loved the characters, and how none of them were perfect, they were real. I loved the plot line, the setting, everything. It just worked wonderfully, and I am tempted to say that this is my second favorite John Green book (after The Fault in Our Stars, because let's be honest, nothing can compete with the absolute perfection that is that book). 

The bursts of humor thoughout the book are wonderful, they create a nice break from some of the more serious scenes, which I really enjoy. I just loved everything about this novel. The characters were top notch, the plot was exciting and it is a novel I would reccomend to everyone, teens and adults alike.

“Talking to a drunk person was like talking to an extremely happy, severely brain-damaged three-year-old.” 

“Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.”