Sunday Post #1

Join the fun at Caffeinated Book Reviewer!

• I started blogging again, y'all! That's crazy exciting for me! I've missed the book blogging community so much! 
• I hope everyone (who celebrates it) had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I ate my weight in pie and mashed potatoes! This week was the first time I've been home from college in about a month, so it was really good to see my dad. Not looking forward to going back to school tonight and dealing with the craziness of finals.

Reviews: 
Boys Like You by Juliana Stone
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Memes: 
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Thankful For
WWW Wednesday

Reviews:
Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Wednesday,  12/02/15)
Fever by Lauren DeStefano (Thursday, 12/03/15)

Memes: 
Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Debuts Novels I'm Looking Forward To

Netgalley: 

Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate - Thank you Amulet Books!
Publication Date: March 8, 2016

Girl Last Seen by Heather Anastasiu & Anne Greenwood Brown - Thank you AW Teen!
Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer - Thank you Kensington!
Publication Date: December 29, 2015

What has your week in books and blogging looked like?

Lefty's Lowdown: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
(Anna and the French Kiss #3)
Published: August 14, 2014 by Dutton
Source: Purchased (in Ireland--how cool is that!)

Summary from Goodreads: 
Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

I was in a pretty bad slump before reading this book. I'm happy to say that Stephanie Perkins brought me out of that with Isla and the Happily Ever After. I basically spent all my time thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it, and it made me remember just how beautiful reading is. It had been a while since I read the other two books in this series, so I forgot just how wonderful Stephanie Perkins is! I fell in love with the characters she created, the love story she wove, and her writing. 

One thing I really loved about this reading experience was the different settings that Perkins takes us to. This gem takes place mostly in Paris and the Paris boarding school that we read about in Anna and the French Kiss, but we're also taken to Manhattan (the city my heart belongs to) and Barcelona. It's so much fun to read about these vastly different cities, to watch the characters explore them and fall in love in them. She describes them so beautifully and makes me want to go see the different historical landmarks for myself. My wanderlust was definitely intensified after reading this novel.

And of course there are the characters. I challenge you to read a Stephanie Perkins novel and not fall in love with the characters. We're introduced to Isla and Josh, who both had me practically cackling out loud as I was reading. They're funny and do their best to be kind, but they're flawed and they're real. I cannot stress enough how real Perkins's characters are. I loved getting to know their backgrounds, their insecurities, their quirks, their complicated relationships with others. But what's even better is that it's not only the main characters that she gives so much life to. We also get to know the secondary characters pretty well. Isla's best friend, Kurt, has autism and he has trouble understanding jokes, sarcasm, and some social protocols. He loves routine and maps. He was just a really interesting character to read about and I loved seeing him grow throughout the novel. I became emotionally invested in all of these characters and could not stop turning the pages to see how their stories played out. 

Last but not least: the romance. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Isla and Josh together. Every time they kissed I got butterflies. However, the romance is the one place in this book that I have issues with. Isla and Josh's relationship happened pretty quickly (not insta-love, though) and it was intense. Some people might not like that, but I did. I also loved the way they complemented each other and the way that they obviously wanted to make each other happy. It was all very adorable and made me wish for a relationship like theirs. What I didn't love is when Isla got super obsessive. I can't say much without revealing spoilers, but I will say there came a point where she revolved her life around Josh. She was thinking about him non-stop and always waiting on his calls. It was a little too New Moon for me. That was only a brief portion of the novel, though. Before that, I shipped Isla and Josh soooo hard. After that, when things were resolved, I shipped Isla and Josh soooo hard. It just made me lose a wee bit of respect for Isla. 

Guys, I am so happy I read this book. I liked that it was light and fun but still complex. I liked becoming attached to the characters and remembering what it is like to seek solace in fiction. 

Rating:

4/5

Lefty's Lowdown: Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

Boys Like You by Juliana Stone
(Standalone)
Published: May 6, 2014 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: received from Netgalley for review (ages ago, so sorry)

Summary from Goodreads:IF
If I hadn't fallen asleep.
If I hadn't gotten behind the wheel.
If I hadn't made a mistake.

For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart--leaving her empty and broken. There's a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her grandma isn't going to change that...

Nathan Everets knows heartache firsthand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it's all his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn't deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn't going to change that...

There's No Going Back

Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt--looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness. 

The best way I can think to describe this book is as a guilty pleasure. Boys Like You is by no means a fantastic work of literature, but it's not bad either. It's one of those books that is really interesting when you're reading it, but doesn't leave much of an impression. And I mean it--I just read this book for the second time because I don't remember reading it the first time. I have no clue when I first read it, and I didn't remember anything that happened in it. That doesn't happen to me often. Still, it is an engaging enough read. Easy to get lost in for a few hours. It's filled with teen angst, much kisses, and a feel-good ending. 

Told in dual POV, the two narrators are Monroe and Nathan. They've got some serious darkness swirling in those noggins of theirs, and they use each other to try to move on from the traumatic events of their pasts. They've got decent chemistry, but they're no OTP. I was still rooting for them to be together, to find happiness in each other, and to makeout! They both had interesting voices. A lot of times, when there are multiple narrators, I find myself wanting to read one more than the other, but that wasn't really the case here. I just kind of wish there were more to these characters, and that the secondary characters played a larger role in the novel. 

Which brings me to my second point...the plot. I get that the point of the novel was for these two characters to seek solace in each other and get over their serious depression. But like the plot is entirely based on their relationship. A good majority of the scenes are just scenes of their relationship developing. There is really not a whole lot else happening in this novel. 

All in all, this is just a very simple book. Nothing to really fangirl at. It's lacking intricacies, that's for sure, but I still enjoyed reading it. It's an easy, romantic-heavy story that will provide a good distraction from the world for a little while.

Rating:

3/5

WWW Wednesday

What I'm reading. What I've read. What I'll read.

Click on the titles to learn more about them! 

Currently reading: 

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

(The Chemical Garden #1) 

I just started this book! I have owned it (and the sequel) for quite some time. One of my friends started reading the series and loved it, so I figured I'd finally give it a go!

Recently finished:

Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

(Standalone)

I finished this a couple days ago (for the second time). To find out more what I thought about it, come back Friday, because my review will be up!

What's next:

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

(The Chemical Garden #2)

I'm really bad at deciding what to read next, but I'm going to go ahead and assume this will be what I want to read when I'm finished with Wither. 

Have you read any of these? If so, I'd love to know your thoughts! Also, what is your literary status looking like? Let me know in the comments!! 

Top Ten Books I'm Thankful For

Happy almost Thanksgiving, everyone! I haven't blogged in a longggggg time, and I thought what better way to make my comeback than to appreciate the very reason I began blogging. Some of these books made the list because they had a major impact on my life. Others made the list because they're just good books.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen - I'm obsessed with everything Sarah Dessen writes, but this is still probably my all-time favorite of her work.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - This is probably such a cliche pick, but it really is an amazing series. And with the release of the Mockingjay Part 2 movie (which I've already seen twice) I'm all up in my feelings about this series. Also, this is the book that got me into book blogging in the first place, so it certainly belongs on this list!

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins - I read this really recently, and it brought me out of my "slump." I hadn't read a book in months because college kind of sucks that desire away from me, but Isla revived me.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - This book series will forever be my number one, my ride or die. It is my favorite book series of all time, and it got me through a particularly rough time in my life. I have no words to accurately describe how thankful I am for these books.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - I love this series so freaking much, but the first one is definitely my favorite. So many emotions. Lauren Oliver is just an incredible author and she had a lot of impact on my writing style.

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - I love this series, and it's really hard to describe my attachment to this series. I started reading it when only the first book was available, and each time a new book was released, I was at a vastly different point in my life. It's kinda like this series went on a journey with me. That's probably weird. Anyway, the third installment is my favorite book in the series!

Don't Let Me Go by J.H. Trumble - I will promote this book until the day I die. It was a truly amazing reading experience for me that brought me out of my comfort zone. J.H. Trumble is amazing, and I'm so glad I happened upon this book and discovered her. 

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - I just love love love this series, and I will fangirl about it for the rest of my life. The final book is my favorite and made me feel so many emotions that I was reeling for days after I finished it. 

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - This is one of those series that I've been in love with since, like, sixth grade, and every time I revisit it, I fall in love with it again. I loved this series before I ever really loved reading. 

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry - I am obsessed with Katie McGarry. I will read anything she ever writes. She is amazing, and this book is amazing. I have forced multiple friends to read this because I just love it so much! 

What books are you thankful for?