Wednesday, July 9, 2014

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han


What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?


Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

Pages: 355
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Stars: 5/5

WOOOOOW. I literally just finished this book and I decided I needed to write the review immediately before starting another book. Can I just start out by saying I freaking love Jenny Han? She's a fantastic writer.

I bought this book at Target because I thought the cover was adorable. Even though I've read The Summer I Turned Pretty (also by Jenny Han; click for my review) and that book has some pretty intense subjects in it, I expected TATBILB to be a fluff read. WRRROOONG. Though it wasn't tackling any major issues, there was a lot of emotion and finding yourself and heartbreak and love and family dynamics involved.

I loved the main character Lara Jean (and not only because one of her names is one letter off from mine). She was "adorably quirky", as described in the book. I loved her maturity and how she started to come into her own person.

This was one of those addicting books that you just don't really want to put down. I read it in a day and was literally waiting to get off work all day just so I could come home and finish it. 

I loved reading about the character interactions and watching them grow as people together. Honestly, though, the book kind of made me sad because NO GUY IS AS SWEET AS THOSE IN THIS BOOK. It was adorable. And I loved it.

The ending made me kind of mad though . . . It was a SLIGHT cliffhanger. It was implied as to what was going to happen next, but I'll never know for sure . . .

Regardless, this was an awesome read. I've been raving about it to my friends for the past day and now we literally have an order of who gets to read it after me (we now refer to ourselves as the Sisterhood of the Traveling Books . . . hehe).

If this book was a movie I think it would literally be one of those feel-good-make-you-smile-and-wish-the-characters-were-real type of movie. Hmmm . . . maybe some day!

I encourage you all to go out and read this book. It's on sale at Target for 20% off the hardcover edition ;)

FTC: Bought.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

NEW BOOKZ

I kind of went crazy at the book store these past few days. As in I bought like 8 books... so I thought I would justify my binge book shopping by sharing my new pick ups with you all. :)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?


Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.


Crushed by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars #1)

In the thirteenth Pretty Little Liars novel, the secrets are more crushing than ever...

It's springtime in Rosewood, but while everyone else is searching for the perfect prom dress, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria are on a different kind of hunt: They're looking for A...

Hanna puts her campaign for prom queen on the back burner to volunteer at a burn clinic, where one of A's victims is recovering. Emily digs into Ali's past at the mental hospital with some very crazy consequences. Spencer contacts an amateur private eye to help her stalk her stalker. But when their sessions get a little too private, they may forget to keep their eyes on A. And Aria's worried that A is even closer than she thought. When her dark secret from Iceland comes to light, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, the one person she's been trying to hide the truth from has known all along.

The liars are finally taking the fight to A. But no matter what they do, A's always one step ahead, ready to crush the girls completely.


How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker

"Thick. Heavy. Big boned. Plump. Full figured. Chunky. Womanly. Large. Curvy. Plus-size. Hefty."

To sixteen-year-old Emery Jackson, these are all just euphemisms for the big "F" word—"fat." Living on a Southern California beach with her workout fiend dad, underwear model sister, and former model mother, it is impossible for Emery not to be aware of her weight.

Emery is okay with how things are. That is, until her "momager" signs her up for Fifty Pounds to Freedom, a reality show in which Emery will have to lose fifty pounds in fifty days in order to win the million dollars that will solve her family's financial woes. Emery is skeptical of the process, but when the pounds start to come off and the ratings skyrocket, she finds it hard to resist the adoration of her new figure and the world of fame. Emery knows that things have changed. But is it for the better?


Imposter by Susanne Winnaker (Variants #1)

Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? 

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. 

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.


The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Maze Runner #1)

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." 

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers--boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out--and no one's ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.


Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne (Monument 14 #1)

Your mother hollers that you’re going to miss the bus. She can see it coming down the street. You don’t stop and hug her and tell her you love her. You don’t thank her for being a good, kind, patient mother. Of course not—you launch yourself down the stairs and make a run for the corner.

Only, if it’s the last time you’ll ever see your mother, you sort of start to wish you’d stopped and did those things. Maybe even missed the bus.

But the bus was barreling down our street, so I ran.

Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. 
In Emmy Laybourne’s action-packed debut novel, six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids trapped together in a chain superstore build a refuge for themselves inside. While outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapons spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.


One For the Money by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #1)

Watch out, world. Here comes Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. 

She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six. 
Now Stephanie's all grown up and out on her own, living five miles from Mom and Dad's, doing her best to sever the world's longest umbilical cord. Her mother is a meddler, and her grandmother is a few cans short of a case. 
Out of work and out of money, with her Miata repossessed and her refrigerator empty, Stephanie blackmails her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, into giving her a try as an apprehension agent. Stephanie knows zilch about the job requirements, but she figures her new pal, fearless bounty hunter Ranger, can teach her what it takes to catch a crook. 

Her first assignment: nail Joe Morelli, a former vice cop on the run from a charge of murder one. Morelli is also the irresistible macho pig who took Stephanie's virginity at age sixteen and then wrote the details on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop. There's still powerful chemistry between these two, so the chase should be interesting. 

It could also be extremely dangerous, especially when Stephanie encounters a heavyweight title contender who likes to play rough. Benito Ramirez is known for his brutality to women. At the very least, his obsession with Stephanie complicates her manhunt and brings terror and uncertainty into her life. At worst, it could lead to murder. 

Witty, fresh, and full of surprises, One for the Money is among the most eagerly awaited crime novels of the season.
Janet Evanovich makes a major debut with this witty and critically acclaimed crime novel. Meet Stephanie Plum of Trenton, New Jersey. She's a rookie bail bondswoman who has the awkward habit of leaping first and looking later when she's out snagging bail jumpers. It's not a job for the faint at heart, but it's tailor-made for Stephanie Plum.


When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney


Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity. 

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Paper Towns by John Green

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 he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.



Pages: 305

Publisher: Speak
Release Date: September 22, 2009
Stars: 4.5/5

So I've always heard about how fantastic John Green is as an author but I've never really fed into it and took FOREVAH to purchase one of his books (aka Paper Towns even though it literally took me three years to read it after I bought it...whoops) but HOT DAMN. 

Now I get the hype.

I think the synopsis doesn't even begin to capture what this book entails. I think it was fantastic! John Green is a master and truly making you think, and leaving you walking away from the story feeling like you discovered something about yourself. 


The protagonist, Q, was quirky, different, and extremely likable. His supporting characters helped him learn so much about himself and the people around him, and the character development was spot on.


The ending made me want to scream just a little because though it wasn't totally what I wanted to happen, I think it was the best way to tie up the loose strings and end the story. 


Part mystery, part romance, part adventure, and 100% entrancing, this book was a perfect summer read. 


FTC: Bought.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Back to the Blogosphere

Well hello there!
It's been TWO YEARS since my last post on here... crazy, right?!
So much has changed in my life, yet my love for reading is still here, and I want to continue posting reviews again.

I starting The Cover Reviews when I was a FRESHMAN in high school, and now I will be attending Chico State this coming fall! I am so excited to get back into this, and I want to share more of my life with you guys who have stuck with me.

This was me the last time you saw me. FRESHMAN YEAR.

Aaaand this is me now! With my adorable little goddaughter <3 b="">

If you would like to see what's going on in my life outside of my book reviews, feel free to follow me on Instagram!
@lpdawg_

THANK YOU for sticking with me! You will be seeing posts from me shortly!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Say Whaaaaaat?! I'm not dead...

It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't posted since November of 2011 :o

I'm going to be straight up here and say that I haven't really been avidly reading like I used to, but I am slowly getting back into it I excited!

I can't make promises about posting everyday especially since school is going to be craaaazy. I am going to try to pre-schedule a ton of posts before school starts so that I will be ahead. :)

Anyways, I am excited to be back and reading again!
Stay tuned. :)

I am so out of the loop! What are some fantastic new books that I need to read?

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Pages: 452
Publisher: Philomel
Perspective: First Person
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenges: 350 Page Challenge
Release Date: October 19, 2010

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

Stars: 4.5/5
Cover: A+

Plot:
I had heard sooooooo much about this book before reading it. So, as it should be, I had extremely high expectations about this book, which it definitely met.

Now, I'm not completely obsessed with the series and everything like a lot of people are, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, steamy, and action-packed. I also really liked how there was a bit of mystery tied into everything, also.

The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 was because for the first seventy pages or so, it was a little slow for me. But once I got past the beginning, this book literally flew by. It seemed like a two-hundred page book instead of a four-hundred page book because of how fast-paced it was.

I also loved the set-up of everything, and how instead of the characters just being werewolves, they had a whole governmental system set up amongst them, and they had purpose.

Characters:
I loved the main character, Calla. She told the story through her eyes exceptionally well, and she made the story all the more enjoyable. I respected her skills as a very fierce and loyal warrior, but also that she stood up for what she believed it, even though there was a ginormous potential to get her into a lot of trouble.

I also really liked Shay. He was wonderful for Calla, and he had that innocent-but-I-could-still-kick-your-ass thing going on for him. As for Calla's other "love-interest", Ren, I didn't like him at first. In fact, I hated him! It felt like, to me, he did not want what was best for Calla, and that he was only concerned about himself and his rank as alpha. I must say, though, as the book went on, I started to like him more and more. 

Writing:
I find it extremely hard to believe that this is Andrea Cremer's debut book. The writing is so beautiful, and it flowed extremely well. The beginning was a wee bit slow for me, but overall the book had magnificent pacing. 

Ending:
The cliff-hanger in this book is to die for! I am extremely excited to see what will be happening in the sequel.

Cover:
The hardcover is GORGEOUS. Like, seriously, it's probably one of the prettiest book covers I've seen in an extremely long time. The image is beautiful, yet fierce, and the cover appears to have pretty glitter everywhere. 

I must say, I am not a fan of the new covers. I think they in NO way catch the eye as well as the original cover. 

The Final Verdict:
I'm sure you've heard of this book before, and all of the great things people have had to say about it. So WHY haven't you read it yet?! I seriously suggest you go pick this one up ASAP, or add it to your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday book list.

FTC: Bought.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Importance of a "Reading Spot"

We all have that one spot. That one place where no one will bother you, where you feel the most comfortable, and the most relaxed. Whether it be in the backyard, on your bed, at the local cafe, a bookstore, or the library, we all have a "Reading Spot."

For me, my reading spot is on my bed. My bed is raised, and when I'm up there, I feel so away from the world, in the best way. I have a little reading light from Target that gives my room a calming ambiance because it just lights up my bed, and the rest of my room is darker. When I'm laying down in bed, I get the most reading done. I can try to sit down and get comfortable somewhere else in my house, but I can't focus as much as I can in my reading spot.

I really think if you don't have one of these spots, you should try to create one. A spot where you can be completely at ease, be able to sit and think (or read), get homework done -- whatever you may use it for, it's wonderful to have.


QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What are your favorite spots to read? Do you have a "Reading Spot"?