Wednesday, November 30, 2016

T5W: Villains Need Love Too

As always Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is hosted by Sam at thoughtsontomes. All past topics and the rest of this months topics can be found on the Goodreads group page.

I feel like it's been a hot second since I've posted anything...well...I suppose that's kind of true. (my November Wrap-Up is going to be where I talk about why I went MIA for like 2/3 weeks) Anyways, this weeks T5W is all about your favorite villains, and since we can all fill a list with just Harry Potter characters, I'm going to try my hardest to avoid them. Let's Go!

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The Aiden from the Illuminae Files 
Let's be real now, Aiden is basically the best non-"living" villain to ever bless us with his presence. Love. Love. Love.

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Dorothy from Dorothy Must Die 
Basically every pissed off drunk girl to ever wear a slutty Dorothy come to life in a fictional Dorothy villain. 

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Joffrey in A Game of Thrones
*SPOILERS* We all loves watching him die, let's be honest. He was like evil incarnate, a demon spawn living inside a vicious "prince". 

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Every Character in Vicious 
Every character in this book was just so real. I believe that this is what might actually happen if super power were a thing.

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Everything from Ghostly Echoes 
So many villains spring up in this third installment of the Jackaby series and I love how evil and crazy each and everyone one of them are, especially since it's such an intricate story line. 

Thursday, November 24, 2016

T5W: Books I Want To Re-Read

As always Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is hosted by Sam at thoughtsontomes. All past topics and the rest of this months topics can be found on the Goodreads group page.

Okay, I know this is a day late, and I haven't posted in awhile, but I promise when this month is over I will make up for the lost time. Anyways, let's get into this weeks (belated) T5W!


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Illuminae (Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff 
I absolutely love this book! I really want to reread it, both because it's so good and because I'm pumping myself up to read book 2. 

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 
This is just such a beautiful book but it's been years since I read it and there's a lot I don't remember. 

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A Book of Spirits and Thieves (Spirits and Thieves #1) by Morgan Rhodes 
Another book I really enjoyed, plus I want a little reminder what happens before I read book 2. 

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Fairest by Gail Carson Levine 
I haven't read this book in over 6 years! That is so long, especially considering this was my favorite book in middle school. I officially think it's time for a reread. 

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The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien 
This is one of my ALL TIME favorite books, (And don't even get me started on how much I love the movies) My inner fangirl and Tolkien lover has been craving some of his work lately, I guess it's time to break out the old paperbacks. 


Hey, so what are some books you'd like to reread? Let me know! 

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Book Tastes Tag

Per usual I wasn't actually tagged to do this but I saw some other people doing it and thought it would be fun.

Hardback or Paperback?

Paperbacks; their cheaper, easier to read, and weigh less when your'e trying to carry multiple books with you at once because you may or may not have a problem...

Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?

If we are going with books I have to say Harry Potter, but on the movie front LOTR all the way. I mean...Orlando Bloom as an elf...yes, please.

Stephen King or R.L. Stine?

I've only ever seen Stephen King movies and only ever read R.L. Stine books. I have no real opinion on either. 

Sci-Fi or Fantasy? 

Sci-Fi, because my inner science nerd like to come out of hiding sometimes and frolic through the pages. 

Reading indoors or outdoors?

Outdoors, when it doesn't feel like hell's back door, but considering I live in South Florida I usually want to die after about 5 minutes and go inside where the A/C can swaddle me in it's cold embrace....

Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey?

No.

Shopping online or local?

Local, because I always end up buying wayyyy to many books at one time online which, of course, makes my Pisa tower of books lean ever so more until it falls and crushed me under its ominous weight. I obviously need to work on my ability to tower my excessively large selection of unread books. 

The Great Gatsby or The Catcher in the Rye?

The Catcher in the Rye, though if I'm going to read a classic, I'm more of a Hamlet kind of girl. 

Fiction or Nonfiction?

Fiction. I'm too on-again-off-again with nonfiction. 

Bookmarks or Dog-earing?

Bookmarks, because it gives me a place to hide all the scrap paper and such from my desk because apparently throwing things away is just too difficult for me to wrap my head around. 

Dr. Seuss or Roald Dahl? 

I'm going to have to say Dr. Seuss because The Grinch is basically the best thing ever, and I've never read anything from Roald Dahl.

E-Book or Audiobook? 

E-book; I always end up either zoning out or falling asleep when I listen to audiobooks. Though, I will say that I really like it when people voice their own books, especially when its a memoir.


If any of y'all decide to do this book tag as well please put a link to it in the comments below, I would love to see your answers! Plus, it gives me more blogs to stalk *evil grin* Also, do any of you guys have a Pisa tower of books ready to crush you at any moment? Does Orlando Bloom make a great elf? I need to know I'm not the only one.
- Until next time

Sunday, November 6, 2016

The Mermaid's Sister Book Review

The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble

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Synopsis

There is no cure for being who you truly are…

In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian, Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie’s healing potions; by night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara’s favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O’Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree.

One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister’s skin: Maren is becoming a mermaid and must be taken to the sea or she will die. So Clara, O’Neill, and the mermaid-girl set out for the shore. But the trio encounters trouble around every bend. Ensnared by an evil troupe of traveling performers, Clara and O’Neill must find a way to save themselves and the ever-weakening Maren.

And always in the back of her mind, Clara wonders, if my sister is a mermaid, then what am I?
Opinion


This is a tale of two sisters raised together on the side of a beautiful mountain, and a traveler boy whom has been raised on the road, all of them with their own orphan stories, brought together to be a family. Their story truly begins when they set off on a journey full of magic, danger, captivity and adventure, as they have to fight to save each other, one sister fading fast. 
“Sometimes the plainest of things conceal the most unimaginable wonders,”
I originally picked this up because it was on Kindle Unlimited and I thought, why not? For the most part I found this to be an enjoyable book, the magic and the children's stories were intriguing, but nothing about this book was overly surprising or great; the book was nothing more than enjoyable. I really like the magical realism and the elements of magic in 19th c. Pennsylvania. Also, the whole traveling carnival part was gripping in the fact that it added some mystery and made you actually develop feelings for the characters, and I'm not just talking about Clara and O'Neil. 
“There's no cure for being who you truly are.”
The main frustration I had with this story is that it had so much promise. but it was just poorly delivered. I am in no way saying it was bad, I'm just saying that there could have been so much more to this. Also, the ending....ugh! It was very expected, yes, but how it happened was so abrupt and oddly timed. I just really wish that the world and characters were more developed, making the story more touching, instead of a hasty story, honestly, I would not have minded if this was longer, 236 pages just wasn't enough for this to become and amazing read. Plus, when the story was over I was still left with questions. How did baby Maren get to Llanfair Mountain? Why was she taken there in the first place? That, and there was a love triangle...Now, I'm going to forgive the author this time, but oh my goodness, I can't take love triangles! *growls in frustration* 

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*sigh* Overall it was a sweet story; an enjoyable, light read for beach days and, in my case, downtime at work. Clara's sisterly devotion really made you want to cheer her on, though I wasn't Maren's biggest fan. Regardless, I would read another book by this author, and it was a good debut novel. (3.5/5) --- (I totally acknowledge that these last few sentences sounded like the end of a terrible essay your forced to write in like freshman English class...I don't know what to tell you)

Any one else read this book yet? If so what did you think? Also, have you read any wonderful mermaid books recently? Let me know! 

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

November TBR

I know, I know, I keep saying that I won't make a TBR because I can't stick to it, but due to my hectic scheduling in the month of November, I think I may have a chance! So, here goes nothing...

TBR

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I know this is kind of short in number, but two of these books are kind of long and I'm trying to make something I can stick to! Also, I know this is a really short post, but I figured if I put this up than y'all can hold my accountable...hopefully...maybe... *fingers-crossed*
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October Wrap-Up

October was a weird month...

So I came one book short of my goal for October (the TBR struggles) but that's okay just means I have to read one more book next month...in the chaos of my birthday, Thanksgiving, and moving...again...yay... *feeling defeated already*...Nope, I got this!...right?

Books Read 

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  1. All the Beautiful People (A Dread Novel #1?) by Jonathan Yanez (4/5) - Review 
  2. Because I'm a Maid!, Vol. 1-7 (Because I'm a Maid! #1-7) by Sayuri Sakai (3ish/5) 
  3. Glitch by Hugh Howey (3.5/5) - A short story 
  4. Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon #1) by Dan Brown (4/5)
  5. A Cure for Madness by Jodi McIsaac (3.5/5) - Review 
  6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling (5/5) 
Posts

Other Shenanigans
  • It's beginning to feel like every month I start a new sit-com esc show, this month I watched the first season of Man Seeking Woman and I absolutely died watching this show, I think the main reason it isn't as popular as it could be is purely because it's so frickin' WEIRD, but I still loved it. Also I started watching Hannibal, OMG I may be in love, I haven't loved a deranged killer this much since I watched Dexter awhile back. I'm currently on season 2 and can't believe there's only 3 seasons...I may cry. Also, as a side note, we aren't going to talk about that fact that I haven't watched any of the newest season of Supernatural yet, now that's the true tragedy of it all, I'm behind on SPN and my fam won't let me forget it. 
  • I participated in early voting...we aren't going to talk about that...#IVoted #CanIMoveToCanadaNow? #IWantToCry 
  • Fun fact, I am absolutely terrible at Halloween costumes, to say, I always end up waiting until the last moment and throwing something together from my closet. So, what was I this year, you might ask? A Trainwreck...that's right, I told you I was bad at this. I wore leggings, and over sized T-shirt that said "TRAINWRECK" (from the movie Trainwreck) and through my hair in an overly messy bun. #StoryOfMyLife  But, in my defense, I was going trick-or-treating with a 3 yo and a 1 yo so it's not like I actually had to look good or anything. #Lazy Also, I basically freaked out whenever I saw a puppy dressed up, I mean, they are so cute! *squeals* 
  • PS. Sorry not sorry for all the hashtags
  • Wow...is it sad that that'sbasically all the highlights of my month?...OH! I got into running...or to say it better, my elliptical machine broke and now I'm forced to *gasps* go outside. Why do people enjoy running? I literally feel like death afterwards, I know part of it is because I have a bad shoulder, but seriously, running kind of sucks. Please, tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way *sigh* it's just so hard #Weak

Music
As I have said before, music is life.

First of all I have had OneRepublic's new album on repeat since it came out...no shame. They are basically perfection to me. So much love.


Especially this one.



Got to show love to some other artists.
(In case it wasn't obvious, I love myself some good vocals)






Got to get a little Disney in here.