T5W: Sometimes It Feels Like a Marathon and Sometimes It's Actually A Marathon

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.
Ever read a book that feels like it's taking forever to get through? Yeah, we've all been there, though some of us wouldn't like to admit it. The worst is when it's a really good book but it feels like the whole universe is conspiring against you. I swear, it's things like that that make me really understand how Sam and Dean felt when they were trying to stop the apocalypse. But I digress, so let's get into some of the books that took me much longer to get through than they should have. (In no particular order)

• Angels and Demons (Robert Langdon #1) by Dan Brown 
  I've been working on this books since the beginning of September and I still have about 200 pages left. The story itself is so good but every time I go to pick it up I just can't get into it. I know I'm going to love it when I finish it though, so I am determined to finish it this month, *crosses fingers*
• Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown 
  This book completely blew me away. So, why did it take me an entire month to read? Well, I was the genius who decided to start it in December, amidst holiday shopping, Christmas, a two week vacation, and holiday parties, that's why. 
• A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R.R. Martin 
  Not the best book in the series, by far. This book took me a month to read because I read the entire LOTR trilogy while I was reading this because I couldn't read just this...I got bored. *gasp* I know, but please don't shun me. 
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 
  Straight up? It was painful finishing this book. Once I knew what was happening I lost so much interest, 
• My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers #2) by Rachel Vincent 
  I never read book 1, in fact, I didn't even know this was the second book in the series when I started it. Worst part, this wasn't even the first time iv'e done this, I've read just the 2nd book in like 4 different series, I'm the worst. Anyways, it took me like two months to read this because I got confused, lost, and in some parts bored because I just didn't know what was happening. Oops. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has done this. *Sigh* 

What books took you the longest to get through? Let me know!

Hurricane Matthew and What It Means To Me

As I am sure most of you are aware, there is a pretty huge hurricane going on right now, hitting Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, S.E. US. and more. The hurricane is causing some serious damage to areas, especially those in the Caribbean that it has already hit or is about to.

While some of us, I know, are just hoping that it means school or work is cancelled, I've got my eyes out. I have friends and their families that live in Nassau, Bahamas, that are in my prayers that they will be alright through all of this. Luckily, I know that many of them have already left the island. However, I've also got things to worry about myself. I live in South Florida, near the beach, and this hurricane could cause some serious damage to where I am. In fact, I work at a hotel on the beach and I hope that if any of my coworkers are there, assuming they don't completely evacuate the building, that they are safe. There are many people here that are in the process of preparing their hurricane kits and houses for the oncoming weather.
With everything going on, myself and those I live with (my friend and her family) are all going to a family friends house (single mom with two young kids) to wait out this hurricane. Though today has been full of sunshine, tomorrow night (when we leave) I hope that it doesn't get too bad. I have no idea what the weather will do to our power so I will probably be MIA until it passes (other than my T5W that I will post tomorrow), until then I hope everyone in the areas that it will hit is safe and prepared.

Do not down play this storm, it has and will continue to cause some serious damage! 

September Wrap-Up

September was one hell of a month so lets just get started.

Bookish Wrap-Up
Yes, I realize that these are mostly all graphic novels and manga, but I went through a phase this month where that was all I wanted to read. 

1. The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy (3/5)
2. Not Cinderella's Type by Jenni James (2.5/5)
3. When in Rome...Find Yourself  (When in Rome) by Lena Mae Hill (3.5/5)
4. The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski (4.5/5)!!!!!
   
       
5. Macbeth by Martin Powell, Ferran Daniel and William Shakespeare (3/5)
6. PANDORA: End of Days by Peter J. Ang, Michael Macdonough, and Jin Song Kim (3.5/5)
7. You're Mine Vol. 1 (You're Mine #1) by Ryoku (3/5) 
8. You're Mine Vol. 2 (You're Mine #2) by Ryoku (3.5/5)
   
      
9. You're Mine Vol. 3 (You're Mine #3) by Ryoku (3.5/5) 
10. You're Mine Vol. 4 (You're Mine #4) by Ryoku (3.5/5) 
11. You're Mine Vol. 5 (You're Mine #5) by Ryoku (3.5/5) 
12. You're Mine Vol. 6 (You're Mine #6) by Ryoku (3/5)
    
       
13. You're Mine Vol. 7 (You're Mine #7) by Ryoku (3/5)
14. Towa!, Vol. 1 (Towa! #1) by Ryoku and Shino Otani (3/5)
15. Towa!, Vol. 2 (Towa! #2) by Ryoku and Shino Otani (3/5)
16. Towa!, Vol. 3 (Towa! #3) by Ryoku and Shino Otani (3/5)

Others

A lot happened this month...sort of? 

• Lets start off with the seemingly endless line of birthdays that happened in September. Okay, there were only four birthdays, but the equated to 3 dinner parties (one of which was to J. Alexanders, which was my fist time there and it was soooooo good),  2 birthday parties, one luncheon, and a girls night out...yeah ,y friends do not mess around when it comes to their birthdays. its kind of crazy. (Birthdays included a 21st birthday, 20th birthday, sweet 16, and a 3rd birthday...so yeah, hectic) 
• Huge note on my part, I re-watched Avatar: The Last Airbender this month for the first time since it originally aired and it was as good as ever...still gave me all the feels *tears*
  
  
  
  
  

  I fogot how much I loved this crew #squadgoals
  
  
  This show brings back so many memories, comment below if you've see it!
  
  
• This month I also saw War Dogs in theaters, which of course I enjoyed because Miles Teller is a gift in everything hes in, and I watched Suicide Squad in theaters which was pretty much exactly what I expected, though, I must say that it wasn't as darkly twisted as I wanted it to be...I was kind of disapointed. Though, Quinn and the Joker's werid a** relationship was too cute sometimes, ugh, if they weren't mildy (okay maybe a little more than mildly) crazy than they might actually be goals. 
• Also, I more recently watched Iliza Shlesinger: Confirmed Kills on Netflix and of course she killed it. Fun fact, she's my favorite comedian, I saw her War Paint skit a while back and it was absolutely hilarious, I still quote it with my family.
  

  
• Some of the songs I've been obsessing over this month include;

I hope y'all had a great September and that October will be great as well. *raises glass* Heres to all the spectacular things this month has to offer *drinks blood* - I mean what...that was totally just grape juice...

T5W: The Gateway *evil-laugh* Genre Wormholes

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.
(So, we're just going to ignore the fact that I completely forgot to post on Sunday...oops)
Anyways, it's time for another Top 5 Wednesday and this weeks topic is gateway to your favorite genre. Now that's hard for me to choose, I don't know if I really have a favorite genre but I do adore retellings, so here we go! *In no particular order*

Crane (The Legends Saga) by Stacey Rourke 

This headless horseman retelling is probably one of my favorite retellings I've ever read. Its dark, witty, and intricate. The series is a must read for those who are into darkly twisted retellings. 

Deprevaty (The Beastly Tales) by M.J. Haag

An easy Beauty and the Beast retelling. It's nothing overly unique or a crazy new take on the original, but if you're in the mood for refreshing the basics, this is a great choice. 

Splintered (Splintered) by A.G. Howard 

A darkly twisted take on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This is one of my favorite series and such a great read. A must read for those who love Alice and want to see how dark wonderland can really get. 

Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die) by Danielle Paige 

Dorothy is witty, sensual, full of rage, and has everyone wrapped around her little finger, and best of all, Amy Gumm, the other girl from Kansas, is here to end her. 

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles) by Merissa Meyer 

Another one of my favorite series. If you haven't heard of The Lunar Chronicles yet, you're probably living under a rock. This series is full of fantasy, scifi, and humor. I love everything about it and everyone should read it. 

What about you all, any favorite retellings? What's your favorite genre? Let me know! 

Fall Reads!

Autumn has arrived! I love this time of year for so many reasons; leaves falling everywhere, I can where pants without dying, and the holiday season is just around the corner! I can't get enough of it. However with everything that's coming, keeping up with a monthly TBR is something that gets harder and harder as the year comes to a close, so I figured it would be much more logical for me to make a Fall Reads TBR of all the books I would love to read by the end of fall (mind you, these are books that I already own. this does not include books that will be released in the fall) So without further ado, my Fall Reads TBR!

All the Beautiful People by Jonathan Yanez 
I've been trying to broaden my reading and since I read The Girl with All the Gifts I've wanted to read more Zombie based books. When I found this on KU I felt like it would be an interesting jump into the genre. Besides, I'm really liking the cover.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows 

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon

The Darkest Magic (Spirits and Thieves #2) by Morgan Rhodes 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling 
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon #1) by Dan Brown 
I'm actually cureently reading this and it is so much better than I thought it was going to be...so far.
Goldern Son (Red Rising #2) by Pierce Brown
I know I've had this on my TBR all year, but I just haven't picked it up because of the move, the new job, and so many other things that have come up. I want an opportunity to just sit down and really enjoy this book.

Any books that you plan on getting to this fall, or any suggestions for me? Let me know. I love getting suggestions on new books to read that I may not have usually picked up! 

T5W: Yeah...No, Your World Sucks

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.

Jon Snow - Westeros 

Mind you, I wouldn't want to be anyone who lives in Westeros. Still, it would SUCK so much to live there with all the political corruption, crazy wars, weird beings on the other side of a massive wall, and just so much more, oh! and the fact that no one is really safe. Yeah, I'm going to have to pass on this one. 

Just about anyone - Mordor (iffy)

On one hand, I would absolutely love to live in Middle Earth at a time of peace. However, Mordor, either in peace or war time, would be such a crappy place to live. Always dirty, there's a huge volcano, and giant spiders dwelling in the surrounding caves...no. 

Kady - Illuminae Files  

Space would be so awesome, but I would rather live on Earth than the crazy space that Kady lives in; AI's with their own thoughts, weird diseases, and catastrophic wars. Plus, I am not clever enough to survive as long as her. 

Amy - Land of Oz in Dorthy Must Die series 

What kind of messed up place is this? I would never want to live somewhere with a crazy woman, a giant, perpetually hungry lion, a scarecrow who I'm convinced has performed lobotomies before, and a tin woodman who would do anything for said crazy woman are basically ruling over everything. Nope, I'm out. 

Anything with zombies in it 

Not much to say here. I am absolutely terrified of zombies... in fact they are what scares me the most. If I lived in a world with Zombies I would probably have go into shock, lock myself in somewhere, and die of hunger...yeah, nothing fun about that. 

So yeah, those are just a few of the fictional characters whose worlds I would really REALLY not whant to live in. Is there anyone you would hate to switch places with? Let me know! 

Mini Reviews #2: The One Where I Want To Slap Just About Everyone

**WARNING: Most of this is utter nonsense I wrote up late at night when I needed to vent about some of my more recent reads. It's probably poorly written and mostly ridiculous. Thank you**

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards #1) by Alyssa Rose Ivy 

Synopsis: This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.

My Opinion: Okay, first of all, to say I wanted to slap the nonsense out of her would be a bit of an understatement. She realized he was a total tool, practically off the bat, and yet she was with him for months! You know what they say, love blinds, but apparently it makes you a complete idiot too. I get it, she was trying to be nice. But....I couldn't get over how obvious it was that she was actually falling for another man. Also, the reasons she broke up with certain people made we want to yell at her for being such a pain and to actually think things through without reacting like a mad person. But the hickey thing...yeah, that was probably the only time in the entire book that I was completely on her side. Plus, she was pretty witty when she wanted to be. All in all. this wasn't a bad read, and a decent choice for something quick and light. (3/5)

April's Fool by Blanche Marriott 

Synopsis: How can a wedding album start a tug-of-war between the bride and groom? When they aren't really married and an April Fools joke goes awry.In a moment of self-pity, April Vaillancourt, a graphic designer and all-around dreamer, creates a fake wedding album. She accidentally leaves it behind at a restaurant after a girls night out. Weeks later, when it turns up on the desk of the fake groom, he confronts her, and she's faced with telling the truth or living a lie.

Michael Goode is a high-powered investment advisor on the threshold of becoming CEO. His neat and orderly bachelor life is jarred when April's prank appears on his desk. Ready to take her to task for the brazen invasion of his privacy, he instead falls captive to her charms. Intrigued by her evasive tactics, he pursues her, but when he finds himself wanting to spend every minute with April, he begins to question his bachelor life. Could there be something better? 

My Opinion: Okay, okay, I know no one reads these kind of books because they are incredibly realistic or anything, but I am practically dumbfounded as to where this story went. I mean, yeah, it ended exactly how we all expected it would, but damn, the book takes place over like two weeks...talk about a fast relationship with someone. Also, what was she thinking when she made that book and why did her friends think it was so damn funny?! And how could you forget something like that in a restaurant?!?!? Ugh, I just had so many problems with the details, in regards to the two of them coming together. Don't get me wrong, the book wasn't terrible and in some ways I can see why people would like it but...insta-love is not something I'm a fan of. Plus, the boy-chases-girl situation was dragged on a little too much. All in all, this just was not my cup of tea in any way, shape, or form. I will say, I did laugh and aw at some of the super gushy parts though...no lie. (2/5)

T5W: Books I Want To Be TV Shows

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'm not quite sure how I feel about this weeks topic. There are a lot of books I think could make good movies, but not that many that I can imagine being dragged into a series...

 Jackaby series by William Ritter
This is one of those series that I feel is so underrated! Though, it would be a lot like Grimm, Sherlock, and other such shows, who wouldn't want another Sherlock Holmes meets the supernatural? I would love this! 

The Legends Saga by Stacey Rourke 
Another underrated book series that I love! This would make such an awesome Halloween mini series on Syfy or something. Its got history, secret societies and of course, the HEADLESS HORSEMAN! C'mon producers, let't do this.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey 

I know this is being made into a movie, but this would also make a pretty awesome mini series too. It would have both action, and drama; being incredibly heartbreaking and amazing all in one. Plus, the finale would leave one crazy fandom.

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson 

Let me start off by saying that I was not a huge fan of this series, but I see potential for it to be a TV show. It's got the kid warrior factor, powers, and of course, a conqueror. This could be good. 

The Selection by Kiera Cass
A dystopian The Bachelor? Let's just take a moment and revel in how well or how absolutely terrible this could go. 

What do you think would make a great TV show? Let me know, 'cause now I'm fantasizing.