Happy Valentine's Day! Today is the day we celebrate all the love in our lives whether it's romantic, familial, or platonic. Personally I think today is a little bit overrated with the roses and the chocolates and the giant teddy bears. You shouldn't really need a day to but someone you care about something sweet. But regardless, I do like this holiday and there are no shortage of romance movies you could watch. Here are a few of my favorite

1.Stuck in Love. 

This is one of my favorite movies ever! It's got everything you could ever really want in a movie. It's cute and funny and tragic. 

2.10 Things I Hate About You. 

How could you not love this movie? 

3.Friends.

Okay I know this is not a movie and I now it's not really in the rom-com section either. But, hear me out on this, it's a great thing to watch with your friends on Valentine's day. It's the perfect binge watching show. 

4. Silver Linings Playbook

I love J-Law and her role in this movie is amazing! This is heavier than the other movies I'll list but I think the story is amazing and why not watch it today?

5. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

This movie is hilarious and adorable!

6.Imagine Me and You

It's a cute rom-com that I absolutely adore! Some of my favorite quotes come from this movie. 

"Don't Forget me."

"I won't remember anything else"

7. Love, Rosie

I rented this movie last year over summer break and I fell in love with it! It takes place in both America and Britain. Its a great story about being in love your best friend at all the wrong times. Plus I'm a sucker for British accents. 

8.50 First Dates

It's one of the few Adam Sandler movies I actually like. 

9. Like Crazy

This is a kind of poetic story about love and relationships and how life makes those relationships work. Its a little frustrating at times but I honestly really enjoyed it!

10. He's Just Not That Into You

Because how could I not list this movie? 

11. Spanglish.

I first watched this movie with my sister and didn't really get the plot but now that I'm older I really enjoy this movie. 

12. Rent.

Not gonna lie I did cry. I also ended up singing a lot of the songs from this musical. Also not really ashamed about either statement. This is a great movie about a group of people struggling with life but trying to make the most f it by having fun and falling in love. 

13. The Prince and Me.

Don't judge. This is a cute movie,

14. Shakespeare in Love.

How could I not list this movie! It's a tragic love story about two people who can't be together. Sound familiar?

Top Ten Tuesdsay

As a YA addict, I love a good romance to fangirl over. If done right, It will make the book that much better for me. If done terribly, i'll probably dismiss the novel as cheesy. So without further ado here are my top five things I hate when it comes to romance and five things I like. 

My Dislikes

1. Insta-Love. This is my all time, I can't even deal, this is too terrible, why is this even happening pet peeve. I hate it. Insta-love is so boring, so unrealistic. It honestly sucks. I like feeling invested in a romance. I want to ship it, I want to be excited for the characters when they go on a first date. But that's not going to happen if they met and .5 seconds later they are madly in love. Now, Insta-attraction is okay. When two characters meet, think the other is cute. Talk, maybe even go out. Insta-Love is when they meet and they're heat skips beats, and they feel like the met the one after exchanging one sentence.It just happens too fast making the romance underdeveloped and pretty much just a story point, instead of being a highlight or even focal point.
2. Underdeveloped Romance. This always makes me sad, because i'll be all invested, fangirling over a couple and the author will put the relationship on the back burner and they never move forward. They get stuck in this one stage until the author is ready to pick up the romance again. I get why sometimes it happens. Especially when the plot is really cray, but it's still frustrating.
3. When Its too cheesy. There's a fine line between being cute and being cheesy. I guess it can be pretty hard to discern because one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to romance when everything feels like it's overdone.  It's okay if you travel to cheesy land every once in a while, but please don't make a permanent residence. 
4. Bad Communication. This makes for such a frustrating read. Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example. If they were less hasty and were able to communicate better then maybe they wouldn't have died. Or Insurgent. I mean could Tris and Tobias have worse communication skills. Literally one of the most frustrating books. All I wanted was for them to be happy, but no, they were hell bent on not talking to each other. 
5. Overdependent Characters. I always dislike when strong characters, typically girls, fall in love and suddenly they become all dependent and damsel in distress-y. Or when characters get put into relationships because they feel like they can't have too strong of a character. (Glee is a perfect example. Whenever one of the girls is doing well, they always need to have a man. No matter how strong, how independent they always get shoved with a guy.It's annoying). 

My Favorite Aspects

1. Hate at first sight. Not really. I love when characters at first don't really like each other, but then see the good in each other and fall in love. This is part of why I LOVE Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw. It just adds dimension to the relationship.
2. Love Triangles. I have a love hate relationship with this, but honestly it adds so much to the book as well as suspense and crazy shipping and yeah...
3. Best Friends to Boyfriend/Girlfriend.  I think this is so cute. If done well, this can be super cute and just amazing. I love how this happens in The Body Finder. It so cute, I can't even deal.
4. When it's NOT the focal point. As much as I love romance, I love when it's not the entire plot. I like when it's a part of the plot but not the most important thing. 
5. Funny + Love. I love when characters are put into funny situations, or they're just funny people. It makes the romance cuter and much more shipworthy. 

Book Talk: We Should Hang Out Sometime

Release Date: December 23, 2014
Book: We Should Hang Out Sometime
Author: Josh Sundquist
Number of Pages: 336
Source: Netgalley (I received this book in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:A bright, poignant, and deeply funny autobiographical account of coming of age as an amputee cancer survivor, from Josh Sundquist: Paralympic ski racer, YouTube star, and motivational speaker. Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend. For twenty-three hours. In eighth grade. Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong? The results of Josh's semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love--or at least a girlfriend--in all the wrong places.

My Musings:

Alright I have to say I was waiting for this book to come out. It was on one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts and it's also the first WoW book that I've actually read. So needless to say I was really excited when I received this book! Also how cute is this cover? Like so cute right? Anyways lets get to the actual review.

Waiting on Wednesday: Things we Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Release Date: April 21,2015
Book: Things We Know by Heart
Author: Jessi Kirby

The Basics: After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

Book Talk: The Odyssey of Falling by Paige Crutcher + Giveaway!

Release Date: November 4th, 2014
Book: The Odyssey of Falling
Author: Paige Crutcher
Number of Pages:338 (e-book form)
Source: Netgalley (I received this in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:Meet Odd. Audrey “Odd” Ashworth is an exceptionally bright girl with a sympathetic heart. She’s in the top 4% of her class. She’s obsessed with getting into Manhattan School of Music, committed to following the “signs” the universe delivers, and infatuated with her recently deceased best friend’s boyfriend. Life is a little strange for Odd. Until she finds her best friend’s diary in her crush’s car, and decides to do the bucket list tucked inside the pages. As Odd seeks closure and a way to honor her friend, she discovers there’s nothing wrong with being a little strange, especially if it helps you discover who you were meant to be. Along the way, Odd falls into trouble, adventure, and finally love.

My Musings:

Okay first of all, isn't the title awesome? I love the title, I think it's original and perfect for the book. The cover is also pretty awesome. I was scrolling down Netgalley when this book caught my eye. The summary made me want to read this book and I couldn't wait to start it! I had pretty high expectations for this book and it didn't disappoint.

Characters are vibrant and colorful. They stick out from the page and feel real, which is all a reader really wants. You get to see different sides of them instead of them just being a one dimensional cardboard cut out. I love "Odd". I ca relate to her and they way she feels. Her voice is strong and poignant throughout the novel. She's strong, but doesn't really know it, and amazing, but doesn't know it. Perhaps my favorite character was Bandit. He isn't afraid of saying what he thinks and is overall a strong person. And also how awesome is his name? Chase is a complex character. He's kind of broken (pretty much everyone is in this book) but slowly you can see him devolve into a strong character whose maybe not made the best decisions. I love the characters, they were very well developed.

This book is more of a character driven book than a plot driven book. It's Audrey's journey to acceptance and moving on. The story line is good. It's a pretty faced paced book and the beginning will definitely get you turning the pages. Being on this journey with Audrey is really special. Audrey stumbles about trying to finish the list that her friend, Meredith, left. Guilt and grief fuel her and that is a dangerous combination. She starts to go off the rails but her friends are there for her so that she doesn't completely end up messing everything up. There is a pretty awesome plot twist at the end of the book that puts a lot of things in question. Overall the story line is pretty solid.

There's nothing I hate more than insta-lovey couples. Glad to say this isn't the case in this book. The romance is a bit complicated and twisted by grief and past feelings. Audrey is dealing with her feelings for Chase. She's had a crush on him since before Meredith died. Then there's Bandit. Sweet, dependable, Bandit. Her feelings for him surface slowly at first and then all of a sudden, It's not really a love triangle at all, but more like Audrey accepting her feelings for one of the boys. Romance doesn't really play as huge a role as you think it would. While it's important other things take the front seats, like the list, grief, dealing with friend drama. What I love about this romance is how real it is. It's intertwined with the story line so perfectly that you can't help but root for Audrey to just accept her feelings and for her and her guy to be together!

I loved this book. It's amazing and well written. I love the sparks of sarcasm and wit. It definitely made me laugh out loud, but it also made my heart ache for the characters.


Coffee For The Odyssey Of Falling:  This book is equal parts heart wrenching and uplifting. You'll definitely want the company of a warm liquid when you're up late reading this. I recommend a nice Hazelnut Latte.

My Rating:

Where to Find Paige:

Author Website
Twitter  @PCrutcher
LinkedIn

Goodreads

Amazon

Virtual Tour Page 

Giveaway Time!!!

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Blogtober: Teaser Tuesday

"His eyes fill with light, so beautiful. I watch the pain melt from them. Drip, drip, drip it shrinks down, it just shrivels away till it's gone. They're happy now. He's happy." (pg. 57)

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Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading

Blogtober: Queen Of Someday Book Review

Release Date: October 17, 2014
Book: Queen of Someday
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Number of Pages:262
Source: Netgalley  (I received this in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:
ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES...
Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.
Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.
Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.
In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

Add it on goodreads

My Musings:

If i'm going to be totally honest today, I was dreading reading this book. No, not dreading, but I really wasn't looking forward to it. I thought it was going to be some cheesy romance novel with a couple of history moments here and there. I'm glad to say that this book proved me wrong. It's not the best book i've ever read, but it's actually pretty good.

Character wise, the author did an amazing job making the characters realistic and developed them in a way you could relate to.  I loved how kick-ass Sophie was. She's a good fighter, archer, horse rider, and yet she can also be the epitome of ladyness. The only thing that kind of caught me of guard was Peter's turn to the darkside, if you will. I thought that it was kind of unwarranted. Not really set into his character, you know. Like he's supposed to be this spoiled kid who doesn't know any better, and then he just looses it. I mean I know that the synopsis says he is sadistic but you don't really see it until the end of the book. I guess it made sense, but I wish there had been more development and not just a spontaneous twist. I loved Alexander and Sergei. They were pretty solid characters, nothing really too special about them.

I think the author did a pretty good job with the plot. At times it was a bit predictable and other times I was just sitting there with my jaw open, in shock. It was a  pretty good balance. This was more plot driven. Which I think is why the neglected developing Sergei and Alexander further, or making Sophie's relationship with Rina more evident. But I think those weaker aspects are okay because the plot was pretty strong. The path the book to end was perfect and well written. The ending definitely left me wanting to have the next book to read.

I usually just do a romance bit, but I feel like for this book I'm going to relationship type of paragraph thing. Okay, Ficklin, like I said before, put some aspects of the book on the back burner because the book was more plot driven. There are four fully developed relationships in the book. Sophie and the Queen, Sophie and Alexander, Sophie and Peter, and  Sophie and Sergei. Everyone else's relationships are established but you never really delve into the relationships. Like Sophie and Rina are best friends but I didn't feel like they were. I felt like that moved a bit fast and wasn't developed enough. 

I liked the romance. Was I the only one who at the very beginning thought that she was going to fall for Sergei and not Alexander? I was biased to this thought for more than half the book. As a result I didn't really appreciate the relationship between Alexander and Sophie. I think at one point I though Alexander was messing around to get Sophie sent away. After I accepted my ship wasn't going to happen I definitely rooted for Alexander and Sophie. It wasn't insta-lovey, but there wasn't some great lead in to it. *sigh* They were a cute couple. 

I'm not a fan of surprises but i'm glad this book surprised me. I'm glad that it exceeded my expectations and proved itself to be a good book. I recommend this book to those who like Historical Fiction or read those Dear America books as a kid. 


Coffee For this Book: A nice warm Macchiato. 

My Rating

Blogtober: Teaser Tuesday

 

"And thank you for riding out to save us"

Reaching up, he picks a small clump of mud from my hair.

"Oh, I suspect you had the situation well in hand"

Cinder Review +giveaway

Release Date: January 3, 2012
Book: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Source: Bought from Barnes and Noble
The Basics: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

My Rating: 4/5
My Musings:
I cant even begin to count the amount of people who told me I needed to read this book. That they know I would love it. That it was an amazing book worth fangirling over.
Let me say that they were absolutely right. I thought that this book was not going to live up to the hype around it. That i was going to be disappointed. I'm really happy I was wrong. Its beautifully written. I love Cinder's sarcastic voice, Kai's charming personality, and Iko's funny bursts of humor. This combination made for the perfect book cocktail.
     Characterization was ok. The only characters that were fully developed were Kai and Cinder. Everyone else we just saw shallow characters that only served to play a simple clean role. I wish we could have seen more of Peony, or learned more about her. Or maybe learned more about Cinder's step family. I get that her stepsisters and step mom and inherently evil and have to play the role of the villains but if we can make Cinderella a cyborg we can learn more about her evil family right? Like why is it that Peony actually likes Cinder? Why hasn't her stepmother poisoned Peony against Cinder. I can't help but wonder if this is going to be explored in future novels? However, Cinder and Kai were well developed for the most part. You got to see the Prince as a sarcastic teenager who has to deal with a lot political issues. Cinder just wants to fit in somewhere.
     The plot and world building was absolutely amazing. I loved how fast past the novel was. There was always something around the corner ready to happen. And I loved every second of it. As soon as I started it i was hooked. I needed to learn more about this world and how things worked in this futuristic place. I had to learn more about Cinder's life and about the politics of the Commonwealth. The author did a fantastic job in terms of creating a futuristic world that felt believable. I loved the plot. I loved Cinder's role in it.
*SPOILER: I knew after Cinder found out she was Lunar that she was the long lost princess. I did like this twist though. SPOILER DONE*
      Romance factor of this novel was beautiful done. I liked that the story didn't revolve around Kai and Cinder. It just happened to be a factor of the story not the star if it. I liked how they fell in love and how their relationship developed. It was slow and cute, exactly my type of romance. I loved how they both share their sarcastic humor. Kai is such a gentleman and you can see he genuinely cares about Cinder. He is absolutely adorable. I love him
      Overall this book contained amazing story line within a well created world with really likable characters. Its a great read that I think is worth reading and yes fangirling too :)

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