So tomorrow is Valentines Day, or as the single people call it, Forever Alone Day. Seeing as it is tomorrow I thought I would do a post about it.

While I am part of the group who thinks this holiday is a little over rated fist because of the fact that you should be able to show you care about someone any day of the year, not just Valentines Day. That being said, i'm not against all the chocolates, flowers, teddy bears etc.  As important as this holiday might be it's important to remember that this isn't an excuse to never show affection, to never get someone flowers, to never so much as be romantic.

Love is amazing thing to find, so treasure it. Treasure it every day not just one day. Love can be found in different places not just a girlfriend or boyfriend. It can be found between good friends. It can be found in families, I can even be found in pets. I know that tomorrow is basically just for significant others, I feel like we should also celebrate these types of relationships.

I'm almost happy that I haven't found love yet. I have great friends, a supportive family, and really awesome dog (who I swear has ADHD for dogs. she has the attention span if a squirrel on coffee). But I've never been in love like in the movies or in the books. I know that in this day and age, love and boyfriends and feeling like cupids arrow will never hit it's target is all anyone really thinks of. Being single, being "forever alone" is not the worse thing in the world.

So instead of being glum and gloomy tomorrow, try to celebrate the other loves in your life. Being single is a way to focus on you, on your work, on your life and goals. So tomorrow might remind you that you are alone, but that's not always a bad thing. And love will come your way eventually, you just have to look for it.  And if you are in a relationship, remember that, love needs to be celebrated, cherished every day not just some commercial holiday pretty much used to gain money for capitalism now.

So have fun tomorrow. But some coffee, buy some chocolate, scarf down said chocolate, watch a movie.

Happy Valentines Day

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: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Release Date: September 29,2009
Book: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Number of Pages: 376
Source: Library :)

The Basics: Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing? Taking readers deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them—and herself—that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

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My Musings:

I actually was recommended this book and one day when I was strolling down the aisles at the library I picked it up. My friend was fangirling over the book after she finished it, I was a little weary of the hype she was building around it, but honestly this is such a fangirl worthy book!

I loved the writing style. I loved being reading about Micah and her story. The descriptions were pretty good, the author did an amazing job at making everything come alive. From the characters to the lies.

The plot is amazing, There are turns and spins and the whole time you are just wondering if she's telling the truth. I love reading unreliable narrators, they make things ten times more interesting. Micah in one of the most unreliable narrators ever, which just adds to everything. The story line is well constructed and everything seems to make sense even after you've been blindsided. Like when she tells you why she's a impulsive liar. Or when she gives you the golden little truth nuggets after lying to you for a full chapter. I love not knowing what the real truth was, if Micah was being honest or just weaving an elaborate tale. But once you get to the end, and everything is revealed all her lies make sense. Because for a secret that big, you need an army of lies to protect it. Or is that a lie too?

The character's are rich and well developed. I love Micah's sarcasm and the way she thinks. I literally laughed out loud a lot while reading it. But there were also a lot of worry eyebrow faces and gasps and shocking things that made me both want to give her a hug and punch her. Though i'm pretty sure if we got in a fight I would lose. She loves running, biology, and her boyfriend Zach. I hate running so I respect her running skills, Bio is okay, Zach...well.. Micah finds herself being blamed for Zach's death and people at her school start saying some vile things about her. Even though technically she was never his actual girlfriend. Which kinda made me want to punch Zach because that's such an asshole thing to do. Anyways, this book was amazing! Character development was on point.

Romance wise there isn't really anything to talk about. But as I said before not the biggest fan of Zach but I don't hate the guy. I love Micah and I just want her to be happy. She's been through a lot, had to cover a lot of that up, and still pretend everything was fine even after she discovers/tells us the truth.

This is a MUST READ. It's amazing and I definitely believe that this is a book that everyone should give a shot. Murder, deception, suspense, this all makes this book even crazier and even better.

Coffee for this Book: Americano. You're gonna wanna stay up and finish this book. I promise you a nice big cup of Americano will help you stay up and see the truth and maybe even the crack of dawn.

My Rating:

Staying Organized and Creating a Blogging Schedule

 Trying to stay on top of things can prove to be one of the harder things in life. Especially when life is hell bent on being cray and not really giving you a chance to breath. Staying organized is definitely a challenge for me, being a student and blogger. But the thing is the busier you are the more important being organized is. In order to keep up with school and make sure posts go up, schedules and calenders are KEY! I know a lot of these things aren't really new ideas but this is just what I do.

1.  Priorities! It's important to have an idea of what comes first. Like for me school comes first, which often means laboring over homework before even thinking of trying to get a post done. It's important to know what your priorities are before anything else because that way you can build around it. 
2. Have goals. I'm trying to make it a goal to have 4 posts up a week. Every Sunday and Friday while alternating some memes through out the week. That's my goal. While it's important to have these goals, it's also important to know you can't always reach them. Don't beat yourself up if it's 1 in the morning and you are way to tired to blog and you have school/work the next day. These things happen...
3. Be strict but go easy on yourself. Try to stick to a rhythm or schedule but if it's not possible that day. Don't fret. 
4. Creating a Blogging Schedule will save your life. Okay the best way to do this is to do it monthly. That way you have an idea of what and when things need to go up. Its always best to have a consistent blogging days (mine are Sunday and Friday). Try to pick days that are easy for you to work with. (Shout out to my friend who helped me make my new blogging schedule)

• Pick things you'd like to write about that month. Posts ideas are important to have beforehand to avoid the flustered blogging, bad posts, and the "fuck it i'm not going to do it" experiences. Not everyone works this way I know, but it's useful for me.  
• Now you might have a Calender handy and you could use that, or you can make your own. Like I did :) 
• So once you have your days set, try to organize your posts to fit within those days. Like For me, Sundays are Book Talks, Fridays are whatever days. It's nice to have some venting/tutorial/tips posts. 
• Don't be too overzealous and try to bite off more than you can chew. It's important to be be consistent and so it's important to know what you can handle. I know that two solid days are in the realm of possibility for me. I know it's possible to do some memes during the week 
• Now if you have pictures to take for posts, or pictures to edit. It's a good idea to work that into your schedule too. Because that can take a while, trust me. 
• Do your best to stick with the schedule
5. Have a planner. I know it gets tedious but trust me it's helpful! This way you have an idea everyday how busy you are and what you need to get done. I usually write down homework for the day, try to put the approximate time I'll spend on it and schedule time for my blog if there;s a post that day. If not I try to make sure I'm active every day on my social media because I love you guys :)
6. Pick days that you can work ahead. For me I use the weekends as time to work, time to get things done before Monday comes and homework comes piling on. So I'll try to carve some time out for blogging, taking pictures, editing them etc. (end of thinking capacity lol). By working ahead you are able to give yourself an edge for the week/month. 
7. CARVE OUT TIME FOR YOU. If you are stressed, tired, absolutely done with everything,you are NOT going to function correctly. You are NOT going to be organized and probably going to fall behind. It's so important to take care of yourself and get sleep, watch some T.V. Read a book. Whatever is relaxing and fun for you. That way you can stay on task, stay organized and stay on top of things.

Hope I was helpful! Those are my 6 tips. Comment below if you have any strategies or tricks!

Happy Friday!! DFTBA

Waiting on Wednesday #3

Release Date: February 10, 2015 (I swear I feel like the only one who still writes 2014)
Book: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard

The Basics:The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change. Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control. But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win? 

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Why do I want to read it?

Motivational Monday

Falling is scary. Falling involves being brave enough that either a) you can fly or b) someone will be there to catch you or c)you can put yourself together. Trying is scary. Living in general is pretty fucking scary. There are so many moments where trying, falling, going for anything can lead to utmost disaster, Or at least it seems like it at the moment. Like asking that person out that you've had a crush on. Or raising your hand in class. It can be something big like starting a business or chasing a dream. 

As humans we all want to survive. As people we want to live. I love this quote because sometimes we forget that something just because things are hard, things are scary doesn't mean you wont succeed. Yeah falling is scary. Getting hurt is scary. But at least we can say we tried. We learn. We live. Besides since when does hard equate to failure, you never know, you might find your wings where ya least expect them. 

I'm always scared of failure. Thats my thing. My flaw. I always think about what can go wrong and then I avoid the thing that can cause things to be shaken up. I need to stop. I need to just go for what I want. Say what I want to say. Essentially be Brave in that way that Sara Barielles sings. So here's my advice for you and for me. Let's see if we can do this together. Let's go for things. Because finally flying would be worth all the scrapes and bruises. Because flying would be pretty damn amazing. So what do ya say? Ready to take the plunge?

I got this idea from Sprinkle of Glitter

Book Talk: Since You've Been Gone ARC

Release Date: February 17, 2014
Book: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Mary Jennifer Payne
Pages: 224
Source: Netgalley (I received this book in exchange for an honest review)

The Basics:Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country. Sydney promises her that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them. Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she ll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life." 

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My Musings:

First I want to say that this is the first book I've read from YA fiction where I am older than the main character. This is a first for me and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Anyways, I have to say I was somewhat excited to read this book, but the cover and the summary intrigued me so I decided to give it a shot. I tend to shy away from these type of books because I feel like there is a tendency to make it too dramatic and not properly developed. That being said I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this book, but It did let me down in some aspects.

The writing style is very simple. There isn't a lot of description within the novel. Its very much a simplistic way of writing, but in a way I felt like it did serve the book because of how fast pace it was. However because of how fast pace it was, and how simplistic the writing was I felt like I couldn't really connect with the story or the characters which for me, is a pretty fatal flaw. As a result it took me  a while to even begin to get into the story and get involved. I will say that there were several well written moments, like when she goes and see's her dad, or when she first arrives at her new school.

I found the plot to be pretty straight forward but pretty unrealistic and dramatic. The whole point of the novel is for Edie to find her mom and be able to deal with what she finds out. In this aspect itself, it's pretty solid and I enjoyed it. But there were a couple moments that I felt were added just for the sake of adding drama. Like when Jermaine jumps into the water to save a little kid. It didn't really help the plot along. It just elevated the drama. Or how instead of going to the police Edie decides to go look for her mom on her own. Now, if my mom went missing you bet I would call the police. If I really needed to I would look for her myself too. But if you take out these drama filled moments and leave the essential plot, its actually not a bad story line. Aside from that, some moments I felt like the author had it spot on. There's a moment were the author tackles racism and I those moments that unveil that side of humanity were pretty good. I have to say the moments that had more of a real feel, and just fit better into the story line elevated the plot and the overall book.

I didn't really like the characters. That being said, its probably because I didn't really connect with them, and because at times I feel like there were unrealistic. Similar to the plot issues, the characters had moments that didn't seem to make sense. I definitely admire Edie. I think she's a strong character and she's pretty bad ass for the most part. I just had a hard time agreeing with her decisions. I had a hard time being able to empathize with her because I was frustrated with her the majority of the time.
Jermaine I liked. He ends up helping Edie, but the way he decided to help her seemed like a little bit of a stretch. Aside from my initial reservation, Jermaine really grew on me and I did end up liking him. I guess I should emend my earlier statement to I didn't really like the main character.

Overall it was a pretty decent read. It wasn't anything special, and personally the cheesy drama level was a little too high for me. But If you can get over the tiny stretches and the extra ommphness of it all then you should give it a shot!

Coffee for thins book: Some moments can get to be too much, both on the cheesy level and the emotional level. So I recommend a Vanilla Latte Espresso. 

My Rating: