Creatures of the Night Book Tag 

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I would do this tag. The original tag was created by Katytastic on Youtube. CLICK HERE  to go watch her video. In this tag there are 10 creatures that you have to chose a favorite book character to match them to. You guys will get the gist. Let's get this tag started : )

THE CREATURES OF THE TAG
 

1. Vampire

I loved this book. In this world, the vampires are badass. They live in places called Coldtowns, and the humans are terrified of them. Holly Black does vampires the right way. 

2. Werewolf

I am stretching this one a little. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a "creature" in this book. It is described as a "werewolf-esk." You guys will just have to read it to figure out what it really is. 

3. Zombie

Reboot is a different take on zombies. Wren died and was brought back to life by the government. She is now a indestructible solider that is sent out on missions. Reboot is one of my favorite dystopians.

4. Ghost

I just finished this book a few weeks ago. It follows a girl who is trying to hunt down the ghost of a serial killer.

5. Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster

Nightmares! is a middle grade novel that follows the story of Charlie. He is convinced that his stepmom is a witch, and he will stop at nothing to prove it to everyone. I loved this story. It was a great adventure story about a young boy learning how to move on. 

6. Fairy/Fae

I have only read the first book in this series, but I do know that fae play a big part in this series. I really enjoyed ToG. It was the first book I have ever read that has a lead female assassin.

7. Demon

I haven't read this book yet, but I really want to. I have heard AWESOME things.

8. Angel

In this series, the angels are bad, and Raffe is no exception. I LOVED this book. 

9. Alien

Katy is a book nerd who moves next door to a family of aliens. I was extremely surprised with this series. If you haven't read it, you should definitely give it a try.

10. Superpowered human

Sooki Stackhouse can hear everyone's thoughts until one day she meets a man named Bill. From there craziness ensues. 

Hello Bibliophiles,

I decided to do the A to Z Bookish Survey. It was originally created by Perpetual Pageturner. CLICK HERE to go see her responses. I'm excited, so let's jump right in.

Author you’ve read the most books from:

Sarah Dessen with a whopping 6 books.

Best Sequel Ever:

I have to go with Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I loved it so much more than The Huger Games.

Currently Reading:

I'm in between books currently. I can't decide if I want to start Illusion of Fates by Kiersten White or World After by Susan Ee.

Drink of Choice While Reading:

I loved water with crushed ice. But other than that I'll drink whatever.

E-reader or Physical Book?

I love physical books!!

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

Sawyer LeGrande from How to Love by Katie Cotugno. Sawyer was a bad influence on Reena, but I still couldn't help but to love him.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:

 The Sound of Us by Ashley Poston. It was a cheap ebook, so I bought it. It turned out to be great! You guys should give it a try.

Hidden Gem Book:

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard. I LOVE THIS BOOK : )

Important Moment in your Reading Life:

Discovering Booktube and book blogs.

Just Finished:

Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

I don't like non-fiction.

Longest Book You’ve Read:

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer (756 pages)

Major book hangover because of:

 Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Number of Bookcases You Own:

2 : )

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Catching Fire

Preferred Place To Read:

I love to read on the couch or in my bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

“If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.”

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Reading Regret:

I wish I would have read Harry Potter when everyone else in the world did.

Series You Started And Need To Finish(all books are out in series):

I have a ton of series I need to finish, but I would have to say the one I feel the most pressure to finish is The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd, The Help by Katherine Stockett, & The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 

Unapologetic Fangirl For:

The Madman's Daughter

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

I can't wait for the third Mara Dyer book. The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

Worst Bookish Habit:

Not finishing series. It is a serious problem.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs 

Your latest book purchase:

My True Love Gave to Me (the UK edition) It is beautiful : )

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

This survey was a lot of fun. If you haven't done it yet, you totally should. 

Until next time,

Bre

July & August Wrap Up:

I'm sorry guys! I have been absent from my blog for about a month because of computer problems (mostly). I'm back and ready to dive in. Even though I was away from my blog, I was still reading. I read 8 books between the two months. Let's get started with the wrap up.

Wrap Up:
# of books in July/August: 8
Read in 2014: 27

Challenges:
Books over 400 pages in July/August: 1
Books over 400 pages in 2014: 7
Classics: 0
Diverse Authors in July/August: 0
Diverse Authors in 2014: 2

July

 

Saga Volume 1 By Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples 

Saga is the first book in a series of graphic novels. I loved this novel. I was blown away at the artwork.The art is pretty graphic at some parts, so I wouldn't recommend the series to a younger audience.  It was such a fast paced read that I read it in one day. The story follows a guy and a girl who are from different planets who fall in love. Alana ends up breaking Marco out of prison and

the craziness begins.

 

Saga Volume 2 By Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
 Volume 2 was epic! I LOVE this series so much. If a kick ass science fiction fantasy graphic novel sounds like something you might like, then I suggest you pick these up.

 

Point of Retreat By Colleen Hoover (Slammed, Book #2) 

I read Slammed in June, and I fell in love with the story. The characters are awesome, and they are extremely realistic. I love everything about these books. They made me feel all the feels. They are classified as New Adult, but don't let that deter you. They are amazing. 

If I Stay By Gayle Forman

I already posted a review on this book. CLICK HERE to check it out : )

The Beginning of Everything By Robyn Schneider

The Beginning of Everything is about a boy named Ezra who was a high school tennis player. Ezra got into an accident and shattered his knee, so he will never be able to play sports again. The story describes how Ezra handles his "new" life outside of tennis. One thing that I really enjoyed about is that the story is told from a male POV. With that being said, I had quite a few problems with this book. Ezra and the main girl character, Cassidy, really annoyed me. I think this book was trying too hard to be hipster and that took away from the story. 

Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham 

I LOVE VERONICA MARS!! I watched the TV show religiously, so when I heard about this book I freaked out. I listened to the audiobook because Kristen Bell narrates it. I loved it. It made the experience sooooo much better. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version of this. The story itself was great. Veronica got into trouble while trying to solve a mystery, imagine that. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and can't wait to get my hands on book 2. 

Throne of Glass By Sarah J. Maas

  I enjoyed this book, but I do feel like the hype made my expectations too high. Don't get me wrong I love all the characters and the plot, I wish there was more action. Celaena Sardothein is a kick ass female protagonist. I wish we could see her in action more frequently. WARNING: there is a love triangle. As of right now, I don't have a definite team. I really enjoyed reading Dorian's parts. Chaol is pretty awesome, but a little too dry for me. I do have a new "favorite to hate" character, Kaltain. Ugh she is extremely annoying. I can't wait to see what book 2 has in store.

How to Love By Katie Cotugno 

Reena falls in love with Sawyer. It is a messy complicated relationship because Sawyer is battling some of his own demons. Sawyer ends up packing up and leaving town, and Reena has no idea where he is going. When Sawyer left, Reena found out she was pregnant. The story is told from two different timelines. It flashes back and forth between before Reena got pregnant and two years after the baby is born. At first the rotating between before and after was a little hard to follow, but you pick up on it fast. Honestly, the alternating timelines made the book for me. I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

I don't have any planned books for the month of September except for Burn for Burn by Jenny Han. I am reading that for my book club. Other than that I will just read whatever I feel like reading. What did you read this month? Have you read any of the books I read? 

Until next time,

Bre

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Publication: April 2010

Publisher: Speak

Pages: 262

Goodreads Rating: 3.99

"On a day that started like any other,

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving." (Goodreads)

If I Stay was a wonderful book. The story focuses on Mia, her close knit family and her swoon-worthy boyfriend, Adam. The way the story is written it flashes back and forth between the past and the present. In the present, Mia and her family are involved in a horrible accident. Somehow Mia has an outer-body experience, and she can walk around and see how everyone is reacting to her family's accident while her body is in a medically induced coma. Her flashbacks of the past were my favorite part of the story. I loved her parents so much. They were awesome. I admired them so much. Adam was also a huge part of her flashbacks. We were able to learn about their relationship through them. He was my favorite character in the book. He was a phenomenal boyfriend to Mia. I was so relieved whenever I discovered that their relationship was healthy and stable. Often times in YA we are bombarded with dysfunctional teenage romances that will never work, but Mia and Adam were a breath of fresh air. I had to hold back tears a few times. From the start this story steals your heart and you will not get it back until you finish the last page.

There is a movie coming out based on this book on August 22. It stars Chloe Grace Mortez. You guys should check out the trailer. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER : )  I think I will try to do a book to movie adaption review. What do you guys think?

My rating of If I Stay:

Until next time,
Bre

June Wrap Up & July TBR:

I can't believe June is already over. I set myself a goal to read 6 books this month, but I only read 5. I'm still happy with what I read. So let's get started : )

Wrap Up:
# of books in April/May: 5
 Read in 2014: 19

Challenges:
Books over 400 pages in June: 2
Books over 400 pages in 2014: 6
Classics: 0
Diverse Authors in June: 0
Diverse Authors in 2014: 2

The Sound of Us 

By Ashley Poston

Published December 2013

Goodreads Rating: 3.96

Pages 202 (ebook)

I decided to buy this on my Kindle because I was craving some contemporary, and it was only $1.99. The Sound of Us follows the story of a young girl named Junie who is a rocker chick. Her best friend is obsessed with Roman Holiday, a popular pop band. Junie hates Roman Holiday because it is constantly played on the radio and she feels like there is no meaning to their songs. I bet you can guess what happens. That's right she meets the lead singer (in a very embarrassing way btw) and she starts dating him.  There is a side story going on with Junie's family. Junie's father passed away, and he owned a bar that she has now taken over. I really loved this side of the story because it added a lot to Junie's character. I did not have any expectations for this book, but I really liked it. Overall, I gave The Sound of Us...

 

 Kissing Doorknobs 

By Terry Spencer Hesser

Published March 1998

Goodreads Rating: 3.84

149 pages

My friend at work gave me this book to read, and I'm so glad she did. I loved it. I have read a few books that deal with realistic issues like some of Ellen Hopkins books, but I have never read one about OCD. I like that Terry Spencer Hesser took a chance and wrote about a sensitive topic. Tara Sullivan struggled all throughout childhood, but something triggered her OCD when she was eleven. One day she heard the saying "If you step on a crack, you'll break your mama's back." From that day on, she couldn't go anywhere with out counting the cracks in the sidewalk to make sure she never stepped on a crack. Her rituals got out of control. Tara would pray constantly, she had to walk up the stairs backwards, separate her meals on her plate, and she had to kiss her fingers then put them on the doorknob over and over again before she could answer/go out the door. This book really opens your eyes to the real struggle of OCD. I rated Kissing Doorknobs....

 

 The Fear Trials

By Lindsay Cummings

Published in May 2014

Goodreads Rating: 4.37

100 pages (ebook)

The Fear Trials is a prequel novella to a new YA series called The Murder Complex. I really enjoyed this novella. It is about a girl named Meadow who is training to compete in The Fear Trials, which if she wins she will be able to leave her houseboat without her parents by her side. In this world, the birth rate is lower than the death rate. At night tons of people die and no one knows why. This novella was awesome. I need The Murder Complex right now. I rated this novella

 

The Program 

By Suzanne Young

Published April 2013

Goodreads Rating: 4.06

pages 405

I already posted a review on this book. CLICK HERE to check it out. I gave The Program....

 

Dorothy Must Die 

By Danielle Paige

Published in April 2014

Goodreads Rating: 3.84

Pages 464

UUUGGHHHH!! I was very disappointed with this book. First of all, it took me forever to read. I put it down so many times because it was too slow. I think I just had my expectations too high. My main problem with the book is that the back of the dust jacket says "Your Mission: Remove the Tin Woodman's heart. Steal the Scarecrow's brain. Take the Lion's Courage. And then Dorothy must die. Only you can make Oz a free land again." Please tell me why NONE of this happens in this book. I understand it is going to be a series, but dang. Paige could have at least made Amy (the main character) do one of those things. I liked the last 100 pages of the book the most. I will continue this series just to find out what happens, but it was a let down. I gave Dorothy Must Die a ...

 July TBR:

I am currently Reading Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover. It is book 2 in the Slammed Trilogy. I am in love with Will and Layken. I will probably finish it tomorrow.

I want to try to read at least six books again this month. I want to get a little ahead of my reading challenge. I have currently completed 19 out of 40 books. 

I will be reading The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider for my book club. 

I also want to read: 

 What did you read in June? What are you planning on reading in July?

Until next time,

Bre

 

The Disney Princess Book Tag:

This tag was created by Turtle Sympathy on Youtube. CLICK HERE to watch his original video. This tag consist of 12 questions and 4 bonus questions. Let's get started : )

Questions/Prompts: Pick a book that represents each princess.

1. Anna and Elsa—A book involving siblings.

 Sloane and her brother Brady were very close. He died before the book started, but we constantly reminisce with Sloane. He had a huge influence on her and her decisions all throughout the novel.

2. Rapunzel—A book that made you emotional.
 Slammed by Colleen Hoover made me cry like a big, fat baby. This book makes you feel all the feels. If you like contemporary, you need to pick this book up. Amazeballs : )

3. Merida—A book featuring a female warrior.

Katniss is a badass. She will forever be my favorite.

4. Tiana—A book that features realistic struggles.

I really enjoyed this book, but it was a little too realistic for me. When I read I like to get away and escape the day to day problems, this book dealt with all types of everyday issues. 

5. Belle—A literary book or classic.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of my favorite classics. I feel like I could picture Belle reading this story. 

 6. Pocahontas—A nature-themed book or book by a naturalist.

The boys in this novel are stranded on an island. How much more nature can you get?

7. Jasmine—A book about the desire to be free.

 In Cassia's world, the government choose who you marry. She gets matched to a childhood friend, but she falls in love with someone else. She wants to be free, so she can marry her true love.

8. Mulan—A book featuring war or battles.

 I have not finished this book, but I am far enough to know that there is a war about to happen. I love the T.V. series. It is so amazing.

9. Ariel—A book featuring curiosity or learning.

Ellen is happily married to Andy. One day, Ellen runs into her old boyfriend, Leo. Ellen then starts to wonder what life would have been like if she stayed with Leo. Let's just say Ellen gets pretty curious. 

  10. Cinderella—A book featuring manual labor.

The Help is one of my favorite books of all time. I love Aibileen, Minnie & Skeeter so much. I need to re-read this soon. 

11. Sleeping Beauty—A book featuring sleep.

Every day A wakes up in a different body. This book is like nothing I have ever read before. A is not a boy or a girl, A is a spirit that travels to a new body at night. A lives in their body for one day then travels to the next one. What happens when A meets a girl and falls in love? You will have to read it to find out.

12. Snow White—A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins.

Dorothy is extremely greedy in this novel. Dorothy takes over Oz, and makes everyone miserable. She takes everyone's magic and keeps it for herself. Amy, the other girl from Kansas, magically appears in Oz. Her mission is to take out the Lion, the Tin-Man, the Scarecrow, and finally she must kill Dorothy to save Oz.

  

Bonus Princesses

 13. Meg—A book featuring Greek mythology.

I actually have NOT read this series. I started the Lighting Thief, but for some reason put it down. 

 14. Alice—A book featuring nonsense or a book featuring unusual other worlds.

Count Olaf is full of surprises and extremely ridiculous.  

  

15. Maid Marian—A book with a canine.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is told from the perspective of a dog named Enzo. I loved this story. It was a tear-jerker for sure. 

16. Nala—A book with a feline.

Professor McGonagall is the only cat that comes to mind. 

This was super fun. I hope you enjoyed it : )

Until next time, 

Bre