Things I Know About Love

Review:

Title: Things I Know About Love

Author: Kate le Vann

Publisher: Egmont USA

Format: Library Copy

Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary

Blurb:

Things I know about love.

1. People don't always tell you the truth about how they feel.

2. Nothing that happens between two people is guaranteed to be private.

3. I don't know if you ever get over having your heart broken.

Livia Stowe's past experiences with love have been nothing but disappointing, but all that is about to change.  After years of illness, she's boarding a plane for the first time to spend the summer in Princeton, New Jersey, with her brother who's studying abroad.  This Brit is determined to make the most of her American summer and to record every moment of it in her private blog.

America is everything that Livia's ever dreamed of.  And then she meets Adam.  Swept up in the promise of romance and the magical New York City that Adam shows her, Livia is smitten, but with all she knows about love, is Livia really ready to risk her heart again?

Writing:

This book was short and sweet.  You were quite attached to the characters because they are so kind.  This book was very much to the point, but moved a little quickly.  The romance was a bit rushed.

Characters:

Livia:

Livia is an sweet lovable protagonist.  She worries about normal teenage things, and her cancer in a similar way, which makes sense, because it is all part of her life.  Livia is absolutely a hilarious brit coming to visit America.  But while Livia was so sweet and amazing, she came across as a little boring too.  Not that she was, because she was a Sci-Fi fan, anf Sci-Fi fans are never boring! :)  However, she was a little boring at times.

Adam:

We don't hear from Adam a whole lot, but I thought the sections from him were a little dry and unrealistic.  The didn't seem like what a boy would write.  As a person from Livia's point of view, he seemed like a boy head over heels, and not that that never happens, it just didn't sit well with this book.

Final Findings:

While this book was short and sweet, it was a little cheesy and the characters were hard to believe.  I might try something from the author again sometime, but this book was just alright.

✎✎✎

~Remy

P.S. *SPOILER*  The ending is a little bit The Fault in Our Stars, if you know what I mean! :'(

Liebster Award Nomination

Hey! Emma @ Spun With Words nominated me for the Liebster Award.  The Liebster Award helps blogs you enjoy who have less than 200 followers gain more, and to attract more attention so they can become discovered.

Here are the rules:

Link back the blogger that tagged you

Nominate 10 other blogs

Answer the questions the blogger tagged you with 

Let your nominees know they've been tagged

Questions from Emma:

1. What are you currently reading? 

I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth!  When I first read Divergent I made the (in my opinion) wise decision to wait to read Insurgent in case of cliffhangers.  With Allegiant just 31 days away, I re-read Divergent and dove into Insurgent last night!  It picked up right where Divergent left off, which was fun!

I'm also reading a e-copy of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.  

I'm also also reading Nantucket Blue Leila Howland! I'm reading a lot right now! :D

What is/are your favorite book(s) of all time?

Oooo, this is hard.  

My favorite series are:

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

The Ashbury/Brookfield Books by Jaclyn Moriarty

Dark Mirror by M. J. Putney

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Breathing by Rebecca Donovan

The Tigers Saga by Colleen Houck

 The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

My favorite Stand Alone's Are:

Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson (Okay, this technically has a sequel, but it's not a series!)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Okay, this one has a sequel too!)

The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

 The Girl With the Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield

Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

Bloomability by Sharon Creech

3. How did you come up with your blog's name?

I was brainstorming a new name and this really just came to me.  It went through some stages, but the heart of it was always there.

4. Who are your top three book boyfriends?

1) Four from Divergent.  I love how he isn't so sweet and loving, yet raw and honest.  2) Kishan from The Tiger Saga.  He is so damaged and broken and amazing! 3) Peter Pan from Peter Pan.  He is just so fascinating.  He's childish, yet so grown up.  And so dreamy....

5. Do you have a favorite book quote?

"May I suggest that you all read?  And often.  Believe me, it's nice having something to talk about other than the weather and the Queen's health.  Your mind is not a cage.  It's a garden.  It requires cultivating."  Libba Bray A Great and Terrible Beauty

6. Do you have any of your own personal memes on your blog?

Not really.  I post my recent haul and random things sometimes!  I haven't come up with anything original yet! 

7. If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be?

I would want to meet Mark Twain.  I love Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn!  John Green/J. K. Rowling/Veronica Roth were all in the running.

8. Have any bookish pet peeves?

Umm, no dog-earing.  EVER.  I hate when library barcodes cover up the blurb on the back of the book!  Always remember, you don't hate reading, you just haven't found the right book yet!

9. What are your favorite genres?

I read mostly YA and Middle Grade.  I love mystery, fantasy, syfy, romance, dystopian, horror, and historical fiction!

10. If you could be a character from any book, travel to any world, who would you be? Where would you go? And (again from any book) who would you bring with you?

I would be Tris from Divergent because she is amazing!  Brave, smart, and selfless!  I would take Neville from Harry Potter (have you seen Matthew Lewis?!?) with me to Neverland, so that we would never grow up!  I'd get to hang out with Peter Pan too!  Totally a plus!

My Questions are the same!

Nominees:

Emma @ Spun With Words

Gabrielle @ I Am Fandom

Shalena @ Writer Quirk

Leah @ Yummy Reads

Marii @ The Words Written

Katie @ The Quiet Girl Talks

Elin @ Elin's Bookish World

Jasmine @ Flip That Page

Molly @ Lit Nerd Around the World

Little Bookworm @ Little Bookworm Reviews

~Remy

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Review:

Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Author(s): John Green & David Levithan

Publisher: Dutton Children's

Format: Library Copy

Genre: YA, Contemporary, GLBT

Blurb: 

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Writing:

I loved the differing styles of John Green and David Levithan's Will Graysons.  They both created these amazing characters that worked together and blended wonderfully.  John Green was obviously fantastic, and while I'd read some by David Levithan, I'm much more excited about him now!

Characters:

Will Grayson (John Green's):

I liked WG(JG) so much because he was very real and honest.  He came across as a fascinatingly raw character.  His faults and mistakes were my favorite part.

Will Grayson (David Leviathan):

WG(DL) is raw in a different way than WG(JG) is.  He is raw in the painful emo way where he hates life.  The situation he is in brings out sides of him that are fun to read about.  He was probably my favorite character with all his cynicism.

Tiny:

Ah, Tiny.  What would this book be without our overweight, over confident, gay musical writer?  Tiny is clearly the character that ties both Wills together, but he floats seamlessly through both David Leviathan and John Green's writing.  While Tiny may have been self absorbed sometimes, (okay, most of the time) he really added another layer of contemporary to this novel.

Final Findings:

This book, with it's strange musical and witty characters really brought to life an amazing story of two Will Graysons.  While like I said I already love John Green, I'm itching to get my hands on more by David Levithan.  

✎✎✎✎✎

~Remy

Geektastic: Stories From the Nerd Herd

Review:

Title: Geektastic: Stories From the Nerd Herd

Editors: Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci

Authors: M. T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Tracy Lynn, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr

Illustrators: Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley

Publisher: Little Brown

Publication Date: August 1st 2009

Format: Library Copy

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci-Fy, Realistic Fic. 

Blurb:

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, John Green, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

Writing:

Because each author writes a different chapter about a person in a different area of geekdom, it's a little hard to review this.  However,  each chapter was a story within itself, and it felt like you got to dip in your toes with different authors.  None of them were boring, and while I might have liked some more than others, that's something you get with short story books.  The mix of writing styles did kept the book interesting.  Authors I was already fans of just impressed me further, and new authors got me excited about their work.

Final Findings:

I am a huge geek, so I related to lots of things in this book.  So if you like books about geeks, short stories, or snippets from the best YA authors in the business, pick up this book for a hilarious ride.

✎✎✎✎✎

~Remy

Recent Haul

Recent Haul

Bought:

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

2. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

3. Now Write! Mysteries Edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson

"Careful or you'll end up in my novel." shirt

Borrowed From the Library:

1. Barely Breathing

2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson

3. Hunt

4. Across the Universe

5. Death Cloud

Won:

1. Unraveling + Swag

Quote

~Remy

Tiger's Quest

Review:

Title: Tiger's Quest

Author:  Colleen Houck

Series:  The Tiger Saga (Book #2)

Publisher: Sterling Publishing

Publication Date: June 7th, 2011

Format:  Library Copy

Genre:  YA, Romance, Fantasy

Blurb:  

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest--this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse. Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER'S QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

Writing:

Houck wrote the story with such conflicting passion.  The plot moves in a way that the characters desires are always there, but just barely unreachable!  I was really hooked into the quest just as I was with the previous book.

Characters:

Kelsey:

Kelsey is just as brave and determined as she was in the first book! She was troubled through out the entire book because of this dangerous love triangle.  At the end of the book she is certainly not at peace, and a lot of things are unanswered. 

Ren:

Ren is actually not in this book as much as in the first one.  I found him to be a bit wimpier and I wish he would have taken a bit of a bolder stance.

Kishan:

Kishan is such a fascinating character because he is so damaged.  *SPOILERS*  First, his brother gets the girl of his dreams, and when he falls in love with her, not only does she not really love him, but she also gets killed.  Then, a second time his brother gets a girl, and yet he puts aside his feelings for her because of his feelings for her.

I definitely favor Kishan over Ren, not only because I like him better, but because he also is better for Kelsey; showing her sacrifice and the power of love. 

Final Findings:

This book added an entire layer to the quest.  Not only is Kelsey trying to free her tigers, she also has the dilemma of which one she will choose.  However, the events at the end of the book seem to have quite a say in what will happen, only the next book will tell.

✎✎✎✎ 

~Remy

P.S. 

The Third Book:

Tiger's Voyage 

Super Six Sunday (2)

Super Six Sunday is an awesome meme hosted over at Bewitched Bookworms

This Week's Topic is "Books I Love As a Kid"

With no further ado, and in no particular order...

1. Pictures Of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

This book was amazing!  I loved reading about foster kids, and this one was mysterious and had a happy ending!

2. So B. It by Sarah Weeks

This book is fascinating and so strange!  This was my favorite for a long time!

3. 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

I distinctly remember picking this book up in Barnes & Noble because it had eleven in the title, and that was my favorite number.  I've read this book more times than I can even count, and I can open up to any sentence and know what's going on!

4. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

This book is so magical, and L'Engle is amazing!  I still love this book today!

5. Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech

I consider this one of the first real chapter books I've ever read!  I even re-read it recently and couldn't sleep because the characters were alive in my head.

6. The Mystery At Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene

This is my favorite Nancy Drew Mystery.  To this day when I can't sleep, or am feeling sick I'll re-read it!

~Remy

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown

Review:

Title:  The Coldest Girl In Coldtown

Author: Holly Black

Publisher: Little Brown

Release Date:  September 3rd, 2013

Format: ARC

Genre:  YA, Paranormal 

Blurb:

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

Writing:

Black's writing was truly enticing.  She came up with a premise, drew you in, and then trapped you among the gorgeous detailing and well paced plot.  The idea is completely original, and takes away all the typical glamour of vampires, leaving it raw and surprisingly desirable.  The book leads you on an adventure, not a romance.  It is a girl dealing with the cards been dealt, not pining over a sparkling old man.  (Maybe there is a specific book that I'm comparing this to in my mind)... Regardless, this book is full of originality, and is shocking and incredible.

Characters:

Tana:

Tana gets thrown into a situation she never asked for, already scarred by a similar event.  Yet she doesn't even question anything, and just becomes full of determination in all of the crazy situations she is thrown into.  She is clever, ruthless, and yet kind.  She shows her vulnerability when it comes to her sister Pearl, and that really deepens her character.

Gavriel:

Gavriel may have ulterior motives, but he manages to open up his frozen heart.  While he tries over and over again to show Tana the brutality of vampires, he never shies her away from it.  Gavriel really respects Tana in a way not all of the characters do. He may have underestimated her, yet he he is not surprised by the way that she bounces back.  This book is not about how delicious Gavriel is, (although that is a true statement... MINE!) yet how he can still surprise her when she thought she's figured everything out.

Final Findings:

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown surprised me.  I didn't expect to find such an amazing book about vampires, that was adventurous, thrillingly creepy, well paced, and had the tiniest bit of romance that you were craving for more.  And yet, that is what I found!  The ending of The Coldest Girl In Coldtown certainly is open ended, and I wouldn't be surprised of a sequel, which I eagerly hope for and expect! 

✎✎✎✎✎

~Remy

An Abundance of Katherines

Review:

Title:  An Abundance of Katherines

Author:  John Green

Publisher: Speak (An Imprint of Penguin Group USA)

Publication Date: 2006

Format: Library Copy

Genre:  YA, Contemporary, Romance

Blurb: 

Katherine V thought boys were gross

Katherine X just wanted to be friends

Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail

K-19 broke his heart 

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Writing:

John Green quickly pulls you into the story of Colin, who ends up in Tennessee after a road trip with his best buddy Hassan. Collin spends the entire book producing this theorem to predict a relationship, specifically, his relationship with any girl named Katherine.  Green makes the characters very real and honest human beings, bringing in aspects of heart break, new beginnings, and disappointment.  I found myself completely engrossed in the story, and I was sad, although pleased, with the ending. 

In this book, Green uses a lot of footnotes, which I found fun at first, and for the most part continually fun.  I thought that at points they broke up the flow of the book, but after a while I barely noticed the transitions back and fourth.  

Characters:

Colin:

Colin is a somewhat self absorbed prodigy who continues to get dumped by Katherine's.  Convinced that creating a theorem will answer his questions and predict future relationships, Colin embarks on an emotional journey and discovers flaws within himself, as well as an enormous amount of closure.  Colin unusual, but completely interesting, and he had such wonderful character growth!

Hassan:

Hassan is the perfect friend.  He is the opposite of Colin in many ways, but they know each other so well.  Hassan is that friend that will just tell you the truth, even when you don't want to hear it, and Colin often needs that.  Hassan is also goodnatured and funny; spicing up the story and keeping the pace.

Lindsay:

Lindsay is imperfect and never herself.  She represents this new friend, something that Colin doesn't have a lot of, as well as a new beginning.  She admits to a lot and shares sides of herself with Colin that she doesn't show others.  She is guarded, confident, and still vulnerable in her weakest moments.  I found Lindsay to be perfectly honest, but to have a good heart.

*Bonus Character: Spoiler*

Katherine 1/19:

When I write 1/19 I do not mean 1 through 19, because as it is revealed that all the stories about Katherine 1 and 19 are actually the same person, explaining is infatuation with them both.  (K-19 was the most recent break up). 

Final Findings:

An Abundance of Katherines embody's all of teenage heartbreak, friend drama, and unexpected discovery that makes it a perfect YA novel that has stolen it's spot on my favorites shelf with all of it's quirkiness.  

✎✎✎✎✎

~Remy

Beat the Heat Readathon Conclusion

Auntie Spinelli Reads

I am sad to announce that the Beat The Heat Readathon is now over! :(  I think that I completed a lot of my goals, but instead of counting up pages and number of hours, I think that I'll just share the books that I read! :D

Review

Review

Review

Review

Jaws

I think that eight books is something to be proud of, don't you?  Anyway, I though that this was a fun Readathon and I'm glad that I participated! :D

~Remy

Weekly Wrap Up

Books Read:

Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown

Books Received:

Library:

 (Old) ARC's:

Won:

Reviews:  

Trash Can Days

Jaws

Meme's:

Top Ten Tuesday

Waiting On Wednesday

Writing:

I signed up for 

On Friday August 23rd I'll start writing 100 for 100 of my WIP!  (Work In Progress).

I also signed up for

which starts November first, and hopefully I'll write a novel in a month!

~Remy