Title: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Pages: 519
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Romance, Fiction, Family
Published by: Simon and Schuster (May 3rd, 2016)
Summary
Andie had it all planned out.
When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.
Important internship? Check.
Amazing friends? Check.
Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks).
But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.
Because here’s the thing—if everything’s planned out, you can never find the unexpected.
And where’s the fun in that?
What I Thought
When I found out Morgan Matson was coming out with a new book, I just knew that I was going to read it. I had read Since You’ve Been Gone when it first came out, and I absolutely loved it, and so I just knew I was going to love The Unexpected Everything, and it did not disappoint!
Title: Into The Wild by Erin Hunter
Pages: 288
Genres: Adventure, Children’s/Middle Grade, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy
Published by: HarperTrophy (January 9th, 2003)
Summary
For generations, four Clans of wild cats have shared the forest according to the laws laid down by their warrior ancestors. But the ThunderClan cats are in grave danger, and the sinister ShadowClan grows stronger every day. Noble warriors are dying– and some deaths are more mysterious than others. In the midst of this turmoil appears an ordinary house cat named Rusty . . . who may turn out to be the bravest warrior of them all.
What I Thought
After reading this book, I’ll never look at stray/wild cats the same again! After much encouragement from my sister, I finally entered the world of Warriors, and I’m glad I did. This book was so much fun!
Hey everyone! So, in the beginning of summer I wrote a post telling you all about my reading goals for the summer. Well, since summer 2016 is over now (*sad face*), I thought I’d look back at my goals and see which ones I accomplished, and which goals I need to work on for next summer!
1. Read at least 15 books
I diiiid it!! From Memorial Day to Labor Day I actually read 20 books! I am super pleased with myself, and actually am very surprised that I not only reached my goal, but surpassed it!
2. Complete my library’s summer reading program
Check! I read for all 50 days and ended up with a nifty T-shirt and a free smoothie coupon!
3. Reread some old favorites
This is one goal I still need to work on. I am currently rereading Twilight, so maybe this one half counts…or maybe half of a half…or not. lol It’s just so hard for me to reread books when there are so many books I haven’t read yet, but then I really do want to revisit my old favorites…! #thestruggleisreal
4. Read more classics
My goal was to read at least 2 classics each month. I ended up only reading 1 classic a month, but hey, at least I stayed on track for the Classics Challenge! Also, I truly enjoyed all three of the classics I read. So, even though I didn’t read as many classics as I intended to, I still feel like I sort of achieved this goal. I’d say this one half counts, though! 😉
10 points if you know who Wishbone is! 😉
5. Conquer my TBR…or at least tame it…
I feel like I achieved this goal. Obviously, I still have a huge TBR pile, but I ended up reading some books that I’d had for quite a while. Also, I didn’t really buy very many books, and I only checked out 4 library books all summer – which is unheard of for me! I really wanted to focus on reading the books that I already owned this summer, and I feel like I did that.
6. Participate in the Hedgeathon 2016
The Hedgeathon was a summer read-a-thon, and it was created by Natalie at Books and Quills. I just narrowly managed to finish it on time, but it was so much fun! I actually wrote wrap-up post specifically for the Hedgeathon. If you’re interested, here it is!
Well, that wraps up my reading for summer 2016! Overall, I had a pretty great summer, and I hope you all did, too. I’m super sad summer is over, but I admit, I am looking forward to fall now. Nothing is cozier than a nice cup of tea (or a Pumpkin Spice Latte, if that’s more your style 😉 ), a warm blanket, and a really good book.
This may be late, but I’m doing it anyway! I had a pretty great August, bookish and non-bookish! I cannot believe that we are already almost halfway through with September though. Where has 2016 gone?!
BOOKS READ
I read a total of six books in August!
A Long Way From You not pictued because it was overdue from the library! haha
– A Long Way From You by Gwendolyn Heasley \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– The Program by Suzanne Young \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– Dance of Fire by Yelena Black \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
– The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STANDOUT BOOK OF THE MONTH
I’ve decided I’m going to start featuring a book or two each month that really stood out to me. Maybe it will be one I found to be surprisingly good, or one that I knew was going to become a favorite. This month I’m going to feature:
The Importance of Being Earnest
and
The Program
I was so pleasantly surprised with both of these books! I did not expect to like them nearly as much as I actually did.
BOOKS REVIEWED
Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Program by Yelena Black \\ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CLASSIC READ
For the Pretty Books 2016 Classic Challenge, I read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Be sure to look for my post about it, coming soon!
BOOK HAUL
I only bought one book in August: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey! I loved The 5th Wave, so I cannot wait to read this second book in the series and find out what happens next. 🙂
MISCELLANEOUS
I also participated in the #ReadThemAllThon that went from August 14th through September 3rd. Click here to find out which books I was reading, and my progress for that read-a-thon!
I also started a new feature called Movie Monday! I’ve only made one post, so far, about it. To hear my thoughts comparing Matilda by Roald Dahl to its movie, click here. 🙂
I finally, very slowly, started to catch up on tags! I was nominated for the Liebster Award a couple months ago, and I finally got around to doing it.
That wraps up my August! I had a really great month filled with swimming, the fair, and camping, along with some really great books. I hope you all had an excellent August as well, and I hope your September is going great, too! 🙂
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram to continue to stay updated on what I am reading in between blog posts.
Title: Beastly by Alex Flinn
Pages: 304
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Retellings
Published by: HarperTeen (January 1, 2007)
Summary
I am a beast.
A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.
What I Thought
I was pleasantly surprised with this book! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from it. I had heard about Beastly, and I knew there was a movie, but I hadn’t heard a lot about what people actually thought of it. All I knew was that it was a modern-day, Beauty and the Beast retelling, and its cover looks like it was designed for fans of Twilight. I recently saw this book at the thrift store, and at only $0.40, I figured I had nothing to lose!
Last week was the last week of the read-a-thon, and while I wasn’t able to actually complete the entire challenge, I think I did pretty well, and I had so much fun!
Badges Earned
The first book I read this week was Into the Wild (Cat Warriors #1) by Erin Hunter. My sister has been a huge fan of this series for a while now, and since we both love cats so much, she knew I would like it, too! I did not manage to get a review written in time to count for the read-a-thon, but be on the look out for one soon. 🙂
The second book I read was Beastly by Alex Flinn. It was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than I expected to. You can look forward to a review for this book in the coming weeks as well. 🙂
CP Earned
Dance of Fire Review | +20CP
Into the Wild |+28CP
Boulder Badge | +20CP
Beastly | +30CP
Soul Badge | +20CP
Tweets | +20CP
My pokemon’s final CP is at 338! He didn’t make it into a Venusaur this time, but maybe for the next read-a-thon. 🙂
This read-a-thon was so, so much fun! Overall, I ended up reading 4 really great books. I may not have been able to finish all 8 books, but I know if it weren’t for the challenges, I probably would not have read any of these books yet, and they would have just sat on my TBR pile for who knows how long.
I just wanted to say thanks again to Aentee from ReadAtMidnight for creating the #ReadThemAllThon, and for all the hard work and thoughtfulness she put into it.
I hope you all have enjoyed seeing what I’ve been reading! 🙂
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram to continue to stay updated on what I am reading in between blog posts.
Title: Dance of Fire by Yelena Black
Pages: 321
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (March 12th, 2015)
Summary
All dancers dream of the chance to try out for the Royal Court Ballet Company. Only two dancers from the elite New York Ballet Academy will have this honour. Vanessa is one of them. She dances with grace and elegance, and a fury that is unmatched. Justin – strong, sexy and caring – will be her partner. But the thrill of travelling to London for this once-in-a-lifetime competition is shrouded by their past and the demands of an ancient organisation. The Lyric Elite needs them to win the contest and to infiltrate the Royal Court Ballet in order to seek out a dark society of Necrodancers. Vanessa will dance like she has never danced before, but not for them. Vanessa is there to find her missing sister, Margaret, and she won’t let anything get in the way of that …Fierce rivals, dark forces and hidden motives weave together in a gripping thriller for fans of Black Swan and Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments.
What I Thought
First, you should know that this book is the sequel to Dance of Shadows. You can check out the review I did for that by clicking here. 🙂
I read Dance of Shadows back when it came out in 2013. It wasn’t a super hyped up book, but, of the few bloggers I knew back then, people talked about it. There was definitely some media hype, and as a dancer, I just new I had to get that book. So, after finishing it, it was quite clear there was going to be a sequel. So, I kept waiting, and waiting, for any type of information concerning the next book in the series. Finally, Dance of Fire was quietly released in 2015, straight to paperback, and only available in the UK (I bought my copy from The Book Depository). I’m saying all of this, because I feel like this book is highly underappreciated, and I want to know why there were absolutely no announcements or hype about the release of this book. In fact, the only way I found out about its release is because I had marked it on my to-read shelf on Goodreads, and one day there was a release date on it. That was it. This book was good! Was it the best book I ever read? No. That being said I really did enjoy it, and I cannot figure out why its release is so quiet and shady. Okay, random, mini-rant over; I’m going to talk about the actual content now!
Dance of Fire had a different vibe than book 1, and I think that worked really well for it. In this book, Vanessa is in a new location, with new characters – and a few old ones – and everything just felt very fresh and new. The dancing, as always, was super fun to read about, and I loved how Yelena Black incorporated the paranormal aspect of the novel in the actual dancing. I loved getting to know Vanessa’s mom in this one, because I don’t remember her in Dance of Shadows very much, if at all, too. I also found myself liking Justin’s character a lot more than I remember. I did miss Vanessa’s friends though.
Something I did not necessarily care for was the dual perspective. In this book, it alternates between present day, and Margaret’s diary from 2 years ago. I appreciated the insight from the past, but sometimes things felt a bit disjointed because of it. Overall, this book just did not feel as strong as the first. I also found this book struggling in the same way Dance of Shadows did. The beginning was exciting, and the ending was great, but the middle was a bit lacking at times. I felt like things should have been progressing more, when nothing was really happening.
I really did enjoy the ending though. I thought it really tied the two books together, and wrapped up the mystery well. It also left just enough loose ends open for the series to feel complete, but also stay available for more sequels in the future, if the author decides to do so.
Overall, while I did not enjoy this book quite as much as the first one, Dance of Fire was a very entertaining, mysterious read. I would recommend this series to anyone who is a lover of both dance and the paranormal.
Also, can we just appreciate that gorgeous cover?! *heart eyes*
I was tagged by, the always so kind, Lashaan & Trang over at Bookidote for the Pokemon GO Book Tag! Thank you so much, you guys! 🙂 This tag was created by Aentee @ Read at Midnight.
The Rules
There are no real rules; simply have fun! A link back to Aentee’s blog is always nice though. You can also use the graphics. 🙂
Okay, let’s get started!
Honestly, I don’t ever remember a time where I did not love to read. I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb loving books! That being said, the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park were the first series that I absolutely fell in love with, and they are one of the first books that I remember reading all by myself. I still have a distinct, random memory of me sitting on my older sister’s bed reading Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket, and asking my sister what glum meant! Hahaha
This one is a no-brainer for me: Nancy Drew! After I outgrew Junie B. Jones (which, honestly, I’ll always love, too), I discovered Nancy Drew, and I fell in absolute love! I don’t know what it was about this series that enticed me so, but I just couldn’t get enough. To this day, I still love to read Nancy Drew books. I’m obsessed/addicted to all things related to Nancy Drew, and even though I’m older now, my love is still just as strong.
I’m probably going to get a lot of disgruntled comments for this one, but, I think I’m going to have to go with Harry Potter. Now, hear me out! I’ve only read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and I did really enjoy it a lot; I plan on finishing the rest of the series. The thing is, I hear about Harry Potter literally everyday. I can’t scroll through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., for more than a few minutes without finding something related to Harry Potter at least once. Because of this, I feel like there are a lot of things I’ve been spoiled on. Plus, because it has such huge hype, I feel like it’s always going to be there. Harry Potter is iconic; 5 years from now, it’s still going to be everywhere. So, it’s not really that I’ve lost interest in this series, it’s more like I’ve sort of just put it on hold.
I think I’m going to go with the Matched series by Ally Condie for this one. This series reminds me of a lot of other YA dystopian books out there, but despite that, I still think this series is so entertaining!
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray!! I really enjoyed the first two books in the A Great and Terrible Beauty series, but I have not read the final book yet, because it is HUGE! Coming in at 816 pages, aside from the Bible, it is the largest book I own. I want to read it, but…it’s size scares me!
I’m going to go with another Libba Bray book: The Diviners! This book was super creepy! Story time: While reading this book late one night – I was the only person up, mind you – I heard someone whistling outside. If you’ve read this book, you know what whistling means. Needless to say, I never read this book when I was the only one awake again!
This one is another no-brainer for me! Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley will forever be my ultimate bookish OTP. Just look at them! *heart eyes*
I have to choose The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. This is a bit of a bigger book, but despite that, I absolutely flew through this one! It is so action-packed and fast-paced, it’s one of those reads you just cannot put down.
I think I’ll go with Nancy Drew again, for this one. While I don’t think all the spins-offs are necessarily equal in quality, I do love that there are so many different series, spin-offs and merchandise. After over 85 years, the fact that Nancy Drew is still, for the most part, a household name, is so incredible!
The Program by Suzanne Young definitely surprised me. I figured I’d enjoy it, because I enjoy a lot of YA dystopian, but I ended up loving this book a lot more than I thought I would! It felt very fresh, and I cannot wait to read the sequel and see how this series ends!
This was a tricky one for me, but I’m going to go with the Selection series by Kiera Cass. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the later books, but people seem to just love this series, and I think it sounds like a lot of fun, too!
I’d love to have the Barnes and Noble leather-bound classics…as in all of them! Those books are seriously so gorgeous. I have Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and a Little House bind up, and two books are just not enough. I mean look at it!!
I actually can’t think of one for this?? I know there are books that are coming out that I want, but I just can’t think of any right now?
All of these authors I wish could be auto-buy, but I love the library, and since I’m not a billionaire some of these are auto-checkout from the library: Ransom Riggs, Meg Cabot, Sarah Dessen, and Stephenie Meyer.
I have been waiting for Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs ever since it was announced, and tomorrow is finally the day (even though I probably won’t actually buy it tomorrow)!!
This was so much fun!! I’m not going to tag anyone, because I don’t know who has already/wants to do this, but if you haven’t done this yet, and it looks like fun, I tag YOU!
I was nominated by Monique from That Wild Soul for the Liebster Award! Thank you so, so much! I was nominated over 2 months ago, and I’m just now doing this…oops? Despite my delay, I am super excited to be doing this!! 🙂
Check out the 2016 Official Liebster Award rules for more logos and information.
The Rules:
1. Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award.
2. Answer the 11 questions that the blog gives you.
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think are deserving of the award that have less than 200 followers.
5. Let the blogs know you have nominated them.
6. Give them 11 questions to answer.
The Questions
What is your favourite series?
Ooh! This is such a hard question for me…I’m going to have to go with the Nancy Drew series. Those books were the first ones that I ever became really obsessed with, and they are just really special to me to this day.
Do you ever read the ending of a book first to see if you’ll like it?
Never! I’ve been accidentally spoiled for books before, and it’s a horrible thing. I would never intentionally do that to myself.
Is there a book you liked but think could do with a rewrite?
The Death Cure by James Dashner! I love the Maze Runner series, and I think the series ended well, but it could have ended so much better.
Which book has your least favourite cover?
I know there are covers that I don’t like, but honestly, I cannot think of any right now?
How often do you unhaul books?
…never…I really, really should, but I hate getting rid of books! I going to have to unhaul a few soon though, because my bookshelves are pretty much at their max. capacity!
Do you feel pressure to update your blog regularly?
I do! I know my blog isn’t very big, so it’s not like I have any “fans” waiting for me to post or anything, but even though my blog is small, I want to be consistent. I want to be able to look back at my old posts and see what I thought, too!
What is one of your favourite bookish items?
I have this Nancy Drew fleece sweatshirt from Out of Print Clothing, and not only is it super cute, it is probably the coziest shirt I own!
What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?
I think it is super important for every one to have goals, but honestly, I don’t know. I’m still figuring out what I would like to do.
Which book would you sacrifice in an apocalypse to save the world?
Fifty Shades of Grey; I’ve never read it, and I have no desire to.
Would you like to travel to the past or the future?
The past! While realistically, I know I wouldn’t want to stay there permanently, there are so many places I’d like to see in the past. I’d love to see what life was like on the prairie, like Laura Ingalls, I’d love to experience life from the early 1900’s, as well as experience the ’50s and the ’60s.
What is your favourite song? (Include YouTube link)
I don’t have a favorite song of all time or anything like that, but lately I’ve really been enjoying Happiness by NeedToBreathe.
My Questions
- What is the book that made you fall in love with reading?
- Best book you’ve read in 2016?
- Worst book you’ve read in 2016?
- If you could travel anywhere, free of charge, where would you go and why?
- What book to movie adaptation is your favorite?
- Which one is your least favorite?
- Favorite non-bookish thing to do?
- What is your favorite food?
- If you could live in any other time period, which would it be?
- What is your favorite season?
- What new book release are you most anticipating?
Nominations
I’m not going to nominate anyone in particular, but instead, I’m going to nominate everyone who has not done this yet!
Reading wise, this week was not great. I only finished one book. However, I had a super busy, fun-filled week, so that is okay!
Badges Earned
This week, I only earned my Marsh Badge, with Dance of Fire by Yelena Black. For some reason, it took me forever to read this book – I only just finished it today! I had planned on having it finished early last week, and the review would have been up for sure last Saturday, but that, obviously, didn’t happen. You can look for the review to be up in the next day or two!
Like I said, I didn’t get that much time to read this past week. However, I am okay with that, because I had a really great last week of summer break! 🙂 My family and I bought week passes to the fair, and so I ended up going 5 times this year! I always have so much fun at the fair, and it’s really nice, because we have a trailer we go camping at in the summer, and the campground is literally right next to the fairgrounds. So, my family and I went camping there a couple of times last week, and then we would walk over to the fair, too.
Because of my lack of reading, however, I realize the chances of me being able to complete this read-a-thon are now super slim! So, my goal now is to just complete at least 2 more books, which would bring me to at least the halfway mark.
CP Earned
Dance of Fire | +32CP
Marsh Badge | +20CP
Tweets | +2CP
My Pokemon is now at 150 CP, which means he can finally evolve into an Ivysaur, gaining me an extra +50CP, which brings us up to 200 CP!
Okay, so like I said, my goal for this final week of the #ReadThemAllThon, is to read at least 2 more books. I also want to have all my reviews for these books, as well as Dance of Fire, written and posted before the read-a-thon is over. Wish me luck!! 🙂
Be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more day-to-day updates!
the calico books 