Today is Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Top Ten Great Beach Reads
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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
I feel like the Traveling Pants series is the ultimate summer series. It’s funny, sad, happy, thoughtful, and so much more. It’s one of those books that you can fly through quickly, which also makes it a perfect beach read.
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids
I found The Summer of Chasing Mermaids to be magical (even though it is not a fantasy and there isn’t any “real” magic), creative, and oh so fun. It’s very loosely based on The Little Mermaid, but it is actually a contemporary. When I read it last summer, it was one of the most original contemporaries that I had read in a while.
Peaches
If you enjoy The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, then you will enjoy Peaches as well! They have a similar vibe, and they both explore the importance of friendships. This book, however, will give you a craving for peaches like no other!
Since You’ve Been Gone
While this book also explores friendships, Since You’ve Been Gone is unique, because the best friend has disappeared. This book is a lot of fun, filled with summer bucket lists and ice cream. It gives you that perfect summer vibe, which, in my opinion, makes it the perfect beach/poolside read!
Along for the Ride
This list simply would not be complete without listing at least one Sarah Dessen book! All of her books are the ultimate summer, beach/poolside read. They are seriously flawless. All of her books give you summertime vibes x 100. I chose Along for the Ride, because that was the first Sarah Dessen book I read, and I just remember falling in absolute love with all of the characters, the storyline, and the location.
The Christy Miller Collection
When I think of summer and the beach, the Christy Miller series is the first thing that comes to my mind. These books are so fun, memorable, and summer-y (the first book is especially beach read-ish, but honestly, the whole series is amazing)!
13 Little Blue Envelopes
This book is such an adventure! I love reading adventurous contemporaries in the summertime at the pool. This book is absolutely perfect for that.
This is What Happy Looks Like
Creative and fun, This is What Happy Looks Like is such an enjoyable read. I know most of the books on this list I have called fun, but that is what I enjoy reading on the beach (or in my case, the pool). Jennifer E. Smith is another author who never fails to disappoint me when it comes to summertime contemporaries.
Matched
The thing I love about Matched, is because it is so unlike most dystopians. There’s danger and action, but it is not so dark and heavy, like The Hunger Games or Divergent, for example. It is highly enjoyable and suspenseful at times, but in a more…easy-going(?) way.
Safe Haven
Filled with action, suspense, romance, and the beach, Safe Haven makes a great beach read. This book is very fast-paced, and highly entertaining. While reading, I wanted nothing more than to be sitting on a beach chair in the North Carolina sun, with my toes in the sand (unfortunately, I wasn’t 😛 )!
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That’s it for this week! Let me know what your favorite beach reads are! 🙂
Title: Within Reach by Jessica Stevens
Pages: 258
Genres: YA, paranormal/supernatural, contemporary, romance
Published by: Sparkpress (May 17th, 2016)
Summary
Dying wasn’t on seventeen-year-old Xander Hemlock’s summer to-do-list. Finding ways to spend more time with his girlfriend, Lila, was the most critical thinking he planned on doing. But that was before he found himself trapped in a realm of only darkness with thirty days to convince Lila he’s not actually dead—well, not completely, anyway.
As Xan tries to show Lila she isn’t alone, she struggles to comprehend how her life has changed so completely. Six months ago her life was perfect: she was on her way to becoming a professional dancer, her parents were still married, and her boyfriend was alive. But now, with her anorexic tendencies stronger than ever, she must decide which is the lesser of two evils: letting go to be with a boy she doesn’t love, or holding on to the unreasonable, yet overpowering, feeling that Xan is still within reach…and trying to show her something.
Improbable and endearing, Within Reach is a story of two soulmates discovering that sometimes it takes more than one lifetime to get it right.
What I Thought
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. A huge thank you to Sparkpress and Netgalley.*
After reading the synopsis for Within Reach, I was instantly intrigued. The story sounded very unique, Lila was a ballet dancer (my favorite!), and plus, look at that cover; it’s gorgeous! So, I think it is safe to say that I was quite excited to read this book. While there were certain parts in the book that I didn’t care for, overall I quite enjoyed it!
I was tagged by Giovanna at Book Coma to do the 3 Days, 3 Quotes challenge! Thank again for tagging me! I have had so much fun with this tag. 🙂
The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day.
Today’s quote is from A Court of Thorns and Roses. I really like this quote, because so often in life, there is so much judgement when it comes to people’s hobbies, passions, and even something as simple as what books people “should” read. This quote really puts all those judgements aside though, and actually validates that people should be allowed to enjoy what they enjoy (as long as it does not harm them or others).
” Don’t fell bad for one moment for doing what brings you joy.”
– Sarah J. Maas
I Tag:
I was tagged by Giovanna at Book Coma to do the 3 Days, 3 Quotes challenge! Thank you so much for thinking of me for this fun tag!!:)
The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day.
Sorry this is a day late, I completely forgot to do it yesterday…oops!
Today’s quote comes from 17 Wishes, which is part of the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. It may be a bit cheesy, but this is actually one of my all-time, favorite quotes!
If we spend all of today thinking about tomorrow, today will be gone, and we will have missed it.
– Robin Jones Gunn
I Tag:
I was tagged by Giovanna at Book Coma to do the 3 Days, 3 Quotes challenge! Thank you so much for thinking of me for this fun tag!! 🙂
The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
3. Nominate three new bloggers each day.
Today’s quote comes from one of my all-time favorite books: Anne of Green Gables!
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
– L.M. Montgomery
I Tag:
Title: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Pages: 486
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction/Time Travel, Romance
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Summary:
Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home… forever.
What I Thought
Wow! What an adventure!! I feel like Passenger is one of the most talked about books of 2016 so far! Honestly, I was a little intimidated to read this one, because everybody seems to just love it, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t like it as much. Because I had heard so many good things about this book, I was a bit skeptical on whether or not it would actually live up to the hype. For the most part though, it actually did! While, I admit, it felt a bit slow at parts, this book was so worth the read!
Today is Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Books I Picked Up On A Whim
The Summer of Cotton Candy
This entire series is so fun! There are 4 books in the series – one for each season – and it chronicles 17 year old Candace’s life, starting with the summer before her senior year of high school.
I discovered The Summer of Cotton Candy actually the summer before my senior year, and basically, that was enough to pull me in and read it. I, personally, recommend reading each book with its corresponding season.
The City of Ember
I bought this book from Borders shortly before it closed (RIP, lovely bookstore), so this is a bit of an oldie, but I’m including this book on the list, because I truly bought it on a whim. I had a gift card with not a lot of money left on it, and I really wanted to buy a book that day. I discovered a 3-in-1 bind up of the first 3 The City of Ember books, and was intrigued. The synopsis was super interesting, and the price was great, so I bought it. I’ve loved dystopian novels ever since!
Starters
I really enjoy dystopian novels. I discovered this book through an ad on, I think, Goodreads. Nobody, however, was talking about this book, like The Hunger Games, Delirium, Divergent, etc. I saw it at the library one day, and just decided to give it a shot.
Don’t Turn Around
I had heard of Don’t Turn Around, but I didn’t really know much about it. I knew it was an action book, and had something to do with computer hacking, but that was it. I bought it because it was on sale for $0.99 at the Nook Store.
The Photo Traveler
This book featured a very unique from of time travel – through pictures. I discovered this book by an ad on Goodreads as well, and like Starters, nobody was talking about it. I checked out on the Nook Store, and it was only $0.99, so I just had to buy it. I have not read the sequel, but I intend to soon!
Code name: Dancer
This was another ebook deal I discovered. The fact that it had a dance and mystery aspect was enough for me! I’ve read the second book to the series as well, and both are a lot of fun.
Tangled
I was looking to fill my Nook with some new books, and stumbled across this one. I hadn’t heard of it, but I had heard of Carolyn Mackler, and it was on sale, so I decided to get it. This one wasn’t quite what I expected, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.
Marvelous
Sometimes, usually when I should be doing school or something else productive, I like to just scroll through different bookseller sites and dig around for new and upcoming books. That’s how I discovered Marvelous. It had such an intriguing premise, that I just knew I had to read it!
Where I Belong
I bought this book the same day I bought Tangled. This may not have been a super deep, intellectual read, but it was a lot of fun, and a perfect book to read in the summer!
The Chronicle of Three: Bloodline
I just recently got a NetGalley account, so I was looking at all the amazing books I could request, and stumbled across this one. I had never heard of the book or the author, but it sounded quite interesting, so I thought I’d request it. This was my first NetGalley book I was approved for, and I ended up really enjoying it! If interested, you can check out my review for it here.
That’s it for this week! Share your Top Ten Tuesday with me in the comments! 🙂
Well, I’m late posting April’s classic, but it’s only the 15th! I’m still 5 whole days ahead from last month’s classic! 😉
April’s Classic
Check it out on Goodreads!
Originally Published: 1988
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.
She warms up with some practical jokes aimed at her hapless parents, but the true test comes when she rallies in defense of her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, against the diabolical Trunchbull. There is never any doubt that Matilda will carry the day. Even so, this wonderful story is far from predictable. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings.
WHEN I Discovered This Classic
When I was little, I was OBSESSED with this movie (honestly, I still am)! So, naturally, knowing how much I loved the movie, my grandparents bought me the book when I was probably 8 or 9.
WHY I Chose To Read It
Like I said, I received this book when I was 8 or 9, and that was the last time I read it. I remember absolutely loving it then, and being that it had been over 10 years since I read it last, I decided it was definitely time for a re-read!
WHAT Makes It A Classic
Roald Dahl is a very prolific and well-loved children’s author. Matilda is just one of his very popular books, and it has been made into a movie (one of my absolute favorites, actually!), as well as a successful Broadway musical!
WHAT I Thought Of This Classic
I absolutely loved it! In fact, I think I enjoyed reading Matilda more now than I did when I was little. This book is just so clever!
Matilda is the perfect example for why I love children’s literature so much. Unlike adult books, or even YA, children’s books don’t try to impress with fancy language and unnecessary drama, in order to be “complex” or “worthy” of being literature. They simply are what they are. Even though it’s not filled with complex language, Matilda is so beautifully written. It is one of those books that make you appreciate books and reading all the more.
I just had so much fun reading this book! The characters are so creative, The Wormwoods are awful and crazy, Miss Honey is just lovely, the Trunchbull is terrifying, and Matilda is so clever, and just a little naughty.
One thing I found interesting though, was Matilda’s powers. If you have seen the movie, and I know many of you probably have, you know how large a part Matilda’s powers come into play. That is not the case with the book. In fact, I was over halfway through the book before they were even mentioned or discovered.
WILL It Stay A Classic
Absolutely! Matilda is one of those books that make you remember why you love books and reading so much. It has such a magical quality to the story and its writing, that as long as there are bibliophiles out there, this book will thrive.
WHO I’d Recommend It To
I would recommend this book to fans of the movie, children who are tired of reading the same old books and are looking for clever and unique reads, and adults who are tired of reading the same old books and are looking for clever and unique reads. I would also recommend this book to anyone who loves books, reading, and the library.
Title: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Pages: 369
Genres: YA, Fantasy/Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
Published by: Bloomsbury Children’s USA
Summary
Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you’re close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner’s heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts …
Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister’s shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames …
Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed …
What I Thought
Being a dancer myself, I was instantly intrigued by Dance of Shadows. Plus, that gorgeous cover helped draw me in even more. That being said, this book is not exactly what I expected. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Just so you’re aware, this book is a paranormal mystery. I wasn’t aware of that right away. I thought it was just a mystery novel, and so I was a little startled at a certain event that happened in the beginning of the book!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature started by Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming releases!
Today’s pick is:
Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
Releasing May 17th, 2016!
Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.
Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.
I absolutely adored My True Love Gave To Me, so when I found out another anthology in the same style, just with a summer setting, was going to be released, I was super excited. With so many amazing authors contributing to this book, I just know that I will enjoy this one. This book is going to be such a perfect book to read poolside, or just out in the grass on a lazy summer day. I have been waiting a long time for this book, and I am so excited that it is almost here!
the calico books 