The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I wasn't initially interested on reading this book at first, but I decided to because of well, Emma Watson and the funky 70's green that engulfs the book's cover. I am definitely glad I made this decision.

It's so hard to explain how I feel after reading this book. Upon finishing it, I decided to then watch the movie medium of it immediately, and that is the ambiance for which I am writing this. I don't know if the feelings of being infinite can be replicated just from reading a book, but that is the one thought that runs through my head whenever I hear Charlie's voice. Infinite.

For those of you who haven't skimmed the back flap summary, it's about an anonymous boy named Charlie (Or simply one who calls himself Charlie because he wishes to keep his true identity a secret) writes letters to someone important to himself, which are make up the bread and butter of this book. It's really about so much more than that. It's about depression, and the Smiths, and falling in love, and finding yourself, and feeling infinite. It also covers a wide variety of sensitive subjects that one comes in contact with throughout life, such as suicide and abortion. I really like how even though these things were mentioned and surrounded Charlie's life, it was something you could deal with. It was manageable. And it makes you feel like life goes on, even if you don't want it to, and things in your life no matter how awful can be dealt with.

I think this book really opened my eyes to life, in it's own strange way. It showed me how to be myself and to do what I want to because this is my life and no one else's. And that's okay. So maybe, just maybe, if you pick up this book, you'll think so too. And maybe, just maybe, you'll feel infinite.

Love always,

Do you believe?

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

 

I have to admit that I was a little hesitant about reading this book because I wasn't too fond of the plot and because of the image I had on the writer. I remembered reading twilight and how excruciating most of the book was. However, with much encouragement from my friends, I finally gave it a try.

This book was defiantly not what I had expected. I give my praise to Stephanie Meyer as she has delivered an heartwarming and loving story about a world were humans were on the verge of extinction. To be honest, the whole idea of aliens taking over our minds kinda freaked me out and I went into this book expecting to be disturbed by what I read. I, however, was pleasantly surprised to find that the book did not center on the war between alien vs. humans, but more about survival, love, and finding your home in the world.

One thing that I loved about the book was that it caught me by surprise. At first it seemed that the protagonist of The Host was Melanie, but as I read on, it is realized that the main character is actually Wonderer, the alien. It was a breath of fresh air to read a story told in the POV of someone not from this planet. To see the world how aliens would see it if they should one day invade this planet. (I desperately hope not!)

The ending was also something that caught me off guard. Usually when I'm reading I story, I have a general idea of where the story is heading and how it could possibly end however, with this story I was stumped. No matter how I twisted the story in my head, I simply could not find an ending that would suffice. I kept thinking to myself "how can there possibly be a happy ending for both Melanie, the host, and Wonderer, the alien parasite. As it reached the end, I was ecstatic on how Meyer ended the story. Sure she didn't tell us how this dwindling puny group of humans could survive against billions of parasite infested ones and only hinted at the possibility of coexistence, but who cares about that when there's love, right?

Meyer did an excellent job on breathing life into her characters. (She did have about 700 pages to do so though). Each one of the characters had a different persona and way of speaking that it seemed like they could have been someone you knew. You could see the friendships being made and the relationships that were created and strengthened. Every character in the book had their own voice and presence.

Being such a long book, the story did move a little slow. There were some sections of the story that bored me. I found myself sometimes wishing that the story would progress faster which caused me to skim over some sections but if you can overlook this pace, than it is defiantly worth the read.   

The host truly is a must read for those who love stories about a brave, courageous protagonist on her journey to find the one place that she belongs. A story about love, hope, and the strangest possibilities in the world. A heartwarming reminder that if you believe and strive for what you want, you CAN make it happen.

I hope everyone will strive to make their own dreams come true!

Till next time dreamers~

 

ARC Apollyon

Apollyon- Jennifer Armentrout

First, let me say, if you haven't read Elixir, you should read that first.

I was one of the lucky few to receive an ARC! Thank you so much Spencer Hill! And as an avid reader of the covenant series, I was sure I would be impressed with this next book and Jenn didn't disappoint!

It was jaw- droppingly, heart- stoppingly, book- grippingly amazing. Like woah! My mind is still blown. Imagine the awesomeness of Half-Blood, Pure, Deity, and Elixir COMBINED.

Yea. It's that good.

There were time where I'd be reading and think, "Man, this so can't get any crazier." And then... BAM!! It'd get crazier. Apollyon is officially the best book of the series. Hands down. So much background information is uncovered, that my eyes practically popped out of my head.

Not only was it beautifully written with practically poetic descriptions like, "his eyes were pools of silver," and "The enormity of what lay ahead was a cold draft on my skin and deeper, on my soul," but it had even more of Jenn's marvelous humor with, "Yeppers Peppers", "creeptastic" and my personal favorite, "that little punk-ass bitch". Not to mention all the wonderful, totally agreeable, Supernatural references.

Alex shows the most character growth. I felt like in Apollyon, I could connect with her more. I fell with her weaknesses and rose with her strengths. Marcus also makes a change. And as always, Apollo needs a freaking bell! Aiden was absolutely my favorite character in this book. He was heart skippingly magnificent.

"Lowering his head, his lips brushed over mine. I was sure I tasted of dirt and sour apple, courtesy of the Blow Pop I'd been nursing earlier,but he

made this sound against my mouth, part growl and part something deeper. As the kiss deepened, like he could just devour the taste and feel, I melted against him."

Think its hot now? Yea, it gets steamier. :)

Through this book, I found myself on a journey, laughing and crying, ooo-ing and awe-ing with the characters. If you don't read this, you've clearly got no soul.

Now, excuse me, while I wither away waiting for Sentinel.

Peace and Love,
Lyssa, aka Fire

P.S. I'm totally naming my next dog, "Toto". :)

Laced in Drama

Laced in Malice- Riley Gray

There is definitely a ton of drama in this book. So if you wanna go on a small roller coaster then I suggest reading it! It ended with a cliff hanger so, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I liked it but I didn't like where it left off. There were time when. Wanted to punch Oliver and Zara. They were morons at times. But they were super cute and steamy as well :)

 My favorites parts of this book were definitely the banter between Zara (Rose) and Oliver. I usually read ebooks so that when I read them, I can highlight without damaging the book as well as portability. I find myself highlighting a lot in this book. 

 “I’m saying that I’m drawn to you like objects are to gravity.”

 “So be a bird or a plane or something and defy it.”

 “Ergh, go away, Oliver.” I snatched my bag back from him. “Just once I’d like to have a conversation with you that you didn’t turn into some kind of sexual reference.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” 

“Pig.” 

“Keep calling me names, Rose, it’s only turning me on.” 

“Goodbye, Oliver!” I said, marching away.

 “Did my heart love till now?” Oliver called behind me. 

“Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night. See! I can be romantic.”

 “Quoting something from a book isn’t romantic,” I shouted back to him without turning. 

“Up your game, Oliver.” 

“For you, baby, anything!” I laughed and shook my head. 

Idiot 

 My least favorite parts were the Voice and the main antagonist who I won't mention by name :/ That bitch. I also didn't like how emotionally unstable I felt waiting for something to mess up a happy ending. However, by the end, I very much liked Oliver and Zara. I need to read the next book though, because it feels like an awful unsatisfying ending.

 All in all, it was good! I read it in a day, first because I couldn't put it down and then half way through because I HAD to know what happened. 

 If you get a chance, I'd say go for it. I've read else where that its like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl wrapped together in a steamy embrace. I'd say I agree. There aren't many books I hate, and this one isn't one of them. I just dislike all the drama. But if you like drama, then you will LOVE this book. 

 TTFN,

Apollyon

Hey Guys!

Guess who was graciously given an ARC of "Apollyon" by the lovely Jennifer L Armentrout????

That's right! Me!

I'll report to you of it's awesomeness this week, so stay tuned!

Always,
Fire

This book will be Easy for you to love!

 Easy by Tammara Webber

Tammara uses lots of dialogue mixed with just enough detail to envision the story. Which is sort of perfect seeing as that fits with the attention span of pretty much every girl I know. She didn't so much flattery me with her words and she did with her storyline.

The characters were believable. I liked that while Jacqueline (not Jackie) is a young college girl, she takes the time to learn how to defend herself and does not end up being a Mary Sue type character. I also like that unlike most guys, Lucas cultivates the strong woman attribute without losing his "manliness".

As book lovers, we read and love lots of book but every once in awhile, one comes along and knocks you off your feet. "Easy" was one of them. I have to say that I absolutely loved this book! I couldn't put it down! It's the first book I've read that is in a college setting, which is awesome because almost all of the YA books are set in high school. The change of pace was refreshing.

Lucas is my new dream guy. He's a hot badass with a past who doesn't care what people think, as well as a guy who loves the arts, and believes that chivalry isn't completely dead. He wasn't one of those guys who didn't know what he wanted and constantly changed his mind and then went into a corner and cried, like so many others. THANK GOD! I'm tired of guys being indecisive dumbasses. Basically he's a good man and a total bad boy, if you get my drift ;) And he rides a motorcycle and has tattoos! *swoon*

This is definitely going in my top 10 books.

My only wish is that this wasn't a stand alone book, but alas, I have no genie, and my wishes will not be granted, but as a stand alone, it still left me satisfied with the ending.

I'll probably check out a few more college scene books and more from Tammara Webber so no worries, I'll keep you posted ;)

As Always, 

Oh.. My... Gods...

Deity

Oh... my... gods... This book was AMAZING! It is by far the best Covenant series novel out, so far! I don't think I can wait for the continuation, "Apollyon" much longer, cuz I need it now! I'm on my way to read the novella, "Elixir" which is set in Aiden's P.O.V. after the end of Deity, which speaking of, almost killed me! In a sorta good way.

I absolutely fell in love with Aiden St. Delphi. Regardless of whatever "Team" you're routing for, (Team Aiden/Team Seth), you will definitely fall in love with Aiden too. You have a heart of ice ( no pun intended, Ice) if you don't.

I really appreciate the character growth Alex goes through in this book. She seems to understand more what her "knee-jerk" reactions do to herself and other people, even though she still has a few! Aiden also seems to grow as a character, he isn't the exact same guy who he was in the beginning of "Half Blood" - he's even better. I won't say much more about him because there would be too many spoilers, but you WILL love him even more. Seth doesn't appear as often as Aiden, but the times he does are monumental. There is definitely something going on with Seth and nobody knows how to handle it.

Btw. I absolutely love Leon in this book. He cracks me up so much.

This book flooded me with so many emotions. At times, I wanted to almost cry. Other times, I wanted to punch somebody. But mostly, I felt so unbelievably elated through the entire thing. My heart dropped at the ending, because its such a cliff hanger, but I'm sure "Elixir" will clear some of that up for me and get me through the wait til "Apollyon".

There are so many twists to the plot, I can't even begin. Just read the book. If you've read "Pure", then I don't need to tell you twice to pick this book up. If you haven't even started the series, go find "Half Blood" and catch up!

Now, excuse me, while I go into hiding with "Elixir" ;)

Hugs and Kisses,

UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn

Hey guys Ice here with my very first review! This book is free in IBooks so go get it today!

 

Mina, main character of UnEnchanted, finds out the reason that her family keeps moving from state to state. She is told of her family's Grimm curse and the fact that her father died from trying to beat it. The shock hits her hard but instead continue to run away, she decides that she must stand up and beat the curse in order to protect her little brother, who would have to face it if she died. 

 Her courage to take on the curse head on was inspiring but really out of character. Her shy appearance that the beginning of the book seems to disappear and all of a sudden she transforms to this valiant warrior who is ready to take on any task at hand. I must say that I was not expecting the instant change and was thoroughly confused by it.

 

This book had so much potential. I loved the plot and where the story was heading, but the writing was very…..unique. I did not mind the fact that there were some grammar mistakes throughout the book, but what irks me is that the author spelled the main character’s name wrong! It could have been a simple typo but before publishing the book, she should have edited it, because trust me; it needed it! 

I only gave 3 stars to the book because I felt that the characters could have been better portrayed. The characters in this story seem really bipolar and most of the time I am confused on what is happening because of their constant mood swings, especially Mina's. Mina goes from desperately begging for help from a stranger that she suddenly feels she can “trust” to downright angry to the same stranger. When reading the story, sometimes I just feel that the characters need to sit down and take a chillpill!

Overall, the book did peak my interest and I encourage everyone to try it out because of the interesting plot that is told, I know I will be reading the second book just to find out how the tale continues. If you don't mind the occasional grammar error, then you might find yourself cozying up in a chair and reading this story in one read!