Review: The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester

I had to include a picture of the back cover as well this time around. These were taken on my phone so they aren't the best but they'll do. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommend: If you're a fan of Dan and Phil obviously 

I want to start by saying that this review will be a bit different from ones I've posted in the past. As this book is non-fiction I feel a bit weird calling this a review because these are two real people who are talking about their actual lives so it's a little strange but I will still be giving my honest opinion. 

Review: As a long time subscriber of Dan and Phil I preordered this book months ago and was so excited to receive my copy that I sat down and read the whole thing in one go as soon as it arrived. That being said, there really isn't as much textual content as I expected. There were a ton of great stories and looks behind the camera and stories behind some of the videos, but I really did expect a bit more about their lives outside of youtube and their careers. This is of course a look into the world they've created online so it's not that surprising but I would have liked to hear a bit more about young Dan and Phil, however cringeworthy that might have been. 

Everything about this book was just so Dan and Phil, from the collages and aesthetic pages to the fanfiction included in the back pages that they wrote themselves, I have to admit, Dan's was pretty good, and even the dining chair quiz just seemed to be perfectly at home in this world they've built. At the end of the day this book is for them and their audience as a closer look at the corner of the internet we all inhabit and a way to remember all of that and of course to remember the two guys who started it all. I'm a bit biased but I'd recommend this to any Dan and Phil viewer out there, new or old, anyone who has never heard of them might not enjoy it but why not pick it up and browse a bit if you ever come across it at the store, give it a try. 

Review: Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Rating: 4.5/5 (Rated up on goodreads) 

Recommend: Absolutely!! 

Review: This book kind of had my hooked from the moment I saw it in the bookstore a few months ago. I can't really explain it but I saw the cover and just picked it up and thought it would be something I was into, sadly I didn't have the money for it that day so it had to be left behind. When I did I have the money for it I grabbed it off the shelf and started reading it almost immediately. I was right, I was absolutely hooked from the first page and just couldn't put it down. The main character, Tori Spring, reminded me a lot of how I was in high school, I don't think I was as cynical and pessimistic but I was definitely both of those things and it's rare I find a character I relate to so much in books these days. The conversations between the characters felt so real and like something you might overhear in a school hallways or even be something you recognize as a conversation you've had with your own friends. Books like this are difficult for me because the dialogue always seems a bit forced but in Solitaire it all felt natural and was very easy to read. I did kind of guess the ending when I was about halfway through the book but there was enough of a twist that I didn't exactly see everything coming before I'd even got to the end. I truly just really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from Alice Oseman in the future. 

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: Yes!! 

Review: So this was one of those that I just had to read because I saw so many people talking about it and I don't regret it. I wasn't so sure about it at first because it took a bit for me to get into it but I'm going to just blame that on the reading slump I seem to be in. I did really enjoy the Glendower quest and the psychic elements to the story as it's something I personally haven't encountered a lot in books and it was really interesting to me to see the story and journey play out. I know that it's not over as this is only the first book in a series but it got me hooked and I'll definitely be continuing the journey with these characters and their story. 

Hello!

So I've been gone for awhile and it's because I seem to have fallen into a bit of a reading slump. I hate when this happens but I'm really trying to get myself out of it. I'm in the process of reading both Horns by Joe Hill and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater and hope to get them finished so I can continue through my TBR pile. If you're interested I have a secondary blog where I post more personal stuff and talk about other things I enjoy like nail stuff, movies, and I'll try to get some reaction posts as I read books I review but I will still be posting reviews here. That's pretty much it from me I just felt weird being so silent here again after promising myself I'd be better about reading and reviewing for this blog.

Review: The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: If you've read The Bone Season then obviously I recommend this one

Review: I will admit it took me a bit to get my stride with this one but once I did I found this hard to put down. I think I just needed to get used to the world and the characters again but of course it wasn't hard to fall back into this world. I loved learning more about the way the syndicate works and seeing all of these people we only heard about in passing become important characters. I can't wait to see this world expand more and these characters continue to grow and the story of Paige Mahoney progresses. I do wish we'd seen a little more of the other seals and of course Ivy that's just because I like seeing exactly how every little thing ties together. That being said, I really did enjoy this book and can't wait to read the next installment in this series.

Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommend: Definitely!!

Review: So I really had absolutely no idea what to expect when getting into this book. It was the group read for my genre challenge this month and everyone kept posting about how much they loved it so of course when I see posts like that I get skeptical because I usually tend to be a bit disappointed with books that people speak so highly of. I was not disappointed in this one. The story was amazing and told so beautifully that I just flew through this book practically in one sitting. Ari had such a great voice and these were characters and family dynamics that I related to in a way I never have with another book or other characters before, probably because I'm a Mexican who grew up in Texas, but I really did love seeing something so familiar to me in a book that's so loved by so many. I really cannot say enough about this wonderful book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and quick read.

Side note: I really wanted to make my first video review on this book but I really haven't had too much time to film. I still plan on making a video for this book just to get a little more into what I thought about the characters and things like that and a link will be posted here when that finally goes up.

Also, here's the genre challenge I'm participating in just incase some of you are interested.

Review: Love by the Book by Melissa Pimentel

*Electronic copy received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend: Yes

Review: I've never read a book in this genre before and felt this was a good introduction. It was light, and humorous and just generally very enjoyable. I found Lauren, the main character, to be likable and the conversations between her and her roommate seemed a lot more like actual conversations you'd hear between friends unlike the dialogue in some books. I also particularly enjoyed the openness Lauren had about her sex life and being against the idea that all women just want a relationship and a domestic life. I really would have liked to see a bit more between her and Lucy that wasn't talking about relationships but this book was a lovely read and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a fun read and maybe trying to broaden their horizons with some new genres.

Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: Definitely!!

Review: I have to say this book exceeded my expectations. I'd never heard of it until it was chosen as the group read for the genre challenge I'm participating in and wasn't sure if I would like it but it sounded interesting so I bought it on my kindle. I was immediately entranced by this book. I was only a little familiar with the story of Achilles before I started the book but the author had a way of making him so lively and real. I loved the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus and how above all else they really just wanted to keep each other safe and refused to leave each other behind, even when others tried so desperately to keep them from each other. This book was such an easy read and I really didn't want it to end even though it obviously had to. I do think the ending was rather bittersweet but was rather perfect and the happiest ending these two would ever get. I really did love this book and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to venture into the genre. 

Review: Mind's Eye by Douglas E. Richards

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend: maybe

Review: Going to attempt another short and spoiler free review for you guys today. Mind’s Eye is a book that was recommended to me by an online friend awhile back and I just got around to it recently completely unaware of what I was getting into which was at once pretty cool and pretty worrisome. I did like the book I just felt it was a little too slow in some places and a little too fast paced in others, some parts that could’ve been sped up seemed to drag on and some that I wished we saw more of were just passed over it seemed. Again I liked the tech in this one even though it isn’t necessarily something I think is desirable but it worked well with the story and gave a plausible explanation for Nick’s ESP. I also was not expecting the twist at the end which I know is something I’ve mentioned I liked in books on here before. Looking back I feel like I should’ve seen it but it still managed to surprise me and I really liked that. It did take me some time to get into the book enough to get to the point where I couldn’t put it down until I was done but when I got there I wasn’t disappointed with the way things played out. Again I’d recommend reading a bit of it before deciding if you want to invest in it but if you know it’s something you’d be into I promise you won’t regret it. 

Review: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Rating: 4/5

Recommend: Yes!!  

Review: So I'm not very familiar with Russian folklore but oh my gods this story was awesome. Valente was great at making sure you were able to picture everything happening to Mayra and you found yourself routing for to succeed even though you're not really sure what she needs to achieve at some points. The book jumps around a bit and the timeline is a bit weird because it's never stated how much time has passed but I absolutely loved the way magic played into the story and how a lot of it was more subtle than I expected when I started the story. Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading it again at some point. 

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommend: Absolutely!!!

Review: I’d heard a lot about this one, both good and bad things, so when I decided to finally take it off the shelf I tried not to let the reviews influence my opinion. I admit it took me a bit to actually fully get into the swing of the story but once everything got started I found it difficult to pull myself away from the world created by Morgenstern in this book. I could so clearly picture everything in the circus and often found myself wishing it was a place I could actually visit. The writing style is perfect for a story of this nature and the story itself is completely magical, though difficult to explain without giving spoilers. It’s safe to say I fell in love with this book and highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested. 

New Year, New Books.

Hello all, I feel like I've really been neglecting this blog and I feel awful but part of my new year's resolution is to read more so that means I'll also be posting here more. My personal reading challenge for the year is 60 books and I'm even doing a genre challenge where you read books from different genres that you might not read normally so that should be fun. I've even compiled my list of books for each month already so I have a sort of plan for the year on what I'll be reading. If you want to know more about the genre challenge just go here, and if you're interested in the list for my personal reading in the challenge just let me know and I can post it.

Have a good year and happy reading!!

Review: Proxy by Alex London

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: Definitely!!

Hello dear readers, I’m going to keep this one short and sweet as my first review back to the blog, well, as short of a review as I get. I’m also going to try to keep this review fairly spoiler free so that might help with the length. It’s been a long few months without internet but no internet did give me time to whittle down my ‘to be read’ stack.

Review: The first book I read was Proxy, which has been sitting on my nightstand calling my name for quite some time now. I have to say I was not disappointed, and I had some pretty high expectations after hearing such great things about it. The story follows Syd a proxy for spoiled rich kid Knox as he runs from Guardians after being sentenced to death for Knox killing a girl in a car accident. I have to say I don’t usually read books with such an emphasis on technology but this one just sounded too good and I had to pick it up. The tech in this book is unreal, at once enviable and a bit horrifying it added this great element to the story that I don’t think it would’ve had if it wasn’t incorporated into the society in the way that the author wrote it. I do think the pace left a little to be desired with characterization but what we did see of character growth and development was pretty realistic given the situation and I know all of this will probably be covered in the sequel. I do not regret my decision to read this one a single bit, and I highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested. I really just can’t wait to read the next one. 

I have returned!!!

Hello friends, so, I guess I should give an explanation for my absence. Long story short, I don't have Internet at my house right now (I'm currently posting from my phone on public wifi) and for a few days (weeks maybe? I'm bad at keeping track of time) I couldn't track down the charger for my nook meaning I couldn't finish the books I was reading on it. All is not lost however as I have found the charger and will continue the books once it's good to go. In my absence I kept reading though, I finished Proxy by Alex London and Every Day by David Levithan, ratings for those can be found on my goodreads. I hope to get reviews of those as well as the e-books I hope to finish within a few days up soon.

Review: Accession by Terah Edun

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend: probably not

Synopsis (from goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Katherine Thompson wasn’t trained to rule a coven. That was her sister – perfect, beautiful Rose. But when a mysterious plane crash kills off the heir presumptive of the Sandersville coven she has no choice.

After stepping in to fill her sister’s shoes, Katherine realizes she didn’t have a clue – faery wars, depressed trolls and angry unicorns are just the beginning.

For centuries, her family has served the high Queens on both sides of the Atlantic but it is a well-known rule that mid-level witches stay away from high-level Queens.

But when Katherine’s youngest cousin vanishes without a trace in the Atlanta court and no one wants to investigate, Katherine decides to step into the darkness on her own. She will soon discover that nothing, especially in a queen's court, is as it seems

*e-ARC recieved through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Review: I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. The synopsis was promising and the beginning of the book seemed like it was setting up a really great story but it just didn't click. There were some continuity errors and side characters that seemed promising and were then almost completely forgotten about. I would've liked to see Katherine reaching out to Connor more since they are made out to be friends and even a brief mention of her sister's boyfriend after Rose's death would've been nice since he was also injured and Katherine seemed ready to interrogate. I would've also liked to see how the town and this government fully work. They mention a lot of events and people that never get fleshed out and with the queen trying to go about life as normal I feel like she would try and keep up those appearances and relationships effectively dragging Katherine along with her. Some might greatly enjoy this novel but I don't think it's something I'd purchase for myself. 

Review: Channel 20Something by Amy Patrick

*Received as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend: yes

Synopsis: The story follows 22 year old Heidi Haynes and her job as a small-market weekend news anchor in Mississippi. She's spent the last few years playing it safe from picking a job close to home to dating a nice and safe practical guy to settledown with. Heidi's world is turned upside down when new sports reporter Aric Serrano, a guy who is exactly her type and exactly the type she's been hoping to stay from, arrives on the scene. 

Review: I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I didn't really have any expectations for this book but as someone who doesn't read much romance this really could've gone either way for me. I like the workplace romance approach and I enjoyed that it wasn't really a forbidden love story kind of thing either. I also particularly enjoyed that they were friends first even though there was an undeniable attraction that they felt for each other, I haven't seen that very often and found it refreshing. Overall I think this book is great for anyone just getting into the NA genre or just anyone who wants a fun and quick read. 

What I liked: I really enjoyed that the author spent a lot of time with Heidi at work and showed her passion for her job because it very easily could've happened where the job was just a blip mentioned at the beginning to establish the setting of where they meet and maybe sneak around. Showing them both not only falling for each other but also working to achieve their goals and get better at their jobs was really great and provided great imagery and location for some of the events that take place.

What I didn't like: One of the only problems I have with the book as that after the beginning of the story where characters and are established and Aric arrives we never really see the other people on the newscrew or Mara and Kenley who Heidi claims are her best friends. I loved their dynamic at the beginning of the novel and would've enjoyed seeing her have a girl's night with Mara to discuss her growing relationship with Aric or to at least see a phone conversation with Kenley, one at the end not included, about what she should do about their relationship. When people are thinking about making decisions like that, especially about starting new relationships, and are as hesitant as Heidi is talking to their friends is something that a normal 22 year old woman would do and I just would've liked to see those friendships explored a little more than they were. 

Review: The Whispering Muse by Sjón

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend: maybe 

I want to point out that I won this book in a goodreads giveaway awhile back. 

Synopsis (courtesy of goodreads): The year is 1949 and Valdimar Haraldsson, an eccentric Icelander with elevated ideas about the influence of fish consumption on Nordic civilization, has had the singular good fortune to be invited to join a Danish merchant ship on its way to the Black Sea. Among the crew is the mythical hero Caeneus, disguised as the second mate. Every evening after dinner he entrances his fellow travelers with the tale of how he sailed with the fabled vessel the Argo on the Argonauts’ quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece.

Review: I didn't really have any expectations for this book but I still ended up being a bit disappointed. It wasn't a particularly long novel and it was entertaining and captivating at moments but it just didn't capture my attention. I liked it well enough but I didn't love it. I guess I'd just hoped there would be more of Caeneus's tales in the book than there actually was and less about paper blocks being loaded onto a ship. Some might love this novel but it honestly just wasn't my cup of tea. I did think the structuring of the story was great and well paced and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. If you think this might be something you'd enjoy go for it but if you're more sceptical then I wouldn't.

Other reviews.

I feel like it's worth noting that I had another blog on tumblr that I posted reviews on. It wasn't solely a review blog which is why I started doing this with my dear friend Cass but if you do what to read any of those reviews you can find them here. Over there I posted about what books I had purchased as well as talked about some book to movie adaptations I'd either seen or was looking forward to. I might transfer some of those reviews to this blog but I'm not sure on if that's a good idea yet or not. Until then, I've started reading The Whispering Muse by Sjon which I won from goodreads awhile ago so hopefully a review of that will be posted soon.

Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend: if you like this genre yes

WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS

Review: Right, let's start with what I liked about the book. It was unpredictable, kind of, you can kind of see what's going on from the start but at first you don't really expect the reveal you get which is something that I've already stated in reviews that I like. Second I love the way the author acknowledges how people watch crime shows and think they have the case figured out from what they see on tv and make a decision based on that. Honestly though, I think my favorite part was Amy and how her character was written. It's not often you see female characters portrayed this way and I found it really refreshing, even though her actions were disturbing, well thought out and planned, but incredibly disturbing. One part of the book I actually enjoyed while reading was Nick's sister Margo. She has the same "tragic" story as her twin brother but handles is a bit differently. Her life choices aren't much better but she does manage to keep a clear head and doesn't indulge Nick and tell him he's still perfect or a good person even when he does really shitty things which is something I enjoyed a lot about Margo. It shows a sister who still loves her brother even though she's not sure she trusts him or believes him when he says he's innocent. I think Margo might be my favorite part of the book if I'm honest, even if she isn't featured all that much. 

On to what I didn't like. I honestly didn't like how many times I had to read the words "the fucking bitch" and it's not that I don't like profanity, if you've ever talked to me you'll know it's not the case. Nick really isn't a likable character, so even though we find out that the things in Amy's "diary" aren't reliable, it's not difficult to imagine that he would actually do those things which is why everything in the book worked so well. Honestly I really don't know why I can't give this book 5 stars like so many other reviewers have because I really did like it and it was incredibly well done, but there's something just something about it that makes it not sit well with me that I can't figure out. 

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: Definitely!!!

Synopsis: Supermodel Lula Landry fell from her balcony in the early hours of a cold January morning, police ruled it a suicide but John Bristow, brother of the deceased, thinks otherwise. He hires detective Cormoran Strike to investigate and Strike is taken on a whirlwind journey through the life of beautiful, rich, and scared Lula Landry.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS

Review: I have to start by saying that I really enjoyed this book. I normally don't read books in this genre but as I'd heard so many great things about it I thought I'd give it a go. The book does start a bit slow and can be difficult to get into if you aren't commited to finishing it but the end is so worth it.

What I liked: I actually didn't guess what was going to happen in the end. Part of the reason I don't read this genre often is because I don't like the general predictability of it all, but this time, even though I had an idea, the story convinced me that it was ridiculous and was not the outcome that you get and I absolutely loved that. Cuckoo's Calling is also incredibly descriptive and while reading you can really picture the events taking place which is something that personally helps me get into books because I do enjoy being able to picture everything going on, even with fairly vague character descriptions, appearance wise, I was able to create an incredibly clear image of these characters which is something I don't manage often. I simply enjoyed feeling like I was solving the case along with Strike and not as a person looking on as Strike solved it, that was probably what I enjoyed most.

What I disliked: There is very little that I didn't like about this book honestly. I would've like to get to know more about Lula, because even though she is in fact dead through the whole novel no one really seems to know what kind of person she was but what kind of person they all thought she was or wanted her to be. I'm a sucker for backstory so I, personally, would've liked to learn more about Lula. Secondly, I would have liked to see more of Robin and the part she played in the investigation. She was instrumental in getting certain pieces of evidence and I would have liked to follow her a bit as she went around getting all of the information. Putting it simply I wanted to see a few chapters of Robin learning how to be a detective.