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.