January Wrap-Up & February TBR

Are you all happy to be out of the horrible-ness that is January? I sure the hell am. Although February is not any better. For being the shortest month it always feels like the longest. Oh well, we're half-way towards spring now. How was your January? Mine was busssyyy. It's the busiest time of year for me at work. So I don't get much down time during the day. Phones are always ringing. Clients walking into the office. Which makes me exhausted at night time. But it's not like I want to leave the house. I wish I was able to hibernate. Outside of work I have some health stuff to deal with. Nothing serious(at least I hope not). But it's never fun going to the doctors. On a high note, I finally watched Sherlock. I binged that baby in like two days. I may have become slightly obsessed with it. And may also have developed a massive crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. That show. I've re-watched a lot of the episodes(especially the wedding one. The. Best).
Even with not touching a book for about a week during the middle of the month, I ended up reading 17 books and DNF'ing 1(which I posted a review for). I always wish it was more. But that's a good number. I did end up re-reading 3 books too. I love re-reading. In terms of quality, I had an excellent month. Quite a few 5*'s. Like it'll be really hard picking one favourite this month. 

DNF: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Stay With Me(Wait For You #3) by J.Lynn 5*(re-read)
Amulet Volume 6 by Kazu Kibuishi 5*
Nash(Marked Men #4) by Jay Crownover 5*(re-read)
Gone Too Far by Natalie D Richards 2*
Before Jamaica Lane(On Dublin Street #3) by Samantha Young 5*(re-read)
Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault & Camille Rose Garcia 5*
You're the One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher 5*
Destined For Doon(Doon #2) by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon 3*
Fairest(The Lunar Chronicles #0.5) by Marissa Meyer 5*
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven 4.5*

Shadow Study(Soulfinders #1) by Maria V Snyder 4.75*
More Than Music(Chasing the Dream #1) by Elizabeth Briggs 3*

Last Call(Cocktails #4.5) by Alice Clayton 4*
The Start of You and Me by Emery Lord 5*
Never Never(Never Never #1) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher 3*

Better When He's Bold(Welcome to the Point #2) by Jay Crownover 4*

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios 5*

So many pretty 5*'s. With the exception of a few disappointments(specifically Never Never, can't even believe that came from my Queen, Colleen Hoover), I'm so happy with the books I read. Quite a few of them I've been waiting a while to get my hands on, and they didn't miss the mark. But I'll Meet You There was definitely the star of the month. I was talking to Samantha last night and how different we are emotionally. I have a black heart and although books will make me get teary and punch me in the feels, I don't actually flat out ugly cry or sob a lot. I'll Meet You There made me loose a lot of my precious tears. It is beautiful and I NEED everyone to read it on Tuesday(when it's released). Otherwise, You're the One That I Want and The Start of Me and You were close seconds.

For February there are some review copies I need to read. The ones that will happen are, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Winner's Crime, Shadow Scale and After. I will be re-reading Seraphina since it's been 3 years and I need a refresher before reading Shadow Scale. Some new releases that will happen are Invaded, Salt & Stone, The Return and Hero. I'll have whatever our book club pick for February is(we're meeting tomorrow, so we'll pick something then). I think I'll end up reading The Art of Lainey for the Brittany vs Samantha 2015 Challenge. I just picked up Billy and Me after reading(and loving) You're the One That I Want. I will be reading that(with Samantha, I believe). I also really want to get to Uninvited and Bloodlines. Oh, I also want/need to re-read A Court of Thorns and Roses, so I can send it back to Samantha. I've borrowed it for far too long now. Anyhow, we'll see what happens, this is just my planned TBR. Not much is set in stone.

How was your January? Anything exciting planned for February?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Reader Problems TAG

Reader Problems TAG created by Tiffany at About to Read . Find the original video here.

I was tagged by Charnell at Reviews From A Bookworm. Thanks Charnell. I think my answers will be pretty similar. :)

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next? I stand in front of my shelves and stare until my eyes glaze over. Usually I do have some sort of review schedule I'm sticking to. But when I get to pick any book, than I will go on mood. I am definitely a mood reader. Or whatever jumps out at me. I have a TBR jar, but don't use it. Why I still have it, I don't know. My owned(physical) TBR is at about 250 right now. Which is a little intimidating, but I'm not too worried. I'll get to them eventually.

2. You're halfway through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed? I'm all for DNF'ing. I have far, far, to many books on my TBR to continue reading a book that I care nothing for. If I'm pushing myself to get to the next page than it's not worth my time. There are instances where I will finish a book that I'm hating on. But that's more because it's so bad I just need to see how awful the ending will be. There's a lot of skimming involved in those cases though. 

3. The end of the year is coming and you're so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how? Because I am so awesome, I've never been behind on my reading challenge. I'm usually so far ahead. Haha!
If I was behind than whatever. I'm not really too concerned with it. I've always set my goal at a number I know I can reach. And if I don't it is not the end of the world.

4. The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope? *punches all the things* Why do publishers do this to us? WHY? It's the worst thing in the world.
I get over it. I've pretty much learned not to buy the first book in a new series until I see the second book is released. At that point, we're usually in the clear on the cover change front. But if my covers don't match, it is what it is. I'm a little more concerned about the series being the same edition and height.

5. Everyone and their mothers love a book you really don't like. Who do you bond with over their shared feelings? I've happened to be the black sheep on quite a few popular/well loved books(The 5th Wave, The Selection, etc...). I don't really care because I've loved plenty of books that quite a few others have not. If I write a review that can sometimes start a discussion on the blog or Goodreads. Or if I really need to vent my feelings I'll take to Twitter or Instagram. Usually I can someone that feels my feels there. If not I'll vent to myself and I happen to be a fantastic listener. 

6. You're reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal? I can't even count the amount of times I've cried at work. Unexpectedly cried at work. One of my co-workers will look over with a weird look and be like, "are you crying?" Me, "Yes I am! I can't believe so and so just died! This is the worst I've ever felt!" Co-worker continues to stare because they just don't get it. Brittany crawls into the back room. 

7. A sequel of a book you love just came out, but you've forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!? Let's not even discuss how many series I'm in the middle of right now. Just ignore that number... Anyhow, it's all based on the situation. I will re-read the previous book(s) if I love the series or I just remember absolutely nothing. If I'm not up for doing a re-read and I want to read the sequel I'll check around for recaps and in depth reviews. These days I'm more for marathoning a series. I enjoy that much more. 

8. You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people no when they ask? Person, "Can I borrow Outlander?" Brittany stares at person for an uncomfortable amount of time. Person, "Uh, Brit? Can I please borrow Outlander?" Brittany stops blinking well she stares at person. Person eventually becomes too weirded out and walks away.

I don't really have any reader friends. One of my co-worker reads a few books a month, and most of them are on my recommendation. I also will randomly set a book of mine on her desk a few times a month. She's pretty much the only person that borrows my precious babies. Mostly because I trust her and when she did spill ice cream on one of my books, she just flat out bought me a new one without me asking her to. *high-five Chris*

9. Reading ADD. You've picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump? Take to Netflix. Binge some T.V. shows instead. Which I did this month. There was a good week where I read nothing. It was weird, but I didn't really care. I was too invested in the shows I was watching to notice my lack of reading. And if I don't feel like watching a show than I'll re-read a favourite. That always works. 

10. There are so many new books coming out that you're dying to read! How many do you actually buy? All of them. I will buy all the things.

11. After you've bought the new books you can't wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them? Any amount of time. I've have books on my shelves that have been sitting there for years. *shrugs* I am getting better though. I recently did a thorough cleaning on my cases. I cleaned about 200 books off. A lot of them unread. I'd just lost interest in them. And as far as buying new books, I've really calmed down. I'm not on a ban but I'm only buying books I'm reading right away. I am really going to try getting my huge TBR down.

I guess I could tag a few of my peeps. Let's see what their answers are.
Samantha @ The Secret Life of a Book Worm
Ula @ Blog of Erised
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived In a Library
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 27th, 2015
Pages: 256
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #0.5
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5/5
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In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.


I went into Fairest expecting to increase my hatred of Levana ten fold. And I sure did. She's a cruel women. But something I wasn't expecting to feel for her was heart break. In the first three books of The Lunar Chronicles we see how terrible and what a tyrant of a ruler Levana is. She's manipulative
and obviously cares nothing for human life. Nobody even knows what she looks like. Levana glamours herself into what she feels like looking like at that specific time. Beauty is everything to her. Which reading through Fairest you come to really understand why.

The one thing that Levana is very lacking in is love. She never had anybody care for her growing up. Her parents, although we don't meet them, were into anything but their children. Her older sister is a whole different piece of work. Channary has no care for the political side of being Queen. She wants to be seen as fun. So she giggles and flirts her way through her people. Channary is flawlessly beautiful. That is something that Levana continually faults her for. Beauty is everything to Levana. It is the first thing she notices and begins to deconstruct when she meets somebody. It's a pretty terrible way to live, but from watching Channary constantly undermining her and calling her an ugly duckling, you understand why beauty is everything to Levana.

There are times when Levana shows some sort of compassion and possibly heart. But it's never the right sort of compassion. It's always heavily sedated in her own backwards plan and reasoning. Which can come back to her lack of understanding in what love really means. Levana feels that she loves one of the palace guards so deeply. She knows they are meant to be together. But he's married with a very pregnant wife(you might guess where this is going). When the devastating happens to him Levana is there to comfort him. Well in her own way. She thinks that she's offering consoling words. But they're not. Her words are all wrong. Levana just doesn't get it. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a bit heart breaking to see her not understand the difference between right and wrong. But her actions quickly take away any of those feelings I had for her. It's another reason why I love a great villain. They can be the most complex and intriguing characters. Levana definitely encompasses both those traits. It's fantastic to read about.

As is the case with a lot of evil rulers, they weren't necessarily evil to the core. Seeing Levana in her earlier teen years it was easy to notice that her surroundings and family had everything to do with her becoming the evil Queen she is throughout The Lunar Chronicles. She watched her parents put on a show for their people. A total loveless marriage with mistresses and "boy toys". Levana sees that as a normal marriage. Channary bullied her. Levana was a lonely child who grew into an even lonelier adult. It's one of those situations where just one true friend could have made the difference in the world for her. But there wasn't that person for her. Levana cared about nothing expect being an exceptional Queen. It took a lot for her to get there. And none of it pretty. As we see by the people that got in her way. Levana is an evil, cruelly manipulative women and ruler.

I know a lot of us were disappointed when we heard the release of Winter was being pushed back and its place we would receive a novella about Levana instead. Sure, it sucked, I was(and still am) beyond antsy to get my hands on Winter. But Fairest adds a lot to the story. It's not some silly fill-in novella. Levana plays a huge part in our heroines journey. She is the villain. Fairest gives readers the insight into how Levana came to be the way she is. Which has already changed some of my understanding and views from the earlier books in the series. I also think this insight will come to the forefront when we really meet Winter in Winter. Fairest shows just how much Levana destroyed Winter's life and I can't wait to see how Winter will get her revenge. Winter will be a thrilling conclusion and Fairest did an excellent job of increasing my excitement for its release.
Happy reading!

Brittany

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I want to Read with My Book Club

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is:

Top Ten Books I'd Like to Read with My Book Club!

This is a good topic, as I've just joined a book club. Well actually just started one. A few blogger friends that live around where I am decided it was about time we do this. So this month we're reading All the Bright Places. We meet this Sunday actually. So for the books I picked this week I went with books I own but also ones that I think would spark discussion as there would probably be varying opinions and feelings on the deeper topics of the books. That's what a book club is for, having a discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

What books would you love to read with your book club?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Publication Date: February 3rd, 2015
Pages: 400
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Rating: 5/5
Add to Goodreads

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.


There is absolutely no way I can do this book justice. It is so beautiful. And just all the things. When I read the synopsis and saw some key words, trailer, small town, Marine. I knew I'll Meet You There would have every opportunity to break my heart. Probably more than once.

Skylar has made it her priority to get out of Creek View. Not many people do and she refuses to be stuck there in a mediocre life. Now that graduation is under her belt, she's just got the summer to work at the Paradise, the local motel, and off to San Francisco and freedom she'll be.
Josh is back in Creek View after a tour in Afghanistan. Joining the Marines was supposed to be his one ticket out of the lowly life Creek View was going to offer him. But that's not what life had in store for him. Josh is back in Creek View having lost a leg in Afghanistan.
Skylar and Josh spent high school working at the Paradise together. They sparked up an unlikely friendship during those years. When Josh was shipping off, Skylar knew she was going to miss his company. She thought about him a lot, and now that he's back she can't wait to see him. Skylar really hopes Josh feels the same way. Skylar quickly realizes this is a different Josh. The old Josh was a player and cocky. This Josh is distant and moody. Skylar is determined not to treat him differently though. This is where their friendship turns into something a lot deeper.

The relationship between Skylar and Josh was definitely the most heart warming and heart breaking bit of the book. I adored both characters and how their growth and change in attitude was done, just spot on.
Creek View is a middle no where California town. Everyone lives in a trailer and works a minimum wage job. Skylar and her best friend Chris made a pact to pretty much stay single and get a free ride to university. Skylar has no problem sticking to that. She's straight laced. Having lost her dad to a car accident where he drank and drove, Skylar refuses to touch the stuff. Other kids see her as a bit of a prude for it. I love how she sticks to her morals and doesn't let peer pressure distract her from her goals. I also loved how Skylar showcases Creek View and her life there through her collages. How she puts her life into art is beautiful and one of her stronger personality traits. Skylar works hard at her job but also taking care of her mom. She's worried about her surviving without her. Syklar has had to grow up and become the parent. Which becomes very apparent and almost shatters everything Skylar has worked towards when her mom loses her job and goes off the deep end.
There's not many chapters from Josh's POV, but the ones that are are heart breaking. Josh returns to Creek View a shell of a person. The horrors of war follow him. Having had his leg blown off is not something you're suppose to bounce back from. Josh is understandably surviving from PTSD and feels like he's useless. He should be back with this friends as they're shipping out on another tour. Josh was the high school star. The popular guy. Two years later and one leg short he's still the center of attention. But it's for different reasons. He doesn't know how to handle it, nor does it seem like his friends know how to be around him without pity. Josh also doesn't have the support of his family. He feels like he's disappointed them. Without even the support of his family to help get him through is really hard to read. There's so much heart break with Josh's story, but it also leaves room for hope.

 Like I mentioned above, Skylar and Josh's relationship in I'll Meet You There is everything. Of course I totally shipped them. But it was so much more than that. The way Skylar is able to drop all the BS around Josh is exactly what he needs. Josh doesn't want pity. He's already beating himself up enough over what happened in Afghanistan. Skylar is the first person to offer him friendship. She treats him like a person. There's the easy banter about his leg. She doesn't freak out and think he's weak. Skylar is also able to pull him out when he disappears inside himself. In turn Josh is able to trust her and starts to open up about his feelings and experiences over seas; the good and bad. But it is not just what Skylar has to offer Josh, it's also what Josh is able to do for Skylar.

There's also the fantastic bunch of supporting characters. Like Marg, the owner of Paradise. She offers Josh and Skylar a family they are both lacking. And Dylan, Skylar's BFF. She's able to show Skylar that even though she's a teenage mom and will probably be a Creek View lifer, it doesn't mean she's any less of a person. Dylan is happy with her life and helps Skylar see that Creek View is apart of her, not something to be ashamed of. But something to grow and learn from. Even Skylar's mom adds depth to the story. Yes, she spirals down in the dark end. But not once does she expect Skylar to give up her dreams and life to take care of her. Everyone has a point and life that helps further the story along.

I finished I'll Meet You There with tears streaming down my face. Which is very inductive of my reading experience. There were happy tears mixed in with the not so happy tears. I think when there's a central story around a war vet, especially one as young as Josh, there is every chance for it go horribly wrong. Obviously Demetrios captured Josh's struggles with learning to deal with what life had dealt him in a strong and emotional way. Add in Skylar and Creek View(yes I see the town as it's own character because it is), both with their own obstacles to over come and I don't see why this book isn't on everyone's TBR's. Pre-order it. Request it at the library. Whatever. Just make sure you read it next month. This is a story that deserves to be heard.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #70

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.

Ah! It's been such an insane week at work. As soon as I hang up the phone it rings again. Some one walks into the office. Makes it hard to have any energy or time to do anything. *pats blog on shoulder* But business is business. I'm happy we have less than a week left in January. Can see the light at the end of the wintery tunnel.

Purchased

You're the One That I Want by Giovanna Fletcher: Bought this one because it's one of the books Samantha challenged me to read in our 2015 challenge. Read it this week. Loved it. Perfection
The Book of Ivy(The Book of Ivy #1) by Amy Engel: There's a billion great reviews and hype on this one. So I've fallen into it.
Spy Glass(Glass #3) by Maria V Snyder: This trilogy is the only books I've yet to read by Snyder. I have no idea why I haven't gotten to them yet. But I will change that shortly.

Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault & Camille Rose Garcia: I absolutely adore these illustrated editions. Beautiful. So when I saw Cinderella was being released I pre-ordered it.

Netgalley

I'm sooooo excited for Shadow Scale. It has been 3 years coming.

Random Bookish Stuff

What did you guys get this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top 5 Wednesday: I Need to Meet These Authors

Top 5 Wednesday is a meme started by Lainey at Ginger Reads Lainey. Find the list of all the #T5WFamily here.

This weeks topic is:

Top 5 Authors I Would Love to Meet!

I've been very lucky over the past few years. I've meet quite a few authors. A lot of them being favourites of mine(like Diana Gabaldon and Veronica Roth). But of course that doesn't stop me from having long list of authors I still need to meet and fangirl over. Here are my top 5.

Sarah Dessen

Colleen Hoover

Jennifer L Armentrout

Sarah J Maas

J.K. Rowling

What are some authors you're dying to meet?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top Ten Tuesday: Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is:

Top Ten of My Auto-Buy Authors!

These are the guys that no matter what they're releasing I will pre-order. And I will read it as soon as the book is in my hands.

 

                                                Jennifer Armentrout         Sarah Maas

 

                                                  Colleen Hoover                 Maria V Snyder

 

                                                  Jay Crownover            Samantha Young

 

                                                     Rainbow Rowell           Rick Riordan

 

                                                       Kasie West           Brigid Kemmerer

What are some of your auto-buy authors?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: Gone Too Far by Natalie D Richards

Gone Too Far by Natalie D Richards

Publisher: Source Books
Publication Date: January 6th, 2015
Pages: 304
Source: Publisher **I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review**
Rating: 2/5
Add to Goodreads

Keeping secrets ruined her life. But the truth might just kill her.

Piper Woods can't wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She's sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone's sure it's suicide, but Piper remembers Stella's name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.

Drowning in secrets she doesn't want to keep, Piper's fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished...


Piper is usually found to be hidden behind her camera. Which means her classmates see her coming but they also forget she's there. She has her friends but for the most part Piper feels invisible. One morning she finds this notebook full of what appears to be the shady and secretive going on's of the kids in her school. Piper has every intention of turning the note book in and getting as far away from it, but she just can't seem to give it up. Than she's standing at her locker, which happens to be next to the most popular girl, Stella, in schools locker. When Stella starts getting bullied and called out over a sex tape, Piper thinks about stepping in but doesn't. Than the sex tape goes viral and Stella turns up dead. Hit by a train. Piper doesn't believe for a second that it was accidental. She feels like she could have prevented Stella's death. Which is absurd. But when she gets an anonymous text saying she can help get the people back responsible for Stella's death, she eventually coincides and gets herself involved in something that is way over her head.

You'd think that this sounds like a decent mystery/revenge type story. I thought so too. But unfortunately Gone Too Far fell really flat. Let's start with Piper. She's a hypocritical wet blanket. She's so torn up about what happened to Stella. Of course it's awful. Stella was bullied over a sex tape that she never gave consent for. When Piper sees the video, it's obvious that Stella had no idea she was being taped. It's terrible and tragic. Piper is completely torn up over Stella's death. Which on one hand is a little understandable, a class mate died well before her time. But Piper and Stella have never been friends. In fact their interactions have only been through a camera lens. Piper is disgusted over the way Stella was treated. She seems to hate the bully behaviour. Which we all should be against. But than Piper is pretty quick to jump into the exact behaviour that she was so against five minutes ago. She's given the chance to pick a name and the anonymous texter will essentially take that person down. So Piper is doing the exact same thing that the kids did to Stella. I can't get on board with that. Sure, I like myself a revenge story. But I didn't see Piper as getting revenge. I saw her getting caught up in a situation she never should have stepped into. Piper is told where to show up with her camera and take pictures of the "destruction". She does and she enjoys it.

Piper has absolutely no personality. She's meak and is easy to harp on her friends when they're not living up to expectations. Piper is quick to say her best friend is an asshole, and only she gets him. What? That's the first impression you want to give us of your best friend? Seriously.
The "popular" guy Nick starts to take an interest in Piper. She's immediately dismissive of him and a little rude. I really don't understand Nick's interest in her. But he's that misunderstood popular football player, who really has a lot if different and artsy interests. Typical YA romance.
I wasn't all that impressed with any of the characters, but even Piper's friends had more personality than her. I got that from the limited interactions we saw. Obviously I was not a fan of Piper's.

Truthfully, I did a lot of skimming. I could skip pages at a time and not miss a single plot element. I also felt something was off with the writing. I can't really pin point what exactly. It didn't flow well. The dialogue was all over the place. There'd be a conversation going on and it seemed like a sentence or two was missing. The writing wasn't terrible. It was pretty average. But with it lacking a good flow I wasn't drawn in.
Like I mentioned the revenge element was not my thing. I didn't see it as justified. And even the acts of revenge weren't all that special. Usually a revenge story has some pretty soul destroying consequences for the accused. In Gone Too Far only one of the kids that had something done to them took it personally. Everything was pretty tame.
Finding out who the anonymous texter was is what kept me reading until the end. I had a theory and I wanted to make sure I was right. I was. I don't think it was very hard to figure out who the texter was. All the clues were laid out for Piper and the reader.

Unfortunately Gone Too Far was a pretty sub par read for me. It took a lot not just to DNF. But I did want to find out the mystery. So that was all the kept me reading.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #69

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.

Hello! Anything fun happen this week, friends? Another extremely busy work week.When is the winter season over? Not important. What is important and fantastic is that I started(and finished) watching Sherlock this weekend. One, I don't how I've lived a life without this show. Two, I'm pretty sure it's the best show. Ever. Three, I might have a slight(massive) crush on Benedict Cumberbatch now. I'm pretty sure everyone reading this has watched Sherlock, but if you were like me and living under a rock, get out. Get out now. How am I supposed to wait until next year? Ah! Needless to say that I'm buying the complete series on DVD because I have become slightly(massively) obsessed.
Book wise I received a few review books. Honestly, was totally surprised with one of them. But it was a pleasant surprise. The other one I am second guessing my decision to accept it. I failed to do my research before hand and just went on how popular a book it is. Ummm...I will not be doing that again. Although I've yet to read it, so I can't really get ahead of myself.

For Review

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein: Totally forgot I had requested this months ago. So was very pleasantly surprised when it showed up. Code Name Verity is an amazing and powerful book. I still need to read Rose Under Fire. I feel like I've been preparing myself for years. But now is the time. So I can read this. 

**Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for sending this out**

After by Anna Todd: Soooo...I accepted this book for review based on the hype and buzz I'd heard. Knew it was romance. That's all. Failed to do my research and read up on the fact that it's 1D fan fiction. Ummm...What? The reviews from my GR friends aren't great. Plus it's like a 600 pages romance book. What? But I have it, so I'm going to give it a go. And if anything, it might be unintentionally hilarious.
**Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending this out**

What did you guys get this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany