Weekly Wrap-Up May 16th-22nd

I did manage to finish five books this week. One was a graphic novel. All were physical books.
Towards the end of the week I was kind of feeling a bit slumpy, so I do have like four books on the go.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson *****
This graphic novel is everything. The humour and wit just add to a really brilliant story. I love Nimona and her character arc. The way it was developed was phenomenal. This book made me realize that I really don't read much antihero stories. Nimona's boss, Blackheart is the villain, except he is way to moral to actually pull of being a bad villain. I loved that part. And his relationship/history with Sir Goldenloin kept hinting and the hints made me super excited. I am so hoping that there is more Nimona to come in the future. There is so much more that can be explored with these characters and world.

Picture Perfect(Geek Girl #3) by Holly Smale ****
The Geek Girl series is just a really fun time. Harriet is pretty comical. She can spout off so many random facts and tidbits. And the situations she gets herself into when modeling just adds to the humour. I will admit that her immaturity is getting a bit old. She's 16 now, but half the time she acts like she's 12. Although by the end of the book she did start to realize she was trying so hard to act like a grown up that she wasn't even coming close to achieving that. I'm definitely excited to see what Harriet, her family, Toby(LOL) and everyone gets up to in the next one.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell *****(re-read)

I picked myself one of the new special editions so of course I couldn't resist a re-read. I think I loved it even more the second time around. Especially Levi.

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham ****

Find the full review here.

Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca ****
Full review to come closer to release date.

What did you guys read this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Unpopular Opinions Book TAG

TAG created over on YouTube by TheBookArcher. Find the original video here.

I've been seeing this TAG go around BookTube and thought it seemed fun. So I tagged myself.

1. A Popular Book or series that you didn't like.

I don't get it. I can understand reading fluff, because I read my fair share of it. But this wasn't even a guilty pleasure read for me. Yes, I finished the trilogy off because I obviously went insane. So much ridiculousness. America and Maxon are literally the most frustratingly stupid characters. Ever. Don't be fooled by the pretty covers like I was. The Elite review and The One review.

2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love. 

I had a bit of a long think on this question. I'm usually the opposite where I hate a book everyone loves(it happens quite a bit). It's no secret that Allegiant is one the most conversational endings to a series. Readers either loved it or hated it. Whatever spectra you land on, you have a strong opinion. I'm more in the minority. I loved it. Sure it broke my heart into a bazillion pieces. But it was a fitting ending. The Divergent trilogy still remains one of my favourites. Allegiant review.

3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don't like. 

Since this is the last book in a trilogy my answer might be a bit spoiler-y. I'm not naming characters though. Nope. Nope. Nope to Ruin and Rising. That is not who I wanted the MC to end up with. Total cop-out. In fact if my ship didn't sail I would have been okay as long as the MC didn't end up with who they did. I thoroughly enjoyed Ruin and Rising minus the whole ending. Still a bit angry over it. Even a year later...

4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for. 

I like to think that I read a good variety of genres. For the most part I don't pick up books that are marketed as Mystery. Not that I don't read books with a bit of mystery to them. But they're generally a romantic thriller or a mix of a few genres. I'm just not one to really read a straight up Mystery.

5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.

I'm going with a duo; Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments series. Although I'm a fan of the series I absolutely despise the two MC's. Both are morons. Jace is so in love with himself. Like he's God's gift to the world. Nope. You're a selfish douchebag. Absolutely everything Clary says or does is a bad decision. She's annoying as hell. A lot of characters lives would have been just fine without Clary showing up and making yet another wrong move.

6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into. 

Easy. Neil Gaiman. Don't get it. I personally think he's overrated. I've read a couple of his books in the hopes that I'd find something to like. Yea, no. They're to weird and confusing. 

7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)

We all know how much I'm into romance and NA. It's really my thing this year. There's a lot of romance tropes I love. They just kind of suck me in every single time. But there's also a few that I am quite over. I like myself a bad boy but I'm completely over the bad boy who is just an ass. He's got some lame excuse of a reason he's being mean to the leading lady. Dude, it's not cool. I don't even know what she sees in you. I'd be keeping my distance from your unattractive attitude. What really gets me is how many times abuse(mental, emotion, physical) is being romanticized. That should never ever be shown in a positive light. And than have readers saying it's just a book. It doesn't matter, it's never okay to romanticize abuse. This asshole bad boy is far to often bringing a long a past that he hasn't worked out and which leads him to taking it out on a women. Case and point, After by Anna Todd. UGH! 

8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

I did have every intention of getting around to GoT. In fact one of my best friends gave me the book back in high school(so well over 10 years ago). But I'm kind of over it. The hype is annoying me. And I feel like it's taboo not to have read or watched it(and no, I've yet to see a single episode). Maybe one day I'll dive into the world. But more than likely it'll be the show I check out first. 

9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

Just know that I adore the book. The Lord of the Rings is one of my favourite books. BUT I think Peter Jackson did an brilliant job of adapting it to the screen. All three movies are my favourite. They capture the world and characters Tolkien created perfectly. The book is super dense and descriptive. So the movies are able to cut that out. The movies are a masterpiece.

I am going to TAG a few of my girls.
Samantha @ The Secret Life of a Bookworm
Missy @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Charnell @ Reviews From a Bookworm

Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library

Jen @ Ebony Ink Reviews

Happy reading!

Brittany

Miniviews #22: Love and the Ledge & Days Like This

Love on the Ledge by Zoraida Cordova

Publisher: Diversion Books

Publication Date: May 5th, 2015

Series: On the Verge #2

Pages: 250

Source: Netgalley/Publisher

Rating: 4/5

Add to Goodreads

Cordova caught my attention with the first book in this series, Luck on the Line. It was a really good and fun NA read. So needless to say I was eager to see what she would produce next. Love on the Ledge is just as fun and romantic. The setting on the Hamptons in the summer is one a lot of wish to experience. It was great to see it through Sky's POV as she falls for Hayden and tries to keep her family from getting into too much trouble. I really liked Sky. We meet her briefly in the first book, where she got her heart broken by her asshole of a boyfriend. That lead her out to the Hamptons to stay at her uncle's house well she puts her life on hold. Well she wants to figure it out. What does she really want. Sky loves to help people, so being a nurse fit her personality. But in the end she mostly become a nurse to appease her mother. Sky's mother is good at meddling in her life, which like Sky I found quite frustrating, but can also understand that she just wants the best for her daughter. Sky doesn't need the help though. She is super independent and strong headed.  She just needed a little breather. 

Hayden literally falls into Sky's life. It's a totally meet cute. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship. It wasn't angsty, just kind of sweet. That has a lot to do with Hayden. I love me a guy who is a hard worker, which you know, produces some nice muscle. But Hayden is such a genuine, sweet and fun guy. Really great guy. Perfect book boyfriend.
There was also a lot of focus on family. With Sky's uncles getting married, her extended family are all coming together and staying under one roof. Which, of course, leads to fighting and butting of heads. But there's also laughing and fun times. Cordova does a really good job of showing family dynamics done in a light way. Which is exactly what Love on the Ledge is; a light, fun and romantic read. Perfect beach reading material. 

Days Like This by Danielle Ellison
Publisher: Bookish Group Press
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2015
Pages: 219
Source: Netgalley/Publisher
Rating: 4/5
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Days Like This is one of those books that well I'm reading I'm thoroughly enjoying(hence my good rating), but now weeks later I remember details but not a lot. Maybe that's just because I read a lot...Anyhow, Days Like This was more on the darker side of NA. It doesn't start out in the happiest of ways. It's clear that Cassie is trudging through her life. She's at college, has a boyfriend who's good to her, and friends. But she's still thinking about what she left behind. Cassie did one of those self sacrificing runners. 90% of the time when a character pulls that self sacrificing bullshit I'm more frustrated than agreeing with their decision. Cassie left her boyfriend, soul mate, etc... Graham in the middle of the night when she realizes she doesn't want him to have to try to still love her when she inevitably turns out like her mother. Cassie's mom is diagnosed bi-polar, which has lead Cassie to a lot of difficult times growing up. Graham was always there for her and eventually that lead them into a romantic relationship. Roughly a year after Cassie did the runner, Graham contacts her to come home because of her mom. So Cassie doe what she's good at and runs from her "new" life. Where of course she now has to confront her feelings about Graham and her mom.
What I enjoyed most about Days Like This was the character progression. All the feelings between Cassie and Graham and Cassie and her mom was done pretty realistically. There was no magical fix. Everyone spoke their thoughts and learned how to proceed forward. This book is pretty short too, but the pace was pretty good. Didn't feel rushed. Cassie definitely had her moments when she frustrated me, but I understood she was trying to be selfless. Graham was understandably confused. He never got closure. He still loves Cassie even though he tried to move on with his life sans her. Graham was a really sweet guy, and as hurt as he was you could see how much he still cared and loved Cassie. It was hard for him to keep those feelings under wrap. I was of course rooting for them. And the ending was done really well. Again, quite realistically. I liked how they didn't give up their individual dreams. The resolution Cassie has with her mom was satisfying as well. There's still things to figure out, but they were talking and Cassie was finding herself able to stop hiding how her moms actions hurt her growing up. I could tell they'd be alright down the road.
Ellison was able to give me a well developed story and character arc in not so many pages, and I'm super interested to see what she'll write next.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top 5 Wednesday: Debut Novels

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 Debut Novels!

I didn't really know how to take this weeks topic. Is it debuts from this year? Or just an authors debut that you've read? Anyhow, I just took it as that authors debut that I've read. So here are my top 5 that came to me first.

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

4. Something Real by Heather Demetrios

3. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

2. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

What debuts would make your list?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

Publisher: Little Brown Books
Publication Date: May 19th, 2015
Pages: 320
Source: ARC from publisher **I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Rating: 4/5
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Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic fifteen-year-old, ready to take on crime in her hometown. When Scarlett agrees to investigate a local boy's suicide, she figures she's in for an easy case and a quick buck. But it doesn't take long for suicide to start looking a lot like murder.
As Scarlett finds herself deep in a world of cults, curses, and the seemingly supernatural, she discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks...and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father's murder.

When I saw Scarlett Undercover being offered for review I was immediately interested for two reasons. One Scarlett Undercover sounds perfect for fans of Veronica Mars and two Scarlett is a Muslim American. There was no way I was passing up a book that has a POC as the MC. As we all know that is so rare in YA. Scarlett Undercover is a great hidden gem of a book that I think will appease a variety of readers.

Scarlett is a PI. After her father's murder years ago, a murder that has gone unsolved, she's taken it upon herself to discover clues about it as well as help those in her city. Scarlett takes what she thinks is going to be an easy case from a nine year old girl, but turns out to be much much more. That call leads Scarlett onto clues and people that bring up details on her fathers murder.

I'm going to take a page out of my friend, Missy's, reviewing format and do this review a little differently than I normally do.

• Scarlett is a great voice. She's clever, witty and sassy. Scarlett kind of has this old timey way of talking. You know, how PI's talked in the like the 30's-50's? Yea, Scarlett totally has that down. Plus she's totally kick-ass and unafraid to say or do whatever. 
• The relationship and connections Scarlett has are the bomb. She only has her sister as family she has left. But that's only blood family. Scarlett has so many people looking out for her. As well as her best friend(secret(not so secret) crush). Scarlett has a really good read on most situations she finds herself in, which means she can get her way and what she needs by using her smart mouth(I don't mean that meanly). She's got an in everywhere. Which makes her a great PI. 
• I love the how the story progressed. For such a short book I got worried that once revelations start getting revealed that there'd be this big rush to get to the next unlocked clue. But nope, I didn't feel like any secret or situation was overlooked. Latham did a really good job on introducing a few important characters that would explain the situation and thus would lead Scarlett onto figuring out the next clue. There was a really easy flow that lead Scarlett through solving the case. 
• Latham does a fantastic job on incorporating Muslim lore and religion into the story. Scarlett is Muslim American but she's kind of confused on where she stands since her parents deaths. Scarlett is a very smart girl and of course has an understanding of her religious history but what this case teaches her is there is a lot more to it. And a lot more to her families history. There's supernatural elements that were really interesting to learn about. 
• As you all know romance is my thing. I love me a perfect ship in any book I'm reading. Scarlett  Undercover barely touches on anything romantic and I didn't miss it. I was so caught up in Scarlett solving the case and her father's murder that I'm really happy to see a romance didn't over take what was important to this story. Sure I was totally shipping Scarlett and Deck but it wasn't my main focus. 
• As far as I know Scarlett Undercover is a stand alone, which YAY, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing more of Scarlett in the future. Which might not be the case, so my only little issue is that I would have liked to see another twenty or thirty pages. Like I mentioned I don't think the story felt rushed, but I would have liked to see some of the details flushed out a bit more. As well as a bit more after the conflict is resolved. It wasn't an abrupt ending, but I missed getting more on Scarlett's feelings. 

Scarlett Undercover is a really fast thrilling read. It's something unique in the flood of YA books out there. Diversity is always a win and when it's done so well and interesting it makes it really easy for me to add a new book to my book pushing pile. 

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #80

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! It's the Victoria Day long weekend, so yes for a three day weekend. Plus it's gorgeous out. Annnddd Pitch Perfect 2 is out. I've, of course, seen that today.
There sure is  lot of books here. I really didn't think by doing this post every two weeks the books would pile up this much. #sorrynotsorry As far as the physical ones, I've at least read 80% of them. My finished copy(ies) of A Court of Thorns and Roses finally showed up. If you guys remember, it was my top read of 2014. I can re-read it now in finished form!!! 

Purchased

The Wrath and the Dawn(The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh
The Fill-In boyfriend by Kasie West

The Girl At Midnight(The Girl At Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey
Overruled(The Legal Briefs #1) by Emma Chase

All Played Out(Rusk University #3) by Cora Carmack
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough

A Court of Thorns and Roses(A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J Maas(Yes, I bought myself both the US and UK editions)

E-Books Purchased

Kindle Freebies

Review

Last Year's Mistake by Gina Ciocca
**Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending this out**

Gifted

The Summer After You + Me by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
**Thanks so much to Raincoast for sending me a finished copy**

Netgalley

What did you guys get this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Weekly Wrap-Up May 9th-15th

I managed to finish seven books this week. Two were audio, one was an e-book, so that makes the rest physical copies.


Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle ****
Another pretty good NA. Nothing new as far as character problems. But I really liked the cast. What really stood out was the setting. Halle created such a vivid journey through New Zealand. It's clear she must have explored the country herself. New Zealand is near the top of my bucket list, and this booked really encouraged my excitement for the day that I can get there.


The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham ***
This one was pretty mediocre. I enjoyed bits and pieces of the story. But for the most part I didn't really care about the characters. They really had a lot of selfish moments. I think I'm now caught up on all Wickham/Kinsella books. So that's a plus.

All Played Out(Rusk University #3) by Cora Carmack ****.5
Alright, Nell and Torres has taken top couple spot out of all Carmack's books. What a fun read. I knew I would absolutely love getting to know Torres on a more personal level. He's such the comedian. And damn sexy. Nell though, I totally connected to her. I may not have been totally into studying, but I'm a total hermit. Actually I connect a lot more to her now than I would have in my college years. Anyhow, I adored them together. Such opposites, yet that's the draw. They complimented each other. All Played Out was just a really fun time. It has solidified itself as my favourite Carmack book to date. 


Tragic(Rook and Ronin #1) by J.A. Huss **
Ah, sorry Samantha, this one was not my favourite. I was so very hot and cold well reading. Seriously, I'd like one page and absolutely go all eye rolly on the next. That happened through the whole book. I didn't like Rook or Ronin. Sure, they had their moments. But for the most part they were both idiots. And the writing felt really forced. Especially during Rook's chapters. Her thoughts never flowed. I felt like I was being told not shown. It didn't feel natural.


To All the Boys I've Loved Before(To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han ****.5
Review to come within the next week or two.

Something Real by Heather Demetrios *****
Review to come within the next week or two.

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover *****(re-read)
I just needed to re-read this one. It's one of my favourite books. My library had the audio available so I clicked to download. Narrator's were pretty good. I do think the audio version missed the marked by not incorporating the songs(original soundtrack) into the reading of the book.

What did you guys read this week?

Happy reading!

Brittany