Weekly Update + Spring Break Plans
Spring has sprung! Spring break has finally arrived which means.... BOOKS! Yea at least I hoped but so far it hasn't look very book friendly... The past three days has consisted of:
- a bit of homework/projects - FINALLY watching: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ( I'M SO LATE) kung fu panda 3 ZOOTOPIA (SO GOOD) - hiking with my older sister's cats ... it was interesting and we were judged a lot but it was fun Sadly I haven't even finished ONE book yet but I have started the Young Elites and I'm hoping to get that finished up sometime tonight! This could be hard however due to the fact that I have three humongous projects this week and no idea how to even start them... so sooner or later I'm going to have to get that done as well as spring cleaning (my room) which is quite hard task when I sort of clutter everything. (That's what it looks like to everyone else but I swear I can find anything!) Let me know how your spring break is going/ has gone/ will be in the comments below as well as what books I should read later on this break when I have the chance or just any other sort of activities. PS be ready for a review tomorrow!
Comments
Time
Time feels slow or fast or somewhere inbetween. It's weird how it's so constant but never feels that way. Currently our school is going through the process of choosing next year's classes and it's just really hit me that I only have TWO years left of high school. LIKE WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN... I swear sometimes when people ask how old I am I feel like saying 10 instead of 15. (anyone else feel?!) Now is about the time where a trip to Neverland sounds pretty good because I know the next two years will be crazy and probably affect the rest of my life. I'm so grateful for books because I can stop and relax once in awhile even when the rest of my life is absurdly quick. Enough about me though, I want to know more about you guys so in the comments feel free to comment how you fast or slow your life feels right now! Sorry for a quick and easy read this sunday but it's been busy! I'll be sure to have a better post up next week because it will FINALLY be Spring Break!!!!!! (ahah ugh the school life though). Thanks for sticking with me and don't forget to comment!
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
Synopsis: "A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own." Review: Snow like Ashes was one of those books that you've seen other people read, so you just go ahead and pick up, but I could not be ANY happier that I did. This book's plot and characters and structure were just FANTABULOUS. I was able to see hints of a love triangle early on in the book and at that point I was pretty disappointed because I thought I could already see everything that was going to happen.... I was very wrong. Yes the love triangle was slightly portrayed throughout the book BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE. Of course it was a bit doubtful seeing how easily Meira could go ahead and do what she did, but at the same time I loved seeing how this book really portrayed women as strong leaders and how they could stand up for what they believed in. Let's first talk about the plot... twists because I did NOT see a whole lot of stuff coming. Sometimes I literally just stopped reading for a while to take things in before I could continue. However because they are plot twists I'll leave them for the spoilers section so if you haven't read this book yet you can still enjoy it! Snow Like Ashes truly brought me into their world and even more so with the map provided. It was beautifully written and my imagination couldn't stop whirring while reading this book. You do not even understand how much I wish there will be a movie. Anyways, I honestly think that this book is great for anyone that loves action, women being strong, and some romance all mixed into one big beautiful book. I literally went through every single emotion possible when reading this book and I loved that. Now for the romance part of this book, comment below if you would go with Mather orTheron. Honestly I would go with Mather but I don't know, Meira went through so much it was rather blurry and quite honestly I don't even know how she had time to have crushes when she was facing her death and seeing things and I won't say anymore because SPOILERS ARE BELOW and I don't want to ruin anything for anyone.
Spoilers: OMG WHEN I FOUND OUT WHO MEIRA REALLY WAS I WAS SO SURPRISED... I don't even know how I didn't question that Mather wasn't the real heir. Then when she started to show signs of magic and also joining her winterian people UGH It was so magical and sad. The betrayal of Spring was slightly hinted but then the betrayal of Agra came in and everything was like WOAH didn't see that coming. Then the extremely sappy crying moment when Sir died (I was honestly about to cry at this point) but OK I sort of guessed/hope that Sir didn't die, but STILL I was so happy he was back! By far the most beautiful part of the story was getting to see that everyone could return to Winter!
Overall, Snow Like Ashes was an AMAZING book and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!
Cover: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5) I was confused when I saw it but after reading this book it make a lot more sense Favorite Quote: "Someday we will be more than words in the dark." "Even the strongest blizzard starts with a single snowflake." Book Haul + Library books
Sorry for missing last week's SWS post but I've caught up and here I am! I've acquired quite a few AMAZING books since the last time I've updated and some of them have been posted on my instagram (bringing.paperback) (shameless self promo) but I've also gotten a couple more as well after a trip to the library and barnes and nobles! Ready? Here we go!
(scroll to the bottom for covers!) Book Outlet Haul: *seriously book outlet is so cheap I couldn't stop myself and even purchased some old favorites I've read... oops aha 1. How To Say I Love You Out Loud by Karole Cozzo - Unread - I've been interested in reading this one for awhile and it's a lot smaller than I thought, but I still can't wait! 2.The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise by Matthew Crow - Unread - Honestly I haven't heard about this book but it was in the popular scroll box and the synopsis was interesting so I went ahead and got it! 3. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson - Unread - This is honestly one my most favoritest books (I like it so much grammar no longer applies) but yea I had to :) 4.The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler - Unread - I was a bit skeptical of this one because of some reviews I had read but I read a couple more and decided to go with it because why not?! (are we sensing a theme... ahah oops) 5.Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - Read - Beautiful book and one of the ones that I decided to buy just cause it was an old favorite of mine, but I plan on rereading it when I get the time! 6.Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - Read - Love Rainbow Rowell's books so I went ahead and purchased this as well! 7.The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder -Unread - Again... sorry the synopsis just peaked my curiousity so into my cart it went! Barnes and Nobles (semi haul?): 1.Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - Unread - I AM SO LATE ON THIS AND I REALLY REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS AHHHHHH 2.The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry - Unread - Can anyone pass over this cover? (and the many amazing reviews I've heard about this one!?) 3.The Young Elites by Marie Lu - Unread - I've been intrigued for FOREVER and so many people have been urging me to read this so I HAD to get it! 4.Cinder by Marissa Meyer - Unread - At this point you're either not reading or incredibly disappointed with me because seriously!? I'm probably the only person that hasn't started this series yet I KNOW BUT I ALSO CAN'T WAIT and now I seriously have no excuses Library mini Haul: *I have an amazing library so might as well use it! (although I really actually wanted to buy lots of their books... 1. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - Read - ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AMAZING and a review to come but yea this is definitely a regret of mine because I really want to own this book now... 2. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - Unread - I'm so excited to start this book and I've only heard good things so far!! 3. Four - A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth -Unread - I love when authors give more after it seems like everything's said and done! 4.Storm Siren by Mary Weber - Unread - Heard about this one here and there but I actually don't know much about it although the cover has me pretty intrigued! The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Synopsis: "What if you aren’t the Chosen One?
The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again. Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life. Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions. Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable." Review: Let me be COMPLETELY honest and say I picked this book up from the store without any idea of what this book was about and only having heard/seen the title a couple of times. Again, I have to be honest when I say the first ~40-50 pages were incredibly hard for me to read due to the fact I was completely lost... Anyone in the room while I was reading this literally heard me say every five seconds, "WHAT IS HAPPENING I'M SO CONFUSED!" in turn they'd just tell me to stop reading, BUT I braved through it and I actually grew to really enjoy this book! It took me a lot of motivation to start this book after putting it down somewhere in the middle, but after talking to Nicole from fiction-freak.com and her telling me that the cover was GLOW IN THE DARK (I KNOW RIGHT WOAHHH) I restarted it. (yay way not to judge a book by its cover stephanie...) Though not my favorite book by far, in this book the characters were incredibly depicting of average people and how (I think) many people feel especially in our society where almost everyone else seems rich and famous... except for you. I absolutely LOVED how each start of a chapter had an interlude with what the "popular" kids were doing. Though I didn't feel like the plot was EXTRAORDINARY I did love the ending with how Patrick Ness weaved the lives of the indie kids and the normals kids. I also enjoyed the exaggeration of how popular kids get to do everything, in this book meaning that they are the ones that get to turn into vampires and do all the crazy heroic stuff others books always seem to have stories on. The characters were well developed with their crazy back stories and every plot point had a purpose, and so overall I would say this was a well written book. Though this book obviously was not a nonfiction book, it was incredibly realistic in the social sense of things and after reading this book I would have to say that is what I enjoyed the most out of all of it. Cover: ★★★★★ (UM GLOW IN THE DARK SORRY BUT THAT'S JUST FREAKIN' AMAZING) Favorite Quote: "Sometimes you have to find the extraordinary in the ordinary"
Hey guys! I wanted to try out a little blog segment where we can just talk about anything: school, books (if you guys want more!), and just life in general! First I'd like to give you guys some background on myself and why I even started this whole blog. Of course it started with my love of books. My parents were always scared that when I read a book I'd bring myself into a different world and never come back, even they could see how immersed I was for the books I read. Of course I didn't have that concern, in fact I think that's one of my best talents: being able to completely put myself into a different world, even if it's just temporarily. It's a bit like the idea of meditation. When I was younger I would always check out my library card to the max and many people asked how I could even enjoy lengthy (for a child anyway) chapter books at my young age. I explained to them how, for me, it wasn't really book, it was more like a movie I was always able to imagine and picture everything unconsciously everything just fell together in my brain. Tell me I'm not the only one that does this?! Anyways due to school and homework I eventually stopped reading, because I just didn't have the time. Then I rediscovered the Harry Potter series. I KNOW I WAS SO LATE... I read it in first grade but something about it freaked me out so I ended it reading the entire series in one week 6 years later. It was AMAZING and it sparked something in me to start reading again. I've been reading again since then but I have so many books to catch up on! I didn't really have time, but I started making time to read, because books just make life better. Then in 2015 due to looking through my friend Nicole's blog, fiction-freak.com, and a push from her I made my own blog. I think this has been one of the best things I've ever done and with making this I've also found a whole new group of bookish people just like me! The bookish community is absolutely amazing and beautiful and full of just the kindest people ever and I couldn't be more grateful that I found it. Thanks for spending time with me on my first Sunday's with Steph!
PS. Tell me if you liked this I'll be doing my best to post one every Sunday! (Sorry I didn't add any artwork on this post I'll do my best to add one to the next one! )
I HAVEN'T HAD ANY FREE TIME IN FOREVER! That also means I haven't been able to touch a book since around January! This has by far been one of the worst book slumps I've had but not to fear! If you are in the same case as me here are some tips and tricks for getting out of a book slump!
. 1. Order more books:
If you have anymore tips and tricks please comment below I'd love to hear them! I also added some of my own art to brighten up this post hope you liked it and please tell me if you'd like to see more! (sorry for it being quite chunky, I use a macbook and the pen pressure doesn't work) Thanks for reading! Girl Online On Tour by Zoe Sugg
Summary:
"The sequel to the number-one bestseller Girl Online. Penny joins her rock-star boyfriend, Noah, on his European music tour. Penny's bags are packed. When Noah invites Penny on his European music tour, she can't wait to spend time with her rock-god-tastic boyfriend. But, between Noah's jam-packed schedule, less-than-welcoming bandmates and threatening messages from jealous fans, Penny wonders whether she's really cut out for life on tour. She can't help but miss her family, her best friend Elliot . . . and her blog, Girl Online. Can Penny learn to balance life and love on the road, or will she lose everything in pursuit of the perfect summer?" Review: ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AMAZING!!!! (If you haven't read the first book, Girl Online go do that first!) Zoe Sugg has yet again written another AMAZING read. I know I can be a bit biased when it comes to anything Zoella.... because it's Zoella, but I swear this was an AMAZING book. Besides the extraordinary fact that I got A SIGNED COPY (I KNOW!! I freaked out in the middle of Barnes and Nobles and I was SUPER tempted to get all of the signed copies) but the continuation of Penny's life really got interesting. Of course the Title, Girl Online On Tour, gave away a bit of what was to happen but to actually see everything unfold the way it did was amazing. However, before I get to the plot, I really have to give credits to Zoe for being able to show the effects of anxiety the way she did and also give a glimpse of what she probably has to face everyday. Of course Penny's extravagant life is not something most people get to have an experience of, but somehow this book still really connects with everyday life as well. I love that it's written in first person because it really helps you feel like you are actually in Penny's position, and it also allows the reader to really connect with Penny more. Not only that but any blogger that read the Girl Online series can connect with her even more. I especially envy Penny's group of blog readers because I really hope I can get to meet as many people as she does and I love that she is able to connect with so many people just through words. Penny's world is one with so many twists and turns from lost cell phones to a crazy love life. Throughout the book my perspectives changed of Leah, Noah, and Blake the most. Let me start with Leah. I honestly thought she was going to follow her portrayal of being a rich and snobby person, but I was SO WRONG. She actually reminded me of a friend I have from Dubai. Although they are both rich, they are incredibly kind. These kind of people really touch my heart the most because I know they could easily brag about their money, but instead they just show kindness. It is truly amazing. Then there's Noah. I honestly LOVED Noah after the first book, but this book changed my thoughts about him. Obviously, people make mistakes but seeing Noah and Penny grow apart literally made me cry. It seemed like a perfect ending after the first book the hardships were pretty unexpected for me. I was just incredibly thankful for the way he sort of redeemed himself by the end of the story, because #Poah #Nenny?? LOL I don't know but I really just wanted that happy ending for them and Zoe definitely delivered that. Includes: Love, internet, boy band(sorta), happiness, and some tears Cover: 5/5 ( I love how it goes the with first book! and THAT ROSE GOLD!!!) Rating: 5/5 Favorite Quote: "
|
Stephanie C.A fan of anything fiction, furry, & fun. Archives
June 2019
Categories
All
|