Summer Wrap-Up Read-a-thon

Hi everyone, I hope your having a great Saturday.


Today the Summer Wrap-Up Read-a-thon starts and I'm very excited to be participating.  You can click on the picture to get more information on the read-a-thon! Since the read-a-thon is a bit longer than ones I've participated in the past I'm going to have quite the long list here! So without further ado here is my TBR for the challenge.

1. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
2. The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
3. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
4. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
5. Auracle by Gina Rosati
6. Until I Die by Amy Plum
7. Endlessly by Kiersten White
8. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
9. The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse
10. Working Stiff by Rachel Caine
11. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

That's it for now but I could get more done! 

Summer Reading Weekly Update #3

Hi everyone. It's the last day of June and I haven't done one of these in awhile. I suppose I "failed" my 30 books challenge for this month but I'm glad I had the opportunity to read so many great books. I think I still have around 7 books to read. Still, 23 books is very good!

What I've read since June 15:

• Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson-This is a huge tear-jerker and I absolutely loved it!
• Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown-Such a unique take on mermaids but there was a bit of insta-love.
• Forgotten by Cat Patrick-Loved the idea for this one and was executed very well.
• When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle-I loved this retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It was amazing!
• Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson-I was super excited for this one but it fell a little flat.
• Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen-Great premise but overall not the best read. 
• For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund-OH MY GOODNESS! I really love this book. 
• Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins-A fabulous book to end a fabulous series. I'm going to miss Sophie and the gang.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo-I just finished this yesterday and I'm in love. It was amazing. I can't stop thinking about it!

Currently Reading:

I haven't made it too far into The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa but I can't wait!

The Plan:

My original plan was to finish up the books that I didn't finish this month. But I'm not quite sure. I think I'm just going to see where it goes. But here's a couple of books I know I will be reading in soon!

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal
Author: Trish Doller
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: June 19, 2012
Source: Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury
Add to your shelves 


Summary: When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.


Review: Something Like Normal is a fantastic book. It has the ability to make you smile, hurt, but most of all it has the power to make you care something fierce about the characters. 


I automatically liked Travis. He's more than a bit sarcastic, funny, and he's been through more things that I can even begin to imagine. Sometimes male points of views come off wrong and fake sounding. This never happened once in Something Like Normal. Travis had the most realistic voice of a guy that I've read in a long, long time. I also loved watching Travis grow throughout the book. It's amazing how much character development was packed into such a quick read. 


The romance in this one is downright adorable. I doubt Travis or Harper would appreciate me saying that but it's just so true! Ever minute they spent together was sweet and just so unexpected. I was hoping Something Like Normal would have a good romance but it's even better then that. 


Something Like Normal does a great job with showing what life is like with post-traumatic stress disorder is like and what it's like overseas. It doesn't sugarcoat things it just shows the way things really are, and I loved that aspect.


Something Like Normal is a book that can change your mood from elated to sad in a moment. It has gorgeous writing but an even better main character in Travis. If you're into contemporary I think you'd really be missing out if you didn't read this one. 

Rating:

Summer Reading Weekly Update #2

Hi everyone! I hope your Friday is fantastic! I'm a bit behind in my 30 books challenge but maybe I'll catch up one of these days. I'm not stressing about it at all which is really unique for me! 

What I've Read: Since June 8

• One Moment by Kristina McBride
• Destined by Aprilynne Pike
• Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
• Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
• In Honor by Jessi Kirby
• My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
• Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

My favorite out of all these books has to be My Life Next Door! It's absolutely, hands-down one of the best books I've read all year. It's perfect. 

Currently Reading: 

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: I loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour and I know this one will be just as awesome!

The Plan:

• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
• When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle
• Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson
• Dark Kiss by Michelle Rowen--does that guy on the cover have Elvis hair or what?!
• Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: May 15, 2012
Source: Library
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Summary: Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? 
Harrowing and beautifully written, Elizabeth Wein creates a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. Code Name Verity is an outstanding novel that will stick with you long after the last page. 


Review: I knew that this would be a hard book to review the moment I started reading it. I finished this over a week ago and trying to write a review that shows just how great this book is will be hard. So I'm just going to say it. Code Name Verity is a fantastic book. It'll made you cry but it'll also make you so hopeful that maybe something good could come out of something so tragic.


I feel that if I mention one minuscule detail from the plot of Code Name Verity that it'll ruin the entire book. Because in this book it's the details that matter. It is the details that take this book to a whole new different level. 


I loved the characters in Code Name Verity. They were all so real. It was easy for me to forget that I was just reading a book that was fiction and not reading about real people. The characters in Code Name Verity popped off the page making me read even when it was hard to read. 


Code Name Verity is actually very slow in the beginning. I personally thought that the slow parts were interesting. Like I said, there's a lot of details but it's so fascinating. I'm always drawn to learning new information, especially in historical books. Code Name Verity gets a lot more exciting and even more emotionally draining in part 2. 


Code Name Verity is an amazing book. There's hardly a day where I don't go without thinking about the characters or just how real this book felt. I think Code Name Verity has the power to stay with readers and maybe even change how they think about this time period. 


Rating:

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

Title: The Butterfly Clues
Author: Kate Ellison
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication Date: February 14, 2012
Source: Library
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Summary: Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place—possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"—a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined—a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

Review: When I first started The Butterfly Clues I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm happy to say that my expectations for The Butterfly Clues were met because this is such a fantastic book.

One of the things that really made this book great for me was Lo's narration. She has such a unique voice and I absolutely loved Ellison's writing style. It was nothing short of gorgeous. Lo has OCD which makes The Butterfly Clues a little hard to read. I liked how this aspect was handled and, personally, I loved it but I could see how it could annoy some readers. As a character I didn't feel like I really got to know Lo till later in the book because her character in the beginning was definitely a bit rocky.

 The two characters that really stood out to me were the dead ones. Oren, Lo's brother, and Sapphire. I felt like I got to know these characters so much better through Lo reminiscing and imagining. Oren and Sapphire just felt so real.

The mystery in this one is fantastic! It's hard to guess exactly who committed Sapphire's murder. The Butterfly Clues is my favorite sort of mystery. It involves actual clues and detective work. It's not a book where the character just stumbles onto something and then the mystery is solved. Ellison did a great job with this aspect of the story.

The Butterfly Clues is more of a dark book but it easily won my heart with its mystery and the writing.


Rating:

Summer Reading Weekly Update #1

Hi everyone! You know how I embarked on that crazy quest to read 30 books this month? Well, I'm happy to say that it's going okay! I'm a bit behind but I'm hoping I can use today and the weekend to catch up!

What I've read: Since June 1

• Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
• Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
• The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• All These Lives by Sarah Wylie
• Something like Normal by Trish Doller

All of these books were absolutely fantastic! 

Currently Reading:

One Moment by Kristina McBride: I've only read the first couple of pages but so far I'm really liking it!

The Plan:

If I'm going to catch up I need to finish both Touch of Frost and One Moment today, which I think is doable! 

• Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
• Destined by Aprilynne Pike
• Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
• In Honor by Jessi Kirby
• Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I hope to read more before next Friday but there needs to be some element of surprise!