You know, I'm really glad July is over 'cause that means fall is right around the corner--my favorite time of year! Yay!
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2018
You know, I'm really glad July is over 'cause that means fall is right around the corner--my favorite time of year! Yay!
Monday, July 30, 2018
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #124: New Fear Street, Yay!
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Sunday Post #168
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!
Friday, July 27, 2018
Review: Bad Dreams (Fear Street #22) by R.L. Stine
Title: Bad Dreams
Series: Fear Street #22 (Can be read as a standalone)
Author: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller
Publication date: March 1994
Published by: Archway Paperback
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Every night Maggie Travers has the same horrible dream. Every night she is forced to watch the same murder. And every night the girl in her dream cries out for help. Maggie is afraid to go to sleep again. But when the terrifying dream starts to come true and the gruesome accidents begin, staying awake is the real nightmare!
Don't go to sleep!
Maggie keeps having these horrible recurring nightmares, and, well, this is basically Maggie’s life right now:
What was she supposed to do? Pour her heart out? My father died, my boyfriend has been ignoring me ever since I told him about my weird nightmare, I found a knife in my pillow, and I think my bed is haunted.
No, that wouldn't sound too good.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Review: Revenge of the Cheerleaders (Pullman High #3) by Janette Rallison
Title: Revenge of the Cheerleaders
Series: Pullman High #3 (Can be read as a standalone)
Previous books in this series: Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards (#1), All's Fair in Love, War, and High School (#2)
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: December 2016
Published by: Janette Rallison
Source: Own ebook
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Who says cheerleaders have to be nice?
Chelsea's school year has taken a turn for the worse. After being dumped by her boyfriend and humiliated at the pep assembly by her younger sister's boyfriend, Rick, she's just concentrating on avoiding any other major embarrassments.
That's when Rick and his band debut their new album, complete with a whole set of songs bashing cheerleaders. Chelsea's humiliation has reached a whole new level now that everyone is walking down the halls singing the words to "Dangerously Blonde."
It's time to make Rick pay. All he wants is to win the High School Idol audition, so he can be on his way to rock star fame and fortune. But with the help of her best friends, Aubrie and Samantha, Chelsea is going to steal his victory right out from under him.
Revenge of the Cheerleaders spotlights Sam’s (from previous book All's Fair in Love, War, and High School) best friend, Chelsea! She made appearances in the last two books, but now she gets her own story! So, basically, Chelsea’s younger sister’s boyfriend humiliated her in front of the whole school and now Chelsea is seeking out revenge, as the title suggests. Lol. Amongst all that, Chelsea meets a cute guy, Tanner, at a costume party. She really likes the guy and they start dating, but then she finds out something...
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Review: All's Fair in Love, War, and High School (Pullman High #2) by Janette Rallison
Title: All's Fair in Love, War, and High School
Series: Pullman High #2 (Can be read as a standalone)
Previous book in this series: Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: February 2016
Published by: Janette Rallison
Source: Own ebook
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
You should never make a bet you can't keep, especially when the bet involves romance.
Sixteen-year-old Samantha Taylor is used to having things go her way. She's head cheerleader and has all the right friends and a steady stream of boyfriends. But when she tanks the SATs, her automatic assumptions about going to college don't appear to be so automatic anymore. She determines that her best hope for admission into a good college is to win the election for student body president. Unfortunately, with her razor wit and acid tongue she's bettersuited to dishing out insults than winning votes.
When she brashly bets her classmate Logan that she can go two weeks without uttering a single insult, Samantha immediately realizes that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. And when her current boyfriend dumps her, less than three weeks before the prom, it couldn't be a worse time to be forced to keep her opinions to herself. Finding a new boyfriend will be a challenge now that Logan shadows her every move, hoping to catch her slipping back into her old ways. Samantha is determined to win the election and find a dream date for the prom, no matter what it takes. After all . . . all's fair in love and war (and high school!).
This book takes place in the same world as previous book, Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards, but in this one we follow a different character, the cheerleader Samantha! She made a brief appearance in last book, but she and Cassidy did not get along. Anyway, I really loved the idea of the bet and Logan just making sure Sam does not insult anyone. It was so funny!
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Review: Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards (Pullman High #1) by Janette Rallison
Title: Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards
Series: Pullman High #1 (Can be read as a standalone)
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: January 2014
Published by: Janette Rallison
Source: Own ebook
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Cassidy knows everything about Chad—everything, that is, except how to get him to notice her. Someday, somehow, she vows, those deep blue eyes are going to look her way. In the meantime, she's got plenty of other things to worry about.
Cassidy has always been happy to be the studious, reliable type—until Elise and her good-looking brother move into the neighborhood. Elise is determined to introduce Cassidy to the partying life. But will Elise's Carpe Diem ways land Cassidy in more trouble than she's prepared for? Can a girl be smart and have fun too? Cassidy is about to find out.
Cassidy has had a crush on Chad since forever and she’s trying to get him to notice her, but it only results in some really awkward situations. Lol. And I loved it! It’s absolutely hilarious! Janette Rallison is so good at writing these sort of scenes. I felt super embarrassed for the characters, but also I could not stop laughing!
Monday, July 23, 2018
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #123: Assassins and Serial Killers... O.O
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Sunday Post #167: All Work and No Play
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Book Spotlight: If I Die Before I Wake by Martii Maclean
Friday, July 20, 2018
Review: The Surprise Party (Fear Street #2) by R.L. Stine
Title: The Surprise Party
Series: Fear Street #2 (Can be read as a standalone)
Author: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller
Publication date: October 1990
Published by: Archway Paperback
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
It's been a year since Evan died in the Fear Street woods. A year since Ellen moved away, and "the gang" split up. Meg Dalton felt as if she'd lost her best friends. Everyone changed. Even her boyfriend Tony was acting moody, strange. But when she heard that Ellen was returning for a visit, Meg had the answer: she'd bring them all together again with a surprise party for Ellen!
That's when the terror began... the phone calls... the threats... the bizarre acts of violence. "Cancel the party—or else," the whispered voice on the phone told her. Meg was scared, and with good reason. Whoever wanted the party stopped would try anything—even murder! But why? The dark Fear Street woods held the answer... if Meg dared to discover the truth!
It was just another party—until the threats began...
After the apparent suicide of their friend Evan, Meg’s friend (and Evan’s girlfriend) moves away. Now she’s back in Shadyside visiting and Meg decides to throw her a surprise party. Except someone doesn’t want this party to happen. Does it have to do with the death of Evan? Pretty much, yeah. Lol.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Review: A Longtime (and at one point Illegal) Crush by Janette Rallison
Title: A Longtime (and at one point Illegal) Crush
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: February 2013
Published by: Janette Rallison
Source: Own ebook
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
From the day Elsie’s big brother brought his friend Kye McBride over to their house, Elsie adored him. When she was eight she secretly blew kisses to him. When she was twelve she sat on the stairs, unnoticed, and watched him escort another girl to prom. When she was a senior in high school, she walked into math class and found out he was her new math teacher.
With that much emotion fueling her, things were bound to go wrong. And they did. Elsie not only spent the last two weeks of school avoiding him, she turned avoiding-Kye-at-all-costs into her life-long philosophy.
Now three years have passed and Elsie has come home for her brother’s wedding. She’s got to face Kye-–hopefully without getting crushed again.
A Longtime (and at one point Illegal) Crush was a short, sweet read. Plus, it was super cute and funny, too! I adored it!
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Bookshelf Tour!
Back in March I got a couple of new bookcases for my books, and I touched on that a little bit in a Sunday Post. But today I thought I’d give you guys a tour of my brand new (but not really because it's been like 4 months lol) bookshelves!
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Review- Zeus: King of the Gods (Olympians #1) by George O'Connor
Title: Zeus: King of the Gods
Series: Olympians #1
Author: George O'Connor
Genre: Middle Grade, graphic novel, Greek mythology
Publication date: January 2010
Published by: First Second
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Book Outlet | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Here's Where It All Starts: the beginning of everything - the world, the gods, and even humanity. Might Kronos, the most terrifying of all the Titans, reigns as the unchallenged tyrant of the cosmos...until his son, the god Zeus, stands up and takes on his own father in a battle intense enough to shatter the universe! Who will emerge triumphant?
I LOVE Greek mythology, so the idea of Greek mythology graphic novels sounds amazing to me! It’s basically the myths in condensed form but with pictures! This series focuses on the main twelve gods AKA the Olympians. Hence the series name. Lol. I actually read a couple of the other graphic novels in this series, which is totally okay to read before this one because it doesn’t really tell a linear story, so they can be read as standalones.
Monday, July 16, 2018
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #122: I Love This Assassin
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Sunday Post #166: The Most Beautiful Polish I Have Ever Owned!
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Review: Broken Date by R.L. Stine
Title: Broken Date
Author: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller
Publication date: October 1991
Published by: Pocket Books
Source: Owned paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Jamie and Tom have been going out since junior high. They are planning to graduate from high school and attend college together. Everything's perfect until Tom breaks a date--and all the horror begins. What has happened to Tom? To Jamie's horror, the boy she loves is stalking her and making threats. Now, there's nowhere Jamie can hide.
Oh, this book... not one of R.L. Stine’s best, I’m afraid.
This is gonna be hard review to do because pretty much everything I have to say is spoiler-y, so here we go. Lol.
Basically, Jamie is at the mall one day with her best friend, when she witnesses a robbery and murder. She freaks out because she thinks the guy might have been her boyfriend Tom. But this idiot wasn’t wearing her glasses, but she’s pretty sure it was him.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Review: Holding Court by K.C. Held
Title: Holding Court
Author: K.C. Held
Genre: YA, contemporary romance, mystery
Publication date: March 2016
Published by: Entangled Teen
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Jules Verity knows exactly what's in store at her new job at castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times. Some extra cash, wearing a fancy-pants dress, and plenty of time to secretly drool over the ever-so-tasty--and completely unavailable--Grayson Chandler. Except that it's not quite what she imagined.
For one, the costume Jules has to wear is awful. Then there's the dead body she finds that just kind of...well, disappears. Oh, and there's the small issue of Jules and her episodes of what her best friend calls "Psychic Tourette's Syndrome"--spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.
The only bright side? This whole dead body thing seems to have gotten Grayson's attention. Except that the more Jules investigates, the more she discovers that Grayson's interest might not be as courtly as she thought. In fact, it's starting to look suspicious...
Holding Court was so freaking cute! I absolutely loved it! This was exactly what I needed after reading Final Girls. Don’t get me wrong, I love horror/thrillers and I really loved Final Girls, but it was just... wow. Anyway, this book came at just the perfect time!
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager
Title: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Adult, horror, mystery thriller
Publication date: July 2017
Published by: Dutton
Source: Library book
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.
That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.
As a horror movie fan, I loved the idea of this book. And in case you aren’t a fan, at the end of a horror movie, the last surviving girl who goes up against the bad guy is called the Final Girl.
We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic.
Monday, July 9, 2018
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #121: Too Much Murder...
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Sunday Post #165: ALL the Murders!
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag
I saw this tag initially over at Abby's Reading Corner, but have since seen it everywhere. Lol. Anyway, I thought this would be a fun little thing to do 😊
Since I only read 28 in the first 6 months of the year, I'm gonna try to pick only one book per any category, otherwise I would put Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess in every single category I could. Lol.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Review: Broken Hearts (Fear Street Super Chiller #4) by R.L. Stine
Title: Broken Hearts
Series: Fear Street Super Chiller #4 (Can be read as a standalone)
Author: R.L. Stine
Genre: YA, horror, mystery thriller
Publication date: February 1993
Published by: Archway/Simon Pulse
Source: Own paperback
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Roses are red, corpses are blue. On Valentine’s Day, you’ll die too!
There’s someone out there, someone who kills on Valentine’s Day. Josie and Melissa are scared—especially when they receive threatening valentines. Then the murders begin. Who is sending these horrible valentines to the girls of Shadyside High? And who will be the next to die?
Valentine's Day can be killer.
Melissa and the McClains (Josie, Rachel, and Erica) live right across the street from each other and that is how they became friends. But things change after Rachel’s accident. Josie basically becomes Reva from Silent Night. She seriously rivaled her at times. But in the end Josie, wasn’t as cruel as Reva, so I’ll give her that. But that definitely doesn’t excuse how she treated Erica and Melissa. She was so inconsiderate, especially toward her younger sister Erica.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Review: How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Friggin' Days (The Tale of Bryant Adams #1) by Megan O'Russell
Title: How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Friggin' Days
Series: The Tale of Bryant Adams #1
Author: Megan O'Russell
Genre: YA, urban fantasy
Publication date: August 2017
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Source: For review from Xpresso Book Tours
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon
Synopsis:
Ever wanted to grow a five-story tall flower in central park? How about fight a deadly battle under the subway tunnels of Manhattan?
Don't worry. I never wanted to either. But if you're ever being chased by ladies made of mist and you have to save the girl with the sparkly eyes you've never had the guts to say actual words to, there's an app for that.
I found a magic cell phone, opened an app I shouldn't have, burned down the set shop for my high school's theatre, and it was all downhill from there. A drag queen seer who lives under a bridge is my only hope for keeping my mom alive, and I think the cops might be after me for destroying my dad's penthouse.
But it gets better! Now I'm stuck being the sidekick to the guy who got me into this mess in the first place. It'll be a miracle if I survive until Monday.
The title of this book is what initially caught my attention, obviously, but it also sounded really fun! I loved the idea of a magical phone, and someone who knows zero about magic finds it and inadvertently uses it. It made for some pretty funny, magical situations. I really liked the magic usage in this book, and I just love magic in general! And it was an interesting story, too! All this craziness happens because Bryant found a cellphone, and he’s suddenly thrust into a magical world and is being stalked by an evil wizard trying to kill him for “stealing” his phone.
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Favorite Books I’ve Read So Far in 2018
We are pretty much halfway done with the year, so I thought I’d take a look back at what books I’ve read so far and absolutely loved! I don't have a nice even number of books, but that's because a bunch of them are part of a series. Lol.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Review: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
Title: Clockwork Princess
Series: The Infernal Devices #3
Previous books in this series: Clockwork Angel #1 | Clockwork Prince #2
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA, urban fantasy, historical
Publication date: March 2013
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Own hardcover
Add it to your Goodreads shelf
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository | Book Outlet | Thrift Books
Synopsis:
Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.
Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.
This book—it just broke my heart and soul... but I still loved it! Not the hurting... the book. Lol. It just broke my heart so many times, and yet, I still love it... and I also still feel like crying everytime I think about it 😢 If I had to describe this book with one gif this is literally it:
Monday, July 2, 2018
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #120: Where the Terror Began...
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date and Unleashing Reads.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Sunday Post #164: Hello...
Welcome to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where I talk about what is going on in life and the blog, and show you all the bookish things I got that week!