Booktube-a-thon Day 1

Hey everyone! Sarah here! Today has been an awesome start to booktubeathon. The book I started today was Beautiful Disaster, which my friend had lent me. And boy oh boy am I loving it! I about half way through and will definitely finish it tonight. YAY! And also check out my video challenge for today! WOOT!

Peace. Love. Read On.
xoxo Sarah

BookTube-A-Thon 2014 TBR

Hey everyone! It's that time of year again...BOOKTUBE A THON!!! EXCITEMENT! This will be the 2nd annual booktube-a-thon run by Ariel Bissett and various youtubers. It will take place from July 14 to July 20. There are various reading and video challenges to be completed during the week. It's super fun and Molly and I are going to try and do as many video challenges as we can and finally start youtubing so we are psyched! For more information, check out the official youtube which will probably answer your questions better than I can! Here are the books I'm planning on reading for the challenges:

1. A book with pictures ~ TBD
I don't have books with pictures I guess. Maybe I'll read a children's book?

2. Start and finish a series ~ The Warrior Heir Series 
I read this series ages ago in middle school. I really don't remember much about the series and considering The Warrior Heir is the booksplosion book of the month I thought it was about time to pick up this series again with my new older, and mature perspective...lol I'm not mature.. ;D (Apparently though there are 2 more books in this series but when I read it, it was a trilogy so this counts as a series for me)

3. A Book with red on the cover ~ Dangerous Creatures and We Should Hang Out Sometime
These books have both been sitting on my shelf FOREVER so this is a perfect chance to read them. We Should Hang Out Sometime is an ARC I received at bookcon and I don't know anything about it, but it sounds quirky and cool so YAY!

4. A Book Someones Else Picks Out for me ~ Beautiful Disaster
My friend and I did a book swap so I've had this book lying around to finish ASAP. She thought I would enjoy it so I'm excited to get into it!

5. A Book From a Genre you've read the least this year ~ Between Shades of Gray
So I don't read much historical fiction and my friend recommended this book to me so I bought it...again don't much about it. BUT it sounds cool and the cover is pretty. I'm sold!

6. A Book to Movie Adaptation (plus watching the movie) ~ TBD
At the moment, I don't know what I will choose for this. I want to read a new book because I'm behind in my reading challenge. However, I may re read one of my favorites-VAMPIRE ACADEMY or BEASTLY because I love them both and the movies are easily accessible to. We'll see what I have time for...

7. Read 7 books 
As you can see, I already have a mass of books on my TBR and I'm thinking "how will I do this" as I write this. I have no idea...This list is definitely subject to change and we will see what I can manage. 

I will create a TBR list on my goodreads which is goodreads.com/sarah_patch182 and post my booktube-a-thon updates there. I'm so excited guys!!! Yay!! Look out for our video challenges next week on our youtube channel. Have an awesome booktube-a-thon and if you are participating let us know what you are reading. May the odds be ever in your favor ;D

Peace. Love. Read On.
xoxo Sarah

Molly Reviews: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Pages: 372
Publishing Company: Speak
Publication Date: January 1, 2010
ISBN: 0142419400
My Rating:
Synopsis: Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming,beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend. 
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

Review: I went back and forth a lot with this book. There were times where I absolutely loved it, and other times where I thought it was the stupidest thing I had ever read. In the end, I wound up liking the book. I wouldn't say that I liked it a lot or that it's my favorite or anything, but it was definitely a good read.
This book is written in the present tense which was kinda weird but I could roll with it. I really enjoyed the characters. I thought that they had full personalities and they had their own quirks and issues which was cute. I loved that the novel took place in France because most of the books in YA that I read are usually set within the US so it was a nice change of pace for everything.
In the end though, this books is only getting three stars from me because I did have a love/hate relationship with it and I'm probably not going to be rereading it anytime soon. I think my main problem with this one was that I had my expectations set too high so I was a little let down in the end. I do however recommend this book to anyone who likes to read contemporary YA because you will adore this book!

Talk to you soon!
Molly

Sarah Reviews: City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Heavenly Fire

Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 725

Publishing Company: McElderry Books
Publication Date: May 27, 2014

ISBN: 9781442416895

My Rating:
 
Synopsis:*spoilers if you have not read The Mortal Instrument books preceding this one*

In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!

Review:
Who could've asked for a better way to end this series? It was beautiful, perfect, and a whopping 725 pages long!!! I stayed up until 4 in the morning two nights in a row because I could not put this book down. It was worth the lack of sleep. So let's get right into it!

This book had so many twists and turns. Although it did a nice job of wrapping up our character's stories, it felt a lot like a prequel to Cassandra Clare's series The Dark Artifices, which takes place 5 years later and follows Emma Carstairs who we are introduced to in CoHF. I loved Emma and can't wait to see her story. The aftermath of this book sets up nicely for the next series.

I also thought however, that to me the ending was predictable. I guessed how it would end easily and wasn't surprised with the outcome...only with how it was delayed. But there were also moments that shocked me, or where I laughed, smiled, and definitely had lots of tears.

Cassandra Clare's books are different because I find them to be more character driven. I loved the character development in this book. It was heartwarming to see how far these characters have come after 6 books and how they finally have a reached a happy place because after all the s*** they've been through they deserve it. I laughed when Jordan tried to help Jace meditate to control the heavenly fire except that Jace finds peace from weapons. Typical...

SPOILERS BELOW

Molly Reviews: It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Title: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Author: Ned Vizzini

Pages: 444

Publishing Company: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 078685197X

My Rating:    

Synopsis: Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job-Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy.
At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping-until, one night, he nearly kills himself. 
Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety.
Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression, it's definitely a funny story.

Review: This book was really funny. I'm sure that when you read the synopsis, you wouldn't find it that amusing but Ned Vizzini was a pretty comical guy.
The book is written in several parts. The different parts organize how Craig is feeling, how he became depressed, and his stay in the hospital. As you read the book you learn everything you need to know right off the bat and it was certainly refreshing. I don't have too much to say about this book except that it was a quick read and it was highly entertaining. If you're looking for something quick and funny to read I highly suggest this book.

Sorry, for the crappy review. I just don't have much to say about this one.
Talk to y'all soon.
Molly

Sarah Reviews: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Pages: 225
Publishing Company: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 9780385741262
My Rating:    
Synopsis:
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE

Review:
Wow. This book was definitely not what I expected. It is not a light, fluffy contemporary. There is tons of mystery, suspense, and a dark feel to this story. This book is about Cadence's attempt to find out what happened during summer 15. Her family spends each summer on their island and she spends time with her cousins and their friend Gat. However, summer 15 she has an accident and the majority of the book is about her trying to figure out what happened. 

What I loved about this story was the complexity of the characters and how they lived by putting on a facade for others. How the family needed to always seem and act a certain way to others is something I feel like a lot of people can relate to. Cadence struggles with this in her family and the dynamic there is interesting to see unfold and the tension between everyone. 

I think the liars were a really interesting group and would have loved to learn more about them before summer 15 and how they got the name the "liars". I never seemed to trust Gat though. Something about him didn't sit right with me and I'm just itching to know more about his life outside of the summers spent on the island. I loved how they all had different lessons/mottos they shared with each other. Cadence's saying, "do the think you were always afraid to do" is actually something I love by, but not the extremes as her...more like about being confident and whatnot.

E. Lockhart's writing style somehow manages to make the story seem longer than it actually is. I would feel like I had been reading so much yet only 5 pages had been read. Mostly, the ending has an insane twist that made me rethink the whole book but also make the story make completely sense...I know it's complicated but this book really makes you think and keeps you on your toes.

Also, this is the Booksplosion book of the month for June. There will be a live show on July 2nd on PolandbananasBOOKS so check it out!

Peace. Love. Read On.
xoxo Sarah

Molly's July TBR

Hey ya'll!
I'm back with this month's TBR! I'm going to be flying to Indiana in a couple of weeks for a camp program thingy. So hopefully I'll be able to read a lot on the flight. Otherwise, I don't have too much going on so hopefully I'll be able to get some reading in. 

1. Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin - Since I didn't get to read this one last month and it was on my list, I decided to just transfer it onto this one. Now, instead of it being at the bottom of my list, it'll be on the top! :)

2. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - Sarah and I will be going to Scotland with the band next month so I was just planning on marathoning PJO on the plane ride to/from but eh why not just read this one now?



3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - I love Rainbow Rowell and I'm excited to give this book a go because I've heard such great things about it.

4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - The movie is coming out soon and I've been meaning to read this for a long time. I hope it's as good as everyone says it is.

5. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan - Another book I've been meaning to read for a LONG time. I couldn't find it for a while but I have since relocated it so yayyy.

I think that's a pretty solid month. I'm super pumped :).
I'll talk to you guys later! Hope you have a good July!
Molly