Top Ten Tuesday #77

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!

What I Am Thankful For...

I'm really thankful for everything. Especially everyone that I have interacted with on my blog, my Twitter, and the ones that have come and gone that I will never forget. Yeah. So I guess you could say this is one of those heartfelt posts where I thank everyone, and if you're not on the graphic, it either means my brain forgot about you, or there wasn't any space. I AM THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE. EVERYONE. And everything.

Yes Jeann, that is you. I could not not do it :3

What are you thankful for??

Review: Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Six of Crows #1
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Release Date: September 29th, 2015
Source: Book Expo America
Date Read: 11/16/15 to 11/21/15
465 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

SIX OF CROWS. SIX OF CROWS. YES I FINALLY READ IT. And yes REVIEW WILL BE LONG. Longer than my usual at least.

I have to admit, I don't know why I waited so long to read this. At first, I was going to wait until I finish The Grisha series, but that ended up not happening, so I just said "Ah screw it I'm reading this". Yes, I was a little intimidating by the length and the million perspectives, and the first chapter was a little weird, but this book was perfection. And it has been a while since I have said that.

Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Matthias, and Nina. Oh what to say about them. Character development? Yes. Massive shipping between characters? Yes. Love for each and every one? Yes. Let's be honest, I thought six characters was going to be WAAAAAY too much for my poor brain, but no. NOPE. I didn't even hate one perspective. That is how well done this is. Plus, I initially thought Wylan was just being thrown in there for no good reason. I thought he was going to be useless, but he ended up being a lovable, adorable, USEFUL, squish. Yes, I will call him a squish with no regrets.

Oh, and the setting of it all. I am just going to say one word. MISTBORN. I mean, for days, Holly has been telling me "Val, you gotta read Six of Crows," and then she mentioned heists and team members, and I was like "Wait, like MISTBORN?". And then while reading I kept on mentioning Mistborn, because you can totally compare this to Mistborn! One team, one impossible heist, some can use powers, others can't. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, since Bardugo's writing is much different from Sanderson's, but the resemblance is definitely there. Though I can say without doubt that all the characters in Six of Crows had much different personalities than the ones in Mistborn.

"Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I'm going to get Wylan's ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost."

Brekker's lips quirked. "I'll just hire Matthias' ghost to kick your ghost's ass."

"My ghost won't associate with your ghost," Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.

And the plot itself was ingenious, with twists and turns and explanations for when things could have gone horribly wrong. This team was tested time and time again, and each time I thought "Well damn here is where everything goes to shit." Guess who was proven wrong almost every time? Yeah me. If I can say one thing with certain, Leigh Bardugo knows how to write a masterful, thought out heist. (She could probably rob a bank at this point. And get away with it)

Though, I also found it incredibly convenient that when shit went down, it was miraculously solved. This doesn't lower my love for this book at all though, but it is something that Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight and I talked about. I am just surprised there weren't more setbacks. [Spoilers] I can't believe I am saying this, but I felt like someone had to go. Death was needed here [End Spoilers]

Print from RedBubble (evieseo) that Shannon had bought

To sum it all up, and I'm sure you've heard everyone say this, but you should read this book. However, NOTE. Although I was told that you did not need to read The Grisha Trilogy to read Six of Crows, there were spoilers for Ruin & Rising in the book. In other words, I would suggest that if you are planning to read The Grisha series, read that first! Or at least if you just read Shadow and Bone and are planning to continue the series, you should finish the series first. Even though the spoilers had nothing to do with the characters in The Grisha series, I still let out a "oh" while I was reading Six of Crows.

But if you don't care at all, then YES. GO FOR THIS. You will fall head over heels for all the characters.

Discovering A New Superhero To Love

Ever since playing Arkham City and Arkham Knight on the Playstations (still playing the latter), I've come to fall in love with Oracle, otherwise known as Batgirl in the past. However I hated how her past story took such a dreadful turn. This ended up turning me towards research (Wikipedia and Batman wikis), and finding out when, why, and how Oracle stopped being Batgirl. 

Barbara being shot in the spine by the Joker, and being paralyzed because of it, put a damper on the whole Batman storyline because I realized I would never be able to play as Batgirl. And it sucked just thinking of it like that. Don't get me wrong, I respect anyone with a disability, but I was just so disappointed in the fact that it happened. I really wanted to play as Batgirl, and I would have loved to see her in action. Plus, why is the girl the one to suffer such a major tragedy? You don't see this happening in male superheroes.

With all of this on my mind, I thought to myself "There must be SOMEONE out there who thought the same thing," and luckily, there was! Thank you for Gail Simone, for not only getting Batgirl back in action, but doing it correctly.

Batgirl (Volume IV): The Darkest Reflection by Gail Simone
Publisher: D. C. Comics
Release Date: July 17th, 2012
Source: Library
Date Read: 11/14/15
144 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰

The nightmare-inducing brute known as Mirror is destroying the lives of Gotham City residents seemingly at random. Will Barbara be able to survive her explosive confrontation with this new villain, as well as facing dark secrets from her past?

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So this isn't necessarily going to be a review, but more of me gushing about how this set everything right again.

Some Background: Barbara Gordon is the commissioner's daughter, and because of her relationship with Batman, she's part of the team, but still works alone. However, after getting shot by Joker, she becomes paralyzed. Since she can only help mentally, she becomes Oracle, helping Batman with everything related to IT. This is where the video games leave off in her story.

Enter in Batgirl, The New 52. Here, Batgirl/Oracle/Barbara recovers the ability to walk due to neural surgery. After three years of being in a wheelchair, she is  Now you might think, "But why Val why? What's the point of the struggle when there is no disability? How is this fair to anyone else with this disability?" Actually, this aspect of the story was done very well. Throughout the first chapter, Barbara is constantly battling with herself. Why should she have overcome her disability, while others couldn't? She describes this as "Survivor's Guilt".

This very first chapter goes into depth on this as well. The villain, Mirror, doesn't believe in miracles. Due to his past, he believes that everyone deserves what could have happened to them, in other words he wants a world where no miracles exist. Therefore, he aims to kill everyone who doesn't deserve the miracle they got.

Obviously, Barbara is on this list, and this villain is a reflection of what she is battling inside. So yes, even though she does regain the use of her legs, she still suffers from PTSD (of guns and gunshots) and also feels extremely guilty for it.

Also, love seeing Barbara move out of her father's home and be independent. It's going to be interesting seeing how all the relationships develop throughout the series!

How do you feel about disabilities being cured in fiction? Does it take away from diversity? Is it not fair for others who are suffering from a disability?

What are your thoughts?

Top Ten Tuesday #76

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Quotes I Loved From Books I Read In The Past Year Or So

So here comes all the fonts again! Good thing I just downloaded a bunch of them! Oh man though, from the past year? I keep having to yell at myself for not keeping track of ANY QUOTES.

Note: Books will not be linked because I'm a lazy poo.

The quote from The Love That Split The World is from an ARC, and may not appear that way in the final copy.

Review: The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June 2nd, 2015
Source: Library
Date Read: 11/12/15 to 11/14/15
416 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰1/2

The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d’Abreau was destined for stardom—until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can’t sing. She can’t even speak.

Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend’s invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse’s home in the Caribbean isn’t: An ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry—except for one.

Christian Kane is a notorious playboy—insolent, arrogant, and completely charming. He’s also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn’t treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid come to life.

When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove’s high-stakes Pirate Regatta, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn’t the only thing making waves, though—swept up in Christian’s seductive tide and entranced by the Cove’s charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn’t what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who’s best known for breaking them . . .

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I was pleasantly surprised with how this Little Mermaid retelling went, like REALLY HAPPY that all the reviews I read of The Summer of Chasing Mermaids lived up to the book. This is truly a diverse novel, with a person of color who has a disability (in that she is mute).

For me, seeing Elyse without her voice, with all her dreams and plans crushed because of it, literally crushed my heart. It constantly made me think of my own future, and what would happen if that was all taken away from me. However, I realized, like Elyse, that having a home and finding your family is what really matters. Which is why it is not only the love interest, Christian, that helps her recover what she's lost, but also her family and friends. 

Even though the plot revolved around Elyse helping Christian fix up his boat to win the Pirate Regatta, a race that the both need to win due to an idiotic bet his father made with the mayor, it mainly focused on Elyse's recovery. As she hung out with both Christian, his adorable little brother Sebastian, she learns to look forward to the future again and face her fears with the sea. 

Speaking of the adorable little child---I mean brother, I can't really put into words how much of an impact he had on Elyse. First off, CHILDREN. You don't normally see such well developed children in YA, especially in the form of a younger brother. And he definitely had a personality. He loves mermaids, and he always wants to go searching for them in the cove. My favorite part is that this is not gender stereotyped at all, especially his love for dressing up as a mermaid. And everyone's support for him (Except the father and the mayor because ugh).

So here's a sum up so far of all the amazing things going on in this book.

• Diversity
• Feminism in Gender Equality/NO Gender Stereotypes
• Awesome friendships and family
• Romantic interest is not a jerk, and actually APPRECIATES Elyse for who she is, even though she can't talk.

Oh, and I forgot something.

An actual mention of self-pleasure AND I AM SO HAPPY because it was in a positive light (why wouldn't it be?) and though it wasn't super detailed, it was very easy to understand what was going on. I think this is such a good message to the target audience (and I mean everyone, really) because it shows that masturbation isn't this taboo thing, and it's good to explore your body. So yeah, this made me incredibly excited because I honestly thought this novel wasn't going to get any better.

I think I'm going to stop here because I have done so much talking about the awesomeness of this book. However, before that, I do want to mention that it has kind of bothered me that the model on the cover seems whitewashed. Is this just me and my thinking? It was mentioned that Elyse was dark-skinned, but I'm not sure how dark. Anyways, it has nothing to do with the content of the book.

Overall, everyone needs to read The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, because even though it is a contemporary retelling, it sure does a good job in tying it back to The Little Mermaid. Like a REALLY good job. So yes. READ. READ IT. 

Review: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: September 8th, 2015
Source: Library
Date Read: 11/4/15 to 11/10/15
290 pages

Rating: ✰

From one of the greatest writers of our time: the most spellbinding, entertaining, wildly imaginative novel of his great career, which blends history and myth with tremendous philosophical depth. A masterful, mesmerizing modern tale about worlds dangerously colliding, the monsters that are unleashed when reason recedes, and a beautiful testament to the power of love and humanity in chaotic times.

Inspired by 2,000 years of storytelling yet rooted in the concerns of our present moment, this is a spectacular achievement--enchanting, both very funny and terrifying. It is narrated by our descendants 1000 years hence, looking back on "The War of the Worlds" that began with "the time of the strangenesses": a simple gardener begins to levitate; a baby is born with the unnerving ability to detect corruption in people; the ghosts of two long-dead philosophers begin arguing once more; and storms pummel New York so hard that a crack appears in the universe, letting in the destructive djinns of myth (as well as some graphic superheroes). Nothing less than the survival of our world is at stake. Only one, a djinn princess who centuries before had learned to love humankind, resolves to help us: in the face of dynastic intrigue, she raises an army composed of her semi-magical great-great--etc.--grandchildren--a motley crew of endearing characters who come together to save the world in a battle waged for 1,001 nights--or, to be precise, two years, eight months and twenty-eight nights.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.

Guys, I don't know if you have ever read any of Rushdie's books, or even heard of this one because it is adult, but I just have to say that it really caters to a specific type of reader. And that reader is not me.

I'm not sure WHY was the November book for book club, but I am discontent. I honestly do not even remember voting for this, which is sad to say. Either that, or I was completely misled as to what this would actually be.

HERE'S WHAT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE ABOUT: Humankind is at stake, as the descendants of a djinn have their powers revealed due to the cracks in the universe. They have cool powers like levitation, detecting corruption, shooting lightning from their hands, etc. Like seriously, it's like X-Men, or it could have been.

WHAT IT REALLY WAS: Sex, sex, sex, random facts about the neighbors of the characters' neighbors and I don't even know what's going on because I DO NOT CARE ABOUT ALL 30 OF THESE SIDE CHARACTERS.

Luckily, I wasn't the only one that brought up my hatred of this book. One of my friends thought that most of the women portrayed in the story were only used to incorporate sex in the novel. Which again, not something I was interested in at all. AND WHY? Ugh. Also, the writing, it is not something you can read in a night. Even if it is less than 300 pages. It is just so dense and even skimming the rest of the book wasn't worth it. I understood nothing. And frankly, I'm glad I didn't.

As you can see. This isn't a book for me. And I know you guys have probably never heard of this, but I'll just say this is more of a warning than a review. I do not recommend this to readers who hate dense, detailed writing about characters that are not the main characters, and about unnecessary details about "romance". This does not truly focus on the fantasy aspect of all the characters and the djinns, which is why I was misled in the first place. 

LE SIGH.

(If by some chance, you HAVE read this, then I am thoroughly impressed because this is a really hard book to get through!) 

Top Tuesday #75

Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!

Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I'm Looking Forward To

There are actually going to be some of my favorites coming to the big screens soon! And when I say soon, I unfortunately mean a couple years from now. But that's okay right? I can always wait? (No I cannot). I guess the only thing I have to worry about is the casting. Will the cast fit my favorite characters? WILL THEY? I guess we'll find out!

Also, I have no idea whether any of these are confirmed? I'm pretty sure most of them are?

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor - I would pay with everything I have to watch this now. I literally do not know HOW they will create this film because it just seems so complicated! I guess it will all be CGI basically? STILL WANNA SEE IT. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - Oh man the casting will have to be perfect for this!

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - Need I say more than watch this trailer?

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - I'm pretty sure Jennifer Niven was going to be her own screenwriter, but who knows?

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - I didn't know this would be an option! I badly wish for this to happen! (And then I'll have to finish the series). 

Unwind by Neal Shusterman - I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS GOING TO BE A THING EITHER. Man Shannon must be really happy that this is an option.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - This is in development I'm pretty sure? I have read this a long time ago, but I did enjoy it, so I do want to see where they take it. 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - IF THIS IS GOING TO BE A MOVIE I WILL BE SO FREAKING EXCITED. I loved this book. Did I mention that? This reminds me that I need to get my hands on the graphic novel.

The BFG by Roald Dahl - I could've SWORN I saw some animated version of this book when I was younger and in elementary school. BUT OK I will take the live action version!  

I skipped out on #10 because I am still confused on what is confirmed and what is optioned. I don't want to get my hopes up ahahah.

What movies are you looking forward to?

Review: Under A Painted Sky

Under A Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 17th, 2015
Source: Library
Date Read: 10/29/15 to 11/4/15
384 pages

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰

Missouri, 1849: Samantha dreams of moving back to New York to be a professional musician—not an easy thing if you’re a girl, and harder still if you’re Chinese. But a tragic accident dashes any hopes of fulfilling her dream, and instead, leaves her fearing for her life. With the help of a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha flees town for the unknown frontier. But life on the Oregon Trail is unsafe for two girls, so they disguise themselves as Sammy and Andy, two boys headed for the California gold rush. Sammy and Andy forge a powerful bond as they each search for a link to their past, and struggle to avoid any unwanted attention. But when they cross paths with a band of cowboys, the light-hearted troupe turn out to be unexpected allies. With the law closing in on them and new setbacks coming each day, the girls quickly learn that there are not many places to hide on the open trail.

This beautifully written debut is an exciting adventure and heart-wrenching survival tale. But above all else, it’s a story about perseverance and trust that will restore your faith in the power of friendship.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

I have been wanting to read this since it came out in March, and oh my goodness, was this such an amazing read! I seriously cannot believe I didn't read this until now. I fell in love with both Samantha and Annamae, and their beautiful friendship.

Both Samantha and Annamae find themselves in really tragic situations. Samantha's father recently passed away due to an unforeseen fire, and with him gone, she searches for help. Unfortunately help turns into something worse, and she accidentally murders the landlord (for a good reason anyways). There, she meets the slave Annamae, who has a wagon ready to escape to the west and meet her brother. So the two of them team up and become THE BESTEST OF FRIENDS.

Oh and they disguise themselves as boys instead of girls. BEST PLOTLINE EVER! And the fact that this is THE OREGON TRAIL. Did I mention how much I loved playing that game as a kid? Yes? No? (And this has nothing to do with the book, but did you guys see Shannon's Oregon Trail post? It is beyond hilarious)

But not only that, but what really makes this story is the characters. I absolutely loved the guys, West, Peety, and Cay, who pretty much adopted "Andy" and "Sam" into their own little cowboy family. Do I need to even mention how agitated I was for Sam and West to just...I don't know...for something to happen? Obviously Sam was disguised as a boy so she couldn't just reveal herself but I could still dream right? But still, every scene I just saw West and Sam come closer and closer together, and I just could not stop reading until I got what I wanted.

And it wasn't just Sam that I loved, but Andy also found her way into my heart. She was never discouraged by anything, and was always determined to find a way to get to her brother. Even though all odds were against her. And although Sam was heartbroken about her father, she never let that get to her. Both of them were willing to watch each other's backs no matter what.

Under a Painted Sky has become a new favorite. For its portrayal of a Chinese main character (second generation as well!), for its fabulous characterization, and for my now new interest of the Wild West. I would totally read this again. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS.    

An Innocent Life #1: Books, BEA Decisions, & Inside Out

Hello, it's me.

How are all you guys doing? Good? Well that's good to hear! Let me give you the lowdown. So I haven't really been updating about my life, or my book hauls, and it's mostly because I end up getting waaaaay too lazy on Friday to post on Saturday. So there's that. BUT, I've decided to change my habits. And so with the changing of habits, I'll be introducing a new recap!

(This new recap was not created to further establish my innocent reputation. Cough.) Actually I figured that I should probably create something where I can put EVERYTHING that has EVER happened to me in this one post. Because. With that, here are all the books that I have accumulated over the last...two months or so!

My wonderful, amazing #OTSPSecretSister sent me Graceling and although I read it, it was still a very, very long time ago. So this means that I can reread it soon! EXCITING.

I have already reviewed Air Awakens which was actually sent to me by the author herself because Amazon went and screwed up muhahahha. You can actually see my review over here! I also read Fire Falling, and I am just impressed with the speed Elise comes out with the sequels. 

I saw The Bone Season at Barnes & Noble, and it was in the Bargain Books section. So I ended up buying it for some super cheap price. It was great!

Again, my amazing #OTSPSecretSister gifted me The Girl On The Train, and I am very, very excited to read this because I have heard SO MANY good things about it. It kind of reminds me of Gone Girl, atmosphere wise!

The Secret of Raven Point is one I have never heard of before, and it is adult. BUT IT IS ABOUT WWII. Long story short, the librarian that hosts our book club meetings was handing out these FREE BOOKS from some event or whatever. And this book was there, and I took it. It'll be a good feature for the upcoming WWII event.

SO I PREORDERED Queen of Shadows MAINLY FOR THE BUTTONS. I know, I know. But I promise to read Crown of Midnight soon. And also Heir of Fire. And basically the rest of the series. It will happen. 

Lastly, I also got Landline from the Bargain Books selection at Barnes & Noble. I have already read this from the library, and although I loved it, I didn't like it as much as Rowell's YA books. WHICH REMINDS ME I need Carry On.

Thank you Harper Teen and Simon & Schuster for these eARCs!

The fact that this semester is going by super quickly is kind of scaring me. It feels like I just started classes yesterday. Just on Monday I registered for my classes from the Spring semester! Even though winter is fast approaching, I am excited for January because I will be taking very few classes, one being yoga. 

These last couple months have been kinda hectic, though it is slowly getting better. As you all know, I had to take the GRE test to apply to grad schools. Then I actually had to pick the grad schools I wanted to apply to, and email potential professors. Now with that out of the way, all I have left to do is fill out the applications and sending out my personal statements. I am kind of still stumped on how to write my personal statement, so that will take a little while longer. Luckily I have everything else already in order.

In other news, I have officially decided to attend BEA 2016 in Chicago this year. At first, I didn't know if I would be able to make it due to graduation. But then I found out that my graduation ceremony did not take place until May 15th, two days after BEA would be over. So after I found that out, I basically said "screw senior week", I'm going to BEA! Best decision ever.

And not only that, but I will be moving out of Rochester and to Florida with my family right after BEA and graduation. In other words, my whole room will need to be packed and ready to go before I even board the plane to Chicago. All I know is that May is going to be another stressful time in my life, and it's going to be crazy. But again, no regrets.

I celebrated Halloween! By taking a 5 hour road trip to Canada, to see my baby cousin get baptized, AND SHE WAS HELD UP BY THE PRIEST LIKE THE LION KING. It was funny. 

Basically all of October was a build up to Halloween, which obviously meant I watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, because CHARLIE BROWN. And it also mean that I could torture Ollie with the wizard hat.

He loves the wizard hat, oh yes he does.

So what's coming up? Well other than applications, work, and classes, in two weeks, I will be heading over to Shannon's place and watching the final Hunger Games movie with her, IN IMAX. I am so so so excited to see her, and steal her children, so excited that I thought I was coming this week rather than the week after. What can I say, I just want time to fast forward now (but not really because I have a paper to work on).

Also, just today, I watched Inside Out. HOW can Disney Pixar make me feel sad about my FEELINGS???? I seriously cannot believe it. Like I WAS SO SAD. SO FREAKING SAD. But man that movie was amazing. IT WAS SO CUTE. And I love Sadness. She was such a little squish. 

And then the movie itself had such an IMPORTANT message to it, and I really wasn't expecting it again because I kept on thinking, "What could possibly be the plot of this?" PROVEN WRONGGGG. Anyways, I would totally watch this movie again, just to see her squishyness.

Anyways, I am very much looking forward to December, when I will be done with everything. (I feel like I saw this a lot and it never happens, BUT THIS TIME IT WILL BE THE TRUTH). Just expect a lot from me this next Spring!

A Call to Lovers of the WWII Genre!

Hello there! If you don't know me by now, you should know that I am a hardcore reader of the World War II genre (YES I say it's a genre). Which is why I am super excited to be hosting this event with the lovely Ely @ Tea & Titles.

So here is the lowdown. I love reading novels in the setting of World War II. IT IS MY OBSESSION. And I think this should be everyone's obsession, right? In other words, I feel as if this "genre" is pretty underrated, which is unbelievable because THIS IS WHERE ALL THE FEELS ARE! Have you watched The Boy In The Striped Pajamas? Huh?

(I also want to mention that although Ely and I have been planning some kind of WWII event for a very long time, because tears, sadness, and feels, I was inspired by Shannon, Kayla, and Inge's event, Shattering Stigmas. Which was amazing. And I was also inspired by Holly's March Madness as well. Which was and again will be amazing.)

Anyways, are you a lover of WWII? (I see you out there, I know who you are) If so, then we're asking for your help! Our event won't be taking place until the last two weeks of February since we still need to figure out all sorts of things, and it requires an insane amount of planning. WHICH IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Are you interested in writing a guest post about anything WWII related? (Like why you love the genre, what made you love it, etc.) Do you love reading about WWII as much as we do? Then please fill out our interest form below!

Of course, we are also looking for authors who have written anything relating to WWII! So if you are an author and are interested in doing an interview or guest post, please fill out the interest form as well!

We’ll be getting in contact with everyone who signs up very soon, so wait for our emails!

Review: Never Never

Never Never by Brianna R. Shrum
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: September 22nd, 2015
Source: Netgalley
Date Read: 10/21/15 to 10/28/15
368 pages

Rating: ✰✰

James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.

But grow up he does.

And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.

Except one.

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I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

Why are there no books out there that show Peter Pan as a nice, fun loving child, rather than this monstrosity? This now makes two books (Tiger Lily), where Peter wasn't exactly shown in a good light. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but where is my childhood?!!

Long story short, I wasn't a fan of Never, Never unfortunately. As much as I was looking forward to James Hook's side of the story (which was somewhat interesting) it was just a rehash of the original Peter Pan with more blood and realism. Even some of the lines from the original (I could even say the Disney version) were copied into some of the scenes.

It's not that I hated the book, but it was more that it was incredibly boring in that I was falling asleep with the kindle falling onto my face. I wasn't into much of the story at all, especially the characters, who I hated anyways. I literally was just going through the book, the scenes, the actions, not really caring about what was going on. And the fact that I have to admit that Peter Pan sucks saddens me. LIKE WHY is he such a little piece of ...argh *makes stabby hand motions*.

And Tiger Lily? Ehh. Boring.

I did like the elements of having experiences makes you grow up faster, but other than that, eh. Everything was eh. I really could not have cared less, and as much as that makes me sad, I'm glad that I'm finished reading it. Or skimming it. One reason why you should probably take this review with a grain of salt!  

Overall, I AM DONE. I wish I could say more, but honestly I don't think there is much to say unfortunately.