Tag: literature

Editor Letter

April Recap

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Another month has gone by. That was fast!

I have one month left of school and I will be graduating from college at the end of May. Basically, I have three weeks left of college. Exciting stuff!

Onto to book news, Here are the Books I read in the month of April, including links to the reviews I wrote:

  • That Summer by Sarah Dessen| Review
  • Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
  • Insurgent by Veronica Roth| Review
  • Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley| Review
  • Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald| Review

Books I wasn’t able to finish:

  • Breathe by Abbi Glines

Books given in Exchange for Review:

  • Etiquette for the End of the World by Jeanne Martinet| Review

Top Ten Tuesday Posts:

  • Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character| Link
  • Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was A Blogger | Link
  • Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For| Link
  • Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did| Link
  • Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make My Buy/Pick Up A Book| Link

Everything above is basically what happened in the blog for the month of April. Stay tuned for more exciting book stuff to come in the month of May.

Happy Reading!

Special Review, YA Paranormal

Special Review: A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

Veronica Porras (TTB)

A-Corner-of-White

I was provided with a copy of this book by NetGalley & Scholastic. Thank you very much for approving my request.

Goodreads Summary:

The first in a rousing, funny, genre-busting trilogy from bestseller Jaclyn Moriarty!

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot’s dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds — through an accidental gap that hasn’t appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called “color storms;” a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the “Butterfly Child,” whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses.

Review:

I am going to start off with a food analogy to explain how this book was for me. It was like a big juicy delicious looking steak without the seasoning. It was missing something. I liked the idea of the book. I loved how Moriarty build the world in the book but I wasn’t swept away by the story. This had so much potential for being great. I really wish I wasn’t giving it a bad review. This book did not move me and the characters, especially Belle and Jack didn’t move me. Kala didn’t add much to the story either. The only character I liked was Elliot. I felt nothing special for Madeline.

Overall, this book could have been better. Part of the reason why this book did not move me was the writing. It was strange and it took me a while to get used to it.

Sidenote: I love the cover art for this book. It’s so beautiful. 

Rating: 2.5/5

Rating System:

1/5: I hated it.

2/5: It had some redeeming qualities but overall, not a good book.

3/5: I liked it (A fun read).

4/5: I really like it, but something was missing.

5/5: I love it! It’s as close to perfection as it can get!

Editor Letter

Blog News

Veronica Porras (TTB)

So… I’m a little behind on the April Recap and May News. Why you may ask? Because I had to write a 10 page research paper, a 5 page analytical paper on communication, calling, and sacrifices we make for our calling, and other school stuff. I’ve hardly had any time to sleep.

Tomorrow (Friday, May 3rd) I will post the April Recap and this saturday’s Book Blast from the Past post will be postponed until next saturday (May 11th). Sorry!

On Saturday (May 4th), I will be posting the May News.

Stay tuned for all the blog posts coming to your reader/email soon!

Happy Reading!

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

Veronica Porras (TTB)

toptentuesday-1Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is about…impulse buys and I guess it was time the world knew what made me say, “Take my money!” (Oh Tumblr Memes…). Thank you The Broke and The Bookish for creating such fun meme’s, even if it does mean that the world will find out about my bad impulsive buying habits.

This week I will not be doing Top Ten but Top Five instead. (I’m currently writing two big term papers. That is my excuse.)

TOP FIVE TOPICS THAT INSTANTLY MAKE ME BUY/PICK UP A BOOK

1. Spies

I’ve secretly wanted to be a spy all my life but I lack the skills and um physical fitness needed for that type of job.

2. Thief/Con Artist

I love a good con. This explains my continuing support of the Heist Society Series by Ally Carter and the USA Network TV show, White Collar.

3. Boarding School

I’ve always lived at home and when it was time to go to college, I picked a university that was an hour and a half away from home. I guess I’ve always wanted to move thousands of miles away and see how that is. The only way I can experience that is through books.

4. Setting: Europe

I think Ana and the French Kiss and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. I love those two books. Now I want to go to Europe.

5. Dystopian (Ex: Divergent, The Hunger Games, or The Selection)

I get these moments when all I want to read is dystopian books. I’ve been a fan of dystopian books since I was in middle school. My favorite dystopian novel then was “The Bar Code Tattoo”. I kind of want to re-read now since it has been almost a decade since I last read it.

 

What are some topics that dissolve your strong will and make you resort to impulsive buying? Come on now… We all have at least one. 😉

Reviews, ya contemporary

Short Book Review: Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald

Veronica Porras (TTB)
Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald
Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald

Goodreads Summary:

Take an administrative snafu, a bad breakup, and “The Hot-Tub Incident,” and you’ve got two thoroughly unprepared sophomores on a semester abroad. For American party girl Tasha, an escape to Oxford may be a chance to ditch her fame as a tabloid temptress, but wading Uggs-deep in feminist theory is not her idea of a break. Meanwhile, the British half of the exchange, studious Emily, nurses an aching heart amid the bikinis and beer pong of U.C. Santa Barbara. With an anthropologist’s eye for detail and a true ear for teen-speak, Abby McDonald crafts a funny, fast-paced, poignant look at survival, sisterhood, and the surprising ways we discover our true selves.

Review:

Folks, this is what I call good Realist Young Adult Contemporary Fiction. Phew… that was a long title but I want you to know what this book is all about. The first novel I read by Abby McDonald was Getting Over Garrett Delaney and it is one of my favorite novels to date. I’m pretty sure most of you know that by now. I believe this book was the first book she wrote for YA (Don’t quote me on that, I haven’t researched all of her completed works yet) and it was almost as Good as GOGD. This book was a little slow and almost a bit blah in the first one hundred pages, but after that, I remembered why Abby McDonald has become one of my favorite authors of this time. I’m a little tired of books that are too hard on my emotions and this book did connect me emotionally to the story but it did not rip me to shreds. Thank you Abby McDonald for taking care of my feelings.

This is a must read for everyone. Well, if you like YA or realist books that is. 🙂

Caution: This book is marked as Age 14 and up. It does not contain mature content but people openly talk about having sex in the book but they never describe sex at all. Just a warning to parents.

Rating: 4/5

Rating System:

1/5: I hated it.

2/5: It had some redeeming qualities but overall, not a good book.

3/5: I liked it (A fun read).

4/5: I really like it, but something was missing.

5/5: I love it! It’s as close to perfection as it can get!

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE Than I Did

Veronica Porras (TTB)

toptentuesday-1Hello Everybody! It seems I have become a consistent Top Ten Tuesday meme person and I like it. I hope I can keep this up all the way until the end of the semester. Thank you The Broke and The Bookish for this tuesday meme. This Tuesday the topic is Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did. 

I have picked the “I Thought I’d Like More Than I did” version. This Top Ten Tuesday is going to be easy for me.

1. Delirium (#1 in the Delirium Trilogy) by Lauren Oliver

I know that most people LOVE this book but I can’t seem to love it or even like it. I am about eighty percent done with the book and I have put it aside for now. The sad part is that I bought the whole trilogy before even reading the first book and now I’m stuck with it. I do have something positive to say about it though. I liked the first half of the book. I did. It’s the second half that I’m having a problem with.

2. He’s So Not Worth It (He So/She So #2) by Kiera Scott

I read the first book in the He’s So/She’s So series and it was alright. I got the second book in the series and I started reading it and I hated it. I really thought I was going to like the rest of the series since I liked the first one but it just took a turn into Crazy-Ville which I did not want to go through myself. So I stopped reading the series. Oops.

3. The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

This book was horrendous. I had just gotten my nook and I had a Barnes & Nobles gift card that had some money left so I decided to buy this book because it was only a dollar. Not bad right? Wrong. I want my dollar back. I think even I could have written something better. I know that makes me sound very judgmental but dear gosh was that bad writing. I felt like I was reading a bad written fan fiction.

4. Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

I had such high hopes for this book. Rome and Juliet reinvented? Yes! I was so pumped when I got this book until it all fell apart. I barely had any motivation to finish the book and truthfully, I skimmed the last 40 pages or so. I was so disappointed with this book.

5. If We Kiss by Rachel Vail

I saw the second book of the If We Kiss series at Barnes and Nobles and it seemed promising so I  bought the first book on my nook. This book was also a disaster. It was boring and the plot sucked. I can’t even think of some bad adjectives to describe that book. I felt like my IQ fell as I read that book. It was only two dollars in the nook store. Maybe that should have been a sign.

6. Etiquette for the End of the World by Jeanne Martinet

I requested the ARC for this book and in the end, I regretted it. The plot was promising and it had potential but it was poorly executed.

7. We’ll Always Have Summer (Summer #3) by Jenny Han

This is the last book in the Summer Series. The first two books in the series were great. Awesome even. I absolutely loved them! This series was starting to become one of my favorite contemporary young adult series and then the last book took a turn for the worst and it lost me. I was so mad and disappointed that I didn’t even finish it. I skipped to the end to at least have some closure.

8. When It Happens by Susane Colasanti

Someone suggested Susane Colasanti books to me because I love Sarah Dessen. Bad Rec. The story was mediocre and it left me feeling unamused. 

9. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I was in the mood for some deep emotional YA book and I saw this on a Barnes and Nobles display and bought it. I only ended up reading half of it. I was disappointed. 

10. Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver, the first book in The Wolves of Mercy Fall, was a great book. I loved it. This book, I hated it. I am not the only one with this opinion. I might read Forever the third and last book in the trilogy but this book ruined it for me. 

So, that’s all for this Top Ten Tuesday.

I want to know what you guys are thinking! What book did you believe would be great but ended up disappointing you?

Reviews, YA Dystopian

Review: Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Veronica Porras (TTB)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads:

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

What I liked:

I liked that Insurgent had the same feeling of dread, excitement, and heart pounding adrenaline that Divergent had. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole entire time. The ending was… perfect. Veronica Roth is the only author I approve of using that type of torturous cliffhanger on me.

What I disliked:

I don’t really have anything negative to say about the book except that I kept thinking, “Dear women let me breath!!” At the same time, it is also why I like it. I am a very complicated person when it comes to this series. It also seemed that Insurgent lacked the ‘love’ part of the story. What redeemed the lack of love in the book was the ending, when Four did what he did (if you read this book already, you know what he did) and believed Tris. The understanding and loyalty between these two just gets to me. They may just be one of my favorite pairings at the moment.

Overall:

Insurgent was phenomenal. I loved every second of it and I can only hope Allegiant is going to be as good as the first two books in the trilogy.

Rating: 5/5

Rating System:

1/5: I hated it.

2/5: It had some redeeming qualities but overall, not a good book.

3/5: I liked it (A fun read).

4/5: I really like it, but something was missing.

5/5: I love it! It’s as close to perfection as it can get!

Random

Mash: Book Blog Edition

Veronica Porras (TTB)

Jesse the Reader started the MASH: Book Edition Tag on Youtube and I’m bringing it over to the written format!

I played MASH many times when I was young (well I am still young but I am in my twenties, not in my tweens anymore) and this made me reminisce to a time where things were simpler and all of our life decisions were made by this simple little game.

All of the names, places, etc., must exist only in Book World’s. The categories I will be using I took from PolandBananasBooks and her list is longer than Jesse’s.

Categories are:

  • Future Husband
  • Best friend
  • Where will I live?
  • Mode of Transportation
  • Job

Here I go!

MASH

Future Husband:

  1. Tobias
  2. Will Herondale
  3. Adrian Ivashkov
  4. Eddie Castile
  5. Jem
  6. Hale

Best Friend:

  1. Elizabeth Sutton
  2. Rose Hathaway
  3. Ana
  4. Rebecca Baxter
  5. Kat Bishop
  6. Tessa Grey

Where Will I live?

  1. Gallagher Academy
  2. Uncle Eddie’s (from Heist Society)
  3. Divergent World
  4. London (TID)
  5. Paris, France (Anna and the French Kiss)
  6. Delirium World

Mode of Transportation

  1. Public Transportation
  2. Carriage
  3. A Classic Mustang
  4. Jet/Airplane
  5. Flying
  6. My own two feet

Job

  1. Government Spy
  2. A Con
  3. A school professor
  4. Police Officer (Delirium)
  5. Author
  6. In charge of Dauntless Initiation (Divergent World)

I got the number six, now let’s eliminate some choices!

Results:

  • Future Husband: Adrian Ivashkov
  • Best Friend: Ana 
  • Place: Uncle Eddie’s
  • Transportation: Carriage
  • Job: Author
  • And I will live in a Mansion.

Well, this was fun and it makes no sense.

“I will marry Adrian and we will live at Uncle Eddie’s in NYC even though we have a Mansion, unless Uncle Eddie stole the Mansion which means his new place is a mansion. My best friend will be Ana. I will move around town in a Carriage and I will work as an author.”

Totally makes sense right?

Here is a picture of my “great penmanship” where I played MASH.

My MASH: Book Edition on paper.
My MASH: Book Edition on paper.

I messed up the first time so I had to re-do everything again. That’s why my writing is no longer coherent. Oops.

Tuesday Meme

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For

Veronica Porras (TTB)

toptentuesday-1

 

I haven’t been doing the Top Ten Tuesday posts for that long so I went back to the Top Ten Tuesday Archives of The Broke and The Bookish, who are hosting this lovely Tuesday meme, and I found a Top Ten I would have liked to do. At first, I thought it was going to be easy but then I noticed I’ve done a review on almost every book I’ve read this year. This Top Ten Tuesday ended up being much harder than I originally thought. Without further blabbering from my part, here is my Top Ten list for this week!

Top Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For:

1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2. The Selection by Kiera Cass

3. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

4. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

4. The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

5. The Daughters (the whole series) by Joanna Philip

6. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

7. The Liar Society by Lisa Roecker

8. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

9. Love Story by Jennifer Echols

10. Vampire Academy (the whole series) by Richelle Mead

 

 

Which books would you like to review if you had the chance?

Adult Contemporary, Special Review

Book Review: Etiquette for the End of the World by Jeanne Martinet

Veronica Porras (TTB)
Etiquette for the end of the World by Jeanne Martinet
Etiquette for the end of the World by Jeanne Martinet

I was given a copy of this book through Net Galley. The description of the story was very promising which led me to request it. I started reading the book once I was approved, but after the first 30 pages everything started going down hill. I am sad to say that after trying to read it for over a month, I can’t make myself finish the book and I will write a review on what I’ve read so far. I really wanted to like this book but I couldn’t.

Goodreads Summary:

A romantic comedy of post-millennial manners, apocalyptic career moves, and a woman’s last chance to get life right…

RULE #1: DON’T PANIC—IT ONLY ATTRACTS SHARKS

It’s not the end of the world. That’s what 39-year-old Tess Eliot has to remind herself after losing her newspaper column (“Tess Knows Best”) and being dumped by her boyfriend for a younger woman (a feng shui expert? Really?). Then Tess is hired to write an etiquette guide preparing readers for the Ancient Mayan doomsday of December 21, 2012, and she has to ask herself: Could the world really be coming to an end? At first, Tess fakes her way through chapters like “Boundaries in the Bunker” and “Cannibalism: Yes or No?” But after uncovering a secret plot for world destruction, she is forced to embark on a life-changing odyssey of her own—involving all-too-close encounters with touchy-feely survivalists, conspiracy theorists and one handsome guy who seems way too perfect.

What I liked:

I like that the book wasn’t badly written (as in I did not find any grammatical errors). I also liked the idea that was being marketed. The title makes you want to read the book and I like that. If this book would had been executed better, I would have been a fan of it for a long time.

What I didn’t like:

I did not like the characters in the story or how the plot was developed. The main character at first was someone I could be friends in real life and I kind of liked, but soon she started changing into something I could not stand. There are plenty of stories I’ve read with bad characters, but somehow you come to like them but Tess was one of those characters who I wanted to scream at and say, “Get a life! Grow up!” The only character I liked was Tess’ old boss who helps her obtain side jobs and in a sense is her advisor.

Overall:

I didn’t like the book and I couldn’t make myself finish it. What upsets me is that I requested a copy of this book to review it and I will be giving it a bad review but it happens. Everyone has a time where they have this awesome idea but it is poorly executed and it ends up being a mess. I am not bashing her writing but this story could have been better executed. It had so much potential for being great.

Rating: 2/5