Book Review ; The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash by Candace Ganger

Title ; The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash

Author ; Candace Ganger

Genre ; Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary 

Pages ; 320

Publisher ; St. Martin's Griffin 

Synopsis ; Birdie is a sweet girl, she's only snuck out once in her life to go to a party where she didn't stay for long but there she met a guy. Bash has his struggles and although he has good intentions, his life doesn't always go the way he plans but one night at a party he meets this girl. They only talked for a little while and they didn't even exchange information but somehow fate brings them together with a tragedy. Will this tragedy be the beginning of a relationship or a heartbreak?

First Impression ; I received an arc of this book from a Goodreads giveaway and I was happy to receive it but I figured the story would be predictable.

Rating ;

Review ; I absolutely loved this book, it's definitely one of my top reads for this year. This book was everything I love in a book and more. It had romance and heartbreak. Candace had me sitting on the edge of my seat with every page wondering what would happen with each character. I couldn't put this book down, I literally carried it everywhere I went. The tragedy in this book had me full of emotions and it really was a tear jerker. I felt every emotion while reading this book. I liked almost every character and even the ones I didn't like, I still felt for them.

Cover Rating ;

Judging a Book by it's Cover ; When I first saw this cover I thought it was cute but I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I assumed this book would be a sappy love story about meeting at roller-skating rink and although I do love a good romance I figured this book would be typical and predictable. The cover get's 3 stars because it's a little misleading.

Book Review ; Glass by Ellen Hopkins | Book Two in the Crank Series

Title ; Glass 

  Author ; Ellen Hopkins

  Genre ; Young Adult, Poetry, Fiction 

  Pages ; 681

  Publisher ; Margret K. McElderry Books

Synopsis ; This book continues to follow Kristina's downward spiral with addiction but now Kristina also has to deal with the fact that she's had a baby, a baby that was conceived from her being raped. Can Kristina turn her life around and be the mother her baby needs or will the monster take over again?

First Impression ; I didn't have a first impression of this book because I remembered some of it from school.

Rating ; 

Review ; So little words and yet a story unfolds in Ellen Hopkin's Glass. I was excited to start this book after finishing Crank and this book did not disappoint. I like getting to see more into Kristina's life and how things worked out after having a baby. I found myself hoping that Kristina would be the mother that she wanted to be but to also find happiness. I couldn't put this book down and finished it in just a few days. I can't wait to continue this story with the last book in this series, Fallout. 

Cover Rating ; 

Judging a Book by It's Cover ; I knew a bit about this book before starting it so I didn't really get to judge it by it's cover. I do like the basic cover designs of all Ellen Hopkins books so five stars will do. 

 

 

Book Review ; My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen | by David Clawson

Title ; My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen

Author ; David Clawson

Genre ; Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Retelling, GLBT

Pages ; 257

Publisher ; Sky Pony Press      

Synopsis ;  This is a modern retelling of Cinderella, starring Chris Bellows. After his fathers death, he's left with his step family. With his fathers demise the family's fortune is also gone and Chris is left taking care of his step family and feeling more like a maid than a member of the family. His life turns upside down when he meets Coco Chanel Jones who becomes his modern day fairy godmother, helps him feel more comfortable in his own skin ,and shows him everything isn't always what it seems. Then stepsister starts dating Golden boy J.J Kennerly and problems arise when Chris and J.J fall in love. To make matters worse the media is watching their every move. 

First Impression ;  I was excited when I got the emailing saying I won this book from Goodreads, the synopsis drew me in and this is my first LGBT book so I didn't know what to expect. 

Rating ; 

 

Review ; When I first started reading this book I couldn't put it down, the story captivated me within the first few chapters. I found myself rooting for Chris and J.J but at the same time I was feeling bad for Kimberly. At first you think evil stepfamily but as the story goes on you see where they're coming from. I really enjoyed the story however this book is only getting 2 stars from me because although I liked this book I couldn't get past the fact that this book is about LGBT and acceptance but at the same time it was stereotypical towards African Americans and had some fat "jokes" shaming, I guess the author meant these in a light humorous way but I personally don't find it funny. Also the fact that Kimberly would sneak drugs into her mothers drinks to "calm" her down which I  find wrong on so many levels. If you took all that away this book would be getting a better rating

   

Cover Rating ; 

Judging a Book by it's Cover ; The cover is made to look like blue glitter, the font is adorable, and I like the town building/bridge silhouette. 

 

How I Got JoJo Moyes Autograph for Me Before You Book

Most people have heard of Me Before You because not only is it a popular book but it was made into a movie. If you go through my older blog posts you'll see that I read Jojo Moyes books Me Before You and After You and I loved them, they now sit on a shelf with my favorite books.  I've also began collecting autographed books for my favorite books/authors. This is hard for me because I live in a small town with one local used bookstore that doesn't really have signings. So I looked online, I found some reasonably priced books but none of my favorites so I did my research and found that you can email certain people and they will send you an autograph photo/book plate. So I emailed JoJo Moyes.

I sent the email on January 8th and I received her autograph today, March 2nd.  I never got an email back so I really wasn't expecting it. When I got a medium sized envelope in the mail from the UK I was a little confused but I opened it and found a photo and bookplate and it literally made my day.

I've already stuck the bookplate into Me Before You as you can see from the photos but I thought I would blog about this incase someone else wanted to get her autograph for their favorite book by her.

BookOutlet Book Haul #1 | 6 Books for $20!

I placed an order on Book Outlet on Valentine's Day and I was pretty excited, I got 6 books for $20 and that's counting shipping. This isn't my first BookOutlet order but it's the first one I've decided to post and I'll probably start posting book hauls more often. I need to post a Watch My Library Grow update because I've added so many new books to my shelf.

     

I got Anna and the French Kiss and Isla and the Happily Ever After both by Stephanie Perkins. I've been wanting to read these books for quite some time, now I just have to get Lola and the Boy Next Door.

 I also got Very Bad Things by Susan McBride, I randomly found this book on Book Outlet and the synopsis drew me in so I wanted to pick it up.

This is another book that I stumbled upon on Book Outlet and the synopsis held my interest. It's called Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.

 and the last books I got were Silence and Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick the last two books in the Hush Hush series, now I need to get the first two books.

All in all I'm happy with this order, a few of these books were "Scratch and Dent" copies so I was expecting a few flaws, the only flaws that really bothered me is Dangerous Girls has a huge fold on the back and Finale is cut on the cover and a few pages but for the prices I really can't complain.

February Goodwill Tiny Book Haul |Thrifting for Books

I've always been a thrifter, I love going to Goodwill for clothes, décor, and of course books. Lately I've been seeing some pretty good books at Goodwill and Sunday I picked up three books for my collection.

I got A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Hosseini, That Summer by Sarah Dessen, and Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen. All three books are in great to like new condition so I couldn't pass them up.

Even better the purple tag was half off, so I got all three books for $1.49! Such a great deal.

I have to admit Goodwill is one of my favorite places to get books, most of the time they're super cheap and in pretty nice condition. I've never read A Thousand Splendid Suns but I did read the Kite Runner and liked it so I wanted to read this book. I'm also a huge Sarah Dessen fan so I couldn't pass up on these books to add to my ever growing collection. I actually think all my Sarah Dessen books have been purchased from Goodwill.

Do you thrift shop for books? If so what is your best book find?

So far my favorite find was a huge bundle of Jane Austen books.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith | Spoiler Free Book Review

Title ; The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Author ; Jennifer E. Smith

Genre ; Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Pages ; 236

Publisher ; Poppy / Little Brown

 Synopsis ; Do you believe in fate? How about love at first sight? The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight follows two stories, Hadley and Olivers within 24 hours. Both are on their way to London but for two very different reasons. Hadley is heading to London for the first time for her dads wedding to a woman she's never even met before and she's not happy with the fact that her father has left her mother for another woman. Oliver is from London and is on his way back to his family for a visit. Hadley misses her flight and ends up on the same flight as Oliver and they end up striking up a conversation but once they land in London they lose track of each other, will fate bring them back together?

First Impression ; I've been wanting to read this book for years. I'm a hopeless romantic and this book draws me in, not only because of the title but because of the cute cover as well. This book screams "romance novel, right here, pick me up, and fall in love with me".

Rating

Review ; To some people this book might seem mushy, I mean you have

a girl, Hadley, and you have

a British boy with nice hair, Oliver,

and they meet at an airport because she misses her flight

they end up sitting next to each other and getting to know each other.

Now add in some fate,

London,

and a wedding.

With all these you're thinking, this book is pretty predictable, except it's not,

to me this story focuses more on second chances rather than romance, don't get me wrong there is some romance and that's why this book is titled The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, although I do feel like a different title would have fit better, maybe something about fate or second chances? You get to watch Hadley grow so much within 24 hours and learn a life lesson on second chances. You also get to see Oliver's life a bit and see that not everything is as it seems, sometimes we miss obvious things when are mind is crowded with our own problems.

 I've noticed some similarities with Jennifer E. Smith's books; they are fast, cute, and amazing. I love how her books are romantic yet they focus on other relationships as well, so far it's mainly family relationships, and I like how you get to see more in to the characters lives because of this.

Cover Rating ;

Judging a Book by it's Cover ; The book cover fits the book pretty well and in my opinion it's adorable.

Quotes ; “It's not the changes that will break your heart; it's that tug of familiarity.” 

 “Love is the strangest, most illogical thing in the world.”

“That's the thing about flying: You could talk to someone for hours and never even know his name, share your deepest secrets and then never see them again.”  

“Is it better to have had a good thing and lost it, or never to have had it?”  

"He was a professor, a lover of stories, and he was building her a library in the same way other men might build their daughters houses.”