Currently Obsessed With: Nail Polish!

Posted in Currently Obsessed With by wingedcreature

Currently Obsessed With is a once-a-month (but sometimes more) feature where I talk about the things I’m currently into and up to.

Nail polish is one of my favorite things to talk about. I always share what I get in the Julep monthly Maven box, which I love, because I get nail polish every single month.

One of my goals for this year (which I mentioned in this post) was to start wearing a different color each week. I have a lot of nail polish, which is great in some ways because I have a ton of colors to choose from and the chances of me picking a color to match the season, a holiday, my mood or a special event is very high.

At the same time, though, I sometimes find myself wishing I had more, because nothing seems to fit or I’m bored with what I have. I’m somewhere in the low 80’s in terms of nail polish. I should not be bored with that many bottles of nail polish. As a result, I tend to use the bottles of nail polish that are most recent, because I never know what to wear. As much as I love nail polish, I’m also starting to feel like it’s becoming a huge problem, for those reasons. It’s more than I could ever possibly wear.

It’s the nice thing about getting new nail polish every month: I don’t really think about what I’m going to wear, because I’m good for most of the month. But when you have enough nail polish to wear a different color every week for around a year-and-a-half with no repeats and I get bored…that’s not good either. It means there’s a lot of nail polish that I’m not wearing.

I love getting it, I really do. But lately, I’ve been skipping it, because I’m not into any of the colors. It’s either something I know I wouldn’t wear and/or wouldn’t look good on me because I’m too fair-skinned to pull it off (wintermint) or it’s something similar to other shades I already have (eggplant or charcoal grey). Even when there are colors I like that aren’t similar to ones I already have (a grey-ish teal), I’m not in love with it to take a chance on it.

For New Years, I did my nails in several different metallic/chrome colors- gold and silver mostly, with some glitter. The two different shades of silver I picked? I am utterly convinced they are the exact shade of silver. If I didn’t know they were two completely bottles, I never would have known that they were two different bottles. I don’t need 3 slightly different variations of navy blue or silver or eggplant or any other color to the point of not being able to tell the difference once I’m actually wearing it.

As much as I love nail polish, I’m also starting to feel like it’s becoming a huge problem, for those reasons. It’s getting a bit out of control, and yet, I don’t want to give it up either.

Having skipped the last few months of Julep boxes (for reasons mentioned above), I’ve been going to my nail polish collection, which is basically what prompted this whole thing in the first place.

I started noticing that I tend to go to the same few colors whenever I don’t have a shiny new bottle of nail polish. And I realized that with the amount of nail polish I have, I really should be wearing a different color every week. And how I had so many options that I couldn’t actually pick a color.

It’s going to be a special project for 2015. Every week is going to be a different color of nail polish, and once I wear a certain color, I cannot use it for the rest of the year, regardless of when I got it. I’ve been keeping track with a spreadsheet, so I know what I’ve worn and when I wore it. Notes are also helpful. Like if a polish is thin and/or streaky and needs 2 coats for full coverage or if I find something hard to remove or something else entirely.

Taking pictures is still kind of weird, but I’m getting used to it, and I’m sure I’ll get better at it every week. Also: you really need to take pictures at the right time, because let me tell you, if I wait a few days, my nails get chipped so fast! I blame it on the fact that I deal with paper a lot at work, and then needing to wash my hands all the time. I also want them to actually look nice when I take the pictures. Be glad I lotion up before taking pictures because I refuse to inflict my dry, winter hands on y’all.

There’s part of me that’s hoping I’ll be able to weed out some of it. I still don’t know what to do with it, but I’ll cross that bridge if/when I get to it. But with the amount of colors I have, and the fact that I have bottles I’ve never worn (or barely worn), it might be good to actually weed those colors out in order to make room for colors I know I’ll wear.

And even though it’s been a few weeks, I’ve noticed that I’m much more conscious of the colors I’m picking out- I thought about doing red one week, but after looking it? It’s a good Christmas red and it would also work really well for either 4th Of July or Memorial Day or even Valentine’s Day, so I opted for a different color. I’m so much more conscious of when I wear certain colors now.

It’s definitely something I’ll be sharing throughout the year. I’m not sure how often, and if it’ll be part of my month in review posts, or a completely separate post, and if it’ll be monthly, weekly, or every few months. If I opt of the Maven box, I’ll likely do it in place of that (like I did in my last currently obsessed with post), but other than that, it’ll randomly pop up.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

10Feb2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romance

Posted in Top 10 Tuesday by wingedcreature

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish. Every week, bloggers from all over share their own top ten list based on the topic of the week. You can find all Top Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Come To Romance In Books

This is a great topic for Valentine’s week, and as much as I love romance, it was harder than I thought it would be, even splitting the list between things I like and dislike.

What I Like:

Forbidden Romance- there’s something about a relationship being forbidden that I really like.
2 characters who are in an established relationship at the start of the book. Not always, of course, but generally speaking, I like it. I’m not completely sure why I like it, but sometimes it’s nice to read about characters who are already together. That being said…
…I also like seeing characters fall in love. What is it about brand-new love that’s so fun to read?
People who were sworn enemies before dating. I just love this! Especially when they finally admit to liking each other.
Opposites attract! Sometimes, it’s much more fun and interesting to read.

What I Dislike:

The love triangle. I have a love-hate relationship with love triangles, and I go back and forth on how I feel about them. My biggest reason for not liking them is that a lot of times, it’s there just to add conflict and tension and feels utterly useless.
Lack of chemistry. Lately, I feel like there’s no spark between the couples in the romances I’ve been reading. Seriously, it’s like, why are they even together? I mainly have this as separate from insta-love, because they haven’t been cases of insta-love.
Speaking of Insta-love…it does get annoying. I know I’m not the only Even if/when I like the couple later on in the book, I still like all of the build-up and tension and not something that happens instantly.
The whole I love you but need to stay away from you thing. We all know the couple is going to end up together in the end. Why prolong it?
Couples who were best friends before dating. I don’t know why, but I tend to get bored with it. I can see why people like it but it’s generally not my thing.

8Feb2015

Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Published April 2014 by Putnam Juvenile|257 pages

Where I Got It: the library!

Genre: YA Paranormal/Re-telling

You can find Rebel Belle on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him–and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

What I Thought:

I can’t believe it took me so long to read Rebel Belle! After reading Hex Hall, and hearing Rachel Hawkins speak at a panel at the LA Times Festival Of Books, I really wanted to read it.

It has the same sense of humor and snark that Hex Hall has, but with Paladins and Mages and Oracles. Which I really like, because how often do you see modern-day Paladins? I really liked the tie-in to history, and how it’s the same, yet different. I really like the connection between Harper protecting David, and the similarities to a previous Paladin.

I also love that Harper is a southern belle and Homecoming Queen turned Paladin. It initially seems like an odd combination, but it also works really well, because it’s something you wouldn’t expect. I like that she initially doesn’t want to do it, but comes around. It’s not uncommon in YA to see something like this, but somehow, when Hawkins does it, it makes the character seem more real.

The world she lives in and the hilarity that ensues really reminded me of Hart Of Dixie, which is one of my favorite t.v. shows! If you love Hart Of Dixie, I think you’ll like this book. But with paranormal goings on, of course.

I liked Harper, especially once she stopped being Little Miss Perfect. She had her life perfectly planned out, and I liked that she struggled with things not going as planned, and that she seemed more okay with it by the end of the book. I also liked that she had to work with someone she didn’t like, but eventually warms up to. Like, a lot. Granted, it’ll make things awkward, with how the book ends, but I’m also curious about how that will play out in the rest of the series. I like seeing Harper adapt to new situations but I also understand her wanting to be perfect. I didn’t completely love her (or the romance…the first one) but she’s still a great character.

Her boyfriend throughout most of the book didn’t work for me, so I’m actually glad they’re not together. I’m not completely sure about her new romance either, but that works so much better for me. It seems so much more believable and they have more chemistry than she had with her previous boyfriend. They do seem better matched, and not just because of everything going on.

Let’s Rate It:

Rebel Belle was so much fun to read! It’s a really good balance of the slightly serious and the really entertaining sarcasm and hilarity. Rebel Belle gets 4 stars.

6Feb2015

Book Review: Prisoner Of Night And Fog by Anne Blackman

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Prisoner Of Night And Fog by Anne Blackman

Published April 2014 by Balzer + Bray|305 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Series: Prisoner Of Night And Fog #1

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

You can find Prisoner Of Night And Fog on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

A gripping historical thriller set in 1930s Munich, Prisoner of Night and Fog is the evocative story of an ordinary girl faced with an extraordinary choice in Hitler’s Germany. Fans of Code Name Verity will love this novel full of romance, danger, and intrigue!

Gretchen Müller grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her uncle Dolf—who has kept her family cherished and protected from that side of society ever since her father sacrificed his life for Dolf’s years ago. Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.

When she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen, who claims that her father was actually murdered by an unknown comrade, Gretchen doesn’t know what to believe. She soon discovers that beyond her sheltered view lies a world full of shadowy secrets and disturbing violence.

As Gretchen’s investigations lead her to question the motives and loyalties of her dearest friends and her closest family, she must determine her own allegiances—even if her choices could get her and Daniel killed.

What I Thought:

Prisoner Of Night And Fog is a book I’ve wanted to read for a while, and I’m glad I finally read it! I really liked it.

One of the things that I loved about this book, and what I think sets it apart from a lot of 1930’s/WW2 historical fiction, is that it’s about a girl who’s super close to Hitler. I feel like that’s pretty unique, because it seems like so many books set during this time aren’t from the perspective of a girl who see Hitler as an uncle-type person, and who grew up so close to the Nazi Party. I really liked seeing his rise to power through Gretchen’s eyes, and how she saw him and what he stood for change so much over the course of the book. Especially as she learned what really happened the day her father died and how she couldn’t turn to him for help after things went horribly wrong with her brother. I liked that her beliefs changed by the end of the book, and while it seemed like they changed awfully fast, it also made sense for this story.

I also liked how her life and Daniel’s life intersected with history. It made the history seem so much more real because you felt for these characters and saw what things were like for them.

I didn’t quite feel their romance- we know so much about Gretchen, and it her story we see in this book, but I also felt like I didn’t really get to know Daniel enough to be fully invested. Still, I liked that he played a role in helping Gretchen challenge her beliefs about the world around her. I especially like it because it’s set during a time when things were changing so fast in Germany, and things got to what we see in World War 2.

The fact that there’s something very inner circle about this book…it makes it stand out to me, because I feel like it’s not something we see. It’s a very different perspective, and I really liked that. Which I think is obvious by now, because I feel like that’s all I can talk about.

I’m actually glad that this is the first in a series, because I want to know what is in store for Gretchen and Daniel, with everything that happened.

I also loved the author’s note and the end, and that Blackman even included a short bibliography. It’s really great, because she directs to books where you can learn more. Plus, it felt like she really knew the historical details, and did a lot of research. It really showed throughout the book.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked Prisoner Of Night And Fog, especially because I feel like we get a perspective we don’t normally get with Nazi Germany. I didn’t love the romance, but I’m hoping I warm up to it in the other books, because I feel like there’s a lot of cute and potential in terms of the romance. Prisoner Of Night And Fog gets 4 stars.

5Feb2015

Book Review: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Posted in Books, diverse books by wingedcreature

Book: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Published April 2014 by Simon & Schuster|274 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before #1

Genre: YA Contemporary

Check out To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.

They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

What I Thought:

After loving Han’s Summer trilogy, I’ve been wanting to read everything else she’s written, and this one was one that I was anxiously waiting to read!

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked it, but it took me a while to get into the book. There’s quite a bit of set-up, so you know what’s going on, and why the letters get sent. In a lot of ways, I think I was expecting the nostalgia that I felt with her previously mentioned series, and while there are some similarities, it’s also a different book.

I know the letters are what spur a lot of the events in the book, but I really expected more with the letters. I really thought they’d be huge. Them getting mailed was big, of course, but…I don’t know, I just expected something more with them, that’s all.

I thought Lara Jean was interesting- it very much seemed like her sister took care of so much after their mother died. Lara Jean did too, but it really felt like Lara Jean couldn’t do anything without Margot sometimes. I did like seeing her try to figure things out herself, and how she and Kitty did some of their annual Christmas traditions without Margot. I get Margot maybe feeling a little hurt or left out…but I kind of also liked seeing them with her.

There was a point where Lara Jean and Josh were super-irritating, and it was Peter who acted pretty realistically during that whole thing. Lara Jean seemed super-innocent (which I can relate to) and I understand why she acted the way she did (same with Josh but to a much lesser degree) but I still felt like it was a bit excessive. Also, her friendship with Chris didn’t make a lot of sense to me- and considering they were best friends, I kind of expected something more with their friendship.

I wasn’t a big fan of the drama in it. Sometimes, I don’t mind drama, but I guess I wasn’t in the mind for it with this book. And while I plan on reading the sequel, I’m also not sure about it. I feel like this book stands on its own really well, and with an extra chapter for closure, I think it would have been fine without a sequel. But I love Jenny Han as an author, so I’ll definitely be giving it a chance. It is why I kept going with this book, even though I wasn’t sure about it at first.

Even though I wasn’t sure about this book at first, I did like seeing the letters and what happened as a result of Kitty mailing them. It was pretty obvious early on who did it, but I liked seeing Lara Jean deal with all of the Peter stuff and Josh stuff, and how her relationships with her sisters changed (even though I wanted more resolution with Margot because I felt like we got none).

Let’s Rate It:

It is a cute, sweet book and I liked that it was all about crushes! I wish that letters were more of a thing in the book, and I felt like it started off slow, but it did become what I’d expect from a Jenny Han book. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before gets 4 stars.

3Feb2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten History Books I Want To Read

Posted in Top 10 Tuesday by wingedcreature

Top Ten History Books I Still Need To Read

This week we get to talk all about books we need to catch up on! I really like history, but I don’t read a lot of it, so I have a ton of books that I’ve been wanting to read but never seem to get around to actually reading them. Here are 10 books about history I really need to read, especially since all of the books I picked this week are ones I own.

The Feud: The Hatfields And McCoy’s by Dean King. I know they didn’t get along, and that it was a 3-episode special on the History Channel, but that’s about it. I really want to learn more about them and what happened.
The Nazi Doctors by Robert Jay Lifton. This seems like an interesting book, and there is something really interesting about a lot of the stuff that the Nazi’s did. I don’t know anything about the medical side of things, and this book makes it seem really fascinating.
Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII’s Obsession by Elizabeth Norton. Of his 6 wives, Anne is really interesting, especially with what Henry had to do in order to marry her.
Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild by David Stenn. I can’t remember how I heard about this book, but after hearing the episode that The History Chicks did on her, I was even more interested in reading about her. (Side Note: I’ve actually found a lot of interesting sounding book because of them)
Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen Of France by Leonie Frieda. I know the de Medici name, but I know nothing about the family. And I love Reign, which makes me want to learn more about her!
Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. I randomly picked this up at Barnes & Noble one day, because I remember nothing about Bunker Hill.
The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel. After seeing the movie, and learning that it was based on events that I never knew about, I knew I had to read this. I think it’s so cool that there were people tasked with the job of saving art from the Nazi’s.
The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings And Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones. I’m really into Tudor history, and this name comes up a lot. I also don’t know a lot about them, and this book seems like a good place to start.
The Life And Death Of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives. Like I said with the Elizabeth Norton book, Anne Boleyn is really interesting, and I think it’s even more interesting when you can see how different people write about one person.
The Heart Of Everything That Is: The Untold Story Of Red Cloud by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. I don’t know a lot about Native American history, and basically, anything I learned in school didn’t stick. This one sounds really good!

1Feb2015

Currently Obsessed With: January Has Passed

Posted in Currently Obsessed With by wingedcreature

Currently Obsessed With is a once-a-month (but sometimes more) feature where I talk about my favorite things from the last month.

Nails/Beauty:

Yet again, I opted out of the Julep Maven box for January (but I did get February’s box!). Instead, I have pictures of the polish I’ve worn for the last month, since one of my goals for the year is to wear a different color every week, with no repeats allowed.

I really liked the SpaRitual one, and it makes me think of oceans and mermaids and (randomly) Elsa from Frozen. I did notice it was thin, and needed 2 coats for more even coverage, but overall, I think it might be my favorite I’ve worn this month. But Octavia and Into The Night are pretty. And I used a matte top coat for Into The Night- although I wished I had thought of at least one nail just on its own, but it’s basically what you see in the picture but not matte. As for Catrina…I didn’t really like it. I mean, yellow is an awesome color, but this shade didn’t work for me. I think I’m much too pale to wear it.

I also need to take pictures same day or within a day or two of doing my nails. Clearly, there were a couple weeks when I was feeling too lazy to take a picture, given there were some chipped nails. But perfectly polished nails can be over-rated. Let’s be real, with the cooking and hand-washing I do throughout the day, my nails get chipped.

Crochet:

I’ve been crocheting up a storm! Remember that super-secret project I was working on? I can talk about it now!

I made a baby blanket for my cousin, and it turned out well! Except for the part where I got half done, realized it was super-crooked to the point that nothing would make it more straight, and had to re-do half of it. I am amazed of the magic that borders work, which straightened it out to the point that I think only I would notice. It turned out so well, and I loved the blue. Also: the grey was great, and I’m glad I picked grey instead of the sandstone the pattern recommended. I do wish the white was a brighter white, because I think the blue and grey would stand out more, but the softer white is a cozy baby blanket kind of white. Plus, the white was a pound of white, and the last thing I need is more white yarn.

I took a little bit of a crochet break, because I was feeling burnt out after making a baby blanket, but now I’m back to crocheting! I’m doing a ton of smaller projects, because my brain and my hands cannot handle something bigger. So a blanket I started almost a year ago is on hold again.

I’ve made a couple of cowls- one in Hufflepuff colors (black and yellow) and a grey/variegated yarn. I like both, but the grey/multi-colored yarn is really pretty! Why is grey + color so awesome? Seriously, it is. I have no idea how I managed to twist the multi-colored- it seemed to happen somewhere in the making of it, and not in the chain. Either way, I love the colors. I also started on a hat for St. Patrick’s Day (which reminds me that I need to start on something for Valentine’s Day), and it’s the unfinished green thing you see in the middle.

Books:

I’m trying really hard to not buy books, because I have so many books that I haven’t even read yet! It didn’t completely work, because I did get some e-books- California by Edan Lepucki, Grounded by G.P. Ching, Love Is The Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson and Open Road Summer by Emery Lord, plus I pre-ordered Breaker by Emma Raveling. Still, because I have a tendency to buy books only to not read them, I’ve decided to not buy a ton of books this year. I can’t do a complete book ban, but I definitely want to reserve buying books that I know I am genuinely excited about and know I’ll read right away. Or if I’m going to a book signing. Like in March, when Gail Carriger is doing a book signing here in San Diego! I am super-excited about that. As for audible, I got Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres, and I’ve been interested in reading it ever since I read a book by the same author about Jonestown.

TV:

I haven’t really watched much t.v. this month. For the most part, I’m randomly watching stuff on Hulu as it comes up, and there’s only a handful of things I’m keeping up with right now. I’ve been watching the currently airing season of Downton Abbey, which I’m so going to have to re-watch, because I’m somewhere in season 2, and I’m sort of confused about what’s going on, and yet I still want to watch it. And I’ve been watching NCIS and Sleepy Hollow and American Horror Story because I know they’re on.

I just really dislike the t.v. season once Christmas is over, because it feels like 1 or 2 weeks of new episodes followed by, like, 3 weeks of re-runs. It’s annoying, and makes me not want to watch t.v, since it feels like everything is on at the most random times.

Around The Internet:

So many things! Check out my pinterest board for everything I’ve pinned- although it is annoying when I want to pin something, and can’t because there’s no picture. Thankfully, it’s not often, but I may have to bookmark those and share them.

Still, I liked that there’s this guy that took pictures of what people were reading on the subway.

If I were a children’s book, it would be Everyone Poops. Here’s what this says about me, taken directly from the quiz: You’re the cynical one with a sarcastic sense of humor. You always keep it real, even if it grosses people out. You’re basically a star. This is definitely an amusing quiz.*

*I am definitely not cynical, and while I try to keep it real, I don’t do it to the point of grossing people out…I hope. As for the sarcastic sense of humor, let’s just say that my nickname is Snark Ninja for a reason.

Time’s 100 Best YA Novels is a slideshow, as is their 100 Best Children’s Books. (If you want a non-slideshow version, the two links below have it in list form, although if you google it, I’m sure you’d find a list with no problem). I’m generally not critical of these kinds of lists, but these 2 have left me with so many questions and thoughts. Their definition of children’s books seems oddly specific while YA is very vague and broad, and how they apply it is super-inconsistent. Some series get one entry, while other series have multiple entries. Some authors get several books, while others only get one. Basically, I want to know more about the selection process.

And one final thing, since my mini-rant is over: an interesting article about how diversity isn’t reflected on the Times’ Best Of YA list, with a focus on how Native Americans are portrayed in some of the books on the list. She also has one for the Children’s list. It’s interesting to think about (especially for me, because it’s not something I’ve HAD to think about).

Music:

I finally got 1989, which, for those who don’t know, is the new Taylor Swift album. I’m super-late to that album, but I’ve been listening to it on repeat for days. Days, I tell you! I rarely buy full albums for actual artists- usually full albums are soundtracks, but given how much I love Blank Space and Shake It Off…and the tail end of her new single, I knew I had to get it.

It’s Taylor Swift, but more subtle. Any song would do well as a single. I have my favorites (Style, Out Of The Woods, Bad Blood and Wildest Dreams) but I honestly can (and have) listened to the entire album over and over and over. And I’m still not sick of it. It really is her best album yet…but if you hate that Taylor Swift has gone pop, and thought she was better when she was country (I know you’re out there), you really need to give it a chance!

Other than Taylor Swift, I haven’t really listened to a lot of music. I hate the remix of Hanging Tree that’s randomly been playing on the radio. Can we stop remixing songs just because we can? Because if there’s a song that shouldn’t be remixed, it is that song.

I am leaving you with Take Me To Church by Hozier. I so need the entire album, especially if it’s anything like this song.

Happy February!

30Jan2015

Book Review: Atlantia by Ally Condie

Posted in Books by wingedcreature

Book: Atlantia by Ally Condie

Published October 2014 by Penguin|220 pages

Where I Got It: I checked out the e-book from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-telling, with subtle hints of dystopia

Check out Atlantia on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the corrupted system constructed to govern the Divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

What I Thought:

I liked Atlantia! I do have mixed feelings about it, but overall, I liked it.

I really liked the world of Atlantia. To me, there were very strong feelings of a lost, ancient civilization driven underwater- to the point that it feels very much like an Atlantis re-telling. Partly because of the world, but mostly because of the name.

Still, as much as I loved Atlantia, and the idea of it, I still couldn’t picture completely in my mind. I mean, I used my imagination quite a bit, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I also felt like the descriptions in the book didn’t come to life. There were also things that didn’t make a lot of sense. Like how people had to go undersea because things on land were really bad…and yet they survival under water depends on those that they send above.

I’m also curious about the sirens. They are there, and some people are just born that way, but no explanation is given. Well, that I can recall, because if there is one, it clearly didn’t stick. I did want more from this world, and since the book is a stand-alone, we don’t get to go into this world that much. For a stand-alone, though, it’s okay.

I feel like this book was more about Rio finding her voice than anything else. I feel like the relationship that Rio has with Bay is something a lot of people will focus on with this book, but I honestly didn’t care about their relationship. Bay seemed like a horrible sister, in that she made Rio promise to stay, knowing she wanted to go above, only to do so herself. While I get that things needed to go a certain way for Rio, and that I’m an only child so I have no clue what it’s like to have a sibling, I still felt like their relationship didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Really, I’m not sure how I feel about any of the characters. It felt like like they were just…kind of…there. I didn’t really care about what happened to any of them, and I felt like I didn’t really get to know them at all.

Let’s Rate It:

While I liked the idea of Atlantia, and how Atlantia felt, I didn’t really care about the characters. And I really wish we knew more about this world, because I kind of felt like I supposed to know every single detail about this world despite the fact that we get the very basics on Atlantia and everything that happened. Still, Atlantia gets 3 stars.

29Jan2015

Book Review: I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Posted in Books, diverse books by wingedcreature

Book: I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

Published September 2014 by Dial|259 pages

Where I Got It: I checked out the e-book from the library!

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary/LGBT

Check out I’ll Give You The Sun on goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways…until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

What I Thought:

After reading The Sky Is Everywhere ages ago and loving it and anxiously awaiting Jandy Nelson’s next book, I finally read I’ll Give You The Sun.

Unfortunately, I’m kind of torn between not really liking it and thinking it was okay. I really wanted to like it more, because I did love The Sky Is Everywhere.

I did like that Noah and Jude narrated the book. It’s different from a lot of other multiple narrators in that Noah and Jude are on a different timelines. Because I don’t pay attention to summaries or anything, I thought it meant that Noah had died or something really bad happened to him because of that timeline, and it took a while for me to realize he was still alive. But then I was more confused, because if he’s alive, why didn’t he really appear in Jude’s timeline?

It is an interesting way to tell a story, but it didn’t completely work for me. On the one hand, I do kind of like that they have two different pieces of the story, but at the same time, I felt like the story wasn’t completely there for me because of it.

I just don’t know how I feel about I’ll Give You The Sun. I was expecting something that more like The Sky Is Everywhere, which I connected so much with, and I really wanted that connection in this book. That connection did happen, but not until the last 4 or 5 pages, and at that point, I wondered where that was for the rest of the novel.

I didn’t care for Noah or Jude, and I found that Noah randomly titling the scene as a painting to be really annoying, while Jude’s tendency to quote her grandmother’s book was quite. I did feel for Noah, and I understand how and why he became the person he did. He had a lot to deal with, especially since Noah is gay, and we see him struggle with how he presents himself to the world. With Jude, I felt like she stayed relatively the same. They didn’t feel genuine in the way the characters in her previous novel did.

Let’s Rate It:

Overall, I’ll Give You The Sun just isn’t my book. I thought the way the story was told was interesting, and a big part of why I kept reading was because 1- I loved the author’s previous book to pieces and gave this one a chance that I probably would not have given it otherwise, and 2- I did want to know what happened and why things fell apart. I think this book turned out okay for me. I’ll Give You The Sun gets 2 stars.

27Jan2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’d Love To Read If I Were In A Book Club

Posted in Top 10 Tuesday by wingedcreature

Top Ten Books I’d Love To Read If I Were In A Book Club

I am not in a book club, and I’m actually quite surprised that I am not in one. If I were in a book club, it would be one weird book club (in terms of good weird people and totally random books). These are the books I’d want to read…because there are a lot of books I’ve been meaning to read and never do.

The Pennyroyal Green series by Julie Ann Long. I’ve been meaning to read it for ages, because I hear so many people say really good things about it!
Skip Beat. I don’t read a lot of manga (I’ve only read most of Fruits Basket and one called The Dreaming) but I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while.
It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. This is another book I’ve been meaning to read for ages and never seem to get around to reading. It really does seem like a book I’d like.
Compromised by Kate Noble. I read Revealed by her quite a while ago, and I definitely want to read more of her books. This one seems a good a choice as any.
The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. I’m intrigued by the idea of a girl who ends up in the hospital not knowing why she’s there.
The Feud: The Hatfields And The McCoy’s by Dean King. Really, I know the names, and that’s about it. Besides, every book club needs something educational every once in a while, right? (Okay, maybe not, but this is my fictional book club, so the answer is definitely yes).
House Of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. I’ve heard that this a really bizarre book, and since I like things that are really weird, I’d totally want to read this in a book club.
Throne Of Glass by Sarah Maas. So many people love it, and it would be nice to actually read it so I know what people are talking about.
Talons by Julie Kagawa. It’s a book about dragons! And it’s by Julie Kagawa! It sounds like it’s going to be awesome. You can’t go wrong with either.
Among The Janeites by Deborah Yaffe. It seems like a great book club book. Plus, it’s about the Jane Austen fandom, and you can’t go wrong with that!

Reading Books With Coffee

Where My Love Of Coffee And My Love Of YA Intersect

Currently Obsessed With: Nail Polish!

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