Top Ten Tuesday: Words That Make Me Buy A Book Instantly

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is : Top Ten Books That Make Me Instantly Buy a Book.

1. Road-Trip - I loooove me some travel books and road trips are so much fun! I can't wait to go on a road trip with my friends after graduation so I love these kind of books!

2. Mental Illnesses - I'm not sure how to exactly describe what I'm saying, but if I find a book with the main character who has depression or is bipolar or something like that, I automatically go for it.

3. London - I will pick it up and I will imagine I am there. London is my favourite city, so anything about it is going to be MINE!

4. 1920's - I love this time period! I find it so interesting and the books set in the 20's are always so fabulous!

5. Marie Antoinette - She intrigues me and I love learning about her, but if I find a fiction book about her, I usually snatch it up right away!

6. Canada - There aren't a ton of YA novels set in Canada so I love seeing one that is. If it's about anything I find interesting, it's a no brainer that it will be on my shelf!

7. Music - I love books about music because it's so nice discovering new music and also enjoying the references to stuff I already like!

8. Travel - Like I said in #1, I love travel books! I can explore new places through words!

9. Time Travel - Guys, as soon as there's time travel in a book, it's already in my hands and I'm reading. I LOVE time travel books!

10. Greek Mythology - I love reading about the gods and goddesses of Olympus and spin offs about them are usually a lot of fun!

Leave me a link to your TTT this week and I'll check it out!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Author: Lauren Morrill

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Page Count: 304 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: November 13th 2012

Find it on Goodreads: Meant to Be

Source: Purchased

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question. 
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

I was extremely excited for this book when I heard about it, as I get excited about any book set in London, but I was sadly disappointed. I didn't hate it, but didn't love it. 

Meant to Be was a really quick read for me and sadly that wasn't a good thing. It was pretty predictable from the start and not what I was expecting. Actually, while I knew it was probably going to be cheesy, I don't know what I was thinking it would be like! Just not this! And while I didn't NOT like this book, it definitely was not my favourite and that kind of sucks because I was so excited about it!

One of my main reasons for not liking this book as much as I wanted was the main character, Julia. I found her to be extremely annoying and seriously, the fact that she was still in love with a guy that she hadn't seen or spoken to in ten years? Ridiculous. While some of the things she said and did were relatable, like bringing her pocket Shakespeare everywhere, there were others that I found seriously irritating and I just couldn't truly connect with Julia.

Then there was Jason and from the very beginning, I predicted what was going to happen. There was just no big twist that shocked me and I hate it when a book falls flat. There were definitely a few parts that I really enjoyed, like when Jason took Julia to the skate area with all of the graffiti. That was really cute and I loved all of the Beatles references in the book! And the Shakespeare! But there were also decisions that Julia made that I didn't understand at all and Jason was kind of off and on for me. 

I'm not too sure if I do recommend this.... It was okay I guess. Really fluffy, pretty predictable, but with neat references and I adored the fact that it was set in London. 

.5

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Short Story: The Prince by Kiera Cass

Short Story Saturday was created by 365 Days of Reading. Because I post my hauls on Saturdays, I shall be posting any Short Story reviews on Sundays! I won't have a SSS up every single Sunday.

ebook
64 pages
Published March 5th 2013 
HarperTeen
Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the Selection...

Before Aspen broke America's heart...

There was another girl in Prince Maxon's life...
Don't miss this thrilling 128-page original novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling novel The Selection. Also features a teaser to The Elite, Kiera Cass's hotly anticipated sequel to The Selection.

I started this in preparation for The Elite, hoping it would be kind of a nice re-introduction to the world of Maxon and America and    am glad to say this book was very enjoyable!

Going into The Prince, I was expecting more of a secret romance type thing of the past, that Maxon hides from everyone, but it was a bit different. There wasn't a lot that actually happened in The Prince, but it was nice to get a bit of a peek into the mind of Illea's most eligible bachelor!


Maxon was a cool protagonist. I love male POVs and Maxon's was fantastic just because he's so proper and yet also awkward and funny and I just adore him!

I definitely enjoyed The Prince and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed The Selection!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Stacking the Shelves (35)

Stacking the Shelves is a book haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews -This is a great way for us to share what books we added to our shelves each


For Review (Ebooks):

Thank you to Simon Pulse!!!!!

Traded:

 Thanks so much for trading with me, Christine! I've been looking forward to reading The Future of Us and have read Twenty Boy Summer so many times, it's about time I had my own copy!

 
Won: 

This came as a total surprise but I was so happy to see it! Thanks HarperCollins!

Purchased:

 I got The Cardturner for $5 at Coles and THE ELITE IS OUT FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! I read it in a day and loved it! Review to come!

Leave me a link to your haul this week and I'll check it out! I'd love to see what you got!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

TGIF: Organizing the Bookshelf

Hi everyone! This week's TGIF is going to be quick!

In my bedroom I have two bookshelves. One wide, with five shelves, another skinny with six. The wide one has all my YA books on it and the skinny one has my ARCs, classics, Harry Potter shelf, non fiction and MG/adult novels. My YA shelves are SO cramped in space and they're starting to dip a bit from the weight! o.O I want to know:

How do you organize your books?

I currently have my YA books organized by the author's last name and then the first shelf is my TBR shelf. I like this setup, but I am open to suggestions if you have any! I have a lot of my books stacked on top of each other and random books scattered around my room as well....

But I need them to be organized and I have yet to find a system I like.... Let me know in the comments how you organize your shelves! I'd love to know!


Happy Friday!
~Kristy

Guest Review: Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Hey guys! If you remember, last year my friend Turner reviewed one of his favourite books on here and today I'm featuring him again for another favourite of his! If you're interested in writing a guest post or review, let me know!

Author: Anonymous

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Page Count: 213 pages, Paperback

Date Published: December 27th 2005 (First Published 1971)

Find it on Goodreads: Go Ask Alice

January 24th 

After you've had it, there isn't even life without drugs....

It started when she was served a soft drink laced with LSD in a dangerous party game. Within months, she was hooked, trapped in a downward spiral that took her from her comfortable home and loving family to the mean streets of an unforgiving city. It was a journey that would rob her of her innocence, her youth -- and ultimately her life.

Read her diary. 

Enter her world.

You will never forget her.

For thirty-five years, the acclaimed, bestselling first-person account of a teenage girl's harrowing decent into the nightmarish world of drugs has left an indelible mark on generations of teen readers. As powerful -- and as timely -- today as ever, Go Ask Alice remains the definitive book on the horrors of addiction

A Guest Review of Go Ask Alice by Turner!

Author: Anonymous (Beatrice Sparks)

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Page Count: 214

Date Published: March 5^th, 1971

January 24^th:
After you’ve had it, there isn’t even life without drugs…

Go Ask Alice

The harrowing true story of a teenager’s descent into the seductive world of drugs. A diary so honest you may think you know Alice –or someone like her. Read her diary. Enter her world. You’ll never be able to forget Alice.

Hey guys, it’s me again! I’ve wanted to come back and write another review for Kristy, and I couldn’t help but do it on one of, in my mind at least, BEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME.

Go Ask Alice tells the story of a 1970’s teenaged girl, dealing with her parents, sexuality, school, and drugs. Whether or not it ever was a proper journal has yet to be seen, as the author, Beatrice Sparks, has said she did in fact add sections for drama in some of her other “journal” books, such as Jay’s Journal. Despite the confusion, it’s survived the test of time, after being published 42 years ago, and has been read by millions.

I was very happy with how this novel was written, from the perspective of Carla. THAT’S ANOTHER POINT. Despite the book being titled Go Ask Alice, the “Alice” character is only mentioned briefly, after the narrator just picks up her bags and leaves home, and ends up in Coos Bay, Oregon. One sentence in the diary may, or may not, state the diarist’s name; “Daddy can’t come, he’s humping Carla”. This was after the mother of “Carla’s” boyfriend’s son asked her child to get his father for supper. All I can say is this encounter did not end well for “Carla” (I use the quotations because her name has never been confirmed).

In the end, I’d give this at least 4 out of 5 stars, because the journal has thought me why I shouldn’t even try illegal drugs. LISTEN UP KIDS, DRUGS ARE BAD. Thanks for your time J

Keep on reading,

Turner

Showers of Books Giveaway Hop!

Hey guys! This hop is  Co-hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Books à la Mode! I have never done one of Kathy's giveaway hops, but this one lands in a time frame with my 16th birthday (April 29th) in it, so I thought I'd do this cutely named hop to celebrate!


Rules:

• The winner can win any book that is equivalent to 15$ (CAD) or £10 (GBP)
• Fill in the Rafflecopter below (PLEASE do not leave personal info in the comments!)
• The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL as long as The Book Depository ships to your country for free (click HERE to check)
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, please ask your parent/guardian for permission first.
• As TBD is sending out the prize, I am not responsible for books lost or damaged in the post
• Giveaway runs from 24/04/2013 to 30/04/2013 12:01 am EST. 
• The winner will be contacted by email and must reply within 48 hours, otherwise an alternate winner will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Happy reading and good luck!
~Kristy

Belonging Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway!

I left everything I knew behind.
But it was worth it. He was worth it.
No one thought an ordinary girl like me would last two minutes living with the Amish, not even me. There are a lot more rules and a lot less freedom, and I miss my family and the life I once had. Worst of all, Noah and I aren't even allowed to see each other. Not until I've proven myself.
If I can find a way to make it work, we'll be NOAH & ROSE
together forever.
But not everybody believes this is where I belong.

Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Indiebound

About Karen Ann Hopkins

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.

Facebook, Goodreads, Blog

Excerpt from Belonging, A Wild Night, Amish Style

“Did you hear that?” Miranda whispered.

            Dead silence filled the room after her words.  I craned my neck to listen for any sounds, turning my ear in the direction of the doorway that Suzanna had said led to the stairway.

            “Was it coming from up there?” I pointed at the black opening in the wall.

            Miranda shook her head, “Outside.”  She spoke so low that it was as if I were lip reading to understand her.

            The four of us moved closer together until our arms were brushing.  Summer reached out taking my hand into her sweaty ones and held tightly. 

            I was not usually a scaredy-cat sort of person, but at that moment my heart was pounding madly against my chest.  The sudden dawning that here we were, four teenage girls out in the middle of the woods in a broken down old spook house, sent an adrenaline rush coursing through my veins.  My sharpened senses caught the scraping against the outside wall, followed by a wailing sound that sent the image of a cat having its heart carved out past my vision. 

            Instantly, our arms all tangled around each other and I could feel Summer shaking beside me.    Her face was hiding against my shoulder. 

            I was afraid, but I was also pissed off.  We were supposed to be having a fun girl’s night out, but instead we’d ended up in a Halloween sequel.  I was not going to let whatever was out there, ruin my evening—or kill any of us.

            I disengaged from Summer about the same time the loud stomping could be heard on the front porch.  Quicker than I thought my fear frozen legs would carry me I had the long skinny board that was beside the fire in my hand and I was in the shadow of the doorway.

            I didn’t have to wait more than a second when the door flung open to reveal three dark figures crashing into the room.  I wasn’t sure if the screaming was coming from the intruders or the girls, but either way it was too loud to think.  That’s when I swung the board as hard as I could manage.  The thud of hitting something solidly jolted my arm, causing some pain, but I didn’t care about that.  The human sob that followed my well placed blow brought me to my senses.

“Damn it. I’ve been attacked.  I think I’m bleeding.”

            The voice was mildly familiar.

            “Oh, you poor dear,” Suzanna cooed to the psychopath, wrapping her arms around him as she led him to the fire.  Her voice changed to a shrill yell when she addressed me. “What are you, Rose, one of those Amazon women Summer’s always talking about?”

            Everything happened rather fast at the point she said my name.  Before Suzanna had even finished her sentence, I was being swept up into a bone crushing embrace—by Noah.  

I knew his arms, his chest, and his scent. 

            I squealed in delight as he picked me off the floor and swung me around, my face buried in his neck.  When he stopped, his mouth found mine and the urgency of the kiss left me breathless.  This was turning out to be a better night than I could have ever imagined.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Thought I'd Like More/Less

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is : Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like More/Less.

With these books, it wasn't that I didn't like them, but they just didn't meet my expectations... A bit disappointing! 

With these five, I was really hesitant to start them because of various reasons... I was just so nervous I wouldn't like them! Now I love them!

Leave me a link to your TTT this week and I'll check it out!

Happy reading

~Kristy

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Page Count: 391 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: March 5th 2013

Find it on Goodreads: Requiem

Source: Purchased 

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.
Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.
After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

This review contains slight spoilers for those who have not yet read Delirium and Pandemonium.

It's really hard for me to review Requiem, as it is the final installment in one of my favourite dystopian series of all time. I loved this trilogy and I thought its finale was fantastic. 

I was extremely nervous going into Requiem, as Pandemonium left off on such a huge cliff-hanger, it wasn't even funny. If you're hoping for a LOT of romance in this book, you'll probably be disappointed, but I personally liked the fact that the romance was pretty subtle and not the entire story. There was a lot of contemplation within the head of Lena about Alex and Julian, but not a ton of interaction. I enjoyed reading Lena's thoughts on it all and her struggles with the decision. Lena is an amazing character and I was so scared to say good bye to her. She has grown so much in this trilogy and I loved being in her mind. 

The story in Requiem focuses a lot on the rebellion and them trying to overtake the government. It is told in both Lena's perspective, in the Wilds, as well as Hana's POV, as she prepares for her wedding to the young mayor of Portland. I really enjoyed reading Hana's chapters, as it gave the reader a look into the cured's mind and what it was like. I loved the contrast between Hana's robotic-like thoughts (although still something a bit more than robot...) and Lena's mind as a fighter in the rebellion. Oliver is of course amazing at cliff-hangers and she leaves little ones at the end of the chapters, so that the reader has to wait and read the other POV's chapter beforehand. 

I know a lot of people didn't like Requiem because of how it ended, but personally, I thought it was perfect. It was a classic Oliver cliff-hanger, but not so dramatic that you're desperate to find out more. It closed off the series with a sense of mystery as to what comes next, but it's up for you to decide. Who does Lena choose? Does the Resistance win? Is Hana going to be defective? You decide. I think if this book had been concluded in a nice and tidy, all wrapped up and ready to go kind of way, it wouldn't have given off the same feeling that this conclusion did. With the fact that the reader is still left wondering what will happen, but has a sense of it, Requiem was a beautiful finale and I loved it to no end.

Requiem was written beautifully, in Oliver's graceful prose. It was not a disappointment, when it comes to conclusions, but I am so disappointed that this trilogy has come to an end. Although, I am excited to see how the TV show turns out!

Let me know what you thought of this finale and if you haven't read this trilogy, do you want to? Are you excited for the TV series?

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Stacking the Shelves (34)

Stacking the Shelves is a book haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews -This is a great way for us to share what books we added to our shelves each

For Review (ebook):

 Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Flux Books!

Won: 

Yes it's my third copy of the book, but oh well! Thank you to Kristilyn @ Reading in Winter!

That's my haul for the week! Leave me a link to yours and I'll check it out!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

TGIF: Do You Sneak a Peek?

Happy Friday, guys! This week I was talking to a friend about books (no surprise there) and he told me that before he starts a book, he reads the last chapter...

ACTUALLY?! AND THEN I tweeted about it and another friend of mine tweeted back and said she does the same thing!

Do any of you do that?! I can't imagine reading the entire last chapter before even starting a book.... Isn't it ruined?!

I mean, I'll admit, if I'm getting bored with the book, I will sometimes skip ahead a few chapters and try and see if anything remotely interesting is coming up, so that I have a reason to keep reading. But I always go back to where I was, or put the book down.

SO my question this week is:

Do you sneak a peek before starting the book? Do you skim through or read the last chapter or something similar? Or do you just start at the beginning and READ, every time? What are your thoughts on this?

I'm really curious to know what you guys think of this... I want to know! So leave me a comment below, telling me about your peeking habits!

Happy Friday!
~Kristy

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Dutton Books

Page Count: 338 pages, Paperback

Date Published: September 29th 2011

Find it on Goodreads: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Source: Purchased 

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit-more sparkly, more fun, more wild-the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighbourhood.

When Cricket-a gifted inventor-steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Quirky and sweet, this book made me smile and laugh and had my heart fluttering all over the place.

I LOVED Anna and the French Kiss. The story, the characters, the writing style, everything. So I was really hesitant to read Lola and the Boy Next Door, as I'd heard amazing things about it, as well as read disappointed reviews. I didn't want to be part of the latter, so I took the chance and absolutely adored this novel! It was cute and fluffy, but because it's Stephanie Perkins, there is another part to the story that isn't so cute and fluffy and that made the book much more real.

I really liked Lola. She was totally unique and her head was so fun to be in, most times. But she was also complex in that she has a lot of issues with her birth mother and there were certain times where my heart was breaking for Lola. She was such a girl sometimes that I kind of got irritated, as I'm not a super girly-girl, but she also was so creative and imaginative that it was really interesting to be reading her story from her POV. Then there was Cricket. TOTALLY ADORABLE. He was super quirky and awkward but also très cool. Haha I loved that he had a sense of style and that he was an inventor! He was a breath of fresh air in the world of YA, filled with leather-clad bad boys and t-shirt wearing jocks. (Don't worry, I still love me some of those, as well ;D) Cricket is definitely a guy that I could see myself swooning over in real life!

I don't have a TON to say other than the fact that I really enjoyed Lola! It wasn't AS good as Anna for me,but still adorable with a different part to it other than just the romance. This one focused a lot on her family, with her two dads (who I loved! They were really great parental figures in a book, FINALLY!) There was family drama but there was also support and love from her family and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. I liked Lola's dramatic spiels and her flashbacks, (ALTHOUGH, my Health and Career teacher snatched up my book while I was reading before class and proceeded to read ALOUD the part where 13(14?) year old Lola is swooning all over Cricket. THAT was kind of embarrassing.) and I loved that Etienne and Anna made a cameo in the book! They were actually a part of the book, not just passing through, so I thought that was totally awesome!

I'm so glad I finally read this! If you've read Anna or Lola, let me know what you think of them! Are you excited for Isla and the Happily Ever After? I AM! OR if you haven't read these books yet, do you want to? 

Happy reading!
~Kristy