15 Day Book Blogger Challenge ~ Day 2

I'm taking part in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by Good Books and Good Wine! This is a great way to get to know a bit more about the bloggers behind these book blogs!

DAY 2 -- BEDTIME READING RITUAL?

I don't have a set bedtime ritual, in the slightest. It's very rare for me to get to bed before midnight and after that, I'm usually up for a few more hours, either reading, working on the blog or watching whatever show I'm into at the moment. So, it's not a set thing, but I do like to read at least a little bit before bed every night! (Although, let's be honest... if the book is good, a little bit turns into a LONG time.

So, what usually happens:

I start to realise that most normal people are in bed right now and have been for a while, so I retire downstairs to my bedroom. 

From there, I curl up with my dog, grab my laptop and usually I'll work on the blog for a bit or watch a movie (during summer). Then, once I realise that my laptop is getting to be hotter than Ryan Gosling, I put it down and pick up my book and read and read and read until suddenly...

Oh right, it's three am and I have to be up in a few hours. Reluctantly, I put my book down and just kind of...

What's your bedtime reading ritual like? Is it something set in stone or is it dependant on the night?

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Page Count: 348 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: June 26th 2012

Find it on Goodreads: Smart Girls Get What They Want

Source: Gifted (Ebook)

Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they're missing out on the full high school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it.
Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.
These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . . .

Smart Girls Get What They Want was a quirky and fun book that I think is great as a lazy-day, summer read! It was cute and an easy read and it made me smile!

While this isn't the most memorable book I have ever read, I did enjoy it quite a bit. Gigi was a great protagonist who, while a 'nerd' in the most typical sense: school, was also well balanced in that she enjoyed other things as well as studying... As you probably know, I'm what most people would (and do) call a nerd and I'm proud of it. But that doesn't mean I'm 100% SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL. I like other things, too! (Yes, most of them are stuff like reading, sci-fi, comics, etc. but still..) But anyways, Gigi still cared about how she looked, she went on dates and she had more on her mind than just academics. I really liked Gigi. She was a good friend, funny and she was very relatable.

I loved the fact that this book mostly chronicled the three friends' journey towards getting themselves out there and not hiding away in the library anymore. The characters changed and grew as the story went on and I really appreciated the fact that it wasn't a slow and flawless process. Gigi faced her fear of public speaking, which was an extremely hard thing for her to do, but she had the help of her friends to push her through. Bea confronted her past and told her parents that their fears couldn't hold her back from her passions anymore and I truly admired her for that. Neerja did what she loved while also attempting to get closer with her longtime crush and her besties held her up through it all. The romance was sweet, as it wasn't right off the bat that Gigi is interested in the main love interest. It takes time for her to see through his exterior and her stereotypes. I thought it interesting that the author originally introduces Will, who Gigi sees as her type of guy, but she eventually sees that what's on the outside isn't enough. I really loved the growth Gigi went through in this book!

Overall, this is a good summer read that has a bit of romance, but is mainly about the journey the three girls go through towards making memories in high school and chasing their dreams, while also facing their fears. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a cute, girly read!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Top Ten Tuesday: Best/Worst Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.This week's topic  is : Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations. This is a hard one for me, because book-movie adaptations are a challenging topic when it comes to how I feel about them. Normally, when I read a book that is then turned into a movie, I try not to let how I feel about the book affect how I feel about the movie. That's why I'm actually excited about the City of Bones movie, even though I strongly disliked the book.... I'm going to do a full discussion post on this one day, soon, but I'll just quickly explain: 

I don't compare a lot of the movie to the book. Sure, if there is a significant change to the movie, I'll notice and it might make me frown, but I try not to let my feelings intermingle between the two... When there are actors and actresses playing characters I've already imagined in my head, it's hard for me to see it as the same thing. I don't know if that makes any sense, but I guess I'll just do this list as book-movie adaptations that I really enjoyed. It's not so much as how they compared to the book, but actually how the movie was. 

So, here are ten nine movie adaptations that I enjoyed, even if they weren't as good as the book/changed a lot from the book! (THESE ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

1.  Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist -- Michael Cera just... *sigh*
2. The Hunger Games -- I know, I know. A bunch of people hated the movie, but I liked it quite a bit! Jennifer Lawrence is awesome and well, even though a ton of people were disappointed, I loved Josh as Peeta.
3. Harry Potter 1-8 -- Um... DUH. These are my FAVOURITE book-to-movie adaptations of all time.
4. The Great Gatsby -- Some people hated it, some people loved it. I thought it was fantastic and was once again impressed by Baz Luhrmann's directing and of course, Leo <3
5. Pride & Prejudice -- This has been one of my favourite movies since I was eight years old. I can watch this again and again and not get bored.

6. To Kill a Mockingbird -- Such a classic, this was one we watched in school and I loved it.

7. Romeo and Juliet -- Another Baz Luhrmann and another Leo... What more can I say?

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower -- Emma Watson and Logan Lerman in one movie? Plus the beauty that is Ezra Miller? <33

9. P.S. I Love You -- This is one of my dad's favourite movies and it always reminds me of him and our trip to Ireland. 

10. Breaking Dawn pt. 2 -- I get it, people hate this series. But this book/movie series is one that I read/watched with my mum and the finale was pretty fantastic in my mind. It tore my heart in two and then put it back together and I just.... the fight scene was pretty dang cool, okay? And Robert Pattinson is one of my favourite actors, no questions asked. 

As I said, these are movies that were adapted from books I've read that I enjoyed, even if they go off from the books. I liked the movies and I'm not ashamed of that. There are more book-to-movies that I've enjoyed, but I have yet to read the book (Fight Club, Devil Wears Prada...) so I can't add it to this list. Actually, I'm going to put in a favourite Book-to-TV of mine, just because I can't leave it out... Can you guess? Probably..

11. Sherlock -- I just... I just... gahhhh

 Alright, there's my top ten of the week! Leave me a link to your top ten this week and I'll check it out!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge ~ Day 1

Hey guys! I've seen a few posts around the blogosphere about this and thought I'd join in on the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge, hosted by the lovely April at Good Books and Good Wine! It's kind of like those instagram challenges where you post a specific picture everyday for a month... but for book blogs! I love it! I'm really excited about this because I hope it's going to help get me back into the blogging groove of things!

DAY 1: 15 BOOK RELATED CONFESSIONS

1. If I find a typo/grammar error in a book, I will not hesitate to grab a pen and fix it. I just can't help it.

2. I can usually predict right away who the girl will end up with in a love triangle, even if I'm not happy about it. I have yet to be wrong, which was disappointing in a few cases. (The Chemical Garden Trilogy killed me)

3. I never leave the house without a book or my ereader, unless I'm going for a run or something. 

4. I'm not one of those people who keeps their blog a super secret thing on lock down. I'm extremely proud of this little thing... I don't go around telling every person I meet, but if someone asks what I do as a hobby, I will mention A Little Shelf of Heaven. 

5. In bookstores, most of my time is spent stressing over which of the ten books I've picked out I can buy and which ones I must put down.

6. I don't have a set system for choosing books in the bookstore. Usually, if there isn't one that I have already in my mind to buy, I'll just look around slowly and see what catches my eye, if some that I've been wanting have gone into paperback (because CHEAPER!) or just pull out randoms and see if they're going to be the one.

7. If I'm at my local Coles, (aka a second home to me) I usually just stand there, staring like a dummy for a good fifteen minutes, trying to fight with myself because I was just in there yesterday and I already know what they have, but I still have to look and try not to buy anything becauseeeee....

8. My mum has kind of put me on a reading ban. Okay, well, actually, I asked for her help to keep me motivated with it, but I'm just blaming her at the moment, because I'm CRAVING a bookstore right now and there's one that I'm DYING to read but I can't until I've finished five books and I'm only on book three from when I started and AGHHHHHHHH

9. My favourite reviews to write are ones filled with GIFs and crazy rants and exclamations like #8 above, because while they might not be as critical as some people like, they're me. And this is my blog, with my opinions, therefore, my reviews should reflect who I am. 

10. I have a weird rating system inside my head that is too complicated even for me to understand and yet it's also quite simple. I'll just leave it at that.

11. My love life suffers because of the male characters that these authors come up with that make my standards skyrocket. Not that I need a love life at 16, but I constantly feel like one of those naive-to-love protagonists who haven't had their first kiss yet blah blah blah and usually, those characters ANNOY ME TO BITS. And yet, here I am.

12. I am really bad at reading review books on time if they're in eBook form...

13. I'm totally hyped about this whole vlogging thing. I've got some video ideas set and I'm super excited to actually talk about books and other stuff, instead of writing. But don't worry, writing will forever be my main love when it comes to chatting about stuff.

14. I'm having a huge crisis with myself about whether or not to read Clockwork Angel. It's actually really stressing me out.

15. Book Blogging has made such a huge impact on my life, I can't fully describe how much this blog means to me. I love it with all my heart and I have never  been more proud of something. 



Okay, whew! That's actually kind of weird, getting some of those things out there! I feel like I could add a bunch more, but I'm just going to leave it at that and maybe I'll vlog about some other confessions! If you're doing this challenge, leave me a link below! I'd love to see some of your bookish confessions!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Page Count: 356 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: June 5th 2012
Find it on Goodreads: Shadow and Bone
Source: Won (Thanks Brad @ BookYAReview!)

Alina Starkov doesn't expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal--and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed.
Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina's extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destory the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart--and her country--in two.

GUYS. GUYS. GUYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

OH. MY. GOD.

You know that feeling when you're in a reading slump and it seems like nothing can get you out of it? That's how I was before I read Shadow and Bone. I could not pick up a book and stay interested, until I picked up this one. Right from the start, with the haunting "Before" scene that then leads into full on epicness,  I was hooked. I could. not. put. this. book. down.

Right off the bat, we are thrusted into a world of magic and intrigue as we read the short introduction that shows Alina and Mal in the orphanage, waiting to be tested by the mysterious Grisha. And then we jump several years forward, to the pair travelling with their army regiment into the dark and terrifying Shadow Fold. When a book starts off with a crazy amount of awesome like that, all I can say is:

Shadow and Bone was thrilling and captivating and it absolutely blew my mind. I was amazed at the way Bardugo executed her story in such a way that kept me wanting more and more, while her characters were so well-rounded and had me feeling so much for them. I loved Alina. She was a brilliant protagonist, with a bad-ass attitude, but she wasn't hard. She had feelings and she cried and she swooned... I felt like she was someone I could relate to, even though her world and situation was wholly different from my own. She got scared and sad and yet she also fought hard and stuck to what she believed in. Definitely a top protagonist on my list.

Then there was the Darkling...

I KNEW SOMETHING BAD WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT I TRIED TO CONVINCE MYSELF NOT TO AND YET IT DID AND AHHHHHHHHHHH HE IS SUCH AN EPIC VILLAIN OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND YET I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF HE'S BAD OR GOOD OR JUST SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN AND HE JUST NEEDS TO GET HIS ACT TOGETHER OR WHAT. I JUST AHHHHHHHHHHGHHHHHHHH

Okay, sorry about that. Ahem.

Usually with villains, I despise them. I don't feel much for them, because of their despicable behaviour and yet, with the Darkling... I just can't decide. I mean, I hate him. I do. His plan is horrible and he's not a nice person, at all. AT ALL. But at the same time, he just.... ahhh. I can't decide on how I feel about him! He had me swooning one minute and then freaked out the next and I just...

Okay, I'm going to move on before I combust.

Finally, there was Mal.

The thing with Mal was, at first, I didn't like him. He was just kind of... there. But then, BUT THEN he all of a sudden redeemed himself for me and I was hooked. Mal was a really interesting character for me and I'm so excited to see more of who he is and what his story will be like in the next book!

Okay, enough about the characters.

This review is getting pretty lengthy, but I'll just conclude by saying that this is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Shadow and Bone kept me guessing the whole way through and had me captivated from the very beginning. I was impressed by the detail and the history that Bardugo put into the story and the fact that the world was so well developed made me very happy. This was a well rounded story, filled with action, fantasy, romance and mystery. The Shadow Fold  sounds like my ultimate nightmare and that intrigued me. Darknesss... as a place? With scary creatures running around inside? CREEPY.

Shadow and Bone surpassed my expectations and I would highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it. Now, I'm going to tuck myself into bed and start Siege and Storm! YAY!

Also, I just want to shout out a huge thank you, again, to Brad and Macmillan Kids for the awesome giveaway!

Happy reading!
~Kristy