Once and for all (by Sarah Dessen)

Synopsis 

Louna is a 17-year-old girl working during the summer to help her mother and business partner, William organize weddings. She meets Ethan right after one, on the beach before she realizes what sunsets and beaches can make her experience. One night. One love. One moment and it all comes crashing down. Ambrose, the annoying guy with no boundaries for women is also the inevitable second chance Louna has been waiting for.

I give

★★★★☆

It’s true there might be no plot to this story

The chapters have been building up to the painful moment of her tragic discovery spoiler
That her first love of 24/48 hours died in a shooting 

I think a better structure of the book would have been if her first love story was told parallel to her second chance however her 24/48 hour lasting love should have lasted maybe a week at least and she shouldn’t have exactly spoiler slept with him on the same night she met him.

 I loved how realistically annoying Ambrose was to the point where I found him deeply annoying. That shows how well of a  job the author had done by creating our dearest Ambrose but I’ll admit a hanging curl that he kept brushing away made me think of this

 not exactly attractive but that’s just me

The last 5 chapters have been an emotional rollercoaster where I almost cried about three times and got emotional the whole way through (we can blame the background music)

No character development but the read was so suitable for the weather and time that I let that and a few things slip

This book was more of a 3.6 stars out of 5

So Louna is a 17 year old girl employed By her mother And business partner William (they acted more like a married couple) and she’s got an entire summer working to organize weddings and everything wedding related but she only holds a few responsibilities like coffee and wrapping.

She meets Ambrose when he delays his mom’s wedding because his priorities are flirting with cute girls in parking lots. Fuckboy alert.

She drags him in and that’s when Ambrose darling is smitten by the young girl he can’t have. I’m still unsure about his age I think he might have graduated already so maybe he’s a college guy?

Her first love is another cute guy named Ethan of whom we already know how his story ends when the shooting is first mentioned in chapter 1/2

We both looked over at her. "What is it?" Jilly asked. She looked up at us, startled like she'd forgotten we were there. "Sorry. I was just... it's the news. There's been a shooting." I felt a prickle at the back of my neck, hairs raising up. 



Ambrose and Louna make a bet and the story revolves around who loses first spoiler him when he realizes he’s fallen for her

The only good thing we have between them is cake scene and dollar store scene and that’s it

"I'm not going to pretend to be engaged to Ambrose!"

"Engaged?" He grinned at me. "Oh, this should be fun."

"Should we talk motivation?" Ambrose said to me. "Want to develop our backstory? How long we've been together, all that?"

"No," I said flatly, jabbing a finger a picture of a cake, flowers trailing off it.

"I think," he continued, ignoring me, "that we met cute. Like, you dropped a kitten, and I picked it up for you."

"Why would I drop a kitten?" 

After writing all this I realize this book is more of a 3 but the experience was pretty great and I’m no longer having a readers block!

HELLO 2018!

My Life Next Door (By Huntley Fitzpatrick)

"One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time."

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.

Review

I give ★★★✩✩

Can I just say the book cover gives me the impression that they are some tiny humans near a ginormous fence. I like it. 

Where do I begin? Well, I'm quite surprised with myself for giving so low, honestly now.  I was 20% into the book when I said I could not put it down. This book got me hooked, up until the 200th page. If it weren't for my brother telling me something was going to happen, I would have found it very difficult to continue. This book was constant. The characters were beautiful, with the exception of Mr. Clay and her selfish mother. 

Maybe for some of you reading is just a form of entertainment, well I wanted this book to be  my source of completely shutting the world out, it just disappointed me so much towards the end. 

Let me start on the Jase guy, Mr. Perfect boyfriend, brother, son, and friend. He takes things slow, he understands, he helps, he volunteers to help around the house, he gets two or God knows how many jobs to help out his family, he puts money away to buy a car and ends up selling it to benefit anyone but him and he helps Tim with the job at his father's shop. He is amazing, maybe, just maybe too amazing, and maybe that is why I haven't felt a connection to him, he's too inhumanly selfless, and don't get me started on Samantha. 

I get that you know a lot about your science and your astrological signs but knowing it all just won't do it. She's too perfect, until she isn't because of her perfect mother, who again, is not perfect because clearly just shutting out problems, not associated with her is not the perfect way to go at life. Samantha does not act like a spoiled brat, even though she may be, but living under her mother's strict rules kept her from becoming one. But since she's so good, I start to wonder is that really how she may have turned out? Her mother is being an ignorant selfish strict mom, and Samantha somehow still turns out perfect, even with a missing father. This just doesn't add up. And after all the sacrifices her mom made, making sure both of her daughters being raised properly and whatnot, it just seems like not enough credit is given to her, and to fall in Clay's scumbag trap should've been obvious, IT WAS OBVIOUS. Not to mention letting anyone tell her how to be a parent, which she did let Clay do.

As soon as the car incident happens, I just knew this perfect little story I was reading was over. Because everything turned gray. 

Nan was a big shock, like, what? Why? For 12 years she kept this act, no, no, no, impossible, 12 years is a lot, and 12 years Samantha never noticed her hate towards her? There must have been something, Gosh, eyes betray every feeling we try to hide, and Samantha being such a smartass should've been able to tell. Nan also should have noticed that Samantha did not have it all, she was literally cursed by being the daughter of a strict, selfish witch. And Samantha not telling her best friend about Jace, what was up with that? 

I suppose most of my favourite moments were those when Samantha was excited to meet Jace by the window, I just found that adorable, also this idea of watching another, completely different, family from afar, yes it sounds like something a stalker would do, but wanting to be a part of that family was just beautiful. That was worth my 3 stars, because if it weren't for that, this book would have made top 10 least favourite books. I suppose it is a better book than "The summer I turned pretty." since they are both sending out that summer vibe I was looking for. 

Elixir (by Hilary Duff) Review

Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.'

Review: 

I read this book with the thought that there won't be a second or a third book. When it ended, it seemed as if I was expecting that. It wasn't quite a slap in the face, just an expectation I was willing to accept. Despite other books and other stories, this one was like none. It was the way it was written that I was drawn to. As I said on Goodreads, it flowed in the right direction at the right pace. 

Clea's character seemed like one of those kinds, sad, confused, still holding on to the past, only it never occurred to her or to me that she was holding on to the far far off past, one she didn't know of. One only her soul, and her soul-mate Sage, knew of. That is the story I can and would love to continue reading, which is why I did. I loved it and I'm even more glad that there are two other books. 

Rayna is just amazing, I know I use that word a lot these days, but a best friend like her? Who doesn't want one? It's a must have in anyone's lifetime. I found those eye conversations amusing, also because I know what it feels like, I use to have that with my past best friend. It is hard to find friends that are not jealous of you, and because of Rayna, I felt like Clea could go through the third world war with her by her side, and both would come out alive anyways, because friendship can only do so much to a person. 

Sage... Well, he is described as a beautiful boy, I can only think of cute, not 'hot'. I'm not mentally attracted to him, like I am with the characters I've read about in the past books, but I was more than happy to see that Clea had chosen wisely, between the puppy-boy and the mysterious-one, my choice wouldn't have been any different. 

Puppy-boy being Ben, I think being a guy who follows Clea everywhere and won't move on or just- I don't know, I think his character is a turn-off, especially since he can get so annoying and frustrating, even Clea sees that and I'm so glad for that. I'm glad he's not the one for her and I'm glad he's the one to ruin everything because it wasn't her fault, it was his, and it's always his and history repeating might sound like a cliche but  it fits in so rightly for this book. 

Hoping for the best when I'll read the next one. 

Total stars: 4.5  -  5

The Summer I Turned Pretty (by Jenny Han) Book Review

Blurb

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along

Review time.. 

The summer I turned pretty... I'm disappointed, I really, truly am. I expected way more. This story lacks details. "...I cupped the back of his head,moved it toward me, and kissed him. Tentatively at first, and then he started kissing me back, and we were kissing each other. His lips were warm and needy. He needed me. My mind went pure blinding white..." WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? She is freaking kissing her all-time crush and all I get is THAT?! What? WHAT?! I've been reading 260 pages to this moment and all I get is that? No, no, I'm not happy, at all. It's her first real kiss, her crush for as long as she remembers, I wanted more about what she feels around her, the setting, the air, smell.. etc. I want to throw the book at someone, too bad it's not too heavy. Belly is just... Not the kind I expected, she could have turned pretty by just being physically more improved, it's also the mature mind, and she didn't seem to let go of that. Her character was undecided and confused throughout the whole book. Does that make her more mature?  No.  She's been pouting and crying at every stupid thing, OF COURSE THEY WOULD TREAT HER LIKE A KID when she was younger. But I grew up around 4 brothers, so this might seem normal. I would treat her like a baby too, I'd even throw her out the window if I was Conrad or Jeremiah. Pfft. This deserves way less. There've been many attempted jokes, all of which I hardly laughed at. Cancer makes me sad, it was truly devastating finding out that at the end. I would rate it 3.5, because my expectations were higher. I liked the fact that it went back to how she was before, the thing is that I was confused, I didn't know which chapter was when, sometimes I forgot that she was looking back, the only thing giving it away was Steven's presence in her memories after he left. I hate the fact that she's 15. At 15, I don't remember being so... But everyone is different so I wouldn't count on my past to judge people simply because I'm sometimes still a kid and people tend to mistake my looks for a 14 year old. Anyways, the way she handles Cam, I thought that was stupid. Give the guy a reason for not answering his calls or texts or whatever. How would she feel if Conrad would avoid her. Things moved way too fast. This story lacks so much detail. I expected romance, the gooey kind,with awkwardness and suspense, but as her relationship with Cam got deeper, if it did, I couldn't help myself but dislike Cam more and more. His character was basic and I hated that. Total: 3.5 stars (more of 3) I wasn't happy with it, I liked the ending, and the first chapter that came along with it. But not enough to make me like the whole book. It felt like reading an empty book, no romance,no humor, not quite the summer-y feel I needed, especially since I read this at the beach. I do not want this happening in my dream summer

Beach Book

What is the magic book of this summer to me?

You might have guessed it right. It is summer. I am a teenager after all, and the last but not the least, the summer mood is on!

The Summer I turned Pretty!

Everyone talks about it. So, I found the perfect time to squeeze in a little book like that.

A weekend at the beach, with the perfect book in hand. What makes suntanning better?

What sets the mood, if you're not at the beach. This is basically the definition of summer.

Obsidian (Lux, #1 by Jennifer L.Armentrout) Review

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something... unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don't kill him first, that is. 

Review: 

Maybe the reason as to why I fall for books like these is because I have recently started reading any kind of Romances, so I'm just like awww... at every small, tiny moment. 

This book completely blew me away. I started reading and ended up sleeping at 5 a.m. 

I've been into book characters with the annoying-type of attitude for as long as I remember and this book had everything I wanted. It had the no-gooey-romance stuff with perfect proms or dances or whatever you call them, and it also didn't have the "I magically love you right now" but the "I'm extremely attracted to you, let's not call it love" kind of thing. I'm extremely pleased with the ending and despite the fact that I'm still having a hard time picturing how the true alien (Luxen) form looks like, I think picturing an-almost-human-shaped-sun would do. 

There's a lot of humour, all very successful, I think I couldn't finish a chapter without a smile on my face and the awkwardness is just, I can't find the right english word, or any word in any language for that matter to describe how I felt towards those moments. 

Any changes I would've liked: 

I would have liked Ash to be more 'bitchy', I think it would have added to the humour.

What I loved: 

EVERYTHING! 

Daemon sounds like a real bad-ass, compared to the previous main-guy-character, he's a good twist, a change I might've needed. He's basically everything a girl wants in a guy, and green eyes, again, I'm in love with green eyes, so that was a bonus I very much loved. 

I'm hoping the book covers are based on the characters. He fits well with the description in the book and it's definitely the type of guy i'd see in his place. 

He is perfect. 

This is perfect. 

As for Katy, I love the name, definitely fits the character, duh, I think her use of 'inappropriate' language adds to the fun of the situations she occasionally gets in. It's funny, and I admire each and every attempt of making everything awkward, it really makes me feel uncomfortable when Daemon tends to put her into this awkward position where she can't do anything but shrug it off as if nothing happened because it would be too painful to think about it. Painful in the sort of hilarious way. 

Dee is simply cute, I picture this super vulnerable, naive, cute girl with curls and big green eyes, like those expensive dolls you find in an antique shop. I think she's great, and maybe I was a little frustrated with Daemon being so overprotective, but as the reasoning developed, I started to understand. 

60 Things To Do In Summer

List:

1. Bake a cake
2. Have a Picnic
3. Write a book 
4. Camping
5. Scrapbook
6. Water balloon fight
7. Go to a library, buy a book
8. Create a one week plan and try to follow it
9. Spend a whole day taking pictures in different places
10. Have a bon fire
11. Learn a foreign language or practice it till you speak it fluently
12. Make your own piece of clothing
13. Movie Marathon
14. Make a new friend/meet new people
15. Dip dye clothes
16. Spend 24 hours awake with a friend
17. Long bike ride 
18. Write a short/long story based on your true life events 
19. Get a tan tattoo
20. Carve your name into a tree
21. Randomly burst into songs on the street with friends 
22. Go to an amusement park at least once
23. Sign up for a class (Drawing, Instrument, Sport .etc.)
24. Make a mixed CD of your favourite songs and name it "The songs of this summer"
25. Jump in a pool with clothes on
26. Order Pizza and eat it at the Park
27. Make a book cover. 
28. Bury memories 
29. Eat tacos and burritos 
30. Go to at least 4 malls in a day
31. Watch the sunset and sunrise in one day (take pictures and send for proof ;) )
32. Go to a football match
33. Read a famous book (I chose Harry Potter and The Hunger Games)
34. Get to a certain weight
35. Get highlights 
36. Learn how to do a new hairstyle
37. Make a basket out of paper or cardboard 
38. Go rollerblading for a whole day. 
39. Get abs :D
40. Try a new Starbucks drink
41. Spend a lot of time with your pet
42. Cook a fancy meal
43. Eat sushi
44. Eat banana split
45. re-watch a TV series
46. Start a new TV series
47. Buy a specific favourite parfume
48. Change the colour of your room
49. Go to a water park
50. Read a book, then watch the movie (Exmpl: Perks of being a Wallflower)
51. Buy a new pair of shoes 
52. Make a lemonade Stand 
53. Have 3 vegan days
54. Horse ride 
55. Summer job
56. Drink about 2 litres or more of water for a week
57. Act like a tourist for one day
58. Take pictures in the rain
59. Make a blog
60. Play a sport for a whole day.