Review: I Heart You, You Haunt Me

Title I Heart You, You Haunt Me
By Lisa Schroder
Genre YA Contemporary Verse
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Ava and Jackson were inseparable or so they thought. When Jackson dies in a horrible accident Ava must learn to live with out him. But when she starts seeing his ghost and hearing his voice in her head she thinks maybe she doesn't have to lose him after all.

First Sentence
I've never been to a funeral until today.





I love verse novels. There's something so great about such a short story with so few words that can rip your heart out and then put it back together. I'm always shocked that I love them so much, particularly because I don't like short stories. Is there really a difference? But I digress.

This one was sadly a disappointment. It was a fine story about grieving and then moving onward in life but it felt more like a short story. Aw! See?! Maybe I wasn't digressing. Short stories don't have enough depth. Somehow, verse novels have loads of depth. This one, sadly was just too..1+1 =2. If that makes sense,

On the bright side I read it quickly and can tick off another book for my Goodreads Challenge. I'm so behind!

Should you read it?
Meh, nothing special here. You wouldn't miss anything by skipping it.

Review:Black Rabbit Hall

Title Black Rabbit Hall
By Eve Chase
Genre Adult Contemporary
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Amber Alton has always been certain of one thing. Holidays and summers are spent at the family's estate Pencraw Hall or, as their mother calls it, Black Rabbit Hall. But one Easter holiday something horrible happens that alters Amber and her siblings lives forever.
Decades later Sonya, a young girl on her way to the alter, considers having her wedding at Black Rabbit Hall. There's something almost eerily familiar about the old derelict house. But as she learns more about the house her own future will never be the same.

First Sentence 
It is one of those journeys.

When I saw this book and was told it would be like a Kate Morton book I was very intrigued! I've only read one Kate Morton book but loved it!

I love atmospheric books with creepy old houses and family secrets and Black Rabbit Hall didn't disappoint. It jumps back and forth between Amber's and Sonya's perspectives and when it got to the end of one character's perspective and jumped to the other it did so with little cliffhangers so intense I'd have to flip to the next section on that character's perspective to make sure things were okay before going back to where I was. Hmm, not sure that made sense but if so, it was a good thing. I liked the way the characters, though not all likable were, fleshed out and real. You could almost feel sympathy for all of them. Even the crumby ones. The house its self was a character I think I liked best of all. I wanted to go to this strange house by the end of the book.

Not everything was perfect in the book, however. I think perhaps the twist ending was supposed to surprise us but I saw it coming from a mile away. It didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book but not seeing it coming would have been much better. Still, I enjoyed it, sped through it and will gladly read anything else Chase writes.

Should you read it?
I'd highly recommend it. Even if it is a tad predictable.  

Review: The Raven King

Title The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Genre YA Paranormal/Supernatural
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Blue and her Raven boys are finally ready to find Glendower. With a demon on the loose and relationships on the line the friends are going to have to stick together to save the day.


First Sentence
Depending on where you began the story, it was a story about the women of 300 Fox Way.





Well, I did it! I finished this strange, little series. I could blame my negative attitude on my own choice to read them all at once and that by so doing, I made it a bit of a chore. I could until I read this book, that is. I actually read most of this book in one day. I felt like it moved faster than the rest of the books. FINALLY! That being said, I was really disappointed in the end of this series. I know Stiefvater always makes things happy and wrapped up nicely in a little bow but I thought maybe this time she wouldn't. Wrong! Oh sure, there was sadness in the book but the ending I was hoping for, that I'd been promised didn't come to pass.

Furthermore, there was no explanation for a lot of things. I don't mind a few open questions but there was a lot of things that were just left open ended. I won't spoil it for anyone by saying what but there was a lot. And the whole Noah thing. That just pissed me off. No goodbye, no mention of him by the gang? Ugh!

I know it totally sounds like I hated this one and, by default, the whole series. Not true. The series as a whole moves rather slowly and can get a bit tiring, but I liked its uniqueness and the relationships. The ending, though, what a disappointment.

Should you read it? 
Well, if you've gotten to this fourth book then yes. You'll need what little closure it offers. If you're asking about the whole series then I'd say yes only if you like slower moving stories.

Review: Fangirl

Title Fangirl
By Rainbow Rowell
Genre NA Contemporary
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Cath and her twin sister Wren are starting college. Wren has decided the girls need to live their lives separately so Cath is on her own. Luckily she has her fan fiction to keep her busy. But college isn't like high school and Cath has a lot to learn about herself and growing up.


First Sentence
There was a boy in her room.




As I've been pushing myself through the Raven Cycle I've periodically needed a light book to break up the drama. Fangirl sounded like such a book. And it was...to a point. I flew through it in two sittings. I was addicted to the story of Cath and her life. The fan fiction...I couldn't seem to get invested in. I expected a light fluffy book about a girl obsessed with a series of books and her fan fiction and what I got was an issue book. Everyone has issues. Cath and her crippling social anxiety. Wren and her partying too hard. The mother that abandoned them. Their father is bipolar. The only one that didn't have any issues was Levi and he was way too perfect. Annoyingly so.

Fine. I can accept that it't not a light, silly story. It's an issue book. That's not realistic at all. Cath's Fiction Writing teacher giving her a break and letting her have more time to write the story. How Cath manages to even write the story at the last moment and win the prize. Levi's perfection. Wren's miraculous turn around. It was all too nicely and neatly wrapped up. Completely unbelievable. So what kind of book was it? A fluff read or an issue book? Make up your mind!

I didn't hate the book, but truthfully, I wasn't as enamored with it like everyone else seems to be.

Should you read it?
If you haven't read it go ahead. It's a fast read at the very least.

Review: Wedding Night

Title Wedding Night
By Sophie Kinsella
Genre Chick lit
Rating ⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
When Lottie's long time boyfriend fails to propose to her she breaks it off. Heartbroken she jumps into a relationship with an ex boyfriend. They decide to elope and rush off to Greece where they first met for a honeymoon of a lifetime.
Lottie's sister Fliss has seen her sister do some drastic, crazy things after a breakup but nothing as serious as marrying a man she hardly knows. Determined to stop Lottie from making a horrible decision and regretting it forever, Fliss will stop at nothing to save her sister.

First Sentence
I've bought him and engagement ring.

After reading and loving Finding Audrey Sophie's YA book, I knew I wanted to read more by her. To my knowledge, her other books are all adult books that I would classify as chick lit. When this one came up as a Kindle Daily Deal. I snatched it up and began to read; needing something light and fluffy. Light and fluffy is exactly what I got. This story was so ridiculously crazy and fun. The banter between the characters was great and the crazy situations had me smiling and snickering. Despite being on the lighter side, this book was littered with words I didn't know the meaning of. Thank goodness I read it on my Kindle app so I could click on each word as it came up and look up the meaning with ease. Since I love learning new words, I found this fun.

So why did I only give it two stars? Well, because it got a little too ridiculous. It's kind of like that episode of SpongeBob (yeah, I'm going there) where SpongeBob rips his pants and after getting a few laughs just can't let it go. He keeps trying to drag out the humor until people are just plain sick of it. That's how I felt here. It just got so ridiculous that the humor started to go sour and by the last 50 or so pages I just wanted it to end!

So, sadly, while I'm not writing off Kinsella's other books, I was rather disappointed. I guess I expected more.

Should you read it?
If no amount of shenanigans irritate you and you want light and fluffy then, yes, go ahead and give this one a go.

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Title Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven Cycle  #3)
By Maggie Stiefvater
Genre YA Supernatural/Paranormal
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis
Blue Sargent's life hasn't been the same since she got involved with the Raven Boys. Her mother is missing and to find her Blue and her friends are going to have to start digging deeper. But who knows what they'll awake.

First Sentence
"Do you think this is actually real?" Blue asked.






I have such mixed feelings about this series! I love it at some points and am yawning and trying to keep my eyes open at others.

This book, at least, was shorter. Still, I had a hard time making myself get truly invested. There's something about Stiefvater's writing style that is meandering; almost lackadaisical and while that fits quite lovely with the magical side of things, it loses the urgency one would think should be apparent with Blue's mother missing.

Still, Stiefvater usually draws me back into the story near the end, leaving me ready for the next book. Which is good since I'm still determined to read them all together so as not to forget everything. Sigh! On to the final book!

Should you read it?
Obviously if you've gotten to the third book in the cycle just go ahead and read it.

In My Thoughts This Fine Day #13

Occasionally, I go through my TBR shelf on Goodreads and purge. Take off all those titles I no longer want to read. It's quite painful. I'm always afraid I'll purge a book I might have loved. Still, with over 800 books on my TBR shelf there's just no way, right? So I purge. And lately I've been considering purging my physical book shelves. *gulps* I don't know, guys. Can I do it? Will it feel good? I spent money on those books and if I get rid of a book I've never even read will I regret it?

Guys, I seriously miss routine! I know, it sounds crazy, but if your life was as unpredictable and crazy as mine...or if it is, you'd understand. I just want to have a nice normal life for awhile! Sigh! Hopefully one day it'll go back to normal and I'll miss the craziness.

I'm going to get really annoying for a minute! So I read and comment on all my fellow blogger friend's blogs via Feedly. Every day. On. My. Phone. And yet, I see all these people say it's just so hard to comment from a phone and they never have time anymore. What?! I find the time when I'm waiting in line at the bank or grocery store. And commenting from a phone is easy. I'll admit if I have a really long comment that it gets a bit tedious but if I keep my comments short and sweet, it's easy-peasy! Not that I'm trying to guilt trip anyone. I guess I just don't get it. I don't find it hard at all. Anyone else use their phone to read and comment on blogs? Tell me I'm not alone!

June Wrap-Up 2016

June is over? Holy crap! This year needs to slow down! What with replacing a fence and starting another remodel on a different duplex than last time, I'm impressed I managed to read at all in June but read I did. Here's what. 

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Re-Read) The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater, Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella and The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater. 

Favorite was Finding Audrey. Didn't have a least favorite this month everything was pretty good. 

For July I'm hoping to finish The Raven Boys Cycle. Obviously I hope to read more than that but we'll see.