Saturday, 7 July 2018

JUNE '18 WRAP-UP



So, it's the end of the month and that means another wrap-up!

How is June over? This is so crazy!

Summer is officially here which means it is very hot and I have more time. I've been working on my novel and preparing it for CampNanoWriMo which is in July. I also finally saw the movie Ant-Man which I enjoyed so much. It's hilarious. 

Join my book club: here.

 Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.


PHYSICAL BOOKS



The first book I read was The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth. I really enjoyed this book even though I forgot a lot of the first book (whoops!). I liked seeing where the story went and I loved seeing Cyra and Akos and how they progressed which was amazing. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The second book I read was There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins. This book got so many bad reviews which didn't make much sense to me because I really enjoyed it and thought it was a good thriller. It scared me so much and I think she should write more thrillers. I rated it 3 Crowns. 

The third book I read was To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. I am obsessed with this book! I loved Lara Jean and the Song girls as well as Peter Kavinsky. I am planning on writing a full review of this one because it was so good. I rated it 5 Crowns. 



The fourth physical book I read was Romancing the Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as Contemporaries are often a hit or miss with me but I decided to read it because it's about royalty which is always a fun time. I rated it 3 Crowns. 

The fifth physical book I read was All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller. I've seen this around the blogosphere and on bookstagram so I wanted to try it. I really liked how she gave a backstory for Cinderella's Stepmother which was great. I also liked how it showed that not everyone knew the full story about how she lived with Ella. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The sixth physical book I read was The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud. This is the last book in the Lockwood & Co. series and I am so sad to see it go. I really enjoyed this series as it had complex characters and was hilarious. I highly recommend this Middle Grade series if you like books for slightly younger readers, humor and ghost stories. I rated this one 5 Crowns. 




The seventh physical book I read was From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon. I loved When Dimple Met Rishi so I had to pick up another book by the same author. I loved how Twinkle was an aspiring filmmaker and they make a gender bent Dracula which was so original. I rated this one 4 Crowns. 

The eighth physical book I read was The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. This is an Adult book featuring Russian folklore and fairytales and there was no romance. It was so interesting to read and absorb all this Russian culture that I didn't know about previously. I also really liked the main character who was very independent and wouldn't conform to what a woman was supposed to be like. I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The ninth physical book I read was The Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh. I have been trying to read this book for so long as my audiobook kept expiring. Fortunately, there was a physical copy at the library so I just picked that one up and I read it in one sitting. I loved the characters, the history and the world. Mariko is a great heroine who represents Mulan as she disguises herself as a boy in order to infiltrate an enemy camp. Okami was a great love interest who was a hero as well. I rated it 5 Crowns. 



The tenth physical book I read was Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst. I read Audrey Coulthurst's other book and really enjoyed it.  I liked this book a lot more than the other one as I felt like Asra was a better heroine. She wasn't familiar with the world outside of her mountain but she stepped up to the plate to save it. I rated this book 4 Crowns. 

The last physical book I read was Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge. I had a lot of problems getting into this book because the concept was very confusing but I ended up enjoying it. This is a darker version of Romeo and Juliet which isn't saying much cause Romeo and Juliet is already very dark. Juliet is born to kill which is crazy and I liked that Juliet was a stronger character. I rated this book 3 Crowns. 


AUDIOBOOKS READ

NONE

ARC'S READ


The first and only ARC I read was My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma. I ended up reading quite a few diverse YA reads this month and I am so pleased with myself. I enjoyed this book and wrote a full review of it so I am not going to say much about it. I rated this 4 Crowns. 


REVIEWS IN MARCH: 



MUSIC MONDAY:

NONE

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 

NONE

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: 

NONE


WEEKLY WRAP-UP:





DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:





FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:




NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: 

Peter Kavinsky from To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Sahil from From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon

Dev from My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Okami from Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Hal from Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst


NEW FAVORITE FEMALES:

Lara Jean from To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Twinkle from From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon

Vas from The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden 

Mariko from Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Asra from Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst


NEW FAVORITE BOOK RELATIONSHIPS: 

Peter and Lara Jean from To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han 

Cyra and Akos from The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth

Sahil and Twinkle from From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon

Dev and Winnie from My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Okami and Mariko from Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Asra and Hal  from Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst


TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:





MOVIES I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

 

WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:



 



NEW BLOG FINDS

NONE

SONGS ON REPEAT

Done for Me - Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani 

No Tears Left to Cry - Ariana Grande

Blood//Water - grandson

Back to You - Selena Gomez

Lie to Me - Mikolas Josef 

That's How You Write a Song - Alexander Rybak 

Love you Better - Neon Hitch 

 BOOKS I WANT TO READ NEXT MONTH




The graphics at the top belong to me. The background pictures for them, however do not.

Sunday, 1 July 2018

Weekly Recap: 6/25 - 7/1

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

This week as you can see below, I did a lot of reading. Also, I got back into audiobooks and I'm almost done with Ignite Me which is amazing. 

I also watched Ant-Man for the first time this week and it was hilarious. I am also moving through season 4 of The 100 and I hope to finish it this week.

Now, let's get into recapping.


New Books

Purchased:




Library: 




Received for Review: 





In Case You Missed It

This Week I Read




This Week I Watched



This Week I Listened To 

Done for Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
Blood//Water by grandson
Back to You by Selena Gomez
Dangerous Game by Klergy
Lie to Me by Mikolas Josef
Someone Gets Hurt by Mean Girls on Broadway

Next Week I'm Reading



Upcoming Reviews



Upcoming Posts


Monday: June '18 Wrap-Up

Tuesday: TBD

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Weekly Recap




Around the Blog Community

Saturday, 30 June 2018

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma Review

I received an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you! This is a spoiler free review.



My So-Called Bollywood Life
Written by Nisha Sharma
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Publisher: Crown BFYR
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Pages: 304
Source: ebook ARC provided by Crown BFYR and NetGalley
Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!


Summary:

Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soulmate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her 18th birthday, and Raj meets all of the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked to return from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. Worse, Raj is crowned chair of the student film festival, a spot Winnie was counting on for her film school applications. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.

Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek, and one of the few people Winnie can count on to help her reclaim control of her story. Dev is smart charming, and challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope to find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy, and her chance to live happily ever after? To get her Bollywood-like life on track, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star. 

Like an expertly choreographed Bollywood dance scene, Nisha Sharma’s off-beat love story dazzles in the lime light.

Review:

I picked up My So-Called Bollywood Life because of the diversity, even though I don't know very much about Bollywood. I ended up really enjoying it both for the diversity and for the hilarious antics that the characters got up to.

COVER

The cover is very cute and I like how it is a drawn girl on the front instead of a weird picture that is supposed to represent the main character. I really like how it is bold and colorful.

WORLD-BUILDING

I like the setting but there wasn't really any world-building because it is very modern but we get to learn about her backstory and how her life is lived which is great.

Then there are the characters.

WINNIE

Winnie was a great main character. She was so fierce and feisty (she stole back her DVDs from her ex and then buried them like that takes guts). She had a lot of goals and dreams and she was going to reach them. One thing that I didn't like about her life was that it was very driven around boys and her love life. I didn't like this because that's clearly not what everyone talks about with their friends. I did love how she was obsessed with films and had a film blog which was so great.

DEV

Dev is the love interest of Winnie who has liked her for a long time but pushed it aside because Winnie was with Raj for a very long time. Dev was really supportive for Winnie and knew what she wanted to do with her life and wasn't going to stop her from doing it. Also, Dev did an entire Bollywood dance number for Winnie which is goals.

FRIENDSHIP/FAMILY

Friendship and family are great topics in this book. Winnie's family is big on having her fulfill this prophecy that says that she'll find true love with with Raj and seems to not care that she breaks up with him. However, despite this, they learn to accept what she wants which is great. Friendship is also a big topic in this book. As I mentioned before, Winnie's best friend and her talk a lot about boys and relationships. Despite this, her friends are really supportive of her which I really liked.

PLOT

The plot is cute. I love how they are trying to create a festival so they can bring attention to their films and their love for film. I liked seeing Winnie and her family and friends ups and downs and seeing how they develop throughout the book is great. I also really liked seeing the Bollywood and other movie references sprinkled throughout the book.
ROMANCE

The romance was so cute and was honestly one of my favorite parts of the whole book because Dev and Winnie were really cute. I also liked how there was so much Indian culture thrown into their relationship and the book as a whole.

WRITING

This was basically a rom-com in book format and I honestly have to say I liked how it was written. It was very cute and sweet. I also like how it was an own voices book which explains why Nisha Sharma was so well versed in Indian culture.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It did take me awhile to read which explains why I finished the ARC in June instead of in May. I liked the whole concept of it and how there were so many film references within the book. I recommend it especially if you are looking for some diverse/own voices books.

Quotes from the Book:

“Destiny needs to be believed in for it to come true.” 




My Rating: 4 out of 5 Crowns

Monday, 25 June 2018

Weekly Recap: 6/11 - 6/24

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

These past two weeks, I've been busy. I got back from Boston for college orientation, late Friday night and I've been relaxing. 

I didn't blog much but I have a lot of posts planned so get excited for those!

Now, let's get into recapping.


New Books

Purchased:



Library: 




Received for Review: 




In Case You Missed It

None

This Week I Read





This Week I Watched



This Week I Listened To 

Done for Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
Blood//Water by grandson
Back to You by Selena Gomez
Dangerous Game by Klergy
Lie to Me by Mikolas Josef
Someone Gets Hurt by Mean Girls on Broadway

Next Week I'm Reading

 


Upcoming Reviews



Upcoming Posts


Monday: TBD

Tuesday: TBD

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Weekly Recap




Around the Blog Community

Sunday, 10 June 2018

Weekly Recap: 6/4 - 6/10

I have decided to start doing a weekly post called weekly recap where I update you on my life, reading and watching. Plus any posts I have done or will do.

This week was busy with reading and hanging out with friends. I went shopping on Thursday and had a birthday dinner for a friend on Friday.

I didn't blog much but I have a lot of posts planned so get excited for those!

Now, let's get into recapping.


New Books

Purchased:




Library: 




Received for Review: 




In Case You Missed It

Saturday: May '18 Wrap-Up


This Week I Read




This Week I Watched




This Week I Listened To 

Done for Me by Charlie Puth ft. Kehlani
Blood//Water by grandson
Back to You by Selena Gomez
Dangerous Game by Klergy
Lie to Me by Mikolas Josef
Diva by Beyonce (Glee version and no I've never seen Glee, this version just sounds better)
Jumpin' Jumpin' by Destiny's Child (Glee version and no I've never seen Glee, this version just sounds better)
Someone Gets Hurt by Mean Girls on Broadway

Next Week I'm Reading



Upcoming Reviews



Upcoming Posts


Monday: TBD

Tuesday: TBD

Wednesday: TBD

Thursday: TBD

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Weekly Recap




Around the Blog Community