MARCH '17 WRAP-UP

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

I did not have that great of a reading month as my life has been busy. I also didn't have a good blogging month but I am getting back into the swing of things for spring break which I am on right now.

I SAW BEAUTY AND THE BEAST THIS MONTH. It was so amazing and beautiful and I cried during it. I highly recommend it in case you haven't seen it yet. This is the live action version of Beauty and the Beast which is very well done and I almost like it more than the original animated version. I will be doing a review as soon as I can. The soundtrack is also to die for.

I ended up only reading 5 books this month because I've been a busy human but I am still ahead of my reading goal! Hooray!

Join my book club: here.

 Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first physical book I read was The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee. I really didn't know what to expect from this book as it was compared to Gossip Girl which I know nothing about. I really enjoyed it, however. This book is filled with betrayal, romance, and intrigue.  I rated it 4 Crowns.

The second physical book I read was Scythe by Neal Shusterman. My friend recommended this book to me and I actually picked it up and enjoyed it. That being said, I did think the concept was a little creepy. I mean people who decide who lives or dies? That is just a little bit insane but I did end up rating it 4 Crowns.

The third physical book I read Freeks by Amanda Hocking. This book had an interesting premise as it was about a traveling circus with performers who had actual powers. It was really interesting and I rated it 3 Crowns.

The fourth physical book I read was Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West. This book was so unique because it took parts of different stories and fairytales and mashed them all into one story while having it's own unique plotline. I ended up rating this 4 Crowns.

The fifth physical book I read was Hunted by Meagan Spooner and this was by far my favorite book of the month. It was such a well written Beauty and the Beast retelling. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales and Disney movies and this one was one of the best that I have read so far. I really enjoyed how Yeva [Beauty] was such a unique Beauty and different from many that I have read about. She was much more dangerous than the Beast himself which was interesting. I rated it 5 Crowns.

ARC'S READ

NONE

REVIEWS IN MARCH: 

NONE

OTHER POSTS: 

MUSIC MONDAY:

NONE

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 

NONE

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: 

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

1/30 - 2/26

2/27 - 3/5

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

Riverdale 1x01 Episode Talk

Riverdale 1x02 Episode Talk

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: 

NONE 

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

 

CHALLENGE UPDATES:

2017 New Release Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. These Ruthless Deeds

4. It Started with Goodbye

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

5. Freeks by Amanda Hocking

6. Hunted by Meagan Spooner

NetGalley Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. These Ruthless Deeds

4. It Started with Goodbye

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

Series Ender: 

None

Debut Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. It Started with Goodbye 

Retellings Reading Challenge: 

1. Ash by Malinda Lo

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. Heartless by Melissa Meyer

4. Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

5. Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Beat the Backlist Challenge:

1. Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston 

2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

3. Black Widow Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

5. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

6. Glitter by Aprilynne Pike

7. Ash by Malinda Lo

8. Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

9. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

11. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

12. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

13. City of Ashes by Cassandra Claire

14. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

15. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

16. Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

Flights of Fantasy Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

3. Ash by Malinda Lo

4. Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

5. Wanted by Betsy Schow

6. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

7. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

8. City of Ashes by Cassandra Claire

9. Freeks by Amanda Hocking

10. Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West

11. Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Diverse Reads 2017:

1. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

2. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

3. Ash by Malinda Lo

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

NEW BLOG FINDS

SONGS ON REPEAT

Beauty and the Beast Live Action Album - Various Artists

I Feel Love - Riverdale Cast

Can't Remember to Forget You - Shakira and Rihanna

It Ain't Me - Selena Gomez

High - Zella Day 

Soldier - Fleurie

La La Land Album 

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

FEBRUARY '17 WRAP-UP

So, it's the end of the month and that means another wrap-up! [Sorry it is so late]

Reading wise, it was a pretty good month. I did have more books that I wished that I could have read and it didn't happen but it's alright. School is still taking up a lot of time which is sad but I have to deal with it.

I also am watching so much TV. Timeless [NBC] has ended and I still have to catch up and we're waiting on news to see if it will get renewed which I'm hoping it will. I'm also watching Supergirl, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Oh and Riverdale which is honestly the best show ever. It is so good, the characters are amazing as well as the plot. I am doing reviews on my blog for every episode too. :)  Watch it, it's on the CW.

I read nine books this month which I am happy about and a lot of these are eArcs.

Join my book club: here.

 Anyways...

Time to talk about the books I read this month.

PHYSICAL BOOKS

The first physical book I read was Heartless by Marissa Meyer. Marissa Meyer is my favorite author and I bought this right after it released back in November but it was fairly slow going so it took me awhile to get into it. But, I obviously became in love with this book and the characters and the story. I really enjoyed it. I rated it 5 Crowns.

The second physical book I read was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This book guys. This book. I read this in about thirty minutes and I was a literal mess afterwards. It was so emotional and I could not deal. I will get a full review up as soon as I can. [Sorry, I'm so busy all the time] I rated this one 5 Crowns as well.

The third physical book I read was The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. This was a Middle Grade that I have seen in the library for ages and I never checked it out because it looked creepy. [Idk why?] I really enjoyed it and I am excited to read the rest of the series. I rated this 5 Crowns.

The fourth physical book I read was The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows. This was a book that I have put off reading for a long time, partly because I didn't have time to read it and partly because I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. I rated this one 4 Crowns.

The fifth and last physical book I read was City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare.  I read the first book practically a year ago and I really enjoyed it but I put this one off for a long time because of other reading priorities. The world and characters completely entrance you when you pick this series up. Clary is such a good heroine and her actions are realistic for someone in her position. I rated this one 5 Crowns.

ARC'S READ

The first ARC I read was Wanted by Betsy Schow. I read the first book, Spelled by Betsy Schow a year ago and I really enjoyed it so when I got the ARC of this, I was stoked but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one as there were some things that confused me such as a new romance that wasn't terribly necessary. I rated this one 4 Crowns and I have a full review which I will link under reviews. 

The second ARC I read was These Ruthless Deeds by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas. I really enjoyed this book but the ending was not something that I was expecting and there were a lot of twists and turns that were interesting. I rated this one 4 Crowns as well. 

The third ARC I read was It Started with Goodbye by Christina June. I did not expect anything out of this book because I just pressed request because the cover was pretty and drew me to it but I happened to really enjoy it. This is a contemporary romance but the romance isn't a huge part of the story. It is apparently a contemporary retelling of Cinderella but it hardly is at all. The main character, Tatum is a graphic designer and has to do community service for a crime she didn't commit. I highly recommend this book and I rated it 4 Crowns. 

The last ARC I read was 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac. This was by far one of my favorite books of this year so far and it is a contemporary, who would have thought? Maeve [the main character], struggles with anxiety which is a current theme in this book. It is addressed so strongly and smoothly and it is such a good representation. She is also an LGBT character who is already out so there is no coming out story to this which was refreshing. Overall, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. It is out now so go pick it up!  I did a full review as well which I will link below. I rated it 5 Crowns. 

REVIEWS IN FEBRUARY: 

Wanted by Betsy Schow: 4 Crown Rating

Ash by Malinda Lo: 3.5 Crown Rating

10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac: 5 Crown Rating

OTHER POSTS: 

MUSIC MONDAY:

NONE

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 

NONE

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: 

NONE

WEEKLY WRAP-UP:

NONE

DISCUSSIONS/OTHER:

January '17 Wrap Up

FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH:

NEW FICTIONAL BAE'S: 

Jest from Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Anthony Lockwood from The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Tobiah from The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

TV SHOWS I WATCHED THIS MONTH:

 

CHALLENGE UPDATES:

2017 New Release Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. These Ruthless Deeds

4. It Started with Goodbye

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

NetGalley Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. These Ruthless Deeds

4. It Started with Goodbye

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

Series Ender: 

None

Debut Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. It Started with Goodbye 

Retellings Reading Challenge: 

1. Ash by Malinda Lo

2. Wanted by Betsy Schow

3. Heartless by Melissa Meyer

Beat the Backlist Challenge:

1. Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston 

2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

3. Black Widow Forever Red by Margaret Stohl

4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

5. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

6. Glitter by Aprilynne Pike

7. Ash by Malinda Lo

8. Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

9. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

10. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

11. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

12. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

13. City of Ashes by Cassandra Claire

Flights of Fantasy Challenge: 

1. FrostBlood by Elly Blake

2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

3. Ash by Malinda Lo

4. Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

5. Wanted by Betsy Schow

6. Heartless by Marissa Meyer

7. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

8. City of Ashes by Cassandra Claire

Diverse Reads 2017:

1. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

2. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

3. Ash by Malinda Lo

4. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

WHAT BOOKS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH:

NEW BLOG FINDS

SONGS ON REPEAT

High - Zella Day 

Soldier - Fleurie

Beauty and the Beast - Ariana Grande and John Legend

Shape of You - Ed Sheeran

Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood

La La Land Album 

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

Riverdale 1x02 Thoughts

Riverdale Episode 2 Recap + Thoughts

Title of Episode: Chapter 2: A Touch of Evil

Director: Lee Toland Krieger

Writers: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Rating: 9/10

Small recap:

The last episode ended with Jason’s body being found in the river by Kevin and Moose. At the beginning of the episode Archie is unable to sleep and texts Betty asking if they can talk and she says no. Archie goes for a run and goes to Miss Grundy’s house confronting her about what they heard on July 4th but she refuses to tell anyone because she doesn’t want them to find out about their affair.

Veronica and Betty are still at odds due to Veronica going into the closet with Archie, at Cheryl's party [which was not a good idea on her part but she was saving Archie from Cheryl herself]. Veronica tries to apologize by buying Betty a bouquet of yellow roses [for friendship] and tells her that she bought her cupcakes and booked them an appointment for blowouts and mani-pedis. [Gotta love V] Unfortunately, Betty doesn’t seem too happy and later when they are at lunch she breaks down and leaves. Betty gets into another argument with Veronica during cheerleading practice and decides to hang out with Cheryl instead which doesn't go well at all.

Jughead is catching on to Archie about his whole teacher-student thing and he is not pleased with him at all so he confronts him about it which doesn't go too well.

Overall, this episode was a lot more eventful than the previous one.

WHAT I LIKED:

• Josie and the Pussycats singing. Basically every song they sing is just beautiful but I loved them singing Sugar Sugar at the pep rally. It was catchy and I listen to it so much on my Spotify.
• The little interaction between Veronica and Betty at the end of the episode with the milkshakes and the vow. That was so cute and I was fangirling so so hard. I loved how Veronica asks her, “Betty can we make a vow?” and they clink milkshakes. Cute.
• Jughead ‘forgiving’ Archie. This happened at the end of the pep rally. I loved Jughead’s line: “We’re not going to hug in front of this entire town. So let’s just do that bro thing where we nod like douches…” I loved how they just both smiled and laughed. I need their friendship.
• Betty inviting Jughead and Archie to sit with her and Veronica.  I absolutely adored how she asked them to join them, despite just making a vow with Veronica. It shows that they trust each other. And I loved how Jughead jumped over the seat where Veronica was sitting to sit on the inside. [Now, that is a gentleman. He did not make the lady stand up]
• Basically all of Jughead’s lines:

Example: “It’s called necrophilia, Reggie. Can you spell it?”

• Archie protecting Jughead by fighting Reggie I did not like the fact that he actually fought Reggie but if it was to protect Jughead Jones then I am happy. Their friendship is on the mend and I am ecstatic.
• The Jason reveal. So, Jason didn’t actually die on July 4th. SHOCKER!! I mean, it was kind of a shock but not as much as I thought it would be. But I loved how Jughead executed this reveal.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• How everyone is in love with Archie.  Like why? He’s boring and needs to get his life together. Please girls.
• Betty’s mom who is trying to control her life. She's really creepy and controlling.
• Ms. Grundy and Archie having a relationship. This will be in every single review of this show until she leaves. Mark my words.  This is a toxic, illegal relationship that would get both participants in trouble if they are caught. Plus it is gross. [See why I say Archie needs to get his life together?]
• Reggie Mantle. This kid just bothers me to death. He is always getting into arguments with people he deems ‘less’ than him and literally fought Archie over Jughead in this. Ugh.
• Cheryl Blossom just confessing.  This is so obviously fake. I mean, come on. How is no one questioning this? [I mean, in their defense it was a cliffhanger and Jughead did look concerned but still]
• Betty turning violent for a tensy tiny bit.  You know the part. When she says: “Get the hell out of my house.” and then for emphasis, adds, “before I kill you.” She is talking to Cheryl, of course and it was chilling. I admire her for standing up for herself and her sister but really B?
• Cheryl dissecting the frog. Why does she have to stab it and freak out the entire class and viewers. *shudders* [To be honest, I watch Teen Wolf so I’m not too upset by this] Gross.
• Betty pining over Archie for most of the episode. Betty Cooper. Get a grip. Just hang out with Veronica. Forget Archie. He needs to get a hold on his life.
• Cheryl acting like she gets special treatment. Throughout this episode Cheryl, has been milking the fact that her ‘beloved’ brother has drowned/been shot and it is sad but she is going too far.
• No one picks up on the fact that Jason had multiple bullet wounds. He had multiple bullet wounds everyone. Pay attention.  He was obviously shot and did not drown. So, who shot him multiple times? It must be someone who really hates him. Or maybe multiple people shot him?

MY FAVORITE PART:

My favorite part of this episode was when Veronica and Betty made up at Pop’s and made their cute vow. I also really liked the shots with Jughead, Archie, Veronica and Betty all sitting together in Pop’s and laughing. It was really cute.

Questions of the Day:

What was your favorite part of the episode?

Who do you think killed Jason Blossom?

Overall, I rate this episode an 9/10. I liked it more than the first episode because it had more character development and more Jughead. I am officially obsessed with this show.  I’ll see you all soon for more Riverdale recaps and reviews!

Weekly Update: 2/27 - 3/5

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.

I am slowly getting into the habit of writing posts when I have a sliver of free time so that should show in the next couple of weeks, though it hasn’t yet.  

This week wasn’t that productive in terms of posting but I did get to post my first Riverdale episode review and a book review. I also read three books this week which was impressive. I have had so much homework and studying to do lately. I am also trying to keep up my grades which are looking pretty good for right now. [But we’ll see]

Now, let's get into recapping.

New Books

Purchased:

Library: 

Received for Review: 

In Case You Missed It

Wanted by Betsy Schow Book Review
Ash by Melinda Lo Book Review
January '17 Wrap-Up

This Week I Read

  

  

 

Next Week I'm Reading

Upcoming Reviews

Upcoming Posts

Monday:  NONE

Tuesday: NONE

Wednesday: NONE

Thursday: Weekly Update + Riverdale e2 review

Friday: February Wrap-Up

Saturday: March Books on my Shelf

Sunday: Weekly Update

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