Zodiac (Romina Russell)

Good morning readers! How is everyone enjoying the first days of August? I hope everything is well and that you are enjoying your summer - unless you are somewhere like Australia, then I hope you're keeping warm in your winter. The following review is for a book I discovered through Tumblr, having seen it a lot on my dashboard; however, I read about 2 months ago, but never got around to writing about. Therefore, I apologize for the short review as my memory of books upon starting another is actually quite terrible.

Zodiac is a science fiction book written by Romina Russell, that creates a physical world around the 12 astrological signs. Each of the signs are visualized into individual planets, all of which are governed by a single Guardian. The 12 planets lived in harmony and peace until a violent blast struck the moons of Cancer. This worldly disaster left Rhoma Grace (Rho for short), a 16 year old student, with a lot of responsible and an eye for astrology that the elder Guardians couldn't understand. Rho is left to convince these Guardians that the disaster is not some of natural cause, but of a a 13th figure. But does Rho really know what she is fully leading herself into?

Before starting this novel, I was very intrigued with the both the cover art and the actual concept of the story. Creating physical beings and planets from the astrological signs, is a unique plot that I had never read before; thus I had relatively high expectations. But regardless of my standard, the book left me disappointed, and at times confused. The beginning of the short became an overwhelming blurb of information and I found character introduction to be vague and confusing; too many characters in a short time frame, each with little guidance as to who they were. Once I had found my footing of the world and the people who existed in it, I noticed the story to be relatively captivating, but it was also slightly dry. It lacked the suspense or thrill that I hoped to find in the story - it was very standard heroine-villain relations.

Upon writing this review, I have discovered that a sequel is due to release in December, titled Wandering Star. I'm currently unsure if I will read the novel or not, but perhaps this will allow for clarification and a better sense of closure to what felt like a slightly disorganized book.

Overall I would rate this book a 3.8/5 because it was a rough start with a decent plot. I think if I had taken the time to read this story in one go, without being in school, I would have found it more enjoyable. This is definitely a need-to-binge type of plot line.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

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Where She Went (Gayle Forman)

Looking at the title of this review, you may be a little confused as to why this is being posted without the first book review being up. To diminish the confusion, let me explain. This is indeed the sequel to If I Stay but I have a confession: I didn't actually read the first book. I watched the movie a couple months back, not knowing it was based on a book. When I discovered that, I was mildly horrified that I had watched a movie before the book. But instead of going back and reading the first book, I just had to jump right into the second one. I needed to find out what happened!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman, as I mentioned before, is the sequel to the bestseller book (and movie) If I Stay. Just as a recap for the first book: Mia is a cello player and Adam plays guitar in a band. The unlikely pairing become inseparable until a tragic events happens in Mia's life. She is left hanging in this unknown in-between and has to decide on whether she should stay or leave. Of course, Adam wants her to stay though he makes a promise that may cost him later. That's the first book, without giving away too much. The second book begins three years after the devastating accident. This book follows Adam more closely as he faces the challenges of being in a band that is rising through the ranks. He also faces challenges when he crosses paths with his old love Mia. Will the come together again, or are old wounds still to raw to allow that to happen?

The writing of this book is beautiful and I thank Gayle Forman for writing such a lovely novel. The characters are so real and you begin to feel what they are feeling. Any happiness became my happiness; any sadness became my sadness; any pain became my pain. That is a difficult thing to do, but Gayle managed to do so in such an incredible manner. There is no "sugar-coating" the emotions in the book and I love the reality of it all. For me, I find teen fiction can become a little washed-out leaving behind a feeling that my life isn't as wonderful as it should be based on the characters I'm following. But Where She Went (and the movie If I Stay) doesn't look at just the happy parts of a relationship or the teeny tiny "fights", it looks at the whole picture and how life is a long journey; there may be heartbreak, but perhaps things will find a way of healing if you give it time.

Mia & Adam (as portrayed in the movie If I Stay)

Overall, I would rate Where She Went 5/5 because it was beautifully written and just felt so true to what life and relationships are. Again, thank you Gayle Forman for writing a two-book series that I am now in love with; I promise to go back and read the first one!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

If you would like updates for when a new review is posted, check out the Tumblr page!

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Maggie Stiefvater)

Hey there everyone! I'm back with a new review (finally) and this time it is the third novel in The Raven Cycle series. Before I begin, however, I wanted to apologize for the lack of reviews being posted lately. I'm currently on co-op as part of my schooling, and often after work I feel too tired to be able to completely focus on the stories unfolding on the page. Without full focus, I feel as though my reviews and opinions would be clouded by my lack of concentration; however, now that I'm one month into my work term, I am more focused and used to the routine. So, without further ado, the review!

Blue Lily, Lily Blue is the book to follow The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves, both of which I gave 5 out of 5 stars; it had a tough act to follow, and I was definitely more critical as a result. The plot continues where it left of at the end of the second, as Blue and the boys continue their work with the ley line. As their efforts begin to reap rewards, those same efforts also reap consequences. With the wakening of one of the "sleepers" comes the disappearance of one, the death of another, and a very close call for one of the boys. As the story approaches the end, the pace of the plot accelerates and I became much more invested in it than I was at the beginning. At the end of the novel, you are left on a cliffhanger - this was something I was extremely upset about!

The Book Cover

Though I was upset about the cliffhanger, since I was not aware that The Raven Cycle series wasn't a trilogy, I did some research to discover there will be another book to follow. Maggie is currently working on Book 4, which is due to release in the Fall of 2015. For me, this is too far away! I'm not a fan of the gaps between book releases, especially when the plot lines are a little more intricate and detail-oriented. I know that when the next book arrives, I will have forgotten many of the details from the previous. But, with that said, I still am very much so look forward to that new release!

Overall, I would rate Blue Lily, Lily Blue 4.5/5 because I did find the first half of the story to be a little slow and disorganized, but the latter half was exception and suspenseful! I can't wait for the true final installment?

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

Leave a comment with your thoughts on this story or with a suggestion of another book I should read & review!

If you would like updates for when a new review is posted, check out the Tumblr page!

Liebster Award Nomination

Hey there bookworms! :)

I've been blogging for close to a year now and I have enjoyed writing every post that has been published on here. Every time I read a new book and share my own thoughts, I've always wondered if it ever truly reaches people - if people actually read it on the other end - or if it just publishes into thin air. On Tuesday, however, upon returning home from a busy day at work, I log in to find a Liebster Award Nomination from Life As I Know It. The Liebster Award is an award which lets people know about the smaller blogs that are out there with 200 followers/subscribers or less. So with that, I'd like to thank Charly.

The rules are simple:
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Answer the questions given by the nominator
3. Nominate another 11 bloggers (with 200 or less followers) and link them
4. Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer
5. Notify all nominees by social media/blogs

Questions from Life As I Know It:
1. One place you would absolutely love to visit? 

One place that I would absolutely love to visit someday is New Zealand. I don't care where in New Zealand I go, I just simply want to visit there. If I'm honest, I think it's because of my love for photography, and whenever I think of going there, I know I'd be filled with joy whilst photographing as much as I could.

2. Current favourite song?

This has always been a difficult question for me to answer because I use music as a personal release of emotion; I drown myself in music if I'm feeling sad or even if I'm happy. But, if I truly had to choose a song as my favourite, my current chose would be You Are In Love by Taylor Swift (but that's most because I'm working on my own interpretation on guitar at the moment).

3. Favourite word?

Now that is most certainly a question I have never been asked before. I do really like the word serendipity because it has such a happy and uplifting meaning.

4. How long have you been blogging?

I started this blog in March 2014, though it originally started out as a Tumblr page in August 2013.

5. Top way to procrastinate? (Other than blogging!)

My top way to procrastinate would be a tie between Tumblr, YouTube, and my guitar. Oh and books!

6. Sweet or savoury?

Definitely sweet :) I love baking too much!

7.If you could go on a date with any celebrity, who would it be and why?

This is probably a less common answer, but Ed Sheeran. I'd just love to have a jam session with him and improve my guitar playing. He truly is an inspiration in my own playing.

8. Favourite season?

As much as I want to say summer, because it's warm and typically there is no school, I do really love the beginning of Autumn. I love the way the leaves turn red, yellow, orange, and brown. I love the way you can be outside in a sweater and jeans, and not feel too cold. I love the smells that come with it as well.

9. Apple or Windows?

I'm an Apple girl! Absolutely love my Macbook!

10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years from now I will be one year out of University, hopefully successfully with my Bachelor of Science in Biology. I hope that I am still with my boyfriend and that he too successfully graduated University. I hope to have a job in the field that I want to and that it's everything I imagined. But most importantly, I hope I'm happy (and still reading)!

11. Favourite memory?

Favourite memory eh? That's a tough question! One of the memories that comes to mind is a fairly recent one - from last Winter - in which one of my best friends from home and I entered into the talent contest at our University. She sang and I played guitar. The first stage of the contest was an audition tape that you submitted in hopes of making the Top 20 participants. We filmed and edited a music video to play within our performance of Begin Again by Taylor Swift. We successfully were picked to be in the Top 20, where then the Top 10 were selected based on number of Facebook 'likes'. It was close, but we made it to the live Top 10 round. During the live performance we performed Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran; it was the first time I had truly played guitar in front of an audience of people I did not know. It was thrilling! Performing live was such a rush! Normally I play guitar in my room alone, when no one is around to watch me play; I use it as an emotional escape at times. So performing live was definitely a fantastic moment and one that is amongst some of my fondest memories.

My nominations are:
**(Note: I only actually follow the first blog as of right now. I don't read a lot of other blogs in my spare time *gasp I know* so I decided to go searching the 'blogspot' tag on Tumblr to find some hidden or upcoming gems! Also, I apologize that there are only 9)

Beauty ~ Fashion ~ Lifestyle
Professional Daydreamer
Livin' On Brightside
Erikaawho
We Live & Breathe Words
Sailor Alanah Books
The Travelling Donkey
Love. Eat. Read.
Wearing Wanderlust

My 11 questions for the nominees to answer:

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?
2. Indoors or outdoors?
3. The last song you listened to? 
4. A place you like to go to think?
5. Favourite thing to bake/cook?
6. Favourite day of the week?
7. A story that always makes you smile when looking back on it?
8. Chocolate or vanilla?
9. A book you never finished and why?
10. A book you will love forever?
11. Something people may not know about you?


Thank you once more to Charly for the nomination!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms