My biggest fictional crushes cast was perfect. They cast Patrick Gibson from The OA. Nikolai is my blond and beautiful privateer. Patrick is beautiful and he looks exactly like my imagination. I cannot wait to see him in his privateering getup.
I am a Nikolai fan. I am die-hard and am still holding out hope that he and Alina fall in love on the show.
I was nervous that the cast member was going to be someone I have seen in another show before, like some of the rumors about Brandon Flynn. I have never seen the OA, so I have no prior exposure to Patrick. This means I can see him fully in the role of Nikolai.
WYLAN VAN ECK:
Holy moly!
The casting for Nikolai was so good; I didn’t know it could get better. Jack Wolfe from The Witcher is AMAZING. Jack literally is Wylan. He looks like the producers pulled him out of Leigh Bardugo’s brain. He fits the little moppy-haired demolitions expert vibe perfectly!
Also, Wylan and Jesper’s storyline was my favorite romance in both these series. I think it was an injustice that he was not in the first season. But, the anticipation was worth it.
TAMAR KIR-BATAAR:
Anna Leong Brophy from Back is perfect also. I did not have a set vision for Tamar, but Anna fits my loose definition perfectly. Looking at pictures, I can tell Anna is perfect for the role.
TOLYA YUL-BATAAR:
Now this casting was interesting for me. Lewis Tan from Mortal Kombat is set to be Tolya. I imagined Tolya to be a huge hulk sized Heartrender. Lewis is not hulk sized, but he is still huge. He is also very attractive. I never thought Tolya was attractive while reading, but I can tell watching this series is going to be different.”
“After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.
The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.
The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.” –Goodreads
My Review:
Hoover is a genius. This is the best book I have read so far this year.
I have been on a hoover binge these past couple of weeks with reading Verity, Reminders of Him, and Ugly Love. I am also going to be listening to Heart Bones as soon as I get an Audible credit.
Reminders of Him honestly tore me up. It brought me so much pain and then patched me up one layer after the other. It was so beautiful.
I want to say this is one of her best works. The plot was amazing. You begin with this character, Kenna, that you’re not sure if you should hate or love, but you see her kindness and her devotion to getting the only thing she wants, her daughter.
We then get to Ledger, who is a beautiful soul, that just wants to do right by his extended family.
I think the book balanced both sides of this tragic love affair. Hoover held out information that was vital to the story to keep readers on their toes and waiting for the sweet reprieve to know that our gray character was good at heart.
We get to see two characters cope with their forbidden love while also navigating real-world situations.
Hoover’s writing always paints the most beautiful pictures of everyday life. She always makes me believe in love over and over through every word and every embrace.
I think this book has quite a bit for everyone. At the very least it will urge you to drive more responsibly and to hold your loved ones a little closer every day.
Hoover had me in tears by the end of this story. I devoured every page and finished it within a day. I highly recommend it.
If you have read it please comment, let me know what you think.
Published September 29th 2020 by Viking (first published August 13th 2020)
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary
Pages: 304
“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?
A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.” -Goodreads
The Review:
I always seem to slack on my blog when I go back to college. Sorry about that. But, I never claimed to be perfect. That is where I have been for the past two weeks, so please dont judge me.
Anyways…
The Midnight Library was a good book. I was not super impressed. I think the hype surrounding the book made me think it was going to be more. I still would recommend this book.
I think the biggest downfall was the ending was very predictable from the beginning. I knew what was going to happen in the end around halfway through. It was the only thing that made logical sense.
I thought the plot was unique though. When you are near death you get to try all of your different lives you could have lived. I would love to be able to experience that. The story took me through some beautiful storylines, but ultimately was not as exciting as I would have hoped.
The main character was kind of bland. She did not give a lot to the story. Even her “change/shift” was lackluster. It may have been because the plot was predictable.
While this book failed to excite me, it was still a good read and was a great first book to read this year.
“Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.
As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance Studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he’s only just met.
Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?” -Goodreads
My Review:
Nicola Yoon has been on my list of top authors for years now, and this book doesn’t change that.
I got this book for Christmas and it is signed!
This book is sweet and playful, but it also touches on some dark subjects. It devastated me in the end, but in a way that gives you hope. I loved it.
Evie is a wonderful character. I used to feel like her, desperate for love but thinking it was pointless. Her experience as a character is so unique. It made me want to sign up for dancing lessons with my partner.
X is a romantic dream, but I liked how the story did not only focus on the romance between the characters. Also, he was not an asshole or a man who is so hurt by his past. He is honest about his feelings.
This love story was sweet, but semi-unadventurous because nothing super bad happens to them. That was super refreshing. Clearly, there is something that goes wrong, but to tell you would be to ruin the book.
The story is a quick read, thanks to Yoon’s writing style. I love how sometimes chapters are just lists and sometimes they are only a few lines. I have always enjoyed that about her writing.
I think it is such a sweet book. It is definitely not her best, that is reserved for The Sun is Also a Star. I still loved it and highly recommend it.
“When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn’t think it’s love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.
Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future.
They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.
Hearts get infiltrated. Promises get broken. Rules get shattered. Love gets ugly.” -Goodreads
My Review:
Halfway through this book, I thought I would be giving it a so-so review. It did not have a hold of me. I thought it was a nice, quick read. The love story was interesting and had some spice to it, but I did not love it.
Until the end.
This book got me with a right hook and kick to the groin in the last half.
I did not expect what happened at all. It was thrilling and almost made up for its average beginnings…
Almost.
Yes, the end was thrilling and the premise of the story was interesting. The severe lack of depth in the female characters or action in the first half of the book brought it down a notch.
The main female character, Tate was kind of boring. All her struggles were about the love interest. Tate’s struggles with hooking up with someone emotionally unavailable is relatable, but not unique.
I thought the story could use a bit more development for her and maybe focus a couple of times on her work or her schooling.
The guy, Miles, had depth and development. His story was heartbreaking, albeit a little incestuous, (actually a lot incestuous.) What is with everyone writing about incest?
Rachel, the step-sister, was 2-D and only viewed from Miles perspective (until later). I do not like when a woman is not thoroughly defined through literature. Hoover usually does a good job, but this book was a bit lacking.
The last half of the book was gut-wrenching and I cried. It is a real tearjerker, so do not let the sexy scenes fool you, BUT the first half was dull. Yes, it held me captive with the flashback to Miles dating his step-sister. The flashbacks were the only interesting parts though.
Still, despite the lack of anything in the first half, this book was good. The ending was unexpected and heartbreaking. If you like Colleen Hoover this book would be great to check out.
“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s theme:
My Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection
I am so glad that this was the theme for this week’s TTT. I realized I never posted which books I got for Christmas, so this will be an EXCELLENT way to do a Christmas book haul, three weeks after Christmas.
She’s the sweet-but-silent angel in the adoring eyes of her Daddy. He’s the only person who understands her, and all Hanna wants is to live happily ever after with him. But Mommy stands in her way, and she’ll try any trick she can think of to get rid of her. Ideally for good.
Meet Suzette.
She loves her daughter, really, but after years of expulsions and strained home schooling, her precarious health and sanity are weakening day by day. As Hanna’s tricks become increasingly sophisticated, and Suzette’s husband remains blind to the failing family dynamics, Suzette starts to fear that there’s something seriously wrong, and that maybe home isn’t the best place for their baby girl after all.”
My Review:
It took me three months to finish this book.
I did not like it. It was almost a DNF, but I told myself I wanted to see what happened no matter how much I did not like it. I needed to finish it, and it did not satisfy me.
The book was weird. (SPOILER WARNING!) One, there is talk of a seven-year-old having sex which really just put me off the book. Two, there is horrible imagery about things that made me so uncomfortable.
I had to put this book down numerous times because of how repulsive it was.
I did not like the plot. Seemingly nothing really happens until the end. Then the ending is like a huge cliffhanger, and there (hopefully) will never be a sequel. It was so boring.
The characters are boring too. The mom was so secretive and annoying. So many issues in the book could have been solved if she had talked to people years before the story began. The daughter was horrifying. I honestly never want kids in case I am the one that gets a daughter who is homicidal at the age of 7. The dad made me angry. That is all I have to say about him.
There was nothing of substance in this book. I did not feel fear as a thriller or horror novel should make me feel. I only wanted to burn the book since it was so boring.
I want to put this book behind me so I refuse to write any more about it. I am done. Do not read this book!
Reading this book will make you feel so smart and so dense at the same time.
The Book:
Title: The Atlas Six
Series: The Atlas #1
Author: Olivie Blake
Published January 31st 2020
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Adult
Pages: 383
“The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.
Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.
When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.
Beginning this book, I knew it would be a life-changing book, at least according to numerous people on TikTok.
They were right.
While I may not have had an epiphany about the world or life in general, this book left a lasting impression. Olivie Blake discusses ideas about space, time, and thought that I have never heard of. This book has shifted my way of thinking about time and space.
After finishing the book, I wanted to check out books about all sorts of philosophical topics just to understand half of what these characters were talking about.
While the topics seem intimidating, Blake breaks them down really well for the sake of the story. Her ability to show the ideas while still keeping the complex jargon made me feel so smart. ( I still did not understand half the principles the characters spoke about, hence the feeling dense mentioned earlier.)
The plot was superb. I got the perfect amount of information throughout the story. The switching of POVs and the time-skips made sense and did not take away from my understanding or my enjoyment.
The book does focus mostly on 6 twenty-year-olds reading books and barely anything happens within the story, but the mental processes that take place in each character are astonishing; any added action would have made the book too much or too confusing.
Everything was revealed slowly, but surely. I could not put this book down. There are so many theories that I had in the beginning. Some I did not get right and some I did.
This book focuses heavily on character development, so if you are not into that sort of book, this might not be the book for you.
The characters were amazing to read about. I think that they all had their complex problems and successes. Reina and Libby were probably my favorites. I feel like they were so relatable and they had the best grasp on reality.
The other characters were perfect too! Honestly, there was no underdeveloped character in this book, other than Atlas, but we don’t see growth from him because he is barely around.
Some of the characters were unlikeable which was so nice. Blake makes all of the characters act like themselves. They all follow their own moral compass. They do what is necessary to survive. This story was so unique in the fact that no one tried to be someone they weren’t. I cannot say much more about the characters. I want you to experience them for yourself.
The vibe of this book is delectable. I read it in the wintertime. It was cold and I have been into the dark academia aesthetic recently. This book serves readers this aesthetic on a silver platter.
I loved this book. It has been a while since I have texted my reading buddies about a book and begged them to read it.
This book was honestly amazing. I could not put it down because I was so engulfed in the book.
“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl
This week’s theme:
Anticipated Books in the First Half of 2022
The first half of 2022 has some exciting books coming out and I am excited to share some that I am looking forward to, and some that I have already pre-ordered.
I have been super into Victoria Aveyard this past year. I am hoping the obsession continues. I got the pre-order for this after attending her cover reveal live stream.
“Plum Winter has always come in second to her sister, the unbelievably cool, famous influencer Peach Winter. And when Peach is invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxurious art and music festival for influencers on a private island in the Caribbean, Plum decides it’s finally her time to shine. So she intercepts the invite–and asks her two best friends Antonia and Marlowe to come along to the fest with her. It’ll be a spring break they’ll never forget.
But when Plum and her friends get to the island, it’s not anything like it seemed in the invite. The island is run-down, creepy, and there doesn’t even seem to be a festival–it’s just seven other quasi-celebrities and influencers, and none of the glitz and glamor she expected. Then people start to die…
Plum and her friends soon realize that someone has lured each of them to the “festival” to kill them. Someone has a vendetta against every person on the island–and no one is supposed to leave the island alive. So, together, Plum, Antonia, and Marlowe will do whatever it takes to unravel the mystery of the killer, and fight to save themselves and as many influencers as they can, before it’s too late.” -Goodreads
My Review:
So, I had no clue what this book was about when I first started reading it. I am notorious for not reading the synopsis. I saw this on my Libby app and it seemed popular, so I checked it out.
The first chapter ruined this book for me. It really did. It gave away that the book was about murder and that the main character would be one of the people who could be killed. It made all the suspense at the beginning of the book disappear. Had the first chapter been removed, the book would have had suspense and thrill when the first person dies.
And you, reader, might be saying, “Well if only you read the synopsis-“
NO
I do not care. I went into the book blind and I can say that it would have been 46% better if they had left the first chapter out.
The characters were dull. Plum Winters and her friends are irritating, to say the least. They are just three teenage girls who somehow can lead this group of celebrities better than the ex-military man in their group. I think not.
The premise of the book was really cool so the book won major points for that. Fyre Festival, if you don’t know, was a huge festival that basically flopped in 2017. (There is a really good Netflix documentary on the event. Definitely go watch that!) This book piggybacks off that idea with the Pyre Festival in the book.
Because of my background knowledge of this festival, I sort of thought the book was interesting. It turned a real-life event into an even greater sh*t show. The murder aspect of a social media festival was a fun twist.
I am really getting into mystery books this summer and I think this will be good for the fall and the chilly weather.
I will say, as far as mysteries go, this one was not the best. It did not have a huge amount of suspense. The culprit and the events leading up to the ending were interesting. The ending just seemed really random and also finished up really quick.
I cannot talk anymore about this book. Please, never ask me about it again.
