tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16512928510153012102024-02-19T06:34:38.724+01:00iamaloserkid reads and reviewsRochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-52459965273752952832014-12-02T20:28:00.000+01:002014-12-02T20:28:19.802+01:00Metal Heart by Meredith Shayne (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><b>Title: </b></i>Metal Heart<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Meredith Shayne<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>January 27, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Dreamspinner Press<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>LGBT, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Heart-Meredith-Shayne-ebook/dp/B00B76XK12/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417544449&sr=8-3&keywords=metal+heart" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3538">Dreamspinner</a><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-told-you-so-timothy-woodward/1107712011?ean=9780758274885" target="_blank"></a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17202653-metal-heart?ac=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
Scott King swore off rock stardom after his band, King Phoenix, crashed and burned. Now in his forties, Scott lives a quiet life as a music producer and session guitarist. But in a box hidden in his wardrobe lie the relics of the past he left behind—a past filled with drugs, booze, and broken hearts. For sixteen years, Scott has had no contact with his former bandmates, so when he’s asked to play at a benefit gig for King Phoenix’s old sound man, his world turns upside down. A King Phoenix reunion means a run-in with Scott’s ex, Ash Walker—and sixteen years ago, believing Ash wanted to leave the band, Scott OD’d and almost died.
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<br />
Since then, Scott has ruthlessly suppressed his feelings. As a result, he's completely unprepared for the impact of seeing Ash again, or for dealing with his emotions about the band’s demise. He definitely didn’t expect Ash to want to start up where they left off. Now Scott has to decide between his safe existence and the twenty-year-old love song that could cost him his sobriety—and his heart.</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>I read this book fairly quickly. I started reading it yesterday and kept reading without a break. It then was 1.30 am and I was still reading, only needed to read another 50 pages, but knew I really needed my sleep. So first thing today I finished the book. It doesn't happen that often to me that I feel the need to keep reading a book.<br />
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The story starts at present time with Scott getting a phone call from Ash. In the beginning you don't know much of the characters mentioned and what their relationship with each other is like, so you get curious really quickly. The next part of the book is all in chronicle order from the day Scott met Ash and the other band members Rory and Tommy. You read about how they started as a band, their first gigs and of course their big break. During their rise as a band you also read how Scott and Ash came to be and how things went from good to great to worse. The second part of the book is during present time where Scott meets Ash and the others for the first time in sixteen years again and the preparations for the benefit gig.<br />
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I felt emotional throughout the book. I think the emotions that especially Scott were feeling were expressed and formulated well and, at least for me, make you pick Scott's side in the story. However, further in the story you learn more about Ash and his feelings during the events and you start to see things more from both perspectives and I started to see Scott more as an asshole as the story progressed on. I think that's very well done, since it creates some real development with the characters as well with the story.<br />
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I liked this very much and it had me hooked from the beginning. Definitely recommend it.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-86218749758640060682014-11-02T18:03:00.000+01:002014-11-09T23:01:58.750+01:00Whitewater by Meredith Shayne (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/WhitewaterLG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/images/cover_images/WhitewaterLG.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Whitewater<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Meredith Shayne<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>March 12, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Dreamspinner Press<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>LGBT, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whitewater-Under-Southern-Meredith-Shayne-ebook/dp/B00BTGSI94/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414946318&sr=8-2&keywords=whitewater" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3632">Dreamspinner</a><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-told-you-so-timothy-woodward/1107712011?ean=9780758274885" target="_blank"></a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17377234-whitewater" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
Baker Luke Henderson loves his job, and owning a bakery at Coogee Beach makes it even better. When he opens the shop before dawn, he hears the waves. When he walks along the beach after sunrise, he admires the surfers—one in particular: Cameron Brown. A chef and café owner, Cameron secretly watches Luke right back. When Luke proposes a business deal, Cameron seizes the chance to get close. But Cameron’s ideal man is physically perfect, and Luke’s awkward limp could be the flaw that fractures their romance.</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
This is a shorter story and depending on your device and ebook version around 100 pages. It is however a good read. It has good development of characters and relationships which is normally missing in shorter stories.<br />
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The main characters are Luke and Cam(eron). All Luke knows about Cameron is that he's a surfer. He has admired him for a while, but never dared to talk to him. Cam has seen Luke many times at the beach and every time he wants to talk to Luke he has disappeared. That all changes when Luke is curious about a café and decides to taste their pastries. As a baker, he wants to see what the competition is like. And he didn't like what he ate at all. Cue Cam who sees Luke sitting in <i>his</i> café. Luke complains about the food and they talk about a deal: Luke's bakery would provide pastries for Cam's café. But that changed when Cam saw Luke limping away.<br />
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At first Cam doesn't want much to do with Luke. All he wanted was maybe a fun fuck, but he started worrying about it and didn't want it to seem as a pity fuck. After a few weeks not seeing Luke he finally decides to visit his bakery and their friendship start from their. <br />
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During the story you see Cam grow up. His life was surfing and partying and he had lost his passion for cooking. Going to his café wasn't fun anymore, it was a drag. Having Luke in his life and seeing how much Luke enjoyed baking made him rediscover his passion. He also seems to care more about Luke and about relationships in general.<br />
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It's a good, sweet story with great progression and development. Greatly done for a short story.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-3717919485485503882014-10-27T07:23:00.001+01:002014-10-27T07:23:12.575+01:00And a month and a half passed...Hi everyone,<br />
<br />
I want to apologize for not posting anything the past month and a half. Things have been crazy hectic and every time I felt like I had time to rest a bit I didn't feel like reading at all. The hectic is almost over, however, and I hope I can post a review the upcoming week.<br />
<br />
Thanks for being patient with me!<br />
<br />
x RochellaRochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-66871274598078781952014-09-11T19:20:00.001+02:002014-11-09T23:01:50.599+01:00The Maze Runner by James Dashner (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592l/6186357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592l/6186357.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>The Maze Runner<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>James Dashner<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>August 6, 2009<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Delacorte Press<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Dystopia, Mystery<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maze-Runner-James-Dashner-ebook/dp/B008LUM25M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410454434&sr=8-1&keywords=the+maze+runner" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Maze-Runner-James-Dashner/9780385737951" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/maze-runner-james-dashner/1030996581?ean=9780385385206" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6186357-the-maze-runner" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<i>If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.</i>
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When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers—boys whose memories are also gone.
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<i>Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade.</i>
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Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out—and no one’s ever made it through alive.
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<i>Everything is going to change.
</i><br />
<br />
Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.
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Remember. Survive. Run.
</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>I have to start with saying I read this book for all the wrong reasons. The reason is: Dylan O'Brien. I love that guy and when I heard he was going to play in this movie I knew I had to read the book first. However, I kept postponing it since it's not my kind of book. And that's all I kept thinking as I read it: it's not my kind of book.<br />
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This is one of those messed up dystopia books I can never really get my head around. I don't understand the Hunger Games, I don't understand Divergent and I don't understand <i>the Maze Runner.</i> Young boys get dropped in a weird manufactured place with a maze and creepy machine monsters. They don't know how they got there and how to get out. Some of the boys have been there for two years. Then Thomas gets dropped there and some people recognize him from somewhere. Shortly after Teresa, the first girl ever, gets dropped off in the Glade (as they call where they are). Then all kind of weird stuff just starts happening and everyone blames Thomas and Teresa.<br />
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It took me a super long time to actually get into the book and slightly enjoy the story. The first 2/3 didn't interest me all that much and I thought a couple of times about just giving up or skipping parts. Then the last third finally started to get a bit more exciting and things also started to make a bit more sense.<br />
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I am still very confused about this book and the events in the book. Mostly because it all seems so hard to believe. I also found it very hard to imagine how the place looks like and how the Grievers (the monsters) look like. I found the descriptions weren't as clear. I do admire the work that must have been put into this book. The writer must have put a lot of time and energy into planning the story. Kudos for that.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-51045158962294787892014-08-31T09:22:00.000+02:002014-11-09T23:01:40.168+01:00If I Told You So by Timothy Woodward (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347759748l/13543211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347759748l/13543211.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>If I Told You So<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Timothy Woodward<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>August 28, 2012<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Kensington<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, LGBT<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/If-I-Told-You-So-ebook/dp/B007T9WYT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409466213&sr=8-1&keywords=if+I+told+you+so+woodward" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/If-I-Told-You-So-Timothy-Woodward/9780758274885" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-told-you-so-timothy-woodward/1107712011?ean=9780758274885" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13543211-if-i-told-you-so" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
The summer you turn sixteen is supposed to be unforgettable. It's the stuff of John Hughes movies and classic songs, of heart-stopping kisses and sudden revelations. But life isn't always like the movies. . .
For Sean Jackson, sixteen is off to an inauspicious start. His options: take a landscaping job in Georgia with his father, or stay in his small New Hampshire hometown, where the only place hiring is the local ice cream shop. Donning a pink t-shirt to scoop sundaes for tourists and seniors promises to be a colder, stickier version of hell. Still, he opts to stay home.
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<br />
On his first day at work, Sean meets Becky, a wickedly funny New York transplant. The store manager, Jay, is eighteen, effortlessly cool, and according to Becky, "likes" Sean the way Sean's starting to like him. But before he can clear a path to the world that's waiting, Sean will have to deal with his overprotective mother, his sweet, popular girlfriend, Lisa, his absentee father, and all his own uncertainties and budding confusions.
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Tender and achingly funny, this coming-of-age story will resonate with anyone who is--or has ever been--a teenager, when the only thing you can count on is how little you really know, and the next glance, or touch, or breathless night can be the one that changes everything...</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
This is another must read YA LGBT book. It's definitely up there with Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher, Fan Art by Sarah Tregay, Collide by J.R. Lenk and Something Like Summer by Jay Bell.<br />
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The story is about Sean who has pretty much known his whole life he likes guys but has never done anything about it in his sixteen years of life. He has a girlfriend who he likes, but not that way. He starts to think more about his sexuality when Jay and Becky enter his life.<br />
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Becky is a girl from New York who is all for the gays. She is a member of the GSA at her school and has quite some friends that are gay. The minute she sees Sean, she knows he is gay. Along the way she tries to 'help' (and you'll find out why I put help in between quotations marks) Sean get out of the closet.<br />
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Jay is the love interest of Sean. He is a bit older and also more experienced in life. He is the manager of the ice cream shop and works along Sean all summer. He gives Sean all kinds of new experiences, good and bad.<br />
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Another important person in the story, though not often present, is Fabolous Reneé. She's the owner of the ice cream shop and the only gay person Sean really knows about. His father's opinion about her is also something that holds him back from coming out.<br />
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So lets get to the storyline. The book starts about one third into the story. You have a great opening with Sean coming out to his mother. Then the book goes on to the first days of the summer holiday. Sean's father makes him come to Georgia to stay with him and his girlfriend and that is the last thing Sean wants. The relationship with his father isn't great and he'd rather stay with his mom. He tries to look for a job, which gives him a reason to stay and the only thing really available is working at the local ice cream shop. Even though it doesn't have a great image because of the pink shirts and the lesbian owner, he takes the job. Along come Becky and Jay. Becky immediately knows about Sean's secret and also knows about Jay's sexuality. She is trying to set them up and one day they decide to go out on Jay's boat at night after work. However, Becky tells them she's tired and leaves the two boys alone. That is the moment Sean is really confronted with his feelings and he gives in.<br />
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As the story progresses, Becky gives mixed signals about what she wants for Sean. One moment she is basically pushing Sean into Jay's arms, the next moment she tells him he shouldn't go too fast and that maybe he doesn't return his feelings completely. She's also pushing Sean to be out and open, even though he barely is honest with his homosexuality to himself. Added to that, they don't live in place where many people are out and proud and Sean is scared being out might have negative consequences.<br />
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The story of Sean is all about discovery, being honest with yourself, friendship and relationships. I think it is a must read for everyone, LGBT or not. It gives you a bit of inside on the lives of people struggling with sexuality during their teen years.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-34877200839193866192014-08-21T06:23:00.000+02:002014-11-09T23:01:30.835+01:00Glitterland by Alexis Hall (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364942814l/17727137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364942814l/17727137.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Glitterland<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Alexis Hall<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>August 24, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Riptide Publishing <br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>LGBT, Romance<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Glitterland-Alexis-Hall-ebook/dp/B00ERY3JXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408594198&sr=8-1&keywords=glitterland" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Glitterland-Alexis-Hall/9781626490253" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/glitterland-alexis-hall/1115424018?ean=9781626490253" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17727137-glitterland" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<i>The universe is a glitterball I hold in the palm of my hand.</i>
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Once the golden boy of the English literary scene, now a clinically depressed writer of pulp crime fiction, Ash Winters has given up on love, hope, happiness, and—most of all—himself. He lives his life between the cycles of his illness, haunted by the ghosts of other people’s expectations.
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<br />
Then a chance encounter at a stag party throws him into the arms of Essex boy Darian Taylor, an aspiring model who lives in a world of hair gel, fake tans, and fashion shows. By his own admission, Darian isn’t the crispest lettuce in the fridge, but he cooks a mean cottage pie and makes Ash laugh, reminding him of what it’s like to step beyond the boundaries of anxiety.
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But Ash has been living in his own shadow for so long that he can’t see past the glitter to the light. Can a man who doesn’t trust himself ever trust in happiness? And how can a man who doesn’t believe in happiness ever fight for his own?</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>The story is about A.A. Winters (Ash) and Essex (Darian). The two are total complete opposites and somehow they are the most adorable couple ever. Ash is a writer who had a manic breakdown and ever since things have seem to gown downhill. He has pretty much given up on life and locks himself up in his house. The one time he actually does go out he meets Darian. Darian trying to become a proper model. When Ash sees him for the first time he can't take his eyes off of him. And so there story starts.<br />
<br />
Ash tries his best to hide his illness from Darian and actually succeeds for the most part. He goes to the supermarket for him, makes a salad for him (something he has never done) and all that with his anxiety. He actually overcame things because of Darian, just because he wants to make him happy. And those are just some examples.<br />
<br />
Darian is a guy from Essex and throughout the whole book his speech is written in a way you can't get past it. The thing about that is though, is that it can get on your nerves. I read the book in two sittings and at the end of both I was kind of getting tired of it. And because of his speech, I kept hearing Russell Brand and I am still not sure if that's a good thing or not. (it just felt weird having Russell Brand in my head). Darian and his friends are definitely all 100% Essex. I've seen some shows about Essex people and I couldn't stand them, but this book made me change my mind about that a bit.<br />
<br />
This story also has some drama parts and it actually brought tears to my eyes, so that really is a job well done. I feel like the progress Ash has made through the story is amazing and he has made some major improvements (I'm so proud of him). And his mental illness felt so real to me. I loved it.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-79138462532012240862014-08-11T02:23:00.003+02:002014-11-09T23:01:21.183+01:00Fan Art by Sarah Tregay (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381408667l/17924987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1381408667l/17924987.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Fan Art<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Sarah Tregay<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>June 17, 2014<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Katherine Tegen Books <br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, LGBT<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Art-Sarah-Tregay-ebook/dp/B00FJ34ZYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407667150&sr=8-1&keywords=fan+art" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Fan-Art-Sarah-Tregay/9780062243157" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fan-art-sarah-tregay/1117005012?ean=9780062243157" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17924987-fan-art" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<i>When the picture tells the story…</i>
<br />
<br />
Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.
<br />
<br />
As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?
<br />
<br />
This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.
</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>I've been wanting to read this book ever since I found out it was going to be published. Luckily the library had it and I was actually the first one to read the book, which just feel extra good.<br />
<br />
This book was just complete cuteness. Jamie is a guy everyone wants to be friends with and you can tell that everyone is sort of friends with him. People just like him. But he is gay and scared to come out, mostly because he is afraid to lose his best friend Mason (with who he is also in love). But yeah, a lot of people can kind of tell he's gay and everyone is pretty much okay with it (especially the art girls who ships him with Mason). And bonus point: Mason looks like Darren Criss (according to Jamie, that it).<br />
<br />
I guess you can tell from the way of writing I'm a bit giggly, and yes I am. I started rewriting a bit after a day of reading, but I can't help but not get a bit giggly because of this book. I just loved it. And I find it difficult to explain why exactly. It doesn't have a lot of drama, just a little bit, and Jamie and Mason are so cute together and that was just as regular friends! There wasn't a character I didn't like, though I did dislike Lia a little bit, just because she came across as a bit homophobic, but that's sadly 'normal' in this world so it did fit.<br />
<br />
Also another great thing was the art (even though I hoped there was more, since there were more mentions of drawings) and all the poems that were added.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDARfclBcfhRwIQZOjSnA2ynRkcNzM8EN3ynxbRWNGKv3-U5pIVo4bC0sd0djxHYMTCkhtA1Vo-pnpBuvDngmsfS_rE0Rs_h9OeoWN5H_1ZCt3qbT3yePuNE27zX0lUOGIoBLmw8K2VFE/s1600/4.5+rainbow+hearts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDARfclBcfhRwIQZOjSnA2ynRkcNzM8EN3ynxbRWNGKv3-U5pIVo4bC0sd0djxHYMTCkhtA1Vo-pnpBuvDngmsfS_rE0Rs_h9OeoWN5H_1ZCt3qbT3yePuNE27zX0lUOGIoBLmw8K2VFE/s1600/4.5+rainbow+hearts.png" /></a></div>
<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-44963810070463390442014-08-05T13:14:00.001+02:002014-11-09T23:01:09.138+01:00Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><b>Title: </b></i>Take A Bow<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Elizabeth Eulberg<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>April 1, 2012<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Scholastic Paperbacks <br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Music<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Bow-Elizabeth-Eulberg/dp/0545334764/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407236167&sr=8-1&keywords=take+a+bow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Take-Bow-Elizabeth-Eulberg/9780545334761" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/take-a-bow-elizabeth-eulberg/1105070779?ean=9780545334747" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15812340-take-a-bow" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
Chasing fame. Chasing love. Chasing a future.
<br />
<br />
Emme has long lived in her best friend Sophie's shadow. She writes songs, and Sophie sings them. It's always been like this, and feels like it always will be.
<br />
<br />
Sophie will stop at nothing to be a star. Even if it means using her best friend and picking up a trophy boyfriend, Carter.
<br />
<br />
Carter is a victim of a particular Hollywood curse: He's a former child star. Now all he wants is a normal life. But being normal is about as hard for him as being famous.
<br />
<br />
Ethan has his own issues -- a darkness in his head that he just can't shake. He's managed to sabotage every relationship he's ever been in. Emme's the only girl he's ever really respected . . . but he's not sure what to do about that.
</blockquote>
<a name='more'></a><br />
Sometimes you're looking for a book for a long time and you can never find a copy or it's just super expensive. And then other times when you are not looking a book just jumps out at you out of nowhere. I was looking for this book, but since I usually buy them secondhand it was hard to find it. And then I went to the library and it just set there on the shelf. So I took it home and read it in two days.<br />
<br />
This story seems to have four main characters, but really there are only two. And maybe a half. It really is mostly about Ethan and Emme, and there is some Sophie drama (so she's the half), but I feel like Carter is actually not that much of a main character. At some point he fades to the background and isn't important at all anymore for the storyline. I think Sophie does add a lot, but on her own her storyline isn't great. However Ethan and Emme, they're story is quite interesting. I think you can actually add them together and just have them as one main character. On their own, again, they are not that great character.<br />
<br />
Ethan and Emme are pretty much best friends since they met their freshman year at CPA (which stand for New York City High School of the Creative and Performing Arts, which makes you understand why you'd call it CPA). They are both there to compose music and pretty soon they create a band with Ben and Jack, two other guys from the music department. They don't add that much, but they are fun character to read (oh, they love bickering with each other). Emme has another best friend however. Her name is Sophie and they met when they were eight. Sophie has a plan: get famous. And during the book you notice how she literally will do anything for that. That includes dating famous Carter to get her name and face out there. I want to give major kudos to the writer Elizabeth Eulberg, because I have never hated a book character so much before in my life. Every time she opened her mouth I wanted to punch it shut, or you know, just knock her out. She really is a giant bitch. So Sophie adds a lot to the Emme storyline and due to Sophie, Emme grows a characters and ends up as a whole other person at the end of the book. Great character growth there. Ethan is... I don't know what to think of Ethan. He kind of seems like a dick sometimes, but then again he also seems like a good friend. He's alright, I guess.<br />
<br />
This book definitely had some postitive things and it gets a bonus point for it being a music book. However, I am a person who relies a lot on blurbs and can get annoyed when it misleads me, which I feel it kind of did. Sophie and Carter didn't really need to be added and some of their things might have been left out, at least in my opinion. However, I also think there are some people who could really enjoy bitchy Sophie and could read a whole book about her. It's just what interests you, I guess.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-465164191076577662014-08-02T07:18:00.000+02:002014-11-09T23:00:59.742+01:00When We Wake by Karen Healey (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333285795l/11544476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333285795l/11544476.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>When We Wake<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Karen Healey<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>January 1, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b> Little, Brown Books for Young Readers <br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Science Fiction, Mystery<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/When-We-Wake-Karen-Healey-ebook/dp/B00HG5MOLK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406949483&sr=1-1&keywords=when+we+wake" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/When-We-Wake-Karen-Healey/9780316200776" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-we-wake-karen-healey/1111530337?ean=9780316200776" target="_blank">B&N</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11544476-when-we-wake" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027—she's happiest when playing the guitar, she's falling in love for the first time, and she's joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice.
<br />
<br />
But on what should have been the best day of Tegan's life, she dies—and wakes up a hundred years later, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.
<br />
<br />
The future isn't all she had hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better world?
</blockquote>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Since Science Fiction and me usually don't go together very well, I was a bit wary of the book. The cover is amazing and was the thing that drew me to it and the blurb sounds cool. And that was what the story was: it was pretty cool. But it didn't convince me all the way and there were some things that annoyed me. But that's the thing with science fiction (and also with fantasy): it is all completely made up, so how someone imagines the future can be completely different from what I imagine the future to be.<br />
<br />
The story is about Tegan who lives in 2027, not too far from now. One day she's protesting with her friends and is near the prime minister when a sniper (who apparently has never shot a gun before, because seriously, how can you shoot a sixteen year old girl instead of the prime minister?), accidentally shoots Tegan instead of the prime minister. So Tegan dies. Or does she? She wakes up a hundred years later. She gave her body to science and they froze her, only to bring her back to life again.<br />
<br />
The future is quite horrible. The world is pretty much dying and Australia, where Tegan is from, turned into quite a horrible country. There is a very strict no immigration policy and people who do try to get to Australia get put into camps. And there are so many other things going on with the world.<br />
<br />
In the beginning Tegan find it quite difficult to adapt to the situation and the era she's living in. Slang has changed (and o my god, the writer was probably laughing while coming up with some of these words), technology has advanced and she misses her friends who, from what it felt like, she hang out with only a couple days ago. She eventually gets some new friends though, but not everyone is a fan of her.<br />
<br />
She starts to get known as the Living Dead Girl and everyone wants to interview her. There are also parties that would rather want her dead, since they think her soul is dead anyway. And then there's the whole 'why do they really want to bring people back to life?' thing. All in all, it is quite an energetic read with some thriller and myster aspects. And of course romance. Because who doesn't want romance when there is already so much going on (not me, really. They could as well have left that out.). I think it was a good, interesting read, but nothing spectacular.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-32299750792216658882014-07-08T11:11:00.000+02:002014-07-08T15:11:36.671+02:00Update on my life a.k.a. lack in reviews (I'm going to move!)Hi everyone!<br />
<br />
I just want to explain why it is taking a while for my next review to get posted. I've made some drastic decisions the past week(s) and I'm now preparing for my next step!<br />
<br />
I have officially dropped out (well, I got kicked out, but I sort of dropped out before I got kicked out) of university. My mental problems were holding me back and it is better to focus on me before I start university again, though I might not go back to uni at all. I also quit my part time job. And that has to do with my next step!<br />
<br />
In two weeks (exactly two weeks, I am terrified yet super excited) I will be moving to Australia for an indefinite period (which means from three months up to a year). Since I now live in the Netherlands it is a huge step, but I can honestly tell I have never been this happy in my 19 years of life. And that means a lot, since I've been battling mental illnesses for a long time now.<br />
<br />
All these changes take time though and I'm busy preparing my move, completing my last step in getting a visa, look for jobs and voluntary work and all kinds of other things. Thus I don't have a lot of time to read and write reviews! However, once I'm settled in Australia (which will be about July 26) I have pretty much all the time in the world to read!<br />
<br />
x RochellaRochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-36886238803997148542014-07-01T22:23:00.000+02:002014-07-01T22:23:42.186+02:00Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop: Freedom to Be! (INT)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.iamareader.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Freedom-to-Read-Hop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.iamareader.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Freedom-to-Read-Hop.jpg" height="320" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
I think the Freedom to be able to read is something very important and I would like to <br />
combine this topic with a topic I care about a lot: the Freedom to Be.<br />
<br />
For this giveaway I will give a book from the <b>Book Depository</b> for a maximum of <b>7 euro </b>that has something to do with <b>LGBT</b>. It doesn't have to me a the main point of the book, it can be just a minor character who is part of LGBT, as long as it is in the book somewhere! Don't know what to get? Here are some of my favorite LGBT books and books I want to read badly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6017769-the-vast-fields-of-ordinary" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6017769-the-vast-fields-of-ordinary" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347981713l/6017769.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17341639-undone" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17341639-undone" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360349286l/17341639.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12875258-tell-the-wolves-i-m-home" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12875258-tell-the-wolves-i-m-home" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335450415l/12875258.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_362687922"></span><span id="goog_362687923"></span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94072.Geography_Club" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94072.Geography_Club" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388423697l/94072.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/347639.What_Happened_to_Lani_Garver" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/347639.What_Happened_to_Lani_Garver" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328875636l/347639.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9372419-personal-effects"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9372419-personal-effects" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330545297l/9372419.jpg" width="130" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9757264-with-or-without-you" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9757264-with-or-without-you" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1300015543l/9757264.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11595276-the-miseducation-of-cameron-post" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11595276-the-miseducation-of-cameron-post" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309190566l/11595276.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9319389-empress-of-the-world" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9319389-empress-of-the-world" border="0" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356094093l/9319389.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=235665&type=basic" target="_blank">Make sure to check out the other giveaways in this Blog Hop!</a></b></div>
<!-- end LinkyTools script -->Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-40261359453410453462014-06-29T23:38:00.001+02:002014-11-09T23:00:35.709+01:00Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402108368l/6663784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402108368l/6663784.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Get Well Soon (Anna Bloom #1)<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Rachel Eliason<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>October 2, 2007<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Square Fish<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Mental Illness, Humor<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Get-Well-Soon-Julie-Halpern-ebook/dp/B008YH30B2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404076933&sr=1-1&keywords=get+well+soon" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Get-Well-Soon-Julie-Halpern/9780312581480" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/get-well-soon-julie-halpern/1101904989?ean=9780312581480" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6663784-get-well-soon" target="_blank"><b><i>Goodreads</i></b></a><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>I got a better look at some of my fellow patients in this freak hole, and they all look pretty close to my age. They come up to the check-in desk to get pills. After they take them, the desk people look in their mouths to make sure they’ve swallowed. It’s like something out of The Twilight Zone. Are they going to do that to me?
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Anna Bloom is depressed—so depressed that her parents have committed her to a mental hospital with a bunch of other messed-up teens. Here, she meets a roommate with a secret (and a plastic baby), a doctor who focuses way too much on her weight, and a cute, shy boy who just might like her. But wait! Being trapped in a loony bin isn’t supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it?</span></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>This book definitely ended better than it started. As someone who has been diagnosed with a mental illness I actually like reading about it and definitely in different ways, so having it as shelved as 'Mental Illness' and 'Humor' on Goodreads grabbed my attention (again, actually. I shelved it when I was 17).<br />
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The beginning of the book was somewhat weird. A girl, Anna, gets dumped out of nowhere in a mental hospital where no one listens to her and/or pays real attention to her. Nothing is explained and when she does something wrong she gets punished immediately (but what do you expect when no one tells you the rules?). Anna also keeps telling herself, and her best friend who she writes to the whole book, that there's nothing wrong with her. As the story progresses you see her accepting things more and the problems she actually had started to disappear. Having finished it, it kind of feels like the moment she got admitted she was actually having some sort of 'episode' and that's why everything seemed so messed up. But I am not sure.<br />
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The characters in this book are quite out there. You got Satan lovers, a girl who lied two times to her boyfriend she was pregnant just to keep him around, a guy who likes to set things on fire and some more weird people. The only problem with the main character Anna I had was that she didn't truly felt her age. I would have estimated her a bit younger than 16, but as the story progressed she seemed to grow up a bit. The adults in this book are also a bit weird. Not so great parents and horrible staff at the mental hospital. If I was stuck there I sure as hell wouldn't get better. It seems they do pretty much the opposite of what needs to be done (at least in my opinion).<br />
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I also liked the humor aspect of the book, though sometimes it seemed the writer was trying to hard. I think that humor is a great way to discuss serious problems.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRinoTqv3L58nt9XljWuvdvrHz82a9WK4M-5wQkE-gwB-zdcyEJtOXbNvI7VgSgX0K7VY0bGLEKvvLLUu02xjlTLKPgo52oQsElZRaTGWuSERp_J1b9t77Mz9hRkSOPtCeJsftvCYAzc/s1600/3+rainbow+hearts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRinoTqv3L58nt9XljWuvdvrHz82a9WK4M-5wQkE-gwB-zdcyEJtOXbNvI7VgSgX0K7VY0bGLEKvvLLUu02xjlTLKPgo52oQsElZRaTGWuSERp_J1b9t77Mz9hRkSOPtCeJsftvCYAzc/s1600/3+rainbow+hearts.png" /></a></div>
<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-32754868469512852902014-06-26T16:43:00.002+02:002014-11-09T23:00:22.967+01:00The End of You and Me by Wendi M. Lee (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397852821l/21948123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397852821l/21948123.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>The End of You and Me<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Wendi M. Lee<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>April 17, 2014<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Self-published<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/End-You-Me-Wendi-Lee-ebook/dp/B00JRNPNTO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403792812&sr=8-1&keywords=the+end+of+you+and+me" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21948123-the-end-of-you-and-me" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sixteen-year old Kate can't live without London. Their friendship is intense to the point of obsession. Nothing else matters: not dating, college applications, or her military father’s disapproval. When beautiful red-haired Anastasia sweeps into town and becomes fast friends with the pair, life changes forever. Suddenly Kate's quiet world is threatened.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">What makes an honor-student like Kate snap? Is it a redhead armed with seduction and lies? And how far will either of them go to get what they want?
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<a name='more'></a>I received a copy in exchange of a honest review.<br />
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Defying the genre of this book was so difficult. I feel like it doesn't really fit in anywhere. There is romance, but it is not romance. There is mystery, but it is not a mystery. There is angst, but is it not a thriller. It's just... everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I was confused for a big part of the book and I don't want to spoil anything, because the surprises were the better parts of this book.<br />
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One thing I couldn't get into and which mostly decided my enjoyment of this book were the characters. There was no real depth to them and the decisions made by them were with no explanation. I'd like to see in their heads a bit and get to know them and there were all strangers to me. Their behavior all made no sense to me. For example, Kate's father is a major jackass who seems to want his daughters life miserable. WHY THOUGH?! It's just a complete mystery why he's acting the way he's acting. Same for Anastasia. I don't get why she's doing what she's doing. It just makes me confused and frustrated with the book.<br />
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Another thing were certain events (read: surprises in the books) were so unreal that it was eye rolling. It was just hard to believe. I like realistic fiction and this wasn't that. Also things seemed to move fast, especially the last 5 pages or so. Another thing that was really hard to believe. Lastly, a couple of events didn't seem to add to the story and could as well have been left out.<br />
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Maybe I wasn't the right person to read this book, maybe it was too much out of my comfort zone, who knows. But I do think if you enjoy some mystery and thriller, this could be an okay read.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-74246123915361228252014-06-22T21:16:00.001+02:002014-06-22T21:16:19.204+02:00Seeing the Fault In Our Stars<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I went to the first screening of the Fault In Our Stars in the Netherlands and let me tell you: it was a real experience. I had no idea what to really expect since I evaded everything about the movie. But it was so true to the book and so wonderful and so terrible and I have never cried so much because of a movie and I also have never heard people cry so much because of a movie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEi8Ttl2TVO7uwYAy-dna6_nXdKp-qKFriiuHJbJk850OGRMAYfpnEiFavMJok7an2VTUX_8J2SQoarsZSB-h44HxrD4rp1R-5Dw4YINQDW84XMXUojVaYnh0wrHi_TuMwJSgGpEiPIvKaZupJZoeVTnosL6gw=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="cry" border="0" src="http://media.giphy.com/media/LG6mzmfXC3V1S/giphy.gif" /> </a></div>
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<i>pretty much me throughout the movie</i> </div>
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Now I want to go watch it again... and again... and again.<br />
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<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392547831l/20819184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392547831l/20819184.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>The Best Boy Ever Made<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Rachel Eliason<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>February 14, 2014<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Self-published<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>LGBT, YA, Romance<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Boy-Ever-Made-ebook/dp/B00IGK89YK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403380590&sr=8-1&keywords=the+boy+ever+made" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20819184-the-best-boy-ever-made" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding: 12px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Alecia Mueller, a conservative country girl, knows how her life is going to turn out. She is going to grow up, meet “the one,” get married and live in the country. When her best friends Sam comes out as a Female to Male Transgender, she chooses personal loyalty and friendship over politics. But what if the boy that Sam is becoming is “the one?”</span></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>I received a copy in exchange of a honest review.<br />
<br />
I kind of don't know where to start with this book. I think it's best to just start at the beginning.<br />
<br />
The book opens with this as the first sentence: "Hi, my name is Alecia Mueller and I will be your narrator for this story." I feel like that is such a classic beginner's mistake. The beginning just read like you read a diary of a person or something and it's just such a cliché. And it feel like it doesn't do the story justice (or at least, what it could have been). And things like this continue throughout the story: she keeps talking to <i>you</i> like you are there and what you <i>both </i>could be seeing if you actually were there and the more it happened the more it annoyed me.<br />
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So as you read, Alecia is the main character of the book, along with Sam who is a Female to Male Transgender. Alecia seems a bit like a twelve year old: her way of thinking and acting comes across as a bit childish. But as the story progressed I think that may also be because her parents treat her like such and because how uneducated they are (so it could be done by the writer because of that, or the character is just not that well thought out of). So yeah, Alecia's parents: total a-holes. They can easily win the worst parents of the year, nope make that decade award. Alecia has a sister who is also kind of an a-hole, but she has some great development throughout the story and there's a little brother who's never really seems there (or he's just not important to the story).<br />
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Then you got Sam (actually Samantha, but towards the end Samuel). All his life he knew he wasn't really a girl and when he was 17 he decided to really look into options and told his father. His father who is by the way super nice and supportive. So he starts therapy and later on tells his best friend Alecia the truth. Alecia gets really confused, having never been educated by her a-hole parents and school about LGBT. But she accepts, because Sam is her best friend and somewhere she always knew. Not everyone is so supportive though. Alecia's parents ban her from seeing Sam and people at school also aren't that nice. The rest of the story is just really overcoming all of that (and the start of a romance).<br />
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There are certain points in the story that I feel moves a tad bit fast. A thing that makes it difficult to keep track off is that there also isn't a real transition when the writer moves on. You're reading and all of a sudden you a month later; you just don't see it coming. Also, certain events seem to happen <i>really </i>fast, which makes it seem unreal to me.<br />
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There is also a couple of times that I noticed there were mistakes in the story. Character's names were mixed up, some facts were wrong (at least from mentioned in other parts of the book) and those are just things I wished attention was paid to it.<br />
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And can I also just say that the story had a really Degrassi - Adam feel to it? Not sure if you know the show and the character, but I just really felt like it could have been Adam and Becky: they were going through quite the same thing, though Adam had already had most of his transition done.<br />
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It was an okay book, but I thought it could have been a lot more.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-77033141293878307942014-06-21T10:30:00.000+02:002014-06-21T10:30:00.607+02:00Stacking The Shelves #1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyk9Z7WdVNA/T6P68ADmNrI/AAAAAAAAFKI/WfHmIKAeAGI/STSmall_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyk9Z7WdVNA/T6P68ADmNrI/AAAAAAAAFKI/WfHmIKAeAGI/STSmall_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" height="181" width="320" /></a></div>
Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by <a href="http://www.tyngasreviews.com/" target="_blank">Tynga's Reviews</a>. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual.<br />
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Yesterday I went to my favorite book fair and I set myself a budget and a book limit and it was actually the first time I could resist buying more (but that's only because I'm leaving to Australia for three months soon and there's only so much I can bring along). Here are all the books I bought (and added to that books I need to buy because a couple of books I bought are parts of series). (also, looking at the price tags I think you can guess why I love this book fair so much)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBSKxMGSPD97olXEzJI5vMm4Gijxy62M-Oxo6qKT8SJQiMa2sy4JTpmfEiS619aaU2VenZcIVttDKgYdfxRO8GDhXskShLNJP-HE3tkWjUgD84Ja7SPsyUkwlxoihBHE4-WMcJgNRUQQ/s1600/CIMG1026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBSKxMGSPD97olXEzJI5vMm4Gijxy62M-Oxo6qKT8SJQiMa2sy4JTpmfEiS619aaU2VenZcIVttDKgYdfxRO8GDhXskShLNJP-HE3tkWjUgD84Ja7SPsyUkwlxoihBHE4-WMcJgNRUQQ/s1600/CIMG1026.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>How To Kill A Rock Star<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Tiffanie DeBartolo<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> September 1, 2005<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Sourcebooks Landmark<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>NA, Contemporary, Music<br />
<b><i>Buy On: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Rock-Star-Tiffanie-DeBartolo-ebook/dp/B003H29CJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403282061&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+kill+a+rock+star" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/How-Kill-Rock-Star-Tiffanie-DeBartolo/9781402205217" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-kill-a-rock-star-tiffanie-debartolo/1100201563?ean=9781402205217" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113791.How_to_Kill_a_Rock_Star" target="_blank">Goodreads </a><br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Written in her wonderfully honest, edgy, passionate and often hilarious voice, Tiffanie DeBartolo tells the story of Eliza Caelum, a young music journalist, and Paul Hudson, a talented songwriter and lead singer of the band Bananafish. Eliza's reverence for rock is equaled only by Paul's, and the two fall wildly in love.
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When Bananafish is signed by a big corporate label, and Paul is on his way to becoming a major rock star, Eliza must make a heartbreaking decision that leads to Paul's sudden disappearance and a surprise knock-your-socks-off ending.</blockquote>
This book... this book has been on my wishlist since November 2012. I've been wanting to get this book for SO long, but I am a typical Dutch (a.k.a. cheap) and it was too expensive for my taste, and I could never find a second hand version of it. And there it was, for only €1,99! I didn't think twice and just grabbed it. Now I just hope I am going to enjoy this book. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xawJCy-U-cWYwyn2VkpWhovWn4AmVQFt6sBpoc8SRnZtJ8c9auInU18VSUWCIwNl5CN2gO_WlGkcUKMa3Ljcu_OHOqdVFv9jd-y7w73wcThzzBI0GFpk8svT7xfMGJrdzXNY-jRH1oI/s1600/CIMG1034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xawJCy-U-cWYwyn2VkpWhovWn4AmVQFt6sBpoc8SRnZtJ8c9auInU18VSUWCIwNl5CN2gO_WlGkcUKMa3Ljcu_OHOqdVFv9jd-y7w73wcThzzBI0GFpk8svT7xfMGJrdzXNY-jRH1oI/s1600/CIMG1034.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergens<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Ashley Juergens<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> June 4, 2010<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Hyperion<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA<br />
<b><i>Buy On: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Diary-Ashley-Juergens/dp/B004HEXT4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403282523&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Secret+Diary+of+Ashley+Juergens" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-diary-of-ashley-juergens-ashley-juergens/1100317877?ean=9781401395964" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7770098-the-secret-diary-of-ashley-juergens" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
ABC Family's hit show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" focuses on the Juergens family and how they deal with the unexpected pregnancy of fifteen-year-old Amy. Younger sister Ashley is the no-drama outsider, and despite her age (thirteen in the first season), she is in many ways more observant and thoughtful than Amy-she caught on to their parents' separation, she provided comfort throughout Amy's pregnancy, and she is independent beyond her years. Ashley keeps a diary in which she unveils various secrets and plot points about how each character spent their summer vacation at the end of season one and cliffhangers from season two. Questions that will be addressed include:
<br />
<br />
-What happened at Grace's pre-med summer program?<br />
-The mystery behind Ben's trip to Italy and his Italian girlfriend.<br />
-Did Madison and Jack hook up at their Dead Parents Club sessions?<br />
-Who is baby Robie's father? George or David?<br />
-Amy's real feelings for Ricky</blockquote>
I have watched the first two seasons and a bit of the third season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager and I have to say, Ashley was a great character. I have to re-watch the first two seasons again and then I will read this book and hope it will give me some fun insight from a different perspective.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj5BfN0N3i8a4nMX-ZZy8mLIBq3lhW54WwN-dHHnGs4ib7iRwLFGUO1Ayiqj3DW49-JtqZ5eCF6iDCdns3zIl4esQ46blPHu4m1_K_PKWER6hb_-DRrR1eTEBZEpkpPd2nCfNvKURaX4/s1600/CIMG1031.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwj5BfN0N3i8a4nMX-ZZy8mLIBq3lhW54WwN-dHHnGs4ib7iRwLFGUO1Ayiqj3DW49-JtqZ5eCF6iDCdns3zIl4esQ46blPHu4m1_K_PKWER6hb_-DRrR1eTEBZEpkpPd2nCfNvKURaX4/s1600/CIMG1031.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>Freaks Like Us<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Susan Vaught<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> September 4, 2012<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Bloomsbury UK<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Mental Health, Mysery<br />
<b><i>Buy On: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Freaks-Like-Us-Susan-Vaught-ebook/dp/B0093K1HAU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403285658&sr=8-1&keywords=freaks+like+us" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Freaks-Like-Us-Susan-Vaught/9781408836163" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/freaks-like-us-susan-vaught/1108309140?ean=9781619631632" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15763182-freaks-like-us" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
<i>‘You’re just a freak. You’re just a stupid freak. Freaks don’t
speak. Freaks shouldn’t speak. Don’t talk out of your head or the swirly clouds will eat you because sometimes clouds have teeth.’
</i><br />
<br />
Jason’s best friend, Sunshine, has vanished. If only Jason could push through all the voices in his head, he’d know what happened; he’d tell everyone; he’d find her. But then people don’t always listen to kids like Jason ...
<br />
<br />
A funny and compelling thriller about a boy on the edge of mainstream society. </blockquote>
I always find books with mental illnesses interesting, because everyone has a different way of dealing with them and there are so many different sorts of illnesses. Excited to read this one.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jCMDVeOku4_3Ec43QpzjOXVfaVYtPKtfSi1cXqBvB6TrdnWbJ-kQFCWEiJNwwrEzpvtYpL4t-K2-Q6li_l8B1B6bocbGeDbXV9WjMySXkAUdkENZM_jmTH1UHWXJ5HpHAXiyVVr5BzA/s1600/CIMG1032.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_jCMDVeOku4_3Ec43QpzjOXVfaVYtPKtfSi1cXqBvB6TrdnWbJ-kQFCWEiJNwwrEzpvtYpL4t-K2-Q6li_l8B1B6bocbGeDbXV9WjMySXkAUdkENZM_jmTH1UHWXJ5HpHAXiyVVr5BzA/s1600/CIMG1032.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>While He Was Away<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Karen (Halvorsen) Schreck<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> May 1, 2012<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Sourcebooks Fire<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA/NA, Chick Lit<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/While-Was-Away-Karen-Schreck-ebook/dp/B007MCWMKA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1403286322&sr=8-3&keywords=karen+schreck" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/While-He-Was-Away-Karen-Schreck/9781402264023" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/while-he-was-away-karen-schreck/1104198862?ean=9781402264023" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12912154-while-he-was-away" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
One year--he'll be gone for one year and then we'll be together again and everything will be back to the way it should be.
<br />
<br />
The day David left, I felt like my heart was breaking. Sure, any long-distance relationship is tough, but David was going to war--to fight, to protect, to put his life in danger. We can get through this, though. We'll talk, we'll email, we won't let anything come between us.
<br />
<br />
I can be an army girlfriend for one year. But will my sweet, soulful, funny David be the same person when he comes home? Will I? And what if he doesn't come home at all..?</blockquote>
I have a love-hate relationship with chick lit. Usually it is really bad and I wonder every time why I try chick lit again. But this subject sounds interesting: war. Will your partner come back from war and will he be the same person? The answer to either of them is probably no, because everyone who goes to a war zone gets affected one way or another. Curious to read the story and see what the writers has done with it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJs8Nb0Tv_NT29K2eXFGoQpXBbDjuARoH-kMAwLavA50iz8YtMxkFNwBqmRGmxRq_IHHQhA8CT3wNhz9MMBjONZwToVl4TRvU9qa0XX1M4tag9QasSvZYtcvxc2d9y-16xIKHCpNDKMU/s1600/CIMG1030.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJs8Nb0Tv_NT29K2eXFGoQpXBbDjuARoH-kMAwLavA50iz8YtMxkFNwBqmRGmxRq_IHHQhA8CT3wNhz9MMBjONZwToVl4TRvU9qa0XX1M4tag9QasSvZYtcvxc2d9y-16xIKHCpNDKMU/s1600/CIMG1030.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Virtuosity<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Jessica Martinez<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> October 18, 2011<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Simon & Schuster UK<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Contemporary, Music<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Virtuosity-Jessica-Martinez-ebook/dp/B004U7G6RK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403289266&sr=8-2&keywords=Virtuosity" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Virtuosity-Jessica-Martinez/9781442420533" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/virtuosity-jessica-martinez/1100398252?ean=9781442420526" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11860247-virtuosity" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot…what if Jeremy is better?
<br />
<br />
Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her—and riles her up—like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win, she takes antianxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even sicker of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.
Sometimes being on top just means you have a long way to fall…</blockquote>
I love me some Music books. This is actually a book I've seen a lot in my Goodreads recommendations, though with a different cover. I didn't recognize it all when I saw it at the book fair! But even though I've seen it a lot, I never actually put it on my wishlist. Now I'm going to give it a try though.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJQDRzkcZCXLjPlnsZGufw7wgYMj0m-SRG3ilEdYyuZpzZi7hBBwCnqfQNwKbeAEsnYPsJFPRtwakpRg9NZsAX0J_wIm28vDxYyHG8_oHqAQYdTNEhi_x_SmojUQhAjfKH31ok-EzM_o/s1600/CIMG1027.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJQDRzkcZCXLjPlnsZGufw7wgYMj0m-SRG3ilEdYyuZpzZi7hBBwCnqfQNwKbeAEsnYPsJFPRtwakpRg9NZsAX0J_wIm28vDxYyHG8_oHqAQYdTNEhi_x_SmojUQhAjfKH31ok-EzM_o/s1600/CIMG1027.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Before the Storm<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Diane Chamberlain<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> June 1, 2007<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Mira<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>Drama, Mystery, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Before-Storm-Diane-Chamberlain-ebook/dp/B00A9V2440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403289755&sr=8-1&keywords=Diane+Chamberlain+before" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Before-Storm-Diane-Chamberlain/9780778303381" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/before-the-storm-diane-chamberlain/1100325358?ean=9780778315490" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8240918-before-the-storm" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Fifteen-year-old Andy Lockwood is special. Others notice the way he blurts out anything that comes into his mind, how he cannot foresee consequences, that he’s more child than teenager. But his mother sees a boy with a heart as open and wide as the ocean.
<br />
<br />
Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect. She’s spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she’s succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent—maybe even over-protective. Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social—a decision that terrifies and infuriates her when the church is consumed by fire. But Andy survives…and remarkably, saves other children from the flames. Laurel watches as Andy basks in the role of unlikely hero and the world finally sees her Andy, the sweet boy she knows as well as her own heart.
<br />
<br />
But when the suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son…and how far she’ll go to keep her promise to protect him forever.</blockquote>
I love me some drama. Even though this falls out of my comfort zone, since it's adult fiction it does seem like a really good story. Curious to read it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9CRTUK2HYgDJEb4nRAk2VMr-uKG4dzosuEvKuKSoWVyQsSWVtpM-48spkE5Re2jhz1c2sHNSKZXxqdFUYBeD6plCfMQSaQkOtCd8SjxhkvNxa8sWeppKG6hbIZ7goNFGOBy4VrOojR4/s1600/CIMG1028.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9CRTUK2HYgDJEb4nRAk2VMr-uKG4dzosuEvKuKSoWVyQsSWVtpM-48spkE5Re2jhz1c2sHNSKZXxqdFUYBeD6plCfMQSaQkOtCd8SjxhkvNxa8sWeppKG6hbIZ7goNFGOBy4VrOojR4/s1600/CIMG1028.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>Exchange<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Paul Magrs<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> November 1, 2008<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Simon & Schuster UK<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exchange-Paul-Magrs/dp/1416916636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403290142&sr=8-1&keywords=paul+magrs+exchange" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exchange-paul-magrs/1008575211?ean=9781416916635" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1089294.Exchange" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Following the death of his parents, 16-year-old Simon moves into his grandparents' claustrophobic bungalow, which quickly becomes a refuge from his bullying peers. United by their voracious appetite for books, Simon and his grandmother stumble across the Great Big Book Exchange—a bookshop with a difference. There they meet impulsive, gothic Kelly and her boss, Terrance—and the friendships forged in the Great Big Book Exchange result in startling and unsettling consequences for all of them.
</blockquote>
This seems like a good read, and hey: books about books are always great. Seems to be a dramatic read though, so wonder how it will play out. <br />
<br />
And here the books I need to read and/or buy other books for to read:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HX4ivuNZZJKDFUdMNQhVYs-KlgGekw14u2GkqZTvbAl6yyQjLhLEEy-mkyAf33-vWnbjUng2CRZmqQzTaozO94gQ0P01wi3kDS2n0j0OO4x8pFhgkPTBwMD6irCDG3KL5w_5Kz4upjU/s1600/CIMG1035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HX4ivuNZZJKDFUdMNQhVYs-KlgGekw14u2GkqZTvbAl6yyQjLhLEEy-mkyAf33-vWnbjUng2CRZmqQzTaozO94gQ0P01wi3kDS2n0j0OO4x8pFhgkPTBwMD6irCDG3KL5w_5Kz4upjU/s1600/CIMG1035.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>One More Little Problem (Zelah Green #2)<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Vanessa Curtis<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> July 5, 2010<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Egmont UK<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zelah-Green-More-Little-Problem-ebook/dp/B005DB7GOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403290484&sr=8-1&keywords=One+more+little+problem" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Zelah-Green-One-More-Little-Problem-Bk-2-Vanessa-Curtis/9781405240543" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zelah-green-vanessa-curtis/1102348651?ean=9781405240543" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7965962-one-more-little-problem" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
In order to read this, I first need to read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7965963-zelah-green" target="_blank">Zelah Green</a>. <br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
My name is Zelah Green – and I’m still here.
<br />
<br />
Summer’s supposed to be good, right? But I’m stuck at home with a lousy laptop, stacks of homework to start and dad being more useless than ever. And then Caro turns up out of the blue, all heavy metal and piercings and attitude and my boring summer’s turned upside down. It’s like she knows just what to say to wind me up, sending my OCD right out of control...</blockquote>
Another Mental Illness book, and the first book also sounds very interesting!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0DQfK3vsFXUbAKLC8bbMtJSjtPQPzQRpnFVSEyFIgcU785-CwJKhMNJzDGwFDSSVxz0bb3h1gdrF8MBMnfQ4-mGf3ome2Izk91YsDQ49wRa4n-xnwiKrU48zzI3e8MeXBAgFIG0AYpI/s1600/CIMG1036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0DQfK3vsFXUbAKLC8bbMtJSjtPQPzQRpnFVSEyFIgcU785-CwJKhMNJzDGwFDSSVxz0bb3h1gdrF8MBMnfQ4-mGf3ome2Izk91YsDQ49wRa4n-xnwiKrU48zzI3e8MeXBAgFIG0AYpI/s1600/CIMG1036.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>Missing Me (Girl, Missing #3)<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Sophie McKenzie<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> September 1, 2012<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Simon & Schuster Children's<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Mystery<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Me-Sophie-McKenzie-ebook/dp/B006VJXCLS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403291027&sr=1-1&keywords=missing+me+mckenzie" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Missing-Me-Sophie-McKenzie/9780857077288" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> <br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13331721-missing-me-sophie-mckenzie" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
In order to read this, I first need to read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2149385.Girl_Missing" target="_blank">Girl, Missing</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10396147-sister-missing" target="_blank">Sister, Missing.</a><br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Six years have passed since the end of Sister, Missing and Madison is now a teenager. During a visit to her older sister Lauren, Madison learns that their biological father was an anonymous sperm donor and sets out to track him down. Her search bears fruit sooner than she expects, but is the father she discovers all he seems? As Madison gets drawn into a mysterious investigation involving missing girls and secret hideaways, she finds herself in more and more danger. A tense and thrilling end to the bestselling series, not to be missed!</blockquote>
For someone who doesn't like mystery too much, it seems like I picked quite some mystery books up. And also having it cost only €0,99 may have something to do with the fact I bought it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigycKonWAqmF-Pcq6MlVrgYkIxOXq-bzlj3SVvPHTzxSTMESyDxY0Z__oMusB-PTAbWughK_4GtFbZktqrfoEwKyDsK3jhgqq9GNIw1w8o2tfdwRmpX2VQ3dT9btRqZvPyn1YIMlRZ1mg/s1600/CIMG1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigycKonWAqmF-Pcq6MlVrgYkIxOXq-bzlj3SVvPHTzxSTMESyDxY0Z__oMusB-PTAbWughK_4GtFbZktqrfoEwKyDsK3jhgqq9GNIw1w8o2tfdwRmpX2VQ3dT9btRqZvPyn1YIMlRZ1mg/s1600/CIMG1033.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel #4)<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Elizabeth Chandler<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> March 8, 2011<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Simon Pulse<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Paranormal<br />
<b><i>Buy On:</i></b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evercrossed-Kissed-Angel-Elizabeth-Chandler-ebook/dp/B003V1WSX2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403291569&sr=1-1&keywords=evercrossed+chandler" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Evercrossed-Elizabeth-Chandler/9781442409156" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/evercrossed-elizabeth-chandler/1100375260?ean=9781442409149" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8724084-evercrossed" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><br />
<br />
In order to read this, I first need to read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3304393-kissed-by-an-angel" target="_blank">Kissed by an Angel</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/321647.The_Power_of_Love" target="_blank">The Power of Love</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/321646.Soulmates" target="_blank">Soulmates. </a><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
It’s been a year since Ivy’s boyfriend, Tristan, died. They’ve both moved on—Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy’s heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.
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<br />
But then a car crash ends Ivy’s life.
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<br />
As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she’s left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost.
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<br />
But memories aren’t all that’s come back from the past. And this time, Ivy’s not sure love will be enough to save her.</blockquote>
Besides Mystery, I am also starting to get more into Paranormal books, as you can see here. Before looking on Goodreads, I had a feeling I could read this as a stand alone, but I am doubting and want to read the stories before this one. I also think the whole things of Angels and afterlife is something special and amazing. Seems like a good one!Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-22335716131574148892014-06-18T11:30:00.000+02:002014-06-18T11:30:02.317+02:00Wishlist Wednesday #1: In a Heartbeat <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book
per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added
(it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist
and onto our wonderful shelves. The meme is hosted by<a href="http://www.pentopaperblog.com/" target="_blank"> Pen to Paper</a>.<br />
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<i><b>Title: </b></i>In a Heartbeat<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Loretta Ellsworth<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> February 2, 2010<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Walker & Company<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy On: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heartbeat-Loretta-Ellsworth-ebook/dp/B00413PHTG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403035017&sr=1-1&keywords=In+a+Heartbeat+loretta" target="_blank">Amazon</a> | <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Heartbeat-Loretta-Ellsworth/9780802720689" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-a-heartbeat-loretta-ellsworth/1100312248?ean=9780802720689" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6696420-in-a-heartbeat" target="_blank">Goodreads </a><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.
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<br />
When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on. </blockquote>
I put this book on my wishlist recently, but whenever I find a book that is very interesting or seems like a good read, I see if it has a paperback version. If it has, I need to decide: download the ebook, or buy the paperback. This is one of the books where I would rather have the paperback than a ebook edition. I simply love the feel of a paperback novel and I would love to read all my books like that, but sadly that is not possible.<br />
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This story seems really cool and I think it is also a way to make transplant of organs something discussable (my teacher views have impacted my way at looking at literature). I am really curious to see how this novel deals with such a heavy subject.Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-59388403148661106672014-06-14T12:16:00.001+02:002014-06-14T12:16:58.038+02:00I am soo mad (gender roles)I work in a supermarket and today a little boy and his grandma were doing groceries. The grandmother let the son pick out a small book to take home. The little boy ran to the checkout with <b><i>Dora Princess Adventures </i></b>to which the grandmother replied: 'You are not a girl'. She refused to pay for the book because of she believes only girls can read that. The boy were very sad, because he didn't get the book he truly wanted.<br />
<br />
I hate narrow minded people who think a Dora Princess book is only for girls! And the way she said it to the boy: "You're supposed to be a man, not a sissy." Ugh. If the boy wants to read about princesses, let him read about princesses!Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-29711759486303505102014-06-13T10:27:00.000+02:002014-11-09T22:59:08.544+01:00The Hollywood Version by Harry K. Malone (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365640887l/17790459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365640887l/17790459.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<i><b>Title: </b></i>The Hollywood Version<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Harry K. Malone<br />
<i><b>Release date: </b></i>May 9, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Dreamspinner Press<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>LGBT, Romance, Contemporary<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Version-Harry-K-Malone-ebook/dp/B00CPWOTPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402645905&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hollywood+version" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17790459-the-hollywood-version" target="_blank">Goodreads</a></i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Mark Lawler has always imagined the world as a movie. With his overactive imagination, he can’t help equating life and art. Currently, he’s living the dream: successful actor, beautiful wife, and he works with his best friend, television heartthrob Zach Pericles. The problem is a certain contingent of fans are convinced Mark and Zach are really in love.
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When a compromising photo of them leaks to the press, Mark’s life spins out of control. The show’s executive producer plans to kill off Mark’s character, and Mark faces unemployment and life as a single man. He turns to Ross Lockhart, an old acquaintance, to help him pick up the pieces.
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Ross has to be the most frustrating man Mark’s ever known, but he’s levelheaded and wise for his years, and Mark envies the honest life he leads. Maybe Ross can teach Mark a thing or two about finding his own happily ever after.
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<a name='more'></a>As some may know, I love books with characters who are celebrities, so this book was right up my alley! I got a copy from the writer to review and it did not disappoint me! <br />
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The main character is Mark Lawler (as a non-native English speaker, I wonder how to pronounce that surname, it sound so unnatural and forced when I say it!). He is an actor and plays in a TV show and there he met his best friend Zach Pericles. He also met his wife on set there; she had a guest role. He and his wife don't seem to have the greatest relationship (at least in my eyes). There is always a lot of pressure because of rumors going around that Mark and Zach are in a relationship. The crazy thing is, his wife Alex actually FUELS the rumors. She is obsessed with the media and spends a lot of time looking them up on the Internet or getting their name out there (which for me already screams ALARM BELLS).<br />
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It is not crazy people think Mark and Zach are secretly in love: they have a very tight bromance, which almost leads to a real romance. However things go bad, Mark loses Zach as a friend and his marriage falls apart. Then Ross, who went to High School with him, comes back into his life. Ross won a talent show and wants to become an actor too. They are quite different people (Mark has this obsession with appearance and how people think about him), but somehow they start to get along and help each other out.<br />
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I liked this story. Some characters have great developments. The story moves very slow, though. The first half or so of the book is mostly focused on Mark and Alex's marriage, the troubles they have and his friendship with Zach. It takes a while to get to the real M/M part of the book. I like slow burn, but there were moments where I wondered where this was going to. I also liked the Gay for You aspect of the book. Mark seems straight and has never had any feeling for a man. There are some feelings there for Zach, though it's not completely looked into and then there are feelings for Ross. So yeah, it has some great aspects and I thought it was a very good read.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-38487304183475663442014-06-02T17:11:00.000+02:002014-11-09T22:58:52.025+01:00The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith (review)<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384194542l/18780192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384194542l/18780192.jpg" width="200" /></a><i><b>WARNING: EXPLICIT SCENES, NOT FOR CHILDREN </b></i><br />
<i>I received a copy from the author in exchange of an honest review <b><br /></b></i><br />
<i><b>Title: </b></i>The Reflections of Queen Snow White<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>David Meredith<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> October 2, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>self-published<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>Fantasy, Fairy Tales<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reflections-Queen-Snow-White-ebook/dp/B00FLF4JAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401720243&sr=8-1&keywords=queen+snow+white+david" target="_blank">Amazon</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reflections-Queen-Snow-White-ebook/dp/B00FLF4JAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401720243&sr=8-1&keywords=queen+snow+white+david" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reflections-Queen-Snow-White-ebook/dp/B00FLF4JAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401720243&sr=8-1&keywords=queen+snow+white+david" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=iamaloserkrea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316209740" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></a><br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18780192-the-reflections-of-queen-snow-white" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </i></b><br />
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What happens when "happily ever after" has come and gone?
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On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven's wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven's fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White's own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing:
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The king is dead.
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The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.
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It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what "happily ever after" really means?
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Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.
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<a name='more'></a>The idea of this story is, in my eyes, amazing. It is such a creative thing to do: take a fairy tale and write the (not so) 'happily ever after'.<br />
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This whole story feels like a fairy tale and the writer, David Meredith, has done a great job with that. Take a look at the opening scene:<br />
<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
<i>With a shrill keen the two young hawks soared over snow-capped peaks, reveling in the newly come spring. The day was crisp and clear and even the dullest of their race would have been able to see for dozens and dozens of miles in every direction. The world spread out beneath them in helpless submission and their proud shadows ghosted across the vastness of their dominion; first over the rocky crags, then the greening slopes of the cool, grassy foothills and finally the muddy fields of the fertile bottom lands, which would soon be tilled and planted anew with wheat, hops, and barley. Together they wheeled and dove and swooped then climbed once more to do it again, rapturously sailing a sea of air a thousand feet above the dwellings of mortal men.</i></blockquote>
It is very descriptive and makes you feel like you are there and the language used makes it feel like a real fairytale.<br />
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The story is mostly about Queen Snow White and her looking back on life through the Magic Mirror used by her stepmother. All your favorite characters of the story are there, just not in the way you expect them to be.<br />
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One thing I was a bit surprised with, were some explicit and graphic scenes in the story. There is a scene of the wedding night of Snow White and Charming, where it is being said she will turn seventeen in a month and he was nearly thirty and that Snow White has no idea what sex even is. That scene kind of felt awkward, but it's just not something you expect in a fairytale! Another graphic scene has to do with Snow White feeling very depressed about not being able to have children and not being the perfect and she makes a heavy decision about it.<br />
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But besides those scenes I thought it was a wonderful story that was written amazingly. Kudos to David Meredith on that!<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-47960252047900343172014-05-28T23:14:00.001+02:002014-05-28T23:14:23.621+02:00Waiting On Wednesday #3: Schizo: A novel<div style="text-align: center;">
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"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by <a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank">Breaking the Spine</a> that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.<br />
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<i><b>Title: </b></i>Schizo: A novel <br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Nic Sheff<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> September 30, 2014<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Philomel<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Mental Illness<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18762415-schizo" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> <br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
Miles is the ultimate unreliable narrator—a teen recovering from a schizophrenic breakdown who believes he is getting better ... when in reality he is growing worse.
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Driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother, Teddy, and wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing, Miles is forever chasing shadows. As Miles feels his world closing around him, he struggles to keep it open, but what you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling.</blockquote>
Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-21910673376406285282014-05-28T16:54:00.001+02:002014-11-09T22:58:40.277+01:00Just One Year by Gayle Forman (review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375129683l/12842134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375129683l/12842134.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<b><i>Title:</i> </b>Just OneYear<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Gayle Forman<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> October 10, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Dutton Juvenile<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Romance <br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Year-Gayle-Forman-ebook/dp/B00DVW8RBS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401287997&sr=8-1&keywords=just+one+year" target="_blank">Amazon</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Year-Gayle-Forman-ebook/dp/B00DVW8RBS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401287997&sr=8-1&keywords=just+one+year" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Year-Gayle-Forman-ebook/dp/B00DVW8RBS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401287997&sr=8-1&keywords=just+one+year" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=iamaloserkrea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316209740" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></a>
| <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Just-One-Year-Gayle-Forman/9781849419260" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-one-year-gayle-forman/1114771143?ean=9780525425922" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842134-just-one-year" target="_blank"><b><i>Goodreads</i></b></a><br />
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<b><i> </i></b>
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought...</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>Can I say the sequel let me down? Yes, I can. So... I was expecting something completely different here. You get this major cliffhanger and all you want to know is how the story ends. AND YOU DON'T GET THAT. AND THAT MAKES ME ANGRY.<br />
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The book is told completely from Willem's perspective and starts the morning he disappears from Paris. Many questions get answered in those first chapters. Then basically there are a lot of chapters with information and characters that seem irrelevant and I admit I skipped through it a bit, because I wanted to know how the storyline of the first book continued. When I had read about two-third, I started to wonder if I would ever get to the ending of the first book and it never really did. To be honest, that's all I can really say about this book and there not much more to say. The whole book is just about Willem traveling for a year while Lulu is in the back of his head.<br />
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My questions of the first book are still not answered and I don't think they ever will. So yes, this book let me down a lot. Two and a half sad hearts :(<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-32304778214589274752014-05-26T18:15:00.000+02:002014-11-09T22:58:21.164+01:00Just One Day by Gayle Forman (review)<a href="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348674290l/12842115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348674290l/12842115.jpg" width="213" /></a><i><b>Title: </b></i>Just One Day<br />
<i><b>Author: </b></i>Gayle Forman<br />
<i><b>Release date:</b></i> January 8, 2013<br />
<b><i>Publisher: </i></b>Dutton Juvenile<br />
<b><i>Genre: </i></b>YA, Romance, Coming of Age<br />
<b><i>Buy on: </i></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Just-One-Day-Gayle-Forman-ebook/dp/B00AKBEH76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401086007&sr=8-1&keywords=just+one+day+gayle+forman" target="_blank">Amazon</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=iamaloserkrea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316209740" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
| <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Just-One-Day-Gayle-Forman/9781849415668" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> | <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-one-day-gayle-forman/1109483449?ean=9780142422953" target="_blank">B&N</a><br />
<b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12842115-just-one-day" target="_blank">Goodreads</a> </i></b><br />
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<blockquote style="background-color: #8fb4a7; border: 2px solid #666; padding: 12px;">
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.</blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a>Before I start reviewing, there are a couple of things that I would like to let you know (which will cause this review to be highly unprofessional and slightly biased).<br />
If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman are two of my favorite books. I was really looking forward to reading this one and part of the reason why I am reading this so late, was because I was afraid it was going to let me down.<br />
I am Dutch, thus loving all the Dutch stuff in this book (which will all be further explained in this review).<br />
After reading I can conclude I am totally in love with this book too (even after waiting a day too write my review, I am still too excited to write something considered professional).<br />
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The book starts with Allyson and Melanie, two friends on a trip through Europe with a traveling group. The are in England on their last stop and that is where Allyson meets Willem (I am sorry, but how a cliché Dutch name!). He is part of a Shakespeare performance group (and Shakespeare will play a big role throughout the book) and pretty much from then on she knows he's the one. Later when Allyson and Melanie are on the train to London, Allyson runs into no one other than Willem! There he find she looks like Louise Brooks and thus calls her LuLu. He invites her to go to Paris with him and that is really the start of their short romance (very short, it is only one day). <br />
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Allyson is quite a stiff person. She doesn't go out on adventures (which makes it pretty much a miracle she went away with Willem), doesn't really take chances and just does what her parents tell her to do. After he trip to Paris she starts to change a bit. It takes a while, but she starts to do more things she wants to do and things against her parents wishes.<br />
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Throughout the book, Allyson and Melanie grow apart. Especially since Allyson has changed after meeting Willem for such a short time and then never getting the change to talk to him again. They go to different colleges and Allyson starts to realize that they are quite different. After almost year, they don't talk anymore and she only finds out things about her friend through her father. And can I just add that I think Melanie is quite an awful friend. She mostly just thinks about herself and doesn't care what Allyson wants. They just do whatever Melanie wants to do.<br />
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And then we have Willem de Ruiter (ahhh the clichés). He isn't presence throughout the whole book, which I think is one of the downsides, since he is one of the main characters, but somewhere I do understand it. I just wish I had been able to see more of him throughout the book. Willem is a guy who has been a free man for quite a while. He travels around Europe and tells Allyson he hasn't been home to the Netherlands in quite a while and was actually meant to go home the day they met on the train to London. Willem has all these great Dutch things he says and I kind of laughed at the mentioning of <i>hagelslag</i> (which because of the book I think about is indeed a bit like dessert for breakfast. Just google it!). He suddenly leaves when they are in France and you get the feeling (because of Allyson) he is kind of a d***.<br />
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But here is the thing I thought about during part two of the book, which is about Allyson's time in college: You only get things from one perspective! Allyson keeps wanting to tell you how miserable she is because of Willem, but I keep thinking that there has to be more to it. You don't get his story. Which is why I now NEED to read the second book, before I loose my mind (also, because the books end in this annoying cliffhanger, so make sure you already have the second book so you can continue on with the story).<br />
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So yes, great great book which makes me feel a lot of things and expect to have the review of <b>Just One Year </b>up soon.<br />
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<br />Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-7783206541057985962014-05-18T23:08:00.001+02:002014-05-18T23:08:16.782+02:00Temporarily removed 'Steal My Sunshine' reviewHi guys!<br />
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Just a message to let you know I temporarily removed my review of Steal My Sunshine because part of the review is also a part of my Literature portfolio for university and I didn't want any chance of it being caught as 'plagiarizing'.<br />
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That is also part of why I haven't really posted anything lately: university is killing me! I have a lot of portfolios to hand in the upcoming month and I am really not sure if I can fit reading and reviews into my schedule. I do know which review will be the next one posted, namely <b>Just One Day</b>. I am almost halfway done reading it and hope I can finish it soon (and it is wonderful so far)!<br />
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x RochellaRochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651292851015301210.post-55145176177544963072014-04-30T13:12:00.000+02:002014-04-30T13:12:05.828+02:00My Guilty PleasuresI have the flu for five days now and on top of that I also have sinusitis, thus no concentration to really read and review anything. Since I still want to post something, I thought: why not write about reading guilty pleasures?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. Fan Fiction </b></span><br />
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Even though I have <i>so </i>much to read already, I tend to get distracted by fan fiction. Usually, it's quite awful, but there are some really great writers in the fan fiction community. Some writer of who I believe could be amazing published writers. Nowadays I only really read Teen Wolf fan fiction. I am completely in love with Stiles and Derek, because their dynamics is great. I always am amazed what writers can do with these characters, especially in AU (alternate universe) settings. So yeah, I love me some fan fiction.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Famous Characters</span></b><br />
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I regularly get let down by famous characters, but I can never help it: I just love them. (Maybe because one day I would like to run into one of my idols, fall in love and live happily ever after). But one thing I like even more, if one of the main characters actually hates the famous character before meeting. I love me some enemies to lovers fiction (which actually might be a guilty pleasure on its own). An example of one of the 'Famous Characters' books that I actually like is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17254799-forever-my-girl" target="_blank">Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin</a>, though it's been a while back and I should really re-read it (and the others in the series).<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Bad Boys</span></b><br />
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Ah, who doesn't love a bad boy. A tattooed guy with a scruff and someone you know is bad for you, but you love him anyway... This really is a major guilty pleasure of mine. And I think I can list many books with a bad boy character that I liked. What I especially love is when you have a guy that has a bad boy exterior, but is just this geeky guy on the inside. Those are actually the best. I also think that the bad boy tend to go hand in hand with the famous characters. Well, at least for me that is. But in all honesty: give me a bad boy and I am happy.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Guys With Kids</span></b><br />
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Who doesn't love sweet and caring guy? You know which guys usually are the sweetest and most caring? Guys with kids! (okay, no always true, but most of the time, yes). I just has something that I love. Especially the bad boys (there I go again, always mixing the guilty pleasures) who then turn out to be great and loving dads. Oh, my heart already hurts just thinking about it. I really want to read something now, even though my head can't take it!<br />
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What are your guilty pleasures? Do you have similar ones or do you have completely different guilty pleasures? Please let me know!Rochella ~ iamaloserkidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02600622095537828566noreply@blogger.com0