Monday, December 14, 2015

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Attachments 
by Rainbow Rowell

Released: April 14, 2011
Publisher: Plume 
Page Amount: 323, US Paperback
POV: 3rd Person
Buy it here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-19/20
Characters-18/20
Creativity-20/20
Writing-18/20
Pace-9/10
Ending-9/10
=93/100 A
/5






SUMMARY:
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives. Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke. When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories. By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself. What would he say . . . ? -Goodreads.com


REViEW:
I am on a Rainbow Rowell kick and I have no regrets. After reading Eleanor and Park and loving it, I now feel the urge to read all of her books right this second! However, seeing that I am in the midst of finals and papers, I figured I needed a quick, easy read, and Attachments was just that. I must say I was intrigued from the very start because of the unique plot and captivating characters. This book follows Lincoln, who has a job reading people's emails, when all of a sudden he begins to fall for one of the girls from her emails. How clever is that? I really enjoyed being able to read a book that was new and fresh. The plot was so quirky and unexpected at times. However, the main force of this novel is the characters.

Rowell's characters are incredibly realistic. They feel like they could be people you know or people that you actually know. For instance, I feel like Jennifer is almost exactly like me. Her naivety and innocence really made me feel like I was reading my own text messages when reading the text of her emails. Similarly, Jennifer's best friend, Beth, seemed to be an incarnation of my best friend. That being said, reading Jennifer and Beth's messages were hilarious and totally relatable. Their drama was pretty typical but infused with wit. This made ordinary events appear to be worth reading. On the contrary, this was one of my issues with the main character, Lincoln. Don't get me wrong, I loved utterly adorable Lincoln, but because he was an ordinary guy his narrative was a bit slow at times. This book is so close to reality that it made some parts of this book a little slow, but it was still nonetheless enjoyable. Additionally, the romance in this book was just enough. This book is not solely focused on love, which I appreciated even though I am a hardcore romantic. This book worked because it focused on friendship, life, growing up, as well as just a sprinkle of gush worthy romance.

The ending was cute. I don't want to say that much, but I loved it. It filled my heart with such warmth. Cute is the big word with this book. From the start, I loved the fun plot with the normal yet intriguing characters. Although this book may not be my favorite Rainbow Rowell book (Eleanor and Park is...as of now), that doesn't meant that this book isn't fantastic in and of itself. This is exactly the kind of book that it seems: fun, quirky, and cute. I highly recommend it if that is something that you are looking for.

My Favorite Part: Jennifer and Beth's friendship and daily banter.


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, it's so cute!


It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Monday, December 7, 2015

Life and Death by Stephenie Meyer

Life and Death 
by Stephenie Meyer


Released: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown
Page Amount: 389, US Hardback
POV: 1st Person (Beau)
Buy it here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-16/20
Characters-16/20
Creativity-18/20
Writing-15/20
Pace-8/10
Ending-8/10
= 81/100 B
/5






REViEW:
I am a huge Twilight fan, which you probably already know if you have been following me for awhile.  The Twilight Saga is the series which originally got me into reading, so it will always hold a special spot in my heart.  Therefore, I was super excited once I heard that Stephenie Meyer stated that she was releasing a gender swapped version of Twilight.  Of course, I had my reservations about this strange, albeit interesting, concept.  Nevertheless, I gave this book a shot.  I'm truly glad I did.  This book has almost an identical plot to Twilight, seeing as though just the genders are swapped around.  However, I did not feel like I was reading the same story, which was both good and bad.  

The characters were the driving force of this novel.  The gender swap affected all of the characters of Twilight except Charlie and Renee.  The swaps for Bella, Edward, and Bella's friends did not bother me.  They were really fun.  However, I did not really like the Cullens all being gender swapped.  I found those swaps very confusing and really ridiculous, because unlike the other swaps, the Cullens kept their original personalities despite having a different gender.  I believe that Meyer's main problem with this novel is inconsistencies with gender.  For example, Beau, who is the narrator, seemed like a guy for the first hundred or so pages of this novel, which was good because, ya know, Beau is a guy.  But for the following 300 pages, he became more feminine and weak, which was disappointing.  At points, Meyer just kept the identical narrations of Bella, which did not fit with Beau being male.  I just don't understand why she didn't just change all of narrations because she was so good at it at the start of the novel.  It had far more potential than this end result.

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the characters of Beau and Edythe.  They were different from Bella and Edward yet were still lovable.  To be honest, I loved Beau from the beginning of this novel.  He seemed like a nerdy, likable guy, and if you know me at all, you know I like me some nerdy boys.  On the other hand, Edythe was a kick butt, strong, independent, sassy female.  I loved Edythe.  She snide remarks were hilarious and perfect.  However, I was sad that Meyer did not carry through with her tough attitude.  As soon as Edythe starts falling for Beau, she becomes soft and not in a good way.  A 150 pages in, Edythe began to be indecisive, which was really annoying.  For example, as soon as Beau and Edythe start getting closer, Edythe keeps changing her mind concerning whether he is worth it or not.  If this only happened once, it would have been fine, but this happened at least six times.  By the end of this novel, I just wanted to scream "Make up your mind already!!!"  But they didn't.  Even in one of the last scenes of this novel, Beau was still in disbelief that Edythe would love him.  I cannot say much about that scene because I do not want to spoil it, but if you are curious, I'll be posting a spoiler review on YouTube on Wednesday! 

That being said, the ending was different from Twilight.  I really enjoyed this change, and it gave me greater insight into a certain component of vampirism.  I'm really glad that Meyer changed the ending because Beau and Edythe's story was different from Bella and Edward's.  Although I did not enjoy this books as much as Twilight, I believe it was a fun book for dedicated Twilight fans.  If you are still leery to read this book, then just read the beginning and the ending because, let's be real, those were the only good parts of this book.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book.  I did not love it, but it still was an amazing story to include as bonus content to the 10th Anniversary edition of Twilight.  Readers should be thankful that instead of getting a short interview, random short story, or some other bland bonus content, Meyer included a nearly 400 page novel for her readers.  That shows that she really cares about her readers, which is awesome.

My Favorite Part: Being able to go on another journey in Forks!



ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? If you love Twilight as much as I do, then yes.


It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Saturday, December 5, 2015

How Grey's Anatomy Ruined My Reading Life

HOW GREY'S ANATOMY RUiNED MY READiNG LiFE!

As the title implies, Grey's Anatomy has indeed ruined my reading life. I started watching this series back in the middle of June and have never looked back since. From the first episode, I fell in love with the amazing characters and started to really care about them. That being said, every time Sondra Rhimes felt the need to kill any of them, I was left heartbroken. This show has made me cry more than any book or TV show ever has before because it is just that good. 

Anyway, since I started watching the show, my reading life has suffered drastically. There have been many months where I haven't read a single book because every free moment was spent watching this addicting show. However, it pains me to say that this week I finally  finished all the episodes that have been released. Now I must wait in suspense until February to find out what happens next. But my reading life is thankful because now I have time to read. I can finally devote all the hours I spent watching Grey's Anatomy to my TBR shelf. 


MY FAVORiTE THiNGS ABOUT GREY'S ANATOMY
1. The crazy, lovable characters
2. McDreamy
3. The unique medical cases that are utterly disturbing but still so intriguing
4. Cristina and Meredith's friendship
5. How relatable this show is to everyday life
6. The romance
7. The eye-candy male doctors (especially McDreamy, oh wait did I already say that?)
8. Literally everything, just watch the show

Please let me know in the comments if you love this show as much as I do! And tell me what your favorite character is/was! No spoilers though please!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park 
by Rainbow Rowell



Released: February 26, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Page Amount: 352, US Hardback
POV: 3rd Person
Buy it here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-19/20
Characters-20/20
Creativity-19/20
Writing-20/20
Pace-10/10
Ending-10/10
=98/100 A+
/5





SUMMARY:
Two misfits. One extraordinary love. Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor. Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park. Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. -Goodreads.com


REViEW:
I am sad to admit that this was my first Rainbow Rowell book. I met Rowell at BEA and even got a signed ARC of Fangirl, yet I did not read it. However, once I found out that Rowell was coming near my hometown, I knew the time had finally come for me to open on of her books. In preparation for the book signing, I picked up a copy of each of her books and began reading Eleanor and Park so I would not feel like a complete hypocrite when I met her. Well, once I started reading Eleanor and Park, I could not stop. I decided homework and readings for class could wait because this book was just that addicting.

This book centers around two high school students, both from extremely different walks of life. The plot was intriguing because this book is told in alternating perspectives of Eleanor and Park. When Eleanor was narrating, you are thrust into a world where everything isn't just flowers and happiness. Instead, there is domestic abuse, family issues, and a lot of pain. On the other hand, Park seems to be leading a privileged life, but not everything is a polished as it seems. The serious tones of this book does not bring the reader down because Rowell makes sure to include humor and cute, romanic situations that are sure to make the reader swoon and laugh out loud. I do not want to say much about the plot, because it is so incredibly beautiful, and I think you should find out for yourself.

As you probably can already tell, the characters are the driving force of this novel. Eleanor and Park are wonderfully developed. I loved seeing them grow as individuals and together. To be honest, when I began reading this book, I thought I was going to hate Park for being such a jerk. And then I thought I might Eleanor too for being so weird. But now it pains me to even admit that because now Eleanor and Park feel like real friends. Rowell is a master at making the reader realize their own discriminatory faults. Everyone has a story that you do not know. Eleanor and Park are both great examples of this. I learned a lot from being able to be a part of their relationship. It made me remember what it was like to be in love for the first time. It's something incredibly beautiful and relatable for readers of every age.

The ending of this book was great. I don't entirely want to say much about the ending because it is so incredibly beautiful. I accidentally spoiled the ending for myself, which made the ending a little less impactful. However, I know that if I read the ending without knowing what was about to happen I would have been freaking out and loving it a thousand times more. This ending- and book- is absolutely amazing. Please read this book. It's most definitely one of the most beautifully written love story I have ever read because it is realistic. I really wish that I could know what is next for Eleanor and Park.

My Favorite Part: The depth of this book that Rowell maintained, while still including some wit and whimsy.



ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Absolutely, this book rocked my world. 


It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

November Wrap Up & December TBR

Here are the books that I read in November and the books that I plan to read in December! Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!

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