I think this book is a bit overhyped for the most part, mostly cause I felt like the author was trying too hard to be John Green-esque with her style of writing? She overdid it with the similes and metaphors and the style didn't feel organic to the book at all. Another par that brought the book down for me was the love triangle? I didn't relate to her romance with Joe at all - it was too sudden as well so that part was a bit meh for me as well. However, I did enjoy the the 'coming-of-age' part of the book if you will. I like how the author dealt with grief and how leannie grew into herself and accepted the it and who she was becoming as a person. What’s your take on Jandy Nelson’s style? Rating: 3.5/5 • "I tried to fend off the oceanic sadness, but I can't. It's such a colossal effort not to be haunted by what's lost, but to be enchanted by what was."

This thriller really keeps you on the edge of your seat as Jake, a college professor, tries to find the whereabouts of the love-of-his-life whom he last saw 6 years previously when she got married to another man and made him promise to leave her alone. The mystery was filled with aha! moments and plot twists, and I couldn’t put it down because I just needed to know what happens next. Jake’s internal monologues were also funny at times which I liked (not LOL funny but funny enough)! A lot of reviews say that the plot is unbelievable, but I actually found the mystery aspect realistic and I thought the whole plot wrapped up quite nicely. Not to mention, it was well-written and easy to follow! The only part that was unbelievable to me was the Jake was still so intensely in love with the Natalie after not seeing/talking to her in 6 years.... What did you guys think? • Rating: 3.5/5 • “Part of the human condition is that we all think that we are uniquely complex while everyone else is somewhat simpler to read. That is not true, of course. We all have our own dreams and hopes and wants and lust and heartaches. We all have our own brand of crazy.”

Read this book a while after the first (The Cuckoo’s Calling) and it was just as enjoyable. Mind you - Idk if thats because im a novice Mystery/Crime Thriller reader so I just don’t have enough experience with the genre to judge, but as a new-comer I certainly enjoy The Cormoran Strike novels would definitely recommend them for an interesting and captivating read. The characters are incredibly smart and intuitive so their POVs are interesting (they could use a bit more development but they’re  still great). I really enjoyed how the case developed -  you become fully engrossed trying to solve the case - you’ll definitely be in for a shock at the end! There were a few question marks for me this book: why allude to Robin dropping out of university several times and never explain it? Why doesn’t Robin play a bigger role rather than have her acting as secretary? Regardless of my complaints, this is still a book I swallowed in a couple of days and would definitely recommend if you’re a fan of crime mysteries or want to get in on the genre!  Is it just me or is it literally IMPOSSIBLE to guess the endings with these books? At first I thought it was just me but then I came across a review that said this was intentional and that Rowling doesn’t build up clues for you along the way, she structures the novel so you can’t figure it out… What do you guys think?• Rating: 3.9/5 • “We don’t love each other, we love the idea we have of each other.”

My first Mitch Albom book! I wanted to start with Tuesdays with Morrie, but unfortunately it wasn’t available so I settler for the next best thing. Albom is an unbelievably articulate author and I really enjoyed reading about the 5 people he met in heaven, some he knew and others he didn’t, who helped explain to him his life on earth. Its a very inspiring book that also happens to be filled with great quotes. I definitely recommend it to those who enjoyed the forty rules of love and the alchemist, it has the same feel but I enjoyed it more than I did the other two. All in all, a very enjoyable and sentimental quick-read by an author I will definitely be revisiting. • Rating: 4/5 • “Each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one”

I absolutely LOVED reading GWTW! I was so captivated by it, primarily due to the plot but also because of the interesting way Mitchell portrayed the history, politics, and sentiments of the American Civil War and the reconstruction period - it was never boring and it really allowed you to understand the era and become engrossed in the book! Also, say what you will about Scarlet O’Hara, but I love how unabashedly herself she was (to herself at least, and to Rhett Butler). Yes, she was loathsome at the beginning but after a while you cant but admire her determination and willingness to survive! I also really loved reading a book in which, for once, the protagonist was not perfect - she was spoilt, vain and as selfish as they get - and it just speaks to Margret’s literary prowess to make you hate the main character but still understand her. I am still trying to process the ending, but I honestly can’t see the book ending any other way - it was perfect, albeit a bit depressing. It was such a great read, truly a classic, and I absolutely know that I will pick it up again. What’s your take on this classic, especially on Scarlet’s character! • Rating: 5/5 • “*Frankly,* my dear, I don’t give a damn” “but she knew no matter what beauty lay behind, it must remain there. No one could go forward with a load of aching memories.”

Let me start by saying that I am a cecelia ahern fan, but i dont think she should have ventured into dystopian fiction, it just didnt work for her. This book was trying SO hard to be The Hunger Games. Several ideas, themes, and concealed scenes were directly taken from THG, except in a bad way. Rather than having a natural flow, Flawed was too too explained, it felt like Ahern was literally spoon feeding us what to think & how to approach the book, & I didn’t like that all. Im also not really okay with the premise of the book? An organization that punishes morally unethical people with treatment worse than the criminal justice system, even though the latter still exists? And the thing that confused me is that some of the punishments for flawed are what felons face when they leave prison in the US, except for criminals the system is a bit more creative in hiding the implications that exist for freed felons. It didnt make sense to me that an entire nation would think it was okay to impose all the implications of what being flawed meant for someone who merely told a lie?! It just didnt seem realistic or plausible at all. If it was a completey alternate universe where the criminal justice system didnt exist and this was a form of punishment to ensure that small mistakes dont evolve to full-fledged criminality, i might believe it, but having them both simultaneously just didnt make sense to me. Finally, *spoiler alert * I didn’t like the progression of North’s connection/relationship/whatever it was with carrick? she spent two nights in the room next to him, ONLY exchanged 2 sentences, and then the entire book is carrick would think this and carrick would do that WHEN SHE BARELY EVEN KNEW HIS NAME?! Im not really against instantaneous connections but this was just too unrealistic for me. I finished the book & I am currently reading the sequel because I want to know what happens but I was very disappointed with the book.• Rating: 2/5 • “Courage does not take over, it foghts and struggles through every word you say and every step you take. Its a battle or a dance as to whether to let it pervade. It takes courage to overcome, but it takes extreme fear to be courageous”

Officially done with another Gabaldon book! I must say, I really enjoyed Drums of Autumn way more than I did Voyager, perhaps it was the entwined story lines and the fact that we were getting a bit of each story from all of the characters, or perhaps it is because there was one central plot or end goal that the reader was looking towards, unlike Voyager where the plot just seemed to drift aimlessly. Despite her lengthy descriptions (which honestly get a bit tedious at times), I really do enjoy Gabaldon’s style, she always keeps you on your feet, her characters are SO LOVABLE ( my favs were Ian and Lord Grey this time around) and the characters and scenes honestly crack me up at times. Despite the length, the pages really do turn themselves with this series! The only negative(-ish) comment that I have regarding this book is that I am beginning to wonder whether Gabaldon has a particular end in mind for the characters of this series. I am aware that she is currently writing the 9th book in the series and she did not announce that it is the last, so I am left to wonder whether she has any sort of definitive end in mind for where these characters will go and how their story ends. I’d hate to think that this is going to become a soap-opera kind of series,especially since the books do not all seem to be slowly building up to this big finale (as they did in say, Harry Potter or The Hunger Games) - because I really do need closure with these characters! Do you guys agree? • Rating: 4.3/5 • • “Some people tried to preserve the past, others to escape it.” “It’s such a strain, to try to live for two people. To try to make them fit your ideas of whats right.”

Whats an overhyped book that you didn’t enjoy? I picked Caraval up because I was in the mood for a dystopian novel and its been all the rage this summer - and I had a very ‘neutral’ experience with the book. The main problem I had with it was that it was a bit predictable, and at times it seemed like the author was trying too hard to force the characters in the book, and certain scenes in it, to something that just wasn’t coming naturally and sort of ruined the flow and originality of the story for me. I also found the ending to be unsatisfactory and not all that well thought out. If these drawbacks aren’t big red flags for you then I would actually recommend the book, I think its a good read if you’re in the mood for a YA Fantasy - something to read for a quick break, a ‘light’ read if you will. I also found a lot of reviews saying that the sequel, legendary (told from Tella’s POV), is way better, so I do plan on giving that a try. • Rating: 3/5 •

This book reads like a roller coaster. First, you begin to think it is one of those life-changing books that you can’t put down. After a few chapters you think its trying too hard and you become disenchanted. Then it starts pulling you back in. At the end you finish thinking maybe its a bit of everything, sometimes forced but also a kind of forced that is endemic to the atmosphere Zafon was weaving, a great book this is also flawed. Those flaws centered around the fact that it was sexist: the females were only described by their physical appearance & there was no central female character or any female character development. Another disappointment is that Zafón dumps the whole ‘resolution' of the mystery in a few of pages at the end of the book - a ‘resolution’ that was flawed because the person narrating it couldn’t have known some of the parts that were described. The book’s genre is mystery, but even I, an ‘unexperienced’ mystery reader was able to guess a major part of the ending from the beginning. Despite all these faults, I honestly don’t think that it took away from my experience with the book - perhaps it detracts from the experience of thriller fanatics who are only in it for the mystery - but I found myself enjoying it. The parts I did love: as much as people say the translation is verbose, and the quotes cliche - I honestly fell in love with them. They covered everything, whether that be books, love, memories, war - and were so captivating without feeling forced. I also really liked the setting - hello, Barcelona! The biggest selling point is the mystique the author creates with his characters & descriptions. They propel the plot forward, and make it that much more enthralling, so that it often felt like it was the book version of black & white movies. At first I found Fermín character a bit tedious, but he really grew on me and became one of my favs! I was cracking up at some of his responses, I don’t think a book had made me LOL before! All in all, the good out-weighed the bad & i wholeheartedly recommend this book! • Rating: 4.3/5 • • “ I could tell you it’s the heart, but what is really killing him is loneliness. Memories are worse than bullets"

Who is your all time favorite character? *** Far from the tree is exactly the book I was in the mood to read after Anna Karenina. I really enjoyed reading it and finished it in about two sittings. Far From The Tree is about three siblings who were put up for adoption with different families when they were born. The story starts with them in high school, each finding out that they have biological siblings and deciding to meet for the first time. With alternating chapters told from the perspective of each of the siblings as they're going through a lot personally and they find their siblings and slowly start confiding in them. The story is really light and heart-warming, and I found it to be both cliche and not-cliche at the same time. My favorite part was the characters as they are so so well-written, very lovable and relatable (especially Rafe!!!). I didn't realize how invested I was in the characters until i teared up towards the end. • • Rating: 4/5 • • “ Words could shatter harder than a glass breaking against a wall, hurt more than a fist plowing through teeth" •

One of my reading goals for 2018 was Anna Karenina! I am so glad I got through it. What’s one book you’ve always wanted to read? *** I’ve been looking forward to writing this review (rant?) for over two weeks, I’m so excited I finally finished it so I can put my thoughts down!! What mainly bothered me about this book was the severe lack of consistency in terms of plot. Some chapters were so interesting and grabbing I couldn’t put it down, while for others I had to force myself to keep on reading. Unfortunately, the dreary boring parts were way longer than the gripping ones, which is why I think it took me so long to finish. I also thought that it was way longer than what it needed to be. At least 250 pages could have been cut out without sacrificing the plot or content. With that said, I did enjoy the plot, especially the parts narrated by Anna, because you could see exactly what was going on in her head and, more than that, you could understand her and her position. More than once, I found that I was putting myself in her shoes, which is a great literary accomplishment for Tolstoy! Contrary to popular reviews, I liked the ending (I am talking about what happens in Part 7) , and I didn’t even mind the way it was handled in Part 8, I found it satisfying and thought it provided the closure that the reader needed. So all in all, it’s a mixed review, because even though there were some parts I thoroughly enjoyed, I found myself more often than not vexed by the book for dragging on way more than deemed necessary. Im definitely going to be reading a shorter, more light hearted chick flick after this! • • Rating: 3 /5 • • “ but, I’ve always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you’d like them to be.” "Every man, knowing to the smallest detail all the complexity of the conditions surrounding him, involuntarily assumes that the complexity of these conditions and the difficulty of comprehending them are only his personal, accidental peculiarity , and never thinks that others are surrounded by the same complexity as he is" •

What are your thoughts on The Alchemist? *** This is actually one of the harder reviews I have had to write as I am not sure how I felt about the book. One thing for sure is that I did not fall in love with the way the I expected to based on people’s reviews and feedback. Simply put, what I liked about it was the concepts and lessons that are there, they really do make you think twice about life an love and the world. There are also several important and heart-warming messages, or lessons, if you will,about following your heart & dreams , believing in your destiny and overcoming the obstacles you face by understanding that everything that happens to you happens for a reason. Reading this book reminded me a lot of the Sufism class I took during my undergrad, a lot of the sentiments in The Alchemist seem to echo the strands of Sufism. It also reminded me of “Forty Rules of Love” by Elie Shaffak, and if you enjoyed Shaffak’s novel the alchemist is surely for you. While I appreciated that the book really made you think, I disliked the fact that it was in a very obvious way meant to do so - it was meant to be philosophical and the philosophies and lessons were spelt our for the reader directly. By that, I mean that I usually prefer books that have the lessons in the stories, you learn as the characters learn and from their stories and also their reactions - sort of like The Book Thief - where some philosophies and moral lessons are spelt out and some you learn from the characters and their struggles. The fact that everything was spelt out in The Alchemist, and that the main character quickly resolved his struggles and understood the lesson from them immediately is not something that appealed to me. I would love to hear your thoughts about this book! .• • Rating: 3 /5 • • - “ When someone sees the same people every day, they wind up becoming a part of that person’s life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own” •