Rules of Civility

11 / 26 / 1911 / 26 / 19

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Published by Viking Adult on July 26, 2011
Pages: 335
Format: eBook
Goodreads
four-stars

On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar with her boardinghouse roommate stretching three dollars as far as it will go when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker with royal blue eyes and a tempered smile, happens to sit at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a yearlong journey from a Wall Street secretarial pool toward the upper echelons of New York society and the executive suites of Condé Nast--rarefied environs where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

Wooed in turn by a shy, principled multi-millionaire, and an irrepressible Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, befriended by a single-minded widow who is ahead of her time, and challenged by an imperious mentor, Katey experiences firsthand the poise secured by wealth and station and the failed aspirations that reside just below the surface. Even as she waits for circumstances to bring Tinker back into her life, she begins to realize how our most promising choices inevitably lay the groundwork for our regrets.

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book review. I read this book a a few weeks back, but just hadn’t gotten around to writing the post, so here we are. This was a read for the Paper & Glam book club, which I finally got around to reading. While I thought that this book was interesting in a Great Gatsby kind of way. I wasn’t totally pulled into the story. In fact there was a part of me that kept wanting Katey to wakeup and stop waiting for Tinker, even though they seemed to have a strange relationship that never quite got off the ground. She never quite does, though the book says that she eventually gets married to a man that can give her what she wants.

I would recommend this book if you loved reading the Great Gatsby and loved the imaging of the 1920s/ 1940s. I don’t regret reading this book, but I’m hesitant to pick up any more of Amor Towles other books.

Again, but Better

11 / 21 / 1911 / 17 / 19

Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
Published by Wednesday Books on May 7, 2019
Pages: 373
Goodreads
three-stars

Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents…sounds ideal—but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance…what’s that?

Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change—there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure!

Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart.

Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic—the possibilities are endless.

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book review, yes I know that there have been quite a bit of book reviews lately. I am reading, but I am also in the process of cleaning up the blog and making everything cohesive with the new interface that I got, so that it is easier to read book reviews. I haven’t worked out all the kinks, but we are getting there.

Back to the review, I finished this book a while ago and I had originally picked it up to read for my Gilmoreadathon, but I never got to it. I may have picked it up after seeing one too many reviews on Youtube, stating that people were super uncomfortable with the way the relationship went down in the book. While, I did enjoy the book. I can’t wholeheartedly recommend it to people. I found the writing a little sloppy and I felt that the time travel loop was a bit too convenient for problem solving for Shane. If you don’t want mind super YA cliche novels then read this book, otherwise back away slowly and find something else. I may read Christine’s next novel in the future, but after this I’m still on the fence about it.

Batman: Nightwalker

11 / 19 / 1911 / 17 / 19

Batman: Nightwalker (DC Icons, #2) by Marie Lu
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on January 2, 2018
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-stars

Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city's elites are being executed as their mansions' security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family's fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he's forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city's most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce's only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.

Hey!
I’m back once again with a few book reviews, so stay tuned. You may have noticed that this title sounds familiar, well it probably is and that’s because this novel was lucky enough to be turned into a graphic novel, which I reviewed here. I loved this book as much as I loved the graphic novel, though I might have loved the actual book a bit more. I found that reading the actual novel added a bit more depth to the story than the graphic novel did. I would still definitely recommend both. I have been loving the DC Icons series and hope that they come out with more novels, because it actually made me fall in love with DC Icons for the first time in a long while.

Let me know if you have read this novel or any of the other novels in the DC Icons series. I hope to see you soon in another post.

Confessions of a Hater

11 / 5 / 1911 / 5 / 19

Confessions of a Hater by Caprice Crane
Published by Feiwel & Friends on August 27, 2013
Genres: Friendship, Peer Pressure, Social Themes, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Mean girls are always the haters - Right?

Hailey Harper has always felt invisible. Now her dad has a new job and the family is moving to Hollywood. Just what Hailey needs: starting a new high school.

As she's packing, Hailey finds a journal that belonged to her older sister, Noel, who is away at college. Called "How to Be a Hater," it's full of info Hailey can really use. Has Hailey found the Bible of Coolness? Will it help her reinvent herself at her new school? Will her crush notice her? Will she and the other Invisibles dethrone the popular mean girls? After all, they deserve it. Don't they?

Caprice Crane's funny--and deeply felt--observations about high school, bullies, popularity, friendship, and romance will leave teens thinking...and talking.

Hello Everyone!
Are you still with me? Is anyone still out there? Are you still hanging in there for a bit more reviews and posts that I have lined up for you. I think I have a ton lined up for you. I might be changing the way I do posts in the future, but that is still something I am contemplating in my brain.

Today’s post is a review on Confessions of a Hater by Caprice Crane. Oh Lord, I have on my bookshelf for WAY too long. Sorry Caprice Crane! I bought this book when it first came out because I loved your novels, but then couldn’t get into it and got distracted by life and other novels but my goal this year was to conquer the books on my bookshelves and figure out if they are really necessary to keep. This also helped me to fulfill a challenge on the Creating & Co book map for the year. Yes, I am still on the first one even though people have already moved on to the second one *sigh*

I honestly could go on about this novel, but I won’t. This is Caprice Crane’s first foray into writing something aimed at a younger audience the rest of her books are usually aimed at the 20-30 year audience. Though I still love her writing style and had some laugh out loud moments with the book I feel as if I’m getting to old to read certain YA books or maybe its just that this book was published in 2013 and some things in the media and the way teenagers communicate has changed since then.

Either way I would still recommend this book if you are looking for a fun read or want to reminisce about high school. If you are looking for an older audience book that is still funny I would definitely recommend some of her other novels. Let’s not forget to check out Caprice Crane on other platforms and some of her other accolades that include screen writing for tv.

I hope that you enjoyed this review and look for more reviews and life posts coming soon.

RIP Readathon 2019

10 / 24 / 1911 / 14 / 19

The Babysitters Coven (The Babysitters Coven, #1) by Kate Williams
Published by Delacorte Press on September 17, 2019
Pages: 368
Goodreads

Adventures in Babysitting

meets

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

in this funny, action-packed novel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil.

Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it's kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a job? Gross. Besides, Esme likes babysitting, and she's good at it.

And lately Esme needs all the cash she can get, because it seems like destruction follows her wherever she goes. Let's just say she owes some people a new tree.

Enter Cassandra Heaven. She's Instagram-model hot, dresses like she found her clothes in a dumpster, and has a rebellious streak as gnarly as the cafeteria food. So why is Cassandra willing to do anything, even take on a potty-training two-year-old, to join Esme's babysitters club?

The answer lies in a mysterious note Cassandra's mother left her: "Find the babysitters. Love, Mom."

Turns out, Esme and Cassandra have more in common than they think, and they're about to discover what being a babysitter really means: a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from seriously terrifying evil. And all before the parents get home.

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to yet another book review. If you have been following along the past few weeks on social media, you will know that I have been participating in two readathons for the beginning of October. Whew! What a world wind of books it has been.

For the group read for the Creating & Co RIP Readathon the pick was The Baby Sitters Coven by Kate Williams. The close second runner up was a book called Serpent & Dove which I will also probably read a some point. Thankfully in a busy week, the group book fulfilled nearly all the prompts for the readathon, so I didn’t have much to worry about there in the way of book. Also thankfully this wasn’t the only book that I finished this week. I found the book lighthearted and very YA in the writing style. I was disappointed to find that the book is part of a series and not just a standalone novel. Why can’t people just write a single novel anymore?!? I loved the fact that Esme and Janis were so deeply into fashion that they coordinated and themed their outfits Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for something that is fun, but not so spooky to read.

Finale (Caraval, #3) by Stephanie Garber
Published by Flatiron Books on May 7, 2019
Pages: 478
Goodreads
five-stars

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…

The second book that I had planned to read and finish for the readathon was Finale by Stephanie Garber. What?!?! I’m only reading two books for a readathon?!? Yes, I know that seems wild, but let’s be honest I really hoped that this was doable since Matt & I ended up traveling for a friend’s wedding during the week of the readathon.

I had planned to read Finale months ago when it came out and I got the box from FairyLoot, but it didn’t happen then. I’m so glad that I finally was able to read and finish the book now though. If you haven’t read my reviews on the other books in this trilogy you can do so here and here. There will be some spoilers from the other books since that is just the way that series go. I found it interesting that in this book the author chose to do a back and forth perspective between the two sisters instead of having the perspective of just one sister. I thought that this may have made for better reading, but at times it was also confusing. I would recommend this book if you have already started the series and are hoping to finish it.

I’m glad that I was able to finish both books that I had planned for this readathon and I hope that in the next readathon that I am able to finish all the books that I plan to finish and more. Let me know if you joined in on this readathon or are planning on joining in on the next one. See you soon!