The Summer I turned Pretty

12 / 28 / 2012 / 21 / 20

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Published by Simon and Schuster on December 21, 2010
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Social Themes, Dating & Sex, Romance, Contemporary, Girls & Women
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
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Belly has an unforgettable summer in this stunning start to the Summer I Turned Pretty series from the New York Times bestselling author of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (now a major motion picture!), Jenny Han.
Some summers are just destined to be pretty.
Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Hey!
We’re down to the final days of 2020 and that’s finally a relief after the crazy year that it has been. In an upcoming posts I will talk about my new resolutions, hopes and goals for the coming year as well as sharing several other things.

Right now though, let’s get back to the review that you are here for. If you have been following the blog for a while you know that I read Jenny Han’s To all the Boys I ever loved series back in 2018. I was on such a reading high back then. I recently found the first book in Jenny Han’s other series The Summer I turned pretty.

I love reading YA books because you can dive back into highschool and relive all those emotions all over again. I especially loved that this book is portrayed through a summer with flash backs from other summers. I loved that you really got to feel the summer and the enjoyment of a beach town and all that comes with it.

Let me know if you have read this book or if you have read any other books in Jenny Han’s repertoire. I can’t wait to tell you all about my goals and dreams for the upcoming year and other new things that maybe coming to the blog in the future. I can’t wait to really get back to blogging again. I hope that you’ll come back again to read more posts and see more things to come here in the future.

Journey of Heroes: the story of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team

12 / 23 / 2012 / 21 / 20

Journey of Heroes by Stacey T. Hayashi
Published by 442nd Manga Comic Project on 2012
Pages: 45
Format: Paperback
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Goodreads
four-half-stars

Hey!
Welcome back to the blog. I know that it has been a minute since I have written posts here, but I’m back here yet again. I finally got around to buying and reading this manga and learning about the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Though the manga is super cute and fun and full of wonderful information, I felt that it could have included more information or a more in-depth story. Even though it has certain things are lacking in certain areas, I still recommend that you read it because it is still a fun read full of historical insights.

Happily At Christmas

12 / 21 / 2012 / 21 / 20

Happily This Christmas by Susan Mallery
Published by HQN Books on September 29, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Holiday, Contemporary, Small Town & Rural, General
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

Treat yourself this Christmas by staying in with this holiday read!
Susan Mallery, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fool’s Gold romances, proves there’s no place like Happily Inc for the holidays…
There’s no place like Happily Inc for the holidays…
Wynn Beauchene has a thriving business, a great kid and a mildly embarrassing crush on the guy next door—local cop Garrick McCabe. She’s a strong, independent woman who can’t help dreaming what-if about a man she barely knows. Until he needs her help…
Garrick’s pregnant daughter will be home for Christmas, and his house needs a woman’s touch. Garrick and his little girl were tight once and he’s hoping a small-town Christmas will bring her back to him. But thawing his daughter’s frosty attitude will take more than a few twinkle lights. Maybe sharing the holiday with Wynn and her son will remind her of the joy of family.
As the season works its magic on these wounded souls, Wynn realizes it’s time to stop punishing herself for a painful secret, while Garrick remains haunted by the ghosts of past mistakes. Will he allow Wynn to open the only gift she truly wants—his heart?
Don’t miss Susan Mallery’s most irresistible novel yet, The Vineyard at Painted Moon, and join one woman as she searches for the perfect blend of love, family and wine.
Read more in the reader-favorite Happily Inc series:Book 1: You Say It FirstBook 2: Second Chance GirlBook 3: Why Not TonightBook 4: Not Quite Over YouBook 5: Meant to Be YoursBook 6: Happily This Christmas

Hey!
It’s been a while since I have written a book review here, honestly these past couple of weeks in real life have been crazy. I’ve been missing the real world super hard since the world hasn’t been participating very well in the pandemic as of lately. I can’t wait to get back to actually seeing and hanging out with people again. Let’s get back to the real reason to why you are here.

To celebrate the season I have only read one serious holiday book this season. This book was Happily At Christmas: Happily Inc. This book is a typical lovely romance which you are looking for a light fluffy quick holiday read. Let me know what you have been reading this holiday season and other books that you would recommend. Also if you have any book clubs that you would like to recommend I would love to hear about them.

Night Shift

12 / 4 / 2011 / 29 / 20

Night Shift by Charlaine Harris
Published by Ace Books on 2016
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Urban, Mystery & Detective, Cozy, General
Pages: 308
Buy on Amazon
three-stars

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels--"the Mark Twain of things that live under your bed"*--comes a new novel of Midnight, Texas, the town where some secrets will never see the light of day... At Midnight's local pawnshop, weapons are flying off the shelves--only to be used in sudden and dramatic suicides right at the main crossroads in town. Who better to figure out why blood is being spilled than the vampire Lemuel, who, while translating mysterious texts, discovers what makes Midnight the town it is. There's a reason why witches and werewolves, killers and psychics, have been drawn to this place. And now they must come together to stop the bloodshed in the heart of Midnight. For if all hell breaks loose--which just might happen--it will put the secretive town on the map, where no one wants it to be.."--

Hello!
I am back again with yet another book review, you know for those you who want a more in-depth review than what my instagram says. This book is the last book in the Midnight Texas series. If you haven’t read my reviews on Midnight Crossroad or Day shift please feel free to read them. This novel refers to some of the incidents that have happened in previous novels especially referencing Olivia’s backstory.

I had originally got into the book series because Marine Goldberg had talked about the books after the books became a short lived series on NBC. It’s now available on Hulu in case you still want to watch it. The series finisher in me, enjoyed that I was finally able to complete all the novels in the Midnight Texas series and I was also excited to find out more about Manfred and Olivia’s backstory.

We did also learn a little bit more about Chuy & Joe, but not much. I won’t spoil the book for you since I would definitely recommend reading it if you are a series finisher or if you are a fan of the tv show. I would love to have another novel in the series that talks more about Chuy & Joe and how they ended up in Midnight. I also loved the thought of town where all the weird strangers some with powers and some with strange backstories all come to live together.

I hope that you enjoyed this short review and hopefully I will see you again in another post.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass

12 / 2 / 2011 / 29 / 20

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki
Published by DC Ink on September 3, 2019
Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Superheroes
Pages: 182
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

With just five dollars and a knapsack to her name, 15-year-old Harleen Quinzel is sent to live in Gotham City. She’s not worried, though-she’s battled a lot of hard situations as a kid, and knows her determination and outspokenness will carry her through life in the most dangerous city in the world. And when Gotham’s finest drag queen, Mama, takes her in, it seems like Harley has finally found a place to grow into her most “true true” with new best friend Ivy at Gotham High. But when Mama’s drag cabaret becomes the next victim in the wave of gentrification that’s taking over the neighborhood, Harley’s fortune takes another turn. Now Harleen is mad. In turning her anger into action, she is faced with two choices: join activist Ivy, who’s campaigning to make the neighborhood a better place to live, or team up with her anarchist friend Joker, who plans to take down Gotham one corporation at a time. From Eisner Award and Caldecott Honor-winning author Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Steve Pugh comes a coming-of-age story about choices, consequences, and how a weird kid from Gotham goes about defining her world for herself.

Hello again!
Well it is nice to see you all again and nice to post again so soon. As I mentioned previously I may finally be catching up on my reading goal for the year. This year has definitely been a challenging one and reading has not been a top priority though I have been trying.

Today’s post is Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki. I have not read any of Mariko Tamaki’s other work, so this was definitely a new experience for me. The words of the book read a lot like the movie Birds of Prey, another Harley Quinn story. The art in this book was definitely more sketchy and it was done in more of a black and white style with pops of color, but definitely more sketchy if you were comparing it some other graphic novels. I kind of liked the style because it definitely fit Harley Quinn’s story telling style and how she appears to see the world. Also in this story you meet the characters that will become Poison Ivy and The Joker, although I’m told that the Joker doesn’t have a straightforward back story. I did enjoy the book and can’t wait to read more of the author’s work.

Let me know if you have read this graphic novel or if you read graphic novels at all. I hope to see you again in another post. Hopefully real soon.