BOOK REVIEW: Fredrik Backman “A Man Called Ove”

Title: A Man Called Ove

Author: Fredrik Backman

Genre: Contemporary

My Rating: 5/5 stars

 

What an adorable book.

I’ve been eyeing this for the longest time, but there were always other things I wanted to read. However, I’ve been on an audiobook kick lately, and A Man Called Ove happened to be available to read right away.

So I listened to this in a day and I love it. It was oh so sweet, and honestly hilarious. Ove is me. I am Ove. He’s a grumpy old man who doesn’t understand technology and gets annoyed by people, and I’m just like, “Saaaame!” Only difference is age.

His wife passed away about 6 months ago, so at this point, Ove is just going through his same old routine and going to work, waiting to die. But when he gets laid off from his job and forced to retire, he decides he has nothing left to live for. So Ove plans to take his life into his own hands, and plans his death.

His quirky new neighbors have other plans.

Ove spends the rest of the book trying to kill himself; but every time he starts to, he gets interrupted somehow. Neighbors ringing the doorbell, neighbors asking for a ride to the hospital, neighbors forcing him to take care of a mangy street cat they saved. Somehow, something always gets in the way.

This sounds sad. I guess it is, but it’s also so comical that I couldn’t help but laugh every time his plan gets foiled. So really, this book was just a delight all the way around. I adored it. I especially loved the audiobook because I felt it really added to the humorous parts and made me just laugh out loud.

I can’t wait to read more from this author! This was such a good introduction to Backman’s writing, and I will definitely be checking out everything else I can get my hands on!

‘Tis the Season for Fantasy, Thrillers, and Cheesy Holiday Rom-Coms!

Fa la la la la, la la, la, la! Am I one of those people? You bet I am. I love Christmas, and if it were even remotely acceptable to start celebrating in October, you bet I’d do that, too. But alas, I suppose two months of Christmas will have to be enough.

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So it’s that time of year: the time to rewatch Harry Potter, Home Alone, The Grinch, and all the corny Hallmark Christmas movies. It’s also the perfect time to read all the thrillers, all the dark, atmospheric fantasy reads, and any wintery romance.

Of course, fantasies and thrillers are great to read any time of year, but isn’t it just so much nicer during the holidays? You can cuddle up in a warm fuzzy blanket, light a Christmas-y candle and read.

I say this like it actually gets cold where I am. Here in Hawaii, it doesn’t get below 70 degrees, so if I want to do any burrowing, I have to crank up the AC. But still!

So let’s talk about some of the books I’m planning on reading this holiday season! The first one is so obviously Christmas: My True Love Gave to Me is a collection of 12 short stories all set during the holidays. This will be perfect to read in the days leading up to holiday; I can read one story for each of the 12 days of Christmas! I’m especially excited to read the stories by Holly Black, Jenny Han, and Stephanie Perkins, who is actually the one author who edited and put the stories together.

Next, I plan to read Furyborn, a fantasy from Claire Legrand about two women one thousand years apart. From what I hear, it’s full of magic and action, and it sounds like the perfect book to curl up with and read with a cup of hot chocolate. Several of my friends have already read this and said amazing things about this, plus I’m excited to read Sawkill Girls by the same author!

Final Girls by Riley Sager has been on my TBR ever since it came out, and I can just see myself huddling deeper under my covers and cuddling with my husband while I read this, scared out of my mind. This is about a group of women who are the lone survivors are horror movie-like situations. I’ve been interested in this story since the moment I first heard the synopsis, so I’m pumped to finally dig into this in the next few months! Maybe not the spirit of Christmas but the perfect book to keep you company during the winter months.

Another very obvious choice is Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. This is three different stories about a snowstorm in a town called Gracetown by three different authors. It sounds like the perfect formula for a cozy, adorable read that’s going to make my heart burst with happiness and Christmas cheer. Bring on the cheese, John Green! I’m ready!

The last title I’m going to include in this collection is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This looks like the absolute perfect novel to get me through the cold nights of the AC blowing on my face… wait. Disregard. It will still be perfect magical read for the season!

I’d love to know what you lovely people will be reading during the holidays! Let me know in the comments below so that I can add those titles to my TBR!

Writing Update

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First of all, announcement: I’m writing a book! I know, you totally didn’t see that coming.

I’ve tried to write so many stories these last few years, but you could say I have commitment issues. I tend to work on a project for a little bit, take a break, and when I read it back a few days later, I realize it sucks and I trash it.

In my head, I know that writing the entire first draft in one go and editing later is the best course of action. Getting your entire book and all of your ideas out is essential; I just have a hard time making it past that stage of the writing process.

When NaNoWriMo started up this year, I felt inspired to really begin my writing journey. Of course, I haven’t really been keeping up and I think I’ve written about 1000 words total, but it is progress. This is the most motivated I’ve ever been to write, and I’m going to take advantage of it.

It’s a little early for me to decide what’s going to happen once I complete this book. There are so many options where publishing is concerned, so I’m really trying to do my research and take my time deciding which direction I want to take. If any of my followers have suggestions or advice on first-time publishing, I would appreciate anything you could give me!

It’s also too early for me to reveal much about my book, but at this moment in time, my project is shaping up to be an adult contemporary novel. It’s going to be full of tears, laughs, strong female friendships, and of course lurrrve. If that sounds interesting to you, great! I expect you to buy my book. I’ll be watching.

Anyway, more details on that to come! I’m very excited to take these next steps on this new journey and I can’t wait to share my experiences with my lovely followers. You all are so incredibly supportive in the bookish community, both on WordPress and on Instagram, that my heart is just overflowing with encouragement. I don’t know what I would do without you guys.

A Guide to Stop Book-Hoarding

As a book lover and someone who has dreamed of someday having my own library, I know that we all want something that looks a little like this:

What’s not to love? Of course I want to dedicate a room in my house to just books.

Yet recently, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of books that I owned and had not read. I had been so focused on accumulating that I had allowed my unread shelf to pile up until it was completely unmanageable. It caused me to stagnate, and when it came time to pick my new read, it was impossible to choose.

If you’re not the kind of person who gets stressed by unread books on their shelves, then go crazy, kid. Buy all the books you want. You are your own person and you are free to own all the books in the world and read them at your own pace. I envy you!

However, if you’re like me and feel the need to purge and start fresh, then this post is for you.

One of the first things that I did was purge the books that I had already read, but may not have liked very well. Personally, I threw out any book that I had given 3 stars or lower, but you can do it however you’d like! I found this to be a great starting point for me because it was good practice in letting go for a person who tends to hoard everything.

Next, I got rid of any books that I owned that I wasn’t interested in reading anymore or anytime soon. Maybe I was when I first bought it, but some time has passed and my interests have changed. So that book that’s been sitting on your shelf, collecting dust for 5 years? Chuck it. You don’t need that weight in your life.

I did this in waves, because I’d go through my books one time and find a few that I wanted to part with. Then I’d look through them again and find a few more. I did this 3-4 times until I felt satisfied that everything left on my shelf was either a book that I’d read or a book that I was definitely planning to read in the near future.

The most important thing to do is make rules for yourself so that this never happens again. You may say, “No, I’ll do better. I won’t buy as many books.” But old habits die hard, and soon you’ll be drowning in unread books again.

I have two guidelines for myself when it comes to buying books now: either I’ve already read it and I gave it 4 or 5 stars; or I haven’t read it, but it’s by an author that I have read and liked at least 75% of the time.

For example, I’m interested in reading Markus Zusak’s newest book, Bridge of Clay. I have read The Book Thief, which was amazing, and I Am the Messenger, which was not so much. Because I’ve had two different experiences with this author, I don’t want to take a chance and waste money on a book I may not enjoy.

For this reason, I’ve put Bridge of Clay on hold at my library. If I end up enjoying it, then I can purchase it and add it to my personal library. If I don’t, then no harm is done and no money is wasted.

I want a big library just as much as the next bookworm, but I want to fill it with books that I love. But, this is just the way that I do things; if you read strictly from the library, that’s absolutely fine and doesn’t make you any less of a bibliophile. If you buy all the books in the world, it doesn’t make you any more of one. We all love to read, and that’s all that matters in this community: not the size of your library or the amount of books you read.

BOOK REVIEW: Hank Green “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing”

Title: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Author: Hank Green

Genre: Science Fiction

My Rating: 5/5 stars

 

If you’re familiar with John Green’s work and expect this to be similar, you’re going to need to undergo a complete mind-wipe before digging into this masterpiece of a book. Not that John isn’t fabulous in his own way, but Hank’s style is so distinctly his.

Plus all of John’s books are about angsty teenagers who talk like hipsters in their mid-thirties. And Hank’s debut novel is science fiction with an extremely complicated adult main character.

So that’s one thing that needs to be cleared up right away: Hank’s novel is marketed to adults, although it can be a great bridge from YA to adult. The content isn’t necessarily too adult, but all of the main characters are grown-ups well out of college.

This story follows April May, who happens across a sculpture on her way home from work late one night. She’s captivated by it and on a whim, she calls up a friend of hers to come take a look. April tells him to bring his filming equipment, and the decide to make a video featuring their new friend, who they lovingly name Carl.

The next day, April wakes to find that their video has gone viral. Not only that, but their’s isn’t the only Carl; there are 63 others circling the globe, and nobody knows how they got there.

So this starts out as a look at sudden fame and how different people deal with it. April and her friend are immediately thrust into this world of interviews and social media, and they both have to learn how to adapt. It’s interesting to see how April reacts, regardless of how little she cared for media and the news before her newfound celebrity status. She makes some poor decisions throughout her journey, and while it sometimes makes her unlikable, it makes her feel very real.

However, some new information comes to light and the world slowly begins to realize that the Carls are not of their world.

So, aliens.

This makes April’s position, right smack in the middle of it, suddenly all the more interesting because not only was she one of the first to discover the existence of the Carls, she also may have been the first to make contact. The story shifts from being a human examination to an almost Ready Player One-like mystery, where the entire world has to work together to discover what the Carls want and why they’re there.

It’s absolutely fascinating, and I adored this book. I had doubts going into it, and the beginning was a little rough. I also wasn’t a fan of some of Hank’s style choices: unnecessary exclamation points and some ALL CAPS that made the writing seem more juvenile. However, once I got into the meat of the story, I forgave those things immediately in favor of an absolutely remarkable journey.

The characters were all relatable and likable (although as previously mentioned, not all the time). Hank seems to know humans very well because the events of the story unfold in such a way that I believed it could all actually happen. The pacing of this story was excellent and I was never once bored; in fact I read it cover to cover in less than 24 hours because I was so engrossed.

I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of my seat. Those last 50 pages had me losing my mind. The ending was fantastic and it was the perfect bridge between this and the sequel. Yes, a sequel! I thought this might be a standalone but once you get to the end, you’ll agree that if Hank doesn’t give us a second book fast, we’re going to have to go to his house and force his hand.

Not really, Hank! I would never do that!*

This was a wonderful book and it’s the kind of story that stays with you after and makes you think about it for days. So naturally I’ve been bugging my husband about it ever since and he’s about done with me. Sorry honey, it’s what you signed up for when you married me!

 

*Seriously though, I will riot if I don’t get that sequel.

BOOK REVIEW: Sarah J Maas “Kingdom of Ash”

Title: Kingdom of Ash

Author: Sarah J Maas

Genre: Fantasy

My Rating: 5/5 stars

 

There are going to be major spoilers in this post so if you haven’t finished Kingdom of Ash yet, leave for your own good. GOODBYE NOW.

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Okay, I’m starting now.

Can I first just say holy crap???? Like, what a journey, am I right? This series has been a favorite of mine since the very beginning, and I’ve been following Throne of Glass since practically the beginning. It’s been a wild ride, and I have always said that each book gets better than the last one. Sarah J Maas ups the stakes somehow, or introduces new, awesome information.

Say what you will about Maas, but she can write one detailed high fantasy, which can’t be said for many established fantasy authors out there. I know that Maas is criticized almost constantly, but I have to say that I think she’s an incredibly talented writer. She had to have done a ridiculous amount of research in writing this series, and it shows. She can write a great romance, but have you read any of her battle scenes?

So do I think she gets a bad rep for no reason? Kind of. I understand some of the complaints that people have, I do. But if you don’t like her books, then don’t read them. But I’ve seen so many people talking crap about her books, who haven’t liked her from the beginning yet keep reading them? I mean, to each their own I suppose, but typically if I didn’t like the first book of a series, I just quit and leave it at that. These people need to get a life.

*I* don’t even like all of her books. I’m not a huge fan of her ACOTAR series. I’ve always been partial to Throne of Glass, but I can at least acknowledge the huge fan-base that ACOTAR has and recognize that she must be doing something right.

Anyway, this wasn’t supposed to be a Maas defense post, this is a review of Kingdom of Ash.

I’ll start with the bad: Maas apparently has a problem with killing of her characters. Not to say that I’m mad or anything, because of course I’m thrilled that all of my favorites lived; but I also know that it’s not realistic. I definitely expected someone important to die in this book, and I’m almost disappointed that no one did. It seems like the last crucial character she killed off was Nehemia, and that was ages ago.

I gotta reiterate: I ain’t mad. I’m so happy that all my characters ended up happy in the end. But also not? Like isn’t it so convenient that everyone ended up paired off and married by the end? I can’t say I’m mad about that either because yay love! Yay marriage! Yay for my ships that ended up together! But also, not realistic.

If Maas hadn’t killed off Manon’s Thirteen, I probably would have been a little more peeved by all of this, but that scene was heart wrenching. I admit that when Manon and the Thirteen were first introduced, I wasn’t the biggest fan. I was still obsessing about how amazing Aelin’s character was becoming and how hot Rowan was.

However, by this last book, I was definitely on board with the Thirteen, particularly Asterin, and I ship Manon and Dorian forever.

Maas has written some of the most interesting, fleshed out characters in all of YA fantasy, and I am going to miss them with my whole heart. When Aelin said her goodbyes to Dorian and Chaol, I thought my heart was going to fall out of my chest. Such an iconic trio, there from the beginning! It’s the end of an era! Literally kill me!

Was the book maybe a bit too long? Um, yeah. Come on, Sarah, are you trying to kill me? Yet this was the perfect conclusion to an awesome series, and I can’t say I would have changed a thing.

Why It’s Okay to DNF Books

If we’re not all familiar with the term, here’s a fact for you: DNF means “did not finish”. The abbreviation has become a verb in the bookish community: “I didn’t like this book, so I DNF’d it.”

People tend to turn their noses up at people who DNF books, especially if they proceed to review it/give it a rating on Goodreads, or any platform really. It’s a tough call, but I believe it’s completely okay.

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There is literally an immeasurable amount of published books in the world, and thousands more are published every year. It’s become my philosophy that if I’m reading a book and I’m not enjoying it, I shouldn’t have to suffer my way through it. I’ve got dozens of other books on my TBR (to be read) shelf that are calling my name. If this one book that I’m reading is making me miserable, or taking me forever to get through, there’s no shame in putting it down and picking up something more interesting.

Because here’s the thing: it’s your life. You can do whatever you want. You can read whatever you want. Screw what the snobs tell you; if you don’t like that book, you don’t have to read it. Simple as that.

Now when it comes to reviewing the book on Goodreads, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with leaving a short explanation as to why you weren’t into it and why you DNF’d it, because those feelings are completely valid. However, I have found that for books that I DNF before the halfway point, I will leave off a star rating as a respect to the author since I didn’t complete the book. If you read more than half the book though, I think that can be up to you if you’d like to give it a rating or not.

You are the reader, and if you’re not happy with a book, pick something else! You should not have to put yourself into a slump to make other people happy. Make you happy.

BOOK REVIEW: Emma Mills “This Adventure Ends”

Title: This Adventure Ends

Author: Emma Mills

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

My Rating: 4/5 stars

 

Sloane isn’t expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that’s exactly what happens.

Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera’s twin brother and the most serious person Sloane’s ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins’ late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins’ lives.

My thoughts:

This is my second experience reading the work of Emma Mills, and I am forced to come to the conclusion that she is incredibly underrated. The first book I read from her was Foolish Hearts, and both were hilarious, sweet and heartfelt… so basically anything you would want from a good contemporary.

Mills has a special heart and humor to her voice that is just so readable and fun. Very few books have made me laugh out loud like a Mills book has. Her characters feel like actual human beings who I could meet up with in real life, and they’re so easy to love. You come away from a Mills book feeling more enriched and like you’ve learned something about life, family, love.

I absolutely adored every character from This Adventure Ends, and although I hate to sound corny, I did not want this adventure to end. I wanted everyone to leap off the page and be my friends so that I could hug them all.

After finishing this book, Emma Mills has become one of my auto-buy authors, no questions asked. I want to read everything she has and will ever write.

 

Emma Mills: Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW: Adrienne Young “Sky in the Deep”

Title: Sky in the Deep

Author: Adrienne Young

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Rating: 4/5 stars

 

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield — her brother, fighting with the enemy — the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

My thoughts:

I definitely see what the hype is about. I also see why there have been a few big name reviewers who did not like this.

Some complaints included flat, emotionless characters and a dull story/writing. I agree that there were some slow, boring parts throughout the book. However, I felt that the characters, particularly Eelyn, were strong and I absolutely felt connected to our MC. I felt her pain and was invested in her journey.

Another thing I loved was the slow-burn, hate-to-love romance. It’s one of my favorite literary tropes and I thought it was well done here in Sky in the Deep. I also loved the familial elements and love in this story: the father-daughter bond, the brother-sister bond, the father-son bond.

This is a more personal preference, but I actually have a hard time reading fight/action scenes, and there’s a lot of that here. It’s not that the action in Sky in the Deep is bad; however, it tends to make me anxious and I end up skimming so that I can just know what happens.

All in all, this was a strong debut, but I don’t think it was everything that everyone else in the world is making it out to be.

 

Adrienne Young: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

BOOK REVIEW: Jenny Han “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”

Title: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Author: Jenny Han

Genre: Romance/Contemporary

My Rating: 4/5 stars

 

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

My thoughts:

So this is actually a reread for me, but I originally read this back when it was first published! I was so intrigued by the concept, especially because I had imagined scenarios similar to Lara Jean’s happening to myself.

That’s why initially, this turned out to be a little bit of a bummer for me the first time around. It wasn’t quite what I expected it to be and I ended up coming away from it with slightly negative feelings.

However, in light of the movie being released soon I decided that a reread was in order; and since I know how the trilogy ends now, I thought that maybe I would be able to read this with a fresh perspective and possibly enjoy it more. Luckily, I was right!

Since I was able to set aside my misgivings from my first read-through and just enjoy the adorableness of this story, I ended up loving it so much more!

The things that annoyed me the first time still annoyed me this time… that’s mostly just the lie that makes up the entire basis of this book. I hate when the main characters lie and the entire plot is all about keeping up that lie. It’s so frustrating to me and I have a hard time sympathizing with the characters when things fall apart and people have gotten hurt. Like, you caused this, you literally asked for it.

That being said, this is the perfect, fluffy summer read and I think there are very few who will be immune to the charms of Lara Jean and Peter K.

 

Jenny Han: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads