Bared to You by Sylvia Day | REVIEW

Series: Crossfire #1
Genre: Mature, Adult, Erotica
Published: June 12, 2012
Pages: 338
Links to buy: | Amazon Kindle** | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | 

**The book is not in print for some places, and I'm not sure why. Possibly reprinting.
RATING: ❤❤❤❤

SYNOPSIS:

“Full of emotional angst, scorching love scenes, and a compelling storyline.”—Dear Author 

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness… 

He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private wounds…and desires.The bonds of his love transformed me, even as i prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...

(From Goodreads)

REVIEW:

This is the second time I've read this book, but it is so good! I was recommended this book by author Anna Todd (pre-After being published) and I bought the books that were out.

Rereading this book gave me feels. Like I love Gideon and Eva's relationship. It hits me in all the right places.

Their relationship was so dynamically different from other relationships I've seen. In my head, my mind keeps going over Ana and Christian (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Hardin and Tessa (After). Eva and Gideon have this relationship where when one moves, the other one reacts. They work together, and to me it feels like they really portray a real adult relationship.

However, the beginning where Gideon just flat out says he wants to sleep with Eva had me cracking up because he did it in such a blunt way. I did love Eva's boss and his partner. Basically, everyone around Eva were just my favorite people in the book. Her roommate being bisexual was a HUGE highlight because you don't see too much of that in books let alone television.

I find it hard to review a book you have so many thoughts about, but simply can't put them into a coherent thought. This book was spectacular. That's the only thing I have reeling through my mind. Sylvia Day's characters really flaunt a sense of connectivity, and I love that about her writing. Her writing is so beautiful that it makes me want to watch their love story on TV.

The only thing that kept me from giving this story 5/5 hearts was that it was almost too fast-paced for me. I like relationships to build over time, and this one felt like it was a snap of the fingers and they were in love. I don't know if that's just me, but I did love their relationship. Fast paced books are why I don't read James Patterson.

Did you know.....

Happy Book Birthday After Ever Happy by Anna Todd!

Happy Book Birthday to After Every Happy by Anna Todd!

Links to buy:

Amazon Kindle

iTunes

Barnes and Noble Nook

Books a Million

Google Play

Book Depository

Bookmarks

Hey Everyone!

Today's topic is BOOKMARKS. That's right, the beautiful objects that I put on the side.

Recently, I have discovered that alongside my collecting of the books, I have recently began expanding my bookmark collection. I'm sure some of you are asking "Why not just use a post-it note, or a piece of paper?" Because, my fellow readers, I like my books to be as pretty as my bookmarks.

When I go into a Barnes & Noble, I find ONE book to buy. Then, I will wander and see tons of bookmarks I like. One time I almost walked out with about six, but settled on one bookmark that has Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory on it that says "That's My Spot." Like I remember having that one, a The Fault in Our Stars one, and just bookmarks that I don't even remember. Buying bookmarks for me is like buying books. You see one and decide YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT! However, since they're about $3 (£1.94 for you UK folk), I tend to not buy them a lot. The two I purchased in the photos I bought with my university credit.

I loved this one. It reminded me of tumblr in a way. I live on tumblr, so you can only imagine why I bought this! But this is a very true bookmark!

This one isn't for myself, actually. I bought this to send to my best friend in Scotland. We decided to swap boxes with one another, and I am going to be buying Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins to go along with this beautiful bookmark. Like seriously, how cute would this look in the new edition of the book? It makes me smile at how beautiful it is.

What bookmarks are your favorite ones? Are you picky about the bookmarks you buy? Do you use something from around the house? Do you....do you dog ear? 

Until next time readers!
~Amanda .xx

Books and Moods

Hey Everyone!

So today's topic is talking about reading, and setting the mood that goes along with it. I've been writing for the past half hour or so, and I thought this was a great topic!

When I read and write, I find that I have my headphones on, and listen to whatever the hell I want to listen to. Most of the time I listen to One Direction or Taylor Swift on shuffle.

I am the type of person who cannot stand the silence, and will at whatever cost turn objects on just for the sake of noise. I also find that when I listen to music when I read or write, it brings the story to life. For example, in After by Anna Todd (I'm referencing the whole series), she often makes references to The Fray. I didn't really intend on listening to them, but I did, and the whole story had a different feel to it making it more authentic.

I've always been the type of person to do that though. I make a playlist for everything and anything. It's my thing, and I don't think I would change that for the world. A world without music would be incredibly boring. Books without music would be just as dull.

What are your thoughts about reading/writing while listening to music? I'm interested to hear from you!

Till next time book lovers!
~Amanda .xx

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill | REVIEW

Series: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Published: November 13, 2012
Pages: 304
Links to buy: | Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository (For International Buyers.) |

RATING: ❤❤❤❤❤





SYNOPSIS:
Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").

But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

"If you're into swoony romances with a little bit of history thrown in, you'll love Meant to Be."--HelloGiggles.com

"Fun, fresh and irresistibly romantic. STB (SURE to be) loved!"--Sarah Mlynowski


"Readers of Jennifer E. Smith and Stephanie Perkins will revel in this debate about love ruled by the stars or as a matter of the heart."--Shelf Awareness

(From Goodreads)

REVIEW:

I've been putting off reading this book for months as it is my roommate's favorite book of all time. Normally, I don't want to take recommendations from close friends as I don't want to hurt their feelings if I don't like it. However, that was not the case at all for this book.

I really connected with Julia's character, the rule following, London loving character. She was very strong, and very involved in her love of literature. She was essentially me when I was in high school. Her attitude throughout the book, and the situations she got herself in were my favorites. She was partnered with Jason, who is this obnoxious, sexual innuendo charged student.

I think Jason was my favorite character in the whole of the novel. Beneath his obnoxious behavior, I found him really amusing, but also very caring. I could see that he was someone who was very reserved with who he revealed his true self with. He was a very complex character who could be seen as misunderstood, and judged heavily.

The characters and the setting is what drives the story I think. They work hand in hand because most of the scenes that I loved took place in a city I adore, and the characters reactions to those specific places made me so excited. Some of the places I never knew existed of course, but the whole feel of the story made it so much more lovable. I feel as if Lauren Morrill knew exactly how to drive the "feels" in a story. She knows how to hit contemporary/romance loving readers in the right places.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and vice versa if you liked this book and want to read more like it.

#PROJECTTBR READ-A-THON

Hey Everyone!

Today's topic is talking about something interesting I discovered when I was on twitter. A booktuber I follow, Benjaminoftomes, is hosting something called "Project TBR." I think this is a really cool idea!

Basically, Project TBR is a way for us to "shrink our TBR piles down" according to Benjamin. He thought of this idea, but didn't put it to use until now. In the monthly reading spectacular, he assigns some goals to help us stay motivated to shrink our TBR piles down!

This month's Project TBR is next week already! It is running from February 16th-22nd. If you need to shrink your massive (or small) TBR pile down, come join the fun! Benjaminoftomes has compiled some challenges for us as well:

1. Read a book under 250 pages
2. Read a book over 500 pages
3. Read a book with green on the cover
4. Read an underrated novel

BONUS: 5. Read a sequel to a book, but haven't read for a while

Now. I am here to share with you the books I plan on reading over the next week! I'm not really doing any challenges except keeping to short books. I'm altering the second challenge to a combine total because I think that's doable as my school schedule is becoming more time consuming.

I am going  to be reading: The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day

Book 1: Bared to You
Book 2: Reflected in You
Book 3: Entwined With You
Book 4: Captivated by You

If I happen to finish all those books, I will be reading Girl Online by Zoe Sugg.

I'll be following along on instagram because why not?

Come join the fun!
~Amanda .xx

Balancing Writing/Reading and College

Hey Everyone!

So today's topic I chose to discuss the topic of finding time to read and/or write in between your busy college schedules. I struggled immensely with this last year, but as a 2014-2015 school year resolution, I made it a goal to find time to do these things.

One of the first things I advise is to ask yourself this question. It's an important one:


Just how much Netflix/Hulu/YouTube are you watching?

Think about this answer real hard. Are you spending copious amounts of time surfing the black hole that is YouTube? Endlessly scrolling through tumblr? Then you are spending way too much time on the internet, and must adjust your schedule to incorporate writing into it. This is how I fit writing into my schedule so far. I am only six days into my semester (not including weekends).

I have an hour between every single class, so I find the time I write the most is when I am sitting there for an hour between classes. It also helps that I have a bright pink post-it note taped to my computer that asks me if I wrote 2,500 words today.

So for reading, I always read for about an hour before I go to bed. However, I am often immersed into my writing that I forget to do this. I do try! But sometimes I'm more into a writing mood than a reading one.

Basically to sum up this post:
-Write if you have an area between classes
-Cut down on your interneting
-KEEP ON TRUCKING THROUGH YOUR DAYS SPRING BREAK IS NEAR

Hope this helps all!
~Amanda .xx