Weekly Round-Up: 5/24 -2/30

Life This Week:

It has been a busy week! Moving, unpacking, and getting things like cable, satellite, and the washer and dryer delivered and installed. Hopefully things will start winding down now that we are in the home stretch.

Books Read and Reviewed:

I did manage to get a book read, but have not reviewed yet. Review should be up this week!

Lola's Lounge:

In which I discuss the move and such.

What I am Currently Reading:

What I Will Be Reading Next:

Randomness:

This video is super cute and short!

Lola's Lounge: Where have I been?

So in case you haven't noticed, I haven't been around much this week. That is because I finally moved! YAY!!! It was a busy weekend guys. But the majority of our stuff is unpacked. Washer and dryer were delivered today. Also...we finally got the internet and satellite TV. I felt so off the grid, I was almost going through withdrawals!!! But now I am back and hopefully the reading and reviews will start to speed back up! Thanks for your patience!

Weekly Round-Up 5/17 - 5/23

Life This Week:

You guys...we're in the home stretch!!! This weekend has been all about moving the large pieces of furniture and finishing the last few projects. I'm so happy that I could cry (and have several times). Below are pictures of the flower boxes on the side of the house. We filled them out with plants and flowers. Let me know what you think!

Books Read and Reviewed:

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Top Ten Tuesday:

Top Ten Good Beach Reads

What I am Currently Reading:

What I Will Be Reading Next:

Randomness:

I heard this song on one of my Pandora stations and instantly fell in love with it. I knew I had to share it with you guys!

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Book Summery (Via Goodreads): Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.
She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all. 

Book Review:
I'm going to write this review a little differently. I'm going to highlight points that I would like to discuss instead of giving an overall review.

• Shazi: A strong female main character. It's hard not to adore her, or discover why Khalid is so smitten with her. 
• Khalid: I'm not a fan of his lack of emotion...it's something we see in YA over and over again. That being said, we do see a softer side through his conversations with Shazi and through his letters.
• I would have liked to see more the back story that included Shazi's former lover and her father. There were hints of magic and rebellion...I hope to see more of this in the next book.
• The supporting characters really fill out the story nicely. I really enjoyed Shazi's interactions with her handmaiden and Khalid's guardsmen. SO GOOD.
• The setting and world building of this story is so complex and wonderfully spun. 
• Can I get a YAY! for some diversity?! I loved reading about an area in the world that I know very little about.
• I would have liked to learn more about Khalid's curse. It feels like there is more to the story.

Quick thoughts: This is a sultry tale filled with action, romance, magic, and suspense. The unique and diverse setting adds spice and interest to the overall story line. While some areas fell a little short for me, this fast paced story was near impossible to set down. I devoured this tale in just a few sittings. I highly recommend this book for YA fantasy lovers. Also, I need the sequel like now!!!

Cover Art Commentary:
It's not that I don't like it per say...It's just kind of awkward. I'm not sure what the pink overlay is for. I would rather just have the pink cover with the designs or the picture of the girl underneath as the cover.

Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Good Beach Reads

Top Ten Tuesday: "Freebie" A.K.A. Top Ten Good Beach Reads

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Also Known As (Also Known As #1) by Robin Benway

Geek Girl (Geek Girl #1) by Holly Smale

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Miss Mayhem (Rebel Belle #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines by Katy Cannon

Weekly Round-Up 5/10 - 5/16

Life This Week:
We finally have floors in the new house! After waiting almost 2 weeks to get them installed, it has finally happened! Yay! I can't even begin to describe how nearly impossible this process was. But they're in and they're beautiful. We've also started moving more of our stuff into the apartment. We took quite a large load of stuff today and plan on getting the rest next weekend!

In other news, I accidentally dropped my phone in water for like 2-3 seconds and it died. DIED! I had a miniature breakdown, then thanked the good Lord I have insurance and got a new one delivered. It's beautiful and I have vowed to be extra careful with it!

Books Read and Reviewed:

Made for You by Melissa Marr

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

 This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer Smith

Top Ten Tuesday:

Ten Authors I REALLY Want To Meet

What I am Currently Reading:

What I Will Be Reading Next:

???

Randomness: 
A bunch of my friends posted this on Facebook the week and it is hilarious!

This is What Happy Looks Like (This is What Happy Looks Like #1) by Jennifer E. Smith

Book Summery (Via Goodreads):When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.
Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Book Review:
I have read Jennifer Smith before. In fact, I read her book The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and looooved it. However, I didn't get the warm fuzzies for This is What Happy Looks Like. This love story seemed lukewarm to me from the start. I felt that Graham and Ellie fell in love with the idea of love, rather than love in reality. There was no spark, no chemistry. Also, no one in this book seemed particularly happy to me. At all. Ever. The love story is the usual...boy meets girl, they fall for each other, antics ensue, eventually they come to their senses,,,kind of, Despite the disappointing romance, this is a fast, light read. What really brought down the rating for me was the ending. I didn't know that the sequel, Happy Again, existed. While I'll definitely read Happy Again, This is What Happy Looks Like just fell a little short for me.

Cover Art Commentary:
I usually love the Jennifer Smith covers, but I'm not so crazy about this one. I guess yellow isn't my thing? Neither is water.

Rating:

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Book Summery (Via Goodreads):Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.

Book Review:
I would like to start off this review by asking myself, WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS?! This book has everything I love...historical fiction, feminism, a touch of paranormal. I should have read this the minute it was released! Olivia is such an easy character to relate to. The world sees her as a "soft and delicate" creature that is very "docile and obedient." We find out very early in the book that this is not the case. Olivia is doing her best to appease her very controlling, opinionated father. However, she has strong beliefs, especially on women's rights and goes through a great deal to have her voice heard. I very much enjoyed the supporting characters in this book. I initially thought Fanny to be meek, plain, and well...not very interesting, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Percy eventually shows his true colors. And Henry...oh Henry...such a progressive man in an oppressive time. Needless to say, I loved ALL scene's that included both Olivia and Henry. The historical background was a perfect backdrop to the story line. All I can say is thank goodness I was not born near the turn of the century! Let's take a minute to talk about hypnosis. I seriously don't understand how or why anyone would submit themselves to be controlled by another person. It freaks me out on MULTIPLE levels. As we learn from this story, its effects can be quite unsavory. *ahem* Back to my main point...Overall, I can't *squee* enough about this book! I will DEFINITELY be reading Winter's future publications!

Cover Art Commentary:
I have drooled over adored this cover from the minute I first saw it. First of all, I love the colors. Second, I love the overall period theme of the turn of the century (1900). Third, I love the thumbprint overlay...we all leave an individual mark on the world.

Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Authors I REALLY Want To Meet

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Authors I REALLY Want To Meet

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Beth Revis

Gail Carriger

Holly Black

J. K. Rowling

Maggie Stiefvater

Maria V. Snyder

Neil Gaiman

Sarah Ockler

Rainbow Rowell

Margaret Atwood