Monthly Wrap Up: June 2016

Another month has gone by and needless to say, my June was uneventful. I didn’t have time to write posts and reviews because of my exams. BUT NOW IT’S SUMMER AND I’M BACK (Hopefully). 

The Sunshine Blogger Award

*starts hyperventilating* Is this real? *pinches arm* I’m so new to book blogging and getting nominations is a crazy experience. This means so much to me! So, thanks Shannon at Clockwork Bibliophile for the nomination! *yells across blogosphere* Go and check out her blog because why wouldn’t you??

Rules:

-Thank the person/people who nominated you
-Answer the questions from your nominations
-Nominate 11 other bloggers and give them 11 questions

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Shannon’s Questions

What was the very first book you read? (if you can remember)

This is a hard one… As far back as my memory goes, I remember reading this Chinese phonetics book. It was pretty much basic words like numbers and colours in pinying and written form. There were cool pictures and diagrams, kinda like this but instead of English words it was the Chinese phonetic sound:

I used the book so much it was practically ripped apart by the time I went to school.

Why is your favourite genre of books your favourite?

So, probably my favourite favourite genre of books would have to be a combination of Fantasy and Dystopia (is that cheating?! XD ). Why I love this genre so much is that I’ve read ’em since I graduated from the juvenile chapter books (age 9??). Romance and Contemporary became a favourite genre in 2014, but Fantasy and Dystopia? Since the beginning of time. The idea of a world that parallels from this reality has always appealed to me and this genre has so much to offer from Shadowhunters, vampire hunters and witches to fae, flashers, and newbloods. Further, all the ships I absolutely adore?? All come from Fantasy/Dystopian novels because not only do we get stabby stabbings, wars ad rebellions, we also get amazing subplots like a “make your heart stop and weep” romance.

If you were to write a book, where would it be set? (place, time period etc)

oooooo, I love this question! Going back to fantasy novels, I would create a world divided. (sounds suspiciously like all YA novels out there) A pending story idea that I’ve created is a place called, Timeless. An alternate world where time moves at a different place (kinda like a fae world) and it is the epicenter of the today’s human world. In the middle of the town/world/place is a clock and it controls fate, and practically keeps the world going. If there is something wrong with this clock, the world goes into chaos. Special people must keep this clock balanced, maybe call them Clockmasters?!  Sounds very juvenile, hence why it is still in the working. *pause* MAYBE IN THE CENTRE THERE’S A CHAMBER AND IN THAT CHAMBER ARE MIRRORS. TWELVE MIRRORS TO REPRESENT EACH HOUR. And that’s all I got…

Have you ever felt connected to a character because they have experienced something you have?

I have multiple times and the one character that is popping out to me right now it Emmy from Emmy & Oliver. Emmy’s parents are so protective and they definitely remind me of mine. Emmy’s main character development was to own up for her love of surfing despite her fear of her parents disapproving. I relate to that immensely because I sometimes feel like my parents block me from what I love to do. That being said, on the other side of things, I realize that Emmy’s parents are protective because they love her and I know that’s the same with my parents too. Emmy represents the internal struggle that I face everyday about being proud to like what I like and also the journey of independence that I’m still going on.

What is your favourite book-to-movie adaptation?

Mygod, this is hard. I mean I have to say Harry Potter because all the book-to-movie adaptions right now are meh and haven’t impressed me as much as Harry Potter has. And nothing can ever beat Harry Potter. Ever.

What is your favourite book-to-tv show adaptation?

HA. NONE. I’ve watched a lot but I don’t have a favourite. To mention a few: Shadowhunters and Pretty Little Liars. I also haven’t read the books of TV shows like The Vampire Diaries but I watch the show anyway. My ovaries just don’t scream for TV shows like it does for books.

What was the last book you read and did you enjoy it?

The last book I read was The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott. I’ve been reading 4 star books lately and this one broke that streak with a whooping 4.5/5. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I’m a sucker for road trip themed novels. AND THIS BOOK MARKS THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER FOR ME!! And let me tell you, what better way to kickoff summer with the road trip Cloudy and Kyle take us on? It’s not even the stupid road trip cliché we’re so used to too. It’s also wonderful because it was an on-the-whim novel. I saw the description, immediately got the novel and finished it in less than three hours. Beautiful.

What’s your least favourite book that you’ve ever read?

It doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned. I have least favourites and then I have those Voldemort books that are “He Who Should Not Be Named”. But books can be Shes as well. Let’s not discriminate.

Let’s be honest here. I don’t want to go back into my pit of hatred and dig out a book that I hated reading. I also tend to abandon books if I really don’t like ’em because nobody got time for that.

*curiosity peaks so I go to Goodreads and check out my books*

MY LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK IS… *drum roll*

This Is So Not Happening (#3) by Kieran Scott.

Ugghhh. Why did I do that?!? I’m back in my pit of hatred. THIS BOOK BRINGS OUT THE DRAGON INSIDE OF ME THAT WANTS TO BURN EVERY DOUCHEBAG IN THE WORLD TO ASHES. Oh, and all the girls who feel like they need to destroy other girls from the inside. #SpreadGirlLoveNotHate

Who is your favourite blogger and why?

I can’t choose!!! (This is probably not what you intended when you asked this, Shannon but…) I’m going to just tweak this and give a list of qualities that I love in a blogger.

• passionate: when you can feel the passion exerted from the blogger through the screen, it makes you want to read their content, and to comment. It’s their passion in their tone of writing that makes a blogger engaging and fun
• engaging: something I definitely have to work on (way to make this about you, Michelle, great job. points for selflessness), but I love when a blogger has discussions or brings up a topic that promotes discussion. When I read something online that is thought provoking (or even peaks my interest), I start to value media again, especially when it contrasts the bullshit that is online about celebrity gossip and other nonsense that needs to be thrown into that recycle bin on our desktop screens.
• creative: I like bloggers who think outside the box. I love reviews and I love discussions about books, but those posts that are so out of the ordinary pop out to me. Love it when bloggers really cross that line. (This doesn’t necessarily have to be book bloggers. That was an example)

What’s the prettiest cover on your shelf?

On my actual shelf:

On my eShelf:

What is a random fact about you that people might not know?

I’m a night owl and you must be very brave to wake me up in the morning.

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Nominations:

Jorelene @ Page Chronicles
Jen @ Starcrossed Book Blog
Hannah @ thebookllama
Aentee @ read at midnight
Kayleigh @ Just Page By Page
Nina @ By Page or By Plane

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Your Questions

1. Who is your ultimate OTP and why?
2. Quote you live by and why?
3. How far in are you with your current read and how are you feeling about it?
4. What is your biggest struggle with blogging and why?
5. What book are you crazily looking forward to read?
6. Where is your favourite place to read?
7. If you were stranded on a island, which three authors would be with you?
8. What is your pet peeve when it comes to character personalities?
9. Why did you name your blog the name you did?
10. If you could be a character for a day, who would you be?
11. Hardcover or Paperback?

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Thanks again to Shannon for the nomination! Hope you enjoyed!

Keep calm and read on,

Failure, Assholes and Damage Control

Confession: This is a book blog.

Another Confession: This post is not about books.

Last Confession: This blog happens to be mine so I can do whatever the heck I want. ❤

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Disclaimer: If you cannot deal with the intense sarcasm that is laced throughout this post (and my blog), I fear for your mental stability and this is not the place for you.

Aren’t I hilarious?! I’m so funny. Now as you may or may not know, I love writing reviews and I love raving about books, but I’ve been losing inspiration and I want this blog to be more than just reviews. Prepare yourself for rants, inspirational bullshit that I turned into from my life epiphanies, and hell of a lot of weird life updates like how much I love watching documentaries about sex in the wild. (Yup, I just said that, you don’t have to read it again, you read it correctly) AND, GUUUYS, this all relates back to my blog name, Addictively Turning Pages, because not only am I turning pages of books, but my life is also a book and everyday is me flipping a page until I eventually end my life novel and die. (Ohmygod, that was morbid)

As you all know, there’s a lot that goes on outside of all the blogging we do. Today, I’m going to give you a glimpse (a HUGE glimpse) of what that is for me. If I’ve bored you already, I have a lot of reviews posted, so check out this inventory for them, and my Twitter account loves more attention for all the stuff I tweet and retweet! (no shame for self-promotion)

Review: Surrender by Elana Johnson

Surrender (Possession #2)
By Elana Johnson

Hardcover, 480 pages

Published June 5th 2012 by Simon Pulse

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopian, Romance
POV: Third Person Omniscient
Average Rating: 3.91

My Rating: 4/5

Cover Love: Simple, elegant. The hummingbird in the jar represents the likelihood of the characters feeling/being trapped. The tagline is mysterious and engaging.

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Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.
All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn.
Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque…

Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows
By Leigh Bardugo

Kindle Edition, 462 pages

Published September 29th 2015 by Henry Holt and Company

Average Rating: 4.41

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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

One Lovely Blog Award

My first blog nomination!! 😮 Thank you so much Shayla at DisappearFromReality for the nomination! Go check out her blog!

7 things about myself…

Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1)
By Kimberly Derting

Hardcover, 327 pages

Published March 16th 2010 by Harper
Average Rating: 3.97

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Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world… and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer.. she might become his next prey.

Review: Deceptions by Kelley Armstrong

Deceptions (Cainsville #3)
By Kelley Armstrong

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published August 20th 2015 by Sphere

Average Rating: 4.16

Olivia’s life has exploded. She’s discovered she’s not only adopted, but her real parents are convicted serial killers. Fleeing the media frenzy, she took refuge in the oddly secluded town of Cainsville. She has since solved the town’s mysteries and finds herself not only the target of its secretive elders, but also her stalker ex-fiancé.

Visions continue to haunt her: particularly a little blond girl in a green sundress who insists she has an important message for Olivia, one that may help her balance the light and darkness within herself. Death stalks Olivia and the two men most important to her, as she desperately searches to understand whether ancient scripts are dictating their triangle. Will darkness prevail or does Olivia have the power to prevent a tragic fate?

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Emmy & Oliver
By Robin Benway

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Published June 23rd 2015 by HarperTeen
Average Rating: 3.91

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

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I can’t explain how this book makes me feel because I feel so many emotions that I can’t distinguish what they are. Every time I think of this book or remember the story, I get this feeling in my chest. There are good emotions like happiness, sympathy and pride, and there are sad emotions like heartache, sadness, pain, and honest-to-god understanding and acceptance.