Month: February 2019

A story without silver lining: If Only I Could Tell You by Hannah Beckerman #BookReview #IfOnlyICouldTellYou #GeneralFiction

Title: If Only I Could Tell You
Author: Hannah Beckerman
Publisher: Orion
Date: February 21st, 2019
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

Trigger warning: this book talks about serious illness, miscarriage, suicide…

If Only I Could Tell You is a book everyone talked about still in 2018, even though it officially came out few days ago.
Many bloggers said it will be on most people favourite lists for 2019, how emotional and touching it was, and now when the book is released, it’s Goodreads page is full of positive, 5 and 4 stars reviews.

I am aware that I am in minority here, but I have to say I didn’t like this story as much as others. I mean, I do appreciate it, and I do think it was a touching story that talks about so many serious subjects that happen every day and need to be talked about, but I needed some hope from it.

I read books to feel better. I am aware that life is not beautiful, and I also like to read serious book, and hard books, but I like when books have at least one positive thing in the story, a little silver lining hidden between pages.
This book had none.
It was like a punch in the face filled with all the negative things life can bring, with one tragedy after another. And just when the story punched me so hard I was mentally lying on the floor, and I needed that last hope towards the end, it kicked me once again and walked away…

Okay, I know I’m exaggerating, but I hope you got what I mean…

The story follows two sisters, Jess and Lily who have no connection to each other because Jess blames Lily for something that happened in their past, and can’t ever forgive her.
The third character is their mother Audrey who wants to make things right, heal their family before she says her final goodbye.

That is all you have to know before going into the story, because there is so many tragic things that happen in this story, I don’t think any premise can prepare readers for what’s inside.
So many events from the book can be triggering, so be aware of that. Miscarriage, suicide, illness just to name the few…

There was one scene that described miscarriage in such a detailed way that it made me weak. I had to stop reading, skip some pages and then after some time I was ready to continue with the story.

The story is written in third person, following all three main characters’ perspectives.

I think Hannah Beckerman is good author, and I understand why people like her work, but in all honesty, I don’t think she’s the author I’ll come back to. At least not in this point of my life.

However, I have a need to stress out once again that this book is loved by so many readers.

If I should recommend it, I would to readers who like to read tragic and realistic stories.

Funny, educational and doggy: Rules of the Ruff by Heidi Lang (Book Review) #MiddleGrade #BookReview #Comedy #RulesOfTheRuff #Dogs

Title: Rules of the Ruff
Author: Heidi Lang
Publisher: Amulet Books
Date: August 14th, 2018
Pages: 249
Format: Physical ARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

Not much can surprise me these days, but the fact that it took more then 6 months for this book to arrive at my doorstep since the day it was sent, left me in shock.
I was sure I was ghosted by the publisher, since I know so many bloggers want to review books, and there is always limited number of proofs. When I opened my mail I was so happy to see Rules of the Ruff, because I really, really wanted to read this middle grade novel.

The story follows Jessie who is spending her summer at her aunt, with her cousin Ann who pretty much ignores her since she started to hang out with her new bestie Loralee.
In order to make the best of her summer, Jessie figures she could walk dogs with Wes, an older guy who walks dogs professionally.
After some negotiating they come to terms that Jessie will help Wes walk the dogs, but she has to learn all the Rules of the Ruff, which will help her to understand dogs like she is a part of the pack.

Rules of the Ruff is filled with entertainment, but also with lots of knowledge about dogs.
I think it is not only perfect choice for children and adults who like to read funny books, but it is perfect manual for everyone who’s thinking about getting a dog.

Readers will along with Jessie learn so much about what an obligation, but also pleasure, owning a dog can be, and what it takes to take care of hounds  properly.

The novel is written in third person, following Jessie’s POV.

The writing style is easy to read, but at the same time it is very entertaining and quality.

I think it is important to mention that the author herself is a dog walker, so every advice this book contains is first hand.

The book talks not only human-dogs relationship, but also explores human relationships, touches subjects like rivalry, behaviour, early love interests, and gives many lessons about life and one’s relationship with others.

I highly recommend this book to middle graders, but also to everyone who likes reading about dogs and children.
If you’re looking for a book that will keep you entertained all day, Rules of the Ruff is the one for you!

Book Review: Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner @PRHGlobal #partner #BookReview #Contemporary #YoungAdult

Title: Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee
Author: Jeff Zentner
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers, Penguin Random House
Date: February 26th, 2019
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

After spending some time only reading adult fiction and non fiction, I found myself craving some ya literature. I already read some fantasy this year, but what I really wanted in my life was good ya contemporary, since it was my favorite genre for the longest time.
This novel reminded me why I love this genre so much, and even though it wasn’t a 5 stars book for me, or a brilliant masterpiece, it still made me feel that familiar feeling you have when you return to something you love after a long time, and only from that point only, hours spent with Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee were worth it.

The story follows two best friends: Delia and Josie who work together on a TV show in which they talk about horror movies and they also show old cult horrors.
Josie wants to spend her life working on tv, so the show is her step to start her career, while Delia does the show in hope that one day her father will recognize her and make connection.
Delia doesn’t want for Josie to move on after the graduation, because she doesn’t want to be left alone.
On the other hand, Josie knows she has to move to another city to go to college, and she feels bad about leaving Delia behind.

I liked how the story shows the reality of life. It pictures perfect how hard  it is to succeed, and how many people try to reach their dreams, but they don’t.
Sometimes people do their best, but there is a reason why they say that success is hard work + luck + good connections.

The story is written in two POVs, Delia’s and Josie’s, both written in first person.

I liked each point of view, but if I have to state one that I liked better it would be Josie’s.
Maybe it’s because of Lawson, who is her love interest, and is also an interesting character who contributed to the story with his amazing personality.

It is kind of sad for me to say that I liked the girls the best when they were separated.
I know, it sounds awful, especially because this novel is about friendship, but I have to be honest. Together, they sounded kind of rude, especially when they talked to strangers.

Also, one down side of this novel were dialogues. They mostly sounded too forced. They were too much, and unrealistic.
But then again, maybe teenagers do talk that way these days, I wouldn’t know for sure. All I know is that I didn’t click with the way characters talked in this story.

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee talks about friendship, family and life.
It also covers serious topics like mental illness and poverty.

It is still pretty early and there are not many reviews for this book, but from what I see most people enjoyed this novel more then I did, so keep that in mind when reading my thoughts.

I would recommend this book to young adult contemporary lovers.

Funny and romantic: I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella (Book Review) #BookReview #Comedy #Chicklit #IOweYouOne

Title: I Owe You One
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK, Transworld
Date: February 7th, 2019
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

For the last three years in a row, Sophie Kinsella puts a smile on my face every time I finish her newest book. I mean, there is a reason why she’s my favourite author, but I have to admit, I wasn’t in love with every book she ever wrote.
However, ever since she published My Not So Perfect Life it’s like we’re on a happy train and we’re not getting off. Every book she writes is pure perfection, and I Owe You One is one of those treasures.

The thing is, when you read a book by your favourite author, your expectations are high. You can’t help it!
So going into I Owe You One, I expected to like it, I wanted it to make me feel better, make me laugh, swoon and root for characters… and it delivered.

The story follows Fixie who got her nickname because she likes to fix things. She wants to make everything better for everyone, and to her, family always comes first.
One day in a coffee shop a stranger asks Fixie to watch his laptop while he goes away for few minutes. In that amount of time, the roof above starts to sink, but Fixie can’t leave the laptop, so she protects it with her body, and even though she ends up wet to the bone, laptop ends up untouched.
The story goes from there. The stranger, who’s name is Sebastian writes her a note with which she can ask him anything in return, because now he owes her one.

Going into the story, after few chapters readers can already assume how the story might end, because it is obvious from the start what a douche Ryan, Fixie’s love interest, actually is.
I mean, it’s been a while since I read about that kind of jerk in my books. A perfect character to hate, if you ask me!
However, it’s not always about the end, it’s about the journey!

I like how I Owe You One is characters based story, and we get to see not only different type of persons who functionate together, but also their development through the story.
I like how all of them have their flaws and the author really made them real, so by the end of the book readers will probably have the feeling like they know them. At least, that’s what happened in my case.

The writing style was amazing, as always. I flew through this book.

In the end, without spoiling anything, I just have to say there is one scene closer to the end of the story, that made me feel chills while reading (and they were good chills!). They were more like tingles.
It was such a beautiful scene, and out of everything this novel provides, I think that scene is how I will remember it.

I would recommend this book to everyone who likes funny scenes, romantic moments and family dynamics in their books.

Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop

Welcome to Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds.

In this giveaway, I am giving you a chance to win any book for 20 US$ or less, from The Book Depository.
You can choose one or more books, as long as you stick to a budget.

The giveaway is international as long as TBD ships to your country.

After you enter this giveaway, don’t forget to visit other blogs for more giveaways.

You can enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

  • This giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.
  • You must be 18+ old to enter or have your parent’s permission to enter (because I’ll need to ask you to give me your address so I could send the book to you).
  • I am not responsible for the shipment, but am responsible to order a book on time (The Book Depository is responsible to deliver you a book on time and in a good condition).
  • Once chosen, winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to reply, otherwise another person will be chosen as a winner
  • NO CHEATING! Cheaters will be disqualified

Good Luck!🙂

 

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Click here to hop around…

Movie Monday presents Music Edition: Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born #MovieMonday #MovieReview #BohemianRhapsody #AStarIsBorn

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I’ll talk about two movies I watched, both about music and singers, both with Oscars nominations.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie about Queens and Freddie Mercury‘s life. I think that at this point everyone has already heard about this movie, because since it came out the critics were really good, and now with the Oscars nominations it is even more popular.

Nevertheless, here are my two cents about this awesome film:

I think Bohemian Rhapsody was an amazing entertainment and I would highly recommend it to music lovers, not only to Queens fans, but to everyone who enjoys songs and showbiz.

I was never a big fan of Freddie Mercury because he was popular before I was even born, and growing up I had some other idols and singers I looked up to, so I knew very little about him to begin with.

This movie gave me a glimpse into his life and personality. I liked the person the movie portrayed, and he reminded me of myself, with his love for cats. It was so funny when he bought a big house and said that every cat will have their own room. I could imagine myself acting like that too (Yes, I know I’m crazy!).

Rami Malek did an amazing job performing in this picture, and if he wins an Oscar, it will be well deserved.

I have to stress out that I liked Bohemian Rhapsody more then the movie I’ll talk about next.

 

A Star is Born

A Star is Born is another movie everyone talks about lately, filled with great music.

This movie takes us behind the certain and shows us the dark side of music industry.
It pictures what struggles performers do have, and how easy it is to give yourself to alcohol and drugs.

This movie shook me and even now I still think about it, especially about the end.

I don’t have to stress out how great both Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga were. They both got Oscars nominations for their acting, and I would be really happy if Bradley finally won, because he is always nominated and he is such a great actor, so I think he deserves it.

When it comes to Oscars, this year out of 5 actors nominated for the main actor category, I root for 4. So I am pretty sure I will be happy in the end.

I would recommend this movie to everyone who likes music and drama.

Rivalry, Revenge and Bitches: Tell Me a Secret by Jane Fallon (Book Review) #BookReview #WomensFiction #Revenge #TellMeASecret

Title: Tell Me a Secret
Author: Jane Fallon
Publisher: Penguin, Michael Joseph
Date: January 10th, 2019
Pages: 404
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

Review:

Two years ago I read Jane Fallon’s My Sweet Revenge and I really liked it. You can read my review here. I loved how it was a perfect read for book clubs, because there was so many things people could discuss about, and I am happy to say that with Tell Me a Secret the case is the same.

This book would make a perfect book club pick. There are so many small details and clues readers could pick up, and also characters’ actions they could debate on.

What I liked the most about this novel were it’s characters. Almost all of them had strong personalities and they felt real.
I was always character driven reader, so it is really important for me to have opinions about characters, whether that be positive or negative opinions. There is nothing worse then flat heroes, and this book is full of impressive people.

The story follows Holly who just got a promotion in the company she works at. She is a screen writer, and now is in charge of others writers for the teen soap opera they work on.
After her promotion, strange things start to happen to her. Her scripts are all messed up, her colleagues get personal emails from her, that she hadn’t sent, and even her boss gets one.
Someone is trying to sabotage her, so she wouldn’t keep her work position.

Tell Me a Secret is mainly focused on friendships and rivalry. It talks about real friends and fake ones, and how far people would go when it comes to relationships with others.
It’s second focus is family and importance of people that are close to us.

There is no love story, which was kind of surprising to me, but I also have to stress out that it wasn’t missing at all. I think that this novel was complete and amazing without romance.
So if you’re not a fan of romance, here’s the book for you!

This book made me think and question why people lie to make themselves look better in others’ eyes.
I hate lies and don’t like people who tell them. I almost never lie, so reading about pathological liar in this book was kind of interesting. Still, I rolled my eyes at that character so much and thought she was just pathetic.

The end was so much different then the one I would chose to have in my real life, if I was in Holly’s shoes. I guess that just proves that Holly is bigger person then me.

In the end, I just want to mention that Fallon’s voice is so good that it was a pleasure to read this story.
Some parts were dragged, and maybe the novel could have been a bit shorter, but still, I appreciate every single chapter of this book.

And the cover… OmG, Jane Fallon always has these awesome book covers with food or drink on them, that are simple but attractive. You can not notice her book with those covers!

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who like to read about friends and enemies, family and lots of drama.
If you like to discuss about books you read, this one is a perfect choice!

Monthly Reading Wrap Up: January 2019 #bookbloggers #booklovers #Reading #January

Hi guys!

I know it’s been a while since I did my last monthly reading wrap up, and I am a bit late with this one too, but the thing is, yesterday I decided I want to do them again. I don’t read a lot of books per month, as some of you do, and I can only dream about reading 15+ books monthly (but I still dream about it), but I still want to do this every single month, if nothing, to keep track about my reading.

At the beginning of 2019 I made a decision to reread Vampire Academy, and I’ll be reading a book per month, following with Bloodlines.
I also challenged myself to read every single month at least one book with more then 500 pages.

This month I did good, and I hope I’ll continue with my progress in following months.

In the end, I finished 7 books, and I am happy about it. I wish I read more, but I am starting to make peace with my reading speed.

Here are the books I read in January:

      

My favorite book of the month: 

 

That is it!

Tell me what awesome books have your read in January?
What was your favorite one?

Movie Monday: Ashes in the Snow – the book was so much better! #MovieMonday #MovieReview #AshesInTheSnow #MovieTwit #War

Movie Monday is a feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watched an adaptation to one of my all time favorite books, Between Shades of Gray.

Ashes in the Snow

Ashes in the Snow was one of the movies I was really looking forward to see this year, even though I didn’t have the highest expectations about it.
It is an adaptation to Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys. I loved the book so much that now it is one of the best books I’ve read, but when it comes to movie, it wasn’t that good.

The story was mostly true to the novel, even though some things were changed or left out. The story was shaking, but it was shown in a really boring way.
Here, I said it, and I’ll say it again: I was bored most of the time while watching.
If I haven’t read the book, and wasn’t emotionally attached to the story, I would probably stop watching after 20 minutes.

It is a shame, really, and it made me think why is that, and then it came to me: the book is beautiful because of the writing. There were so many sentences that stayed with me until today, and I read the book four years ago.
What the movie was missing was the narrator’s voice. Those beautiful words Lina said while she was telling her story.
And they could have easily be in the story, if the makers decided to put them.
Just like the movie The Fault in our Stars was narrated by Hazel, Ashes in the Snow should have been narrated by Lina.
All of my favorite quotes from the book would be on the screen that way.

I don’t want to sound mean, but I have to say this: I think that the main actress who played Lina was too old for her part. She is 27, and with all that make up she looked like 34, not 17 as her character was.
I mean, I get that war and conditions Lina was in would not be easy on anyone, but it was still a miss, in my opinion.

In the end, I want to say I love how they changed the name of the story to Ashes in the Snow. I think it is so much better then the original one.

I would recommend the book to everyone, because it is beautiful and it tells an important story.
As for the movie, I wouldn’t recommend it.