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Top Ten Tuesday #13 My Goals/Resolutions for 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

2015 is right around the corner and I am so excited to start of the new year with a new attitude. Here are some things that I want to accomplish: 

1. Put my blog out there more. My main goal for my blog wasn't really to gain a ton of readers, however I still would like to make more book friends on here, just so I know that I can have someone to talk to. ( like a home away from home) 

2. Make my blog prettier. I'm pretty limited in knowledge of things like tech design, photo shop etc. However I am taking a class next semester on graphic designs so hopefully I'll be able to use my new found knowledge to make things a bit more original on here. 

3. Set a reading goal. My 2014 started with me in a huge reading slump that lasted until about April. This year, I want to make reading my top priority so that I can put out more reviews and such. 

4. Make better reviews! I really want to make a reviews longer and more descriptive. Again, I am taking English next semester so I hope that I can add more descriptive words in my vocabulary and improve my reviewing skills. 

5. Start writing short stories. I know that it will take years before I am qualified enough to fulfil my life-long dream of becoming an author, but I'd like to start to practise using short stories. If I can practise my creativity throughout the year. then I can expand myself to write a proper book later on. 

6. Read books from more genres. My genres of books are usually limited to romance or dystopia. I really want to read more fantasy books, maybe paranormal and more, so I can make reviews for people who love those genres. 

7. Finish the Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices series. This may sound like a silly goal, but I put off reading this a year ago because of a reading slump and I really want to get back into it. Plus I get really lazy when reading long books, so I want to prove to myself that I can finish a 700 page book. 

8. Become more confident in my blog. I'm always afraid of what people might think of my posts. Obviously everyone is so supportive and I get no hate whatsoever, but it's still always on my mind. I saw a review on goodreads the other day about owning your blog and not caring about what anyone else thinks, and I think that's a great rule for me to follow this year. 

9. Improve my social skills. I am the shyest girl on this planet. I really want to talk to people more, make more friends and spend more time hanging out with people rather then just locking myself in my room and reading all day. 

10. Use my love of reading to do something good. I feel like I don't do enough giving back, and I really want to use my interests to do that. Whether organising a book drive, reading to children or by volunteering at my library, I feel like books bring people together. 

So this is what I want to accomplish in 2015! What are some of your goals?
Bye for Now!

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Stacking the Shelves #3 Christmas Books

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to allow bloggers to share what books they have added to their shelves that week!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and are now looking forward to more reading time before New Year's! I was generously given many books for Christmas, and I wanted to share them with you! Most of them were featured on my Top Ten Tuesday earlier in the week on my Christmas wish list. Looks like Santa was paying attention!

Ebooks:

1. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by: Jenny Han
Yes, I finally received this book and at an earlier time than expected! My mom gave me this as an early Christmas present on the night of the  23rd because I had absolutely nothing to read. So, I had to begin reading right away! This book has me hooked.

2. Shatter Me by: Tahereh Mafi
Another book that I talked about wanting for Christmas, I received! I missed dystopia books so much!

3. The Selection by: Kiera Cass
 I'm so excited to read this book as I've heard nothing but great reviews, and another dystopian book!

4. The Young Elites by: Marie Lu
I've heard nothing but positive reviews from Lu's books, this is going to be a good one!

5. We Were Liars by: E. Lockhart
As a goodreads choice winner for 2014, I'm thrilled to have gotten this one.

6. The Geography of You and Me by: Jennifer E. Smith
This book looks so cute, that I can't wait to begin reading. There's just something about a good romance novel on a cold winter day that makes me smile!

Paperback:

1. Afterworlds by: Scott Westerfeld
Wrapped up and under the tree, was this book. It is pretty long in length, but it looks great nonetheless.

2. After by: Anna Todd
This book was originally a Harry Styles fanfiction before it became a book. I had no interest in the fanfiction, but now that it is in actual book form, it looks really good!

3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by: Michelle Hodkin
This was on my TBR list a while ago, and now I can finally call it mine!

I am so grateful to have gotten these books by people who know of my insane obsession with reading.

Did you receive any books for Christmas? What are you looking forward to starting?

Bye for Now!

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #12 Books That I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

Books basically dominated my Christmas list this year! My TBR list is just so big, that I basically didn't ask for anything but books. Santa, if your reading this, please take notes. ;)

1. Shatter Me by: Tahereh Mafi
I've talked about this book before, but I really want to read it as I love dystopia novels.

2. We Were Liars by: E. Lockhart
This was the Goodreads choice awards winner for young adult fiction in 2014, and I've heard countless recommendations on it.

3. Afterworlds by: Scott Westerfeld
I really liked the Uglies series, so I want to read some of Scott's other books.

4. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by: Jenny Han
Again, another book that I've talked about before, but Jenny Han never fails in amazing books.

5. The Selection by: Kiera Cass
A LOT of people I know have read this book, and so far I can see little to none bad reviews.

6. Lailah by: Nikki Kelly
I saw this book while in the bookstore today, and it looks really cool and interesting.

7. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by: John Green and David Levithan
This book has been out for a good several years, but after reading David's story in My True Love Gave to Me, I would like to venture more into his writing. Plus I love John Green so this is a win-win situation.

8. Sinner by: Maggie Stiefvater
This is a companion book to Maggie's Shiver trilogy, which I absolutely loved.

9. Legend by: Marie Lu
This has been on my TBR list since forever. I think it's about time I start it.

10. This is What Happy Looks Like by: Jennifer E. Smith
Because everyone needs a good romantic book in their life.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so I would just like to wish all of my followers and everyone reading this a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays. I hope Santa is good to you this year :)

What books are you hoping for this Christmas?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

My True Love Gave to Me by: Twelve Amazing Authors and edited by: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Holiday

Christmas Break has just started for me, and I'm in a really festive mood, so it's only appropriate to review a festive book. This book was adorable and a pick-me-up.

My True Love Gave to Me features 12 different holiday-themed romance stories by 12 different authors including Jenny Han, Gayle Forman, Rainbow Rowell and Stephanie Perkins.  The stories range from long-lost friends reuniting at New Years, Santa's daughter finding love one Christmas Eve, and a girl spending Hanukkah away from home for the first time. There's something for everyone! I loved this book because each story had something special, and they always had a happy ending.

This book was great because it was diverse in each author's style of writing. Some of the stories were really cute, others very emotional, and others very funny. I think that this book was great because it would appeal to many tastes of reading, even though they all go back to romance. I can honestly say that there wasn't one story in this book that wouldn't appeal to someone.

My favourite of the stories would have had to been Jenny Han's one. It was just so cute and creative and really captured the spirit of Christmas. David Levithan's story was also so adorable and witty. The contrast in each character of the stories all played really well with each other.

The only negative thing that I have about this book is that some of the stories, I did not enjoy. However that's the spirit of reading! One thing that was great for me, could be boring to someone else and vice versa. I like books with more than one author because I can read different writing styles and appreciate the uniqueness of each book. So even though some of the stories were a bit boring for me, I would still recommend this book because it could be interesting for someone else.

Overall this book got me into the spirit of Christmas without being cheesy or predictable. The characters were not generic, and each one was personalised with their own interesting stories. I would rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars because of this extremely charming book. We all will have those one or two stories that were a bit confusing, but all in all, it was a great book!

Hope everyone has a great break!

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #11 Top Books I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

2014 was a year of great books for me, here were some of my favourites. 

1. Eleanor and Park by: Rainbow Rowell 
This book  was just so damn cute I couldn't even deal. 

2, Fangirl by: Rainbow Rowell 
It was the year was the year of Rainbow in my opinion. This book was so relatable to me: shy girl obsessed with books. 

3. Where She Went ( If I Stay #2)  by: Gayle Forman 
This was the sequel to If I Stay, but I think that this book was a lot better then the first. I thought it was so sweet! 

4. The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton 
Even though this book came out years ago, I just discovered it this year. It was such an inspiring book about friendship. 

5. My True Love Gave to Me edited by: Stephanie Perkins and written by twelve amazing authors. 
I actually only finished this book yesterday, and I'll have a review up later in the week. This stories really got me in the spirit of Christmas and were so unique. 

6. The Blood of Olympus by: Rick Riordan 
The final instalment of The Heroes of Olympus series went out with a bang. I'm so sad to see the Greek mythology books go :( 

7. Four: A Divergent Collection  by: Veronica Roth 
This spinoff of the Divergent series got me so excited. Tobias Eaton will always be one of my favourite book characters. 

8. The Beginning of Everything by: Robyn Schneider 
Such an uplifting book. It was hilarious an inspiring in a non-cheesy kind of way. 

9. Between Shades of Gray by: Ruta Sepetys 
A great historical fiction that I couldn't put down. 

10. The Truth About Forever by: Sarah Dessen 
This was the first Sarah Dessen book I ever read, and after that I just fell in love with her writing. She writes great romance novels! 

What books did you love in 2014? 

Bye for Now! 
Emily @ Paperback Princess 

Girl Online by: Zoe Sugg

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age
Published: November 25, 2014 by: Atria/Keywords Press

I've been wanting to read this book ever since Zoe announced that she was writing one. For those of you who don't know, Zoe Sugg is a world-famous beauty blogger and youtuber with over 6 million subscribers on Youtube. I've been watching her for years, and was really anticipating how she would be as an author. Her book is about an internet-famous teenage girl, who falls in love with a boy she meets while on vacation in New York. He helps her through many struggles like her anxiety. However, he keeps a secret from her that threatens to ruin her internet life forever.

I first saw the description, and thought it looked really interesting. Zoe as an author could be a great thing! I was wrong. As harsh as this may seem, she should stick to youtube.

The book overall, was not good at all. The characters were cliche and boring, and the overall plot was extremely predictable. Zoe used such simple language when describing things. I understand that she is not known for writing books, but I would have liked to see more descriptive writing. One word to describe the book would have just been: boring.

I found myself really struggling to finish this book because there was nothing that caught my interest. Everything from the writing, to the plot was just so simple and a bit childish. The protagonist's love interest was the cliche all-American musically-talented boy that you read in most books. The term she used to describe him was: rock-god-tastic. I understand she was trying to capture what the average teenage girl would describe, although I think she missed the mark. The protagonist's language sounded like a ten year old was saying these things, not a sixteen year old.

I knew when I started the book, how predictable it was going to be. I predicted the entire book, and I got everything correct. There were no plot twists, barely a climax or inciting incident. Zoe was so quick into fixing the problem, that I barely even knew what the problem was in the first place. The problem and the solution all occurred in about two pages. It was not a very well structured book.

I feel really harsh writing this post because I do love her videos so much, and I admire her as a person. However, as a dedicated bookworm, this book was not for me. I feel like this book was more geared towards Zoe's fans who are not really into reading as much as others are. They just wanted something short and sweet. I however, found the book to be just nothing compared to other books that I have read.I was also shocked to hear that this book beat out Harry Potter to be the most copies of a debut novel sold. That's pretty impressive, but this book in my opinion, does not live up to Harry Potter standards.  It lacked creativity and descriptiveness. If you are a dedicated bookworm, I would definitely leave this book on the shelf. I would have to rate it 1 out of 5 stars. I understand  that it was a debut novel, but I have read much better debut novels than this. Sorry Zoe :(

Have you read this book or watch Zoe's videos? What did you think?

Bye for Now!
Emily @ Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #10: New-To-Me Authors I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

I have read books from so many new-to-me authors in 2014. Here are some of my favourites: 

1. Rainbow Rowell 
I read her books Eleanor and Park, and Fangirl and I enjoyed both of them tremendously. Her humour in her writing is so relatable. 

2. Gayle Forman 
I saw the trailer for If I Stay when I saw The Fault in Our Stars movie, and I really wanted to read the book first. Her emotional writing is so special. 

3. Ruta Sepetys 
Her book Between Shades of Grey was different and emotional. She got me interested in Historical Fiction. 

4. Elana K. Arnold 
I borrowed her book Burning from the library, and was immediately hooked on her passionate writing. 

5. Caragh M. O'Brien 
I read her book Birthmarked for an English assignment, and I found her to be a great dystopia writer. 

6. Stephanie Perkins 
Her series of romance books are perfect for anyone looking for great pick-me-up books. 

7. Robyn Schneider 
Her book: The Beginning of Everything has easily become one of my favourite books. She is so motivational .

8. Jandy Nelson 
I have yet to read her latest book: I'll Give You the Sun, but I still love her unique style of writing. 

9. Tahereh Mafi 
Her style of writing reminds me a lot of Veronica Roth's and her set of dystopia novels is great for fans of the Divergent series. 

10. Jay Asher 
I read his book Thirteen Reasons Why actually in late 2013, but throughout 2014, I have really been loving his creative writing. 

What new-to-you authors have you been loving in 2014? 

Bye for Now! 
 Emily @ Paperback Princess

Sisterhood of The World Bloggers Award!

Thank you so much to the lovely Claire @ Bookworm Reviews for nominating me to do this tag! This was so fun to do!

Rules

• Thank your nominator and link back to them

• Put the award picture in a post and/or on your blog

• Answer ten questions your nominator asked 

• Nominate ten* other bloggers who have not been nominated and ask them 10 questions

Questions from Claire: 

1. Introduce yourself! Bullet five random facts we don't know about you.

Hi! I'm Emily, a grade 10  blogger who is shamelessly obsessed with many book fandoms. 

Facts: 

-  I am the only person in my entire family/ extended family who is left-handed. 

-  My twin sister has always asked if she can put up a post on here, but she doesn't read. She just wouldn't understand the bookworm world :) 

- I had braces for 2 years and finally got them off yesterday! ( really random) 

- I am actively in about 15 fandoms I would say. I have no life. 

- I haven't told anyone but close family of my blog. No one at school knows. I just don't have that many bookworm friends. 

2. What's your biggest bookish pet peeve?

Definitely cliffhanger endings. I'm one of those people who's always asking for further details. 

3. Tell us about a character you love to hate.

Anna from Anna and The French Kiss. I found her to be just too ditzy and extremely impulsive. 

4. Do you DNF books? Why or why not?

Yes, because some books can be really boring and long, and just not worth my time when there are plenty other books out there. One book that I DNF was The Hobbit. It was not my style at all. 

5. Love triangles v. insta-love v. forbidden love. Which is the worst?

Love triangles because they always turn out cheesy and predictable. 

6. A book ship that just doesn't work for you.

This was a tough one because there's not really a lot of book couples that I do not ship. I think I would have to say Peeta and Katniss because I am a huge Everthorne shipper, and I thought that Gale did so much more for Katniss. 

7. Grab the book closest to you, turn to page 47, and type a quote from the second paragraph.

Allegiant by: Veronica Roth " I lunge toward the door. A hand grabs my arm and drags me to the side". 

8. Has a book ever made you cry? If yes, what book?

Many books have made me cry. If I were to name them all, we would be here all day! To name a few: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Allegiant, The Fault in Our Stars, Delirium 

9. Make a soundtrack of three or more songs to correspond with events happening in the most recent book you've read. 

The book I'm reading right now is Girl Online by: Zoe Sugg 

Song 1. All I Want for Christmas is You by: Mariah Carey. This is because right now, it involves a Christmas romance. 

Song 2. Girlfriend by: Avril Lavigne. This protagonist is really eager to date her crush. She's being really obvious about it too. 

Song 3. Little Me by: Little Mix. The protagonist is having a hard time dealing with becoming confident, and growing up. This is a good motivational song to be yourself. 

10. If you could live in any book setting, which would you choose? 

Obviously Hogwarts. Besides the magical and much easier world, I've always wanted to live in England. 

I couldn't think of many people to nominate who have not done this tag before, so I just nominate anyone who is interested! 

Questions: 

1. Your book OTP? ( one true pair) 

2. Top three favourite book fandoms? 

3. What inspired you to become a blogger? 

4. What would you say, can make a book a great read for you. i.e. nice characters, cliffhangers etc. 

5. What is in your opinion, the worst book-to-movie adaption you've seen or heard about? 

6. What book could you read over and over without getting sick of it? 

7. If you had the chance to become an author, what genre of book would you write? 

8. If you could interview any author, who would it be? 

9. What was the first book you read by yourself? (if you can remember) 

10. On average, how long does it take you to finish a really good book? 

Thanks again to Claire for nominating! 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #9 Books I Can't Wait For in 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

 I can already tell that 2015 is going to be a great year of books. A lot of the books that I've picked are very heavy and emotional. That seems to be a trend in 2015 YA fiction books. However, I do like those kind of mysterious, dramatic books. Here's what I'm looking forward to:

1. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by: Cynthia Hand
An emotional book about love and loss, this book kind of reminds me of Sacred by: Elana K. Arnold.

2. I Was Here by: Gayle Forman
I added this book to my winter tbr list last Tuesday, and it will definitely be the first book I read in 2015. I can wait :')

3. Vanishing Girls by: Lauren Oliver
I absolutely LOVE this author's writing. This dramatic, and edgy story will definitely keep me interested.

4. All The Rage by: Courtney Summers
This very serious and emotional book about violence against girls, is definitely a more deeper books, but I think it will be a great eye-opening book about how to help those who are suffering.

5. From Where I Watch You by: Shannon Grogan
Another very mysterious book about an aspiring baker trying to figure out who has been watching her and leaving her notes, after her dad and sister's tragic deaths.

6. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by: Sarah Ockler
This is a bit of a lighter book than some of my other choices, and it's always good to have a pick-me-up sort of book. This books contains romance and mermaids. What more could you ask for? Definitely going to be my summer 2015 book of choice.

7. Saint Anything by: Sarah Dessen
I never get tired of this author. After twelve books, you'd think that she would have run out of ideas, but she is as creative as ever. This book is a great book with the theme of family and trying to get a life back on track.

8. Under a Painted Sky by: Stacey Lee
A bit different to books that I would usually read, this book takes place in 1849, at the heart of many human rights issues. It is an adventurous novel, about trying to be accepted in a world of prejudice.

9. The Sword of Summer by: Rick Riordan
Where would I be without reading another mythology book by Rick Riordan? I have been reading his books since I was 11, and they still never seem to get old. This one tells the story of Viking mythology.

10. Finding Paris by: Joy Preble
A book similar to Thirteen Reasons Why by: Jay Asher, this book tells the story of two teens on an adventure to find who keeps sending them mysterious notes.

What books are you looking forward to in 2015?

Bye for Now! 

Paperback Princess

Mockingjay Part 1 Book To Movie Review

Trying something a bit different, by reviewing books made into movies. I would love to compare the similarities, differences and which was better. ( In most cases, probably the book) Enjoy!

* this review will contain spoilers*

About the Book:
Mockingjay ( The Hunger Games #3) by: Suzanne Collins
Published: August 20, 2010 by Scholastic Press

I saw Mockingjay Part 1 in the theatre last weekend, which probably wasn't the best decision. The theatre was packed! Nevertheless, I did enjoy it a lot. Mockingjay has been the long-awaited conclusion to the Hunger Games series, about a teenage girl sent to fight to the death in a brutal game set up by her government. I will say that the book was very slow for me, so I had high expectations for the movie to be better.

The book and the movie were somewhat similar. All of the characters were kept in the movie, with the same plot of Peeta sending video messages to the rebels through the Capitol's control. The movie kept the new characters: Cressida, Castor and Pollux in the plot, and they were easy to read and follow as well. Jennifer Lawrence, once again portrayed Katniss in the best way possible, keeping her intelligence and wisdom throughout the movie and book. I loved how Gale and Finnick were very much main characters in the movie. (Liam Hemsworth and Sam Claflin, need I say more?!) I wish there was more of Joanna Mason in both the movie and book. She was taken prisoner by the Capitol, but she was still one of my favourite characters. The main difference in the movie from the book, is that it was much more suspenseful. It didn't contain a lot of boring parts at all, which is what I did come across in the book.

I really thought that the movie was better than the book (gasp!) But in all seriousness, it was much easier to follow, much more entertaining and it had the right amount of suspense. I especially loved Jennifer Lawrence's rendition of " The Hanging Tree". She has a great singing voice! What I will warn you about this movie, is that there are a lot of "jumpy" parts. There will be a very quiet moment, and suddenly, something really loud will spring up. It was very shocking! Also, like the book, it can take a while for some rising action, however once you got to the middle of the movie, I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen!

Overall, if you did not like this book that much, do not fret because the movie was very good! I would highly recommend it.

Bye For Now!
Emily @ Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #8 Books on My Winter TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme from The Broke and The Bookish that allows users to share their top choices of the topic of the week!

I am so excited for winter, because I feel like that is when I get the most reading done. Who would want to play outside in the cold when there are books to read?! There are so many books that I am looking forward to reading this winter. 

1. We Were Liars by: E. Lockhart 
This was highly recommended by so many people for so many reasons! 

2. Shatter Me by: Tahereh Mafi 
Again, a book that has been recommended by so many readers, and I feel like it is similar to the Divergent series! 

3. Anatomy of a Misfit by: Andrea Portes 
This was a book that was on my fall TBR list, fall isn't done yet, so hopefully I will read it by the time winter comes. 

4. The Geography of You and Me by: Jennifer E. Smith 
I read this author's other romance novel: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, so I am also interested in this one, even though I do have a love-hate relationship with romance novels. 

5. I Was Here by: Gayle Forman 
This book is expected in January, and I loved Gayle Forman's other book If I Stay, so I am quite excited for this one. 

6. Let it Snow by: John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle 
I had to include at least one Christmas book on this list, I think this will be a great book to get into the spirit! 

7. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by: Stephanie Perkins 
This Christmas book contains twelve holiday stories from twelve amazingly talented authors. The book was edited and co-written by Anna and The French Kiss author Stephanie Perkins 

8. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by: Jenny Han 
I read Jenny Han's Summer series years ago, so I really want to read more from her. 

9. Since You've Been Gone by: Morgan Matson 
This book does take place in the summer, but I feel like I need a little reminder of the wonderful sunny season that it is. I miss it :(

10. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by: Michelle Hodkin 
This book was recommended to me on goodreads, as well as me reading many reviews on it. I want to give it a try. 

What books do you want to read this winter? 

Bye for Now! 
Emily @ Paperback Princess