The Ultimate Book Tag

Thank you to Claire @ Bookworm Reviews for tagging me to do this tag! Hopefully you will get to learn a bit more about me!

 1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
 Sadly, yes. I wish I could read in the car, as it would pass time on long road trips, but I feel awful after reading one chapter. 

2. Which author's writing style is completely unique to you and why? 
Gayle Forman, because she writes about really personal topics, as well as difficult topics to write about. And she does it well. 

3. Harry Potter series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
Harry Potter, hands down. a) because it kept my interest throughout the entire series. b) each book added a different component leading up to the last book c) the characters were funny, brave and intelligent. 
I could go on and on as to why I love this book. 

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is in it (besides books…)?
Besides my backpack, no. In my backpack I keep books that I want to read throughout school. Other than that, I have a binder, pencil case and my laptop in my backpack. 

5. Do you smell your books?
Sometimes. There's just something about the smell of a new book that's so comforting. I'm so weird. 

6. Books with or without little illustrations? 
I like books without illustrations because I like there to be as much writing on a page as possible. I don't really pay attention to illustrations. 

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing? (Ex. I read Twilight before I read HP and thought the writing was amazing but read HP and now think Twilight is a little bit of a joke.)
Take a Bow by: Elizabeth Eulberg. I read this book years ago, and thought that it was the best writing ever. Now, it just doesn't appeal to me. 

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
It's not really funny, just ironic. When I was little, although I liked to read, I took horrible care of books, ripped the spines etc. Now, I don't let anyone near my books for fear of them getting a dog-eared page or something.

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf? 
The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald. 

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf? 
I'm pretty sure it's Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by: J.K. Rowling

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
I love to write as well as read. My dream is to publish an original novel. However, as of now, I'm not creative enough to think of any clever potential novels. Only time will tell. 

12. When did you get into reading? 
I've loved reading since forever. I got into The Magic Treehouse Series at a young age, and worked my way up from there. 

13. What is your favorite classic book?
I know I've mentioned this book countless times in my blog, but The Great Gatsby is sooo good. 

14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?  
When I first started high school, I was so looking forward to English, however it turned out to be one of my hardest subjects. I think that just my views on a story, and my teacher's views always seemed to be different. I'm only in my second year of high school, so maybe things will get better.

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated…what would you do?
I've never been in that position before, but I think that I would just keep in on my bookshelf for eternity, or if I had a big enough pile of old books, I would donate it to a used book sale. 

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?
Birthmarked by: Caragh M. O'Brien. It has the same theme of a future where people are divided into groups, some less fortunate than others. 

17. What is a bad habit you always do (besides rambling) while blogging? 
I get distracted when writing a blog post. Somehow, I always seem to find myself scrolling through twitter when writing. 

18. What is your favorite word? 
Probably kerfuffle. which means a commotion or fuss. I say it a lot. 

19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
Mostly a dork. I like to dress up as Harry Potter or talk to myself for 20 minutes about how perfect Tobias Eaton is. My life revolves around books. 

20. Vampires or Fairies? Why? 
Fairies because they're so pretty, and since I was little, I've always wanted to be one. 

21. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?
Angels because I think it would be so beautiful to be one, fluttering around everywhere. 

22.  Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
Spirits because they're a bit less gruesome and scary than werewolves. 

23. Zombies or vampires? 
I've read more books on vampires than zombies, so I choose vampires. 

24. Love triangle or forbidden love? 
Forbidden love, because I find love triangles to be a little bit cheesy and uninteresting. 

25. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?
Bye far, action-packed with romance mixed in. I find full on romance to be really boring. 

I tag anyone who would like to do this tag! 

Bye For Now! 
Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #4 Top Characters I Would Like To Be For Halloween

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, to allow users to share their top choices of the week's category. This week is all about dressing up as book characters for Halloween!

Here are my choices:

1. Tris from Divergent. I like to think I could be a dauntless member, when in reality I'm more of Abnegation. So dressing up as a dauntless will do for now :)

2. Hermione from Harry Potter. I have wanted to be Hermione for YEARS. I finally got a gryffindor scarf, so next year for sure.

3. Katniss from The Hunger Games. She'd be amazing to dress up as, but sadly my hair at the moment is too short to braid. :(

4. Daisy from The Great Gatsby. I've always wanted to be a flapper. The 1920s style was so beautiful!

5. Annabeth from Percy Jackson. She's is by far, one of my favourite heroines. She's so sarcastic like me.

6. Isabelle from The Mortal Instruments. I wish I was shadowhunter material.

7. Lola from Lola and The Boy Next Door. Her style is so cool and unique!

8. Eleanor from Eleanor and Park. I love how she has her own different style, and doesn't care about anyone else.

9. Helen from Nobody's Princess. I read this book years ago, but I still love the ancient Greek style.

10. Draco from Harry Potter. Don't get me wrong, I love the gryffindor house with a passion, but it would be nice to change it up.

What Book character would you dress up as?

Bye for Now!
Paperback Princess

Stacking The Shelves #2

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!

After a recent trip to the library, I got the books  Sacred and Splendor  by: Elana K. Arnold! This duet of books was a great series about love, loss and holding on. I love Elana Arnold's books. 

 

What books have you added to your shelves this week? 

Bye For Now!

Paperback Princess

Anna and The French Kiss (Anna and The French Kiss #1) By: Stephanie Perkins

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance
Published: December  2, 2010 by Dutton Juvenile

I feel like I am the last blogger on this earth to have read this book. I have heard countless reviews on this book, but never got the chance to read it. Until a couple of weeks ago when I finally took the plunge and got it! I do understand why everyone loved this book, however it was not one of my favourites.

The book follows high school senior Anna Oliphant, and her struggles to adjust to life at a boarding school in Paris. There, she meets St. Clair, a student who is everything she could have ever wanted in a guy. However, he has friendzoned her. Anna and St.Clair's journey throughout the year leads to some surprising discoveries about themselves, and about their past lives.

Now to the positives of the book. I have a love-hate relationship with romance novels. Sometimes they can be really boring, and have no plot. This book was interesting. The book contained some plot twists, which kept it interesting. I loved the characters, especially St. Clair. He was such a gentlemen, and the way he treated his closest friends was adorable. I liked how the author kept up with a good plot, and how she didn't make things too focused on the romance. There was a bit of drama in the mix as well.

However, there were some things that I did not enjoy. The book, while containing some plot twists, was a bit predictable. I find this with most romance novels. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for a happy ending, however it kind of ruins the purpose of the book if you know how it will all turn out. The book could be, at times, a little slow especially during the beginning. However, once I got to the middle of the book, it picked up and I actually quite enjoyed it.

Overall, this book is great if you love strictly romance novels. I would not say that you would find action and suspense in this book. However, everyone has their favourite genre of book. Not all books are for everyone. I did like this book. By the middle, it was quite enjoyable and I actually admired the way the author wrote the characters. They were great! However, I am always drawn to suspense and books that are a bit more unpredictable. I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Bye For Now!
Paperback Princess

Where She Went (If I Stay #2) By Gayle Forman

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

*If you have not read If I Stay, please do not read this review, as it may contain spoilers*.

Years have gone by after Mia Hall's tragic accident that left her an orphan. The story picks up when Adam, her ex-boyfriend, is living the rockstar dream. Selling out shows, and with a movie star girlfriend. Adam is lonely and tired. He frequently has panic attacks, and he struggles with addiction. Meanwhile, Mia is a classic music superstar, who graduated from Julliard. Both think that the other is doing fine without them, until fate brings them back together for one night. Told from Adam's point of view, Where She Went tells the story of two broken people, and their fight for their love.

I LOVED this book, perhaps even more than the first book. While If I Stay was about life and death, Where She Went was about finding yourself. While both books carried harsh topics, I found Where She Went to be much lighter than If I Stay. I thought that this book would have been very sad, as it picks up after Mia loses her family, however I was quite surprised to see that Mia was a very happy person. I admire her as a character so much.

One thing that I didn't like about the book was Adam, but only in the beginning. When I first started reading, I found his character to be very frustrating. He seemed very obnoxious and rude. However, once I got into the book, I could understand how hard Adam was suffering. I could see that he still had trouble letting go of the past. By the middle of the book, I was hooked on his character.

My favourite thing about this book was by far, Mia. She was so strong and powerful. I think that she may be one of my favourite female protagonists of all time. (Sorry Katniss and Tris.) Even though she had lost her entire family, she knew that they were with her and she didn't let grief take over her entirely. She also helped Adam with his own demons. I think that Mia saved Adam in this book, and for that, I thank her.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with this book. While still dramatic and sad, the story did have a happy ending. I was happy with how everything turned out. Adam and Mia were such strong characters. Bravo Gayle Forman! I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Bye For Now!
Paperback Princess
*A note* I got a goodreads account!
So if you would like to follow me, I'll leave it here:

My Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday #3 Places in Books that I Want to Visit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish, where bloggers share their Top Ten choices based on the category that week!

This week's theme is places in books that I would like to visit, which a great topic for me because of how imaginative I am. Here are my choices:

1. Hogwarts from The Harry Potter series. Need I say more? I would love to experience the magical world of Hogwarts.

2. Camp Half Blood from The Percy Jackson series. I think that it would be so cool to experience what life is like for demigods, and the training they must endure.

3. The Capitol from The Hunger Games series. I would not like to be in the hunger games, but I think that it would be cool to be able to dress up like the trendy people from the Capitol.

4. New York from Where She Went. The way the story is told through Mia taking Adam all throughout New York, made me imagine how pretty it must have been.

5. Futuristic Chicago from The Divergent Series. I could do without the violence between factions, but I am curious to see what faction I would be put in once I turned sixteen in Chicago.

6. Andalusia, Spain from The Alchemist. The way the author describes this beautiful Spanish island, made me want to visit it and see the culture myself.

7. Amsterdam from The Fault in Our Stars. Part of the book takes place in this beautiful city, where I have always wanted to visit because of its beautiful canals as well as to visit the Anne Frank house.

8. England from The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. I have visited London before, but I was too little to appreciate it. Now, I would like to go because of how the author describes the English countryside.

9. The Garden from The Secret Garden. I would really love to experience the beauty of this garden for myself, and the thought of having your own secret place that nobody know of sounds really cool.

10. Neverland from Peter Pan. A place where there are fairies, and I can never grow up? Yes please!

Let me know where you want to visit based on books!

Bye For Now!
Paperback Princess

Stacking The Shelves #1

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

Last week I went on a huge book-buying spree using a few gift cards I had lying around. I bought both paperback books and ebooks. Here's what I got:

Paperback:

I'll Give You the Sun by: Jandy Nelson

A book that I've been waiting to read ever since it got released!

Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by: Gayle Forman

I loved If I Stay so much, so I decided to read the second book. I'm almost finished, it is incredible!

The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner #2)  by: James Dashner

I put off reading this book for so long, because I didn't really enjoy the first book, but I decided to give the series another try ;)




Ebooks:


The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5) by: Rick Riordan

I loved this series so much, I can't believe that this is the last we will see of Percy Jackson :(


Anna and The French Kiss Trilogy by: Stephanie Perkins

After hearing what everyone was saying about how good this series was, I'm finally going to read it.

I'm all set for fall reading!

Bye For Now!
Paperback Princess

Shiver by: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance

Shiver was a book that surprised me. The story follows a high-school student named Grace, who has spent years admiring a yellow-eyed wolf that appears near her house. Meanwhile Sam, a werewolf has spent years going to the yard of a girl who always admires him. Sam is too afraid of talking to the girl in human form. She would never understand. When Grace and Sam finally meet, a romance is sparked. However, Sam cannot remain human forever, and his wolf pack is on the verge of being killed off by Grace's town. Together, the two must go on a journey to save their love.

I very much enjoyed this book, which surprised me at first. I thought that this book would be like the werewolf version of Twilight, a book that I did not enjoy very much. I thought that it might not have a proper plot, or any interest to it. I was completely wrong. In this case, I'm very glad that I did not judge a book by it's cover.

The book had perfect amount of romance and adventure. The plot was interesting, and I loved the plot twists. Unlike other romance novels, this book contained a right amount of action. I loved the suspense, and even the mystery. I liked this book because it was versatile in genre.

I would definitely say that this book can even be read by people who do not like romance novels. It actually had suspense, plot twists and show much more! That being said, I did find that some parts were a bit confusing. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book, that I found myself having to go back to previous pages to find out what was going on. Still, it was very good.

Overall, I loved the book because of its content. The book was not a pointless romance novel, but it was also not an action-packed thriller. It was a bit confusing, but looking past that, I would say that the author did a great job in creating a captivating plot. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars, because it crushed my stereotype of some romance novels being boring, however it was a bit hard to follow. Still though, I commend Maggie Stiefvater's work. 

Bye for Now!
Paperback Princess

Top Ten Tuesday #2- Character Driven Novels

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, where bloggers share their top ten choices based on the topic that week. 

Book characters can either make or break a book for me. If I loved the characters, I basically loved the book. Here are some of my favourite character-driven books. 

1. Four: A Divergent Series Collection by: Veronica Roth

   I fell in love with Four's drive, confidence and brave nature. I'm sure you will too!

2. Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by: Gayle Foreman

   This book follows Adam's struggles being in the public eye, and I loved his bravery towards the people he loves. 

3. Skinny by: Donna Cooner

   This story follows a girl longing for change in her life, and you'll fall in love with her courage. 

4. Eleanor and Park by: Rainbow Rowell

    This stunning tale was amazing at capturing the struggles of two teens and their fight for love. 

5. Prom and Prejudice by: Elizabeth Eulberg

    I loved the main character's passion to be her own person. 

6. The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton

    One of my favourite books because of its characters' love and friendship towards one another. 

7. North of Beautiful by: Justina Chen

    I liked this main character's powerful message that she wanted to send about self-esteem. 

8. The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by: Rick Riordan

    I loved all of the characters' friendship and compassion towards each other throughout the series, but particularly in this book. A great series! 

9. The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald

    This is very much a classic novel, and is not for everyone, however I loved all of the characters, in particular, Gatsby. 

10. City Of Bones by: Cassandra Clare

      I wasn't too keen on the plot of this book, but I continued reading because of the versatility of characters. They were funny, dramatic, wise and kept the book interesting. 

What character-driven books do you like? I'd love to know! 

Bye For Now!

Paperback Princess

Matched by: Ally Condie (Matched Series Book: 1)

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopia, Romance

Matched was a dystopian novel based on the power of choosing. This book reminded me of the book : The Giver, which I also did a review on, however this book is more romance-based. Cassia Reyes has never once questioned her Society's ways. When a girl and boy reaches a certain age, they are chosen a match, the person they are supposed to spend the rest of their life with. The Society chooses your spouse, your job and even when/how you die. Cassia always thought that this way, her town was so orderly. That it, until she is forced to choose for the first time in her life. At her matching ceremony, her best friend Xander is matched with her, however so is a man named Ky. The Society gives her the option to choose her spouse. However, how can she choose between her polite best friend, or the notorious outsider of her Society? Along the way, Cassia begins to learn the truth behind her not-so-orderly world.

This book was a good read. I always love a good dystopian novel, and this book was a different take on that concept. I liked how romance was the main focus of this novel, because my two favourite genres to read are romance and dystopia. The book was clever, interesting and provided me with great suspense, as to who Cassia would choose. That is, there are still two books in the series, so there are still questions left unanswered.

One thing that was disappointing about this book was it was very slow-moving. I don't like it when books can't get to the point. I felt as if there were a lot of pointless parts to the plot. Nothing interesting was happening. I understand that a book must have blocks in between suspense, however I feel as if some parts were irrelevant. I almost wanted to skip pages that I didn't find interesting. (which is serious for me, because I NEVER skip pages) However, the parts with suspense, were still great.

Overall, I would say that this book, though still being a bit boring, was a very good book. I liked the concept, the characters and the romance. I would have liked it to be still, more interesting at times. I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Bye For Now!
Paperback Princess

Bittersweet by: Sarah Ockler

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age

Bittersweet was a great book about following your dreams. Hudson, an aspiring figure skater has just found out that her father had been cheating on her mother. Devastated, her mother moves her and her brother to the small town of Watonka, New York. There, Hudson gives up skating to work as a cupcake baker in her mother's diner. She has shut her father out of her life. However, her life changes when she is offered to teach her high school's hockey team some techniques. She begins to love the ice again. Things aren't always better however. Love triangles, a nagging father and a struggling diner, makes Hudson wonder where she'll end up after high school.

I think this book was very well written, and it definitely had a great plot. I think that the story of Hudson, and her struggles with her future, are things that other people can relate too. While reading this book, it helped me realise that I should be doing more of what makes me happy, and not what anyone else wants me to do.

I loved the character of Hudson, because of how compassionate she was. She gave up everything for her broken family, and was very supportive of her mom. She is a great example of someone who cares about others. I think that her character can influence others to be more compassionate.

There is one thing that I did not like about this book, and that was the lack of suspense. Since it is a romance novel, I do understand that it should not have so much suspense, however I would have liked to have read more plot twists. The book was kind of predictable, which made it a bit boring. Having said that, the book was still very good.

I think this book was a great coming of age novel, about following your dreams. Overall, I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars, just because I would have wished it to be more unpredictable.

Bye for Now! 

Paperback Princess