A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray (a book based solely on its cover)

Well now I know why they say not to judge a book by its cover. The cover of the book was beautiful but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Since I read this book based only on the cover, I should probably add a picture of it...

If I had read the synopsis, instead of basing my purchase solely on the cover, I probably wouldn't have bought the book. I have read a few parallel universe books before and I never really liked any of them. I didn't really connect to any of the characters in the book because they were constantly changing and I wasn't all that interested in the plot until the very end. 

Spoilers...

The biggest problem I had with this book was the "romance". Marguerite fell in love with a man that wasn't even from her dimension in about a week. Then when Peter admitted his feelings for her, she said she couldn't return them because she felt like she was cheating on the other Peter. I thought the whole thing was ridiculous but I was already halfway through so I decided I might as well finish it. I thought the ending of the book was decent because the twist made up for a bit of the ridiculous romance from the beginning. The reson I didn't really like the characters was because with each dimension they went through they changed based on the new world they were in. Overall, I was very disappointed and wouldn't recommend it, unless you want a pretty cover for your bookshelf.

MY RATING: **

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (a book that takes place in high school)

This afternoon I finished To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Even though I mainly read YA, I don't read a lot of book set in high school because I mostly read fantasy or dystopian or new adult, which is normally set in college. This book was literally a rom-com in book form. I think this book would make a great book-to-movie adaptation because I love rom-coms but there aren't enough of them anymore. I really liked Lara-Jean; i thought she was the perfect high school character that had some experience in the world but was still a bit naive. She was funny and adorable and I loved her sense of fashion. I also liked the family dynamic and I was able to relate to her feelings towards her sisters.

Spoilers...

The whole book I wasn't really sure which boy she would end up with; Josh or Peter. At the beginning of the book I was thinking "screw Margot, go for Josh" because he was just so sweet but after she found the letter Josh wrote to Margot I realized that it would never work out between them. At that point I wasn't exactly sure how things with Peter would turn out but every time he hung out with Lara-Jean and Kitty I began to like him more. When Josh kissed Lara-Jean, I got kind of mad at him because he had his chance to date her but he passed her up and instead dated Margot. It was unfair of him to put her in that situation, knowing that Lara-Jean would respect her sister and not pursue Josh. I was happy when Lara-Jean finally told Josh no and decided to finally go for Peter. I was beyond excited when Peter admitted that her liked her even though it was obvious he still had feelings for Gen. Lara-Jean was jealous of Gen but I understand how Peter still talked to her because after you date someone for that long, you can't just cut them out of your life if you see them everyday. When Peter came to the Christmas party to talk to Lara-Jean I was hoping they would work out their problems but then Josh had to barge in and Margot had to overhear the argument. I thought that Margot responded in a pretty shitty way. She was the one that broke up with Josh, so she really had no claim to him, yet she reacted terribly when she found out that he kissed Lara. I thought that she was a bit of a hypocrite and a bitch when she told their dad about the hot tub rumor. I am happy though that the sisters were able to work it out because the problem was a minor one. I hope in the next book that Lara and Peter have the talk that they need to have. I read the synopsis for the next book and I am not thrilled to hear that there will be another boy in the next book that Peter will have to compete with. I think he came a long way in this book and I think he and Lara just need to work a few things out. That being said, I can't wait for May 26th!

MY RATING: *****

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (a book a friend recommended)

I have read a few books this week but haven't had time to write a review, so today I am going to be playing catch-up. Early this week I finished The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, which I am using for a book a friend recommended. I had been considering reading this book for awhile but a friend's insistence was what finally got me to pick it up. I had been dissapointed before by Maggie's books but this was surprised me. Many people say it is hard to get into but I didn't really have any trouble. I thought that the first few chapters ended with some surprising sentences. They left me hanging and I couldn't help but to read on. The concept of the book is very original and though I have read books that have mentioned ley lines, none of them have taken the approach that this book did. I loved the characters because they were all unique and you kept learning new things about them and seeing different sides of them. Blue is a very unique character and her situation is even more interesting.

Some spoilers may follow...

 The fact that if she kisses her true love, he will die is nothing short of an attention getter. Even though Steifvater insinuates that Gansey is Blue's true love I was still leaning towards Adam for most of the book. I think there will be a twist and Gansey won't be her true love and her will die some other way. When they found the body in the woods with Noah's wallet I was hoping there was going to be some reasonable explanation and wasn't expecting the twist at all. When it was revealed that Noah was actually dead it was like The Sixth Sense all over again. I was so into the book but the last few chapters of the book were really confusing to me. When Adam said he was sacrifice himself I thought that he was going to die but he didn't and the ley line still woke up. Also, the last line of the book didn't mean anything to me at all but the friend that reccomended the book t me assured me that the line is explained more in the next book. I am anticipating reading the next book because I want to find out what happened to Adam and what Ronan's cryptic comment meant.

MY RATING: ****

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (a book set someplace I want to visit)

After 700 pages of reading I have finally finish Outlander! I am using this book for a place I have always wanted to visit because who doesn't want to visit the beautiful rolling hills of Scotland. I have been hearing great things about this book and I was not disappointed at all. Going into the book I was expecting a stereotypical romance with a dashing Scottish man but little else. When I began reading I was surprised. The book did have romance but I came after several hundred pages of back story and the characters actually getting to know each other first. The story also was full of historical content that plays into the plot. There is a lot of political happenings that play into the main characters lives and I found it very interesting the time and effort Gabaldon put into making the book historically and culturally accurate. The story is accurate for the time period and because of that there is quite a bit about sexual assault. My enjoying this book in no way means that I support the idea of rape (people are accusing fans of this on Goodreads). Gabaldon was being accurate to the time and the struggles that women face. I like that she didn't sugar-coat it because it's a romance novel but instead was truthful won't the audience. I found some of the scenes gruesome but necessary in the overall plot and atmosphere. I can't wait to continue the series and see how Ckaire uses her knowledge of the future to help the people of the past.

MY RATING: *****

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples (a book with non-human characters)

This is my second graphic novel ever and I have to say my outlook on graphic novels has changed. I absolutely loved this one! The art was fantastic and the plot, although short, drew me in immediately. I am using this book for my book with non-human characters because there re so many weird alien things in this book and I don't think there is even one human character. I highly recommend this to anyone, whether you have read a graphic novel before or not.

I loved the story line of the book and how it was executed. I really enjoy how the authors chose to tell the story in the present but also have the daughter Hazel narrating on the side. I think adding Hazel's perspective to the story makes it even more interesting because the reader know she survived but not who else survived with her. Also she gives little hints about the future of the series that drew me in even more.

I loved the dynamic between Marko and Alana because even thought I didn't get a lot of their backstory yet I could feel the love and devotion between the. The artwork also brought out the characters really well because I could actually read the facial expressions of them during certain scenes. I love the detail of the art because many graphic novels I have seen take a more cartoonish perspective but this art had awesome realistic sci-fi characters and settings. I have already started Vol. 2 and I am loving it so far!

MY RATING: *****

Vicious by V.E. Schwab (a book written by someone under 30)

I'm writing this post about a week after I finished the book, so I'm going to make it short because I don't necessarily remember all of the details. I am using this book for a book written by someone under 30 because Victoria Schwab is 27. I was going to use it for a book with magic but since their powers are technically based on science I figured it didn't really count.

Going into this book I had incredibly high expectations because of the non-stop hype on booktube and Goodreads. Unfortunately, I didn't think it lived up to the hype or my expectations. I'm not saying the book was bad, I really did enjoy it, it just wasn't all that I expected it to be. That being said I am still very excited for V.E. Schwab's upcoming release, A Darker Shade of Magic, but I don't think that I am going to spend the $25 on it anymore. I'm hoping with the new release that I will be able to read it before it becomes hyped. I have found that I tend to REALLY enjoy books when I know little to nothing going into them. If I go in with a neutral mindset I am usually pleasantly surprised, like I was with Snow Like Ashes (a great book).

My faults with the book have to do with the lack of plot. Although the book spanned over 10 years it really on discussed a few days I detail and most of the plot centered around 3 days. The book is very character oriented which I tend not to enjoy as books that are more plot based. I loved the characters in the book, and I loved to hate them but I found that I wasn't all that invested in their story. I actually like the character of Sydney and her story, more than I did the main characters. I think I was disappointed mainly because of the hype surrounding the book. If I had read it when it first came out I might have  book more but as it was I found the book to be entertaining but not as engaging as I thought it would be. It took me about a week to read this book even though it is relatively short compared to other books I have read.

MY RATING: *** 1/2

I hope to be posting another book review soon because I am just about halfway through Outlander. (loving it so far & completely in love with Jamie)

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (a graphic novel)

This book was my first ever graphic novel. I wasn't really sure what graphic novel I should start with, but I have seen Jesse from Jesse the Reader on YouTube talking about this book, so I decided to read this one. I'm not sure if this was the best boo to introduce me to the genre but it's too late now. The book consists of five creepy stories all centered around the woods. The whole thing only took me about a half hour to read, so I really enjoyed the fast-paced nature. I also really enjoyed the artwork; each story started out with regular color art but when they got to the creepier parts, the art changed to black, white, and red. I thought the stories were interesting but overall they were just okay. My favorite one was "His Face All Red". The main reason I didn't like the stories was because they didn't really have the plot that I am used to from reading full length fiction. Most of them didn't have a resolution, which is normal for short stories but not really my favorite thing. Overall the main thing I liked was that it was a really quick read. If I pick up another graphic novel in the future it will probably be one that has a full length story. If you have a favorite graphic novel that you think I should try, comment below because I am interested in reading more from this genre.

MY RATING: ***