Throwback/Book Thursday!

Pic from July 30, 2014

My last selfie wearing glasses! I got LASIK eye surgery one year ago today.

I love my perfect vision and not having to worry about losing my glasses

but sometimes I miss them as a fashion statement.

The grass is always greener on the other side ;)

1 year ago today I was reading:

Silver Shadows (Bloodlines, #5) by Richelle Mead

My Rating: 5/5

This whole series is probably one of my favorites of all time. The characters, the romance, the vampire drama. It's all SO good. If you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend you get on that. You will not be disappointed.

Book Review: Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.94
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads Summary:
It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere. 

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost. 

Actual Rating: 4.8

Wow wow wow! That was one of the best books I've read in a while. It was a serious page turner, I could not put it down. This book stirred up so many different emotions in me. The writing style was so unique and raw and real I had to research if there was any truth behind this story. It felt so realistic! I felt everything Gemma felt from the very beginning of this terrible, horrible journey. I was one with her as she was one with herself and "you" and the desert. A turmoil of emotions were experienced up until the very last page and I'm not sure I'm ready to give this story up.

What can I say about Ty? I could say he's a screwed up, twisted monster or a pedophile with a crazy obsession and should be prisoned for eternity. But I can't completely say that because some part of me, somewhere in the imaginative part of my psyche, feels for Ty. I see that he's a "bad guy" but he has such tender moments and a sad back story that make you almost want to think twice about what he's done.

Of course when all is said and done, what he did was extremely wrong and there is no fantasizing that. However, in this work of fiction, I could see the authors skills shine through as she did exactly that.

I would be very interested in a follow up book with these characters 20 years from now.. there is a LOT of potential there.

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Book Review: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating:
Genre: Self Help, Personal Development, Business

Goodreads Summary:
Do you want success? 
More success than you have now? 
And even more success than you ever imagined possible?
That is what this book is about. 
Achieving it. 

No gimmicks. No hyperbole. Finally, just the truth on what it takes to earn success. 

As publisher of SUCCESS magazine, author Darren Hardy has heard it all, seen it all, and tried most of it. This book reveals the core principles that drive success. The Compound Effect contains the essence of what every superachiever needs to know, practice, and master to obtain extraordinary success. Inside you will find strategies on: 

How to win—every time! The No. 1 strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented or more experienced.

Eradicating your bad habits (some you might be unaware of!) that are derailing your progress. 

Painlessly installing the few key disciplines required for major breakthroughs. 

The real, lasting keys to motivation—how to get yourself to do things you don't feel like doing. 

Capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum. Catch this, and you'll be unstoppable. 

The acceleration secrets of super achievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes they do, and now you can too! 

If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you desire. Begin your journey today!

My Actual Rating: 4.5

Well, I reserve my full 5 star ratings for really exceptional books. This book was fantastic, really mind opening and enlightening. Encouraging and motivating. A lot of good, useful information. I'm actually going back through this and reading it a second time and making notes this time.

It's good stuff! Brain food.

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Book Review: When Fall Breaks (Seasons of Jefferson, #1) by Julie Solano & Tracy Justice [DNF]

When Fall Breaks by Julie Solano
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.38
Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Goodreads Summary:
Kaitlyn Woodley is a beautiful, determined, high school senior, who embraces her small-town roots and country life. She’s studious, musically gifted, and headed for a successful career in swimming. Aside from a catty group of jealous girls, who taunt her mercilessly, Kaitlyn’s dreams are well within her reach. That is, until she becomes tangled up with the handsome Pistol Black, a rodeo cowboy, who not only turns every girl’s head in the county, but also turns her perfect world upside down. 

Kaitlyn’s overprotective twin brother and best friends, begin to see signs that make them question Pistol’s subtle control over her. As secrets are unveiled, they intervene to save her from a possible path of destruction. To their surprise, when best friend Brody steps in to protect her, newly discovered feelings complicate an already volatile situation. Soon, everything begins to change. Old feelings die, new feelings emerge, and the once beautiful path they had traveled over summer, begins to alter with the season. 


Will Kaitlyn’s closest friends be able to pull her from the destructive path she’s been led to follow? As the winds of time blast through their lives, the loyalty toward their best friend will remain stronger than ever. They are determined to protect her, even if one of them ends up getting hurt in the hunt for safety. One thing is for certain, none of this close group of friends will be left untouched when fall breaks.

My Actual Rating: 1.5

I wanted to give up on this book and throw it across the room since Chapter 2.. The only reason I stuck it out was so I could use it for a challenge I'm participating in.. Honestly though, it was REALLY, REALLY bad.

The writing is just terrible. The characters are so annoying and predictable and just plain STUPID! Within one chapter I could tell you everything that was going to happen in the book and couldn't care less about watching it play out.

There was absolutely NO character development.. The characters were monotonous and annoying from start to finish. I think I actually lost brain cells while reading this book.

The cliffhanger at the end was a desperate attempt to get readers to read the second book but I will never ever read anything by this author again.

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Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic, #1) by Victoria Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic: A Novel by Victoria Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.07
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic

Goodreads Summary:
Kell is one of the last Travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes—as such, he can choose where he lands. There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, ruled by a mad King George. Then there’s Red London, where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London, ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne—a place where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London...but no one speaks of that now.Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see—a dangerous hobby, and one that has set him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations, first robs him, then saves him from a dangerous enemy, and then forces him to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive—and that is proving trickier than they hoped. 
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

My Actual Rating: 3.6

I really struggled between a 3 and 4 star rating for this book.
The world building and writing style is superb. Victoria Schwab really has an imagination. This is the second "world" she has created, completely different from the last and completely different from any I've ever read before. The type of magic and the effects of magic were really unique and different and I loved learning about them in a non-confusing way.

Another V. Schwab strength in writing is her characters.. They were perfect. They changed and evolved at the perfect pace from start to finish. There was little to no romance in this book and even though I was kind of hoping for/expecting/waiting for the spark to ignite, it didn't and I was ok with that. The characters grew very fond of each other but maybe not in a romantic way. I think that door was left wide open on purpose, for book number 2. 

**SPOILER**

I will most likely be reading the next one.. I can see an interesting relationship building between Rhy & Lila perhaps?

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Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.96
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Adult

Goodreads Summary:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another. 

My Actual Rating: 5

Wow... I am crying.

That was so incredibly good. So emotional, so intense.

I'm so glad this story was told form Jack's perspective. It literally made it everything that it was. I don't even know how to put into words what this book made me feel. So many different emotions from severe desperation to over the moon happiness. I know this was a work of fiction but real life stories like this happen and it is completely unfathomable to me. It makes me feel so blessed and fortunate and thankful for the people in my life that have kept me safe.

Jack is such a courageous, unique, inquisitive human being and I would be really interested in a follow up to this book where he is a little bit older. Would like to know how the first 5 years of his life effect him in the long run. I will think about this book for a long time.

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"Waiting on" Wednesday - Traffick (Tricks, #2) by Ellen Hopkins

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at 

Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that 

we're eagerly anticipating.

I just LOVE Wednesdays! 
I go around to all the blogs and see what everyone is excited about. 
I've discovered some great books this way.

Anyways... this week my WoW is

Traffick 

(Tricks, #2)

Author: Ellen Hopkins
Release Date: November 3rd, 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Poetry

I am a HUGE Ellen Hopkins fan. She has never once written a book I didn't love. When I read Tricks back in 2011 there was no plan for a follow up book. When she announced that she would be going back and writing a sequel I probably squealed a little. I am so excited to revisit the terrible, sad world of human trafficking but I will cross my fingers for the light at the end of the tunnel that I know Hopkins is capable of.  

Goodreads Summary:

Five teens victimized by sex trafficking try to find their way to a new life in this riveting companion to the New York Times bestselling Tricks from Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank.

In her bestselling novel, Tricks, Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher’s daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead.

And now, in Traffick, these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heartwrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home. 

What book are you [not so] patiently waiting for??