2 in 1 Review: The Great Gatsby

“I was within and without. Simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” 

Genre: Classics
Series: N/a
Rating: 4 ☆s  My opinion is not relevant.

Life Update: Graduation, College, Summer, Where have I been??

Greetings internet!
After a 3 month hiatus, it feels good to be back! Gah. I feels so giddy, I don't even care if no one reads this.
 While I was away:

Top Ten Tuesday #4

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

The topic I chose is TOP TEN BOOKS THAT MADE ME THINK. Hmm now I have to think of books that made me think. Let's jump right into it!

1. Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens
Ohh the irony of the title. Did I like this book? Hell to the naw. Did it made me think? You betcha. I was so fuming by the time that I had to put it down. I am infuriated with the carelessness and selfishness of the heroine. Does two years of relationship mean so little to her that she had to sleep with her boyfriend's best friend. That is not ok!!!! I cannot see anyways that you can justify her actions. She could have at least come clean to her boyfriend and break up with him but noooo she had to keep both. I understand the fragility of human relationships but how can someone be so carelessly tossed aside. Now I am just ranting, see what this book did to me! 
(Disclaimer: I have read S.C. Stephens' other series and enjoyed it! What I can't stand is cheating. Ugh. Over and out)

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I read this during freshman year in high school. Some books are so deeply woven that I have nothing much to say except that Atticus Finch is my hero. Life is not fair but don't let such injustices blind you from other people's kindness and benevolence.

3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Ok, I know this is a children's book but you got to hear me out. This book does not preach selfishness but rather the value of giving. Besides the moral of the story, this book holds sentimental value to my childhood.

4. Sempre by J.M. Darhower
It's hard to believe that slavery still exists at this turn of the century. Human trafficking is real and it is scary. 

5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Ahh peer pressure, fitting in, and speaking up for yourself. Laurie Halse Anderson addresses the toughest issues of high school and more in this coming of age novel. I LOVE this book. 

6. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
How can I not put this on my list? It's Harry freaking Potter.We all need a little fantasy in our every day life. Dream big. Holy crap I want to fly on a broomstick and play a good ole game of quidditch. Alright which one of you guys stole my Hogwarts acceptance letter?

7. Enclave by Ann Aguirre
I think number 7 goes out to all dystopian novels. (It's just that Enclave is one of my favorites!) With today's technology and other advantages of this century, many of us take for granted little things, like cars, faucet water, grocery food, and the weatherman. Internet. Right, how can I forget the internet?? Imagine living in a world with no indoor plumbing or toilet paper. *shudders

8. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
We all know about the perks of immortality but in reality how many of us would actually choose to live forever? I know a lot of vampire books address the whole "forever young" deal but this book shot that horse in the face when I first read it in sixth grade. At that age, I thought about how awesome it is to live forever, but now I finally get why Winnie chose not to drink from the spring. Smart girl.

9. Dust Lands by Moira Young
I need to choose a "fun" book. This book reminded me a lot about my sisters and I. One of them is older than me and our relationship reminds me a lot of Saba and Lugh. We do almost everything together and people actually used to think we were twins. We are close, at least I like to think we are ( and if she is reading this, don't flatter yourself). While my younger sisters and I's relationship is a bit more rocky just like Emmy's and Saba's. We fight. But that doesn't mean I love her less. Ew this is starting to get cheesy.

10.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I'm still in the process of reading this one,and if it's already on this list before I even finished it, that says something. ;)That's all I will say for now.

That's enough of my blabbering.I am curious about your TTT, feel free to leave a link! :)

ARC Review: True by Erin McCarthy

Blurb:

When Rory Macintosh’s roommates find out that their studious and shy friend has never been with a guy, they decide that, as an act of kindness they’ll help her lose her virginity by hiring confident, tattooed bad boy Tyler Mann to do the job…unbeknownst to Rory.

Tyler knows he’s not good enough for Rory. She’s smart, doctor smart, while he’s barely scraping by at his EMT program, hoping to pull his younger brothers out of the hell their druggy mother has left them in. But he can’t resist taking up her roommates on an opportunity to get to know her better. There’s something about her honesty that keeps him coming back when he knows he shouldn’t…

Torn between common sense and desire, the two find themselves caught up in a passionate relationship. But when Tyler’s broken family threatens to destroy his future, and hers, Rory will need to decide whether to cut her ties to his risky world or follow her heart, no matter what the cost…

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance

Series: N/a

Rating: 4☆s

Review: Demons at Deadnight by A&E Kirk

"I launched into a graceful ninja-like front roll, then stood my ground to face the monstrous heathen, fearless in my determination to vanquish the deadly foe. Nah, just kidding. I bolted, discretion being the better part of not getting dead."

Genre: YA/ Paranormal Romance
Series: Divinicus Nex Chronicles #1
Rating: 5☆s

My reaction after reading this book:

Jaw dropping, eye watering, rainbow puking 420 pages of GOODNESS. No but seriously, reading a book this good is like finding a hole in the wall. Demons at Deadnight is definitely a hidden gem. I'm having stomach pains from laughing too hard while reading.

Review: Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Blurb:
The army of the dead are coming…

Avry of Kazan, the last Healer of the mystical Fifteen Realms, has a power that can’t be matched. But in the minds of her friends and foe alike, Avry no longer exists. Now, as the psychotic King Tohon builds an army mightier than any that has been seen before—a league of undead soldiers—Avry must face her toughest, most terrifying battle alone. Fighting to be reunited with her family and her lover Kerrick, Avry must infiltrate Tohon’s troops. But does she have the power, the rare magic; to do what legend says is impossible?

Genre: YA/High Fantasy with a hint of romance
Series: Healer #2
Rating: 4.5☆s(4☆s)

Feature and Follow #3

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

Hello internet, welcome to my humble blog. I don't have much yet but that's because I literally made this blog 2 weeks ago. I love people, so it's nice to meet you. If you do choose to follow me, then I love you, and I always return the favor. Thanks for visiting and have an awesome day/night/afternoon/whatever time zone you live in! :D

Q: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off of a Mardi Gras float — what would you do to have them throw to you…?

Oh my gosh, I don't even know how to answer this question. I have never experience a big Mardi Gras celebration before. I mean there are street parades but not many people show up. I guess it's not a thing where I come from. I'm not sure if I want books thrown at me, but I'll shove people out of my way to get my way. JK! I don't know how hectic these things get. Sorry, I got nothing. 

Leave a link below so I can follow you back!

Know Me Better #1

This is a weekly 'meme' hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

This Week's Questions:

Is there anything you would like to say to or ask your favorite author?

I love you.
Are you a dreamer or a realist?

Hmm, I am probably a realistic dreamer if that makes senses. I believe that however rare, true love exists, but not in the sense of "love at first sight" or "prince charming" coming to sweep you of your feet. I do believe that if you work hard your dreams can come true, but they obviously won't if you're a couch potato that sits in front of the tv all day. It's kind of hard to dream when life makes you all cynical.
Theater or Rental?

Depends on the movie. If everyone is raving about it, I'll be sure to watch it in the big screen. Other than that, I'll probably lounge in my sweats with a big ole bowl of popcorn and watch a midnight movie with my friends.
Share a family tradition.

Err...We eat a lot. Like all the time? We use food to express our feelings. It's so sad that I can' think of one.
Favorite late night snack?

Haha, I don't think I have one even though I eat all the time. I sleep like the dead from night till morn. 

January Favorites

Can't believe it is the end of the month already! I want to say THANK YOU to all my new followers, it's amazing that you guys even put up with me. I just started this blog around January 20-something, so newbie here. One day I was just sitting there thinking about life when I decided I should create a blog because YOLO I need someone to confess my book obsessions to. Every month from now, I will post my top favorites ( of not only books but also music, movies, and the like).

Favorite Book of the Month      

 Outpost by Ann Aguirre (Razorland #2)
I am not a huge fan of sci-fi, but this series is so  addicting. My first Ann Aguirre book was unfortunately not one from her famous Sirantha Jax series, but Enclave. Outpost takes place in a post-apocalyptic world ridden with zombies. Yeah, that's right I said zombies.  Full review coming soon.

January Playlist 
Landfill-Daughter
Candles-Daughter
Run-Daughter
Youth-Daughter
Cough Syrup-Young the Giant
Don't You Worry Child-Swedish House Mafia
On Top of the World-Imagine Dragon
Bleeding Out-Imagine Dragon
We Come Running-Younghawke Blood
Stars-Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Little Bird-Ed Sheeran
Love is Greed-Passion Pit
Take a Walk-Passion Pit
Lessons in Love-Neon Trees
Dead Hearts-Stars
Pyotr-Bad Books
It Never Stops-Bad Books
Forest Whitaker-Bad Books
Hello-Karmin
State of Grace-Taylor Swift (I love Taylor Swift, don't judge me)
Ho Hey-The Lumineers
Stubborn Love-The Lumineers
Queen of the City-Joshua James
Don't Need to Worry About Me-Dave Moisan
I Wouldn't Mind-He is We
You and I-Ingrid Michaelson
Ghost Town-First Aid Kit

Favorite TV Show

New Girl
Funniest. Show. Ever.
"Nick Miller, turning lemonades into lemons since 1981"

Favorite Snack

Green Tea Kit Kat. Enough said.

Favorite Blog 
http://www.halfbakedharvest.com
An aspiring young cook/baker with gorgeous photos and recipes of delectable food. I mean who doesn't like looking up food on the internet. I'm guilty of drooling in front of my computer screen. No shame.
*Since I haven't blogged long enough yet, I won't choose a book blog this month. 

Happy February to all! What are your favorites of the month? 

Feature and Follow #2

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The purpose is to meet new people and gain more followers in the book blogging community. If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers. But you have to know, the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

Q: What is the first thing you would do if you woke up to find yourself in your favorite book?

 My favorite book of the moment:

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

The first thing I would do? You mean after panicking and hyperventilating ? This was the first book that came to mind since I loved every single page, but that doesn't mean that I want to live in their world. I'll probably find Penryn and have her protect me from the evil angels. Plus, Penyrn is the funniest person ever and we are going to be BFFs.  Hey, at least I am familiar with San Francisco since I have been there several times.

Happy Friday everybody! If you are new to my blog ,welcome, leave a comment below with your FF page so I can follow you back. :)

Review: Forever my Girl by Heidi McLaughlin

“Her tear-streaked face is beautiful. I want to wipe away her tears. I want to take the last ten years and erase them. I want to start over.” 

Blurb:

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. 

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. 

And now I’m going back. 

After ten years. 

I hope I can explain that after all this time. 

I still want her to be my forever girl.

Genre: Borderline YA/ New Adult
Series: Beaumont #1
Rating: 3.5 (4)☆s

Teaser Tuesdays #1

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughin

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. 
I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile. 
And now I’m going back. 
After ten years. 
I hope I can explain that after all this time. 

My teaser: 

Liam's POV: "I've been pretty relaxed with him dating Josie because I gave her up. I don't have much say, but my son calling him dad? I can't have that. I wasn't told that I had a son. If I had I would've been here."

Okay, so I kind of cheated since my teaser is more than 2 sentences. I feel like it's more complete this way though.

Review: Daughter of Darkness by V.C. Andrews

Blurb:
When I was a little girl, Daddy told me never to fear the dark. “We exist because of the darkness,” he told me. “All of you are daughters of darkness.” Beloved bestselling author V.C. Andrews’s passion for vampires comes to spellbinding life in a long-awaited novel of dark desires as all-consuming—and forbidden—as in Flowers in the Attic. One night, with the sound of a young man’s scream, high school senior Lorelei discovers that her stern but loving father, who adopted Lorelei and her sisters as infants, is no ordinary man. He has raised his beautiful girls for one purpose: to lure young men into their world of shadows. Like her sisters, Lorelei has been trained in the art of seduction and warned never to fall in love. But when she meets a handsome and charming classmate, she boldly defies her family and follows her heart—even if love is a poison. . . .Dangerously enticing and deliriously intoxicating, V.C. Andrews’s Daughter of Darkness will leave readers thirsting for more.

Genre: Paranormal YA
Series:  Kindred #1
Rating:2/5 ☆s

I'm sorry but this isn't the book for me. This book is like a bad reality tv show meets twilight. I am a huge huge huge fan of V.C. Andrews ,and I even enjoy some of the work written later by the ghostwriter. BUT this book contains none of the drama or suspense of her early books.

If you are familiar with any of Andrews' books you could most definitely expect incest(gags), rape, and  unexpected pregnancy (although the latter two did not occur in this book, I bet you some time later in the sequel the heroine will get knocked up.I bet you).

The way this book is written is too narrative. What I mean by that is our heroine,Lorelei, keeps jumping back and forth from the present to the past. It was as if she cannot concentrate on anything that was happening without getting distracted. At first, I thought it was just a way to provide some background, but this consistently occurred throughout the book.

I didn't really get how the "rules" to being a vampire works. Let me get this straight. The "Daddy" vampires must  raise his daughters until  they reach maturity so that he can impregnate them (and the ick meter keeps ticking)  to provide the next generation  who must then serve to attract aroused, virile young men for him to feed on so that he can survive to propagate more vampires. Confused? Yeah me too. Sibling rivalry is encouraged between the sisters and they must fight for daddy's attention. Marla and Ava are such b*tches to Loralei. I would not categorize this book as romance because there was no chemistry between her and Buddy.

I don't know if I will continue this series, but VC Andrews books are such guilty pleasures. You know it's bad for you, but they are so addicting you can't stop yourself from reading it.