I found this book actually through an add on Facebook surprisingly enough. When I went to buy it on my paper white it ended up being part of Kindle Unlimited which completely sold me! I actually finished this book a week ago but I haven’t had much free time to write recently due to my new job but I promise I am still here! Why don’t we dive into this book.
About The Book
Author: Neva Bell
Date Published: October 31, 2019
Publisher: Self Published (I believe)
Page Count: 287 pages
Genre: Fiction
GoodReads Rating: 4.53
“Ellie believed every being, witch or not, deserved a happy and peaceful existence.”
Direct Quote
Synopsis
Chloe and Chelsea are twin sisters ready to leave for college, but not just any old college, Livingston is a college for witches! In order to go to this witch school you have to be branded first with either a white dove or a black hawk to decide what you will study.
When Chloe gets a brand that no one was expecting her and Chelsea’s life changes drastically! This brand becomes a dangerous mark and both of the girls lives are at risk. Werewolves are the witches biggest threat and when a surprise attack goes in the werewolves favor Chloe is forced into a dangerous path of revenge.
“It is a big deal! I act tough, but I’m still a woman. I still want the guy I like to like me back. No one wants to hear it’s nothing more than a scheme.”
Direct Quote
Rating
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Review
This book had a really cute, and what I felt unique, story line. I was hooked from the very beginning of this book! I thought the twins relationship was really close and special and I really feel like Neva wrote their characters well. I loved the Idea that there were two different brands they could receive and it was fun trying to guess which twin would get what brand.
You might be asking, If I was hooked from the beginning and felt like the characters were written well, then why did I give the book only three stars? Well let me tell you! This all happened really fast in the book and about 40% into the book everything I loved was stripped away from me and I was very upset! The story line completely changed after the werewolf attack and I just felt like it happened too soon. Also the ending of the book, Without giving spoilers, was way too easy and I was left wishing not necessarily for a different ending but maybe a more thought out ending. However there is a second book and maybe by reading that book it will all come together cohesively but to be honest the ending of this book didn’t make me want to read a second one.
This could be a quick read for anyone who needs to knock another book off their list but if you want something that had you hooked for the whole book you can skip this one.
QOTD: What is a book that started off with a lot of promise but left you feeling disappointed in the end?
I feel like I am a tad bit late to the game on this one. Where this book was only released back at the beginning of September maybe I am not that late to the gate but I feel like everyone devoured this book in one sitting as soon as it came out. I would say this is probably the most popular book I am seeing on my Bookstagram and Booktok feeds, no joke! With over 90,000 ratings, 16,000 reviews and a 4.47 overall rating on Goodreads, so I would consider this a very hyped up book with those details.
“Listen, I’m clearly bad at real dating. Maybe fake dating will be different. Maybe I’ve found my niche.”
Direct quote from book, page 64.
About The Book
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Date Published: September 14, 2021
Publisher: Berkley Books
Page Count: 352
Genre: Romance
Goodreads Rating: 4.47
Synopsis
Olive is a Ph.D student who has never really been a romantic person. However, in order to keep her friend happy she finds herself kissing a random stranger in the middle of the night.
This random stranger ends up being the schools most hated professor, Adam Carlson, and Olive immediately feels like her world is about to fall apart. The biggest surprise is when Adam agrees to keep the kiss a secret, but even more surprising was the fact he was willing to keep up this charade and fake date Olive to help benefit the both of them. Olive, to help her friend find love, and Adam, to convince the school to release his research funds. After all, it is a win win situation with a deadline. What could possibly go wrong?
“And then I’ll come find you, and I’ll take care of you.”
Direct Quote from book. Page 327.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Review
This book was vastly recommended by I believe everyone on my bookstagram, am I the last person to read this? I know I’m not but it sure felt that way.
I normally don’t like books that seem to be super popular, they always feel over hyped and I end up being disappointed in the book. Not with this one! This book truly lived up to its hype in my opinion. I think I am willing to say this is my second favorite romance read this year following “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston, I honestly don’t think anything will beat that book for first place in quite sometime.
(Possible Spoiler) If I had to come up with something I was a little put off on, it would have to be the steamy scenes, please don’t come after me! This whole book had so much sexual tension that by the time it all came together I was left feeling a little awkward and granted upset by the event that immediately followed. The words used to describe the scene were a little off putting such as, “He made a guttural noise.” It could just be me but that is not a sexy sentence.
This book was very well written and really had me on an emotional roller coaster! There were quite a few moments where I was ready to chuck the book at a wall because I know the full story and how each character is feeling but Olive just doesn’t understand Adams feelings and I was screaming at them to “Just get a room already!” Also there were times where I really felt sorry or upset for the character due to the way they were treated. Ali really has a way with writing to bring all the emotions out of the pages.
I highly recommend this book! I can now see why so many people have already read it more than once, maybe this will be the first book I ever read twice.
“You can fall in love: Someone will catch you.”
Direct quote from book. Page 342
QOTD: Have you ever fake dated someone? With all these fake dating books I have been reading lately I feel like this is more common of a thing than it probably really is.
Todays blog post I will be focusing on books that I believe need more hype. Some of these books will probably be books you haven’t heard of from anyone other than me because they are written by Indie Authors.
I have only been reading for a little over a year and to be completely honest with you, I mostly read all the popular books because they are literally everywhere! I just wish I saw more posts talking about these books! If you haven’t read the books I am about to talk about you need to go get them right now!
Bring On The Hype
“The Intellect” by Lily Kathleen
I talk about this book every chance I can! This book is a YA Romance with a little bit of a twist. It was written by a senior in high school which is an amazing accomplishment and she really deserves the hype.
Jessica is a fifteen year old girl who has overbearing parents who make her and her siblings move at least once a year for some unknown reason. When Jessica’s parents make her move from Ney York all the way to a small town in South Dakota they make sure Jessica has no contact with her previous friends, including her boyfriend Jake. This doesn’t make any sense to her and feels as if it isn’t fair, why would her parents not let her keep in contact with old friends, isn’t moving hard enough?
Read a full synopsis and review when you follow the link down below. I will also post places where you can order your own copy of the book! If you buy it from Lily Kathleen Directly take 10% off your order with code “TheIntellect10”.
Also It is Lily Kathleen’s 18th birthday today and as a birthday gift to her I would love to see one of my followers purchase her book. Wish her a happy birthday in the comments!
This book was published almost a year ago and I honestly haven’t seen many people talking about it which makes me super sad! Belinda is an amazing author who created a gorgeous well rounded story.
“My hope for the book is that it emphasizes the diversity of Asian American culture, but also offers up the common challenges that teenagers all experience today – educational and familial pressures, identity struggles, and peer pressure.” – Belinda Lei
Enter a world of a handful of Private High School students born into rich families with extreme expectations. Will they get into their desired colleges? Will they find love in their relationships? Will they fight their drug addictions? Who is “The Stranger”? But most importantly does being rich really make you happy?
Belinda also sits on the board for Non-Profit called Act to Change which is a platform to help bring awareness to bullying and AAPI hate. Belinda is such a sweet and amazing person and I truly believe her book should get more love!
Down below is my full book review and synopsis of the book. I will also post The Act to Change website and a link to buy your own copy of her book.
This book might have gotten a little bit of hype when it first came out but I feel as if people don’t know it exist any more. This is probably my second favorite book I have read this whole year!
Something to remember though is that this book comes with some major trigger warnings which I list in my full review.
Two ex-con fathers lost their married sons in some horrific hate crime. Despite not approving of the relationship their sons had, the fathers are out for blood to avenge their sons’ deaths because the cops have no leads! Through all the challenges these men go through they find acceptance for their sons and each other but can they get revenge on whoever did this horrendous act?
I am a sucker for anything involving a thriller/mystery! This book had everything I could have asked for and kept me hooked throughout the entire book! If you can handle reading a very violent book then this is something you would enjoy.
Down below I will post links to my full review and also where you can get your own copy of this amazing thriller!
I actually just brought this book up yesterday in my favorite tropes post. This book is a fantastic mystery/thriller revolving around a missing boy and a cult. This book I haven’t seen anywhere other than all the times I talk about it.
Abby Is a police hostage negotiator for the NYPD. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of her chaotic life. When Eden Fletcher reports her son Nathan as missing, Abby is faced with her past. Eden and Abby grew up in a cult that Abby has worked so hard to forget. While battling her past that’s barreling towards her she knows she has to stay focused because Nathan’s life is at risk! Can Abby Find Nathan in time or will her past hold her back?
I think you all need to go grab this book immediately because the second book is coming out in 2022! I am beyond excited to read the next book and continue reading about Abby’s story.
Down below is the link to my full review along with a link to purchase your own copy from amazon!
This was also in my post yesterday for my favorite tropes. I haven’t seen this book talked about at all since last year and I can’t put my finger on why. This book had me glued from the first page! I really love thrillers as you can see but this was one of the first books I read that actually made me enjoy reading.
Iris and Summer are identical twins but what lies on the inside is very different. Iris has always been jealous of Summer especially ever since Summer married a very handsome and rich man. But when a sailing trips go wrong Iris jumps at the chance to finally walk in her sisters footsteps.
I got this book from Book Of The Month Club last year and like I said it was one of the first books to get me excited about reading. This is one reason why it is important to me to share this book with you and I really hope it will start to get more hype!
I haven’t posted a review for this book here on my blog yet but I will link my previous Top 5 Tropes blog post down below and of course the link to buy your own copy.
My favorite part of this post is being able to share my love for books that don’t get the love they truly deserve! Especially the first two books that were published by Indie Authors who have to do all the promoting themselves! These books all deserve some love and I hope you all consider purchasing even just one of these books. (I am not affiliated with amazon, I just want to share the links.)
Have you heard of or even read any of these books? What are your thoughts?
Top five Tuesdays is hosted by Meeghan Reads. Each Tuesday there is a new topic based around your top 5 for each prompt. I enjoy participating in these because I feel it helps readers connect to the bloggers. I started my blog to not only keep track of my reading journey but to also make connections with my readers. I am excited to share my favorite tropes with you, lets go!
Top Five Book Tropes
Enemies to Lovers
Magic School
Fake Dating
Cults
Twins With a Twist
Lets Deep Dive
Enemies to Lovers
“Red, White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston is probably my favorite example of this trope.
The Presidents son Alex Claremont has never really gotten along with Prince Henry but when pictures are taken and threatened to be released publicly these two nemesis have to act all buddy buddy. One ting leads to another and these enemies become long distance lovers.
This is my second favorite LGBTQ read, with my first being “One Last Stop” also written by Casey McQuiston. If you haven’t read these books yet make sure to check them out!
Magic School
“A Deadly Education” by Naomi Novik matches this description perfectly!
El is a magically gifted girl who attends the Scholomance School for gifted children. This school is particularly strange because the only way to leave is if you graduate or die. Follow some simple rules and just maybe you can leave with your body still intact. The most important rule is never to walk the halls alone and to always be on the lookout for rogue monsters.
I loved this book because the world was so well built! I felt like I was actually attending school with El. I am very excited to read the second book here soon!
Fake Dating
“The Dating Plan” by Sara Desai was one of my favorite romance reads ever!
Daisy and Liam couldn’t be more opposite. A software engineer who is very detail orientated and a Venture capitalist who has something of a bad side. However, both Daisy and Liam need to get their families off their backs. They come up with a fool proof plan and start “Dating” leading towards an engagment.
I loved this story because neither of them really wanted it to end in a relationship but throughout the course of the book they fell in love and it felt very natural.
Cults
“A Deadly Influence” by Mike Omer was the first book I have ever read regarding cults and I fell in love with this plot instantly!
Abby Mullen works for the police department as a hostage negotiator. When a child goes missing and an old friend requests for her help memories come rushing back!
Abby and the childs mother were in a cult together when they were children and Abby was the lucky one who made it out. Where is the poor child? Could the cult have something to do with this?
I really enjoyed this book because occasionally there would be flashbacks regarding her time as a child in a cult. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did but the way the author portrayed Abby’s character and her past trauma it really pulled me in and felt very tasteful.
Twins With a Twist
“The Girl in The Mirror” by Rose Carlyle was the first thriller book I have read where I didn’t guess the twist at the end.
Iris and Summer are identical twins but what lies on the inside is very different. Iris has always been jealous of Summer especially ever since Summer married a very handsome and rich man. But when a sailing trips go wrong Iris jumps at the chance to finally walk in her sisters footsteps.
Like I said the twist in this book had me screaming! I know some people said they could see what happened from a mile away but for me I was shocked till the end.
Final Thoughts
There are so many different tropes out there these days but most of them that I could think of were romance based. Is there a reason why I couldn’t think of tropes other than romance and thriller? Possibly because that is all I ever read? Oh well, I just know these are tropes I always look forward too. I am currently reading “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood which is a fake dating trope!
What are some of your favorite tropes? Did any of yours make my list?
Hello bookish friends and family! Today I want to talk about how I annotate my books and why I started doing it. I know a lot of people do not like to annotate because it reminds them of being forced to do it in school. Honestly I didn’t have to do this in school so maybe this is why I have actually enjoyed the process but I can see why some people wouldn’t want to do this.
Do you annotate your books? Why or why not?
Also just a heads up, I will be using direct quotes and examples from books I have previously read. If you are worried about reading a possible spoiler please just beware.
Why I Started To Annotate
I actually only started annotating a few months ago back in June when I started to read “Pet Semetary’ by Stephen King. I read this for a book club and I wanted to make sure that I had a reference to come back to for our discussion at the end.
I started off with little sticky notes which I really liked because I could write my thoughts on each thing I marked so I knew better as to why I marked it when I came back.
Now I was these highlighter ones that are see through so I can mark the exact spot in the book without covering any of the words. I just wish I could write on them to be honest.
I probably excessively mark my books compared to most people, as you can see the middle book is covered in markings! Sometimes I mark a lot because a book was a bit confusing so I marked to come back and remind myself of certain important things, sometimes the book has a lot of really good quotes or other times the author put a lot of emotion into the book. I don’t think I mark excessively though, I just mark what feels right to me.
How I Mark
Each color represents a different feeling or important aspect in the book
Red: These are typically things that make me angry or upset while reading
Example:” “Don’t Stutter!” Jack suddenly screamed into his face. Danny cried out in shock, his body going tense, trying to draw away from his father, and then he collapsed into tears.” – Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King Page 181. This made me very upset! there was no need to yell at the poor boy!
Light Pink: These are typically things that represent love as in relationship, family or even friendship. However in the shinning I used this color for anything that was scary.
Example: “Thank you, I guess. You didn’t have to help me, but you did. August huffs out a laugh. “I just did it because I thought you were hot.” ” -Direct Quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 354. This made me feel the love and connection between the two characters and I thought it was really sweet and so it deserved to be marked.
Example: “And suddenly he found that he didn’t like the Overlook so well anymore, as if it wasn’t wasps that had stung his son, wasps that had miraculously lived through the bug bomb assault, but the hotel itself.” Direct quote from “The Shining” by Stephen King page 198. I felt like this was the turning point in the book where things started to actually get scary.
Orange: This color is for anything that makes me happy or can make me smile.
Example: “With that the guy was gone. And Olive never got his name. But a few weeks later, When the Stanford biology department extended her an offer, she accepted it. Without hesitating.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 8. Only 8 pages in and I am already so happy for Olive!
Yellow: I use this color for anything that makes me laugh or is just generally funny.
Example: “I… Oh my God, I didn’t- I am so sorry-” “Just Kidding.” “I really had no idea that you-” “Olive. I was Joking. I’m not married. No Kids.” Direct quotes from “The Love Hypothesis” by Ali Hazelwood page 44.
This was funny because Olive truly thought she kissed a married man and thought that she made people believe he was having an affair, when really he just made a quick joke. I find it funny because of how awkward that situation would have been!
Lime Green: I use this one for all my favorite quotes.
Example: “But to kiss and be kissed. To be wanted. That’s a different thing from love. And maybe, maybe if she tried, they could have something. Not everything, but something” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 210. I love this quote because it stands true in every day life.
Blue: This color is reserved for anything that makes me cry, sad or just feel down.
Example: “And Gage, who now had less than two months to live, laughed shrilly and joyously. “Kite Flyne! Kite flyne, Daddy!” ” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 209. This is sad because it was foreshadowing for the first time when Gage was going to pass away, but yet he was a happy little boy.
Dark Purple: These are things that I can personally relate too or at least feel relatable.
Example: “All I listen to are podcasts about murder. I don’t know who half these people are.” Direct quote from “One Last Stop” by Casey Mcquiston page 49. I find this quote relateable because I only listen to true crime podcasts and have no clue who any famous people are or even what songs are popular these days, but I can sure tell you all about the latest murder victims.
Hot Pink: These tabs are for all my steamy reading moments!
Example: “Just like she didn’t didn’t need to turn to know that the large, warm weight suddenly steadying her, a firm but barely there pressure applied to the center of her lower back, was Carlsen’s hand. About two inches above her ass.” Direct quote from “The Love Hypothesis’ by Ali Hazelwood page 27. This is not the most steamy sentence I could have put, but to keep this blog appropriate I decided on this one. I think you will understand though.
Light Purple: I use this color for all of my important markings. Things that seem important to remember for the books plot.
Example: “Although he had gotten only the barest glimpse over the top of the deadfall before the shifting sensation had made him nervous, he could have sworn there was a path beyond, leading deeper into the woods.” Direct quote from “Pet Semetary” by Stephen King page 86. This was marked as possible foreshadowing.
Dark Green: This is used as my extra color. Just in case I have something pop up that isn’t covered by any of the others this one will be used.
Conclusion
Even though I recently started to annotate my books I have seen a huge improvement in not only my reading comprehension but also in my reviews. I feel like my book reviews have gotten a lot better in the past few months because I can go back and see what I marked and How I felt while I read the book.
I think I will continue to annotate my books for the foreseeable future. I find it very helpful for when I do buddy reads and to be honest I love the colors. I also really love playing with the tabs while I read. I may have way too many tabs for some people but I think that is what makes annotating so beautiful, you can make it all your own!
What do you think of my annotations? Any tips and advise?
It is basically the end of October and I am finally posting a book review for this month. This will be my first and probably only book review coming this month unfortunately. This month was so busy that I had no time to read at all! In fact I actually only read half this book before I had to buy the audio book so I could get this finished. I am just happy I finally found some time to sit down and do the thing I love, which is writing this blog!
About The Book
Author: Stephen King
Publish Date: January 28th, 1977
Publisher: Anchor Books (Random House Division)
Page Count: 659 pages
Genre: Horror
Goodreads Rating: 4.24
“It seemed that he might be able to find peace here. At last. If they would only let him.”
Page 398
Synopsis
A new job for Jack Torrence leads the family of three to a picturesque hotel high up in the Colorado Mountains. As the family arrives, the hotel is slowly emptying of guests and workers due to the closing of the hotel for the snowy season. Jack and his family will be left alone for several months in the empty hotel. This can give Jack much needed time to work on his play and make plans for his family’s future, but as the days pass the seclusion sets in and things aren’t what they might seem. How can something that seems like an amazing working vacation turn so wrong? What power do our minds really have?
“Now you’ll find out who is the boss around here. You’ll see. It’s not you they want. It’s me. Me. Me!”
Page 629
Rating
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Review
This is my second Stephen King book, the first one being “Pet Semetary”, and I have given them both three stars. I Had heard mixed reviews about this book, like you do with every other book, and this just didn’t fully live up to my standards. This had a very slow build so it took me forever to read because I didn’t have a desire to pick the book up. Like I said at the top of this blog, I had to buy the audio to finish this book.
Speaking of the audio book, the audio was done very well! I really enjoyed listening to this book and I felt it was even spookier listening to it.
The story building was really good just kind of long and boring at times. This was a very long book and it doesn’t start to pick up till about 300 pages in which is what lost me. However, this book is the scariest book I have read/listened too and I can appreciate that.
I have seen the movie and I did really enjoy it but to be honest I was so confused while watching it. The book and the movie have a lot of differences so I don’t know that it is very fair to compare the two but reading the book helped me make sense of what was actually happening in the movie which is very nice!
Do I recommend this book? Honestly, no, you can skip this one and be ok. Like I said it is very long and can get boring more often than not. If you are someone who likes very long detailed books then sure, why not? Personally I don’t think you are missing too much, but hey, Now I can say I have read the book!
The art work shown in the above picture was created by a local Utah artist whom me and Noah loved seeing at our art show and farmers market this summer! Follow her here at her Instagram.
World of Bai 