Tuesday, November 08, 2016

High to low & back again.. but ends on a high note (Show Us Your Books)



YESSSS - the 2nd Tuesday of the month!!!
While the US is all in a frenzy about voting... which everyone - GET OUT & VOTE if you haven't already - I think we need this distraction of books today. I know I do. I have no idea how this election is going to go.  So I'll just sit back & fill up my Goodreads list today & wait for the final outcome of this wonderment we call the 2016 Elections.



Suddenly Royal
By Nicole Chase
3 out of 5

I came off of last month with a bunch of depressing, sad reads so I was excited to get to a little fun, romance & 'fairy tale' sort of book.  Just an easy read.  This didn't disappoint.

Samantha finds out she is actually a Duchess of a small country of Lilaria, her life gets turned upside down. Especially when she meets the Crown Prince of that country.

I really loved this book. Sort of predictable.  No real issues in the story.  I was expecting some sort of 'drama' to come up & cause problems with Samantha stepping into her role, or some sort of issue with her & Alex, the prince - but it was just really sort of an easy story.  I didnt mind it. Maybe if I hadn't come off such a slump of books, I would have been more frustrated with that, but it was the perfect book for me at the perfect time.

If you want an easy read, a good romance, & a 'thoughtless' book where you dont have to put too much effort into reading & keeping up with characters, then this is a good one for you.

I found out afterwards this is a set of 3. I did buy the 2nd book, which focuses on the Prince's sister. Didn;t get around to it yet though.

Side note - anyone watch Jane the Virgin?  I think the cover looks exactly like that girl!

Image result for jane the virgin
See it? Or just me?

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Luckiest Girl Alive
By Jessica Knoll
0 out of 5

I can't even. LITERALLY. CANT!

I almost bought this book in the bookstore because it was on clearance. THANK YOU LORD I didn't. I ended up getting it at the library & made it through about 20% & just couldnt do it any more.

I LOATHED the character of Ani.  She was foul to me. In every sense of the word.  I could care less to learn any more about her, to hear about her life, to know what her big 'mystery' was - she just disgusted me actually. I dont think I've ever read a book that the character made me so ... YUCK... that I was like, I'm not even going to try to read this book.  Between the character & all the stupid name dropping of products & fashion & styles. I just couldn't.
I tried to look up some spoilers to see what the big dramatic reveal mystery was. Never found out, but read a lot of people who just basically felt the same way I did.

Someone wrote in the reviews "Got to the halfway mark, realized I didn't really feel like reading about rich, white people problems. Therefore, DNF."

Yep... I wasn't alone.
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18692431Everything, Everything
By Nicola Yoon
5 out of 5

I totally devoured this one.

It was another fast read for me. I think I liked it because the chapters were so short & some chapters were actually drawings or notes or random things that just made it fun.

The point of this book was the idea of what really living life looks like.  Especially for Madeline who is a 'bubble girl' - someone with a compromised immune system that has to stay confined in her home with her mother & her home nurse.  She plays games with her mom, studies & reads & just keeps to her own clean world.

... until she gets new neighbors next door & she watches through the window.  Olly, a boy around her age moves in with his family & she's intrigued... as he is with her when he sees her through the window.

Their relationship is just so cute & sweet & then Madeline questions if its really living if she's stuck in this house & not taking a chance at seeing what it is on the outside of those walls... even if it costs her her life.

I just loved this book. Not sure what struck me so much about it, but I just really enjoyed it.
I want to read Nicola Yoon's new book now too to see if she is a one time shot for me or if I just like the way she thinks.


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This is Where It Ends
By Marieke Mijkamp
0 out of 5

Again - another Nope.

Except I did finish this one. Dont know why.
It just left me even more frustrated & angrier.

The idea of this book is a school shooting & its told from 4 different perspective with different relationship with the shoot, & its over a span of 54 minutes.

I thought this had great potential in our world where, sadly & amazingly, school shootings happen more often than they every should... it failed in so many ways for me.

First, I think there were too many characters. Not only do we have the 4 perspectives but with each of them, there were people & stories connected with them, making the cast SO HUGE in this. Hard to keep up with.

& second, I just felt like it wasn't written well. It didn't feel really in depth for me, especially on such a hard topic.  It had such potential I think, but it just sort of fell flat to me.

How it all ends?  Dont get me started. I just wanted to drop kick this book.


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31 Verses to Write on Your Heart
By Liz Curtis Higgs
5 out of 5

I have always been a fan of Liz Curtis Higgs... Shout out for a Louisville gal!!!!
But I love her writing & her personality which shines through her books.

This one is a little different than some of her others as this can be used as a devotional, which I've been doing.

She had asked for some of women's favorite scriptures & she took the top 31 that people sent & this is what the book is - a break down of the scriptures for every day. 

& I love the way she breaks it down. It's not 'teachy' in the over-your-head way teaching scripture can be - but a way of breaking it down like you're sitting with your girlfriend & she's explaining to you in the simpliest of terms. 

Liz urges you to memorize these scriptures too so you know they deeply & more personally as well.

I really do love this book & am glad to have it & learn from it.


Image result for 31 verses to write on your heart



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Life According to Steph


22 comments:

  1. i am glad you liked suddenly royal! i haven't read the rest of the series, so i'm interested to hear if you like the second one. you are right, the girl on the cover totally looks like the girl from jane the virgin lol.
    luckiest girl alive is not on my list, and i am glad haha. definitely sounds awful. everything everything is on my list! definitely skipping the this is where it ends book.

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  2. Too bad for those 0 out of 5 books :( Especially the one about the school shooting. That is such a serious topic, it's sad the book didn't do it justice.

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  3. I need to update my Goodreads list ... I need to get back to reading again too. Definitely love Liz Curtis Higgs! I'll add Everything Everything too. Skipping the 0 of 5 books, fo' sho'!

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  4. Luckiest Girl Alive continues to be one of my least favorite books ever. I think I'll avoid This is Where it Ends, too. I'm not sure how easy it is to find, because it never got very popular by Ghosting by Edith Pattou was one of my favorite books a couple of years ago, and it sounds similar in the sense of the different view points, but it's told in verse form, which was kind of weird at first, but I thought it was a really well told story.

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  5. A friend of mine said the same thing about Luckiest Girl Alive. I think she saved me from a big disappointment!

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  6. I'm a huge fan of YA books, so Suddenly Royal seems like it would be right up at my alley! Everything Everything is already on my list and it sounds like I need to get on top of reading it! It sounds like a great read!

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  7. I have a couple of these on my TBR and I already told you how I felt about This is Where it Ends. I liked it more than you did but it was definitely a huge mess.

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  8. Four and a half books---not too shabby! You beat me, anyway--I only read through three, I think. How do you decide which books to read next?

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  9. Everything Everything is going on the TBR :)

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  10. Everything Everything is already on my TBR and your review makes me want to race out and get out. I have not read The Luckiest Girl Alive, which may make me the luckiest girl alive! From the book description, I suspected my urge to punch the main character would be high. I know anti-heros are all the rage but sometimes authors make them a little too unlikeable. Suddenly Royal sounds like a cute, sweet read for those times when you want something light or need a palette cleanser after a real dark book. Adding it to my TBR!

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  11. I am always happy to read book reviews by people I like and trust!! Thanks for taking the time to share! I just finished the book by Chip & Joanna Gaines and loved it. What a story of ups and downs and trust in God. Cheers!!

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  12. I enjoyed the Royal series but the first book was probably my favourite of the three. Such a fun fluffy series though :) Eek tough to have two books that you really did not enjoy this month!! I want to read Everything Everything sometime!!

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  13. Oh geez- you had some total duds and some great ones! What a mix! I will definitely be avoiding the books you rated 0. First of all, they don't sound like my cup of tea, and secondly, I HATE when a book frustrates me for all the wrong reasons!

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  14. Hmm I feel like luckiest girl alive was on my list at one point but i might have read another review like yours and removed it. Or at least I hope I did because I surely dont want to read it now! Haha! Everything, Everything is totally getting added!!! Oh wait, it looks like I already added it haha. Yay!

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  15. I would love to read the first book since I need an uplifting read. I just started Jane the Virgin and I like it, but it is way over the top. I am almost through season1 now. I read Luckiest Girl alive and I was annoyed by Ani and her selfishness. And it gets worse as the book goes on. But the big mystery is what kept me going. I had to know. The book does get better because you finally find out the mystery. Email me and I will tell you it.

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  16. Suddenly royal sounds like something I would love! xo, biana -BlovedBoston

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  17. You had me laughing out loud when describing your 0 out of 5 books!

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  18. I didn't make it past Ch. 2 of Luckiest Girl Alive. It was so blah.

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  19. I'm not actually sure if I've seen a positive review of Luckiest Girl Alive. I definitely don't want to read it. Everything, Everything was one of my favorite books last year. SO good.

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  20. Oh bummer! Two zeros! Intense lady. I hope November's reading goes better for you!!! :P I need to double check that Everything, everything is on my list!! XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  21. I'm happy to say that I've never added Luckiest Girl Alive to my "To Read" list because it seems like so many people hated it. I'm all for reading things myself to see if I feel differently (after all, we're all different and may react to the same story in different ways), but this one just struck me as being overhyped and not very good. (To put it nicely.)

    I liked Everything, Everything, but I didn't love it. I think I was expecting something a little more realistic, and some of it was just ... Not. I thought it was a unique story with good characters, but I never felt fully invested.

    I feel like I've read a lot of mixed reviews on This is Where it Ends. I'm still undecided about it. Obviously your review makes me lean toward the "nope" side, especially since you said there's just too much going on. (That's something I always find extremely annoying.) But another part of me kind of wants to check it out. It definitely won't be jumping to the top of my list any time soon, though!

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