Book Review: Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay ★★

48710236

“This. This was the last time I’d been truly happy. My year abroad. It hit me then that I no longer knew the young woman who had fallen in love with Colin and Jean Claude and Marcelino. I couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be topsy-turvy, dizzy from a smile, ass-over-tea-kettle crushing on someone.”

I picked this book up on a whim. I hadn’t heard anything about it, I’ve never read anything from this author before, and it was a new release. So I just went for it!

It turned out ok 🤷‍♀️. It was a mostly enjoyable read, but definitely not something that I am going to remember long term or anything that had any real impact on me. A lot of it was grating and annoying, and you had to REALLY suspend your disbelief a lot of the time. A very plain 2.5 stars.

Continue reading

Really loving my library recently…

How did I not know back in the day that you can literally just request brand new books from your library?! 😮 I was just like, “Hey guys, these books just came out and y’all don’t have them, buuuuut I’m not sure I’m gonna like them, so I don’t really want to buy them. Can you go ahead and get them for me?” And they were just like, “Yes of course, you get to read them first!” They are so new and pretty; I’m so excited 🙌. Thanks, library!

Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant ★★

Image result for into the drowning deep

“What you have to understand about the mermaid legend is that it’s universal. No matter where you go, the mermaids got there first. Even inland, if there’s a big enough lake, I guarantee you there’s a local community with a story about women in the water with beautiful voices who lure men to their deaths. Where there’s water, we find mermaids. Maybe it’s time we started asking ourselves exactly why that is.”

😐 Very disappointed in Into the Drowning Deep, unfortunately. I had heard such great things about it, and I was in the mood for something chilling and scary, so I thought it would be the perfect read right now. I really wanted to love it! However, it just didn’t work for me. At all. It was poorly constructed, repetitive, unintelligent, and very dull. It was basically Sharknado with mermaids. Spoilers ahead.

Continue reading

Used Bookstore Haul

SO excited for these new beauties!! My best friend was in town over the weekend, and our favorite thing to do together is get some delish lattes and hunt for treasures in the used bookstores around us. We could only make it to one store (my favorite called Mojo Books and Records!), but I found some great stuff! Only $15 for all of this, after using some of my store credit! They are really good here about giving you a fair price on books you bring in to trade, too.

Continue reading

Book Review: Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk ★★★

“Telling the truth wasn’t sufficient power. As consolation the remaining journalists convinced themselves that no absolute truths existed. This new untruth they propagated as the new truth. The entertainment value, the ability to titillate or provoke, came to be the litmus test of any new truth.” 

Guys. Is it bad that I love this cover? It’s a freaking pop art cover with severed ears. I loveeee itttt.

I really liked being back in Chuck’s mind and getting to explore another satirical future of his. There was everything you would expect here, including biting humor, absurd vulgarity, grand ideas, and controversy. I enjoyed the book for sure, but compared to his other novels, it wasn’t my favorite.

Continue reading

Mini Book Haul

Merry Christmas Eve!!

So, I was at Goodwill the other day and decided that I needed some new books. Buying books right before Christmas is totally okay, trust me! Especially when you get them for such a great deal. Honestly, buying books at Goodwill or thrift stores is my favorite place to get them. You never know which books will be there, which edition or cover it will be, whether or not there are notes in the margins, etc. I love it! So here are just a couple that I got on my last trip.

Continue reading

Monday Musings

So, I find myself in a reading slump as of late. I feel like my thoughts and my motivations are all over the place and I can’t concentrate on one thing. Should I be working on my own writing? Should I be finishing the book that I put down two weeks ago? What about working on book tags or reviews? Maybe I should update my Instagram with more pictures?

I know I need to be more organized about my creative outlets, but splitting my attention between so many different areas just makes me retreat altogether and then I get nothing done. Quite frustrating, I must say.

How do you guys stay motivated or keep your different projects on track?

name

Update!

Hey guys! I apologize for being lax on my posting again, but a few unexpected life things have gotten in the way. I wanted to update, though, and let you guys know that I am participating in NaNoWriMo this month, so I will be focusing all of my free time on that. That means even more of a lull in posts/reviews. I know! D: I do have a few book reviews on the backburner, so if I need a break from writing my WIP, maybe I will get to those. We will see!

IMG_20171007_165234_534.jpg

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me! And is anyone else doing NaNo? This is my first time trying it and I am already late to the party! If so, good luck on your writing!

-Chelsi