Sunday Musings: Let's Talk Books & Blogging!

I don't know when exactly it happened but this past week has re-awoken my love of book blogging. Coming back to writing reviews about the books I've read has really been refreshing. I kind of hit a major hiatus from all things reading related when I started university three years ago but now hopefully I'll be back? I still got a lot of reading to catch up on and for now I'll be casually reading on a loose schedule of posting reviews. It was intimidating to enter this blogging community again - there is just so many great reviewers and bloggers out there!

With that being said, let's jump into talking about books! This week I came across two books that I want to add to my shelves. 

Liars, Inc. By Paula Stokes

The storyline for this one is quite intriguing. Seems like it starts off lighthearted but changes course to be more dramatic and dark. Most looking forward to reading about how Max the main character gets out of the complex situation involving murder!

The Truth About Jack By Jody Gehrman

I'm a huge sucker for teen romance so this one seems like a novel I'd love. What interests me most in this book up is the aspect of Jack, the main guy character, creating an image of himself that he THINKS Dakota, the main girl character, will fall in love with. I typically come across female protagonists conforming to that pressure so it seems really interesting to see a guy go through it in this book.

Anyone else interested in these books too? I saw them across some book blogs and they really appealed to me. If you've read them - how are they (spoiler free please)?

This week I also got a chance to get crafty! I had always wanted to create some bookmarks and this week I found some time to do just that! They're a very simple design and I just wanted to try out some ombre watercolour painting techniques. The bookmarks were spring colour themed so let me know what you think! Here are the results:

Some watercolour paper & paints, yarn, time, and this can be the result! I made a couple of them so if anyone out there is interested in having one, you could check out my etsy store HERE and pick one up! 

Question for you guys out there: What books caught your attention this week?

Let me know in the comments below - I really want to see what books you guys mention!

AS ALWAYS,

HAPPY READING! (&SUNDAY!)

-Sherry

Review: Very Twisted Things By Ilsa Madden-Mills

Title: Very Twisted Things (Briarcrest Academy #3) 

Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills

Published Date: March 1st 2015

A sassy violinist who lives next door.
An obsessed rock star who watches her through binoculars.
And one night when she bares it all.
Life will never be the same in Tinseltown.


Vital Rejects front guy Sebastian Tate never imagined his YouTube music video would go viral, sky-rocketing him to acting success in Hollywood.Okay, maybe he did. After all, he’s a cocky dude who knows he’s hot-as-hell, and it was only a matter of time before his stars aligned. 

But life in Tinseltown is never what it seems. 

After being cheated on by his ex-lover, his only rule to falling in love is simple: Keep Calm and Don’t Do It. So, spying on his mysterious new neighbor with binoculars seems innocent enough, but quickly escalates into an erotic game between two very unlikely people.

Twenty-year-old Violet St. Lyons is a world-renowned violinist who's lost her mojo on stage. She hides away in a Hollywood mansion, trying to find her way through her twisted past in order to make her future. 

He’s the life of the party with girls chasing him down for his autograph. She’s the introvert with a potty mouth who doesn’t even know who he is.

When they meet, stars collide, sparks fly, and clothes come off. Yet, giving his heart to a girl isn’t Sebastian’s plan; falling for a guy who craves attention isn’t Violet’s. 

Welcome to Briarcrest Academy—Hollywood style—where sometimes the best things in life are VERY TWISTED THINGS.

18+ Hot New Adult Romance
(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)
~
This story had it's moments. Ultimately, I wished there was a deeper understanding of why these characters needed to be together. The story is told through alternating POV, chapter to chapter. Violet is a good POV to read from - definitely sassy but Sebastian was a little too serious for my liking. I finished the book in one sitting. That being said it was interesting and steamy enough to keep on reading.

Finding Time & Keeping it

Recently I did a little spring cleaning and noticed how many books sit on my shelf unread. It's quite alarming actually. It dawned on me that I'll probably never find the time to read all of them because I keep buying new books. I'm not the only one suffering from this book buying syndrome - you guys know what I'm talking about! How do you combat this issue? Does book buying become hoarding? Or an art piece of filling shelf space?

There are only so many hours a day and majority of it is spent sleeping (well at least for me). If I'm not working or doing a last minute homework assignment, I'm trying to scavenge some time to see a friend. Lately it seems that time is harder to find. I simply have no time to dedicate to reading my growing pile of books. SO bloggers and book readers out there I ask you for your help - HOW DO YOU DO IT? Do you sleep at all? Is the secret becoming a vampire and if so, where can I locate the nearest Edward Cullen?

Time is tricky like that, it's always present but we always seem to forget about it.

Options & Opportunity

For about a year now, I've been working at my dream job. I know I know, I'm only 20 and this can't possibly be my DREAM job but it's pretty darn close! I work currently at Indigo (for anyone outside of Canada, Indigo/Chapters/Coles are our big chain bookstores! Equivalent to Barnes & Noble?) Not only do I get to be surrounded by books all day, I get to be surrounded by other book lovers like myself! I get to talk and meet a wide range of people who enjoy reading. I have a hard time believing that reading a physical book is a dying hobby - I witness tons of people buying books and it just warms my heart! There is nothing better than chatting someone up and hearing how excited or happy they are to find a book they want - also half the time this is how I find my next read!

This post is really about how I plan to take my job with Indigo to a next level, something I can make into a career. More so, this post is a PSA on how to keep your options open when finding a job - especially for anyone coming from a field of study that is focused. 

Review: Last Year's Mistake By Gina Giocca

Title: Last Year's Mistake

Author: Gina Giocca

Published Date: June 9th 2015

Before:

Kelsey and David became best friends the summer before freshman year and were inseparable ever after. Until the night a misunderstanding turned Kelsey into the school joke, and everything around her crumbled—including her friendship with David. So when Kelsey's parents decided to move away, she couldn't wait to start over and leave the past behind. Except, David wasn't ready to let her go...

After:

Now it's senior year and Kelsey has a new group of friends, genuine popularity, and a hot boyfriend. Her life is perfect. That is, until David's family moves to town and he shakes up everything. Soon old feelings bubble to the surface and threaten to destroy Kelsey's second chance at happiness. The more time she spends with David, the more she realizes she never truly let him go. And maybe she never wants to.

Told in alternating sections, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE is a charming and romantic debut about loving, leaving, and letting go.

(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

Overall my thought on Last Year’s Mistake is it was a strong story that portrayed to me, a very real experience of a girl and boy figuring out emotions while still trying to grow up. The story explored the before and after of the main characters that really made the connection between Kelsey and David strong. The author does a phenomenal job writing about teens! The story at a glance is like so many others: girl and boy, best friends until one starts to feel more or in this case both. On top of it all? They've got to navigate high school too. However, Last Year's Mistake to me interjected a lot of real emotions that aren't necessarily portrayed enough or properly in other story's. This is why I think the writing was strong with this book. The author adds a lot of depth to her main characters Kelsey and David that really carry out through the entire book. I got a great understanding of their characters which made their otherwise juvenile 'teen' actions more realistic and relatable. I think the book sticks to necessary plot details without going overboard to jam pack a lot of un-necessary drama – this isn’t to say there is no drama because there is plenty to keep you turning the page!

Review: Kindness for Weakness By Shawn Goodman

Title: Kindness for Weakness

Author: Shawn Goodman

Published: Jan 1st 2013

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest meets Catcher in the Rye.

A fifteen-year-old boy from an abusive home desperately seeking his older brother's love and approval starts pushing drugs for him and suffers the consequences.

(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

Kindness for Weakness was only a glimpse at the cruel and unfortunate circumstance of the juvenile system in parts of America. Written beautifully from the perspective of a young boy named James, who has just been dealt bad cards in life, the story unfolds quickly and dramatically to focus on the unfair treatment of young men in the juvenile justice system.