Bad Girls Don't Die: Katie Alender

Rating: 4.5 stars.
Bad Girls Don't Die was beautifully constructed and written, with a flawless plot-line and story. I loved the tone and the characters and our main character more so. Bad Girls Don't Die is a very rare perfect story; a book that I absolutely could not put down. With many twists that I didn't expect, reading this was like  riding a roller coaster; I got soaked in very slowly, and then all at once -- and I was taken in a direction I didn't expect when I first got into this.
Bad Girls Don't Die is about Alexis, your not-the-most typical teenage outcast who hasn't always been looked at as normal; but when her sister, who's already a bit strange, starts acting stranger than normal, she realized there might be a problem. After befriending Megan (who isn't Lexi's favorite person) Alexis realizes that the problem she's dealing with isn't just a bunch of kids from the local middle school; it's a spirit... or two.

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I'm always willing to read and review books ♥ 

Contact me at: ammartinwriter@gmail.com

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Tell Me Three Things: Book Review

Three things:
1. It's 12:00 AM and I'm squealing quietly and smiling because of how adorable this book is.
2. I don't think I can start another book for a few days because I'll be too busy thinking about this one.
3. This is my new FAVORITE book!!!

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Where do I start? This was beautiful, real, well-written, fangirl-worthy, and overall what I think  of as one of those rare perfect YA contemporary books. At some times sad, and hilarious at others, this was an emotional roller-coaster that I couldn't put down. Not to mention, there was that beautifully mysterious side to this contemporary that kept me guessing and had me on the edge of my seat, turning pages as quickly as I could! Who is SN? Do I want to know? I do. 

Now I'm left feeling like I need more. A sequel? If it's possible. Another book by Julie Buxbaum? ASAP! I'm definitely going to be checking out her other books. 

And for those of you who've read it and enjoyed it; I highly recommend:

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne

Before I continue with my review, let me make one thing clear; this book is NOT focused on Harry Potter. And this also wasn't by J.K. Rowling, although she did help with it.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the story of the Albus Potter, Harry's son, and of course his best friend (Scorpius, son of Draco) and the trouble he gets into when he tries to right one of his father's mistakes. After overhearing one of his father's conversations about the death of Cedric Diggory and the mention of an existing time turner, he decides to go back in time to save Cedric, dragging along Scorpius and another friend he's met on the way. No more can be told about the events in this story unless you want to be spoiled, so let's move on to the review:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was definitely not exactly like the original series I fell in love with, and as you all know it was not in the same format. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script from the play (Which I want to see even now more than ever since reading this) that came out around the same day as the release date for the novel. It was really interesting to see the perspectives from not only the new characters in this world but the older versions of the ones we know so well; Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Draco...

What surprised me most was that there was obvious growth from the original characters in terms of maturity and behavior which, although expected with such a difference, is hard to do successfully when your looking at such a well known and complex set of characters. Even though we read this from Albus's perspective, and with the father being Harry Potter, the relationship between father and son was spot-on, as was the description of everything that happened between all of the characters in their relationships and the important events that took place in this. Coming into this, I didn't even think to realize how important these roles would be, but I definitely appreciate them.

The magic was kept alive and I can still feel the essence of Hogwarts as my fingers and eyes graze the pages.

Shortly, I absolutely loved the way the characters were written and I loved the way everything came together; the story was beautiful and even though it is nowhere close to the original Harry Potter series, I still give it a perfect 5 stars, as well as a place on my -favorites- shelf. <3 <3 <3

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Nearly Gone by Elle Consimano is a book about Nearly ((Leigh)) Boswell, a typical High School girl with an abnormal gift to taste the way someone feels by touching them. Nearly lives by rules her mother has set for her to keep her out of trouble. No boys. Work hard at school. Nearly's rule of her own; no touching. But everything changes when the murders start, killing people who all have connections to one person; Nearly. Using the clues hidden in the personal ads and the crime scenes, Nearly needs to find out who the killer is before she gets blamed. With the help of Reece -- someone Nearly is hesitant to trust.

Nearly Gone is a wonderfully written book with a fast-moving pace, great backstory, and realistic and enjoyable characters. The story; wonderful and mysterious, kept me guessing. This book gets a 5/5 stars for the wonderful writing, characters, and keeping me on the edge of my seat.

If you have a book you'd like me to read, review, and/or share my thoughts on, contact me at:

fearlessskittles@gmail.com

August 2016 TBR ♥♥♥♥

Hello August! I thought that maybe you guys would like an update on my Goodreads Challenge and a look on my TBR!! :D 

Although I hope to read much more this month, (Especially because I am 16 books behind on my reading challenge. Oops) these are the four books  I hope to finish initially in August. 

1. Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano 

First off, I would love to finish up Nearly Gone. A book that I have started a few days ago and will hopefully finish next week. Nearly Gone is about a girl named Nearly, who knows better than to reveal much to her classmates. She keeps things to herself for the most part, aside from her two best friends. She doesn't dare tell anyone about her ability to taste what someone feels with just the touch of their skin. When a serial killer goes on a murder spree, killing students in Nearly's high school and leaving clues in the personal ads, Nearly tries to find out who the killer is, confiding in  Reece; the 'reformed bad boy' who she wonders whether or not she could trust... who is also working under cover spying... on her.

2. Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

"Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

"Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?" (From the synopsis of Bad Girls Don't Die)

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, and since I got it for my birthday last week, I can happily say I can finally read it! Wooo! 

3.  Me on the floor, Bleeding by Jenny Jagerfeld

    Original title: Här ligger jag och blöder

"High school outsider Maja would never hurt herself on purpose as her dad, teachers, and classmates seem to believe. Can't a person saw off the tip of her thumb without everyone starting to worry? That is, everyone except Maja's mum, who seems to have disappeared from the face of earth.

Crashing a neighbor's party, Maja meets twenty-year-old Justin Case, a super-verbal car mechanic with pink pants, who makes her forget everything about absent mothers and sawn-off thumbs, at least temporarily. But then Maja hacks into her father's e-mail account and reads an e-mail that hurts more than all the electric saws in the world.

In this funny and clever coming-of-age novel, seventeen-year-old Maja describes each moment with such bare-bones honesty that one can't help but be drawn into her world. Wise beyond her years yet still surprisingly naïve, her story is entertaining and enlightening, at turns both hilarious and bittersweet." (From the synopsis of Me on the Floor, Bleeding by Jenny Jagerfeld)

4.  Murder at Midnight by Avi

"A plot to overthrow King Claudio is brewing in the Kingdom of Pergamontio. Scholarly Mangus the magician -- along with his street-smart and faithful new servant boy, Fabrizio -- have been marked as easy scapegoats for the traitor lurking within the king's court. Together, these two unlikely partners must gather clues to solve the mystery and prove their innocence before the stroke of midnight. . . or face death!

Intricate plotting, surprise twists, and lively prose make for another suspenseful page-turner that stands alone or sets the stage for MIDNIGHT MAGIC!" (From the synopsis of Murder at Midnight)

  

 I found this one at my favorite used book shop a few cities away ♥ I haven't read a middlegrade quite like this, and I am very excited! 

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So this has been my August 2016 TBR! Have you read any of the books listed? If so, what did you think? 

Thank you so much for reading!

Xoxo, 

     Unicorn Cupcake 

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TheHypeMadeMeDoIt -- popular books that i recommend

I'm not gonna lie, a lot of the books I buy are books that I see a lot of hype over on Instagram and Tumblr. I know I'm not the only one who has followed a trend and been disappointed by what the book actually is. I'm going to share with you guys a few books I read because of the hype that were actually worth it.

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green

When I was in the seventh grade, I absolutely hated anything that wasn't fantasy. Until Looking for Alaska. I was just getting into what you would call Fandom's around now and some of my internet friends were talking about Looking for Alaska online. I hadn't planned on even trying it until I was shopping at Target with my mom and saw it on the shelf in the reading section. Looking for Alaska definitely did not disappoint me, and it got me into other John Green books as well as more contemporary and realistic fiction.

2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

To be honest, the Mara Dyer trilogy is my absolute favorite book series of all time. To avoid getting too deeply into it --because I can talk about the series for days -- I'm just going to say this. There are 5 main reasons to read this series.

1.] It's so beautifully written

2.] Well representation of mental illness and feelings -- no robot characters

3.]  FUNNIEST cast of characters, multi-dimensional, amazing characters

4.] The plot is flawless

And finally

5.] Noah freaking Shaw!! ((AKA my book boyfriend))

3.  Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

Definitely a great story if you love witches, dark magic, great love stories, and stories that take place in the south. The movie definitely did not do justice to this great series: The writing is beautiful, and the world is a great one to live in.

4. Dumplin by Julie Murphy

Well-written, with a beautiful cover and a flawlessly-real character. If it isn't the writing, it's the vibe. Although I loved this book, it isn't for everyone -- but I definitely recommend everyone goes for it.

5. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I picked this one up because of the hype on Epic Reads. Red Queen is what I would call a beautifully written, fantastical dystopian that you won't regret picking up. 

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And these were just five books I wouldn't have read if it weren't for the hype. Sometimes the hype is a place we hope to avoid, but in cases like these, it's worth it. 

What books have you read only because #thehypemadeyoudoit?

WEEKLY UPDATE

07/19/2016 Tuesday
WEEKLY UPDATE

 Currently Reading: Believarexic by J. J. Johnson

Currently binge watching: Gotham season 1 on Netflix

Next book review: some time next week 

I will be posting a discussion/review on season 1 of the Flash on Thursday!

A question for my followers: What should I start doing to make better content? Comment below! :)