Life of a Random

Hello from the Abyss known as the Year 2020! I haven't written on this blog in so long that I don't know if I even remember how to blog properly. This has been such a year filled with awful things...the presidential race, the pandemic, plus the yearly entrances of anxiety and depression and all that low mental health bar stuff...that I wanted to take a minute to focus on something else and talk about books. I wasn't tagged for this so feel free to grab questions from here for your own tag post (this tag was created by Ariel Bissett ).  Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish? / Do you have an autumnal book to help transition into the end of the year?     There are several! The norm for me this year is that if I didn't finish reading a book in 1 or 2 days, I didn't end up finishing it at all. I really want to finish reading Serpent & Dove , Rules for Being a Girl , and Steel Tide . Just because I hate taking things off my Goodreads ...

The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite.  But the girl was fiercer. Tea is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for  necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized  in  t he kingdom.  For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that  can reach beyond the boundaries of the living—and of the human. Great power comes at a price, forcing Tea to leave her homeland to  train under the guidance of an older, wiser bone witch. There, Tea puts  all  of her energy into becoming an asha, learning to control her  elemental magic and those beasts who will submit by no other force.  And Tea must be strong—stronger than she even believes possible.  Because war is brewing in the eight kingdoms, war that will threaten  the sovereignty of her homeland…and threaten the very survival  of those she loves. The Bone Witch has been a highly anticipated read for me for a wh...

272 pages // published August 26, 2014 // YA, contemporary, romance //  cover rating:  ⭐⭐ ⭐ (fits the story well, good composition, nice colors & font) this is my own copy that I got before I read either >.> Every part of this book looks awesome at first glance--heart wrenching story, check, cool new Youtube aspect, check, a pinch of el Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), check, a super pretty cover, check. It has everything. But it didn't live up to my expectations. It's not that it was horrible.... I liked the Youtube angle , with tips from the main character before every chapter. There aren’t enough books that include Youtube, a HUGE part of the modern world by the way, in their story lines. It was nice reading about the life and routine of a youtuber. It was also a reminder to appreciate family always. Sometimes people get so caught up in living that they forget that death is a thing. A really scary, fast thin...

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender  by Leslye Walton Pages: 301 Published: March 27, 2014 Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Magical Realism Cover Rating:   ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰  (Yes. YES. This is one of my favorite book covers of all time. I love the way the title is incorporated in the feather. I love everything.) Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.  In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration.  **note: The book image links to its Goodreads page. ~~~ I've ...

Right now I'm reading a book that has a very cliche romantic plot. Every cliche it could have, it probably does. And since one of the things that is obnoxiously present is a love triangle, it got me thinking.  The love triangle in this book annoys me because the main character (Paige) first crushes on a guy, develops more feelings for him, and then finally starts "falling in love" but then as soon as love interest #2 comes along there's an attraction.  So almost immediately, she likes both guys equally and she's having that same old conflict that every friggin YA romance has. Oh no. I should like this guy. I do. I DO like this guy. But... this love interest #2 that I just met a week ago.... I feel such a pull towards him. He makes me a better person. I can't control how I act around him.  I mean please. For lack of better phrasing, I think that's a load of bull.  WHY. Why if you actually liked/possibly loved love interest #1...

Once again, I bring you one of Doug Solter's books in a book blitz. I hope you enjoy reading about it and make sure to enter the giveaway at the end of the post. :) ~~~~ Legends  by Doug Solter Series: Skid #3 Publication date: September 2, 2015 Genre(s): Contemporary, Young Adult Meet Samantha. She drove the car that killed her dad. Now racked with guilt, the 18-year-old-girl racer dedicates her life to becoming what her dad always planned her to be…a racing champion. Now demoted to number three driver, Samantha feels alienated from her friends on the crew and Manny. And the worst part of it is…she knows it was all her fault. Determined to make amends and save her Formula One career, Samantha re-commits herself to winning the championship. But how? How can she convince her boss to give back her car? How can she convince the crew that she’s changed? And how can she win eight consecutive races against the best drivers in the world? That’s what it will ...

Red Queen  by Victoria Aveyard Publication Date: February 10, 2015 Publisher: Orion Format: Hardcover Source: library Pages: 383 Series: Red Queen series ~~ The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers. To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change. Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control. But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win? ~~ I wasn't sure what to expect when I started Red Queen (I didn't want to. Cue ninja skills of avoiding all reviews.). I'd seen it around the blogosphere a lot though. To be honest, at first I was a little disappointed. The pacing was a little slow... there were a lot of things that r...

Throughout my many many years of reading and being a certified bookworm... *ancient knowing look* I've discovered several things that I really can't stand. More specifically, things in dialogue that just push all the wrong buttons. I'm right, of course. ;) 1. Too many exclamation points. Whenever a character always (or almost always) talks in exclamation points, it makes them sound like they're over-caffeinated or hyper or something. Nobody sounds that excited all the time in real life! Life isn't that awesome! They need to chill! See what I mean? Ugh, I can't stand it. It's like an overload for my brain. It refuses to accept all that exaggerated emotion. >.< 2. All capitals.  There is a time for all caps (Let's be real, it's necessary to fangirl. It's a way of life.) but that time is definitely not in dialogue. In my humble opinion. To me, it's better to use action or tags or something besides all caps. Rather than giving...

Okay. PANIC TIME. I completely forgot to publish yesterday's post. *begs for mercy* You may or may not have noticed that I started posting on Sundays and Wednesdays. Buuut, yeah, kinda forgot. Oops. In conclusion, once again SORRY and this is my 200th post yay! To All the Boys I've Loved Before  by Jenny Han Publication date: April 15, 2014 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Format: hardcover Source: me Pages: 355 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that someth...