Paper Princess

Book: Paper Princess by Erin Watt

Synopsis: From strip clubs and truck stops to southern coast mansions and prep schools, one girl tries to stay true to herself. Ella Harper is a survivor—a pragmatic optimist. She’s spent her whole life moving from town to town with her flighty mother, struggling to make ends meet and believing that someday she’ll climb out of the gutter. After her mother’s death, Ella is truly alone. Until Callum Royal appears, plucking Ella out of poverty and tossing her into his posh mansion among his five sons who all hate her. Each Royal boy is more magnetic than the last, but none as captivating as Reed Royal, the boy who is determined to send her back to the slums she came from. Reed doesn’t want her. He says she doesn’t belong with the Royals. He might be right. Wealth. Excess. Deception. It’s like nothing Ella has ever experienced, and if she’s going to survive her time in the Royal palace, she’ll need to learn to issue her own Royal decrees.  [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

Remember the days when teen drama shows were just out of this world? Start ticking off the list - The OC, Gossip Girl, Skins - I mean these were the shows I grew up with and it was absolutely absurd that sixteen-seventeen year olds were acting that way. But you know what, I loved it! You've got sex, drugs and Chanel raining down on you. You get the most cheesy lines like 'Welcome to the OC bitch!' and 'I never should have let you, let me go' *cue in music* its too late to apologise... It was just an entertaining break from reality, and its like you've been given an all access pass to the life of the crazy rich! Well, if you've missed the teenage drama of the spoiled, then this book is just for you!

Fine, it was a little trashy at times, but then it was quite expected from a lead character that was a teenage stripper. There was basically no preamble about her part-time job, but her life turned upside down when she was suddenly thrown into the Royal mansion. No, not with Will and Kate, but like Royal is the actual last name. *snickers* So basically with that premise alone, you kinda know what kind of read you're up for. Shamefully, I finished it through the end, enjoyed it, and pre-ordered the sequel. Excuse me now while I file this under guilty pleasures.

Book Quotes:

"It's nice to have friends and family around, even if the family is super dysfunctional."

"I stare at my tray of locally-sourced organic chicken breast and farm-fresh vegetables so that Valerie doesn't see that it's huge to me, too."

Book Rating: 4/5

Reading Map:

Broken Prince (Book 2)

Welcome to the OC bitch! such a classic!!

Cruel Intentions 1999 i have no clue wtf those sequels are, but this is another classic!

Love Fortunes and Other Disasters

Book: Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius 

Synopsis: Love is real in the town of Grimbaud, and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Duprees have successfully followed the (one hundred per cent accurate!) love fortunes from Zita's famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high-school sweethearts. It's a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find true love. But Fallon isn't the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate - even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian. Will Fallon and Sebastian ever be able to defy fate and fall in love? [via Amazon]

Book Notes: 

Hands down this was a very cute book. It was a light and enjoyable read, and it was simple enough to keep along with the characters and the overall pace of the text. In so many ways, this was very young, perhaps highlighting the young in young adult genre to be more specific. If you're in the mood for fuzz free reading, and something that is warming and easy, then  maybe give this a shot. It's kind of like High School Musical. You're into it. You're kinda attached to it. And you know its a little juvenile but you love it anyway.

Oh you know what I really liked too is how the concept of being gay, and having gay friends is now more acceptable for the younger generation. This book was targeted for a very young audience, and it is great that it is touched upon something that is quite delicate especially when you're a teen. It is really nice to know that in little ways, there is more love and acceptance that is happening in this world.

Get to know the rest of the characters! Check the reading map for sequels and other Swoon novels.

Book Quotes:

"People shouldn't know their romantic fates. Because the truth is that it changes."

"Depends on the people," Love said. "Then let people depend on themselves. Let them mend and break their hearts together. Being blind isn't such a bad thing."

Book Rating: 4/5

Reading Map:

Love Charms and Other Catastrophes

First Kisses and Other Misfortunes (free on Kindle UK)

A Little Something Different

Fractured

Book: Fractured by Dani Atkins

Synopsis: The night of the accident was a lucky escape... Now, five years on, Rachel's life is perfect. She has a wonderful fiancé, loving family and friends around her, and the career she always wanted. But why can't Rachel shake the memory of a very different life? 

Gripping, romantic and heartbreaking, Fractured is a magical love story that asks: can two different stories lead to the same happy ending? [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

Admittedly this book was not as gripping as the first Dani Atkins book I read. I bought it on the Kindle store because of the amount of positive reviews this book generated. After reading it though, there was just something about this book I could not emotionally connect with. It had a very interesting premise, but it just felt a little lacking.

Book Quotes:

"I guess what you have to ask yourself is how much time and energy you want to spend on looking backwards."

"I fell even more in love with the man I was always destined to be with."

Book Rating: 2/5

Reading Map:

The Story of Us by Dani Atkins

Sliding Doors (1998)

Everyday by David Levithan

2016 Book List

2016 Book List

1. Wabi-sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers by Leonard Koren
2. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
3. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
5. The Heir by Kiera Cass
6. The Crown by Kiera Cass
7. Fractured by Dani Atkins
8. Love Fortunes and Other Disasters by Kimberly Karalius
9. Paper Princess by Erin Watt

30 First Dates

Book: 30 First Dates by Stacey Wiedower 

Synopsis: Erin Crawford is a relationship blogger with a bucket list and a vendetta. After years of horrible luck in relationships, she decides to start a blog called "30 First Dates." Her mission: go out with 30 men before her 30th birthday, all to find a non-jerk in 30 dates or less. As she blogs about her sometimes humorous and sometimes laughably bad dates, she crosses off her bucket list of 30 things she wants to do before she turns 30—and kills two birds with one stone by completing the items on her dates! In fourteen months she skydives, skinnydips, crashes a wedding, travels to multiple cities and lives way outside her comfort zone. The only question is, as her birthday approaches and her list grows smaller, will Erin be able to find love? Or is she destined to be a first-date-only kind of girl? [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

The thing about reading chick lits is you open yourself up to a certain predictability in terms of the story-telling process. It's popcorn romance on paper that happens to be just as comforting as a night in with Netflix. But then you kind of realise that after going through the library of RomComs on Netflix, there's certainly a big difference between an ABC/Hallmark movie as compared to the classics that we all secretly still own and collected on DVDs. The stories are cliche, but it all goes back to the story-telling, the characters and the lessons learned in between.

I wish I could rate this book with as much stars like the reviews on Amazon, but 30 First Dates is simply a mediocre attempt at trying to be romantic, witty and empowering. In the first five pages, you've pretty much solved that entire plot, and it was quite an accomplishment that I actually finished it. It did have some moments of sudden insights, but overall if I needed a reminder from life, I would reach for other books. 

On a more personal note, it scares me so much that the life I imagined by 30 is no where close to what I plotted it out to be a decade ago. In fact everything during that college conversation in the bench never came true. Perhaps it was flawed from the beginning, given I was planning a life with my then boyfriend whom I thought was perfect for me because he checked out perfectly on my list. Looking back on it now, everything was just one big illusion that I set myself up to believe my life was moving towards a direction with a future plotted out highly dependent on external factors to make me happy. 

There's something about turning 30 that I can't seem to properly grasp, or at the very least I am trying to let it go. It is definitely a milestone, much like turning 18 or 21, but to be driven mad by society's definition of what 30 has to be is something I am working on. Sometimes it is difficult to wake up in your late twenties only to realise that you haven't figured anything out, even worse if you realise you haven't actually lived. So yes, I am working on that and just reminding myself that sometimes my life doesn't have to be the perfect time line. 

Book Quotes: 

"Why did thirty feel like this precipice—this craggy, critical ledge with a 10,000 foot drop and no safety net?"

"Were those things Ben talked about—house, mortgage, kids—the net? Were they the answer? Those things she hadn't known she wanted, at least not consciously, now felt like some giant secret the rest of the world had failed to let her in on. A great big cosmic joke on her."

"Nope, it was growing pains—that was all. Thirty was the new twenty. She just hadn't grown up yet."

"If you want to do something different, do it. This is the time of life to figure stuff out. Obviously you've figured that out or you wouldn't be writing the blog. So you've already taken some chances. Take another one."

"She was a different story. She felt like she'd been running on the same track for years and suddenly realised it was the wrong track."

"You're young, you're smart, you have every single opportunity in the world out there waiting for you to grab it. You aren't tied down to a mortgage or a husband or even a job anymore. And so you don't have any of those things. So what? You still have time to create yourself, to figure out what you love to do. A lot of people recreate themselves over and over again. If you don't experience new and different things, how can you even begin to know what is right for you?"

"I only wish I had that kind of fire about something more important than my own fumbling inadequacy at committing to a profession or holding down a relationship."

"She'd wanted to change her life, and now it seemed her life was changing her."

"Honestly, the more perfect somebody's life looks, the more complicated it probably is."

"How will you know if it's the right move?"

"Love just wasn't something to be experimented with."

"I've learned you can't always will life into the shapes you want it to fit into. I've learned that things you think you want might not be right for you, and things that look like mistakes might take you exactly where you're supposed to be. I've learned you don't have to get it all right on the first try (unless you're skydiving). I've learned not to judge other people, because you're every bit as screwed up as they are. I've learned what failure feels like, and I've learned to look at failure as opportunity and opportunity as success."

Book Rating: 2/5

Reading Map:

One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin

The Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

Change The Way You See Yourself by Cramer and Wasiak

The Story of Us

Book: The Story of Us by Dani Atkins 

Synposis: Emma Marshall can't wait to marry her childhood sweetheart, Richard. But then a tragic accident changes everything, and introduces a stranger, Jack, into her life. Gorgeous and mysterious, Jack is like no-one Emma has met before. But Richard is the man she loves... Two different men. Two different destinies. How will Emma end her story? [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

I had downloaded this book on my Kindle several months ago and started reading it, then stopped for reasons I cannot quite remember but I would probably assume it was because I got busy or was it because I moved back? Nevertheless I found myself on a train back to Milan from Pisa with about two and a half hours left of travel and having just finished my last book I decided to scan through my library and came across this book that was left behind. Well, I restarted it and then I couldn't really stop.

There was something with the way the author would write these breaks in between, something like a flash forward but you're not quite sure how far along into the future it is. Just when you think you had the story figured out, a "page break" (that's what I will call it since I'm not quire sure what the technical term is) would happen and you'll be sucked right back in the story out of sheer curiosity- what will happen next?

I think that's what I enjoyed most about this book, those flash forward page breaks would give an air of suspense hanging over you and it urged you to keep on reading to uncovering the story little by little. I also enjoyed how the author touched on very delicate life struggles without being too overbearing or patronising. I think it was very important that she was able to balance it because if it wasn't written with much care, the book could've easily been very tacky but she was able to pull it off with much ease.

Book Quotes:

"We cried for a long time, clinging together but saying nothing, because sometimes the pain is just too great for words to be of use, and the only thing you can do is hold on tightly to someone you love, until it stops trying to rip your heart out through your chest."

"Take time to heal... All will be well, but it takes time."

"Then you will have to speak fast, because I hear the union is only giving you an hour for lunch."

"For a man who made his living using words, he certainly knew when they weren't required. I really liked that."

"Now that man needs subtitles. I have no idea what he just said. Was he even speaking English?"

"I spent longer trying to invent this ridiculous excuse to call you than I do outlining the plot of an entire thriller."

"Richard isn't a bad man. He's a good man that did a bad thing."

"Home is where the person you love lives."


Book Rating: 4.5/5

Reading Map:

Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

You're The One I Want by Giovanna Fletcher

The Notebook (Movie) who wouldn't love to see RyGos and McAdams?! <3>

The Rosie Project

Book: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Synopsis: The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers. 

Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you. [via Amazon]

Book Notes: 

Here's the thing about this book: The premise is quite obvious. Dorky, square, science nerd falls for the last woman he would ever expect. It really doesn't get as complicated as that. But why, you wonder, is this book on Bill Gates' Summer Recommendations? Well maybe aside from the fact it might have hit close to home... 

Simply put, the characters were very well-constructed. They felt tangible and real. Very human. And I think thats what makes this book stand out a lot, that despite the cliches, the author was able to create characters that are very rich that as a reader you were just drawn into them like a moth to a flame.

It's a perfect, light hearted book that has a ton of laugh out loud moments. And boy-meets-girl story aside, its a beautiful book to remind you that getting out of your comfort zone ultimately leads to the most rewarding things in your life.

Book Rating: 4.8/5

Reading Map: 

The Rosie Effect: A Novel (The sequel)

Time of My Life by Cecelia Ahern

Bill Gates Summer Reading 2014

Flat-Out Celeste

Book: Flat-Out Celeste by Jessica Park 

Synopsis: For high-school senior Celeste Watkins, every day is a brutal test of bravery. And Celeste is scared. Alienated because she’s too smart, her speech too affected, her social skills too far outside the norm, she seems to have no choice but to retreat into isolation. 

But college could set her free, right? If she can make it through this grueling senior year, then maybe. If she can just find that one person to throw her a lifeline, then maybe, just maybe. 
Justin Milano, a college sophomore with his own set of quirks, could be that person to pull her from a world of solitude. To rescue her—that is, if she’ll let him. 
Together, they may work. Together, they may save each other. And together they may also save another couple—two people Celeste knows are absolutely, positively flat-out in love. 

Whether you were charmed by Celeste in Flat-Out Love or are meeting her for the first time, this book is a joyous celebration of differences, about battling private wars that rage in our heads and in our hearts, and—very much so— this is a story about first love. [via Amazon]


Book Notes: I guess this is one of those better late than never posts. Routine has always eluded me, but I am trying to be more habit forming this year. As with any resolution, January seems to be the ultimate highlight of the latest version of ourselves. Well, while we're working on version 2.8, lets see how far I get along once again. 

I still remember reading this third instalment curled up getting a foot massage with my friends and I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing in this very serene spa in the province. I was however, smiling wide toothed, which made them curious as a cat as to what was getting me all giddy.

In true Jessica Park fashion, she managed to weave a beautiful story together that triggered heart felt emotions and attachments for the reader. I really enjoyed how her characters are troubled, yet optimistic. Real but with a strong heart. 

The Amazon synopsis says that you can pretty much jump into the series, but I would highly recommend reading the first two books, so you can fully understand and love Celeste. She is really very interesting, and I think its very important that you must learn to love her in the other books prior to this one to fully grasp her very complex personality. 

Oh and despite Celeste being the protagonist of this book, Matt and Julie are back as well! And I cannot stress enough that reading the first two books would really make this third instalment the icing on the cake!


Book Quotes: 

"My expectations are not high." "Then the odds of your being disappointed just dropped astronomically."

"It was devastating. And it was devastating that she even cared, because her value system was not one that contemplated a woman's happiness being dependent on the presence of a fairy tale love life."

"Never trust an atom. They make up everything."

"in terms of dating, if males are drawn to me for my appearance, they are soon discouraged by my other qualities. Eccentricities, of which I know I have many, do not hold universal sexual and romantic lure. I understand that."

"Why's it called Pinocchio's? Are they all liars?" She smiled. "No. The owners want to be real boys." "Maybe that's just what they told you." He winked. "But you can't trust them because they're lying."

"Love is complicated, that life is complicated. There are hard paths we go down, but there can be determination to survive and thrive in the face of adversity. We make choices."

"That's the thing about music. You get to make it mean whatever you need it to mean."

"Wandering leads one to the church of alpine sheep."

"You tolerated all of my craziness. You made me happy."

"Come to the nerd side. We have Pi."

"Dear Algebra, Stop asking us to find X. She's not coming back."

"I am embarrassed because things that are easy for other people are challenging for me."

"There are battles, some greater than others. But they are worth getting through."

"We can only fix ourselves." He braked at a red light and turned to her. "I was just there to support you while you did that."

"when one is so deeply engaged in joy, all else ceases to exist. Joy, she decided, wins out over everything."

"Oh look! You already packed!" "God, I'm so smart," he muttered.

"I see. Do you have a hangover? Why do they call it a hangover? What is one hanging over?"

"Celeste, you are who you are. Don't be ashamed of yourself. At all. Surround yourself with people who cheer you on. That's all."

"What is perceived as normal. That makes it other people's failings. Deficits. Not yours. Who the hell sets the standards, huh? who gets to say how we are supposed to be? Or who we are supposed to be? And how dare anyone make you feel inadequate for being who you are. It's not okay. It pisses me off."

"Don't stop me from having a Helvetica good time."

"Sometimes you need someone else to believe in you, to carry you, until you can do that yourself."

"You are more capable of being loved than you understand."

"Sometimes you have to make a mess." "And then you clean up."

"Live the life you've dreamed."

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."


Book Rating: 5/5


Reading Map:

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park

2015 Book List

1. Love, Rosie by Cecilia Ahern
2. Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
3. One Night @ the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat
4. One Hundred Proposals by Holly Martin
6. The Heir by Kiera Cass
7. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
8. How to Fall In Love by Cecilia Ahern
9. You're The One I Want by Giovanna Fletcher
10. Sealed With A Kiss by Rachel Lucas
11. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
12. The Story of Us by Dani Atkins
13. The Martian by Andy Weir
14. 30 First Dates: A Romantic Comedy by Stacey Weidower
15. Silver Lining Playbook by Matthew Quick
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated Copy by J.K. Rowling

Attachments

Book: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 

Synopsis: "Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ? [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

I picked this up after yoga class. It was one of those days when I found myself aimlessly wandering again, and I figured it was time to read something that was 1) not related to school, 2) light and easy 3) happy. This is my third Rainbow Rowell book, and my first of hers that is not classified as a Young Adult book... the result, the chick lit I was precisely looking for at that moment. 

There's simply something about chick literature that one just kind of looks for. Think of it like a popcorn movie, or a romcom, you just need something to relax you and this is it. I realised what I enjoy most about chick lit is how relatable the context and characters are. 

I'm at that stage in my life when I'm a little past some of the drama of a young adult novel, and kind of starring in the leading role of a chick lit. I've had the craziest plot twists by far, and currently still waiting for that happy ending. I guess in the scheme of things, my life isn't just one novel, but a book series... I might be somewhere in the middle of the book franchise called my life.

Book Quotes:

"It's that, well you came here to meet somebody, right? To meet the guy?"

"Right"

"To maybe meet the guy, right?"

"Right."

"Well, when you think about that guy—who, by the way, we both know isn't me—when you think about meeting him, do you think about meeting him in a place like this? In a place this ugly? This loud? Do you want him to smell like Jaegermeister and cigarettes? Do you want your first dance to be a song about strippers?"

Rating: 4/5

Reading Map:

You've Got Mail

Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot

Send out a love letter today: http://www.moreloveletters.com/

Ready Player One

Book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

Synopsis: In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. 
   But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. [Via Amazon]


Book Notes:
I realised I am terribly inconsistent. It is a fact of life that I have not come to terms with despite my continuously maturing age. With age comes wisdom right? But I find myself stuck in a pickle of a repetitive nature simply because I lack the discipline to break away from bad habits. One of which would definitely have to be consistency.

But would what consistency have to do with my book notes? Well almost and absolutely nothing, but it was just a thought I needed to pen down (despite the lack of a pen) upon my once again stumbling across my blog. 

To explain my experience with this book would simple be put- reading a video game. And I say that with much love and excitement. I love video games! I grew up playing them and still do! It's exciting, challenging and simply put- FUN! This book was able to merge everything I love about video games and pop culture references into a phenomenal read. 

Rating: 5/5

Reading Map:

Ready Player One: The Movie in Development

Ernest Cline is the Luckiest Geek Alive

Scott Pilgrim VS The World Movie Trailer

Me Before You

Book: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 

Synopsis: They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?  [via Amazon]

Book Notes:

You already know you've set yourself up for a heart break just by reading the title. So why did I bother wanting to read something that would do nothing but resurface that bloody F word... Yes, F is for feelings. 

This was one of those books I knew I was so scared to finish because I know it was just gonna leave me torn and heart broken. This imagined story was written so intimately that as a reader, it felt like you were tip toeing around such private moments that were shared by the characters. 

It is a remarkably tragic love story, not because it involves death but because death was a choice. Not a wasted kind of suicide, but death because the character decided that the cards he was dealt with were not worth living for. 

Death makes a person vulnerable, but what if your death can also provide the freedom you long for and the freedom for everyone else? Ultimately we live for ourselves right? Our life is our choice; we don't live it for anyone else but for ourselves. But does this justify assisted suicide? Are we allowed to play God?

This was one of those though provoking and heart breaking reads. It really makes you ponder on the quality of the life we live, and the choices we make that are ultimately yours. 

Book Quotes:

"Here I could hear my thoughts. I could almost hear my heartbeat. I realized, to my surprise, that I quite liked it."

"There seems to be something miraculous about seeing the relentless optimism of new growth after the bleakness of winter, a kind of joy in the difference every year, the way nature chooses to show off different parts of the garden to its full advantage."

"I needed to tell him, silently, that things might change, grow, or fall, but that life did go on. That we were all part of some great cycle, some pattern that it was only God's purpose to understand."

"I hadn't realized that music could unlock things in you, could transport you to somewhere even the composer hadn't predicted. It left an imprint in the air around you, as if you carried its remnants with you when you went."

"I just want to be a ma who has been to a concert with a girl in a red dress Just for a few more minutes."

"What if the genetically superior male is actually a bit of a dickhead?"

"You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible."

Rating: 4.8/5

Reading Map:

Quadriplegic Sky Diving

True Story: My Boyfriend is a Quadriplegic

Christoper and Dana Reeve Foundation

*If you feel like it, make a small donation! Every little bit counts! Love and Light.

The Selection Series

Book: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Synopsis: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined. [via Amazon]

Book: The Prince: A Selection Novella by Kiera Cass

Synopsis: Before thirty-five girls were chosen to compete in the

Selection . . .

Before Aspen broke America’s heart . . .

There was another girl in Prince Maxon’s life. . . . [via Amazon]

Book: The Elite by Kiera Cass

Synopsis: In America Singer’s world, a bride is chosen for the prince through an elaborate televised competition. In the second book of the Selection series, America is one of only six girls left in the running. But is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—she wants? Or is it Aspen, her first love?

The Elite delivers the adventure, glamour, political intrigue, and romance readers of The Selection expect, and continues the love triangle that captivated them. [via Amazon] 
Book Notes:

I was bored and online and browsing Amazon and I stumbled across this. I've been seeing it around the bookstores and never really gave much thought to it. I briefly read through the descriptions online and a book described as Hunger Games meets The Bachelor... It was like pop culture baby making!! It sounded absolutely, ridiculously, stupid and entertaining... of course I had to read it!!! and OMG was it all that and more!

I was grinning like a maniac while reading it! It was so embarrassing! I was giggling, squirming and just so into the book series! It was like the ultimate guilty pleasure, and exactly what I was looking for! It was absolutely insane!!!

If I could make a guilty pleasure reading list, this pretty much is the cookie cutter recipe! Exciting love triangle (I'm so smitten by Prince Maxon!! like aah. I love him and hate him at the same time!!), ridiculous addicting premise (I don't even watch the Bachelor cause I think its absolutely stupid and the whole selection is based that reality show!!), a heroine you can relate with (emotionally confused, fearless, witty and vulnerable), and somewhere along all the cheese, theres also some political lesson to be learned. And there you have it folks, a guilty pleasure love story with some brain.

It's so fun getting caught up in the novelty of a book series like this. It's fun being part of the masses, rooting for all the same things and just getting carried away by the humor of it all. Books aren't just all about being brainy right? Sometimes you just need some light hearted entertainment with a little lesson to be learned, and this was exactly it.

But but but... heres the catch!! and its a pretty darn big catch... THE THIRD INSTALMENT WONT BE RELEASED UNTIL MAY 6!! So yes, a thoroughly addicting series like this must not be started until all the books have been completed! The wait is unnerving. It's excruciating. It sucks!

So reader beware, start the book series now and prepare to anxiously wait.

Book Quotes:

"Lots of times when girls cry, they don't want you to fix the problem, they just want to be consoled."

"In my experience, true love is usually the most inconvenient kind."

"And that was how the Selection did its first act in my favour: if I had her here, at least I had the chance to try."

"Love is beautiful fear."

Rating: 5/5

Reading Map:

Pre-order the novella coming out February 4, 2014 (It'll help with the wait... I think?!)

The Guard: A Selection Novella

Twilight Saga: White Collection

*Yeah, cause really. Crazy love triangle kind of stories started with this right? At least for this generation.