Elizziebooks

I freaking love books! I'm currently reading a bunch of YA novels and I keep telling myself that I'll branch out into Adult lit.

Talking about creepy books! What are your favorite creepy books?

BookTube Newbs - October 2013 [x]

Let's Look At 100 Ghosts by Dougie Horner! This is a new thing I'm going to do since YouTube is such a visual medium. I want to read more illustrated books, graphic novels, books with photographs, etc. I think they're fun and make for quick reads, but are awesome art things. :]

My favorite YA Bromances! 

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle Review

The Infinite Moment of Us - Lauren Myracle

The Infinite Moment of Us shows how vulnerable you get when you get into a relationship. I knew how Wren felt when Charlie had to go take care of his brother or Starrla. It's not that she was needy. Okay, she did go a little overboard a couple of times, but it was to show how vulnerable she was to let a boy into her life like she did with Charlie.

This novel was very brutally honest about love and sex. Doesn't leave a single physical or emotional feeling, nor does she leave out a single, steamy detail. 

Myracle writes books that get under your skin. Books that show not only vulnerability and raw emotion, but a layer or so beneath that.  She's really great at writing about broken people, and a variety of broken people. People from broken homes, from way-too-perfect homes, foster homes, and even mansions. 

Paper Towns easter egg!  If you haven't read Paper Towns, welp. You need to do that. Why haven't you read Paper Towns yet?! 

I love Chris. Such a Bostonian. I was ready for him to start talking about the Red Sox or something. He and Pamela are great foster parents for Charlie and Dev. We don't see too much of them, but Charlie mentions them enough for me to love them. We need more Pamelas and Chris's in the world.

My reaction to the ending: I seriously started hyperventilating and yelling "HOW HOW WHAT HOW DOES IT END?"  PERFECT ENDING.

 

NOTE: This book will be out on August 27, 2013.

Roller Girls: Falling Hard by Megan Sparks Review

Falling Hard (Roller Girls) - Megan Sparks

I was definitely excited to read this book knowing it was about roller derby. I’ve never participated in the sport, but it always looked like fun and craziness. I was not let down! Lots of roller and lots of derby. With a peppering of cheerleading and high school drama mixed in.

I thought it was interesting to have a perspective of a Londoner moving to the midwest because I’ve read a couple of novels that do the opposite (American moving to England). The book read like a Disney Channel Original Movie with an emphasis on Roller Derby 101. It was a cute read and I learned a lot more about Roller Derby. I wish we could have gotten to know Lexie and Jesse a lot more! Both of the guys weren’t written with much depth, same with Kelsey. They were just kind of high school cliches, but Jesse had a bit more depth with his connection to the roller derby stuff.

 

Although I have mixed feelings on this novel, I definitely don’t regret reading it! It was fun. The title kind of implies that it will be a series, so maybe the POV will switch off to another girl? I liked Annie, but it would be cool to get a perspective from Lexie especially since she’s this artsy chick who goes against all the cliches.

Source: http://elizziebooks.com/2013/07/25/roller-girls-falling-hard-megan-sparks

We can do WHAT now?!

If you didn't catch it earlier, BookLikes announced that we can now customize the HTML on our blogs! Okay, so, my HTML skills are MINIMUM. They added that they'll have stuff for us newbs in the near future, so don't fret about feeling left out for not knowing how to do the HTML version of a double axel. (insert rant about ice skating)

 

Anyway, I AM EXCITED. I like messing with things (in a good way). I can't wait to see what becomes of this!

BookTube-a-thon Read-a-thon Wrap Up!

Source: http://youtu.be/D-mCSmf-EkM

BookTube-a-Thon Update #1! I'll post another update tomorrow night (every-other-day). How's your BookTube-a-thon Read-a-thon going?

A Really Awesome Mess Review

A Really Awesome Mess - 'Trish Cook',  'Brendan Halpin'

As soon as I saw this on NetGalley, I knew I needed to read this book.  Although it's from the perspective of two people going into a school for teenagers with depression and whatnot, there are many laugh-out-loud moments throughout the novel along the moments that were straight-to-the-matter. These two authors did not hold back. These kids get angry, they get frustrated, they start a fight on their first day in Anger Management.  They also devise some pretty awesome schemes, one involving saving a bunch of pigs.  It's life at it's truest, and a novel that will touch your heart no matter what you're going through in life.

 

The characters were so fun and some of the greatest characters I've met.  They make up crude games and make jokes at each other's expense.  They're also very distinguishably different from one another. Everyone is a varying state of mental illness, but then they all have different histories and whatnot that unfold quite beautifully throughout the novel.

 

Oh, and there's cussing and talk about porn and sex. So if you don't care for that, maybe this isn't for you. BUT YOU'RE MISSING OUT. Har har harrrr... Anyway, I live in a place where it's awkward to talk about certain things, but this novel just comes right out and says it. Loved that.

 

Okay, but really. I don't know if anyone needs a trigger warning for this book, but one main character has anorexia and basically 90% of the characters in this book have a mental illness.

 

For Fans of

David Levithan & Rachel Cohn's collaborative novels and The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour.

Source: http://elizziebooks.com/2013/07/15/a-really-awesome-mess-by-trish-cook-and-brendan-halpin-review

Hollywood. 1930s. Three up-and-coming actresses. Pretty dresses. Pretty boys. 

 

Honestly, I liked this book a lot. The writing was magnificent, from the unique characters to the seamless transitions between chapters.  It was interesting to read about our three main characters starting their careers and still making a mess of things, whether it be their fault or the fault of a supposed friend.  And of course it makes a point of showing how women were treated in Hollywood at that time and how that effected their relationships with one another.  

Source: http://elizziebooks.com/post/54944211241/starstruck-by-rachel-shukert-hollywood-1930s

BookTube News: Awesome Recs + Reading Pressure

Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

Spies and Prejudice - Talia Vance

This book is 1/3 Veronica Mars, 1/3 Elizabeth Bennet, and 1/3 Talia Vance's original awesomeness. She took two things I LOOOOVE and took her own spin on it.  Although it's kind of a retelling of Pride & Prejudice, the characters aren't 100% like P&P Characters. Berry Fields is a bit sassy and definitely closed off to most people -- *cough* Tanner. I enjoyed the mix of who-dunnit, romance, and friendship. I kind of guessed the twist, but it didn't make this book any less enjoyable because it's all about the ride getting to that point. It's about Berry's personal growth and trusting people and finding out what happened to her mom on that fateful day 8 years ago.

 

TL;DR - This book was pretty stinkin' awesome. Sometimes a little too close to being Veronica Mars, but as the story moves along, Berry gets into her own trouble. Very enjoyable and fast-paced read.

 

For Fans of: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Veronica Mars, and of course P&P. 

This week's New Release Tuesday featuring lots of awesome books!

When I was first told about this book, I was a bit hesitant. I thought I wouldn’t like it. I remembered back to when I was in high school and saw a Skinny Bitch cook book at the local bookstore and thought that the author was preaching that skinny is the way to be. WRONG.

 

So, what’s a Skinny Bitch? It’s someone who wants to cut the crap out of their lives. In Skinny Bitch in Love, Clementine Cooper helps her vegan cooking class and other clients that cutting the crap foods is one way to do it. Her roommate, Sara, signs up to be the #1 example of how being a Skinny Bitch can really improve her life. She goes on a vegan diet and signs up for Clementine’s cooking class. She also starts auditioning for better roles.

Although Clementine is a vegan evangelist, it’s worked in pretty well into this fictional piece. Although it comes off a bit dictionary-ish at times, she does find herself in some interesting situations including one in which she goes toe-to-toe with Zach Jeffries, the zillionare owner of the steakhouse across the street from her apartment. And you can guess how that goes.

There are a couple of things that I really enjoyed in this novel include the fact that although Zach wants to hand her her dreams on a silver platter, Clementine wants to do it herself on her own terms. Even if it means pissing off Zach. That takes guts. The second thing that I really liked was that there could have been a serious love triangle between three of the characters, but instead Clem — like a true Skinny Bitch — is upfront about who she has feelings for. Oh, and she bakes gluten-free Doctor Who cupcakes at one point.

TL;DR – Loved it. Loved how Clementine wanted to put in the hard work for herself rather than taking short cuts. Loved how all the relationships worked out — other than the backstabber. You’ll have to read it to find out!

Uprising - Jessica Therrien

It probably wasn't a good thing that I somehow forgot half of the previous book before starting Uprising.  It seems to have picked up right where Oppression left off.  

 

Steaminess factor: Not as steamy as Oppression, but there is a BIG reason for that. Well, other than the amount of action and creeping around the evil lair of Christoph.

 

Well, more than one reason, but there's a point when Elyse and William's relationship TOTALLY changes, but the way they deal with their relationship is so well done along with how it's all pulled off thanks to MAGICAL LOVE POWERS OF AWESOME.

 

Originality factor: I really love this spin on children-of-Greek-gods.  The characters have powers that relate to the gods, but they don't rely on the gods to do anything for them.  

 

I also love how humble the main character is.  There's a line where she talks about although she's lived 90 years, she still feels inexperienced to be a leader during such times.  I just thought that that takes courage to admit that.  

 

Overall, decent, quick read. I definitely cannot wait to read the 3rd book in the series! Ah!

Currently reading

The Book Thief
Trudy White, Markus Zusak
VIcious
V.E. Schwab
The Good Life
Trip Lee
Never Have I Ever
Sara Shepard
Being Sloane Jacobs
Lauren Morrill