We Should Hang Out Sometime || Review

"Rejection is just pure pain, and fighting emotion with logic is like bringing a calculator to a knife fight. You're going to get stabbed in the heart, and there's nothing your precious numbers can do to protect you."

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

'We Should Hang Out Sometime' is a memoir written by Youtuber, Josh Sundquist. When Josh was twenty-five years old he came to the realisation that he has never had a girlfriend. He proceeded to recall his almost relationships and talked to each girl to try to figure out what went wrong and why his almost relationships never became actual relationships, and wrote about it. The result was a hilariously awkward and honest memoir that was a really quick, fun and entertaining read.

The Liebster Award

I was nominated by the lovely Josiah from The Bookish Fanboy for the Liebster Award, thank you so much Josiah!!

I really like the idea of this award. The premise is that by being nominated and by nominating others, we can promote bloggers, big or small, and connect through our hobby of blogging. By being nominated, I have to do the following: 

Rules:

- Link back to the person that nominated you for this award.

- Give 11 random facts about yourself. 

- Answer 11 questions from your nominator.

- Nominate 11 bloggers.

- Come up with 11 questions for your nominees and inform them that you have nominated them.

11 random facts:

1. I'm a Slytherin.

2. My favourite foods are burritos and sushi.

3. When I get bubble tea, I almost always get green tea mango, or lychee milk tea.

4. I only started collecting books last year.

5. Currently, I have just over 70 books in my collection.

6. The Hunger Games trilogy is what got me into reading voraciously.

7. I was born in the Philippines.

8. I moved to Australia 7 years ago.

9. My favourite subject at school is Literature.

10. My biggest fear is spiders and dying alone (as in physically alone and no one being there when I die)

11. My favourite city is San Francisco. 

11 questions from Josiah:

1. What is your favourite book of all time?

Ahhh, this is so hard because my fave book of all time changes depending on what I've read recently. But currently, it's All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

2. Do you read while eating?

No, I find it gets quite messy quite easily

3. Physical books or ebooks?

Physical books, mainly because I don't have a Kindle

4. Hardbounds or paperbacks?

I own more paperbacks because hardbacks are hard to come across by in Australia (plus, they're super expensive) but I love the look and the feel and the durability of hardbacks more. However, paperbacks are so much easier to carry around because they're so light. So both!

5. What book do you wish to become a movie but never heard about movie rights?

Wonder by R.J. Palatio. I could've chosen so many other books for this question but ultimately, I think this book would really transfer onto the movie screen quite well. Not also that, but I think a lot of children, young or old, will benefit from having seen it because it deals with the topics of self-acceptance, confidence, friendship and bullying quite well.

6. Do you listen to music while reading?

No, I find it too hard to concentrate.

7. Who is the author you really want to meet?

John Green!

8. How many books do you finish reading a month?

Usually 2-3, depending on how busy I am at school. I read 4-5 if the month has a holiday break.

9. Buying books from bookstores or online shopping?

Bookstores. Nothing beats walking in and smelling the scent of new books and walking around until you find that book you've been searching for.

10. If you are going to another country for vacation and you could only bring one book you've already read, what book would it be?

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I actually first read this book while on holiday and loved it!

11. For you, what book/s changed your life the most?

I have a few for this question. I won't go into detail but the books that changed my life the most is The Hunger Games trilogy, All the Bright Places, and More Than This.

My questions for the nominees:

1) When did you become an avid reader?

2) What are you currently reading and how are you liking it so far?

3) Top 3 overhyped books (i.e. the books everyone loves but you didn't like that much)?

4) Most anticipated book release for 2015?

5) What Hogwarts house do you belong in, or if you're not signed up to Pottermore, what house do you think you belong in?

6) A character you love to hate?

7) Your OTP?

8) Your guilty pleasure read?

9) A character everyone loves but you despise?

10) Your favourite book quote?

11) A book you are willing to read, or have read, over and over and over again?

I nominate:

Kevin from Tomebound

Tracey from YA Book Addict

Aimee from Deadly Darlings

Candy from The Bookish Girl

Jane from The Bookdragon

Eunice from Nerdytalks
Nana from Book Adventures of Nana

(I know that's not 11 nominees, but I don't follow that many blogs, if you want to do this, then consider yourself nominated!)

April Wrap-up

I want to begin by saying the month of April was a great reading month. I haven't read this much in one month in a long time and I am over the moon about it! After being in a slump for a month and a bit, I'm so glad to finally be out of it. So without further ado, here are the books I read last month. I would also love to know what books you read last month and what you thought of them!

All the Bright Places || Review

"I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it. I learned that not everyone is disappointing, including me, and that a 1,257-foot bump in the ground can feel higher than a bell tower if you're standing next to the right person."

Star Rating: 5 out of 5

'All the Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven follows the story of a boy, Theodore Finch, and a girl, Violet Markey. Finch suffers from depression, and is suicidal. Violet is coming to terms with her sister's death. One day, they meet on top of the school's bell tower and the story begins. It's a beautiful and poignant story, documenting the way these characters impact each other's lives. It deals with important issues that I believe is really important, but very difficult, to talk about, exploring the stigma around mental illnesses and how we, as people, as a society, deal with them, and how we should be dealing with them.

Red Queen || Discussion and Review

"Many things lead to this day, for all of us. A forgotten son, a vengeful mother, a brother with a long shadow, a strange mutation. Together, they've written a tragedy."

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 

'Red Queen' by Victoria Aveyard is set in a world divided into two - into the elite Silvers, who have power and abilities, and the poverty-stricken Reds, who are doomed to live serving the Silvers. The book follows the story of a girl called Mare Barrow, a Red girl who will soon be conscripted, but due to unforeseen circumstances, finds herself in the midst of the royal Silvers with a power of her own. A power she should not have. I'll leave the synopsis at that because I think it's best if you go into this book not knowing a whole lot about the plot. Now, for the spoiler-free review.

'Red Queen' is an amazing read, with a great and interesting cast of characters. Some of them are loveable, some are snarky, some are scary, and some you can't even make your mind up about because they're that complex. The plot of the book is fantastic! There are so many twists and turns that I definitely did not see coming, and if I take one thing away from this book it is that anyone can betray anyone. The pacing was also very well done, I always looked forward to turning the page, wanting to know what happens next. Until of course, I got closer to the end, and I dreaded turning the page, knowing that soon I'll finish the book and I will have to wait for the sequel to find out more. This book is just that great!

The tone of the book, to me, was reminiscent of 'Throne of Glass', so I'll say that if you're a fan of that series, definitely pick up 'Red Queen'. Even if you're not a fan of 'Throne of Glass', even if you're only very slightly interested in Silver-blooded metahumans, pick up 'Red Queen' anyways because you will love it more than you might think you will. That's it for the spoiler-free section of this review, so if you haven't read the book go and read it and come back. If you have read the book, click below to read more about my thoughts.