Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I'm Thankful For

In no particular order:

 

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch

1. Divergent

2. Insurgent

3. Wild

4. A Walk in the Woods

5. Papertowns

6. Frankenstein (hello, Daniel Radcliffe)

7. Horns (again, Daniel)

8. If I Stay

9. The Spectacular Now

10. The Help

Book Review: Dumplin'

From Goodreads: Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

My thoughts: So I had somehow not been aware of this book until about a month before it came out when my Twitter feed exploded with people posting about it. I resisted the hype for maybe a week before finally going to Goodreads to see what this was all about. I then immediately put in a library hold for this book. I had to read it.

As someone who was very similar to Willowdean in high school I felt a good connection to her. I honestly wish this book had been around when I was a young adult. I think 15 year old me really should have been able to read this. Willowdean is such a kick ass character. She's lively, she's feisty, she's smart, she's brave, she's insecure, she's figuring it all out still. She's amazing. 

I loved this book and it made me go look up more than one Dolly Parton song on Youtube, which I call a good thing. 


Image source

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Authors I Really Want To Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is a fantastic blog series hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This seemed like a fun topic to jump back in on the TTT bandwagon.

1. Diana Gabaldon. Aka, Herself. I'm a huge fan of the Outlander series and love her writing. I think I'd probably be rendered mute if I met her though.

2. Sarah Dessen. There are so many things I love about Dessen. She writes amazing books with amazing characters and plots, she is fantastic at creating places that you can just perfectly visualize, she drops in things from her previous books, like a band or a character at a coffee shop, so perfectly it doesn't feel forced, and she is so incredibly friendly, modest, and supportive of other people on social media. And she seems like the kind of person where you just know she's being genuine and not putting on an act.

3. John Green. My introduction to Green was when my friend Andea forced me to read TFIOS. I still owe her for that. Green creates some amazing characters, seriously Hazel Grace is fantastic. Plus I love how much he loves my favorite city.

4. Jen Lancaster. I don't just want to meet Lancaster, I want her to take me under her wing and be one of her besties. I love her sense of humor, her sarcastic wit (we have that in common), and the way she tells a story. Plus I love that she's an animal rescuer as well, that's definitely the key to my heart.

5. Emery Lord. Lord is another author that I have some friends to thank for introducing me to. She's also another one that is so incredible friendly, down to Earth, and supportive on social media. Plus when the Start of Me and You came out she sent people who preordered some swag and mine came with the nicest note based on the email I'd sent her. Anyone who takes the time to really read your email and personalize their response in the midst of a book coming out is extra amazing.

6. JK Rowling. Does this one really need an explanation? Her mind created Harry Potter, enough said.

7. Stephanie Perkins. Yet another author who seems so down to Earth, so supportive of others, and just genuinely nice. Plus she created Anna, Lola, and Isla and I'd really love to thank her for this is person.

8, 9, 10. I'm cheating a little here. Melissa Landers, Jessica Love, and Kelsey Macke are friends of mine, who at this point I only know through the wonderful thing that is the internet. Even though I've never had the chance to sit across a table from them I genuinely consider them my friends. However, I also consider them amazing authors and I'd love the chance to sit down with them and discuss the characters and places they've created.

Book Review: The Royal We

From Goodreads: "I might be Cinderella today, but I dread who they'll think I am tomorrow. I guess it depends on what I do next." 

American Rebecca Porter was never one for fairy tales. Her twin sister, Lacey, has always been the romantic who fantasized about glamour and royalty, fame and fortune. Yet it's Bex who seeks adventure at Oxford and finds herself living down the hall from Prince Nicholas, Great Britain's future king. And when Bex can't resist falling for Nick, the person behind the prince, it propels her into a world she did not expect to inhabit, under a spotlight she is not prepared to face.

Dating Nick immerses Bex in ritzy society, dazzling ski trips, and dinners at Kensington Palace with him and his charming, troublesome brother, Freddie. But the relationship also comes with unimaginable baggage: hysterical tabloids, Nick's sparkling and far more suitable ex-girlfriends, and a royal family whose private life is much thornier and more tragic than anyone on the outside knows. The pressures are almost too much to bear, as Bex struggles to reconcile the man she loves with the monarch he's fated to become.

Which is how she gets into trouble.

Now, on the eve of the wedding of the century, Bex is faced with whether everything she's sacrificed for love-her career, her home, her family, maybe even herself-will have been for nothing.

Spanning nearly a decade, The Royal We is a richly imagined, emotionally compelling novel that examines, with warmth and wit, what truly happens after your prince has come. 

My Thoughts: So first things first, I'm a royalty/royal-history nerd. Always have been, way before Kate sashayed down that infamous runway. I've read numerous books and tons of articles about various royals and periods of royal history, I even took a British history class in college because my royal love leads easily into a love for England and all things British. I woke up crazy early to watch Diana's funeral and praised the world for DVR as I recorded Will and Kate's wedding. All this to say that it's not surprising that I read this book, though I wasn't entirely sure how it would go when I started it.

I needn't have worried; this book is fantastic. It is obviously inspired by Will and Kate but there are enough differences and areas where this story branches off that it easily kept me entertained. Actually, that's an understatement. I adored this book. I could not put it down, and when I did manage to set it down (darn work) I was thinking about Bex and Nick and all the other characters. The authors paint such vivid settings and have such detailed, interesting characters that everything just comes to life. I finished this a week ago and honestly these characters are still in my head. That's a great sign. I seriously recommend this. 

Book Review - Faking It by Leah Marie Brown

From Goodreads: Haven't you ever told a little lie in the name of love?

Vivia Grant couldn’t be happier. She has her dream job and is about to marry her dream man. Does it really matter that she’s led him to believe she’s a virgin? After all, being in love makes every experience feel like the first time anyway! But an unexpected encounter with an ex-lover is about to expose her embarrassing lie…

When Vivia’s fiancé discovers the truth, he ends their engagement—via text—and uses his connections to get her fired. Unemployed and heartbroken, Vivia begins planning her new future—as a homeless spinster. But her best friend has a better idea. They’ll skip the Ben & Jerry’s binge and go on Vivia’s honeymoon instead. Two weeks cycling through Provence and Tuscany, with Luc de Caumont, a sexy French bike guide. Too bad Vivia’s not a big fan of biking. And she’s abysmal at languages. Will she fib her way through the adventure, or finally learn to love herself—and Luc—flaws and all? 

My Thoughts: This was a very cute book. Vivia had to grow on me a bit, but once she did I really liked her. However I liked her bff, Fanny, from the get go. I think everyone needs a Fanny in their life.

Honestly, there were a few parts of this story that were very far-fetched but overall it works very well and has good flow. It's a very fun, lovely read and I think it would be perfect for a beach or pool side read this summer. Also, I adore this cover.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a review however all opinions are my own. 

Hello Again

Well hello, again. Long time no see. I've decided that life has slowed down enough around here and I've finally got the inclination to blog again, so I'm resurrecting the ole blog. My plan is for this to be all things bookish, so let's get reading, shall we?