Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer REVIEW

After the harrowing experience yesterday, I was very hesitant to continue with my 'to-be-reviewed' books. However, I needed to exercise and finishing these books while exercising has become my motivation lately. I read half of this already at the hospital while my dad was getting surgery but I know all too well that books can go downhill fast. Not that that's what happened yesterday because that whole book was a mess but when a story goes down. It goes down. I really need to find which genre is my palette cleanser.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed it more towards the end but the whole book had this calming effect. The way it was written was just very relaxing to me, I don't know why. There are some funny parts but they're more towards the later half of the book as things are winding down. That doesn't mean that the beginning of the book wasn't entertaining, it just means that the later half was more entertaining than the first.

The one thing that really bothered me was the three chapters used for flashbacks, they were quite boring but I think it's because I'm not  fan of complete flashbacks in books. Especially since the topics covered in the flashbacks were continuously covered throughout the book. So it was an unnecessary three chapters. As if she had to have a certain page count and just decided to throw it in.

Darcy is a nice little character, she's a librarian and a little bit over-dramatic. She makes friends with her summer neighbors. But only half-way through the book. I think that was the biggest problem was that the bulk of the story happened in the second half and it left for really nothing in the first half. She took the first half to set up the location and characters. Other than that the book is great. It's barely 300 pages so it's a pretty quick read and I even had a few laugh out loud moments.

I struggled what to tag this as. Though, after some googling I figured out that women's fiction is an umbrella genre so I tagged with both chick lit and women's fiction because it's definitely chick lit.

Just the Essentials: How Essential Oils Can Heal Your Skin, Improve Your Health, and Detox Your Life by Adina Grigore REVIEW

Some self-help books come off as really boring and judgmental. However, there are some that realize that sometimes humor and approachable language may be a better way to reach people. In general. Reading this, you now know that I reject that in my review writing but prefer it in books. All that being said, I liked this book on an information level and a reading level.

Adina is very passionate about her craft and it shows through this book. It's a lot about Essential Oils and she makes it very easy to understand.

For me, I never really thought about Essential Oils or anything like that, I just like things that smell nice. Very basic stuff over here but after I read this I really felt interested in trying some of this out. Though, probably not until I live on my own and feel secure enough to practice this stuff. Similarly to how I only practice cooking when the parents are working. To avoid unwanted attention. That being said, I think a lot of crafty people could enjoy this.

I was more interested in the recipes in the beginning but then I read the introduction and was just drawn in by Adina's writing style. Evidently, Adina can make awesome products and write well, The envy!

There isn't much to say about the book, it's enjoyable and informative without being too tedious to read. It's nice.

Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels from Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll

Very slowly, I am making it through my netgalley list. Given the fact that the majority of my weekly reading is done on netgalley (the weekends is reserved for physical books) if I do not particularly enjoy a book and it makes me disinterested in reading, it really inhibits my ability to review objectively.

I'll be blunt, I chose to read this book for three very specific reasons; Cleopatra, Lady Gaga, and the title. There were some other things I was interested in; Marie Antoinette, Coco Chanel, Elizabeth I, Nicki Minaj, Marilyn Monroe... There were some people that I just plainly don't like at all, like Rihanna and Madonna but other than that I was just not interested in most of the other people in the book.

The evolution of fashion could not occur without these women that pushed the boundaries and I'm grateful but most of the time if they're not a person in history that I am interested in personally, then I just get bored. I've recently acquired a new boat of confidence after watching Jordan Peele's movie, Get Out, and don't feel the need to feel ashamed about being disinterested about certain things. Of course, with books like this, most people will have the same problems I did but with different people, it's a matter of preference.

I do think that it's a bit wordy, there was definitely some text in there that wasn't needed. In some nonfiction books, there's boxes that are off to the side that has interesting facts that would be otherwise inappropriate to put into the main text, the problem was that none of them were interesting and I found myself skipping over them.

The one thing that I do like about this is that I finally got some base knowledge on Frida Kahlo. I often hear other people gush about her and I never quite understood the hype until I saw her paintings in this book and then I understood. So there's that.

Overall, I enjoyed this. I didn't enjoy it  too much because some parts did bore me to the point where I was struggling with sleep but other than that I have no major complaints. Do recommend, would buy.

Lunarbaboon: the Daily Life of Parenthood by Christopher Grady REVIEW

I'm delighted to say that something that was meant to be humorous actually made me laugh today.

Lunarbaboon is simplistically drawn but makes up for it with great content. We're essentially following the author on his journey through parenthood through the good and bad. As not a parent it's very nice to live vicariously through these people that are parents.

The family in this book is very imaginative. Which is great. I live in a family that's more accomplishment based (which is also okay) and so I've never seen what an imaginative family is like.  They all have fun together and enjoy each other's company but not to the point where it's unrealistic. The author shows that sometimes there's an ulterior motive to what a parent does and this is true.

The book is a collection of comics, so I assume that there's somewhere you can go to get more information on this guy and see more comics but I will not link it here, as I am lazy.

What Waits Beneath by Thomas M. Malafarina REVIEW

I love scary stories. I really do.

What Waits Beneath was decent, it had a somewhat creative plot but the execution was greatly lacking. The ending was pretty bad, as if it was rushed for some odd reason. I know some authors are pushed to write, I just don't think that this author had that problem. The ending wasn't good.

The pieces didn't really fit together in the right way either but I think that's just me being picky about it. There was some time hopping but not enough to bother me that much. I just didn't like the story that much? I think I've read so many better stories like this that in order for me to really enjoy this sort of horror story it has to be really good and this was really meh at best.

There was a portion where there was a point where a demon was talking in a snake voice and even when I took the time to pronounce out what the author typed it came out as something laughable rather than intimidating but maybe that's because I tend to pronounce things in an odd way. Who knows?

The characters were flat and stupid. Like, for some reason, they all talked so much that they're stupid. It was as if the characters were talking or they were staring at the person talking. And it seems like I'm being picky but when the book is nothing but a character talking and someone else looking at them it gets boring. The first chapter is the most interesting part of the book.

All I know is that this book was okay. It wasn't so bad where I didn't finish it but it also wasn't really good, at all. It was meh.

Stitched Volume One by Mariah Huehner REVIEW

Here I am again with the graphic novels. Well, more like there I go again with netgalley even though I have plenty of books to read and have been slacking. It's my goal this week to finish all the books I have in Bluefire.

So Stitched is about a girl name Crimson. She woke up in assumption's cemetery one day nor knowing who she was or where she came from. In reality she looks like a purple little Frankenstein's Monster. It's cute. She meets a small group of friends in this volume, a werewolf, a witch, a vampire, a hedgehog dog thing, and a monster from the blue lagoon? Something like that.

I was instantly pulled in, which is rare since I started delving deep into new books because I read a lot of various things and not everything is immeaduately attention grabbing. I wanted to know about Crimson just like she wanted to know about herself but it's just a first volume so I'm going to have to wait. Please don't keep me waiting long!

The art style is very cute, it reminds me of Invader Zim in a way, in fact, the whole thing kind of had Invader Zim vibes in my opinion.

It's not text heavy so a person could read it pretty quickly, I'd say give it a try.

Unrequited Alice by Sarah Louise Smith REVIEW

As I struggle to get through all of the ebooks that are leeching away at my phone memory, I went with the logical route and decided to start with the books that I have been granted access to read before they came out. Unrequited Alice is one of them, thanks netgalley! I want to point out my huge failure in life when it comes to this and that I have had this for over a month and just read it. The book comes out in two weeks. FML.

So, I haven't read from this author yet but if all of her books are as charming as Unrequited Alice, I might just want all of them.

There's very specific feelings that come with unrequited love. It's really painful and bitter and it's kind of like 'I need to get over this' but then it's like you can't because you're so smitten with this person that will never like you back. I read the title and I was just like 'is this my autobiography?' The answer is no because my name is Hope and Unrequited Hope just sounds super depressing.

The book is charming in it's delivery, we watch two people that are in love pretend that they're not in love. It's that frustration that makes you want to throw your phone out the window. Sarah does this kind of angst well with very subtle humor. The way she writes it makes it seem very true to life. Like, it seems like shit like this could actually happen and I have no doubts that they did. This will probably happen to me one day without the romance aspect.

It was the realism that made me like this. The characters weren't perfect. They were people that have been hurt and act like people that have been hurt. This is how life goes. Of course, the only thing is that a lot of relationships like this don't end in romance and while I was reading in the beginning I dreaded that Sarah was going to go super into the real life aspect and they weren't going to end up together. I wasn't disappointed.

Croc and the Fox by Eve Langlais REVIEW

Hello shame, my name is Hope.

This is my favorite book in the series so far. I loved Renee and her whole dynamic. I loved the fact that she was both a victim and a fighter. I loved how resilient she was. I love how Eve put her in a situation where she was helpless and put her in the position where she was the only one that could do something.

There's critics that will say something like this; "Renee is so unrealistic. She went through so much trauma for so long and she didn't even bat an eye. She recovered so smoothly." NO SHE DIDN'T and let me explain why.

Eve wrote Renee's character really well because Renee went through prolonged trauma. Throughout the majority of the book she is extremely dependent on Viktor. The dependency is typical of a person in Renee's situation. Viktor is who she knows will protect her because Viktor saved her from a bad situation. Renee also is very hesitant around strangers, not just hesitant but very mistrusting and scared around strangers. In fact, Renee spends a large majority of the book afraid. She also made jokes about her situation, which can also occur with some victims. It's not that Renee miraculously healed from her trauma, it's that she's coping with it by ignoring it's severity. There will be a time off-screen when Renee has to deal with her trauma but for now she focuses on things that makes her feel safe and happy.

Since this is a humor based erotica series, Renee kept things really calm and I commend her for this. Leaving Renee's struggles as subtle things is a true to life ordeal for individuals that have experienced prolonged trauma like Renee had. Even speaking from my own experiences after a lifetime of various abuse, a person doesn't notice that something's wrong with me unless something is really wrong, and it's from ignoring the trauma and focusing on other things. I never went through something as extreme as Renee but I understand her and that's what let's me know that how Renee is doesn't mean that she's okay, it just means that it's not the focal point for Renee. She's focusing on Viktor and in the future when she finds it to be the right time to face her trauma in a way where she can really heal, she has Viktor and her mom to support her.

That being said, the plot for this book was better than the one in the second book because Renee was a shifter that was experimented on by the mastermind. This book was a perfect puzzle piece to the rest where the second book was just kind of 'meh' and that was good. I have to say that this is my favorite book thus far.

Also, the fact that my erotica tag is getting bigger and has no signs of shrinking.... I feel shame.

Swan and the Bear by Eve Langlais REVIEW

Last review I expressed my small amounts of shame while reading the first book in this series. The fact that I read this in daylight with the parents in the room next door... Somehow the shame intensified? Only a little bit.

I loved Jessie, she's that wonderful mix of sass and smarts that I love in a main character. Mason, I didn't like so much. He wasn't that bad (a little pushy) but it was more like Mason wasn't in my tastes.

The story? Well, it was a strong okay. I felt as if the author wanted the story to intertwine so cleanly that she'd make up any reason for the bad guys to go after the main characters. Miranda is always the main goal but instead of legit trying to find Miranda they go through a huge amount of loops and turns to not really find Miranda. YEAH. It seemed as if it was all by chance. Plot convenience.

I feel as if there were better ways to incorporate Miranda and Mason into the big entanglement of plot instead of using them as an accessory to Miranda's timeline WHILE pretending that this plot is unique to Mason and Jessie. It isn't and I can't really let that go.

However, I did still enjoy this and I still wish that I could own the books physically. SHAME.

New American Best Friend by Olivia Gatwood REVIEW

So, I won this in a goodreads giveaway and it's not a normal occurrence where my review would be the first review on a book that I actually liked... This is a special occurrence, nay, an achievement. Small battles people, small battles.

Usually, I don't like poetry, I mean, I love poetry, but most people don't do it right. Maybe they write it the right way but any idiot that can rhyme can write crappy poems. It takes real talents to make it into something worth reading. I genuinely think that this is something worth reading.

Not only is this poetry a nice reading experience but there's a heavy truthfulness to it. In truth some of the titles sound like they could belong to my own life story. Odd how some things are so relatable in such a way.

In all honesty, I find this as a very tranquil and dark read that switches back and forth oddly. Some stories are about just generally growing up and others about other things. If you're a fan of the by the book poetry where you have to know every ounce of symbolism in existence to understand maybe you won't like this. I mean, some people have that compulisve need to feel like they're better than everyone else BUT if you want poetry that feels real and raw, I would suggest this. It's pretty good.

Naked In Death by J.D. Robb REVIEW

Instead of reading any of my bulk of books in my 'to review' pile I opted to start and audiobook. If you don't know. The In death series is a series that is 45 books long. Naked in Death is the first. I devoted 10 hours of my life listening to the book that I could've read in two hours (no longer 3 accomplishment!)

Overall the story was okay. It has a really strong emotional aspect that Robb hopes distracts you from the plot details but it doesn't. The setting doesn't work. Seeing as this particular book was written in 1993 the future was not that different from the time of 1993. You could say that in that aspect she succeeded because it's not that different from this current time either but when it comes to science fiction (which at this point it is) it fails. You can't just add fancy tech and robots and expect people to believe it. I legitimately forgot the setting nearly every chapter and that's kind of disappointing.

There's also problems with the way the story went down because it would not happen that way (it wouldn't). If it was the real world Eve would be out of a job (rightfully so) and even if she didn't the crime wouldn't have been resolved the way it had been. If you've read this, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Roarke is a cookie cutout of a male character but I have no complaints because rich Irish men is dreamy. Only in romance novels though. Most characters in this book was a cookie cutout, which, I mean is kind of disappointing because Nora Roberts has written more books than the years that I've been alive times 3. However, what sells sells right?

I'd suggest this book only if you're looking for something to lightly enjoy. Fans of romance novels might enjoy this but mind the subject matter because it gets really dark.

Bunny and The Bear by Eve Langlais REVIEW

The last time such a book as this came onto this blog, I feigned innocence because I honestly didn't know what I was getting myself into. In this case, I can't do that. I knew what I was doing when I decided to listen to this on audiobook at 2am. I am not ashamed.

I'm a little bit ashamed.

Now, for an erotica this is pretty fun? Eve mixes humor and sexual tension really well. This must be one of the most ridiculous eroticas that I have encountered in my few months of reviewing books but then I think about Small Favors and change my mind. There's some weird things out there people. A bunny and a bear have sex in this book in human form like how am I supposed to review this with a straight face? The answer is that my lips are on the left side of my face as I type this.

All jokes aside I actually enjoyed this. There was humor and it was something different. Definitely different. I liked it enough to want to read the rest of the series and to own physical copies? If possible?

This review isn't in depth because at it's core this book is erotica. If you pick up this book looking for something extraordinary, you're not going to find it. However, if you want to have a little fun, then by all means read it.

The Flinestones Volume 1 by Mark Russell REVIEW

So, I'm a little bit too young to say that The Flinstones was an active part of my childhood. I don't really know when the cartoon started but it was not in the 90s. I'm pretty sure. However, I did watch a lot of Flinstones. Well, not a lot, mostly the live action movie but I'm sure if I had watched the cartoon I would have been content with that.

I'll take the evidence of my content mess being how much I liked this graphic novel. It was much faster than the Scooby Doo Apocalypse thing I read last week. Maybe I just like dinosaurs more than monsters? That has to be it.

The content is both humorous and reflective of events happening in our lives. I'm not talking about the severe SJW crap. I mean the things that most people agree with (real human problems). However, most of it is absurd and that' she okay with me.

The art I liked it a lot more than Scooby Doo as well. It just seemed better. As I'm writing this I'm not entirely sure of the artist but I'm very confident they're not the same as the one who illustrated Scooby Apocolypse. Not that that art wasn't good it just wasn't appealing to my eyes.

I definitely think that people that liked The Flinstones would like this comic. To me, it's not really any different.

The 'Oh My Goodness It's February' Playlist

Hey, happy March! I collected songs that are new to me in February and put it in a playlist on youtube. Since it's now March, I thought I would share these songs with you. I have two books to review and will do so soon. Within this week most likely.

o1. Helium ;; Sia
Okay, so I saw Fifty Shades Darker with my best friend this month and I thought it was pretty good. But the movie doesn't really matter because the fucking soundtrack is awesome. Helium was my favorite song in the soundtrack and it's the one that I continued to listen to throughout the month so it made it to the final version of the playlist. It just seems like Sia can do no wrong in music.

o2. How Would You Feel by Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran is coming out with a new album this week and fuck me I am ready. How Would You Feel was one of my favorites of the songs that have been released ahead of the album and I listened to Eraser and LOVED IT but I can just listen to How Would You Feel for days. I have suspicions that there will be a lot of Ed Sheeran on next month's playlist. I can't wait!

o3. I Believe In You - Michael Buble
Oh Michael Buble, when he has a good song it's fucking good. The video and the song kind of tugged on my oh so sensitive period driven heart strings and made me cry. The song wasn't a hard obsession like some of the other songs on the playlist but this song is just so good. Not just catchy good but definitively good.

o4. I'll Follow You . Shinedown
This song almost didn't make it through my great purging of this playlist last week but I ended up keeping it because I really do like it. There's no legit reason for my affection of it. It just sounds nice.

o5. John Wayne ;; Lady Gaga
I just love Lady Gaga okay. So far, this album has been a big win. I didn't really like her last album but I like this one a lot more. I didn't like this song when I first heard it but the third time I heard it I loved it. Plus the music video is really cool.

o6. It Ain't Me by Kygo & Selena Gomez
There's nothing really special about this song it's just really catchy and the lyrics sound nice. Overall it suits Selena's voice and it's a nice listening experience.

o7. Ciao Adios - Anne-Marie
One of those badass breakup songs. I just like the sass man.

o8. Beauty and the Beast ; Ariana Grande & John Legend
One of my favorite songs as a kids and of course I'm going to love the remake if it's done by Ariana Grande and John Legend. It just sounds so nice.

o9. I Don't Wanna Live Forever . ZAYN
The original version of this song sucked. I don't know what went wrong but I suspect that the original tempo didn't suit Zayn's voice and Taylor just did that screeching that she's prone to do. However, this acoustic version is vastly superior. I feel that it suits the lyrics a lot better. Just my opinion.

1o. Our Tears by Hyorin & Park Seojun
This was my favorite song of this month. Hands down, goodbye, everyone go home. It sounds so nice and the lyrics are so good. This song made me want to watch the whole fucking drama. I haven't but it made me want to. I listen to this song probably five times a day at least. It's just too good. Too good.