Top 5 Favorite First Sentences

Hello everyone!
I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite first sentences from books. The first sentence or so are a huge factor in whether you keep reading the book or not. 

1. "They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that’s not how it happened for me."
(Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver)

2. "Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?"
(Matched by Ally Condie)

3. "I curse anyone who reads this book."
(The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich)

4. "At home, I have a poster on my wall of a rose that's bleeding."
(Roseblood by A.G. Howard)

5. "If I had to do it all over again, I would not have chosen this life."
(The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen)

What are some of your favorite first lines in books? 

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous week.

~Abby

Author A-Z Tag

Hello everyone!
Sorry this post is going up a little later than usual. Today I wanted to do the author A-Z tag. It was created by Jen Campbell. You can check out her YouTube video here. For this tag, you basically go through your shelf and find an author for each letter of the alphabet, or if you're missing some letters you choose an author you'd like to read one day. You can also share a book or series that the author has written that you love or would really like to read.

A - Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
B - Leigh Bardugo - Wonder Woman: Warbringer
C - Kiera Cass - The Selection
D - Anthony Doerr - All the Light We Cannot See
E - Richard Paul Evans - Michael Vey
F - Gayle Forman - If I Stay
G - Claudia Gray - A Thousand Pieces of You
H - A.G. Howard - Roseblood
I - Washington Irving - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
J - Victoria Jamieson - All's Faire in Middle School
K - Dawn Kurtagich - The Dead House
L - Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle In Time
M - Tahera Mafi - Shatter Me
N - Jennifer A. Nielsen - The False Prince
O - Lauren Oliver - Before I Fall
P - Aprilynne Pike - Wings
Q - Susan Kaye Quinn - Open Minds
R - Richard Robbins - Becoming Santa
S - Ruta Sepetys - Between Shades of Gray
T - Sabaa Tahir - An Ember in the Ashes
U - Alison Uttley - A Traveller in Time
V - Jules Verne - Around the World in 80 Days
W - C.V. Wyk - Blood and Sand
X - Cao Xueqin - The Golden Days
Y - Malala Yousafzai - I Am Malala
Z - Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

I hope you enjoyed this tag. Let me know who some of your favorite authors are down in the comments. Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Top Twelve Books I Don't Plan on Reading

Hello everyone!

Today I thought I'd share the books I 've lost interest in reading or finishing. 

What are some of the books you aren't interested in reading/finishing anymore?

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day.

~Abby

The Greatest Showman Book Tag

Hello everyone!

Today I felt like doing The Greatest Showman book tag. It is one of my favorite movies and I adore the soundtrack. I first saw this tag over on the Irish Reader's YouTube channel. You can see the video here. 

1. The Greatest Show - A book that is the best book you've read and gave you all the feels.

I'm going to choose Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys to answer this question. I loved this story when I read it and I got very emotionally invested. It's such a good story and has lots of emotions involved.

2. A Million Dreams - A book that left you dreaming about it after you finished it.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I remember after I finished reading this book, I constantly thought about it. I wanted more from the story.

3. Come Alive - A book where a character finally accepts themselves.

Rune from Roseblood by A.G. Howard. She has a unique gift and doesn't accept it until she meets Thorn who helps her adapt to her talent.

4. The Other Side - A book/character that changed your opinion on them.

Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Enough said.

5. Never Enough - An author or book series you could never get enough of.

The Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans. I talk about this series all the time, and I wish there were more books in this series. I love the characters and the relationships they have with one another. 

6. This is Me - A book you love despite everyone hating it.

The Crown by Kiera Cass. A lot of people dislike The Heir/The Crown which are the final books in The Selection series, but I really enjoyed reading them. They aren't as good as the first three, but they're not terrible either.

7. Rewrite the Stars - A bookish OTP that overcomes a lot to finally be together.

Laurel and Tamani from the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike. They make such a great couple and I'm glad they finally ended up together.

8. Tightrope - An author/book series that gives you trust issues.

I'm going to have to go with R.L. Stine. I never know how any of his books are going to end or what is going to happen to any of the characters. His books keep me on the edge of my seat.

9. From Now On - A book you've ignored for so long and finally need to read.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I read the first book two years ago and just haven't gotten around to the second one. I really want to read it soon though.

I hope you enjoyed this tag. Let me know what your answers would be down in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Review: The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to share my review for The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. I just recently finished this book. It's about Carrie Fisher's experience being Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. She recounts different memories, and even shares some events that happened before her Star Wars days. It includes some of her journal entries while filming as well as pictures.

Her sense of humor was great throughout this novel. In almost every story she recounted, there was at least some sarcasm involved or a joke made. This book made me laugh out loud a couple of times. I never realized how funny Carrie Fisher was off-screen. I've only ever seen her as Princess Leia. 

I liked learning a little bit about what it was like filming. She also describes some of her fellow castmates as well as George Lucas. It was fun getting to learn about them through Carrie Fisher's eyes. I do wish there was a little bit more about her experience filming though. It seems like she only skimmed the surface. 

I do think her section about Carrison dragged on a bit. It was about half the novel, and a lot of what she said was repeated in her journal entries. I wish for that part she'd given some insight, and then let the journal entries speak for themselves. 

I ended up rating this book 2.5/5 stars. The story didn't captivate me as much as I wish it had. I am glad I did read about her experience, but I don't know if I'd read it again. I learned a lot more about Star Wars than I had previously known. And I now feel like I know Carrie Fisher a little bit better.

I would love to know what your thoughts on Star Wars are in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Special Valentine's Post

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to share some book recommendations that involve love stories for Valentine's Day. 

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2. Austenland by Shannon Hale

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

4. Love, Lucy by April Lindner

5. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

6. November 9 by Colleen Hoover

7. Avalon High by Meg Cabot

8. Roseblood by A.G. Howard

9. Wings by Aprilynne Pike

10. The Selection by Kiera Cass

What are some of your favorite love stories in books? I'd love to know. Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day.

~Abby

Riverdale Book Tag

Hello everyone!

Today I thought it would be fun to do the Riverdale book tag. Riverdale is one of my favorite shows, and I thought it would be fun to do this book tag. I saw this tag over on Catsandcamera's YouTube channel. You can check the video out here.

1. Archie - A book with great side characters.

I love all the characters in the Michael Vey series (except of course for Hatch and the rest of the Elgen). The Electroclan is such a great team and I adore those characters. 

2. Jughead - A character from a broken home

For this one, I'd have to choose Keefe from the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. He doesn't have a great relationship with either of his parents. His friends are pretty much his family.

3. Veronica - A character who could have been one dimensional

I'd have to pick Marlee from The Selection series. She very easily could've been rude to the rest of the girls in the competition, but she cared about them and wanted the girls to have a chance probably even more than she wanted to win.

4. Betty - A great sibling relationship

One sibling relationship that really sticks out to me is Katniss and Prim from the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss is willing to do anything to protect her sister. 

5. Cheryl - A character who acts tough, but is secretly an emotional wreck

Four from the Divergent trilogy. When Tris first meets Four, he acts tough to hide his feelings. Once she gets to know him, he opens up about his father and it isn't that pretty. 

6. Josie and the Pussycats - A strong female who is more than just their stereotype

The first female that comes to mind is Attia from Blood and Sand. She is a Thracian warrior who is sent to Rome as a slave after some tragic events. Everyone expects her to be an obedient slave, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve.

7. Polly - A character who gets locked up (physically, mentally, emotionally, etc.)

The first character that comes to mind is Carly/Kaitlyn from The Dead House. She is locked in a mental hospital but is also trapped in her mind mentally. It was really interesting reading about her character and the struggles she went through to discover who she really was. 

8. Jason - A character death that broke your heart OR a character death that made you cheer "finally!"

I'm going to answer for both of these. (SPOILER ALERT!) A character's death that broke my heart was Tris from the Divergent trilogy. I didn't see that ending coming, and it broke my heart. A character that I was waiting to die was Queen Elara from the Red Queen series. She was such an evil woman and I couldn't wait for her to die.

9. Riverdale - A world-building win

I'm going to have to use the Keeper of the Lost Cities series again. Shannon Messenger does such a wonderful job in creating the Elvin world. Because of this series, I want to become an elf.

I hope you enjoyed this tag. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Top 10 Underrated Books

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to share some books and series that I think are underrated. 

1. Wings Series by Aprilynne Pike

I love this series to pieces. I haven't really seen anybody else talk about them. They are about fairies and I highly recommend everyone and anyone to read these books.

2. Keeper of the Lost Cities Series by Shannon Messenger
A very good friend of mine recommended these books to me, and I absolutely love them. I'd say, so far the sixth book is my favorite. These books are about elves and they are so unique. Again, I recommend these books to anyone and everyone.

3. Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
This book is so cute! It's about a boy and girl who live in different time periods, but the boy can visit her and they end up liking each other. This book was so good and I wish more people read it/knew about it.

4. Avalon High by Meg Cabot
This book is pretty much a King Arthur retelling set in modern times. I absolutely loved this book. Again, not a lot of people have read it and it's just so good.

5. The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy
This is such a cute book and I think a lot of girls should read it. I love how it's about finding yourself and your own style. I highly recommend this book.

6. Michael Vey Series by Richard Paul Evans
Words cannot describe how much I love these books. It is one of my all-time favorite series, and I wish more people have read them. It's about a group of teens who have electric powers. I cannot recommend this book enough!

7. Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk
This book was only released in January, but I wish more people would read/talk about it. I really enjoyed this book and think it deserves more hype. It's set Rome and has gladiators. It was so good and I highly recommend.

8. Roseblood by A. G. Howard
This book is so far my favorite book of 2018. It is a Phantom of the Opera retelling, and not many people have talked about it. It was so good, and I love this book to pieces.

9. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
I had to read this book for school, and fell in love with it. It messes with your brain and really makes you think about your life. I recommend this book to everybody!

10. Paranormalcy Trilogy by Kiersten White
This trilogy was the first books I ever read by Kiersten White, and I absolutely love them. If you've never read any of her books, I recommend starting with these ones. A lot of people have read her other book And I Darken, but I think this trilogy is better. I wish more people read them.

Those are a few books that I think are underrated. I love them all and hope you found some new books to read. Let me know what books you think are underrated. 

Thanks for stopping by. Have a nice day.

~Abby

On My Shelf Tag

Hello everyone!

I thought it would be fun to do the On My Shelf Tag. I've seen this tag all over booktube and thought it would be fun to do. For this tag, you are given a number and you count the number of books on your shelves for that number and tell the story about that book. I've used random.org to get the numbers I'm using for this tag.

69: Off the Page by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

I saw this book at a thrift store for a good price and thought I'd buy it. I'd heard good things about it, but I still haven't read it. I later got the first book, Between the Lines, so I could read them in order. I hope I like them when I do eventually read them.

65: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I think I got this book at a library book swap. I still have not read it, but the premise sounds very interesting. I really want to read this book eventually.

112: The Snowman by R.L. Stine

I first read this book in fifth grade with my class. I eventually decided to buy it because I loved it so much. I love reading R.L. Stine books, and have quite a few of his books. They're so fun and easy to read.

3: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I originally read this book for English, but I ended up really enjoying it. I found this edition at Barnes and Noble for a really good price and bought myself a copy. I eventually want to read some of Jane Austen's other books.

82: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

This is the third book in the Divergent Trilogy. I mainly have it so I have the complete trilogy. It is my least favorite book in the series, mainly because of the ending. I love the first book though.

54: Every Day by David Levithan

I got this book from Barnes and Noble. They had a table where you could buy 1 book and get 2 free, so this is one of the ones I picked up. I'd heard good things about it, and am really interested in the story. I need to read it before the movie comes out.

17: The Elite by Kiera Cass

This is the second book in The Selection series which is one of my favorite series of all time. This book was a rollercoaster and I love it so much. I do have to say, it is my least favorite cover in the whole series.

86: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

I think I also got this book from a library book swap. The idea of this book really intrigues me, so I thought I'd get it. It's about a girl who is a poison tester, and that's pretty much all I know. I want to pick it up really soon.

128: The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little

I believe I got this book in sixth grade from a family friend. I read it immediately and fell in love with the story. I haven't read it in a while, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of it. It is one of my favorite childhood books.

48: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

I got this book from a library book sale. I mainly got it because of it's cover, but the story also sounded really good. It's about teenagers who spend 172 hours on the moon. That's pretty much all I know about this book. The cover just grabbed my attention and I knew I had to buy it.

I hope you enjoyed this tag. Thanks for stopping by.

~Abby

Review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to share my review of Austenland by Shannon Hale. I really like Shannon Hale as an author and really enjoy her writing style.

Austenland is about Jane Hayes who is living in a fantasy. She is waiting for Mr. Darcy to appear and sweep her off her feet. Her aunt leaves her a trip to Austenland in her will, so Jane feels obliged to go. Once she arrives, she must live for three weeks as if it were the 1800's. While she is there, she tries to get over her Mr. Darcy fantasies. Jane has a hard time determining if the "actors" are acting or if their feelings are real. 

I really enjoyed this novel. I related to Jane feeling like she would never find her perfect guy. It was fun reading about the struggles she went through throughout the book. There were a lot of witty lines, and I found myself laughing throughout this novel. 

Jane did find herself in a love triangle in the book, and I couldn't decide which guy I wanted her to end up with. Mr. Nobley was the perfect Mr. Darcy and Martin reminded her of what life could be like without the Jane Austen fantasy. She is torn between knowing whether Mr. Nobley is just acting or if his feelings are real. 

There is a twist towards the ending that I didn't see it coming. It was a good twist, and it made the love triangle decision an obvious choice. I really enjoyed all of the characters, even if they were "acting". Miss Heartwright was a returning customer and I enjoyed reading about her character and the love story that went on between her character and Captain East. I didn't like her as much towards the ending when it's time for Jane to leave Austenland.

There were parts towards the middle that I had to trudge myself through to get to the ending. They were necessary for the story, but it was hard for those scenes to hold my attention. I would definitely read this book again though. There were also descriptions of her past "boyfriends" between each day she was there. Reading those made me sympathize with her character even more. She'd never had a real boyfriend before, and she compared almost all of the boys she dated to Mr. Darcy. 

Overall, this book was really enjoyable and entertaining. I gave it 4/5 stars. It made me decide to give the movie a shot at some point. Hopefully, it will be just as funny as the book.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

~Abby

Top Ten Book Related Quotes

Hello everyone!

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite book-related quotes, whether it's from a book, from an author, or about reading in general.

1. "A book is a dream that you hold in your hands." -Neil Gaiman 

2. "Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished it just to stay near it." -Markus Zusak

3. "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." -George RR Martin

4. "We could all use a little more weird in our lives." -Fitz Vacker, Exile

5. "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light." -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

6. "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world but you do have some say in who hurts you." -John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

7. "Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you." -Carlos Ruiz Zafn

8. "If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave." -Mo Willems

9. "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." -Paul Sweeney

10. "It's always the fear of looking stupid that stops you from being awesome." -Kiera Cass, The Selection

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know what some of your favorite book quotes are in the comments.

~Abby

January 2018 Wrap Up

Hello everyone!

Today I wanted to share all of the books I read in the month of January. Overall, this month was a pretty good reading month. I read a total of 6 books and DNF'd 2 books.

1. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Series review here.

2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

⭐⭐

3. King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Series review here.

4. Roseblood by A. G. Howard

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review here.

5. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review here.

6. Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard
(Didn't read the second story.)

⭐⭐⭐

7. Blood and Sand by C. V. Wyk

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review here.

8. Legacy of Kings by Eleanor Herman
(I didn't finish this book.)
⭐⭐

Let me know what books you read in January.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

~Abby