Friday, June 29, 2018

10 Perfect Summer Reads!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be sharing ten books that I think are perfect for summer. For all my northern hemisphere readers, these books will be perfect whether you are lounging by the pool or are heading in for that miraculous air conditioning. For my southern hemisphere readers, I hope you enjoy these come December!

Without further ado, here are 10 books that I think are perfect for the summer!

Now, I don't know about you but when I think summer reads I immediately think: contemporary. Summer romance, summer jobs, getting ready for college, everything! BUT I do know that some of you don't like contemporary, so I'll make sure that there are some books outside of that genre.

Here are 7 contemporary reads! 

10) Dating You/Hating You and Roomies by Christina Lauren
I had to have a two in one here! I recently read both of these books by Christina Lauren and thought they were the perfect summer reads. They are both romance novels, but have that fun spirit I associate with new adult reads. The chemistry is off the charts, and the plots suck me in!

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

BOOK REVIEW | From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Title: From Twinkle, With Love
Author: Sandhya Menon
Series? No
Pages: 336
Publication Date: May 22, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: I received an e-arc of From Twinkle, With Love via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Simon & Schuster!

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Friday 56 and Book Beginnings! No. 15

Hey everyone and welcome back (or to!!) my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Friday 56 and Book Beginnings. They are hosted by Freda's Voice and Rose City Reader, respectively!

The rules are simple for both. For the Friday 56, we turn to page 56 or 56% in our e-reader and highlight a passage of any book! Book Beginnings is where you feature the first sentence (or so) of a book and give your thoughts and impressions.

This weekend I'll be featuring Dating You Hating You by Christina Lauren! 

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Series I Won't be Continuing

Hi everyone and welcome back (or to!) my blog! I wasn't sure what to post today, but I have seen some other posts around similar to this one, and decided to add my two cents in. I've been feeling under the weather recently, but hopefully I'll be able to get my posts up in time! I have a pretty bad headache from all my congestion, which has allowed me to just relax, color, and listen to some audiobooks though, so that's my silver lining! 

Without further ado, here are some series I won't be continuing (as of now). I'm a mood reader, and though I'm pretty certain in my choices today, I just might feel an urge to pick the series back up down the road. 


I enjoyed The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles enough, but I don't feel compelled to continue on with the series. This seems to be a duology, but I don't want to read a book just for the sake of finishing a series. 



I have very mixed feeling on Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation. Man, these Jeff's aren't pulling through, haha! :D There were times when I was invested in the plot, but I didn't like the narrator's voice. While my sister is going to be continuing with the series, I didn't enjoy the first book enough to warrant reading another two. I'll just learn what happens in the next two books from her. 


Don't get me wrong, Unblemished by Sara Ella wasn't a bad book. In fact, after getting through the exposition, I enjoyed myself. But I don't feel any pull towards reading the sequels, and I know that if I do, I'll just be adding a less than raving review on goodreads. 

Monday, June 18, 2018

BOOK REVIEW | 180 Seconds by Jessica Park

Title: 180 Seconds
Author: Jessica Park
Series? No, 180 Seconds is a standalone novel.
Pages: 300
Publication Date: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Skyscape
Source: I bought the paperback edition of 180 Seconds from Amazon.
Some people live their entire lives without changing their perspective. For Allison Dennis, all it takes is 180 seconds…

After a life spent bouncing from one foster home to the next, Allison is determined to keep others at arm’s length. Adopted at sixteen, she knows better than to believe in the permanence of anything. But as she begins her third year in college, she finds it increasingly difficult to disappear into the white noise pouring from her earbuds.

One unsuspecting afternoon, Allison is roped into a social experiment just off campus. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a crowd, forced to interact with a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Neither she, nor Esben Baylor, the dreamy social media star seated opposite her, is prepared for the outcome.

When time is called, the intensity of the experience overwhelms Allison and Esben in a way that unnerves and electrifies them both. With a push from her oldest friend, Allison embarks on a journey to find out if what she and Esben shared is the real thing—and if she can finally trust in herself, in others, and in love.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

BOOK REVIEW | Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Title: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Series? Yes, the first in a duology
Pages: 373
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Source: I checked out the hardcover edition of Breathe from my local library.
The world has no air. If you want to survive, you pay to breathe. But what if you can't? And what if you think everything could be different? Three teens will leave everything they know behind in Sarah Crossan's gripping and original dystopian teen novel of danger, longing, and glimmering hope.

Ever since the Switch, when the oxygen levels plummeted and most of humanity died, the survivors have been protected in glass domes full of manufactured air. Protected . . . or trapped? Or controlled? Alina's a revolutionary who believes we can save the environment. Quinn's a Premium who's never had to worry about having enough air. His best friend, Bea, is an Auxiliary who's never worried about anything but having enough air. When the three cross paths, they will change everything.

Monday, June 11, 2018

Matching YA Books with Taylor Swift's Reputation

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'm going to be finding a book that goes hand in hand with the songs from Taylor Swift's newest album, Reputation. I've been a long time Swiftie, so I wanted to give a Taylor Swift spin to my content here at Ready, Set, Read!

Each song from Reputation will be matched to a book, and I'll also be putting the lyrics from the song that best correlate to the book! There are 15 songs in the album, and therefore 15 books on this list!


Lyrics

I-I-I see how this is gon' go
Touch me and you'll never be alone
I-Island breeze and lights down low
No one has to know

Why?
Nantucket Blue follows main character Cricket, and her secret summer romance with her best friend's brother. During the summer, she is on Nantucket Island. I thought the lyrics about the island breeze and no one knowing fit well with the general plot! 

Friday, June 8, 2018

Friday 56 and Book Beginnings! No. 14

Hey everyone and welcome back (or to!!) my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Friday 56 and Book Beginnings. They are hosted by Freda's Voice and Rose City Reader, respectively!
The rules are simple for both. For the Friday 56, we turn to page 56 or 56% in our e-reader and highlight a passage of any book! Book Beginnings is where you feature the first sentence (or so) of a book and give your thoughts and impressions.



This week I'll be featuring Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk. If you want to learn more about the YA Spartacus reimagining, check out the goodreads page here!  


Book Beginnings!


When I picked Blood and Sand up, this opening line made me continue reading! This line stands as its own paragraph, so I kept reading to figure out who this mysterious "them" are. The second paragraph delves further into these slaves, who are a group of women who are about to be sold, including our main character. 

Monday, June 4, 2018

BOOK REVIEW | Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Title: Frostfire
Author: Amanda Hocking
Series? Yes, the first in a trilogy, the Kanin Chronicles
Pages: 321
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Source: I checked out Frostfire at my local library.

The first book in a magical new YA series from New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking that invites readers back to the beloved world of the Trylle.

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes. Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royalty. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden. But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero who she once loved – appears to be up to something dangerous, kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

Friday, June 1, 2018

Friday 56 and Book Beginnings! No. 13

Hey everyone and welcome back (or to!!) my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Friday 56 and Book Beginnings. They are hosted by Freda's Voice and Rose City Reader, respectively!
The rules are simple for both. For the Friday 56, we turn to page 56 or 56% in our e-reader and highlight a passage of any book! Book Beginnings is where you feature the first sentence (or so) of a book and give your thoughts and impressions.

It's been a hot minute since I've done these posts, but I want to make it a regular feature again. I love making graphics, and hopefully it's something I can get better at. Also, it gives me some great time to listen to my audiobook as I work. :)

This week I'll be featuring Breathe by Sarah Crossan. If you want to learn more about the YA dystopia, check out the goodreads page here!  

Book Beginnings!

In my opinion, this is a wonderful opening line. When I read the first chapter for a previous post (link here), I was intrigued right from the get-go! It sets ups the world: air is now a commodity, and introduces the character as rebellious. 

Friday 56!

At the moment I made these graphics and am writing this post, I haven't gotten to this part of the book. After this line, I'm interested to see what exactly happened, and why no one can seem to find the words or noise. 

I edited both of these photos with canva. The images were from their stock images selection, which gets images from both Pixabay and Unsplash.
 Have you read Breathe? What did you think? Share some of your favorite opening lines of a book down below!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you soon with another post!

If you participated in either meme this week, don't be shy to leave a link to your post. I'd love to see some new blogs and get to know some more bloggers better. :)

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!