April Wrap Up!

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I am going to be wrapping up April. Though April was an extremely busy month for me (I've been prepping for AP exams the whole month and finals are looming) I kind of got back in my groove. I read a total of 9 books today, which is better than normal this year. I am slowly but surely catching up to my goodreads goal. 

As for personal life, things are pretty hectic. I finally put in my deposit for college (I'm going to UNC Chapel Hill and I cannot wait!!!) and now I am going through the housing process. The next chapter in my life is so close I can taste it. My courses should be taking a breather quite soon. After AP exams, we don't have anything to do. As long as I keep my absences low, I'm exempt from the finals because I'm a senior! 

May should be a great month for me. The school year is almost done and I'll be able to read, relax, and hang out with my friends. I'm hoping that with this extra down time I start to hike a bit more. I'm not too experienced, but I have this hike I'm planning with my friends this summer and want to be prepared. 

ANYWAYS, enough of my blabbering and let's recap the 9 books I've read! I tried to review all of the books I've read, and only missed three. You'll see these review this month though. :)

1) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare


This is the second book in Clare's Infernal Devices Trilogy and I absolutely loved it! So far it is my favorite of all of Cassie's books, and as of now I am reading the last book in the trilogy. Cassandra's writing has improved so much throughout the series and I'm having so much fun. You can read more of my thoughts in my review, which is linked down below.

2) Better Than Perfect by Simone Elkeles
If I had one word to describe this book, it is ouch. This book hurt to read. I have loved Elkele's other books, and this was just a huge letdown. The characters were flat and cliche, and I didn't care for the plot or anything, really. This book wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either.

3) The Last Virgin Standing
To be honest, I should have never read this book. There are some underlying themes that quite honestly go against everything I stand for. The whole book makes a game out of virginity. It is described as being "taken" and girls are objectified left and right. They are pawns in this sick game of high-schoolers trying to have sex with as many virgins as possible. I don't recommend this book at all if you believe in, I don't know, equality?? Hmm, what an interesting concept...
 
4) World After by Susan Ee
World After was so damned good. World After is the sequel to Angelfall, which I read just over a year ago and loved. I took some time in between so my expectations wouldn't be too high, and I'm glad I did! At first, I didn't remember much but it all came flooding back. This summer I am hoping to finish off the trilogy with End of Days. 
 
5) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare 
City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in Clare's Mortal Instruments series. I'm reading her books by publication date, so I read this directly after reading The Clockwork Prince. I couldn't help but compare the two, and luckily they both shaped up! So far I am liking the trilogy more, but that has more to do with the characters, who I just care more about. Don't be surprised to see that I'll finish TMI and TID this May. :)
 
6) Alex, Approximately by Jen Bennett
Alex, Approximately was my favorite book of this month! It was a close call with this and The Clockwork Prince, which was astounding, but this takes the cake. It's been such a long time when I have just sat down and READ, and this book allowed me to do so. I was completely immersed in this story, and right when I get the chance, I am going to the bookstore and buying it. That's saying a lot, considering I'm a stickler and hate spending money! 
 
7) By Your Side by Kasie West
By Your Side, though not my favorite of the month, was my best surprise. I read one book by West, The Fill in Boyfriend, and didn't enjoy it. At all. However, I really liked this one! Though the characters could have been fleshed out more, By Your Side was pure fun to read. I'm going to be reading more of West in the near future not to just form an opinion but because I'm genuinely interested now!
 
8) Death Sworn by Leah Cypess
Death Sworn is one of those books I know I won't remember too much by year's end. It was good, but not great. This fantasy novel didn't really stand out from the crowd, but I'm not mad at it either. The last portion of the book was done pretty well, and I will be continuing and finishing this series with its sequel relatively soon. If I feel like it, I might listen to the audiobook  this May.  


9) Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
Mask of Shadows, unfortunately, was a huge disappointment for me. I just couldn't get into it no matter how hard I tried. There was nothing tying me down to the story; the whole time I read it I was reading something else I was more interested in. The characters and plot fell flat for me and I was uninterested. This book is about war and assassins, and I was bored out of my mind for most of it. However, the very end of the book was great. I don't think I'll be continuing on with the series, but I might check out more of Miller's books in the future because she holds promise! 

Posts of the Month!

BOOK REVIEW | Pretty Fierce by Kieran Scott
March Wrap Up!
Author Q&A | Kieran Scott
Waiting on Wednesday #23
BOOK REVIEW |  Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare 
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW |  Better Than Perfect by Simone Elkeles
Waiting on Wednesday #24
BOOK REVIEW | City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Waiting on Wednesday #25
Top 5 Wednesday | Authors I Want to Read More From
BOOK REVIEW | Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
BOOK REVIEW | By Your Side by Kasie West

So, that was my April! How was yours? Have you read any of the books I managed to this April?

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

Happy Reading!

BOOK REVIEW | By Your Side by Kasie West

Title: By Your Side
Author: Kasie West
Pages: 346
Publication Date: January 31, 2017
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: I checked this out from my library!

In this irresistible story, Kasie West explores the timeless question of what to do when you fall for the person you least expect. Witty and romantic, this paperback original from a fan favorite is perfect for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Morgan Matson.

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

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BOOK REVIEW | Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Title: Alex, Approximately
Author: Jenn Bennett
Pages: 391
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
Source: I checked this out from my local library!

The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

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Waiting on Wednesday #25

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! This week I will be participating in Waiting on Wednesday. WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Every week we showcase upcoming releases that we are excited about. Tressa @ Wishful Endings has recently taken lead in this meme, considering Jill hasn't been posting on for a while. Learn more here!

This week I chose Brave New Girl by Rachel Vincent!

In a world where everyone is the same, one girl is the unthinkable: unique. A high-stakes fast-paced series launch from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent.

We have brown hair. Brown eyes. Fair skin.
We are healthy and strong and smart.
But only one of us has ever had a secret.

Dahlia 16 sees her face in every crowd. She's nothing special—just one of five thousand girls created from a single genome to work for the greater good of the city.
Meeting Trigger 17 changes everything. He thinks she’s interesting. Beautiful. Unique. Which means he must be flawed. When Dahlia can't stop thinking about him—when she can't resist looking for him, even though that means breaking the rules—she realizes she's flawed, too. But if she’s flawed, then so are all her identicals. And any genome found to be flawed will be recalled.
Destroyed.
Getting caught with Trigger would seal not only Dahlia's fate, but that of all five thousand girls who share her face. But what if Trigger is right? What if Dahlia is different?
Suddenly the girl who always follows the rules is breaking them, one by one by one. . 

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Top 5 Wednesday : Authors I Want to Read More From

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I am going to be participating in Top 5 Wedensday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. This week's topic is the top five authors that I want to read more from. Getting this down to five was a bit difficult, but I managed!

Without further ado, here are the five authors I picked this week (in no particular order)

1) Jenn Bennett
I absolutely loved Alex, Approximately. Alex, Aprrozimately was a You've Got Mail-esque tale where Bailey "Mink" Rydell moves to Corondo Cove in Calfiornia. Living there is an online friend she's made, Alex. However, she doesn't tell Alex she moves there. Instead, she wants to find him. Along the way she meets Porter Roth, and they don't get along very well. Little does she know that Porter and Alex are one and the same. Reading this book was such a blast and the characters were so real. I loved how Bennett put in movie quotes and references to board games, and more. She made the characters and the town really come to life. In short, her writing was spectacular. I cannot wait to read more of her, and I hope she becomes one of my favorite authors, because she has the potential to be. Be on the look out for my review!


2) Cassandra Clare
So this might be a bit of a cop out, because I have read the majority of Clare's books. I just have to read the last of TMI and TID, Lady Midnight, and all the other things like The Bane Chronicles. However, I still want to read more of her because I want to be caught all up! I am so close and yet so far away, but I'm really looking forward to catching up by the end of this year. 

3) Kasie West
So, if you didn't know, I put up a pretty harsh review of The Fill in Boyfriend in October 2015. This month though, I finally decided to give Kasie West a second chance with By Your Side, which I'll be reviewing soon! I liked the book so much more than The Fill in Boyfriend. By no means was it perfect, but I had a fun time with it. I want to read more of Kasie soon so that I can actually form an opinion of her!

4) Lesley Livingston
Livingston got a lot of attention this year for The Valiant, which was a great read. I actually reviewed the book here. The Valiant had great feminist themes and I loved everything it stood for. I had the pleasure of meeting Livingston and telling that to her, and she was such a joy to be around and she was so down to earth and hilarious. Livingston has actually published a lot of other books, so I'm interested to see what I think of them!

5) Jay Kristoff

Last but not least if Jay Asher! The only books I have read by him are Illuminae and Gemina, which are co-authored with Amie Kaufman. I want to see what his books are like just written by him, and I definitely think I'll start with Nevernight. I have a good feeling about this one, and I seriously hope that I love the book and Kristoff!

So, those are the five authors I want to read more from. Have you read any books by the authors I mentioned? What are some authors you want to read more from?

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

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

BOOK REVIEW | Stealing Candy by Stewart Lewis

Title: Stealing Candy
Author: Stewart Lewis
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Pages: 288
Source: I received Stealing Candy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! Thank you Sourcebooks Fire!
Dates Read: January 20-24, 2017

Candy hates boarding school. As a junior, graduation is still eons away, and making films is the only way to survive the boredom. Until she is kidnapped.

Candy panics. Along Came a Spider, Ransom, Taken, Cellular… Candy knows how these movies end. The only reason anyone would abduct her is to get a payout from her rock star father. Except Candy and her father are estranged. There’s no way he’s going to pay.

But with every hour that passes, Candy’s fear slowly recedes. Being on the road is freeing, not to mention great material for a new documentary. And the more time she spends with her handsome captor Levon, the more she learns the whole scheme is not just about ransom. It’s about revenge. What began as a kidnapping is spiraling into a crazy road trip adventure as Candy and Levon find a lot of wrong ways to do the right thing.

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BOOK REVIEW | City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Lost Souls
Series: The Mortal Instruments #5
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publication Date:Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster)
Publisher: May 8, 2012
Pages: 534
Source: I checked this out from my local library!

The New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments continues—and so do the thrills and danger for Jace, Clary, and Simon.

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

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