Happy 4th of July!

And I'm Proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, to give that right to me. And I'd Proudly stand up, next to you and defender her still today. There ain't no doubt I love this land

GOD BLESS THE USA

Have a great 4th everybody! Be smart & stay safe! 

Type at you later!

Shea

June Wrap-Up!

Can you believe it? We're already half way through the year! Holy cow! 

Anyway, in the month of June, I read a total of 5 books, which is great because I was feeling kinda slumpy at the beginning of the month.

The first book I finished was Paper Towns by John Green. Holy cow, guys. This book was awesome. We follow our main protagonist named Quentien in his Senior Year of High School. He's not really feeling the end of the year, when a great opportunity arises to go on an adventure. One night, Margo Roth Spegelman knocks on his bedroom window and asks for his help with some things she needs to get done. After they have this awesome adventure around Florida, Margo disappears. Quentien spends the rest of the novel following the clues Margo has left behind to find her.

I really enjoyed this book. I think I might have liked it even better if I wasn't feeling slump-like while reading it. It's one of those books that I've assumed will pull me out of a slump, but when I've tried that in the past, it hasn't really worked for me. Anyway, I gave Paper Towns a four out of five stars.

The next book I read was The Heir by Kiera Cass. I'm not going to say much, as it is a continuation of The Selection Series, but let me just say that this book was amazing! I really enjoyed reading The Selection process from The Selector's POV. I gave The Selection four out of five stars.

The third book I read this month was Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Again, a really amazing book! We follow our main protagonist Amy Gumm whose trailer is swept up in a tornado and she lands in a place that seemingly is Oz from the fairy tale she read growing up. However, something is different. Not only is Dorothy back, but she's an evil ruler over the land. She has enslaved munchkins to mine Oz's magic and have it all for herself. 

This book was really awesome. I gave it like a four and a half out of five stars. 

The fourth book I read was the sequel to Dorothy Must Die; The Wicked Will Rise. I was kind of disappointed in this one. If it's the end, it has a really crappy ending and if it's not the end, I can't wait to read more. But, I'm really confused. I gave this one a three out of five star rating until I find out if there is going to be a third one or not.

The final book I read in the month of June was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This was a really awesome contemporary story about Anna, whose father ships her off to a boarding school in Paris where she meets St. Clair, a very attractive British boy. I really liked this one because there wasn't so much of an insta-love. Their relationship grows before they become boyfriend and girlfriend. They go through a couple of struggles together that really builds their relationship. It gets so frustrating at times because you can see that they are perfect for each other, but other than that, I found the story excellent and well put together. I gave Anna and the French Kiss a four and a half out of five star rating. 

I hope you all had a great reading month! July seems to have come so quick! I have classes starting up again on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have another Freshman Experience post up. 

I hope you have a good rest of the week!

Type at you later!

Shea

Musical Theater Book Tag

Hello all! I'm having a sick day (stomach virus... not fun!), so I thought I would post a Book Tag for ya'll! I googled Booktube tags and found the Musical Theater Tag. I'm a huge fan of musical theater, so I thought this might be a good one for me to do! I found this on the YouTube channel for somethinglikelydia. And now.... onto the questions!

1.) Wicked

What is your favorite fictional friendship?

The first one that comes to mind is, of course, Harry and Ron from the Harry Potter series. They have such a dynamic friendship that can be borderline bromance, but I love the way they interact with each other. I feel like they have a true knowledge of what friendship is, even though they both grew up with not many friends until they got to Hogwarts. :) I also feel that when they go periods of time not talking to each other, *cough* Goblet of Fire *cough*, their friendship is reaffirmed and is always stronger. 

2.) Sweeny Todd

Who is your favorite villain?

Hmmm..... Toughie. My first instinct is to say either Voldemort or Umbridge from the Harry Potter series, but I think that would open up the path to me answering all of these questions using Harry Potter characters! ;) My second instinct says to go with Elphaba from Wicked by Gregory Macguire. She's not really a villain, but she is supposedly "wicked".

3.) Phantom of the Opera

Favorite Love Triangle?

I'm going to go with the Edward/Bella/Jacob love triangle. Now, I have some legit reasons for this. Their love triangle was really the first one I encountered. It was right about the time I switched from reading Middle Grade novels to Young Adult novels. Their story just kind of sticks out in my head. I have to laugh because I used to always be #TeamEdward, but now that I'm older and realize that they didn't have the most ideal relationship, I am on #TeamJacob now. 

4.) The Lion King

Favorite Sidekick?

Ahren from The Heir. Again, not going to say much because it's such a new book. But I will say that he is very fond of his sister and has her best interests in mind.

5.) Greece

Least Favorite Ending?

Anything with a cliff-hanger that I have to wait for the next book to come out for a really really really long time. ;)

6.) Matilda: The Musical

Favorite Adaption of a Book?

I didn't want to repeat myself, but I love the Broadway show for Wicked. I love the music and they changed the story just enough to fit it for the stage, but not too much so as to take away the drama. And I recently heard that they're going to make a film adaption. However, I don't know if it's going to be an adaption of the book or the play. We'll have to see!

And lastly,

7.) Les Miserables

Favorite Death in a Book?

I'm going to have to say Indigo's from Dorothy Must Die. Don't want to say more than that because that is already spoilerey enough!

I hope you enjoyed this tag! I tag all of you!

For now, I'm going to eat some soup and then relax with a book. 

Type at you later!

Shea

Post Reading Slump TBR

Hello all! I hope this post finds you well. If you haven't noticed, I haven't had many posts up on the blog. The last one was a scheduled post, but I hope to get back into posting more soon!

Anyway, I've had a major reading slump that has lasted about a month. I think I read one-ish books in May and picked up and put down two others. However, I am finally pulling out of my slump. So, I thought I would post a TBR if you are curious what I'm planning on reading for the rest of June.

So, I'm currently reading The Heir by Kiera Cass. I find that Edlyn is less annoying than America, and she handles the Selection process a lot better than her mother and father. I'm currently 200 pages in and am loving it so far (I just got it today :P).

I'm also planning on reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass. Its one of the books that I picked up in May and then put down. But it was really good.

Other than that, I'm planning on picking up Dorothy Must Die and possibly Shadow and Bone.

I have one more week in my class, and then I have a week off before I start my next set. So, I hope I'll have a mini Read-A-Thon during that week. We shall see.

But, I will keep you posted!!!

Type at you later!

Shea

Final Reflection: High School Experience

Hello all! By the time this post goes up, I will have finished all of my High School classes and their finals. I won't get my report card in the mail for about two weeks. I'm actually pretty glad to see High School end. If you know me, then you would know that I have been struggling with illness and anxiety through out my entire High School career. I've basically been doing homeschool since freshman year.

Anyway, I still managed to have a great High School experience. The home school program that I am a part of is actually through my school. So, I would have a teacher come out to my house, averaging three times a week. Since I was technically still part of the school, I was able to attend school functions. I picked and choose which ones I wanted to attend (plays, band concerts, ect.). I didn't attend any dances or proms or anything like that, but I'm not a huge dance person anyway.

In my freshman year of High School, our theater department put on Seussical the Musical. It was really a great show. It was so good in fact, that I downloaded the Original Broadway recording onto my iTunes list so I could listen to it over and over again. My sophomore year, we did Little Shop of Horrors. That one was funny, but not one of my favorites. My junior year (last year) we did Shrek: The Musical. And this year, we did The Sound of Music. I was able to go see all of those productions and see my friends perform in the shows. I wish I could have been up on stage with them, but I know I will have other opportunities to be on stage ;).

I only participated in one field trip in my entire High School career. When I took US History I, we went to Gettysburg, PA. The sad thing was that I wasn't able to go with my technical grade, but I did have a friend who was on the trip as well. That made the whole thing worth while.

While I didn't go on the Senior class trip to Florida, I was able to have a trip of my own down to Florida with my aunt and my brother over the week of my 18th birthday. That was better than I could have ever imagined. :)

I have the same group of friends as I did at the beginning of High School, as I didn't have the chance to make many new ones. But, I was able to get acquainted with some of my friends' friends. Not that I would have had a huge group of friends in High School, but I'm glad with the little group I have.

As for the SAT's, I am so glad I didn't take them. My anxiety level would have been off the charts. But, I did take the entrance exam to my college, which I passed with flying colors! :D

Some other things I accomplished in my High School career?

I made the Honor Roll throughout most of my report cards.
I attended Spirit Week and watched our Junior class win! (However, I had an extremely bad anxiety episode this year, and was not able to watch us take our two year title.)
I read over 100 novels! (Thought I would throw this one in here, as it is a book blog! ;))
I was admitted to the hospital for the first time, and had my appendix removed.
I made friends with some very special four-legged therapists.

Overall, I didn't have the ideal High School career, but the one I had suited me just fine. I wish my fellow Class of 2015 the best of luck in their future endeavors, and don't ever forget the time that was supposedly "The Best Years of Our Lives".

Congratulations Class of 2015.

We did it!

"It well may be, that we will never meet again in this lifetime, but let me say before we part, that so much of me, is made of what I've learned from you, you'll be with me, like a handprint on my heart."

College Experience: First Speech

Hello all! On Tuesday, I gave my first speech in my Effective Speaking class. I feel like it went pretty well. I was going to post this when I got my grade back, but she hasn't posted the grades yet. I will edit this post when I get the grade back.

I gave the speech on American Sign Language (ASL). Just the basics. I wish I could have had it taped so that I could have posted it on my YouTube channel. But, everyone found it really interesting and I was able to answer their questions.

It was such a different environment than I am used to. I was able to show them some curse words, and everyone was such an adult about it. It was really different from High School.

Speaking of High School, I have my last class on Wednesday, where I will take my last final and I will be done with my High School career. I graduate the following Saturday. I can't wait to finally be done with the drama that is High School!

Well, that's all I have to say for now.

Type at you later!

Shea

May Wrap Up/June TBR

Hello all! I hope you had a great reading month! I think I did fairly well with a total of six books read and a reading slump near the end of the month. Here's what I thought of the books that I read!

#1- Breaking Point by Alex Flinn

TRIGGER WARNING FOR SUICIDE!

While there is suicide in this book, and it's such a short book, you would think that this would be a horribly dark tale. However, it was not. Our main character, Paul, is new to his town in Miami. He doesn't have the best money situation, but he gets the opportunity to go to a prep-school because his mother gets hired as an office worker. He meets Charlie Good. Along with his group of cronies, Charlie and Paul start doing some vandalism and then, Charlie wants Paul to do something even worse. 

I gave this book a four out of five star rating. I feel that we can learn from this. We can learn how bulling really affects our youth from people experiencing it. I feel that it is a safe way to learn about this because it is not actually a true story and we aren't in danger of the characters coming out of the books to seek revenge on us. However, we must still take caution as to how we present this novel to a younger group of people. I honestly wouldn't read it until Junior year of High School.

#2- Lockdown by Walter Dean Meyers

Honestly, when I picked up this book, I thought I was going to be picking up a memoir of sorts, but it turned out to be a fiction novel.

Anyway, our main setting is a Juvenile Detention Center called Progress. Our main character is named Reese and he is only fourteen years old. What I find astonishing from this story is how much the kids, and I use that term lightly, have gone through and how they can commit these crimes.

Anyway, Reese is on a sort of "work-study" program (I don't know really what else to call it). He is the sort of poster child for the program to see if it will work. He basically goes into a nursing home a few times a week so as to shorten his sentence. 

I didn't really like the story progression of this book. I felt it could be classified as more of a novella, or could have been longer and filled with more story. 

#3- Nothing to Loose by Alex Flinn

TRIGGER WARNING FOR PHYSICAL/SPOUSAL ABUSE

This book was very emotional for me, and as a person who has not experienced the abuse in the story, I couldn't imagine what someone who does go through this kind of abuse would feel. 

Anyway, Michel had run away with the carnies at his local fair grounds about a year ago when our story begins. He has the idea to chase after the girl he had fallen in love with. But then, the fair returns to Miami. Where his mother is locked up for a crime she hadn't committed. He is very emotional and tries to reach out for help, though not very well. 

This is such a short book, I'm afraid to say too much, so I'll just say one more thing. This book was very emotional. I gave it four out of five stars. 

#4- Fade to Black by Alex Flinn

I was on a roll with Alex Flinn books this month!

I'm just going to leave you with the blurb from GoodReads....

Three perspectives -- one truth
The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell. 

The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really? 

The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this. Would he?

#5. Eve and Adam by Michael Grant & Katherine Applegate

This story is a dystopian novel, but set in a more modern-day time period. But, other than that, this book is so hard to summarize. I don't want to give too much away, but at the same time, I want you guys to know enough about the book to pick it up. So, I'm going to try my best.

Eve is in an accident that causes her leg to be practically amputated. Her mother is a famous researcher that insists that Eve be transferred to her special hospital. The doctors put up a huge fight, but in the end, Eve's mom wins and she, Eve, is transferred to her mother's research facility. While Eve is there, something remarkable happens.

That's as much as I want to tell you, because there is so much jammed into the first part of the book. I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

#6. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Oh. Em. Gee. I fell in love with Daemon Black. I sort of felt like this might have been a sort of a Twilight-eque story, but I don't feel as though the relationship isn't as abusive or so quickly set on. This is such an awesome story, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. 

I gave this story a 4 out of 5 star rating.

June TBR-

I don't have much planned for the month of June, but I really want to read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas and Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and possibly start Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. But, I'm a mood reader, so we'll see at the end of the month! 

This was an okay reading month for me, but I'm hoping June will be even better!

Type at you later!

Shea

College Experience: First Day!

Hello all! I hope you are doing well. I'm still fighting my reading slump, but I'm here to talk about college experiences today!

Today, I started my very first college class. It's called Effective Speaking. The great part about this class is that there isn't going to be any tests or quizzes. :D But, the teacher did say, as a disclaimer, that there may be a pop quiz if the class isn't understanding something completely. I totally understand and respect that.

There's a total of ten students in the class (because it's a summer course), but only six of us showed up today. She straight up told us that those kids got are starting out with a zero. Sucks for them. We learned a little bit about what the class will entail, I can post a picture of my notes, if you would like. (I'll probably have them on my instagram anyway, so check there.)

We actually presented for the first time today as well. You should have seen some of the looks on my classmates' faces. But, I think everybody did a great job. She said we would be graded on it, but nobody has ever failed the first presentation. We basically introduced ourselves to the class. It was a lot easier than I expected.

My college, as I've mentioned in a previous post, has a lot of non-traditional students. So, as one would suspect, I was the youngest one there, being still in High School. But, there was one familiar face, which made me happy. At least, I'm pretty sure it's the same person. People change so much between fifth grade bus rides and college. ;)

Anyway, I was surprised at how much we jammed into the class. And it didn't seem to take forever and a day either. I was so intrigued, that I was actually surprised when the class was over. I'm excited to go back on Thursday!!!

I think the only other thing I want to say is that I'm expecting my #Sorcerer'sSatchel in the mail today. Check my Insta for a picture of how the finish product turned out! I got it from the etsy shop fanfash. I can't wait to see it!!

Well, that's it for today! I hope you're having a great day and I'll Type at you later!

Shea

Reading Slump and End of the School Year!

Hello all! I regret to inform you that I have fallen into a reading slump. With reading being one of my favorite hobbies, this is one of the most awful feelings in the world. To help me get out of my slump, I've been listening to audiobooks and reading John Green (Paper Towns, FTW!).

Anyway, I'm also at the tail end of my Senior Year of High School so I've got a butt ton of things to do. I graduate in 22 days and counting. But, because I am on homebound, my finals are going to be a little bit different. Basically, my final grade is going to be the average of all of my Test grades in some classes and then a modified final in others. Interestingly enough, I'll have only two finals that I actually write out this year. So, I'm not too stressed. But, I'm starting to get sad that my High School career is ending. But, I'm starting college before I even Graduate! I start college at a local satellite campus of a "pre-collage" (<- not sure why it's called this, because it is an actual college). It's about a 20/25 minute drive from my house, so I'm going to commute. And I'll live at home for the next two years, and won't have to live off of Ramen Noodles. :D

But, the cool thing about all of this is that I'll be able to go to any of the events on the main campus, because that's not too far away either (about an hour and a half drive, round trip). I'm really excited to get started on this new adventure. When people say that they are starting a new chapter in their life, I say I'm starting a whole new book. I say this because I've been through a lot of stuff in my short, eighteen-year old life. I'm not going to get into that here, because I'm not comfortable with putting that online, just yet. Maybe after college. I'll keep you updated.

Anyway, I'm taking an Effective Speaking course starting on Tuesday. The nice thing about this is that the admissions counselor that I've been working with is going to be the teacher. I really like how the school is set up. Not all of the teachers are "professors". Most are lay-people. They also have about a 50/50 population of traditional and non-traditional students. I feel like this is going to be a good thing for me, especially because I seem to get along with adults rather than kids my own age.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to starting class on Tuesday. I have my bag packed already. ;) I'm sure that it will be a great experience and I'll blog about it when I get home.

But, here's where it gets crazy. I'll have to have a real schedule for the first time in a while. I'm going to have things that I can't move around, so I'll have to schedule things around them. I don't know how well I'll be at this. But, I feel like I'm a pretty good organizer, so I'll have things in order. I hope. But, I'm staying positive. :)

I think that's all I have to say for now. If not, I'll edit this post and highlight where the edits are!

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books: Day 5: Update

Hello all! I hope your reading journeys are going well!

Yesterday, I managed to get some reading done. I read about 100 pages in Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout and got to Chapter 7 in The Raven Boys audiobook  (I don't know how many pages that is because I don't have a physical copy!).

Anyway, today I have some things to do, so I won't get around to reading until later. Wishing you good luck as the read a thon is coming to an end!

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books: Day 4: Update

Hello all! I hope your reading is going well! I think I over estimated what I had planned for this week. I've not made a lot of progress since yesterday. I managed to read another two chapters in Onyx... Oh well. But, I don't have a lot to do today, so I hope to catch up with reading today!

Happy Reading!

Type at you later!

Shea

College Experience: Scheduling First Semester Classes

Hello everybody!

I know this is a book blog, but I wanted to document my college experience on here as well. I hope you don't mind.

Anyway, I am in my Senior Year of High School and I have officially declared Senioritus! There's 29 days (including weekends) before I graduate and get thrown out into the real world. But, with that being said, I love learning new things. I am actually starting college classes before I even graduate!

Now, if you're wondering how this is possible, the simplest way for me to explain is that I am homeschooled. So, I will be able to take classes and get acclimated to my college campus before I officially start in August. I have signed up to take three classes over the course of the summer. They are only four week classes that meet twice a week. The summer "semester" is broken up into two sessions. For the first session, I'm taking an effective speaking class. I'm super excited for this one because it's my first official college class. And the advisor that I've been working with is actually going to be teaching that class, so I'l have a familiar face to look forward to.

In the second summer session, I'm taking a writing course and a math course. I've decided to take these courses to get them out of the way. Math is not really my forte so, I figured that I would take it while Math was still fresh in my head and then not have to worry about it for the rest of my college career. Those two classes are the same way. They each meet twice a week (on different days) for about three and a half hours.

As for the fall, I'm going to be a full-time commuter. The college that I've chosen has a satellite facility about 15 minutes away from my house, and that's where I'm going to be studying. I'm scheduled for thirteen credits (that's about five classes) and have Fridays off. :) I'm really looking forward to having three day weekends.

As for the classes that I'm going to take? Well, I've decided to be an Education major (later on in my career, I also want to major in Early Childhood Development and minor in business and psychology), so I have two education based classes that I'm going to take, as well as an Ethics course and a Philosophy course. I also have to take "Freshman Experience", but that's only one credit.

I'm also going into my college career with three credits from a dual-enrollment Psychology course that I am currently, as a High School student, taking. So, by the time my first semester is over, I will have 25 credits towards my major. Wow, I hadn't realized that.

Anyway, my ultimate goal with my life is to start a Montesouri School in my town. But, that's a way down the road. What are your plans, if you're going into college? Or, if you are in college, what are you majoring in? Do you have any advice for an incoming freshman? What's the best part about a small campus? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and wish you luck as we continue on into the end of the Bout of Books Read a Thon.

I hope everyone has an amazing day!

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books: Day 4: Challenge

Hello all (for my third post of the day!).

I am participating in the Day 5 Challenge for Bout of Books 13.0. Our challenge today is to give a book we believe will be a classic in 100 years and give two reasons why.

My choice for a modern book that I think will be a classic will always be Harry Potter. But, we have to pick a book published after 2005, and I don't think Harry Potter qualifies for that one. The book I've chosen is Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman.

Here's why:

In 100 years, I believe that our prison systems will be totally different than they are now. This will be a classic because historians will use this book to see how prison systems were "back in the day". It will be taught to kids in high schools, so they know what crime was like in our day and how they can avoid it.

Well, that's my entry. I hope you enjoyed!

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books: Day 3: Challenge

Hello all!

I'm so upset that I missed yesterday's challenge. I loved this one!!! But, I wanted to share with you the Haiku that I wrote anyway!

Obsidian Blade,
Daemon, Dee, Kat, Arum,
I will defeat thee.

I hope you enjoyed! :)

Anyway,

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books 13.0: Days 2 & 3 Updates

Hello all!

I hope your reading is going well. I can't say that mine is going at the pace I expected, but it's going okay for now.

Anyway, over the last two days, I have managed to finish Obsidian and start Onyx. I'm only on chapter two of Onyx, but the ending of Obsidian! Holy cow! I'll let you know more about today in tomorrow's post (I'm done with school for the week, but have some homework to catch up on!). I hope to read a little bit more tomorrow than I have for the past few days.

Keep your eye out for several other posts coming your way today!

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books Challenge: Day 2: Character Face Off!

Hello, all! I hope you are having a fine reading day. I haven't got much read today because I was focused on homework for most of the day and will probably be the same way for tomorrow. But, I want to try listening to an audiobook while I do my homework. That could work, right?

Anyway, here is the Day 2 Challenge for Bout of Books!

Character Face Off:

Opponent 1: Harry Potter
Who: Wizard, Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived
Cons: Big headed, impractical, relys too much on help
Pros: Bad ass (I mean, he defeated the Dark Lord, for crying out loud), Sassy and snarky, isn't afraid of a fight

Opponent 2: Daemon Black
Who: Luxen
Cons: Arrogant, always seems to be angry at something or another, big headed
Pros: Isn't afraid of a fight, sexy, he doesn't sparkle ;)

Winner: Harry Potter

This was actually a tough one because Daemon is my new love, but Harry will always have my heart. Anyway, I picked Harry because of how he feels for his friends and their families. He has to take on this dark force practically by himself, and he doesn't ever seem to be afraid. Even though he relies on help a lot of the time, it's just for practice. When it comes to the "real thing" he does it by himself. I think that is an admirable trait in anyone, character or not. He tries to leave his friends out of the war because he fears for their safety, but not only does that fail, they turn out to be some of the most important people in his life. :)

Type at you later!

Shea

3 AM Bout of Books Day 1 Update

Hello blogisphere! It is currently 3 o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep. Yey.......

Anyway, I thought I would take this time to update y'all on my reading progress for day 1 of the Bout of Books 13.0 Read a Thon. (Also, I'm sorry if there is a gazillion typos, or I don't make sense. It's 3 AM.... )

Day 1: Monday, May 11, 2015

Book Read: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pages Read: 236

I think this page count is really good for today, (err.... yesterday).

This book sucked me in so fast that I almost got whiplash. But, as I got further into the story, it reminded me a lot of Twilight. But, was this the one that started out as a Twilight fan-fiction? I'm not sure. Ask me in the morning.

Anyway, my goals for Day 2 (Tuesday May 12):

Finish Obsidian and start Onyx.
Start Audiobook of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefater

This second one is a new goal, as I was browsing Overdrive and this book was available. :)

Anyway, I'm going to try to get some shut-eye. Wish me luck!

But, before I go, how was your reading day??

Type at you later!

Shea

Bout of Books Challenge: Day One: Bookish Survey

Hello all! I hope this finds you well and hope you have been reading a good book. The Lux series has sucked me in so fast I almost got whiplash! Anyway, for today's challenge, we are to complete a bookish survey! So, here I go!

1. How do you organize your shelves?

My shelves are organized very haphazardly. I keep all books in a series together, but that's where understandable organization ends. I have a fun idea for a post all about my bookshelf organization, so stay tuned for that.... :)

2. What is one of your favorite books that is not in your favorite genre?

Contemporary isn't one of my favorite genres (which is Fantasy... ;)), but I fell head over heals in love with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Who hasn't?

3. What is the last book you rated five stars?

*Goes to GoodReads to check*
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick ;)

4. What are you most excited to read during the Read-A-Thon?

The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. :D

And lastly,

5. What book do you recommend most?

This is a tough one. But, I think the one I would recommend is Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton. It's different than you'd think it is. It's actually NOT a Cinderella retelling. I know, interesting right?

Okay, I'm going to quick link this up and get back to reading. Daemon Black is calling my name! ;)

Type at cha later!

Shea

Mother's Day Recap

Hello all! I hope you had a great day! I thought I would do a more "traditional" blog post recapping my day with my mom, god-mother, and two aunts on my uncle's side. As well as my three uncles, dad, godfather, and brother. :)

Well, this morning when we woke up, we gave mom her present which was a beautiful potted fuchsia plant. She loved it. Well, actually, mom picked it out for herself. It worked okay this way because we were super busy this past week and couldn't get her a present until this morning. I felt kinda bad, but she really enjoyed the plant.

Then, we kind of hung out for a little while. We watched Rent and ate lunch. Then we had a delicious popcorn cake. (It's basically a rice krispie recipe, but with popcorn instead of rice krispies and then add candy and pretzels. It's really good.) :) Then, mom took a nap and I worked on editing some pictures from my Senior Portraits photo shoot yesterday. I'll probably have a video up on my YouTube channel soon. I'll leave a link when I get it posted.

Then, (I feel like I'm using "then" a lot, anyway,) we had to get ready for our dinner. We went over to my godmother's house for hamburgers and hotdogs. We also had a most delicious chocolate/peanut butter trifle. Then we had a chance to just sit down and chat and catch up with everybody. It was a really nice evening. It's only around 7 pm right now, but I have a chance to type this up now.

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day with your mommies or mommie fill ins. :D

Type at you later!

Shea

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Hello all! I just want to wish all the mommies out there a very Happy and Blessed Mother's Day! I hope you enjoy yourself and get pampered the way you deserve!

Bout of Books 13.0!

Hello all! I hope you are doing well. I am doing okay. I have had the staples removed from my incisions on Thursday, but I'm still having pain because, the way I understand it, is that they had to got through muscle to get to my appendix and so they had to stitch it closed and the pull from the stitch is causing the pain. It should go away in two to four more weeks, when the stitch either dissolves or pops. Yey.......

Anyway, the Bout of Books 13.0 starts on Monday! I have a pretty mellow week, so I'm hoping to get a fair bit of reading done. If you haven't noticed, I've posted the BoB button on the homepage, so that will get you right to the BoB blog. But, if you want some more information, check this out:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm guessing you want to know what I'm going to be reading and my goals, don'tcha?? Well, here they are.

My goal is to read 150-200 pages per each of the days.
My TBR is the entire LUX series by Jennifer L. Arementrout
If I finish that, I want to pick up The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I will be posting my page count each day on my Twitter, GoodReads, and Instagram. And of course, here on the blog as well! (Feel free to friend/follow me on any of these sites! ;))

I hope you all will be joining in! I will also be participating in #RYBSAT or Read Your Bookshelf-A-Thon which takes place next week. I will have a separate post up for my TBR for that one! 

For now, that's it.

I'll type at you later!

Shea

Recent Reads, Top 5 Wednesday, and Appendix Update!

Hello all! I hope you are doing well! I am doing okay, I get my staples out tomorrow and I'm super excited! I still have a little bit of pain, but it's easier to move around and do things for myself.

Anyway, I've been reading a lot of Alex Flinn's shorter novels. Let me tell you, they are very dramatic! But, they have trigger warnings. I can't believe how much she can pack into a 200 page novel. They are really good. I've given all of the ones I've read so far four out of five stars. If you want,  I can do a more in-depth review of the novels or even a spoilerey book talk. Let me know.

Okay, it's been a while since I did my last Top 5 Wednesday. I wanted to do this week because it's Top 5 Books you want to see made into a TV series. I had a little bit of trouble with this one, but I've decided on a few. Here they are:

1. Harry Potter Series
2. Uglies Series (Even though I've only read one... ;))
3. Beautiful Creatures Series
4. Wicked
5. Fannie Farmer Cookbook

Okay, let me explain the last one. I think this would make an awesome cooking show! :P

Anyway,

Type at you later!

Shea

April Wrap-Up... AKA I Read a Shit Ton of Books This Month!

Hello all!

I hope you had an awesome April! It seems like it lasted so long, but it's over so soon too! I have read a whole bunch of books this month. Honestly, I thought I read some of them last month, but my GoodReads page says otherwise. I guess I'll stick to what that says!

Anyway, I read a total of 11 books and an essay this month. So, let's get on to the Wrap-Up.

The first book I read this month, or rather finished, was Wicked by Gregory Maguire. This book honestly did not live up to my expectations. It is a very seldom instance when I enjoy an adaption over the book. This is one of those instances. I prefer the Broadway adaption rather than the book. I think this may be because of the explicitness of the book, but I'm not sure. I have the second book, but I think I'll hold off on reading it for a little while. I gave it three stars.

The second book I read was Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton. This was one of my favorite books that I read this month. I honestly thought it was going to be a fairytale retelling of Cinderella. But it wasn't. Basically, it was about this family who is the protectors of the three Cinderella Dresses (the ACTUAL dresses). It takes place during WWII and the main character's great aunt and uncle comes to the states from Poland with these dresses and are handing them down to the next generation. It was a really enjoyable book. I gave it four stars.

Next, I read The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I also watched the movie and did a joint-review of the two which you can find under the tags Silver Linings Playbook and Matthew Quick for easy access to them. See that to learn my thoughts on the book! I gave it a four star rating.

After that, I read, or rather finished, Macbeth by William Shakespeare. I had to read this one for school. It was honestly one of the better Shakespeare plays that I read in my school career. Either that, or I've just grown to like Shakespeare more as I've gotten older. I gave Macbeth a three star rating.

Next, I picked up the Hush Hush Series by Becca Fitzpatrick. This consists of Hush Hush, Crescendo, Silence, and Finale. Honestly, I don't think the titles go with the story at all. It's basically a twilight-esque love story between a fallen angel and a mortal. Don't get me wrong, Hush Hush was one of the best books I've read so far this year. But the rest of the series (and especially the last book) got too much like Twilight for my taste. Twilight is an okay book, but the similarities were there.... to the point where the main love interest has lots of money, several expensive cars, overly eloquent houses, and takes it upon himself to see that the main protagonist is safe. During the last book, I rolled my eyes several times. I gave Hush Hush a five star rating, but Crescendo and Silence got four, and Finale got three.

This was the time that I was admitted into the hospital to have my appendix out. That was an experience in itself, let me tell you. But in the three days I was in the hospital, I read two full books. They were just simple ones with easy to follow story lines, but they kept me occupied whilst there. I read Wicked Little Secrets and Deadly Little Sins by Kara Taylor. These are the last two books in the Prep-School Confidential books and they are actually pretty good. If you like the Gallaghar Girls Series by Aly Carter, I think you would enjoy these as well. I'm not going to go into the books, since they are at the end of a series, but I gave them four and three stars, respectively.

It was then that I was forced to pick up A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. This is the man that wrote Gulliver's Travels, so I thought this piece of satire would be an okay read. No, it was not. He is writing that to control the population problem in Ireland, that people EAT BABIES. What has the school system come to? I gave this one star.

Lastly, I read Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. I thought this book was very insightful. I, as someone who has never encountered the Prison or Legal System, thought that we are shown how women can come together as a family and become protectors of secrets and each other. Now, the book is slightly different than the Netflix Original Series. They use different names and there is A LOT less sexual content. Aside from using the F-Bomb a gazillion times, the most sexually explicit scene was when she explains how these two inmates were bringing in contraband, which turned out to be a box full of Dilldos. *shrugs* It wasn't bad. I gave it four stars.

As for Dewey's Read-A-Thon, I'm marking it as a fail. When I was awake that day, I ate and took medicine, and then went back to bed. Oh well. I'll try again in October. :)

And my appendix? I'm recovering quite well. I'm still a slow mover and can't bend over yet. But I'm mobile and am walking around much easier. I get my staples out next Thursday.

And one last thing.......... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND BROOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday Reads, Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon & Appendicitis!

Hello all! Tomorrow is the Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon and I will be participating in as much of it as I can! I'm not going to even attempt to read for the complete 24 hours, however. Why, you may ask? Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having my appendix out! Now, recovery may be the perfect time to get some reading done, and believe me, I have (I've finished two books in the past few days!). However, when it's time for my pain medicine, I zonk out for a few hours and can't concentrate on a book. I might invest in an audio book for this RAT, but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, what am I planning on reading this weekend? I think I've decided on two books. I've already started Deadly Little Sins by Kara Taylor. It's the third in a trilogy (I think, but don't quote me on that.) called Prep School Confidential. The trilogy is pretty good. :)

The second book I'm planning on reading is Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. I'm obsessed with the Netflix series, so to prepare for the new season coming out, I though I would read the book! I'll let you know what I think of it!

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. I'm not going to have a end of the week/beginning of the week update up again. I'm just going to take some time for some good ole fashioned R&R. I'll have an update up for you soon however!

Type at you later!

Shea

P.S. You can find all of the Dewey's RAT info here!

Book Problems TAG

Hello all! I'm bored, so I thought I would do another tag. :) Oh, the joys of being sick!

Anyway, today I am going to do the Book Problems Tag! (Originally created by About to Read on YouTube and I was not tagged. I thought this would just be fun to do as it is raining and I am sick. Lovely!)

Anyway, ON TO THE QUESTIONS!

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR pile. How on Earth do you decide what to read next?

I think if I were ever faced with this problem, I would have to result in using my TBR jar. I am usually a mood reader, but I think this case would be perfect for the use of a TBR jar. But, writing/typing out all of those book titles to put into the jar would be a pain in the butt, don't you think?

2. You're halfway through a book and you're not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Hmmm.... Usually, I would DNF a book like that. Unless it's a book that I've been invested in and want to know how it ends. At a time like this, I would put the book aside and pick it up down the road  again.

3. It's the end of the year, and you're so close, yet so far from your GoodReads Reading Challenge. Do you try to catch up now?

This question makes me laugh because this very situation happened to me last year. In December, I was about eleven books away from my reading goal. I managed to finish it by plowing through a bunch of really awesome books! :D So, I guess the answer to this question would be that I would try to catch up.

4. The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope?

*Siiiiiiiigh* I am currently dealing with this situation right now with my Vampire Academy books. Most of my books are the ones with a person on the cover. But, I didn't have the complete series and when I went to my local Books-A-Million, they had the other covers. I don't really mind because they all have the same story in them, but I would like uniformity on my shelves. So, eventually I will pick up the other covers off of the Book Depository website or something like that. But for right now, I'm okay with it.

5. Everyone and their mother loves a book that you hate. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

In this case, I suppose I would find someone on GoodReads that has reviewed/rated the book same as I had and I would talk with them about it. And then try to avoid videos/blog posts mentioning the book at all costs! ;P

6. You're reading in public and you're about to start crying. How do you deal?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Public! You're so funny.

7. A sequel to a book you love is coming out, but you've forgotten the plot of the previous book. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on GoodReads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?!

This one's easy. I would re-read the previous book. If it's a book I love, why would I have a problem with re-reading it?

8. You do not want anyone, ANYONE, borrowing your books. How do you tell them no?

This is a hard one because I haven't had someone ask me to borrow my books (unless you count my mother, who lives in the same house as I do and I can keep an eye on my book.) I guess I would just ask them to be extra careful with them and if they ruin it, would they please replace it?

9. Reading ADD. You've picked up and put down five different books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Either read a book I know I love or watch tons of different reviews to find a new book that I know I'll love.

10. There are so many good books coming out that you want to read. How many do you actually buy?

I usually wait until they come onto BookOutlet or someone is selling one on Amazon or half.com at a really good price.

11. After you've bought the new books you can't wait to read, how long do they sit on your shelf before you actually read them?

Now, that depends on how many books I've actually bought. If I've only bought one or two books, I'll pick them up pretty much right away. If I've hauled a giant pile of books, they could sit on my shelves for weeks and months.

Well, I hope you liked this tag. I may or may not have another post up tomorrow. Sorry I didn't have a Beginning of the Week or End of the Week Update up this week. I wound up in the hospital with an infection, so I've been recovering. Nothing too serious. I'm fine and have been reading a lot. :)

I guess that's everything for now. I'm going to dive into Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick because I've got about 50 pages left and really want to finish it tonight!

Type at you later!

Shea

The Royal Court Tag

Hi guys! Today, I'm going to be doing the Royal Court Tag (Originally by Janna Marie on YouTube). There are ten questions total that pertain to book characters and I thought I would share my thoughts with you!

And now, presenting.....

THE ROYAL COURT!

1. The King (Who is your favorite Male lead character?)

Hmmm... I have a lot of favorite Male characters. But, if I had to pick my favorite LEAD character, I would pick Harry from Harry Potter. I don't mean to be biased, because Harry Potter is my favorite series, and I'll try to keep as many of those characters off of this list, but Harry is legitimately one of my favorite characters in a book. He's so sassy and funny in the books and so, he is my King.

2. The Queen (Who is your favorite Female lead character?)

Again, hard to choose. I think I would have to choose Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. Rose is just such a kick-ass girl and the way that she is protective of Lissa is just such a great thing. I kind of look up to her as a sort of a role model.

3. The First Prince (Who do you think is the most loyal Male character?)

My opinion on the most loyal male character is Peta from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Peta is loyal to Katniss even though he is embarrassed by her. Peta keeps up a good front and protects Katniss in the Games and even after them. He even keeps a good watch out for Haymitch and his drinking.

4. The Second Prince (Who do you think is the most laid-back male character?).

For this one, I would have to go with Agustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars. I mean think about it, this guy is eighteen years old and he has terminal cancer. He's not going completely out of control. He has mentally prepared himself and I think that makes him just perfect.

5. The Headstrong Princess (Who do you think is a headstrong female character?)

For this, I would have to pick Karou from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone quartet by Lani Taylor. Karou is very headstrong. All she wants to do is be an artist and hang out with her best friend, Zuzanna, but Brimstone has her running all over the world collecting teeth and then she has to help settle this war between races. Headstrong? I think yes.

6. The King's Advisor (Who do you think is the most trustworthy male character?)

I think this would have to be Wolf from the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Now, I haven't read the entire series yet, but in Scarlet he is really trustworthy and helpful to Scarlet.

7. The Duke and Duchess (Who is your OTP?)

Okay, here's another Harry Potter one. But Ginny/Harry will always be my OTP. <3

8. Lady/Gentleman in Waiting of the Bedchamber (Who do you think is the best supporting character?)

I'm going with Tiny from Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan. He's just so amazing and comfortable with himself. His character really helps both Will Graysons and just makes me smile over all.

9. The Secret Traitor (Who do you think is the most untrustworthy character?)

Just gonna say it... President Snow from the Hunger Games. 'Nuff said.

10. Court Wizard (Who is your favorite character with magical abilities?)

Juliette from the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi. Again, I haven't finished the entire trilogy, but I love her powers. She is just such a good person with her powers (in the first book) and just wants to learn how to control them.

11. The Royal Fool (Who do you think is the funniest character?)

I'm going to go with Pumpkin from the May Bird trilogy. This is one of my favorite trilogies from growing up. Pumpkin is just so awkward and he adds comedy to this story. I really enjoy him as a character.

12. The Gossiping Lady's Maid (What character is most likely to spread rumors?)

I'm going with another blast from my past. I'm going to pick Massie Block from the Clique Series by Lisi Harrison. She is really a bitch and spreads rumors anyway, so I thought she would be the perfect pick for this one!

13. The Handsome Servant (What male character is most likely to seduce a female character?)

Okay, this is kind of backwards because I'm actually going with someone royal. Prince Maxon from The Selection series. He really does seduce several female characters so I thought he'd be perfect for this one!

Well, this was The Royal Court Tag. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll check back in soon!

Type at you later!

Shea    

The Silver Linings Playbook Book/Movie Adaptation Review

Hello guys! I know this was supposed to go up on Sunday, but I've been having trouble with my Mac and this is the first time I was able to get to a different computer to type this up! Anyway, today I am bringing you my Silver Linings Playbook Book/Movie Adaptation Dual-Review.

So, let's talk about the book first. It was really good. It was the first book that I read that had anything to do with Adult Mental Illness. And, speaking from personal experience, I know how mental illness is perceived. I thought the way it was handled in this book was done really well.

We meet our main character, Pat, the day his mother checks him out of a Mental Institution. He has the idea in his head that he must get back into shape and look good so that his wife will get back together with him. All we know at the beginning of the book is that they are having "apart-time".

Pat begins to see a therapist as one of the conditions on him being released from the "bad place" as he calls it. Pat and his therapist really bond and they become close friends. Especially over their favorite football team, the Eagles. Turns out, Pat's brother has season tickets to the home games and so does the therapist. They aren't therapist and patient when they are talking about football, they are friends. That was something I really enjoyed.

But then, Pat meets Tiffany. Tiffany is Pat's best friend's wife's sister. They are trying to set Pat up on a date with Tiffany because Tiffany's husband was killed and Pat's wife has divorced him, though Pat doesn't know. (I don't know if you would count that as a spoiler or not... It's hinted at right in the beginning of the book...). The two have a special kind of friendship. They bond over the fact that they are both seeing a therapist. Tiffany says she can get a letter to Pat's wife for him and he takes her up on this offer. But, she has an ultimatum for him. Pat must help Tiffany in a dance competition.

Pat agrees to this and then he begins writing the letters to his wife. Tiffany reads them to her over the phone and then writes her replies to Pat and then delivers them to Pat. The only problem is that it doesn't go so well in the end.

At the end of the story, things aren't all hunky-dory for Pat, but they're all right. It's not a happy ending per-say, but it's satisfying. I gave the story a four out of five stars.

Now, the movie on the other hand, really bothered me. It was practically nothing like the book. It had the same basic story line, and same characters. But things were in a mixed up order. And they didn't spend as much time obsessed with football (which I liked because I'm not a football person). I think I would give the movie a three maybe three and a half star out of five. It really wasn't one of the best.

But, I think that's all for now.

I'll type at you later!

Shea

Extended Easter Haul!

Hello everybody! I hope this post finds you well! I have another book haul for you today! :)

I received some money for Easter and instead of spending it on candy, which I would just eat and then be sad when it was gone, I got my fanny on BookOutlet and purchased some books. I'm quite happy with them. 

I got a total of three books for around $15 (which is why BookOutlet ROCKS!).

I FINALLY got the rest of the LUX series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and I can't wait to have a bit of a marathon read of the whole series. I got the new bind-up edition of the third and fourth to match my copy of the first and second and of course I got the new copy of the fifth book, Opposition. So if you think about it, I really got four books!! :D

The next book I got was the third book in the Prep School Confidential Series by Kara Taylor. I'm kind of obsessed with this series and haven't seen it going around very much. But I hope that will change. Anyway, the book is called Deadly Little Sins.

So, that's it. I have a fun post planned for later on this week, but I will have my joint-review of the Silver Linings Playbook (Book/Movie versions) up sometime tomorrow!

I hope you are having a good weekend! 

Type at you later!

Shea

End of the Week Update

Hello all! I hope you had a great week! I had a great week as far as reading goes. I managed to finish two books, Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton. It was pretty good. I think I gave it a four out of five star rating on GoodReads. I was expecting it to be more of a retelling of Cinderella, but it wasn't. But I'll get more into that in my wrap-up at the end of the month. :)

The second book I finished was The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick. I was really impressed with the book, but not so much the movie. The stories just didn't match up like I was expecting. But Jennifer Lawrence was awesome! :)

I also was able to start Dead Girl's Detective Agency by Suzy Cox. I only got about 25 pages into it before I feel asleep last night, but I'm going to pick that up when I'm done writing this.

What have you read this week? Anything good?

I'm hoping to have a joint review of The Silver Linings Playbook book and movie up sometime tomorrow or Sunday. Keep checking back!

Type at you later!

Shea

T5W: Books You Wanted to Start Yesterday

Hello everybody!

Here is my first post for Top 5 Wednesdays!!!! The theme this week is "Books You Wanted to Start Yesterday". Basically any books you wanted to pick up by now!

For me, they are

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

2. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

3. Paper Towns by John Green

4. The Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

5. The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Now here's a question, Would you like me to elaborate on my choices or leave them just as they are in a list format? Please let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,

Type at you later!

Shea

Beginning of the Week Update!

Hello all! I hope you've had a great weekend! My school has the day off today, so I decided I would work on a couple of posts for you guys!! Here is my Beginning of the week Update!

So, this weekend, I was able to finish Wicked by Gregory Macguire. It was not at all what I expected it to be. I will have a full discussion up on it either later today or tomorrow.

But, that's all I read. I had about 100 pages left. But, I am one step closer to finishing my goal of reading 10 adult books this year! Woo hoo!!!

I'm going to dive into Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton next, because I already started it. It's actually pretty good, but I'm only about 50 pages in. I'll keep you updated!

Type at you later!

Shea

Easter Haul!

Hello everybody and Happy Easter to all who celebrate it!

I was lucky enough to receive a few books for Easter from the Easter Bunny and my Aunt. I thought I would share the ones I got with you.

First off, from my Aunt I received two John Green books. I got Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns.

 Then, from the Easter Bunny, I was lucky enough to get four books and a few makeup items. 

The first book I got was the Maze Runner by James Dashner. I've heard mixed things about this, but I'm still excited to read it and to find out what the story is all about. 

The next book that I got was Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. I'm so excited to read this. I love the Netflix series and I can't wait for the show to come back on. I think I'm going to pick this up next, but I'm not sure. 

The last book I got, I'm so super duper excited for. I got City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. And this means, I'VE FINALLY FINISHED THE SHADOW HUNTER CHRONICLES SERIES!!!!! I'm so excited. I want to marathon the entire series eventually, but I'm just excited I've gotten this book! 

I got one more bookish item. I got a bookmark from Books A Million that says, "Let Go and Let God". This is one of my favorite quotes. I'm going to try to find a picture somewhere. But if I can't, I'll post a picture from my phone. 

The last thing I got for Easter was some makeup from E.L.F. cosmetics. I got one of their new smudge pots in Ain't That Sweet, a lipstick in Flirty and Fabulous, and a new liquid eyeliner in Jet Black

. I love the E.L.F. cosmetics liquid eyeliner and I've had mine for quite a while and I needed a new one. So, I was excited to find one in my easter basket.  
                             

I hope you all had a great Easter if you celebrate and I'll have a beginning of the week update up tomorrow. 

Type at you later!

Shea

End of the Week Update

Hello all!

This week, I didn't read as much as I was hoping to. I had so much to do between school and appointments. It was just a really long week for me. But, I was able to read some more of Wicked! I'm up to page 300 or so and the story is still really good. I'm hoping to be able to see the play on Broadway soon *crosses fingers*.

I also started Cinderella's Dress. I'm only about 20 pages in. But I'll keep you updated there as well!

How about you? What has your reading week been like?

Type at you later!

Shea

My Reading Style AKA ULTIMATE BOOK TAG!

Hello all! I thought it would be fun for me to tell you guys a little bit more about my reading style. To fit this, I found the ULTIMATE BOOK TAG! (I found it on wattpad from the user DarkChickie). I hope you enjoy!

And now, onto the questions!!!!! :D

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?

I don't really know. I did as a kid and haven't tried it in a while. But with that being said, I don't travel very far very often. The furthest I travel is about an hour, and that's really early in the morning and I sleep on the way there.

2. Which author's writing style is unique to you?

I really like the writing style of Ellen Hopkins. If you don't know, she writes all of her books in verse. I've read only one other book written in verse (I don't remember the name of it... Sorry). But there is a lot of tough stuff in her books. So, I would watch some reviews if you could be triggered by suicide and mental illness. (Note: I've only read Rumble by her, but own three more of her books and they are on my TBR to read soon!)

3. Harry Potter or Twilight? Give three reasons why.

Harry Potter, le duh! And my reasons are in the words of Mr. Stephen King...

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength, and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what (besides books) do you keep in it?

I currently don't carry a book bag as of right now. But when I attended traditional school, I carried a Jansport that was purple with polka dots on it. Inside I didn't really keep anything besides school books and pencils and paper.... I'm kinda boring.

5. Do you smell your books?

Okay, if this was any other community this would be a weird question. But I know that most of us out there in the reading community smell our new books. C'mon, don't lie. You know you love the smell of a new book! :D

6. Books with or without illustrations?

I guess not. I haven't gotten onto the graphic novel band wagon and the other books with pictures that I like are like photographs. Not illustrations.

7. What book did you love whilst reading it, but later discovered the writing wasn't all that good?

This question made me laugh out loud. When I was in middle school, I LOVED The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison. Now looking back, I don't know why I liked it. It was really crap writing and had no real plot line. Oh well, it's in the past now.

8. Do you have any funny stories about books from your childhood? Please share?

I asked this directly to my mother. She said she has no idea and to ask my aunt instead. Thanks, mom.

9.  What is the thinnest book on your shelf?

No Jumping on the Bed by Tedd Arnold. And the best part? It's signed!

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?

Hmmm...... The Host by Stephanie Meyer, I believe.

11. Do you write as well as read?

I used to. I kind of fell out of practice I guess. That, or I have a giant writer's block!

12. When did you get into reading?

I started reading when I was about 5. But I didn't really start reading proactively until about fourth grade.

13. What is your favorite classic novel?

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!!!

14. In school, was your best subject English?

Of course!

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had already read and hated, what would you do?

Hmmm.... I don't know. Most of the books that I receive as presents, I picked out myself. So I've never had that kind of situation presented to me. I guess I would smile and say thank you. ;)

16. What is your favorite lesser known series?

The fairytale retellings by Alex Flinn. I don't know if that's considered a series or a set of companion novels, but they're awesome!

17. What is a bad habit (besides rambling) that you do while filming?

Filming? What is filming?

18. What is your favorite word?

I had to ask my mom for this one. And so she suggested to use a therapy technique. Oh mother...... :)

19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?

ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!

20. Vampires or Faires?

Hmmm... I haven't read many books about fae, so I don't think I'll be able to answer this one truthfully. At least, not yet. :)

21. Shapeshifters or Angels?

Same as the last question. Haven't read many books on either subject. So, I don't really know.

22. Spirits or Wearwolves?

Spirits.

23. Zombies or Vampires?

Vampires!

24. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love?

Forbidden love! I love to find out how the lovers make their love work and how they stay together!

And FINALLY,

25. Romance or Action with romance sprinkled in?

I'm not a big Romance Girl, so Action! :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this! I'll have another post up soon!

Type at you later!

Shea

Beginning of the Week Update/March Wrap Up/April TBR

Hello all! This post was meant to go up yesterday, but I had a whole lot of things to do that I couldn't miss and then when the day was over, I had to do homework. And then after that, I just wanted to sleep!

Anyway, here is my Beginning of the week reading update.

So, over the weekend, I didn't actually get much reading done. I've managed to get to about page 175 in Wicked. It's finally picking up speed a little bit. The beginning was so slow, and at this point, I'm not sure if we needed all of that background information. But, I still have a chunk of reading left to go, so we shall see.

Since this post is so short, I also wanted to include my March Wrap-Up. As you know, I read all seven of the Harry Potter books this past month. Let me just say that it was AWESOME! I had forgotten a bunch of the smaller details that they didn't include in the movies. It was great to see Peeves again and more of Dobby and Kreatcher. I really wish they had included Kreatcher in the movies. His character arc is one of the best of minor characters I think there is. He goes from practically hating Harry, Ron, and Hermione to thinking that they are okay people. He even manages to stop calling Hermione a "mudblood".

One of the biggest things I think I'd forgotten was Phineious Nigellous Black (I know that's not spelled correctly, but I'm too lazy to look it up! :P). Even though he was such a minor character, he was rather important in the final book. When Hermione took his portrait down and put it in the beaded bag and then blindfolded him, I realized how important this was to the story.

If you want, I can create a separate post for my feelings on each book.

And as for the end of the month, I started Wicked by Gregory Mcguire. As you can see from above, I've only read about 175 pages so far.

As for a TBR for April, I'm not really sure what I'm going to read. I don't have a "Spring Break" at my High School, but we do get an extended weekend for Easter, so I'm hoping to be able to finish at least Wicked if I haven't before then.

I was able to pick out the books I wanted in my Easter Basket so, I think I will read some of those (I will have a proper haul up when I actually receive the books, because I've forgotten what some of them are!).

One of the books was Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman, I know that for sure. I want to read that before the new season is released on Netflix in June, so that's on my TBR for this month. I'd also like to start the Throne of Glass series as well as finally get to Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox. And of course finish Wicked. I'll keep you posted through my weekly updates and end of the month wrap up.

I hope you guys are having a great start to your week. It's snowing here again......... So much for Spring.

But anyway,

I'll type at you later!

Shea

Insurgent Review/End of the Week Update!

Hello all! Well, I've finally been to see Insurgent! I went to a showing today. I must say that it was really good, but there were a couple of things that bothered me. And correct me if I'm wrong here, it's been a while since I've read the books.

Okay, first off, I will always have a love-hate relationship with Ansel. How can the same person play Agustus Waters AND Caleb Pryor????? My aunt went with me to the movie and I told her that Caleb was only playing the nice guy. She was shocked to find out that he returns to Euridite and becomes Janine's left hand guy.... ish.

Next, isn't Johanna's face scarred? Don't get me wrong, Octavia Spencer is a beautiful woman, but I think Johanna's character needed the scars to show her strength.

Okay, this is one I'm a bit fuzzy on and may need to be corrected. But, doesn't Four's mom and the factionless come in in mostly the third book?

Also, I wish they showed a little bit more of FourTris' relationship because I ship them so hard.

Other than my discrepancies, I think the movie was pretty good. The sims were put together really well and Peter lived up to his character as always. It didn't match the books very well and I could go on and on and on about how I felt about that, but I won't. If it matched the book, it would have been a solid five out of five star movie. But since it wasn't, I give it a three/three and a half star rating.

Okay, now I'm going onto my end of the week reading update!

So this past week, I finished the Harry Potter series. You can see my responses to the Ultimate Harry Potter Tag in my previous post.

The day after I finished the Harry Potter series, I picked up Wicked by Gregory Mcquire. I haven't gotten very far in, and I seem to have misplaced the book somewhere in my bed............. But, it is a great story so far. So far, Elphaba is still a baby. I can't wait to see what happens as the story goes on.

I'll keep you updated!

Type at you later!

Shea

The Ultimate Harry Potter Tag

Hello all! I just finished the Harry Potter series. It took me about three days to read the last one because I've fallen ill in the past few days so I've just spent my time reading. Anyway, I've found what claims to be the ULTIMATE Harry Potter Tag. And thus, I present it to you!

1. Favorite Book?

Hmmm.. toughie. I love them all so much. But my favorite one would have to be the Order of the Phoenix. I just find it packed with so much detail and foreshadowing for the books to come. But, if you were to ask me a few reads ago, this would have been different.

2. Least Favorite Book?

If I absolutely HAD to choose one I would go with the Deathly Hallows. I know, I know this is a lot of people's favorite book in the series. I guess for me that the reason this is my least favorite is because it's the end.

3. Favorite Movie?

Hands down Prisoner of Azkaban. I really love the way Sirius is portrayed in this movie. He's almost the way I picture him whilst reading.

4. Least Favorite Movie?

Whilst Order of the Phoenix is my favorite book, it is my least favorite movie. This is because they could have done so much with the details in the story and it just didn't meet my expectations.

5. Favorite Quote?

"His scar had not bothered him for nineteen years. All was well." :)

6. Favorite Weasley?

Ron. He's my fictional boyfriend! :D

7. Favorite Female Character?

Hermione. But, she's more than that. I don't know if its because in the movies she's portrayed by Emma Watson, but she's a sort of role model for me. I like to think that I am like her in school. I'm annoyingly smart.

8. Favorite Villain?

Hmmm... I guess I would have to pick Draco. You can see how much it pains him to be in the position he is in later in the book. And also, Lauren Lopez. That is all. ;)

9. Favorite Male Character?

The Weasley Twins. I can't pick between the two of them. As far as I'm aware, they're one entity. And they're just pure awesome!

10. Favorite Professor?

Professor Sprout. She's so down to earth with the students and there's not a lot of magic in her class other than the plants. Also, she's not afraid to get dirty. I've actually named a horse Sprout in her honor! :)

11. Would you rather A.) Wash Snape's hair or B.) Listen to Lockhart rave about himself for a full day?

I would have to pick wash Snape's hair. It wouldn't take as long as listening to Lockhart for an entire day.

12. Would you rather duel A.) An elated Bellatrix or B.) An enraged Molly?

Ooooo.... toughie. I would never want to cross Bellatrix, but Molly being angry? I'd probably pick an elated Bellatrix because she could possibly be distracted by how happy she is... Maybe?

13. Would you rather travel to Hogwarts by A.) Hogwarts Express or B.) Flying Car?

Hands down Hogwarts Express. I mean the Lunch cart alone makes me drool, but I think the chaos would be something rather entertaining to see!

14. Would you rather A.) Kiss Voldemort or B.) Give Umbridge a bubble bath?

Who comes up with these questions? I guess kiss Voldemort. It would be short and just picturing Umbridge naked gives me the chills.

15. Would you rather A.) Ride a Hippogriff or B.) Ride a Fireboat?

Firebolt. The speed would be awesome and I think it would be easier to control than a Hippogriff. Also, I fear that I am too clumsy and would easily fall off a Hippogriff.

16. Is there a character that you felt differently about in the movies?

Ginny. I think this is most everyone's answer to this question in our fandom. In the books she has so much more character and she's more out there in the books.

17. Is there a movie you preferred over the book?

Nope. All of the books were better than the movies. But that seems to always be the case.

18. Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as Dumbledore?

Richard Harris! He was much more like Dumbledore in the books. Also because of "'Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire' he said calmly." v.s. "DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIYYYYRE?!"

19. Top thing in the books that wasn't in the movies?

Peeves. Especially in the Order of the Phoenix after the Twins leave Hogwarts.

20. If you could remake any of the movies, which would it be?

Probably the Half-Blood Prince. Whilst Order of the Phoenix was my least favorite, Half-Blood Prince was too far from the book and I would make it closer to the books. I would include more of the lessons between Harry and Dumbledore and put in more Quidditch.

21. Which house do you feel you'd be a part of?

Ravenclaw. I love learning (my mom always jokes that if higher education were free, I'd be a professional student! :P), and think I would be a great member of the house.

22. Which house were you actually sorted into on Pottermore?

Ravenclaw! :D

23. Which class do you feel would be your favorite?

Probably Charms. I feel that it would also be the most useful. I would say DADA if Lupin was a permanent teacher!

24. What spell do you feel would be most useful to learn?

In the thought of laziness, Accio. But in reality, probably Protego. I would be easily able to shield myself from most spells.

25. Which character do you feel you'd instantly become friends with?

Luna. We both a little bit outside of the realm of normalcy. ;P

26. If you could own one of the three Hallows, which would it be?

Probably the Cloak. It's the one I know most about from the books and I would be AWESOME at hide-and-seek! ;)

27. Is there any aspect of the books you'd want to change?

The fact that Lupin was not a werwolf and could have been DADA teacher for all of the books.

28. Favorite Maurader?

I like them all except Wormtail. But probably Padfoot. He makes a perfect dog and was probably the most mischievous of them all.

29. If you could bring one character back to life, who would it be?

Probably Fred. It's really hard to imagine George on his own. Even Molly didn't see that .

30. Hallows or Horcruxes?

Hallows. I couldn't kill to make a Horcrux, and the Hallows would be much more useful. I'd rather be master of death than immortal.

Well, I hope you guys liked learning more about my feelings toward Harry Potter. I must admit that I was part of the later age that read them. The first one came out when I was about two, so I can't say I was there for any of the book launches or anything like that. But, I was able to go to the last two midnight showings. :) But, I am still part of the Harry Potter generation!

Type at you later!

Shea

PS Found the tag on the blog fandomsontherun!