pages: 272 (6hrs 40mins audio book)
isbn: 9780307915887
heard: 5/20-24/2017
rating: hated lily. didn't care for this book. definitely will not be reading the sequel.
___________________________________________
"the love i felt for him was huge and real and while painful, it forever changed me as a person."
- Langston chp. 18
___________________________________________
16-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and rise to its challenges.
What follows is a whirlwind romance as Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City. But can their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions, or will their scavenger hunt end in a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
MY THOUGHTS
i didn't hate this book BUT i didn't like it.
i didn't care for anything about it.
i have been wanting to read this book. but like all the other 654625154 books i want to read, i forgot about it.
then, thanks to the overdrive app and my library's section of audio books, i gave it a go.
i started it on Saturday when i went for a hike. so maybe that's where it all went wrong; i hated those 2 hours.
the idea of a kid finding a notebook in a bookstore meant for some adventure (while possible...) and then setting off on a "let's leave the book in random places because no matter what, we'll always find it" kinda deal seemed really farfetched.
and this is coming from someone who a) COMPLETELY understands that ANYTHING goes in a story (and will absolutely eat it all up!!!!) and b) had an easier time eating up EVERYTHING that JK Rowling was feeding everyone in the Harry Potter Universe.
i mean it's New York.
how in the world? and then of course, it's do-able because Lily has family working everywhere so of course she can use them in their little notebook game. (which by the way, weren't even really dares. they were more like truths. and even then it was all for the book to get retrieved.)
and it's doable because Dash also has people he can use.
BUT let me list the ways that i disliked this book.
because it wouldn't be fair for me to tell you how much i disliked it and not tell you why.
1) she didn't write ANYTHING in the red moleskine.
at least not in the beginning. her brother and grandpa wrote it up and set this whole shindig in motion (and then left her all to herself).
and it's true, everything after said first contact was her but the whole set up just irked me. kinda like "get out there and date" deal.
2) S H E I S S O A N N O Y I N G !!!!!!
(which also caused me to hate the living shit out of her)
let me list the ways:
- i understand that she's mad because her brother sorta used her as the little sister when he got his heartbroken. and now that he has a new boyfriend, she's mad that he won't do things that they used to do before like play boggle and that he wants to spend all the time he can with whatever his bf's name is. but FUCK! she's so annoying about it. she's so freaking mad. get over it kid. shit happens. you're old enough to understand that life doesn't work that way.
- her brother asks her for soup because he's sick and she tells him to fuck off. all because he didn't want to play boggle with her.
- she's mad at her parents for leaving to Fiji to celebrate their 25th anniversary during Xmas. like who the fuck are they to celebrate themselves on her time!? don't they know everything revolves around her. specially during Xmas!?
- she CLEARLY states that she's a loner at school because she thinks that kids don't think of her at all but yet doesn't try to connect with anyone.
- she hates her parents for even thinking of moving to Fiji (which is also part of the reason they went). she turns into the biggest little bitch about this
- she's mad that her grandpa left to Florida and left her alone during Xmas.
- she's mad that her grandpa is going to propose to his Florida girlfriend and might eventually move out there. (the proposal didn't go through. she said no. and now that she has a "life" (chapters later) she wishes her grandpa would leave back to FL so she can continue living her life.)
- she's mad that all of her cousins won't join her in a caroling group that she created.
- she hates Hermione from Harry Potter because she's not Hermione from Harry Potter.
- she judges her brother for highlighting certain passages in his books. like, just cause they don't mean shit to you, don't mean they don't mean something to someone else.
- she runs off with the notebook after not leaving it like she should have. then Dash did or said something that caused her not to care about it when it falls because they are "over". causing her to try and finally have her first kiss with the guy who made fun of her when her guinea pig or hamster got mauled to death by another animal at show & tell. of course she tries to do this when she's drunk and Dash walks in on all of it.
- just, her whole existence.
i get that it's for the story but chill the fuck out.
also, all the "popularity" they got off of catching a baby? no. it's not a cat. it'd never really be that popular.
4) Dash saying that he didn't really like his ex Sofia as much as he should have every chance he could and then trying to rekindle shit with her once he walks in on Lily trying to mac down on homeboy.
5) i get that Dash is this very well read kid or whatever but chill the fuck out with all the extra long, fancy sounding words that feed your soul or whatever the fuck. i feel like i needed a dictionary alongside this book just to know what he meant half the time.
not even Rory from Gilmore Girls and they both wanted the complete OED.
i think that was it, or that's all that I'm going to write about that whole thing but yea.
not a fan of this book.
i feel like saying that i hated it is too strong because i didn't hate it. but i can definitely say i disliked it.
and maybe I'm missing the bigger picture of it all, but hey, we're all entitled to our own opinions and also, i kinda spaced out more than i feel that it kept me into it. just, no.
and just because i won't do a spoiler after this (but also because there is a sequel so you should already know), they do end "together" whatever that means.
they kiss and, the end.
and that's all folks.
2017, WHAT IS UP WITH YOU!???
published: 2003
pages: 198 (ebook)
isbn: 978-1-941528-11-2
read: 5/16-19/2017
rating: funny, cute, quick read.
SYNOPSIS
After five years of being lost in the Amazon, archaeologist Chaz Vincent has finally come home to his wife, Kelly, only to learn that she has had him declared dead. When he attends his own funeral, Chaz finds out that Kelly married another man just that morning. Now she has to choose between them. Who will be her favorite husband?
MY THOUGHTS
i get an email from idk who every day giving me the ebook deals of the day so i get most ebooks for under $3.
i'd never heard of this author nor her work and the synopsis was really random so i thought, "why not?"
then i forgot about it.
and then because WE ARE GOING TO CANCUN!!!!! (soon) i was like let me get my reading affairs in order so i can take my nook and be happy with my choices. (e-readers not so bad now, eh?)
and then i saw that i had this one.
and i started it.
and then the online e-reader crap said that my sample was over so i was like "okay. i don't want to invest myself anyway."
and then.....i saw that i actually did purchase the book. it was just my web browser that was trippin' so i read it.
aaaanyway, this was a quick funny read.
it's nothing too serious that you need to get super invested in and considering that i read most of this at work, it was a good read to kill time with.
it's about Kelly who marries Spencer after 5 years of searching for her first husband, Chaz, who had disappeared in the amazon during a work trip.
then of course, Chaz shows up at his own funeral.
wtf.
and from there on, it's just one hot mess after another at the hotel where her honeymoon was supposed to take place.
it involves her, her brother Scott, both Chaz & Spencer, her boss, her mother, her mothers lawyer man friend, another co-worker of Chaz's, her two brothers and the manager of the hotel, sorta. heck, there was even a priest for a bit.
i want to say that my favorite character of this entire story HAS TO BE Scott, Kelly's brother.
i loved his sense of humor. he was a super funny guy but also there for her when she needed it.
he does have a book of his own (this book's sequel) but i don't think I'll be picking it up.
at least not yet.
it gets messy but at the end of it all, it gets resolved and overall, i liked this quick read.
nothing to serious.
spoilers below!
thanks for reading!
ahhh! mother's day!
this year, we took our mothers out on a full blown day date.
for the second time, i took my mom to the Carlsbad flower fields that i took her to last year and this year we included B and his mom!
our parents have met each other but other than the Hearst castle, our mom's haven't really hung out like this. so it was a first for the both of us and i absolutely loved it.
after the flower fields, we went to Stone Brewery in Escondido and had a DELICIOUS lunch!!! (craving some of that salmon!)
and after that we made a pit stop at Pechanga and lost some money.
I'm so glad we made this trip and i hope we get to do another one soon!
love ya B. thank you for making this trip happen! <3
on Sunday (actual mother's day) B & his sisters had a caterer come over and cater breakfast to the whole family and i went with my mom. it was sooo yummy!!!!
and such a sweet thing to do.
definitely a mother's day to remember.
I'll leave ya with some pictures!
i hope you all had a good mother's day however you celebrated <3
thanks for reading.
a couple of weeks ago, our AZ friends got married and off we went to Arizona for the umpteenth time.
....but this isn't about that. (obvs!)
on the way home, we were by Palm Springs when i was on facebook and i noticed my friend and her husband were at the mirror house that i had completely forgotten about.
so i googled it and we were still 30 minutes away so i made him stop by.
apparently, this is like an 8 hr, go search for the rest of the art kinda deal...which i didn't know about until i read the post linked above about 2-3 days ago.
...but I'm okay having skipped the rest.
you can see better pictures here.
my phone was dying and it was kinda gloomy so i couldn't get better pics...so that's all i got...and he wasn't in the mood so I'm lucky i got those 5415468716 that I've just posted, lol.
I overheard the guy guarding the house that it was on its last week BUT that they had been saying that since April 30th. so.....i can't help you there.
BUT just in case, look up the hours. you're not allowed past like 5 or 7 and some days it doesn't open until after 3. sometimes it's open until sundown which is now like 9pm, so idk....so many different times.
overall, I'm glad i stopped by because i was in the area and not because i made the drive.
and here's a pic of us getting ready for the wedding because 😍
thanks for reading! (:
it's almost Friday!!!
pages: 241
isbn: 9781501145858
read: 5/3-9/2017
rating: woah. hated everyone in it (the 2 main characters), liked it, LOVED it. what in the hell. overall, pretty good!
SYNOPSIS
In this moving and enormously entertaining debut novel, longtime romantic partners Kathryn and Chris experiment with an open relationship and reconsider everything they thought they knew about love.
After nine years together, Kathryn and Chris have the sort of relationship most would envy. They speak in the shorthand they have invented, complete one another’s sentences, and help each other through every daily and existential dilemma. But, as content as they are together, an enduring loneliness continues to haunt the dark corners of their relationship. When Chris tells Kathryn about his feelings for Emily, a vivacious young woman he sees often at the Laundromat, Kathryn encourages her boyfriend to pursue this other woman—certain that her bond with Chris is strong enough to weather a little side dalliance.
MY THOUGHTS
woah!
okay, so, this book is about Chris & Kathryn...and their 9 year relationship...and the thought of making it a polyamorous one. (although, i kinda think it already was.)
it was a bit hard to get into this book not because i didn't like the writing but because of the pace. once i dove deeper, i liked it. i hated the characters, Chris & Kathryn, but then i found myself loving the twist it took in the middle and found myself having love for Kathryn, to loving what happened in their relationship to feeling all WTF! THIS is how the book ends!!!?
overall, it was a good book and i feel it might have broken the 'wtf is up with all these books that aren't doing it for me' spell.
SPOILER-ish
i think this might be a bit of a spoiler buuuuut its a baby one so bear with me;
i hated Chris because he is the one that introduced the idea of Emily into his relationship. (NOT polyamory but Emily.)
i hated it because as you read, you learn that this dude, while he doesn't sleep around, he attaches himself to women who bring out a certain something in him. first it was this girl he liked, then he attaches himself to her best friend, then he goes to college and attaches to idk who...then it continues until he meets Kathryn and he stays with her for 9 freaking years.
then one random ass day, he sees Emily at the laundromat and on a camping trip with Kathryn, he can't let the idea of her go.
SPOILER-ish OVER
i myself have never been in that type of relationship and i know, never say never, but i can honestly say that i can NEVER see myself in that kind of relationship. simply for the fact that no matter how you try to break it down, someone will ALWAYS get hurt.
someone will always love someone else more and that said someone will pay attention to someone else more causing the first person to hurt.
that's merely my thought but if you can get behind it and actually carry out that kind of relationship, then more power to you.
i think Zoey did a good job exploring that.
i think as much as Kathryn wanted to be okay with it and as much as she was all for it, it hurt. a lot. you don't do some of the shit she did if you we're really okay with it.
but then to add an element of surprise, i believe Kathryn's upbringing is what caused her to think the way she did.
you can't "own" people.
and then i think about the other couple in the story that breaks away and i think "is she not okay with it because she's exclusively not a part of it?"
with the other couple, it seems that it was Kathryn that was in another relationship, within her relationship and she was okay with it then and missed it when it was gone.
and Chris was just happy going along.
i just loved that Kathryn kind of got her own self back in the end.
and that Chris realizes that maybe he had what he wanted all along.
but the ending!
it just, ends.
for the sake of saving spoilers on here i won't say anything but i feel like while you kinda get the gist of it, it could have ended better, more....conclusive.
it's just in the air (for me anyway) and personally, I'd like to think that Chris doesn't get shit in the end.
buuuut, it could likely be that they just stay in the rhythm that they are in (where it doesn't seem like he still wins) and it just ends in a big....,family but not really kind of way.
i liked that they show resolve for the pain caused. that a "weaker" opponent ends up "winning" in the end.
that it doesn't have a good ending for the dick you want to hate and a good-ish ending for someone you thought didn't have what it took to make it in the end.
overall, for 241 pages, it wasn't a bad read and I'm glad i picked it up.
cover for the win!!!
so far, every time i think about the book, something else shines on me about it and how it's all metaphorical so maybe the ending will come to me later. but so far, not a fan of the abrupt ending but still liked it overall.
I'll leave you with some fave quotes and then, as always, the spoilers!
love isn't: i love you so much that i need to posses you and control you and be the source of all your happiness. Love is: i love you so much that i want you to have everything you need, even when it's hard for me.
- Kathryn pg 66
it's shameful for two people to love each other for so long and then decide to stop.
-Chris pg 82
No one should come home to a bed that looks better off without you.
- Kathryn pg 160
What Chris wants is for Kathryn to be happy. that's what he's always wanted, of course, but now that he's seen what happiness looks like on Kathryn, the sadness of the last nine years terrifies him.
Chris pg 209
I want the opposite of dating, Chris says. I want someone to stay home with on a Friday night and play scrabble in our pajamas. I want to make a giant pot of soup together and then fall asleep with my head on their lap while they read, or their head on my lap.
You had that, Kathryn says. and you wanted something else.
pg 240 (absolute fave!!!!)
thanks for reading!
published: October 27, 2015
pages: 615 (!!!!) // 14+ hrs audio book
isbn; ASIN (?): B00T3E76II
read (listened to): 4/28 to 5/4/2017
rating: what in the 15 fucks all down highway 66 did i just listen to!? (means that like, im a lot of bit ashamed to admit i heard this BUT there is a reason....)
___________________________________________
Everyones got an endless capacity for love which means everyones got a shot at receiving an endless supply of love. don't matter who you give it to or receive it from. just matters you have a heart big enough and a heart open enough to give it back." (...or something like that)
-Logan Chap 19
___________________________________________
Millie Cross knows what it's like to burn for someone. She was young and wild and he was fierce and even wilder-a Chaos biker who made her heart pound. They fell in love at first sight and life was good, until she learned she couldn't be the woman he needed and made it so he had no choice but to walk away. Twenty years later, Millie's chance run-in with her old flame sparks a desire she just can't ignore. And this time, she won't let him ride off . . .
Bad boy Logan "High" Judd has seen his share of troubles with the law. Yet it was a beautiful woman who broke him. After ending a loveless marriage, High is shocked when his true love walks back into his life. Millie is still gorgeous, but she's just a ghost of her former self. High's intrigued at the change, but her betrayal cut him deep-and he doesn't want to get burned again. As High sinks into meting out vengeance for Millie's betrayal, he'll break all over again when he realizes just how Millie walked through fire for her man . . .
Bad boy Logan "High" Judd has seen his share of troubles with the law. Yet it was a beautiful woman who broke him. After ending a loveless marriage, High is shocked when his true love walks back into his life. Millie is still gorgeous, but she's just a ghost of her former self. High's intrigued at the change, but her betrayal cut him deep-and he doesn't want to get burned again. As High sinks into meting out vengeance for Millie's betrayal, he'll break all over again when he realizes just how Millie walked through fire for her man . . .
MY THOUGHTS
1000% of me is a lot of bit ashamed to admit that i read this. erm, listened to it.
BUT I HAVE SEVERAL GOOD EXPLANATIONS!!!
1) i was on GoodReads and one click led to another that lead to another and well, i found a book blog of a lady who is into these kinds of reads.
what kind you ask?
typical macho man, ride or die dude, sex in every scene, more cursing than I'm used to and i can prooobably out curse a sailor...type of book. the kind with the corny ass cover that you look at and you're like, THANK GOD kindles and nooks exist because I'd never be caught dead with this out in real life. (no? just me?)
2) her review of this book was SO FUCKING FUNNY (i wish i could link it but i would never do that and 2 i can't even remember the website).
first, she said that while the sex scenes turned her on and made her lady bits tingle to the point of no return (i died laughing!!!!) she said the book was so fucking long that by the time she was done, her husband had no chance of reviving that dried up pond.
3) then some other reader left a comment about how what Mollie did for Logan was probably the best, most unselfish thing you could ever do for another human being.
so then, of course, i was like...what is it!!!!?????
i asked around, begged, looked and googled AND NO ONE WOULD ANSWER ME!!!!
(see, this is why i do spoilers after the jump. some people just want to know! don't be a dick and tell them!!!)
so, i saw that for my nook, it was on sale for $5.99. not bad but i wasn't down.
the library had a copy but then i found some bad reviews and i was like....uhm, no, so i pulled my request.
THEN i saw that they had an audio copy and i thought "how perfect!!!!'" i love listening to music but i needed a break so i gave it a go.
and fuuuuuuuckkk!!!!!!
this book is cornier that the cornball machine that burns your soul on Arrested Development.
let me start by saying this:
I LOVE CHICK LIT!!!
I LOVE LOVE STORIES!
I LOVE LOVE STORIES!
THE CORNIER THE BETTER!!!!!!!
but this was on another level.
I'm not used to this kind of writing.
so this isn't a diss on the book, or the writing, or author or anyone who likes to read this material. I'm just simply stating that it wasn't for me.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WTF MILLIE DID FOR LOGAN THAT WOULD CAUSE HER TO BE IN PAIN AND SINGLE FOR 20 FUCKEN YEARS!!!!!! AND LEAD LOGAN TO CALL MILLIE A BITCH AND DEGRADE HER EVERY CHANCE HE COULD....before he found out.
and then i found out.
and while some might praise it as the most amazing thing ever, uhm, no.
it was selfish, and she thought on her own accord and didn't even take into consideration what Logan could have done for her. or how they could have sailed that situation together.
later on, it becomes clear that her leaving Logan paid off cause i guess he learned how to become a domesticated man in a way. which she didn't have before. so i mean i guuuesssssssssssssss BUT STILL!!!!!
THEN, and i think it's for the sole purpose of just stringing you along and opening up a gateway to book #5 or whatever the fuck, they bring in a drug lord. like, THE BIGGEST EVER!!!!
so big that these macho men thug life bikers (makes no sense) partner up with cops (!!!....that they hated not even 20 years ago) to try and catch him.
he literally makes an appearance early on in the book and then doesn't come back until chapter twenty-fucking-three!!!! (in the audio book there's 24 chapters and an epilogue) and even then NOTHING HAPPENS.
literally, this book could have been over after like they reconciled.
yea they do.
spoiler.
and Logan's kids, the little one, Saidee or however you spell it (i think that was her name) what a little bitch!!!!!
UGH!!!!
she bugged the shit out of me.
overall, it was a read ONLY because i wanted to know wtf Millie did. and once i did, i was ready to give up listening to this book.
then i don't know what happened but i kept going and by chapter 19 i was forcing myself with the thought that "hey!, only 5 more chapters."
basically by the end, i still didn't know who was who other than Millie and Logan and the drug dealer. other than that, all other characters were lost on me.
it's over with.
when someone asks you to spoil something for them, don't be a dick.
like Nike, JUST DO IT (woah!!! lame dad joke!)
2017 has been a shitty year for books for me i think, I've only really loved one and well, all others at least the last few, have left me blegh.
at least i just found out there's about300 audio books that i can check out right away and i found a couple so hay!!!
what did Millie do?
jump on over.
quickest spoiler I've ever done.
PS: Chipotle should've sponsored this book.
thanks for reading!
published: 2014
pages: 333
isbn: 978-0-385-35330-4
read: 4/18/2017 to Didn't Finish
rating: couldn't do it man.
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
MY THOUGHTS
ah, well.
i finished the damn thing. even if i did skip through.
i want to like this book more than i don't. i think mostly in part because everyone I'm friends with over on goodreads (all of 6 people) have either read it and loved it OR have it on their to-read list. if I'm being honest, i think part of me wanted to finish it because Elise LOVED it and i usually am all for what she reads. (actually, i haven't liked the last few....hmm)
but alas, you can't force yourself to feel for anything if you don't care about it to begin with.
its not a badly written book, it's just not my taste.
i don't hate it, i just don't have the will to go on. i just had no care to finish it completely.
it goes from the past to the now present.
it has all these characters that are somehow connected that i can't piece together (i did). all i know is Arthur i guess, is a main part of all that. and i think the Prophet MIGHT be Jeevah (or however the fuh you spell his name.)
it starts with the beginning of the end and then it jumps to 19-20 years later after the Georgia Flu.
for a while it stayed there and it left me craving for the people in the past because i was over it.
and then it would jump out into the "past" and well, i regretted wishing for the past (HAY-O! life full circle!)
i just didn't feel the excitement for this book.
I'd leave it alone for days. I'd pick it up and get into it and then I'd be over it right away.
it didn't stir any emotion in me and well, its due at the library tomorrow. there's no way in hell I'm going to stay up to finish the last 120 pages. and i just BARELY finished it by jumping around.
while i would have been okay not finishing it, I'm glad i jumped around the last 120 pages and i found the "plot twist" or whatever. didn't even think about it when it hinted it properly. J wasn't the Prophet (mild spoiler!) ...it was better!
le sigh.
here are a few of my fave quotes from the book though.
"this life was never ours. We were only ever borrowing it."
- Miranda pg 101
"No one ever thinks they're awful, even people who really actually are. its some sort of survival mechanism."
- Miranda pg 106
"First we only want to be seen, but once we're seen, that's not enough anymore. After that, we want to be remembered."
- Clark pg 187 (i think...I'm not even sure)
(my personal fave because, LOL!)
"Look, everyone just chill the fuck out, I'll cover it on my Amex."
- Max pg 243
jump over for the spoilers!
thanks for reading!
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