published: 2018
pages: 415
read: 12/10/18 to 1/10/19
rating: as its own, good. as a whole series, why did ya keep going?
book: 2 in 2019
Louisa Clark arrives in New York ready to start a new life, confident that she can embrace this new adventure and keep her relationship with Ambulance Sam alive across several thousand miles. She steps into the world of the super rich, working for Leonard Gopnik and his much younger second wife, Agnes. Lou is determined to get the most out of the experience and throws herself into her new job and New York life.
As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart--wherever that may lead?
As she begins to mix in New York high society, Lou meets Joshua Ryan, a man who brings with him a whisper of her past. Before long, Lou finds herself torn between Fifth Avenue where she works and the treasure-filled vintage clothing store where she actually feels at home. And when matters come to a head, she has to ask herself: Who is Louisa Clark? And how do you find the courage to follow your heart--wherever that may lead?
MY THOUGHTS
SHORT VERSION:
all in all it was a good (hopefully) close to Lou's story but NOTHING compared to what started it all (i did go into it completely separating them both). also, i had to alternate between book and audio book because i couldn't continue reading it. had i not gotten the audio book, i probably would have shelved it.
LONG VERSION:
i know this is just a book and these are just character of Moye's imagination
BUT
just imagine.
just imagine if the story or they, the characters were actually real?
there might be spoilers ahead because I'm not sure how ill keep doing this book recap deal....
SO, SKIP THIS if you don't want a sort of spoiler!!!!
lets imagine what Will Traynor and Louisa Clark are real human beings on this earth in our time. and if you know their story, then isnt it amazing how everything does happen for a reason? how it could easily be that simple?
if Will hadn't been in that accident, he would have never needed Louisa. Will & Louisa wouldn't have fallen in love, he wouldn't have woken her up only to tear her back down. she wouldn't have made a connection with Nathan whom led her to New York. she wouldn't have fallen off her roof and she wouldn't have met Sam. she wouldn't have worked for the Gopnick's to end up working for Margot who in turn gave her her new lease at life.
*GASPS FOR AIR*
and none of this would have happened had Will not gone to New York for work only to decide that he wanted to go back to London only to get in a horrible accident that set everything i just typed up into motion.
ahhhhh!
START READING HERE TO READ WHAT I THINK! (LOL)
K.
i will admit, this damn book made me cry but it had to do with Dean Martin. because FUUUHHH!!!! how!? how could you!!!! ...i understand how she could. it still made me cry.
and I will admit that for the most part, I'll miss Ashok and his wife. and Margot, wherever she may be. hmm...and Ilaria, she grew on me. and maybe just the whole gang although there are some people that are pretty low on the list.
anyway, did you know there was a 3rd book?
i didn't.
i think i came across it on goodreads. and then i was mad because i honestly did not want to read another book in this series.
why couldn't it just be over?
let Louisa Clark just effin be.
but now that I'm done with it, i must say, i don't regret reading/listening to it. Moye's did a good job at (HOPEFULLY) closing out this story and making you have all the feels.
.... but i can also see why some people are like "why tf is there anoooother book!!!?"
all for it:
this was a pretty good book in my opinion.
-we finally get to see Louisa come to herself and finally discover what she wants to do.
-we get to see her happily ever after even if we don't get more than how it ends.
-you meet another set of amazing people that add to the story
-honestly, as far as this is from the first book (meaning, we could have left it at book one, tbh) this is a good closing to the story of Louisa Clark.
B U T
i should let you know that this book was mostly finished as an audio book.
i started reading it and i couldn't get into it.
maybe it was the tiny ass font or how it just seemed like one long run on sentence but there was a point where i did not want to read this.
so i also checked it out as an audio book and i think that definitely helped me enjoy the book more than i could have expected. there were even parts where I would listen to the book and read along.
if you are someone who tends to finish series because you unknowingly get sucked into them and like me, JUST CAN'T LET IT GO, then go for it. its not a bad read at all. its just to me, I've been ready to let Lou live on.
if ya don't really care....spoilers below!
published: 2018
pages: 325
read:12/29/18 to 1/2/19
rating: okay-ish. i mean, it did the job.
book: 1 in 2019
When someone asks you to spend your life with him, it shouldn't come as a surprise--or happen in front of 45,000 people.
When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part--they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...
At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up--in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes...
When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part--they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...
At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up--in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes...
MY THOUGHTS
SHORT VERSION:
yea okay. quickie read. not mad at it....if i don't stop to think about it.
LONG VERSION:
holy crap.
3/2018 was the last time i did a book report (?).
2018 was not the best year reading wise for me and its so weird to think that i might be back on and that this was the book that brought me back because this is same author and her first book (of this series....if it is one or whatever) that threw me off the idea of reading completely.
and yet, here i might be back and it's her second book that snapped me out of it.
and it's even more weird because it was the same damn thing!!!!!!!
overall, i did find myself wanting to read this book and i couldn't put it down but i do have to say that that doesn't really say much for the story. (maybe i just wanted to start reading again!)
its
the
exact
same
plot.
he rescues her
she thanks him
she likes him and doesn't say anything
he likes her but realizes he'd rather be single because who has time to waste in a relationship?
he then randomly realizes he loves her
it takes her friends for her to realize that she actually loves him too
it takes her friends for her to realize that she actually loves him too
there's a baby born that brings her to the family and of course he hates it
it takes time apart to realize......
yada, yada, yada....
they end up together.
that's basically the gist of it.
i know all love stories are basically the same but i dunno. while i did like this one...it also (now....23 days later) irks me.
its not that it was a bad book, i just don't want another book that is the exact same story with different names.
i think i would have rather preferred this book to be about Drew and Alexa preparing for their wedding and the wedding itself and then Carlos and Nikole playing out in the background. then at least we could have gotten some closer on D & A.
either way, i didn't hate it. it wasn't a favorite but i am SUPER interested to see what her next book will be once its out whenever that is because....what could it be about?
(fuck. i should have asked for lotto numbers or something because low and behold....it is about Alexa and Drew's wedding and it looks like its about to be about the same damn thing! with 2 new people!!!! UGH!)
i guess the 4th one will be about Nikole and Carlos and maybe someone's having a baby and her friend that does the cupcakes will cater but then some other cupcake guy wants to battle it out and they do but then they realize they love each other and they build the ultimate cupcake store that's built on hard work and tears but ultimately runs on love.
there ya go, J.
plot for book #4. i can do 5 & 6 if ya want. i just want ARC's.
(sorry, i know that was a dick move but, gah!)
ahh!
hellooooo 2019!!!
can you believe January is basically almost over.
love it.
time is a weird concept that waits for no one.
on my end, I'm not waiting for Friday or the weekend. I'm waiting for Oct 2020 when ill be done paying a bunch of my shit off, so hurry on up!
(but like not really.....lets enjoy this time! :D )
anyway....it's the 18th day of the year and I'm already on book 3! it's exciting considering i did not really want to read much all of last year.
i read here and there but nothing too crazy like i usually do.
i started really good. reading a book a week and was going to try to do at least 30 but secretly aim for 52 and then i read the wedding date and i was done; i've been off reading since.
I'd pick a book up here and there but nothing really motivated me to keep going.
i was just burnt out.
I'm starting to read again / listen to more audio books but before i (possibly) return to normal book posts, i want to catch up on what i did read the rest of 2018.
READ:
-the wedding date // Jasmine Guillory: admittedly, this was a cute read in the all-ness of it. BUT i was pretty tired of the bullshit "i like him, i like her, but were both too dumb and egotistical and afraid to say how i feel for fear of rejection." just UGH. and of course. there's another book coming out
-_____- its about Carlos, the best friend, so it could be better but the premise is the same. so...(UPDATE: i have since read this book. first book post of 2019 coming up!)
-ricochet // Dean Koontz: this dude randomly has powers one day and then has to kill his grandma. pretty random AF but i mean, okay. it was cool cause i read this on the kindle app and every now and then it had some pretty dope live illustrations. I've never seen that before. but pretty cool read. i had that read back thing so i "read" it as an audiobook.
-what to say next // Julie Buxbaum: i didn't write a review so i don't remember it all TOO well and now that its coming to me maybe i should BUT i do remember thinking this was another cute read. i was super into it. and then i read the comments and someone said something about how it was fucked up that there's this guy with asperger's and they had to turn it into some sexist shit. idk. just stfu and read the book (not you. i mean the person who left that comment.)
but you should read it too! lol
-when Katie met Cassidy // Camille Perry: i asked for this book back in December 2017 and i FINALLY got a copy like 20 days before it's release date in 2018. i loved it! i love Camille and i will forever read whatever she writes. but to catch you up, Katie runs out or gets dumped by her fiance and she meets Cassidy who is a total ladies lady and of course they fall in love. but there's drama and you fall in love with characters and it's just the best! kinda weird how i was all about this story but over the wedding date considering is the same gist.
-playing with matches // Hannah Orenstein: i saw everyone on ig making a big fuss about this book talking 'bout how it was the best book ever and...chill. it was okay.
typical early 20's new yorker straight out of school with no job who uses her story to move forward (the way your parents met or whatever the fuck does not define your life. IMHO.) she's dating a total douche that cheats on her. she hooks up with her clients hook up who is like 12 years older but of course she thinks she loves him. she gets fired but not before he scored her a sweet as new gig. and she's horrible to her best friend. it was okay. i would have been 10000000% okay not reading it.
-scrappy little nobody // Anna Kendrick: i think the thing that amazes me the most is that she was still brand newish when she started in that movie with Clooney. i thought she had been around for a while when she started in Twilight. either way, good book. (heard as audio book.)
- the breakdown // B.A Paris: i LOVED this book but to be honest, i think it had to do with the fact that i listened to it. i liked it more than her first book and i read that one. either way, give it a listen. and then prepare yourself; even your thoughts will be British for a bit after. lol
-the kiss quotient // Helen Hoang: ugh. another accidental series. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?
i saw this on ig as well (maybe i need to just gtfo ig and their book recs) i checked it out and its aight.
Stella has asperger's and so she hires Michael to teach here to have sex. but of course Michael is fire as fuck!!!! so she falls in love and so does he and they do it (or try) and they decide instead of sex, they'll practice her dating, so they do and she meets the fam and so does he and they belong together but of course it wouldn't be a book if they weren't stupid about it and they end up together and yay.
i will say that I LOVE that in this story Stella makes bank AF and Michael is destined to be a designer. finally a role reversal. (also, Michael has more depth to him but like.....ya know.) either way. good read but i could have done without it and I'm bummed that its a series because as much as i want to not read it, i will.
-the allure of Julian Lefray // R. S. Grey: I wish that I could tell you what this book was about but in all honesty, i cannot. i don't remember a single thing about it. i didn't even write a quick review about it on goodreads (its coming back to me a bit i think) but i can say that when i want a quick pick me up, devour this book in a few hours type of read, i can always count on Grey. i love her stories. this is solely my fault and should say nothing about her because i absolutely loved it! her stories ALWAYS get me out of my reading funk.
-an absolutely remarkable thing // Hank Green: the other day i caught myself thinking about this book and I'm now beating myself up about not giving it a proper post.
this book was pretty cool. pretty out there and its obvious the Green brothers know what they're doing!
it is a series (i have no idea when the next one is due) but i do believe that i will be re-reading this again when the next one is out. I'm sure there is something like this out there but it was pretty well written and it kept me hooked and i can't wait to read it again eventually.
-best day ever // Kaira Rouda: ooooh i loved this book. i had been wanting to read it since forever but i never got to looking for it and finally i found it in my library available now audio section. LOVED IT. i wasn't completely shocked by the story but in the beginning i was expecting a twist that never came but nevertheless, i still liked the book. i will say though, the end kinda killed it..ish. the whole, we'll spy on him for the rest of our lives deal was just too much. i don't understand how they weren't able to get homeboy for what he did at the cabin alone. but whateve's.
wanna make this a super fun read?
take a shot every time you read "BEST DAY EVER". you'll be drunk by the 2nd chapter lolz.
-my not so perfect life // Sophie Kinksella: another story about a 20 something year old who moves to London and of course shit doesn't go her way and her boss is horrible and blah blah blah. it was an okay listen. nothing too crazy. i think i would have been bothered if i made the time to read it but it was an okay listen. i guess audio books are great after all.
-dark matter // Blake Crouch: not my normal read (in a while!) but i had been wanting to read this book for a while and luckily it was available for immediate listen through my library.
i really liked this book but i think my only complaint is that ....well the end. had it been just the 2 of them okay but the amount of them that there were was just....too much. and then the end end...really? was the son even aware of what he's being asked for? I'm getting too much into it but in the overall-ness of it, yea it was cool.
overall, it was a weird year for books.
for me, 2018 was a weird year overall.
so far in 2019 i still don't have that 'i want to read all the time' feel so we'll see how that goes but hopefully it comes back because i really do miss it.
and my goal at this point is only really to read all my blue books. i have a pile of TBR books that just happen to all be a shade of blue. so hopefully that happens.
and in terms of blogging....well, hopefully, that comes back too.
sometimes you just need a random weird year off.
or two.
i duno.
but, i already have 3 books for you and a lot of time after work since i dont have a life so hopefully i'll get those going soon.
i know i'm late but i hope 2018 was better for you and that the new year was amazing and im wishing nothing but love and happiness in 2019.
thank you for reading if you made it this far!
back to Zion we go.
Ruben had the whole week off about 2 weeks ago and i managed to get 2 days off for the price of 1. after a lot of "idk what to do or where to go", he finally decided that he wanted to go back to Zion.
and i was like heck yes!
we got on the freeway at 1130 Wednesday night, made it to Vegas in 2.5 hrs and got to Zion at 6 am (technically 5 but time change) just in time for breakfast and a nap (even though i had napped a little less than half way).
we also got to see the sunrise and man, it was beautiful.
the virgin river.
the first time i really stopped to see it and it was beautifully peaceful.
i just wanted to sit by on a rock and listen to the water pass by.
this is at the first bridge once you drive into the park. its that famous spot where EVERYONE gathers around to get an amazing picture of the sunset.
these little guys (idk, there were 4 in the area) were all the way up in Angel's Landing just running around. they got pretty close to the couple sitting me.
i think people feed them because they were pretty comfortable coming up to humans. i did not feed them but i did make the gesture like i was and they came up to me like nothing. i'm not sure where the one in the middle got food from.
just when its about to get hella real at angel's landing. sorta almost done but not really.
love when effects kick in all on their own.
THE COLORS!!!!! all the heart eye emoji's!!!
thursday
we hiked:
-lower emerald pool (the other 2 were closed due to the storm from a few months back)
-weeping rock. pretty quick hike for a nice view. take sunglasses. you'll be blinded otherwise.
-the narrows. like last time, we only made it up the entrance cause it was too cold to go further in with what we were wearing.
friday:
we hiked:
-angel's landing. because of the damage the storm caused, we somehow ended up higher than the last time we went. and while i didn't have a bout of vertigo this time around, i still did not risk it and continue the last .5 miles. I'm fine with 4.5
-canyon overlook trail: this one was a fairly quick hike. but to be honest, I'm surprised i hiked this one. there's railing in a lot of places but in the places that there isn't, one slip and good luck.
i think i was hangry by then and sleepy that when we made it up, i just laid on a rock and fell asleep for a bit. we were there for the sunset (without planning it) and it made for nice views but i wouldn't have felt comfortable going back down in the dark with no light. (i think by now, its safe to say that you all know I'm a person who worries. A LOT!)
I'm not sure if we did a 3rd hike this day. or just 2. idk.
this time around, we bought a pass to go into the park (like always) but then, basically unless you are going to go through the park (and to the overlook trail or just park on the side whenever you want to stop), you will need to find parking right away and take the shuttle. we parked at the end of the Pa'rus trail.
they do not allow you access to the road where all the hikes are at in your own vehicle so you need to take the shuttle. my understanding is this is only until after thanksgiving (not sure when it starts) but let me tell you! shuttles should be a 365 day kinda deal. nothing is better than being dropped off and picked up as you please.
NO WORRYING ABOUT ANY PARKING!!!!
its honestly the best.
and if you go, i recommend driving into the park at night.
the stars are nuts!
Just in time for Zions 99th Birthday! <3
can't wait to go back in a few years.
thanks for reading!
first time at zion here and here
(a month Y E A R later!)
here is CANADA!
well, just the Capilano suspension bridge. cause that's all we went for.
I know I meant to post this A YEAR AGO! but i dunno blogging has felt weird for me. i got lazy once we got back from our trip and 2018 has just been a weird year.
and well, today marks the 1 year anniversary of Canada literally. i figured there was no better time than today to post this.
sorry for disappearing guys!
....anyway!
the reason we went to Canada was because i wanted to go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.
a friend of mine went with her husband years ago and i don't even remember how i came across it again but i decided then and there that i wanted to go.
so in Washington, after returning a fitbit charger at target and getting a fucking speeding ticket in WA (and for some reason not eating anything other than a pastry at Starbucks), we made it to CANADA!!!
Canada.....was not what i expected. haha
i was hoping this would be like in some foresty, quiet place and.....its in the city-ish. i want to see Lake Alberta or Lake Louise or Banff (how tf do i know so many locations in Canada lol) but we stayed in the city. and not like downtown but in a very metropolitan area.
and for some other reason after eating only more pastries and hot chocolate inside the bridge area....we made the mistake to go into downtown Vancouver (?) and well, that didn't help.
anywho, here are some picture (very hard to just choose a few) of our time at CSB.
Capilano is made up of 2 bridges.
one "old school" style and one all new-ish and modern looking.
you're basically just walking all around nature.
this is the "old school" bridge. i guess you could also say the main one.
the only difference is, they are open late into the night so we missed that.
i don't regret it though. i can only imagine how busy it gets.
they have trails you can walk and sorta tree houses that you can walk through to get from tree to tree and various lookouts.
i definitely do not recommend this if you have a fear of heights. but otherwise, if you're in the area, i do recommend it as like a one time thing! unless you live near there; they sell yearly passes and i could imagine going just to wander around from time to time.
.....i'd love to bring my mom here.
you find random waterfalls everywhere.
(i bought a memory stick thing and transferred all the pics over too sooo...yea)
so i googled sushi and it took us into the city and it was a mess. it doesn't help that it was Friday and rush hour and that we were hangry.
we just headed back to the hotel and asked a guy working there for recommendations near by walking distance.
he told us about a pho spot and so off we went.
and we walked all up and down not finding the spot. but ya know what we did find? a shit load of sex shops.
like
a
l o t.
it was pretty cool.
after all that we found a random Vietnamese spot and ate there.
forever I had been trying to get Ruben to eat pho with me but he wasn't a fan.
of course he would fall in love with it IN CANADA where we probably wont be back to in a very long time if ever.
-_______-
after eating, since it was still early, we wandered around and made it into a bowling alley.
this was probably my favorite thing ever!
there were older people having the time of their life playing a very different version bowling than what I've ever seen.
it was Friday night and they were turning up!
we talked to the guy working there and he gave us the history and some facts and i thought it was just about the best thing ever.
forever remembering this.
overall, i liked what we went for and while i wasn't a huge fan of Vancouver, i do think I'd go back and get to know downtown a bit better. ...even if one entire long ass block looked like DTLA, TS NY & Las Vegas all had a baby together.
here's to a year, Canada!
the next morning, we drove back to Seattle had a few brews, hit that famous Pho spot in Seattle (but didn't get the giant pho cause you gotta make reservations) (also, the shrimp rolls were WAY better than the pho in my opinion), saw the troll under the bridge then drove back to Oregon.
we were 'sposed to stay in Washington with a friend of mine but at this point we were kinda beat and just wanted to be as close as possible to the airport so we headed back to Portland to be with my cousin....where i made the mistake of saying yes to going to the casino with my aunt. Ruben and i gambled once and then went to the car to sleep. lol
this was such a fun trip and i love reliving all the memories.
all the walks and all the places we went.
here's to hoping we get to do something like this again.
thanks for reading!
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