AtBgL

[atbbl-blog]

Grin and beard it - Penny Reid Jethro and Sienna are likeable people. They are the kind of people who just smile or make you laugh and all is forgiven. They're charmers. Imagine what those people are like dating? Well, actually it's not as bad as you'd think. Both having other characteristics that don't conflict meant that these two together isn't as crazy as you'd think. Sienna is a famous funny-gal but she also Latina and curvy which means she doesn't look like your typical starlet. Jethro is a charmer but he's also done some thing in his life that don't make him so likeable. He's trying to redeem himself but one of his brothers can't stand him and he can't stop blaming himself for the death of his best friend. Life sucks but these two together make the world less suckish. I liked this book a lot because although some bits are frustrating (Jehtro) most bits are hilarious (Sienna and Cletus) all in all, it's a great book. Go on, have a read of it.

[atbbl-blog]

Truth or Beard - Penny Reid Oh my goodness. This my friends is not a joke. #beard #gingerbeard Before I tell you why this book was so great, Ms Reid is writing a series staring men with beards. What did I do to deserve this? Duane and Jessica are brilliant. I love this couple because they were so honest with each other. Jess wants to travel the world but hasn't done anything about it. Even I kind of agreed with her parents on that one. She hadn't done any sort of travelling yet she wanted to travel whilst Duane who'd recently lost his mum and had a dead-beat dad now in prison wants to now be there for his family - for his brothers. This couple were so instant as well. Jess always had a crush on Duane's twin brother Beau but after kissing Duane realised it might just be the opposite. It's funny at first but then it's nice to see them open up to each other and talk about what they mean to each other. Their honesty is something you hope for in real life. If a girl likes me she should say it/ If a guy likes me, he should just tell me.

[atbbl-blog]

Happily ever Ninja - Penny Reid What I love about Penny Reid is she writes for love. She writes as an advocate for love. She writes about characters whose real issues aren't jealousy or revenge, she doesn't give you some random plot just so she can write a second book, she writes about issues that really affect couples. Money issues, lifestyle issues but in reference to this book, communication skills. It's much better because as the reader, you never question their love for each other, you just learn how difficult it can be when you love someone yet there are troubles you still must face. Greg and Fiona are married now and have a son but Greg works abroad whilst Fiona remains in the USA. She loves Greg so she doesn't say anything but lately, it's been hard on her and she doesn't want to do it all by herself anymore. I can't relate to this but I was so intrigued at what that must be like. She actually loves him enough to 'let him go', it's cheesy but it's true. Fiona knows Greg like she knows herself and so she knows he loves what he does so although it's killing her, she doesn't say anything. This book really gets you going and is kind of an adventure/romance book - which is fantastic. I loved this book so much, Greg and Fiona are one of those great couples in books you'd love to meet because they'd be so honest and so funny! Another great book! Proverbial hat off to you Ms Reid.

[atbbl-blog]

Ninja at first sight - Penny Reid This is a great book. I loved Fiona already from the other books in the collection -knitting in the city, so it was so great to learn more about Fiona and Greg and how they started. I think I'd be the first to say, I've never been crazy about high school sweethearts or 'we met in college' couples because it seems so... Lazy. Can I say that? What I mean is, you always imagine their stories to be so boring that's why I was so excited about this book. I'd get to hear more about what it's like to be in love with the same person since you were 18 and whether that's fun or the worst thing imaginable. This leads nicely into Greg - Auntie Gregina is a wise wise man. I always feel hesitant when there's a British main character because authors either overcompensate with unnecessary use of British colloquial language. For example, writing 'bloody' in every bloody sentence. Not necessary at all. The humour in this book is great as well. (Isn't it always though?) Greg is a genius but he's also a straight shooter. I like that a lot about Greg. As soon as he meets Fiona he's already made decisions in his head about her. I love that! I also liked getting to know more about Fiona and her years as a gymnast. Fiona and Greg have this ability to talk about things that are controversial topics but they manage it well...ish. When Greg and Fiona were talking about commitment and marriage I found it so funny how for once, Fiona played cynic and Devils advocate where Greg wanted more from Fiona. I truly love this couple and their strong bond. The second, Happily ever Ninja (separate post) gives us a nice look at their lives together. Overall I'd like to say reading this book was an actual delight. I'm always in awe of this wonderful author!

[atbbl-blog]

Neanderthal seeks Human - Penny Reid This was the first book by Reid I ever read. It was also the first smart romance novel I'd read. It was Amazeballs. What I loved about this book was Jane's quirks. She has an endless supply of random facts. This was so cool to me - not because I have such quirks but because I like different. I love characters that are a little unique. When you read so many books in a genre, it can get a bit... repetitive. What I like about Reid is how her characters manage to be so different yet so funny. I guess that's down to Reid herself eh? What I also loved about this amazing book was the conversation. When you read this book, I'm sure you'll notice that Quinn and Jane talk. You don't have that line where it says, "They spent the day together and got to know each other so well. The conversation flowed and she couldn't stop laughing. He was so funny." *eyerolls* are definitely in order. Reid gave these characters real personalities and opportunities to show the reader what kind of people they are. Take the conversation about superheroes and Morality. I read this book about two years ago, and I still remember it. There's a real depth to her characters that make you not only pray for a HEA but just want the best for her characters. I LOVE PENNY REID

[atbbl-blog]

This week commences the Penny Reid appreciation week! I’ll be posting reviews on my top 5 Reid books!
My excitement is unimaginable.

[atbbl-blog]

I decided to read this book after I saw it everywhere! I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t reading it thinking Will would stay, but I read with the hope he would as well. This book was so emotional and the second book to almost make me cry. I recently heard it’s being made into a film and seeing the trailer made me nervous and excited. I don’t want to cry in the cinema, but I just might. If you’ve read All the bright places by Jennifer Niven, you’ll understand the fear of emotional books becoming movies. Moyes wrote brilliantly because I felt her description of a Will’s pain as realistic. It wasn’t like he was in pain from time to time, you had the understanding that the pain was constant. That was something that stuck with me throughout the whole book. I was always had somewhere in my mind where I was aware that Will was in some pain even if it wasn’t written. The concept and idea of Dignitas has never been something I like to think about but I appreciated the honesty of the situation. Absolutely no one in his family accepted what he wanted to do, but they also got that Dignitas is about finally giving someone power they’ve lost to make a choice about their life. It doesn’t mean the person isn’t afraid, it just means they finally want to make a decision that will do something about their situation. No matter how much you may hate that choice as a family member. I know for a fact I’m gonna cry when I watch the movie, but I don’t care, I have to watch it! I bloody loved this book!

[atbbl-blog]

Am I normal yet? - Holly Bourne I had low expectations for this book because I thought it was very chick flick 'tweenish'. I was surprised by how well it dealed with OCD. The condition is one made popular by the media and frankly, is not well looked upon by others who see it as more of a humorous social behaviour rather than a mental disorder that compels the person to be organized or clean beyond the 'normal' point. There's also a feminist action taken in the book by Evie and her friends. This, I guess, gives Bourne an 'outlet' to 'infiltrate' her ideas on women and their perception of themselves to 'tweens' which I think is important. Using 'infiltrate' makes it sound like what she's doing is wrong , almost criminal but really I want to highlight it's a good idea to instill in 'tweens' an understanding of the world and assist in any way possible a good mental attitude and perception of themselves as young girls. This book was surprisingly informative and provided a good outlook and opinion on not only OCD but perception of women. I've learnt how serious OCD is and how it really is a compulsion. It's not an act they can relatively control and so it can be very difficult to deal with but unfortunately its even harder to understand when you aren't facing it or know someone who faces it.

[atbbl-blog]

A note out of Edna Don't tell me what you need I don't need anything from you. Don't tell me what you want I want nothing from you. Don't try to chase me I can't be found Don't try to catch me I won't fall If you try to love me That's all it will be And my love, for all the cares and troubles and anxiety and fears of the world, you shouldn't have to.

[atbbl-blog]

To all the Boys I’ve loved before - Jenny Han TATBILB was literally life! 
That is the most ‘teen’ thing I’ve ever written. 
I loved the sisters and in particular Kitty. That kid was so funny. Lara Jean is such a cool gal. I like her a lot because I understood the letter writing. The idea of writing your crush a love letter to get over them. Of course, as much as I like Kitty, she was what instigated this mess. Or maybe not a mess because Peter Kavinsky enters my life and Lara Jean’s! The characters were so great! The story line itself made me lol at times because these characters were so brilliantly written! I disliked Josh towards the end greatly. Initially it was mediocre dislike but when I joined team Kavinsky, I completely disliked Josh and his oh so annoying plea for Lara Jean. Margot was my least favourite character because she’s the kind of character who needs her story told. She’s the girl who excelled enough to go abroad for Uni but she wasn’t happy. She wasn’t living like a teen or a YA which was probably down to the fact their mum died, but she’s that kinda character who needs to be explored a bit more. I kept hoping she’d find someone in Scotland but to be honest, Peter and Lara Jean were enough for me. I felt content. Thank you Ms Han for a bomb of a book!

[atbbl-blog]

Landline - Rainbow Rowell I loved this book! In all my reading, I have dreamed of reading a book about a couple already in love. I have always wanted to read a book about a middle aged couple finding their way back to love. However, this is tricky territory because sometimes the couple fall out and different relationships happen outside of their marriage or they meet an ex. It aggravates me! What I loved about this was Ms Rowell concentrated on their relationship without 'filler' characters who would have led to one of the main characters kissing someone else and then it all goes to hell. I liked all the minor characters who I felt all served a purpose to the main story. It's a brilliant book. I'm so happy I read it! Thank you Ms. Rowell.

[atbbl-blog]

Movie vs Book? The D.U.F.F - Kody Keplinger So I read this book a few years ago but leading up to the movie last summer, I had to read it again! I love this book. BEWARE! The book is very different to the film. The basic principle,of the movie is sort of similar apart from the main fact that Bianca and Wesley's relationship is way more sexual. I'm sorry if that's a spoiler but in case you didn't know, the story line is quite different. YET, I LOVED the movie! I couldn't believe it when I finished watching that movie with a huge smile on my face! Mae Whitman is a doll who I just adore, so seeing her on the cover of this film filled me with excitement. The movie was funny. Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell have great chemistry and they just seemed to know each other so they were very comfortable with one another. It made the movie so funny and cute rather than cringe and more cringe. It was like that scene in The Spectacular Now where Miles Teller's character and a Shailene Woodley are just walking in the 'forest' and he just kisses her. It's so simple it's good which makes the acting even better. That's how I felt with The D.U.F.F. It was just a cool teen movie done by great actors in my opinion. My real love is where the book was though. It was a tense read in some areas but the funny thrived through this book! Also can I just mention the abbreviation, The Designated Ugly Fat Friend!?! Incredibly amazing abbreviation terrible connotations however. 😂 It was really good. You need to read it! Thank you Ms Keplinger for a great book. (Isn't Keplinger just a fantastic surname?!)

[atbbl-blog]

The truth about forever - Sarah Dessen. I think this was my first YA book. I love Sarah Dessen. In fact, I just read 'Saint anything'. (Great book) This book was great. I loved the characters and the way they made me feel. As a newbie to the YA genre, I devoured this book read it in at least 2 days because I was so excited to hear the thoughts of someone not too older than me. I went on to read any other book Ms. Dessen had written. Thank you Ms Dessen. I want to also add that I loved the title of this book. I think it's intriguing to a 'justleavingtweenyears' and 'musteradicateDisneyidealisticbeliefsonlove' child who needs to learn about love and life and that maybe the road isn't always clear or set for you and to be perfectly honest, teenage years are just the awful beginning

[atbbl-blog]

Dumplin - Julie Murphy What can I say about dumplin? I read the blurb and typically I have reservations when people write about overweight people because I just feel they all say the same thing, "I'm comfortable in my own body" or "I'm gonna lose weight and be a different person" which always leads to the guy who didn't notice her, now notice her. *Eyerolls*. Why can't the guy just love her for her? Why does he only appreciate her now she's skinny? Thank you Ms Murphy for this book because you made it believable to me. For once I understood how someone overweight feels. Willowdean never really felt weird about her body - that is until Bo comes along. His silent confidence and just plain attraction to her is endearing without him appearing to be some 'chubby chaser'. He just likes her and I love that. Willowdean's issue however was just how uncomfortable she felt when they would get... Shall I say close? She felt this attraction to him but kept worrying about things she never worried about before in terms of her body and the idea of him picking her up. She wasn't having it! Willowdean is also quite fearless, something she doesn't seem to appreciate and that's interesting how she has all this confidence somehow unbeknownst to herself and that's what I think is what happens when you act different to how you actually feel to the point no one sees the person who gets nervous and would prefer to hide away in a corner reading some books! She made this whole persona that in her mind she doesn't think is her or she lives up to it. I was surprised at the ending and was a bit sad at how abrupt the ending was but I wasn't upset with it, in fact, I liked the uncertainty surrounding the end and how the pageant show went. Ultimately, it worked for me. I really liked this book. It was kind of a quick read but it's because I was hooked and I read it over the holidays. Great book! Did you hear they want to 'Disnefy' this book? I wonder if we'll like their Willowdean?

[atbbl-blog]

We were liars - E. Lockhart I spent the summer avoiding this book on my shelf. I just didn't like the 'indie' feel it had to it-or at least what I thought was an 'indie' approach to writing. It was definitely not. Firstly, it had a map. I'm a sucker for a good map, I don't even read maps well but it's the idea that the writer has created this world and its so real, they've created a world for it. Ultimately, this is one of the greatest,saddest, awful books I've ever read yet. I feel sad, hopeful and hateful all at the same time. I'm aware it's fiction but it still makes my mind cry with sadness away at such an unfortunate turn of events. It's an amazingly well written book and despite my sadness, I'm glad I read it.

[atbbl-blog]

All the bright places - Jennifer Niven I’ve got to be honest here. I hated this book from the beginning because she’s good. Niven? You are a brilliant writer! I loved Finch from the start. His humour, his style and his outlook. What is interesting about this book is from the blurb, you know what it’s about and maybe even what will happen. You can’t stop it! No matter how hard you scream at the book or how long you beg Niven to stop writing the inevitable. What I realised though, was two main things. 1. Niven wants to raise the issue of suicide because as I’ve learnt, it’s an important one. 2. We love Finch and to us, there’s nothing wrong with him, yet there is. The saddest part of Finch's story is, we see so much brightness in him that he can’t - doesn’t see. That made me almost cry. If you’ve heard, then you heard right, this book is being made into a movie, starring Elle fanning. (If you’re wandering, yes she does have a sister. Dakota) I don’t know if I can face watching it. I’m not a masochist. I would definitely cry if they get it right.