ignorant of neither

"It has become almost a cliché to remark that nobody boasts of ignorance of literature, but it is socially acceptable to boast ignorance of science and proudly claim incompetence in mathematics." - Richard Dawkins

[cassandra-reads]

The Starless Sea

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“Far beneath the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there is a labyrinthine collection of tunnels and rooms filled with stories. The entryways that lead to this sanctuary are often hidden, sometimes on forest floors, sometimes in private homes, sometimes in plain sight. But those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them.“

Hello! Happy holidays!

I spent basically my whole Christmas break curled up in a chair, absolutely devouring this book. Pretty solid way to spend a break, if you ask me!

Some background: Erin Morgenstern is the author of my all-time most-recommended (if not favorite) book, The Night Circus. If you have not read this book, PLEASE GO READ THIS BOOK. It’s one of the most beautiful, decadent, heart-pounding reads, and it’s such a fun world to be in. Naturally, when I saw that she was going to be at SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) 2019, I made sure meeting her was a priority for that day, and packed my (very well-loved) copy of Night Circus, in hopes to have her sign it. Fast forward: I successfully drew a raffle ticket for her signing (on my sixth try), and was waiting in line. I was absolutely BUZZING with excitement and could barely keep myself together. A member of the staff started coming down the line and passing out stickies with our names on it (pretty standard stuff for an author signing), and was giving people in line a book. I assumed it was something promotional from SDCC, but as the staff member got closer, I caught a glimpse: five months before its official release date, every person in line was receiving an ARC of Starless Sea. Remember me saying I could barely keep myself together? This was the breaking point. I lost any and all semblance of chill and was an absolute wreck by the time I got to Erin’s table. She was very kind and gracious and I was very talkative and jittery and an all-around disaster. Thank you for your patience on that day, Erin, and thank you for this book!

As you can probably guess, I had very high expectations for this book. And boy, it did not disappoint. I’m not sure if Erin said this herself, but this book is an ode to storytelling and the wonder of stories. Each chapter is a different story, with about every third being the story of our protagonist, Zachary Ezra Rawlins. This method weaves an intricate web of stories and an library-esque atmosphere: you become so immersed that you feel like you’re part of the stories, different as they may be, and your participation leads to them crashing into one another. 

Because of this story structure, my biggest recommendation would be to allow yourself a good chunk of time to read this book. Where some books can be read in twenty minute portions (aka on my commute), this is not one of them. An INCREDIBLE book by all means, but when chopped into small bits, I found it hard to focus on the story and remember all the details. Curl up in a chair with a cozy blanket and a cup of hot tea or glass of good wine and let yourself sink into this story. I promise you will find something you love!

This book was such an incredible read and I can’t stop thinking about it. It has been a couple of days since I finished, and I’m still seeing everything through the lens of the Starless Sea. Bees and keys and swords and stories and hidden cities and a world I want to sink into forever. Erin has (yet again) created a detailed and expansive world that I am dying to discover and be a part of. She has such a knack for fantastical worldbuilding, and it brings me such joy! WRITE ANOTHER ONE, ERIN!

I don’t want to write too much about the plot, as I think it should be experienced firsthand in the venue that Erin has created. But this wonderful story has it all: action, fantasy, romance, heartbreak, suspense... I could keep going. Mystery. BIG mystery. Mystery so immense that even after I finished the book, I wanted to immediately start it over to see if I missed anything, to see if I could catch anything new, now that (I think?) I had all the answers.

Please go read this book. If you’re local, please let me lend you my copy. What an incredible new release from one of the best authors we have today. 

...I’m gonna go reread it, bye

[cassandra-reads]

Contagion

Hello again! Long time, huh? Things have been a little busy (read: insane) for me lately, but I’m back and ready to talk about some books! I appreciate your patience during the delay, and now it’s time to jump back in to our regularly scheduled programming.

Contagion - Erin Bowman Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“It got in us.

After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission. Most are dead. But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons…and dead bodies. Don't set foot here again. As they try to piece together who—or what—could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some things are best left buried—and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.“

This book has been on my list for a while! I was first introduced to Erin Bowman at the 2016 Boston Teen Author Festival, where I saw her talk on a panel about historical fiction. Her book Vengeance Road has some of the most beautiful cover art that I’ve ever seen, so I obviously had to buy it and read it, which resulted in me following her as an author and eagerly awaiting her new releases.

When I first saw Erin’s announcement and description for this book, I was taken a little by surprise. I hadn’t expected Erin to write a thriller, and frankly, I was wary. I don’t love scary material by any means, but in my experience, YA thrillers aren’t all that ~thrilling~, due to the authors feeling the need to tone down the material for a younger audience.

This book… was not like that. WOW. You guys. Remember how I was saying how much I love when the plot of a book surprises me? This book SURPRISED. ME. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

First off: I realize that the authors usually have no say in the cover art on their books, but once again, Erin’s book has a gorgeous cover. And it gives off the perfect eerie, uneasy, space vibe to match the novel. Contagion is set in a world centered around space exploration, so our crew is familiar with far-off planets and space stations and hypersleep and everything fun that comes with galactic adventures. When they’re sent even farther off, to a freezing planet with an abandoned research mine, we get our first weird, uneasy, Twilight-Zone-esque sensation in the book. If this crew that knows all about space is nervous about this… oh boy.

One huge thing I really loved about the book from beginning to end was how gracefully Erin handles the ensemble cast. Too often, a book with this many characters can feel clunky, and the dialogue and personality of each character get lost in the shuffle. Erin does an excellent job of using several different methods to slowly introduce us to each member of the crew and let us get to know them on an individual basis, while not taking away from the group dynamic. I was never confused on which character was which, and the dialogue felt natural and full of energy.

The thing about thrillers with large casts, though: no one can ever (EVER) be trusted. I felt differently about each character with each chapter. Someone I thought could be our hero quickly became suspicious, and then was immediately back in good graces, only to then team up with someone I knew was definitely bad… I think. This moral whiplash greatly contributed to the general sense of unease that kept me frantically flipping pages in search of resolution and ANSWERS PLEASE ERIN JUST TELL ME WHAT’S HAPPENING AND WHO THE BAD GUY IS.

Spoiler alert: there are no answers. There’s a sequel (which I have yet to read!), so of course, the end of this book answered about 3 questions while posing 847 more. That’s not to say it was a bad thing, of course! This book was a chilling, thrilling, rollercoaster ride with suspense and bad guys and jump scares (jump scares in a book will ALWAYS BAFFLE ME) and I loved reading it. Contagion is a perfect example of an eerie YA sci-fi thriller, and I’ve never read any other book like it. I’ve requested Immunity (the sequel) from the library and am so excited to get to find out what happens!

[cassandra-reads]

The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince - Holly Black Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.”

I read this book on a recommendation from a dear friend whose opinion on books I trust blindly. She has yet to recommend a book to me that I haven’t loved, so when she texts me saying she desperately needs me to read a book, it often gets moved to the front of the line.

So let’s get to it, shall we? Because she did not fail me; this book was INSANE.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the world-building. Holly Black has created this exquisitely beautiful and sensory world where the Fae live, and I’ve spent all my time since reading it wondering how I can get there. The food, the parties, the scenery... it’s all gorgeous. The best part is that this beauty isn’t communicated in winding paragraphs that fold in on themselves and distract from the plot, but rather it is effectively illustrated in the tiniest details here and there. Our main character is eating bread and cheese and fig jam, her sister is wearing a beautiful silk dress embroidered with leaves, the general has yellow cat eyes, and the prince has a tail. The world should be overwhelming due to its differences from our world, and yet I found myself hungry for more details at every corner. The Fae, who have any range of physical characteristics, are described so beautifully and in such striking detail that I felt I could clearly see not only the individual characters, but also the diversity of the Fae and of Elfhame as a whole. We (as readers) are buried in this world, which made this book such a joy to read.

Now, the characters. Every single character in this book is horrible and problematic, but somehow, it is only in the most excellent ways. In Elfhame, the fairies can’t lie, but they find plenty of other tricksy ways to deceive and cause trouble. Even the humans (our main character and her twin), who can (and do) lie, do their fair share of other terrible things. My jaw dropped to the floor on multiple occasions. But… I couldn’t stop reading. When everyone is betraying everyone else and simultaneously getting betrayed by someone completely different… how can I be expected to look away?

I loved reading this book! Because our main character feels she has something to prove, she is often hyper-focused on a singular task to accomplish, which will help her prove this something. As an audience, we can sometimes see that her laser focus distracts her from what’s really going on, but most of the time, we are as clueless as she is. The plot was full of twists and turns and while I had many hypotheses about what was happening, not a single one was even close to what was happening. I honestly don’t think I’ve been taken this off-guard by a plot in a WHILE. These types of books are always the best because when I’m kept on my toes by a plot, I blink and it’s suddenly been two hours and I’ve gone from being 30 pages in to 2 paragraphs from the end.

This book kept me captivated, enthralled, dazzled, and hungry for more at every turn. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to be completely lost in a fantasy world and enchanted by its inhabitants.  I just started the sequel, and can’t wait to see how this story continues! Go read this book. Please.

[cassandra-reads]

Room

Room - Emma Donoghue Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.”

Hello!

Although I finished this book about a week ago, I haven’t found the time to sit and write this review until now... oops. But it’s happening now, so here we go!

After watching this movie (which is beyond incredible, btw, Brie and Jacob are a duo that is hard to beat), I’ve had the book on my TBR list for a while. While in a friend’s car a couple weeks ago, I happened to notice that it was in her backseat, so I took it as push from kismet and moved it to the top of the list.

This book is often lauded for perfectly capturing the voice of a 5-year-old, as the entire story is told by Jack, and thus we are privy to his inner thoughts and observations of the world around him. I don’t hang around a bunch of 5-year-olds, but I’d like to say that generally, yes, she captured the voice quite well. And the reason I say that is because this book drove me insane.

This book reads like a kid telling a story: “and then... and then... and then...” with lots of run-on sentences. And then (lol), his attention would be so easily pulled to numerous different subjects that I found myself rereading two or three sentences at a time to try to sort out what exactly Jack was talking about, and how it was relevant to moving the story along. It often wasn’t.

A side effect of this narration that I actually enjoyed was that, while being presented directly with Jack’s frustrations with Ma, as a reader, I was being supplied with Ma’s frustrations with Jack. When Ma would do something Jack wouldn’t like, at face value, the words are communicating why Jack is upset (as he is our narrator), but the frustration rising within me (as a reader knowing what Jack doesn’t - like the fact that touching the stove will result in a burn) is the same feeling that Ma has while she’s trying to keep him from burning himself and calm him down from the tantrum that ensues. It’s a very unique way to “show, don’t tell,” and I enjoyed that connection with Ma’s character.

Conversely, one “show, don’t tell” device that did not work as well was the breastfeeding. Ma still breastfeeds Jack at five years old, and it is a huge point of discussion with her family and doctors once she and Jack escape (spoiler alert, they do not die in Room). Before they escape, it is a huge point of discussion with... Jack. And because Jack is our narrator, it’s a subject discussed every five pages or so. Which, shockingly, is too much breastfeeding for one book! One of the most irritating things about Jack’s frequent discussion of this is that he refers to it as “having some.”

One of the first instances we hear about it: “When I was three I still had lots anytime, but since I was four I'm so busy doing stuff I only have some a few times in the day and the night.”

...I remember reading that sentence and thinking that her editor needed to be fired. For a kid with a language as developed and vocabulary as extensive as Jack’s, it seems strange that he would use a phrase this simplistic and clunky. It really doesn’t become clear what he’s talking about until a couple sentences later in the paragraph when he begins talking about which side he prefers. Which feels... unnecessary? Weird? Straight up creepy? All of the above?

In short, I believe the author has Jack talk about it so much because it is used as a narrative device to illustrate how codependent Ma and Jack are on each other. Which, in theory, makes sense, and is a smart way to do this, especially compared to the alternative of saying “they can’t live without each other bc she’s his mom and the only person he’s ever known and he’s her one joy and companion in seven years of captivity.” However, her use of breastfeeding as a narrative device is so transparent that it defeats its own purpose and falls extremely flat, coming off as oversaturation and really, really creepy.

Overall, I really love the plot in this book. Ma and Jack are an amazing duo and their respective stories (both in Room and outside of it) are raw and beautiful and human to the deepest core. I think the book loses a lot of its potential by putting Jack at the forefront and having him tell this story.

Time for a spicy hot take: if you want this story in a superior form, watch the movie. 

And with that, I bid you farewell, before I get struck by lightning and smote by the book gods.

[cassandra-reads]

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.

But Naomi picked heads.“

Hello all! 

I have had this book on my shelf for as long as I can remember. I once loaned my copy to a friend while in high school, and after a couple months, she denied having it (aka she lost it), so I immediately went to 2nd & Charles and picked myself up a copy. And I am SO glad I did, because this book will never leave my collection again.

After two duds, my 2019 Reading Challenge was not off to a great start. I was honestly starting to worry if I had fallen out of love with reading (is such a thing even possible???) because I wasn’t enjoying my books! I was questioning my music choices, my environment choices (Should I no longer read on the bus? Is the lighting in our living room affecting my stories?), and everything in between. GOOD NEWS. Everything is fine and I still love reading and I REALLY loved reading this book!

This book was the romantic comedy reset that I truly needed, and it was so fun to read. We are thrown right into the middle of the setting, with Naomi waking up after her fall, without a clue as to what is going on around her. Because Naomi is our narrator, and she has amnesia, as the reader... we... have... amnesia, of sorts. Uniquely, we are discovering the world this book takes place in right alongside Naomi. When we meet characters for the first time, it’s essentially the first time Naomi is meeting them. Both reader and narrator are having to deduce what exactly is going on.

Additionally, I loved the characters. They were all unique and fun to meet, without feeling too quirky or kitschy. My personal favorites were Naomi’s best friend, Will, and Rosa, her dad’s fiancée. Both are a little loud and in your face and have huge personalities, but also very clearly hold Naomi very dear. Even when she does dumb stuff. Which brings up probably my favorite part of this book: our main character is so deeply flawed. 

Our society so often takes a flawed female character and immediately labels her “unlikable.” ...now we don’t have time to unpack all of that, but I highly encourage you to see the characters you’re reading about in a different light. Naomi is selfish, indecisive, and blatantly, a liar. But watching her make these mistakes and learn from them and be a teenage girl is what makes this book so great. Naomi grows so much in this book, and though her journey is messy, it’s just that: a journey. And who among us doesn’t have a messy journey?

One final thing I loved about this book is that there are three different romantic interests (gasp!) in Naomi’s life. They each show up at a different part in Naomi’s life, and they each have a small role to play in her life, a purpose to fulfill. Naomi feels something a little different for each of these guys, and learns something special from her time with each of them. I think it was a really great way to show that relationships can end without the world ending right alongside them. We have to go through a handful of experiences and heartbreaks before we find something truly wonderful.

I absolutely adored this book and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I’d even be willing to loan my copy out again :) 

[cassandra-reads]

Beautiful Broken Girls

Beautiful Broken Girls - Kim Savage Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

“The parts of Mira Cillo that Ben touched are etched on his soul. Palm. Hair. Chest. Cheek. Lips. Throat. Heart. It was the last one that broke her. After her death, Mira sends Ben on a quest for notes she left in the seven places where they touched—notes that explain why she and her sister, Francesca, drowned themselves in the quarry. How Ben interprets those notes has everything to do with the way he was touched by a bad coach years before. But the truth behind the girls’ suicides is far more complicated, involving a dangerous infatuation, a deadly miracle, and a crushing lie.”

[Trigger warning for sexual abuse.]

Hello again! Two books finished by the 9th day of the year? This is everything I could have wanted from 2019, and I’m pretty proud of myself. Can’t wait to crush that reading challenge this year!

...however. 

Guys, I did not love this book. And really, that’s an understatement. This really hurts me to say, but... I hated this book. I hated it! I think this might be my least favorite book I’ve ever read, and it hurts me that there is reason for me to call any book my least favorite book. Sigh. Here we go.

To begin: the writing felt unnatural and clunky. About every thirty pages, there’d be a spot where it felt like the author quickly flipped through a thesaurus and decided “decamped” was the best way to say that Ben got out of the car. And about every twenty pages was a passage I had to read and reread multiple times because the syntax was so strange. And it wasn’t wrong, per se, but it wasn’t natural and certainly not conducive to the quickened reading pace required when you’re deep in the arms of a good mystery thriller. Also, being angry about this book introduced me to a new phrase: purple prose. If you need an example of purple prose, read this book.

Additionally, there were a handful of plot points and scenarios that she spent a lot of time describing and focusing on, just to have those details end up... nowhere. Forgotten. Insignificant. She spent many many words reminding the reader that Ben (the narrator) was sexually abused by a baseball coach a couple years before, but that information ended up playing little to no part in the story. The same goes for the feud between Ben’s dad and the dad of the girls who died. Any time either man was mentioned, the feud was also mentioned, but nothing came of it. I was expecting either aspect to play a part in the girls’ fate, but they were both just wasted ink on extra pages.

As for the plot itself, Ben’s hunt for the notes felt... primal. With his words, he says that he cares about Mira and is doing this for her, but the hunt itself focuses on him remembering the exact places and details of where he... touched her? Even something as simple as touching her hair? Which I guess might be seen as romantic, but mostly, it was just plain creepy. Probably because at every turn, Ben mentions Mira being “untouchable,” usually blaming her father for over-sheltering her. In each flashback, it becomes clear, whether explicitly stated or not, that Ben thought he was a “chosen one” because he actually got to touch Mira Cillo. Ew, yuck, gross, all of the above. 

And then comes the weird stuff. I legitimately couldn’t tell if this book was supposed to be supernatural in nature. There are some weird things that happen (Francesca has holes in her hands?? Like all the way through???), but they’re not *treated* as weird. Her sister panics, sure, but more like “oh, we need to get bandages for your bleeding hands” instead of “WHY ARE THERE HOLES IN YOUR HANDS?!?!!” AND ALSO: aside from briefly mentioning the fading scars on her hands, it was YET ANOTHER plot point that wasn’t brought up again???? It created a very off-balance setting and storyline, and by the time I could get any sort of grip on what was happening, the book was over. (Guys, I really hated this book hahahaha)

And then, the ending. Once the mystery (if you can call it that) is solved and the book is being wrapped up, the reader is given the ultimate motif, theme, takeaway for the whole book: Girls, especially beautiful ones, are fragile. They must be protected, for they are easily broken if touched.

Bye. I hated this book.

thank u, next

[cassandra-reads]

Isla & the Happily Ever After

Happy 2019!

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

“Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.”

So, I feel the need to begin this post by saying this: I love YA romance. It is my favorite genre to read and houses my favorite novels. Sarah Dessen is a timeless favorite of mine. What others call cheesy and predictable is, to me, a warm embrace and a soft space to land. I love reading YA romance. I do. 

This... ain’t it. 

Isla started out as a really relatable character. Having a crush on someone you’ve interacted with exactly once a year with no justification whatsoever? Got it, on board. Been there a stupid amount of times. And the development of hers and Josh’s relationship was like watching a personal dream come true in real time. It was cute and nervous and romantic and I loved every minute of it. Until... they were actually *in* the relationship?

I’m aware it sounds weird. But the meet-cute situations and endearing conversations quickly turned from companionship and comfort to pure clinginess and desperation. It was like a faucet being shut off: I went from completely relating to Isla and rooting for her in her interactions with Josh to being entirely nauseated by her thoughts and actions, as well as the relationship as a whole. This got exponentially worse [spoilers ahead] when Josh was expelled and the two were separated. It was at this point that the book became hard to read and harder to finish. Isla’s despair felt over-exaggerated and unjustifiable. I did like the ending; Isla realizing her mistreatment of Hattie and tendency to overanalyze was well-written and a triumph for both the character and the reader. However, since Isla’s misery becomes the main focus for the rest of the book, it was a mostly dissatisfying second half. 

I had a similar dissatisfaction when I read Anna & the French Kiss, mainly due to the overarching theme of infidelity (probably my number one no-no). I think Stephanie Perkins and I may just have a different idea of romance, which is okay! I’m not disappointed in my first read of 2019, and I look forward to the other new books this year has in store.

Happy new year, and happy reading!

[cathandwaaa]

Commuter blues 🚎 hitting SO hard this morning (how is it only Thursday?!), but love escaping into Nimona’s world of shapeshifters and strong women! ❤️⚔️🐉📚

[cassandra-reads]

instagram: @_cassandrareads

[cassandra-reads]

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Hi! I finished my first book of 2017! Huzzah!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

“A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.”

Miss Peregrine’s has been on my list for quite a while (basically since it came out), but the movie’s recent release is what moved it to the top. I have the world’s biggest crush on Asa Butterfield (Jacob) and make a point to see all of his movies. I am (or was... more on that later) in the “movies before books” camp, so once I saw it, I was dying to read the book. I found it in a used bookstore, and the rest is history.

Overall, I really liked this book. Riggs does a really incredible job of building this setting and environment that you can smell and feel and hear. Miss Peregrine is a fascinating character, and Jacob’s tendency to bumble about is... endearing. All the other characters, though, mainly the children, fell kind of flat. I think part of it has to do with the fact that about seven or eight characters are introduced at one time, with very vague characteristics, and it’s kind of difficult to keep them all straight! As the book goes on, you learn more about a couple of the kids, but then I started to wonder why I had to learn all the names in the first place...

So this is where the “movies before books” idea might come into play. I saw this movie in October and felt... okay about it? Kind of the same I feel about the book. (Real quick, my argument for this strategy: I don’t like saying movies aren’t good because “the book was better,” so I don’t give myself the opportunity. The con is coming up.) However, when I was reading this book, nothing about the story was really... interesting. It’s not even like there’s a ton of surprises (maybe that one), but the story fell flat for me. I don’t even mind having Asa in my mind as Jacob (because let’s be honest, he’s perfect), so it’s not that the characters weren’t “my own.” BUT, because I’m unable to pinpoint why I wasn’t such a huge fan of this book, I might revisit the books before movies/movies before books argument. Maybe in a later blog post...

tldr; the book was good, but it won’t be my first recommendation for anyone. I’m not sure how much of this was the writing vs me seeing the movie first vs me reading while commuting, but it was just... meh. 3/5.

Keep an eye out for the next review of 2017! (Goodreads has so nicely reminded me that I’m already 1 book behind... thanks.)

[cassandra-reads]

Please send immediate assistance.

*wipes dust off keyboard*

Hello out there!

It has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything on this blog, and it makes me so very sad, because that means it has been that long since I’ve finished a book.

Let me explain.

My life has been a little crazy over the past year or so. I moved to a new city, then moved to a different apartment within that new city, and have been trying (and failing) to effectively manage my money and work and relationships and life in general. Things are finally starting to level out for me and I think I’ve finally found my rhythm.

So when the New Year rolled around, my smart self said, “Hey, you know what? I miss reading. And I have this nasty habit of buying books that I never read, so my resolution for 2017 is to read that pile of books that I bought and never read.”

Oh, to be young and naive.

 I finally went and counted the number of books in that stack, and it’s 38. Y’all, that’s a lot of books. I work over 40 hours a week and watch a significant amount of TV (what can I say? I like stories in every medium), neither of which I’m willing to cut back on. 38 books is over three books a month, which means... I’m already behind?! SOS tell my mother I loved her.

So this resolution has morphed into both a reading goal AND a time management goal. I started by finishing the book I’d been reading on my Kindle for FAR too long (The DUFF: super good, but not posting a review because of how long it took me to read), and have now started my very first book of 2017. I’ve made a separate shelf on Goodreads for my 2017 books, so feel free to follow along (and also maybe bug me to keep me on track): https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/11479728?shelf=2017

Let’s do this, 2017!

[booksss-0k]

location: somewhere in bed.

[cassandra-reads]

I had such an incredible time at #btaf2016 today! It helped remind me why I started this blog in the first place 🤗📚😍 (at Cambridge Public Library)

[cassandra-reads]

A little too caught up.

Hello all! I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a while, and now I’ve stopped dragging my feet and finally actually doing it. To update y’all on why I haven’t posted anything, yes, but mostly for my sake.

As I mentioned in my about me post, I started this blog to read/review lots of books, all the time. I subscribed to mailing lists and entered every contest I could to win ebooks, ARCs, paperbacks... anything I could get my hands on. My focus was all books, all the time. 

This got really old, really fast.

I was too busy managing my efforts to get new books that I wasn’t reading the books I currently have. I’m getting emails from authors whose names I don’t recognize, and I certainly couldn’t tell you what books they wrote or what those books are about. I have a ton of ebooks on my Kindle, but I’m not motivated to read any of them. I don’t remember where I got them, which ones I need to review for contests, if I like the author’s newsletters, etc. It felt more like a second job I needed to micromanage than a hobby that I truly enjoy.

Reading was (and still is!) my first love. I loved it when I was young, I love it now, and I plan on loving it when I’m old. I want to read books that appeal to me, because they appeal to me, and for no other reason. I’ve been rereading some of my favorites from high school, and it’s been actual bliss. I want to read because it makes me happy and helps me unwind from my reality. I want to read because looking up from my page and realizing that hours have passed without me noticing is one of my favorite feelings in the whole words. I want to read because I LOVE IT.

SO. A little revamp of this page. YES, I will be reading books. YES, I will be posting reviews. However, these will not necessarily be new books, or books that haven’t been released yet. Some of them you may have heard of (I fully intend on rereading the Mortal Instruments series soon), and some of them might be completely foreign to you (I still have about seven or eight books on my NetGalley shelf calling my name!). Either way, I will be reading for my benefit, and posting reviews for y’all’s! I’m even open to having a “book recommendation/request” feature, where y’all can tell me what to read! A friend’s recommendation means so much more to me than an Amazon recommendation.

I hope you’ll stick around as I try to get back into the swing of reading for me. Thank you for your support! Happy reading!

[cassandra-reads]

Pieces of Me

I’m alive! And I’VE BEEN READING!

Pieces of Me - Eisley Jacobs

“Forget everything you know. Forget your name, your family, your boyfriend, even your face in the mirror. Now couple that confusion with terrifying flashbacks—or are they hallucinations—of things you've never done or seen. Welcome to my haunting reality. My name is Braidan, and I'm seventeen years old. I wake every day with no memories. Only a series of sticky notes hint at the life I supposedly lead, but unease in my gut says this isn't right. This isn't my true identity. All the clues I've left for myself say to search for answers. But how will that work when I'll forget everything the moment my mind drifts to sleep? Ian, the new boy at school, claims the key to my walking coma lies in the hands of a scientific corporation. A corporation which wants nothing more than to see me never remember who I am. If what he says is true, I'm far more than just a girl with amnesia, and I've got precious little time to unlock my past and escape the destiny they've planned for me.”

My first reactions to this book: how’d she get amnesia? What’s her deal? Why does this sound so similar to 50 First Dates?

Boy, was I in for a surprise.

The way this book is written is such a huge part of why I couldn’t put this book down. I’ve got a huge stack of books that I’m trying to get through, so I don’t really remember the blurb for each book, and I go in blind. For this book, that was the PERFECT WAY to start. This book is told from Bray’s point of view, so when she wakes up, remembering nothing, being completely panicked about what’s happening, you’re right there with her. I could feel my heart racing and I was so clueless about where the book was going.

Which brings me to my next point: YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS BOOK IS GOING. Whenever you’re finally clued in to what the main plot is, my actual response was, “wait, did I read that right?” It was so unexpected and so intricately thought out that I was completely taken off guard. Which was most likely on purpose, going back to the whole “amnesia, remembering nothing ever” thing. Bray was taken off guard when she figured out the truth, and so was the reader. That’s skill, right there. Props to Eisley Jacobs for plopping her readers right into the confusion of her main character. I dig it.

I really don’t want to talk about the plot in detail because SO much of it is discovered by the reader as it is discovered by Braidan, so I apologize for the lack of plot commentary, but it’s SO great reading it without knowing anything!

This book was exciting, start to finish. I look back and laugh, because as certain characters were introduced (Ian and Lucas, two boys she has to choose from... I know, one of them HAS TO BE EVIL THAT’S IT ONE OF THEM’S THE BAD GUY), I thought I knew exactly how that character’s storyline was going to play out (as noted in the previous set of parentheses). Y’all, I was wrong for every. single. one. 

I did not guess a single character correctly. And the way things finish was not even close to what I thought was going to happen. This plot line is unique and surprising and wonderful in every way. I’ve already started the second book in the series, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what’s next!

Visit Pieces of Me (and my review!): Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

[cassandra-reads]

Tangled Lies

Hello all! TIME FOR ANOTHER REVIEW!

Tangled Lies – Connie Mann (available May 24) “Orphaned as a child in Russia, boat captain Sasha Petrov has spent most of her life adrift, anchored by only her loving foster family. So when they beg her to return to the family marina in Safe Harbor, Florida, for Mama Rosa’s sixtieth birthday, Sasha complies, hoping to put the past behind her. But Mama Rosa has other plans: she wants her three foster daughters to find Tony, the biological son who disappeared twenty years earlier.

Sasha agrees to try, but that’s easier said than done when bad boy Jesse Claybourne shows up, reigniting an old attraction. Back in Safe Harbor on a quest of his own, Jesse gets tangled up in Sasha’s search, and soon the two are close to uncovering an old town secret that some will stop at nothing to protect.

When Sasha’s dog and Jesse are attacked, they realize the past is hiding something more sinister than they ever imagined. Can they expose the truth without destroying Sasha’s family and breaking each other’s hearts, or are they sailing against the wind?”

Hi. If you love mysteries, this book is definitely for you. Personally, I’m a sucker for the romance (Sarah Dessen, you wonderful human, you), but I couldn’t put this book down! And Sasha and Jesse were wonderful, trust me, but it was the mystery! Where’s Tony? Who is threatening Sasha? Who (spoiler) IS ATTACKING BELLA, THE MOST PERFECT DOG IN THE UNIVERSE? I kid you not, I read 88% of this book on Sunday afternoon. I really wanted to watch Gilmore Girls (Jess, I need you in my life) but I couldn’t pull up Netflix with all the action and intrigue going on in this book! Connie! LOVE!

This book switches back and forth between Sasha’s and Jesse’s point of views, and I liked that tone a lot more than I have in the past. Both characters have some very real internal struggles that affect their decision-making and actions in the book, and I liked that we saw it from an outsider’s perspective, and then later got the explanation and understood the situation through a different set of eyes. Really interesting way to write a story, especially with all that happens in the town of Safe Harbor, Florida.

One thing that I really loved about this book was the focus on boats and marinas and captaining (word? Using it). Connie is a licensed boat captain (because why limit yourself to being incredible at one thing) and truly poured her expertise into the pages of her book. I’ve been out on the lake a couple of times with some friends, but Sasha and Jesse’s story revolves around the world of a shore-side marina town. (Is that a thing? I’m making it a thing.) Connie does a fantastic job of giving the details about steering a ship in a storm and prepping for a chartered fishing trip, while at the same time, not rambling about tiny specifics so that the ignorant (read: me) disengage and become disinterested. I’ve never read a book that revolved so much around boats, and I really enjoyed it as a setting!

Tangled Lies comes out tomorrow! Grab your copy (and an abridged version of my review) at the following links: Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

…I definitely used way too many parentheses in this post. Oops.

[cassandra-reads]

Girl Against The Universe

Hello again! I’m very excited about this post. It’s my first review, and it’s over a book that I am absolutely in love with. I’m very tempted to read it over and over again until the book falls apart, then go buy a new copy, and repeat this process until further notice.

Girl Against the Universe – Paula Stokes (available May 17) “Horrible things happen when Maguire is around. Like that time her brother, father, and uncle were all killed in a car crash – and Maguire walked away unscathed. But then Maguire meets tennis star Jordy, who wants to help Maguire break her unlucky streak. Maguire knows she should stay away, but staying away may be harder than she thought.”

GATU was Paula’s featured book during this past #YASH, and it grabbed my attention almost immediately. She had posted a small deleted scene as her bonus material, and I was already relating to the main characters. I wanted to immediately learn more about Maguire and Jordy and their stories, both as individuals and as a unit. I started reading the same night I received it in the mail, and knocked out about a third of the book in one night.

This story. I learned more about the characters, alright. I fell in love with them. Every single character, too, not just Jordy and Maguire. Tom, Maguire’s stepdad, and his passion for his family made me quite emotional on more than one occasion. Maybe that’s because I have experience with stepparents, but his short lines of dialogue held an abundance of emotion. Penn, Jordy’s sister has a rebellious nature that drips from the pages every single time she comes into the story. Paula’s writing pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. I kept telling myself, “I’ll stop after the next chapter,” and I never did. I read this book in two sittings because I couldn’t wait to see what was next in the narrative. I laughed, I cried (maybe a little), I crossed my fingers, and even found myself knocking on wood. I was completely invested. That being said, the overall theme of this story is what really solidifies this as one of my favorites.

Maguire’s accident-filled past leads her to a compulsive state that includes reciting good luck prayers, performing safety checks, and having panic attacks when in a vehicle with any person besides her mom. This morphs into an obsessive compulsive disorder, and the book starts with Maguire’s first session with a new therapist. The book dives into Maguire’s thought process surrounding her compulsions and addresses the fact that obsessive-compulsive disorder is about more than keeping things neat and tidy. I’ve dealt with an OCD for the past ten years and reading this book was one sigh of relief after the other. Paula (in my opinion) does an incredible job of explaining how trapped Maguire feels by her OCD, but also how difficult it is for her to stop her compulsions. Some of Maguire’s inner thoughts were things that I have said to others in an attempt to describe my OCD.

About sixty pages in, I told Paula how much this book meant to me, and her response was so uplifting and interesting! “I think a lot of people don’t realize there’s a disorder called OCPD which is a lot closer to the ‘perfectionism’ that people will attribute to OCD. I’ve found people shrug off a lot of mental illnesses in a hurtful way. The author’s note in the ARC is kind of all over the place, but I streamlined the note in the final book that the main focuses are: 1) a lot of people have mental illness, 2) you don’t have to have major life-threatening issues to benefit from therapy, 3) if you need help, reach out. There are resources for everyone.”

Paula, thank you again for this book. The beginning, middle, and end were exciting and challenging through and through. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, regardless of your preferred genre. Wonderful story, lovable characters, heart-wrenching conflicts, and a very important message.

A condensed version of this review is posted on GATU’s pages: B&N, Amazon, Goodreads