B&R

Books & Reviews + Insights

[wanderbooklust]

Map of Fates (The Conspiracy of Us Book 2)

Two weeks. That's how long it took for Avery's life to change forever... Hey guys! So after an excruciatingly painful cliffhanger (of The Conspiracy of Us) and a long wait for the release of Map of Fates by the amazing Maggie Hall, i have finally finished reading the said book, and i must say, it's one hell of a rollercoaster ride reading it! The first time i laid my eyes on The Conspiracy of Us, i knew right then and there that the story would be amazing, and it was. And so is Map of Fates. After reading the first book, i expected so much more from the second book, and Maggie Hall never disappoints. She reached whatever high expectations i had and i congratulate her for it. Thrill? Check. Romance? Check. More mysteries? Check. More plot twists? Check. Sky high conflicts and pile of problems? Check. Maggie Hall is the modern day and YA version of Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and she's doing such an amazing job doing it. I swear. I can't even write a proper book review because the book was just so amazing i've run out of words to say. Maggie, if you happen to read this post, i want to tell you that you're an amazing author and your books are wonderful and you're making history. I love you to pieces, i swear to God, i do. And to whoever's reading this right now, go grab the book and read it and don't stop. NOW. (Well unless you haven't read The Conspiracy of Us... Go buy it first before Map of Fates or else the story won't make sense, but it'll still be amazing, anyway.) P.S. I was a Jack and Avery shipper before.. Actually, i was torn between Jack and Stellan.. But it changed. I don't even know why. I found myself asking where the heck Stellan is during the first few pages of Chapter One and by the end of the book, i am officially and proudly, a Stellan and Avery shipper. Jack, i'm sorry. Please don't be mad. I still love you. And forever will. It's just that, Stellan happened. I love you both, don't worry. I just love Stellan more now. 🙈😅 #TeamStellan

[wanderbooklust]

After You

I read After You right after i finished reading Me Before You and it took me awhile to finish it because damn, i've been crying nonstop because like Louisa, i miss Will. I know the feeling of losing someone you love dearly and not being able to move on from their death -because no one can really move on from the death of someone they love, you just learn to live with it- and everytime Louisa tells Will that she failed him, i feel the pain she's feeling. Because there are times when i feel like i failed everyone around me, including myself. This book -and Me Before You- made me pour out the emotions i kept bottled in for a very long time. And like Louisa, who suffered so much pain and heartbreak, i have had trust issues for who knows how long. By now you probably can tell i relate to Louisa so badly and that's why i love this book. It speaks of truth, of reality, like everything that's happening in the story is what's happening now. I hate those boring stories that make you believe that everything is right in the world. That you will meet this perfect guy and everything will be perfect in the whole wide world, but, duh, no one and nothing is perfect in this world. I don't want reading fantasy romance where this perfect guy would solve all your problems and rescue you from damnation or something -i actually enjoy reading anything, any story, any book, but when it gets too sweet or too sloppy, i stop reading and regret wasting my time- I want a story that i can relate to, a story that has it's ups and downs, it's imperfections.. And Me Before You and After You gave me that. It doesn't only tell a story of two people who fell in love with each other, but it evolved around their flaws, their failures.. And how they try and successfully fix themselves and the people around them. And i guess that's what made me fall deep in love with the story and the characters. It made me believe that, hey, there is hope for everyone. Change happens all the time. And it makes me hold on a little more that maybe someday like Louisa, i would be able to let go of the past and look at the bright future ahead of me. Jojo Moyes did another good job with this book and i must say, Jojo knows how to make readers cry. I'm giving this book and Jojo Moyes another five out of five for the tears, the joy, the loss and the new found hope i felt while reading this amazing book. If you want a tearjerker, Me Before You and After You should be in your best reads of all time. Hands down to Jojo Moyes!

[runningcolourful]

[wanderbooklust]

Me Before You

It’s actually really weird how this book changed my perspective of life. Do you ever just sit or lay in bed and think, “dammit i’m so bored what is life” and yet you actually don’t do anything to end that boredom. And every single time something bad happens to you, you curse the heavens for being unfair to you. Well, i always feel and think that life is truly unfair to me, like i have the world’s weight on my shoulders, when really, my pain and my problems are nothing compared to other people’s problems. Take Will, for example, he’s stuck in a wheelchair, he couldn’t move one bit, and there are people in real life that’s suffering from the same illness, if not, worse. This book made me realize the value of life. We only got one shot at it, so we might as well give it our best, right? I admired how Louisa took it upon herself to change Will's view of life, to see that there's a reason to keep living despite what Will's going through. That the wheelchair he's stuck in doesn't define who he is. But Will, being stubborn, couldn't really see the point. So as Louisa tries to change Will's perspective, Will is doing the same to her. Nobody can just live a boring life, right? All of us can do the most weird or most extreme things possible to spice up our lives. Like Will, he's adventurous, he travels to places other people haven't even heard of.. And he wants Louisa to do the same. He wants her to get out of her comfort zone and enjoy life because you never know when life would take that freedom away from you, and i really admired Will for that. This book gave us two characters who are both strong and are both weak at the same time, and i think that's just how it really is in reality. We're all strong and we're all weak at some points but what we have to do is challenge ourselves and make ourselves see that sometimes, the things we're most afraid of doing is just a piece of cake. Will's death doesn't count as cowardice or weakness. For me, it is the bravest thing any man can do. And for Louisa to be with him during that day, takes a lot of strength no other woman could've had. I admire them for that, because i'm one of those people who are so weak, so vulnerable, but after reading the book, i realized, i have a strength in me, and i can fight. And i will. I'm giving this book five out of five for the lessons, and the non stop crying that made my parents ask if i'm okay and i said yes and told them this friggin book is one hell of an amazing story that i would never forget. Just live, Will said.

[wanderbooklust]

Never, Never Pt. 3 Review

So Never, Never 3 came out recently and i was so excited. Firstly, because Never, Never 1 and 2 are such cliffhangers and left me wanting for more. (I read NN 1 and 2 for a day and a half tbh) so of course, being the bookworm that i am, i had to buy an e-book of it (I looked for it on different bookstores at different places all in one day but i couldn't find it and i was so desperate to read it so i had to settle for an e-book instead) i read it under an hour. That's how fast i read when i really like the book and of course, i wanted to find out why Silas and Charlie lost/keep on losing their memories. And the other thing that made me want to finish it fast is because Silas remembers the past two days and he couldn't explain why Charlie still lost hers and he couldn't tell Charlie that because when Charlie woke up, obviously she couldn't remember a thing. Even her own name. And she freaked out when she saw Silas staring at her (well she's freaking out deep inside at first but she couldn't contain it so she screamed. Oh, and she even lied and said her name was Delilah. Not like Silas doesn't know she's lying, anyway) so Silas decided to just lie and said he doesn't remember a thing either. Anyway, i'm ranting now. Sorry. So, the point of this book review is, i hated Never, Never 3. I hated it. I hate it. Because i was hoping for a deeper twist to the story. I was hoping for a deeper meaning, a deeper explanation why they keep losing their memories. And i was just disappointed of the root of their continuous memory lost. I won't say it here, because then i would be a spoiler. But tbh, i didn't enjoy reading the friggin' book. On a scale of 1-5, i rate it atleast 3. 3 for the thrill of the first chapters. And for the flop of the ending. I expected more but i didn't get more. So there's that.

[wanderbooklust]

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

Today, Alan Rickman, who played my favorite villain/hero Severus Snape of the Harry Potter series, died of cancer at age 69.

I remember hating him from the beginning. I loathed his character for being so unfair and mean to Harry. I always wished i have a real wand and i’d bring myself to Hogwarts and just cast a lot of spells on him. Of course, i was still young back then. But at the middle of the series, i started loving this villain, this mean, unfair professor, and i looked forward to what’s going to happen to him and Harry next. And really, i felt that Professor Snape has this one big role in Harry’s life that would be a major part in the series, and i was right. He wasn’t a villain after all. He’s a hero in disguise.

Everything he did, was to protect Harry (although sometimes he gets carried away by his ill feeling towards Harry’s dad and can’t see Harry eye to eye, because let’s admit it, Harry’s sort of.. You know.. Hard headed at times. You tell him not to go to a certain place, and he’d go there in a nanosecond. You tell him not to do anything, and he’d do something). But the most important thing about Professor Snape, is despite being the meanest Professor Harry ever had, he has a genuine heart. A heart that loves unconditionally. He loved Lily so much that he sees to it that he protects her son from harm, and even without him realizing, despite bullying Harry in class, and even siding with Lord Voldemort, he loved Harry too. He just won’t admit it. But while reading the book, and watching the movie (tho the movie lacked some important scenes), i felt his love for Harry. And i know that in the story, when he died, he carried that love with him. And he died, at peace. Because he let go of his feelings. Of everything. And in the end, he proved that not all heroes wear capes. That there’s a hero within all of us. In us.

So let’s all raise our wands, for a great wizard has died. And i swear, even when i grow old and have kids, i’ll tell my future kids the story of a hero who taught me a lot. A hero who i will forever remember and have in my heart dearly. And if my kids ask, “after all this time?” I’ll say, “Always.”

Rest in Peace, Professor Snape. Sir Alan Rickman. My favorite villain. My hero. Always.

[wanderbooklust]

"When i'm 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, i'll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, 'After all this time?' And i will say, 'Always.'" - Alan Rickman 💔 Always. Raise your wands, for a great wizard has died. Rest in peace, Professor Snape. Sir Alan Rickman.