Monday, July 1, 2019

Happy Canada Day!



Wishing all of my fellow Canadians a very safe and fun Canada Day! I hope you all get to enjoy doing whatever you want today as a way to celebrate. I am going to read (hopefully outdoors and away from the massive crowds) and have some ice cream!

Regular posts resume tomorrow since I am going to take the day off to relax.


Saturday, June 29, 2019

Weekly Obsessions


The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

Another week with some fun reveals. We're getting into trailer reveal season for movies that have Oscar potential so I am especially excited for all of those coming up.

TV/MOVIES

Poster for Last Christmas

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I adore rom-coms. The second I heard about this one starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding I wanted to know more.

We now have the first official poster and it's pretty cute!




I hope it is as cute as I am expecting. I need a trailer to be released so that I can get a better sense of what this movie is going to be like.

First Trailer for Queen and Slim

Speaking of movies that have Oscar potential  .... the first trailer for Queen and Slim was recently released. It looks intense and really good.




Daniel Kaluuya look like he is giving a fantastic performance. I am going to be curious to see how the buzz builds for this one as festival season approaches.

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Waiting On Wednesday ... Together We Caught Fire


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Together We Caught Fire by Eva V Gibson


Here is the Goodreads synopsis
A forbidden attraction grows even more complicated when the guy Lane Jamison has crushed on for years suddenly becomes her step-brother in this sexy and gorgeously written debut novel about the lines between love, desire, and obsession.

What happens when the boy you want most becomes the one person you can’t have?

Lane Jamison's life is turned upside down the week before her senior year when her father introduces her to his new fiancĂ©e: mother of Grey McIntyre, Lane’s secret, longtime crush. Now with Grey living in Lane’s house, there’s only a thin wall separating their rooms, making it harder and harder to deny their growing mutual attraction—an attraction made all the more forbidden by Grey’s long-term girlfriend Sadie Hall, who also happens to be Lane’s friend

Torn between her feelings for Grey and her friendship with Sadie—not to mention her desire to keep the peace at home—Lane befriends Sadie’s older brother, Connor, the black sheep of the strict, evangelical Hall family. Connor, a metal working artist who is all sharp edges, challenges Lane in ways no one else ever has. As the two become closer and start to open up about the traumas in their respective pasts, Lane begins to question her conviction that Connor is just a distraction.

Tensions come to a head after a tragic incident at a party, forcing Lane to untangle her feelings for both boys and face the truth of what—and who—she wants, in this gripping and stunningly romantic debut novel.
I recently saw the deal announcement for this book and was immediately intrigued. It sounds like it'll be a great choice for those readers who love their young adult contemporary novels to be a little more gritty but still really romantic.

This doesn't come out until winter 2020 but I think it'll be a great book to help beat the winter blues.

Expected release date - February 11, 2020

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren



The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Release Date - May 14, 2019
Publisher Website - Simon and Schuster
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  395 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancĂ© is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.
Enemies to lovers has always been one of my favourite romance tropes. The whole 'I don't know if I want to hit you or kiss you' thing works especially well if you include some banter and electric chemistry between the characters. The Unhoneymooners has all of this and also manages to ignite your wanderlust.

Olive has always considered herself to be unlucky. Bad things happen to her all the time. Her twin sister on the other hand has all of the luck. This novel, however, looks at how much of what happens to us is because of our choices rather than luck or chance. Olive has to, eventually, examine some things within herself and her own behaviour. Owning up to your own actions is, at times, hard for people to do and I loved how this element was tackled here. It, ultimately, is a positive message of going after what you want, and making your own destiny.

Ethan and Olive's interactions spark with both their desire and hatred for each other. The sexual tension is there underneath the exasperation and impatience. It laces their conversations with extra meaning. They are the slowest of slow burns as a result, but it is entirely worth it when it finally does happen. They compliment each other really well and bring out things in the other that are healthy. Their connection felt really natural and they are one of my favourite couplings from any Christina Lauren book.

The inevitable obstacle that the couple must overcome was different than I anticipated it being. I thought that the story was going to go in one direction and it veers off into another. Resolving the obstacle in a romance novel can often feel rushed or unearned but that is not the case here. It felt appropriate and authentic to who all the characters were.

Hawaii, and the type of trip featured in this novel, seems incredibly romantic. I'll make you want to go visit the islands of Hawaii and fall in love. It offered a subtle backdrop that was used just enough to move the story forward and provide a tropical paradise in which romance blooms. It definitely made me eager to read more books set in this location.

This book is perfect for those who are just dipping their toe into the romance genre and perhaps want something a little tamer in the sex scene department to start off with. It, for me, read as more restrained than their other books while still being sexy. I enjoyed all the development that went into building the relationship between Ethan and Olive and how it all felt perfect for who these characters are.

Christina Lauren keeps releasing addictive, fun. flirty reads that are like little shots of endorphins. You're much happier when you've finished reading one of them than when you began. If you are romance reader and somehow haven't managed to pick one of their books up I strongly advise you do so immediately. You're missing out on some of the best romance novels out there and you'll thank me later.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Weekly Obsessions


The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

The third season of Stranger Things is so close now! We're less than two weeks away and that means we're getting a TON of content. I am pretty much counting down the days until I can binge watch the third season and immediately want season four.

TV/MOVIES

Final Trailer For Season Three Of Stranger Things

This trailer has A LOT going on. So much. I am very worried about a lot of the characters after watching the two trailers that have been released. I am fairly certain Billy isn't making it out of this season, but there may end up being more casualties.


 


I love how badass Eleven gets to be here. I am glad that they are recognizing Will's connection to the Upside Down. This trailer was very much focused on the action and it seems like Netflix gave them a pretty big budget.

First Look Photos For Little Women

A new adaptation of Little Women will be released at the end of 2019 and Vanity Fair just released some first look photos that have been really intrigued.

My favourite, of course, is this one of Jo and Laurie.


Both actors look amazing and I am hoping we get a trailer soon so I can see what this movie might look like.

OTHER

Stranger Things Season Three Merchandise

As mentioned above the third season is quickly approaching and that means a ton of merchandise is being released. Target just unveiled a bunch of exclusive merchandise including these glasses.


I need an entire set. I love the Scoops Ahoy and Hawkins Pool ones so much. There is no Target's in Canada so if I can't get them shipped to me I may have to get my friend Kelly to get grab them and I'll get them next year when I see her at Book Expo.

What are you obsessed with this week? Let me know in the comments.

Friday, June 21, 2019

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly


Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
Release Date - May 14, 2019
Publisher Website - Scholastic
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  352 pages
My Rating - 3/5
**received from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis
Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe ... which is now filling with blood.

When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.

Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.

Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl. 
It's easy to root for Cinderella. We want her to break free from her abusive home and find happiness. What of her stepsisters though? The cruel and mean women who taunted Cinderella? Are they worthy of change and redemption if they want it? Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly tackles these questions and looks at the infamous stepsisters through a more feminist viewpoint that I found refreshing, even if I felt disconnected with the book at times.

Isabelle is told that women should be kind, beautiful, patient and good. They shouldn't be loud. They shouldn't want so much. She's continuously compared to Cinderella and found lacking. This, naturally, stirs jealousy within Isabelle's heart and leads her down the path we find her on. It is a much more sympathetic view on the character because she's instantly relatable. Women are always told who they should be and what they should want. Isabelle dared to want something different for herself, and dared to want to make her own way and society judged her for it. The jealousy that seeps into this story isn't just Isabelle's however. The people who are assumed to be the charmed ones have issues of their own and perhaps are just as jealous. This story looks at the pressure that is put on women and how that, sadly, often dictates the relationships we have with one another.

 The character growth that Isabelle undergoes during her journey is really what made this book work for me. We see her change and become a better person as her story progresses. The changes feel earned and authentic for the type of character she is. It is the gradual realizations and self reflection that made the character endearing to me and the author ensured it was the focus.

There is a secondary storyline that features the characters of Fate and Chance and this is where the story lost me a bit. It sometimes felt like this part of the story was meant to be a different story entirely. It didn't mesh as seamlessly with Isabelle's main storyline even with them being connected in a lot of ways. The story, for me, would have been stronger without this particular element. The scenes featuring these characters often felt disjointed and thrown in. It, for me, took me out of the story I was enjoying too many times for me to fully enjoy the book overall.

Pacing was a bit of an issue for me overall. This book feels too short for it to effectively achieve all of what it is attempting, This is most evident in the Chance/Faith sections. It causes the book to feel uneven in a lot of parts. The characters are well crafted, and the story is interesting, but I don't think it was executed to its fullest potential.

Ultimately this ended up being a bit of a mixed read for me. There were elements of the novel that I felt really worked, and other elements that I felt distracted from the story and took the reader out of what was happening. I do applaud the message of not being afraid to forge your own path regardless of what society may expect of you and recommend it for those who have loved this previous author's work.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Waiting On Wednesday ... Royal Holiday


Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory


Here is the Goodreads synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory makes her hardcover debut with a heartwarming Christmas romance. 

Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie's work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can't refuse. She's excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn't expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain Private Secretary and his charming accent and unyielding formality.

Malcolm Hudson has been the Queen's Private Secretary for years and has never given a personal, private tour...until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.

Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy fling come New Year's Day...or are they?
This sounds like the perfect read to save to be enjoyed with a hot chocolate on a snowy December day (preferably after finishing up the holiday shopping). It seems like the perfect way to treat yourself after all of the hustle and bustle of the season.

Jasmine's books are always a fun read and I predict this one will be no exception.

Expected release date - October 1, 2019

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