August Wrap Up | Faith

The first book I read this month was The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight by: Jennifer E. Smith. I have been really craving a cute contemporary read. I don't know why Jennifer E. Smith's books stood out to me, they just did. I am usually the type of person who boycotts cute romantic contemporary books because I never really understood the hype. I've always just thought that they were cheesy, not well written and I just thought they didn't have a good story. I read this book, and not only did it put a smile on my face but it made me understand why everybody loves these kinds of books. This book was so much more then just a romance book, it involved family and that is something that I really admired. This wasn't mind-blowing but it really was a fun read, so I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely think that I'm going to be on a Jennifer E. Smith marathon for a while.





The second book I read this month was Saga Volume 2 by: Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. I honestly don't know how I feel, for the most part I wasn't really paying attention while reading it but I was also still invested in it. I know that I liked it more then the first volume. I'm sorry, I can't really say much. I would rate it a 3.8 out of 5 stars.

What I can say is that I do recommend these graphic novels if you're into science-fiction and if you can handle illustrated nudity.












The third book I read this month was The Geography of You and Me by: Jennifer E. Smith. Something about the two Jennifer E. Smith books that I've read and loved, is that there are little tiny things/moments in them that are so significant to the characters and in the story that you can't help but smile. Such as, the postcards. This book was definitely very cute and adorable but I did prefer The Statisical Probability of Love At First Sight a little bit more, it just stood out to me more then this one did. I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was really interesting seeing from two POV's, it just made the story alot more memorable. Also, I truly belive that Jennifer's books are perfect for the screen because it looks like they would be easy to adapt since they are already a mini movie just within a book. I suggest that you read this if you've read Love, Rosie/Where Rainbows End by: Cecilia Ahern.

If you do want to start reading something by Jennifer E. Smith, I .think you should go and check out The Statiscial Probability Of Love At First Sight because that is personally my favourite.

The fourth book I read this month was Tearing Down The Ivy by: Amy Bledsoe. I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it did hold a lot of captivating mysterious stories but I did feel that I wasn't in the right mindset to be reading this book. I would recommend this book if you've watched The Secret Life Of The American Teenager. I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars. 

You can read my review HERE

 

July Wrap-Up | Raquel

Wow first wrap up with my actual name... It's kind of odd after a whole year of using an acronym type thing to start using my real name, but I think this just seems a lot more normal. Anyway here is my wrap up for July, hope you enjoy it!

The first book I read this month was The Host by: Stepenie Meyer. I watched the movie for this story and Faith owned the book and had told me some about it when she read it and I decided I wanted to read it too. It kind of started my streak of reading books of movie adaptations I have watched. I liked the host movie I thought it was an interesting idea and it was well made! The actors were decent too which is always nice. I find sometimes that one actor can really mess up a movie if their portrayal of a character is off. I found that the book generally was similar to the movie. I will say I enjoyed the movie better but it's hard to really have an unbiased opinion. I find that sometimes when I watch a movie first that when I read the book later I find it to only be equally as good or not as good. This is not always the case, but it is a common thing for me. However I would still recommend the book especially if you haven't seen the movie because the story is well written! I would rate this book 3.4/5 stars.

The second book I read this month was Silver Linings Playbook by: Matthew Quick. I watched the movie to this book one day when I was bored and it was much better then I had expected. I knew the book would most likely be kind of slow but I decided that I would read it anyway. I was right the book is kind of slow, I generally like a little bit fuller books. However the story still is really good and I did enjoy being able to actually read more of his thoughts and stuff which I wasn't able to do so much in the film. Again i'm biased but I did like the movie better. In this case I think the movie just had more entertainment value since the book was kind of slow. It was also well written, but I find that books like these don't have a whole lot of plot I guess and can really be summed up in a few short sentences. The story is a good idea, but I think more content could have been added to make it a bit more interesting. I rate this book 2.8/5 stars.

The third book I read was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky. I watched this movie quite a bit before I read the book. I didn't know it had a book until after when I looked up the movie. This month I decided I wanted to read a bunch of books of movies I have seen so this was included in that bunch! I really loved this movie, it definitely is one of my favourites! The book was really good as well. It is written in a journal or letter type style which can put some people off. I personally wasn't bothered by it in this case as I think it really didn't affect the story. There are some things that can be uncomfortable for some people to read as it is in the perspective of a teenage boy. Though none of it is really that bad so it wasn't really difficult to read. One thing I always find difficult when reading the book after is that I picture the movie in my head and sometimes I forget that the story of the book could be completely different. The story in this case is a bit changed, but not a whole lot. I rate this book 4.5/5 stars.

I did a list of some of my favourite movie adaptations! This movie was included, if you want to see what I thought of it, and other adaptations I enjoyed you can see that here.

The next book I read in July was Warm Bodies by: Isaac Marion. This book as well was included in the books I was reading whose movie's I had seen. I really had enjoyed the movie, I found it to be quite entertaining. I found the book to a bit less so. I don't know if it is because I saw the movie first or if it was just the book itself, but I did get a bt bored in the book. I found myself skimming a lot and skipping parts. It's always difficult to not be biased in cases like this. I know that I do enjoy the story. The whole idea of it is really unique. This story is centered around a romance, but still has lots of action and substances. The idea seems to stem from romeo and juliet, but in a modern day zombie society. I really like this whole story and everything that happens. In the book I would say that I didn't enjoy as much how it was written. In some parts it would really hold my attention, but I found in other parts I felt really lost or bored. Like I said I can't tell if this is the book or just the fact I saw the movie first. I would say if the story sounds interesting then you should try it out! You never really know if you will enjoy it unless you try reading it yourself. Anyway I would rate this book 3/5 stars.

The fifth book I read in July was Crazy by: Han Nolan. This book was quite the book to read. For me personally it was hard to read. It was just really sad and tragic and I really could feel everything the character was experiencing. I felt like it was me living through this story and that is what made it so challenging. I really connected to this story and I think it is just amazing when a book can make you feel like that. Like movies can make you feel some pretty intense things as well, but I have never had a movie make me feel like this. Though this definitely is not the first book that has made me feel such emotion, it is one of the few that have made me experience so connected. It honestly just felt so real to me. The story itself is really unique and throughout the story I wasn't able to accurately predict what was going to come next. I think this book was just incredible. As I said it can bring about some intense emotion so it may not be for everyone. However if you think you can handle such a story I would highly suggest trying this story! I rate this book 4.5/5 stars.

The last three books I read were all manga's based off books written by James Patterson. I have been working on reading the manga's of the series of James Patterson that I have read. When I really like a story I like to just read or watch all the other versions of the story! Each manga represented one story of Daniel X's adventure. They do relate to the actual books so I was able to recognize the stories. I think they are very well drawn! The characters definitely are how I would have imagined them in manga-form anyway. I also feel they did a good job at rewriting the books to work in this new format. Sometimes when they make a manga out of a book they loose critical information or pieces from the story. If you hadn't read the books its not a huge deal, but for people who have it makes the story seem very dull. This series didn't have that problem I found. The idea is really interesting, it is just these stories are more written for people of a middle school, or young high school age so they can be a bit cheesey. I enjoy them though I think that every once in a while its nice to just read some good cheesey stuff. I would rate the first volume 3/5 stars, the second 3.3/5 stars and the third 3.6/5 stars.

The Kiss Of Deception: Mary E. Pearson | Review | Faith

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

- Goodreads Synopsis

This Review Will Be SPOILER-FREE

Book - Pixels #1 | Raised By Wolves & Harry Potter

Model Krystal. T

Model: Krystal. T

Model: Krystal. T

This was one of the first pictures that I edited! Fun fact, I accidentally turned her hair purple. When this happened I was just like "Hey, Nymphadora Tonks!" 

Model: Krystal. T 

I would have added more pictures for the Harry Potter section because there are plenty! I was just way too lazy to edit and upload them.

Model: Raquel. T

So this is my take on the Raised By Wolves cover by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The original cover is very blue, and whenever I tried to do that it looked purple and silly. So I just decided that I'll use it as inspiration and do something different with it. 

In this photo I used two stock photos from DevianArt. Unfortunately I do not remember who the creators of the stock photos are so I cannot credit them. 

More Book-Pixels to come in the near future, comment your suggestions! 

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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Tearing Down The Ivy: Amy Bledsoe | Review | Faith

As Anna falls for her best friend, Griffin, his charming family lures her into the corrupt underworld of her beloved town, but while her affection for him grows, so does his list of secrets. Will Griffin’s love be enough to make Anna stay, and will hers give him a reason to leave his life behind?

- Goodreads Synopsis

This Review Will Be SPOILER-FREE

Favourite Movie Adaptations | Raquel

So Faith and I won tickets to go see Paper Towns and I just thought that this post went perfectly. Here are some of my favourite Movie Adaptations of books!

Paper Towns Book-Movie Adaptation | Review | Faith

1. Young and shy Quentin (Nat Wolff) is in for the night of his life when Margo (Cara Delevingne), the most popular student in high school, recruits him to help her play mischievous pranks on the friends who betrayed her. The next day, however, the mysterious Margo is nowhere to be found. With help from a few buddies and some cryptic clues that she left behind, Quentin embarks on an obsessive mission to find the girl who stole his heart and made him feel truly alive.

- Wikipedia synopsis 

This Review Will Contain SPOILERS

July Wrap Up | Faith

The first book I read was actually at the end of June. This book was Helia's Shadow by: K.C. Neal. I absolutely loved this book, it was so unique and action-packed. It did take me a while to finish this because school was in the way for a while, but I still loved it. I highly recommend that you go and pick this book up, it was just recently released in paperback, along with the sequel and  some of K.C. Neal's other books. I know that I will be trying to get my hands on a physical copy, because I need it in my hands! I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

You can read my review HERE

The second book I read this month was Frostbite: A Vampire Academy Graphic Novel by: Richelle Mead, adapted by: Leigh Dragoon and Illustrated by: Emma Vieceli. The Vampire Academy series is one of my favourite series of all time, I loved the books as well as the movie. Throughout the whole story, I kept picturing the actors voices from the film in my head, it was something I couldn't help. I still think that they should make a Frostbite movie with the original actors, because I do feel that they would do an amazing job. I honestly just think the first film was marketed wrong, because the marketing did not match the film. I would rate this graphic novel a 4 out of 5 stars. 

If you haven't picked up The Vampire Academy books, I highly suggest that you do! They're not cheesy and the title is very misleading. It's not just about vampires going to school, there is so much more awesomeness to the story!

The third book I read in July was Steelheart by: Brandon Sanderson. I've been wanting to read something by Brandon Sanderson mainly because that he is one of the most highly acclaimed fantasy authors (favourite genre). Raquel has raved about this book countless times, and it wasn't until a few months ago that I decided to pick it up. Let me just say that my mind is blown. There are so many twists in this book, and it actually made me gasp and stare at my book. This is one of the only books in a long time that has truly surprised me with it's twists. I really want to read the sequel! I highly recommend this book if you're into DC and Marvel because it's basically a comic book without the pictures. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.


SPOILER: Love the part where Steelheart kills himself, clever very clever.





The fourth book that I completed was Sacrificed by: Emily Wibberley, which is the first book in The Last Oracle series. I was sent this and an eArc of Forsworn (the second book) for a blog tour that I was participating in. (You can check out my post HERE)

This book is another great debut novel, it has such strong characters and an entertaining story. The whole concept of the Oracle was so intriguing and something that I had never seen before in young-adult books. Everything was done with so much suspense and there was always an edge of darkness which I loved. One of my favourite parts of this novel were the visions that Clio would see (SO AWESOME) I think the only problem I had with Sacrificed would probably be the pacing and the storyline. The storyline by itself wasn't really anything mind-blowing, but everything else was really amazing. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

Side Note: This cover is AMAZING.

The fifth book I read was The Heir by: Kiera Cass. This is the fourth book in The Selection series. I fairly enjoyed the first three books and I was really excited when Kiera announced that she was continuing on with the series.

I truly believe that Kiera has improved with her writing. While I was still able to finish this book within a few hours like I had with the first books, there was more of a maturity in her words. However, Eadlyn wasn't as frustrating as America. She was a very spoiled princess and very in denial. Throughout the novel I was constantly just going "ADMIT IT! ADMIT THAT YOU HAVE ROMANTIC FEELINGS TOWARDS THEM!" The Heir was definitely better then some of her past books. These books are so addictive, because it's like a reality show and every chapter is a cliffhanger and you just want to keep reading. America was a lot more frustrating in my opinion, Eadlyn was just annoying but there was depth to her character. I loved her relationship with her brother Ahern and just her dedication to her family overall. I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

 (I really love Kile and Hale. Henri is so sweet and adorable though.)

The sixth book I read was Forsworn by: Emily Wibberley, this is the second book in The Last Oracle series. I received an arc of this book for a blog tour, and I reviewed it!  I really loved Forsworn, it was just as good as Sacrificed, maybe even better. Emily uses her words in a mysterious and intriguing way, which makes an action-packed book filled with awesomeness. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

You can read my review HERE.

The seventh book I read this month was Magonia by: Maria Dahvana Headly. I had been anticipating this book before it's release, and I was not disappointed in the content. I just couldn't appreciate the beauty of it. It was a fantastic read with an interesting writing style, I just couldn't embrace it. I would rate it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The eighth book I read was Firefight by: Brandon Sanderson! As you know, I read the first book and I really, really loved it. However with this book, I didn't really like it as much. The action was great, the plot was great, the characters were great (Meghan not really sure about yet) it was just the pacing. The pacing seemed a little off for me, it was slow, then fast, slow and then fast. It was really interesting seeing different epics, that was really fun to read. This book just didn't have the same wow-factor as the first, it fell a little flat with the pacing. I also really missed the super, nerdy, dorky side of David. It was there, but I wanted more of the dork side of him, because I love dorky people.

Also, I don't really ship Meghan and David. I don't know if it's because I'm reading from a guy's perspective and don't really get it, but I shipped Percy and Annabeth in an instant. I don't know why, the romance was just something that I acknowledged but never really invested myself in it. I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars.

The ninth book I read was The Kiss Of Deception by: Mary E. Pearson. I really liked this book, I thought that the POV's from Kaden and Rafe weren't really needed but I still loved the story. The only downfall I would say that this book had was the pacing but that was probably my only problem. I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

You can read my review on August 15th!

The tenth book I read this month was Saga, Volume 1 by: Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. When I read graphic novels, I tend to just read really random ones without really knowing anything about the story. I really loved this volume! I really did not expect to like it as much as I did, the beginning was a little boring but it picked up very quickly. This graphic novel really made me gasp at some points, especially because of the art. Everything is just really weird and unique which makes for a great story. I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5 stars. I do not suggest reading this if you're uncomfortable with illustrated nudity and sexual content.

The eleventh book I read was Supergirl Volume 3: Sanctuary which is part of The New 52 collection. This was by Mike Johnson and Mahmud Asrar. I really enjoyed reading this one, I liked it a little more then the previous volume. I loved how we got a glimpse of The Flash and Wonder Woman. I would rate this comic a 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

I also tried reading an X-Men comic by Marvel and I think I can now say that I like DC comics more than Marvel if we're talking about comics.

The twelfth book I read this month was The Flash: Volume 2 Rogues Revolution by: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato which is also part of The New 52 collection. I really enjoyed this one as well! I'm also not really a fan of Patty... I would suggest that you read these if you're looking for a good read. I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
















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