SHOP REVIEW SUNDAY: HappyHelloCo

Today I'm doing a Shop Review Sunday! This will not be every Sunday, as I really don't buy much book merchandise, but if I ever do then it will be on Sundays. So I follow quite a few bookstagrams on my instagram and I keep seeing these adorable little bookmarks on almost everyone's accounts. I fell in love with them and ended up following the shops instagram as well.

HappyHelloCo is a shop on Etsy which is based in Canada. They make these magnetic bookmarks in a variety of characters from movies, television, and books. I think that's why it appeals so much to readers because who wouldn't want their favorite character holding their place in their book? Especially if its a character from the series they are reading! Some of the more popular ones are Harry Potter characters, Dr. Who, Supernatural, Fangirl, Throne of Glass, etc.

They do discontinue their designs after awhile so I would suggest if you really want certain characters to order them or they might not come back. I missed out on some Disney ones this way and now they are discontinued, so sad!

Each bookmark is around 2$ each which I don't think is too bad. They become a little less when you buy a bigger pack but still around the 2$ mark. The Harry Potter trio was $5.55 and the DC superhero were $8.66 (they were less than normal because they were being discontinued). They design and create these themselves so they are unique and one of a kind. I've seen other similar bookmarks from other shops but they aren't as cute and well designed as these. Their art style is just really appealing.

So just to give you an idea of the shipping times, I placed my order on the 13th of February and I received it on the 20th. Not bad considering it was being shipped from Toronto, Canada and I live in California.

Overall I would really recommend the shop if you are looking for some really cute character bookmarks. They have something for everyone and I'm looking forward to placing another order soon! Has anyone else ordered from them?

FIRST & THEN: Book Review!

For today's review I wanted to switch gears from fantasy and do a contemporary novel. First & Then is a contemporary high school romance novel by Emma Mills. It's a pretty short novel at around 250 pages, I think I knocked it out in a day. It read pretty fast paced, which I appreciated, I really couldn't put it down and just wanted to keep turning the pages until the story was complete. I also just want to throw it out there that this book is gorgeous! The dust jacket has rainbow raindrops all over it and the actual book underneath has the same pattern in silver foil!

Synopsis:

"Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy silently crushing on best friend Cas and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive jock Ezra right where she doesn't want them-first into her gym glass and then into every other aspect of her life."

Devon is such a relatable character, I really felt like I could have been her, though my high school life wasn't nearly as interesting. Early on her cousin Foster comes to live with her family and starts at her school. He seems to have some sort of autism, but I'm not entirely sure, and he himself is going through a pretty tough time. He comes into Devon's life and helps liven it up a bit. He makes friends with the super cute jock, Ezra, and pulls him into Devon's world as well. She struggles with being a type of sister for Foster and also with her feelings for Ezra.

What appealed to me most about this book was how REAL it was. Obviously it's a contemporary romance novel and the contemporary aspect was so well portrayed that I felt they could be actual people. The situations and conversations they progressed through were reminiscent of things I've gone through in my own high school experience or heard about from friends. I think Mills really captures that quintessential high school life for most teenagers.

Devon is also a lover of Jane Austen, which is a theme throughout the story. She loves Pride and Prejudice which is not only my favorite Austen novel but also my favorite book of all! Needless to say I really loved the inclusion of that into the story.

RATING:

5/5

I really, really recommend this book if you really like contemporary novels or just want to read a cute romance novel! Did anyone else love it as much as I did?

THE WRATH AND THE DAWN: Book Review!

Today I'll be doing my first ever book review! Honestly, I've been a little nervous about writing my

 first book review as I've never done it before. I'm not exactly sure how to go about it, what to include, so I'm just going to wing it haha. I'm sure I'll learn more as I go along and I would love some suggestions if you have them!

For my first review I chose The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. I absolutely adored this book. It is based on the fable/tale of A Thousand and One Nights. I haven't ever read that story so I didn't have anything to base this novel on. I'm not sure how well it follows the story and where it branches off. So I'll start of with the little summary excerpt from inside the book:

"In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengence and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzard is determined not only to stay alive but to end the caliph's reign of terror once and for all."

The main story is between a very headstrong girl named Shahrzad, who decides she has to get revenge on the Caliph Khalid, for taking her best friend Shiva. But obviously there is much more to the story than that. She devises a way to keep herself alive by telling Khalid stories each night when he comes to visit. The dialog and interactions between the two were amazingly described. Shahrzad is such a strong, persuasive girl and I found myself really admiring her courage and devil may care attitude. And despite (or maybe because) of the mysterious and hot/cold nature of Khalid I found myself really loving him as well. They challenge each other and it really brings some fun to the story.

Shahrzad, originally intending to kill the Caliph of Khorasan, ultimately ends up falling for him. Someone who she is determined to hate and destroy. But as we know life isn't always that easy and it sure wasn't for her. She must come to terms with losing a best friend and falling for her killer. I don't want to spoil the story too much so you'll have to read the book yourself to find out what happens between the two :)

There is also a side story during the book which involves a friend of Shahrzad's who is willing to try anything to get her back. I found myself not really caring about him or what he was up to, and read as fast as I could through his parts as I wasn't interested in them really.

The story does end at a pretty important part and leaves you wanting more, which is of course what the author wanted! The second book in the series The Rose and The Dagger will be released in May and it is definitely on the top of my list to preorder!

I think what I really loved about this book was the setting. The way Ahdieh transports your mind from the boring and mundane real world, to one full of color and enchantment. I love learning about different cultures and The Wrath and the Dawn did not disappoint. I really liked that while I was reading a work of fiction I was also learning about real Indian culture, food, and their dress. I've fallen in love with the culture and I want to learn even more about it.

It's not really anything to do with the story itself but I do think the cover of the book is beautiful. I think the red and gold was a great choice as I think I remember that red is a pretty prominent color in Indian culture. Also, the hardcover edition of the book has uneven pages..you can't see it that well here but thats what I was trying to capture. I really appreciate uneven pages, especially on this book, because it gives an older feeling to the pages and since this is a retelling of an older story I think it fits quite well.

RATING: 

5/5

I hope that you enjoyed! Have any of you read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book and whether you're looking forward to the next one as much as I am!

DECEMBER WRAP-UP + Book Blog

Hello!

During the middle of December I became obsessed with reading again. If you read my previous post, I account it to discovering "bookstagrams" on Instagram. If you love reading and books I would definitely recommend looking at the tags and checking some out, but beware it may enable you to buy more books haha.

Anyways, I started reading for fun again and buying books around the middle/end of December and this little pile is of the books I read and finished in December. I started with A Court of Thorns and Roses which was amazing. A perfect book to inspire you to want to read again: full of magic, mystery, and love. It quickly became a favorite and I'm very (un)patiently waiting for the sequel to come out this May. I moved on to Cinder and Scarlet afterwards, still need to read Cress and Winter but got sidetracked by other books. Cruel Beauty followed and once I finished it I set about ordering it's sequel from Amazon. Rounding out the month for me was Six of Crows, another one that I'm waiting for its sequel to arrive haha.

So why am I talking about books I read in December? Well, I've decided that I'll be trying to do reviews for the books I've read this year, so I will be starting with January but I thought I would still show you guys what books I read before this year. I love reading and I'd just like to share my thoughts on what books I read, because I know I'm always looking at reviews before I buy books. I will be trying really hard to make this a spoiler free review blog but obviously I may slip up and not even realize it since I am reviewing books I read a month ago.

It's a fun new adventure and I hope you'll join along the way!

THE LUNAR CHRONICLES!

I used to be an avid reader, constantly having a book with me at all times. But then when I got into Uni I lost that passion for reading, mainly because I had massive amounts of reading for classwork and just lost the fun of reading. But while playing around on instagram, as I always do, I came across some really amazing "bookstagrams" as they call them. Mainly focusing on Young Adult or New Adult novels which are my favorite and needless to say I ended up following a few. I found one book called "A Court of Thornes and Roses" which many of them had and I delved into it (I'll do a separate little review of that one as I finished it but just didn't take any pictures yet haha). But I also kept seeing these books pop up on every single account, they looked pretty and quite interesting, so I immediately set about doing some research.

There are four books in the series (though I think there is also another one called Fairest which tells about Queen Levana's past) and each one is based on a fairy tale but obviously quite different and set in a spacey/futuristic world. The characters aren't as we remember them and their stories while having a little basis with the original are quite different. The first book is Cinder, and if you couldn't guess by the name, is a retelling of Cinderella. The Second book is Scarlet and is based on Red Riding Hood. The third (which I think could be my favorite just based on the fairytale) is Cress who is a futuristic Rapunzel of sorts. And then the very last book in the series which was released maybe 2 months ago is Winter and as you can see from the apple on the from is Snow White!

I absolutely love fairy tales so once I read reviews and descriptions I knew that this series would be right up my alley. There were so many good reviews on this series that I just had to pick it up. They've helped catapult my love for reading back into the forefront (which could be dangerous as I read pretty fast and go through books like water haha) and I've not got a pretty long list of books to read after these!

I did already finish Cinder (read it in one day lol), but I think I'll try to do a separate review of it in another post :)

 Now I'm off to start Scarlet (which I admit I'm looking forward to more than Cinder). Can't wait to learn more about Cinder's journey and be introduced to Wolf and Scarlet!