Tag: Books

Book Review

Book Review 005

by LeaLeave a Comment on Book Review 005

Hey guys! Today I am reviewing the books that I read over my holidays. I finished another book that is apart of a series, so I will post that review once I finish the full series. For now, I have two cute little YA novels that both made me cry.

jan 2020 2

The first book is Life As It Comes by Anne-Laure Bondoux. This book from France and has been translated into English. The translator did a great job, it didn’t notice at all that it was a translation. Overall the novel is very easy to read. I read it in two days but could have easily read it in one. The language is simple and flows quite easily, so I found myself breezing through the pages.

The story is also very simple on the surface, but the emotions and themes are much deeper. The story follows two sisters, Mado and Patty, during the first summer after their parents have died. It’s a coming of age story but focuses on death and life and the bond between sisters. It made me really sit back and think sometimes, and I found myself reflecting on the story when I was doing other things. It’s a young adult novel but still grabs my attention now that I’m older. Overall I think it was a very short and sweet novel. It’s perfect for a quick read on the beach.

jan 2020

The second novel I read was Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott. The novel follows two teens with cystic fibrosis, Stella and Will. As someone who has done fundraising for cystic fibrosis, I wanted to read this novel to learn more about the disease. I would probably recommend doing some research about CF before reading the novel. Otherwise you may find yourself having to do some research as you read. I was fine since I knew about CF, but just a recommendation.

I love the characters. Lippincott created a small cast but made the characters so complex. I fell in love with all the characters, despite their flaws. This show is also quite heavy, dealing with the philosophy of death and living. This was also a very emotional novel. I was reading this book on the beach, and I was casually sobbing at the end. 😂 The novel does have happy and bright moments, but I will say that the overall tone of the novel is very pensive and sad. Now I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that while it wasn’t perfect and happy, I still liked the ending. It felt like the right ending. I would definitely recommend this novel, but it’s more of a curled by the fire book than a beach book haha.

And that’s my thoughts on these two novels. Let me know some of your recent favourite books in the comments, I’m always looking for some to add to my reading list!

xoxo

Lea

Book Review, Review

Six Summer Reading Recommendations

by LeaLeave a Comment on Six Summer Reading Recommendations

Hey guys! We are half way through summer, and by now you might have already read through your summer reading list. So I have six recommendations, two of which are series, to add to your list. For me, the perfect summer book is easy to read, has a compelling story line that makes me want to binge-read and a little bit of romance. I want to preface that if you are looking for serious, thought-provoking books, this isn’t really the list for you (except maybe the last one). Most of these are light and fun, but I did try to put some variety in the list. Anyways, my recommendations:

summer reading recs

Classic Beach Read – Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This is a classic beach read in the sense that it’s a YA chick-flick kind of book. The story is about a girl named Anna who moves from the US to attend a boarding school in France. She (of course) develops a friendship/crush on a British boy, and the rom-com ensues. The story is easy to read and quite absorbing, but the French boarding school element adds some variety. I was able to learn a little bit about Paris and France, so it added something to being just a simple novel. Now this book isn’t for everyone, but it is totally cheesy and can be a little much sometime, but sometimes that’s just what I’m looking for.

Classic Beach Read x 3 – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han

If you want to read a full review of this series, check out my blog post about it! This series is perfect for summer because it’s simple and easy to read. It’s cheesy, with tons of those moments that give you second hand embarrassment. But the scenes with Peter K are just so cute and worth it. I read through this novels pretty quick, and now I’m excited to watch the movie!

The Bachelor Meets Hunger Games – The Selection series by Kiera Cass

This series was my summer read for a couple of summers. I read the books as they came out, so it was a new book in the series each summer. I just associate these books with summer for some reason! Anyways, the series is about a future with a caste system (similar to Hunger games). A bunch of girls compete to win the prince’s love and become a princess (Bachelor). This book is just super fun to read. There are so many twists and turns, but also just some petty girl drama as well. The series does have some political commentary, but it’s pretty obvious and surface level. The plot line is just so unlike other YA novels that I had a lot of fun reading it.

YA Contemporary with a Twist – Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

This is different that your average YA novel because the main character, Samantha, has OCD. It has the foundation of your average novel with the high school drama and the romance, but it also tackles many important issues with mental health and illness. I found this book addicting because I wanted to read more about the romance but I also wanted to learn more about Samantha and how she deals with her OCD. This novel also has a wild plot twist near the end, so this novel is truely a roller-coaster ride.

Groundhog Day meets Mean Girls but darker – Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The movie doesn’t do this book justice. Like it was good, but there is so much more depth in the novel. The novel follows the story of Sam, bitchy mean girl who dies on February 12 and relives the day multiple times. Sam is such a well developed character – you like her and you hate her at the same time. I was extremely absorbed into the plot line, I kept on wanting to know what Sam would do when she woke up again. This story is so interesting and so unlike anything else I’ve read. I read this novel back in high school, and I still sometimes think about passages in the novel. It’s thought-provoking, and that ending. Man I cried. Just read the book and don’t watch the movie.

An Addictive ‘What If’ – Every Day by David Levithan

This book makes you think without going too deep. The story follows ‘A’ who wakes up every day in a new body – male and female but always the same age. ‘A’ falls in love with a girl named Rhiannon, and they try to make their relationship work amist ‘A’ interesting circumstances. This is a novel where I actually find the romance to be some of the least interesting part. I was always curious to see what body ‘A’ will wake up in. But what I like most about this novel is the philosophical debates that Levithan brings forward to the reader. The book discusses gender, disability, and mental health. It also discusses being a bystander and when to step in. I often found myself sitting and thinking about aspects of this novel. Yes there are some technical plot holes (you never really understand how A is the way it is) but I was so addictive to this novel. The writing is simple and something you will just speed through.

And those are my six summer reads recommendations! Let me know if you guys liked this type of post, I can do other ones like historical-fiction or series or even my all time fave books!

xoxo

Lea

 

Book Review

Book Review 004

by Lea1 Comment on Book Review 004

Hey guys! I am back with another book review! I recently finished the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han. I know I’m a little late to the game with these books (the movie is now almost a year old lol) but it’s never too late for a good book. If you were like me and haven’t read these books yet, I highly recommend you go out and read them!

july 2019

The books revolve around a girl named Lara Jean. She has written all these letters to boys she has had a crush on, and one day they mysteriously get sent out. The first book is about her dealing with the letters getting sent out, which results in a fake relationship with one of the boys, Peter K. *Spoilers* the next two novels are about Lara Jean’s relationship with Peter K.

Now I am a such for cheesy YA rom-com type novels. I have read my fair share of Sarah Dessen novels. These types of novels are nice for an easy read, and this trilogy did not disappoint in the romantic tribulations department. I personally ship Lara Jean and Peter K. But what I also enjoy is that Han spends the next two novels actually developing their relationship. Often times YA romances can be pretty flat, and when once the couple gets together. Han goes beyond this stage, which I found refreshing.

Han also did an amazing job of balancing the romantic scenes with other aspects. Lara Jean’s relationship with her sisters are an important part of the novel, and one that I really enjoyed. It helps show that romantic love is not the only type of love, but that the bond between siblings is just as, if not more, important.

I like Han’s writing style as well. It’s simple and easy to read. I like she created a very likable character with Lara Jean. Which I find funny because I personally hated the main character in Han’s other series, The Summer I Turned Pretty. If you were like me and didn’t like that series, this one is much different.

Overall I really enjoyed these novels. Now I’m going to watch the movie! Let me know in the comments what you are currently reading! I just started Outlander, so don’t expect any new book reviews for awhile haha!

xoxo

Lea

Book Review

Book Review 003

by LeaLeave a Comment on Book Review 003

Hey guys! So today’s book review is actually books I read for an English class I took in university! I liked English in high school, but was always scared to take it in university. After talking to a few English majors, I decided to try it out! The class was longer genres, so they were actual novels versus poetry or short stories. In the end I really enjoyed the class, and there are a few books I would recommend from the class!

Photo 2018-12-15, 12 36 49 PM

The first book we read was Klee Wyck by Emily Carr. Carr is more well-known as being a Canadian landscape painter, but she also did write a few novels. Klee Wyck is an extremely interesting novel because it’s a memoir of sorts that won many awards after Carr’s death. The novel was censored, removing any parts that was critical of European missionaries. It wasn’t until 2004 that the original text was published again. Klee Wyck is a series of stories about Carr, British Columbia and the Indigenous people of the region. Carr explores the idea of how she, as a white women, can oppose the horrible treatment of the Indigenous people yet also profit from it at the same time. I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to learn more about the relationship between colonization and the Indigenous people of Canada.

The second novel I read was another Canadian classic. Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison was highly criticized at the time of being published because it doesn’t glorify war. It tries to show the reader how war isn’t like the romantic version people had heard back home. I really liked this book, especially the style of writing. The details about the narrator are very minimal, allowing the reader to better put themselves into the narrator’s shoes. The writing is also very simple and easy to read. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in World War 2, especially the darker/gritter side of war.

Probably my favourite book from my class was Animal Farm by George Orwell. This book is a classic for a reason. Animal Farm is a satirical novel, using animals to critic Stalin and the Soviet Union. The references are strong enough that anyone who knows some modern history can get them, but they are not so strong that they get in the way of enjoying the story. This is the perfect book for an English class, because it is rich enough to write about but still enjoyable to read. I think this would also be a good book for pleasure reading as well. While the writing is a little dated, it is meant to be read as a children’s book, so the language is quite simple. After reading Animal Farm, I am quite interested in now reading 1984. 

My least favourite piece was a play called Endgame by Samuel Beckett. This play is apart of the genre theatre of the absurd, which is basically the theatre version of surrealism or dadaism. Basically nothing makes sense. The play is supposed to be a comment on existentialism, but like I didn’t get it. The play was very cyclical, just repeating the same things over and over again without ever really making a point. I don’t even know how to describe or critique this play because it makes no sense. Save yourself the headache and don’t read this.

The next book is July’s People by Nadine Gordimer. Written in the 1980s, this novel was Gordimer’s prediction of what a post-Apartheid South Africa would look like. Unlike the past four novels, where I knew a decent amount about the subject matter, at the time I didn’t know much about South Africa. I have since made some South African friends (shoutout to Contiki for being us together) and now I feel more conflicted about this novel. I do think it some ways it reflects on identity in an interesting way, and it worked nicely with the other novels were studied in our class. I just think there are better novels about this subject out there. Also the writing is outdated and full of South African slang that I had no idea about. Very hard to read, wouldn’t recommend.

The final novel I read was Obasan by Joy Kogawa. The novel is about the interment and persecution of Japanese-Canadians during the second world war. While I didn’t know much about this subject going into this book, I felt like by the end I knew more about the topic. The story is a girl named Naomi, and switches between her experiences as a child and an adult. The story is simply and beautifully written. They are some more lyrical passages, which would be helpful to use if analyzing the novel. Overall I found the story very compelling, and I really enjoyed the novel!

And those were the books that I read for my English class! I just finished the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series recently, so expect another book review real soon!

xoxo

Lea

Book Review, Life, Review

Book Review 002

by LeaLeave a Comment on Book Review 002

Hey guys! I know it’s been awhile since my last book review, and that’s because it has taken me forever to finish the series in today’s post. I started the first book back in August and I just finished the last book a couple weeks ago. To be fair, I do find it harder to read during the school year, especially when I am also binging a tv show. Even though this series took me forever to read, I still absolutely loved it. Today’s book review is going to be on the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard.

feb 2019 002

The Red Queen series is comprised of four novels: Red Queen, Glass Sword, King’s Cage and War Storm. The story is set in the future where the world is divided by two types of blood – red and silver. Those with silver blood have superpowers and have enslaved the regular red bloods. The main character, Mare, discovers that she has a third type of blood which enables her and others to have stronger powers than those with silver blood. Mare is forced to pretend she is a long-lost princess in the first book, and the following books focus on a civil war breaking out through the country.

If I were to sum up this book, I would say it’s Game of Thrones with superpowers. I think my favourite part of this whole series is the world that Aveyard has created. It has many political elements that makes GoT so popular, like having a bunch of different royal houses. The super powers are what makes this novel stand out. Each house a different power, and then the newbloods (which the main character Mare is) all have very unique powers. Aveyard’s descriptions of the powers are amazing, so much that I can picture what it would be like to control fire, water, electricity, etc.

I think Aveyard did a great job of developing the characters throughout the series. The characters had depth and had flaws, making them more life-like. Mare is a quite negative and cynical character, which sometimes made her insufferable but it is also understandable given all that she goes through the series. Also I loved Cal, her love interest. Like I want a Cal in my life haha.

The only negative for me is that this series, especially the last two novels, are very long and drawn out. The third book was definitely my least favourite because I found it pretty repetitive. I honestly found some parts of it boring. The other thing I didn’t was that while the last too books are drawn out I found the ending rushed. *Minor spoiler* there are a ton of battles within the later books, and the climax of the book is a battle scene. Compared to some of the others in this series, I found that the last one was very quick in comparison. I also found the ending very incomplete. Now this might be so Aveyard can produce a sequel series in the future, but either way I was not very satisfied by the ending.

Overall I really liked this series, mainly because of the amazing world that Aveyard created. If you are looking for a fantasy, dystonia novel with some Game of Thrones level politics, then I would definitely recommend this book. I wouldn’t say this would be everyone’s cup of tea, but if this book sounds interesting to you then I would definitely recommend it because then you would probably love it.

And that is my book review! I will hopefully have another book review coming up within a couple weeks of all the books I read in my English class last semester.

xoxo

Lea

Book Review, Uncategorized

Book Review 001

by LeaLeave a Comment on Book Review 001

Hey guys! This week’s blog is a little different than usual – it’s a book review! While I love talking about beauty and makeup, there are other things that I am passionate about that I want to share. Something you might not know about me is that I am a big reader. So I have decided to write some reviews for you guys! I was totally inspired by Jess of Sunbeamsjess. She has an amazing Youtube channel and a blogger, and she is definitely one of my idols haha! I totally recommend you guys check her out 🙂

Please keep in mind that while I love reading and writing, I don’t study literature or anything like that. So my reviews are going to be pretty superficial, but I thought they might be useful if you are looking for some normal suggestions. I’m going to group a couple books together in one post because I won’t be writing in depth reviews of them. The three I’m going to write about today I read in the summer. I am currently in the middle of a series that I started at the end of the summer – expect a review of that once I’m finally done that!

nov 2018

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

If you like historical drama/mysteries, you will love this book. The novel is based off the real murder of Grace Brown, from the fictionalized perspective of Mattie. The novel is set in the 1900s in the Adirondack Mountains of New York – a place I’ve been to and love! The story switches between before and after Mattie has learned about Grace’s murder, which really kept me in suspense. While the murder mystery is pretty obvious, I was intrigued by Mattie’s story. I finished this book really quickly because I was so captivated. Highly recommend for all my fellow historical fans.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This book is very commonly read in high school in Canada, but I actually never read it! I decided to read it so I could watch the tv show (which I still haven’t watched yet…). I’ve never read anything by Margaret Atwood, but I can understand why her works are studied. The text is full of imagery, symbolism, and philosophical monologues. Atwood does a great job of balancing those passages with tons of action, so the reader never is bored. The story is a near-future dystopian tale, and while it was written over 30 years ago, the novel is still very applicable to today. A little funny side story about this novel: my coworker had to read the novel for summer school, and she told me this the day after I finished the novel. She said I really hyped up the book for her, and she actually ended up enjoying it! If you want a thought-provoking tale, I highly recommend The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

After reading The Handmaid’s Tale, I wanted something a little more light-hearted. This is the second book I’ve read by Jennifer E. Smith. I also read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, and to be honest I liked that one more than this one. The story is about a boy and girl who get stuck in an elevator during a blackout and who basically fall for each other that night. They then almost immediately move apart, and through the whole novel meeting each other for one-off nights. While I think the characters and story was well written, the whole time I was just waiting for them to finally come together. While it was cute, it was a little too drawn out for my liking. This isn’t a bad book, but there are definitely better ones out there.

And that is my little book review! I hope you guys liked this post, and let me know your book recommendations, I am always looking for more books to read 🙂

xoxo

Lea

Favourites

May Favourites

by LeaLeave a Comment on May Favourites

A few days (okay almost a week) late, but here are some of my May Favourites! This is anything that is not beauty related that I have been loving this month.

Fashion:

dixie haul 3

My favourite shirt this month is this super causal and comfy shirt from a Sirens outlet. It is described as a caged v-neck shirt and I wearing this shirt when I’m running errands or going to work. I pair it with leggings and it’s very comfy but looks more polished then a sweatshirt. I’m currently wearing this shirt right now!

Music:

I have been working a lot this month, and at work we are forced to listen to the easy listening kind of stations. So my new music time has seriously be shortened. I still managed to have a few favourites.

Probably my favourite song right now is High by Sir Sly. It has a good beat and is just great to listen to while driving. I can’t help but sing along! I feel like this is definitely going to be my indie song of the summer. A classic indie band is alt-J, and I have been loving their song In Cold Blood. Now alt-J is not everyone’s cup of tea, but there music is just so weird and different and this new song is no exception.

Finally, like every other white girl out there, I have been obsessing over the song Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Beiber. I was actually a big fan of latin music before Justin Beiber came along and sang this song. It is super catchy and I will probably hate it in two weeks but for now I’m loving it.

Books:

I have only finished one book this month but I loved it! It was Mosquitoland by David Arnold. The story follows Mim as she travels on a Greyhound bus from Mississippi to see her mother in Ohio. Mim is a very interesting character and the book made me think about mental illness and disabilities is a very different way. A very cute book I highly recommend it!

TV/Films/Youtube:

My favourite show that I finally finished this month was the second season of Outlander. It is based of a book series of the same name and is about a women from the 1940s who travels back in time to the 1700s in Scotland. I am a big history fan and I just love this show (I am even happier that it is on Netflix)! I would recommend this show to anyone who loves historical drams (like The Tudors) or fantasy-ish shows like Game of Thrones.

Miscellaneous:

I have absolutely been loving WordPress! I was so unsure about it but now that I have figured it out it is so easy to use. Plus I feel like I am reaching such a broader audience that I had before!

I hope everyone had a great May! Here is to a great (and hopefully warm) June!

xoxo

Lea