Top Ten Tuesday! Books about friendship!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Today's topic is one near and dear to our hearts; FRIENDSHIP!

1. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivan  - Friendship, betrayal, we have all know, or at the very least heard of girls like these. in the end, the unlike friendship that blossomed between these three firls was a beautiful thing, even if flawed.
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I always felt like Nick and Gatsby's relationship was, like everything else in Gatsby's life, a farce to get to Daisy. That is, until it became real. In a way Nick was obsessed with Gatsby. Who wouldn't be? The man was nothing short of intriguing. I would wan to be his friend. My heart broke for Mr.Carraway when Gatsby died. They ended up the best of friends and it was only Nick who knew the truth, yet still cared for him.
3. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin - Oh, Rachel. Oh, Darcy. How you two became friends is so beyond me, but I'm glad you did because you reminded me how "not" to treat my best friend.
4. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I know what you're thinking: This is a romance. You're right, but it didn't start that way. One thing I liked about E&P was that Eleanor and Park didn't like each other from the get go. In fact, just the opposite. Their relationship built gradually, making them go from nothing to friends, to more, and in the end, weren't they still really friends? Take away all the touchy feely stuff and Park still loved her, he still wanted what was best for Eleanor, the way any true friend would.
5. Coin Heist by Elisa Ludwig - I recently finished this book and while it was about four teenagers planning a heist to save their school, it was more than that. These four characters were all very different and they had to learn to trust one another. In a way, they were forced to form a friendship, one that would withstand time, so long as their secret was kept.
   
   
   
6. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares - I don't think I've read a book more about friendship than this one. Four girls who are so close that they vow to share this magical pair of jeans while they are apart, hardcore friends. 
7. Geoducks Are for Lovers by Daisy Prescott - This book showed what friendship that lasts looks like. Friends since college and through kids and divorce. This group of friends reunite after some time and a stroll down memory lane in the best way. And if two of them happen to hook up, so be it. 
8. Choose Us by Caylie Marcoe - Guy and girl best friend parings are great especially when they end up falling for each other. Riley and Travis are no different and equally as cute.
9. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - You don't get a closer friendship than bringing back someone from the dead and sharing blood. Lissa and Rose are bound for friendship between life and death.
10. Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino - Mia and Will didn't start off as friends and didn't always stay that way. But when they were on, they were great. And another couple that jump over that friendship barrier.

Also... It's Keira's birthday!!!

Until Next time!

Book Review: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting (@HelenaHunting)

Inked Armor (Clipped Wings #2) by Helena Hunting
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
Published: Gallery Books
Source: eARC from Netgalley 

My Rating: 

In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story continues between Hayden and Tenley; two young people who desperately want to love and be loved but are afraid to completely let go of their pasts.

In the wake of losing Tenley Page, tattooist Hayden Stryker's tumultuous past is haunting him. Plagued by nightmares about the murder of his parents, Hayden reaches out again to Tenley. Having run from the man she doesn't believe she deserves, Tenley finally lays her guilt to rest. Despite their intense physical attraction, Hayden and Tenley struggle to repair their fragile emotional connection. As Hayden gets closer to the truth, he must find a way to reconcile his guilt over his parents' death in order to keep the woman who finally cracked his armor, and found her way into his heart.

Stacking The Shelves #5

Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme hosted Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
We seriously need to get better at keeping track of when we do stacking the shelves. But we are! We are also going to be more involved in this blog because we love it. So we know we said this wasn't going to be a review blog, but there are just so many books out there that we want to share with you.

On with the stacking!

Nikki: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting - I received the ARC from Netgalley a while ago and I'm just getting into the swing of it. Having read the first one and loved it, I found myself lagging to start. But now, I'm fully immersed.

Keira: Coin Heist by Elisa Ludwig - Received as an ARC from Netgalley, I’m glad I stuck with it. The start was slow, but I’m finally getting into this story.

• Dare You To by Katie McGarry - After reading, wait no, devouring Pushing the Limits, I had to get the follow up. I fell in love even more with these characters and their dark pasts and complicated love lives. 
• Crash into You by Katie McGarry - Having loved Isaiah in Pushing the Limits, I couldn't wait to read his story. I wasn't disappointed in the very least either. I read all three stories back to back and I can't wait for the fourth due to come out May 27th!
• Nowhere but Here: A Novel by Renee Carlino - Just flipping through amazon, I found this little book. It was a sweet romance with lots of wine and a cute dog to boot. 
• Sweet Thing: A Novel by Renee Carlino - Nowhere was her second book so I figured I'd read the first too. It was amazing! Really cute and funny. It is a rollercoster of feels with a great soundtrack via the uber sexy and talented Will Ryan. 
• Sweet Little Thing: A Novella by Renee Carlino - See a trend yet? This was just a small little thing to wrap up Will Ryan and Mia Kelly's story. I usually don't like novellas but this fit perfectly with the first. I really like this authors effortless storytelling. I can't wait to read more from her.

• Dare You To by Katie McGarry - The follow up to Pushing the Limits, I appreciated hearing a different voice and a new story. McGarry’s writing is simple, making the reading effortless and simply put, FUN.
• Crash Into You by Katie McGarry - Story three of the series I’ve yet to delve into, but I look forward to hearing a fresh story about yet another already established, but not quite developed character. 
• Panic by Lauren Oliver - I have been a fan of Lauren Oliver for a couple of years now, and couldn’t wait for Panic to be released. Unfortunately, after countless books and release dates, I forgot about this book, but have finally picked it up and look forward to digging in.
• Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta - My first Marchetta read and it did not disappoint. I have heard such good things about this author and finally, FINALLY, I know why. 
• Just One Day by Gayle Forman - In the beginning, Just One Day made me feel - for lack of better term - stupid. There isn’t much I know about Shakespeare, so the references were lost on me. However, I did find that by the end of the book I wanted to know more about the playwright and thoroughly enjoyed this tale about self discovery. 
• Just One Year by Gayle Forman - Willem’s side of Allyson’s story; Just One Year was not what I was expecting and I didn’t finish it. What I wanted was a follow up book, but instead it was the same book, from a different perspective, so I skipped to the end, which left much to be desired. 
• The Positive Dog by Jon Gordon - iBooks free book of the week. Can’t we all use some positivity? 
• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - I first heard about this book from Nikki, when she asked me if I was going to read it. Immediately I went to read the blurb and HELL YES, I WAS GOING TO READ IT. After picking this up I’ve seen it mentioned everywhere! Very much looking forward to this read. 
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - I’ve avoided this book like the plague. Suicide is not something I particularly like to read about, but something about it kept calling to me. When I’ll start it, I’m not sure, but having it on my shelf feels right. 
• The Boyfriend Thief by Shana Norris - After seeing this on a friends “to-read” list, I thought the synopsis sounded interesting enough. It seemed light and fluffy, and sometimes I need to explore that side of myself. 
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton - If you read nothing else this year, please read this book. It was strange. It was beautiful. It was dark in that masqueraded by light kind of way. This strange and beautiful and lovely tale touched the senses. Best book I’ve read all year.
• My Life From Hell by Tellulah Darling - When I requested this ARC I wasn’t aware that it was book three of a series! I’m shooting myself in the foot for not checking it out on Goodreads beforehand, but I will be stacking my shelves with the first two next week, and really look forward to the reads.

Until Next Time!

Book Discussion: To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Our third ever book discussion! We're excited. This time, no vampires or things that go bump in the night. Without further ado, To All The Boys I've Loved Before...

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! If you haven't read the book yet, be careful of what you read from this point on. Few spoilers throughout. But if you've read the book, then join us!

Top Ten Tuesday! Books we almost put down but didn't!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This week we are listing the top ten books that we almost gave up on. We've all had that feeling of just giving up but we push through and usually end up very surprised.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman - The first quarter of Just One Day made me feel one, stupid, and two, tired. I know very little about Shakespeare, though, I am feeling a bit more informed after picking this book back up and vowing to get through it. This is my current read and with only 15% left to read I am happy to say, that I did finally get into the story (and Shakespeare), and am itching to get to the end.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han - This nearly went in the DNF pile once I realized that there would be no character growth, nor, development. Somehow I stuck it out and joined Belly through the Summer she turned pretty, though, I will not be continuing the series. 

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp - When I first started The Spectacular Now I was plagued with a book hangover. A really really good book hangover. The shift from Unhinged to TSN was not easy. The writing styles clashed, the genre, it was simply a bad pick on my part. I did come back to this, however, and ended up liking it well enough that I could have slapped myself for putting it down in the first place.

Fallen by Lauren Kate - Possibly the slowest build in the history of slow build. After Fallen there were a lot of questions I needed answered, so I did move on to Torment and enjoyed it, but I’ve yet to read Passion. One day I hope to. For now, I’m just fine not trudging through another inky incline.

Dark Lover by J. R. Ward - I loved this book once I got past the rap loving, homeboy talking vampires. LOL It was hard picturing vampires this way. However, it worked, and I do plan to go on to finish the series.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks - I had seen the movie before I read the book so I was constantly comparing the two. At certain points I just wanted to give up on the book since it was pretty different but sticking with it was good because I ended up loving the differences.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I ended up putting this down for about 2 months before going back to it. I was a victim of a book hangover and needed something not dystopian. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on the series though. It is now one of my favorites. 

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare - Another book part of a series I almost gave up on. It took me 9 months to actually finish this book. I put it down the moment I found out a huge spoiler and it turned me off from it. I ended up pushing through and liked the ending enough.

Looking for Alaska by John Green - I love John Green and The Fault in Our Stars is one of my favorite books ever, but when it came to Looking for Alaska, I couldn’t just get into it. I liked it enough and it was really good but it felt like the slow build was too slow for me.

Bared to You by Sylvia Day - I almost put this down before even starting. I am not a fan of Fifty Shades so reading something along those lines was not something I was into. However, I devoured it eventually and it’s second book but then it got too crazy for me to continue on to the third.

Until Next time!

Book Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu (@jenmathieu)

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu
Publication Date: June 3, 2014
Published: Roaring Brook Press - Macmillan
Source: eARC from Netgalley

My Rating:

Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.

Top Ten Tuesday! Covers we'd frame as pieces of art!

This is a unique top ten this week. Always brought to us by the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish, we are talking book covers. There are a lot of different trends going on lately with book covers. Here are some of our favorites.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Alienated by Melissa Landers

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Reality Boy by A.S. King

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Blood & Beauty by Sarah Dunant

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Until Next Time!