Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.

Rating

Review

“I would never slay the dragon, because the dragon was also me.” 

I am going to be honest and say that the way Aza's OCD and anxiety is potrayed is completely on point and genuine. I can actually see her struggling through it, how even after fighting it so much, anxiety takes over her mind and makes her question her every move. That was something I could relate on some level, and I really appreciate that John Green has wrote about it in a very realistic way. You can actually see how hard Aza is trying to fight it, but then comes a point when even she cannot control her thoughts no matter how much she tries. It was all just too real and heartbreaking to see how something so small, just a couple of thoughts then becomes something more than what a human mind can control.

Review: This Savage Song by Victoria Scwab

Rating

Review

I finished this book a few minutes ago and I'm......speechless. I've been a fan of Victoria Schwab's stories ever since I read A Darker Shade of Magic few years ago. And I'll admit that I was hesitant starting this book because her Shades of Magic series had set up pretty high expectations, and even though I really enjoyed this book, ADSOM series will always remain my favorite. <3

I love reading fantasy, and the reason she's one of my favorite authors is how different her stories are. There are tons of books on monsters and villians, but her stories always stand out from others.
Schwab has a way with words that makes her stories so compelling and unique, the world filled with villains and monsters and yet you can't help but connect with the characters. The characters are so well written in this book, the way the reason behind the existence of monsters is depicted, it was all too brilliant. There's no doubt that whatever she writes, I'm going to read it.

Review: A List of Cages by Robin Roe

Rating

Review

“It's strange how many ways there are to miss someone. You miss the things they did and who they were, but you also miss who you were to them. The way everything you said and did was beautiful or entertaining or important. How much you mattered.”

This book was so difficult to read at times, that I just don't how to write review of such a heart-breaking book. I'd also like to mention that this book deals with child abuse (physical and mental) and Stockholm Syndrome. I just felt like I needed to mention it so if anyone decides to read it, they know what they're getting into.

Now coming to the book, it's a story about two boys, Adam who is in his senior year and has ADHD, and Julian, who has dyslexia and has just started his high school. Adam has know Julian from his childhood when he was his foster brother, but then Julian's uncle came and took him away. So when he sees Julian again after few years, he doesn't know much about him, but there's something about him that has changed.

Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Rating

Review

❝Your mind will believe comforting lies while also knowing the painful truths that make those lies necessary. And your mind will punish you for believing both.❞



A Monster Calls is a deeply moving and emotional story of a boy named Conor, whose mother is ill and there's nothing he can do about it. But that's not what's in this book, no. While Conor's still trying to cope with his mother's illness and bullying in his school, there's a monster outside of his house who might or might not be an imagination. You don't know if the monster is actually a monster, or it's just a dream Conor is having. But that doesn't scare him, because has had far more horrifying nightmare which he can never forget.

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My rating

    

My review

I can totally see why this story has become so huge, and now turned into a show. While scrolling through everyone's review, I saw that most of them had given it high ratings. I might not totally agree with the story, which is apparent from my three star rating, but I still think it's a very important book. The only issue I had was that the story didn't truly justify the suicide.

This is a very intense book, discussing many serious issues, but most importantly: suicide. The story starts off after Hannah commits suicide, and leaves cassette tapes with thirteen reasons why she ended her life. And while I think the message this book gives is very important and should be read by everyone, how even a small act you do could leave a major impact on other's life, I still feel confused, and can't fully agree with some of Hannah's reasons. One might think how such a small action drove her towards ending her life, but it added to the pain and struggles she was going through at that time.

Book subscription box: BooksnBeyond unboxing

Books n Beyond unboxing! 

So, everyone knows about book subscriptions, right? All that amazing bookish merchandise, packed together and sent off to you every month, who doesn't like that? It's one of the best things when it comes to getting something other than books. And usually these boxes includes surprise goodies, which just adds on to the excitement! 

There are a lot of book subscription boxes out there, but I'm here to talk about an Indian book subscription box which was launched few months and since I am their representative for this month, I received their totally awesome march box, and its theme was SHERLOCKED. It was perfect for all the sherlock fans, and included some great products!! 

Review: A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

Rating

Review

“In myths, the hero survives.
The evil is vanquished.
The world is set right.
Sometimes there are celebrations, and sometimes there are funerals.
The dead are buried. The living move on.
Nothing changes.
Everything changes.
This is a myth.
This is not a myth.”


A Darker Shade of Magic introduced me to the different kinds of londons and some badass characters.

A Gathering of Shadow had Essen Tasch, a competition of magical elements. Which had a lot of actions, and introduced many new characters, one of them being Alucard, a handsome pirate whom I'll love forever!

A Conjuring of Light ? Feels. Feels everywhere. Yeah, that's the only thing I am capable of thinking. So many things happen in this 600 pages book that it's almost impossible to wrap it up in a review. But I'll say this: Conjuring of Light has one of the best villains I've ever read. The story gives off dark vibes from the beginning of the book, as it starts exactly where AGOS left, and now Osarun, the villain, has become more powerful and almost impossible to destroy.

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

Rating

Review

“The more you start to love someone, the more you ache when they’re gone, and maybe it’s that middle ground that hurts the most, when you can see them and still not feel like you’re near enough.”

Wow. This was such an emotional and moving story, and nothing like I had thought it would be. This was definitely not a cute love story, at least not entirely focused on romance, which was the first impression I got when I read the blurb. But this book was so much better! Emmy and Oliver just became one of my top favorite contemporary reads!!

I had no idea about the book, especially when the title gives no hint and even the blurb doesn't clear anything. The characters in this story deals with some very heave and emotional situations, but despite that, the author managed to keep the scenes light with cute and funny moments between the main characters. We are being told that Oliver, Emmy's childhood best friend was kidnapped by his father and then never came back. But then Oliver returns one day and everything changes after that.

February wrap-up!

February wrap-up!

Hey all! So February has officially ended! How are you all doing? February was a pretty good month for me, both personally and reading wise. I finally got back into blogging regularly, and also got out of my reading slump! :D 

Books read: I read five books this month. (not a lot, I know!) And two of them were a reread, but it counts because even Gr has accepted that fact and added reread option! XD

The books I read are: 

Milk and Honey - 4/5 stars

History is All You Left Me - 4/5 stars

A Darker Shade of Magic (reread) - 5/5 stars

A Conjuring of Light (reread) - 4/5 stars

Beautiful Bastard - 2/5 stars

Short review: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

 

Rating

Review

This was such a beautiful collection of poems. I don't usually read poems, in fact this is probably the first poetry book I own. I've read very few poems, but I kept stumbling upon this book over and over so I finally decided to read it. And I am so glad that I did!

The poems are so well written, and the best thing about it is that everyone can relate to it. The poems are broken into four parts - hurt, love, pain, and healing, shows every phase of life through these strong, and beautifully written poems.

Review: History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

Rating

Review

After reading Adam Silvera's debut novel More Happy Than Not, I thought I was prepared for this. But apparently, I was wrong. Nothing could've prepared me for all the feelings I went through while reading this book. Right from the beginning, it is shown that the main character Griffin is grieving the death of his boyfriend, and the story how everything happened unfolds with each new chapter, alternating between present and past.

“People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished. Sometimes that’s for the best. Some pieces can’t be forced into a puzzle, or at least they shouldn’t be, because they won’t make sense.” 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I loved more/less than I expected

Hey guys! So this week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Brooke and The Bookish is ten books I loved less/more than I expected. This is the first time I'm doing this meme, and I decided instead of writing about  the books I liked, or didn't like, I thought I would do both. So I'll be sharing 5 books that exceeded my expectations, and the 5 books which were underwhelming. 

Books that exceeded my expectations:

1.  On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

I  found On The Jellicoe road randomly while scrolling through Goodreads. I hadn't heard much about this book, and even now I don't see many people reading it, but it's one of those book that'll stay with you for a very long time. This story is about love, friendship, grief, guilt, forgiveness, all woven together and forming a beautiful story. It takes some time to get into, but once you do, you just can't stop reading it. It's a very powerful book and would definitely recommend it to everyone! 







2. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia



This is a book I was very hesitant about reading. I don't know why I just couldn't make myself read it, maybe because it seemed like a heavy book. But when I did read it, I was surprised by how everything was handled in this book. It is a story of a girl who's suffering from Schizophrenia and her journey of facing all the hurdles that came her way, It's not only an emotional story, but the author has done a brilliant job keeping the atmosphere of the book light and funny while also giving a very strong message. I love this book for its uniqueness, crazy plot twists (trust me, they are), and beautiful characters.