Wordpress.

After having several frustrations on blogger I have decided to switch over to Wordpress, so here is where the rest of the challenge will be (though did add a thing to redirect it automatically so we'll see how that goes..)

http://simplyreading.wordpress.com/

Existence by Abbi Glines

"What happens when you're stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course.
Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.
Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.
Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.
He is Death and he's about to break all the rules." -Goodreads

I was actually surprised that I liked Existence, after being wary of anything by Abbi Glines after reading the Vincent Boys. Now it wasn't a "Oh My God. This is so fucking good!" but more I wasn't just waiting for it to be done. I might actually read the next book in the series. And not just because I always feel horrible if I don't finish a book series because I always have that hope it might get better....
anyways...

3 stars.
Read on April 11, 2013

The Selection by Kiera Cass

"For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined." -Goodreads

Going into The Selection I was a bit wary of it because of all the goodreads drama around it. But decided to just go ahead and read it once I saw it was on sale for kindle. While some things annoyed me tremendously I overall really enjoyed it. But that is probably because anything that might revolve reality tv or a ordinary girl and some super famous person is one of my weaknesses. One thing that really annoyed me though were the names, America Singer  and King Clarkson? Really? Even if she went by a nickname it would have been better. And whenever they would mention King Clarkson I would always think of Kelly Clarkson... Fail.
But overall was pretty good if you like these type of books.

4 stars.
Read on April 11, 2013

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

"Blood doesn't lie...
Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning..." -Goodreads

Maybe it's because I haven't read the Vampire Academy books before but I just couldn't get into Bloodlines. I liked the ending of it but not everything else. And Sydney was annoying the shit out of me. Just all the little things (like complaining that she was a size 2 not 4, seriously??). But I slowly pushed through it since I have heard people say that the liked the books later in the series than this one, might see sometime in the future but won't be seeking it out like crazy to read it.

3 stars.
Read from March 19 to April 10, 2013

The Queen of Babble Series by Meg Cabot

"What's an American girl with a big mouth, but an equally big heart, to do?
Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn't that she doesn't have the slightest idea what she's going to do with her life, or that she's blowing what should be her down payment on a cute little Manhattan apartment on a trip to London to visit her long-distance boyfriend, Andrew. What's the point of planning for the future when she's done it again? See, Lizzie can't keep her mouth shut. And it's not just that she can't keep her own secrets, she can't keep anything to herself.
This time when she opens her big mouth, her good intentions get Andrew in major hot water. Now Lizzie's stuck in London with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date written on her non-changeable airline ticket.
Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend and college roommate is spending her summer in the south of France, catering weddings in a chateau. One call and Lizzie's on a train to Paris. Who cares if she speaks only rudimentary French? One glimpse of gorgeous Chateau Mirac -- not to mention gorgeous Luke, Chateau Mirac's owner -- and she's smitten.
But while most caterers can be trusted to keep a secret, Lizzie's the exception. And no sooner has the first cork been popped than Luke hates her, the bride is in tears, and it looks like Chateau Mirac is in danger of becoming a lipo-recovery spa. As if things aren't bad enough, ex-boyfriend Andy shows up looking for "closure" (or at least a loan), threatening to ruin everything, especially Lizzie's chance at ever finding real love -- unless she can figure out a way to use that big mouth of hers to save the day." -Goodreads

I've been meaning to read the Queen of Babble series for several years now and when I found the whole series at a library book sale for $3 (and in hardcover!) I immediately bought them and started reading them the next day.
I'm so glad I didn't pass them up because overall I loved them! Didn't care for the first book in the series as much as the last two but ended up changing the rating to a 5 because I loved the whole series in general.

5 stars for the whole series!
Read from April 08 to 10, 2013

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

"Meet Bridget Jones—a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all the answers if she could:
a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise
"123 lbs. (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night? Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier? Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)..."
Bridget Jones' Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement — a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.
Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74. She remains, however, optimistic. Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and — like millions of readers the world round — you'll find yourself shouting, "Bridget Jones is me!"" -Goodreads

While reading Bridget Jones's Diary I felt like I had a love/hate relationship with it, some parts would laugh out loud but other times I would just wish that the book would end already. While writing this I'm seriously wish I would have marked the parts in the book that I hated because my mind is just drawing blank... Though I have the feeling if it isn't long I will end up reading the next book in the series (I actually thought it was a stand a lone book...) just to see what happens...

3 stars.
Read on April 08, 2013

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

"Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way...From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can't seem to get it right.
Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.
She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex.
Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.
From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page." -Goodreads

I always forget how much I love books that are written in notes between people, that (if written correctly) you don't realize how much of the story you are missing and that it really just focuses on the core plot of the story. In Love, Rosie it focused primarily on Rosie and Alex's story but it also at times focused in on the lives around them (and even the letters others would write). Even though it feels long while reading it (it is spanning from when they are 5 till I believe 50ish, (am to lazy to grab it and check how old they were at the end of the book)). Reading it you can predict how it will end, but not exactly :)
Overall was a really cute/girly read and will most likely be reading PS I Love You in the near future (It is on my tbr pile... the ever growing one... that I did have the thought it would topple over me in my sleep...) anywaysssss
I should probably stop writing now since I am rambling...

4 stars.
Read on April 07, 2013