Waiting on Wednesday: The Chapel Wars

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on:  The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

Acclaimed author Lindsey Leavitt brings her trademark heart, humor, and romance to her hometown--Vegas
Sixteen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?

And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is she running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money--fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax.

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.
-summary and cover via Goodreads

I enjoyed this authors two YA books a lot and look forward to another book! :)

This book releases May 6th 2014

Top Ten Books If You Like Disney Princess Movies!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog

If you know me, you know I love Disney! A lot!And the topic this week just had to be Disney related, though I wasn't totally sure how. I decided that going with the Disney Princess movies would be fun! Below, you'll find a book recommendation for each of the movies! Hope you enjoy! :)

Just to mention, I think a few of the hardest things (To me.) to recommend read-a-likes for is Disney. Not many books have the tone or feel of Disney movies (Again, to me.) and I find it hard to list ones that I think work with them. But all of the books I'm listing below I love, and in at least a little way, I think a Disney fan might like them. And I'm bad at recommending read-a-likes. Just to let you all know that.

Top Ten Nine Books If You Like Disney Princess Movies!
I didn't list all of them, because a few of them I wasn't able to think of read-a-likes for them.

If you like... Cinderella 

Try... Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This is the one that I just had to pair together, Ella Enchanted is a retelling of Cinderella and if you haven't read it, I think you probably need to at least try it! :)

If you like... Sleeping Beauty

Try... Sleeping Beauty's Daughters by Diane Zahler

I picked this one not only because of the Sleeping Beauty aspect of it, but also because it has a wonderful fairytale feel! :)

If you like... The Little Mermaid

Try... Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Not only the mermaid part, but I feel like a lot of what the main character is going through in the book is a little like what Ariel went through in The Little Mermaid! :) 

If you like... Beauty & the Beast

Try... Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

If you liked the idea of living furniture, then I think this book might be perfect for you! :) The castle in this book seems to be alive (Not in a talking way, but it moves rooms and adds doors and all those kind of fun things!), and it's fun! :)

If you like... Mulan

Try... Play Ball by Christina Weir, Nunzio Defilippis, and Jackie Lewis

A girl trying to do something that usually only boys do, and doing it well! :)

If you like... The Princess & the Frog

Try... The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker

I think the movie was loosely based on the book, and even though they're totally different, I think fans of the movie would enjoy the book! :)

If you like... Tangled

Try... The Wide-Awake Princess by E. D. Baker

From what I remember of this book, it has the adventure feel that Tangled has! :)

If you like... Brave

Try... Ever After High #1: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

The characters in Ever After High, in a way, want to change their fate, just like Merida does! :)

If you like... Frozen

Try... A Horse of Her Own by Annie Wedekind

This and Brave were the ones I had the hardest time picking a book for, I decided on this one because of the strong bond the main character has with her sister in the book, just like Elsa and Anna! :)

What's on your TTT? :)

Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Llyod

Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Llyod

Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.
-summary and cover via Goodreads

Plot: I'm not going to talk about the plot, I think this is one you need to go into without much idea about it, it'll make it even better if you do! :)

Characters: The characters in this book were wonderful! I love them! Felicity is my favorite, but I love Jonah, too! All of the characters felt real, like people you might really meet and that you would love to know, too! :)

The cover: Love! Very bright! :)

Overall: This book is wonderful, magical and in the words of Felicity, spinddily, too! When I was reading this book my heart felt good, you know those books when you're reading them and you just feel good while you are? That's how this book made me feel! The characters were wonderful, the plot was magical, and the book was just spindiddly! I wanted to just hug this book and while I was reading it, there were quotes I read that I want to go back and write down, and I almost never do that with books! I just kept smiling while reading it! I'm not able to praise this book enough, if you're looking for a amazing book, then this one is the right one! I have a feeling this book is going to be one that is loved by many, and it deserves that! This book also deserves all the awards that I hope are on there way to it! I'm really looking forward to this authors next book, whatever it might be! :)

And one more thing! I love that she mentions God in this book, but not in a preachy way, just in a "God is there" way! That's a thing I have been wanting more in books and it was wonderful that the author had that in the book! :)

Would I Recommend it?:

Um, did you read my review of it? I think you know what my answer is to that, then. ;)

Authors Website: http://natalielloyd.blogspot.com/

Age Range: Middle Grade

Series?: No, I don't think it is. But if a sequel was written? I would read it! :)

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Marvelous Musical Friday 21

I've Got a Dream from Tangled

I have been listening and watching Tangled a lot the past two weeks and this song is a favorite from it! :)

Do you all like this song and movie, too? :)

What Do YOU Think? Where Does Your Heart Belong in Books? YA, MG, or ?

In What Age Range Does Your Heart Belong?

I have heard people mention this before and I began to think about it the other day a little more. I think most of us have a age range (Not just genre, that's a whole other post to write another day) in books that we always go back to. To me, that's Middle Grade (I'm going to talk about why I think that is below), to you, it might be YA, or Adult, or Picture Books. I read books in other age ranges (In fact, a few of my favorites are in the ones I mentioned before.) But I always go back to MG as my go to one! I have many, many favorites in it! When I read a MG book, I feel like my heart belongs there, even though by my age, you would assume it would be YA (And I love YA! But I don't always get that "feeling" when reading one, you know?) that's my favorite, but it's not. MG is my favorite!

I have a hard time explaning why it's my favorite, other than it just feels right when I read one! I don't love all of them, but I just get that feeling when you read a book you're loving and it just really feels like the right book for you! I get that with YA and Adult and Picture Books, too. But not as often as Middle Grade.

Do you all know what I'm talking about? I hope I'm not insane sounding in this post, but I really would like to hear what you all think about this, too! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Otomen Vol. 18

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Otomen Vol. 18 by Aya Kanno

Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things, sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo comics. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and play the part of a masculine jock instead. Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to Ryo Miyakozuka, the girl that he's falling for?

For the sake of his mom, Asuka turns away from his friends and Ryo, But the unimaginable happens when Asuka's friends stage an intervention at his graduation! With everything on the line, how will things end for our beloved otomen?
-summary and cover via Goodreads

This is the final volume in one of my favorite Manga series and I'm totally prepared to feel emotional while reading it. And the cover of it? Look at it! Just look! I want it! :)

And the same day one of my other favorite Manga series Strobe Edge ends, too. I'm going to be a emotional  mess that day.

This book releases May 6th 2014 

Top Nine Characters Who I Like and Top Two Who Annoy Me

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog

To limit myself with this, I'm only allowing one character per book to make this list. If I didn't the list would just make up characters from a few books, instead of a lot of different books.

Top Nine Characters Who I Like and Top Two Who Annoy Me

Who I Like

Jonah from A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Llyod

This character and this book may be going on my favorites list. And Felicity is a favorite, too! That's all I'm going to write. (I'm going to have a review of this book up in the next... few weeks? Need to finish the post, but wow. Love it!)

Sawako Kuronuma from the Kimi Ni Todoke Manga by Karuho Shiina

To be honest, I would be able to list a lot of characters from this Manga, like Ryu, Kazehaya, Chizu, Kento and Ayane, but I wanted to focus on Sawako this time. Yes, she is a bit annoying at times when she doesn't just "get" things right away. (If you've read this Manga, you know what I'm talking about.) But I like her character anyway, because she feels real in the way that she panics over things (A lot of things.), but I relate to that. She over-analyzes things, but she still doesn't get them right away. I'm like that, even if not to the extent that she is. That's why I like her, she's flawed! But still very relatable! 

Amelia from Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley

Again, I have a lot of favorites from this series of books, but I'm just going to list Amelia. She is a little obnoxious and is a bit rude sometimes, but she is also hilarious, a good friend, and has a lot of good things about her, she is a very real character and I like her POV of the world. And she grows a lot from the beginning to the end of the books, too!

Sophie Foster from Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

I love more than just this character from the books (Keefe!), but I just wanted to mention her today! Wonderful character from a favorite book! :)

Daine from Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Daine is a totally awesome character and that is all that needs to be written. And Numair would make this list, too, except that I'm only allowing myself 1 character from each book.

Madeline Hatter from Ever After High by Shannon Hale

Madeline is a wonderfully weird, eccentric, and totally fun character in these books! :)

Caymen from The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
I like her sense of humor a lot and find her very relatable, too! 

Vane from Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Love Vane! I like Audra, too! :)

Levi from Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg
If you have read this book you know why I like Levi (Even after the way he acts towards the end.), if you haven't read it, go and get it now! :)

Who I Find Annnoying

(I love these books! These supporting characters I don't love.)

Angeline from Kat, Incorrigible by Stepahnie Burgis

Kat's older sister annoyed me in the first book a lot. I understood her a little bit better by the 2nd book, and at moments she is likable, but she still bugged me. I think I may be one of the only people who feel that way, though. (These books? They are wonderful! Highly recommend them!)

Jason from the Dark Eile books by Chole Niell

It's been awhile since I have read these books and if I went back and reread them now? Jason might not annoy me. But when I first read it? Ugh. Love these books (They are very good!), but Jason is a character I just don't like.

Both of these list would get a lot longer if I just let myself keep adding characters to it, but I want to at least be near ten this week! :)

Who made your list? :)

Happy Easter!!!!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, while thinking about the true reason for Easter! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Catch a Falling Star

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson

A deliciously charming novel about finding true love . . . and yourself.

Nothing ever happens in Little, CA. Which is just the way Carter Moon likes it. But when Hollywood arrives to film a movie starring former child star turned PR mess Adam Jakes, everything changes. Carter's town becomes a giant glittery set and, much to her annoyance, everyone is starry-eyed for Adam. Carter seems to be the only girl not falling all over herself to get a glimpse of him. Which apparently makes her perfect for the secret offer of a lifetime: playing the role of Adam's girlfriend while he's in town, to improve his public image, in exchange for a hefty paycheck. Her family really needs the money and so Carters agrees. But it turns out Adam isn't at all who she thought he was. As they grow closer, their relationship walks a blurry line between what's real and what's fake, and Carter must open her eyes to the scariest of unexplored worlds - her future. Can Carter figure out what she wants out of life AND get the guy? Or are there no Hollywood endings in real life?
-summary and cover via Goodreads

This looks like fun! I'm looking forward to reading it! :)

This book releases April 22nd 2014

Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That I'd Like To Own

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog

I had fun browsing websites this week for this weeks TTT! And let me just mention that this list would have been way longer had I not kept myself from adding a lot more to it!

Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That I'd Like To Own

This bookshelf.

Honestly, who wouldn't want this bookshelf? I. Want. It.

And this bookshelf, too.

Again, I truly would love this in my room. 

And go ahead and give me this bookshelf, too!

Look at it! :)

Bookends that are amazing!

These totally AMAZING looking bookends that I want very badly! Aren't they neat?! :)

Bookends that are beautiful!

These are gorgeous!

This purse!

 If you know me well, you know this is a purse that I would have to like! The only thing that would make it better is if it was Marvel themed! :)

These Nancy Drew pencils!

I love the way they look! :)

This Nancy Drew purse!

Love it! Want it! :)

A Nancy Drew cover that I want for my Kindle!

Again, I love it, I want it! :)

This gorgeous Pride & Prejudice purse!

Pretty, isn't it?!

This bookmark, too!

And a list like this would not be able to end until I add a bookmark on to it! And yes, I'm a TMNT fan! I'm weird. But you all knew that. :)

What's on your TTT this week? :)

Review: Sleeping Beauty's Daughters

I wrote this review at the beginning of the year, but I never posted it. I don't really know why. It must have gotten hidden in my post list.

Review: Sleeping Beauty's Daughters by Diane Zahler

The classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty is transformed into a dazzling new story of two sisters fighting a powerful curse by Diane Zahler, the acclaimed author of The Thirteenth Princess. Briskly paced and full of lush descriptions, readers who enjoy the work of Shannon Hale and Gail Carson Levine will be swept away by this spellbinding novel.

The daughters of Sleeping Beauty, Princesses Aurora and Luna, have grown up in a cliff-top palace by the sea, where they are carefully protected by their parents. No one visits, the girls cannot stray beyond the castle walls, and all sharp objects are forbidden here.

But accidents will happen—particularly when an old curse still has power. Soon, in spite of all precautions, Aurora is struggling not to slip into an enchanted sleep.

Frantic, the princesses accept the help of a young fisherman named Symon and embark on a daring ocean voyage to find their aunt—a fairy who may be able to break the spell. From fearsome beasts to raging storms, many dangers befall them, yet they must not give up . . . for if Aurora sleeps, she will not wake for one hundred years.
-summary and cover via Goodreads

Possible Minor Spoilers Below (I'm trying not to give away anything, but I feel like I need to explain a little bit of it)

Plot: Generally when I think of fairytale retellings I think of it being retold from the POV of the original Princess/Prince/Narrator but in this book it was told from the POV of the daughter of Sleeping Beauty, Aurora! I don't want to give away the whole plot here, but basically the curse didn't end when her mom woke up, it ended up going to her oldest daughter too. (Hers is worse, though I won't say how) The only thing about the plot that bugged me was:
SPOILER (highlight to read) In the book she drinks this tea with an herb in it to keep her from falling asleep, but she doesn't sleep at all for days. I really don't know how that was possible (a normal person wouldn't be able to stay awake for that long), but it's a fairytale. I won't dwell on that.END SPOILER

But the plot overall was really good, and I enjoyed the book for the most part! And I will say that I did not think the book would end the way it did (I guessed a little of it, but most of it I did not), but it was a good ending! :)

Characters: I liked them! Aurora was a good main character for the book! Her sister was a little annoying in the beginning, but she grew on me. (I really picture her as the main character in her own book, Luna would make the perfect character in her own fantasy book) And Symon was one I really liked as well! I liked a few of the other characters in this book too, but I won't mention for fear of spoiling it for you. I would love to read more books about these characters after the story ended in this book!

The cover: I really like the cover of this book! Fairytale inspired ones I usually like, but this one is wonderful! The colors used on it are beautiful! And this isn't really important for me to mention, but I'm also happy that how they look on it is actually how they look at one point in the book!

Overall: I really enjoyed this book and after not being able to finish a book for awhile this was a great book to start the year with! I would love to read more books about Aurora, Luna, and all of the others in the book! If you're looking for a fairytale retelling done a little differently, or just love fairytales in general I really think this book is for you! Wonderful characters, good plot, and overall just a entertaining story for a lot of different people! (And if you haven't read Princess of the Wild Swans by this author, I recommend that book too!)

I checked this book out from my library!

Marvelous Musical Friday 20

Today Was a Fairytale by Taylor Swift

When trying to decide what song to have in the post this week, I decided to go to an old favorite by Taylor Swift! I love this song a lot and it makes me smile when I hear it! :)

Do you all like this song, too?! :)

1 Year Blogoversary!!!!!!!

Today is my one year Blogoversay!!!!!!!!! A year ago today I began this little blog! When I began it I had no idea if I would blog for very long. I mean, I liked the idea of blogging, but I didn't know if I would be able to keep up with it. It makes me happy that I have been able to keep up with it fairly well, and that I love blogging now! Is it obnoxious of me to list a few of my favorites posts I have written and a few fun facts, too? I hope it's not because I want to!

My very first post!

My post with the most page views!

My first review posted on the blog!

My first non-review, non-meme, post on the blog!

My first What Do YOU Think? post!

My first Marvelous Musical Friday post!

That was probably only interesting to me, but I had fun looking those things up! :)

I wanted to do something on the blog today in honor of that, but I got busy and before you knew it, April was here and I never did anything. But I wanted to post at least a little celebration post on the blog today and I thought that thanking ALL OF YOU would be the best way to do that! In alphabetical order below, I wanted to just thank a lot of you who I either talk to a lot or are just people whose blogs I love and aspire to be like eventually (Or both!)! (Warning: I'm going to get a little mushy in this post, okay?)


Cal @ Read Books and Live Green (The first blogger I truly remember talking to, and probably the blogger I talk to the most! Whether it's books, Nancy Drew games, or anything really, I know if I need to have an all caps twitter talk then you're the one to go to! You're awesome!)

Emily @ Forever Literary (If I need to rant, I know Emily is going to be there tweeting to me about it! :) Wonderful person and one of the most eloquent people out there.)

Jennifer @ YA  Book Nerd (Blogger of one of my favorite blogs and very nice person!)

Jessica @ Fly to Fiction (Talking to her about dance, historical fiction, or music is always fun and she is one of the nicest people!)

Kaye @ Watercolor Moods (Wonderfully smart and nice, too!)

Shae @ Shae Has Left the Room (Very nice person and wonderful blogger!)

Stacie Cruz @ Bibilophillic Nerds  (Nice and wonderful person!)

Summer @ Blue Sky Bookshelf (Fangirling over books (Ally Carter!) or just talking (Tweeting) to her in general is always fun! Wonderful person and blogger!)


I know I forgot to mention people in this post, but I was writing it in a hurry to make sure it was done in time!

I just want to say to all of you who read my blog, to everyone who has commented on it, and to all of you who talk to me on Twitter, you are all wonderful, amazing, nice, and in general just awesome people! I would love to just hug all of you! *hugs* I have gotten to read a lot of wonderful books, find a lot of amazing blogs, talk to a lot of amazing bloggers, authors, and above all, readers, because of this blog! I didn't know how major a part of my life this blog and all of you would become when I began it!

THANK YOU to you all and here's to another year! :)

List of the Week: My Favorite Taylor Swift songs 1-15!

Another week of List of the Week today! I thought that listing my favorite Taylor Swift (Being that she is my favorite singer ever!) songs this week would be fun! I have a lot of good memories that go with Taylor Swift songs that make me happy! Now, these aren't in order of my favorites, because that would be way too hard! :) I was going to try and list just eleven, but then I realized that wasn't enough and moved it to fifteen! Okay, below, in no particular order (Because that would make this even harder than it needs to be.), my favorite songs by Taylor Swift! :)

1. Holy Ground (Red)
2. Fearless (Fearless)
3. Mean (Speak Now)
4.  We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Red)
5. Change (Fearless)
6. Everything Has Changed (Red)
7. I'm Only Me When I'm With You (Taylor Swift)
8. The Way I Loved You (Fearless)
9. You Belong With Me (Fearless)
10. Our Song (Taylor Swift)
11. Forever and Always (Fearless)
12. Mine (Speak Now)
13. Begin Again (Red)
14. Back to December (Speak Now))
15. Red (Red)

Red: 5
Speak Now: 3
Fearless: 5
Taylor Swift: 2

What's interesting about it, is that I have told people before that Red is my favorite album, following right behind it, Speak Now. But looking at what I wrote above, I have the most favorites from Red and Fearless! But I guess because I only listed fifteen, I may not have the best overall thing going here, I love a lot of songs from all the albums that I haven't mentioned here, if I had mentioned them, the list would be WAAAYYY longer than just fifteen! :)

What are your favorite songs by Taylor Swift?! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Accidental Keyhand

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine blog

This Wednesday I'm Waiting on: The Accidental Keyhand (Ninja Librarians #1) by Jennifer Swann Downey

Just a little story about your average sword-swinging, karate-chopping, crime-fighting ninja librarians

Dorrie Barnes had no idea an overdue library book would change her life. When Dorrie and her brother Marcus chase her pet mongoose into the janitor's closet of their local library, they accidentally fall through a passage into Petrarch's Library -the headquarters of a secret society of ninja librarians who have an important mission: protect those whose words have gotten them into trouble. Anywhere in the world and at any time in history.

Dorrie would love nothing more than to join the society. But when a traitor surfaces, she and her friends are the prime suspects. Can they clear their names before the only passage back to the twenty-first century closes forever?
-summary and cover via Goodreads

This book releases in two weeks and I'm looking forward to trying it! :) Looks like a fun book! :)

This book released April 15th 2014