Thursday 14 August 2014

We've got an Open Road Summer

Title: Open Road Summer
Author: Emery Lord
Pages: 342
Publisher: Walker
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5

Summary (from Good Reads): 
After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. 

But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking.


Oh my gosh, this book. I loved this book so much. You know there are some books where, when you're not reading it you're thinking about it, and if you're not thinking about it, you're reading it? This book totally made it into that category for me. 

Open Road Summer was literally so full of sass, but I loved it! I thought it was great and there were parts where I just couldn't help but stifle a laugh (especially since I was reading this sat in my car during my lunch break - can you imagine how crazy I must've looked, looking down at my legs laughing!). Reagan was such a sassy character, but she was strong too and as a main character, I loved her!

Other than Reagan's sass, I just enjoyed her as a character. Although she made out that she was a broken person, I felt that she wasn't necessarily that at all. She was actually quite strong, and a great leading lady for this book. I enjoyed seeing how she developed and grew into herself, and how she was focusing on becoming 'new Reagan' as opposed to falling back into 'old Reagan'.

Open Road Summer was full of friendship, which as you know, is something I love in books, so this just boosted my love for this book. I loved the relationship that Reagan and Dee had. Dee was almost like a safe haven for Reagan, but in a way, I think Reagan helped keep Dee grounded. I also enjoyed seeing the friendship between Reagan and Matt develop.

Emery Lord's writing style was so clear and consistent and just great all over. Open Road Summer was just straight to the point with pretty much everything, there wasn't much room for guessing about things, which I liked. Plus oh god, this book had such a good storyline and it was just a perfect setting and everything that happened in it was perfect and I am full of love for this book. If I could give it more than 5/5 then I would.  Honestly, this book was one that I couldn't get over for a few days because I just enjoyed it so, so much and I immediately wanted to reread it again. 

Oh, something that deserves a mention of it's own is the 'new chapter' page design. SO CUTE!


See! I love this little detail - it just looks so pretty! I wish more books did something like this at the beginning of a chapter. I think it adds something fun to a book. Obviously I understand not all books are suited for this!

So to wrap this up, if you haven't read Open Road Summer, why not?! If I could give out copies of this book to everyone, I totally would.

Also, did you hear Emery is bringing out another book next year, I believe! I cannot WAIT!


Have you read Open Road SummerIf so, what did you think? If not, are you hoping to read it soon? Is it sat on your TBR list, or are you currently reading it now? Let me know what you thought of Open Road Summer!

Tuesday 12 August 2014

What would you do If I Stay?

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Pages: 250
Publisher: Black Swan
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from Good Reads): 
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind? 


Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters. 


If I Stay was the first taste I got of Gayle Forman's writing and oh my gosh, it was just delicious. If I Stay was a compelling read for me and it really got me wondering about life. Although I didn't cry, like I heard quite a few people did, it did make me get a little emotional.

If I Stay had a good storyline to it. I really liked how it was set over a 24 hour period, but it featured so many moments from the past. There aren't many books that pan out over 24 hours, so this was something I really liked. Although it was short, this didn't really matter to me as I felt that it was necessary, especially for the situation that our main character was in. Plus, even though the book took place over 24 hours, I grew to know a lot about Mia. Oh, and I just can't get over how beautiful Gayle's writing is. It's wonderful and the whole telling of the events and the thoughts of our main character, Mia, was just amazing. I officially love Gayle's writing style. It's so detailed and it really helps you connect more to the character in the book.

 Family seemed to play a big part in this book, and if you've seen my past reviews, you may have noticed that family and friendships are themes that I really enjoyed seeing and reading about in books. Family as well as friendship plays a big part in this book (as said just a second ago..), and I really loved it. I enjoyed seeing how big a part Mia's best friend played in her life, and her boyfriend also. I also enjoyed seeing that, although Mia didn't feel like she fit in with her family, her relationship with them seemed to be good with them - there wasn't any major fighting, so this made for the book to be a good one! 

I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of Where She Went soon, as I believe that's the follow up to If I Stay! I did really enjoy If I Stay and am hoping to explore more of Gayle's books, such as Just One Day, which I've heard is very good!

In all honesty, I really enjoyed this book and would most definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoy books that literally grab your heart and don't let go for the duration of the book!


Have you read If I Stay? If so, what did you think? If not, are you hoping to read it soon? Is it sat on your TBR list, or are you currently reading it now? Let me know what you thought of If I Stay!

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Top Ten Tuesday


Top Ten Tuesday is a meme featured over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is Ten Books I'd Give to Readers Who Have Never Read X. I'm making this really easy for myself, but I'm going with Contemporary YA, because that's what I read the most of. I nearly went with Fantasy, but oh god, I don't have nearly enough experience in that genre of books and would feel like my recommendations are so..crap.

In no particular order


Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. What can I say about this absolutely wonderfully amazing book? I would honestly recommend this to everyone no matter what. It's just a completely charming book, and I honestly enjoyed it so much. 



Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. I can't even describe my love for Since You've Been Gone. Quite possibly one of the most perfect books for Summer!



Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Am I cheating by having two of her books on this list? I just can't express how much I love Stephanie's writing and books - just awesome.


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This story is a bit different from the above stories, but it's beautiful. Really beautiful.


To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Ah, Jenny Han. This book was very enjoyable and just overall great. Jenny's writing style is great and I felt so engaged with this book. Definitely a must-read recommendation!





Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. The writing in this book was just impeccable. I love Rainbow's ability to make you feel so many different ways in one book. I cried.

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. I just recently finished this one but dear lord above, this book was just fantastic. I really enjoyed it - never had I read a book with so much sass in it. 


If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  If I Stay is a wonderful book on so many levels. Although short, I still enjoyed it and would throughly recommend it.


Far From You by Tess Sharpe. I found that Far From You was exciting and fast paced - a change from the love stories as it's a murder mystery! Still, this book has a big feature of friendships - I love that!


We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. We Were Liars was an interesting read for me. It was quite mysterious and in a way, dark. I would definitely recommend this. Plus this is another that makes for a short read!






Do you own any of the books above? Are there any books that you would recommend I check out? 

Sunday 3 August 2014

August TBR


Last month I managed to read a total of 4 books out of the 7 that I had on my July TBR list. Not great but never mind! This month I want to set myself a goal of 5 books. I'll be participating in the Anna Readalong, but obviously will be reading other books more closely!

So which books will I be reading?


Bought: Dangerous Girls, The Sky is Everywhere, Siege and Storm, Throne of Glass and Let's Get Lost

Won: The 100 Society ARC

Not Included: Anna and the French Kiss

I'm really excited about August and am so ready to dive into these books. Despite having to start learning and revising for exams, I'm really hoping to read and finish all these books this month! It's only two books more than what I actually read last month, so I feel this goal is quite realistic! Plus, I'm trying to get ahead of myself on the Good Reads challenge - I'm halfway to my goal of reading 40 books, but I'm still 'behind schedule'. This should hopefully put me in front of schedule (not like I had a schedule anyway)!

What are you guys reading this month? Are there any books on my TBR list that are also on yours? 

Saturday 2 August 2014

Let's Look Back at…July


This month has been pretty good for me in terms of my life outside book blogging, but it's also been a month where I've been asking myself, what do I want? In terms of book blogging, this month has not been so great. I've been pretty quiet on the blogging front, but hear me out! I started a new job right at the end of June so was busy settling into it, and then I went on holiday in the middle of July to Zante, which was just so good and I loved spending time with my friends and boyfriend. I actually spent my birthday there too! Since coming back from the holiday, I decided to try to step it up a notch as I want to get back into blogging and really get involved!

So without further ado, let's get on with the look back!

This month I read four books. Not great, but I still read! I more than likely would have read more if I hadn't gone on holiday as that was a week of no reading, but hey ho! What did I read this month? I read..

If I Stay

I also started reading Open Road Summer! Looking back at my July TBR post, I managed to read 3/7. I think looking back, 7 was a bit ambitious. I'm a slow reader plus I just have been so busy. I know, excuses, but seriously y'all, I am a slow reader.

As mentioned earlier, I went on holiday to Zante which was amazing and so much better than the 'girls holiday' I went on last year. I also had my birthday on the 19th, which I spent in Zante! Although it was the first birthday I didn't see my family, it was a great day nonetheless. It was our last full day so we hired a speedboat for the day and went to a tiny island called Turtle Island which was shaped a bit like a Turtle from a distance! 


Above are a couple of my snaps from our day on the speedboat/my birthday! As you can see, we've got the alcohol at the ready! But honestly, Turtle Island was a perfect way to spend the day, particularly my birthday, and I have never seen the Sea so blue. It was perfect.

In terms of what I intend to read this month, check out my August TBR for next month in my next post where I focus on which books I want to read in the coming month!

In August, I want to really focus on getting my blog back up and running. I've had a couple of thoughts on whether to spend a little money on a new blog design - nothing that's crazy expensive, but I just feel that my blog isn't exactly how I want it to be. I've also been considering a move to Wordpress - I've heard there is a feature that enables you to copy a previous post so that you can use it for a new one. The format of my review posts are always the same, so this would be great for me! As well as focusing on getting the blog back up, I also really want to improve the speed at which I I read books, even if it's just by a little bit! 

I decided to leave the 'How I Organise' feature alone for a while. I might revisit it in a couple of months time, but at the moment I just don't feel motivated to do it - did anyone find it helpful at all?


I think that's it for my July look back. I have to say, this month has been so good. I forgot to mention, but I received a sampler for Adi Alsaid's Let's Get Lost, which in turn made me go out and buy it! I also won a competition for an ARC of The 100 Society from @bookswithbite on twitter! It sounds quite good so I'm looking forward to getting into that!

All in all, July has been a crazy good month that I've enjoyed so much! I can't wait to carry on with the Summer in August, and am excited to see what this month brings in terms of books and blogging!