Concert Review: JOSH GROBAN!

I few years ago, I become a Josh Groban fan. Many of you might remember. :) I resisted, as I usually do these things. But when I finally listened to his album, I was smitten. And it went from there. In 2007, I went to my first concert of his, and promptly experienced my first real PCD! (post concert depression) I couldn't think of anything else for weeks. After that, every time he came to our city, I went. And I got tickets as close as I possibly could every single time.

Well, this year he came again. At first I wasn't going to go. I've pretty much spent my concert allowance lately! But then I suddenly realized, I don't need to get close. I can buy the "cheap" seats and just go and sit back and enjoy and listen.

So that's what I did! At the sort of last minute, I bought nosebleed section tickets (for a fourth of a kpop concert ticket, and half of a Broadway show ticket!) and convinced my husband to go with me, something I thought would never happen (it helped that Idina Menzel would also be there!)

And so I found myself at my FIFTH Josh Groban concert this week. Way at the top... and when he came on, he was a blur. We were even too high to see the jumbotron (the speakers were in the way). But it was all good as his voice FILLED the arena and I got chills many many times over. My love for Josh has not gone away. Only taken a back seat for a time!

Idina Menzel opened the show and sang for an entire hour. She is full of spunk and personality and is a joy to see. (This is the second time seeing her. We went to a concert for just her a few years ago.) She sang several new to us songs... but also included the ones everyone wanted to hear... Let It Go and Defying Gravity. So Much Fun!!!

Then after a quick stage change, Josh came out . (With much less fanfare than he usually does. I think he must be mellowing in his old age too!) He sang quite a few from his new album, and several of his old standbys too. Idina came back out and sang Lullaby with him, and I forget what else. A couple others. He did several covers, Billy Joel's She's Always a Women, and Paul Simon's Bridge Over Troubled Water to name a few. And he of course sang several Broadway numbers like Pure Imagination and Bring Him Home. Ah... SO GOOD!! He only sang a couple of his famous Italian songs... but one of them is my all time favorite: Alla Luce.

He "ended" the show with You Raise Me Up as he usually does, but then came back for the encore of Bridge Over Troubled Water and what else? Gah I forgot already. He did sing Awake, which brought me memories of that first concert mentioned above and also memories of life during that time.. and I was suddenly weepy. Dang good times those.

I'm so glad I decided WHAT THE HECK at the last minute and bought those way up high tickets. It was awesome seeing him again.  And so it turns out, I still love Josh Groban. :)

Book Review: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Book: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

It was a bit scary going into this book, after all the waiting and building up and fangirling all these years. And I must admit, it took me a few pages/chapters to get the hang of reading the MZ style again. But it really didn't take long and then I felt the same amazement that I always have. Like HOW DOES HE DO THIS?

So the story is about a family of five boys... the Dunbar boys. Clay is the 4th one down. It's about their mom and dad. It's about how they become a family, how they love, live.. and die. It's about their pets! It's about horse racing, and running and Greek mythology, and painting and sculpting, and even a little about bridge building.

The story jumps all over the place in time. We start with the Dunbar boys after the "bad stuff" happens and they are on their own, then it flashes back to first their mom and how she came to live in Australia, and then their dad and how he grew up and fell in love, but not with their mom at first. And then, we learn how they get together and start their family.

In between those flashbacks, we learn about how their dad, who has fled, comes back and asks the boys for help on a bridge... Clay is the only one who takes him up on it. So then we start the bridge building.

Then we begin flashing back to how Clay got to know Carey, the girl he loves, and all about her background.  And sometimes we learn the story once, and then flashback to the same story and learn it again in more detail.

I loved it. It can be a bit of a whiplashing way to tell a story, but I wasn't bothered. And it was awesome to see all the pieces and parts come together in the end.

AND DANG IT! Why does he have to write such gut wrenching tear jerking scenes? Yeah. It's in this one just like in The Book Thief. So be warned.

Also be warned, this is not a gentle read. These Dunbar boys are wild and reckless. They swear like crazy and beat each other up constantly. But the love is also overflowing and that's what this book is all about. How they come together in the face of the crap that life has given them and survive.

I fell like he writes nearly in verse, even though it's a narrative and not a verse book. The words and descriptions are so poetic it hurts sometimes. And the use of personification is as prevalent as ever. It makes scenes come alive like nothing I've ever read. I feel like this stuff just flows out of him, but I have sense learned that he truly agonizes over every word. Somehow that makes me appreciate it all the more.

It was worth the wait and a joy to read. And now... do we go to hoping for another book? Or savor this one for awhile? I say... savor!

Did you read it yet? What did you think?

Kdrama Review: 30 But 17 (or Still 17)

Drama: 30 but 17 (also known as Still 17)
Genre: Romantic comedy
Starring: Shin Hye Sun, Yang SeJong, Ahn Hyo Seop
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

This drama will probably be my favorite of the year, unless I watch something crazy good before the year ends. Which I can't believe will happen.

And I thought I had talked about it here already, but I guess I haven't. So I will fix that now!

The premise behind this one is that our girl gets in a pretty terrible crash just as the drama starts... when she is 17 years old and in high school. It puts her into a coma until we flash to the present day... 13 years later, and she wakes up when she is 30. But to her no time has gone by, so she still feels and acts like a 17 year old.

Our guy, back in high school, had a crush on her. He is trying to figure out who she is (they go to different schools) and he thinks he has learned her name... because it's on her school uniform. But she was wearing her friends jacket at the time. Ooops. He is getting the courage to talk to her.. and they end up on the same bus together. She asks about what stop to get off and he tells her to stay one more stop...then he loses his courage to talk to her so he jumps off. Before they get to the next stop, the accident happens.. and the friend she was with dies.

The friend who's name he THINKS she is. So he now lives his life thinking he caused her death because he told her to stay on one more stop!

We flash to the present day and he is so depressed and tends to disappear a lot to run away from his feelings... still... after 13 years. Our girl, when she wakes up, tries to find her house and aunt and uncle who had been raising her, but when she gets to the house, she finds out that someone else lives there now.... and it's the dude.

Adorable nephew

They have no idea their past was intertwined.

And so starts her new life trying to get used to the fact that she has no family and is now and adult. The people living at this house help her.. so our guy.. and his adorable now 19 year old nephew and the maid... and the two friends that come over all the time. These people become her family. And it's awesome.

With the cute dog

This drama is very funny and had me LOLing so many times. Plus it's heart wrenching and the dude who plays our guy is one of the best criers EVER! And he gets to do this a lot! And the nephew dude is just... so perfect! Basically, I fell in love with every character on this show. There is not a bad dude. The bad thing in this drama is inner conflicts.

Anyway. I loved it. The girl is a violin player so there is a lot of classic music as a backdrop. And the nephew is on a rowing team, so there's a lot of that too. And there's a cute dog and a funny chicken. And the maid is also hilarious with her own tragic back story.

So many good things. And beautiful characters. It was a perfect.

DramaFever, the app where I watched this, died the day after I finished! I was SO GLAD I decided to just watch those last few episodes that day! I would have been so bummed! The loss of DramaFever is pretty painful for this fandom. Sigh.

The song with awesome clips:

The Great American Reads: FINAL RESULTS

Well, I had plans to watch all the fun episodes of this series, but I kept forgetting and Tuesday is bad day for TV watching for me. And then I'd forget to watch it later online, though I think it's possible. And hopefully I still will because I really want to know the discussion on all these books.

BUT, in the meantime, the winner has been announced! You can click here to see them... but I've also copied and pasted: (except the numbers didn't come over, but this is the order!)

Full Results

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Outlander (Series)
3. Harry Potter (Series)
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Gone with the Wind
7. Charlotte's Web
8. Little Women
9. Chronicles of Narnia
10. Jane Eyre
11. Anne of Green Gables
12. Grapes of Wrath
13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
14. Book Thief
15. Great Gatsby
16. The Help
17. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
18. 1984
19. And Then There Were None
20. Atlas Shrugged
21. Wuthering Heights
22. Lonesome Dove
23. Pillars of the Earth
24. Stand
25. Rebecca
26. A Prayer for Owen Meany
27. Color Purple
28. Alice in Wonderland
29. Great Expectations
30. Catcher in the Rye
31. Where the Red Fern Grows
32. Outsiders
33. The Da Vinci Code
34. The Handmaid's Tale
35. Dune
36. The Little Prince
37. Call of the Wild
38. The Clan of the Cave Bear
39. The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
40. The Hunger Games
41. The Count of Monte Cristo
42. The Joy Luck Club
43. Frankenstein
44. The Giver
45. Memoirs of a Geisha
46. Moby Dick
47. Catch 22
48. Game of Thrones (series)
49. Foundation (series)
50. War and Peace
51. Their Eyes Were Watching God
52. Jurassic Park
53. The Godfather
54. One Hundred Years of Solitude
55. The Picture of Dorian Gray
56. The Notebook
57. The Shack
58. A Confederacy of Dunces
59. The Hunt for Red October
60. Beloved
61. The Martian
62. The Wheel of Time (series)
63. Siddhartha
64. Crime and Punishment
65. The Sun Also Rises
66. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
67. A Separate Peace
68. Don Quixote
69. The Lovely Bones
70. The Alchemist
71. Hatchet (series)
72. Invisible Man
73. The Twilight Saga (series)
74. Tales of the City (series)
75. Gulliver's Travels
76. Ready Player One
77. Left Behind (series)
78. Gone Girl
79. Watchers
80. The Pilgrim's Progress
81. Alex Cross Mysteries (series)
82. Things Fall Apart
83. Heart of Darkness
84. Gilead
85. Flowers in the Attic
86. Fifty Shades of Grey
87. The Sirens of Titan
88. This Present Darkness
89. Americanah
90. Another Country
91. Bless Me, Ultima
92. Looking for Alaska
93. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
94. Swan Song
95. Mind Invaders
96. White Teeth
97. Ghost
98. The Coldest Winter Ever
99. The Intuitionist
100. Doña Bárbára

  So.. what do you think? I think it's a pretty good representation of America's favorites, yes? I'm happy with it! I'm glad The Book Thief ended up quite high up (number 14 I think). Along with many of my other favorites! Do you plan to go and read some that you've missed over the years? I would like to. We'll see though, how THAT goes!

Announcing: THE KPOP BOOK CLUB!

So this is an idea I've had for quite a long time, and it's all coming together finally since we met a new friend and BookTuber, Emily Boone. (Check out her channel here.)

So over on YouTube we've been participating in a fun Friday meme where we have to come up with five songs every week based on a theme. And I'm having fun thinking up kpop songs that fit each weeks theme. (This week is a Halloween theme and AH! So good!)  Well, Emily participates in this meme too and in the process of going around watching everyone's Friday Five videos, she liked our songs and.... bam... e have "konvertered" her to kpop! Most awesome thing ever.

Here's her video talking about that:



And then we thought we should do something together.. collab as they say. And so we've decided to start a KPOP BOOK CLUB! Here's Emily announcing THAT on her channel:



We plan to read books that our favorite kpop stars love and recommend (it's a long enormous list) and books they have written or compiled (if we can at all find them) and books about Korea or set in Korea... and books that might be based off or on a kdrama... or books that are like a kdrama. Oh, and there are fun books about falling in love with kpop stars too. Yep.. there's TONS!

We've started a Goodreads group for this, so if it sounds at all interesting to you, find us over there: Kpop Book Club Goodreads Group.

Our first discussion will be on Emily's channel at some point down the road (we'll give it a month or two at least) and then we'll chose the next book and discuss on our channel... and go back and forth like that.

Our first book is Please Look After Mom by Kyung Sook Shin, and I'm hearing some pretty great things about it. If you start reading and want to discuss, find us on Twitter using the #kpopbookclub hashtag too! I can't wait to get started!!!

Meeting Markus Zusak... AGAIN!

Back in 2011 I think it was, all my reader dreams came true when Markus Zusak came to our library and talked about The Book Thief. Previous to that I thought he'd never show up in my neighborhood. And then one day he did. I thought we were lucky then to have that happen. I never imagined it would happen AGAIN!

But it did! It's been THIRTEEN YEARS since The Book Thief came out and now he's making the rounds, like a real true and intense book tour, for Bridge of Clay. And Utah was on the list again.

So last Saturday afternoon, we traveled to the location (picking Jenny up from the airport on the way since she was coming back from vacation just in the NICK of time!). We arrived a good hour or more early which got us a nice leather bookmark, and prime spots in the auditorium for his presentation.

Then he walked in, about a half hour or so early, and sort of started mingling with the crowd. And then people started lining up to get their books signed. I was embarrassed at their audacity! Like, he was going to sign AFTERWARDS! Why bug him NOW? But then they announced that he had to make a flight and wouldn't have a whole lot time afterwards, so he wanted to sign some beforehand too. So of course, we jumped in line then and joined the crazy crowd.

(Actually it wasn't that crowded or crazy, yet, but that line grew and grew and grew.)

Suddenly I was nervous. And soon it was my turn. I wondered if he would remember me (having written me a couple of tweets and a postcard all those years ago and because of my unique-ish nickname) but he didn't. However, he loved my shirt. It said, I am haunted by humans! (I had debated wearing it thinking it was over the top too fangirly and a little cringy but....)

And then he asked could he take a picture of me? Guys. I'm so glad I didn't faint.  I said, sure, and so he did. And then this assistant dude took his phone and took a picture of both of us together with it.. and then with my phone. I was shaking so bad.. and do you think anything AT ALL intelligent came out my mouth. NOT ONE THING! I pretty much didn't say anything. My mind had totally shut off. OH MY GOSH!!

And then we waited until the rest of our group had their moment with him and then we all got to take a group shot. It was awesome.

When he did signings afterwards.. he was doing no posed picture taking... so we really lucked out being there for the pre signing moments and taking advantage of that situation!

Well.. and so we had seen that he was posting pictures of "reading faces" as he traveled around. And so the next question was, would I end up on his instagram? About an hour after we got home that evening, sure enough.... I made the cut! LOL! But he took several "reader faces" pictures so I was one among a bunch. Still. SO CRAZY!!!

But to backtrack...his presentation/speech was awesome as expected. He talked about how important back stories are to make your characters real and for an author to know what's going to happen with the story. He talked about how tiny insignificant things that happen in your life can spark an idea and make it into a story. He talked only a little about his struggle over the past 13 years, mostly that he KNEW what this story needed to be and he just couldn't get to the right place. Until finally he did. I love know that the book we are reading now is exactly what he wanted... finally!

He's just so down to earth and real. And still my favorite author ever. I really hope that he's starting on something new and that it's not so long until we get more!

Here're the pictures:

Book Review: 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant

Book: 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
Genre: YA contemporary romance
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This one has a very fun premise. Some college psychology kids are conducting an experiment and the idea is that if they put two strangers in a room with each other and have them ask and answer these 36 questions, that by the time it's over, they will be "interested" in each other. They aren't claiming that they will actually fall in love, but that they will help get something started.

So our girl comes to participate and she actually finds out what the above idea is and almost backs out but then decides what the heck. She is a chaotic mess, but a fun one. Our guy comes to do this just because he wants the $40 they say they will pay. He has no idea what it's all about. He seems closed off and mean and sullen.

So they get in the room with each other and clash right away. The guy comes from a less well off background and he thinks the girl is some spoiled rich snob right from the get go. But they start answering the questions and start learning about each other. And while they don't really connect, they do start opening up a bit.

However, things are cut short because the girl gets mad and storms off. But as we would expect, they find each other again ( at first easily, and later not so easily) and continue with the questions.

Do you think they fall in love by the end?

Well, you'll have to read it to find out!!

I thought it was very fun. I felt like it was borderline NA and not YA... these kids felt much older than high school. (Yes, the ones starting the experiment were college, but the participants were high school.) I'm not sure why, but it does have an older age feel to it. It felt a little surface-y and I was left wanting more... more.... character development maybe? More interaction? I'm not sure what more of... but something more. More actual romance? LOL.

Still, I breezed through it and really enjoyed it! Fun idea this one!

(This book is on the long list for the Beehive Book Awards.)

Currently: Feeling SO VERY TIRED

Listening: The NCT 127 album which dropped today. Currently it's a song called Fly Away With Me and I really like it. NCT 127 is going to be big. Watch for them. They already strutted their stuff on the red carpet at the AMA's this past week. But here's the song they are promoting. This version is all in English, so no worries on that front! Plus, it has a cool tiger. (I thought it was pretty weird at first, but it's really growing on me. Not the tiger. The song. )

NCT 127 at the AMAs

Watching: We started the latest season of Survivor... because... why not? It started out with a bang when a dude hurt his back during a wild boat ride and had to be pulled from the game on day 3. That was crazy. Also watching a drama called 30 but 17... about a girl who was in an accident when she was 17 and wakes up when she is 30... so she still feels 17. It's so good!

Reading: I have BRIDGE OF CLAY!!! But before I jumped into that, I read a couple other books. I know. It's crazy! Reading is so fun guys! :)

Writing: I put my half written book set in the 80s on my drive and read it all in one sitting, trying to remember what I wrote. Guys. I really liked it. LOL! But I still can't think how to finish it, or how to spiff up the conflicts and drama. Sigh...

Blogging: Hey, not bad, I'm thinking. It's happening!

YouTubing: Ah, but this feels like it's dying. Life is changing for some of us and it makes recording videos hard. BUT. Because of this life change, our content will be taking some new direction. So if you happen to be watching us... you'll see what I mean soon! And here's hoping we aren't really dying, but just having a little transition.

Asking: Why did I stay up until 3 am last night? Cause I was having a great time talking, that's why!

Picture Taking:

Looking Forward To:

• KPOP and CHILL at Bumblebee's next Friday! Are you in the area? COME!!
• I GOT JOSH GROBAN TICKETS! That's in a couple weeks. Sitting in the nosebleeds. I'm just going to kick back and listen!
• I GET TO SEE MARKUS ZUSAK IN ONE WEEK! Yeah. Kick back and listen again. I don't even care what he says! LOL. Though I do hope he tells us all about the past 13 years and how he got through it. Dang, but he's had a hard time.
• It's almost like my life is going back to normal, right? 

Kdrama Review: Lawless Lawyer

Drama: Lawless Lawyer
Genre: courtroom drama and suspense
Starring: Lee Joon Gi, Seo Ye Ji, Lee Hye Young
Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤


So I watched this one purely for the leading guy. (He is mostly known for starring in Scarlet Heart.) The subject and story ended up not that interesting to me. It's ALL about revenge. The bad guys (which happens to be the judge and the mayor of this little town) killed the lawyer's mom back when he was just 10 years old. And he is raging mad still, as one would be. And he is out to get them... using the law. Even though he'd rather just beat them to death, literally. Because he could actually do that.

And our leading girl's back story is all mixed up in his back story also. She is also a lawyer but gets suspended for slugging the judge (or the prosecutor?) and yeah. So she ends up partnering with our guy and together, along with their quirky crazy team of thug helpers, work to take down the powers that lead this town.

It's really quite awesome. But as I said, I sort of got bored with the actual story after awhile, but it was too late and I was invested enough to see it through. I also had issues with the villains. They were just SO BAD that I couldn't stand it when they were on screen and they had  A LOT of screen time. I really enjoy the dramas where I feel more sympathetic to the villains you know? And when I'm all wrapped up in their stories as much as the main characters. It makes things a lot more interesting. These guys were just awful.

Our lawyer and his smirk with a couple of his thug helpers

But our dude.. just watching him swagger throughout this story is so much fun. He definitely has a something about him. He's just.. so... COOL! There is a lot of violence and fighting, which is sometimes like "YES GET IT BOYS!" and sometimes too violent and I had to hide my eyes.

The bad judge lady

There was romance for about 2 minutes, and then that was over and forgotten about. So if you are in the mood for pretty much no romance and a lot of fighting and a strong no nonsense female lead and some courtroom antics, you'll enjoy this one I bet.

One of the tiny romance moments.

A tiny trailer:





And a song:

Book Review: The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis

Book: The End or Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis
Genre: YA? MG? Contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I can't really decide if this book is categorized as a YA or an MG... the character is 14... so I guess it could go either way yes?

Anyway, it's been a year since our girl Emmy's best friend died. Before she died, Kim told Emmy that she planned to come back and visit her so to be prepared. So all that year, Emmy tried to do all the things they'd planned but Kim never came back to visit her. So Emmy is upset and trying to figure out what she has done wrong and why Kim won't show herself.

In the meantime, we bounce from this present day stress to the years before... and we learn all about Kim and the friendship these two have and the plans they make in the face of Kim's death from congenital heart disease. We learn about Emmy's insecurities and fears. We learn that they take classes from a bogus dude who claims to know how to help people communicate with their dead loved ones.

It sounds a little weird, yeah? But I loved it. So much. The writing style is totally up my alley and is a style I wish I could learn how to do. So simple, but power packed. Beautiful prose. I just love it. And in the process we bond instantly with these characters, especially Emmy and her dilemma. How she misses her friend so bad and wants to talk to her again so bad, and yet she needs to move on with her life. It's heartbreaking.

And yet, told in such a cute and funny way.

Did say I loved it? Because, I did!

I'm glad I remembered I had this one sitting around waiting to be read!

Beehive Book Award Reading

As most of you know by now, every year at the end of the year, I love to participate in reading books from the Beehive Award Long List  and review them in order to help the judges whittle them down to a short list. Once the short list is figured out, then everyone gets to read and review!

Here's the short list from last years reading.. up for the 2019 award:
(copied from the Beehive Award web page) 


Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Eliza is the anonymous creator of a wildly popular webcomic, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything begins to crumble.

Ever the Hunted (Class of Kingdoms) by Erin Summerill
Britta is the outcast daughter of a bounty hunter who must use her powers to track her father's killer in a world of warring kingdoms, and dangerous magic.

Exo by Fonda Lee
Earth has been a peaceful colony of an alien race for a century, but then Donovan is captured, and killing him might be the incident needed to overthrow the alien rulers.

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry
When her mom breaks up with yet another boyfriend, Calliope meets Jinsong, who becomes her friend despite her Tourette Syndrome and the embarrassment it causes.

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kremmerer
When Declan finds a haunting letter Juliet left beside her mother’s grave, he writes back. Soon, he is sharing his pain with a perfect stranger. Then real life interferes.

A Taste for Monsters by Matthew Kirby
In 1888, disfigured Evelyn is hired as a maid to Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man. When the Jack the Ripper murders begin, they are haunted by the mystery.

Scythe (Arc of a Scythe) by Neal Shusterman
Disease has been eliminated, and the only way to die is by professional “scythes.” Two teens are forced to compete for the job, to the death, though neither wants it.

Starflight by Melissa Landers
Former high school enemies, Solara and Doran must team up when they find themselves aboard a renegade spaceship.

Warcross by Marie Lu
When a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.

Wingsnatchers (Carmer and Grit) by Sarah Jean Horwitz
A Magician's apprentice and a one-winged princess must vanquish the mechanical monsters that stalk the streets and threaten the faerie kingdom.

I read and loved the first six on the list (with Eliza and Letters being my favorites) and would love to catch up with the other four. In the meantime I'm digging into the long list for the NEXT short list! AH!!

Up first:  

Anyone read it already? I'm enjoying it so far, though it feels more new adult than young adult so far to me.

Book Review: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Book: When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★

This book was...okay. So it took me bit to get into it and get invested and I was worried at first the direction it was going. But it ended up okay and I was hoping for a certain direction! (Not the one I thought it was going in case you wondered.)

So this is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, told from Rosaline's point of view. Okay, so I don't remember Rosaline from the original Shakespeare, but I guess Romeo liked her first and then Juliet came and ruined everything? Which is pretty much what happens in the this story.

Our main character is Rose and she likes Rob, her boy next door best friend for years. And just when she thinks they might be making the move to switch to bf/gf status, her rich and snobby cousin (who the family hasn't spoken to for ten years) suddenly shows up. And she nabs Rob right from the get go. Poor Rose.

But there's this other boy who I thought was especially intriguing hanging there in the wings. And he steps forward just then and makes Rose see things differently. His name is Len... and does this character have a counter part in the original? Someone tell me 'cause I can't remember!! Anyway, I thought he was awesome and interesting and so wanted to get to know him better! I feel like we were just getting there when the story ended!

SPOILERS: Anyway. It ends tragically as per the original if you must know. But I didn't feel very connected to those two and just wanted the happy ending for the other two. And now, like I said above, I feel like their story was just starting and I could handle more.

The writing in this one was just so so and it actually made me feel like if this one can make the cut, then all the stories I've started and are in my head totally could too! LOL! Is that bad? I mean like next week when I read Markus Zusak I will think, there is no way I can do this. But this one made me think I totally could.

In Which Markus Zusak Has a COMEBACK! :)

ONE WEEK!!!!!

Guys. I'm so freaking excited.

Reading Recap: June through September 2018

Catching up with the books I've read these past few months. I thought I did better than this, but anyway.

JUNE BOOKS READ

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas: He was killed during a routine traffic stop and she has to find the bravery to speak up against it.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith: They meet during a power outage when the elevator gets stuck. They go their separate ways but can't stop thinking about each other.












JULY BOOKS READ

Grace and The Fever by Zan Romanoff: She happens upon the guy she loves from a boy band and they talk and he invites her to stuff and she gets to live the "dream" of being on the inside of a famous boy band, but it's not all that dreamy.

AUGUST BOOKS READ

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: A gang of six unique kids pulls of an impossible heist.












SEPTEMBER BOOKS READ

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: She finds out she has powers and learns how to control them and hopes that the bad guy won't take advantage of her.

Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West: She ends up on a podcast and he listens and spills his heart on air, but she has no idea he is talking about her.

The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright: He gets kidnapped in India, sold to an orphanage, adopted in America and later, manages to find his family in India.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo: The gang of six quirky characters from Six of Crows is now out for revenge.


Favorites: Six of Crows, The Orphan Keeper

Fall Plans: Finish up the Leigh Bardugo series, keep up with book club, read some books that I having laying around all over the place, start the Beehive long list reading project!