This meme is hosted by Lainey from Thoughts on Tomes. The Goodreads Group for Top 5 Wednesday can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Favourite Jokesters. Here’s my list:
Who are your favourite jokesters?
Title: Love and Other Curses
Author: Michael Thomas Ford
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Indigo Summer Preview
Format: Paperback
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★
The Weyward family has been haunted by a curse for generations—if a Weyward falls in love before their seventeenth birthday, the person they love dies. Sam doesn’t plan to fall for anyone in the nine weeks before his birthday. He’ll spend his time working at the Eezy-Freeze with his dad; cooking up some midsummer magic with his grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother (the Grands); and experimenting with drag with the help of the queens at the Shangri-La, the local gay club. But when a new guy comes to town, Sam finds himself in trouble when they strike up a friendship that might be way more than that.
As Sam’s birthday approaches and he still hasn’t quite fallen in love, the curse seems to get more powerful and less specific about who it targets. A mysterious girl Sam talks to on the phone late at night and a woman he’s only seen in a dream might have the answers he’s been looking for—but time is running out to save the people he cares about.
This book was so much fun to read. It was fast paced so I read it in two sittings. I read most of it in just a couple of hours. The ending of the first few chapters gave hints of what was to come, but kept me guessing. It was difficult to find a good place to stop reading!
The story reminded me so much of The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I loved that there was even a reference to the series near the end of the book. In that series, Blue’s family is also cursed. Blue is told that if she sees a ghost it’s either because she is his true love, or she will kill him. Sam has a similar situation in this story. He is told that if he falls in love before his seventeenth birthday, that person will leave him forever. It’s not easy to prevent yourself from falling in love, so that’s a problem for Sam.
There were so many layers to the story. I loved the diverse representation. Sam is gay and his new friend, Tom Swift, is trans. Tom’s family doesn’t accept him, so they continuously refer to him as “Jennifer” because that is the name they gave him. It was so heartbreaking to read about that. They were cruel to him, forcing him to dress as a girl and wear makeup. There was also some representation of older people in the story. Sam’s grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother live with him. They keep his family history alive with magic. He is friends with some older drag queens as well, which added some entertainment to the story. One of those men was in a similar situation to his friend Tom, in terms of his family not accepting him. It shows how the same themes keep returning throughout different generations.
I loved this story! It’s going to be a great summer read!
Have you read Love and Other Curses? What did you think of it?
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Outrageous Things I’ve Done for the Love of Books. I don’t know if these are really outrageous, but these are some of the things I’ve done for the love of books. Here’s my list:
Title: A Girl Like That
Author: Tanaz Bhathena
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 27, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★
A timeless exploration of high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the lengths we go to love and be loved.
Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school. You don’t want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that.
This tragic love story begins at the end. Zarin and Porus are killed in a car accident right at the beginning. The rest of the book looks back on their relationship and how they ended up in the car together.
I loved the way that Zarin’s character reflected the society she lived in. She would break the rules because she was so restricted, but her punishments meant she was given more restrictions. She didn’t have much control over her life, but she did extreme things when she could decide for herself. For example, she snuck around with the wrong type of boys. When she found one who was good, she didn’t love him. She smoked cigarettes, which made her an outcast in her classes. She didn’t have many on her side, even at home.
This story was set in Saudi Arabia. I’ve never read a book set there, so this was a new experience for me. One thing that stood out to me was the religious police. They would go and question any boy and girl found together and they would have to prove they were siblings. Right at the beginning, when the car accident happens, the first thing the police comment on is why Zarin and Porus were in the car together. It’s more important for them to learn why they were together, rather than the fact that they died. In those situations, even innocent encounters become dangerous.
I really enjoyed this story. I’m looking forward to reading Tanaz’s next book, The Beauty of the Moment.
Have you read A Girl Like That? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
This weekend I finished A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena.
I’m currently reading Love & Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford.
Next I will be reading The Last by Hanna Jameson.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
Title: Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Rating: ★★★★★
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.
This was an amazing end to the Shatter Me trilogy.
This story was so fast paced. I couldn’t put it down! Just when you think you know what is going to happen, and the characters explain their plans, everything changes. The story was unpredictable and exciting.
I can’t believe how my feelings about the characters changed throughout the series. Ones I didn’t like and didn’t trust at the beginning were my favourites by the end. I have so much empathy for Juliette. There was a lot of pain in her narrative. Adam and Warner were such great lead male characters. They had a lot of anger, which dissolved when it comes to their feelings for Juliette. I loved Kenji! He was great comedic relief in this tragic story.
I loved this story! I can’t wait to read Restore Me, the next book in the series.
Have you read Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3? What did you think of it?
Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:
Here are my weekly blogging memes:
How was your week? What did you guys read?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena.
A timeless exploration of high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the lengths we go to love and be loved.
Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school. You don’t want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that.
What book are you in bed with today?
This meme is hosted by Steph at A little but a lot. The weekly prompts for 2019 can be found here.
This week’s prompt is Children’s Books I Love. For this list, I chose the children’s books that I’ve read as an adult. Here is my list:
Did you write a #SixforSunday post? What was your list of Children’s Books You Love?
Title: You’d Be Mine
Author: Erin Hahn
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★
Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.
But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.
Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.
I loved this book!
I loved the characters in this story. Both Annie and Clay have tragic histories. Annie’s mother was a famous country singer, but her parents died suddenly when she was a young teenager. Clay lost his mother, grandfather, and older brother who helped raise him. They both have these common experiences of losing their families, but their grief comes out in different ways.
This story shows a lot of what happens behind-the-scenes in the music world. Annie and Clay go on tour together. They have to write songs and adjust to last minute changes all the time. I really enjoyed this side of the story because I don’t know much about the music industry. It was all very new to me, and I liked reading about it.
This story really broke my heart, but it was mended by the end. This book will be the perfect summer read!
Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read You’d Be Mine? What did you think of it?
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