Showing posts with label Adam Silvera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adam Silvera. Show all posts

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Book Review: Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Release Date: January 14, 2020
Read: January 14th-22nd, 2020
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Infinity Cycle, #1
Format: ARC, 368 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for honest review




Description from GoodReads:


Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.

Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.

Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.

Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed. 

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Top 10 Most Anticipated Reads of the First Half of 2020

A new year, a lot of new books. And with every new year, comes a bunch that you're dying to read. Below are 10 of my most anticipated reads of the first half of 2020. Because, of course, there will be 10 more that I'm dying read come fall.

  

And those are them. What are some of your anticipated reads for 2020? Are you excited for any of these titles?

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Monthly TBR: January 2020



My GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2020 is 75 books. My goal has basically stayed the same for the past few years, and every year I've failed by maybe 10 books. I always loose it by the end of November and can never catch up. Either way, I'm determined to make my goal this year. 

February TBR Pile








 And that's my TBR for the month! I feel like I'm going to be playing MYRCA catch up for a while, so expect a bunch of Canadian titles for the next few months.

 What are you reading this month?


Monday, January 14, 2019

Ohana Reads' 5th Blogiversary!

Hello friends! It's certainly been a year, and I haven't spent as much time here as I would have liked. Where I miss posting all the time, I just haven't been able to get into a routine of things anymore. I think saying that, I've come to terms with it. I'm officially okay with being that person who just posts randomly, I hope you guys are alright with that too.

Even though I haven't posted a bunch on the blog, I've still been very active on Twitter and in the book community. So if you ever want to chat, don't be afraid to hit me up!

Anyways, time for me to tell you about how my 2018 went:

Break Down of the Year:

Over 203, 672 Total Page Views
247 Published Comments
462 Published Posts
My Top Series Enders of 2013 being my most viewed post...at 47, 352 views
The Ohana Reads' 4th Blogiversary Post being my most viewed post of 2018... at 300 views
28 GFC Followers
1, 386 Twitter Followers
532 Instagram Followers

Like every year, I wouldn't have been able to survive the year without the help of some amazing friends and people in my life. Here are the people that made my year amazing.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Book Review: What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Release Date: October 9th, 2018
Read: July 21st - 22nd, 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Standalone
Format: Signed ARC, 448 pages
Source: BEA 2018



Description from GoodReads:


   Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

   Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

   But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

  Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

   Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

   But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

   What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

   What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?


   But what if it is?

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Release Date: September 5th, 2017
Read: October 9th-16th, 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Standalone
Format: ARC, 384 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review




Description from GoodReads:


   On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure and to live a lifetime in a single day.


Review:


   Do it up
   My friends were the ones to convince me to give Adam Silvera another chance. Back in January I had picked up History is All You Left Me, and it was one of the most depressing things I had ever read, and so I DNF'd it at 40% through the book. I had heard that his previous book had also been the same way, and that this one was guaranteed to be the same. So I put the thought of reading They Both Die at the End away, and continued on. That is until my friends promised that this would be the one I enjoyed, and so I gave Adam another try.

   After basically having read two Adam Silvera books, I've determined that his books usually contain two things; lost of death and grief, and a LGBTQ+ character/romance.

   Adam's stories are not for the faint of heart, they really get you hard with your emotions and make you think of what would happen to you and those you love when you die. That's basically the state I was in for the entirety of the book, I could not stop thinking about what would happen to everything when I died. It even got to the point where I brought it up as a dinner time conversation. I think the book was really important lesson when it comes to living your best life. Throughout the book we saw through the perspective of a bunch of different characters and the state that they were in before they died, they either went out with a bang or with regret. Unlike the people in the novel, we don't get to know when we die. Because of this, we never know if the day could be our last or not. I think the lesson of the book is to try and make every day count, and I'm hoping that lesson sticks with me.

   From the two books I've read, LGBTQ+ characters are the second piece that continues to make an appearance. In books now a days, throwing in a LGBTQ+ character or two is becoming a common thing. I love how it's becoming a norm, that we don't even think twice about it anymore. I love how it's become a constant in his books, and so I want to thank Adam for doing so. The world needs more LGBTQ+ books for people to finally have characters that they can relate to.

   They Both Die at the End was an emotional rollercoaster, filled with french toast, skydiving and so much more. I'm glad I gave this one a chance, I really did enjoy different aspects of the book. So I look forward to seeing what Adam Silvera publishes next. 


Rating:



Favourite Quote:


"You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you'll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth the risk."


Recommend to People Who Enjoy:


Young Adult, Contemporary, Dealing with grief, Dealing with death, Bucket Lists



Tuesday, January 31, 2017

January Wrap Up 2017!

   January was good, January was really good. In the last months, I'd been on hiatus because of the stress of my University classes. This month I started a new bunch of classes, with a lighter load, as well as classes that actually interest me. It's safe to say that this course load is just what I needed.
   I said I'd do two things last month, one was try to get motivated to blog again, and the other was to start a TBR pile for the month, and try to get through them all. One of the two was successful, unfortunately it wasn't the blogging part. I ended up being able to read practically all of the books I had added to my TBR but, in the end I just couldn't review them. I'm still going to work on that, especially when it comes to other blog posts too. For now I'm just going to keep up with all all the reading I've been doing, and hope that I can stick with that as well!
   In the last month I was able to participate in two bookish events, one being my Winnipeg Blogger Groups' Secret Santa party, and the other being an IndigoTeen Hangout. Both were amazing, but I mean, I got to hang out with the same set of friends both times, so they were bound to be great. My Secret Santa, Sarah from Just Another Story, was SUPER AMAZING and got me an ARC of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, and The Throne of Glass Covering Book, so you can tell that I am over the moon excited. Then at the IndigoTeen Hangout I was lucky enough to have won an ARC of 100 Hours by Rachel Vincent, and Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee. Both events were fantastic, and so much fun, from bookish trivia to just discussing books. I love my group of bookish ladies, and can't wait to see them again next month!
   Outside of the bookish world, my friends and I did a fancy dinner night at one of my favourite restaurants. We all dressed up in some of our nicest outfits, and literally just went out for dinner. It was a lot of fun just dressing up, and going out. I can't wait to do it again sometime in the future.  (Please enjoy our lovely selfie.)
   And finally, the last two weeks, and still going, I've been sick. Everyone has been getting sick recently, and I guess it was just my turn. This time around has been a bit worse than usual, especially since my asthma kicks in whenever I get a cold, but I've been slowly getting better, so hopefully that goes away soon. 
   That was my January 2017! I'd say that it was a good start off to the year, if you completely ignore the fact that Trump is the president of the United States anyway. Anyways, here are the stats for this month!
   

   P.S. You guys have to go see A Dogs Purpose, it was such a beautiful movie, and I honestly can't stop tearing up when I think about the movie. It was also actually filmed maybe 15 minutes away from my home, the diner that the characters go to is actually a favourite place for me to go eat in the summer! So definitely make time to go see it!


Books Read:



Book Haul:



A huge thank you to IndigoTeen, OwlCrate, Lauren @ The Autumn Bookshelf, Sarah @ Just Another Story,  and Sabrina @ Beyond the Book Reviews

Books Reviewed:





February Releases That I'm Excited For:



   That was the month! February is usually a super busy month for my family and I, so we'll have to see what's in store for us. I know that I've already got a bunch of things planned, like our late Staff Christmas Party, a Book Signing, and my 19th Birthday Party! So already, I know that'll be a lot of fun, until next time!




Monday, January 2, 2017

January TBR Pile


   Hi all! 
   Starting this month, I'm going to (try and), start a new monthly feature! I'm going to start creating a monthly tbr post. Each month I'm going to pick a pile of books to read, or at least pick through to read. I know for the most part, that I won't finish the pile each month, especially with School starting again in a few days, but I will have a small pile to choose my next read from. Without further ado, my January TBR pile. 

January TBR Pile








   That's my TBR for the month! Let's hope that I can finish at least half of it!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

BEA 2016: Day 2


   Day 2 of BEA ended up being waaaay more packed than the 1st day, but also less stressful if you can believe it. With having the the day before in mind, we were able to plan our day to our advantage.

   The day for me started out with me running to the Macmillan booth in hopes of getting a ticket to the Metaltown 9:30am signing, once we were let onto the floor, but unfortunately I got there right as they ran out of tickets. So onto the Audrey Coulthurst 10am signing I went, she was one of my most anticipated authors for BEA so I was very happy to have been lucky enough to be roughly 25th in line!

Amy Lukavics signing The Woman
in the Walls
Eleanor Herman and I
   From 11am-11:30am, I was in line for Amy Lukavics and Eleanor Herman. At these times, they both had separate signings. They were signing The Woman in the Walls and Empire of Dust. Both ladies were the sweetest, and both had the cutest style! With Amy wearing a spiderweb dress and Eleanor dressing fancy to match her books!


   When I was in line for Eleanor, I was actually able to meet Bayram from Never Ending Books! I had first met him line when I first became a blogger, and it was awesome to finally be able to meet him! I actually was able to hang out with him a lot through out BEA, after him I also started to meet so many other amazing bloggers that I am friends with online! Although I didn't recognize many faces at first, it was heart whelming to have had them recognize me and say hello! Even with me being in aw for most of the convention, the peak of the aw factor was definitely when I got to meet bloggers in person!
Becca from Pivot Book Totes
   Including Bayram, I was also able to meet Brittany from Brittany's Book Rambles, As some of you already know, I adore her. So it was a FABULOUS experience! Becca from Pivot Book Totes, Becca is another person that I met when I first started blogging, and I learned so much from her when I first started blogging. It was an honour to meet her! Nori from Read Write Love 28, known as the Blogger Mom, Nori is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, she's just as sweet in person as she is online! And that's just some of the fabulous people I got to meet! I can't even begin to list or remember them all!

   From there I was forced to join the two insanely long lines for the Macmillan 1pm ticket drop. Sounds weird right? That's because it was. There wasn't an official ticket line until 12:45, I got there at 12pm. With nothing organized, it was chaos. In the end there was a stampede, and MANY unhappy people. All to get a ticket for the Marissa Meyer signing of her latest novel, Heartless. This ticket drop was by far the worst experience of BEA, right next to the second ticket drop for Marissa but that's a story for Day 3. Please take a look at the video below, just to see how hectic the whole day got.


   But in the end I was able to get a ticket for Vassa in the Night, and so my day would go on nicely. I wouldn't let not getting a ticket ruin my day.


   Both my sisters are big book nerds, just like myself. So I promised that there would be a few books that I'd pick up for them. Both had very specific requests, the youngest with a super small list and the other with a huge one. All the books on their lists being super hard to get, or not at BEA at all. So to actually get one from that super small list, I had to go to a Ransom Riggs signing. Ransom was signing Tales of the Peculiar. So after the Eleanor signing, I was off to see if I could get a ticket to his signing.

   After rushing there, I was able to get my hands on a ticket, but not only was the line HUGE, the 'book' that Ransom was signing turned out to only be a sampler. So I was forced to wait in an half an hour signing for a sampler that wasn't even going to be for me. At least in the end my sister was satisfied.

   From there I ran to the Jennifer Niven, Holding Up the Universe signing line where Stephanie (Doodle's Book Reviews) was holding a spot in line for me. Having not read All the Bright Places yet, I didn't really have much to say to Jennifer. But in all, she was such a sweetie anyway.

Jennifer Niven signing Holding Up the Universe
   From there I went straight to the Sarah Porter signing for Vassa in the Night. Where I once again ran into Bayram! So for the duration of the signing line, I was able to have someone that I knew to
Steph (Doodle's Book Reviews), Bayram (Never Ending
Books), and I. 
hang with. Which did't happen all that often, but you did make friends wherever you went.

   After that I had an hour to kill, so I used that time for food. Honestly, with everything going on you would always forget about basic things like food, water, and bathroom breaks. That was probably one of the biggest things about the convention that you really needed to worry about. Carrying snacks in your bag was a must throughout everything.


Adam Silvera
   From there I went to my last signing of the day, which was for Adam Silvera and History is All You Left Me. Where I could not give up the chance at messing with Adi Alsaid. Adi had some what threatened to not be friends with people who got to meet Adam, as well as if you read History is All You Left Me before him. And so, this is how the following photo came to be.
   I was also lucky enough to have met the OwlCrate ladies while waiting in line for Adam's signing. They were the sweetest! They even asked for my business/blogger card!


   While I was in line for Adam, the Empire of Storms cover was released. From what I heard there was an ENORMOUS crowd surrounding the Bloomsbury booth, and the crowd was just as excited as I was to see the cover. The cover did not disappoint as you all have probably seen. It was at a bit of a point where people were in line for selfies with the cover, I mean how could one resist a selfie?


   After that my day ended with me in the 5pm Epic Reads Drop line for Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. Steph and I had missed the drop the day before, so I wanted to be firstish in line to make sure that I got it. With Steph still in line somewhere else and me holding our spots roughly 40 minutes before the drop, I thought for sure that she would make it. But as I waited with a few other lovely ladies, someone who was originally in line with us, (we were still holding a spot for her.) very slowly approached us and whispered how Caraval, was being given out at the Macmillian booth in tote bags. Being one of the most anticipated books at BEA, and having not a lot of information on how to get it at the convention, it was in all of our best interests to run. That's exactly what we did, after throwing a quick text to Steph about the tote bags, I was off. Running in and out, I was super quick and was also able to get back my position in the Three Dark Crowns line. Something I did not know until I was back in line, was that Stephanie Garber was actually at the booth signing the ARCs that they handed out. With the Epic Reads drop line being closed off, Steph was not able to get back in line with me but she, as well as her mom were able to get their ARCs of Caraval signed. Her mom actually got hers signed to me because she knew I missed out on getting mine signed. So in the end we swapped and we were both happy!


   And finally my Book Haul from day 2!



   There you have it! Day 2 of BEA! Day 2 was probably my biggest hauls of all three days, and one of my most jam packed!

   If you haven't seen my other posts from BEA you can see those here:


   Until the next post!