Review | Frostfire

Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1) by Amanda Hocking

January 2015 by St. Martin's Griffin

321 pages

Four stars

"Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?" - Goodreads

I was so excited to hear about a spin off of Amanda Hocking's Trylle series, The Kanin Chronicles. In Trylle there are five tribes of Trolls, including Kanin, which this series is about. I love the world that Amanda has created with the trolls. Even though I read the Trylle series in 2012, I had no problem jumping back in the world. It's set in a world of our own, with the different tribes being in remote areas. I was very excited to learn more about the Kanin, who are most powerful tribes of trolls. They live quiet and peacefully, and some have the ability to change their skin to blend into their surroundings like a chameleon. The Kanin have a very powerful and respected guard set up to protect their kingdom, the Hogdragen. 

Bryn Aven feels like an outsider in her own community. Her mixed heritage, half Kanin and Skojare, puts her at a disadvantage. She won't let that stop her from what she wants, which is to be a part of the Hogdragen. Konstantin Black, the queen's rogue guard, starts kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent to help stop him and keep the changelings safe. She has a personal grudge against him, as he tried to kill her father years ago. This is her chance to seek revenge and impress the people in her community, to show them what she can do. The queen of the Skojare, Linnea is missing. Bryn and Kasper are sent to Storvatten to see if they can figure out what has happened. 

This book really sets up for the rest of the series. We don't yet fully understand what is going on with Konstantin and the changelings, or what the bigger picture is. I'm very interested in seeing where things go with Ridley and Bryn. They are both battling what they think is right and what they want to be doing. I was also very happy to see a few familiar faces from the Trylle series, like Finn. 

Knowing Amanda Hocking, the rest of the series will be fantastic.She has such a talent with world building and writing action packed books. I'm sure this will be another of my favorite series. You can read the first few chapters on Amanda's Wattpad after making an account here.

Review | Burned

Burned (Burned #1) by Ellen Hopkins
April 2006 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
431 pages
Five stars


"I do know things really began to spin out of control after my first sex dream.

It all started with a dream. Nothing exceptional, just a typical fantasy about a boy, the kind of dream that most teen girls experience. But Pattyn Von Stratten is not like most teen girls. Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, a simple dream may not be exactly a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation.

This dream is a first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell or to a better life? For the first time Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love -- mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it?

It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she doesn't know.

Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both -- until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. Pattyn begins down a path that will lead her to a hell -- a hell that may not be the one she learned about in sacrament meetings, but it is hell all the same.

In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word." - Goodreads



I read Burned once before around the time it came out. I was so intrigued by Ellen's writing style and she has since been one of my favorite authors. This story is one that just stays with you. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking story. It deserves more than five stars.

Burned, to me, has a different tone than many of the other Ellen Hopkins books that I have read. It is a story of hope, but also brings to light many dark and scary things in this world. This story talks about Mormon culture and abuse. I don't believe all people of Mormon faith behave like the characters in Burned. I do believe that as with any other religion, it does happen. It's no secret that there is a lot of criticism of Mormonism. This story touched base on some of them, such as a father who disowned his gay son. There is also a lot of bias towards people of power and males.

While most of the female characters in the story are wishy washy, Pattyn is our heroine. Even in an abusive environment, she knows what is right and wrong and stands up for what she believes in. She takes care of her younger sisters, and prevents them from being in harms way when possible. Abuse is a very serious subject, and I don't find many stories that paint such a realistic picture of it. In Burned Pattyn is able to find hope and promise in a new place. She finds family and forever love. She finds things that she never new she was passionate about.

Towards the ending of the story, there is an overwhelming sense of dread. I couldn't quite remember how the story ended, since it had been 7 years since I read the story last. I will say it does not disappoint. It will leave you heartbroken.

Ellen Hopkins is a beautiful writer and her prose style writing is what got me hooked from the start. I would recommend this book to anyone, but tread lightly. The subject matter is quite heavy.

Review | The World of Postsecret

The World of Postsecret by Frank Warren
October 2014 by William Morrow & Company
288 pages
Five stars


"A ton of secrets, one postcard at a time." - Goodreads

I loved this book. I've always been a fan of Postsecret. I grew up with it and sent in my own postcards. It helped me through hard times and helped me accept my own secrets about myself. Postsecret is very close to my heart and I'm sad to see the end of an era. Frank has created an amazing thing. It has gone through so many changes and on so many platforms (ie. the Postsecret app, www.postsecret.com, many books, live events and museum exhibits). It's really wonderful to see what an impact it has made on so many generations. This book was the perfect ending of the project as we know it now. For 10 years Frank has been getting secrets in his mailbox and sharing them with the world. This book shares the history of the project and how it came to be what it is now. It shares stories from people who the project has helped, stories from Frank's mail carrier Kathy and Frank shares his own secrets.One of my favorite things about Postsecret is the world it has created. It's about more than just sharing secrets. It's a community that is full of support and has worked with suicide prevention. This book was wonderful. It has the best parts of the community and a bunch of new secrets. I just can't say enough good things about this book and the project. I highly recommend it.

Book UnHaul 2015

Recently I've noticed a lot of Booktubers have been posting "unhaul" videos. The general reading goal of 2015 it seems is to not have any books on your tbr shelf by 2016. I too hope to clear some space off my tbr shelf. So, I decided to go through my books and donate a bunch that I wasn't going to be reading. A lot of them I have lost interest with, decided to read an ebook version or wanted a nicer copy of the book. These are the books that I unhauled:


The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Miles To Go by Miley Cyrus

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The Sea of Monster by Rick Riordan

Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Married by Heather McElhatton

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Lo Down by Lo Bosworth

Marley & Me by John Grogan

The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

Marked by PC Cast and Kristen Cast

The Day The World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

Tattoos by Alice Osborn

Angry Housewives Eating BonBons by Lorna Landvik

Finding Casey by Jo-Ann Mapson
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Tigerheart by Peter David
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Michael Jordan by Chip Lovitt
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You by Aly Carter
Witch Child by Celia Rees
Life Drawing for Beginners by Roisin Meaney
A Wedding in Deccember by Anita Shreve
Time After Time by Sue Hassler
Do Penguins Have Knees? by David Feldman
The Twilight Companion by Lois Gresh
Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto
The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks


My shelves look so much better now and I actually have space to put the new books I've acquired in the last few months. I think this was a great thing and I might do it again later this year once I've read some of the books on my tbr shelf. 

Review | Winger

Winger (Winger #1) by Andrew Smith
May 2013 by Simon & Schuster
439 pages
Five stars


"Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids in the Pacific Northwest. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking."- Goodreads


I absolutely loved this book. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it when I learned the main character, Ryan Dean aka Winger, was 14 years old. I remember how I was at that age, and I was so annoying. I tend to stay away from books where the characters are that young. It just depends on how the book is written and how the characters come off. The Percy Jackson series for instance, is written in a way that I have to keep reminding myself how young they are. The things they deal with and the way they behave is so grown up. Also, I don't read many books where the main character is male. This book worked perfectly though. Everything about it made sense. It was real; funny and heartbreaking all at once. I was reading it while on a road trip and there were times when I would actually laugh out loud.

I had a few problems with Winger. He did some stupid stuff and acted impulsively. What 14 year old doesn't though? I wasn't a fan of the Megan situation. I'm team Annie all the way.

I loved Joey; he was by far my favorite character in Winger. He was the perfect best friend for Winger, when all of his other friends were just kind of arrogant jerks. He seemed to be the voice of reason and steered Winger towards making better decisions. As the captain of the rugby team, he stood up for his teammates, even if he didn't like them much off the playing field.

When I started this book, I didn't realize there would be a second book. I didn't realize the story would continue until after I finished. The loss of a character in Winger will change the flow of the story, which is something I am not excited to explore. The end was very dark and heavy. I am excited to see Wingers relationship with Annie play out and how he moves through his senior year, now that the environment has changed.

Andrew Smith is a fantastic writer and I am so excited to read more novels by him.

**Spoilers**

The loss of Joey was heartbreaking. It was so unfair. The few days leading up to the dance had me worried and I thought something bad would happen. The situation was so real and so heartbreaking. Jerks like Casey exist and this is a very important topic to our youth. It's not okay to treat anyone that way because of their sexual orientation, race, gender, hobbies or whatever else bullies choose to hate about others. I've dealt with my fair share of loss and connected to the way Winger dealt with his grief. Something so tragic as that changes you forever.

2014 Reading Goals: An Overview

Like many people, each year I create a New Years Resolution. I try my best to fulfil it but I normally fail. Last year, I decided to make my NYR a series of reading goals instead. Each year I try to read 100 books, but with my life getting more busy and having much less time to read, I lowered it to 75. 

My 2014 Reading Goals were:


Read 75 books.
-25 of which came from books I owned before 2014.

Read one book by Stephen King.

Read the 1st book in A Song of Ice & Fire series by George R. R. Martin. 

Finish reading the series that I've started in the last 3 years.

Read these series:
-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
-Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
-Legend by Marie Lu
-Heros of Olympus by Rick Riordan
-Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare


Unfortunately I haven't completed many of my goals. I have read over 83 books, 20 of which I owned before 2014. I've finished a lot of the series I started in the last few years, but not all of them. I'm hoping to finish that goal next year. I've read the Vampire Academy series but none of the others. I started Legend but decided I didn't like the series and didn't finish it. I'm still on the fence about Shatter Me as well. 

Considering how much I've worked and spent time doing things outside reading, I'm really happy with where I ended up. I made a post earlier about my reading goals for 2015 and I'm really excited to start reading. :)

Books I Read in 2014

1. Go The Fuck To Sleep by Adam Mansbach
2. 100 Ghosts by Doogie Horner
3. Elegy by Amanda Hocking
4. Suri's Burn Book: Well Dressed Commentary From Hollywood's Little Sweetheart by Allie Hagan
5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
6.  The Book of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks: A Celebration of Creative Punctuation by Bethany Keeley
7. Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffmann
8. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
9. Melissa Explains it All: Tales From My Abnormally Normal Life by Melissa Joan Hart
10. Waiting to be Heard by Amanda Knox
11. The Transfer: A Divergent Story by Veronica Roth
12. Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter
13. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
14. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
15. McCumber McGee and the Half Eaten Hot Dog by Patrick Loehr
16. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
17. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
18. Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
19. Oh, Baby!: Pregnancy Tales and Advice From One Hot Mama to Another by Tia Mowry
20. Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman
21. Dog Shaming by Pascale Lemire
22. Legend by Marie Lu
23. Let's Do Something Wrong by A Softer World
24. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
25. The Guard by Kiera Cass
26. Life Before Legend by Marie Lu
27. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
28. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
29. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
30. Talking Pictures: Images and Messages From The Past by Ransom Riggs
31. Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
32. Enticed by Jessica Shirvington
33. Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington
34. This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl by Esther Grace
35. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
36. Frostbite by Richelle Mead
37. Endless by Richelle Mead
38. Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog by J. H. Lee
39. Empower by Jessica Shirvington
40. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
41. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
42. Toxic by Sara Shepard
43. One by Kiera Cass
44. Prodigy by Marie Lu
45. Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
46. Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book by Grumpy Cat
47. Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
48. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
49. Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele 
50. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
51. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
52. Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, A Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnapping by Michelle Knight
53. Stolen: A Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher 
54. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
55. The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
56. Uganda Be Kidding Me by Chelsea Handler
57. Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth
58. The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas
59. Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
60. The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
61. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon
62. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
63. Inside Divergent: The Initiate's World by Cecilia Bernard
64. The Grumpy Guide to Life: Observations from Grumpy Cat by Grumpy Cat
65. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
66. Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
67. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
68. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
69. The Heiresses by Sara Shepard
70. Asylum by Madeline Roux
71. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
72. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky
73. The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard
74. Make Up Your Life!: Your Guide to Beauty, Fashion, Internships, Careers, Modern Manners, and More--Online and Off by Michelle Phan
75. No Place Like Home by Danielle Paige
76. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
77. Vicious by Sara Shepard
78. The Queen of the Zombie Hearts by Gena Showalter
79. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris
80. My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins
81. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 
82. Amber House by Kelly Moore 
83. Paper Towns by John Green

2015 Reading Goals

I want to read 75 books, 10 of which I owned in 2014 or before.

I want to reread these series:
-Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
-Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
-Fallen by Lauren Kate
-Shade by Jeri Smith Ready

I want to read these series in their entirety:
-Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
-Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

I want to read all of Nicholas Sparks books. 

Review | Vicious

Vicious (Pretty Little Liars #16) by Sara Shepard
December 2014 by HarperCollins
352 pages
Five stars


"In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, reporters are lined up outside the historic courthouse, typing furiously at their iPhones with freshly manicured nails. Because the trial of the century is happening right here in Rosewood: the four pretty little liars have been accused of killing Alison DiLaurentis. Only Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily know that they've been framed. Ali is still out there, laughing as she watches the girls go down for her murder. But when your nickname includes the word "liar," no one believes you're telling the truth. . . .

Aria tries to run away from it all but finds that life on the lam is even harder than life as a liar. Spencer gets in touch with someone who can help her disappear--but when a guy from her past reemerges, Spencer no longer knows what she wants. Hanna decides that she'll hear wedding bells chime before she serves time. And in the face of prison, Emily does something truly drastic--something that will change her friends' lives forever.

As the trial goes on and the outcome looks grim, the girls are in their darkest hour yet. But maybe they can finally figure out how to beat Ali at her own game. Because once upon a time, she was just a pretty little liar too. " - Goodreads



This will probably be a pretty basic and vague review since it's about the last book in a very long series, but just hang in there with me. I don't want to give away any spoilers for anyone that hasn't read the book. I feel like I can't not review this book though.

The last few books in the series have left me kind of worried with how the series was going to end, and if it was even really going to end. I'll admit, I loved it still. I didn't mind one bit that there was 16 or more books in the series because I was so invested in the storyline and the characters. In the first half of the series, the question was always is Ali still alive? Who is A? By last book or two, we knew the answer to those questions. We always expect everything to be wrapped up all nice and have all loose ends tied. I didn't have a clue how that was going to happen in the series.

Vicious was an amazing book. That's all I will say. I loved it. It was the perfect ending to the series and I feel so satisfied after finishing it. If you're someone who is okay reading 16 or more books, or someone who likes the tv series, read Pretty Little Liars. It's such a fun series to read and get lost in. Now that the last book has come out, you can rest assured that the series will indeed end and all or questions will be answered.

If you've finished the series, what did you think of it?

Review | The Perfectionists

The Perfectionists (The Perfectionists #1) by Sara Shepard
October 2014 by HarperCollins
336 pages
Four stars


"From the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series Pretty Little Liars comes a thrilling new novel about five perfect girls who are framed for a murder they didn’t commit.

In Beacon Heights, Washington, five girls—Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker—know that you don’t have to be good to be perfect. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they realize that they all hate Nolan Hotchkiss, who’s done terrible things to each of them. They come up with the perfect way to kill him—a hypothetical murder, of course. It’s just a joke...until Nolan turns up dead, in exactly the way they planned. Only, they didn't do it. And unless they find the real killer, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.

From Sara Shepard, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series, comes another story of dark secrets, shocking twists, and what happens when five beautiful girls will do anything to hide the ugly truth." - Goodreads


As far as a first book in a series goes, this one was pretty good. I love the way Sara Shepard writes and starts off her series. You always get a good amount of background to the characters and storyline but plenty of mystery. The whole plot for this series really interested me because it's very different from anything else I've read.

I would say my least favorite part of The Perfectionists is the characters. I think they are well developed for being a first story in the series. They are obviously not perfect, but there are some things about them that I don't like or connect with. The girls seem a little over the top at times and unrealistic. Some of the topics that were brought up are great. I don't see enough of those realistic issues in young adult literature. It was nice to get more than just a love triangle, although of course there was one of those as well. The characters and their storylines are very diverse and it was easy to keep track of each girl and their story which is something I had a hard time with in The Heiresses.

I feel like I always say this, but I was surprised by the turn of events and the end of this book. Maybe I'm just not the type of reader that tries to figure out the plot and spoil the surprises. I won't say too much about the ending as I don't want to spoil it for people who wish to read this book. I loved it though and it makes you want to read on in the series.

I really loved where The Perfectionists left off and think it will be a great place to start with for The Good Girls , which is book two in the series(June 2nd, 2015). I hope the length of the series is closer to The Lying Game than Pretty Little Liars. I read every book in PLL but it was a few too many books.

I've heard rumors that this series may be picked up for a TV series, which I am pretty happy to hear. The Lying Game strayed too far from the book to be entertaining. Pretty Little Liars is amazing but there are only two and a half seasons left. If The Perfectionists does get picked up, it will be at a great time. This may be a storyline that is better served as a TV series anyways.

Have you read The Perfectionists? Let me know what you thought!