The Romantics Review

(I received an egalley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am super thankful for NetGalley and to the publisher, Amulet Books, for letting me review this novel. I later also received a paperback copy of this arc through an event, and read the book that way.)

To start off The Romantics is a young adult contemporary romance novel, told in the perspective of love. I really liked this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a twist on a normal contemporary novel. The specific age group would probably be from 12-18 mainly because it does have a little bit of mature content but not too much to be considered even close to New Adult. The Romantics is written by Leah Konen and is published by Abrams Kids, Amulet Books. This book is 321 pages long, so not too long of a read. This book also comes out on November 1st and should be highly anticipated as it is a pretty good read.

Now I'll go into a bit of my own personal opinions. I truly really liked this book, I didn't love it but it was a pretty fast paced and cutesy read. I am a die-hard romantic (classified by the book, ;)), and I really liked the "rom-com, told by love" feel to this book. I honestly almost couldn't put this book down which is saying a lot, as I have a lot of school work to do as well. I really appreciated the whole told by love perspective because it gives it a new take on the whole rom-com idea, and also makes the novel that much more interesting and detailed. I actually think that one of my favourite characters in this book was love and in my opinion love was the best narrator ever. Hearing the story being told from love's perspective was at time's a bit confusing, because you couldn't tell what perspective it was being told from, but It was also hilarious and so much fun! Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a romantic contemporary that isn't just like any other. (The story kind of follows the exact same plot as usual, but it does have some great twists and turns, especially the whole love perspective aspect). So as you can tell I liked this book, it was pretty modern and cute so therefore I would give it a 7.6/10 stars. Even though it was a pretty great modern take, the actually writing style and plot weren't that great which is why I wouldn't give it higher. Overall, though I would recommend it and I would read it again if I hadn't already read it.

A Quick Synopsis:
This book is a love story told by love. That's putting it in one sentence, but it's actually so much more than that. This book is about a boy named Gael who has never had a successful experience with love, and even though he's a classified, by love, romantic, he's kind of scared of the real experience. This book is about how he has to navigate life after his parents split up, and learn to manage life with a both complete and not complete family. Gael has a few love interests in this book that he has to explore (but I can't tell you which one actually matters because spoilers). As well Gael goes through a really tough breakup at the beginning of this book, which only further enhances the idea, for him, that love never lasts. Love being the semi-narrator of this book, knows all, and sees exactly what Gael needs. The only problem is actually accomplishing that.

Going more into the characters... The main characters of this book were obviously Gael, Love (somewhat as we never actually got to know it as a character), Gael's younger sister Piper, Sammy (Piper's babysitter), Cara (one of his love interests),  Anika (his ex), and Mason (a friend). There were some others characters that played a smaller role in novel like his parents, and his other friends but most of the novel focused on Gael and his relationships. Overall, I actually think Gael wasn't bad. He wasn't my favourite character and I didn't like how he seemed to jump into a lot of things, but never the right things. However, I really did like how he interacted with his sister and how he genuinely cared about other people. He always poured his heart into every relationship dear to him, which was sweet, but also not very well planned on his part, because he often got his heart broken. I actually really felt bad for Gael for many parts during this book, especially the beginning. He had to go through a lot in this book, and I'm not quite sure if he grew as a character but he grew on me. I also really liked his Dad, even though I said he wasn't as major a character he was sweet, and once Gael gave him a chance to actually explain things, I really enjoyed hearing his opinions. Another character I really liked was Piper, she seemed super sweet, and as Gael said super annoying at times, but you can tell he really cares about her and she feels the same. They really look out for each other, especially since they has to go through such a hard thing at a pretty early age, and they were the only ones who actually understood each other. The final person, and the one I most liked... Let me rephrase the one I LOVED, was Sammy! Sammy was just such a genuinely nice person too, but she wasn't immature. She was super smart, kind, and I honestly could relate to all her feelings so well. I really love how she interacts with both Gael and Piper, and how she's super well balanced overall. I loved her part in this novel and wish it focused more on her rather than on Gael.

Now on to the settings and plot! The settings of this book also played a pretty big role in this book but they weren't as important. I think the biggest importance a setting played in this book was the difference between Gael's Dad's apartment and Gael's mom's house. This was very important to take notice of because it wasn't just the setting but they also had very different atmospheres and also very different but important roles in the book. It often showed how hard it was for Gael and Piper to really switch their lives around to accommodate the divorce. It also really showed how much people really take things for granted that they think will always be there. This was actually a big issue for Gael, with a few things. There were also the settings of Gael's school, the collage near them, UNC, which both Cara and Sammy attended, and also just the surroundings shops and area that Gael walked to (movies, restaurants, nacho place). The plot of this book was very similar to a typically contemporary romance. They was drama involved, a big choice, the parents, and obviously more than one love interests. Overall, however I found that the modern take that Leah took on the otherwise pretty basic outline highlighted a few key things and made this novel that much more fun to read. I really like how she made the narrator love (not for the whole time though), and that love was also really funny and all knowing, as well as very self-aware. The plot could've used some other events to spice things up, but overall Leah did a good job and made this book a really fast and easy read (interesting, and not hard to finish). I would stick to younger audiences however, because the book is mainly dealing with the younger motion of love, probably the best experience for ages 12-15. However, this book was still pretty enjoyable for me, and I really liked it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amulet Books for letting me review such a great book, and to all my readers for reading my reviews and blog posts. Look out for this book, when it comes out to bookshelves near you tomorrow, November 1st! <3

Every Day Review:

Hey guys! I know that I don't post as often as I would like but I'll have you know that having math and science in one semester isn't easy. AND you get a ton of homework... How are you guys doing? Lots of homework? Anyways this month I was actually pretty unproductive with reading but I did go to both a book signing and a debate tournament in Montreal so that was fun, and super stressful. The one book I fully finished was actually Every Day and I only finished it today. Technically I also finished Gemma, which is like one story out of two that is in Replica by Lauren Oliver. But I just didn't have time to finish the other story, Lyra. I am also planning to read The Romantics by November 1st because I feel super bad as I got an arc of this book from NetGalley in July and I've just had such an intense tbr that I've had like no time to read it. The only reason I still haven't was because I had to read Replica for the book signing and Every Day for the October book club, which was actually supposed to be yesterday but we convinced them to change it to Friday.

Okay so sorry guys for that whole intro about me being busy with school and books, and math homework... But let's go into the real reason behind this post. I just finished the October Book Club book: Every Day by David Leviathan.

To start off I actually really enjoyed this book, much more than I originally expected and also more than most of the other book club books that I hadn't read before. This takes on a completely new approach to the challenge of travelling. But what is usually the challenge, time travelling, is changed and here it's actually body travelling. They pose a lot of the same challenges to a person's life; being very inconsistent, hard to find a family and friends, always being disoriented, ect. But in this case A literally had no body.

This book is about a character named A, he waked up every single day in somebody else's body. He has no gender, no name, no family, and no body. There are many obvious issues with this like not being able to have friends, or any relationship. But there are also many issues that are unseen to most people, if they were in this situation. A always has to consider what the person would do, who's body he is inhabiting, he always has to make sure not to change anything, and most of all he can't tell anybody about his situation. A has to suffer through this for about 16 years, but he has learnt to deal with it and live life the only way he can, when he meets Rhiannon. He first meets her as her boyfriend, who's body he inhabits one day, and she intrigues him so much that he keeps meeting her intentionally and not. I can't say much else after that because it would be spoilery. But this book deals with a lot of issues regarding seeing yourself in a certain way, but the main one being the aspects of A's life that he has to deal with and all the conflicts he has to resolve. I really, really enjoyed this book and would probably give it an 8.5/10. It's a pretty short read but it involves a lot of deep messages and new, intriguing plot points and characters.

I absolutely loved the characters and settings of this book. The main two characters A and Rhiannon were both so lovable and kind, as well as smart and so adventurous. The novel was written from A's point of view and it was super interesting how he saw the world, and what lessons he learned from all his "travelling" as well as because he was just such a kind individual who didn't want to cause harm to anybody and had high morals and beliefs of helping everyone. I liked Rhiannon a little less just because since she didn't have the same experiences as A she wasn't as "wise" and "kind-souled" but for someone who was always on one place surrounding by the same people, she notices and cares more about other people than most people I know. They are both such amazing role models, and in my opinion lead the whole book to be better. Because I was obviously so in love with the characters everything else didn't really seem to matter.

However, the plot and setting where also super amazing. The settings were all over the place as A's life was constantly changing but throughout part of the book he always had one destination, Rhiannon. So therefore a lot of the book took place in her city, at her school, and in libraries and the Starbucks near her. But honestly the setting didn't play that much of a role, but it was mainly the people. The memorable people who were in A's life had a huge impact on his character, as well as his decision making skills and caring personality. Another thing that was pretty major in this book was the plot. I really enjoyed all the obstacles and "road bumps", that David Leviathan planted in this book. I personality didn't like the ending very much and it really surprised me. But within 10 pages I saw it coming. There is also an evil pope person in this book, who really freaks me out... Lmao. Many parts of the book and plot surprised me but some were expected, which is a thing I didn't really like, but because of the amazing flow and character development I didn't really mind that much.

Overall, I think that this book deserves the rating it has on Goodreads if not maybe a bit higher. I was a fast and pleasant read as I couldn't put it down, and it was only 322 pages. My favourite character in this book was A but I really liked all the characters. And even though the ending was not the one I wanted, it was realistic and felt genuine, as did the whole book. I think that there will be a lot to discuss about this book on Friday so make sure to check out my book club report then. I would recommend this book to any Ya contemporary novel lover who is looking for a slight twist or interesting aspect. It was an overall great read, and I highly recommend to everyone. Thank you so much to all my readers, for continuing to read my posts! - Kat Hearts

(Some inspirational quotes for you below: )

Author meet and book signing:

Happy October to all my readers! One month closer to winter break... Aha. Well guys, I'm super sorry that I haven't been posting as much lately because I am so busy with school work and just in general work. *sigh* And also nothing super exciting has happened to me recently except for the fact that I went to a Lauren Oliver book signing. I know super exciting! I was actually anticipating this signing and discussion meet for over a month and was super excited to go. I love Lauren Oliver and have read almost all of her work. I have literally read everything except Vanishing Girls and half of Replica, the Lyra half. This was also triple exciting because Kendare Blake and M-E Girard were also both there. These three authors are on a teen tour each for their newest book. Lauren Oliver for Replica, Kendare Blake for Three Dark Crowns, and M-E Girard for Girl Mans Up. This was a super amazing experience and my best friend Julia, also a book nerd, came with me so it made everything so much more fun. So now I'll actually go into how it all went down, and since I sadly didn't bring a notebook or take any notes I'll have to rely solely on my memory. Which isn't that great, sorry guys.

Since I live in Canada, the main and pretty much only bookstore in here is Indigo. What I didn't know however is that sometimes at a popular location there are events which could be found here: (if you are interested). I absolutely had no idea that pretty often authors came in and signed their recent books. A different blogger actually told me about this so shout out to her. Well she actually told me about Frenzy which is the Canadian teen Harpercollins acc that plans some of these events. Obviously I was already following it but I didn't actually know what it was. So after that I found out about this event with Lauren Oliver and was patiently waiting for it since. 

So when I first arrived at 6:20pm, the event started at 7pm, I was told to go and get a ticket. I didn't know what that meant at the time, but later found out that apparently there were very limited tickets and if you had one you were definitely going to get a seat and the authors to sign your books. Then I had to wait a while for us to be let into the sitting area, which we were at around 6:30. I obviously got two tickets and two seats and then waited for my friend to arrive, she was running late. I am a super book nerd so I knew I had to be there early. 

(This is the sitting area and small stage before the event started ^ sorry for the bad quality guys)

At 7, right on time, the event started and all 3 authors came on stage, as well as the Harpercollins Canada representative, who asked all the questions. Some of the question revolved around favourite foods and just about their journey altogether, but most interesting were the questions about upcoming books. We learned that Lauren Oliver is obsessed with pasta, but loves food in general. :) Sameee! And also that Lauren and Kendare were on tour together for a while. They all discussed their latest good read and none of them seemed familiar, but that's probably only because they weren't Ya. Then Lauren said that she was excited for Spindlefire to come out, a book a close friend of hers wrote. (By: Lexa Hillyer, comes out April 11th, 2017) Hey, if Lauren's excited, then so am I. :) Then another book called The Bonesless Mercies was mentioned but there is barely information on it as it comes out in 2018. After all that, the authors were asked what they were working on as well as where they preferred to work. Lauren Oliver said that she literally works everywhere, she even writes books on her phone. She also mentioned that she is currently writing many books at once, Helix (I think that's what it's called, Replica book 2), a new fantasy series that she is releasing soon, and some adult books too I think. Kendare Blake said that she prefers to work at home in a clean space but it's very hard to start working because she feels it's like work. She also said that she works every day because otherwise she feels guilty because she's not being productive, haha. Kendare mentioned that she knows that Three Dark Crowns is going to be more than one book, but she isn't sure how many books there will be. She is currently working on the second book. M-E Girard said that she too can not work just anywhere and she currently isn't sure what she is working on. 

After all the Q and A from the representative was over there were a few audience questions. I don't remember two of them but one was "How tall are the characters in your books". This struck everyone as being extremely funny especially since the girl who asked it said that it's kind of her obsession to know the heights of book characters, lmao. Most of the authors were stumped but Lauren, as always, gave a super deep answer, on the spot, about the heights in all her books. Most very average but the main character in Panic was really tall and some were really short. Kendare said that the three queens were all different heights the oldest being the tallest, and the youngest I think, the poisoner being the shortest because all the poisons stunted her growth. After all the questions were done the authors went behind the stage to take a little break and we all got in a line to get our books signed. Honestly I came in there wanting only Lauren Oliver's signature but by the end I also wanted Kendare Blake's too. All the authors were super funny and awesome in their answers and we really got to see their personalities. I could really relate to Kendare though because she seemed very smart but also super lazy. So by the end I also ended up buying Three Dark Crowns, which I actually saw on Bookstagram a lot when it came out, and getting that signed as well. 

The signing process itself took a while but we finally made it. We were kind of sorted by whoever got a ticket and then whoever didn't went to the back of the line, and if the authors had time only then would they sign their books. So I'm super glad I got there early. Oh I also forgot to mention that there was also a prize given away at the end of the discussion portion, it was a bag of all their books, and it was super cool. The winner had a sticky note wrapped on his chair, and he was right in front of me. So obviously I was upset it wasn't me but it's okay the event was super amazing anyways! After we finally got to the front of the line, we had to put our names on the inside cover page so the authors could personalise our signatures. Kendare Blake was first for me and she drew a queen be on mine and wrote to Katia. We also took pictures with all the authors, me and my friend took turns. On the table where the authors were sitting there were also two small bins for Lauren and Kendare with buttons for the two books. I obviously got one of each and they're so cute! Then I came to Lauren Oliver's area of the table and obviously right away started freaking out. My friend had to finish some of my sentences for me because I was stuttering and super nervous. But me and Lauren actually had a legit conversation. 

First when I gave her my book, which didn't have the dust jacket on it, she asked if I took care of my dust jackets. This was the first thing she said to me so I was super hyped that she actually took interest in me and that we were going to have a conversation. I told her the truth, that I read at school and I take all my dust jackets off so they don't get ruined in my bag. She laughed and asked if I read in class, and I replied that I do because I do lmao. Then I told her I love all her books and Panic especially, because that's my favourite book. I asked her what her inspiration for it was. She said that she loves Panic too and that her inspiration was all the stupid things she did as a kid, which is actually so true and I don't know how I didn't see it. But I'm still a little disbelieving that she climbed a cliff and then jumped off it and walked across a highway blindfolded... Then Lauren asked me if I was a writer, and for some reason I said that I'm not. Then I said that I am a blogger and Lauren said "so you are a writer". Anyways, then my friend Julia came up and she got her book signed and we each took pictures with Lauren and then Lauren asked us how we met and Julia told her ski club, which is true. Then Lauren asked if we both ski and I had sooo much trouble saying I snowboard. No joke, my friend had to finish my sentence for me because I was so nervous to be talking to Lauren, finally. I tried to say snowboarding 3 times before Julia just said it for me. ;) I think that we literally stood up there talking to Lauren for a good 6 minutes before I could tell she was getting tired of us. But if you ever read this Lauren, thank you for spending those 6 minutes talking to us, and I hope you'll remember us for next time, the ski club girls. :)

After that we just got the buttons and went down from the stage. (Because when we went we went one by one onto the stage and actually got to talk to the authors while they signed our books) I got a Gemma button, because that's the half of the book I read at that point, and really liked and a button of one of the crowns. Then for some reason, after we left the stage, we got a magazine called Faze and a highlighter from the Indigo Staff, but I felt so happy and hyped that I didn't question anything. Only after when we were driving home I finally looked at the signatures. Kendare's was the same for both of us "It's not easy, being queen" and a drawing of a queen bee but it's okay because Lauren's was different for both of us! AND, she signed it twice, one on each side, because technically it is two books in one. She also made a joke during the discussion that Replica is a good investment as a Christmas gift because it's technically two books so the person you gift it to will ow you two books. Haha! Anyways Lauren's signature on Lyra's side just said "For Katia - Happy Reading, now + always-" but on Gemma's side (The side I read and loved), she wrote "For Katia - Focus on your school missy! I know you are reading in class, ha!" (and her signature twice obviously) When I read the second one I actually died a little inside, I actually laughed out loud. She remembered something when I was talking to her, and instead of just giving a generic one she actually really personalised it. I was soo happy, but I only read this in the car ride home so I couldn't thank her, But thank you so much Lauren! I love you and all your work! <3 

Anyways it was a truly spectacular experience and I highly recommend it! I was also really hoping to go to the next one with Marie Lu. I absolutely loved Legend, even just for the discussion as I haven't read her recent Young Elites Trilogy. But sadly, I'm in Montreal this weekend so I'm not sure I can make, it but I'll try. It's this Sunday. Thank you so much to all my amazing readers for reading and supporting me. Feel free to ask any questions about the event if you're curious or just comment! Love you all!       - Kat Hearts <3

(I will attach picture of the event below, and of my books and signatures, and buttons :) )

Tbr List for October 2016:

Hey Guys! I know I haven't posted my tbr yet, and it's already October 8th, so I thought that I should probably do it. Honestly there are so many amazing books that came out recently and it's really hard to decide what to put on my tbr. Especially since I probably won't have time to read half of them. There are also some books that have been on my tbr for a while that I still haven't read, which is really upsetting, but I guess I'll get to them at some point. This is full not my fault and completely due to my ginormous amount of homework every day and all my clubs and extracurriculars. Sad sad, but they make life more fun! So moving on to my actual tbr! (Note Gr means Goodreads rating):

#1. Replica (Gr: 3.80/5)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins (October 4th, 2016)
(I recently bought this book because I'm going to a signing and I had to, to get a signature. I also loved Panic, Before I fall, and Delirium so I'm hoping this book will be amazing as well. It is also technically two stories which seems super interesting.)





#2. The Lovely Reckless (Gr: 3.96/5)
Author: Kami Garcia
Publisher: Imprint (October 4th, 2016)
(I got an arc of this book from my book club. I'd heard a lot about it before as well, on Bookstagram especially. I was really looking forward to reading it after I got it. I just had so many other books to read so I didn't get to read it before it came out. But hopefully this month, it sounds really good!)





#3. Every Day (Gr: 4.0/5)
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (August 28th, 2012)
(This is the October Book Club book and I am actually super excited, because for once it actually sounds really interesting and I haven't read it yet.)







#4. The Romantics (3.96)
Author: Leah Konen
Publisher: Amulet Books (November 1st, 2016)
(I actually received this book originally on Netgalley, and then I got a hardcopy arc and I'm super thankful as usual. But I also had no time as usual. But I have to read at least one Arc before it actually comes out, so I'll really try to read this asap.)





#5. Put It Out There (Gr: 4.25/5)
Author: D. R. Graham
Publisher: HarperImpulse (HarperCollins) (July 1st, 2016)
(I got an arc of this book on Netgalley and I was super thankful I've just never had the time to read it which is super upsetting. But to be fair I got the arc after it came out.. So I don't feel as bad as I do about You Before Anyone Else which I also got an arc of but never read, for that one I got accepted a week before it was released. So I had barely any time anyways, but I'm planning to read it at some point.)



#6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Gr: 4.45/5)
Author: J. K. Rowling
Publisher: Bloomsbury and Scholastic Inc. (June 21st, 2003)
(*everyone sighs* I know I know, I'm really sorry I am still technically reading this book. I am right in the middle at like 450 pages, and it's sooo long. And I am so busy with school and arcs and book club, that I have no time for such a big commitment. But I am not giving up and I will finish it, even if it has to wait until winter break or something. Hopefully it won't come to that though. *nervously laughs* I just realised that this book has been on my tbr for like 2 months now. Ugh, I really need to finish it and the series. But I'm not actually sure I want to...)

#7. Anna and the French Kiss (Gr: 4.10/5)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (December 2nd, 2010)
(I have wanted to read this book for soooo long, I honestly can't even. Lmao. I've actually been requesting returning, requesting, renewing and then doing it all over again probably since June. I has been on my tbr list every month since I started my blog, and I still haven't read it yet. I guess I don't want to read it that badly, but I'm also super busy with all my arcs and book club books. *sigh*)



#8. The Sea of Tranquillity (Gr: 4.36)
Author: Katja Millay
Publisher: Atria Books (November 13th, 2012)
( The same (library) thing happened with this book as with Anna and the French Kiss, except for I only returned it once I think. One of my friends recommended it to me a while ago. I actually think she told me about it in November of 2015, and it has been on my tbr since then. So sad... :( )





So that is my tbr for October! I'm sorry if it doesn't have that many different books from the previous tbrs because I'm honestly not getting through as many as I would like. Last month I only read Empire of Storms, A Shadow Bright and Burning, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson, sadly. This month I am hoping to get through the first four, and I will have reviews up as soon as I'm done. I am also planning to go to a Lauren Oliver signing for her newest book Replica, next Monday. So I should be posting about that event as well. Thank you to all my amazing readers as usual for reading, until next time, and.... What are you planning to read this month?   -<3 Katia

A Shadow Bright and Burning Review:

Where can I even begin with this book?

So to start off I know I said that I would post the book club post yesterday because I knew I would finish this book soon, but I honestly did not think I would finish it this fast. What can I say? It was just a fantastic book, and I could not put it down! This book was super good and just the perfect mix of fantasy and historical fiction for it to be intriguing yet also have really well planned world building. I especially enjoyed the characters and settings of this book, as well as the plot.

Okay so, A Shadow Bright and Burning has been on my to-read list since June, when I first created a Netgalley account. I first saw it on there as an egalley and obviously freaked out. It was the only book that caught my eye and I really wanted to get accepted for. I absolutely adore ya fantasy and I enjoy a good Victorian novel too. I also saw that on the cover, Victoria Aveyard read this book and said it was good, so I obviously got super excited. I love love love the Red Queen Series and can't wait for King's Cage to come out. Then I never really got accepted or declined for this book which was upsetting, I'm still pending on Netgalley ;(, but it's okay because I got a hardcopy arc of it. Honestly, if you read my escape room post you know how freaking excited I was to finally get my hands on this book. The only reason I didn't read it sooner was because I was reading Empire of Storms which came out two weeks prior to this book. 

Okay so now that you all know the whole story behind this book, let's actually go into the review. This book is about a girl named Henrietta Howel who is thought to be the prophesied one and treated as such. It takes place in Victorian London in a society where sorcerers have the most power, and protect the crown from harm, as well as fight in battles. In this world there are also magicians and witches who are frowned upon because of a terrible past, yet these people are truly no less powerful than sorcerers they're just outlawed, and most were executed. In this world there are also monsters the liked you've never seen before, and I'm not kidding. There are the 7 ancients which are like the very terrible 7 things that come from another world and honestly have no goal other than to raise an army and kill everyone. SO this is a story of Henrietta being told that she was a sorcerer because of her fire powers, she can light herself on fire ( hmhm Aelin reference, ;) ), and her being trained to be presented before the queen. She makes many friends along the way and meets many people who aren't always as they seem at first glance. She also has a best friend named Rook who she protects at all costs and who tries to protect her as well. So now I'm gonna go into more detail regarding the characters, setting, and plot. Also this book actually reminded me a lot of the Clockwork Angel series, which was amazing, because it also had what you can call magicians in it, a character named Magnus (Bane), and took place in London when Queen Victoria ruled just like this book.

Okay so let's start off with the characters. The characters in this book were probably the best part. I really liked how much some characters really developed throughout the story. I especially liked George Blackwood, for some reason I really pictured him as a Henry and really wish that that was his name. But it didn't really matter because for some reason everybody used everyone else's last name, and this really bothered me with Blackwood because it just sounds so weird if you call him that, but it's still better than George. Lol. Anyways I know he was the typical prince charming, bad at first, and then gets better, but in my opinion he was just so sweet and understanding. He just appeared mean at first because he has very high moral codes and stood by them, he really cared about his land and people and didn't want them to get hurt. Closer to the end though, he defended Howel's rights as a woman and that's the point when I think he changed the most. When he told off Magnus, and said that Henrietta was worth 10 of him, I just sighed and though of Cal for some reason. Blackwood and Howel's relationship for some reason really reminds me of Cal and Mare's relationship from Glass Sword. It wasn't great at one point but later got to be a lot more towards friendship and trusting each other with their deepest secrets. Blackwood really changed from his original image of being a self-centered, spoiled, disbelieving, and rude person to actually being one of Henrietta's closest friends, and I knew all along. I believed... Aha. Anyways just one thing I wanted to finish mentioning was that names some of them really bothered me, I think when the last name was short it was okay like Howel and Magnus, especially Magnus, but when it was Blackwood I would really prefer to call him like Henry or something. Henrietta actually called Rook, Rook and George's sister, Eliza not Blackwood. 

So that's a paragraph on my obviously favourite character Blackwood/George. Now I also really like the other boys in her friend group. There was Lambe who was like a seer, he could see things I guess in other places maybe the future, it wasn't really explained. Then there was Wolff, who was a big muscular guy who was very close to Lambe. There was also Dee, who was closer to Howel than the other two and danced with her a few times. And then there's Magnus. I'm no even sure where to start with him. Magnus is the first guy of the 5 to show Henrietta/Howel kindness, he was very nice to her and believed in her. Even though he was an overall nice guy, he did have some faults. For instance, he was a guy who was used to getting what he wanted, and a lot of the time that was girls. He was funny and sweet but he was also described as being pretty hot and just being one of those guys who went after a lot of girls. So at times in the novel I didn't really like him that much. Another really important character was Rook, he was a sweet guy and I never knew where he and Henrietta stood towards each other. At first they are amazingly close friends, who have always looked out for each other, but later I think they start progressing into something more. Tbh Rook kind of scares me sometimes, and he's one of the unclean. The unclean are people who have encountered one of the 7 different monsters called Ancients. They have scars and sometimes are broken, but Rook is not; however Rook does have some really strange connection with the Ancient that left him with scars. There is another character that I really liked at first but later not so much, it was Agrippa. Master Agrippa was the resident sorcerer who "rescued" Henrietta from her, basically, orphanage and brought her to be trained. He is very sweet and emotional, but I also think that loosing his daughter played a big part in harming his mental health. One other character played a major role in this novel; Jenkins Hargrove. He was one of the first people to help Henrietta and he is a magician. Can't say much more without spoilers.

So as you can see there are a number of very interesting and highly enjoyable characters. All these characters are important but what makes it all work is obviously the main character, Henrietta Howel. She is a brave girl who has always felt out of place in her society as a woman, she wants to explore and use her talents for good. She cares about the poor and always tries to be honest and understanding. I absolutely loved her role, and she is an amazing role model. Especially since she completely defies all the rules for woman at that time. She stands up for herself and never gives up, she also wears means clothing at time and never forgets about people less fortunate than her. 

As I mentioned before the setting is Victorian London with sorcerers, magicians, monsters and witches. This gives the book life and makes it more interesting but also more real. I absolutely loved all the different places they went; the woods and gardens, Agrippa's house, the theatre, the prisons, the countryside, and Brimthorn (Howel's original orphanage/home). Everything fit the story just right and all of it made the story only better. The plot of this book was very well planned and written out as well. At first the main focus was on getting commended and being initiated into the English Army, to help fight the Ancients but all the different things that happened and obstacles that Henrietta had to overcome to get there made up the story plot. 

Overall, as you can probably tell this book was a long time coming and I really enjoyed it. It is a must read and it's super easy to get into, I honestly couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed this book and can't wait until book two in this amazing Kingdom of Fire series. This book is written by Jessica Cluess and published by Random House. It is 404 pages and I would give it an 8.7/10 stars. As I said I really enjoyed it but at times I felt like the writing wasn't clear or proper, but other than that it was a wonderful read. Character and world development was phenomenal and I would recommend this book to any Ya fiction, fantasy, or historical fiction lover. And as I mentioned before one way or another I received an arc of this book so I'm super thankful for that. Thank you so much to my library and Random House. And thank you so much to all my wonderful readers!      - <3 Kat

(I especially liked when at the end Henriette's official house sigil is a burning rose, so cute and fitting!)

September Teen Book Club Report:

Hey guys, I know I'm a little late, and I'm so sorry, but I've had sooo much work this week, and 2 tests. It was only a four day week but I'm so happy that it's finally over. So this report/review is on the book club meet we had on September 26th, to discuss Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. I recently re-read this book just for book club and if you want to know what it's about or read my review, you can click here to do that! If you by any chance don't want to read my review or think it's too long, here's a trusty synopsis straight from Goodreads to get you all caught up.

"Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths. From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine. It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical."

So thanks to Goodreads for that amazingly short, yet informative synopsis. (Or to whoever originally wrote it) Moving on to what actually happened at the book club meet.

So as always our wonderful leader librarian, T , brought us cookies and tea but this time there was also hot chocolate. *gasp* I know, and everyone tackled it, obviously. I don't think one person actually had tea, T was surprised and tbh so was I. Then right away we got into who liked it and who didn't. Surprisingly I was one of the only people who had read it before, and who re-read it for book club. I was also one of the only people who actually finished it and liked it, at least somewhat. Everyone else, either has really high standards or just didn't finish it I guess, but most of them just didn't like it. A lot of people said it was just too depressing but at least nobody died. A few people also mentioned how they thought it would get better, but it just never did. I actually disagree, and think that it got a lot better. So overall, a few people said they kind of liked it, but most just said it was depressing and boring, and honestly I can see where they're coming from...

Right after that we started discussing who liked which Will Grayson more. And I was right, WG1 was written by John Green (friends with Tiny), and WG2 was written by David Levithan (friends with Maura). Most people (like 10 out of 12) liked the first one more, me included. But surprisingly the 2 oldest girls and the leader all liked WG2 more. (Btw we have boys in it too) Some people also mentioned how WG2 was emo, and for some reason I completely didn't believe it. Like I don't know why but ya I though he was a little weird and too depressed but I didn't think he was emo, I thought that was just Maura. Then we also talked about how this book talked a lot about how any relationship requires work, and that in life having true friends that you can talk to about anything is important. We also talked about whether or not you have friends who are like burdens to you. Someone also mentioned how both of the Wills were messed up, but Will 1 was less messed up. I think this is because he had more friends who were there for him, and because he had Tiny. On the first page of this book it says "

 "

This quote is what started our whole discussion. Will saying that if he could pick his friends he would never pick Tiny. This is probably because Tiny is a lot of work to look after, and Will himself is falling apart. We started discussing why Tiny is a bad friend as well, and it surprised me how bad of a friend he truly was. Will literally gave up his group of friends for Tiny when he wrote that letter to the school, about Tiny being allowed to be in the change room even if he was gay. Tiny does not appreciate this at all and is very self-centred and many times just forgets about Will. Especially when he is with WG2 he totally doesn't even talk to WG1 which is very rude on his part. Tiny also never really includes Will 1 in conversation, he just lets Will 1 hide behind him, and never asks for his true opinion on important things. Also Tiny is always complaining to WIll about his many boyfriends but when Will complains 1 time to Tiny about Jane, Tiny overreacts and says that Will is super annoying. He even puts it into the play, which seems really rude and unfair to Will. (Btw I just found this page on google books, and a review said that they can relate so much to lowercase Will, and I was so confused until I saw that WG2 wrote everything in lowercase, not a single capital, and I never noticed that. Lmao)

Then T brought up that the play, titled "Hold Me Closer" is actually a published book that David Leviathan published last March (2015). It is a companion novel to Will Grayson, Will Grayson and it called "Hold me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story" but it's written by David Leviathan. This is the most confusing part because we all agreed that Tiny and Will 1 were written by John Green, so how come David Leviathan published the play. I really didn't understand this part at all, because most of the play parts were in Will 1's Pov, which in turn is John Green's writing. We were all very confused until someone said that David Leviathan could've wrote the play and then John Green just used it in his Tiny parts, in WG1's perspective. We also dicussd who really created the character Tiny, and nobody really knew. We guessed it was John Green, but technically David Leviathan could've made that character up or just wrote that whole part. (Note: I googled it, and I was right, John Green did write WG1 but then who wrote Tiny or the play???) But the true story, I guess we'll never know. ;)

Some other things we mentioned were that when WG2 was told to meet "Isaac" at a porn store, some people knew that Isaac was probably not who he said he was. Still nobody actually saw coming that it was Maura all along. We also mentioned that maybe it was fate that brought the two Will Graysons together, because they met in a porn store, but neither one of them actually went there for the right reason. We talked about how everything happens for a reason, and that you can have a connection with anyone, anywhere and how you never know before it happens that it will. WG1 just needed to use his fake Id, and WG2 was meeting Isaac. This is actually a very important point, because if they hadn't met then there would be no real climax, or point where the two stories interconnect. Also they both changed a lot because of this event, and because of how Tiny played a part in both their lives after. We also talked about who had it easier. We all decided that WG2 had it harder because he was poor, he only had one parent, he was gay (and had a problem with coming out), he only had one friend and she was a fake, and he was actually diagnosed with depression. While Will 1 said that he had "such a hard life" but honestly he wasn't poor, he had two loving parents, and he had Tiny, and later Jane. He honestly had a way easier life, he just really liked to complain about it. Someone also mentioned how people who don't care have it better and are "more chill" because they don't get so worked up about it all. WG2 kind of is like this after the Isaac fiasco and comes out to his mom and friends without actually thinking about it and life gets so much easier for him, he now has Gideon and is closer to his mom. We also talked abut how when you get older you don't care as much and take more risks, but by then it might be too late and your life might have passed you by already. So therefore, you should start doing things you want to do and taking more risks at an early age. And some people just give up on life, while others get up every morning and live it with joy, even if they are 102 years old. Not all old people want to die, unlike what someone said, a lot of them want to live and those are the ones who live longer, they make friends and they do exercise, and they're actually happy. Cough Cough Maya. who said that by that age they all just want to die, which is very untrue.

 

Some people also said that they thought that Will 2's depression seems a little too extreme and fake. But in my opinion everybody's different and everyone experiences' mental illnesses differently. People exaggerate so that nobody gets offended, or can't relate; authors sometimes overestimate things just so that they seem more over-exaggerated then under-exaggerated. Which is always worse, because then people also complain that it's not realistic enough, and they get even more mad because it is an unrealistic portrayal or there very real illness. There was also a question asked about how hard it is to reach out to people that can help you, and we all agreed that it is pretty tough. You can only really talk to your parents, but sometimes you just don't want to or they can't actually help you. We also mentioned how neither Will Grayson actually reached out to anybody for help, and maybe that's why they suffered so much. Also it was discussed how Guidance counsellors are supposed to be there to help you with your problems, but they never really are. They're only there to deal with your school issues with classes but even them you can't always get in touch with them.  

So overall, as you can see our hour long discussion was very deep and meaningful this time around. I think it was mainly because the book had a lot of themes to discuss like fate, depression, and true friendship. These are the monthly recommendations as per usual: 

~ Such a Pretty Girl -- Laura Wiess

~ The Lovely Bones -- Alice Sebold

~ Empire of Storms (me) -- Sarah J. Maas

~ An Abundance of Katherines -- John Green

~ The Raven King -- Maggie Stiefvater

~ The Games -- Ted Kosmatka

~ All the Truth that's in me -- Julie Berry

That's a summary of our meeting for September. For the month of October we are reading Everyday by David Leviathan, and I am actually really looking forward to it. I also really want to read "Hold Me Closer" now, maybe I'll add it to my October tbr. I will probably post my October tbr sometime this week or next, because I am currently reading A Shadow Bright and Burning and I'm almost done, and it's amazing, and I have to post my review for it first. That's actually half the reason why I finally posted this book club post, because I knew I would post that one as soon a I finished and If I didn't post this one I might never end up posting it. Lmao.  Anothe thing that came up, was that apparently there's going to be a Looking for Alaska movie, and Imdb says that it will come out in 2017. Well there's already one for Paper Towns and The fault in our stars, why not. Let there be more John Green movies, *cringe*, I really did not like Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns for that matter... Oh well. And can you believe it's already October? Anyways thanks so much for reading! 

- <3 Katia