Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like More / Less Than I Did

BOOKS I THOUGHT I WOULD LIKE MORE (BUT DIDN'T)

1.   THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J Maas: I'm a big fan of the novellas, but the novel let me down a bit. Perhaps I'll like it more when I reread it.

2.   REQUIEM by Lauren Oliver: A good story, but that ending killed it for me. Too little is answered, and I'm still angry at the lack of answers.

3.   BEAUTY QUEENS by Libba Bray: I loved GOING BOVINE and really like the Gemma Doyle books, but this one was only okay for me. Such a shame.

4.   IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin: I don't think I'm a fan of this author's writing style, because a lot of other people loved this book, and I could barely stand to read the entire thing.

5.   THE BEGINNING OF AFTER by Jennifer Castle: I really thought I was going to love this book, but it ended up being sort of average.

BOOKS I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T LIKE (BUT DID)

6.   THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green: Why did I doubt you, John Green? Excellent voice, lovely writing, and a heartbreaking story. I feel like an idiot for thinking I wouldn't like it.

7.   STORM by Brigid Kemmerer: I normally don't expect much from a novel published by a small press, but this book was so much better than I expected. A few flaws, but such a fun read! Plus, it's filled with incredible characters, like the lovable Merrick boys :)

8.   BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young: The strange way that it is written almost made me give up, and I'm glad that I didn't. This book is filled with complex characters and exciting, action-packed moments.

9.   ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake: Ghosts, fun friends, gory scenes, and a great MC - why did I originally doubt I would like this book?

10.   WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard: I liked LIKE MANDARIN, but wasn't expecting this book to be anything special. It was. I adore this book, especially the artwork.

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish
Image from The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books I'd Like To See Made Into A Movie

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I'd Like To See Made Into A Movie

 

1.  Across the Universe by Beth Revis - A murder mystery set in a spaceship! Totally movie material.

2.  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - Thrilling, surprising, and intriguing....it would be great.

 

3.  Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Wouldn't this make a fascinating movie? Action, adventure, romance, mystery, tough heroine...it's perfect!

4.  Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta - Yet another story I'd love to see come to life. Such great characters in this one!

 

5.  Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard - A fantastic travel story. I'd love to see all the different foreign locations in this one on a movie screen!

6.  Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkisn - Awesome, fun, and Paris :)

7.  Rampant by Diana Peterfreund - Killer unicorns. Enough said.

8.  Divergent by Veronica Roth - Yes, I chose this partially because of Four. Plus, exciting book = exciting movie (well, usually).

9.  Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Yet again with the foreign countries and magical places that I love to see come to life. Especially Brimstone's shop!

10.  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - The circus! This one could actually be pretty good as a film.

What book do you want to see as a movie? 

Images from GoodreadsTTT image from Broke and Bookish

In My Mailbox (75)

IMM is hosted by The Story Siren

(Last month or so of books)

 For Review (unsolicited)
Journey to the Fringe by Kelli Swofford Nielson
Eventide by Tracy and Laura Hickman

Purchased - Printed Books
(autographed & personalized to me) 
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Hold Still by Nina LaCour
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Purchased - Printed Books
Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Purchased - Kindle

The Assassin and the Desert by Sarah J. Maas
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

Purchased - Audiobooks
Divergent by Veronica Roth
(narrated by Emma Galvin - and it's so, so good!)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
(narrated by Jim Dale)

What did you get?

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Wanderlove 
Kirsten Hubbard
Release: March 13th, 2012
Pages: 335 (hardcover)Publisher: Delacorte BooksSource: Netgalley

It all begins with a stupid question: Are you a Global Vagabond? 
No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. 
Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves...read more at Goodreads.  

Sometimes you have to lose yourself in order to discover who you are and exactly what you're capable of. For Bria Sandoval, she hopes to find the newer, better version of herself in Central America. Only, her original plans go astray when she decides to follow Starling and Rowan through the more interesting (and so not in a tour brochure) parts of Central America. Along the way, Bria finds that there's more to discover than she originally realized....

I liked Kirsten Hubbard's debut, Like Mandarin, and I expected something similar for her sophomore novel...and it blew me away. Like petals from a dandelion floating in the wind, I was simply along for the ride when reading this lively story. Wanderlove is the story Hubbard was meant to write, and it's easy to see that she put heart and soul into this story. The narrator, Bria, is likable from the start, and her growth throughout her journeys only adds to that. The locations are wonderfully depicted, and my imagination ran wild with them. Simply put, Wanderlove has easily become one of my favorite novels. 
Highlights: The artwork gives Bria and Wanderlove more depth and uniqueness¹. Every aspect rings true - every single character, each exotic location, and even the story itself. Rowan and Starling revealed themselves to be more layered than I originally gave them credit for. An inspiring story, lovely writing, endearing characters - everything is a highlight in Wanderlove.
Lowlights: Predictable moments? Nearly every contemporary novel has predictable moments, so I can't fault this story for that.   
Rating: 
1 I wish there had been more drawings, because I loved them so much. Why can't all novels have drawings?


Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and Nobles / The Book Depository

In My Mailbox 55

***

For Review (Netgalley)

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (it has drawings - so cool!)

Zero by Tom Leveen

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (!!)

Eve by Anna Carey

Kindle Freebies 

Waterfall by Lisa Bergren

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and HarperCollins for providing the ebooks for review!

What did you get this week?

Waiting On Wednesday

WOW is hosted by Breaking the Spine

Book: Like Mandarin

Author: Kirsten Hubbard

Release date: March, 2011

Summary:

It's hard to find beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming. Fourteen-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it's not her mother's pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances and pickup trucks adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild girl Mandarin Ramey: seventeen, shameless and utterly carefree.

Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin.

When the misfits are united for a project, they embark on an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town's animal-head trophies, and constantly searching for someplace magic. Grace even plays along when Mandarin suggests they make a pact to run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds that plague their badlands town.

But all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin's unique beauty hides a girl who's troubled, broken and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, even the best friendships can't withstand betrayal.

This one sounds like an interesting story, I'm already curious about Mandarin and what makes her so intriguing....