The Love Hypothesis

Title:  The Love Hypothesis

Author:  Ali Hazelwood

Publisher:  Berkley Books

Date Published:  September 14, 2021

Genre:  Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    Fake dating is plaguing my life right now. I don't know why, but I feel like it is everywhere. 

-    Olive's ex-boyfriend and best friend are attracted to one another, but Olive's friend doesn't want to hurt Olive by dating her ex, so Olive impulsively kisses a random guy in the hallway to make her friend think she has moved on. I don't understand the logic, but whatever. The guy she kissed is a professor who is renown for being an unapproachable jerk. Of course the random professor decides to help her with the ruse, and of course they fall in love. 

-    I didn't hate the romance, in fact I really liked Olive and Adam as a couple, but I didn't like the fake dating trope. 

-    Yes, I crushed on Adam. It helped that from his description, I pictured him as Richard Armitage, so ya. His good looks combined with his undying loyalty, silent longing, and sexy protectiveness made for a very crush worthy guy. 

-    I'm not one for erotic books, and I was unaware of the sex scene. It was a little too steamy for me. I know we are supposed to read outside our comfort zones, but I'm okay not being that intimate with other's relations. 

-    I loved the book setting, and I loved the representation of women in STEM. 

-    I'm glad I finally got around to reading this book, but I think it is over-hyped. *ducks projectiles*

My Thoughts in a GIF:

The Iron Knight

Title:  The Iron Knight

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Series:  The Iron Fey #4

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Date Published:  October 26, 2011

Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    Ash is determined to be reunited with Meghan, and he will travel to the end of the world to do it. Puck and a few companions join him on his journey. 

-    I keep going back and forth on if I think this book is needed in the series. Yes, because the ending of The Iron Queen left me wondering if Ash and Meghan would ever be together again, and it was a tough loose end to swallow. No, because I don't think this story needed to be a whole novel by itself. I think it could have fit into the collection of novella stories, and I would have been happy. Either way, I'm glad I read this.

-    I loved the trials Ash had to face to find his soul. It made me wonder what really makes us human: frailty, emotions, limitations, etc. It was a cool thing to explore. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Previous Books in the Series:

  

(covers are linked)

Top Ten Tuesday

  

Created by The Broke and The Bookish in June 2010 and moved to The Artsy Reader Girl in Jan 2018

Top Ten Books With Your Favorite Trope/Theme a Green Cover

I couldn't come up with a favorite trope or theme, so I went rogue this week. It is March, and I always feel like green is March's color, so I decided to share some greenish cover love.

Thanks for stopping by!

Take luck!

Happy reading!

Rook

Title:  Rook

Author:  Sharon Cameron

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Date Published:  April 28, 2015

Genre:  Young Adult, Distoptian

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    In what used to be Paris, a mysterious do-gooder named The Red Rook, is saving people from execution. Yes, exactly like The Scarlet Pimpernel. I don't think this was a reimagining or a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel, but the story was definitely influenced by the classic book. Instead of historical France during the French revolution, this story takes place in a futuristic world where technology is frowned upon because it brought about a horrible catastrophe. 

-    I liked the story overall, but it was too long. I think I would have enjoyed it more if some slower parts had been cut. 

-    Sophia made for a perfect Red Rook. She was constantly underestimated because she is a girl. I liked how Sophia used society's misogyny to her advantage. I also loved her cleverness and determination. 

-    I didn't get too attached to any of the characters, I liked Sophia well enough, but I didn't care of anyone else.

-    I don't know why, but I'm not enjoying YA books as much as I used to. Lately, I've been gravitating more towards adult and middle grade.

My Thoughts in a GIF:

Cyrano

 

My Thoughts:

-    I love the original play, so when I saw they were doing a musical adaptation, I knew I had to see it. 

-    Sadly, I missed the first 15 min of the movie because I was being held hostage at the car dealership. Why do they always take forever! Grrr!!

-    The story is so beautiful and heart wrenching. I loved it! I also loved all the humor they threw in. There are some very funny moments. 

-    Dinklage's performance was so good! He has such a rich and deep voice. I didn't know he could sing.

-    Visually, it was very appealing. Musically . . .it was okay. I didn't love all the singers, and I didn't love all the songs. Some of the songs. . .were a little cringy. The villain song was really bad and awkward. In a few of the songs, some of the lyrics were silly and crammed into the melody. Some songs were really good though. It was a very weird mix. 

-    Some of the dances seemed out of place and weird. I wanted to giggle when these people were holding loaves of bread in the air and moving around in a circle.

-    I'm glad I saw this in the theater. Yes, I'd like to see it again, especially the beginning. Yes, I've listened to the soundtrack, and my feelings about the songs haven't changed.

My Thoughts in a GIF:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Title:  The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Author:  Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher:  Algonquin Books

Date Published:  April 1, 2014

Genre:  Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    I don't have the adequate thoughts or words to describe how incredible this book is. It's amazing!

-    A.J. Fikry is a grumpy widower who is set in his ways. He owns a small book store in a small secluded town. His highly sought after and highly valuable book by Edgar Allan Poe gets stolen, and it starts a chain of events that changes Fikry's life for the better. 

-    I loved Fikry. His character development was heartwarming and gave me all the feels. I loved his interactions with Maya, Amelia, and everyone else.

-    The emotions! I cried, I laughed, I got frustrated, and everything else. I was so immersed in this story.  

-    This book is a champion for books. There are so many wonderful quotes and messages for book lovers. There were so many times I wanted to stand up and yell, "YES! EXACTLY!" 

-    I don't know what else to say. Read it! It is amazing! Thank you Jenny for recommending it. I wish I had read it sooner. 

My Thoughts in a GIF:

No Library Month

 

I'm sure you can relate, but I have a lot of books, and I look at them every day, and they are just begging to be read. I want to read them, but I always have a big stack of library books that need to be read because of the impending due date. The library books always get priority, and my lovely friends on my shelves never get read. I decided to have no library months every now and then, so I can read my books. 

For the month of March, I will return all the library books in my home, and I will not check out any library books. Then I can focus on the books I own and love. I'm actually really excited to revisit some old friends.

My only exception is my book club book, but every other book I read in March will come from my personal library. 

What do you think of this idea? Are any of you interested in joining my no library months? If I get enough interest, I was thinking of making an event out of it. I'm not sure how often I will do it, but I'm hoping for at least twice a year. 

February Recap

 Books Read:  13

Pages Read:  3,837

1 Star:  0

2 Stars:  0

3 Stars:  5

4 Stars:  6

5 Stars:  2

Favorite Book of the Month:

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Can you believe it is March already? I know February is a short month, but geez. I thought I had more days.

My reading slowed down a little bit. I've been playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It is a lot of fun. I still find time to read though, and I'm so grateful for audiobooks. 

Goal Progress:

Goodreads Challenge - I am 13 books ahead of schedule! (32/125)

Newbery Award Winners - I didn't finish any in February, but I started one. I really need to focus more on these. (1/20)

Re-Read Books - I re-read 5 books in February. Not too shabby. (6/20)

Book Club Books - I didn't know if I wanted to re-read To All The Boys I've Loved Before, but I did, and it counted for two of my goals this year, so yay! (2/10)

As always, thanks for stopping by.

You're amazing! Have a fantabulous day!

Happy reading!

Once Upon a Tim

Title:  Once Upon a Tim

Author:  Stuart Gibbs

Illustrator:  Stacy Curtis

Publisher:  Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Date Published:  March 1, 2022

Genre:  Middle Grade, Fantasy, Humor

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts:

-    I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

-    Tim is a peasant, but he doesn't want to be a peasant, and his only other option is to become a knight. His best friend, Belinda, isn't happy with her position in life either, so they both decide to go to the knight tryouts for Prince Ruprecht. He is going on a quest to save a princess from a horrible monster, and he needs knights to accompany him.

-    Tim is the narrator of the story, and he breaks the 4th wall all the time. It is hilarious. He also refers to modern things throughout the story. It is like he knows he is in a book, but he also understands the world outside and likes to refer to it, so he can relate to the reader.

-    Tim likes to educate the readers by giving them "IQ Boosters." These are large words that Tim will define for the reader. He even uses them in sentences, and he is quite clever with his examples. 

-    The book is so much fun, and it is a riot. I read this out loud to Gnome, and we stopped and laughed every time we sat down to read together. Gnome will still quote little pieces of the book to me, and we have a good laugh.

My Thoughts in a GIF: 

Fan Art Friday

Like so many people, I am truly saddened by the passing of Gail Halvorsen, a.k.a. The Candy Bomber and Uncle Wiggly Wings. I can only imagine the celebration he received in heaven. I'm sure it was amazing. He was definitely one of those "good and faithful servants."

Col. Halvorsen is my dad's hero, so I grew up hearing stories about the famous Candy Bomber. Once you get him going, my dad could talk about Col. Halvorsen for forever, and there will always be tears involved. 

When I got the news of The Candy Bomber's death, I called my dad right away to tell him. He was heartbroken. As we talked, I could hear his sniffles, and I knew he was trying to hold back tears. My dad just kept saying how much he did for America and Germany, and how much he helped heal our relations. Gail Halvorsen has left quite a legacy. 

I didn't know if I could find any fan art, but I was able to find a couple pieces. Enjoy!

This was created by Garth Glazier. I love the iconic picture of Gail Halvorsen and the colorful candy falling from the sky. Glazier goes through a step by step guide on how he created this piece. It is really cool.

This artwork, crazily enough, is a political cartoon. You can find it at politicalcartoons.com. The link wasn't working for me, sorry. I love how this art depicts The Candy Bomber flying into the clouds.