Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
I wasn´t really sure about this novel because there were plenty of good reviews and it was recommended to me by all kinds of different apps, such as iBooks, Amazon and even Barnes and Nobles. Yet when I finally started reading it, a lot of negative reviews started popping on the internet, which left me very confused, but it did make me curious to find out why everyone was having such mixed feelings.
When I started reading the novel I quickly realized that I wasn´t very interested in the plot as I thought I would be, yet I did push myself to continue reading because I believed that I would eventually end up liking the characters, but in reality I didn´t and I started thinking that there were too many scenes that were forced.
The novel narrates the days following a barbeque evening, where Clementine and Sam were invited by Oliver and Erika to their neighbor's, Vid and Tiffany, barbeque. Yet, something happens during the dinner and none of the people leave the place being the person they were before.
In the beginning, I felt like the story was going to be more inclined towards the different couples that meet for dinner, yet the truth is that this story is much deeper than that. For instance, Clementine and Erika have been best friends since they were younger, but that only happened because Erika comes from a family that isn´t willing to take care of her, therefore, Clementine is forced to shelter her as a friend, even though most people would think that they are truly best friends, although neither of them actually like each other and they are simply bound together like most family relationships, where there is an unbreakable connection that makes them see each other every now and then as if they truly enjoyed each other´s company.
On the other hand, something that I truly enjoyed about the novel was seeing the relationships in the novel and the different characters that were introduced.
My favorite couple was Sam and Clementine because they shared a different connection than the other relationships, where they both came from completely different worlds, yet they understood each other so perfectly. What I liked the most about them was that they were the most realistic representation of a marriage in the novel, they exhibited the falling in and out of love and the way marriage works for most people. Also, this is going to sound really really weird, but I loved Sam´s character and the small things that he did.
I found Oliver and Erika´s relationship much more mature, which made me realize that mature relationship where similar people are together are much less interesting than others. Oliver was depicted as the perfect husband, but I felt like he didn´t deserve Erika, who I disliked very much because I found her to be too selfish and she never thought about other people´s feelings as much as she did with hers.
Lastly, Vid and Tiffany were never really the center of attention in the novel, although the roots of the story were literally planted in their yard because they were never really mentioned or when they were, their relationship was never exhibited as the others.
One of my favorite things about the novel, aside from the characters, where the different themes that the author experienced throughout the novel. I loved that she was able to include so many different aspects of life such as marriage, work, children, death, accidents and of course, that certain feeling of anger that we all experience in our lives towards ourselves for not preventing certain things or for taking the decisions that we took, and those "what ifs...?" that follow us every day.
In conclusion, there were many many things that I actually liked about this novel like the characters, the relationships, the different themes and the vague plot, and I would´ve loved to give it 5 stars, but truthfully, there were many characters that I disliked and also the way some of them were not even included as much as the other characters. Yet, I will say that I found Truly Madly Guilty to be insightful and inspiring to be read by someone that is still growing up because it made me realize that human emotions and relationships are much more complex that one expects.
4 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
I have been in love with this book for so many years that it simply feels natural for me to talk about it. My love for this novel is so deep that I can still remember the time that I first saw it at the Grove's Barnes and Nobles in California. Honestly, this book is much more than you think, when I was first reading it, I thought that this would be a simple romance novel, yet as I continued I discovered that this novel talked about so much more, which I will be talking about later on in this review. Also, I have been so obsessed with this novel that I have tried so hard to find similar novels, which have led me to novels like Romancing the Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney and The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, which have only made me realize that this novel is such a precious gem.
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan tells the story of Rebecca Porter or simply "Bex," who is just starting the school year at Oxford, yes, England, after she decided to take a year abroad from Cornell, where her twin sister, Lacy is still at. On her first day, she meets a rather handsome young man that goes by the name of Nicholas, simply known as Nick or AKA Steve as his friends call him when they are in public. Both bond over a conversation about monarchs with syphilis before Bex realizes that Nick is the future heir of the country. In the place where she is staying, she meets the people that will end up becoming her best friends. There's Cilla, Gaz, Joss, and Clive, who also happen to be Nick's best friends. On the other hand, it is almost inevitable for Bex and Nick to fall in love with each other, I mean, they binge-watch a series together almost every night, yet their love is simply not meant to be because Nick's already dating India and of course, Bex has been snogging Clive, literally Nick's best friend. The group goes through so many adventures and creates so many memories that as the story goes, you will feel like you are part of the group as well.
I want to start by talking about the characters because I simply loved them so much! I love how Bex is someone that really doesn't care about gossip or royalty because it creates funnier scenes, like the syphilis scene. Although I did hate whenever she was being impulsive. I loved Nick because he portrayed vulnerability in certain scenes, while he was also seen as a prize by girls and simply as a friend by the other main characters. I really liked how the authors really emphasized on Nick's background and lifestyle, even though he was seen as a normal person by the group of friends because they gave us so much more of the character, which made me love him even more! As much as I love Bex and Nick, my favorite characters were Cilla and Gaz because they were SO funny that I cried due to the laughter. I loved Cilla's stories and Gaz' comments.
On the other hand, I absolutely loved how this is basically royalty. I loved how they truly portray the lifestyles and the people, like Nick's family, including his father and his brother, Freddie, who I also love very much! I adored how the authors touched a lot on the things that you would expect in a royal family, like the pressure and the useless things that people can do for show or drama.
I truly think that this book has made me become obsessed with the royals as much as they are! (FYI: the authors run a site called Go Fug Yourself, which I am obsessed with now as well). In the beginning, I truly didn't care at all about royals, yet now I am simply fascinated by their lifestyle.
Also, I believe that Nick, Bex, and Freddie being inspired by William, Kate, and Harry is just a plus!
Something that I was not expecting from this novel was the many topics that it covers. I loved how they really emphasize on family, enemies, dreams, friends, love, jealousy, expectations and the unexpected. Although the novel is really long, you will feel like the novel is so short because of the so many different stories that are included.
From the first page all the way to the last one, I was hooked, so much that I became obsessed with the audiobook and I still listen to it all the time, although I will admit that I only replay the scenes that I like, like the karaoke scene and the one that they talk about seeing Cats! If you're going to read the novel, be on the lookout for those!
Lastly, I want to congratulate the authors because they did an exceptional job with this novel. They were able to take such a complex world and narrate it in an incredible and not only heart-warming, but inspiring because this novel really made me want to try the unexpected and new things, just like Bex did when she moved to the other side of the world, to be something that her sister wasn't and to find herself in the world. Also, this novel has really made me wish that college is as fun as they describe it here, although I believe that it depends on the friendships that accompany me.
I truly recommend The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan because it is witty, smart, fun and includes charming characters that will enter your heart from the very first time that they appear on paper!
5 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
Just as expected, I loved this book. It is a romantic comedy novel and it was written by Julie James, the author of The Thing About Love, which I LOVED! I aspire to become an attorney, so when I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew that I had to read this novel, and I liked it!
Payton is a successful attorney, in fact, she is extremely good at her job, but so is JD, the one person that she hates the most. They are always competing day to day in simple tasks like who gets there first in the morning, but they will soon face the biggest competition that they could ever expect. They both want to become a partner at the law firm that they have been working on for years. Truly, there is no difference between who has worked harder, both have worked until late and both have succeeded in trials, but regardless, they still have to prove who will be better. And of course, when both Payton and JD are presented with the opportunities to sabotage the other, they will take, leading us to hilarious scenes that will make you have a good and hearty laugh.
I know that the summary that I am providing this time is really short, but this novel doesn´t really have much to say about. I mean, its plot is very limited and the book itself is pretty short. Yet, that doesn´t make it bad, if anything, it actually made it better because it was a quick read, simple, easy to comprehend, very thorough and it was charming in its own way without dragging the plot too much.
I do want to point out that I had very high expectations for this novel because I have read The Thing About Love by the same author, Julie James, and I loved it! So much that I have already read it several times. And I will say that this novel didn´t disappoint. This book will have a lower review, but that´s just a matter of me not staying with the novel so much because this novel delivered every aspect that it was wanting to portray and show.
Regarding the characters, I really liked them, but they didn´t really feel special like the others. I liked that they were pretty human-like. The characters truly brought a different aspect of life that at this age, I think is very important, but people don´t seem to mind, which is the whole topic of college and money. I really liked that the characters came from different financial backgrounds and brought different mindsets.
Another thing that I thought was very interesting was the way their relationship was. I think that the characters don´t really mind the other character like some characters do in some novels, which lead us to characters that connected after a while and not right away in the assignment as the others.
The only thing that I disliked was the way the scenes felt and the nature of the things that were happening. I thought that some parts were very forced.
On the other hand, my favorite part of the novel was how funny it was! I am still laughing about some of the scenes while I am writing this review. I honestly laughed so much that I still remember them and I even laugh in the middle of the night. So, truly brace yourself because you are going to be dying of laughter with this one!
I also loved that she displayed the hardships of being a certain gender because even today, I know that being a female that aspires to become an attorney is seen as different since it is still a career that is considered for men. S, it was interesting to see something so close to me represented in this novel, which was shocking given the fact that this novel was published in 2009, almost ten years ago! It was truly interesting to see how little the field has changed in all these years.
Lastly, regarding the writing. I just absolutely love James´ writing because she has this amazing way of combining hilarious, dramatic, melancholic and even powerful scenes to create a true masterpiece.
I apologize that this review is so short, but I truly recommend Practice Makes Perfect because it is a short novel that will make you laugh and cry, both at the same time! I´m warning you! You will have to pick up this novel when you have a free schedule because you are not going to be able to put down this novel!
4 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
How (Not) to Marry a Duke by Felicia Kingsley
First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this novel. This is one of the first NetGalley books that I have received since I have started to blog. And, I would also like to apologize for giving such a low rating for this novel.
As unexpected as it might sound, I was unable to actually finish this novel because I was too stressed and bored to continue and this novel.
This is a story about an arranged marriage. Well... sort of. Jemma Pears is the daughter of a hippie couple and by hippie, I mean that they are always naked in the house and they believe that they are spiritually connected to each other. So, yeah. Jemma´s grandmother has refused to be a direct part of the family, but she did leave certain instructions before she passed away. Jemma was to inherit billions, yet she could only get the money by marrying a man with a title, which is going to be extremely difficult for her since she isn´t the normal type. She likes hot salsa dancers and she is never holding back with her words.
On the other hand, Ashford, the Duke of Burlingham, is now in a big financial trouble. He has just inherited the family name, yet he barely discovered that he is to pay millions and if he doesn´t soon, he will be arrested. And he won´t let his mother, the crazy noble-woman, know because she will DIE.
So, Jemma and Ashford are united by a common friend/worker that they have and they are to get married just for the money.
When I first requested this title, I was sure that this was the type of novel that I would love. I mean, they are obviously going to hate each other because they are completely different and of course they were going to fall in love and of course there was going to be a lot of drama, especially because there was a crazy old woman that was going to hate Jemma so much.
But, honestly, this novel didn´t meet my expectations.
First, I want to talk about the things that I actually enjoyed about this novel.
As I stated before, the plot promised me that it was going to be a fun and refreshing story, one that would make me feel good and happy. I think the plot itself is extremely fun and it is a good one, it´s just that the way it was executed was bad.
Another thing that I liked was that it included the two points of view, which allowed each of the characters to have a voice and it also made the story much more special and funny in different aspects since the characters were different.
On the other hand, there were many things that I disliked. For instance, the start is rather slow to be considered a short, romantic comedy novel. It literally took me like 30% of the novel to get to the part where they have to start living together. Yet, on top of that, the start is very boring. Imagine if the story is both boring and slow! I had to force myself to continue the novel and I told myself that I would do so at least until I reached the part where they were forced to live together since it was going to be inevitable for them to be together and of course, that would´ve led to some character and relationship development.
In addition, the characters were really annoying to read about because they are literally walking stereotypes. In this world, Ashford is cocky and a horrible human being just because he has some money and a title, Jemma has a horrible fashion sense because she was brought up by hippie parents, and of course, because Jemma´s parents are "hippies," they walk around the house naked and of course, Ashford´s mother is completely horrible because she only knows about class and ranks.
Also, I really want to mention how the characters are annoying in the sense that their tones are always extremely childish and that they don´t really care about anything else rather than themselves.
Lastly, I think that since they were obviously depending on each other, Jemma and Ashford could´ve handled the situation better, keeping in mind that they are adults that have more than 25 years.
I have given this novel a very low score, but I want to mention that it is because I highly disliked this novel, yet I did keep in account the good things or the things that I enjoyed about this novel.
1 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
I have been wanting to review things related to
books for some time now, but as a high school student, I don´t really have the funds to get several things to start reviewing, so I was incredibly lucky to be able to work with Murder, She Sent to get this month´s box to review!
I want to give them my most sincere thank yous for trusting in me for this review. I think the way they were able to help me really displayed how much they care for the customer service and how much they are willing to help book lovers, this was also displayed with the meticulous way the box was prepared.
First of all, the box is beautiful! When I first got it in the mail, I was so excited to open it and be able to see which exciting things they had packed for me! I truly believe that if I were to get boxes like this every month, I would always be looking forward to them because they are the happy kind of surprises.
I really liked the way this box subscription worked because what they do is that they find a theme for the box, which has to do with the book that they sending that month and then they find items that could go along with that theme. So, for instance, for the August box, the theme was S´mores and in the box, I got all different kind of cute items.
My box included:
- A super cute handmade and delicious-smelling, soap.
- Adorable s´mores keychain.
- A patch that has made me like patches.
- Super cute bracelet
- A S´mores survival kit, which is adorable, that includes a small kit to make some s´mores.
- The novel: S´more Murders, by Maya Corrigan
- A signed bookmark by Maya Corrigan
So, as you can see, the small box includes a lot of things and I overall very impressed with the box.
the box costs $35, which can be a little more expensive than other boxes, but they do include a lot of things that are hand-made and you can clearly notice it once you get the box.
I believe my favorite thing about it was the shredded book pages that they had in each box! I thought that it was super creative and at the same time adorable!
I truly recommend this suscirption box because their items truly show that they care about what they do in every item that was sent and they are very easy to be in contact with, which only demonstrates that they really care about their customers.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
The Thing About Love by Julie James
I don´t know why, but I have always found the FBI world so fascinating! I believe that it all started when I read Beautiful Redemption from the Maddox Brothers by Jamie McGuire.But besides my weird fascination with the FBI, I have always wanted to read more romantic comedy novels, so after reading Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, I started looking for them as a crazy lady and of course, after digging the internet for weeks and months, I came across with Julie James, the greatest writer of attorney/FBI romantic novels.
The Thing About Love tells the story of FBI agent Jessica Harlow, who moves to Chicago, her hometown, looking for a fresh start after a divorce from a famous Hollywood producer in Los Angeles. On the other hand, we have John Shepherd, who decides to start working in Chicago, his hometown, before going to the privileged Hostage Rescue Team after he was cheated by his girlfriend.
Agent Harlow and agent Shepherd are introduced in a meeting with their supervisor, where he tells them that they will be working in an undercover assignment to trap a Florida politician. But there is so much more to their relationship. They already met in the Academy, where they started hating each other. Yet, regardless of what happened in the past, the two agents must work together to bring the politician down and get their assignment done.
Okay, so I want to start talking about the plot. The story of characters falling in love after they have hated each other for many many years has been used a lot! In fact, I literally stumbled upon this novel after reading one that has the exact same development, yet this novel brings me such joy as it is being told. I loved how the one thing that makes it different, literally takes the story to a whole new level, that being that they are both FBI agents. I admired the way James was able to find a balance between relationship progress, action/FBI scenes and of course, hilarious moments. The Thing About Love narrates so many different stories as it goes on that it is really easy to be hooked. I mean, the backstories of the characters are great and the way their relationship started in the Academy is entertaining as well. On the other hand, the current story regarding the politician project is even more exciting because they will take you throughout the action-packed investigation, all while including their hilarious bickering in almost every scene. A promise that I can make is that you will find this novel super interesting and it will keep you entertained for hours.
Another thing that I absolutely loved about this novel is the characters because of course Jessica and John were incredible and love both very much, but the surrounding characters are also great and they create even funnier scenes, like how they are always fighting over their law schools. As I said, I really liked the way John and Jessica were created, meaning that I loved their backstories and the way that they acted because they were so logical and perceptive, like I want for characters.
Also, I loved their relationship and the way that James exhibited a relationship with people that wanted more for the other than for themselves and the way that she truly showed the ways that people lie and sacrifice things for the other person really made this relationship much stronger and even a little more realistic. It was very entertaining to see how their bickering turned into interest and then into the eventual relationship that they have.
A bonus point for this novel was the way that they talk about genders in their work field because I believe that it is something that is relevant that would happen in real life and seeing it portrayed in the novel made it much more realistic and created more well-rounded characters. Also, it was very funny the way they mocked FBI novels because they were literally in one.
Julie James truly took all the funny scenes and the action scenes and turned them into so much more and into things that really had a purpose for the story development.
I 100% recommend The Thing About love by Julie James because it is funny, action-packed, realistic, romantic and it truly takes the reader to a crazy FBI journey.
5 out of 5 stars
Love, Sua
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
This is the third time that I have the first novel of the series. I read it for the first time a couple of weeks after it came out and I completely fell in love with it, I was charmed by the different abilities of the characters and by the simple, yet different welcoming that the author offered us from the very beginning. The relationship that I have with this book made me go above and beyond that, I completely fell in love with the way the three main characters worked and progressed throughout the novel. A year afterward, Glass Sword came out and I read the first book once again before reading the new installment and once again I was completely lost in this dystopian, yet fantastical world. So, two years forward, I have decided that since the series ended, it was time for me to take the time once again and re-enter the world that became so dear to me. Now that I read it years later, I did notice different aspects of it that have made me simply enjoy more the story.
Red Queen happens in a country that we come to know as Nortia, its society is divided in two: Silvers and Reds, these being the color of the people´s blood. Yet, Silvers have different abilities, some families are able to control fire, enter people´s minds or even control metal. Our main character, Mare, is a Red and as a consequence, her family is extremely poor, which is the common life for Reds. All of Mare´s brothers have been sent to war as a consequence of them not being able to find a job and Mare is sure that her fate is the same since she wasn´t able to get a job and cooperates to her household by stealing from other people, specially Silvers. By her desperate attempt to save not only herself but her best friend, she makes the choice to connect with people that are working in the underground market and she soon realizes that there is a whole new world out there that is trying to make a change for the society. Yet, Mare moves on with her life and her life completely changes when she meets a young man that she was about to steal from. After somehow getting a job at the palace, Mare´s life changes when she realizes that she is completely different from what she was thinking. She has the complete power to control lighting.
First, I want to talk about Aveyard´s incredible way of narrating and writing a novel. The first thing that has caught my attention every single time that I have read this novel is the intricate way in which she describes and exhibits, not only Nortia but the society that they live in. She is able to take this complex bubble, which holds a whole world, and presents it in a way that every single detail seems fascinating, and I truly believe that it has nothing to do with the story being super creative, which it is, but it has to do completely with the fact that her writing is just so incredible because the words that she uses makes it seem as if it was real.
Also, I loved the perfect mix she was able to get between romance and action, meaning that it wasn´t just too full of action or dramatic scenes like most dystopian novels do, but it had several romantic scenes that made me swoon over the two princes that I absolutely love at the moment. Something that I want to point out is that since she was able to reach a balance between the different type of scenes, we did get only a few scenes for each prince, but those were just so memorable and showcased them greatly that I believe that any more scenes would have been too much. Also, Aveyard did a great job giving the stepbrothers a distinction because every word and movement that was narrated matched the character, which I thought would be very hard to achieve in a novel that is so complex as this one.
Red Queen is pretty fast paced and I really enjoyed that because I don´t like following the same problem over and over again, so Aveyard was always able to keep my mind going and wandering around the different problems and important scenes that were happening throughout the novel.
I think the only thing that I felt a little disappointed with was that it followed the typical dystopian pattern. In the sense that it first introduced everything and then, problems and more problems happened and several of them were pretty easy to predict beforehand and the surprise factor was not always present, but I do understand that dystopian novels are harder to write and therefore, the similar pattern is usually the easiest way to get the novel done.
On the other hand, I want to discuss the characters. I am not going to talk a lot about them since I preferred to discover different aspects of their personalities as the story went on since they all have only small scenes throughout the novel that truly make them shine. But I would like to mention that I absolutely adored the different powers that each house had and the way those powers changed their personalities and the way they acted regarding their surroundings.
I think I didn´t hate Mare, I just disliked her because she is like other dystopian female leads. She acts without thinking about things and later blaming herself and she is too headstrong, which causes her to get into trouble and get emotionally hurt. Yet, I highly enjoyed her personal comments because they were usually funny and it felt nice to be able to laugh after going through so much with the characters and the atmosphere.
Lastly, I want to mention how I found it so detailed the ways that the characters were planned because every single detail about each one of them was so intricate that it truly enhanced the reading experience for me.
Overall, Red Queen is a super creative, fun and swoony first installment to a series that will take you to another world, which you will find fascinating and inspiring after following characters that are sometimes heartwarming and other times heartwrenching, all while delivering to give you laughs and tears.
4 1/2 out of 5 Stars
Love, Sua
I wasn´t really sure about this novel because there were plenty of good reviews and it was recommended to me by all kinds of different apps, such as iBooks, Amazon and even Barnes and Nobles. Yet when I finally started reading it, a lot of negative reviews started popping on the internet, which left me very confused, but it did make me curious to find out why everyone was having such mixed feelings. 
