24 in 48 Readathon WRAP UP!

So, in the month of January, I almost didn’t do any readathons, but decided to do this one VERY last minute! This readathon was interesting because the only challenge was to read a total of 24 hours over a 48 hour period. While that doesn’t sound hard, it really was! So let’s check out how I did!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer – Michelle Hodkin // Book REVIEW

I always thought that if I read the Mara Dyer trilogy I’d either love it or hate it. So obviously I bought the entire box set. Was the buy worth it? Let’s find out!

GOODREADS PAGE

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

GENRE – Horror

RATING – PG13 (Some intense scenes, some sexual scenes and innuendos. TRIGGER WARNING – Sexual Assault )

LENGTH – 452 pages

PUBLICATION DATE – 9 / 27 / 11

October WRAP UP!

I had a pretty great reading month, in October. Not only did I finish one of my favorite series, I started a new series, and participated in my first readathon.

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell || Book REVIEW

I have heard great things about Rainbow Rowell’s works for YEARS, but never picked any up. So, when I saw Fangirl at my local library, I picked it up ASAP! Did I like it as much as everyone else? Let’s find out!

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park. A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Rating – PG13 (Some language and intense scenes)

Publication Date – September 10, 2013

Length – 445 pages

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The Good:

• I related to the book more than I expected I ever would. I feel like the media always portrays college to be this explosion of fun and friendship and that honestly just hasn’t been my experience. I believe that Rowell may have made Cath and Wren to show what college is like for two kinds of people (Introverts and Extroverts) so that there was an accurate representation for most college students.
• Seriously though some of the experiences that Cath went through was so relatable to me, as a college student who also posts written content on the internet. I think this is an important read for those who are have experienced university, or are planning on in the near future.
• I liked the relationship between sisters and their parents. Although I haven’t ever experienced what Cath went through, in regards to her family life, I felt for her and recognized that it may be ultra relatable and helpful to others.

The Meh:

• The story wasn’t that interesting to me, in the end. I was intrigued while reading, but when I finished, I was underwhelmed. I knew this was a story less about having a huge ending and more about being relatable, but there was something that happened at the very end that I think was supposed to invoke an emotional reaction, but I didn’t really care. Maybe I just wasn’t invested enough.

The Bad:

• The dialogue was some times just bad. Like cringe-worthy to say the least. I love cheesy contemporary romances, but this one sometimes went too far. Thinking about this makes me uncomfortable.
• What’s cringier than the dialogue? Cath’s actions once she is in her relationship. AH! There was a scene where she is in her boyfriends room (y’all know the one) and I had to take a break from the cringe. It really bothered me.

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• STORY – 4.5/5 (Pretty good. I like the accurate representation of college life, but didn’t make an impact on me.)
• CHARACTERS – 3.5/5 (Character personalities were interesting and realistic, but their actions made me want to cringe into a pretzel.)
• WRITING – 3/5 (Average, but again CRINGE)
• UNIQUENESS – 4/5 (Accurate representation of college and internet life made it stand out to me as something different.)

ALL IN ALL I GIVE THIS 3.75 SIMON SNOW FAN FICS OUT OF 5!

 

Have you read this book? What did you think about it? I’d love to know! Also, so sorry about not posting for a couple weeks…I just needed a little break to get myself together and couldn’t fit this into my schedule. I am back now though! Look forward to a Music This Month, a couple videos, and my Quarterly wrap up coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

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Check out my last post on my review of A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab HERE!