End of Year Book Survey 2017

December 30, 2017December 31, 2017 fangirlfury8 Comments

It’s reading & blogging reflection time! The End of Year Book Survey is created by Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner, and I’m really excited to participating in this creative & fun way to reflect back on 2017. I’m going to do my best to not use the same books for each answer, but here’s a sorry, but not sorry warning for the abundance of Vicious love.

Number of Books I Read: 91
Number of Re-Reads: 2
Genre I Read The Most From: Contemporary

1. Best Book You Read In 2017? Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t? They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I love Adam Silvera and while I didn’t dislike They Both Die at the End, it just didn’t live up to the hype for me.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? Good surprise here! Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley. Whenever I saw someone talk about Words in Deep Blue in their TBR posts, I screamed at encouraged them to pick it up soon.

5. Best series you started in 2017? Best Sequel of 2017? Best Series Ender of 2017?

Best series: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Best sequel: Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Best series ender: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2017?

Debut author: Sandhya Menon

New-to me author: Francesca Zappia

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Thriller- There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Warcross by Marie Lu fits all three categories for me!

9. Book You Read In 2017 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Vicious by V.E. Schwab and Warcross by Marie Lu in anticipation for their sequels.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2017?

TOO MANY CHOICES, BUT HERE’S ONE SO THAT YOUR FINGERS DON’T CRAMP TOO MUCH: The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie Sue-Hitchcock

11. Most memorable character of 2017?

Mitch from Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I’ll always remember a character who likes chocolate milk.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2017?

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2017?

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2017 to finally read?

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2017?

THIS HAMILTON-ESQUE PASSAGE FROM ALWAYS AND FOREVER, LARA JEAN

“In truth, if Kitty’s anyone, she’s a Jefferson. Wily, stylish, quick with a comeback. Margot’s an Angelica, no question. She’s been sailing her own ship since she was a little girl. She’s always known who she was and what she wanted. I suppose I’m an Eliza, though I’d much rather be an Angelica. In truth,I’m probably And Peggy. But I don’t want to be the And Peggy of my own story. I want to be the Hamilton” (102).

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2017?

Shortest: Passing by Nella Larsen (122 pages)

Longest: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (705 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGiniis

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Nesta and Cassian from the A Court of Thorn and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Aled and Frances from Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2017 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

My Not-So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

21. Best Book You Read In 2017 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Recommendation courtesy of EVERYONE

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2017?

Max from The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I picked up The Start of Me and You after loving The Names They Gave Us and it ended up being one of my favorite books of the summer (*insert wistful & fond memories of me floating around the pool reading this one here*)

23. Best 2017 debut you read?

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Warcross by Marie Lu.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

I Believe in a Thing Caled Love by Maureen Goo

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2017?

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2017?

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Mauren Goo. PLEASE DON’T MAKE APPA SAD.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2017?

Super Space Chick

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2017?

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

My Experience Seeing Hamilton

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

Book Con 2017

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2017?

STARTING my blog

Going to ALL the book signings – Book Con (Rainbow Rowell, Marie Lu, Adam Silvera, Meg Kassel, E.Lockhart, Sarah J. Maas, Jenny Han, McCall Hoyle), Jacqueline Woodson, and Jennifer E. Smith

Receiving an ARC of I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott from Kensington Books

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

~~Choosing to read over doing schoolwork~~…Balancing college life with my reading and blogging life.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

My Saturday at Book Con 2017

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

My Experience Seeing Waitress the Musical

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I don’t have any myself, but bookish Funko Pops. I love seeing posts from Page with a Pop in my Instagram feed.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed my goal of reading at least 58 book this year, meaning that I’ve read over 200 books from 2015 to 2017

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2017 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2018?

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2018 (non-debut)?

Just one answer for this question is not applicable.

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Vengeful by VE Schwab

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

3. 2018 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2018?

Warcross #2 by Marie Lu

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2018?

Every reader’s dream: Find more bookshelf space

6. A 2018 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen

Thank you for supporting Fangirl Fury. I hope you have happy & healthy New Year filled with plenty of books and adventures.

I COULDN’T JUST PICK 17: MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2017

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 fangirlfury5 Comments

I originally wanted to make this post my top 17 of 2017, but when you read 80+ plus books in a year of FANTASTIC new releases and out of those 80+, the majority of them were pretty spectacular, it’s hard to choose just 17. I’m actually quite happy to have an abundance of favorites this year, considering that I only had 8 favorites last year. For the sake of your fingers not getting too cramped from scrolling through my post, I’m not going to describe each book below, but I’ll of course link to my review if I have one, and I decided to categorize my favorites because organization can be fun!!

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If I were to label 2017, one of the ways in which I would so would be to call 2017 the year of Hamilton part 2 (maybe part 3 in 2018??), with many thanks going to these two:

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

2017 was the year where I finally read a Victoria/V.E. Schwab and I fell in love with these two:

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

AND DON’T EXPECT ME TO STOP SCREAMING ALL MY FEELS FOR VICIOUS BECAUSE VENEGEFUL IS APPROACHING!

I spent so much time at the beach and by the pool this summer, and I always had a book in tow. I think rereading these favorites now would transport me right back to summer:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Some of my favorite and most-popular YA authors have come out with amazing books over the past two years, and I especially loved these ones:

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Warcross by Marie Lu

No matter how busy my life at college is, I always find time to read and I read these favorites during the semester:

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Meet Me at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan

I admit that it has taken me a bit of time to come up with my 2017 favorites list because I’ve been going back and forth on what my #1 favorite book of the year has been. I’ve mostly debated between 3 books: Warcross, Little Fires Everywhere, and the winner, which is…

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

I am just so happy with the conclusion to the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy and I’m so happy that Jenny Han wrote this book. I felt that I related to Lara Jean the most in Always and Forever, Lara Jean and I honestly just love everything about this series—here’s to a reread in 2018!

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As 2017 comes to a close, I’d like to thank you for supporting Fangirl Fury. I hope that you have a happy, healthy & safe New Year.

To Challenge or Not to Challenge: POPSUGAR Reading Challenge 2018

December 28, 2017December 26, 2017 fangirlfury2 Comments

As 2018 comes a bit closer, it’s time to start thinking about reading goals or challenges for the new year! This will be my fourth year participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, where users can challenge themselves to a read a self-designated number of books over the year. While I participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, I never stress over it because I tend to set my reading goal to what I know I can easily read over a year—the point is to not stress myself out over reading. However, there is one challenge that is increasingly coming into my mind for 2018: the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.

The POPSUGAR Reading Challenge is an annual reading challenge hosted by POPSUGAR, a media and entertainment website. The goal of their reading challenge is to read 50 books based off 50 different book prompts, such as “a book with your favorite color in the title” or “a book mentioned in another book”. This year is a tad different in that the list is separated into two sections: the first section has 40 prompts that necessarily aren’t too difficult to complete, and the second section has 10 advanced prompts that are harder to complete, like “a bestseller from the year you graduated high school” or “a book with a fruit or vegetable in the title”.

Like me, you may be debating if you’ll participate in the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. I am not sure if I’m going to do the challenge myself, as I don’t want to stress myself out trying to find books based on the prompts or read books that I really have no interest in picking up. For me, I know I would probably have trouble finding a book that fits “true crime” or “a microhistory”. I am also a really big mood reader—I’m not going to read a fantasy when all I want is a cute, contemporary love story—so I might have difficulty with some of the prompts based on what I really want to read. However, one of the purposes of the challenge is to push yourself to read books that you normally wouldn’t read, in hopes that you’ll find a new favorite. Ultimately, by doing the challenge, you’ll diversify your reading.

The main reason why I might participate in the challenge is because there a ton of creative prompts, including “ a book that was borrowed or given to you as a gift” and “a book that involves a bookstore or library”, as well as prompts that are quite easy to do: “a past Goodreads Choice Awards Winner” or “a book that you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to”. I am also not intimidated by the fact that the challenge encourages you to read 50 books (even though you could definitely double count books if you wanted to!), as I’ve read well over 50 books each year for the past couple of years.

In the end, I think I am going to participate in the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, but not stress myself out over hitting all 50 prompts. The prompts overall will really help change up my reading, and I already have books on my TBR that I know will fulfill some of them!

Are you participating in the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge or any other reading challenges? Share in the comments!

Top Five Wednesday: 2018 Wishlist (Ft. 2017 Inspirations)

December 27, 2017December 22, 2017 fangirlfury13 Comments

While I already have an on-going list of 2018 book releases, today’s Top Five Wednesday is more-so a wish list featuring the types of books that I’d like to see more of in the New Year.My 2018 Wishlist is mostly inspired by books that I’ve read in 2017 that my heart and TBR crave.

Books featuring positive female friendships – I feel like 2017 had a bunch of awesome books featuring positive female friendships— friendships where in the beginning, girls are not pitied against one another, competing over a guy, etc.—and I would love to see this trend thrive on in 2018. Some 2017 releases that come to my mind include Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, Something Like Happy by Eva Woods, and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon.

Summery contemporaries – Contemporary is my favorite genre to begin with, but add summer AND I’LL BE THERE BEFORE YOU CAN GRAB YOUR BEACH CHAIR AND SUNGLASSES! I think I enjoy contemporaries that take place in the summer so much because not only is summer my favorite season, but I also tend to love the situations or settings most characters get to experience in the season, from being a camp counselor to escaping to the family beach house. My favorite summer contemporary released in 2017 is hands-down The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord.

Books about college students– This wish mainly comes from the fact that I am currently a college student myself, and I admit that I am starting to get a bit tired of the more high school dilemmas set in some contemporary YA books. I think I won’t find this category in YA as much as I might find it in new adult or adult reads. My favorite 2017 release where our main characters were college students is We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

YA Books featuring feminism – This wish is 100% inspired by Jennifer Mathieu’s Moxie. Moxie focuses on a feminist revolution in a small-town, Texas high school and was such an empowering read (and it also featured positive female friendships). I think Moxie has really set the bar for more books about feminism to be released in the young-adult market.

Series Finales– Okay, so this might be cheating the prompt just a bit, but there are so many series conclusions coming out in 2018 that my TBR has been waiting for–I’m taking about you, Throne of Glass #7. Aside from Sarah J. Maas’s last ToG book, I’m highly anticipating the sequel to Marie Lu’s Warcross and Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. My favorite series finale in 2017 was of course, Jenny Han’s Always and Forever, Lara Jean.

Top 5 Wednesday is a collaborative group of book bloggers from various platforms who love sharing lists on Wednesdays. The T5W group can be found here on Goodreads.

The Great British Bake Off Book Tag

December 26, 2017December 22, 2017 fangirlfury3 Comments

During the winter and holiday season, one of my favorite things to do is to cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate and a baking show. I love a lot of the baking shows on Food Network, especially their Baking Championship series (Holiday BC is my favorite). I’ve of course watched The Great British Bake Off on Netflix—I’ve noticed that British baking shows are a lot calmer than American ones—so when Rebecca of mylifeasasportsfangirl tagged me to do The Great British Bake Off Book Tag, I knew I was in for a treat!The Great British Bake Off Book Tag was created by Zaheerah of Zaheerah Khalik.

Amateur Baker: A book that is self-published

*raises hand in acknowledgement that they’ve been a bad bookworm in that they can’t come up with a self-published book that they’ve read*

The best answer I can come up with is Switched by Amanda Hocking, who previously self-published her work before signing with traditional publishing companies.

Soggy Bottom: A book that had a great start but disappointing ending

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo. The ending just felt so rushed and like a quick way to end the book without having to explain the affect effect (vague but no spoilers here!).

#Bingate: A book that you grew frustrated with and had to DNF

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco. I’m just going to refer to my Goodreads review thoughts:

Stalking Jack the Ripper has received A TON of hype in the book blogging community and there’s been much hype and anticipation over its sequel, Hunting Prince Dracula. Unfortunately, this book did not at all live up to the hype for me. I couldn’t stand Audrey Rose (for such an intelligent girl, her POV read way more younger than her age), I didn’t really find much interest in anyone besides Thomas– there is also a big cast of characters because of the murders and victims that I often lost track of who was who, Audrey’s father was completely stubborn and illogical (I don’t care that this is the late 1800s and women are supposed to listen to a man’s word, Audrey should’ve walked out of the house way before she actually did),and the story is just so slow moving.

It also tried to add diversity but it didn’t work so well- Audrey talks about how her mom is Indian once and how they used to eat Indian dishes when they were younger and maybe mentions once how her skin is sort’ve dark but that’s all we get?? Additionally, I agree with the feeling that Audrey felt like a girl transported from the 21st century to 1880s England. Audrey, wearing pants isn’t going to help you fight against the controlling men in your life.

The only components I did enjoy about the book was how it took place in the past (I’ve been reading a lot of books lately set during our time) and the circus chapters. As you can tell, this book was just not my cup of tea.

Junior Bakeoff: A children’s book

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child. I was absolutely obsessed with Clarice Bean in middle school. I think I still have those books store away with my Junie B. Jones books.

A Hollywood Handshake: A book that impressed you

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee. This book just covers SO much—sexuality, friendship, romance, family, Youtube/online content creation, and more.

Signature Challenge: A book that you would recommend to your friends and family

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I actually recently recommended this one to my friends who was interested in reading more books set during World War II.

Technical Challenge: Books that you picked up without knowing too much beforehand, ranking them from worst to best.

Nemesis by Brendan Reich

The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Graynor and Heather Webb

A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck

Showstopper Challenge: A book/series that is your all-time favorite

One of my all-time favorite series is the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. I really need to reread these series, as this was one of the first fantasy series I ever picked up in middle school. My copy of Inkheart might be a bit battered from carrying it back and forth to school.

The Finalists: A Favorite Trilogy

Legend by Marie Lu

An Extra Slice: A Favorite Companion Book

Just One More Night by Gayle Forman. This tag is making me remember some of my all-time favorite series, like Gayle Forman’s Just One Day series (and I’m also realzing how many books I need to reread). It’s important to note that Just One More Night takes place AFTER Just One Day and Just One Year.

I tag:

Courtney from buried in a bookshelf

Sara from The Book Cycle

Dani from Perspective of a Writer

Do you like to watch baking shows? What about reading books about baking? Share in the comments!

A Festive Review: My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff

December 23, 2017December 21, 2017 fangirlfury2 Comments

Summary: Charlie plans everything possible in her life, from scheduling her free time to co-editing the school newspaper with her best friend. What else does Charlie plan? Finding the perfect Secret Santa gifts in hopes of winning over Teo Ortiz, the perfect guy for her—star athlete, National Honor Society member—but the only problem? He doesn’t know Charlie exists. Enter J.D. Ortiz, Teo’s cousin, who is the complete opposite of Teo and Charlie—late to everything, disorganized, and the most annoying person Charlie’s ever met. But J.D. knows Teo better than Charlie, and with his help, Charlie’s plan for a Christmas romance may actually work.

My Star Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

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My Thoughts:

My festive reading continues this month with Shani Petroff’s My New Crush Gave to Me! Before getting into the holiday aspects of the novel, I want to talk about the book itself. The story is a bit fast-paced, as Charlie is in crunch-time mode to find the perfect Secret Santa gifts for Teo in time to ask him to Noelle’s birthday party. The speed of the plot by no means negatively affected my opinion of the novel, as we have the perfect amount of time to see Charlie and J.D.’s friendship develop. I also loved Charlie and Morgan’s friendship (yay positive female friendships!), and I liked seeing Charlie’s relationship with her mom. As a character, I liked Charlie—she was a bit typical YA protagonist (perfectionist, good student, etc.) –, but I think J.D. stole the show for me, between his humor and his care for Charlie. The book is a tad predictable in the romance department, but I did enjoy seeing Charlie and J.D. warm up to each other more and more. I thought Morgan really balanced out Charlie, and reading about their baking business was one of my favorite parts of the novel!

So how festive is My New Crush Gave to Me?

On a scale from 1 to 10, I have to give the book a 10 for its festive, Christmas vibes! Throughout the novel, Charlie is hoping for some sort of perfect Christmas, as her Christmas at home is different this year with her mom taking on a more-time consuming job at the hospital. With receiving J.D.’s help for her Secret Santa gifts, Charlie gets to celebrate old and new Christmas traditions, from decorating the Christmas tree and gingerbread house to going caroling for the first time. We also get to experience Hanukah, as Morgan and her boyfriend, Ira, celebrate the holiday. I think Charlie and friends decorating the tree with J.D.’s family was my favorite scene in the novel.

Overall, My New Crush Gave to Me was a fun, Christmas-themed read that’s perfect for the holiday season. If you enjoy Christmas movies and books with rom-com vibes, this one is for you!

I was sent My New Crush Gave to Me by Swoon Reads. By no means does this affect my rating or opinion of the novel.

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Have you read any festive reads this holiday season? Have you read My New Crush Gave to Me? Share in the comments!

My Most Anticipated 2018 Winter Releases

December 22, 2017January 2, 2019 fangirlfury7 Comments

2017 was an amazing year for book releases and it seems that 2018 is going to be no exception! Listed below are my most anticipated book releases for this January and February!

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu – January 2^nd– You had me at new Marie Lu novel. Mari Lu’s Batman: Nightwalker is the second book in the DC Icons series. In all honesty, I don’t know too much about Batman, but I am excited to see Marie’s take on a young-adult Bruce Wayne.

A Taxonomy of Love by Rachael Allen– January 9^th– A Taxonomy of Love is a young adult contemporary novel following the life of Spencer, a teenage boy who has Tourette’s syndrome. I’ve heard nothing but positive things from reviewers who have read the book already, as A Taxonomy of Love emphasizes family, friendship and what it’s like to have Tourette’s.

Review: Solitaire by Alice Oseman

December 21, 2017December 15, 2017 fangirlfury3 Comments

Summary: Tori Spring likes to blog and sleep, and that’s all she’s interested in these days. Until one day she follows a trail of Post-its from her locker to the computer lab, where she finds a message from Solitaire, a mysterious group that seems to be taking over the school. At first, Solitaire’s pranks seem like fun and games, but they soon start going too far. Tori doesn’t know what to do with Solitaire, her family, her friends, and let alone her new, unexpected friendship with Michael Holden.

My Rating: 2.5/ 5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I loved Alice Oseman’s novel, Radio Silence, this summer (I’m still angry at my past self for not writing a full review), and I knew I had to pick up her debut novel, Solitaire. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Solitaire nearly as much as I enjoyed Radio Silence.

Let’s talk about the cover. There is no cover lust here today, as the US cover is completely lacking compared to the UK edition. As you might be able to see from the photo above (mind you I also read a bit battered copy from the library), there isn’t a lot going on in the US cover, and if you really hold the book up to the light, you can see the gray writing above the book’s title. It reads, “This is the story of Tori, Michael, Becky, Lucas, Charlie, And the year that changed everything.” First of all, this story is about TORI. Yes, our other characters are each facing their own issues, but the story is centered around and told by Tori, who is struggling with her mental health. ALSO THIS BOOK DOES NOT TAKE PLACE OVER A YEAR. This is probably a smaller detail to get angry about, but the book takes place over two months max.

Moving on, let’s talk about the book itself and what I did enjoy. Even at 350 or so pages, the book was quite easy to fly through, with its short chapters. Solitaire features LGBT representation and mental health awareness between many of the characters in the book, especially Charlie and Tori. I also actually liked Tori and Michael Holden’s friendship and prayed that it would not turn into a romance. Everyone thought that Michael was this really quirky guy, and well it may be a bit true, HE’S THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND TORI AND COULD HELP HER. Additionally, as stated in her author blurb, Alice Oseman wrote Solitaire when she was 17 and I feel that was really evident in her pop culture references, which I really enjoyed! There were a lot of references to Harry Potter, video games like Mario Kart and Sonic, Star Wars, and more.

Unfortunately, I disliked Solitaire more than the elements that I did enjoy. It took me about one hundred pages to get into the novel, and I finally got into it because Tori and Michael started to form an actual friendship at Becky’s party. I think I had so much trouble connecting to the book because I couldn’t connect to Tori and her friends. Becky, Evelyn and the others in Tori’s friend group were quite annoying, but I don’t know if they were portrayed this way because Tori frankly didn’t like them all that much and the book is told in her POV. Additionally, we know from early on in the novel that Tori’s brother, Charlie, has mental illness, but we learn that Tori is having mental health problems throughout the story, and she often goes to dark places in her mind that I can’t personally relate to. I feel that someone who may or may have experienced similar issues to Tori could relate to her more than I did.

I know that Solitaire is a young-adult novel and all of the characters within the book are between fifteen and seventeen years old, but to me, they felt so young to be dealing with these problems on their own, between Solitaire and their mental health. Thinking back, Tori probably didn’t go to her parents or her teachers because she felt that they wouldn’t understand what she was going through. However, I think Tori’s parents, who do have while small, a presence in the novel, wanted to help their daughter, as they were often helping Charlie. Tori just wouldn’t let them in. I also felt bad for Tori in that she was often responsible for taking care or looking after Charlie in situations where she wasn’t feeling too great herself.

In the end, I would recommend Solitaire to people who are interested in YA books about mental health. Blogging does play part in the novel, but more so in the Solitaire ‘game’ ‘s plot. Tori often mentions how much she loves her blog, but we don’t really get to see her actually working on it.

Have you read Solitaire? Share in the comments!

Top Five Wednesday: My Top 5 Books of 2017 (With a Twist)

December 20, 2017December 14, 2017 fangirlfury3 Comments

Today’s Top Five Wednesday asks us to list our absolute favorite books of 2017, however, I want to hold off giving you guys my top favorite books of 2017 post for a bit longer. I admit that I’m having a teeny bit of trouble coming up with my favorites list because I’VE READ SO MANY GOOD BOOKS THIS YEAR!

Anyway, I still really want to do today’s T5W so I’m going to give you my top five favorite books in five different categories that I’ve created. I thought this would be a fun way to do today’s topic, as well as try to help myself determine my favorite books of the year.

Favorite Fantasy: I think this one’s going to be on many favorites list this year and it quite deserves its spot—A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Mass. I admit that this book was not perfect (see my review for more details, since I don’t want to spoil anyone), but I loved this next chapter in Feyre’s story and I was captivated by how Sarah expands the ACOTAR world—the meeting with all the Courts was my favorite scene.

Favorite Book Featuring Fandom: I picked up quite a few books this year that focused on fandoms, but the one that absolutely stole my heart was Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia. This book gave me the closest feelings to what I felt while reading Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl ,and I think the best way to show you my Eliza and Her Monsters feels is what I wrote in my Goodreads’ review right after I finished:

In short: I loveeeeddddd this so much

REALITY: I LOVED THIS SO MUCH, YES I’VE READ BOOKS ABOUT FANDOM AND ONLINE CONTENT SINCE RAINBOW ROWELL’S FANGIRL BUT THIS IS WHAT MY SOUL NEEDED. EVERYONE NEEDS THIS BOOK IN THEIR LIFE, I LOVE ELIZA, I LOVE HER STORY, I LOVE DAVY, I LOVE MONSTROUS SEA. I COULD’T SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THIS BOOK OR THIS STORY (one of my favorite 24 hr Reads).

Favorite Classic: This category is evidence that I, Haley of Fangirl Fury, read more than one classic book this year in which I can complete this category. And I am super proud to announce that I read this book on my own, WITHOUT ANY SCHOOL SYLLABUS TO PRESSURE OR FORCE ME TO: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I really enjoyed Sylvia Plath’s writing style because her voice felt like the book could have been written in this decade–I often have trouble connecting to the jargonish writing style of many 19^th and early 20^th century classics.

Favorite Book that has a TV or Film adaptation: Another title that I think will reign on many favorites’ list includes Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I wanted to watch Big Little Lies so badly since it stars an amazing female cast, including one of my faves, Reese Witherspoon. But with many adaptations I follow, I knew I had to read the book first.

Favorite Book that I Bought at a Library Sale- I took advantage of my library’s book sales this year especially, and my favorite one that I read this year is One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (there had to be a British contemporary somewhere!). I found a paperback version of the book that was in like-new condition, and I really enjoyed this one about family and a road-trip.

Top 5 Wednesday is a collaborative group of book bloggers from various platforms who love sharing lists on Wednesdays. The T5W group can be found here on Goodreads.

Review: Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Graynor and Heather Webb

December 18, 2017December 16, 2017 fangirlfury1 Comment

Summary: It’s August 1914 in England, as Evie watches her brother, Will, and his best friend,Tom, leave to fight in the war. Everyone’s convinced that their boys will be back by Christmas time, and Evie dreams of celebrating the holiday with Will and Tom in Paris. But as months and years go by with the war raging on, Tom, Evie and others grow closer than ever through letters, telegrams, newspaper columns and more. Decades later, Tom returns to Paris to read one final letter, with his and Evie’s past history from the Great War in tow.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

I’ve been craving books surrounding Christmas this December, and Last Christmas in Paris appealed to two of my favorite things: Christmas and historical fiction. The book centers around World War I, as Will and Tom go off to fight in the war, leaving Evie in England with her best friend, Alice. I found Last Christmas in Paris through the Reese Witherspoon Bookclub, which I am part of here on Goodreads.

I really enjoyed Last Christmas in Paris for its unique format, as the book is primarily told through letters between Tom and Evie, as well as exchanges between other characters in the novel through letters and telegrams. I liked the way that Heather Webb and Hazel Graynor were able to weave and connect multiple subplots within this format. We see Tom and Will love and struggle with life as soliders. We see Evie wish she was at the Front herself, as Alice leaves for the war herself. We see Tom try to run his father’s newspaper from the Front, which allowed me to learn about how propaganda and newspapers were influenced by the British government during WWI. I actually read A Last Christmas In Paris over the weekend I was studying for my history exam on the World Wars, so reading the book was a pretty cool way for me to prep for my final. If only my professor would’ve allowed me to cite it as historical evidence!

So how Christmas-y is Last Christmas in Paris?

On a scale from 1 to 10, I say that Last Christmas in Paris gets a 7 for being Christmas-y. The novel is spilt into 4 parts, which each part designating a year of the war, and before we dive into the letters, we see Tom celebrating Christmas in Paris 50 years after the war has ended. I really liked these narrative sections from Tom because they were quite festive, and they helped glue what we were learning in the letters together. Throughout the letters, we do have the characters talking about Christmas, but more so when the holiday is approaching. I think the book would have had a larger emphasis on Christmas if the book only focused on one year of the war, with Tom and Evie wishing to reunite for the holiday

Overall, I enjoyed Last Christmas in Paris for its unique story on World War I. It took me a little while to get into the format and writing style, but as I mentioned before, I liked how the subplots were able to contribute to the overall plot of the novel (sorry, no spoilers for you!). I didn’t necessarily love Last Christmas in Paris because there were times that the story did drag a bit, and it’s not necessarily a book that will stick with me for a long time—I’ll most likely remember as a quick, historical fiction read on World War I.

Have you read Last Christmas in Paris? Share in the comments!