Book Review: Summer Days and Summer Nights

Author: Stephanie Perkins (and various others – each listed by their story below)

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Publication Date: May 17, 2016

400 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

After reading My True Love Gave to Me, a collection of short stories edited by Stephanie Perkins, last year, I was super excited to hear that she was doing another collection. Everything from the cover to the list of contributing authors had me looking forward to a wonderfully sweet and fun collections of romance-y stories perfect for summer. It wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. There were several stories that I LOVED (Leigh Bardugo’s was probably my favorite) but quite a few that I did not like. I’ve broken it down by story below.

“Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail” by Leigh Bardugo: Pretty cool! I like romantic stories that have a bit of fantasy mixed it. I totally love Eli. Bizarre but in the absolute best way. Just further proves how much I love Leigh Bardugo’s writing. What a perfect way to start the anthology.

“The End of Love” by Nina LaCour: Her writing is so wonderful and sweet. This one was lovely. So good to have LGBTQIAP+ representation, but like LaCour’s Everything Leads to You, it’s not an issue in the story. It just is.

“Last Stand at the Cinegore” by Libba Bray: Meh. I wanted to like it more than I did. Kinda cheesy, and not in a good way. The plot is a bit muddled and the humor didn’t make me laugh.

“Sick Pleasure” by Francesca Lia Block: Not really what I was expecting. Not exactly bad either. You feel like you’re in a daze for the whole story and it’s not really all that happy. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing?

“In Ninety Minutes, Turn North” by Stephanie Perkins: Obviously cute but rather predictable. I adored North and Marigold in the first book, so I was looking forward to seeing them again, but the story was one of those “Will they/won’t they?” kind of stories, which was pointless. I obviously love Stephanie’s writing, but it wasn’t as good as I was hoping.

“Souvenirs” by Tim Federle: Sadder than I was expecting but I liked it. Realistic. I’ve decided that I just really like Tim Federle’s writing style. I know a few people who don’t like the way he writes or his characters, but I’m drawn to them. I’m not sure if I can really articulate why. They have a bit of dry humor and personality that I like.

“Inertia” by Veronica Roth: What an interesting concept. It was the only story in the book that was sci-fi, which was cool. I don’t think I really connected to the characters in the way that I should have, but the idea was too cool to not like it.

“Love is the Last Resort” by Jon Skovron: Super unique. I could see this as a movie in the vein of The Grand Budapest Hotel. I don’t know if you guys have ever watched that movie or other Wes Anderson movies, but the dialogue and plot are kind of…awkward and strange but in this wonderfully funny way that totally works. At least for me.

“Good Luck and Farewell” by Brandy Colbert: Lots of feels in this one. I liked the diversity, families, and love – both romantic and not. I haven’t read anything by Brandy before, but it makes me want to pick up Pointe.

“Brand New Attraction” by Cassandra Clare: I’ll be honest. I didn’t even finish this story. I don’t know why Cassandra Clare has this weird obsession with incest, but it grosses me out. Direct quote from the story: “He reminded me of a cup of coffee: wet, hot, and bitter. I tried to decide if it was immoral to lust after your step-cousin. I figured it wasn’t. We weren’t actually related. No shared blood.” Just…why?

“A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong” by Jennifer E. Smith: Cute and awkward and adorable. I love Jennifer E. Smith’s books, and I could definitely see this one being an entire novel. I wish it was, tbh. I liked that the love interest was different.

“The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” by Lev Grossman: Unique and interesting. The end wraps up too quickly though. Must like Veronica Roth’s, the idea behind this one made me like it so much because of how unique it was. A cute romance too.

Favorites: Leigh Bardugo’s, Jennifer E. Smith’s, Jon Skovron’s.

Least Favorites: Cassandra Clare’s (DNF), Libba Bray’s.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Seven Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors

I think a lot of people are going to find this one hard, but this was actually quite easy for me. I’ve got to like most, if not all, of your books for you to be a favorite of mine. I also don’t tend to choose someone as a favorite author unless I’ve read more than three books by them. I feel like you can tell whether you like someone’s writing from that, but not if they’ll be a favorite. At least for me.

Ian Rankin – Scottish crime fiction author. I’ve read every single one of his 33 or something books, including the non-fiction one. The only ones I don’t have are his short story collection and the book that comes out at the end of the year. I even wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on his books. I’ve interviewed him, chatted with him, gone to see his play, and hugged him. I still can’t really believe he remembers my name.

Favorite book: The Falls.

Matt Haig – English novelist. I’ve read eight out of eleven of his books. I own two others but haven’t read them yet. SOON. If you’ve been on my blog, like, EVER, you know how much I love his book The Humans, and you might’ve read my review of Reasons to Stay Alive. Pretty sure I’ll love everything he’s written and will write.

Favorite book: The Humans.

J.K. Rowling – Does this really even need an explanation?

Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Maggie Stiefvater – American, fantasy novelist. I’ve read six of her novels and I’m completely in love with her writing. She’s also one of the coolest authors I’ve ever met (I interviewed her for WatchPlayRead last year).

Favorite Book: The Dream Thieves.

Robert Kirkman – Comic author aka author of The Walking Dead. I’ve read every single issue of TWD to date (except some of those specials) and I credit TWD as getting me into comics last year (Yes, Saga is what pulled me in, but TWD is what kept me under). They could keep this series going forever and I’d probably still have it on my pull.

Favorite book: All of the Walking Dead books.

Oliver Jeffers – Children’s book author. I’ve read so many of his books, I’m not sure what the count is, but I LOVE his books. They never fail to put a smile on my face. Every time I read another, I tend to snap a picture on my phone and set it as my new background. I love his stories and his illustrations, and I can’t wait to read them to my future kids.

Favorite book: The Incredible Book Eating Boy.

Stephanie Perkins – Contemporary YA author. Stephanie’s books got me back into reading contemporary last year. I devoured the first two and bought the third one day of release with my friend Annette. I loved her story in My True Love Gave to Me, and I can’t wait to read what’s next from her. Shout out to my friend Georgie for practically forcing Anna and the French Kiss on me. I really didn’t think I was going to like it, and I ended up loving it.

Favorite book: Lola and the Boy Next Door.

I think that’s it. I could list favorite books for days, but authors? Seven is all I’ve got. Who are your favorite authors?

Book Blogger Love-a-Thon: Book Valentines

The third post for the Book Blogger Love-a-Thon hosted by Alexa Loves Books is a Book Valentine. We were to “Create a valentine for your favorite book guy or gal. You can write a letter, share a playlist, draw something, shop for gifts – whatever way you feel like expressing your love, go for it!”

So I’ve decided to go with Cricket Bell. I know you are all shocked. I never talk about how much I am in love with him or the fact that he’s my dream guy. Oh wait. Yes, I do. All the time. Whatever. 🙂 He’s sweet, awkward, charming, smart, funny, and I would totally have to find a way to get Lola out of the picture if he was real. I wasn’t sure how to go about this challenge though. So I’m sharing two songs that I think are super romantic and sweet. These are “our songs” – because, you know, Cricket actually is my boyfriend and we have songs that we call “ours”. Haha.

The first is Eric Hutchinson’s “Love Like You” – I LOVE the chorus:

I’ve been waiting for a love like you
I’ve been waiting for a love like you
I’ve been waiting for a love like you tonight

So let me catch fire and blow off steam
This is a crash landing, we’re living the dream
We can freak out if you know what I mean
We can go where we go where the love’s supreme
I said ooo baby, it’s Russian roulette
I said ooo baby, I’ll never forget
What you did for me now, how you’re making me feel
And I’ve been waiting for a love that is finally real

Swoon.

The next song is Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud. I don’t know if you guys have seen the video, but it’s beautiful and super romantic. I don’t even like Ed Sheeran, and I like this song.

But, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
Thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are

In other words, I LOVE YOU, CRICKET BELL.

Who’s your bookish valentine?

Bout of Books 12 – Top 10 Recommendations Challenge

Today is Day 2 of Bout of Books! Trees of Reverie is hosting the Top 10 Recommendations challenge, and since I actually work in a library, I thought I kind of have to participate, don’t I? 🙂

The Challenge: You’ve just started to work at a bookstore (or library) – what are your top ten go-to book recommendations?

All of the books I’ve chosen are ones that I’ve actually recommended to people at my library for various reasons. Some are favorites and some are just generally good reads. Here we go!

    

The Humans by Matt Haig – for everyone. Seriously. Read it. (I know you’re all surprised)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – perfect for a lot of our YA readers but also for some of our older patrons who like books by authors like Debbie Macomber

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith – for basically the same reasons as above

The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day – I read and loved this one and have recommended it to several patrons that enjoy crime fiction

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber – one of my new recommendations because I read and LOVED this. It’s unique and interesting. Different from my normal read.

    

The Passage by Justin Cronin – patrons who enjoy vampires but the creepy, scary kind have been told to read this by me on several occasions. 🙂

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples – for people who want to try comics. This is how I got into comics and I’ve never looked back.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu – because this was probably my favorite read of the year

ANYTHING by/illustrated by Oliver Jeffers – because stick legs

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young – for Neil Gaiman fans. For fans of silliness. For fans of fun.

A few others:

Anything Maggie Stiefvater has written

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Gone by Michael Grant

What would you recommend?

My True Love Gave to Me – GIVEAWAY

I am a big fan of giving. I like buying presents for people all year round, but obviously, this time of year brings out the giving in everyone. So I want to give something to you guys, who have given me such wonderful and really, really appreciated support on my blog. I love you all.

I’ve decided to do a giveaway for a copy of My True Love Gave to Me, which I reviewed on my blog through a series of mini reviews of all twelve stories. Here’s the links to all of my mini reviews from the book. Make sure you stick around for the giveaway at the bottom!

Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights” – Such a wonderful way to start off the book. One of my favorites.

“The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link – Somewhat annoying writing style but pretty cool story

Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow” – This one kind of felt like a Lifetime made-for-TV movie. Just kind of cheesy and lots of drama and all that jazz.

Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” – A cute story with a sweet, hopeful ending but a whiny and spoiled main character

Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” – SWOON. That is all.

David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa” – This story kind of made me feel melancholy even though it’s about Santa and Christmas.

Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf” – I liked the characters, the story, the magic, the uniqueness, the writing style, everything. One of my favorites.

Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” and Myra McEntire’s “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” (in one review) – Surprisingly, I liked Gayle Forman’s story. Myra McEntire’s wasn’t one of my favorites but was still enjoyable.

Ally Carter’s “Star of Bethlehem” and Laini Taylor’s “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer” (in one review) – “Star of Bethlehem” was forgettable and kind of stupid. “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer” was one of the stories I loved the most for the epic fantasy aspect, but it did have its problems.

Alright, here’s the giveaway! Click on the picture below to be taken to Rafflecopter to enter. The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL as long as The Book Depository delivers to you. Yay! You can check whether TBD delivers to you HERE. The giveaway will END on January 7, 2015 at Midnight CST. Also, because I know some of you have already read/own My True Love Gave to Me, you can still enter. If you win, you can choose a book from TBD/Amazon for $15 or less! ❤ you guys.

Review: Ally Carter’s and Laini Taylor’s stories from My True Love Gave to Me

Hi guys, I’m so sorry about my absence the past few days, but I was spending time with family, watching Once Upon a Time, and sleeping. It was nice. 🙂 I hope that all of you had an absolutely wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate) or a few lovely days with lots of reading.

Today I’m finishing up my mini reviews of My True Love Gave to Me with Ally Carter’s “Star of Bethlehem” and Laini Taylor’s “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer.” I’ve already reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow”, Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”, Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown”, David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa”, Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf”, Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” and Myra McEntire’s “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” (in one review).

Make sure you come back to tomorrow if you liked my reviews of My True Love Gave to Me. You might like what you find. 🙂

STAR OF BETHLEHEM

It’s only been a few days since I read this story, and I honestly could not remember what it was about. I had to flip through the story to remind myself. So obviously that isn’t a good sign. Liddy is at an airport and doesn’t want to go back to New York. So when she hears another girl trying to get on her flight, she swaps tickets with her. Apparently the girl she swapped with was on her way to Oklahoma to visit a boy she was supposed to be in love with but she was actually in love with a boy in NY. Liddy takes the girl’s, Hulda’s, place to spend a semester with the boy’s family in Oklahoma. But why was she running away from New York?

This story was stupid, you guys. It was absolutely ridiculous, from the story, to the characters, to the ending. It was like a cheesy Disney Channel movie. I don’t really have anything to say about it, other than to remind you that I completely forgot what it was about in less than a week.

THE GIRL WHO WOKE THE DREAMER

Neve lives on the island, where she is a poor girl who was brought there as a child. Her two best friends recently died, so obviously she’s sad and alone. On this island, it is a tradition that on the first of December, male suitors deliver a gift to the porch of the girl they like. The girl can either accept or decline (with a dead rose in the present’s place) and on Christmas Eve, the man reveals himself at a party with the last gift: a ring. Neve has unfortunately drawn the attention of the island pastor, who’s already had three wives, who are all now dead. Though Neve tries to reject his advances, he doesn’t relent. But then she gets some spiritual help.

Okay, so I had high hopes for this one. I’ve never read anything by Laini Taylor, but a lot of bloggers were loving this story. For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed. If I wanted to give an easy review, I’d say I love this one, but if I delve into it farther, it’s a little harder.

This story was an epic, sweeping fantasy romance, which I enjoyed. I loved Taylor’s writing, which was impressive, fast-paced, and pretty. The story was interesting and different from all of the others. On the other hand, there was little to no focus on Christmas, which is what I went into this book expecting. There’s a huge use of a Deus ex-machina to get a happy ending, instead of letting Neve figure out and resolve her problems on her own, which I would’ve enjoyed. Who doesn’t love a strong character? On the other hand (yep, I totally have three hands here), the romance was really cool, and the Dreamer (the spiritual help Neve gets) was so interesting and lovely.

Overall, one of the stories I loved the most for the epic fantasy aspect, but it did have its problems.

So if you enjoyed my twelve mini reviews or if you didn’t get a chance to read My True Love Gave to Me but would like to (hint hint), make sure you come back by the blog tomorrow!!

Review: Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White (My True Love Gave to Me)

It’s almost the end of my “Twelve Days of Christmas” in which I review one story per day of My True Love Gave to Me. 😦 Sad face. So far I’ve reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow”, Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”, Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown”, David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa”, Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf”, Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” and Myra McEntire’s “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” (in one review).

Today’s story is “Welcome to Christmas, CA” by Kiersten White.

     

I was completely surprised by the wonderful originality of this story. There are so many cool ways to interpret Christmas for a good story. Maria lives in Christmas, CA, a town (okay, you can’t really call it a town. It’s a census-designated place) that is always in the Christmas spirit. She can’t wait to leave. Well, until she meets Ben (short for Benedict? Benjamin? Bennett?), the new cook at the diner where Maria works for tips (her mom is the manager). Ben loves Christmas and is able to bring some Christmas cheer into a town that’s losing it.

I’m going to need Santa to bring me a Ben for Christmas, okay? He’s sweet and happy merry and can cook and yeah, that’s what I want for Christmas. Thanks, Santa. I’ll be waiting.

This story made me so happy. Not only for Ben but for the fact that it was so original. It isn’t just a story set during Christmas, but in a town named for it. The story was clever and witty and so very sweet. I thought the main character was a little bit of a brat though, whiny and rude at times, but Ben more than made up for it. The story definitely put me in the Christmas spirit – with the decorations, references, merriment, and an elf over the door with a knife in his hand.

Overall, one of the good ones.

Review: Krampuslauf by Holly Black (My True Love Gave to Me)

It’s day seven of my “Twelve Days of Christmas” – reviewing one story per day from My True Love Gave to Me. So far, I’ve reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow”, Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”, Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown”, and David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa”.

Today’s story is Holly Black’s “Krampuslauf”.

I liked this one. Quite a bit. It was weird and different and dream-like. I’ve never heard of Krampus, but apparently he basically looks like a satyr – goat legs, horns, human torso – and he punishes the children who are bad versus rewarding the children who are good. Hanna and her friends decide to go to a Krampus celebration (well, really, it’s just a hipster-ization of Krampus including hot chocolate and a charity run) to spy on the guy who screwed over Penny, one of the friends. They end up inviting the guy and his real girlfriend and their friends – as well as a cute boy who has a seriously realistic Krampus costume – to a New Year’s Eve party. Fighting, drinking, kissing, and laughing ensue.

I really, really like this one. I’ve only ever read/listened to Holly Black’s Doll Bones, but this story confirmed I seriously like Black’s clever and smart writing style. This story is really different from what you’d probably expect from a holiday story. There’s magic and mythical creatures. It doesn’t center on Christmas and it’s got Krampus – who’s kind of a more interesting version of Satan. I mean, what? I felt a little like I was dreaming while reading this and that’s actually a cool feeling to have while reading. I liked the characters, the story, the magic, the uniqueness, the writing style, everything. One of my favorites so far. Looking forward to reading more Holly Black and researching Krampus some more.

Review: Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan (My True Love Gave to Me)

Alright, today is David Levithan’s story for my “Twelve Days of Christmas” – reviewing one story per day from My True Love Gave to Me. So far, I’ve reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow”, Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” and Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown”.

David Levithan’s story is called “Your Temporary Santa”.

     

The story is about an unnamed narrator who dresses up as Santa Claus as a favor for his boyfriend Connor. The narrator does it out of love for his boyfriend and so that Connor’s little sister Riley will continue to believe in Santa and magic after what we can imagine has been a rough year.

It’s a really short story – 15 pages – but it’s pretty succinct. It feels like a complete story with character development and a, sort of, conflict between the unnamed narrator and…well, really himself. He feels as if he is unwanted, like he doesn’t belong.

I enjoyed this story even though it is somewhat sad. Not all relationships are easy and swoony. Sometimes they are simple, and I don’t mean simple as in easy, but more like unpretentious, not needing to be extravagant and in your face. Sometimes you can just SPOILER get in bed and cuddle and let that be enough.

This story kind of made me feel melancholy even though it’s about Santa and Christmas. Glad it had an uplifting and hopeful ending. Not the best story so far, but not the worst.

Review: It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins (My True Love Gave to Me)

Today is the Stephanie Perkins’ day of my very own “Twelve days of Christmas” – reviewing one story per day from My True Love Gave to Me. So far I’ve reviewed Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights”, “The Lady and the Fox” by Kelly Link, and Matt de la Peña’s “Angels in the Snow” and Jenny Han’s “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me”. Stephanie’s story is called “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown.”

Stephanie’s story was the one I was the most looking forward to (duh) and I wasn’t disappointed. At all. I mean, what can I really say? Obviously, I loved this story. It’s my favorite one I’ve read so far.

Marigold Moon lives in an apartment full of the boxes of their previous life with her mother, who works nights at a restaurant she owns. Across the street from her apartment is a Christmas tree lot, where a boy with an amazing voice works. When Marigold goes to ask him if he’ll narrate her video (okay, she kind of stalks him), she accidentally buys a Christmas tree. Amazing-voice-boy carries it to her apartment where he finds the hoarder-looking mess that’s inside. He decides to help and you can probably guess the rest.

Perkins has the uncanny ability to make me swoon with her stories and her characters and her words. I just love everything she writes. It’s sweet and lovely. This story was just perfect for the holiday season. I really like Marigold, too. She wasn’t whiny or annoying, but rather funny and a little awkward. And, of course, you know I liked North (yep, all the kids in his family have Christmas-y names). He’s big and strong and you wouldn’t expect him to like NPR, but he does. He’s nerdy and sweet aka swoon-central.

Alright, I’ll stop gushing. Here’s a quote I really liked:

It was nice to think that she might have a superpower, even a dumb one, hidden inside of her. What might it be?

Got me thinking. What’s mine? 🙂

Overall? Love, love, love.