Books I Read In May

This May I read a total of 12 books, 4 of which were rereads and then 3 of which were on my most anticipated releases of this year. Now that I'm on summer break I have definitely started reading more, because I somehow have to make up for the book buying binge I went on last month. So here are the books that I read and some of my opinions on them:

Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay - This book follows two different perspectives of the same girl, in one perspective she has struggled with a the consequences of an accident that left the right side of her face scared, and in the other she didn't have that accident. I enjoyed this story and the idea is really unique, but I did have some problems with the pacing and ending. This story is told in alternating perspectives and I found that this story jumped around a lot, this isn't a very long book but I feel that it could have been longer. There were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed like the different perspectives of certain character and the character development.

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay - This books is a Sleeping Beauty retelling but draws elements from various other fairy tale stories. I found this book a little disappointing, I read Staecy Jay's other fairy tale retelling, Of Beast and Beauty, earlier this year and absolutely loved it, and Princess of Thorns doesn't compare. It took me a really long time to get into the story and I found that certain aspects of the plot weren't explained well. I did enjoy this book as the story progressed and I did like the character development but I did expect more from reading this.

The Crown by Kiera Cass - This is the 5th and final installment of the Selections Series. I really enjoyed this ending, this series has had it's ups and downs but I think it ended on a high note. I enjoyed the story and character developments and I left this book feeling really satisfied with the series.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas - This is the second book in Maas' Beauty and the Beast retelling/Fae trilogy. This book almost destroyed me, I loved it so much. I absolutely love the character development and the direction that this story is headed. I really just love everything about Sarah J. Maas' writing and I'm anxiously looking forward to the final installment of this trilogy.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson - This book follows Andie, who has her whole summer planned out and then due to her father's political scandal her life is turned upside down and unexpected things happen to her. I love Morgan Matson's books, I think she writes some of the best YA contemporaries and this one did not disappoint. I really loved the stories and the characters, especially Clark (he might have beaten Henry from Second Chance Summer as my favorite of Matson's male characters). This book had everything that I could have possibly wanted and it was just a perfect summer read.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan - This series follows, Percy after he learns that he is the son of Poseidon. This is another reread for me this year, I read these books so long ago that I had forgotten a lot of plot points. I really enjoyed rereading this series, it's such a fun and extremely complex and unique twist to classic Greek Mythology. I'm hoping to finish off reading the sequel series this month and the rest of Riordan's books this year.

Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes - These are the first two books in a fantasy series that centers around four characters from neighboring kingdoms that are on the brink of war. I'm liking this series so far, I enjoy the characters and I'm interested to see how the world continues to develop because I feel that the first two books were more of a set up for the rest of the series. I will definitely be continuing on with the series this month.

And those are all the books I read last month and my thoughts on them. I have a lot of books I want to read this month, especially the Heroes of Olympus Series. - Jessica

May Snapshots

1. Books & coffee. Side note: I bought a lot of books this month and so many new books came out, so now that I'm on break from school, I've got a lot of catching up to do.  

2. Downtown Austin view from Town Lake, taken during my sister's engagement party. 

3. Added some signed vinyls to my collection after seeing these two bands live. I finally got to see San Fermin live after years of listening to their music and I saw Pentatonix live for the 4th time. 

4 & 5. Finally stopped by the Groudough's Public House and had a donut burger and desert. // 6. Frozen banana from Bananarchy.  - Jessica

Instax Mini Album

Last week I stopped by Michael's to look around and picked up this album to display my instax photos from the Heidi Swapp collection. I have been in the market for a cute, functional album to hold my instax mini photos and this one is perfect. A problem that I had with other albums is that they didn't hold that many photos and weren't exactly affordable for the amount of photos they held. This one has 20 pages and each page can hold 12 photos, so in total it can hold 240 pictures (which is loads more than standard instax mini albums). So far I've filled two full pages of my favorite shots and I've got lots of room for more.

Eventually I would like to try out some of Project Life's instax line. Although one of the downsides to both of these lines is that they only have products for instax mini film and I would love to find a similar album or scrapbook to hold my instax wide shots. But until I find one that I like, I do have plenty of room to fill my mini album. I definitely need to order some more film, cause I've got a long way to go till this album is full. - Jessica 

PTX World Tour Experience

I think I've blogged about Pentatonix enough on here for people to know that they are one of my favorite groups. I saw them last week on their world tour and it was my fourth time seeing them live. They're one of my favorite groups to see live, because they sound exactly like studio recordings. I never blogged about a single concert before but I decided as a celebration for a great night and for my 100th blog post I would.

My friend and I had meet and greet VIP upgrades so we showed up early to meet the band. We showed up so early that we actually ended up as the 3rd and 4th people in line, which was crazy and I was dangerously close to freaking out. Side note: last year for the On My Way Home tour I got meet and greet passes and while I was getting the autographs, I freaked out and just proceeded to stare at them attempting not to cry. For the photo, I knew I wanted to be beside Mitch and I got squished a little by his jacket, it was great. So this year was infinitely better, I actually managed to have a conversation with all of them, although I did ramble a little in front of Mitch.

^^This photo is terrible quality but proof of me talking to my fave, Mitch Grassi!

A photo posted by Jessica (@7remedies) on May 8, 2016 at 3:47pm PDT

I got my vinyl sleeve of their self titled album signed and I'm still debating on how I'm going to display it, along with the poster and lament badge I got for meeting them.

For the concert, my friends and I had general admission tickets on the floor and our goal was to get as close as possible on the barrier on the right side of the stage, closer to where Mitch would be. Which is exactly where we ended up, there was so much anxiety between my friend and I over how we would get there, and we did end up running as soon as we were let in. The actual show was fantastic, Us the Duo opened and they were so talented and fun to watch. Pentatonix was absolutely perfect as always, it's so cool to watch as they have moved from YouTube videos to doing shows in front of 10,000+ people. So here's some of the photos I got during the show, they're all taken with my phone so the quality isn't great, but I did managed to get some great shots. 

A video posted by Jessica (@7remedies) on May 9, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT

^^^I got some good videos from the show, this one is obviously my favorite because look at the perfect position I was in to get this of Mitch. This is the best video I got because unfortunately I was right next to a girl that was screaming the lyrics and that is what you can hear the most in the recordings.

Regardless the concert was so much fun and my friends and I are already planning to do a repeat when they bring the show to Dallas or Houston later this year. Pentatonix is just one of those groups that I have to see every single time they come close enough - Jessica

Books I Read in April 2016

I have gotten so behind on blogging because of school, but this is my last week and I'm officially done with the semester and I'll be able to catch up on my blogging. So I'll get right to it, here are the books I read and some of my thoughts and opinions on them: 

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski - This is the final novel in The Winner's Trilogy, which around a well respected general's daughter, Kestrel, and the consequences of purchasing a slave. I read the first two books of this trilogy last month and absolutely loved them, and I was not disappointed with the finale. Throughout the whole book I had no idea what Rutkoski was going to do next and I was extremely satisfied with how this trilogy wrapped up. 

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky - This book follows a group of four girls after they kidnap a member of their favorite boyband. This book was absolutely crazy and I really enjoyed it. I liked how it took a satirical take on being a fangirl, but I think elements were taken a little too far and some of the plot points were a little to out there. 

First & Then by Emma Mills - This book revolves around Devon in her senior year of high school, and is a Pride and Prejudice retelling meets Friday Night Lights. I loved this book, it's got some great family elements and I loved how the romance and the characters developed. I did have some problems with the ending and I wish it had been a little bit more conclusive, but this book really reminded me of why I love to read contemporaries so much. 

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo - The basic premise of this trilogy surrounds Alina after she discovers that she has a rare magical power and has to collect three objects to save her world from a dark figure. I had heard a lot of mixed things about this trilogy going into it, and I actually liking it more than I thought I would. I did have some problems with the world building at the beginning of the books, but I think the world became more fleshed out as the story progressed. Now that I've finally read this trilogy, I'm looking forward to picking up Six of Crows which takes place in the same world, and I've seen so much hype surrounding this book and I can't wait to see how it is. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - This book is a coming of age story that follows the friendship of Ari (short for Aristotle) and Dante. This book is actually a reread for me, I first read it last year and it ended up being my absolute favorite book that I read in 2015. I decided to listen to the audiobook after I learned that Lin-Manuel Miranda (the genius behind the musical Hamilton) narrated it, and I really enjoyed how he brought the characters to life. There were also two instances where Ari mentions Alexander Hamilton and I freaked out each time. Hamilton aside, I absolutely loved this book the second time around and I know that I will continue to reread this book in the future because it's so beautifully written and developed that the ending has me sobbing each time. 

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell - This is a short story that follows Elena as she waits four days in line to watch the newest Star Wars film. This was such an enjoyable read, Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors and I will read anything she puts out. I love how even though it was a short story, I still managed to form an attachment to the two main characters and I loved the twist at the end of the story, but I just left this wanting more. 

Mosquitoland by David Arnold - This book follows Mim as she runs away and takes a Greyhound to meet her sick mother. I enjoyed this book, there were some really strange parts and I think everything tied together really well. I enjoyed the main character and the friendships she developed on her journey. I had a love/hate relationship with the ending, there were aspects that I really enjoyed and I liked how those builded up and came together, but there were aspects that I wasn't satisfied with how they wrapped up, particularly how the friendships played out and the tiny romance that I didn't find realistic. 

Avatar The Last Airbender: Smoke and Shadow Parts 1-3 by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru - These are the newest graphic novels that pick up right after the TV show. I absolutely love this series of graphic novels, they read just like an episode of the show and they have the same integrity as well. It had been almost a year and half since I read the previous volumes, and I did forget quite a bit of the material but I picked up on them pretty quickly while reading these. 

The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater - This is the final book in The Raven Cycle, which follows five friends as they search for an ancient, lost king. Since this is the last book in a series, I can't reveal too much of the plot and what I loved without spoiling anything, but I really loved this finale. I was really satisfied with how everything wrapped up and what happened in this book. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - This book is told from Death's perspective as he tells the story of a girl, the Book Thief, who lives in Germany during WWII. This was another reread for me, I originally read this book when I was 13, but I had forgotten a lot of the plot and the ending since then. It absolutely loved reading this book the second time around, the story is so beautifully written and moving. Since I had forgotten the ending, it truly made the experience seem like I was reading this book for the first time, even through I wasn't. I definitely think I'll be rereading this book again in the future because of how brilliant the plot and the narration is. 

Half Lost by Sally Green - This is the final book in The Half Bad Trilogy, which centers around Nathan, a witch who is a descendent of a black (evil) side and a white (good) side. I had enjoyed the previous two book in the trilogy and was looking forward to reading how Green would wrap up story up. This book started out so good, a solid 4/5 stars, and then the ending happened and I absolutely hated it. The ending just made me so angry and I have ranted to several people who haven't read this trilogy about how much I hate the ending. I'm really upset with how things wrapped up and I think that Green could have done a lot more with the ending. 

And those are all the books I read last month and my thoughts on them. I have a lot of books I want to read this month, so many books came out last week, I'm making a dent through those and I intend to continue my rereading streak with the Percy Jackson Series. - Jessica