I bought this book on a rim, since I'm not the biggest fan of romance books. Nevertheless, I thought that I'd give it a go, since it said that it wanted to call out all the romantic movie cliches really caught my attention! Well, I was disappointed in this book, because it ended up being one big cliche itself... ❇
‌Audrey (who's the main character in the book) is a normal 17 year old girl that has a rough time at home because of her parents' divorce and on top of that, her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. In the whole book, she can't stop telling us how emotionally unstable she is and how all the guys are dead to her and she can't even fanthom starting a new relationship. All that until she meets Harry, a fuckboy and a shameless flirt. ❇
The only moment in the book when I was cheering for Audrey was when she totally slammed Harry for flirting with her and asked him to stop, since she cannot handle it right now. I was like "you go girl!!", because finally a girl held her ground and didn't swoon when a pretty boy starts complimenting her! Well, my happiness lasted so long, because as soon as Harry's flirtations stopped, Audrey found herself falling for him! If that's not a frickin cliche, I don't know what is! ❇
A few pages later, we find Harry in Audrey's doorstep pleading for her love and she entertaines the idea that a guy like him can change just because he has an infatuation with her! Do you smell cliche again, or is it just me? So they got together and then they broke up, because he cheats on her! Oh, what a surprise! The ending, was also what I expected it to be, and because it went on a different route than most romantic books/movies it's not enough to save the whole book. ❇
My main problem with the book was not that it is predictable. Not at all. My problem with the book is that it made fun of movies like "The Notebook", or "Romeo and Juliet" claiming they don't possess the elements of a true love story and compared them to movies like "Before Sunrise" and "Cinema Paradiso", when the whole book had every element it claimed a true love story shouldn't have! It called off cliche romantic movies, saying they were unrealistic, when Harry and Audrey's relationship was totally predictable and like every other relationship we have already read about! I would have enjoyed the book so much more, if it was just the story of a broken girl that meets the wrong boy and the navigation of their romance through movies, not an homage to supposedly true love.

As you can see from my rating, I obviously liked this book. Like, a lot 😁 The first thing that drew me in was how beautifully it was written, I wasn't used to reading books that were written like this, but that didn't hinder my enjoyment at all!

As far as the story goes, I'll have to admit that I like the second part better than the first part, I really enjoyed reading about Ani working as a goose girl and meeting all the other Forest born, I think this was one of the most important moments in Ani's life, because she learned how to make friends and it really shaped her personality and helped her grow.

I think the key word to describe this book is "character growth". Ani had an amazing arc, the author really took time to shape and change her (as changes in one's character do not happen overnight) and in the end, Ani was a very poised and brave young lady that I admired. I think many might say that she's too quiet, or too subdued, etc but I think it's refreshing to see a heroine like that. We are so used to seeing ya heroines as outspoken, strong, brave, loud and not afraid to speak their mind, that we don't think that there are other kinds of people in this world. I think this books pays homage to all those quiet yet strong individuals out there and I cannot and will not fault Ani for not having all the qualities we are used to reading about.

The ending was satisfactory as well, the only thing I would have liked to know with more certainty is what happened to Selia, because she was an important charau as well. Ani are Geric are the cutest, I looove how Geric gets so flushed around Ani and I would love for the author to explore their relationship more, so we can get a glimpse of their life together!

All in all, "The Goose Girl" is a book I really liked, it gave off "Ella the Enchanted" vibes and I'll definitely read it again! I'm also very tempted to continue with the series, to see what will happen to other heroes we loved in this book!

"What I Lost" is a book that talks about anorexia and the process of dealing with it and eventually healing from it. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to pick it up, I was scared that maybe a contemporary read wouldn't do justice to such an important matter, but thankfully the author handled very thoughtfully the whole situation and the book was a very enjoyable read, if you can say that about a book that talks about eating disorders!

What I loved most was how it helped us see into the mind of Elizabeth (the protagonist) and explore her thoughts regarding eating and her body image and I loved the fact that it went even deeper, trying to find the root of the problem, so to treat it correctly. I also really liked how her relationship with her mother was explored, we saw her mother promoting a very strict and extra healthy diet, was the very thing that pushed her daughter over the edge and Elizabeth starting starving herself in an effort to make her mum like her more. Behind anorexia there are also many psychological issues, that needed treatment as well, because it's an affliction that affects both the mind and the body in the end.

Another aspect I found quite enjoyable was the fact that there was a little bit of romance in the book, nothing too overboard or too cheesy thankfully. Because Elizabeth is a teenager, I think it was very important to show how anorexia affected that side of her life too, how her friendships and romantic relationships were either harmed or strengthened.

The only negative I have to say, is that it ended a bit abruptly for my liking. I don't really know how a book like this could have ended to be honest, it just felt like I needed a little bit more, maybe a proper epilogue or something. Anyway, that wasn't enough to make me dislike the book of course and "What I Lost" is one of the best contemporaries I've read and I would totally recommend it!

This is the second book in the Percy Jackson series and I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy it. It's not that big of a book but it took me months to finish, I just couldn't find any motivation to read it. It's strange though, because I loved the first book, I devoured that book in 2-3 days and I gave it a 4-star rating, which goes to show how much I liked it! Naturally, I was expecting the second book to give me somewhat of the same experience, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

One of the things I absolutely didn't like, was Tyson. I just couldn't stand reading about him, I don't know why I hated him so much, I just thought he was an unnecessary character and that showed in the end of the book, when he just left to go to Poseidon's kingdom. Also, the fact that Poseidon would claim him so easily was another thing that bothered me! In the end, I just thing he was there to fill up a space, because in the first book Percy, Annabeth and Grover went on a quest and now that Grover was missing, the author felt the need to fill his space, as if Percy and Annabeth couldn't go alone to save Grover and retrieve the Fleece!

As far as the story goes, I think the book could have been shorter, it wasn't moving as fast as the first one and it wasn't as thrilling as the first one. Annabeth and Percy are still my favorites though and I think Percy keeps growing as a character and I can't wait to see him become more mature!

All in all, of course I'll continue with the series, because I love the premise of this book and I want to know more about the characters! Maybe this book wasn't for me, maybe I'll like the others more!

Actual rating: 2.5 stars


"A Curse so Dark and Lonely" is a beauty and the beast retelling and I was certain I was going to love this book. I love fairytale retellings and I was so eager to get my hands on this one and I read it as fast as I could!

The book as a whole was an interesting read and I was for sure expecting to give it at least a 3 star rating. For me, it's weakest point was the romance. Unfortunately the story needed a good and strong romance to progress and keep the readers' attention, but this book had such a messy romance, for lack of a better word.

Rhen and Harper are supposed to fall in love, but their chemistry wasn't even the 1/10 of the chemistry Harper had with Grey (Rhen's royal guard). Harper and Grey were the cutest thing together, their chemistry was over the roof and at some point on part of me was hoping that they would ditch Rhen and run away together. I don't even know why the author would give us better communication, better conversations, etc with the guard instead of with the prince. Because when Rhen and Harper starting having their own "moments", they paled in comparison to Grey and Harper's moments, that where more subtle but way more affectionate. I don't know if the intention was to create a love triangle, but for me it failed nevertheless.

Another thing I found super predictable, was the plot twist. From the moment Karis Luran (a queen of a neighboring kingdom) said all that she said, I knew who she meant and I wasn't surprised at all when the big reveal happened at the end of the book. Also, why would a queen say something as precarious as this, in front of practically everyone, instead of only to Rhen? I don't know the reasoning behind this and I'm starting to think that there was no reasoning behind this, it was just convenient for the plot and this happened quite often.

All in all, it's a book that could have been so much better if it had a more established romance and I'm afraid I won't be reading it again.

I didn't have certain expectations when I started reading this book, I just knew I was in the mood for a contemporary romance and that one happened to be my choice. From the first few pages, I was getting the strongest "Looking for Alaska" vibe from the novel and I didn't like it at all! "Looking for Alaska" is another book I don't really like and "Our Chemical Hearts" was almost identical as far as the atmosphere goes.

We follow Henry's POV and there were many times when I wished the book was written in a third person POV. For the reader to know stuff, Henry had to know them first and the way he discovered things about Grace was unnerving and he was totally breaching her privacy. Especially the graveyard and the track scenes, I really disliked Henry at these points, because those instances were for Grace and no one else! I know it served the plot, that the read needed to know about these things, but I would really prefer a third person POV, so that we would think that Henry was a stalker.

As far as the characters go, I couldn't relate or like any of them. Some, like Murray, I found to be too much and regarding our main duo, Henry and Grace, I just couldn't like them at all. I felt sympathy for both of them many times, but it stopped there. Nothing more nothing less. The whole romance was so toxic from the start and I felt mostly for Henry, because he didn't fully know at first what he was getting himself into, while Grace knew and I felt like she used him.

Lastly, I cannot forget Lola's (Henry's best friend) remark, she told him something along the lines of "stop loving a girl that didn't ask to be loved" and it rubbed me the wrong way, because you can't ask someone permission to fall for them! It's not something the mind decides, it's the heart and how cruel can you be, telling that to someone experiencing love for the first time? Of course, love isn't always reciprocated, but that's between the potential couple! Anyway, I don't think I'll be reading this one again.

Anything I say about this book, pales in comparison to how much I loved it. The book is divided into 5 parts and tbh, I wasn't very excited while reading the first two parts. I knew it was a book with potential and I knew I was probably going to like it, I just needed a bit more to be fully invested in the story. Part 3 comes my way and I fell in love with the story and I was equally excited until I finished it.

It's a book with a very unique writing style and not only that, the author uses the reader as a very active member in the story, she's not afraid to have you guessing what will happen next. She drops hints here and there and expects you to do the work and collect them to start better understanding people's motives and how the story might progress. I loved that she made me think and didn't hand me everything on a plate.

As far as the characters go, we had an array of people to choose from and even though we didn't had time to feel attached to any of them, I didn't mind. For me, the characters is the most important aspect of a book and I was afraid I wasn't going to like this book, because we didn't know mich about the characters. Thankfully, I didn't mind as much as I thought I would, there were some very intriguing character, with my favorites being Celia, Bailey and Popet.

The whole atmosphere of the circus was electric, I loved how the book made me feel and I just wish I could be one of the reveurs, visiting the circus all the time. There weren't many descriptions of the whole venue, but I think it just added to the mystery of the circus. Also, I believe it was used as a way to make us feel like we we're part of the circus visitors and we were slowly discovering each tent.

All in all, I think it's clear I loved this book! It's different from everything I've ever read and I just think it's a little gem waiting to be discovered by readers! Also, if you want to read it, maybe listen to a play list I found on YouTube, called "Book Soundtrack: The Night Circus", it definitely boosted my reading experience!

I went into this book knowing as little as possible, because the synopsis intrigued me from the first few lines and I immediately grabbed the book. I was very pleasantly surprised, I wasn't expecting it to be that good and the OCD representation was pretty accurate!

Another thing I really liked, was the historical aspect of the novel, the story takes places in Malaysia during the 1969 riots between the Chinese and the Malays. Needless to say, I knew nothing about this but I did my research as soon as I finished the book, because I was so interested to know more.

Melati (our main character) is a girl I could very much empathize with, she's a very realistic character and anytime she would struggle with OCD, I could feel her pain and it was obvious to the reader that she couldn't escape her own mind. The only thing I didn't like and actually found unrealistic, was the fact that get mother (an educated woman and a nurse) instead of taking her daughter to a psychologist to help her figure out her condition, she took her to spiritual healers of all sorts! That sounded a bit ridiculous to me, she was a nurse for God's sake, how could she not treat this more seriously??

I also loved the Chinese family, Auntie Bee had my heart from the start with her gentle personality! Vince was another character I really liked and I was hoping for a bit of romance with Melati, because (at least in my eyes) they made a good pair!

All in all, I really liked this book! I would definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to read more about mental health because this novel, doesn't only focus on OCD, but also has a very intriguing historical side!