amarisafloria

After getting a 20% off coupon from Barnes & Noble in the mail two weeks ago, I had to use it on The Hogwarts Library (Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, The Tales of Beedle the Bard) by J.K. Rowling. I love how all the covers match and since I haven't read these yet, I figure it'll be motivation to finish my Harry Potter series re-read.



February was a big month for new releases!

Like I mentioned in last week's Top Ten Tuesday, I sent a library request for Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer after Hannah so highly recommended it in her lovely review. I'm craving some women's fiction after reading The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel (I wrote a mini review in last week's Forget Me Not!)

I haven't read anything by V.E./Victoria Schwab yet but A Darker Shade of Magic seems like a great place to start. Parallel universes, magic and London? COUNT ME IN.

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios would have escaped my "to read" list, but EVERYONE has been so vocal about how great it is and I just had to see for myself. I'll be picking this up after my current read (Paper Towns by John Green) so you'll be hearing about my feels soon enough :p

I've been quite excited for A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas so of course I read it as soon as I got home. It's a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty after she wakes up from true love's kiss, and y'all know how I feel about twists on fairytales ... (I love 'em!)

What was the last book you purchased for yourself? Which book do you think I should read after I finish I'll Meet You There? (I'm 95% sure it'll be A Darker Shade of Magic!)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new topic is discussed every week, so join us if you love writing lists and sharing your thoughts on everything related to books!

As I mentioned in Breaking Up with My Books, I've loved reading since I was a child. I loved visiting the library and borrowing books at random, so I rarely re-read anything. If I owned all the books I read as a child, these are the ten I would pick up right now:


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
I started re-reading the Harry Potter series last year, so I'm looking forward to continue with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. When I first read through the series, I took a big break before reading this fifth book — I hope it doesn't end up happening again ...

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
I am such a scaredy-cat, but I remember this to be one of my favorite books to read. (I was reminded of this while reading Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, which also contains really creepy stories.)

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
As I mentioned in my Top 10 Childhood Favorites, this book holds a very special place in my heart ever since my fifth grade teacher read it to us as a class. I have a feeling that I'd still love it if I read it today.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
This is long due for a re-read. I've only read this once and can barely remember anything about it :(

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
I have absolutely no idea how I came across this book, but I know I discovered it by myself after browsing the shelves at my library.


Summer in the City by Elizabeth Chandler
If you were to ask me my favorite book in high school, this would be it!

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
This is just one of those fun and WEIRD books you want to read over and over again.

Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
The boxset that Beezus and Ramona came in was one of the very first boxsets my mom bought me through Scholastic book orders. I am almost certain that I begged for it after reading Dear Mr. Henshaw in class, so shout out to all the elementary school teachers who still read in class!

The Cam Jansen Mysteries by David A. Adler
I was browsing through the "Readers Also Enjoyed" section on Goodreads for a couple of the books I mentioned earlier and I came across this gem! I can't believe I forgot about this series!

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
I don't appreciate poetry as much as I did when I was younger, so I'd love to spark that interest again.

Researching these books makes me wish I had a list of all the library books I've ever borrowed as a child/teen. I'd love to know which books from your childhood/teen years you're hoping to re-visit!

When The Winner's Curse came out last year, there was a lot of hype surrounding it. I wasn't interested in reading it because it involves slave culture, but I decided to give it a try due to the numerous praised reviews. If you can't decide whether or not to give The Winner's Curse a chance, here are four reasons that may convince you to!

IT ISN'T COMPLICATED TO FOLLOW.
Complex worlds and made-up languages tend to draw me away from fantasy books, but The Winner's Curse kept my interest. In fact, the only element of fantasy (that we know of so far) is the fictional world they live in. Their culture is a bit reminiscent of the Roman's—a love for the arts (music, in this case) and architecture are two that stuck out to me. Because the two are so similar, it's easy to imagine.

IT'S WORTH THE SLOW SETUP.
It takes a while for things to get interesting but once it kicks in, you will not want to put this book down. When I started The Winner's Curse, I wanted lots of action. Now looking back, I find that the uneventful beginning was necessary for me to familiarize myself with the characters and the world. Without the backstory and time to learn about who Kestrel and Arin are, I would have ended up with different emotions.

KESTREL IS AN AWESOME HEROINE.
We get a lot of stories where the guy is on an adventure to rescue the girl-in-waiting, but Kestrel is far from the girl who is waiting for someone to save her. She is independent and headstrong, but makes decisions for the good of her people. She may not be physically strong, but she's dang strategic and smart. It is SO NICE not having to say "you idiot!!!" :p

IT'S NOT YOUR USUAL ROMANCE STORY.
There's something about a forbidden, slow-burning romance that makes it all the more better to read, but this one is a little twisted. Both Kestrel and Arin are in unfortunate situations and I've been sitting here, thinking about a way to explain it without being spoilery BUT I CAN'T. Just know that it's a type of romance you've probably never read before.

As someone who doesn't read much fantasy but is trying to ease into it—I loved it. Read this if you like the "government control" aspect of dystopian worlds and are trying to get into fantasy OR if you want to read in the perspective of someone like Clarke from The 100, the television series on CW.

In an effort to share my thoughts on all the books I read, I started "Forget Me Not"* in February 2015. I don't always have a lot to say about certain books, so I thought I'd gather three mini reviews and stick them together :)

*"Forget Me Not" has since been reformatted to fit under the "Mini Book Reviews" series.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new topic is discussed every week, so join us if you love writing lists and sharing your thoughts on everything related to books!

I rarely set a "to be read" (TBR) list for myself because my reading mood changes all the time, but I have a good feeling that I may be able to get through at least half of these books. Here's to sticking with what I say!


Paper Towns by John Green
John Green's books have either been a hit or miss with me (I loved The Fault in Our Stars but didn't like Looking for Alaska at all) so I'm interested to see how I feel about this one. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews but I like the idea of a road trip so I hope this ends well for me.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover, but the fact that is it funny has made me so eager to pick this up. I think it's categorized as a fantasy, but I'm almost certain that contemporary lovers will enjoy this. (I probably shouldn't say that because I haven't read it ... do it anyway :p)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
I've finally secured my own copy of this book, so I have absolutely no excuses anymore. By the way, major points for the main character being Asian!

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
I'm not even going to talk about this one because I've mentioned about it a million times and y'all know I have problems with reading books I actually want to read ...


The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
The first book in this trilogy, The Winner's Curse, ended at a spot that makes my heart uneasy so I'll need to pick this up as soon as it arrives at my library. *Crossing my fingers in hopes of avoiding spoilers around the internet ...*

Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer
After Hannah (from So Obsessed With) hosted a party for the release of this book, I knew I had to add it to my TBR list. I don't normally go for adult books, but I trust any and all of Hannah's recommendations!

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
I wasn't planning to read this book, but ALL of the bloggers I follow have been expressing their love for this one. After seeing in the library database, I couldn't help but add it to my requests.

The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
The first "SPRING" event that initially crossed my mind was prom, and this book covers a bit of that. I'm hoping this will be fun and not too sad!


99 Days by Katie Cotugno
There's just something about the main character, Molly, that captured my attention when I first read the synopsis. You know she's made some mistakes but you can't tell if she's sorry or not ...

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu
I am really excited for this book, partially because it reminds me of Fangirl a bit but also because it sounds like a "sister" story. I don't have a sister, but I've always wanted an older one — I hope this allows me to somewhat enter that world.

Are you pretty good at sticking to your TBR? What are some of the books you're planning to read this spring? If you've read any of the books on this list, which ones did you like?

For as long as I can remember, I've always loved reading. When I was in elementary school, I visited the library at least once a week and would borrow as many books as I could fit in my big bag. If the cover was pretty, I would check it out. New book? I'll give it a try. (Luckily, I only lived three blocks away. No shoulders were broken in the process of walking home!) Having a wide variety of books to choose from made it fun to bring some home and build a momentary collection.

After discovering Book Outlet and the booktube community on YouTube, I went a little crazy and bought a ton of books. If I recognized the title, it was added to my cart. It didn't matter whether or not I was interested. If someone talked about it and said they liked it, wouldn't that mean I could enjoy it too?

I never bought books before all this but now, I want my own books. I want to have a collection I could grow and keep.

I love the idea of having my own home library one day, but I want it to be made up of books I truly enjoy and would choose to revisit again. Because of this, I have decided to break up with some of my books. I am letting go of the books that "past me" impulsively bought. And I'm okay with that.

It has taken me a while to be okay with it—if you're someone who keeps every single book you've ever bought, IT'S OKAY. There's nothing wrong with that. But for me, I have to be picky with what I keep. I am a total hoarder, and I hate it because having a lot of things means clutter. And clutter makes me nervous. I've always had a problem with letting things go, but I've decided that I need to start giving things away if I want to be mess-free.

So now it's time to break up with my books. I looked at every single book I own and asked myself three questions:


If my answer to ANY of these questions was "no," I put it in a sell/donate/give away box. That's it.

I'll be honest (not that I haven't been this whole time)—that box is still sitting on my desk right now. Pulling it off my shelf is one thing, but giving it away and never seeing it again? The hoarder in me is saying PLEASE NO STOP. But I'd rather someone else read it and love it than have it collecting dust in a box. As much as I hate to admit it, I do not need all the books.

I've started to visit my local library again, as I mentioned in my "new on the shelves" post. I'm attempting to borrow books first—and if I love it, I'll add it to my collection!

The Weekend Line-Up is a mash-up of all the things I plan to read/watch/listen to during my upcoming weekend. This feature will pop up randomly, like that top in your closet you forgot you bought a month ago.

THE START OF ME AND YOU BY EMERY LORD
If you've been around here for a while, you know that Open Road Summer, Emery Lord's debut novel, is one of my favorite contemporary romances. No, one of my favorites PERIOD. Everything about that book—the friendship, the slow burning romance, the banter—is great, so I expect nothing but good things from The Start of Me and You. To be honest I can't even remember what this book is about, but just seeing Emery Lord's name on the cover is a good enough reason for me to pick it up.

LOCKE & KEY, VOL. 2: HEAD GAMES BY JOE HILL
After reading Welcome to Lovecraft (the first volume in the Locke & Key series) back in October, I've been meaning to get back into the series again. It doesn't seem like something I'd normally choose to read, but a ton of people have enjoyed it so I had to pick it up. It is extremely gory and violent—I would not recommend reading this up if you're looking for something nice—but the storyline is too exciting to stop now. I don't remember a lot of the details, so hopefully I am not confused ...

I've known about Sherlock for quite some time now (my boyfriend loves the show) but I never pushed myself to watch it due to the length of each episode. After watching The Imitation Game, I realized how much I love Benedict Cumberbatch as an actor. I guess this means I am committing myself to British accents (I love the way Sherlock says "obviously") and painful waiting!

RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA
One of my friends and I are watching Cinderella (the musical) tonight, so I have a strong feeling this album will be on repeat for longer than just this weekend. My two favorites (as of right now, of course) are "Ten Minutes Ago" and "In My Own Little Corner." It could very well change after I see it live! I'm actually really excited because I haven't seen a live musical aside from Wicked, so this will be a real treat. I still remember watching the Disney Channel version and listening to Brandy sing "Impossible"—does anyone know what I'm talking about?

At the beginning of February, Stephanie and I visited Franci Cakes on her opening day to celebrate and show support by purchasing some delicious cupcakes. I was also able to celebrate a good friend's 22nd birthday (which is why both of my girls are double-peacing it in the second photo, hahaha) with strawberry beer!


Loved: The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Liked: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger, Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Number of books and pages read in February: 6 // 1,901 pages
Number of books and pages read in 2015: 12 // 3,282 pages

• Four February releases I'm most looking forward to!
• Two book reviews: The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall and I Was Here by Gayle Forman
• Top Ten Books I Want to Read from the Historical Fiction Genre — please let me know if you have any recommendations for me to add to this list!
• I wanted to talk about ALL the books I read in 2015, so I started Forget Me Not and gave mini reviews for The Giver, Four and Between Shades of Gray.
• Waiting on Wednesday: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno
• I participated in my first blogger event, the 2015 Book Bloggers Love-a-Thon! I talked about myself, shared two favorite quotes, took a picture of my bookshelf and briefly mentioned my current favorites :)
• NEW BOOKS!

The 100 (The CW)
Are you surprised this is on here? Probably not. After hearing all about this show on Twitter, I knew I had to give it a try. I flew through the first season in two days (thank you, Netflix) and am now all caught up. Reasons to watch this show: AWESOME lady heroines, crazy plot, cute males ... need I say more?

• After finding out that Shawn Mendes is performing at the Taylor Swift concert I'm going to in August, I looked up a couple of his songs and fell in love with The Weight.
• Watching Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani sing My Heart is Open together at the Grammys gave me the shivers.
• Imagine Dragons came out with a new album and I have been in love with Shots.
• Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon was my go-to song of the month!

What was your favorite book of February? Have you seen The 100 yet, or are you trying to avoid all the "hype?"

Up and Coming was created so I could share four soon-to-be-published-this-month books I think deserve more attention. (In other words, these are the books you should be adding to your TBR pile!) I'll be doing these at the beginning of each month, so feel free to do the same if you'd like :)

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown

Luisa “Lulu” Mendez has just finished her final year of high school in a small Virginia town, determined to move on and leave her job at the local junkyard behind. So when her father loses her college tuition money, Lulu needs a new ticket out.

Desperate for funds, she cooks up the (definitely illegal) plan to make and sell moonshine with her friends, Roni and Bucky. Quickly realizing they’re out of their depth, Lulu turns to Mason: a local boy who’s always seemed like a dead end. As Mason guides Lulu through the secret world of moonshine, it looks like her plan might actually work. But can she leave town before she loses everything—including her heart?

The summer walks the line between toxic and intoxicating. My Best Everything is Lulu's letter to Mason—though is it an apology, a good-bye, or a love letter?

I'm not sure what it is about this book that makes me want to read it. Maybe it's because Ellice from Paper Riot gave it a lovely review, or maybe the fact that it's written in second person. All I know is that I'll be reading this as soon as I get a chance to!

Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery
Publication Date: March 24, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Other books by Paula Stokes: The Art of Lainey

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up — terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters. 

Yes, it does sound a bit like Pretty Little Liars. But when you give me a synopsis like this, I have to find out what happens and how Max goes about finding the actual murderer. Unless MAX is the actual murderer. You never know ...

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publication Date: March 24, 2015
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Books USA)

This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage. Has Naila's fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny?

Naila's conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: she may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila's vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif ... if he can find her before it's too late.

The cover is what first captured my attention, but the setting and family ordeal has pushed this book to the top of my "must read" list. To be honest, I'm more interested in seeing how family dynamics plays a role in Naila's life than how her relationship with Saif turns out.

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein

Genre(s): Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Publication Date: March 31, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Other books by Elizabeth Wein: Code Name Verity, The Winter Prince

Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother's wishes — in a place where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat.

Seeking a home where her children won't be held back by ethnicity or gender, Rhoda brings Em and Teo to Ethiopia, and all three fall in love with the beautiful, peaceful country. But that peace is shattered by the threat of war with Italy, and teenage Em and Teo are drawn into the conflict. Will their devotion to their country, its culture and people, and each other be their downfall or their salvation?

In the tradition of her award-winning and bestselling Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein brings us another thrilling and deeply affecting novel that explores the bonds of friendship, the resilience of young pilots, and the strength of the human spirit.

I am so embarrassed to admit I haven't read Code Name Verity yet. I'm sure Elizabeth Wein is an amazing author, which is why I'm willing to give Black Dove, White Raven a chance. I don't know much about Ethiopia and 1930s America but I'm hoping that reading this will spark my interest in learning more. I'm also crossing my fingers for this to be a strong friendship story!

Popular books I'm also excited for: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord