Friend Request by Laura Marshall Review

Book Synopsis:

Maria Weston wants to be friends. But Maria Weston is dead. Isn't she?

1989. When Louise first notices the new girl who has mysteriously transferred late into their senior year, Maria seems to be everything the girls Louise hangs out with aren't. Authentic. Funny. Brash. Within just a few days, Maria and Louise are on their way to becoming fast friends.

2016. Louise receives a heart-stopping email: Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Long-buried memories quickly rise to the surface: those first days of their budding friendship; cruel decisions made and dark secrets kept; the night that would change all their lives forever.

Louise has always known that if the truth ever came out, she could stand to lose everything. Her job. Her son. Her freedom. Maria's sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she'd severed ties with to escape the past. But as she tries to piece together exactly what happened that night, Louise discovers there's more to the story than she ever knew. To keep her secret, Louise must first uncover the whole truth, before what's known to Maria--or whoever's pretending to be her--is known to all. 

Book Review:

We begin with Louise got her Facebook notification update: "Maria Weston wants to be friends." but wait... The same Maria Weston whom Louise knew was dead when they were in high school. So who is this person claims to be Maria? Or, she still alive after all this time?

The timeline of this book is back and forth with past tense events at 1989 and present time event (2016). The thing is, there was big secret that Louise had buried since the event of Maria's death. And now, she was threatened that there's someone out there knows her sin twenty-seven years ago. 

I don't like the old Louise, the high school Louis. But oh well, how can we judge someone when they are just teenager? For the teenager, high school's social life is the most important thing in the world. They still don't know their glorious social reputation don't really matter when they left to enter the real world. We did a lot of mistakes, consciously or not, at the high school phase. The differentiate is how deep are we willing to go down and responsible for it?

The author didn't waste her time to introduce the main issue with her reader. I have hooked right away when I was starting to read it. The pace was on the right pace. The atmosphere was so vivid. I love Louise, even though there are some of her actions at the present time that I couldn't stand to agree with. But well, she's a single mother now and I think every mother wants to protect her child at whatever cost. The revelation at the end is stunned me, and I love how the author left me hanging by the end of this Louise story. 

It's more like 4.5 stars for me.

Manga Classics: Jane Eyre (Manga Classics) - by Stacy King (English script), SunNeko Lee (Art by), Crystal S. Chan (Story adaptation), Charlotte Brontë

Book Summary:

As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers. 

My Thought:

Never before I read or watch Jane Eyre, this is actually my first time ever meeting with Jane. 

The manga format helped me a lot to understand and portray the characters in my mind. Usually, for me who English is not my main language, I had to spend more time to invest in Classic books. The language and the culture are pretty much different from our modern times. Thankfully, I choose to read this manga format to begin with. 

Jane Eyre, an orphan girl got sent to the charity school by her awful aunt at the age of ten. There, she lived in the school for six years as a student and two years as a teacher. Later, she seeks an employment as a governess at the Thornhill, responsibility for teaching one young girl, Adele. Jane, who grew up to be an innocent young woman, finds herself attracted to her master, Mr. Rocherster whom twenty years old senior to her.

I come to love Jane from the very first chapter. She's a brave woman who knows to stand for herself, even when she's just a little girl. With Mr. Rochester, I found him intriguing. I knew he holds up some secrets but I don't know what. When the secret is out to the public, I got shocked just like Jane.

The weakness of reading manga is you couldn't go as much as deeper than if you read the actual novel. Because of the page limitation, I could feel the gap jump between one scene to the other. Keep that in mind if you want to try manga format. Thankfully, the art is beautiful, clear and lovely. The creator did a wonderful job bring Jane, Mr. Rochester, and all of the other characters in manga format.

All in all, I highly recommended this manga version especially if you like me, who interest but hesitant to read the Classic story because of the complexity of Classic language.

A copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West Review

Book Summary

Talking to other people isn't Kate Bailey's favorite activity. She'd much rather be out on the lake, soaking up the solitude and sunshine. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school's podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. Now she'll have to answer calls and give advice on the air? Impossible.

But to Kate's surprise, she turns out to be pretty good at the hosting gig. Then the podcast gets in a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is pretty sure that the caller is gorgeous Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana. Kate is excited for her friend ... until Kate herself starts to develop feelings for Diego. Suddenly, Kate finds that while doling out wisdom to others may be easy, asking for help is tougher than it looks, and following your own advice is even harder.

Kasie West's adorable story of secrets, love, and friendship is sure to win over hearts everywhere.

My Thoughts

Listen to Your Heart follows Kate, an introvert girl who ends up being a cohost at her podcast class. Whoa, can you imagine how stress she was with the prospect of talking to the public even if it's not live recording, but still? I love reading her trying to live out of her comfort zone. 

Throughout this book, we also met Alana, Kate's number one best friend who had a hard crush on Diego Martinez. 

Kate wants to help her friend and the opportunity appears when she takes her cousin to tutoring center and Diego happens to works in there. Soon after, they got comfortable with each other but Kate still doesn't want to pursue Diego because of Alana. 

At the podcast, an anonymous guy calls in like almost every week talking about his secret crush and Kate's pretty sure the guy is Diego and the crush he was talking about was Alana. Wow wow wow. At this point, I already know the ending would be but I'm curious how Kasie West untangle all of this Kate-Diego-Alana mess. Spoiler alert, it doesn't disappoint me. Woho!

Yes, ninety-nine percent of this book is talking about romance (it's Kasie West, ladies and gentleman, what do you expect?) but there's this a small part I like, talking about a real problem. I like she include those issue in this book. 

If someone asks me to pick only one auto-buy author, what's your answer would be? Mine is Kasie West, obviously. With her, I always know what I would get. 

Maybe for some people, even me, all of her books are similar to each other. They follow the same formula: cuteness and fluffiness. Yes, and that's why my Kasie West rating was almost like 4 stars guarantee (I can't bring myself to rate it 5 stars because, hello, predictable issue). 

Although I can always predict how the plot of her books going to be, every time she publishes another book, I always want to read them. Because hey, life's hard, we get stressed over things in the real life and sometimes all we need is forget our problem for a while and Kasie's book is my go-to stress relief and reminds me there's always rainbow after storm. :)

Some quotes for me to always remember 

Sometimes the path of least resistance isn't necessarily the right path.

I am over him. I mean, I wasn't, or I thought I wasn't, but then he texted me a couple weeks ago and I realized there was nothing left but the idea of him. I wasn't over the idea of him but I was completely over him.

You don't necessarily get over fear. But you can succeed even if it's trying to hold you back.

"It'll get easier." I sighed. "Everything will get easier." It had to. People would forgive me. We'd move forward. And we'd all be okay.

I was definitely happy. But I was learning that my happiness wasn't necessarily tied to one particular place or even, either.

My rating is 4 out of 5 stars. 

Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody (The Shadow Game #1) Review

Book Synopsis

Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…

and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems. 

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play.

My Thoughts

Ace of Shades was advertised as the new ‘Six of Crows’. I’m sure there are many of us invest their time to read it because of that, including me. 

Shame, this book is far different than SoC. Levi is not the new Kaz Brekker. The story was quite confusing to me maybe because I had very high expectation before. It’s all about the highly educated student who just arrived at the city of sin looking for her missing mother. Her only clue was her mother’s letter saying if she couldn’t be found, please ask this Levi guy to guide her. Turns out Levi is one of the gang-lord members. I’m sure you can guess what happens with the good girl and bad guy plot. And it was the most irritable plot for me because there’s no single explanation why her mother recommends Levi to Enne. Like there’s no connection ever.

I have some complaints about this book 

First, I don’t feel any ‘dangerous’ vibe coming from Levi. As the gang-lord, he didn’t have any significant power over the city, his gang member challenge and leave him, he’s got problem with another mafia, etc. I saw him like a puppy wandering on the wrong side of the city, just like his nickname ‘Pup’. He is a puppy, not a wolf.

Second, Enne. The nice, innocent missy who got her hands dirty for searching her missing mother in the strange city. I feel disappointed over her character, especially on the beginning. She’s frustrated character to follow. Though she finds her backbones throughout the story, it’s not that believable plot. 

The city setting. If it’s explained properly, New Reynes should be one of the most interesting places in the fictional world, it should be like the dark place of New Vegas. But yeah, I don’t understand much of it. 

I feel terrible if I don’t mention the good part of this book. Thus, let’s talk about the good portion 

The magic/ability setting was interesting. You can’t choose for your own ability, it’s coming down from your parents and family. So you will have two abilities each inherited from your father and mother, one your dominant and one other ability. 

The story is much more interesting toward the ending, but already too late to make up with its mess beginning. 

Conclusion 

Ace of Shades had many potentials to be a powerful story on its own. The marketing team shouldn’t be called the new Six of Crows because there's no similar thing between those two (except the gang, I believe). 

My rating is 2.5 out of 5 stars and I round it down to 2 stars (on Goodreads) because I feel being cheated on.

Absolute Justice by Rikako Akiyoshi Review

Book Synopsis

Seharusnya monster itu sudah mati ….

My Thoughts

Pertama-tama, buku ini cocok banget bagi yang ingin melepas kangen dan merasakan aroma thriller sejenis Girls in the Dark (karya Akiyoshi Rikako yang terdahulu) sekali lagi. Menurut saya, ini buku yang paling mirip dengan Girls in the Dark.

Alur penceritaannya mirip, diceritakan dari sudut pandang empat wanita yang merupakan sahabat karib dari Noriko Takaki, sang Absolute Justice. 

Satu per satu kisah pertemanan pribadi mereka dengan Noriko dikupas. Apa yang mereka sukai dari Noriko dan apa yang membuat mereka benci.

Misteri telah diungkap dari bab-bab awal, tetapi tidak mengurangi rasa penasaran saya untuk mengetahui bagaimana kisah mereka selama bertahun-tahun. Semua memiliki masalahnya masing-masing. 

Buku ini lebih menekankan ke sisi thriller dibandingkan dengan misteri. Tidak ada plot yang spesial seperti pada Holy Mother tetapi plot twist-nya cukup membuat saya merinding disko waktu membaca di jam satu pagi. 

Seperti biasanya, gaya penulisan Akiyoshi yang misterius mampu membius saya untuk terus membaca chapter demi chapter. 

Satu lagi, judul Absolute Justice ini sangat "mencerminkan" cerita dari novel ini, seperti judul Holy Mother yang benar-benar menceritakan tentang "ibu yang suci". Saya suka dengan judul yang sangat bermakna dibalik Absolute Justice. 

Dan tentunya, ini menjadi buku Akiyoshi favorit kedua setelah Holy Mother. 

Good job, sensei! Thank you Penerbit Haru, ditunggu selalu terjemahan buku Akiyoshi Rikako berikutnya. :)

My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, May 17, 2018

Unwritten by Tara Gilboy Review

Book Summary

Twelve-year-old Gracie Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she’s never read. When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, took her out of the story, and into the outside world, where she could be safe.

But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her. Despite her mother’s warnings, Gracie seeks out the story’s author, setting in motion a chain of events that draws herself, her mother, and other former storybook characters back into the forgotten tale. Inside the story, Gracie struggles to navigate the blurred boundary between who she really is and the surprising things the author wrote about her. As the story moves toward its deadly climax, Gracie realizes she’ll have to face a dark truth and figure out her own fairy tale ending.

My Thoughts

What if every story ever is written is a world in another dimension, waiting for us to find it? 

Have you ever imagine that all of the characters in your favorite book might be alive in another dimension? That they are not just some two-dimensional characters but also speak and breath like us?

Gracie, a twelve-year-old girl, is coming literally out-of-the-book to our real world with her mom. Her original world, Bondoff was from the unpublished story. 

Her mom told her that her fate in the book didn’t end well, she died when she was just a baby in the story. So in order to save her, her mom took her out of their fiction village to the real world. 

When the author of Gracie’s story come to her town for fan signing, she couldn’t resist to meet her even though her mother bans her. She had to know her story from the author herself. Why did she intend to kill Gracie in her book? 

Before reading this book, I thought this was only like another middle-grade children book with a princessy story and cotton candy and cherry on top, I expect some light cute read just like the cover itself. Wow, I didn’t expect the story would be this kind of deep thinking. 

Regarding the word choice, this book is easy to finish. This is a middle-grade children book so the way the author telling us her story is simple and clear yet it holds true powerful meaning. 

Another good point I would like to say is I like the ending very much. I won’t spoil you how Gracie’s story ends, you need to read it yourself. ;)

A copy was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa Review (The Four Horsemen #1)

Book Summary

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all. 

When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.

Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed. 

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him. 

And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

My Thoughts

Pestilence is the story of the apocalypse plot filled with repetition, ignorant heroine, and cheap romance that undid me. The first book of this series told us about how the earth is on the brink of doomsday. The almighty God has sent His Horsemen to clean His human creature. One of them who actively killing people is Pestilence. His killing method by spreading infection among the people.

Meanwhile, there's Sara, a firefighter woman who lost bet and she had a task to kill Pestilence while all of the people in her town evacuated. Unfortunately, she didn't know that The Horsemen couldn't be killed. The angry Horsemen decided to keep Sara alive under his watch as his prisoner. And so the predictable situation began. 

Have you ever thought that within several years, your reading preference would be changed? 

Well, I just did, especially when I'm in the middle of reading this book. 

I feel if I read it like three years ago, I would easily give Pestilence four stars rating. That was when I'm all about reading all of those NA Paranormal Romance. 

Now I feel old, I got cringe over the whole plot. No, not that the author writes badly. I enjoy Laura Thalassa writing, her writing style made bearable for me to finish it and I will read her books more in the future. This series is just not my cup of tea.

My rating is 2 out of 5 stars

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, May 21, 2018

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Review

Book Summary

Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.
Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?

My Thoughts

I was fine, perfectly fine on my own, but I needed to keep Mummy happy, keep her calm so she would leave me in peace. A boyfriend - a husband? - might just do the trick. It wasn't that I needed anyone. I was, as previously stated, perfectly fine. 

We were introduced to this book with Eleanor doing her usual day. Her boring simple life as back-office employee who spends her Monday to Friday, eight-thirty to five-thirty doing her usual work. On weekend, she will spend alone with the company of one or two bottles of vodka waiting Monday to arrive. She has regular fifteen minutes phone-call with her mommy on Wednesday night. She doesn't know her father and doesn't have friend to share her life or just chit-chat through phone. She just completely alone in this world.

To some extent, I could totally understand her thoughts. Gail Honeyman is doing a great job bringing Eleanor as the main character. Eleanor is rarely thinking about her feeling. I feel sad and funny watching her struggle in the social life. For some time, I've been wondering how Eleanor's life will turn out throughout this book.

You don't miss what you've never had. 

This is a unique book. The story just flowing itself. It presented trough Eleanor's daily life, we only follow her day to day basis until I was realizing myself the story has brought us into the very deep level of Eleanor's life. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is kind of funny book, yet behind of those funny scenes, you understand there's a thick layer of sadness.


My personal favorite phrase that summarizes my own real-life struggle:

I would need to consider the risk/reward ratio carefully. Would the increase in salary compensate adequately for the increased amount of tedious administration work I'd be required to undertake, the augmented levels of responsibility for the successful functioning of the office and, worse still, for the significantly increased degree of interaction that I'd need to undertake with my colleagues? 

My rating for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is 4 out of 5 stars. 

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins Review

Book Summary

Love hurts...

Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.

Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets.

My Thoughts

When Stephanie Perkins writes thriller, I can't say this is a big success. I always adore her writing even though at some point now, I realize there's some element that I wouldn't like if it's in the real life (read: cheating on A&FK). But I could forgive her because of her capability to makes the execution perfect, like the plot, setting, her writing style, they made me forget about the mistake. I live for her fluffiness kind of story.

I couldn't say the same about this book. While I still like the romantic relationship aspect, the thriller element that supposed to be the center of this book was just weak. What I hope from her was I need some balance between the thriller and the romance, at least. What happened in this book is the thriller was just like a filter in the background, not the main story. 

Another thing that bugs me annoyingly is Makani's behavior. She's someone who got the second chance away with the new school environment and the new friendship. She knows there are some murders going on in her new school, yet it didn't make her be the more careful person. 

She just concerns about how to make out endlessly with her new boyfriend with lying to her grandma and her friends. GIRL! Could you put aside your selfish thoughts for a while?

Thankfully, we have wonderful characters around Makani. Her friends are cool and her grandmother is the coolest. I would prefer to be friend with her grandmother more than Makani. 

Sad to say this is the least okay book from Stephanie Perkins. I think it would be better for her if only she sticks with cotton candy romance. Trying to live out of your comfort zone? Yes, it's a huge okay of course, but sometimes you need to consider the plus and negative side of it.

My rating is 2/5 stars.

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, January 28, 2018

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files #2) Review

Book Summary

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

My Thoughts

Continuing the event after the end of Illuminae, we follow Gemina through the daughter of station captain of Heimdall, Hanna Donnelly and the nephew of the crime family, Niklas Malikov. Like the previous book, we follow their journey via IM's, chat, video surveillance, letters, and Hanna's doodles. 

Mind me, I've forgotten the whole Illuminae's plot but I think I enjoy this one better. My favorite character is Ella Malikov the hacker. I like I could see Hanna's character development. She's just those normal annoying rich kid at the beginning but she picks up herself quite nicely when the terrorist invasion takes place in her ship station. Together, Hanna, Nik, and Ella make a pack to defy the terrorist. Another good point we also met Kady, Ezra, and most importantly AIDAN later in this book and AIDAN still has this sassy side like before.

One downside from this book is the slowest pace on the beginning of this book. They could take out most of the first 200 pages. It's nothing important. Instead of 200 pages, they could squeeze it into like 50 pages only and the story still would be the same. Because of that, I've been putting down Gemina for almost a year now. I just continue reading this book because I want to finish it before Obsidio comes out next month. 

Thankfully, the pace is getting better for the rest of next 400 pages and I quite enjoy the ride. Especially the plot twist. Wow, bravo, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, February 6, 2018

My first bibliothon try - 2018 Winter Biannual Bibliothon Wrap Up

This is my first try joining an event like this and I quite satisfied with my wrap up result. 

This event is like when we are book lovers agreed to read along together for the specific time and specific kind of books. 2018 Winter Biannual Bibliothon was hosted by several booktubers and have seven reading challenges that you have to fulfill. This read-a-thon happens on one whole week long from 21st January until 26th of January.

So here is my wrap up result:

1. Read the group book

The group book for this time is Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller which I don't interest in reading it. I quickly browse the review on Goodreads and the rating was low for my average taste, it only has 3.66 stars. When I read the summary I don't think I will enjoy it. So I decided that this book will be my last reading material for this challenge if I still have spare time. I don't want to push myself to read something that I know I have no interest in and it would be throwing myself into reading slump. I ended up with not reading this group book at all because I ran out of time. Big fail for me on this challenge but I don't regret it. All is well.

2. Read a sequel

For challenge number two, I decided to go easy on myself and decided to pick two volumes of my favorite manga ever, Cardcaptor Sakura volume 10 and 11. This series has been my favorite since I was a kid and I'm glad that my local publisher decided to republish the whole series. When I go back to the Sakura's world as an adult now, I pick several things that the kid in me never realize before. CLAMP did a subtle job here to represent LGBT relationship as well as the age-different relationship. As always, Eriol is my favorite character ever and with the volume 11 end, my kid heart loves the closure CLAMP gave for Eriol characters. That's where I said goodbye to my childhood crush, Mr. Eriol. It's really great story, great characters, great journey. And now I'm waiting for the final volume to republish.

3. Read a book that you have never heard of before

Now, I'm a bit cheating on this challenge. I HEARD a lot about the hype surrounding on this book. So many people LOVED this book and the movie. The movie got so many praise and compliment. BUT, I never knew what exactly this book is about. Just from the cover itself, I know this is not the happy-rainbow type of book. So yeah, I'm putting my result for this challenge with The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. While this book is in simple read in letter format, I found myself hardly believe that I read from the perspective of 15 years old boy. I found a lot of immature in his letter and the way he thinks things. Another mistake I did was the fact I read it while listening to the audiobook as well. And the narrator just sucks. He has that deep old man voice. I really couldn’t fully concentrate while him describing teenager’s thoughts and opinions with that adult voice. 

4. Read a book about mental illness

I have several book options for this challenge. I have considered Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella and also The Rest of Us Just Lived Here by Patrick Ness. I heard both of the books have mental illness representation and both have the average ratings on Goodreads, not really 4 stars high, though. And I decided to pick up Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. This is the newest John Green's book and everyone said it has great mental illness representation there, OCD in this case, with own voices novel coming from the author himself. Turns out, I really love this book. The main character is my favorite teenager in John Green's work. I've also written the whole review of for this book.

5. Read a book that was mentioned in another book/movie/TV Show

One of The winter biannual bibliothon rules is you can use 1 book for up to 2 challenges and I ran out the time. So this is the same book I use for this challenge like challenge number 3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was mentioned in Gillmore Girls TV series. So, I can check my challenge number 5 done, can I?

6. Read a book under 200 pages

This is an easy challenge. I have several mangas that I own and need to read. But when my Hai, Miiko! volume 30 copy has arrived on Monday, I absolutely knew what's the perfect book (or manga) I need to read ASAP. Miiko volume 30 has 200 pages listed on Goodreads and with the justification of there are the title page, copyright page, etc, the story itself should be under 200 pages, right? ;) If I have to choose one manga over every other manga I could buy, I would always pick Miiko 100% sure. Hai, Miiko! has always and will always be my number one favorite manga ever. Also, I finished it in less than 30 minutes.

7. Read a backlist book

Read a backlist book aka any book released prior to 2017. You by Caroline Kepnes was first published in 2014. "You" was the psychological thriller from the perspective of the stalker himself. He stalked this one young woman through her public social media. Honestly, I had a mixed feeling about this book, somewhere in between intrigue and don't care for the victim's well-being at all because she got stalked by her own actions, I might say. I don't justify the stalker but if only the author made the victim more, I don't know, more lovable? Smarter? Then maybe I will enjoy this book more.

So this is my first read-a-thon wrap-up. I think I partially success with the challenges. I manage to read 6 books during one week, 3 are the full novels and the other 3 were mangas that I love, was a good achievement for me. I don't want to push myself really hard like I have to 100% success with all of those 7 challenges because reading is something that myself loves with all of my heart. Why do I need to push myself if I know I wouldn't enjoy it.

Will I join another bibliothon later? Yes, absolutely, if time and challenges are fit for me. 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green Review

Book Summary

Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. 

In his long-awaited return, John Green, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, shares Aza’s story with shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

My Thoughts

With my previous John Green's experience, I never felt I could relate to his characters. Admittedly, I only have read two of them, The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Town, and even one of them I DNF-ed it. While TFIOS was pretty okay for me, I couldn't connect with Hazel Graze, thus it was 4 stars okay reading for me. 

When Turtles All the Way Down was released last year, everyone was excited and raving about it nonstop just like when his previous book has been released. I don't feel the impulse to read another John Green soonest. But I got curious about how everyone talks about this book about this is the own voices novel about anxiety and OCD. So, why don't I try to give John Green another go?
Yes, thankfully I did and I could personally relate to Aza even though I don't have mental illness problem. She's the most human-teenager in the John Green world.

Even though I laughed with them, it felt like I was watching the whole thing from somewhere else, like I was watching a movie about my life instead of living it. 

What is my favorite part of this book? 

I could literally say EVERYTHING. Yes, in the first couple chapters I was skeptical about the story. Aza Holmes and her best friend Daisy hear news about a billionaire who runs off and the police offers some huge money to those who can give a tip about his whereabouts. And actually this billionaire's son, Davis was Aza's childhood friend, well, if you can say he friend. 

The story goes from there, Aza and Daisy start to investigate where Davis's dad trough Aza's long lost connection with Davis. 

I love how Aza starting her friendship (or relationship? I don't know how to call it) with Davis. For the most part, Davis's understandable about Aza situation was very cute and I felt grateful for it. But at the same time, I pity him. And I pity Aza. 

Not only I pity those two, I pity Daisy as well. Throughout this novel, Aza realizes how deep her friendship with Daisy. Daisy was not some random character who at the beginning of the book seems like important to the main character but as the story goes down, the author threw away and forget about her. Daisy is not the two-dimensional character, she has her own brain and feeling. She's constantly being there. I even feel Daisy was the imagination from a real person based on the authors real life. 

When I was little, I knew monsters weren't, like, real. But I also knew I could be hurt by things that weren't real. I knew that made-up things mattered, and could kill you. 

Turtles all the way down is very different with John Green's other books. It was way too personal and I even feel like I don't deserve to read it. Through this book, I learned a lot about anxiety, panic attack. I think this is the closest thing I could understand being touched by anxiety. And OCD, it's not just like those people who purposely shows through their Instagram page, like those childish matching color or something. No. OCD is mental illness, not something that you should proud to have it and through Aza, I learned a lot about the ugliness of it. The way John Green's explained to his reader was very personal and it was very valuable reading material.

You are as real as anyone, and your doubts make you more real, not less.

5/5 stars rating! 

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones (Wintersong #1) Review

Book Synopsis

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.

All her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms, Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music, or the end of the world. 

My Thoughts

Shame the story is not as beautiful as the gorgeous cover itself. 

I found character's thoughts inconsistency as we follow Elizabeth's journey from a dull innkeeper's daughter to a wife of the Goblin King. 

At first, she's very hesitant toward the Goblin King, because she only agreed to marry him just to save her sister back to the above world. Then in the instant after they are married, she wanted the Goblin King to want her. *insert rolling eyes*

Girl, can you have a bit of backbone here??

The sentences were beautiful and poetic but contrast with Strange the Dreamer, it didn't please me and only made me bored throughout the story. The pace was slow, nothing much ever happened here only to listen to Elizabeth's longing for her brother. I almost forgot the main interest was the Goblin King not her brother, Joseph. 

Elizabeth's worry for Joseph was taken much often than thoughts of her husband. Not that I didn't grateful she remembers her family, but it felt like the main direction of this story was shifted from the original purpose.

I just glad when this is over.

My rating 2/5 stars.

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, January 11, 2018

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Book Synopsis

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.

But when Frances meets Aled, the shy genius behind her favourite podcast, she discovers a new freedom. He unlocks the door to Real Frances and for the first time she experiences true friendship, unafraid to be herself. Then the podcast goes viral and the fragile trust between them is broken.

Caught between who she was and who she longs to be, Frances’ dreams come crashing down. Suffocating with guilt, she knows that she has to confront her past…

She has to confess why Carys disappeared…

Meanwhile at uni, Aled is alone, fighting even darker secrets.

It’s only by facing up to your fears that you can overcome them. And it’s only by being your true self that you can find happiness.

Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has. 

My Thoughts

People move on quicker than I can comprehend. People forget you within days, they take new pictures to put on Facebook and they don't read your messages. They keep on moving forward and shove you to the side because you make more mistakes than you should. Maybe that was fair. Who was I to judge, really? 

Oh my God, way to go off with spectacularly, 2018! 

I have yet found another gay couple I'm shipping so so much after Simon and Blue from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Now, I proudly say, I found them. ❤️

Whereas Simon and Blue made me giggle and put my big grin on the entire book, Aled and Daniel made me feels completely on the contrary. They made me FEEL EVERYTHING. 

No, this is not a usual love story, the romance is not the main point. This book also tackles a lot of other things. LGBTQ++ characters, the platonic friendship between boy and girl, the pressure on how good your grade is at school, the disappointment if you are into art, not math. 

I should also mention about the rainbow from this novel, the relevance of pop culture and social media nowadays. The fame and the consequences you got when you put yourself open on the internet. It was just as enchanting and scary as it normally should be. 

The chapters were short, as short as it can be. The story just flowing itself without much conflict at the beginning. It was just like any other slice of life story but suddenly you couldn't stop reading because you just realized how deep the story was.

I can't say anything other than please do me a favor, just pick this book and don't read the synopsis (and this my crap review), they justify nothing about the book. 

God, what a ride. 

Why should I have to go just because everyone's telling me to? My m-mother? Nobody should be able to make my decisions for me. I'm here now and I'm waiting and it's going to happen. Was there even any choice involved? Do I sound like I care about school? I don't remember it happening. I don't remember anything I've done, or why. Everything's very confused. Everything's better under the stars, I suppose. If we get another life after we die, I'll meet you there, old sport... - transcription from Universe City: Ep. 126 - ghost school 

My Rating: 5/5 stars all of the stars in the sky.

Originally posted on my Goodreads page, January 5, 2018

Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West Review

Book Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters.

My Thoughts

This is my first reading in 2018 and I don't regret it!

I always trust Kasie West's works because they always success to make me warm with her those adorable cute scenes. Having to read all of her novels, unfortunately, it also has a downside. It made her predictable for me. I got bored with her previous book, Lucky in Love which I only rated 2 stars. No, it was not terrible, it was far from terrible actually. But I got bored, it was like reading the same book over and over with the only difference at the characters name. Nevertheless, my faith for Kasie West has not crushed completely. Thankfully, she picked her pace forward. This book offers me something different yet it still holds Kasie West's magic.

It has mental illness subject, a piece of heart-broken, normal friendship, and unrequited love. For the first time, I didn't know where Kasie West heading with her characters, she told us a story about how to heal a broken heart, how to get move on, and I got a bit teary in the middle of her books (!!!) and it was everything I didn't know I needed. Thank you, Kasie West! I'm glad, she still my auto-buy author because this one is my favorite so far.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Originally posted on my Goodreads page on January 4, 2018