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Since ordering and receiving my past OwlCrate box, I have been following them on social media, and was very jealous looking at all the posts of the boxes coming out. Last week, they had a big sale on all their past boxes, and I had to get one. I picked the April box with the theme "Head over Heels" from April because the book looked great and it featured many items based off my favorite books. Here is my unboxing experience; enjoy!  Here is everything that came in the box this time around; I was very impressed at the range and amount of products, it seemed like a lot for my money's worth! As always, OwlCrate does a perfect job of including and supporting small businesses and artists, and I was not disappointed.
The art for the month's card was beautiful; I absolutely loved how it featured the bookstore with the little "OwlCrate" section, showing off some of the books from previous boxes.  The first item my eyes were drawn to when opening the box was this candle. I had heard it was based off of Rainbow Rowell novels, but there were 3 possibilities that could've ended up in the box. I was very happy to see I had Baz and Simon, as I have just recently read Carry On (an amazing novel). Plus, I love the smell of raspberries and this smells like raspberry candy.  ekfnke I was very excited to see an article of clothing in this month's box! I pulled out this headband and you can immediately tell that it was handmade. The fabric was also super soft and stretchy, plus it has words from Pride & Prejudice on it, which is one of my favorite classics.  This chocolate cherry bomb tea is based off of Stephanie Perkin's Anna and the French Kiss, one of the classic contemporary novels of today. I am a big fan of her novels and I can tell I will be a very big fan of this tea, chocolate cherry sounds delicious!  A gorgeous art print featuring a quote from A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Mass is going to find it's rightful place on my bookshelf somewhere once I get a frame. This series has been on my must-read for a while, and I plan on getting to it this summer. The quote itself is beautiful and I love the simple color and design of the print.
Another book that has been on my must-read for a while, Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is actually being turned into a film in early 2018. This small keychain from Bookworm Boutique is super cute and is going to look great attached to a bag or a set of keys.  The last thing in the box was the book of the month, in this case The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. I have heard many great things about this book and author in general, and I cannot wait to read this novel. The book follows Molly Peskin and her love life, with constant unsuccessful crushes. That is, until, she meets a guy or two that might change her confidence. I can already tell that it is going to be a fun-read, and I'm excited to get to it. The book also came with a note from the author, a signed bookplate, and a sticker! That is all that was featured in this year's April OwlCrate Box. I was very surprised with the large amount and range of items featured in the box, and how different each item was to what I received in December. OwlCrate will definitely be seeing more purchases in the future from me. If you would like to purchase this box or others, click here. I hope you have a fantastic week!
xx Hanna
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Happy new year! It is officially 2017! I hope that you all had a great holiday and spent it with the people you love. Recently, I decided to try out OwlCrate, a monthly subscription box dedicated to YA books. Each month has a different theme, with book related items related to that theme, along with a book. In today's post I am going to be guiding you through my first unboxing.  First of all, the box has super cool packaging, I love the design and the little owl on it (reminds me of harry potter, ey?) Before I show you whats inside, here is a little background on how the company works: - each box is based around a theme and includes a new book, and 3-5 other book related items - all of the items are made from arists of very small companies, and some make items that are exclusive to the OwlCrate box! - The author/publisher includes excluse items with the book (including a handwritten letter from them!)  The theme for December 2016 was Epic reads. I was very impressed by the thought in care that went into every single item in this box.   Here is perfect example of how well-put together the box is. It includes a card with all of the items included in the box and where they are from, but on the frotn is exclusive artwork that includes hints to all of the books refrenced in the box! Here is a walkthrough of everything that came in the box:  This little figurine is made by Funko who are well known for their figures. The size of these are perfect, and I have to agree that Harry Potter is an epic read!  Now this is definetely one of my favorite items in the box, it is a little pin made by Ideal Bookshelf, themed around Lord of the Rings. I can't get over how cute it is, and how nice it will look on any tote, backpack, or jacket.  I literally just opened these, and can smell the fresh paint used to make these. They are coasters from Dark Horse Comics, based of off Game of Thrones. The quality of these coasters are amazing, and I know that I'll bring them out when I have friends over.
This beautiful card was drawn by Susan Draws, and feautres a scene from the wonderful Chronicles of Narnia. A perfect edition to this December box, as the card is very wintry!  With a quote from A Darker Shade of Magic, this sticker makes a notebook or laptop more inspirational. The artist of this sticker is Miss Phi.
 Finally, the box came with an Epic read, along with some exclusive items, the handwritten letter and bookmark pictured above. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst is a diverse fantasy novel, and I am very excited to read it! It is the author's debut novel, and the storyline sounds brilliant. Here is the synopsis OwlCrate gave: "Princess Dennaleia has been betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom since she was a child, and the time has finally come for the alliance to take place. Denna is thrown into her new life, having to learn to navigate through hidden politics, a growing uprising, and finding her place in the castle - all while trying to hide her own powers. Things get even more complicated when Denna finds herself beginning to fall in love with the prince's sister, Mare." The next box will be sent out in January 2017, and theme will be Classic Remix! I highly recommend giving the company a try, there is no special commiment, you can purchace multiple months, or only one if you choose! I reccomend using the code WELCOME10 at checkout for 10% off! That concludes this weeks post! I haven't done a post focused around books in a while, and I really missed it. I have been in a bad reading slump the past few months, and my TBR has been getting larger, but I can't seem to finish a book. Have any of you experienced this problem? Share some tips in the comments. Also, have you gotten an OwlCrate before or plan to? Let me know, I would love to hear from you. Have a fantastic week!
xx Hanna After a year of my bookshelf becoming very cluttered and dusty, I decided it was time to re-organize it, and in-turn give my bedroom a new, fresh look. Below, you will find pictures of each section of my bookshelf, along with explanations on how I organized it, and other options to organize it yourself. You can also take a peek at all the lovely novels I have stocked on my shelves. Enjoy!
In my bedroom I have two thin bookshelves from IKEA on either side of a wall. Before, they were organized by series and non-series. This made it easy when picking the next book in a series, or recommending a stand-alone novel to someone. The only problem was that is wasn't very visually pleasing, and got cluttered very quickly. This time I decided to follow a path that is very visually pleasing, and organized my books by color. In front of some colors, I put small memorabilia that matched the color of the books, and it really added to making the shelf look cozy, but not cluttered. Other possibilities I considered when organizing were: - by authors last name - by height - by genre - by reading age level  Here is the red through light green section of my bookshelf. The novels I have are from ages 6 and up, so there are a lot of Children's novels and only a few YA. I highly recommend Me and Earl and the Dying Girl if you have yet to read it. The BFG is also a great book, despite being a children's novel. I have yet to see the movie, but really want to. In front, I placed a red colored pencil made with real wood and a small green trophy.  This shelf contains my dark green through blue novels. There were a lot in between those two colors, so I faded the blue dark to light instead of light to dark. My all time favorite book when I was little is found on this shelf, The Name of this Book is Secret. There is also the classic Mockingjay, and a few other silly children's reads. In front I put a box of motivational cards, and a small statue from Amsterdam.  On this shelf the colors fade from light blue to purple to pink and finally to white. The majority of the novels on this shelf are books I read when I was really little, including Flat Stanley, Charlotte's Web, etc. One of my favorite recent reads was Girl Online, which was written by a YouTuber. The main character is a blogger, which made the novel very relatable. In front is a little bobble head butterfly from Mexico and a stress baseball.  The last shelf fades from white to brown to black, and actually contains a lot of novels I have yet to read. I recently purchased The Rose Society, Lady Midnight, and Scarlet and I plan on reading them soon. A classic that I highly recommend reading Looking for Alaska is also found on this shelf. In front, I put an old pair of sunglasses. That concludes my bookshelf tour! I hope you enjoyed looking through some of the novels I have, and maybe got a little inspiration for your next read. If you have other ideas on how to organize your bookshelf, comment them below! Also, if you re-organize your bookshelf be sure to tag me on Instagram or Twitter so I can see them! I hope you have a fantastic week!
xx Hanna Happy Sunday! Since it is reaching the half way point in summer, I decided to share with you what I have been reading recently. My goal this summer is to catch up on the dozens of books I want to read, and share them with you. Today I will share the books I have read already and the ones I plan on reading. I hope you enjoy! Read.I have not read as many books as I wished to at this point, mostly because it has been a lot busier of a summer than I thought. Either way, here are some quick summaries and reviews, without any spoilers. 1. Cinder - Marissa Meyer As the first book I read this summer, it took a bit to ease into, but got addicting quickly. At first, I didn't think it would be my type of novel, as I am not the biggest fan of sci-fi, but it blew me away. It is a retelling of Cinderella, in a futuristic setting. Cinder, a cyborg, has a hand at mechanics and comes across doing a job for the prince. Meanwhile, a plague takes over the city and starts to threaten her loved ones. As the story continues, she gets more intertwined with the prince than she thought, and discovers some secrets about herself along the way. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 2. Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard This novel is by far an all time favorite of mine, and the best I have read this summer. It has twists and turns, and I ended up reading it incredibly fast. The novel takes place in a time where the world is divided by the color of people's blood. Mare is a commoner, and a red, forced to see herself being drafted into the war in her near future. Soon, she finds herself in the Silver palace, at the hands of 2 princes, one which she is engaged to. As her royal life continues, she finds the battles between Reds and Silvers, and prince vs prince a lot harder than expected. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!!! 3. Finding Audrey - Sophie Kinsella Audrey, a young teenage girl, finds herself struggling with anxiety and bursts of depression because of a bullying episode at school. In turn, she never leaves the house, never looks people in the eye, and constantly wears dark sunglasses. That is, until she meets Linus, who begins to change her life for the better. She can connect with him and explain her issues, and he does anything to help her get better. Through her personal experience of mental illness, readers get a realistic glimpse of the serious issue, and how treatment works. It was an eye-opening read, and great for those who need a quick novel. Despite this, it is not anything exceptional like the other novels. Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 4. Passenger - Alexandra Bracken Etta, a violinist, discovers she can time travel during one of her performances. She then meets Nicholas Carter, who helps her piece together clues to find a perilous artifact. During the epic journey, romance blooms, as does Etta's awareness of social norms throughout history. Although quite a slow book, it expresses a unique moral and teaches history. There are many jaw dropping moments and I couldn't stop reading when I reached the last 100 pages. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Currently ReadingI am currently reading one book and listening to another. Although it is too soon to give any rating or summery, I am going to mention them and give an update on how the reading process is going. 1. Why We Broke Up - Daniel Handler Just read the author biography and found out that this same author, under the name Lemony Snicket, wrote the Series of Unfortunate Events. The overall summery is about a relationship between Min and Ed, with each chapter being about an item in the box Min is returning to the broken-hearted Ed. It is a pretty quick read, and includes many colorful illustrations. Overall a good novel thus far. 2. Mosquitoland - David Arnold I just started listening to this book today. and it is already very addicting to read. The plot is about a girl who's family has fallen apart, forcing her to move when she didn't want to. She finds a chance to escape back to her mother via a bus ride around 1,000 miles. A quirky, fun book, but at the same time very serious. Love it, That concluded my post for this week. I hope it gave you some ideas of what to read this summer if you are bored. Most of the novels I have been reading have been better than expected, and I now have a lot more series to keep up with. Have a great week!
xx Hanna I feel like it has been forever since I've done a post in the book section of the blog! To be honest, I haven't been reading as much as I would like lately. Without the distractions of school and a super busy schedule, I plan on doing a lot more reading this summer. Maybe I'll even plan something special on the blog, like a book club or something, we'll see ;) Anyways, until then I want to share with you one of my most recent reads. I recently finished The Young Elites by Marie Lu, and it was yet another book of hers that finished with a 'bam'. Since I've thoughtfully enjoyed all of her books I have read to far, I decided to share my thoughts on her epic reads. I hope to read The Rose Society as soon as I can get my hands on it! The Legend SeriesAfter finishing the last book in the series, I was shocked. I won't tell you what happened, other than that it was very unexpected. The series starts off with Legend, a very warm-hearted start to the series, but filled with surprising and exciting turns. It was the perfect introduction to get to know the characters, and sets the mood for the series. The second book, Prodigy, does not live up to the first, but definitely gives the reader information needed to progress the story. It was just too much information in one book for me, not placed out evenly enough to provide a lot of suspense. The third book blew me away though. Champion was a fantastic ending to the series, hitting all the right places to make the readers feel all the feels. It made me wish there was more to the series. After having little incentive to read it after the second book, it made me love Marie Lu's writing style once again. Overall series rating: 4 out of 5 stars The Young ElitesWhen reading this novel, I felt as if it had a very specific, classy feel to it. Lu really captured the protagonist with her writing style, making what the character did seem confident, right, and important. There were some parts that were a little slow in the book, but it all built up to the mind-blowing ending. It was artfully written, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. The story follows a girl called Adelina, who is scarred from a plague and discovers she has a power, a dark power. In turn, she meets some people who help her control and understand who she really is. There is also small sections of the book in these characters perspectives: Enzo Valenciano and Teren Santoro. During the story, she slowly uncovers her her real friends are, and who are her enemies. An overall darker turn for Lu, this novel will make even the reader feel powerful when reading. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars I hope you enjoyed stepping back into the reading side of this blog! Let me know down in the comments if you have read any of Marie Lu's books, or have any suggestions for me to read. Also, if you have any fun ideas you want to do this summer, let me know. I hope you have a fantastic week. (I'll be studying for finals :( sadly)
xx Hanna The past week I have kind of been down the rabbit hole, as I was crammed with midterms, so I could not post on Sunday. But no worries, a make-up post has arrived. A little over a week ago, I saw the 5th Wave movie after reading both the first and second books, and I figured I would do a combination review on them. Enjoy, you book lovers! The Books.I first came across the book series after seeing on Instagram that Chloe Grace Moretz was starring in it (I followed her when If I Stay came out). Looking up the book, I noticed it was pretty popular, so I added it to my to-be read list, which I will point out, is extremely long. Luckily, I came across the book one day in the library when browsing the shelves, and I knew it was destiny. I must admit, the book took me quite a while to read, although I recently have been taking a lot longer to read books because there never seems to be enough time for it. (Anyone else experiencing the same thing?) If you haven't already read it, take my advice: make sure to have the second book on hand once you finish the first, because it ends on a cliffhanger. Although the beginning was a little slow, it really introduced you to the characters, and I felt like I knew them all well by the end. What I enjoyed most about the book were the many plot-twists that surprised me. Most of the books I've read recently are very predictable, and I enjoyed having the suspense to make me want to read. Here is my rating: 4 out of 5 stars - with thrilling suspense and action, great for those who love science fiction, but geared towards Young Adult readers, the 5th Wave is a great novel for many readers. The second book, in my opinion, was almost pointless. If not for the last 20-75 pages of suspense, nothing would have happened in the entire book. Granted, it is about 200 pages shorter than the first book, which was also a little slow. Either way, I hope that reading this was worth it for the 3rd and final book coming out soon. I expect it to be action-filled if it wants to redeem itself from the slow sequel. My rating is: 2.5 out of 5 stars The Movie.For many, the 5th Wave movie did not disappoint. When looking up reviews from other book lovers, they claim it was one of the best book to movie adaptations they've seen. Personally, I agree. Although, there is the factor to consider that this move was a lot easier than say the Hunger Games, and Divergent, with the advanced technology. Those who saw the movie without reading the book beforehand were likely extremely confused, as the movie was aimed towards those who had. Therefore, when looking up the reviews for the movie, they are not amazing. Regardless, if you have read the 5th Wave or plan on reading it, the movie is a great visual, and did an excellent job of bringing the book to life. Happy Wednesday! Wanna know why it's happy? Because that means it is almost Friday :) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and was a good make-up for not posting on Sunday. It feels good to be done with all the tests, kind of like what I imagine reviving from the dead would feel like. In any case, I wish you a good rest of the week, and you'll hear from me on Sunday!
xx Hanna  Recently, I read the latest novel Lauren Oliver has written for young adults. I first heard of this author 2 years ago when a friend was raving about the book , Delirium. Since then, I have read the Delirium Trilogy, Before I Fall, Panic, and recently, Vanishing Girls. Today I will give a review of this book, explaining the plot and why I enjoy this specific author so much. Summary.Vanishing Girls starts off in Nick's perspective, a teenager who is checking up on her sister Dara, at a party, This was Before, though. Before the accident. Before they were driven apart. When Nick returns home After, everything is different. Her mother is a mess because of the divorce. She notices her sister there, but never sees her. That is, until the night of Dara's birthday, when Nick watches her leave on a bus. At first, Nick thinks it's a joke. After all, Madeline Snow, a nine-year old girl, is missing too. Dara probably just wanted some attention. But Nick soon realizes the disturbances link together, and attempts to find her sister before someone else can. Rating.4.5 out of 5 stars This novel was a thrilling page turner, but only for the last 150-200 pages. Personally, I found the beginning of the book a little slow and unnecessary, and think the ending could have been dragged out more. Yet, the plot was excellent, and made you want to finish it in a day. Despite my wishes for more out of the ending, I also kind of love how sudden it was. It was like going through life deaf seeing half of life's perspective, and then suddenly getting your hearing back. ( sorry for that horrible example ). Overall, it's the best book I've read all summer, and ties for #1 with my other favorite Lauren Oliver book, Before I Fall. Thank you for reading my review on Lauren Oliver's novel Vanishing Girls. I understand I'm probably reaching out to a smaller portion of fans with this book section of my blog, but reading is a main part of my life, and I wanted to share with others who care. If any of you also write book recommendations, please comment with a link to your page. Also, if you have any ideas of book posts to do later in time ( that are not reviews ! ) please let me know. Question of the Day:
Favorite book from August? comment below!
This past week I have finally gotten my hands on a library card and decided to use the free week to my advantage. During this time I read: Read Between the Lines, Just One Day, and I'll Give You the Sun. Since they were ugly library books, I did not take photos of the covers, although I will link all of my reviews to Amazon, where you can view the book further.
Read Between the Lines - Jo Knowles
This book was definitely my favorite of the 3 I read this past week. I enjoyed how different the story was; never before have I read something like this. I always appreciate an author when they try to make their books unique.
Summary
The perspective starts off in a high school freshman, Nate, whose middle finger gets broken in gym class. Each chapter brings alive a new character, but you'll be surprised how smoothly things connect. A single day brings the community together as you slowly understand more from every perspective. From cheerleaders and jocks, to misunderstood 'misfits', all the stories collide, because all the information you need is found if you read between the lines. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Just One Day - Gale Forman
I hate to admit it, but I only picked this book off the shelf because I had read If I Stay, and Where She Went by Gale Forman. Not even peaking at the summary, I thought it would be a great read. But in reality, it was only a good read. Undoubtedly, this book took the longest to read because I wasn't drawn in page by page.
Summary
Lu Lu, also known as Allyson Healy, is an orderly, precise person. Or rather, until she visits Paris unexpectedly with Willem. There, she turns into a completely different person, one who is up for adventure. Throughout the year after her trip, Allyson starts to discover herself. Slowly she peals away the layers until she finds who she really is. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars I'll Give You the Sun - Jandy Nelson
The best word to use that would describe this book would be artsy. It takes some deep thought while reading the book, which is a good thing. I enjoyed having to think more into the story because it was told in a mismatched order. In fact, Jandy Nelson brings many morals into the story, about lies, acceptance, and love.
Summary
Noah and Jude. JudeandNoah. This is how it always was for the twins when they were younger, attached in every way. However, when death bells ring their love for each other gets buried too. Taken in both perspectives, I'll Give You the Sun, slowly brings together two halves of a story in order to create a whole. And with a whole story comes a whole family again. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Question of the Day:
Favorite book genre? comment below! |
