Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April 2015)
303 pages
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

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My Review

There was a lot of hype surrounding this book and a whole lot of people mentioning Oreos as well. I just HAD to read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for myself. I am so very delighted to say that I liked it. I liked it a lot. Since I had a lot of reactions (laughing, smiling, swooning, anger, etc.) while reading I did goodreads updates along the way. So that is how I will share my feels with you for this review. (I did have a few mishaps while trying to do updates from my phone which is why the first one is blank and the last one that said I finished apparently isn't on there.)

The Bottom Line: Although I am only giving this book 4 stars, I enjoyed it immensely. I do think all the hype surrounding the book may have made me set the bar a little too high for Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and that is why I didn't give it five stars. But the writing was fantastic, Simon was memorable, and it was full of cuteness and realness. You should probably take the time to read it. ;)

The Outlander Series 2015 Reading Challenge Giveaway!

I can't believe my Outlander challenge has officially come to a close. Time flies. I am so sorry that I ended up getting two months behind with the Outlander posts, but I have a really good reason. I bought my first house and got a second job a couple of months ago, which in turn made for one crazy summer. Anyway...

Even though I failed at my own challenge, some of you succeeded and deserve to be recognized for your efforts. Whether you read 1, 2, or all of the books in the series, you can enter to win a $10 gift card to The Book Depository or Amazon! Heck, I even have a free entry for anyone who originally signed up in the challenge, because I of all people know that sometimes you have the best intentions but life gets in the way. Not to mention that I never pass up an opportunity to help support my fellow book nerds' bookish buying habits. ;) All you have to do is share the links to your reviews on the books in the rafflecopter below. It can be a link to a blog post, a tweet, a goodreads review, etc. Anything that shows that you read the book counts. Good luck!

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How many books did you read? I read two. I still plan to finish the series in the nearish future.

Review: Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine

Ink and Bone (#1) by Rachel Caine (July 2015)
351 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Other
Publisher: NAL
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn.…

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My Review

If I were to only pick one word to describe this book it would have to be impressive. It may not be perfect, and it may not have hit epic status with me, but the book was pretty darn impressive.

What I Liked

• The male POV. We don't get a lot of those and I loved that this book is all about Jess, a boy who loves books with an imperfect family and a clever mind. I liked this kid.
• The books. The fact that this book is centered around books and the information they provide makes me like it since I do happen to be a big fan off books myself. How books are treated, very interesting. It was crazy, sad, and surprising.
• The technology was impressive. I found this world that Rachel Caine conjured up to be impressive and unique. 
• When I finally started feeling the intensity of what was going on. There seems to be a lot going on in this book and the stakes were high, but I wasn't feeling that way at first, but then I was, and it was glorious.
• There is a competition of sorts. You all know I love competition/challenges/mind games in my books. This has an abundance of those elements.

What I Didn't Like

• The confusion. Even though this book and its elements were impressive, it was kind of confusing for a big chunk of the book. At least it was for me. Others probably won't have that issue. This was frustrating.
• This was just a me thing, but it didn't hit epic status for me and I was kind of disappointed about that.
• There were several characters in this competition to work at The Library and it was hard connecting with any of them as much as I would have liked. Even some of the more prominent ones.

The Bottom Line: Give it a shot. 

Library Loot #37

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

** I know I always say this, but I am really excited about this week's loot. The only bad part, having too many reading options to choose from.

My Library Loot

I NEED to know what Oreos have to do with this book!

This seems like a perfect suspenseful fall read.

This is my next audiobook read! This one is narrated by David Tennant!

The hype is calling to me. Call me intrigued. 

That cover draws me in every time.

TTT #48: Ten Books On My Fall TBR

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

I LOVE all things fall, especially fall books that are read with a hot cup of coffee and a throw. I originally had 20 books on this list, but that seemed just a little too long for a top TEN post so I narrowed it down. It took a lot of work. I ended up picking five previously released books from my TBR pile and five new books that are going to be released this fall. I ran short on time so I just posted the covers of the books, but basically I chose books that felt like fall to me. Sorry that is so abstract but you probably know what I mean. I really hope I do read all of these this fall! Share your fall picks in the comments below!

Previously Released Titles From My TBR Pile

New Books Being Released This Fall

Review: Loop by Karen Akins

Loop (#1) by Karen Akins (2014)
324 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Time Travel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels... at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn't go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn't think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tag-along uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.

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My Review

I am a huge fan of time traveling books. If only I could time travel in real life... Anyway, Loop was a pleasant addition to the genre and I am very glad I read it. I was intrigued right from the start.

Bree is a time traveler, and she is hilarious. Talk about a girl after my own heart. Bree tends to run head first into a lot of mishaps and handles it as best she can, with gusto. As for Finn, he is adorable, loyal, and mysterious. Watching those two together try to handle all the crazy that is going on with time travelers is ridiculously fun! I absolutely delighted in reading about these charming and easy to relate to characters.

Most time traveling books are full of mysteries and time jumping rules and issues, and Loop is no different. I loved Karen Akins' time traveling world. I was always on my toes, never knowing exactly what to expect. I wanted to know what the heck was going on. It was always exciting!

I'm sorry I am not going to go into more details about Loop, but I refuse to give any of the time traveling/plot secrets away. All that you really need to know is that Loop is a very fun and exciting read.

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness.Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

Fun Bookish News

17 New YA Novels You'll Want to Cozy Up With This Fall - There are so many good books coming out this fall. My fall TBR pile is crazy.

The Most Popular Books in US Public Libraries, Mapped by Cities - This isn't too surprising since I work at a library and see what gets checked out all the time, but it is still very interesting! 

24 Extreme YA Book Cover Makeovers - Some are for the better and some are for the way worse.

What We Learned about Harry Potter From J.K. Rowling's Twitter - Does anything HP related ever get old? No it doesn't.

Adorable Photos of Dogs and Books - Just because.

Yoga for Writers - I really need to make some more time for yoga, and this infographic is awesome.

Fellow Book Blogger Posts

Bookmark Lit - Football + Books - I need to do this tag!

Reviews from a Bookworm - Why I am Team Chaol - I too am team Chaol! 

Buckling Bookshelves - A Bookish Decorating Project - I <3 this and want to do it myself! 

Caffeinated Book Reviewer - Blog Ahead October Challenge - I am debating if I want to sign-up for this one. I could use a good blog ahead challenge.

Video of The Week