Daisy Update (59)

So a LOT has happened since my last update, but not all of it's interesting ;)

At the moment, I'm recovering from my night shift week of DOOM, I worked 5 nights in a row and while that may not sound like much, it adds up to over 50 hours and now I have a really tired and am slowly adjusting to being awake during the day instead of at night. I'd flipped my rhythm around so well that I wasn't even all that tired yesterday morning when the day shift people came, which is not really a good sign. But the kitty has been cuddly and I have a soft blanket, so I think it'll be ok :)

We had another book club meeting, we went out for sushi, which is YUM and talked about anything and everything and scared other visitors of the restaurant again. Which is always fun :D I love these girls, and book club night is one of my favourite things each month! I love how we can share our love of reading and fangirl over things together and also rant about other things, even if we don't always agree on everything.

Last week I went our for lunch and shopping with two of my friends, who I hadn't seen in a while and it was lovely to catch up with them! One of them is having a tough time and I'd been checking in on her by phone, but it's not the same as seeing how she's doing in person. Also, these two are the best shopping buddies! One of them is the same size as me, which can be unfortunate if there's only one size left, but our body types are different enough that it's not really a problem and it was especially fun when she handed me one of the dresses she had tried and didn't really like on her and I bought it and then we did the same thing in reverse at the next store.

We had a bit of a scare Friday evening, the kitty runs around the backyard when the weather is nice, but we thought we'd kitty-proved it so she couldn't get out, which as worked so far. But then she was suddenly nowhere to be found and it turns out she'd escaped and was gallivanting about with some of the other kitties that live on our street near some houses they are building right behind ours. Which wouldn't have been such a problem, if only she came back when we called and tried to bribe her with treats and such. But she hid in one of the houses and then we couldn't find her anymore and OMG I was so worried! In the end she came home, but she was all jumpy and just a scared little kitty-cat and now I'm in overprotective cat mom mode and saying she's not going out ever again. Maybe I'll change my mind, but this first experience with kitty out of the yard wasn't a good one.

This afternoon the boyfriend and I will probably head out to get some new flowers and other plants for the backyard. The weather has been getting better over the last week and we should start making our little garden look nice again. I love shopping at this kind of store, so I'm always good with plans like this :)

I hope you're all having a great week!

Review of 101 Essential Tips: Cat Care

Title/Author: 101 Essential Tips: Cat Care by Andrew Edney
Publisher/Date published: DK, April 21st 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

So I requested this book a little while after we first got our cat. Who is obviously the cutest kitty in the whole world, but that's beside the point. The point is that we'd never had a cat in our home before and aside from the obvious stuff, I didn't know much about the pretty felines. And if you are like me, this book is a good basis to build from!

I really liked how the tips are all accompanied by a photo or another visual, because it makes it fun and easy to read and I like looking at cute kitties when I'm reading a book with tips on their care. It's a short book and very easy to get through in a short amount of time, and they get to the point, which is a good thing.
I'm actually more of a fan of some other books on cat care I've read that go into more detail and deal with background about the how and why of things, but if you read 101 Essential Tips: Cat Care, you get a good basis on which to interact and care for your cat.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

Title/Author: The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre
Publisher/Date published: Feiwel & Friends, April 7th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine... until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.

Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.

But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again...

I feel like a bit of a black sheep scrolling through the Goodreads ratings of this book, but I didn't like it as much as other people have so far.

I was all set to go for the cute and swoony read, but it never got there for me. I mean, I was ok with Sage at first, it's pretty cool that she's leaving positive messages on people's lockers and just trying to be the best version of herself, but it also felt REALLY forced. I mean, I was never entirely sure if what she was showing the outside world was actually who she was with all her causes and do-gooder attitude or if it's just something she's playing at. And she has this big dark secret (that we don't get to find out until about 75% through, which really annoyed me) and the mention of Shadow Sage which got tiring pretty fast for me. I mean, honestly, we're never really told exactly why Shadow Sage would know what to do with bullies and how to get back at them and everything. I wasn't that impressed.
It did feel pretty realistic that she was constantly being on her best behaviour around her aunt, who took her in, because she was afraid she would get sent back into the system if she wasn't the perfect kid. I do very much get this, because that would be scary.

There's the potential for a love triangle here, but it doesn't really happen, basically because Sage ignores the guy's feelings for her and instead dives into a relationship with Shane. I mean, the other guy has been her best friend for years and when he tells her he's in love with her she gets mad at him because of lying to her (about something that was pretty much a big NO-NO) and then they never really talk about it after. WTF?
Also, the start of the relationship with Shane felt off, it felt a bit stalkerish from her side to me and I was just not really into it. And for me it felt like insta-love, I mean, there's an actual quote in chapter three that says "Until this moment, I didn't realize I was walking around all this time with a Shane-shaped hole inside of me". I mean, SERIOUSLY??? SO much cheese, which I'm usually ok with, but it was way over the top in here.
Towards the end she does this big gesture thing to help him get out of a sticky situation and I just didn't believe it. To begin with, I didn't buy into the biking for 11 hours in one day. And obviously Shane's dad is a bit of a douchebag, but basically stalking and harassing him? I'm not sure that's ok.

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things does deal with important subjects, like bullying and dealing with grief, but I'm not sure I think it's handled in the best way. And I still can't get over Sage's saintly front, which felt a bit fake to me. Her aunt was pretty awesome though, a strong independent woman who truly cares for Sage and handles being the guardian of a teenager really well in my opinion. And I also liked the friendship between Sage and Lila, because they were truly bonding.

It's possible that this is a case of it's not you, it's me, or that Ann Aguirre's romance just doesn't mesh with me. A lot of other people did love it though, so see for yourself whether you fall more towards my spectrum of viewing it or not.

My rating: 2 stars

Mini-Reviews (7): The Body in the Woods, Making It Count, The Once and Future Duchess

So ever since June of 2014 I've been failing at writing reviews for the books I read. I know. And because it's been AGES since I read these, I'm just gonna do mini-reviews of them, so as to clear my need-review shelf.

Title/Author: The Body in the Woods by April Henry
Publisher/Date published: Henry Holt and Co, June 17th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

So I read this book on the airplane on the way to Morocco and so much of it was read in one sitting. If I hadn't been on an airplane, this probably wouldn't have been the case.
The premise was interesting, though having teenagers be part of a field search for a body seems sort of inappropriate, I mean evidence sure, but if there's a chance you'll come across a deceased person, I personally feel that you should only use professionals. And obviously the authorities don't approve of the main characters' quest to discover the killer themselves, DUH.

But hey, they do it anyway and find themselves in danger and one of them becomes the target of said killer and towards the end I was like, OMG, SERIOUSLY??? You should really know better than to walk right into this trap that's being laid for you!! Wow, you've been trying to find a killer and then it's like, yeah, ok, I'll go with this strange person, that totally makes sense.
Anyway.
The Body in the Woods was ok, but it wasn't a very exciting read.

My rating: 2 stars

Title/Author: Make It Count (Bowler University #1) by Megan Erickson
Publisher/Date published: William Morrow Impulse, June 3rd 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

So I'm always looking for that next awesome NA read, and while Making It Count was a decent read, it wasn't that next great thing. The main character Kat is ok at first, but then she blows stuff way out of proportion and does the 'I'm not going to tell you what's wrong, you should be able to read my mind and figure it out' thing and it's ANNOYING. I mean, seriously, just tell the person you're in a relationship with what's bothering you! If we could all read minds, life would be way easier, but we can't ok? Also, I thought she had a shitty reason for staying in a relationship with a guy who was treating her badly at the start of the novel.

Alec was ok, he seemed like a good guy, but I didn't really swoon over him, which I would have expected, cause I like my men hot and nerdy. I thought their relationship could have been developed a bit better, because now it felt to me that they mostly had a physical attraction and that's it.
I did like that Making It Count deals with dyslexia, which is not something that you see a lot in YA or NA and I appreciate this being brought up, because a lot of people have it!

My rating: 2,5 stars

Title/Author: The Once and Future Duchess (Royal Entourage #4) by Sophia Nash
Publisher/Date published: Avon, May 27th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

I liked The Once and Future Duchess, one thing I particularly enjoyed is that the heroine, Isabelle, is a duchess one her own, having inherited the title, which is pretty awesome, as that basically never happens in historical romance. I mean, there's always an abundance of dukes, but duchesses who are not married to said dukes are pretty hard to come by.
And I liked Isabelle because she is strong and intelligent and isn't afraid to go after what she wants. Our duke is also likeable in that he is loyal and just a good man, but this loyalty also got majorly in the way of the romance. I mean, so he promised her deceased father that he would make sure she married a man close to her own age and he's what, a decade her senior? It seems to me that this was pretty much the norm back then, but ok. So even though they love each other, he decides that he can't because of said promise.

And while this makes for some real complication in their lovestory, it also made everything move incredibly slow! OMG, it took forever for him to start taking action and in the mean time it wasn't extremely exciting, though they did have wonderfully romantic moments together. I just would have liked for the pace to be a little faster.
But it was a pretty sweet story and I enjoyed reading it!

My rating: 3 stars

Happy Easter!!

I hope you're all having a lovely long weekend and are eating lots of chocolate eggs! I know I'll be doing just that in a little while ;)

Review of Kiss the Earl by Gina Lamm

Title/Author: Kiss the Earl (Geek Girls #3) by Gina Lamm
Publisher/Date published: Sourcebooks Casablanca, April 7th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: On the eve of her first comic book release, Ella Briley has a problem: no date to the launch party. Things go from bad to worse when she stumbles into the past... and straight into the arms of her very own Mr. Darcy.

Patrick St. John, Earl of Meadowfair, is too noble for his own good. To save his friend from what is sure to be a loveless marriage, he's agreed to whisk the girl off to wed the man she truly loves. But all goes awry when Patrick mistakes Ella for the would-be bride... and finds this modern girl far too tempting for even the noblest of men to resist.

So after reading The Casual Vacancy, I was really looking forward to reading something cute and fluffy and which would possible bring me lots of feelings. And while I sometimes needed to remind myself to just go with it and not be a non-believer, I totally picked the right book for my mood!

Kiss the Earl was so cute! It was fun and thas an abundance of feelings and I was just rooting for these two! Even if I was a bit confuzzled by the hero's reasoning at one point towards the end, but yeah, men-logic sometimes confuses me in real life as well, so...
I really liked Ella and her carreer as a graphic novel illustrator, that is SO cool! Seriously, I have a lot of respect for people who can bring stories to life and I can't draw to save my life, so Ella seemed pretty awesome to me! Also, I love that she has a non-mainstream job that she has a real passion for. Patrick was a fun character as well, he's loyal and a decent guy, who also manages to land himself in some pretty weird situations because of said loyalty.

And together these two were pretty amazing! They have chemistry that made me smile and swoony moments and misunderstandings that would have been easily fixed, but I didn't care because I was totally feeling it and it was just *sigh* romantic. Also, I loved that he nursed her back to health and was pretty much kicking the 'doctor''s ass for not taking better care of his hygiene. So, SO important! And can I just say that EEP Ella definitely has a realistic fear of getting an infection in this time period? OMG, I cannot imagine not having antibiotics and all the other benefits of today's medicine.

So Kiss the Earl didn't really make me cry, but I did have tears in my eyes and the urge to clutch my scarf because I was so focused on finding out if they would have a happily ever after after all. So basically Kiss the Earl was an adorable read that I was so ready for!

My rating: 4 stars

Review of The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Title/Author: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Publisher/Date published: Little, Brown, and Company, September 27th 2012
How I got this book: bought it
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils ... Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

So to be honest, I would not have picked up this book if it wasn't for the author's name on the cover. I mean, come on, it's J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was a huge influence on my life as a teenager and the main reason I decided to start reading books in English instead of my native Dutch, so obviously I put this on the TBR and then put off reading it for the longest time because actually reading it scared the crap out of me.
And now that I have finished it, I sorta want to shout to everyone that I've conquered the beast!

Although, to be fair, it's really not a beast of a book. It's just huge. And very much literary fiction, which is not my usual go-to genre and I can still spot my comfort zone somewhere in the distance, but we're definitely out of it. And it is very much true what everyone has been saying: don't expect an adult Harry Potter, because this is not it. And that's ok. Because J.K. Rowling's writing is a thing of beauty and it shines in The Casual Vacancy as well.
Even though my heart would have been very happy if it had been an adult Harry Potter or any fantasy at all.

But this time, J.K. Rowling invites us into the world of Pagford, a very small town that carries on as small towns do, until there is an unexpected death and because of that, a spot to fill on the town council: a casual vacancy. She then shows us how all of these people live their lives and how the death of this one man affects them, even the ones who didn't much like him or who considered him their enemy. And in this novel, J.K. Rowling perfectly portrays the small town effect that I both love and not love so much, in which everyone knows everyone's business, but then also turns a blind eye to some of the less pretty things going on.

It did seem to take me forever to finish the first half of this book, I got easily distracted and honestly, these people are a bit depressing. They pick petty fights and there's bullying and basically NOBODY is happy and there doesn't really seem to be any hope for this changing anytime soon. But then I sat myself down, told the beastie we'd be doing this together from now on and it worked. And towards the end, I really wanted to keep reading, because it's like a trainwreck, you just can't look away and have to know how it will all turn out!

Like I said, J.K. Rowling's writing is a thing of beauty and she has once again managed to create an intricate world with very much 3D characters, though not really people to root for per se. I kinda still have to get over the fact that there's swearing and sex and all of those things in this novel... So while The Casual Vacancy scared me, I'm glad I read it because while it's brutal and harsh, it also deals with important subjects and I respect J.K. Rowling for writing this novel.

My rating: 4 stars