Sunday, August 9, 2015

VIDEO: Raven Boys Review+Discussion

Hello everyone! At the end of July I posted my Raven Boys video review on the YouTube channel and this week I uploaded my discussion video as well. If you haven't checked out my blog review for the book you can click HERE. The review video is completely spoiler free but please only watch the discussion if you've read the book! It's actually kind of fun to be able to talk about spoilers since I try to keep my blog reviews spoiler free :)




Foreverly Obsessed,

Blackmail Boyfriend

ISBN: 978-1943892037
Pages: 260
Source: Entangled Crush
Publication Date: August 11 2015
Appearance:
25927107

Sometimes, blackmail is the only weapon a girl has…
Haley Patterson has had a crush on golden boy Bryce Colton for ages. But when she hears a rumor that he hooked up with her she gives him a choice: be her boyfriend for a month to show other guys that she’s dateable—despite her overprotective and very intimidating brothers—or deal with the angry, cage-fighting boyfriend of the girl he actually did hook up with.
Bryce didn’t know the other Haley even had a boyfriend. He was just trying to get his ex off his back. And now, not only is he being blackmailed, he's being blackmailed by an honor student. His new “girlfriend” has two three-legged dogs, her father mows grass at the country club, and she's…well, difficult. And different.
Can something so fake turn into something real?
 

 Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be sharing my thoughts with you guys on Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon. This book comes out in TWO days so be sure to click the cover to check it out on Amazon :)

Haley Patterson lives in the shadow of her older brothers and she's certain that with their "help" she will remain single for the rest of her life. Then the opportunity of a lifetime drops in front of her - Bruce Colton, the resident rich playboy hooked up with a girl name Haley over the weekend and walks in Monday to find her in a relationship with someone he doesn't want to mess with. To make matters worse for him, she gave him Haley's name instead of her actual one. In order to get out of this mess without getting beat up by Haley's brothers or the unsuspecting boyfriend, he agrees to Haley's request to be her fake boyfriend for 3 weeks until the rumors settle down. Everything should be fine until feelings start getting involved.

The Blackmail Boyfriend is a fun little contemporary that delivers everything it explains in the summary. Haley Patterson wants to show the rest of the school male population that she's dateable despite her terrifying brothers and who better to convince them then the king of high school himself? Problems obviously arise with Bryce coming from the better side of town and Haley living in a rundown house with metal chickens in the front yard. While the plot wasn't really "unique" in terms of rich boy and middle class girl find love - I still enjoyed the unique characteristics of each character.

Haley is such a fireball and a bit too fiery at times. She was really quick to jump to conclusions which turned out to be the cause of majority of the arguments in the relationship. Now Bryce obviously needs to be trained in the art of being a boyfriend because even if it's a fake relationship you don't just walk away from your date to flirt with other girls (it's called manners). But again, Haley did expect a lot from it. To sum it up, their relationship is rocky to say the least but at least they worked it out. 

The double date factor was really cute and I think definitely spurred Bryce to see how he doesn't have to fit the standards of being a rich boy living a loveless life. Seeing his best friend act so free and happy with Haley's best friend gave him a little glimpse at something he definitely wanted for himself. While I felt like everything ended a bit abruptly (Haley should have made him beg more), the story was still fun and cute at the end which is all I'm asking for. 
3.5 out of 5 stars
  

Foreverly Obsessed,

Friday, August 7, 2015

VIDEO: July Wrap Up


Hello everyone! So today I uploaded my July Wrap Up on the channel which you can watch down below or click them to watch on YouTube. I've also included a link of the books mentioned so you guys can check them out if interested!




Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Paranormal Keepers

ISBN: 0991576209
Pages: 396
Source: WordSlinger/Author
Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Appearance:
20642157

There’s no such thing as magic and monsters. Or so I once thought.
After a fateful night before my junior year that starts out as innocent goofing around with friends, strange shadows and mysterious noises seem to be everywhere and I’m starting to think something sinister was let into my life. When my boyfriend is brutally murdered, the police write it off as a freak accident, deciding my “strange” testimony is given under duress. I know whatever got to Gavin wasn’t human and I refuse to stop looking until I find his killer, even if it proves once and for all that there are monsters living among us.

With the discovery that ghosts, mothmen, witches, vampires and all supernatural beings are real, Harper Young finds herself amidst a complex bundle of unseen heroes who call themselves “Keepers," sworn to protect the secrets of the paranormal creatures that walk this earth. As she tries to understand what’s so special about her that she’s able to break an old Keeper law and attend Guardare Academy, Harper has a baffling vision of kissing a mysterious guy before a blade is brought down on him. Before she can get a handle on her future, she becomes central to a battle between the questionable “heroes” and the evil she’s been training to fight, leaving her to wonder if there’s any way to change the fate that has been foretold before it’s too late.
 

Hello everyone! So today I'm going to be doing my quite long overdue review for Paranormal Keepers by Jen Naumann. I was sent a copy by the author through Word Slinger Publicity a couple months ago and I read this back in June...so it's been a while. Anyway I'm attempting to do VEDA (Video Every Day in August) but on the blog and every other day so I can finally review all the books that have been piling up since forever before school starts in September. With that being said, let's just get into my review!!

Harper Young discovers that the paranormal might just be the new normal for her when her boyfriend is brutally killed in a freak accident by a monster. She knows that what killed him is not from this world, but what she didn't expect was to be part of it. Then she's introduced to the Keepers, a group sworn to protect the secrets of the paranormal creatures on Earth. While everyone there has some sort of magical ability or ancestral connection, Harper seems pretty human and out of place. Fitting in isn't easy, but it's something she has to do especially if the monster that killed her boyfriend is out to get her too.

This book is set in a really intriguing world with a huge cast of characters and creatures. It has a Vampire Academy setting in that there are "royal bloods" who act like they rule the school and a lot of self defense classes. Paranormal Keepers is definitely unique on its own, but the plot seemed pretty similar to a lot of other Young Adult books out there with the MC finding out about the paranormal world and being connected to a bigger overall prophecy.

Harper as a character didn't really click with me. I felt a bit distant from all the characters, but I think the intrigue of the Keeper world kept me hooked. There's a lot of backstabbing in this book in terms of friends which was a bit depressing to be honest, but it was cool to see Harper grow through those experiences. 

Still, there are so many unanswered questions with different relationships and prophecies which made the story seem a bit flat. If I had to summarize the entire novel in a phrase I'd go with "setting up." That's what the novel felt like to me - just a set up to what could be an amazing and intense series. There were still a good number of plot twists to keep the story going so it didn't seem boring. To wrap things up, I think this series has a lot of potential with all the answered questions, but in terms of this book by itself - it didn't make a huge impact on me.

3.5 out of 5 stars
 

Foreverly Obsessed,

Monday, August 3, 2015

VIDEO: July Book Haul



Hello everyone! So today I posted my July Book Haul on the channel so you can click the video above or go to YouTube to check it out! I did list out all the books on the Little Black Bookmark Blog, but I'll just list them again for you guys so everything's here in one place!

(Click the covers to be directed to Goodreads)
10664113

12837725

9681214

12637490

10838776

13515095

4588

6425904

19063

25714503

25304292

Foreverly Obsessed,

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Riv Adventures: Bibble and Sip

Hello everyone! Welcome to a little Riv Adventures post! Settling on a suitable overall name was so difficult...So today, Claudia and I took a little trip to NYC and we decided to go find some scenic places to shoot pictures. Turns out, walking around in Central Park with 90 degree weather is a really bad idea. (Pst! Central Park people, please give your roads names and nobody should pay $2 for a map that doesn't even cover the whole park.)

Anyway, we managed to vlog the experience so once that is up I'll let you guys know. We also stopped by this little cafe called Bibble and Sip which is so adorable and amazing. So of course I took pictures and I thought it'd be fun to share them with you guys. (Warning: Picture Heavy)

 "BS all you want" - this is literally genius and adorable!

For those of you wondering why Bibble and Sip - seriously though, the alpaca as the logo is amazing!

Someone needs to give me lessons on how to draw like this ♥

MENUS

All right, it's time for the good stuff: FOOD PICTURES!!

Jasmine Green Tea Latte: 5/5 AMAZING

Bibble Quite: 4.5/5 (If only it didn't have mushrooms...but it was delicious still)

Chocolate Black Out Cake: 5/5 Perfect Mix of Bitter and Sweet
Latte: 5/5 (My mom ordered it and gave it a big thumbs up)

Matcha Cream Puff: 5/5 Look at this literal piece of perfection

Dark Chocolate Cream Puff: 5/5 The picture says it all~

Am I artsy yet or what? 

The food literally brought me to food heaven it was so good! After dying in Central Park and repeatedly getting lost everything tasted delicious. The cream puffs were a bit sweet but I had my latte which balanced things out a bit. The quiche was perfect since I didn't eat anything until we got there and I was craving something savory.

The really cool thing is that it is right across the street from Gershwin Theater where Wicked is currently playing. So if you happen to be in the area be sure to stop by this adorable cafe! I know for a fact that I'm going to go back one day in the future!

Foreverly Obsessed,