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Stephanie perkins

10 Books That Made My 2017

Ah, 2017. What a year. I don’t mean that lightly, either. It has been one very hectic, chaotic and unnerving year for the entire world. But in the world of books, immersed in the story-worlds that have taken over our brains, the world is a calmer place. With our heads inside a book, we don’t have to worry about them ever hurting us like real life can (unless our favourite Character gets killed off) so it’s only fitting that I round up the Top Ten Books That Made My 2017 bearable. They are in order from ten to one, with one being my ultimate read this year!



10. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

This book was the first of Nina’s that I’ve ever read and it was a total winner. I love the style of her writing and how much emotion showed throughout the scenes. For fans of Young Adult, if you haven’t added this to your TBR this year, you definitely should. 


9. Girlhood by Cat Clarke

This is such an important, sheer perfect YA book this year. It had to make my list. I’m pretty sure this was one of the Zoella book club books after I had already read it, so you can see just how much it would have been appreciated by the bookish community this year!


8. Otherworld by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

One of the few otherwordly books that I’ve read this year and one of the best I’ve ever read! It has such a great premise, huge promise for the future and a celebrity name behind the title! 


7. The Dry by Jane Harper 

I was on a blog tour for this stunning book and it’s no wonder that it’s gained a huge following. I’m reading Jane’s second book (and on the tour!) very soon, so I think that says everything. I don’t read the genre of mystery, in Adult especially, very often, but for Jane’s books? I always will. She has a way with words that’s music to my ears. 


6. There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

It’s no secret that Stephanie is one of my favourite YA writers of all time. She has the romance! The character development! Anna, Lola and Isla! So when she announced her first thriller, I was dubious. I only ever knew her writing to be sweet and fluffy, but I was happily surprised! Her debut thriller wasn’t up there with Anna, but it was a huge success in my eyes! No wonder it made my top ten…

5. Nyxia by Scott Reintgen 

Into my top five and we have Nyxia! It was such a stunning novel. I remember staying up late to read it thinking how insanely awesome it was. I really can’t wait to read more from Scott! I know that whatever he writes next will be going straight onto my bookshelf.

4. Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe

Lucy’s story is probably one of the most important, yet extremely addictive and gorgeous books I read this year. It was a true story, about being her true self, growing up and loving who she wanted to. I had so many people say they picked up this book because they saw it on Pretty Little Memoirs! That makes me so happy. 


3. Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Coming in easily in my top three is one of my favourite YA authors of all time! Windfall was literally a breath of fresh air and had me swept off my feet with each passing second. Huge sweetheart points because this book was too cute! I loved it.


2. The Best Kind of Magic by Crystal Cestari

Magic realism has never looked better in this hugely loved novel this year! I read this mostly in the park during early Autumn / late Summer and fell in love with the characters, the setting…literally everything. I can’t wait to read book number two next year!


AND NUMBER ONE IS…


1. The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

It’s no surprise that the Queen of YA is in at number one for my favourite novel I’ve read this year. Everything that’s troubling me seems to melt away when I read one of Emery’s books and I can’t recommend her to anyone enough. So happy that I got a little slice of heaven this year reading The Names They Gave Us!


So there are my top ten books of 2017! If any authors who have been featured above want a winner badge for their site, I’ve included one below! I would be honored if anyone featured it, but of course, it’s not mandatory! I’m just excited you stopped by and read my post!



What were your favourite books of the year?


Let me know on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or you can leave a comment below! 


happy reading!

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Book Review: There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins (Halloween Week of Horrors: Day One)

Title: There’s Someone Inside Your House

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Published: September 26th, 2017

Publisher: Dutton Books For Young Readers

Find the Author: Goodreads 


Disclosure: I bought this book myself and this is NOT a sponsored post. As always, my reviews are fair and unbiased.


Scream meets YA in this hotly-anticipated new novel from the bestselling author of Anna and the French Kiss.


One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.


International bestselling author Stephanie Perkins returns with a fresh take on the classic teen slasher story that’s fun, quick-witted, and completely impossible to put down. 


First Thoughts

Everyone: the queen of YA is back! I seriously couldn’t wait to have this book in my hands! After the Anna, Lola and Isla books ended, I was crushed and to this day, there still hasn’t been a young adult book series that’s made me feel the same way. So when I heard about There’s Someone Inside Your House, I was dubious. But then the synopsis! Oh my goodness. It went on my TBR faster than I could breathe and when it got here, I had to painfully wait to read it until it was closer to Halloween time (you know, perfect Horror weather). In related news, WELCOME TO THE HALLOWEEN WEEK OF HORRORS DAY ONE!


Review

Young Adult Horrors have always been hit and miss for me. I either really love it or it’s just not my kind of read (but the latter very rarely happens). Luckily for my own sanity and love of Stephanie Perkins’ writing, this was one of the YA Horrors that I loved. 

Makani is completely different to those Stephanie’s written before. She’s got this secret that adds to her character in a complex, borderline mysterious way and I can already tell from the first few pages that it’s going to be a darker novel than I’m used to from her, too. It doesn’t take long for Makani to gel with new people after moving from Hawaii to a new small town and attending Osborne High, but she doesn’t expect to be footsteps away from a killer with bloody motives. In between the heavy make-out sessions (she’s the queen of romance in YA, what did you expect?!), people are dropping dead in gory and blood-ridden ways. With every new death, Makani doesn’t know what to do but try to stay alive now that the hunt is on to find out who the killer is and what their motive continues to be. But the closer that people get to finding out the truth, the more deaths that follow. And with every horror-filled night, comes another spree of deaths that keep the mystery going. 

I was totally expecting to be scared by There’s Someone Inside Your House, but I wasn’t. It wasn’t that kind of scary, but more thrilling and nail-biting. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t for the fainthearted. There’s still a lot of blood and gore, and the deaths are slasher-movie worthy. This is still one of the best YA horrors I’ve read in a long time. It’s not my favourite book that Stephanie has written (I’m looking at you, Isla!), but it’s deserving and a solid gold novel by one of my favourite authors. The writing was sharp and cut-throat mixed with snarky, it had a lot of diversity (just YES!) and Scream had better watch it’s back! It’s a total contender for being the next CW Horror show. Can you just imagine that kind of magic?! Sign me up!

Overall, There’s Someone Inside Your House rings true and cuts a four-star shape in the YA Horror genre. Stephanie Perkins at one of her best, and I’m so excited for every new thing she does! She can never go wrong. 

If your interested in winning a copy of THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE, look no further!

Rating & Recs

For fans of Stephanie’s writing, YA Readers and Horror/Thriller fans!


Have you read There’s Someone Inside Your House?


Let me know what you thought in the comments or on twitter @LittleMemoirs!


happy reading!

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Book Review: “Isla and the Happily Ever After” by Stephanie Perkins

+ Plot references, no major spoilers – but be warned that hints are given away. If you haven’t read ISLA yet, be warned that this review will give away references to the previous books: ANNA and LOLA. +

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 14th, 2014
Published by: Dutton (US) Usborne Publishing (UK)


I bought this book myself! As always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 


The café is boiling. The atmosphere is clouded with bittersweet coffee.
Three years of desire rip through my body and burst from my lips: “Josh!”
His head jolts up. For a long time, a very long time, he just stares at me.
And then…he blinks. “Isla?”

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on brooding artist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And, after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer break, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to face uncertainty about their futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Set against the stunning backdrops of New York, Paris and Barcelona, this is a gorgeous, heart-wrenching and irresistible story of true love, and the perfect conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

I am going to say it now: THIS SERIES IS THE BEST EVER. I didn’t even have to read Isla to know that, because it’s pretty known in the YA literature genre that Stephanie is one of the most amazing authors out there. Isla was very highly anticipated for me (and about a million others!) so when it was next in my TBR pile I tore it open and read it in a very short amount of time.
Isla is a hopeless romantic stuck in a very realistic world that seems to shut down her feelings for Josh (from Anna and the French Kiss, remember?!) and she feels like every time she ran into him last year, she made a huge fool of herself and that he probably thinks she’s insane. So when she spots him back in Manhattan over the summer, she’s not quite over some side-effects of a dental appointment and fears she’s made things even worse. 
But little does she know, things are actually about to fall right into place. 
When they meet again, Josh and Isla are thrown into a roller-coaster of missed opportunities that both of them were too blind to see before. Josh thought Isla was taken and Isla thought Josh didn’t have a clue she didn’t exist. But now things are out in the open, it gives them a future neither of them imagined could exist. One that is maybe, just the beginning of everything. 
In Anna, we went to Paris, then in Lola, we went to San Francisco – now, in Isla, we’re in three of the most beautiful places on earth. Paris, Barcelona and New York. Those cities were the pages of Isla and Josh’s love story, while they were writing it together. Stephanie Perkins shows us yet again how to give us a realistic, heart-breaking, joyful and enchanting story that I’ll remember forever. I was ecstatic to see my favourite characters return from the previous books for the most amazing twist in the story I hadn’t even imagined in my book-loving dreams. 
Overall, anyone who doesn’t own this series is missing out on something absolutely mesmerizing and awe-worthy. I couldn’t put it down, and even if I had to, the story never stopped in my head. Isla’s story is now my newfound favourite novel of this series, but also, maybe of all time in Contemporary YA lit. It blows the competition out of the water with the charismatic, real characters and plots to make your heart race. Anything less than 5 stars wouldn’t be acceptable – this is THE book of the year!  
Totally worth waiting for.
I’m torn between the very last line of the series and a part that I was not expecting at all with some surprise characters. If you’ve read Isla, you could probably figure this out!

One word: EVERYONE.

Have you read Isla and The Happily Ever After?


What did you think?


Tell me in the comments, on twitter or by using the hashtag #IslaAndJosh


happy reading!

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Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)

Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 9th 2013 (first published September 28th 2011)
Also by the Author: Anna and the French Kiss, Isla and the Happily Ever After (Coming Soon!)
Published by: Speak / Dutton (USA)
Purchase at: Amazon, Book Depository 

I purchased this book myself and as always, my reviews are fair and non-bias. 

In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

 For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door. When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
I adored Stephanie’s Anna and the French Kiss back in 2013 and knew that soon enough I would break and read Lola’s novel, too. I was trying to spread Stephanie’s novels out over a few months so I could read them not far off from each other (because this series is just, UH, addicitve and sweet….) but then I heard Isla’s novel was getting pushed back until August…so I grabbed it off my bookshelf and started!
I don’t even know what was keeping me from reading them back-to-back, because as soon as started those first few pages…I was hooked. 
There are so many brag-able things about Lola and the Boy Next Door that it’s going to be hard to keep this review so short and not give everything away! It is seriously one of those books that even though it’s pretty popular in the YA community, it’s a rare gem among others in it’s competition, alike Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie’s first novel (and we do get some snippets from Anna and St. Clair! It totally surprised me and I loved how they fitted into Lola’s story). 
Lola practically is fashion. She’s always making new outfits and putting these awesome themed pieces together and not caring what people say about them. I imagine her as this girl with colourful wigs and a wild imagination that’s hard to tame. Lola, at first, is skeptical when the Bell’s move back into the house next door. The twins in particular – one; Cricket Bell, the boy who broke her heart and then left for years. Now he’s back, she has a boyfriend, and things were about to get really awkward – but at the same time, blissfully magical – because, this novel…just completely shattered my heart and put it back together. 
Lola and Cricket’s relationship takes a while to get back to a certain normality, I guess. It’s hard for them because he knows what he did was wrong, just leaving like that, but their wires are crossed because of a certain interfering twin-sister; Calliope. But by the end of the novel, Stephanie sheds some light on her behaviour and to some extent, we can understand why she did things the way she did. 
Lindsay was such an interesting character and she brought so much to the story, even though she was just Lola’s best friend. Lindsay is the kind of ‘Nancy Drew’ type who loved mysteries and solving things. I definitely saw her like a Nancy Drew-type character with depth, and not just another character fitted in. 
Max, Lola’s boyfriend…there were three versions of him that spread out over the novel as Cricket re-entered her life. There was nice Max, who we saw at the beginning, although he was still kind of irritating. Then, there was off-Max, who was half-nice, half-bitter. We end with the I-hate-you-Max, because by that time, I did hate him. I’m so glad that Lola and him drifted, because they just weren’t’ meant to be – and I know Lola thought that he was her forever, but as readers, we know that isn’t true, because there is only ONE person who fits Lola like a glove. Cricket Bell. They were written for each other and it definitely shows. 
And it sure was the best novel that I’ve read in a long, long time. 

Can I say all of it?! No? Okay then. Maybe all the parts where we get to hear Lola say about the writing on Cricket’s hands, or the moon-and-stars scenes? And OH, that ending! Just so many amazing parts that finished that perfect jigsaw. 

Anyone who loves love. Or YA novels with sweet and unique characters. This book is for someone who wants to go on a sweet adventure with some bittersweet moments in love and life. 

5 STARS
happy reading!

Review: “Anna and the French Kiss” by Stephanie Perkins

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult / Romance
Release Date: December 2nd, 2010
Published by: Dutton / Speak
Format: Paperback
 
 
I purchased this myself and I’m in no
way bias from one book to the next.
These opinions are totally my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she’s less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.
 
Anna and the French Kiss was one of those books that I had heard so many great things about, that I had bought, then thought…what if all this hype about it totally makes it lose that mystery factor, or knowing that everyone likes it and maybe I won’t.
Well, I had the flu *and still have it, uhhh* for about a week….read this…and fell head over heels.
 
This is going to sound completely crazy and book-obsessive of me, but, I totally love this book more than I should. I think everyone who’s read AATFK can agree with me 100% on that. There is so many magical things about Paris. Like, for example…the Eiffel Tower; it’s glamorous and sparkling presence just lights up the sky. Or, maybe The Arc De Triomphe, one of the most iconic monuments in Paris?
Anywhere you go in Paris, to get the full experience, take THIS book with you.
Anna Oliphant was the kind of protagonist I loved reading about; impulsive, though laid back and very real. She was just like a normal teenager, the way Stephanie wrote her about her made it all seem so realistic. Some characters in other novels I’ve read seem to be forcibly dramatic and over the top, or too adult like to even seem possible that they were still basically not. So that was the best starter in AATFK, to know that Anna herself was likeable.
She loved her life in Atlanta, (and I would too, because I totally want to go there), but ends up being sent to Paris  in the American boarding school there.
Okay, this boarding school…sounded pretty awesome. Except for a lot of drinking from some of the students there, which teens are allowed to do over there, it seemed a pretty nice place. Meredith! She was Anna’s first friend and she was literally SO nice. Like how a best friend should be. There’s also Rashmi, who at the start didn’t quite see eye to eye with Anna, though they weren’t enemies or anything. But after they hung out a little, they became good friends. Rashmi was dating Josh, Anna’s other friend in the group, (who a little birdy told me would be in the third instalment in the series, Isla’s story–and Isla actually debuted in Anna’s story, too!).
Actually, all of the people Anna was friends with seemed to be so real and down-to-earth that it made them all the more lifelike to me, like I could imagine them all existing outside of the pages.  
Then there’s Étienne St Clair, who Anna seemed to straight away get on with like a house on fire. He was sweet, hilarious and dashingly handsome. For the most part, they hung out almost every day after he coaxed her out of her room where she had been spending all her time, pining for her old life back. But when she finally opened up and took in the sights of the city, Paris had won Anna’s heart…for now. And maybe St Clair had too.

“Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?”


I got to probably the almost middle of the book when I realised that Anna was in love. Well, in love and torn at the same time. See, there’s this other guy too; Toph, who by the end of the book I actually hated so badly…and he seemed like a nice guy until the showdown when Anna went home for Winter break. Uh, I just felt so bad for her. Obviously, it’s a secret between me and the book…but if you want to know what happened…YOU have to read this!
But, the strange thing is…I didn’t know whether Anna was going to get her happily ever after. She was in love with someone who was in love with someone else. And she kind of had that twice, with the Toph situation. Don’t get me wrong, St Clair’s stunningly Parisian girlfriend, Ellie, was really nice. But even she had her reservations about how close her boyfriend and Anna were. Not to mention Meredith, who had welcomed Anna with open arms, also had a massive crush on St. Clair.
But, even before you know the outcome of Anna and the French Kiss, you know that St. Clair and Anna are soulmates. And their story wasn’t perfect, but it was worth it in the end to find something worth having; love. And I loved every moment of their journey to find what they were looking for. 
THANK YOU to Stephanie Perkins, for writing such an incredible, romantic and candy-sweet novel. I fell in love with it over and over.
 
If I didn’t have a stack of TBR books on my shelf, I would re-read this until my heart’s content. But, I can’t *pining for Paris…*. Though, I’m dying to read Lola’s story; Lola and the Boy Next Door which I have an e-Book of, though I want to get the Paperback copy soon, because you all know I’m a Paperback Girl.
So, overall, Anna’s story is worthy of your full attention. Yes, it lives up to the massive hype behind the series and is undeniably one of the best books I’ve ever read, not just this year, but of all time. That’s so huge, because I only put my absolute favourite books in that category, and I’m 100% positive I’ll love this book forever. Amen.
 
Have you read ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ and loved it like I did?
Tell me your thoughts on twitter; @LittleMemoirs
or leave a comment below!
 
 

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 Happy reading!

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Waiting on Wednesday: “Isla and the Happily Ever After” by Stephanie Perkins

 

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that shines a spotlight on upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
 

It’s not a question if you’re a fan of these romantic, hopelessly lovable books, but it’s how much of a fan you are…

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting On…

 

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: YA – Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 13th, 2014
Published by: Dutton Books (USA)
“From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skilfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new…”

 

 

Uhm, I need this now! I have never been this excited about any upcoming releases before, because I always feel like I can guess what the book will entail, but with every new book, Stephanie Perkins just amazes me more and more. I am dying to get my hands on this after just finishing Anna and Lola’s stories, and it looks like they’ll make appearances in Isla’s story too! YAY.

 

Please write your WoW Post links in the comments bar so I can check them out, tell me what you think of my pick & I always follow back! *Google Friend Connect is gone, so please follow via bloglovin’ below!*

Follow on Bloglovin
 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels {Top 7}

 

 Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers come up with their TTT Lists on different questions.


This week we’re talking books I wish had sequels…I could only come up with seven, because a lot of the books I love HAVE had sequels (which is a really, REALLY great thing!) and usually I’m 10/10, but here’s my 7 that I wish had more!
 
I hope you loved my TTT list, and please do post your links below and tell me what you think of my list and I’ll stop by your posts, too! I also follow back on  bloglovin!
Follow on Bloglovin  

happy reading,

 

 

 

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