The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

About This Book:

Goodreads Summary

✥Stand-Alone 

✥Release Date: January 2, 2012

✥Format: Hardcover

✥Setting: New York (state); London, England

✥Page Count: 236
✥Genre(s): Young Adult (YA), Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
✥Date(s) Read: 9/25/18-9/28/18
✥Rating:   Book:  3.25/5  Audio: 4/5   Narrator(s): Casey Holloway

My Thoughts:

Audio:

Not much to say (do I ever have much to say about the narrators though? I guess I don't too often. lol). She did make it easier to get through the book. 

Book:

This was a rough start for me but once I put the book down for a day or two, finished Beastly and able to relax a bit, I was able to get through it a lot better and get past my not so positive thoughts of The Geography of You and Me (didn't hate it but definitely wasn't a favorite).

I do like this book. I would like to be able to get to This Is What Happy Looks Like, I was hoping this book makes it easier for me to go on to it and it has done that. Book isn't perfect but I liked it a lot more than The Geography of You and Me.

Two of the "main" characters: 

What did I think?

Oliver: He was funny and just plain adorable. He has his moment that I wasn't too fond of him his actions but underneath all of that, I still liked him.

Hadley: I really like her. She may seem to come off as a brat but I honestly get her. I was really young and don't remember my parents getting divorced but I probably would be hurt/angry as well going by some of the things described here. 

I chose this book for the Fall Into Reading-a-thon. 

                        

Beastly (Kendra Chronicles #1) by Alex Flinn

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Series: #1
✥Release Date: January 1, 2007 (first published)
✥Format: Paperback
✥Setting: New York City, NY
✥Page Count: 483
✥Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tale/Retelling
✥Date(s) Read: 9/22/18-9/27/18
✥Rating:   Book:  3.25/5  

Other books In Series:
# 1.5-Beastly: Lindy's Diary
# 2- Bewitching
# 3- Mirrored
# 4- Beheld

My Thoughts:

Book:

Let me say that the book was entertaining at least. It wasn't horrible at all. It just wasn't great. It seemed almost middle grade in many ways. Which isn't really a problem, if it were middle grade. I don't dislike middle grade at all but I wasn't really expecting to get that feeling from this book. 

I like the characters well enough. You like and dislike who you are supposed to. I found myself scanning many pages, especially towards the end. Some things I figured out even before it was told..maybe that was the point because of something that was said. 

I have the "Deluxe edition" that has "Lindy's Diary" at the end and this is one part that I really did some scanning because it was just her side of the story but in diary form. I liked getting her end, I just found myself getting bored here sometimes. I got bored quite a bit throughout the book really. It got a 3.25 over a 3 stars because I did like it and I really liked Will & Magda. 

I am not quite sure when or if I will go on to Bewitching. If I happen to find the book at a good price and/or find myself in the mood for the book, I will get it. For me to seek it out though, I really have to want to read it. There was supposed to be an audio book on scribd but of course, they pushed it to be available in October and I was reading this for Fall Into Readingathon, so, I had to buckle down and just read it on my own (this happened with a few books I wanted to read this month. Thanks a lot scribd! lol). 

I realized right before/not long after I started reading it that the movie Beastly was based off of this book. I never had a huge interest in the movie but when I found out and right around the time that I was to start/starting this book, I added to my list on Netflix (I think it's on there lol). Now, although my interest has peaked a bit, not by much. We will see what happens. 

Until Friday Night (A Field Party Novel #1) by Abbi Glines (spoilers)

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Series: #1
✥Release Date: 8/25/15
✥Format:  Paperback
✥Setting: Lawton, Alabama
✥Page Count: 352
✥Genre(s): Romance, NA (or YA), Contemporary, Fiction
✥Date(s) Read:  9/18/18-9/21/18
✥Rating:   Book:  3.5/5

My Thoughts:

*Some parts will have spoilers so read this at your own risk if you haven't read the book already.*

Book:

Overall, I liked the book and the characters, but I will take it by each character and talk about them one at a time.Just as an FYI, this book does have cursing in it. Quite a bit actually. 

West:
In the beginning, he was a bit of an ass but I understood why he was the way he was. He was hurting due to the fact of his father slowly dying from cancer (in the summary).  As the book progressed though, he became very possessive, jealous and controlling. He was jealous of people and situations he shouldn't have even been jealous. And I mean scary possessive. The kind of possessive made for True Crime TV and what the true crime books are made of! As time went on though, he redeemed himself and got checked, which I was truly grateful for. I wanted to go on to the second book at least but if that had not been handled, I am not sure if I would have or it may have taken some time for me to do so.

Maggie:
I really liked her. She dealt with a lot at her young age (not spoilers, it says so in the summary) and found her own way to cope with it. Although at some points in the book, I felt she allowed things to happen with West that many may not have allowed him to do, especially early on unless there is a heavy amount of insecurity. The relationship between them both seemed dangerously close to obsession. She was smart enough to know when to try to back off though in many cases. I think that had a lot to do with her past and seeing the things she had. There were some other issues I was not liking too much but I won't give too much more away, but as a parent and an adult, I was just not feeling some things. 

Brady: 
He was a jerk many times when I am not sure it was needed. I understand his protection of his cousin, yet, sometime things could've been left unsaid. I would like to see a book about him though. I am taking this series on a book by book basis. Hopefully, if there is one about him, I will be able to make it to him. 

Maggie's Aunt & Uncle (Brady's parents):
They both seemed to have been very sweet and accepting of who she was and why she wouldn't speak. Didn't push her to talk. They just loved her anyway. 

West's Mother (Olivia) & Father (Jude):
(I think I got their names right)

She was a really sweet to Maggie, even in a time she was hurting herself and trying to make it through her husband's illness. She didn't make many appearances in the book but I did like her and the one time dad was able to appear in the book and be able to enjoy the family, even when he wasn't feeling great at all. Again, this is another situation that I'd like to say more but that is giving too much of the plot away and I have given a lot of that away as it is (in my opinion). 

I will continue on to the next book, Under the Lights. This one appears to be about Gunner, Brady (who were in Until Friday Night) and a young lady named Willa. I am hoping to buy Under the Lights soon. 

Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Stand-Alone: 
✥Release Date: September 24, 2013
✥Format: Paperback
✥Setting:Haiti
✥Page Count: 300
✥Genre(s): Poetry, Children's, Middle Grade, Cultural, Realistic Fiction
✥Date(s) Read: 9/17-9/18/18
✥Rating:   Book:  4.75/5      

My Thoughts:

Book:

I really enjoyed the writing & story line. I loved Serafina. How much of a big heart she had for her family, friends, animals and others that she didn't even know. How hard she worked to get what she wanted and how she was willing to give up other things to help others, even if she didn't always want to. I loved her grandmother, father and best friend. I would love to get a little bit of another story about her being a bit older and whether she continued on in things that she wanted to do. How her family turned out. What went on with some of her friends. This is another one of those situations for me that I can't say a whole lot and not give away some of the story, and even then, I am not sure how much I would have to say other than I liked this book and the fact is it written in verse. I gave this book a 4.75/5 because although I really enjoyed this book, as of right now, I can't say it's a favorite. There may come a time I think back on it and realize that it just might be and/or I can't get it off my mind and that the I loved it a lot more than expected when I first finished it. 

(read during the contemporary-a-thon)

1st to Die (Women's Murder Club #1) by James Patterson

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Series: #1 
✥Release Date: March 5, 2001
✥Format: Mass Market Paperback
✥Setting: San Francisco, CA
✥Page Count:462 
✥Genre(s): Mystery,  [Adult] Fiction
✥Date(s) Read: [Finished]
✥Rating:   Book:  4.5/5    Audio:  4.5/5   Narrator(s): Suzanne Toren

My Thoughts:

Audio: 
I enjoyed listening to her. She made a good book that much better. She sometimes made female voices a bit deeper than maybe they should have been but heck, I'm not part of the recording team, so, I don't know how they may have wanted it. 

Book:

I wasn't quite sure what I would think about this book when I first started it. I liked it from the beginning but still was iffy about it. I had to put it down a few times because I either wasn't feeling it at the time and/or could barely hear the audio when I tried to listen in public. When I picked it up this time though, I had better headphones and didn't want to stop listening. 

I loved the friendships and love interest. Just enough romance to satisfy me (and I am one that doesn't mind romance in mysteries/thrillers) but it wasn't the whole book. There wasn't too much angst. It's main focus was the case and a bit of the main characters life (all of the above mixed in well).

I wasn't quite sure about the main character at the start of the book but I grew to really like her as it went on. Someone though, had a fascination with soft hands in this book! lol....All the twists, what I thought the twist was going to be, wasn't exactly what I thought it would be!  I was close but yet, still not quite there! That's all I can say other than, I loved it! 

Short chapters (majority of them and even the longer ones weren't too long) in typical James Patterson format. Although this is my first adult mystery by James Patterson, I have known him to have short chapters and have heard others say it as well. The first books I read from him were from the Confessions Series (young adult). That is what made me want to try his adult series but wasn't sure what I wanted to try first. I picked up others but wasn't feeling it at the time. Grateful I found this one in my local used book store, Julia's Cafe & Books (I love this little place!). 

Standing In The Rainbow (Elmwood Springs #2) by Fannie Flagg

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Series: #2
✥Release Date: 1998 (First Published)
✥Format: Paperback
✥Setting:Elmwood Springs, Missouri
✥Page Count: 560 pages
✥Genre(s): Women's Fiction/Chick Lit, Humor
✥Date(s) Read: [Finished]
✥Rating:   Book:  5/5   Audio:  5/5        Narrator(s): Kate Reading

My Thoughts:
(Originally started reading this during the Booktubeathon @ the end of July/Early August but it was a slower read and set it aside)

Audio:
I enjoyed listening to her. Her voice is perfect for these books and characters. Makes them that much more enjoyable. 

Book:
I enjoyed learning more about 'Neighbor' Dorothy and her family (Read the books out of order, wasn't intentional, I just read them as I found them and I didn't know it was a series for the longest time). Hamm Sparks got on my last daggone nerve! Ugh! Norma, normally got on my nerves sometimes in other books but she was tame in those compared to this one! She got on my nerves in this one more than anything. 

There were times in this book, when the 'politics' came into play, reminded me of things that took place during the elections of 2016 through to now. And this book was published in 1998! A lot of the feelings of some on every side has said and thought. I found it to be amazing that a book written 18-20+ years earlier could 'predict' feelings of today.

I can say that I really loved this book. The more into the book I got, the more I enjoyed it. There was a part in the book that had me laughing for a good bit & had to pause the audio book. For those that haven't read it but considering it, I won't say what because I don't want any type of spoilers for anyone. 

This is one book I can say was bitter sweet when the last page was read. I didn't want it to end because I was loving the characters so much (even Norma), yet, I am looking forward to my next read. 

Birthday Book Haul [September 2018] (2 Videos)

I usually don't put my videos up but seeing that this is a special occasion and all...lol 

I do want to share book hauls from time to time but didn't do it before..I may share the videos of book hauls sometimes because I do want to share them on here but it can be a pain to gather up all the pictures of the books I've bought and upload them here.  I may share the Read-Athons & maybe tags sometimes...if I don't want to type them up that is..or, I may do the video & type it up...I don't know. I've been wanting to do a change here for a while but not sure what yet...Tags and Read A Thons are two ways. 

                                                         First Birthday Book Haul:

Second Birthday Book Haul: