Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
📍Stand-Alone 
📍Release Date: March 3, 2015
📍Format:  Paperback
📍Setting: United States
📍Page Count: 344
📍Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Travel/Road Trip
📍Date(s) Read: 6/13-7/3/19
📍Rating:   Book: 3.5/5   Audio:  5/5    Narrator(s): Rebecca Gibel

My Thoughts:

Popsugar Reading Challenge: Read a book during the season it is set in
(I started the book before the official day of summer but I was still reading it when it started and of course, finished it once it started)

Audio:

I like her voice for this book. The first couple of chapters, I think I would have given up if it wasn't for the audio book. 

Book:
(Another book that I am typing as I go in some areas)

☼This book started off weak for me for the first couple of chapters or so, had me a bit nervous about if I was going to finish it or not but by chapter 3 or 4, it started getting a bit better. Once another character showed up, it picked up that much more.
☼When someone in the book says "Yum" directed at one of the characters, it's nice to know that I am not the only one who gives heavy eye 'rollage'. I just think it's annoying when people say "Yum" towards humans like their, a piece of pie. *cringe*
☼I had to take a break from the book for a bit there but once I picked it back up, it was easy to get through. It wasn't a bad book, I guess I just wasn't feeling it at the time. It felt forced because I was reading it for a readathon. I think I just needed a break and for the readathon to be over for me to get into it again.
☼I read some reviews that people saw slut shaming in this book. I didn't see that. I just saw someone coming into their own reality of the things they did. Someone admitting to themselves that they needed to get their crap together. 
☼The book had it's slow times and wishing we weren't inside Reagan's head so much. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating. Maybe because I am in my head so much and it's hard to share the thoughts I have and hard to get my thoughts together when trying to let people know what I am thinking or feeling.
☼I really did enjoy the friendship between Dee & Reagan. I also loved Matt. The few times Dee's mother was brought up in the book, I loved her too.

It's rare that I find a quote I love in fiction, at least from what I remember. 

My favorite quote in the entire book? 

"...You're just a broken winged bird. And there are two things you can do with broken wings: You can roll over and die, or you can lay low, heal and start fresh" -Mrs Montgomery

This is something I really want to remember & it fits so much right now. That "Aha Moment" Oprah is always saying when something clicks?!? This is one of them for me! 

Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag 2019

I will link the Goodreads summaries of the books in each books titles instead of my blog thoughts so that anyone who wants to know the summary of the book can just click that books link.

*If there is an asterisk next to the title/author, scroll down to find out any side notes about this book

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QUESTIONS:
1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2019.
-I have a couple for this one.
A. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkes*
    B. Love, Life & the List by Kasie West

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2019.
Fame, Fate & the First Kiss by Kasie West
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to**.
A. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
B. Maybe This Time by Kasie West*
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
    Maybe This Time by Kasie West*
5. Biggest disappointment**.
A. Harry Potter & the Cursed Child (H.P. #8) by J.K. Rowling+
B. Angel Fire (Angel #2) by L.A. Weatherly
C. Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth
6. Biggest surprise.
Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin*
7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)**.
Dean Koontz (Author Page Linked)
8. Newest fictional crush.**
Trevor (Pivot Point Duology by Kasie West) [First book linked]
9. Newest favourite character.
-Ambrose (Once & For All by Sarah Dessen)*
-Alex Fuentes (Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles)*
10. Book that made you cry.
I am not a big crier with books. I may tear up a bit but that's about it.
I'm more of a crier with shows and movies if I am going to actually cry.
11. Book that made you happy.
A. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (summary already linked in #1)
B. Love, Life & the List by Kasie West (summary already linked in #1)
12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received).
Once & For All by Sarah Dessen (summary already linked in #9)
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year
Um, everything on my TBR bookshelf?!?! But there are some series I'd like to finish & some stand alones I'd like to get to as well. Just to name a few (and I do mean just a few):

A. Under Suspicion Series by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke:
(I need to finish the last two books in this series)

B. Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly
(I have one more book that I need to finish here)

C. Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

D. The Book Thief by Mark Zusack
14. Favorite Book Community Member. ReadByZoe (Channel Linked)

*So, there we have it, for this part of it, make sure to read the areas for the asterisks and don't forget to scroll down to the videos.*

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(No links, the colors just made it easier to see titles)

*Perfect Chemistry: I went into this book hoping I would at least like it enough to finish it but ended up loving it plus, it gave me a nostalgic feeling of happier times when I tried to read it about 8-10+ years ago but couldn't get into it at the time. I think that adds to why I loved it so much mostly. Plus, when the times I was out and about listening to it, I was just not stressed and just enjoying my day in peace (spent most of the time listening to it while I was riding around!

*Maybe This Time: Release Date for this book is 7/9/19

*Kasie West is an auto buy author for me.

** There were two other books released this year but I already read those.
1. Dying for Devil's Food (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #11) by Jenn McKinlay (Series Linked)
  2. Fame, Fate & the First Kiss by Kasie West (summary linked under prompt #2)

** Biggest Disappointment: Although I didn't expect much from Allegiant, it was still a big disappointment because of how boring it was and the ending (Which was spoiled for me by a booktuber that I forget who it was).
Angel Fire, I had hopes that it would get better for me as it went along and that it was just me the first time I tried to read it not long after it came out (within the first year). But, it wasn't just me, it was the second book syndrome. Hopefully I will be able to get to Angel Fever this month!

*Black Like Me: I wasn't sure about this book at first but once I started listening to this book, I really did end up loving it. Not perfect of course but it was still really, really good in my opinion.

**Dean Koontz: I put him down as my new favorite author because I read/listened to my first book by Dean Koontz this year (The Taking) and really enjoyed it so I am so beyond willing to try more of his books. Will I like them all? Probably not. But I am willing to get through as many as possible and hope I enjoy more of them than I don't. 

**Newest fictional crush: Being that I am a 44 year old woman (with a teen & 20 something), who reads a lot of YA, I can't really say that I have a crush on a teenager (that would be creepy and gross), but what I can say that is that I find him to be that sweet young man every parent would want their daughter to bring home. So, no, I don't have an actual crush but I do think he is the sweetest young man so far this year. Well, one of the first I could recall just by looking at the books I read this year.

*New Favorite Characters:
Ambrose- I loved him for his joy of just being who he is and not really being apologetic about it. When it was time for him to look at things a bit differently and see if there needs to be a change, he did. Naturally, there is only so much that can be said in a span of a book but it was great to see his much happiness in one book,especially at such a young age. 
Alex Fuentes: What I loved about him what the fact that he did have a heart underneath all of his hard exterior. Then what he was willing to do for all that he loved and would grow to love.

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The Co-Creator's [Original] video from 2016 is below if you want to watch it. The one from this year is down below as well.


                                                                              2016

2019

#GoldenGirlsReadathon Wrap Up

*Books are linked if a review was done. 

The General Prompts:
❌1. Read a book set in Florida
✔2. Read a book with a dessert in the title or on the cover: Dying For Devil's Food (Cupcake Bakery Mystery #11) by Jenn McKinlay
✔3. Read a Book published between 1985-1992: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie* by Laura Jorge Numeroff (originally published: 1985)
✔4. Read a book with Gold on the cover or in the title: Once & For All* by Sarah Dessen
✔5. Read a book that involves female friendship: Dying for Devil's Food* by Jenn McKinlay

#GGTeamSophia's Prompts:
❌6. Read a book set in Italy
✔7. Read the oldest book on your shelf: A Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
✔8. Read a book with a title starting with an "S": Split Second (Pivot Point #2) by Kasie West
✔9. Read a book with an author starting with an "E": Perfect Chemistry* by Simone Elkeles
✔10. Read a book that is short (under 200 pages): The Reptile Room (Series of Unfortunate Events #2) by Lemony Snicket (192 pages)


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*Video watched for -"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

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*Once & For All- Looking at the spine of the book itself (without the cover) the words are a kind of Rose Gold, so, I counted that. 😊

*Perfect Chemistry & Dying for Devil's Food: this one only has one clickable link on the title (click the one under: read the oldest book on your shelf & Read a book with a dessert in the title or on the cover)


*If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: No review

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Covers for Books Read/Listened to: (excluding  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie because video was added)

 

The Reptile Room (Series of Unfortunate Events #2) by Lemony Snickett

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Series: #2
✥Release Date: September 30, 1999
✥Format: Hardcover
✥Setting: Lousy Lane
✥Page Count: 192
✥Genre(s): Fiction, Children's, Fantasy
✥Date(s) Read: 6/12-6/13/19
✥Rating:   Book:   3/5    Audio:  4.5/5    Narrator(s): Tim Curry

My Thoughts:
☼Golden Girls Readathon
#GGTeamSophia-Read a book under 200 pages

☼Seasonal Reading Challenge: Summer 2019
-Letter "R"


Audio:

I liked him. He made it easier to get through this book. 

Book:

[Some parts may have been typed up as I listened to the book]

☼The first book was annoying to me because of the constant explanation of words. I guess if you are young when reading this, explanations may be needed and young audiences were meant to be reading these books. I had to remind myself of that which is what made me want to continue and had me continue. Doing the audio books I thought would make it easier and, well, so far, I'm correct. 

☼Although this one was much better than the first, it still was just okay for me. I don't remember being very fond of the book but I still wanted to know how the series ended and if I decided to watch the series, I'd know what to expect with it. Unless it gets better with each book, I really don't see myself putting this down as a favorite but more of an "I finally got it done" type of accomplishment. 

☼I think I am looking at this from a 44 year old's brain and not the targeted children's/early teens age group. The almost constant explanation was still a bit annoying because I think it's more of a filler but at the same time, I get why he does it. It's because it's for his targeted audience and trying to teach them something while entertaining them as well. 

☼I do believe I get why it is so popular though. It has that bit of mystery of what's going to happen next. The kids are good kids, smart & pretty easy to like. You can't help but love them. Some of the adults are well, a bit dimwitted. And the villain(s) are easy to dislike, which is the point I guess. 

☼I will take this book by book and see if I can get through the rest of the series. Hopefully I will be able to but they seem to go so slow for me, even for short books, they seem to almost drag on but I guess that's more me than the books....Kind Of.... 

Seasonal Challenge: Spring 2019 Wrap Up

For a better explanation of the Challenge you can go to: Cozy Mysteries Group
** This is a "spell-it-out" challenge, where you will spell out a word (or words) using one of two options:
1. Use only the first word of a title. (The words "the", "and" "a" and "an" do not count.) 
2. Use an author's first or last name. 

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

This challenge took place from
      March 20-June 21, 2019

Now to the ones I chose for this challenge:

Want to know my thoughts on a book? Just click that book! 😊

✔P- The Patchwork Quilt
✔A- Angel Fire
✔S- Saint Anything
✔S- The Sleeping Beauty Killer
✔O- Once & For All
✔V- The Voicemail of Magnus Bane
✔E- Go, Dog. Go! by P.D.  {E}astman
✔R- The Christmas Box by {R}ichard Paul Evans

✔L- Love, Life & this List
✔A- Allegiant
✔M- The Moon & More
✔B- Buried in Bargains 

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Took me a bit to get some of these books read because I kept changing my mind about reading the initial books I had chosen. But it was still fun to do. The links to my thoughts on each book (if one was done) will be linked in the title. Just click to see what I thought. Summary links will be in the blog when you click on them if you want to know more about each book. 

The next challenge has already started and I have already done a post for that one (some books may or may not be repeated in the next Seasonal Challenge)

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Once & For All by Sarah Dessen

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Stand-Alone
✥Release Date:  June 6, 2017
✥Format: Hardcover
✥Setting: Lakeview, ??? 
✥Page Count: 358
✥Genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction
✥Date(s) Read: 6/5-6/12/19
✥Rating:   Book:  4/5    Audio:  4.5/5    Narrator(s): Karissa Vacker

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

My Thoughts:

☼ Golden Girls Readathon
- Read a book with Gold on the cover or in the title
☼Seasonal Challenge: Spring 2019 (Cozy Mystery Group on Goodreads)
- My two words: Passover Lamb (this fits the "O" in Passover)
 (The Wrap Up post for this challenge should go up not long after this one)

Audio:
She was good. As always, it helps me get through Dessen books. It's always nice to have them read to me, makes them easier to get through and that much better for me. Trying to read them without audio books, I wouldn't finish them. 

Book:
(Typed up things as the book went along and the mood not me)

💐Found myself getting lost sometimes because she would just between time periods with no more warning than just a new chapter or a paragraph. When you're listening to a book, that can be extremely confusing.
💐Took me some time to get through this because some days I just wasn't in much of a reading/listening mood & I didn't want to push it. I didn't want to ruin the good feelings I already had for this book. I had to learn to not push my reading because that can affect how I feel about a book and/or put me in a slump. 
💐The denial was real in this book! I mean it was deeper than the Pacific ocean! 😂

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

I really enjoyed this book. Really glad I found a Sarah Dessen book that was steady throughout. No overly awkward moments to drop it down a half a star or more. Loved Louna, Ambrose, Mom, William and even Ira the dog! For me to love all the characters, in  a Dessen book? Seems to be rare for me and I've read a large number of her books. Hope risen again! 💜

Split Second (Pivot Point #2) by Kasie West

About This Book:
Goodreads Summary
✥Duology: #2
✥Release Date: February 11, 2014
✥Format: Hardcover
✥Setting: Dallas, TX
✥Page Count: 360
✥Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy/Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Romance
✥Date(s) Read: (Finished) 6/12/19 (Originally started this book 3/22/19)
✥Rating:   Book: 4/5   

My Thoughts:

☼Golden Girls Readathon
 #GGTeamSophia--Read a book with a title starting with an "S"


Book:

Well, it took me almost 3 months to finally finish this book. The book was good, but I think my issue was I just wasn't feeling the fantasy as much as I thought I was when I picked up the book. To add to it, when I have to pick up a book and actually sit and read it, most of the time, it takes more for me to read it because I have to just sit and read. I am in an almost constant position of not being able to focus on a book. The reason will depend on the day. 

When I am under stress, no matter how little, it's hard for me to want to read. That's why I always see if I can find an audio book because at least that way, I can do other things while I listen (I sometimes finding myself not wanting to listen to them as well, especially if I am laying down..that's usually when my desire to pick up an actual book comes up).

So, anyway, about the book.

Pivot Point, I loved! When I finally ordered this one and tried to read it, it just didn't seem to have that same flow as Pivot Point did for me. I still loved the characters, especially Trevor. I even loved Connor, even when he wasn't in quite so lovable moments but seeing some of the things he had to deal with, I understood. Boy do I want to say more about Connor but I can't because I'd give too much away that would spoil it for those who haven't read it! 

There are some things that borderline broke my heart because well, things just weren't as they seemed. The unlikable characters? They were really and truly Unlikable! Kasie West has a way of writing her charcters and stories to make you want to or not want to know more and more about them & their lives, even if she wraps it up somewhat nicely. There are still a couple characters I'd like to know more about. Well, three actually. And how they ended up. It would be nice if she was able to do one more book just about those three. Two of them being the main two characters with the third remaining the side character. Guess it would be a semi companion to it. But I am not quite sure how popular these books actually were. On Goodreads, it has just under 15,000 ratings so if going by that alone, I guess there won't be a third. 

I know, I am being so vague! But, I have to be, mostly because this is a 2nd in a duology! But, if you like fantasy/dystopian'ish type of world, then this duology might be good for a quick read. I, as always, wouldn't suggest you go into it expecting blockbusters but just go into it hoping to at least being entertained while you're reading/listening to the books. There is no audio book for this one but there is one for Pivot Point (which is how I 'read' that one).

Seasonal Challenge: Summer 2019

I  didn't find out about this seasonal challenge until Monday or Tuesday, and it was published in a group I am in about a week or so earlier! I was expecting it to be posted later this month so I didn't do a whole lot of checking on it but when I finally decided to take another look, there is was! With new dates! But, thankfully, I caught it in enough time to be able to type this up and get it out there. And also hope that others jump in as well to participate. If you want to participate in this one, you can. The place to find the Spell It Out Challenge Words are at Seasonal Challenge: Summer 2019 for the Cozy Mysteries Group on Goodreads.


The dates for this challenge?  June 1-August 31, 2019


Now, what words did I choose? Fair & Beach

I tried to make it a bit easier for myself this go 'round because I also have another readathon I am doing and will probably do some others over the next couple of months while this Challenge is going on. Just to be clear, you can not double up on letters. The first word in the title of tthe book has to Start with the letter in the word(s) pocked  and the first or last name of the author can be chosen  (examples below. books not necessarily read for this particular challenge). Common words do not count (i.e. The, A, And, etc). To get more information, you can click on the Seasonal Challenge link above.

F- Fame, Fate & the First Kiss by Kasie West (ex.- This just happens to fit quite a few in this case)
A- Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly (example)
I-
R- The Robot King by Brian Selznick (example)

B-Spit Second by Kate Brian (example)
E-A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell (example)
A-
C-
H-



I have already done two books that I will add onto my wrap up.

I almost done with the Spring 2019 Challenge that will be up soon hopefully as I only have one more letter to do before I am done and I am on a book now that fits that one. The Spring Challenge ends on June 21 (which is why I was expecting the Summer one later).

I would love for anyone who wants to join, to click on provided links above and find your words and let me know that you are participating. You can always leave a comment below or "Contact Me" on the right.

If you have a blog account, be sure to let me know. I will happily go check it out. If I don't back to you right away, it's probably because I didn't get notification for it and/or got really busy. No matter what, I would love to see everyone's blogs, even if it's on a platform I don't have an account for (i.e. WordPress..although I'm not sure if I am still active on there or not lol).

So, thank you for stopping by, and I hope to see more people getting involved!

Happy Reading,
Bridget