Movie Monday (9)

Just a meme I came up with that should help me look forward to posting on Mondays because if there's anything I love more than books, it's movies :)

This weeks topic:

Top 5 Movies of 2018

5. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I'll admit, I didn't expect much when my brother asked me to go see this one in theaters. I cried and laughed equally. Such a powerful movie. 

4. Black Panther 
Such a blast! This was the 1st major superhero film with a predominantly black cast. Marvel really stepped up their game with BP! I hope there's a sequel in the near future.

3. The Shape of Water
Don't judge me. Loved this film! Yes, it really is about a mute caretaker in a government facility who develops a relationship with an alien/human being held in captivity. I've never rooted for a non-species couple haha!

2. Annihilation
Umm... an all-female team of scientists investigating a strange phenomenon in a Florida swamp? Hell yeah! This movie had plenty of "Go Girl!" moments.... The whole premise of Area X reminded me of the call of duty video games. A tense film that will have you guessing until the last min.

1. A Quiet Place
This movie's about a family living in a futuristic world inhabited by monsters who attack at the slightest sound of any noise. Whoever thought of this premise is a genius! It was utterly fascinating sitting in an already quiet theater and holding your breath... Just wow!

Review: Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle #1)

Title: Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle #1)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 345
 
My Rating: 

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth. With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more. -goodreads.com

This book was so much fun! Harper was easy enough to relate to, but she did get a bit annoying at times. I wish she would have gave into her feelings for David much earlier in the story, it would have made things way easier... but then again I guess there wouldn't have been such an addicting plot... Curse you, Hawkins! The plot progressed at a steady pace, bringing about questions that I needed answers to. Just as one question was answered, another would arise and I would keep saying, "one more chapter!" I want me own Paladin (a warrior and protector), or maybe I can just become one so I won't have to depend on anyone else haha!

My favorite thing about this book is Harper's humorous snark, loved every dialogue between her and David. There were plenty of, "You go girl!" moments and I really wasn't expecting that ending. Only thing I sort of disliked was the romance aspect. The fact that Harper already had a boyfriend really put me on the top of the love triangle. I'm all for staying loyal so it felt weird to secretly be rooting for her and David. A fun fast read that has left me craving for book 2.

Review: Pretty Crooked (Pretty Crooked #1)

Title: Pretty Crooked (Pretty Crooked #1)
Author: Elisa Ludwig
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 368


My Rating:

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most? -goodreads.com

Quick read but it kept me entertained until the very end. So many unanswered questions that actually motivate me to want to go buy the next book... So why only 3 hearts?

Lets begin with the positives. Not trying to steal someones quote, but I read somewhere on good reads that this book is the perfect combination of Mean Girls and Robin Hood, and truer words have never been spoken. I laughed so hard at some parts that my roommate probably thought I was going crazy! But at the same time, my heart felt for Willa during other parts... I get it, she steals and no book should "hype" that up... but what Willa did was so much more than that, in my eyes. Having been in the shoes of the "scholarship kid" I would have been the first to hug and cheer for Willa. These girls were bullies and I hated how the whole school secretly adored them.

Now onto the negatives...The dialogue was super cheesy at times, it had me eye rolling. I hated how Willa always trusted the wrong people. Plus, this book felt like it fed into stereotypes (the black guy with a record? Come on!). The thing the probably pissed me off the most was the ending and answered questions. What's going on with the mom? Why have a major cliff hanger ending with no resolution? Was this all just a marketing ploy to get me to buy the next book?... Because it's working. I'll let you know how book 2 treats me.

Movie Monday (8)

Just a meme I came up with that should help me look forward to posting on Mondays because if there's anything I love more than books, it's movies :)

This weeks topic:

Top 5 Anticipated Movies

#5. Ralph Breaks the Internet -Wreck-It Ralph 2: Loved the first film and very much looking forward to the 2nd. Most definitely taking my nieces.

#4. Robin Hood (2018): Two damn words; Taron Egerton. As a teen (...ok, maybe even in my 20's as well), I had this list of my top 5 celebrities crushes. It's safe to say that Talon blows them all out of the race. I would marry this man in a heartbeat!

#3. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: Any movie with a bit of romance and magic has my vote. Currently our local movie theater is accepting this so called "movie pass" which allows you to watch 3 movies a week for $10/month. You can bet your bottoms I'm going to take advantage of that deal.

#2. Venom: People have commented on the special effects and how awesome it looks, but I'm mostly in it for the spider man universe and for Tom Hardy.

#1.  Halloween (2018): THEE movie I've been looking forward to sometime now is Halloween (eh, the new movie)... BUT I must admit, I'm a coward so I don't want to go alone. More than anything I want to take my little squad with me and assure that I have someone next to me whom I'm able to pinch and hold when the pop-ups occur because I'm sure they are inevitable. Thankfully it comes out this THR

10 good things on a Tuesday

This is just a list of 10 good things on a Tuesday

Why do I do this?
I believe this used to be a meme back in the day (it was done on Monday's but same concept/idea) but it stopped, and I very much miss it. So I just felt like continuing it but on a different day of the   week(mostly because I do Movie Mondays). Every Tuesday I will have a list of 10 different things, doesn't necessarily have to be books. Anything that will help get me through the week. Feel like joining? Leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check it out!
😊❤️

THIS WEEK:

Top 10 Book Covers

1. 

 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

China Travel Blog

Hi!
Here's a sneak peak at yet another travel blog. SUCH AN AMAZING ADVENTURE. Eventually I'll edit this page and write a full on post about my adventures in China. Mind you, this was my 2nd time visiting the country and I can honestly say I love everything about it! The culture, the people, and of course, the FOOD! My God... Delicacies everywhere you look. I don't think people will ever understand my love for travel.

So I came to the realization (and on this trip ironically) that the absolute BEST part about me is my personality. Like, there's no way around it. I'm not much to look at, but I'm an amazing person once you talk and converse with me (not trying to be conceited or anything). When I was in China I literally lost my ability to speak/communicate. I speak very little to no Mandarin, So every time someone turned to ask me something I'd just smile and wave. I felt so useless, yet it was a type of an epiphany.

Here are a few pics to keep you entertained. I apologize in advance with how I look haha... I was super tired because we were on the move 24/7. We literally had one rest day in 2 weeks.

Cities visited:
Hangzhou
Guangzhou
Xian
Lian
Beijing

    

    

      

    

   

  

    

  

Review: Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1)

Title: Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1)
Author: Leigh Burdugo 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 342

My Rating:

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs. But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction. -goodreads.com

This book was my savior in 2018. To be honest I was debating on whether or not I'd keep the blog, re-vamp it or just shut it down. Once I finished Carrier I KNEW there was no way I could keep my love for this book all to myself. I had to sit down and VENT my feelings... even if it was to my un-updated blog. I was very fortunate that I read the book first before checking out the Goodreads page because MY GOD. People can be soooo evil. If you were to check out the goodreads page for Carrier, you will see people make direct similarities between Carrier and Twilight. Actually, no, not similarities, they accuse Carrier of being a cheap rip-off version of Twilight. And that kind of heart my hurt because I liked this book so much... I honest to God didn't think of Twilight ONCE when I was reading the book.

Now that I've finished it and made the comparison, I can somewhat see the similarities (adopted families, the council = the voltari) but it's nothing like people make it out to be. I read a review where someone said the sister's names both begin with the letter 'A' -_- Really?... come on, people are just looking for a way to be hateful. If I had to tell a friend what this book was about I would say it was a more mature young adult take on The Last Air Bender (but with Romance). In Carrier, Megan our main character (and she is nothing like Bella), can control air, that's her element.

Megan is awesome and very relatable. She's careful, calm, and strong. She has recently lost her mother and moved to Ireland with her father. Thats when she meets Adam. Oh. Em. Gee. They don't make them like Adam anymore... I did think that they kissed way too early (for my personal taste) but that didn't take anything away from the story or plot. The setting in this book is terrific! I've visited Ireland before and I could imagine myself there again with how vivid and complete Ms. Fallon's descriptions were. I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on book 2.

If you're thinking about checking this book out, do it! Don't let negative reviews ever stop you from picking up a book. Or maybe you're like one of my students who said, "I loved twilight so the fact that you loved it and say people compare it to Twilight only makes me want to pick it up even more!" So whatever side you take, just do me a fav and give this book a try. You won't regret it. 

Updates and more

FINALLY bought a new layout and read a book that got me out of my slump (Carrier #1-- Click here to check out my review). New posts on their way as we speak.

I finally purchased a new laptop, my last one was beginning to have hardrive failure

I visited a few new countries. The Galapagos Islands was my most recent trip and I LOVED everything about it. New travel blog to come soon. Here are some pictures to give you a sneak peek

gloomy day @ Isla Santa Fe. We didn't get sun until 2hrs after this pic

Such an amazing day @ Isla Isabel

Teaching is going superbly. I never thought I'd love teaching so much. Everything about my job makes me happy (well, maybe not waking up at 6AM everyday, but you get the main idea... haha!). This year I've got some great kids and we have a weekly YA book club. Man... life is grreatttt!