To Be Read // September 2021

Hi Friends,
It is TBR time once again. I am shocked that we are already at September, where has the year gone. August was a great reading month for me. I ended up hitting my reading goal for the year! I have officially read 30 books in 2021. Yay, me! But that doesn’t me I plan on slowing down my reading anytime soon. I would still love to make progress on my owned tbr. I have tons of books that I haven’t read, which is overwhelming. Starting now I will be putting two books in my collection on my monthly tbr. Let’s start talking books!

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
As part of the Twisted Tales series, the book follows the story of if Aladdin never found the lamp. This is a newer edition to my book collection, but I have been wanting to read one retellings this year. I have a feeling it is going to be a good fall read.

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
This is the second book from my shelves that I want to read in September. I am anticipation it to be a solid read, since I am all for an enemies-to-lovers story. And, lighthearted contemporary will never get old in my book. I haven’t read anything by this author, and I hear that I am missing out.

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott
This is most likely a hard hitting contemporary that will give me all the feels. Rachael Lippincott is one of the writers of ‘Five Feet Apart’, which I read in August. If you want to know my thoughts on that book subscribe to the blog to get notified when my review for it goes live.

One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
In August, I read ‘One Of Us Is Lying’, and knew that I had to read the companion novel soon after. This story follows the young sister of a character from the previous story. It has to do with a dangerous game of ‘Truth or Dare’. It sound creepy, but not to scary.

The Dazzling Heights (The Thousandth Floor #2) by Katharine McGee
I have been wanting to continue on with this series for a while, so why not now. After the events of book one, I am nervous and delighted to jump back into this story. I don’t know where the author plans to take the story, but I prefer to go into this book blind.

Tell me what’s on your September tbr in the comments below. Did you enjoy this post? Then why not like and share it. And, subscribe for all things bookish and more.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Books // Recommendations From Princesses

Hi Friends,
This is a fun little book post idea that I don’t think I have seen anyone do before. I was raised on Disney! I watched old Disney Channel shows, like ‘So Weird’, ‘The Jersey’,and ‘The Famous Jett Jackson’. We had mountains of Disney movies on VHS. I was always a Disney Princess kind of girl. I thought it would be cool to give some book recommendations based off Disney Princesses. Think of it as Belle or Ariel recommending these books to you instead of me. Most of these books I have read, but some I thought fit the princess’ personality.

Princess: Jasmine
Movie: Aladdin
Book Recommendation: ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’ by Sandhya Menon
In the book, Dimple is against marriage. Specically, arranged ones. She has dreams for her future and, at least right now, being a wife isn’t one of them. However, Rishi is a kind-hearted guy that believes in love and following his parents rules. The book doesn’t mimic Aladdin’s story so much, but I can see Jasmine resonating with Dimple in many ways. They both come from cultures that expect certain things from them, and their parents don’t always understand their dreams. Rishi wasn’t anything like Aladdin, but after reading this book Jasmine probably found him to be charming.

 

Princess: Tiana
Movie: Princess and the Frog
Book Recommendation: ‘With the Fire on High’ by Elizabeth Acevedo
I haven’t read this book, but I hear that it is amazing. Also, I have never watched “Princess and the Frog” so I guess I’m taking a shot in the dark on this one. I have heard that Tiana is a strong, intelligent woman who loved to cook. This book is about a teenage mother that is juggling school, motherhood, and helping support her family. The only thing that helps her cope is her passion for cooking. The kitchen is where she shines, and everything she cooks is magical. I could be wrong, but I think Tiana would find so many similarities to her life within this book.

 

Princess: Belle
Movie: Beauty and the Beast
Book Recommendation: ‘Moxie’ by Jennifer Mathieu
This is another book on my forever growing TBR. When you think of a book recommendation by Belle, you might picture a story about a book lover, or a romance. But, I went a different route. Although, I love that Belle was an avid reader, and her love story was my favorite, she was adventurous and didn’t want to be a damsel-in-distress. Moxie tells the story of a girl that is fed up with her small-town and the double-standard in her high school. As sung by Belle herself: Every morning just the same, since the morning that we came, to this poor provincial town. She start an anonymous feminist ‘zine that makes its way throughout her school. Soon, she will set into motion a girls’ revolution.

I had a lot of fun coming up with this post. I may do more posts like this, featuring different Disney Princesses. Don’t forget to like and share this post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

29th Birthday Haul // Non-Bookish

Hi Friends,
You might have saw my birthday book haul already, but some of you wanted to see the non-bookish gifts I received. However, I got two books from family members that I didn’t feature in my book haul. Simply because I will be returning those books, because I already own them.

ColourPop Lizzie McGuire Collection

ColourPop Hocus Pocus Palette
Macaron Candle Gift Set

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Backpack Purse

Light-Up Picture Hanging Decor
Hocus Pocus Game Board

I am extremely grateful for everything I received. My family is truly amazing and I can not say thank you enough.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Unbirthday // Book Review

Title: Unbirthday
Author: Liz Braswell
Published: 2020
Genre: Middle Grade/Retelling



2.5/5 Stars



Returning to the place of nonsense from her childhood, Alice finds herself on a mission to stop the Queen of Hearts’ tyrannical rule and to find her place in both worlds. But will she able to do so . . . before the End of Time?
Source: GoodReads.com



Writing a bad review is one of the worst parts of being a book blogger. I never want to offend the author or other readers, but not everybody will enjoy the same story. I went to this book with an open mind while excepting much. I read, and reviewed a different book in the “Twisted Tales” series, so I sort of new what to except. Going into this book, I knew it was going to be a fresh take on the Wonderland story, and hope it would instantly capture me. Unfortunately, nothing about this story worked. The writing style was geared towards a much younger audience, which being a middle grade is to be suspected. But there are some pretty spectacular middle-grade books that work for all ages.

The biggest issue I had with the story was that it was slow. I don’t mean slow for the first half of the book, and then it picks up. It was slow and boring throughout the entire book. I kept getting distracted, and tuning out while reading. I had to go back and reread pages multiple times. Truthfully, I wanted to DNF the book, but I felt like I had to see it through to the end. I’m not mad that I stuck with it, but I did want more from it.

I didn’t get the connection between Alice’s real-life and wonderland life. Speaking of Alice, she acted just as bratty and sure of herself as she did in the original story. But being 18 years old, you would think she’d grown up. It seemed that even the Wonderland characters didn’t enjoy her company. The plot of Alice having to save Wonderland from the Queen of Hearts could have been interesting if the villain was an actual part of the story. During Alice’s journey through Wonderland, the Queen didn’t appear until the final few chapters. She didn’t even say much or acknowledge Alice’s presence.

I wanted a whimsical re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, and that wasn’t the case. The book didn’t hold up to Lewis Carroll original work, nor the classic Disney animated film. Honestly, Tim Burton did a better job retelling the story. One final thing to note this book is nearly 500 pages long—too long for most books, especially middle-grade reads.

If you would like to send me an inquiry about reviewing a book or product please email me at narges.errandi@gmail.com. Please keep in mind that all my reviews are 100% honest.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Conceal, Don’t Feel // Book Review

Title: Conceal, Don’t Feel
Author: Jen Calonita
Published: 2019
Genre: Middle Grade/Retellings




When a magical accident erases Anna and Elsa’s memories not only of magic, but of each other the sisters are separated for protection. But when Elsa unexpectedly finds herself as a young queen mysterious magic begins to happen and questions of her past start to form. Will the sisters ever be reunited?
Source: GoodReads.com



I pictured this book to be a new take on the Frozen story. However, it was the same basic story with slight changes. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Frozen movie, so I don’t know why I was excepting to enjoy this book. When I think of retellings, I envision a whole new tale that takes inspiration from it’s origin story. Unfortunately that was not the author’s plan for this novel.

I was curious to see who Elsa and Anna would become without one another. The answer the same exact people they were in the film. There were minor changes to their personalities, but unless you were looking you wouldn’t be able to notice these differences. I think the biggest change was Elsa and Hans’ relationship. Although, he is scum the book and movie writes him in a charming almost likable way. As someone that loved his and Anna’s duet from the animated film it would have been great to have him be a good guy this go around.

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I find Olaf to be annoying. He is too much for me in the movie. However, I liked the change to his personality in the book. The author kept his lovable and clueless charm while reining in his over-the-top persona. Also, I found his forgetfulness kind of adorable. One character change I wasn’t a fan of was Kristoff. Now I enjoyed his interactions with Sven, yet he seemed cold and irritated with Anna. I didn’t see them development from friends to lovers, or in this case enemies to lovers.

Overall, this book was an average, quick middle grade. While being a good choice for Disney fans, if you’re looking for a reimagined take on the story, skip this one. This is my first “Twisted Tale” and despite it not being my favorite, it hasn’t totally prevented me from giving others in the series a fair chance. Still, here’s hoping the rest are a bit of a fresher take on the classic tales we all know and love.

If you would like to send me an inquiry about reviewing a book or product please email me at narges.errandi@gmail.com. Please keep in mind that all my reviews are 100% honest.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

May 2021 // To Be Read

Hello Book Lovers,
I felt like April would never end, and though I had a pretty decent read month I’m looking forward to May reading plans. If you have been following my blog than you know that I do monthly tbrs where I talk about the books I hope to read throughout the month. Now I don’t have solid reading plans for May, but I have added a ton of books to my want to read list lately. As for readathons, I am loosely planning on doing the 4th Mini round of the PopCulture readathon that will run from May 16th – 30th and is Degrassi: TNG themed. However, if I do it I will post a separate tbr for it closer to the readathon start date.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers: Me and my husband started the audiobook about a month back, and I ready to dive into this once popular series. I have seen all the movies, but my husband isn’t a Twiheart. Most of you are probably aware of the plot, still I will give you the shortened version. This is the story of what happens when a human girl falls in love with a vampire boy, and all the must overcome to be together.

The Project by Courtney Summers: I decided to pick this up on a whim since I have heard nothing but good things about Summers books. She writes YA/new adult mystery thrillers with her most notable being Sadie. The Project follows a nineteen-year-old girl as she tries to uncover the truth about “The Unity Project” a religious group that many see as a cult. She knows that the project isn’t as holism as they seem, and believe they are the reason behind her strained relationship with her older sister.

Conceal, Don’t Feel by Jen Calonta: I have wanted to read this for a while not, and I was finally able to get my hands on a copy from the library. This is part of The Twisted Tales book series, which are middle-grade Disney retellings. This is Frozen retelling we see what would happen if Anna and Elsa never knew each other. I am not a huge Frozen fan, but I do think that this could be a fun read.

10 Truths And A Dare by Ashley Elston: I read “10 Blind Dates” from this author, and loved it! I knew that I had to pick up her next YA contemporary as soon as it came out. The plot follows Olivia, a character from “10 Blind Dates,” as she finds out she might not get to graduate with her senior class after all. These books are usually light, fluffy reads that I cannot get enough of.

You’re Not Special by Meghan Rienks: I started this book a while ago, and ready to finish it. It is a collection of memoir type stories by YouTuber Meghan Rienks. I was never an avid watcher of Meghan’s channel, but I thought it would be an interesting read.

Snow In Love by Various Authors: I am a big fan of YA story collections, so I was happy to pick this up back in January. However, I have yet to make a dent in it, and it is already May. I am enjoying the first story thus far, and would love to have it read by the end of the month. Also, I don’t mind a little holiday spirit anytime of year.

Those are all the books that I am putting on my main tbr for the month. I am trying to focus on books that I have already started, so that I can have a clean reading slat going into June, which is my birthday month. Please let me know what is on your May tbr in the comments below. If you want to support my blog you can like and share this post. As always you can follow the blog to get notified when I post. I post bookish content and more.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny