When the Last Book Ruins Everything

We've all been there with series we love (and some we only sort of like). You build up ALL that anticipation for the final book. The grand finale! The big kahuna! The buildup, the big one, the moment we've bene waiting for, the REASON ALL THOSE OTHER BOOKS EXIST! Waiting...for this!

And then you read it.

And you. Don't. Like it.

Baking the Books: Simon vs. the Oreo Sapiens Agenda

Welcome to Baking the Books, where I bake things inspired by my favorite novels! Since I do a lot of reading and a lot of baking, it was only a matter of time before the two things overlapped. It's just part of my evil plot to get books involved in every single aspect of my life.

Last time on Baking the Books: To All the Cookies I've Loved Before

You're probably sick of me shouting at you about Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, but it's a perfect book, so I'm not going to stop shouting about it anytime soon. Not only is it ten kinds of adorable, not only is it funny, and not only is it a brilliant rendering of what it's like to be confused/confident/closeted/hilarious as hell teen, but it will make you crave Oreos like you've never craved them before.

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Review: Things We Know by Heart by April Lindner
Goodreads
Release date: March 31st, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Length: 384 pages
Source: ARC from the publisher
Rating: ALL THE ADORBS



Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends and new love that proves it's never too late for second chances.

It's been a year since it happened--when Paige Hancock's first boyfriend died in an accident. After completely shutting out the world, Paige is finally ready for a chance at high school...and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live? 


THIS BOOK. Oh, I enjoyed reading this book so much. It's equal parts adorable and heartbreaking, and best of all, it's sublimely nerdtastic. it's about nerds falling in love through pop culture and geekery, and HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THAT? This is my first Emery Lord book, but I guarantee you it won't be my last. The way she writes romance and girl friendships is utter perfection.

Looking Forward: April

Sometimes it's really hard for me to keep track of what comes out what month, especially while juggling early reviews and publisher catalogues and all the other confusing bookish things bloggers deal with. It's just a LOT OF BOOKS ALL THE TIME. How do you ever keep them straight?! So on the last day of the month, I post a guide to what books I'm most looking forward to in the following month and that you should keep an eye on. So, since it's the last day in March (AHHHH IT'S ALMOST APRIL I TURN 24 IN APRIL I DON'T LIKE IT LET'S GO BACKWARDS), here are the April releases most tempting me:

Featured book of the month:

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Review: Things We Know by Heart by April Lindner
Goodreads
Release date: April 21st, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length: 304 pages
Source: ARC from ALAMW15/eARC via Edelweiss
Rating: Bah bah black sheep



When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection. 

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. 

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.


I'm really disappointed in this book, actually. It had the potential to be GREAT, and I know Kirby has the mega chops to pull that off. I was ready to get my heart stomped on, but it wasn't even really grazed. And I'm an emotional reader. I cry when fictional puppies stub their toes, so a book about a girl dealing with the death of her boyfriend and the grief of moving on should have WRECKED me. But there as no wreckage to be found. But everyone else was devastated by this book! What's wrong with me? Why can't I feeeeeeel??

IT'S A THEORY

I'M BACK! And With a Giveaway! (Cuz Dark Lord Funk Gon' Giveaway)

HIIIIII, GUYS! I missed you and your gorgeous internety faces! Life got super lifey lately, that rat bastard, so I took a bit of an internet hiatus. But I plan to return with a VENGEANCE, just like His Royal Voldyness, taking on my enemies with Dark Lord style.

Top Ten Books For Readers Who Like Diverse Fantasy

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This list is inspired by the truly excellent diverse high fantasy I've been reading lately (looking at you, The Wrath and the Dawn). High fantasy has, historically, been a genre severely lacking in diversity of any kind--cultural, racial, sexual, gender, and on and on--so I want to make a point to go out of my way to read more of it. So first, a few of the best diverse high fantasy books I've read, and then the ones I want to get to!

Review: Love, Lucy by April Lindner

Review: Love, Lucy by April Lindner
Goodreads
Release date: January 27th, 2015
Publisher: Poppy (Little, Brown)
Length: 304 pages
Source: ARC from ALAMW15
Rating: Though not wholly terrible, I, sadly, did not love Lucy



While backpacking through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the culture, the architecture, the food...and Jesse Palladino, a handsome street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home, determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.

In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.


A Room With a View is one of my favorite books of ALL TIME. I read it when I was fourteen and it's lived very happily in my heart ever since. Not long after, I saw the movie version of A Room With a View and fell in love with that too. So going into Love, Lucy I was half excited, half wary, because a great adaptation of my fave book could be great, but a bad one could make me crankypants.