Reclaiming the Sand

Amazingly beautiful!

I wish that those two words were enough for you to understand exactly what it is that I'm feeling after reading this book. 

This isn't your typical girl falls in love with the boy next door - or your good girl falling madly in love with the bad boy and straightening him up. 

This story is full of so much gutt wrenching pain. Literally. Even as I sit here thinking about the characters, I can't help but feel sad and hurt over what they went thru. 

We first meet Ellie. Her POV is in the present time. We know she was a trouble maker (I don't even think that that word is good enough to describe her). We know that she has served time in Juvie. The entire time I kept trying to figure out why though (Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you!). We do know that she had a very troubled and painful life as a little girl, someone that was carted around in the foster system. 

"I had stopped feeling sorry for myself by the time I had entered my third foster home at the age of seven. The tears had dried up. Emotions packed away. The need to survive at all costs taking their place."

I had to put my Kindle down and walk away as the tears rolled down my face. It pained me to learn this about her. She was trying to survive in the fucked up life that she had.

Then we meet Flynn. We do know that he is different. And by that I mean he has Asperger's. He has no social skills whatever and is extremely particular. He's smart though. And he is artistic. He also has no emotions and doesn't really know how to read others emotions. He gets picked on when he's in high school. Like BADLY. Did I mention that his POV is from when he's in high school? Right. That there breaks my heart. I hated how he was treated. I wished I could have reached inside my Kindle and strangled every single one of those kids that hurt him. 

I was very impressed at how the author developed the romance. 

"Seeing him again up close was like being sucker punched in the jaw. It wasn't pleasant. He stirred up memories I didn't have time to think about. I didn't have the emotional capacity to allow myself the pain and grief a normal person would have felt. Because you see, I wasn't normal either. We were a perfect, messed up pair, Flynn and I. We always had been." 

As fucked up as it sounds I was rooting for Ellie and Flynn to be able to work past their troubled past. Because there was one. A major one. 

They had a relationship which was surprisingly beautiful. Ellie was able to "deal" with Flynn whenever he had meltdowns. She was the ONLY person that was able to physically touch him. And surprisingly enough, he wanted to touch her as well (If you know anyone with Asperger's or Autism, you KNOW what a HUGE deal this is). 

"His fingers trembled in mine but he didn't pull away. Our hands were joined together, his arm stretched out in front of him. He didn't move any closer. We did nothing to close the distance between us but his palm pressed against mine was more intimate than if he had been holding me."

I think that the author did an amazing job with this book. I've only read two other books by her, and I enjoyed them just as much as this one. There were times where I had to stop reading because the emotions pouring out of those words were just too much. 

"He lifted his head and swept his dark hair out of his face. His eyes flitted around the room until he saw me. And he grinned. His heart in his eyes. He was more than amazing. He was amazing."

I went to bed thinking about Flynn and Ellie and the fucked up world that they lived in. I lived that they both tried their best to overcome the obstacles that were in front of them. From Ellie actually going to college and trying to get an education to Flynn moving away from his comfort zone and teaching. 

I absolutely loved this book. I do have to admit that I HATE Dania. With a passion. What she did is just wrong and unforgivable. 

Either way, I'll definitely be re-reading this book again. 

Red Hill

Okay, I have to start by saying that I don't do scary! At all!

I decided to set my fears aside because this is by none other than Jamie McGuire. I have to admit that I was very hesitant at first because it deals with Zombies.

"I know the world ended on a Friday. It was the last day I saw my children."

 



That alone gave me anxiety issues. And it was only the Prologue...

The story is beautifully told from three different POV's.

We meet Scarlet who is a divorced mother of 2 girls. She's an X-Ray tech and is at work when the outbreak begins. She knows that she needs to get to her daughters because they are suppose to be spending the weekend with their father. Hers is an emotional journey that is extremely painful to witness. As a mother my self - I would do anything to get to my children. I loved her character. She was such a tough person who is willing to stop at nothing. She literally does everything within her ability to reach her children. Even when she can't find them, she continuous to have faith that she will see them again.

We also meet Miranda and the people that are with her on their way to her father's ranch - Red Hill Ranch. She has Bryce, her long time best friend and boyfriend; her sister Ashley and her boyfriend Cooper. They literally go thru hell and back to get to the safety of the ranch.

And then there is Nathan. His wife left him the same day that the outbreak began. The kicker with his story is getting his daughter to safety. She's slightly different with certain needs. We don't ever get to find out what is really wrong with her. Not that it matters. What matters is that Nathan is a great and amazing father who loves his kid and does everything within his power to keep her safe.

I love how all three stories / characters cross paths at one point or another but don't know about it until the end.

I think that the beauty that Jamie created is in the willingness of others to help those in need. Even though they are in the middle of what they consider the end of the world, they are willing to help others. And the help that is offered or provided to each of these characters is amazing.

I will have to admit that I cried several times through out this book. I kept finding my self on the edge of my seat while each character tried to get to their final destination with their loved ones - which happened to be the same one for all them - Red Hill Ranch.

The romance between some of the characters is sweet. I was kind of upset at one of the characters - but I won't say who!

Just know that I really did enjoy this book.

(P.S. I did have trouble falling asleep after I finished reading this book. Not sure if it was because it dealt with Zombies or because the characters and that ending was so good!)

Maybe Someday

So for the last couple of days, I've had this story stuck in my head. I've had the characters running on and on in my head. I've had the soundtrack that goes with it on replay (in my head).
I've had so many emotions - from frustration to anger, to sadness to happiness to sorrow - sometimes a couple of those at the same time. How is this possible you ask me? Well, I've learned over the past couple of years that with Colleen Hoover anything and everything is possible.
I've learned that in order to read one of her books I have to get my mind (and emotions) ready. I have to tell my self that a tornado will wreak havoc within me while I'm reading, and after (and I mean several days later).
Sydney - What can be said about her? Other than she's a kick-ass girl who knows what she wants in her life.

"I just punched a girl in the face. Not just any girl. My best friend. My roommate."

She gets handed a really shitty card in life and she has to learn to deal with it.

The beauty in this story is when we are introduced to Ridge -

"It's so mesmerizing to watch him that sometimes I catch myself holding my breath, and I don't even realize I'm doing it until I'm gasping for air."

We know he's some kind of musician and because Sydney truly loves music, she falls for his talent. They develop a friendship and she starts working with him. As if the card that she's been dealt isn't good enough, Ridge & Sydney develop an attraction. I mean, how could they not? under those circumstances.

But life is cruel.

"My entire boy is battling itself. My left brain is telling me this is somehow wrong. My right brain is wanting to hear her sing again. My stomach is nowhere to be found..."

I was soooo mad. I mean how could you not when you have such a beautiful moment and connection happening, but YOU KNOW that it's absolutely wrong in every single way...

Of course, Colleen being who she is makes it all work one way or another. It does break my heart, the way in which it all happened. But it is what it is - beauty in its own.

"I don't want Sydney ever to feel like my second choice, when I know in my heart that she's the right choice. The only choice."

Sigh.

You can't help but fall for that guy.

"Her smell, her touch, her voice, her love. I've never felt so much at once. I've never needed to feel more..."
The journey to their happiness is one full of trials, pain and sorrow. But in the end, it's all worth it.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again, Colleen is AMAZING. Her writing style leaves me in awe. I managed to swallow (yes, literally) this book in a matter of 4 hours.

And of course, I can't NOT mention Griffin Peterson and his collaboration in this project, it was amazing. It added so much more to the story.

I loved it all! Thank you Colleen for the beauty that you so willingly share with your readers. Thank you for giving us Ridge and his amazing talents, even with all of his flaws. Thank you for giving us Sydney and her kick-ass self. Thank you for Maggie. And yes, Thank you for Warren and all of his pranks and comments.

They were all amazing in their own way and will forever remain with me!

Simple Thoughts

I usually keep a Goodreads account and I try to update it on an almost daily basis. I decided to "Challenge" myself by setting a goal of reading 120 books in the year 2014. So far, I have read 27 of those, which according to their tally I'm 5 ahead of schedule. Awesome, right? I seem to think so. My goal is to write some kind of review or "thoughts" on each and every one of the books that I have read so far. It may not be much of a review, but if I can put my feelings out there for each book, then I would feel like I have accomplished something.
My reviewing skills may not be the best there is to offer, or the most grandiose like those other bloggers out there that dedicate their time to this, but my passion for reading is great! I think I have mentioned in the past that I love reading.

Cinder

 

So this book here is exactly why I keep reading YA! I picked this up at my local Target the other day and am so happy that I'll be able to have a paperback copy of it. Don't get me wrong, I love reading on my Kindle, but every now and then I love the feel of an actual book... We get the re-telling of Cinderella in this, and I freaking LOVE it! I'm a total sucker for the fairy tales! The world that Marissa Meyer creates is beautiful and magical in it's own way. I sometimes seem to forget that my i...more So this book here is exactly why I keep reading YA! I picked this up at my local Target the other day and am so happy that I'll be able to have a paperback copy of it. Don't get me wrong, I love reading on my Kindle, but every now and then I love the feel of an actual book... We get the re-telling of Cinderella in this, and I freaking LOVE it! I'm a total sucker for the fairy tales! The world that Marissa Meyer creates is beautiful and magical in it's own way. I sometimes seem to forget that my initial love/interest in reading started with Young Adult. It's authors like her that remind me why. I love that I was able to carelessly loose my self in her writing. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book Scarlet! (I was at Target and literally ran back in to check and see if they had it, and YES they did!!)

My Life Next Door

This is one of those books that I really wanted to read a LONG time ago, but I didn't. Again, stupid right? Yes... It really was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed Samantha's character a lot, and even Jase - the boy next door (literally). But I think that my favorite was George. I totally fell in love with that little kid. The things that came out of his mouth had me cracking up so much. "I might marry you..." <-- this is what George tells Samantha the first time he meets her. Or when he tries...more This is one of those books that I really wanted to read a LONG time ago, but I didn't. Again, stupid right? Yes... It really was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed Samantha's character a lot, and even Jase - the boy next door (literally). But I think that my favorite was George. I totally fell in love with that little kid. The things that came out of his mouth had me cracking up so much. "I might marry you..." <-- this is what George tells Samantha the first time he meets her. Or when he tries convincing Samantha that she should marry Jace (also during the first time that they met) "His bed's comfortable. And he never pees in it ." There was some heart ache, but not that whole teenager angst or a complicated romance. Both main characters grew up a lot. But they did it together. Bettering and helping each other. I definitely enjoyed it!

Unravel

FUUUCK!!!
This is one of those books that my sister read before me. Yes, she actually beat me to the punch... I bought it because I heard so much good things about it. An then my sister confirmed this. She said that she liked it so much that she was still thinking about it several days later (which is hard for her).
Oh my fucking hell!!! This book just tore my heart to pieces... I read the last words in this, and I swear that my heart was racing a million miles a minute... I'm still sitting here, trying to figure out what exactly this book means to me.
I know that I'll read it again. Maybe over and over.
I felt SO much for the characters. You can't really say much with out giving ANYTHING away. And I mean that.
I literally just want to sit here and cry like a little girl and hold my self, or curl on my husbands lap while he holds!!!