My Favorite Imagine Dragons Songs // AKA my FAVORITE band

So earlier this year, I decided that I also wanted to share some of my other interests besides reading. One of those being music…the band Imagine Dragons in particular. They have been my favorite band for 7(?!) years now. I’ve been able to experience the release of two of their albums as well as go to two of their concerts (both of which are unforgettable nights). It’s not just their music that I love–I truly just love what the band stands for. They are the most grounded people; they don’t let the fame get to their heads. Also, their songs are meaningful. Night Visions and Smoke + Mirrors were both written as the lead singer Dan Reynolds battled with depression. The most recent album, Evolve, has more upbeat tracks to symbolize how his mental health journey is getting better. He speaks up a lot about mental health, even at the concerts. There are so many themes throughout the song that you can really relate to, which is just another reason why I love this band!

Night Visions

It’s Time

Demons

Amsterdam

Smoke + Mirrors

Shots

Hopeless Opus

Polaroid

I’m So Sorry

Trouble

Evolve

I Don’t Know Why

Rise Up

Yesterday

Walking the Wire

 

Other 

Roots 

 

I also just found out that they have a new song coming out on February 21st, and I am SOOOO ready for it. Then again, I am always ready for new Imagine Dragons content!

Have you ever heard of Imagine Dragons? If so, have a favorite song?

 

Book Review: Draekora by Lynette Noni

 

“I swear by the stars that you and the others slain tonight will be the first of many. Of that you have my word.”

“With Aven Dalmarta now hiding in the shadows of Meya, Alex is desperate to save Jordan and keep the Rebel Prince from taking more lives. Training day and night to master the enhanced immortal blood in her veins, Alex undertakes a dangerous Meyarin warrior trial that separates her from those she loves and leaves her stranded in a place where nothing is as it should be. As friends become enemies and enemies become friends, Alex must decide who to trust as powerful new allies—and adversaries—push her towards a future of either light… or darkness. One way or another, the world will change… “— Summary from Goodreads

 

I loved the first two installments of the Medoran Chronicles, so Lynette Noni’s third book Draekora did not disappoint. Although it had been awhile since I read the second book, as soon as I started reading I was pulled into to the magical world and was reunited with old characters I adore. The book begins with three of our main characters–Alex, Bear, and D.C.– in action as they try to find some information about one of their other friends. The action starts there and it does not let up!

I must commend Noni on her world-building skills and the tremendous amount of detail that makes the world of Meya come to life on the page. I especially loved her descriptions of this new setting Draekora. The land in the skies was described so eloquently that I could perfectly visualize the breathtaking city of the drakons. I often have a hard time visualizing the story when I am reading a fantasy book, but that is not a problem with the Medoran Chronicles.

Some of my favorite aspects of the Medoran Chronicles has been the setting of Akarnae and the library. For the past two books, we have gotten used to this setting the characters that Alex usually interacts with. However, Draekora tells a much different story as we spend most of the book with the Meyarians. In fact, there is not many interactions at all with the Akarnae characters, and as much as I wanted Alex back with her crew, I absolutely loved getting to know the Meyarian characters better (especially Nyx…for those of you who have read Draekora, you know what I mean.)

For me, this book really picked up when Alex is pulled through time with Xira. I have read time jump stories before, but this has to be one of the most creative executions. Alex is sent to past Meya where we see the younger versions of our favorite Meyarians. We get to learn SO much about this world as Alex learns how to be a Meyarian. This book also provides a ton of backstory for why things are the way they are, especially with Aven. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the way Noni ties the past and the present together is very entertaining to read. I had so many “ a-ha” moments where I was connecting the dots between the past and the present.

Overall, Draekora was a fantastic read. Once I picked it up, I did not want to put it down. This action packed novel will not disappoint.

Beautiful YA Book Covers that Grace My Shelves

You know the old adage–don’t judge a book by its cover. However, I would be lying (and I’m sure many people are in the same boat as me) if I said that I have never based my reading choices off of a cover. A cover can produce an immediate negative or positive judgement–it goes both way. There have been times where I won’t even look into a book because its cover is just horrendous. I have probably missed some great stories because of this, but it is really hard to control.

A cover is the first thing you see that is associated with the story in most cases. Just like there have been times I have not bought a book because of the cover, there have also been times where the cover absolutely drew me in. When a cover catches my eye, I will read the description, and if the book sounds good I will buy it. So of course, the cover does play a big part in getting a reader to read a particular book! Here are some of my all-time favorite YA book covers–some of them are just beautiful covers in a series and others attracted me to read the book in the first place!

My Most-Anticipated 2018 YA Book-to-Movie Adaptations

I’ll be honest…2017 was a pretty “meh” year for movies for me. With the exception of Cars 3 and The Last Jedi, there weren’t many movies I was thrilled about (I’m sure there were some GREAT movies that came out, but I just completely missed them). There also was not many book adaptations movies in 2017 that I was interested in, which definitely played a role in my excitement level.

Book Review: Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

“A contemporary novel about three adopted siblings who find each other at just the right moment. Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family,including—Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs. And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fear are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.”    — Summary from Goodreads

Far From the Tree is a book that I put on my Christmas wishlist on a whim.  After glancing over the summary and seeing the ratings and beautiful cover, I decided to add it to my TBR. When I picked it up, I wasn’t expecting to stay up all night until I finished it. I wasn’t expecting to become so attached to the characters as the story went on. Most of all, I wasn’t expecting to read such a beautifully written, tear-jerking YA novel based on family.

I’ve said it once before, and I’ll say it again: there are few young adult books that realistically represent and ultimately focus on family. It seems like in most contemporary novels, the family is the side plot or ignored altogether. Not in Far From the Tree.  Robin Benway constructs a beautiful scenario to showcase three–albeit different–realistic families. She was able to incorporate several real-life occurrences–teen pregnancy, alcoholism, divorce, adoption–and fold them into a story where they didn’t feel cliche but genuine.

The three main characters–Grace, Maya, and Joaquin–all have hardships they have had to deal with in their life. When Grace puts her own baby up for adoption, she learns that she has two biological siblings, so she begins to reach out to them. The reader gets to see the relationship between these siblings grow from the awkward initial conversations to the vulnerable and open cry-sessions. Watching these bonds form is my favorite aspect of the book; at one point Joaquin stands up for his Grace, and it is one of the sweetest scenes I have ever read.

The topic of adoption is also handled very well by Benway in Far From the Tree. We get to see Grace’s perspective after giving up Peach as well as her determination to find her birth mother. On the other side, we see Maya and Joaquin’s frustration and anger toward their biological mother for giving them up in the first place. Adoption has had a different impact on all three of the kids. Maya feels like she doesn’t belong in her own family while Joaquin is having trouble accepting that a family can love him after he spent his life in foster care.

Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic read. I finished it at the end of 2017, and it easily became of my favorites of the year if not one of my new favorite contemporaries ever. I adore the focus on the family. While each character has their own side story that may include romance, the relationships that are focused on are the ones within families. Far From the Tree will make you laugh and cry (and then cry some more). Even after some thought, I don’t think there is any flaw in this book or anything that I would want to change. It is perfect the way it is.

 

My Fascination with Fiction (Books,TV Shows, Movies, etc.)

EDIT: This post (along with a few others) were supposed to be published throughout last week because I pre-wrote  and scheduled them, but silly me didn’t hit the save/confirm button when setting the date. So sorry for the unintentional absence.

Since I can remember, I have always been entranced with stories whether they were books or movies or even TV shows. I love all of these mediums because they each offer something different. 

Happy New Years!! Bring on 2018–My Personal Resolutions

We are on day 2 of 365. I love the feeling at the beginning of the year. It’s like a fresh new start–an opportunity to forget the mistakes of your path and set yourself on a path of success and happiness. I have already shared my reading goals for 2018 in this post, but I thought I would also share some of my own personal goals as well. I try not to make my goals very limiting. The last thing I want is disappointment because I didn’t fulfill a resolution. Rather, I created a list of overall healthy habits I want to pick up during 2018, whether they are physical or mental.

Physical Goals 

1. Perhaps the most popular resolution ever, I too would like to start exercising. I don’t have any goal of losing weight or obtaining a so-called “perfect” body. I just want to get in the habit of exercising due to its health benefits.
2. Drink more water. This is something I have always had a problem with. The last 2-3 months of 2017 I started working on this goal, but in 2018 I want to consistently be drinking enough water each day. It’s very important.

Mental Goals 

1. Worry less. There are many times where anxiety takes over my thinking and my thoughts are consumed with worry. This is not healthy and even creates physical effects. So, as hard as I know it will be, I want to make an effort to not worry as much.
2. In an effort to fulfill my first goal of less worrying, I want to adopt a mindful lifestyle. I have read many techniques on how to incorporate mindful activities into your day, such as meditation. Overall, mindful thinking is a positive and healthy way of living life in the present. I don’t want to be stuck in the past or worrying about the future, but rather I want to enjoy the moment. I want to live deliberately and not go through the motions.
3. Create more “me” time. Each day, I want to set aside a dedicated amount of “me” time. Whether it is reading a book or working on a blog post or simply painting my nails, I want to be able to relax in the moment and not have to worry about anything.

 

These are my 2018 goals. Do you have any of your own?

New Year, New TBR: Cleaning My Goodreads Account (VERY OVERDUE!)

New Years is famous for inspiring people with a fresh start. You know the saying–“new year, new me.” People invest in gym memberships, pledge to eat better, decide they will clean the house each day. This time of year is full of wrapping up “mistakes” and giving yourself a fresh, new start. For me, it’s my goodreads

I’ll admit it–I’m terrible at using Goodreads. I love the concept, don’t get me wrong. I have spent many hours on the website, clicking book after book trying to find something to read. Over time, though, my TBR shelf got a little out of control. I was getting too click-happy when it came to that “want-to-read” button. I stopped using the feature because my shelf was full of books I had no interest in reading anymore. In honor of the new year, I performed the daunting task and deleted many books.

My taste in YA books have gradually changed and my tbr shelf no longer reflected that. It was interesting to see what old me wanted to read. Some of the books I deleted I had completely lost interest in. Others I think I would somewhat enjoy now, but I rather prioritize things I know I have a chance of loving. I even got a chance to go through and “order” them based off priority. Here are the top five books on my TBR:

Find Me at the Library’s bookshelf: to-read

Draekora

by Lynette Noni

Under Rose-Tainted Skies

by Louise Gornall

The Sword of Summer

by Rick Riordan

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

by Erika L. Sánchez

One of Us Is Lying

by Karen M. McManus

So here’s my new years resolution–I want to start using goodreads properly! I want to get in the habit of logging my books when I read them so at the end of the year I am not stuck counting on my fingers. I want my TBR shelf to be an accurate representation of what I want to read.

2017 End of the Year Wrap-Up (Books, Movies, Music, Etc.)

Hello! There is officially only 3 days left of 2017, so I figured now would be a great time to do an end of the year wrap-up. I don’t *think* I will be finishing any more books this year, but I have read 2 this week so who knows! This list is really just a summary of my 2017.

BOOKS

So I actually have an upcoming goodreads post that discusses my apparent inability to track books. After racking my brain, this is all of the books I can remember reading in 2017. I have a feeling there were more, but obviously they didn’t have that much of an impact on me. My reading number is pretty low, but I expected that because I didn’t pick up a ton of books.

My Favorite Series of the Year — The Dark Artifices

2017 was a year I was SUPER in the shadowhunters universe because of the TV show. I reread a few of the TMI books and was also introduced to The Dark Artifices series. I LOVED THESE BOOKS. They are both around 700 pages each and I basically finished both of them in a span of 4 days (what can I say, I was bored and they were good!). I’m not sure if I like it more than The Infernal Devices yet, but its definitely up there. I’m so glad Queen of Air and Darkness is coming out in 2018 now, because I NEED to know what happens after LoS.

My Most-Anticipated Book of the Year — Turtles All the Way Down

When John Green announced that he had a new book coming out, I was over the moon excited. Like I was counting down to receive this book (and then it didn’t come in the mail on time!). Turtles All the Way Down did not disappoint; in fact, it exceeded my expectations and became my favorite John Green book. You can hear my gush more about this book here.

My Favorite Book of the Year — Far From the Tree

I read my favorite book of the year 4 days ago actually. I received Far From the Tree Christmas morning and ended up finishing it at 3:00 am after my Christmas celebrations. I literally could not put this book down. It definitely tugged on my heartstrings–the family relationship in this book is what I have been looking for in YA forever! Far From the Tree is probably one of my favorite ~serious~ contemporary books now, and I am absolutely in love with it.

My Least Favorite Book of the Year– Red Queen

Ew. I just dislike this book so much. There is so much hype around this series and I really don’t understand why. It was painful to read at times. I’m not even sure if I completely finished it. I know I got close to the end, but something so absurdly stupid happened I had to put the book down. Yeah, not a fan.

BLOGGING

This one is pretty easy–I didn’t blog! I made the decision to stop blogging at the end of 2016 because it was no longer fun.I took a long break, but when I read Turtles All the Way Down, I was drawn back into blogging again. This month I have really gotten into it during my break, and I am hoping to continue!

My Most Viewed Post of 2017  is The Best of Rick Riordan’s Chapter Titles with a total of 856 views…I shocked because I posted this in 2015 lol.

MUSIC 

 

I’m not going to get too much into this because I planning on a whole another post about music. I realized I never talk about music on here and that needs to change. Since you don’t know anything about my music tastes, let me just tell you my all time favorite band in the world is Imagine Dragons. They had their new album Evolve come out in 2017, and I listened to it all the time. I also started listening to Post Malone in 2017, which is why I Fall Apart is my #1 song. My spotify stats are a little skewed b/c I switch from listening on youtube or my phone but the two pictures above are pretty accurate.

I also went to 2 concerts in 2017: Panic at the Disco and Imagine Dragons!

   

MOVIES

I had absolutely no book-to-movie adaptations to look forward to this year. So, my favorite movie of the year was (drum roll please)……..

Don’t judge! This movie was pretty awesome. Now 2018, that will be the year of movies for me. So many to be excited for!

That’s my overall media summary of 2017. What about you? Any favorite books from 2017? What music did you listen to during the year? A favorite movie that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

What I Want to Read in 2018

As I said in my 2018 Blogging and Reading Goals post, I’m not setting an official number of books I want to read. My theme for the year is read more of what makes me happy. That being said, if I don’t read these things in 2018, I will be VERY disappointed with myself. This list includes books/themes/authors that I have been wanting to read FOREVER.

Books & Series

1. Magnus Chase and the Apollo series by Rick Riordan: I love me some mythology books, and I desperately need to catch up on these series!
2. The Raven Boys: I am ashamed to say I have never read Maggie Stiefvater. I hear people gush about these books and I am pretty sure I will love them as well. I even have the 1st book sitting on my shelf!
3. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley: Again, another book I have on my shelf. I have actually started this book, but put it down due to new releases. I love the premise of this book and just want to finish it.

 

Authors

1. Kasie West: I can’t help it–I’m a hopeless romantic. I always enjoy a fun contemporary romance, but somehow I have yet to venture in Kasie West. This must change in 2018!
2. V.E. Schwab: I have heard raving reviews about all of her books, but have yet to read any of them! I have This Savage Song and would love to get caught up on the series this coming year!

 

Themes/Topics

1. More Mental Health Books: This is becoming one of my favorite topics to read about in YA. I read Turtles All the Way Down this year and loved that it gave some light to a very serious issue. I have read some other mental health books in the past, but I would love to read more on anxiety/depression as well as some more underrepresented disorders.
2. Single Characters!!: Aforementioned, I love myself a good romance. However, I would also love a book where that’s not even in the picture. I just want me some good friendship bonds, ESPECIALLY some between guys and girls (because you can be a friend with someone of the opposite gender and NOT love each other).
3. Books w/book-loving characters: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell will forever be one of the bookish loves of my life. I want some more awkward characters and I want some more characters that love to fangirl about books!
4. College Adventures: Something I don’t see much in YA is college age students. I think it would still be of interest to older teens, and I think a college campus could turn into a great setting for an exciting story.

 

Well those are some of the things I want to read this year! As for the topics/themes, I am still looking for books to match the requirements, so if you have any suggestions let me know down below!