Mark This Book Monday: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Winter Romances edited by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello there!

Finally trying to get back to a more or less normal schedule for the blog, and I'm starting with posting all the reviews that I have pending! Which adding the books I read while on vacation... well, they're quite a few!

I'm starting with the review for a book that I read before leaving but I didn't get to write a review for the blog before vacation time, so it's only fair I go back to it. So the first Mark This Book Monday entry after my hiatus/vacation is all about Twelve Winter Romances!

Aside from my review, I'm also adding the GR updates that I did for each of the stories, I saw Kaitlin from Reading is my Treasure doing it for her reviews as of late and loved reading her reactions to the books, and I think that when reading an anthology is even better, since it's your reaction right there after each story! Thank you for letting me steal your idea, Kaitlin!

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Word of warning, I'm not the most enthusiastic person about Christmas you'll ever find. I'm not a proper Grinch but you won't usually find me reading Xmas anthologies as a rule, BUT I heard about this book and saw all the authors that were part of it and I thought that I had to give it a try for sure!

And that was a very good choice! I'm giving the book as a whole 5 stars because it's one of those books that I might have not been my usual read but even if I told myself just one story per night, I couldn't help but wanting to read the next one! Not all stories are 5 stars, not for me, but many of them were 4 stars, a few 5 stars and very few were 3.5. Add that to the amazingness that is the UK edition that I got, with the beautiful blue cover, the gold, the graphics and letterings... and it is a 5 stars book!

If I had to choose, my top 3 stories would be the ones writen by Rainbow Rowell, Stephanie Perkins and Kiersten White. They were Xmas-y but with enough of a different touch to not make it exactly only about the Xmas spirit, but still full of a certain magic! And let's not forget the Gayle Forman's story because that was a lovely adorable and hilarious surprise for me!

Jenny Han's story I found really intriguing and different but felt like it was cut too abruptly for my taste. Laini Taylor's story was gorgeously written but somehow something felt missing for me, but I think that might have also been because I was hoping the story featured here would have characters from the DOSAB trilogy and I was disappointed they weren't. Holly Black's was a great story with enough creepy to make it a very different kind of magical holiday spirit! And both Myra McEntire's story and Ally Carter's had more of a typical Xmas spirit but were still very cute!

The other three stories were the 3.5 stars, still cute and lovely but David Levithan's felt a lil too sad, Matt de la Peña was cute but a bit too much Hallmark's movie and Kelly Link's was intriguing to read but too much a mishmash of genres in one story. Enjoyed them a lot, but not as much as the previous ones.



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Mark This Book Monday: Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello everyone! What best to start Monday than with a wonderful & swoony book as the first entry of this week's Mark This Book Monday?

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with the next book in the Isla Is Coming readalong hosted by Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery!

 Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm rightly chuffed that I finally decided to join the #IslaIsComing readalong, because I've absolutely loved reading Anna and Lola, and I'm happy that I didn't have to wait as long as most people for Isla to come out.

It's quite hard to decide which one of the books is my favourite, but if I had to choose... I'd be probably leaning towards this one. Isla and Josh are a fantastic couple and their struggles and relationship progression really captured my heart.

I had noticed both Josh and Isla while reading Anna's book and I was quite excited to read how their relationship will progress, and thankfully it was as absorbing and heartwrenching as I was expecting.

Isla is a tiny sweet and geeky girl with an inseparable best friend with high functioning autism, both setting themselves apart from the rest of school. She's had a crush on Josh since they started high school together in Paris but their interactions have always been sparse and awkward, but that changes during summer break in NYC once she's high on painkillers and they meet by chance on a cafe (Kismet, quite appropriate I'd say!).

Their relationship is a joy to read about, and even when things get tough for them and even when it breaks our hearts, it's so beautifully written and woven! I was cheering for them since page one even when I felt like shaking one of them, or both.

As always, there is much more in the book than just their relationship and romance, there's family issues between Isla and her younger sister Hattie, and between Josh and his political-centered parents. There's also the adjustment between friends of Kurt and Isla. Even if Josh does go through quite a lot in the book, I'd say that the most character development and growth is Isla's, not only she learns how to accept herself and being loved, she also has confront her own flaws and shortcomings and accepting that some of what she thinks as shortcomings, aren't really so.

We also get plenty of travelling and get treated to wonderful descriptions that make us want to be there and enjoy all that Josh and Isla are discovering! I have already been to Barcelona and Paris but after reading Anna and this one... I feel like I really need to go back there as soon as possible!

I missed having some of the rest of the gang appear a bit more for most of the book, but all those wishes were fulfilled by the end of the book when we see Anna, Etienne, Meredith, Cricket and Lola, and get treated to even more emotional swooning and tears and make us turn the last page with a huge grin, even if you have some tears still lingering!

A wonderful read, very much deserving of 5 stars!



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Mark This Book Monday: Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello guys! A new week starts today and although Monday might not be everyone's favourite day, in my case it's not that bad, since I have it off!

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with the next book in the Isla Is Coming readalong hosted by Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Continuing with the #IslaIsComing readalong, I started Lola at 1 am Wednesday night (since it was already Thursday) and finished it at 4 am, when I had to wake up at 6'30 am for work! And it was totally worth it!

Lola is a teenager that is not scared of being different, she has her own style and she wears whatever she felt like every day, one day she'd be a strawberry and the next she'd be wearing 50's vintage style. She is happy now with her rock star boyfriend and she's planning the most amazing Marie Antoniette dress for the winter formal. Things change when the Bell twins move back next door.

I was a bit worried about Max and Lola's relationship, because even if the age difference wouldn't have been an issue at any other point, when you're under eighteen, it can be quite an issue. I liked Lola's determination to get what she wanted, but she seemed a bit blind to the issues that others could see in that relationship. It was understandable that her dads were not happy but were still trying for her sake, but it should have been quite a warning the dislike between her best friend Lindsay and Max.

When I first read Lola's reaction to the return of the Bell twins I was quite worried about what the other sibling might have done to Lola, and wondered if it had been some sort of bullying... but I was relieved when I discovered what had happened two years back. Misunderstandings & heartbreak would be ok, but starting a relationship with a bully... I wouldn't have been comfortable at all with that!

Cricket was simply an adorable love interest, he's quite the complete opposite of Max, and he's not a broody bad boy at all, and it was quite refreshing seeing someone so supportive of their family and so upfront with his feelings with Lola.

Lola might have not been very fair to either Cricket or Max, but she wasn't fair to herself either and it was quite a journey for her to acknowledge her feelings and then decide to act on them. And it was good for her that she had Anna and Etienne as friends to help her see things on a different perspective.

I loved seeing Anna and Etienne as secondary characters and see how their relationship kept on progressing and just kept on rooting for them as I did on their own book!

And another thing that I loved is how unusual Lola's family was, and how it was presented, it might not be usual, it might have been a reason for some bullying for Lola at school, but they were her family and she loved them as they were, or ended up learning to love all of them, not only her dads, but also her biological mother.

A story full of self discovery and acceptance, not of one self but of others and discovering that not all the things we feel we want are the right ones for us. Very much deserving of 5 stars too!



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Mark This Book Monday: Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!!!

And the second entry for this week's Mark This Book Monday is my review for Anna & The French Kiss! I'm taking part of the Isla Is Coming readalong and I'm so very happy I decided to join in and finally give these books a chance!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have seen this book around for quite a while and I've seen such great reviews, but it is a contemporary and it is a romance and I haven't really been in the best of places to reading books that deal with relationships, but when I saw that there was going to be a readalong for the whole series to celebrate that the third book was finally going to be published, I thought it was the perfect time to read it!

I was very glad to find myself enjoying the book immensely since the very first pages. The setting in Paris, and Anna somewhat clueless and adorable self were quick to ensnare my attention and my allegiance.

Anna is a character that I couldn't help but love, despite how silly she seemed to me sometimes, how small-town minded she sometimes seemed about her American-ism and how she thought she wouldn't fit in Paris, and her flaws give how short sighted and oblivious she sometimes was about the rest of the world's feelings. I just couldn't help but keep rooting for her and enjoy her discovering the wonders of Paris, its architecture and its glorious food!!

I loved seeing Anna breaking out her shell and making friends, braving Paris on her own and not letting her fears get in the way of her passion, movies! I loved how she didn't back down when others sniggered about her idea of becoming a movie critic! I also loved how she stood up for her friends when she needed to, even if she was a bit oblivious about their feelings at times.

I was a bit concerned about the romance itself, but I couldn't help but root for Anna and Etienne St Clair and I found myself really loving their friendship, their banter and not minding their drama all that much. I adored Etienne's English accent and language popping up all the time, since I'm quite a declared Anglophile myself! Thankfully none of the relationship troubles dragged me too much to think of my own personal woes and that's a testament of how much the story pulled me into itself!

I loved that the book was not only about the relationship of Anna and Etienne but also about friendships and how complicated they can be and how simply we can fix things if we simply really try. How important friendships are and how they can help us grow and become the person we really wanted to be, even when we're not sure at first.

I simply couldn't stop reading, the writing was wonderful, the setting so vividly painted that I felt I was back again in Paris (and really made me want to go back again SOON!!) and the characters felt like my friends by the end of the book! I cannot wait to meet them again soon!

If you are wondering about this book and the fact that it is a contemporary might make you wary of it... don't, just give it a try, I can assure you it will be worth your while! Very well deserved 4.5 to 5 stars to this one!



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Isla Is Coming: A Happily Ever After readalong!!

Talk about perfect timing! I just recently got the Kindle ebooks of Anna and Lola and preordered my copy of Isla, cause I had heard so many great things about them, and was planning to read the two previous books in August in preparation to reading Isla on release day, and ta dah! the awesome Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery had prepared a fantastic readalong!!


Here's the schedule (done by Andi of Andi's ABC's):

I'm so pumped to do this now! If you want to join too just signed up HERE and get ready to start reading and tweeting with the #IslaIsComing hashtag!!

You can use the awesome banner and add the button to your side, both done by Meg from Cuddlebuggery, aren't they both gorgeous!?