Mini Book Reviews

I've read 8 books till now in 2016 but have reviewed none. So here are my thoughts about the books I've read so far:

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

8/10. Wow! Dystopian might be my new favorite genre! I loved Divergent! The story was really interesting and the world-building was amazing! My favorite part about the book were the characters. I hardly ever get attached to characters the way I did with Tris. It felt like she was a friend. And I desperately wanted to be there for her. Overall an amazing book! I can see what all the hype is about!

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

7/10. This kinda fell short. It was good, the story was interesting, I still loved the characters. But it was draggy. It had too many scenes where nothing happened and as a result I struggled to finish it.

Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae

9/10. This was such a cute book! I've always wanted to go to Europe. But since I can't for now, I sort of fulfill my dream through books set in Europe. Not only was Italy so amazing and fun, the story was super adorable and I fell in love with the characters! It had a 'Anna & The French Kiss' like feel and easily one of my favorite books.

Proposal (The Mediator #6.5) by Meg Cabot

10/10. I was so beyond excited for this and the 7th book! I'm a HUGE Mediator fan! So naturally I loved this! I love how it has the same elements the previous books did, my beloved characters are just as badass and adorable, but I also love the adult aspect added to the book. My babies all grown up. :') I can't wait to read the seventh book!

Every Boy's Got One (Boy #3) by Meg Cabot

6/10. It was short and sweet. Not very memorable. Enjoyable at the moment but to be honest I don't even remember the characters' names anymore. So can't say much about this one.

Point of Retreat (Slammed #2) by Colleen Hoover

DNF. I LOVED Slammed. So I was expecting to love Point of Retreat as well. And I tried to love it. I tried so hard. And yet... There was just too much drama. It was like I was watching a soap opera. And I've never liked those. And when the drama of all dramas happened I was like no. Can't do this anymore. I love CoHo but I just couldn't with this one.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

8/10. I've been wanting to read a New Adult for ages and I've heard a lot of good stuff about Ugly Love so when I finally got my hands on it I was ecstatic! And it was amazing! Though not as amazing as I was expecting it to be. But it came close. Very close. I loved the characters, the relationships, the story. And I might even have shed some tears.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

8/10. Loved it! Awesome thriller! Though it did not quite live up to the hype, I was expecting something more heart-racing, it was pretty good. It was a calm, silent type of thriller. I liked the unpredictability of the characters. And I never saw the twist coming. It kept me engaged and I really enjoyed it.

I'm back!

I haven't posted at all since medschool started. Not because I didn't have time. Well that's one of the reasons. But also because I didn't feel like it. I didn't feel like blogging or reading or writing or watching any of my favorite shows. It was like with medschool this part of my life ended. And I wasn't exactly sad. I went out with friends, I actually enjoyed studying, and the free time I got I made sure to catch up on my sleep. But I did miss this part of me. I missed immersing myself in a book. I missed being excited about writing. I missed watching all my favorite shows. And yet I didn't feel like doing anything about it.

Now that summer vacation rolled around I have had a chance to reconnect with my old self. I've started writing again which feels so amazing! I've been devouring book after book. I have yet to catch up on my shows but I'm getting there. And I've decided to start blogging again. I'll be posting reviews again and some other more personal stuff like my first year as a medstudent. So stay tuned! And I hope I'm able to continue this when school starts again...

Book Songs (Part 4)

You can find the previous posts here, here and here. This time I'll be featuring High Above The Ground by Daughtry which is the perfect song for Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead*

You and I both, we come from different worlds

I'm a small town kid and you're an uptown girl

We've both been hurt, we got a few scars

But it don't matter now, we're staring at the stars

This stanza perfectly describes Brittany & Alex. Alex is a small town boy and Brittany is an uptown girl. They both have scars and secrets and their lives are really hard. They've been hurt but when they're together nothing else matters. They heal each other.

When it comes to my heart you got it catching fire

Deep down in my soul I know that I would die

If I didn't have you how could I ever fly?

100 miles beyond the sky

This stanza is all about Alex and how he loves Brittany so much that his heart is 'caught on fire'. I feel like the second line explains how deep down Alex knows that his relationship with Brittany would kill him as she's from a completely different place and there's his gang as well. The last 2 lines explain how Brittany helped Alex escape the clutches of the gang. He could fly freely because of her. 

It's feeling like we're high above the ground

It's feeling like we're never coming down

Till we want to

But why would we want to?

This one's pretty straightforward. When Alex & Brittany are together it feels to them that they're high above the ground and they won't come down till they want to. But why would they want to come down when all that's waiting for them is their messed up lives and problems. When they're together they're happy and they don't have to worry about their problems.

Remember that day, we knew it from the start

We've come a long way and we're gonna go far

I see the future in your eyes

Forever and always, you and I

Alex is remembering the day they first met and how they've come so far. He sees a future with her and says that they'll be together forever.

When we're so close to heaven

Underneath the moonlight, yeah it's paradise

It's gonna be too hard to say

Goodnight yeah

With her it's paradise and it's too hard for Alex to say goodbye to her.

This song was pretty straightforward and I feel like it's completely goes with Perfect Chemistry! What do you think? Do you have any songs that remind you of certain books?

Mini Drama Reviews

She Was Pretty (Korean)

My Rating: 8/10
My Thoughts: I honestly don't know if I liked this drama or not. I gave it an 8 which is a good rating and I do remember enjoying most of it but even though I finished it a couple of days ago I don't really remember much of it. It wasn't memorable and didn't leave much of an impact. And I had to force myself to watch the last couple of episodes because I got bored watching it. The acting was average. It wasn't that good but it wasn't that bad either. Hwang Jung Eum was tolerable but sometimes she got super annoying. She overacts a lot. Park Seo Joon was okay. I liked him better in Witch's Romance. A lot of people loved Siwon and while I did like him and his character too, he got a bit annoying sometimes as well. Go Joon Hee was the only person I liked and who's performance I enjoyed. The romance was okay, nothing special. I'm tired of the childhood friends reunite plot. I loved the friendship between Hye Jin & Ha Ri! I really liked the side characters and their stories! I know I should probably rate this lower but I feel like it deserves an 8.

I Wanna Be A Superstar (Thai)

My Rating: 8.5/10
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this drama despite all it's flaws. Thai dramas really get the cute & cuddly right! First Full House, then Kiss Me and now this, all three are full of adorable OTP scenes that make me squeal! The story was okay. A little absurd at times, has many flaws but it was definitely interesting and I wasn't bored. The acting was okay too. I really liked Gypso and her character. Her character wasn't annoying as many people say. I actually really liked her except at the end when she was being really stupid. I liked Push's character too before he became a selfish idiot towards the end. I gotta say though, the characters weren't good or bad. Each had a mix of both like real people do. For example MeeDee was sweet but he couldn't take the hint. May wasn't all that bad and sometimes she was super adorable but she was also selfish. Same with the "evil" characters. All had good and bad in them. The best person though was Win's brain Tom. Win was a jerk to him but I love how Tom stood up for himself. Plus Tom was the only reasoning voice. He was Win's brain because Win was too stupid to think correctly himself. Overall I really enjoyed this drama!

Healer (Korean)

My Rating: 10/10
My Thoughts: Wow! Just... wow! I mean... I never expected this when I started Healer. I had heard a lot of good stuff about it and I had great expectations but I never thought it would be this good. Healer is like in a league of it's own! Amazing, well-written story. It was so interesting throughout and kept me guessing. I loved the mystery and it was all so cool! Awesome acting! All of the cast was seriously so good! Ji Chang Wook is love! Not only is he super hot but he's also super talented and he did an awesome job! Now just please go play a creepy, hot serial killer because I would love to see you in that kind of a role! I also loved his character! He was so adorable and cool and hot and adorable!! I loved Park Min Young. I've always liked her as an actress and she didn't disappoint here as well. And Young Shin was so cute! All the characters were really well-written. I loved Yoo Ji Tae. This was my first time watching him and I gotta say I'm impressed! The rest of the cast was amazing too, especially Kim Mi Kyung as hacker Ahjumma (she is my new role-model) and Jeong Gyoo Soo as the creepy assistant. I also really liked the music! The soundtrack is so good! All of the songs, including the instrumentals, are great! This drama was seriously amazing! It made me laugh, it made me cry and it was a perfect blend of romance, action, mystery, suspense and comedy. Plus the OTP is beyond adorable so you can't help but ship it and the OTP scenes will make you melt!

Book Songs (Part 3)

I did 2 'Do songs remind you of books?' posts a couple years back (1, 2) and I'm here with another one! This time I'll be talking about This Love by Taylor Swift and how it reminds me of The Mediator Series, particularly Suze's and Jesse's relationship and how Suze feels about it.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Clear blue water, high tide came and brought you in

I know this is meant to be symbolic in the song but in the book Jesse literally came with the water. Suze met Jesse when she moved to Carmel-by-the-sea and there are long descriptions of the sea before Jesse is introduced.

In silent screams

In wildest dreams

I never dreamed of this

I don't think Suze could have dreamed in her wildest dreams that she would fall in love with a ghost.

This love is good, this love is bad

This love is alive back from the dead

The love she has for Jesse is good because it makes her happy but bad because she can't really have anything with him. He's a ghost. The second line quite literally goes with the book because Jesse actually came back from the dead.

These hands had to let it go free

And this love came back to me

These are the lines that first reminded me of The Mediator Series. In the last book a quote is mentioned which goes like "If you love something, let it go. If it was meant to be, it will come back to you." The lines of the song are almost the same. Suze lets go of Jesse but then he comes back to her.

This love left a permanent mark

This love is glowing in the dark

The love Suze had for Jesse left a permanent mark on her since she repeatedly said she could never love someone else like that. The second line is not only symbolic but Jesse quite literally glows in the dark.

Your kiss, my cheek, I watched you leave

Your smile, my ghost, I fell to my knees

I think these lines explain how Suze was when Jesse disappeared. How broken and sad she was and how his smile was her ghost.

And that's it! Do you feel like This Love was written for Suze and Jesse? Do you have any songs that remind you of certain books or characters? Comment below! 

Sunday Spotlight~The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot

The Mediator Series is one of my all-time favorite series. I've loved it for years and frequently reread my favorite scenes. I recently reread the whole series and here I am with a review!

Writing: I love Meg Cabot's writing! She's one of my favorite authors. I love how her writing is so easy to get into. I'm sucked into the stories she has created. It's like I'm right there with the characters going on these adventures. Her writing, especially in The Mediator Series, is very light. There's a lot of humor and sarcasm which is my favorite thing. Her books are a lot of fun to read. But there are also some serious topics discussed between the lines.

Story: I love how there's a different story in each book but all the books are connected trough Suze's story. This series would make such an awesome TV show with each book being a season. I love the individual ghost cases. It's like CSI but with ghosts! I also love Suze's individual story. The books are full of action and mystery and friendship and romance.

Characters: Meg Cabot writes such relatable and interesting characters! I loved all the characters in The Mediator Series! I became very attached to Suze. She's such a strong, amazing character! I love her witty, sarcastic humor and how she protects the people she loves. She's sassy and kickass and one of my favorite characters ever!

Jesse, oh Jesse! Not only is he the perfect book boyfriend, I love him as a character! He's smart and kind and so gentlemanly! He's seriously the most adorable puppy ever! My heart melted whenever he said "Querida"! His relationship with Suze was so cute! Not only the romance, but their friendship was amazing! Jesse was my first book boyfriend and to this day he holds the number one spot.

I remember really liking Paul the first time I read these books. This time around though my thoughts changed a lot. Paul was a jerk. He was selfish and manipulative and though I don't hate him, I don't love him either. I get why he's like that but it's his choices and actions. He could choose to be a better person but he doesn't. And I'm sorry but sexual assault of any degree is not right with me. Paul kinda lost any respect I had for him. Even as an evil mastermind and if you know me, you know how much I love evil masterminds.

Suze's brothers were so much fun to read! Mostly because I'm also a single sister of 2 brothers. And I could relate to a lot of stuff in that respect. I loved how Sleepy cared for her as a sister and the fights between Suze & Dopey were really funny! And don't get me started on Doc! He was the most adorable thing ever! He cared for Suze so much even though he was so young and it was seriously so adorable I can't even!!!

I really liked Suze's friends! They weren't just side characters, they had their own lives and stories as well. Suze's stepdad was really sweet and so was her mom. All the characters were really well-written and played their parts well in the story.

Overall: As I wrote before, The Mediator Series is one of my all-time favorite series. It's a perfect blend of comedy, romance, action, mystery without getting too serious. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Anime Review~Akatsuki no Yona

Title: Akatsuki no Yona

Writer: Mizuho Jusanagi (Manga), Shinichi Inotsume

Director: Kazuhiro Yoneda

Studio: Pierrot

Main Cast (Voice Actors): Chiwa Saito as Yona, Tomaoki Maeno as Hak, Jinko Minagawa as Yun, Yusuke Kobayashi as Soo-won, Masakazu Morita as Kija, Nobuhiko Okamoto as Shin-ah, Junichi Suwabe as Jae-ha, Hiro Shimono as Zeno

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure

Original Run: October 7, 2014 - March 24, 2015

Running Time: 25 min

No. of Episodes: 24

Language: Japanese

Links: MAL ~ Wikipedia 

Synopsis: Princess Yona lives a life of luxury and ease, completely sheltered from the problems of the seemingly peaceful Kingdom of Kouka; however, the sudden murder of the king and betrayal of her beloved cousin Su-won places Yona's life in mortal peril. Forced to escape only with Son Hak, who is both her childhood friend and bodyguard, the naïve princess soon discovers that Kouka is not the idyllic place she envisioned it to be. Poverty, strife, and corruption run rampant, making reclaiming the throne nothing more than a wishful fantasy given the kingdom's current state.

Based on the popular manga of the same name by Mizuho Kusanagi, Akatsuki no Yona follows Princess Yona on a coming-of-age adventure as she faces the harsh realities of her kingdom. With only a mysterious legend to guide her, Yona must discover a way to restore Kouka to its former glory while being pursued relentlessly by the forces of the new King of Kouka.

Trailer: 

My Rating: 10/10

My Thoughts:

I. LOVED. THIS. ANIME. I fricking loved it!!!!! It was ssooo good!! Like I can't even!!!!

Story: The story was amazing and extremely well-written and thought-out. It had comedy, romance, action, drama, tragedy. Basically it was a perfect blend of everything and I loved every minute of it! From start to finish it was an intriguing adventure and I loved going on this adventure with these amazing characters. I really like how the romance was more of a subplot and the story was very character driven.

Animation: I loved the animation! Not only were the characters nice to look at (Hak!!! <3) but the landscapes were extremely beautiful! I'm very picky about the animation but I was very happy with it in Akatsuki no Yona.

Characters: All the characters were well-developed and each had his own backstory. I loved all of them! I've never been so attached to a character as I was to Yona! I was cheering for her so hard throughout the anime! And I was so so proud of her! That arrow scene blew my breath away! One of the most amazing scenes I have ever watched! Yona started out as a selfish, clueless girl but by the end of the anime she was a completely different person. I loved watching her grow and change like that!

I loved Hak and how much he cared for Yona! I loved his relationship with her. How he supported her and pushed her and protected her. I really liked his backstory and he was an amazing character. So were all the other supporting characters. The dragons and Yun. They weren't only there just as supporting characters or love interests. They all had a complete character arc and I got really attached to all of them. Most of their backstories made me cry and I really loved each of them.

Suwon was a very complex character. He cared about Yona and even Hak and I think he truly believed what he was doing was right but he went about it the wrong way. He was smart and cunning which I liked about him and I do like him very much as a character but it took time for him to grow on me.

Overall: Akatsuki no Yona was one of the most amazing anything I've ever watched and I highly recommend it. The only problem is that it isn't complete which of course is a problem with almost every anime based on manga. I don't know if there will be a second season or not but I'm tempted to read the manga to find out what happens next.