Book Review: The Paper Magician

The truth is, I don’t judge things by their cover, because that would be totally unfair and heaven knows how many good books I would have skipped out on. 

I judge them by their synopsis.

This is definitely what I did for The Paper Magician. I needed a new book to read, and this happened to be free on my kindle. The first few chapters were dull- but I was determined to pull through. 

The idea of the book is most definitely interesting. It takes place in London (which, I kept forgetting, except for the occasional use of “bloody” this or “wont”) in the early 1900s (which, again, I did not discover until the book was almost over). It focuses on the story of Ceony Twill, a girl who graduated at the top of her class at Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. She goes to be an apprentice for Emery Thane, in order to be a *shudder* Folder. A Folder, or a paper magician, if you will, has the ability to fold paper into objects and then whisk it into existence by commanding, “Breathe.” This is not the only form of magic, as we are told, there are many different kinds, including the dark and forbidden magic, Excision. This is the ability to control human flesh. (Try not to think too much about that one, it’s very dark and morbid.) After Ceony has been with the magician for a few months, an Excisioner named Lila bursts in the door unexpectedly and yanks out Thane’s heart, right in front of Ceony. Now, it is up to Ceony to find Lila and get his heart back, before it’s too late. To do so, she must literally go into his heart and experience the memories hidden in his past. 
DUN DUN DUN.
Except. The story is not actually- well, it’s not very intense. Possibly the biggest factor was that I didn’t like Ceony or her narrating. It was quite annoying. 

Now, all Ceony does for most of the first half of the book is complain about being a Folder and what she could do “if she was a Smelter.”

I’m just saying, if I had any type of magic at ALL, especially if it involves turning PAPER into real things and having the power to make stories COME ALIVE, I would not be complaining. That is definitely an AWESOME power, and I don’t know why she takes such horrible offense to being a Folder. Not only that, she is extremely rude to Thane for the first part of the book, and then it’s like she completely switches personalities.

I am not even started with complaining about her, so buckle up. Perhaps the most annoying trait she had was her incredible scrutiny and detail. She would sit there and describe the sky in more depth than any. one. has ever described the sky. The sky is BLUE, people. News flash: you do not need to describe it as a type of dark azure that looks like it’s been kissed by the ocean or whatnot. I am not saying detail is not important in a story, because it is extremely important. But it’s like describing a tree by saying, “Its curved upward like a ballerina, reaching the sky with it’s twisted arms. The leaves were rough, each one carved with the uttermost delicacy, as if the placement of the veins were as unique as snowflakes. The leaves varied in color, from dark greens, to light greens, to normal greens, all a different shade, as if painted by paintbrush that was slowly running out of paint. The wind teased it, whispering through the leaves, as if the tree had a story to tell.”

This is all well and fine and might be a beautiful description once in a while, but imagine if every object someone ever described to you was in this fashion, you would get annoyed with it. That was one of my biggest problems with our darling Ceony.

Speaking of which, Ceony had NO flaws. She thought nobody should be bullied, she was a hard worker, she graduated at the top of her class, she had a photographic memory that allowed her to memorize all of her folds quickly and seemed to act 100% of the time on her perfect instincts rather than reason. SHOW ME SOME WEAKNESSES HERE. Another frustrating thing was the romance- she fell for her romantic teacher way too quickly, and even then, it was solely on his outward appearance. She risked her life to save his even though she barely knew him. All she could think about for most of the book is how much it would destroy her if he died. Maybe if they had some more relationship building experiences, it would have seemed much more believable, but he wasn’t even conscious for more than half of the story. 

This book was not unbearable, despite the plethora of one and two star reviews that it has been receiving. The plot was unique and interesting, and the world of the Paper Magician was very well crafted. However, everything was extremely over-descriptive, and Ceony just seemed like a really basic, whiny character. If you are simply looking for a quick read with a good plot, The Paper Magician is for you. 

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight 

Let’s pretend that my Valentine’s Day special review was actually posted on Valentine’s Day, like it was supposed to be. The truth of the matter is that I didn’t even purchase this book before yesterday, but since I just barely finished it, I thought I would start a review. 

Jennifer E. Smith is the most adorable author ever. I have decided this after now reading all three of her young adult novels. The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight (Can I call it SPOLAFS? Good.) is cheesy. Way cheesy; totally predictable, and the most basic of love stories ever. Yet somehow I read it all in one sitting, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Because this book, while cheesy, is the kind of cheese you love to put on your crackers. It is absolutely and fantastically fabulous. 

Hadley misses her flight by four minutes. Two hundred and forty seconds. Yet somehow, that changes everything. Because of this, she is transferred on to the next available flight. Because of this, she is forced to sit in a window seat for the next several hours, next to a British boy named Oliver. Over the hours, they talk about everything, from their favorite colors to Hadley’s biggest problem: her father.

After the divorce, Andrew Sullivan, her father, moved away to teach at Oxford. He moved out of their house, out of the country, and out of Hadley’s life. Despite his recent efforts to insert himself into her life again, she can’t get over the fact that he chose to ruin their perfect family because he fell in love with a British girl named Charlotte. 

And that is how she ends up on a plane, sitting next to a polite boy named Oliver; her father is getting married in a matter of hours, and she has been invited as a bridesmaid. Over her growing dread about meeting her stepmother and being stuck in a plane, Hadley can barely keep her mind on anything else. Luckily, Oliver is able to distract her, and they talk for hours on end, laughing like two old friends. At the end of the flight, Hadley is shocked at how sad she is to leave him behind- even though they have only known each other for a mere couple of hours, it feels like forever. 

Through the chaos of getting hustled out, she loses sight of him in the crowd and is forced to leave without saying goodbye. Through the course of the day, fate will bring them together again and leave them both wondering if there is such thing as love at first sight.

I absolutely adored Hadley. This is not simply a love story between a boy and a girl, and I think it is heartbreaking that everyone focuses on that. Another big aspect of this story is the fact that a girl, who has had her dreams shattered from losing a father and a family, is learning to forgive and forget. It is very hard for her to put aside her feelings about being ignored by him and seemingly put second, after his new wife, but she begins to see that she never really lost her father. This is a story about all different kinds of love; falling in love and putting a broken love back together. 

I must admit, I was tearing up during many parts in this story (although it could have just been the fact that I was very tired yesterday) and my heartstrings were pulled. Despite my love for the father-daughter relationship, I was just wishing for more moments with Oliver. We don’t find out much about him, which is definitely disappointing, but the moments we do have with him are extremely satisfying.

So many people are disliking this book for its lack of depth. I do agree, it is a light and short read, and the development of the romance itself is lacking. But in my own humble opinion, I believe that the reason this story leaves of with so many questions is because love is simply like that. It is full of so many possibilities, so many what ifs, so many things that could or could not happen- so many things that could go wrong but so many things that could also go right. 

The most beautiful part of love is the possibilities of it.

Oliver and Hadley might have an unfinished love story, but think of all the possibilities and all the things to come.

The important thing is to live in the moment, and cherish it, and cherish the part of the story that Smith has weaved for us.

This story is imperfect, and flawed, but it sure is lovely. 

This Shattered World

This Shattered World

Finally, a book review- and I am really sorry that it has taken me so long to do so! 

This is the second book in the StarBound series and is written by writers Aimee Kaufman and Megan Spooner. Usually I don’t really like it when two authors co-write something, but these two pull it off really well. It is a sequel to These Broken Stars; but this review will not contain any spoilers for that book- so if you haven’t read it, that is totally fine.

This book is basically a futuristic forbidden romance. Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac are sworn enemies- she is a commanding soldier with the task of suppressing the rebels, and he is a spokesman for the resistance parties. In an effort to persuade peace with the two sides, Flynn kidnaps Jubilee to try and get her to see the rebels side of things. But this takes an unexpected turn as they both find out that their planet has been hiding many secrets. As they come closer and closer to unraveling the mysteries; they find more shocking truths. What is really the cause behind the Fury plaguing the civilians minds? What are the feelings developing between them? Soon they will be faced with the unavoidable decision: to sacrifice the ones they love, or send their home into darkness. Which will they choose?

And now that we have that out of the way, since I really suck at writing summaries, on to the actual review. I loved Lilac and Tarver in the previous book, (and they were actually mentioned and used in a few scenes!!!) but Jubilee and Flynn are just… mmm. I love her sassiness and how he is so absolutely chill about everything. What I really loved about their relationship is that you are always left wondering if they actually have feelings for one another. And I believe that this is actually a more believable relationship than the typical “I-am-going-to-throw-myself-all-over-you-but-I-don’t-actually-love-you-“ relationship. Plus, she beat him up a few times, and she stabbed him with one of those pink umbrella toothpick things.

You. Go. Girl. 

Despite the fact that I loved their relationship (at most times) I couldn’t ignore the fact that the plot was very unconvincing. If I expressed any of my frustrations there would definitely be some spoilers; so just believe me when I tell you- don’t look too hard into the actual depth and structure of the plot, I would just read this one for fun. It did take me a while to finish, which says something to the effect of- it couldn’t keep my interest for very long, but hey, that’s okay, not every book is perfect.

Final Verdict: This definitely was not my favorite book ever, and I did not really enjoy the actual plot. I was mostly reading it for Jubilee and Flynn’s relationship, and I am not ashamed of that. Those of you in the male gender would probably not enjoy this book too much- unless you are a fan of all the romance jazz.

I’m sorry this review is so short (and possibly confusing) but I think I have finally come out of my four month reading hiatus and that means more reviews, more often!

Love you all, goodnight. 

WINNERS OF 2014

So, I feel bad that I haven't updated lately, and I hope that this post will make up for it. 2014 was not a great year reading- I read about 140 books total, and not all of them were... up to my reading level. However, I hope this makes up for it- my very own book awards. Nobody voted for them and I chose the winners, but I hope it opens your eyes to some great new books!!

Best Mystery/Horror
Winner: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Runner Up: Private School Murders by James Patterson 

Best Romance

Winner: The One by Kiera Cass 

   Runner Up: On The Fence by Kasie West

Best Fairytale Retelling
Winner: Cress by Marissa Meyer 

 

 

Runner Up: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

 

Best Dystopia/ Sci-fi:

Winner: Pawn by Aimee Carter

    

Runner Up: Dangerous by Shannon Hale

                    

Tay Swizzle Book Tag

THE TAYLOR SWIFT BOOK TAG

So technically there is ALREADY a Taylor Swift Book Tag, and some of the choices are pretty awesome, but they did leave out some of her best songs, so I am redoing it.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Pick a book that you would never ever read again. Like ever.

For me this would be The Giver. Which is kind of ironic because Taylor Swift is in the movie.

Red

Book with a red cover.

Hmmmm…… do I have one? Just kidding, I have plenty. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer… it’s only partly red, but I only partly want to answer this question so….

I Knew You Were Trouble

A character that you knew was trouble, but you fell for him anyway.

William.

Gorgeous.

Freaking.

Herondale.

#teamwillforevs

Enchanted

This is a book that you automatically fell in love with, and just makes you wonderstruck every time you read it.

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. I have yet to find a romance that I love more.

All Too Well

The couple that you thought would be together forever, but they called you up and broke you like a promise.

My FOURTRIS!! Sorry not sorry but you KNOW what happened to that relationship… just saaayyyinggg….

Forever and Always

Your OTP that will always be that perfect couple. Forever and always.

SCARLET AND WOLF from the Lunar Chronicles. Right now she seems to have difficulties accepting this relationship but it. will. happen.

Love Story

This book just makes you melt. You feel like a princess whenever you read it.

Entwined by Heather Dixon. Definitely very princessy!!!

Teardrops on My Guitar

Whether you play guitar or not, this book will make you cry all over it.

The

Fault

In

My-

Broken-

Heart-

That -

Needs -

Ice -

Cream -

And -

Tissues-

Stars.

Bad Blood

A character that you just hate with a passion. Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes, guys.

OMG Bella. Freaking. Swan. Girl, get some backbone!! Ewww!!

Dear John

A character death you will never get over.

Death?? AS IN A SINGLE ONE??
Nope.

I can’t pick.

There is too many.

Suicide Awareness and Wattpad

Follow me on Wattpad: beautiful-souls

Newest Story: 
The Story of a Broken Butterfly

Preview:
 Chapter One
All she felt was pain.
It wasn't easy to cover up, but somehow she did it; all the scars on her wrists were easily covered with foundation and other types of makeup.
The smile, really, was actually the hardest part to keep up. Every day she forced it onto her face, practicing in the mirror so nobody would be able to tell.
And nobody could, not Mel, her best friend, Luke, her almost sort-of boyfriend, or any of her family members. She was pretty sure they knew that she had kind of been on the downside lately, but never thought much of it, for she wasn't exactly an optimist.
Everything had started going downhill a few weeks ago as she had lost the championship game for her team and was completely being beat up about it.
She remembered the game very well.
Twelve seconds. They were down by two points. The ball was passed, flying through the air with an orange blur and hit her in the hands.
9 seconds.
She should have been able to catch it.
8 seconds.
She had caught plenty of balls before in her life, but somehow this one was different.
7 seconds.
The ball smacked her palm.
She tried, numbly, in vain, to catch it.
5.. 4...
The ball bounced.
3...2...
The ball rolled out of bounds, to her absolute horror, as the buzzer ending the game sounded.
The other team was shouting and all of their fans swarmed onto the court and her team began to assemble and everyone was looking at her and all she could do was
just.
stand.
still.
«»«»«»«»«»«»
The coach tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, and that he understood about her nervousness and didn't blame her for anything. The dirty looks cast around the room said otherwise.
That's when the name calling, gossiping, and laughing behind her back all started. All the girls from the basketball team that had been some of her best friends stopped sitting with her at lunch, stopped talking to her, and stopped inviting her to the gym on weekends.
They all just... stopped.
Weeks later, the papers were stuck to her locker. Things that said "Oops, it slipped" or "Captain Butterfingers Will Save Us." They all had the same bright red font, screaming at her even in the solitude of her bedroom.
When she closed her eyes, there it was.
The red.
When she went into the girl's bathroom to cry, there it was, circling around her eyes.
The red.
As her grades gradually started to go from straight A's to straight C's, circled at the top of her papers.
The red.
As one of the girls got in a fight with her at school over how she completely ruined the game for them. The sticky blood that flowed out of her nose, to her shock, as she held her hand up to her face.
The red.
As Luke told her he just wasn't feeling "it" anymore, and thought that they just needed to be friends. She stared at his shirt, trying not to cry.
The red.
After months and months, it was all she saw. Red. Red. Red. Red.
That was the last color she would ever see.

MOVIE REVIEW: Into the Woods

Summary:
This movie was based off of the musical, Into the Woods. It centers on a baker and his wife, who are sent on a quest by a witch to lift a curse from their house. In order to do so, they must collect a cloak as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, a cow as white as milk and a slipper as pure as gold within three days time. This quest proves difficult- even more so than they thought, as they venture into the woods. They gain the cloak through an encounter with a girl who was eaten by a wolf. The shoe comes from Cinderella, who is always on the run and desperate to stay away from the prince chasing after her. The hair is taken, quite forcibly, from a fair maiden, Rapunzel, who lives in a tower. [That didn’t end up working anyway, since the witch had touched the object, as she was the caretaker of the girl.] They took the cow from Jack, who sold it for a bunch of beans. [This action probably proves that he has his own supply hidden inside his head.] After they collect these items, with a sudden poof the witch regains her youthful beauty and the baker’s wife becomes pregnant. All is well, and they all live happily-
-wait, this just came in. The beanstalk has been neglected and there is a giant on the rampage, trying to get revenge for the death of her husband. Everyone runs for their lives, and the aforementioned characters stick together for survival. Until the baker’s wife wanders off and starts kissing Cinderella’s prince. I guess karma hit them both pretty hard since the prince was rejected by Cinderella and the baker’s wife… well, she fell off a cliff. The baker is hit pretty hard by this, and decides to leave his baby with Cinderella, determined that he will be a horrible father. After seeing the ghost of his father within the depths of the woods, he decides to go back. Everyone works together to kill the giant. They all live happily ever after, except for the fact that half of the characters are lost and forgotten, two of them died, and the others have no homes because they were destroyed by the giant.


What I Thought:
The soundtrack is totally awesome. Really; I’ve had the entire thing on repeat for the past few days. I love, love, love the harmonies. I was really excited for Meryl Streep, because I adore her in the movie Mama Mia, and she surprised me even more with the role of the witch. On The Steps of The Palace, Into the Woods Medley, and Agony (which has absolutely nothing to do with the pointless shirt ripping from both the princes) were my favorite songs. I loved Anna Kendrick’s Cinderella character, but I would have loved to actually see some of the ball. I thought Rapunzel was kind of a pointless character (other than the fact that they needed her hair) and her prince was even more pointless. I was also extremely disappointed that Johnny Depp had so little screen time; he was the one I was most excited to see. I didn’t really see the point of the sudden death of the baker’s wife; it seemed like of those death’s that was more of a “shock” factor. I thought, considering Little Red Riding Hood’s thoughts to Cinderella about showing forgiveness, that they would show compassion for the giant, but it seemed that message in the story was neglected. I thought it was kind of disturbing that the prince and the baker’s wife were  having a party with their mouths, considering they are both married. I was satisfied with that, however, when Cinderella dumped him, because he was a total imbecilic nitwit. To be honest, the only sensible characters were the bakers, [the butchers, and the candlestick makers] Little Red, Jack, Cinderella, and the witch. The stepmother was pretty sensible, why not cut off your daughters’ toes and heels to put on a slipper? Who cares if the prince discovers the fraud later as soon as she takes off her shoes? It’s a great plan, totally foilproof.  Also, if the witch could bring back the cow from the dead, why couldn’t she do the same for the baker’s wife? She had plenty of time before her finale came and she reached her end. I am being really pessimistic about this. I did enjoy this movie immensely; it might be one of my new favorites. The music is so upbeat and fun, plus I’ve always been a huge fan of fairytales. I just thought a lot of the characters were… missing something. Overall, it was a great musical and the actors did fairly well.

GIF TAG

I’ve been tagged by the lovely Cambrie over at And So the Book Begins to do the GIF tag!!! I want to tag…………….

Wow. Guys. I have NO BLOGGER FRIENDS.

Somebody please come be my friend so I can tag you in these awesome things!! Comment below if you want to be my friend and fangirl hard about random things.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

One of my all time favorites, and I have finally stopped crying near the end. It’s mostly gross internal sobbing and heartbreak now.

Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell

This has been on my TBR list for quite some time, and I really should get around to reading it. 

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

This book is just awesome. Mostly because it has dragons, and also because it was written by a seventeen year old. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I have stayed away from this because the cover and the name give me the shivers.

The Iron Trial, by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

This book has horrible reviews… so I think I am going to stay away from this one.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I HAVEN’T EVEN READ IF I STAY OKAY DON’T JUDGE ME 

Hey, so if you want to be my blogger friend, I totally tag you.

Here are the books:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

These Broken Stars by Amiee Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Paper Towns by John Green

and

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Mockingjay {Movie Review}

Mockingjay Movie Review

This will forever be my favorite story to tell about Mockingjay: I went with my best friend to go see it during opening week, and she fell asleep during the movie. I am not even kidding about this; I looked over, and she had quietly dozed off and was missing the {very boring} film. I must say, I was extremely disappointed in this installment of the Hunger Games series. Catching Fire still holds to be the best, in my opinion. My only hope is that part two will redeem part one.

    Mockingjay was fine, as far as telling the story well and laying down the plot; what it lacked was the proper action. With as many parts that they could have made interesting, you’d think it would be a great movie. However, I found myself becoming impatient during most of it; it was quickly failing to keep my interest. Peeta was seen hardly at all (which was understandable) but Katniss and Gale seemed like an old, depressed married couple. The highest point of the movie was building up quite nicely and then abruptly fell flat. My favorite scene would probably have to be when Katniss is giving her “speech” to President Snow and all of Panem after a hospital in District 8 had been bombed. Her famous line “Fire is catching; and if we burn, you burn with us” rang throughout the theater, and I finally saw Katniss the Mockingjay instead of Katniss the mope. What happened to our strong antagonist? All we see is her weak side; her brokenness as she finds District 12, the tears running down her face as she sees what the Capitol has done to Peeta, and her horror and fear as she realizes that President Snow has set a trap.

    This is definitely okay. I am not saying that Katniss is not allowed to have feelings; she is a human being and it makes her much more real to see her weaknesses. Despite this, I felt that it was too much weakness. There is a point where you look at yourself, stand up, dust yourself off, and say, “I can get through this. I am the Mockingjay. I will not let the Capitol tear me down; I have survived so much. I am strong.” Instead, the Mockingjay seemed like a spineless Bella Swan. This isn’t Twilight.

    I think the media has missed the point of the Hunger Games. Willow Shields, the actress who plays Prim, has touched on my same opinion. The media seems to say, “Team Peeta or Team Gale?” And that is the first question everyone else asks to each other. Personally, I don’t think the Hunger Games is about the love triangle at all. They seem to miss the entire point: A sadistic and controlling government is getting out of hand. A regular girl is the one to step up and say, “This is wrong, why is nobody doing anything about this?” She is the only one, or rather, the first one to be brave enough to stand against something that is immoral and wrong, to speak out, and to take action. I think this message is important in real life; in many different aspects of life. If something is wrong, whatever it is, if those in power are controlling it, nobody tends to speak up. Because they feel insignificant and like their voice does not matter. I am here to say that everyone’s voice matters; look what a girl from District 12 did to save her entire nation! We need to stop being quiet and start voicing our own opinions, being ourselves, and standing against those in power who are doing wrong things.

    I feel like this message was not included in Mockingjay. It felt like they forgot what was really important here; except for a few scenes that showed the real Katniss Everdeen and not a sniveling seventeen year old girl. I think the best part of the movie, personally, was the soundtrack. I have included the best songs below.