[Review] Maybe Not (Maybe Someday, #1.5) - Colleen Hoover

Author: Colleen Hoover

Original Title: Maybe Not

Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: November 24th, 2014
Finished Date: April 4th, 2015
Pages: 129
Read in: English

Synopsis

Colleen Hoover, the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe Someday brilliantly brings to life the story of the wonderfully hilarious and charismatic Warren in a new novella, Maybe Not.
When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.
Or maybe not.
Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.
Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?
Maybe.
Maybe not.

Source: GoodReads

Final Rating: ★★.5 out of 5

Well honestly, I don't even know where to start. This was an extremely popular novella - everyone seemed to love it. I didn't even know it was about Warren and Bridgette; I really thought it would be about Sydney and Ridge's downfall. And I might have enjoyed that more.
The problem I had with this was the problem I have with almost every NA out there: the virginalisation (is that even a word?) of the characters. I mean, no, Bridgette was not a virgin necessarily, but never having had an orgasm? Seriously? I find this hard to believe, that's all.

The following extended review contains spoilers

If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.

[Review] The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

Author: Stephen Chbosky

Original Title: The perks of being a wallflower

Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: February 2nd, 2009
Finished Date: March 31st, 2015
Pages: 232
Read in: English

Synopsis

"I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day...or wondering who did the heart breaking and wondering why."

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

Source: GoodReads

Final Rating: ★ out of 5

Please don’t hate me for this. I mean to offend no one.

I had heard wonderful things about The perks of being a wallflower. And by that I mean that it is many people’s favourite book ever. Yep. I was expecting greatness. I was expecting mindblowingness (And no, I don’t even care that that word does not exist. It does now). Instead, I got the meh of an awkward teenager’s life. And note that teenager is a term applied loosely here, considering Charlie sounds like he is a seven year-old.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a very real portrait of the (very) early years of teenager awkwardness. It is also kind of boring. Especially if you see the big twist/reveal at the end coming from the beginning, like I did.

I am a very strong advocate of reading the book before watching the film/tv adaptation, so even though I knew there was a film I did not watch it, but I seriously believe its potential to be better than the book was.

The following extended review contains spoilers

If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.

[Wrap-Up] July + August!

Hello friends!

I hope you had a lovely summer.

Welcome to the post where I grovel at your feet, apologising for taking so long in posting something. Anything.

It has not been easy these past couple of months - I'm afraid I've been suffering from summer laziness. You know, uni ended, I had tons of free time for the first time in months, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't even read much, unfortunately.

Wow, this all sounds so lame.

Anyway, I'm not going to make excuses, as we can all see I suck at them.

I'm really sorry I've been gone this long, and I hope it won't happen again.

As I've said already, these past two months I've been mostly sleeping. And eating. And then sleeping again. And sometimes, in between, I managed to squeeze in a bit of reading time. Not as much as I wished to, and certainly not as much as my TBR pile needed me to. I can tell you, however, that uni is starting back up again, and my reading is picking up again too. I'm pathetic, I know. Who the heck waits till life starts getting incredibly busy again to get a move on their biggest time consuming hobby?

Anyway, here are the books I read during July and August:

1. A court of thorns and roses, Sarah J. Maas
2. Alienated, Melissa Landers
3. Night of cake & puppets, Laini Taylor
4. Wedding night, Sophie Kinsella
5. The heir, Kiera Cass
6. Cinder, Marissa Meyer
7. Go the f**k to sleep, Adam Mansbach
8. Deathnote Vol.1, Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
9. Scarlet, Marissa Meyer
10. Glitches, Marissa Meyer
11. The queen's army, Marissa Meyer

There were some surprises amongst these books, and some disappointments too. I'll be posting reviews during September, so watch out for that.

Which books did you read during these months? Do you have any recommendations for me to read in September?

Let me know :)

[Top Ten Tuesday] Hyped Books I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish, through which we share our top ten list on the weekly topic.

This week: Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read

So there are a lot of hyped books I've never read, and there was no way I could make a top ten of them, because I really can't measure hype. So I decided to make a top ten of the hyped books I've got on my shelfs and I've never read. That way, I'll actually be able to sort through them in this century. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

I haven't really been in the mood for a psychological thriller. I've heard several different people whose opinions I trust and value raving about this book, so I'm sure I'll like it. Eventually. When I get to it.

2. The book thief, Markus Zuzak

I'm actually very curious about this one. The only reason I have yet to read it is because I don't own it, my sister does, and it is currently being borrowed by a friend of hers. Therefore, I imagine I'll read it soon.

3. The night circus, Erin Morgenstern

I feel really bad about not having read this one yet. Although it was a cover buy for me, I really became very curious about that incredibly vague synopsis. Everyone seems to love this, and I can't wait until I can read it and finally understand what it's all about.

4. The giver, Lois Lowry 

From what I understand, this seems to be an obligatory school reading in the US, or something like it, because everyone seems to have read this for school. I obviously didn't read it in school and I'm really interested in it, especially with the movie out now.

5. Shadow and bone, Leigh Bardugo

The Grisha trilogy seems to be getting a lot of great reviews, and I have yet to start it. I'm not really sure why, it looks like it is right up my alley, but when you have so many books to read, some just get forgotten, despite your original excitement to read them all. This looks like it has a kind of magical Russia theme to it, and I honestly can't wait to dive in.

6. The unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin

This is another one that has been on my TBR for ages, but I just haven't picked it up yet. I think mainly it was because I didn't want to start a new series when I already have so many to finish, but now I just have to. I'll make use of this summer and try to catch up on my series.

7. 1984, George Orwell

Okay, so this one I know exactly why I haven't read it yet. I don't know if I'm the only one to feel this way, but I'm always a tiny bit apprehensive when it comes to reading hugely famous books like this one. It is supposed to be a great book, but what if I don't like it? That happened when I read The Princess Bride (I still love the movie though) and I was so disappointed. I'm willing to give this a try (finally!) and I really hope it does the hype justice.

8. Vampire academy, Richelle Mead

I have the whole series sitting on my shelf and have yet to read a single book. I'm ridiculous.

9. Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell

I like Rainbow. Her books are always light-hearted and funny. I've had this one on my TBR for a long time, and it's another one I can't really explain why I haven't yet read it. I'll do so soon.

10. Cinder, Marissa Meyer

And it's the second time this book makes it to a Top Ten Tuesday list. Looks like I'll have to start reading it soon.

 All images were obtained through GoodReads.

What are the hyped books you've never read? Have you also yet to read any of the books I've listed? Let me know! :)