April Wrap Up

I feel as if I was in a Reading Slump this month. Ok I read three books but I only really liked one of those books and felt that the other two I just read just to read them.  

The Lucky One

- 19 Books Completed

- 12 Books Ahead of Schedule 

- 19 books out of 24

- 79% Complete

Dear John 

- 20 books completed 

- 13 books ahead of schedule 

- 20 books out of 24

- 83% challenge complete

The Note Book

- 21 books completed 

- 14 books ahead of schedule

- 21 out of 24 books

- 88% completed

April was  a Nicholas Sparks month. I read three books of his. I have started a Jodi Pilcoult book in April but mostly Nicholas Sparks.  

The Notebook Book Review

Book: The Notebook (Mass Market)
Author: Nicholas Sparks 
Pages: 200 (roughly in Mass Market
Start Reading Date: 25th April 2018
End Reading Date: 26th April 2018
Good reads Rating: 1 Star


I know a lot of people who love the movie. I’m not one of those people.  

The book was ok. It took a while for me to actually get into it. And I hated it. Yeah it’s cute they got together in the end and blah blah blah. But for me.  

While o think the romance is an ok one, Nicholas Sparks has better love stories.  

Dear John (Mass Market Edition) Book Review

Book: Dear John (Mass Market Edition)
Author: Nicholas Sparks 
Pages: 360 Mass Market Edition (237 hardback) 
Publisher: Warner Books 
Publish Date: October 30th 2006
Start Reading Date: April 16th 2018
End Reading Date: April 22nd 2018
Good reads Rating: 3




Another Nicholas Sparks book. I know I know. I think this is the 4th one I’ve finished this year so far.  


Dear John is about John and Savannah who meet one day in North Carolina while John is on leave from the army. They have an intense relationship both together and apart and soon enough Savannah writes a Dear John letter.  

If you have no idea what a ‘Dear John’ letter is (it’s an actual thing that happens in real life not just in this book) it’s where a woman writes a letter to her boyfriend who is in the military and breaks up with them. 

With this book I wasn’t to sure about it. This is the first book that I’ve read where I can see the actors who played the characters.  

I’ve not seen the movie for The Last Song, and have for Safe Haven and The Lucky One and in those movies when I’ve read the book I couldn’t see the actors while reading the book.  

But with Dear John I could see Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried in the book. Which I don’t like, and it’s nothing because of them being on the front. 


The Topics
With any Nicholas Sparks book you’ll always have two things. A love story and it being set in North Carolina and Dear John is no different.  

I like how there is other topics within the book such as Autism, friendships and the military. 


Overall
Overall I was super disappointed with the book. I felt that it lacked something. What I don’t know. But it lacked it. I am not normally someone who likes mass market books. 

I felt as if the romance of the book was forced I don’t doubt that they loved each other even though Savannah did break John’s heart.  

I think the characters were way to different to make it a believable love story.  

I don’t hate the book. There are some great factors about it. Such as the compassion the two main characters have. But I think it just didn’t work out great. The summer they met the love was great between them. But afterwards I don’t think it works well. They are completely different people.  

By the end of the book after John’s dad died I liked John a lot more. But through out the book I didn’t like Savannah at all. 

I read the book in less then a week. Which is really quick. For me any way. It’s such a quick, fast moving book I mean it Starts with him in talking about highs school and joining the army, being in the army over the years, 9/11. I think roughly it starts in 1996 and ends in 2006. So it’s over the cause of 10 years. 


Lauren
xoxo

The Last Song Book Review || Nicholas Sparks

Book: The Last Song

Author: Nicholas Sparks 

Pages: 405

Publisher:

Genre: Romance, 

Started: October 28th 2017

Finished: November 16th 2017

Goodreads: 2*

I've always had a thing about Miley Cyrus. I've never really liked her that much and so when I decided to read The Last Song I knew it would be difficult. And in some ways it was. I didn't like the flipping between characters in the book. I like the book to be simple and easy to read.  

I got over the fact that it's got Miley Cyrus on the cover, and got over half way through the book. And then bam. I am have trouble with it. I know Nicholas Sparks is well known for his romantic novels set in North Carolina but there was something about the book that isn't as good as the other books that I've read by him. 

There was so much going on within the book that made it an ok book but still didn't like the flip flopping between the characters in each chapter. 

I was expecting the chapters to be shorter because of all the different storylines going on within the book but I'm glad that it didn't. 

Did it need all the smaller storylines? In my opinion no, the storyline about Ronnie stealing I knew right away that it wasn't going to go anywhere because another storyline would pop up, which I don't like. If it's major enough to have in the story, then give it some bang. Ok so Blaze told the truth about what happened on the night of a tragedy happened, but that only because she had something bad happen to her (that was also kind of related to the first accident), and that she felt bad for Ronnie 

I looked through the discussion questionsat the back of the book and one question was about how much Ronnie changed throughout the book, yeah she changed but who wouldn't change. Isn't that the whole point of the book to see her change. 

Another is about why Will fell for Ronnie, and it's an obvious answer.  Because he wanted to be nothing  like his family. He wanted to be with someone who is so completely different then himself. I call it the rich-poor syndrome. Where one person in the relationship is rich while the other isn't and it's a bit of a pet peeve when reading books. 

The whole book could have been a lot better then it is. And that's why I gave it a 2* rating on Goodreads because it could be such a good book. Most of the storylines could and should have gone somewhere, the romances within the book should have gone further and not have even happened. 

Lauren

xoxo

Authors I want to read more from || Top 5 Wednesday April 2017

Welcome

To my only Top 5 Wednesday of April. This months top 5, has been hard. I very rarely read anything that would be considered anything science fiction or fantasy that I could justify making a whole post about it. It's the same the LGBTQ books. I haven't really read any, that I am aware of anyway, and I am not a big video game player. 

Dorothy Koomson 

I wanna be that wierd fan Girl and own all her books at some point or another because I love them so much. 

Sarah Dessen

I'm on the fence about Sarah Dessen's books that I want to read more by her to be 

Morgan Matson

Again I am on the fence with Morgan Matson. I didn't dislike SYBG, but I didn't love it either. 

Jenny Han
With Jenny Han it's a difficult one. I wasn't in love with To All The Boys I've Loved Before and am worried about reading other books by her for that simple fact. But that's also the upside. She has other books that I want to read to see if they are better.  

Nicholas Sparks

I have a few books by Nicholas sparks and I enjoy them.  It's just that I want to read more of them.  

There we are for this month. Let's hope I have better luck with May's T5W

Lauren

xoxo

Books I Had To Buy.... But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf

Hey

So this post is all about the books I had to buy at the time but are sitting on my shelf. There isnt that many books that I have had to had and are still sitting on my self

The Last Song

Nicholas Sparks

I think everyone has a Nicholas Sparks book on their shelfs. I have two and have read only one, and The Last Song isnt that book. I am not a massive fan of the cover that I got, but I wanted it because it was such a hyped up book that had been turned in to a movie, and so I got the book, and guess who has read it...... Yep that would be me

Eclipse and Breaking Dawn

Stephanie Meyer

I remember so clearly getting Twilight and New Moon from the book store in late 2008 when they started to become really popular, and everytime I went back into the store they didnt have Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and I really wanted them, so my mum ordered them online for me and I paid her for them an yet I have only read Twilight all the way through, a part of New Moon (and I am curentley reading New Moon to actully say I have read it) and havent even attempted to read the last two books. That is changing though as I am writing this I am about 150/200 pages away from finishing New Moon, and then I will be starting Eclipse

Animal Farm

George Orwell

I heard a lot of good things about the book, yet could never find it and when I did I picked it up, and it has just sat on my shelf since I have gotten it

Lauren
xoxo