Ruin and Rising Giveaway!


Sorry I've fallen off the face of the planet!

But it's okay, because I have a GIVEAWAY!!!

*Explosions*

That's right--I'm giving away a copy of Ruin and Rising, by Leigh Bardugo!

You will have to give me your Shipping Address if you win (But I promise not to stalk you unless you happen to be Dylan O'Brien and then all bets are off), this giveaway is open internationally, and you will have until Wednesday July 9th, three days after the giveaway ends (Unless you've told me that you will be unable to contact me within that time date prior to the ending date), to contact me at my E-mail ( Atrea9@charter.net )  or I will choose another winner.

  To enter to win, just follow the link below, and be on your way!

"This is What Happy Looks Like" Books Review!


Today Imma tell you about This is What Happy Looks Like, written by Jennifer E. Smith!

*Tons of Celebratory Stuff*

Here's a bit about it:

"If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?"

(Blurb taken from Goodreads)

Sounds cheesy, right?

Trust me, it isn't.

But it is.

Or is it.

Ohohohohoohohn. (That was my cute French Laugh by the way,)

(Whatever.)

Anyway, to clarify my statement above, I picked this book up at the Library on a whim because I'd been wanting to read it many times before.

Personally, I am a huge fan of adorable, preshy feel-good stories, and this sounded exactly like what I needed after my depression due to finishing Shadow Kiss, book three in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.

And that's what this book was, don't get me wrong. It was so incredibly sweet, and the characters were absolutely beautiful. It was realistic but not over dramatic and I kept waiting for something to go wrong but the characters were so well written and they never exploded about stupid stuff. I thought they would, many times, because that's what every other romance book has me believe--the two love interests are desperate and dramatic and just UGH--but these two? They were perfectly reasonable through it all, and to me that proved that they were worth it.

It proved that, in all of the modern crap we have in books these days, that there can be--and are--characters that actually FIGHT for what they love. Fight for each other, instead of pulling each other further downwards and making stuff worse. It was very refreshing and new from what I usually see in YA Romances.

Since you all must very well know by now that it's all about the characters for me, let's talk about them, shall we?

From the little bit about the book above, we don't nearly get enough insight into how pretty the characters are.

Graham is our leading lad (Omg I just used the word 'lad') and he's grown used to the spotlight. At the beginning he may sound a bit Cliche, but I swear he is anything but.

Because each chapter flips POV, it's really neat getting to see inside his thoughts. He misses his parents who feel uncomfortable around his filming life and he's at first annoyed by the girl that's acting as his love interest in the movie that he's starring in and ultimately he just wants to find a house in this little town and spend time with Ellie.

But this is the really great part: Though he's unhappy with the way his life is, he never complains.

HOLY COW WHAT HE DOESN'T COMPLAIN ARE YOU-

No. I'm not kidding. He doesn't throw fits and mistreat his Co-Workers and isn't rude to his fans. This little fact showed a bunch about his character and who he is, and I jumped in joy.

A NICE leading guy! That's a very rare thing!

And then we have Ellie, our leading lady, and she was truly the 'ideal girl'.

She has so much to her that would be impossible to touch on it all within this review, but I adored her in every way possible. She was believable and wise and kind, and together her and Graham made the most precious pair.

There were many supporting characters that were all done as they should be: double sided and well crafted.

Jennifer E. Smith is a wonderful writer, and this book couldn't possibly be what it is without her skill. I've recently purchase one of her other books, the Geography of You and Me, and I am very much so looking forward to reading it! (And telling you guys what I thought!)

Have you ever read This is What Happy Looks Like? What did YOU think?


Thanks for reading!

Blog Post Link and Wordtube Video!


LOTS OF EXCITEMENT FOR YOU GUYS TODAY!

First I have THIS LINK, that leads to my Guest Post over at the Every Good Word blog which went live today! BIG thanks to Meghan for allowing me to share my post!

GO READ THE THING!

And next I have a little video for you guys...

My very first Wordtube Video is now available for your viewing pleasure!!!

You can go HERE and watch it on my Youtube Channel (And Subscribe while you're at it!), and leave a comment telling me what you think!

Thank you guys so much for all of your supports, and I hope this crazy adventure just gets better and better!

Now go! Follow the links! Read the post! Watch the introduction video of chaos!

Top Three Thursday: Favorite Booktubers!


Hey hey hey!

So you guys might notice a change around my social media pages--all of my pictures have changed from the mysterious Defying Impossible banner to the total nerdiness face of me.

Why is this, you might ask?

Because, I plan to post my first Wordtube Video later this week, and I figured it was about time to stop hiding behind the pretty colors and the bird cage, right?

My Youtube Channel is up and read to go, and if you feel called to go ahead and Subscribe (PLESS!), you may do so HERE!
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In reference to Tuesdays Announcement Day post, where I told the news of my future Wordtubing-ness, this Thursday I'm going to list off my Top Three favorite Booktubers!



I honestly didn't know there was a community of book lovers on YOUTUBE, of all places, so, as you can well imagine, I was freakishly excited when I discovered my first Booktuber.

Here's my absolutely favorites, and I hope you all go and check out their channels!

                1. JesseTheReader!

This is one of the first channels I found, and I still love it just as much today. It's fun and informative and most certainly one of the best!

                2. PeruseProject!

Ugh, so much love for this channel and this girl! It's full of wonderful books and clever remarks and I adore it to death.

                3. WhittyNovels!

Last but certainly not least! Whitney is lovely and absolutely hilarious and she shares my undying love for the Shatter Me series, by Tahereh Mafi!

Below I shall list off some of the other fabulously awesome Booktube Channels for your viewing pleasure! 










So go! Click away! I highly recommend all of these peoples!

What about you? Got any Booktuber Recommendations? I'd be happy to check them out!


Thanks for reading!

Character 'Types'!

Hey guys!

Sorry I've missed last Top Three Thursday--I have one written, and it will be posted this Thursday, promise!

Let's get on with it?:

Do you have a 'type'?

And by this, I mean do you have a certain kind of fictional character you are drawn to?

Just like stories, each and every character has a certain 'feel' to them--a certain theme.

This would be, of course, their personality.

Look at your favorite books. Now pick out your all-time favorite character from each. Are they anything alike?

Mine are. I love many, MANY characters, but my favorite all have the same FEEL to them.

You may be drawn to the quiet, smart, shy character. It may be the sarcastic underdog.

For me, it has to be the snarky, rebellious character that are, sadly, mostly male.

Now, before you judge too harshly, let me explain WHY.

I don't mean the kind of jerks who treat the love interest like trash and are rude for no apparent reason.

I like the characters who are so terribly flawed, I could go down a list of all their problems. But that makes them real.

And, along with that, they all have equally good qualities. Bravery, wit, depth and, most of all, passion.

Just look at all of these characters: Will Herondale, Noah Shaw, Adrian Ivashkov. These are some of my favorite characters of their series, and they all have a few smaller things in common, but overall it's that they are PASSIONATE and flawed.

My question is this: why are there not snarky, rebellious, passionate female characters that are equally as lovable and intense as the guys listed above?

Anytime I've read an author try to make a girl like this, they are over the top obnoxious, they whip out swords for no apparent reason, and they swear every other word, just to make them sound 'tough' or 'uncaring'.

But the guys above don't do that. They are the perfect amount of sadness and cleverness that creates a deep, well built character.

And, equally, why is it so hard to write a shy, timid male character? I don't believe I've ever rad one of these, not as obvious as I've read female roles like this, anyway.

I think that the reasons for this is one) readers judge harshly on characters that are 'different'. Sorry to say it, but I know tons of people that do, whether they notice it or not. Girls that are dark and mysterious, guys that are painfully shy and easily embarrassed. It's not the normal, so readers may find it unbelievable. And two) authors, in turn, are afraid to write such characters.

I believe it's a cycle, and only every once in a while will one brave author step out of it and attempt to do something that is not the usual, and I respect these authors, even if they failed.

More and more, though, I see writers taking a leap, taking a risk, and breathing life into characters that I've never read about before, and that's wonderful.

 Characters should be something new--something to experiment and bend. Again here comes the quote, "Learn all of the rules, only so that you may break them properly later."

So have fun with your characters, and make them whoever you want them to be. Brave writers make good writers, and the careful ones are easily forgotten!


What are your favorite type of characters? Do you know of any books with mysterious and rebellious females? What about shy and clumsy males? I would love it if you shared!


Thanks for reading!

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