Book Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Title: Dare You To
Author: Katie McGarry
Published: 7th June 2013 (Mira Ink)
Pages: 456

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.... [Via GoodReads]

My Thoughts:
I wasn't so keen on Pushing the Limits after I finished reading it. I felt that the characters where pushed into a characteristic that didn't really seem like them. There is a little of that in Dare You To as well but then I preferred this one way more!!

In Pushing the Limits, we saw Noah as the "bad boy" and Echo the "good girl" (on the outside), in Dare You To the roles have swapped. Sadly, I had the same issue with this book as the first. It's the swearing. I'm not anyone who gets offended by swearing, I don't mind if you swear or don't. I know people who swear like sailors but this book places them oddly. I find it difficult reading this book with the unnatural sounding "fuck" placed in Beth's speech. But luckily, it eased out and became more natural than forced. 

Liebster Award - Discover New Blogs!

Holly from A DayDreamers Thoughts nominated me for the Liebster Award! I literally had no clue what the hell the Liebster Award was...but that's why Google was invented, right? ;-)

But this is how it works:

1) Link the blogger who nominated you in your post

2) Answer the questions provided by the blogger who nominated you - typically 11 questions

3) Nominate other bloggers (who have less than 200 followers)

4) Create your own set of 11 questions to ask your nominees

5) Let them know you nominated them

Sounds simple enough to me - LET'S DO THIS! 

*pumps fist in the air* 

Yeeeaaahh!

1. What is your Favourite Book?

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen - I've always said this is my favourite book. You ask that question you'll ALWAYS get the same response, always. Favourite author. My first favourite book ever! :D

2. If you could be a character from a book who would you be?

Oooo, this is tricky! 

Peter from the Divergent series, preferably in Divergent and Allegiant - I wanna know his thoughts during the training period (why he did what he did) but also in Allegiant where *spoiler spoiler spoiler*....

3. Where is your favourite fictional place?

Errr, Hogwarts! Oh wait, it's not fictional...Silly me! :P

Still waiting for my invite - I blame the slow muggle post :(

4. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter! Twitter! Twitter! 

I feel judged on Facebook and don't post anything on there...just use it for chat...Twitter, no one really cares...well I feel less self-conscious about blabber that I tweet because everyone tweets random stuff too :P 

5. Where is your favourite place you've travelled to?

Hong Kong - as well as visiting family over there, the stuff there is crazy cheap cheap cheap!! (And such good foooodddd!!)

I've also got to say Atlanta as well! Some of my family also live out in America and it's awesome where they live! Taco Bell and Walmart and Target and Papa Johns... *whispers* I love you

6. Who is the worst character you've ever read about?

If worst character means 'evil' character, then You Know Who...Voldemort...! 

(I thought worst means annoying or could not read on about a particular character but I don't want to name and shame...I did think of one though!) 

My Questions:

1) What is the book that you re-read every year?

2) Hardbacks or paperbacks or ebooks?

3) What are your reading goals for 2014?

4) What book are you recommending everyone reads at the moment?

5) Favourite snack to nibble on whilst reading?

6) Who is your fictional character crush?

7) If you could hang out with 5 fictional characters who would they be (dead or alive in their fictional world)?

8) What snack do you snack on whilst reading? 

9) What's your guilt pleasure?

10) What's a bad habit that you have?

11) Craziest thing that you've done?

And the nominees are: 
Kate - http://teenblurb.blogspot.co.uk/
Orli - http://blamemybookshelf.blogspot.co.uk/
Jayd - http://booksfoodandotherthings.wordpress.com/about/
Emily - https://bookw0rmtales.wordpress.com/
Sandra - http://teabetweenbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

Book Review: Storm by Bridget Kemmerer

Title: Storm
Author: Bridget Kemmerer
Published: 24th April 2012 (Kensington)
Pages: 353

Earth, Fire, Air, Water – they have more power than you dream.

Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her, Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys—all the ones she doesn't want. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different.Way different: he can control water—just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming . . . 

[via GoodReads]

My Thoughts: 

Not really sure about this book. I've heard so many raving reviews and I had really high expectations but they weren't fulfilled. Strangely, I found that there wasn't enough of the Merrick brothers - a bit odd since this series is about them! I didn't really like the duel POV (or it might of just been Becca.) Something in this book wasn't right. 

Inside & Out Book Tag

Hello fellow readers, I thought I'd do a little tag called the Inside and Out Book Tag which I originally saw Holly post on A DayDreamers Thoughts, and thought, yeah, I want to do that tag.

This tag was created by  MathomBooks  from Youtube.


I Inside flap/Back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough (Discuss) 
Depends! I normally make sure I've checked a few reviews on the book before buying it, but when I do go to book shops to take a "risk-buy," I find it varies on the publisher. I've bought a book and the inside was nothing like the blurb! I don't think there is anything as too much but there are some that definitely have a minimal amount...not enough!!

N New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: Audiobook, E-Book, Paperback, or Hardcover?
I want to say that I like hardbacks. I like them in a sense that they look nice on my shelf. But then reading-wise, I prefer the paperbacks.

S Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books, taking notes, making comments, or do you keep your books clean clean clean? (Tell us why)

CLEAN! I LEAVE MY BOOKS CLEAN! I am a perfectionist when it comes to the way my books look, so other than my To Kill A Mockingbird book (which I had to reluctantly annotate for GCSEs) my books are all clean clean clean.

I In your best voice, read for us your favorite 1st sentence from a book.

I don't think I have a favourite first sentence of a book...is that bad? O.o 

*scurries upstairs to look at opening lines of books*

"It's been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since scientist perfected a cure." 
~ Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

D Does it matter to you whether the author is male or female when you're deciding on a book? What if you're unsure of the author's gender? 
I don't care. I think that the majority of my books are by female authors but I don't subconsciously think, "Ok, this book is by a male, it's a no buy." It just so happens that all the books I want to read are by female authors. But I couldn't care less about who writes what, as long as I enjoy it.

E Ever read ahead? or have you ever read the last page way before you got there? (Do confess thy sins, foul demon!) :)

I have to confess. Yes. I DID used to read ahead and I USED TO read the last page of books. I did this to books that I found really slow, sometimes flicking a few pages to see if I have anything to look forward to further on. 

On reading the last page of a book, it didn't bother me that much because I would read the final line and I would forget it when I do finally read the end anyway. But I have stopped doing this.

&

O Organized bookshelves, or Outrageous bookshelves? 

Organized - I think my shelf is pretty organized. There are some that lie down, some that are upright but that's because I have to try and create as much space as possible for the future ones, because our house is quite small and there's not enough room for another shelf! This is more of a personal opinion but I stick with saying it's organized!

U Under oath: have you ever bought a book based on the cover (alone)? 

Yep! Who hasn't though? It's more of a thing I used to do, but not so much anymore. When I first started reading, the covers that made me want the books. It's actually how I found my favourite author, Sarah Dessen.

T Take it outside to read, or stay in? 

Take it out as in the garden? Because then that's a yes. I sometimes read on the train if I'm on my way to London. Other than that I'm a reader at home. I never take my books to college.
And there you have it...the Inside & Out Book tag! Which is also my first tag that I thought I'd do as a nice 'get to know me' thing.

So how about you? Up for the tag? 

GOOD - 'CAUSE I *TAG* YOU!

GO GO GO! ;D

Have fun and thanks for reading!

Until next time,
Sabrina x

Book Review: Submarine by Joe Dunthorne

Title: Submarine
Author: Joe Dunthorne
Published: 2011 (Penguin)
Pages: 290

At once a self-styled social scientist, a spy in the baffling adult world, and a budding, hormone-driven emotional explorer, Oliver Tate is stealthily nosing his way forward through the murky and uniquely perilous waters of adolescence. His objectives? Uncovering the secrets behind his parents' teetering marriage, unraveling the mystery that is his alluring and equally quirky classmate Jordana Bevan, and understanding where he fits in among the mystifying beings in his orbit. Struggling to buoy his parents' wedded bliss, deep-six his own virginity, and sound the depths of heartache, happiness, and the business of being human, what's a lad to do? Poised precariously on the cusp of innocence and experience, Oliver Tate aims to damn the torpedoes and take the plunge. [via goodreads]

My Thoughts:
I'm just going to be honest and lay it all out. I'd never heard of Joe Dunthorne before (I have seen the movie poster before if that counts?). But anyway, Joe came to my college for a talk so I thought, it's time I pick up his book!

The novel is split into three parts. Each part focusing more on a different topic, part 1: Oliver Tate, part 2: his dad, part 3: his mum. I was quite surprised by this read. I didn't really see how the balance of humour on a topic that the book carries could work. But it did. 

Favourite part of the book? I really loved the "word of the day" sections that appear every time Oliver wrote into his diary. 

"Word of the Day: lemon - informally used to mean unsatisfactory, defective"

I'm not sure if the book really "filled" me though. There's humour, yeah, but the topics were put into a really odd way, Oliver's trail of thinking was distant whilst I read and there was nothing for me to connect with. He's a bit of a weird character, sticks out quite a bit. He's got his own mind set.

It's an alright read. Maybe read it for the layout. But overall I wouldn't be jumping at it.

College Event: A Visit From Joe Dunthorne

Before Event:

Currently sitting alone on eating my lunch before the event. My expectations for the turn out are low yet I've never been to an author event set by my college before.

I steamed through Submarine in one sitting, but that reason is because I wanted to at least read one of his novels before the event, it started out as force reading but then went to pleasure reading (the review to come and is also counting as part of my Reading Challenge 2014). I also got Wild Abandon, which I am more excited to read, but have only got through the first few pages. 

The turn out is pretty good! Amazing to be honest! A bit more than 30 people squished into the classroom! 

Alright, that's me until the end now. 
(Also due to the nature of the event, I don't have any pictures for this event, however, I will try get the college photo that was taken!...it'll come soon...)

Expectations of 2014

2014 is a very busy year for me. Priority-wise, my blog takes the second the last place (which even to me sounds so bad!) But I thought I'd take the little time that I had tonight to write something about what I want out of this year. 

So, my expectations of the year ahead:
- A lot of studying for my A-levels - hitting the books!!...well the revision books..
- Stress
- Mass panic with every and anything
- Uni (*hopefully!!*)
- Divergent fangirling -  this is more of a fun thing but this is the year everyone!!
- Reading - significantly less
- Watching the classic films that are we are supposed to watch at least once - a stupid task I set myself for this year, which is one of the busiest and most important years, education-wise. 

Sound all a bit random? I guess I just wanted to let you all know what I'll have on my plate. My education and getting a place at Uni is really important to me. Getting to experience Uni in general is also something I really want to do. But then where does this blog come into?

Right, so, expectations from I Have To Read That:
- Sometimes/majority of the time only one or two posts a month - this will be up until the summer though, when exams are over and done with! 

That's as much as I can say. I want to say I have more for this blog but I can't chuck more work onto myself. 

However I can assure you that I will be alive on Twitter! I don't think I can leave the book world completely! (As well as GoodReads, I'll be on there often too.) I'm quite a talk-active person so don't be surprised if I break into full conversation with you on Twitter, I'll need my break once and again...don't be afraid 

And now my time is up! :(

Back to homework! 
We will speak again soon
Sabrina x

Riddle Me This!

Taking a break from my "attempts" to revise, my sister took me to London for afternoon tea as my late 18th birthday present back in October.

I had no clue where I was going but she lead me to the Sanderson hotel where they host a "Mad Hatters" Afternoon Tea!

I have to post the picture of the bottle because I just thought it was pure genius and I loved the fact that they used the idea of the little bottle that Alice drinks from!

But anyway, around the napkins they attached strips of paper which held a riddle. I just thought it was really nice and wanted to share it so here it is:

"It always runs but never walks, often murmurs,
never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats.
What is it?

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Know what it is?

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Scroll down...

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