SBPT: Quality Fangirls

So people of the blogosphere I've been looking forward to this post for a little while because I'm a total disney freak and the girls at Quality Fangirls are going the Cinderella Book Tag for there guest post today. Nicole and Sophia are both taking part so enjoy the post and if you decide to take part in the tag leave a link in the comments bellow. 

Quality Fangirls is the collective craziness of two best friends; Sophia & Nicole. In their 10 years (and counting) of friendship it only recently arrised that they were both completely book / fandom obsessed. The only next logical step was to create a blog and share their crazy with the world. Nicole is the artsy management of the duo; smart, punctual, hard working, photoshop genius, she's the reason the blog runs as beautiful as it does ( though she's completely and utterly crazy, all the smart ones are). Sophia is the creative procrastionator that every duo has, between writing posts last minute and going through weird reading binges and then flat lines for months it's honestly a marvel that Nicole has yet to murder her. Here at QF there is one goal; to create the best colaboration of books and fandom mash up as possible and to share it with the people who get our feels. Check out their blog at qualityfangirls.blogspot.com or their twitter @qualityfangirls!

Evil Stepsisters

 a book with characters you just hate

N Rites of Passage by Joy N Hensley

Wow Sam Mckenna had to deal with a bunch of sexist bullies, and let me tell you, I have never been so mad reading a book. At some points I ragged with anger. It was so terribly realistic and just reminds me how sexist some people can actually be. The fact that Sam dealt with these guys and was still left standing is what makes me love her so much. But yeah, those guys, totally hate them.

S Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

It kills me to have to read about the two kings off being sick horrible people. Between The king is Assassins and The King of Ardalan it just makes me blood boil. Not just for the things they do to Celeana but to the world. 

Prince Charming

 a book with a gentleman

N Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Oh Jem. I rarely talk about Jem, but I absolutely adore him. He is the perfect picture gentleman, how can you think otherwise? He is adorable, polite, kind, generous, patient. I mean you need all those things to be able to put up with Will Herondale's ridiculousness. I love Jem!

S Wesley Ayers from The Archive by Victoria Schwab

Wesley Ayers, maybe he's not the picture perfect gentleman and that's what makes him even more so. He's charming and caring and funny. He's there when you need him. That's what's the most important in being a gentleman. 

Cinderella

a character that is graceful, kind, and defiant

N Lissa from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Lissa is the exact definition of this. Graceful, kind, and defiant. Everything about Lissa just seems so graceful and elegant. Her healing abilities show how extremely kind she is to those who are hurt. And of course she's defiant, just read the series till the end and you will definitely know what I mean!

S Celeana Sardothian from Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

Not to double dip but Celena Sardothian is exactly that. Graceful, kind, and defiant. One second, she can be dancing in a ball, taking everyone's breaths away, then she can be helping slaves while defying an unjust system. 

Fairy Godmother

a character that always has someone looking out for them

N Gansey from The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Gansey, the leader of the pack, seems to have all his friends looking out for him. Blue, Ronan, Adam, and even Noah. They all care about his well being even if he seems to forget himself. Especially with the inevitable end, everyone is going to want to keep him safe.

S Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games Suzanne Collins

Although she went through so much crap and did get used she always had people in her corner. Always had people making sure she was alive and well. While others died without aid, Katniss was lucky enough to have people fighting for her on the outside and inside. 

Helpful Creatures

something that makes you happy when you’re sad

N Not sure what makes me happy when I'm sad. A really light hearted funny book definitely does the trick. Or talking to the bf helps too. I haven't really gotten down a sure way that will cheer me up, which is something I need to work on!

S Watching funny movies or TV shows. Sometimes I just need to bask in it for a little while and let the humor soak into me and then I feel better. 

Ashes

a book you didn’t care for

N The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

I was pretty excited to start this series since I loved To All The Boys and I heard pretty good things about these books. Unfortunately, it was just not for me. I wasn't too crazy on the writing, the characters, or anything that was happening. Not really sure if I'll continue on with the rest of the books…

S Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I love Divergent, don't get me wrong, but I barely made it through Insurgent. It was a struggled just to get to barely half way through it. 

Pumpkin 

a character with a transformation

N Sydney Sage from Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

How can I not mention Sydney? From book one to book six she has grown so, so much, its incredible. Seriously, the most character development, that wasn't forced or anything, that I've seen thus far. I think its why I love this series so much, because of the amazing character development that not just Sydney has, but even the other characters too. Just totally proud of them :')

S Allyson Healey from Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Allyson Healey, man talk about transformation. She went on this year old journey of self discovery and came out the other side a brand new person. It was endearing. We all strive to transform the way she did. 

Impossible

a book with an ending you didn’t see coming

N Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Yep I didn't see this coming at all. Not sure if I should have or not, obviously I should have been suspicious, because I usually am. For those who have already read Red Queen, Im not talking about the very, very end, just kinda before that. You definitely know what I mean ;)

S Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Maybe not the entire ending but definitely things towards the end of the book that really took me by surprise. Things that I did not AT ALL see coming. You all know what I mean. 

Just Breathe 

something that inspires you to be courageous

N This is going to sound super cheesy but my boyfriend inspires me to be courageous. I know what you're thinking, how lame of me, it sounds lame to me too. But, no really, a lot of things happened that made me have to face my fears and somehow get the courage to do them. And it was because of that courage that we're together today, and ever since then I face my fears in either doing something or saying something, even if I'm too scared to and would rather hide.

S A lot of things actually inspire me to be courageous but the number one would probably be seeing other people be courageous when they're scared out of their minds. People who stand up to injustice they see or people who break free of their own injustice. People who push on even if they feel like they're going to fail. Those types of things keep me on my toes. 

Happily Ever After

a book with a perfect ending

N The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

Okay maybe not a perfect ending, but a really wonderful one nonetheless. Without giving the whole entire ending of the series away, it wasn't an over the top crazy ending, but it did wrap up the entire VA world together. It was cute, adorable, and just what I needed after all that crazy stuff happened in the past six books.

S Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Is it cheating to use a book that says happily ever after in the title? Cause I mean it is kinda implied before you even read it, but regardless it's the kinda happy that you're not even ready for. It's everything you could ever want in a perfect ending.

The Summer Blogger Promo Tour

AH! That's it lovely people of the interweb! It's been a great summer full of exciting posts from some new and wonderful bloggers. We've had some book tags, guest posts and even a couple of reviews and now it's time to wrap it all up and have a quick look back at what we got up to! 

SJ Bouquet

On the 6th of July SJ and I took on our very own bookish Tri-Wizard tournament! We let you lot decide who the winner was and I'm happy (if not slightly bitter) to announce that SJ won!! It's still up so you can always cast your vote and check out how we took on the challenges in a fine book blogging style. 

You can find SJ on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

The Book Bratz

Next up on the 13th of July we got to know Jessica and Amber a little better with a guest post on why they started blogging. These two girls were the masterminds behind the whole tour and so I think we owe them both a little - if not MASSIVE - round of applause. 

You can fine The Book Bratz on their BLOG and on TWITTER.

Dana Square

The lovely Dana and I took on The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard on the 20th of July in our very own little book club! We both found ourselves drawn into this rather creepy world were the rules of right and wrong are blurred. Beware the madness and the spoilers!! 

You can find Dana on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

Endlessly Reading 

On the 27th of July we had our only male blogger on the site with a fun little book recommendation in the style of a scavenger hunt! Andrew shared some of his favourite books and I for one wouldn't agree more with him on the majority of his picks! I would tell you which ones but that would be giving the game away. 

You can find Andrew on his BLOG and on TWITTER.

Ana Loves

To start of August on the 3rd we had a little Q&A with Ana to get to know this brain box a little better. She answered some Q's and it was a change to get to know the 17-year-olds bookish ways without having to physically stalk her. Which I don't encourage btw... unless you're staking Theo James, then I can't help but wish you luck ;) 

You can find Ana on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

The YA Club

Okay so this one went up a little later than planned on the 11th of August as I managed to get my dates all muddled up. Don't hate me I'm only a Muggle! Although even a little later we still had a great post where LS from the YA Club shared her top 10 books of all time with us! Anyone else's TBR piles feeling 10 books bigger? 

Find The YA Club on their BLOG and on TWITTER.

Caught Read Handed

Oh this one was fun! On the 17th of August Stefani and I took part in a little boo club were we got to read and devour Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour. We both loved this one and it's such a great book for summer... even if it is almost over. Again, there are spoilers but if you've read this book then get on over and see if you agree with what we thought!! 

Find Stefani on her BLOG and on the TWITTER.

Ink On The Shelf

And lastly on the 24th of August we had the wonderful Jen. Jen took part in one of my favourite bookish tags at the moment, The Chocolate Tag. Because come on, who doesn't love chocolate and books? These were her sugary recommendations for you. 

Find her on her BLOG and on TWITTER.

THAT'S IT! 8 Bloggers later and the tour is over! I hope you all had as much fun as I did getting to know everyone.

If you missed out on any of the posts I did for the tour here's a list of them and where to find them:

6th July: Summer Book Looks on Ink On The Shelf

13th July: US vs UK Book Covers on Caught Read Handed

20th July: 20 Questions on The YA Club

27th July: Q&A on Ana Loves...

3rd August: Top 5 YA Adaptations on Endlessly Reading

10th August: A-Z Bookish Survey on Dana Square 

17th August: The Diary of a Book Blogger on The Book Bratz

Summer Blogger Promo Tour: Ink On The Shelf

This is it! The last promo post of the tour! Next week I'll have my wrap up post were we look back at all the epic bloggers we've gotten to know over the summer on The YA's Nightstnad but for today it's time to meet the final blogger Jen from Ink of The Shelf. Like Stefani last week there is no one better at describing themselves than Jen, so here's what she has to say about herself:

You can also find Jen on TWITTER!!

So the post!
A couple of weeks ago I did a book tag all about chocolate! It was so much fun so I thought I'd get Jen to do the same for this post. Basically she has to match up a book recommendation with a kind of chocolate. From Dark to White to Wafer to a whole damn box. 

Enjoy lovelies!! 

~ The Chocolate Book Tag ~

Dark Chocolate: A book that covers a dark topic. (abuse, domestic violence, rape, loneliness, bullying, death etc)

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. A very sad, poetic and well written book which targets the issue of rape amongst teens.

White Chocolate: Your favourite light-hearted/humorous read.

Anything by Janet Evanovich, but in particular the Stephanie Plum series. Usually makes me smile, laugh, and feel like eating everything in sight. 

Milk Chocolate: A book that has a lot of hype that you’re dying to read.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. It's finally out, ahhhh! If the bookstore is sold out, I probably won't be responsible for my own behaviour.

Chocolate with a Caramel Centre: Name a book that made you feel all gooey in the middle while you were reading it.

While this is an instalove story, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, is funny, well written and just believable.

Wafer Free Kit Kat: Name a book that surprised you lately.

Hexed by Michelle Krys. It didn't live up to the hype and my own personal expectations (excitement). Barely average.

Snickers: A book that you are going nuts about.

The Unforgetting of Mara Dyer. This whole series is unbelievable.

Hot Chocolate with Cream and Marshmallows: What book would you turn to for a comfort read?

Besides the Stephanie Plum novels this would have to be the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I've read them enough that they are like visiting an old friend.

Box of Chocolates: What series have you read that you feel has a wide variety and a little something for everyone?

Possibly Harry Potter, since I know a range of people with different ages and reading habits who have seemed to enjoy it. What a nice box of chocolates it is, maybe even a box of Bertie Bots, minus the bad flavours.

Summer Blogger Promo Tour: Caught Read Handed

Today we have Stefani from Caught Read Handed. This is the part where I usually tell you a bit about them HOWEVER I think Stefani says I best herself. SO with a little cut and paste magic this is Stefani:

Hi! My name is Stefani, and I’m a mismatched socks, overflowing bookshelves, pot of coffee a day, Sonic Screwdriver, paint all over my fingers, rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock kind of girl with alopecia. I have a master’s degree in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling in Scotland (yes, I lived in Scotland for over a year and I’m completely in love with it).

You can also find Stefani on TWITTER.

So for this post we had ourselves a little book club! We both had Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour on our reading list and I thought this would be a really fun was to tick it off. Bellow we've answered some book club style questions and I will warn you now, if you haven't read the book then there are some MAJOR SPOILERS ahead.

Everything Leads To You

by Nina LaCour

Pages: 307 (Hardback)

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Publication Date: May 15th 2014

ISBN: 0525425888

What were your first thoughts after finishing Everything Leads To You?

Mily: Awww! It was kind of perfect. I loved that the author made us (the reader) wait for the inevitable and that it avoided the whole lovely dovey, insta love jargon that a lot of YA books tend to over indulge in now-a-days. Super sweet and left me with a smile on my face. 

Stefani: Everything that you said. This book was super adorable. It was really hard for me to put it down, so I very rarely did. I finished it in about a day. I could not stop smiling after I put it down either.

What were your feelings towards Emi?

Mily: I loved the way Emi’s character grew throughout the story. She started off as this heartbroken, almost love sick teenager with a lot of responsibility and no outlet for her pain. However, as the story progresses she found a way to be strong in her own right. I really liked that they didn’t have Emi and Morgan get back together to, as I had a feeling at one point that was where this was going to go. I think that the fact Emi learnt to put Ava ahead of herself and see her as more than just some mystery that needed to be solved was really moving and I fell in love with this character.

"I'm seeing her for the first time. Not Ava Garden Wilder, the rags-to-riches granddaughter of Clyde Jones. Not a tragic, romantic heroine.  

Just Ava. 

And I am utterly in love."

Stefani: You’ve said pretty much everything I felt about Emi. One of the notes I took while reading the book was “Lots of growth and change in Emi. Very real.” I loved Emi. She grew from this somewhat naïve, young-feeling character to a woman who was strong and independent. I loved her.

What was your least favorite part of the book?

Mily: Easy! When Ava and Tracey finally come face to face. Ah I wanted nothing more than to shake that damn women into being a better person. So what if she’s gay. So what if she’s not who you wanted her to be. She was still her daughter and I think Tracey needed a crash course in parenting.

Stefani: Oh my gosh, Mily! Quit saying all of my thoughts. Haha. That was my least favorite part too. I just wanted to hug Ava and tell her she should be exactly who she was and she didn’t need Tracey’s approval. I can’t understand not tolerating someone for the way that they are, especially something like sexual preference which you are born with. I really didn’t like Tracey.

Mily: Sorry… maybe we should have taken turns going first! Although I am glad you feel the same way, great minds and all that jazz!!

How did you feel about Ava’s integration into Emi’s life?

Mily: I did struggle with the suddenness of it all. I think that Ava was selfish at times. Even if it was understandable that she would rely on Emi and Charlotte I would have liked her to leave them out of certain parts of her journey. Especially when they broke into Tracey’s! I couldn’t help but be a little angry with Ava for that.

Stefani: I actually really liked Ava entering Emi’s life. I thought that it was good for Emi to have Ava in her life, because she broke Emi out of her comfort zone. I will say that I was angry at Ava for having Emi help her break into Tracey’s house. I didn’t like that.

Mily: I guess so. I mean yes having Ava in her life stopped her returning – yet again – to Morgan but I was really unsure about Ava the whole way through the book. Right up until the end. But maybe I’m just a skeptical person?

Would you have opened Clyde’s letter?

Mily: Yes! I don’t think I would have even tried to find Caroline… is that bad? I think I would have been too intrigued. I was impressed with the self-control that Emi and Charlotte showed in NOT opening the letter.

Stefani: Oh definitely. I would have tried to find Caroline first, but I wouldn’t have gone to the lengths that Emi and Charlotte did. I would have tried once, and then opened it. My curiosity would have killed me.

Mily: It would appear that you’re a nicer person that me!

Do you think that the way Caroline’s arc was cover was appropriate for the overall storyline of the book?

Mily: Yes and no. I think that having it told by the different people that knew Caroline was really interesting and I don’t think as a reader we needed to know every detail. The book wasn’t about Caroline and we were given just enough to satisfy our curiosity but not too much that it over shadowed everything else. I do however think I would have liked more of it to have been told from Frank and Edie. Although that my just be because they are the cutest damn thing ever!

Stefani: I too loved Frank and Edie. I don’t know how I felt about Caroline’s story. I did like that we learned about her from several other people’s experiences with her, and it wasn’t too much info about her. However, I also feel like we could have used a few more details about her, especially if we could have someone learned something from Caroline’s own perspective because we don’t know if anything we learned about her was actually true.

Mily: I hadn’t actually thought about it that way. I mean I liked that fact that there was still a question mark on the whole Caroline story because I guess that’s how it would be in real life. It’s not all going to be given to you in a neat little bow. However, now that you’ve mentioned it maybe something solid, as in real evidence to what happened would have been interesting.

How did you feel towards Tracey? Did you understand her behavior towards Ava?

Mily: She made me angry. I’ve already said that I think she needs someone to point out how to be a half decent mother but I also think that Ava is better off without her. Even if she was a problematic child there’s no excuse for the way Tracey treated her.

Stefani: Oh man, she pissed me off. Yes, Ava was sometimes a pain in the butt as a daughter, but she also probably wouldn’t have acted that way if Tracey had actually been a good mother to her. Even if Ava wasn’t actually her daughter, she didn’t treat her like a decent human being. Personally, I cannot understand treating someone differently because of their sexual preference, so Tracey’s opinions made no sense to me. I really didn’t like her.

What was the main thing you took away from the book?

Mily: There are a couple of things but instead of going into them I think that the quotes alone speak for themselves.

“The best things aren't perfectly constructed. They aren't illusions. They aren't larger than life. They are life."

&

“It’s all about the danger of leaving things unsaid. It’s about failure… We all get afraid. We need to be brave.”

Stefani: I’m going to do what Mily did and give you two quotes as well:

“There are no scenes in life, there are only minutes. And none are skipped over and they all lead to the next...All she is – and all she’s ever been – is a person trying to live a life.”

&

 “‘What’s the use in waiting until the right moment if that moment never comes?’ I say. ‘What if the moment escapes you in a split second when your focus was elsewhere?’”

Mily: I think that the second one is really good advise… you can miss a lot if you’re busy waiting for something to come along.

A running theme throughout this book was Fate; do you think it was fate that bought Ava into Emi’s life or just coincidence?

Mily: I’m very much on team-universe-has-a-plan-for-you and I loved that everything connected. Yes it did make the whole story a tad on the predictable side but it also made it uber cute. As Emi said, it felt like Ava was always meant to be a part of her life.

Stefani: I too thought it was somewhat predictable, but I absolutely loved when everything worked out in the end. I think part of it was fate, but I also think that you make decisions that affect what happens to you. Just check out the second quote I used in the previous question.

What was your favourite moment from Everything Leads To You?

Mily: This is the easiest question for me. My favourite moment was when Emi shows Ava the finished apartment, right at the end of the book, and Ava just lives there for a moment. The way it’s described as she makes herself tea, leaving stains on the counter top and how she walks out of the house barefoot. It was so simple and really moving.

However, I think that my favourite quote from the whole book was actually the very end. It was kind of perfect.

“He’ll grin, say, You made a movie, of course, how perfect. And I’ll say, No, that’s not it. He’ll cock his head, waiting for more. I’ll take my time, keep him guessing.

Then I’ll say, I fell in love.”

Stefani: I loved several moments in this book, including the one that you mentioned. However, I think if I had to pick, my favorite moment was when I realized Emi was starting to change. Emi is thinking of what she could use in a scene to convey memory and sadness. She thinks about Morgan, but realizes the scene isn’t only about sadness; it is also about yearning. Then she says when people watch the movie, they’ll be feeling for not only the character but themselves, 

“How it is to be alone, and maybe, if we’re lucky, how it is to be ready to open ourselves up to the fragile hope of something new.” <3