Review: By Your Side

By Your Side by Kasie West
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THIS BOOK MAKES ME WANT TO HUG SOMEONE. It was that good. Seriously.

Autumn and Dax story just made my day and the night before, since I couldn't stop reading this book.

Sooo thoughts:
1. Don't assign me emotions. Don't pretend to know what I'm thinking based on your experiences.

- Sometimes we can't stop incorporating our self with what others are thinking. It's hard to express opinions if what we only know are our experiences. Sometimes what we think or assume doesn't really match what others think and that's ok but then, sometimes people get offended.

2. Because I have no say in what other people do or think.

- You really can't do about what others are thinking, right? It's not right to intrude on them and be all self righteous about some things. We can never control how they think and act and it sucks sometimes. Others tend to not care at all because what is the point? When you don't care it's fine but when you do care, intensely by that, and you know you can make a change, you can also try.

3. I knew I was letting my life get blurry. I need to focus on what mattered.
- Too many excuses can make our life get blurry. We distract ourselves because we don't want to face or deal with things that are too hard to face. We make exemptions to give ourselves a break or we create diversions just to avoid the things that should be dealt with. It's ok to have them, but giving enough focus on what mattered should also be a top priority because we can either get lost along the way or totally get surprised by it when we are unprepared.

4. It's not something you want to do. You're worrying about someone else's emotions instead of your own.

- Putting others first and being selfless can sometimes be considered as a weakness. When done too much we tend to forget ourselves and causes us to be miserable or a martyr. Like in the story, Autumn's anxiety was kept a secret because she doesn't want others to treat her differently. However, the consequence it made was that she always had to be the one to adjust or she just leaves her friends that made her look like someone too good enough for others.

5. The act of falling in love. Shouldn't it be easy? Yes. It definitely shouldn't be scripted.

- It should just feel right. It's not practiced or rehearsed. We don't get to do retakes or whatever because when you feel it, it's just there. :)

6. Just a distraction. No commitment. No attachment.

- Ohhhh that part!!! Dax really hurt Autumn there. I was crying!!!!!
I know I know. It was pretty clear that they had rules about their friendship. That doesn't mean either one of them will not get hurt because we all know they will lead to a deeper relationship at the end. What with all their talks, conversations and hanging out or just simply "distracting" each other. It was the start of something good but with reluctance. So one they did end it, heartbreak. :(

7. Even though I knew this one might end in heartbreak, that he might make my life scary and complicated and unpredictable, I knew I couldn't let him walk away.
- Yessss yessss!!!! Never walk away unless it's really the end of it.

OVERALL, the story was great. The romance was a build-up of sweetness. Protective and supportive parents. 4 STARS!!!
Please, write mooooore! I have two unread books left. I'm so excited to read them.

View all my reviews

Read More

Review: Once and for All

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thing's end. Even with the best--or greatest--of beginnings.


I know this quote can really make a person down or feel negative vibes, but in reality, this does really happen. It's just how we accept it.

SOOOOO, this book made me feel giddy-excited and cry-in-the-corner kind of feels. ha ha. It was refreshing yet bittersweet. I LOVED IT!

THOUGHTS:
1. Everyone's always in their own world, when it's still an option.

- It's always a choice to be left alone. Sometimes it's easier to just be in a quiet environment once in a while. It gives you that special peaceful moment that you didn't know that you crave. It's easier to just not talk and listen to nothing. If you can, why not, right? I'm not saying that I want this all the time, but if you have that option, I'm sure to take it.

2. All anyone really wants from another person is their attention.

- Seriously, every action seeks attention from others. We do things because we want to be noticed. Ok, so, to some, it might not be 100% attention but a portion of it is still about getting attention. I guess it's normal because we are co-relative to others, if we put it scientifically. However, I believe that we do this just because it makes us feel a part of something. In this case, we want others attention because it's our way of showing our reactions and feelings. We want to share what we are experiencing or just simply saying that we want to share what we have.

3. It was like my life had been silent in a way before, and now there was a soundtrack, the very best music playing along in the background at every moment.
- Having that best romantic moment in which you felt that spark or that change inside you, makes me wanna swoooooon. The romance part in this book was so sweet I just want to cry because Louna felt that feeling. Makes me wanna feel what she was feeling at that moment. That precious feeling that you want to treasure forever.

4. The dead aren't the only ones who vanish; you, too, can disappear in plain sight if enough is taken from you. I was still missing, in many ways. And I wasn't sure I wanted to be found.

- Heartbreak, lost and endings can be really depressing. It devastates me that these kinds of events can lead to awful and blood-curling loneliness. Sometimes it's easier to be numb all through out but you can't really deny and ignore these. It will always come back to haunt you especially if you haven't let them go. It's not easy to move on from these. It can either make you stop living life or just hide away from it all, but nothing really solves that, doesn't it? How can you move on though? I don't really know how to cope if I ever experienced that.

5. So many things we ask for, hope for, prayers put out into a world so wide: there was no way they could all be answered. But you had to keep asking. If you didn't, nothing even had a chance of coming true.

- I BELIEVE THIS! Try and try until you succeed! I'm not saying that we just have to wish and not act on it. I know it doesn't work like that. What I'm saying is that maybe if you really want it and believe in something, we can actually achieve them. I wish and pray because I want something. I believe that if I keep thinking about them, that it will have a chance to actually happen. There's no harm in wishing. It feels good actually

AMBROSE's character was so bright I just want to put him in my pocket, just so I can have a pocket full of sunshine! haha!
Mother, best friend and daughter relationship was the BEST!
Girl bff bonding was so intact, I loved it!!!
The romance makes me melt and cry!!!!!!!!!
LOUNA you are a strong girl!!!!!!!

Sarah Dessen you are still my favorite! Please keep writing more books like this.

View all my reviews

Read More

Review: Saint Anything

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"He threw a grape at me on a sunny day, and I just knew it was love...."

Eating a pizza never felt so romantic like this book just did.

LOVED THIS!

I'm so glad that I stumble upon Sarah Dessen's book. I had this before and I kept saying, "later, later..." and 2 years later, here I am. Done with the later and staying up until 3am, not budging at all, until my eyes finally tire for all the reading that I did.

Thoughts:
1. The part about the family here is painfully beautiful to read.
One family, they are together, living the life that they have as normal and as optimistic as possible, but also trying to fix something but doesn't really fix everything at all. Some problems remain ignored, or just unknown and some just doesn't realize that there's a problem at all.
The other family, although completely together what with all the loving and support from each family members, yet still damaged with a disease that scares them.

2. There's no shame in trying to make stuff work, is how I see it. It's better than just accepting the broken.
- It's always better if you try to take some actions than just stand there and do nothing. It's not just about feeling good about yourself but it's just a fact that should always come to mind. At the end of the day, you can say that you did something think is right. They always say that, "It's better to try." Yes, it is. It surely is.

3. I would love to know how it felt, just once, to have something fall apart and see options instead of endings.

-There is always a solution to everything. Sometimes we just don't look for it or we just don't know how to find it. To some, it's all about giving up because they don't see the point. You cannot blame them for that because sometimes, it really is tiring. But then, to others, there's always that light or road that they want to take just to reach that breath of fresh air that they've been seeking.

4. You weren't invisible, not to me. Just so you know.

- It's really nice to be seen and appreciated by someone you find yourself caring for or just be seen by someone or anyone at all actually. It makes you feel not alone. It makes you feel that you exist in this world. In this book though, this one is all romantic approach. Mac saying this to Sydney made me swooooooon. It's just so dreamy.

5. Just because a person isn't talking about something doesn't mean it's not on their mind. Often, in fact, it's why they won't speak of it.

- True that. It's easier to pretend not to know or acknowledge something just to let you think for a while that it's not reality. Most people tend to be ignorant unless someone or something actually makes them wake up from all that pretending.

6. You only really fall apart in front of the people you know you can piece you back together.
- I really love the relationship of the characters in this book. Well, not all relationships, seeming some were really unhealthy. I'm talking about Sydney's friends. ALL OF THEM ARE REALLY SUPPORTING AND UNDERSTANDING. I just think that even with all the hardships that she continues to encounter or face with, at the end of the day she has someone who will listen to her. At first, I know it didn't happen that way. She really felt alone, but along the way she did find someone or rather people who can show her that she has someone to lean on. Her relationship with Layla was a blessing. Adding Mac to that was a hidden treasure. Mrs Chatham was the safety net. I just loved everything about this. Her brother, mother and father were really frustrating me though, but looking into their perspective, you can't really judge them because they have their personal demons that makes them act that way. They have their guilt and imperfection but at the end of day, it doesn't mean someone is not getting hurt.

View all my reviews

Read More

Review: If There's No Tomorrow

If There's No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a roller coaster ride of emotions. This book made me feel a little crazy that I just have to stop when it got too much. ha ha. YA books always make me feel like this. Too many emotions for teens.
One minute I was like...


then the next...


Major thought: LENA WISE was a one tough girl.

Thoughts:
1. One big mistake can change everything.

Do we ever really know when we're about to make a big mistake? Sometimes, we know or we are conscious about it but there are times that we simply don't expect it. All we have to do is to always think before we act. Sometimes accidents happen and we simply can't control the situation.

2. Living for yourself is not entirely selfish.
Don't ever try to stop living because you feel like you have to punish yourself for impacting a disastrous incident on other people. Especially, if it's not your fault entirely. Yes, being partially responsible makes you feel guilty but in the end, you can never choose to erase that event that played out. You can never go back and have a redo. All you can do is try to survive and work your head on straight and learn from that incident. It's not selfish at all.

3. What does waiting do? None of us are promised a tomorrow. We don't always get a later.
This quote really did a number on me. It made me feel like reaching up and getting all the things that I want now, because you'll never know what tomorrow could bring.....
Waiting doesn't do anything but just feel that existence of every living moment that I have. Like I was just here... breathing and thinking and just doing mundane stuff. ACT NOW. ACT NOW ACT NOOOW. lol.


4. I knew I couldn't go back and start a new beginning. I couldn't rewrite the middle. All I could do was change tomorrow, as long as I had one.
The feeling of regret will always come when we feel like we have done something wrong, or when the effect did not go to the way that we though it would. This quote made me think that every tomorrow that we get is a chance for us to do something worth it. To do something valuable to our lives, like accomplishing simple and off-the chart stuff that we want to do. Like, do not waste all your time doing something that you don't want but always do something you know that is right. Of course, to someone like me, I always overthink that's why I don't usually get anything done. haha. But, this quote makes me want to really try. And I will, with the perfect time....

5. THIS STORY!
It's YA, it has romance, it has friendship, it has family, and it has drama. I LOVED IT!
THE ROMANCE WAS JUST WORTH IT. I LOVE IT. The bestfriends things. the balcony, the nightly chats, the tent....Sebastian was just so dreamy. hahah!

I know it's not just a simple life of a teen dealing with bad decisions, it's about making others relate to the realities of life. This could happen to anyone and I love how it could make an impact on others decisions and actions. Making others more aware of the consequences that their actions could bring.

Thank you Ms Jennifer Armentrout for writing such wonderful, eye opening, forgiving and enlightening book!!!




View all my reviews

Read More

Review: The Impossible Vastness of Us

The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Way to start the year with a PERFECT YA BOOK!
Sooo much love for this book. I really really LOVED THIS ONE!

One mind blowing thought that I can sum up to one big blob of a rant. Here goes...
I felt like crying.....

the main characters in this book all have their mask and facade. They wore it like a shield to hide what they really feel, what they really want and what they can't face. I can't help but admire them because they were strong through it all. They didn't lose the battle of depression or abandonment or even the loneliness that's creeping their mind. I know most of them were scared and it's a normal feeling but being scared doesn't mean defeat. It only means that you can feel that sadness and doubts because you have the knowledge of what you think might happen to whatever it is that you are experiencing. What I really appreciate in this book was that connecting with someone can help you get through your problems. Having family/ friends and sharing yourself with them is one way of relieving you of all your hurt and despair. They can be someone to share the happiness of your life too and can you show you that you are not alone.

I LOVED THIS BOOK because of the self discovery, forgiveness, friendship, trust, family, falling in love and most of all loyalty to someone you care about.

I know these is YA so having the happy ending that I wanted to happen will not happen since these characters are young, but well it's still will give me a peace of mind if I do get to be there when they grow up and see what will happen in college and life after that. I WAS REALLY HOOKED AND NOW I STILL WANT MORE.

View all my reviews

Read More