Month: October 2017

Fiction Friday- Book Review: The Divine Heart by Danielle R Mani

The Divine HeartThe Divine Heart by Danielle R. Mani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“The Divine Heart” tells the story of Elle who is waiting for a heart transplant. When the operation does take place, Elle is left with unusual side-effects. Convinced that her donor is trying to tell her something, Elle decides to track her down. But on her journey to discover the truth, Elle realises that everyone around her seems to be hiding something and no one can be trusted.
This book was spooky and thrilling and I loved every second of it. I had my guesses about what was going on (they were mostly correct) but the ending was still surprising. I loved the character of Robbie as well as Elle’s (gorgeous) doctor. This book had me second-guessing everything and everyone.
“The Divine Heart” is a beautifully written, heart-wrenching book that I recommend to anyone who enjoys a mystery or paranormal fiction. This is a read that draw you in and grips you till the very last page.

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Fiction Friday- Book Review: Shadow Faerie by Rachel Morgan (Creepy Hollow #8)

Shadow Faerie (Creepy Hollow, #8)Shadow Faerie by Rachel Morgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shadow Faerie deals with the aftermath of Emerson’s decision in “Glass Faerie”. She is now about to be engaged to a possibly evil prince in return for his help in curing her mother. But no matter how much Em wants Roarke to help her, she is determined to escape the Unseelie Court and cure her mother. Em is convinced that there is no way that the Unseelies can keep her forever but they seem to be several steps ahead of her. The Unseelies are a wonderfully dark lot and I loved and hated them in equal measure. They were dark and twisted but incredibly intelligent. I loved the character of Aurora and look forward to seeing more of her. I also enjoyed how this novel showed a completely different part of the Creepy Hollow world. We finally get to see the Unseelie court that is mentioned so often in the other books. I also enjoyed the many plot twists in this book. I had no idea what was going to happen which made trusting any and all of the characters difficult.
My favourite part of this novel was the ending- Rachel Morgan always has the best and worst cliffhangers in her books but this book has an ending that I can live with until the sequel releases.
This book was impossible to put down and has incredible world-building. I can’t wait to read the sequel (or more books set in the Unseelie Court). This is a must-read for all fans of fantasy.

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Book Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

Final GirlsFinal Girls by Riley Sager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And oh, what a read this has been. It has been about a month since I finished this book and I am still not over it.
Quincy, Lisa and Sam have been dubbed “Final Girls” by the press. Each of the girls were the only remaining survivor of three different massacres. It’s been a decade since Quincy and her friends were attacked at a cabin in the wood and she has put the past behind her. She has a great life, a great career and an amazing boyfriend. Her life is pretty perfect… Until she finds out that Lisa has killed herself. Lisa was a motivational speaker and possibly the most upbeat of the Final Girls. Her death leads to Sam showing up to meet Quincy in person. As the remaining Final Girls bond, two things quickly become clear- 1) Quincy is not as okay as she thought she was and 2) Sam can’t be trusted. Quincy may be done with her past but her past is certainly not done with her.
This novel had me glued to my seat. The plot was compelling and the writing was great. I also enjoyed the many plot twists. This novel was unexpected but so enjoyable. I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future. If you enjoy mystery novels and thrillers, you will love this book.

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October Book Haul

My October book haul is pretty sad. I bought fewer books than usual. This was partially because I fell in love with a box of Archie comics and wanted them all. This was also because there were no YA Books at the sale. This is my haul:


Even though I wanted all the comics, I needed to be an adult and budget. If I took the comics, I needed to buy less books. Eventually my mother and I compromised and divided the cost of our books equally. We just bought the comics with a large collection of Nora Roberts books. This is my complete SPCA book haul:

I was really sad that I didn’t find any YA so I went to Bargain Books. Still no YA that I didn’t own. I went home really sad.

And then I went back to Bargain Books the next day because my dad was in the area. Don’t judge me! This is my haul:

With the exception of “Traitor to the Throne”, all these books were on sale. I’m incredibly proud of my budget-book-buying skills. Feel free to hire me to help you treat yo shelf at discount prices.

What books did you buy most recently? What are you excited to read this month? I’d love to know below. 

Life Update: Me, My Shelf and I

There’s been lots of exciting things happening for me recently so I thought I’d do a blog post about some of them. 

First of all, I’ve finally gotten a permanent contract at work. This made me really happy since from the second I started work about six months ago, I knew that I loved my job. It’s kinda scary since it feels like I’m finally a serious working adult and I don’t know how to deal with that. I’m not equipped to be an adult. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my new bookshelf. It’s black and red and absolutely gorgeous! 

Lastly I’ve been debating whether or not I should continue reviewing books. I’ve got about 10 or so review books that I still need to read but my regular print books are getting neglected which makes me sad. I miss reading just for fun and not because I need to have a review done before a certain date. I’m still not sure if I am going to still accept review books (it’ll kill me to miss out on all the great days) but it’s definitely something I need to think about.

That’s all for my life update. I’m hoping to have regular blog posts in the future but things never work out the way I want them to when it comes to the blog. 

5 Tips for Cleaning Your Social Media Profiles

Remember back when you knew nothing about anyone and had to actually interact with a person to find out more about them? Yeah, I don’t remember so far back either. In today’s age of social media, you can find out much about a person by simply stalking them online. But while this is great for when it comes to checking out your crush, this technique can backfire when it comes to jobs. Employers can reject your simply because of the image you project on social media. Here are five tips to help you clean up your social media presence:

 

1) Rule of thumb: If  you wouldn’t want your gran to see it, don’t put it up. This rule works great for me since I do actually have my grandmother on Facebook. This rule has served me well in social media…mainly because as a teen, I was always getting in trouble for posting something or the other that people deemed offensive.

2) Set your profiles on private: I think this is a great rule since you have some sort of control over who views your profile. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have settings that protect your privacy. However if you work in a field like social media or marketing, doing this may be like shooting yourself in the foot. My Facebook can only be viewed by friends while my Twitter and Instagram are open to the world since I use those accounts for blogging.

3) Google yourself: Googling a person online is the fastest way to learn more about them. Google your name and see what comes up. If there’s anything that could be considered as rude, unprofessional or portrays an image that you don’t want, get rid of it.

4) Delete past posts: Delete posts that are rude, mean or just have a negative air about them. Untag yourself from pictures of alcohol, drugs, that picture of you in the bikini, etc. You don’t want to be seen as a party girl by potential employers (even if that is who you are).

5) Ask a third party to double-check: Get someone you trust to do a Google search on you and evaluate the results as well as checking your social media. Having someone else look through your stuff lets you see how others may view your online presence.

 

While the popularity of social media has killed the concept of privacy, using the tips above can help you use this lack of privacy to your advantage.

How I Schedule My Blog Posts

Since I started work, it has been getting harder and harder to write blog posts. However I think I have some sort of system going now. It is by no means perfect but I’m sharing it hoping it may help you.

Person with laptop

1) Generating Ideas:

I use Trello and OneNote to keep track of my blog post ideas. I basically just make a list of blog ideas in Trello and then expand on them in OneNote. I know I can write the entire blog post out on a Trello card but I am just more comfortable using OneNote. I write down ideas as soon as they come to me so that I don’t forget them. I also use a regular planner so that I can see in print when I want to schedule my posts.

2) Actually Writing the Posts:

Like I said above, I usually use OneNote to write down the blog post. On occasion, I do write the blog post on WordPress. WordPress is my last stop before actually publishing so I make sure that I edit the post here before publishing it. I write blog posts every Saturday or every spare moment I can get.

3) Getting images:

In my opinion, this is where the magic begins. In the last week of the month, I spend an hour or two on Canva, creating images for my blog posts. I know that I usually have a TBR, Book Haul and four book reviews. While the book reviews don’t need any images, the TBR and book haul posts do so these are easy to create. I also use my Trello list of blog ideas to see what blog posts I’m writing for the month and then create those posts.

4) Publishing and Promoting:

In the first week of the new month (eg, first week of October), I combine my blog draft with the Canva images. Voila! A blog post. I read through the post to make sure it reads well, I add the relevant tags and publish. I try and make sure that at the very least, I have four book reviews for the month already queued. Then I use Buffer to schedule social media posts for the week. Honestly I usually just do this the first week and then forget the rest of the month. (Hey, I am trying here. Like I pointed out above, finding time to blog is TRICKY!). On the day that a blog post is published, I promote it on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. I repeat this a week or two later.

My process is not perfect and sometimes I do fall behind. Okay, lots of times. But I’m working on it and I found that having an actual process in place makes it easier to blog. How do you schedule your blog posts? I’d love to know below!

10 Book to Screen Adaptations That Don’t Suck

Is there anything better than seeing your favourite characters brought to life? Except maybe adaptations that don’t totally suck. Here are my list of 10 book to screen adaptations that don’t mess up the characters and world that we know and love so much.

 

  1. The Harry Potter series: While the Harry Potter series misses out a few details from the book, it still tells enough of the story to entertain and entrance viewers. I have watched it over and over again and I can probably quote it line for line.
  2. Great Expectations (2012): Great Expectations was a painful book for me to read but I absolutely adored the adaptation. Helena Bonam Carter was born to play Miss Havisham. The casting is brilliant and the acting is moving. The gorgeous outfits don’t hurt either.
  3. Beauty and the Beast: Is there a female bookworm who has watched the Disney version and not fallen in love with the library? Is there a bookworm who cannot relate to Belle and her love of reading? The 2017 version with Emma Watson features gorgeous sets, comedy and romance. If you haven’t watched it yet, definitely give it a try.
  4. Twilight: Twilight definitely stayed true to the books (I think). It was one of the first book to screen adaptations that I watched and I enjoyed it immensely. Mainly because I was in love with Robert Pattinson.
  5. Vampire Academy: Vampire Academy carried all the sass, bad-ass-ness and romance found in the series. While only the first book was made into a movie, it was still great fun to watch. Especially to see Rose and Dimitri in reel life.
  6. Divergent: The Divergent film is just as action-packed as the book. It’s impossible to read the book and not want to watch the movie or vice versa.
  7. The Hunger Games: Just as action-packed as Divergent with more twisted killings. It’s a game where you KILL PEOPLE. The horror fan in me is delighted while the human in me is appalled.
  8. Me Before You: The Me Before You adaptation is romantic, moving and heart-wrenching. I cried during it and after it. While the movie leaves out a few small details from the book, it still retains the heart and emotion.
  9. The Vampire Diaries: The Vampire Diaries, while not totally accurate to the book, manages to stand on it’s own. Fans of fantasy will love the plot twists, schemes and the gorgeous cast.
  10. Once Upon a Time: Once Upon a Time is the mother of all adaptations. All the fairytale characters are thrown into the real world where there is no happy ending for them. This show has six seasons and it is still going strong. Definitely watch this if you enjoy fairytale retellings.
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