Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Title: Ugly Love 
Author: Colleen Hoover
Pages: 320
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Book Description: 
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly

 Get it here | Good reads 

I took part in another read-a-long with my favourite book bloggers, Tika, Mal and Blessie! We all read a certain number of chapters each day and had discussions about the book! It was quite difficult to discuss the book where all members of the read-a-long were present, because we all live in different places around the world! Nevertheless, we managed it and I look forward to doing many more read-a-longs into the future with these wonderful girls! Anyway, onto the review:

My Opinion: 

I don't tend to read romance novels very often but I have to say this is one of the best! I've never read any of Colleen's books before so this was a first... I didn't think I would get into it after reading the blurb but I did and I enjoyed it so much!

When I began reading this book, I didn't have an urge to read on... I mean I was intrigued, thanks to Miles, but if I had stopped reading then and there it wouldn't have bothered me. But then everything kicked off and I literally couldn't put it down!

I loved the mysterious aspect running through because I kept wanting to find out what happened in Miles' past and who was Rachel? As the book continued I found myself really enjoying the past and present feature running through. It meant we could find out what was happening in the present with Tate and Miles, but were also able to get an insight into Miles' history.

The characters were wonderfully written! I loved how relatable Tate was, how protecting Corbin was of his little sister and the mysteries behind Miles. My favourite character, although he wasn't one of the main characters, had to be Cap! He was so kind-hearted and caring and he said some of the best quotes in the novel (most of the ones below were said by him >.< )

What I loved the most however, was the twist. I'm trying my very hardest not to go blurgh and spill the most unexpected part of the novel! All of us taking part in the read-a-long had a discussion about theories we thought could happen (and we had a lot of theories) but none of them came close to what actually happened! Right, I'm going to stop talking about this because I don't want to spoil it for anyone!

Lastly, I really liked the 'water' aspect running throughout the novel. Not only does this link to the twist but it also links to Tate and the way she feels! This was a lovely unique touch!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance novel. There are some scenes that involve sex so I'd probably advise mature teenagers to read it... Anyway this novel suits anyone who enjoys romance and new adult novels!


 Favourite Quotes: 

Her eyes are sad. Her thoughts are sadder.

~~~~

Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world

I wonder what his silence is saying

~~~~

'It's impressive. Defying gravity? Watching sunrises and sunsets from places Mother Nature didn't intend for you to watch them from?'

~~~~

'And I realised... just now... that God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted.'

~~~~

There's nothing in the world that compares to the feel and smell of brand-new rain

~~~~

'People are more interesting at night,' he says. 'I like to sleep late. Avoid all the fool who are in too much of a rush in the mornings.'

~~~~

It's the beautiful moments like these that make up for the ugly love

 Rating ★★★★

4 out of 5 stars

 Next book I'm going to review:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

20 Things you might not know about me tag!

Photo credit: http://brigittemaria.nl/

I've been tagged by the lovely Tika over at fANGIRL Confessions. Thanks for the tag! The rules are simple anyway, just answer the 20 questions :)

1.) How tall are you?

I'm 5ft 8

2.) Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?

I'm double jointed so I can turn my arms almost the entire way around... It's hard to explain and pretty gross to look at but yeah, I can't think of anything else >.<

3.) What's your biggest blog-related pet peeve?

I think it has to be when people deliberately ignore your comments. Like when you see they're answered to someone else but not you... god that annoys me!

4.) What's your biggest non-blog related pet peeve?

I hate it when people fold the corners of their books over or when they crack the spines! And I'm a bit of a perfectionist so really scruffy work drives me mad...

5.) What's your favorite song?

I have so many favourite songs omg how do I choose...

Room to breathe - You Me At Six

I'm James Dean and you're Audrey Hepburn - Sleeping With Sirens

Alone Together - Fall Out Boy

And many many more

6.) What's your favorite Etsy shop that isn't yours?

I don't have one but my favourite shop is either Topshop or Urban Outfitters!

7.) What's your favorite way to spend your free time when you're alone?

I really enjoy creative writing and drawing so usually I'll just sit and listen to music and draw which is perfect.
I also watch a lot of TV... And of course I read a lot!

8.) What's your favorite junk food?

Chinese omg

9.) Do you have pet(s). If so, what kind and what are their names?

No pets:(

10.) What are your favorite fiction and non-fiction books?

Once again too many to count but my favourite fiction are: It's Kind of a Funny Story, The Book Thief, Perks of being a Wallflower, The Storyteller

I don't really read non-fiction books but I love A Chinese Cinderella if that counts as non-fiction...

11.) What's your favorite beauty product?

Eyeliner whether it's pencil or liquid!

12.) When were you last embarrassed? What happened?

The last time I was embarrassed was probably when I ran over to see my friends at lunch but ended up tripping and went flying into them. We all fell on the floor in a huge bundle hahaa

13.) If you could drink one beverage for the rest of your life besides water, what would it be?

I would drink Cider forever but it's alcoholic and I'd be drunk 24/7 so I'm going to go for Oasis because it is perfect! (even if it would rot my teeth due to sugar... oh well)

14.) What's your favorite movie?

Ugh I can't just say one movie but it has to be between The Breakfast Club and Breakfast At Tiffany's... I have a thing for old classics okay

(I just realised they both have breakfast in the titles aha)

15.) What were you in high school: prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, prep?

I'd like to say a tie between the artist and band geek but honestly, I was probably the loner...

16.) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I'd live either in China because they're food is delicious and the scenery is beautiful out there or America because they have amazing shops and everything seems to happen in the USA... I also love the Chinese culture omg

17.) PC or Mac

PC all the way!

18.) Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, bf/gf?

My friend said he was going to buy me a Yoshi hat for my birthday since I said Yoshi was my favourite Mario character!

19.) Favorite Celebrity?

I have so many but I love Heath Ledger and Judd Nelson (so hot!) 

I also love Audrey Hepburn :)

These questions about 'favourite something' are so difficult because I can never just choose one thing!

20.) What blogger do you secretly want to be bestfriends with?

I'm already really good friends with Tika, Mallory and Blessie! But I'd love to be better friends with the girls at Fangirling Misses, Erin and Tanya!

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Title: The Woman in Black
Author: Susan Hill
Pages: 200
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Gothic
Book Description: 
Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and most dreadfully--and for Kipps most tragically--The Woman In Black.

The Woman In Black is both a brilliant exercise in atmosphere and controlled horror and a delicious spine-tingler--proof positive that this neglected genre, the ghost story, isn't dead after all

 Get it here | Good reads 

My Opinion: 
For part of my English course in college, I had to read The Woman in Black. It was one of those books I wasn't that interested in reading, but because I had seen the film, I was curious to see what the book would be like in comparison.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the mysterious aspect running through and all the questions that continuously popped into my head like 'was he imagining it?' 'what's going to happen next?'
 etc. This links to the characters and how they were really well written. Especially in the beginning, a lot of questions aroused in my head when people starting acting weirdly around the main protagonist. This intriguing aspect kept me wanting to read on!

The writing style throughout the novel was fabulous. There were tones of descriptive paragraphs that didn't go into too much detail about the setting, but made it seem very realistic and visual. This is not only great for my college coursework, but it adds a really nice realistic aspect - I felt like I was right there in the scene! The descriptions were really creepy and quite sinister at times (especially the description of the woman herself!) which added the Gothic feature. I found the book got more tense about 3/4s of the through which was great as I had been waiting for it to get more scary! I also loved the ending! Although it was very sad I did enjoy it :)

I didn't find the book as scary as all the critics were saying. This could just be because I'm not that scared easily, or maybe it's because the film has influence my viewpoint. When I was reading it, I found myself imagining scenes from the film and watching the characters from the movie in my head (the main reason why I prefer reading the books first) which probably made the book seem far less scarier than it may have been if I wasn't imagining the film. I guess seeing the film physically, gives a different affect to just reading...

I think seeing the film before reading the novel has had a large impact on the book. For example, I know what's going to happen so (especially with a horror story) I already know why everyone doesn't want him to go to Eel Marsh House and I know exactly what happens at the end. I feel like this sort of ruined it for me but overall it was a very good read, however I was expecting it to be more scary after seeing the film... Maybe if I'd read the book first I wouldn't feel this way... hmmm

I would definitely recommend this book to people who are just beginning to get into Gothic/horror novels. It's a relatively short book and the font was quite large in my copy so I read it in a matter of days! It isn't a really scary novel (but that's just my opinion, could be different for everyone) so that's why it would be good for people who either want to try reading something new/out of their comfort zone or for anyone who likes this genre!

Favourite Quotes:

Innocence, once lost, is lost forever

~~~~

I looked up ahead and saw, as if rising out of the water itself, a tall, gaunt house of grey stone

~~~~

Even from as far away as this I could hear the mysterious silence, and once again the haunting, strange beauty, of it all aroused a response deep within me

~~~

Sea birds soared and swooped, silver-grey and white, and ahead, at the end of the long straight path, Eel Marsh House beckoned me

~~~~

'You've gone through some rough seas.'
'Well, I'm in the calm after the storm now.'

~~~~

They asked for my story. I have told it. Enough.

 Rating ★★★ 

3 out of 5 stars

If you do read this book, I'd love to hear what you thought! Let me know in the comments or send me a message on one of my social networks; I'm up for a chat about books any time!

So as most of you probably know (and if you don't know about this why?!) there's a movie adaption of the book! It includes Daniel Radcliffe and I watched this before reading the book. It's a very good horror film. I personally didn't find it that scary, but then again I don't get scared that easily... It was very jumpy though! I really enjoyed the movie, but I don't recommend watching it alone...

Anyway here's the trailer:

Next book I'm going to review

Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift

Ten Book Challenge

I was nominated by Blessie to do the Ten Book Challenge! Thank you for the nomination, the rules are below:

List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Do not take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They do not have be the 'right' books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Paste these instructions and tag 10 friends, including me, so I can see your list.

(Photo credit: www.haikudeck.com)

(I decided to add my favourite quote from the book along with the title!)

1) It's Kind of a Funny story by Ned Vizzini

'People are screwed up in this world. I'd rather be with someone screwed up and open about it than somebody perfect and ready to explode'

2) Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling

All 7 of the books were amazing and there are too many perfect quotes to write so I'll just go with...

'Always'

3) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

'If your eyes could speak, what would they say?'

4) The Great Gatsby  by F.Scott Fitzgerald

'The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.'

'Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away.'

5) Looking for Alaska by John Green

'I collapsed on the bottom bunk thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.'

6) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

(This book had so many perfect quotes omg)

'To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.'

'I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo'

7) Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

'I always hated when my scars started to fade, because as long as I could still see them, I knew why I was hurting'

8) The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

'Inside each of us is a monster; inside each of us is a saint. The real question is which one we nurture the most, which one will smite the other.'

9) My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher

'My sister Rose lives on the mantelpiece. Well, some of her does. A collarbone, two ribs, a bit of skull, and a little toe'

'In fact she was quite bad and according to Jas she was naughty at school, but no one seems to remember that now she is all dead and perfect.'

10) The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

'Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.'

Here are the people I nominate:

Tika @ Fangirl Confessions

Mallory @ MalloryBooks

Lauren @ Something Borrowed
Erin @ The Hardcover Lover
Angie @ The Paper-Back Reader
Anna @ Enchanted by YA
Belle @ Fangirling Misses
Lauren @ A Blonde Librarian

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 367
Genre: Classic, Romance, Contemporary
Book Description: 
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues

Get it here | Good reads 

 My Opinion: 

Lately, I've been really interested in reading classic novels. I'm not sure what got me into them but I feel like these books should all be read at least once in your lifetime so why not start now?
I've wanted to read this book in ages so this is the first book in my classic review section :)

I read Pride and Prejudice during my summer holidays and it was a lovely book to read while lying in the sun and just relaxing. There were some slow parts but because of the captivating plot, I just wanted to read on! I was already very familiar with the story line but there were scenes that were full of romance and just made me feel really happy! The end is the main one that comes to mind...

I think what I loved the most were the characters! Not only was the book really well written but the characters were so lively I felt like I knew them. It was very easy it imagine the scenes as I was reading along and there were many parts I actually laughed out loud! (Especially the scenes that included Lydia because I understand how important marriage was in those times.) All of the sisters were fabulously written and the mother was such a wonderful character. Not only were the female characters amazing, but the men in the novel were fantastic. His name has to be one of the most recognised in English literature (and Colin Firth's most loved role in the movie) for Mr Darcy was definitely my favourite character!

Honestly it did take me a while to get used to the language used in this book because it is very mature and a little old fashioned so I did have to look up a few words I didn't know the meaning of but after the first few chapters I found myself really enjoying it! Some of the scenes were a little slow but I guess that's normal with any book.

Anyway, I definitely recommend this book! I would probably advise people who are older/ more mature to read this book so that you understand everything and can appreciate it's true greatness. This book really opened my eyes to what times were like in the 1800's and I'm certainly going to read more famous novels by Jane Austen!


 Favourite Quotes: 

In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you


~~~~


When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library


~~~~

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us

~~~~

Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance


~~~~


Angry people are not always wise

~~~~

We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him

~~~~

We are all fools in love

Rating ★★★★

4 out of 5 stars

There is also a film based on this book. However when I was looking for the film I got  bit confused. 

Basically there is a TV series with the handsome Colin Firth, which came out in 1995. This was the first adaption of the novel and I found it a lovely series. There are about 6 episodes, all an hour long and they follow the exact story line of the book, without missing anything (hence why they're so long!)

Then there's the recent movie with Keira Knightly that came out in 2005. I have yet to watch this adaption but the trailer for this is below:

Next book I'm going to review:
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill