I thought I had actually done decent this month. As I was gathering my books I was thinking to myself that this pile won’t be very big, I was good this month.
Yeah, no. I was not good this month 😦
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What can you do?
Month: October 2016
November Anticipations
All of the books that I’m anticipating for November.
As of right now, the one I’m looking forward to the most is A Million Worlds with You, yes it’s over Heartless, but if you’ve read Ten Thousand Skies Above You then you’ll understand that the ending was insane and I need book 3 right now. I have to know what happens next!
Synopsis:
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Synopsis: 
A million universes. A million dangers. One destiny.
The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation.
Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again.
So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead.
In the epic conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites . . . and only one can win.
Synopsis: The action-packed, thrilling sequel to Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf.
There would be blood.
Blood for blood.
Blood to pay.
An entire world of it.
For the resistance in 1950s Germany, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun.
Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.
But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?
This gripping, thought-provoking sequel to Wolf by Wolf will grab readers by the throat with its cinematic writing, fast-paced action, and relentless twists.
Synopsis: Long before she was the terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next Queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the king’s marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.
Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
Synopsis:
Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is forbidden.
Now, Denna must learn the ways of her new home while trying to hide her growing magic. To make matters worse, she must learn to ride Mynaria’s formidable warhorses before her coronation—and her teacher is the person who intimidates her most, the prickly and unconventional Princess Amaranthine (called Mare), sister of her betrothed.
When a shocking assassination leaves the kingdom reeling, Mare and Denna reluctantly join forces to search for the culprit. As the two work together, each discovers there’s more to the other than she thought. Mare is surprised by Denna’s intelligence and bravery, while Denna is drawn to Mare’s independent streak. Soon their friendship is threatening to blossom into something more.
But with dangerous conflict brewing that makes the alliance more important than ever, acting on their feelings could be deadly. Forced to choose between their duty and their hearts, Mare and Denna must find a way to save their kingdoms—and each other.
Synopsis: 
The thrilling conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Tearling trilogy.
In less than a year, Kelsea Glynn has transformed from a gawky teenager into a powerful monarch. As she has come into her own as the Queen of the Tearling, the headstrong, visionary leader has also transformed her realm. In her quest to end corruption and restore justice, she has made many enemies—including the evil Red Queen, her fiercest rival, who has set her armies against the Tear.
To protect her people from a devastating invasion, Kelsea did the unthinkable—she gave herself and her magical sapphires to her enemy—and named the Mace, the trusted head of her personal guards, Regent in her place. But the Mace will not rest until he and his men rescue their sovereign, imprisoned in Mortmesne.
Now, as the suspenseful endgame begins, the fate of Queen Kelsea—and the Tearling itself—will finally be revealed.
Which books are you looking forward to?
Also which book cover do you like the most? Mine favorite is a tie between A Million Worlds with you, come on its just gorgeous! But also I love the cover for The Sun is Also a Star, its so colorful and happy looking.
WWW Wednesday 10/26
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words. Simply answer the following questions:
What have you recently finished reading?
What are you currently reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
What have you recently finished reading?
The Midnight Star
I really really enjoyed this, this was a stunning end to a wonderful trilogy.
Of Triton
I read of Poseidon over the summer and felt very meh about it but I wanted to continue on with the trilogy just because. I finally picked up Of Triton and again felt pretty “meh” about it. I may read the 3rd book at some point but I may not. We will see.
The Sky is Everywhere
I did not love this as much as I loved I’ll Give You The Sun, I’m glad that I read it, I loved the small hippie community setting but at the end I gave this about 3 stars.
The Black Key
Another end to another trilogy. I’m trying to focus on my goal of finishing most of my series and I was glad to finish this one. While I liked this book alright I think the execution of the story could have been a lot better.
The Near Witch
I finished another Schwab book! I really enjoyed this and I feel like it’s the only book of hers to get a HEA from her. Really liked!
Night So Dark
Meh, overall it was alright, I didn’t like it as much as I liked the trilogy.
What are you currently reading?
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
I am really loving this! I’m only 50 or so pages in but I am already liking it. I’ve mostly been reading it at night before I go to bed but I plan on sitting down and binging on it soon.
The Archived
Another Schwab book! Since I’ve read the Near Witch, I only have 2 books of hers left, The Archived and The Unbound. I’m ready for them but sad at the prospect of not having another book of hers until February.
What do you think you’ll read next?
The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Another series to continue on with, I am ready for the mystery and intrigue.
What are you planning on reading this week?
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My NaNoWriMo prep work/kit
Websites I use:
Scrivener is more a software but it’s my favorite writing program. It offers more freedom to control formatting and a lot of other very useful features that I couldn’t begin to go into. In my defense, it is a complex and wonderful program. Buying the software/desktop version is $40. However, there is a free 30-day trial, perfect for 30 days of NaNoWriMo 😉
I love the Hemingway app, it is one of my favorite sites to go to but it is more for editing rather than writing. Simply copy and paste your words into the site and the Hemingway app will highlight complex sentences, adverbs, show if any of your sentences are using a passive voice, and if any of your sentences are hard to read. From there it will show you what reading level you are writing in.
Write or Die is horrendous, intense, yet wonderful writing website. Depending on the consequences if you stop writing different things happen; a picture of a spider might pop up or if you choose the kamikaze mode and you stop writing it will start to delete your words. It really keeps
The Thought Room can be a really handy website to have in your NaNoWriMo arsenal. If you’re anything like me then your mind is always racing and sometimes you have distracting thoughts. Go to the thought room and simply type whatever is on your mind and watch it float away. It can be very helpful in quieting your mind and helping you focus.
And if you experience negative thoughts about your work or your goals just type them in and watch them fly away from you. It’s quite satisfying.
Do you love the sound of rain on the windows? What about the sound of a small storm? I live in Washington and get a lot of rain but on the rare days that it’s not raining here I simply miss it so much that I pull up Rainy Mood. No, not really, but I find the sound soothing and it helps me focus.
Foods:
Coffee- Coffee is always a necessity in the Littlebookcottage household. The BF and I have been known to experience panic attacks when there is 1 pot worth of ground coffee left.
I’m really excited because I just ordered the Death Wish Coffee and I am really looking forward to trying it! I’m not sure if I’m going to be trying it in the afternoon when I get it (I have a feeling that I’ll be up for hours!) or if I’m going to force myself to wait until the morning and have coffee as usual. I know that waiting until morning is the reasonable and practical option but I have no patience and usually want things now.
Tea- I’ve been known to sip a cup of tea every once in a while. My favorites are peppermint, Paris (by Harney and Sons), and a Blackberry and Sage blend from the Republic of Tea which sounds weird but is delicious.
Candy- The BF is a lover of candy so we always have a plethora of candy available in our house. My favorites are chocolate covered espresso beans, peanut butter chocolate cups, peanut butter snickers. (in case you haven’t noticed I really love peanut butter.) Kit Kat bars, Hersey’s chocolate kisses, and basically anything with chocolate. Luckily for me, the bf isn’t fond of the peanut butter and chocolate combo so I’ve kind of taken advantage of that. Actually, the bf doesn’t like chocolate period. I’m about 90% sure that he’s an alien.
Soups- In general my meal plans are expected to be 30 minutes or less, I don’t like when meals take longer than that to cook. I plan on making some soups, lots of pasta, and I will be using my slow cooker a lot!
CopyKat Gnocchi Soup – This is my second favorite thing to order at Olive Garden (after the salad of course) and I am so happy to have a recipe so I can make it myself
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili I have made this already and it’s fantastic! It’s filling and healthy and it warms you up which is perfect for November.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta This is one of our favorite things to make at home, it’s quick and delicious. It also makes a lot of leftovers. I love it!
Snacks- apples and peanut butter, veggies and hummus, I love having smoothies as a snack, almonds, greek yogurt and fruit. Yes, I am one of those annoying healthy snack eaters.
Supplies:
Pens
Highlighters
Dictionary/Thesaurus- I like having a physical copy, it minimizes the potential for internet distractions. Ignore the travel writing reference books, those are from when I wanted this blog to be a travel blog and I was given these as Christmas gifts. Despite how dusty it is, The Only Grammer Book You’ll Ever Need is so incredibly helpful! I love it.
Notebooks
Laptop
Prompt Jar- A while ago I searched for writing prompts on Pinterest. I picked out my favorites and printed them all out and now they reside in this jar. So if I’m writing and I get stuck, I’ll pull out a writing prompt and start writing from there.
note cards- I outline with note cards and then tape them to a huge poster board for a visual guide of how I would like my story to go.
Flash drive- think of a flash drive as an insurance policy. It ensures that your work will not be lost. You absolutely do not want to lose your work.
Character worksheets- I discovered these through Pinterest as well, they’re little questionnaires for your characters. The more you know about your characters the more life like they are to your readers. I like having these nearby for a multitude of reasons; they help me see how a character is more likely to react in a situation.
My story: I honestly don’t know what story I am going to do yet, I have a draft of one story that I worked on during NaNoWriMo last year, that story is 12,000 words in so I’m trying to decide if I want to take on that story do I add on the 50,000 word goal onto the existing 12,000?
or.
I have another story idea in the making, I have some characters ready, some situations and scenarios but no plot, which sucks because I love this character that I created but I don’t know how to tell her story yet.
Eventually I want to start posting my short stories to Wattpad, and eventually, I want to enlist some other book bloggers to read my big WIP, and give some constructive criticism. My goal is to start that hopefully in the new year.
I’m hoping to post updates weekly where I’ll talk a little bit about my story and also I’ll probably talk about the meals I’ve made, probably review the Death Wish Coffee, and anything else that has been on my mind.
So that’s it for my NaNoWriMo prep kit, I still have a couple things to take care for my stories, like decide and outline. But I’ll get there.
Thank you for reading!
If you’re participating in NaNo leave your buddy name down below in the comments so we can be buddies! If you are participating good luck, may the force be with you, and I wish for all the words to come to you!
If you are participating good luck, may the force be with you, and I wish for all the words to come to you!
Take care,
Cassidy
Top Ten Tuesday: Halloweenish TBR
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish
October 25: Halloween related freebie: ten scary books, favorite horror novels, non-scary books to get you in the Halloween/fall mood, bookish Halloween costumes, scariest covers), scary books on my TBR, etc.
Real talk real quick: I’ve been listening to the Nightmare before Christmas soundtrack all day, Nightmare has got to be my favorite Halloween movie and I can belt out This is Halloween like no one’s business!
My favorite holiday of the entire year is Halloween, however, I don’t like anything scary. I don’t go see horror movies, I don’t read scary/horror books (slightly creepy/thriller are fine). I’ve had to leave the room because of a scary movie trailer. I know, I’m kind of a wuss.
So my Halloween TBR doesn’t have any really scary books or anything that I think are going to scare or creep me out. These are just books that I’ve had in mind that I would read them around this time of year.
My Halloween TBR
Netflix and Books tag
I came across this tag from Amber at Only True Magic
Tag Rules:
- Choose a book or book series that best matches the prompt provided.
- Feel free to change the TV show if you’d like it to reflect YOUR preferences!
- A blank set of the prompts is located at the very bottom.
- Link back to the creators, Christy at Novel Ink and Lauren at Bookmark Lit, and tag some friends to join in!
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: unlikeable character(s)
I hated almost all the characters in the Ruby Red trilogy, there’s the spoiled rotten cousin, the bitchy-borderline-verbally-abusive aunt, the asshole of a love interest, the whiney and passive MC. Ugh. I hated these characters.
Vampire Diaries: your ship sank or didn’t happen
Crown of Midnight. I don’t wanna talk about it.
Friends: best cast of characters/friendships
I love the Six of Crows gang! They are #squadgoals
Gossip Girl: hate that you love or guilty pleasure
I used to really love the It Girl spinoff of Gossip Girl. It definitely was a guilty pleasure and I think it started my love for boarding school settings in books.
Doctor Who: long series you loved
Harry Potter, how can I not go with this one?
Grey’s Anatomy: all the feels
A Court of Mist and Fury. It was a very close call between ACOMAF and Lady Midnight
How I Met Your Mother: bad ending
The House of Night series, I think this could be a guilty pleasure because I feel like I was one of the few people who liked this series and since I’ve finished the series I tried to reread them and just can’t now, ugh. Now that I’ve read it with a more critical eye I have lots of issues with the series and my biggest issue is actually slut shaming. Not a fan.
Supernatural: favorite paranormal/fantasy
Game of Thrones is my favorite fantasy series ever
Freaks & Geeks: left you wanting more
Vicious by Victoria Schwab. Just give me more Victor and Mitch and Sydney…that’s all I want!
The OC: series that should have ended earlier
Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead
I love it when I read it but overall I think the series dragged on longer than it should have.
Girl Meets World: should have a spin-off
Manon from Throne of Glass! Give the girl her own series!!
That 70’s Show: set in a different time period
Legend by Marie Lu
Legend is a dystopian set in a future America that is divided in a civil war that literally split the country in half.
Orange is the New Black: couldn’t stop reading
Vampire Academy. I binged on this series in less than a week. Loved!
Lumberjanes Vol 1
Parks and Recreation: made you laugh out loud
Lumberjanes. I love this comic so much I was dying with laughter which sucked for my bf because I read it in bed one morning while he was still asleep and I was trying to be quiet but I was shaking I was laughing so hard while trying to be quiet. Once he fully woke up and read the comic he understood lol 🙂
One Tree Hill: favorite book boyfriend
Outlander. Jaime Fraser!
Let’s be real, he is bae!
Breaking Bad: favorite villain
Cersei Lannister.
Overall I hate her but I love her and that makes her a great villain in my eyes.
I tag
Dee at the Bookish Khaleesi
Ashly at sociallyawkwardbookworm
Ari at thedaydreamingbookworm
As always you don’t have to do this if you’ve already done it but I look forward to your answers if you do decide to do it 🙂
The Boy Most Likely To: Review
The Boy Most Likely To
by Huntley Fitzpatrick
paperback
448 pages
my rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Synopsis via Goodreads:
The romantic companion to My Life Next Door—great for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.
With bonus Jace and Samantha content in the paperback!
Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house
Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To . . . well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.
For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.
Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this novel is for readers of The Spectacular Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Paper Towns.
My thoughts:
Earlier this year I decided to pick up My Life Next Door and I loved it! I couldn’t stop reading the book at all. I fell in love with all the characters and couldn’t get enough of two characters in particular and by the time I finished reading My Life Next Door, I had just one question. What happened with Tim and Alice?
This book gave me that answer.
I had just finished Crooked Kingdom and was still feeling a bit in shock over the ending, however, I did not want to fall into a reading slump. I decided to pick up this book because I had heard it was cute and fluffy, I figured it would be perfect to try and battle an oncoming reading slump with this book. And it really helped.
The Boy Most Likely To takes place a couple weeks after My Life Next Door ended and everyone is still dealing with the consequences of the situation from MLND. While this was a cute and fluffy read, there were some serious things thrown into the mix and it really enhanced the story.
My favorite parts were some tension filled yet semi-awkward flirting scenes between Tim and Alice and I loved them so much! I couldn’t get enough of those. Those are my favorite flirting scenes; a little awkward and filled with romantic tension. Delightful.
These characters had some of the best character development I’ve seen in a long time! Watching Tim grow up and start to get his shit together was so great to see, what was even better to see was his desire to become a better person and not for Alice or a girl but for himself and for the situation he found himself in.
Watching Alice learn and realize that she doesn’t have to be in control all the time and that she doesn’t have to be a ballbuster all the time was great for her character development. I loved watching these two people come together and improve themselves and their lives.
While I won’t talk about the ending, I will say that the ending did not end the way that I wanted it to! I’m impressed by how well Fitzpatrick laid out the big situation and how conflicted I was about how I wanted it to turn out. One on hand there was the responsible ending that I should have been rooting for all along but no, I wanted ending B and I was so conflicted about it. It probably would have been irresponsible and impractical but I really wanted it so badly.
The storyline was insane and I am dying to talk to someone about it but I don’t want to give anything away because it was just wonderfully done. I just highly recommend this, I would also recommend reading My Life Next Door first because there are events mentioned and discussed in Boy Most Likely To that took place in My Life Next Door.
WWW Wednesday 10/19/16
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words. Simply answer the following questions:
What have you recently finished reading?
What are you currently reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
What have you recently finished reading?
Vicious by Victoria Schwab
Omg this was insane! I really dragged this out longer than I needed to, at one point I just read 20 pages in the day because I didn’t want it to end at all! This was so good and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it.
What are you currently reading?
The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
I’m buddy reading this with Dee @bookishkhaleesi I’m really looking forward to see how things end but I’m scared that Marie Lu is going to rip my heart out!
What do you think you’ll read next?
Gemina by Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff
Im so excited to get to this book, I really liked Illuminae and I think that this book is going to be even better!
Dewey’s 24 hr Readathon TBR
It’s finally that time for The Dewey’s 24-hour readthon! This maybe one of my favorite readathons that I’ve participated in, I always have so much fun and I’m always so sad once the day is over.
During the last readathon in April, I read 2.5 books and I think I can do more this time around. I ended up choosing some shorter books and I made sure that I’ll have options if I start to read a bit slowly. The only two I’m thinking that I won’ get to or finish are The Unfaithful Queen and Of Neptune since they’re the books with the most pages.
Top Ten Tues: Names I would try to name my child after.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish
October 18: Ten Characters I’d Name A Child/Dog/Cat/Car/Etc.
I don’t have any kids nor am I planning to have any kids, but this was fun to think about and imagine which fictional characters I would try to name my offspring, even though my bf would not let any of these names happen at all.
Arrow — “Heir to the Demon” — Image AR213a_0553b — Pictured: Katrina Law as Nyssa al Ghul — Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW — © 2014 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Girls:
Nyssa from Arrow
Adelina from The Young Elites
Inej from Six of Crows
Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Ivy- Poison Ivy
Boys:
Draco from Harry Potter
Steve or Chris- Captain America
Darrow- Red Rising
Dean or Jensen- Jensen Ackles
Carswell – The Lunar Chronicles
The Little Book Cottage 