Snapshots from Ireland

That's right, I was in Ireland! This past weekend, me and a friend flew to Ireland for three days to explore Dublin and took a bus trip all the way through the country to the Cliffs of Moher. The whole trip is still surreal since I had not even been out of the country until almost a month ago. Did I really get to go to Ireland? Yes I did! And I am very pleased to report that Ireland was absolutely breathtaking and has now become my new favorite country :)

My favorite part of the weekend had to have been the bus trip we took on Sunday to the Cliffs of Moher. We left Dublin at 7am, stopped for a walking tour of Galway, made a few more stops at some castles and ruins along the countryside, and ended up at the Cliffs of Moher (where Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and The Princess Bride were filmed). There were so many cows, sheep, and horses all along the land and everything was so green and just beautiful. I spent the entire bus ride with my nose pressed against the glass, trying to take in everything I was seeing. I had no idea Ireland was that beautiful, and I'm already dreaming of going back and spending even more time in the country. 

And what else can make a trip a success than absolutely delicious food? For dinner on our first night in Dublin, I had a steak pie and it was so yummy. The dish was warm, savory, and my stomach was one bundle of joy when the meal was over. Then, for dessert, we stopped by a crepe store called Half Moon Crepes and my friend and I split the marshmallow crepe, which had nutella, marshmallow, and vanilla ice cream. It was huge and oh-so-delicious. So after a filling authentic Irish dinner and crepe dessert, I was definitely happy with the food selection Dublin had to offer. 

Last, but definitely not least, I had to make sure I had some good old Fish and Chips while I was in Ireland. There's an Irish Pub by my house where I always buy Fish and Chips from, so I wanted to have an authentic Irish version to compare. Of course, I completely loved it and thought the one I got in Dublin was even better than the one from home. Did I mention that this makes it four times I've gotten Fish and Chips since I've been abroad? Haha, you could say it's my favorite food :) My last meal in Dublin was the perfect way to end off an incredible weekend that I will never forget. 

Being abroad has been so amazing and I could not be more thankful for this experience. I've been able to do so much in London and now that I've visited Ireland, I can't wait to see what else the world has to offer. I'm off to the Harry Potter London Studio Tour on Friday and I am over the moon excited. I'm eagerly counting down the days, minutes, seconds, until I get to have yet another life changing experience on this trip. See you at Hogwarts!

Waiting On Wednesday (95)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of!

Wild Cards

By Simone Elkeles 

Release Date: October 1, 2013

Summary: After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

Do I really need to explain myself on this one? It's Simone Elkeles. I know I'm going to love it! But when the cover was released, I was so excited because it looks awesome! And this one has to do with football? A girl playing football? Sounds like it's going to be a great read and I don't know how I'm going to wait until October to read it!

Top Ten Tuesday: Beach Reads

This is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week bloggers share a list of books for the prompt given. So hopefully I'll have a new list to share with you all each week!

This Week's Topic: Top Ten Beach Reads

My family and I go to the beach for vacation every year, and it's absolutely glorious. I always have to make sure to pack a ton of books, though, because reading on the beach is one of my favorite activities to do while I'm there. We aren't going until the end of July, though, so I have awhile to pick out the books I'd love to read on the beach. When choosing my books, I tend to pick more light, fun ones. So, I decided to compile a list of books that I've read that I would have definitely taken on the beach with me if I haven't done so already. Okay! Here we go...

1. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

2. Slammed by Colleen Hoover

3. Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald

4. One Day by David Nicholls

5. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

6. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

7. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

8. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

9. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

10. Thoughtless by SC Stephens

Weekly Roundup [6/4-6/10]

Hey guys! This week has honestly been one of the best weeks since I've been here in London. On Wendesday, I went on an overnight trip to Stratford where I stayed at a gorgeous Shakespearean hotel, ate delicious fish and chips, and got to see a performance of As You Like It and Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Then, super early on Saturday I flew to Ireland and spent the day in Dublin. On Sunday, I took a bus trip all across the country of Ireland to the Cliffs of Moher (where Harry Potter 6 and The Princess Bride were filmed). The countryside of Ireland is absolutely breathtaking and I have officially fallen in love with that country. We flew back to London early this morning and I've been trying to catch up on everything I've miss this past week. It's definitely been busy, but I'm having the time of my life! Here's what I did manage to get done over the past week...

Book Reviews

It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Memes

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Featuring Travel In Some Way

Waiting On Wednesday (94)

Follow My Book Blog Friday (90)

Stacking the Shelves (53)

Miscellaneous

Southbank Book Market

Book Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless

By Colleen Hoover

Release Date: December 19, 2012

Source: Own Copy

Summary: Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Review: Holy. Cow. I loved Slammed when I read it last summer, and I've been wanting to read another Colleen Hoover novel ever since, but I've never been able to actually get around to it. Well, I can tell you one thing. I'm a complete idiot for waiting an entire year to read another novel by her because Hopeless blew me away. 

Sky is used to having her emotions turned off when it comes to guys, but when she runs into Holder at the super market, it was like every single nerve in her body was on fire. How could just one look at a guy make her feel that way? After that one meeting, though, Holder keeps on popping up in Sky's life and Sky starts to feel things she's never felt before. But rumors say that Holder's nothing but trouble. And when secrets about both of their pasts start to unravel, Sky has to cope with a past she isn't sure she wants to remember and a boy that's almost as hopeless as she is. 

Let me say it again. Holy. Cow. I knew this book was going to be a great read because it's by Colleen Hoover and it has an amazing Goodreads rating, but I had no idea it would be THAT good. I could not tear myself away from the story for one second because the emotions and secrets would grab ahold of me and I got way to invested to stop reading. How the heck does Colleen Hoover do it?

Starting off with Hope, I absolutely loved her character. She said she does three things in life: Reads, runs, and bakes. Haha, yeah, that's practically my life. So I could easily connect with her and couldn't wait to see what would happen when the impossibly attractive and dangerous Holder comes into her life. You could definitely say Holder is another big reason I loved this novel. He may be moody, emotional, dangerous, and secretive, but he is just too enticing to pass up. I loved him from the moment Sky met him and fell more in love with him after every single page after that. Seriously, he pretty much made the book. 

Not only do the characters add a charm to the story, their attitudes are so real and so perfect for their characters. Sky has so much spunk and I love how she really doesn't care what people say to her. At all. And the way she explains why that is makes perfect sense. She doesn't think she's God's gift to earth like some annoying characters in other novels do, she simply doesn't see why other people's opinions of her, other people she doesn't even know, should matter. And that attitude makes it so adorable when she bickers with Holder. There were such cute scenes between those two on their good days that I couldn't help by sigh in happiness. 

The emotions and surprises, though, are what got me. This book was SO emotional and there were new things coming left and right that there was seriously not a moment to rest when reading this book. Secret after secret was revealed and by the end, every single detail from the beginning of the story made perfect sense in the big picture. Now that takes serious talent from an author. The story came together in such a powerful way with such powerful characters that it was impossible not to become addicted to reading it. 

Everything about this book just grabbed my heart and I still can't get over how amazing it was. I just figured out there's going to be a second book and you can bet I'm going to read that one as soon as I can get my hands on it. All I can say is that Colleen Hoover seriously rocks. If you haven't, you HAVE to read this book right now. You have no idea what you're missing out on!

Stacking the Shelves (53)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what they got throughout the week!

From Netgalley/Edelweiss

Words can't even begin to describe how excited I was when I got an email that I was accepted to review these two books. I have been a Simone Elkeles fan for forever and it's been way too long since a new book of hers has come out. So I can't wait to read a new one! And I loved Rainbow Rowell's latest book Eleanor & Park, so I'm excited to see how this new one turns out to be. The only bummer is that both of these come out in September, so I either have to wait to read them to post my review them, or devour them now and not share about them for another 3 months....oh the dilemma! 

From charity bookshop

I absolutely love this movie, so when I saw the book in a little charity shop in Stratford, England for just over a pound, I decided to go ahead and get it. I've wanted to read it for so long but I've always got other books I want to take out of the library before this one. Maybe now that I own it, I'll be able to get to it in the near future. 

That's it for me! What did you all add to your shelves this week?

Book Review: It Happened One Midnight by Julie Anne Long

It Happened One Midnight

By Julie Anne Long

Release Date: June 25, 2013

Source: Edelweiss

Summary: More than one beautiful woman’s hopes have been dashed on the rocky shoals of Jonathan Redmond’s heart. With his riveting good looks and Redmond wealth and power, the world is his oyster—until an ultimatum from his father and a chilling gypsy prophesy send him hurtling headlong toward a fate he’ll do anything to avoid: matrimony.

Intoxicating, elusive Thomasina de Ballesteros has the bloods of London at her feet. But none of them knows the real Tommy—the one with a shocking pedigree, a few too many secrets, and a healthy scorn for rakes like Jonathan.

She is everything Jonathan never wanted. But on one fateful midnight, he’s drawn into Tommy's world of risk, danger…and a desire he’d never dreamed possible. And suddenly he’s re-thinking everything...including the possibility that succumbing to prophesy might just mean surrendering to love.

Review: I haven't read any of Julie Anne Long's books before, but one look at the covers of her novels and I knew I had to pick one up. When I had the opportunity to review her newest book, the eighth book in the Pennyroyal Green series, I jumped at the opportunity. Who wouldn't want to read a book with that amazing, enchanting cover?

Jonathan Redmond is used to living the luxurious life with his good looks and family money. But when his father threatens him to get married to a respectable woman or else he'll cut him off, Jonathan has to find a solution, and fast. And Thomasina de Ballesteros is definitely NOT that solution. Witty and intoxitating, Tommy keeps Jonathan on his toes from the moment he meets her in the dead of night, spying on a Duke. Jonathan knows Tommy has secrets, and he can't help but be drawn in to her dangerous world. Soon he finds himself falling for her, but could a wild, passionate girl like Tommy ever fall for a guy like Jonathan? And even so, could Jonathan ever win the approval of his father with a girl like Tommy? 

One look at the cover, and I thought I was in for a steamy romance between Tommy and Jonathan. I think that's why I was so disappointed when I was over 100 hundred pages into the novel and they hadn't even shared a first kiss. Tommy and Jonathan's relationship was much more tender and slow-going than what i would have liked. With two people who were portrayed to be such passionate, emotional beings, they sure didn't know how to share their passion with someone else. 

The story was really interesting with the whole child labor in factories that Tommy was trying to stop. But that seemed to be really the only thing the novel focused on. That, and Jonathan trying to get into the printing business and prove his father wrong. For a novel to focus solely on those two aspects, though, made things move very slowly and I wasn't all too interested. I wanted a book that would keep my on the edge of my seat, eyes glued to the page as passion erupted from the main characters. Instead, I got an okay relationship where the plot was focused more on the problems of society, not the characters themselves. 

When I finished this one, I was sort of happy it was all over. Not a lot really happened and the story moved so slowly that I just wanted to move onto something else. I wish there was more fire in the romance and that the romance was more central to the beginning of the plot. Their relationship was cute in the fact that they gradually learned to trust and fall for each other, but I didn't want cute. If you're going to have that cover and claim to be a historical romance, I want a relationship and passion that I won't be able to tear myself away from. Oh well, I guess this one just wasn't for me. I'm not sure how this one compares to her other books, but hopefully I get the chance to pick up a different Julie Anne Long novel and find some real romance there.