Early Book Review: Get Real by Tellulah Darling

Author: Tellulah Darling
Series: Get Real #1
Publisher: Te Da Media
Release Date: September 26th
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Get Real is a New Adult romantic comedy with sass, sex, and swoon, set in the world of “Cadabras"–humans with magical powers.

Francesca Bellafiore is a good Jewish girl, living up to family expectations that she use her magic to heal others. Underneath, she’s a wannabe badass with her heart set on becoming a detective and solving magical crimes. But nice girls don't disappoint their moms.

Party boy Rafael Muñoz does everything possible to publicly disappoint his high profile father. Privately, it's a different story. His carefully crafted bad boy reputation masks the fact he’s a master illusionist, forced into solo covert ops. The role is wearing thin and Rafael longs to be part of a team.

When Francesca meets Rafael at a friend's party, she's taken by the sexy stranger. Until he speaks. Beautiful plumage doesn't compensate for spectacular ego. Rafael finds Francesca's sweetness a turn-on. For about five minutes. Judgmental golden girls are more trouble than they're worth. Then a terrified girl with reality warping powers, locked and loaded on their destruction, whisks the pair to Manhattan. Francesca and Rafael are caught in a web of magic, minions, secrets, and enough sexual tension to power NYC. Desperate to prove themselves, their only chance to save the city and survive is to team up, trust each other–and maybe even fall in love.

Provided they don't kill each other first.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Te Da Media and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret that I love Tellulah Darling's books. So it should not surprise anyone that I adored Get Real.

Francesca was such a funny heroine. I loved her sense of duty. I was so sad for her because she was willing to give up her dreams to keep her family traditions alive, but in a way I also understood her and her reasons. I loved her relationship with her friends. I can't wait to read more about her in the next books and see how other characters perceive her.

Rafael....Oh my. He was cute. It was interesting to see things from his perspective too. It also helped me like him a lot, because I feel like I wouldn't have been too fond of him had the story been told only from Francesca's POV. This way I got to understand his reasons and I really felt bad for him.

What was interesting about this book was how the subject of sexual orientation was approached. It didn't give me the impression that it was something out of the norm and it wasn't taboo or something that needs to be kept a secret. Which was great and I really want to read more books like this. It was also refreshing to see how certain relationships are mended in a way, how sometimes we have the wrong idea about a person really close to us and how we can judge them harshly for something they didn't do. Lots of cold truths in there and I really enjoyed that.

At times the story moved a little too fast, but while a bit confusing, it also helped experiencing a little of what Rafael and Francesca were experiencing. I loved the phrases in other languages. It made the characters feel real in a way. It helped that I knew what the phrases meant, I know, but for me it made it real that these characters have a multicultural background.

I did not expect that ending. I really, really want to know what happens next.

Shelf Love: Best Bookish Gifts

Hey guys! This month's topic was best bookish gifts. Hmmm.... This is kind of a difficult topic, because all bookish gifts that I've gotten so far are good. The best one has to be the Harry Potter series. I know, kind of cliche, right?

A photo posted by Ruby (@rubys.books) on Aug 13, 2015 at 2:08pm PDT

A photo posted by Ruby (@rubys.books) on Aug 13, 2015 at 12:46pm PDT

I got the first 6 books from my aunt and uncle every Christmas and they're the best of the best bookish gifts ever. This is probably why I associate Harry Potter with winter and with Christmas and why each year I feel the need to reread it around that time. The last book I got it myself as a HS graduation gift.

What about you? What are the best bookish gifts you ever got?  

*Disclaimer: Photos taken from my Instagram account

Wednesday Chatter #11: Would You Still Like Your Favorites?

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 

I was thinking recently about my reading reading habit and how I love to reread. In the blog post I linked you to I said that one of the reasons I love rereading is because I know the book won't let me down and that I know I'll love the book, since I read it the first time. I stand by what I said, because I have been rereading a lot recently and I did enjoy reading those books. This however is about the books I don't think I'll ever reread, despite having loved them.

There are tons of books that I loved, both books that I've reviewed and that I haven't reviewed. Some I've reread tons of times, like Vampire Academy or Harry Potter or any Sophie Kinsella book. Some, however, I have not. Take Divergent, for example. I loved the first book. I was mildly disappointed with the second. Won't be reading the third one because I don't feel the need to finish the story. And to be honest with you, I don't know if I'll like the book as much as I did the first time.

Another good example is The Two Towers from Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The first time I read it, back in high school, I think I read it in three, four days. Now however, I've been stuck at Frodo and Sam's journey for weeks. It is possible this is because I am so used to reading fast paced books, that that second part of the book is too slow for me right now. 

So my question for you is this: would you like your favorite books if you were to reread them? Or have you found yourself rereading a loved book that you didn't enjoy as much on a second read?

Obsessed With Covers #25: Immortal, Prized, Ember

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

 Gosh, this is so pretty! *makes heart eyes* I love that pendant! I need something so pretty in my life! And the rippling water is so amazing! The details of the water are just gorgeous. Now that I looked more carefully, the entire series has gorgeous covers. I now need to read this book. Badly.










Immortal - Gillian Shields

 This is yer another gorgeous cover. I love the swirls on the door. It makes me think of hobbits. And the smoke is great. I love how everything is surrounded by smoke, except the center of the picture. Also, is that another pendant? (If you can't tell already, I'm obsessed with unique jewelry)

Prized - Caragh M. O'Brien

This cover is so simple and so gorgeous. I love that the butterfly is the only thing that is in color, besides the title and the author's name. I love the font used for the title. And the rain drops add to the feeling of mystery that this cover gives me. The butterfly also looks like it has it's own light.










Ember - Carol Oates



So what about you guys? Did you see any pretty covers this week?

Book Review: The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: N/A
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: Wattpad
Blurb (from Goodreads):

The Dead List is a full standalone novel, coming in at roughly 93,000 words. It’s a Young Adult Romantic Suspense Yes. Lots of Romance. Sort of like Don’t Look Back, but a throwback to movies like Scream and the sort of campy fun ones. Think I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Scream. But with more romance.

There are authors out there that stick with you. They have a certain writing style that you fall in love with and you always feel the need to keep reading their stories no matter what. One of those authors for me is Jennifer L. Armentrout. Something in her writing style makes me want to keep coming back, regardless of what genre she writes in, no matter if it's YA or New Adult. I need to read every book she's ever written.

The Dead List is pretty creepy. You might not know this about me, but I'm not one of those people scared of clowns. I don't particularly like them, but they don't freak me out. If I'm at a carnival and some random dude is dressed as a clown, I don't run away screaming. (I know, I might be the only human that doesn't get freaked out by them...). However, this book managed to make me fear the creatures a little bit.

You can easily figure out that something bad happened to one of the characters. It's in the tone of the story, it makes sense. But what happened and why remained a mystery until the very end for me. I liked the pacing of the book a lot. There's a movie-esque feeling to it, with really important parts being separated by flash-backs.

Ella was an interesting character. I love how JLA wrote her as a strong character. I loved the fact that Ella decides to not be a victim, but instead she chooses to find means to defend herself. Of course, JLA never fails at writing strong women in her books, so this character is no different.

I honestly didn't imagine the ending being what it was. The twists were interesting and really made it feel like I was watching a thriller. I loved this book a lot. I can't wait for more books like this one by Armentrout.

Wednesday Chatter #10: Things Movies and TV Shows Have That Books Need

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Things Movies And TV Shows Have That Books Need
~or in which I prove I'm a huge nerd~

I've been thinking lately about why I love movies and TV shows. Sure, it's about the subject itself, but sometimes it's more than that. It's about all the extra stuff that movies and TV shows get to have. Though it's movies that get the cake (so unfair in certain cases). I know other bloggers have done this, but I thought I'd throw in my own opinion. So without further ado here are things that movies have that I want my books to have as well:

• Video Games

You might not know this about me, but I'm a gamer. I love video games. Epic video games. Big games that occupy a huge chunk of your time. Games like Diablo, Heroes of Might and Magic, Zeus (and other history themed builder games). I remember when I got my hands on the Battle for Middle Earth II I didn't resurface in the real world for...oh, about the entire summer I had it. A friend from high school had given me his game and I was ecstatic. Especially since you could play both as the good guys and as the bad guys and with playing for the bad side I GOT TO HAVE MY OWN BALROG!!!

 

I also remember being very, very pissed off that in Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone I couldn't find all the trading cards. I'm still sore about that one! 

But anyway. Imagine having a Vampire Academy/Bloodlines video game. Where you get to be Rose and train with Dimitri, kick Strigoi ass, travel to Siberia and back, have epic missions, especially the final test from book 4. Or you could be Sydney and get to navigate the world of vampires as an Alchemist. Or even better, you could play as Adrian and aside from being awesome, you could learn how to control Spirit.

Or you could have the Throne of Glass video game and be Celaena and get to kick everyone's ass and you could have Chaol in front of you *dreamy sigh*. Don't even get me started on a Dark Hunter or a Demonica/Lords of Deliverance video game.

 

 
• Deleted Scenes

I know that sometimes, scenes get cut in movies and TV shows, and in some really cool cases, they include some of those on the DVDs. I need this from books too. There are some awesome authors that share some of these deleted scenes, but I need more. I'm greedy!

• Bloopers

My favorite part about TV shows. Bloopers. I live to see bloopers. If they're as funny as the ones from Supernatural, even better. I don't know how this could happen with books, but I'm just throwing it out there, in case someone with much more intelligence than I have can figure this one out.

• Character Interviews

I don't mean like the ones done for blog tours. I mean like the ones where actor pairs (couples in tv shows/movies) do the "Newlyweds" or "Know Your Co-star" type of interviews. I would so, so, so love to see some of my book OTPs do interviews like these.

• Extra Videos 

Here's what I mean by extra videos. I got my hands on a Collector's Edition of The Two Towers (thank you, thrift shops!). And there's tons of videos about how they made some of the sets, how they decided which scenes to include in the movie, how they used the source material for the movie. Same with the Arrow DVD. And many, many other TV shows and movies do this. I know there are Reading guides and Insider's Guides for certain book series, but the ones that I've read so far are basically just a short version of the books themselves. They just go over everything that happened already, without giving any extra material. I want Insider's Guides to have new material. And I don't mean character physical descriptions, either. 

• Epic collector's items

I would do whatever it takes to get my hands on the Lord of the Rings Mattel collector's dolls, just like I would do whatever it takes to get my hands on Amma's (The Caster Chronicles) special tarot cards deck. Or on some Women of the Otherworld dolls and/or wolf figurines. Thankfully, some of the special, book inspired items than one can dream of are on this magical website called Etsy. But I need more.

What about you? What are the things that movies and TV shows get that you want books to have too?