BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY SEVEN

IT'S OVER! WE'VE DONE IT!
On the last day of the booktube-a-thon, I finished...

It's Not Summer Without You - Jenny Han

This is the second book in the Summer Trilogy by Jenny Han and I love this series so much! I finished off this book by reading the last 175 pages on day 7.

After that, I went straight onto the last book...

We'll Always Have Summer - Jenny Han

This was an absolutely beautiful ending to an amazing trilogy that I really and truly adored! I read the book in its entirety on day 7, which was 300 pages exactly. By finishing this trilogy, I have successfully completed the challenge to start and finish a series! Nailed it!

LET'S LOOK AT THE FINAL STATS.

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 3: 362 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 4: 414 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 5: 165 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 6: 377 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 7: 475 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ THROUGHOUT THE BOOKTUBE-A-THON: 2153 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 8

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 7 

THE CHALLENGES:
1. READ A BOOK WITH PICTURES (DELTORA QUEST GRAPHIC NOVEL) ✓
2. START AND FINISH A SERIES (THE SUMMER TRILOGY) ✓
3. READ A BOOK WITH RED ON THE COVER (DELTORA QUEST GRAPHIC NOVEL) ✓
4. READ A BOOK SOMEBODY ELSE PICKED OUT FOR YOU (PROPHECY OF THE GEMS) ✓
5. READ A BOOK FROM THE GENRE YOU'VE READ THE LEAST OF THIS YEAR (PETER PAN) ✓
6. READ AND WATCH A BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATION (PETER PAN) ✓
7. READ 7 BOOKS - 1. SWEET RECKONING 2. PETER PAN 3. TIGER LILY 4. DELTORA QUEST GRAPHIC NOVEL 5. THE PROPHECY OF THE GEMS 6. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY 7. IT'S NOT SUMMER WITHOUT YOU 8. WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE SUMMER ✓

YAY! How did you guys go during the booktube-a-thon?

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY SIX

Hey friends!
So on day 6 of the booktube-a-thon, I started and finished...

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Wowowowowow I LOVED this book! I read it in its entirety which is 276 pages and I loved every second of it! Once I finish the entire trilogy, I'll definitely be doing a series review! I read this book as part of the challenge to start and finish a series, so that was one book down, two to go!

Obviously after finishing that, I started reading...

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

This is the second book in the Summer Trilogy and on day 6 I managed to read 101 pages of it :)

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 3: 362 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 4: 414 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 5: 165 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 6: 377 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR: 1678 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 6

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 5

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY 5

On day five I finished...

The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor

I read the last 165 pages of this and that's all I read unfortunately, but I really enjoyed it and you can read my full review here. I read this book to complete the challenge of reading a book that someone else picked out for you and my best friend Britney picked this for me! Another challenge down!


TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 3: 362 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 4: 414 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 5: 165 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR: 1301 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 5

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 5

BOOK REVIEW | THE PROPHECY OF THE GEMS BY FLAVIA BUJOR

The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor

Genre: Children's Fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★

Click here to go to this books' goodreads page!

Goodreads Summary:
In a magical realm, three teenage girls-Jade, Opal, and Amber-are chosen to fulfil an ancient prophecy. Although they meet as strangers, they must learn to trust one another with their lives as they embark on an epic journey, armed only with magical stones. On the day of their fourteenth birthdays, they set out on a quest that will require them to leave their homes and families to face fierce enemies in an effort to save an enchanted land called Fairytale, where magic reigns and evil is unknown. At the same time, in a parallel world, a young girl named Joa fights for her life in a hospital bed in Paris. While she is dreaming, she is transported to a magical realm where three young heroines fight a spectacular battle. Their success or failure will determine the fate of Fairytale.and Joa's survival. In 2002, Flavia Bujor became a media sensation around the world with this much heralded debut. Her novel has now been published in more than twenty-one countries and remains a bestseller in France and Germany. Her spontaneous, inspired voice and richly imagined world make The Prophecy of the Stones a truly enchanting fantasy.

First things first, I just want to point out that the author of this book first started writing it when she was 12 and by the time she was 14, it was a published book. Just let that sink in for a moment..........

WOW. The fact that a 12 year old can come up with such a cool idea and then put pen to paper and create a 400+ page book that is good enough to be published just blows my mind! 

This is only going to be a short review because I don't really have much to say, so here it is.
I loved this book. The idea, the characters and the execution of the plot were all amazing for her age. However, because of her age, I felt as though I would have enjoyed this book so much more if I was younger, because that's just how it's written. It was quite predictable and the writing was a bit juvenile at times but what do you expect? It was written by a 12 year old who is extremely talented to be able to create this amazing piece of work that I believe should be read by all children because it's just such a great fantasy story that incorporates friendships, adventure, fantasy, magic and all those good things that children LOVE. 

I highly recommend this to anyone with kids or teachers or anyone who wants a great fantasy middle grade story, really! It was excellent and I commend Flavia for having such beautiful writing and an really enjoyable story at such a young age! Brilliant!

BOOK REVIEW | TIGER LILY BY JODI LYNN ANDERSON

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling/ Fantasy

My Rating: ★★★ 

Click here to go to this books' goodreads page!

Goodreads Summary:
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . . 
Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell. 
Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter. 
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

I had such high expectations going into this book and I soooo wanted to love and adore it but I have to say, unfortunately I was slightly disappointed. This is a beautifully written retelling of Peter Pan, but a lot of things didn't add up with the real story of Peter Pan, and I know that this is a retelling and things are changed in retellings, but there were some things that I just couldn't get past in my opinion. I don't know why, but I was expecting the exact same story, but with bits that we didn't see in the real book that ultimately made Peter Pan who he is, but all of the characters were so different and Anderson changed the ending to the book completely! It was almost a totally different story! This is where I was let down. 

The writing was beautiful though and I loved the individuality of Tiger Lily and her father as characters, but I just couldn't move past the fact that everything was vastly different to the original. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the world building and the pictures that the author managed to effortlessly conjure up in my head and found that the characters of Tiger Lily's tribe were all really interesting and different to read about. 

I don't really have much else to say except that I would still definitely recommend this book, but don't go into it expecting a different side of the same Peter Pan story, as this one is extremely different to the original. 

BOOK REVIEW | PETER PAN BY J.M. BARRIE

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Genre: Classics, Childrens

My Rating: ★★★★

Click here to go to this books' goodreads page!

Goodreads Summary:
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell lead the three Darling children over the rooftops of London and away to Neverland - the island where the lost boys play. Magic and mischief is in the air but if villainous Captain Hook has his way, before long someone will be swimming with the crocodiles...

I'm not a fan of classics and I usually find the writing confusing and hard to understand at times, but I love the story of Peter Pan so I decided to give this one a go and I'm so glad I did! This book was first published in 1902, well over 100 years ago! I can only imagine what the reaction was when Barrie came out with a crazy children's story like this one! 

First things first, the writing was really odd and at times I found myself thinking that if I had never seen the movie, I would actually have had no idea what was going on in the book. The way it was written (especially in the first few chapters) was in a way that made me, as a reader, question whether what I was reading was actually happening or if it was just a metaphor or just something else completely weird altogether. I found that once there was more dialogue and it got further into the story, it became easier to follow and to understand where the story was going plot-wise. 

I loved comparing the differences between this and the movie (the one with Jeremy Sumpter), as so much was different in the book! First of all, Peter Pan was portrayed as more of a disturbed, overly cocky and more of a dark character in the book. There were also quite a few minor differences in regards to the actual storyline, but I won't go into detail!

Overall, I did really enjoy giving this book a go and I absolutely ADORED the ending (another thing that differs from the movie). It broke me but it was so, so beautiful. I loved it. I definitely recommend this one if you're already quite familiar with the story and want to read an entertaining classic as it's quite easy to read and is only just over 200 pages. I ended up giving Peter Pan 4 stars!

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY FOUR

Today was a huge success compared to the first three days! I finished off the last 138 pages of...

Deltora Quest: The Graphic Novel Volume 1

by Emily Rodda & Makoto Niwano

This was awesome! It's the first in a graphic novel series adapted from the Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda which is an AMAZING middle grade fantasy series. I loved this and I gave it 4 stars! By finishing this book I have successfully completed two challenges - to read a book with pictures and to read a book with red on the cover! Success!

After finishing that, I picked up...

The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor

I read 276 pages of this on day four! It's a middle grade fantasy standalone that was written by a 14 year old! Amazing! She started writing it when she was 12! I'm reading this book to complete the challenge of reading a book that someone else picked out for you and my friend Britney picked this one for me to read!

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 3: 362 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 4: 414 PAGES
TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR: 1136 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 4

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 4

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY THREE

Today was a much better reading day for me! After finishing Peter Pan on day 2, I really wanted to go into...

 Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

And I managed to finish this and it was beautiful! I'm planning on writing reviews for both this and Peter Pan very soon. This book didn't count towards any of the challenges, but it was a book that I tacked onto the end of my TBR to make it 7 books, which is the last challenge (to read 7 books throughout the booktubeathon). So we shall see at the end of the booktubeathon whether I have managed to read al 7 books! This book was 292 pages! You can read my review of this book here.

After finishing Tiger Lily, I started...

Deltora Quest: The Graphic Novel Volume 1

by Emily Rodda and Makoto Niwano

This is the first in a graphic novel series adapted from an extremely well known middle grade fantasy series in Australia. It's one of my all time favourite series and so I had to pick up the first graphic novel! On day 3, I read 70 pages of this!

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 3: 362 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR: 722 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 3

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 2

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY TWO

Day 2 was another awful reading day for me as I had appointments and I was reading a classic which is harder for me to read and takes more time. But I did end up finishing...

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

I'm genuinely surprised by this book. I really, really enjoyed it even though the writing was weird and hard to understand at times, I just love the story itself! I ended up giving this 4 stars on goodreads. You can read my review of this book here!

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 2: 195 PAGES

TOTAL PAGES READ SO FAR: 360 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 2

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: 2

BOOKTUBE-A-THON UPDATE | DAY ONE

Day 1 of the booktube-a-thon has come and gone and I'll be honest with you, I didn't do very well. *cries*
I saw some friends in the morning and then I got the hugest headache ever and fell asleep until 8 at night! So by this time, I'd still read nothing, but then I woke up and finished the last 153 pages of...

Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins!

This is the third and final book in the Sweet Trilogy and OH MY GOD THIS BOOK. I CAN'T EVEN.

After finishing that book (which wasn't even part of my original booktube-a-thon tbr) I picked up...

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

This book counts towards two challenges: To read a book from a genre you've read the least of this year (classics) and to read and watch a book to movie adaptation. I only read 12 pages of this and it was really weird but I'm hoping to complete it on day 2!

TOTAL PAGES READ ON DAY 1: 165 PAGES

BOOKS COMPLETED: 1

CHALLENGES COMPLETED: NONE

BOOK REVIEW | Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Genre: YA Contemporary

My Rating: ★★★★★

Click here to go to this books' goodreads page!

Goodreads Summary:
Can Anna find love in the City of Light?
Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she's less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he's taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's waiting for?

I just finished reading this book for the second time and I can say with confidence that I will keep rereading this book until I'm old and wrinkly. Don't let the title and the weird people cover fool you! THIS BOOK IS PERFECT. The two Stephanie Perkins books that I have read are honestly the most perfect YA contemporaries that I have ever read. Seriously. If you look up perfect in the dictionary, a picture of Stephanie Perkins will be there.

This story follows Anna as she's sent off to an American boarding school in Paris, where she meets some amazing new friends and her new best friend, Etienne St. Clair (who she tried not to swoon over but come on, that's impossible when he's the most handsome thing on the planet). If you've read this book, the swoons are taking over at the mention of his name. I know. I know. He's perfectly imperfect. We all know it. Let's move on.

This has everything you could possibly want in a YA contemporary book. It has relatable and flawed characters, amazing friendships, great family dynamics, a FANTASTIC setting, humorous dialogue and the cutest romance you could ever wish for. Everything about this book will make you smile until your face hurts, and guarantee, you won't be able to put the book down! And it's not one of those books that you'll read and then return it to the library, or leave it on your shelf to collect dust forever, NO, YOU WILL WANT TO REREAD IT AS SOON AS YOU FINISH IT. 

That's honestly all you need to know and I could sit here all day and write about how much I love this book and how much I adore Stephanie Perkins' writing and how to creates such realistic characters that actually have depth to them, but I'll just leave it at this and tell you that this book is absolutely brilliant in every possible way. 

Click here to check out my review of her other book Lola and the Boy Next Door!