BURN, REWRITE, REREAD pt 1

We recently asked our goodreads friends for some blog ideas and one gave us the idea for this! Burn, Rewrite, Reread. This has been going around the Booktube community for sometime, but I don't think we've ever seen it done on a blog before. If you've never seen the videos before let us give you a little idea of how it works... The Idea behind it is you put a bunch of books in a jar, then you pull out three at a time, and among the three you pick one you'd be willing to burn, one you'd want to rewrite, and one you'd want to reread. We did 8 rounds so here are our picks.

ROUND ONE

All Our Yesterdays, The 5th Wave, Confess 

Angela:

Burn- All our Yesterdays

Rewrite- Confess

Reread- The 5th Wave

Leah:

Burn- Confess

Rewrite- The 5th Wave

Reread- All Our Yesterdays 

ROUND TWO

The Winner's Curse, Reboot, The Darkest Minds

Angela:

Burn- The Winner's Curse 

Rewrite- The Darkest Minds

Reread- Reboot

Leah:

Burn- The Winner's Curse

Rewrite- The Darkest Minds

Reread- Reboot 

ROUND THREE

Vampire Academy, Ugly Love, Unteachable

Angela:

Burn- Vampire Academy 

Rewrite- Unteachable

Reread- Ugly Love

Leah:

Burn- Vampire Academy

Rewrite- Ugly Love

Reread- Unteachable 

ROUND FOUR

Rush (Maya Banks), Ignite Me, City of Bones

Angela:

Burn- Rush

Rewrite- City of Bones

Reread- Ignite Me

Leah:

Burn- Rush

Rewrite- City of Bones

Reread- Ignite Me 

ROUND FIVE

Requiem, The Kiss of Deception, Raw

Angela:

Burn- Requiem

Rewrite- Raw

Reread- The Kiss of Deception

Leah:

Burn- Raw 

Rewrite- Requiem

Reread- The Kiss of Deception 



ROUND SIX

The Raven Boys, Sea of Stars, Divergent

Angela:

Burn- The Raven Boys 

Rewrite- Divergent 

Reread- Sea of Stars

Leah:

Burn- The Raven Boys

Rewrite- Sea of Stars

Reread- Divergent 

 


ROUND SEVEN

Uninvited, Losing It, The Young Elites 

Angela:

Burn- Uninvited

Rewrite- The Young Elites

Reread- Losing It

Leah:

Burn- Losing It

Rewrite- The Young Elites

Reread- Uninvited 

ROUND EIGHT

The Jewel, White Hot Kiss, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Angela:

Burn- The Jewel 

Rewrite- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Reread- White Hot Kiss

Leah:

Burn- The Jewel

Rewrite- The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Reread- White Hot Kiss


We plan on doing this again in the future. We had so much fun picking out which books we wanted for what. That being said we also wanna mention that just because we said we'd burn a book doesn't mean that we hated it. There are some on this list that we loved and yet still would scarifies over another.

Losing It by Cora Carmack

Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem of her virginity is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible and have a one-night stand. This plan fails when she freaks out and leaves the gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one would believe. The plan fails even harder when she finds out that the man she left is now her new theatre professor. 

Okay so I'm gonna start off by saying that I know I'm going to be in the minority here with my rating... but whatever. Losing It to me was just so/so. I read the whole book in about two hours because it is a really short and quick read, which was nice. I think my main problem with the book though was that I read it after I read Unteachable... so now every time I read a book with a girl who falls in love with her teacher I will forever be comparing it to that book. Unteachable set the bar so high that it'll be near impossible to pass. If I would have picked up this book first I probably would have given it a higher rating. 

The characters however are lovely. Bliss is realistic and believable. She going through the same hurtles anyone her age would go through. Garrick, the professor, was about the same. He sound sound super yummy and could say Sup to me in a bar anytime... BUT their insta-love was a little to much for me to get behind. I felt like there was enough time for them to be dropping L-bombs, but there was nothing behind it to support why they were actually saying it. It didn't feel like the two had any build up, or really even got to know each other before they started saying it. 

I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two of them like I was hoping. The story however does flow smoothly through out and has a great pace. The really isn't much world building (which isn't uncommon for these types of books). I like the sub characters. I like how Cora didn't do a typical class and more of a play and how that all tied the story together. 

My main problem with this book was it's predictability. Everything that happened I saw coming. I never didn't know what was going to happen. Every thing from how they met to how it ended, I knew the play out few pages before hand. The other thing that irked me was the cover of the book... This might seem silly to some but I think most book lovers can agree... I HATE when book covers have people on the front that DON'T match the description of the people in the story... I just don't get it. Like I said, maybe that's just me. 

I'm probably judging this book a little more harsh than I should, because there is no doubt that Cora Carmack  is a talented writer. I will pick up her books in the future and will more than likely like them more than this. Losing It was just in the wrong reading place at the wrong reading time for me. 

5/10 Stars 
-Angela 

(Losing it BookDepository)

Fictional Book Boyfriends Pt 1

 
As you might all know we absolutely love books (I don't know what gave it away), but what you might not know is that when we're reading we like to actually put names with faces. So we thought we would do our spin on "dream-cast" or as some call them "fictional book boyfriends" and pick a few of our favorite titles and show you who we imagined the leading men to be. This might just be my our favorite post ever.

If you want to see the reviews for the books just click the titles and it'll bring you straight to our blog post or Goodread's reviews. 

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson 

One girl on the run. Two men after her. One who was sent to marry her, and one that was sent to kill her. 

We have Theo James as Rafe and Colton Haynes as Kaden.

Unteachable by Leah Raeder

Student and teacher fall in love and must keep their affair hidden.

  
Paul Walker as Evan Wilke. 
 

Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki 

Young solider defense girl who has been wrongfully imprisoned. 

You might have forgotten about him but we sure haven't... Mr. Josh Hartnett as Cole.

Legend Series by Marie Lu 

Young fugitive on the run stands up to the government while trying to save his family.

A young Leonardo DiCaprio as Day.  

Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi

Young Electors son seeks untouchable girl to use as a weapon. 

and once again we give you Colton Haynes as Warner.

 The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Hot infuriating, arrogant, and stab-worthy alien with powers lives next door.  
 

I think we can all agree that no matter how hot, no matter how steamy, no matter smexy a guy is he will NEVER live up to Daemon Black standards... BUT in the mean time we guess Sean O'pry can fill in.

Angela's November Reads

Angela's November Reads: 
Hey ya'll! Can you believe it's already December?! Where did the year go? It's insane how fast this year has come and gone. Sorry Leah and I haven't been on for a few days. We've both been so busy with work, family in town, and we both had a few days off for Thanksgiving...That didn't however stop us from doing a ton of reading. 

We will be playing catch up this up coming week and will be posting a lot of reviews for the books we read in November. I read 20 books this month... THAT IS INSANE! Leah and I did a book swap while we waited to do our giant December book hauls. This gave me so many new and amazing things to read. Below is the list of everything I got my hands on and read in November. If there is already a review up for it you'll be able to click the titles and go straight to the reviews. If there isn't a review for them there will be soon!

A Thousand Pieces of You: Claudia Gray

Pure (Covenant 2): Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Chaos of Stars: Kiersten White
Beautiful Bastard: Christina Lauren
Under Different Stars: Amy Bartol
Fire in the Woods: Jennifer M. Eaton
The 100: Morgan Kass
Wallbanger: Alice Clayton
The Retribution of Mara Dyer: Michelle Hodkins
Unteachable: Leah Raeder
The Ring and the Crown: Melissa de la Cruz (broke up with)
Mystic City: Theo Lawrence
The Program: Suzanne Young
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven cycle 3): Maggie Stiefvater
The Dream Thieves (Raven Cycle 2):  Maggie Stiefvater
In the Afterlight (Darkest Minds 3): Alex Bracken
These Broken Stars: Amie Kaufman &  Megan Spooner 
Beg: C.D Reiss
The Black Mage: Rachel E. Carter
The Jewel: Amy Ewing

As far as the best books I read this month hands down they have to be Under Different Stars by Amy Bartol, Unteachable by Leah Raeder, The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins, and The Program by Suzanne Young. All four of those books have reviews on our blog and links are above. These four books have stolen my heart. Each was so different from the last and really made my November reading amazing. Of all four though Under Different Stars would be my top pick. It is the start of a new series (The Kricket Series) and I believe book two comes out in March so if you haven't had a chance to pick it up there's still time. And if you haven't read my review on it there's still time for that too! It's spoil free and amazing (not to toot my own horn lol).

When it came to books that disappointed me this month some of them were Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater, The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White, Beg by C.D Reiss and The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz. I know that I'm in the minority when it comes to Blue Lily, Lily Blue and I'm okay with that, and TR&TC is the only book I had to break up with this month. It had to many POVs and randomness to it I found it hard to connect too. BUT the biggest let down was Mystic City by Theo Lawrence I was so excited to read it. Everything from it's cover too it's description looked amazing. Sadly it wasn't. I already have a review up for it on the blog and the link is above like the others.

So yeah I guess you could say that November was a little heavier on the blah reads side, but the books that I loved this month really made it become one of my favorite months this year.
This week or next I will be posting my reviews for The Jewel, The Black Mage, Pure, and Beg. I can't wait to start my end of the year reading and wrap up!

Unteachable: Leah Raeder

Maise O’Malley is an eighteen-year-old high school senior. All Maise wants is for her mother to be her mother. To get into film school. And to not screw everything up. When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their connection is like no other. However Maise only does hookups, no relationships. After their wild random hookup she can't seem to get Evan out of her head...
 It makes it even harder to get someone out of your head when they turn out to be your new film teacher.
 Maise and Evan try to stay away from each other, but that is easier said than done. People start to notice, rumors fly, and the truth will slowly be revealed.

“Part of falling in love with someone is actually falling in love with yourself. Realizing that you're gorgeous, you're fearless and unpredictable, you're a firecracker spitting light, entrancing a hundred faces that stare up at you with starry eyes.” 

What did you just do to me Leah Raeder?!?! Was my heart just beautifully broken?? I think so. 

Unteachable is about a student and a teacher falling hopelessly in love. Emphasis on the hopeless part. Saying that Maise is an average teen would be a lie. Forced to grow up at an early age and take care of herself, she sees things different than most people her age. She also seeks out older male lovers to fill the void of a male figure in her life since her father left her. A void that she says "can only be filled with dick.". Maise is a ball of cocky attitude and insecurities. She is a character that you wouldn't think you would find funny, but with her F this attitude you'll find yourself loving her. As far as NA protagonist go she feels more real than any other leading ladies I've never met recently. 

 

After a steamy evening at the carnival with a man who instantly takes her breath away she discovers him to be her new film teacher. Instead of calling things off they take to seeing how far they can push their relationship.

Mr. Evan Wilke is the 32-year-old heartthrob teacher that was all passion and mystery. Despite finding out that he is her teacher he can't stay away from her. They end up sneaking school make-out sessions and hot mini sexy getaways together. Evan is all sorts of adorable. I'm use to the leading males in NA novels being cocky, rude, and a lot of times controlling. It was refreshing to have him be the super vulnerable one. He had me hardcore swooning with his way with words so much during this book.

“...You should love something while you have it, love it fully and without reservation, even if you know you'll lose it someday. We lose everything. If you're trying to avoid loss, there's no point in taking another breath, or letting your heart beat one more time. It all ends." His fingers curl around mine. "That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths.”   

Seriously, stop being so perfect and breaking my heart Evan! 

As the relationship builds and as the characters spend more time together you start to slowly question the motives of the relationship. You are left wondering what's keeping their relationship going. Is it the love or the forbidden-ness that is holding it together? Along with the amazingly built characters came the wonderfully lyrical written romance scenes. And there are A LOT of steamy scenes in this book. 

My face basically looked like this the whole time

We're talking next level hot. 

As much as I loved the two main characters this story did however have a few flaws. Towards the middle of this book the story kind of drifts too this odd side story. It involves her mom and some random side characters, Hiyam and Park. I really didn't enjoy any of them. I wanted to feel a little more connection to her mother, but was left wanting more. Even knowing the connection would be one of negativeness I still wanted it. I did love when she finally starts to take control of her life and tells off her B of a mom.

 She stared at some central point on my face, not quite my eyes. "This how I raised you? To make fuckin' threats about disowning me?" "No," I said quietly. "This is how I raised me." 

Hey mom, need some help with that BURN! 

The side character I did like was Wesley. He was so cute and I was hoping him and Maise would end up together. The witty and real dialogue they zap back and forth between each other is amazing. The plot of this story was so strong that it more than made up for the few tiny flaws. Even though I figured out the "big twist" before it happened the way it was presented still had me flipping and failing everywhere screaming "NOOO!! I DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE REAL! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE RIGHT!!! WHY???!!"

Laeder's writing style was amazing, breathtaking, and unforgettable. The way she perfectly twisted in a movie theme, that now has me loving Casablanca even more, and the way Maise uses past tense in her mind was something I found so interesting. The ending of this story left me with so many feelings. It gave me the perfect combination of wanting more and being completely satisfied. This might have (even from my description) sounded like just another F'd up love story, but it was so much more than that. It was of loneliness, desperation, and about how hard it is to grow up. If you're a fan of Colleen Hoover's Slammed or Tabitha Suzma's Forbidden then you'll love Unteachable.

9/10 Stars 

-Angela