Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan

Love and Other Foreign Words
Erin McCahan
Stand Alone
Young Adult Contemporary
ebook, 336 pages
1st May 2014 by Penguin Group 

Goodreads Ratings : 3.9/5
My Rating : 4/5

Can anyone be truly herself--or truly in love--in a language that's not her own?

Sixteen-year-old Josie lives her life in translation. She speaks High School, College, Friends, Boyfriends, Break-ups, and even the language of Beautiful Girls. But none of these is her native tongue--the only people who speak that are her best friend Stu and her sister Kate. So when Kate gets engaged to an epically insufferable guy, how can Josie see it as anything but the mistake of a lifetime? Kate is determined to bend Josie to her will for the wedding; Josie is determined to break Kate and her fiancé up. As battles are waged over secrets and semantics, Josie is forced to examine her feelings for the boyfriend who says he loves her, the sister she loves but doesn't always like, and the best friend who hasn't said a word--at least not in a language Josie understands.

Leon of Bookalicious suggested me this book few months ago, saying that this is my type of book. "You will love it," he said. I read the blurb and I replied, "Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know." I wasn't interested at the time. 

Today, 19th November 2015, I decided to give it a try and now all I can say is, "Leon knows me well."

Love and Other Foreign Words is about a girl named Josephine "Josie" who is a 15-going-16 high school girl and also a fast-track college girl (Shes THAT genius.) ((The book will explain to you about her school life)). She has a different view about the world, like genius people would. (Think Don Tillman of The Rosie Project but less weird). Josie loves languages and she has her own way to interpret words and languages. 

“I can speak the languages of lots of groups and learn others with some ease, but no matter how fluent I am, when I'm not speaking Josie, I am merely acting. We all are when we interact outside of our natural cultures. It is inevitable, because it is impossible to be fully yourself in a foreign language.” - Josie

The story starts with Josie who disagrees with her sister Kate over the guy Kate chooses to marry, saying that Kate is making a mistake. She tries to make her sister understands that George with a silent p is the wrong man for her while Kate disagrees and says that Josie knows nothing about love. And now we have a story.

One thing by the way, ISNT THE COVER JUST SCREAMS CUTE ?!!!!

Moving on.

Josie is a weird girl. She sometimes comes of as a genius & funny but other times shes just plainly irritating but tolerable-and-can-still-be-loved kind of irritating. Sometimes shes rude and too much. Its just who she is and she cant help it. Shes not perfect and I get that about her. I feel for her, though. Cant say that she and her feelings are relatable to me but I can definitely feel her. I feel her in every way possible. I understand her heartaches, her curiosity, her frustration, and I understand her when she's completely numb and clueless. I really really love that connection between me and Josie. 

I love almost all characters in this book. I love Stu (can i have a Stu too, please?), Kate, Maggie, Ross and Sophie. I love the dynamic between Josie&Stu, Josie&Kate, Ross&Maggie&Josie, Josie&Sophie, Stu&Sophie. They totally spiced up the book even more! 

The ending is totally predictable!!! And I really really love it!!!! But I especially love how the author made it seems oblivious yet so obvious with the right amount of sweetness. Its very natural and not so suddenly thrown, if you get me. 

I love love love how the author connects the title of the book with the content of it. Love and Other Foreign Words. This book discusses all the 'foreign' words there is in the most creative way. Most importantly, this book discusses the topic love itself brilliantly because 'love' means A LOT of things. Romantic-love is one thing but family-love and sisterhood-love is another and both parts are excellently delivered by the author.

I read this is in the ebook form and I might just buy the physical book soon, or at least when I have the money to do so. In the meantime, I'm gonna private message all of my friends and force them to read this book. I AM FORCING YOU TO READ THIS TOO, in case if you dont realize it yet.

"Sometimes, people think they are in love when they choose to see in ties, none of the bad ones-- only the qualities they most admire, none of the flaws or the obstacles. “Good becomes perfect, but perfect is an illusion. And illusions are like all spells—temporary and soon broken. And when that happens, feelings change.”

Irresistibly Yours (Oxford #1) by Lauren Layne

Irresistibly Yours
Oxford #1
Lauren Layne
Contemporary Romance
Ebook, 236 pages
6th October 2015 by Loveswept

Goodreads Ratings : 4.08/5
My Rating : 4.5/5

Meet the men of Oxford magazine! In the first captivating spin-off of Lauren Layne’s Sex, Love & Stiletto series, a not-so-friendly battle of the sexes turns into a scorching office romance. Hotshot sports editor Cole Sharpe has been freelancing for Oxford for years, so when he hears about a staff position opening up, he figures he’s got the inside track. Then his boss drops a bombshell: Cole has competition. Female competition, in the form of a fresh-faced tomboy who can hang with the dudes—and write circles around them, too. Cole usually likes his women flirty and curvy, but he takes a special interest in his skinny, sassy rival, if only to keep an eye on her. And soon, he can’t take his eyes off her. Penelope Pope knows all too well that she comes off as just one of the guys. Since she’s learned that wanting more usually leads to disappointment, Penelope’s resigned to sitting on the sidelines when it comes to love. So why does Cole make her want to get back in the game? The man is as arrogant as he is handsome. He probably sees her as nothing more than a barrier to his dream job. But when an unexpected kiss turns into a night of irresistible passion, Penelope has to figure out whether they’re just fooling around—or starting something real.

GAHHHHHHHHH !!!!!

Ok when Cole Sharpe was first introduced in the stiletto series, i didnt like him. but now that i get to read a book full of a charming and irresistible baseball maniac that is Cole Sharpe, I'm totally sold. like 'here, u can have my heart body and mind im willing to give them all' kinda sold. i cant even remember why i didn't like him back then.

Irresistibly Yours is some sort of a spin off series from the Stiletto series. where in sex,love & stiletto we have those stilettos girls, here we have these Oxford guys with all its glory. and i mean glory in every meaning it can carries :p

so this is a typical Lauren Layne's book. You can pretty much guess the plot and everything but its still as good as ever, This book brings a fresh difference though, compared to Lauren other books. Where in stilettos we have Julie, Grace, Riley and Emma who are a bunch of very modern, classy, fierce and confident ladies with bombshell body figures, here in Irresistibly Yours, we have Penelope Pope who is very very very plain appearance and characteristics-wise. Shes not that fierce, pretty vulnerable, full of insecurities (but not to the point of annoyingness), shes short and basically a tomboy!!!!! I find it amazing that i can relate so much with her on the insecurities part and it's refreshing, coming from Lauren Layne.

This book has a lot of heart melting and panty dropping moments but theyre not as strong as Lauren's Stiletto series. Penelope and Cole doesnt have that deep of an intimacy like all the other pairs in Stiletto series has. They're comfortable with each other but the sexual tension isnt that strong with this one. (Although there are 2/3 hot scenes that got me gushing lol) 

BUT THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS GOT ME ALL JITTERY AND I LOVE THOSE JITTERS SO THANKS LAUREN !!!

The next book is gonna be on the devastatingly good looking Lincoln.... which im not feeling him that much yet. Maybe i'll love him soon too like how i did with Cole.

"The thing is, Mathis," Cole said slowly. "Everyone acts like the moment you realize you're in love is the big gotcha moment. But there's actually a moment after that... the one where you realize you could lose the person you love." - Cole Sharpe, Irrestistibly Yours

The Wrath and The Dawn (The Wrath and The Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath and The Dawn
The Wrath and The Dawn #1
Renee Ahdieh
New Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Paperback, 416 pages
12th May 2015 by Putnam

Goodreads Ratings : 4.15/5
My Rating : 4/5

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

The Wrath And The Dawn in my opinion is one of the hardest book to review. 48 hours has passed since I finished reading the book and I’m still not entirely sure what I think of it. I love the book, but I don’t love it. If you think youre confused, I am far more confused than you are, trust me. THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG REVIEW ANYWAY.

So TW&TD is a story between Shahrzad the girl with a strong determination to seek revenge and the mysterious young Caliph of Khorasan, Khalid. I was expecting a lot of stories between stories, you know ? 1001 Nights retelling and all but its not. The book has more to tell than just tales of distractions. It has an element of magic, pure love, understanding, trust and A LOT OF CONFUSION.

To be honest, I struggled with the writing in the first place. It’s a bit twisted that it was hard for me to fathom at one go but I got used to it by the middle of the book. It’s set in the Middle East, so there are a few Arabic terms here and there. There’s a word glossary at the back of the book to help you understand the setting but having to constantly flip the pages isn’t fun at all. In case youre wondering.

“So you would have me throw Shazi to the wolves?”

“Shazi?” Jalal’s grin widened. “Honestly, I pity the wolves.”

Shahrzad (Shazi) is a force to be reckoned with. She’s fierce, strong, determined and she knows how to handle a fight. Basically everyone’s favourite lead character. Khalid on the other hand is very very mysterious. You know when I first read the blurb of the book and there it says ‘boy-king’, I immediately got reminded of Joffrey from Game of Thrones. Boy-king, murders innocent people, heartless. You know it fits. But Khalid and Joffrey is a very different person altogether. Khalid is everything Joffrey’s not. For someone as young as him, hes so mature beyond his age. I love love love him. Slowly in the book, his mysterious character got revealed one by one. And with more things unveiled, I love him even more. (HA YOU’D BE LYING IF YOU DON’T ONCE YOUVE READ THE BOOK)

The main focus of this book is actually the romance. How love changes it all. Khalid and Shazi’s love is profoundly beautiful. It’s built out of trust and understanding which most marriage lost. But most of all, I fell in love with Khalid’s idea of love.

“I want someone who sees beneath the surface-someone who completes the balance. An equal.”

“And how will you know when you’ve found this elusive someone?” Shahrzad retorted.

“I suspect she will be like air. Like knowing how to breathe.” 

I mean, how can someone so strong and heartless SPEAK SUCH WORDS WITH ALL THESE CRAZY INTENSITY ???

 “My soul sees its equal in you.” 

Does he know what his words did to me ?!!?!?!/1

 “Get up, Shahrzad al-Khayzuran. You kneel before no one. Least of all me.”

 JUST HOW ?!!?!?!?!?1?!/!?!?!?!/

This is not fair. Life isn’t fair.  

All swoons aside, I found something unsettling regarding the romance, though. It doesn’t develop well in the beginning in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, they are still good together but while it was developing, something feels wrong to me. Like something is missing from the picture. *SPOILER* Shazi is so determined to kill Khalid right from the start. That determination however is suddenly swayed in a few days by her feelings towards him when hardly NOTHING hugely romantic happened during those 2 days that can result in having a crush so quick, you know ? That process doesn’t settle quite well to me. Maybe I’m the only who thinks that way. Maybe I don’t. *SPOILER ENDS*

There are also a few side stories which in my opinion, are not exactly well-developed. There is Jalal and Despina who should have more stories on them written. I WANT THEIR ROMANCE TOO DAMMIT. There’s also a few magic elements that left me so freaking confused because I understand absolutely nothing. And then there’s Tariq who is Shazi’s boyfriend. I’ve said it before that I don’t deal with love triangles that well so when he comes around I was so irritated  because GET OFF MY SHIP YOU NOSY ASS. He doesn’t do anything wrong hes just trying to get his girl back BUT GOSH DUDE MOVE ON SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU ANYMORE.

In my conclusion, this first part of a duology is a HUGE CHUNK OF CONFUSION. There are still a lot of things left unresolved and unexplained but it still is a good book nonetheless. This book requires a lot of discussion in my opinion, SO EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS BOOK SO I CAN DISCUSS THEORIES AND SOLVE A BIT OF MY CONFUSION WITH YOU GUYS PLEASE !!!

It ends on a bad note, in case if you feel the need to be prepared. If you want it to be a good ending and not feeling all heartbroken or wanting the next book fast (found this advice somewhere, thought I’d share with you), do not read the last 2 chapters. Read it once youre ready to read the second book. Make the last 2 chapters be the first chapter of the book two. Or you’ll be miserable. Like me.

 “We women are a sad lot, aren't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Strong enough to take on the world with our bare hands, yet we permit ridiculous boys to make fools of us." - Renee Ahdieh, The Wrath and The Dawn

A Court of Thorns and Roses ( A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses #1
Sarah J. Maas
New Adult, Fantasy
Paperback, 416 pages
5th May 2015 by Bloomsbury's Children

Goodreads Ratings : 4.34/5
My Rating : 5/5

The breathtaking start to a seductive high-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author of Throne of Glass series.

Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price.

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all.” - Rhysand

WOW. WOW. WOW.

WHAT WAS THAT ?!!?!?1?1?!

ACOTAR is my first book of the highly-praised Sarah J. Maas. I was so afraid to start this to be honest because this fantasy genre isn’t exactly my best forte (Full exception on Harry Potter hehe) What if this book and her writing style isn’t my cup of tea ? What if I would be the minority who wouldn't enjoy this despite all the glory ? But I’m so glad that I took a step and brace myself with whatever possibility that might arise BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ THIS YEAR NO KIDDING. I would come down to say that Sarah J. Maas is the princess of the fantasy world. Considering the queen will always be JK Rowling. But still, YOU KICKED ASS SARAH !!!

ACOTAR is the first installment of the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy. It’s about a 19 years old girl named Feyre (pronounced as Fay-ruh) who killed a soul while she was hunting for food and was being hold captive by a faerie for her crime, only to let herself be fully involved with love, sacrifices and the magic world. Or Faeries world. Same difference.

I love this book. I love the characters, the relationships, the romance, the love triangle, the villains, the world, the setting. EVERYTHING. Feyre is a lead character who doesn’t have any special abilities. Most of her success are purely out of luck. She’s not Katniss Everdeen nor she is Hermione Granger. Well at least, shes not Bella Swan. Shes your typical girl who is stubborn and wouldn’t listen to orders but shes kind and responsible and knows what she wants. She might be frustrating at times but shes the strong force of this book.

“Because I wouldn't want to die alone, I said,and my voice wobbled as I looked at Tamlin again,forcing myself to meet his stare.Because I'd want someone to hold my hand until the end, and awhile after that.That's something everyone deserves, human or faerie.” - Feyre

One of the things that I really really love about ACOTAR is the romance between Feyre and Tamlin. ITS NOT INSTA LOVE YOU GUYS THANK GOD ! All those books on insta love are making me sick. I love how the romance is built slowly out of trust and not pure lust. It is beautifully developed that I can’t help but to fall in love too.

There is a bit love triangle on the second half of the book and I am really surprised when I found myself liking it. I’m not a fan of love triangles. I have this tendency to hate the other character that disturbs the couple that I shipped. BUT I DON’T HATE RHYSAND. AT ALL. I LOVE HIM EVEN. (to the point of being okay if Feyre-Tamlin didn’t work out and Feyre be with Rhysand instead oops) I found a few people who dislike Rhysand for being a bit rude and stuffs but lol I seem to have no problem of that. Rhysand to me is like Choi Young Do of the Korean drama The Heirs. So far there is no love feelings on Feyre side for Rhysand but I don’t know about the next books. But I would love Sarah J. Maas to death if she built another character later in the trilogy for Rhysand to fall head over heels with. PLEASE DO, SARAH. PLEASE. Please allow Rhysand to have some happiness.

The setting and world building of the Faeries World is beautifully written and descriptive that I can imagine every scene down to every detail. I got too invested and absorbed in this book that I felt like I was there with the characters in every step of their stories. I also found myself having to stop to take a few breath, rubbed my face a few times and just chill BECAUSE THE FEELS WERE OVERWHELMING. I was never left emotionless by this book.

The ending is satisfying with no cliffhanger, but it’s enough to left me wanting the sequel. There are still a few things left unanswered but considering this is the first book of the trilogy, it’s understandable.

There are some obvious weaknesses and flaws that I can point out but I love it nonetheless. This is what I feel about this book so despite whatever bad reviews it may receive by others (which is not that many btw), my feelings are going to stay the same. 

ACOTAR reminds me how much I love reading for the joy it brings me, and for that reason alone, A Court of Thorns and Roses has become one of my best read of 2015.

“I love you,’ he whispered, and kissed my brow. ‘Thorns and all.” - Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses