Books, LGBTQIA, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Book Review: The Foxhole Court (All for the Game #1) by Nora Sakavic

18874651you can find the book at:
GoodReads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Author website

my review:
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Having just finished this, I must say that I’m not exactly sure what to say about this book. I didn’t like certain aspects of the novel, but overall plotline interested me enough to actually want to continue the series.

The Foxhole Court focuses on a fictional sport called Exy, which seems like a mix of lacrosse, hockey, and some other sports I can’t quite remember. It’s extremely popular and the only thing that makes Neil happy. But Neil is on the run from his father, an abusive man in the mob, and signing a contract with the PSU Foxes should be the last thing Neil should ever do. The lie that has kept him living for five years begins to break under the pressure of his new teammates and the truth about him could get him killed.

To be honest, it’s hard to explain this whole book because so much happens and would spoil the book immensely. I enjoyed the plot, but I had bigger problems with issues like rape jokes and homophobic slurs within the book that made it uncomfortable to read. I originally gave this book 1 star but it was like 12 at night when I finished it so I slept on it and decided a 3 rating was more suitable. The concept of Exy was interesting to read and despite the weirdness of the plot, I liked how realistic the characters were. (I have the biggest soft spot for Nicky and Kevin) Each character has a fascinating backstory which captivates the reader and makes you love the minor characters even more.

Kindle Edition, 230 pages
Published July 30th 2013 by Smashwords Edition/ Self-published
ASIN: B00E9BLRUI

 

Books, top ten tuesday

5 OTPs & 5 NOTPs

by Zaheerah4 Comments on 5 OTPs & 5 NOTPs

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten accordingly. I should note that since I rushed this weeks post, this is a list of otps/notps that I could think of at time of writing, not a list of my top 5.

OTPs

Ari & Dante | Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe

Darren Shan & Debbie Hemlock | The Saga of Darren Shan

(AKA one of my first ever OTPs but ngl I’m still mad they replaced her with a white girl in the movie. I only shipped them when they were both the same age, it was a bit weird when she was 25 but Darren hadn’t grown up yet – in a physical sense – but the scene where they meet again is so funny)

Patrochilles – Patroclus & Achilles | The Song of Achilles

image
Artist Credit

I’m really glad that in my classics class this year, more of my friends are in it so our conversations somehow turn towards these two almost every lesson. And we’re not even doing The Iliad this year. Honestly, I loved these two soo much in TSOA.

Penryn & Raffe | Angellfall
I can’t find a picture I like of them but these two were really cute and badass together in book one, the others not so much…

Cinder & Kai | Cinder

File:Kai and cinder by taratjah-d8h1rbp.jpg
Okay I wasn’t the worlds biggest fan for them, but they were pretty damn cute in some scenes of the book. And I’m still not over that scene where that robot announced her in front of the entire ball and she was literally covered head to toe in dirt.

NOTPs

Clace – Clary Fray & Jace whatever your last name really was | The Mortal Instruments

Reylo – Rey & Kylo Ren | Star Wars

Okay this isn’t book related but no, just no.

Do they even have a ship name? – Anastasia Steele & Christian Grey | Fifty Shades of Grey

Hessa – Harry and Tessa | After

If you’re wondering why Harry Styles is there, it’s because After was a Wattpad 1D fanfic until it was published. I still can’t believe I wasted a good week and a half of my summer two years ago reading this series on Wattpad because the number of reads it had shocked me and someone online convinced me it got better by book 3. (it didn’t)

Cassie Sullivan & Evan Walker | The Fifth Wave


Tbh I don’t hate these two, I just didn’t understand them and they moved waay too fast and developed really weirdly for me to like them. I haven’t finished the series yet so I don’t even know if Evan returns after the first book and the creation of a love triangle by throwing Ben in at the last few pages really confused me.

Books, Contemporary, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Book Review: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom

28453981you can find the book at:
GoodReads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Author website

my review:

Rating: ★★★☆☆

~ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~

Parker Grant lives by her own set of die-hard rules which she developed over the years, after losing her mother and sight at age 7, and refuses to let anyone treat her differently because of that. But when Scott, otherwise known as Parker Enemy Number One for breaking the most important rule, reappears into her life, Parker is forced to wonder if she was too quick to judge Scott while attempting to handle her new way of life after the death of her father three months prior.

I’m not going to lie, I was going into this book expecting it to be bad but, honestly, I thought it was pretty good.

Continue reading “Book Review: Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom” →

Lifestyle, Other

New Blog Banner!!

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on New Blog Banner!!

At the beginning of the year, I was looking through my blog, wondering of ways I could improve it a little better. I hope to do more on this blog rather than just reviews only, which I hoped to do once I finish my exams in June. But I thought the best thing to start the new year was a new look. (okaay, new-ish) I looked through loads of WordPress themes and thought the one I’m using now is just right for my blog so I decided to make a new blog banner. My old banner had a cartoon version of me that I had drawn in my gaming class last year. But it’s been awhile since I’ve used a drawing tablet, so I asked my cousin to re draw it for me, in his style because I reaaally like his art style. So here’s the end result, and I love it!:

ZB

You can follow my cousin on these sites. His art is amazing!

Twitter: @H_Kazuhira
Deviantart: http://harukazuhira.deviantart.com/

 

Books, top ten tuesday

Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR

by Zaheerah2 Comments on Top Ten Books I’ve Recently Added To My TBR


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Each week, a new topic is put into place and bloggers share their top ten accordingly.

18584855

  1. Heartless I’m currently reading the Lunar Chronicles, and I love how Meyer retells the much-loved fairy tales and I CAN’T wait to see how she does this one.
    25890355
  2. Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)
    I loved Ink and Bone so much. I think it’s one of my favourite books and I’m so pumped to see how Rachel will continue the series. I’m really excited to see the journey of Jess to find Morgan but I’m more excited to see Khalila Seif. She’s my favourite one out of the Postulant 6.
    23267628
  3. The Fever Code (The Maze Runner 0.6)
    The one person that instantly came to my mind when I saw this book was Newt. I’m dreading this release or excited about maybe getting some answers to loads of unanswered questions about the series. 25094215
  4. You’re Not Proper (Striker #1)
    I’m currently making a list of YA novels that include Muslims and I found this through my search on GoodReads.
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  5. NIOBE: She is Life
    Amandla Stenberg. That’s all.
    23395680
  6. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1)
    I’ve heard too much good stuff about this book not to ignore it!
    25721507
  7. The Way to Game the Walk of Shame
    I read a couple of chapters of this on SwoonReads before it was published and I think it’s going to be a good one!
    25814363
  8. The Map of Bones (The Fire Sermon #2)
    The Fire Sermon was really good – had its flaws but I’m really excited to see how the story progresses.22733608
  9. A Week of Mondays
    I feel like I’ve read/watched something similar, I’m not sure, but it looks like it could be enjoyable.
    20726946
  10. Laughing All The Way To The Mosque
    Honestly this line from the description had me slamming the To-Read button. “Flirting with the Walmart meat manager in a futile attempt to secure halal chicken the day before Eid.”
Books, Young Adult/ Teen

Book Review: Chasing Thunderclap by Kaylie Caswell

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Book Review: Chasing Thunderclap by Kaylie Caswell

28462769you can find the book at:
GoodReads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Author website

my review:

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

~Copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review~

Chasing Thunderclap haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to their band. With the death of  a former band mate and on the edge of losing their new lead guitar player to an Ivy League college, could Chasing Thunderclap be no more by the end of summer? Hell-bent on keeping Bryan, their lead guitarist, in the band, the remaining members will do anything to turn his mind away from college. But as their plans crumbles away, each member begins to question whether this dream is worth following?

I’m not going to lie: I hated this book for the first 75% of this book. The behaviour of these boys actually disgusted me and they were so irritating. But I had to give the Caswell some props for making some distinction between the boys. I literally thought I was going to be stuck with five POVs with no idea who was speaking when. But the story of each boy was clear and different, and when weaved together, the novel was enjoyable to an extent. I liked the storyline but hated the characters. Haha, is that even possible? I really liked how the band had different meanings to each member. And how important the band was to their fans and that fuelled the boys to keep going. There’s a scene where a fan comes up to Bryan and tells him how their music saved their life, and that scene was so cute!

I was actually going to not even finish this book but I’m glad I kept reading because the ending was good. I don’t say that often but I liked how realistic it was. And it was good to see each boy finally decide what their position was in the band, and I agreed with each decision they made.

Kindle Edition, 315 pages
Published December 30th 2015 by Berried Alive, LLC
ASIN: B01A1BSGHG