That Time of the Month! (OwlCrate #2)

*Text that is in bold is a little extra snark from Rachel.

It’s that Time of the Month again! The good kind not the miserable kind, holla. Last time we praised the postal service for getting us our boxes on the same day. This time? Not so much. They kinda sorta really suck. BUT EITHER WAY WE WERE REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS MONTH’S THEME. #allthefeels

Rachel got to open hers first and refused to tell me what was inside besides the book and her candle scent. FINALLY two days later I received my box and got to see what other goodies lay inside. HERE’S WHAT WE SAW:

I was excited about the candle because I’m a 92 year old cat woman at heart. I got Hazel’s Flowers which I love a lot. It smells like Sweet Pea from Bath & Body Works, if you’re familiar with that scent. I got The Giving Tree, which smells like a pine tree (go figure.) I’m not a huge candle person, but it’s a nice little knick knack even if I don’t like the book.

Next was very obviously a jewelry box of some sort (in ~Tiffany Blue~), tied up all cute with a red and white string which I tried desperately to save but wound up cutting off because Y’ALL ARE THOROUGH BOW MAKERS. I immediately cut mine. I didn’t even try saving it. Each box includes one of two styles of necklace, and we happened to get one each.

Debatably the best part of the box was this tote bag that I think we can all relate to a lot. Too much? Never. My first thought when I saw the tote bag: “YAAAAAS.”

And finally, this month’s book, which is a contemporary. Everything That Makes You by Moriah McStay.

I will say this book seems a lot more interesting to me than last month’s A Darker Shade of Magic. And that’s all I’m allowing her to say because I’m still trying to read it and won’t allow spoilers. But also, I agree. Here’s a summary from Goodreads:

One girl. Two stories. Meet Fiona Doyle. The thick ridges of scar tissue on her face are from an accident twelve years ago. Fiona has notebooks full of songs she’s written about her frustrations, her dreams, and about her massive crush on beautiful uber-jock Trent McKinnon. If she can’t even find the courage to look Trent straight in his beautiful blue eyes, she sure isn’t brave enough to play or sing any of her songs in public. But something’s changing in Fiona. She can’t be defined by her scars anymore. 
And what if there hadn’t been an accident? Meet Fi Doyle. Fi is the top-rated female high school lacrosse player in the state, heading straight to Northwestern on a full ride. She’s got more important things to deal with than her best friend Trent McKinnon, who’s been different ever since the kiss. When her luck goes south, even lacrosse can’t define her anymore. When you’ve always been the best at something, one dumb move can screw everything up. Can Fi fight back?
Hasn’t everyone wondered what if? In this daring debut novel, Moriah McStay gives us the rare opportunity to see what might have happened if things were different. Maybe luck determines our paths. But maybe it’s who we are that determines our luck.

I’m a sucker for these, not gonna lie. I probably own like 9 other books with similar plot lines. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a plot like this which is pretty surprising with how much YA I consume. The book came with a sticker, bookmark, and signed bookplate.

So what’s our opinion of this month’s box? Better than last month just because. I definitely love this box and OwlCrate is already one-upping their last box. They’re catching on quickly too, so we be all proud and stuff. Hopefully one of us can finish the book soon and get a review up.

Next month’s theme was announced to be “Parallel Worlds.” Unforutnately we’re both skipping that shipment money problems suck, but if you’re receiving it, send us a message and let us know what you think of it! Until then, happy reading!

& 

Waiting on Wednesday (4/8/15): Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler

Expected publication: May 26, 2015

From Goodreads:

Mina is seventeen. A virgin. And pregnant.
Mina is top of her class, girlfriend to the most ambitious guy in school, able to reason and study her way through anything. But when she suddenly finds herself pregnant—despite having never had sex—her orderly world collapses. Almost nobody believes Mina’s claims of virginity. Her father assumes that her boyfriend is responsible; her boyfriend believes she must have cheated on him. As news of Mina’s story spreads, there are those who brand her a liar. There are those who brand her a heretic. And there are those who believe that miracles are possible—and that Mina’s unborn child could be the greatest miracle of all.

Waiting on Wednesday (4/1/15): Even When You Lie to Me by Jessica Alcott

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Even When You Lie to Me by Jesicca Alcott

Expected publication: June 9, 2015

From Goodreads:

Charlie, a senior, isn't looking forward to her last year of high school. Another year of living in the shadow of her best friend, Lila. Another year of hiding behind the covers of her favorite novels. Another year of navigating her tense relationship with her perfectionist mom.
But everything changes when she meets her new English teacher. Mr. Drummond is smart. Irreverent. Funny. Hot. Everyone loves him. And Charlie thinks he's the only one who gets her.
She also thinks she might not be the only one with a crush.
In this stunning debut, Jessica Alcott explores relationships-and their boundaries-in a way that is both searingly honest and sympathetic.

Who doesn't love a good scandal? ;) Rachel is alarmingly excited about this one too.

Shameless Self-promotion

Hey, guys! So recently I opened up a Society6 shop to try to sell prints of my photography, and shortly after, I decided to invest in Creative Cloud and try my hand at typography. I’m still learning so a lot of the stuff I do is very simple stuff (not to mention I’m more of a fan of minimalist stuff), but I am trying to learn how to use different tools in Illustrator. A lot of the typography I do will be book related (so far I’ve done Colleen Hoover, Rainbow Rowell, and Sarah J. Maas), but I have started doing song lyrics as well. I do take requests and I will do my best to get to them as soon as possible. If there’s a quote you want with a specific idea in mind, feel free to pitch me your idea and I’ll let you know if it’s something I can do. I already have done a custom request for Rachel if you want to see an example (it’s the scales in the collage above.)

Feel free to browse my shop and a big thank you if you purchase anything to help out this broke college student!

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Publish date: July 8, 2014

So Landline. I love Rainbow Rowell and her writing, and ever since Landline has been released, I’ve heard tons of glowing reviews and everyone was loving it. It’s fair to say I had sort of high expectations because of the reviews from others and because of my experience with her other books, but throughout the book, I just felt like it was… okay.

The plot took awhile to really kick off which was a slight problem because Rainbow’s books aren’t the longest. The plot was also just… weird to me. I knew ahead of time what was the source for all the weirdness in the plot, but even then, it was still just weird to me. I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. The weirdness of the plot made it hard for me to really get into the story like I had with Rainbow’s other books.

She still does a fantastic job of establishing relationships and characters quickly and deeply, so that department was still A+. For me, however, that wasn’t enough. I was fond of Georgie and her quirkiness and of her relationship with Seth (and how that conflicted with her and Neal’s relationship), but I didn’t have the same Attachment(s) to her that I have with Cath, Beth, and Eleanor.

Overall, this book was okay. It wasn’t bad, but if you asked me to list Rainbow’s books in order from favorite to least favorite, Landline would definitely be at the bottom of the list. If you were looking for a Rainbow book to get you started in her writing, I’d definitely go with one of her other three books first and work your way to this one last.

(3 out of 5)

Waiting on Wednesday (3/25/15): What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Expected publication: August 4, 2015

From Goodreads:

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.
The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?

I've never read anything by this author. Have you?

Sarah J. Maas fans, rejoice!

Hey, guys! Sort of a last minute post to let you guys know that Sarah J. Maas and GoodChoiceReading announced earlier today that Sarah will be teaming up with the Barnes and Noble in Neshaminy Mall to sell signed and personalized copies of A Court of Thorns and Roses and the four Throne of Glass books. You can buy them at the store or, if you’re like me, you can order online to have your book sent to you. If you want more than one book, you’ll have to add each book individually to your cart.

The books will be signed on May 5th and they will be shipped out on May 6th and 7th. The sale ends on April 22nd, so be sure to get your order in before then! Additional information can be found here.

I ordered Crown of Midnight because Chaol. Let me know what you ordered in the comments below!