This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith | Book Review

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: 2013

Synopsis:
(from Goodreads)

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O’Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.
Then Graham finds out that Ellie’s Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?

–Spoiler Free–

“Maybe growing up was really nothing more than growing away: from your old life, from your old self, from all those things that kept you tethered to your past.”

I didn’t hate this book, I didn’t. I love teen contemporary romances. No matter how cliché and overdone it is, I love the whole famous boy falls in love with a normal girl shtick. They make me happy and I almost always really enjoy my time while reading them.

However, This Is What Happy Feels Like just felt so bland. The story line in of itself was sweet and the emails between Ellie and Graham were cute, but I just didn’t feel anything. Not for the characters or their story. I was indifferent to all of it and that’s not what I want when I’m reading a contemporary novel. I want my heart to flutter, I want laugh, I want to cry, I want to grin with excitement every time the main character and their love interest do something cute.

I want to feel something. And I just didn’t.

Overall, reading is a lot about chemistry, sometimes it’s there and sometimes it’s not. I just don’t think Jennifer E. Smith’s writing is for me. The premises of her books all sound interesting and this one was no different. The synopsis seemed like the novel would be buckets of adorable and fun fluff, but the execution was lackluster in comparison. I wanted so badly to like it, but the chemistry just wasn’t there and I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

2.5 out of 5 stars

★★½

“Exactly. How can you know it makes you happy if you’ve never experienced it?”
“There are different kinds of happy,” she said. “Some kinds don’t need any proof.”

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Buy This Is What Happy Looks Like

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Contemporary Book Boyfriends | Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! ❤

I absolutely love Valentine’s Day, I love the cute couples, I love the flowers, the stuffed animals, and most of all, I love the day after when all the chocolate is on sale. I just think Valentine’s Day is the sweetest and most cutest holiday ever. 

There’s always a huge stereotype that every single person must hate Valentine’s Day, but I’m living proof that it’s completely wrong!

If you are however, not doing any crazy stuff on Valentine’s Day, or if you’re single like me and are planning on spending your day with a cutesy contemporary romance novel that just tugs on your heartstrings then you’ve come to the right place!

I’m certain I can help introduce you to a wonderful new fictional boyfriend and maybe even a new favorite book/author!

1 ) Rainbow Rowell 

One can never go wrong with a Rainbow Rowell novel on Valentine’s Day. Rainbow writes up some of the best fictional boyfriends ever. My personal favorite is Levi from her novel Fangirl (which I recommend 100%), but Baz, Park, and Lincoln are super adorable too! I’ve loved all of Rainbow’s books, she has such a way with words and is really great at writing real and relatable characters. I definitely recommend her novels, they’re brilliant, real and so, so cute!

2 ) Stephanie Perkins

I’ve only read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, but I absolutely loved it! Etienne St. Clair is the love of my life, why oh why isn’t he real? I’m positive her companion novels Lola and Isla are amazing as well! Anna and the French Kiss was just such a fun and cute book! It was a very feel-good type of novel, I was grinning at every page and I just never wanted it to end. A perfect contemporary novel for anyone’s Valentine’s day. ❤

3 ) Jenny Han

Peter K. Peter freaking Kavinsky. Gosh, I love him. I love him and I love John Ambrose McClaren so, so much. Jenny Han has written two funny, amazing and extremely cute book boyfriends. I would totally date John Ambrose McClaren if he was real.  To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and P.S. I Love You are great reads for Valentine’s Day. They’re both hilariously cute and quick reads with awesome family dynamics. Jenny Han has also written other contemporary novels that I haven’t read yet, but they’re on my TBR!

4 ) Colleen Hoover

If you’re looking for something away from the YA genre, Colleen Hoover is definitely the way to go! I love, love, love her books so much! My favorite book boyfriend from her is definitely Miles Archer from Ugly Love. He is such a precious little cinnamon roll. I haven’t read all of her novels yet, but I’ve absolutely loved everyone I’ve read by her so far. I definitely recommend any of her novels to read for Valentine’s Day (or any day, trust me they’re amazing)! Her book boyfriends are the sweetest, cutest things ever!

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I plan on spending my Valentine’s Day with all of my wonderful book boyfriends because fictional boyfriends are the best boyfriends! No matter what you’re doing, I hope you all have a fantastic Valentine’s Day! Eat lots of chocolate and read lots of books! ❤

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Sally

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Book Review

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Genre: Science Fiction
Publication Date: 2015

Synopsis:
(from GoodReads)

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.
This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.
But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.

–Possible Spoilers! Read at your own risk!–

“Part of being alive is having life change us. The people around us, the events we live through, all of them shape us. And that’s what I think you’re afraid of. Maybe not of dying. But of this you, the you you’ve become, ceasing to exist.”

Illuminae was such an interesting and unique read! I’ve always been a huge science fiction fan, but was hesitant to read Illuminae mainly because of the way the book was written. I much prefer structure and thought the emails, IM’s, documents and security footage would be extremely confusing! It does take a bit of getting used to, but I’d have to say the authors did an amazing job. I didn’t get as confused as much as I thought I would and for the most part I could understand what was going on, except when they got all fancy hacker talk on me. That was harder to follow. I had to google so many words!

Despite the length of the book, Illuminae is actually a very fast read, most likely because of the way it’s written. Fewer words than your usual 600 paged book.

The characters were fun, but I had a hard time connecting with them which brought my rating of the book down because for me characters are practically everything. Since we aren’t inside any of the characters heads, we don’t know what they’re thinking 100% of the time. Add that to the fact that there were also so many side characters in the book, I had a hard time remembering who was who.

They all just felt so detached from me. Don’t get me wrong I still liked them, Kady’s very sassy and super cool with her hacker skills and Ezra’s adorable, but it just didn’t feel the same. I didn’t get very invested in their relationship either, their romance felt a bit forced and awkward at times. I actually rolled my eyes at times while reading their IM’s, but that might just be me and my ever-changing tastes in romance.

My favorite character out of the entire book was probably AIDAN. I know, I know, bad right? But, ugh, I can’t help it. Never has a spaceship made me feel this conflicted before.

“AM I NOT MERCIFUL?”

Another thing I really, really loved were the author easter eggs! They were so cute and I got super excited when I found one!

Overall, Illuminae is a fast paced, complex, and extremely fun read! It starts off slow, but eventually picks up and becomes a very epic and kind of creepy (I’m talking to you Phobos victims and all your “Don’t look at me!”s) space adventure. A very nice start to a series and I’m excited for the sequel especially after that crazy ending!

4 out 5 stars

★★★★

“Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.”

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Buy Illuminae

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Monthly Update | January 2016

JANUARY 2016

CURRENTLY READING:

1. The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass
2. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richlle Mead
3. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

JANUARY WRAP-UP:

1. Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
2. Oblivion (Lux #1.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
   ★★★ (3 out of 5 stars)
3. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
   ★★ (2 out of 5 stars)
4. Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
   ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
5. In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo
   ★★ (2 out of 5 stars)
6. Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
   ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
7. World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
   ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
8. End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3) by Susan Ee
   ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
9. The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester
   ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
10. The Selection by Kiera Cass
    ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
11. The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead
    ★★ (2 out of 5 stars)

FEBRUARY TBR:

1. The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass
2. The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
3. The Heir (The Selection #4) by Kiera Cass
4. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richlle Mead
5. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
6. February TBR Jar pick *see below*

READING CHALLENGE PROGRESS:

My goal for this year is to read 100 books and I’m happy to write that so far I’m doing well! I’ve read eleven books so far according to Goodreads I’m actually 3 books ahead of schedule! Crazy right? This streak probably won’t coninute so I’m glad I had the chance to get a few books ahead. Hopefully I can reach 100 by the end of the year! *fingers crossed*

JANUARY BOOK HAUL:

1. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
2. This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
3. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
4. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

TBR JAR:

I finished up In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo this month and my next pick is…

*dramatic drumroll*

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick! Super excited for this book! I also plan on watching the movie after I finish the book! 🙂

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SUPER EXCITING NEWS! So I’ve teamed up with 13 other amazing ladies to create a book club! I’m super excited to finally be able to share it with you guys! Please feel free to join us @theliterarylions and become and honorary book lion! Roar!🦁We will be starting February and our first book is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han to go with Valentine’s Day!

Whether you’re reading it for the first time or if it’ll be a reread for you like it is for me (check out my review for it here!), we would love for you to join us! Also check out our Goodreads group here.

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HAPPY 2016 EVERYONE! The first month is over and done with, hooray! How’s everyone’s year been going so far? Mine’s been pretty okay! I had my birthday this month and my siblings got me a Polaroid camera! It’s literally been my new best friend all month, I’ve been taking so many pictures!

One of my resolutions this year is to post more. As well as interact more with other book bloggers and bookstagram users! I sure hope I can do it and get to know everyone more! 🙂

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Check out my Instagram page for more photography!
@mybookacademy

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Let’s be friends!

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