Can We Take a Moment to Talk About Youtube?

Okay, so I don't know about you guys, but I spend a ridiculous amount of time on Youtube. One video leads to another, then another, then yet another, and you're caught in what I like to call the Youtube spiral. Obviously, this leads to a lot of productivity issues, but on the whole, I feel like it's worth it. Hence this post.

I'm going to introduce you guys to some of my favourite Youtubers. For those who don't know what a Youtuber is (i.e. those who've been living under a rock), they're basically people who make videos on Youtube, whether they be comedy, or artsy, or vlogs, or whatever. Maybe more relevant to you guys, there's a subgroup of Youtubers named booktubers, who make videos about books.

This post is going to deal with Youtubers (rather than booktubers), and hopefully I'll be able to get some of you to get into watching these people's videos, because seriously, they're the best.

Review: Ensnared by A.G. Howard

Title: Ensnared (Splintered #3)
Author: A.G. Howard
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal/Portal Fantasy
Source: Thames and Hudson
Goodreads

After surviving a disastrous battle at prom, Alyssa has embraced her madness and gained perspective. She's determined to rescue her two worlds and the people and netherlings she loves. Even if it means challenging Queen Red to a final battle of wills and wiles . . . and even if the only way to Wonderland, now that the rabbit hole is closed, is through the looking-glass world--a parallel dimension filled with mutated and violent netherling outcasts. In the final installment of the wildly popular Splintered trilogy, Alyssa and her dad journey into the heart of magic and mayhem in search of her mom and to set right all that's gone wrong. Together with Jeb and Morpheus, they must salvage Wonderland from the decay and destruction that has ensnared it. But if they succeed and come out alive, can everyone truly have their happily ever after?

Review by Nara

Blog Tour + End of World Bucket List + Giveaway: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Title: We All Looked Up
Author: Tommy Wallach
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Simon & Schuster Australia
Goodreads

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Review by Nara

Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

Title: Confess
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Drama
Source: Simon & Schuster Australia
Goodreads

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a new novel about risking everything for love—and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies.

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

Review by Nara

Reading Compatibility Test 3: Childhood Favourites

Basically, I'm going to give you a list of statements that you have to agree or disagree with. If you have any idea what book/series they're referring to, it means that you've probably read some of the books that I've read, i.e. our reading tastes are somewhat compatible. I thought it'd be more interesting doing this in quiz form than me just listing off some of the books that I enjoy. Really, this feature is going to be a series of disguised recommendation posts!

This edition is centred on Childhood Favourites! This was a Top Ten Tuesday topic a couple of weeks ago and I thought, what the heck, let's adapt it into a Reading Compatibility Test instead of listing some of my childhood favourites off.

So here are the statements!


1. You sometimes feel a bit disappointed when there's not a golden ticket in your chocolate bar.
2. You're still waiting on your Hogwarts letter (surely everyone agrees with this one)
3. On the first day, you eat one apple. On the second day you eat two pears.
4. You really want a blue dragon.
5. You will avoid at all costs a man with the tattoo of an eye on his left ankle.
6. You know that gold is power (and that to get gold, you need to kidnap a fairy).
7. You still wonder what a snozzcumber tastes like.
8. You would one day like to go to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.


Let me know how many of the statements were true about you, and whether you were able to tell which books each of the statements refers to.
Otherwise, just let me know if there are any that you're unable to answer! Maybe you'll find a new book/series to read.

Review: The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Source: Hot Key Books
Goodreads

Grieving, shaken, and feeling very much alone, Rory's life as a member of the Shades of London has changed irrevocably. It's only been a matter of hours since Stephen was taken from her, possibly for ever. Her classmate Charlotte is still missing, kidnapped by the same people who tried to take Rory. Rory is no longer a schoolgirl haplessly involved in the dealings of a secret government unit. She is their weapon in a matter of life and death.

With hardly a moment to think for herself, Rory is back to work. Charlotte must be found -- as must Stephen, if he is even out there. Lines must be drawn and forces rallied. Something is brewing under London, something bigger and much more dangerous than what has come before. The Shadow Cabinet holds the key to everything, and it is up to Rory to unravel its mysteries before time runs out...

Review by Nara

Review: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy #2)
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy (sort of)
Source: Bloomsbury Australia
Goodreads

Lady Kestrel's engagement to Valoria's crown prince calls for great celebration: balls and performances, fireworks and revelry. But to Kestrel it means a cage of her own making. Embedded in the imperial court as a spy, she lives and breathes deceit and cannot confide in the one person she really longs to trust ...

While Arin fights to keep his country's freedom from the hands of his enemy, he suspects that Kestrel knows more than she shows. As Kestrel comes closer to uncovering a shocking secret, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth.

Lies will come undone, and Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them in this second book in the breathtaking Winner's trilogy.

Review by Nara