Morgan's Musings: January 2015

Monday, January 19, 2015

Miss Elizabeth Holland

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Rating: 2 stars

“Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.”

Let me just start by saying that it is a complete miracle that I even finished reading this book, considering the several times I wanted to just put it down. I have no idea why this book has such high ratings because I just can’t imagine the appeal. The story is about the Holland sisters in New York in 1899. The sisters discover, not long after their father’s death, that their family name and fortune is hanging in the balance. In order to save her family, Elizabeth Holland agrees to marry the infamous Henry Schoonmaker, not fully understanding the consequences of such a marriage within her society. This has the basis to be a wonderful story, but the characters are poorly developed and completely superficial and shallow, the writing was just annoying, and the characters seemed like they belonged in a different time period. Basically, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone and I definitely won’t be reading the rest of the books.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Mia Oh-My-Uh

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Rating: 5 stars
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“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.”

Wow. Just like with The Fault in Our Stars, I put off reading this book because I knew it would make me cry. The high praise this book received built up my excitement and made me finally pull it off of my shelf. I dove right in and finished the book in about three days (it would have been one day, but I had other things to do) and Forman didn’t disappoint. Just like John Green, Gayle Forman created a heartbreaking novel full of mystery, romance, and tears.

The story is told in snippets, alternating between the present (Mia’s story as she is in the hospital) and the past (retellings of Mia’s life, especially her relationship with Adam). Mia is faced with the choice of staying and living her life or leaving. Mia’s story is heartbreaking and moving, but I have to admit that I didn’t cry like I thought I would. There were several times during the book that I thought I would cry, but I didn’t. Fair warning: You might want to go ahead and buy the second book at the same time because If I Stay ends with a cliffhanger that will leave you staring at the page wondering where the rest of the book is.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

365 Days of YA

Happy New Year! I stumbled upon this post from Epic Reads earlier today. They've created an infographic containing book recommendations for the year, ranging from one book a day to one book a season. If you're looking for some suggestions, check it out here! Happy reading! :)