"There is no friend as loyal as a book"

Most people know that I love to read. If you don't, let us look at some facts. I got in trouble in 7th grade English because I read too much. Okay, so that was because I read during class and didn't pay attention. But you'd think there would be some leniency. It's not like I was talking to my friends or disrupting the class. I was quietly reading. Seems like a good thing to do in an English class, right? But the worst of it: My mother grounded me FROM reading. During the SUMMER.
Yeah... if that doesn't convince you that I love to read, I don't know what will.

 Now, even though I love to read, I don't actually read all the time. I go through phases. Which mostly switch off with TV show watching. I guess you can say I love to get sucked into a story. And so I end up alternating between shows and books. And lately, due to the fact that I feel like I have watched every show available on Netflix, and partially to my anti-social status, I have been in a reading phase. 

You might think my reading phases means reading Harry Potter for the millionth time. Which is a legitimate assumption. For a long time that is exactly what it meant. But shockingly enough, I do branch out to read different books now. And right now my branch consists of young adult romance novels.

Judge all you want. I'm not ashamed.

I've become a little bit obsessed though. Like I said earlier, I become sucked into the story. Therefore I feel like it's my romance. And who doesn't love the progression of love once you find someone who feels the same way? The initial realization you like someone, the flirting that begins, the first kiss, the little ups and downs that come along, that all lead up to the moment the confession escapes your lips... I love you.

It's like a beautiful escape from my own life. Which happens to be lacking in the love department at the moment.

No, I am not depressed about it. But it hasn't helped my cause. Because now I have an unrealistic hope for my love story and the perfect man that will be in it. Especially because a few of the books take place in England in the 19th Century. So of course a British man would be ideal. Because let's face it, British accents are freaking attractive. But I'd have to go to England to find one of those. And I neither have the time nor the money to spend on taking a trip to England to find true love.

Oh well.
You can't have everything you want. I guess I'll settle for an American man. They're attractive too. Plus they're a lot closer and easier to find, so that helps their case.
;)

ANYWAYS...
Back to the whole point of this post.. I just thought I'd share with you some of the books I've read lately and some thoughts about them. Just in case you feel so inclined to join my obsession and read some cheesy young adult romance novels.

* The Selection

I read this one in a day. Twice. It's like The Bachelor but with a prince! So obviously that makes it way better. And because it's not this reality TV show that is full of fake people. Be warned though, it's a trilogy and the third book is not out yet. 

* The Elite 

This is the second book of The Selection trilogy. Honestly, I didn't love it as much as the first, but it was still good. It seems to have fallen into what I call the second book syndrome. It's not the beginning of the story where the story is completely new and all the characters develop. It's not the end so there won't be any resolution. It's the middle. Where they might drag out details or make up new things to keep things interesting. But really you just get annoyed and want to get to the ending. At least that's how I feel.

* The Night Circus

I LOVED this book! It was so interesting! I loved the way it was written and it was just so different from a lot of the books I had been reading. For instance, it was the first book I had read in long time that wasn't a trilogy. It actually ended after one book. And it wasn't based in the future after the world became corrupt and there are all these districts, factions, castes, or whatever name for groups of people that eventually leads to a rebellion. It also wasn't this teenage girl that has to decide between two guys. That all got annoying. So this book was super refreshing. I highly recommend it.

* Something Borrowed

It's not normal when I see a movie before reading a book. Normally it's the suspense of what is going to happen that keeps me reading. So when Deedee gave this book to me to read on the plane to Indiana I was curious to see if it would hold my attention since I already knew what the ending was going to be. Mostly because after I saw The Hobbit, I started reading the book and only got a few pages in.. But you can't really compare that book to a love story. I'm a sucker for love. So of course, even knowing the ending, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. 

* Edenbrooke

I loved this book. I got sucked in from the beginning even though it's pretty predictable. This is one that takes place in England in the 19th Century. Sometimes I think it would have been fun to live in that time period. With all the dresses, balls, huge houses, and the way they all talked. It's so proper and sophisticated. Sometimes I wonder where all the class has gone from the world. 

* Blackmoore

I didn't love this one as much as I did Edenbrooke (same author). I think it was because the main character was a little too melodramatic for my taste. It became annoying. Then again, it's probably a fair representation of a lot girls in relationships. I can actually think of a few instances of being bi-polar when it comes to my feelings for someone.. Shoot, I'm a hypocrite.
I did love the ending to this book though. If you read it, we can discuss why, but I don't want to give anything away. 

* Austenland

This book was very entertaining. They made it into a movie, which I saw and thought was good, but the book was better in my opinion. As is the case in most book/movie situations. I feel like if I hadn't read the book and just saw the movie, I wouldn't have liked it that much. Knowing the book made me appreciate the movie more. But it is definitely comical. I think it hit home with me and my situation. Not that I'm that crazy obsessed about characters in a book. But like I said earlier, I have that unrealistic hope that I'll find the perfect man just like the ones I read about. 

:)
xoxo