Showing posts with label Ho Ho Ho Readathon 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ho Ho Ho Readathon 2018. Show all posts

Monday, November 12, 2018

Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Well, apparently I live here now—my mom just bought the place. And named it after me, Ashleigh, which was nice. But did she know how cold it is here??

Um, it's a tiny island with not much to do, unless you really like sleigh rides. But I gotta say there are quite a few hot guys on this cold island . . . 

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I was really looking forward to reading this one, but it wasn't a good fit. If the book hadn't been so short, I would have DNFd it about halfway through. 

Snowed In has an adorable cover with an interesting premise, but the characters were hard to like. Ashleigh was shallow and vapid, and Josh was willing to stay with the same person for five years because he didn't know what else to do. He checked a box when he was twelve and just went with it. Nathalie never referred to her boyfriend by name. He was always "my boyfriend," which was incredibly annoying. The issue was addressed later on, but only briefly and with no resolution.

"As a rule, guys didn't distract me. They interested me... if I wanted to be interested."

Nathalie's friends were present but not part of the story, and none of the secondary characters were fleshed out. The conversations were awkward and unrealistic, and the story was choppy and uncoordinated. I wish everything had flowed together and read more like a YA book, but both the language and the story were very simple.

"Someone hotter than Chase and Josh? I couldn't wait to see this guy. I wondered if some sort of mutant gene had developed on the island that made all the guys good-looking. I mean, really, what were the odds that there wouldn't be any dorks around here? Let's hear it for gene mutation."

I really liked the idea of Ashleigh and her mom buying a bed and breakfast in a small town on an isolated island, and the wintery setting was beautiful, but those were probably the only two positives for me. I love the idea of an old attic bedroom, turrets, and fireplaces. 

"Because my first girlfriend was a girly-girl when we watched horror. I don't want my next girlfriend to be."

The word boyfriend was used so often, I started to roll my eyes whenever it appeared on the page. All of the girls were obsessed with having a boyfriend just so they wouldn't be alone. It didn't matter if the two people actually liked one another. The one girl not obsessed with having a boyfriend (Ashleigh) was determined to never have one. Although, her reasons for that were vague.

"I was afraid if [he] wasn't my boyfriend that I wouldn't have one, and I really wanted to have a boyfriend."

Nathalie was rude and condescending from the start. She disregarded Ashleigh's feelings and the concerns she had. It was all about Nathalie and her boyfriend -- ugh. Surprisingly, they were best friends after their initial meeting, and I had no idea why. There was nothing there to indicate friendship or that the two of them even liked each other. 

In the end, these were just a few of the reasons Snowed In didn't work for me. My initial excitement for this book fizzled after a few pages, and was completely flat by the end.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Puzzling Pieces #HoHoHoRAT 2018

It's finally time for the Ho Ho Ho Readathon hosted by the Caffeinated Reviewer! I'm really looking forward to diving into some winter wonderlands! It still doesn't feel like winter in Texas, but that's not going to stop me from pretending like it's snowing and wishing for a cup of hot chocolate.

If you want to read my original challenge post, please click here. There's a list of the books I want to read, and it's also going to be where I update all of my progress (there's also an image in the sidebar you can click on). I know my list is long, but I wanted to have options!

My challenge for this readathon is a puzzle, and the rules are simple:
  1. You have to be a #HoHoHoRAT participant. If you still need to sign up for the readathon, you can do that here.
  2. Solve the puzzle! What book is hidden below?
I want this to be fair for everyone, so please only submit your answers within the rafflecopter form. Do not leave your answers (or even guesses) in the comments -- it would spoil the fun for others!

This readathon is about reading winter and holiday books, and I'm looking forward to experiencing snow through fictional characters. Kimberly has really gone above and beyond for the #HoHoHoRAT. There will be challenges, prizes, and even a Twitter Party (November 18th at 3:30 pm (EST). Don't miss out on all the fun!

The Challenges:

Jennifer formerly The Book Nympho "HoHoHoRAT Instagram Challenge"
Michele and Berls @ Because Reading "Christmas Book Cookies"
Tonyalee @ Vivacious Bibliophile "Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon Bingo"
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? "Puzzling Pieces"
Irena @ Book Dust Magic "Beautiful Covers"
Marie @Ramblings of a Daydreamer "Movie Madness"

Rules:

This giveaway officially starts on November 9th and ends on November 18th. The winner will be announced on November 19th on this post within the Rafflecopter form, and also notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will have Rafflecopter select another winner (read my full giveaway policy here).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, October 7, 2018

2018 Ho Ho Ho Readathon

I am really excited to be participating in the Ho Ho Ho Readathon this year! It's hosted by the lovely Kimberly over at the Caffeinated Reviewer, and the goal of the #HoHoHoRAT is to read (or listen to) as many books as you can with a holiday or winter theme

For more details, please visit the Caffeinated Reviewer. She explains everything in amazing detail, and you're able to sign up on her site. There will be challenges, prizes, and a Twitter party!

My Ho Ho Ho Readathon reading list:
  1. Slippery Slopes, High Hopes and My Winter Dream Boy (Sweet Dreams) by Liz Elwes
  2. My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins, Rainbow Rowell, Kelly Link, Matt de la Pena, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Holly Black, Gayle Forman, Myra McEntire, Kiersten White, Ally Carter, Laini Taylor
  3. Frigid (Frigid, #1) by J. Lynn
  4. The Christmas Project by Maxine Morrey
  5. Winterspell (Winterspell, #1) by Claire Legrand
  6. Red Queen (Red Queen, #1) by Victoria Aveyard
  7. One Day in December by Josie Silver
  8. Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne Read my review here!
  9. Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara
  10. Winter Town by Stephen Emond
  11. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
  12. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily (Dash & Lily, #2) by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
  13. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust
  14. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
  15. Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell, Simini Blocker (Illustrator)
  16. My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff
  17. Wintersong (Wintersong, #1) by S. Jae-Jones
  18. The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) by Katherine Arden
  19. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  20. Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
  21. Dash & Lily's Books of Dares (Dash & Lily, #1) by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan *re-read
  22. Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater *re-read 
I know this is a long list, and there is no way I'll be able to read all of them in nine days, but I wanted to give myself options. I'm 85% sure all of these meet the criteria of being a holiday or winter theme, but there are one or two I'm unsure about. If you've read one of these, and know for a fact is has nothing to do with winter or the holidays, please let me know and I will remove it from the list.

I included two re-reads that I would love to get to! They're both books I really enjoyed in the past. Also, if you're curious about my progress, you can always click on the image in the sidebar and it will redirect you to this post.

If you're using my Book Blogger Icon Tags, I made a few specifically for the Ho Ho Ho Readathon! 

Kimberly has also made an adorable button for everyone to use! If you use it, make sure you give her credit and link back to her Ho Ho Ho Readathon post!

https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2018/09/hohoho-readathon-sign-up-post-2.html#comments