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Vonnie reviewed a book.

“Audiobook

My Thoughts: I've never really watched Sex and the City nor did I read the book. This audiobook was available on Overdrive and I figured, why not? I'm glad I got the chance to listen to this audio version because it was fun. I enjoyed the story and I especially enjoyed Carrie's...”

“Audiobook

My Thoughts: I've never really watched Sex and the City nor did I read the book. This audiobook was available on Overdrive and I figured, why not? I'm glad I got the chance to listen to this audio version because it was fun. I enjoyed the story and I especially enjoyed Carrie's character.

This was a typical coming-of-age story of a teenager girl back in the 80s. There's the drama, the obsession about boys, and of course sex. I highly enjoyed how realistic it sounded, even if there were a few parts that were exaggerated. Though having sex played a dominant role in the story, I liked the fact that there wasn't anything explicit since it was a YA read. However, I was a little shocked on how much smoking was done back then and how easily teens were able to get alcohol. It caused me to look up some facts to see when age limits were implemented. This factor was not disappointing of the book; it just opened up my eyes to teen lives in the 80s.

Now Carrie...she was such a great character! She was strong headed, brave, opinionated, courageous, loving, and strong. Teenage girls should get exposed to Carrie's character. Carrie was a strong will person who stood behind her virginity and did not let boys take her off her path to success. Of course she had many temptations like any other girl, but she kept her focus straight. Not many girls are able to do that. I admired her character so much that I now want to read Sex and the City and watch the series.

My thoughts on the performance: Sarah Drew did a fabulous job in portraying Carrie. She was able to embody Carrie's character very well and was able to keep me hooked in the whole time. The only flaw that I found with her performance was that she hardly changed her voice when acting like the other characters. It was sometimes confusing when there was dialogue between characters. Other than that, it was an enjoyable performance.

Overall, the audiobook was great. I liked the story and I liked the main character.”

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Vonnie reviewed a book.

“*sigh* Lara Rios had done it again. She engrossed me into her novel, made me fall in love with her characters, and had made me question my identity. I fell in love with the first book Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps a few years back and I did not believe that Becoming Americana would be as good...”

“*sigh* Lara Rios had done it again. She engrossed me into her novel, made me fall in love with her characters, and had made me question my identity. I fell in love with the first book Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps a few years back and I did not believe that Becoming Americana would be as good as the first. Boy, I was proven wrong.

This book centered with the feisty character that we met in the first one, Lupe Perez. Lupe was no longer the barrio girl who always broke the law, but a girl who was trying to better her life by getting her education at UCLA and by trying to help others who were in the same situation as she was.

At first, Lupe's character got on my nerves but she slowly grew on to me to the point that I now admire her. In the beginning, she was very set in getting rid of her "Mexicaness" so she could be American. It bothered me to read that Lupe kept saying that being Mexican meant being in the barrio (the ghetto), being an outlaw, and having no hopes in bettering themselves. I kept wanting to yell at her that not all Mexicans are like that. I understood what she was trying to say because that was what she grew up on, but what she was actually trying to get rid of was her "barrioness" not her "Mexicaness." Luckily, Lupe soon came to learn that being Mexican was not too bad and that being American does not mean leaving behind your past.

Every chapter began with a quote from Lupe's thesis and all of these were great. In fact, the book was covered with really great quotes. I found myself (just like with the first book) writing in the book, underlining sentences, and writing on Post-its. Throughout the book I questioned myself on, what DOES it mean to be American? There are so many cultures in the United States that it's really hard to define what makes an American.

At first I was not as enamored with this book as I was with the first one. Yes, some of the quotes and Lupe's experiences connected to my real life yet I did not find myself loving every page of it. Then I slowly came into realization on how much the book impacted me. Unlike the first one, I was angered with some of the stereotypical sayings that were in the book and the inaccuracy of Mexican culture. I found myself constantly stopping myself reading the book because I had to give myself time to think of what I just read and write notes about it. It wasn't until the end when I found myself crying that I realized how much I really liked this book. Yeah...it's complicated.

What I'm trying to say in a nutshell is that Becoming Latina is great book. It is filled with many insightful thoughts that are told in a story that many people could connect to.”

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Vonnie reviewed a book.

“The premise of this book caught my attention. I enjoy reading about time travel and parallel worlds. Fields of Elysium was an interesting book that was easy to read, though it was not my favorite.

There were some positive aspects about this book. First, I liked the whole idea of how the...”

“The premise of this book caught my attention. I enjoy reading about time travel and parallel worlds. Fields of Elysium was an interesting book that was easy to read, though it was not my favorite.

There were some positive aspects about this book. First, I liked the whole idea of how the alternate world Arkana had different technology and everything was environmental friendly. Reading the descriptions of this world left me awed and only made me wish that our world had the same things. Next, I liked Molly's values when it came to respecting her family. She honored her parents' wishes and she did her best to be a good daughter. I also enjoyed that though she tried to follow the rules, her teenager side still came out. This made her believable. Another thing that I enjoyed about this book was how clean it was. It did not have many swear words and it didn't have sexual scenes, though it did refer to it somewhat. This book would be good for teens to read.

As interesting the ideas that the book had, I did struggle with trying to read it. Many of the scenes did not flow. It felt like different pieces of time where meshed together without the help of transitional words. There were also unneeded parts that could have made the book shorter. I found myself skimming a few parts in the book. Furthermore, I did not feel connected to the characters. I could not sympathize the love relationship between Molly and Victor. There were a few sweet moments between them but not enough for me to root for them. These were the reasons as to why my rating was not higher.

Overall, I wished I could have enjoyed it a lot more, especially with the great ideas that it had. This book was not the right book for me but I think that teens would really like this one.”

Vonnie reviewed a book.

“I'm going to be honest, I was not sure what to expect about this book. I've heard many people rave about it and saw that a movie was made based on it. Also, the title made me think that the protagonist would be a girl since wallflowers are usually associated with them, so I was a bit surprised to...”

“I'm going to be honest, I was not sure what to expect about this book. I've heard many people rave about it and saw that a movie was made based on it. Also, the title made me think that the protagonist would be a girl since wallflowers are usually associated with them, so I was a bit surprised to read through the eyes of a teenage boy. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a quick and easy read that had both good and bad points.

The good: Charlie was an interesting character. He was shy and was an outcast; he also obviously had a problem with his emotions to the point that he needed a psychiatrist. I liked how he told his story through letters written to an unknown person and I enjoyed how he tried to get out of his comfort zone.

Another good thing about the book was the issues that it raised concerning what teens face every day. Charlie encountered pretty much the mother load: drug and alcohol experimentation, addiction to tobacco, learning about masturbation and having sex, dealing with child molestation, witnessing rape and physical abuse, helping out with abortion, and having self-esteem issues. These problems brought out the awareness that teens' lives cannot always be easy.

The bad: Charlie encountered too many problems that it almost appeared to be too forced. It was like the author was trying his hardest to shock his reader. It became overwhelming at times that I became irritated with the way Charlie was telling the story. Along these lines, the writing was immature for me. I understand that it was trying to portray how naïve Charlie was and how little he knew of writing, but the simplicity of it did not make me feel connected with the characters as much. These aspects was what made me lower my rating.

In all, this was an easy and quick read that tells the story of teenage boy learning how to come out of his shell and become part of the teenage world. The book had its good points along with its bad ones.”

Vonnie rated a book.

• Rated 2 stars

Vonnie reviewed a book.

“4.5
This book's cover grabbed my attention when it first came out and I was super excited to have received it on my birthday last year. I was quite surprised on how much I liked this book. It was beautifully written! Not only did I came to enjoy the characters but I fell in love with the...”

“4.5
This book's cover grabbed my attention when it first came out and I was super excited to have received it on my birthday last year. I was quite surprised on how much I liked this book. It was beautifully written! Not only did I came to enjoy the characters but I fell in love with the worlds that Laini Taylor created.

I was completely captivated after reading the quote before the first chapter: "Once upon a time, a demon and an angel fell in love. It did not end well." Right away the reader gets the sense that things were not going to end well for the main characters.

The characters were amazing. Karou was an incredible female character. She was strong, brave, smart, loyal, and caring. I really liked how there was a mystery about her when it came to her identity and I liked the attraction between her and Akiva. The other characters were also great to read. Brimstone sounded scary to think of in real life but he was such a loving character that his "scariness" did not affect my appreciation of him. Another character that I fully enjoyed was Karou's best friend Suzana. She was a spunky girl and the scene of her being a marionette sounded breathtaking.

Like I mentioned before, the worlds that Laini Taylor created were beautiful. Her writing style was impeccable. I loved how her words were able to create such vivid pictures in my mind. Taylor's strong writing technique was very evident in the first two-thirds of the book.

Now the last third of book did not flow as smoothly. It was still great to read and it was interesint to learn about Karou's past. However, I felt that this last part of the book was choppy and confusing. I found myself having to go back to re-read certain areas so I could get a full comprehension of what was going on. Fortunately, the ending was heartbreaking enough that I somewhat overlooked the break of flow of the book.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a beautifully written story with great characters and incredibly vivid descriptions. Though the last part of the book could have been fixed a bit, I am still looking forward to the next book in the series.”

Vonnie reviewed a book.

“4.5
I was captivated by the cover of this book, which was the main reason why I wanted to read this. I had no clue as to what kind of book I was in for (I didn't read the whole synopsis). I was hooked right away and came to enjoy myself quite a bit.

I was surprised how many...”

“4.5
I was captivated by the cover of this book, which was the main reason why I wanted to read this. I had no clue as to what kind of book I was in for (I didn't read the whole synopsis). I was hooked right away and came to enjoy myself quite a bit.

I was surprised how many elements this book had: slight romance, suspense, ghosts, mystery, and drama. Right away this book reminded me of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Like in Rebecca, the heroine Marlie entered a marriage where she barely knew the man, was thrown into an upper-class world, felt the disapproval of the people around her, was always compared to the first wife, and there was a big secret behind the first wife. I found these elements intriguing as how it all came together at the end.

Also, I found myself quite frustrated when reading Replacing Gentry. The emotions that Marlie went through as a new bride, who was ignored by her husband and criticized by the new people in her life, were very apparent to me. I wanted to yell at her to get herself out of her situation and tell her that she deserved better. The constant threats and undermining that she went through really got to me. I had to stop reading a few times to let my anger dissipate a bit. Is this a bad thing? No. I think Julie N. Ford did a fabulous job in bringing these emotions out, which sets the tone of the story. So, I did not mind it as much as I thought I would.

I quiet enjoyed this book. I liked the mystery behind it and the sudden changes of my emotions.”

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Vonnie rated a book.

• Rated 4 stars

Vonnie reviewed a book.

“It has been a while since I've read a Sylvia Day book and this one has been on my shelf for a few years now. I am so glad that I finally got the chance to read it. I was hesitant at first because I am not a big fan of anthologies but I took my time with this one and made sure to enjoy each of the...”

“ It has been a while since I've read a Sylvia Day book and this one has been on my shelf for a few years now. I am so glad that I finally got the chance to read it. I was hesitant at first because I am not a big fan of anthologies but I took my time with this one and made sure to enjoy each of the three stories.

"Stolen Pleasures" was a great opener. I greatly enjoyed how Sebastian Blake, the Earl of Merrick aka Captain Phoenix, captured a merchant ship only to find out that the female onboard was his new wife, Olivia. Yes, it was all fast and sudden and I quite believed that these two had "lust at first sight" instead of love, but I couldn't help but giggle at their actions and just enjoyed how the two interacted. The love scenes were also very steamy.

Next was "Lucien's Gamble." This too was an enjoyable read and like the first, it was all too sudden for it to be true love. I didn't mind so much though because the chemistry between the two characters was exciting. I kept wanting to trade places with the heroine since Lucien was described as a love god. Besides, what he did to Julienne would make anyone blush.

The last story, "Her Mad Grace," was my least favorite of the three but it was still a good way to pass the time. I liked the mystery attempt of this story and I liked how the hero Hugh matured in this one compared to how he was in the second story. I was not too amazed with Hugh and Charlotte's relationship, but hey...they appeared more real to me than all of the other characters (it's probably why I least enjoyed this, lol).

All three stories were related to each other and were quite fun. By taking my time with this book, I was able to concentrate on each story and come to appreciate each one for what it was.”