#BookWorm: Troubled Waters

Hello fellow readers!

Today I finished Troubled Waters by Annalisa Grant which is the sequel to The Lake in the trilogy about a young girl named Layla. This book started with Layla finding Will's ring in her new house in Tallahassee, but it seems as he has disappeared into thin air. Meanwhile an old friend Marcus suspiciously shows up in Tallahassee with no good reason for being there. This book series is interesting to me as Layla moves from Florida to North Carolina and back again. The characters are good, the writing is decent, and it seems like an early works series for a newer author. Meaning you can kind of tell that she isn't a Sarah Dessen or Jenny Han. They are interesting books thought! It bothers me that at times she gets kind of repetitive and also that Layla and Will say "baby" or "honey" like 500000000 times per page. I can only take so much. It also is super unrealistic how intense this high school turned college relationship is. Being married to my high school sweetheart I do have some insight on the drama filled intensity that it requires, but this book is quite dramatic. Overall, 7/5/10. Good enough to finish, not the best thing ever. But if you like YA Romance novels then you'd like it.

Anyways I am excited to get started on the new Nicholas Sparks book See Me this week and I have a feeling this one will be finished quickly as Madi has a heavy schedule next week, meaning more study time for him this weekend and more reading for me! Has anyone read Nicholas Sparks new book? Is it as good as the rest? No spoilers please! But I am curious to see what other people are thinking about it as I haven't heard much yet, except from one patient at work who had just started it and said so far so good!


Thanks for reading along with me,
Olivia :)

My Random Addictions: Nicholas Sparks

Ahh, Nicholas Sparks. The now divorced author of amazing love stories has always swept people off their feet. Especially me. I LOVE his books. They aren't a guilty pleasure because I feel no guilt for loving them. And loving his movies, no matter how cheesy they are. I remember when Nicholas Sparks came on Valentine's Day weekend to USF and I couldn't go because as per usual I had to work. (Literally worked my life away in college). Depressing. I also remember how excited I was when I found out my Dear John book had his actual signature in it! And I got it for $4.50 at McKays! Score! Soon The Choice will be released in theaters, and although I'm not thrilled about the cast: I LOVED the book. And I will be seeing it. Most likely opening weekend. In honor of The Choice's soon release, here are my rankings of the best Nicholas Sparks movies and books!

Books

5. At First Sight

The second part of Nicholas Sparks' True Believer, this book goes into Lexie's story more. The end is the most depressing of all for me on this one. But so good. So, so good.

4. The Lucky One

Loved this book. Movie was okay, even though who can resist watching Zac Efron for two hours? Not many. Myself included. This is about a man who leaves the army after finding a picture of a woman in the desert sand. He searches to find her, and when he does surprises come his way.

3. A Bend in the Road

Why isn't this a movie yet? Such a good story about a bad storm that brings Sarah and Miles together. It's another great one.

2. The Rescue

Again, not a movie yet, and I don't know why! The plot revolves around a fireman and his love for a mom and her little boy who has trouble speaking. 

1. The Best of Me

If you're looking for a Nicholas Sparks book that has a great plot and stabs you in the heart at the end, this is it. The story is about a poor boy who falls in love with a rich girl and they don't see each other for years then come back together when a mutual friend passes away. Of course, it's amazing IMO!

Movies

5. The Best of Me

This is my FAVORITE Nicholas Sparks book, and although the cast was not what I would have chosen, it is SO GOOD. And SO SAD. Ahh the ending. But great wrap around finish that brings everything together. Love it.

4. The Last Song

I know, I know. Miley and Liam in their normal adorable days. The story behind this one is really good too. Yes, I'm for real. And no, Miley is not my favorite actress but I honestly love her in this movie. She fits the role well and I really did love her and Liam together. RIP beautiful babies they would have had. Ugh. 

3. The Longest Ride

One of the newer Nicholas Sparks movies and I honestly didn't think I would love it this much. But I do. The plot is great, and has a good connecting story.

2. A Walk to Remember

Yup, so good. Plot is great. Cast is great. If this movie doesn't make you cry, you have no soul. 

1. The Notebook

Obviously. If this isn't your #1 favorite Nicholas Sparks, we can't be friends. Just kidding we can, but you better watch it and love it. The movie was 100x better than the book. The cast: phenomenal. The locations: better than I imagined. It's just a 100%, 10/10, top of the list movie. And as per usual with Nicholas Sparks movies, depressing. But worth the watch. It does bother me that the ending is no where near the same as the book, but I like the movie ending better!

So do you agree? How close was my ranking to yours? I want to know what your all time favorite Nicholas Sparks movie and book are! I'm sure there are many of you who share my obsession ;). 

Thanks for reading,

- Olivia :)

#BookWorm: The Silent Wife

Hello fellow readers,

The most recent book I checked off of my list was The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison. This book was acclaimed to be better than Gone Girl, however I beg to differ. The premise of the story was that the main character Jodi figures out that her long time boyfriend, Todd, has been cheating on her. She decided to not marry him because of her own fears, and has known for a long time that she has been sleeping around. She then finds out that he impregnated a twenty year old girl who is the daughter of a family friend and Todd has to decide if he is going to leave Jodi or stay with her. He decides to leave her, and the rest of the book is what she decides to do with it.

So let me tell you, this book was not what I expected. Hearing it's positive reviews I expected a plot twisted thriller, and I got 2/3 of a book talking about how a sleazy husband cheats on his wife and is constantly thinking about other women. The last third is what Jodi decides to do for revenge on him. It was not witty, and had no plot twists. I actually guessed the ending about half way through the book. Not much surprised me. But mystery/thrillers are my kinds of books so maybe it's just me. It was an interesting story, but was not as easy of a read as any of Gillian Flynn's books. Overall rating: 7/10. One interesting tidbit of information is that the author actually died shortly after this book hit the market from cancer. Which is unfortunate, because she actually could have had a lot of success in my opinion.

Now I am getting into the stack of books I got for Christmas and got from Florida, so I won't be going back to the library for a little while until I can get down to the bottom of this stack. Since Madi is back in the full swing of school, I should be reading a lot quicker again! In the meantime, any suggestions for books I am open to!

Thanks for reading with me,
- Olivia

Deep Creek, MD 2015

Hello everyone!

Recently Madi and I traveled back to one of our favorite spots, Deep Creek, MD, with our families for the New Year holiday. This trip was a little different than others as we went with my family, Madi's famiy, and Madi's new family members since his mom recently got re-married in November. There were 15 of us in one house! Unfortunately it didn't snow, but we made it fun anyways! We did the typical mountain rollercoaster, Dave and Busters, bowling, and hiking in Swallow Falls Park, but we also did some new things like the Pittsburgh Zoo and Uno's. We still had a blast. If you want to see more of what we did, check out the video below featuring Madi GoPro-ing himself while riding the mountain rollercoaster in freezing weather (I had to cut out most of it because it was so long, but I kept the best parts in there). 

https://youtu.be/rh4POt7hJXk

We don't have big trips coming up any time soon due to Madi's school schedule, but Madi's mom and sister will be visiting in February and we will be going back to Florida in April! We have a few weekend trips planned for the rest of the year, and in the next two years we have some bigger trips planned that I can't wait to get booked! 

Thanks for keeping up with us,

- Olivia

#BookWorm: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Hello fellow readers!

The last book series I completed was To All the Boys I've Loved Before and P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. This is the same author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series that I read a few months ago. To All the Boys I've Loved Before is about a high school girl named Lara Jean who writes a letter to each boy she has ever loved once she is done liking them and keeps them in a hatbox. One day at school a boy comes up to her with the exact letter she wrote saying it was mailed to his house, and she realizes all of her letters are gone including the one to her sister's ex-boyfriend and their neighbor. Lara Jean has to face each boy she wrote a letter to, and in the process falls back in love with one of them. 

P.S. I Still Love You is a continuation of the first book, with Lara Jean and the boy of her choice being broken up. The story continues as she tries to explain how she feels to him throughout the book. I can't say much more without giving away things from the first! I liked this series, and if you like Sarah Dessen or Jenny Han's other books you would probably like it to. The reading was easy. A few cons about the book popped up as I read it, one of them being the fact that she refers to her Mom and Dad constantly as Mommy and Daddy even though she's seventeen. Such a pet peeve of mine. Also a lot was repeated from book one to two, which makes sense if you read them as they came out and had time in between, but reading them back to back it got kind of annoying. Overall I would rate this book series a 8.5/10. Good enough to read if you like YA Romance novels but not the best YA Romance novel I have ever read.

January is going to be a pretty easy going month, so I am hoping to get a good start on the stack of books I have from Christmas and from my mom in Florida! I do have one last library book that I am working my way through The Silent Wife which has been acclaimed as better than Gone Girl, so we shall see how it is! Have you read To All the Boys I've Loved Before? Or it's sequel? I would love to hear!

Thanks for reading with me,

- Olivia