The unexpected everything (Morgan Matson)

Andie has planned her whole summer perfectly months beforehand, but right at the beginning of the holidays all her arrangements get destroyed because of her father's scandal. Suddenly Andie finds herself completely unprepared and has to make the best out of her pretty limited situation. Andie soon realizes that it's impossible to find the unexpected when everything's always mapped out and, for the first time in her life, dares to take risks instead of taking the safe route.

"I could do this. If whole galaxies could change, so could I."

I had really high expectations for this book since I've only heard very good things about this novel, but it still managed to surprise me with how amazing it actually is. It's everything you can ask for in a good contemporary read and even more. Due to the fact that a lot of the story is told through text messages and also due to the writing, which is really good, the book is very fast-paced and quick to read and you barely notice it's actually pretty long for a contemporary novel with a bit more than 500 pages. I liked how the story doesn't only focus on just the romance part but is also about friendship and family and even manages to connect these three aspects by having the main character's romantic interest interact a lot with her friends as well as her father. It's also quite nice that the main character is only kind of involved in a love triangle and the reader doesn't have to deal with the pathetic and constant struggle of the main character whether she should choose the first or second boy. Another thing I liked is that it's quite realistic in the way it portrays friendship and also shows that not every friendship is meant to last and if you've lost someone as a close friend, it can be better for both of you and there's most of the time a positive way to see the loss of a friend. I personally quite liked the plot because it wasn't too extraordinary, but still eventful enough for the book to not be dull. Especially interesting and unique is the political aspect that the main character's father brings to the story, as well as the excerpts out of a fantasy novel written by a certain character in the book. Now to be honest, I don't know exactly if the "plot twist" is meant to be shocking or at least suprising or not, because it is just that predictable. On the one side, the many (and quite obvious) hints make the whole thing seem pretty realistic, but on the other side, it just makes the other characters look so incredibly stupid for not figuring it out or at any rate suspecting anything. Also, I believe the main character Andie deserves a trophy for giving the dumbest advice in regard to the "plot twist". Anyway, the message of the book to be more spontaneous, to embrace the unexpected and to try new things is in my opinion great and the story definitely managed to motivate me to try to be a bit more adventurous this summer and to stop being scared of new stuff and it shows that sometimes not being in control isn't the worst thing.
For the most part I really liked the characters and they are, except for the annoying times (like I mentioned before) when they seem so stupid, pretty likeable. I'm not gonna go into any detail about the characters because even though there are quite a lot of them, which I enjoyed, none of them really stands out as a very special character or a new favorite of mine. However, all of them are relatable and they do create a nice mix of different personalities and interests. I especially liked the dynamics between Andie and her best friends Palmer, Bri and Toby and the development of the relationship between Andie and her father. I'm not gonna lie, the romance is quite sweet in this book, but not something special or outstanding.
Anyway, this is the second book by Morgan Matson I've read so far and after finishing The unexpected everything I bought her other two books instantly because I loved everything I've read by her so far. I have to say that I prefer her other novel Since you've been gone a bit over The unexpected everything because I personally just like the storyline and the characters a little bit more, so if you've enjoyed The unexpected everything I can't recommend it enough to pick up Since you've been gone and obviously the other way round.

Rating:  4.5/5 ✹

I hope you enjoyed this review. Have a lovely day!

Leah

Mid year freak out tag

I know I'm a bit late with this tag, but I wanted to give you a little update with my reading year anyway, so I hope you enjoy this book tag!

1. Best book you've read so far in 2016

This question is extremely hard to answer since I've read so many different books and nearly all of them are really good in their own way and it's difficult to compare them. Right now, I'd probably go with Lady midnight by Cassandra Clare, which is truly outstanding, but it's just so hard to choose only one.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2016

Definitely A court of mist and fury by Sarah J. Maas. I even preferred it over the first book in the series and can barely wait for the next one, because her books just seem to become better and better. A close second by the way is certainly The winner's kiss by Marie Rutkoski, since it does a fantastic job at ending The winner's trilogy and is in general just a really good book.

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to

I think I've caught up with all the new releases I've definitely wanted to read, but a book that's been recently released and sounds interesting is This savage song by V. E. Schwab, but before picking it up I'll definitely read her Shades of magic series.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

It's impossible for me to choose between Crooked kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and Empire of storms by Sarah J. Maas. It. is. honestly. not. possible.

5. Biggest dissappointment

Sadly, I have to go with Glass sword by Victoria Aveyard for this question. I just didn't like it at all, even though I really enjoyed the first book in the series called Red queen. (If you're interested in my specific reasons for disliking this book so much, you can read my review which I've linked below.)

6. Biggest suprise

I was really suprised I ended up liking The nothing girl by Jodi Taylor as much as I did, because it's just not exactly what I usually enjoy reading. I got this book as a present from my aunt and uncle and even though I'd never thought of buying a book like this myself, I liked it a lot.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

I've read actually a lot of books by authors that are new to me this year, but the one that managed to suprise me the most is Brandon Sanderson with his work Warbreaker. Despite having read so many fantasy novels already, Warbreaker was a new experience for me and in some ways unlike any book I've ever read.

8. Newest fictional crush

I'm very sure I'm not the only one with this answer, but how can you not fall in love with Rhysand from the A court of thornes and roses series by Sarah J. Maas? We don't get to see him a lot in the first book, so I didn't really consider him a fictional crush until reading A court of mist and fury, where he plays a way bigger role, this year.

9. Newest favorite character

Two characters that quickly became some of my favorites are Alina Starkov from The grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and Adelina Amouteru from The young elites series by Marie Lu. Both of them are similar in the way that they are at least to some extent heroes who turn into antagonists, which I think is really interesting and it's great to experience their journeys.

10. Book that made you cry

To be honest, basically every book manages to make me cry, so I'm just choosing another new favorite, which is The night circus by Erin Morgenstern. It's such a beautiful and at some points heartbreaking story and I just can't recommend it enough.

11. Book that made you happy

The moon and more by Sarah Dessen did a pretty good job at making me feel happy and is in general a quite good contemporary book that puts you in the perfect mood for summer.

12. Most beautiful book you've bought (or received) so far this year

Does The world of ice and fire by George R.R. Martin, Elio M. García and Linda Antonsson count for this question? The cover isn't that pretty, but the artwork inside in return is truly stunning and spectacular. It's just amazing to actually see the places and events you've read so much about in the A song of ice and fire series drawn in such a beautiful way on the pages of a book.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?

I don't think I necessarily need to read any books by the end of the year, but I do hope to have read American gods by Neil Gaiman by then, because the tv show premieres at some point in 2017 and I want to have finished the book before that.


In case you're interested in reading my reviews for any of the books I've mentioned, you can click below to get to each one:

Lady midnight
A court of mist and fury
The winner's kiss
Glass sword
Warbreaker
The grisha trilogy
The young elites
The night circus
The moon and more

I hope you've enjoyed this book tag, although my answers are pretty short and my english probably isn't as good as it usually is due to the fact that I'm just really tired and unfocused right now. Anyway, have a nice day!

Leah

The young elites (Marie Lu)

Adelina Amouteru is one of the survivors of a terrible disease called the blood fever that killed every adult who got infected and marked the few surviving children, making them malfettos. Malfettos like Adelina are despised and excluded from society, sometimes even hunted. Adelina soon discovers that the blood fever hasn't just brought her suffering, but also a gift: a magical and strong power, which makes her one of the Young elites and gives her the opportunity to seek revenge against all those who've wronged her.

"I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside. It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt."

When I started The young elites I had literally no idea what's it about and only picked it up because so many people said how amazing and unique this series is. Because of my high expectations I was a bit disappointed since the book is for the first half basically like every other YA fantasy novel and while that definitely doesn't mean it's bad, it just wasn't what I've expected and what I've wanted to read. But towards the ending, The young elites gets suddenly very dark very quickly, which I honestly absolutely loved. The concept of having the main character start out as a hero and turn more and more into a villain is just super intriguing. Since you tend to get attached to the main character in general as a reader, you are constantly questioning yourself during this series whether you really should support and root for the main character. It brings you in a bit of a moral dilemma and kind of forces you to think a lot about your idea of ethics. The plot in general is quite fast-paced and I felt at no point in any way bored. I liked the writing as well as the worldbuilding, even though I was a bit confused where exactly which character was at some points during the story (but that's probaly just because I was too stupid to understand the map at the beginning of both books). One thing I really didn't like however is how short both books are. The first one is about 350 pages, the second only slightly longer and at least in my opinion, that's just a bit too short for a fantasy novel, especially because I'm used to reading fantasy books with at least 500 pages. I usually wouldn't mind that much, but The young elites series has so much potential and it'd be simply great to have a longer story and to explore it inmore depth.
The best thing by far about this series are definitely the characters. All of them are super interesting and intriguing and actually feel like realistic characters since they all have some kind of backstory and none of them is completely good or evil. The main character Adelina Amouteru is a fantastic character. She's completely different and incredbly complex and something that makes her so special and interesting is her internal dialogue, that becomes even more present in the second book. What I really admire about Adelina is how she manages to turn horrible experiences into advantages. The abusive childhood she had to suffer through didn't break her, but only helped to make her stronger. Despite being sometimes afraid of the darkness inside her, she uses it for her power rather than pretending it's not there. I think these examples just show how much of a strong character Adelina is and honestly, I was in equal parts slightly terrified of her and also sympathised with her a lot. I won't go into any detail about the other characters to avoid spoilers, but I can definitely tell you that they're amazing and reading about them is truly phenomenal.
I am genuinely so excited for the third and last book in the series called The midnight star and can barely wait for October to get my hands on it. Hopefully I've motivated you to pick up this series and you'll enjoy it as much as I have!

Rating:
The young elites:  4/5 ✹
The rose society: 4.5/5 ✹

I hope you enjoyed this review. Have a fantastic day!

Leah

The moon and more (Sarah Dessen)

Emaline seems to have her life perfectly figured out with her long-term boyfriend Luke, a decent job and a good relationship with both her family members and close friends. But then she meets in the idyllic beach town she's lived in for her whole life a young and ambitious man from New York called Theo, who challenges her to reach for bigger things. To make her last summer before she has to leave for college count, Emalin decides to be more adventurous and open for new challenges as well as relationships, and tries to find the balance between where she comes from and where she's going.

"Life is long. Just because you don't get your chance right when you want or expect it, doesn't mean it won't come. Fate doesn't punch a time clock or consult a schedule."

This is the first book by Sarah Dessen I've read, so I didn't have any expectations and I also can't compare this to any of her other novels, but I enjoyed it. It's exactly what I wanted and hoped it to be, which is just a light and fun summer read, that makes me excited for the season and appreciate the good weather instead of complaining all the time that it's way too hot. Anyway, it definitely did inspire and motivate me to go out and do fun activities this summer rather than binging TV shows for the whole summer break (let's be honest, I'm still gonna do that, but hopefully just not as excessively as last year). Honestly, this book isn't anything special or unique and it's basically the definition of a YA contemporary novel including aspects like a love triangle, family drama and friendship, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing at all. In the end, we all read because it brings us enjoyment and The moon and more definitely doesn't disappoint in that point. This novel is also great for a variety of different kinds of readers: picky readers know pretty much exactly what to expect, it's obviously amazing for people who are really into YA contemporary literature and it's also safe to pick up for young people who don't read a lot. The plot is okay, it's not that dramatic or thrilling, but again, that's not really the reason you read those kind of books. What I especially liked about this one are the different family dynamics and the fact that the main character doesn't have these stereotype friends. Something that confused me a lot are these moments at the end of some chapters where some bad event gets kind of teased, but then at the beginning of the new chapter you find out that literally nothing happened. I mean, why tell the reader that the main character is hanging out in a neighborhood with this really bad reputation and it's dark and someone is approaching her, and then just start a new chapter back in her house and just ignoring the previous few pages. I was a bit disappointed with the romance because I had my problems with both boys the main character has a romantic relationship with, it is however quite nice that the focus doesn't solely lies on the romantic aspects of the story. The writing is okay, it's not fantastic, but it's not bad or cringe-worthy either and it allows the reader to basically fly through the book, since it's so easy and fast to read. The novel has with about 435 pages in my opinion the pretty much perfect length for a YA contemporary book and gives the reader enough time to really get to know the characters as well as the places where the story takes place.
I liked most of the characters and I think pretty much all of them are in some way relatable, something that's at least for me very important in contemporary and coming-of-age novels. I think that's why it's great to read a book like that sometimes, even though you're like me and enjoy fantasy books a lot more. These characters aren't like somebody who we want to be, like the ones in genres like fantasy or sci-fi, but similar to the person we actually are. These realistic characters who share certain character traits with me help me gain at least a bit more confidence and also boost my self-esteem by showing me that I'm fine the way I am and that there's wrong with me.
 I'm pretty sure I'll pick up another book by Sarah Dessen, since I feel like after reading The moon and more, you can't really go wrong with any novel written by her in case you're searching for a light contemporary read and I'm just in the mood for fun summer books right now.

Rating:  3/5 ✹

I hope you enjoyed this review, have a lovely day!

Leah