Hey Bibliomanics,
Its been a hot minute. The last week of January and the first week of February was attack of the flu. That is the main reason that there hasn’t been posts up in the last week. I am glad to announce that I am feeling so much better and I am ready to tackle February.
Reading: In January I read a total of 3 books. And I have reviewed 2/3 of those books. ( The reviews & Discussion will be linked below.)
Grey: I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. It was a bit of a downfall for me because I was expecting to learn more about Christian’s childhood. Even though, I got a glimpse of it, I had higher expectations. I didn’t feel like their needed to be a retelling from Christian’s point of view of the entire book. I did find some parts enjoyable such as learning about Christian’s business and seeing some of the difficulties Christian had to face as a child. However, I only gave this book a 3/5 stars because I felt it was just too drawn out with very little new information to give to the reader. (Discussion)
Scarlet: This book was very enjoyable. I had a hard time getting used to the changes in POV between Cinder and Scarlett. That took a while for me to switch over from one to the other but once I got used to it the book was very enjoyable. The relationship between Wolf and Scarlett was simply perfect. I loved Wolf. He was very witty and had a good guy/bad boy vibe and I am a huge sucker for the bad boy vibe. As always Cinder was badass and I just enjoyed seeing how her story intertwined with Scarlet’s. There was also a huge mystery element in this book which made it even more enjoyable. I gave it a 4/5 stars.
Clockwork Princess: I listened to this one on audio book. I loved, loved, loved the narrator. This book just slightly didn’t make the cut to be a 5 star read, mainly because there were a few parts in the 
book that dragged one. The relationships between the characters were so strong and complicated that it made it hard for me to stop listening to the story. I loved Jem and by the end of the book I began to love Will as well. I fell head over heels Jem. But, overall the book was great. I loved the love triangle, which I don’t say very often. The romantic relationship between Henry and Charlotte, was beautiful, simply because it was so pure. Charlotte supported Henry in all his inventive ideas no matter how obscene they may have seemed to everyone else. That was something that seemed so powerful to me. Also, Tess’s characters as always came out to be so selfless and strong that I couldn’t help but admire her. My heart ached for her as well as she had to face so many difficulties regarding the ones she loved. But, this book was beautifully written and is my favorite out of the “Infernal Devices” trilogy. I gave this one a 4/5 stars. (Review to come.)
Movies/TV: This month I watched several movies that that I throughly enjoyed and meddled in some tv shows.
Crossroads: I love this movie. This has been one of my favorites since it came out in 2002. It stars Britney Spears, Taryan Manning, and Zoe Saldana, as 3 childhood best friends who reunite on a road trip after graduation. There is friendship and a mystery boy involved. Like I said I love this movie, it has some of Britney’s hit singles such as “I love Rock and Roll”, “I am not a Girl” and “Overprotected”.
This one was one of my favorites this month. I have a f
ull movie review on this movie. I thought it was great, Maggie Smith was an amazing Miss.Shephard. She played a little old lady, who had her set ways and lived in a yellow van. It was humorous and full of love. I adore Maggie Smith, and this movie was very heartfelt. I highly recommend everyone to check it out.
Kangaroo Jack:
I have a feeling that I fell asleep in the middle of this movie. So, I don’t have all that much 
to say about it. The parts that I did watch I found very funny. It follows two friends that are sent to deliver money to the mob in Australia. The money is put into a jacket pocket, and the jacket ends up on a Kangaroo. And so the movie follows the adventures of these two friends as they try to track down the Kangaroo to get back the money. ( I think I need to re-watch this one.)
Angel Season 1:
This is another one of my favorites. This is the spine off tv show, from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. It follows 
Buffy’s love interest Angel as he protects the citizens of Los Angeles after leaving Sunnydale. I love this show. Angel is such an awesome character. I love seeing how he comes to terms with the loss of his relationship with Buffy. He tries really hard to make up for his sins, by saving the people of Los Angeles. I really like that there is a detective feel and not just exploring the supernatural. There are two characters that join Angel from Sunnydale, a watcher- Wesley and Sunnydale’s popular cheerleader Cordelia Chase. I’ve been enjoying re-watching this show. Plus who doesn’t like a hunk who protects citizens from the night?
Girl Meets World Season 1:
This show I stumbled on accidentally. I have heard 
about a spin off from the 1993 “Boy meets World”, starring Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel. This follows their daughter, Riley and her best friend Maya as they run into adventures and learn life long lessons. It is a Disney channel produced show, so there is a lot of kid friendly content and a typical Disney feel to it. However, I did find it to be enjoyable and I loved seeing Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel, and how their characters have grown through out the years. I think that its worthy checking out for the Topanga and Corey fans and its a nostalgic feel to fans of the original show. (Don’t expect it to have the same feel, as it is very much 2000’s Disney. )
General:
In general life news, I am officially back in school so juggling blogging and assignments is a little bit of a struggle but I am committed to at least one post a week.
Secondly, I went back to yoga and I have been loving it. I have been currently doing hot yoga and have been working on mastering the sequences with closed eyes as part of a meditational and balance practice. I am not quit there yet. I have also signed up for the February Yoga Six challenge where you try to go to 29 classes. I know that I won’t be going to all 29 but I want to go as many times as I can this month. The main goal is over 5. Secondly, this months practice focus is primarily mastery of the hot yoga class. (And possibly some meddling in running/walking. We will see how that goes.)
How’s was your January? If you wrote a January Wrap- up leave a link in the comments down below I would love to check it out. Let me know what you watched or read. As always if you have any recommendations or requests for reviews please leave it in the comments or for review inquires e-mail me at: marinareviewsbooks@gmail.com. I love connecting with all of you.
Warm cups of tea, and too just a few more chapters.
Marina
/ 5 stars. I really liked being inside of Christian’s head. I enjoyed getting to know his back ground and getting a better understanding to why he enjoyed being in control. However, I felt like there was not enough flash backs or back story on Christian. I didn’t think that it was necessary to retell the story of “50 Shades of Grey”, word for word from a male perspective. I would recommend this book as a stand alone or wait sometime after you finish the series to dive into it. The ending did leave off on a cliff hanger and even though I know what is going to happen I would love to have the story retold from his point of view. I found this book to be more enjoyable than the first because Ana didn’t seem to be as whinny as she was in “50 Shades of Grey”. But, then again Christian did feel like Ana was perfect.
al friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life — boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies — he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him…and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn’t help. Despite himself, Travis can’t stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?
ce, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.
holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year’s there’s something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.
s-using whatever weapons he can find. But why use force when the Reapers’ president has a daughter who’s alone and vulnerable? Hunter has wanted her from the minute he saw her, and now he has an excuse to take her.
marinainw0nderland 