A Penny for Your Thoughts? A Book Review. Noteworthy

Hello, hello! Today we are reviewing Noteworthy by Riley Redgate and hint, hint: I inmensely enjoyed it! It comes out May 2nd, 2017. As always for my disclaimer click here. The description:
It’s the start of Jordan Sun’s junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, she’s an Alto 2, which—in the musical theatre world—is sort of like being a vulture in the wild: She has a spot in the ecosystem, but nobody’s falling over themselves to express their appreciation. So it’s no surprise when she gets shut out of the fal ...

I give this 5 pennies  out of 5.

"Monday morning was the worst possible time to have an existential crisis, I decided on a Monday morning, while having an existential crisis." This has to be the most relatable first line in a book that I have ever read. After reading that I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy this story (Spoiler alert! That feeling was right).


Noteworthy is a relatable tale about a girl, Jordan, not only finding herself, but of her personal growth in a performing arts school in a rather  intriguing way... she crossdresses as a prep boy. A fair,warning, I might overuse the word relatable, but I just couldn't find any other word that is more appropriate than it to describe this book.

Jordan is confused about not only her sexuality, but who she is as a person. With no friends and no callbacks she starts to wonder what she has actually done with her life at Kensigton-Blaine Academy. This leads us to the first aspect I liked, the characters! Flawed characters in a way that is so relateble you forget that they are fictional. Even the less likeable characters are fleshed out so well I couldn't bring myself to completely dislike them. Diversity! Refreshing to read a book wwith such diverse characters.

Sexuality is a major theme in this book, from the main character's struggle with it to the way some side characters act. The way it is approached felt very organic. None of it felt forced which I appreciated. Important issues were addressed in a tasteful and respectful way. For example (spoiler, sort of), when Jordan comes accross advise she uses to crossdress from a trans website/blog.

One thing I didn't like was how while reading it brought me back to those unsure and self-conscious feelings from high school. THis is in no way negative, as it shows the authors ability to engage the readers.

Overall, Noteworthy was a great read! I enjoyed the humor (Ah, the banter) in the story, there was a good amount without it being excessive or out of place. I'm new to the YA Contemporary genre and this was a great addition to my growing love of said genre. I would definitely recommend this to not only contemporary lovers, but newbies like me.


Oh by the way the relatable word count went up to 4, less than I thought it would be but more than it should have been. What is your favorite YA Contemporary book?

Con Amor,

Yaris  ♡

A Penny for Your Thoughts? A Book Review. Mer

Hello! And welcome to my second book review!

I choose a graphic novel for this review. As always for my disclaimer click here. I had a couple of ARCs to get through, but this one undoubtedly was the read I enjoyed most. Let's get started then.

I give this 4 pennies  out of 5(for sheer potential)

Mer is written by Joelle Sellner and illustrated by Abby Boeh, it's publishing date is set for April 19, 2017. The first sentence of it's description states that this story is like Twilight meeting Atlantis. I have always had a weak spot for anything mer-related so I was quickly drawn to it's description.

First of all, let's talk about that cover guys! I mean if that cover doesn't draw you in then the description will:

Twilight meets the legend of Atlantis in this gripping graphic novel from writer Joelle Sellner and artist Abby Boeh. After the death of her beloved mother, Aryn’s father has moved her family to a new town hoping for a fresh start. At first things seem to be going well—Aryn is making friends and has even caught the eye of one of the hottest guys in school. But there are dark forces moving under the surface that Aryn cannot see; and her new crush may not be … human.

The premise of the story is an interesting one, and I'm a sucker for all that American High School drama (sue me!). At times I was confused by sections of the plot, but the author brought me back to the main theme. Hopefully some of that will be cleared up by the time the finished product is published, if not by the next issue. Which brings me to the next issue with this, is it going to be a series or a one-off graphic novel? The ending was vague at best, which I hope means there is gooing to be other novels. This has the potential to grow into a great series, it has room to flesh out and ther is a world we have yet to explore (spoiler but maybe not: Atlantis!). I am looking forward to learning more about the mer and their world.

The art, it is time to address it! Abby adds so much personality to all of the characters in her illustrations. The best part is their expressions, they are either hilarious or make me sad (you'll see at one point with Aryn and Adrian.. read: before the ending). The colors are also something to look towards. The colors used for each scene and character goes with the general theme of the story or the personality of said character.

I definitely would recommend this if you love graphic novels or anything mermaid. What is your favorite graphic novel?

Con Amor,

Yaris  ♡

A Penny for Your Thoughts? A Book Review. The Roanoke Girls

Welcome to my first ever book review! I put a lot of thought and went back and forth before deciding to actually post this (I tend to write my posts on notebooks so I already had it written down). Do you like the title for my book reviews? I really hope this isn't taken!

First up is The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel, I received an eARC of this for a review. Click here for my disclaimer, thank you!

I give this 3.5 pennies out of 5 (and I will explain why)


I dove into this book blind. I did not read its synopsis or other reviews before I started. The reason for this is that I wanted to read The Roanoke Girls as a blank slate, no bias or unconsious ideas derived from others about the book. This is a very well written book, my rating has nothing to do with the author's ability. On that note, I would like to congratulate Amy Engel on this debut Adult novel!

Even thoughy I really liked the writing style, this novel just wasn't my cup of tea. It took me a while to get any traction while reading this, I'm not sure if it was jsut the genre or something specific to this story. I absolutely loved and enjoyed that the characters were flawed (some extremely), just not enough to keep me engaged. I love myself stories filled with secrets, the big secret here is revealed to the reader a bit too early for my taste. I kind of enjoy simmering in that not-knowing-trying-to-guess-what-are-they-hiding??? stage of a story for a good while.
This is a dark thrilling story and can get (will get) disturbing. If you enjoy dark family secrets this is the book for you. It just wasn't the dark secrets story I normally enjoy, I might give it sometime and then try again (who knows maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this genre when I read it). I will check out Amy Engel's other books and give them a try. Oh on a side note that has nothing to do with the book, can I just say how much I like that Amy Engel was formerly a criminal defense attorney? I don't know why I just do, that is so badass.

Here is part of the synopsys on Goodreads:
After her mother's suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother's mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But w...

Thank you for sticking till the end of my first ever book review, Here is to hoping they get better!
Do you guys enjpy thrillers? What are some of your favorites? If not, what genre do you favor and what book from said genre would you recommend?

Have a great weekend guys!

Con Amor,

Yaris  ♡

A year wiser. Happy birdday to me~

It is my birthday! Altough I am of the belief that until the exact time I was born I am  still not a year older (I still have till 10:30 pm). This has been one of my best birthday days (???) in years.

A Tropical Christmas.

Hello hello!

It's been a very long time!

I know, I'm so sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I was not well health wise for a couple of months. I kept getting sick. No matter, I'm back now and that's what's important. The weather here has been very hectic. It's either chilly and humid or hot and humid. There has also been tons of rain. It's tropical weather and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've been playing around with my drawing tablet and made these Christmas cards. I've missed blogging and like I keep saying I'll try to keep up with it!

This one is my absolute favorite! It came out so cute. 

I know they're aren't the greatest, but practice makes perfect. I hope you guys like it and feel free to use them too. I'll keep you updated with Christmas in Puerto Rico.

Till next time!

                                                                        Con amor,
                                                                             Yaris ♡

life lately. a little hectic.

I've been pretty busy lately. I've been spending time with the family, have been busy at church, been looking for work, and I am starting my classes again. I took a year off, and I think it's time to start up again. I'm facing my fears and difficulties head on. Wish me luck guys!

And I'll blog a lot more now.

I'll leave some pictures of what I've been doing and I promise that there are more to come!

So, has has summer been for everyone else?


                                                                           Con amor,

Yaris ♡

New Year. New URL. Same me

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

I'm starting my year with a new URL. I've moved back home, to the wonderful island of Puerto Rico, so from now on I'll be sharing my everyday island life. It's everyday things, only slightly more tropical hahaha.

I've been away for a long time since moving back home but here I am now.

I started out the year going to different gardening shops, with my mother, and grandmother. There were a lot of beautiful plants and I just couldn't help myself so I took some pictures to share with you guys~

I felt as if I was in a forest all day long, and it was really relaxing going plant shopping.

The orchids were beautiful as always.

A pop of red was also delightful through all the greenery.

Here is a sneak peak at what may be my next post!
I'm doing a little  DIY project to start my year off right and as you can see I had a little helper with me. Meet my sweet eldest baby, Suki. She is eleven years young.

Although  she played more with her teddy than helping me out... She was very curious to what I was doing and why she couldn't play with any of the things I was using.

That is it for now, I just wanted to get back into the habit of posting in my blog

I hope this year I'll keep at it and won't abandon it. Any suggestions are welcome

Feel free to talk and ask anything <3

I would love to know about your Holidays!

Con amor,

Yaris ♡

finals.

Look at the time go! Last final was today and dorm check out.  Of course I had to use my pencil watch, since it seemed appropriate and it's really cute (I've been waiting for an occasion to use it ha).

Anyways this has been the slowest yet fastest semester for me. Some days I thought time could not go any slower and the at times I don't know where the time went.

Anyways yay to the start of my summer!!! I'm thinking of taking some art classes and maybe some photography classes. We'll see how that goes >< 

I'm hoping to get a lot of material for the blog. I'm also planning on doing some internal tourism back home and maybe that will turn into a blog series. Not sure how to name it though... Maybe something like 'Puerto Rico through the eyes of a native', or 'An insider view of the island of Puerto Rico'.... I don't know, I'm horrible at naming things....

I guess today's question is: What would you name the blog series?

Con amor,

Yaris ♡

may days. may wishes.

It's been so long! I'm so sorry for my absence. Things haven't been great with me lately, but hopefully I'll get back into this again ^^
It's the end of the semester, which means moving out of the dorm and going back home. Yay, for going home, but not so much for the moving .... Move out always stresses me out, luckily it my last one for a long time (crossing my fingers).

There are a couple of things I have planned for the summer, I'm not going to say what so I don't jinx it! But hopefully I'll be able to blog more and have a lot more to share with you guys!

I still haven't taken my new camera (my baby for a spin) so hopefully I can do that. Also, I might take some photography classes, I'll keep you guys posted!

So lately I've  been obsessed with this site called polyvore, so expect posts with my favorite things from time to time or some dream outfits.
This is my first of hopefully many more to come!

May wishes by onhos featuring chunky platform boots

how have all of you been?

Con amor,

Yaris ♡

My Journey to Independence part 3

I'm back! and I have some news~~~

I've started fundraising for my service dog! I found this website called booster, where I was able to pick and design my own t-shirts. The picture above is the design that the t-shirts will have, I decided to name my fundraising campaign like this blog series I'm doing.  It's because this whole process is a journey, and it's special to me that I'm sharing it with you guys so I thought the design should mean something. I'm grateful for whoever reads this little blog, because I don't feel alone while doing all this. I'm just very thankful ^^

The whole t-shirt is in the picture below along with a link to the site, please feel free to buy a shirt or spread the word!

Journey to Independence shirts

Con amor,

Yaris ♡

goodbye october.

It's been a month of decisions, and obstacles. However good things also came along.

The weather was beautiful, and I've had a lot of adjusting to do.

The end of the month means the beginning of a new journey for me, as I've said in my other blog posts.

The colors of the trees are changing and I hope that I will be changing for the better too. I really love this season it is beautiful looking at the leaves change.

but through all that change some flower bushes still held strong and have gorgeous flowers (although I could do without the bees). 

What do you guys expect or are hoping for this November?

Con amor,

Yaris ♡

it's been a long and hard time

hey guys, I've been gone for a couple of months now..... 

Well, I've been dealing with a lot and have been of the internet for a while due to some health issues that I'm not comfortable speaking of just yet.

I've dedicated this time on concentrating on myself and getting better. I'm starting to prepare myself for this upcoming semester, not without much apprehension....

I'm happy to be going back, yet worried and other feelings all at the same time. A lot of mixed feelings.

I also wanted to update you guys in some small parts of my summer that brought me some happiness

like a new family member

 

her name is Nina, she's a rescue(she was abused)  and helping her through her tough time has helped me in a way.

she has also brought happiness to Minki, now they are inseparable though not without hardships. it took a  while to get Nina used to her new sister and forever home, she was so skittish and shy at first (we're still working on that).

I'm happy yet a bit sad, because I'll be leaving my loves in a little more than a week and won't see them till December.

how have all of you been?

Con amor,

Yaris ♡