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  ♡

#Bookstagram Wishlist.

Bookstagram is a wonderful place filled with wonderful book lovers. It is filled with gorgeous pictures, books, tea, coffee, etc. Endless recommendations, book buddies, book clubs, subscription boxes, and bookish delights!

It is a whole other world and it's so fun to be part of the community. There are so many book related shops and products I decided to make something of an ultimate wishlist.

So here it is! Must haves (or what I want lol) for the regular and also aspiring bookstagrammer:

First up is an art print from Bookwormboutique~ Let's Live in Fictional Worlds

Book Lovers Coffee~ Hearts & Heroes it is chocolate amaretto flavor and I NEED it in my life. 

All the book sleeves, I own one already but I love them and want one in the other sizes~ Sparksemporium 

A bookish mug from Eviebookish~ I Just Want to Read

Of course we can't miss a bookmark from CreateExploreRead~ #bookstagram

First Edition Tea Co.~ The Literary Collection

A cozy bookish throw pillow from Tsveta Handmade~Cats, Coffee & Books

And lastly, some beautiful Harry Potter book bracelets~ When Melissa Reads

Which of these would you want? What other items would you add to a bookstagram wishlist?

Con Amor,

Yaris  ♡

Hello! Weekly Instagram Favorites.

Ah, Instagram! I love this social media site, it is a wonderful way to keep up show what I'm working on or my newest obsessions.It has such a diverse community, so many types of account to follow. I love so many of them and I can't really pick which are my absolute favorite. So~~~~

I made a kind of roundup of my favorites this week. I divided them by the type of focus they each have and first up is my newest love....

 Bookstagram:

~inkandmagic- This is one of the newest accounts I follow and it is absolutely gorgeous.

~sincerelysara22- I love Sara! She has a great blog, and her pictures are so pretty (I low key aspire to be a book blogger/bookstagrammer like her, but I'll settle on looking at her pictures). She also has touch of Lifestyle to her blogging.

~thebookferret- Adorable furry friends and so many wonderful book pictures.


 Pins (my most recent obsession! All of these are pin makers too):

~lulu-bloo

~thepinksamurai

~luxcups

 Pets (all the adorable fluff you need in your life)

~bunnymama

~bernedoodlebythebeach

~jaeun2- Jane is more on the Lifestyle type of blogging, but her dog pictures and videos are so adorable I just had  to add her.


 Lifestyle:

~fashionadnfrills

~itscarlabethany

~heleninbetween


  Handlettering:

~thepigeonletters

~flowering.words

~bydawnnicole




And that is all for today! Tell me, what are some of your favorite instagrammers?

Con Amor,

Yaris  ♡

Spring beaches

Spring beaches by onhos featuring Nordstrom Rack

It's about time to start heading back to the beach! Since I'm planning a little beach getaway for this coming month I made this outfit set. The swimsuit is beautiful and I need it in my life!

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  ♡

rainy days

rainy days by onhos featuring a wrap bracelet

It's raining so my thoughts are on what type of outfit I would wear to play in the rain. Now that I have planned an outfit, I really want it