Most Anticipated Summer 2015 Book Releases | Guest Post

I read A LOT; like over 100 books a year (150+ last year) a lot so I am always on the hunt for new books! This summer there are tons of new books coming out so I thought I'd put together a list of the ones I'm most excited about! For this list I defined summer as May-September.

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly
they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.When another boy from her past returns to
her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved
Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

To be honest I'd probably read this even if I hadn't read the first book because I LOVE Jenny Han. If you've never read The Summer I Turned Pretty or Burn for Burn series please go do so immediately! This book is a sequel and I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed the first book. I thought it seemed a bit too juvenile but I found myself really getting into the story and I have been impatiently waiting for this sequel for what feels like forever!

Expected Publication Date: May 26, 2015

What would you do if you could literally rewrite your fate—on Facebook? This heartwarming and
hilarious new novel from the authors of Your Perfect Life follows a woman who discovers she can change her life through online status updates.

Kate is a thirty-five-year-old woman who is obsessed with social media. So when her fiancé, Max,
breaks things off at their rehearsal dinner—to be with Kate’s close friend and coworker, no less—she
goes straight to Facebook to share it with the world. But something’s changed. Suddenly, Kate’s real
life starts to mirror whatever she writes in her Facebook status. With all the power at her fingertips,
and heartbroken and confused over why Max left her, Kate goes back in time to rewrite their history.

Kate's two best friends, Jules and Liam, are the only ones who know the truth. In order to convince
them she’s really time traveled, Kate offers to use her Facebook status to help improve their lives. But her attempts to help them don’t go exactly as planned, and every effort to get Max back seems to only backfire, causing Kate to wonder if it’s really possible to change her fate.

This book seems like one of those books that's either going to be amazing or I'm going to hate it. I think the premise sounds intriguing and if done right it will be a wonderful read! It's worth noting that most of the reviews from readers who received early copies are in the 4-5 star range so that makes me even more interested in reading.

Expected Publication Date: June 2, 2015

On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel
should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she
loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire
inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she
never knew, won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into
a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a
Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by
fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to
having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia’s most exclusive clubs, auction
houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China,
introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it’s like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich. 

Yes I know another sequel but Crazy Rich Asians was so fascinating and entertaining!! I devoured the first book and had no idea there would be a second so this was a pleasant surprise!

Expected Publication Date: June 16, 2015

In Killing Monica, Bushnell spoofs and skewers her way through pop culture, celebrity
worship, fame, and even the meaning of life itself, when a famous writer must resort to faking her
own death in order to get her life back from her most infamous creation--Monica. With her
trademark wit and style, Killing Monica is Bushnell's sharpest, funniest book to date.

I have been a loyal Candace Bushnell supporter since I first picked up Sex and the City years and years ago. I was moderately disappointed with her YA series, The Carrie Diaries, so I was happy to hear her next book would be an adult book. I think the pop culture aspect has the potential to be hilarious.

Expected Publication Date: June 23, 2015

A funny new novel from international bestselling author Marian Keyes about Irish
beautician Stella Sweeney who falls ill, falls in love, then falls into a glamorous new life
in New York City. When her dream life is threatened, will she rally to reclaim love and happiness?

In her own words, Stella Sweeney is just “an ordinary woman living an ordinary life with her
husband and two teenage kids,” working for her sister in their neighborhood beauty salon. Until one day she is struck by a serious illness, landing her in the hospital for months.

After recovering, Stella finds out that her neurologist, Dr. Mannix Taylor, has compiled and self-
published a memoir about her illness. Her discovery comes when she spots a photo of the finished
copy in an American tabloid—and it’s in the hands of the vice president’s wife! As her relationship
with Dr. Taylor gets more complicated, Stella struggles to figure out who she was before her illness,
who she is now, and who she wants to be while relocating to New York City to pursue a career as a newly minted self-help memoirist.

I discovered Marian Keyes the summer after I graduated college. I finally decided I had time to read again and found one of her books at Half Price and fell in love. Her books are almost always funny, easy to read, and wonderfully written. Her book Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married is still one of the funniest books I've ever read. I say all this to say that I would read pretty much anything she writes but I am extra excited about this because it's been a VERY LONG time since I had a new book to read by Marian Keyes.

Expected Publication Date: July 7, 2015

Jacqueline Jordan knows conflict. A fearless journalist, she’s spent the past decade embedded in the 

world’s hot spots, writing about the fall of nations and the rise of despots. But if you were to inquire
about who topped Jack’s enemy list, she’d not hesitate to answer: Kitty Carricoe.

Kitty reigns supreme over the world of carpools and minivans. A SAHM, she spends her days caring
for her dentist husband and three towheaded children, running the PTA, and hiding vegetables in deceptively delicious packed lunches.

Kitty and Jack haven’t a single thing in common—except for Sarabeth Chandler, their mutual bestie.
Sarabeth and Jack can be tomboys with the best of them, while Sarabeth can get her girly-girl on
with Kitty. In fact, the three of them were college friends until the notorious frat party incident, when Jack accidentally hooked up with Kitty’s boyfriend…

Yet both women drop everything and rush to Sarabeth’s side when they get the call that her
fabulously wealthy husband has perished in a suspicious boating accident. To solve the mystery
surrounding his death, Jack and Kitty must bury the hatchet and hit the road for a trip that just may bring them together—if it doesn’t kill them first.

Doesn't this just sound like a funny, light read? I've read a few of Lancaster's nonfiction books and didn't realize she would be writing a fiction story. I loved Bitter is the New Black so I have high hopes for this.

Expected Publication Date: August 4, 2015

An intelligent and madly entertaining debut novel reminiscent of The Crying of Lot 49, White Noise,
and City of Glass that is at once a missing-person mystery, an exorcism of modern culture, and a
wholly singular vision of contemporary womanhood from a terrifying and often funny voice of a new
generation.

A woman known only by the letter A lives in an unnamed American city with her roommate, B, and
boyfriend, C, who wants her to join him on a reality show called That’s My Partner! A eats (or
doesn’t) the right things, watches endless amounts of television, often just for the
commercials—particularly the recurring cartoon escapades of Kandy Kat, the mascot for an entirely
chemical dessert—and models herself on a standard of beauty that only exists in such advertising.
She fixates on the fifteen minutes of fame a news-celebrity named Michael has earned after buying
up his local Wally Supermarket’s entire, and increasingly ample, supply of veal.

Meanwhile B is attempting to make herself a twin of A, who hungers for something to give meaning
to her life, something aside from C’s pornography addiction, and becomes indoctrinated by a new
religion spread throughout a web of corporate franchises, which moves her closer to the decoys that
populate her television world, but no closer to her true nature.

OK, full disclosure here, I took a Buzzfeed quiz called "What New Book Should You Read This Summer" and I got this. I've never even heard of it but after actually reading about it on Goodreads I was intrigued.

Expected Publication Date: August 25, 2015

For more from Brittany, check out her blog, Your Friend, Brittany.

What book releases are you looking forward to this summer?

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The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith | #BlissfulBookTalk

The May read for #BlissfulBookTalk was The Cuckoo's Calling written by J.K. Rowling under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith. I've had this book sitting on my shelf for so long, and my goal for naming it for the May read was to finally dust off the cover and get it read, and I'm so glad I pushed myself to do it. 
The Cuckoo's Calling is about a private detective named Cormoran Strike who is hired to take on the case of the alleged suicide of supermodel, Lula Landry. While most of the world is convinced that Lula let her fame get the best of her and decided to jump off of her balcony, her brother, Bristow, is convinced that foul play was involved. With the help of his temporary assistant, Robin, Cormoran is pushed into the world of fame and stardom to figure out whether Lula's death was a suicide or murder. 
This book started out rather slow for me, but once it picked up, it really picked up. Because it's a mystery and suspense novel, I really wanted to try to keep up with the clues to see if I could solve the case before I read what happened at the end of the book. Unfortunately, there are so many pieces to the puzzle that it was nearly impossible for me to keep up with all of the details. 
For my full review, check out the video below:

I give The Cuckoo's Calling a 4 out of 5. When I got into the nitty gritty of the mystery, it was hard to put this book down. I love a good mystery novel, and this one did not disappoint. I'm really looking forward to reading about more of Cormoran's and Robin's adventures in future books.  
Want to read with me this month? The June pick for #BlissfulBookTalk is Paper Towns by John Green. I'm excited to read this book before it hits theaters in July. Share your thoughts on the book by using the hashtag #BlissfulBookTalk on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Happy reading!

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Fat Girl Walking by Brittany Gibbons | Book Review

Confession: I had no idea who Brittany Gibbons was before I started reading her book, Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It. Some of you may be thinking I live under a rock, and after reading her book, I'm thinking that I may actually have been. She's been in the news on numerous shows, plus she's a blogger, and I had never even heard her name. 
Now that I've read her book, I can easily say I'm obsessed with Brittany Gibbons. Fat Girl Walking is a hilarious memoir of her life. She walks you through the struggles of growing up overweight with crazy parents. She recalls her life as the "secret girlfriend" to many high school guys before finding the love of her life, Andy Gibbons. She shares her struggles with anxiety in college and how she became an internet success. She shares all of these things about her life, but she also gives sound advice to those who may be struggling with the same things that she struggled with for most of her life. 
This book was a quick read because it almost read like a blog. Brittany writes a blog called Brittany, Herself, and that's where she first started sharing many of the things in her book. You definitely get a sense of her background in blogging from the book, and as a blogger, I loved this. 
The only parts of Fat Girl Walking that I didn't enjoy were those about pregnancy and being a mother. While these chapters were hilarious, it's not something I know anything about, and they aren't things that I'm worried about experiencing anytime soon, so these chapters kind of dragged on for me. I think future Tiffany will enjoy these chapters as well as women who have had experiences giving birth and raising children or are even just thinking about becoming a mother, but because I couldn't relate, I couldn't get into these parts. 
Aside from that, this book was laugh out loud hilarious. 
These are a few of my favorite quotes: 
From the introduction: "This is not a diet book, guys. In fact, if I do this right, our cycles will align and we'll be eating our feelings together by the third chapter." -- How could I not be excited about reading this book after reading a line like that?
"When you get into your twenties and begin to take mental stock of your life, the good parts and the bad parts become glaringly apparent. We all have them, good parts and bad parts, but your twenties are generally the first time that you really begin to see the timeline that led you to your current existence." -- As a twenty-something, this really stuck with me and made me start thinking about how the crap I got to where I am.
When an elementary school classmate accused her of having AIDS: "I never asked who she'd heard that from. I don't even know anybody with AIDS. If by Aids, she meant IBS, then, yes, I had that." -- I laughed uncontrollably for several minutes after reading this. 
Advice from her grandmother: "You are going to fail at a lot of things, so when you do, do it on such a grand scale that half the room gives you a standing ovation, and the other half gives you the middle finger." -- Quite possibly my favorite piece of advice from the entire book.
"I'm not saying I don't see fat; saying that is akin to the people who make grand statements about 'not seeing color.' Seeing color doesn't mean that you're a racist. It means your eyes work, but that you have hopefully able to see color not for a discrepancy in normal, but as a beautiful component of diversity."

I give Fat Girl Walking a 4 out of 5. There is so much to love about this book. My favorite parts were her emails with her husband, Andy (seriously, they were made for each other), recollections of a childhood with her dad after he was hit by a semi-truck, her progression into isolation due to anxiety and way too many things to name right now. I think girls of all shapes, all colors and all walks of life should read this book because there's something in it for everyone. 
Want to get your own copy of Fat Girl Walking? It's available for purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | HarperCollins
Or you can use the Rafflecopter below to win one of five copies!
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins for my honest review. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. 

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April Reads

At the beginning of 2015, I set a goal for myself basically saying that I wasn't going to read any books that weren't on my shelf, and to further that, I wasn't going to buy anymore books until I finished all of the ones that I needed to read. So about that... Yeah. That lasted...hmm...maybe two months? Maybe not even. I'm not sure, but basically, that's done. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, I found myself getting all of these books from the library, and it just snowballed into madness. I found that setting that challenge for myself really took the fun out of reading for me. It was like school all over again where I was being forced to read books. Even though I really do want to read the books on my shelf (obviously since I bought them, well most of them), I felt like I was limiting myself, and that just made it less fun. Not to mention, there are so many great books (and great sequels) coming out this year, that it was hard to make myself not read all of these new releases. So now that I've attempted to justify why I haven't been sticking to my challenge... I read a lot of amazing books in April. Admittedly, a good bit of them were audio books because I traveled to and from Texas twice and took an hour and a half trip to Monroe to visit my sister. While I do love jammin' to some tunes on the road, I love listening to books on long drives, so I took advantage of all my road trips to listen to some books.  I read seven books in April! Woah! The first three, I have done book reviews for on my blog, and I'll include the links to those.  All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven Finished April 9 This was the book I listened to on my way to and from Las Colinas, Texas, and what an awesome, awesome read. This book just tore at my heartstrings for real. You can check out the blog post here or watch the video review below. I'd recommend this book to everyone to read, whether you consider yourself to be a young adult or not. It touches on the subject of suicide in such a real way, and I think this is one of my favorite books with that theme because the story is told in a unique way that really helps you get into the mind of someone who may be struggling with suicide. I Was Here by Gayle Forman Finished April 14 Another great book by Gayle Forman. I don't know why, but three of the books I read in April were about suicide, and this was another one of them. You can read my full review here. If you're a fan of Gayle Forman, you will definitely enjoy this book. I have to admit that there were a few elements of the book I wasn't crazy about, and I couldn't really relate to any of the characters, but this also touches on the subject of suicide and was a good read. 

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks Finished April 18 This was the read for #BlissfulBookTalk, and I did a full book to movie review on my YouTube channel, which you can watch below. You can also read a few of my thoughts here. I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book that I haven't enjoyed, and this has officially become one of my favorites by him. I'm a sucker for a southern gentleman, and that's exactly what one of the main characters, Luke, is. He is just a natural charmer, and I love that there's a movie adaptation so I can put a face to a name.  Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang Finished April 20 I listened to this book on my commute to and from the ACMs. It was a pretty quick listen. This is the third book I read in April that centered around the subject of suicide. Falling Into Place tells the story of Liz Emerson who is a seemingly popular person at her school, but that popularity has become a burden for reasons that you find out later, and for many reasons, she decides to run her car off the road. The story is told by switching from the events that lead up to her suicide and the hour leading up to her driving her car off of the road.  I have two main complaints about this book: 1) Liz wasn't a likable character to me, and at times, it was really hard for me to feel sorry for her. 2) I wasn't crazy about the narrator. I mean, it's pretty unique who it ends up being, but it's also confusing. About halfway (maybe sooner?) through the book, it becomes pretty obvious who the narrator is, but it was just weird to me, and any further explanation would lead to spoilers.  Let's get back to Liz. At the beginning of the book, you really feel sorry for her. It's hard not to because she purposely drove her car off the road, and instead of dying, she's in a coma, and she may or may not live. As the book goes on, you learn more about Liz, and you start to realize that she was a pretty awful person, and all of the things that led up to her not even liking herself also made me not like her at all.  That being said, it was an interesting read, and Amy Zhang is an incredible storyteller. The writing in this book was beautiful, and you would think that bouncing back and forth from the past to the car crash to the present would get confusing (especially if you're listening to the audio book), but it actually all flowed together pretty seamlessly.  My favorite character was Liam. He was the person who found Liz, and he ends up being a pretty important character as far as Liz's past goes. Also, the events that happened between Liam and Liz may be what really made me start to dislike Liz a whole lot more than I initially had.  I'd give this book a 4 out of 5.  Even with a main character that I didn't like, this book was still awesome.

Fairest by Marissa Meyer Finished April 24 I listened to this book when I went to visit my sister at school. She lives about an hour and a half away from where I live, so this was the perfect choice since it's just a short novella from The Lunar Chronicles series. I love The Lunar Chronicles (also, I just love Marissa Meyer in general), and you can read my reviews for Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress.  Fairest dives deeper into the story of Queen Levana, the ruler of Luna. As readers, we're all kind of meant to hate Levana, and this book kind of makes you feel sorry for her. It was so interesting to learn about why Levana doesn't want to show her true self and why she's so desperate to rule Earth.  I also love that it showed backgrounds for other important characters, including Winter, who will be the subject of the last book in the series.  This is another 5 out of 5 review for Marissa. I don't know how she does it, but she is such an amazing author with a huge imagination. 

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg Finished April 25 I was so excited to read this book because Zoe is one of my favorite YouTubers. She's so bubbly and adorable, and of course I love supporting fellow bloggers, so I had to read it.  Girl Online is about a girl named Penny who has an online alias known as GirlOnline. This is her little corner of the internet where she blogs about the random happenings of her life. She keeps her blog identity anonymous from everyone aside from her best friend, Elliot. During Christmas, Penny is whisked away to NYC because her mother lands a wedding planning job, and Elliott goes with her. On the trip, Penny meets Noah who also has a secret of his own.  I thought this was a really adorable book and definitely a quick read. Although much of it was a bit cliched, Noah's secret was obvious from the beginning, and some things were just a bit too convenient, I really enjoyed this book. I have to admit that the beginning was a bit slow for me. I didn't really become interested in the book until Penny met Noah because that's when the book actually started going somewhere.  I loved that it touched on the subjects of anxiety, homosexuality, and the harshness of the internet. Those are all three things that need to be talked about more, and I know that Zoe deals with internet trolls on a daily basis, so I'm sure she was excited to write about that. I do feel like some parts of the book were autobiographical for her in a way (I mean, it's about a blogger who gets anxiety attacks), but at the same time, it's dramatized and fictionalized in a big way.  While it was a bit predictable, I still think this book was so cute, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel. Overall, I give Girl Online a 3.5 out of 5. 

Just One Year (Just One Day #2) by Gayle Forman Finished April 30 Apparently I read two Gayle Forman books in April. I loved Just One Day, and because of my challenge, I was supposed to wait to read this book, but then I pretty much abandoned my challenge, so I let myself read it. If you haven't read the first book in the series, this will probably contain some spoilers. 
Just One Year follows Willem's journey in the year after he and Allyson, aka Lulu, met. I really liked Willem, and I think I may have liked him more than I liked Allyson in the first book, but I didn't think his journey was as interesting as Allyson's. This may be because there were so many different characters introduced in this book. I was also sad every time I read about him with another girl because I wanted him to wait for Allyson. Although this was probably unrealistic, I still held on to the sad hope.  I really enjoyed the Just One Year series because I loved living the same year from two different perspectives. I feel like Willem went through so much in the year that he and Allyson were apart, and I think that has a lot to do with his free spirit. He was used to always being on the go, and that didn't stop while he was (kind of) looking for his Lulu.  I give this book a 3.5 out of 5. I'm really looking forward to reading the novella, Just One Night. I was really disappointed that both books pretty much ended in the same place, because I really wanted to know what happened to them, but I'm glad that Gayle decided to write a novella, so we could learn what happened after the two of them found each other (or really after Allyson found Willem because, let's be honest, she did all the legwork). 

It's been a long time since I've read this many books in one month, and I'm pretty excited about it. As you can probably tell, I'm all about that YA, and I love a good love story. I already have a ton of books I want to read in May, and I can't wait to share those with y'all as well.  What books did you read in April?

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The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks Book to Movie Review | #BlissfulBookTalk

The April read for #BlissfulBookTalk was an awesome one - The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. Have any of y'all read this book? It was amazing, and I definitely wanted to read it before I went to see the movie. 
The Longest Ride follows the lives of four people living two love stories several decades apart. The first couple is from the 1960's - Ira and Ruth. You meet Ira after he gets into a fatal car crash after running off the side of the road in a snow storm. While he's fighting for his life, he's also envisioning his late wife, Ruth, sitting next to him. He's reliving their life together one memory at a time. 
The second couple is Sophia and Luke, and their love story has a few parallels to that of Ira and Ruth's even though their story forms in the modern times. Sophia is a college senior from New Jersey living in North Carolina. She loves the arts and dreams of working for a big art museum in New York City. She's in a sorority and super smart, but as a senior, she's focused on getting out of college and starting the next chapter of her life. When her roommate, Marcia, convinces her to go to a bull riding event, she meets Luke, a professional bull rider, and their story just escalates from there. 
I very much enjoyed both the book and the movie for different reasons. If you haven't read the book, the rest of the review will contain spoilers, but you can watch the first half of my video review (don't worry, I let you know before I start talking about the movie) to hear more of my thoughts on this awesome book. 

As for the movie, it follows a similar plot, but the two couples' lives are intertwined a bit more, particularly when it comes to Ira and Sophia. In the book, they meet at the very end when Sophia and Luke discover Ira after a weekend away at a cottage. In the movie, they find Ira's car pretty early on while driving through the rain. When Ira wakes up in the hospital, Sophia is there, and she reads the letters in Ira's box. From there, their lives are intertwined, and I loved it. I think that's my favorite change from the book version. 
I have tons more thoughts on the book to movie adaptation, and I spill the beans about all of it in my review, which you can watch above.

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5. My main complaint is that I wasn't really that interested in Ira's story even though he was a super integral part of the book. I liked Ira as a character, and I thought he was important, but he just wasn't that interesting to me. That being said, I loved Ira's character in the movie.
So if you want to read along with me in May, the book for #BlissfulBookTalk is going to be The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. I'm super excited to finally read this book! If you read along with me be sure to tag me on social media (@tiffanykhyla) and use the hashtag #BlissfulBookTalk!
Have you read The Longest Ride or seen the movie? What book would you like me to choose for next month's #BlissfulBookTalk book?

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I Was Here by Gayle Forman | Book Review

I Was Here follows a girl named Cody whose best friend, Meg, committed suicide. She always thought of Meg as her bubbly, happy go lucky best friend, and she's left feeling a huge sense of loss and confusion after her death. At the request of Meg's parents, Cody travels to Meg's apartment to collect her belongings where she finds several things about Meg that she doesn't quite understand, particularly an encrypted file and a guy named Ben McAllister who Meg briefly described to Cody in past emails. When Cody dives deeper into this side of Meg that she hardly knows about, she starts to question whether she knew her best friend at all. 
I was immediately drawn to Cody because I could feel her loss. I sympathized with her when she really started questioning whether or not she really knew her best friend. Even though I liked most things about Cody, she almost left me with a ton of frustration. I just thought she was pretty selfish because in the book it describes how Meg would reach out to her to come and visit her at school, but Cody would just make open-ended promises with no intention of actually making it there, and that just really upset me. She just wasn't a good best friend at times, and it was almost like she was trying to justify it by diving deeper into Meg's suicide, which is understandable. I loved Cody, and I think the only reason I got so frustrated with her is because she was such a believable character. 
I loved the development between Cody and her mom. One thing I love about YA novels is that there's usually the main character and their best friend with some kind of conflict aside from what the plot actually is, but in this case, since the best friend was dead, Gayle Forman still brought that element into it but made it with Cody's mom instead. This was an element of the book that was so relatable to me, and I loved how Gayle made their relationship progress throughout the novel in small ways. 
Of course, it wouldn't be a Gayle Forman novel without a bit of romance, right? I really loved Ben as a character. In fact, I think it's safe to say that he was my favorite character. That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of Cody and Ben together. At times, it was okay, but at other times, it just seemed forced. Their lives were kind of thrown together accidentally because of Meg's death, but I feel like they chose the wrong people to lean on in this tragedy. I think if the novel were written with them just as friends and not romantically entangled, I would have enjoyed their relationship a lot more. I also didn't like the blase mention of Ben and Meg's former "relationship," and it was just weird how they came together in that way. 

Overall, I give this book a 3.5 out of 5. It wasn't my favorite by Gayle Forman, but I definitely still enjoyed it!

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When Famous People Tweet You Back | Part 2

I feel like it's a little victory every time a verified person on Twitter interacts with me. I seriously get a little thrill and screenshot it. It doesn't matter if it's a favorite, retweet or reply, I get embarrassingly excited. 
I already shared a few times famous people have showed me some love on Twitter, so you can check that out here. 
ACTORS/ACTRESSES Shane West I had just gotten my "Hello Boys" shirt from Mark Sheppard's Represent campaign. Jon ordered it for me because he loves me. I put it on and tweeted out a pic because I thought it was ironic that I was wearing a picture depicting Supernatural's King of Hell on Easter, so of course I tweeted it out, mentioned feeling like a heathen and justified my shirt choice with it being Salem Sunday! Then Shane West retweeted me, and I literally squealed (Jon as my witness). 

Looking like a heathen with my @Mark_Sheppard shirt on, but it's k cause it's #SalemSunday 😈 #Supernatural @shanewest pic.twitter.com/Ou021gdTLN
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) April 5, 2015

James Phelps As I mentioned in my Dallas ComicCon post, James Phelps tweeted me TWICE!

@tiffanykhyla thanks
— James Phelps (@James_Phelps) October 20, 2014

@tiffanykhyla =D
— James Phelps (@James_Phelps) October 20, 2014

Claire Coffee
I don't know about you, but I love when celebrities take the time to blog. I have to admit that Claire was never my favorite person, because Adelind drives me crazy on Grimm, but after reading her blog and looking at her Instagram, I just started to adore her so much. Now I follow her on Twitter, and she literally cracks me up, and I love when she live tweets the show.

@tiffanykhyla It’s mutual, Tiffany!! Thank you!
— Claire Coffee (@clairecoffee) November 17, 2014

Ellen DeGeneres
Okay, so Ellen's never actually tweeted me or interacted with any of my tweets or anything, but she is following me, so I feel like that's the first step in us becoming BFFs.

MUSICIANS Matt Hires While I was in Las Colinas, TX for work, I decided to make the most of my time near Dallas and fit as many activities in as possible. My favorite night was when I went to see Matt Hires perform at The Prophet Bar. The day of the show, I was listening to his album nonstop, and in my excitement, I decided to tweet about it. I was pumped when he tweeted me back!

@tiffanykhyla See you soon!
— matthires (@matthires) April 8, 2015

Ty Mayfield Ty Mayfield was the opening act for Matt Hires, and holy cow, he was amazing. I don't know how people aren't talking about him all the time, because he was so talented. I've been listening to his albums so much, and I can't get enough. After his performance, I tweeted about him, and he favorited it.

Officially obsessed with @TyMayfieldMusic! #amazing 🎶🎶🎶
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) April 9, 2015

Sheppard
After I discovered "Geronimo" for the first time last November, I pretty much had it on repeat for about a week. I loved it so much! After tweeting about my obsession, they favorited it.

#onrepeat today: Geronimo by @wearesheppard
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) November 13, 2014

Caroline Glaser
I really think Caroline should've won the fourth season of The Voice. I was so mad at Adam for kicking her off. Of course, I'm still a fan of hers, and I've been loving her EPs. When I tweeted about it last September, she was kind enough to favorite it.

Listening to @CarolineGlaser's new EP, Better Days, Vol. 2, on repeat today. It so beautiful! #nowplaying #betterdays #onrepeat
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) September 18, 2014

Xenia
Xenia was another contestant on The Voice that I loved. She was on season 1, and she was incredible. I love a lot of the songs she's put out, and I'm especially in love with the song "Hiding Places." When I tweeted out about it, she retweeted me.

"Hiding Places" by @Xenia is the perfect song to fall asleep to 🎧
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) October 25, 2014

John King John is an up-and-comer in the country music scene. After hearing his collab with Cimorelli, I became obsessed, so of course I had to tweet about it. I was so happy when he replied!

@tiffanykhyla @Cimorelliband Haha so glad you like it Tiffany!!!
— John King (@johnkingcountry) March 2, 2015

AUTHORS Jodi Picoult
As soon as I read in Jodi's newsletter that there was going to be a companion novel to Between the Lines, I was so excited that I had to tweet about it, and then I was even more excited when she retweeted me!

There's going to be a sequel to Between the Lines! The #bookworm inside me is squealing with excitement! @jodipicoult http://t.co/Z0s1zeI393
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) November 5, 2014

Sarah Dessen While reading Sarah Dessen's new novel, Saint Anything, I tweeted quite a few times, and Sarah Dessen was sweet enough to show me some love with a few favorites.

Reading @sarahdessen's new book, Saint Anything, while I wait for #Insurgent to start #YAcentral pic.twitter.com/YOP6kybKcU
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) March 20, 2015

Layla eats French fries and Pop-Tarts, so I ate French fries and Pop-Tarts...for dinner...last night #SaintAnything @sarahdessen
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) March 24, 2015

Rainbow Rowell
I became such a fan of Rainbow after reading Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, and she showed me some love by favoriting my tweets.

Losing sleep to finish Eleanor & Park by @rainbowrowell. Worth it. #bookwormprobs
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) March 17, 2014

@rainbowrowell just continues to amaze me. I loved her book, #Fangirl. Reviewing it on the blog! #bookreview http://t.co/YtVd080seR
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) July 18, 2014

Marissa Meyer
During NaNoWriMo, I was obsessed with reading through tips from Marissa, because she started out writing with NaNoWriMo before she was published, and that just really motivated me. Plus, Marissa is just an awesome person, and she had tweeted me in the past, but these ones were extra special because during most of 2014, I was trying to plan out my novel, and she's one of the main reasons I decided to participate in NaNo in the first place.

@tiffanykhyla Aw, thanks! If you ever have any specific questions I can try to work them into a blog post. :)
— Marissa Meyer (@marissa_meyer) July 18, 2014

@tiffanykhyla Best. Compliment. EVER. <3
— Marissa Meyer (@marissa_meyer) September 12, 2014

E. Lockhart
After reading We Were Liars, I became a huge fan of E. Lockhart. This book hooks you from the beginning, and it's this crazy mystery with a mind-blowing ending, and it's just incredible. I was so grateful that she took the time to thank me TWICE after tweeting out about how much I loved her book.

I don't know how I'm going to live a normal life after reading 'We Were Liars' by @elockhart #sobs #depressed #didntseethatcoming
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) December 2, 2014

Reviewing 'We Were Liars' by @elockhart. Spoiler alert: I gave it a 5/5. #WeWereLiars #bookreview http://t.co/PxiOYU7yUY
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) December 5, 2014

Jennifer Niven
While I was nearing the end of All the Bright Places, I realized that it was almost 1 am, but I was so close to the end, that I decided to just go ahead and finish it. I tweeted out my thoughts, and Jennifer was kind enough to show me some love with a retweet.

Who needs sleep when you're at the end of a really good book? #AllTheBrightPlaces #bookwormproblems @jenniferniven 📖😨
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) April 10, 2015

Suzanne Young
I was pretty enthusiastic about finishing The Program (though sadly I still haven't read The Treatment), and I think this tweet that Suzanne favorited pretty much says it all.

Holy crap! 'The Program' by @suzanne_young was so incredible. I need to get my hands on 'The Treatment' ASAP! #theprogram
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) December 5, 2014

Leila Sales
I adore Leila Sales, and she's tweeted me back before, but every time she interacts with me is exciting. She tweeted about the book cover for her new book, and I tweeted her back saying I loved it, because I do. It's freaking precious. You can look at it here. Then she favorited my tweet.

@LeilaSalesBooks the cover looks beautiful! I love it and can't wait to read it!
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) November 19, 2014

Sharing a few books I'd like to see as movies by authors such as @marissa_meyer @LeilaSalesBooks @allycondie & more! http://t.co/UJnHqjjmoJ
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) September 26, 2014

Frank Portman
When I was at Texas Teen Book Festival, I had an awesome little chat with Frank Portman while I was waiting in the book buying line, and he was peacing out. During one of the activities, I tweeted about the song he sang, which I still love, and he retweeted me!

Can't get "Cinthya with a Y" out of my head @frankportman #TTBF14
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) October 18, 2014

Leila Howland
I discovered Leila's book when I went to the Austin Teen Book Festival, but I never met her because I didn't buy the book at the festival. I later read it and loved it. She was sweet enough to favorite the tweet I published about reading her book, Nantucket Blue, and then she replied to a later tweet to thank me for reviewing it.

@tiffanykhyla Thanks for the review Tiffany!
— Leila Howland (@leilahowland) September 2, 2014

I love when well-known people interact with me on Twitter, whether it's a celebrity, an author or even a well-known blogger or YouTuber. My dream tweet backs would be Emma Watson, Kristen Bell, Taylor Swift, Zac Efron, JK Rowling, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins and Zoe Sugg.

Have any famous or well-known people tweeted you? What famous people do you wish would tweet you back?

read more " When Famous People Tweet You Back | Part 2 "

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven | Book Review

Last week, on my commute to and from Las Colinas, TX (right outside of Dallas), I listened to the most incredible audio book called All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It tells the story of two main characters:
1) Theo who has always had a fascination with death and who's always been on the cusp of suicide. He's curious about how death will feel and what happens after you die and how he's going to leave the world. He's spent most of his life being judged by his peers because he's unapologetic about what he loves, and he's always felt that if he wants to do something, it needs to be done right then. He has periods of extreme highs and horrible lows, and because of that, no one really knows what to do with him. His family mostly ignores his antics and his peers constantly make fun of him and call him names. 
2) Violet who has spent the last year mourning the loss of her older sister who died in a car accident that she was in as well. She tiptoes around and uses her sister's death as a way to get out of school assignments and dismiss anyone who tries to get close to her, including her school counselor, her parents, and her so-called friends. She's lost her passion for writing and her life is just at a stand still. 
It was easy to fall in love with these characters, and this book really does take you on an emotional rollercoaster. Jennifer Niven takes you into the perspective of people who have considered taking their own lives, and I think it provides readers with a unique view on something that more people should try to understand. 
You can watch my full video review below and also hear a few of my thoughts on suicide. I also share a little bit about the Always Keep Fighting campaign that Jared Padalecki started with his Represent t-shirt campaign. 

I give this book a 5 out of 5. I'm blown away by the fact that this is Jennifer Niven's debut YA novel, because it was seriously incredible. 

Who needs sleep when you're at the end of a really good book? #AllTheBrightPlaces #bookwormproblems @jenniferniven 📖😨
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) April 10, 2015

For more from Jennifer, visit her official website and follow her on Twitter!

read more " All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven | Book Review "

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen | Book Review

I've been a fan of Sarah Dessen ever since I checked out Someone Like You from my middle school library. I've never met a Sarah Dessen book that I didn't like, so it should be no surprise that Saint Anything was no exception. 

Reading @sarahdessen's new book, Saint Anything, while I wait for #Insurgent to start #YAcentral pic.twitter.com/YOP6kybKcU
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) March 20, 2015

Saint Anything told the story of Sydney who has lived her life in the shadow of everyone in her family, namely her older brother, Peyton. She's the do-gooder who always gets good grades, never misses curfew, doesn't break the rules, and never draws too much attention to herself while Peyton is constantly getting into trouble, usually with the law. 
Sydney has spent a good portion of her life just going through the motions. She wants to be as little of a burden to her parents as possible, and by doing that, she kind of gets lost in her own identity. Instead of figuring out who she is, she's trying to show her parents that she's not her brother. 
After Peyton screws up big time and lands himself in jail, Sydney realizes she needs a change. She changes schools and ends up meeting the Chathams, who welcome her with open arms and who never view her as invisible. 
If you're a fan of Sarah Dessen books then you know about the little breadcrumbs that she leaves in all of her books. She likes to leave references to her other books, which I absolutely love. Sometimes, it's a character. Other times, it's a saying or a band. Really, it can be just anything. I was able to find three in this book. 
1 | Deb  She was a fun and lovable character from What Happened to Goodbye. Just like she was the welcome committee for McLean in that book, she did the same thing for Sydney when she transferred to her new school in Saint Anything. 
2 | Anger Management When Sydney sees Mac for the first time at the pizza place, he's wearing an Anger Management t-shirt, which is the name of the radio show from Just Listen. 
3 | Truth Squad/Spinnerbait When they're talking about band stuff in the book, one of the characters mentions a record company that signed two bands - Truth Squad and Spinnerbait. When he says this, Mac quickly says, "Hate Spinnerbait," which is a line from This Lullaby. Also, both of the bands are mentioned in that book as well. 
There may be more in the book, but I was reading so fast that I probably missed them! I love that I was even able to find those. 
I love all of the characters that Sarah created for this book. There are so many, yet, you feel like you know so much about all of them. Layla was easily my favorite character. She was the first friend that Sydney made when she transferred schools. She's the perfect best friend and also the perfect contrast to Sydney's invisible-ness. She has a huge personality, she's loads of fun, and she has the silliest and greatest of quirks like her love of reading instruction manuals (even for things that she has no interest in actually doing), remembering every face that she sees, and being a fry connoisseur. She's understanding, even when finding out about Sydney's brother, and she's not judgmental. I love how she took Sydney under her wing and tried to protect her. My favorite example of this is when she and Sydney had a sleepover, and Ames was there. Once you read the book, you'll understand a little more about what I'm referring to here. 

Layla eats French fries and Pop-Tarts, so I ate French fries and Pop-Tarts...for dinner...last night #SaintAnything @sarahdessen
— Tiffany Khyla (@tiffanykhyla) March 24, 2015

Speaking of Ames...he's my least favorite character. There was really no hope for liking him, and Sarah wrote him in a way where you could see how he's viewed from the eyes of Sydney and also the eyes of her parents. Ames is Peyton's best friend, and they've been through a lot of the same things. When Peyton is sent to jail, Ames swoops in to be a sort of faux-son to Sydney's parents. Unfortunately, he's a huge creeper, but Sydney seems to be the only one who seems that. 
Of course, it wouldn't be a Sarah Dessen novel without a love story, and this one was definitely one for the books (pun intended?). One thing I love about Sydney is that she's never looking for love. Her concern is always for her family and later her friends, namely Layla, so when she starts looking at Mac differently (FYI - Mac is Layla's brother and also the aforementioned person wearing the Anger Management tee), her first thought isn't to jump into it headfirst. She thinks first about Layla and how she would feel about the relationship. I think that's a common theme of the book when it comes to Sydney. Most of her actions are actually kind of reactions. Before she does most anything, she thinks about how it will affect the people that she loves, whether that's Layla, Mac, her parents, Peyton, her other friends, and even Ames. The love story between Sydney and Mac (#Sac? #Mydney? We'll work on it) wasn't super obvious from the beginning. It started out slow, and then there were little stolen moments that were sweet and unexpected for both the characters and the readers. 
I was a huge fan of Mac, even though my favorite Mac will always be from Veronica Mars. It's not that I love her more; it's that I've loved her longer. And that is a paraphrased quote from Cadet Kelly, my friends. But Mac is totally swoon-worthy, but not in an obvious way. He's never been invisible in his life, but not for the reason you'd expect. I love his background story so much that I don't want to give anything away here. I will say that he plays drums in a band. He's also kind of quiet (mostly because he usually has his head in a book), but when he says something, it's usually pretty significant. I love what a good big brother he is, and the relationship he has with Layla is one that any brother and sister would envy. 
OTHER THOUGHTS ON CHARACTERS Eric: He is part of the band Mac is in. I'm not mentioning the name because that's actually a fun part of the storyline. Eric is one of Layla's ex-boyfriends, and I love how his character is seen through Layla's eyes. He's egotistical, but not in an intolerable way. He's a mini musical visionary, and he's passionate about his band, but also naive about it in a way. 
Sydney: She's definitely a likable main character. She's very, very flawed, but in a relatable way. She's quiet and finds comfort in being in the background most of the time, and she's never one to take the spotlight, which means that she's also afraid to stand up for herself. She bottles everything up, and everyone knows that makes her a ticking time bomb (okay, that's pretty dramatic of me to say, but you know what I mean). She's a great friend, even when they don't deserve it. You see a lot of growth in her throughout the book in the best possible way. 
Sydney's Parents: Sydney's parents were easily the most frustrating part of this book. Her mom was blinded by Peyton. She kept viewing him as the victim in the situation that landed him in jail and kept treating his prison sentence like a school trip. Meanwhile, her father is on the sidelines offering no opinions. Even though her parents frustrated me to no avail, I love that you also get to see growth with them throughout the book as well. 
Mrs. Chatham: She was such a lovable character, even more so because she's suffering from multiple sclerosis, but she has the most beautiful heart. She welcomes Sydney into her chaotic family and home, and serves as a mother-figure while Sydney's own mother is worrying more about Peyton. Mrs. Chatham is the glue that holds her husband and her three children, Layla, Mac, and Rosie together. Speaking of which...
Rosie: Even though I wouldn't consider her to be a main character, she was still pretty significant. Rosie is the third Chatham child and Layla's older sister. She's a former ice-skater, but after a few issues, she couldn't skate anymore. She's pretty bitter, but at the same time, you see the Chatham heart shining through. She has so much love for her family, particularly her mother, and even though she's bitter about her own life, she doesn't let that get in the way of the love for her mom. 
FINAL THOUGHTS There are several mini cliff hangers through the book, mainly at the end of the chapters. Some are more significant than others, but they all make you want to keep reading, which is why I finished the book within a few days (around my work and blogging schedule). Some things even got pushed to the side just so I could find out what happened next. 

I give Saint Anything a 5 out of 5. The last couple chapters tie everything up with a nice little bow. No stone is left unturned, and unlike most books, I wasn't left with any questions. Most of the things that I wanted to happen happened, and I wasn't left questioning the paths of any of the characters. When I shut this book (or scrolled to the blank pages on my phone), I was so satisfied with the ending and how all of the characters went from point A in the beginning of the book to point B at the end.

I usually measure how much I love a book by how hard it is to put down. I was reading Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen...
Posted by Endless Bliss on Sunday, March 22, 2015

Thanks so much to Penguin Random House's First to Read program for allowing me to read this book before it was released! Trust me when I say you should go ahead and pre-order Saint Anything for when it comes out on May 5, 2015!
For more from Sarah, check out her official website and follow her on Twitter! 

read more " Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen | Book Review "