Top Ten Book Romance Likes and Dislikes

Top Ten Tuesday is a blog meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I will admit it: I have a major soft spot for romances in books. I come for the adventure and plot twists but stay for the tension and heart warming moments. (Fun fact: when it comes to romance, I am a crier. Like silently reading with tears streaming down my face for hours. It's really not pretty.) Here are some of my main dislikes and likes for romance in books.

Dislikes

1. Love triangles: Let's just get this out of the way. These are the worst. With three people, it's inevitable that one person gets hurt or made out to be a bad person, and that just ruins it for me, even if I like the endgame pairing. 
2. "I will give up everything I believe in for love": Not interested, dude. I hate it when characters complete change who they are just for a person. If it is part of a great deal of character growth, awesome! If it is dropping everything because of a love interest, nope nope nope.
3. Just add eye contact and Insta-Love is ready: Ugh. The whole love at first sight didn't pay off for Romeo and Juliet, yet it lives on in the popular insta-love. Clearly, the world didn't learn from that whole disaster.
4. My love interest can do no wrong: Wanna bet? I really don't like it when something awful a person does gets glossed over just because he or she is the love interest. Does love really make you that blind? I hope not.
5. "Oi, there's a war going on here": I can't stand it when there is a war/apocalypse/something huge going on, but the love interests make it all about them. I like when romances are improving the plot but not trying to out-do the cataclysmic event happening. (Even though I used this quote, Ron and Hermione are exempted because we had 7 books of build up before that kiss!)

Likes

1. "She can handle herself": When characters respect each other and see each other's strengths, it's my favorite! That amount of trust and respect bring the romance up to another level!
2. More than a friend: I love watching two characters go from friends to a couple. The foundation is there, but everything grows and changes into something more. It just makes my heart happy.
3. Hate to love: Romance gold! It makes for the best snarky banter and tension, and the characters have to really get to know each other to see each other's true colors. It makes the romance more of a thrilling journey and adds to the dynamic of the relationship. 
4. Obliviousness or misunderstandings about interest: Oh man, this is like the essential ingredient for a good romance for me. It just leads to everything that I love in romance: hijinks and awkward moments, so much angst and pining. When it is done right, it makes for the best build. Then finally when everything gets cleared up, it is just so glorious, and I am a sobbing, disgusting puddle of tears.
5. Slow burn: The best part about romance is the build up, and slow burns are the best at that. There is no wham, bam, and love! There is torturously good pages of tension and learning about each other and misunderstandings. When it finally gets to the big kiss, it feels like I've run an emotional 5k and got first place. So rewarding!

What are your likes and dislikes for romance in book?

Love for Books Readathon

I've never done a readathon, but I am very excited to be participate in one this week: Love of Books Readathon hosted by Novel Heartbeat. The Love for Books Readathon runs from Monday February 9th at 12:01am through Sunday February 15th at 11:59pm. You can sign up here to participate by February 12th to participate in the grand prize giveaway at the end of the readathon. This is a fun way to encourage reading by setting goals and keeping track of your progress along the way. While I have a pretty mellow week, I still have school and work to focus on. So I want to keep my goals realistic but still ones that encourage me to read and blog more! Should be fun!

Reading goals:

1. Read two books

2. Read every day and record progress

3. Participate in two mini challenges.

9TH/MONDAY
Currently reading: Emissary by Thomas Locke
Pages/percentage read: 27%
Books completed: 0
Memorable book moment: Wolfhounds and elven homes built into nature!

10TH/TUESDAY
Currently reading: Emissary by Thomas Locke
Pages/percentage read: sadly still at 27%
Books completed: 0
Memorable book moment: NONE because I had too many school meetings and passed out when I got home.

11TH/WEDNESDAY
Currently reading:
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12TH/THURSDAY
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13TH/FRIDAY
Currently reading:
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14TH/SATURDAY
Currently reading:
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15TH/SUNDAY (MY BIRTHDAY)
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FINAL TALLY FOR THE WEEK

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Most memorable book moment:

Review: Silverwood

Title: Silverwood
Author: Betsy Streeter
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Sci Fi
Publisher: Light Messages Publishing
Release Date: March 11, 2015


I received an e-ARC of Silverwood through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (via Goodreads)

The Silverwoods are a clan with a messy history and an uncertain future, responsible to protect humanity from the shape-shifting Tromindox. Helen Silverwood, fourteen, is beginning to realize that she will never lead a normal life. There have been clues: Her mother's unusual work habits, her father's absence, her brother's strange abilities with a pencil and paper, and her own recurring dreams and hacker tendencies. And, the family's constant moves from place to place.
Things are about to get much more complicated, and it all leads to the remote town of Brokeneck, California. Can the Silverwoods keep from losing each other in space and time, while unraveling a dangerous mystery?

It took me a while to get into this book. It is a bit dialogue heavy, and the plot feels super rushed. Most of the book there is so much explanation but very little reaction to all the revelations that are being fired at all the characters (and you). Also the heavy dialogue, though witty at times, tended to not flow in a way that was believable. Around 40% though, I managed to just accept the writing and got really into into the story because of the world. The world has so many incredible details, fun gadgets, crazy places, and odd elements that it sucked me in because I wanted to know what made this world tick.

Silverwood has gold-star amazing characters. The Silverwood family has their own certain interesting quirks, special abilities, and personalities, but the side characters really stole the show for me. While the characters aren't necessarily the most realistic, they are just so funny and odd.The entire population of Brokeneck was hilarious, especially the woman who compulsively knits to keep her dead husband happy, and the Silverwood brothers should have their own Hardy Boys style adventure show. I also found the Chairman sort of hilarious when he wasn't being a bureaucratic pain for the Silverwoods. Just thinking about some of these characters made me laugh while writing this.

Let's talk about the Tromindox, shall we? The Tromindox are these species of time-jumpin', shape-shifting, super tall squid creatures who feed off people's energy. When explained in basic terms, they sound really weird and grotesque, but I couldn't get enough of them. The Tromindox are one of the most original species that I have read about in a while. Probably my favorite section of the book was the Tromindox history told from a Tromindox's perspective because their history was so interesting. (Though it did bother me that that section was repeated in dialogue later on. I thought maybe it was sort of common Tromindox lore that they all knew, but it was written with almost exact wording...) What the main issue in the world boils down two is just these two civilizations trying to survive but at odds with each other. And while they are completely different species, they are so similar in there actions. Well, except that one essentially wants to eats the other.

Rating: 3 out of 5. The rushed and dialogue heavy writing made it a bit difficult to completely love, but the plot and world details were fantastic! Debating on whether I want to read the sequel.

Monthly Rewind: January

Monthly Rewind is a monthly blog feature that will look back on each month, including a bit about each month from me, blog posts, books I've read over the month, and my five monthly favorites.

I love January. Everyone is always so positive about New Year's resolutions and new starts, and the sense of possibility just gets sort of contagious. So while there were some bumpy parts to the month, it still was great! I went back for my final semester of university, I finished my grad school apps (finally), and my friend got the news that her and her husband are having a baby. All very exciting things. I was also really glad that I finally started to work on this blog. It's been in my mind forever, but it just kept getting put off. While it's not perfect, I am working on it little by little. But I'm proud of myself that I started doing it! Great start to a year.

Books read this month: 7
Dove Arising, Veronica Mars #1 and #2, Red Rising (re-read), Seeker, Half Bad, and The Raven Boys

Book reviews: 4
Favorite book of the month: Half Bad (review coming soon!!!)
Read and Run Challenge: Several hours left to go in Yes Please by Amy Poehler, but that's more motive to keep going!

TV: Agent Carter and Sirens
Other than just having Friends on in the background this month (thank you Netflix), I really haven't watched a lot of TV this month. However, when I did, it was good. Oh so good. I'm a huge Marvel fan, and I was psyched for Agent Carter! I loved her in the first Captain America and to have her as the lead made me sooooo happy. Plus the first in MCU to have a female focused plot! I am loving the post-WWII setting, and the critics of attitudes toward women, especially working women, during the time. Not only is the plot exciting and fun, but it is powerful look at women in history. My other favorite show this month is Sirens, and I have cried-laughed watching this show. So funny! The characters are so dynamic, and they deal with different issues that shows don't normally cover. If you need a good laugh, watch this show.

Food: Smoothies
Since I have been trying to live a healthier and more active life, I've been having a smoothie almost every morning. It gives me so much energy to start the day and makes me full all morning. Plus they are so easy to make, and you can make tons of different flavors combinations. My favorite this month has been strawberry, kiwi, banana, kale, and coconut water. Yum!

Beauty/ Fashion: Old Navy Compression Leggings
Again, trying to be active, folks! These leggings have become my favorite workout outfit. I love sweats for running and weight training, but I feel a lot more comfortable wearing leggings in Zumba and circuit training classes. I've noticed a big part about getting the confidence to go to the gym is feeling that you look good.

Music: Bear Hands

I've been obsessed and I'm cool with that. The lead singer's voice is just awkward enough without being weird, and the music is a strange mix of both relaxing and energetic. Does that make sense? Listen to Bone Digger and Moment of Silence and you will understand.

Person: Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter
Stop what you're doing and go watch her seasonal outfit videos, especially the last two. They will just make you smile. I love watching her videos. Her personality is just so honest and fun that the videos just lift up my spirits.


How was January for you all? Any favorite you want to share?