Recently Read #2

Hello to you these wonderful holidays, if you're not on holidays I'm sorry and I'm even more sorry if you've got exams... Anyway I've been using this spare time to get on track with my Goodreads book challenge. I set myself a goal of 30 books for the year and I was getting rather slack but now I'm at 11/30 and there's a few more weeks to go. But here's what I've recently read!

I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk
"It's official. Angela Clarke is in love – with the most fabulous city in the world."
After hearing quite a few people going on about this series I though I would at least try out the first one. It wasn't really what I was expecting but it was pretty decent for your average girly novel. Probably going to have a look at the rest of the series, can't say I'll read them all but we'll see.
6/10

Day Four by Sarah Lotz*
"Four days into a five day singles cruise on the Gulf of Mexico, the ageing ship Beautiful Dreamer stops dead in the water. With no electricity and no cellular signals, the passengers and crew have no way to call for help."
This isn't the type of book I'd normally read but after reading the blurb about it it sounded pretty good so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's actually a sequel but it didn't make any difference to me that I hadn't read the first. I actually really enjoyed this book although it's split into 6 different protagonists the story reads easily and keeps you on your toes. I wasn't really keen on the ending as throughout the book it was hugely detailed but when it came to the big finale it all seemed a little rushed and missing major details. Basically to me it didn't answer half of the questions I had which I guess might have been the point, cliffhanger ending and all that. I did enjoy it though and would reread it again, maybe that would reveal more answers?!
8/10

Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
"Everyone's favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island."
This was one of my favourite childhood book, even though I didn't actually read it until I was around 16, but I'm still counting it! So when I saw a few people including Sophie from NanaWintour had got this beautiful collectors edition I knew I had to get my hands on it! 
9/10

Resistance Is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan*

"Connie thinks she's never met anyone quite like Luke Beith before. She has no idea how right she is."

Okay if Day Four wasn't really my type of book this definitely wasn't. From the blurb I thought it could be quite good however the more and more I got into the book the more I wasn't so sure. There's a lot of questions and twists and turns but the characters are a thing to love, easily relatable even if you're not a super mathematic genius. I will say though, it's not that this is a bad book I've seen so many people loving it, it's just not my type personally - give it a whirl! The cover art though oh my gosh when I opened the package containing this book the graphic designer in me just swooned. 

4/10

What have you been recently reading? I need a few more new books to add to my to read list! 

* I was kindly gifted these books by Hachette NZ for reviewing purposes however all opinions and ratings are my own :)

How to be a GIRLBOSS - Book Review

I recently finished reading #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso with the book club I follow on Facebook and it got me feeling so inspired! 

Amoruso shows readers how to channel their passion and hard work, while keeping their insecurities from getting in the way. She offers straight talk about making your voice heard and doing meaningful work. ~ Goodreads 
It's a mismatch of advice and biographical stories which comes together into a pretty good book. Sophia pretty much tells you how she got to where she is and how it's possible for you to do the same. I wouldn't say it's the most inspirational book in any way but it made me think about my life a bit more and how I go about my profession. Of course that's not saying it's not the least inspirational book either it's like in my top 10 at least! Plus it has cute illustrations! 

Being in the design industry I rarely feel like I'm on top, I always feel like I'll forever be average. I get reasonably good grades, sometimes get used for examples but there's always people who seem so much better and ahead of the rest of us that I never feel like I'll catch up. Sometimes I feel like no matter what I do or how ever much time I spend working it's never good enough. Especially as in a latest project I got the same grade and percentage as someone else but had barely anything to fix while she had so much to fix. I just didn't really understand how that worked. With #Girlboss up my sleeve it's been like a little kick up the bum to do even more to get up to scratch. 

If you haven't found something you excel at yet there's this quote that's floating around the internet which days that 'Van Gogh didn't start painting til his late 20's, incase you feel like you haven't found your talent.' So you always have time to find your talent!

Recently Read

Recently since the start of the year I've read 5 books, a little ahead of my Goodreads challenge of 30 books but a little behind my Mum challenge where I want to beat her and she's on 9. I thought I would share some thoughts on these five: 

Bossypants - Tina Fey 

7/10

'Tina Fey's Autobiography' I read this because I thought it was going to be funny, but I think it might have been a bit better if I'd actually watched more of her shows, or like any of her shows. I did enjoy it though I won't say it wasn't funny it just probably would've been more funny if I had.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

8/10

'Two misfits, one extraordinary love.' Although this was a very cheesy teen love story I did enjoy it and I have written a longer review on this one so check it out if you're interested. 

You're The One That I Want - Giovanna Fletcher 

7/10

'A story about a love triangle between three childhood best friends.' I admit I only picked this one up because it's written by Tom from McFly's wife. Also it was recommended by his sister Carrie Fletcher who's YouTube is here. I went into this book with some low expectations but this little love triangle was much better than the crappy one over in Twilight. However I did have hopes the entire book that the prologue actually didn't happen and she would end up with the other guy, spoiler alert the prologue comes true. 

Penelope - Rebecca Harrington

8/10

'Harvard freshman's story of her first year; full of parties, exams, and boys.' I really enjoyed this book and was thoroughly disappointed at the ending. It was an awful ending. Can Harrington just rewrite the ending and then I will give it a 9 or a 9.5 out of 10. 

Trouble - Non Pratt 

5/10 

'A pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship - from the boy who pretends to be the baby's daddy.' Yes another recommendation from Carrie and I do not continue this recommendation. A teenage pregnancy book aimed at tweens is not a great book for an almost 21 year old. I should have seen this coming if I actually read the blurb or looked at the cover... 

So there we go! There's the first few books of the year and hopefully I continue to read at this pace and manage my 30 book challenge but I also have been stuck on the same book for 15 days now and I'm probably about 3 chapters in. Ya know the feeling?

Anyways I'm looking for a few better books to read so if you have any recommendations chuck us them in the comments! x