Top Love Triangles | Top 5 Wednesday

Ah, yes - the love triangle: the romantic trope that pervades fiction of all sorts. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's really, really not. My list includes both kinds:

1. Cath, Levi and Nick in Fangirl

I love this entire book. As far as love triangles go, I think this one was really well done. At one point, I loved both of Cath's love interests a lot and was conflicted about who I wanted her to end up with. 

2. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby

This is perhaps literature's most tragic love triangle of all, but it's also highly debatable whether it's a love triangle or not. Gatsby's love for Daisy was more of an obsession than it was love, but it makes it onto this list because he felt he loved her.

3. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth in Never Let Me Go

You might be thinking, "Man, she's got a thing for Carey Mulligan movie adaptations". 'Tis but coincidence - she's been in awesome movies. But I digress. This book was so emotional and I felt for all the characters in this triangle, which makes it one of my favourites. I like it when books make me feel all conflicted inside.

4. Juliette, Adam and Warner in Shatter Me

Read my review of Shatter Me!

As with many love triangles out there, this was insta-love between Juliette and Adam. I'm not a huge fan of insta-love, but I did enjoy all the action and suspense involved in this story. Warner's love for her certainly doesn't seem healthy, but I've yet to read the sequels so I'll update that statement in a later post.

5. Bella, Edward and Jacob in Twilight

Yes, I know. But no matter what you think of the series now, at one point or another most of us were interested in or somehow affected by these three, so they make it onto the list.

What's your favourite love triangle?

Image Credits:

1. Photo by Author

2. "Great Gatsby Cover Spray Painted" by Edward St. Alban Reardon V via deviantart in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

3. Photo by Author

4. "Broken Heart Grunge" by Nicolas Raymond via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

5. "Edward-Bella-Jacob-Eclipse-Wallpaper-twilight-series-12351953-1097-931" by you me via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Review | Movie Monday

See image credit below

If you're anything like me, the three-year wait for this sequel was a long one even though we saw Cap in 2012's The Avengers and briefly in 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Three years is a long time.

But boy, was it worth the wait! The Winter Soldier is packed with even more action and intrigue than its predecessor.

In this installment, Captain America, aka Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), becomes involved in an elaborate scheme when an important S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague is attacked. He and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) fight side by side, enlisting the help of Falcon (Anthony Mackie) as they dig deeper and face a new nemesis: the Winter Soldier.

One of the things I love most about Captain America are Steve's one-liners, and they're abundant in this film. Black Widow (aka Natasha Romanoff) is another great character in the film; the writers and Scarlett Johansson took her sass up a notch, which I enjoyed - it was really well done and often hilarious! I also really love the interactions between Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, and Steve - they're so sweet and funny together, I want them to be best friends.

This movie will make you feel. It's really emotional - I won't give spoilers in case you don't know the big identity reveal (you'll know what I mean once you watch the film, I promise), but this movie will make your heart hurt and you'll feel very empathetic toward Steve and the tough situation he faces.

If you've been enjoying the Marvel Universe movies, you'll love this one. If you haven't been watching them diligently or are indifferent, I still recommend this because it's a fantastic action movie and it's pretty interesting.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is available on DVD September 9.

I. Love. Marvel.

Image Credit: "Captain America The Winter Soldier Wallpaper" by THEGALATF via deviantart in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Suspense & Savings | 50% off 50 Titles at Book Outlet!

Click the image!

I love suspense novels. The nerve-wracking feeling of dread that comes with reading this genre is one I really enjoy, probably because I'm glad the story isn't happening to me in real life. This week's 50/50 sale:

• is for 50% off of 50 suspense novels
• includes authors like James Patterson, Iris Johansen, and Dan Brown
• starts as low as $1.49
• ends Monday, August 18

Check out their Canadian website here and their U.S. website here. International shipping options are available on both sites!

Who's your favourite suspense author?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Book Outlet.

"Paper Towns" | Book Review

See image credit below

Quentin Jacobsen has loved Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar since they were children. When she climbs through his window one night with a revenge-filled adventure planned, he jumps at the chance to reconnect with her. The next day, he arrives at school to find that she's missing - and she's left him clues regarding her whereabouts.

I want to start with the positive on this one: I think the message John Green sends in Paper Towns is extremely important for everyone, not just the young adults whom this novel is geared toward. Through his characters' experiences, Green teaches us the dangers of falling in love with the idea of a person, without truly knowing the person in question.

My favourite quote from the novel is this: "What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person." This applies to so many members of our celebrity-obsessed culture; there are masses of people who fantasize about their favourite celebrity, but they aren't imagining the actual person because they don't really know them - they fall in love with the idea of the person they imagine in their minds.

Having said that, I must say this novel disappointed me. I consider myself a fan of John Green's writing, and indeed the writing itself is wonderful as usual in Paper Towns, but I found myself bored through much of the story. From the point where Margo disappears to the point where Q and friends decide to go find her, it was a bit repetitive in the search for clues and I found myself not really caring.

I think a big contributing factor to my disappointment is that Paper Towns has a very similar formula to Looking for Alaska, which is one of my favourite novels. I really didn't like seeing such a similar formula - nice, nerdy guy falls for unattainable girl, girl leaves in one way or another, boy learns a life lesson - it made it feel cheap. This story and its characters didn't affect me nearly as much as Looking for Alaska.

When I looked through the Goodreads reviews, I noticed that a lot of people didn't like the ending, but I actually really enjoyed it. It's yet another instance where Margo doesn't live up to Q's idea of her. It's then when it really hits home for Q that she's not the person he thinks she is because he doesn't really know her, he loves the idea of her that he's created.

There are some moments in this novel that I loved; as a road trip enthusiast, I found those scenes hilariously accurate and entertaining. Green's writing is beautiful and quotable as always and the novel's message is an important reminder to me. This is not a terrible book. But I was really disappointed to see a formula so similar to the one used in one of my favourite novels. I've come to expect a lot from John Green novels - perhaps I've created an idea that Paper Towns could not possibly live up to.

Read my reviews of The Fault in Our Stars, book and movie.

Have you read any John Green novels? If so, which one is your favourite?

Image Credit: electrictuesday via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

25% Off Kid's Activity Books! | Book Outlet Sunny Weekend Deals

Click the image!

The latest Sunny Weekend Deal from Book Outlet is for 25% off Kid's activity books. This is great timing for all the families who'll be heading out for vacations or weekend trips to the cottage! The sale:

• includes a selection of colouring, sticker, and doodle books (and more!)
• features over 1000 choices
• ends Monday, August 11 at noon EST

Check out their Canadian website here and their U.S. website here. International shipping options are available on both sites!

Will you be taking advantage of this sale this weekend?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Book Outlet.

Top Blue Covers | Top 5 Wednesday

This week's Top 5 Wednesday topic is your Top Blue Covers that you own! I scoured my bookshelves for the colour blue and to my surprise, I found that I don't actually have a lot of blue covers. The important thing though, is that the blue covers I do have are pretty cool.

1. Road Ends by Mary Lawson

I love this cover. Those who know me outside of the internet know I love Winter, so this cover, to me, is beautiful. The dreary-looking, snow-covered roads seem to be in a small town, which is another thing that interests me, so this cover draws me in and makes me want to be in the depicted scenery.

2. The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

Another gorgeous cover! This cover has intrigued me since I first laid eyes on it, and I finally bought the novel last month. The details in the wild cat design are beautifully done, including the sleeping person in the literal mouth of the beast.

3. The Passage by Justin Cronin

Trees and forests are another form of scenery I find beautiful. The iridescent cover adds to the mystery - are we seeing the Passage right now?

4. The Great Gatsby and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is very simple and very stunning. I love the design of the flapper woman toward the bottom, and the title's font evokes the 1920s. In terms of colours, the gold writing is striking against the navy blue cover. This is one of my favourite book covers, period.

5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Read my reviews of the book and the movie!

And last but not least, TFiOS. There was no way this would not be on this list. I've always liked this: the black and white clouds contrast nicely against the sky blue cover and the cartoony clouds make it seem like you're in for a light, care-free read. That's incredibly ironic, given the novel's content.

What's your favourite blue cover?

Photos by Author

Biography & Autobiography | 50% Off 50 Titles at Book Outlet

Click the image!

Actors, musicians, athletes, spies, scientists: Book Outlet's got you covered with this week's selection of biographies and autobiographies. The sale:

• includes 50 books at 50% off
• features a diverse selection
• ranges from $1.49 to $4.99
• ends Monday, August 11

Check out their Canadian website here and their U.S. website here. International shipping options are available on both sites!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Book Outlet.

July Book Haul!

This month was pretty much the opposite of last month, in terms of the amount of book buying I did. I only bought one book for myself (number one on this list) this month! As such, I'll also include books I borrowed from other people in the month of July.

1. Landline by Rainbow Rowell

2. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

5. Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Read my review of Shatter Me!

6. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

7. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

8. Serenity: Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad

9. Serenity: Better Days by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews and Will Conrad

10. Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale by Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon and Chris Samnee

What books did you buy in July?

Photos by Author

"Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread" | Book Review

Action. Intrigue. Interesting characters. Gorgeous artwork. That's just some of what you'll experience when you read Volume 1 of Black Widow's new standalone series, The Finely Woven Thread.

Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, is a spy seeking atonement for her violent past. She takes dangerous and important jobs according to her own moral standards. You might know her by her work with S.H.I.E.L.D. - she helped save New York from aliens a couple of years ago, no big deal.

A lot of us tend to think of action- and super-heroes as these infallible beings who don't make many mistakes and have everything figured out, in terms of fighting evil. Natasha Romanoff is not like that. She's a human being and she makes a lot of mistakes, ones that have dire consequences - when Black Widow messes up, people die.

Natasha is very self-aware: she knows she's not a superhero and acknowledges her faults and errors. She takes all these things to heart and learns from her mistakes. The fact that she doesn't complete every job perfectly and that she feels such guilt makes her very accessible as a character and also makes the stories seem more realistic.

Another great thing about this incarnation of Black Widow is that she's such a bad-ass. At one point, she falls from a building onto a car and her only reaction is "Ow". How cool is that?

The general overtone in this series is quite serious and action-packed, but it can also be quite funny at times.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful. The backgrounds are always so well-done and you can usually guess which continent, if not which country, Black Widow is on. There are some moments in this volume when Natasha is in a dark room and you can hardly see anything, but her hair is still bright red and prominent in the frame. I love moments like that in the artwork and I think it's creative. The series is all-around stunning.

If you've seen Black Widow in any of the Marvel movies and want to see more of her, you're looking for a great female character, or you're in need of an action-packed read, then look no further.

Who's your favourite female comic book character?

I. Love. Marvel.

Photo by Author

Get 25% Off ALL YA Novels at Book Outlet!

Click the image!

As part of Book Outlet's Sunny Weekend Deals, this week you get 25% off ALL YA fiction and non-fiction on their website. This offer:

• is for over 4,000 titles
• includes top-selling novels
• excludes Scratch & Dent products
• ends Tuesday, August 5th at noon!

One look at the Book Outlet website will tell you how inexpensive their products are already. I consider myself a YA fan, so I'm definitely taking advantage of this deal! Are you?

Check out their Canadian website here and their U.S. website here. International shipping options are available on both sites!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Book Outlet.