The Novel Hermit

daydreaming about books

Events

Galentine’s Day Celebration | My Favorite Kickass Ladies!

Comments : 21

Today is February 13th, and do you know what this special day is? Galentine’s Day!

You are probably asking:

And well,

It’s a day, coined by the amazing Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation, to celebrate all the awesome ladies and female friendships in the world! You don’t need Valentine’s Day! Galentine’s Day is all you need.

Charlotte and I decided to celebrate Galentine’s Day because 1. Leslie Knope told us to and 2. we get to talk about all the awesome fictional ladies (from books, comics, movies, + TV shows) we adore! How can we say no to that?! It is one of the besttttt day of the year.

Galentine’s Day is a perfect alternative to Valentine’s Day because you get to celebrate awesome ladies and female friendships! So let’s talk about my favorite fictional ladies!

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Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! | Theme: Hearts <3!

Comments : 12

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe) and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and what’s the best way to prepare for it? My answer: showcasing twelve book covers with hearts on it!

Yes, twelve covers. It’s because of two reasons: 1. it’s hard to narrow down the covers with hearts on it because these covers use the hearts so creatively (it’s all sooooo pretty) and 2. it makes a dozen! And you know what’s given on Valentine’s Day that’s a dozen? ;P (Yes, I’m weirdddd, but it’s the spirit of loveeeeee.)

Let’s see if you have hearts in your eyes because of these covers. ;D

THEME: Hearts <3!

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Letters

SINCERELY, CEE | A letter from yours truly to The Other Girl by Nicole Burstein

Comments : 2

Dear Nicole Burstein and The Other Girl,

SUPERHEROES, DID YOU SAY? GIMMMMEEEE.

[quote cite=”Goodreads” url=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22854303-othergirl”]Louise and Erica have been best friends since forever. They’re closer than sisters and depend on each other for almost everything. Just one problem: Erica has superpowers.

When Erica isn’t doing loop-the-loops in the sky or burning things with her heat pulse powers, she needs Louise to hold her non-super life together. After all, the girls still have homework, parents and boys to figure out. But being a superhero’s BFF is not easy, especially as trouble has a way of seeking them out. Soon Louise discovers that Erica might be able to survive explosions and fly faster than a speeding bullet, but she can’t win every fight by herself.

Life isn’t a comic book – it’s even crazier than that.[/quote]

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Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW | We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler

Comment : 1

Daniel Handler - We Are Pirates

We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler
February 3, 2015
Bloomsbury USA
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
*ARC courtesy of Lauren Cerand

Mega-bestselling author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) gives us his long-awaited and most ambitious novel yet: a dark, rollicking, stunningly entertaining human comedy.

A boat has gone missing. Goods have been stolen. There is blood in the water. It is the twenty-first century and a crew of pirates is terrorizing the San Francisco Bay.

Phil is a husband, a father, a struggling radio producer, and the owner of a large condo with a view of the water. But he’d like to be a rebel and a fortune hunter.

Gwen is his daughter. She’s fourteen. She’s a student, a swimmer, and a best friend. But she’d like to be an adventurer and an outlaw.

Phil teams up with his young, attractive assistant. They head for the open road, attending a conference to seal a deal.

Gwen teams up with a new, fierce friend and some restless souls. They head for the open sea, stealing a boat to hunt for treasure.

We Are Pirates is a novel about our desperate searches for happiness and freedom, about our wild journeys beyond the boundaries of our ordinary lives.

Also, it’s about a teenage girl who pulls together a ragtag crew to commit mayhem in the San Francisco Bay, while her hapless father tries to get her home.

myreview

First Sentence: [quote]I met Phil Needle on Independence Day, two hundred something-something years since America had freed itself from British rule and just a few days after the pirates had returned from the high seas, at a barbecue commemorating that troubled time.[/quote]

Who’s up for an adventure on the open seas? You? Well, bad news, We Are Pirates is not that kind of book. However, if you’re looking for an extremely dark, yet somewhat humorous story about desperate people trying to escape their reality by turning to piracy whilst calling it an adventure, you’re in luck!

We Are Pirate follows a father, Phil Needle, and his daughter, Gwen, as they both embark on a journey for meaning in their lives. For Phil, who’s a radio producer and a clueless dad, he wants to create a meaningful radio program that will embody the American outlaw spirit and inspire audiences. For Gwen, a fourteen year, she’s extremely unhappy with her family, her love life, and, in general, her life, and yearns for more meaning and freedom, which is why she puts together a crew of similarly restless souls to create mayhem in the San Francisco Bay.

It explores what happens to restless souls when they try to find meaning and freedom in their lives by stepping out of their reality. Prepare to join the adventure!

Five Things That Make We Are Pirates Fascinating

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Recommendations

EPIC RECS | February 2015

Comments : 3

epicrecs

* The lovely banner was created by Charlotte with the resources I bestowed onto her.

[quote]Epic Recs is hosted by the lovely Judith (Paper Riot) and Amber (Books of Amber). It is a feature where each month, you and your partner force a book onto each other, or to put it nicely, recommend one to read. My partner in crime will be the one-and-only Charlotte of The Simple Tales. Let the fun (*ahem* pain) begin![/quote]

January’s Epic Recs was a big success! Charlotte loved The Boyfriend List (YEEEEEEEEE!), and well, me? I finally read Vicious and LOVED IT! Every scene, character, word, absolutely EVERYTHING! Supervillains + found family? C’mon now! It’s just a frickin’ fantastic book, and everybody needs to go read it!

epic recs january

For this month’s Epic Recs, I’m recommending Charlotte Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan. I LOVE this book. I recently reread it and oh boy, it never fails to get me frickin’ emotional! Just one thought about it sends me on an emotional rollercoaster, and you know if you get that feeling, it’ll be a good ride. I love the gothic atmosphere to this book, all the characters who are amazing especially Kami (who I wish was my best friend), the witty dialogue, the friendships, and the romance. Guys, let me just talk about how in love I am with 1. Kami Glass (she’s such a fabulous and kickass character) and 2. the romance. I’m not a fan of YA romance, but something about the one in Unspoken works for me. I AM IN THAT SHIP FOREVER. SO IN LOVE WITH THEM AND EVERYTHING.

Charlotte recommended me Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu. Charlotte loves this book, but she hasn’t said too much about why I should read it other than “I loved this. Read it!” I know she’s a bit worried I might not like it since it doesn’t have my favorite tropes, but I’m hoping I do like it! *crosses my fingers* You can read her Epic Recs post about why she recommended me this book.

What do you think about our recommendations? Have you read either book? Tell me all about it!

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! | Dragon Theme

Comments : 8

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe) and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

DRAGONS, GUYS!

It’s a really popular theme! Not surprising since there’s a plethora of dragon books out there. When I searched for the best dragon covers, most of them did not appeal to me because they looked incredibly dated and dull. But I know some people would like it since the dated look is one of the books’s charm; it’s so distinct. It’s just so interesting to see how dragon covers have changed throughout the years.

However, the ones I have chosen for this post are more modern.

THEME: Dragons!

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