Don’t Date Rosa Santos: My Review

I got curious about this book when I heard of it, and then put it on the pile of books I might read one day, then proceeded to forget about it. That was until I found it it was available as an ebook on Spotify, and before I knew it, I was listening to it and falling in love with the story. And before I go any further, how GORGEOUS is that cover?!

Title: Don’t Date Rosa Santos
Author: Nina Moreno
Release: 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I will give books five stars if I love them, to be honest I don’t really know how to rate them so who cares if it’s overrated. It got me all soft in the middle and I loved it.

Don’t Date Rosa Santos is the story of a girl with a curse. All the women in her family lost the man they loved at sea. So of course, when Rosa develops a crush on a boy with a boat, she knows that she shouldn’t. On top of that, she has to organise a wedding and a festival to save the town, and find a college for next fall, while also finding a way to go to Cuba, where her grandmother came from. And of course, things never go according to the plan….

On top of being absolutely adorable, this book exudes chaotic gen Z kids energy and I love it. It also includes a lot of cake which I obviously loved as well. Rosa is my new favourite chaotic overachiever bi and I am here for it. Her crush on Alex is the cutest, purest, most adorable thing. Here. I’ve said it.

But I also loved the fact that this book was about so much more than this. It’s a coming of age novel. It’s about friendship, but most importantly family and I am always here for a good YA novel about family. Rosa lives with her grandmother, while her mother drops by from time to time in between painting projects scattered everywhere. Don’t Date Rosa Santos is the story of three generations of women and how they cope with the shit life has thrown their way. It’s a beautifully crafted book about finding yourself, and getting to know your roots a little better. I laughed, and I cried, and this book warmed my heart.

It has all the elements of a good coming of age novel: learning more about yourself through getting to know your family and roots better, and through the taking of decisions for your future. Rosa gets to know more about both her mother and grandmother. She has to take decisions about college. She is in charge of a project. In addition to that there is a small quest, great friendships, and she overcomes some of her fears. And of course, she falls in love. This book has everything, including my heart. And no, I don’t have any critic about it. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? And if you have, I hope you liked it as much as I did!

August Wrap Up

 

I can hardly believe it, but I have read NINETEEN BOOKS this month. I have been reading a lot for work, and I am also trying to still read some of the books on my humongous TBR, and it somehow worked. I was also on vacation for three weeks, which gave me more time to read!

Books I’ve been reading this month:

La hija del comunista by Aroa Moreno Durán ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
[translated from Spanish]

I have completely fallen in love with this book. It’s a historical fiction set in Germany during the Cold War, and follows the daughter of Spanish immigrants who ran away from East Berlin. It’s such a beautiful and moving book about human beings and our history as Europeans. I would definitely recommend it if it has been translated to a language you speak!

Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐

This was sweet and everything but I just miss Anne so much! I think I could have liked it if this one had been at least more about the Blythe kids, but that wasn’t even the case. Throughout the book we are just following a bunch of other kids who just moved to Ingleside and just si happen to play with Anne’s kids. It’s so different from the previous books, and I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed.

Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After being underwhelmed with Rainbow Valley I was worried that I wouldn’t like this one either but oh boy was I wrong. Rilla reminded me of Anne a lot, but also had her own quirks. I had such a good time reading this one. And also I cried a lot, but I guess that’s the perks of reading books set during WWI.

(An accurate representation of myself throughout every single chapter of Rilla of Ingleside)

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was recommended to me by a customer at the bookstore where I work. It’s a sort of memoir about the author’s relationship to both running and writing, and it’s absolutely brilliant! It is seriously on its way to be one of my favourite reads of the year, and I am SO GLAD I decided to give Murakami a second chance! (review) What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is also the 11th book on my list of books that I read for YARC 2019!

The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one had been on my TBR pretty much since its release, and I’m so glad that I finally read it. I have to say, I didn’t really know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m pretty sure that’s a book I won’t forget any time soon! (Review to come)

Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my most recent read, and a book that really got me thinking. It’s a YA contemporary about an eclectic group of students who are stuck together after someone set bombs on their school. It’s quite a sensitive topic but I believe it was well handled by the author, and it kept me on edge until the end! (Review to come)

I have also been reading some poetry this month! I have read both Goddess of the Hunt (⭐⭐⭐⭐) and Soft in the Middle (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Shelby Eileen. She writes queer poetry, and talks a lot about accepting yourself. Her poems are absolutely beautiful, and I will definitely be reading more of them in the future. And I have also read Uncaged Wallflower (⭐⭐⭐⭐) and I Am More Than A Daydream (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) by Jennae Cecelia. I had read some of her poetry maybe back in 2017, and really enjoyed it, so I’d been meaning to read more of it ever since, and the time finally has come! Her poems deal a lot with mental-illness and safe care, and I absolutely LOVE them as well.

 

French books:

As for last month, I’ve been reading a lot of books in French, mostly for work, but also because I’m on a roll! So here’s the list:

Journal d’un amour perdu d’Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (new release)
Oscar et la dame rose d’Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Soir de fête de Mathieu Deslandes et Zineb Dryef ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (new release)
Les Loyautés de Delphine de Vigan ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Les Gratitudes de Delphine de Vigan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Soif d’Amélie Nothomb ⭐⭐ (new release)
La Calanque de l’aviateur d’Anabelle Combes ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (new release)
Baïkonour d’Odile d’Oultremont ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (new release)
Chère Fubuki Katana d’Annelise Heurtier ⭐⭐⭐.5 (new release, YA)

I have actually made two posts in French where I talk about these books, one about the two books by Delphine de Vigan, and one about the new releases. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my blog when it comes to all the new releases that I read for work (aka books in French that have not yet been translated in any language for the most of them, and therefore subjects that are probably hard to follow for most of my followers) so bear with me in the meantime!

As for the books I am currently reading, I started both Tales of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery and Light Filters in Poetry by Caroline Kaufman, and I’m hoping to finish them soon!

TV Shows I’ve been watching:
Good Omens ✨ Druck ✨ The 100 ✨ GLOW ✨ DARK

Kdrama I’ve seen this month:
Sassy Go Go ✨ Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Jo

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An update on my reading challenges:

Goodreads Challenge: 74/70 (I might change my goal to 90 because why not?)
Audiobook Challenge: 8 books (two for this month, and I’m currently listening to another one)
YARC: 11 books

Audiobook Challenge 2019

Join Hot Listens and Caffeinated Reviewer for the 7th year of audiobook fun.

This is my first year actually doing this challenge, and I thought it might be fun! I used to listen to audiobooks more often, like, back in 2016, but haven’t really been listening to them this past year, and I have decided to change that for 2019!

I am currently listening to Michelle Obama’s book Becoming, which she narrated herself, and I REALLY enjoy it.

Anyway, here are the challenge details:

• Runs January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.
• The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2019 than you did in 2018.
• Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
• ANY genres count.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
• If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.
• Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. The first update will be June 30, 2019, and the last update will take place on December 15, 2019.

Achievement levels:

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
• Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+

I renewed my audible susbcription at the beginning of the month, which means that I will have at least one audiobook to listen every month, but maybe I will try other things (like a Scribd subscription? I don’t know, we shall see what happens). My plan is also to listen to longer books. I was considering picking up the sequel to Outlander but I’m not sure yet as I had mixed feelings on the first book (see my rant). I will also look for more books narrated by Davina Porter because she is a FANTASTIC narrator, and I can’t get enough of her.

In terms of my goals I’m aiming for the “Stenographer” level, because it matches my idea of listening to at least one audiobook each month and also because I can definitely listen while multitasking, I do it all the time, mostly while driving, cooking, or folding my laundry. So hopefully, that helps me listen to more audiobooks!

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And that’s it for today’s post, feel free to join as well on Caffeinated Reviewer’s Blog!

September Wrap Up

This month I listened to two audiobooks and read many comic books (many thanks to my internship). Overall though it was not a crazy reading month, hopefully next month will be better in terms of productivity! I found however that I read several very interesting books dealing with the Middle East which is something I don’t read that often, so that was definitely a positive point in terms of my reading month.

Books I read:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Star Wars Vol. 1 by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McCurry, NYC, 9/11 by JD Morvan, illustrated by Kim Jung Gi ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review)

NIMA by Enrique Fernández ⭐⭐⭐ (review)

Intisar’s Car by Pedro Riera and Nacho Casanova ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (review)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Valerian & Laureline: The Complete Series vol. 1 and 2 by Pierre Christin et Jean-Claude Mézières, both ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Currently reading:

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Shows I’ve been watching:

Timeless, Suits, B99

Teaser Tuesday #47

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme is hosted by Ambrosia from The Purple Booker.

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

4. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I discovered this weekly meme about a year ago (I remember it was at the beginning of January) and since then I have been participating almost every week… And for now I plan on doing the same, at least for a while!

I started listening to the audiobook for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens last week, because I had never read this book, and it was free on Audible (it still is, if you’re interested, and I’m not sure for how long but go check it out if you want!). I didn’t really know what to expect, but so far I enjoy it. I read Great Expectations last year for college and didn’t really like it, but for now, I enjoy this one better. And it also keeps reminding me of the Doctor Who episode with Dickens… Anyway.

Genre: Classics

My quote:

“How can I not be cross when I’m forced to live in a world of fools?”

(And yes, I know you’re supposed to share two sentences, but it’s really impossible for me when it’s an audiobook!)

Goodreads

Have a nice day!

July + August Book Haul

Hi everyone! I only got two books in July so I didn’t make a bookhaul post, but now I’ve got plenty of books to talk about, so I made a video, and here is my full blog post!

In addition to this, I also got some bookish jewellery, like a time-turner and a 9 3/4 necklace, you can see everything on my Bookstagram account @Clemireads! I was thinking of making a video about bookish jewellery, so maybe you’ll see that someday.

Now, back to business!

Physical books:

     

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel by Maike Stein
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
PS: I like you by Kasie West
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Winter by Marissa Meyer
Grimm Tales by Philip Pullman
Swallows of Kaboul by Yasmina Khadra

     

Now, I didn’t include them in my video, but I also got a bunch of ebooks and audiobooks!

Ebooks:

          

Truth by Christina Benjamin
Angels Dawn by Komali Da Silva
Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith

I also got the first two books in the Liberty Box series, and the whole Piercing the Veil trilogy by C.A. Gray! You can check out my review for The Liberty Box here, and I will soon post my review for Intangible (Piercing the Veil #1) which I loved!

          

From Gods by Mary Ting
Runes by Ednah Walters
Song of Princes by Janell Rhiannon

And probably a few others which will pop up again when I decide to read them! I love getting free kindles and deals which is why I got those anyway.

Audiobooks:

     

     

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

And that’s about everything I wanted to mention in this post! I have posted reviews for some of those, so you can find them if you search (I have a review page with links to all my reviews). Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day!

The Silver Linings Playbook: My Review

Genre: Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Mental Illness
Written by Matthew Quick
Published in 2008
Rating: ★★★★☆

The story:

The story is narrated by Pat, who just got out of a mental institute he calls “the bad place”. Pat moves back with his parents, and does a lot of workout, in order to be fit for the end of his “part time” with his wife Nikki, whom he loves very much. But no one seems to be really encouraging about that, his father won’t speak to him until their favourite team the Eagles wins the game, and his best friend Ronnie sets him up with his sister’s wife Tiffany, who has lost her husband when Pat was in the bad place. Tiffany starts following him around when he does his workout, and weirdly, everyone things he should date her, even his therapist…

My opinion:

I recently started listening to audiobooks on Audible, and this was the first one I got, and let me tell you, it was really an amazing experience! I think it made me enjoy the book even more, and I found the format really fitting to the story, since it is narrated at the first person. And maybe it’s just me, but I really found that the narrator was doing an excellent job at being Pat (if that makes sense.)

You may have seen the movie when it came out a few years ago. I know I have, and I wanted to read the book ever since I did. If you enjoyed the movie, go check out the book, you won’t regret it!

It is a really beatuful and moving story. Pat is really an endearing character, and the fact that he is the one who narrates the story makes it even more powerful in my opinion. I just wanted to give him a big hug throughout the entire book. And okay, maybe have him open his eyes and see the truth. He sometimes seems really naive, and it was refreshing to have such a narrator.

I also really like the other characters of the book, especially his psychiatrist. We see a lot of him, and he is rather important to the story. He just feels so human, and such a great character. The other one we see a lot of is Tiffany. She has her own problems, and even though she doesn’t exactly use the best methods, she really wants to help Pat get better. She is a really interesting and multi-layered character. It was really great to see that while Pat little by little gets better, and “grows up” (in a sort of way. Since he is in his thirties that may sound weird, but his voice sometimes felt child-like, and really had the impression that he was growing up, on the path to getting better).

What I also really enjoyed about this book is how important family and friends are to Pat, and to his process of getting better. I loved how Pat had this little world of his own with his friends and family, and they were all trying their best for him, genuinely. I think it’s part of what makes this book so beautiful. (If I could join their Christmas dinner by the fire I would honestly love that.)

The only thing I regretted is how much of this book speaks about sports, since I’m not really a sports person. But that’s not very important in the end, and that’s only my biaised opinion! Okay, and I also found at some points that the story could go a little faster, but overall, I totally enjoyed it.

Recommended for:

Contemporary lovers who are looking for a moving story and people who like books about mental illness.