Candy Bunny Reader

Trigger warning: mentioning of miscarriages     Ugh, the book was good until it got to the end... You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley is an adult contemporary romance novel with a dash of magical realism. Mia and her husband Harrison have just moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a small town called Hope Springs, thinking life would be easier for them. Instead, Mia has trouble finding a job that she can do with an art degree, and Harrison seems to be hiding something related to his job (he works as a surgeon in a small hospital) from Mia. Even worse, they have been struggling to have children as Mia has already had two miscarriages.  While all of this is going on, Mia keeps having recurring dreams of her encountering a stranger. Well, she's actually been dreaming of this mysterious guy for years. Most of the dreams usually takes place in a carnival, and most of the dreams involve something tragic. Freakier still, Mia ends up finding the guy in real life! His name i...

  Luckily, there is only one book I gave a low rating to this year, but it wasn't even that bad. But it was still disappointing! In other words, it was 3 stars . That book is... Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I still love the Studio Ghibli movie this book is based off of! Just not the book. This is a case where I found the movie to be waaay better than the book.    But there are lot of books I DNF'd so far.    Here are the ones I DNF because I found them boring/couldn't get into them: 1. Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith 2. The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech 3. Honey Lemon Soda Volume 1 by Mayu Murata 4. Act Cool by Tobly McSmith 5. Mitch and Amy by Beverly Cleary 6. Dear Mr. Earnshaw by Beverly Cleary 7. Save the Date by Morgan Matson 8. A Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland by Catherynne Valante 9. Hold Still by Nina LaCour 10. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale 11. Mao Vol 1 by Rumiko Takahashi  12. Blue Flag Volume ...

  ...the movie was better. I gave the book version of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 3 stars . Honestly one of the main reasons I even read the book was just to compare it to the movie. I can say now this is a rare case where the movie is way better than the book.  But here are some things I actually did like about the book: Sophie's sisters play a bigger role in the story We actually get some context as to why Sophie ran away from the hat shop without telling anyone (her stepmother was exploiting her as a worker) We get to see Michael/Markl's backstory on how he came to live with Howl. (Michael is his name in the book, his name is Markl in the movie) We get to see Howl's family, and they live in Wales Now here's everything I didn't like which is why I gave it a low rating: I could not stand Sophie and Howl's relationship in this book, it was sooo toxic!  Howl is such a bossy manchild and Sophie is really grumpy and cynical.  They also real...

  Oh my, this was disappointing... Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour is a YA magical realism and character-driven book about a girl named Mila who just aged out of the foster system. She finds a job working as a teacher in a small remote farm somewhere in California. As she gets to know everybody there she finds out that the farm is haunted by ghosts, and these ghosts force her to confront her dark past. This sounds like a really interesting premise, right? Well, unfortunately this is one of those books where the first half is really good, and the second half is where it completely falls apart. I can't get too much into detail because it would go into spoiler territory, so I'll try to keep it as vague as much as possible. Here's what I liked: The themes of trauma, grief, and healing Mila's big sister-little brother dynamic with one of the younger kids on the farm named Lee. There is some queer representation Now what I didn't like: Ok. Seriously. The farm Mila goes to l...

  Aw man, this was kind of disappointing... Josee the Tiger and the Fish by Seiko Tanabe and Nao Emoto is about Tsuneo, a college student who likes scuba diving and wants to study abroad in Mexico. He works various jobs to save up for his travels. One day he accidentally runs into a wheelchair user and artist (painter) named Kumiko who prefers to go by Josee, and her grandmother. Things get off to a rocky start, but Josee's grandmother decides to hire Tsuneo to be Josee's caretaker. As he keeps coming to take care of Josee every day, he finds out she's been isolated by her grandmother practically her whole life due to her disability. Only now as Tsuneo keeps taking her out, she slowly starts to experience things she never has before.  This story sounded like something right up my alley, and it did do plenty of things I liked. I liked the disability rep, Josee's art, a new friend she makes who is a librarian, Josee's picture book story that's loosely about her a...

  All the books I read in June! I read a total of 5 books.  As always, I hope you had a great reading month, too. Links to my full reviews will be added if applicable.  What was your favorite book that you read in June? 1. Frieren Volume 5 by Kanehito Yamada-3 stars 2. Unfamiliar Volumes 1 and 2 by Haley Newsome-both 5 stars! 3. Bianca Torre is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans-5 stars 4. The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting-4 stars

I swear at least one of these will really shock you.  Well, have fun looking at my unpopular opinions! Luckily I have only three books that I read that I disliked, but not because they were objectively bad, I was personally just disappointed with them. Here they are: Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson -3 stars Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty -3.5 stars Frieren Volume 5 by Kanehito Yamada -3 stars And here are all the books I DNF'd... 😬 Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman Unbowed by Wangari Mathai Hurricane Child by Kacen Callendar  A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchison Apollo's Angels by Jennifer Homans To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Spellbound by Bishakh Som Rickety Stitch Volume 1 by Ben Costa and James Parks Replay by Sharon Creech Purple Cow by Seth Godin The ...

Well, this was kind of disappointing. Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson is a middle grade novel about 12 year old Ellie Engle, who loves superhero stories. On the first day of school, an earthquake happens, and after the earthquake Ellie gets magical powers where she is able to bring dead things back to life. Ellie has mixed feelings about her new powers, and her best friend Abby tells her to keep it a secret. She accidentally exposes her powers while in her science class, because she accidentally brings a frog back to life, and everyone starts calling her "Frog Girl". Pretty soon she is famous all over town, and her friend Abby gets jealous about this. Life is not the same now that everyone knows she's basically a real life superhero with superpowers! At the same time, Ellie deals with her rocky friendship with Abby while getting to know some other people in her life better.  I'm gonna be honest, this book did not live up to the hype for me. While I was read...

  You are seeing this post now because I forgot to make one in December! Luckily the "worst books" were all 3 star books. Not the worst things I ever read, but they could've been better. I will have links to their reviews if applicable. I DNF'd a total of 30 books last year. But it was worth it. Life is too short to read things you don't like/find boring. Here are the worst books of 2023: Given Volume 4 by Natsuki Kizu Given Volume 6 by Natsuki Kizu Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman Our Dreams at Dusk 2 by Yuhki Kamatani Our Dreams at Dusk 3 by Yuhki Kamatani Sheets by Brenna Thummler All of the books I DNF: Anne of Windy Poplars by LM Montgomery You're Welcome Universe by Whitney Gardner Take me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson Monday is Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson Nancy Drew and the Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene Lunch Money by Andrew Clements American Panda by Gloria Chao The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford Spinning by Tillie Wald...

  So here are all the books I read last month! I read a total of 8 books.  Witch Hat Atelier Volume 8 by Kamome Shirahama -Well, this is obviously a sequel that is several books into the story. All I can say is it's still a masterpiece. 5 stars You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson -a YA contemporary novel about a girl named Liz who wants to go to a prestigious college to be in their orchestra and then go to medical school. But she didn't get the financial aid she applied for, so she decides to join the race to become prom queen and get a scholarship. She falls in love with another one of the contestants, a girl named Mack. 5 stars Witch Hat Atelier Volume 9 by Kamome Shirahama -The reason this one got half a point off was because of one chapter I didn't read in this book. But there was a content warning in the beginning and it even said you didn't have to read that chapter in order to understand the rest of the story. Other than that, great sequel! 4.5 stars Wit...

Warning: Potentially unpopular opinions ahead. Unfortunately, yes, we are going to be a little negative today. These are the worst books I read so far this year. I rated these either 3 stars or lower. Well, this particular list is all 3 stars .  These are not books I DNF (aka 0 stars). That will be the next post. The books you see here are all books I read from beginning to end. I do not personally recommend them, but I not discouraging you from checking them out either. Maybe you might like them more than me, but if your reading tastes are similar to mine and you trust me for recommendations, you might not like these.  Anyway, here is the list (and links to reviews if applicable): Our Dreams at Dusk Volumes 2 and 3 by Yuhki Kamatani Given Volumes 4 and 6 by Natsuki Kizu Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman   Sheets by Brenna Thummler Well, that wasn't too long! What disappointing books have you read so far?

  I've been seeing this graphic novel floating around the bookish internet and I finally got to read it a few days ago.  Sheets by Brenna Thummler is about 13 year old Marjorie Glatt who, outside of school hours, is almost always running her late mother's laundromat and has to deal with all sorts of people, including a shady businessman who wants to replace the laundromat with a giant spa. At school, Marjorie is very unpopular and gets picked on a lot.  One day, a ghost from the spirit world named Wendell accidentally ends up in Marjorie's house/laundromat, and make a mess of things that end up driving away a ton of customers. Marjorie finds out about him and she gets mad. But after scaring off the shady businessman guy, Marjorie grows to appreciate Wendell.  I got to be honest, even though this book sounded like something up my alley, I was actually quite disappointed in it. For one, I thought the majority of the story was so sad! Almost every page is som...

Oh boy...how am I gonna talk about this... Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman is a novella of the characters Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson whom we all know and love from Heartstopper. This novella is set in Charlie's second to last year of high school and Nick's last year before going to university. The gist is that Charlie worries that he and Nick won't be able to maintain a long-distance relationship, and that's what kicks off the conflict for the story. There is not much to say about this book because it is a novella so the story is short and is everything is resolved pretty quickly. Nick and Charlie have an argument and avoid each other for a while but then they get back together really sweetly towards the end. Pretty predictable.  To be honest, there were a lot of things about this novella I didn't like. I found Charlie in particular to be a lot more short tempered and whinier here compared to his graphic novel counterpart. I also felt very uncomfortable readin...

TW: Brief mentioning of injuries, racism, and transphobia Exactly what it says in the title. 1. The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford Goodreads summary here. Very captivating classic book! I gave it 4 stars since sometimes the descriptions of nature and injuries of the characters can get a little too into detail.  2. Anne of the Island by LM Montgomery. Goodreads summary here. I can't talk too much about it since it is the sequel to Anne of Avonlea , which itself is the sequel to Anne of Green Gables . All I can say is, it takes place over Anne's college years and it's just as romantic and sweet as the previous two books. 4.5 stars. 3. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand Goodreads summary here. Well, this book has two other authors, I just put the first one of them. This is a great historical fantasy retelling of Lady Jane Grey! 4.5 stars.   4. Molly Moon Stops the World by Georgia Byng Goodreads summary here This is the sequel to Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotis...