Movie Monday (7)

Movie Monday  can be found here @ Mindful Musings. It’s where  two of my favorite things come together: books...and movies! We've got everything from ideal castings for your favorite book to movie recommendations based on the books you've read and liked or even just a review of a movie you've seen recently.

So this weeks Book Casting is..

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

My Cast

Cinder is half human half cyborg. She lives in the eastern commonwealth working as a mechanic for her family, who for the most part resent her existence. She has plans of escaping her family life, but when devastation hits a loved one she is forced into staying behind, and helping to uncover the secrets of a deadly outbreak. All the while being caught up in a political battle, where she becomes closer to Kai. But can someone of her standing be worthy of him?

Prince Kai, is to be the next in line for the throne. But with it come decisions which could bring upon war from the Lunars and affect the entire population of New Beijing. Not to mention his growing feelings for Cinder, which make his decision even harder. But should he sacrifice his own happiness for the good of his empire?

 If you've read the book, Who would you cast as these characters? I’d love to hear your thoughts (and see your pictures) Or link back with your own Movie Monday post with a book of your choosing.

Credit: None of the above images belong to me and all credit is attributed below.
 Kai originally found here
Cinder originally found here 

Review- Lies My Girlfriend Told Me (Julie Ann Peters)

Synopsis

When Alix's charismatic girlfriend, Swanee, dies from sudden cardiac arrest, Alix is overcome with despair. As she searches Swanee's room for mementos of their relationship, she finds Swanee's cell phone, pinging with dozens of texts sent from a mysterious contact, L.T. The most recent text reads: "Please tell me what I did. Please, Swan. Te amo. I love you."

Shocked and betrayed, Alix learns that Swanee has been leading a double life--secretly dating a girl named Liana the entire time she's been with Alix. Alix texts Liana from Swanee's phone, pretending to be Swanee in order to gather information before finally meeting face-to-face to break the news.

Brought together by Swanee's lies, Alix and Liana become closer than they'd thought possible. But Alix is still hiding the truth from Liana. Alix knows what it feels like to be lied to--but will coming clean to Liana mean losing her, too?                    
  - Goodreads.com

My Review 

The book started out well. Right from the beginning there was a lot of emotion. After Swanee dies suddenly, Alix's feelings are so relatable and palpable. I could feel the emotion and heartbreak of the main character, putting myself in her shoes and imagining how I would feel losing a loved one.

Unfortunately, my feelings after this were mostly disappointment and disgust. Alix is not an easily likeable character. I know she’s a self-absorbed teenager finding her place in life and testing the boundaries etc. But the way she treats her family is just horrible. She lies, is deceitful and overall just disrespectful to her parents. Who I feel are trying to give her the space and time to adjust to Swanees death, but are also trying to keep her off the path of destruction.

In addition to this she alienates her best friend Bethany. Purely because while she was in a relationship with Swanee, she was jealous and asks her to stop hanging out with Bethany. Which is pretty hypocritical when you find out Swanees secrets from the grave.

Which brings me to Swanees character. Also highly unlikable, and deceitful, with very little to redeem her character. Spoiler (highlight) She's secretly dating Alix and another girl a town over, Liana, at the same time. Promising them both futures with her at university etc. Even going as far as getting ‘engaged’ with Liana.

Part of me actually likes the fact that the author wrote such complex and flawed characters. But there's a difference between being flawed and having almost no redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, most of the people in the book were the later. 

My rating: 3/5

August Wrap-up

August was actually a super good month for me. I managed to finish 5 books in total and got out of my dastardly reading slump. I didn't have much going on, so it helped me to catch up on my Ggoodreads challenge, and I am now 6 books ahead of schedule.

Finished

   

My favorite books of the month were either Cinder or On the fence, both which I got reviews up for. Cinder was the book that got me out of my reading slump. It's a mash up of Cinderella, but like you've never seen it before. On the Fence was a great contemporary read, which had a onderful family dynamic which was what really sold me on the book. Lies My Girlfriend Told Me and The Truth about Alice were not as good as I had hoped. While they were not terrible, I just felt it difficult to relate to the characters, and the plots were a little on the light side. Both will have reviews to come.

Up Next In September

SO this month it is graphic novel/comic book month at my local library. So I thought I would continue with that theme and try and read/catch up on some manga's and Graphic novels this month. So far I plan to read...

    

 If you have any suggestions for graphic novels/comics I should read I would love to hear them down below. 

Other Favorites

The 100 is my TV pick of the month. I am loving this series, and I love that it is a book series as well. Although I have heard multiple mixed reviews about the books. If you've read them let me know what you thought. But anyway, I totally ship Clarke and Bellamy. Despite their tense relationship, I see a lot of chemistry there.

 

Let me know your thoughts and who you ship if you watch the show.

Music wise, I've been listening to a lot of Lana Del Ray, especially while I'm blogging. It's easy listening to have in the background when I'm trying to focus. But I'm also addicted to this once cover of 'Hold On, We're going Home' by Drake, sung by an artist called Laykn. I urge you to look him up on Youtube and check it out.