Ten Tiny Breaths

Ten Tiny Breaths follows the story of Kacey Cleary, the only survivor of a car crash that killed her parents, boyfriend and best friend. Kacey suffers from severe PTSD and uses drugs, alcohol and sex as coping mechanisms. When she sees how these choices affect her younger sister, Livie, she decides to put her energy into the gym instead. While living with her aunt and uncle, Livie gets molested and Kacey decides that they need to get away. They start life over in Miami where they find an unlikely friend in their neighbor, Storm, Kacey finds work as a bartender at a strip club and Kacey starts falling for her mysterious neighbor, Trent. But Kacey is still dealing with her demons from the accident and is intent on keeping her heart protected. Trent isn't willing to give up on her and together, they go through a tumultuous relationship that causes them both to unlock their inner demons and face their pasts.

This cover is stunning and represents the book beautifully!

I really enjoyed this book. It's been on my TBR shelf for months and I finally got around to buying it. I'm really glad that I did. I love books that make me feel strong emotions and make me think. This book got me thinking about concepts that I never thought about before. It affected how I look at things and people, which is always the sign of a good book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters as well. I found it so refreshing to read about Kacey because she was very flawed and she knew it. In fact, she owned it. Granted, she did suffer from denial about some things but not who she was or what she wanted. The romance was very interesting and complex. Trent was unlike any guy that I had personally ever read about and I thought that his attention to getting Kacey help was admirable, even though she didn't think so.

I absolutely flew through this book. It's a pretty quick read because it's just under 300 pages. If you're interested in New Adult or stories about redemption, I would recommend this book.

I gave it 4/5 stars.

Have you read it? What were your thoughts?

-Chelsea

Currently (8)

I've had a lot going on recently and I haven't been posting as much as I'd like. I wish that I had more time to write in-depth posts but now just isn't a good time. But I missed blogging, even if what I post is just a quick update!

• Reading: I just finished Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover. I'm about to start If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin.
• Watching: Revenge, Grey's Anatomy, Once Upon a Time and The Dick Van Dyke show. I absolutely love Netflix and Hulu, if you couldn't tell!
• Feeling: I recently lost someone very close to me and I'm grieving the loss as best as I can. But, of course, I'm hurting a lot. I miss them every single day. Life just isn't the same without them. 
• Excited for: Kelsey and I are trying out some new recipes this week and I'm very excited to try them!
• Loving: All of the reading that I've been getting done. 
• Writing: I've been jotting down new story ideas but today was the first day of school. I'm pretty overwhelmed with my workload but I'm going to make time for my stories!

That's it for now! 

-Chelsea 

October Reading List

Another month has come and gone, so it's time for me to share all of the books that I've had the pleasure of reading for the past few weeks!

1. Sweet Reckoning- I finally finished the Sweet Evil Trilogy and I'm glad that I read it. I gave each book a solid 4/5 star rating. They were fun and entertaining reads. If you're into paranormal romance or angels and demons, then I definitely recommend that you check this out.



2. Pride and Prejudice- This is a re-read. It's actually my favorite classic. It was so much fun to dive back into this world and revisit these characters!



3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland



4. Maybe One Day- This was recommended to me on Goodreads because I read The Fault in Our Stars. If you liked TFIOS, you'd probably like this.



















5. Since You've Been Gone- I wish that I would've read this over the summer but I didn't have time to get around to it then.

6. The Impossible Knife of Memory



7. Justice for Sara



That's it for this month!

-Chelsea

Ice Cream Book Tag

I found this tag floating around YouTube and I thought that it'd be fun to do! I love books and ice cream, so why not do a tag that puts them together? If you'd like to do this tag, feel free!

1. Peanut Butter: What is a long book series you want to read but probably won't?
The Song of Ice and Fire series. But don't quote me on that. I might actually read it one day.

2. Chocolate: Name a book that you can read over and over again.
The Lightning Thief.

3. Pistachio: Pick a book with a green cover.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

4. Strawberry: Which book has the cutest romance?
That is so hard to pick but I'm going to have to go with My Life Next Door.

5. Lemon: Name a book with a sour ending.
Allegiant, definitely.

6. Mint: Name a children's book that you like.
Because of Winn-Dixie. This book was actually what got me into reading in the first place.

7. Vanilla: What is your favorite classic?
Pride and Prejudice, hands down.

8. Whipped Cream: Name a long book that you finished very fast.
Insurgent and any of the Harry Potter novels.

-Chelsea

The Lost Hero

I just finished reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan and it was amazing! Contrary to what I originally thought, this book doesn't follow Percy Jackson. Instead, it follows a new trio of demigods: Jason, Leo and Piper. They find out that they're demigods and go on a quest to save Hera while each dealing with their own internal struggles. Jason can't remember anything about his past, Piper is also trying to save her father and Leo is dealing with his guilt from his mother's passing years ago.

I loved the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series so much that I was afraid that I wouldn't like this book. But I was oh-so wrong! This book has adventure, comedy, sorrow, memorable new characters mixed in with old and lovable characters and a fantastic story-line. This book definitely has something for everyone. There was adventure around every corner and I absolutely loved how Riordan incorporated the Roman gods into the story as well. It was also really interesting and refreshing to learn more about other gods, such as Aphrodite.

Riordan is clever, witty and keeps you on the edge of your seat, waiting for more. His incorporation of mythology into everyday life is brilliant and this story is no exception. I could not put this book down! If you haven't picked this book up yet, please do! Or, if you haven't read the other Percy Jackson books, I highly recommend that you do! You won't be disappointed!

-Chelsea

Would You Rather: Book Edition

Yesterday, I saw Kat from Katytastic do this tag and it seemed pretty fun. I'm a person that really loves books, so anytime that I can write anything book-related, I go ahead and do it.

1. Would you rather read only trilogies or stand-alones?
Stand-alones. I love contemporary novels and that's the genre that I plan to write. And most contemporary novels are stand-alones.

2. Would you rather read only male authors or only female authors?
Most of my favorite authors are female, so I'd go with females. However, I do enjoy reading books that were written by males as well. I never use gender as a factor when I'm picking out books to read.

3. Would you rather shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon? 
There isn't a Barnes & Noble anywhere near where I live, so lately, all of my book shopping has been from Amazon. However, I prefer going to Barnes & Noble, even though it tends to be a bit more expensive. I love walking into the store and coming out with a book. Besides, my dream is to see books that I've written on Barnes & Noble shelves.

4. Would you rather all books become movies or TV shows?
Movies. I think that a lot of series would be good TV shows but as far as stand-alones go, they'd definitely make better movies. Plus, when books get turned into TV shows, they have to add and change a lot of things just to keep the show going. I'm not sure that I'd like all of those changes.

5. Would you rather read 5 pages a day or 5 books a week?
I'm a really fast reader, so 5 pages a day wouldn't be good enough for me. If I really like a book, I can normally finish it in a day anyway. So definitely 5 books a week.

6. Would you rather be a professional reviewer or a professional author?
Professional author, hands down. It's been my dream ever since I learned how to read and write.

7. Would you rather read only your 20 favorite books or always read new books that you haven't read before?
I actually don't reread books very often. I'm always looking for new stories to love and inspire me. So I'd have to go with reading new books.

8. Would you rather be a librarian or a book seller?
A book seller. Don't get me wrong, I love libraries but there's just such a wonderful feeling that I get when I walk into a bookstore. I'd love to have that feeling every day at work.

9. Would you rather read only your favorite genre or every genre except your favorite?
Wow, this one is really tough. I'm actually a really picky reader, so unfortunately, I'd probably just have to stick with my comfort zone and only read contemporary books.

10. Would you rather only read physical copies of books or e-books?
Physical books, no competition.

If you'd like to do the tag, feel free to do so!

-Chelsea

Inspiration

Recently, I've been very frustrated with myself. I've been trying to do more writing and every day when I sit down to write, I can't think of anything that's good enough. It's like I've got perpetual writers' block or something. I've tried everything that I could think of to inspire me but I'm still drawing blanks.

And it's becoming more frustrating every day.

I'm someone that loves to write. I always have been, always will be. So it's very odd for me not to have some sort of project to work on right now. Every day that I go without writing makes me feel empty. Writing is a part of me that makes me feel whole. It's more than just a hobby; it's my life.

So I started thinking about why I love writing and what I want my writing to do. I want to inspire people. I want people to read my stories and feel something. I want to make an impact in someone's life. I just finished re-reading The Fault in Our Stars and I started thinking about how many people that book has affected. Thousands of people across the globe love that story and it touches them in ways that can't be described. That's exactly what I'm working to achieve. One day, I want my own stories to impact people in that way. That's the beauty of writing. People take things away from stories and everyone gets something different out of those stories.

Re-reading The Fault in Our Stars accomplished exactly what I had hoped that it would. It inspired me. I remembered exactly what I wanted my writing to accomplish. I remembered why I do what I do. I want people to connect with my stories and to have positive influences in their lives, just as John Green has for so many people.

I've often heard that reading a lot is one of the best ways to become a better writer. Now I know why.

-Chelsea

April Reading List

In the beginning of this month, I felt a reading slump coming on. I struggled a bit and put quite a few books down. So I made sure to pick up books that I knew had a lot of hype around them, hoping that they'd pull me out of it.

But this was also the month that Kris came home, so I didn't have as much time to read anyway. We also started the moving process this month, so we were quite busy. Nonetheless, I did get a decent amount of reading done anyway.

1. My Life Next Door- This book was absolutely charming and a fantastic read! I definitely recommend it to everyone!



2. The Evolution of Mara Dyer



3. Ignite Me- All that I can say is: WOW!



4. Gone



5. Stars Collide



6. And Then There Were None- This is actually a re-read for me. I read this in the 10th grade it and it's one of my favorite mysteries of all time.



7. The Elite



8. Slammed



9. The Summer I Turned Pretty- I'm really intrigued to find out where this story is going.



10. The Goddess Test



11. Winter's Tale- This book is huge! So if you're going to read it, set aside some time for it! (It's over 700 pages!)



12. Shadow Kiss- This was a re-read for me. I read it on the plane the day that I moved. I thoroughly enjoyed it again!



That's it for this month. I hope that in the near future, I can make some more time for reading!

-Chelsea