Heartless by Marissa Meyer (ARC review)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: November 8th, 2016
Pages: 449
Song I Played While Reading: The Turnaround by Gemini
Rating: 5 stars

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland- the infamous Queen of Hearts- she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be on of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the yet-unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend and supply the Kingdom of Hearts with delectable pastries and confections. But according to her mother, such a goal us unthinkable for a young woman who could be the next queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King's marriage proposal, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship.
Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her own terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans. 

When I think of the Queen of Hearts, I picture Helena Bonham Carter's abnormally large head and small body from Through the Looking Glass. I know she's technically the Red Queen, so she isn't the Queen of Hearts... but all I see is her screaming "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" and acting like a fool. And besides watching the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, I've never really been into Wonderland and its politics. I didn't even know what the hell Through the Looking Glass was, until I read a review of Heartless, so I was going into this blind. Which, I think, was the best move for me, because I had no expectations. I didn't know what was going to happen, who was going to be in this story, and how it was going to end (besides in pain, obviously). So, for anyone worrying that you wouldn't understand anything if you haven't seen any of the movies or read the original story, don't worry. I actually think it heightens your experience, since you don't know what the hell is going to happen so you're constantly on your toes.
I loved this. I wasn't expecting to, but I did. Meyer, who I firmly believe is the fairytale retelling queen, has grown extraordinarily as a writer. This is her best work yet, and everything flowed beautifully: the dialogue, the characters, the plot, and the narrative. I didn't even feel like I was reading this; instead, I was seeing this all play out in my head like a movie. It was that vivid and engrossing, making this almost 500 page book fly by.
I adored Cath, who suffered from too much of an independent spirit in such a sexist and suffocating society. Meyer got a lot of her background and etiquette from Victorian-era London, so women were essentially the property of their families and husbands. Catherine was the daughter of a Marquess and Marchioness, so she had even more pressure heaped on her to be the perfect daughter. She found comfort in baking, her one true passion, which Meyer really threw herself into, because I was drooling for half the book. Seriously, the baking scenes?!

"The tarts had taken her all morning. Five hours of weighing the butter and sugar and flour, of mixing and kneading and rolling the dough, of whisking and simmering and straining the egg yolk and lemon juice until they were thick and creamy and the color of buttercups. She had glazed the crust and crimped the edges like a lace doily. She had boiled and candied the delicate strips of lemon peel and ground sugar crystals into a fine powder for garnish."

*Inconspicuously wipes drool from the corner of my mouth* DO YOU SEE?

Let's talk about another delicious aspect to this story: Jest. I was worried that this would be a bad case of insta-love, since this was an older time period and people tended to fall in love first before actually getting to know the person. (But with such rigid courtships and etiquette, plus a short life-span, who can really blame them?) Luckily, this wasn't the case. Maybe a little, buy Meyer wrote it well enough where it didn't feel that way. They had in instant chemistry, but it was subtle enough at first so it didn't feel like she was trying to shove it down our throats. I loved his backstory, which threw this book into such a different direction and feel that I fell even harder for this book. (Another perk of going into this story without having read the original fairytale!) He was charming, witty, thoughtful, and handsome. I fell surprisingly hard for him.
The other characters were just as vibrant as our main character, and I loved seeing them all come into play: Cath's parents, her best friend Mary Ann, Hatta, the King of Hearts, Margaret, and the other slew of royals. I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Cath and Hatta. They were an intense pair, brought together a little unwillingly by Jest, and I loved seeing them circle each other, acting friendly one moment and then going off on each other the next. Hatta was a complex character with many, many layers to him, so we never really knew how he was going to act. Plus, his background was equally as fascinating as Jest's was, so I looked forward to scenes that featured him.
There's a good chance that I'll watch Through the Looking Glass now, since Heartless has stolen my heart. Romantic, engrossing, haunting, and vicious, this is one book that everyone needs to get their hands on.

Quotes
"Bravo, Lady Pinkerton!" said the King. The audience that was watching from the sidelines started to cheer as well, having picked up on the King's preference.
"It's not who wins or loses!" Margaret shrieked. "It's how one stays the same!"
"Well said, Lady Mearle!" cheered the Duke, standing along to the side of the crowd.
"No one asked you!" she yelled back."

"I can't stop thinking about you, Lady Catherine Pinkerton of Rock Turtle Cove. I've been trying, but it's useless. You've had me mesmerized from the first moment I saw you in that red dress, and I don't know what to do about it, other than to use every skill at my disposal to try and mesmerize you back."

"I don't want his generosity, or his kindness, or any other favors!"
Her mother sneered. "Then you are a fool."
"Good. I've become rather fond of fools."

"I wish for you all the joy this darkened world can employ."

The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster review + giveaway!

The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: October 4th, 2016
Pages: 380
Song I Played While Reading: Starboy by The Weeknd
Rating: 4.5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Ryn whittaker is a Citadel: an elite, enhanced soldier specially chosen to guard The Rift, a mysterious and dangerous portal to alternate Earth's that scientists cannot control or close. Trained from the age of fourteen, Ryn can run faster, jump farther, and fight better than a Navy SEAL-- which is good when you're not sure if a laser-wielding Neanderthal or an ax-wielding Vikings is trying to make it through The Rift and into your world.
But Ryn's military conditioning and education have not prepared her for a boy who crosses through- a confused young man, seemingly lost and alone. Though there's an immediate physical reaction, it's his intelligence and curiosity that throw Ryn off-balance. The stranger asks disturbing questions about The Rift that Ryn herself as never considered -- questions that lead her to wonder if everything about her life and what she's been told for so many years have been lies. 
Are Rifts as dangerous as her leader say? Should her people really try to close them... or learn how to travel through them?

I was blown away by The Rift Uprising. It threw me for a loop, because I hadn't been expecting anything super great from this. And even though it had its flaw's, Foster fucking nailed this.
Her writing was a little stiff at times, alternating between breathtaking accounts of human nature and what Ryn has to go through everyday to survive, to almost a robotic tone. I struggle a little in the beginning because I couldn't find Ryn's voice. It was there, but smothered by sentences that would be clipped and precise. I couldn't tell if this was just the way Foster wrote, or if it was to make Ryn appear more solider-like. Either way,  I got used to it, and eventually found Ryn, who turned out to have a startlingly amount of depth to her character. Even in the beginning, she struggled: with lying to her parents and brother, to wondering what lengths she would go to to defend her people, to trying to see herself from the perspective of the people and creatures tumbling through The Rift. She was extremely open-minded, but never found that inner spark until Ezra came and started asking questions. And even then, she never blindly followed ARC (the people she was working for), so she actually stopped to consider what he was asking. It was nice seeing someone who was loyal to a cause, but not completely imperceptive.
This was one of the rare occurrences when I didn't really care for the love interest and the romance. This could've had zero romance, and I would've been totally okay with it. (This may not seem weird to you, but I'm a romance FREAK.) But it didn't bother me. His existence to the storyline, while vital  for obvious and not so obvious reasons, was honestly a moot point for me. Now, who's existence was not a moot point was Levi. For anyone that hasn't read this, Levi is an extremely talented Citadel and kind of a dick. He wouldn't be on my radar if there wasn't something to him that interested both me and, apparently, Ryn. He got on her nerves like no other, and she constantly found herself trying to explain herself to him, or impress him in some way. And he obviously feels some kind of way towards her, because there's this huge scene at the end that's so obviously a foreshadowing of something. The whole scene could've actually not existed and the story would've been fine, because it only pushed the agenda of his character arc. I'm extremely curious and excited to see what kind of role he plays in the next two books.
And speaking of plots, Foster really worked her own way into this one. Even though this kind of story has been written before, it stands out. This whole Rift thing is why I was so hooked: there were so many interesting aspects to it, along with the government that accidentally created it. I really don't want to go into detail, because I don't want anything spoiled for you when you read this, but just know Foster did her homework. Everything is well-thought out and fits in place, with enough open-endings to ensure we're hooked by the end. Granted, while the ending definitely left on a cliff-hanger, I think the cliff-hanger was too big. It's leading up to this big event, with small tasks that Ryn has to accomplish, and we get almost all of them done before it's cut off. Something goes awry, and it just ends. But not in a dramatic, end-of-the-world way; more like you tried doing something, it didn't wrap up like you planned it would, so now you're on your way to finishing the last task and then it just ends. Kaput. So I wish we had finished that last thing, because I think that would've been the perfect ending. Enough of a cliff-hanger to have us bemoaning the long wait till the next book, but with enough closure that we're confident in the cause.
Overall though, this was fantastic. It's perfect for any sci-fi/action fans out there!

Buy Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Giveaway

Three (3) finished copies of The Rift Uprising.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author

Amy S. Foster is a celebrated songwriter, best known as Michael Buble's writing partner. You might recognize her wrk in his four hit singles, including "Home" and "Haven't Met You Yet." She has also collaborated with Destiny's Child, Diana Krail, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groan, and a host of other artists. She is also the author of the novel When Autumn Leaves. When she's not in a studio in Nashville, Amy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. The Rift Uprising, her YA debut, will be released on October 4th!

Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

How To Be Someone Else by Rachel Del

 How To Be Someone Else by Rachel Del
Publication Date: October 20th, 2016
Pages:
Song I Played While Reading: Cool Girl by Tove Lo
Rating: 3.5 stars
Link to Goodreads

Sometimes it is the one who knows you best who can love you best.

Penny has lived her life letting others take the rein, leaving her to simply follow in line. After completing her senior year of College, she'll join her father's marketing firm, get married and start a family.
When her parents drop a bomb on her - that they are getting divorced - Penny decides it's time to start living by her own rules. And when she meets mysterious P.J. Hawthorne, a publishing author who seems to know much more about Penny than she lets on, she knows this is her chance to finally get her life moving in the right direction.
But as questions about her new life overwhelm her, so do thoughts of sweet and gorgeous Alex - who just so happens to be her best friend.
What follows is a series of poor decisions, each one more worrisome than the last, forcing Penny further and further away from not only Alex, but from becoming the woman she's sure she's meant to be.

I think we've all gone through that lost phase in our life - the one where we question everything we thought we knew, try on different personas like clothes, and struggle to figure out what's right. What fits. We do stupid shit because we're not in the right mindset, and we hurt people when we really don't mean to. Penny goes through this in How To Be Someone Else, and Del manages to capture it almost perfectly.
There were a few instances where I felt a disconnect with Penny, mostly because of my inability to sympathize with her. I found it extremely difficult to put myself in her shoes, since my parents have been separated since I was 9, and I couldn't help but feel that her feelings were blown out of proportion. But I can't say her feelings are invalid simply because I can't understand them. I've always struggled with this, so it's nothing new, but it always sucks when it affects my relationship with a character like Penny. She was spunky, sweet, and loved to read.

I loved her relationship with Alex. It was so incredibly sweet; long-time friends falling for each other always warms my heart, because you know it's going to last. (I don't even want to talk about those damn epilogues, because CUTENESS OVERLOAD.) Even though I thought Alex definitely needed to chill at times (especially over Ryan), I couldn't help but appreciate how attentive and caring he was. He was always watching out for Penny, which you really don't see that much these days, so he got major points in my book.
The family dynamics touched a spot in my heart, since I know personally how hard it is for a family to come back together once it fractures. There are so many feelings that come into play, so many hearts that can or can't be mended, that it can take years for feelings to heal. Even though I said I struggled at points with Penny's feelings, there were moments when she thought or did something that punched me straight in the heart. It was so achingly familiar and heartbreaking that I wanted to hug her. 
Overall, this was a tender, fun, and honest approach to what it's like to lose yourself, and the surprises that come out of finally finding yourself.

 

Buy links: Amazon US / Amazon CA / Amazon UK / Amazon AU

 



About the author

Rachel Del is a head-in-the-clouds introvert, homebody and thirty-something writer currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and three-year-old son. Originally from Ontario, Canada she works in book publish, and spends her free reading and writing contemporary romance novels. She drinks far too much black coffee and could eat sushi every day.

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Website / Goodreads

 

Recent DNF's

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
I'm SO sad about this. Three Dark Crowns has an incredible premise: three triplet queens are born, each with a different gift: one's a naturalist, one's an elemental, and one's a poisoner. When they turn 16, they have to fight to the death for their crown. Like???? DOESN'T THAT SOUND AMAZING? The potential was ridiculously glorious, but Blake didn't live up to it. The characters were two-dimensional, we got zero world-building or history on this plot (why are they supposed to kill each other? Who started this? Why can't they all reign in their respective territories?) and the writing was awkward and formal. Also, the plot was lacking. The ending had promise, but still. The build-up was poorly done.
But! This is one of those books where people either really liked it or really didn't, so you be the judge.

Cam Girl by Leah Raeder

I recently did some trading on twitter, and got an ARC of this. I had been eyeing Raeder's work for a while now, but never really got the chance to buy it. It wasn't high on my priority, ya know? But the opportunity presented itself (in an ARC format, which is always more precious to me), and I snagged it. And was extremely disappointed. The writing was beautiful and flowery, but the characters. Vada is one of those kinds of people that I don't understand. Even being in her head doesn't help me. She's dramatic and rude, and would treat most people like shit (like Ellis) and then would be shocked when they wouldn't want to be around her. She was too prideful. Those kinds of characters never sit well with me, and Cam Girl was no exception.

 How to Hang a Witch by Ariana Mather

I got 20 pages into this before I had to put it down. Sam was so odd. She was a spitfire, ready to verbally (or physically) throw down with someone if they pissed her off. I love those kinds of characters. But her inner dialogue was so cringey. Literally, her through processes were so unoriginal and bland, she would think things like, "Oh no! I hope that incident didn't happen because of me." and shit like that. There was zero personality, which couldn't save the book for me, intriguing plot or not. 

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 2nd, 2015
Pages: 399
Song I Played While Reading: Thinking Bout You by Ariana Grande
Rating: 5 stars

Sometimes there are no words...

The youngest of six talented sisters, Elyse d'Abreau was destined for stardom- until a boating accident took everything from her. Now, the most beautiful singer in Tobago can't sing. She can't even speak.
Seeking quiet solitude, Elyse accepts a friend's invitation to Atargatis Cove. Named for the mythical first mermaid, the Oregon seaside town is everything Elyse's home in the Caribbean isn't: an ocean too cold for swimming, parties too tame for singing, and people too polite to pry- except for one.
Christian Kane is a notorious playboy- insolent, arrogang, and completely charming. He's also the only person in Atargatis Cove who doesn't treat Elyse like a glass statue. He challenges her to express herself, and he admires the way she treats his younger brother, Sebastian, who believes Elyse is the legendary mermaid com to life. 
When Christian needs a first mate for the Cove's high-stakes Pirates Regata, Elyse reluctantly stows her fear of the sea and climbs aboard. The ocean isn't the only thing making waves though- swept up in Christian's seductive tide and entranced by the Cove's charms, Elyse begins to wonder if a life of solitude isn't what she needs. But changing course again means facing her past. It means finding her inner voice. And scariest of all, it means opening her heart to a boy who's best known for breaking them... 

7 years ago, 13-year-old Mariah fell in love with a book called Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. She passed it around to all of her friends, who devoured it and also loved it. It was tender and heartbreaking, speaking of a loss and love that was hard to understand at that age, yet easy to get swept up in. Fast forward to today, and I've finally finished my second Sarah Ockler book and I'm again overcome with how beautiful it was. Ockler is truly a wordsmith; her writing flows eloquently, reaching out and yanking at your heart strings, demanding attention. It was impossible to stop reading because The Summer of Chasing Mermaids put me under a spell, just like Twenty Boy Summer did. (On a side note: Holy shit that was 7 years ago?????)
Elyse could've been my soul-mate. Adrift and wounded, floundering in the loss of her voice and the sea that took it, she was struggling to come to terms with the accident and her new life. She'd had everything set prior: her and her twin sister, Natalie, were quickly on their way to becoming superstars, landing a coveted spot on tour with their favorite singer. She'd had everything going for her, but in one second, the sea had taken it all. I loved how Ockler made the sea it's own person in this story. It was both graceful and rough, beautiful and deadly. Elyse had been drawn to it her whole life, so to be brutally injured by it was shocking and frightening.
Christian had also been drawn to the ocean his entire life, and I think that's really what drew these two together: with the Pirate Regatta, but also through the shared ability to admire something so large and majestic. Their relationship was slow burning and straightforward, with no fussing or games, and I loved it so much.
One of my favorite parts of this story was reading about Elyse back home in Trinidad. The memories were lush and gorgeous, making me almost feel as if I was on the island with her, smelling the cocoa on her fathers cocoa farm, dancing around at all the festivals and singing my heart out. It was otherworldly and beautiful, lending me insight into customs that sent a sharp ache of wanderlust into me. The representation in here was awesome, not only with Elyse, but with how Sebastian wanted to be in the mermaid parade (but couldn't because he wasn't a girl, pshaw), and the sexism Elyse faced with being Christian's first-mate. As expected, Elyse, Christian, and all her friends shoved back at the authoritative figures that tried to push them down, and it was absolutely wonderful. I cried. A LOT.
This is pretty long book, almost exactly 400 pages, so we get a realistic amount of time for Elyse to heal and come to terms with loosing her voice. I've seen some complains that it was almost too long, but I think that's one of the strong suits: fully delving into Elyse's character, getting to know her, and seeing her transition from a scared, quiet girl to a strong and empowered woman.
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids is alluring and tender, sexy and poignant. It's a must-read!

Quotes
"I'm sorry, I mouthed. And I was. Not just for Christian and the way his father treated him. But for me, too. For all of us. Sorry for all the littles ways the people who were supposed to love us most could hurt us so deeply, despite their shared heritage and blood, as though their knowledge of our past gave them unlimited access to all the most tender places, the old wounds that could be so easily reopened with no more than a glance, a comment, a passing reminder of all the ways in which we'd failed to live up to their expectations.
Sometimes love was a tonic. Sometimes it was a weapon. And so often it was nearly impossible to tell the difference."

"As far as I'm concerned," Vanessa said, "any day we get to wear glitter eye shadow and seashell bras is good day. Am I right?"
"It's a good day for me," Christian said. He'd come from behind the dune, carrying a plate of bun-wrapped hot dogs that smelled fresh off the fire. "Wiener delivery. I've come to tempt you gorgeous ladies back to the fire with my extra-long--"
"Check yourself before you wreck yourself, hot stuff."

When one dream burns to ash, you don't crumble beneath it You get on your hands and knees, and you sift through those ashes until you find the very last ember, the very last spark.
Then you breathe.
You breathe.
You fucking breathe.
And you make a new fire.

October 2016 TBR!

I need a set TBR to get my shit together. I have too many books I need to review and too many books I desperately want to read all at the same time, so setting a TBR will help me accomplish both. So without further ado, here are the books I plan on reading in October!

Replica by Lauren Oliver // Goodreads

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff // Goodreads

The Rift Uprising by Amy S. Foster // Goodreads

Cam Girl by Leah Raeder // Goodreads

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake // Goodreads

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler // Goodreads

The Continent by Keira Drake // Goodreads

I'm so excited to read all of these! It's a little ambitious, since I have to read so much for school, but I'm hoping for the best. What do you plan on reading this month? :)

Monthly wrap-up: September 2016

Hi guys! It didn't really hit me how absent I've been from the blog until I looked at my posts for this month and realized there were only 2. Life has been hectic and a little scary lately, so I've been struggling to find a healthy balance. (Emphasis on the word healthy there, because my health has taken a backseat with the boatloads of homework and reading I have to do for school.) So! I'm hoping October will be a better month. Also, I can't fucking believe it's already October. Typing out that sentence made me feel really weird.

What I read this month

Sweet Evil and Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins - both 4 stars (I'll do a series review when I finish it!)

Elementals: The Portal to Kerberos by Michelle Madow - 4 stars // Goodreads

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas - 4 stars // Goodreads

Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse // Goodreads

Overdrive by Dawn Ius - 4 stars // Goodreads

The Enemy of the People by Henrik Isben - 3 stars // Goodreads (read this for school)

Audible saved me this month. Since my school is 25 minutes away (and I love to drive and find stupid reasons to waste gas), I decided to get back onto the audiobook train. Sweet Evil has been on my TBR since... I'm pretty sure since I started regularly using Goodreads. RIDICULOUS. So I decided, what better way to start knocking out those old books on my TBR then to listen to them? The narrator was a little hard to get used to at first (she's a little over dramatic and lays on the southern belle accent pretty thickly), but once I was acclimated I enjoyed it. I love how she says Kaiden's name, it's absolutely adorable. Also, Kaiden is beautiful. 10/10 would recommend drooling over him with me.
(Also, yes, I just now realized I didn't add the Overdrive cover to the collage. SORRY, BUT I'M LAZY.)

On the blog
I was a part of the blog tour for Dawn Ius' book Overdrive, and then wrote a spoilery, long-winded, heartfelt review of Empire of Storms. Can I call my own review heartfelt? I feel like that sounds weird but it's the truth. The Throne of Glass series has a special place in my heart, and I've been struggling to come to terms with how different Aelin is from Celaena ever since QoS came out.

Music I've been loving
All We Know and Closer by The Chainsmokers // Thinking Bout You by Ariana Grande // Influence by Tove Lo // Not Nice by PARTYNEXTDOOR // The Half by DJ Snake // Ain't My Fault by Zara Larsson // Anywhere by Dillon Francis // Planet God by Mac Miller // Goodbye Early and Ready to Run by Dixie Chicks (Someone mentioned seeing them in concert on twitter and I've been jamming to them ALLLL month. I still know the lyrics by heart, even though it's been a solid 5 + years since I've listened to them. It's AMAZING.)

TV shows I've been watching
NEIN. I only watched one episode of something, and that was the pilot of This Is Us on NBC. It was really sweet, and I hope I can keep up with it! Bingeing is more my thing, since I loose interest in TV shows easily. I'm hoping I can get back into Gilmore Girls, since it starts back up in November and that should be enough time to finish it. I'm on season 3 (I think). I also really need to finish the last two damn episodes of season 1 of Outlander. But my grandma told me they're really graphic and depressing and I'M NOT READY. MY POOR JAMIE. Also yes, my dear grandmother watches Outlander. She's hip af.

Books I've acquired

Little Bird Publicity sent me two finished copies of The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr and Snowfall on Haven Point by ReAnne Thayne. Then I was contacted by HarperCollins (SUPER CASUAL, I DIDN'T FREAK OUT IN THE COFFEE SHOP I HAD BEEN DOING HOMEWORK IN OR ANYTHING) and they wanted me to be a part of the Instagram blitz for Replica by Lauren Oliver (DEFINITELY DIDNT FREAK OUT, NOOOOPE, LAUREN OLIVER ISN'T ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHOR'S OR ANYTHING). They sent me a finished copy and some cute props. Here's a link to the post if anyone is interested in seeing it! AlsofollowmeonInstagram (that definitely wasn't a shameless self promo or anything). Then I bought Nevernight by Jay Kristoff, Empire of Storms by SJM, and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. 

Life shenanigans
Still struggling with my anxiety! And some other things, but my mom and I haven't fully delved into that yet so I don't want to say anything in case it's not true. But I'm hoping for a better, overall healthier month for October. I'm doing another cleanse again, since I have such a fucked up gut that's linked to some food allergies. It's difficult being a foodie when you shouldn't even being eating the food. But yeah, this crazy bish is going gluten, dairy, soy, nut, and carb free for two weeks. I've done it before (for six friggin' weeks) so I know I can do it, but still. IT'S SCARY.

Alright, enough about me and my lackluster month, tell me about yours! What was your favorite book? What TV show are you loving?