Thursday, January 28, 2016

Review: Moon Called

Moon Called Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first urban fantasy and I'm impressed. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can't wait to continue the series.

Before reading I was forewarned this is one of the least exciting books in the series. That being said it's not action pack but the story still moves along well. Through the reading I hovered between 4 and a 4.5 rating, but I am going to stick with 4.5.

Ive read quite a bit of YA with stereotypical females protagonist. Mercy was so refreshing and proves I need to read more adult books. She's real and relatable. She doesn't mind calling people out on bs including herself. On top of that she's a mechanic which is something I don't read often.

If you are looking to read a good fantasy book with a strong female lead check this out!

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Review: Red Rising

Red Rising Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway, but these are my honest unbiased opinions.

Red Rising takes place in a futuristic dystopian that is a lot like our modern day world. The difference being humans have now inhabited not only other planets but moons as well. The story follows a boy named Darrow who is a red living on Mars. The reds are the lowest class of people. There are multiple colors(classes) the top being Gold, all though there are differentiations in regards to if your like considered a lower or upper class within your assigned color as well. This can determine your work among other things.

Reds are more hands on people that get dirty. They are servants and mine workers. However even though they have job titles they are little more than slaves. Darrow accepts that this is his life. Very quickly you learn that Darrow’s father died trying to change this.

The first part of the book is Darrow living his everyday life. Reflecting on things that have happened in the past. Giving you a glimpse of despite his circumstances not being the best, why he is content with them being that way. In stories like these there is always something or someone who changes that prospective. This book of course is no different. There is a heart wrenching event that catapults him on a journey that could cost him his life.

The remaining two parts of the book is his journey into a world he never imagined he would enter. You meet a whole slew of new characters. You are introduced to more colors(classes). You learn that of course everything that Darrow has been told wasn’t necessarily a lie, but there was definitely more to the world then what was divulged. You see him become a completely different character. The transition throughout the book from who he was on the first page to the last was great.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will be continuing the series. I was surprised by just how much I like Pierce Brown’s writing style. He had this way of engulfing you in the environment, and making you feel connected in such a personal way. There is quite a bit of violence in the latter 2 parts of the book. The things that Darrow go through are not pretty. Pierce Brown does not try to detach you from that.

If you are interested or enjoy reading science fiction, I recommend checking this book out.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

July Book Wrap-Up

As you may know I have getting back into reading. I have read at least one book a week since this month has begun. Now it has come to an end and it’s time for me to wrap it up.

This has been the most books I’ve read in a month EVER in my life. To my surprise I managed to get 8 books knocked out. That’s more than half of my yearly goal of 15 books for the year. According to good reads I am currently 5 books ahead of schedule. This brings my total books read this year to 13. Now I only have 2 more books until I meet my goal. I don’t plan to take it easy. I want to see if I can push it a little bit further. I had plans of setting next year’s goal to 20 books but depending on what my final number is I’ll try to increase it by five.

Now that the details are out of the way let’s get into the books.

  The first book I completed this month was and Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. The story revolves around 2 characters. One is a girl whose brother has been taken by soldiers. The other is a reluctant soldier in training whose mother is the head of the Training Academy. The girl wants to get in the Academy while the boy wants to get out. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the story. It’s a bit on the darker side than what I would usually go for. A lot of people are talking about this book and I say it’s worth the read.

  The second book I completed was Blood Promise, which is book 4 in the Vampire Academy series written by Richelle Mead. I have started this book a few times. I gave up and began reading the Bloodline series. I felt like I was cheating so I figured I might as well finish this book before I move over to the spinoff of the series. The truth is this is NOT a horrible book. It’s actually pretty darn good. The thing is the twist in book 3 shocked me so much that it’s difficult for me to read the series now. It just devastated my poor heart! Despite that I have every plan to complete this series. In the end I give this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

  The third book I completed was A Court Of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. I originally began this book the end of May. I really loved the synopsis of the book as it is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This book follows a girl who kills a beast that isn’t just any beast. She is forced to pay for her transgression and is taken away to live with creatures she despises. When I began reading it didn’t really capture me so I gave up. This month I was determined to complete this book. Once I past the halfway mark everything changed. The beginning was slow for me, but after that halfway point it was smooth sailing. I could not put it down. In the end this was a really great book. I ended up with a major crush on Tamlin. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.

The fourth book I completed was Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. This was by far my biggest disappointment of the month. That being said it should not be taken away that this book was written very well. I believe my expectations were off regarding this book. I think if I went into this book not knowing anything it would have been a much better read for me. Again this is not a horrible book. It’s very well written! For that I still gave it 4 out of 5 stars albeit being a meh experience for me. I will most likely continue to read because the premise is pretty good. The last 30 pages were my favorite of the whole book. All I will say is trust no one!  It’s like Game of Thrones Lite.

The fifth book I read this month was The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa. Despite the book prior being a disappointment this was actually my worse read. That being said with this book I did switch between reading and audiobook. Big mistake! The audiobook made everything seem way too comical when the situation was anything but. I happened to listen to a bit around my boyfriend and he was puzzled by it as well. This would have been 5 times better if I skipped the audiobook. Audibook aside this was not horrible, but unlike others this was not that great. Again the premise was interesting. The main character can teleport which is something I’ve never read about so it drew me to it. Although this is supposed to be a New Adult book the writing is more middle grade in my opinion. In the end I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars.

  The sixth book I read this month was Angelfall by Susan Ee. This book was amazing. This is way darker than other books I usually read, but it’s so good it didn’t matter. This book is set during an apocalyptic angel takeover. This girl saves an angel and her sister gets kidnapped because of it. It basically details her journey with this angel to find her sister. This is the 1st book in a 3 book series that I will definitely finish.  This would be my second favorite read of this month. I gave it an easy 5 out of 5 stars.

The seventh book I read  was These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner. This book tackles space which is another subject I have not really read about. This follows two teenagers that have escaped a spaceship wreck only to end up on an unknown island. The characters were okay but not extremely relatable. There were also entities that were introduce but not thoroughly explained. I have heard there is more explanation in the books that follow. Overall the book was decent. At the end I was a bit unsure if I wanted to continue with the series. I have since found out the next two books do not revolve around these same two characters.  So I have decided to stop at this book. Decent book so I gave it a 3.7 out of 5 stars.

  The final book I read for this month was The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdie. This book is not only my favorite book if the month but beat out Angelfall as my favorite read of this year. This book is inspired by A Thousand And One Nights. The book follows a girl who marries a King who kills his bride’s the dawn after marrying them. Little does he know she is there to avenge the death of her best friend who also died after marrying him. It is so beautifully written and sent me through an emotional rollercoaster. The details of the characters and surroundings were immaculate. You could easily picture every scene and every character. Khalid managed  to kick Tamlin off of the pedestal in my heart. Easily the best book I’ve ready this year. I am beyond excited for the next book. 5 out 5 stars and a must read.

If you would like to check out my wrap-up video click the picture below!
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Thank you for stopping by!

Peace & Love
  ~Ferri~


Saturday, July 18, 2015

Hello Again (Why I've been away so long)

  Contrary to belief I have not forgotten about my blog. I've thought about it since my last post. I have even  attempted to write blog post in my free time at work. I did achieve this with my uplifting your spirits post. Since then I have't been so productive.

  For quite some time I have been focusing on my YouTube channel. I've tried and failed to start YT many many times. I've finally been kicking myself in the butt and have tried to consistently load videos up.

  Last month I posted a video regarding my health. If you haven't seen the video I state a tumor was found on my pituitary gland. It is not cancerous and I found out I won't even need surgery. My endocrinologist has prescribed medication that will hopefully shrink the tumor. At first I had no side effects from the medication. Now I have headaches every few days and I'm tired a lot. This along with the fact I have a full time job takes a lot out of me.

  Despite all of that I am also trying to write a book. Well I am working on a few stories that I'm really excited about. I haven't been writing as much as I want but I have made progress. I have also been reading a lot lately.

  My resolution for this year was to be happy and just grow as a person. 7 months in and I think... no I know I am on the right path. I am so truly blessed. I am thankful that God has brought me this far. I have come a long way. I've been looking back on my life a lot lately and I could never imagine myself being where I am now.

I know I don't post a lot. I just want people to see me succeed so that they can know they can do it too. That's why I do this. I want to encourage others, because I have been in a dark place too. The light is starting to shine through and I want you to know it will for you too.

Thank you for checking out my blog. There is so much more to come so stay tuned!

See you soon! Peace and love!

XOXO - Ferri

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Lifting Your Spirits: How to Overcome A Sour Mood

  Life can be frustrating. I myself have tried my best to stay in good spirits. At times I do have rough days. One of the days was fairly recent. Usually when I wake up in a bad mood it usually dissipates within a few hours. This day was completely different. It lasted almost the whole day. At one point I found myself in tears. I tried to think of all the things that inspire me but it didn't help. Although by the end of the day I didn't feel as bad, but I still felt a little down. This carried over to the next morning. Fortunately it didn't last more than a few hours that next day.

  Today I want to share 4 ways I lift my spirits when I have a bad day. Keep in mind everyone is different. I am sharing what works for me. The same thing doesn't work every time. Sometimes I need to alter my approach. This may or may not work for you. It doesn't hurt to give it a try. Also keep in mind what is causing you to feel this way. For instance if you are feeling depressed it may not be as easy as trying these out. Depression can be caused by chemical and genetic attributes. As far as treatment with depression that is something a doctor should be seen for.

·         Music
o   I love music. It has truly helped me overcome some of the toughest times in my life. I love a lot of different types of music. It’s really exciting for me to discover different types of music. When my mood is down I try to pay attention to what I respond to as far as what I am listening to. The same type of music doesn’t always lift me up. Sometime mellow music will uplift me and sometimes up tempo music will do the trick.
·         Writing
o   I love writing almost as much as music. I write anything from stories to songs. I literally have tons of notebooks filled with my writings. It is all a reminder of what I was feeling at that point in time. You can read your writings from the past and see how far you have come. If you’re feeling down because you feel you have progressed just pick up an old journal. Write down your feelings. If you are upset or angry right it down. Sometimes when you are in a disturbed emotional state it’s helpful to go back and analyze the situation. You get to know yourself a little bit better.
·         Exercise
o   Now I like to exercise. Unfortunately I don’t do it as much as I should. I did notice when I worked out I felt a lot happier. Sometimes with a busier schedule this can be difficult to implement. I have temporarily abandoned the gym, but I have made working out much more fun. Every day I walk my dog and unless it’s really cold I try to take as much time as possible doing this. I also purchase games on my console that promotes physical activity. Recently I also picked up a dvd set of Zumba videos. As you can see there are many ways to incorporate working out into your life. Sometimes just taking a walk or a bike ride around and letting the sun soak into your skin is enough. You can go running, swimming, or take kick boxing classes. There are so many options to choose from.
·         Dressing up
o   Sometimes to feel better you have to look better. When I’m in my pajamas I don’t feel as good as when I’m dressed up. At times I have to throw on some eye liner and lip gloss to feel better. I may have to pick out a dress that accentuates my figure and throw on some heels. In some cases you have to work on the outside and eventually the inside will catch up
·         Cooking               
·         Cleaning
·         Shopping
·         Knitting
·         Painting

  There are so many more things you could try that I don’t have listed. If I haven’t mentioned something feel free to post a comment so I can try it out next time.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Here We Go 2015

  It has been quite sometime since I posted. So much has change. It's already February of 2015! I can't believe it! I am truly looking forward to this year.

  Last year for me was a year of big changes. I originally moved here with my cousin. It was hard to decided to go our separate ways. It was something that I know we both really needed. At the beginning of 2014 I moved in with my boyfriend and his parents. Which helped since before hand we hand been staying in two different cities. It was quite difficult for us to spend time together but we made it work. After moving in it increase my commute since I still worked near my old home.  He already had a long commute of his own and we didn't share the same off days. So it did help us see each other a bit more, but left me in a frustrated place. 

  Shortly After moving I decided to aggressively start looking for jobs. We had always discuss moving closer to my boyfriends job. I loved the area every time I would go visit him after he finished with work. We agreed we would only move once I had secured employment I was becoming more frustrated with my job at the time and knew I had to make a priority everyday to look for something new. Which I did. I went on all types of interviews. Virtual, phone, and face to face. One company kept reaching out to me. Due to my work schedule it was hard to work around their schedule. At one point the recruiter gave me a deadline and said if I couldn't make it I was removed. I was not able to make it. I was crushed! I didn't know what to do. For a week or two I took a break. My boyfriend was so supportive. Encouraging me through my tears. Finally I was back at it. I ended up being contacted by the same company for another position. I was ecstatic. This time I vowed not to let my job at the time get in the way. I made sure to keep in contact with the recruiter every step of the way. It finally came down to one interview. None of the days they had available worked for me. I scheduled it anyway and called out from work that day. 

  A week later I was running late to work. I was stuck in major traffic and I had to call in to let them know I would be late. Finally traffic had cleared up enough and I would make it just in time to clock in. As I was parking my phone rang. I can't remember if I missed it and called back or answered immediately. All I remember is being offered the job and being overjoyed. As of now I am now sitting in my new apartment. I have a fabulous job that I love. My honey and I have more than enough time together. We have come such a long way and I am looking forward to what this year brings.

  Despite moving closer we seem to still be busy. Now we have little to no commute to work.  We are both taking classes. I have also started a youtube channel called VeryFerri. If you are interested please take a look. Going forward I will do my best to post either a blog or a vlog.

  Thank you so much for reading! <3


Thursday, August 7, 2014

I Think I Found What I've Been Looking For

Since I was young I have wanted to do many things. From an astronaut to a veterinarian,and for a hot second an OBGYN. The desire that lasted the most was singer. I discovered that desire when one of my cousins stayed with my parents and I for the summer. She told me she wanted to become a singer. My mind was blown. Up until that point I had want to be an actress. I didn't even know becoming a singer was an option. I know that's crazy. So I thought acting was more obtainable then singing. Well anyway we had decided we were going to start a group with our other cousin. Who honestly we didn't even know if she could sing. Actually I didn't know if either one could sing. We came up with our sound of music. In theory might I add. We also decided that most of our songs would be penned by ourselves. Despite us never actually getting the group together after that summer I stilled imagined and hoped it would become reality.

That one summer truly changed my life. I started writing songs when I was 12. Just the lyrics. I am not as musically inclined as I like so I couldn't compose a thing. I tried to take up guitar and piano even singing lessons but they never lasted. Still I continued to write. Despite where my life had lead me I still would write. Still made sure to stay connected with that dream. I even moved to California 2 years ago to pursue that dream. All I truly have are my notebooks of songs. 

Now it's been 14 years since that dream was planted. I don't feel I'm any closer to achieving it. I am horribly shy and don't have the confidence to sing in public. Well I did for a job interview and I admit I sounded horrible. I was so nervous my throat kept trying to close while I continued to try to force air through it. All though I should be mortified by that experience and I talk to others about it, I always let them know I don't regret a thing. I haven't performed since then. It's been almost 2 years since that day, and I continue to wrestle with that desire.

Recently I haven't been writing much do to my work. I have a longer commute than I've' ever had before. On top of that I'm in a relationship and mostly stressed do to my work. Lately I've been wanting to writ again, but it's extremely difficult to find the time. I actually have a post I have yet to post because I couldn't find the time to finish it. Since this writing desire popped up again I decided to find all of my notebooks so I could go over them. In the process of doing that I came across some notebooks where I had started writing stories instead of my usual songs. I decided to take them to work to read during my breaks. After reading a few pages I was in complete awe. I couldn't believe I had written ay of it. It literally sent chills through my body. During one of my breaks I expressed to my friend what had just happened and my total shock. Later that day she had said she has never seen me with such a light in my eyes and she encouraged me to continue writing.

After coming home I also told my boyfriend what happened. He was immediately asking me to read over the story. I became very nervous. I mean it's one thing to think I did a good job but would he? He read the story and said I must continue. He went on and on about how he could stay at home and run the house while I'm on my book tour. I finally figured out what it is I have been searching for all my life. I'm now even more inspired to continue writing. I plan to take some writing classes to perfect my skills. I m truly looking forward to the next chapter in my life.