I am a pathetic blogger reader. To be quite honest, I don’t understand- I used to be an all-star. While in high school I went out west for two weeks and I started/finished four books- all at least 250 pages (one that was +400 pages). Granted, I had a lot of down time and the alternative to reading was watching Homestar Runner videos with my brother, but still… one book in two months is pathetic.
Per usual, here’s the reviewing system:
★- terrible | ★★- I finished it but it was a struggle | ★★★- not bad, not my favorite | ★★★★- a good read that kept my interest | ★★★★★- I’ve already bought the book for my collection & I’m recommending it to everyone
I’ll also tell you why I read it, what it’s about, and whether or not you should read it. The book images link you back to their GoodReads pages.
Alright, let’s do this.
Exposure to a Billionaire by Ann Menke|| ★★/5
I received this book for free from the author through Kay & Kari & Kristen‘s Literary Ladies book club. (All opinions are obviously my own.) This book was not my favorite & probably contributed to my lack of reading this month. (Excuses, excuses…)
It’s written in a first person p.o.v. and tells about the fabulous, jet-setting life of Anna St. James, a personal flight attended for Stuart Manning- one of the richest men in the world. I will give this book credit for its descriptions of foreign countries and cities and experiences… but that’s all. It was a lot of retelling- similar to reading a journal. Anna was annoying and her description of her wealthy friends was obnoxious and repetitive. The actual author was a flight attendant and I feel like this was one of her flight-daydreams in novel form. I felt it was uppity and impossible to relate to. I didn’t find myself liking any of the characters, despite Anna’s repeated lines about how the pilots were “like brothers to me” and Stuart and his wife “are like my family.” No. Just stop. The ending was so fairytale-y and bad. I need some wine because this book was so cheesy.
I’m curious to see what other bookclub-ers said, but I would not recommend this one to you or anyone. Sorry guys… (It looked/sounded like it had such potential!)
. . .
Right now I’m doing a reading challenge via Google Drive with some friends in Arizona. They’re going to kick my butt…
Erin’s Read My Books Challenge starts Wednesday and lasts a month & her summer challenge categories are going to be posted soon! I’m excited for another challenge. I’ll post my selections on Friday!
Currently Reading: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs for my Google Drive challenge 🙂
Life as Louise 
I HATE when I read a book and it’s just meh, because then my whole reading mojo gets off-kilter and I don’t like reading until I find a book that catches my attention which occasionally takes months! I really need to be better at reading actual books and surfing the internet less…
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In high school I was relentless and I’d finish a book no matter what. I was a fast reader, too, so it didn’t take me a whole month to read one 😉 Now I usually quit them if they don’t hold my interest. I think I stuck with this one to see if it’d redeem itself. Haha! Fortunately I’m reading another book that has me reading a chapter every chance I get!
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Thanks for the shout outs!
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No problem!
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You absolutely must tell me what you think of Miss Peregrine – promise you’ll tweet me yay or nay!! Someone recently recommended it to me and I’ve been thinking of giving it a go! This review was so honest, I’d love to hear what your opinion of the other is!
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Absolutely! I’ve started and stopped it a few times, but only because other books or life events distracted me from it. I’m determined to get through it this time!
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i haven’t read this yet… oops. but i have unfortunately not heard good things, you are not alone. and i totally contribute a bad book to a bad month of reading.. when i am trying to force myself to read something, i can’t just put it down and pick up something else, i just sulk and don’t do any reading until i’ve finished that bad book, if that makes sense. i haven’t read anything by ransom riggs but it’s on my list. good luck with your reading 🙂
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Definitely makes sense 🙂 Ugh, this book had a lot of potential- I really do love that they travel to different places and see different things. It’s also a quick read (despite it taking me a month…). Who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did! (Sorry I’m so early to the link-up! Haha!)
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i unfortunately did not enjoy it more than you did 😦 womp womp.
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I’m sorry to report that I was also pretty underwhelmed by Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar children (have we talked about this already? I can’t remember…). I think my expectations were just too darn high, since everyone had raved about it to me for a year by the time I picked it up in April. It was a neat concept, especially how it was inspired by the creepy vintage photos, but I didn’t get super attached to any of the characters and the plot was a little meandering.
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I actually know nothing about it… except the whole photo thing and the new movie trailer that was released. Haha. We may have talked about it? I’ve tried reading it once before and life got in the way. Ha!
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i feel you on that book thing when they don’t live up to the expectations boooooo. however, that sweet picture with your pup and book hopefully make up for it because ADORABLE!
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Haha! If I add Enzo to any photo it instantly becomes adorable to me 🙂 It’s always so weird to walk away from a book feeling mad! This one left me irritated and ready for a serious page-turner!
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I think you expressed what most did and you did so graciously. Thanks for linking up 🙂
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Thank you, Kay! Thanks for hosting, too!!
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This book was so far from my expectations and yes, very cheesy and unrealistic! It took me forever to get through so I also blame it for not reading many books last month! The picture of your dog with it is so cute though!!
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I forced myself through the last 100 pages. It was a challenge and I honestly felt myself getting angrier and angrier with the plot. Haha. Thank you! Enzo likes to chew books sometimes- I might just let him 😉 jk
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Basically my exact thoughts on this book. It was pretty rough to get through in some parts and the only reason I made it past chapter 2 was because of the book club. I needed to cleanse my soul with a good book after this one hahaha!
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Yesss. Fortunately I picked up a good one right after I finished this! 😀
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I didn’t like it either. It had potential, and the travel pieces were definitely fun to read! … however the book itself just wasn’t super well written or captivating. It’s so hard, I felt super mean reviewing it… but it wasn’t my jam. I have to be honest! I think I am going to join Erin’s as well as Semi Charmed Summer. 🙂 XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
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I’m really excited for Erin’s challenge 😀 I felt a little mean, too, but I have to be into the writing to be into the book. It just wasn’t my jam.
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I completely agree with you on all fronts! I loved all the descriptions of the amazing places that Anna was traveling too, but other than that it was just flat out terrible! I didn’t connect with any characters,and I found Anna very annoying too.
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I like my characters slightly flawed and way more relatable 🙂
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Thanks for linking up with us! I completely agree. I can totally imagine it putting someone into a reading slump. I’m just lucky enough to have The Raven King to look forward to reading so it didn’t slow me down.
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I wouldn’t let myself read anything else while I was fighting through it 😉 Fortunately I rewarded myself with 2 hours in a gooooood book afterward!
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