Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday was created and is hosted by The Broke And The Bookish. This week's topic is books on my summer TBR list! Some are summer releases, some are fall releases and some are just books that have been out FOREVER that I haven't gotten around to reading yet!

In no particular order:

1. Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2) by Alexandra Bracken - I'm a little devastated that I've yet to read this. HELLO! Biggest Bracken and Darkest Minds fangirl EVAR here. I don't actually have a copy yet (*sobs*) but I'm pretty sure I'll be getting my hands on one soon and I will DEVOUR it when I finally do!
2. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas - LOVED Throne of Glass and totally did a happy dance in a movie theater when my awesome blogger friend Shanyn sent me a picture that she picked this up at BEA for me! Ready to get my Chaol on!
3. This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith - Just checked this baby out at the library yesterday. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was amazing so I'm looking forward to finally reading this one!

4. The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass - I just finished reading The Selection last night and HOLY MEATBALLS IT WAS SO GOOD. I'm so happy that Shanyn (she's sounding a bit like my own personal book fairy, huh?) sent me this one along with the first book because I need more Prince Maxon ASAP.
5. Defiance by C.J. Redwine - My book fairy also sent me this one and it looks SO good! I haven't heard too much about it but what I have heard has been nothing but praise. Excited to start it soon!
6. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell - I don't actually have this in my possession but it's on hold at the library for me. Ever since BEA started I've heard nonstop gushing about Rainbow Rowell so I'm dying to get my hands on one of her books!

7. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - Also on hold at the library for me. I'm ready to climb out from this boulder I've been living under and see what all of the hype is about!
8. Eon by Alison Goodman - I bought this book months ago and still haven't picked it up yet but I definitely plan on getting around to it this summer. Fantasy = win!
9. Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles - I always love a good contemp on a nice, sunny day so hopefully this one will be just as good as her others! (Perfect Chemistry ... *dreamy sigh*)
10. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales - This is one is at the very top of my pile! I plan on cracking it open the moment that I finish up with library books because it sounds SO good! Books about music are always a hit (no .. errr.. almost pun intended) with me!

Are any of these books on your summer TBR list? If not, what are some you planning on reading?

Small Screen YA (3)

Not only am I an avid book reader, I'm also an avid TV watcher. And every once in awhile, I get
really into a show that contains all the elements of a great YA novel. These aren't shows adapted from books, they're just brilliantly written scripts and scenes. This will be a once-in-awhile kind of feature, one that I'll post when I discover an amazing television show that YA lovers absolutely need to watch.

The Fosters (ABC Family)

The Fosters is still a fairly new show with only two aired episodes so far, but I'm absolutely hooked. It follows Stef Foster and Lena Adams, a married lesbian couple who are raising their children - Stef's seventeen-year-old biological son Brandon and adopted fourteen-year-old twins Jesus and Mariana.

Callie is a teenaged orphan with a troubled, tragic past. After she's beaten at the juvenile detention center that she was sent to after a mishap with her latest foster parent, Lena feels sympathetic for her and takes her home. But Callie's past makes it difficult for her to fit in with the others in the house. The only one who softens to her is Brandon, who aids in her rescuing her little brother from the abusive foster parent who sent her to juvie.

85% of this show is YA, you guys. Callie's struggle to adjust to a normal household is so heartbreaking and entertaining at the same time. I absolutely love her character because she's sarcastic and strong but also has these vulnerable moments that make her seem so real. I'm also enjoying the dynamic between Lena and Stef. I'm excited to see the show explore their relationship a lot more in future episodes.

And Brandon is so stinking adorable. *pinches cheeks*

The Fosters is on Mondays at 9pm on ABC Family.

Movie Review: Now You See Me

Every year there are a few brilliant movies that get swept under the rug after the theatrical release. is one of those. Sure, it spent one week at the top of the box office, but this film deserves so much more.

This is what I gathered from the trailer: four magicians take a page from Robin Hood and use their talents to give back to the less fortunate. That alone would have made for an interesting story but there is SO much more to it. The tricks they do, the targets they choose ... everything seems perfectly planned and plotted in this movie without EVER coming across predictable. In fact, it's the complete opposite. The beginning of the movie kind of challenges you to try to figure out what they'll do next but I never once successfully guessed. Stories that keep me on my toes = instant win for me. I also love how every trick was logically explained. While I probably still would have enjoyed it, I think leaving it all up in the air would have given the movie a sense of cheesiness.

The casting was perfect. Woody Harrelson is great with basically any part but he especially succeeds with the cocky, wise-cracking smartass characters, much like the one he plays in this movie. Jesse Eisenberg is adorable and I was happy to see him pull off a confident persona rather than the stammering, introverted characters he's used to playing. I'm still not a huge fan of Dave Franco but he won me over a little in this role; his fight scene is so kick-ass. But the movie would not have been as great as it is without Mark Ruffalo playing the determined agent trying to bust the Four Horsemen and Morgan Freeman playing the determined skeptic trying to debunk their act. Their performances definitely gave the movie an edge of intensity.

Magic tricks! Fight scenes! An epic car chase! Humor! This movie! THIS MOVIE YOU GUYS! It combines a smart story with the elements of a blockbuster and the execution is flawless. I have to urge you all to go see it sometime soon. It's DEFINITELY worth the ridiculously overpriced tickets and popcorn!
Now You See Me

Saturday Six (1)

While I was on my little hiatus, I tried to think of some fun things to do on days that I normally don't post (like Saturdays) and came across the Friday Favorites at Dog-Eared & Bookmarked. It's a twist on the Friday Five (if anyone know who to credit for this - please let me know!) where Cyndi posts a lists of favorites that week in two categories - books and miscellaneous. Since I often post fan art on Fridays, I decided to switch it up and create the Saturday Six where I'll be posting my six favorite things of the week in four different categories - books, television, movies and random!

In Books:
6. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. I didn't expect to like it so I skipped on buying the sequel, Demonglass, as well but I'm kicking myself in the ass for that now. Absolutely loved it.
5. The synopsis for A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Retellings are my favorite and this one combines THREE of them - Beauty & The Beast, Tam-Lin and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It won't be out until Winter 2015 (wahhh, why so long?!) but I'm crossing my fingers that the date gets bumped.
4. Mango the service bulldog in Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes. I'm reading this book right now and it's only making my desire to get a bulldog that much bigger.
3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I've had it forever but always refrained from reading it because I tend to avoid books that I know are going to be depressing. Despite it TOTALLY being depressing, I actually really enjoyed it. Now if I could only force myself to read Before I Fall ...
2. This conversation between Veronica Roth and Leigh Bardugo on their books and characters. Mal and Four ... *dreamy sigh*
1. Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit got me an arc of Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas at BEA and is sending it to me. So. Excited. Chaol, here I come!

In Television:
6. I don't watch Game of Thrones, but I was quite entertained by the reaction of last week's episode on my Twitter and Facebook feeds. *giggle*
5. The season premiere of True Blood is next weekend. Favorite.
4. The pilot of The Fosters, which premiered on Monday on ABC Family, was absolutely amazing. I can see it going places and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. Also, Brandon is adorable.
3.  Luke Mitchell, who played Will in my favorite mermaid show ever - H2O - is starring in a new CW show this fall called The Tomorrow People. And it looks amaaaaaaaazing.
2. Falling Skies. Just watched most of the first and second seasons this week. Holy meatballs. This show is severely underrated. It's like The Walking Dead but with aliens instead of zombies. 
1. This rough sneak peek of Legend of Korra season two. I can haz Mako now?

In Movies:
6. Monte Carlo. Rented it this week and despite the incredible amounts of cheese, it was actually really cute. The eye candy certainly helped as well.
5. Chloe Moretz getting cast as Mia in the If I Stay movie. She's an incredible actress so I absolutely approve.
4. The redband trailer for We're The Millers. The end of the trailer ... I can't even ... oh my god.
3. Mulan. I've seen bits and pieces over the years but believe it or not, I only just saw the entire movie for the first time on Tuesday. And it was so good. Mulan is so kick-ass. (And not the annoying asshat as she is portrayed in Once Upon A Time)
2. The new stills from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Finding Luke to be a lot more sexier than Jace, even with those fangs and claws. Yow!
1. This still of Theo James as Four in the Divergent movie. PERFECTION.

In Random:
6. Little Mix - my favorite music group - had their album debut at #4 on our American charts this week. That's huge and something that not even the Spice Girls could do. So happy for them!
5. This prank that my local radio station pulled off. I was cracking up the entire time. I understand the men falling for it because they don't know any better but LADIES? Come on now.
4. They're adding Diagon Alley onto the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. How did I just NOW find this out? I must go!
3. I'm getting an Emagine Theater in my city. Popcorn and movies and alcohol all together? I'm never going to want to leave.
2. Saw a glimpse of Saoirse Ronan in Novi when I passing through on Wednesday. Not sure what she was doing there (she's in Detroit filming a movie that Ryan Gosling is directing) but it was exciting. This is a girl who had her tongue down Max Irons AND Jake Abel's throats. ;)
1. And my most favorite thing that has happened this week - not just this week but this YEAR - is that I met Little Mix. Best day ever. 

As you can see, it was a bit of a slow week. Hopefully the next one I do is full of exciting things!