#fearsxdreams

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So i just read The Little Mermaid: The Holiday Treasure Hunt

Where Ariel buys all these gifts for her friends and family and her husband, but when Max, their dog, finds his, he hides them all on the beach. Then when Ariel finds out, she decides to make a scavenger hunt out of it and Eric says they should do this every year for christmas.

It got me thinking about Christmases with Melody.

I'd like to think they continued the tradition for their daughter and everyone in the castle made it a cute game for her when she was growing up.

Like when she was a baby, Ariel and Eric would do it for her with Melody being passed between the two of them while they let her grab the presents they found.

And then when she was older, around the age she is in the movie - 13, she finds them herself, going from on land to the sea - or well, if she has any other mermaid powers, she could either do it herself or have her mom or her grandfather go down to the sea to grab the presents for her if they're too deep for her to go without her fins.

And maybe Grandpa Triton gives her something from her Grandmother Athena, and when Melody shows it to Ariel, Ariel tears up and thanks her father.

Now i want to write a short story about this.

[booksxoceans]

Just finished my re-read of "The Mara Dyer Trilogy"

It was even better than the first time reading it.

I caught onto certain little hints that @michellehodkin left in the first two books, and I even kind of, sort of, maybe know a little bit of why David Shaw did what he did - at least from speculation and what he had told Noah/Mara about G1821 and his motivations. (Even though, we never do get a real answer about his motives.)

I think he's driven by grief. He lost his wife and they were both Carriers of the gene but it had never activated.

He's a dick to his son because I think he blames Noah for what happened to his wife, even if it doesn't make any sense. He can't stand Grandma Mara - maybe he has a vendetta against her? Her family?

And then there's the fascination with Mara. He wanted to know what she was doing to protect Noah. He knows from Grandma Mara that our Mara is going to have the same ability.

I believe that everything he has done - he's done FOR Noah. For Naomi. His wife couldn't stand him - that much is clear with her challenging him about Noah's name when he is born and protesting her own husband's subsidiary. He poured everything he could into learning, researching, about G1821 for his son - hence Horizons, and the testing and the artifically inducing, and hell even the Tamerlane collapse.

Even baiting Noah to kill himself or kill Mara. It was all to protect his son and to figure out how G1821 worked. I mean, hell, he and his wife are/were Carriers of the gene too, although it never manifests.

How fucked would it be if David Shaw did all of this for Noah? In his own twisted, morbid way of trying to figure out what would help him.

[booksxoceans]

To every stranger who didn't call the cops on me when i asked them 'What would you do if you found out you were about to die?' None of your answers inspired anything in this book, but wasn't it absolutely fun having a stranger make you observe your mortality?

Adam Silvera, "They Both Die At The End" 'Acknowledgments'

[booksxoceans]

Just finished Reckoning of Noah Shaw and holy shit...

I knew. I just knew from the ending of "Becoming", that this book was going to lead the way I thought it would and it did.

But fuck. That ending. I was not expecting that at all.

I knew that M was killing Carriers, or making them kill themselves. I had suspicions as to why - like she needed to kill them in order to survive or maybe she's just a fucked up Grandma and murdering people is to her what Bingo nights is to Non-Carrier Grandma's. (Mara takes after her so much in that respect - only Mara just murders people to protect her loved ones and herself.)

But taking the deads Afflictions/Gene/power/whatever is just wrong on so many levels.

But this is coming from the girl that when we first met her, she was naked, curled up in a tree, with a man's heart in her hand so. It's not as if we didn't know M was a murderer beforehand! 😌

And that reveal! That plot twist!

My poor heart goes out to him. He didn't deserve that.

There was a lot that was revealed in this book, and more things that led to questions/theories, but overall, it was a 4 star read for me.

Until next time, Noah Shaw.

[booksxoceans]

My Disney Fairies books with their main characters.

[booksxoceans]

Digging into Noah Shaw's mess of a life again today.

I was re-reading the whole series before diving back in and had even started a book journal for quotes and monthly highlights and notes that i want to share about the books i've read in that month.

After re-reading the whole series, I've come to see things in a new light and found things i missed.

As such, I may think I know a character's motives, but with the Mara Dyer/Noah Shaw universe, anything is possible.

I'm excited to find out what happens next, and now with Grandma Tiger Mara in the picture, who knows what might happen?

[booksxoceans]

Just finished "Not Otherwise Specified" by Hannah Moskowitz

Just things i loved:

The character development was phenomenal.

The main character, Etta, was warring with herself even after going through recovery.

Etta being a motherhen to this little girl, Bianca, who was also going through an eating disorder.

The humor and the sarcasm she has.

The romance wasn't at all central to the plot, besides her ex best friend Rachel kissing her or Bianca's brother's friend flirting, her ex girlfriend in New York or her ex boyfriend that her group, The Dykes, kicked her out for because she wasn't "gay enough".

The condom ranch scene. YES GIRL. I laughed so hard. I love the comedy in this book.

I LOVED the bisexual misconceptions and how she laughed at the stupid things that even the lgbt community said to her. (She was banned from going to Pride for crying out loud. All because of her sexuality.)

She's also a POC.

The relapse.

The snowglobes. "93 snowglobes for my 93 pound girl."

I loved the way that this book showed that even if you go through recovery, you're not just magically cured right away. I also loved that for Etta at least, she wasn't forced into going. She chose to go herself to get better.

Things i didn't care for:

The parenthesis during like almost every chapter. If she was making a joke about herself or saying a stereotype or talking about her eating disorder, sometimes there would be a line in parenthesis. Maybe this isn't even the authors fault, actually i know it isn't and i know what she was trying to do with the parenthesis, but after "Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson", I just got so turned off by parenthetical annotations or speech that when i saw it in this book, even though this book is so well written and i love the development, i went 'UGH!' inside my head.

The Dykes. I just. I couldn't. It was too stupid. Their name. Their actions. I love YA, always have and always will, but can we please get some antagonists that aren't all snooty stuck up bitchier versions of The Plastics. Please?

The romance. I know i said i liked it, and at some points i did, but at others, i didn't. Rachel acting like a bitch and then kissing her, i didn't like. I get it. She had feelings for her. Whatever. But that still doesn't excuse the fact that she was a bitch and ignored her, and not to mention, she tries to keep Etta from going to New York. Selfish little girl.

[booksxoceans]

One of my bookcases and a couple of my favorite shelves. I've got a bigger one downstairs but it's a mess.

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Finishing the last couple of pages of ‘Retribution of Mara Dyer’ tonight/tomorrow then beginning 'Becoming of Noah Shaw’. I think i’ve already figured out who’s behind it but then again, i may be wrong. I’m writing a review for all three of the books when i finish Retribution, then going back and re-reading to figure out what clues i missed along the way.

[booksxoceans]

I'm doing a 24 hour read a thon and i haven't been to sleep at all. It started yesterday night.

I finished The Becoming of Noah Shaw, started and finished Lullabies by Lang Leav, now working on Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (PSST. IT'S A SIGNED COPY AND I'M FLIPPING OUT BECAUSE I BOUGHT THIS TWO YEARS AGO AND FORGOT THAT I BOUGHT IT). I've got hot chocolate, food, a blanket, and my cats. I got everything i need for this. Woo hoo! Okay, going to get back to reading. Also, if you haven't checked out my "Becoming of Noah Shaw" review, definitely go check that out if you are finished with the book.

Happy reading!

[booksxoceans]

👻🎃🍁 October vibes 🍁🎃👻

All of the books i usually read (or try to) in the October-November months. Some i haven’t read yet, such as “The Raven Boys” and half way finished with “Retribution of Mara Dyer”. I need to get my hands on “Forever” by Stiefvater though. I’ve read Shiver and Linger but i need to get Forever as well as re-read the books. (Although, i’m trying to get a copy of Forever with the original cover because i love those covers so much better than the new and improved ones. Hopefully i can find one on amazon or something. It would just look weird if i had two books with the original cover and then the last book with the new cover.)

Okay, bye.

[booksxoceans]

Reading challenge 2018: The wins and the losses

Before i get into listing all the books i read, i wanted to give you a bit of some knowledge that you'll need for this post- mainly the goal and how many books i was off by.

For 2018, i wanted to read 70 books.

But alas, i was 9 books off short, with 61 books read this year.

But hey. It's okay, because i had work and life gets in the way. And anyway, 61 books with juggling my first job is an accomplishment.

I started a book journal to track my progress.

Here's what's in it, as dated monthly:

January 2018 - 2 books

× Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

× The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

February - 1 book

× The Girl Who Drank The Moon

March - 4 books

× Thumper and The Noisy Ducky by Stuart Smith

× Wake by Lisa Mcmann

× Crank by Ellen Hopkins

April - 3 books

× Glass by Ellen Hopkins

× Wake

× Crank

May - 10 books

× I'd Tell you I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill you by Ally Carter

× Cross my Heart, Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

× Don't Judge a Spy by her Cover by Ally Carter

× Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

× Cupid's Match (Wattpad)

× Out of Sight, Out of Time

× United We Spy

× Valentine's Day (Wattpad)

June - 6 books

× Alpha's Unknown Daughter (Wattpad)

× Secret Submission

× The Raven Boys

× Robin Hood

× The Dream Thieves

× A Silent Voice

July: 6 books

× The Dream Thieves

× Blue Lily, Lily Blue

× The Raven King

× Ariel Makes Waves

× Not Otherwise Specified

August - 20 books

× Vampire Knight Vol. 1

× Wild Ones Vol. 1

× Vamp. Knight Memories Vol. 1

× Interview with a Vampire

× poetry book

× Lily's pesky plant

× Vampire knight memories vol. 2

× Vidia and the fairy crown

× Fairy dust and the quest for the egg

× the tail of emily windsnap

× conquer me

× emily windsnap and the monster from the deep

× inward

× soft thorns

× this savage song

× house of rose

× renegade

× sloppy takes the plunge

× the lion and the bride

September - 10 books

× the owls have come to take us away

× renegade

× this savage song

× our dark duet

× you'd be mine

× there's something about pain

× there's something about a kilt

× they both die at the end

× a danger to herself and others

× heretics anonymous

October - 3 books

× The Girls at 17 Swann Street

× Heretics Anonymous

× The Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding

November - 3 books

× Dreadful Tale Of Prosper Redding

× Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

× Evolution of Mara Dyer

December - 3 books

× Retribution of Mara Dyer

× Cut

× Black Ice

[booksxoceans]

Witchathon essentials:

1. Comfy reading space

2. Book

3. Hot chocolate

4. Kitty

Not pictured:

1. My book journal

2. Pen

3. Snacks.

[booksxoceans]

Witchathon readathon!

I'm re-reading the "Mara Dyer" trilogy before picking up the new "Shaw Confessions" book so my books for this are:

1. Evolution of Mara Dyer

2. Retribution of Mara Dyer

3. Becoming of Noah Shaw

4. Reckoning of Noah Shaw

As well as re-reading:

5. The Hollow by Jessica Verday

6. The Haunted by Jessica Verday

7. The Hidden by Jessica Verday

And maybe in keeping with the witchy theme:

8. Sweep: first three books

9. Sweep: four, five, and six.

Very ambitious reading goals, but I'm determined. And i'm behind on my reading challenge so this will help me get caught up.

[booksxoceans]

Sometimes, my problems come all at once, too." Ariel told Salty. "My father tells me to take them one at a time."

Liz Marsham, "Disney Princess Beginnings: Ariel Makes Waves"

[booksxoceans]

What if... *maybe spoiler ahead*

Okay, just a theory cause i just started the last book of TRC, but could one of The Raven Boys from Aglionby.... Could they possibly be Glendower?

My theory is ahead, so like possible spoiler is below.

I'm only 25 pages in but ever since we got introduced to Henry, i've had this really weird feeling that he's either Glendower's son or he is Glendower himself, but then i think well, he's a kid so maybe not cause isn't Glendower supposed to be like 800 years old?

But Gwenllian looks young so maybe. But then, also, if Henry is Glendower, wouldn't that mean he's already awake? So the favor wouldn't work.

Just a crazy theory but i wanted to write it down while i'm reading.

Also, i'm not ready for Gansey to die. No. Not. Ready.

He needs to live. And be with Blue. And i really need some Adam and Ronan stuff in this book cause i swear, if there's nothing, i'm going to be very devastated. The tumblr 'Pynch' tag is filled with cute kisses and cuddles and stuff so if there isn't one that's in this book, i'm going to need a lot of wine.

Okay.

Back to reading.

I'll post more theories while reading too, maybe.