Fav and least fav Sarah Dessen books

Hey guys. Sorry for being M.I.A the last few weeks. I have been busy with work, school, and making a Harry Potter quilt for Tea-riffics birthday (if you want to see pictures of the finished quilt you can head on over to our instagram @the_readingcafe). Any ways for this weeks blog post I thought I would talk about one of my favourite others Sarah Dessen. Now I have read alomst all her books except for a couple and I thought I would tell you guys my favourite and least favourite book by her.

One of my all time favourite Sarah Dessen book is Just Listen. I can't even count the amount of times I have read this book. What really draws me to the book is the music aspect. I am a big music fan and really like books that include music whether it be a book about a band/singer or it could be people talking about their favourite songs. I really enjoy that people from different worlds come together though music even though the have completely different tastes.  

Another one of my favourites is Along for the Ride. This book is the first ever Sarah Dessen book that I have read. One of my friends recommended her to me and let me borrow her copy of the book. Throughout the book you follow a girl named Auden who is a girl who is focused on school and tries to be the perfect daughter. You would think the book would be a cliche where Auden meets a bad boy and starts having out with the party crowed  but this book is different. Auden goes to stay at her dads for the summer and meets Eli who shows her all the great things she missed as a child like going bowling. I really falling in love with Eli's character he is a dark and mysteries guy but past all that he is a really sweet guy. 

There has never been a Sarah Dessen book that I have read that I did not enjoy, however there that I don't think I will ever read. One of those books is Once and for All. I see this book every time I go to the book store but I pick it up and read the back and then put it back down again. I don't think the whole daughter of wedding planner idea is all that interesting. For the description of the back, the book seems like a typical cliche where a sweet girl looking for her one true love ends up dating a player. Maybe one day in the far far future I will give this book a chance but as of now it is a pass.

Well thats all I have for this weeks post. Hope you all have a great week and see you next Monday. 

HOGWARTS

Which Hogwarts house you would be in and which classes you would take. Thank you pottermore, for the answers to this question.

So... I would be in Ravenclaw. 

Motto: "wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" 

Character Traits: Intelligent, wise, sharp, witty, individual

And for the classes, what year? Because if I'm in first year, I don't really have a choice. 

I'm going to make it third year because then I get to pick classes.

1. Astronomy
2. Charms
3. Dark Arts
4. Defence Against the Dark Arts 
5. Herbology
6. History of Magic
7. Muggle Studies 
8. Potions
9. Transfiguration

So those are the core classes, now for my electives. 

1. music
2. ghoul studies

That's everything for this week. Comment your hogwarts house either in the comments section or on our most recent instagram picture!

See you next week

~ Tea-Riffic 

Best Romance Lines

Books have the sweetest lines. The boy to the girl, and the girl to the boy. They are so romantic.

1. The One by Kiera Cass:

“Break my heart. Break it a thousand times if you like. It was only ever yours to break anyway.”

2. Harry Potter - the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling:

“What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk!"

3. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

"Do I love you? My god, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches."

4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

“Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.” 

5. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

“Spoiler alert: Love is worth everything. Everything.”

See you all next week!

~ Tea-Riffic 

Books that Need Movie Adaptations

In the next two years, so many great movies are coming out. In my opinion, here are some movies that should be in this line up. Unfortunately, their not but a girl can dream.

Here's a list of all of the ones that I think need to be there:

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass. I have been wanting this since I read the first book, all those years ago. Now, even with all the rumours of a movie, I can't find real proof that there is even one in the works.

2. The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I love this book so much.

3. Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Could you imagine the sheer beauty of this movie. It would be gorgeous.

4. RoseBlood by A.G. Howard. I love this phantom of the opera retelling. It's a beautiful story and it would be so pretty on the big screen.

5. A List of Cages by Robin Roe. This book surpassed all expectations. I picked it up for a light read but then it was a deep and moving story. I would really like to see how they do it.

That's all for now, but thanks for reading!

See you next week

~ Tea-Riffic

Top 10 fictional crushes

Hey guys, how are you all doing this week? I feel a little bummed as I have been in a reading slump recently and haven't read anything. But anyways for this weeks blog post  



Owen Armstrong from Just Listen by Sarah Dessen 

Gabriel West from Songs about a Girl by Chris Russell 

Olly Bright from Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Max from Dreamology by Lucy Keating

Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Eli Stock from Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Noah from Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower

Will from Me Before You

Kent Before I Fall

The Literary Dinner Party Tag

Hey everyone! This week, I've decided to do a tag! I saw this tag on Dreamland Books Blog. She's pretty cool so you should go check her out! Anyway, let's get started!

1. One character who can cook/likes to cook

This character is America from the Selection. I'm not sure about you, but I'm sure after she became a Queen she probably learned the recipe for those strawberry tarts and I really want to try them. 

2. One character who has money to fund the party

Harry Potter from, well, Harry Potter. His parents left him lots of money so he could fund the party as well as being a great dinner guest. 

3. One character who might cause a scene

Maven Calore from Red Queen. He would create a huge hassle especially if Cal is there. ;)

4. One character who is funny/amusing

Iko from Cinder. She's so cute! I'm sure she would be so fun and funny at a party. 

5. One character who is super social/popular

Adam Blake from A List of Cages. He's really nice and also popular so it works out.

6. One villain

Um, can I not. I kind of just want this to be a happy party. So I will invite Maven Calore again. Twice over.

7. One couple – doesn’t have to be romantic

Marlee and Carter from the Selection. They are so cute! The way they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the other person. It's really sweet. I need that kind of love in my life.

8. One hero/heroine

Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. She's a hero. She should be a fun guest. 

9. One under appreciated character

Donatella from Caraval. People talk about Julian and Scarlet but not about Donatella. She's under appreciated and I think she'd be wonderful to have at a party.  

10. One character of your own choosing

Who to chose, who to chose...

I pick Madeline from Everything Everything. She's so pretty and funny. It would be nice to meet her. 




Well that's my dinner party! I hope you enjoyed.

See you Next Week

~ Tea-Riffic

Ya Books for Music Lovers

Hey guys. If you are a music lover like my self then this post is for you. I will sharing with you guys some books that all music loves will enjoy.






Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

(Taken from goodreads)
Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.
This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

This book is probably one of my all-time favourite books. I really like how Sarah Dessen doesn't really write books that follow the stereotypical love story. Annabel is one of the most popular girls in and school she is a model. You wouldn't think a model would be caught dead talking to Owen, a weird, music obsessed, "bad boy". I really enjoy how Owen and Annabel bond over Owens weird taste in music (even though Annabel is not a fan).

Songs about a girl by Chris Russell

Charlie Bloom never wanted to be 'with the band'. She's happiest out of the spotlight, behind her camera, unseen and unnoticed. But when she's asked to take backstage photos for hot new boy band Fire&Lights, she can't pass up the chance.
Catapulted into a world of paparazzi and backstage bickering, Charlie soon becomes caught between gorgeous but damaged frontman, Gabriel West, and his boy-next-door bandmate Olly Samson. Then, as the boys' rivalry threatens to tear the band apart, Charlie stumbles upon a mind-blowing secret, hidden in the lyrics of their songs.

This book is perfect for anyone who always dreamt of being with the band. I would kill to be Charlie even though I don't really like boy bands but the experience would be unreal.



Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan  

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

For the Record by Charlotte Huang 

Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like... until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything
Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen heartthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.


Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule... Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

Some Characters Have it Rough

I love characters that work hard to get what they want. They remind me of myself. These are the kind of characters that I would want to switch places with. (or maybe ones that do nothing) But, there are some characters that have a terrible life. These are characters that I wouldn't want to switch places with. In this post, I will make a list of these characters for you to compare your own list of characters you want to switch places with. (we all know you have one) Just forewarning, there will be spoilers in this post.

1. Voldemort from Harry Potter. Who in their right mind would want to switch places with Voldemort?

2. Queen Amberly from the Selection. As much as I love Queen Amberly, I would never want to be her. Well, for one, she's dead and two, she's married to King Clarkson. He just seems too controlling and rude. I couldn't do it...

3. Katniss from Hunger Games. I would not know what to do. I feel like I would be one of the first killed off.

4. Julian from Caraval. I really didn't like Julian at the beginning or the end. I only really liked him in the middle. He worked so hard to keep something as big as working for Legend from Scarlet the entire book. I don't think I could ever keep something that big to myself.

5. Maven from Red Queen. This character is my least favourite character of them all. (well maybe not them all, but still) He betrayed them. I would never ever want to betray some one to the extent that he did.

That's my list for now, but I have a question for you! Who would you want to switch places with?

I would want to switch places with America from the Selection.

See you next week!

~ Tea-Riffic

Dream Cast: Guy Edition

Hey guys, how are you doing this fine Monday? For this weeks blog post I will be sharing with you guys my dream cast for some of my favourite books.



1.Parker Sheridan

It took me a while to find the perfect guy to play Parker. I looked at other book blogs to see what other people thought should play Parker but to me none of the screamed Parker. Then I thought of Eden. I know that Eden is more of a singer and not an actor but I feel he would play the perfect Parker. 




2. Levi Stewart

I first saw Alex Pettyer in Beastly and fell in love. Beastly is one of my favourite movies and he did a really good job in it. After rereading Fangirl not to long ago, I thought that Alex would make a great Levi.






3.Owen Armstrong

Just the other day, I was re watching Freaky Friday and I thought that Chad Michael Murray did a good job playing Jake. The vibe Jake was giving me kinda reminded me of Owen. Chad back during Freaky Friday days would do a fantastic job playing Owen. 

Guessing Books Plots

Hey guys! So today at the bookstore, I was looking around and judging all of the books based on their covers. It was then that I realized why I'm judging them, I'm guessing what they're about. That's where the inspiration for this blogpost came from. In this post, I will be telling you a brief description of what I think these books are about and then on a scale of one to ten, I'll rate my likeliness to pick it up. The third thing I will be doing is putting it into a genre. It will just be based off book covers. If you've read these books, let me know how close I am.

1:

My Guess-

To me, this book looks like a book from the future. It has to do with the fact that these people have become robots, full of information. They all have there special places but she's an anomaly, doesn't' fit where she's supposed to.

Likeliness to Pick Up- 6/10

Genre- Dystopian

2.


My Guess-

This book looks like a girl is avoiding and refusing to be with a boy (or the other way around, boy refusing girl) until they realize that if they were the only two ever alive in the world, they would love each other.

Likeliness to Pick Up- 6/10

Genre- Contemporary Romance

3.


My Guess-

A girl or a boy die and leave their boyfriend / girlfriend clues to something special. Something that really shows their history. The clues lead the boy/girl to dangerous situations.

Likeliness to Pick Up- If it's anything like my guess, 10/10

Genre- Thriller / Mystery

4.



My Guess-

a woman walks away from an abusive relationship and becomes very lonely and depressed without him. She feels like the entire world is just passing her by. Then she meets another man, one that shows her that she's not alone.

Likeliness to Pick Up- 2/10

Genre- Contemporary Romance

5.


My Guess-

A boy and a girl are both trying to get internet famous, so the connect and try to together. Throughout their attempts, the begin to develop crushes on each other. By the end of the book they are professing the deep and desire love for each other. They now face the challenge of trying to make long distance relationship work.

Likeliness to Pick Up- 4/10 (although the bright colours are attracting)

Genre- Contemporary Romance

That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed!

See you Next Week

- Tea-Riffic

p.s. what was with all of the contemporary romance novels... aha

p.p.s Thanks to Espresso Patronum for taking the photos!

Bookish Apps You May Not Have Heard of

Hey guys, how are you doing? For this weeks post I will be talking about some bookish apps you may not have heard of.

Acceleread

Acceleread is a free app that helps readers learn how to speed read. There is also a pro version available for $4.99, which has more learning tools and more personalization options.

Libib

Libib is a free library management app that allows you to catalogue your books, movies, music, and video games all in one place. You can scan or manually add books, create multiple libraries for better organization, and share your library on social media.

SnapTell
This app is perfect if you are out and about and notice a book that catches you eye. Just take a picture of the book's cover or scan the barcode, and you will get a description of the book, reader ratings, and information on the best prices, in stores and online.



Litsy

Listy is an app like Goodreads and Instagram put together. You can share your reviews, read other reviews, upload photos, and so much more. It can even tell you the total number of pages you have read. So far with  the 30 books I have read, I have read a total of almost 10,000 pages. If you want to follow our litsy account its @thereadingcafe .

That is all for this weeks post. See you all next week.

DIY Beauty and the Beast Rose Jar

Hey everyone! As I was thinking about my blog post this week, I saw that Espresso Patronum did a DIY. I decided to also do a DIY. Today, I will be showing you how to make a rose jar from Beauty and the Beast.







What you will need:


Mason Jar
2 Fake Roses
Hot Glue Gun
Hammer
Nail
Glitter (optional)

Step One:


Cut the rose stem so that it is slightly larger than the mason jar.

Step Two:


Hammer the nail into the lid of the jar in order to make a hole

Step Three:


Pull petals off of the second rose to create the petal falling effect

Step Four:


Stick the rose through the hole in the lid, fold it underneath and hot glue both the top and the bottom of the hole. Make sure the rose won't move and hold it there until it dries.

Step Five:


Hot Glue the flower petals that were ripped off the second flower. I used a pencil to move them into the position that I wanted with out burning my fingers.

Step Five:


Put a couple flower petals loosely into the jar. You could put glitter into the jar at this point as well. (I didn't have any glitter though.)

Step Six:

I don't have a picture for this one but the next step is to put hot glue on the lid of the mason jar and glue it closed. Make sure this is closed securely.

And you're done!
 

This is how mine turned out, how does yours look? Direct Message or tag the reading cafe on Instagram.                                                                                                        (Click ^)


I hope you enjoyed this little DIY!

See You Next Week

~ Tea-Riffic

DIY Harry Potter Potion Bottles

Hey, guys. How are you all doing? Anyways I was at my local craft and saw these really cute bottles and thought they would make a good DIY project. I also thought that you guys can come along on this journey with me and learn how to make them yourself.




Items you need:

• Glass bottle - I frosted glass bottles by Ashland. One in blue and one in green. 

• Cotton Balls - Saw this in a buzzfeed DIY and thought I would give it a try. Plus I thought it would protect the glass a little if it walls
• Glow in the dark stones - Was going to use glow in the dark paint but I wanted the liquid to be clear

• Food colouring 
• Water
• Liquid measuring cup
• Ribbon or string
• Paper
• Colouring Materials  
• Stencils unless you have really nice handwriting

Step One:

The first step is deciding what potions you want to make. I choose a blue bottle and a green bottle. After I looked up different Harry Potter potions and tried to find ones that matched the bottles. I choose to go with poly juice and unicorn blood. 


Step Two:

First I Separated the cotton balls into smaller pieces.

Then I filled the jars with a mixture of glow in the dark stones and cotton balls.


Step Three:

Next I took the measuring cup and filled it up with water.
Next I took the food colouring, put in a couple drops and then mixed it up. 


Step Four:

Next I poured the liquid mixture into the jars and put the cork back on.

Step Five:

The last a final step is making a label. Now you could put a label right on the bottle but I wanted as much as the bottle showing as possible. So I decided I was going to tie a label around the top of the bottle.

To make the label, first I took some paper and cut it to the size I wanted. Next I took my stencils and wrote out the names with a black sharpie. You could also use any colouring materials you want to make the labels. I wanted my labels to be nice a simple. While making my labels, I accidentally got some food colouring on it but I thought it looked cool so I went with it. Lastly, I used a hole punch to make a hole in the labels. Then I attached it with coloured ribbon and tied it to the bottles.

Here are some pictures of the final results of the bottles:

What did you guys think of this DIY? Should I do more of them? Leave a comment down letting me. See you all next week.

Lovely Character Names

Hey everybody! How was your week? I hope it was wonderful! This week, I will be telling to fifteen lovely character names that I would definitely name my kids! So, let's go!

1. Annabelle (Percy Jackson)

2. Maxon (The Selection)

3. Scarlett (Caraval)

4. Eleanor (The Different Girl)

6. Cal (Red Queen)

7. Juliette (Shatter Me)

8. Cassia (Matched)

9. Donatella (Caraval)

10. Caspian (The Hollow)

11. Peter (Narnia)

12. Cress (Cinder)

13. Madeline (Landry Park)

14. Gabrielle (Harry Potter)

15. Lily (Harry Potter)

Would you name your children after any of these characters? Let us know on our Instagram! @the_readingcafe

See you next week!

~ Tea-Riffic

some of my favourite wattpad books

Hey guys welcome back. I thought for this weeks post I would talk about my favourite wattpad books because recently I have been reading more books there then from my bookself. And btw some of these books are going to be fan fictions and some of these fan fictions are people I don't really like but I really like the story idea.




Cell Phone Swap by Lindsey 

Keeley accidentally swaps cell phones with a rivaling high school's star quarterback. Unable to switch back until a week later, she must interact with the arrogant boy, passing along texts and voicemails. As she gets to know him better, she realizes there's more to him than sexual innuendos and egotistical comments. But when identities are revealed and secrets are exposed, will Keeley's feelings remain?


I first read this book a couples years ago and thought the concept was really interesting. At the time I had read all the chapters that was posted and kinda forgot about it. Now the book is finally completed and is also a novel. 



My Wattpad Love by Ariana Godoy

Julie has always been the shy type. Her world changes when she finds wattpad, a very popular ebook community. She becomes addicted to it and even starts posting her own stories. But are friends, fans and votes all she will get from this site? Or is it possible to find love as well?

Now the book description does not tell you a whole lot about the book. So I will add a few extra lines on what the book is about without giving the book away.

The book is about a girl name Julie who becomes addicted to reading books on wattpadd. One day she decides she wants to start writing on wattpad. There she meets a boy who comments on her work and the become friends.

My friends first recommended this book too me and I thought I would give it a try. This book is now probably one of my all time favourites on wattpad. I have read this book completely as well as the sequel. 

My High school Life by Mona Lin

"Whoever said, 'the more you lie, the easier it gets' was wrong. It doesn't get easier. It gets harder. Because sooner or later, the lies will suffocate you until you're just an empty shell waiting to die. I should know. I'm already halfway there." - Isabella 

Meet Isabella Ace, a 250 pound girl who was voted the 'ugliest girl' by her peers at Woodway Prep--a school for the rich. Sick of all the bullies, mostly Thomas Reed--the arrogant airhead and all around douchebag, she decided enough was enough. One year later, she's back, better than ever, and ready for revenge. But with a guilty conscience, and a mysterious past waiting to be discovered, Isabella's life just got a whole lot harder.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks blog post and I hope this gave you a few suggestions on what to read next. If you like this post then stay tuned for future wattpad blog post.

Top Ten YA books I need to Reread ASAP

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well and live in places where it is nice and warm outside! This week, I've decided to let you know which books I want to reread and which books you should definitely try and read soon!

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass-
If you have been following my posts on this blog recently you would know that I love the Selection. I really want to reread and can't wait to actually do it!

2. Compulsion (Heirs of Watson Island) by Martina Boone and Persuasion also by Martina Boone-
I read these books some time ago and I have recently discovered that there is a third one! Now, I want to reread these books so that I can read the third one!

3. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard-
This is another book I am obsessed with. It's been about two years since I last read it so I would really like to reread it soon.

4. Caraval by Stephanie Garber-
I read this book only a couple months ago but it was incredible. It makes me want to read it over and over again!

5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi-
Another one where I have the second book but barely remember what happened in the first book.

6. Eve by Anna Carey-
I remember most of what happened in this book but I just want to make sure I have all of the details covered before moving on with the series

7. The Silenced by James DeVita-
I read this book sometime last year and immediately fell in love! I need to rehash my love for it soon with a reread!

8. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken-
I don't even remember how long ago I read this book, but it was really good! I need to reread it before I move onto the next book.

9. The Siren by Kiera Cass-
Even though I'm a huge Kiera Cass fan, it took me a while to read this book the first time. I didn't want to be disappointed. I had no need to worry though, it was incredible. It definitely deserved a reread.

10. A List of Cages by Robin Roe-
I literally just finished this book, but it was so good! I definitely loved it and it needs a reread!

Are any of these books your favourites? Let us know on our Instagram! @the_readingcafe

See you next week!

~ Tea-Riffic