Gabriella M Reads

The Fall Tag A huge thank you to Daniella from The Little Book Spy for tagging me and to Ell from Ellduclos for creating this tag. 1. What is one candle you MUST light every fall? My favorite fall scent is actually the Autumn Harvest soy candle from Target. 2. When you think of fall, what does it remind you of? Honestly fall makes me think of Halloween and witches. Arizona doesn't really have fall in my mind. It goes from a hot Summer to a cold-ish Winter. 3. What is your all time favorite fall/Halloween movie? Practical Magic is by far my favorite Halloween movie. I watch it year round, but something about Spooky season makes it even better. 4. What Halloween costume do you have in mind? I actually already bought my costume and wore it to the Fall Festival at the preschool. I dressed up as Neil from Koo Koo Kanga Roo . It was a hit and I'm probably wearing it to work again on Wednesday. 5. What is your favorite fall trend? Flannels. I LOVE a good flannel. 6.

Adrift by Tami Oldham Ashcraft 5 Stars Y'all should know by now how much I tend to struggle reading non-fiction work, but something about this one pulled me in. Maybe it was because the movie trailer was so intense. I just needed to know all of the facts behind the story. So, I went out on a limb and bought the book. It took me around 3 months to read Adrift, but it was worth every second. Tami is so strong and I suppose you don't know your strength until it's tested the way hers was. It was incredible to read about everything that went through her head while adrift at sea while also seeing her memories of her life with Richard. These memories were woven in so perfectly throughout. I cried a lot during the time I was reading Adrift. I just couldn't help it. Even though it took me a very long time to read this book, I would do it all over again. I'm just in awe. If you are even a little bit interested in Tami's story I recommend picking this up.

To Read or Not to Read? As y'all have probably noticed I haven't been very active. Work is just a lot right now. My main focus is the kiddos. Unfortunately this means I'm tired a lot and I spend my free time either asleep instead of reading. So what on Earth have I been reading and what do I plan to read if all I do is sleep? Well I've been working on reading two books for the past few months. The first one is Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea by Tami Oldham Ashcraft, formerly titled Red Sky in Mourning: The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea. I really struggle with reading non-fiction, but something in me had to read this book. I wanted to know how this woman pushed herself to survive. It's taking me a long time to read it, but I am most certainly enjoying it. I really hope to finish it this month. I'm also slowly making my way through Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus. Even though I did not read her fi

The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones 5 Stars I was originally pulled into The Opposite of Innocent because of the cover, but once I looked it up and saw what it was about I knew that I needed to read it. Luckily for me Emma from Miss Print had an ARC up for adoption through her ARC Adoption program and I was able to get my hands on it pretty quickly. So thank you, Emma. I finished it in one sitting. The Opposite of Innocent is about a girl who has had a crush on a friend of her parents since she was little and now that she's grown their relationship becomes extremely inappropriate. I really wanted to see how this all panned out especially being written in verse. I was curious how enough detail could fit into the story in such a short amount of time. Sonya did a good job with this one. I felt for Lily and while Luke seemed to be a prince, his colors were shown slowly but surely. I think some could see this as a way to spot a snake in the grass. The story is loaded

The Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag I want to thank Aimee, Always for tagging me. You can find her post here if you're interested. This tag was originally co-created by IsThatChami and Earl Grey Books . I'm so excited to let you all know how this year has gone for me so far. Reading wise, that is. Let's get started, shall we? 1. The best book you've read this year? I'm going to go with A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas . Technically it's a novella and a lot of people have issues with it. However, it was everything I wanted. I love the fluff and the normalcy of prepping for and celebrating a holiday. I need more novellas like this one. I didn't want it to end. I'm still upset that we don't know what gift Cassian bought. 2. The best sequel you've read in 2018? The Lost World by Michael Crichton . Jurassic Park is hands down one of my favorite books and movies so nothing held a candle to The Lost World this year. Nothing. I wi

What to read? I have more time to read this month and I am so stoked! Some of you might be able to tell from the picture that I'm rereading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer right now. I think I like it better than the first time around. I'm really not sure yet. The process of rereading the whole series is steadily moving along and I'm happy with it. As far as what else I would like to read this month, I'm not really sure. I'm in kind of a weird mood. I foresee at least one poetry book in June and I want to try and read I Hate Fairyland Vol 3 by Skottie Young. I would love some graphic novel recommendations from y'all. I'm very new to that side of the book world. I love it and I want more. Maybe I'll read one of my recent purchases. I can't be the only one in the book world constantly buying books and then waiting forever to even read them. On my latest trip to Barnes & Noble I snagged A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena, Adrift by Tam

Fat Girl on a Plan by Kelly deVos 5 Stars First I want to thank Kelly for personally handing over her travelling ARC to me at an event last month on a whim. I was so shocked and so thankful. I've been dying to read this one. Fat Girl on a Plane is about a girl who is on a fashion journey. During this journey we see her both as plus size and not which is amazing in my opinion.  Disclaimer : The things I talk about are things Kelly has mentioned in panels, but if you don't want to know too much about the relationships that take place I would skip the last half of this review. Throughout this wonderful debut we see a girl who is trying to pave her way in the world. Cookie is currently a fashion blogger dreaming of being a designer herself. I thought it was awesome to hear that Cookie makes her own clothes and is a huge advocate for how little clothing is available in bigger sizes. I myself have struggled to find clothes that fit me correctly and I have to deal wi

For the first time in a long time I decided to make myself a TBR for the month. In my April TBR post I was honest with myself. I know I suck at sticking to plans for reading so I only gave myself three books. So let's see how that worked out, shall we? If you've seen my review then you know the first book I managed to finish this month was The Fall of Grace by Amy Fellner Dominy and I really enjoyed it. It didn't go exactly where I wanted it to go and yet it was still a really good read for me. If you enjoy a little mystery mixed with adventure and romance then this one is for you. I also finished Midnight Sun which was second on my list. SUPRISE! I can follow through, sort of. I read a lot of reviews about this book before I even had the chance to finish it and a good chunk were saying that it was a cheap copy of Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. I say screw that. I loved both of these books and while they both have a girl who feels like she's missing out on l

I want to start by thanking Erica Robyn Reads for nominating me. I hadn't heard of this before, but I'm happy to be a part of it. Erica asked some pretty good questions so let's get started! The Sunshine Blogger Award The Rules: Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog. The questions I was asked: What blog post from 2018 so far do you wish had gotten more love? I would have to say I wish either my review of The Other Side of Lost or the Beauty and the Beast Book Tag . I feel like these are two of my favorite posts and I want them to have been really seen. How did you come up with your blog name? Well I originally started with a blog called Gabriella Reads, but I wanted my email to

The Fall of Grace by Amy Fellner Dominy 4.5 Stars I want to preface this by thanking Amy for giving this to me personally at the Tucson Festival of Books after I told her how much I've been dying to read it. She's such a kind human and listening to her speak was wonderful. Now onto the book. The Fall of Grace is about Grace and her life after her mom gets accused of pretty major investment fraud. The book bounces back and forth between right when she finds out and months after which is something I loved. Grace's life as she knows it is falling apart and we get to see how she handles it. The choices she makes as she searches for the truth. I kind of see her as a girl who has lost her way. One who put all of her trust in her mother which is something I do. A mother is supposed to look out for you, teach you. One thing that really grabbed me, other than the mystery aspect, was the fact that she looks to the wilderness to help her. Y'all know I love to escape t

As many of you know, I hate making TBR's. I never stick to them because I am very much a mood reader and I cannot predict my moods, try as I might. This isn't always the best for my blogging and I am trying to change it, but you know. So that being said, I have a few ideas for what I would like to try and read during the month of April. The Fall of Grace by Amy Fellner Dominy I've actually already started this, but wasn't able to finish it in the month of March so on we go. Amy is such a kind human and I love a good puzzle. Especially if part of the story takes place in Arizona. I was stoked when she gave me a copy. Midnight Sun by Trish Cook I actually didn't plan on reading this one. I was interested in the movie though. However, one of my coworkers decided that we should read it and see the movie together like she had a week before when we both read Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I am always down for more reader friends and could not say no. It

Expanding My Horizons For those of you who don't know, let's be real you probably do by now, I work in a preschool. Well about a month or so ago we did a Scholastic book fair and I just couldn't help myself. There were so many cute books! So since I spent my money on them I've been reading them and yes, they count towards my reading goal. Since my reviews on these picture books are so short and all pretty much exactly the same, I thought I would just share which ones they are. Short and sweet. I've purchased all of the books pictured above, but I've also been reading some review books that are not pictured. One that really got me was Me, My Dog, and a Sheep by Melissa Mullamphy. Her book is a true story about the love between her son and his dog as well as the strength they have. I cried a bunch and I cannot recommend it enough. Next year I'm supposed to be leading a "book club" at the preschool and I am loving discovering books to read t

The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby 5 Stars The thing that initially interested me in The Other Side of Lost was the hiking aspect. I don't know how many of you know this, but I go up to the mountain to clear my head. I hike one trail more often than any other and I find a boulder and climb up high. I sit there. The silence of nature and the fresh air makes me calm, alive, happy even. So whenever I see a book that includes an adventure similar to those I enjoy, I want to read it immediately. The Other Side of Lost is a novel following Mari, a social media star who is just turning 18. Years ago her cousin, who shares the same birthday, and her planned a trip for the day they turned 18. Something amazing for them to experience together. Her cousin is no longer around and in a crisis of self, Mari decides to do it. Alone. When I started the book I couldn't stand Mari. The way she saw the world irritated me. Especially when she complained about it. I couldn't hel

Once again, it's one of my favorite times of the year. The Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona! It's a free two day festival filled with books, food, science, art, etc. There are so many booths it's hard to visit them all, try as I might. Day one started with some wonderful humans and equally wonderful books. My day didn't start off perfect, I got stuck in a parking garage and ended up being late. I was headed to a panel when I noticed a line was already forming for Victoria Aveyard. I decided not to chance it and to just jump in and wait for an hour. Very worth it if you ask me. She is so kind! I had made a friend last year and spotted her one line over waiting for Holly Black so with her permission I joined her. I've never read a Holly Black book, but I have heard amazing things about her writing. I bought The Darkest Part of the Forrest just for this event and am so excited to see what everyone has been talking about. Have you ever me

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Down and Across blog tour! I'm super excited to share this book with y'all as well as my personal thoughts on it! How about we start with the basics? About the Book Discover the secret to success in this incisively funny debut, for fans of John Corey Whaley, David Arnold, and Ned Vizzini! "Quirky and charming, wise and unpredictable." --Khaled Hosseini, #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Kite Runner  Scott Ferdowsi has a track record of quitting. Writing the Great American Novel? Three chapters. His summer internship? One week. His best friends know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, but Scott can't commit to a breakfast cereal, let alone a passion. With college applications looming, Scott's parents pressure him to get serious about a career path like engineering or medicine. Desperate for help, he sneaks off to Washington, DC, to seek guidance from a famous professor who spe