Winter Giveaway Winners

And the two lucky winners of Winter are...

Shadowhunters TV Series Premiere Review!

     It is here! I have been waiting ages for this and it is finally here! SHADOWHUNTERS! You may recall my post in June discussing casting and I do not think I talked enough about how hot this cast is! They are all literally the hottest human beings that have ever walked the Earth. Hodge Starkweather? More like HOT Starkweather! Just saying...
     Anyways this will be my review of episodes one and two (which you can see on the Freeform App) and may contain a few spoilers, but nothing major. If you have read the book then there really won't be much to spoil. First I will start off with the show as a whole and then more onto the individual characters and actors. Now if I did not read the books and I was not a fan of the Mortal Instruments Series, I would probably not like the show. If I was thrown into this world without some type of backstory I feel like i would be totally lost. I was not expecting the show to be exactly like the book  because TV adaptations usually never are. They need add some new elements to keep it exciting. Half the reason why the show was fun to watch was to see how many things we could pick out from the book, but we also could not truly predict what was coming next. The show did beat my expectations...because my expectations were so low. There were a few tiffs that I had with a few characters that I will explain below. But I did enjoy the first two episodes. The reason why is because I want to see my favorite characters come to life. When reading the books I never had a solidified face for Alec. He was always a mishmash of people with dark hair that I saw throughout the week. Now I picture Matthew Daddario as Alec and that is exciting for me!
     Okay now characters I love! My favorite characters by far are Simon and Alec!!!! Izzy is pretty high up there too along with Clary but SIMON AND ALEC! The scenes with Simon were by far my favorite! Alberto is so cute and adorable in the show and he delivered his lines just how Simon would in the books. Simon and Clary's friendship seemed real and genuine. They came as a packaged deal and they will stay that way.
     Matthew Daddario as Alec was perfection! He got Alec's tight-ass attitude down to a T! From the way he treated Clary to his overprotective and responsible manner, he is Alec. His lines next to Simon's were my favorite. The only problem I have with Alec is that him and Jace do not seem like parabatai. I did not feel that bond and connection that is there in the book. You can feel the love that Jace and Alec have for each other in the books, but it is just not present in the show. But other than that, Alec is perfect and Simon is perfect.
     Emeraude as Izzy was great! I love how they threw in how Izzy is terrible at cooking. The only thing is that Izzy does not seem as sassy as she does in the books. Like she almost seems too happy. In the books she has attitude but still cares. Another thing that I just found to be dumb is when Izzy says to Alec, "What? Demons dig blondes," but when it came time for her to distract the demons, SHE TOOK THE WIG OFF! I also did not like that Izzy was the distraction. In the books she would never succumb to that.
     Kat was cool as Clary. I liked her but I was not crazy about her. Luke was alright too. I like him but he seems a little distant. Not as warm and fuzzy as the others in the cast. We also did not see too much of Magnus in this episode so it is hard for me to make a call.
     Now Jace...Jace Jace Jace. They never seem to get my Jace right. I love Dominic and everything he does, but not as Jace. The way he derived his lines...I was not a fan. It kinda bums me out. In real life I see Dom as such a Jace like character. Constantly joking and picking with people, but that did not come across in the show. And I had such high expectations. I have been watching behind the scenes videos and Dom was so funny! From Panda-ing to when the cast played werewolf, he seemed like Jace and I was just let down. There were a few lines that even made me cringe. Like when he brushed her shoulder and says "You have the sight?" it just did not feel natural. It is hard to put a human face to Jace, just because he is supposed to be that angelic human being. I am hoping that things will get better as the season goes on.
     One person I want to talk about is Valentine. Alan Van Sprang is amazing! So dark and just filled with madness. He delivered his lines with such intensity, but yet it was not over the top like movie Valentine. He was very sincere in his feelings for Jocelyn. Joselyn is one character I did not particularly like. She seemed awkward. The scenes with her and Clary did not feel real and she just seemed like an annoying TV mom. But she's asleep for now so who cares. I just want Lena Headey back.
     Anyways I did love the show! There were little things here and there that were cool to see. Like Simon and Maureen singing Forever Young... talk about foreshadowing. The runes were pretty cool to see. A bit confusing how they appeared and disappeared but still cool! I will keep watching the show! I give episodes one and two 3.5/5 stars!

What do you think of the show! Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks Hons!

Lee Chand

and below are some of my favorite scenes from Shadowhunters

First & Then by Emma Mills Review!

First & Then by Emma Mills

Release Date: October 13th 2015
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Buy it: Amazon|B&N|Book Depository

     Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.
     Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.
      I would like to thank the lovely Lekeisha for recommending this book to me! After I read Until Friday Night and hated it, I needed a good football book and Lekeisha recommended First & Then and I cannot thank her enough! Check out her review here! Now onto the review
     Devon is me. I am Devon. I love my high school's football team. I love watching them kick ass on the field. I love watching them at practice. I love hanging out with them because they are genuinely good people. My problem with Until Friday Night was that it was not realistic. The football players were enormous assholes and the actions weren't even natural. As someone going through the exact same point in my life, I could not relate to Until Friday Night at all. With First & Then, Devon was the perfect high school senior. Let me tell you how similar Devon and I are.

• Only Child
• Loves Football
• Has some good friends on the football team
• School has a star athlete like Ezra (I haven't gotten to the part where I make out with him yet... *sad face*)
• Stands on the sidelines at football games taking pictures (kinda for Devon)
• Does not know where she is going to college
• Love some Jane Austen

     I related to Devon so much it is scary. She was not your typical YA contemporary protagonist who has a special gift or what not. She is exceptionally average which is what I am. Her personality is much like mine as well. She does not deal with any bullshit and will do anything to help the ones she loves. Her wit and sarcastic demeanor is one that I can see in myself. What I loved to see out of Devon was her growth throughout the novel. Watching her mature throughout her senior year and grow into an adult.
     Devon's relationship with her cousin Foster is one that I cannot relate to, but one I definitely admire. At first they could not have been more distant. Foster was the nerdy kid and Devon was the kid who did not care. But once Foster got on that field, they shared their common love of football. and by the end, they were so close. They were willing to do anything to protect each other.
     Ezra is exactly like the star athlete in my school. He is quite and everyone presumes that he is an asshole. He is so misunderstood. Just because you are good, it doesn't mean your personality is shit. How I would describe him is misunderstood. Everyone knows who he is, but no one knows who he actually is, like on a personal level. Just like Devon, I had to interview my school gorgeous star athlete for yearbook and he told me that everyone thinks he's a major d-bag but in reality he is a Grade A student who is such a momma's boy.
     The only thing I was not crazy about was the face that we did not see much of Ezra and Devon's relationship. I would have loved to see an epilogue of graduation day and see how things ultimately ended. But other than that I found First & Then to be perfect. Highly relatable and such an original read! 5 out of 5 stars!

Have you read First & Then? What did you think? Also, any good contemporaries? Leave a comment!

Thanks Hons

Lee Chand

Favorite Bookstagrammers! Inspired by Alexandra from Twirling Pages

While exploring Alexandra's lovely blog the other day I came across her Favorite Bookstagrammers post. Not having a bookstagram of my own I felt left out of the fun...so I made one! You can find me at LeeTheReader! I have 9 posts and I think they look so pretty! haha :D

As a photographer I think the skills that these bookstagrammers possess are beyond incredible. Still life phototgraphy is such a hard art form to grasp though people think it is easy. I can assure you it is not. As someone who does street photography and portrait photography, I have such difficulties with still life photography. I started this bookstagram as a way to fix that!

Even though my bookstagram is new, I have been following quite a few bookstagrammers on my personal account and here are a few of my favorites...

Mortal Instruments New Paperback Box Set Winners

And the 3 lucky winners of the New Mortal Instruments Box Set are...

Skylar Alford

Jamie Barton

Thank you so much for entering!!! You have 48hrs to email me with your information or there will be new winners picked!

Thank you everyone who entered! More giveaways to come!!!

Lee Chand