Category: Reviews

Only In Your Dreams By Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Summer has just begun for our Upper East Siders and honestly? It’s kind of drab.

I really enjoyed the previous book but this one was lacking.

Let’s begin by saying there was absolutely no Jenny Humphrey in this one which actually made the book feel a bit short. I mean it’s the same length as all the others but with one less character to be updated on it was definitely lacking something.

Plus, don’t we love when Little J just ends up everywhere the cool people are? I can’t wait until we hear about her boarding school adventures, or if we even hear from her at all.

I know in the TV show Jenny was only written off because Taylor Momsen wanted to do music, but what’s the excuse for her being written out of the book?

Next, I guess we can talk about Dan, who once again cannot just have a relationship with Vanessa. He decides to become all hippie and do yoga and go jogging because he met a cute girl in the book store he was working at. I was kind of amazed he was able to keep up his charade for so long. At least he wasn’t writing any poetry…

But yeah so Vanessa gets kicked out of her apartment because her sister comes back and decides she needs all the space for her new boyfriend, so Dan says it’s okay if she moves in with him and she thought that meant they could really be together but of course Dan is over it. Even though he was all about being with Vanessa five seconds ago at graduation. Classic Dan.

So while Dan is off with his blonde, hippie girl, Vanessa is failing as a filmmaker. She was working a job for five minutes and then gets fired. Yikes. But things aren’t always perfect unless your name is Serena, then yes it is perfect. Anyway, she somehow lands a job babysitting which is cute…I guess?

I don’t really know what was going on with Vanessa in this book but she was kind of lame. At least Rufus said she could stay in the apartment because she has nowhere else to go.

As usual, she and Dan end up kind of friends again. Honestly just want one of them to move on for good it’s kind of annoying.

Moving on to our Queen B, she’s not having a fun time in London because Lord Marcus seems to be way more into spending time with his cousin, so she flees back to NYC. But not before buying a wedding dress, because ya know, everyone needs one just in case right?

I wish there was more to the Lord Marcus thing but I guess there isn’t. B just leaves and we never hear from him again. I also kind of enjoyed the whole wedding dress thing and I hope that it doesn’t go to waste.

So now B is back in New York and her mother has to talk to her about her spending because the exchange rate was not as good as Blair thought it was and suggests maybe it is time for her to get a job.

Luckily for Blair, her mother is very close to a designer friend who is working on the movie Breakfast at Fred’s – the remake of Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring SVDW. Fancy.

So now B is working on a movie set and living her best life, plus she decides to move in with Serena for a while as she is living in the apartment building that Aubrey Hepburn lived in, in Breakfast at Tiffany’s so how could she say no? On top of that, we also have a cute neighbour who B seems to like, so like I said she’s living her best life.

Apart from the fact, her younger brother is dating someone who basically wants to be her which is a bit creepy, but she makes it work to her advantage.

Then there’s Serena who is discovering that acting is really hard and she is kind of failing at being an actress. Luckily for her B comes along to save the day and coaches her in all things, Audrey. Of course, she ends up being amazing at it because is it really Serena if she doesn’t magically pull things off?

She also tries to get with her co-star but he ends up being gay, aw well, you can’t win them all.

Over in the Hamptons, we have Nate who is working hard to get his diploma. While he is out there he meets a girl and decides to date her because when you’re as good looking as he is, why not?

In typical Nate fashion though, he realises his one true love is Blair and he doesn’t want to be with some townie and so he leaves her at the wrap party of the movie getting it on with Chuck Bass.

And so that’s where we are left off. Next everyone is headed to the Hamptons and I hope it’s more interesting. I mean, even as I say that I know Dan and Vanessa are going to continue to be on-again-off-again, Blair is going to try and resist Nate and fail and whatever Serena does, well she’ll be amazing at it and have a good time.

But you know I made it this far so let’s keep reading. Things in this book were just kind of dull, I wasn’t really excited by anything apart from Blair deciding to buy a wedding dress but even that didn’t come of anything great. Oh well. There’s still time for that whole Prince of Monaco storyline from the TV show to creep up and I would kind of enjoy that lol.

Anyway, until next time,

You know you love me,

Courtney x

Nothing Can Keep Us Together by Cecily Von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

You know this series is growing on me. I say as I’m literally eight books in and there aren’t many left haha.

I don’t know what it is but after that one, I seriously disliked they have been getting better? Or at least more interesting.

Maybe because everyone has finally graduated*!

* Except Nate Archibald but we will get to that.

Let’s switch it up and talk about Dan and Vanessa because we never talk about them first – normally for a reason but yeah haha.

So Vanessa was being a bit risque this book, as she decided that being with fun, but not as fun as being with Dan and Aaron at the same time. Though not in a threesome kind of way.

I mean Aaron was kind of laying it on thick with that ring he gave Vanessa that was engraved…not a fan man you only knew her five minutes.

So Vanessa thinks yeah I can have both of them. But that doesn’t last long because Aaron finds out (probably because she and Dan only seemed to have sex on the roof of her building where everyone can see). But surprisingly he was okay about it? Which I was surprised by because I definitely thought he was going to be annoyed at it considering he loved Vanessa so much…

But that kind of seems like how all Vanessa’s relationships go. Like she’s with someone and all of a sudden she’s not and it’s okay? Definitely not how it is in the real world folks.

Anyway yeah, so while she is having this affair with Dan, Dan obviously falls back in love with Vanessa but this time it’s like way more intense than before and Dan is being super annoying but in a worse way because he’s in love.

Dan suddenly thinks he needs to defer from college and spend all his time with Vanessa – even though she’s done nothing to indicate this is what she wants. Dan just kind of decides these things and thinks it’s best for everyone. He even says this during his graduation speech and it’s awful and like…ugh. Dan.

Cut to the end when he comes to his senses and decides to go to uni in the end, which is great for Rufus because he wants his kids to be educated no matter what.

Also, I guess Vanessa is trying to get work on a movie and we see how that goes. As for her and Dan’s relationship, I have no idea what they are and at this point, I don’t care. I’m so sick of their on and off again thing and it’s super weird because they tend not to actually talk and sort of assume things on their own and it just sort of happens. Makes no sense I hope the long distance when Dan goes away means less of that.

Moving onto Little J. She is determined to get into a boarding school but boarding school is not what she expected.

She goes to the open day of the school Serena went to and apparently it became super strict thanks to Serena van der Woodsen so she had to find elsewhere to go.

Luckily she got a place at some art school so we will see where that goes.

But before she got in there, she almost joined a super weird boarding school where Chuck’s cousin goes and also almost did ecstasy? Like wow okay slow down Jenny haha. I’m glad she didn’t actually take the drug and go off the deep end. We don’t need that for her.

That being said, she did keep the drug to give to someone else…our lovable and favourite stoner Nate Archibald!

Oh Nate.

This time instead of being stoned all the time he was just crying. All. The. Time. Like damn boy, who knew you had so many tears?

It was kind of annoying and he was honestly kind of useless in this book lol. All he did was follow Serena around (because they were in a relationship to prove to Blair it was more than a fling) and cry.

But he did decide to steal his lacrosse coach’s viagra so he could get it up for Serena hahaha.

This is why he did not graduate – he has to work for the coach over summer so he can earn his diploma. It’s so silly but at the same time, I think it will be good for him.

He and Serena broke up because she saw him with Jenny and she was relieved and so was he. Their relationship was nothing and I’m glad it’s over.

Serena was kind of just about keeping on Blair’s good side this time around. Which is tough considering no matter what she does B is not a happy bunny.

Though I think she did a good job, despite her going out with Nate. But she got lucky because B found a new man in her life so wasn’t focused on them.

She also got a part in a movie that both she and Blair were up for which is a remake of Breakfast at Tiffany’s but shot in Fred’s a restaurant in Barneys. Which sounds like the worst thing in the world to be honest lol.

Anyway, B wasn’t exactly thrilled about it but I think she’s okay not being a movie star for now.

The one thing I definitely thought Blair was doing to actually throw a fit over was that Serena was not only late to graduation and almost missed it, but the fact they both showed up in the same outfit.

That’s the kind of thing that would never stand on the TV show for B and I definitely thought would not be acceptable in the book but I think she seemed to keep her cool.

I suppose it was graduation and B didn’t wanna make a scene but still I expected more.

As for B herself, well she decided suddenly that she couldn’t live with Vanessa anymore, but they are still kind of friends because she got V a graduation dress and left her some shoes for it which was cute. So now B has moved into the Yale Club.

While at the club she meets a V handsome British version of Nate known as Lord Marcus. And if ya have seen the TV show then you know my interest has piqued because I wonder if it ends up going the same route.

I will say there might be a slim chance of that based on the fact this book was written a good few years before the TV show aired but who knows. I know they probably ramped up the drama for TV so like I doubt Nate gets with his stepmother but I would be open to that being a thing ahahaha.

Aside from being with Lord Marcus, B was also working on her graduation speech and I found it to be so fitting as she explained that if you work hard enough you can get everything you want. And we know that she’s got it all…at least for now.

So that is where we leave everyone, all happy and excited to be graduating and to see what lies ahead when they all go to university. I am excited to see where this goes – but at the same time, I only have a few books left which leads me to wonder where exactly does this tie-up?

At this point no idea, I did think maybe it would end when everyone went to uni but since that might just be around the corner I guess I’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

You know you love me,

~ Courtney x

Nobody Does It Better by Cecily Von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Back with the Upper East Siders and everyone is gearing up for this party the Archibalds are throwing on their boat. Because you know, rich people.

So I was thinking about this, and I noticed the book is basically Blair central – now I don’t know if it’s because she is my favourite so I naturally focus on her storyline more than the others, but I feel like most of the books are about her mainly.

Sure Serena has some stories, Dan and Vanessa are far removed from Blair but they don’t really have a lot to going on – unless I just block them out when I read haha, then Nate is entangled in Blair. Jenny kind of merges with Serena but that’s been only recent.

But yeah I definitely feel like Blair has the most going on, not that I’m complaining because like I said, she’s my fave haha.

Anyway, yeah so Blair and Nate start off super in love and having all the sex because Blair has finally decided to say goodbye to her V card. This lasts like 5 minutes because Nate decides to go back to being classic stoner Nate and kind of just forgets all about Blair and decides to go on an adventure to Bermuda on his family’s boat lol.

You know I normally don’t like stoner Nate but this time I mean it was kind of funny. That being said it really bothers me when he just cheats and is like “oh well”. I mean I know he’s a stoner and easy-going and whatever but even in this one he kind of thought the only person he wanted to be with was Blair but still kissed someone else instead…ugh they will never just be happy.

Anyway yeah so basically all that happened to Nate this time around was that he was with Blair, then got high, decided to take the family boat to Bermuda with all his stoner pals, then realised he wanted to be with Blair and turned the boat around. He got grounded but I guess it was worth it to be back with Blair? If only that had worked out for him. Oh, and he decided to go to Yale – woo.

Meanwhile Blair has decided to move out to the Plaza for a while and get away with her crazy family. She was hoping to use it as an excuse to get with Nate all week but then, he stole a boat so that didn’t work out.

When Nate finally reappears, he goes to Blair’s hotel room like he was supposed to the first night, but B won’t have him, instead she makes him think she slept with someone else and they broke up…again.

Really though it was just S hiding out pretending to be a guy lol. It’s cute when S and B are friends.

Serena didn’t have a lot going on this time around – she was getting emails from all the schools she applied for begging for her to come to them, but she ultimately decided on Yale. Which I still see her dropping out of but we will see. Oh and there was a rumour she was dating someone in a band but it was only a rumour.

B on the other hand, was still waitlisted so she showed up to this Yale thing to see if she could find someone who could use their influence to get her in. It didn’t really work out for her though. But that’s okay because she totally got in anyway – finally after all the waiting. I did kind of wonder if she would or not because if memory serves, it didn’t happen for her on the TV show so she ended up at NYU.

Oh and also she decided to move in with Vanessa after the headmistress told her she couldn’t stay in a hotel until she graduated. I thought this was random but I just remembered she did share a dorm room with Vanessa at NYU on the TV show lol. That being said they definitely tolerate each other more in the book than on TV.

Blair even hooked Vanessa up with her stepbrother Aaron which is super weird. Though to be fair I can see it. They are both kind of weird in the book, so why not throw them together. Let’s see how long it lasts, their relationship and the whole V and B living together thing. I don’t think either will be for very long but it would be interesting to see.

Another thing to note is that Nate and Blair were kind of thinking about being together again at the end of the book, but Nate got high and stupid again and decided it was a good idea to start getting with Serena. Oh you guys. Blair found out and was mad af so looks like they are all on the outs again. We shall see if Nate and Serena even make it to a relationship or whether they just end up hooking up and nothing else.

I suppose it will be an interesting time for the three amigos, but it will be a fun one. I remember when Nate went to Columbia on the TV show and minded his own business and didn’t get caught up in much drama haha.

Now moving on to Dan and Little J. Well. They definitely have taken a turn.

First of all, Dan in a band? HAHAHAHA. He was the lead singer for like a day and thought he was so cool. But then he went to the first gig and projectile vomited on stage – yikes. I never saw it lasting but he definitely went out with a bang.

Next thing you know Jenny is taking over and living her best rebellious teen life. Modelling with Serena was going great, but she wanted more of that life so she sneaks out to party with Dan’s band, steals his spot as lead singer and straight-up asks to be sent to boarding school so she can reinvent herself like Serena did lol. Wild.

It’s interesting that Jenny is desperate to be like Serena in the book but in the TV show she is all about wanting to be the next Blair. But either way, I can’t believe she just decided to straight-up say to her dad she wanted to go to boarding school haha. I feel like she will end up hating it a lot.

Also good for her for sneaking into that senior party, that was fun. I like seeing Jenny being fun and doing these crazy things, it’s more fun than seeing Dan be all dark and broody.

If anything I am also surprised that Rufus is so chill about things in the book. On the TV show, he would have had a fit if Dan and Jenny were both in a band. I mean I suppose in both, he isn’t the biggest fan of Jenny’s behaviour at all but yeah. I suppose it’s weird that they built out all these dramatic storylines on the TV show to do with the parents and none of it exists in the books.

I mean the only one we hear about on a regular basis is probably Eleanor, but she’s crazy in the books haha. Occasionally Rufus pops up in the story but it’s nothing major.

I do prefer it though, just because the whole Rufus/Lily TV thing was kind of meh. I mean I think when I first watched the TV show, I kind of wanted things to work out but then ultimately it was kind of annoying.

Anyway, that brings us to the end of another Gossip Girl book. I did like this one a lot more than the last one, so we will see where the next one takes us. I imagine to graduation and the summer before uni with how slow things are moving, but that’s fine with me, I kind of like the small timeline because when reading all the books in one go it’s easy to remember and follow along. I can imagine it was annoying reading them when they first came out and having to wait for the next one but I have no such issue lol.

You know you love me,

~ Courtney x

You’re The One That I Want by Cecily Von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Another Gossip Girl novel down, another blog post where I have to double-check I spelt the author’s name right haha.

This one…I kind of didn’t like.

I mean so far the series has just been okay, none of the books have stood out to be better than the others. But I do like reading about the book version of Gossip Girl so I’m sticking with it ’til the end.

But this one I just wasn’t enjoying the storylines.

So here we are FINALLY going to see where everyone is going to uni and it’s kind of unbelievable.

First of all, Serena getting into all the colleges she applied to – lol okay. I mean sure, it goes along with this whole idea that she is perfect and everything just magically works out for her. But it was kind of dull, I’m guessing in the books Serena doesn’t have any kind of growth like she does in the TV show. I’m not saying she grows a lot on the show, but at least there’s some dimension to her character? In the book, she’s very one-note, happy go lucky and her life is perfect. It gets dull after a while.

Not to mention her college visits. Honestly the worst. Of course there’s a guy at every college that she falls in love with, and of course, they all come to New York just to win her over. Like I was rolling my eyes every time we talked about S this time around.

I wonder if she will go to college or decide to do her own thing like on the TV show. I honestly can’t imagine her actually going to Yale or anything, or if she does she will be like “this is too hard” and drop out.

Meanwhile, we have Blair over here who is like so not having a good time because it seems everyone got into Yale except for her, she got wait-listed. I mean to be expected, it also happens on the TV show but there are more dramatic reasons as to why on the TV show. Still, even though she got wait-listed, she was surprisingly calm in this book, which seemed unnatural for her.

I was not expecting Blair to be so welcoming to her new baby sister either. But there we go.

On the bright side, she finally lost her virginity to Nate! Woo! Nothing else to report though.

Then there was Nate who actually decided to just be a jerk to the Brown rep to get her off his back and he was gonna throw off Yale too but then decided against it. Wild. Also unnatural to see Nate act like a jerk but he did it.

Not sure what more I am expecting from stoner Nate tbh. He’s kind of just there doing his own thing, occasionally thinking about Blair. I wonder if college is going to be good for him.

Moving on down to Brooklyn. Ugh.

Dan was annoying and Vanessa was even worse. I mean I think it’s clear I don’t like them at all in the books but this time they were more insufferable than usual.

So Dan gets into all his colleges too, he isn’t poor in the books so he doesn’t need financial aid or anything so he can totally go anywhere he wants. But he decides it’s a good idea to try and move in with Vanessa while her sister is on tour. That lasts about five minutes because this other girl shows up and says Vanessa’s sister said she could crash.

So Vanessa becomes a completely different person because she really likes this girl who is staying with them and Dan hates it. So he’s being moodier than ever, meanwhile, Vanessa is just being straight up the worst pretending to be like this new girl.

It’s safe to say all this doesn’t last long as Vanessa’s sister calls to say this girl is actually crazy and Vanessa should kick her out. Vanessa goes back to herself, Dan kind of just moves out without saying much and I guess once more they are broken up? I never know.

And then finally, Jenny decides to become a model and it backfires when she is featured in this article about breast size. So once again her breasts are a part of her storyline. Eh. It kind of works out for her though because she ends up doing another photo shoot with Serena and I guess they had fun. No idea what it was for but I’m sure w will find out soon.

But yeah, overall kind of a meh one. Nothing overly interesting happened and everyone annoyed me in some way or another lol. I can’t tell if it’s because I’ve been super emotional lately or what but this just wasn’t the one for me. Anyway, I’m off to read what happens next and see if everyone finally decides on a college. Plus, we gotta see if Blair makes it off the wait-list, and with it being B, you know she’ll find a way.

~ Courtney x

I Like It Like That by Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Another GG book down! I am surprised I finished this one so quickly but I think it’s because it took me a long time to read the last one because I was busy and didn’t have as much time to read last week.

Anyway yeah, this time we are on spring break! And we STILL don’t know if Blair has gotten into Yale yet. I mean we don’t know if anyone else has gotten into uni either, except for Vanessa but B is the only one we care about ya know.

Speaking of B looks like she has the hots for Serena’s brother Erik. This is super unexpected and kind of weird, considering on the TV show Erik is Serena’s younger gay brother. In the book, Erik is older, in uni and definitely straight. I was actually kind of hoping that they did become a thing because I would love to see Serena be uncomfortable with that for longer.

Sadly though Blair did not give it up to Erik and realised she still loves Nate. Which I guess I should have seen coming but hey, it’s cool. I just hope that Blair finally loses her virginity soon because this storyline is getting kind of old. I mean how many times can B almost lose her virginity to the first guy she sees in the book?

Also, I like how they threw in that non-fight between Serena and Blair at the end. Like I know Serena was annoyed at Blair for getting with her brother etc but I didn’t see it as a fight. Then S was all like “I don’t wanna fight anymore” and I was really confused. At least it was resolved quickly.

As for Serena, I think she was annoyed that all the attention wasn’t on her this time so she was all for being wild and crazy with Georgina. That was until she ended up abandoned, strapped to a ski toboggan in a ditch lol. I want to say I feel bad for her but I just found it funny. At least Nate saved the day.

Speaking of, Nate and Serena? I think it’s cute they tried to hook up again but I am ultimately glad it didn’t work out. It’s good for them to be friends I think.

I also believe it’s safe to say Nate is over Georgina. I never pictured them staying together long when she was a major druggie and Nate had quit smoking weed and wasn’t up for her craziness. So I predict in the next book Nate and Blair get back together, how long it lasts again I can’t say for sure.

Also, Georgina and Serena know each other from boarding school! Are they going to elaborate on this? I know what happened between them in the TV show so I wonder if the same drama will apply here. That being said, Georgina didn’t seem to be that interested in spending time with Serena, she was just glad she had someone to party with.

It also seems Chuck and Georgina are friendly too as he was along for the ride on spring break. I don’t know what’s going on with Chuck in the books but I guess he just likes to party and is bisexual. Oh, and he now has a monkey lol. This was probably the book that has mentioned him the most since the Kiss on the Lips party and I guess it was nice he was part of the story.

Meanwhile back in Manhattan, Dan is once again being the most annoying artist on the planet. He got some internship and immediately hated it and didn’t even do the job. He tried to write poems and failed. He also thought it was a good idea to maybe get with Elise, Jenny’s friend, and that lasted for like a second. Basically a lot of failure on Dan’s part this time around. Eh. Not fussed.

I was kind of surprised when Elise decided to flirt with him though, just because in the last book she seemed to be having a good time making out with Jenny and then suddenly was interested in her brother – make up your mind woman.

Then there is Jenny who spends this book stalking her new boyfriend trying to figure out why he is being so mysterious about his home life. Turns out he’s just kind of average and Jenny is not a fan. So I guess that is over.

As for Vanessa, her parents were in town and she hated it because they didn’t understand her so she decided to date some guy because she knew her parents would not be a fan. Boring. In the end though she realised she still loved Dan – so those two are bound to get together again soon.

And finally, we come back to Gossip Girl, this time she arranges a get together in the park and invites all the guys to see who she really is. And this proves to me that this whole time everyone has been reading Gossip Girl and knows about her, but it still bothers me that Blair didn’t know before about Jenny and Nate from reading Gossip Girl. I suppose they don’t know who the people she writes about are but it’s pretty obvious ya know. Like if you’re reading about yourself you kind of know.

Anyway…she arranges this thing in the park, all the guys show up but of course, Gossip Girl isn’t there. However, Blair and Serena are, sitting on a red blanket like Gossip Girl said she would be, but not only that Vanessa is also there at the park on a red blanket too. What a coincidence. It makes me think we might possibly get a reveal but I don’t wanna get my hopes up.

So that brings us to the end of another Gossip Girl book. I think I might take a break now and read something else, but that being said I do like reading about my fave Upper East Siders. So I imagine I’ll be back on the Gossip Girl train before you know it.

~ Courtney x

Because I’m Worth It by Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Another Gossip Girl novel down.

Honestly, this series is taking interesting turns. Definitely nothing like the TV show which I guess is a good thing because if it was exactly like the TV show why would I want to read it? (Although let’s be real I probably still would have because I love Gossip Girl).

So first off, Blair Waldorf. She’s been through a lot, I mean first she screws up her Yale interview, Nate and her breakup and now she has decided to chop off her hair.

I can’t imagine Blair without her hair but I’m sure she rocked it. I did think maybe it was going to end up a disaster and she was going to have to go into hiding but it was fine. She ended up using her hairstyle to look more like her idol Audrey.

To go along with her new ‘do, B also got another chance at Yale. Her dad pulled some strings and she got to meet with one of his friends to have another entrance interview.

Luckily, things went well for her there, although almost too well as she kind of had an affair with her interviewer. Scandalous I know, plus so unlike Blair. Though I suppose nothing really happened with him, she just kissed him and she even left the hotel room when he was asleep. No funny business.

So this kind of leaves her Yale admission still kind of up in the air…I mean who knows what this new Yale guy will tell the admission board after she blew him off. Although to be fair the guy was married and had a child who was almost Blair’s age so like does he really have a leg to stand on? I guess we wait and see.

Side note: it was kind of funny how in Blair’s little spiral she thought the way to repair her image and life was to check herself into rehab – it didn’t last long and I didn’t expect it to but it was still interesting.

Next there is Serena who honestly is too perfect that nothing bad ever actually happens to her. I mean she starts of fully in love with Aaron in an annoying way.

Then somehow she manages to get a job modelling in a fashion show because she’s Serena – so she decides to rock the runway in a t shirt that says “I LOVE AARON” and obviously Aaron isn’t too thrilled so they break up.

And that concludes the Serena portion of this blog post. She didn’t have much going on to be fair. Sure she is heartbroken because of Aaron but I imagine it won’t take long for her to get over it. I hope something more interesting happens with her because so far it’s just S gliding through life getting everything she wants.

This happens on the TV show too but like she does suffer on the TV show I mean for almost two seasons she thought she killed a guy… No such thing seems to be happening for her in the books though lol. She’s still gliding right through life all chill and perfect.

Meanwhile Nate is getting busted for buying pot in the park lol. So he has to go to rehab which is shocking because he is so clean cut in the TV show. I think they mention him smoking weed once in the entire of the series in the pilot and then it’s hardly mentioned ever again.

But in the book he goes to rehab where he meets Georgina Spark. And I just wanna say it bothers me that she’s not Sparks like in the TV show with an ‘s’ at the end. It sounds better.

Anyway yeah, I love Georgina in the TV show she is actually such a great character so I wonder what she is like in the books.

So far she comes across in kind of a similar way, drug addicted and clingy. Her and Nate start dating and I am shocked because I never pictured that being a thing. Excited to see where it goes though. Especially since Nate has stopped smoking weed for her which I am all for because his stoner story line was getting boring.

As for Little J, well, she has gotten into some fun things too. She has made a new friend and I think her friend wants them to be a little bit more than friends haha.

I was not expecting this from Jenny, but I think out of all the characters she is the one that is the most different from the TV show. So I’m just taking it as it goes with her.

It seems like at the end of the book she found a new boyfriend though so I wonder what this will do to her friendship with Elise. I mean Elise was definitely the one who wanted to experiment more than Jenny and you can tell she enjoyed it while Jenny did not. So I guess we see what happens with them, and also find out more about this mysterious guy who Jenny is dating.

After that we have Dan and Vanessa who both are “making it” in their respective careers. So yay? Except not completely…

So Dan forgave Vanessa for publishing his poem after he realised how awesome it is to be a published writer so they got back together and Dan finally lost his virginity after making such a big deal about it for artistic reasons lol.

But then he got an agent and he met another girl and he slept with her. Gosh darn it Dan. I really dislike Dan in the books so am I really surprised this is the kind of thing his scummy character would do? Not really. I mean he did feel bad when he kissed Mystery (because of course that’s the other girl’s name) but that definitely didn’t stop him from cheating. He did want to tell Vanessa and he thought he had in his obscure poem but she didn’t get that message from it.

Basically their relationship is a hot mess and I guess over? Because Vanessa went to Dan’s poetry reading and basically saw Dan and Mystery getting on on stage. But she filmed it anyway because ya know, art haha.

And finally the last thing I’ll talk about is Gossip Girl herself, she was planning a birthday party and everyone was invited. Chuck even handed out flyers for the party which is interesting because I mentioned in one of my other Gossip Girl posts that it was weird none of the characters actually talked about her. But this time they were.

Which means S, B and everyone else must know she is posting about them? Unless they’re too posh to even think about reading Gossip Girl lol. I kind of liked how they used it in the TV show though and sent in their own tips. It was super scandalous.

Anyway, four novels down I think there’s maybe 13 in the series? So I still have a while to go, the timeline of the books seems to be pretty slow moving, each book only spanning a couple of months so I can’t imagine where this actually ends. I do kind of hope we get a clue as to who Gossip Girl is. I mean, it’s definitely not Dan Humphrey this time and I am so glad haha.

Now time to get back to reading and see if the next novel is where Blair finally finds out if she gets into Yale.

~ Courtney x

All I Want is Everything by Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey people!

So here we are finished with another Gossip Girl novel.

Well I am surprised.

First off, Aaron in love with Blair?! Ew. I mean I guess they were friendly when they first met and everything but like he’s her stepbrother and that’s weird.

I hope this doesn’t become a thing.

On the bright side though, it looks like Serena is distracting him quite well. But we see how long that lasts. If we are going by the TV show standards it definitely doesn’t last long.

Then there is Blair and this Miles guy. In my head, I was picturing him like Carter Baizen from the TV show. But ultimately things don’t work out with them. Not that there even was a “them”. Definitely thought Blair was just gonna get it over with and do the deed with him though.

Also, I wonder if Blair will get into Yale. She’s been working hard on her admission so I wonder how it will go for her. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. Plus her Audrey Hepburn obsession is next level in the books lol.

Moving onto Nate – man idk. I just have accepted I don’t really like book Nate very much. Surprisingly though he was okay in this book. Probably because he wasn’t as high as he was in the others.

It’s understandable why things did not go well with Jenny. But the fact he suddenly decided to go back to Blair? Meh. Surprised Blair didn’t take him back though because she definitely did on the TV show….unless she just wants to make him squirm more but we will see.

Speaking of Jenny, the girl is obsessed. Like those creepy portraits of Nate might have seemed cute but like it’s the kind of thing you keep to yourself and don’t show the guy you like. It’s weird.

No idea what will happen with her next. Also kind of hate that they always bring up her boobs. Like I get it they are giant and get in the way but hey why is that like her only defining character trait? Lol.

As for Dan and Vanessa…ick.

Dan is honestly the worst. In the TV show, they try to make him more likeable but in the books there’s no denying he is awful. Like automatically labelling his sister and girlfriend as sluts? Calm down, man.

I also hate how he tries to be the tormented artist. It’s painful to read.

Plus how he gets mad at Vanessa for going behind his back and publishing his poem but ends up forgiving her anyway lol okay then.

Was surprised that he was so against sex though especially for “artistic” reasons. Ugh. Nah. Get out.

Meanwhile, Vanessa just wanted to do it. Totally opposite and surprising for her. Not sure why she felt the need to pressure Dan and all but sure.

I mean now that we are 3 books in, I have definitely stopped comparing the TV show as much to the book. I’m taking it as a separate thing and just seeing where it goes.

Plus Eleanor and Cyrus are pregnant? Crazy. Didn’t think that would happen but okay, they wasting no time now they married. Also, I can’t believe I never mentioned it before but I was surprised when Eleanor took Cyrus’s last name. On the TV show, she is a strong businesswoman who didn’t change her name but in the book, she’s kind of a ditz which I’m sad about.

Then of course there was that one mention of Chuck Bass. I actually thought maybe this is where Blair was gonna throw caution to the wind and get with him. They had that moment at New Year’s Eve but no such luck. I know for sure they don’t have the epic TV show romance but that doesn’t mean they don’t potentially hook up in the books.

Overall I liked this book. I’m not ever gonna say these were like the best books I’ve ever read because they aren’t really. I just like living in the Gossip Girl world a little longer. It’s fun. So on we go to the next one!

~ Courtney x

You Know You Love Me By Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hello we are back with another Gossip Girl book review.

So this time, people headed out to college for some interviews and Blair’s mom got married to Cyrus!

First off, the wedding came real quick. I wasn’t expecting it. But that’s because on the show Elenor didn’t get with Cyrus until at least season 2/3 and I swear they didn’t marry ’til like season 5 haha.

Anyway yeah so introducing: Aaron Rose! Man he is not the cute, mysterious artist who Serena decides to date and knows from summer camp. He is a guy who smokes herbal cigarettes and has dreadlocks. Ew.

Surprisingly though Blair actually had a nice time with him. Despite her not saying more than two words to him on the TV show. I wonder if he has more of a presence in the books because in the TV show he left after Serena was done with him lol.

Also the college visits! Everyone going to Brown but Blair going to Yale. Well we all knew Blair was a Yale girl. It was surprising her interview went so terribly. I could have never imagined that for her but I suppose she was frazzled from the night before. Poor girl.

I wonder if they all end up going to NYU like on the TV show.

I mean from the way Serena, Dan and Nate’s interviews went I could see it happening. Though Nate’s interview actually seemed to go well so yay for him.

Oh. By the way. I HATE stoner Nate. I prefer TV Nate. Like it’s honestly so boring to hear every time he’s around he’s baked. Please get a new description for him please.

Plus him and Jenny? Didn’t expect it to happen so fast. Or for Nate to just kind of dump Blair. I suppose I am still holding out for cute Nate from the TV show. But I guess we are just stuck with stoner Nate. Though he doesn’t smoke around Jenny? Interesting. Wonder how long it lasts. Side note: when are we gonna drop the Jennifer thing as well haha, she can try to seem more sophisticated but she will always be Little J.

Also like zero mention of Chuck Bass. I read he was a much minor character in the books which is fine I suppose I don’t really miss him but it’s kind of weird at the same time not to have him hanging with the gang. In the books, he is just the creepy guy everyone tolerates because their family is rich and they’re part of the inner circle.

Another thing that’s kind of weird is that Erik is the older, cooler brother of Serena wherein the TV show he is her younger brother and kind of shy and also gay lol what a transformation they made for him.

Moving on to Dan. Ugh. Honestly he is really pathetic in the books. All moody and shit writing poetry. I can’t say I like him on the TV show but this is like an even worse version of him. Its kind of depressing.

And then I’m still trying to figure out Vanessa too. Shes’s also annoying though in a different way than on the TV show. Don’t know what it is about her I just don’t like her.

Anyway yeah another book is done and dusted, overall this one was okay. I did kind of like Blair’s spiral into stealing and breaking down etc. Part of me expected her to be more dramatic about her mom deciding to get married on her birthday but it’s chill.

Also, I’m surprised Blair managed to freeze Serena out for so long too. But I’m also proud of her because that takes a lot of effort haha.

Other random things to note are:

I’m still not over everyone smoking

OMG also I forgot hello Dan and Jenny living on the Upper West Side so they aren’t even as poor as they were made ou to be on TV, plus their dad is gross in the books at least he was likeable on TV.

Also not used to Blair having a younger brother still it was weird to read about him.

Not 100% sure how to feel about Gossip Girl posts in the series, I guess I expected them more frequently but also expect the characters to mention them and react to them like on TV – like shouldn’t Blair have known what Nate was up to if she was reading Gossip Girl?

And I guess Serena and Dan do not have their romance quite yet since Serena is creeped out by Dan and Dan is too obsessive which is totally fair. We see how Dan and Vanessa go…if she breaks up with her boyfriend

And so that brings us to the end of this Gossip Girl blog post. Last week while I was at the library I ended up checking out a new book so I will read that before going back into the upper east side.

I’m wondering what will happen next. I’m trying to avoid reading what happens in the books so it doesn’t give it away but sometimes it’s hard to resist…

~ Courtney x

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Hey Upper East Siders,

I just finished the Gossip Girl book and I thought I would share my thoughts with you.

So I’ve actually read this book before. I planned to read the whole series after I finished the TV show but never got around to getting the rest of the books because I was a poor secondary school student. And then, earlier this year when I got a library card I discovered they had the series on their ebook app. So now I can read them all!

Anyway yes, I wanna say beforehand that I love the TV show Gossip Girl. The drama was everything, the cast was everything. I love it a lot.

Will I love the books though? I guess we see.

So I know the show is loosely based off of the books so I’m not expecting anything to be exactly the same. I would say the first few episodes of season 1 are similar to the events in the first book.

So here’s my list of similarities:

  • Serena back from boarding school
  • Nate slept with Serena
  • Chuck tries to force himself on Jenny at the Kiss on the Lips party
  • Blair wanting to have sex with Nate but finding out about Serena and Nate

So not many things. But they don’t all happen in the same way they did on the show. To be expected.

Now onto things that were different because this stuff was interesting.

First thing is that everyone’s parents are around. Yeah it’s weird. Because in the show Serena has her daddy issues and Lily remarries several times and then also on the show Chuck never knew his mother. But in the book world of the Upper East Side both their families are in tact. Not only that, all the families have more siblings than the show had you believe.

I can’t imagine Blair or Chuck having siblings it doesn’t seem right. But there ya go.

Also Gossip Girl is a .co.uk site? This is weird to me only because the book is based in America so why would the website have a UK domain? I don’t think this is a thing most people care about but I do.

Plus, Gossip Girl always refers to everyone only by their first initial on the website. Unlike on the show when sometimes Gossip Girl would use their actual name. Which I’m glad they did on the show just because only referring to someone by a letter doesn’t sound good when you’re talking about them lol.

Another thing they play up in the book is that Nate is a major stoner. Which we never really got in the TV show. Not to mention that everyone smokes. Though I suppose that wouldn’t have been a good look on TV. Especially since at the time of the TV show I feel like you couldn’t smoke everywhere like you could early 2000s when the book was set.

But yeah, other things that happen in the first book did happen in the TV show just later on like Blair’s mom getting with Cyrus and the introduction of Vanessa.

Oh! That’s another thing Vanessa goes to Constance in the book! Which I can’t even imagine but yeah that’s a thing.

I can see that the TV show definitely changed a lot but it’s understandable. With TV shows they need to amp the drama up and cut minor characters because it’s a money thing. But in books you don’t need as much drama. Which is fine. I mean I’m not expecting anything major from the first book.

I am interested to see where it goes though. I mean right now there’s the familiarity of everything that happens but I have no idea where we go from here.

If I had to say anything it’s that I am sad we won’t have Dorota in the books. Dorota is Blair’s maid and she honestly makes the show so much better haha.

Also, do they reveal who Gossip Girl is in the books?! Because the TV show reveal was weak and I think it would be better maybe if there wasn’t a reveal but at the same time I would love to know who Gossip Girl was actually meant to be. Kind of like how in Pretty Little liars, A is actually not who they made it out to be on the TV show. (I haven’t read PLL but it’s on my list even though I know who A is in the books).

But yeah, overall I liked it. Like I said I am interested to see where we go from here.

Don’t have much else to say. I mean this was just me breaking down the similarities and differences from the TV show but I promise to talk more about the books as we go on. But I can’t say I won’t bring up the TV show again. But yeah, more focus on the books from now on.

So until next time,

You know you love me,

xo xo

~ Courtney

(P.S I’m glad they add the ‘xo xo’ part on the TV show I don’t know why but it just sounds good)

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ 1 Comment

I could not wait to read this. Literally, I knew as soon I finished reading “You” that I needed to know what happened to Joe after Beck.

Turns out a lot of things happened. A lot of unexpected things.

I have so many thoughts on this so be prepared because it’s gonna be a long one.

First of all, Joe and Amy. Another girl he is obsessed with. Of course. But she’s no Beck, no she is better than Beck in every way.

But sadly the Joe and Amy story doesn’t last very long as she bolts to LA to become an actress. Gross.

Joe isn’t pleased and has to hunt her down and kill her. And this is where I’m pumped up and excited, which is a weird thing to be excited about but for some reason with Joe it feels right.

So Joe goes to LA and he hates every second of it. I feel like if you love New York you aren’t a fan of LA and vice versa. It’s just how it is.

But don’t fret because things are just beginning for Joe and soon he is living in a crappy apartment with an annoying landlord and a clingy neighbour and the worst drug-addict boss.

It does not take long for him to make his first kill. And honestly, I really enjoy Joe’s thinking and his reasoning behind everything. I think because it’s logical, and I think logically about things too. I definitely don’t justify to myself why someone needs to die and so plan to kill them but like I follow Joe’s thinking well.

Plus in this book he isn’t referring to anyone as “you”, because he has moved on and there are a lot more people he has to focus on now. Yet the writing is still the same style and I’m all in for it.

So his first murder in LA was kind of unexpected. I don’t think I saw it coming until it was decided and happening. But soon after Joe gives up his hunt for Amy as he is thrown headfirst into the rich life of LA.

He falls in love with this girl called Love. Which I honestly hated so much like I know that’s the point but it is actually the worst thing. Anyway, he falls for her and he gives up his fight for Amy. And I was surprised by this because I didn’t think anything would stop Joe once he was on a mission.

I suppose he did have a new mission though. To love, Love. To be her everything, to be a part of her world.

Sadly though not everything is peachy there because Joe is jealous of the men in Love’s life and while he deals with his issues with that he also manages to get another murder in there on the sly. That one I saw coming haha but still surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

Eventually, though Joe realises he has nothing to be jealous about. Except for the fact, Love has a strong connection with her twin brother Forty. Again the worst name but I didn’t pick it.

Forty is the worst character. I just hated everything about him and Joe did too. Forty was a rich, drug addict who thought he could make it in Hollywood and he just got on my nerves so damn much.

Sadly though he sticks around for a while as Joe becomes friends with him for the sake of Love. He listens to Forty as he tells Joe all of his stupid movie ideas and Joe decides he can make them better so he starts writing for Forty on the DL. Immediately I know this isn’t a good idea but Joe thinks it would be cool to get his break in Hollywood.

Meanwhile, Love’s third twin – again something stupid which I hate – Milo writes a movie and he wants Love to be in it and they start filming and there’s this tension between Joe and Milo because this movie is just Milo’s way of showing he is still in love with Love. And ya know we love a good love triangle. Wow. Drink every time you read the word love in this blog post lol.

Anyway yeah so we have this jealousy again and then there this whole scene in the movie about oral sex and it’s a big deal because “Love doesn’t do that” but she would for the movie but then she ends up doing it with Joe to show she truly loves him and the scene is cut from the movie. So all is going well for Joe.

Until a police officer comes and attacks Joe because he knows that he killed his clingy neighbour. Which he did but the police don’t have proof so it fine. Joe knows what needs to be done.

Once he takes care of things everything is once again all sunshine and rainbows for Joe. And now I’m actually rooting for him to finally he happy and be with a good person and everything end well for him. Even though he killed like four people in the last book and also has up to this point killed three more people…

Sadly though there is just one more person Joe feels like he needs to rid the world of. Forty. Forty screwed Joe over and didn’t give him credit for writing the scripts he sold which I gotta say was a dick move but also didn’t you kind of sense it coming because that’s the kind of thing people do.

Forty ends up going on a bender and Joe feels like it is his responsibility to help Forty on to the afterlife. Except while he is finishing Forty off he finds out that the Salinger family is investigating the death of Peach. And Joe is thinking about that mug of urine he left in her house that time. Yikes.

Joe immediately flies out to little Compton to see if he can get the mug but he has no such luck and also Love busts him for lying and saying he was in Las Vegas looking for Forty when he flew out to Little Compton.

Joe decides to tell Love the truth. All of it. Minus the Forty part and I am shook. I can’t believe he would tell her everything…

More so I cannot believe that love is OKAY with it??? She barricades Joe in the bathroom and disappears and immediately I think this is it. Joe is done. And Joe thinks so too but mo Love comes back with the mug!

I am so surprised by this but also happy and rooting for them both in some weird twisted way and not to mention love is pregnant! Okay, this part I’m not so sure on. It’s what she says and of course Joe would believe but something about it just doesn’t sit tight with me…

But they are both happy and all is well and even better news is that Forty is alive! I am shocked by this news just like Joe is and they go to the hospital where Forty gets Joe back in on the writing “deal” otherwise Forty will tell everyone joe tried to kill him. Yikes.

Luckily forty cares more about his fame and realises he needs Joe for that so Joe is not going to jail today.

Fast forward a bit and Joe actually runs into AMY.

Man did we forget about her? I didn’t and I was surprised she hadn’t shown up sooner.

They have a faceoff and I seriously thought this was when Joe was gonna end her but lucky for her he is a changed man and he just let’s her go.

I was definitely surprised because I didn’t think he would just let her walk like that and also I was amazed no one saw them on the beach but I suppose there was fog…eh still they seemed to be there a long time and Joe was straddling her – almost strangling her lol.

Still, Joe let’s her go and he feels at peace at last and even ends up hearing even better news. Forty is dead. And Joe didn’t kill him! Are you shocked? I am too. Immediately I am thinking that this is some plot Forty constructed to bring Joe down but it was not, it was just an accident.

Now Joe’s life is perfect because he’s got the girl, the rich life, a baby on the way…it’s everything he’s ever wanted.

This is when he gets arrested.

I don’t know how Joe will get of this one but he believes he will, he is thinking very positively because of Love and the baby. But like I said earlier, I am suspicious about Love and the baby. I don’t know what it is but something about her and her family seem too perfect. I think there is something going on, even if Joe doesn’t see it.

But I guess we won’t know for sure until we get the next book.

So yeah, that was a wild ride from start to finish. I love how the story is going and I can’t wait for more. Sadly though I have no idea when the next book will be.

On the bright side, season 2 of the Netflix show is coming in a couple months and I am excited for it. I’d never thought I’d say this but I think that Penn Badgley does make a good Joe Goldberg. Even if it took me ages to see it because to me he will always be Lonely Boy from Gossip Girl lol.

Speaking of which – I think my next read will be the Gossip Girl series. I really want to read it and I think this is the time. I know it will be very different from the TV show but I’m still excited to see what it’s like.

So yes, overall really enjoyed this book and the series. I would recommend the TV show and the book to be honest because even though the first book and the TV show are very similar they are both just really good. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait too long for the next book! 😛

~ Courtney x