October 3, 2016 – My Tiny Obsessions

musicalmondays

This music is part of my childhood and I love it. When I was little there was an imitation show in Portugal called “Chuva de Estrelas” and there was a guy there amazingly singing Alphaville’s Forever Young, and I’ve loved this song since then.

Let’s dance in style, let’s dance for a while,
Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies.
Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst,
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don’t have the power, but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music’s for the sad man.

Can you imagine when this race is won?
Turn our golden the faces into the sun,
Praising our leaders, we’re getting in tune
The music’s played by the, the madman.

Forever young,
I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever

Forever young,
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young.

Some are like water, some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later they all will be gone
Why don’t they stay young?

It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth’s like diamonds in the sun,
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures given up today,
So many songs we forgot to play.
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
Oh let it come true.

Forever young,
I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever,
Forever, and ever?

Forever young
I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever,
Forever young

tywha

She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small.

Bridger Macaulley used to be a player both on and off the ice. But now, while his teammates chase the next hockey victory, Bridger worries that the dean will discover he’s housing his eight-year-old sister in his dorm room. Juggling a full course load and a big secret, it’s only a matter of time until the other skate drops.

Scarlet Crowley is the only freshman at Harkness College who had to sneak past TV news trucks parked on her front lawn just to leave town. Her name is as new as the shiny student ID it’s printed on. The only way to survive college will be to conceal her identity, even if it means lying to the green-eyed boy she’s falling for.

Bridget and Scarlet form a tentative relationship based on the understanding that some things must always be held back. But when grim developments threaten them both, going it alone just won’t work anymore. And if they can’t learn to trust one another now, the families who let them down will take everything they’ve struggled to keep.

Awhile back, me and Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much read the first book of The Ivy Years series together, so we thought it would be cool to do the same with book 2 :D. Check out her blog in a few days to read her review of The Year We Hid Away.

I had really liked the first one of the series, but I have to say that I loved this one even more. There’s just something about truly desperate situations and people who can overcome shitty situations. Once again, I loved the writing, because this is Sarina Bowen, and I’ve read a bunch of her books by now, and I KNOW I will love anything she writes. The book, once again, is told in dual POV, and I really liked how distinct both voices were, but still had a common denominator.

Both characters were amazing. Scarlet’s situation is truly unbearable, and I can’t even begin to understand what goes on people’s minds to treat her the way they did. I thought she was truly strong, making her decision had to be tough, but it hurt that she was leaving a big part of herself behind, so she could be “normal”. The same goes for Bridger, oh boy, he’s dreamy! Maybe it’s the whole “single dad” thing, even though Lucy is his baby sister and not his daughter, it somehow still applies. It was remarkable how amazing Bridger was with Lucy and Scarlet, and how he still managed to have amazing grades and follow his dreams (or part of them).

The fact that neither of them was willing to ask for help, even when they desperately needed it, was beyond sad, and it lead me to cry a bit towards the end.

I really liked the romance between Scarlet and Bridger, the built up was well done, and I really liked how understandable they were of each other’s secrets. When they finally open up to each other, it’s a beautiful thing to see.

The buildup was strong and emotional, and I’m a mess whenever the storyline involves children…

I highly recommend this one, and I can’t wait to read the remaining books of the series.