Book Blogger Spotlight: Brenna

This month, we're delighted to feature Brenna, political science student by day, YA book blogger by night and the brains behind Esther's Ever After  .

What made you want to blog/vlog about books?
I was actually reviewing books before I was blogging, but I was only posting them to Goodreads and Amazon. At first it was only a few books here and there, but then I discovered I actually ENJOYED reviewing books. Then I had quite a few friends asking me for book suggestions, and I started paying attention to the existing book blogging community and I just fell in love with it. I wanted to be a part of it, and discuss all these book-related topics with other book lovers, like me, because I don't have friends who care about books the way I do.


What’s your favourite reading spot?
This might sound dangerous, but I'm a bath reader. I know that one of these days I'm goign to drop a book (or my Kindle) into the water, but it's my favourite way to read. If not there, then I love curling up in bed with a good book.

Your favourite book in the last year?

There are always so many that I love, but in the past year I have to say Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I read it months ago and I STILL feel like I'm just coming to terms with it.

Who’s the most swoon-worthy;Patch (from Hush, Hush), Jace (from The Mortal Instruments), Cassel (from White Cat), Gabriel (from Wither)?

This is terrible, because I haven't read Hush, Hush or White Cat yet! I have copies of both of them, I just need to find the time to read them.

I love Gabriel, but Jace is the definition of swoon-worthy.

Favourite quote?
Recently, I fell in love with this one from Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me:

"I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

Do you have a favourite holiday/Christmas read?

You know, there isn't normally a book I read around the holiday season. I reread Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine every year, but I think if I had to pick one book that always reminds me of Christmas, even if I don't read it most years, is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Some of your favourite book blogs:

I find that Wendy from A Cupcake and a Latte tends to have the same opinions about books as I do, so I like to follow her for reviews since we seem to share the similar taste in books.

I also really like Hooked on Books, because Christa always seems to know about all these other books I didn't know about. Plus I enjoy how she styles her reviews, as they're in depth and she includes recommendations for other similar books.

How has your blog/feature developed or changed since you first started?
When I first started, I didn't mean to end up with such a huge focus on YA. But after a while I noticed that YA was the way I was leaning to, and I should just stick with it since that's where my audience seems to be. Plus, it's mostly what I read and am interested in. My reviewing style, where I include a few "Reasons to Read" is something that just kind of happened after I had been blogging for a while too. I think I have a better idea of the direction I'm headed and how best to organize my reviews.