Month: December 2014

Five on Fridays #10

Posted December 12, 2014 / Five on Fridays, Weekly Memes / 0 Comments

Five on Friday displays the the top five things that have been on my mind this week! It could be book-related, but it may be music, movies, TV, personal life, food, etc. Reading slump Okay. I’m going to admit it. I’m officially in a reading slump. The good news is: I know exactly what caused it! I recently developed a more comprehensive Excel sheet to make a reading schedule. It makes it easier to plan when I plan to post reviews and when I should finish books to have everything done in a timely manner. Unfortunately, this makes reading feel like homework. I should be panicking if I can’t finish a book when I’m estimating that I should finish a book! I ended up getting a book in an ARC tour that I just wasn’t in the mood to read, and I kept making myself feel bad and adjusting my schedule to accommodate it. Luckily this ARC tour, On the Same Page, doesn’t require reviews in exchange for the ARCs. I decided to just not read the book and move on. It helped free up my schedule a lot. Last night, I wasn’t in the mood to read at all. So I didn’t! It felt great. I didn’t beat myself up over it. All of my holiday reviews are done except the final two, and I have two weeks to read them. STOP WORRYING. Christmas decorations We are officially done decorating for the holidays! We strung some lights up in our […]

Random Bookish Thoughts: Book Tropes

Posted December 11, 2014 / Discussions, Other Memes, Weekly Memes / 8 Comments

BOOK TROPES. I recently saw all of the BookBlogWriMo posts about common tropes that bloggers love to see in books. In case you’re not aware, a trope is basically a cliche or common theme – in our case, in YA books. I decided to do my own spin-off discussion of this topic, since I think it’s a worthy one of having! I had a Musing Mondays post on “typical YA” and what I mean when I reference that in a review… A lot of this post stems from that discussion. Here are some of my favorite and least favorite book tropes that I see in books, as well as some that I have mixed feelings on. Best friends who finally realize they love each other This is definitely one of my all-time favorites. There’s nothing better than the moment when they FINALLY realize they’re in love with their best friend. Of course, the reader knows the whole time and spends most of the book shouting for them to just kiss already…but you still love it when it finally happens. Any time there’s a childhood best friend in the picture, you can assume they’re going to be the love interest… and you’re totally fine with it. Everyone else who steps in the way, back off please. Favorite books: Damsel Distressed by Kesley Macke, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally Self-discovery or realization of powers Dude, this is the best. You know why? Because it gives everyone […]

Secret Santa and Book Exchange Reveal

Posted December 10, 2014 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 7 Comments

Guys, I am very excited to share some of the amazing goodies I got from my holiday peeps so far. I have one more swap, the 12 Days of Christmas swap, that will be starting up within the next few days. The reveal for that swap will be on December 24th, because I’ll be opening one present a day in the 12 days before Christmas! The Broke and the Bookish Secret Santa My Secret Santa: Morgan from Gone with the Words! I’m so excited that Morgan was my Secret Santa. She and a few of her friends followed me immediately once the Secret Santas were revealed, but luckily a lot of others followed me too! It was a pretty good method because everyone kind of followed everyone, so no one knew who actually had them. I’ve had quite a few Twitter convos with Morgan since we followed each other and was REALLY pumped that she was my Secret Santa! She did such an amazing job. She hit on a lot of the stuff I mentioned in my email – Harry Potter, cheetah print, coffee, and Adventure Time! What my package included: Paper listing book recommendations based on my Goodreads TBR! Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill (a recommendation from Morgan) Racing Savannah by Miranda Kenneally Notepad with little calendar Adventure Time bookmark (eeeeek) Harry Potter Winged Key (so cute!!!) Starbucks VIA Christmas Blend (literally perfect timing because I just ran out of coffee) Cheetah print decorative […]

Review: Vicious

Posted December 10, 2014 / Book Reviews / 1 Comment

*Do not read this review if you haven’t read all of the other books in the series! I’ll hide spoilers about this book, but anything before book 16 is fair game. Oh god. I can’t believe I finally read this book and that this series is actually over. This could easily be the hardest review I’ll write, because this book means more to me than a lot of others out there, but I’ll try to make it reasonable! It’s kind of difficult for me to summarize how this series has been so important to me for the past nine years. It kept me guessing and kept me READING during years I had no time to read. I started the series in 2005, when book one was released, and religiously read each one every six months when they were released. People think it should have ended sooner, but I was never wishing it would just end already like most people. I can’t say that I’m surprised about any of it, really: what happened in the back, how quickly I read it, and how everything ended. That kind of predictability turns a lot of people off from books, but I’ve grown to become so engrossed by Shepard’s writing style that I don’t care. Sure, this series should basically have a subtitle of “How Many Times Can These Girls Fuck Up?” – but I can’t say that I was ever bored. I’m sad that it’s all over, but am very satisfied with the ending. […]

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Posted December 9, 2014 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 0 Comments

I have been tagged by Amber at Young Adult Indulgences for the Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award/Tag. Thank you! <3 The Rules: Thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their website. Post the award’s logo on your blog. Answer the ten questions you have been asked. Nominate ten other bloggers and ask them ten other questions. My Questions: What is your favorite part of blogging? My favorite part of blogging so far is the community. I had no idea that there were so many people out there who were blogging about books! When I decided to start my blog, I really had no idea what to expect. Everyone is so great and welcoming to newbies. Have you had any other blogs? Kind of. I have started a few blogs and let them fade away. In coming up with the idea for a book blog, I started up a lifestyle kind of blog that had fashion, beauty, and book posts. That blog was created and never updated. I used to have a lot of personal/journal types of blogs back in the day too. What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from book blogging? To be honest, the biggest and most surprising thing I’ve learned is that you can get free advanced copies of books! I never dreamed that it would be even possible when I started this up. Has book blogging changed your life? If so, elaborate. 🙂 I’m still new at this, so my life hasn’t changed drastically […]

Top Ten Tuesdays #19: New-to-Me Authors

Posted December 9, 2014 / Top 10 Tuesdays / 9 Comments

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we make LISTS of our top ten books based on that week’s prompt… and then we stalk other people’s answers to add a million books to our TBR. The topics are provided ahead of time and can be found here. Today’s topic is… Top Ten New-to-Me Authors of Books I Read in 2014 My big reading years pre-college consisted of mostly binge-reading Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Private. Up until this year, those were three major authors I loved to read books by (because they had so damn many books out!). I feel like most of the authors on this list are new-to-me but very NOT new to anyone else who has been reading a lot in recent years. 2014 has been the biggest reading year for me since middle school, so here are ten authors I am now extremely excited to read books by. Highlights: I know I’m a little late to the Rainbow Rowell party (and frankly, I’ve barely shown up considering that I’ve only read one book by her.) Sarah Ockler and Emery Lord are two authors I’m anxiously awaiting the new releases from. I should also probably get going on Ockler’s other released books, because I really loved her writing style. Morgan Matson, who easily became one of my favorite authors, also writes under the name Katie Finn. I still need to read those, too! I love that Kasie West writes both contemporary books […]

Two 2015 Challenge Sign-Ups

Posted December 8, 2014 / Book Challenges, Features / 6 Comments

It’s that time of the year! Everyone is starting up their 2015 challenges and I am hoping to partake in quite a few. Since this coming year will be my first full year at the blog, I’ll be able to join in some of those year-long challenges that I was jealous of when I started in July. I’m going to kill two birds with one stone here and sign up for both challenges with this post. *For the full list of challenges I’ve joined in on, check HERE. Fairy Tale Retelling Challenge Who’s Hosting & Links The Daily Prophecy Rules & Sign-up Page Fairy Tale Retelling Lists and Shelves Daily Prophecy’s Goodreads shelf Listopia on Goodreads What’s Happening The main goal is to read fairy tale retellings (or retellings in general). You decide what signifies a “fairy tale.” You can read books from any year or audience, as long as they are retellings of some classic tales out there. There are different levels you can aspire to with your reading. The first level, called “Prince Charming,” means you’ve read 1-4 books. There are six different levels to aspire to reach. The highest level, “Bluebeard,” means you’ve read over 26 books. There are link-ups and potential challenges each month. The challenge runs all year long! My Goals and Potential Books My goal is to meet or exceed the “Big Bad Wolf” level of 10-15 books. I haven’t read any retellings yet, but there are a LOT that have been on my […]

Holiday Review: Let It Snow

Posted December 8, 2014 / Book Reviews / 7 Comments

Let It Snow is a compilation of three interconnected stories. I’ll review them each separately, then include an overall rating and my thoughts! The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson I absolutely LOVED the main character of this story, Jubilee. She was funny and adorable. The writing style was very quirky and definitely made me LOL at times. I immediately looked for other books by Maureen Johnson as I was reading this one. The story was certainly very predictable, but I didn’t care. I also LOOOVED Stuart, our main boy. He was adorable, smart, and just seemed like an all-around great guy. I would totally read this as a full-length story just to get more of these characters! The ending was adorable but it definitely left me wanting more. I think it was a good ending , but I would seriously love to see more of these two and what happens next. I can’t think of really anything I disliked about this one. It’s almost hard to review because you would have to read it yourself to really get how fun and interesting Stuart and Jubilee were. A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green Oh John Green, you never cease to amaze me. A lot of reviewers seemed somewhat disappointed by this story, so I was a little nervous, but I ended up really enjoying it. It’s been a while since I’ve read John Green (I’ve read all of his books, but last read TFIOS the year it came out. Due for […]

Sunday Post #2

Posted December 7, 2014 / Sunday Post, Weekly Memes / 9 Comments

The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where you share news about your blog on a weekly basis. It can include what you’ve been reading, what you’ve posted, what’s coming up next, and any books you added to your shelves! Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier (thanks, Around the World ARC Tours!) Vicious (Pretty Little Liars #16) by Sara Shepard Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle A Christmas to Remember by Jenny Hale The Death Cure by James Dashner Bookmark Lit Bulletin for November My December TBR List and November Uppercase Box here Top ten books I’m excited to read in 2015 (TTT) Thoughts and reactions I have while reading Holiday Review: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares Review: The Scorch Trials Holiday Review: Ex-Mas Positively Beautiful by Wendy Mills (thanks, On the Same Page ARC Tours!) Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter Snowed In by Rachel Hawthorne Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter Top ten new-t0-me authors read in 2014 My most loved and most hated book tropes (and some I have mixed feelings on) Five on Fridays Holiday Review: Let It Snow Review: Vicious (PLL #16) Holiday Review: A Christmas to Remember

Holiday Review: Ex-Mas

Posted December 5, 2014 / Book Reviews / 5 Comments

I’ve had my eye on this book for a long time, considering how much I love Kate Brian. Up until this year, I never really considered reading holiday-themed books and just never picked this one up from the store. I’m glad I finally did! I sat down the day after Thanksgiving and read it in under two hours. Lila is a popular girl, dating her best friend’s older brother, and about to throw the party of the year while her parents are out of town. Her brother and his best friend decide that they need to venture to the North Pole to save Santa in light of global warming, and Lila is forced to travel with her ex-boyfriend (Beau, her brother’s friend’s brother) to get the boys back before her parents come home. I absolutely loved the road trip that they took. It was fun reading about their mini-adventures and mishaps along the way. The book was predictable, but still had some cute, unique parts. Kate Brian is one of my favorite authors, so I wasn’t surprised that she crafted a well-written holiday tale. There is somewhat of a love triangle, but it was well-done in the sense that you know who she’s going to end up with It was a great story of second chances, both romantically and family-wise. Lila was kind of annoying at first because you can tell that she really had to prove herself and change herself to become popular. I didn’t like that about her […]