Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Bookography (29)

Bookography
Bookography is a fun new way to share the beauty of books with photography. Take a picture with the book being the focus or inspiration and share the picture(s) you have created for the week.

Book
Nightshade 
by Andrea Cremer

Calla

I got a Calla Lily plant for my birthday and I have been taking a few pictures of them. They are such beautiful flowers, I have more on my flickr account which you can find on the left hand column. I chose to put the Calla Lily in Nightshade for obvious reasons, if you haven't read the book the main character is named Calla and to annoy her she is called Lily by two people.

I liked both of the different angles that I just decided to put both of them up. I did very minimal post processing for this one. I decided to just let the photo tell its own story.

More Camera Equipment
I have been saving up since December to get some more stuff and I finally had enough money to buy a few items that I have been wanting and needing to get for my camera.
I got a 580EX External Flash
Diffuser (the dome and whitish thing on the flash)
An extra battery for my camera
And a lens hood for my lens to protect it

If you would like to participate please do. I will post my Bookography post each week on Wednesdays. I would love if you would link back to my blog and share your own link in the comments.

To see my previous weeks pictures check out my Bookography tab

Alba from ---BookPics--- is also participated this week

<3Bookography

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Starling Cover Reveal

Starling
By Lesley Livingston

Summary
"Love is just the beginning... of the end."

Mason Starling is a champion fencer for Gosforth Academy, but she’s never had to fight for her life. Until now. When a ferocious storm rips through Manhattan and unleashes terrifying creatures onto Gosforth’s campus, Mason barely escapes alive. Without help from the mysterious stranger who appeared in the midst of the storm, she might not have made it at all. But now, in the aftermath, Mason’s life begins to spin dramatically, mystically out of control, and the only one who seems able to help her is the stranger who can remember nothing but his name: Fennrys Wolf.

As Mason and Fenn uncover more about Fenn’s past and the strange events that surround them, they realize that Mason’s family — and its dark allegiance to the ancient Norse gods — is at the center of everything. A predetermined fate seems to be closing in on Mason, but is it possible to change one’s destiny?

Readers who fell in love with Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange trilogy and those who love Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series will be captivated by the sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action of Starling.

Release Date
August 28th 2012

I am completely in love with this cover and I WANT WANT WANT it! This is one of those books that I'm going to try really hard to get an ARC of. I love Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange trilogy and I want more of her books. I do still need to get Once Every Never, bad me for not already having it.

For celebration of the cover reveal of her new book Starling Lesly is doing a giveaway for a hardback set of the Wondrous Strange Trilogy, I really want this. She has been on my top list of authors I want to meet and get signed books from. For details on how to enter her contest check out her blog page HERE.

I have marked my calender, have you marked yours?


<3Books

Wings of the Wicked Review

Wings of the Wicked

Summary
Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.
She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.
She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

What I Loved
Action
Just like the first book this one had amazing non stop action. I'm a fan of kick-ass action books and this one didn't disappoint at all. The whole book stayed at a fast pace with something exciting going on at every turn.
Characters
Will: I still love him just as much as the first book and maybe even a little more with some of the ending revelations.
Cadan: I'm really starting to like this bad boy trying to be a good boy. I can't wait to see what is going to happen with him in the final book. I don't want him to be with Ellie because she is to be with Will, but I hope something good happens for him.
Heart Wrenching
The love that Will and Ellie share for each other is just amazing. I feel for their inability to be together, they try but then something comes up and they have to step away from each other. So heartbreaking at every turn of the page, I hope by the end of the book they can finally catch a break.
Another Cliffhanger
 These endings are killing me so much, Courtney's cliffhangers are amazing torture. I can't believe how she ended this one like that, but considering how she ended the last one I can't really be too surprised. 

Still Not My Favorite
Just as the first book, I still don't completely love Ellie. She annoys me at points and at other points I really like her.

Recommendation 
Got to read this series!!

Information 
Angelfire Trilogy 
Genre: YA romantic fantasy
Angelfire my review
Wings of the Wicked
Hymn of the Fallen early 2013

Have you read this series?

<3Books

Monday, February 27, 2012

Interview with Alexander Gordon Smith

Alexander Gordon Smith
Interview

 I will be meeting Alexander on March 5th and I figured I would ask him all event themed questions since I will be hearing mostly book and writing themed questions at the event.

Escape From Furnace
Lockdown (my review)
Solitary (my review)
Death Sentence 
Fugitives 
Execution

New series
The Fury
Currently working on finishing the 2nd book 

Hi Kristina, thanks so much for interviewing me on your blog! It's awesome to be here!

1) If you could meet any 3 authors (dead or alive) who would they be?
Fantastic question! There are just so many to choose from! I'd love to meet Shakespeare, of course, and Dickens, and George Orwell. I'd absolutely love to meet Poe and Lovecraft too. You'd have to be careful if you brought all those authors back to life for a chat, though, as I think they'd probably all end up talking to each other (or arguing) and not to me! The living author I'd most love to meet is Stephen King, just to thank him for being such an inspiration. I'd also love to be able to meet me from the future – hopefully I'll still be an author – to find out in advance which books I was going to write!

2) What do you like most and least about touring?
Touring is one of my favourite parts of being a writer. I never thought I'd have a job where travelling the world and speaking to fans was part of my weekly routine! I especially love visiting the States, because you guys are so friendly, and so supportive, and so enthusiastic about books! And you have such a beautiful, hugely varied country, it's so awesome getting some time to see the sights. I often think I'll move over to the States at some point, and touring is a good chance to find my favourite spot! The other great thing is that you have to eat out pretty much every night, so it's an excuse to totally pig out. I'm usually a bit chunkier after a tour! The only thing I don't enjoy is being away from my family. I miss them so much when I'm on tour, but luckily the schedule is usually pretty hectic so there isn't much time to be homesick.

3) Was there any city that you were hoping to go to that isn't a part of this tour? 
There were loads! I was originally planning to head to LA as well, which had to be changed because there just wasn't enough time. I was in Utah last year and wanted to head to Vegas for a bit, but likewise it never happened. The problem is that I'm English, and I look at a map of the US and say 'well Seattle and LA are right next to each other, can't I just pop down for the afternoon?' Because over here distances are so small that you can drive pretty much anywhere in a day. In SLC I even asked a taxi driver if he could drive me down to Vegas, thinking it was like an hour away. Luckily he didn't, because it would have been about eight hours and a hell of a cab fare! I am aiming to visit every state in the US in the next few years, so I should get the chance to visit every major city too, but on this tour I'm doing Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York which is pretty awesome!

4) What are you looking forward to most while on this tour?
Definitely meeting the fans. I have the most awesome fans on the planet, they're just so cool! When my books were first published I'd do events and nobody would show up, or there would be a few people there but they had no idea who I was. Well, both of those things do still happen, but less so now! More often now people will come to the events having read the books, which is so brilliant. One of my favourite things is when a fan shows up with a pile of creased, well-thumbed books that have obviously been read over and over, and wants me to sign them all. I love that! I've had such a great response from fans about this tour, so many have said they'll be coming to see my show. One fan is even bringing her puppy to a show because she named it Zee after a character in Furnace. How amazing is that!

5) What has been your favorite or most memorable signing event?
The first one is probably the most memorable, if only because it's the most terrified I have ever been! It was in Glasgow, a notoriously tough place to perform, in front of 200 kids. I had two jokes to break the ice, and neither of them got a single laugh. I was ready to throw myself out the window of the Mitchell Library!! But it turned out to be a great event. I think the signing I most cherish was at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, in 2010. My first year at the festival (in 2008) I had a few people at my event, and signed maybe ten books. But the author next to me had a queue of hundreds going all the way round the shop. I felt so embarrassed that so few people were interested in my book, but that author just leant over and said to me 'don't worry, we've all been there, it gets better!' Sure enough in 2010 the queue for my books was around the shop, and an author next to me had nobody, so I leant over to him and said exactly the same thing. Having so many fans line up for me to sign their books was just amazing, it was the first time it truly hit home that I was an author. I'll never forget it!

6) Favorite, most shocking and/or oddest question anyone has ever asked you at an event?
Somebody once said 'I haven't got enough money for a book, but if I give you 20p can I have your phone number?' I politely declined! The oddest questions tend to be things like 'do you have a helicopter?' 'Were you really locked inside Furnace?' 'Can you give me your books for free?' Things like that! The worst experience was when a man interrupted my event to tell me, and the audience, that my books were full of violence and should not be read by anyone! I was furious! I told him that if he'd actually read the books (which he hadn't) he'd see that although there is violence in them, the heart of the story is about hope, heroism and humanity, and the importance of friendship. Then I punched him in the nose. No, I didn't really punch him in the nose (as much as I wanted to), but he did look rather red-faced as he sloped off.

7) What was the last author event that you attended just as a fan?
I went to see Darren Shan when I was in Edinburgh for the festival last year. I'm a HUGE Shanster, and he was doing a special, one-off event where he condensed all of the Cirque du Freak books into a two-hour show. It was just amazing. I was also doing an event with Darren at the festival, which was so surreal, because I'd been a fan of his for so long and there I was alongside him on the stage. It was one of the best weekends ever!

8) Have you ever had anyone dress up for your event?
Yes! People do sometimes show up in homemade Furnace Penitentiary shirts and overalls, and somebody even turned up once with a gas mask on! I'm hoping he was dressed up as a Wheezer, and wasn't just a weirdo in a gas mask...

9) What was the coolest thing someone ever gave you at an event?
I don't get presents very often! Occasionally people give me fanfic stories they have written about Furnace, or pictures they have drawn, which is so cool. I am always happy to receive presents, though, if anybody wants to bring me one! :-)

10) What event prep do you do?
When I first started out, my event prep consisted mainly of throwing up in terror, crying and thinking of ways to avoid having to go on stage (I once even thought about throwing myself in front of a car – a slow-moving one – to break a limb or two). I used to be so scared of performing in front of people! After a few events, though, I realised just how much fun it was. Now I absolutely love it – I get withdrawal symptoms if I haven't done an event for a while! I don't do any prep, it's more fun if I just roll with it. The more informal the event, the more people seem to enjoy it!

11) Do you have any book taglines? A themed sentence for each book when personalized?
I usually sign books with "Don't have nightmares..." My handwriting is so bad, though, that a few people have looked at it and said "Don't have neighbours? Why can't I have neighbours?"

Thanks again for interviewing me! :-)  And hopefully I'll see some of your readers at the event, it will be great to meet you!



I loved reading these answers and I'm even more excited to meet Alex in person.

I just found the cover for Execution on Amazon and is that not the creepiest thing you have ever seen?! My favorite cover is Death Sentence it is intense and powerful. Execution is hard to for me to look at.

Will you be meeting Alex at any of his tour stop in the US?


<3Books

Sunday, February 26, 2012

In My Mailbox #46

2nd Birthday Edition 
IMM #46
IMM is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, anyone can participate telling about what they bought borrowed or received for the week.

Birthday Gift
I got these two books from Mindy @ Magical Urban Fantasy Reads as a birthday gift. I know a few others have raved about these books and I have been curious about them since. I can't wait to read them. Thanks again Mindy

Bought
at Half Price Books
Oops I forgot to add the book to the picture. I already own this but I'm going to go a giveaway for it after her signing.

Bought
at Local Library Sale
The Black Rose by Thomas B. Costain
I bought this just because it is older (1945), it looks really cool and I like the title.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly Recap 

My Reviews



Bookography

 My Giveaway
I combined my Birthday and my Blog's Birthday to create my Birthday Blogoversary
6 winner: 3 US signed Goddess Test, signed Glimmer and signed Nighshade
3 INT set of signed and unsigned swag packs
ends February 28th

Reading Pile
1) Gate to Kandrith (finish)
2) The Candidates
3) The Marked
4) White Horse
5) Destined
6) Until I Die
7) Dreamless
What did you get in your mailbox?
Did you enter my awesome giveaway?


<3Books

Friday, February 24, 2012

Solitary Review

Solitary
By Alexander Gordon Smith

Summary 
Furnace Prison ...
Where death is the least of your worries.
Escape is just the beginning ...
We thought we’d made it, we thought we were free. But we should have known there was no way out of Furnace.
All we did was slip deeper into the guts of the prison: into solitary confinement, where the real nightmares live - the warden, the Wheezers, and something much, much worse.
The clock’s ticking. Because if we don’t escape soon they will turn us into freaks - like them. For ever.
In the darkness of the hole your worst nightmares come to life.

What I Liked
Intense 
This book is intense, Alex deals with the loss of hope and the possibility of never getting out of the hell hole that is Furnace. At a few points he does hit rock bottom and you completely feel sorry for this kid that deserves to be in prison, but not in Furnace. Alex is on an emotional roller coaster ride of the loss of hope and the light of hope. He has worked his way into being the provider of hope for other kids, what a heavy burden. 
The Furnace
Maybe the place isn't at sealed up as the inmates are lead to believe. A few more potential escape routes are discovered by Alex, he is one handy kids to have around when you need to escape from an inescapable place. 
A New Nasty
The Blacksuites, Wheezers, the Warden, the dogs and now  these mutant rat things that can chew through anything. These disgusting things must be avoided at all costs, they are gross and scary and with the revelation of what they use to be is even worse. 
Ending
Oh my goodness, I can't believe it ended like that, so close yet so far away. I can't wait to start reading the next book.

Distracted
Dirty
I got distracted by being grossed out by how filthy everything in solitary is. Licking the walls to get some water, having a hole to squat over with nothing to wipe with, searching for bits of slop on the floor near the squat hole, no showers or washing hands . . . the list can go on for ages. I love my soap even more after reading this book.

Recommendation 
This is book 2 in the series, got to read this series.

Information 
Escape From Furnace series
Genre: YA Thriller
Lockdown
Solitary 
Death Sentence
Fugitives February 28th
Execution November 13th 2012

He will be touring the US in March 3rd to 25th, check his website (bottom of the page) for locations and dates. Dates are still being confirmed. I will be seeing him on March 5th and I will be posting a pre-event interview.


Do you like thrillers?


<3Books

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Riptide Review

Riptide

Summary
SHE'S SWEPT INTO TREACHEROUS WATERS
Princess Bria Visconti demands the return of the money her brother rashly invested in  Cutter Salvage.  Treasure hunter Nick Cutter is too reckless, too arrogant—and far too handsome—for his own good. But he can’t charm his way out of this one. Bria plans to make Nick pay up even if she has to board his boat, don a wet suit, and dive for the treasure herself…
 
HE FIGHTS THE RELENTLESS PULL
Nick sees Bria  as a beautiful but spoiled princess who’s never done a day’s work in her pampered life. But once they set sail for the dive site, and the legendary fortune in gold the wreck carries, Nick begins to see Bria in a new light. This princess may be out of her depth, but she’s ready to take on the hidden danger and excitement a treasure hunt stirs to the surface. Together they must fight unexpected enemies—and reveal their darkest secrets—before they’re pulled into a rip current of danger.

What I Loved
Another Cutter Brother
I do love it when books follow a set of siblings and each book features the next sibling. These Cutter men are so delicious, ripped, tanned, dark hair and have these amazing blue eyes.
Nick aka Spock: Yes he is nicknamed Spock because he lack of emotions and cool exterior. I personally like him a little more than Zane (the brother from bk 1 Undertow), Zane is a fun guy but I really love the broody type that likes to keep their emotions very controlled. Nick also has some other really amazing talents and he does some undercover work as well too due to his ability to place accents and speak like 6 languages. What a man!!
Bria aka Princess Gabriella: Where Nick is cool Bria is fiery. She is a very fun character a little vixen that is use to getting her way, but she also knows how to kick some ass when she needs too. Not a little whiny princess at all, she can take a few punches and deal with it all. 
Romance
Oh Cherry, boy can she write some amazing steamy scenes. These two are amazing for each other and the provide a lot of entertainment with just their interactions with each other.
Action
Along with the bedroom action there is plenty of near death action, bullets flying, rocking falling and blood diamonds.

What I Didn't Like
. . . I still can't think of anything.

Recommendation 
Second book in the series of romantic suspense. Must read

Information 
Cutter Cay
Genre: Romantic suspense 
Undertow (my review)
Ripetide
Vortex May 22, 2012

Lodgestone Trilogy
Hush (my review)
Afterglow March 20, 2012

She does have lots of other series, but these are the ones I have read of hers.


<3Books

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bookography (28)

Bookography
Bookography is a fun new way to share the beauty of books with photography. Take a picture with the book being the focus or inspiration and share the picture(s) you have created for the week.

Book
The Mists of Avalon 
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Reading Glasses

I did minimal post processing for this photo, gave it the sepia aged look and a few other minor alterations. 
I want to try taking more pictures that are wall worthy works. I will probably try more of these type of page pictures with some random object on the page.

If you would like to participate please do. I will post my Bookography post each week on Wednesdays. I would love if you would link back to my blog and share your own link in the comments.

To see my previous weeks pictures check out my Bookography tab


<3Bookography

Monday, February 20, 2012

Top 10 Tuesdays (12)

Top Ten Tuesday
Topic: Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens (or any other natural disaster...you get the drift. )

  This meme is created by The Broke and the Bookish, anyone can participle telling about their top 10 topic items are.
 
 Really! Only 10! Forget that I'm grabbing the whole series!

1) Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
The whole series is signed and this is the number 1 set I would grab

2) Earth Children Series by Jean M. Auel
This is the other set I would have to grab, this set is also completely signed and it would be really hard to replace.

Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
 Completely signed set of hardbacks, but she does live in WA so I could replace it with some money

 Dark Awakening by Kendra Leigh Castle
She gave me an signed ARC and I love all of her books

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
I got a signed ARC from her and I would be heart broken to loose it

Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
 This set is fully signed and I would be so sad to loose it

 Violet Eyes and Silver Eyes by Nicole Luiken
The only books that aren't signed but they aren't being produced anymore and they took a long time for me to find two sets (for my sister and I) at used bookstores

Other Books I Would Have a Hard Time Leaving
Blue Blood series by Melissa De La Cruz
 Fully signed set would be really hard to replace

Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Fully signed set, but I think I would be able to replace this set

VA series by Richelle Mead
Fully signed set, I could get this series replace since she lives in WA, but wouldn't be fun

Evermore series by Alyson Noel
Fully signed set, might get hard to replace

Fallen series by Lauren Kate
First 2 books are signed, might get to hard to replace

Wings series by Aprilynne Pike
Fully signed set, might be hard to replace

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Signed, might be able to replace

Paranormalacy series by Kiersten White
 Signed, might be able to replace

I would have a hard time leaving all of my signed books. I cherish everyone of those greatly and I didn't even list them all. I have so many and I just want more. I really don't like this topic, this is already a fear I have.

What books would you grab first?


<3Books

Undertow Review

Undertow
Summary
SHE TAKES THE PLUNGE.
Teal Williams is content with her career as a ship’s master mechanic—until Zane Cutter, the “Casanova of the Caribbean,” makes her an offer she can’t refuse: to climb on board with him for a real-life treasure hunt. Teal must help him dredge up a shipwrecked vessel containing an abundance of gold, silver, and emeralds—and she’ll claim part of the prize.
HE’S BLOWN OFF COURSE.
Zane needs a mechanic—not a lover—and Teal, who can also dive, is perfect for the job.  So it suits him just fine that Teal is completely immune to his charms…or so he tells himself.  But with a deadly enemy in their midst—one who’s silently edging closer—Zane and Teal sink into troubled waters. Trapped in the middle of a perilous sea, they have no one to turn to but each other as they face down a danger that runs unfathomably deep—and a passion that runs even deeper…

What I Loved
Characters
Teal: She is a pretty awesome character, she may have some social interaction issues but I love how witty and quick she is. Teal is a female mechanic and since there are so few of those in the romance world I just loved that about her. Teal's willingness to confide and open up about her hard life is memorable. Her name is odd and unique, but it completely fits her.
Zane: At first I was not completely in love with him, I personally don't care much for the Casanovas types and his nickname is "Casanova of the Caribbean". As more of his personality was revealed I really did come to love him.
Romance
I LOVE their type of courtship. I love it when the woman does not instantly fall for his charms and will keep pushing back and he lays the sex appeal on thick. The tug of war relationships are always so entertaining and especially with a man who is use to getting every girl he wants and the one girl he can't have is the one he wants the most. LOVE IT! Yes the romance is steamy.
At Sea Action
I'm not much of a sea person, I'm not a strong swimmer and I don't think I am capable of scuba diving at all, but with all the beauty and awesome treasure they were finding I really wish I was able to do both of those things. The story has love, lust, treasure seeking, pirates, guns blazing and all the action you would expect to come from Cherry's books.

My Only Qualm 
I thought bullets didn't go very far when shooting into the water, nor do they shoot well underwater? I'm not a gun expert and I don't really care how accurate this really is since the book is a creation of fiction. It did however make for some exciting underwater action scenes.  

Recommendation 
Like romantic suspense, got to read this series.
Information 
Cutter Cay
Genre: Romantic suspense 
Undertow
Ripetide
Vortex May 22, 2012

Lodgestone Trilogy
Hush (my review)
Afterglow March 20, 2012

She does have lots of other series, but these are the ones I have read of hers.


<3Books

Saturday, February 18, 2012

In My Mailbox #45

 Birthday Edition
IMM #45

IMM is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, anyone can participate telling about what they bought borrowed and received for the week.

For Review
This can be found on NetGalley for review

I'm part of an ARC tour but with the release date changing I wasn't able to get it before it released

Bought
I now have the entire Mercy series is hardback
I'm going to her signing in March, can't wait!

Birthday Gifts
It is my birthday on the 25th but I celebrated with my family last weekend.


--------------------------------------------------------

Weekly Recap
This week was a quiet week for posting book reviews. I did read a book this week but I'm going to post the review this week or next week.

Bookography

Birthday Blogoversary Giveaway 
For my 26th birthday and my 1st blog birthday I'm doing a giveaway to celebrate
6 winners: 3 US, 3 International 
ends February 27th
Details Here

What's To Come
-I did an interview with Alexander Gordon Smith author of the Furnace series that I will be posting this week.
-Found another multi author event with Megan Bostic, Helen Landalf, Kiki Hamilton, Carole Estby Dagg, Kathy McCullough, Kendre Blake and Alexa Martin on March 14th

My Reading Pile
Really crazy right now
1) Wings of the Wicked (finish reading)
2) Gates of Kandrith
3) Solitary 
4) White Horse
5) Starcrossed and Dreamless
6) The Candidates and The Marked

What did you get this week?


<3Books

Birthday Blogoversary Giveaway

*CLOSED*
My 26th Birthday
&
My 1st Blogoversary 

I decided to start blogging in February, I wanted to share my love for books with other book lovers. I had no idea what I was even doing when I started. I really didn't look into blog names, I kinda just picked something that was available and went with it. I didn't expect I would get into blogging like I have. I have enjoyed the last year of having this thing, it has been both an interesting and a fun experience.

Not only it is my blog's birthday month but it is mine as well. I will be turning 26 and I have to say I am going to miss being 25. Why? Because age 25 was my golden year and it has been a great year for me, yes I have had some downs but overall its been awesome. 

This last year I have:
Bookish
Gotten to meet a few other bloggers in person; Jaimie @Two Chicks on Books, Mindy @Magical Urban Fantasy Reads, and Grace @Peace, Love, Teen Fiction
Talked to a lot of other awesome bloggers over twitter/Facebook/blog
Conversed with authors, so freaking awesome!
Found a lot of wonderful books to overflow my bookshelves
Been to some amazing events

Personal
Celebrated our 2nd anniversary of marriage and I still completely love him
I went para-gliding on a random hiking event with my sister, read about that day HERE
Took photography classes (FINALLY)
Got an awesome new camera (thanks husband)

My Blog Goals
-I would like to continue to improve my blog layout and look
-Write at least 1 review a week
-Not miss a week of my Bookography photos
-Have fun blogging
-Read for myself at times
-Don't get bogged down with "have to" books
-Stay at a comfortable pace
-Go to as many author events as I can
-Remind myself it is ok if I don't get lots of ARC

My Personal Goals
-Spend time with my husband and family
-Get better at photography: get friends to model for me
-Get house painted
-Fence in our front yard
-Start replacing some windows and doors
-Take all the personal time I need for myself
*CLOSED*
The Giveaway
To celebrate my 26th birthday and my 1st blogoversary what better way than to give the gift of books.
WINNERS
US
The Goddess Test signed- Sandra Hake
Glimmer ARC signed- thegirlonfire27
Nightshade signed- Lyssa Anne

International
3 swag packs, filled with signed and unsigned stuff
Kris Quinlan, Veronika & Alba

Details
ends Monday February 27th at Midnight Pacific Time
Total of 6 Winners
3 US Winners, one for each signed books
3 International swag pack winners
Winners will have 48 hrs to respond back to my email or I will choose another winner
TO ENTER FILL OUT FORM HERE
 Good Luck


<3Books

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Bookography (27)

Bookography

Bookography is a fun new way to share the beauty of books with photography. Take a picture with the book being the focus or inspiration and share the picture(s) you have created for the week.


Journal

I have been wanting to take a picture using this cool pen and ink for awhile now. Originally I was thinking this picture was going to be about the words, but when I was practicing in cursive I realized my cursive sucks since I haven't written in it for years. I decided to switch the focus to the pen. The journal is actually something that my husband and I write in (occasionally), the pages are love notes to each other. I'm trying to get my husband to write in it more, but he hasn't written in it for a few years. He also decided to be unconventional and start 20 pages in and write towards the front. For this picture I just picked the very center page and wrote a valentines love note.

If you would like to participate please do. I will post my Bookography post each week on Wednesdays. I would love if you would link back to my blog and share your own link in the comments.

To see my previous weeks pictures check out my Bookography tab


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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Top 10 Tuesdays (11)

Top 10 Tuesdays 
Topic:Top Ten Books That Broke My Heart A Little (ANTI-Valentine's Day)
  This meme is created by The Broke and the Bookish, anyone can participle telling about their top 10 topic items are.

 Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic 
This book was wonderful, but I cried so much at the end. The tears would not stop pouring out.
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Another bittersweet ending that had be crying and right before I had to start work.

Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey
A tragedy told from the bad guys POV and of course the bad guys had to loose, but you don't want them to.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
All the characters who died in the last battle really made me sad, I came to love so many of them.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
This whole thinking they were brother and sister thing took me a year to get other and a friend had to spoil for me that they weren't brother and sister so I could finish reading the rest of the books.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I still am stunned by this ending. I can't even bring myself to rate it, because I hated the ending, but I realized it is how it had to end. No HEAs for this book.

So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev
I really liked both boys, but she only ends up with one and my heart broke for the boys she didn't choose.

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
I love Adrien and I'm so sad that he got the short end of the stick. He and Rose aren't a good match but I still want him to be with someone. Need to still read Bloodlines.

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber
I adore Brandon and he deserves a much better girl than Celeste, I can't stand her.

Ninemia by Marilena Mexi
Sweet and tragic story of love and loss.

Who does your heart break for?


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