Thanks to the amazing Jamie from the Perpetual Page-Turner for creating this survey!
Number Of Books You Read: 75
Number of Re-Reads: 15
Genre You Read The Most From: Paranormal (surprises me!)
2015 Challenges
I'm participating in seven challenges this year!! I need something to guide me through, something structured that limits the reading slumps and helps vary the books I read! I can't just read ARCs and shy away from contemporaries. I need to expand my reading horizons!
And now I present the challenges I'll be doing:
And now I present the challenges I'll be doing:
Top Ten of 2014 ~ Day 5
Top 10 Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2015
This list is so very hard!! I have 187 books on my 2015 release shelf on Goodreads and narrowing it down to ten is impossible. I'm going to bend the rules a bit and list twelve. I know, I'm a rebel ;)
Top Ten of 2014 ~ Day 4
Best Book Boyfriends of 2014
Geez I'm starting to be repetitive with the books I pick :0
Top Ten of 2014 ~ Day 3
Best Couples of 2014
I've shipped so many couples this year. I've triumphed, I've failed. They've made me swoon and cry and be elated. Here are my favorite couples of the year!
Top Ten of 2014 ~ Day 2
Best Book Covers of 2014
There have been so many pretty covers this year, here are my favorites! I'd definitely hang these up on a wall ;)
Top Ten of 2014 ~ Day 1
Best Books I've Read in 2014
For the sake of variety, I added a few different books to my Top Ten Books of 2014 since this post would have been identical to my Top Ten Tuesday Best books of 2014.
The Twelve Nightmares Before Christmas: Nightmare Nine + Giveaway!
Hi! I’m Courtney Alameda, author of the soon-to-be published YA horror novel, SHUTTER. I love Christmastime and all things scary, so I wanted to celebrate by sharing some of my favorite Christmas beasties with everyone this year—twelve of them, to be exact! Join me and a few of my blogger friends every day from December 13 – 24, as we feature different holiday nightmares . . . if you dare!
2 Top Ten Tuesdays on a Saturday ~ Oh Yes
A TTT post on a Saturday. Better yet: Two TTT posts on a Saturday. What is this sorcery?
I always forget to do Top Ten Tuesdays. It takes me way too long to format and determine which ten things I want to choose for the week. These past two weeks had great topics that I want to do, so I'll slave over my computer and publish my Top Ten New-To-Me Authors of 2014 and Top Ten Books of 2014.
Mini Review ~ The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Genre: YA Contemporary
Page Length: 312 Pages
Publication Date: July 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Finished copy via library
Goodreads
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
12 Days of Lailah ~ Characters' Christmas Wishlists + Giveaway
Welcome to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Lailah that Styclar Street Team Founders are doing! I absolutely adore Lailah and its amazing author, Nikki Kelly.
Today I'm sharing the perfect gifts to give the lovely characters of Lailah, but first, a little bit about the glorious novel:
The Book:
Series: The Styclar Saga #1
Author: Nikki Kelly
Release Date: October 7th
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Summary from Goodreads:
The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.
On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.
In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?
Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.
And now the gifts I'd give these awesome characters! I feel like these items would be on their wish lists and would make great presents:
The Unproductive Reader
As I sit here forming my 2014 End of the Year survey, I can't help but be shocked by the low number of books I've read this year. 73. 73 books. That's it?!
Now before you back away from this post in horror, trust me, I can explain!! With the horrible combination of school, stress, fatigue, traveling, procrastination, and reading slumps, no one could read as many books as they had hoped. I've had a total of 12 reading slumps this year. Yes, TWELVE. When I find a book I don't like, I tend to shut down and wallow in self-pity before jumping back into the swing of things. But that's not even the biggest factor that's led to this predicament, it's been my rereading obsession.
What's worse than a love triangle?
What's worse than a love triangle?
A love triangle where your ship loses.
For those of you who suffer through books with love triangles, you know you can't help but pick a team. It's bad enough that you have to read about a love triangle, but nothing can describe the feeling of despair and anger when your team loses.
ARC Review: Zodiac
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Page Length: 336 Pages
Publication Date: December 9th, 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: ARC via Publisher. Thanks Penguin!
Goodreads
At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain….
Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.
When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancerian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.
Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.
But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?Embark on a dazzling journey with ZODIAC, the first novel in an epic sci-fi-meets-high-fantasy series set in a galaxy inspired by the astrological signs.
Day 5 ~ 25 Days of Book Boyfriends + Throne of Glass Giveaway
Thank you so much to Jessica, Teresa, and Chelsea who planned this blog event where each day one blogger spotlights a book boyfriend! There will be giveaways and swoonage, so make sure to follow the event with this schedule.
For those of you who know me well, you may know that I adore Chaol Westfall from the phenomenal Throne of Glass series by the spectacular Sarah J Maas. I have the highest praise for this series and for Sarah!
Compulsion by Martina Boone ~ Book Blitz
Release Date: 10/28/14
ISBN: 1481411225
Simon Pulse, Simon Teen
448 pages
Summary from Goodreads:
Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.
2014 Debut Author Giveaway Hop!
Thanks to Bookhounds & I Am A Reader for hosting the giveaway hop.
I've read some AMAZING debuts this year, and I wanted to share them with you!
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015
Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish where each week they post a new Top Ten list on various bookish things.
This week's topic:
Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015
I seriously can not wait to read any of these!
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