Bout of Books: Bookish Survey Challenge

Bookish Survey Challenge

Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

The Challenge: Meet new people and fill out the bookish survey below to share more about yourself with your readers!

The Bookish Survey

1. How do you organize your shelves? This is kind of a tough question. I mostly organize them by my favorite books. The first few shelves are filled with my favorite books. They get top priority. Then I have a shelf in my bookcase for ARCs and a shelf for my husband's books. I am hopefully moving this summer and I may reorganize my shelves in a whole new away when I do... especially if I have room for another bookcase. *Fingers crossed.*

2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres? I pretty much read all genres but my least favorite genre is probably Sci-Fi... but I LOVE The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

3. What is the last 5 star book you read? I have to share the last two because I loved them too much not to. Royal Wedding by Meg Cabot and The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon? Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Meyers

5. What book do you recommend the most? This is impossible to answer. I guess everything by Kasie West and Sarah J. Maas. Right now I am pushing for people to read Mosquitoland by David Arnold and The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh.

Bout of Books Read-a-Thon: Sign-Up, Goals, & Updates

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My Goals

Reading Goals

~ Read 5-6 books. (I normally read 2-3 books a week.)

~ Keep detailed notes as I read so it will be easier for me to write my reviews later.

Social Goals

~ Participate in one Twitter chat.

~ Participate in at least two challenges.
    - Cover Color Challenge
    - From Modern to Classic
    - Bookish Survey

The Books

~ Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

~ Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Meyers

~ The Dark Dreamer by Heather Topham Wood
~ Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
~ Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
~ The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Updates

Monday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 273 pages

Total number of books I've read: 1 book

Total number of pages I've read: 273 pages

Books Today: Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins

Tuesday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 60 pages

Total number of books I've read: 1.5 books

Total number of pages I've read: 333 pages

Books Today: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Wednesday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 120 pages

Total number of books I've read: 2.25 books

Total number of pages I've read: 453 pages

Books Today: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett & Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Thursday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 243 pages

Total number of books I've read: 3.25 books

Total number of pages I've read: 696 pages

Books Today: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellison & Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers

Friday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 283 pages

Total number of books I've read: 4 books

Total number of pages I've read: 979 pages

Books Today: Inherit Midnight by Kate Kae Myers

Saturday

Number of pages/books I've read today: 0 pages :(

Total number of books I've read: 4 books

Total number of pages I've read: 979 pages

Books Today: None :(

**Sunday (FINAL/TOTAL UPDATE)

Number of pages/books I've read today: 222 pages

Total number of books I've read: 5 books

Total number of pages I've read: 1201 pages

Books Today: The Dark Dreamer by Heather Topham Wood

Final Thoughts

This week turned out be a crazy week for me in my personal life, but I still did manage to read five books! I am pretty proud of myself even if they were shorter books. I only participated in three challenges this time around but I had fun with the ones I did do. I also managed to participate in a Twitter chat which was a lot of fun. I was sad I didn't have time to visit a lot of new blogs. Hopefully next time I will. In the end, I did enjoy Bout of Books this time around, but due to my real life I wasn't as into as I have been in the past. I plan on participating in many more in the future.

ARC Review: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath & The Dawn (#1) by Renee Ahdieh (May 12, 2015)
416 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Retelling
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: I snagged a free ARC at ALA Midwinter. This didn't affect my honest review. Thanks Putnam!
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

+ Add to goodreads

My Review

While reading The Wrath & The Dawn my feels kept growing and growing until they exploded and the book became a five star read for me. I LOVED IT. In this case I support all of the hype surrounding this book. It was that good.

The Wrath & The Dawn is unique and complex. I'm so glad it made its way into my life. Hopefully I can convince you to welcome it into your life as well. Another plus, it is a diverse book, and we all know we need more of those in our lives!

This book has an amazingly rich setting. The world building is nothing short of incredible. The descriptions the writer used to illustrate the food, clothes, and everything in-between dragged me deeper and deeper into its beautiful open arms. I wish I could visit this place and try some of its wine. I could almost taste it through the pages, but not quite. I basically just freaking loved all the details. I could feel the dark lurking behind all of the beauty. 

Secrets are abound and death is never far away for Shazi, Khalid, and pretty much all the characters. I loved these characters. Some of them had their childish moments, but who doesn't? I am grateful for the chance to witness Shazi and Khalid's relationship grow. It was very intense and interesting. There was always a tricky situation one of them had to overcome. I enjoyed reading about their lives and their vastly different circumstances life has dealt them.

The Wrath & The Dawn is a must read! It was never boring thanks to the flourish of activity always coming in steady waves. I am left wanting more. Now I NEED the second book. This is definitely going to make my favorite reads of 2015 list.

The Struggle Is REAL - To blog or to read?

I have this problem EVERY day. I struggle with deciding if I should read my book or blog about my books. I only have so much free time (as I am sure you all understand) so this is kind of a BIG decision. Did I mention that I am horrible at making decisions? Well, I am. So trying to decide between two things that I love is sometimes always very challenging.

To blog or to read? That is the question.

So how do I choose between blogging and reading? Here is what I consider.

Am I in the middle of a really good book? - I'll read. Hands down.
Am I behind in writing reviews? - I'll blog. I try to stay on top of things.
Have I not posted anything for a couple of days? - I'll blog.
Am I an in a crappy mood? - I will read. (If I am being totally honest I may watch Friends.)
Does it feel like a reading type day? - I'll read. (I know I can't always just go by this since usually I think every day is a reading type day.)
Have I been neglecting my comments on my blog? - I'll blog. I love interacting with my followers.
Have I visited my favorite blogs recently? -  If I haven't that means I probably miss them and therefore I'll blog and catch up with them.
Am I in a weird reading slump? - I should read... but to avoid it I will probably blog.
Am I behind in any of my reading challenges? I read. At least that is what I should be doing.
Do I have to go into work soon? - I usually blog. I hate stopping in a really good part in a book before going in to work. On the other hand... if I am currently in the middle of a really good book I will read and just deal with the consequences.
Do I need to escape from the real world for a bit? I read. Obviously. ;)

Do you ever have this problem or am I just a little crazy? I want to hear what your take on this subject is!

ARC Review: Velvet by Temple West

Velvet by Temple West (May 12, 2015)
416 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Vampire
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: I snagged a free copy at ALA Midwinter. This did not affect my honest review.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: First rule of dealing with hot vampire bodyguards? Don't fall in love.

After losing both her parents before age seventeen, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before the terrifying encounter with a supernatural force. Then, she learns that her hot bad-boy neighbor, Adrian—who might have just saved her life—is actually a half-demon vampire.

Suddenly Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?

+ Add to goodreads

MY REVIEW

My First Impression: I'm liking it and enjoying the laughs, but it seems a little too Twilight and not unique enough.

Velvet is more unique than it seems at first glance. I'm not going to lie, Velvet has the same framework as Twilight, BUT as I found out while I continued to read, it is different. So I want you to look past the few opening scenes that remind you of Twilight and focus on the wonderful funny story that actually fills its pages. One big difference that most will like, Caitlin isn't a bumbling weakling and Adrian isn't an overly stalkerish vampire. (Just for the record, I have no problem with Twilight. I have read it and enjoyed it. I'm just saying.)

Velvet started off with some intrigue and managed to get a few chuckles out of me. As I got deeper into this fun story I laughed louder and louder and loved the characters more and more. I am always looking for a new vampire book to read, and I'm glad I chose this one.

Every single character in Velvet was amusing, to say the least. I wish they were real and were my friends. I especially cheered on Caitlin and Adrian and their friendship blooming into something more. I wanted them to have their happily ever after. This makes me none too surprised that this book was chosen to be published by the Swoon Reads romance imprint.

If there is a second book (after that ending there better be) not only do I plan on reading it, but I think it will be even better than the first book based on how Velvet ended. I think it will have more action, the one thing I wish Vevlet had touched more on. I mean, there was evil always lurking in the background, but I wanted more confrontations. (Update: There are going to be two more books! So excited!)

The Bottom Line: Velvet is a good read. A perfect read for anyone looking for romance and laughs with some vampires mixed in. I loved it and I hope you do to.

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness.Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

Fun Bookish News

Did you see #ClickbaitBooks trending on Twitter this week?

I wasn't a big fan of the book The Fever by Megan Abbott, but it is now being made into a MTV show.

Reese Witherspoon will be narrating Go Set a Watchman.

Anna Kendrick is writing a book! Sign me up. 

This is a must read! - 19 Times Tumblr Perfectly Described The Struggle for Book Lovers

Obama launched an e-book imitative for low-income students.

Fellow Book Blogger Posts

The Casserole - The Dish: Doing What You Love - Read this.

Bookmark Lit - Currently... - This is such a fun discussion type post. I plan on doing it in the near future.

Read My Breath Away - Underrated YA: Historical Fiction Edition - I always say I want to read more historical fiction.

Girl in the Pages - Why I Still Read and Write Reviews - I still like reading and writing reviews too.

Item of The Week

Purchase HERE - This Shop has other bookish goodies as well.

The Outlander Series 2015 Reading Challenge: May Review Link-Up (Book #4)

Link your reviews to the first book here and head over to discuss what you thought. Link your reviews to the second book here and head over to discuss what you thought, and here is the link to the third book.

How am I doing? I am only one book behind. Not bad. I enjoyed the first two books a great deal and I think I will like the third one even more. I plan on reading Voyager soon. I hope everyone else is doing well with the challenge! Tell me how you are doing below.

Do you want more information about the challenge? Do you want to sign-up? Read this post first.

What is the purpose of this post? To link-up your reviews of the fourth book in the Outlander series (Drums of Autumn) that you read for the challenge so that we can read them! Link to wherever you post reviews -- your blog, Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc., etc.

I will be posting a review link-up post on the first of every month for the next book in the Outlander series. I think this will be a good way for me to keep organized and motivated to read a book a month. In September there will also be a giveaway for everyone participating in the challenge! So keep a look out for that as well.

When you link up below please make sure to use the direct URL to your individual post/review, not the book's information page or your blog's homepage. You don't have to write a review to participate. You can just tell me in the comments below that you read the book.

Please also use this space as a place to discuss all things to do with the fourth book. Try to avoid big spoilers, but if you do want to talk about them just warn us first. Share how the challenge is going for you. Which book are you reading now? I want to know how you are enjoying the series. Some discussion prompts for Drums of Autumn will be posted on this page at the end of May.

Drums of Autumn REVIEW LINK-UP