I'm Finally on Instagram!

I finally joined the Bookstagram club! In the past I have always claimed that I never had any time and that I wasn't any good at taking pictures, but after reading 10 books in 10 days I feel like I could do anything that I set my mind to... So why not give Instagram a try? I'm still trying to figure everything out, but I figure that I will learn as I go along. I also found some great blog posts with some good tips that I have been referencing. If you are debating about starting an Instagram account or just are not sure where to start then thee posts may be helpful to you too!

A Page With A View | Instagram Tips

Bookish Lifestyle | 101 Guide to a Successful Bookstagram

Book Riot | How to Bookstagram Like a Pro

Book Baristas | A How-To Guide: Bookstagram

Word Revel | Bookstagram 101: Hashtags

Click here to head on over to my Instagram account! Feel free to follow me if you like what you see. Remember that I am still in the learning phase. ;) Do you have an Instagram account? Tell me in the comments below so I can check out your photos!

TTT #67: Required Reading for Incoming College Freshman

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week is back-to-school edition of Top Ten Tuesday! I decided to share some books I think incoming college freshman should read. Some are fun and some are serious, but all I think are important to help prepare for college.

With a College Setting

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell || Giant Days by John Allison

To Be Ahead of the Game

 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte || The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

These are Important

 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak || The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

MUST Reads

 

Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss || The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Two More Won't Hurt

Life of Pi by Yann Martel || The Absolutely True Dairy of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

What would you recommend?

Review: Edge of Glory by Magan Vernon

Edge of Glory by Magan Vernon (May 2016)
262 pages
Genre: New Adult Romance
Source: I bought an e-book copy.
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: "Welcome to Conti's. I'm Lia and I'll nguhhhhhhhhhhhhh".

I froze. Directly facing me was Olympic swimmer, Jay Morningstar… and I just made an idiot of myself.

The rest of the table looked up to see me standing there with my mouth practically gaping. His coach, who I recognized from TV interviews, and even two other swimmers from the Olympic team... they didn't say anything, they didn't even blink.

"Uh… I mean…"

I couldn't even put together my words and Jay Morningstar was just staring at me with that Wheaties box smile and those icy blue eyes.

What was I supposed to say? Sorry I just made a weird noise, it's just that I have a poster of you on my wall where you are wearing nothing more than your gold medals, a smile, and a pair of man panties?

+ Add to goodreads

My Review

Edge of Glory wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't a great one either. I was a little disappointed by this Olympic swimmer romance. Since I was really into watching the summer Olympics I thought it was the perfect time to give this new adult novel a try.

Lia has a crush on Olympic swimmer Jay Morningstar (yes, that is his name), and one day he walks into the restaurant her family owns and their meet cute happens. It's too bad this happened in the first chapter. I felt like I didn't really know Lia yet and therefore from the very beginning I wasn't really invested. I did start to care as the novel went on though... Anyway, there is a case of insta-like and then pretty much right off the bat they are together. It all seemed a little too easy to me.

Then the story takes off. I liked Lia and Jay's interactions a lot. I could feel the heat. I just didn't like that Lia was such a pushover and doubted herself every second of the way. It may have been relatable and realistic to a degree, but it was a little much. The plot had some fun things going on, but there are two major scenes that made me mad. I won't get into that because it would ruin the story for you, but let's just say they seemed a little sexist to me.

No matter how many negative things I may have just focused on, I did still enjoy the book. I just wish it would have been better. It had a lot of potential but ultimately if fell a little flat. It could have been more complex and even a little more fun. In the end, it was just okay. It had its cute moments.

Bout of Books Challenge: Book in a Song

Challenge: Book in a Song

Hosted by Janey Canuck

The Challenge: So, you tell me what connections you have between a book and some music.  Anything goes, really.  Some suggestions to get you thinking:

Rename your book with a song

Give a lyric that sums up the plot of your book

A song or album that is forever associated with a particular books in your mind

These are a few songs that remind me of different scenes from Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Mist and Fury.

Library Loot #50

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

** I am not sure there is anything I love more than being the first person to check out a brand new book from the library!

My Library Loot

1. I have heard way too many good things about this book to pass it up.

2. I want to read a good thriller. Let's hope this one lives up to my expectations.

3. *Grabby Hands*

Which book should I read first?

Mini Reviews: Wolf by Wolf, An Ember in the Ashes, & The Beauty of Darkness

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (2015)
Goodreads


This is an alternate history book, and I thought it was very unique. In the world of Wolf by Wolf it is 1956 and Hitler is still alive and has won World War II. How does he celebrate? With the Axis Tour, an annual deathly motorcycle race. Yael is going to race. Yael plans to win. Yael wants to assassinate Hitler. I loved Yael. Reading about her experience on this race is crazy! She has to take the identity of someone else to be able to race which makes her racing experience that much more dangerous. There are some interesting characters and a unique plot in this novel. The ending is explosive. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (2015)
Goodreads


I liked An Ember in the Ashes a lot. I loved the setting. I liked the action in the trials. It had an amazingly horrible villain. I think the two main characters could have been a tad bit less annoying, but other than that I liked them. Laia was just a little whiny at first, but grew a lot. I liked Elias just fine, but it took a little bit for me to love him. The side characters were not as strong as they could have been. I think the next book will be interesting. I liked this diverse young adult fantasy novel. Overall, this was a really well written book with a wonderful setting and an interesting story. I was really disappointed with the love story junk though. We didn't need any of that, but all of the intense action scenes made up for that.

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson (August 2016)
Goodreads


What a way to end a trilogy! I absolutely loved this final book in The Remnant Chronicles. Readers will get action, romance, suspense, wonderful character growth, and so much more. Lia, Rafe, and the rest of the cast are back in this epic novel. Fans of this series are not going to be disappointed. I would give anything to get another book with these unforgettable characters. Okay, basically I just gushed a lot but that is the only way I can express my thoughts on this book. Now, go read it!

Bout of Books Challenge: Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Book to Movie Challenge

Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

The Challenge: "It’s super easy. All I need you to do is share with us your favorite book-to-movie adaptation and your least favorite book-to-movie adaptation. You can give reasons for your answers or just names, it’s really up to you how much you share." 

My Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptation

I loved the book and I loved the movie. The casting was perfect and the acting was amazing. I have read the book a few times and I have seen the movie a million times. This is by far the best adaptation I have ever seen.

My Least Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptation

This book series is one of my favorites. Rick Riordan can do no wrong in my eyes. Percy Jackson is a character I will always love. As for the movie, the acting was fine and I liked the guy that played Percy Jackson... BUT, and there is a big one, they messed up on so much of the essence of the Percy Jackson series, a lot of details from the book didn't make it to the movie and in this case that really made a difference. I was very disappointed by the adaptation. 

Do you have a favorite or least favorite book to movie adaptation? Share below!

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

It's that time of year again... Bout of Books starts in a few short weeks! I did just finish reading 10 books in 10 days for the #ReadingDecathlon challenge hosted by Epic Reads, but apparently I can't get enough reading challenges... so here we go again. I plan on reading some of the ARCs I got at BEA/BookCon, but really I just want to make time to read a few books and write a LOT of reviews for the blog during this week-long challenge.

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, August 22nd and runs through Sunday, August 28th 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 17 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My Goals

Reading Goals

~ Read at least 3 books.

~ Actually write the reviews for the books that I read.... Seriously.

Social Goals

~ Participate in one Twitter chat.

~ Participate in at least two challenges.

Some Reading Options
~ The Kids of Appetite by David Arnold
~ The Reader by Traci Chee
~ The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
~ Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
~ Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
~ Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts

Updates

Monday

I read 70 pages of Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts.

Tuesday

I read another 70 pages of Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts.

Wednesday

I only ready like 10 pages today of Bay of Sighs by Nora Roberts.

Thursday

I finally finished Bay of Sighs and have read a total of 319 pages.

Friday

I read nothing. :(

Saturday

I once again didn't read. I think I needed a break.

**Sunday (FINAL/TOTAL UPDATE)
I read 24 pages in Kids of Appetite by David Arnold today. I read a total of 343 pages.

Final Thoughts

So I didn't get done as much reading as I had hoped, but I did finish a book and start a new one. I also got a lot of reviews written this week so that was nice. Overall I could have read more, but I am happy with what I did. I did just read 10 books in 10 days last week.

#ReadingDecathlon Challenge: Read 10 Books in 10 Days

"Summer is coming to a close and it’s time to get through those books that have been sitting in your TBR pile while you’ve been at the beach this season! Are you ready to read 10 books in 10 days? Take the #ReadingDecathlon challenge and see if you can power your way through ten books in less than two weeks! Pshh… easy right?" ~ Epic Reads Blog

I may just be crazy. Why? Because I am going to attempt to read 10 books in 10 days. That's right! I am #ReadingForGold.

I have no idea if I will be able to actually accomplish this insane task, but I am going to try. I will update this blog post whenever I start a new book. I am pumped for this guys. I hope some of you will join me. You can pick which day you begin. I will start today. Let the games begin!

What I am Reading

Day 1 (Friday Aug. 12)
Book 1: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Day 2 (Saturday Aug. 13)
*I had to finish book one before beginning the next one. Mission accomplished.
Book 2: The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

Day 3 (Sunday Aug. 14)
*I once again had to finish the previous book. Done. On to the next book!
Book 3: The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

Day 4 (Monday Aug. 15)
I finished book 3! (It was a long one at 679 pages.)

Day 5 (Tuesday Aug. 16)
Book 4: Edge of Glory by Magan Vernon

Day 6 (Wednesday Aug. 17)
Book 5: The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

Day 7 (Thursday Aug. 18)
*I had to finish yesterday's book first. I never get a lot of reading done on Wednesdays because of my weird work hours.
Book 6: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Day 8 (Friday Aug. 19)
Book 7: P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

Day 9 (Saturday Aug. 20)
Book 8: The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Book 9: Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

Day 10 (Sunday Aug. 21)
Book 10: Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts

The Results

I did it! I read 10 books in 10 days! I can't believe it. I almost didn't finish since in those 10 days I only had 2 days off of work. I read a total of 3,648 pages during that time! I'm feeling good. I had a lot of fun with this reading challenge and it was the hardest I have ever done. Between working two jobs, house stuff, and taking care of my puppy it was hard to set all that time aside to read. I honestly couldn't have done it without the help of my husband. I didn't really blog this week, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things. So there you have it. Have you done this challenge yet? Are your going do it?

Throwback Thursday

I totally got this blog post idea from Stefani @ Caught Read Handed. 

It's Throwback Thursday time! My goal is to do this post at least every other week. I will be sharing with you the things that I loved in the past and still love today. Who is up for a little nostalgia? I decided to pick a year to focus on for this post. This week's 1998 picks...

The Song

For my first post I HAD to do an *NSYNC song. They will always have a special place in my heart and I am still always listening to their music. This song is when my obsession began. (Lance was my favorite!)

The Books

When I was about 10 years old I was all about the Goosebumps books! I don't read a lot of horror books now. I get scared pretty easily. 

The Movie

I was always a big Cinderella fan and loved every adaption I could get my hands on. (I still do if I am being honest.) This makes me want to watch this one again!

The Food

I would die if Oreo O's came back into my life. This cereal was THE BEST.

Do you remember any of the things I mentioned? Did you hate them or love them? Share your memories below!

TTT #66: I Want to Re-Read These Favorites

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love when Top Ten Tuesday has a pick your own choice topic! I am a re-reader. No regrets. No shame. All love. Here are some books that I plan to re-read sometime soonish.

1. Harry Potter Series - Can one ever re-read Harry Potter too many times? I think not.
2. The Lunar Chronicles - Now that I own the whole series in wonder beautiful hardcovers and since all the books are all out I think now is a great time to re-read.
3. Throne of Glass Series - I could always use a re-read of this series before each new book comes out. I don't always have the time, but I will definitely re-read it before the last book comes out.
4. The Mediator Series - A brand new book after all these years came out and I am excited! I also am going to need a refresher before I jump in.
5. The Kiss of Deception Trilogy - The last book in this trilogy just came out so I think I should just go ahead and do a re-read of the first two.

6. A Discovery of Witches Trilogy - I love this vampire trilogy. LOVE.
7. The Circle Trilogy - I read Nora Roberts and I am not ashamed. This is my favorite series by her and even though I have already read it at least 3 times, I see a few more re-reads in my future.
8. Delirium Trilogy - I love the new paperback covers of these bad boys and that my friend is a great excuse to finally buy them and re-read them. I loved the first and third book, but the second wasn't quite as good but still worth the read.
9. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - I adore this series. I have only read it once all the way through. I think it's time to revisit.
10. A Court of Mist and Fury - Why yes, I did just read this book... I CAN'T GET ENOUGH!

Review: Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey

Love, Lies & Spies by Cindy Anstey (April 2016)
368 pages
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction/Spies/Romance
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
My Rating:

Goodreads Summary: Juliana Telford is not your average nineteenth-century young lady. She’s much more interested in researching ladybugs than marriage, fashionable dresses, or dances. So when her father sends her to London for a season, she’s determined not to form any attachments. Instead, she plans to secretly publish their research.

Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions . . . and Juliana herself.

+ Add to goodreads

My Review

Love, Lies and Spies was such a lovely book. The story was just as cute as the cover makes it seem. 

Juliana is a rather interesting main character. She is accident prone, cute, a little stubborn, and loyal to her cousin. The other main character and who also gets a point-of-view in the novel is Spencer, the love interest who just so happens to be a spy. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Every time these two had an interaction I smiled. They were adorable and awkward. I loved them.

As for the story, it was not as action filled a I was hoping it would be. Whenever I read "spies" I think there is going to be a few more action scenes then there actually were in this book, but the few that did happen were pretty good. I was also a little sad there wasn't more kissing as well, but I guess that may be because of the time period the book takes place in, which is understandable. I did also sometimes have a few issues following along while reading because of the time period and the language, but I got used to it after a bit.

Overall, Love, Lies and Spies was a fun book with a pretty adorable couple at the heart of its pages. I look forward to reading the next book by this author. 

TTT #65: Books I Would Buy If I Had A Fully Loaded Gift Card

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I am big user of my library so this topic was a little challengeing. The whole time I was picking out titles I kept saying "Well I would just get this from the library..." In the end I had no problem picking 10 books I would love to be able to buy right this second with a gift card.

The Pre-Orders

 

The Auto-Buy Authors I Missed

The Series I Get from the Library but NEED to Own

 

The Dream

I own the paperbacks of these books, but they have seen better days and these are just prettier!