Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Now That August Has Come To A Close...

AUGUST WRAP UP 2011

This month wasn't too bad for getting my blog restarted. Here's a little breakdown.......



Total # of books read: 8


List of books read...

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)
Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart
The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)
Afterlife by Claudia Gray
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti (Summer Romance Challenge)
The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett (Summer Romance Challenge)


List of articles posted...

Don't Spare, I Mean, Spoil Any Details
An Epidemic Of Triangles
To Be Read... Or Not
Read The Book Or Watch The Movie?
Banned Books Week Is Less Than One Month Away...


Total # of book reviews:8


List of book reviews... 

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott
So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti


Plus, I broke the 200 Followers mark and am in the middle of a celebratory giveaway! So it's been a very nice month for me. ^_^


WHAT TO EXPECT IN SEPTEMBER

Ah, well, let's see here! I'll still be planning on two reviews a week if possible, plus one article per week. I'm considering having a monthly post about writing, not my personal works, but about the challenges and the joys and the ironies of writing in general. I'll be pushing to finish my Summer Romance Challenge since it ends at the end of September. Banned Books Week is September 24-October 1. I'll be participating in a Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop. Other than that, I can't think of anything else I'm planning on at the moment. But who knows, I can be full of surprises sometimes. *wink, wink*

~Jessica

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Review: So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti

Title: So Much Closer
Author: Susane Colasanti
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Borrowed from Library
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Caution: May contain spoilers


My Thoughts:

Brooke is in love with Scott. She belongs with him. It’s something she’s known for awhile. It doesn’t matter that they’ve barely spoken to each other. She knows. Brooke calls it “The Knowing”. To quote her from the book: “The Knowing is always right.” Before she can confess her feelings to him, he moves… to New York. What is a girl in love to do? Why, move to New York of course! She moves in with her dad, who left her mom years before and she hasn’t been in touch with him since then. She tells everyone the move is because she wanted to go to a better school.

Once she’s there, she finds out that Scott already has a girlfriend. This doesn’t stop her from believing. She still wants him. So she tries to get close to him by liking something he likes--which is his favorite TV show, The Office. And she makes a point to talk to him whenever she can.

With school, she applies herself about as little as before, even though she is a lot smarter than her grades are reflecting. She starts tutoring after encouragement from Sadie, a new friend, to get involved. Brooke tutors John, who is a really nice guy that has trouble putting thoughts into words on paper (or dysgraphia). He is, to me, like a breath of fresh air, so full of wonder and amazement. She starts to lose touch with friends back at home, especially with Candice, who had a crush on Scott too. Her dad is hardly there when she’s there, and she doesn’t face the reality of not really knowing him anymore right away. She doesn't really pay attention to anything--she’s too focused on Scott.

As time goes on, Brooke slowly starts to open herself up. She takes in the city around her and she meets with harsh realities and makes mistakes. She learns to face the problems and accept their eventual solutions.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I liked the premise, but didn’t expect the story to be how it was. It’s the fifth book by Susane Colasanti, and out of the five I’d say it was my second favorite (first being Waiting For You). So Much Closer is one of those books that starts out as a simple story, but develops into a much bigger picture you didn’t anticipate.


My Rating:

Very Good... Stay up late

~Jessica

Monday, August 29, 2011

Banned Books Week Is Less Than One Month Away…

Ah, banned books. And challenged books. You can read my opinion about it in my answer to a Booking Through Thursday earlier this year. There’s this awesome thing we can do to combat these bans and challenges: Banned Books Week! It’s going to be September 24th through October 1st  this year. You can read more about it through this link.

What can you do during Banned Books Week? One of the suggestions is to, simply enough, read a banned book! You can choose a book from any one of the lists found on the site (navigate with links on sidebar, they have them separated by year/author). There are plenty of banned books that I’ve been wanting to read. I’ve chosen to read Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer. It was recently banned from some school library shelves. You can read about this decision here (and Sarah's response here).

During that week, there’s going to be a Banned Books Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books. If you join in the Hop, you need to host a giveaway where you give away a banned book. I’m going to be participating and giving away a banned book of the winner’s choice. I’ll be coming up with a list of 10 books or so as examples of what you can choose.


I hope you all join in at the end of the month for Banned Books Week. I’m planning on making the most of it this year so that it’s extremely fun. ^_^

~Jessica

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Review: The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott

Title: The Other Boy
Author: Hailey Abbott
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Purchased E-book
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Caution: May contain spoilers



My Thoughts:

Madeline Sinclaire’s parents allow her to stay home while they go to Napa Valley for the summer. Her parents end up coming back early and catch her throwing a party at the house. They are infuriated and sentence her to spend the rest of her summer with them at their vineyard. This means she’ll be away from her friends and away from her boyfriend, Brian. She’s reluctant to enjoy the two months there. The place is unlike what she’s accustomed to in San Francisco.

She gets commissioned by her father to fix up a wine tasting room with David, his business partner’s very gorgeous son. David is more enthusiastic about the job that Maddie is. At first they get off on the wrong foot (of course). They go around to other places for ideas on how to decorate and design the place. They spend a lot of time together working. She actually begins to enjoy being up at the vineyard. And she’s enjoying the time with David. Will summer turn out better than she thought?

I’ve read several Hailey Abbott books over the years. They have all been nice light reads. This one was very cute. Very cute. I liked all the characters and the way that Maddie grew along the way. I could go back and read this one again.


My Rating:

Very Good... Stay up late

~Jessica

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Follow Friday #18



Alright! Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read and is a way for book bloggers to get to know each other better. Just go to their pages and follow the directions, and you'll be making some new friends!


Q. In books like the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series the paranormal creature in question "comes out of the closet" and makes itself known to the world. Which mythical creature do you wish would come out of the closet, for real?


Oooh my...... Although my paranormal interests started with vampires, and if you asked me a couple years ago I may have answered that... but now, I believe I'd like to see a fairy. Just something about them. :)

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Jenni Elyse & Caught in the Pages
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog! 

Happy Follow Friday!!!

~Jessica

PS: Don't forget to enter my 200 followers giveaway, details here!

Update Thursday #21

Update Thursday #21

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading, Writing...

Books I finished this week:
~So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti (Summer Romance Challenge)
~The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
~Persuasion by Jane Austen (Summer Romance Challenge)
~The Grand Escape by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
~Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett (Summer Romance Challenge)


I've done much better on my reading. Two might not seem like much, but the other books I'm currently reading, um, yeah, they're long. (Except for The Grand Escape) They're really good, but really long.

Since my blog redo, I had a plan to have book reviews on Tuesday and Saturday. But, things don't always go as planned, do they? Since I've been behind on my reading, I haven't had any new books to review. Now that I've got two more finished, I can get some more up. I should have some alternate ideas set aside for moments like that.

On my story... I have the restart of it done. Now to rework the next scene and add dialogue from the first draft (of the first part of the book). Now that we're not using my laptop for the internet (we had to buy a new hard drive, and it's working GREAT), I have it back in my room where I can use it anytime again. I'm planning on getting back to the part where I left off in two weeks. The goal is to finish the whole thing by the end of the year at the latest.

And Otherwise...


I have just discovered the ABC Family show Switched At Birth, thanks to Jen @ A Book And A Latte. She posted this yesterday, I watched the first episode online and OMG it is amazing. So amazing. I found my newest addiction. For those who have never heard of the show, it's about two girls who find out they were switched at birth (obviously). But what makes it interesting is that the one girl is deaf. This really intrigued me upon learning this. I took sign classes from a friend for about a year about 8 years ago now. I've surprisingly retained quite a bit, but I wish I was able to continue. I was seriously considering becoming an interpreter. Instead I become a pharmacy technician.

That's life for ya.

Oh, and HAPPY DAY! Gossip Girl Season 4 came in the mail today. Oh my WOOT! Side note: I wonder if I'll finish anything this week... lol.


Speaking of which, if I plan on trying to start anything, I'd better log off! TTYL!

~Jessica

PS: Don't forget to enter my 200 Followers Giveaway (if you haven't already)!

Monday, August 22, 2011

T@1AM Two-Hundred Followers Awesome Giveaway!


"I want presents!!! I WANT PRESENTS!!!"
(if you want to see the reference, you can view the video here)


I've reached 200 followers here at
Thoughts At One In The Morning!!!
<3


In honor of this, I have decided to host a giveaway for all of you lovely people. What present can you win if you enter? Instead of me picking out books for you to choose from, you will be able to pick any book of your own choice under $10 from The Book Depository! You can enter between now and Sunday, September 18th 2011 (11:59 PM). There will be ONE winner who will win ONE book.


Here are the official rules:

1. You must be a follower.
2. You must be 15 years old or older.
3. This is open for international followers. (Only if The Book Depository will ship to you; please check this link to see if you are eligible.)
4. You have the option to gain two (2) additional chances to win by following my Facebook page. (Link located on the sidebar)
5. You also can gain five (5) more chances to win by blogging about this giveaway.
6. This contest ends on September 18th 2011.
7. Winner will be selected via random.org no later than September 21st 2011 and will be notified by a blog post and via email.



So if you want "this present" please fill out THIS FORM HERE!



Love you guys!

~Jessica

PS: Disclaimer for Teen Girl Squad picture: I do not own Teen Girl Squad or anything on homestarrunner.com, even though the words and phrases have high usage in my everyday vocabulary. Picture was used for the purpose of making me (and hopefully you) giggle. Again.

Read the Book or Watch the Movie?


With the growing number of books being made into movies, I felt the need to tackle a debated issue. What should be done first: read the book or watch the movie?

I’ve never been one to be choosy either way. Usually what ends up being the case for me is that I grow up watching the movie before knowing about the book, then I read the book. Or I read the book and suddenly, they’re making a movie out of it. I don’t get the choice most of the time.

One that’s coming up soon is The Hunger Games. It will be out March 23rd 2012. I haven’t read the book yet. I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET?!” I’m crazy to be this far behind. I hear it’s amazing. I have it downloaded to my Nook and I’m pretty excited to read it. With the movie’s premiere date approaching rapidly, it comes down to the above question.

As a book lover, I feel that reading the book is the best thing to do first if you can. I’d say 9 times out of 10 the book is generally better than the movie. Sometimes it’s hard for them to make a good book into a good movie. There’s so much to a book, so many details, and fitting it into 1 ½ to 2 hours is pretty near impossible.

On the other hand, a few movies and TV shows have piqued my interest in the book that originated it. Just like I said before in my review of Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. I tried to read it before, couldn’t get into it, saw the show, read the book, liked it. Same with Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Saw the movie, had to read the book.

The movie The Help just came out recently, and it’s getting rave reviews (not to mention was being plastered all over Goodreads). At first, I was curious and wanted to read the book. The more I thought about it, I don’t know if it’s a book I can really sink my teeth into. It’s not really a genre I’m familiar with and before when I tried reading in the genre, my interest couldn’t stay alive. Then a coworker of mine strongly recommended it to me. Then a friend mentioned to my brother how great the movie was. And then I sigh.

I bought The Hunger Games because it was talked about constantly, and because it was actually being filmed (not just “in the works” of getting started like a lot of other novels turned books). With this one, I am definitely interested in reading the book before watching the movie. With The Help, you’re more likely going to get me to see the movie and we’ll see if I read the book.

It’s a never ending battle. I’m curious about everyone else: Do you have a hard and fast rule of always doing one or the other first? Or does it depend on the genre? I’d love to find out!

(Sometime later I’ll discuss movies from books that completely do everything wrong, there’s just too much to talk about there!)

~Jessica

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Two hundred people... and other random commentary

I just broke 200 followers thanks to Follow Friday! WOOHOO! And, as promised, there will be a very awesome giveaway. I started working on it last night, but still have to tweak it a little bit before I post it and get it started. Which should be Monday night.

I almost forgot to post my book review today. I thought I had it scheduled. Apparently, I did, but didn't click publish post, lol. I'm a little behind on reviews, mostly because I'm a little behind on books. I plan on making the most of today and tomorrow to read and write out reviews. I spent a little bit of time writing last night, and plan on more since my brother will be cleaning the carpets and blocking this laptop from accessing the internet.

Next Tuesday = Gossip Girl Season 4

^ The above is what is extremely exciting to me at the moment. I'm debating on pre-ordering or getting it in the store. I'm not sure which will be faster, or cheaper, honestly. I'll have to check the ads tomorrow to see how they compare to Amazon.

That's it! Just a quick update! Have a great and wonderful Saturday everyone! And THANK YOU all for being amazing followers. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

~Jessica

Review: The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols

Title: The Ex Games
Author: Jennifer Echols
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Purchased E-book
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Caution: May contain spoilers



My Thoughts:

Jennifer Echols delivers again! The Boys Next Door and Major Crush are great reads with the dynamic pairing of two people that stems from dislike or distraction. In The Ex Games, Nick and Hayden end up in an argument, which leads to a standoff competition to see who is the better snowboarder. It’s the girls against the boys.  It’s heating up, and I’m not just talking about the competition.

They had dated years before and he humiliated her. She hasn’t forgiven him since. He still calls her “Hoyden” instead of Hayden to make her mad. Then the day before Winter Break, he’s flirting with her, which confuses her. A few days later on the night after she wins the girls division in a boarding comp, the two have a very sexy scene in the sauna. It’s right after this that the fight and the boys versus the girls standoff begins. As the tensions rise, they realize they have pent up desires from sauna night that got interrupted. Can a relationship happen again between them, or will the past just keep coming up and getting in the way?

You know I love a good built up romance. And I especially love sexual tension. It’s like getting that fluttery feeling all over again--the first time hands touch or his leg touches her leg when they’re sitting next to each other. This book is the best one I’ve read so far for that. Nick and Hayden are intense and entertaining.

I haven’t met a Jennifer Echols book that I didn’t like. When it comes to the Simon Romantic comedies, they can be hit or miss for a truly good book (since they're written by multiple authors). Every one by Echols has been a GREAT story that kept me hooked. The Ex-Games is a must read for any Jennifer Echols fan. Haven’t read a Jennifer Echols book?  Well, what are you waiting for?!


My Rating:

Very Good... Stay up late!

~Jessica

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Follow Friday #17



Alright! Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read and is a way for book bloggers to get to know each other better. Just go to their pages and follow the directions, and you'll be making some new friends!

Q. If you could write yourself a part in a book, what book would it be and what role would you play in that book?


Wow. I'd love to be in Anne Of Green Gables time. Be best friends with Anne Shirley. Or, maybe just good friends. I wouldn't want to steal her away from Diana. Either that, or if we would go modern, I'd be in the Temperance Brennan novels by Kathy Reichs, helping solve crimes and getting justice.

RULES To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - We Fancy Books & The Little Book Blog
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow to the Friday everybody!!!

~Jessica

Update Thursday #20 (Twenty?! Really?!)

Update Thursday #20

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading, Writing...

Books I finished this week:
~Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
~Persuasion by Jane Austen (Summer Romance Challenge)
~So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti (Summer Romance Challenge)
~The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
~The Grand Escape by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
~Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett (Summer Romance Challenge)


I've accomplished nil in the last week. But I'm making headway on my reading challenge, as you can see above. I only have a little over a month to finish! Then on to the other challenge.

Didn't accomplish much in my writing, but I did work on some blog posts and reviews. I've been reading more blog posts lately, and I find that they've been extremely helpful. One is from Cindy at Geek Girl Books. She's the author of Heart On A Chain (see above, currently reading). She's doing a series of articles on her blog about writing and publishing. Also, Lan at The Write Obsession is getting some good discussions started with questions on topics related to writing. And this one is great for a variety of writing details at The Bookshelf Muse. There's an Emotion Thesaurus, and other information on settings and visuals. I want to print it all out and bind it into a reference book.

And Otherwise...

Okay, one thing I believe I need to mention is that three of my awesome followers nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. I was wanting to do a post on it, thanking them and nominating 5 more blogs. I had the post all ready to go... then when I started to click on blogs to see who I can nominate that has less than 200 followers... and Blogger decided that it wouldn't show me how many followers ANYONE had. Talk about frustrating. Not only that, but everyone I was clicking on had already been nominated and posted about it. So, I kinda just gave up. But I wanted to send a shout out and a huge thank you to the three lovely bloggers that nominated me: Jenny @ Alternate Readality, Marie @ Ramblings Of A Daydreamer, and TG @ What I Read and What I Thought. You guys are awesome for thinking of me! Thank you! ^_^

I've been watching a bunch of videos on Homestar Runner's website as of late. Talk about a laugh fest. Never heard of it? Check it out here. ^_^ It's just too bad there's rarely any new material on the site. The funniest bits are Teen Girl Squad and Strong Bad Emails.

I went to a car show Tuesday night with my brother and his friend. We met up with my dad and walked around a bit, looking at cars. Of course, the car I want to see is never there anymore. It used to be, like 6 years ago, but apparently that person doesn't come to this car show anymore. My favorite car: Delorean. Yes, the Back To The Future car. Someday, I'll own one.


I can't believe I've done 20 of these posts. That's just ridonkulous (misspell intended). Smell ya later!

~Jessica

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Title: Gossip Girl
Author: Cecily von Ziegesar
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Library
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble


My Thoughts:

I originally read this book probably when I was 19 or 20, back in the infancy of the series. I couldn’t get into it. I attribute my inability to enjoy it for a couple reasons. Number one, I had no idea what was going on. Too many characters and too many situations going on, I got lost. Number two, around that time I was reading mostly fluffy novels--YA romances with formulaic story lines that were easy to follow and easy to digest. So to read a story with a serious or detailed story line, I pretty much gave up early on. As time has gone on, though, I’ve picked up quite a few books with substance and intense story lines.

Since I didn’t enjoy the book, when the TV series came out I wasn’t interested at all. Over the years I’ve become more interested in young adult TV dramas. I used to be a huge fan of The OC when it was on, and then became obsessed with Veronica Mars. I discovered that the producer behind The OC is the producer behind Gossip Girl, and Kristen Bell (who played the character Veronica Mars) was the narrating voice for Gossip Girl. That, and my desire to find a new series to follow that revolved around teens/twenty-somethings, built up so much that when the series went on sale for $9.99 on Amazon, I bought it. I ended up getting hooked. And then wanting to try the series again.

Upon my second attempt to read the book, I found that I enjoyed it much more. Knowing the characters and the story lines from watching the show helped me keep things straight. Also, I believe that since I’m much older now (only by like 6 years, but still) I can grasp these stories a lot better when there’s a lot going on. I’m impressed at the way the show worked in the various scenes from the book. Not all of it is exact (you can pretty much never expect that), but they did a good job by not deviating too much from the basic theme (meaning it's still Upper East Side elite kids doing crazy stuff, but there are differences in some aspects of the characters, and some plot lines vary). The way the story plays out in the first book is different in a few ways (like the reason for the Kiss On The Lips party, Vanessa being there and filming, Serena’s modeling stint). Also the characters are much more inappropriate in the book than on the show (which you expect considering it’s on regular TV and not HBO). The immaturity of the thoughts and actions of the characters was surprisingly more amusing than anything. Elite socialites talking about bodily functions? Hilarious. Even the rich kids are just as childish as the rest of us.

So, you can say I did enjoy it. It wasn’t amazing or anything, but it was good. If you watch the show, take a look at the book. You may like it, or have a better appreciation for it like me.


My Rating:

Pretty Good... Stay up until your bedtime.

~Jessica

Monday, August 15, 2011

To Be Read... Or Not

I read an article about managing your TBR (or To Be Read) pile of books. You can take a look at that article through this link. One of the suggestions was to periodically go through your list and remove books you’re not interested in reading anymore. I’ve been on Goodreads for, what is it, two years now? I don’t think I’ve taken a moment to make sure that all the books I’ve marked are ones I still want to read. Considering how my tastes have changed here and there, I felt this was a necessary step to take.

I log on to Goodreads and click on my To Read link. Start from the earliest added books. Scroll down… hmm… interesting. This is a lot of books. This is going to take FOREVER. (Not really, I’m just being dramatic.)

There were surprisingly quite a few strange choices in there. Various books in certain genres I used to be obsessed with. (Twilight, anyone?) Not that I don’t like books in the genre, I just don’t have the same fascination that I used to. I saw some and couldn’t remember what it was about, read the synopsis, and got a puzzled look on my face. Why is that on there?! I had even added whole series of books even though I hadn’t read the first book. Now that was stupid.

No wonder my TBR list was so long!

I probably only deleted around 50 books, but it certainly made my pile seem much less intimidating. Not to mention it saved me from accidentally attempting to read something I’m not going to enjoy without thinking and waste my time.

It’s a good thing to keep in mind as time goes on. Reevaluate what’s on your TBR list and delete where necessary. Not only is it good for book reading, but it’s also a good thought for life in general as well.

Happy reading (the books you really want to read)!

~Jessica

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Review: My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking

Title: My Blood Approves
Author: Amanda Hocking
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Purchased E-book
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble


My Thoughts:

The first I ever heard of Amanda Hocking was on a friend’s Facebook page. He was talking about the book he was writing and how he wants to publish it. One of his friend’s posted a link to an article about e-book publishing and how Amanda made it into a success. I read the article and was instantly inspired and excited. Inspired for my own writing career and excited to check out a new writer of young adult fiction. My Blood Approves is a book about vampires (to put it simply). Even though it has comparisons to Twilight, it does stand in a league of its own.

Alice meets Jack when he prevents a dangerous circumstance from happening to her and her friend Jane (that was pretty vague, but why should I give away all the details?). Anyways, Alice and Jack begin to spend time together, and it all seems very platonic. She enjoys being around him, but she finds she isn’t attracted to Jack like everyone else seems to be.

It took some time for the story to progress. For some it may have seemed boring but I thought it was nice to get into Alice’s mind, see who she is and how she thinks and what she likes. Not only that but a story can’t give all the details out too soon. Once it got to the moment of truth, it got even better. The relationship between Alice and Jack was a great friendship, and then that friendship grew. He introduces her to his family--Mae, Ezra, and Peter--and they become like her own family (I love friends that feel like family).

Of course, the story isn’t without it’s complications and conflicts. There is a love triangle brewing for Alice between Jack and Peter. It's an unexplainable attraction for Peter, since she barely gets to know him. We don’t learn too much about Peter in My Blood Approves either. So I don’t know what to think of him just yet (in other words, as of right now, I’m Team Jack).

The first book in this series ends well, and leaves you wanting more. I loved the characters. Mae is so sweet and motherly, and Milo is a great brother to Alice. I also appreciate the references to pop culture. I’m big on old school things (I love the 80’s!) and find that it has become part of my life. Not to mention, she chose the titles for the books in the My Blood Approves series from an E.E. Cummings poem. That is beyond awesome (he’s my favorite poet). Hocking is a great storyteller. She adds a lot of herself in her stories and I find that totally cool. My Blood Approves is definitely a great read. I have the second book in the series, Fate, awaiting to be read.


My Rating:

Exceptional... Stay up until at least 1 AM!

~Jessica

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Follow Friday #16



Alright! Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read and is a way for book bloggers to get to know each other better. Just go to their pages and follow the directions, and you'll be making some new friends!

Q. How has your reading habits changed since you were a teen? or If you are still a teen what new genres are you in love with currently?


Well, when I was a literal teen, I wasn't doing much reading at all. I think I may have read only a handful of books. I read a few for school, but didn't do much reading for fun. Near the tail end of my teenage years, when I was 19 (which technically is a teen, but really an adult), I was beginning to get into reading again. I read fluffy novels for the most part, teen romances and some coming of age. I still like reading some fluffy books, but I've expanded quite a range since that includes many intense books, ones that keep you up at night. New genres that I enjoy now that I had no idea about back then would be Paranormal Romance and Dystopian.


RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee &amp; Alison Can Read}
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Steph Likes Books &amp; Teen Fiction Centre
  3. Put your Blog name &amp; URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!


Happy Follow Friday fun everyone!

~Jessica

Update Thursday #19

Update Thursday #19

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading, Writing...

Books I finished this week:
 ~Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Books I'm reading now (and some still):
~Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
~The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
~The Grand Escape by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
~Heart On A Chain by Cindy C. Bennett (Summer Romance Challenge)


Wow, I've accomplished little this week on the reading front! I have made some headway on a couple though. I should be much further ahead next week, especially since I have tomorrow off.

My writing is getting somewhere again, and this time it feels so RIGHT. After reading about characters, and paying very close attention to a couple books I just finished recently, I was able to rework the first chapter in my book to the point where I was excited. I can't wait to work on it today and tomorrow and get these scenes connected and get back to where I left off.


And Otherwise...

I know. I talk about Ed Westwick all the time. But I swear, this one is the best story yet. I was at the library yesterday, and noticed the audiobook section. I was like, "OOOH!" and ran over. I see on the top shelf... the audiobook that Ed Westwick reads... If it were anyplace but a library I could have squee'd. I was reading the synopsis on the back and thought, "As much as I would LOVE to hear his voice, I think I'm going to read the other books first, THEN borrow the audiobook." So now I need to get the books.

And yes... tomorrow off... I'm so happy. I got a bunch of research books and a few videos from the library and can't wait to watch them all. There are two Nature DVD's, plus three movies I haven't seen yet. The research books are for a story I'm plotting and planning on doing next after my current project tentatively titled "Before We Knew".

The one Nature DVD was on Endangered Animals and it spotlighted the Duke Lemur Center, and let me tell you, that made my day. They provided my local zoo with two ring-tailed lemurs and I couldn't be more enthusiastic about it! The center is located in North Carolina, and I have some friends that live there. Next summer I am SOOO going down there and getting a tour, it's beyond a wonderful place. Check them out and all the great work they do on their website.

The other Nature DVD was about these two cheetah cubs (The Cheetah Orphans) that lost their mom when they were very young. Simon King, a wildlife filmmaker, raised up the two cubs, named Toki and Sambu. He took them back out into the wild and trained them to live on their own. It was amazing how the cheetahs were so close to him, even though they were still wild animals. It was such a heartbreaking and beautiful story. It made me cry, and I'm tearing up as I type this out.

After watching those, it made me wonder why I never watch those programs anymore. It reminds me of growing up and loving animals and learning about animals. I've always been a cat person, and I loved reading books on cats. If it wouldn't take years of schooling (and math that I can barely grasp anymore), I would love to get into a field that helps animals, specifically lemurs or cheetahs (or any wild cats really). Ah, the dream jobs. ^_^


That is all for now, see ya next time!

~Jessica

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Summary: Goodreads Synopsis Here
Source: Library
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble



My Thoughts:

At first, I had trouble getting into this story. I found myself highly irritated at the start of Patch and Nora. Then during Teaser Tuesday I write out the line in the scene that was the turning point for me. It started to get better and better. I love a good love story and watch it develop over time. The many circumstances Patch and Nora are put in, or more like she’s in and then he shows up, slowly unfold the reasons why he’s there and what he is. When it is discovered as to what he is, the connections different people have come to the fore. Then the pace picks up quite a bit with action and fight scenes.

I have to make a comparison to Twilight when it comes to the rollercoaster incident. And can I say holy sexual tension batman! That scene when the two are alone in the kitchen. I think it’s one of the best I’ve read. I love it when authors write them well, and Becca Fitzpatrick delivers it like no other.

The mysteriousness of Patch, his obsession with Nora, the sexual tension (oh boy), the action… it all adds up to a pretty good read.



My Rating:

Very Good... Stay up late!

~Jessica

Monday, August 8, 2011

An Epidemic Of Triangles

(May contain references to spoilers.)


Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, girl meets another boy, girl likes other boy… too.

The love triangle. A common theme in numerous young adult novels. In the case of a stand alone story, the girl often ends up with the better of the two boys. Usually we get biased by the way the characters show their true colors--the one boy does something more heroic in word or deed, while the other does something stupid in word or deed. I’d say it’s a rare case for the author has the lead character go for the idiot. This way we are satisfied that the girl got her happily ever after. And when the story is told in a singular novel, we don’t find ourselves distressed for long, because the tale ends when the book ends.

This is not always the case with a series.

After reading the synopsis for Lauren Oliver’s Pandemonium, the second novel in the Delirium series, some readers freaked out. The very idea of some secondary guy entering into the picture for Lena potentially trying to take place of their beloved Alex… the nerve! Nobody wants to read about the main character falling for somebody new when they’ve already fallen for the first guy. It seems to be infuriating to some readers.

But is it really?

Take, for example, a well known vampire series. In the first book, the vampire was built up as an amazing and wonderful and caring and loving guy. The girl falls in love with him. As the story progressed, she starts to fall for her friend too. Enter love triangle. Most know how it ends. Some wish she picked the other guy (not me). Regardless of how everyone feels, that series was read by millions. Not just read, but loved, and continues to be one of the most popular series to date.

Then I reflect on another story, this time a dystopia where you get set up with your marriage mate. The girl gets set up with a wonder young gentleman she’s known all her life. Then they play a trick on her and another boy is revealed to her by accident on a computer screen. So the What If’s start to happen. As you take in both of their personalities, you think they’re both great. Of course, you’re supposed to think she’s meant to be with the one who she was not set up with. But you could get irritated with the fact that the one she was set up with isn’t a bad person. And considering that they were messing with her head, it makes you wonder if she really does love the forbidden guy or if they just made her think she does.

For some reason, that book frustrated me. Usually I don’t find myself torn between the two possible loves. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been in a position to be torn between two boys. I’m always swayed one way or another. Often, I believe, by the author. Another reason for the swaying is how we feel about the circumstances. I am the person who roots for the underdog. Because of that, I root for the forbidden boy. But like I said, the other guy’s a sweetie.

Does this mean I’m not going to read the next book? Of course not! I was pulled into the story, into their world, I need to know what happens in the end. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way I’d like it to be.

Even though we may feel a twinge of irritation with our favorite character falling for who we think is the wrong person, the journey is what keeps us reading. The journey of finding out the end, or that character’s happily ever after. Don’t let a book synopsis to get you riled (I’m actually quite excited for Pandemonium still). A love triangle can be maddening, but we subconsciously love it. It may be unintentional. But that’s why we keep reading them. And that’s why authors keep writing them.


PS: Ironically, this was written prior to last weeks Top Ten Tuesday. Readers may not be loving the love triangles but I beg to differ (because I'm irritated at times and still read them myself).

Sunday, August 7, 2011

In My Mailbox #10 (Super Edition!)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

It's where we post about the latest books we've purchased, gotten from the library, or received for review... it doesn't necessarily have to be ones you got in the mail. Although a lot of mine DO come from my mailbox. :)


This will be a pretty big one, since I haven’t done this in a LOOOOONG time (like, more than a month). Let’s break it down, shall we?





My Borders Haul:


Seventh Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack by Jim Davis *Goodreads*
Elements Of Fiction Writing: Characters And Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card *Goodreads*
The Facts On File Dictionary Of Cliches by Christine Ammer *Goodreads*
The Betrayal Of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate *Goodreads*
One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt *Goodreads*
Love Bites (Vampire Kisses 7) by Ellen Schreiber *Goodreads*
Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar *Goodreads*
You Know You Love Me (Gossip Girl #2) by Cecily von Ziegesar *Goodreads*


Nook Books:
Switched by Amanda Hocking *Goodreads*
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot *Goodreads*
Breathless by Jessica Warman *Goodreads*
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler *Goodreads*
Waterfall (River Of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren *Goodreads*


Amazon:


Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers *Goodreads*
Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers *Goodreads*
Take Our Cat, Please by Darby Conley *Goodreads*


Barnes & Noble:


The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath *Goodreads*
Last Chapter And Worse by Gary Larson *Goodreads*
Cows Of Our Planet by Gary Larson *Goodreads*
The Days Are Just Packed by Bill Watterson *Goodreads*
There’s Treasure Everywhere by Bill Watterson *Goodreads*


Borrowed From Library:

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar *Goodreads*
Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Wehr *Goodreads*
Afterlife by Claudia Gray *Goodreads*
Real Live Boyfriends (Ruby Oliver #4) by E. Lockhart *Goodreads*


Won In A Contest:
Confessions Of A Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim (Nook book) *Goodreads*


PHEW! That took way too long. But at least this is everything from literally a month ago. Makes me feel less... crazy? I did get all those Nook books for cheap, some of them might still be on sale in case somebody else is wanting one. ^_^ And it was the first contest I won so far! So it's been good for me book-wise this last month. I did put back at least 3 or 4 books while at Borders. I didn't go too overboard, even though I wanted to. I'm excited to have Twenty Boy Summer finally--I can read it during Banned Books Week!

How was YOUR week/month? Link me up, I'd like to see!

~Jessica

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Review: Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Title: Chasing Brooklyn
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Library
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble



My Thoughts:

Brooklyn and Nico have lost somebody very important to them, Lucca. He was Nico’s brother, and Brooklyn’s boyfriend. He was killed in a car accident. Gabe was in the accident too, but he survived… only to die of a drug overdose a year later. Brooklyn is constantly writing letters to Lucca in a notebook. Nico runs, literally.

In the midst of all this pain from losing the two boys, Brooklyn and Nico are visited by their ghosts. Lucca tells Nico to help Brooklyn, while Gabe chases Brooklyn in her dreams. Nico reaches out to Brooklyn, trying to do what Lucca is asking him to do, but it’s not easy to reach her. Eventually Nico convinces Brooklyn to join him in a triathlon, and the two train together.

You can’t help but be connected to Nico and Brooklyn as they express their thoughts. You want to see them learn to move on with life. The fact that it’s written is verse keeps the emotions palpable. You empathize with their feelings and their pain and their strength. Another beautifully touching read from Lisa Schroeder.


My Rating:

Exceptional... Stay up until at least 1 AM!



~Jessica

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Follow Friday #15




Alright! Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read and is a way for book bloggers to get to know each other better. Just go to their pages and follow the directions, and you'll be making some new friends!

Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?). 


Over the years I've had a falling out here and there with some friends. One time though (several years ago), it was entirely my fault for my reaction to something. I shouldn't have opened my mouth and said what I said. Even though it was true, that person didn't deserve my opinion being thrown on them like that. My reaction was not kind, and I was unwilling to accept my role in the way things were prior to the argument. So, we ended up not talking for a long time.

Then I was reading the book Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and realized that I was just like Annabel was with her friend Clarke. The one part near the end where they're talking about what went wrong between the two of them, Clarke basically says that Annabel didn't try to mend things with her. She only spoke to her once, then never again. I ended up taking that to heart, if I don't TRY to mend the fence, I'm not a nice person. About 9 months later I went up to her at a wedding reception we were both invited to and made small talk, then dragged her out on the dance floor with me for a silly song. After that, I apologized for being a jerk. We're not best friends or anything now, but we don't not talk to each other. And that makes me feel good about myself.


RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Hands & Home & www.memyshelfandi.com
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday everyone! Thanks for stopping by. ^_^

~Jessica

Update Thursday #18

Update Thursday #18

Welcome to Update Thursday, my own personal meme of sorts where I post an update of the goings on at my blog, with reading, with writing, and beyond. Feel free to borrow the idea from me for your own bookish musings.

~*~

Reading, Writing...

Books I finished this week:

~The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)
~Real Live Boyfriends by E. Lockhart
~The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott (Nookbook/Summer Romance Challenge)

Books I'm reading now (and some still):

~Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
~The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
~Afterlife by Claudia Gray
~The Grand Escape by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


I'm a little behind on reading and writing but that's okay. I was pretty focused on getting the blog back up and running. I have a book on characters and viewpoint that's really helping me out with my story. And pretty much every day I'm thinking about my stories while going about daily activities. Come up with an idea, jot it down to work on later. I think it would be good for me to dedicate 15 minutes a day to writing, just so I don't get too far out of habit. It's been at least a week or two since I sat down to write last. I need to get caught up!

And Otherwise...

I'm planning on a day at the zoo to see the lemurs near the end of the month. I can't wait! I love lemurs. They're my favorite animal and I've never seen one in person before. It's exciting. ^_^

Thanks to my Ed Westwick obsession, I watched an interview with him on You Tube and RUINED the end of season three. Remember my article on spoilers? This is what I'm talking about. That's why I should always keep up with these TV shows instead of getting obsessed with them after they finish FOUR seasons. Lol.



Well, that's it. I can't think of anything else. See everyone tomorrow!

~Jessica

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Waiting On Wednesday #11: Triangles

WoW: Hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine

Title: Triangles
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Read the Goodreads Synopsis


Ellen Hopkins has made her mark as the wildly popular author of several novels for young adults—every one of them a New York Times bestseller, and every one a hard-hitting exploration of tough-to-tackle topics. Now, in Triangles, Hopkins brings her storytelling mastery and fearlessness to take on the challenges of adult dramas.


I love the fact that she's written a novel for adults. I think it's going to be amazing. Not to mention the cover looks awesome. I've been awaiting this one for a long time. I keep up with Ellen Hopkins on her Facebook page so I hear about all kinds of stuff way in advance. ^_^

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Review: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Title: Forgive My Fins
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Summary: Read Goodreads Synopsis
Source: Library
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble



My Thoughts:

Lily is a half human half mermaid living on land to discover where she belongs. She has a crush on Brody. But as a mermaid, dating is serious business--because the instant two bond (or kiss), it’s for life. So it’s not something she can fool around with. He neighbor Quince (who likes her) tries to help her get Brody, but a case of mistaken identity leads to something that nobody expected. Lily attempts to fix this situation into what she really wants. But the question remains: Is this really what she wants?

When I first saw this, I didn’t expect such a fun and humorous read. I was expecting it to be a little dark, but it was a light but strong story. Quince is surprisingly easy to adore, even though Lily doesn’t like him. There are some charged scenes of sexual tension that I thoroughly enjoyed.

All in all, I found this book to be extremely entertaining. The references to fish and oceanic terminology used for euphemisms gave me the biggest kick. Tera Lynn Childs novel reminds me of the humor you can find in the Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber (or any book by Ellen Schreiber, one of which is a mermaid story).  Highly recommended as a cute and easy to read mermaid tale.

My Rating: 

Very Good... Stay up late!

~Jessica

Don’t Spare, I Mean, Spoil Any Details

I have this problem… with writing book reviews sometimes. As I write them out, I can’t express myself in the way I feel necessary to get my point across. Not that I can’t explain myself because I can. When I finish a book, I want to shout from the rooftops about how awesome it was (if it WAS awesome anyway).

My problem comes from the following: I don’t want to spoil any details for readers who have yet to read this book and plan on reading it.

There are so many things that you can include in a book review. So many things that you should include in a book review. Where is the line when it comes to spoilers?

By spoilers, I'm not referring to giving away the ending, or a huge secret that ties the book together. I'm talking about those minor details that are not spoken of in the synopsis, like a side story or a secondary character. And when you mention them, you might give away details that a reader may not want to hear and would rather discover on their own.

I almost feel like every review I should be writing will definitely be including spoilers. I just don’t feel like adding a disclaimer at the time like this: “Disclaimer: Spoilers! Read at the risk of ruining this book for yourself!” every time I post a review. My fellow bloggers will be scrolling down their list of blogs and come across my book review, see the disclaimer and say, “NOOOOO! I WON’T CLICK ON IT!” and then nobody will read my review.

Do you ever feel like this?

I think that’s part of the reason why it always took me so long to write a review for a book. I’d pick up the book to start writing down my thoughts on it. Scan through the book, look for certain scenes that aren’t too detailed, jot some notes down. Then I’ll read my notes and scribble out several things, add in new words, cross those off, write something in the margin with an asterisk next to the spot I want to add it into. And THEN, I get in my laptop and type it up. I read it over. I sigh. I’ll think, “If this were about my book, I would think this person took two minutes and threw this together,” even though it took me about fifteen.

Then again, I’ll read reviews and not care if I get details spoiled at times. It’s like when you’re told not to touch something because it’s hot but you touch it anyway. That’s how I’ve ruined some of my favorite TV shows. I’ll be browsing around looking stuff up online, then BAM!

Spoiler. (How could they do that?!)

Crap. (Stupid show, I hate you!)

Oh well. (Let’s go watch that episode now!)

Now I’m turning to you my fellow book review writers. How do you write your reviews? Do you include spoilers? Do you avoid spoilers? Do you just write brief reviews and include limited details about the storyline?

Thank you for any input, suggestions, and thoughts.

~Jessica

Monday, August 1, 2011

Grand Blog Reopening!

~*~ Grand Blog Reopening! ~*~

I am excited to announce the new beginning to my book blog, Thoughts At One In The Morning! It’s been a long road getting all the bugs worked out to get it up and running again. The reason why I chose to put my blog on hiatus is that I felt I was hanging on for dear life through daily memes. I loved them, but they kept me from doing what my initial intention was: writing reviews and articles discussing books and bookish topics. There were so many things I wanted to share, but never took the time to write them down, much less post.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been doing these things. And more.

What has changed? On the blog itself I redid the format to create more space and declutter the sidebar. I also added in more tabs for future use on my writing project and one that will be easily accessible for giveaways. I changed the font and made it bigger and messed around with colors. I like the transparent look. Please let me know what you think… Is it easy to read? Harder to read? I’d love to hear your feedback on that.

My plans for postings on here will include more book reviews (at least 2 a week) and articles/commentaries (at least 1 per week). I will remain part of Follow Friday weekly (great way to meet new book bloggers), and still post my personal updates on my Update Thursday (because I love it). Once a month I’ll participate in In My Mailbox (sometimes I only get one or two books a week), and possibly once a month in Waiting On Wednesday (because there’s at least one book you are losing your mind over having to wait for). Then I’ll be doing End Of Month Wrap Ups to compile links to everything I’ve done over the month, maybe even highlight some upcoming noteworthy items for the next month. Also, every time I reach a milestone (number of followers, etc.), I will host a giveaway! And that time should be coming up pretty soon, as I am fast approaching 200 followers. ^_^

Also, I am plotting out guest posts, guest interviews, guest book reviews, AND I'm considering approaching an author to do an interview and giveaway of one of their books. Once I know details on those ventures, I will let you guys know!

The redo feels invigorating. I can’t wait to get things going. I also want to give a shout out to all of my wonderful followers. I would not be where I am if not for your kindness, your support, and your undying love for books. So thank you!

That’s all for now! Thanks for stopping by and please come back starting tomorrow to see my reviews and more!

~Jessica