Sunday, March 31, 2013

Thoughts Weekly Update (13)


Welcome to the Weekly Update here on Thoughts! This is where I will share what books I finished, what I am currently reading, the current word count on my WIP, links from the posts from the last week, and maybe a little something on what's going on in my life.

Finished

~Still NONE~

 
Currently Reading



Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (-Goodreads-)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman (-Goodreads-)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (-Goodreads-)
Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien (-Goodreads-)

Up Next


Blaze (Or Love In The Time Of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton (-Goodreads-)
The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher (-Goodreads-)
Shut Out by Kody Kepplinger (-Goodreads-)

Word Count 

If Only We ~ 57,556
Check out my writer blog for the latest.

On The Blog This Week
  • Nothing............ lol.
The Latest With Me

So I had every intention to have TWO books finished this week... but that didn't happen. And Dash & Lily ended up expiring since I got it from NetGalley. It had a short amount of time for availability once I downloaded it and I didn't realize it until right before I moved. I was planning on reading it quickly so that I could finish before it expired, but, it didn't happen. SOOO. I will have to see if the library has it so I can finish where I left off.

As you well know, I moved into an apartment on my own last week on Saturday. It went very well, we managed to get everything over here in one day. I spend the rest of the night setting up my kitchen and bathroom. The next day I was so sore from lifting and organizing, but I kept plugging away at it. Then I went to the store to get several things I still needed for the apartment. I got so wrapped up in getting all these things I needed that I completely forgot that I would have to carry it all in by myself when I got home. It took four trips from the car to my apartment. Good times, lol. The funny thing is, I completely forgot a couple things, including lightbulbs for the two lamps I bought AND a mixing bowl for the cookies I wanted to make Sunday night. The cookies still got made, I figured out a way to do it without the mixing bowl. ;)

The rest of the week was filled with work and organizing and having fun. And this weekend has been full of taking care of larger projects, like laundry for the first time while on my own. I put on a couple movies today but they've been more of a distraction than anything, although I managed to take care of some stuff while sitting down watching them, lol. The Sound Of Music is on behind me right now, and it's just nice to have something on in the background. I'll have to put on some music once the movie is over so that I can do some painting for a project I need to have finished by Wednesday. Must get that done! I am way to distracted at the moment and I need to stop doing that!

Living on my own hasn't been too bad. I guess it works for me since I'm so independent. One of my coworkers is convinced that I'll regret my choice in a month because I'll be lonely. I'm sure I'll feel a little bit of loneliness here and there, but it's not like I can't visit my family and friends or have them over here. Plus, I'm considering getting a cat sometime soon. Not that a cat makes up for human contact but cats can be good company, especially since they aren't too needy and they like to cuddle on your lap while you're watching TV. ^_^ I would just get one now but I'd like to have everything set up and be settled in more. So maybe in a month or so.

So anyways, that's about it for the wrap up of my last week! I don't have too much else to report aside from that... plus I have several other things to attend to at the moment and shouldn't stay online much longer, haha.

Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Jessica

Winner of the Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop is...


.....(drumroll please).....
 
CONGRATULATIONS
 
Stephanie H.
 
 
You will be receiving an email from me shortly for more info.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway! *many hugs*


Jessica

Friday, March 22, 2013

Thoughts Weekly Update (12)


Welcome to the Weekly Update here on Thoughts! This is where I will share what books I finished, what I am currently reading, the current word count on my WIP, links from the posts from the last week, and maybe a little something on what's going on in my life.

Finished

~NONE!!!~


Currently Reading


Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (-Goodreads-)
Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (-Goodreads-)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman (-Goodreads-)
Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien (-Goodreads-)

Up Next


Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (-Goodreads-)

Word Count 

If Only We ~ 57,556
Check out my writer blog for the latest.

On The Blog This Week
The Latest With Me

Alrighty! I was hoping to have enough free time this week to finish ONE book, but I failed miserably. I did manage to read several chapters though, which I consider a victory in itself. I've been spending pretty much all of my free time packing and getting things finalized and scheduled. I will be moving into the new place TOMORROW! So exciting and terrifying at the same time! Once I get all moved in, I can't wait to get settled in and back on track with life... and to get out of the house and have some fun now that spring is here. Pseudo-spring anyways. I'm hoping for the weather to be okay for the move.

Just an FYI to all of my followers: I will be INTERNET-LESS for a week. I am planning on going to the library a couple times after work this coming week to read my emails and what-not, but I will probably not be doing ANYTHING with the blog. So, don't fret my lovelies! I shall be back as soon as I possibly can and fill you all in on everything going on. I've just been thinking about the things I need to share with all of you, including several I promised to share with you AWHILE ago. Good show, Jessica.

Anyways, that's about all for now. I will log on tomorrow morning before moving to read and respond to your comments. And then it's adventure time. ;) See you all next week!

Have a great weekend!!!

Jessica

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Spring Cleaning Giveaway Hop! Enter to win bookish things...


Welcome to the "Spring Cleaning" Giveaway Hop! Brought to you by the wonderful I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. The dates for this hop run from March 20th through March 25th. (It is technically a day early, but the giveaway host prefers this for linking purposes.)


There is a small box full of books to give away to you guys... I have I believe 4 or 5 books ready for this package, but I may be adding 2 to 4 more by the time I am able to ship out. Since I'm in the process of moving soon, there may be a slight delay in shipping, BUT, it will be all for good reason, because you'll probably get more books... hahaha! ;)


Sound good? Good! Here's the official rules/guidelines for the giveaway:

1. You must be a follower.
2. You must be over 15 years old.
3. This is for US residents ONLY.
4. This contest runs from March 20th through March 25th.
5. You can gain extra entries by "liking" my Facebook page and/or following me on Twitter @Jess_Sankiewicz.
6. Winner will be selected at 12:01 a.m. on March 26th via Rafflecopter random selection.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thank you for following and entering!!! <3

 Jessica

Friday, March 15, 2013

Thoughts Weekly Update (11)


Welcome to the Weekly Update here on Thoughts! This is where I will share what books I finished, what I am currently reading, the current word count on my WIP, links from the posts from the last week, and maybe a little something on what's going on in my life.

Finished


Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (-Goodreads-)
Currently Reading


Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (-Goodreads-)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman (-Goodreads-)
Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien (-Goodreads-)

Up Next


Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (-Goodreads-)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (-Goodreads-)

Word Count 

If Only We ~ 57,556
Check out my writer blog for the latest.

On The Blog This Week
The Latest With Me

As you may have seen on my writing update last week, I'm in the process of moving to a place of my own soon. This is, of course, eating away at a lot of my free time to be able to do anything for the blogs or writing or reading. I also ended up getting sick in the middle of the week and that totally threw me off. This weekend will be Jessica's catch-up-on-everything-she-needs-to-get-caught-up-on-before-she-moves weekend, lol. Because of the little bump in the road from being sick, I'm pretty behind. I need to go over my checklist of things to do and make sure I get all of them done in time, because, of course, there's more to moving than just packing. I'll manage. I just need to kick myself in the booty and get it going! Like... logging off now! ^_^

Have a great weekend!!!

Jessica

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Review: Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Title: Pretty Girl-13
Author: Liz Coley
Published: March 19th 2013
Source: Edelweiss
Genre: Young Adult Mystery
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers
Reminiscent of the Elizabeth Smart case, Pretty Girl-13 is a disturbing and powerful psychological mystery about a girl who must piece together the story of her kidnapping and captivity.

Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods alone on a Girl Scouts camping trip. Now she's returned home…only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen-or at least that's what everyone tells her.

What happened to the past three years of her life?

Angie doesn't know.

But there are people who do-people who could tell Angie every detail of her forgotten time, if only they weren't locked inside her mind. With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her personality, otherwise known as her "alters." As she unearths more and more about her past, she discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: When you remember things you wish you could forget, do you destroy the parts of yourself that are responsible?

Liz Coley's alarming and fascinating psychological mystery is a disturbing-and ultimately empowering-page-turner about accepting our whole selves, and the healing power of courage, hope, and love.

My Thoughts:

It’s amusing to me how I forget the synopsis of a book and then I start reading it thinking it was different. That happened here. I completely had no recollection of the premise and when I began to read it, I was thrown off… but in a good way. This story totally blew my mind.

Angie has been through a lot and her mind created a world to help her not remember the bad. This world consists of multiple personalities that took on different aspects of her life. These personalities, you can’t help but be drawn in by each of them as separate characters. As new information is brought to light by each, you learn what Angie really went through, the pain and the cruelty. Her therapist, Dr. Grant, guides her through the process of discovering the truth of the three years she lost. Since the personalities are still with her, she has moments where she loses time when they take over to protect her.

Angie longs for the days when she was thirteen. Her friends from back then are still around when she goes back to school. Of course, things have changed a lot for all of them. She manages to be friends with Kate again, and to open herself up to Abriam. She is figuring out how to move on and get the memories of her alters to meld into her own. She struggles to find the balance between it all, suffering the losses and the gaining of memories. And in the end, there is more to what she endured than she ever imagined.

Pretty Girl-13 is a tangle of emotions. I’ve noticed that while I may be in a book and close to the characters, sometimes my heart isn’t as into it as I thought. This time, however, Liz Coley brought me to tears. To those who have read this one, can I just say that one moment near the end, did it hit you too? In an instant it HIT me and I instantly jumped and said out loud, “You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.” Anyone who enjoys a twisting psychological tale inside the mind will thoroughly fall for Angie’s story.


My Rating:

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Thoughts Weekly Update (10)


Welcome to the Weekly Update here on Thoughts! This is where I will share what books I finished, what I am currently reading, the current word count on my WIP, links from the posts from the last week, and maybe a little something on what's going on in my life.

Finished


Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley (-Goodreads-)

Currently Reading


Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (-Goodreads-)
Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (-Goodreads-)
Just One Day by Gayle Forman (-Goodreads-)
Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIHM by Robert C. O'Brien (-Goodreads-)

Up Next


Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan (-Goodreads-)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (-Goodreads-)

Word Count 

If Only We ~ 57,556
Check out my writer blog for the latest.

On The Blog This Week
The Latest With Me

This is a two days too late update, but bear with me, there's a reason...

Okay, I was HOPING to finish TWO books, but I should be grateful I finished one, especially since I needed to get the review written and posted for next Tuesday. It's going to be crazy busy for me. I'll tell more about everything that goes on next week. If you want to know a little more about what's been going on for me, I go into some detail over at my writer blog.

Have a great weekend!!!

Jessica

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Review: Elixir by Hilary Duff

Title: Elixir
Author: Hilary Duff
Published: October 12th 2010
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers
Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.

When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

My Thoughts:

Curiosity got me interested in this one, and when I saw it at a thrift store, I was more than willing to snag a copy. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and if Hilary Duff could pull off writing a book. I thought there would be more substance to this novel but there was little to be gleaned.

Clea was so ridiculous. She takes a lot of pictures, and while she’s looking through them she notices someone in the background. Who is that mysterious stranger? Oh my god, he’s in all the pictures! Oh my god, I think he’s my soul mate! Wait, WHAT?! And then her BFF gets on the ‘soul mate’ bandwagon. When Clea meets the mysterious stranger, Sage, the story just goes everywhere and nowhere. Let’s travel everywhere for mysterious reasons. And then the two of them admit that they’re in love with each other. Go figure.

Elixir was a predictable and formulaic cliché. I was not impressed in the slightest. It made me realize for sure that I am not interested in anything paranormal anymore. You can only do the star crossed lovers in a paranormal setting so much before it either gets boring or too ridiculous.


My Rating:

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Review: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Title: The Last Unicorn
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Published: 1961
Source: Purchased
Genre: Childrens Fantasy
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers
The Last Unicorn is one of the true classics of fantasy, ranking with Tolkien's The Hobbit, Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy, and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Beagle writes a shimmering prose-poetry, the voice of fairy tales and childhood:
The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

The unicorn discovers that she is the last unicorn in the world, and sets off to find the others. She meets Schmendrick the Magician--whose magic seldom works, and never as he intended--when he rescues her from Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival, where only some of the mythical beasts displayed are illusions. They are joined by Molly Grue, who believes in legends despite her experiences with a Robin Hood wannabe and his unmerry men. Ahead wait King Haggard and his Red Bull, who banished unicorns from the land.

This is a book no fantasy reader should miss; Beagle argues brilliantly the need for magic in our lives and the folly of forgetting to dream. --Nona Vero

My Thoughts:

I have heard so much about this story from people in real life and also many of the My Little Pony friends of mine on forums. It was one of those books I really wanted to get to, especially before I saw the movie, although I was tempted to watch the movie before reading it a few times. I am glad I read the book first though.

I had a completely different vision going in to this one. I didn’t imagine the Magician and Molly and the other cast of characters. I thought it was going to be an animal journey, no humans, or at least, not that many. It was still interesting the way it progressed, and how the unicorn interacted with humans and animals. I loved the poetic writing and the lines that the unicorn said about life and reality, making everything come into focus, crystal clear.

I was a little off put by the way it ended. Not that it wasn’t well done, because it was (it REALLY was), but I didn’t expect that. Or to be so torn by the departure of everyone, and the pain faced by each. It’s a mixed emotion.

The Last Unicorn was inspiring and bizarre. I can see why it is beloved by so many. The story itself was a maze of brilliance and beauty. Peter S. Beagle created an amazing world and a timeless classic. Now to watch the movie.

My Rating:

Monday, March 4, 2013

Review Requests/From Giveaways Checklist

This is just a continuation of my list of review requests/giveaway wins that need to be read soon. I've marked off ones I have finished and added new ones that need to be read. I figured that it wouldn't hurt for me to keep track of this more than just the one time earlier this year. ;)

I'm marking the review request books in Blue if I've had them for awhile.

Review Requests:

Dash And Lily's Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (Pub.: October 26th 2010)
Uncontrollable by S.R. Johannes (Pub.: September 24th 2012)
Edge Of Disaster by A.M. Hargrove (Pub.: December 20th 2012)
Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett (Pub.: February 12th 2013)
Shattered Edge by A.M. Hargrove (Pub.: February 14th 2013)
Being Henry David by Cal Armistead (Pub.: March 1st 2013)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (Pub.: March 12th 2013)
Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley (Pub.: March 19th 2013)
Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt (Pub.: March 26th 2013)
The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher (Pub.: May 7th 2013)
Levitating Las Vegas by Jennifer Echols (Pub.: May 7th 2013)

From Giveaways:

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard (Pub.: March 8th 2011)
The Bad Always Die Twice by Cheryl Crane (Pub.: September 1st 2011)
Eden’s Root by Rachel Fisher (Pub.: December 17th 2011)
Casey Barnes Eponymous by E.A. Rigg (Pub.: January 1st 2012 )
Streamline by Jennifer Lane (Pub.: March 27th 2012)
Swipe by Evan Angler (Pub.: May 8th 2012)
Lucid by P.T. Michelle (Pub.: July 7th 2012)
Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein (Pub.: July 24th 2012)
Once Upon A Second Chance by Marian Vere (Pub.: November 6th 2012)



Jessica

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Stacking The Shelves #11: February Edition


Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews. Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week (or in my case, each month), sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!

Additions to my NOOK shelf:


Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (-Goodreads-)
Every Day by David Levithan (-Goodreads-)
Caught Up In Us by Lauren Blakely (-Goodreads-)

Additions to my BOOK shelf:

Girls Don't Fly by Kristen Chandler (-Goodreads-)
 
For Review/Gifted:


Shattered Edge by A.M. Hargrove (-Goodreads-)
Escape Theory by Margaux Froley (-Goodreads-)
Levitating Las Vegas by Jennifer Echols (-Goodreads-)

~*~

I really shouldn't be getting any books honestly... I'm hardly able to read as of late!!! Bah!!! In any case, I'm actually proud of this month. I did good. ^_^


That was my awesome month of bookish goodness. How about you? Did you get anything good this week/month?


Jessica