Saturday, August 31, 2013

Secretly,

I am looking forward to Autumn.

August 2013 wrap-up

Since starting this blog, I continually find myself reading a ton of noteworthy books, but completely lack the motivation to review them. So, in an attempt to combine multiple reviews in one convenient post, I have decided to write a monthly update; letting you know what I have been reading as well as a brief summary of my thoughts and whether or not I liked it. If a book has received an actual, separate post, those will, of course, be linked with the overview (in case you happen to be interested in reading more). So, without further ado, my August 2013 reading wrap-up:

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Series Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis




Author: Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 2011 - January 2013
Pages: 1,153
Format: Hardcover/paperback
Average Rating: 4.07
Read it in: A few weeks
Source: Bought from Amazon





- Summary - 

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

BOOK HAUL [August 2013]

Welcome to my first ever book haul! :)


Hauls, whether in blog or video form, are a fantastic way to discover new books; and I would like to share my own purchases with you all. These are the books that I have bought within the month of August:



1. Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by Grimm Brothers
2. Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis
3. The Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy #1) by Mindee Arnett
4. Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton
5. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) by April Genevieve Tucholke
6. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
7. Seven Minutes in Heaven (Lying Game #6) by Sara Shepard
8. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
10. I am good at counting. >.<
11. Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) by Patrick Ness
12. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
13. The Jerk Magnet by Melody Carlson
14. Pandora Hearts (volume #1) by Jun Mochizuki
15. Shugo Chara! (volume #1) by Peach-Pit

Did you guys buy any good books this month? Please feel free to leave your own purchases, or even a recommendation, in the comments!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Seven [wrap-up]

I planned to read an entire book on Sunday, I really did; but, unfortunately, I was too distracted by Jamie Campbell Bower's face to do anything remotely productive...



Because I did go and see the Mortal Instruments Sunday afternoon (as well as purchasing some new books that I definitely did not need from Barnes & Noble), I was not able to read as much as I would have liked to. But I did still begin a new book—one that I have been waiting forever to read—and got through about 82 pages before the evening ended. And that book was Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke. It was released fairly recently, and I have been dying to get my hands on this baby for quite a while. And so far, I am enjoying it. Lots. Tucholke reminds me a bit of Brenna Yovanoff, in that their writing styles are quite similar. They both deal with paranormal contemporary, and I find that their works are very gritty and dark, and very, very gothic. Which is good, because I like that style. I am currently about halfway through the book right now (today is Monday), and am really looking forward to finishing this off and obsessing over how long I will have to wait for the second.


Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between #1
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 15, 2013
Pages: 360
Format: Hardcover
Average Rating: 3.87



Goals:

At the beginning of the week, I said that I would like to:

x 1. Read at least three books.

I ended up reading two books and about 1/3 of another. I did not complete this goal, but I'm not too upset about it, as I planned to take it easy this week and just kind of go with the flow (since it was my first time participating).

2. Complete a series.

This one I did do! I began and finished the final book of the Across the Universe trilogy, Shades of Earth, by Beth Revis. And it was AH-MAZING.

3. Read at least 3-3 1/2 hours a day.

I pretty much managed to complete this challenge as well. There were a few days where I fell a bit short, but, overall, I would say that this goal can be marked as accomplished



Overall, I would definitely call this Read-A-Thon a success; merely for the fact that I participated and had a TON of fun. I definitely plan on taking part again.

Challenges:

I did not complete any challenges on Sunday.

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 82
Number of Challenges Completed: 7
Total Number of Books: 2
Total Number of Pages: 668

Links:

Yesterday's post (complete w/ Saturday & Friday's challenges!)
Friday's post (complete w/ Thursday's challenges!)
Thursday's post (complete w/ Wednesday's challenges!)
Wednesday's post
Tuesday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

How did you guys do? Complete any goals you're super proud of? 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Five & Six

Day five and six were pretty uneventful reading-wise, so I figured I might as well combine the two into one update.



As you know, I began reading The Jerk Magnet by Melody Carlson on day four of the Read-A-Thon (Thursday) and ended up putting it down later that evening because it was just... God-awful. I picked it back up on Friday (day five) and continued reading on until Saturday (day six); which was when I finally (finally) finished it. Because the main character was so unlikable and the story literally had no point, depth, or substance, I gave this book two stars.




☆☆





Challenges:

~ Day Five ~

There was only one challenge on day five, and that was Bookish Mad Libs hosted by The Space Between. For this challenge, we were given instructions to pick certain characters, places, or verbs/adjectives that were in a book/series or present in the title. My choices were as follows:

A. The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles #1) by Rick Riordan [place name or type]
B. President Snow (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) [villain]
C. The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events #7) by Lemony Snicket [adjective]
D. A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis [number]
E. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien [noun]
F. William Herondale (The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare) [hero/heroine]
G. If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff [dessert]

And then we had to insert our choices into a letter. Voila!
Help! I'm being held captive in the Red Pyramid, by President Snow!
It is very vile here!
He is demanding a million rings to set me free!
I have just discovered that William Herondale was captured too!
On second thought, please send cookies, and don't worry if you don't hear from us for awhile!

Much Love,

Samantha
~ Day Six ~

There were two challenges on day six; Bookish Wishes, hosted by Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf, and the Acrostic Book Poem by I Read, Ergo I Write. I only participated in challenge one.

Challenge #1 - Bookish Wishes

For this challenge, we were asked to answer one of two questions; if we could be any fictional character, who would it be? And, what book are you dying to read that has not been written yet? I went ahead and answered question one.
If I could be any fictional character, I think that I would probably have to choose Tessa Gray from the Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare. Not only does she end up with two extremely cute boys but she is strong, loyal, funny, intelligent, and extremely courageous. I have admired her character from book one.

And she also gets the boys. Did I mention that already?
I actually won this challenge, so that's pretty exciting! Thanks to Kelsey for asking such fun questions. :)

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 1
Number of Pages Read Today: 140
Number of Challenges Completed: 7
Total Number of Books: 2
Total Number of Pages: 586

Links:

Friday's post (complete w/ Thursday's challenges!)
Thursday's post (complete w/ Wednesday's challenges!)
Wednesday's post
Tuesday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

We are at the final stretch. Good luck on your last day of reading!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Four

Today I struggled through read a grand total of 77 pages.



After reading something as amazing and beautiful as Shades of Earth, I did not feel quite up to jumping into another dystopian/action-packed novel. And so I picked up The Jerk Magnet by Melody Carlson; a coming-to-terms novel about a girl, a makeover, and some pretty attractive classmates. Unfortunately, however, this book made me want to hit my head against a solid object. Repeatedly.


In conclusion, I only made it 30% of the way through before giving up for the night...


Author: Melody Carlson
Series: N/A
Publisher: Revell
Release Date: February 17, 2012
Pages: 217
Format: Paperback
Average Rating: 3.66



Challenges:

There were two challenges on day four; the Bookish Road Trip hosted by In Wonderland and I Spy by Paperback Daydreamer. Here are my entries for both:

Challenge #1 - Bookish Road Trip

For this challenge, we had to come up with a list of 5-10 states/places we would like to visit; places that were inspired by books. My list is as follows;

London: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Paris: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
South Carolina: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Amsterdam: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
New York: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare/Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan

Challenge #2 - I Spy...

Aaaaaand, for this challenge (which was tons of fun!), we were given a list of words and had to find corresponding book covers.

1. Snowflakes – Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle
2. Flames – The Kill Order by James Dashner
3. A city skyline – Divergent by Veronica Roth
4. The moon – Who Could That Be at this Hour? by Lemony Snicket
5. Sword – The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
6. A wedding dress – The Goddess Test by Aimeé Carter
7. High heels – Geek Charming by Robin Palmer
8. Fog – Torment by Lauren Kate
9. A Christmas tree – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (I mean, it doesn’t technically have a Christmas tree on it, but it does have A tree. That counts, right? ;D)
10. Sunglasses – Heist Society by Ally Carter
11. Lightening – The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
12. A tattoo – City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
13. Combat boots – Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
14. Hand-cuffs – (This one I could not find)
15. A road – The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 77
Number of Challenges Completed: 5
Total Number of Books: 1
Total Number of Pages: 446

Links:

Yesterday's post (complete w/ Wednesday's challenges!)
Wednesday's post
Tuesday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

Here's to a reading-filled weekend!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Three

No, reader, you are not hallucinating; Sam completed her first BoB read!



I began Shades of Earth on Monday, day one of the Read-A-Thon, and finally, finally finished it on Wednesday; day three. And Ho-ly freaking moly, this book was AMAZING. I've never really been "in love" with the Sci Fi genre, so I was a bit reluctant to pick this series up at first, simply because I was not entirely sure I would enjoy it. But oh, man, am I glad that I did, because it definitely deserves ALL of the hype! Five stars from me.




  ☆☆☆☆☆





Challenges:

There were two challenges on day three; the TBR List Challenge by Musings of a Bookshop Girl and Book Spine Poetry by Such a Novel Idea. I only took part in the first one.

Challenge #1 - TBR List Challenge

For this challenge, we had to answer two questions; which five books are at the top of our TBR pile, and if we had a wad of cash and were inside a bookstore, which five books would we add to that list?

Drumroll, please.

~ Which 5 books are at the top of your TBR pile ~


1. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
2. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
3. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
4. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
5. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Toucholke

~ Which 5 books would you buy to add to the stack ~

1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
4. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
5. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 1
Number of Pages Read Today: 183
Number of Challenges Completed: 3
Total Number of Books: 1
Total Number of Pages: 369

Links:

Yesterday's post
Tuesday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

Happy reading!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day Two

Tuesday was not very eventful, but I did manage to get through a few more pages than the previous day (nearly a hundred -- so close!). I am still currently reading (and loving!!!!) Shades of Earth; book three in the Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis, and am hoping to have that finished by Wednesday's post. :]



Challenges:

I did not complete any challenges on Tuesday.

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 98
Number of Challenges Completed: 2
Total Number of Books: 0
Total Number of Pages:186

Links:

Yesterday's post (complete w/ Monday's challenges!)
Bout of Book's blog
Goodreads

See you on day three!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0: Day One

Hello, fellow Bout of Book-ers! Day one is officially complete, and I am already doing quite poorly.



Not only did I not read at least three hours yesterday, but I only managed to get 88 pages into my book before growing too tired to continue on. So to sum yesterday up in one sentence: it was just not that great of a reading day for me. But that's okay, because there are still six days left in the Read-A-Thon! Plenty of time to read (and/or procrastinate). As for the book that I am currently reading, that would be this gem:


 
Author: Beth Revis
Series: Across the Universe #3
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 15, 2013
Pages: 369
Format: Hardcover
Average Rating: 4.20



Shades of Earth; book three in the Across the Universe series by Beth Revis. I have enjoyed this series from the very beginning and am definitely looking forward to finding out how the it ends. So far, so good!

Challenges:

 I completed two challenges today; including The Bookish Bucket List, hosted by Sarah Says Read, and the Pairathon hosted by BookPairing. Here are my entries:

Challenge #1 - The Bookish Bucket List

For this challenge, we were supposed to leave a comment telling Sarah a bookish thing that we would like to do before we die/one thing we would like to do that was inspired by a book. This was my answer:
You know that feeling you get when you walk into a library or bookstore? Like you are someplace holy, sacred, and all you want to do is stand there and soak up their (the book's) presence, despite the looks that you are sure to get from people passing by? Well, my bookish goal is to travel the world and walk into any and all bookshops that I can find—old, new, popular, second-hand—and just experience it. To explore the shops and enjoy the company of their books. I would not even have to buy anything (though, let’s be honest, I probably will); I just think that traveling to different places across the globe and taking part in something like that would be wonderful, awe-inspiring, and pretty darn amazing.

I would also like to attend BEA or some other book festival, as well as acquire enough books to create my own little library of sorts, one day.
Challenge #2 - Pairathon

In this challenge, we were asked to post a photo (or leave a comment, describing) what it is that we are pairing with our current reads; food, drink, pets. Here is mine.


Some yogurt, Special K Cracker Chips, a Dr. Pepper, 
and Shades of Earth by Beth Revis.

BoB Progress:

Number of Books Read Today: 0
Number of Pages Read Today: 88
Number of Challenges Completed: 2
Total Number of Books: 0
Total Number of Pages: 88

Links:

Bout of Books blog
Goodreads

Here is to a productive second day!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0

I AM DOING A THING. A READING THING.

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 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Sounds like a lot of fun! This will be the first time I have ever participated in any sort of read-a-thon, so I am a tad anxious. And also excited! Want to sign up/learn about the rules and schedule(s)? Go here:

Bout of Books

Goals:

1. Read at least three books

Three books a week is relatively average for me, so I feel like this is a safe goal to set. Since this is my first Read-A-Thon, I am going to take it easy on myself and go with the flow. If I happen to read more than three books? Awesome!

2. Complete a series

I have a ton of books on my TBR shelf that are final books in a series; ones that I just cannot bring myself to read for whatever reason. My goal is to finish at least one of them.

3. Read at least 3-3 1/2 hours a day

I easily put in an hour and a half, Monday-Friday, at work; so I figure two more hours on top of that should be no big deal.



And that is it! Like I said before, I am not really in any hurry to

 READ MORE BOOKS THAT I HAVE EVER READ BEFORE!

or anything, so there is not much I am looking to accomplish during this Read-A-Thon except to have fun and enjoy the company of my fellow readers. :) Good luck to all of those participating!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Book Review: Seven Minutes in Heaven (The Lying Game #6)




Author: Sara Shepard
Series: The Lying Game #6
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Pages: 371
Format: Hardcover
Average Rating: 4.30
Read it in: 1 day
Source: Bought from Amazon






- Summary - 

My sister wants the truth. But sometimes the truth hurts.

For months, my long-lost twin, Emma, has been living my life and trying to solve my murder. She's unearthed dark secrets about my friends, my family, and my tangled past. But when it comes to finding my killer, she keeps running into dead ends.

Until my body shows up in Sabino Canyon. Suddenly everyone knows there are two girls who look like Sutton Mercer—and that one of them is dead. At first the police assume the body is Emma's. But as questions and accusations start flying, it's harder than ever for Emma to keep playing me. The truth is bound to come out eventually. And when it does, Emma will be suspect number one in my murder investigation. If she can't find my killer before time runs out, she'll end up behind bars . . . or worse.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Book Review: The Goddess Test (#1 & 1.5)




Author: Aimée Carter
Series: The Goddess Test
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 2011 and March 2012
Pages: 385
Format: Paperback, eBook
Average Rating: 3.89, 3.82
Read it in: 2 days
Source: Bought from Amazon





- Summary - 

Every girl who had taken the test has died. Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess. If she fails...

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Bucketlist: Book Edition

The Book Bucket List TAG was created by ThePrincessOfReading over on Youtube and, while I was not tagged specifically, I decided to go ahead and answered the six questions on my blog. :)

1.) I want to read          books this year:

My Goodreads reading goal is 65 (previously 40) books for this year, and I am currently 12 short of completing the challenge. I definitely am hoping to surpass that number, however, and maybe read 75 books? 80? Who knows! I still have 4 months left until 2014, so I am sure that I will succeed in at least making my goal.

2.) I want to read          classics this year:

At least one. I have not really picked up any classics since high school, and even then I have probably only read three or four in my lifetime. I am definitely hoping to get into them more as I go along, but for right now the goal is to read at least one before the end of 2013.

3.) I want to read         books that have been on my shelf for a while this year:

Three. And they are:

 

  • Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick - This book has been on my TBR shelf the longest; since a few weeks (at least) before the final book came out (which was in October of last year).  
  • Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick - I would like to knock both this book and the previous off of my TBR list so that I can at last say that I am done with the series.
  • Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie - I purchased this book sometime during the spring but have not been able to convince myself to read it. The first two books were not a great reading experience for me, so I have been putting this off for a while now and it would be wonderful to get it over with and on my main bookshelf with the others.

4.) I want to read         different genres this year:

Really, there is only one specific genre I would like to get into this year (as I typically tend to shy away from it when purchasing books), and that is Science Fiction. I will be the first to admit that I am a total dystopian/contemporary/fantasy/mythology junkie, but recently I have been turned on to a few really great Sci Fi reads and it made me realize just how many books I look over because they are labeled as "Science Fiction." I have started both the Across the Universe and Chaos Walking trilogies and am enjoying them so far, and I would like to pick up Reboot sometime in the near future. So, yes; Science Fiction is a genre I would definitely like to get into this year.

Also, I would like to read some more adult novels.

5.) I want to finish         series/trilogies this year:

This is a tricky question, as I have finished several since January (some of them were already half done, so it isn't nearly as impressive as it sounds). So far I have completed the Maze Runner trilogy, the Beautiful Creatures quartet, the Fallen series, the Infernal Devices series and the Anna Dressed in Blood duo. Here are the ones that I am currently in the middle of and would like to finish by the end of the year:



  •  The Across the Universe series by Beth Revis - I have only read book one in this trilogy, but book two is on my TBR shelf and ready to be opened! I would very much like to complete this series.
  • The Matched trilogy by Ally Condie - As stated above, I've already read the first two books in this trilogy and have been putting off book three for some time. Just one more book to go; I can do this!
  • The Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth - Yessss. I have already read books one and two, and the final book in the series comes out this fall. I can't wait! 
  •  The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness - I recently completed book one in this series as well, and fell head-over-heels in love. I am looking forward to reading more of this series and possibly finishing it before 2013 comes to and end.
  • The Lying Game series by Sara Shepard -  The final book in this series came out a few days ago, and I am currently awaiting its arrival via mailbox.

**I am also hoping to possibly finish the Mara Dyer trilogy this year, as the original due date was set for this October, but Goodreads cannot seem to make up their minds on whether or not it will be out this year or the next. So we will see on that one.**

6.) What is one book you really want to read by the end of the year?

Any one of the TBR books would be fine, but I would really like to read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by the end of 2013. It has been on my "Priority Buy" Goodreads shelf for a while now, but other books keep grabbing my attention (and wallet) first.

. . . .

And there you have it, my book bucket list! What books/series are you hoping to finish by the end of the year?