Spring Break Read-a-thon 2014

Hey Everyone!

So it is currently my spring break and I had planned on a read-a-thon for myself during this time. I chose books that I had been intending to read for a long while or I needed to reread for the films coming out this year. I can't believe I'm already halfway through my books!



Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth
I chose these two books mostly because of the film (which I am seeing on Friday). I fell in love with this series all over again and I cannot wait until I get Allegiant.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
I have had this book since October, maybe earlier. I needed to read this because I felt bad for having this sitting on my shelf for a while.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I am rereading this one for the film in June.

Vampire Academy (Book 1) by Richelle Mead
I heard this was a fantastic series and I decided to pick up the book (which I happened to find at half-price books)!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I am excited to read this! I just need to read this to see what everyone is on about!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
I love the cover and the story sounds so chilling and good. I can't wait to read this one!

The Selection Stories by Kiera Cass
A short and sweet book to read the last day before I go back to school.

**The Archived by Victoria Schwab (Not picture-- on Kindle)
I will read this depending on whether or not I have enough time.

I sure challenged myself, didn't I? It's a challenge, but who doesn't love a good challenge?

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Hey Everyone!

Today I am reviewing Legacy by Cayla Kluver. I hope you enjoy this book and add this to your Goodreads list!

Title: Legacy
Author: Cayla Kluver
Series?: Yes, book 1 in a trilogy (I will review them all)
Pages: 496
Publication Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: HarelquinTeen
Rating: 4/5

This book takes place fully in the kingdom of Hytanica following the royal princess, Alera, as she must choose a suitable husband by her 18th birthday under the stress of the kingdom being attacked by the Cokyrian kingdom. When a blue eyed boy named Narian comes into the kingdom after being kidnapped during infancy, he disrupts Princess Alera's other suitor, Steldor's, courting as well as the peace of the kingdom.

I should start by saying this is probably the second or third time I have read this book. The first time, it was lent to me from a friend, the second time so I could read the sequel (which I never did). I figured I should read this once again because I own the entirety of the trilogy and the last one is signed by the author. I never met her, she's from my home state and did a signing at a local Barnes & Noble a few years ago when it came out.

The writing in this, I thought, was amazing considering it was written by a sixteen-year-old. Yes, the author published this when she was sixteen. It is written in first person, but the word choices Kluver picks makes you feel as if you're in a world other than your own. I feel as if I was transported to the times of Kings and Queens with a large poofy yellow Beauty & the Beast dress.

The romance is phenomenal, though minimal. The whole story, Princess Alera is battling with herself about who she should choose and it is amazing. It reminds me a little of The Selection and it makes me happy. That is one of my favorite series. THE ENDING THOUGH.... YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK, GUYS! The ending is incredible.

Musing Mondays (10 Feb 2014)

Hey Everyone!

For this Musings Monday, I need to talk about my reading "schedule" as the semester has begun and I am STRUGGLING.

I think college is definitely the time to have fun, but for those of us who love books as much as one loves their video games, we find difficulty finding time in the day to sit down (comfortably, might I add) to enjoy reading a good book. Even though it is just the start of week two of semester, I am already struggling.

Reading has always been important to me, and this blog is definitely important to me as I am blogging about books. Classes have seemed to get in the way of me reading and reviewing on here. Sometimes, the thought of vlogging passed through my mind, but for some reason, I can't bring myself to vlog. I think the reason is that my roommate and I spend a great deal of our free time in the dorm room leaving very little privacy for the both of us.

Last semester, I read my books between classes (if I had time) and at work (I work a desk job in the school's library). Work was the easiest place to read as there is a lot of down time and she lets us read a good book. Though, during summer, she gives you projects instead of letting you read. That's a little messed up, right?

If you're in college, or were, what would you suggest? is there something you did to find time to read?

WWW Wednesday (8 January 2013)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

Entwined with You by Sylvia Day. Haven't started yet as I just finished one, but this is my book I entered on Goodreads.

What did you recently finish?

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day. Loved it! My full review is here on my blog.

What do you think you'll read next?

Emma by Jane Austen. I want to read more classics this year.

Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

Title: Reflected in You (Crossfire #2)
Author: Sylvia Day
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: October 23, 2012
Pages: 338 pgs.
Own it?: Yes, paperback
Genre: Mature Adult/Erotica
Goodreads: Click here

Cups of Tea: 4 cups

Hey Everyone,

This is the continuation of the last book review I did. I rated this one, yet again, four stars. Don't get me wrong, I adored this book as well, but I felt that it was lacking in some areas. 

The thing I felt it lacked was a climactic point. I felt that at the end of the story, we were thrown this curve ball that left me like, "What? What just happened?" I felt she could have built it up because it wasn't really foreseen and there was no inevitable problem. It was just very anti-climactic.

The sex in the book was great as always, and this story showed a lot of improvement in the characters and the fact that they were willing to do something that helped their relationship. They were willing to go to couples therapy and it showed a lot about both characters. The shrink says something that becomes important and I honestly forgot about it for a good majority of the book.

This book, I felt, was almost necessary because it strengthened Eva and Gideon's relationship. It shows that they are willing to do anything it takes. I typically don't read mature adult, but if more books out there are like this one, I am more than willing to pick them up. These two characters just show there is more than an overly sappy first love relationship. I will continue to rave about this book on the next review for Entwined in You. 

Top Ten Bookish Resolutions - Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. To find out more about it and its future topics, click here

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hey Everyone,

So I was going to do something like this, and what perfect timing this Top Ten Tuesday had! I have so many reading related resolutions that I want to do in 2014. 

Read more than 50 books. Last year, I read 37 and that is only because my goal was 30 and I had a slow start to my reading year. Therefore, this year on goodreads, my goal is to hit 50 books.

Read classics. I admit, I am the person to only read classics when I have been told to read them. I have purchased five or six classics and will be reading them.

Blog about book reviews more. I admit, I don't do book reviews as much and am still getting the hang of things in book review world, so I want to better my reviews and get the hang of things.

Read whenever I don't have a lot going on. My problem last year (namely September through December) was that I spent too much time cramming reading in that I forgot to study sometimes. I'm changing that, though. I want to read more on the weekends and study more during the week. Yep, that is what I am doing.

Be more critical of the books I'm reading. I find that I will love a book for what it's worth and appreciate it no matter how bad the writing is. I want to be more harsh and more critical.

Ignore reviews when buying a book. If I see a book that I want, I want to not care what other people have thought and just focus on what books I want. I've done this already, but I want to not look at the ratings and reviews until after I read the book.

Read more debuts and new releases. I was a little behind on the John Green, Cassandra Clare, and the Kiera Cass bandwagon's so I want to get on the new releases that are most anticipated quickly. I am still catching up from 2013!

Happy New Year!
Leave your own Top Ten Tuesdays in the comments below!

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Hey Everyone,

First review of 2014!

Title: Bared to You (Crossfire #1)
Author: Sylvia Day
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: June 12, 2012
Pages: 338 pgs.
Own it?: Yes, paperback
Genre: Mature Adult/Erotica
Goodreads: Click here

Cups of Tea: 4 cups

So first, I would like to say that I rarely ever read erotica or adult fiction. Sure, I read some last year, but I mostly read Young Adult. I was recommended this series and I like it thus far.

The story is about a new employee to Crossfire Industries name Eva Tramell. The novel starts off when Eva goes for a jog and runs into super hot guy in a suit named Gideon Cross (though she doesn't know his name at that point. Takes her a while). She finds out that he owns the building, and practically the whole town, and they have a steamy office romance.

I have to say, I enjoyed this a lot better than 50 Shades of Gray. I read that book last summer and enjoyed it, but this one had much more plot and characters that you become involved with. When I started the book, I thought it was interesting, but wasn't able to tell whether the main character's best friend, Cary, was a boy or girl.

This book is one of those books that I feel deserves more hype than it has been getting. I feel as if 50 Shades has taken more hype than this book deserves. This book has no contract and is just about a relationship between two people who have their fair share of life problems. Between her overbearing mother and his mysterious past, they make a couple who needs each other more than they need food.

I don't usually get invested in an adult book like this, but this one deserves so much recognition and it's just well written. The best writers don't get the recognition they deserve.

Thoughts if you read this?

Musing Mondays (6 January 2013)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme created by Should be Reading

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

MY MUSING MONDAY:

This is my first one, so I think I'm going to start off with my reading habits since this is something I need to improve. This past year, my reading has been slowly going downhill due to school. When I started University, I found it hard to read, but I found the perfect time to read and that was when I was at work. I work in the library, so it only seemed fitting that I read there.

I could finish a book in two days of working and I loved that about my job. However, when the term ended almost a month ago, my reading began to go down hill. I just didn't have a great reading streak. I have to find time to fit reading into my nonexistent schedule and it's harder than it looks. Sometimes, I want to read, but I just can't be bothered.

If the books I am reading are some of the best books I have ever read, then yes, I will make an effort to read them quickly. 

One of the hardest things for me is finding a place to read. I love sitting in a big chair with music playing. The hardest part at home is finding that kind of space since my siblings are always around and they seem to love making loud noises. I need to get a comfy big chair where I can do all of my reading.

I tried reading before I went to bed, but I ended on a really good part and it kept me up most of the night thinking about it. Reading when I go to bed just doesn't work for me.