August: Month in Review

Announcements:
The elusive move to Wordpress is happening soon, guys! Probably within September, around my birthday I imagine, but maybe a bit later. The design has been approved, so it's being coded now, and then I have to move all my stuffs and get blogging. Hurrah!

Also, I'm changing up my giveaways again, with a focus on YOU GUYS, the people who actually read my posts and interact with me on my blog. The monthly box giveaway is going away, and I'll probably be doing one or two giveaways a month shipping from TBD. I'm not telling you how you enter yet, but, like winter, it is coming.

Bloglovin' lameness:
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Books Reviewed in July:
I used all of my ratings this month! Wooo! Note that these aren't the books I READ in July, just the ones I posted reviews for. Check my Goodreads to see what I read.

5 Star:
Rogue (Croak #3) - Gina Damico

4.5 Star:
Two Boys Kissing - David Levithan
Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) - Sarah J. Maas
Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles #2) - Melina Marchetta
Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles #3) - Melina Marchetta
The Returned - Jason Mott

4 Star:
Love in the Time of Global Warming - Francesca Lia Block
Covet - Tracey Garvis Graves
The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection (Jessica Darling's It List #1) - Megan McCafferty
Counting by 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan

3.5 Star:
The Crown (Joanna Stafford #1) - Nancy Bilyeau
If You Could Be Mine - Sara Farizan
Vigilant - Angel Lawson
The Year of Shadows - Claire Legrand
All Our Yesterdays - Cristin Terrill

3 Star: 
The Chalice (Joanna Stafford #2) - Nancy Bilyeau
How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon #1) - Cressida Cowell
The 100 (The Hundred #1) - Kass Morgan
The Meme Plague (Memento Nora #3) - Angie Smibert
The Fantastic Family Whipple (The Fantastic Family Whipple #1) - Matthew Ward

2.5 Star:
Starry Nights - Daisy Whitney

2 Star:

False Sight (False Memory #2) - Dan Krokos
The Grass Dancer - Susan Power

1.5 Star:
Maybe Tonight? (Snap Decision #1) - Bridie Clark

1 Star:
Insurgent (Divergent #2) - Veronica Roth

.5 Star:
The Flame in the Mist - Kit Grindstaff

July: Month in Review & Monthly Box Giveaway

Announcements:
In case you don't know, the plan is for A Reader of Fictions to move to Wordpress sometime in August, complete with a new shiny design. I have no idea what that will do to my scheduling, so just a warning that it's coming and to bear with me!

In other news, as of August 4, I'll have been blogging here for THREE YEARS! I'm not doing an official celebration until I move, and I might still be too lazy, but I'll probably do some sort of hurrah post on the day. :D

Books Reviewed in July:
Most of my ratings are really high this month! Yay! Let's ignore the fact that this stems from the fact that I did unprecedentedly little reading, so I used some of my saved up reviews, which are pretty much all positive. What matters is that there are so many good books!

4.5 Star:
The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
The Distance Between Us - Kasie West

4 Star:
Fun Home - Alison Bechdel
45 Pounds - K. A. Barson
A Darkness Strange and Lovely (Something Strange and Deadly #2) - Susan Dennard
OCD Love Story - Corey Ann Haydu 
Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) - Katie McGarry
Dairy Queen (Dairy Queen #1) - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) - Patrick Ness
The Beginning of Everything - Robyn Schneider

3.5 Star:
All the Truth That's in Me - Julie Berry
Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion #1)  - Teri Brown
Cold Steel (Spiritwalker #3) - Kate Elliott
Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1) - Rhiannon Frater
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
The Path of Names - Ari Goelman
The Virgin Cure - Ami McKay
Starglass (Starglass #1) - Phoebe North
The Boy on the Bridge - Natalie Standiford
Ink (The Paper Gods #1) - Amanda Sun
Countdown City (The Last Policeman #2) - Ben H. Winters

3 Star: 
Catching Liam (Good Girls Don't #1) - Sophia Bleu
Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking - Erin Dionne

2.5 Star:
Replica (Replica Trilogy #1) - Jenna Black
The Mirrored World - Debra Dean

2 Star:

Shadowcry (Wintercraft #1) - Jenna Burtenshaw
Dune (Dune #1) - Frank Herbert

1 Star:
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) - April Genevieve Tucholke

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

To enter to win, just fill out the Rafflecopter!
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

June: Month in Review + Monthly Box Giveaway

Books Reviewed in June
Obviously, I'm not doing so well with my plan to post once a day. I'll try to do that, but I have review deadlines to meet, so I have to do what I have to do, and I will regret nothing. It was a pretty great month for reviews, since only two reviews were negative and the rest ambivalent. Success!

5 Star:
Golden Boy - Abigail Tarttelin

4.5 Star:
Faking It (Losing It #2) - Cora Cormack
Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

4 Star:
Sidekicked - John David Anderson
The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1) - Soman Chainani
Cold Fire (The Spiritwalker Trilogy #2) - Kate Elliott
The Apprentices (The Apothecary #2) - Maile Meloy
The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty
Imaginary Girls - Nova Ren Suma

3.5 Star:
Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1) - Melina Marchetta
The Wells Bequest (The Grimm Legacy #2) - Polly Shulman
The Milk of Birds - Sylvia Whitman

3 Star: 
Death Watch (The Undertaken #1) - Ari Berk
Emma Emmets, Playground Matchmaker - Julia DeVillers
Famous Last Words - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
How My Summer Went Up in Flames - Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die - April Henry
The Wig in the Window - Kristen Kittscher
One (One #1) - Leigh Ann Kopans
Charm & Strange - Stephanie Kuehn
By Referral Only - Lyla Payne
Zits: Chillax - Jerry Scott
Wild Awake - Hilary T. Smith
Defiance (Defiance #1) - Stephanie Tyler

2.5 Star:
The Original 1982 - Lori Carson

2 Star:
Solstice - P.J. Hoover

.5 Star:
The Summer Garden (Tatiana and Alexander #3) - Paullina Simons

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

To enter to win, just fill out the Rafflecopter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

May: Month in Review & Box Giveaway

Announcement
I'm back from BEA! What you can expect:

• The triumphant return of Cover Snark
• A post about what I learned at BEA 2013
• A series of book haul vlogs for the books once my shipments arrive (hopefully all safe and sound, otherwise you shall hear of my tears).

Books Reviewed in May
This is the first month of less reviews posted and my new rating scheme in action. Woo. I forgot to post a couple of times while I was at BEA, due to lack of interwebs and reading time, but regularity will be back. Thanks for sticking with me!

5 Star:
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) - Brandon Sanderson

4.5 Star:
Losing It (Losing It #1) - Cora Carmack
Better Nate Than Ever - Tim Federle
The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise

4 Star:
Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) - Susan Ee
The Planet Thieves - Dan Krokos

3.5 Star:
Tatiana and Alexander (Tatiana and Alexander #2) - Paullina Simons
The Perfume Collector - Kathleen Tessaro
The Ability (The Ability #1) - M.M. Vaughan

3 Star:
The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate
Heart of Glass (Cross My Heart #2) - Sasha Gould
The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #1) - Julie Kagawa
Sight Reading - Daphne Kalotay
The Sword Dancer - Jeannie Lin
The End Games - T. Michael Martin
Reboot (Reboot #1) - Amy Tintera
The Collector (Dante Walker #1) - Victoria Scott
When You Were Here - Daisy Whitney

2.5 Star:
Maya's Notebook - Isabel Allende
The Ward (The Ward #1) - Jordana Frankel

2 Star:
Invisibility - Andrea Cremer & David Levithan

.5 Star:
Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2) - Emmy Laybourne

Other Pop Culture in May

Happy Endings, season 1
This is one of the favorite shows of a very dear friend, so I've been dying to try Happy Endings for ages. The first season is funny, but not as much of a hit with me as I'd been hoping. My problem is that, though I find the basic premise and the dialog amusing, most of the characters seriously annoy me. Oh well, on the plus side, I don't have to spend money to acquire more seasons, since this isn't on Netflix. Glad I was able to borrow season one and check the show out, but I'll be okay if I don't get more.

Arrested Development, season 1
I'm refreshing myself before I watch the new season, though I won't get all the way through beforehand. This show is fabulous. Watch it if you haven't!

Monthly Box Giveaway
This giveaway is open to US readers only, as I will be shipping the books myself and cannot afford international postage. You can enter to win your choice of any or all of the following books:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

April: Month in Review & Box Giveaway

Some Changes on A Reader of Fictions:
Okay, so there are some big changes in the works right now, and I wanted to outline them without a whole post, so here goes.

Less Posting
I will be posting less, not because I'm cutting back on blogging, but because general consensus seems to be that more than one post a day can be overwhelming. I'm going to try to cut back to one post a day for a while and see how that goes. I might have to up to double-posting a couple times a week to get reviews up, but we'll see how it goes! This may change again. This is an experiment, and it's already begun. If you have thoughts on the change, let me know!

This doesn't mean I'm reading less. Just that I will not be posting the reviews I have as frequently.

Giveaways
In an effort to have more giveaways open to international readers, I'm changing up how I do giveaways. For now, I will be offering, so long as I can afford to, a giveaway copy (to be shipped from TBD) of the books I rate a 4.5 or a 5. If I have a month with a bunch of those, obviously, I will have to pick and choose at my discretion. I will be trying to give away a copy of books I loved that were sent to me free for review to support that author/publisher in their awesomeness, but, since I am funding these myself (I don't have ads or earn any money from this blog), I can only do so much.

All the ARCs and finished copies I read but do not keep for myself will go into a box. US readers only can enter to win said box. These will generally be books that I did not love, unless I receive duplicates. The winner, once chosen, may elect to receive all of the books or pick and choose.

Ratings
Also, I've updated my ratings scheme in my head. You might notice a slight change in ratings, particularly on the low end of the scale in the future, because I've solidified what they mean to me. To reiterate, anything 3 and above I liked to varying degrees (so do not tell me 3 is a negative rating, even if I do rant a bit in the review, because I still liked it) with books from 4-5 entering loved territory. Books receiving a 4.5 to a 5, I had an emotional connection with, so some books that get a 4 are essentially flawless but I just didn't bond with the MCs. Now, for the changes to the lower ratings:

2.5: This is pretty much the same. These are books that I can't say that I liked or disliked precisely. Generally, they were a bit uneven with some good elements and some bad.
2: Not for me. Books that receive 2 stars are ones that I think have merit, but that did not personally work for me, due to writing style, characters, subject matter, whatever.
1.5: Not very good. I don't have much positive to say about this book, aside from the fact that it didn't make me mad.
1: Might have had promise if it didn't make me want to punch the wall. From this month on, books receiving a rating of 1 made me angry, but do have something solid to recommend them, like good writing or plotting.
0.5: This book not only made me angry, but it was bad besides.

I'm an emotional reader, so it makes perfect sense for the bottom two ratings to be reserved for emotional reactions the way my top two ratings are. This does mean that my ratings when averaged will be lower, but I think they're a better reflection of my feelings and I'll know better how to rate the books I didn't like.

Reviews Posted in April:

4.5 Stars:
Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) - Leigh Bardugo

4 Stars:
White Lines - Jennifer Banash
Tuesday's Gone (Frieda Klein #2) - Nicci French
Ten Tiny Breaths (Ten Tiny Breaths #1) - K.A. Tucker

3.5 Stars:
The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) - Kelley Armstrong
The Rising (Darkness Rising #3) - Kelley Armstrong
One Plus One Equals Blue - M.J. Auch
Adorkable - Sarra Manning
The Sea of Tranquility - Katja Millay
Anatomy of a Boyfriend (Anatomy #1) - Daria Snadowsky
Anatomy of a Single Girl (Anatomy #2) - Daria Snadowsky
The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) - Rick Yancey

3 Stars:
Dear Cassie (Pretty Amy #2) - Lisa Burstein
House of Secrets (House of Secrets #1) - Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzini
InterWorld (InterWorld #1) - Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves
Arclight - Josin L. McQuein
The Silver Dream (InterWorld #2) - Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves
The Bronze Horseman (Tatiana and Alexander #1) - Paullina Simons
How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True - Sarah Strohmeyer

2.5 Stars:
The Shadow Girl - Jennifer Archer
The Essence (The Pledge #2) - Kimberly Derting
The Symptoms of My Insanity - Mindy Raf

2 Stars:
A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine #1) - Jaclyn Moriarty

1 Star:
The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones - Jack Wolf

0.5 Stars:
Sever (Chemical Garden Trilogy #3) - Lauren DeStefano

Other Pop Culture from April
This goes back to before April, but in deference to less posts, I'm adding my What I've Been Watching posts into the monthly round up. From now on, it shouldn't be so extensive.

The Vampire Diaries, seasons 1-3

Because of the cult following, I decided to return to this show which I DNFed back when it first came out while I was in grad school. Let's just say that I can tell why I quit watching it initially. I really hate pretty much all of the characters, especially Stefan and Elena, ESPECIALLY Stefan and Elena when they're together. However, season three actually got interesting, with the introduction of morally ambiguous vampires who are not in love with Elena. Yay! Of course, I also got into the show right at the end of the last season currently available on Netflix. Sigh. My favorite characters: Caroline and Klaus.

What's Up?

This is one of the weirder kdramas I've watched. What's Up? follows a bunch of freshmen studying musical theater in college. It's sort of like Glee kdrama style, which means random musical numbers, only with the added bonus of such kdrama staples as teacher/student romance, cancer, a friendly ghost, and dark pasts. The show is made even more absurd by its sampling of themes from RENT and Les Choristes. While I did get some joy from watching it, I can't say I'd really recommend it.

Shut Up, Flower Boy Band

Yay! Another kdrama that I just want to hug and love forever. This one came highly recommended by Laura Moss, and, at first, I was like why the eff did she love this?, but I gave it a couple of episodes and all became clear. Basically, someone had to be hit by a bus and then the show stopped just being about boys punching each other and showing off their manliness, all while wearing guyliner and leopard print of course, because, duh, Korea. Anyway, once that person dies, the show is awesome all the way through the solid finale, a rare find in the kdrama world. Also, there are a couple of SUPER adorable couples who I ship so hard.

Felicity, seasons 1-2

Honestly, I think this show is sort of horrible, but it is a bit addictive. I spend a lot of time laughing about how it's basically New Adult by today's standards, though it worked just fine as a teen show back in the day. I would like this way more if the whole thing weren't a love triangle between Felicity, Ben, and Noel. Both guys have done such annoying stuff just by the end of season two that I want her to go find someone else, and I doubt that's happening. There's also a lamentable lack of hot boy on this show, though that can also be a plus as the actors look like real people. On the whole, there's just been too much jumping the shark sort of stuff, all of which makes the show campy, as opposed to a remotely realistic depiction of the issues in a student's life. Entertaining, but not what it should be. I will be finishing out the show, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

Panda and Hedgehog 

Guys, I didn't expect much from this but it turned out to be so adorable. Also, it made me the hungriest ever, because it's about pâtissiers, aka people who make cake for a living. This show is so funny and sweet, almost entirely light-hearted, until the last few episodes when the looming drama reared it's ugly head. Also, this love triangle is actually handled well, with the girl making her decision pretty quickly, actually telling everyone, and settling happily with her chosen guy. Woo!

Monthly Box Giveaway:
Now for the first of the monthly box giveaways! This is open to US readers only, but there will be more international giveaways on A Reader of Fictions in the future. You can win any or all of the following books:

Since I read in a wide range of genres and didn't like all of these books, the winner has the option to ask for all of these or as few as one. Anything not claimed by the winner will go into Cuddlebuggery's Little Blogger Big Ambitions, donated to the library, sold (if it was a finished copy I purchased), traded, or gifted, so don't feel bad if you don't want them all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

March: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Reviews Posted in March
All told, I published 30 reviews in March, which I'm pretty proud of. My average rating for the month was 3.38, which isn't too bad.

5 stars:
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

4.5 stars:
Earth Girl (Earth Girl #1) - Janet Edwards
Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3) - Miranda Kenneally
Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) - Robin LaFevers
The Trouble with Flirting - Claire LaZebnik 
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland #1) - Catherynne M. Valente

4 Stars:
Pretty Girl-13 - Liz Coley
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest - Charles de Lint
Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year #2) - Trisha Leigh 
The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna
Circles of Time (Passing Bells #2) - Phillip Rock 

3.5 Stars:
MILA 2.0 (MILA 2.0 #1) - Debra Driza
Impulse (Jumper #3) - Steven Gould  
Fang Girl - Helen Keeble
The Tragedy Paper - Elizabeth LaBan
Marco Impossible - Hannah Moskowitz
Broken at Love (Whitman University #1) - Lyla Payne

3 stars:
The Midnight Spell - Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story - Sean Howe
A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
A Future Arrived (Passing Bells #3) - Phillip Rock
Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors - Andrew Shaffer
The Murmurings - Carly Anne West 

2.5 Stars:
Unremembered (Unremembered #1) - Jessica Brody
The Rogue's Princess (The Lacey Chronicles #3) - Eve Edwards
Children of Liberty - Paullina Simons 
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters - Suzanne Weyn 

2 Stars:
Fade to Black (Rojan Dizon #1) - Francis Knight
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow - Rita Leganski 

1 Star:
Wasteland (Wasteland #1) - Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan  

Book of the Month Giveaway:

March's Book of the Month is Rainbow Rowell's absolutely beautiful Eleanor & Park. As you can tell, it earned one of my very rare five star ratings, because, on finishing and writing up my review, I could come up with not a single point of criticism, not even a minor one. I am so excited to see YA novels branching out like this. Oh, also, the hipster part of me wants everyone to know that I reviewed it before it received the John Green seal of approval. Just saying.  

To win a copy, fill out the Rafflecopter. This giveaway will be shipped from The Book Depository, so it's international.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

February: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Reviews Posted in February:
During February, I posted 26 reviews, 15 of which were for dystopian titles. My most common rating was 4 stars, which is awesome, but I also had quite a few unfortunate reads too. Oh well. The average of my ratings for the month is 3.3. Not too shabby!

4.5 Stars:
Shadow on the Crown (Emma of Normandy #1) - Patricia Bracewell
In the Shadow of Blackbirds - Cat Winters

4 Stars:
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda
When We Wake (When We Wake #1) - Karen Healey
Because I Said So! - Ken Jennings
Prodigy (Legend #2) - Marie Lu
Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) - Beth Revis
Breaking Point (Article 5 #2) - Kristen Simmons
Orleans - Sherri L. Smith
Fall for Anything - Courtney Summers
Kiss Me Again (If We Kiss #2) - Rachel Vail

3.5 Stars:
Not Exactly a Love Story - Audrey Couloumbis
Rootless (Rootless #1) - Chris Howard 
Legend (Legend #1) - Marie Lu 
The Kassa Gambit - M.C. Planck 
Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection - Don Roff 

3 Stars:
Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles #2) - Isobelle Carmody
Gamers (Gamers #1) - Thomas K. Carpenter
Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year #1) - Trisha Leigh
Shards & Ashes - Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong, eds.
Firebrand (Rebel Angels #1) - Gillian Philip

2.5 Stars:
Ashes of Twilight (Ashes Trilogy #1) - Kassy Tayler

2 Stars:
The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) - Alexandra Bracken

1.5 Stars:
The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
The Prey (The Hunt #2) - Andrew Fukuda

1 Star:
Modelland (Modelland #1) - Tyra Banks  

Book of the Month Giveaway:
Each month, I hold an international giveaway for one of my favorite books reviewed during that month. This month, I had a lot of good reads (and some unfortunate ones). I'm putting the spotlight on debut author Cat Winters' In the Shadow of Blackbirds, a must-read for historical or paranormal fiction fans. Check out my joint review discussion with Lenore Appelhans here and here for more information. 

In the Shadow of Blackbirds doesn't come out until April, so I'll preorder the book for the winner. If the winner lives in the US, I'll give the option of choosing the ARC instead, so they can read it early. If shipping the ARC costs more than a nice, shiny finished copy, I just don't see the point. Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter! 

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

January: Month in Review + Book of the Month Giveaway

Dystopian February:
Some of you may remember that I did a HUGE dystopian event in August, which was a lot of fun. I reviewed over 30 dystopian/post-apocalytpic books, did some giveaways, etc. However, it was also really hard on my blog scheduling. I'm still going to be doing a lot of dystopian stuff to join Presenting Lenore in the celebration, but I won't be doing exclusively dystopian content. There will be quite a few giveaways involved!

Books Reviewed in January:
I had a good reading month. My average rating was 3.6. How exciting is that?

5 Stars:
Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling #1) - Megan McCafferty
Second Helpings (Jessica Darling #2) - Megan McCafferty

4.5 Stars:
Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan - Gong Ji-young
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) - Marissa Meyer
Falling for You - Lisa Schroeder
The Reece Malcolm List - Amy Spalding
Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1) - Kasie West

4 Stars:
Quicksilver (Ultraviolet #2) - R.J. Anderson
The Nature of Jade - Deb Caletti
T-Rex Trying - Hugh Murphy
The Death of Bees - Lisa O'Donnell
The Passing Bells (The Passing Bells #1) - Phillip Rock
Out of the Easy - Ruta Sepetys

3.5 Stars:
Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet #1) - R.J. Anderson
Wild Roses - Deb Caletti 
Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy #1) - Karina Halle 
Mothership - Martin Leicht & Isla Neal
Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green - Helen Phillips 
Then You Were Gone - Lauren Strasnick

3 Stars:
Bossypants - Tina Fey
The One I Left Behind - Jennifer McMahon
An Uncommon Education - Elizabeth Percer
The Archived (The Archived #1) - Victoria Schwab
If We Kiss (If We Kiss #1) - Rachel Vail

2.5 Stars:
Ice Forged (Ascendant Kingdoms #1) - Gail Z. Martin 
Dracula - Bram Stoker

2 Stars:
The Next Forever (Pretty Amy #1.5) - Lisa Burstein
Mind Games (Mind Games #1) - Kiersten White

Book of the Month Giveaway:

One of my favorites this month was Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I think the Lunar Chronicles is just getting better as it goes along, and I want to share the magic with one of my lucky readers. For more information, check out my review. If the winner has not yet read Cinder and would prefer a copy of that, I'll purchase that instead.

The book will be sent from Amazon or TBD depending on where you live, so the contest is international, y'all!

Get your Rafflecopter on to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

December: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Books Reviewed in December:
December has been an amazing reading month for me, and I finished my reading challenge. I actually came out to 367 books, so holla! Oh, I've also changed my sorting on these posts so it will be by rating. :)

4.5 Stars:
Everbound (Everneath #2) - Brodi Ashton
Small Medium at Large - Joanne Levy
Real Live Boyfriends (Ruby Oliver #4) - E. Lockhart
Me Before You - Jojo Moyes
Easy - Tammara Webber

4 Stars:
Austensibly Ordinary - Alyssa Goodnight
Girl, Stolen - April Henry
Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities - Mike Jung
The Dust of 100 Dogs - A.S. King
Moonglass - Jessi Kirby
The Boyfriend List (Ruby Oliver #1) - E. Lockhart
The Treasure Map of Boys (Ruby Oliver #3) - E. Lockhart
Teeth - Hannah Moskowitz
The Sky Is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
Salvation - Anne Osterlund
Paper Valentine - Brenna Yovanoff

3.5 Stars:
Everneath (Everneath #1) - Brodi Ashton
James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
These Things Happen - Richard Kramer
The Boy Book (Ruby Oliver #2) - E. Lockhart
Cascade - Maryanne O'Hara
The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1) - Meghan Shepherd
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You - Peter Troy

3 Stars:
What I Saw and How I Lied - Judy Blundell
Guardian (Halflings #2) - Heather Burch
Dreamland - Sarah Dessen
So You Want to Be a Wizard (Young Wizards #1) - Diane Duane
King of the Dead (Jeremiah Hunt #2) - Joseph Nassise

2.5 Stars:
Astray - Emma Donoghue
Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield

2 Stars: 
One Breath Away - Heather Gudenkauf

1.5 Stars:
Nobody But Us - Kristin Halbrook

Giveaway Winners:
Pre-order of Just One Day by Gayle Forman: Nori of Nori's Closet
ARC of Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield: Dana
Joseph Nassise two-book prize pack: Tia
ARC of The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd: Shelver 506 of Bookshelvers Anonymous

Book of the Month Giveaway:

Choosing from my best reads this month, I'm declaring Easy to be my favorite book of the month, though Scarlet is a close second and, if you hurry, you can win it here. I'll be shipping the book from TBD or Amazon, depending on their location, so the giveaway is international peeps. Just fill out the Rafflecopter! I'm going back for now at least. I am indecisive...weeeee!

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November: Month in Review + Book of the Month Giveaway

Hey everyone! I hope you've had a productive and fun November. Make sure you stick around to the end of the post for a book giveaway you won't want to miss, one of my top reads of the month. While you're here, you might want to check out this week's non-review highlights (Cover Snark and a rant on Instalove), as well as some reviews. :) Comments give me much joy. Just saying.

Books Reviewed in November:
Well, I managed to catch up just slightly on my book challenge, but December will be go-time. Most of my friends are heading to their families for the holidays, which should give me additional free time to get reading accomplished.

16 Young Adult:
Catalyst - Laurie Halse Anderson
The Diviners (The Diviners #1) - Libba Bray
The Unfailing Light (The Katerina Trilogy #2) - Robin Bridges
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Just One Day (Just One Day #1) - Gayle Forman
All You Never Wanted - Adele Griffin
Splintered - A. G. Howard
The Opposite of Hallelujah - Anna Jarzab
A Midsummer's Nightmare - Kody Keplinger
One Lonely Degree - C. K. Kelly Martin
Meant to Be - Lauren Morrill
Prophecy (Prophecy #1) - Ellen Oh
The Art of Wishing - Lindsay Ribar
Renegade (Elysium Chronicles #1) - J. A. Souders
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) - Laini Taylor
A Temptation of Angels - Michelle Zink

13 Adult:
Earth Unaware (The First Formic War #1) - Orson Scott Card & Aaron Johnston
Guardians of Stone (Relic Seekers #1) - Anita Clenney (Guest Review)
Lucky Bunny - Jill Dawson
The Angel Esmeralda - Don DeLillo
Austentatious - Alyssa Goodnight
The Confidant - Hélène Grémillon
Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver
Under Wildwood (Wildwood #2) - Colin Meloy
Eyes to See (Jeremiah Hunt #1) - Joseph Nassise
The Corpse Didn't Kick - Otto Penzler, ed.
All Men of Genius - Lev AC Rosen 
Scent of Magic (Healer #2) - Maria V. Snyder
Red Rain - R.L. Stine

1 Children's:
The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys #1) - Franklin W. Dixon

Book of the Month Giveaway:

This month, I had several powerful reads that I would love to feature. However, I'm only offering up one. Making the choice was difficult, but having just finished this one last night, I cannot resist choosing Just One Day by Gayle Forman. Since this one doesn't come out until January 8, I will preorder the book for the winner. This giveaway is international. Just fill out THIS FORM with your name and email by December 18 and leave a comment on my review by December 14 at midnight.

October: Month in Review & Book of the Month Giveaway

Happy Halloween, everybody!

Books Reviewed in October:

It is also the end of the month, so it's time for me to assess my reading success. Mostly, I failed, as I am STILL lagging behind in my book challenge. Holiday weekends, you will be ALL ABOUT READING. Oh well, I did get a review posted per day, so that's pretty awesome.

15 Young Adult:
Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves - E. Kristin Anderson & Miranda Kenneally, eds.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns #1) - Rae Carson
The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) - Rae Carson
Scorch (Croak #2) - Gina Damico
Dark Star - Bethany Frenette
Romeo Redeemed (Juliet Immortal #2) - Stacey Jay
Middle Ground (Awaken #2) - Katie Kacvinsky
Stealing Parker - Miranda Kenneally
Sacrifice (Legacy #1) - Cayla Kluver
From What I Remember... - Stacey Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Starling (Starling Saga #1) - Lesley Livingston
Carnival of Souls (Carnival of Souls #1) - Melissa Marr
Valkyrie Rising - Ingrid Paulson
Touching the Surface - Kimberly Sabatini
Gravity (The Taking #1) - Melissa West

13 Adult:
Full Blooded (Jessica McClain #1) - Amanda Carlson
Ironskin (Ironskin #1) - Tina Connolly
Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos
Falling Together - Marisa de los Santos
First Among Sequels (Thursday Next #5) - Jasper Fforde
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing (Thursday Next #6) - Jasper Fforde
The Woman Who Died a Lot (Thurday Next #7) - Jasper Fforde
Have Mother, Will Travel - Claire and Mia Fontaine
Blood Zero Sky - J. Gabriel Gates
The Bookie's Son - Andrew Goldstein
Wildwood (Wildwood Trilogy #1) - Colin Meloy
A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorehead
American Grown - Michelle Obama

3 MG:
The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy - Nikki Loftin
The Spindlers - Lauren Oliver
Drama - Raina Telgemeier

Book of the Month Giveaway:

As always, I have an international giveaway for one of my favorite books read during the month. This month, I'm featuring Kimberly Sabatini's Touching the Surface, which is a beautiful, lovely, wonderful book that made me smile and touched my hard heart. Click the link up above to check out my rather rave review. The book will be ordered from Amazon or The Book Depository, depending on where you live. All you have to do to enter is fill out THIS FORM by November 14th at midnight.

Nothing else is required but leaving a comment on at least one of my reviews from this month would also be greatly appreciated. :)