My Psychology Project (Part 2)

If you currently staring at the screen going "Part 2? Say whaaaat?" Then I am going to point you toward this post and this post. They're both pretty much identical, but there are different comments in each place, so if you want to see that, you should check out both posts.

For my psychology project, I chose to do an observation on perception. When we see things that are similar placed near each other, usually in something of an orderly fashion, we tend to group them together. I decided to see how that grouping would go if I arranged books in certain ways, to see if people could see the way I set up the books the way I did, or if they saw something completely different, or even if the whole line of books simply looked like a line of randomness that apparently meant something to me but nothing to you.

There were bunches of comments (of which I am SO thankful for, so thank you very much if you took the time to leave a comment on one of the posts), and I found it incredibly interesting to see what people said, especially the ones that were somewhat more difficult to figure out--some of y'all got creative.

So now I'm going to go through all five pictures and tell you:
- How I actually DID organize the books
- What I expected a majority of responses would be
- What the majority of responses actually WERE
- Any other type of observation/commentary that may or may not pop into my head at any given moment

Okay?

Okay.

Photo #1 

 Everyone got this one right--these are organized by color. Blue, red, green, black. What I found most interesting about this one was the few people (very few--no more than a handful of people) who took the time in their responses to list out the colors, or to specify the pattern the colors go in. I never would have considered asking you guys to list that, because I thought this one was super easy. I honestly didn't expect anyone to get this one wrong. So if this were a test or something, y'all would totally have aced it.

Photo #2 

Most of you got this one right--these are grouped by series, and they're in order within that group. All I was looking for was for you to tell me that it was grouped by series, though. The most common response that WASN'T series was author, which is actually true. If it's a series, then of course the author is a constant in each little grouping. I'd expected people to get that they're all grouped by their series, but I never even considered them being seen as grouped by their authors. The most intriguing response on this one was that they were in order by the height of the first book in the series. I didn't even notice that these pretty much ARE in order by the height of the first book in each series. The Secret Circle books look a little out of that order and maybe Blue is For Nightmares, but other than that, the height thing is a perfectly reasonable guess. 

Photo #3 

 I actually didn't plan this one to be too difficult, but some people had trouble with it. These ones are in order alphabetically by title. According to people I know, Beautiful Disaster threw them off, because they saw the DISASTER and missed the BEAUTIFUL, because of the fonts. Don't get me wrong, a lot of you DID guess this one, but I didn't really think this one would have much variation. Someone guessed that this one was in order by genre, and another said that this one seemed to be in order by heartbreak/sadness. That one is without a doubt the most interesting response here. I personally don't think these are in order by heartbreak/sadness, but that is also subjective. There are more than a few books in this picture that pulled at my heartstrings. 

Oh, and to the person who said that this one looked like a mess--until they enlarged it and saw the titles...HA! You legit made me laugh. :)

Photo #4 

 This was the one that the most people had trouble with, which is exactly what I expected. I have these books grouped by publisher, and most people wouldn't look for that. A bunch of people did get this one, but a bunch of people didn't, too. They guessed, or they said they had no clue, or they were honest and told me they could think of nothing before looking at other comments and realizing they were grouped by pub. Since this one was harder to get, there were a lot of guesses. Author, publication date, genre (specifically paranormal), color, and a few people actually guessed that these were my favorite books. Which is something of a valid guess, since Fangirl is in there, along with representation from most of my favorite series/authors. But there are also eight books in this picture that I haven't read. There was no way for you to know that, though--which again means that the favorites guess could certainly be valid.

Also, to the girl that followed my lead and answered this one with "I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" ...you made me laugh as well. I feel like the people who made me laugh should get bonus points or something. 

Photo #5 

 Like the first photo, I figured this one was a piece of cake--and y'all proved me right. Everyone got this correct. The books are in order by height/size, smallest to largest. There wasn't too much variation in these answers, seeing as this one wasn't really hard to guess. My favorite answer, though, was "Ascending book height..." because I like fancy words. Sometimes. And at this point in time, I see "ascending" as a fancy word. You know, at first, I was kind of worried no one would get this one because I thought the height change was too subtle. I realize that thought was completely silly now, but still. I worried for a bit. And then I posted, and everyone was getting it right, and I did my happy dance.

Conclusion 

I originally thought up this project and went through with it because I thought it could be a fun way to incorporate something I'm interested in and love (books) with school, in a way that didn't involve writing an essay or something for English class. Now, I'm actually super glad I chose to do this. It's kind of crazy town how some of the responses were nothing like anything I would have imagined y'all saying. I never considered that photo #4 would get such a wide range of guesses. I never thought that photo #3 would lead someone to think of the level of heartbreak in each novel. And that's the point of this project--we all perceive things in different ways, because all of our minds work differently. I definitely had a plan when I organized these books, and a lot of people figured out what each of those plans were. But others didn't. They saw things in a different way, imagined the books grouped together in a different way.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this project turned out to be really cool to me, and a lot more fun than any other idea I could have thought up. I seriously loved reading all the responses as they trickled in.

And on that note, I shall end this unbelievably long post. Again, thank you so much to everyone who participated and helped me out by responding to the posts--whether it was on Bookish, here, or some other way for whatever reason, all of your guesses were so helpful, and I appreciate all your pretty faces. :)

My Psychology Project (Part 1)

As many of you probably know, I am in high school. Which means aside from reading ALL OF THE TIME, I also go to school and do homework and blah blah blah. One of those classes I take in school is psychology. (Surprising, right? Not like it's in the title of the post or anything.) For that class, we have to do a project, and I'm here asking for your help.

I'm doing my project on perception and similarity, and how our minds group together things when we see them. So for this, I'm going to post five pictures. Each of them will be of books (which explains why I'm asking for YOUR help, yes?). All I need you to do is comment on this post telling me how you think I organized the books in each photo.

A few things:

- I am posting this same exact post over on Bookish, so if you already commented over there, there is no need for you to do so in both places. Unless you really want to, I guess...then I can't stop you... But seriously. Not necessary.

- As you can probably tell, each line of books is organized differently. So in your comment, you'll have five answers. It's not going to be just one answer that you puzzle out. So you comment should (ideally) look something like this:
1. By publication date
2. By author's last name
...etc.

- I did NOT just give away any answers with that example in the last bullet point.

- This is not a riddle at all, actually. You aren't really figuring anything out. It's just about how YOU perceive these books to be organized.

- If you have no clue how one of the lines is organized and can't think of anything, then just say so. Seriously. Be like:
1. By publication date
2. By author's last name
3. I HAVE NO CLUE WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS ONE SO CHAOTIC? (Or something to that effect. Though CAPS aren't necessary. But I can't really tell you what to do, so...) :)
...etc.

- If you need to enlarge any of the pictures to view them better, then just click on the one you want to enlarge.

- If you are confused or I didn't explain anything right, or ANYTHING, just let me know. You can comment here or you can tweet me or you can email me. Whatever floats your awesome boat.

Okay?

Okay.

Photo #1 

  *Please comment below with how you think these books are organized*

Photo #2 

 *Please comment below with how you think these books are organized*

Photo #3 

 *Please comment below with how you think these books are organized*

Photo #4 

 *Please comment below with how you think these books are organized*

Photo #5 

 *Please comment below with how you think these books are organized* 

And that's it! Thank you so much for helping me out, and if you could spread the word about this post, I would really appreciate it. If you want to know how I actually did organize the books in each of the pictures, then drop by my blog in the middle of next week (late Tuesday/early Wednesday)*. I'll post Part 2 of my project then, which will contain the results in the form of the most common responses and will ultimately be the link I send to my teacher.

*Part 2 is now up, and you can see it by clicking here!

September TBR ♥ A Video of Jessica Being Awkward

So some bloggers do posts every month to sum up their month or show what's to come on the blog and whatnot. Other bloggers do vlogs for this.

I chose to do a vlog.

This is that vlog.

 

And that is it. COMMENT THINGS. (I'm really not helpful today, am I? *sigh*)

 

Also, I heart you! Also, Fangirl still makes me happy-dance!

 

Also, Victoria Scott...I think I've said enough for today, actually...

 

*hides*

 

♥Jessica(:

Stacking the Shelves #5 ♥ Dark Visions!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

Oh, look! Another terrible, ramble-y video in which I forgot to thank EVERYBODY. Thank you to all the people who sent me/gave me any of the books I got this week. I heart, y'all!

 

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Take Me Now by Faith Sullivan

Every Shattered Thing by Elora Ramirez

Catching Liam by Sophia Bleu

The Darkest Part by Trisha Wolfe

Jordyn by Tiffany King

Jordyn and the Caverns of Gloom by Tiffany King

All of You by Christina Lee

Learning to Love by Lauren Howard

Undertow by Leigh T. Moore

Five by Christie L. Rich

Few Are Angels by Inger Iversen

The Liberator by Victoria Scott

Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

Tears of the Broken by A.M. Hudson

The Knight of the Rose by A.M. Hudson

Manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink

So Close to You by Rachel Carter

Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir

Natural Born Angel by Scott Speer

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

Jersey Angel by Beth Ann Bauman

Amarok by Angela J. Townsend

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

 

Bloggers Mentioned:

Meredith @ Pandora's Books 

Evie @ Bookish 

 

What do you think? Link me up, tell me things, all that fun stuff! :)

 

♥Jessica(:

What I Got #26 Contagious ;)

What I Got is a weekly meme hosted by the fabulous Monica over at Cover Analysis :) 

 

I promised last week that I would keep up with these, so--surprisingly--I am! Even though it is an ungodly hour of the night/morning and I've been doing the YA Scavenger Hunt and I don't really FEEEEEL like making this post. But I shall. Because I promised.

 

I don't like to break promises.

 

Okay, now that my random rant is over with, here are all the books I got this week!

 

And they are all FOR REVIEW:

 

    

 

Blood Moon by Teri Harman

This is the only book I got in the mail this week, but I was so pumped when I got it. It is GORGEOUS! And for a blog tour. There will be a character interview involved. We all know how GREAT I am at those, RIGHT?!?! Hehehe. Thanks a bunch to Jolly Fish Press!

 

Devour by Andrea Heltsley

"He wasn't supposed to remember..." WHAT wasn't he supposed to remember? And WHY wasn't he supposed to remember it? And--holy snap--WHO is he?!?!?! Yeah. Now you see why I wanna read this book. I got it on my Kindle for a blog tour! *happy dance*

 

Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen

There are angels involved, and the series is called The Cupid Chronicles. Need I say more? This is also for a blog tour, by the way.

 

Naturals by Tiffany Truitt

This one is actually from NetGalley, because Entangled is awesome to me. Someday, I shall post that review I have of book 1 in this series, and then I'll read this one. Just you wait.

 

    

 

Prophecy Girl by Cecily White

That handy dandy little newsletter thingy I get from Entangled every so often was what led me to this book. When I saw it on NetGalley, my finger did that silly twitch thing and now I have this on my Kindle...as always, thanks to Entangled for making me heart them. And now I need to make time for this book because I SERIOUSLY want to read it.

 

Aris Returns: A Vampire Love Story by Devin Morgan

I bet you can guess why I snagged this off NetGalley...it's a vampire love story. That was all I needed to know before I clicked. I'm kind of lucky this is even book 1, because I didn't check until after. I have an odd liking for vampire romances, when they're GOOD. Remember A Shade of Vampire, people? It's like that.

 

Project Ele by Rebecca Gober & Courtney Nuckels

This was free on Amazon. 'Nuff said.

 

Jaded by Mercy Amare

A rock star love story! YES! Thank you soooooo much to Mercy for sending me an ARC of this for review!!

 

  

 

A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest

Bella sent this to me Friday night (when I was at my brother's celebrating my nephew's 5th birthday!) and I have been itching to start it ever since. I'm about 9% in now, and I must say, I NEED TO READ MORE. Gah, what I want to happen is not happening, but I see potential good and/or interesting things that could happen and I'm just...yeah. Also, this book is longer than the first one. Also, I find it funny how I JUST referenced A Shade of Vampire and now I'm telling you I got book 2. Not intentional at all, but convenient. Ha. So, thank you thank you thank you to Bella for sending me an early copy of this! I should finish it super soon and have a review up next week, so look out for that!

 

Chasing Mrs. Right by Katee Robert

THAT is probably the steamiest cover of a book I've reviewed...hmm. Oh, well. I can't resist Heather when she emails us about this stuff. Plus, I hear marvelous things about Katee Robert. Plus, this book looks fantastic. Thank you so much to Heather and Entangled for sending me a copy for review!

 

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

This book...there's something about this book, man. I was just LOOKING at it today as I watched SNL, and then I blinked and it was, like, 3 AM and I was 81% in. That's a good sign. I got this book for a blog tour, and I can't wait to a) finish this book and b) post my review so I can verbally abuse y'all into reading this beautiful awesomeness. I'm also convinced that I need to name something Wilson. Or Darcy. Or name one thing Wilson and the other Darcy. For real.

 

All right, that is all I got this week! Thank goodness. My fingers are getting tired. I'm mighty chatty this morning, aren't I? I need to sleep. Obviously. And shut up. I need to shut up and sleep.

 

Oh, and have you heard THIS SONG? I've been listening to it since I noticed it in the suggestions when I was listening to You & Me by Dave Matthews Band (which I listened to, logically, after it showed up in the suggestions after listening to Seven, which was, naturally, the first song I put on when I logged onto the computer), and have been listening to it ever since. As I hunted YA style. As I wrote this post. And now it's stuck in my head and I'm addicted. Singing along and everything. "It's contaaaagious..."

 

Yeah. Be glad you don't live with me and have to wake up to me singing at 5:30 in the morning.

 

Okay, y'all, tell me:

 

What did YOU get this week?

Have you read anything I got?

What did you think of it?

Do you WANT to read anything I got?

Which ones?

 

All righty, you answer me those questions in the comments, and link up to your haul posts--whatever those may be, Stacking the Shelves or something else--and I'll check it all out after I wake up.

 

Now, I'm off to go pass out somewhere.

 

Have a great day, friends!

 

♥Jessica(:

 

Blog Tour: In the Band by Jean Haus (Review!)

In the Band by Jean Haus
Release Date: October 19, 2012
Format: ebook, 306 pages
Source: Author for blog tour!

Description from Goodreads:
When family problems push Riley Middleton into giving up a percussion scholarship in another state and attending college from home, her friends push her to try out for a local rock band. Of course, Riley makes the band. She rules at the drums.

Riley soon finds out rock bands have a different dynamic than marching bands, especially when each of her male band mates has a major ego and is a major player. Two of them relentlessly flirt with her. The other—a dark, sexy rock god she can’t help being attracted to— is a total jerk and pushes her to quit. She becomes determined to ignore his rudeness and his hotness. Even if she was interested in jerks, a hook up would probably get her booted out of the ego-ridden band, and playing keeps her sane. Behind the drums, the world and its troubles evaporate.

If she wants to stay in the band, Riley needs to ignore the growing sparks between her and her band enemy. But as she gets to know the man behind the stage persona, ignoring him proves to be more difficult than flowing through a time sig shift.

*New Adult/Mature YA for language and sexual situations.

First of all, I want us all to look at that cover. LOOK AT IT. Gorgeous, right? I love it. And it is sooooo perfect. Just so we all know. It has now been established. Okay? Okay.

Moving on...This book is an NA contemprary romance. NA. I love NA. Contemporary. Some of the coolest books are contemp. Romance. COME ON, guys. You should know this one by now. I'm a swooner. So this book? Was set up in my mind to be fantabulous. And, of course, this book did not disappoint. At all. Ahhhh, I loved it!

I loved the way the story started off as something completely simple. I mean, there were issues, obviously, but it was nothing too huge. But then we met more characters and situations changed and got bigger and the story turned into something riveting. Honest to goodness, I lost some sleep over this book because I could not stop reading. The banter between Riley and Romeo was so amusing, I can't even. AHHH, love.

Character Rundown:
Riley: Riley's character actually wasn't TOO bad. There were things about her that got on my nerves--like resisting Romeo, for instance. HOW she could do that, I have no flipping idea. Other than that, she was great to her little sister, which I respect, and I understand her frustration when it came to her mind. Were I her, I'd be the exact same way toward my mother. I guess I just get her. Well, all except the Romeo thing.

Romeo: This boy shocked me. So. Much. He seems so agressive and mysterious at first, but then he changes and we find out secrets and just...goodness, guys. This boy. This boy this boy this boy. I heart him so hard, guys. If I were to know him in person, he'd be one of the few people I hug every time I see them. (There SERIOUSLY aren't that many people I do that to.) And his name? Justin Romeo. Perfect.

Plot. This book has issues up the yin-yang. And it kept my eyes locked to this book for looong periods of time. This is NOT one of those contemps that have the possibility of boring people (ahem, ME) to tears. Thank goodness for that.

Aww, Romeo. All the sweetness in this book comes from this wonderful boy. I mean, the bandmates have a moment or two of their own, but Romeo runs the show. He and Riley...well, Romeo wanted it to happen, so I did, too. He was good for her. And she was good for him. Plus, Riley sort of deserved something more happy in her life. So Team Romeo&Riley it is/ ;)

The ending. Ahhh, smiles. That's all I must say for this. Smiles. And Romeo. <3

Overall, In the Band is a riveting NA contemporary romance that made me smile and even made me tear up once or twice. Maybe three times. Oh, and, ha, there may have been a gasp at a certain spot or three. If you like amazing NA books, you should give this book a go, no doubt about it.

♥Jessica(:

Review: Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton

Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Format: ARC, 469
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Series: Angelfire #3
Source: ARC tour!

Description from Goodreads:
Your strength in heart and hand will fall. . . .
Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.
The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.
As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world’s darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.
Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy, Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.

The Angelfire trilogy. It is so weird to see this one come to an end. I remember when the first book came out! Goodness. It was before I became a blogger, but after I decided I'd let books rule my life. Either way, I'd never given much though to this trilogy ending. No more Will, no more Ellie, no more...no more...no more CADAN. (I'm going to cry for days for that one, guys.)

Anyways, back to the point. This book. The ending of a very kickass trilogy. Well, if you MUST know...this was such an amazing way to end the trilogy!!!!!!!

Goodness gracious, this book was badass. I laughed (a lot), cried (why must people DIE?!?!), slapped things (I'd rather not specify WHAT, because then y'all may not like me anymore...hehehe--I'm totally kidding. Kind of.), punched things, threw things, yelled things (TEAM WAFFLES!), and so on. I think you get my point. This book was a bunch of feels. Because, you know, I may not have said this, but this was the ending to a trilogy. And it was badass. So yeah.

Courtney's writing makes me smile, just like always. I don't even know WHAT it is about her writing, but it just feels different to me, and I like it. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. Pulls me in and keeps me reading. Even if I don't want to. Yeah. THAT great. ;)

Character Rundown:
Ellie: Ellie's been through a lot in this trilogy, and I must say: I liked her more and more with each book and she grew into a character I could actually stand. Um, yeah, I wasn't her biggest fan in the beginning. But now, she's all right. Completely fierce. I suggest you watch yourself when in her presence.

Will: Awww, Will!!!! He is so incredinly sweet, I just want to hug the snap out of him. I love how stable and just plain supportive he was. If he were real, I'd totally be first in line to be his BFF. He's just so cute! Love this boy.

Cadan: While I love Will, Cadan is the boy that has me in this trilogy. Gosh, I ADORE this boy. He makes me laugh and he cares. He cares so much, I can't even. He is sooooo mine. I love how we've grown to trust him more and more throughout these books. We can depend on him now! Did you hear me? DEPEND on him. TRUST him. We can, we can! Ahhh, this boy <3

Plot. We were focused on what was going to happen, which I seriously liked because I actually KNEW what was going on! A lot of the time, I'm slow with figuring out just what the heck the characters are doing or trying to accomplish, but in this book? Not a problem. I get it, guys! WOOT! Another thing. This is a WAR. We all know what happens when at war, yes? The D word? Because it does happen, no matter how much we wish it wouldn't. In this very book. It happens. *sad face*

Sweets. Well, first and foremost (for me, anyway), we have Cadan. Who, as I said, CARES. And we see him caring and cooperating and I am so happy our relationship with him has grown to this point. And then there is Will. Oh, Will. I've already told y'all that will is so sweet. This guy is such a sweetheart. Him and Ellie together...it just works. So well. I can't imagine these two actually being with someone else. Just doesn't blend in my brain.

The ending. Ohhhh, guys, the feels. The feels the feels the feels. It's over! But I think Courtney gave us a darn good ending. I closed the book feeling all satisfied and a little teary-eyed. SO MUCH happened--in this book, in this TRILOGY--but Courtney wrapped it all up in such a wonderful way.

Overall, Courtney Allison Moulton did a supremely GREAT job on this book and therefore, she rocks. Seriously. She rocks my socks off. BARE FEET RIGHT NOW, Y'ALL. If you've read the first two books in this trilogy and are feeling kind of meh about the whole thing, I suggest you most definitely read the last installment. It's an ending worth reading. And if you read the first two books and think they're the best thing ever? I say the same thing. Most definitely a trilogy worth reading, right here.

GAH! I just can't believe it's over. AHHHHH!

But seriously. Read it.

♥Jessica(:

Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken♥

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Release Date: December 18, 2012
Format: ARC, 498 pages
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Series: The Darkest Minds #1
Source: Gifted from Anna!!

Description from Goodreads:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

Congratulations to The Darkest Minds for being the first book of 2013 to make me cry.

Even bigger congratulations for being my new favorite non-JLA book.

Yeah. I loved it that much. This book...this book was amazing. It's hard for me to even explain, but I'm going to try, and I'm not going to use a bunch of gifs to do it because this book...there is no easy way out in this book.

Let's think for a second. Let's go back to the crying thing. Now, I'm a big baby. A huge baby. When a book is sad, I tear up. Sometimes, if it's sad enough, I cry. But even though I am a big baby, I don't CRY LIKE A BABY all that much while reading books. That's just not how it usually goes. Sure, a tear or two here and there, but SOBBING? Not often.

I sobbed for this book.

As I said, doesn't happen often. From what I can remember, I've only cried a bunch for:
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
- Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Flawed by Kate Avelynn

And that's IT. Anything else I've cried for, was not that big of a deal, not really. I mean, I probably did hyperventilate like I said or something for those ones, but actually holy-crap-I-can't-stop-crying? Did not happen.

And, if we're being honest, The Darkest Minds caused me to cry like I have never cried for a book before. Just...wow.

Now, if it made me cry so much WHY is it my favorite? Why?

Well, first of all, Alexandra Bracken is a kickass writer. She can WRITE. I mean, obviously, if she can make me cry like that, but she made me laugh, too. And she made my jaw-drop, and she kept me reading when I might have given up on the book otherwise. The author did an AMAZING job with this book. The premise was magnificent and execution flawless. I admit, if this story had been told in any other way, I probably would have put it down. I normally don't go for this kind of thing. I mean, we don't even meet the other big main characters until 100 pages in. But Alexandra Bracken..well, she did her job so freaking well.

And then the characters...OH MY GOODNESS, the characters.

Character Rundown:
Ruby: For all intents and purposes, I should have hated Ruby. She lied, she did things I wanted to slap her for, and she wasn't open enough. But I love this chick. Why? Because she's logical. Stick a 10 year old girl in a camp like THAT for 6 years while she hides the secret of WHO SHE IS and then pull her out, and I have no doubt Ruby is what should come out. And goodness gracious, I understand her. I get the way she thinks, even though I wish she could be different sometimes. I get it and I know and I just...Ruby's a great character.

Liam: Awww, my little southern boy. I never failed to smile when he used the word "darlin'." Even at the end. He's such a purely GREAT person. Confident and sure of himself, but not in an arrogant way. More in a helpful, kind way. I love this boy. He's exacly what Ruby needs. Ohmyflippinggoodess, he is EXACTLY what she needs.

Chubs: Charles. Oh, man, Chubs was my favorite character in this book. He's so loyal and caring and determined. He knows what he wants and goes for it. He knows who he likes and takes care of them. And he...he knows what to do...and does it. He's smart. He's funny. He dreams about food a lot. Goodness, I can't even say much more. "My favorite character" should tell you how amazing he is.

Bad guy: So, yeah, there's a bad guy. I'm not going to tell you his name because that's part of the mystery! He could be anybody. ANYBODY. You might guess him, you might not. Personally, I DID guess him, but then changed my mind farther into the book. It just didn't add up at that point. Anyway, this bad guy. He toyed with my emotions a bit. I mean, not once did he really fool me--I was very suspicious around him--but I'm also one to care for characters I shouldn't. This guy was no exception. Now, I want to beat the crap out of this guy just like anyone else does. But he was a great villain. That's all I'm going to say. I'm trying SO HARD not to spoil for you guys.

Plot. A big chunk of the beginning was world building. As I said, we don't meet our awesome companions until about 100 pages in. That does not mean those first 100 pages were horrid, though. Those first 100 pages are the ones that would usually bore me to the point of giving up.

I didn't give up.

Which means they held my attention. I didn't even get bored. Again, as I already said: Alexandra Braken can WRITE. Very, very well. And then after we met Liam and Zu and Chubs...well, I loathed to put the book down. It was interesting and kept me on my toes and made me happy and sad and it was just a whirlwind of TERRIFIC.

Sweet things. There is romance. In that aspect, Liam's our boy. Sweet, and--as I said, because I just can't stop repeating myself--exactly what Ruby needs. And then there's Zu, the sweet little girl. And there is Chubs. Who did not like Ruby AT ALL at first, but grew to love her just as he did with Zu and Liam. That was my favorite growth in this book--how the four of them grew together. They're just super great friends and I loved it. So loyal to each other and willing to do anything...ANYTHING...for one another. I had fun with the Liam and Ruby relationship, too. Which I've already explained.

The ending. This is where I have no clue what to say. It was a GREAT ending. I want the next book now. Right this second. This is probably going to be one of my favorite trilogies ever, if not #1. But then again...it was so heartbreaking. It took me so long to read the last 20ish pages or so because I was just CRYING. Everything...it was just...it all falls apart. And then Ruby, she takes care of it! I swear, I can't imagine a different way for her to deal with that situation. But that doesn't make it any less sad.

Overall, one of my favorites EVER. Wonderful writing, badass characters, and so much emotion. I lovelovelove this book so much. If you ask me, YOU should definitely read it. I can't imagine NOT reading it. It's not very lighthearted, but it is definitely a magnificent story that will stick with you. I know it's sticking with me.

Thanks a million to Anna for giving me this book. There aren't enough words in the world to explain how grateful I am.

♥Jessica(:

WinterHaven Sleigh Tour ♥ Favorite Winter Story & Giveaway!

Today, I'm participating in the third and final event for the WinterHaven Sleigh Tour! This week, we're telling y'all about our favorite children's, winter, or Christmas stories! To see what other bloggers are choosing, click on the banner above to see a list of participating blogs!

 

When I saw this event, I was completely thrown for a loop. I had NO IDEA what I'd choose. But then I actually sat down and thought about it, and this came to mind...

 

Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne

(Click on the cover to go to the Goodreads page)

 

Whenever I try to think of a book for this event, Christmas in Camelot is always the first to pop into my head. I've always been a huge fan of the Magic Tree House series. I STILL have a huge collection of these books in my room. These were the books that I started out reading, waaaay back before I becamse the booklover I am today. These books MADE me a booklover. Especially the Merlin Missions. Honestly, I had the biggest crush on Teddy as a kid. I was so jealous of Kathleen...

 

Anywho, this is one of my favorite Magic Tree House books. I read this book in, like, three days. That was a big deal back then. This book has, like, 16 chapters in it. That was a lot. So...yeah. This is my pick. And the cover's so pretty. I'm glad this is one that I own.

 

Giveaway!

WinterHaven books will host a give-away for everyone that will includes two book bundles to be donated to an elementary school or library of the winner's choice. The winner will be able to choose two from the following choices:

 

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (includes all 3 books)

Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Steifvater (includes all 3 books)

Dairy Queen Trilogy by Catherine Murdock (includes all 3 books)

Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (includes first 3 books)

 

All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter below!

**I am not sponsoring this giveaway and am not responsible for distributing prizes or anything like that.**

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you guys so much for stopping by and reading my posts throughout this tour. And guess what?

CHRISTMAS IS 6 DAYS AWAY! *squee!*

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this super cool event by clicking the banner at the top of this post!

Also, TODAY is my last day of midterms. Thank you, sweet goodness! This means I should be normal again soon! Not sure if I'm posting at all tomorrow yet, but Friday, for sure. Thank you guys for being so great!

What's YOUR favorite children's, winter, or Christmas story? What do you think of MY pick?

♥Jessica(: 

Cover Reveal & Giveaway ♥ Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti!

 

Today, I get to be one of the awesome bloggers revealing the cover for Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti. I am immensely excited about this. Why, you ask? Weeeell, this author is one of the super cool ones I talk to on a regular basis. She's super cool. Plus, Dracian Legacy? Is a book I've been DYYYYIIIIINGGG for since the second I got the email about this book. The cover reveal puts us one step closer!

 

So...let's reveal, shall we?

 

Dracian Legacy by Priya Kanaparti

Ren and Axel are caught between two powerful magical races: one destined to end the bloodshed, the other out for vengeance.

Seventeen-year-old Ren Pernell is prophesied to end the war between the Dracians and the Telalians. So when a Dracian, Axel Knight, is sent to find and bring back the prophesied one before she turns eighteen and Telalians discover of her existence, unexpected sparks start to fly between the two. Once Ren finds the truth behind Axel’s arrival, she wants everything to do with him and nothing to do with his mission.

Things prove to be difficult as Ren’s life is constantly threatened by forces that are beyond her control, including the leader of the Telalians. With the clock ticking and Ren’s life in jeopardy, it is no longer just a mission for Axel. It becomes a personal endeavor to save the only one he’s ever loved. In a heart racing ending, they must find a way to evade the preordained war that won’t also end Ren’s life.

All right. Let's be honest for a second here. Is that cover gorgeous or is that cover GORGEOUS?!?!! And that blurb...can I have the book now, please? PLEASE?

Okay, now I'm going to info-dump you guys. Why? Because I can. And because I have zero tact right now. I'm tired, my good people. I apologize. Midterms are almost over. Then I'll be back to my wonderful self that sleeps all the time so she can be not-tired when she attempts to blog.

About Priya
Priya Kanaparti was born in India, grew up in Detroit, and is now living in Boise, ID. She attended Wayne State University for her undergrad degree in Bachelor of Science in Biology, and University of Phoenix for her Masters in Business Administration. Priya works as a project manager in software field during the day and lives in the world of her characters during the nights and weekends. She had found the love for reading and writing early this year, when she stayed home with her year old and needed something to occupy those 'downtime' hours.
She loves playing tennis on a good summer day and chess during the cold winters, but reading and writing has become a year round hobby.
She lives in Boise with her husband, son and a Yorkie. Dracian Legacy is her debut novel.

Contact information:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pkanaparti
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpriyakanaparti
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6526707.Priya_Kanaparti
Goodreads Dracian Legacy: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16007175-dracian-legacy
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103131167289314491102
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pkanaparti/
Release Date: February 14th, 2013

Blog Tour Dates: February 12th, 2013 through March 15th, 2013

Availability: E-book and print format through self-publish

Count Word: 85,000

Giveaway!

This giveaway is so amazing. It's so amazing, even I'm entering. Wanna know the prizes?

this giveaway will have 5 winners:

2 winners will receive e-book of Dracian Legacy

1 winner will receive 2 e-books of winner's choice to Shelly Crane's Significance Series

1 winner will receive 2 e-books of winner's choice to Jennifer Armentrout's Covenant Series

1 winner will receive swag from Shelly Crane

 

Yeah. You want? Because I KNOW I do!

 

Okay, so this giveaway is international, except for the swag. That part's not international. Still...I want to read the Significance books!

 

Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!

**This giveaway isn't sponsored by me. Just so you know.**

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

What did you think of the cover? Do YOU think this book's going to be as great as I think it's going to be?

♥Jessica(:

Guest Post: Molly Ringle ♥ Boys in Love (GIVEAWAY!)

Hello, my lovely followers! Today, the author Molly Ringle was gracious enough to stop by the blog and tell us a bit of her thoughts about...

Wait for it...

BOYS IN LOVE.

Yes. Boys in love. This should be interesting, if you've read any of the books that I've read this past year... ;)

And now, for Molly's post!

Let's be honest, ladies. When we find ourselves hopelessly attracted to a womanizer, or a snarky, too-cool-for-love type, our daydreams and hopes are fueled by one proposition: the idea that we can change him. Yes, after falling in love with us, he will start respecting women! (Or us, at least.) He will realize his flaws and cast them away! He will apologize, repeatedly! Ideally while feeding us chocolate cake and strawberries, and massaging our feet.

Okay, so it's unrealistic. Love does change and improve people, but usually it's more of a compromise: we'll overlook his condescending remarks if he overlooks our temper, and the relationship can proceed. But love transforming a young man is sure popular in literature, along with happily-ever-after endings, because we readers can't help enjoying such scenarios.

As a writer, I use the theme of guys reforming their flaws for love all the time. In order for readers to feel satisfied, a protagonist usually has to have an "arc"--that is, must change from the start of a book to the end. And since I like to dwell upon romance, I'm happy to make love the reason for the change. Love changes my female protagonists too, but again, let's be honest: it's the beguiling boys we're interested in when we read those YA romances.

In both of my novels so far that could be classed as YA (Relatively Honest and What Scotland Taught Me), I write about attractive young men who start out the book with notable flaws. Daniel Revelstoke in Relatively Honest is something of a player: he knows how to charm girls, but quickly drops them after having gotten his fill of adoration. He's never been in love--that is, not until he meets Julie. Though she's off limits for a couple of seriously good reasons, he builds up an inferno of a crush on her, and soon finds himself not even wanting to be a womanizer anymore, just a boyfriend. Her boyfriend. If there's any way the universe will allow it. *Dreamy sigh*. Yeah, that's pretty much the effect we'd all like to have upon a Casanova. (In fact, in the movie Casanova with Heath Ledger, the same thing happened.)

In What Scotland Taught Me, I deal with two young men who each brandish their own form of snarkiness as their defense against the world, which irritates their would-be girlfriends. Gil, a Scotsman, is an indie-music lover, fond of so-ugly-they're-hip clothes and immature banter, all of which acts as armor to hide his heartache. And Laurence is a well-behaved super-smartie preparing to launch into scientific university studies, who excels at pushing his friends' buttons by calling things a little too directly as he sees them. Both Laurence and Gil learn tact and tenderness after getting entangled in close affections with their young lady friends, and end up proving they're made of excellent boyfriend material. Again, *dreamy sigh*.

I suppose I ought to put a disclaimer on such stories: "This is fiction. In real life, don't expect to change a guy this thoroughly." Then again, to judge from true stories my friends and readers have told me, sometimes events do happen that are even more extraordinary than the ones I've written. Might as well keep hoping you'll cause that lovely guy to amend his ways. And while you're at it, consider improving yours too. What better reason to fix your flaws than love?

 

*slow clap* YES. I agree. That question at the end? Ohmygoodness, yes!

 

*clears throat* Okay. Moving on...thank you so much to Molly for stopping by with that post! I love the topic. Truly, I do.  Now...

 

GIVEAWAY!

 

To enter to win a free ebook copy of either What Scotland Taught Me or Relatively Honest (winner's choice), comment below. Winner will be chosen at random in one week.

 

Molly's site: http://www.mollyringle.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MollyRingle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mollyringle

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905269.Molly_Ringle

Blog: http://lemonlye.livejournal.com/

 

You saw it. Comment below to enter! Let us know what you thought of that wonderful post! Yes, since it is an ecopy it IS international. ;)

 

♥Jessica(:

What I Got! (19) SO. MANY. BOOKMARKS.

What I Got is a weekly meme hosted by Monica from Cover Anaysis :)

 

 

Library:

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

This was one of my library impulse-grabs. I've heard great things about Jennifer's books, so I think this one'll be nice.

 

Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

Here we have one of those situations where I check out a book that I would never, EVER actually buy. But I saw this and thought, why not finish off the trilogy?

 

For Review:

Finn Finnegan by Darby Karchut

Thanks so much to Spencer Hill Press for sending me this ARC!

 

Borrowed:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I was talking to Monica on Twitter, and she found out I hadn't read Cinder yet. So then she sent it to me so I could! Thank you so much, Monica! 've been wanting to read this one for a while now. Especially since I met Marissa Meyer at ATBF. I think I even have a picture with her somewhere...

I knew it. Seeeee? :)

 

Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Another one borrowed from Monica because I let it slip that I hadn't read it yet. Can't wait to get started on this one, either!

 

Funny, they both involve princes....

 

Won:

Her Game, His Rules by Piper Shelly

I won this from Piper Shelly and she was nice enough to send it to me along with a GORGEOUS Christmas card, too! Seriously, this card is amazing. I wonder if it's hand painted? It looks like it could be.

 

Oh, and... she signed the book for me! Personalized.

 

This is one of those situations where authors are just so...NO WORDS. Thank you so much, Piper!

 

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

So it doesn't look like all that many bookmarks in the picture, but trust me. There's a lot. And they're all signed. This is more bookmarks than I've ever gotten from anyone at once. They're all so pretty!

 

And, urm...the book is signed, too...

But, you see, I'd already met Anna at ATBF where she signed my copy of Of Poseidon. Which means this is extra. Which means, maaaaybe I'll have a giveaway sometime. Maybe. I'm not sure. This may end up as a Christmas gift to someone, too. Clearly I have no idea yet. Either way, Thank you so much, Anna! Stank Eye approves ;)

 

Now, I promised Michelle I'd post a picture of this, and I did, but I thought I'd do a close up, so she could see the awesomeness better.

Yeah. I have Ohmysweetgoodness magnets!

 

HUGE thank you to Anna. Again. Love you, girl.

 

Gifted:

Winter Shock by Sally Dubats

Sally was the first author to ever ask me to review a book. Ever since, we've been Twitter friends. She just released this book a few days ago, and I am so. Pumped. To read it! Fun fact? There's a girl named Jessica in here. Guess who she's named after? ;)

Thank you so much, Sally!!

 

Okay, I also got a mysterious box this week. I forgot to take a picture of it, and have no time now, but...

All right. That's my pretend mystery box. It's from my friend Vicki, and is not to be opened until Christmas. All I know about its contents is that there are three books inside. That's it. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine for what could be inside. I can't wait to open thiiiiis! Ah.

Thank you so much, Vicki! And mamabear. Wonderful people, I tell you.

 

And now THAT is What I Got this week. Goodness...so. Much. Stuff. (Especially bookmarks.)

 

What did YOU get this week?

 

♥Jessica(: