I'm Joining StuckInBooks!

 

Yep. You heard that right. I'm joining Val over at StuckInBooks! 

Val and I have been friends for a while. We first met officially (i.e. in person) at Jennifer L. Armentrout's Opal release party in Houston. Then we ran last year's Lux readathon together, and...yeah. We've been friends for a while. We buddy read together and it's always a great time. 

And then one day, we got talking about co-blogging. After discussing it a bit, we decided we were going to do this thing. 

And now here we are! I even have this wonderful new button: 

I probably love that thing more than I should.

Val welcomed me to the blog today, and you can check that post out here. It's a lovely post and gives me warm fuzzies. It also makes my brother think he's going to be famous. But whatever. To each his own.

Now, there's probably one big question here. I know.

What's going to happen to Just a Booklover?

My answer? I'm not sure. Not right now. What I do know is that my blog is going to still be here. It's going to get very lonely, since StuckInBooks will be my main focus from now on. I am by no means saying goodbye to blogging--I'm just moving.

I'm not really saying goodbye to Just a Booklover, either. Because I'm clingy. But seriously, it'll probably turn into a ghost town.

Here are some things I DO know right now:

- I am 100% SUPER EXCITED to be joining StuckInBooks. We've had this in the works for a little while now, and we've been bursting at the seams to share the news! Seriously, you have no idea how happy we are that we finally get to tell everybody!

- I will keep my 2014 Reads tab updated. Because I really like having that list. It's helpful and makes me feel all reading accomplished.

- I will keep updating my Review Archive. I like having one solid place to go to and see ALL of my reviews, spanning Just a Booklover, Bookish, YA Bound, and now StuckInBooks.

- I still have a little planned for Just a Booklover. For the next week and a half-ish, I have a handful of reviews and one blog tour post planned to go up. So it's not over QUITE yet. It's stuff I've had planned for a while or books I've had reviews laying around for that I've been meaning to post.

- I'm still a part of Bookish and YA Bound. My moving to StuckInBooks has nothing to do with that. :)

Now here are some things I'm contemplating:

- I MIGHT post on here every once in a while. Like, once or twice a month. I'm not sure. I might need a place to post a thing at some point, and I still consider Just a Booklover an option for that. Not exactly my first option, but it's here. It always will be.

- I MIGHT still celebrate my blogoversary and holidays and stuff. But I don't know. I'm kind of playing it by ear on this stuff.

- My Monthly Re-Reads will probably move to YA Bound. I really enjoy doing those re-reads, so I know I'll keep them around. I'm just deciding WHERE I want to do that. My best guess at this moment is YA Bound. It would be my last/first post every month there. But we shall see.

The biggest, most important thing is that StuckInBooks is my new focus. Just a Booklover will always be my baby and I will never ever stop loving this blog, but Val and I have some fun stuff planned for the future over on StuckInBooks. Blogging takes a crap ton of time and can feel like work sometimes, but we're making it fun. We're KEEPING it fun. So yay!

Thank you all so, so much for all your awesomeness. If you're not already following StuckInBooks, you should totally head on over and do that. That blog is so great, I CANNOT EVEN. I'm still stunned that I get to have a part in the greatness.

I heart you all bunches and bunches and am super pumped to start being a part of StuckInBooks!

HUGS!

Announcing the Lux Readathon!

Coming soon!

LUX Readathon

July 29th - August 5th

 

Ready for Opposition!?

Valerie from Stuck in Books and I are sponsoring a readathon to re-read the books in the Lux series so we are completely ready for August 5th and the release of Opposition!

What's up with this readathon?

We'll be re-reading

SHADOWS

OBSIDIAN

ONYX
OPAL
ORIGIN

 or

Lux Beginning
Lux Consequences

It doesn't matter if this is the first time you've read the series.

It doesn't matter if it's the tenth time you've read the series.

It doesn't matter if you read the original covers or the new ones.

We will be coming together to read them all before OPPOSITION.

There will be prizes.

There will be no pressure.

There will be no challenges to take away from reading time.

There will be a Facebook group where we can talk about the books.

Each book will have a time frame to read and then we'll be doing discussion on the FB page and/or Twitter.

You can choose to participate as much or as little as you want.

There will be tweeting.

There will be squealing.

There will be sighing.

There will be fangirling! 

What do you do to participate?

Fill out the Google Form.

Request to join the FB group.

Or you can find the form here!

Dante Walker Readathon Kickoff!

Hey, everybody! Today kicks off the readathon Steph from Ohana Reads and I are hosting for the Dante Walker trilogy by Victoria Scott! I posted about this fun little event here, and now I'm going to rehash the details and add a few little updates. WOOT.

 -  The Readathonstarts today and ends on the 16th!

- Through the Readathon, we'll be reading all three books in the series. If you're curious about the reading order, then check this out:

 

(All the covers are linked to their Goodreads pages)

- When reading the books, tweet your progress with the hashtag #ReadDanteWalker. Or tweet a favorite (non-spoilery) quote. Or tell us how you adore the eff out of Dante. Just be sure to use the hashtag so we all can see it!

- We will be running a group on Goodreads and a group on Facebook, so there's MORE ways we all can chat about the awesome that is Dante Walker. I'll generally be running the Facebook group, while Steph will hold the reigns of the Goodreads group, but we can both totally join in and help out on either site if we want. It's going to be all kinds of fun!

 Goodreads | Facebook

- There will be giveaways! We have a few super cool swag packs to give away to some lucky winners participating in the Readathon (they will be randomly chosen from Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter).

- We will have a Twitter chat at the end of the Readathon, on May 16th at 8 PM CST. Victoria Scott will be joining us to answer some questions and give away some swag!

- If you want to only participate in part of the readathon (i.e. you only have time to read The Warrior so you only stick to one book instead of all three, or if you have to join late), that is totally okay! Everyone is welcome. This whole thing is to bring Dante readers together to interact and have some Dante fun. ;)

And that's it! Read some Dante, have some fun, and if you have any questions--any at all--feel free to contact me or Steph and we'll help you out. Pow! 

My Twitter: @jessbooklover
My email: makesmeworse12@gmail.com

Steph's Twitter: @OhanaReads
Steph's email: ohanareads@gmail.com

Dante Walker Readathon!

Hello, lovely people! Sorry I've been kind of absent this past week. I was siiiiiick. But I'm past the worst part and on the road to getting better, so I'M BAAAAACK. And I have plans. As you can probably tell from all the readathon talk in the title/at the top of this post. So let's get to it, yes?

As I'm sure you know, seeing as you follow my blog and all, the third and final book in the Dante Walker trilogy is releasing on May 6th. So Steph and I wanted to do something fun to celebrate. THIS IS IT. Stephanie from Ohana Reads and I are going to host a Dante Walker Readathon! WOOT!

The Details:
 -  The Readathon is from May 9th-16th, so there should be enough time for everyone to get their copies of The Warrior and mentally prepare themselves for the awesome.

- Through the Readathon, we'll be reading all three books in the series. I'm not sure how you don't know the reading order by now, given how much I talk about these books, but if you do not know, here they are in order:

 

- When reading the books, tweet your progress with the hashtag #ReadDanteWalker. Or tweet a favorite (non-spoilery) quote. Or tell us how you adore the eff out of Dante. Just be sure to use the hashtag so we all can see it!

- We will be running a group on Goodreads and a group on Facebook, so there's MORE ways we all can chat about the awesome that is Dante Walker. I'll generally be running the Facebook group, while Steph will hold the reigns of the Goodreads group, but we can both totally join in and help out on either site if we want. It's going to be all kinds of fun!

**If you'd like to join the groups now, you can do so: Goodreads | Facebook

- There will be giveaways! We have a few super cool swag packs to give away to some lucky winners participating in the Readathon (they will be randomly chosen from Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter).

- We will have a Twitter chat at the end of the Readathon, on May 16th! We're still working out specifics (because we want Author Chick--aka Victoria Scott--to be there, right?), but there WILL be more swaggish goodness to give away, and it WILL be a good time.

And that is all! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or Steph, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

I am seriously excited about this, you guys! I LOVE readathons, and I LOVE Dante Walker, so I have, like, double love going on right now. *flails*

Indie Girl March: If I Didn't Have You by Kimberly Larson (Review)

 Tiff over at Escaping...One Book @ a Time hosts this marvelous event called Indie Girl March. This year, I'm taking part by reviewing an indie novel. If you'd like to see the full schedule for Indie Girl March, just click the banner above! :)

 
If I Didn't Have You by Kimberly Larson 
Release Date: November 2013
Format: ebook, 255 pages
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Throughout Lydia’s life she has always had her best friend, Greyson, at her side. Their bond is unbreakable and undefinable.

At the age of twenty-four, she has everything that she’s ever wanted ... a family. Unfortunately, her husband dies in a tragic accident and she’s left to raise her one-year-old son by herself.

She pulls herself together with the help of her close friends, especially Greyson, who has always been there for her. As life's tragedies and obstacles collide with them, Greyson and Lydia find themselves together. Their bond, stronger than ever, that grows into so much more than friendship.

While the premise of this story wasn't the most original thing ever, I liked that there was the added factor of Lydia's son, Theyer. I was interested in seeing how throwing a child into the mix would change things for a story like this. Now that I've read it, I can say that it didn't change it too much, but it did make the protagonist appear more responsible, this making me like her more than I would otherwise.

The characters in this novel were all pretty likable. There wasn't any one in particular that I spent the whole time wishing they would just GO AWAY and never come back. Of course, I had the characters I favored more than others (Greyson, Theyer, and Caleb), but the others were pretty darn amusing as well. Especially Alivia. I liked her. The MC did a nice job of not making me hate her even as she went through such a hard time--and I even kind of like her a little. She was responsible, and she dealt with things logically. 

Greyson was the best friend who turns into more than a friend, unsurprisingly. Now, I say it was unsurprising, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I am totally down for a story like this every now and then, and this was one that I did enjoy. Greyson's character was one that I liked more than others, as well. He wasn't a complete and total manwhore because he wanted to forget about Lydia or anything. He didn't make me angry--he made me love him. Definitely a male lead I preferred over some others. 

This is a novel about how Lydia deals with the loss of her husband, and then moves on with her life. In some ways, this was a great story. The loss and how she dealt with it were portrayed wonderfully, and understandably. But while we were watching her work through everything and trying to move on, I couldn't help but notice how slow it was going.

And that is my one huge problem with this book--the slowness of the plot. I liked the characters, and the premise was one I do love to dive into, but the pacing didn't work very well for me. It took me a while to get into the story, and then I kept wanting things to just HAPPEN. And things DID happen, it simply took them longer than I would have preferred. 

Overall, If I Didn't Have You is a nice story with characters I definitely liked and a premise I can totally get behind. While the pacing of the story could have been better, I still thought this was a really good novel.

 

Introducing Monthly Re-Reads

In 2013, I had the urge to re-read a bunch of books. To fix that problem, I just re-read my favorite parts of the books when I had free time (and sometimes when I didn't) and by talking about re-reading books. Like on YA Bound, where I did a whole post about my re-reading tendencies.

Then I was talking with Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner on Twitter, and thank sweet baby goodness, I'm not the only one who wants to go back and read some darn good books I read what feels like forever ago. She has a feature on her own blog called Before I Blogged I Read that I think is pretty similar to what I'm doing on my blog this year (and possibly next year and the year after, etc. If this year goes well).

So, how does this whole thing go?

Short version: I read one book that I've already read every month and then post about it.

The version that actually explains things beyond the obvious:
I'll pick one book every month to re-read. It doesn't HAVE to be a book I read before I started blogging and reviewing, but from what I can tell right now, a bunch of them will be. I'll be doing monthly TBR's at the beginning of every month, so you'll know what book I'm re-reading for that month then. Sometime during the month, I'll read it and then write a post about it, which will go up on the last-ish day of the month. Depending on my scheduling situation, it may be a day or two early.

What will the post look like?

Well, there'll be the book info, of course. These posts ARE NOT reviews, but the info is still kind of good to include. And then there will be this section:

Here, I'll tell you what I remember my thoughts being on the book. Not a summary or anything, but particular feelings I remember having. Characters I may have liked/hated, parts that stick out in my mind, that kind of thing. Though the whole post goes up at the same time, I'll be filling out this part BEFORE I read. So this will literally be all from memory.

After that, there will be this section:

Here, I'll tell you how the re-read went. Maybe things I noticed now that I didn't before, or ways my opinions on things have changed. Again, this won't be a summary or anything, just my thoughts. Sort of like a review, but shorter and probably in less detail.

I'm still undecided on whether or not I'll be rating the books, and I may or may not include a favorite quotes section, depending on if I pass by any quotes that I really want to include.

So...that's it. If I wasn't clear enough on anything, or if you have any questions, just let me know and I shall answer. I'm easy to reach on Twitter, and if you ask me a question in the comments here, I'll totally respond. Oh, and I have that handy dandy Facebook page now! You can ask me there. And there is, of course, always email, which I check as often as I possibly can. Because I'm like that. :)

Oh, and since I'm missing January (I just thought of the idea this month, which didn't give me enough time to participate this month), I'm going to make up for it in February. How? I'm reading these:

 

Technically, this is a trilogy, but it is two BOOKS, like physically, so I'm counting them that way. As far as how posting will go, I'm thinking I'll probably do the January post in the middle of February. PROBABLY, not DEFINITELY. If not, then I'll do them both at the end of the month. But I am seriously excited to re-read these books! I heart them so hard. 

So...yeah, that's SERIOUSLY it. I'm really looking forward to doing this in 2014, and I'm flailing all over the place that I get to kick it off with a couple of my favorites! 

(Honestly, most of these will probably be favorites, but oh well. I get to read them again--that is that happy point! Eeeep!)

In Which Kat Kennedy Guest Posts About Co-Blogging. And Crap.

Y'all know Cuddlebuggery, yes? If you don't then you need to check out the blog. It's super awesome. But that's not the point today--the point is that one of the bloggers from Cuddlebuggery was cool enough to write a guest post for me to post and for all you lovely people to read and enjoy and OMG YAY AMIRITE?

You may or may not know Kat Kennedy, and you may or may not have seen her around. But really, you HAVE probably seen her around. That chick is everywhere. But anyway, here's her guest post on co-blogging and those type of shenanigans. Oh, and crap. Did I mention that she mentions crap?

~~~

Have you guys ever received an email from Jessica Baker?  Most hilarious thing ever. Her random use of all caps is a magical thing that everyone should witness at least once.  But anyway, onto the work part.  I offered to guest post here for Jessica because she’s fabulous. I asked her to think of what she wanted me to talk about.  Here are the options I received:

a)      Encyclopaedias

b)      Having a blog partner

c)       Being snarky

And

d)      Crap

Out of all those options, I think I’m going to go with b) Having a blog partner.

Having a blog partner is a wonderful thing.  For real, Steph is the best person ever. She lets me rant on the blog with almost free reign, she handles authors and blog tours that I’m too lazy to do, she keeps the blog working and she is my soul twin.

For real, I met Steph only shortly before we started the blog together.  So it wasn’t like we were friends before we made the agreement to be blog buddies.  We were random acquaintances who teamed up to fight evil, or something like that.  But, what started as a business agreement, quickly became one of the deepest, most important relationships (apart from partners, parents, children etc).  She’s my twin, and we are now life buddies.  We message each other first thing in the morning, all through the day, and say goodnight to each other before we go to sleep. 

Being so deeply in love, as Steph and I are, is obviously an ideal that not everyone can achieve.  We’re living the dream here, guys.  However, we did make some very conscious decisions before we started our love affair/bloggermance, and during our initial relationship, that I think were helpful.

1)      We were very clear about boundaries and expectations

Steph and talked very clearly and exchanged numerous emails. We made agreements on the style of our blog, what our direction, niche and style was going to be.  Most of these things we stuck to, or negotiated over time.  Others, like our agreement that we’d be casual and only post when we felt like it was tossed out the window when we both realized we were complete workaholics.  The important thing is to have a plan about how you’re going to operate your blog, what it’s going to look like, and what should happen to it should one of you decide to quit.

2)      Bond Your Pants Off

Steph and I love each other.  We are both in similar situations in life – we both have young kids of similar age, similar backgrounds and life stories.  So we’re less blogging buddies and more like two people just doing life together.  We bonded our pants off (literally.  If we end up in bed together one day, it will be a surprise to no one), but we also respected each other’s differences and focus on all the things that bring us together.

3)      Let Go of the Control

Having a blog partner, a partner FOR LIFE, is all about letting go of control, collaborating and accepting that compromise is the spice of life.  I can’t tell you how many times Steph and I have disagreed on bloggery things.  But the blog is always better when we both relinquish control, and chill. A coblogger is not someone who joins your blog and does all the work for you.  A coblogger is someone to build a blog with.  Steph and I have had a long struggle.  She wants us to experiment with memes, I’m violently opposed.  It is the only argument about the blog we’ve continually had for the almost-two-years we’ve been working on the blog.  But everything else we’ve found a compromise on, or just plain given in to each other out of respect.

So there you go, that’s my recipe for a good blogger relationship.  I don’t know how helpful I am.  Steph and I are this amazing team, and I can’t honestly say it’s because of anything we did.  We just fell in love with each other.  It was an automatic chemistry, but one I’ll never regret.

So there you go.  Love you, Steph!  My honey pumpkin!

Thanks, Jess, for having me on the blog!

~~~

 

BOOM. That's it. Great, right? I found it amusing. Then again, I find everything Kat says amusing. Informative, too, of course, but mostly amusing.

 

Thank you so much to Kat for taking the time to write a guest post for me! And you. But mostly me.

 

So...do YOU have anything to say? Any opinions? What do you think? TELL ME. Seriously, I'd like to know.

Oh, and, fun fact: I linked to Cuddlebuggery and Kat's Twitter up at the top of this post. Clickety-click and join in on the randomness that IS Kat Kennedy.

 

♥Jessica(:

A to Z Book Blogger Survey!

Jamie from The Perpetual Page-Turner did this around the beginning of August and I thought it looked like fun! So I'm going to give it a go. :)

 

Author you've read the most books from:

Goodreads says Sarah Dessen--I've read nine of hers (all except for her newest, The Moon and More). But the answer should be Jennifer L. Armentrout. Well...if you combine her JLA ones with her J. Lynn ones. I've read more than nine of those, I'm pretty sure. Oh! But if you want to go before I started uses Goodreads and was a little wee one, it's Mary Pope Osborne. I've read a crap load of Magic Tree House books. Those things are the bomb.

 

Best sequel ever:

The first book that comes to mind is Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout. But I also REALLY loved Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor. This is such a hard one to answer! I'm going with both.

 

Currently reading:

Breaking the Reins by Juliana Haygert. And I'm really liking it so far!

 

Drink of choice while reading:

Water. That's actually my drink of choice a majority of the time.

 

E-reader or Physical Book:

Physical book. I do adore my Kindle but I LOVE being able to hold and look at and pet physical copies of books. I also love arranging them on shelves. (Or in stacks. You know, when I run out of shelf room...)

 

Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school:

Since I'm in high school right now I guess I just say who I'd date now? Ahhhh, I love so many book boys. But realistically...probably Dexter from This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. He's a goof and is also sweet...yeah, I see that.

 

(I was GOING to say Guy Chambers from Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott at first. Just so we know.)

 

Glad you gave this book a chance:

Love's Forbidden Flower by Diane Rinella!

 

Hidden gem book:

I've done so much thinking about this one. If I had to pick ONE, though, I'd probably have to say I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan. So good and so sweet.

 

Important moment in your reading life:

Borrowing books from my friend Ashley. Twilight was the book (and series) that got me into reading, but Ashley was the person that got me to branch out into other YA. Her and my 8th grade advanced English class. A lot of the girls in there read Sarah Dessen books. Without becoming a Sarah Dessen fan, I...I don't even know. THANK YOU PEOPLE. <3

 

Just finished:

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. FINALLY!

 

Kind of books you won't read:

Middle grade and most non-fiction. I'm also not a big fan of heavily religious books.

 

Longest book you've read:

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (756 pages)

 

Major book hangover because of:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken.

 

Number of book cases you own:

One. It holds more books than you'd think, though. The rest of my books are in stacks. But I seriously need another. But first I must find room for it...

 

One book you've read multiple times:

The Secret Circle trilogy by L.J. Smith. That's three books...but I can't read one without reading the others! Team Nick all the way! I actually borrowed those books from a friend (Ashley, who I mentioned before, hehe) and then when I had my own money I bought them so I could read them whenever I wanted. Which has been quite a few times since then. LOVE those books.

 

Preferred place to read:

My bed. It's comfortable and it's also not private so when I start crying or yelling at books I don't get strange looks. There's also this rocking chair at my brother's house I'm quite fond of reading on as well.

 

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

And we're going back to my boy Dex... "You know, when it works, love is pretty amazing. It's not overrated. There's a reason for all those songs." -This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. I also have a pen with this quote on it. Thank you, Sarah Dessen!

 

Reading regret:

Taking as long as I did to read Perks of Being a Wallflower. That book...it was a big deal to me.

 

Series you started and need to finish (all books are out in series):

There are a bunch of these, actually. I have a fear of final books. But I'd say the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. I have the first two books and have read them, but I don't even own the last two. I need to get on that!

 

Three of your all-time favorite books:

I have a shelf for this on Goodreads, so I'm just picking the first three I see...

Stolen by Lucy Christopher, Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover, Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

 

Unapologetic fangirl for:

Jennifer L. Armentrout (along with Val & Kay--the triplets!) and Victoria Scott (once the Super Fan, always the Super Fan)

 

Very excited for this release more than all the others:

The first book that comes to mind is Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott, which I have already read but I cannot wait for everyone to get to read it because I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

 

But I'll put one I HAVEN'T read, too--White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Can't wait to see her make gargoyles all hot and smexy ;)

 

One more because I can't help myself (I'm terrible at this, can't you tell?): The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead. Adrian! Ahhh, that boy kills me with his beautiful words. I can't wait to be inside his mind.

 

Worst bookish habit:

I don't do anything super bad...I treat my books super well. I do have a weird habit, though, of taking books of my shelf for little reasons and then not putting them back so they're stacked next to my bed. I usually do this until the stack is about to tip over, then I rearrange my shelves again.

 

X marks the spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

Your latest book purchase:

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout :)

 

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late:

King Hall by Scarlett Dawn! Goodness, that book was addicting.

 

Oh, wait! The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead. I was up late for that one.

 

~~~

 

Jamie always has the coolest ideas for fun bloggish stuff! What do you think of my answers? Did you do the survey? I'd like to see!

 

♥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(:

Stacking the Shelves #4 ♥ I Appreciate You!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

Fun fact about this video: I had to redo the whole thing over because my Lux books were not on the shelf behind me (because I've been reading them for the Lux Readathon) and it bothered me that there was such a gaping hole where those beauties should be. So yeah.

 

Also, Happy Esther Day!

 

 

 

 

Books Mentioned

The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

Foreplay by Sophie Jordan

Unexpected Love by Charlene M. Martin

The Solitude of Passion by Addison Moore

A Shadow of Light by Bella Forrest

Meant to Be by Tiffany King

Forgotten Souls by Tiffany King

The Ascended by Tiffany King

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

 

Bloggers Mentioned

Meredith @ Pandora's Books

Val @ Stuck in Books

 

I love you all and thank you for stopping by! Be sure to link things and tell me things and ALL OF THE THINGS!

 

♥Jessica(:

Stacking the Shelves #3 ♥ I Got Some E-Books!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

I just got a few e-books and a little (awesome) swag this week, so I didn't think I needed to make a video for that. I WILL make a video next week, though, if I get some physical books! So no worries.

 

~For Review~

  

I got all of these from Edelweiss, and yes. I TOTALLY flailed when I saw I got approved for Keeping Her. AHHHHH!

 

Thanks to Entangled for this one!

 

Thank you, Diane Rinella for sending me this one! I LOVED the first book, Love's Forbidden Flower, and I am both excited and scared to read this sequel. Heh. Oh, and I have a super fun character interview with my favorite character from these books to post around the time I review this, too ;) So that'll be fun. Hehehehehe

 

~Won~

I actually won a $5 Amazon GC from Nancy Straight (thank you, Nancy!), but this is what I bought with it.

 

 

I've been wanting to read this one for a while now. It's going to be emotional, I can feel it.

 

~Gifted~

 

Thank you so much to Jessirae for gifting this one to me once I told her I finally got Taking Chances! You rock, girl. I HEART YOU!!!!!!!

 

~Freebie~

 

I got this one for free on Amazon!

 

~Swag~

My pretties! Thank you so much to Val for sending me these! LIVE, girl. LIVE. <3

 

And that is everything I got this week!

 

Let me know what you got! Leave links, tell me what you think of my haul, you know...ALL OF THE THINGS. :)

 

♥Jessica(:

Stacking the Shelves #2 ♥ OMG THE LIBERATOR OMG OMG!!

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

 

Another video, another fangirl freak out, and BOOKS! Eeeeep!

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Lovestruck in London by Rachel Schurig

Last Call by Alannah Lynne

If You Leave by Courtney Cole

Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee

The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Castles on the Sand by E.M. Tippets

Love in Darkness by E.M. Tippets

The Liberator by Victoria Scott

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Between the Covers 

 

Bloggers Mentioned:

Nereyda @ Mostly YA Book Obsessed/YA Bound

Laura @ Little Read Riding Hood

Valerie @ Stuck in Books

Tiff @ Escaping... One Book @ a Time

Meredith @ Pandora's Books

 

YA/NA Crush Tourney Books:

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Rule by Jay Crownover

 

Comment things!!!!!!!!

 

♥Jessica(:

LUX Readathon ♥ Sign-Ups!

 

Y'all know how much I LOVELOVELOVE Jennifer L. Armentrout, eh?

 

And you know how much I adore her Lux series, yes?

 

And that Daemon Black is so incredibly magnificent?

 

Weeeeeellllllll...

 

On August 27, Origin is releasing.

 

HOLY CRAP, right? Especially if you've read Opal. Personally, I can't wait. I have been bouncing off the walls about this ever since I closed Opal on Christmas Eve. And then when we saw the cover of Origin? OH GOSH.

 

Now, I KNOW I am not the only person excited out of their freaking minds for the next book.

 

And in preparation for all that awesomeness, I've been in a very LUX mood, you know? I want to read about my favorite characters and get back in that world again.

 

So I teamed up with Val from Stuck in Books and Kay from K-Books to do the...

 

LUX Readathon!

 

Eeeeeep! I am so excited for this!!!!

 

This is JUST a readathon.

 

What does that mean? We're not doing any challenges. We are seriously going to sit out booties down and READ the books of our favorite series.

 

And we will totally be tweeting or whatnot to fangirl together because, HELLO. Fangirling just needs to happen. It is the way of the world.

 

There are going to be prizes, too!

 

What prizes? We'll let you know more about that later ;) Just know that they are totally grabby-hands-worthy. I seriously squee-ed!

 

Wait. WHEN is all this awesomeness going to happen?

 

August 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

 

WOOT!

 

What are we reading, specifically?

 

ALL of the Lux books:

Shadows, Obsidian, Onyx, and Opal!!

 

Do you want to take part in all the fabulousness?!

 

Sign-up below!!

 

 

Yay! This is going to be so much fun!!

 

♥Jessica(:

Time After Time Playlist & Giveaway!

Why hello, lovely people! Today I get to be a part of something incredibly cool and awesome! You see, last year, I read this awesome book called Time Between Us (which I reviewed HERE!) that was simply amazing. At the time, I thought it was going to be a standalone. But...IT'S NOT. There's a sequel--in the guy, Bennett's--POV, no less! And it is releasing this October! Check out this awesomeness:

Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Description from Goodreads:
Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds.

It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want?

Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us's Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.

I am so incredibly excited for Time After Time, I can't even tell you. I adored Time Between Us, so the fact that there is a sequel makes me happy, and the fact that said sequel is in BENNETT'S POV? Eeeep!

But I'm not here to fangirl over Bennett.

Well, okay...maybe a little.

But I'm here to give you the next song from Bennett's playlist! Because the author of these pretty books, Tamara Ireland Stone, is having a playlist blog hop. On the 8th of every month until Time After Time is released, there will be one song from Bennett's playlist revealed on a different blog. Today, I am that blog! WOOT!

For the record, the same is happening on the 22nd of every month for Anna's playlist. You didn't think we forgot about our girl, did you?!

But I'm doing a song from Bennett's playlist. So we're focusing on him for now.

I had two playlists full of songs to choose from. I could have picked from either (given that the song I picked wasn't picked already, heh). There were several that caught my eye right off the bat and I was all flailing and excited to have the chance to choose them. The thing was, though, that I could only choose ONE. And I wanted to be sure I chose the right one. So I decided to just listen to the playlists. I started with Bennett's playlist (because I have such a crush on that book boy and there was a particular song on his playlist that I THOUGHT I was going to pick--I ended up picking a different song, though). I was sitting there, doing my regular thing as I listened to Bennett's playlist.

But then this song came on. And my attention went 100% to the song playing. I'm not even sure why. I hadn't planned on giving this song much attention. But then it was playing and I was all excited about THIS song, and... I don't know. I just knew. I emailed Tamara and pretty much begged her to tell me that no one else had chosen this song yet, and thank my lucky stars that she replied it was now mine. So my song is...

3 Doors Down -- When I'm Gone

 

Have you heard this song before? I know I did. I liked it, but I'd never given it too much attention until now and I FREAKING LOVE THE CRAP OUT OF IT. So yeah. I feel like it fits Anna & Bennett really well, too. If you've read Time Between Us , you know what I mean. If you haven't read it...well, you really should! ;)

 

And then there's this video, which really has nothing to do with the book or anything, but I like it, so I'm adding it here. Hehe

 

 

And yes. I am totally listening to this song on repeat right now. OBVIOUSLY.

 

I suppose it's time to let you in on that giveaway thing mentioned in the title of this post, eh?

 

Giveaway!

Because Tamara Ireland Stone is the freaking BEST, she's sponsoring giveaways for the stops on the playlist blog hop. Which MEANS that I'm giving something away! What can you win? WELL. There will actually be TWO winners.

 

Winner #1 will receive a signed set of Time Between Us (sent immediately) and Time After Time (which will be sent on October 9th, when the book is available).

 

Winner #2 will receive a Time Between Us audiobook!

 

Best part about this? THE GIVEAWAY IS INTERNATIONAL!! This makes me so happy. You KNOW how much I love my international peeps. <3

 

This giveaway is sponsored by Tamara, but I am running it, so my giveaway policy DOES apply.

 

And all you have to do to enter is fill out the Rafflecopter below!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thank ya for entering! Be sure to check out the full playlist (which is linked HERE!) as it grows and we learn more songs and, you know, AWESOMNESS ensues. ;)

 

♥Jessica(:

 

P.S. Thanks a million to Tamara Ireland Stone for letting me be part of this. It's so much fun! And so cool! And I am so grateful. WOOT! :)