Just a Booklover Turns Two!

Two years ago today, my blog was born.

Okay, not born. But created two years ago. But you know...same difference.

So two years ago today (yeah, I'm totally going to pull a Gilmore Girls and tell the story of the birth of this blog every single year--because I can) I was surfing the interwebz, and then I landed on Twitter. Where I saw Sarah Rees Brennan tweet a negative review of her book The Demon's Lexicon because she liked the title of the review (she's awesome like that).

I read the review and was so. Flipping. Angry. Not because it was a negative review of a book I had adored. No. I was mad because the reviewer had only read the first chapter. And that is completely fine, so long as you don't go through and act as if you DID read the whole book. If you only read the first chapter of a book, you should probably stick to reviewing that first chapter. Or, at the very least, don't make statements about a book like you KNOW what happened in the rest of the book. Once you say you only read the first chapter, critiquing what the rest of the book is like does not float my boat.

So there I was, all angry. And bored. And, honestly, I'd been considering starting a book blog for some time because I wanted to try my hand at reviewing. That person, whose blog I can't even remember the name of, nor can I remember what that cleverly titled review was even called or...anything. But that person unknowingly gave me the push to start Just a Booklover. Well, that person and Sarah Rees Brennan, who'd written a book that I wanted to cuddle with forever and ever. Because that reviewer had stated her opinions on the book, which is totally in her right, and now I wanted to tell mine. I didn't know WHO exactly I was telling it to, but still. I wanted to put it out there.

So from that day on, I began shaping up Just a Booklover. And now here we are. Two years later. Over 1,300 followers, 900 Bloglovin' followers, 400 Feedburner subscribers and over 100,000 pageviews later. Blogging isn't about stats and numbers--heck to the no--but it always astounds me how many people have given my blog the time of day. Who decided to click that button and follow. Who decided to type up even the shortest of responses to anything I've had to say, ever.

I think last year, I resisted saying this because I suck at mushy things, but I can't even deny it this year.

I love you guys.

Thank you all so, so much for sticking around for my crazy town journey in the blogosphere--through Crush Tournies, and terrible reviews, and blogging slumps, and becoming an assistant, and all kinds of stuff. It never fails to make my day to read your comments and I am just so incredibly thankful for each and every one of you.

Now, for those people in particular that have been on this blogging/bookish journey with me, some since around the time I started Just a Booklover, and some trickling in after. It doesn't matter when we became like peas and carrots--I heart you all.

Val & Kay from Stuck in Books and K-Books: My triplet companions! I love having you ladies to fangirl over anything and everything JLA with. Val, I hope to all that is good in the universe that we get to meet up again, and Kay, I hope I get to meet you! I want to so bad. All three of us need to go to some kind of JLA event and fangirl together in person. THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN.

Nikki from Fiction Freak: You are adorable. Thank you so much for being such a nice person, and for living in Texas ;) We need to go to more of the same events!

Jodie: Because there are not all that many people in the world who would put up with me in a car for as long as she has. We make great roadtrip buddies, and we can totes sing at the top of our lungs whenever we darn well feel like it. LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP, LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP, LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP, WE'RE ON FIIIIIRE.

Anna from Literary Exploration: My blogging big sis! I will never stop hearting the crap out of you.

Meredith from Pandora's Books: Ahhh, you're awesome. I'm so glad we're friends, and...HUGGLES.

The ladies over at Bookish: I love how we've become friends so easily and we all just work together so well. I could not have asked for better blog partners to end up with. Special thanks to Evie for choosing me to be the Indie Enthusiast in the first place!

The ladies over at YA Bound: I heart you all so hard. 'Nuff said.
(Oh, and RACHEL! You are the sweetest. Just saying.)

Jennifer L. Armentrout: This is weird, because I kind of doubt if she's going to see this (though I seriously hope she will!). But her books were the first that got me into the blogosphere. I mean, my blog was created and I was doing my little newbie blogger thaaang, but until I started obsessing over Obsidian, I kind of sat over in my own little corner of the interwebz. So she and her books played a big part in getting me to where I am today. Plus, she is such a nice person. It has become my personal goal/hope to make it to all of her events in Texas. So far, she's been here twice, and I was there both times--so far, so good. Jen, you are the ultimate awesomesauce. Thank you.

Victoria Scott: I feel like I could write you a full-out love letter. I could not have been any luckier in landing the gig as your assistant, and I cannot think of a better author to assist. Your books make me feel all kinds of happy feelings, and YOU. You as a person. You are one of the friendliest, amazing people I've ever met. Ever. I am so glad to be your adopted daughter, and just....AHHH. I seriously think that love letter may happen, because I am so bad at this. But I love you, girl. So. Flipping. Much. You rock so freaking hard.

Aaaaand, I know I've forgotten somebody. I am so, so sorry to anyone I did. I appreciate you all way more than I can say and if I could hug you all, I totally would. Even though I'm not a hugger.

SO. Now that all of the mushy gushy stuff is over, let's get to the GIVEAWAY, yes?

Giveaway 

 I'm giving away three of my favorite February releases--all of which coincidentally were released on the same day. Haaaaaa.

 

*These are each linked to my review for the book*

- There will be THREE winners. First place winner will get to pick which of the three they want, and then the second place winner will get to pick from the remaining two, and then the third place winner will get the last book. All three of these books are fantastic, so no worries.

- This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL. Because I heart you.

- My giveaway policy applies. PLEASE make sure you've read it before you enter.

 - Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Hey There, 2014!

I know, I know. I'm eight days late. But I'm lazy. And I procrastinate. And I am feeling really, really sleepy. But you know. I'm here now. Writing this post. WOOT!

I thought of all kinds of ways to do this post. I considered doing a recap of 2013. I considered making some kind of video. I considered not making this post at all. And now I've DECIDED...that I'm just going to wing it. Sound good to you?

I kind of hope it does because THAT'S HOW I'M DOIN' IT. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I'm just going to tell y'all about my top three things (that I will think up and choose RIGHT NOW) that happened in 2013. May or may not be book-related.

1. Nephew #4! If you follow me on Twitter, you already know this, but my fourth nephew was born in October. He's freaking ABORBS. 

2. POW! I became Victoria Scott's assistant. This may not seem like a big deal, but it really is to me. Normally, I see that kind of thing, think "oh, yeah, I'll apply later" and then when later actually comes around, I think of some reason why I would be the worst possible choice for it, blah blah blah. But this time I applied, went through all the interviews and whatnot, and OHMYFREAKINGGOD I got it. *dies* I will never be able to thank Victoria Scott enough. I freaking love that chick. LOVE, I SAY.

3. Friendsy Friends! My first year of blogging was pretty...sheltered. I didn't interact with other bloggers a whole bunch, and I NEVER really interacted with ones from Texas. But now I am glad to say I have a bunch of friendsy friends I can randomly tweet when I want to rant about a book, and I have friends I can say HEEEEEEEEEEY to when an author or book event or whatever is happening around them. And you know what? It's freaking awesome. 
 

I already made a bunch of top ten posts, (which you can see by clicking here), but let's rehash some of the biggie, shall we?

I read 154 books in 2013. 

My favorite? Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. I could tell you all about how awesome this book is, but really you should just read it for yourself and EXPERIENCE the greatness. It releases February 25th! Also, I'd love a Pandora. Or two. *coughs*OR THREE*coughs*

My second favorite? Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This book makes my heart feel all kinds of happy, and I truly believe any blogger or booklover could easily relate to Cath and her story. Now if only Levi could be real...

Goodness knows that I suck at planning. Obviously, since I'm doing this post a week late. But let's just give this whole "looking ahead" thing a try, alright? 

Books I'm anticipating? A crap load of sequels. Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Warrior by Victoria Scott, Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor... And a crap ton of other things, too: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Geography of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith, The Last Forever by Deb Caletti... 

I LIKE BOOKS, OKAY? A LOT.

As far as my blog... I actually have some stuff in mind for what to do this year. I'm thinking about some things for my blogoversary, and we'll see if any of them, aha...if any of them actually happen. I am making my blog nice and peeeertty, which makes me feel happy. My header was made by Nikki from Fiction Freak because she is wonderful and awesome and I heart her. And I'm making OTHER THINGS prettier, too. In case you hadn't, um, noticed... 

I have plans for reviews, and I have plans for mini-reviews as an effort to deal with my ever-growing pile of Netgalley books, and I have plans for re-reading books because I am always in the mood to re-read SOMETHING. 

Oh, and you may or may not have noticed from my reviews of The Offering on Tuesday and Rome yesterday, but I'm rating books on the blog now! I already did on Goodreads, so I don't think it's such a big deal to NOT rate them here anymore. I'm cool with it now. Sometime soon, I'll make a post explaining my thought processes on why I DIDN'T rate them before, and why I'm actually cool with it now. :)

So yeah. That's more of a plan than I had last year at this time, I can tell you that. 

 

Overall, 2013 was a really great year for me, and you guys were a big part of that. I'll get more in detail about that in March for my blogoversary, of course, but I just wanted to say thank you. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! You guys rock, and I'm so excited for another year of shenanigans. ;)

How's It Going?!

 

Hiiiiiiiiiii.

 

I haven't posted in five days. Like, WTF. WHAT IS GOING ON?! Well, I'm about to tell you.

 

There is this really annoying thing most people like to call school. Personally, I call it torture. But no matter what you call it, I have to go there quite often. And that takes up some time. Time that I'd rather spend sleeping, because I am a naturally sleepy person. I can't help it. So school has me not sleeping enough, and when I get home...well, I like to take naps. And then after those naps, I have homework to do because...because... I don't actually know why homework exists. All I know is that it sucks. Plus, I'm taking AP Calculus this year...

 

 

So I have to take time to figure THAT out, which is just as fun as it sounds.

 

And then I read books. So on the bright side, I'm not behind on reading! I am, however, behind on blogging. My bad.

 

I pretty much just admitted to letting life get in the way of things. Crap. Aren't I always the one who never lets that happen? But even though I told you that, I actually have not disappeared completely! I'm on Twitter all the time. And I still have a swoon going up on YA Bound every Thursday, along with my Sunday posts over there. And I'm on Bookish! Speaking of...

 

I'm not doing any special Halloween event on my blog, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm  keeping it chill over here. BUT. There is one going on over at Bookish. One that I am taking part in and am having loads of fun with. So click HERE to check out that schedule so you can join the fun! Plus, there may or may not be a crap load of giveaways going on... ;)

 

I don't plan on abandoning this blog or anything, though. I actually have a review scheduled to go up tomorrow. And another one for next week. WHOA. :) So watch out for those things. I also have a mega haul post to do sometime...probably this weekend, but I keep putting it off because there's soooooooo muuuuuuuuuuuch. I still need to do this month's TBR video, too. I might do a mid-month video for that. We'll see.

 

Hmmmmm. What else, what else....I'm trying to not take forever for this, but I'm also trying not to forget anything, either.

 

OHH. Anyone asking about my review of Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. (I have seriously been asked about this. You think I'm joking but really I'm not.) The book doesn't actually come out until the end of February 2014. Which means posting my review now would kind of be a little pointless. I mean, it'd make me feel happy and good, but it wouldn't do much good for anyone else, because they'd all forget about it by the time the book was actually released. So I'm not posting that until next year, probably sometime in February. Sorry to anyone who wants to know all the feels. Victoria Scott DID post a teaser this past Friday, however!

 

 

Those eyes...YUM.

 

(YUM is pretty much what I say regarding everything Guy Chambers.)

 

Okay, so...that's it for that stuff. Yes? I think so. Now onto the fun thing! I had seen that I was getting close for a while, but then today I checked again after not checking since...well, Friday... nad I found THIS:

 

 

Do you know what that means? Well, it means this:

 

 

(You didn't really think I'd go through this whole post without any Supernatural gifs, did you?)

 

100,000 PAGEVIEWS! That's a freaking lot!

 

 

It's things like this that make me realize that HOLY CRAP this blog thing is actually working out. People are actually stopping by and, like, looking at my stuff. Or pretending to. Either way, people are visiting. And that means so much to me. I know I always get kind of mushy when I talk about these kinds of things, but I can't help it! I never imagined this blog would become something this awesome. And I don't mean that in a stuck up I'm-the-mother-freaking-best way. I mean that in a you-make-this-boat-float way. YOU. You you you you you.

 

 

 

I am most definitely doing a giveaway to celebrate this awesome. Not yet, though. I need to plan it. I have no clue what I'm giving away yet. I'm doing a Halloween giveaway closer to the holiday, so I'll most likely give two prizes away during that, and have two winners. Eeeeep!

 

So that is it. Now how many of you actually read this post and care what it says? I don't blame you if you didn't/don't. I'm not sure I do entirely anymore, either. Except for the 100,000 thing. That's a biggie for me. But other than that...I may have just wasted some time. But you know what?

 

 

So...comment if you want? I'm not sure what to comment about, but comments do make me smile extra hard!

 

 

 

Now, just for funzies, some random Supernatural gifs!

 

 

 

(I really love "Like a Boss" things...)

 

 

 

 

Okay, okay...I'll stop there...

 

♥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(:

Giveaway: FRIGID♥ by J. Lynn!

 

Hey, y'all!

 

SO. You're probably wondering what's up. I haven't done a giveaway for no other reason than I darn well feel like it in a while. And you guys...well, you guys are the BEST. There are over 1200 of you now. THAT BLOWS MY MIND.

 

I can't even. Seriously. I just can't.

 

(Yeah. I totally just grabbed this from my blogoversary post.)

 

So I thought I'd do a giveaway. Because I REALLY, REALLY like you guys.

 

But also because I have just read a super fantastic book that I want everyone to read. And, well...I can't exactly get you ALL the book (though I totally would if I could), but I could give it to one of you lucky ducks.

 

If you read the title of this post, you know what I'm giving away...

 

Frigid by J. Lynn

 

Before you ask--YES. J. Lynn is actually JLA in disguise. And YES, I do usually put the book covers small for giveaways, but...I adore this cover. It's so pretty, and it goes so well with my blog! The snowflakes and everything...(and Sarah Hansen may or may not be my hero...)

 

So yeah. I JUST finished reading Frigid. I've been pining for this book since Jen started teasing us about it and it FINALLY came in the mail yesterday. I dragged my half-asleep self out of bed at least an hour earlier than I would have otherwise to open this awesomeness.

 

And then I read it. In somewhere close to 24 hours. Would have been less if I hadn't stopped to play Monopoly with the fam (I SUCK at Monopoly, by the way. I give great advice and have the best memory ever about things with it, but I always end up broke first)...so if I hadn't stopped to play Monopoly and if I hadn't passed out from about 7-10:30 AM. But I did, so....we're gonna say roughly 24 hours.

 

Why did I read it so fast, you ask? Good question, grasshopper. I read it so fast because JEN ARMENTROUT IS A FREAKING WIZARD.

 

Or whatever.

 

Her books. They just do something to you. She, like, coats them in awesomesauce and you can't help but readreadread until you reach the end.

 

And...well, I'm going to write a review for this book. You'll see all I have to say then. But for now I have two things to say to y'all:

 

1. I hereby name Kyler Hottie McHotterson. He has SO earned it.

 

2. I'm going to give away Frigid!! Read on for the details and whatnot.

 

Details:

- First and foremost, this giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, as long as you have a way for me to gift you the ebook

- ONE winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter to receive an ebook of Frigid when it releases this month. THEN, when it releases in paperback in November, I will also send that winner a print copy

- If you do NOT have a way for me to gift you the ebook, you can still enter and just get the paperback copy in November

- My giveaway policy applies, so make sure you've checked it out in the policies tab at the top of my blog

- If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to contact me via email (makesmeworse12@gmail.com) or Twitter (@makesmeworse12)

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I've Been Blogging for a YEAR!

Um. Yeah. So today is my blogoversary. A year ago today, I decided "What the what, I'm going to make a blog today!" And thus, Just a Booklover was born.

 

Seriously, that's what happened. There's no big fun story, other than I wanted somewhere to write and post a review for The Demon's Lexicon trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan because I adored those books and I had just read a horrible review of it, in which the reviewer trash-talked the whole first book after reading ONE. CHAPTER. So I was peeved and wanted to write my own.

Plus, I was bored.

That's part of the reason why my blog name is so boring. Boring, but accurate. I have literally NO LIFE except for books. Nothing. All I do. All day. Every day. BOOKS.

Not really. I do stuff.

But anyway, before I get stuck in the circle of my rambling, I just want to say...holy crap, guys. I've been doing this for a year. A whole year. 365 days. That is just...whoa, you know? To think, 365 days ago, this blog was born and had 0 followers, 0 posts, 0 reviews, 0 anything. It was all blank and boring.

And now, a year later, I have 938 (I think, I didn't check before I wrote this....probably should have--oops) followers, and something over 200 feedburner subscribers, and just...WOW. Trust me, follower numbers aren't everything, but this is a BIG DEAL to me. Over 900 people have visited my blog and decided that it was good enough to click the "follow" button.

I know some people did it because of giveaways. I'm not even going to talk about that. Because there are other people who did it because they actually want to see what I have to say. Or they did it because of a giveaway, and then chose to come back after that to see something. This is all beside the point. The point is that at some point in time, over 900 people have cared what I had to say. They came to my blog, read my words, and followed.

THEY READ MY WORDS AND FOLLOWED.

Holy snap, guys. That blows my mind.

So, you all, all of you, every person reading this right now, YOU are awesome. I heart you. You make my day, week, month, year, everything.

And to those of you who comment often, I see you. I always read what you have to say, and I love it. I don't care what it is you said, I'm just so glad you keep taking the time to tell me what you have to say. Responding to what *I* say.

Also, to my blogger friends who may or may not be readin this, YOU ARE THE FREAKING BEST. One year and I've made some the bestest and coolest friends ever. Jana, Anna, Monica, Jessirae, Justin, Tiff, etc. (If I left you off that list, it's not because I love you any less, it's because I felt like the list was getting too long and I'm already boring people with my rambling). Without you guys, I'd still be writing the super crappy posts I started out with and hiding in my little corner on Twitter. Now I write only regular-crappy posts and have no problems with tweeting my face off about stuff. Hehehe. Plus, I HAVE FRIENDS! I used to be friendless. That was no fun.

Anna especially. She is cosidered my blogging big sis. And I am serioulsy thankful for her. ANNA I LUUUURVE YOU. And Jana, my Lux-loving best friend. ;)

And...now I'm about to name everyone again and this post is getting so long, so I shouldn't...

Now, my author friends! I actually have author friends now! That is so unbelievably cool. You are all amazing and I love you. Victoria Scott--hey, girl, hey. I'm a super fan for a reason. And JLA. Holy crap, if I were to run into you on the street, you'd know who I am now. HOLY! Nancy Straight, hehe, Daniel <3. And Priya. P-Diddio. <3 you to pieces! L.M. Ausustine because we're so flipping awk. ;) Plus, I wouldn't be just ANYBODY'S super awesome assistant. Geez. And Leah Clifford, because only SHE would come to Austin and kidnap me. Funnest kidnapping ever, if you ask me.

There are more, but I feel like I'm making this post way too long and y'all are just waiting for me to tell you I'm giving something away. If you're even reading this. You might have just scrolled down to that part...if you actually read this post, thank you. Ha.

Now....giveaway!

Giveaway!

Blogoversaries are a big deal. And mine is especially a big deal to me. And it blows my mind at how far this blog has come in just one short year. So I think this giveaway should be BIG. Which means there will be THREE winners.

 

Yeah, three.

 

And I'm giving away...

 

ONE winner will get any book of their choice that is on my reviewed list. As in, on THIS LIST RIGHT HERE. Or you can just click on the tab at the top of the blog. That's an option. Anyway, if it's on the list when I email you to tell you that you won, you can choose it and it shall be heading your way soon thereafter.

 

And then....

 

ONE winner will get:

The Collector by Victoria Scott along with a bookmark AND bookplate signed by Victoria Scott!

I am aware that this book is not out now, but it will be released by the time the giveaway ends. Trust me, I've thought this out. ;)

 

And lastly, ONE winner will get...

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentout along with a crap load of swag, both JLA and more. Some signed, some not. Either way, it's ALL awesome.

 

So, is this a fitting giveaway for the occassion? I sure hope so. Read on for more deets and how to enter and stuff.

 

Deets:

- There will be three winners

- The giveaway is international

- My giveaway policy applies

- Enter through the Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Thanks for entering! And now, because I'm having fun finding these...

  

 

 

Yeah, there was zero point to those whatsoever. Either way, I'll leave it there. You are awesome.

 

That is all.

 

♥Jessica(: