A: An Announcement or Two

I am participating in the A To Z Challenge again this year. I did this last year when I was first taking off with my blog, so what better way to get back into the swing of things than to hop on board the alphabet train again? Today’s letter is A! So I have a few announcements to kick this all off.

Get back into the swing of things? Well, some of you may have noticed that I went from posting all the time to suddenly being very MIA since the new year started… Well… I’ve got a really good reason… 

Luckily, I’m getting back into the swing of things. My energy is coming back and I’m reading again. (I know! It was so strange going so long without really reading a book for pleasure.)

I also finished editing another book for Michele G. Miller: Into The Fire. It is so freakin’ good. I swear. Her books just keep getting better! Best yet, it released this weekend, so you can get a copy of your own!! I will post a review in the next couple of days, but definitely head over to Amazon, B&N, or anywhere else you can get awesome books and pick this one up. You won’t regret it!! Here are some order links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EOdct4
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1zMsSK8
B&N: http://bit.ly/1Fe6hgv
Kobo: http://bit.ly/18KvWR8

 

So, since it’s been a while… Let’s kick things off on the right foot… or the left if you’re a marching band geek like me…

 

#BookBlogWriMo Day 20 – Best Books of 2014 and Thanks

I have read so many wonderful books this year. I’ve included some of them below, in no particular order. This in no way covers all of the awesome books I read this year, just touches on them. Click on the books to view the corresponding blog page (if there is one yet.) Enjoy!!

#BookBlogWriMo Day 15/16 – My Favorite and Least Favorite Things about Blogging [and Thanks]

#BookBlogWriMo Day 15 and 16!!

So, I was out of pocket all day yesterday, thus you have a two-in-one post!!

My Favorite Book Blogging Things

• Getting to read – Well, I’d hope this was one of my favorite things about this process, otherwise doing it would be silly!!
• Meeting new people – I’ve met so many great authors and bloggers through this process. Having the chance to become an editor for one of those authors was even greater and that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have this blog. They’re something great about being a part of this community; we all understand the addiction.
• Discovering new favorite authors and books – Oh my. My Kindle has SO many great books on it. I’m always finding new great books on BookHub and through book tours and recommendations.
• Free books – Ah, does this really need explanation? This is a wonderful perk.
• The opportunity to do what I love – I went to school for English and Journalism, so I’m happy to be able to put that to good use. I enjoy doing this. It’s fun, productive, and educational.
• Having the chance to read books before release – Another great perk! It’s what I’d imagine going to a movie premier would be like – just without the celebrities and photo ops!

My Least Favorite Book Blogging Things

• It can get expensive – Oh yes. Once you get hooked on an author or book series, stopping the chain of purchase is very difficult.
• Over booking – This is so easy when there are so many great opportunities to review so many great books. I’ve recently taken a look at my methods and cut back a bit so I can get my ducks in a row.
• Not having enough time to read everything – The plight of all major book worms.

30 Days of Thanks – Day 15 and 16

I am thankful for great friends. It’s always wonderful to look forward to fun get togethers with friends [and family.] Friends are the family we get to choose for ourselves.

I am thankful for public transportation. Sure, driving is great – but public transit allows for decompression time!

#BookBlogWriMo Day 12 – Advice for Newbie Bloggers and Thanks

#BookBlogWriMo Day 12 – Advice for Newbie Bloggers

• Make sure you have the time to dedicate to blogging. It’s such an easy “hobby” to lose track of and forget about.
• Come up with a theme of some kind. I am a book blogger, but I will begin dabbling in other things at some point. I used to be a writer, so I’m hoping to bring that back out again. Some people have cooking blogs, some have scrapbooking, some have parenting advice… the list goes on and on.
• Decide if you want to write for an audience or write for yourself. This will give you focus instead of being all over the place.
• Join Facebook groups that have to do with your theme. I am a part of The Book Blogger’s Resource on Facebook and this page has helped me immensely as I’ve decided the path I want to take this blog.
• Don’t try to do too much at once. It’s so easy to get caught up in the fun of signing up for blog tours and things (especially as a book blogger), but you are one person. If you are starting your blog with multiple people, plan it out. I do this alone, so my time is far less. Keeping a planner helps keep everything in line.
• Schedule posts in advance. Or at least try to plan out what you want to post about. This is something I’m working on improving. It’s a work in progress. 🙂
• Network – there are so many people out there who do what you do, do what you want to do, and can help you grow. There are great friends to be made, as well. I’ve met so many wonderful people through this blog that I wouldn’t have originally.
• Stay true to you. If you don’t want to post about a specific subject or market certain product, you don’t have to! I don’t post certain things on here even though I know it will bring in more of an audience. It’s just not my thing. If you want to gear your blog to only cooking desserts, well power to you! If you only want to do cover reveals on your blog and you will NOT post reviews, go right ahead. 🙂 You do you, kid.
• For the love of all that is loved, please check your spelling and grammar. There is nothing less sexy than a poorly produced post.
• Keep a journal – either a real one or in your phone – to plot down ideas for posts. I used to find myself coming up with great ideas, but didn’t have anywhere to put them. Now I have Little Red – my mini journal that I keep track of everything in, from book reviews to blog post topics to story ideas.
• Try to post at least once a week. This was something I struggled with and that’s why I try to sign up for a blog tour a week. I tend to lag behind a bit or hit a slow patch, but I’ve been adjusting. Looking back, I’d definitely have planned out some more posts in the beginning before I launched. Non-blog life does get in the way, of course. That’s ok. You don’t HAVE to post a certain number of times, but it’s better if you want to have consistent follows.
• Do what you love so that you love what you do. If not, then what’s the point?

30 Days of Thanks – Day 12

Today I am thankful for journals. I’ve always had one, ever since I was little. I started collecting them a few years ago and haven’t stopped. I’m picky about my journals because I want to make sure they have a purpose in my collection. Sometimes I write in them, sometimes I give them away as gifts, and something they just sit there like something beautiful on my journal shelf. Journals are a wonderful place to jot epiphanies, keep your secrets, water your ideas, and keep the brain juices flowing. They’re a friend to look back on after many years, and they’re an enemy when you don’t want to remember. They’re small enough to tuck away until the time is right, and they’re a lifesaver. They’re that thing your little sister tries to find under your mattress to read your deepest adolescent secrets, and they’re the thing that you can trust when you’re little and don’t know who to turn to. They’re what you tell your first crush to and they’re what you throw across the room when you’re really angry. Journals are pretty awesome. Unless there’s an angry wizard soul hiding in one… then you’re in trouble.

#BookBlogWriMo Day 11 – My Top Ten Posts and Thanks

#BookBlogWriMo Day 11 – #TopTuesday – My Most Popular Posts of All Time

I have actually never used this feature on my blog before, so it was really interesting to see what posts have accumulated a following and what ones aren’t as popular. Here are my top ten posts so far. My blog has only recently begun gaining more traffic as I’ve been posting more, but I’m excited to see what has been doing well.

#10 C: The Four C’s to a Great Book and a Successful Review From Me – 4/4/2014 – 22 views – This is actually one of my favorite posts on this blog. It pretty much spells it all out – what I review and what it takes to get a good rating from me. I have received some great feedback for this post and it’s a great reference for authors and other bloggers who are looking for ideas on a reviewing system.

#9 Blog Tour: Book Review + Giveaway – Inevitable Detour by S.R. Grey – 10/10/2014 – 22 views – Blog tours are always great traffic drivers.

#8 Book Boyfriends and Lady Loves – Updated 2/6/2014 – 23 views – Ah, another one of my favorite posts on this blog. I haven’t updated this in a while, so I’m due for another few lovely fellers and ladies.

#7 #BookBlogWriMo Day 1 – The History of My Blog and Thanks – 11/1/2014 – 26 views – Self explanatory. From just a few days ago!

#6 Book Review: From the Wreckage by Michele G. Miller – 7/9/2014 – 29 views – For those who don’t know, I am Michele’s editor. This is awesome. Beyond awesome, really. I met Michele through my blogging, joined her street team, then the rest is history. I started editing for her on the third book in this series – All That Remains. This series is awesome and Michele is a phenomenal author.

#5 A Little Bit About Me and My Love For Books – 3/7/2014 – 32 views – This post has a whole lot of information about me in interview-ish form. Worth checking out if you’re interested in learning more.

#4 Book Review: The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger – 2/27/2014 – 37 views – My first ever book review! Not really a huge fan of the book, though. Ha!

#3 My First Rafflecopter Giveaway – 10/24/2014 – 50 views – Another milestone! Hoping to do a huge giveaway in January when my blog hits one year!

#2 Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway – #Nerd by Cambria Hebert – 11/3/2014 – 51 views – Part of a blog tour, #Nerd was a fun read and I’m excited that the next book will be coming out soon. 🙂 If there’s a tour for that one, I will definitely be participating.

#1 Blog Tour – Review – Unlit Star by Lindy Zart – 10/10/2014 – 95 views! – This is one of the most incredible books I have read. When I go into the search stats for my blog (aka, how people found my blog and posts) many of them have been searches for “Unlit Star” and the various characters and plot points within. I’m always on board for Lindy Zart’s book tours, as she’s one of my favorite authors.

30 Days of Thanks – Day 11

I am thankful for all of those military men and women – past and present – who put their lives on the line each day.

#BookBlogWriMo Day 10 – Memes I Plan To Meme and Thanks

 

#BookBlogWriMo Day 10 – Memes I Plan To Meme

Memes are pretty great, and I will admit that I love to take part in them. Personally, I love Teaser Tuesday, Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday. I do plan on having more fun posts like these on my blog, Facebook page, and Twitter soon.

Memes I Want To Meme More

#TeaserTuesday

Authors get to share teasers of the covers, upcoming releases, and other works in progress. This is always fun.

#TakeoverTuesday

Authors or other bloggers get to take over my Facebook page or put up a blog post on my site.

#ThrowbackThursday

Sharing old posts, reviewing books that have been around for a while or were my favorites growing up, old pictures, anything that’s a throwback.

#FreebieFriday

Well, this is exactly as I’ve shared – books that are currently free on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc. I’ve done this in the past and love it. If you belong to sites like BookBub, you can have information like this delivered right to your email!

What are some of your favorite memes?

30 Days of Thanks – Day 10

Today I am thankful for weekends. I love my weekends and I can always count on them at the end of a rough week. I enjoy being able to spend time with my family, my husband, my pets, my books, and even my homework. To move at my own pace is nice every so often. Besides, weekends are the perfect reboot time. Ah, weekends. Too bad they aren’t longer. 🙂

#BookBlogWriMo Day 7 – #FlashbackFriday, #FunFactFriday, and Thanks

#BookBlogWriMo – #FlashbackFriday – Blog’s First Design

Truth be told, I am still using my blog’s first design. There’s no fun story to tell and no nifty pictures. Maybe next year I will have something to post here that’s more interesting – when I can afford to pay for a not-so-generic design, maybe? Nonetheless, here we are with a blog post that needs some filling so here’s some additional information about the girl behind the blogging:

#FunFactFriday

• Favorite Color: I love Teal. Super love it. The majority of the clothing I pick out tends to have some bits of teal in it. I also adore the color Plum (close to the background color of all my #BookBlogWriMo post headers.
• Favorite Superhero: Batman… He’s super, but not in the regular-expected-X-Men kind of way (Though, I also love X-Men)
• Book Series I Need To Read, But Have Been Putting Off: Game of Thrones… I know, I know. It’s incredible, but I don’t have the time to just dedicate to those books. Well, more honestly – I don’t have the focus. I’m always doing something and I NEED to do more than just sit on my butt and read all the time. But, boy… wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do that? *eyes glaze over in a dreamy haze*
• Favorite Game To Play When I Was Little: Hide and Seek. I was a champ. Always won. Best hiding spaces all the time. And I am modest, too.

30 Days of Thanks – Day 7

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to go back to school and get my Master’s degree online. I love school and I always have. Learning is something I value and hope to never stop, but I’ve been putting off going to school for a while because I wasn’t letting myself decide exactly what I wanted to do. Well, now I’m in school pursuing my advanced degree in a field I love to work in – HR. I get to do what I love all the time – HR during the day, editing in and around the day/night, and school online anywhere in between. It’s great. Follow your dreams, kids. So what if I’ll be paying back college loans until I’m old and wrinkly? 🙂

 

#BookBlogWriMo Day 4 – Why I Blog and Thanks

#BookBlogWriMo Day 4 – Why I Blog

I blog because it’s always been on my bucket list. And because it’s fun. I enjoy writing and I enjoy reading, so what better way to put the two together than to create a book review blog? I’ve had many outlets in life and writing is one of them. My creative juices just don’t flow as much these days because of work and school, but keeping this blog helps keep me fresh.

I was an English and Journalism double major in undergrad, so I have all of these skills that I paid good hard money for (and will be paying until I’m old and wrinkly).

Blogging has introduced me to some really great individuals I wouldn’t have otherwise met. Because of this blog I now edit for Michele G. Miller (a really great author… go check her out. Seriously. No bias, I promise.)

This blog is still in it’s early life and I’m still a blogging newb, but that’s ok. There are some wonderful communities out there and more established bloggers who provide great advice and mentorship.

And hey… free books and swag aren’t bad either. (I gladly accept such things, though I prefer the real book vs. e-books. So, if you ever find yourself wanting to pass on your books, I am starting a blogging book and swag shelf at home. Wanna be on it?! haha.)

Joking aside – I enjoy this. I appreciate the opportunities blogging has opened up for me. And hey, I’m doing what I love in all facets of my life. I look forward to seeing where this blog is a year from now.

30 Days of Thanks – Day 4 

I’m thankful for these two little loves:

Dobby Sirius (black cat) and Winky Ginevra (grey cat) have been a part of our family since August 2013. They’re brother and sister adoptees from our local animal shelter. They’re every bit as adorable and perfect as they look and fit into our little family just right. Pets aren’t just animals who happen to live with you, they’re family. You’ll meet another one of my pets another day this month.

Until then… what are you thankful for? Do you have any pets? Share pictures. 🙂

 

Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway – #Nerd by Cambria Hebert

#Nerd (The Hashtag Series)
By: Cambria Hebert
Publication Date: November 1, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Format of Book: E-Book

*~*

Two people from completely different worlds are about to be thrown together…

In more ways than one.

She wants to keep her scholarship. He wants to stay on the team. An awkward alliance doesn’t even begin to cover Rimmel and Romeo’s relationship.

But that’s about to change.

It starts with a dare. An initiation. A challenge.

Quickly, it turns into more. But when you’re a victim of your status, there is no room for anything real. The rules are clear and simple.

Stick to your circle.

And never fall in love with anyone on the outside.

*~*

Welcome to my stop on the #Nerd blog tour! *I received at free ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

*~*

The Final Countdown
Characterization – 3.5/5 Stars
I found the characters here to be well-developed and interesting. Their personalities were stark contrast from one another, which was effective in keeping the story interesting. Rimmel Hudson is the main character. to start, her name is different than typical leading females. She’s a “nerd” with secrets. Rimmel secluded herself from others, but she is in no way a doormat. Her love of animals pulled me in, but I found that she very easily gets swept up in her emotions. Roman “Romeo” Anderson is a jock with his own set of problems. He has earned himself the nickname “Romeo” for obvious reasons. Our first impressions of this guy are pretty gross and, to be frank, I still don’t like him. Regardless of anything redeeming about him, unfortunately he left a sour taste in myself. But don’t mistake that for a dislike of this book – these characters fit together very well in the context of this story. Ivy is Rimmel’s roommate and they are polar opposites. I’d love to get the know Ivy a bit more. And then there’s Braeden – what Roman lacks, Braeden has. I like him a lot and want to know more about him, as well.

Dialogue – 3.5/5 Stars
The dialogue is well-executed and realistic. I enjoyed the conversations between characters and the Alpha Buzz alerts.

Plot – 3.5/5 Stars
This story felt very familiar, but while it is not wholly original, I liked it. Perhaps it’s my own nerdiness, but I enjoyed the movement of the plot. They pace was realistic, especially where it takes place in college. There was a but of steam, but that’s also realistic to college.

Visual Imagery – 3.5/5 Stars
There are definitely some very visual moments in this book – one of them early on being the reason I’m not a huge Roman fan, but this book has some great descriptors without going overboard. The use of Alpha Buzzfeed alerts was effective and started out new chapters in a fun way.

Ending 3/5 Stars
(Warning: potential sort of spoiler alert, but jot fully?) The story ended well, but wrapped things up in a far neater package than seemed realistic. This may just be me, haha. I would definitely read the next in the series. I’m curious and intrigued by what happens next. Winter 2015 will be interesting.

Total: 17/25 Stars

 

 

 

Amazon Amazon CA Amazon UK Amazon AU

B&N

 

 

Cambria Hebert is a bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.

Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).

Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: Text, Torch, Tryst, Masquerade, and Recalled.

Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Random Thoughts and My Giveaway

Random Thought of the Day: If I can help it, I don’t ever leave my house without a book. I always have my Kindle or a paperback with me. I guess I am a bit like Rory Gilmore in that sense. Those very rare times when I am bookless, those are the ones that I feel naked. Like legit left-the-house-with-nothin-on naked.

As a reminder, I have a giveaway going. Click on the image below to enter!! Super easy!! This will run until Midnight EST on October 30, 2014. Be sure to enter for some really great prizes. Thank you to Crossroad Reviews, author Lindy Zart, and author Nely Cab for your amazing donations.

WordPress, Twitter, and Facebook are not responsible for this giveaway!