July Book Wrap Up!

August 1, 2014August 1, 2014Leave a comment

Books Pledged to Read in 2014:

150 Books

Am I On Track:

According to GoodReads, site I’m 3 books ahead

Books Read So Far:

Total Books For June:

Remember, as always, to click the book title in order to read the review!

The Young Elites (ARC)

Alienated

Invaded (ARC)

Four: A Divergent Story Collection

Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future (ARC)

Landline

Exile

Bloodlines (Re-Read)

The Golden Lily (Re-Read)

The Indigo Spell (Re-Read)

The Fiery Heart (Re-Read)

The Giver (Re-Read)

The Iron Trial

Silver Shadows

Monday Missions #15…On a Tuesday!

July 29, 2014Leave a comment

And in blog form instead of vlog!

I was feeling kind of lazy between blogging and working yesterday so I never got to Monday Missions. Now today, look I have dirty hair and I’m kind of sloppy looking after binge reading so I decided that instead of just ignoring the Monday Missions period, health I would do it in blog form.

For those of you who don’t know what the Monday Missions is, treat its a weekly vlog that my dear friend Daisy created on her YouTube channel The Thousand Lives of Daisy. Every week, you come up with your weekly TBR list. On mine, I talk about the books I wanted to read, what I actually read and what I hope to read this week.

Let’s jump in!

What I Wanted to Read:

The Iron Trial

The Indigo Spell

The Fiery Heart

What I Actually Read:

The Indigo Spell

I continued my reread of the Bloodlines series in anticipation of today’s release of Silver Shadows!

The Fiery Heart

Ditto

The Giver

I knew I would have to reread this soon because of the movie and so I decided to do so. AND I finished it in about an hour haha.

The Iron Trial

I was about halfway through this and I needed to finish it. So I did!

What I Want to Read:

Silver Shadows

This came out today! AGH!

Heir of Fire

I’ve had this ARC since ALA last month and I’ve finally ready to dive into it. Its SO huge but I’m ready for it.

Atlantia

I’ve had this one as well since ALA and its a standalone which is something I really need in my life. I can’t wait to read this.

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What are you reading this week? Make sure to share in the comments!

Tuesday Top Ten: Authors I Own the Most Books From

July 29, 2014July 29, 20143 Comments

Once again, generic I’ve fallen massively behind in my regularity with the Tuesday Top Ten. I’ve also been out of a lot of creativity so I decided to pop on over to The Broke and Bookish blog, sick where they host the Top Ten Tuesday, and grab their idea for the week.

I think that even though it suggests something kind of simple, it also shows something. The authors who I own the most books from? Obviously that means they are authors I really, really love to own so many from them.

So let’s do this.

Also, when doing this, a lot of authors have a count of 3 and 4, because of trilogies haha. So I own alllllll these books but there are very few authors that I have more than 3 or 4. But I digress. Check out the list.

10. J.R.R. Tolkien – 6 books

I own the entire LoTR trilogy, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin. I know there is so much more than I could own by him but baby steps haha. I’ve read these six books, and I love them dearly. I actually feel like I have more than just 6 because I’m fairly sure I have multiple copies of the LoTR and The Hobbit, hidden somewhere in my ever growing collection of books.

9. Tammara Webber – 6 books

Tammara Webber has been one of my favorite authors for quite some time now. I own the entire Between the Lines series because she was sweet enough to send me all four books, signed and personalized to me. Which was the sweetest thing EVER. I also have her new adult novel, Easy, and its companion book, Breakable. I know that my collection of her books will only grow as she releases more :)

8. Cinda Williams Chima – 8 books

Cinda Chima is such an incredible fantasy YA author and its easy to have all of her books in my life. I have all four books of the Seven Realms series, no problem, and I own a complete collection of the Heir Chronicles, so far. This collection will grow just slightly when the 5th Heir Chronicles novel releases (OHMYGOD) this fall. If you have not given her novels a chance yet, you definitely should. Seriously, she’s absolutely amazing.

7. Rick Riordan – 11 books

This one is so easy. I own the complete Percy Jackson collection, with a few extra copies and the entire Heroes of Olympus series so far. I hope to get my hands on the complete collection with the new covers because I actually quite like them. I can’t wait to get my hands on the final Heroes of Olympus book. I’m just dying for it!

6. Sarah Dessen – 11 books

The reason that I put Sarah Dessen lower (higher?) on the list is because even though I own all 11 of her books, I also think that the count is probably higher because I am almost 100% positive that I have doubles of a few of the books. Again, I have so many books scattered around, in my room, in bins in my backyard, in boxes in storage. I have over 600 books, so I’m bound to own more than 11 Sarah Dessen books. Plus she’s one of my auto-buy authors so I immediately go out and purchase every new release of hers, every since I was about 12.

5. Richelle Mead – 15 books

YES! I own the entire Vampire Academy series and Bloodlines series, with a few doubles there too. I am actually counting Silver Shadows in this count even though I’m technically writing this at 2 am and the bookstores haven’t opened so therefore I don’t actually have my copy of Silver Shadows yet. But I’m going to buy it immediately tomorrow and I can’t wait for it. As soon as I started reading VA, I immediately fell in love and had to get my hands on all of them. Because of generous gifts from my dear friends Mina and Katie, I own both series now and I’m glad to have them complete!

4. Cassandra Clare – 16 books

I feel like this one is such a duh. One, she’s one of my favorite authors. Two, she has a TON of books. I have the entire Mortal Instruments series, of course. But that includes the fact that I have 3 copies of City of Bones and 3 copies of City of Heavenly Fire. I’m weird that way. I also have Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, and Clockwork Princess. Of course. Add in The Shadowhunter Codex because that was a must. Then I have ARCs of The Bane Chronicles and The Iron Trial and I’m overflowing with Cassandra Clare books. I adore her. I want all of her books in my life!

3. Tamora Pierce – 20 books

Tammy Pierce has been writing YA fantasy since the early 80s, which means that she has quite a few books under her belt. Which means that I have quite a few of them in my collection. I am hoping to branch out into her not-Tortall books soon but I’ve always been massively obsessed with her Tortall world. So my collection is The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, The Protector of the Small, The Daughter of the Lioness and the Beka Cooper trilogy, which a few scattered doubles in there, plus the Tortall stories she released a few years back. Any time a Tortall story hits the shelves, I’ll be first in line.

2. J.K. Rowling – 30 books

Again, duh. My favorite author of all time, so of course I’d own a ton of books. I have the entire Harry Potter collection, which doubles, triples, even quadruples of some copies. I have two copies of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts. I also have foreign editions of several of the books from the UK, Australia, Spain, France, Korea, to name a few. I also have The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo’s Calling as well. Hopefully soon I will have The Silkworm as well but for now, I’m just too broke for that book. Adult books are very expensive :( But yes, I have a ton of books by JKR. I don’t know why I keep buying copies of HP but I see them at used bookstores for fairly cheap and just have to buy them. I’ve overrun haha.

1. Meg Cabot – 45 Books

Aw yes the winner. I actually think the number of Meg Cabot books that I own is much larger than this. This number is based on what I know I own but I have been reading Meg since I was 12 years old, which means I know I have a decent collection of her books in boxes in storage. I have every single book she’s ever released, except her romance novels under Patricia Cabot mostly because I’m just not a romance person. Other than that? I own them all, and probably doubles of a lot of them too. She is definitely one of my auto buy authors so its easy that she is the top of the list. She’s a machine and she’s released so many books over the year, and as a dedicated fan for about 15 years, I own them all :)

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What authors appear the most in YOUR book collection? Share in the comments!

My Sister Opened an Etsy Shop!

July 28, 2014Leave a comment

I am so excited to announce that after some hard work on my part and a ton of hard work on my sister’s part, abortion she has officially opened her Etsy shop: Art by Dink.

In the past few weeks, she’s been working on these mini canvas, and they’ve been super amazing. She started with Disney characters, but I recruited her right away to start making some fandom ones. I immediately commissioned her for an Amity one, because that’s my Divergent faction and it came out amazing.

I knew right away that she had to work on more fandom ones and that people would really want to buy these.

And she’s been relatively successful so far in in orders, with just friends and family. She’s currently working on a fearless rune, a deathly hallows and a TARDIS one just for me alone. My friend Ally just commissioned her for four of them. Check out some of the other ones she’s done so far.

She paints 4×4 canvas with oil and acrylic paints.

She has done all of the ones above, including some sports teams logos as well. The best part? She takes custom orders. She will sketch out a few ideas and working with you to create the best canvas possible.

She’s working on several orders for people right now, as well as doing some new ones. As I mentioned before, she’s going to be making a fearless rune, a deathly hallows symbol and the TARDIS for one, which is VERY awesome. My friend Ally has ordered a Dauntless, a Peter Pan and more. The options are limitless.

And they’re only TEN BUCKS. That’s such a steal!

We’re still working on tightening up the edges of her Etsy page, hopefully getting her a logo soon, but her page IS open for business so head over, check it out and start buying! These canvas are so cool and I’ve already bought four, and I’m totally ready to buy more!

Check out her Etsy page now!

You can also find her art page on Facebook and Instagram, as well. There, she will show all of her new canvas before she adds them to her Etsy page!

Fictional Crush of the Week-Adrian Ivashkov from the Bloodlines Series

July 27, 2014July 26, 20142 Comments

In just a few days, dosage the fifth book of the Bloodlines series, physician Silver Shadows, will be hitting bookstores. I’ve been rereading the series and remembering just how much that I love Adrian Ivashkov. I can’t wait to read more of him when the book releases on Tuesday.

Character Name:

Adrian Ivashkov

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Vampire Academy Series (Secondary Main Character)

Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice

The Bloodlines Series (Main Character)

Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell, The Fiery Heart, Silver Shadows (out July 2014), The Ruby Circle (out 2015)

Author/Creator:

Richelle Mead

Played By:

No One (RIP Frostbite)

Who They Are:

Adrian Ivashkov is a secondary character in the Vampire Academy series and a main character in the Bloodlines series. He is a Moroi, a so-called good vampire who has mortality, and is sensitive to sunlight but won’t burst into flames because of it. He is the nephew of the late queen Tatiana, and has the rare elemental power of spirit which includes things like compulsion, dream walking and healing. He is volatile, using alcohol as a solution to the “crazy” that comes with spirit. He has a sarcastic sense of humor, always looking to crack a joke, or have a one-liner. He briefly dates Rose, and she tries to make him a better person but he doesn’t quite succeed. When he brings Jill Dragomir back from the dead using spirit, he’s sent to help keep her safe in Palm Springs and falls in love with Jill’s human protector, Sydney Sage. Sydney is the one who gets him to change and he quits smoking, cuts back on drinking, starts going to college and stops sleeping with random girls.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Oh Adrian Ivashkov. I was in love with Dimitri Belikov in the VA series because I was in Rose’s head and I wanted her with Dimitri so badly but I always had a soft spot for Adrian. As soon I started reading Bloodlines and I realized that he was going to fall massively in love with Sydney and vice versa, I knew that I was done. I love his sarcasm and his darkness. You know that I love those bad boys who are really good deep down. In real life, its so annoying but in books, they’re just so irresistible. That snark just gets me every single time. And I love that we see this beautiful slow change in Adrian in the Bloodlines series. I love that, while his personality remains the same, he becomes a better person around Sydney. That’s how you know that’s real. With Rose, he had to force himself but with Sydney, he genuinely wanted to be a better person and I just love it. Every thing that comes out of his mouth is a total win.

Notable Quotes:

“You, know I’m the Queen’s favorite great nephew, Well, yeah I’m her only great nephew, but that’s not important, I’d still be her favorite…”

“Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection.” He paused to reconsider that. “Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try.”

“I tried to be a better person for her– but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I’m around you, I want to be better because… well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you’re like… like light made into flesh. […] You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine.”

“Yeah? Can you draw a skeleton riding a motorcycle with flames coming out of it? And I want a pirate hat on the skeleton. And a parrot on his shoulder. A skeleton parrot. Or maybe a ninja skeleton parrot? No, that would be overkill. But it’d be cool if the biker skeleton could be shooting some ninja throwing stars. That are on fire.”

Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. “Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember-no matter how ordinary things seem between us-I’m still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will.”

“I don’t care if you say we can’t be together. I don’t care if you think I’m the most evil, unnatural creature walking on earth. You can think whatever you want, go whatever you want. I’m going to just go on loving you, even if it’s hopeless.”

“But when I touch you, your aura … it smolders. The colors deepen, it burns more intensely, the purple increases. Why? Why, Sydney?” He used that hand to pull me closer. “Why do you react that way if I don’t mean anything to you?” There was a desperation in his voice, and it was legitimate.”

“I know I’m not supposed to say this, but I love you.”

I totally support Chase Crawford as Adrian ;) I just want Frostbite made so we can cast Adrian…

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That Time I Met James Dashner and My Tire Exploded…

July 26, 2014April 6, 20201 Comment

HELLO EVERYONE!

How are all of you on this fine weekend? I hope fantastic! What are you all reading right now? I’m currently re-reading The Fiery Heart, in the hopes that I’ll finish it before Tuesday when Silver Shadows comes out.

Today was a super fun and crazy day! Last week, my good friend Cassandra and I drove down to San Diego (roughly about a two hour drive) to pick up wristbands for a book signing event that would be taking place at the local Barnes and Noble for Comic Con weekend. James Dashner would be there, promoting the movie tie-in edition of The Maze Runner. I met James back in April at WonderCon but was totally looking forward to seeing him again!

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