January 31, 2014

I'm BAAAACK!

Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.

If you've been paying attention, you'll know I went on a cute little hiatus for over half of January. I even gave it an adorable little title that made it seem like I was still in high school or college, was just going off to some warm place for the week and didn't want to bring my laptop to with me. Oh, and I was too lazy to schedule posts in advance.

But I'm back now and I've had some time to think about all of the stuff. These are some of the conclusions I've come to:

January 30, 2014

Epic Recs Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Feature created by Amber and Judith, Graphic created by Judith
For our first ever Epic Recs, Lisa insisted I read Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers. I think it took her 30 seconds of scrolling through my Goodreads TBR to decide this. Of course, her excitement got me all revved up to read an AMAZING book. And, because Lisa is awesome is totally gets me, I got just that.


Title: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1)
Author: Robin LaFevers
Release Date: April 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page Count: 549
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: O.O Whoa.
Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

January 29, 2014

Review + Giveaway: Something Real by Heather Demetrios


Title:
Something Real
Author: Heather Demetrios
Release Date: February 4th 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt BYR
Page Count: 416
Source: ARC from Publisher (Thanks Macmillan!)
First Reaction: A very real and emotional look into the world of reality TV - that I absolutely loved.
There’s nothing real about reality TV.

Seventeen-year-old Bonnie™ Baker has grown up on TV—she and her twelve siblings are the stars of one-time hit reality show Baker’s Dozen. Since the show’s cancellation and the scandal surrounding it, Bonnie™ has tried to live a normal life, under the radar and out of the spotlight. But it’s about to fall apart… because Baker’s Dozen is going back on the air. Bonnie™’s mom and the show’s producers won’t let her quit and soon the life she has so carefully built for herself, with real friends (and maybe even a real boyfriend), is in danger of being destroyed by the show. Bonnie™ needs to do something drastic if her life is ever going to be her own—even if it means being more exposed than ever before.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

January 11, 2014

Winter Blogging Break

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been posting so much this past week. 

It's not because I don't love each and every single one of my readers, I really do. My life's just kind of gotten in the way of my blogging (as it should, every now and again, I think) and I don't want my content to be subpar just for the sake of posting something. 

So here's what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna take a brief Winter Blogging Break. Like back when I was in school and I'd get a week and a half (boo high school) to a month (woohoo college) off. 

January 7, 2014

Top Ten Goals For 2014 (43)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
I don't really do resolutions, so I've titled this post "GOALS" instead of "RESOLUTIONS". But the idea is the same. Also, I'm not just gonna do bookish resolutions. Personal stuff too. So get ready to read about my feelings as well as my work ethic, yeah?

January 5, 2014

Bout of Books 9.0: Goals

BOUT OF BOOKS 9.0 TIME!
Bout of Books
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

January 4, 2014

Epic Recs: January

Feature created by Amber and Judith, Graphic created by Judith
A couple weeks ago, I got paired up with LISA from Lisa is Busy Nerding for Epic Recs. This is great because:

1. Lisa is the best.
2. Lisa loves a lot of the same things as me.
3. Lisa gets me (as we discovered during our gchat to decide how to do this post).

January 3, 2014

What Do Non-Readers Do With Their Time?

Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.

Y'know those people in your life who don't read? Or even those people who don't read as much as I/we/you do? I'm sure you know a few. They could be a family member or a spouse or a friend...

Well, what do these people do in their spare time?

January 2, 2014

Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley


Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley
Release Date: December 26th, 2012
Publisher: Ember
Page Count: 272
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: *Standing Ovation*
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

January 1, 2014

Happy 2014, My Darlings!


And so 2013 is over.