Looking Back At November

KINDLY STOLEN FROM JAMIE AT THE PERPETUAL PAGE-TURNER

IMAGE FROM November

My Brother In Law Hugging His Grandpa (known as Bumpa) After Offically Graduating Marine Corps Boot Camp

November In One Word

Non-Stop

5 THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN November:

1. Ryan Graduated From Boot Camp!
2. I Got My Wedding Ring!!!
3. We Took Our Christmas Photos.
4. Thanksgiving With Brandon's Family
5. Learned That When It Comes To Ancestry DNA, I am 65% from the British Isles, 19% Scandinavian and 11% Finnish/Volga-Ural (it is quite fascinating, how this works out)

5 SONGS THAT WERE MOST POPULAR ON MY IPOD THIS MONTH:

1. Die Young By Kesha
2. The A-Team By Ed Sheeran
3. Home By Phillip Phillips
4. Holy Ground By Taylor Swift
5. 

TOP 2 BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH:

1. What Remains By Carole Radizwell (still reading this, but as of right now I am OBSESSED)

2. Meant To Be By Lauren Morrill

MOST POPULAR REVIEW THIS MONTH

(I do this based on Stats)

Diva By Jillian Larkin (Book 3)

MOST POPULAR 4 BLOG POSTS OVERALL THIS MONTH

1. My Book Boyfriend (14) - Griffin King
2. Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover By Ally Carter
3.Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie
4. Looking Back At October

3 NEW OBSESSIONS IN November

1. Ancestry DNA

2. My Wedding Ring

3. Getting Christmas Cards Done

2 THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN December

1. My Companies Photo Shoot

2. Christmas in Northern California with ALL Sides of the family

3 BOOKS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING RELEASED IN December

Again I Only HAve Two...

Love and Other Perishable Items By Laura Buzo

The Friday Society By Adrienne Kress

NY Times Notable Reads of 2012

You guys New York Times Just Released Their Notable Reads for 2012. They have there "adult" section which is just split into Fiction and Non Fiction and then they have have their Children's section... which is split into Young Adult, Middle Grade and Picture Books.

After getting over the fact that Young Adult was in the "childrens" section.. Which yes, I get! But as a 23 year old who already gets mistaken as a 14 year old (even with my boob size) I would like to not be classified as a child.

Anyways, to the real point of the article. Not only had I only read ONE of the books in the Young Adult Section... that was the only book I had read out of both the Children's List and the Adult List! This makes me feel like a horrible reader and blogger, but not just that.. I only recognized THREE of the titles on the lists as a whole.. literally makes me shake my head..

Did you guys do any better than me?  Adult List Here , Children's List Here .

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of 2013

Hosted By The Broke and The Bookish

1. Gates of Paradise By Melissa De La Cruz 

It is the LAST book in the Blue Bloods Series!!!

2. Isla and The Happily Ever After

Well we all LOVED Anna and Lola... So why wouldn't we want to fall in love with Isla?

3. Perfect Scoundrels By Ally Carter

Katarine, Hale and The Gang. I cannot wait to see what heists they cook up next!

4. Gameboard of The Gods By Richelle Mead

Welp, I don't actually know what this is about BUT I have been obsessed with Vampire Academy. So I can assume this book and series will be GOLD

5. Just One Day By Gayle Forman

I really really really loved If I Stay and Where She Went and totally still carry a torch for Adam Wilde

6. School Spirits By Rachel Hawkins

It is a hex hall spin off?

7. True By Hilary Duff

I LOVE The Elixir Series, and after Devoted.. I want to read this book

In My Mailbox (46)

Hosted by The Story Siren

For Review

(netgalley)

The Friday Society By Adrienne Kress

The Chocolate Kiss By Laura Forland

Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell

Princess of The Midnight Ball

Summary:

"A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…
Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. 
Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George’s take on the Grimms’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew."

I was excited to read Princess of The Midnight Ball, but unfortunately was disappointed, I found the story to just lack that extra something it needed to make the book entertaining.  And That Is All I Can Really Say About It.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books and Authors I'm Thankful For

Hosted By The Broke and The Bookish

1 & 2

Karen McQuestion - Favorite and A Scattered Life

 When I began blogging over a year ago Karen was the 1st author to contact me and send me her books to read and review. (Making Favorite and A Scattered Life The 1st Book I have received from an author) Since then I have had an awesome Blogger/Author relationship with her and for that.. I am very very very Thankful

3 & 4

Libba Bray - A Great and Terrible Beauty

A long long long time ago, I was in a Borders with my Mom and I was just wondering around the aisles of the Young Adult/Children's Sections, not really looking for a book, just enjoying how pretty everything was. When I saw this book with the uneven pages and the beautiful victorian girl, with the corset laces that popped put on the cover so you could feel them. I was in love! I was entranced with Libba Bray and her writing ever since. Then I go to my 1st author Meet and Greet and Libba was everything, I expected and more! She made something that was initially terrifying for me, fun by acknowledging my existence and posing for silly photos! 

 5 & 6

Maggie Stiefvater & The Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races was the 1st MAJOR ARC I had received and totally gave me a surreal blogger moment. 

Maggie Stiefvater was also the 2nd author meet and greet I went to. She was very funny and personable and complimented me on running a blog, longer then most people = )

7 & 8

JK Rowling -The Harry Potter Series

Her books as the reason I am as avid a reader as I am today (as I know they are for many of my generation). Had Harry Potter never been written, I may not be as big of a reader as I am now. 

9 & 10

Melissa DeLaCruz and Rachel Hartman

Melissa signed ALL my books that I had by her, see made conversation, was uber nice and hugged me. Hands Down AWESOME. And Rachel, well what can you say about an author who spent her 15 minutes before beginning the Meet and Greet/ Q&A sitting in the audience with her fans and just hanging out and talking to them. 

As a blogger and reader, these moments, authors and books. Have made me So Very Thankful.

Blood Promise (Book 4, Vampire Academy Series)

Summary:

"The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? 
Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?"

I was really looking forward to Blood Promise because of how Shadow Kissed ended. So, I was a little surprised with how it began, very slow and there is this build up to the moment Rose finds Dimitri. There was a point where I was wondering what the earlier half of this book had to do with the story, but as you go on it very essential to the WHOLE plot line and to get you back into how you feel about Dimitri and Roses relationship.

Once Rose and Dimitri encounter each other I was VERY taken aback, cause 1) I was hoping Dimitri was not actual a Strigoi and 2) I was not happy with how Rose handled.  It gave me the same emotions that I had with the 1st half of Breaking Dawn. (if you have read the Twilight Series, than most you will get this) However, the build up to the ending was very perfect and as usual Richelle Mead is basically the devil playing a tiny violin with your heart strings!

You don't see much of the regular characters in this book, However due to Rose and Lissa's bond, we do get a pretty fluid sub plot on their end as well and I think that it was genius of Mead to tell their story that way.

Meant To Be

Summary:

"Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question. 
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be."

Plot: PERFECT Rom-Com, Winter...Cuddle Up In Bed...Drinking Tea... and just feeling all warm and fuzzy inside read. For some reason the the setting of London and the timing of the release just make this book that much better. At first the ups and downs of this love story drove me a little crazy and then it hit me, that is pretty much exactly how a high school relationship begins.

Characters: I LOVE LOVE LOVE Julia and honestly the more I think about it this relationship reminds me a lot of my Husband and I. Julia like me, is a bit nerdy in her own way, but can have fun when she wants to and Jason like my husband, is slightly obnoxious in public and acts like he could care less, but deep down has a secret smart side.
(Like Jason, my Husband pestered me in class all the time, and always wanted to be my partner in projects, etc and it infuriated me!)

Final Thoughts: I highly recommend this book. I even liked it better than Anna and The French Kiss! The thing that really got me about this book, is I honestly thought it would just be easy and predictable, but there were a few things in this book I didn't see coming, but they only added to the emotions. My only complaint is I would have liked a better ending.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'd Want On A Desert Island

Hosted By The Broke and The Bookish

This is ALWAYS a hard decision to make!! These Books were all picked because they can make me experience a variety of emotions. Which I imagine I would need on a desert island.

.

Scarlet

Summary:

"Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. 
Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.
It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for."

I LOVE Twists on old tales and the one Gaughen wrote was entertaining indeed. I love the dialect the story was  written in totally made me feel like I was in their era. However the overall dialog and story was a little choppy and the characters lacked that extra depth I would have liked to see and the relationships were so Daytime Soap Opera, that it was hard to make a real connection. At times I was fully immersed in the story (mostly towards the end) but there were times when I felt dis-connect. The sub-plot with Scarlet was interesting, but as it went on it was very predictable. In general I did enjoy this book, but I was hoping for MORE from it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie

Hosted By The Broke and The Bookish

Topic: Names of Characters I Have Trouble With

1. Vasilisa Dragomir

I pronounce it Vas-o-lisa, Vie-Sale-e-a, Vasi-lisa. 

Anyone want to help me?!

2. Hermoine Granger

Obviously, Now I Know How to Pronounce it. But 11 year old me was confused.

3. Logan Thibault

Since They Call Him By His Last Name Through Out The Whole Book, This One Was Hard For Me.

4. Esme Cullen

Ez-me, and I liked it better than Es-mae for so long.

5. Schulyer Van Allen

I pronounced it Shoe-ler.. it is actually Skyler

6. Gemma Doyle

Gem-ma or Ghem-ma?

7. Clea Raymond

Clay-a, Ca-leah or Clee-a?

Plus Many More That I Cannot Think Of Right Now.

Looking Back At October

Kindly Stolen From Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner

Image From October

I took this Photo of My MIL and Her Fiance at The Winery For My Birthday Party. This is one of many photos I took this month that I am currently OBSESSED with.

October In One Word

C-R-A-Z-Y

5 Things That Happened In October:

1. Saw Taylor Swift LIVE! Through Ellen!
2. My 1st Time Wine Tasting!
3. My 23rd Birthday and Festivities!
4. Went Wedding Dress Shopping With My MIL, It Was A Wonderful Bonding Experience Filled With Crying and finding THE Perfect Dress.
5. Medical Drama With Both My MIL and My Grandpa. (as of right now they are both fine, but still very scary)

5 Songs That Were Most Popular On My Ipod This Month:

1. Stay, Stay, Stay By Taylor Swift
2. Holy Ground By Taylor Swift
3.  A Little Taste By Skyler Stonestreet
4. Come Back... Be Here By Taylor Swift
5. I Knew You Were Trouble By Taylor Swift

Top 2 Books I Read This Month:

1. Second Helpings By Megan McCafferty

2. Velveteen By Daniel Marks

Most Popular Review This Month

(I do this based on Stats)

Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover By Ally Carter

Most Popular 4 Blog Posts Overall This Month

1. In My Mailbox (45)
2. My Book Boyfriend(14) - Griffin King
3.Top Ten Tuesday: Books To Get You In The Halloween Spirit
4. Top Ten Tuesday: Rewind

3 New Obsessions In October

1. Taylor Swift -- this happens to me every October

2. Taking Photos With My New Camera

3. A Couple of Photos That I took With My New Camera

2 Things I’m Looking Forward To In November

1. My Little BIL Ryan's Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation

2. Thanksgiving with Brandon's Family in Burbank at one of my Fav. Restaurants

3 Books I’m Looking Forward To Being Released In November

Days of Blood and Starlight By Laini Taylor (Out November 6th)

Meant To Be By Lauren Morrill (Out November 13th)