Video Review - The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters Teaser Trailer

Ok so, you guys probably already saw this one, but I CAN'T. STOP. WATCHING IT! 

Which is kind of funny, considering I didn't even finish reading the series (not because I didn't like it, I just couldn't really get into it, but they were still kinda cool). And now, due to this trailer I want to give the whole series another try because there's so much I don't remember. Cannot wait for this movie! it looks very well done :)

Starglass - Phoebe North + GIVEAWAY!

Starglass by Phoebe North
Date Released:  July 23rd 2013
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Format: ARC
Source: Itching for Books Blog Tours

Summary:
In this futuristic, outer space thriller, Terra has to decide between supporting the rebellion she believes in—and saving the life of the boy she loves.

For generations, those aboard the Asherah have lived within strict rules meant to help them survive the journey from a doomed Earth to their promised land, the planet Zehava–which may or may not be habitable, a question whose imperative grows now, in the dwindling months before touchdown.
Sixteen-year-old Terra’s situation is tough. A dead mom. A grieving dad. A bitchy boss, and a betrothed who won’t kiss her no matter how bad she wants it. She’s doing her best to stay afloat, even when she gets assigned a vocation she has no interest in: botany.

But after Terra witnesses the Captain's guard murder an innocent man, she's drawn into a secret rebellion bent on restoring power to the people. The stakes are higher than anything she could have imagined. When the rebellion gives Terra an all-important mission, she has to decide where her loyalties lie for once and for all. Because she has started to fall for the boy she's been sent to assassinate...

From Goodreads

My Review:

When I first started with Starglass I thought, Good story, good characters, but nothing I hadn’t heard before. Once you think of it, almost every sci-fi novel and movie with people stuck in a big spaceship go the same way: they feel stuck, that they are being controlled and that they want their freedom. When I finished with Starglass, I thought again of my initial opinion and came to the conclusion that yes, Starglass was different from other Sci-Fi novels out there; what made it unique was the brilliant world building and character development. Good job on that Miss North, a really good job

Starglass was very well structured, you get a full understanding of the world, the norms, how everything works inside the Asherah and who are the people that live on board. It took quite a while for the conflict of the story to appear, over 100 pages, which makes it seem like a slow book, I mean, 100 pages of world building? Come on. But it was done tastefully and well, and they went very fast, it wasn’t until I actually looked at the page counter that I thought ‘wow, that was a lot of pages before the main event.’ The main event being when Terra watches someone innocent (and likable) be murdered. Don’t freak out people, it’s not a spoiler, it’s in the summary.

Now Terra, Terra was a very interesting character. She’s quiet, plain and average – I realize this are not the best adjectives to describe a person, but she was still so interesting. Not your typical timid, social awkward girl, Terra was actually an underdog/wallflower. (She sees things, and she understand them…. Yeah yeah, that was from Perks of Being a Wallflower, but it works to describe her) She saw a murder and was later told to stay silent about it, not knowing whom she should trust or if there was anyone to trust she keep quiet, and just goes on being a silent observer, slowly learning, slowly becoming and adult and a part of the community, but never really engaging. Until she finally finds something, a group of people where she does belong, and she becomes passionate. Now this, THIS is what made the book so great for me, you see Terra’s father being a very compromised and dedicated worker, you see her best friend being a very active and girly teenage girl, you see her peers being exited about their jobs, her brother being happy about his rank, and you see Terra as a sharp contrast to all of them, yes, she understands, she works, she likes it, but she’s sort of just there in a big ship through the first half of the book, until she finally finds where she belongs. I simply loved the inside of Terra’s head.

Now the love interest. . . it was weird. Not what you would expect. We have two main boys – not a love triangle, don’t worry – and Terra clicks with one of them, and he’s sweet and he’s good, but it feels weird. It was just. . . weird. Definitely not your common romance set-up, I guess I grew too accustomed to the typical cliché YA romances, to the point were it actually made this one feel weird for me, but it’s not really weird, it’s just done in a different way . It was sweet, but still different. . . I liked it.

Again, I would not say Starglass was original, but the approach the author took was unique and well done, which made it totally worth it. Excellent, excellent world building and character development. I highly recommend it as a summer read, and make sure to keep this in mind: Not everything is as it seems.

About The Author:
Phoebe North spent the first twenty-two years of her life in New Jersey, where she lugged countless library books home to read in the bathtub, at the dinner table, in front of the television, and under the blankets with a flashlight when she should have been asleep. After college, Phoebe went south, enrolling in the University of Florida’s MFA program to study poetry. But after studying children’s literature with kidlit scholars (and geniuses) Kenneth Kidd and John Cech, she started writing books about magic, robots and aliens for teenagers. And realized she loved it almost as much as she loved Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Now, Phoebe lives in New York State with her husband, and many licensed novels. She likes to cook, watch Degrassi, sew, take her cat for walks, and, of course, write. Despite many soaked pages, she still loves to read in the bath

www.phoebenorth.com | twitter.com/phoebenorth

 

Starglass Book Trailer from Phoebe North on Vimeo.

GIVEAWAY!

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Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent - Excerpt + GIVEAWAY!

Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent
Date Released: May 21st 2013
Publisher: Createspace
Format: Kindle Book
Date Read: July 7, 2013.
Source: Itching for Books Tours

Summary:

I never intended to pick up a naked hitchhiker wearing nothing but a guitar. A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop - you stop. And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal. Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed. But he did. When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn. What do you do, though, when maybe - just maybe - you don't have to choose? As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated." 

* Random Acts of Crazy is a standalone, full-length novel featuring Darla Jo(sephine) Jennings, the 22-year-old niece of Josie Mendham from the Her Two Billionaires series. It has, like many New Adult novels, an exploration of sexuality for the three main characters, doesn't shy away from mature content, and Darla has a sailor's mouth.

From Goodreads

Hey guys! Today I present to you and Excerpt of Random Acts of Crazy which I picked, and I personally really liked this part, so I hope you do too :D!

Excerpt

          As Joe walked out, I realized this was the moment. I had to steel myself for it, I had to be strong, I had to make sure I didn’t make a fool of myself so I did what I always do and I opened my mouth and I blurted out the stupidest shit possible. 

          “I would love to see you again, Trevor,” I said. “The next time you decide to eat a stupid shit amount of a mind-altering substance and travel naked six hundred miles, give me a visit.” Wink. Oh, God. I might as well have said “Y’all come back now, ya hear?” and thrown cornbread at him. 

        He smiled gently, his fingers touching my cheekbones, traveling down to the nape of my neck, making me want to blurt out even stupider words, like I love you, like stay, like make babies with me, like take me with you, like write a song about me – and I was damn close to saying all of those things but he just leaned in and shut my mouth up by pressing his against it.

         The kiss wasn’t a goodbye kiss. It was more chaste than anything we’d shared over the past handful of hours and that’s what finally made me cry because it was less about passion – which we’d had plenty of in handfuls and spurts (no pun intended) – but this was a kiss of sorrow, a kiss of regret, a kiss so sweet and endearing and apologetic and nostalgic that I could feel it ten years ago and ten years hence.

        What was Trevor doing, giving me a kiss like that? Bearing his soul to me with his lips, with his tongue, with fingertips that touched all the crying parts in me, all the aching cells, the mourning skin, the sad, sad heart that beat just for him right now. Everything I felt was so melodramatic and gratuitous and carved out of a Darla that I liked to pretend wasn’t there. Trevor made me real. Trevor made me come out. The me that I always imagined was there, undamaged, untouched by the years of wondering what if? What if Daddy hadn’t died? What if Mama had been OK? What if I’d gone to college? My own what if – thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster – would never be what if I had just driven past the naked rock star by the side of the road?

         I may be stupid and I may make foolish choices but that one…that one I would never regret.

        Trevor’s mouth pulled away and his eyes sought mine. “It’ll be OK,” he said. “And of all the people in the world and of all the places in the world, Darla,” he leaned over and kissed my forehead and pulled back, that jaunty, sultry grin like warm chocolate. “The next time I decide to escape my own life, naked and ready for anything, I’ll make sure I’m headed west.”

        Joe ruined what would have been an absolutely perfect Hallmark moment – if Hallmark had a demented line of cards for shitstorms like this – by thumping through the door and shouting, “My fucking car won’t start!”

Purchase

Amazon  |  Goodreads

About the Author 

Julia Kent turned to writing romance novels after learning that she could not work as a fighter pilot because her fear of flying disqualified her. Turning to her second love, she became a dog groomer, but had to abandon that job after adopting too many strays. Writing about very real, very flawed people is a natural extension of her life and, well, her. She lives on the east coast with her partner, two small children, seventeen dogs that weigh less than fifteen pounds each, and a monthly consumption of Nutella, brie and french bread that makes cardiologists cringe.

jkentauthor.blogspot.com | @jkentauthor | facebook.com/julia.kent.100

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2013 - So far so... good?

Book Haul (52)

 

Books Mentoined

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children  by Ransom Riggs

Let me know what books did you get this week :)

Subject To Change - Alessandra Thomas + GIVEAWAY!

Subject To Change by Alessandra Thomas
Date Released:June 25th 2013  
Format: ARC
Pages: 300 pages 
Date Read: June 30, 2013
Source: Ink Slinger Blog Tours. 

Summary:
Joey made her dad a deathbed promise that she would become a doctor, and dedicate herself to fighting the very cancer that took his life. There’s just one problem -three years into her pre-med classes, she's struggling to stay on top of the curve, let alone prove she's dazzling enough to earn a spot in an Ivy League medical school. In a Hail Mary move, she throws a basic Business 101 class into her semester schedule, banking on a perfect score to boost her GPA.

That is, until she’s paired for a final project with Hawk, the bartending, motorbike-riding, gorgeously bedheaded loser who falls asleep in class and communicates in one-word sentences.

Hawk does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, which sets Joey on edge – in every possible way. As they get to know each other, her urge to scream at him is curbed only by her fantasies of tearing his clothes off. Soon those fantasies become reality, and Joey realizes Hawk makes her feel more fully herself than any of the rich boys her mother and sorority sisters approve of.

But the promise to her father hangs over her head, and the harder Joey tries to succeed in her chosen career, the faster everything falls into a hopeless tailspin of bad grades, broken promises and guilt. It doesn't help to have Hawk sitting like a devil on her shoulder, insisting she should be free to live however she wants to live - like he does.

The only thing Joey knows is that her neatly organized life is crushing her - and Hawk's bad attitude might be the only thing that can save her.

From Goodreads

My Review:

It's official, I'm an Alessandra Thomas fan. I read her debut novel Picture Perfect in the beginning on the year, and I loved it so so much. I thought it was honest, romantic, fun, and that it touched very important subjects. I had very high expectations for Subject To Change, and it did not disappoint. 

First, I have to say that this is a fast paced book, in no time I was finished with it and I was honestly craving for more. Hawk and Joey's relationship was great, they had so much chemistry, and even if Joey was a bit of a snob at times, you couldn't help but like her. Same with Hack, he was rough around the edges and a bit of a jerk at times, but you still liked him! 

I feel like I need to explain all of the great aspects of the story, so here I go:

Fast Paced. I already mentioned this, but it really did went fast! I was so surprised at how easily things flowed, and how immersed I was in Joey's world

Hot. It was a sexy novel, with beautiful and at the same time hot sex and make out scenes.

Meaningful. Just like Picture Perfect, this story was very meaningul in may ways, and I loved watching Joey discover herself as well as watch Hack learning to loosen up and letting go. 

No stupid drama. There is always always conflict in books. That is part of what makes a story an actual story. Sometimes, when I'm reading a book and I am around 80% in I'm like 'Oh, it's near, I can feel it. The stupid annoying misunderstanding and stupidly stubborn characters are coming." and for a moment I braced myself for something similar with this one, but that moment never came!!!! I mean, of course there was a conflict but Joey handled things so well! and she came around, and Hack came around too! There was no unnecessary or tedious drama, it was simply perfect.

This book was simply everything I could have hoped for. The perfect book for summer and when I finished with the story I could not get the stupid grin out of my face. I was smiling so much through the last chapter that my cheeks hurt! Loved it!

About Alessandra Thomas: She is a New Adult writer who swears she was in her twenties yesterday. Since she's not, she spends her time looking back on her college years fondly, and writing sexy stories about guys and girls falling in love and really living life for the first time. When she's not writing, you can find her with a spoonful of ice cream in one hand and the newest New Adult release in the other.

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Thank you for letting me be part of this tour!

July TBR

June Wrap Up

Camp Nanowrimo!

Yep, I will be participating in July's Camp Nanowrimo!! The goal is to write a novel of at least 40,000 words in a month. This is the first time I am participating in Camp Nanowrimo, and I am actually not going to write a new novel... I am going to re-write my novel. I'm not even sure if this goes against some rules or something, but when  I was 17 I wrote a story that was really really bad and I clearly could not write to save my freaking life, but I still like the idea and my characters. So for the past two years I've been kinda/sorta re-writing my novel, and I've only edited the first 3 chapters. Clearly I am not doing so good. My goal is to finally re-write my novel this month, otherwise I will never get around to doing it. 

Let me know if you guys will be participating or if you've participated in 

any of the Nanowrimo camps before! 

and if you'd like to read the first really bad 3 chapters of my story go here. It's just in case, but really, it's not good. So not good.

Book Haul 51

 

Books Mentoined

Subject To Change by Alessandra Thomas

Addicted To You by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie

Reboot by Amy Tintera
Hex Hall by  Rachel Hawkins
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
This Girl by Colleen Hoover
Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent

Let me know what books did you get this week :)

Stolen: A Letter To My Captor - Lucy Christopher

Stolen: A Letter To My Captor by Lucy Christopher
Date Released: May 1st 2010
Publisher: Chicken House
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 304 pages 
Date Read: April 23, 2013
Source: Borders - R.I.P.

Summary:
It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him.

This is my story.

A letter from nowhere.

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back?

The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

From Goodreads

My Review:

It’s hard to review a book like this one. Stolen would be categorized as a contemporary book. In this genre we can find ‘dark’ as well as ‘lighter’ contemporary novels, I do not think this one falls into neither. This is unlike anything I have ever read before, a book so close to reality but at the same time far from it.

It’s been more than a month since I read this one, and my mind still fails to form coherent thought when thinking about it, which is why I think this review will be very short. From the summary we know that Gemma is kidnapped by Ty, a guy/men who is clearly obsessed with her. You may think “scary and creepy” I did too, but as the story goes there’s just so so so much more than that. First, the writing style just sucks you in, and it almost feels like being inside a dream. There’s Gema, who acted accordingly to her situations, who was scared and who also craved a connection. And there’s Ty, a very damaged, tortured and honestly cray-cray person – and I felt sympathy for him, I wanted him to be happy.

That’s the charm of the book, you feel exactly what Gemma feels. Her fear, her uncertainty, her sympathy, her everything. The ending of this novel has to be the most honest ending I have read so far. I know honest is a weird word to describe an ending but that is the first word that comes to mind.

If you have read this book or you plan on reading it, I highly suggest listening to Bastille’s Sleepsong and to Florence and the Machine’s Over the Love (even though Florence’s song was written for the Great Gatsby, it honestly first this one perfectly). A flawless piece that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys contemporary novels. Highly recommend.

Waiting on Wednesday (26)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine.

I'm Waiting On...

Summary:

Ben could date anyone he wants, but he only has eyes for the new girl — sarcastic free-spirit, Ani. Luckily for Ben, Ani wants him too. She’s everything Ben could ever imagine. Everything he could ever want.

But that all changes after the party. The one Ben misses. The one Ani goes to alone.

Now Ani isn’t the girl she used to be, and Ben can’t sort out the truth from the lies. What really happened, and who is to blame?

Ben wants to help her, but she refuses to be helped. The more she pushes Ben away, the more he wonders if there’s anything he can do to save the girl he loves.

Expected publication: November 12th 2013

Why?

I have not read a 'dark' contemporary novel in so long, and I've had my eye on this one for so so long and the release date is ridiculously far. I just want it now. Patience is a virtue I was apparently not blessed with x)

add to Goodreads.

What are you waiting on?

Bookshelf Tour!

I have a bookshelf tour to show you guys! And that is the reason why I've been MIA this past 3 days, editing the video was far more complicated than I thought it would be - It was too long, then I lost some footage and I had to film it again and bleh bleh. But here it is! I hope you guys enjoy it :)

Bared To You - Silvia Day

Bared To You by Silvia Day
Date Released:  June 12th 2012
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Format: Paperback
Date Read: June 11, 2013
Source: Target

Summary:
“Full of emotional angst, scorching love scenes, and a compelling storyline.”—Dear Author
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness…
He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private wounds…and desires.The bonds of his love transformed me, even as i prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...

From Goodreads

My Review:

If you read and enjoyed the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, this seems to be the book you must read next, and I can definitely see why. They really are similar in lots of ways. When I started reading I just kept seeing so many elements that were in 50 Shades, the characters are different, but still, they just felt too similar. As the story progresses though, the differences start to show and you no longer of this as a 50 Shades copy.

In terms of the first book, I have enjoyed more Bared to You than 50 Shades of Grey. The characters have much more depth and they really are fascinating. I loved the relationship between Gideon and Eva. Eva was a strong character, she had attitude and she was fierce. Gideon was possessive, of course, but he was trying really hard to be a good partner for Eva. I loved his efforts, the things he said, everything. He was willing to work his issues, to try new things, step out of his comfort zone; he was just so willing.

As for Eva. . . well, I did like her, a lot. But toward the last chapters of the book, her attitude wasn’t really clicking with me. She was too insecure at times, and she didn’t seem to be putting as much effort as Gideon. If things got tough, she would just run. Gideon does confront her about this, and she agrees to not keep running, but still, it was very annoying.

The little thing I didn’t like was that I thought their relationship moved really fast. In just one week they were going strong as a couple – I’m not sure, but if I do remember correctly it was just one week. And also when Eva did something frustrating, or I would see bad stuff coming ahead, I would just put the book down for a couple of hours. It really helped me to not get too frustrated. I would think things through, maybe even agree with Eva’s decision, or at least that her reactions weren’t that different form what I would’ve done had I been in her situation.

All in all this book was great. I loved the characters, the story, their relationship, and the main theme of the book: Can two severely damaged people really have a healthy and functional love relationship? Note that their relationship is not healthy at the moment, but it’s only the first book. Would recommend to anyone that liked or sort of like 50 Shades. This book is better in many ways and at the end you do realize that they are very different. I'm looking forward to starting Reflected In You :)

“I’ve always seen you, angel. From the moment you found me, I’ve seen nothing but you.”

Escaping Me - Cover Reveal

Cover Reveal of Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee

Summary:
All she wanted to do was forget. Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere—she couldn't.

He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her.

Here's the thing they quickly found out—sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.

From Goodreads

Add Escaping Me to Goodreads

I really like how the story sounds and also the cover! I personally 

think it's gorgeous and cannot wait for the official release!

About the author: When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand.  Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination!  Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads


Cover Reveal Hosted by

My Reading Slump

Kylee, you were right, I'm in a reading slump :/

Face it, if you're a girl you also read in your pajamas, hair our of the way and with no makeup.

BOOKS MENTIONS BEFORE

*Stolen by Lucy Christopher

*Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

*Scarlett by Marissa Meyer (audiobook)

BOOKS MENTIONED WHEN IT HAPPENS

*Held by Edeet Ravel (e-book)

*Starglass by Phoebe North (e-galley)

*The Diviners by Libba Bray (audiobook)

New Design!

If you haven't already noticed - In Between has a new look :D! Tadaaa!

In the Blog Survey I asked you guys what you thought of my past design, and I was so surprised by all the positive feedback on it. Not that I thought it was bad or anything, but I thought that it was maybe a bit too plain?

"It doesn't feel cluttered and is easy to navigate!"

"It's unique and simple as well as easily navigable."

"very neat,easy on the eyes and unique"

"Simple yet sophisticated and very inviting."

I was very glad to see that everything I wanted from that design was really showing. I wanted something clean, simple and easy to navigate.

"It says something about your personality, 
which is always a good thing on a book blog"

 My old design used to represent me very well. A simple, introverted person and it probably also showed that I'm the sort of freak that cannot function unless her room is clean- But it was no longer working for me, because there's also the part of me that's a bit crazy and quirky.  And honestly it was looking a bit boring.

"Some might consider it boring, but I appreciate 
it after visiting very busy and/or dark sites."

 "love the open book at the top and the books in the background, 
but they would stand out more with color"


What I needed was color, and this is what I came up with:

I used this design for my Youtube channel, which is where I (hopefully) show my crazy/quirky side, and I think it works pretty well. I wanted that design in my blog, but how was I going to do that without making it look cluttered? After countless sketches and hours of work what you see now is what I came up with. Fun fact: my room is all painted blue and the all the furniture is white. The splash of color in my room comes from my books, they're all colorful and pretty and really stand out. Basically my subconscious wanted my room and blog to match.

"the mobile version is clean/simple and works well on my phone"

I think it still looks clean, simple, it's easy to navigate, and even though there's a lot of color  in the header, it's easy on the eye and it's not overwhelming - I really really hope you guys agree with me on this. Plus the mobile version looks, in my opinion, pretty cool :)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new design!

Top Ten Tuesday - Summer TBR

 

This week is about showing your summer TBR, and I just made a video about this...

they were supposed to be only 5 books, but they turned out to be 9. 10 if you actually count the Divergent Series as two. So yeah.... not it's a Top Ten Tuesday video :D

Book Talk - Starglass & Held

Introducing Book Talk. Book reviews are the main posts in my blog, but as many of you may know, I am a slow reader, and a slow reviewer - meaning it takes me week after I've finished a book to actually write a review. So I though:

"How can I fill those awkward spaces between starting/reading/finishing a book until I actually review it? Well, you could actually talk about the books your reading." I'm brilliant <--Sarcasm.

Tadaaaa! Book Talk was born! I know this isn't he most original thing in the world, but I did search for a similar feature and the closest I could find was Teaser Tuesday, and though I will probably show teasers, I don't want to be limited to them. This will be like adding status updates on book on Goodreads, without a limited amount of words you can use. Let's talk book! :)

***********

This week I'm reading

Starglass by Phoebe North. When I started reading this one I was having a really hard time getting into the story, and I am still not completely into the story and the life inside the Asherah. It took 100 pages for the plot to appear, but it has potential. Hopefully things will pick up. Also, this was an e-galley that I downloaded way too soon and when I was in school (bad decision). I didn't get a chance to read it and yesterday it expired. I was in the middle of a panic attack when I somehow managed to get it again - I feel like I cheated the system, but I really am not sure of what or how I did it, I just got it again and I have it for 60 more days :D! 

Held by Edeet Ravel. I had just finished Stolen by Lucy Christopher and I was so hangover with the story, I didn't want to move on and I just wanted more, so I stumbled upon this book with a similar storyline and Oh for freaks sake. It's bad, it is so so bad. I know many people liked it, my blogging BFF included. But no, I just CAN'T. The story has a lot of potential but the writing style is just NO. STAPH. I'm finding things to be ridiculous and I'm laughing so much when this is clearly not a funny story. I'm cringing. CRINGING. Literally, it's too painful to read through the awkward writing style, so much that I don't think I'll finish the book, but I also don't want to leave it as a DNF. Oh the dilemma -.-

And here's one of my status updates of the book on Goodreads - I still can't get over it. I CAN'T.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME - The girl 'is being held as ransom for a prisoner exchange' and her captor wants a picture to show the world she's alive.

"Is this photo for the newspapers?"
"Yes"
"Can you take a few, so I can choose the best one?"

IF YOUR CAPTOR WANTS A PICTURE, YOU DON'T ASK THAT. and the of course she smiles at the camera.

"Don't smile, please" Not being allowed to smile made me even angrier

Hey Guys! Look! I'm Kidnapped!

My 5 Summer Reads

My summer vacations have just started! This is the little pile of books I have compromised to reading this summer :)

Books Mentioned 
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
In Honor by Jessy Kirby
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck
Dust Lands Series by Moira Young

Around The World - Featured!

Hey guys! I was featured in Falling For YA in her Around the World feature! You might want to check it out to see what is like to blog form Mexico :)

Click on the image to see my interview!

Book Haul (50)

 

Books Mentoined

*Siege and Storm by Legh Bardugo
*Rebel Heart by Moira Young
*The Book Of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler

Blog Survey + INT Giveaway

Sarah Ockler's Letter


Let me know what books did you get this week :)

Double Linked Image

Before we start, please, hover your mouse over the image below - but don't click it.

BAM, bet you did not see that coming did you!? :D Yes, I am acting overly exited, but I still think it's a pretty cool thing to do. The reason why I don't think you should click on it, is because it will just take you to my Goodreads page, if you'd like to verify it works then go ahead. If not just skip it.

That's right guys, today I am showing you how to have one image, make it change when the mouse hovers over it, and have it be linked.

Step 1

First you will need two images. For the example above both images are the same, but with different colors. It doesn't really matter what your images are, they can be completely different and unrelated. I do strongly suggest that they are not too different in size, it can make it look messy.

Step 2

Find an image hosting service - for example Photobucket or ImageSahck. Then upload both your images and get the direct link. You can also get the direct link uploading your image to a blog post and taking it from the HTML part.

Link to the blue image: 

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Social%20Icons/Goodreads_zps4fa48973.png

Link to the grey image:

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Social%20Icons/gret_zps8bbe9b1c.png 

and also the link to wherever it is you want for it to go when you click on it. In my case I am using my  
Goodreads user page:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4418048-jude

The Code

Once you have your elements ready, it's time to start with the code. This is how it works

<a href="LINK "><img onmouseout="this.src='LINK OF IMAGE 1 (BLUE)'" onmouseover="this.src='LINK TO IMAGE 2 (GREY)'" src="LINK OF IMAGE 1 (BLUE)" /></a>

Once you replace with your own elements it should look similar to this one:


<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4418048-jude"><img onmouseout="this.src='http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Social%20Icons/Goodreads_zps4fa48973.png'" onmouseover="this.src='http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Social%20Icons/gret_zps8bbe9b1c.png'" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Social%20Icons/Goodreads_zps4fa48973.png" /></a>

and that's it! You can copy paste that code in your blogger posts, or on HTML boxes on the sidebars and it'll work. You can use it for menu bars, social icons, giveaway buttons- you name it! I hope this was helpful to you! As always let me know in the comments if you'd like to know/learn more about something else and I will try my best to answer it :)

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Date Released:  June 5th 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 356 pages 
Date Read: May 23, 2013
Source: Barnes & Noble

Summary:
The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite—the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfill her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

Glorious. Epic. Irresistible. Romance.

From Goodreads

My Review:

Shadow and bone has to be one of the most fascinating worlds I have ever read about and also one of the most complicated - I was trying to explain the book to a friend and I don’t think I had ever felt more stupid. I mean, go on and try to say Kvas, Grisha, Balakirev, Etherealki, Odinakovost, Etovost, Odinakovost, Corporalki, Materialki. . . And then the character names: Baghra, Botkin, Fedyor, Malyen Orestev. I looked like this every time I tried to say any of those words out loud:

 

Thankfully the names of the main characters were easier to pronounce: Alina, Malyen aka Mal, and The Darkling.

It was one of those books were you start reading and you just think ‘What the hell? What is this?. . . I’m so confused! What’s happening? Wait- who’s telling the story? What the freak is Kuya? Oh, she’s a person. Is Kefta also a person? No? We’re going sailing :D! Oh, it’s not a good thing? Okay… I get it.’ The heavy confusion only happened through the first few chapters, after that you get the hang of it and following the story becomes easier.

I have to say that I really like it when new worlds are introduced this way. The author doesn’t just hand over the information, he/she just gives you a small piece of the puzzle that you have to complete on your own. I couldn’t help but feel a bit accomplished when I pieced everything together, even if my mind was being dense and I was a bit exasperated in the first two chapters, but in no time I was like ‘This, that, okay. Sorted ;) Let’s keep this story going.’

I can tell that this series is going to be one of my favorites, I just recently got the second book and I am so exited to continue. I’m thinking about the story right now, and I wouldn’t say that it was action packed, but there was never ever a dull moment. Ever. The pace was excellent, the main character was really strong, but she still had weaknesses – note: that does not mean she was weak. At all. It means she’s human. She was fierce, and compassionate and not perfect – that’s a good thing. The metaphors and lessons in this book were unforgettable, I feel like I got so much out of it; not only a highly entertaining story, but also a very meaningful one.

Now. . . for this next part, I am going to talk a bit about the romance. I do not think this is a spoiler – at all. The thing is, I walked into this story blindly, completely and utterly clueless, I had no idea of what it was about, what happened and yada yada, so I was very surprised with what went on in the romancy part. But now that I am part of this world and have been looking at more stuff about Shadow and Bone, it is clear to me that the romance thingy is not a big deal, practically common knowledge. If you are as unaware of this series as I was, skip this next paragraph, if not, please, reed uninterrupted :) 

I didn’t really like Mal in the beginning, more like I didn’t feel a connection between him and Alina. Yes, she’s madly in love with him from the beginning, that was perfectly clear, but I still wasn’t feeling it. Then comes The Darkling. Oh My Freaking God. Why, why why why WHY did the author do that??!! WHY!? He’s dark and sexy and I just shipped him and Alina so hard!! Was it really necessary to make him evil? Really? *Sigh* Oh well, that sort of adds to his charm. Like my friend Jennifer said “He is tall, dark, powerful, and psychotic in a sexy way” I agree, I completely agree. I can deal with his dark side, just Give. Him. To. Me. Back to Mal, when he re-appears in the story (he’s gone for a little while) he slowly started to grown on me and by the end of course I was madly in love with him. He was pretty immature in the beginning of the story, it was clear that being apart from Alina for a while really made him grow as a character as well as appreciate what he had, and once he did his ‘comeback’ he was just flawless. I know ship Alina and Mal so hard.

Highly HIGHLY recommend!!! And also, on scale from 0 to 5 I would give a 4.5 to the design of the book: the book-jacket, the book itslef, the chapters, the little map. I just really like it when they put effort into designing a book. Mindblowingly amazing, I read this in two days, two days and I was in the middle of my finals!!! That has to say a lot!! if you have not read it YOU SHOULD, that simple.

“You're shaking."
"I'm not used to people trying to kill me."
"Really? I hardly notice anymore.” 

Guest Review - Looking for Alaska by John Green

*I'm super exited to have Kylee stop by! She and I are Book Twins - actually Twins in general. We like the same books, bands, whatever! It's scary. Love her so much, though ♥

Looking For Alaska by John Green
Date Released:  December 28th 2006
Publisher: Speak
Format: I'm guessing paperback...
Pages: 231 pages  
Source: I'm guessing she bought it... 

Summary:
Before. Miles "Pudge" Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

From Goodreads

Kylee's Review:

Everyone that loves reading YA has heard about John Green. If you haven't you're obviously living under a rock and should get out more. I've wanted to read one of his books for a very, very long time and I figured I'd start off with Looking for Alaska because it was the first book of his I added to my TBR. I honestly didn't know exactly what Looking for Alaska was about other than a boy and a girl. I went into the experience of reading it without reading any reviews about it or talking to anyone I know that has read it so I expected a love story with some type of struggle and boy was I way off.

We start off with a scene that shows us how socially awkward and nerdy Miles aka Pudge is in his living room. I didn't love or hate him at first, I was just indifferent towards his character because I didn't connect with him nor did I find him swoon worthy. Right after this scene Miles gets shipped off to Culver Creek to hopefully find friends and find his 'Great Perhaps' because he's tired of his boring life at home. Culver Creek proves to be a place to find something. After Miles gets there we're introduced to the Colonel and oh my gosh you guys I loved him. He was hilarious and I love how he just took Miles under his wing and called him Pudge like they hadn't just met. Literally right after this we meet Alaska. I don't know how I feel about Alaska, I loved the fact that she was such a huge reader and had a personal library in her dorm room and I loved how funny she could be at times but after getting to know her I just don't even know. She was annoying at times and such an ass when it came to the relationship between her and Miles. He automatically swoons over her and dubs her the most beautiful girl in the world and because of this she decides to call him cute throughout the book and then rubs the fact that she has a boyfriend in his face and it just irked me because Miles was so naive when it came to girls. I thought their relationship was going to be more of a main focus in this book and it really wasn't, I like how John Green didn't really explore more of their possible romance and just left it as a bit of a mystery. Takumi was another character we meet later on and he ended up being a bigger part of this story than I thought he would. I liked him, I like how he made Miles realize things throughout the story that he couldn't see because he thought he was 'in love'. I also really liked how he played a role in the guilt that is shown throughout the story.

The title chapters are days before and days after. Before and after what? I can't tell you unless you want me to ruin the story but the fact that John Green did this was genius. It adds mystery to the story and it adds to the impact of how the big event affected everyone and their lives. What happens is tragic and I hate not being able to say what 'it' is but it was definitely not expected. Having read this recently after I read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews was sort of funny because these books are opposite. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl teaches us how it's okay to not let something tragic affect us in a huge way and Looking for Alaska shows us how something tragic can greatly affect us and screw us up. How one person can completely turn your world upside down and change the person you think you are. Seeing Miles struggle throughout the second half of the book was sad and irritating at the same time because he struggled for a good reason and then the other was sort of complete nonsense to me because it wasn't true. Seeing the Colonel struggle as much as he did made a bit more sense and I hated seeing them have such a hard time. Throughout the after/struggle/second half of the book I got a bit bored at times because I felt like nothing was really happening. At the very end of the book though things thankfully picked back up and I loved it. I loved seeing Miles realize that he was okay and the Colonel realize that he was okay too. I loved seeing them realize that they needed to move on and find the next Great Perhaps because maybe life gives us a glimpse of one or maybe it likes us to think we've found one or maybe it likes to give us more than one. Alaska remained a mystery and always will be, for that I think I'll always remember her.

John Green wrote a book I wasn't expecting and added so much depth that I still feel as if I don't quite know how I feel about it. Looking for Alaska wasn't perfect but I really enjoyed it. Per Jude's rating System I'd give it a "I really liked it." and I also want to thank you my Bloggy Twin for letting me be a guest on your amazing blog!

Follow Kylee - Babbling of a Bookaholic 

Waiting On Wednesday (25)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine.

I'm Waiting On...

Summary:

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

Expected publication: July 2nd 2013

Why?

This sounds incredibly amazing and creepy and I just want to get my hands on it. SOON!

add to Goodreads.

What are you waiting on?

Blogging Survey

Hello everyone! I have been blogging for a while now (around two years), some of you may know me, some of you may be new to my blog, and I would love it if you could help me improve my blog. 

I have made a little survey for you guys to fill, so I can see what to change/add/remove in my blog, I will read every single entry. I know surveys can be a bit tedious sometimes, so I tried to make it as simple as possible and also, as an incentive to help you get through it, I will be having an International Giveaway. Just go ahead an

Take The Survey

and once you're finished proceed to enter the giveaway. There are no extra entries, only the survey. I have made a little button for this and if you would like to help me spread the word that would be greatly appreciated :)

<center><a href="http://www.inbetweenwritingandreading.blogspot.mx/2013/06/blogging-survey.html"><img border="0" src="http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee509/JudeHnd/Blog%20Buttons/Blog-Survey_zps464c0be0.png"/></a></center>

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for helping me!

Hi!!!!!

Long Time No See!!!!

Hi guys! It's been a while since I last posted, and when I do get back into posting it's never very consistently. I just finished my 4th semester at University, and to say it was bad would be putting it mildly. Not because I was swamped with homework (at least not until finals) but because the classes I took this semester had absolutely nothing to do with design (lame required classes) and because my teachers were so so bad and incompetent to the point where they could be considered nothing else but imbeciles - again, that's putting it mildly.

But it's over now!!! Yay!!! Only two more years to go. 

Apart from ranting about school, I want to let you know that I will be blogging daily starting now until July 31st - Reviews, discussions, videos, memes, and other stuff. I don't want to do this as a sort of 'posting for the sake of posting' but actually committing to do decent quality posts and interact more with everyone that reads my blog.

Here's my little summer pledge - Note: This is a completely and entirely personal challenge. The only goal is personal satisfaction :)

*Post everyday starting today until July 31st.
*Reply to every comment I get.
*Comment on any post I read - I love getting comments and I never comment on other blogs, even though I read several blog posts a day. Bad habit of mine that I will work hard to change this summer.
*Post a video at least once a week - I'm not sure I can compromise to more than one due to the fact that I am a very lazy person when it comes to editing, but one video a week I can manage.
*Read! (duh)

That's my pledge for this summer! Of course there's a possibility that I will forget to post one day, but I will work hard to prevent that from happening!

I look forward to seeing you guys around and talking about books and thank you for sticking around with me :)