Follow Friday and Blog Hop

To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:


Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list

Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://nymfaux.blogspot.com/

Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.

Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments

Follow Follow Follow as many as you can

If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers

If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!

If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

 

 
 
This week's question comes from Michelle from Michelle’s Book Blog!


How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’? My Answer: I honestly have no idea. I try not to count because it overwhelms me and I don't want what I read to turn into a To Do list. I also re-read books in a series in anticipation of new releases. I like to have at least the last released book fresh in my mind when I get a new one, and it gets me even more excited for the new book. Example: I'm reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire right now for the release of Mockingjay. So I have a "new book" TBR pile and a "read again" TBR pile. If I had to guess, I would say that together, it's around 80 books. And it's growing everyday because I'm reading about all these amazing titles from other blogs. So many books, so little time! : )

I Heart You, You Haunt Me - Lisa Schroeder

"Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds."

I discovered this book at the signing I went to in Beaverton. I met the author and she was so nice that I wanted to see what her books were like, so I bought one that she very graciously signed for me. It's written in verse, which took me a few pages to get used to, but I liked it. It cut out almost all physical descriptions (people, places, etc) and what you were left with was just dialogue and Ava's emotions, which were very powerful and poignant. And given the storyline, I felt the verse really fit how Ava was thinking. I mean, if I was grieving over my first love, I think my mind would sound very much like hers.

Her obsession with Jackson and her withdrawal from the real world is, in my opinion, very realistic. And while at times I was mad at Jackson's "actions", when I got to the end, it all made sense. I wish she could have written more about Ava at the end, since I wanted to keep reading about how she was doing. That's my only issue with this book - I felt it ended too early. And that's mostly a compliment since the book was so good that I wanted more. Over all, I found it to be a great book, and I look forward to reading her other books. 5/5


I Love You, You Haunt Me

Lisa Schroeder
Simon & Schuster Children
YA Fiction
240 pages
$7.99 - paperback

The reason for my comeback

Ok, I feel like I need to explain a bit about why, after over 4 months, I'm suddenly getting this blog up and going with a vengeance. So, I will. This last Monday, I went with my fabulous friend Andrea to Portland to see Richelle Mead in person and wonder at her pure awesomeness. And let me just say, it was completely worth it. She was incredibly nice and answered a bunch of questions (I got to ask one!) and just inspired me in so many ways. And then there was just the aura of the event itself. The people there were just as crazy about the books as we were, and they were incredibly knowledgeable about books in general. They had blogs and sites and talked about other events they went to...it was very motivating.

So that got me thinking. I love to read and tell people about what I'm reading. And I'll be honest, if people then read those books and love them too, I feel so proud. Like I've given that book some more friends to play with. (I know, I'm a total dork.) So, why wasn't I keeping this blog updated? Well, I couldn't really come up with a good answer to that question, so I decided to get it going again. (It needs a lot of work, so be patient with me while I fix everything.) And I'm super excited about it.

If I am going to be completely honest, there's also a bit of an ulterior motive as well. I LOVE to write. If I'm not ignoring my housework with reading, I'm ignoring it with writing. And it's a HUGE dream of mine to someday get something I write published. My original plan had been to kind of check out other blogs and what not for research and just keep everything to myself until I was ready. But, it seems silly to not be a part of this wonderful literary community right now. I can connect to others who love books, *maybe* some authors and publishers will find out about me, and when I finally do get published, I will have friends who will not only be happy for me, but will spread the word about whatever it is that I've written. So, that's my hope, to become a part of this wonderful online community who loves the same things I do.

Anyway, there's my long explanation about my sudden reappearance. I really hope you all come back and check out my reviews and pass the word along about me. And if you know of other blogs - let me know. I know there are TONS of books out there that I'm not aware of how awesome they are, and I would love to expand my reading horizons. Thanks, and until next time, happy reading!

I'm back!!

I know, I know, I disappeared for awhile. But, I'm glad to announce that I'm back and I have read a ton of books that I'm ready to post my reviews for. I'm in the middle of reworking this blog, so be patient while I get it going, and I promise to not disappear for so long again. Until the next post, happy reading!

Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella

Synopsis for Twenties Girl:

"Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they?

When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie—a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance—mysteriously appears, she has one request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, because Sadie cannot rest without it.

Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from and about each other."

Jenn: I'll admit, I'm a big fan of Sophie Kinsella - her humor and writing style something I enjoy in all of her books. And this book is no different. Lara is your typical, every day girl, just wanting to have something special in her life and have things headed in a good direction; and trying to cope when nothing is. Her back and forths with Sadie are fun and witty, and while at times I got just as frustrated with Sadie as Lara did, when everything finally unfolded, I found her to be an endearing character. And I always love when the struggling herioned manages to find a way to turn everything around somehow. I was a little disappointed with the conclusion of book only in the sense that I felt that Lara's romanctic subplot was left a little unresolved. But other than that, I really liked it. Definitely a good read.