15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 12

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 12 Post

 

How do you fight blogger fatigue?

 

I keep things interesting. I blog about books, so as long as I keep reading I still have something to write about.  So I read a variety of genres so I don't get burned out. I love that I am able to have my bedtime stories every week, and a graphic novel every month, along with a variety of young adult, fantasy and after dark romances. I also have my Monday Reading list posts to keep track of myself and to keep all of you updated as to what is going on around here. The Wednesday Writing also keeps my writing at the front of my mind. I also try to schedule posts ahead whenever I can and spread out my reviews. Even though I may have read 4 books this week, I try to make sure I only post one review a day so I have reviews to cover the weeks I don't read as much. 

So that is it I keep fatigue away by keeping a variety.

Graphic Novel Review of Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

 

Synopsis: "Ever since they were driven from their homelands by the Adversary, the non-human Fables have been living on the Farm—a vast property in upstate New York that keeps them hidden from the prying eyes of the mundane world. But now, after hundreds of years of isolation, the Farm is seething with revolution, fanned by the inflammatory rhetoric of Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs. And when Snow White and her sister Rose Red stumble upon their plan to liberate the Homelands, the commissars of the Farm are ready to silence them—by any means necessary!"

My Review: I really do enjoy this of Graphic Novels! So many great story and plot lines going on and I can't wait to see what happens next. I love the twists that take place, its all your favorite fairy tale characters but they don't act the way you would expect them to act. While this wasn't quite as good as the first one, I still really enjoyed it. I am now kind of wondering about some of the characters, there is so much double talk and plotting going on its hard to figure out where everyone stands. The artwork was good in this, I really enjoyed the cover featuring Rose Red.

 

My Rating: It was a good graphic novel, better than several I have read lately but not quite as good as the first of Fables.  It had some interesting similarities to the book of the same title. I give it a rating of Three Paws.

Bedtime Story: Pajama Time

 

Synopsis: "Boynton is back! Joining "Barnyard Dance! "and "Birthday Monsters!," here is "Pajama Time! "a good-night book with the irrepressible language, the inimitable illustrations, the irresistible cast of characters only Sandra Boynton could create.
A jump-roping chicken and a pig on a swing. A Scottie in plaid pajamas and an elephant in a fuzzy one-piece with feet. And in sing-along nuttiness reminiscent of "Barnyard Dance!," it's time to head to bed-to the beat: Pajammy to the left. Pajammy to the right. Jamma jamma jamma jamma P!J! Everybody's wearing them for dancing tonight. Jamma jamma jamma jamma P!J!"

My Review: I think this one might be great for a toddler who has lots of energy left over at bed time and can make getting ready for bed just a little more fun and hopefully get some more bounce out. While Munchkin did enjoy the book and the pictures, he already loves bed time (and he can't get himself dressed yet). I think this is a song book too, I really need to go to her website and see how it is suppose to be sung.

 

My Rating: While this was a fun book, I think it is a little too high energy to read to a little one who has already started unwinding for bedtime.  I give it a rating of Three Paws.

 

Good Night! Sweet Dreams!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 11

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 11 Post

 

Show off 5 of your best blog posts

 

How do you pick your best blog posts anyway? Based on views, comments, own personal opinion? And how do you choose after almost 3 years of posting?!

 

So here it goes, I am going to try to take a stab at it.

 

Review of Pegasus by Robin McKinley was a review I posted early in my blogs life and that book took me by such surprise, I almost couldn't decide what to say. It was also the start of my Paw rating system.

 

Bedtime Story: Flutterby is one of my most viewed posts, in fact most of my bedtime story post featuring the Serendipity books seem to be extremely popular. I adored these books as a kid and I guess so did other people.

 

Review of Fire by Kristin Cashore because this book has definitely become my favorite book. I re-read it at least once a year because I miss the characters and the world. It is such an emotional book with such deep characters that I can't stay away.

 

Review Frost Kisses by Kailin Gow was the very first book that I did not finish. I always use to push through a book even if I wasn't enjoying it but this was the very first time I stopped reading. I felt that I had to share it with all of you. It was a huge deal for me.

 

Graphic Novel Review of We3 by Grant Morrison was another huge turning point for me and the start of a new genre obsession! This was the book and the review that has brought you the Saturday Graphic Novel reviews.

 

 

So I am sure I had other great posts, and while these may not have been my "best" posts, I think they were some of the most important. These posts are what have created the blog I have today.

Review Pile #11

 

 

 

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

 

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Synopsis: "Gaby LeFevre is a suburban, Midwestern firecracker, growing up in the 80s and 90s and looking to save the world one homeless person, centenarian, and orphan at a time. With her crew of twin sister, Annie, smitten Mikhail, frenemy Mel, and wanderlust friend Afentra, she’s a pamphlet-wielding humanitarian, tackling a broken world full of heroes and heroines, villains and magical seeds, and saturated with variations of the Northwyth legends.

Beginning with a roadkill-burying nine-year-old and a gas-leak explosion, Benevolent follows Gaby from her formative years; through her awakening (during a soup kitchen stampede); through high school drama; a college career filled with an epic term paper, a building fire, and a protest-gone-bad; to Israel, a land full of romance and mysticism. It all ends back in metro-Detroit with a cataclysmic clash to resolve all good intentions. Accidents abound in Gaby’s life. As does love. And, thankfully, as does mercy.

Meanwhile, Benevolent is woven with tales of The Queen, The Angel, Jaden the Great, and The Sage. Are they figments of John’s and Mercedes’ imaginative stories? Or are they something more? You’ll want to find out for yourself."

 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 10

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 10 Post

 

How do you choose what book to read next?

 

Hmm that is a difficult question. It really varies.  I usually choose a book based on my mood.  Like if I am bored and find myself loosing focus on things, I choose a quick romance that doesn't take much concentration. If I really want to get lost, I will pick a fantasy. Other times I will choose based on title or cover, I will just scan my shelves until something really jumps out at me. There are other times where I have a set list I need to read, like if I am reading a series or have reviews that need to get done. I never really know what I will read next until I pick up a book and start reading.

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 9

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 9 Post

 

Why do you blog about books?

 

That's an easy question to answer, because I love them and want to share my favorites with everyone!  I originally started my blog for two reasons. The first was to keep my thoughts about the books I read in one place, I wanted to keep track of the books I have read and what I thought about them (after starting a few books only to realize I had already read them at some point). The second reason was to be able to talk books with other book lovers, I don't have many friends who are into books like I am and when I do find a friend who reads they are more into non-fiction or current events. So that is why I blog about books, to share the love <3

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 8

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 8 Post

 

Quick! Write 15 Bullet Points of Things that Appeal to you on Blogs!

• The blog needs to be about something that interests me, books, crafts or animals.
• It needs to be unique and not simply spouting off information I have seen before.
• I prefer to have reviews or personal posts
• I would rather not see a bunch of blog tours, giveaways, cover reveals, memes etc.
• I want the format to be easily readable
• I want the site to load quickly (meaning not a ton of ads, blog rolls and links)
• I want a variety of posts (ie: a combination of genres of books or different types of crafts)
• I also prefer medium sized posts, I don't want to read a novel but I still want substance.
• I like pictures, either covers, or pictures of the crafts to break things up.
• I want to feel like I know the blogger, get a little personal but be safe.
• A single blogger on the blog, I really dislike multiple people posting on the same blog.
• Regular posting without over doing (like I am doing now lol)
• Easy to join blogs, I don't want to have to sign up for another program in order to follow you.
• Easy to post, again I don't want to have to jump through hoops to talk to you.
• Overall a friendly, happy place to be.

Review of Blood in the Valley By JK Hogan

 

You can see my review of the first book in the Vigilati series Fire on the Island HERE

 

Synopsis: "The daughter of a Las Vegas hustler, Raven Sabatier grew up trusting nothing and no one—she doesn’t even trust herself to stay in one place for longer than a minute. When her quest to find out the secrets of her past leads her to the mountains of North Carolina, she’s set on a collision course with the one man she thought she’d never see again.

In Appalachia consulting on an archeological dig, Anthropologist Dr. Drew Deveraux comes face to face with the indomitable beauty who broke into his apartment a year ago, tilting his carefully cultivated world on its axis.

Engaged in a fight with their demons, both imagined and real, the last thing either of them expected to find was love. Together, they must unravel the mystery of Raven’s past and her connection with an ancient race of witches, in order to save their future—and all of the souls hanging in the balance."

My Review: This is the second book in this series. I did enjoy this book but it didn't grab me as much as the first book did. I felt like there was something missing. I still enjoyed the characters (even though a couple of my favorites weren't in this one), but I felt like I didn't get to spend enough time with them individually. I would have liked to get to know Drew more and/or Raven more, but they were always together or with everyone else. I don't think I needed Ray's story to put the pieces together either. I also felt like after reading Fire On the Island, I already knew what was going to happen, there wasn't as much suspense to get my blood racing. That said it was still a good book to read with some fun characters, I just wish I had gotten more.

 

My Rating: While I did enjoy this book, it wasn't quite up to park of the first in the series.  I give it a rating of Three Paws.

 

Please note there are some adult scenes and themes in this book.

 

 

Blood in the Valley was sent to me by the publisher for review.

 

You can find out more about the book on Goodreads, on the Publisher's Website or on the Author's Website.

 

You can get your own copy of Blood in the Valley in Paperback on Amazon.

 

 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 7

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 7 Post

 

Talk about your blogging quirks

 

Goodness, do you guys have a few days?! First off I am an organization freak, I have lists for my lists (and yes hubby makes fun of me and messes with my lists to see me freak). I have a planner that I write down the posts that I have done and scheduled, I have a list of posts that I want to make each day of the month, and I have a list of books I want to read that month.  If the blog goes quiet it probably means I lost one of my lists and am going into meltdown mode trying to find it or scrape the pieces of my sanity back together LOL.

 

Another quirk is that I want to be my own person, I don't like to regurgitate things that other bloggers have talked about. I try to make each post as personal as I can. Really I started the blog for myself to write down my bookish thoughts and feelings, so I tend not to hunt out followers. I want people who read my blog to do it because they like the same books and share their thoughts with me too.

Monday Reading List

Its Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Shelia at Book Journey. Share what books you have finished in the last week, are currently reading and what might be coming up next!

Reviews Posted Last Week:

Links will take you to my review

 

The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff
Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione (After Dark)
Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione (After Dark)
Sleepy Kittens (Bedtime Story)


Books Finished Last Week:
Reviews will be posted at a later date

Immortal Rider
Blood in the Valley
Tiny Titans: First Rule of Pet Club
Fables Vol. 2 - Animal Farm
 

Currently Reading:

Dark Chatter by Andrew Branch - Kindle - 5%
Halo by Alexandra Adornetto - Audio - Chapter 5 of 33
Rory by Ciye Cho - Kindle - 6%


 Books to be Read Soon:

 

Ugly Beautiful by Seanpaul Thomas (Requested Review)

 



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I am working my way through books finally! I am really going to focus on my requested review pile for the rest of the month.  Hopefully now that our company is here and focused on Munchkin I can get a little extra reading time in :)

Hope you are all having a great week and find great new adventures!

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 6

So while browsing the blogs I follow (mind you I am crazy behind on checking everyone's blogs out) I cam across this challenge hosted at Good Books and Good Wine and it sounded kind of fun.

 

 

Day 6 Post

 

Describe How You Shop for Books

 

Um refer back to Day 1 post! It is like a free for all. If I walk into a book store, I go in for a purpose, looking for something specific but then the smell of the pages and ink hits me and its like a drug. I loose all control and usually end up walking out with a stack of books I never meant to get. That is why I tend to do more of my book shopping online, I seem to have better control over myself when I don't smell them. I can have a list of books I want to purchase and only get maybe one or two more if I got a deal on the others.  I also seem to have the ability to mark things for a wish list or future purchases when online where as if I was in the store I would just buy it.