30-Day Book Meme

This has been around for sometime but I have never gotten the chance to do it. I think it looks like fun so here I go! 

30-day book meme

Day 01 - The best book you read last year

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Day 03 – Your favourite series

Day 04 – Favourite book of your favourite series

Day 05 – A book that makes you happy

Day 06 – A book that makes you sad

Day 07 – Most underrated book

Day 08 – Most overrated book

Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Day 10 – Favourite classic book

Day 11 – A book you hated

Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore

Day 13 – Your favourite writer

Day 14 – Favourite book of your favorite writer

Day 15 – Favourite male character

Day 16 – Favourite female character

Day 17 – Favourite quote(s) from your favourite book(s)

Day 18 – A book that disappointed you

Day 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie

Day 20 – Favourite romance book

Day 21 – Favourite book from your childhood

Day 22 – Favourite book you own

Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most

Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

Day 28 – Favourite title(s)

Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked

Day 30 – Your favourite book of all time

Booking through thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly bookish meme about (mostly) books and reading.
Movies have a rating system to help guide the consumer weed out adult/violent/inappropriate kinds of films. Video games do, too. Do you think BOOKS should have a ratings system?

I do not think there should be because of the subjective nature of ratings. Even now some of the classifications books get put into make no sense to me. I wouldn't want to be deterred from reading a book based on someone else's rating.

Easter!

Easter Plans? I leave the city for the long weekend and go out to my grandparents farm. It's about 400km from Winnipeg so it's a bit of a trip out there. Always good to see my family and enjoy some fresh air!! Usually its a great place to get some reading done as well so I am hoping I can get myself back on track! What about you guys, anything planned for the Easter weekend?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme hosted at Broke and Bookish! The top ten of this week:


March 26: Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most

1.  Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara- I can't pimp out this book enough! I adore this series it is one of my absolute favourites and while the first is the weakest it is totally worth reading!

2. Storm Front by Jim Butcher- Again the first book is not the best of the series but this becomes so incredible. There's a meta plot that knits the books together but still smaller plot points being dealt with in ever book.
3.Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning- I traveled to New Orleans for the book launch of Iced, enough said! But really this series is set in Dublin and written in a way its hard to put down!
4.If I Stay by Gayle Forman- Possibly my favourite realistic/contemporary fiction I have ever read. This book made me cry my eyes out! I keep lending my copy out. Cannot praise this book enough.
5.Bitten by Kelley Armstrong- While you don't have to start at the beginning, I didn't I started with book 2 without realizing it was book 2, I recommend it. Another series filled with well developed characters. Each book is written from another one of the women's point of view.
6. Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry- I am looking so forward to this sequel. It is just such a great book. I had nothing negative to say after finishing it.
7. Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin- Yes these books are huge but the first 3 are worth the read. They are epic fantasy in which no character is safe. You really don't know what could happen next. The quality of the books really falls off after the third one in my opinion though.
8. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs- Definitely one of my favourite Urban Fantasy series. An easy to feel for heroine who is strong in her own right. She is damaged but loyal. Love her.
9. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs- This is my favourite of the series and as they can be read out of order ( I don't necessarily recommend it if you are going to read them all anyway) I recommend this one the most. It really gets you thinking on things to do with religion and what is and isn't stated in religious texts. Very well researched and worth a read.
10. The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood- This is a book all dystopian fans should read. The details have stuck with me for years. Women become handmaids and are used in attempts to have children in a world where fertility is declining rapidly. This book has stuck with me because it is written in a way that makes this all too possible in our future.


So, these are some of my favourite books to recommend to others. What are yours?

How Many Have you Read?

I saw this floating around and decided to see how many I've read.

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here…
Bold those books you’ve read in their entirety.

Italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish or read only an excerpt.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series –
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

So I have only read 13 on this list. What about you? Any I haven't read that you really think I should? There are definitely some on there I intend to get to one day!

Magic in the Blood

Magic In the Blood (Allie Beckstrom #2)
by Devon Monk
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 stars



(From Goodreads) Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic.



I absolutely loved this! This is Book Two in a very promising UF series. I will do my best to keep it spoiler free but if you have not read the first one what are you waiting for!?

Allie Beckstrom is a strong-willed woman who is not good at asking for help but she's learning. She does a solitary job in the form of hounding. The dangerous of the job makes close friendships difficult at best so other than her best friend who we don't get to see in this book she's a bit of a loner with acquaintances but not really anyone she considers closer. She's the type of heroine I root for, she grew up in a home where she was expected to be what her father wanted of her and nothing more. She fought this and has made a life for herself. She gets hurt. Badly and often but she is one tough cookie. She never quits and fights for what she believes is right. I find her easy to cheer for although like all characters she has her moments when I want to yell at her for not accepting or asking for help when she so obviously should!

I love the magic system in this series, if you want to use magic it uses you back. If you forget to set a disembersment it uses you however it pleases if you do you have some say in what it does. For example a two day headache. I enjoy that there is a negative to using magic. Too many worlds these days forget to add this in. Unlucky people like Allie occasionally get used twice, the second being in the form of memory loss. This can make for interesting conversations when you no longer remember who someone is or what they may have meant to you.

The main plot point is based around the release of Lon Trager a criminal who Allie helped put away. As well as the way the magic is changing, both in her body and in the surrounding area. The story line in this one is introduces us to the deeper effects of blood magic and the whys of people becoming addicted to it. Also we get let into the hounding world learning more about hounding culture per say. A bunch of new characters are introduced some of whom I hope stick around for some time to come!

This is a well-written highly enjoyable series. There are times when the pacing may be a little on the slower side but it's nothing to complain about it my opinion!

Feature and Follow

hosted by (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read)

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre, or is it a certain type of book?

I will read pretty much anything and when it comes to online I don't have a guilty pleasure type of book per say. However, my real life friends as many of them are male tend to tease me about reading books such as J.R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

So what about you any guilty pleasure books?

That Boy

That Boy (That Boy #1)
By Jillian Dodd
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars



(From Goodreads) That Boy is a contemporary romance about falling in love with the boys next door.
You know, being friends with two cute boys does have its benefits.
There's Danny. Danny is a golden boy in every way. He has dreamy blue eyes and blonde hair that always looks perfect, even when it’s windblown or been stuck under a football helmet. He’s the boy every girl crushes on. The boy I get into trouble with, the boy I fight with, the hot quarterback no girl can resist, not even me. Being with Danny is like being on an adventure. He has a bright, contagious smile and abs to die for. He’s pretty much irresistible.

Equally crush worthy is Phillip. Adorable, sweet Phillip, who I have known since birth. Phillip has dark hair, a perfect smile, brown eyes, and the sexiest voice I have ever heard. He’s the boy I talk to every night before I go to sleep. The boy who rescues me, the boy who can read my mind, the boy who is always there for me, the boy who tries to keep me out of trouble, the boy who irritatingly keeps getting hotter, and whose strong arms always seem to find their way around me. And when he gives me that grin, I can never say no.

One boy will give me my very first kiss.
One boy will teach me to make out.
One boy will take me to prom.
And finally, one boy will ask me to marry him.
They will both be my best friends.
But only one of them will be the boy I fall in love with.
Only one of them is That Boy.



A solid 4 star book. This book was a surprise for me I expected to like it but I did not expect it to grab a hold of me like it did. I was made to feel so many things while I was reading this. It really picks up at about the 40-45% mark and from that point on it was hard for me to put down. I want to have someone who loves me like he loves her!

First of all, I love that JJ is such a tomboy. I have always been that girl playing football with the guys and have pretty much always had closer male friends than females so it was great to read about someone like that as well. I loved seeing her grow up and fall into a friendship with these two amazing guys. I read on someone else's review how much better it would have been to have a chapter or two from the perspective of Danny and Phillip. I agree with this I think it would give the story a bit more depth and allow the reader to better understand why JJ is so special to them.

I also like that it is written in a way that is not your typical YA love triangle. While there are two separate guys who love JJ there isn't that need for her to pick one over the other that most YA books seem to have these days. While she has feelings for both they progress in a logical and more realistic way. She dates other guys and does stupid things that we all have done or will do while we are young.

"Come to think of it, enjoying a ride on a swing is very much like stopping to smell the roses" This story was also a good reminder that we need to enjoy the little things and not take them for granted. It may have taken JJ some time to really grasp this but she tried and grew and came to see the small things as the most important pieces of our daily lives.

My biggest pet peeve was the nonstandard English use of the word drug as a past tense for drag. It bothered me every time I read it. However that is just personal preference. Otherwise the story was pretty well done, it did drag a little bit in parts which is why it gets four stars rather than five. I'd recommend this book, it is most definitely a worth while read. I own That Wedding and will be reading it shortly

WWW Wednesdays

WWW hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? Currently I am reading That Wedding by Jillian Dodd. This is the sequel to That Boy. So far so good!

What did you recently finish reading? I just finished Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk. This is book two in the Allie Beckstrom series. I am loving this series so far!

What do you think you will read next? I am not sure yet I have a few things in mind. Probably Wait for You by J. Lynn on my kobo and Son of the Sword by J. Adrian Lee in paperback.

Neophyte

Neophyte (Linked #1)

by Emmalee Aple
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars

(From Goodreads) Addisyn White thought she had her new life, her after life, all figured out. Granted death had not brought her to the pearly white gates, she hadn’t even left Earth. But death had its perks; she got to live forever with her best friend and her assigned Link of Angels, in a beautiful beach house. Even with the changes she was going through to turn her human body into an angelic one, everything seemed pretty easy. Until a gray winged angel comes into her life, then all the secrets and lies her Link had been keeping start crumbling away, exposing a whole new world of dangers she didn’t even know about. 



Now Addisyn must fill in the blanks before things escalate too far. Will she save her Link? Or will she be buried in their secrets forever?

Its a pretty good book and definitely worth a read. Angels are not my thing but it is still enjoyable. The premise and characters are interesting. I particularly liked Hunter and his loyalty to Addisyn. There is action right at the start and it continues on pretty well throughout the book. How little Addi's link tells her about being an angel does get a bit repetitive. Also her whining gets to be a bit on the extreme side although I understand her frustrations.

Something I loved about the book was learning how Addisyn died and would like to know more about how it is decided who gets reincarnated as angels. The basic idea is shown but I think it would be interesting to learn more. Another thing I found enjoyable and different was Addi and Grey's secret code to identify themselves.

My biggest issue is there are still some editing problems, these tend to take away from the story. Improper usage of words is very frustrating for me as a reader and there are currently some of those issues in this story as well as general spelling and grammar mistakes. I do look forward to reading more from this author who also happens to be a great friend

Up and Running

As you can see I have had a few failed attempts at getting this blog up and running. I've decided now is the time to see if I can. I would like a better name for the blog but I am lacking the creative juices needed to think one up. Any suggestions are always welcome. There will be a whole bunch of changes in the next while I am sure as I try to figure out how this all works so just stick with me! Thanks!!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme hosted at Broke and Bookish! The top ten of this week:

Top Ten Books I HAD To Buy...But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

This is a great top ten for me. I am so bad for this! Deciding I must have a book immediately and then never seeming to get to it. Maybe this will be the kick I need to read some of them!


1. Beautiful Creatures- I bought this on sale a couple years ago and have had every intention of reading it before the movie came out..

2. Virals- I love Kathy Reichs and her young adult series is supposed to be really good yet this is still sitting on my shelf.

3. Storm Glass- Read the Study series thought it was amazing went out and bought the first of the Glass series and there it sits.

4. Academ's Fury- Read the first one thought it was alright but it is by Jim Butcher so I must read the rest of the series. I own book 3 as well.

5. Waking the Witch- Once I got caught up on this series I seem to have stopped reading it! I am almost done and it is one of my favourite series you'd think I would pick this up sometime!

6. Lover Enshrined/Lover Mine/ Lover Avenged- I keep buying more of this series but never continuing on it!

7. I am Number Four- I thought this looked interesting, I still do so I bought it and refuse to watch the movie until I finally get around to reading it.

8. Silence- I haven't even been able to get through Crescendo (although I did try once) but I still felt the need to own this book.

9.Crave- The pretty cover caught my attention and the blurb sounds like something right up my alley but it has now been sitting unloved for months.

10. First Grave on the Right- I had heard nothing but good things about this book so I went out and got myself a copy. I really am hoping to get to it soon!!

So these are some of the books I need to read one of these days. What are yours?