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Late December Update!

Happy Holidays everyone! This month I am skipping my December TBR in favor for a late month update. For the past twenty days, I have read four books and finished two. One of which happened to be a graphic novel. I started the month off by finally finishing Stardust by Neil Gaiman , which I thought was wonderful. I gave this book a four out of five stars on Goodreads. Then I started Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz , which was awesome and I absolutely loved it! I would definitely reread this novel. (five out of five stars) Then I read a graphic novel called Saga Vol.1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples . I cannot wait to read the rest of the series! It was also very strange in plot but in a good. The graphics were awesome and I gave this a five out of five stars. I also finished a novel for my English class called The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman , which was good. I gave this a four out of five stars. Then I read The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Ma

November Wrap Up!

From applying to colleges and Thanksgiving, it seems as if the month went by in a flash. Since November is over, it is time for my monthly reading wrap up. The TBR jar pick was Hemlock Grove, but sadly I did not get to it. So Hemlock Grove will be the pick for December as well. Anyway! The first book I read was Demon Blood: Enlightenment by Tim Meyer. Well it was more like the first book I finished in November.  " The story follows several strangers coming together to prevent the end of the world. A lonely drifter, following the gruesome murder of his wife and unborn child, is struggling to find his purpose in a world filled with evil and insanity, as he searches for the entity that led his life astray. A low-budget horror producer—and recent widow—has traveled across the states to seek out a man she believes to know the truth about her husband's mysterious suicide. Two brothers are left homeless when demonic spirits ransack their quiet country home, setting it

The Queen of Sparta by T. S. Chaudhry

" Xerxes, the Great King of Persia, invades Greece in 480 B.C. at the head of a massive army. Three hundred Spartans and King Leonidas die heroically blocking the Persian advance at the pass of Thermopylae. The Persians are poised to conquer all of Greece. The only one standing in their way is a woman – Gorgo, Queen of Sparta. Though history has relegated her role to that of a bystander, what if she played a central role in the Greek resistance to the Persian invasion. What if she kept her true role a secret in order to play it more effectively? What if she was hiding other secrets too – dark secrets of murder and vengeance? What if the only person who truly appreciated her genius was an enemy prisoner whom she has vowed to kill? What if after their victory, the Greeks start to turn on each other? What if, eventually, Gorgo has to choose between the security of Sparta and safety of her son? And what if the only one who could find a way out is the same prisoner who had once fou

Anyone? by Angela Scott

I finished this book in about three hours... I also tweeted her to see if there would be a sequel...which I want really bad... " The end of the world? That’s the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters and deep philosophical exercises in school. No need to sweat it. So when sixteen-year-old Tess’s doomsday-dad builds a bomb shelter in their suburban backyard, everyone thinks he’s gone crazy…. …Until fire rains down from the sky, sinking whole cities into colossal craters and setting much of the world ablaze. Tess’s dad gives her a few short minutes to gather her emergency bag and her freaked-out kitten, then leads her outside and into the underground shelter. Terrified, the last thing she expects is for him to leave her there all alone, but he has no choice—he must find her missing brother. Before leaving, he makes Tess promise to keep the hatch door shut, not to open it for anyone but him, and to stay put until he returns. But he forgot to tell her one thing: What is she

Time for Books 2015 Review Team!

So I am joining a review team started by the lovely, Jo Michaels. It is basically a team of book bloggers who will read and review books up to a certain amount and then link each review to another site. She is then putting the reviews into her magazine on Flipboard. This starts January 2015 to the end of December 2015. You can sign up at any time and you can determine how many books you want to read and review. That is called your commitment level, which are listed below. Mine is HUNGRY! Also I will leave the links to the signup page and to a page with more information. Commitment Levels: SNACKER~ 1-10 books RUMBLING~ 11-20 books HUNGRY~ 21-40 books STARVING~41-60 books INSATIABLE~ 60 or more books More info:  http://jomichaels.blogspot.com/2014/11/time-for-books-2015-review-team-signups.html Signup Page:  http://jomichaels.blogspot.com/p/time-for-books-2015-review-team-signup.html Let me know in the comments if anyone joins and what commitment level you choose! We c

Rightful Owner by Hemmie Martin

" When a murder occurs in an exclusive swinger’s club, DI Wednesday and DS Lennox find themselves immersed in a murky world of sex and secrets. It doesn’t take long for the members to turn on one another, and for their clandestine affairs to come crashing into their everyday lives. As Wednesday experiences the pressures of work and caring for her mother’s mental illness, and Lennox’s ex-wife has him worrying about the sustainability of his role as a father, their case brings about questions of personal freedom and they begin to wonder if we are all, in fact, owned in one way or another." - Authoramp.com ***Second in a series, but is not about the same case*** _______________________________________________________________________________ Rightful Owner by Hemmie Martin is the first of the many books I will hopefully be reviewing for AuthorAmp.com . Rightful Owner was good and I gave it a 4/5 stars. While it took a few chapters to have me riveted, it later kept m

UPDATE! AuthorAmp Reviewer/Blogger!

Hey guys, girls, and everyone in between! I have joined this cool website that I will be reviewing books for. Authoramp  is "[a]  book marketing and PR agency. [That] are experienced book marketing professionals who have been working with authors and publishers for years. Authoramp  specializes  in helping authors and publishers cost-effectively enhance their online presence and increase exposure for their books via a mixture of digital PR, email marketing, blogger outreach and social media." This month I will be reading and reviewing two books. The first is Rightful Owner by Hemmie Martin  " When a murder occurs in an exclusive swinger’s club, DI Wednesday and DS Lennox find themselves immersed in a murky world of sex and secrets. It doesn’t take long for the members to turn on one another, and for their clandestine affairs to come crashing into their everyday lives. As Wednesday experiences the pressures of work and caring for her mother’s mental illness, and Le

Demon Blood: Enlightenment by Tim Meyer

"A lonely drifter, following the gruesome murder of his wife and unborn child, struggles to find his purpose in a world filled with evil, as he searches for the entity that led his life astray. A low-budget horror producer—and recent widow—has traveled across the states to find the man she believes to know the truth about her husband’s mysterious suicide. Two brothers are left homeless when demonic spirits ransack their quiet country home, setting it ablaze, violently killing their parents, and forcing them into an enduring pursuit toward the truth. A mother’s world is shattered when she realizes her daughter’s soul has been taken hostage by one of Hell’s most dangerous villains. Ultimately, their separate paths interconnect, and it’s up to them to stop a darkness that threatens us all…" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hear people say that books are no longer original, but Demon Blood is anything but original

November TBR!

Since October is over, there needs to be a November TBR! First I will be finishing the two books I did not finish in October; Stardust by Neil Gaiman and  Demon Blood: Enlightenment by Tim Meyer .  Like some booktubers, I have a TBR jar. A TBR jar if you don't know, is a jar or container with slips of paper that have the names of books you have not read yet, but do own. So at the beginning of each month I pull one or two book slips out and try to read the books marked. The TBR jar pick of November is Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy . This is the book which the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove was based off of. I got this book after watching the first season on Netflix. I want to read the book before I watch the second season.   "The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren't sure if it’s a man they should be loo

October Wrap Up!

Sadly, my favorite month has ended, which means a reading wrap up for October.   The first book I read in October was Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause for a read along with Holly Monroe from HollyHeartagram and several others.   "Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf? Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He’s fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would. Vivian’s divided loyalties are strained further

Reading Cram Wrap Up Challenge!!

  " Oct 31 Wrap Up challenge with Costume challenge (optional)  Do a readathon wrap up on your blog, YouTube, whatever of what you read!  and also post a pic or dress up in your Halloween costume! That part is optional, only if you want to! Hosted by DANASQUARE" So I did not read as much as I wanted to. But I did read a little. I started off reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman on page 156 on the 24th and read a total of 58 pages. Then I could not read because I was working on school work and college applications. Then on Thursday, the 29th, I decided to read something scary, so I put down Stardust for the time being and started Demon Blood: Enlightenment by Tim Meyer . I read a total of 41 pages then I had to work. But on Halloween, I read up to page 210. In total I read 268 pages for the Reading Cram Read-A-Thon. I still had a fabulous time and I hope there is a Reading Cram 3.0 soon! Lastly, I hope everyone who participated had fun and read awesome books! Love -UnderY

DAY FIVE! ReadingCram 2.0: Chills and Thrills Read-a-Thon! Update & Spell It Out Challenge!!

So, I have not done every well in the read-a-thon so far. I probably have only read 14 pages... I feel so bad about that. But I am planning to read a lot over the weekend because school and applying to college is time consuming! While I am not doing so well, I hope everyone else is and I hope you guys are all having fun! :D So on to the challenge! " Oct 28--Spell it out Challenge --Pick one of the following words: Ghost, Witch, Zombie, Howl- -using each letter, find a title of a book they've read this year to "spell it out." FOR EXAMPLE G  Graceling by Kristin Cashore H  Hollow City by Ransom Riggs O Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz S  Sanctum by Sarah Fine T  Timebound by Rysa Walker Q,X,and Z the letters can be anywhere in the title. Post on social media somewhere." W Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion   I   If I Stay by Gayle Forman  T  Tempted by P.C. Cast & Kristan Cast  C  City of Bones by Cassandra Clare   H  House of Hades by Rick Rio

DAY TWO! Reading Cram 2.0: Chills and Thrills Read-a-Thon! Teaser Challenge!

"Oct 25--Teaser Challenge --randomly open the book you are reading and post 2 sentences from the read ADDING 3 spooky/Halloween words of your choosing into the teaser! Post on Twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc." - Juliababyjen' Reading Room Spooky Words: decaying,bone-ridden, and bloodied! "The decaying queen-witch had crossed the bone-ridden pass south of Mount Belly in a couple days. Her goats were tethered to a bloodied thorn bush, which they chewed without enthusiasm" - Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Sadly, I have not read as much as I would like to since I have been surprisingly busy. But I hope everyone is having a good time BYE

DAY ONE! Reading Cram 2.0: Chills and Thrills Readathon! TBR Challenge!

"Oct 24-- TBR challenge- -List what books you are planning to read for the read-a-thon, on your blog, YouTube, etc. You don't have to stick to the list FYI :)"- Juliababyjen These are not in any particular order and I may or may not read these. This is a rough idea of the books I'll be reading or trying to read. Three of the six books were recommended to me by MonsterMen13 on YouTube...well not exactly to me but in general.  Also just because I wrote down six books does not mean I'll get to them or that I will read six books.  **The themes are based off of the summary and friends** Stardust by Neil Gaiman ; started Spooky Theme: Witches... I started this during the Octobathon and did not finish. Horns by Joe Hill Spooky Theme: Thriller, Mystery... I heard about this book from padfootandprangs07 a while back. Then my friend recommended it to me. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children  By Ransom R

#Octobathon: Oct 17-19th Wrap Up!

While I did not know about this event until the last day, Sunday 19th, I still kinda participated because I did the Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon. So I'll count Saturday.. I started off my weekend by reading Before I Break By Alec John Belle . This is a contemporary novel about a homophobic character named Cyril and how he unknowingly becomes friends with a gay male named Avery. Then it is all about how Cyril's life spirals out of control. I loved the plot, the characters, and the topics discussed. For a full length review, you can check out my blog post . Rating: 5/5 Stars Number of Pages: 288, only story. The next book I picked up was Coraline by Neil Gaiman, which is a horror-fantasy novel. This novel was about a young girl named Coraline who discovers a door to another home that resembles her own, but better. This includes parents called the other mother and the other father. She then has to fight for her life. I thought this book was great. It had a riveting p

Reading Cram 2.0: Chills and Thrills Readathon!

   Hey guys, girls, and all those in between! It's UnderYourGrace aka Ashley and I am participating in the Reading Cram 2.0: Chills and Thrills Readathon! It is a read-a-thon created by Juliababyjen and Danasquare . It is hosted by them, Rachel @APerfectionCalledBooks , and Little Red Reads . It goes from October 24th to October 31st! I will be having twitter sprints, most likely with my friend Jenny or by myself. So feel free to join us! Also I will be doing daily updates and some of the reading challenges. For more information, check out the link by clicking on Juliababyjen's name above. Hope you guys join me in this read-a-thon! -UnderYourGrace aka Ashley 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Final Update!

Hi Guys, so I participated in the Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon yesterday and it was wonderful! My TBR, To Be Read, list was: Before I Break by Alec John Belle Coraline by Neil Gaiman Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (Re-read) Stardust by Neil Gaiman  I finished Before I Break by Alec John Belle and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I also started but did not finish Stardust by Neil Gaiman....can you see the trend? :D I also participated in twitter sprints with such lovely people like @alyssawho. I did this through the first half of the read-a-thon, but I took a nap, which was only going to last for a hour and fifteen minutes. But no... I slept through my alarm! :( Any who, I still in enjoyed this so much and I cannot wait for the next one, which I will definitely be taking a part in! Also I want to try being a cheerleader for the next read-a-thon! I hope everyone who took part in the read-a-thon had a wonderful time and I will talk to you soon! BYE! XD -UnderYourGrace aka As

Dewey's End of Event Meme

Hey Guys! Just posting the Dewey's end of Event Meme! I hope everyone had fun for the past 24 hours and got a lot of reading done! :D Which hour was most daunting for you? I think hour 12 was the hardest because I ended up getting a screaming headache...so yeah hour 12. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Before I  Break by Alec John Belle or Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough! Although I did not read Once a Witch yesterday, I have read it many times before and I still love it! Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Hmm...I cannot think of anything at the moment. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I think the cheerleaders worked really well because they kept giving me a kick to read when I started to get sidetracked.  How many books did you read? Two books!!! I'm so happy! What were the names of the books you read? Before I Break by Alec J

Dewey's Mid-Event Survey!

Hey guys! Just posting a mid-event survey for the Dewey read-a-thon! I'm having to much fun and I cannot wait for the second half! 1. What are you reading right now? Stardust by Neil Gaiman 2. How many books have you read so far? Two! I'm so proud! 3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? I can't decide between Stardust or Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough! 4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Yes....I try to do what ever is needed really fast to continue on! 5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? It surprises me how much I'm enjoying reading for almost 12 hours straight and I am still excited!

Before I Break by Alec John Belle

I finished a book today called Before I Break by Alec John Belle, who is insanely nice. When religiously raised Cyril Hayes begins his junior year at East Hill High School, every choice he makes suffers a greater consequence, and while facing challenges of friends, family, and love, learns that hate and intolerance are also a very large part of our world today. Cyril Hayes is seemingly just like any other male his age. He has the perfect girlfriend, Melissa Summers, his best friend, Jake Rivers, and a lawyer father who brings home enough money to support his family and then some. When Cyril begins his junior year, he doesn't expect his life to spiral out of control when he meets Avery Branson, the new kid in school who has a big secret: he's gay. At first, Cyril doesn't handle this truth well, due to the way he was raised, but as the story progresses, he ventures deep into the reality of homosexuality and begins to accept Avery for who he is. Not everyon