Ink Spots and Roses

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 19:43:00 +0000

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, however the meme will be moving over to The Artsy Reader Girl after this week!

So, I don't really ever get presents for Christmas. I'm not expecting to get anything, this is just for fun. If I had a book wishlist for Christmas, this would be it!

1. Warcross by Marie Lu

2. Artemis by Andy Weir

3. The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

4. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

5. Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

6. Renegades by Marissa Meyer

7. This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

8. Firstlife by Gena Showalter

9. Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King

10. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Book Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 21:24:00 +0000

This time of year always makes me feel nostalgic. The decorations, the food, the traditions...All of it gets me in that weird mindset.

One thing that always stands out to me is the weird nostalgia I have with books this time of year. I always feel this weird urge to read all of the Harry Potter books again during the Christmas season, then go and watch all of the movies.

Maybe it's because that's what I did as a kid and teen during winter break. Or, it's because I was always jealous of the fantastic way that the Holiday season was described in the series.

One other book series that always gets me in the holiday mood is The Chronicles of Narnia. I'm not sure if it's because the whole setting is just snowy at the start or what it is.

Besides some of the books I have to review, I think I might pick up one of these series again this week.

Are there any series of books, or a random stand alone, that you have a weird nostalgia over during the Holidays?

Waiting On Wednesday: The Cruel Prince

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 18:08:00 +0000

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we all share what books we're eagerly waiting for!

"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself." -from Goodreads.com

This book sounds like it's going to be the start of a series I will become obsessed with. I love books that have to do with the Fae!

What book are you looking forward to this week?

It's Monday! What Are YOU Reading?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:05:00 +0000

It’s Monday, What are You Reading is now hosted at The Book Date. It's been a few years since I've linked up to any of the Monday reading memes, and it seems many of them have been passed on to other bloggers or retired totally. So, I've decided to link up with #IMWYR!

Reading This Week:

Up Next:

Elsker by S.T. Bende
Bootcamp Of Misfit Wolves by Annie Nicholas

A Long Time Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 23:49:00 +0000

Hello world!

It has been pretty much forever since I've posted here. I got all caught up in life, and haven't even been reading much the last few years. Major disconnect for me, it was really odd. I've always loved books, and have always been an avid reader.

Life has been good. We just welcomed our second child into the world, a little girl. So, I now have a 6 (almost 7) year old son, and a two week old little girl.

Reading has become my sanity saver again, so I'd love to be able to get this blog back up and going. I sincerely miss the book blogging community.

Hope to see you all soon, and to get a few reviews up in the next week or so!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 17:16:00 +0000

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Books, books, books...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 16:39:00 +0000

Hello! I'm slowly integrating myself back into the blogging world. Just recently I became a stay at home mom again. This time around though, the kiddo is in school for four days out of the week. I miss reading and reviewing books, but most of all I miss interacting with the book blogger community!

The future should be interesting with this, hopefully I can keep myself up and going with this blog. From time to time I will most likely post about my crochet projects. It's become a really big hobby of mine, and I love it!

I look forward to interacting with all of you again!

Stacking The Shelves {5}

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:51:00 +0000

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where everyone gets to share what books they've acquired over the last week!

Hey everyone! It's been over a year since I've done a post like this, but since I'm getting back into the swing of things I figured I'd post what I got! It's not much, but hey they look pretty good.

From NetGalley:

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson

Luminae, Vol. 1 by Bengal

Both of these are comics, which is a little out of the norm for what I have been posting review wise. I plan on branching out into comics since I love to read them!

A Long Time Ago...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 02:30:00 +0000

Wow, it has been a long while since I've updated this blog. I'm not even sure if the readers I had still have me on their lists, or if they even read book review blogs at this point. A lot in life has happened since I've last updated.

My goal here is that I would really like to have this blog back and active. I have started a new full time job, so I won't have a ton of free time. I will have time when I get home though, and during breaks. I'm still reading mostly YA and dystopian, though I do plan to branch out my reviews towards graphic novels as well. Obviously I'll have whatever I'm reading up for a review, so there might be some Game of Thrones thrown in here somewhere.

I hope the time has treated you all well! Looking forward to being back and getting this up and going again.

November Wrap-Up And Looking Forward To...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 03:12:00 +0000

I use Grammarly's plagiarism checker because you never know if you're quoting someone from an internet meme!

So, this November I did not really get to read too much. Most of the month was spent either being sick, taking care of a sick kiddo, or doing classwork! One of those classes is an English class, and the professor is huge on plagiarism so I'm constantly wondering if I'm plagiarizing. Did you know you can self plagiarize? Yeah, neither did I.

I did get to start reading Ender's Game and The Eternity Cure, though! I'm super excited to see where The Eternity Cure is headed, so far it is really good. I really love the writing style of Julie Kagawa, and I think I am going to be in love with this series.

Ender's Game on the other hand, I am getting a little bit bored with it. I read it back in the fifth grade, which was forever ago, and thought I would enjoy it again before the movie came out. Obviously, I didn't finish it before the movie! I am about half way with it, and for some reason am loosing interest. Maybe it will pick up again? I hope so!

My reading goals for this month (with reviews) are:

Waiting On Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:11:00 +0000

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we all share what books we're eagerly waiting for!

"As Omega Point prepares to launch an all-out assault on The Reestablishment soldiers stationed in Sector 45, Adam's focus couldn't be further from the upcoming battle. He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.

On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about." -from Goodreads.com

I'm so excited for this novella! It sets up the plot for the final book in the series, Ignite Me. I can't wait!

What book are you looking forward to this week?

Holiday Gift Ideas for Book Lovers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 13:00:00 +0000

With today being Black Friday, and Cyber Monday coming up, I thought I would talk about some awesome gift ideas for the readers in your lives. Not only are there some awesome books coming out this winter, but there are also a ton of really cool book related gift ideas out there!

Check out this short list of just a few things I found today while searching around. I can't wait until I can get my hands on some of this!

Awesome Books:

What Does The Fox Say?

Legend Trilogy

Pawn by Aimee Carter

Book related gift ideas:

Book Cover Tees

Harry Potter Snitch Bookmark

Romeo & Juliet Book Scarf

Moving and Things

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 02:57:00 +0000

I miss my blog! I miss writing reviews and being in the world of book blogging. I am going to try to be here from time to time, we'll see how it goes.

We are going to be moving in a few weeks, and then I have three classes starting up this summer. So I'm not sure how well it will go. I know I've lost a lot of my readers because of my busy schedule causing a lot of issues with posting here. To those of you that have stuck around, thank you!

"Thank you God for answering my prayer; thank you St. Jude for interceding on my behalf. I will encourage devotion to you always."

School

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:35:00 +0000

I hate to come back here and say this, but I really think I am going to have a hard time keeping up with this blog. I have a few reviews that need to be posted, but other than those I'm not sure how much I'll be here. Probably not much.

I just started up a Pharmacology class, and it is going to be killer. I probably won't even get through 1 book a week, it will probably be like every 2 weeks.

Stacking the Shelves {4}

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:53:00 +0000

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where everyone gets to share what books they've acquired over the last week!

Well it's been a bit since I've done one of these! Classes have kept me very busy, and will continue to do so starting again on Monday. I'm going to try my hardest to keep up with reviews, I may only be able to handle one a week until this class ends in 7 weeks.

Here's what I got!

Netgalley:

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (AHHHH!!!)

Hyesteria by Megan Miranda

From Amazon.com:

Constant State of Disaster by Heather Marie Adkins

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Teaser Tuesday: A Howl For A Highlander

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:35:00 +0000

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

A Howl For A Highlander by Terry Spear

"Did he even know how to swim? Well, sure. He was a wolf."

- pg. 49 of A Howl for A Highlander

Coming Back

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:42:00 +0000

WOO! My final is tomorrow, and then I have spring break! I will be stepping back into blog full force in the next few days here. I've missed all of you and the book blog world!

Needing A Break

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:22:00 +0000

I really hate to say this, because everyone is doing this lately. I really need to take a break from the book blog. I have very hard classes this semester, and it's just absorbing. I don't plan on stopping blogging, but I really need to stop worrying about it so much.

With that being said, I still will post my reviews for a few books that I have scheduled to post for. I'm not sure how long this break will be for, but my guess is until the end of February when my classes end. I will still have my reviews up for tours that I'm on, and for authors that I promised reviews to.

Thanks for sticking around, if you don't I totally understand that too!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Waiting on Wednesday {7}: Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:58:00 +0000

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we all share what books we're eagerly waiting for!

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (January 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442441852
ISBN-13: 978-1442441859
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x

Synopsis:

"Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).

'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.

Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves." -from Goodreads.com

How Do You Store Books?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:41:00 +0000

I've run into a major problem...I have no more room for books! AH!

I have started to stack books on top and on the bottom right. I eventually may have to stack books on top of books.

Do you have any creative ideas for storing your books without a book shelf?

I absolutely love these shelf ideas, but I have way too many books for this. Maybe I can do it for my son's books though!

Image from It's Overflowing.

Or are you like me, and just stack books on top of books? I even have about 3 Tupperware bins full of books that are in storage right now. It kills me to have them in storage. I just don't have the room!

The Sunday Post {1} & Stacking the Shelves {4}

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 14:30:00 +0000

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer where we get to share news, book hauls, and recap the week on your blog.

This week has been super hard. Bills and other money issues mostly causing this difficult time, but it will eventually get better. I start my classes again tomorrow! UGH I'm not ready! I have two super hard classes and then I'll be adding in a third sometime in March. Other than that though, I've been reading like crazy!

I am going to be trying my hardest to do two reviews a week. With my toddler, school, and keeping up on housework...well we'll see how this goes! I do promise one review a week though! My reading goal for the year is 100 books, so two a week is ideal.

On The Blog This Week:

My 2013 Resolutions!

Review Policy Update

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington (Review)

I also joined some reading challenges, you can find the list of what ones I'm participating in HERE.

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share our recent book hauls!

I didn't get very many books at all over this last week, but that's ok! I have so many to read right now it's kind of scary!

Won:

Matched by Ally Condie

Twelve Degas Dancers Boomarks

Thanks to Kayla at Bibliophilia, Please!

Free for Kindle:

Demon Kissed by H.M. Ward

The Light of the World by Tara Brown

Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge 2013 is hosted by Darlene's Book Nook!

I have most of these books and I've only half read A Hunger Like No Other (I DID NOT enjoy that book at all, hopefully the rest make up for it). This is a great way to push me through this series!

I am going to go for the Level 4 "Hungry for More" level of this challenge.

Normally I would copy and pasta the information from the challenge host's blog, but my editing thing on here is being evil. So please go check out her blog and the sign ups by clicking on the banner!

A Game of Thrones Reading Challenge 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:34:00 +0000

The Game of Thrones Reading Challenge 2013 is hosted by The Lit Bitch! Click on the photo to be taken to the sign up page.

I have yet to read these books, and I figured this would be a good push in that direction! Here is the information from her blog:

Challenge Details:

Timeline: 01 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2013 (SIGN UP ANYTIME BETWEEN NOW AND THEN!!)
Rules – Read all FIVE (5) books in the Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) (books titles below).
The reading challenge may crossover into other challenges.
You can start anywhere in the series, if you have read 1 book or 4 already it doesn’t matter just read the series
You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.
Reviews are great but not required.
You DO NOT have to have a blog to join in -just email me at thelitbitch@me.com and I will be sure to include you in the challenge/subscriptions– join the discussion and comments section to let us know when you’ve read a book and what you thought of it!
Let your voice and opinions be heard! COMMENTS/DISCUSSION ARE APPRECIATED!

Books in Series Order:

A Game Of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast For Crows
A Dance With Dragons

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:27:00 +0000

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Book Synopsis:

"Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?" -from Goodreads.com

What I Thought:

Jade just moved into her brand new house with her family. It's a nice big house in a really nice neighborhood. Far from what Jade grew up with, but she wasn't one to complain about being somewhere with actual places to hang out.

Shortly after they move in Jade's little brother says that he's seeing a glimmering ghost girl in his room. This has Jade spooked but she doesn't believe him at first. Then a whole bunch of weird things start happening around the house. Along with the whispers and rumors going around school about her new home, Jade now has to face the possibility that her house is in fact a murder house.

Honestly I kind of wanted a bit more from this book. I was really quick to figure out who the killer was, I think I was maybe halfway through the book when I figured it out. There were a lot of accusations and other things that just made it easy to pinpoint. There's a reason I don't really read mystery books though, I always figure out the killer way before the ending.

I also feel like parts of the book were very cliche ghost story. I don't mind things like temperature changes and what not, but when it's mentioned every other chapter it starts to grate on me.

Besides those two major issues I had with the book, I also felt that it moved a bit slowly. It took me almost a week to get through this book, and it's not as long as other books I usually read. I felt like there wasn't a whole lot of action going on, just a lot of speculation and regular teenage things. I could have used a bit more in the haunting department personally, but I also read a lot of horror.

I did enjoy Jade's personality for the most part. She is her own person and does not try to fit in with any particular crowd at school. She sticks up for what she believes in, and befriends people that otherwise don't have friends. Jade is really the perfect representation of what we try to instill in our own children.

All in all I really did enjoy this book, but because of the details that I mentioned I can only say that I liked this book. I can't say that I thought it was amazing or even great. Just that I liked it. That's not to say that someone else may love it though!

*ARC provided to me by Scholastic

Rating:

I Liked It

Where To Buy It:

Amazon.com ~ Barnes & Noble ~ The Book Depository

Book Chick City's 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2013!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:39:00 +0000

I already set my goal this year for 100 books, so I figured why not join up with Book Chick City and complete the challenge! Click the banner above to be taken to the sign up page!

Here are the details directly from her blog:

CHALLENGE DETAILS

Timeline: 01 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2013
Rules: Read 100 books in 2013 (any genre)
You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
You can join at anytime. All books read in 2013 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
At the beginning of Jan 2013, you will find a link to specific month to add your reviews.
Audiobooks are accepted.
Only fiction, no non-fiction.
This challenge can crossover to other challenges.
You DO NOT have to write reviews of the books you read, but if you decide to then a place will be available each month for you to link up your reviews.
You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link: http://wp.me/p2wdqf-6ZI