Vailia's Page Turner

Privacy Laws= No more posts

2018-05-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

I am not even going to get into all this new legality crap. I am not a lawyer nor do I want to misspeak. So there will be no more posts on this blog. Keep in touch with my on Goodreads is best, followed by twitter. I'll probably get back into booklikes, etc. My linkys will stay up to date on the right or I will simply edit here or on the About Me page. Otherwise this blog is now retired. Any comments you make are public. I do not sell or purposefully otherwise distribute information but any name, email, IP address, etc that may be attached to comments might be used by blogger or other stuff I have no idea about. I am not tech or law savvy. All future comments will no longer show. I have them all set for moderation and for safety reason will not approve them. So if you need me, contact me on other media or email me. I will not change past posts, including comments, link etc. Use links at your own discretion for tracking. While I do not store them (that I know of) I have no idea who/what else can. (Blogger or does Amazon if I linked to them, etc). If you are concerned on past comments, go delete them! Frankly I am so confused as to what to say without plagiarizing someone else I wonder if I should just delete this blog altogether but I hope not to. I put a lot of time, energy, frustration and joy into this. SO am am moving on but I hope I and others can continue to appreciate what this once was.

Dewey's 24 Readathon April 2018!

2018-04-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

So it is that time again. It begins. I am doing this from a hotel room (every spring lol) about to face a crazy busy weekend and still squeezing this in.

**Note** I will probably mostly be on twitter or goodreads but will sometimes update here. Possible pics on instagram pending challenges

Opening Meme
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? California
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I hope to make good progress in Ted Dekker's Circle series.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?Well I am stuck in a hotel room so my food is Very limited but ptobably the bad of sugared shredded wheat bites. Filling munchy that I can take my time with! That or the Summer Sausage and cheese I have.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! I am currently earing a unicorn pj se and unicorn socks. Does that say anything about me? lol
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I already am. Normally I don't get up until about 10 minutes before this starts. THis time, I actually fell asleep at a decent (ish) hour and got up 1/2 hr before I need to begin. Actually time to answer these and make tea!

Can I Read a Series in a Month? 2018 Challenge

2018-03-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Runs the entire month of April!

Hi! So I have been working on my series completion/progress lately and found this. I tried it last year, and it fell apart miserably! So lets try again!

I am not swearing into a specific series 100%. I have a few options (one being the one I had hoped to do last year) that I am leaving myself open to. The final factor will be a combination of what fits best with another reading challenge I on Goodreads (UNO!) but also what grabs my interest and that I feel most like devouring. These are my options:

24 Hours #readathonbyzoe

2018-03-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

So It is now midnight and I am starting with:

I already read the first 3 chapters, so picking up at Chapter 4. Will update this post a few times throughout the next 24 hours (and will wrap it up at the bottom once it is over and I get some sleep) but most updates will be on twitter (@jljaina). Hope you are joining me in this endeavor! Is anyone taking bets yet how long I will last? I am running on a very small nap so bit nervous.... Might need one at some point during this.

.....

So 7 hours into this and I recently had to sleep for a few hours. My nap before this started was much shorter than I had hoped so sleep was soon needed again.

However I have made some reading progress too. I am about 1/2 through Renegades and LOVING it. Also started The Substitute by Marilyn Kaye for some easier reading on my eyes just before I fell asleep. Now, I must get back to the books!

.....

Alright I meant to post sooner but I have just been THAT into my books. I have finished the two listed above and am bouncing between 3 others right now. Not sure I will finishe then as energy is rapidly draining but there are still 6 hours to go. I might finish one, or just keep going reading a bit of each...I don't know. Time will tell. This is probably my last udate here until tomorrow when I will add the wrap-up. Will probably do a couple more twitter updates though.

----
Wrap-up
Books Finished:

Made progress/Started:

Total Pages read: 967

Overall, I was very happy with this readathon, although starting at midnight is a pain! I vote a noon-noon in your time zone next time. I don't nap well in the evening so basically I am up for over 35 hours. Way harsh on the eyes! I had some great munchies (pretzels, BBQ Hawaiian meatballs, Nerds, donuts, grapes) and a sweet husband who just let me read (and got me the donuts!).

Another 24 hour readathon! #readathonbyzoe

2018-02-25T11:31:00.001-08:00

So I am going to participate in a 24 hour readathon this coming Saturday, March 3rd.

Usually I do a ton of prep on my TBR options and cleaning the house, etc. Well turns out I had some extra time off work this week so I am just gonna do this! I will be cleaning up the house over the next couple days then dealing with food and finalizing my TBR in the first couple days of March to go.

This readathon starts at 12:00 am (midnight) in YOUR timezone, and goes to 11:59. Read as much or as little as you want. You do not have to read all those hours. The only challenge is to read SOMETHING. Simple, right? SO who is with me?

Here is the original challenge video link to Zoe's Vlog on the readathon. Be sure to check it out.

My tentative TBR possibilities I have so far (fully subject to changes):

I will surely be adding more, depending what my mood is and what I have read between now and then.

I will be doing a starting post just before the readathon starts, then periodically updating it with my progress. Twitter will also have more frequent updates. I hope you can join for some reading fun this day. Even if you just have a free hour!

Top Ten Tuesday- Books I Really Liked but Can’t Remember Much About

2018-01-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

I know I loved reading this....but what happened in it?! Why did I love it? SOmetimes, overtime, these things blur or are forgotten. These are 10 books I loved reading but if I was asked to do a book report on them, I'd fail without reading them once again.

Death Island by Kelsey Ketch Review and tour giveaway

2018-01-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

Death Island

by Kelsey Ketch
Genre: New Adult
Publication: December 31st, 2017
Cover Designer: Desiree DeOrto Designs

Goodreads

Her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes of piracy, Meriden Cummings is far from the typical 18th century woman. A social outcast, she works in a carpentry shop in a small village, where the people barely tolerate unconventional behavior.
However, her life takes a turn after a gang of pirates attack her village and her blood reveals an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs leading to Death Island. An island legends say is ruled by the Mayan god of the underworld, Ah Puch. Her great-grandfather had sought after the island before he vanished without a trace. Now, Meriden is about to journey across the sea to
understand her family history.
There are only a few problems: her growing feelings toward a mysterious stranger linked to her great-grandfather’s past; a greedy band of pirates after her great- grandfather’s legendary treasure; and a contract she has unwittingly signed in blood with Ah Puch himself.

99 cents for a limited time!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review: Kelsey Ketch has taken me away on another all new adventure. First she gives me stories steeped in Egyptian mythology with her Descendants of Isis series, and now she sweeps me off in a high seas adventure with Mayan mythology! Filled with romance, pirates, skeletons (the kind that kick your butt), siren(adaptation of) and gods.

Set in the early 1700s this story is a twp person POV by Meriden and Gregory. I actually really liked the balance of story we get this way. Meriden is a very independent young woman wish a desire for the seas left to her from her father's bloodline. I loved how she pulls her own weight in the story. She refuses to just be a damsel in distress but she is also flawed and makes mistakes making her a likable character. Gregory has a few chips on his shoulders on him from his own family. Overall I liked him but he overlooks a few obvious things that get to me a bit. Still, he is well developed and I still liked him as well. We actually have a good cast of other characters we get to meet of the crew they set sail with.

I loved the adventure and the mythical aspects of this story. Skellig's character intrigued me and the desert of fears was fascinating. The blend of mythology and adventure in a historical setting was overall well done. I love the research Kelsey does for her book to make if feel more real and authentic.

My biggest gripe is the phrase and word choices used a few times. Especially Meriden's internal monologue toward the beginning. If felt too modern and did not fit. A few times the words used in this actually made me cringe since it is suppose to be a historical setting. It just took me out of the moment. Luckily this didn't happen too often but most of it happens early on and it made it a bit tricky to get fully into the book right away.

The ending is left open for a possibility of a sequel but the book does close off the story well enough. Although I would not be adverse to another adventure, so we shall have to wait and see. Well done Kelsey Ketch, I continue to enjoy your books and look forward to future stories you create!

*I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair, honest review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own*

Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new- adult author, who works
as a Wildlife Biologist in the state of North Carolina. During
her free time, she can often be found working on her latest
work in progress or organizing the New Adult Scavenger
Hunt, a biannual blog hop. She also enjoys history,
mythology, traveling, and reading.

Twitter || Facebook

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Top Ten Tuesday-Books I had hoped to read before the end of 2017

2018-01-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.

Ten Books We Meant To Read In 2017 But Didn't Get To (and totally plan to get to in 2018!!)

Best & Worst Reads of 2017

2017-12-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

These were my 5 least favorite books I read in 2017

And these were my 6 favorite (I couldn't quite get it down to 5) ones I read (not including re-reads). My focus this year (and going into 2018 is not so much new releases ans that didn't work for me so this is solely based on what I read, not when a book was released/published.

This was probably my slowest reading year possibly ever (as a self proclaimed bookworm). I am hoping for better turnout next year. My main focus is to finish up previously started series' and read more books that have been on my shelves for too long. This way, I can discover more gems hidden through the ages and then have a clear plate to do more new releases in 2019.

2018 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

2017-12-08T12:29:00.002-08:00

One of my big focus points for 2018 is to get through my older books, books that have been on my shelves for a long time, etc so I feel I can better keep up with new releases with less guilt. So, in addition to Beat the Backlist, I am doing this challenge to. Yes they heavily overlap, but with 2 challenges I hope the motivation will be that much stronger.

So Mount TBR is about reading books I have owned prior to the Challenge year. YAY! Motivation to clean up my shalves so I can get new lovelies on them (or even just make enough room to fit all my books onto the shelves....

My goal: Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR

I think I can probably do more and although I hope to get through more but I have a bunch of books I want to read that I don't yet own so we shall see. Can I make it to Olympus? (150+ bks) Challenge level subject to change.

Read so far: