The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

I first saw this challenge a few days ago on It's Time to Read's blog. I adored Gilmore Girls and it is one TV show that I have all of the DVDs for. It was, and still is, my favorite TV show of all time!

Tweeting with Kristilyn (@ReadingInWinter), we have both established our love for the show...and for this challenge! She started her list and challenged me to join her. So, here we are! <3 

I'm not sure I will review all of the books I read. I haven't decided that part yet. If I do, it may be a short and simple "review". hehehe 

Please, feel free to join us and keep us informed of your progress. The more the merrier! 

I will not mark books that I read back in junior high or high school. That was a super long time ago! I will only mark books that I have read as an adult and ones that I read from here on out! This is so exciting!!!

MY PROGRESS

7/341

Winners: Reading Road Trip (WV, NC, and TN)

Wooooo! It's time for the end of my three stops of the Reading Road Trip Tour.

Rafflecopter has selected the winners. All winners have been notified via email and Twitter and will have 48 hours to get back with me, or a new winner (or winners) will be selected.

West Virginia (Obsidian AND Onyx Pre-Order by Jennifer L. Armentrout)

Winner: Lilian C. (lilboxism)

North Carolina (Sarah Dessen novel for 2 winners)

Winner #1: leannessf 

Winner #2: Angie (pinkindle)

Tennessee (Hourglass or Timepiece by Myra McEntire)

Winner: Rebecca H. (Hippielouise)

Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks for entering! Thanks to everyone for stopping by my blog, as well as Ilikethesebooks and IceyBooks!

WINNER! No Strings Attached Giveaway

So, I let my 4 1/2 year old niece press the button on Rafflecopter this morning to select the winner for the No Strings Attached giveaway. The lucky winner is...

Zahra!

Zahra has been sent an email and has 48 hours to return the email. Zahra gets to choose a book, $15 or less, for being the lucky winner! Congratulations!

Thank you to all of you who entered and thank you so much for visiting my blog!

Review: Virtuosity

Title: Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez
Source: Borrowed from Library. I will be purchasing a copy!

Goodreads Summary & Cover:

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.
Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

My Thoughts:
As a past music performer and competitor, I can say that this book was absolutely touching and so full of truth. The anxiety, the competitions, the always questioning yourself, etc...it is all so very real.

Carmen's journey through this book, dealing with Jeremy (her main competitor), and the anxiety and the medicine that went with it, had me connecting so well with her. All of these things happen to performers every day. You are given one chance and if you blow it, it's over.

Jeremy was such a cocky and arrogant doofus at first, but you grow to love him in no time. His competitiveness was just a different variety than Carmen's. Guys definitely handle things differently than females. After his question to Carmen about the competition, I felt so sorry for him. I felt sorry for Carmen, too! However, his apologies and truths made me love him all the much more.

Carmen's mother, Diana...OY!!! It makes me so very sad when parents don't let their children live and learn. Especially when it's something that wouldn't cause bodily harm or breaking the law. :) Just because she had an unfortunate career end, doesn't mean that she needed to micro-manage Carmen as she did.

Carmen's father and grandparents...OY!!!

Carmen's step-dad, Clark...LOVE him!!! He was a truly amazing person and dad for her. He gave her confidence, trust, and support that her mother should have.

Yuri...what an old, knowledgeable, and angry dude...who made me cry!

My Rating:

VIRTUOSITY absolutely blew me away! So moving and touching. So full of truth!

Martinez gave a new life to violinists and classical music to a new wave of readers.

Virtuosity satisfies part of the Completely Contemp Challenge!

No Strings Attached Giveaway!

Welcome to the No Strings Attached Giveaway!

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

No hoops to jump through. No following required. No tweeting. Nothing! Nada! Zilch!

The only thing I need for you to do is to fill in the Rafflecopter with your name and email address so I can announce and contact the winner! Woooo!

The prize for this giveaway will be the choice of any book, $15 or less. I prefer shipping from Books-a-Million, but I will ship from wherever necessary. The Book Depository will be used if the winner is an International entrant.

This is an International giveaway! As always, any person entering should be 13 years old or older! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reading Road Trip Stop: Tennessee

Image from enchantedlearning.com. Click to learn more facts about Tennessee!

Thanks to Britta (ILikeTheseBooks) and Hafsah (IceyBooks) for hosting this fun hop!

Welcome to "The Volunteer State" part of the Reading Road Trip!!!

This is an International giveaway and all entrants must be 13 years or older and can receive shipment from The Book Depository. 

This giveaway begins on July 12 and will end on July 27.

The book up for grabs for this section of the Reading Road Trip is winner's choice of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS or TIMEPIECE! Hourglass takes place in Tennessee, but I haven't read Timepiece yet to see if it continues in that setting. Anyone help me out?  :)

Please fill out the Rafflecopter below. Please note that the only entry that you "must" do is the first one...the freebie! :) The others are completely optional!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information regarding all of the stops for the Reading Road Trip, please refer to the map! The number on the state(s), Canada, or Mexico is the date in July in which the hop will stop and visit. 

Here is the SCHEDULE for all of the stops!

Reading Road Trip Stop: North Carolina

Image from enchantedlearning.com. Click to learn more facts about North Carolina!

Thanks to Britta (ILikeTheseBooks) and Hafsah (IceyBooks) for hosting this fun hop!

Welcome to the "Tar Heel State" part of the Reading Road Trip!!!

North Carolina definitely boasts some talented and wonderful authors. In the North Carolina YA world, we have the following who represent us VERY well:
Jenna Black, Sarah Dessen, Kelly Keaton, Megan Miranda, Stephanie Perkins, Beth Revis, and Carrie Ryan (I'm sure I'm missing names! I would love to know of other YA NC writers!)

Now, as part of this stop on the Road Trip, I would love to offer up TWO Sarah Dessen novels. There will be TWO winners - ONE book each. We all probably know that her covers have recently received a makeover and I would like to help someone start their Dessen library...either new or refreshing it!

The North Carolina giveaway will run July 9-27.

This is an International giveaway since The Book Depository does seem to have all of the new covers in stock. (What Happened to Goodbye is the only one that didn't get a new cover, I believe)

As always, all entrants must be 13 years of age or older and are able to receive shipment from The Book Depository.

All images are from The Book Depository Website.

Please fill out the Rafflecopter below. Please note that the only entry that you "must" do is the first one...the freebie! :) The others are completely optional!


Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information regarding all of the stops for the Reading Road Trip, please refer to the map! The number on the state(s), Canada, or Mexico is the date in July in which the hop will stop and visit.

Here is the SCHEDULE for all of the stops!

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars

Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Source: ARC from a friend

Goodreads Summary & Cover:

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.
Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.
But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.
Inspired by Jane Austen's "Persuasion", "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

My Take:
First, let me just say that I could not put this book down until I finished...except for the final chapter. I had to cry it out before I could finish! It was that kind of book for me.

This is the first book that I've read of Diana Peterfreund, but with writing like this, it will not be my last.

The way that she told the story, using letters that Elliot and Kai had sent each other as children to tell their story was fantastic. The classic "pride getting in the way" kept them apart through the book.

Please read this book. Please! There were so many times that I would be in the middle of a chapter and I would lower the book and look at my mom and say, "This is just SO good!" and then get back to reading. That happened numerous times.

I have one more chapter to read as I'm typing this, but know that before the last chapter is a final letter from Kai. It did me in! I will get back to the book in a moment and hope that Elliot's decision is what I want her to do. That's all I'll say on that and I won't give away anything from the final chapter.

I have never read Jane Austen's Persuasion, but I may have to pick it up and see how Peterfreund built the story of For Darkness Shows the Stars from it.

One of the most beautiful lines, near the end of the story, just made me want to cry all over again.

"Kai's familiar pen strokes hadn't changed with age, and they formed words that wrapped around her heart like a vine and held tight." 

Saaa-woon!!!

My Rating:

For Darkness Shows the Stars also meets a requirement for the Standalone Reading Challenge!

Reading Road Trip Stop: West Virginia

Image from enchantedlearning.com. Click to learn more facts about West Virginia!

Thanks to Britta (ILikeTheseBooks) and Hafsah (IceyBooks) for hosting this fun hop!

Welcome to the "Mountain State" part of the Reading Road Trip!!!

Currently, the hottest character from a book resides in West Virginia. West Virginia is also home to the author who created this so very swoon-worthy character. I am, of course, referring to Jennifer L. Armentrout and her character, Daemon Black, from The Lux Series.

I know the blogosphere has been a very busy place recently discussing this series and Jennifer. Well, sign me up to help get more Daemon Black out into the world!

For this stop on the Reading Road Trip, one person will be the sole winner of a paperback copy of Obsidian and a paperback PRE-ORDER of Onyx (released August 14)!!!

Book images from Goodreads

This is an International giveaway and all entrants must be 13 years or older and can receive shipment from The Book Depository. 

This giveaway begins on July 7 and will end on July 27.

Please fill out the Rafflecopter below. Please note that the only entry that you "must" do is the first one...the freebie! :) The others are completely optional!

Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more information regarding all of the stops for the Reading Road Trip, please refer to the map! The number on the state(s), Canada, or Mexico is the date in July in which the hop will stop and visit.

Here is the SCHEDULE for all of the stops!

What's Next? (3) 7.5.12

Here's how it works:

• Every Thursday, select three-five books (not too many, not too little!) that you want to read but can't decide which one to read first. 
• Post the cover, and if you want, the synopsis or even a random line from the book, for each of your selections. 
• At the end of your post, ask readers to vote on which one you should read next! 
• Even if you don't end up reading your readers' top choice, you'll know what the majority is excited for. 

Thanks to Iceybooks for hosting this meme!

Last week's winner was Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead!
I am starting it today!

Here are my next 3 book options. Please help me choose!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

19 Katherines and counting...

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me--nothing anywhere but Grace and me--she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands.

What should I read next?
	An Abundance of Katherines
	Code Name Verity
	Shiver
pollcode.com free polls

RAK Wrap-Up: June 2012

It's time for June's R.A.K. Wrap-Up!

This month, I sent:

Divergent by Veronica Roth and Timepiece by Myra McEntire to Hafsah. Blog/Twitter

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins to Aeicha. Blog/Twitter
Enchanted (signed) by Alethea Kontis to Loretta. Blog/Twitter
Corpse in the Crystal Ball by Kari Lee Townsend to Lethea. @Luvdaylilies

 Enchanted was signed. Alethea Kontis was SO cute at her signing!

This month, I received:
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks from Lethea. @Luvdaylilies 
For Darkness Shows the Stars (ARC), a card, and some bookmarks from Aeicha. Blog/Twitter
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo from RJ. Blog/Twitter
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris, A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young, some bookmarks, and a beautiful necklace from Hafsah. Blog/Twitter

Thank you SO very much! I appreciate your kindness!