Hello Lovelies!

It's time for another IMM. My favorite time of the week!

In My Mailbox is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi the Story Siren. This is where us bloggers get a chance to show you what we got this week! Bookish related of course!

This week there is no Vlog. I'm feeling a tad under the weather and just don't seem to be motivated to film myself. lol I also got a crap load of books ( yes, that's how I am describing it!) and if I did a vlog it would take FOREVER to get through all the books! lol No joke! 

I got 2 big boxes from Hachette this week 

 Which contained loads of arc's and that is my latest addition to my orchid collection keeping them company. She is gorgeous and her name is Anastasia because she looks like royalty! Of the russian Czar variety haha

These are just a few of the ARC's Hachette sent and they are the ones that I am most excited about! 

For a few weeks now I've been tweeting and emailing back and forth with Inara Scott. She asked me to be a part of the blog tour for her upcoming book The Marked, the second in the series. When it came in I squealed. It had the CUTEST Disney label complete with Mickey Mouse. It totally made my day!

It came with a super cute "compliements of the author" card with a swirl of  Disney magic! :)

And there are MORE books. lol *sigh* So... *ahem* this past week we had the Breathless Reads Tour and Dark Days Tour at the awesome Blue Willow Books 

Yes those bags are chalk full of books! lol Scary isn't it? hehe Don't worry, not all of them are mine! Mindy is my partner in crime on this one! teehee

Mindy was super duper sweet and bought me some amazing books for the signing. Hallowed, Unearthly, and Everneath. I purchased Across the Universe, A Million Suns and Incarnate. Thank goodness I already owned the rest otherwise I think I'd have been broke!

While I was at Blue Willow I was looking around and was excited to find Deadly Cool. A while back the awesome girls at Maji Bookshelf did an awesome review of this and ever since I have been dying to read this. I was even more excited that when I got to the register it was less than $5! Apparently Blue Willow has a rewards system and when you hit a certain amount you get a discount. SCORE! Yet another reason why they are such an awesome store!

My good friend Amy sent me an audio book of Laini Taylor's Lips Touch as well as some awesome swag that she knew I would LOVE! Which included a signed name plate from Leigh Fallon for my Carrier of the Mark. I was probably  more excited about than nameplate than anything else. hahaha

Whew! That is it for me this week. I promise!!! lol Now, aren't you glad I didn't do an IMM Vlog for all of these? It would've taken forever! 

Don't forget to leave me a comment with a link to your IMM so I can come by and check it out! Hope you have a fantastic weekend! 

XOXO

For Review

The Marked ( A Talents Novel) by Inara Scott

I Hunt Killers by Barry Kyga

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

The White Glove Wars (Magnolia League #2) by Katie Crouch

Purity by Jackson Pearce

Messy by Heath Cocks and Jessica Morgan

It's Our Prom (So Deal With It) by Julie Anne Peters

Revived by Cat Patrick

Lost Girls by Anne Kelly

Belles by Jen Calonita

The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze ( is it just me or does this sound more like a band and not an actual person's name???)

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

My Sister Lives On the Mantlepiece by Annabell Pitcher

The Drowned Cities by Paolo ( not attempting the last name LOL)

172 Hours On the Moon

Bought

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows (signed)

A Million Suns by Beth Revis (signed)

Across The Universe by Beth Revis (signed)

Gifted

Everneath by Brodi Ashton (signed)

Hallowed by Cynthis Hand (signed)

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (signed)

Signed

Legend by Marie Lu

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Thank you to Hachette, Little Brown, Poppy, Disney and Inara Scott for the review books. Also a huge thank you to Mindy and Amy for the lovely gifts. You girls rock my socks! :)

Q&A

Hello Lovelies!

Many of my blogger friends have been doing Q&A's and I am LOVING them! It's a great way to get to know the blogger a little better and I always love random fun! My good friend Jen did a Q&A this week and tagged me. So here are my answers. 

Name a favorite food, flower and color.

My favorite food of all times is pizza! I can eat it 24/7 and never tire of it. I love it hot and fresh, and even cold the next morning for breakfast. I love it all kinds of ways, any time of day! I also love Spinach pizza.  I cannot eat my pizza without a big pile of ranch to dip it in!  

My favorite flower are orchids. I am obsessed! I have a pretty decent collection that is over taking the house and my mother's window sill's. haha They are all beautiful and unique. They are my babies! I take them outside to "sunbathe" which my sister hates. lol They sit beside me while I read and yes, I do talk to them! lol I have each and every one of them named, from Annabelle my very first orchid to Prudence, and Hortence my freckled and fair beauty. haha 

My favorite color is pink!!! Not pepto bismo pink, HOT pink! The pretty kind that makes you smile! :)

 This is my lovely fair freckled Hortence coming home from the store with me! lol She is one of a dozen in my collection, which is always growing!

Do you eat while you read? 

It all sort of depends. I don't typically sit down for a meal and read while I eat. Unless I'm at work on my lunch break and there is no one interesting for me to talk to. haha In the evenings I typically have a cup of hot tea and a scone or some type of sweet while I read. I used to drink Strawberry Vanilla Limeade's from Sonic while reading. They are my addiction but there was an unfortuante incident with a stack of arcs, and let me tell you, red does NOT come out! So I now keep drinks a good 2 feet away from books at all times!

What characteristics should a book have to be on your TBR? 

Not sure that I have anything specific. If a book hooks me it does! I like original story plots. Twist and turns that I don't see coming. A good main character that I can believe in and route for! I love for a book to get my attention early on and keep it. As well as a book that moves at a good steady pace. 

What are your favorite TV shows or movies recently? 

Oh my gosh! You totally just opened up a can of worms with that one. haha My latest guilty pleasure is Jersey Shore. My bestie recently got me hooked on it. haha I do like some reality tv . I am a HUGE fan of mystery type shows. My faves are Psych, Monk, Rizzoli and Isles, The Closer, and Bones. I also love Gossip Girl, Glee, Smash, and pretty much any show on ABC family. I LOVE Switched at Birth, State of Georgia, Pretty Little Liars. I could go on and on. My favorite movie of all time is Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress ever! 

Have you ever read a book that made you hate the day Gutenberg created the press? 

I've read books I didn't like but nothing that I felt that strongly against. People have different tastes, if a book isn't for me that doesn't mean someone else won't love it! I don't think I could ever hate a book. They each have a special home in soemone's life!

What ways can you recommend for people to have access to great new books?

If you're a blogger, NetGalley.  E-readers are a great way to get books as soon as they are released without having to make a trip to the store or hunt them down. Going to your local library is always fun and so is borrowing and/or trading books with a friend. That is the BEST!

What's the worst way to be interrupted so you have to stop reading your book? 

Ugh that would be by telemarketers! It really makes me angry! Especially because they are always the ones that call and don't say anything for 2 minutes and then finally speak. Or they call but its a pre recorded message asking you to hold, I'm like umm...excuse me, YOU called ME!

Come on, fess up. Do you judge a book by its cover? 

Heck yes I do! lol I am a total cover whore! A great cover is what compells me to read a book. If I don't like the cover I usually don't even pick it up to read the synopsis much less read the book itself. Bad habbit I know =/

Paranormal or fantasy? 

They are both amazing. I guess it just depends on my mood. 

What do you do when you aren't reading or blogging? 

Does this answer your question? haha

Lately sleeping! haha I just can't seem to get enough. haha When I'm not blogging or reading, I'm cooking, working, spending time with friends and family. Attending book signings and events. Watching movies and catching up on my tv shows. And lots of crafting! I can crochet like an energizer bunny on a gallon of expresso! lol I also love to cross stitch, knit altho I'm quite slow at it. I love making braclette's out of hemp cord and have been making lots of those lately! I also have a great knack for making cupcake pin cushions that are adorable! Oh and I love to paint my nails and try new designs! :) 

How many books can you read in a week? 

I'm a slow reader. I typically read 2 books a week. 3 if it's a good week for me. Right now I am only able to manage one book a week but hopefully soon I will be back to my normal self!

Thanks for tagging me Jen! I had a blast reading your answers and coming up with my own! :)

We Apologize for Your Service Interruption ( or some such nonesense) Again!

Don't you hate it when you get totally hooked on this tv show, and it becomes your favorite. I mean, you watch it every week, faithfully and without fail. It's even programmed into your inner clock, and then all of the sudden without warning, they go on hiatus. *sigh* That is the absolute worst ever! Okay, maybe not the worst ever, because that would be when the above mentioned hiatus goes on forever, and ever and ever.... In fact, the show never seems to come back and it just *poof* vanishes into thin air, like it never even existed to begin with!

A lot of you are probably thinking right about now, that that is the case with me. It's true, I have not been around nearly as much as I would like to be. I promise that despite the fact that my blog "appears" as if it's on hiatus or...something along those lines, it isn't! 

I have such amazing followers and friends who are great supporters. Some of you may have already known, to others this may be news. I have been sick for quite a while now. It's a bit of a complicated situation and not just a cut and dry issue. From the minute I entered this world I have had major stomach/digestive issues. To put it simply, I love food but it isn't always my friend. lol I go through periods where I can't keep any food down no matter what it is, a boiled egg or plain toast. Everything gives me indegestion and heartburn, anything from black pepper to ketchup. Yep, even ketchup! I never know when a flare up will come or how long it will last, sometimes its a few days to years at a time. I take meds that help with the heartburn and keep the ulcers at bay, as well as medacines that fight against stomach, intestinal and colon spasms. Essentially these meds help my body to digest food, keep it down, and stay down! Although, when a flare up hits, meds don't always do the trick.

In addition to the life long stomach problems, I was diagnosed with PCOS a year ago, which brings on problems of its own. I also have a problem with my body storing energy. It virtually doesn't. Most people's body stores energy to help them work and attain various tasks. This is something called ATP and I believe the average person's is around 100 or so. Mine was at an 8 and after 2 years of weekly injections has only gone up to an 11. For some reason, unknown to anyone, my body just doesn't seem to regulate ATP on its own or even with some extra help.

Between the stomach problems, PCOS and virtually no energy, I sometimes get sick and/or run out of steam. Unfortunately for several months now I felt a flare up coming on. I tried to push past it and ran straight into a brick wall. I like to think I'm a healthy 26 year old, but the truth is I'm not and never have been anything other than a medical anominalie and guinea pig from time to time. It can get very sad and upsetting when I can't do things that normal girls my age do, and when I hardly have the energy to even leave the house.

Through the years I have learned to enjoy every second of the "good days" when I have them. I've learned to love and appreciate everyone in my life and am thankful for so many wonderful people that love and support me. I've learned that when the flare up's hit and the bad days seem endless, to never give up hope but to stay posative and keep going, taking things one day at a time.

This is why I have been so absent on my blog lately. I promise I have no plans to stop blogging. It has literally taken all of my energy to work part time, come home and cook for my family, and try to keep up with cleaning and laundry, which I am miserably failing at at the moment. lol 

I know it's easy to think that, when your not feeling well, you just lay around and read a lot. When you have extremely low energy, and are sick on top of it, it completely zaps you. I spend most of my day when I'm not working, sleeping. Even when I sit to watch tv or read a book, I inevitably fall asleep and wake up hours later. It has actually made reading 100 times harder for me. I will find myself reading a page and waking up 5 hours later. I then have to back track a good 10 pages to remember what I was reading about, and then get about 5 pages past that, and I either doze off again, or have to cook or go to work. 

I want to thank all of my followers for the kind words and support you have all shown to me. You have been tweeting and texting me good well wishes for the past few months and it warms my heart and brightens my day considerabley! 

On the bright side, last week I had some treatments done that greatly helped my stomach issues and am feeling much, much better! On the other hand I still feel zapped and have my usual health issues to deal with. So to wrap this up, although I was hoping to never have to do this, you now know why I have been so scarce lately. I love reading, and blogging and I love each and every one of you and I am not going anywhere. I promise! I will continue to blog as often as I can but you may only see 1 review up a week instead of the 3 or 4 that you are used. Hopefully in time things will get better, and you can bet I will be back in full fighting force!

Thank you again to everyone for your kind words, it has meant the world to me! You guys are the best!

XOXO

In My Mailbox (17)

In My Mailbox is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi the Story Siren. This is where us bloggers get a chance to show you what we got this week! Bookish related of course!

Hello my Lovelies! I hope you all had a fantastic week/weekend! Last week I didn't do an IMM because I only got in one book and some bookmarks. This week however, books seem to have flooded my mailbox! Doesn't it always seem like they come in waves? I'm sure I'll hit a dry spell after this amazing week. But I had an awesome week in books and I can't wait to show ya'll!

For Review

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

The Stalker Chronicles by Carley Moore

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin

Traded

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

Illuminated by Erica Orloff

Bought

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

That's it for me this week! Looks like I have plenty to keep me busy for a while. I hope you all have a great weekend and don't forget to leave me a link to your IMM so i can stop by!

XOXO

The Lover's Dictionary

Hello Lovelies!

So this month, love is on everyone's mind! It's at the grocery store, on the radio, in the theater. So my good friend Loretta from Between the Pages , and I decided to do a little something special! We read and discussed The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan. The book was incredible and we had a total blast! So keep on reading to find out my thoughts on the book in my mini review, and make sure you scroll down to my Q&A with the lovely Loretta. Don't forget to stop by her blog as well to see what her thoughts on the book were, as well as to read my Q&A answers.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

   

basis, n. 

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesn’t pass, that’s it—you’re done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes it’s even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lover’s face.
How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithan’s The Lover’s Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

When Loretta approached me with the idea of doing this review, I was really excited! I have been dying to read this book, and it sounded like so much fun!

I honestly did not expect to fall in love with a book about love, but I did! This book was short, but sweet and to the point. It expressed through a unique style of writing, the true meaning of love! Love with all of it's ups and downs, pro's and con's. It wasn't just a story of love and happily ever after. It was so real, everything from that first time you meet, to the crazy butterflies the size of elephants in the pit of your stomach, to the first time you say I love you and are frightened the other person doesn't feel it too, to the first fight, and everything else in between!

I loved David' Levithan's style of writing and his unique approach and style he used when writing this. At time's things got a bit confusing when he'd jump from the present to the past to tell a story. And yes, there were many time's when I had to look up a word in the dictionary to get the real meaning of it, but who couldn't stand to expand their vocabulary a little?

All in all, I loved this book! It was a super fast read, that I found to be extremely refreshing! It captures the true meaning of love in it's entirety and I highly recommend it!

The Lover's Dictionary Q&A with Loretta from Between The Pages

Did you learn some new words from reading The Lover's Dictionary?

Oh yeah. I learned a slew of new words I never even knew. Honestly, I was dumbfounded (haha, yes this was used, & I KNEW what it meant ;]) at some of the words that were used. I had to GET a dictionary to read some words & figure it out. I know after you read the passage after the word you kinda get it. BUT, I wanted to know how to SAY the word. Yeah, it was crazy.

What do you think the meaning of the book was?

TO teach us new words?

No, I am kidding.. kinda! I think the meaning was to show you the different ways love works. The different phases. Love is love. To get a vision of how love is at times. 

The book also leaves you wondering how it ends.. but we never really know in our own love how it is going to end. Right?!

What were your feelings on the character's both as a whole, and also individually?

The MC was very into the relationship. I thought that he was sweet. Oh course he has his hesitations. But, what love don't. After sleeping alone for some times it is quite annoying to have someone in your space.

The girlfriend on the other hand was rather.....different. Yes, different. Things she did, said & how she acted was rather annoying. Her as a person I could not like as an individual. She just didn’t seem to really BE in the relationship.

As a whole I think it was how love is at times. I mean I cannot sit here and think people do not fight. They do. Who wants someone all in there space 24/7? Not me. But, I feel at times that their relationship was real. And at times, even I felt uncomfortable when they did in certain situations.

What was your favorite quote from the book?

“corrode v.

I spent all this time building a relationship. Then one night I left the window open and it started to rust.”

There were so many, but this is the one that stood out to me the most. It was that moment of realization for the MC, that his relationship maybe wasn't what he thought it to be.

Has this book changed your definition of love?

It hasn't. I have always been a believer in love. I mean come on. I married my High School Sweetheart.. BUT, I am not blind either. Love does not stop you from hurting someone. Love does not stop you from making mistakes. But, Love does make you want to change all of them things..

The book shows you how love really is. RAW

 With love being on everyone's mind right now, what are some of your favorite romantic reads?

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young.

Maybe this is not your average "Happy Ending" book. But the love between the MC & her boyfriend (Harlin) was real. So real. & not over.

Thank you so much Loretta for stopping by. I had a blast reading this book and discussing it with you! Don't forget to hop on over to Loretta's blog to read her thoughts on it, as well as to find out my answers to the Q&A!

Around Town- Febuary 2012 Events

Hello Lovelies! 

It is time for another Around Town post. There are sooo many amazing events going on over the next few months in Houston. I'm seriously so giddy in anticipation. In this post I will however mostly focus on the events going on this month. Although I will mention a few others just because I am so excited I can't keep it to myself! hehe

First up Alex Flinn will be signing at Blue Willow at February 18th! I am so excited about this one. You guys have nooo idea! I loved Beastly so much and I cannot wait to get my hands on  Bewitching and get all my books signed. You can find details at the Blue Willow site here

Next on February 18th the Winter Dark Days 2012 tour will be stopping by the amazing Blue Willow! It will be featuring authors Cynthia Hand of Hallowed and Unearthly. Courtney Allison Moulton author of Wings of the Wicked. Debut authors Jodi Meadows who wrote Incarnate, and also Brodi Ashton author of Everneath. You can stop by to list to the panel of authors speak and get your books signed. The 4 authors coming totally blew me away. I honestly cannot believe they will all be in the same room at the same time! Again you can find details on this event at the Blue Willow site here

And last but not least, on February 22nd  the Breathless Reads 2012 Tour will be stopping by Blue Willow. Can you guys see why this is totally my favorite book store EVER??? Anyways, enough gushing about the amazingness that is Blue Willow. This tour features yet another amazing set of authors! Debut authors Marie Lu author of Legend, and Jessica Spotswood author of Born Wicked. Andrea Cremer of Bloodrose, Wolfsbane and Nightshade will also be there along with Beth Revis author of A Million Suns and Across the Universe. You can find the details for this event here

There will also be some equally amazing events going on in Houston in March and April. Just a few of the 2 dozen authors coming that I am really excited about seeing are Marissa Meyer's author of Cinder, Lauren DeStefano author of Wither and Fever, as well as Lauren Conrad who will be promoting her brand new YA series The Fame Game! I am super excited about all the amazing events! I can't wait to tell you about the rest of the amazing authors coming to Houston, but I didn't want to over whelm you at one time! haha So stay tuned for more updates on who else is coming to Houston. Trust me, you will want to make sure you are there!

Fracture

Fracture by Megan Miranda
Release Date: January 17,2012
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Age Group:  YA
Pages: 272
Format: Hardback
Source: Own
Interest: Debut Author
Challenge: 2012 Debut Author Challenge. 2012 Reading Challenge
Buy The Book: Amazon

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

Fellow book blogger, Mindy highly recommended this one to me. It was definitely on my to read list, when Mindy sent me a signed copy it was the final push I needed to finally give it a shot. 

Just as Mindy predicted, I loved it! Fracture is such an amazing debut novel! 

I LOVED that this book was a stand-alone! It seems like every time I read a YA book, they are quickly turned into trilogies, series, etc. Then before you know it, prequels, and in-between-quels pop up. It gets frustrating at times, keeping up with the story and the release dates of everything. So I thoroughly enjoyed reading a stand-alone novel for a change!

The story hooked me right from the beginning. Right away from the first 5 pages they get right into the heart of it, which I loved! I hate stories that drag on endlessly and take forever to get to the part of the story that we all read about on the jacket sleeve. Does anyone else hate that too?

Anyways, I totally got sucked into the story and the emotions of the character's. I felt so bad for Delaney and how over protective her family is of her after the accident. At times it was totally ridiculous and I don't think I could've handled it as well as she did. If my mother told me I wasn't allowed to turn on the oven, I think I would've had a fit the size of Texas! I felt so sorry for Decker, and couldn't imagine the guilt and mental anguish he went through. Knowing if he hadn't made Delaney cross the ice with him, that never would've happened! And then there was the whole love story issue. *sighs* Three love interests at ONE time??? That poor, poor girl! It's shocking that she didn't go right back into a coma from the emotional overload! 

Okay, I'll stop myself there, because I love this book and I could literally go on and on talking about the amazing plot. But, I won't bore you! But I WILL encourage you go out and read it for yourself!

Fracture was such a refreshing break and an incredible debut novel! It was unpredictable, emotional, suspenseful, and raw. I can't recommend this one enough!