May Wrap Up Post

Well it's been quite a month. I was sick. Spanish was hard. I fell behind on blogging. I listened to music and read a few books. I liked a lot of quote and did a bit of artsy stuff. I pinned on Pinterest. I wished for summer to get here already. I drank coffee and planted plants. ALSO I DISCOVERED THAT CHRISTOPHER POINDEXTER IS A REAL PERSON!!  Let's just get to the wrap up, yes?

Music this Month

Music has a way of keeping me sane, or as sane as I can get. Here are some of my favorite (or really most played) music from this month.

Empire: Shakira
Gentleman: Theory of a Deadman
Long Time Traveller: The Wailin' Jennys
Better Than Me: Hinder
Out Through the Curtain: The Hush Sound
Duluth: Mason Jennings
Last Love Song: ZZ Ward

Books I read
~Click on cover to see Goodreads 

This book (above) was EPIC! I'm still having trouble deciding if its a 4.5 or 5 star book. AND THAT COVER. And the guys. And the action. . . Y'all have to read this one!

Forever sent me this one in exchange for a review, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! This book is just *UGH* I didn't connect to it as much as I had hoped but it was still worth the read!

These two authors are SO FREAKING TALENTED! Can I just have all their books? Pretty please?!

Oh god. This book was so star-crossed (hehe) and the writing was SO LYRICAL! Loved it so much. Luna Lacour is an author to watch out for. See my interview with her here.

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Love Locks in Prague and the Royally Lost Blog Tour


Favorite Quote

“Sometimes I don't know if this is real, or if I'm just dreaming,” I said. “But either way, I wish I could do everything in this life with you.”  - Star Crossed by Luna Lacour

Books I added to my to-read list

Honestly, that cover, the font it what drew me in. What can I say? I'm a typography nerd. 

This book sounds SO UNIQUE! The main character has OCD and then something (what?) sets it off and makes it worse and the guy . . . Okay, I just have to read this one. Click the cover to see the full summary. 

She witnesses a murder. And is now on the run. Uhmm, I think HELLZTOTHEYUP!

Honorable Mentions. . . 

Astonish Me

Infinity + One

This is How it Ends

Shadow Heart

Killer Instinct 

Some of my artwork from this month

So how was your May? NEXT WEEK IS FINALS *runs away to Antarctica*

When I'm Not Reading: Typography

Dear all you lovely people, 

I love fonts. They’re beautiful and gorgeous and SO MUCH FUN to draw. Especially the really fun typography going on all over Pinterest. I liked to draw, well doodle really, already and this year I met this girl who we’re going to call L. Anyways, L is AMAZING at fonts and drawing really adorable stuff so I was inspired. That was said in a singsongy voice. So here are a few of my doodles and my fonts. Enjoy!

                                                                    

 These are not my design. I'm just sorta showing where I got the first two (at the top). I mean, they were pretty, so I drew them. TAHHH DAHHH!

So how do y'all like pretty letters?

Book Look #24 {Grave Mercy}

Grave Mercy by nobentspines featuring stud earrings

About the book. . .

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Add it to goodreads!
Fine me on Polyvore!

~ ~ ~ ~

So what do y'all think? 

Crane by Stacey Rourke Book Blitz {Excerpt + Giveaway}

Hey everyone! This lovely little tour has a tour wide giveaway for TONS of awesome stuff as well as the chance to win a CRANE ebook at each blog. To enter the giveaway for an ebook, comment with your email and the way you followed this blog! Enjoy!

Crane by Stacey Rourke 
Publication date: May 26th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal
Goodreads

Synopsis:

The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.

Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.

What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?

Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.


But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?

Excerpt 

The plush terry cloth robe slipped from Ireland’s shoulders with a whispering caress before pooling in a heap around her ankles. Marble tiles chilled her bare feet as she stepped into the walk-in shower. The tips of her fingers slid across stainless steel. With a flick of her wrist, the trio of showerheads flowed to life. Welcoming heat came at her from all angles, pulsating over her curves with a rhythmic seduction. Ireland turned, a groan escaping her as the streams massaged all the right places. Steam rose, fogging the handle and creating a cloud of humidity that hugged her frame. Tipping her head back, she let the droplets rain down on her face and across her closed lids. Her lips parted, welcoming the rush of warmth that flooded between them. Until it assaulted her tongue with a rush of coppery warmth that clamped her throat shut with a wretched heave. Her hands cupped to catch the droplets, her eyes widening as thick crimson pooled in her palms, seeping between her ivory fingers. Formerly white tiles were now smattered and smeared with blackish-red gore that sprayed from the nozzles. Ireland threw herself from the shower, her feet slipping beneath her. She reached out to steady herself, but found nothing to hold on to. Nothing there to pull her back from the brink, except her own need for self-preservation … and a shadowed silhouette in the corner. Instinctively, she covered herself with her arms. Squinting, she craned her neck to see the figure that was slowly turning to face her.

“Mason?” Her voice echoed around her before she could even speak it.

He stared straight ahead with fixed, unseeing eyes. Blood trailed down his face from various points of origin, soaking the front of his shirt. “Cloak of night, brings Horseman’s plight. His pricy toll, will be a soul.”

“Mason? Are you okay?”

A hard blink and his eyes found focus on her. A desperate panic flared his nostrils, forcing his breath to come fast and ragged. “Help me, you have to help me,” he pleaded, his teeth pink with the blood that streamed past his lips.

Her trembling hand reached for him, then recoiled at her own inept state of confusion. “H-how? What do I do?”

“You have to save us,” Mason’s words became more garbled by the fresh rush of gore that bubbled up the back of his throat. His once handsome face contorted in rage. Leaning forward he balled his fists and screamed with a force that bulged the tendons of his neck, “Save us!” 

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Perfectly Messy by Lizzy Charles {Promo Post and Giveaway}

Welcome one and all to the Perfectly Messy by Lizzy Charles book tour! Let's learn a bit about the book. . .  .

Perfectly Messy

by Lizzy Charles

Release Date: May 2014

Goodreads 

Summary from Goodreads:

Popularity isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Justin Marshall knows this better than most. For the captain of the basketball team, small business owner, and son of Minnesota's next governor, life can get pretty overwhelming. But Justin can handle anything as long as he has Lucy, the girl who fell for the man he’s trying to be.

But for Justin and Lucy, finding time together proves challenging. Stolen kisses and whispered promises just aren't enough. That is, until scandalous photos of the couple are leaked to a press intent on creating a juicy scandal during Justin's dad's gubernatorial campaign. And when Lucy becomes fair play for the tabloids and gossip pages, Justin does the only thing he can to protect her: he breaks her heart.

For Lucy, junior year is everything she hoped it would be: new friends, second chances, and a boyfriend she can’t stop kissing. That is, until the boy she’s pretty sure she loves chooses the life his family wants for him, over her.

Now it’s up to Lucy to teach him what it really means to have everything. Because for Justin, being who everyone needs him to be just might cost him the one person he can’t live without.

Want to stalk the author? Let me help you!

When Lizzy Charles isn’t scrambling to raise her two spunky toddlers or caring for premature and sick babies as a neonatal intensive care nurse, she’s in a quiet corner writing or snuggled up with a novel and a few squares of dark chocolate. Black tea keeps her constant and she loves guacamole. She married her high school sweet heart, a heart-melting musician, so it’s no surprise she’s fallen in love with writing contemporary YA romance novels.

Website

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Le Promo Post

Making Sure The Girls Eat

Thank you so much for having me on your blog to celebrate the release of my second novel, Perfectly Messy!  Today, I’d love to chat about something that’s very near and dear to my heart. Food! I obsess over food. When I’ll eat it, what time I’ll eat it, what I’ll eat, how close I am to the nearest food source.

 It’s weird. I know. But, like, I really love to eat. I value it so much. I respect it. I’m thankful for it.

 

 And I write characters who are just that. My love for food completely over powered my desire to be “lady like” when dating in high-school. In fact, I’d received advice from a friend’s older sister that a girl should always eat before a date so then she doesn’t eat too much while on the date.

 

 Ummm… To me, that’d just mean I get to do this …

 

 Followed by doing this on my date

 

 So, yeah, I love to eat. In fact, all of my female characters eat. It’s incredibly important to me, and, brace yourself, it’s not just because I love food. It’s because I love a healthy self image and I want to brainwash
our youth to believe that eating is good.

 

 Because, well, … duh … it is! So here’s a excerpt from Perfectly Messy, where Justin finds Lucy's ability to down Chipotle a very attractive feature. Hopefully it'll inspire girls to eat up on a special date with a guy she adores.

   

I hope you enjoy it! :)

The salt from these chips is so addicting. Justin chuckles as I lick my fingers. “Here. Take the last one. I’m full.” Yeah right. The niblets of what’s left of his steak tacos have been picked clean. Taking the chip, I break it in half and hand part back to him. “How about this?” “Well, now that you’ve ruined the chip, it’d be a shame not to.” We take turns circling our bit around the guacamole, making sure to scrape every remnant of it clean. It’s too precious to waste. “You know why you’re impressive?” Justin leans in, and my insides flip flop. Even after a month of dating, I’m a jumble of butterflies every time he moves near me. “Why?” I ask, trying to be a little snarky and flirty. It’s a lame attempt, and his laugh proves I failed. “Because you eat an entire barbacoa burrito bowl on a date.” “Well, there’s no use hiding my appetite from you. You saw me eat long before we dated. And this,” I nod down to the empty paper in the basket below, “is not worth skipping to impress a guy.” “Would you not eat to impress a guy?” “Not anymore. But once, yeah, I would. Back when I followed the rules.” “For the record, guys think it’s cool when girls eat.” Justin holds out his hand for my trash. “And, you never need to follow the social rules with me, you know that, right?” His gaze holds mine for a moment longer. Is he flirting, or talking about what just happened with his parents? I don’t know how to answer, so I hand him my red Chipotle basket like an idiot. I may not need to follow the rules with him, but it’s obviously different with his family.

Waiting on Wednesday

Two more weeks! *happy dances off to la la land*

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Goodreads

October 14, 2014

Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.

But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein {Guest Post + Giveaway}

Hello everyone! How's everyone's day going? Are y'all ready to be amazed?! YEAH!? Then read on!

Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein

Release Date: 2014
Swoon Romance

Goodreads 

Summary from Goodreads:

In which a teenage girl endures the over-protective love of her adoptive mother until she falls for a boy who has her wanting to spread her wings, pitched as a contemporary retelling of RAPUNZEL

Seventeen-year-old Anya leads a very secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to school, but instead has a private tutor. Her over-protective mom keeps her so sheltered that she doesn't even have a best friend.

But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams, and would do anything to please her mom. Until one day at the library, the only place she's allowed to go, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy.

Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out late at night to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she will have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

Wanna stalk the author? Let me help!

Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there, with her husband and their four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.

Website

Guest Post

Retellings

First of all, thank you so much for having me on your blog! I’m going to talk a bit about fairy tales and why I wrote this retelling.

I have always loved fairy tales. I grew up on them, and I suppose I’m a bit of a romantic. I love magic, and true love, and happily ever afters. It makes me happy that retellings are gaining in popularity. All those old stories I loved are getting a new light shone on them, new twists, new characters, and new perspectives.

Rapunzel has been my favorite fairy tale from long before Disney made its version of it. (Although the Disney version is pretty cute.) To be honest, I think a big part of why it’s my favorite has to do with fond memories of visiting an elderly neighbor who used to read it to me.

It was a story I really wanted to work with, but making it contemporary had its challenges! So I will tell you now, no one climbs anyone’s hair. It’s the theme of the story I wanted to hold onto. The idea of this girl being locked away from the world, and how she has to set herself free to really find herself.

I love Anya, my Rapunzel. She’s sweet and innocent, but also spunky and fun. I wanted to write her a modern fairy tale, with its own kind of magic, true love, and happily ever after. Hopefully I’ve succeeded, and readers will fall for her and Zander, too.

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Review: Shattered Veil by Tracey E. Banghart

Shattered Veil by Tracey E. Banghart
Published February 28, 2014
Goodreads

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for granting me a copy of SHATTERED VEIL to review! In no way did this influence my opinion of this book.

 When everything that defines you is stripped away, who do you become?

War has invaded Atalanta’s quiet villages and lush woodlands, igniting whispered worries in its glittering capitol. Far from the front lines, 18-year-old Aris Haan, a talented wingjet flyer, has little cause for concern. Until her beloved Calix is thrust into the fray, and a stranger makes her an impossible offer: the chance to join a secret army of women embedded within the all-male military. 

Aris’s choice to follow Calix to war will do more than put her in physical danger; it will make her question everything she believes about herself. When she and her enigmatic commander uncover a deadly conspiracy, her expert flying may be the only hope for her dominion’s survival…and her own.

It’s Mulan meets Battlestar Galactica, with a heroine who is strong enough to save a nation…but only if she’s willing to sacrifice everything, even the one promise she swore she’d never break.

I saw this on NetGalley and the cover was GORGEOUS. I mean do you see that cover y’all? Perfection. So, obviously, I clicked the cover so I could read the premise. So far, it was sounding promising. Girl Power? Check. Self-discovery? Check.  Possibility of romance? Check. I was all set. So I requested and got approved for it.

This is where it started to go downhill. From the beginning of the book, it had a very Matched by Ally Condie feel to it with the whole selection and paring up aspect of it. Uhm, yeah, no me gusta. When she get’s chosen to be a flyer for the army I was like YES! Go you! And that’s pretty much where I lost interest. I basically skimmed the next 70% of Shattered Veil. I read the beginning and the end. From what I gathered, the writing really developed, as well as the plot.

It looks like she face and overcame a lot of trials, she had to fight against a male- dominate society and that made her strong. She wasn’t the same person in the end as she was in the beginning. In the beginning, she fought for love and hope. In the end, she fought for herself and freedom. GIRL POWER!

So, while the plot was good, this one just want my cup of tea. It wasn’t able to hold my interest. I think I’ll probably try to re-read it over the summer when I’m less distracted. *shrugs* Maybe that will end with better results.

So, obviously, I wasn't a fan. And believe me when I say I am in the 2% according to Goodreads. What do y'all think?