Sunday, January 31, 2016

January Wrap-up

I am so excited to do my first every wrap-up! I read and listened to a grand total of 6 books, and they were BIG books for the most part. I got a lot of reading done because
1. at the start of the month I did a lot of traveling and cleaning so I had plenty of time to listen to audio books.
2. I got the stomach flu and that lead to some reading and a lot of listening to audio books.
3. WE GOT A LOT OF SNOW DAYS!!!!!!!! We had about a week of for snow and boy did I read!
These are the books I read for the month of January. Starting from the bottom 

I LOVED listening to the Harry Potter books on audio. I will be doing a review of the audio books this week. I highly recommend giving it a try. If you love rereading the series, but want to feel like you're reading it for the first time all over again, then try the audio books! 
This book did not disappoint! My emotions were all over the place with this book, and I never knew what was going to happen. Just when I thought I had it figured out, Sarah J. Maas pulled the rug our from under me. (Full review coming this week!) 
Of course I loved this book, I've never met a book written by Riordan that I didn't like! I had a few problems with this book that I will talk more about in my review, but overall this was such a fun read and I highly recommend. 
Okay I had A LOT of problems with this book. I debated on doing a review for this book, and decided I will. I do not like doing negative reviews, but I believe if they are done respectfully they are important. There were some concepts I liked about this book, but I have decided to not continue with the series. I do not recommend this book. (Review coming soon!) 

And that my friends is my first wrap-up. Tell me if you prefer me to do the reviews before or after the wrap up. I think I would like to do the reviews first next month and see how I like that. Let me know your thoughts on these books, and make sure you check back for their full reviews.
Happy Reading Y'all
Ashley


Friday, January 1, 2016

Stacking the Shelves



Stacking The Shelves created by Tyngas Reviews  is a weekly meme all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks.

Physical Books 
****MY CHRISTMAS BOOKS CAME IN!!!!!! 

My husband got me this book for Christmas and I DIED. The illustrations are so beautiful!! 

Again Chris is the best! He got me this and the audio books for my classroom =) 

Chris got me this for my birthday. I am currently reading it, and i am really liking it. 

Netgalley 





P.S. I HAVE A GIVEAWAY GOING ON!!! 
IT IS FOR A $20 GIFT CARD 
YOU CAN FIND THE GIVEAWAY HERE

What books did you get this week? Let me in the comments below, or leave me a link to your blog. 
If you are a new follower please let me know, it will make my day! 
Happy Reading Y'all, 
Ashley 


2016 Reading Challenges/Goals & New Year Giveaway!

Challenges for 2016

1. I want to read at least 55 books. In 2015 I read 50 books, and I want to challenge myself to read more this year. 
2. I want to read different genres. I normally read YA science fiction and paranormal. I would like to read more fantasy. I would also like to branch out to new adult and adult. I also plan on trying to read more nonfiction. 
3. I need to write more reviews. I have really slacked on reviews in 2015. I challenge myself to write a review AS SOON as I finish a book. I am going to try to not start a new book until I write a review for the book I finished. 
4. I want to do more original posts on here. I have some great ideas that I have written down, and I just need to push myself to actually write them. 
5. I want to challenge myself to get into contact with authors for interviews. 




To help you with your reading goals and challenges I want to do a giveaway. The giveaway will be for a Barnes and Noble gift card for $20.00
Here are the rules: 
This giveaway is for U.S. only
You must be 18 or older OR have guardians permission. 
The winner has 48 hours to contract me before another winner is chosen. 
I check entries so if you are cheating, you WILL be disqualified. 
I am not responsible for lost or damaged products 
Good Luck! 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Books I Read in 2015

These are my favorites reads of 2015. These books are books that I read in 2015, not books that were published in 2015. I wanted to do something different, so I made my list in categories. 

AUDIO BOOKS:


I raved about the narrator of this book in my review. She truly made the characters come alive. This is one of those books that I wanted to reread it right after I fished it. This was my first Holly Black book, and now I know why so many people love her writing. 

This is the BEST audio book I have ever listened to! I have never heard a narrator who put so much emotion into her work. I honestly believed at times that she was hurt and in pain. Other times it sounded like she was truly crying. It was FANTASTIC!!!! The story in this book has something for everyone. Drama, action, love, suspense, everything. THIS IS THE BEST DEBUT BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR ME. 
Here is the thing about this book, I did not like the first book in this series.....at all. I know everyone loved it and raved about it, and I just could not get into it for the life of me. Then this book came out, and people who I trust their taste in books loved this book and recommended it. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I gave this book a chance! I fell into this world, from the first page i was hooked. The writing was beautiful, the world building was magical, and the main character was strong and independent. This book was perfection and gave me a new perspective of the author. 

BOOKS BY FAVORITE AUTHORS
When this book came out I cleared my schedule. I wanted to be able to do nothing but read this book. I devoured it! If you have been following my blog for awhile then you know my love for SJM is real. I really enjoyed seeing the world she built. Now everyone knows that she is not a one series wonder. She has so many creative and unique ideas. I cannot wait to see where this series goes. 
Here is a confession on this book, I was so excited for this book that I bought the actual book AND the audio book. I wanted to be reading it every second of the day. If I had time I would read the book, if I had to clean or run to the grocery store, I would listen to it. I just LOVED these books. The family dynamic is what did it for me in the first book, and while the family dynamic was still amazing in this second book, the love story got me this time. I just loved watching the characters grow and realize that not everything about love is black and white. 
BEST FUN READS (get you over a reading slump reads) 
This series is the best for a reading slump. They are fun, sexy, lighthearted, not hard to follow, angsty, everything you love from a great YA read. 
This is what would happen if the Lux series was an adult series. Oh how I LOVED this book. It was a fun take on the Lux series, and it was sexy......very sexy. Basically if you are not an adult I do not recommend you reading it. There are a lot of sexy times in this book, and they are very very detailed. If you loved the Lux series, and you are interested in new adult, this book is for you. 
BEST SUMMER READ 
There is not anything else to say about this book besides I LOVED it. Everything about this book was perfection. 
BEST END TO A SERIES

I am not going to go into detail since it was the last book in the series, but it was fantastic. 
BEST FINISHED TRILOGY 
I know a lot of people did not like this trilogy, but I LOVED it!! I marathon this trilogy and it was solely because I HAD to know what happened next. I can understand why people got frustrated with our main character, but I enjoyed how she was flawed. 

OLDIE BUT A GOODIE 
I was fascinated with this world and the power our main character had. This book showed me why everyone loves Snyder's writing. I plan on reading more of her books in 2016.

What were some of you favorite books of 2015? Let me know in the comments, or if you have made a post about it leave your link! 
P.S. I AM GOING TO DO A GIVEAWAY IN MY NEXT POST SO LOOK OUT FOR THAT! 
happy reading y'all, 
Ashley 
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