Top Ten Book Series I Want to Quit

Item: The Detour
Rating: 3
Author: Jana

Posted October 6, 2015 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 11 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at the other blog I write for, The Broke and the Bookish.

I don’t see quitting as a bad thing. I look at it more like I’m cleaning up my life and getting rid of things that do not bring me joy and happiness. I’ve got a bunch of series on my shelf that I’m just not motivated to finish. Perhaps I read a spoiler and I’m not ok with the direction the series is going in. Perhaps I’m not a fan of that genre anymore. Perhaps it has been too long since I read the first book and I’m not interested in trying to remember. Or maybe I just didn’t love the first book or the second book enough. Regardless of the reason, it’s fine to quit. And I hope you feel that same! Why waste time reading books w’re not interested in? The following series are ones I don’t plan to finish. It’s nothing personal. I’m sure they are great. They just aren’t for me anymore.

1. Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth
I read and really enjoyed Divergent, but I read some spoilers and bad reviews for the last two books and decided they were not worth my time.

2. Shadowlands trilogy by Kate Brian
I read Shadowlands, and loved it until the very end. And then I was mad. lol.

3. Broken Hearts & Revenge trilogy by Katie Finn
I pretty much hated Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend, much to my dismay.

4. Hundred Oaks series by Miranda Kenneally
Stealing Parker was just not good in my mind. I did not like Parker, among other things.

5. Wither trilogy by Lauren DeStefano (I read Wither)
I read Wither back before I was a blogger, but I remember being very depressed by the entire story and not wanting to continue.

6. Hush, Hush trilogy by Becca Fitzpatrick
Hush, Hush was kind of a train wreck for me. Again, I read this book before I became a blogger, so I have no record of my thoughts. I do know I don’t like fallen angel books, though.

7. Black City trilogy by Elizabeth Richards
Black City might just be the book I hate more than any other book. It was gory, dark, and contained graphic violence/murder against a cat. I boycott authors who do this. I can still cry about this scene. It was just. Not. Necessary.

8. Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry
I read and enjoyed Pushing the Limits, but I DNFed Dare You To. I just wasn’t a fan.

9. Flirting in Italian trilogy by Lauren Henderson (I read Flirting in Italian)
Flirting in Italian was one of my biggest disappointments ever.

10. Wings series by Aprilynne Pike
I actually really like this series. It’s just been too long since I read the first three books that I don’t remember enough to read the last book. I’m pretty ok with this.

11. The Partials Sequence by Dan Wells
I liked Partials a lot, but heard that violence against a cat happens in the next book… So NOPE. Animal violence is just not ok, and nobody will ever convince me otherwise. Just nope.

Ok, lay it on me. I know I’m going to get some grief on a few of these. Feel free to try and convince me to change my mind!

Interview with Jess from Literary, etc. | Blog Friends Forever Blog Hop (+ Giveaways)

Posted October 3, 2015 by Jana in Giveaway / 24 Comments

How fun is this Blog Friends Forever Hop!? I’m so excited to be a part of it! Thanks so much to Erin, Jaime, Kassiah, and Meg for hosting! Visit our lovely hosts at Swoony Boys Pocast and Fiction Fare. Today I’m interviewing Jess from Literary, etc.! I was her secret sister last round, and we have become the best of friends. I thought it would be fun to feature her for my stop!

1. Tell us a little about your blog!
Back in 2012, I met a few readers who were all into a book series (and no it wasn’t Fifty Shades. LOL) and it was a fun talking to them about books. A few of us decided to create a book blog and I was a blogger there for about 4 months. I left due to differences in direction and I really liked blogging so I decided to go on my own.

As for the name Literary, etc.? Oh dear…I struggled with a name after I left the previous blog (the name they are using, I came up with it). I went through a series of names before settling on Literary, etc. because I wanted the blog to be a little about everything associated with books. Whether it is a recipe appearing in a book or a painting or even an adaptation of a book, I wanted a place that went a little further into a book.

December 19th will mark 3 years blogging at Lit, etc. This past year I haven’t blogged as much as I would have liked to, but every blogger goes through their ups and downs. I’m starting to move away from ARCs and read what I want to. I have a large TBR pile that I’d really like to tackle.

2. What is your proudest blogging moment?
Proudest blogging moment? Finding myself quoted in a book five months after I’d been blogging on my own. I picked up a copy of Jessica Lemmon’s Hard to Handle (the second in her Love in the Balance series) and there I was quoted. In fact, if you pick up a few of Lemmon’s books, that quote is still there for Tempting the Billionaire along with the old wordpress.com url!

3. What’s your favorite book EVER? Why?
My fall back response is Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind because I adore the film and am collector of all things GWTW. Plus the film is special to me because I first saw it with my grandma (my father’s mother) and she loved the film! She often said it was her favorite film and it’s something we shared. She passed away last December and GWTW will be forever tied to her.

In reality, I love Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera (so different from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that most of us know) and it’s a pity that more people haven’t read the book. It’s a detective type novel where Leroux was inspired by real life events and you’re on this journey to find out who Erik really is. There’s a torture chamber, unrequited love, and redemption.

Kid me would say Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins! I adored that book! I checked it out of the library every chance I could and would rent the movie often. Sadly, I don’t have a copy of the book. It’s about a young girl stranded on an island off the coast of California where her brother dies. She has to learn how to hunt and basically support herself. She tamed a dog that she names Rontu.

4. Take this quiz: https://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/. What’s your reading personality? Do you agree with the result?
I got: The Serial Reader

You may read a lot or a little, but either way you’re a publisher’s dream, because once you discover a favorite writer you stick with him/her through thick and thin and eagerly await the next in the series; but even you need to discover some new blood from time to time!

Oooh, that’s pretty spot on! I do have my favorites and have been known to go back to read an author’s entire backlist once I discover them. Lately, I find myself not clamoring to buy book x in series y as fast as I used to. I now tend to wait and sometimes I worry if I’m losing interest.

5. What is your ideal reading situation?
Ideal reading situation is a large comfy chair with a blanket next to window where it’s probably raining, snowing, or just plain cold. A large cup of hot chocolate or tea is on the table next to me where I get lost in the world I’m reading. Hopefully I’m being transported to Regency / Victorian England where I can help solve a mystery or am falling in love with a mysterious Duke! Failing all that, my bed is pretty ideal for reading where I just turn off the lights and read in the dark.

6. Say you won an all-expense paid night out with your favorite author. Who would it be, and what would you two do?
All expense paid night out with my fave author? Oh dear…I’m going to say Charles Finch. We’d go to England and would traipse around London where we could walk in the footsteps of his gentleman detective, Charles Lenox. Afterwards we could sit in a pub and have a few pints talking about anything while I enjoy a good steak and ale pie with a side of mashed potatoes and a serving of peas (can you tell I’m what I’m craving? LOL).

7. What are some of your hobbies outside of reading?
Lately, I’ve found a passion for cooking. I’ve always enjoyed it, but I find myself recording shows off the Food Network. I love Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman) and sometimes I disagree with the way she makes something! For example, she did a recipe for red enchiladas and used powdered red chile (nothing wrong with that), but then included a can of tomato sauce. I was shouting “no” at the television. Red chile pods are so easy to use and I wished she had used that. I only use a can of tomato sauce when the chile sauce is extremely hot to tone down the heat. Her recipe wasn’t using it for that and she also used bell peppers (ewww, no). Or this one time she made green chile enchiladas (what’s with me and enchiladas?), and used a can of enchilada sauce. Again, it’s easy to find canned green chile and using a can of cream of mushroom would have produced a much tastier enchilada. Just simply use a blender and blend the green chile and cream of mushroom to make the sauce.

I also collect postcards. I love to receive them and go to antique shops to see if they have any used postcards. I have someone’s entire trip to Europe in 1914 (before World War 1), written on the back of postcards. Every place they went to, they’d write what they saw. I have no idea who they are, but it’s pretty neat to see the world at that time through their eyes.

8. What would you say is your best characteristic/personality trait?
I think my best characteristic is smile and friendliness. At work, the Veterans always mention my smile and how they love it. Historical romance author, Celeste Bradley once told me my smile was like an angel’s (and I have no idea what she means! I mean, have you seen the smiles on some of those creepy angel statues?).

9. What’s your favorite dessert? Snack food? Drink?
Favorite dessert is cheesecake or key lime pie and I admit, it’s because of the graham cracker crust! Snack food depends on what I’m doing. If I’m taking classes, I love sunflower seeds! In general it’s popcorn (popcorn with slices of cheddar has been my dinner more often than I care to count). As for drink-I can’t say no to a good scotch (I wrote my entire master’s thesis drinking it! LOL). In general, I love a good iced tea.

10. I know you enjoy traveling. What’s been your favorite destination, and where do you hope to go in the future?
My favorite place to date was the Isle of Skye in Scotland! Portree is the capital and it was so quaint! I didn’t spend much time there, but did check out a bakery and I still dream of the baked goods! Glencoe in the Highlands was hauntingly beautiful. In 1692 Clan MacDonald was massacred by members of Clan Campbell on behalf of William III because the MacDonald’s didn’t pledge their support to William. I still can’t find the words to describe what it felt like being in the glen where this horrible event took place.

As for future travel, I’m actually in the midst of planning a trip to Europe with one of my besties! We keep adding where we’d like to go and we need to cut back because I doubt work will let me take off for that long of a time period! One can dream right? I do hope to be back in Scotland next Christmas / New Year’s and say hello to my dear Glasgow (I miss her so much!). In late February, I’ll be in Denver and maybe Dallas in April. I know BEA is in Chicago this year, not sure if I can make that happen, but we’ll see!

Note from Jana: Jess, I really want to go on your Europe trip! I miss it!

In the spirit of blog love, I’ve got some giveaways for you! The first one is a hop wide giveaway, which will have three winners. The second one is hosted by me, and it’s for a book off your wish list! I did this once before, and it was so much fun!

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Visit the other blogs who are posting with me today!

Mostly YA Lit
Bookstacksamber
Books in My Suitcase

Most Adorkable Moment | First & Then Book Superlative Blog Tour (+ Giveaway)

Posted September 30, 2015 by Jana in Blog Tour, Giveaway, Guest Post / 6 Comments

Welcome to my spot along the First & Then blog tour! And what a fun tour it is! Macmillan has put together a senior superlatives blog tour to celebrate high school and Emma Mills and her debut book, First & Then! Each stop along the tour has its own senior superlative (like the ones given out in the yearbook every year), and those bloggers get to share their favorite books that fit the theme of the superlative! Emma is appearing on many of the blogs to discuss her high school life and talk about her book. It has been a very fun tour so far!

So, my superlative is SO much fun! It’s “Most Adorkable Moment”. Instead of moments, I’m going to be talking about five of my very favorite adorkable boys in YA lit! Before I jump in, though, let’s define “adorkable”. Urban dictionary says it best:

This list was so much harder to compile than I thought it would be! I’ve got so many book boyfriends, and I tend to gravitate towards the adorkable ones. It can be so hard to explain why a boy is adorkable, though. You just have to read about him and see him in action to get the full picture. So basically… read all of the following books, but don’t steal my boyfriends!

Dash from Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan– He’s a quirky bookish hipster nerd whose biggest wish in life is to own his own 22-volume Oxford English Dictionary.

Captain Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer – He’s full of so much snark and sarcasm. I just know his one-liners will be referenced forever. In Cress he becomes so tender and sweet and you can tell he’s embarrassed by it. So adorkable.

Rowan from Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard – He’s this reformed bad-boy with a travel bug who hops around from destination to destination teaching diving courses and backpacking to hole-in-the-wall hostels where everyone already knows him. He just sounds pretty darn amazing. He’s really mysterious and hardened, but a softy when his walls are torn down. And even better: he’s bookish.

Julien from Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney – He is such a sweet, caring guy who loves art. Literally. He spends all of his free time wandering the art museum, and ends up falling in love with a girl in a Renoir painting. They spend time floating on a boat in Van Gogh’s Starry Night, they dance in another, they watch Swan Lake performed by Degas’s dancers, they spend an afternoon on the bridge in Monet’s garden.

Jason from Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill – He calls Julia Book Licker! Come on! He is her polar opposite, her arch nemesis, and the thorn in her side. But he’s funny and suave and cute, and he’s getting her to do all these new things and experience London in a way that she never predicted. And he can be so sweet and concerned sometimes. And boy, does he pick on her! I loved watching him burrow his way into the little soft spot she formed for him. His dorkiest moment is when he gets drunk… hilarious.

Which of my choices do you agree with? Who am I missing?

Emma Mills’s Most Adorkable High School Moment

“Adorkable” is probably pretty subjective, but if I had to pick out one high school moment of mine that could likely be termed as such, it would likely be when my friends and I staged and filmed a recreation of the Battle of the Rohan in our high school cafeteria. It was a follow-up to the LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring that we re-created (scene by scene!) in junior high. We loved those films, and wanted to put our own spin on them!

I still have the footage. Needless to say, it doesn’t quite hold up, but it makes me chuckle nonetheless!

First & Then by Emma Mills
Published by Henry Holt and Company on October 13, 2015
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Amazon • Add to Goodreads

Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

Make sure you visit all the other blogs on this tour for more great book recommendations! I’ve had so much fun jumping around, and I hope you do too! And don’t forget to enter to win your own copy of First & Then! This giveaway is sponsored by Macmillan, so thanks to them!

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The Detour by S.A. Bodeen | Blog Tour Mini Book Review

Posted September 28, 2015 by Jana in Blog Tour, Book Review, Young Adult Fiction / 0 Comments

The Detour by S.A. Bodeen
Published by Feiwel and Friends on October 6, 2015
Genres: Thriller
Pages: 224
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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On her way to a writer’s conference, a bestselling teenage author takes a detour that has been deliberately set up by her biggest fans—a mother and daughter who kidnap her.

Livvy Flynn is a big deal—she’s a New York Times-bestselling author whose YA fiction has sold all over the world. She’s rich, she’s famous, she’s gorgeous, and she’s full of herself.

When she’s invited to an A-list writer’s conference, she decides to accept so she can have some time to herself. She’s on a tight deadline for her next book, and she has no intention of socializing with the other industry people at the conference.

And then she hits the detour. Before she knows it, her brand new car is wrecked, she’s hurt, and she’s tied to a bed in a nondescript shack in the middle of nowhere. A woman and her apparently manic daughter have kidnapped her. And they have no intention of letting her go.

Welcome to my spot along the blog tour for The Detour by S. A. Bodeen! I really love thrillers and mysteries because they have the power to grab you immediately and not let go until the very end. When I’m in a reading slump, I pick up a thriller. That’s what I did in this case as well! It has been quite some time since I read a book that I was so excited about that I chose to read it instead of watching Netflix. lol. I’m in a major slump, and have been for the better part of the year. The Detour is a quick, fast-paced, tension-filled read that had me very curious and eager to answer my questions.

While the book was not scary, it was creepy and uncomfortable. The people who took Livvy are insane. I kept wondering what they were going to put her through next. And why did they kidnap her? I enjoyed the mostly believable plot, and I liked that Livvy is a teen author. I always love books that involve bookish characters. I just wish I liked her more. Livvy is stuck up and pretentious, not to mention downright rude, and I had a hard time hoping the best for her. I already mentioned I did not like the other characters, so… it’s hilarious that I enjoyed this book as much as I did! I cared more about the story than the characters, so my not liking them did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. The action is fast-paced and there were moments I was scared for Livvy. Luckily the book was a little shorter so I could power through and solve the mystery.

Overall, I enjoyed The Detour very much. It’s an entertaining, quick read that is perfect for getting you in the mood for Halloween… without keeping you up all night. Give it a shot if you’re looking for something to grab you immediately!

Heart-Shaped Hack by Tracey Garvis-Graves | Book Review

Posted September 21, 2015 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

Heart-Shaped Hack by Tracey Garvis Graves
Series: Kate and Ian #1
Published by Self on August 25, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 277
Format: eARC
Source: Author
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When Kate Watts abandoned her law career to open a food pantry in Northeast Minneapolis, she never dreamed it would be this difficult. Facing the heartbreaking prospect of turning hungry people away, she is grateful for the anonymous donations that begin appearing at the end of each month. Determined to identify and thank her secret benefactor, she launches a plan and catches Ian —a charismatic hacker with a Robin Hood complex—in the act.

Ian intrigues Kate in a way no man ever has. But after learning he’s snooped around on her personal computer, she demands retribution. Impressed with her tolerance and captivated by her spirit, he complies and begins to slowly charm his way past her defenses. Time spent with Ian is never boring, and Kate soon finds herself falling for the mysterious hacker.

But Ian has enemies and they’re growing restless. In the hacking world, exploiting a target’s weakness is paramount, and no price is too high to stop an attack. And when Kate learns exactly how much Ian has paid, she’ll discover just how strong her love is for the man who has hacked his way into her heart.

There’s never been a question about my love for Tracey Garvis-Graves’s books. I will always read anything she writes because she grabs you immediately, immerses you in a story with wonderful characters, and leaves you wishing she would write you a book every week. Heart-Shaped Hack is another title I’m adding to my list of reasons to love Tracey. As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. Tracey likes to be unique. Every book she has ever written has never been written before. She keeps throwing in elements that make the story fresh, and I love that. Our main guy, Ian, is a computer hacker philanthropist. He’s basically Robin Hood. Can’t say I’ve ever read a book about a guy like him, and I’m pretty sure that if I did I would not like it as much.

2. Ian’s snark is probably my favorite thing about the entire book. He is blunt and cocky and has absolutely no filter. Everything in his life is gray. There’s no black or white, wrong or right. Everything is just Ian. He dissolves boundaries and can charm his way into anything. He finds Kate several times because he hacks into her credit card history to discover where she is. And then he goes there. And then he tells her how he found her. And he’s so charming and sexy that it doesn’t even matter that he’s spying on her! As much as he likes her, he turns their relationship into something SHE has to work for. Not only did he capture her heart against her will, he made her pursue him! This guy is something. And the master of the swoons.

3. Kate reminds me of myself. She’s following her dreams and living a relatively simple, quiet, almost cautious life. She cares a lot about helping others and making a difference in the world. I liked that Ian bugged the crap out of her in the beginning. She rolled her eyes at him and threw his cockiness back in his face countless numbers of times, and the banter that ensued had me giggling and turning the pages as quickly as I could.

4. Ian challenges Kate to break down walls and take risks, and Kate challenges Ian to be open and caring. These two are great together!

5. A hacker’s life is a dangerous life, and Ian’s attachments to Kate (and his desire to stay in one place for too long) bring with them a scary situation that nobody anticipated. I loved the mystery and the danger surrounding this part of the story, even though my heart is a little worse for wear as a result.

6. I feel like this book was really well researched! Garvis-Graves does a great job of portraying the life of a hacker.

7. The writing style is, as always with Tracey, amazing! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. She knows how to grab you immediately and never let go. And, even though I read an ARC, I did not find one typo or grammatical error. I noticed the same thing when I read her self-published On the Island back in the day. Tracey pays attention to every detail, and that’s why her stories are perfect. She’s just that good!

8. There were more sexytimes than I’m used to with her books, but I can kind of see why that was necessary for these particular characters. I wish there had been a little less, though, because I was blushing way too much!!

I can’t wait for the sequel, White-Hot Hack, which I know I’ll be bugging Tracey about over the next few months. I’m excited to see where Ian and Kate go from here! I still stand by my bold proclamation that I will read anything Tracey ever writes. Definitely give this book a shot if you like words.