Always a Booklover

The magic of books just enchants me. I love reading, what more can I say?

Dystopia Reading Challenge 2014



This challenge is hosted by Blog of Erised!

Love Dystopian books? Then this is just the right thing for you! If you're as big of a fan as I am of post-apocalyptic dystopia books (and even if your are not) you are welcome to join the challenge!

We will try to read 24 Dystopian books in 2014 as the challenge goal, which means 2 per month, if you would like to read them monthly. You can of course make your own schedule and read less or more than that. 2 per month is plenty because it still gives you time to explore and love books from other genres. 

At the end of the year there will also be a giveaway with great prizes!

Rules
> The challenge will run from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. Each month will have its own link form so you will be able to share your book reviews. You do not have to review the books you read to participate, but only those who read/reviewed at least one dystopian book will be able to participate in the giveaway (you can track your reading without the reviews with Goodreads, Shelfari etc.).
> Books that count in this challenge must include any form of post-apocalyptic theme (book sites like Goodreads are good sources of genre information). The books must be full-length.
> All formats allowed.
Rereads allowed (but not the same book five times in a year!).
It does not matter whether it's a series or a stand-alone book.
If you are participating, grab the challenge button from below and post it on you blog. You can also make a post with the header (the code is also below). Please include the link back to this post so others will be able to participate as well.
If you will participate, put the sign-up link to your blog post (about the challenge) or blog (for the button) directly into the linky below. Sign-ups will be open until December 15, 2014.
You do not have to list your books in advance, go and do as you please. Read as many as you want and whenever you want, as long as you have fun!
Info about the giveaway will be available in December 2014.
> Do not cheat with books of other themes/genres/topics because I do check!

Levels
Level 1Recruit (1 to 6 books)
Level 2Rebel (7 to 12 books)
Level 3Revolutionist (13 to 18 books)
Level 4Leader (19+ books)

Each time you reach a new level, you will receive a badge.

If you have any book suggestions you can leave them in the comment sections for me as well as for others or blog about them in you challenge post. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Seriously Series Reading Challenge 2014



General Overview

How serious about series are you? We'll find out in 2014.

In the summer of 2012, Amanda @ On a Book Bender and I hosted an informal challenge that focused on completing books in series that we owned. It was enough of a success that we decided we wanted to turn it into a year-long challenge--with a few minor changes.

While Amanda is unable to host it with me this year, she is a huge part in the creation and implementation of this challenge and I couldn't have attempted to put it together without her. Thank you, Amanda!

Definitions

For this challenge, a series is defined as a collection of two or more books that belong together and where the second book is published before the end of 2014. This is a pretty broad definition of series, and it includes traditional series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, less traditional series like Stephanie Perkins's YA contemps (Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door), and shorter series, like Kendare Blake's Anna series (Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares).

A series is considered complete in one of two ways: either as finishing all the books that you own in the series or as obtaining and reading all the books that have been published in the series to date. Because we don't want this challenge to become a financial burden, how you choose to define completion is left to your discretion.

How It Works

To allow for the greatest level of flexibility, we've separated series into three categories: series started before 2014, series started in 2014, and series rereads.
  • Series started before 2014 are defined as series that you have started reading before Jan. 2014 and that you still have unread books to get current in (or finish) the series.
  • Series started in 2014 are defined as any series that you start reading between Jan. and Dec. 2014, and the second book in the series must be published before December 2014.
  • A series reread is defined as books that are part of a series that were read before Jan. 2014 and that are reread between Jan. 2014 and Dec. 2014. A series reread does NOT have to include the full series.

For each category, there are different levels of seriousness about series that you can choose. Semi-serious is reading 1 to 6 series, seriously serious is reading 7 to 12 series, super seriously serious is reading 13 to 18 series, and seriously spectacular series star is reading more than 18 series. What this ends up looking like is this:


series started before 2014series started in 2014series rereads
Semi-Serious1-6 series1-61-6
Seriously Serious7-127-127-12
Super Seriously Serious13-1813-1813-18
Seriously Spectacular Series Star18+18+18+
FYI, reading novellas and short stories from a series does count here -- if you want it to!

You choose which categories you want to attempt and which level to shoot for.

So, for me, this is my goal.
Series started in 2014: Seriously Serious
Series Rereads: Seriously Serious
Series Started before 2014: Seriously Serious

Check this place out, for a record of the books I've read! 

Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge 2014



I got this off Lovin' Los Libros, so head there to sign up too! :)


So this year Readers Live A Thousand LivesCorrie The Book Crazed Girl, and Lovin' Los Libros have teamed up to host the Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge! For this challenge, the goal is to mix up the genres/categories we read. We have all had those times when we have gotten stuck in the genre/category we are currently reading and read nothing else for a while. The goal here is to mix that up! Each month we will feature a different genre/category and the goal is to read and review one book or more in that genre/category during that month.

Each month the hosting blogs will have a post featuring the genre/category for that month. There will be a linky for you to link up and share your review for the book(s) for the featured genre/category. So make sure you come back each month to check out our reads and share yours! You do not need a blog to participate, goodreads or booklikes works too! Below is the schedule of what genre/category we plan to read each month! 

January- Young Adult
February- Contemporary
March- Urban Fantasy
April- Middle Grade
May- Dystopian
June- High Fantasy
July- Adult
August- Paranormal
September- Romance
October- Sci-Fi
November- Historical Fiction
December- New Adult

There will be giveaways along the way and a giveaway at the end for the participants who participate each month and complete the challenge. 

So yes, this is my post to say I'm participating in this challenge! 

Check out this page for the list of books! :)

Blog Tour: Good Intentions by DN Simmons - Review






SciTech Labs was handsomely commissioned by the United States Military to design a revolutionary serum that would create the ultimate soldier. If successful, the soldier would have an increase in endurance, strength, awareness and overall speed. They would become the true super soldier. That's if everything went according to plan.


SciTech put its best scientists on the project and gave them a time limit to complete the job or else. With the pressure on and the stakes high, Vincent Masterson and his team put everything they had into the project. Everything was looking hopeful until an experiment went horribly wrong. The scientists mutated their specimen's DNA, turning it into something monstrous. Now, life as we know it will never be the same.

As it stands, the only thing that can save the human race is one of the two things they should be running from.

Can the human race survive being caught in a bloody war between two vicious predators?

Buy on Amazon | B&N | Kobo | OMNILIT | Goodreads




AUTHOR BIO:

D.N. Simmons was born and raised in Chicago, Il. She attended Northern Illinois University majoring in journalism. She began writing short horror stories at the age of eleven and in 2004, she decided to take the plunge into the professional literary world when she published Desires Unleashed. She’s an avid fan of the paranormal and horror genre, finding vampires and shape-shifters fascinating. She’s been voted “New Voice of Today” by Romance Review, “Rising Star” by Love Romance and More and “Author of the Month” by Warrior of Words. Her work has won honorable mentions in catogoeis such as Best Paranormal, Best Book of the Year and Best Urban-Fantasy.

D.N. has a passion for crafting highly entertaining fantasy worlds her readers can escape to, filled with wonders, humor and excitement.

Follow D.N:
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest
Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Blog

Follow the Book Tour





Check out my review of the book!

Finished Reading: 27 November 2013

My Rating

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My Review

I loved Good Intentions. I devoured the book and finished it in one sitting, because it was that addictive. This is the first time I’ve ever read a zombie book but I was pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed the plot of the book, and how things progressed. It was a very fast-paced book, where we were thrown right into the action. I liked how the author conveyed the feelings of the characters as they faced the situations in the book. I really loved the pace. There was hardly any unnecessary conversation and I felt the fast pace of the book really reflected the characters’ desperation at the time, which certainly drew me further into the book. Perhaps in part, as it was placed in today’s day and age, it felt a little bit closer to heart. And its honestly quite scary to realize how wrong a science experiment can go.

Without giving away anything, I must say that towards the end, there was a slight twist that I actually really enjoy. Normally, I’m so sick of this plot in books that I actually groaned when I saw it. Yet, after reading a little bit more and seeing the characters, I feel that it would certainly be very interesting to read about. Well, in my opinion at least, Cassian was hot. Okay, I know, I know, I’m shallow. But hot characters are always a pleasure to read about:)

On the other hand, I didn’t find the writing that amazing. Yes, the plot was good and interesting. Unique, even. But while I didn’t hate the writing in any way, I didn’t care much for it. Yet, it did succeed in pulling me in. It just felt a little bit unnatural to me, at least for the dialogue. And honestly speaking, I didn’t like the main character that much. Many characters felt a bit one-dimensional to me. At the same time, considering how characters are one of the most important for me, I think this just says how much I really enjoyed the plot, because I couldn’t stop reading. I do hope for more character development and seeing more sides to each main character in future books though.

I am really looking forward to the next book in the series, and I cannot wait to pick it up once its out. As this is the first book in the series, I wasn’t expecting so much action but I am certainly not disappointed with the book. In fact, I couldn’t put it down, and I don’t think I did for a second. It was an entertaining read and I cannot wait to see how the plot in its entirety pans out over the series. Combining science together with zombies and more, I feel that this is a series that I could very much enjoy.

Note: This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed here is my own.

P.S. This is one of the first few reviews I’ve written in months. A little bit rusty heh.




Blog Tour: The Tearings by V.C. Repetto


Genre: Young Adult Dysopian
Publisher: Evernight Teen



The Tearings

From the moment the black vans appear to take the sick away, Maya knows there is something wrong. She seems to be the only one to question the sudden disappearances at school and the masks everyone is forced to wear to keep from catching the new disease spreading through the entire United States. Even when word of the new “healing centers” reaches the public, no one dares to ask what is happening.

But when Maya catches the disease, the one they call The Tearings, and is taken to one of these centers along with her mother, the truth becomes all too clear. She is separated from her family and forced to work, becoming one of the more fortunate ones who is not sent to the testing wings. Bullied by the guards to the point of death, she meets David Summers, the enigmatic young Captain who appears to loathe his position of power in the camp and who seems as drawn to Maya as she is to him.

When Maya suddenly becomes the disease’s only survivor, she must put her trust on David to find a way to escape the camp and get the truth, and the cure coursing through her veins, out to the world.

Check it out at Amazon | Evernight Teen | Goodreads


V.C. Repetto


When not planning how to survive the next plague and/or apocalypse, V.C. Repetto likes to submerge herself in as many Victorian Gothic novels as she can find. It is quite a fun place, her head, between all the moldy lace and gas masks. She is an avid quilter and cross-stitcher, who longs one day to buy a weaving loom. V.C. Repetto lives in house much too small for all her pets.



And now, check out my review! :)


Finished Reading: 28 November 2013

My Rating

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My Review

The Tearings was a very good book. The setup was good, the characters interesting and the plot captivating. As I was reading the book and realizing it was about to end, I was just begging that the book wouldn’t end soon. I really enjoyed it, you see. I wanted to learn more, unravel the mystery together with Maya.

From the start, the book captivated me. I liked the confusion that I felt as I was thrown into the book. I desperately wanted to know what was going on

I really enjoyed the character development. I loved seeing how Maya grew from a rather average teenage girl to a girl who never stopped fighting for her life and never gave up regardless of the odds. I did find her response to the deaths around her a little unreal, but I don’t have any experience with that, so who am I to judge? Still, I thought there would be a little bit more heartbreak.

And yes, there was very little real romance between David and Maya. Yet I think they’re so cute together. I totally love the whole forbidden love thing. Its actually the main reason I requested to review this book. I wish there was more tension but I suppose that what was experienced between the characters was very real to the situation. When you’re in a life-threatening situation, I don’t think you’re gonna care about romantic love so much.

I loved the side characters too. I felt that they were a very good fit for the book and I do hope that the future books will have them too. The pace of the book was really good, and I didn’t feel overwhelmed or bored at any point of time. It was simply put, excellent writing where as a reader, I’m presented with enough information to keep me interested and at the same time, just a bit lacking that I need to read more.

While I felt the romance happened too late in the book and a little bit too short for my liking, I must say I did kinda enjoy it. I do hope that in future books, the romance gets fleshed out a little more and that there is a clearer plot. While this book was excellent in character development and introducing us into the whole plot, I do recognize that not much has actually happened. I would really love to see more of the romance but also, more of a fleshed out plot.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I simply cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I also look forward to reading other books by the author in the future. The Tearings is a great start to this series and I do recommend it for anyone who likes an easy, yet interesting and captivating read.

Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All views expressed here are my own.


So yep, that's about it for today! Go here to check out the other tour stops! You'll find loads of awesome stuff on the other tour sites too! :D

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