Okay, this shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. It's not coming as a shock to me. I've been in semi-denial for the last year, thinking that I was just going through a blogging slump. But the truth is, it's not a slump. I'm done. And it's a good kind of done. I accomplished all the goals I wanted in blogging. I made new friends, new connections, and read a lot of great books.


I am going to continue to review books, however it will exclusively be on GoodReads and Amazon now. I haven't been writing reviews either of those places recently because I've been thinking "Oh. I should review those on my blog." And that's silly. Because I don't end up doing EITHER.

I'm currently going through a culling of my GoodReads friends; so if I don't recognize your name you're probably gonna be gone soon. If you'd still like to see my reviews, I'd recommend "following" me on GoodReads instead of "friending." (The event invitations and book recommendations are just becoming too much!)

I thought I would be really sad when my blogging finally came to an end, but like I said: I've gotten everything I wanted out of blogging. My life is in a really great spot right now. Many people quit blogging because they are crazy busy, and I guess I'm busy, but I'm busy with stuff that I LOVE. Two weeks from today I start my first day teaching high school, something I've wanted for over ten years. I'm preparing to enter a world-wide cosplay competition. And I'm surrounded by great friends.

Life is good, friends. Life is good.

So even though I won't be on blogger anymore (except maybe sporadically? I dunno). I will still be on Twitter and GoodReads. So I hope we can stay in touch. Maybe I'll even share my FaceBook cosplay page with y'all some day. If I'm feeling brave. ;)

Keep reading, my friends! You're the best!

I have more books for sale! Here they are in picture form. Nearly all are in like-new condition (if you request one that isn't, I'll let you know before you purchase). I'm just running out of space and it's getting way too hard to store all of these books. So I had to go through all of them and ask myself "Will you read this?" If the answer was no, out it went! I just don't have time to read everything!

Request books via this Google Form. Prices are as marked on the google doc. Shipping is $3 for the first book and $1 for each additional book. US only. I accept payment in the form of Paypal and Amazon Gift Cards. ARCs are available to for trade or GC only. Also, if your order is above $20 (before shipping) then you may choose an ARC for free (plus $1 shipping). Shipping costs may be adjusted for larger orders (don't worry, it'd only go down, not up).

I'm offering discounts if you buy multiple books from the same author, too!

And... I think that's it. There are nearly fifty books! I tried to link to the correct GoodReads edition below, so check 'em out and then fill out the Google Form to let me know which ones you'd like! First come (meaning first paid) first serve! No holds. I will be at work until late this afternoon, so please be patient with me in replying to your requests.

Thanks!

AKA Review ALL THE THINGS!

I want to get back into reviewing, but I'm SO far behind on reviews that it seems daunting. Whenever this happens it's time to cue the mini-reviews! Just some simple one-paragraph reviews of the books I've read in the last couple months. That way I don't feel like I'm buried in unwritten reviews and can get back to writing them!

This time I'm going to feature all of the books I've read since February that are sequels. Whether book two, end of a trilogy, etc. The rating for each book is in (parenthesis) next to the title and author name.

Prodigy & Champion, Marie Lu (4.5 flowers)

This series surprised me! I loved that it went in directions that you wouldn't expect, especially when it game to bad guys. Are the bad guys really bad? Are the good guys good? I still don't know! And that's how I like it. Also, I want to live in Antarctica now.

Perfect Lies, Kiersten White (4.5 flowers)

This book is like an episode of Law and Order before bed. Now... if you're me, that sounds like the perfect nighttime plan. Seriously. I love Law and Order before bed. And this book fit that bill perfectly. Full of mystery, a little bit of romance, some tense moments, but nothing that would scar me or even get my blood pumping very hard. A simple, easy, fun read.

Infinite, Jodi Meadows (5 flowers)

Holy crap. What can I say about this book except that IT IS AMAZING. I have adored this whole series, but this one really took the cake. There were certain things revealed that just... whoa. Blew my mind. I'm STILL processing them. And that ending! GAH! That ending gave me so many mixed emotions that my brain still feels backwards. If you haven't read this series, DO IT.


Split Second, Kasie West (5 flowers)

I have no idea why I like this series. I shouldn't. It's primarily a contemporary romance, which as you know I am NOT a fan of. And yet, I love this series. I guess that little paranormal flare is just enough to make it amazing. Or maybe I do like CR and just don't know it... regardless, even though there were moments in this book where I thought things like "Well that's convenient" it was immediately coupled with "But I don't care, because I LOVE IT!" This is another series that I see as primarily fluffy, but not without depth and intrigue. Plus I love the characters!

Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Laini Taylor (4 flowers)

Just finished this one yesterday. Honestly, I found this book pretty slow. Felt like not a lot happened. But also honestly, I didn't really care. The writing is beautiful. The characters are beautiful. The story is beautiful. So a little slowness couldn't hurt.

At first I was like "You're going to end there!? THERE?! Are there going to be four books in this 'trilogy'?!"

But then I was like "Oh. Okay. Actually. This is a super fantastical awesome ending. I am happy. And so is my imagination."

Okay. Fine. I'm biting the bullet. I'm posting pictures of me dressed as a weirdo. Mostly to explain my current absence. I am desperately trying to finish THREE costumes (one for me, two for other people) in the next two days. So.. fine. I might delete this post, but here I am dressed as fictional characters. I'll even post reference pictures for y'all.

What have I done?!

Lan Fan Reference Image. This is Fan-Art, and the black/silver is actually inverted. Mine is correct. ;)

This is Lan Fan. She was my first ever "official" cosplay. She comes from the anime, "Fullemtal Alchemist: Brotherhood" I made everything, including the robotic arm, which is made from thermally molded plastic.

River Song Reference Image

This was my second ever cosplay, and my first dress. This is River Song, from Dr. Who, who is my favorite fictional character of all time. Yes, even more than Enna. Not a lot more, but more. Honestly, I'm not very proud of this costume. It was my first time making a dress, and it turned out big and bulky and awkward. But it was fun. And I like that wig.

Crona Reference Image

I actually had a couple costumes in between River Song and Crona, but... I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share those yet. Crona was actually thrown together last minute just as a joke. My roommate dressed up as Ragnarok and I carried her around piggyback. But We were very popular at the convention!

Midna Reference Picture

Finally, here's Midna! This is probably the costume I'm now most well-known for, and she's definitely my favorite to wear (though it takes about 2 hours to put it all on). I've also won several awards for this costume. Pretty trophies. Midna is from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess which is my favorite game of all time. I feel so pretty when I get to step into her skin.

All of the white detailing on the cloak and skirt was appliqued on. Which means every piece of that MONSTER design is SEWN on. Just the cloak took me nearly 50 hours. It's about 8-9 feet across and 6 feet tall. The heels that I wore in this costume made me about 6 feet tall as well. It's quite the feat to move around it.

So... there I am in all my nerdy glory. Now, back to sewing! I've got three Amestrian Military uniforms to finish before Saturday! Eeps!

*cough* Um. Hello. I'm not dead. Even though I apparently forgot about March. It was a whirlwind month. But even though I haven't been blogging, I have finished my student teaching, accepted the job of my dreams, and will be receiving my diploma in 3 weeks.  And believe it or not, I actually HAVE been reading during all that. A lot of reading, actually. I just don't have much time to write down my thoughts anymore.

Actually... the reason I don't have much time to blog, is because my cosplay hobby has kinda taken over my life. In a good way. I love it. But that brings me to to the topic of this post: my secret identity.

If you're new (ha! Why in the world would I have new readers?) then maybe you don't know this: I have a secret identity. In the almost seven years that I have been blogging I have NEVER shown my face on my blog. When I take pictures in public book-places I always cover my face with a book. It's my quirk.

This is in direct odds with my cosplay persona. Cosplay is all about showing yourself off, face included.

And hence my trouble. I REALLY want to share with you guys some of my cosplay pictures (even though I'm pretty sure most of you don't care, I'm just kinda proud of myself), but at the same time I've always been stupidly proud of having a "secret identity." Even though most of you who still read the blog I have met in person, and so it doesn't really matter.

Anyway... this post isn't really about anything. It's mostly to let you know that I'm alive, and I am THINKING about posting. And that's a good thing, right?

Release Date: March 4th, 2014
Genre: Romance, Political Intrigue
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 368
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Blurb: An okay read, but never really grabbed me.

Review: I've heard some people say that fans of the Grisha Trilogy will like this book. And eh... I think I can see where they're coming from. But I adore the GT, and this book... was just okay.

Does this book have a lot of politics? Honestly... not really. I felt like we never really got to see the inner workings of their world. The class systems and heirarchy were mentioned, but never fully explored. I didn't really get to know anyone but the two main characters. And so all I got was two perspectives when I wanted a lot more. And I don't mean I wanted a multiple POV book, just a more diverse cast of characters. Or even better, a more in depth exploration of those characters.

Was the love story interesting? Yes. It was very interesting to see the two main characters struggle with their loyalty to their culture, and to each other. That was something unique. And I appreciated that neither character was willing to throw either away easily. In most cases like this it seems that the characters decide to forget everything they've known for their whole lives and just run off together, OR they decide that the only way they can move forward is to completely abandon each other. Not so in The Winner's Curse. The characters wrestled very well with their conflicting emotions.

But in the end, I'm not quite sure I was invested enough to crave the sequel. I might pick it up someday if I get the chance. But I would recommend you get this one from the library before buying it.

*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Narrator: Jack Garrett
Genre: High Fantasy
Producer: Recorded Books

Story Review: So... I wasn't a huge fan of this story. And the more that I think about it the more holes I find. I've had an irrational "thing" against Brandon Sanderson for a while, though. So I don't know if my word is trustworthy in this case.

But in the end I found the story nice, but the novel not so much. That's why I'm glad I listened to it as an audiobook. The great narration almost made up for the not-as-good writing. And although I was very interested to know what would happen in the story, it was the "I almost want to just go read a synopsis" kind of interested. Not "I'm cherishing every word." Because honestly, there were just too many things that annoyed me. (like if he said "Kolo" ONE MORE TIME I was gonna smack somebody)

Audio Review: On the other hand, the audio was great! I thought Garrett did an awesome job portraying all the many different voices, male and female, and making it clear who was talking even when the novel wasn't super clear. I also liked that this was a LONG audiobook. Now that I listen to audiobooks as I drive to and from work (so at least an hour a day, and more if I decide to clean my apartment) I like having a book that can stay with me for a while.

Today's TV Tuesday is going to be short, but oh-so-sweet. Because GUESS WHAT?! Austenland is finally out on DVD! So if you weren't able to see it in theatres, now is your chance! Click here to check it out on Amazon. They've also been running some fun contests on Facebook!

I really enjoyed this movie. Was it different from the book? Yes. Quite a lot. But I think the changes made were necessarily for the translation from page to screen. And honestly? I thought the changes were WONDERFUL because it meant that some things in the movie were still a surprise to me! it was like getting a whole new Austenland that was just as good as the original!

And the CAST! Oh man. Do not get me started on the cast. Everyone was brilliant! I really don't think I could have come up with a single person who could have done a better job.

So in a nutshell: BUY THE MOVIE!!!

Trailer

Release Date: September 18th, 2012
Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Romance?
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 584
Rating:
Amazon Link*: Click here
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

Blurb: How can a book so long leave me wanting so much more?!

Review: This book... whoa. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't this. I think I assumed this book was a straight-up horror. And while there are a lot of horror/thriller elements, there is so much more. It's got horror, supernatural powers, steampunk, romance, and more. In fact, there is so much in this book, that one book can't contain it. And it doesn't, unfortunately.

The sequel to this book comes out this fall, and I don't know how people have waited so long. When I reached the end of this book I felt like a thousand gallons of information and plot had been poured over me, and yet I was still missing things! Because of this I began to doubt the book. I had read it primarily over the holiday break, and so I had large chunks of time to devote to it. Did that make it seem faster-paced than it really was? Would I have been bored by this book if I had been reading it in 30-60 minute intervals? I don't know.

What I do know, is that the characters seemed very interesting and complex. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, because I couldn't relate to them. But I still found them fascinating. And every twist and turn of the plot kept me on my toes and wondering if it really was magic, or if someone was just imitating magic. And even though I didn't feel like there was much of a cliffhanger at the end of this book I have SO MANY unanswered questions that I await the sequel with baited breath.

Other Reviews:

• TBA (Loved it!) 
• TBA (It was okay)
• TBA (Didn't Like It.)

*I am an amazon affiliate. If you purchase this book using my link, I will get a tiny fraction of the purchase, which goes toward contests.