Fall Into Reading 2012: Wrap-Up

Hard to believe it’s December 21 already and time to write my Fall Into Reading 2012 Challenge Wrap-up!

Back on September 21, I set a challenge to read 8 books which would finish out my 2012 Reading Challenge on GoodReads as well. In October I didn’t think I had much luck meeting the goal because of NaNo. But I not only met the goal, I exceeded it by reading 14 books.

The Books

Man, Oh Man! Writing M/M Fiction for Kinks & Cash

Rock Your Plot: A Simple System for Plotting Your Novel

Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love and Money

Ice Hockey Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide

The Wrap-Up

Looking over the 8 books I thought I’d read over the three months, the only one in common with this list is Cinder.

Four of the books I read over Thanksgiving weekend. FOUR. And once I started Josh Lanyon’s Adrien English series, I couldn’t stop until I finished all five. Ethan, Who Loved Carter I read in a single night. Once I started I couldn’t seem to stop.

Of these 14 books, my favorite was The Dark Tide, largely because it was the last one in a 5-book series and I was very happy with how it ended. 😉 It’s a mystery series, and I’ve never really read mystery before. I know why now…I’m not all that fond of it as a genre. The characters in the books, however, had me captivated from book 1, page 1. I am looking forward to reading more of Josh Lanyon’s books, perhaps even the mysteries because I love the way he writes characters.

In January I’ll do a full wrap up of all 56 (and counting??) books I read in 2012.

December 21, 2012December 21, 2012christiespeich 2 Comments

Friday Finds: 5 Young Adults — Sci-fi, Paranormal, Contemporary Romances (October 19, 2012)

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Should Be Reading and showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

Some weeks I add several books to my list. I’ll be limiting my Friday Finds posts to 5 books each week. Those that don’t make this week’s list will be on next week’s. So many books, so little time!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: I just read Cinder and need to read the next book in the series!

Summary:

Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Serial Hottie by Kelly Oram
Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: I love tomboy protagonists and this one sounds like it will be fun.

Summary:

Hockey-obsessed tomboy Eleanor Westley has never been the object of a guy’s affection before. So when the hottest boy she’s ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she’s the center of his universe, naturally she’s going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right? The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she’s convinced he’s a psychopathic killer. Problem is, he’s the sweetest psychopathic killer she’s ever met. Not to mention he’s brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t help but fall for him. Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?

Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones
Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: Love triangle + mystery = intrigued

Summary:

Ten years ago, Lorelei’s parents disappeared without a trace. Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home. For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be. Until the day the school’s designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it, standing outside her house in the dark, night after night. Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school. Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity. What does Jared know about her parents? Why does Cameron tell Jared he can’t have Lorelei? And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real? Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones’s first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: Time and space travel romance, sounds angsty and romantic.

Summary:

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie
Goodreads | Amazon
Why I Added It: Sounds like a little bit of humor but possibly a bad boy love interest too?

Summary:

When River auditions for a part in an inter-school performance of Romeo and Juliet, she finds herself smitten by Flynn, the boy playing Romeo. But Flynn comes from a damaged family—is he even capable of giving River what she wants? The path of true love never did run smooth …
This is real life, not a rehearsal…

October 19, 2012October 15, 2012christiespeich Leave a comment

Teaser Tuesday: Cinder by Marissa Meyer (October 9, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

She was usually able to ignore the jealousy she had toward her stepsisters — how Adri doted on them, how soft their hands were — especially when Peony was the only human friend she had. But she could not swallow the twitch of envy at seeing Peony in that dress.

~ pg 34-35, Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella set in futurist New Beijing. I don’t usually read science fiction, but I’m really enjoying this so far. The Cinderella aspects seem to be just the beginning, and I’m fascinated by the way Marissa Meyer has twisted the well-known fairy tale into something brand new.

Here’s the Goodreads summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

October 9, 2012October 5, 2012christiespeich 5 Comments

2012 Fall Into Reading Challenge

2012 Fall Into Reading Katrina, at Callapidder Days, is once again hosting the awesome Fall Into Reading challenge. The idea is to choose a list of books you want to read between the start of Fall (September 22nd) and the start of Winter (December 21st). And then read them!

Waaaay back in January, I set a goal to read 50 books in 2012. At the time, it felt like a goal that would require quite a bit of stretching to reach. Well, here I am on September 22 and I only have to finish 8 more books to complete my goal.

So that’s my goal for Fall Into Reading : 8 books.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is choosing which 8 books!

Here’s a tentative list, in no certain order, pulled from my to-be-read list. Honestly, I’ll be really surprised if these end up being the 8 books I read. But it’s a start!