Always Me

I can't believe March is coming to a close already - meaning 6 of the 24 tasks for  Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge  are complete!  The tasks I completed required me to read a   book published posthumously and a celebrity memoir.  For the tasks, I selected  The Opposite of Loneliness  by Maria Keegan  and  As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride  by Cary Elwes  respectively.  Read on to see my mini reviews and what's next for April: ❋  ❋  ❋ The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan strikes me as optimal reading for current high school seniors or college students. Keegan's potential as a writer is palpable. If she had had more time to develop her voice she might have become the voice of a generation. As it is, though, she's not quite there. Personally, I think I preferred her short stories to her essays, except for the title essay. That essay reads like the co...

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Freda's Voice , Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader , and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader  and  Laura @ Blue Eye Books . For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs. This week I'm spotligh...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Books That Take Place In Another Country.  Here we go, in no particular order: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I had no clue that this was set in Australia until I started listening to the audiobook and realized everyone was speaking with Australian accents. Sadia by Colleen Nelson - This MG/ YA Contemporary follows a Muslim Syrian immigrant to Canada. Never, Never and Never Again by K.M. Breakey - This new release is primarily set in post-apartheid South Africa and covers current events in the country. Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones - This YA Fantasy Mystery is set during the Regency Era in London, England. Warcross by Marie Lu - This epic new series opener by Marie Lu takes place in Tokyo, Japan when the characters aren't in game. Want by Cindy Pon - Pon's #OwnVoices debut YA Sci-...

I'm very excited to welcome you all to my leg of the  Full Fusion  blog tour , hosted by  Rockstar Book Tours !   Today, you'll find the details and summary for this novel, an exclusive excerpt, an about the author, N.J. Damschroder, a giveaway, and the blog tour schedule.  Thanks for visiting my stop on this b log tour! About The Book: Title:  FULL FUSION (The Fusion Series Volume 1) Author:  NJ Damschroder Pub. Date:  June 4, 2014 Publisher:  Dragonsoul YA  Pages:  322 Formats:  Paperback,   eBook Find it:  Amazon ,  B&N ,  iBooks ,  TBD ,  Goodreads Eighteen-year-old Roxie Sebastian lives a charmed life, and she knows it. Too bad she can't feel it.  All her life, she's felt disconnected from the world around her. Everything changes just before graduation, when she's drawn to an eerie, brilliant light-which narrowly misses her as it blow...

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url. "How Long" by Charlie Puth (2017) - Honestly, this is the only song I like by Puth - I didn't have high expectations at all when I first heard this.  Imagine my surprise.  By the way, I actually had no idea what he looked liked before I watched this video for the first time. "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars (2017) -...

❋  ❋  I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The kingdom of Innis Lear has been drained of it's magic and vitality due to the decisions of an old king obsessed with prophecies. Enemies know the country is weak and are willing to do what it takes to wrest some control into their own hands. The king's three daughters, Gaela (ready to do anything for war), Reagan (cunning and manipulative), and Elia (almost a perfect Disney-esque princess) know that a new monarch needs to be crowned to bring the kingdom back to its old power and defend itself, but their father won't select an heir until the longest night of the year when prophesies will align. The three sisters are unwilling to wait and let such an important decision be left to chance so they must prepare for war while their island kingdom must brace itself for the fallout of a house divided. Firstly, I want to mention that the ARC I received from NetGalley was only a "Preview Excerpt...

❋  ❋  ❋  ❋   ❋ I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Grace is a wing walker for a barnstorming team and she only feels truly alive when she's 500 feet in the air. She is determined to prove her team's skill against other flashier teams by getting into the World Aviation Expo, and earn a coveted Hollywood contract. No one has questioned the reasons behind the death defying stunts she performs until Henry, a kind and loyal young man scarred from his tour of duty on Great War battlefields a few years earlier, joins the barnstorming team as their new mechanic. With each trick, he pushes her to consider why she's such a daredevil. Despite her annoyance with his interference, she realizes she's beginning to like him and she continues to push her limits in the air. When one of her tricks saves a pilot's life, her team is invited to the Expo and she jumps at the opportunities it offers. After a stunt goes wrong, however, she is forced to ...

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by  Freda's Voice , Book Beginnings, hosted by  Rose City Reader , and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader  and  Laura @ Blue Eye Books . For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs. This week I'm spotlig...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by  That Artsy Reader Girl .  This week's topic is Books On My Spring TBR.  This week I'm sharing ARCs and challenge books I plan on reading in April and May.  Here we go: Children of Daedala by Caighlan Smith  - I'll be reading this ARC very soon - and it sound like this dystopian has potential with a labyrinth as a major feature. Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt  - I'll also be reading this ARC this Spring as well - it's sounds like it'll be pretty cute with a girl who's classic literary crushes come to life. The Oddling Prince by Nancy Springer  - This ARC I've been approved for is a fantasy set in ancient Scotland, how cool is that! A Graveyard Visible by Steve Conoboy  - I can't wait to try this ARC of this YA horror novel.  Doesn't that cover look great? The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at t...

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately!  If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below. Rules: Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately.  It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others.  If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s). If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url. This week I'm spotlighting a couple of my recent favorite songs by Bishop Briggs  - "White Flag" (2018) and "Dream" (2017) .  I love her unique voice and style.  If you'd like to learn more about her, check out her Twitter , YouTube , and website .