Bout of Books 10.0 Challenge: If you like X, try Y

I just got up around 6:30 Eastern Time and started reading.  I have only read about 10% (15 pages) of my first book for #boutofbooks, but I thought I would go ahead and do the Bout of Books challenge for today.  This will also be posted on Twitter.

Let's get started!  Today's challenge is to recommend a book in the format of "If you like ____, try ____".

I am going to make a few recommendations based on my recent reads. Here they are:

If you like paranormal romance, try Rippler by Cidney Swanson.

If you like Christian fiction, try The Sinner's Garden by William Sirls.

If you like historical fiction, try Frame 232 by Wil Mara.

If you like YA books with strong female leads, try Pivot Point by Kasie West.











This challenge was hosted by The Book Barbies.  Go check out her blog :)

Bout of Books Goals and Updates

As the bout of books read-a-thon approaches, I am making an official goals post.  Link your goals in the comments if you are also participating.  Throughout the week, I will update this post to update you on my progress.  I will also be making daily update posts where I state what I have accomplished in detail and my thoughts on each day of reading.  Also, follow me on twitter (@blog_gal) for updates.

 

Time Devoted to Reading

I will read at least 200 pages everyday.

My Goals

• Read 200 pages everyday (total of 1400)
• Participate in all Twitter chats
• Watch the #boutofbooks live air chat
• Participate in all challenges

Books to Read (This is tentative)

• "Endless" by Amanda Gray (Given for Review via Netgalley)- 384 pages
• "Deception" by Stacy Claflin (Given for Review from Author)-365 pages
• "Unusual Awakening" by S.M. Knowles (Blog Tour)-204 pages
• "Awakening Dream" by S.M. Knowles (Blog Tour)-234 pages
• "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach (Epic Rec)-112 pages
• "The Legacy Letters" by Carew Papritz (Given for Review by Author)-248 pages
• Finish "Thrive" by Mark Hall- approx. 108 pages remaining
• Finish "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis- 111 pages
• Finish "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien- 211 pages remaining
• Finish "Chosen" by Ted Dekker-57 pages remaining

This is a total of 2034 pages.  This is obviously larger than my goal of 1400 pages, so I am not planning on reading/finishing all of these books.  We will see how it goes :)

Updates

Monday

Number of books started today: 2
Number of books finished today: 2
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 245
Challenges completed: 2 ("If you like X, try Y" and Introduce Yourself)
Twitter chats: 1 (2-3 PM EST)
Books:

• Started and Finished Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver (144 pages)
• Finished Chosen by Ted Dekker (pages 230-260; 30 pages)
• Started Unusual Awakening by S.M. Knowles (40%; 71 pages) 

Full update for Monday  
  

Tuesday


Number of books started today: 1
Number of books finished today: 1
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 210
Challenges completed: 2 (Bookish Battle Royal and Most Anticipated Books)
Twitter chat: N/A
Books:

• Finished Unusual Awakening by S.M. Knowles (last 60%; 107 pages)
• Started Awakening Dream by S.M. Knowled (44%; 103 pages)

 Full update for Tuesday

Wednesday

Number of books started today: 0
Number of books finished today: 1
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 247
Challenges completed: 1 (This Made Me Think of That)
Twitter chats: 1 (9-10 PM EST)
Books: 

• Finished Awakening Dream (44%-end; 131 pages)
• Continued Thrive (76%-87%; 25 pages)
• Read some out of my Bible from the Book of Job and the Book of Psalm (5 pages)
• Continued reading Deception (15%-38%; 86 pages) 

Full update for Wednesday
 

Thursday

Number of books started today: 1 audiobook and 3 regular books
Number of books finished today: 1
Number of books DNF: 2
Pages read: 216
Challenges Completed: 1 (Spell It Out Challenge)
Twitter chat: N/A
Books:

• I began an Audiobook of The Scorch Trials by James Dashner yesterday, but I did not get far at all (less than 3 minutes).  I continued the Audiobook today and finished part one and went onto a little of part 2 so that I could finish the 8th chapter (1 hr 15 min; Chapters 1-8; 11% complete)
• Continued and Finished Thrive by Mark Hall (86%-end; 30 pages)
• Started Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic (page 1-17; 17 pages) 
• Started and DNF Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn (page 1-30; 30 pages)
• Started and DNF Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson (page 1-16; 16 pages)
• Continued Deception by Stacy Clafin (38%-71%; 123 pages)

Full Update for Thursday


Friday

Number of books started today: 0
Number of books finished today: 0
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 30
Challenges completed: 0
Twitter chats: N/A
Books:

• Continued Deception (71%-79%; 30 pages)

Saturday 

Number of books started today: 1
Number of books finished today: 1
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 112
Challenges completed: 1
Twitter chats: 0
Books:

• Continued and Finished Deception by Stacy Claflin (79%-100%; 79 pages)
• Started My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson (pg 7-40 [book started at page 7]; 33 pages)

Sunday 

Number of books started today: 0
Number of books finished today: 0
Number of books DNF: 0
Pages read: 107
Challenges completed: 1
Twitter chats: N/A
Books:

• Continued My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson (pg 40-149; 107 pages)  

Total

Number of books started: 7 regular and 1 audiobook
Number of books started and completed: 3
Number of books completed that were started before B.O.B. 10.0:3
Number of books DNF: 2
Pages read: 1167
Challenges completed: 8
Twitter chats: 2
Books: 

• Started and Finished Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver (144 pages)
• Finished Chosen by Ted Dekker (pages 230-260; 30 pages)
• Started and Finished Unusual Awakening by S.M. Knowles (178 pages)
• Started  and Finished Awakening Dream by S.M. Knowles (234 pages)
• Continued and Finished Thrive (76%-100%; 55 pages)
• Read some out of my Bible from the Book of Job and the Book of Psalm (5 pages)
• Continued and Completed Deception by Stacy Clafin (15%-100%; 318 pages) 
• Audiobook of The Scorch Trials by James Dashner (1 hr 15 min; Chapters 1-8; 11% complete)
• Started Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic (page 1-17; 17 pages) 
• Started and DNF Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn (page 1-30; 30 pages)
• Started and DNF Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson (page 1-16; 16 pages)
• Started My Name is Chloe by Melody Carlson (pg 7-149 [book started at page 7]; 142 pages)

The template for this post was provided by Bout of Books.

Blog Tour, Giveaway, and Review: Lost and Found

 

Tour Schedule

 

Lost and Found by Karey White

Lydia was supposed to have an adventurous and exciting summer. Instead she's done nothing more than read and eat takeout. Now it's time to go home, and what does she have to show for it? A big fat nothing. Unless, of course, her trip to the airport somehow turns into something more than just a flight home.
 
Blake feels like he's been sent on a wild goose chase. While work is piling up back in Denver, he's on the other side of the country, hunting for some mysterious box that his grandfather left him. Well, no more. Nothing inside that box could possibly be more important than the opportunity to make it as the youngest partner at his firm. So he's going home, and that's that. But that's before he discovers his flight has been cancelled.

When these two strangers meet at the airport, they make a split-second decision to search for the box together. Maybe with both of them on the hunt, Lydia can have her adventure and Blake can find the box. And maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll even find some romance.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

 

 

Review

I enjoyed this book, but I could not get past the premise.  Two people meet at an airport and they decide to cancel their plans and spend two days together.  I do not think that this is realistic.  I really enjoyed the romance aspects of the book and the other parts of the book, but I could not get past this premise.

 

 

Rating

5/5

 

Author Karey White

Karey is a USA Today best-selling author. She grew up in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Missouri. She attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University. Her first novel, Gifted, was a Whitney Award Finalist.

She loves to travel, read, cook, and spend time with family and friends. She and her husband are the parents of four wonderful children.




 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

 

 

The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series

Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors.




"Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love."




Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford




Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin




Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson




Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White




Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver




Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

 

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash




Ends 5/12/14




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review of Chameleon by Cidney Swanson

Book Title: Chameleon

Author: Cidney Swanson

Publish Date: September 6, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series Name: Ripple

Plot (from Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her ALIVE. And of course, Sam’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air.

When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter—their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.

But Sam isn’t any safer in France. Someone is following her. Someone invisible. Sam will have to figure out how to hide from an enemy she can’t even see.

Why I Read this Book: I received a free electronic copy of the book for review purposes from the author.  This in no way influenced my review of the book.

 

Review 

I really love this series.  It has a rich plot and dynamic characters.  Although the plot has some scifi/fantasy elements, it is realistic.  The romance aspect is a little cheesy and predictable, but it is still suspenseful and lovely. Every page is filled with action and suspense.  This book has a few new characters that are introduced and I really enjoyed them.   I cannot tell you too much about this book without giving away parts of the series because it is a sequel.  Just know that this series should be on your TBR list if you have not read it yet.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any Age

Overall Rating: 4/5

Thursday Tags: The Book Cake Tag

This week's tag is entitled "The Book Cake Tag".  This is a tag where you relate books to ingredients in a cake.  I found this tag over at Ariel Bissett's Booktube Channel. You should go check out all the amazing things that Ariel is doing on her channel, but you should also check out the video of the creator of the tag, suddenlylorna.

1. Self-rising Flour: a book that started out slow, but ended up exciting

I did not enjoy this book at first, but I received a copy of it through GoodReads FirstReads and so I continued reading the book until the end.  I really enjoyed the last half of the book.  Michelle Barker just took her time at the beginning of the book to do some world building and I respect that.

2. Butter: (the richness in the cake): a book that has a rich plot

This book has the best plot of any book that I have read in a long time.  Addison has the ability to see into the future and see the what would happen if she makes one choice compared to another choice.  Addison's parents are getting a divorce and she has to choose which parent she wants to live with.  The book chapters alternate between what would happen if she chose to live with her mom versus what would happen if she chose to live with her dad.  Although the alternating chapters were confusing at first, I got accustomed to this quickly and I really enjoyed this book!

3. Eggs: a book that you thought would be bad but turned out to be really good

The premise of this book is really dark.  The kingdom that Alexa lives in chooses to rape young girls in order to increase the numbers of their army.  Although this premise is really disturbing, that is not the main plot of the book.  Alexa is forced to dress as a man and serve in the king's army in order to avoid being raped.  Alexa defends her kingdom even though she does not like some of the things that her kingdom does to their citizens.  Alexa gets abducted by a neighboring kingdom and this is when the book really starts to pick up.  The world and the character building in this book are amazing and I am glad that I stuck with this book until the end.

4. Sugar: a sweet book

If you have been following my blog recently, you know how much I have enjoyed "A Ripple Effect Romance" novella series.   This is a clean romance series where a minor character from each book is chosen to be a mjor character in the next book.  These are super sweet cheesy romance stories that I really have enjoyed.

5. Icing: covers a lot of elements that I look for in a good book

Ted Dekker has a way of writing that is like no other author that I have ever known.  If you have ever read any of his books. you know that he is the king of suspense and plot development.  I love when authors use suspense well!  Ted Dekker also has great character building skills.  The characters in his novels are very dynamic.  Ted Dekker also adds a touch of fantasy in his Lost Books  series and oh man I do love fantasy!  Dekker also is very vocal about his faith and includes symbolism in many of his novels.

6. Sprinkles: the series that you keep coming back to that always makes you happy

This was a hard category to choose a series for, but I ended up choosing the Harry Potter series.  I grew up reading this series and it always brings back a lot of memories for me.  My favorite thing about this series is how J.K. Rowling never writes anything into her stories that are not important.  It seems like everything has a purpose to her stories.  For example, the book that was stabbed with the basilisk fang in the second book had a lot more meaning than was originally known by the reader.  Rowling's books are like puzzles and this keeps me coming back to this series to see if I can find anything else in the series that I did not notice before.

Bout of Books 10 Official Sign Up

I am so excited to announce that I am going to participate in the Bout of Books 10 Read-a-thon.  I would love if you would join me in this read-a-thon.  I chose to do this read-a-thon because it is just after my semester of college ends and I have been dying to read some more books.  Here is the official blurb about the read-a-thon:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I usually read approximately 200-300 pages in a week so my goals for this read-a-thon are:

1. To participate in all of the challenges and twitter chats 
2. To read at least 200 pages a day (or the Kindle book equivalent) for a total of 1400 pages, or approximately a book a day

Expect at least one post a day from me during this week.  As for the books that I will be reading, I am hoping to get through some of the books that I have received for review as well as continue reading the Lost Books series by Ted Dekker and the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Here is a list of all the challenges and chats:

Challenges/Giveaways

Monday 5/12
If you like X, try Y -- The Book Barbies

Tuesday 5/13
Bookish Battle Royal -- My Life in Books
Books You're Looking Forward To -- River City Reading

Wednesday 5/14
Book Pairings -- My Overstuffed Shelves

Thursday 5/15
Spell It Out Challenge -- kimberlyfaye reads

Friday 5/16
Cover Scavenger Hunt -- Book Monsters
Rainbow Book Challenge -- Neon Yeti Reads

Saturday 5/17
Show an Author Some Love -- Doing Dewey

Sunday 5/18
Retitle Your Current Read -- Oh Magic Hour


Twitter Chats
(chats last approximately one hour)
TZC = Time Zone Conversion

Monday: 1pm CST (TZC)
Wednesday: 8pm CST (TZC)
Saturday: 10am CST (TZC)

Thursday Tags: Top 5 Most Embarrassing Unread Books

I would like to start a weekly section entitled "Thursdays Tags" where I do some of those popular tags about books that are floating around the internet.  The first tag that I am doing is my top 5 most embarrassing unread books.  I found this tag over at For the Love of Books.  So here it is in no particular order.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia Series

I am working on this one currently.  As a Christian and a fanatic about children's fiction (escpecially when it involves fantasy), I cannot believe that I have not read this whole series.  I am working on it though.







2. Cinder

This is a fairytale retelling and it has cyborgs! Why have I not read this yet? I have been wanting to read this book for over a year now because I have heard so many good reviews over this series, but I haven't gotten my hands on this one yet.  The key word here is yet.








3. The Darkest Minds

The fact that this seems to be dystopian and it involves children with powers they cannot control is the central reason that I have to have this book.  I want to read it so bad and it doesn't help that everyone has such positive reviews of it!







4. Any Brandon Sanderson novel

I absolutely adore fantasy novels and yet somehow I have not read any of Brandon Sanderson's novels.  This has to be fixed soon!









5. Fangirl

This story involves a college girl how is a fanatic about a series that is similar to Harry Potter.  I am in college. I love Harry Potter.  I must read this book!







I
f you have read any of these books, comment below on what you thought about them.  I would love to hear your opinions.  What are your most embarrassing unread books?

Children's Book Review Tuesday: Picture Books

Book Title: Eric, The Boy Who Lost His Gravity

Author: Jenni Desmond

Publish Date: March 11, 2014

 Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

 

Review

This book was not my favorite picture book.  The illustrations were not very pleasing.  I did love how the illustrations took up the whole page.  The story did not have much of a plot.  It was very simple.  I think that this book had potential, but I do not think it would be very memorable for a child.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  5-8

Overall Rating: 2/5

Book Title: Scribbles and Ink: The Contest

Author: Ethan Long

Publish Date: September 10, 2013

 Why I Read this Book: I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from Edelweiss.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

 

Review

The illustrations in this book where drawn by the characters in the book.  I think that this was a great idea.  The story line was simple, yet really creative.  I think that children would really enjoy these books.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  5-8

Overall Rating: 5/5

Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Righting a Wrong by Rachael Anderson

Tour Schedule

Righting a Wrong by Rachael Anderson

Seven years ago, Cambri Blaine fled her small hometown of Bridger, Colorado after her senior year ended in a fiasco. Only Jace Sutton knew the real reason why—that she was a spineless coward. Now, seven years later, her father's been in an accident and needs help, and Cambr has no choice but to return home. So with trepidation, she takes a leave of absence from the landscape architecture firm where she works and boards a plane, hoping against hope that Jace is no longer around and that the past can stay where it belongs—in the past.

If only life worked that way.

Jace never expected to see Cambri again. After she’d led him on, bruised his heart, and left town without a backward glance, he was forced to pick up the pieces and try not to hate her for it. Eventually, he put it behind him and moved on, creating a life for himself in his beloved hometown. But now that Cambri is back and looking more beautiful and sophisticated than ever, some of those old feelings resurface, and Jake instinctively knows, for the sake of his heart, that he needs to avoid her at all costs.

If only it were that easy.

Amazon * Kobo * Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

Review



I absolutely love this book, although it isn't my favorite in the series.  This book was full of heartbreak, suspense, and healing hearts.  I loved the characters in this novella because they are full of depth.  They change throughout the story, but you begin to feel like you know each of the characters in the story, even the minor characters, which can be a difficult task for a novella.  I would recommend this novella to any avid reader.

Author Rachael Anderson

A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series

Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors.


"Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love."





Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford




Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin




Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson




Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White




Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver




Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash




Ends 4/28/14




a Rafflecopter giveaway