My goal was to read 50 books this year, something I thought I could do because it seems like I read a lot (at least compared to other people I know.) But I just didn't do it. I read 41 books this year. Not too shabby I guess. But next year I plan to really make this goal! I think I may have made it and not known it though, because I only started this blog and started keeping track with goodreads in the middle of the year. I tried to remember all the books I had read but I might have missed a few. So here are all the books I managed to finish: (Not in a particular order. They were at first but as I went back to link reviews, happily I found more!)

1. Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler
2. Stolen by Lucy Christopher
3. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
4. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
5. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
6. Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
7. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
8. Matched by Ally Condie
9. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
10. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
11. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
12. It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
13. Tweet Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick
14. Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
15. Take Me There by Carolee Dean
16. L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
17. The Mark by Jen Nadol
18. Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson
19. Recovery Road by Blake Nelson
20. Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
21. Anya's Ghost by Bera Brosgol
22. Mercury by Hope Larson
23. Americus by M.K. Reed
24. Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gullege
25. Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles 
26. Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles
27. The Rising Moon by Nlisa Rodriguez
28. Choker by Elizabeth Woods
29. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
30. The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela
31. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
32. Burned by Ellen Hopkins
33. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
34. Switched by Amanda Hocking (Review coming soon!)
35. My Teenage Beating Heart by C.K. Kelly Martin
36. Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
37. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
38. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
39. Swoon by Nina Malkin 
40. You Are Not Here by Samatha Schutz
41. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

And that's it for me! There are some AMAZING books coming up for 2012, and I can't wait to read them, and hopefully smash my goal of 50 books. 2011 was my first year blogging and I'm happy to say it was a great year. Bloggers as well as readers have been great to me. Thanks to anyone who has followed, read, or commented. You guys rock!

So what did you read this year? What was your favorite book? Did you do an end of the year post? Link it up or tell me in the comments and I'll be happy to check it out. :D

--Alexis

IMM time! And this IMM is extra special because  it's the day after Christmas. No matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope you had/are having a great one. :)
Of course In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.This week I got a package full of amazingness, and a Sailor Moon manga that I have already finished. In like an hour. (I'm kind of a Sailor Moon fan-girl.)





I cannot even begin to talk about what's in the package of amazingness; from signed bookmarks to pins and pens and of course the Pledge poster (signed!). It's great. I want to do a little shout out to Ashley @ What's Your Story for hosting the giveaway where I won this from. :) (Please click the link and check her out!)

That's all for me this week. What did you get in your mailbox? Please let me know in the comments or leave a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out.

--Alexis

It's In My Mailbox time! As always In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. I haven't posted an IMM for two weeks because I haven't had anything IMM.
It was going to be that same way again this week, but to my surprise I did have something in my mailbox! It came about 30 minutes ago, and I was so excited that I had to jump on here and write an IMM!

(Insert drum-roll here.....)


It's Cinder by Marissa Meyer! I was really excited when I found out I got an ARC because I had no clue that they were sending me one. I think those are my favorite books, just because of the sheer excitement I get from ripping open a surprise package and diving right in.

What did you get in your mailbox? Just leave a comment letting me know or a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

--Alexis

Title: Because I Am Furniture
Author: Thalia Chaltas
Format: Paperback
Release Date: April 16th, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Source: Amazon
Pages In This Edition: 352
Rating: 4/5

On the Cover:



Beyond the Cover:

Summary from Goodreads:

"Anke's father is abusive to her brother and sister. But not to her. Because, to him, she is like furniture - not even worthy of the worst kind of attention. Then Anke makes the school volleyball team. She loves feeling her muscles after workouts, an ache that reminds her she is real. Even more, Anke loves the confidence that she gets from the sport. And as she learns to call for the ball on the court, she finds a voice she never knew she had. For the first time, Anke is making herself seen and heard, working toward the day she will be able to speak up loud enough to rescue everyone at home - including herself."

Yep. I'm hosting a follower giveaway. This is pretty amazing, considering I never thought I would actually get enough followers to have one. But I did! So I had to think of what I wanted to giveaway. I decided that I had some good books that I had from recent history that needed a new home. The books are lightly used and I hope you would like to win one.

What are the prizes you ask? I've giveaway away two books (which means two winners!): Echoes by Melinda Metz (which is actually a bind up of three novels) and True Love by Lurlene McDaniel (also a bind-up). (I happen to like bind-ups. And writing phrases in parenthesis apparently.)


I'm using rafflecopter for this giveaway, so please only use a name that you feel comfortable being seen! And please spread the word. :)
US RESIDENTS ONLY (Sorry!)
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Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where bloggers talk about upcoming titles that really have them well, waiting about as patiently as a bear getting its first meal after having a long hibernation.

This week I wanted to talk about a book with a release coming up in February that I know I'm pretty excited about but that I haven't heard much buzz in the blogging world; Dead To You by Lisa McMann. The Wake books are still some of my favorite books, well, EVER, so I can't wait for her newest release. :D
"Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable..."

I can't believe I did this. I can't believe I've got 100 followers!!

I want to thank everyone who has ever helped me in the blogging world, or has ever been as kind to comment on or follow my blog.

I'm already brewing up a giveaway.....

So be waiting in the wings for that!

It's time for another In My Mailbox hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme where bloggers talk about the books they have bought, borrowed, or received for review in a week.

I was surprised by another doubled up ARC in my mailbox this week. I had used some "buzz bucks" (from Random Buzzers) to grab an ARC of You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis, and apparently they had already decided to sent me one, so I got two copies!

:D



That's all for me this week! What did you get in your mailbox? Let me know in the comment or leave a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out.

--Alexis

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, where bloggers talk about highly anticipated titles.

This week I wanted to talk about a book that I want. I mean WANT. Like IF I DON'T READ THIS SOON I MIGHT DIE. Not to be overly dramatic of course.


"Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite."

Title: Hold Still
Author: Nina LaCour
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 15th, 2009
Publisher: Dutton
Source: RAK
Pages In This Edition: 230
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

On the Cover:

Beyond the Cover:

Summary (from Goodreads):

"dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can't.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend's suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn't die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid's descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid - and Caitlin herself."

Review:

For me this is a hard book to put words to my feelings. They way this story is told is prefect in so many ways, it's hard to describe. Just the way she talks about Ingrid is heartbreakingly realistic.

It's hard to ignore this book. You put it down but you can't get the story out of your head. Even when you are doing other "more important things", all you want to do is sit down and finish this book, so you can know how the story ends. And the way the story ends will not disappoint you.

And that's probably what I liked most about this novel. The ending. It's just so satisfying in a way that books that usually deal with this kind of subject matter fail at. That's why I read this kind of book; I'm just looking for great ending like the one in Hold Still.

In addition to the great ending, LaCour manages to give a great plot in conjunction with amazing characters. (Even the supporting characters manage to develop and change throughout the book.)

So if you love a good heartfelt read, I would recommend you give this one a try!

What would Sunday be without an In My Mailbox? (Hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren of course. :) )
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme where bloggers talk about the books they've bought, borrowed, or received for review.

This week for me was pretty good! I won a Black Friday giveaway!

These are the books I got: (Ebooks):
1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
2. The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
3. Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
4. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon



That's all for me! What did you get in your mailbox? Just leave a comment letting me know or a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

--Alexis

I just wanted to wish everyone out there a very happy Thanksgiving! I hope you even got to read a little bit too. I know one thing I'm thankful for this year: everyone who reads this blog! :)

--Alexis

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over @ Breaking the Spine where bloggers talk about highly anticipated titles! I haven't done one in a long while but I decided I would start again. :)


"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18B. Hadley's in 18A. 

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it."

It's IMM time again folks! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme where book bloggers talk about the books that they have bought, borrowed, or received for review in a week. As always, IMM is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

This past week was huge for me. And I mean HUGE.

So instead of posting a picture for each book that I got, I decided that taking a group picture would be more efficient.... :D






1. The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card
2. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
4.Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold
5. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
6. Switched by Amanda Hocking (ARC)
7. Hmmm... Switched by Amanda Hocking (ARC)
8 . A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber

Not Pictured (Ebooks):
1. Crossed by Allie Condie
2. Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
3. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

That's all for me this week! What did you get in your mailbox? Just leave a comment letting me know or a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

--Alexis

It's IMM time again! :) In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren where bloggers talk about the books that they've bought, borrowed, or received for review.

This week for me was full of library stuff! (I <3 the library. Sometimes I wonder what I would even do without it.)

Here's what I got:

AudioBooks:



And that's all for me this week! What did you get in your mailbox? Just tell me in the comments or leave a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. Also, do you like audiobooks? I happen to be a fan, but I know some people don't care for them. I'm just curious. :)

--Alexis

Title: Burned
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Format: Paperback
Release Date: March 28th, 2006
Publisher: Margaret McElderry
Source: Amazon.com
Pages In This Edition: 532
Rating: 3/5 Stars

On the Cover:


Beyond the Cover:

Summary from Goodreads:

"Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, Pattyn Von Stratten starts asking questions -- about God, a woman's role, sex, love. She experiences the first stirrings of passion, but when her father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control. Pattyn is sent to live with an aunt in the wilds of Nevada to find salvation and redemption. What she finds instead is love and acceptance -- until she realizes that her old demons will not let her go."


Review:


I don't really know what to say about this one. I guess I could start out by saying I LOVE ELLEN HOPKINS. I think she is an awesome person and I love most of her other books. (Identical is my favorite.) But this one didn't really do much for me.


Her verse is awesome as always. The words seem to flow off the page and the way the shapes and rhythms add to the story-line didn't disappoint. The characters didn't really disappoint either, though I thought sometimes that Pattyn missed obvious conclusions to her problems, I guess her upbringing made up for some of that. Plus she really was a like-able character that had me rooting for her.


The main issue I had with this one was  the ending; the beginning and the in between were  pretty good. Maybe not as fast paced as I would have liked, but full of romance and suspense enough to keep me reading. The ending...was lacking. I don't want to say much because I don't want to give it away, but I just can't believe how....I guess the word I could use here is abrupt. And just sucky. :/ I'm sorry to say it kind of ruined the book for me. The middle was good enough to make up for the end somewhat, but not completely. 


So I would say if you like verse you may want to give it a try (maybe you'll like the ending more), but if you really want a good verse novel, I would read Identical or Impulse any day.


--Alexis

It's time for another In My Mailbox, a weekly meme where bloggers showcase the books that they've bought, borrowed, or received for review. As always, IMM is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

For me this week, I won one book. But I'm very excited about this book (DRUM ROLL PLEASE!).

And this book I won is.......

THE IRON KNIGHT BY JULIE KAGAWA!


That's all for me this week! What did you get in your mailbox? Tell me in the comments or leave a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

--Alexis

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Source: RAK (Aparajita @ Le' Grande Codex)
Pages In This Edition: 452
Rating: 4/5 Stars (More like a 4.5...)

On the Cover:

Beyond the cover:

Summary from Goodreads:


Review:

I had HUGE expectations going into this one. HUGE. I've seen so many amazing things about this book around blogs, and the buzz for the last three months leading up to the release date was just insane. Everyone wanted their hands on this one. So when Aparajita @ Le' Grande Codex was kind enough to send me the book, I was so excited I might have burst. Really. It was a close one.


I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. Now I'm not going to flip out and say that this was my favorite book of all time, or even of this year. But The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is definitely worth your time and attention.


The plot is great! You never know what's happening until it's happening. The main question surrounding Mara has you going back and forth; you think you know what you're seeing, you think you know what's going on, but then the truth is revealed you realize that even if you had figured out some of it, all of it is just beyond your reach.

The main reason I enjoyed the book though is because of the male protagonist: Noah Shaw. He is one of the best male characters I've read in a long time. Though he is amazingly charming and handsome and dream-worthy, he also has some depth. (I've noticed that most of the male protagonists in YA lately have been lacking in any other trait besides being gorgeous.) So I was happy to see that Noah had his own opinions, his own story, and especially, his own backbone! The British accent didn't exactly have be turning away either....

The only thing I had a problem with in this book was Mara herself. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like she has problems making some simple conclusions. Sure the plot had some twists had even had me guessing, but there were some things that seemed easy to figure out that Mara couldn't see. I might be being too picky here.

Overall, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was a great read with heart-pounding action, and a guy that I certainly wished I had in my back-pocket. ;)

--Alexis

This month I was happy to be included in an amazing program full of awesome people called RAK (Random Acts of Kindess) hosted by Book Soulmates. This is where bloggers and readers get together to share books and to just be awesome.

For this month I didn't have an opportunity to give at all (my family is going to a tough time because my mother doesn't have a job at the moment.) So I'm very happy to give a shout out to all the people that decided they wanted to send me a truly amazing act of kindness.

The first RAK I received was an ebook of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. (AMAZING BY THE WAY. REVIEW COMING SOON!) Aparajita @ Le' Grande Codex sent it. Thanks so much!

Then I received an ARC copy of Bitter End by Jennifer Brown from Rachel McWilliams. I was so excited to receive this. Thanks Rachel!


Finially Lilly Reader sent me a copies of Hold Still by Nina LaCour, and Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols! Thanks to you too Lilly. :)

I want to thank everyone who helped make this October one of the best birthday months of my life. I hope  I'll soon have the money to send other people some RAK's too!

--Alexis

Time for another In My Mailbox, a weekly meme where bloggers display the books that they have bought, borrowed, or received for review. As always it's hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

This is the first IMM I've done in awhile, so I'll be talking about all the books that I've gotten since I did my last one.

The books I've gotten in the past two weeks are:

1. Burned by Ellen Hopkins
2. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
3. The Devouring by Simon Holt
4. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
5. Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott
                                                                                    6. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
                                                                                    7. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak                                                          




That's it for me! What did you get in your mailbox? Just post a comment letting me know or a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out.

--Alexis

This was one of the funnest things I've done since starting my blog back in June. It also provided me a must-needed excuse to forget about the world for awhile and just get back to what I like to do most: read, read, read.

In this post, I just wanted to share the books that I've been reading!

Finished:
1. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
2. Burned by Ellen Hopkins
3. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Started:
1. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Time for a Read-A-Thon challenge! This one comes from April @ My Shelf Confessions: "In the event of a Zombie Apocalypse you are forced to take shelter with family and/or friends for a period of no less than 5 years. You have time to pack some supplies and some extra things to keep yourself entertained. However, since there will be many people sharing the same space, space will be limited and you are told you are only allowed to bring up to 5 books.What books would you pack to sustain you?"


If I could only bring 5 books that would have to sustain me for 5 years, I would bring:


1. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
                                                                  4. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (I know, I know)
                                                                  5. One of the Stephen King short story collections 
                                                                   What would you bring?
                                                  

I'm so happy to be participating in the Wonderfully Wicked Read-A-Thon! (Hosted by Kindle Fever.) This is my first Read-A-Thon and I'm happy to say it's been very successful for me so far. :) I just wanted to do a sort of mid Read-A-Thon update before my wrap-up post tomorrow night.

So far I've finished:

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

And I'm almost done with:

Burned by Ellen Hopkins

Are you participating? If so, what have you read? Have you done any of the challenges?

It's time for another In My Mailbox, a weekly meme where bloggers talk about the books that they've bought, borrowed, or received in the past week. As always, it's hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren. (She rocks by the way!)

For me, this week wasn't very that great. I got two books in the mail, which is amazing, but I was expecting a package with four books to arrive and it didn't. Next week will definitely be bigger because I'm expecting a package from Amazon. :) I was very excited to get the books that I did receive this week: An ARC Copy of Bitter End by Jenifer Brown, and a hardcover of Every You, Every Me by David Levithan.





Bitter End was actually an RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) that I was really excited to get. I'll be doing an RAK roundup post at the end of the month talking about RAK and what happened to me this month relating to it. (What and Who and all that jazz.)

So that is it for me this week. What did you get in your mailbox? Leave a comment letting me know or a link to your IMM and I'll be sure to check it out. :)

Happy Reading!

--Alexis

I want to apologize in advance about the tardiness relating to this post. (I should have posted it last night or early this morning. I'm in the process of moving and my computer could not be set up and ready to use until now.)

THE PULSE EXPERIENCE -October 9-22, 2011.
An October Book Blog Tour for THE DARK AGE, arranged by The Experience Tours!

October

9   http://www.beautybrite.com/      http://www.beeskneesreviews.blogspot.com/
10 http://www.lettersinsideout.net/
11 http://coreenamcburnie.blogspot.com/
12 http://www.madmoosemama.blogspot.com/
13 http://www.thefairytalenerd.com/
14 http://ellsey.blogspot.com/
15 http://afterthebook.blogspot.com/
16 http://yabooksbeyondthecover.blogspot.com/
17 http://darkfrannysthoughts.blogspot.com/?zx=cd8439c4581e055e
18 http://www.books-ahoy.blogspot.com/
19 http://www.book-spark.blogspot.com/
20 http://imabookshark.blogspot.com/
21 http://supagurlbooks.blogspot.com/
22 http://www.reviewsbymolly.com/