31 Dec 2017

#Discussion: 2017 Roundup + 2018 Blogging and Reading Goals

31 December 2 Comments
Hello lovelies! Wow that year flew by! I have been so busy this year that it feels as though I blinked and 2017 was done. I wasn't able to get as much blogging and reading done as I would have liked, but I did complete my Master of Arts degree, so safe to say I accomplished big things. This post is going to round out what I did in 2017 in my life, reading, and blogging, while updating you on the very few goals I have for 2018. Thank you guys so much for staying with me on this journey and here's hoping good things continue to come your way!

2017 Roundup

Total Books Read: 82
Average Rating: 3.3*
Top 5 Reads:

  1. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed // My Review!
  2. The Martian by Andy Weir // My Review!
  3. The X-Files: Agent of Chaos by Kami Garcia // My Review!
  4. The Hush by Skye Melki-Wegner // My Review will be posted in the new year!
  5. Furyborn by Claire Legrand // My Review will be posted in the new year!

Life Updates

I completed my Master of Arts degree at the University of Windsor! I wrote my thesis on Website Accessibility and will be updating my website as much as possible to be compliant. I moved from my one apartment in Windsor to another apartment in Windsor because I got a full-time job. I interned and they decided they liked me so much that they asked me to stay on and work for them. So I am planning on staying in Windsor for the next 5 or so years if possible.

29 Dec 2017

#Discussion: 2018 Canadian YA Releases + Another Year of We Can(ada) Read!

29 December 2 Comments
Hello everyone! As you may (or may not?) know I am Canadian so I try my dang hardest to promote as many Canadian books and authors as possible. So today I am telling you about all the 2018 releases by Canadian authors! This is also a formal announcement that I will be running my Canadian feature again in September 2018, We Can(ada) Read! 
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadians for EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors. This is a month-long feature that takes place in September and features Canadian bloggers and authors! If you are one of those and want to participate, please fill out the appropriate Google Form so I can contact you when I am putting together the master list of everyone to contact. 

Unfamiliar with We Can(ada) Read? Check out the We Can(ada) Read posts from 2016

For bloggers: There is an option to review a book in the sign-up link and I would love to see everyone choose that one and send them a copy of one of the books listed below to be reviewed! But feel free to choose to do a Guest Post for me as well.

Author Sign-Up Linkhttps://goo.gl/forms/CswwalNssDYieSZc2
Blogger Sign-Up Linkhttps://goo.gl/forms/bsRYkcjeI4wkDvN73


2018 Canadian YA Releases

THE DARK BENEATH THE ICE

Author: Amelinda Bérubé
Series
: N/A
Publisher
: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication
Date: August 1, 2018

Summary
:
Something is wrong with Marianne.


It's not just that her parents have split up, or that life hasn't been the same since she quit dancing. Or even that her mother has checked herself into the hospital. 



She's losing time. Doing things she would never do. And objects around her seem to break whenever she comes close. 


Something is after her. But a first attempt at an exorcism calls down the full force of the thing's rage. It demands Marianne give back what she stole. And Marianne must uncover the truth that lies beneath it all before the nightmare can take what it think it's owed, leaving Marianne trapped in the darkness of the other side.

28 Dec 2017

#Discussion: ARCs I'm Taking to 2018 Unread Part 6

28 December 1 Comments
Hey friends, I have not been as successful as I would have liked with keeping up with my reading commitments in addition to my school commitments. I did beat my Goodreads challenge but I did not read all the ARCs that I got from publishers. Therefore, I am going to do a series of posts to highlight all the ARCs I received for consideration this year that I have not read and will be attempting to read in 2018 as part of #2017Throwback.

These posts are going to feature between 10-15 books total, with a spotlight on 1-3 of them with the ones I was extremely eager about that I never got around to reading because I had other time commitments.

Clicking on the book cover will take you to the Goodreads page for the book so you can learn more about it.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 here!


27 Dec 2017

#Discussion: ARCs I'm Taking to 2018 Unread Part 5

27 December 0 Comments
Hey friends, I have not been as successful as I would have liked with keeping up with my reading commitments in addition to my school commitments. I did beat my Goodreads challenge but I did not read all the ARCs that I got from publishers. Therefore, I am going to do a series of posts to highlight all the ARCs I received for consideration this year that I have not read and will be attempting to read in 2018 as part of #2017Throwback.

These posts are going to feature between 10-15 books total, with a spotlight on 1-3 of them with the ones I was extremely eager about that I never got around to reading because I had other time commitments.

Clicking on the book cover will take you to the Goodreads page for the book so you can learn more about it.

See Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5, and Part 6 here!


22 Dec 2017

#Discussion: ARCs I'm Taking to 2018 Unread Part 4

22 December 1 Comments
Hey friends, I have not been as successful as I would have liked with keeping up with my reading commitments in addition to my school commitments. I did beat my Goodreads challenge but I did not read all the ARCs that I got from publishers. Therefore, I am going to do a series of posts to highlight all the ARCs I received for consideration this year that I have not read and will be attempting to read in 2018 as part of #2017Throwback.

These posts are going to feature between 10-15 books total, with a spotlight on 1-3 of them with the ones I was extremely eager about that I never got around to reading because I had other time commitments.

Clicking on the book cover will take you to the Goodreads page for the book so you can learn more about it.

See Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5, and Part 6 here!



THE LOVE INTEREST

Author: Cale Dietrich
Series: N/A
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: May 16, 2017

Summary:
There is a secret organization that cultivates teenage spies. The agents are called Love Interests because getting close to people destined for great power means getting valuable secrets.

Caden is a Nice: the boy next door, sculpted to physical perfection. Dylan is a Bad: the brooding, dark-souled guy who is dangerously handsome. The girl they are competing for is important to the organization, and each boy will pursue her. Will she choose the Nice or the Bad?

Both Caden and Dylan are living in the outside world for the first time. They are well-trained and at the top of their games. They have to be—whoever the girl doesn’t choose will die.

What the boys don’t expect are feelings that are outside of their training. Feelings that could kill them both.
Purchase:

21 Dec 2017

#Discussion: ARCs I'm Taking to 2018 Unread Part 3

21 December 2 Comments
Hey friends, I have not been as successful as I would have liked with keeping up with my reading commitments in addition to my school commitments. I did beat my Goodreads challenge but I did not read all the ARCs that I got from publishers. Therefore, I am going to do a series of posts to highlight all the ARCs I received for consideration this year that I have not read and will be attempting to read in 2018 as part of #2017Throwback.

These posts are going to feature between 10-15 books total, with a spotlight on 1-3 of them with the ones I was extremely eager about that I never got around to reading because I had other time commitments.

Clicking on the book cover will take you to the Goodreads page for the book so you can learn more about it.

See Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5, and Part 6 here!


20 Dec 2017

#BlogTour: HELL HOLES SERIES by Donald Firesmith // #Excerpt

20 December 1 Comments
Hello and welcome to my blog tour post for

THE HELL HOLES SERIES by Donald Firesmith!

I have an excerpt for you today from the first book in the series, WHAT LURKS BELOW! You can learn about the books below and read an excerpt!


WHAT LURKS BELOW

Author: Donald Firesmith
Series: Hell Holes #1
Publisher: Magical Wand Press
Publication DateOctober 18, 2016

Summary:
It’s August in Alaska, and geology professor Jack Oswald prepares for the new school year. But when hundreds of huge holes mysteriously appear overnight in the frozen tundra north of the Arctic Circle, Jack receives an unexpected phone call. An oil company exec hires Jack to investigate, and he picks his climatologist wife and two of their graduate students as his team. Uncharacteristically, Jack also lets Aileen O’Shannon, a bewitchingly beautiful young photojournalist, talk him into coming along as their photographer. When they arrive in the remote oil town of Deadhorse, the exec and a biologist to protect them from wild animals join the team. Their task: to assess the risk of more holes opening under the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the wells and pipelines that feed it. But they discover a far worse danger lurks below. When it emerges, it threatens to shatter Jack’s unshakable faith in science. And destroy us all…
Purchase:

The second book in the series is...

DEMONS ON THE DALTON

Author: Donald Firesmith
Series: Hell Holes #2
Publisher: Mage Press
Publication Date: May 15, 2016

Summary:
When huge holes mysteriously formed in Alaska’s North Slope, a research team went to discover their cause. But when an army of invading demons erupted out of these hell holes, only two scientists and Aileen, the team’s secretive photographer, survived. Now in this exciting second book in the Hell Holes series, they must flee south along 350 miles of the Dalton Highway, one of the world’s most treacherous roads. Aileen, a member of an ancient order charged with defending humanity from Hell, must save the two scientists, but who will save her?
Purchase:
“Professor, take a look at this,” Mark said, squatting down and pointing at the nearest mound of dirt. He held his hand a few inches over it. “There are small holes, and I can feel gas escaping from them. That’s weird; it should be freezing, but it’s actually warm.” He leaned over and sniffed the air just above the hole. “Jesus, that reeks,” he cursed as he stood up and rubbed his eyes.

I reached down. There was a surprisingly large flow of gas coming out of the hole. I looked around at all of the other mounds of dirt dotting the ice on which we were standing. “Shit,” I exclaimed. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

“Why?” he asked with a confused look on his face. “We just got here.”