Hosted by: Sunday Stealing.
1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? 
I found my man, I get a non-reader to read.
2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Running two libraries at once.
3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
I found an awesome man, who was my crush and we are together going strong (yes I am so mushy this year)
4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
Work related things.
5. Pick three words to describe 2013.
Awesome, Unexpected, Hard.
6. What were the best books you read this year?
OMG.. I read so little this year it’s just disappointing. I guess it would be Elizabeth Smart’s My Story.
7. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
Arthur. Gnab, Shidah
8. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
I got over (got better?) a past that was repeating, hurtful, and I have grown stronger, happier, and absolutely wonderful.
9. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I stopped going in circles.
10. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
I start thinking of myself first instead of what other’s expected of me.
11. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
I’m fitter now. Healthier.
12. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I stopped pleasing them. As long as I do the right thing, I am fine. Regardless what they think of me.
13. What was the most enjoyable part of your work?
The fact that it is more of a paid hobby
14. What was the most challenging part of your work?
Lots of things that I can’t control.
15. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Waiting for people who wasting my time.
16. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
Mmm.. spending it with my man, my friends, I got to zumba!
17. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
You can change people to the better if they don’t want to change themselves.
18. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2013 for you.
Unexpected surprise.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Sunday Stealing: Questions for a New Year’s Eve Reflection Meme
Thursday, December 26, 2013
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
Hosted by Evie Bookish.
Rules:
- This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2014 - Dec 31, 2014.
- Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you've read! (On your blog, Amazon, Random Buzzers or Goodreads/Shelfari!)
- Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Short stories and novellas are OK, too! Only books released in 2013 and earlier! NO 2014 ARCs and 2014 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
- You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
- When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBRPILE Reading Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Tweet!)
- You can move up levels, but no moving down.
- Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2014, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
- On the 20th of each month we will post a wrap-up post, here, on BOOKISH. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository. It's open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e. the entire month)
- If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;)
- December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a GRAND PRIZE giveaway.
- You don't have to follow Bookish Blog to join the challenge, but you do have to follow us to be entered in giveaways!
Levels:
1-10 - A Firm Handshake ←
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling
41-50 - Could this be love?
50+ - Married With Children
2014 Retellings + Reading Challenge
Hosted by The Nighttime Novelist.
Rules/Information
- The challenge will run from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. I will post a wrap-up post at the end of each month with a link to my retelling review(s) for that month. Each retelling read MUST be reviewed in some way.
- Novel-length (150+ pages) fiction only
- No more than 2 re-reads
- All formats allowed
- Anyone can join at any time in the year, although books read prior to joining do not count.
- You don’t have to have a blog to join; reviewing on Goodreads or Amazon is fine as long as everybody can see it.
- Books don’t have to be stated in advance; it’s up to you!
- ARC’s are fine, but try to read some that aren’t new releases.
- Retellings can be anything from a contemporary version of a Shakespeare play to an interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. As long as there is evidence it is a retelling of some kind, it will most likely count. But you can’t just start reading a random book and go, “Oh! This sort of reminds me of blankety-blank.” There must be some sort of statement that this is based on a prior work.
- The retelling can have an oral origin. Not all legends/myths were traditionally written down, but if it’s a legitimate story, it works. For example, most Native American folklore was not written, but a retelling of some Iroquois tale is perfectly valid.
Levels
- Easy: 1-5 books
- Not So Easy: 6-12 books
- I Like A Challenge: 13-19 books
- I Eat Easy for Breakfast: 20+
2014 Everything YA Reading Challenge
Hosted by: Books and Iced Coffee.
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.
What are the rules to the challenge?
- Participants must create a shelf or a page to where they can list the books that they have read for the year.
- Book must meet any of the sub- genres of the young adult category, whether it’s paranormal, romance, drama, contemporary, horror, etc.
- Must be longer than 100 pages.
- The year of when the book was published does not matter. As long as you have read the book in 2014, it will be accepted.
- TO THOSE WHO HAVE A BLOG, feel free to post up a review of each book that you have read for the challenge and provide a link please?? I would love to read it :)
- All formats are acceptable (paperback, ARC, ebook, etc.)
2014 Women Challenge #2
Rules:
○ Anyone can join;
○ You don't need a blog to participate: if you are a non-blogger please leave a comment with a link (if you review elsewhere) to your review or with the list of the books you read and the level you choose;
○ Audio, e-books, bound books and re-reads are ok;
○ Challenge goes from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014;
○ Here you can link for your reviews.
Levels:
Level 1: BABY GIRL - read 5 books written by a woman author
Level 2: GIRLS POWER - read 6 to 15 books written by a woman author
Level 3: SUPER GIRL - read 16 to 20 books written by a woman author
Level 4: WONDER WOMAN - read 20+ books written by a woman author
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2014 TBR Pile Challenge
Monthly Check-Ins: On the 15th of each month, I’m going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.” This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress. There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!). I’m hoping this will help to keep us all on track and make the challenge a bit more engaging/interactive. I started these mini-challenges last year, and I think they were a great success, so I am continuing them this year! Chat: On Twitter, Instagram & Facebook, use #TBRChallengeRBR 
January 01, 2014 – December 31, 2014
Goal: 12 books from your “To Be Read” pile (within 12 months)
Specifics:
1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2013 or later (any book published in the year 2012 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.
2. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published before 2013!
3. Your complete and final list must be posted by January 15th, 2014.
*Note – You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. As you complete a book – review it, and go back to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review - that will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered. For an example of what I mean, Click Here.
01. Padraic Colum; The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles (1983, Simon Pulse)
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Friday, December 20, 2013
Book Review: Girl, Stolen; by April Henry
So many friends and readers had refer me this book for quite a time now, and I had put it off because I refused to be peer pressured into reading anything. (Yeah that was weird).
Wow.. unintentional kidnapped teenager in the backseat, throw in the twist that she is blind and sick with pneumonia. This is why you don’t leave kids unattended in a car, even for a bit while! You probably have your kid kidnapped and ransomed! Or even dead! Cheyenne, despite, sick and blind is quite brave. She formed a bond with her unintended kidnapper, Griffin, ironically from his father and the other two blockheads who worked with his father.
I still don’t get why a parent would leave a sick blind teenager alone in a car (even for a little while!). I actually expected to be on the edge of my seat for this one, but it wasn’t so. Griffin was obviously not going to harm her of any way after reading 2-3 chapters. Of course the rest of the character was doing a cliché. It wasn’t that bad, but it would have been a better read. it does show me the insides of being blind, feelings and such.
For a fan of tragedies, crime, mystery realistic fiction, as I said, it didn’t really put me at the edge of my seat, but enough to get me keep reading till the end. That was a good try. and honestly, it could really need an edge or two. (it feels like Hallmark)
By April Henry
Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, the car is being stolen.
Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne and once he finds out that not only does she have pneumonia, but that she's blind, he really doesn't know what to do. When his dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes--now there's a reason to keep her.
How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare?
Finished Reading: 07th December 2013
Acquire: 11th February 2013
Rate } ♠♠♠♠
Genre } Fiction | Young Adult | Teens
Release Day } 01st October 2012
Publisher } Henry Holt and Co.
Format } Hardcover
ISBN } 9780805090055
Pages } 213 pages
Source } BookSwap
Age Group } pg 15 yo +
Support my reading by getting your copy }
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Stacking The Shelves; In The “Mailbox” Monday 09/11/2013 - 10/11/2013
In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren
Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading.
By Sara Zarr
{Bookswap}
Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.
That was all before she turned fourteen.
Now, at sixteen, it's over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano -- on her own terms. But when you're used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?
National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr takes readers inside the exclusive world of privileged San Francisco families, top junior music competitions, and intense mentorships. The Lucy Variations is a story of one girl's struggle to reclaim her love of music and herself. It's about finding joy again, even when things don't go according to plan. Because life isn't a performance, and everyone deserves the chance to make a few mistakes along the way.
By S. M. Boyce
{Bookswap}
Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea's royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.
For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.
By Victor Methose
{BookSwap}
THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS LIVES...
Here are the confessions of the world's most famous vampire. Once a prince of untold power and ruthlessness, now a rock star living in Los Angeles, Dracula walks among us. Seeking answers to his magical and horrifying existence, Dracula flies through the centuries in search of a love that was taken from him.
When Jonathan Harker, a journalist with Rolling Stone, travels to Dracula's secluded mansion for an interview, he finds a home filled with secrets and a man that is not what he appears.
Stalked by three lovely creatures, Jonathan must find a way to escape and return to the woman he loves...before it's too late.
AN OLD TALE FOR MODERN AUDIENCES...
Retold for this century, Victor Methos captures the beauty and eroticism of the original Bram Stoker classic and reveals Dracula's origins. It is a mesmerizing story of love, passion, and evil. 
By Sigmund Brouwer, Hank Hanegraaff
{BookSwap}
Nothing more could go wrong for maverick hostage negotiator Mulvaney Quinn. First stabbed in the hand during a failed terrorist burst, then arrested for a hate crime he didn't commit. Now Quinn must come face to face with his past in order to stop the worst terrorist threat of all time-a plot to bring about the ultimate religious uprising by destroying one of the most sacred relics in history.
But the "Fuse of Armageddon" has already been lit. With the clock ticking down toward a global catastrophe, Quinn must team up with the most unlikely ally of all-the woman who arrested him-to bring down an even more unlikely coalition of enemies. Facing an unholy trinity of a Jewish fanatic, a Muslim terrorist, and a "Christian" freedom fighter, only Quinn can stop them from achieving their goal. But will he be in time? Or is it already too late? Because when Armageddon is unleashed, the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.
By Shey Stahl
{Bookswap}
Bailey Gray is tired of her perfectly planned life. Everything about her life has been organized and lived out to the expectations set of her parents. She is the class valedictorian, has perfect grades, the perfect friends, a perfect boyfriend, basically perfect life...or so everyone thought. That's when she realizes the path planned isn't always the path chosen.
On graduation day she makes a decision. One that changes everything she thought she knew about her intended future.
On a whim, she runs away with the town rebel, Dylan Wade, in search of the unknown.
Dylan Wade isn't looking to run away from anything.
He knows what he wants as he's been waiting on it for years.
On a journey to find the unknown, they discover a friendship they once knew along the open highway and have not a care in the world. Between the yellow and white lines of the heated summer asphalt, a spark draws them together as Dylan's past and Bailey future try to ripe them apart.
Could it be that Dylan and his GTO are exactly what her perfectly planned life needs?
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Stacking The Shelves; In The “Mailbox” Monday 02/11/2013 - 03/11/2013
In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren
Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading.
by Brenda Harlen
Acquire: Book Swap
When Georgia Reed moved her twin boys and infant daughter out of the bustling city, she didn't expect to have a doctor on call. But her gorgeous neighbor—and part-owner of the cutest litter of puppies she's ever seen—wasn't your typical orthopedic surgeon. Matt Garrett was the most popular bachelor in town…and when he asked Georgia on a date, the single mom couldn't say no.All Matt ever wanted was a family—and the right woman. Ever since he moved next door, he had a sneaking suspicion that Georgia was that woman. The beautiful widow and her kids came as a package deal…which suited Matt just fine. Now if only he could make Georgia see that they could be more than good neighbors….
By Brian McGrory
Acquire: Book Swap
Award-winning journalist Brian McGrory goes head to beak in a battle royale with another male for a top-spot in his home, vying for dominance with the family’s pet rooster.
Brian McGrory's life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry's veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy. While Buddy loves the women of the house, he takes Brian's presence as an affront, doing everything he can to drive out his rival. Initially resistant to elements of his new life and to the loud, aggressive rooster (who stares menacingly, pecks threateningly, and is constantly poised to attack), Brian eventually sees that Buddy shares the kind of extraordinary relationship with Pam and her two girls that he wants for himself. The rooster is what Brian needs to be – strong and content, devoted to what he has rather than what might be missing. As he learns how to live by living with animals, Buddy, Brian’s nemesis, becomes Buddy, Brian’s inspiration, in this inherently human story of love, acceptance, and change.
In the tradition of bestsellers like Marley and Me, Dewey, and The Tender Bar comes a heartwarming and wise tale of finding love in life’s second chapter - and how it means all the more when you have to fight for it. 
By Brian Rathbone
Regent, book one of The Balance of Power trilogy, is the much anticipated continuation of the World of Godsland fantasy series, which began with The Dawning of Power trilogy.
In the years since the end of The Herald War, the world has become complacent despite Catrin Volker's warnings. When the darkness of her visions comes to pass, no one is prepared, and the fate of humanity will rest in her hands.
by Brian Rathbone
Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. In times such as these, ordinary people have the power to save the world...or destroy it.
By C. Greenwood
In a province where magic is forbidden and its possessors are murdered by the cruel Praetor, young Ilan, born with the powerful gift of her ancestors, has only one hope for survival. Concealment. In the shadow of Dimmingwood, she finds temporary protection with a band of forest brigands led by the infamous outlaw Rideon the Red Hand.
But as Ilan matures, learns the skills of survival, and struggles to master the inherent magic of her dying race, danger is always close behind. When old enemies reappear and new friendships lead to betrayal, will her discovery of an enchanted bow prove to be Ilan’s final salvation or her ultimate downfall?
* * * * *
When I was small, my mother taught me about the magickless—evil men who hunted our kind to destroy us. They came from across the water to steal the lands of our ancestors. Pretending to want peace, they enslaved us and sought to extinguish what they couldn’t possess, the one thing their harsh laws could never control. Our ancient powers. One day, my mother warned me, violence would shatter the safety of our home, and when that day came, we must fight. And we must win.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Stacking The Shelves; In The “Mailbox” Monday 26/10/2013 - 27/10/2013
In My Mailbox hosted by The Story Siren
Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.
Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading.
Dear Mr. Darcy: A Retelling of Pride and Prejudice
By Amanda Grange
In this imaginative retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Amanda Grange now tells the classic story through the eyes of its compelling romantic hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy—in a series of revealing letters that casts a sparkling new reflection on the manners and morals of the landed gentry in 19th-century England…
Here, for the first time, are the letters written by the exceedingly proud and stubborn Mr. Darcy, covering the life-changing events that defined him—from the death of his father, to his control of his Derbyshire estate of Pemberley to his conflicted courtship with the lively, intelligent, and delightfully willful Elizabeth Bennet. Try as he may, he cannot deny his attraction to this woman with fine eyes, a playful spirit, a mind of her own… and an embarrassing family that is frankly, and utterly, beneath him. But it is Elizabeth who controls both their destinies, and whose surprises will change Darcy’s life yet again.
by Andrea Jones
In this startling new vision of a cultural classic, Wendy intends to live happily ever after with Peter Pan. But Time, like this tale,behaves in a most unsettling way. As Wendy mothers the Lost Boys in Neverland, they thrive on adventure. She struggles to keep her boys safe from the Island's many hazards, but she finds a more subtle threat encroaching from an unexpected quarter. . . . The children are growing up, and only Peter knows the punishment
by Andrea Jones
"Identify the weapon, and use it first." Such is the code of Captain James Hook, in this lyrical sequel to Hook & Jill. And this time, the turmoil begins not with 'The Boy' — but with a girl.
Ten days out of Neverbay, Hook and Jill capture a ship's surgeon, pressing him to join the Roger. But Doctor Hanover is a gentleman, with a daughter to defend. When Red-Handed Jill shows him favor, his heart is taken prisoner, too. Hanover contrives to deliver Jill from the pirate king, and redeem her to society…as his wife.
But Captain Hook is impossible to escape. Other rivals contend for Jill's red hand, and Hook fights for supremacy with his skill and brilliance. When the doctor's daughter draws Hook's eye, she emulates Jill, using feminine weapons to charm him.
With no word of farewell, Hook vanishes, and Jill is a queen without a king. To hold Hook's power, she must come to terms with each of the dangerous men in her domain. When a challenger seizes command of the Roger — and over Jill — Hook and Jill's dominion will be overthrown unless, as Hook has taught Jill to do, she can identify the weapon…and wield it wickedly.
Other Oceans is an unabashed study in loyalty, vibrant with the dynamics of power. From the pen of a masterful crafter, Book Two of the Hook & Jill Saga delivers all the exhilaration that a clash of wills, hearts, and fortune can arouse. 
by Annie Oldham
Violent nomads. The coming winter. Jack's unspoken feelings. Leaving the relative peace of the settlement is more difficult than Terra ever imagined. But what she should fear most is the government that professes to protect its citizens. Imprisoned in a labor camp, Terra learns just how much the corrupt regime wants absolute control. Never has she felt more powerless to act. But there's always the call of the ocean, and her captors just might underestimate how powerful that call can be. 
By Boone Brux
For fifteen years Luc Le Daun has blamed himself for the death of the woman he loved. His secret guilt has led him into a life of danger, risking all and committing to none.
Killing Luc Le Daun has been all Jade Kendell has thought about for years. But when her plan goes awry and she’s brought into the Bringers’ fold, her own dark secret threatens to be revealed. Desire for a better life wars with a promise made long before she understood the ramifications.
In a deadly mission, Jade and Luc embark on a journey into the Shadow World. As they attempt the impossible, ignoring the attraction growing between them becomes harder to deny. The slightest misstep could mean the loss of their souls and give the Demon King exactly what he needs to open the Abyss of Souls and annihilate the Bringers.
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