Tuesday Reviews: Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Title: Never Always Sometimes

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Format Read: Hardback

Rating: Four Stars

Description from Goodreads: Never date your best friend.

Always be original.

Sometimes rules are meant to be broken.

Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliche high school kids-- the ones who sit at the same lunch table every day, dissecting the drama from homeroom and plotting their campaigns for prom king and queen. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school.

Some of the rules have been easy to follow, like #5, never dye your hair a color of the rainbow, or #7, never hook up with a teacher. But Dave has a secret: he's broken rule #8, never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It's either that or break #10, never date your best friend. Dave has loved Julia for as long as he can remember.

Julia is beautiful, wild, and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along He even dyes his hair an unfortunate shade of green. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the cliches, they've actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even love.

I picked up NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES pretty quick after release date. Being a part of Adi's street team, I had to go out and show mu support! And then in February, I was checking my blog and realized I'd never reviewed it. This led me to do some checking, which is when I learned that, FOR MONTHS, I'd thought that I had read and reviewed NAS, when in reality, I hadn't done either. So I fixed that immediately.

Dave and Julia are literal best friend goals. As you journey through part of their high school lives, it becomes easy to fall in love with the pair. They have this perfect, unfailing friendship, and they perfectly balance each other out. Where Julia is wild and reckless, Dave is calm and laid back. She is the fire to his ice, and they are beautiful together. 

The idea of an anti-cliche high school experience was so much fun to read about. Not only did we get to see how each of these events affected their relationship, but also their relationships with the people around them, and it was like watching an experiment. Some of the things on their list, like rule  #5 and the hair dye, are things that I've always wanted to do, but would never really have the guts to go through with, so it was fun watching them experience these things together-- things that I would never, could never, do. 

And Julia and Dave doing them together made for some extremely hilarious chapters, let me tell you. Julia is a force to be reckoned with, and seeing her in all of these different, cliche lights... it was so much fun. Where Dave reminds me a lot of myself, Julia is the anti-Steph, and it was fun to watch the two interact and create these memories and experiences that will last them a lifetime.

And the romance in this one! It was so well done, not too much and too over-the-top, but not too vague and ignored. That's all I'm saying about that, or I'll end up spoiling it.

I definitely enjoyed NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES more than Adi's first one. LET'S GET LOST wasn't a bad book, but NAS just raised the bar quite a bit. This was a four star read for me, and I encourage any high schooler, past high schooler, or future high schooler to get their hands on a copy and read it asap. So, you know. Basically everyone. It won't be a bad decision, trust me.

Happily,

Stephanie

It's Summertime, Baby!

     

     June first has always been the beginning of summer, to me. School usually ends by then, the sun has come out to play, and shorts and tank tops become the popular attire. It's a beautiful time of the year, everyone relaxing and enjoying the time outside, going on vacations and hitting the beach. And of course, those of us who read NEVER go anywhere without a book.

     

     Keeping this in mind, I've had the pleasure of talking to some of the most FANTASTIC authors in the publishing world, and together, we've come up with something pretty special.

    

      How about a Summertime Giveaway?!

     

     All of the books featured in this giveaway are based on/during summer, and they can be yours! I have reviews up for most, if not all, of these books, and I encourage you to check those posts out or head over to Goodreads if you'd like to see what they're about!

The books we have up for grabs are:

     SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS by Bethany Crandell

     LET'S GET LOST by Adi Alsaid

    THE SECRET DIAMOND SISTERS by Michelle Madow

    NIL by Lynne Matson

    CROW'S REST (And necklace!) by Angelica R. Jackson

COMPULSION by Martina Boone

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  GOOD LUCK!

Seize the Tuesday #20: Not Going to BEA *Cue the tears*

 Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

     The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

     The past three-day weekend has left me scrolling through Twitter and Instagram only to find that nearly EVERYONE is posting pictures of NYC in preparation for #BEA15.

    Sadness. Sadness is what I feel. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to BEA this year, but I will be going to a couple other YA conferences later in the year, so I have that to look forward to!

     In case you aren't familiar with BEA, here's the link to the website: BEA Site

     For those of you who will be walking into the Javits Center tomorrow morning... HAVE FUN! Have so much fun that you have to come back and share some of it with those of us who didn't manage to fly up. Enjoy every minute of it, and be sure to post tons of pictures!

Seize the Tuesday #19: #booksfortrade

 Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

     The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading

     If you're an active blogger on twitter, your heart probably just started racing when you read the title of this post. #booksfortrade has quite literally taken over many of our lives, and I'm not sure whether that's even a bad thing. 

     In case you haven't discovered the hashtag yet.. I don't know if I should tell you to stay away from it, for your own good and mental sanity, or if I should say GO GO RIGHT NOW GET ON TWITTER SEARCH THE HASHTAG ITS A LOVELY THING. Basically, if you have books that you don't want, you post a picture of them and use the hashtag, and someone (One of the many bloggers like myself who are refreshing the page every five seconds) will look at your stack. If they see something they like, they'll tweet you and try to trade you! It's helpful to post a wishlist with your picture, so that we can scan through your list and see if we have anything you want, but it's not always necessary.

     This is a great thing. I've made five or six trades, and so far I've gotten a lot of what I've been looking for. There are some people out there who will just give you their books because they want to clear out shelf space. They don't even want anything back. I personally have traded with a girl who gave me three recently pubbed ARCs, and all she wanted in return was a guest review for her blog. 

     I've been very pleased with this hashtag, and most of the people out there are genuinely excited to trade. Of course, you should always be cautious about who you trade with. If you don't know the person, be careful. We don't want any of you getting scammed! I can say that if you try to trade with me, I WILL NOT scam you, nor will I release your addy and personal information to anyone other than myself. 

    Following the end of YABE, up popped a helpful thing called Have You Seen This? It's where you... well, here's the link! In short, it's a way for people to post what they want, and for other people to contact them if they have it! SO HELPFUL.

     So if you're seizing your Tuesday the way I am, by refreshing your twitter feed every few minutes and looking for those certain books, GOOD LUCK! I hope you find what you're looking for! Unless you're looking for ARCs of Shiver, Linger, and Forever. Then I hope you don't find what you're looking for, because that is also what I am looking for ;)

     

Seize the Tuesday #18: Cooking Up Bloggy Things

     Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

     The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading

    This Tuesday is special. Today I'm working on something big for the blog-- Something that I know you guys are going to love. It's taking some meticulous planning, some outlining, and detailing, but hopefully it's going to turn out supremely well! I haven't seen any other bloggers do something like this, so I'm excited to get started, and I'll be sure to update you with a post when I get started!

     As for now, I'm keeping today short and sweet. Lot's to plan, and I want to figure out as much as I can!

    Get lost today, everyone!

Seize the Tuesday #17: Book Buying Ban, Amendment 1

     

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

     The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading

     As a lot of you probably know, I put myself on a Book Buying Ban a few months ago. My fine print gave me the excuses that I could have new book, ONLY if they were given to me as gifts, or if they were sent to me (ARCs, etc). After living by this ban for many a month, I have decided to make an amendment to my contract with myself.
   
     There are quite a few books being released this year that I NEED to read, review, and be part of, and since I don't get ARCs every month like a lot of the big bloggers  (One day *starry eyes*)  I have come up with a solution.

     As of today, I will permit myself to buy ONLY new releases. If I find an older book that I want to read, I'll put it on a list, but won't buy it until I clear out my shelf of 2014 and previous years releases. That way I can keep up with the new releases, and in between releases I can work on clearing out that shelf.

     And wow, it's the fifth! I've created this Amendment to my contract in just enough time to run by Barnes and Noble and grab THE HEIR ;)

Seize the Tuesday #16: Something I Don't Understand About the Publishing World

                              

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

If you've followed me on the blog for very long, then you know that SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS is one of my favorite books.. This is the seed for today's post.

Something that I don't understand about the publishing world (And I try to keep myself updated with the mysterious ways of the publishers because the way I see it, if I'm wanting to be published one day, I should know about the business I'm getting myself into) is how an amazing book that makes you change the ways you think about/see people can get picked up and published, but not have anyone pushing it.

RED QUEEN, was recently (ish) released, and soon after it hit the shelves, it hit the NYT Best Seller's List. It soared. People went out and bought it, because they'd heard so much about this book that they just HAD to find out from themselves what the hype was. This is what happens when a company pushes a book. THe publishing house knew that RED QUEEN was the real deal, and they did everything they could to let the public know, too. 

SHORT BUS, however, was published with very little publicity, and I can only buy it online. It's not in stores, and it's a title that most people have never heard of.

Now, RED QUEEN and SHORT BUS are two very different books. In fact, the only thing they have in common is a female MC and the fact that they're YA novels. But that's not the point. The point is that RED QUEEN has done exceptionally well in the few months that it's been out, while SHORT BUS has been out for nearly a year now and it hasn't gotten the response it deserves.

I guess I understand why the pub chose not to give SHORT BUS media attention. It's a book about disabled kids, and how people view them. It's brutally honest, but it makes you see things. It makes you see that maybe the fact that you turn your nose and want nothing to do with these kids shows just how superficial and shallow you are. And maybe you don't even realize you're doing it. I know I didn't.

If you look at the reviews of this book on Goodreads, then you'll see how the author gets a lot of hate over her book. Yeah, it's a controversial topic, but in no way does Crandell speak bad about these children. In no way does she write about them with malice. The author bio on the back of the book specifically says that Crandell has a daughter who is "differently-abled", which is an added point to her defense, because I don't think any parent would speak badly about their child in that way.

 It truly breaks my heart to see the people review SHORT BUS and talk about how the book is an outrage, how it's disrespectful to kids with disabilities, how they couldn't even get to the end of the book because of it. Because I know that these reviewers, these readers who gave SHORT BUS such a nasty review, they didn't get it. They didn't let the message and spirit of the story into their hearts. They superficially read the book, didn't get to the end, which is one of the most important parts, and then they decide to go out and give it hate.

My question is, did the pub co not push SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS because it's controversial? If so, I'd like to pull their attention to the trend right now, which is "We Need Diverse Books". Diverse, adjective, showing a great deal of variety; very different. If anything, now is the BEST time to push SOTSB. It's diverse, maybe not in racial standards, but in the sense that, how many honest books are out there about kids with disabilities? And I don't mean disabilities as in sickness, or cancer-- I mean disabilities as in mental handicaps.

Readers are loving diverse and controversial novels, so what I don't understand is why SHORT BUS got left out of the publicity hype.

So I guess my question for the day is to those of you in the publishing business. I'd be curious to find out why SHORT BUS was kept on the down low, when it's a very relevant and truthful read for today's society.

Have you noticed any other books like that out there? If so, I want to know! Comment below!

Seize the Tuesday #15: Playing Catch-Up

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

Super short one today, guys!

I have this really terrible habit of plowing through a stack of books without reviewing them. I read book after book, finishing one and picking another up immediately, and then I forget all about reviewing them until I realize how dormant my blog has been.

Like now...

Which is why today will be spent writing reviews.

Nothing like procrastination, folks.

I know that every blogger approaches things a bit different, so I'd be interested in how you all keep yourselves on track. I know a blogger who won't allow herself to start a new book unless she's written a review for the last one. Self control, major.

So yes, I'm seizing my Tuesday by catching up on some long-overdue reviews, and they shall be posted soon for you all to peruse. Grab some chips and dip and get ready... reviews coming your way!

Seize the Tuesday #14: Finished Manuscripts

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

I've come to realize that there are so many of us readers who double as writers, and I've been blessed to become good friends with a few. One of my closest friends (Who happens to be my bloggy intern, so give a nice, warm welcome to Wishes and follow him on twitter @Veriticas) finished his first manuscript recently, and I finished my second a couple weeks ago, so I thought that it would be a good time to write a post about actually finishing a manuscript.

For my first manuscript, it was an Urban YA Fantasy, and it took me well over a year to finish. At one point, I was up to about 80k and cut out around 30k because it just didn't feel right, and though I wanted to complete the story, I wasn't too incredibly motivated. Ended up around 85k.

This time around, it was a YA contemporary. I started it last summer, and finished it early this month, because I felt like this story really needed to be done. I needed to just get the characters and their journey onto the page and see where it went. Ended up around 57k

Wishes started his novel, which is like a mash-up of dystopia and sci-fi with a side of adventure, late last spring/early summer, and finished it roughly ten days ago. He wrote in spurts, and once left me a FOUR MONTH GAP between chapters, but he got it done in less than a year. Ended up around 35k.

And then there's my best friend, who is basically my critique partner, and he wrote a freaking fantastic sci-fi (I don't normally like sci-fi, so that ought to tell you something) in four months. Yeah. I'm leaving that one where it is. I got nothing. Four months... Four... Motivation to the max with that boy. Ended around 80k.

Writing for me is easy once I get an idea. It flows and flows until I hit 30k, and that's where I get stuck. It's my slump number, right in the middle of the story, and it takes me a month sometimes to get past it, but I surround myself with friends who support my writing endeavors, and who can help me through those sticky spots so that they don't last as long. We encourage each other and use each other as sounding boards or vents when we need it, and we manage to finish our manuscripts.

I once met an author who asked me about my writing, and I mentioned that I had two or three manuscripts started, and she told me to just finish one. Finish it, write it, and focus only on that story line. I took her advice, and it led me here. I've finished two of the three stories I spoke to her about, and when I met her for the second time at NTTBF, I told her what I'd done. She was right, and it didn't matter that it had taken me a year or longer. What mattered was that I completed a novel.

And you can do it, too. Don't give up. Keep writing, even when you get stumped. Find a friend, or a critique partner that's always going to be there for you (Though I have to say, I have the best crit partner in the history of crit partners) and WRITE. Finish that story, because one day, if you keep at it, you could see your book out there on the shelves.

That's what I'm hoping to accomplish.

Seize the Tuesday #13: Book Hangovers

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

Occasionally, you read a book and you just love it so much that you don't want it to end. Or maybe this book was a specifically emotional read. Or maybe it just wasn't for you, but you decided to finish it anyway. Whatever it was, you feel like you can't possibly read another book until you've had enough time to get over this one. 

Sometimes these hangovers last just a few days, and sometimes they take over your life for a good month *cough* Allegiant *cough cough* but no matter how many times you get yourself a book hangover, it doesn't get any better. 

I recently experienced a hangover after reading Ensnared by A.G. Howard, and I was lucky enough for it to only last about five hours, but it was there, and it still sucked just as badly. I managed to get over it though, and started a new book later that evening (No hangover from that one, thank the Lord!).

What's the hardest part about a book hangover for you?

Seize the Tuesday #12: Reading Highs

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

The thing about reading is that there are different ways to do it. You can kick back and relax, read at your leisure; you can read in spurts when you have the time; and you can binge. I know you know what I mean. You're guilty of it, too. Reading super fast and plowing through book after book. Maybe it's a series you're really into, maybe it's your TBR, or maybe it's a stack that you need to finish before an event, but either way, we've all been there. 

I call this a Reading High. 

It's addicting, the feeling of starting and finishing a book and then immediately going to another... It's one of the best, most euphoric feelings.

 NOTE: These highs are legal. 

I'm currently plowing through a nice little stack of my own, and I'm having quite the time with it.

In the past week, I've read seven books, and the only reason I've stopped right now is to write this post and get reviews ready for the novels I've read.  I've gone from fantasy to contemporary, to paranormal and dystopia, and the switches and flip flops have been fantastic. These books are almost all series starters or standalones, so the cliff-hangers I'm getting aren't the most emotionally easy thing in the world, but nevertheless, it feels great to constantly be in someone else's world.

Eventually I'll have to get my head out of the pages, but for now, I'm content to snuggle up with my Ninja Turtle blanket and devour book after book.

When's the last time you were on a Reading High?

Seize the Tuesday #11: Reading with a Friend

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

We all love to read, and if you're lucky you have friends who like to read as well. Have you ever recommended a book to such a friend? And then they've read it and you get to talk about the story and fangirl together? It's the best thing.

But there's something that can top it.

Have you ever read with a friend? Not, like, sitting side by side and reading the same book, waiting for each other to finish before you can turn the pages, but with a friend who lives quite a ways away from you?

Let me tell you, it's quite an amazing experience.

I have a super close friend who lives back East, and there's not a time when we're both awake that we aren't talking. When City of Heavenly Fire came out last year, we somehow came to the decision that we should read it together. Which means that we sat down every day and read the same amount of pages or chapters, and texted back and forth the whole time.

It worked out really well... we laughed and pointed out certain things to each other and made each other take breaks when the emotions ran too high and we were crying so hard we couldn't breathe (We're those kind of readers, okay?) and then at the very end we got on the phone and verbally freaked out and discussed all of the possible things to discuss.

I can honestly say that reading COHF like this has been one of my favorite reading experiences in the history of my life. Having someone else going through the exact same emotions as you at the exact same time and being able to talk about it was fantastic (Better than watching a movie with someone, I promise) but what was the best is that you could see the little things that were important to your friend, and after a while, you could point those things out to them, and they you.

We both received JACKABY by William Ritter for Christmas, and we're planning on reading that together soon. A much shorter book, but still great fun!

If you haven't tried this, I suggest that you jump at the next opportunity.

You won't regret it.

Seize the Tuesday #10: Struggling With Not Being Able to Read

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

I have this problem in that school has overrun my life and I now have no free time.

Reading?
 What's that?
 I can't remember.

So my Seize the Tuesday is probably going to be very boring this week. I'm sorry.

But you can seize non-reading days by driving your friends and family nuts with your book talk. Trust me, it's what I'm doing. Books and authors and characters and ohmygoshmomandthenthishappened until their eyes have grown dull and distant. Yep.

Seize the Tuesday #9: NEVER, ALWAYS, SOMETIMES Cover Reveal!

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

As you know (And as the italics above say), these Seize the Tuesday posts that you've been seeing on some of our blogs are due to us being on a Street Team for Adi Alsaid. The posts have been all about our Seizing the Day like a character from Alsaid's novel, LET'S GET LOST, so I'm seizing this Tuesday to show you guys the cover of Adi's latest book!

So without further ado.....

Keep scrolling

Don't you hate it when people do this?

Mwahahahah

Drum roll?!

TA DA:

Magnifico, eh?

Here's all that we get in way of Goodreads Description

"...two best friends, a boy and girl, make a list of the cliché things they will never do their senior year."

Ahem. 

Mr. Alsaid?

Yes, we'd like a little more.

No, of course we're intrigued.

But we're also very anxious.

And chomping at the bit.

And we already have to wait all the way until August.

Why must you torture us so?

Anyways! 

More news to come (Hopefully?!?) and you can be looking for my review after the release date (August 4th, from Harlequin Teen).

Go out and Seize yourTuesday!

Seize the Tuesday #8: Beta Reading

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

I've been blessed as a blogger to be able to attend many bookish events and meet some incredible authors. A couple of those incredible authors have asked me to beta read for them, and of course I agreed. This week, that's what I'm doing.

What's exciting is that you're helping out the authors with their books before they get published. Whether you're asked to read it s a once over to make sure it's making sense and going in the right direction, or you're asked to look at it in major detail and critique, you're helping them out. and we bloggers are all about helping our authors!

I've got two manuscripts lined up back to back to beta, and I'm plowing my way through. A little slower than if they were physical copies of course, for the sake of eye strain, but still plowing! That means I won't be reviewing them, but as soon as they become published... *Evil grin*

So yeah, I'll be a bit silent in way of reviews for a week or so.

But I'm still here, no worries.

What are you reading this week?

Seize the Tuesday #7: New Year, New Book Goals

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

It's officially 2015, and you know what that means: This is the first Seize the Tuesday of the New Year! And I know you know what THAT means: You've probably just finished your 2014 reading goal. And you're probably ready to start your 2015 goals. 

Well so am I.

Shall we set goals

I read 71 books this past year, but I want to up that this year. My goal for 2015 is going to be 110 books. Why 110?

Yeah, I don't know, it just sounded good and it's higher than 71.

SO GOALS. Did you set one? If so, I want to hear about it! Drop a comment or tweet at me!

ALSO I've seen people using Goodreads to keep track of their goal progress. I've just gotten into the habit of keeping a Book Journal. Do you use GR for your reading goals? How do you like it?

Seize the Tuesday #6: Merry Christmas!

     Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

     The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

IT'S CHRISTMAS! Well, not today, but THURSDAY! So in celebration of that... let's have a Very Merry Christmas Giveaway today as well as a post!

Do you remember how I had a few Christmas books to read? Well, I only finished one *Sigh* but I'll just keep the Christmas Magic going into the New Year. MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME was pretty good overall. My favorite stories were those by Rainbow Rowell and Jenny Han, for sure! 

Have you read MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME? What did you think?! 

Seize the Tuesday #5: Christmas Books

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by myself and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. 

The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

It's officially the Christmas Season! No more complaining from those of you who said we were celebrating too early, because Thanksgiving has come and gone and TIS THE SEASON (to be Jolly fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la)! That being said, it's the perfect time to start in on the Christmas literature!

I have three Holiday Beauties to indulge in this year, and here they are:

I'm currently on Short Story Number Four on MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME, so we'll see how this one goes, and of course a review is to come. 

Are YOU reading anything Christmassy this season? Tell me in the comments! I may need some more Holiday books!