BookTubeAThon Report!

So the BookTubeAThon is over! To be quite honest, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. This was a great booktubeathon, but at some point I have to get back to life and catch up on some sleep one tends to miss during this event!

Let's get to the recapping of this week shall we...

As most who participate in the BookTubeAThon knows, there were reading challenges meant to push us to read certain books. I attempted all 7 of the challenges, however, I did not finish them all. I wouldn't call this a huge Fail, mainly on the fact that I did get a good bit of reading done that would not normally be done in week.

The books I did read are the following:
1. Fangirl
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3. The Fault in our Stars
4. The Lightkeeper's Daughter

With addition to those 4 books I completed, I also read half of INK! I know that would not count toward any of the challenges, but I'm adding the pages I read of Ink to the total page count for the entire BookTubeAThon!

With those 4 books being read the challenges I was able to complete were:
1. Read a book with pictures in it. (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
2. Read a book to movie adapataion and watch the movie. (same as above)
3. Read a book of a genre you have read less of this year. (TFIOS)
4. Read a book with red on the cover. (Fangirl)

Over all I call it a very productive reading week! My total page count comes to....1,466 pages!!

I'll have a review up for Fangirl soon, and one for Ink as soon as I finish reading it!

Did you participate in the BookTubeAThon? If you did, where you able to finish any or all of the challenges? What did you read? Have a video? Post it in the comments and I'll check it out!

Didn't participate in the BookTubeAThon? That's ok, I'm curious what you read this week or what you are reading!

BookTubeAThon Update, Day 3!

It's already the end of day 3!  All these books being read and challenges being attempted, who knew being a nerd could be this awesome!

Since I don't have a youtube channel to do my update, I'll just fill everyone in by blog post.

Just as a refresher, here is my reading list!

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1/2 way through!)
2. The Lightkeeper's Daughter
3. The Lightkeeper's Bride
4. The Lightkeeper's Ball
5. Fangirl (Finished!!)
6. Ink
7. The Fault in our Stars (Finished!!)

So far I have completed 2 1/2 books and watched one movie! I know it's not as much as some have accomplished, but I am pretty happy with my achievements so far.

I have made a bit of a change to my previous stated list. I was planning on reading and watching The Fault in Our Stars. However, due to some changes in plans I won't be watching that movie this week, so I switched to watching The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe instead. I am using TFIOS as a book to help toward the 7 books challenge.

It's currently 10:30pm on July, 16 when I posted this and here is my page count:

.....>Drum roll, please....

TOTAL PAGES READ..... 851! Oh yeah!! 

I plan on finishing up The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tonight. Just as a small treat, and also to prove my story has pictures..I'm going to share a few of the beautiful artwork in my book!

I'm hoping to start Ink tonight. Not sure how far into it I will get, but starting is better than nothing, right?

I hope everyone is having fun participating in this BookTubeAThon!

Are you participating in the BookTubeAThon? If you are let me know!

Another update will be up soon! Keep reading and get lost between the pages!

Rebel Belle

Harper Prince, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him-and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Page count: 352
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Series: Yes (Rebel Belle, Book 1)



The first thing my boyfriend said to me as I picked up this book to read was, "with all that pink on the cover, that has to be a girl's book." Now, the pink cover is definitely something that may scare a guy away, but that is his lost because this is NOT just a girl's book.

With that being said, it probably will appeal more toward a female fan-base, but it can really be for anyone. Instead of blabbing on about this, let me just get to the review.

I have heard many great reviews for this book, and to be honest, I haven't heard any really bad ones. As with all books there is the occasional person that did not enjoy reading this. Did they call it "bad"? No. It was just not their cup of tea. So, I had high expectations going into this story, and in no way did Rachel Hawkins disappoint.

Something that really appealed to me about this story is knowing it is set in the South. Being a person who spent many holidays and summer vacations in Alabama I enjoyed reading a story I could relate to on a personal level. There is something special about reading a story set close to home, a certain magic in the words that make you feel more connected to the story. Unlike reading a fantasy story set in a far away land, or even a novel set in New York, I had no problem imagining walking the streets with Harper as she went to her school and ventured around her town. All that southern charm. I could have walked outside and could have been standing in Harper's world.

Another appealing aspect to this story is the great balance between romance, comedy, and action. The enchanting world of Paladins, Oracles, and Mages didn't overshadow the charming world of Alabama. Hawkins created this fantasy element with super powers, magic, and evil looking to destroy the normal life Harper had. On the other hand, Hawkins also created a realistic tale of teens in love with drama, friendships that weren't perfect, and the classic teen vs. teen squabble. These two worlds were woven together to create a wonderful story. Thrown into the mix skillfully was also a bit of humor.

Was this book perfect? Not completely. I really enjoyed this story, but there were a few times I didn't like the main character. Harper is a great main character, but she also comes across as immature and very "girly." This is shown in the first scene with Harper as we discover the biggest problem she had was that she didn't have lip gloss. She does seem to grow out of this a bit during the story, but these are the type of girls I don't normally like to read about. For me, Harper was one of those characters that had to grow on me as I read. Eventually I began to like her and by the end of the novel I was on her side.

The overall story was interesting and pretty fast paced. Once it's shown what Harper and David is facing and why it's a big deal, the story really starts to take off. This was one of those quick reads because each chapter left you wondering what was going to happen next.

In all honesty, this made me think a little bit about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had that feel to the story, and that could be why I loved this book. Not being a very girly girl my self, I enjoy seeing girls kick some major butt. Harper is still learning how to control her new power, but she is already on her way to being a pretty epic person.

I personally rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. I truly enjoyed this story and I'm excited to know that it has more to come! I will be keeping up with this series and I will surly recommend everyone I know to read this one with me.

Have you read this story?

If you have read it, did you enjoy it? Why or why not?

Let me know what you thought!

~Lauren

BookTubeAThon!!

So this is a bit late in the day, but at least it's not a day late..right??

So as many may know, there is a lovely "thing" happening on Booktube (Youtube) right now! The wonderful BookTubeAThon!!

Now, this is mainly for people with Booktube channels, but anyone can participate. So, I'm taking the chance to join in...but instead of doing a video, I will be doing blog post!

First post for today will be my BookTubeAThon Reading List!

As part of BookTubeAThon, the lovely Arial Bissett created reading challenges! Here is a video of the challenges:

With that being said, let's get to my reading list:

1. Read a book with pictures in it. 

For this challenge I am picking ..The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. This is one of my favorite childhood books, and one year for my birthday my friend gave me a special edition copy that has artwork all through the book!! One of the best days ever! 

2. Start and FINISH a series. 

Picking just one series is hard, but I chose: The Mercy Falls series, by Colleen Coble. 

       1. The Lightkeeper's Daughter

       2. The Lightkeeper's Bride

       3. The LightKeeper's Ball

This is one of my favorite Christian authors and I love this series, so I'm going to reread this one for BookTubeAThons since I planed on reading it soon anyway! 

3. Pick a book with RED on the cover.

For this one, I'm going with: The Light Keeper's Ball, by Colleen Coble. This one will be a repeat from  the series challenge. If you can't tell, I picked this one because of the red on her dress.

4. A book someone else picks out for you.

Thankfully, I had a friend just waiting for me to ask for a book recommendation. So I happily present to you, Ink, by Amanda Sun.  I honestly never heard of this one before, but apparently she really enjoyed this one and is currently reading the sequel to it. If I like it I will be sure to check out the other! 

5. A book from the genre you read the least this year. 

This one wasn't too hard to chose, So welcome to the list..Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I chose this one because it is a YA Contemporary. I like contemporary novels, however, I normally don't read too many of them. I have heard amazing things about Rainbow Rowell and can't wait to read my first novel from her! 

6. A Book to Movie adaptation. 

I have so many books I love that have become movies, so this one was a little harder to pick something for. The winner for this challenge will be the lovely, The Fault in our Stars, by John Green. I have a double motive for picking this one. I have not read this one yet, and been meaning to. I am also reading this one for my book club that I co-created. So I already have a few chapters in, but plan on completing this one for the BookTubeAThon! I'll be seeing the movie soon, maybe not this week...Hope that still counts. 

7. Read SEVEN books.

This is probably the hardest challenge and I plan on tackleing it, if I actually complete this in a week is a completely different story! Why not shoot for the stars, right? So here is my list of 7 books. 

     1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

     2. The Lightkeeper's Daughter

     3. The Lightkeeper's Bride

     4. The Lightkeeper's Ball

     5. Ink

     6. Fangirl 

     7. The Fault in our Stars

So that is the end of this LONG post! I hope you enjoyed reading a bit of my book choices! 

Are you doing the BookTubeAThon? If you are leave me your name and Booktube, or bookblog links and I'll check them out! I would love to see everyone! 

Have your read any on this list? If you did, was it a good read or not?

Love to hear from you, so leave a comment below and I'll talk to y'all next time!

Now, go get lost between the pages! 

~Lauren

Very First Book Haul!!

Since starting this blog, one of the things I have been desperately wanting to do is a Book Haul. I'm excited to say, I finally have the chance to do one!

This may not seem like a large book haul to some of you, but for me, this one is huge! I normally don't buy a lot of books. (Blame it on College!) But, all of these books I will be showing I either got on sale, or someone gave them to me....all 17 of them!

Because of the length of this haul, I won't be posting any descriptions for the books. I'll link each book to it's Goodreads page so you can get the information for it if you want to.

So, let's get started shall we....

Let's begin with my favorite, YA Books:

1. The Fault in our Stars, John Green (Book Club read!)
2. Cinder, Marissa Meyer (Gift)
3. Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas
4. The Ranger's Apprentice Book 1: The Ruins of Gorlan, John Flanagan  (World Book Night book)
5. Where'd you go, Bernadetter, Maria Semple (WBN book)

The next category is another favorite of mine, Christian Fiction:

1. Burn, Ted Dekker & Erin Healy
2. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, Susan Gregg Gilmore
3. Letter Perfect, Cathy Marie Hake
4. Abomination, Colleen Coble
5. Intervention, Terri Blackstock
6. Vicious Cycle, Terri Blackstock

Now, time for the Adult portion:

1. Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
2. Through Violet Eyes, Stephen Woodworth
3. In Golden Blood, Stephen Woodworth
4. In the Woods, Tana French
5. The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen
6. Little Earthquakes, Jennifer Weiner 

Well, that wraps up my lovely book haul! I can't wait to read all of these.. I hope you enjoyed having a look at this.

I have a Book Club that I host with my niece. If you would like to check it out here is the link. The L&K Book Club. We are reading The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green if you would like to join us!

Have you read any of these yet?
If so, did you like it?
Any on this list you may want to read?

Time to go get lost between the pages, see ya next time!

~Lauren

Icons

              Ro murmurs into my ear. "Don't be afraid, Dol. They're not coming for us." Still, he slips his arm around me and we wait until the sky is clear. 

              Because he doesn't know. Not really.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the Icon appeared in Los Angeles. The day the power stopped The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside with fellow survivor Ro-safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid.

They're different. They survived. Why?

When the government discovers their secret, they are forced to join faint-hearted Tima and charismatic Lucas in captivity. Called the Icon Children, the four are the only humans on Earth immune to the power of the Icons. Torn between brooding Ro and her evolving feelings for Lucas, between a past and a future, Dol's heart has never been more vulnerable. And as tensions escalate, the Icon Children discover that their explosive emotions-which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses-may actually be their greatest strengths.

Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers a thrilling novel set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts- in order to save their   future.

Author: Margaret Stohl 

Page Count: 448

Genera: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Romance

Series? Yes (Book 1)

Aliens, teenagers, rebellions, and a talking computer. What could go wrong with that mix, right?

Icons is Margaret Stohl's first adventure in writing solo. She is a co-author of the Beautiful Creatures Series. (which I have yet to read!) This is the first book of a new series, the next installment, Idols, will be released this year.

Before starting this book, I had a different idea of what it would be. Yeah, I kinda got that aliens invade Earth and these teens are special...but that was it. Cracking open the book and actually beginning to read this story I found it to be something a bit different than what I had pictured. 

Like most books these days, this story is a bit dystopian. Is that a bad thing? Not really. We have a world trying to cope with the invasion of aliens that control them. A bit sci-fi, a bit dystopian. But I personally like that combination if it's done well.

I enjoyed the characters, but to be honest, I can't say any are my favorite. The main character Dol, while interesting, could have those moments when she got on my nerves. (But everyone has those moments, right?) If anyone was picked to be my favorite, I would say Tima. Why Tima? To me she was the character with the most mystery. Everyone else seemed to be almost like an open book, but Tima didn't open up too much. We learn a bit about her, but not a lot. She is mysterious, and a good mystery pulls me in. Fortis was also a likable character to me. Besides Tima, he would be my favorite. Doc was fun, but do you count the computer as a character? He's funny and has a personality not known in most computers. (If any.)

The world building wasn't too heavy. Since this story takes place on Earth, we didn't have any kind of fictional lands and worlds. However, the cities and grasslands that are formed after the Icons fall are pretty well done in my opinion. Slightly familiar, yet different. We have different people living in different areas. Each unique to their area. This helps add diversity to the characters. 

The only major problem I had with this book is the following 2 things: 

1. Love triangle. I know most books we read today have some form of love triangle to them. But, personally I didn't like this one. While most can work, I just didn't feel this one. The four main characters are split into a boy-girl pair at the start of the story. Growing up with each other and learning about each other. They already pretty much have their loves chosen. But, then their seems to be an instant love between two of the main characters right when they meet. I personally would love to see them stay with their original pairings, but maybe this will work better in the long run. Maybe it's just me.
2. Little bit of a slump. The beginning of the story is fast paced and exciting. For the first few chapters I couldn't put this book down. I had to know what happened next. After about the first 100 pages, things seemed to slow down. I kept an interest in the story, but I no longer had to stay up late to finish it. I could put this book down and not pick it up again for a few days. Was it terrible? Not at all. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Was it my favorite? Probably not my all time favorite. I recommend this to anyone who likes these type of books. One of the problems for me might be the fact that I read The 5th Wave directly before reading this one. After riding the high from one story, this one fell short with the same thrill. If I would have switched the order, I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more. 

The next one, Idols, comes out soon and I will be reading it! I can't wait to see what happens to the characters and where the story will take us. Over all, I give this a good 4.0 rating. Certainly worth the read! 

If you have read Icons, let me know what you thought about it! Or what you didn't like, either one will work! 

Back Home..

The sand is washed out of my clothes, the sunburn is healing, and my bags are finally unpacked!

That's right, I am back from my lovely vacation to the beach. While it was fun and I enjoyed it, I have to admit I missed my own bed!

So, now that I'm back home it's time to get busy with some major blogging! Hopefully this weekend I will be able to have my June Book Haul up. I have a pretty big stack of books that I got during the month of June, and I decided to wait until now to post it. Looking forward to doing that one!

I have a new book to read this month, and I'll be posting more information on that one as soon as I can.

My review for both Icons and Rebel Belle will be posted soon. Icons will be up tonight, unless I have problems with my internet again.

So, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, and Happy 4th of July to all that celebrate it! I hope you all are having fun and being safe. Enjoy the fireworks!

~Lauren