On Hiatus

As of today, I’m taking a break from blogging. So this will be the last post for a while. I’m not sure when I’ll be coming back, but either this will be the break I need to get back into this or I’ll end up stopping permanently.

I just haven’t felt really into it the past year, and I’ve been struggling to get content up. It used to be fun but lately I just don’t find joy in it anymore. And since it’s a hobby, I don’t want to force myself to keep going and give myself any more stress. Since the new year I haven’t written any new posts aside from this one (all reviews that went up this year were scheduled in December). And to be honest it’s been a bit of a relief. I’m still reading, but now I’m not worrying what I’m going to say about the book the whole time I’m reading it.

I will still be around on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads, and I will still be reading. Maybe not as much as before since I want to do more things with my spare time, especially catch up on video games.

Thank you to everyone who’s visited and commented on my blog. If I do decide to start this back up I’ll make sure I write up a post to let everyone know.

Dewey’s Readathon-Zero Hour

I haven’t done this 24 hour readathon in a while, so I’m excited to do it again! I know I won’t get the full 24 hours but I’m hoping to get through a few books if I can. And of course, the hour before it starts has some questions and here they are!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Ontario, Canada!

 
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I’m only planning one or two since I might have other things to do today, but I’m excited for all of them.

 
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I haven’t planned any snacks this time actually, oops.

 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I’ve got two kitties who I hope join me for reading with cuddles today.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I won’t be pressuring myself to read as much as last time. I want to be more social while I read too!

The House Cup Reading Challenge!

Welcome to the House Cup Reading Challenge! It’s my first time co-hosting a reading anything and I’m super excited! My co-hosts are Alex of Book Daisy Reviews, Lauren of Live, Love, Read, and Erica of Escape Under the Cover. This is a month long and it’s going to be super fun! We hope you join us for some awesome reading, great challenges and of course some prizes!

What Is the House Cup Reading Challenge?

The House Cup Reading Challenge runs from Sunday, October 15, to Sunday, November 12. During this challenge, you will progress from a first-year to seventh-year Hogwarts student by completing seven books on your TBR list. In addition to the main challenge, you will have opportunities to earn even more points by participating in the themed bonus challenges and tweeting with the challenge hashtag on Twitter. But more on that later!

How It Works

First, you’ll need to choose your Hogwarts house. During the challenge, you’ll not only be earning points for yourself but for your Hogwarts house as well. At the end of the challenge, each reader should report their points to their house’s Head Girl:

Gryffindor: Lauren @BetweenDPages

Hufflepuff: Kelsey @Kelsenator

Ravenclaw: Alex @booksydaisy

Slytherin: Erica @slychica08

Here’s how we’re determining the winners:

 4 Individual House Winners

One winner will be chosen from each of the four Hogwarts houses. The person who earns the most points for their house will receive:

$5 Starbucks gift card and some HP-themed goodies (stickers, bookmarks, etc.)

1 House Cup Grand Prize Winner

Here’s where the House Cup challenge really comes into play! At the end of the challenge, we will randomly select one grand prize winner from the Hogwarts house with the most points overall. This lucky winner will receive:

A Harry Potter Funko Pop figure and a $25 giftcard to Barnes and Noble

**In the case of an international winner, that person will receive an e-gift card to The Book Depository.** 

**PLEASE NOTE: Because we will need winners to provide us with their addresses in order to send out the prizes, you must be 18 years or older to be eligible to win.**

Challenge Events

To kick off the challenge, we’ll be hosting a Twitter chat starting at 8:00 p.m. EST  on October 15th to give everybody a chance to introduce themselves, talk about the competition, and answer some Harry Potter trivia questions. Be sure to follow along with the #housecupreadingchallenge hashtag.

At the end of the challenge, we’ll also be hosting a watch-along of one of the Harry Potter movies (to be decided via Twitter poll). We’ll have more details about this as we get closer to the end of the challenge.

Challenge Categories and Points Breakdown

Main Challenge (20 points each)

Not everyone likes to be confined to a specific category, so we’ve decided that all books for the main challenge are reader’s choice. This means you can pick any book off your TBR list to count toward the main challenge!

First Year: reader’s choice

Second Year: reader’s choice

Third Year: reader’s choice

Fourth Year: reader’s choice

Fifth Year: reader’s choice

Sixth Year: reader’s choice

Seventh Year: reader’s choice

Bonus Challenges (10 points each)

For those who like categories to help narrow down their reading choices, here are thirteen bonus challenges to choose from. However, books you read for the bonus challenges cannot count toward the main challenge! For example,  if you pick The Hunger Games for the Slytherin bonus challenge (read a dystopian book), you cannot also count it toward your second-year challenge.

Gryffindor: Read a book with an epic hero/heroine

Hufflepuff: Read a book that contains a strong friendship

Ravenclaw: Read a book that revolves around a mystery

Slytherin: Read a book set in a dystopian world

Astronomy Class: Read a book set in outer space

Care of Magical Creatures: Read a book that features an animal or magical/mythical creature

Tri-Wizard Tournament: Read a book that includes a competition

Occlumency: Read a book about a character with magical abilities or superpowers

Death Eater: Read a book told from the POV of a villain

Platform 9 3/4: Read a book that features travel

Time Turner: Read a book set in the future or past

Fantastic Beasts: Read a spin-off to a beloved series

Dumbledore’s Army: Buddy-read a book with a friend or group

Social Media Bonus Points

Use the hashtag #housecupreadingchallenge on Twitter to earn 1 point per tweet (limited to 20 points total).

How to Sign Up

Think you’re ready to take on the House Cup Reading Challenge? Awesome! To sign up, grab your house badge below, create a sign-up post on your blog, Twitter or Instagram or even your Goodreads shelf with your challenge with a TBR list and, if you want, your answers to the questionnaire below. Once you’ve made your post, be sure to link it back to us using the Inlinkz widget below (or on any of my fellow co-hosts’ blogs). Make sure it’s a direct link. We await your owl no later than October 14! 😉 Happy reading!

 

Hogwarts Student QuestionnaireName:

Hogwarts House:

Wand Type:

Pet:

Favorite Subject:

Favorite Professor:

We can’t wait to see you on October 15 at 8:00 p.m. EST for the challenge kick-off Twitter chat!

 

 

ARC Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Release Date/Publisher: February 21st 2017 by Berkley Books
Finished: November 25th 2016
Pages: 384-ARC Paperback-Given for review

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Every morning and evening, Zoe Walker takes the same route to the train station, waits at a certain place on the platform, finds her favorite spot in the car, never suspecting that someone is watching her…

It all starts with a classified ad. During her commute home one night, while glancing through her local paper, Zoe sees her own face staring back at her; a grainy photo along with a phone number and a listing for a website called FindTheOne.com.

Other women begin appearing in the same ad, a different one every day, and Zoe realizes they’ve become the victims of increasingly violent crimes—including murder. With the help of a determined cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose…A discovery that turns her paranoia into full-blown panic. Zoe is sure that someone close to her has set her up as the next target.

And now that man on the train—the one smiling at Zoe from across the car—could be more than just a friendly stranger. He could be someone who has deliberately chosen her and is ready to make his next move…

What I Thought:

ARC Review: By Your Side by Kasie West

Title: By Your Side
Author: Kasie West
Release Date/Publisher: January 31st 2017 by HarperTeen
Finished: December 11th 2016
Pages: 353-eBook ARC-Got on Edelweiss

Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?

What I Thought: