Liebster Blog Award

Hey guys. I was nominated by Anne over at Stretch Your Pesos for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much Anne. 

Anne gave 11 questions to answer so here goes: 

1) Why do you blog? I blog to get my opinions out in the world and to make new friends :)

2) Will you eat dirt in a dare? Yes, I am not afraid of dirt.

3) What is your favorite color? Pink

4) Dog or cat? Dog

5) Pick one word to describe your blog. Cute!

6) Are you a night or morning person? Definitely a night person

7) What are you having for lunch? I woke up to late for lunch but I'm having cheez-its as a snack.

8) Have you been to Alaska? No but really want to go.

9) Have you ever eaten Kale? Not that I know of. 

10) Did you watch the Twilight Saga? I watched the first movie after that I didn't need to see more.

11) Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jennifer Aniston

My 11 random facts:

1) I read eBooks faster than I read physical ones.

2) I have moved quite a lot in my life but keep coming back to Texas.

3) I've been adopted 2 times

4) I get to emotionally invested in TV shows.

5) I buy hardcover books but hate dust jackets

6) I don't like grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

7) I buy Christmas presents throughout the year and then forget about them.

8) I only like snow long enough for me to take a picture of it then it can go away.

9) I love taking pictures. Not of myself but things I find cute or whatever.

10) I used to write song lyrics, but don't anymore.

11) I have literally sat here for 1 hour trying to figure out these facts.

The blogs that I nominate are(I tried to pick new ones):

1) Barbara at Banosaur

2) Azee at The Book Ponderer

3) Kristelle at Amia Book Lover

4) Julianne at Outlandish Lit

5) Leanne at All Write Then

6) Denise at Confessions of a Book Addict

7) Anna at Enchanted By YA

8) Kari at Bookishly Devoted

9) Nicole at My Book Filled Life

10) Alexa at A Sky Full Of Books

11) Maribel at The Words Written

Here is the 11 questions I came up with: 

1) What is your favorite tv show?

2) If you could meet any fictional character in real life who would it be?

3) Tea or Coffee?

4) Author you've read a lot from?

5) A book that made you think?

6) Favorite snack food?

7) Someone who has influenced you?

8) Favorite animal?

9) Prettiest book cover?

10) Most frequented social media site?

11) Favorite book quote?

So there is that. That took a really long time to figure out! 

Thanks again Anne.

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy

This book is about Dee and Nikki, two young kids who are in love. This relationship is super unhealthy. Nikki has a odd relationship with her mother therefore she lives with her friend Bird. Dee is your typical bad boy. The kind you Mama warns you about. None of Nikki's friends like Dee but she does not care she is still with him.

One day Dee pulls Nikki into a crime and it turns bad. Nikki is left with a choice. Do what Dee says or do the right thing.

First off this book had me gripped from the beginning. It took me less then  minutes and I was invested in the characters. I was more invested in Nikki but that's another topic. This took me less than a day to finish.

Nikki is so naive. She is clearly blindsided by love. I do not know if Dee ever abused her because I couldn't but it seemed like he did. No matter how Dee talked to her she didn't seem to mind and still loved him.

Lets get on to the subject of the way Dee talked to Nikki. I thought it was sickening and I wasn't the biggest fan of it. It made me dislike him way more than I already did. Once everything was revealed he just made me mad. I was glad that Nikki finally woke up realizing that all Dee did was use her.

My only complaint with this book was I felt like it was rushed. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the book  but I felt as though there should have been more mystery surrounding some parts of the book. I would have loved to know a back story of Dee and Nikki. I would have also liked a longer ending to know what happens after.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. This was a tough subject to read about but it was written so well that I could not get enough.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

Versatile Blogger Award

Hey Guys! I have been nomated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Skye at ( http://koranikasgeekiness.blogspot.com/) Thanks so much! 

The Rules:

This is what must happen now:

1. Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging
2. Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them.
3. Share 10 random facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

My Nominees: 

1) Preetha at http://www.timeturningreads.blogspot.com/

2) Ranu at http://thebookish-life.blogspot.com/

3) Lindsey at http://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

4) Beth at http://shelovesherbooks.blogspot.com/

5) Azee at http://thebookponderer.blogspot.com/

6) Julianne at http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/

7) Jamie at http://fangirlroar.blogspot.com/

8) Lixian at http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/

9) Sarah at http://enchantedbyabook.blogspot.com/

10) Laura at http://blueeyebooks.blogspot.com/

11) Clarissa at http://booksequalawesomeness.blogspot.com/

12) Erin at http://thehardcoverlover.blogspot.com/

13) Veronika at http://reading-is-dreaming-with-open-eyes.blogspot.ca/

14) Eddie at http://boomingbooks.blogspot.com/

15) Stephanie at http://fandoms-city.blogspot.com/

My 10 random facts: 

1) I am Russian

2) I love to listen to music besides reading

3) I'm addicted to Dr. Pepper

4) I love to write

5) I'm always on the computer. Even though I work from home.

6) I am a night owl

7) I do not read classics

8) I pretty much live in pajama pants

9) I do not like peas

10) I buy way more books than I read

So there's that. Thank you again Skye :). Ya'll should check out her blog and also the ones above because they are awesome :)

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

This book follows Nick(Nicole) and Dara. They are two sisters who are pretty much inseparable. Then one day a tragic accident leaves Dara's face messed up. After this both became not as close. Then Dara goes missing. The other odd thing is a that another goes missing as well. So Nick is trying to figure out what happened who who did it.

What I liked: 

1) The before and after chapters. Those really made see how things were. That really made the story so much more enjoyable. 

2) The relationship between Dara and Nick.

3) The mystery aspect of it was done so well. I did not guess the twist, which is odd because I seem to always get them nowadays.

I really enjoyed the way this was written. This is my first Lauren Oliver book. I am glad that I read this book because I will definately be looking into her other books. 

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

* I received this book from Edelweiss for review*

Because She Loves Me by Mark Edwards

Andrew Sumner is a young man that had just had a tragic event happen. His parents died in an accident and he just had eye surgery. In the eye office he meets Charlotte(Charlie), a young attractive girl. They embark on a very strange and odd love affair. Then things start happening which makes Andrew start to question his relationship with Charlie. Is she responsible??

Before I get on to the things I liked or didn't like let me just say that I enjoyed this book for the first 90 percent. Then the last 10% I wasn't the biggest fan. I felt like the "twist" was just ridiculous. Anyway lets move on.

Things I liked:

1) This was very suspenseful. I never really knew what was going to happen. 

2) I loved the way this was written. I may not have been a fan of the ending but I still loved the way this book was written. I will definitely check this authors other books.

Things I wasn't fond of:

1) The sex talk. Don't get me wrong I normally do not mind sex in books. Its not something that I care if its there either way. For this this book was just a lot of sex and talk of sex. I found that unnecessary. 

2) Andrew is so naive about things. When things happened he never really put two and two together. 

3) Some of the cussing was not necessary.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

Perfect Chemisty by Simone Elkeles

This book follows Brittany Ellis, a rich girl who has everything. Her family is all about appearances. So they seem like your average "perfect" house. Her sister has cerebral palsy and she is struggling to help take care of her when her parents just want to send her away. Then Brittany meets Alex. Alex is a Mexican gang member who always gets in trouble. He is the kind of guy that no mother would want their daughter to be with. Brittany and Alex are teamed up together in there senior Chemistry class. Then of course things ensue. 

Let me start by saying that I loved this book so much. It was sad to read about each characters life. Both of them have had hard lives. Yes one is rich and seems to have it all but she had problems as well. 

Things I enjoyed:

1) I loved the alternating chapters from Brittany to Alex. I thought that was great because you really got to know each character from each situation or how they are at home and things like that. 

2) Brittany and her sister's relationship was amazing.

Things I wasn't fond of:

1) The Spanish that Alex and his family and family used. I didn't understand it and was to lazy to look it up. I do not think it takes away from the story though

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Bleeding Earth by Kaitlin Ward

This book is about a girl named Lea, who is walking with her girlfriend in the cemetery one day and then blood appears on the ground. Lea thought it was just in that area until it started happening all over the world. Then it starts to grow hair and bones. 

Let me start off with saying that I loved the concept of the story. It was interesting. 

My problem with this book was that it was not very believable. I feel like in every fiction book the author should make me believe that something like this could actually happen. I was enjoying it up until it grew hair and bones and that was just weird. Also all this blood was happening but everyone was still expected to go about there day. 

I also found the relationships in this book to be just mediocre and sometimes not necessary. 

Overall this was not the book for me. I did not like it at all.

My rating: ♥♥

*I received an e-arc of this from netgalley. This comes out in August.*

The Martian By Andy Weir

This book follows Mark Watney who got a shot to go to Mars as part of the Ares 3 group. One day there was a terrible dust storm. The whole made it back but not Mark. Everyone else thought that he was dead. He has no way to let Hermes know that he is still alive. So he is trying to survive. He knows a lot about botany and survival things. Will he make it out alive?

The character of Mark Watney is just amazing. I knew from the beginning of the book I was going to love it. Mark has a great sense of humor, even in his situation. He really knows his stuff about soil, botany and just overall survival. He actually thinks things through which I really loved about him.  I found his comments about TV shows to be hilarious and well movies also, because what else are you suppose to do in space? 

I loved the journal aspect of this book. It was just nice to know what Mark was doing everyday. If something did or did not work out. The journal aspect gave more of an insight to Mark's personality, which is just a great one. 

Let me say that I do not know much about science, space or really anything to related to it. I still found this book to be intriguing because you get to learn about those things but so much more. I loved reading Mark's ways of trying to figure out food, water, and shelter. 

Overall, I loved this book because Mark is a great, funny, strong and incredibly smart man. His personality made this just an overall quick read but VERY enjoyable. The last 50 pages I was crying because it was just so emotional. I would recommend this book to everyone. Even if you are not interested in space. Just read it. You will not regret it!

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

*I received a free ARC of this book from Blogging For Books*

Liars Inc. By Paula Stokes

This book is about Max, a boy who doesn't like to tell the truth. Since he is so good at lying he starts Liars Inc. Liars Inc. is a "company" that Max starts with his friend Preston and his girlfriend Parvati. Liars Inc. is based pretty much in there high school. What the 3 friends do is they forge permission slips and cover for their friends when they need to go to a party or something but are grounded. 

One day Preston asks Max for an alibi to go to Las Vegas to meet a girl named Violet, that he met online. Then he goes missing. Max is trying desperately to find out what happened. The police seem to think he is involved in some way. Can Max find the truth and save himself?

What I liked: 

1) The writing of this was done so well. After I got into it I could not put it down. I just wanted to keep reading.

2) Each chapter you learned more and more and it was just shocking to know what really happened.

3) Max and Parvati's relationship- Although it really is unhealthy and seems more physical than anything I still adored the relationship. I liked that we got a bit of back story on the relationship and we didn't have to read about them falling in love. Im not big on romantic books so that was great. 

4) The whole mystery of it. I felt like what we found out about things was done well. It wasn't so fast but kept you in suspense. 

What I wasn't fond of:

1) I gave this a 4 start because it took me a bit to get into the story. I found the first 15% of the book to be kind of boring. In the end I ended up loving it but it doesn't grip you from the beginning that is for sure.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

*I received this from Edelweiss as an e-arc for review*

The Memory Key by Liana Liu

 This book follows Lora Mint. A 17 year old girl who is still struggling from losing her mother over 5 years ago. Lora lives in a world where there is a disease called Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer's. Since there is this in the world everyone is equipped with a memory key. A chip that is put in the brain that processes and hold new and old memories. 

One day Lora falls and things start to happen. She begins to remember things she never knew she knew. So she starts on a journey to find out about her mothers death. 

What I liked:

1) Lora's Dad- He clearly knew some things but kept them from Lora to protect her. I don't fully understand why at times but still I loved his character.

2) Lora- This girl can be so dense at times. She would not listen to her father about the key and that made me mad. It clearly took a toll on her well being. 

3) Raul- I loved his character but often wondered why he was into Lora when she was flat out rude to him and pretty much used him for her own things. 

4) I liked how the book was told part in memories and the other part reality. I liked learning more about Lora and what she remembered.

Things I Was Not Fond Of:

1) I felt like the beginning was slow. I got 15 percent and I was questioning why I was even continuing this book. I'm glad that  I did finish it though because the other 85% was great!

2) The ending- I did not like the ending. It wasn't like clique happily ever after but it really didnt give me closure either. It left me wanting more even though this is a standalone as far as I know.

Over all I enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend giving this a try if you are into Dystopian/ Mystery books. 

My rating: ♥♥♥♥

* I received an e-arc of this from Edelweiss for review*

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

This book is about Emma and Josh, who are best friends in 1996. Josh has feelings for Emma, which he acted on but it didn't go like he had hoped. This is before all of our social networking websites and everything.There was not much in the technology sense either as they still had walk-mans instead of I pods or mp 3 players. One day Josh brings Emma a AOL CD-ROM. When Emma downloads AOL onto her computer she gets a website called Facebook. Both of them are perplexed as to what this is but immediately try to figure it out. They see themselves 15 years into the future. So of course they are curious.

What I liked:

1) Josh- Although I found him to be kind of dorky and awkward. I still really enjoyed his personality and how he did not hold a grudge over Emma like I feel like most guys would today in his situation. He didn't really want to know much about what was going to happen in 15 years like Emma but still was there when she asked him to be for moral support.

2) Emma- At first I was not happy with her. I felt like she was just selfish and didn't really care about Josh's feelings for most of the book. Halfway through the book I felt like she changed because she started realizing somethings.

3) Kellan- What an awesome best friend. She was just so cool and I really wanted to be friends with her! 

Things I was not fond of:

1) Sydney- I do not think her intentions were real. I felt as though she kind of used Josh knowing he liked her, which did not make me very happy.

Overall I really enjoyed the writing of this book. It was funny to see how people see Facebook in that time. Nowadays we are so into it but it was funny to have teens question why we write all of our lives on Facebook. I loved the way Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler write. I'm assuming each wrote the character for there genders, which I quite liked. I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a funny light-hearted read.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Little Peach by Peggy Kern

This book follows Michelle. A young girl who lives with her mother and her mothers boyfriend. One day after an event her mother kicks Michelle out of the house. Michelle then decides to go to New York to go find a friend that lives there. When she gets to New York she meets Devon, he has no problem helping her. When she doesn't find what she is looking for Devon takes her to his house. Michelle then meets the other girls that live with Devon. 

First let me say that this story has a really strong subject matter. Some people may not be able to handle this type of subject. This delves into the world of child prostitution. Of course we are all aware that it happens. This book for me put it in another perspective. For me it opened my eyes to how this has become a thing that happens today and we do not really have that much awareness against it. 

Now on to the things I liked about this book: 

1) Michelle- She was an incredibly strong character. A lot of things happened to her and she seemed to not let it affect her to much. She was so mature for her age. I am pretty sure she is 13-14 in this book. 

2) Baby and Kat- Two other girls who are incredibly strong. Baby was younger than all of the girls.She was 12. She still acted like a child as she was one still. Kat as far as I could tell was the oldest. Poor girl. 

3) The writing- This book captivated me from the beginning. The first chapter I just wanted to figure out what was wrong and what was happening.

4) I like how the book had back stories. We seen what happened before, during and after. That was great about it.

Things I was not fond of:

1) I wish this book was longer. I could have read more.

2) Devon- enough said. This guy was a jerk.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

*I received a free e-arc of this from Edelweiss*

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

This book follows Echo and Noah. Echo lives with her Dad and Step-mom. Her brother Aries dies in Afghanistan and she is trying to deal with that. Her dad is a jerk! Noah lives in a foster home. His parents died. He has 2 younger brothers who are with a couple not far from him. One day the guidance counselor decides that Noah needs a tutor and Echo is the perfect one to tutor him. So of course things happen.

Let me just start of by saying. This was literally the best contemporary book I have read ever! I could not put this book down because I just loved both characters. I needed to know what was going on with both of them. 

Echo- This girl has been through so much. You would think she would hate everyone and everything but she doesn't. She is just a bad ass character. She is strong and stubborn but also lovely. She made this book so good!

Noah- I'm not going to lie I did not like him at first. I felt as though he was a jerk. He is a bad boy and just doesn't treat girls very good. Well then it all changed and I was shocked. Noah is a sweetheart when he wants to be and when it counts. I loved that about him. 

So in conclusion. I loved this book. It made me cry, laugh, ache. It was just an amazing read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My rating: ♥♥♥♥