Tuesday, December 31, 2013

December 2013 Monthly Wrap Up

It's time for a goodbye to 2013, December, and the books I read this month. December was 'pull out of a reading slump' month for me, and it wasn't immediate, but there were some wonderful books and videos to help me on the way. If I haven't yet posted my reading slump tips/update post yet, sorry, but there are several end of the year series and themed posts that are already coming up for Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink, so that update will probably be posted in the new year. Regardless, let's talk about some books I read this month!
I'm going to skip the books that dragged as I fell into the reading slump- they were good books, but I was able to finish them and I won't be going back to them for awhile anyways, so I'll leave those for another time. Now, on to the books I finished!
The Moth in the Mirror (Splintered, #1.5)
The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard
This novella is what first started to pull me out of reading slumpishness. I love the Splintered series, and chances are that if you've read more than two posts on the blog you've seen me mention the series. So, this novella that takes place after the first book, Splintered, and it was the best to read for me at that point- it was from a favorite series, written beautifully, and was a light, quick novella. I gave this book four stars, and you can find my full review here.

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
I have quite a bit to say about this book. However, since I have my longest written review to date about this book that will be posted in January, I'm going to simply summarize here. Basically, there's a lot to love about this book. Some awesome characters, a ton of intrigue, and so much action, danger, bits of humor, and an epic story come together to make a great book. However, there were some flaws to me- I didn't find some of the characters interesting or developed enough, there were points where the storyline dragged on in a very bad way, and there are some areas of the idea that need to be further explained or there are going to be discrepancies. But there's so much to love about this book that it overwhelmed the negatives for the most part. I'd highly recommend this, and I gave it four stars. Stay tuned for that very detailed review that's coming out in January.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
I read this the first day of the Christmas BooktubeAThon, and I thought it was a good book. The characters were interesting, and there were some really beautiful passages in it, but overall the book didn't stand out to me in a favorite sort of way. I gave it four stars (that's been a trend so far in this wrap up) and I wrote a short Goodreads review on it. This is a good Christmastime story and if you are looking for a festive read that's got some beautiful writing, I'd recommend it.

Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings, #1)Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
This was my second book in the Christmas BooktubeAThon, and I really enjoyed it. This is a Red Riding Hood fairytale retelling, except with two sisters. Scarlett and Rosie are trained Fenris (similar to werewolves) hunters, and they, together with their woodsman friend Silas, are on a mission to protect the world. I loved this book, and I gave it five stars, and I've written a review to be posted in early January!








The NaturalsThe Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I really enjoyed this book! I ended up giving it 5 stars, so expecct a 5 Star Spotlight on it in January. Also, quick sidenote, the reason so many of my reviews and posts are being scheduled so far in advance is twofold- I'm going to be participating in 2 week or longer readathons so I wanted some content other than updates that I could have for you all, and I had so much coming in December that it would have been more than a post a day. Anyways, back to The Naturals. This is very similar to Criminal Minds, so I would label it as more mature YA because it can be a little disturbing. Basically, the premise is that Cassie, our protagonist, is exceptionally observant, and her talent is noticed. She is asked to join a special FBI program of other 'Naturals'- people who are gifted in other areas that can help with crime solving. Cassie is a profiler- she reads people and can deduce who they are based on minute details. Cassie was a really enjoyable narrator and I generally liked the entire group. The plot is very intense and a lot happens, but I'll get to that in my full review. Overall, I think this is a great start to a series in a genre that we haven't seen in YA. (It's not listed as a series on Goodreads, but I checked on the author's blog and it's mentioned there.)

7 Souls7 Souls by Barnabus Miller and Jordan Orlando
This was the first book I read for the 24 Hour Readathon and honestly, I was disappointed. While the writing was good and the wording was thought out and well written, there's a lack in plot and characters. I only gave this 2.5 stars. However, I do think I'm going to do a review of this: it's important to get my thoughts out on it, and it won't be a rant, but a legitimate review, so stay tuned for that in January.





Antigoddess (Goddess War, #1)Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
This, in contrast to the last book, was one I really enjoyed. This is a lot of great things: Greek mythology and ancient history, modern characters, and a great series beginning. I ended up giving it 4 stars- it is a lot more exposition and world and character building than it is a fast paced plot with a ton of intensity, but since I loved the characters- Athena is gritty and completely different from any portrayal of her that I've seen, and probably my favorite- and this is an awesome world and cast of characters, I'm really excited for the sequel and this series in general. Its sequel is coming out in 2014, and is my newest addition to my 'can't wait books of 2014'. 

These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1)These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
I'm currently 113 pages into this book- I started it during the last part of the Readathon. it's really good so far, and I can't wait to finish it up and share my thoughts. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I'm very excited for. 








Never Fade (The Darkest Minds, #2)Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
Another one I'm still in the midst of- let me know if you guys have a preference between me including my current read or if I should leave those until the next month's wrap up- but this is a sequel that many have anticipated and loved. For me, the synopsis didn't completely engage me, but I'm enjoying it a lot now, although the start was a little slow. 





So, there's my December 2013 Wrap Up. I'm happy that I participated in 2 Readathons and how that was a great opportunity to read some books. Hope you all had a good reading month, and let me know what you liked!

From a paper world,
V




Monday, December 30, 2013

24 Hour Read-A-Thon Wrap Up - December 29, 2013

Hi again! I'm writing this after midnight, and I am tired but I am so happy! I participated in the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon! This was hosted by Brianna, and I was interested in joining one of these ever since I saw Miranda talk about the idea. She had read so many books, and although I didn't think I would be able to read that many, I was still really excited to try this! I couldn't go to sleep for a few hours before midnight I was so excited. I would say this was a smashing success, and it was so much fun! Want to see how much I read and what I did?

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Tag - The Book Blogger Confesses Tag

So, many of you will know about the Booktube to Blogspot feature here on the blog. However, today I come to you with a blog that actually comes from the blogosphere instead! This was a tag I found over at Laura's Book Reviews and this is The Book Blogger Confesses Tag! So, ready or not, here we go!


Saturday, December 28, 2013

A Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink Original - Hits and Misses of 2013

Hello to you all! I've decided that, with all the end of the year themed posts I've been doing, I really want to bring my own unique post to the blogsphere. So, I thought up some categories of some really awesome books and some books that fell flat. This is a hits and misses type post, where I have one category, and two books for each category. One's spectacular, one's lackluster. In short, I bring you the Hits and Misses of 2013.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Top 10 of 2013 - Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2014

Welcome back to Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink. It is the last day of Top 10 of 2013. This week has been so much fun; looking back at all of the wonderful books I've been able to read this year. Today's post is a little different from the others this week: it's looking ahead at books I'm excited for in the next year! Let's talk about some of the awesome books that are coming out next year!
Since I'm doing quite a few posts about books I'm looking forward to in 2014, and most of those lists are either entirely 2014 debuts or sequels, this list is going to be a list of 5 sequels I'm excited for and 5 debuts. Without further ado, here we are. These are in order, but there's a top debut I'm looking forward to, and a top sequel. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Top 10 of 2013 - Best Book Boyfriends of 2013

Looking back at these posts and 2013 in general, I've noticed a trend, and quite a few books popping up on my lists multiple days in a row. What can I say, I've got some favorites. Hello again, it is Best Book Boyfriends of 2013 day in the Top 10 of 2013. I'll go ahead and link the details and sign up page that I went to on Fiktshun, and let's go ahead and jump in!
Today's theme is Best Book Boyfriends. There are many a swoon-worthy fictional character I've met this year, but here are my top 10. I managed to put these in order somehow, so enjoy. P.S. THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you haven't read that book or through that book in a series, steer clear. 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Top 10 of 2013 - Best Couples of 2013

It is Day 3 of the Top 10 of 2013, and today was blogger's choice for a topic. This is a series I saw on Fiktshun, and I decided to sign up. I don't think I've mentioned, but this is a series running on multiple blogs, Fiktshun is just the one I regularly read and saw this on there. The other bloggers who run this are linked on the sign ups at Fiktshun if you click over, so you can see everyone who runs it! After looking at the categories, I decided upon Best Couples, because there really are some wonderful pairs out there. 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

Hello, hello! It's another Tuesday here at Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink, and Tuesdays typically mean a Top Ten Tuesday post is on its way! Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted over at Broke and Bookish, and they always have really interesting ideas for posts. If you've never done one of these, click on the link, check out their blog, and see if you'd want to join! This week's theme is Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me. I wouldn't mind if Santa brought me a thousand books, but there are definitely some ones I'm hoping to read this winter, so let's get started!

Top 10 of 2013 - Best Book Covers of 2013







Welcome back to Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink! Today we're continuing on with the Top 10 of 2013, and this day's theme is Best Book Covers. This is something I discovered over at Fiktshun. There have been some absolutely gorgeous book covers this year, and most of these are books I've actually read, but three are part of series I am currently reading, but haven't gotten up to that book or finished it yet. Regardless, get ready for some incredible covers!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Top 10 of 2013 - Best Books I've Read in 2013

Ah, the end of the year posts. It's always fun to look back at what I've read this year and appreciate the books that made it special. This post is part of a series I heard about over on Fiktshun, a series called Top 10 of 2013. This week, expect a post every day looking back on this year, and at the end, even looking forward to the next. This day's theme was the Top 10 Books I've Read in 2013. 

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - Christmas BooktubeAThon Day Three and Wrap Up

It is the last day of the Christmas BooktubeAThon! I had so much fun participating in this. This was my first ReadAThon and BooktubeAThon. I didn't reach my goal of reading a book a day, but I did read two books and there's still time today to start my third, but I'm not in any hurry. I really enjoyed the books I read for this readathon- I gave Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn four out of five stars. I gave Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce five out of five stars. Something additional I wanted to do was review each book I read for the readathon and I was successful- Dash & Lily's has my review on Goodreads, and I wrote a 5 Star Spotlight for Sisters Red that will be posted here on Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink sometime in the beginning of January. Currently, I'm reading The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I think this was a smashing success, and even though I don't have a Twitter and so I didn't participate in the sprints, I still really enjoyed seeing all the BooktubeAThon videos everyday. This was a lot of fun and I can't wait until the weeklong summer BooktubeAThon. If you participated, let me know what you ended up reading and what you thought of it!

From a paper world,
V

'Tis the Season to join every Read-A-Thon I Find!! - Bout of Books 9.0

Did you read the title? Do you know what that means? I was watching a Youtube video of Brianna Kamryn and I hear mention of a Read-A-Thon called the Bout of Books. Well, being the bookish lover that I am who happily lives in a time where read-a-thons can be found online, I pulled up a search engine and found out some details. Want to learn more about this?


Saturday, December 21, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - Christmas BooktubeAThon Day 2

Today I didn't get as far as I had intended. What can I say, it was a busy day and not the best for reading? Currently, I'm up to page 102 of Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.  I started this one today, and I'll definitely be able to finish this book tomorrow and (optimistically) I'll read through The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, which is only about 304 pages. I was planning on saving that book for the 24 Hour ReadAThon, but I decided to go ahead and read it tomorrow. Let me know how your Christmas BooktubeAThon-ing is going!

From a paper world,
V

Sleep? Who needs sleep? 24 Hour Reading Marathon!!

Hello and welcome back to the Paper World. In case you didn't read the blog post title, I have a little announcement. Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink will be participating in the 24 Hour Reading Marathon that's happening this December 29th! 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - Christmas BooktubeAThon Day 1

In lieu of a Friday Reads (although I guess it is a Friday Reads of sorts...) let's talk about the Christmas BooktubeAThon! Today I completed my goal of reading a book today! Yay! *confetti, various celebratory interludes* So, today I read Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. This was a cute, Christmastime read that was fun and seasonally appropriate with some good writing. The characters and storyline was good, if a bit cliche at points (I'm sorry but I'm very sick of the almost but not quite storyline that has played out in movies, books, etc.) but regardless it was a cute read that entertained me for the day, and I gave it four stars. So, now I am choosing between two books for my read tomorrow. The first is Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. The second is Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. I am still figuring out which one I'll read tomorrow, if you have any thoughts please let me know which one you think I should read. I don't plan to review Dash & Lily past a brief review I posted on Goodreads and a feature in my monthly wrap up. 
How goes your Christmas BooktubeAThon-ing? I really love participating in a Read-A-Thon! Let me know how yours is going!

From a paper world,
V

Reading Review - The Collector by Victoria Scott

Hello, all! I've been looking through my shelf and Kindle for some books that I've loved and haven't yet reviewed here, so I'd like to start adding those in as some Reading Reviews. After all, I want to talk about all the books I've enjoyed, not just the ones I'm currently reading, but my favorite series and books as well. Today we're talking about The Collector by Victoria Scott, which is the first book in the Dante Walker trilogy. 

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Reading Review - The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard

Not to surprise everyone, but today I'm going to talk about something related to Splintered. I know, I know, you could probably have seen this coming, but recently I made a post about a reading slump I was in and after doing extensive Booktube research, I found a couple of videos that helped me. If you ever fall into a reading slump or you're in one now. I'm by no means completely out of the slump, but I am on the incline out of it! I'll be doing an update on reading slumps soon, and I'll hopefully have a few tips to add. In the meantime, let's talk about this novella and what I thought.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - Christmas BooktubeAThon!!

If any of you are familiar with the lovely Ariel Bissett, then you may recall her BooktubeAThon that she hosted with Raeleen, or Padfootandprongs07, this past summer. Unfortunately I was unable to take part in that readathon, but what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a video from Ariel about a Christmas BooktubeAThon! Needless to say, I was incredibly excited. I got even more excited when she mentioned that this was a collaboration with Katytastic, Jessethereader, and Elizziebooks, who are three other fantastic Booktubers I've watched. Katytastic was actually the second Booktube channel I ever discovered, and I love seeing all of these people posting videos. Since I adapt so many things for this blog from the Booktube sphere, I was really happy to hear about this!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - All I Want for Christmas Tag

'Tis the season for wonderful holiday tags! This time, I saw a video over on the lovely Daisy of A Thousand Lives of Daisy's channel and she created this tag. I've done a few of the winter/holiday tags that are going around, and I honestly have to say this is one of my favorites. The questions are really unique and I'm not going to lie, I was stumped on a few of them. This really is an awesome tag, so let's jump into the questions!

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2013

Welcome back to Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink.  The Broke and the Bookish created this feature and each week there is a different theme. This week we are talking about the Top Ten authors that I read this year. Let's get started!
These authors are put in no particular author, I really just enjoyed them all, so they're just randomly put into a list of 10. 

Monday, December 16, 2013

The 5 Star Spotlight - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


The Night Circus

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

A Little Late to the Party but... TBR Pile Challenge 2013!

Hi again! It's almost the end of the year, and since Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink is already going to participate in Bookish's 2014 TBR Pile Challenge, let's just go ahead and join the 2013 Challenge as well, albeit a little late. I love the idea of these challenges, and how it allows everyone to check out reviews about books that you can get immediately- for this challenge, they are all from 2012 or earlier. I have a few reviews going up in December, so those will be linked into the challenge. Since it is the last month, the only level I'm aiming for is a Firm Handshake (1-10 reviews) and enjoy the reviews coming out soon.

Ok, very late to the party. Bookish's 2013 TBR Pile Challenge! We are only going to be doing a Firm Handshake, 1-10 reviews, because it's the last month of the challenge. Anyways, enjoy, and if you see this post today and want to sign up, go ahead! This sounds like  a ton of fun, and you can go to the sign up by clicking on Bookish up above. Enjoy! And the button will be in the sidebar!

From a paper world,
V

Stand Alone and Shine - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Holly Black is an amazing author. Let's just put that out there. And for this Stand Alone and Shine post, we are going to be focusing on her recently released novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Friday Reads - December 13, 2013

Hello to everyone! As I've mentioned in a post, I'm in a bit of a reading slump. Thanks to The Moth in the Mirror by A.G. Howard, I'm climbing out. Right now, I'm not updating my currently reading (you'll see the button on the sidebar) because I'm not presurring myself to read anything- I do not want to slump again! So for now, this weekend is totally up in the air. What are you guys reading? Have a great weekend!

From a paper world,
V

Booktube to Blogspot - Winter Wonderland Tag

Welcome back! Here at Paper Worlds, book tags are some of my favorite Booktube videos to watch. So, I decided to bring the tags and some of the Booktube fun to the blogosphere. Today's the Winter Wonderland Tag. Sound curious? Sound exciting? We shall see!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday - Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

It's Wednesday again! So what am I waiting on lately? If this is your first time at Waiting on Wednesday, this is a weekly feature or meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. Let's talk about Hollow City by Ransom Riggs, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Miss Peregrine's is a really well known book, filled with vintage photography that Ransom Riggs perfectly fits into his story and characters. I read Miss Peregrine's back in October, originally thinking it might be good if not a little spooky. It definitely wasn't as spooky as I had expected, but it was fantastic regardless! I really appreciated the attention to detail Riggs had in this book: if he was going to include actual photos in his book, he did it the right way here. Everything fit, but didn't feel too forced. But, enough about Miss Peregrine's, let's talk about its sequel, Hollow City. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! Again, this is a weekly feature hosted over at Broke and Bookish, and each week is a new theme. For this week? Pick the top ten books on your winter TBR. Since December is the 'Month of No TBR' for me, I thought it would be interesting to at least give you guys a sneak peek of what I'll hopefully be reading this month.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Booktube to Blogspot - Booktube Survey 2013 Tag

Booktube has so many awesome tags that I enjoy watching, so Booktube to Blogspot is a series I've created to do some of these tags as well. This month, Sunny and I did the Book Sacrifice on her channel, and I've got quite a few of these I've been wanting to do, so I hope you enjoy! This tag is the Booktube Survey Tag, and it was created by Cool Beans Books and I saw this over at BooKss101, and she added a question in and said that the point of the tag is to add a question at the end for others to answer as well, so stay tuned for that!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Dreaded Reading Slump

Yes, friends, the title is true. I think I'm going to have to call it- I'm in a reading slump. Cue the tragic music. It all started in mid to end of November. I'm not sure what set it off- maybe it was finishing several series back to back almost as soon as I'd started? Whatever the case, I thought I was ok since I read Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue quickly. But I couldn't bring myself to get through Emerald Green, which didn't make sense because the series is fantastic. And then I started Crown of Midnight instead, but then Dorian's character really started bothering me, and I couldn't understand why the little problems I was having with an overall amazing book were making it so difficult to pick up the book. I mean, this slump is getting so bad that when I went book shopping I was having difficulty reading through the first few chapters of books to see if I wanted to get them!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Friday Reads - December 6, 2013

Who's ready for the weekend? I know I am, I can't wait for a few days of relaxing and reading. However, I haven't been reading much lately, so this weekend is a little up in the air. I definitely have plans to continue on with Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas. But, I've been feeling slightly reading slump-ish lately, and it's not because of the books I've been reading, because those are fantastic. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to read much, but if I haven't gotten through most of Crown of Midnight I might end up putting it down for a bit and picking up a quick read to see if that helps. When I start reading I don't have too much of a problem getting into the stories most times; I just haven't picked up the book every free moment I have. We shall see where I go with reading this weekend, and hope you guys have a good weekend, too!

From a paper world,
V

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten 2014 Releases I'm Dying to Read

Welcome back! We've got another Top Ten Tuesday here today, which is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is the Top Ten 2014 Releases I can't wait for. I have a can't wait books of 2014 Goodreads shelf that has over 20 books and so narrowing it down to 10 books is certainly a challenge, but here are the 10 picks.
I was actually able to put these in order, so these are my top 10 picks in order, although having to narrow it down to these was already a task!

Monday, December 2, 2013

TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2014

Hello inhabitants of the paper world! Violet here to bring you some awesome news: this blog is going to be participating in the 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge! This challenge  is hosted over on Bookish, and this is exactly what I was looking for. Want to see what we're going to be involved in for next year?

Sunday, December 1, 2013

December TBR?


A December TBR, you say? There is no December TBR! Trust me, I'm still going to be reading; I can't remember a time I'm not reading one story or another. But I'm not setting a TBR for this month, and I do have some amount of reasoning in this idea of mine.
Firstly, I tend to think of December and June as time to clean out the old TBR pile. I don't like having so many books pile up that I feel overwhelmed, so giving myself two freebie months a year I will be able to manage it somewhat better. Secondly, it's the holidays! And, since I am a little bit of a book lover, I get many different books and gift cards for books. So, I have a pretty big influx of literature coming my way, and some of these books are going to be ones I'll want to read immediately. With that in mind, I've decided that from now on, December and June will be 'Pile Months' which basically means it's a free-for-all pick as I may from the TBR pile and whatever books I'm getting. I do love the challenge of scheduling TBRs and coming up with themes to read; we've got some awesome TBRs coming in 2014, but I also really love just finding a book, grabbing it, and starting to read. This way Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink can have the best of both. So, this month's wrap up will be a little bit of a mystery for us all, won't it? Stay tuned, and enjoy your reading this month too!

From a paper world,
V