Once You're Known.... There's No Going Back | One Year Blogoversary Celebration (1)

Welcome to my first day of blogoversary shenanigans. Aka. "Sofia thinks she can actually write advice when she has no idea what she's doing herself. 

" Those five words mean a lot to both me and my brand. They're in my Blog/BookTube Channel URLs, they're what people refer to when wanting to contact or mention me, and I've been addressed to as "Loving the Language of Literacy" by quite a few spam-filled review request emails.

Why Loving the Language of Literacy?

Despite being the self-proclaimed "Queen of Backstories," my reasons for this name aren't long and dramatic. On Friday, December 6, 2014, I made the conscious decision that reviewing books JUST one Goodreads wasn't enough. I needed to kick it up a notch and create my own blog name. Right now, I'm just thanking the heavens that my amateur blogger mind did not choose "Sofia Li" as my name. 

My Goodreads Reviews

What I did want, originally, was an alliteration, USING my last name. Of course, my first name would have been more convenient, but I learned within the first thirthy seconds of my thesaurus searching that there were a heck of a lot more literary-related adjectives starting with the letter "L" versus the letter "S." 

I know right *flips hair*

I think I searched up "Random Blog Name Generator" or SOMETHING like that, and found a website that gave me a bunch of random adjectives/synoyns. So through around 15 minutes of avid investigating, I came up with "Loving," "Language," and "Literacy." What I figured out at this point, was that adding my last name somewhere in there (most likely, Li Loving the Language of Literacy) would make an already too-long blog name.... too long. Therefore, Loving the Language of Literacy was born. 

Are You Happy With This Blog Name?

To be honest, I am. I completely lucked out on this aspect of blogging, as I am still loving the language of literacy a year later. This love proved to bbe extra handy when it came time to creat my BookTube Channel, because all I had to do was usee the same name, that I was already known by and had already created a brand for. Literally, my ONLY regret is that Loving the Language of Literacy is a heck of a lot to type out. Plus, it proved challenging when trying to create my brand elsewhere. 

Why Would I Advise a *Slightly* Smaller Blog Name, Character/Word Wise?

Amy Poehler says so too! PS: I just read her memoir :)

When you're tryign to create a brand, you want it to be consistent amongst ALL of the social medias. This includes Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. This proved to be the biggest problem with Twitter and Instagram, because, as you know, there are character limits on Usernames. Loving the Language of Literacy is THIRTY-ONE characters long. Waaay too long for a Twitter/Instagram Handle/Username. Plus, it is a pain in the you-know-where to try to fit into character-limited tweets. Plus, if you're lazy like me, you don't want to write all of that out each and every time you sign up for a blog tour. 

I've Already Made My Brand Known & My Blog/BookTube Channel Name is Too Long, How Do I Make My Brand Consistent?

Learning of this character limit tragedy early on, I decided to use my other name that I was known by on some small, dusty corners of the interwebs. @sslluvsbooks Having a short & sweet username, maybe with your name (SSL are my initials), what your brand specializes in (books), and maybe a verb (luvs) helps a ton.

Why Might You Want To Be An Independent Blogger, At Least When It Comes To Your Brand?

Or a Man... If that's what you are

I am in no way trying to insult you, I was so close to making hte same mistake myself, but DO NOT, I repeart, DO NOT, add the words "book" or "read" to your blog name. There are too many of us out there with htat, and you will be indistinguishable from everyone else, plus your lack of creativity (something I am fully guilty of) will show. Three of the most popular, most distinct bloggers/vloggers out there are Nose Graze, Parajunkee, and PolandBananasBooks. With those three names, would you guess, in a million years (minus the books) that any of these channels/blogs have anything to do with books? No, you don't. Wile this might slightly hurt your SEO at first, in the long run, it will make you distiinguishable on the interwens, and even at real-life events (not that I know what those things are).

Why May You Want a Brand Name That Is Related, But Does Not Spell Out What the Majority of Your Content is About?

Post ALL of the Things!

The answer to this is simple - You may want to post something non-book related. Maybe you want to post about a really great race you had, or your latest writing project, or your newest vegan friendly recipe. Having a flexible blog name gives you the freedom to expand a little, if wanted. Of course, if your blog has the words "cooking" and "food" in it, and you start posting about pro-wrestling, you might want to consider starting a new blog because the two audiences don't mingle too much. Lately, I have become so thankful for Loving the Language of Literacy because it doesn't spell out books or reading. Language and Literacy have positive connotations that could relate to writing, so I feel the freedom to post about my NaNoWRiMo Adventues, school assignments, and random writing pieces I want to share with the world.

Of course, these are all pure ramblings from someone who is, in no shape or form, an expert when it comes to brand name-site traffic correlation. This is just my two cents on the matter and my personal experience. 

Fun Fact: When I was first considering creating a BookTube Channel and when pondering what I would name my blog if I had to start all over, I considered changing my name to "The Language of Liteture." This sounded so much more posh and professional, yet it's probably a good thing I chose not to change it for SEO reasons AND because of hose posh it sounds. "Loving the Langauge of Literacy" has a nice sound that rolls of the tongue, "The Langauge of Literature" sounds a bit too uptight, which is the opposite of how I want to come off to people. I want to be a reprieve from school, not an annoying reminder taht it exists. Plus, the word literature is somewhat exclusive to books and the written word. The word "literacy" is about competence with reading and writing. So in the end, I am basically saying the most unoffensive, but still snarky way possible, "I Only Love People Who Are Competent In Language And All Of You LOL-ers need to take a hike." 

{Blog Tour+Giveaway+Review} Double Negative: C. Lee Mckenzie

Rating: 69%

Series: None

Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult,

Publisher: Evernight Teen

Publication Date: July 25, 2014

Page Count: 258

Format: eBook

Source: Xpresso Book Tours

Barnes & Nobles | Amazon | Goodreads

Synopsis: “My life was going, going, gone, and I hadn’t been laid yet. I couldn’t go into the slammer before that happened.” Hutch McQueen. 

 Sixteen-year-old Hutchinson McQueen is trapped between an abusive mother and an absentee father. Shackled by poor vision and poor reading skills, he squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. After another suspension from school and suffering through one of his mother’s violent attacks, he escapes to a friend’s house that turns out to be a meth lab. The lab is raided and Hutch lands in juvenile detention. When the court sentences him to six months in a new juvenile program, he meets a teacher with Alzheimer’s who will change his life and hers. 

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

In my other life--the one before I began writing for teens and younger readers--I was a teacher and  dministrator at California State University, San Jose. My field of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication has carried me to a lot of places in the world to explore different cultures and languages. I can say, “Where’s the toilet?” and “I’m lost!” in at least five languages and two dialects. Go ahead. Pat me on the back. My idea of a perfect day is one or all of the following: starting a new novel, finishing writing a blockbuster novel, hiking on a misty morning trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains, saying Namaste after a great yoga practice, sipping a cappuccino topped at a bustling café, reading in front of a fire with snow outside, swimming in an ocean someplace. I've just set out my perfect life. Day after day after day.

Disclaimer: I recieved this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Who Would I Recommend This To?

Fans of The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

Books with lots of character development and rich plots

Background & Backstory: 

I'm going to be honest here - I signed up for this blog tour without fully reading the synopsis. I skimmed through the parts about abuse, poor vision, and arrest, then signed up. I'm a sucker for a good book with a male protagonist who overcomes obstacles with the help of a charming femalen who provides new insight and perspective a boy who hasn't had many opportunities would appreciate. For some reason, my brain completely skipped the "Contemporary, Fiction" without the word "Romance" included in the listed genres. Plus, my brain seemed to skip the part of the synopsis saying, "teacher with Alzheimer’s who will change his life." 

Therefore, when I started reading, I was a little taken aback and disappointed there wasn't any brilliant female lead who swept Hutch off of his feet - both mentally and physically. Then I went back and (carefully) read the synopsis, and sent my brain down another track that knew what I would be reading. Yet, (Spoiler Alert) I ended up liking the book.

What Was My Reaction After Finishing?

Satisfying

Let me tell you three qualities in a book that I normally dislike, but it turned out that they enhanced the book: Slow Pacing. Characters who make seemingly stupid decisions. A protagonist who isn't the brightest. 

Slow Pacing: My #1 Turnoff because I'm an impatient 21st century teenager that needs instant gratification NOW. I have to admit that this is a factor that made me want to DNF Double Negative for the page 80-150 range. In the case of a book being well-developed, sometimes, slow pacing is required.High fantasy novels have the worldbuilding excuse, yet we don't always assume that YA contemporary novels have a development excuse to slow things down. There were a lot of factors in Hutch's character that needed to be shown and not told.... in the medium of whole scenes versus figurative language. We needed to know about past events that made Hutch the way he was AND the current events that continue to steer him in the wrong direction since readers would wonder what was taking so long for the plot to thicken otherwise. The payoff of the slow pacing was especially wonderful in the end when we got to see the finished product of that period of Hutch's life.

Stupid Decisions: This aspect goes hand in hand with the slow pacing. Everyone knows that people get the way they are because of the people around to influence them. Hutch's dad wasn't there, his mom was an irresponsible alcoholic, his friends dealt in drugs, and he had no one aorund to tell him what is right orsupport him in his endeavors. I would say that was an instant recipe for a flawed character. As much as we would all like to believe that Hutch was a wonderful person that could be great DESPITE of his upbringing, the reality is that not many people can actually be this way and he didn't have the exposure or ddesire to go further in life.

Not The Sharpest Tool In The Shed: As a grammar nazi, I struggle when a charcter speaks in a dialect used by people who are seemingly uneducated. Hutch kind of killed me with all of the double negatives (a huge part of the story and the perfect title) and what could be considered "ghetto" talk. The decision to not tell anyone about his vision problems made everything worse for him and held him back tremendously in the group of generally "bad" kids he hung around.

The Absence Of Romance Can Be A Good Thing: There was this girl named Liz in the story and she was considered hot. At his first encounter with her, Hutch wanted to get to know her better, and maybe go around to all of the bases with that hot bod. Yet, her impact on him as a character was not necessarily positive and I was glad when her relationship with Hutch wasn't gone into more detail and petered out. I thought she would have been THE good influence on him, but that was not the path Mckenzie chose for her.

But Wait.... There's More: Hutch's strategy was having this side character named Nyla read him the lengthy passages that were required of him. Nyla was such an interesting character because she was someone Hutch had known for a long time, and she was bullied by everyone. She had an intricate backstory about her being overweight and I thought it added a lot to the plot and an another example of the crushing environment Hutch was submerged in.

How Likely Is It That I Will Read Another Book By This Author?

50%

I think I would only read another book by Mckenzie if I was in the mood for another story with similar themes and character arcs, but don't completely count me out either.

Conclusion: Even though I didn't get what I expected, I was pleasently surprised with the story in terms of character development and all of the strikes against the book that I ended up enjoying.

Loving the Language of Literacy's One Year Blogoversary Celebration 🎉

Do you know how many things go on in the month of December? 

Hannukah

Christmas

My Birthday

AND

My Blogoversary

On December 8, 2013, a naive teenage girl woke up on a Sunday morning and decided to take her book reviewing talents to the next level by creating her very own book blog.

I knew I had to do SOMETHING for all of you wonderful people. I’m not the hottest, most popular blogger, with ten thousand page views a day, and hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and amazing content going live 365 days a year. I don’t have a ton of capital to sponsor awesome giveaways. Yet, I know EXACTLY what I would have wanted as a theoretical giveaway prize if I were to start a brand new blog tomorrow. (Which, just for the record, I am not doing, Loving the Language of Literacy takes up enough time by itself) 

*drumroll for dramatic effect*

KNOWLEDGE

Last December, I wasn’t handed a blogger’s manual with the need-to-know information on receiving ARCS, blog tours, and readathons. I had to figure everything out for myself, and to be perfectly honest and clear, I made every rookie mistake in the book - you know, the one that doesn’t exist.

So what I’m doing is helping YOU. For the next 30 days, on every even day, you will be receiving some sort of information-packed discussion. *Uses telemarketer voice* But wait.... There’s more!

HALF of those discussions will be on my BookTube channel, epynonimously named, Loving the Language of Literacy! This is so you will receive information in two entirely different mediums covering topics that apply to BOTH, in case you were considering starting your own BookTube Channel to compliment your blog or vice versa.

That means 8 posts full of sarcastic remarks and snarky GIFs on the BLOG Loving the Language of Literacy AND 7 videos full of me trying to be funny and random ramblings ALL full of my overall wonderful attitude. 

Without further ado.... Ze Schedule (Subject to change at any time, because, let’s be real here, it’s still Sofia):

Blog ~ Tuesday | December 2 - Once You're Known.... There's No Going Back

BookTube Channel ~ Thursday | December 4 - Shake Them Haters Off! Do What You Want, What You Want With Your Blog

Blog ~ Saturday | December 6 - The Beauty Of The Internet

BookTube Channel ~ Monday | December 8 - Being a Teenager is Hard Enough Without a Hobby People Don't Understand

Blog ~ Wednesday | December 10 - How To Translate All Of Your Bookish Feels Without Using "asdfghjkl"

BookTube Channel ~ Sunday | December 12 - What Would I Have Done Differently If I Were to Begin V/Blogging Tomorrow?

Blog ~ Sunday | December 15 - Stay Strong & True To What YOU Want To Read; Don't Give In To All Of Those Shiny Early Releases, Enticing Blog Tours & Apparently Gripping Review Requests

BookTube Channel ~ Monday | December 16 - Let’s Break it Down Here.... Life Isn’t Glamorous

Blog ~ Thursday | December 18 - How To Decrease Laziness, Cure World Hunger, Increase Productivity, And Find the Key To World Peace

BookTube Channel ~ Saturday | December 20 - National Book Appreciation Day

Blog ~ Monday | December 22 - I Blog For Myself.... But That Doesn't Mean I Don't Enjoy My Ego Stroked

BookTube Channel ~ Wednesday | December 24 - It's Hard Being So Awesome

Blog ~ Friday | December 26 - What Would I Have Done Differently If I Were To Start Blogging Tomorrow?

BookTube Channel ~ Sunday | December 28 - The Evolutionary Process of a Creature Known as THE Sofia

BookTube Channel ~ Wednesday | December 31 - What Has Book Blogging Taught Me?

*knocks warily* Is Anybody Home? | What's Been Going On? (3)

Welcome, Welcome to the THIRD Episode of What’s Been Going On? An alternative title could be, “Where The Hell Were You In The Month of November, Sofia?” Never fear, you will get to know the reasons for why I was so absent from my blog, what I was doing in my absence (I swear I didn’t spend my entire month watching Red Band Society, Nashville, and How to Get Away With Murder), and what you should expect for December.

Why Haven't You Been Home?

Even in October, BEFORE everything that happened in November happened, I knew it would be a slow month for Loving the Language of Literacy. I had just started the BookTube Channel, it was the end of the trimester (translation = common core testing), and NaNoWriMo would be on the front burner for the entire month.

Then everything in November went down.

If you are an old-timer around Loving the Langauge of Literacy, you will know that my mom had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and after an almsot two year fight, passed away at the end of July. (For a more in-depth information, click here) I went to go live with some family friends, but that arrangement sadly didn't work out due to compatability issues. I had just been informed of it (on the 9th of November), packed up by stuff, and moved in (temporarily) with my dad. May I mention, my dad who has limited internet access? Hashtag: The Struggle Was REAL! Almost two weeks went by until I could move in with my best friend's family. The catch? They live in upstate New York.

So there you have it! A combination of limited internet access, NaNoWriMo-ing, and moving across the country are the reasons I have not been present that much on my blog. 

Where Have You Been During November?

I Wrote 50,000 Words Of A First Draft Of A Novel! | NaNoWriMo 2014: In terms of free time I normally would have spent doing blog-related things (reading books/writing posts), I used that time to write the thee foundation of a YA  contemporary/fantasy crossover with parallel universes, romaance, and a ton of other fun details. 

Brace yourself for how cliche this next sentence will sound. I want to make writing my job. How much does this sound like 75% of the book bloggers/vloggers out there? I don’t mean that I want to write just for the money, as ANYONE can tell you, doing ANYTHING in life where making money is the final goal is pure bullsh*t and you should stop doing that thing ASAP! 2014 has been a year to remember for myself in ALL aspects of life. Throughout everything I have experienced, blogging, vlogging, YouTube, books, libraries, and pretty much anything related to putting a pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) has been my fallback. Throughout everything, the internet, and words have been there for me. I have discovered this fiery passion (I am just a bucketload of cliche phrases today) whenever I discuss the craft of writing and my own writing with people (those who want to listen and even those that didn’t). 

Therefore, the obvious decision was.... participate in NaNoWriMo. In July, you may have seen my announcement that I was doing Camp NaNoWriMo, and that.... just didn’t go well. It was a wrong-time-wrong-place thing. It was a complete impulse decision to participate (two days before), and I just wasn’t in the right, or good, place mentally  or creatively to write a novel. My decision to participate in November’s NaNoWriMo was one I had been thinking about since September, and I actually outlined a few chapters (which shows serious commitment if you know how much of a panster I am). I pushed through the month, despite all of the external obstacles (to be discussed), and hit 50k on the 23rd of November, and now I'm at a stage where I'm re-doing my outline andd story bible to fit what I have wrirten so far. Because, as we all know, 50k isn't enough to finish a story. It was a challenge to sit myself down every day and (at some points) force myself to pound out those words. Yet, I did it, and that is the number one reason I wasn’t able to blog. I used every moment possible to write the words of my novel instead of writing the words of blog posts.

I Moved Across the Freaking Country!!! I don't know if you're aware, but moving takes a LOT of effort. Especially when all of your belongings are divded between three locations. It was a mini-battle betweeen my dad and I for every little seemingly replaceable item. (I agree with him on this one) I even wanted to lug my huge power strip! 

Eveen though I am here now, I am still thinking "OMFG! I have moved to the city where everyone is freezing their butts of." If I thought I could validly complain about Sunny Southern California, I was sorely mistaken. When I arrived, there were snow flurries, and it was 28 degrees. *shivers just thinking about it* 

Lolz! I'm still at the, "I love snow phase"

These events in my personal life took up a lot of my time, which is why I haven’t been posting or uploading half as much as I would have liked.   It has been such an environment change, in terms of who, what, when, where, why, how everything in my life has been going. The good news is that I have a heck of a lot less homework at my new school, so.... more time for blogging/BookTubing/ reading/writing. Hallelujah!       

Who Is To Say You Won't Go Away During December Too?

Because a ton of cool things are a comin'. You had to suffer a whole month without hearing from me! I need to make up for loss time with my wonderful attitude (Don’t worry, I am 100% joking, I am not that much of an arrogant person). December is the month of my birthday, Christmas, Winter Break, and (the thing you’re most expecting me to say) my ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!!! Let me just say that during Turkey Break (yes, I did just call it that), I actually got off my rear end and scheduled a lost of posts. There is more information going up on the first of December with ALL OF THE DETAILS for ALL OF THE THINGS. Because there is an entire month of shenanigans planned.

Disclaimer: None of these images (except for the signature and banner) are mine nor do I claim them to be

What Do YOU Want To Know? Privacy, Disclosure, And Censorship Taken Into Question | A Discussion

Today I want to talk about privacy, what it means and the correlation between safety and being impersonal. Warning: I actually had a blog post that was supposed to go live today, but it's on another computer currently.... a computer that won't wake up, but that's another trauma/drama of mine. 

The definition of privacy is this: "the state of being free from intrusion or disturbance in one's private life or affairs" 

Yet, when posting something online, through a blog post, YouTube video, Instagram Picture, Tweet, Facebook post, or whatever other social media outlet you are using, you have the chance to censor personal information. In a face-to-face conversation, you can't take back or make the other person forget what you said... and if you can, I want to have a serious talk with any blog reader of mine that is withholding the power of mind control from me. Yet, the internet gives you a safety net in the way that, as long as you don't hit "Publish," you can edit and revise what you're going to say/post for as long as you want. Of course, the moment you hit "Send," the entire world can see it (if the entire world chooses to do so) and it will never go away. Come on, don't tell me you haven't seen the multitude of screenshotted snapchats. This discussion is NOT about internet safety, I'm not going to lecture you on the dangers of cyberspace (I'm sure you have a well-meaning elderly person in your life who can do that for you). It is merely about the pros/cons and perception of what privacy truly is.

The tweet below tells you the innocent information that I celebrate Halloween (scandolous) and that I'm on Student Council. There are these little things like this tweet that give people a bigger picture of who I am, and while I'm fine disclosing this.... is it the right decision to do so?

My examples are YouTube specific, but I'm sure (with a little research I don't feel like doing right now) there are solid examples for the blogging community as well. There are the people that choose to disclose their personal lives and people who choose to keep as much of their private life just that - private. 

We have here Bethany Mota and Michelle Phan, the two hottest, biggest, most popular beauty gurus on the internet. Yet, you have to ask yourself, on an exterior, fact-only level of things, "How much do we know about these two ladies?" Combined, they have over 15 MILLION YouTube subscribers, 2.7 million Twitter followers, and 6.3 million Instagram followers. That is a hella lot of people who are interested in what those two succesful young ladies are doing on a regual occasion. I'm sure if I talked to a Michelle Phan or Bethany Mota expert, there would be more trivia, but in actuality, we don't know that much about them.

Then there are daily vloggers like AprilJustinTV and the SacconeJolys. They vlog 7 days a week/365 days a year. If you kept up with them, you would know a ton of intimate, personal information about their daily lives. You know what they had for lunch, where they buy their clothes, what relatives are coming to town, what their children have accomplished. You know a heck of a lot information.

I, on the other hand, am not planning on going all "daily vlogger" (or blogger) on you. In all honesty, that would take waaay too much work on my end to edit, export, and upload vlogs every day or even compose and revise a diary entry of sorts. Yet, I want to find a happy medium (look forward to an entire blgo post in the future about balancing and happy mediums) between you guys knowing every detail of my life. You would probably be bored, because, as hard as it is to believe, my life is not glamorous 24/7 (I've been in my PJs ALL day and am just now beginning to attempt productivity). 

Loving the Language of Literacy is a book blog, but I want to expand it a little more so that you know (the more interesting) events going on in my daily life. If I have had a little success (like winning NaNoWriMo), I want to share it with you, since you are such a big part of my life and who I am. In 2015, I would like Loving the Language of Literacy to be 85% books and 15% writing and other things going on in my life. My blog is a diary of sorts for myself to look back on, even if it's just to point and say, "He He He! You look ridiculous in that video." 

And with that disclosing of information, I have told a little more about myself and made a little more of my personal life public. I could, in theory, go on and on about something that happened without context, but then you would be clueless and it wouldn't be as fun. I know a lot of people choose to keep their personal lives private, but I feel like I need to provide some explanation to you guys when I go missing from my blog for longer periods of time (take November as an example). I have had a lot of things going on this month (in the next post, I will tell you more about them) and not all of them are good/positive.

That's what originally got me thinking about the topic of privacy. Because I could say, "I have gone through so much and I don't owe them anything." Or I could decide to tell you some of it. 

On that note, I will proceed to explain 2 topics that are kind of personal that I am debating about disclosing.

Location: Looking on my Instagram and Twitter, you will know that I recently moved across the country to the state of New York. What you do not know (at least I think, because with "moving brain" it is likely that I have told you my address and how to find me and not remembered it) is what city specifically I live in. When I was in SoCal, I claimed that I lived in Los Angeles. Well.... I lied! *grins evily* I lived in a small suburb of Los Angeles (that is in fact its own city, something I didn't realize until around two years ago). If you saw Instagram pics or knew what was in driving distance of the various booksignings I have attended, then you have a general idea of where I resided. 

Now that I have moved, I have been asking myself, "Do I do the same thing? Tell them the name of the big city closest to me? Or keep quiet and let them guess what mystical part of New York I'm from?" There is also the Instagram concept known as "Tagging" and when people in my personal life tag me in photos, the photo will sometimes say a location. So does that mean I have to create a new Instagram entirely for people to tag me in once in a blue moon? (I created an Instagram purely for book blogging purposes. I'm not the typical teenage girl who posts selfies every hour on the hour)  

Age: This is something I have been seriously considering telling people just to put things in perspective for my blog readers. And every time I think about it, I immedietaly remember the reasons why I HAVEN'T told people my age. Don't worry, I'm not a pedophilic 80 year old man, you have the YouTube channel to confirm that. A ton of people, mostly in their 20s, have no problem whatsoever with disclosing their ages because that is the primary age group of YA book related content creators. For me, age is a sensitive topic because age is often misconcieved for being synoymous with the word "capabilities." There are a lot of teenagers my age are who perfectly capable of maintaining a blog and a lot who aren't because of the effort and time it takes. 

What About You?

Do you think its perfectly fine to give away personal information about yourself such as likes/dislikes, relationship status, proffession?

Do you carefully craft every single Instagram caption so that your followers never know anything about you?

Do you daily vlog and tell people bucketfulls of information about yourself because that's who you are and the people deserve to know this?

What are your thoughts on disclosing personal information and finding balance?

Bonus Question: How old do you think I am?

{Book Review} The Kiss of Deception (Remnant Chronicles #1): Mary E. Pearson

Rating: 72%
Series: Remnant Chronicles #1
Genre: High Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction,
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Page Count: 492
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

Barnes & Nobles ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis: A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

Fans of the Fire & Thorns Trilogy (Rae Carson), The Shamer Chronicles (Lene Kaaberbøl), Throne of Glass Series (Sarah J. Maas) 

Would I Buy It?

70% 

There is actually a large possibility of me purchasing The Kiss of Deception because of 1) How much I enjoyed the novel and 2) How beautiful the cover is of both this book and its sequel

Background & Backstory

Fun Fact: I put off reading The Kiss of Deception for literally the longest time possible, even though it was one of my most anticipated releases of the summer. I had received this book as an eARC from Netgalley ages ago, like in April of 2014. Pretty much, life has gotten in the way of my reading this book, and I forgot about being accepted for it until the release date drew nearer and it was getting so much prepublication hype. Even that didn’t make me pick up the book immediately. Finally, I put it on hold at my library and borrowed. But wait.... there’s more. I renewed this book TWICE, which mean I had it in my possession for almost nine weeks. For an anticipated release, this sure was getting pushed to the back burner a lot. 

And then.... came the move.

for personal reasons, I had only recently (last Saturday) been notified that I was to move cross country to upstate New York. And as you know, I only recently (four months ago) moved around 30 miles from the home I had lived/grown up in almost my entire life. But enough about that, I had been forced to move, and because of this, I had had to return all 31 of my library books (I’m not an impulsive clicker at all). Because of this, I was forced to read books I actually owned (what a concept), and I saw this as a sign and a FINAL go-ahead to read The Kiss of Deception. 

What Was My Reaction After I Finished This Book?

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid male protagonist that makes me yearn for a sequel this very instant!

I conquered my hatred! If you’re new around here, you may not have seen a discussion post from September which was entitled, I Hate Big Books and I Cannot Lie. In this, I explained about my hatred of reading big books because of the sense of unproductively and dissatisfaction they gave me. And the number one time this hatred is felt is when reading large eBooks. There is an ongoing debate about eBooks versus Physical Books, and one of the best arguments for Physical Books is the sensation of turning pages and the visual representation of making your way through a book, something us 21st century readers like to see to have our egos stroked. Anyways, The Kiss of Deception clocks in at almost 500 pages, something I was blissfully ignorant to when I began reading. Yet, I sped through this chunkster in less than 24 hours. My eBook reading pace is usually three times as much as my physical book one for other reasons mentioned in [INSERT POST TITLE/LINK]. Reading The Kiss of Deception has made me conquer my hatred of big books, and made me believe in myself and the fact that, if I am loving a fat eBook, it can be read in an extremely short amount of time. The fast-paced intrigue of the novel is the most attractive aspect of it, and if you struggle, like I do, with chunkster, you may have no issues whatsoever. 

Multi-Points-of-View-Sensory-Overload: One of the most enticing factors for myself as a reader is multiple POVs (Thank the Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu for this). And The Kiss of Deception had a boatload of perspectives. The majority (60%) of this novel was told my Lia, aka our leading lady. The other 39% was told by her two love interests, Rafe and Kaden, or “The Assassin” and “The Prince,” as the ominous headers for each chapter state. The last 1% is an unnecessary chapter told by Lia’s best friend, Pauline. Anyways, one of the biggest appeals of The Kiss of Deception is the fact that Lia, and yourself as the reader don’t know if Rafe is the assassin or Rafe is the prince or if Kaden is the assassin or Kaden is the prince. I don’t know how many revisions and rewrites Pearson had to make to get the reader so clueless as to who was who, but she accomplished it. I felt intelligent (for once) because I actually guessed which name was attached to which person. On another quick side note, it doesn’t matter actually whose name is attached to who in the fact that neither man uses their real name. You have this idea of who each man is, but in the next chapter you read, you’re thrown off, and your presumption is *maybe* proved wrong. I will have to say that they weren’t the most distinct voices I have ever heard (June and Day will forever be that pair), but they definitely held their own and got the job done.

Length Not Needed? While I wasn’t bored, and the story was fast-paced, I do think that it could have been shorter by 100 pages or more. There was a lot of extra standing around, waiting for each, and every, distinct, little, event to happen a lot of revelations could have been made in a shorter span of time. 55% of the story took place in this ONE town and it got a little tedious. The other 40% of it took place in  a desert-like terrain which annoyed me a little, coming from The Fire and Thorns trilogy, and although that wasn’t The Kiss of Deception’s fault, there was still so much extra traveling time trekking across the desert.

Fantastical Tropes? Having only begun to incorporate High Fantasy into my regular reading, I can’t judge as to what is a “cliche” or “overdone” trope. But I sure as heck can point out the similarities between three separate series. I am talking about the Fire and Thorns Trilogy, the Throne of Glass Series, and The Kiss of Deception. All three of these had so many similarities in their royalty structure and the protagonist’s desires to break out of the mold and tradition set before them. I get it, it’s a common problem with royalty now, back then, and in these high fantasy universes, but you would think their systems would vary slightly. Yet, they don’t. Royalty doesn’t want to be royalty. Magic is taboo but some still believe in it. Protagonist has to make the decision to make a stand for her home. The end.... until the second book.

Love Triangles That Work: I am not in the party of bloggers who think love triangles are the devil. I am known to indulge and and enjoy a well written one every once in a while. The Kiss of Deception’s trio was, as usual, unprobable, but I just liked them together and thought their relationships worked well. Each man provided something different that Lia needed, and I enjoyed seeing the contrast between them a lot. What I will have to say is that the name (Rafe/Kaden) and the occupation (Prince/Assassin) of the guy who I was routing for ended up not coinciding, which would be kind of awkward if these book characters knew my wish of exchanging one for the other.

Ending 40%: I am such a fickle mistress when it comes to liking endings of books, because I usually don’t and they fall flat. Sadly, The Kiss of Deception continued this trend. The vibes I was getting felt so Crown of Embers, and the character’s motives for their actions unrealistic. Why did you have to let me down but entice me enough to pick up the sequel Mary E. Peason? WHHHHY?!?

How Likely Is It That I Will Read The Sequel To This Book?

80%

Hell yeah, I’ll be reading the sequel. *Fast forwards a year from now and Sofia still hasn’t read it* I need answers. 

Conclusion: A strong series debut with lyrical prose, multiple points of view, fast paced, plenty of intrigue, a likable love triangle, and suspenseful ending.

{Blog Tour+Giveaway+Review} Induction Day (Butterman Travel #2): P.K. Hrezo

Tour Page & Schedule

Rating: 75%
Series: Butterman Travel #2

Ages: 16+

Pages Count: 247
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Time Travel, New Adult, Young Adult, Fiction,
Publisher: Create Space
Publication Date: July 29, 2014
Format: eBook
Source: Candace's Book Blog Promotions

The year 2069 is coming to a close, and eighteen-year-old Bianca Butterman's time-craft license is finally official. She's ready for the Induction Day she’s waited for since she was a kid—the one that will secure her name on the Butterman family tree of time travelers. But ever since the media discovered Bianca is pop superstar Tristan Helms’ latest new honey, everything Bianca does or says becomes a target of criticism. Having her professional credibility topping the gossip sites across social media is an open invitation for the government to step in and regulate Bianca’s Induction. Now she will have to ask herself if saving 1500 people from drowning is worth losing everything she’s ever worked for, including the Butterman family biz.

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated; a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. We’re a family owned and operated business with one hundred years of experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend some special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply

Use our Web conferencing to contact our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, who will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

Goodreads | YouTube

  Information on Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc 

Synopsis: Welcome to Butterman Travel, IncorporatedWe are a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. Family-owned and operated, we offer clients one hundred years of time travel experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.Anxious to attend a special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do applyConference us directly from our Website. Our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

 Goodreads |  Amazon Kindle  | B&N   

About the author:

PK Hrezo is a native Floridian rarely found without her flip flops on. She shares her home with her firefighter husband, their two children, and big dog named Ripley. When not creating characters and their worlds, PK can be found at her other job of rearranging passenger’s itineraries for a major international airline. The only hobbies she loves more than traveling are reading, writing, and music, and when the four are combined she exists in total bliss.

Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog

Giveaway:

To be entered into a special giveaway, copy one of these ready-made posts and share it. Make sure PK’s name is tagged so she can see it and enter your name into a giveaway. The more you share, the more entries you receive. Five winners will receive a time traveler’s book thong:

TWEETS: Induction Day by @PKHrezo is a #timetravel #mustread. Retweet this to be entered into a special #giveaway. Add it to #AmazonCart here.

FACE BOOK: Induction Day is here! A taut, fast-paced, engrossing read by PKHrezo. Find it on Amazon here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9ADV2O

GOOGLE PLUS: Induction Day by #PKHrezo is a #timetravel #mustread. Retweet this to be entered into a special #giveaway. A taut, fast-paced, engrossing read. Find it on Amazon here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9ADV2O

Share this post for an entry into a special giveaway.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Candaces Book Blog Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Background &Backstory

I was planning, somewhere on my lengthy TBR, to read this book, after all, I had sincerely enjoyed Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc back in January and wanted to know what happened next. I just hadn't planned on reading it as soon as I did in November. Yet, sometime in October, Candace's Book Blog Promotions when they inquired about me wanting to participate in the Induction Day blog tour. I thought, "What the hey?" I liked the first book, I already wanted to read the second, I love supporting authors I have previously worked with. I'll do the tour.

What Was My Reaction After I Finished This Book?

That was.... somewhat confusing, sequel PLEASE

Pro | Solidity/Deliverance: In terms of self/independently-published books I have read for promotional events, Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc is on my top three list. The first book had an extremely strong plot, interesting take on time travel, a swoon worthy romance, and well-developed characters. I am so happy to say that the sequel, Induction Day, was just as strong and solid of a sequel, delivering on my expectations after reading Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. Sophomore Slumps are a common occurrence amongst all authors and I was so appreciative for Induction Day carrying out my wishes as a reader (I don't sound entitled at all :p). 

Con | The Feeling of Wanting More Well-Roundedness : In Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. The story's setting and focus had a lot more variety. So, while Induction Day was satisfying to me in terms of reading enjoyment, it was not nearly as diverse in terms of where, what, how, why, when everything was taking place. Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. was a big bucket of crazy (of the good variety). Yet, Induction Day was centered in only Alaska and the Titanic versus the multiple locations of Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. I had just wanted a wider scope of vision in Bianca's world and didn't receive it. What I will point out is the fact that this novel did serve as an excellent foundation for the next book.

Pro | Characters & Romance: Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc allowed us to see into the minds, form opinions, and get to know Bianca and Tristan, our leading man and lady. Induction Day put our preconceived ideas of the two of them to the test. The raw, grittiness of Tristan's smoking hot character was upheld with all of the recent issues with his drug addiction. Bianca's Butterman's choice of judgement and intelligence was challenged with her Induction Day, and I respected her so much as a character because of it. On top of that, even though this novel is classified as New Adult (by default with the protagonist's ages), but the two of them have not been to the intimate level so many teenaged book character get to by at least the second book. I commend Hrezo so much for making Bianca hold so strongly to her moral beliefs about her virginity. The couple's relationship was also put to the test. They argued, yet as any reader/author duo knows, that is what makes the story stronger and more believable.

Con | Confusion With Time Travel: Time Travel has always been an extremely confuzzling concept for our inapt human minds to handle. Therefore we are bound to not understand. Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. did not have me confused with this concept, but because Induction Day built on what I had already learned in Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. everything was just multiplied in terms of complexity. P.K. Hrezo did a brilliant job of going into detail with this concept and designing her own rules for this peculiar concept. Therefore it is a personal thing only, with the matter of my finding this book a tad confusing when it came to the time travel aspects.

How Likely Is It That I Will Read The Sequel To This Book?

40%
Since beginning to book blog/vlog, I have needed to prioritize my TBR and make sure that my bookish needs were satisfied above anything else. (Yes, I am aware about how selfish that sounds) I try my best to only read books that I truly want to read. Therefore, I probably won't obtain this book purely on my own want for a sequel, but most definitely, if the opportunity to promote/support the next book comes up, I will take it.

Conclusion: A solid, satisfying, fast-paced sequel that delivered everything I expected.

{Blog Tour+Giveaway+Review} The Last Changeling: Chelsea Pitcher

Rating: 70%
Series: Faerie Revolutions #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Faries,
Publisher: Flux
Publication Date: November 8th 2014
Page Count: 360
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley

Barnes & Nobles ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis: A Kingdom at War . . .

Elora, the young princess of the Dark Faeries, plans to overthrow her tyrannical mother, the Dark Queen, and bring equality to faeriekind. All she has to do is convince her mother’s loathed enemy, the Bright Queen, to join her cause. But the Bright Queen demands an offering first: a human boy who is a “young leader of men.”

A Dark Princess In Disguise . . .

To steal a mortal, Elora must become a mortal—at least, by all appearances. And infiltrating a high school is surprisingly easy. When Elora meets Taylor, the seventeen-year-old who’s plotting to overthrow a ruthless bully, she thinks she’s found her offering . . . until she starts to fall in love.

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About the Author: WEBSITE | @Chelsea_Pitcher | FACEBOOK

Chelsea Pitcher is a native of Portland, OR where she received her BA in English Literature. Fascinated by all things literary, she began gobbling up stories as soon as she could read, and especially enjoys delving into the darker places to see if she can draw out some light. 

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Background & Backstory

Everything, at least in the bookish world, has a reason. Despite knowing how much immense pressure is put on myself when it comes to reading and reviewing a blog tour book, I sign up for them anyway. Go figure! The reason behind THIS tour stop is that I needed that pressure. To be honest, my Netgalley approval ratio is shot, I have no chance of ever amending that sucker unless I spent half a year reading purely eBooks. There you have it, I signed up for this tour to get my approval to feedback ratio 1% higher.

Con | Insta-Love:  While I am not a blogger/reader that immediately shuts down whenever they face a fearful instal-love situation *Divergent Reference* I don't enjoy it unless I myself am routing for the couple extremely hard. With The Last Changeling, it was one of those model instal-love situations that I, personally, disliked. The moment the two of them met, they were already thinking about each other in a physical way, which EXTREMELY annoyed me.

Neutral | Dual-POVs: If you know what type of reader I am, having dual-POVs as a neutral point of the book is surprising. I enjoyed the dual-POVs, never got them confused, and they added insight to the story. Yet it almost felt as if this story couldn't stand on its own without them. First person from either side and even third person would have confused me as a reader, so it seems like the default and obvious choice was to write the novel in duo-POVs. 

Neutral | Faeries: I don't like faeries in books. Never have. Never will. The beautiful creatures found in kid's fairy tales usually are bad, or mean, or unappealing. I had hoped this book might change my opinion, but since it was so set in stone, I think only a 5-star book would have done that. So while I don't count this as a strike against The Last Changeling, I didn't like the faeries either.

Neutral | LGBTQ+ Advocation: Neither Taylor or Elora falls under the LGBTQ+ spectrum, but there was a ton of advocation for LGBTQ+ people and their rights. As always, I commend authors for including the aspect in their stories. I just thought it was kind of distracting from the main, overall plot arc with SO much focus. 

Pro | Predictable Urban Fantasy Plot With a Twist: The Last Changeling was one of those classic urban fantasies where a magical being (female or male or anything in between) is found. Then they are helped and concealed with the help of the opposite gender as they attempt to blend in with everything around them. The first 50 pages, I thought I wouldn't like the plot because of how many cliche trope markers there were. Yet, I held on and was pleasantly surprised with how much originality followed the predictable plot set up.

How Likely Is It That I Will Read The Sequel To This Book?

25%

This is absolutely nothing personal against Chelsea Pitcher (who is an extremely nice author) or her book, but I don't think I will be reading the sequel. I make it a point to only read sequels to books I rated 4 or more stars and reading the next book in the Faerie Revolutions just would not fit into my enormous TBR. On the other hand, if you had asked me how likely it is for me to pick up another book by her, the percentage would be a lot higher because I am interested to see what she does with her writing in a contemporary novel (such as The S-Word) which is the first book of hers I had ever learned about.