Monthly Wrap-Up | February 2015

My Life
Busy...
This is the time of the year when all of the professors secretly conspire and make all of the long-term projects due at once. Honestly, I may or may not have started all of them. Even though I have been playing catch-up on schoolwork, I have surprisingly been up to date with blog stuff. As promised there have been at least three post a week. I also got a couple of ARCs that I will be reviewing in the beginning of March, so look out for those.
Also, I finally decided to make a Twitter for the blog. You can find us @Crazyfor_YA. So far, I have been having a ton of fun connecting with other bloggers and readers. I hope you can join in on the conversation!
I also got a new puppy this month! Her name is Holly (because she was born on Christmas Eve) and she is the cutest Pekingese puppy ever!

Holly's first bath! pic.twitter.com/yMjhYowll3
— Tessa (@Crazyfor_YA) February 28, 2015

Books I Read

I read a total of seven books this month (one more than last month!), which brings my yearly total to thirteen.

Blog Tour and Review | Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis

Gathering Frost
(Once Upon A Curse #1) 
By: Kaitlyn Davis 
Release Date: 02/17/15

Summary from Goodreads: 

Will his kiss be enough to revive her frozen heart? 

Once Upon A Time meets La Femme Nikita in GATHERING FROST, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Jade is tasked with an unusual mission--to let the Prince capture her, to make him trust her, and then to betray his secrets to the crown. In return, she'll earn her freedom. But life outside the queen's realm is more than Jade bargained for. Under Asher's relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.

Top Ten Tuesday | Favorite Book Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today's list is a compilation of our favorite book heroines (not the drug).

Over the last couple of years, the YA genre has really stepped up its game and gotten some seriously kick-butt female characters. Obviously, there are too many to include in this list, but we will try.

The characters on this list are extremely brave, intelligent, sarcastic, and just overwhelmingly kick-butt. Some of them might show it in different ways, but they all faced intense danger and loss, but they rose above it to become the characters that we love.

Tessa

Celaena Sardothien 

from the Throne of Glass series

Karou 

from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

Mackenzie Bishop

from The Archived series

Rose Hathaway

from the Vampire Academy series

Hazel Grace Lancaster

from The Fault in Our Stars

Katniss Everdeen (duh)

from the Hunger Games

Tris Prior
from the Divergent triology

Hermione Granger
from the Harry Potter series

Penryn
from the Angelfall series

Mara Dyer
from the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer series

Who are your favorite heroines? What are your favorite qualities to see in a lead female character? Do you agree/disagree with any of my picks?

Love A Thon 2015 | High Five

Welcome to my last challenge of 2015 Love A Thon. It has been great talking with everyone and finding amazing new bloggers to stalk follow. I hope that we can keep up this blogging love for the rest of the year!

Thanks to Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books for coordinating this whole shebang! I loved every single second of it. Even though I joined a little late, I felt like I experienced the love of the entire blogging community. I am following double the bloggers I had before on Bloglovin and Twitter.

Also, this was my first week on Twitter, so trying to keep up with everyone's awesomeness was quite a big task. But, I ended up loving it and I will (try) to continue to keep up.

Here is my "high five" for this year's Love A Thon.

Love A Thon 2015 | One Can Only Quote

Welcome to my second challenge of the 2015 Love A Thon! So far, I am enjoying everyone's posts, comments, and all of the other love that is circulating the book blogging community right now. I cannot wait for tomorrow's festivities!

This challenge is called One Can Only Quote and the quest is pretty simple. All you have to do is include some of your favorite quotes about love and friendship.

I am trying to get the hang of designing my own graphics, so I made some pretty (or at least I hope so) pictures to go with my quotes. I hope you enjoy!

Love A Thon 2015 | Introduction and Spine Poetry

Happy LoveAThon everyone!

In case you did not know, the Book Blogger Love A Thon is an annual event hosted by Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books.

I just found out about this wonderful blogger love fest when I stumbled on the #LoveAThon chat on Twitter. A ton of lovely bloggers were talking and basking in all of the bookish love. So, I wanted to join in. And, it is not too late for you to join in! Just fill out the form and start sharing the love. There are plenty of mini challenges, giveaways, and love to share!

Since I joined in a little late, I am combining the introduction questionnaire and the first challenge into one post.

So if you want to know a little bit more about me, my blog, and my awesome poetry skills, come share the love!

Discussion | How Important is Blog Design?

I am a blogger, not a graphic designer.

Certainly, there are talented people who are both, but unfortunately I am not one of those people.

Lately, I have been obsessing over the blog layout, design, fonts, colors, sidebars, EVERYTHING!

For some reason, I have never been happy with my blog's design.

My question is -- How important is a blog's design anyway?

Blog Tour | Just Pru by Anne Pfeffer

Welcome to my tour stop for Just Pru by Anne Pfeffer. This is tour and runs February 16-27th.  Just Pru releases March 2, 2015. Check out the tour page for more information.

About the Book:

When twenty-five-year-old Pru Anderson—braless, pajama-clad, and clutching her cat, Chuck—is rescued from her burning Los Angeles apartment, the thing that scares her most is meeting the neighbors. New people make her hide in the bathroom, counting by sevens, but when her home is destroyed, she must turn strangers into friends …  or crawl back to the controlling parents she only recently escaped.

What would her idol, Pepper Hathaway, do? That’s a no brainer: the detective-slash-supermodel heroine from Pru's favorite TV series would take no prisoners while looking fierce in a tankini and stilettos. So when the chance comes up to live with playwright Ellen, Pru sets aside her fears and goes for it.

Thus begin the adventures of a girl who's never had a job, a friend, or a first kiss. Swept into Ellen's whirlwind life, Pru begins to build her own, as director's assistant for a new play, muse to brooding actor Blake, and possible love interest to adorably neurotic neighbor, Adam.

Only one thing can derail Pru's exhilarating journey. Well, actually, it's two things—and they're in a car headed straight for LA to torpedo her life. When the past that nearly destroyed her comes calling, who will she be: a Prudence or a Pepper?

Goodreads 

Top Ten Tuesday | Bookish Problems that I Deal With Everyday

This meme is hosted by the wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is bookish problems that I have to live with everyday.

As we all know, being a bookworm is pretty awesome. But, there are some problems that we all have to struggle with at some point or another. Today, I am going to complain explain what these problems are and how I deal with them.

Valentine's Day Reads

I am painfully aware of the upcoming holiday. The one where half of the population spends the day with the loves of their lives, and the other half is left to wallow in self-pity with only a carton of ice cream for comfort.

Well, this year is going to be different. If I cannot have a boyfriend, then I am at least going to treat myself with a good book. So, here are my recommendations of books to read on Valentine's Day, whether you are excited for a romantic evening or anticipating a night alone. You will find everything you need here.

Review | The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

The Retribution of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin
Series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer #3
Release Date: November 4th, 2014
Pages: 470
Review by: Tessa




She has lost everything. Her family, the love of her life, and possibly her sanity.

Retribution is the only thing she has left. She wants revenge for what happened to her and those she loves.

But, getting there might be harder than she thought when she wakes up back where she started, the psych ward of a hospital.

The final installment of the Mara Dyer series combines the heartbreak of losing everything with the desire to make everything right.

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Romance Things We Like and Dislike in Books

This is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is our favorite and not so favorite things about romance in books, particularly YA.

The GIF Tag

Regardless of how you pronounce it, GIFs have become a staple in the book blogging universe. I have never really used them a lot, but I enjoy reading posts with them. I mean it is the best way to incorporate other fandoms into your blog (especially Doctor Who).

I was tagged by the wonderful Sincerely, a Book Nerd to do this tag.

She gave me ten books that I have to describe using GIFs. Words are allowed, but the GIF should do most of the talking.

Then, I will nominate another blogger to respond to my list of ten books.

So here we go!

Ebook Deals | February 2015

For those of us who cannot go away for Valentine's Day, a book is the closest we can get to happiness. The only way to make this bookish date better is lower prices on ebooks!

This month, all kinds of books are on sale. So whether you want to stay in on Valentine's Day with a good book or share a new read with your partner, this list has everything you need.

Monthly Wrap-Up | January 2015

My Life

January was a stressful month. Work piled up and I was struggling underneath the brunt of it. By some miracle, I found some time to blog, but not as much as I wanted to. 

Cassia has taken an unannounced blogging hiatus, and it is to be determined whether she is going to return.

Max has been even busier than I have (which I did not think was possible) so her posts were also limited. 

We are doing our best to keep posting new content, be active on social media, and visit/comment on all of your lovely blogs. I hope February is a better month.

Books I Read

I only read a total of 6 books this month (and one was a DNF, but I am still counting it).