Top Ten Tuesday | Our Top Ten Goals for 2015

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

This is the last Top Ten Tuesday of 2014!

I would say that this year went by quickly, but that would be a lie. While we really picked up on our blogging pace, it was not easy. Also, life has gotten in the way a couple times.


We are going to try and keep our blogging momentum going next year. We still have a lot of work to do, so here are our blogging for 2015.

Max

My main goal for 2015 is to keep a better record of the books that I read. This includes recording every book that I read on Goodreads. Most of the time, I forget to mark a book as "read" on Goodreads and give it a rating.
Another part of this is to write more reviews. I want to remember what I read and how I felt about it. Between the dozens of books that I read every year, I want to remember the books I loved and the books I hated and the reasons why. I think of it as a literary scrapbook to chronicle my reading adventures.

Tessa

In the coming year, I want to be a more consistent blogger. When I looked at the number of posts from November and June compared to the posts during December. There were 39 posts in November, but only 10 in December, including this one. I was disappointed with myself as a blogger. For most bloggers, posting once a week is a great goal, but I feel that we can do better. There are so many things that I want to write about, but I have not been able to find the time. So, I am going to focus on writing posts and reviews in advance. I am planning on creating a stockpile of reviews during the weekends and hopefully distributing them out over time.

I also want to be a more confident blogger. I constantly second guess myself about every idea that I have, and that has really set back my blogging pace. One of the reasons that I love to write is the ability to remain anonymous, but still spread my personal thoughts and feelings. Over this year, I have discovered that blogging is not about hiding yourself, but discovering who you really are. In 2015, I want to have the confidence to spread my wings as a blogger.

As a blog, we our goal is to write more discussion posts. To us, blogging is about spreading ideas, and we also want to hear ideas. We want to create a way for everyone to have their own voice at Crazy for YA.

So, we joined the 2015 Book Blog Discussion Challenge hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight.

We are aiming to write 13-24 discussion posts in the coming year.

So, those are our unrealistic ambitious goals for next year. I hope you will be joining us to see if we actually accomplish any of them. You better get ready for another year of crazy blogging!



What are your goals for the new year? How do you want to improve your blog, or your life?

2015 Book Blog Discussion Post Challenge | Sign-Up

Our New Year's resolution at Crazy for YA is to be better bloggers.

Why so vague? 

This year we have some work to do. There are countless things we need to work on, so trying to put all of our goals into one resolution would be impossible. So, we did not even try. 

You can expect some changes over the next month or so. 

We plan on posting more often, commenting on more blogs, cleaning up the blog, and being more involved in the book blogging community. 

To accomplish this, we want to write more discussion posts. 

We believe that the heart of the blogosphere, and even the whole bookish world, is discussion. The whole reason we started a blog is to communicate with other people who have the same interests. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that much around here. On the bright side, Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight have come up with the perfect solution, a discussion post challenge!

We have not done many discussion posts yet. We dabbled with them during BookBlogWriMo, and our first, real discussion post by Tessa was published a couple weeks ago. The discussion, about the Goodreads Choice Award winners, was one of our most commented posts. We started some great conversations, which is what we want to do with every post.

The challenge is probably the simplest one that you will find. 

All you have to do is write discussion posts and link them up in the monthly recap posts.

Our goal is to have 13-24 discussion posts next year to achieve the level of Creative Conversationalist.  For those math people out there, that adds up to about 1-2 discussion posts a month. 

My favorite thing about this challenge is the most people who join, the better the challenge will be. So, if you are missing the crazy lovely voices of fellow bloggers in your life, then this should be your challenge for 2015.

Sign-ups are open until December 31st at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. 

Make sure to lick your introduction post to the linky at either Feed Your Fiction Addiction or It Starts at Midnight.

There will be a kick-off post at Feed You Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight on January 1.

The lovely hosts have also promised that there will be monthly giveaways!

To connect with other participants, use #LetsDiscuss2015

We cannot wait to start all kinds of bookish conversations with you!

UPDATE: 12/30/15

Here is the list of all of the discussion posts that I wrote in 2015 for this challenge.

Can Authors Write Too Many Books?

BookTube: YouTube for Book Nerds

How Important is Blog Design?

My Thoughts on Twitter

Series Procrastination

Exploring the Faults of Young Adult with the #VeryRealisticYA

The Season of Book Festivals is Upon Us

The Mortal Instruments TV Series

How to Appreciate a Library

Authors are People Too

My Life as an Optimistic Reader

Organizing my Priorities

What exactly is a classic?

The Woes and Rewards of Being a Slow Reader

Discussing The Scarlet Letter

E-book Deals | Holiday Edition

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!

I have finally recovered from slaving over infinite batches of cookies, wrapping presents, and shoving homemade food in my face. It was quite exhausting.

Now, I am experimenting with my new KINDLE that I got for Christmas. Yes, I finally conceded to getting an e-reader.

Now, I could not be happier with the conversion. I can basically read any book I want anytime I want to. Also, there is a bunch of free and cheap books to find! Today, I decided to share with you the best jewels I found in my search for e-book deals. You do not need to feel guilty about spending your holiday money on any of these steals!

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

$1.99

until January 5th

BookBub * Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

$1.99 

until January 5th

BookBub * Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google

Panic by Lauren Oliver

$1.99

until January 5th

BookBub * Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

$2.99

Amazon



Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Goodreads Choice Award Winner 2014 for Best Debut Goodreads Author

$1.99

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google



The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by L.J. Smith

Based on the popular television show

$1.99 
until December 29th

BookBub * Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google



Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

$1.99
until January 5th

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google



Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

$1.99
until January 5th

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google



Talon by Julie Kawaga

$4.99

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google




Until Midnight by Melissa Landers

A Christmas-themed short story in the Alienated series

FREE

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * Google

UPDATE



Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

$1.99

Amazon

$2.80

Google


*Disclaimer*
All of these e-books were still on sale as of the time this post went live, December 27,2014 at 5:00 p.m.
Make sure to double check the price of anything you wish to buy before you purchase it. 

If you are interested in looking for more e-book deals, check out BookBub. You can sign up for the e-newsletter that contains new deals everyday.

Have you found any noteworthy deals this holiday season? I would love to hear about them!

Book Blitz | Where Dead Bodies Lie by Kat Cazanav

Where Dead Bodies Lie
(The Body Dowser Series, #1)

by Kat Cazanav 

Release Date: 12/16/14

Summary from Goodreads:

For as long as I can remember, I have been told to follow three important rules;
Always guard my ability
Never share my secret
And pretend to be normal.

However, those three little rules don’t make my life easier. I still find dead people and deal with strange visions. Not to mention, an attraction to a boy who doesn’t exist. Whenever we cross path’s he mists away like smoke on a mirror. He drives me crazy, that Kaff Cooper.

As a flock of dead crows fall from the blackened sky, Kaff becomes the only one who can see the truth straight to the dark underbelly of who I actually am.

My hands feel the pull to extract the forsaken, the lost, the forgotten. It comes as naturally as breathing and there is no stopping it. 

Excerpt

A coldness nipped at my fingertips and no matter how hard I shook my hands, the mist clung to them. I heard a cracking sound and looked up at ceiling lights as they exploded, sending  shards of glass spraying everywhere.

Students screamed, covering their heads. Another fury of wind swept in through the window. 

Papers flew, stools toppled, and lab vials burst.

The door flung open and panicked shouts filled the air as a stampede of bodies flooded out into 

the hall. I felt nothing as if I were standing in the eye of a storm, detached from the riot a few feet away.

“Let me out!”

“She’s crazy!”

“Shit, move your ass!”

“I can’t breathe. She’s killing us!”

Moments later, the door slammed shut. I was all alone and the room melted away, exposing water lapping at the legs of chairs. A flicker of shadow crawled up from the floor. I could only make out her form a few feet in front of me. She was standing in the middle of the room, her head bent down, face hidden by a mop of wet black hair hanging over her face. Her image flapped and unfurled like a flag in the wind. I climbed down from the desk and leaned against it as the girl floated toward me on a current of air. I shrank back, trying to understand what I’d done.

 What was she going to do to me?

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Double Cover Reveal | Greta and the Glass Kingdom & Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

Greta and the Goblin King

 (Mylena Chronicles #1)

by Chloe Jacobs

Release Date: 12/11/12

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse.

To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will to escape.

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her—including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back...

Greta and the Glass Kingdom
 (Mylena Chronicles #2)

by Chloe Jacobs 

Release Date: February 2015

Entangled Teen

Summary from Goodreads:
The sequel to the Hansel & Gretel retelling Greta and the Goblin King ups the stakes of danger and romance. As conflict surges across Mylena, the tough Greta struggles to save those she loves.

Against all odds, Greta and the Goblin King miraculously survived the battle against the evil Agramon. Greta should be happy to be alive and ready to claim her place in Mylena by Isaac's side. Yet nothing is the way she thought it would be. The battle against Agramon left a dark magick inside Greta that will eventually kill her. Isaac hasn't been the same since he almost went Lost. And there are whispers of a rebellion brewing throughout Mylena...

Determined to save Mylena from a bitter civil war, they travel to the mysterious Glass Kingdom to form an uneasy alliance with the deadly Faerie race. But when an unexpected disaster tears Greta and Isaac apart, she must make the journey on her own. Along the way, she discovers a conspiracy stretching back to events she never thought she would have to revisit, betrayal from allies whose loyalty she never questioned, and an enemy vying to control all of Mylena.

Follow Greta into unexpected romance, explosive secrets, and shocking betrayals that will leave her and all of Mylena forever changed in the stunning second installment of The Mylena Chronicles.

About the Author

Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

Author Links:

  
Facebook

Cover Reveal Organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Discussion | Goodreads Choice Award Winners 2014

For the past six years, Goodreads, the most popular social media site dedicated to reading, holds a virtual awards show called the Goodreads Choice Awards. This year, over three million votes were cast to select the best books of the year. 

The nominees are separated into 20 categories, but I am only going to talk about the four categories that relate to young adult. 

The winner of best young adult fiction:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I have not read this one yet. For some reason, all of the hype kind of make me want to skip it. (No, I am not turning into a book hipster) There were a lot of mixed reactions to this book, so I have mixed feelings about reading it. Though, considering how popular it was, I am not surprised that it won.

The winner of best young adult fantasy:

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

This is the last book in The Mortal Instruments series.

The only thought I could process after getting this book was "FINALLY!" I read the first book in 2010, so I have been waiting FOUR years for this conclusion. I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Honestly, I think that this series could have ended with City of Glass. I love the Infernal Devices series, but I think this one was a bit drawn out. But do not me wrong, I still liked the series. I just think that Clare was trying to please the readers too much and did not stay true to the story. 

Other than that, this series was amazing. It beat all of the odds and remained popular for five years! That is certainly hard to do. So, I agree with this winner.

The winner of best Goodreads debut author

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I personally have not heard of this book before, and I am very disappointed. The other YA nominations were Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, and Half Bad by Sally Green.

I do not even know what this one is about.

The winner of best middle grade and children's:

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

YES! I am so glad that The Blood of Olympus won! 

For those deprived souls who do not know, this is the last book in The Heroes of Olympus series. It is the spin-off of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Percy Jackson is basically the Harry Potter of Greek mythology. He is funny, brave, and one of my favorite characters ever.

I am, and always will be, a Percy Jackson fan at heart. No matter how many cliffhangers Riordan made us suffer through, he has a permanent spot on my list of favorite authors.

Who did you vote for during the Goodreads Choice Awards? Do you like the winners? Which winner is your favorite?

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

This is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing girls over at The Broke and the Bookish.
I know that it has been a while since we posted a Top Ten Tuesday (or any meme). So, partially thanks to the awesomeness that was BookBlogWriMo, we have a new zeal for blogging. And that means blogging more often. Another one of our goals is to have more interaction with the rest of the blogging world. Memes are perfect for that!

To get back on track, today's topic is top new-to-me authors that we read in 2014. We found some amazing authors this year!

Max

Huntley Fitzpatrick
(My Life Next Door)

E. Lockhart
(We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks)



Sarah J. Maas
(Throne of Glass series)



Veronica Rossi
(Under the Never Sky series)

Tessa

Jennifer Lynn Barnes
(Nobody, The Naturals series)



Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke and Bone series)



Victoria Schwab
(The Archived series)

Cassia

John Green
(An Abundance of Katherines, The Fault in Our Stars)



Kiera Cass
(The Selection series)



Suzanne Young
(The Program series)

Book Blitz | Renaria | Into the Adyton by J.L. Wilson

Renaria - Into the Adyton
By: J.L. Wilson
Series: Renaria #1
Published: November 7, 2014
Young Adult, High Fantasy

Synopsis

A small memento, a universal power...

It’s the year 2126, post-World War V. Leda, age seventeen, bounds through the lush forested region of the Desintor Foothills as a regal, bow-wielding, High-Elf Scout. That is, when she’s logged into her favorite MMO game: Renaria.

One crisp fall afternoon, an unseasonal storm fractures the sky of Trinton, New Texas with splinters of emerald lightning and otherworldly songs. Oddly, no one sees the storm except her brother and their guild mate Travis.

She brushes off the event as a fluke, but she can’t seem to get the song out of her mind. Suddenly, a new quest appears in her game directing her to the blue sand dunes of the Sinare Desert to meet Caleb, a legendary Elf Diviner.

Now she has a choice: Ignore the quest and turn off the game, or dive in and risk everything for a shot at an adventure.

Author Bio

J.L. Wilson's interests in Sci-Fi, Fantasy and video games grew from years of watching Star Trek, thanks to her mother. During her graduate studies in anthropology she focused primarily on humans and their interaction with technology. All kinds! Language, tools, cyborgs, etc. She reads anything she can get her hands on that involve space, wizards, or video games. In her debut fantasy novel, Renaria: Into the Adyton, she sought out to weave these interests together. 

Renaria - Into the Adyton released on Nov. 7th, 2014 and is my debut Sci-Fi fantasy novel. With elements of mythology, magic, and gaming it generally leans Young-Adult, but I think it can be enjoyed by anyone ages 9-99. Readers have compared it to Divergent, Harry Potter, Narnia, and Jumanji.

When not writing or reading you can find her in World of Warcraft, FFXIV or the latest MMORPG creating new characters or exploring new quests. She's on Facebook and Twitter and currently lives in Texas with her husband, four kids (cats) and a dog.

Author Links

Goodreads * Amazon * Facebook * Twitter

Excerpt

Galley’s Goblets … Mind Your Business.
A fireplace blazed with blue flame on the opposing wall next to the bard.
“Where’d he go?” Menaia asked.
“Not sure,” Leda answered as her eyes jumped from the round tables to each of the walls. 
“Look, there’s a couple of stairs there.” She pointed to a sunken area of the tavern next to the fireplace.
Strumming from the bard’s lute filled the air. 
They snuck forwards, trying to avoid the burly, tan-skinned, Sorien barkeep. Leda watched him out the corner of her right eye. Bending over, his head nearly grazed the glass mugs that hung low while he scrubbed the bar top with a brown stained cloth. A board creaked below her foot. She stopped breathing. His brown eyes traveled from the bar top to the girls and met her gaze. He smirked and kept scrubbing. 
His deep voice resumed humming the bard’s song.
Leda peeked down the two steps. They led to a cozy, rectangular room holding a single long 
table, with four chairs on both sides. Shadows danced on the brown, clay wall from two heavy torches that rested in unassuming iron sconces. An empty glass sat on the table before the figure in the far corner. His face was turned towards his intertwined hands. Yellow light from the candle reflected on the part of his face Leda could see: the scruff of his reddish brown and gray beard.
“Let’s sit at this far end here,” Menaia whispered as she descended the two steps. As they pulled the wooden chairs back from the table, they heard a voice issue from the man’s direction. 
“Leda, Menaia, please join me here.” 
Leda watched as he unfolded his hands. He held them out, palms up, beckoning the girls to the chairs across from him.Menaia looked at Leda who nodded and rolled her eyes to say, well we’ve come this far. Leda placed her hand on the hilt of one of her daggers. Prepared to bolt at a moment’s notice, the girls sat down across from him.
“Who are you?” she asked.

He pulled his hood down.

The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

The Iron Trial

Picture Courtesy of Goodreads

Authors: Cassandra Clare and Holly Black
Series: Magisterium #1
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Pages: 299
Review by: Tessa

The Magisterium is evil, or so Callum has been taught his whole life. His father has told him of the horrors of the Mages' world.

But Callum's nightmares will come to life when he is forced to take The Iron Trial, which serve as an entrance exam for the Magistrium.

Callum needs to fail this test-- for his father, his dead mother, and so he can avoid the monsters his father told him about. It should be easy-- Callum has never had trouble failing a test before-- but this test seems like it was rigged against Callum.

If Callum does not fail, then he will be trapped in the headquarters of the enemy, The Magistrium. It is supposedly the academy for up-and-coming mages, but his father has told him of the awful truth, which includes carnivorous blind fish, an endless maze of tunnels, and lethal elementals.

The Christmas Gift Guide Tag | Original Tag!

As we all know, the holiday season is really about giving. We have met so many great bloggers this year and we really want to show them our appreciation for their friendship and advice. We would love to give every one of you a personal gift, but that's not really practical, so, in the holiday spirit, we are helping you find gifts to give fellow book lovers in your life.

The rules are simple:

1. Pick at least one book/series for each category.
2. Spread some holiday cheer by tagging at least three other bloggers.
3. Add your link to the Linky on this post. We would love to see your answers!
Also, feel free to use our graphic for your post!

(All of our books are books that came out this year, or a series that continued this year. Feel free to break this rule or set another!)

What we would give to Young Adult contemporary lovers:

Panic by Lauren Oliver
What we would give to romance lovers: 

The Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins

What we would give to music lovers:



Divergent soundtrack, The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, and Mockingjay Part 1 soundtrack

What we would give to mystery/thriller lovers:

The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin

What we would give to sci-fi lovers:

The Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey What we would give to fantasy lovers: The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Cassandra Jean
What we would give to someone who really loves Christmas:
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins, Ally Carter, and ten other amazing YA authors

What we would give to EVERYBODY:

The Darkest Minds series by Alexandra Bracken
We tag these amazing bloggers to help us spread the holiday cheer!
Alex @ The Book's Buzz Georgia @ The Book Bandit Lakshmi @ Ecletic Introspections Erin @ The Hardcover Lover Izzy @ The Reading Izzy