Category Archives: Ramblings

Book Comparison in Synopsis

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Goodbye 2013!

newyear

2013 has come and gone and it has been one very busy year. I went to my first book signing and attended my first book convention where I got to meet some awesome authors. I’d like to thank all my readers for sticking with me. Who knows what this year will bring but I’m sure it’ll be amazing.

 

Pictured below is D.T. Dyllin and Gina Damico.

dara rnc Gina 

This year I set a goal to read 225 books. I wound up surpassing that goal which is amazing in itself.

Maybe next year I’ll shoot for 250.2013booksI won’t go into detail about all the books I loved. However, I did link the image above to the goodreads 2013 shelf. Pretty much all of them have reviews but not all of them have been featured on the blog. One thing I am hoping for in 2014 is to branch out of my comfort zone (romance) and try reading other types of books.

kRISTIN

Home Sweet Home

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Making the Switch!

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Unsolicited books

 

Ramblings of a book sniffer is just that, ramblings about book related topics. You may see my ramblings from time to time whenever I feel like putting my two cents in. Enjoy.

I remember when I first started blogging, I’d read posts and comments made by other (larger) bloggers who complained about the unsolicited books they received.  It’s something that, a year later, still baffles me. It’s not that I beg for books, but I do use NetGalley, and when an author/publisher tweets about available ARC’s to books that I’ve been wanting to read, I write them back. However, I can honestly say that I don’t really get random packages in the mail. The majority of the books I receive are e-galleys that are from either NetGalley or the author/publisher and on very rare occasions I may get a print copy for review. So imagine my surprise when the UPS guy delivered a package that I wasn’t expecting. When I opened it, it was from an author that I’d previously read but was a brand new series of theirs that I’d never heard of. I will admit that I was a bit confused and questioned my memory. “I don’t remember this title. Did I request this?” After looking the book up on goodreads, I realized that it was an unsolicited book. Not only was I unfamiliar with the title but I didn’t even have it marked as “to-read” on goodreads and I’m always clicking that button for any book that sounds remotely interesting.
*Now, queue the happy dance* My first unsolicited book!

To me I found it as an honor. Someone out there, publisher or author, saw my reviews/website and felt like I was worthy enough to read their book before it was released to the general public. Even though getting the book threw a monkey wrench in my reviewing schedule, I just tried to fit it in where I could so that I could review it around it’s release date. Since that first book, I’ve received another unsolicited book. This one however was a second in a series that I’d never read. So I had to track down the first book and read it so that I knew what was going on in the book that I received. But I still did a happy dance. I guess I’ve been lucky that the senders took notice that I enjoy reading romance before sending the books. The first one was an Urban Fantasy with a potential love interest and the second was a Romantic Suspense. Both books were not on my radar but after reading them, I will be looking for the next books in their series. I still don’t understand the upset over getting unsolicited books. Worst case scenario, the book isn’t for you and you pass it along to someone else. Best case scenario, you enjoy the book and find a new series/author to follow.

 

Have you ever received an unsolicited book? What was your first reaction? Where do you stand with receiving them, love em or hate em?

Vampire Academy Movie with Cast Pictures!

Okay so maybe you guys have heard and maybe you haven’t but either way I’m shouting it from the rooftops…

 
Vampire Academy is being made into a movie!!!

And not only is that awesome but there’s already a cast selected!

Rose Hathaway will be played by Zoey Deutch
Lissa Dragomir will be played by Lucy Fry
Dimitri Belikov will be played by Danila Kozlovsky

I must admit that even though I’ve never seen any of these actors in anything I am pleased with the cast. I would’ve liked Ben Barnes for Dimitri but he’s a bit too old and well Danila is from Russia. He won’t need to fake an accent that leaves viewers wondering “Is he supposed to be Scottish or Australian?” I’m happy that Mead has already said that the script is true to the books that we’ve read because that’s the one major thing that irks me about Twilight. Well, that and the acting. I wish we had a release date for the movie but it’s still in the early stages but the good news is, we have a cast and a script which is a big step. If you’d like to read more about this awesome piece of news, check out Richelle’s blog.

If you’ve not read these books, than I’m demanding that you drop whatever you were planning to do today and go to your local library.
My review of Vampire Academy.

Now excuse me while I continue to gush to the Mr. about how amazing this is and how I’m dragging his butt out at midnight when it comes out. Oh and a party… I totally want to have one of those themed parties.

I wonder if the Mr. will let me dress him up in a duster?

The End of a Great Year *2012*

Since 2012 is coming to a close, I would like the opportunity to thank all of our readers both old and new who’ve kept tabs on us throughout the year. I’ve met a lot of awesome people this year (you know who you are) and I look forward to creating more bonds in 2013 (gosh that’s weird to type). I know a lot of blogs are going over their favorite books and what they are excited to read in the year to come but I’d like to do a montage of all the books that I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year.

This year had a lot of changes. I lost a reviewer for a while there, then gained a new one. The site not only got a new look but a custom logo with lime green in it. Oh and the most exciting part, I had bags and shirts made!

This year I set out to read 200 books in the year and surprisingly I exceeded that goal by 12! I’ve managed to not only read 212 books but I reviewed 113 of them on BSA!

I hope that everyone has a safe New Year’s Eve and a very happy New Year! Without further ado, here’s a list of all the books, both good and bad, that I’ve read this year.