Spring Reading Thing for 2013

I was very sad when I read that Katrina over at Callapidder Days won't be hosting a Spring Reading Thing for 2013. My very first post when I came to blogger was Spring Reading Thing 2008. I completely understand how life takes you away from blogging. I've posted sporadically since my Beloved husband's sudden death 2 years ago. What I haven't posted is that the reason behind my lack of blogging is that I've been focusing on writing my own book, as well as a novel and a few fanfic stories.

I want to be held accountable for my lack of reading during the winter months, therefore I've compiled my list, as I always have, of what I intended to read during Spring Reading Thing 2013.

Update: Sandra over at The Musings of a Book Addict has graciously stepped in to host Spring Reading Thing. Let the reading begin.

Reckless by S.C. Stephens

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Crush by Nicole Williams

From Ashes by Molly McAdams

Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

Avoiding Intimacy by K.A. Linde

Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines

Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

The Vincent Brothers by Abbi Glines

Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

Entwined with You by Sylvia Day

Stealing Harper by Molly McAdams

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Girls (and Boys) On Film

Although I smiled uncontrollably during each and every movie inspired performance of this episode, my heart belonged to Klaine singing Come What May from Moulin Rouge, bitches! Please, oh please, reunite this couple and fast. I'm dangerously close to falling for Adam, who is a jewel to Kurt. 

Somebody stop me. I've got Come What May on repeat.

Fall Into Reading Wrap-Up

I reread Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec before diving into the sequels, Futures and Frostings and Troubles and Treats.  I can't express how much I enjoyed the heck out of these books.  Tara's wit is refreshing and I adored all of her little jokes.

I stumbled upon this gem, Taking Chances by Molly McAdams, shortly after logging Futures and Frostings into goodreads.  I was blown away at the story, never knowing where it was going, and can honestly say that as soon as I finished it, I turned around and reread it a second time.  Emotionally draining, but oh so good!

I decided to reread Bared to You by Sylvia Day before diving into her BRILLIANT sequel, Reflected in You.  Now I'm stuck until the end of the year, December 31st, for the final installment, Entwined with You, to be released.  GAH!

Thanks to reading Taking Chances and Beautiful Disaster, I had a recommendation for Crash by Nicole Williams.  I read the synopsis and decided, WTHeck.  Wow!  I'm certainly glad I did.  There is nothing sexier than a good bad boy story.  I really should pay more attention, though, as Crash has a sequel.  I dove straight in to Clash and was equally as captivated.

At this point...can you tell I've already swerved off the beaten path of my original list?  I adore it when this happen, because ultimately, I wind up finding a book that I couldn't live without.  Thus far, Taking Chances has been that book.

Sweet as Sin by Inez Kelley

As promised, I reread the Twilight Saga as well as Midnight Sun, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and all of the outtakes from Stephenie Meyer dot com.  Yes, I was as addicted to them the second time around.  I condone the remaking of the movies in the future, where the best parts of the books are not cut, and superior actors are cast as the leads.

My favorite part of Fall Into Reading this year was finding Tiffany Reisz. Words will never express just how amazing her books are, or what a fascinating story teller she is. Tiffany caters to her readers, and has uploaded many extra short stories, involving the characters I've fallen in love with, to her website. As if that wasn't enough, she reaches out to her fans via twitter, so I broke down and signed up. We became fast friends after discussing Type 1 diabetes.

The Siren by Tiffany Reisz

The Angel by Tiffany Reisz

The Prince by Tiffany Reisz

Little Red Riding Crop by Tiffany Reisz

Seven Day Loan by Tiffany Reisz

The Break Up

My love for all things glee stems from my love for all things music. Finn and Blaine singing Duncan Sheik's Barely Breathing was amazing. I saw Duncan when he opened up for Jars of Clay at Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom back in the day. Finn, Rachel, Kurt and Blaine singing No Doubt's Don't Speak was epic, but nothing, absolutely nothing, could prepare me for glee's version of Coldplay's The Scientist. Kudos Ryan Murphy for a jam packed episode of eargasm melodies.

Can I get a little gushy for a moment? Darren Criss got to sing the piano version of Teenage Dream. OMG! OMG! OMG! I had tears in my eyes, and yes Darren can do that to me on a good day, but all I kept thinking about was, "What did Blaine do to Kurt?" Sadly, we find out a few moments later and...You better fix this Ryan Murphy!

I knew this episode was going to break my heart. Messing with Klaine, are you insane? I don't like the Finchel break up either. I know this will be a growing period for them all and the fans will get their happily ever afters. It just hurts. I feel like I need a good cry. Would you please pass me the tissue?

Fall Into Reading 2012

After a long, hot, and very humid summer this year, I am so looking forward to jeans, hoodies, sneakers, and hot cocoa.  Of course, living in the desert, there is a chance I won't be experiencing actual fall weather until November.  Frustrating as hell!  One thing I can jump right in on is Katrina's Fall Into Reading.  My heart smiles knowing that this post is scheduled and waiting.  It's like my ribbon cutting on Autumn.  I can honestly say that Katrina's Spring Reading Thing reawakened my love for reading (after it lay dormant following the untimely death of my Beloved husband), and I spent a good portion of those dreadful humid days curled up with my nook.  I read 14 books and that is unheard of!

Here is my list of what I intend to read this season, but you know me, I'm always changing it up.

As the next installment of the Crossfire Series hits early October, I'll be rereading Bared to You before diving into Reflected in You by Sylvia Day.

Creed is one of my all-time favorite rock bands!  I have crushed on lead singer Scott Stapp since I first laid eyes on him. I can't wait to read his memoir, Sinner's Creed.

It has been 4 years since I first picked up Twilight.  I remember becoming completely addicted and thinking that I just needed them fed intravenously to me at one point.  I have decided to reread The Twilight Saga for the upcoming release of Breaking Dawn II.  I'm more interested in what my take on them will be now, all these years later, and whether or not I still feel as passionately about them.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
New Moon by Stephenie Meyers
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyers
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyers
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyers

Avoiding Responsibility by K.A. Linde

Futures and Frosting by Tara Sivec

I thought I might be willing to give the books a try after watching The Hunger Games with my oldest.  If I have time, I'll pick up the trilogy.

As always, I'm looking forward to reading all of your lists to get ideas of what's trending right now.

Peyton Goes to Kindergarten

I had no idea how hard today was going to hit me. I woke up this morning crying harder than I've cried in a very long time. Back to School day tends to hit me pretty hard. Is it because Mike was a teacher and we've started a new school year without him again? Or is it that today our baby girl started school without her Daddy? Another milestone without him.

This year I have a kid at all 3 campuses. I'll be playing around with drop off and pick up times for the next few weeks. We set out and dropped Cameron off first at Mojave River Campus (MRC). Off to Corwin Campus (CC) we go, and I walked Dylan in, taking a pic of him before Peyton and I made our way over to Thunderbird Campus (TBC). I grabbed a few shots of Peyton before we headed into the class.

How blessed am I to have Ms. Cambridge in my life? She was Dylan's Kindergarten teacher, and fellow widow. Try as I might, the tears never stopped, and my eyes flooded more as she read The Kissing Hand to the class. I left my daughter at school and came straight home.

Home, hasn't really felt like a home since Mike died. It's more like a house, shelter, if you will. A home is a place where you feel happy, love, and I'm not saying there aren't times I still feel that, but mostly, I look at it as my sanctuary. A place to run and hide and block out the pain. Today, it feels different. I don't have a husband who will come home and care whether I cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed the carpet, or prepped an amazing dinner. The kids don't care if I'm making a feast or chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese. Today, for the first time since Mike died, I feel completely, and utterly alone.

I know what some of you would say, "Pick yourself up." I don't want to. Today, I want to feel the pain. I want to embrace it. I want to eat my emotions (I'm well on my way) and look around my house, remembering when it was a home.

Spring Reading Thing 2012 Wrap-Up

Whew! I did it! I actually devoted time to reading this Spring. I posted 4 books that I hoped to read during the challenge, yet I only read one of them. Surprisingly enough, that one book completely broke down my wall. As I previously said, Two Kisses for Maddy had been on my shelf since my husband died. I just couldn't bring myself to open it. I didn't want to read about pain that would ultimately bring my pain to the surface. Instead, it was very healing to read Matt's story, because it was a love story to his beautiful wife, taken from him all too soon.

I went looking for a quick read one day when I noticed that Claudia Gray had released another Evernight book, Balthazar. I wasn't aware of this and instantly purchased it on my nook and dove right in. After that, my original goals fell away, and I just read whatever jumped out at me.

My friends and facebook were all abuzz about The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. I was in the salon getting my nails done, when fellow book lover, the owner's sister, asked me if I had read them. I said I hadn't but heard about them. I hadn't given it another thought until another post on facebook mentioned Christian Grey. I downloaded book 1 and began reading it on May 26th. Good grief, it was hard to put down that night, not going to bed until 1 a.m. I finished book 1 and went straight to download book 2, and read well into the night again the second night. Needless to say, I finished book 3 on Memorial Day, May 28. All 3 books, and it was BLISSFUL! I was unsure what to expect with the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, but I fell in love instantly. The erotic tale of Christian and Ana was delightfully sinful. Granted, much like Stephenie Meyer with Twilight, E.L. James used the same descriptive words, and it drove me crazy! Once I got around her less than extensive vocabulary, I adored the story unfolding before my eyes, just as much as I did when I read the Twilight Saga. I was shocked, to say the least, when I found that the stories were originally written for a Twilight fiction site, but made perfect sense to me. I enjoyed these ones so much, that upon going back and telling my book lover friend to read them, I reread them the following week, while she dived in and had a great time teasing each other on facebook about becoming Greysessed and posting pics of who we thought would make the perfect Christian Grey in the movie.

I thought I had done a decent job, I read over my quota for Spring, plugged in my links on this post, and called it done. Ha! A week later I received an email from Barnes & Noble, if you liked the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, check out Bared to You. I downloaded and finished it the next day.

I kept seeing another book recommendation hitting my inbox, B&N, amazon, when I logged in, Beautiful Disaster. I headed over to goodreads to check it out, and was surprised by the reviews. I downloaded, and as you guessed it, read it in a day. Another book I couldn't bring myself to put down. On the same list I found Beautiful Disaster, I found Thoughtless and Effortless, and picked them up too. I love finding cheap reads for my nook.

I think what took me by surprise was the Thoughtless series (and I can't wait to see what adventure book 3 holds in store for Kellan and Kiera). I completely misjudged the book by it's cover, and found myself laughing, angry, gasping, covering my mouth, as well as bawling my eyes out. You know it's a good book when all your emotions are brought to the surface. Guess what? Effortless was all that and more. The sequel was far more enticing than the original. I have never read a sequel to a book that I adored more than the first one, and yet, Effortless was just that. I became completely engrossed and adored S.C. Stephens writing. A complete and utter surprise, and hands down my favorite read during this challenge.

Thank you Katrina for hosting another great Spring Reading Thing! I'm looking forward to catching up on some much needed sleep, now that I'm not completely captivated by these books. I'll see you in the Fall. :)

Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin

Balthazar: An Evernight Novel by Claudia Gray

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

A Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens

Effortless by S.C. Stephens