Friday, January 31, 2014

Eleven Scandals To Start to Win A Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

I was so glad to finally get my hands on Eleven Scandals To Start To Win A Duke's Heart but also sad because it was the last in the Love by Numbers series. This was such a fantastic series. I'm sad to see the characters go but so glad everyone got their HEA.

Juliana Fiori has been living in London these past six months. Her half-brothers, Nick and Ralston, have been trying to integrate her into London society. But it's hard for this quick-tempered Italian beauty to be like the other English ladies she meets. Juliana has a mind of her own and won't back down to a man regardless of his title.

Duke of Leighton knew he would take a bride. But he's being rushed to the alter to protect his family from scandal. The duke needs to find a suitable bride, one with an impeccable background. He's found the appropriate English lady but Juliana keeps turning his head.

I liked Juliana in the previous books. Especially in Nine Rules when she first arrives in London and Callie becomes her sponsor therefore bringing Callie and Ralston together. Juliana has a fiery spirit and finds life in London painful. She longs to return to Italy but there is nothing for her there. She's better staying with her half-brothers. But they both have wives and are starting families. Juliana doesn't think she'll marry but envies their relationships.

The Duke of Leighton has a stick up his ass. He looks down at others. They call him the Duke of Distain. He was brought up by a cold unfeeling mother. His sister could unravel the family with her scandal. The duke's mother wants him to avoid that at all costs by marrying an appropriate woman. And the duke's mother doesn't think Juliana is appropriate.

Again I love the back and forth in these books. The witty banter makes me smile. I enjoyed Juliana and the duke's romance. It seemed slower than the other books. Plus there were some complications that made this one different. Overall I really enjoyed this series and would read MacLean again. Others who shared their thoughts on Eleven Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart: On A Book Bender, Alexa Loves Books, Romance Reviews by Alice, ZombieHazard, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
Eleven Scandals to Start To Win A Duke's Heart fulfills the Position of Royalty category.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

My favorite library branch has finally reopened. It's so much more convenient to get to. It's better laid out now.

I don't remember where I heard about this one. I've had it on my library queue for sometime. 

Of Dice And Men
Angela mentioned this one recently. I'm not a huge D&D player. But Tai used to work for the company that created D&D. I thought it might be interesting.

Rock and A Hard Place
While searching for another book in the library catalog, I spotted Rock and A Hard Place. Sounded interesting so I added it to my pile.

Sense and Sensibility
Someone read this recently. I can't remember who but I added it to my library queue because I've tried numerous times to read Austen's version with no luck. All I hear is the movie. Anyway, I've already started this one. Having a little trouble but the writing is terrific.

Boy21
Another one I heard about from another blog. I seemed to forgot who though. I liked Silver Linings Playbook so I hope to enjoy this one too.

What did you get this week? Head over to Claire's blog to link up!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Even Marianne, the middle one, who had inherited in full her mother's propensity for drama and implusiveness, said nothing. It was clear to all of them, from long practice, that their mother had not finished."
pg 3 Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope








Monday, January 27, 2014

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach


I had picked up The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on a whim. I knew it was a movie but hadn't seen it. I thought it would be good to start with the book. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

The book follows the lives of several British seniors. For one reason or another, they can't stay at their current residence. Rising costs, dwindling pensions, and inadequate healthcare force each of the seniors to seek alternate housing. That's when The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes in. Cousins Sonny and Ravi have the great idea to open a retirement community in Bangalore, India. One by one the seniors move to India.

I loved the richness of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. First there were the seniors. Moggach does an excellent job of creating realistic characters. One of my complaints about a lot of books that seniors are either the doting mother or the senile old codger. You had some stereotypes here but plenty of real human interactions. One of the characters talks about how no one touches her anymore and she feels empty. That's a real problem for a lot of older people. I loved the little bit of romance and the desire for companionship that many of the characters wanted.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel would be a great book club book. So many wonderful discussions waiting to happen. I do plan to watch the movie but for the trailers I don't think it's very faithful to the book. Others who shared their thoughts: Bond With Books, Secluded Charm, and Sam Still Reading.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Joyland by Stephen King

It's been ages since I read a Stephen King novel. When I heard about Joyland the first thing I noticed is that it was short, less 300 pages. I immediately added it to my library queue. I am a fan of Stephen King. I've enjoyed his horror novels as well as his less horror filled ones. Joyland is more magical realism kind of like the Green Mile.

Joyland is told through the eyes of Devin Jones, a college student who comes to work at Joyland during the summer of 1973. Joyland is an amusement park. Not a Disneyland or a Magic Mountain but a smaller, regional attraction. Joyland has a collection of college student, summer workers, and old time carnies. There's plenty of mystery at Joyland including the decade old murder of a young woman on the grounds.

Joyland has everything-a coming of age story, romance, heartache, mystery, humor. It was a complete package. I really enjoyed how King laid it all out. Devin's telling the story years removed so he doesn't tell everything in chronological order but sometimes he does. I loved the pacing. It felt like Dev was sitting in my living room telling me a story. I loved that feeling. I need to read more King.

Overall I loved Joyland. I would definitely read it again. Others who shared their thoughts on Joyland: Luxury Reading, Pub Writes, The Well-Read Redhead, and Good Books, Good Wine.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.


When I spied this one on the shelf, I knew I had to grab it. I've been wanting to read it for a while.

Another one I heard rave reviews about. 

Another one I heard good things about.

The last in the Love by Numbers series. I'm anxious to start this one.

What did you get this week? Add your link to Mr Linky below.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


"All my life. Put like that, it did sound tame. But they had been fulfilled and happy years, Evelyn was sure of it, despite Theresa's bemusing version of events."
pg 50 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach

Monday, January 20, 2014

Parasite by Mira Grant


I was a huge fan of Grant's Feed series so when I heard she had a new series coming out, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I was not disappointed. I'm going to enjoy Parasitology just as much as the Feed series.

Parasite starts with Sally Mitchell in a hospital, dying. She's been in a major car accident and the doctors believe she's brain dead. The doctors are trying to convince Sally's family that it's time to pull the plug when Sally wakes up. Only this Sally has no memory of her prior life. In fact she needs to learn to speak, walk, read, and interact with people all over again. Sal has a second chance at life.

If you are looking for a creepy, well written, non stop thrill ride, then read Parasite. Especially if parasites and bugs don't bother you. I don't know if the science was sound but it sounded downright creepy. Grant also has a talent for writing awesome characters. I immediately liked Sal and wanted to know more about her. I enjoyed her interactions with her family and her boyfriend, an adorable science nerd. I loved that Sal and her boyfriend collected carnivorous plants.

I'm looking forward to continuing the series. Others who shared their thoughts on Parasite: The Well-Read Redhead, That's What She Read, The Lost Entwife, and My Books. My Life.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.


Last year I read very little non-fiction (less than 10 books) which was less than I'd read the previous year. I'm not making a conscious effort to read more non-fiction, but I am browsing the non fiction section a little more. So both my books today are non fiction.

I think the author did a talk recently at either the library or a local bookstore. I didn't go but the book (Victorian Secrets) interested me. I do love corsets. I own one but would love to own more.

I noticed (either on twitter or Goodreads) that JoAnn was reading Julia Child Rules. I love Julia Child and it looked interesting so I put it on hold. 

What did you get this week? Head over to Claire's blog for Mr Linky this week.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


"His velvety brown eyes weren't softening because he was overcome with tenderness for the me sitting in front of him right now. 
No. Looking at me, he saw twelve year old e. And the absolute suck that was my world-my past."
pg 39 Foreplay by Sophie Jordan 

Monday, January 13, 2014

Smothered Chicken With Mushrooms and Bacon

One of my unofficial goals of 2014 is to find ways to cook chicken that will make me want to eat chicken. To me chicken is boring and tastes gross. I'd be happy to take chicken out of my diet but I suspect my family would grow tired of beef after a while.

So when I spied this chicken recipe (recipe link), I decided to give a shot. I'd seen similar chicken recipes but they used canned soups. Not this recipe. Takes a little time but still doable on a weeknight. Definitely will make again.

Everything is better with bacon :)

Do you have a must try chicken recipe for me?

Friday, January 10, 2014

Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord by Sarah MacLean


I read Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake last year. I found it utterly delightful. I knew I had to continue with the series so I read Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord. While Ten Ways wasn't as charming as Nine Rules, it was still a lovely romance. 

Lady Isabel lives in Yorkshire, far removed from London. Isabel is doing her best to keep a house running, rear her 10 year old brother, the earl, and look after a group of women she has taken in. Lady Isabel is known through England as the place where girls in trouble can go. Isabel accepts them, gives them a home, and in return they act as butler, stable workers, or cooks. When Isabel's father dies and it's clear that he gambled away what little they have left, Isabel decides to start selling her possessions, starting with her marble statues.

In London, the leading ladies magazine has just named St. John as one of London's Lords to Land. Eager ladies are turning up at every turn, trying to catch St. John's attention. Desperate to be left alone, St. John offers to help a friend whose sister has gone missing. Using his tracking skills, St. John tracks his friend's sister to Yorkshire. After rescuing Isabel from peril. Isabel decides that her chance meeting with St. John is a sign since in addition to being London's Lord to Land, he's also an expert on marble statues.

While I found Nine Rules to be a more entertaining read, I did like Ten Ways. Isabel is prideful. She has been caring for everyone for a long time. At twenty-four, she assumed she would not find love and instead be the spinster sister to an earl. Isabel had grown accustom to being the one everyone turned to. St. John wasn't looking to fall in love. Although he does have a way of being there to rescue damsels in distress. I did like both St. John and Isabel. I thought their romance was sweet. Their banter wasn't as witty as Callie and Ralston's in Nine Rules but it still had me smiling. 

I'm looking forward to Eleven Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart. Others who shared their thoughts on Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord: On A Book Bender, Book Whore, Smitten With Books, and The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.
This was my first read for the What's In A Name Challenge. This satisfies the Number written In Letters category. 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Awkward and Awesome Thursday


Awkward:
• Had to take the car in again for repairs. The joys of owning an older car.
• Tai's been sick lately. Some sort of cold/ear infection grossness.
• I couldn't get into Possession and had to bail on the read along. Sad face.

Awesome:
• I made prime rib at home twice. So yummy. I want to make it all the time.
• We have plans with friends this weekend. I'm hoping for dinner and game night.
Naturebox's Dark Cocoa Almonds. I'm glad 2 bags come in each box. That way Tai and I each get a bag. 
• Seahawks game this weekend! Go Hawks!!

What's been awesome and awkward for you this week?

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and me that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

I'm so excited to be the new co-host of Library Loot. I found Library Loot back in 2009 and have been participating ever since.

It's a new year which means new challenges and a new reading goal. Let's get started.

I'm doing the Historical Reading Challenge again this year and the Romance Reading Challenge. This one will count for both.

I spotted this one on Jenna's blog. It sounded good and another read for the Historical Reading Challenge.

I enjoyed reading Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake. I'm excited to continue the series. Plus I could count this for a category on the What's In A Name challenge.

This one looks really steamy. And it would also work for the Romance challenge. Actually I think all of them will. Is this going to be the year of Romance books?

What did you get this week? Please share using Mr Linky below.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



The True Book Addict is hosting a Possession read along. I'm normally rubbish at read alongs but since Trish asked if people wanted to join, I decided to try it. I'm actually reading it which is a great start!

"When she was either very cheerful or very angry, she cooked. She stood at the sink, chopping courgettes and aubergines, when he came in, and did not look up, so he surmised that the mood was bad." 
page 18 Possession by A.S Byatt

Monday, January 6, 2014

Cornerstone by Kelly Walker


Cornerstone was one of those free Kindle books I picked up. It had good reviews so I decided to check it out. Overall I enjoyed it and will continue with the series.

Emariya (Riya) and her brother, Reeve are the "royalty" of her country, Eltar. Their parents had been on the Council and her father had led the Council for many years, until his disappearance. Now Eltar is threatened by its neighbors. Eltar has little defenses and alliances need to be made. Riya and Reeve are looking toward another neighboring country, Thalmas, to help them fight the evading Sheas. When Thalmas offers assistance, Eltar is eager to accept it but the prince of Thalmas wants Riya's hand in exchange. Will Riya be willing to marry a stranger for the safety of her country?

At first I was a little confused. I think Cornerstone had come up under a search for historical fiction but it was YA fantasy. But once I realized that it was fantasy, it was all good. At first I wasn't sure what to make of Riya. She wanted to help her country but she wanted to live her own life. She's not the princess but she's the closest thing to it in Eltar. I really liked the relationships she had with friends, Jessa and Garith.  Jessa is technically her maid but since they have grown up together, they are good friends. Jessa helps Riya figure out what she wants and helps her listen to herself. Garith has also been Riya's friend since childhood. But Garith loves Riya and Riya doesn't love him in that way. I liked the unrequited love bit. It felt genuine to me. The story was interesting, a little slow at the beginning but picked up significantly toward the end.

OverallI enjoyed Cornerstone. It took me a little bit to get into it but once I did it was an enjoyable read. I look forward to continuing the series. Others who shared their thoughts on Cornerstone: The Passionate Bookworms, Books for A Delicate Eternity, and Never Too Fond of Books.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Weekend Cooking: Sausage and Potato Soup


I love a good soup. When I spied this one Bacon, Butter, Cheese & Garlic, I made it immediately. I was a little skeptical of the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage but I always try to make recipes the way they are written at least the first time. My doubts were quickly erased when I tasted the soup and just melted. 


This soup (recipe link) was a huge hit with my family. Everyone wanted seconds. I did double the amount of spinach in the soup and reduced the potatoes a little but kept everything else the same. As my coworker says everything is better with half and half!

It reminded me a little of the soup my friend, Jen, makes for Easter only a little spicier. I can't wait to make this one again. 



Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Friday, January 3, 2014

December Book Tally and 2014 Bookish Goals

December Book Tally

Two Mrs Gibsons by Toyomi Igus (32)
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (485)
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (260)
Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie (283)
Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (349)
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (369)
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines (274)
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (368)
Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois (384)
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (436)
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross (78)

Eleven books this month. I thought I would read more when I was off from work but I slept a lot and read very little. Actually once I met my 40,000 pages goal, my reading drastically dropped off. I think I do better when I have a goal.

Stats:
Fill In The Gaps YTD: 0 (None this month) 
Historical Reading Challenge YTD: 15 (Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake) 
Mammoth Book Challenge YTD: 12 (Behemoth) 
Let Me Count The Ways Book Challenge: Pages read this month (3318), Pages read this year (40673) Total books to date: 132

How did I do on my 2013 goals?

-I set out to read 5 books for the Historical Reading Challenge. I read 15. Goal Accomplished.

-I set out to read 9 books for the Mammoth book challenge. I read 12. Goal Accomplished.

-I said I would read 40,000 pages. I read 40,673 (Goodreads says I read 41,023). Either way, goal accomplished.

-I set out to read 100 books. I read 132. Goal Accomplished. 

2014 Reading Goals

-Participate in the What's In A Name Challenge.

-Read 10 books for the Historical Reading Challenge.

-Participate in the Book Bingo Challenge.

-Read 12 books for the Romance Reading Challenge.

-Read 150 books!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

What's In A Name Challenge 2014


This is my first time joining the What's In A Name challenge. It's got a new host, The Worm Hole. I'm pretty excited that she's keeping up the challenge.

If you'd like to join too, check out the details at this post.

2014 Historical Reading Challenge


I'm joining the Historical Reading Challenge again this year. I had a great time with it last year so I'm looking forward to another great time in 2014.

I'm going for the Renaissance Reader with 10 books.

If you'd like to join head over to this post at Historical Tapestry.

2014 Book Bingo Reading Challenge


 Last year, Christine did the Book Bingo Challenge and it looked like loads of fun. I decided to try it out this year!

They mixed up a bit so it looks like I only have to reread one book. I usually struggle with rereads so maybe I should tackle that first. 

If you want to join too check out this post on Kristilyn's blog.

Here's the board! I can't wait to fill it in!


Romance Reading Challenge 2014

Right now I'm really enjoying reading Romance novels so I'm joining the Romance Reading Challenge. It doesn't look like there are levels but I want to try to read 12 romance novels this year.

If you'd like to join, head over to the bookworm for more info!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 End Of The Year Book Survey

best books 2013 end of year survey
 It's time for Jamie's Annual Book Survey. If you'd like to join the fun, check out this post. I stole the graphic at the top from Jamie!

The Books

Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

Graphic Novel- The Arrival by Shaun Tan. A great Readathon read.
YA-My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. I could NOT put this one down. 
Contemporary Fiction- Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. My first Rainbow book. Not my last.
Historical Romance- Forever A Lord by Delilah Marvelle. The third in the Rumor series and my favorite.

 Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

White Jacket Required by Jenna Weber. I'm a big fan of Jenna's blog, Eat, Run, Live but her book fell flat for me.

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

For years, I have been anti-romance. I wouldn't read a Harlequin Romance or any book that was close to that genre. But I've been reading more historical romances from Harlequin and Avon mostly and been really enjoying them. I see more romance in  my future!

Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

Attachments, Eleanor and Park, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, My Life Next Door, and Love Minus Eighty.

 Best series you discovered in 2013?

The Rumor Series, The Iron Druid Series, and the Leviathan series.

 Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

Rainbow Rowell! 

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

My Life Next Door. I started it before work one day. Big mistake. I was sneaking reads in all day.

 Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Attachments or My Life Next Door.

 Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?


 Most memorable character in 2013? 

 Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Code Name Verity and Two Boys Kissing. The writing in both broke my heart.

Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 

Probably Me Before You. I thought about Will's choices a lot after I was done reading it.

 Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? 

I finished both the Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants series and the Scott Pilgrim Series. Both had been on my tbr list for a while. 

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

“There are moments when you can't believe something wonderful is happening. And there are moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening.” 
“You can only actually help someone who wants to be helped.” 

“They say you never know what you would do in a hypothetical situation. We’d all like to think we’d be one of the people who gave up their lifejackets and waved a stoic good-bye from the slanting deck of the titanic, someone who jumped in front of a bullet for a stranger, or turned and raced back up the stairs of one of the towers, in search of someone who needed help rather than our own security. But you just don’t know for sure if, when things fall apart, you’ll think safety first, or if safety will be the last thing on your mind.” 
― Huntley FitzpatrickMy Life Next Door

“We gather the things we learned, and they don't nearly add up to fill the space of a life.
You will miss the taste of Froot Loops.
You will miss the sound of traffic.
You will miss your back against his.
You will miss him stealing the sheets.
Do not ignore these things.” 
― David LevithanTwo Boys Kissing

Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
The Shortest: Two Mrs. Gibsons by Toyomi Igus at 32 pages
The Longest: The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly at 675 pages

 Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

I wanted someone else to read Attachments so we could talk about. I convinced my coworker to read it but she took a month to finish it. I probably pestered her once a day about it. I doubt she'll ever read another book I recommend!

Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

 Friendship: Beth and Jennifer from Attachments
Romantic: Jamie and Claire from Outlander, Nina and Alex from Anyone But You, Atwood and Imogene from Forever A Lord.

Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire. I really enjoy her October Daye series.

 Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

After reading Paranormal Indulgences rave review of Attachments, I immediately put it on my library queue. I'm so glad I listened to her!

 Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

Here's a pie chart of my most popular genres:
YA and Graphic Novels continue to be the two genres I read the most. 

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

Jase from My Life Next Door and Sutter Keely from The Spectacular Now.

Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson. He builds the best worlds.

 Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

I usually don't cry at books but I teared up at the end of Nine Rules To Break While Romancing A Rake by Sarah McLean. I feel silly saying that but I was really wrapped up in the story.

Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

The Spectacular Now and My Life Next Door. I think everyone needs to read both immediately.