Bout of Books 7.0: Conclusion

Well, last night ended our Bout of Books 7.0, so here’s our wrap-up post about what we accomplished (Daphne) and what we didn’t (Kristina). Also, we were lazy this weekend and didn’t update, so here is our status:

Daphne:

Friday

Read: Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks

Pages read: 10 (I wasn’t feeling it, though it was interesting, I just wasn’t in the mood, so I found another book)

Read: A Shot of Sultry by Macy Beckett

Pages read: 50

Listened to: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Time listened:  appx 85 min

Saturday

Read: A Shot of Sultry by Macy Beckett

Pages read: 163

Sunday

Read: A Shot of Sultry by Macy Beckett

Pages read: 100 (completed)

Read: What Really Happened in Peru by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan

Pages read: 15

Listened to: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Time listened: appx 20 min.

Overall

Books completed: 3

Pages read: 740

Time listening to audio book: 265 min, or nearly 5 hours

Reviews completed: 2 (though only one is posted)

Contests participated in: Cover Redesign and Resummarize a Cover

~*~

Kristina

I didn’t read at all Friday, Saturday and Sunday.   Life just got in the way and I hope I can do better next time.  Of course I don’t feel as bad now that I’ve realized I read over 1,000 pages!

Overall

Books completed: 3

Pages read: 1,100 (This includes the partial of The 5th Wave but not the 3 % of Born of Illusion)

Reviews completed: 1.5 (One posted and I’m working on the other for sometime this week.)

Bout of Books 7.0: Resummarize a Cover contest

Queen Ella Bee Reads is doing a contest for Bout of Books and the basic concept is to take a book cover and resummarize it based on the cover alone.

Her entire life, Eliza’s felt isolated from everyone around her.  Her parents have their own problems, her “best friend” is being secretive, and her brother is on a downward spiral that leaves Eliza feeling helpless.  The only time she can really open up is through her poetry, which she keeps hidden.  When her neighbor, Henry, inserts himself into her life (via her open window), Eliza finally begins to understand how important it is to have someone in her corner. Through his friendship, Eliza learns how to make her voice heard, and what happy looks like.

Bout of Books 7.0: Day 5

Daphne:

Read: Rush Me by Allison Parr

Percentage Read:  38% (completed) review pending

Listened to: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Time listened: appx 30 min. I really wish I could dl the ebook to read at home and not have to go the the library to pick it up, just so I can finish it, but it’s not available for dl. I have to go to the library anyway today, so I may just pick it up.

Read: Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks (I’ve been wanting to read this book and now that I’ve put my kindle on my iPod, I realized that I had bought it, oops.)

Pages read: 14

Yesterday in #6words: Hard time deciding what to read.

Kristina:

Read: Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

Percentage read: 3% I should be working on this one tomorrow (Saturday).  My niece has her dance review this weekend and I’m going to the practice so hopefully I will be able to read while she isn’t on stage.

Read: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Pages Read:  135  It was a slow reading day.  I couldn’t read at lunch and didn’t start reading till after 8:00 last night. This book is really dark and starting to get really interesting.

I’m hopefully to finish The 5th Wave today and Born of Illusion tomorrow.  Though I feel slightly behind I don’t see a problem with meeting my goals.  I even wrote a review and started another.  How are you guys doing?

Yesterday in #6words: No time to read today.  Tomorrow?

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Source:  purchased via Amazon

Bonus:  2013 TBR Pile Challenge

Story Breakdown:

Cinder, a cyborg, is forced to be an indentured servant to her stepmother and step sisters after her step-father is killed by a mysterious plague-like illness on Earth.  In her work as a mechanic to support them she helps out the Crown Prince and by doing so catches his attention in more ways than one drawing her into a world of politics, death, and the safety of mankind.

Character Highlights:

Cinder  – What an interesting character!  I’ve been reading more and more books with sci-fi elements and this is by far the best to date and I think it’s because of Cinder.  I love that she is friends with an android and like Cinderella herself she is the ultimate in self-sacrifice.  It was interesting to watch her balance her cyborg side with her human side since she didn’t come off as just some machine doing what she was told, part of her is still part “normal”.

Kai -  I’m really liking him so far.  He acts like a true leader, though young he is still willing to do what is necessary for his people and doesn’t come off at all like a spoiled child that isn’t getting his way.  He’s also willing to fight for what he wants and what is right.  I look forward to reading much more about him further into the series.

Overall Thoughts:  First off, this book was well worth the hype.  I know we’ve all done it.  Avoid starting a series because so many people have raved about the greatness.  But this one?  Totally worth every single second.  I was engaged page one and loved every single thing.  Knowing the Cinderella fairy tale you have a basic understanding where the story is going but there is just so much more to this story and world that Ms Meyer has built that I don’t even know what to talk about.  The Lunar people?  THERE ARE MOON PEOPLE?!  There is a whole other world that we’ve barely scratched the surface on!!  If you are a fan of sci-fi, YA, love stories, retellings, heck just books in general you will love this one.  Thank God I bought book two, Scarlet already.

4.5/5

Bout of Books 7.0: Day 4

Daphne:

Read:  Rush Me by Allison Parr

Percentage read:  32% (for a total of 62%)

Listened to:  Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Time listened: appx 45 min

Participated in the Cover Redesign contest

Yesterday in #6words:  Gettin back into the reading groove.

Kristina:

Read:  Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Pages read:  185, completed (review pending)

Read:  Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

Percentage read: 3% still.  No progress here.  This may or may not be because I added Candy Crush to my iPad to hold me over till I was done with the quests on my phone.

Read: Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Pages read: 14  I started this one too late in the night and I knew I had to stop before I got too deep or I might not have slept last night.

Total Books Read: 3

Reviews started: 2

Yesterday in #6words: Halfway there, halfway complete.  Keep reading!

Falling for Her Fiance by Cindi Madsen (Accidentally in Love #1)

Danielle and Wes have been best friends since college, so when Wes needs a date for his sister’s wedding and Dani needs a partner for her company’s retreat, they devise the perfect plan: a fake engagement to get through both events unscathed. Adrenaline-junkie Wes can prove to both his ex and his family that he’s well and truly moved on, and serious-minded Dani can prove to her boss that she’s worthy of the promotion he seems to only want to give to a family-oriented employee. But amid the fake swoons, fake kisses, and forced proximity, neither expects the very real feelings that develop. There’s nothing more dangerous than falling for your best friend…but what if the landing is worth the fall?

Source: received from Entangled Publishing for review purposes

Characters:

Dani is living and working in Arkansas after moving there with her boyfriend, who subsequently dumps her and leaves her there alone with no family or friends.  She’s working for a marketing agency, though she graduated in History, and she is hoping for a promotion in order to help her mother pay for her grandmother’s medical bills.  Danielle thinks that if she had a husband or even a steady boyfriend, she would be more likely to get the promotion because the idiot she works under is married and that could be the only reason he was promoted over her.

Wes is living his dream of being a helicopter pilot, but his sister’s wedding is coming up and his ex-fiance  will be a bridesmaid. He’s tired of everyone giving him pitying looks because they don’t believe that he’s over her dumping him. Wes’ ex didn’t like his relationship with Dani, his best friend since college, the same way that Dani’s ex didn’t like Wes. But their friendship has withstood their exes because it’s so strong.

Conflict:

The conflict is that neither of them want to mess up their friendship, which is the most important thing in their lives. Add to that the fact that Wes attempted something early in their relationship when they were both drunk and there was no chemistry. Now they both feel an undeniable attraction, but are unwilling to act on it, so they  take every opportunity they have acting as fiances to touch, kiss, and be close to one another, both convinced the other cannot feel the same way.

Overall Thoughts:

I love a good “friends to lovers” story and this one did not disappoint, though there wasn’t any sexing. Both Dani & Wes were funny and smart and their chemistry was undeniable, but they were both very stubborn.  I enjoyed seeing both sides of the story and all the obstacles in their way, but at the same time, it wasn’t particularly earth shattering.  This story has definitely been told before, but I liked it and would read more by this author. It’s a great pick for a quick, light read that has a happy ending. And sometimes, that is exactly what you need.

Pecans: 3.5/5

Bout of Books 7.0: Cover Redesign Contest

Well, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m not very creative and this is sort of simple, but I like it. Here’s my redesign of one of my favorite books this year, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell:

 

What do you think?