Oh… February: Where did you go? Does anyone else feel like February flew by? Holy smokes, I can’t believe that it is already March! Luckily for me we are having a long winter so I can enjoy it for a bit longer 🙂 We had quite a bit of snow last night/this morning so that picked up my spirits!
February was a good reading month; I’m finally getting back into reading and really enjoyed the majority of the books I read the last month! Life wise, nothing excited happened other than I also got back into Yoga like I was prior to Christmas break. I missed it dearly, and so did my body and I feel tons better now that I’m getting back into my daily practices!
Since I don’t have too much to say (hah! Rare occasion here!)… onto the wrap up…
*Click for review (Goodreads link for all unreviewed books)
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan ★★★
Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb ★★★★
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward ★★★★★
Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward ★★★★★
Perfect Lies by Kiersten White ★★★
Forever by Karen Ann Hopkins ★★★★
Sweet by Erin McCarthy ★★★★
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens ★★★★
The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry ★★★★
Goodreads Challenge: Well… about this challenge 😛 Just yesterday I decided to lower my number from 150 to 130. I was behind, and that is seriously depressing so early into the year so I’ve lowered it. If I pick up my reading pace, I may raise the number but for now it’s going to remain at 130. I’ve read 17 books so far, and I’m not far off from finishing a few more because I’m about 3/4 of the way through three different books!
2014 Debut Author Challenge: I read one book in February for the DAC (Faking Normal) so I’m currently on schedule. March has a lot of debuts I’m excited to read and are on my reading list though so I’m excited for those! Debuts were my some of my favorite reads this last year and so far I’ve only read two!
2014 TBR Pile Challenge: I didn’t read any books from my TBR pile in February! I did read some newly obtained TBR books but my goal for this will only be based on books purchased prior to 2014. I really focused on review books in February so hopefully I will read more from this pile in March.
2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge: I forgot to put down my progress for this one last month! In total I’ve now read 9 books for this challenge, I am cruising! Since I’ve made really good progress I may slow down a bit for March and focus on the TBR. In February alone I managed to knock out 6 review copies! Whoo!
2014 Series Challenge: I am really happy with my progress for this and the next challenge. In February I wrapped up a series by reading Forever! I also started the Black Dagger Brotherhood and read two books from that series AND I read Sweet, the second book in the True Believers series! SO happy with my progress!
2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge: I again made really good progress with this series. The first novel in the Black Dagger Brotherhood doesn’t count, but I did read the second so that will count towards the challenge. Also Forever, Perfect Lies, and Sweet counted towards this one as well! I hope March is just as pleasant to the PASC 🙂
I participated in the tour for Forever by Karen Ann Hopkins. As much as this was one of my highly anticipated series enders of the year, I was also extremely sad to see the end of the story! I loved reading about Rose, Noah and the Amish community … and let me tell you the final book does NOT disappoint!
I posted by picks for Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry and Top Ten Books That Made Me Swoon! I loved picking these books for both topics, both give me all the feels!
I got some awesome books here and here! I am really, really trying to slow down on getting review copies and purchasing books and I think I did well… despite the fact that I did get quite a few *hides*.
For the first time, I participated in the Book Blogger Love-a-thon! I had SO MUCH FUN! Seriously, it’s the best event ever.. I met so many amazing people, discovered a ton of great blogs and had a blast! I interviewed Amanda and Holly from Gun in Act One, participated in the Mad Libs challenge and posted by choices for the Love-a-thon Awards!
In addition to my February reads, I also posted my review for The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I loved both of those books… like seriously… LOVED and I cannot wait to continue both series!
I participated in the Review Copy Cleanup 4.0! I really wanted to start of 2014 on a good note and get caught up on all my upcoming reviews and new releases… and I did! (For the most part). I still have a few books to read for reviews in March, but I managed to have everything read and scheduled on time in February and it feels FABULOUS! You see my starting line post, a weekly update and my wrap up here! I also participated in the Love-for-Books readathon and made my goal, FOR ONCE! It’s been a long time since I was able to read what I said I would and I DID I DID 🙂
Blogger & Bookish Fun & Misc Posts
- Dorothy Must Die at The Real Fauxtographer
- XOXO Gossip Girl at Alexa Loves Books
- Fandoms Gone Wild at Book Nerd Reviews
- Friendships Through Blogging at A Novel Idea
- Seriously Social! Survey, Infographic, and Giveaway at The Book Addicts Guide
- Things I Have Found Inside Books (Literally) at Readers in Wonderland
- I Spent Some Quality Time With My Bookshelf at The Perpetual Page-Turner
- Caps Lock at Another Novel Read
- Go Ahead & Make Fun of Me ALLLL You Want, Non-Reader Friends! at The Perpetual Page-Turner
- BEA 2014: Here We Go Again at The Irish Banana Review
Blogging & Reviews
- Memes: All That or Just Filler? at Fic Fare
- Originality in Blogging at Out of Time
- How Blogging has Ruined ARCs for Me at Live to Read, Love to Read!
- When Reviewing Gets Hard at Read Me Away
- The Dark Side of Being an ARC Reviewer at Notebook Sisters
- My Blogging Methods at The Daily Prophecy
- Plagiarism vs. Inspiration at Books With Cass
- Reviewing Audiobooks at Parajunkee
- 5 Problems Book Bloggers Will Understand at The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh!
- How to Write a Review at Istyria Book Blog
- Reviews vs. Discussion Posts at Fighting Dreamer
- Do’s, Don’ts and What to include in Negative and DNF Reviews at Book Reviews with the Blogmonstar
- Have Physical ARCs Lost Their Appeal at Nose Graze
- Has Book Blogging Made Me Too Critical? at Novel Heartbeat
- Get to Work, B—-! at So Obsessed With
- Are you a mood blogger? at The Nomadic Book Hoarder
- In Which I Hang Up My Hat As A Book Reviewer at The Perpetual Page-Turner
- Important Things to Remember at The Daily Prophecy
- The Truth About Giving Negative Reviews at I Swim for Oceans
- The Not-So-Glamorous Side of ARCs at The Quiet Concert
- We Ignore Your Review Requests, and Here’s Why at Readers in Wonderland
- Why I Don’t Have Ads On My Blog at Paper Cuts
- How Book Blogging is a lot like Online Dating at That Artsy Reader Girl
- I Have Trouble Reviewing Popular Books at Nose Graze
- Here’s Why My Rating Average Doesn’t Define Me as a Reviewer at Boricuan Bookworms
- Keeping Up with the Joneses at Jenna Does Books
Books & Reading
- Season of the Witch: A YA Reading List at Stacked
- Recommendations: Love or Hate? at So Obsessed With
- Audiobook Habits at Read Me Away
- Reading Outside of Your Comfort Zone at Book Nerd Reviews
- Re-reading at The Daily Prophecy
- Why I Love Binge Reading a Series at Book Rock Betty
- Yet Another Series at Natflix & Books
- Yay or Nay: Audiobooks at Rantings, Ravings and Ramblings
- Full Fathom Five and Why I Boycott Their Books at Snuggly Oranges
- Giving Authors Second Chances at The Paper Sea
- I Totally Saw That Coming and That’s OKAY at Queen Ella Bee Reads
- When No One Understands Your Love For Books at Stay Bookish
- I’m Tired of Bucket List/Cancer-Related Books at Gypsy Reviews
- I Can (Not) Cry If I Want To at Gun in Act One
- Book Impatience and Binge Reading at YA Romantics
- Romance in YA by Novel Heartbeat
- Spoilers at Snuggly Oranges
- Look, We Need to Talk About Covers at Another Novel Read
- The Do’s and Dont’s of YA Romance at Blue Sky Bookshelf
- The DNF or When Do You Give Up? at Snuggly Oranges
- Rereading Books at Reading Is Fun Again
- Admiring & Acquiring at So Obsessed With
- Guilty Pleasure Books at Reading Is Fun Again
- How Do You Rate Books That Are Not Intended For You? at Reading Is Fun Again
- How Audiobooks Have Changed My Life at Tempest Books
- It’s A Love/Hate Kinda Thing at Turning Pages
- Spoiler-Induced Rage at Readiculous Reads
- Are well known authors holding back new authors? At Book Nerd Reviews
- Novellas, Si o No? at Lili’s Reflections
- I am a One-Sitting Reader at Book.Blog.Bake
- Talking to Nonreaders at The Library Canary
- The Incorrect Use of Language in Books at Gypsy Reviews
- Rambling: epilogues at The Annex
- Does Goodreads Ratings Matter at Christy’s Book Addiction
- Paws Off My Favorites at Snuggly Oranges
- I’m All Alone, There’s No One Here Beside Me at The Paper Sea
- Conquering Bookish Anxiety at Reading In Winter
- Authors, Let Your Readers Read in Peace at Snuggly ORanges
- One Can Never Have Too Many Books at The Paper Sea
- Surprises Under the Cover at Snuggly Oranges
Blogging Help & Design Posts
- You’re Just My Type: For Valentines Day by The Novel Hermit
- Tags & Categories at Caffeinated Book Reviewer
- Ten Quick Tips to Increase Your Blog Readership at Parajunkee
- Don’t Have a Slow Blog! Tips to Speed Things Up at Nose Graze
- How to Keep Track of Series at Snuggly Oranges
- Page Load Time at Hopeless Romantics
- The Perfect Color Scheme for Your Blog at Parajunkee
- The Networking Badge at Parajunkee
- Book Blogger WordPress Hosting at Nose Graze
Holy Smokes! There were a ton of great posts this month 🙂 Enjoy!
I hope everyone has an awesome March!
Oh Yoga! I’ve always thought about trying it, but I’m so incredibly not-flexible that I get too embarrassed within five minutes of starting, haha. Lately I’ve just been trying to do some cardio daily and that’s making me feel a lot of better, so I can’t complain 🙂
And you’re right. February flew by! Well, I feel like this WHOLE YEAR has flown by! I can’t believe it’s already March. It’s hard to keep up with it all. But hey, as long as it’s full of good stuff I don’t mind. 😉
Good work on your challenges! Keep it up 😀
I wasn’t the most flexible person prior to starting either Asti but it’s really, really improved since I started. I actually started it for the stress reliever aspect and instantly realized the physical aspects are just as great! Cardio is AMAZING for making you feel better, I agree! Everytime I go for a run (ok, which really hasn’t been for months haha) I feel like a million bucks. It must be the adrenaline 😛
I too feel like the year is flying by! Gosh… I like it because it’s been good so far, but the TIME is passing so quickly 😛
Thanks for linking a post of mine. 😀 Keep it up with the challenges. 🙂
Your welcome Bieke 🙂 And thank you! I hope I don’t lose steam in the coming months!!
Thank you for the shout out. 🙂 Don’t worry about hitting your book goals. If you are having fun, you are doing okay. 🙂
I agree Pamela 🙂 It’s taken me a bit to realize that but it’s so, so true!
February went by so fast for me too! And grr, the snow. NOT happy about the weather at all. I’m generally a good sport about the cold, being Canadian and all, but this winter has been the absolute worst! I’m praying that by the end of March, temperatures will be back to normal! And yoga! I need to get back to it too! I was never really good with keeping up with it but it’s good exercise and I feel like I should do some stretches and exercising more often. It looks like you’ve done really well with your challenges and AHH so many links! I’ll definitely make sure to check them all out! Have a great March, Lauren!
I do agree that it’s been a treacherous winter Annie! I actually adore the Winter, it’s my favorite season, but because it’s been SO cold and depressing for most people I think the constant damper in everyone’s moods is starting to wear off on me 🙁 I hope you get back into Yoga too!! You should try out the 30 Day Challenge from doyouyoga.com. The videos are incredibly short, between 10 and 20 minutes daily and they work your entire body. The instructor is awesome and really helps to make some intimidating poses, not so intimidating! And because of the short time on the videos it’s not unrealistic to fit it in daily!
You have a wonderful March too Annie 🙂
Wow you read a lot of great books in Feb!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
I agree Missie 🙂 February was definitely one of my better reading months as of late!
Great idea to lower your GR challenge. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing you are behind on your schedule, so I can totally understand you went lower to stay motivated 😀 Thanks for including my posts <3 Based on your reviews, you had a great reading month and I hope you enjoy all the books you read in March too!
It is frustrating! And I am weirdly of the personality that when I get behind I get really anxious and just DONT know what to do, and then I get even more behind 😛 Strange, I know!
Thanks so much Mel, I hope you have a lovely March as well!
Oh, wow! Thank you for linking to my post! 😀
Also, yoga is so awesome. 🙂 I’m not very flexible but I always love it when I get some downtime to do a little yoga practice. I haven’t done some in a while, so I should really get on to practicing, haha!
You’re welcome Ana! And I agree, it’s a great downtime activity. I’ve taken to doing it when I get home from work and it’s such a lovely way to transition from work to home. I have a hard time letting work stress go and I carry it with me at home and Yoga has really been helping me separate the two 🙂