Blogmas Wrap-Up! (Blogmas Day #25)

   Welcome to Blogmas day 25!

   Today is the last day of this years blogmas. I can barely believe that the 25 days passed so fast, and that it's already Christmas, 2016 approaching quickly. When I announced that I would be doing blogmas this year I was sure I wouldn't be able to do it, since I'd never posted that much in a month before. But, now as we have the final day, I can honestly say that it was just so much fun! I definitely want to try and do it again next year. I hope you had just as much fun as I had.

   Now, below, you will find a complete list of all the posts I've made for blogmas. Look back at all the fun posts and catch up on some if you missed any. Thank you so much for reading all my words every day and with it giving me the motivation to keep up the work. Honestly, some of these posts took me way more time then I ever thought bloggers would put into a post. I enjoy all of this immensely, more then I ever thought I would, and I'm very glad I decided to create this post years ago.

   Enough of the blabbing, since I'm sure there will be another inspirational/emotional post toward the end of the year. Finally, here is the list of all my Blogmas 2015 posts:

December 1st 2015 - Day 1

Review: The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana

December 2nd 2015 - Day 2

Waiting on Wednesday: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

December 3rd 2015 - Day 3

Blogmas Verlosung #1: Bannwald von Julie Heiland

December 4th 2015 - Day 4

Cover Lust Friday: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

December 5th 2015 - Day 5

Ask the Author: A.L. Davroe

December 6th 2015 - Day 6

What NaNoWriMo Has Taught Me So Far

December 7th 2015 - Day 7

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

December 8th 2015 - Day 8

Bookish Christmas Present Recommendations

December 9th 2015 - Day 9

Waiting on Wednesday: Love Blind by Christa Desir & Jolene Perry

December 10th 2015 - Day 10

That Time Veronica Roth Signed My Books!

December 11th 2015 - Day 11

Cover Lust Friday: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

December 12th 2015 - Day 12

Review: Not Okay, Cupid by Heidi R. Kling

December 13th 2015 - Day 13

5 Songs I'm Currently Addicted To!

December 14th 2015 - Day 14

My Bookish Christmas Wish List 2015

December 15th 2015 - Day 15

My Year In Music

December 16th 2015 - Day 16

Waiting on Wednesday: Starflight by Melissa Landers

December 17th 2015 - Day 17

Cover Reveal: Going Geek by Charlotte Huang

December 18th 2015 - Day 18

Cover Lust Friday: My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Winter Romances by 12 authors, edited by Stephanie Perkins

December 19th 2015 - Day 19

Ask the Author: Ava Jae (Beyond the Red)

December 20th 2015 - Day 20

Ed Sheeran Book TAG

December 21st 2015 - Day 21

My Opinion On Fan Fiction

December 22nd 2015 - Day 22

12 Days of Christmas Book TAG

December 23rd 2015 - Day 23

Waiting on Wednesday: Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia

December 24th 2015 - Day 24

Merry Christmas!

   Thank you very much for reading and I will see you again soon! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! (Blogmas Day #24)

   Welcome to blogmas day 24!
   For today I don't really have any post planned since we shouldn't spend this day chillin' online but rather with our families and/or friends, right? So for today I only want to say Merry Christmas everybody! I hope you're having a wonderful festive time, get lots and lots of amazing presents, even though we should remember that Christmas shouldn't be about the presents we get but about the time spent with those we love. I am thankful for each and every one of you, for reading my blog and following me on twitter and checking out my book, Petty Little Lives.
   I'm going to go now, get ready for Christmas Eve, all the food I plan on consuming and the christmas music in form of a loop of All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?
   Have a wonderful Christmas everybody and I will see you tomorrow for my blogmas wrap up!

Waiting on Wednesday: Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia (Blogmas Day #23)

   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

Enter Title Here by Rahul Kanakia
Expected Publication: August 2nd 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   I’m your protagonist—Reshma Kapoor—and if you have the free time to read this book, then you’re probably nothing like me.
   Reshma is a college counselor’s dream. She’s the top-ranked senior at her ultra-competitive Silicon Valley high school, with a spotless academic record and a long roster of extracurriculars. But there are plenty of perfect students in the country, and if Reshma wants to get into Stanford, and into med school after that, she needs the hook to beat them all.
   What's a habitual over-achiever to do? Land herself a literary agent, of course. Which is exactly what Reshma does after agent Linda Montrose spots an article she wrote for Huffington Post. Linda wants to represent Reshma, and, with her new agent's help scoring a book deal, Reshma knows she’ll finally have the key to Stanford.
   But she’s convinced no one would want to read a novel about a study machine like her. To make herself a more relatable protagonist, she must start doing all the regular American girl stuff she normally ignores. For starters, she has to make a friend, then get a boyfriend. And she's already planned the perfect ending: after struggling for three hundred pages with her own perfectionism, Reshma will learn that meaningful relationships can be more important than success—a character arc librarians and critics alike will enjoy.
   Of course, even with a mastermind like Reshma in charge, things can’t always go as planned. And when the valedictorian spot begins to slip from her grasp, she’ll have to decide just how far she’ll go for that satisfying ending. (Note: It’s pretty far.)
   In this wholly unique, wickedly funny debut novel, Rahul Kanakia consciously uses the rules of storytelling—and then breaks them to pieces. (goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   This good sounds amazing!
   What is less amazing is the fact that it comes out August 2016 because I really, really want to read it. (Hey Disney-Hyperion, how about an ARC? Pretty please?) What truly caught my attention is the fact that this is a story about a girl deciding to get herself a literary agent to make herself stand out among the perfect Stanford applicants, which reminds me of me back in high school, wanting nothing more then an agent, though I didn't dream of Stanford. Furthermore, the final line of the blurb makes the entire thing even more interesting because I really want to know in what way the author breaks the rules of story telling and I want to know how exactly this story is told.
   All in all I really want to read this book and cannot wait for it to come out, even though the latter is more then half a year away.

   Let me know in the comments below or via twitter (@Alice_Reeds) which books you're waiting for this Wednesday!

12 Days of Christmas Book Tag! (Blogmas Day #22)

   Welcome to blogmas day 22!
   Slowly we are approaching the end of blogmas, reaching christmas, but there are still a couple of days left. So, for today I'm bringing you the 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag which was originally created by LizzieLovesBooks over on YouTube. I think this looks really fun, and it's Christmas themed, so basically it first perfect. After yesterdays long discussion post a TAG seems like the way to go.

   #1 - A Partridge in a pear tree: Favorite Stand-Alone Book?
   Because I don't want to choose something uncreative like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, because you all know I love this one lots and lots, I decided to go with Paint My Body Red by Heidi R. Kling. I've read this book not that long ago and loved it so much! It is one of those books that tackles heavy topics and just does it so well while also having an intriguing plot and amazing characters. Love this one so you should check it out if you've not done so yet!

   #2 - Two Turtle Doves: Fictional OTP/Favorite Ship?

   Come on kids, say it with me: Mara Dyer and Noah Shaw from the Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin. I've talked about these two and those books so many times already I'm sure all of you knew I would pick them the second you saw the word OTP in the question. I love Mara and Noah because they are so broken and beautiful and just perfect for each other. I mean, I love those two enough to actually name my laptop Noah. If that's not enough of a sign for it then I don't know. I'm actually contemplating naming my phone Mara. HM.

   #3 - Three French Hens: Favorite Trilogy?
   This is a really hard one, even though I have a feeling it shouldn't be. I want to go with The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, but that's like my default answer so to switch it up I'm going to say Legend by Marie Lu. I love that trilogy, despite the fact that I always imagine June and Day to be at least two years older then they are actually in the books since everything they do seems a little unrealistic if you remember that they are merely like 15. But, besides that tiny fact, this trilogy is perfect and the ending, the ending was pure perfection. Champion, so the final book in the trilogy, was brilliant and tied all the loose ends in an amazing way. Marie Lu is definitely one of my favorite authors out there so.

   #4 - Four Calling Birds: Favorite Fictional Beast/Creature?
   I have a feeling that answering this question would be way easier if I would actually read more/any fantasy so, as cheap copout, I'm just going to say Unicorns, because Unicorns are awesome.

   #5 - Five Golden Rings: Show 5 Golden Books.

   #6 - Six Geese a Laying: Rotten egg - What's your least favorite book?
   There are a few books I disliked but there is only one that just made me want to throw my book across the room or out of the window because I just had so many problems with it, and that book is Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. So many people love this book yet I hated every single page of it. The relationship between the two main characters was horrifying and just so abusive I cannot understand how anyone could think it's "cute" or "goals". Just no. I didn't like this book, I disliked it even more then Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James and Allegiant by Veronica Roth put together. 

   #7 - Seven Swans a Swimming: Show a Book with Water on the Cover.
   For this one, I could have had it really easy by just taking The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, because I'm cheap like that, BUT, I decided against doing that. Instead I'm going with Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer, a book I'm actually currently reading, even though I don't get much time to read recently which is a shame, really. This book is really good so far so I hope I'll find time to continue on with it really soon!

   #8 - Eight Maids a Milking: What fictional food do you wish you could taste?
   To be honest I have no idea about foods in books. I think those are one of those details that I don't really ay much attention to while reading. But I'm sure there's something in Harry Potter, like for example Butterbeer, which would be interesting to try.

   #9 - Nine Ladies Dancing: Favorite dance between two characters?
   I have no idea. I've honestly been thinking about an answer for this question for the past twenty minutes and I could not recall a couple dancing in any book I've read. This might be because there simply were none, or my ability to remember things like that just sucks on a major scale. Sorry!

   #10 - Ten Lords a Leaping: Favorite Book-To-Movie-Adaptation?
   This one is actually a tie between three movies because I cannot choose no matter how much I try: Catching Fire, The Martian and Fight Club (even though, first rule of the fight club, we don't talk about the fight club). I love these three movies and each of them has something amazing to them so choosing just one seemed like an impossible decision. Catching Fire is part of my favorite dystopian trilogy, The Martian is just all around perfect and science-y, and Fight Club is just a complete mind*ck on every scale with an ending I definitely did not see coming when I watched it for the first time. Love!

   #11 - Eleven Pipers Piping: Favorite Book-To-Movie-Adaptation Soundtrack?
   Another question that made me think for a moment to figure out my question. I think I will go with Twilight, or actually all four Twilight movies. The movies themselves might have been less then average but the music was really good! I was actually surprised by how good of a job they did with their music selection since some of the songs from the soundtracks are actually ones I still really like to listen to until today, and I don't mean only the MUSE song.

   #12 - Twelve Drummers Drumming: It's the end of the song; what's your favorite book ending?
   There are many books that have perfect endings, surprisingly enough, but because I didn't want to repeat myself I decided to go with Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead, the sixth and final book in the Vampire Academy Series. I love this series, it's definitely one of my favorites, just like Rose and Dimitri will forever be one of my favorite OTP's, and Dimitri my fictional boyfriend, closely tied with Noah. The ending of this series that utter perfection and I could have not wished for a better one. I definitely want to re-read the series again sometime soon because I miss it.

   And that is it, the 12 Days of Christmas Book Tag. I hope you enjoyed my answers. Leave yours in the comments below, or do the TAG on your blog/YouTube channel, but don't forget to leave a link in the comments or tweet it at me (@Alice_Reeds) so I can check it out!

My Opinion On Fan Fiction (Blogmas Day #21)

   Welcome to Blogmas day 21!
   Today, as the title suggest, I will be talking about this very controversial thing most people ignore or try to avoid: Fan fiction. Some of us, me included, have found themselves at a point in their life where you've just been so engrossed in a fandom, for a movie, TV show or book, that you started to dream up your own stories involving their characters or world. Some did it with Star Wars, others with Twilight, One Direction or Teen Wolf. Then there are others who just think fan fiction is awful and should be shunned.
   Today, we, and by that I mean me, will discuss both those points. Let's go!

   First up, what is fan fiction? Fan fictions are stories, be it one-shots that count not even 100 words or full on novel length stories written by the fans of a certain thing. There are many different types of fan fictions, romantic ones, tragic, smutty or even full on disturbing ones, whatever you might want to read, I'm pretty sure someone wrote it.
   Personally, in the past I've actually read an interesting amount of fan fictions. I started out thinking that it was the worst idea ever, but soon I discovered that some of the people writing those fan fictions are mad talented at what they are doing. I'm pretty sure you could take some, change the names, and you'd have perfectly working novels that could potentially be best sellers, in a good way, not the Fifty Shades of Grey way. During my obsessive music phase, or the peak of my fan fiction reading time, I found myself reading fan fictions about people like Ville Valo, the singer of HIM, Jared Leto, the singer of 30 Seconds to Mars, or Harry Potter, more specifically Dramione (Draco x Hermione) type fan fictions. I know Draco and Hermione have never been a thing yet they will always be my dream OTP, sorry Ron.

Ville Valo (HIM)

   When it comes to the stories about Ville Valo I've encountered one that I actually saved onto my laptop many years ago because it was just that good. It was really long, had an amazing protagonist and just a wonderful story filled with adventures, music and fun. I had a great time. In the Dramione department I stumbled upon another gem called Victim of the Fall which just blew my mind. The story is centered around Hermione and is just so incredibly well written I can't even explain it. If you like sad, living through the aftermath type stories that explore interesting ideas set in the Harry Potter world definitely check this one out. Seriously, someone from the Publishing world should take a look at it.
   Then also, just so the person won't get mad at me, I have to mention a story someone I know is currently posting on Wattpad that's also crazy good called Confide in Me which is a danisnotonfire fan fiction. For those who don't know danisnotonfire aka Dan Howell is a YouTuber from the UK whom I like so that was already a good enough reason for me to give it a try. So, here you go, I mentioned your story, hope ya happy now. Check it out guys.

   But, now, let's have a look at the other side of the argument being that fan fiction is awful and everyone who reads and writes it should be shunned from society, basically every parents standpoint on the topic when they realize that their kid is reading Johnlock (Sherlock x Watson) fan fiction on tumblr.
   I can understand people who think this way, especially after reading some of the more disturbing fan fictions that you hear about in certain fandoms. Whatever you do, don't look them up and don't read them, you will never be able to get those images out of your brain so I won't mention any titles but if you read them you know what I mean. But, besides overly disturbing and cringeworthy smut there are also those "fun" fan fictions that are clearly written by 12 year old that look a little something like this:
   OMG Harry Styles walkd into the rum & kissed me @ the mouth and omg said he luvs me & we married the nxt day.

Harry Styles
(One Direction)

  That was the worst example I could make up but it's 2am so I'm sure you can forgive me. But, I'm sure you get the gist of what I mean. Stories that are extremely badly written, have plots that make no sense or just represent what 12 year olds thinks love is because Harry is perfection, or Justin Bieber, whichever you prefer.
   I know other parents also say that they discourage their children from writing fan fiction because they believe it's pointless, seeing as those stories are not novels that could get published nor are they really getting them anywhere in life, they are just fan stories about things that would never happen in such a way in real life. I can kind of understand where you're coming from with that argument.

   But, looking at both arguments I'm sure you can find a million more for each side, argue for or against them, and we will never find the ultimate answer. Some people tried to discuss the question if fan fiction is literature, mostly concluding that no, it's not.

   According to dictionary.com these are the definitions for literature:
  1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.
   2. the entire body of writings of a specific language, period, people, etc.: the literature of England.
   3. the writings dealing with a particular subject: the literature of ornithology.
   4. the profession of a writer or author.
   5. literary work or production.

   Just looking at that definition, fan fiction could actually be considered literature since those stories are bodies of writings in specific languages, periods or about people, and contain the expression of permanent and universal ideas as essential features. Some of those stories deal with more then just the writer's love for Harry Styles, some deal with depression, existential and identity related crisis or self harm, many in a way that could help the reader through their own depression by showing them a way through it. It's incredible what some of those fan fiction writers manage to create.
   At the end of the day, my question is, does it matter if fan fiction is valuable literature or not? I don't think so. Most of these writers don't seek recognition for their bold ideas or discussions on world moving topics, but rather praise from those who are in the same fandom.
   Personally I think parents should encourage their kids to write these stories, except for the disturbing ones, because, essentially, fan fictions are just another type of creative writing. Would you rather have your daughter party and drink her brain out at sixteen or sit in her room writing smutty fan fiction and sharing it with her friends or fandom members? I think the latter is more desirable, especially when you look at how well Fifty Shades of Grey or the After series did. Both of them used to be fan fictions but are now best selling stories with millions of fans and readers. Who knows, maybe that silly story your daughter is writing could be like that one day too?

   To end this endlessly long post, I can only say that while I get both sides of the argument, one saying that fan fiction is amazing and the other saying it's awful, I think everyone should have the freedom to decide for themselves if they want to get involved, either by writing or reading it, and if your daughter/son is writing these stories, let them do it. Of course, if they happen to write disturbing stories involving really damaging ideas and acts, stop them immediately! I mean the good stories, the silly or funny ones, those should be encouraged.

   And that's it, that's my discussion of fan fiction. Tell me your opinion down in the comments down below (no need to sign up), share your experiences with fan fiction, or tweet them at me, @Alice_Reeds. I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you guys tomorrow!

Ed Sheeran Book TAG (Blogmas Day #20)

   Welcome to blogmas day 20!
   Today I'm bringing you a book TAG related to one of my absolute favorite artists...the brilliant Ed Sheeran, which you know if you've read the title of this post. I've seen this tag float around on the Spanish side of the BookTube community and decided that I want to do it to. Of course, seeing as I don't really speak Spanish, and my blog is in English, I had to ask a friend to translate the questions for me and I've tweaked them a little.
  If you want to check out the original TAG click here.

   #1 - This - The book that started your reading adventure.
   I would say there are several books that did the trick for me, but the one that sticks out the most is definitely Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I'm not ashamed to admit that I used to love this series like the twiheart that I used to be at 14. When a friend of mine first mentioned the story to me I wasn't sure if I would like it and I didn't know about the growing hype for it yet. Once I started to read Twilight I couldn't stop until I was done with Breaking Dawn. Like many of us in the book community Twilight introduced me to the YA section and since then I never wanted to leave again. Sure, they might not be the best books out there but they will forever have a special place in my mind.

   #2 - Give Me Love - A book with which you lived and suffered through relations between the characters.
   I love this song, it's probably my favorite Ed Sheeran song to be honest, so of course I had to pair my favorite Ed song with my favorite trilogy that fits perfectly with the task. Of course I'm talking about the Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin, how else could it be. You know me, I always find a way to mention these books in TAGs and lists. The emotional journey onto which we go with Mara and Noah in these books is just one hell of a rollercoaster that will, at times, make you swoon and, moments later, rip out your heart. It's magical. I love the relationship that Mara and Noah have, I lived through it, I suffered thanks to it, but I enjoyed every second of it.

   #3 - Sing - A book in which they mention songs/music.
   As someone who loves music I'm always on the hunt for books that incorporate music, are centered around musicians, rock bands, or just characters that love music. My recent absolute favorite when it comes to these types of books, and fitting perfectly into this question, is For the Record by Charlotte Huang. In this story we follow Chelsea who is the new singer of a famous rock band. Through her eyes we experience what it means to stand in the spotlight, to be a rockstar, and it's absolutely amazing. Charlotte Huang did an amazing job at making the story feel incredibly realistic and just a hell of a lot of fun. 

   #4 - Thinking Out Loud - A romantic book.
   I guess the choice of book for this one is kind of very obvious, and extremely uninspired and unoriginal, but of course I have to go with The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Let's face it, The Fault in Our Stars is perfection. John did an amazing job at creating brilliant characters that make us fall in love with them within pages. The story is both heartbreaking but also so cute, romantic and swoon worthy in so many ways. I mean, Augustus Waters, need I say more? Loved this one and it's definitely my favorite contemporary romance book, despite the heart shattering ending and all.

   #5 - Tenerife Sea - A book which is set in an ancient era.
   This one was quite a hard one for me because, as you all know, I don't really read historical fiction/fantasy novels so I wasn't quite sure if I should just skip this question or choose a book I've heard nothing but good things about. Obviously I went with the latter and my choice fell onto An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Around the time this book came out and flashed everybody with its amazingness, and the fact that originally it was planned as standalone, I heard floods of positive opinions about it. I've not read it myself and I highly doubt that I ever will but it seems like a good choice for this song/question.

   #6 - Photograph - A book that made you feel melancholic.
   Melancholic/sad books are something I love wholeheartedly. I think they are beautiful and require an amazing amount of skill so they will make you feel all the feels and for the story and sadness to feel realistic. There are many, many authors who do an amazing job at writing sad stories that really make you think and feel what the characters are going through. Of course I had to pick my absolute favorite book from this category, one I've mentioned many times before on this blog: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay. This book is absolutely beautiful, haunting and perfect in every way. The characters are endlessly broken but seeing them work through their problems and get better, it's wonderful. I cannot recommend this book enough.

   #7 - Small Bump - A book that you anxiously await.
   For this one I have two choices, one is totally obvious if you've followed by blog for a while, or read my answer for #2. I am extremely looking forward to The Shaw Confessions by Michelle Hodkin, unfortunately for me and everybody else who loved the Mara Dyer Trilogy, this new trilogy/series isn't coming out until 2017, which is just so far away. Besides that I'm also really looking forward to The Last Star by Rick Yancey, the third and final book in the The 5th Wave Trilogy. Like many readers I've not beed the biggest fan of book two, The Infinite Sea, yet I really hope book three will turn it all around and offer us a worth ending to the trilogy that started out so well with The 5th Wave. There's also the movie coming out 2016 so let's see how that will go.

   #8 - Wake Me Up - A book that kept you awake reading.
   There are many books that would fit this one, but my choice fell onto Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky. This is the first book in the Awaken Trilogy, where I have to admit that I've still not read book three which is all sorts of tragic and awful. When I first got this book a couple of years ago, not too long after it came out in Germany, I couldn't get enough of it. I loved every single page of it, still love it to this day, and spend many sleepless nights reading this book, and it's sequel, Middle Ground. This book was my introduction to the dystopian section and soon lead me to discovering The Hunger Games and my undying love for the trilogy, but not the last two movies.

   #9 - You Need Me, I Don't Need You - A book you were anticipating to read but ultimately disappointed you.
   I loved Divergent by Veronica Roth. I liked Insurgent but I absolutely HATED Allegiant from the first until the last page. I think it was one of the worst final books in a trilogy I've ever read since it offered us the most convoluted and no sense making answers to all the questions we had regarding the story and history of the Divergent world I could have imagined. Many people give Ms. Roth credit for the move she did in the book, no spoilers, yet I saw it coming already the second I knew that this one would be written from two POV's. I didn't think it was a brave move, but rather one we could have all lived without since it didn't add anything amazing to the story. Basically what I'm saying is that Allegiant disappointed me in every way possible.

   #10 - I See Fire - A book with flames or fire on the cover.
   This one was another really hard one to find. I don't think I have any books on my shelves that have flames or fire on them, and if I do I can't remember. But, then I remembered a certain book that does have flames on it, but I unfortunately still don't own it, shame on me. The book I'm talking about is The Ables by Jeremy Scott, the guy behind the YouTube Channel Cinema Sins, a channel I love a lot. When I heard that he's coming out with a book about kids with disabilities that have superpowers I knew i had to have it, but I didn't get it for whatever reason, though one thing is clear, I definitely want to listen to the audiobook as he reads the book himself and we all know that he has an amazing voice.

   #11 - Sofa - A book that you take with you everywhere.
   For this question I don't have a single book as answer, and I don't want to repeat myself once more by saying all the Mara Dyer books by Michelle Hodkin, so I will simply say any and all books I have on my phone and iPad thanks to my kindle app. I have all sorts of books on there, ones I bought and others that I got as eARC's. I of course always have either my phone or both with me so whenever I feel like passing the time by reading I can just pull up the app and read any of the books I have on there.

   And that's it, that was the Ed Sheeran Book TAG. I hope you enjoyed this post and leave all your answers below or answer them on your own blog/YouTube Channel leaving a link to it in the comments, or tweet them at me, @Alice_Reeds.
   Thank you so much for reading and I will see you guys tomorrow, hopefully less late then today.

Ask the Author: Ava Jae (Beyond the Red) (Blogmas Day #19)

   Welcome to blogmas day 19!
   For this weeks Ask The Author I'm bringing you Ava Jae, author of Beyond the Red, a YA sci-fi novel that I'm incredibly looking forward to. I actually have an eARC of it, which is really exciting, so when I got the chance to ask Ava a couple of Q's I could not resist. Her A's are amazing so read on to find out all about her book and our interview:

Beyond the Red by Ava Jae
Expted Publication: March 1st 2016 by Sky Pony Press
Number of Pages: 352 Pages (Hardcover)
Series: No

   Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.
   Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.
   When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Ava Jae

   1 – Describe Beyond the Red with a haiku.
   (This is such a cool question!)

   Beyond the Red haiku

   violent uprising
   an extrasolar planet
   rebel and teen queen

   2 – What sparked the idea for Beyond the Red? The sole idea of writing a story about an alien queen on a distant planet or something entirely different?
   Well I’d sort of come up with the whole planet and culture well before I even considered writing a book about it, as well as a version of Eros who is very different from book-version. Then later on I was inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar with the premise of a story taking place on another planet inhabited already—but I asked myself what would happen if the native species was able to fight back and totally overwhelm the invading (human) forces. And from there I remembered I already had a planet and culture and now I had the background story set up, so it developed from there. :)

   3 – What was the most challenging about writing Beyond the Red and which scene was the most fun to write?
   Most challenging part was getting Kora to open up—especially in my early drafts she was really closed off, which was an issue because people weren’t connecting to her, and it was a lot of work to dig in and really get to know her. But in the end I think it paid off, because so far readers seem to really like her. So yay!
   The most fun scene to write was a very particular scene with kissing. And sand. And that’s all I’ll say for now. ;)

   4 – What do you like most and least about your main characters, Kora and Eros?
   Kora and Eros are both quite snarky, which was a blast to write and play around with. They’re also very strong-willed characters, which I like about them, but was also occasionally challenging to write and work with given that they can be very stubborn.

   5 – In retrospective, is there anything that you’d change about the story or are you happy with the way it turned out in the end?
   Overall, I’m very happy with how it turned out. It went through many changes as I revised, and I do love the end result quite a bit. :)

  6 – How do you feel about the fact that in a couple of months, thousands upon thousands of people will be able to read your book?
   * Insert gif of overly excited Japanese kids of a Spongebob toy here*

   7 – What do you think about the cover for Beyond the Red? Does it do the story justice?
   I love the cover! It’s actually very similar to what I’d sort of envisioned before I had a cover, so I’m really very pleased. The colors! And two suns! And sand! It’s perfect.

   8 – If Kora and Eros were to live in our time, which social media do you think they would each use most?
   Hmmm, this is a really interesting question. Eros isn’t really strongly literate, so I think he’d probably stick with something more visual, like maybe Instagram, Vine or Snapchat. And I could totally see Kora coming up with some very snarky and snappy tweets.

   9 – Do you have a writing routine or do you write whenever creativity strikes?
   When I’m in the middle of a draft, I write every day until I’m finished. I like to start early in the morning when I can, because the later it is in the day, the less energy I have to get my work done. So yeah, I’m definitely more of a routine person—but between drafts I’m much more flexible.

   10 – What advice could you give aspiring authors?
   Don’t set a deadline on your dreams! I started writing as a teen, and I was initially totally determined to get published as a teen—which not only didn’t happen, but resulted in my putting way more stress and pressure on myself than was necessary. Honing your craft takes time, writing a book takes time, and every one of the steps before getting published takes loads of time. Don’t rush—everyone’s journey is different and you’ll get there at exactly the right time for you.

   11 – If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
   I always flip-flop between teleportation and telekenesis. I really want both—to be able to travel anywhere I wanted instantly would be amazing, as would being able to move things with my mind, I mean, how cool! Can I choose both? I choose both.

About the Author

   I'm Ava Jae.
   I write. I read. I Photoshop. Then I tweet/blog/tumbl/post/vlog/instagram about it and some pretty awesome people like and read and watch it. I'm also an Assistant Editor at Entangled, and I'm represented by the wonderful Louise Fury of The Bent Agency.
   I write YA and NA paranormal, Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels because I love writing about self-discovery and the complicated worlds of young people. Then I like to take their emotionally-ridden lives, rip them apart and set them on fire. My debut novel BEYOND THE RED will be published in hardcover and e-book by Sky Pony Press in March 2016. It has aliens and kissing and explosions and you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here.
   I also have an addiction to movies, but that's another matter entirely.

Cover Reveal: Going Geek by Charlotte Huang (Blogmas Day #17)

   Welcome to blogmas day 17!
   Today I'm bringing you the gorgeous cover for Going Geek by Charlotte Huang. As you all know I loved For the Record a lot, even got it super early because I was just that unable to wait, so when I saw that there was a way to sign up to be part of the cover reveal for Going Geek, well, I had to do it. I cannot wait to read this book, hopefully I can get an ARC somehow.
   So, without further ado, here is the cover and even a US giveaway!

Going Geek by Charlotte Huang
Expected Publication: Fall 2016 by Delacorte/Random House
Series: No

   In GOING GEEK, a girl is forced to stand up for who she really is - if she even knows - when her friends dump her and she is forced to hang out with the fringe crowd at school. (goodreads.com)

About the Author

   Charlotte Huang is a graduate of Smith College and received an MBA from Columbia Business School, which is clearly something every aspiring writer should do. When not glued to her computer, she cheers her two sons on at sporting events and sometimes manages to stay up late enough to check out bands with her music agent husband. Charlotte lives in Los Angeles and is the author of For the Record (Delacorte, 2015)

charlottehuangbooks.com // Twitter: @charlottexhuang // Insta: @charlottexhuang

Snapchat: @charlottexhuang // FB: Charlotte Huang // Tumblr: charlottexhuang

Giveaway!

   1 Winner will get the very first ARC of GOING GEEK (US Only. Prize will ship when item becomes available)

  Open | Must be 13+ To Enter Sweeps/Giveaway accounts are not eligible to participate.. See Terms & Conditions for more info

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: Starflight by Melissa Landers (Blogmas Day #16)

   Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine in which we discuss our most anticipated upcoming releases.

   The book:

Starflight by Melissa Landers
Expected Publication: February 2nd 2016 by Disney-Hyperion
Number of Pages: 320 Pages(Hardcover)
Series: Yes, #1 in the Starflight companion duology/trilogy(?)

   Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.
   When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world--and each other--the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...(goodreads.com)

   My thoughts:

   This book has space, far away planets and is sci-fi, what more could I wish for?
   The first time I ever saw this book I knew I have to have it because the cover is awesome and the blurb sounds really intriguing. I'm a sucker for good YA sci-fi novels with just a dash of romance and truly high stakes so I have a lot of hope for this one, even more since a reviewer I trust gave it 5 stars. So, Disney-Hyperion, if you want to hook me up with am ARC I'm all for it!
   But in all seriousness, I cannot wait for this book to come out!

   Let me know in the comments below or via twitter (@Alice_Reeds) which books you're waiting for this Wednesday!