Ali Talks: Ratings and the Rating Breakdown

So today, I wanted to chat about ratings and the Rating breakdown that I used to add to my reviews here on the blog. It's something that's been on my mind for a little while and honestly it's something that I want to really work on here on Ali's Bookshelf. 

Do you ever feel like you get into a rut when it comes to ratings and the books you read? I know ratings are very subjective, they are based on the person's thoughts when reading the book. I want to work on the way I rate books. I honestly want to be a bit harder when it comes to my ratings. So fair warning you might not see many fives in the coming reviews. Fives are going to be saved for those books that I just couldn't get out of my head after I finished them, or those books that I just couldn't pull myself away from. I just feel like I give a lot of 4's and 5's and after awhile I wonder if I went back and read those books again if I would give the same rating. I want to be a little bit more critical. 

What are your thoughts on ratings? When you read a book are you criticial when giving out a rating or do you just give it a five if you liked it?  

 I think I'm going to bring back my old rating system, a few years ago I used to post all my reviews with a rating breakdown of sorts. Sort of like this...

Plot: /20

Characters: /20

Writing: /20

Creativity: /20

Cover: /10

Ending: /10

I'm thinking of bringing this back to help me be fore critical of what I'm reading. Back when I was adding this to my reviews I was a bit more critical than I am now.  It made me think before just giving a book five puppies, I had to know exactly why I was giving said book five puppies. I think will also keep me more in check when it comes to be honest about how I feel about the book. If I like a book, I've found here lately I give it five puppies, but shouldn't I love that book if it gets that rating? Like I said I've been thinking about this for a while now and I think it's time for change! 

Thanks for sticking around for my little ratings chat, how do you feel about ratings? Should we as readers be more critical or just go with it? I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. Also how do you rate your reads, do you just rate them on Goodreads or do you have a blog like me? 

Have a great day and as always...

Ali's Favorite Things: Fall Edition

A Favorte things post is something I've always seen other bloggers and Youtubers do. It's also something I've always wanted to add here on Ali's Bookshelf, so I figured it was time to do so. Lately I've been adding new types of posts on the blog and I hope you are all enjoying the variety I'm trying to bring to the blog. 

So this post was born. Ali's Favorite things is going to be something I add sometimes, I'm not sure if it will be a monthly thing or maybe a seasonal thing. Right now I'm going with seasonal, but later I might add it more often, we shall see. 

Anyway, below you are about to see a few of my favorite things lately. These can vary in topic, from movies to cleaning products. Speaking of cleaning products, that's exactly where we are going to start. 

Grove Collaborative 

I'm not sure if you all know, but I'm a VIP member of a online store or subscription service, it's called Grove Collaborative and I love it! They send me cleaning products that I pick monthly and honestly I'm addicted to it. It's so much easier than going out to the store and going through all the products trying to figure out which one is going to work for me and my house. These products are all natural and that's the other thing that I love about Grove Collaberative. They are very selective on what products go onto their site. My favorite is below...

They also sell the seasonal scents of Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products and right now I'm addicted to Apple Cider, not something I would normally love, but it makes my whole house smell like fall! 

If you would like to try Grove out and get a 5 Piece gift set of Mrs. Meyer products..CLICK HERE. (Fair warning if you do CLICK HERE and get the free set, I will get a small amount sent my way that I will use on more products.) 

Grey's Anatomy 

Anyway, I have a goal to re-watch all of the 14 seasons of this amazing show on Netflix. I know there is another season but I'm trying to get caught up. I love the show but have never watched all of them. While re-watching I've realized just how much I love this show. I can't get enough of it. 

 

Fall Candles 

 

Yep now this is something that I really love year around, but the ones that I'm really in love with right now I found out our local Krogers. It's called Vanilla Cinnamon Brulee and again it makes my whole house smell like fall!  It's by the candle company Tuscany Candle, just in case you want to grab yourself one. I love candles, I mean who doesn't enjoy a good relaxing candle! 

 

 

 

So there are three of my favorites as of right now. I'm pretty sure I'll think of some later and do another post. Here's another favorite to take with you...Christmas Movies! I could do a whole video of my favorites. I might have to do that, if you would like to see a post on favorite holiday movies, please let me know in the comments below.

 

Anyway, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and...

 

 

 

 

10 Day Social Media Ban and How It Changed The Way I See Social Media

A few weeks ago I was watching Youtube, like I do every morning and I was listening to one of my favorite Youtubers, Kimmy over at She's In Her Apron, as she explained how she was going to be taking a 10 day fast from social media. It had been a challenge made through her church. Well at the end of the video she challenged her watchers to do the same. At first I thought there is no way I can actually stay away from social media that long, but I figured why not at least try. 

The first thing I did was go to my mom's and told her the plan, she thought I was crazy and didn't think I could do it either, thanks for the boost of confidence mom LOL! Anyway, after that, I took my challenge to Facebook and told everyone that starting the very next day I would be taking a 10-day ban from Social Media challenge and wouldn't be around for those 10 days. I got a lot of people that told me Good Luck a few people told me there was no way I could do it. That of course just put a fire up my butt and made me want to do the challenge even more.


The very next day I deleted Facebook from my cell phone (Which I still haven't added back and don't plan to!). It was the first feel-good moment of the challenge. I didn't have to hear it ding anymore letting me know that someone comment on some post and I didn't have to run to check it right away. To me this made the biggest difference starting out. Second, I promised myself that I would stay away from social media. I would do this challenge and I would finish it.


The first day was really hard, let me tell you. I actually missed those ding sounds at first, the second day it was still a little hard, but by the third day, I realized something. It wasn't as hard to stay away, I had tons of time to work on my blog, to spend with my kids, to clean my house, to do so many things that I had been putting off. Just because I wasn't scrolling on social media for five to ten minutes every few hours, I had time to do the things that I wanted to do.


We waste so much time scrolling and trying to figure out what other people are up to that we put off the things that we want to do or the things that bring us joy. At least that's what I figured out that I had been doing. I also realized how draining it was scrolling through social media, all the sad stories that brought me down while reading them or all the sad news people post on social media. All these things would make me sad and make me want to scroll more to find something happy.


After 10 days, I honestly realized that I don't need to be on social media as much as I was. I would rather spend that time playing with my kids or doing things around my house that I enjoy. It also gave me more time to read, which is something I love! All in all, this challenge was amazing and really opened my eyes to what damage social media can really do to your day and time. Now I only allow myself to get onto Facebook twice a day or every other day and only for about 15 minutes a day.

My challenge for you, take the 10-day social media ban challenge!

See what it was done for you, then, of course, come back and let me know how it goes. I would love to know what you spent your extra time on.

If We Were Having Coffee...

I saw this awesome post over at The Perpetual Page Turner and fell in love with the post idea. I knew right away that I had to do the same over here on the blog as well.  I'm pretty sure she got the idea from a life coach named Ashley from a blog called Awesome Life. I really hope they don't mind that I'm jumping on the bandwagon and posting my own as well. 

So today here on the blog, I'm going to do just that, tell you exactly what I'd tell you if we were sitting down together having a cup of coffee or in my instance a cup of hot chocolate. Okay you caught me I don't drink coffee and I know people are going to be stunned and wonder why not so don't send out the horde of people with pitchforks after me. For right now let's just sit down and have a chat. Don't forget to grab your drink of choice! 

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that this past weekend was my daughters birthday and we got to spend Saturday together having a blast. We went out to lunch at Olive Garden, which she had never been and once there she told me she was in heaven. LOL. Then we were shopping at the mall, but the best part of the day was that we went to see the new Crimes of Grindleward movie and it was so good!  I'd probably have to explain to you that the night before my daughter was born I was actually at a Harry Potter movie premere and we are carrying  on said tradition with the new Harry Potter themed movies on her birthdays! 

If we were having coffee... I would tell you all about how our homeschool life has been. I would tell you how proud I am of my son for doing 9th grade math in 6th grade and how amazed I am at how fast he's learning new things. Then I would ask you how you and your family is doing? Because I love hearing how others are doing as well.

 If we were having coffee... I would probably tell you that I'm currently reading The White Christmas Inn and loving it so far. Being the book lover that I am of course I would have to know what you're reading, mainly because I would need to know if it's a book that I've heard of or not, if not I would have to know what it's about to see if I should add it to my list.  

If we were having coffee... I would have to ask you about your Thanksgiving plans and tell you that this is the first year I'll be cooking the whole Thanksgiving dinner by myself at my house. It's not going to be some big production, mainly because it's just for my kids and myself, but I'm excited to actually cook the turkey by myself, even if it is a daunting task. Of course I would have to know if you have any tips for me, because even if I am excited I'm also freaking out inside about having to cook said turkey by myself. LOL

If we were having coffee... I would tell you all about my 10 days away from social media and how it impacted my life. It's crazy how much 10 days can change your thoughts and feelings about something.  I more than likely would dare you to do the same thing. 

If we were having coffee... I would have to discuss my new goals with 101 things in 1001 days. I'd tell you about a few of my goals that I am working on right now and excited I am about a few of the goals on my list. I'd probably tell you it's a little daunting as well. 1001 days isn't really that long, when you think about it. Years fly by so fast these days. 

If we were having coffee... I would also ask you if you have read Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. Have you? If you haven't it's a must read. This book has changed my life. I of course, would tell you how it changed the way I think about certain things and how it showed me that sometimes I can't control everything, even though I try.  

If we were having coffee... I would tell you how much fun it's been bringing back our Friday Family  nights.  We play board games or watch movies. It's something that I had missed. Then of course, I would ask you if you do something similar and if not I would probably tell you to try it! I learn so much about my kids on these nights. Oh and we have pizza those nights which is always a good thing! 

If we were having coffee... I'd ask about your Christmas plans or Holiday plans, (I have a few amazing friends that don't celebrate Christmas.) I love Christmas so of course I would tell you all about my decorations and what I plan to buy for my kids this year. Which is my favorite part, seeing my kids faces as they open their gifts is hands down the best part for me as a mom. 

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I suck at read-a-thons but still love participating! I was supposed to be reading Christmas books this week and I only finished like 3. But then again it's been a crazy busy week. With my daughters birthday and homeschool, it's been non-stop around here. 

If were were having coffee... I would tell you how excited I am about the house work I'm doing at my house. We are re-doing the bedroom floors and putting in wood flooring. I can't wait, it's going to be so much easier to clean in the bedrooms! 

So the question is IF We WERE HAVING COFFEE...what would you tell me? 

 

Should I Bring Back TBR Posts Here On Ali's Bookshelf

You know the drill by now, but for those that haven't been around the blog long enough, Ali Talks is a post where I get to chat about the things that are on my mind or chat about book related topics. Sometimes it's even blog related topics.

Today's topic is mainly a question that I've been thinking about for a few weeks. Should I start posting TBR posts again. At the beginning of the year I stated that I would no longer be posting TBR posts. My main reason for doing so was that I'm a mood reader and posting TBR (To be read) posts really weren't benificial to me. I never ended up reading all the books. When I was posting them I might have read one or two books on the list and then the rest I didn't. So today we are going to be talking about the pros and cons of said list. 

In the past couple of weeks, like I said above, this topic has been on my mind. I read a blog post about TBR's and why this blogger had continued to post them. Bookmark Lit is where I read the post, and I loved how she talked about being a mood reader, even though she is a mood reader she still chose to post her TBR posts. Now keep in mind that this post is a year old, she did go on to say that even though she only read a few books on the list, she still enjoyed posting and sharing what she might read. Her blog post really got me thinking and that's why I'm writing this post now.

When I posted my To Be Read posts I felt pressure to read said books, but maybe there shouldn't be said pressure. Maybe if my readers knew that I more than likely wasn't going to read the whole list that maybe I could have some fun making the posts again. But at the same time I'm wondering if that pressure to actually keep to said list would still be there. As a mood reader it's hard to say what I'm going to read and what I'm not. Lately, I've been reading so many books at once because I'm such a mood reader. One day I loving this book and then the next I'm just not in the mood for said book. So I pick up another because I really want to read something. 

I've also been wondering if maybe I just got burnt out on posting TBR's. I mean I posted them from the beginning, as soon as I started blogging I was posting TBR posts. Makes me wonder if I had just needed a break from them. But then again I posted a TBR for a challenge this year and I didn't finish said books. So I'm so torn on this subject. I don't know what to really do. I mean I could try it out, post a TBR post and see if I actually read the books, also to see if the pressure is there or not. 

I've also looked at a few of my favorite blogs and a few of them only posts seasonal To Be Read posts, I've never tried that and I'm thinking maybe if I did that and limit the number of books added to said list it might work. I'm still not sure, even after writing this post. HELP! 

If you post TBR posts, why do you post them? Do you feel the pressure to read the books you said you were going to read? Tell me your thoughts on what I should do.  

Let's Chat about Book Ratings

You know the drill by now, but for those that haven't been around the blog long enough, Ali Talks are posts where I well get to chat about the things that are on my mind or chat about book related topics. Sometimes it's even blog related topics.

Today's topic is book ratings and how I plan to change things up a bit here on the blog. 

Right now when I rate the books I've read, either here on the blog or on Goodreads, I tend to just go with my gutt feeling and if I loved it I'll give it a five puppy rating. I really want to change things up and start getting back to using my number system I used to use in the beginning. Each part of the book broken down. I feel like I really need to be more critical and if I read a book and have complaints about said book, I think it is my duty to actually post those in my reviews. I can't always be the nice one, I want my readers (You!) to know my full thoughts on each book I review. 

So, starting today, that's exactly what I'm going to be doing. My reviews will be more about the content and more than likely I will have some spoilers in some of my reviews as well. Don't worry I'll make sure I add a spoiler alert to the top of my review post so you will know.  I'm hoping this will also get me out of my review slump that I've been in the last few months. I haven't wanted to write reviews, mainly because I feel that most readers don't even read them, but also because I feel like I'm glossing over things that really need to be added to my reviews.

Have you ever thought about how you review books? Do you feel that we need to be a bit more critical when reading?  

Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way. 

 

Ali Talks: Favorite Authors

You know the drill by now, but for those that haven't been around the blog long enough, Ali Talks are posts where I well get to chat about the things that are on my mind or chat about book related topics. Sometimes it's even blog related topics. Today I want to change it up a bit and make this a list post, where I talk about some of my all time favorite authors! 

You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that are on our Auto buy list, the authors that as soon as they release a book you've either already pre-ordered or you pick it up right away. I have several of these authors and would like to share my list with you today. 

Trying to come up with this list was rather hard for me. I have so many favorite authors and books out there that it's hard to choose a top 10 list or even keep it at a respectable 15, but I'm going to try to do just that. These are in no particular order though, I'm just going to list the top 15! (Each of the authors are linked to their Goodreads page, figured it would be easier than trying to add links to their books.)

1. J.K. Rowling - This was an easy choose, Harry Potter is one of my all time favorite series. It got me through so much and I wouldn't be the reader I am today without it and her writing. 

2. J.R. Ward - Must I really say why on these, hot sexy vampires. I love her writing style and have loved everything she has written so far. She's also very awesome to her fans and funny in person.

3. V.E. Schwab - Another amazing author who is fantastic in person! I love her world building in all her books and gah all her books are perfection. 

4. Lori Foster - So much love for this author. She gives so much to charity and I go to her author event every year. She's super nice and to boot one hell of an author. 

5. S. E. Hinton - Now my love for this author and her books goes all the way back to the 8th grade when I first read The Outsiders! One of my all time favorite books still to this day. This book started my love of reader just as much as Harry Potter did. 

6. Kasie West - Now this is an author who writes those books that when I need to just smile and feel good about reading this is the go to author for that. Her books are always feel good love stories and sometimes we just need that happy ever after. 

7. Katie McGarry - Another fantastic author in person and on page. One of my favorites mainly because of her stories and the way she writes them. I own every one of this authors books and can't wait till she releases the next. 

8. Holly Black - This author is one that I own every book and I'm always dying ot have another one to read. 

9. Cassandra Claire - Oh Shadow hunters! Need I say more? Okay I will, I love this authors writing and it's even better when I get two of my favorite authors writing a book together like Holly Black and Cassandra Claire does. 

10. Kimberly Kincaide - In the past two years this author has become one of my favorites, she writes hot sexy fireman and honestly that's probably all I need to say, the the style in which she writes them makes her one of my favs. 

11. Diana Gabaldon - This one was easy to add to my list, she writes The Outlander series and honestly it's become one of my favorites. I blame it on the show and some of my favorite Booktubers that hooked me on the book. 

12. Neal Shusterman - OMG yep there's a guy on this list! I love the way this author writes and his stories are so immersive, take the Scythe for example. I can't get enough of this series. I'm reading Thunderhead right now and don't want it to end, because I don't have the next book...it's not out yet. 

13. Stephenie Meyer - Yep I must add this author to my list and I better not get any slack for it, Twilight re-started my love for reading and I love this author for that reason.  Then I read The Host and loved her writing even more. 

14. Jay Kristoff - Yep another male on this list LOL! Jay Kristoff by himself as an author is like perfection but if you add him to my next author as a duo you'll see why both of them are on this list. Jay Kristoff's writing style is like no other and that's what drew me to his books. 

15. Amie Kaufman - Yep the other half of Illuminae, I love this author and her and Jay are fantastic people in person. They are super funny and so fun to talk to. I'm hooked on their writing and can't wait to read so much more from both of them together and seprate. 

So are any of your favorites on this list? Are there some that I need to know about? Comment below so I might be able to add some more favorites to my bookshelves. 

Ali Talks: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Throughout the Years

Ali Talks is where I get to share my thoughts on different subjects from blogging to read and even sometimes life itself. Today I want to chat about how my reading habits have changed throughout the years of blogging. And trust me they have changed! 

I know that my reading habits have changed lately and even throughout the past several years, I also know I'm not the only one. Lately, I've been reading genres that I never thought I would read. I used to say that I would only read YA because I connected to it the most. That's not the truth anymore, yes I still love reading young adult and it's still my favorite, but lately I've found myself gravitating toward the adult section and yep even the historical adult section. Never thought I would say that, even though I love history, but we will get to that in a few minutes. 

Honestly, I think it's mainly because I've noticed that adult fiction isn't that same old sappy love story over and over again. Yes that's still out there, but lately I've noticed that there are more to some of the newer books and I'm really enjoying them. I've also added a lot of middle grade to my reading list this year, ones that have that feeling of young adult, but honestly some of them are better than the standard young adult. In my opinion anyway. This industry changes so much and so fast that you never really know what's going to be good genre wise anymore. Which don't get me wrong I'm not complaining one bit. I love that I'm branching out more. 

Now let's talk about the historical genre that I'm branching out to more often. I've noticed that a lof of them are now more accurate. Before when I would try to read one, I would get so mad at how fake it was. I love history so I had hoped I would love that genre, now I am starting to really enjoy it for that fact. Yes, there are still a few I shake my head at, but for the most part here lately I've been drawn to that genre more and more. 

Now some of my reading habits have stayed the same, I would rather have an actual book in my hand than an eBook. I still read more Young Adult than anything else, but my habits are starting to slowly change and become more diverse. My shelves aren't only Young Adult fiction anymore. Now I won't go around biographies still, mainly because I find them rather boring, but that's just me. So some things stay the same! 

So how about you, how has your reading habits changed throughout the years? I would love to know. 

 

Ali Talks: Reading Your Backlist

Ali Talks is where I get to share my thoughts on different subjects from blogging to read and even sometimes life itself. So let's get to it, today I want to talk about reading our backlist. You know those books that have been sitting on our shelves for years and we really meant to get to them but we haven't. 

This year I made a goal for myself to do just that, to read the books that are on my shelf and ones that have been there for awhile. I can't say that I've really done much of that, but I am starting in April to read more of the books that are on my shelf. My TBR shelf is really getting rather large and overflowing with books that I once said I really want to read soon and now they just sit there. It makes me sad, so again I'm telling myself it's time to read those books. 

Am I the only one that do this? My excuse is always "There are just so many amazing books coming out this year so the other ones will be read later." Or I'll say "I'll read that one next." Then of course another amazing book is released and the cycle starts all over again. Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this. I really want to get out of that cycle though and I have a plan to start at least reading one book that's sitting there every month from now on. I won't be posting a TBR post for these, just like I've been saying all year, no TBR posts will be made, but I plan to read books on my shelf. I did create a post about the books that have been on my shelves the longest. You can find that post HERE. So hopefully you all won't mind seeing some older books in my reviews. 

This is actually a goal that I have set a few times in the past, I'm just hoping I can stick to it this time. But at the same time, I'm trying to keep reading fun this year, so I think I'm going to just pick up the books without re-reading the back cover or summary. I've found that makes it better when reading. 

So that is my plans for reading my backlist of books, how do you handle those books sitting on your shelf for so long? 

 

Ali Talks: Advice for New Book Bloggers

I haven't done a post like this in the past, mainly because I didn't think I was the right person to answer this type of question, but I've been blogging about books since 2011 so I figured I had a few things that might be helpful! So here we go...

So with that being said, below I'm going to give the advice I would have given myself if I was just starting a blog and knew what I know now. 

1. The first piece of advice I would give is something I wish that I would have followed last year. The advice is to never let blogging become work or a chore. To never let reading become work or a chore. This will lead to a reading slump and blogging slump as well. I know this sounds a bit harsh, but it's true. It happened to me for over two years. I just now got out of my slump and have been able to read freely without it feeling terrible.  If you get too organized and only read what you have to read, then it won't be fun at all. It will lead to a lot of pressure. 

2. The second piece of advice is to make sure your voice comes out in every post. Make your posts feel like you and sound like you. Don't try to be like any of the other bloggers, be you and that will always bring in the readers. 

3. Have fun! The third piece of advice is to have fun with your blog, try new things and make your blog your own. If you enjoy discussion posts, write them. If you want to only do reviews, post reviews, etc.  

4. My fouth piece of advice is to not say yes to everything! You can't read everything, you can't post everything. So only pick a few things to agree to a month. Same goes for ARC's, I'm still to this day playing catch up with all the ARC's I agreed to read when I first started. This also goes for Netgalley, which I'm going to be doing a post on soon, only request a few ARC's a month. That way you aren't so far backed up with reviews that you can't dig your way out. 

5. My last piece of advice is to forget about the numbers! Stats and follower counts don't matter as long as you're enjoying what your doing then readers will see that and they will come. In the begining of my blogging career I was a nervous wreck all of the time worrying about the numbers, after awhile I had a great blogging friend tell me to forget about them and just blog. That helped me so much and even now I don't worry about them. 

Here is a bonus piece of advice, pick a platform that fits your needs. One that you enjoy posting to. I hope these 5 tips help you and if you like this type of post let me know and I'll do more tips in the future.  I hope you all have a great day and as always...

Ali Talks: 5 Books That Have Been On My TBR Shelf the Longest

Let's talk TBR books...well this really isn't a TBR post, I want to talk about the books that have been on my TBR shelf the longest. Mainly the top 5 books! I'm not sure why these have been on the list the longest, but I would really love to get to them soon. 

Each of these books were published between 2011 and 2013! Which is really sad because they all seem and sound really good. They are in no particular order.

Anew by Chelsea Fine 

 Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery...until she met a boy with a familiar voice.

Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer.

Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past...might just be the death of her.

 

This book has been on my TBR shelf the longest and I'm not even sure why I haven't read it. I loved everything else I've read by this author, I think that the book just got pushed back and pushed back to make room for other books that I just kept passing it up. I really want to read this one. Though I am making a pact with myself right now that if I don't read this one by the end of this year, I will donate it to someone who will. 

 

Everbound by Brodi Ashton  

Nikki Beckett could only watch as her boyfriend, Jack, sacrificed himself to save her, taking her place in the Tunnels of the Everneath for eternity — a debt that should’ve been hers. She’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. And every night Jack appears in her dreams, lost and confused and wasting away.

Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. But his heart has been touched by everything about Nikki, and he agrees to assist her in the only way he can: by taking her to the Everneath himself.

Nikki and Cole descend into the Everneath, only to discover that their journey will be more difficult than they’d anticipated — and more deadly. But Nikki vows to stop at nothing to save Jack — even if it means making an incredible sacrifice of her own.

In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

This is another book that I can't believe I haven't read yet. I loved the first book in the series and everything else I've read by this fantastic author. The first book is actually a favorite of mine, I honestly need to get on the ball with my TBR shelf.  I bought this book as soon as it was published and still it just sits there, this needs to change right away! 

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.


Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.


As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

Now I know the reason I haven't picked this one up, though I really want to and have almost done so in the past. It's the size that is daunting. In the past few years I have set a goal of how many books I wanted to read and I watched the size of each book. Never wanting to mess up my goal I didn't read larger books, this year that is changing so hopefully I can get to this one soon! 

The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker 

Fourteen-year-old Kentucky girl Ricki Jo Winstead, who would prefer to be called Ericka, thank you very much, is eager to shed her farmer's daughter roots and become part of the popular crowd at her small town high school. She trades her Bible for Seventeen magazine, buys new "sophisticated" clothes and somehow manages to secure a tenuous spot at the cool kids table. She's on top of the world, even though her best friend and the boy next door Luke says he misses "plain old Ricki Jo."

Caught between being a country girl and wannabe country club girl, Ricki Jo begins to forget who she truly is: someone who doesn't care what people think and who wouldn't let a good-looking guy walk all over her. It takes a serious incident out on Luke's farm for Ricki Jo to realize that being a true friend is more important than being popular.

Now this one I don't have an excuse for, I purchased this book at the book signing for this one and was super excited about mainly because the author is from Kentucky and the book is based here in Kentucky, which is where I'm from if you didn't catch that. So I really don't know why I haven't picked it up.  

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood 

 

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.  

 I know exactly why I haven't picked this one up off my TBR shelf, though I wish I would just forget about it and read it anyway. When I purchased this book buying it left a sour taste in my mouth and I think it's the reason I haven't picked it up. I got this one from a used bookstore that I'm not going to name, though I have in the past, and I was super excited to read it. So excited that I had just looked at the cover and didn't look at the spine. When I got it home I noticed that I had paid for an ARC, they had sold me an ARC! Anyone that knows books and are in the book community know that you don't sell ARCS it's a no go thing, well I think realizing this had happened I just haven't picked up the book again.

So do you have any books that have been sitting on your TBR shelf forever? If so care to share with me the reason and the books. I would love to hear your thoughts on these five if you've read them as well. Should I read them or should I donate them? HELP!!!