I've Been Quiet....

*Sigh* I know I have been EXCEPTIONALLY quiet lately, on here and on Twitter. Most people that talk to me know that even if I don't stay on top of the blog, I always have a pretty constant Twitter presence, so here is what is going on.....

I went 1.5-2 weeks without internet....it was TORTURE. I could get on FB, Twitter, GR, and check my email on my phone....which I simply LOATHE doing. My phone seems so small compared to my iPad or my laptop and apps just only go so far....so yea....it was sucky. But the BIGGER reason I have been away so much is because my life has recently been CRAZY!!! I have 3 kids. That should pretty much explain the most part of it. My husband is an awesome provider for us and I have been blessed to be a stay at home mom, but with this good fortune comes a husband that works CONSTANT long hours, I'm talking 12hr A DAY, EVERY day. :( This can leave a mom feeling pretty stressed out sometimes, especially when I have a daughter that does competitive cheer. This may not seem like a big deal BUT GOOD GRIEF!!! This is peak season for competitions which means 2-3 hr DAILY practices, and competitions on the weekends, sometimes out of town on Saturday and Sunday. Y'all maybe I'm just getting old BUT it's EXHAUSTING!!!! SO then I'm trying to get her here and there, take care of her two smaller siblings, and make sure she stays on top of school and homework.....it's seriously enough to make ones head explode. And I know y'all could probably care less to hear about this...but hey guess I needed to vent!

Anyways back to bookish things, with everything going on I barely have been reading, I've been too tired, and have been suffering from massive migraines (my last one lasted 6 days). So you can imagine even if I did read a book I sure did NOT feel like trying to put together a review. Even the THOUGHT of writing a review made my head hurt. This has made me get VERY behind, which then has overwhelmed the mess out of me!!! I know others have gone through similar things and last week I actually found myself telling my good friend Meredith, from Pandora's Books, that I think I wanted to stop blogging O.o It was a weak moment of feeling completely defeated. Call it my anxiety issues, or the OCD part of me, I don't know, but I got to the point where I pretty much was just like "I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!". Thank you Meredith for talking me down from the ledge, and continuing to console me and telling me I can do it! ♥ Also have to say thanks to Jenna at Jenna Does Books because she has also been SO supportive and has given such good advice to me about everything!

So then I see a post yesterday from Jamie, over at Perpetual Page Turner, all about how she no longer is going to call herself a BOOK REVIEWER. That post REALLY spoke to me and I could really relate to a LOT of what Jamie was saying in it. I too enjoy reading books and just talking about them. That's my favorite part, like Jamie said about herself, I am not the most eloquent reviewer and am also insanely jealous of the people who write reviews that look like they could be published somewhere and mine is over here looking like maybe my second grade daughter helped me out with it O.O LOL But seriously Jamie thank you for that post! It made me realize that I really shouldn't put so much pressure on myself, and that I'm not that only one who has a lot of the feelings I have! YAY for not being alone LOL

So my conclusion is....

I will continue to blog, it will continue to be sporadic (like I said I have 3 kids, you get it), I won't put so much pressure on myself with deadlines and such. I always write reviews for the ARCs I get and I never plan to not too, but I will stop putting so much pressure on myself about them as if it's a life or death situation. And I will continue to tweet my heart out to all my little lovelies on Twitter, because seriously that is one of my fave parts about blogging ;-)

Hope you all enjoyed my insanely, sporadic post full or word vomit! ♥♥

Author Spotlight #1: LeighAnnn Kopans (Excerpt 2 + Giveaway)

SO every month I'm planning on doing an author spotlight! This will include 4 posts from the author of the month and a giveaway. Most of the authors participating will be spotlighted during the month their book releases!! YAY!! There will be a post done each week about the author or their book. This month was a short spotlight due to some personal things going on my way!

I posted the first cute excerpt for SOLVING FOR EX here: Author Spotlight #1, there you can find information about LeighAnn, cute little excerpt, and information about the book!!!

SOLVING FOR EX

The giveaway attached is going on for 2 more days so make sure to enter!!! 

Excerpt:

I didn’t mind these girls, really, I’d just never gotten close to them. It’s not that Britt, Aubrey, Charlotte and Zoe weren’t nice, or smart, or funny, it’s just that I’d never quite fit in. My drama was way more depressing than their drama. I couldn’t bring myself to give a shit about lacrosse games or who was dating who after the hell I’d gone through last fall. By the time I’d been at Mansfield Prep for a few months, they’d given up on me.

Everyone had, except Brendan.

Which is why it bugged me so much that he hung on Sofia’s every word. She was just like them. Exactly like freaking Kaylie Mitchell, who’d made my life a living hell at Williamson. Brendan had always wanted to hang out with me, not the stock pack of popular girls. And yet here he was, fawning over their newly transplanted queen bee and everything I was trying to forget from my old home.

The girls all sat on one side of the two picnic tables we’d dragged together, and the guys on the other. I reflexively sat across from Brendan, all the way on the end, and watched as all the girls leaned in toward Vincent like seedlings to the sun. He chatted with them, leaning forward and asking their names, leaning in close to say things quietly in each of their ears. The giggles were copious.

“So, what do you think about this guy?” Brendan asked, leaning forward and flicking his head toward Vincent. Just then, a tan, toned arm with perfectly painted nails rested on Brendan’s forearm. “Space for me?” Sofia’s sickly sweet voice interrupted the words I was about to say. That I thought Vincent was obviously very full of himself.

Sofia started chatting with Brendan again, flicking her hair back and pushing her chest out. Suddenly, I itched to leave the table, get up and walk anywhere. But even I knew how weird that would look, so I just looked down and pushed the M&M’s around in my melting custard, watching the colors bleed and swirl into a weird shade of reddish-greenish-brown. Between the oppressive heat outside, and the melting point of custard, I figured this would be warm soup in a few seconds under eleven minutes. Ugh. Now I didn’t even want the custard.

I was about to excuse myself and wait behind the car where no one could see me starting to unravel when Vincent’s voice jerked me out of my pity party.

“So, hey. Which one of you lucky assholes is Ashley’s boyfriend?”

The whole table went silent. A couple of the girls laughed nervously, and I shot them a grateful look. I wasn’t some kind of freak or something. I just wasn’t that interested in going out with anyone. Except Brendan.

Vincent quirked his eyebrow, and that slight smile was there just enough to bring out his dimple. His eyes sparkled playfully at me.

Holy hell, was he ever beautiful.

Brendan cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. “Ah…Ashley doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

Wow. And I thought this conversation couldn’t get any more awkward.

“Well, that’s weird,” Vincent said, leaning back in his seat and giving me a searing look. My cheeks blazed red hot. I knew by that way he was looking at me exactly what he meant. I wasn’t weird—the other guys were weird for not wanting to date me.  Vincent held my gaze for two more seconds, and everyone at the table stared. Hell, the whole custard place stared.

SOOOO what did you think?? Super cute right?? ♥ Make sure to leave some comment love for LeighAnn!!!! 

Giveaway:

LeighAnn has also been kind enough to let me attach the giveaway that is part of her blog tour!! I wish all of you luck and hope you check out SOLVING FOR EX!!!

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Have you read SOLVING FOR EX? Do you plan to? Why do you want to read it?

ELEGANTLY WASTED by C. Elizabeth Vescio *BLOG TOUR WITH GIVEAWAY*

 On the eve of her high school graduation, proper socialite Francesca “Frankie” Fairholm rebelled against her elitist and controlling family to pursue the dark lifestyle of a contract killer for the enigmatic Osiris Corporation. Years later, with her training complete, she believes she's doomed to the life of a sociopathic lone gun until a botched hit brings two unlikely allies, her cousins Addison and Katharine.

Using Katharine’s etiquette school, Elegance, Inc., as a front, the trio weave through Frankie’s dark underworld, carrying out contracts, drinking too much wine, and trying not to get each other killed.

Trouble follows the team home when the death of the cruel Fairholm matriarch reveals more than they ever wanted to know about their family. As the funeral preparations play out, the trio begin to realize there is much more to their employer than meets the eye and their family connections run deeper than they ever imagined.

Elegantly Wasted: Amazon | Nook | Series Website | Goodreads | Facebook

Author C. Elizabeth Vescio likes to play in the dark world of cynicism and death. Her first novel, Elegantly Wasted touched on the demented and humorous side of a delightfully dysfunctional family.

She enjoys cynical debates, cupcakes, making her mother-in-law sew her aprons that she never wears, zombies, the Fifth Element and Tomb Raider. She gathers her life inspirations from Neil Gaiman, Julia Child and Paul Simon. When she isn't out photographing her next project, she's studying color, concept and design or writing stuff down in hopes it makes sense one day... or she's on Pinterest. 

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and three dogs.

Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Wasted Series Website

Elegantly Wasted Playlist

I rely heavily on playlists. They serve as inspiration, drive and to just encompass the feeling of the book. They have risen in popularity in recent years and it’s easy to see why. We love music- we love relating music to what we are feeling as we read.

I’ll write about my favorites songs on the playlist and why they matter- although you can subscribe to the whole list on Spotify: Elegantly Wasted

1. Under Pressure: David Bowie and Queen

This is one of my favorite songs and has become the theme song for the Fairholm family as I write the Wasted Series. It’s a song about everyday stress. Not everyone is a contract killer- but everyone has those family issues to deal with. 

2. Elegantly Wasted: INXS

The theme song for the book… if you haven’t heard this song, you should get it in your ears right meow. INXS is one of my favorite bands, and I actually picked out the title of my book before I even had an entire outline done. 

3. Spaceman: the Killers

The Killers are my MC’s favorite band. She listens to them a lot- and not just because it’s a funny pun. There are so many songs by this group that has gotten me through my rough patches- life and writing.

4. Africa: Toto

Because why the hell not?! Seriously, listen and sing a lot to this song at the top of your lungs every day and find how much stress gets relieved.

5. Today: Smashing Pumpkins

I was in High School in the 90s… so I love me some Smashing Pumpkins. Today is my favorite song. Just listen to it and your worries seem to fade a little.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, February 10th - Wine, Books & Fringe
Wednesday, February 12th - The Best Books Ever
Friday, February 14th - Midwest Galley Girl

Monday, February 17th - Cloey's Book Reviews
Wednesday, February 19th - Mythical Books
Friday, February 21st - Crystal in Bookland

Monday, February 24th - Paper Charade

Wednesday, February 26th - We're Jumpin' Books
Friday, February 28th - Aspiring Joy

GIVEAWAY

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Author Spotlight #1: LeighAnn Kopans

SO every month I'm planning on doing an author spotlight! This will include 4 posts from the author of the month and a giveaway. Most of the authors participating will be spotlighted during the month their book releases!! YAY!! There will be a post done each week about the author or their book. This month has been a crazy month for me between the ice storm, internet issues, no power, and kids extracurricular stuff SO we are starting the Feb month a little late!!

Today I want to introduce you to the author of February!!!

LeighAnn Kopans

Raised on comic books and classic novels, Leigh Ann developed an early love of science fiction and literature. As an adult, she rediscovered her love for not only reading, but also writing the types of fiction that enchanted her as a teen. Her debut novel, ONE, is about a girl with only half a superpower, the boy who makes her fly, and her struggle to make herself whole.

Leigh Ann, her husband, and four children live in Columbus, Ohio. When she’s not immersed in the world of fiction, you can find her obsessing over the latest superhero movie or using her kids as an excuse to go out for ice cream (again.)

LeighAnn just released her newest book, SOLVING FOR EX!! It is a super cute little contemporary and she has graciously provided us with an excerpt teaser!!! 

SOLVING FOR EX

1 crush on your best friend +

1 gorgeous, scheming new girl +
1 Mathletics competition =
1 big mess

SIMPLIFY.

Ashley Price doesn’t have much in life after being bullied so hard she had to leave her old school to live with her aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. But the camera she borrowed from her best friend and secret crush Brendan, and her off the charts math abilities, make things a lot more bearable. Plus, since Brendan is the captain, making the school Mathletes team should be easy. 

But when gorgeous new girl Sofia rolls in and steals Brendan, Ashley's place on the team, and her fragile foothold on the Mansfield Park Prep social totem pole, it’s on. Sofia is everything Ashley left her old school to escape. The only thing Ashley didn’t count on is Sofia’s sexy twin brother Vincent.

Vincent is not only the hottest boy in school, he’s charming, sweet, and he’s got his eye on Ashley. He’s also not taking no for an answer. There's no real reason Ashley shouldn't like Vincent, but with the
battle lines being drawn between her and Sofia, Ashley’s not sure which side he’s on. Or which side she wants him to be on.

She does know Sofia is trouble with a capital T, and she’s determined to make Brendan see it.

SOLVING FOR EX is a YA contemporary romance that remixes Mansfield Park as Clueless meets Mean Girls in a crazy mix of high school society, mathletic competition, and teenage romance.

LeighAnn has provided us with a cute little excerpty this week and an awesome giveaway!! Next week come back to see another absolutely ADORABLE excerpt from LeighAnn, and look for an interview soon, and my review for SOLVING FOR EX! ♥

Excerpt:

It was starting to get pretty chilly outside. The wind had already begun to howl through the mountains that held Pittsburgh, and the air it swept in off the rivers was frigid. Even though I had on a long-sleeved shirt underneath the math tee, and full-length jeans with my heels, a shiver shuddered through my whole body. “Jesus, Brendan. What are you doing out here?” If he couldn’t hear my teeth chatter from two feet away where he stood, it would be a miracle.

A song that was not fast, but not slow either, floated out into the courtyard. I peered inside to see how the other kids were taking it. Slow, with lots of wandering hands. Awesome.

I clutched at my upper arms, crossing my arms in front of me. “Oh, Ash.” Brendan looked over at me with a soft smile. “Here, babe.” He unbuttoned the paisley shirt that Sofia had given him—under which he wore a dark blue shirt with a very faded Superman logo on it—and held it out to me. I winced.

“You know how I hate DC comics.”

He laughed, lazily, and leaned back against the pillar. He didn’t shiver at all, though his arms were now bare. “Well, then don’t look at me.”

I couldn’t not look at him if I tried. He wasn’t beautiful like Vincent, but my God. There was something about the way his shoulders sloped down into toned arms, and the way his throat moved when he swallowed. And the way he smelled, which surrounded me as I pulled the cotton button-down over my own shoulders. Like his shampoo and dryer sheets and the grapefruit I knew he ate every morning, and a little vanilla—warm and comforting. I don’t know how or why the stupid pink paisley shirt didn’t smell like some perfume that Sofia had put on there, but I was grateful.

“What are you doing out here? You’ll catch your death.”

He chuckled. “You sound like my grandmother.”

 “I’m just worried about you,” I grumbled, and shivered again.

Brendan pushed himself away from the pillar and walked over to me, where I leaned against the other one. He faced me and stepped in closer, so that our feet almost touched. His breath came in white clouds that warmed my face. It was all I could do to not close my eyes.

That is, until a split second later, when the smell on his breath hit me. Sharp. Alcohol. Not beer.

But I couldn’t say anything. He was so close. Then, he reached out to rub my upper arms, and I swear, I could have shaken down to my individual molecules right there in the courtyard. I shook, but it was no longer cold. It was straight-up nervousness.

“You’re freezing,” he said, looking down at me with a slight smile on his face. With something in his eyes that I had never seen before. He studied my face, smiling bigger now, and dropped his hands, sliding his fingers down over my forearms and weaving them with mine. Warm waves ran up through my arms and back down my torso. He drew my hands toward him and put them around his waist. “Come here. Dance with me. You’ll warm up.”

“Um…okay,” I managed to stammer before he swept me up in the biggest, softest bear hug we’d ever had. We swayed together there in the freezing air of the courtyard, to a beat decidedly slower than the song playing inside.

We’d sat close before, but never pressed up against each other front-to-front. We’d certainly never hugged for this long. Brendan leaned his chin on the top of my head, and before I could even compose myself from that, kissed it softly.

 I couldn’t breathe. I swore I would never take a breath again. Brendan hugged me even closer.  “I love you, you know that, Ash?”

I closed my eyes. Those were the words I’d dreamed of hearing since the first week I met him. But something about this picture—Brendan in just a T-shirt in the frigid air, the sharp smell on his breath, and the way the “l” in “love” slurred just the slightest bit—it wasn’t right. This was not right.

Sadie Hawkins was not normally a dance that people brought their own beverages to, as far as I knew—kids at Mansfield saved all their serious partying for prom, when punishments would have less weight, since it was the end of the year. But Brendan had come with Sofia. She was new here. And a bitch. A rich bitch. And probably a lush, too.

“Brendan,” I sighed, “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

Giveaway:

LeighAnn has also been kind enough to let me attach the giveaway that is part of her blog tour!! I wish all of you luck and hope you check out SOLVING FOR EX!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you read SOLVING FOR EX? Do you plan to? Why do you want to read it?

Facebook Followers Giveaway

So as promised, since the Facebook blog page hit 150 followers it is time for a GIVEAWAY!!!!! 

SO what's up for grabs??

*Signed copy of Laura Spinella's PERFECT TIMING (donated by the author, Thanks Laura)

* Copy of Victoria Schwab's THE ARCHIVED 

Now I didn't want to leave out all my INTL/Canada followers, since I can't do the shipping costs I'm offering up an eBook copy of THE ARCHIVED if the winner is not in the US!! YAY!!!

Rules:

* Must be 13+ to enter

* Every entry will be checked, if caught cheating you will be disqualified and banned from all future giveaways

* Prints are for US winner only, eBook will be sent to INTL/Canada winner

* I am not responsible for the mailing of donated prizes

* Winner has 48 hrs to respond to winner email, then I will choose a new winner

Good luck ❤

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Where am I??

Some of you may be wondering where I am....I haven't posted in a few days and STILL haven't picked winners or the Jan Giveaway....do NOT fret! It's all coming soon, I'm in the middle of an ice ordeal and we stay losing power and with that goes the Internet. My phone Internet is touch and go right now and I can't format on the blogger app even if it was good! Anyways I promise as soon as the power situation gets back to normal, things will be back to normal! Also I will be hosting a new giveaway for the new FB Page reaching 150 followers, if you haven't followed you can here: http://www.facebook.com/crystallovesbooks . AND I will be doing SEVERAL ARC giveaways this month! So be ready ;-) 

❤❤