January Rewind & Review

Hosted by Bookshelvers Anonymous.

As the host, Shelver states, "Rewind & Review is a monthly book blog hop where we review the previous month. We talk about books we bought, received for review, or were given as gifts, as well as recap our posts. Other options include recapping hot topics, highlighting great comments, or trumpeting favorite reviews." So there you have it. If you want to participate, click here and put in your link. 

Now does anyone else feel as if January just whizzed by? For me, it included new books, great NetGalley discoveries, horrible math headaches, basketball wins, and meeting new bookish people. But here is my bookish January list. 

My Reviews

• 2-in-1 Mini Reviews by Robin Benway (Two contemporary books that are different but share two things in common: wit and an amazing author!) 
• Shadowlands by Kate Brian (A creepy, suspenseful read that captivated my interest.) 
• Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (Historical YA fiction with nun assassins. Why didn't I read this sooner?) 
• Airhead by Meg Cabot (A unique, contemporary time-sucker that made me love Cabot even more.) 
• Also Known As by Robin Benway (A book about a teenage spy undergoing a high school mission that left be tad disappointed.) 
• Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig (A modern day retelling of Robin Hood that made me annoyed.) 
• Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce in my "Fairy tale review + news!" post (A interesting retelling and mash-up of sorts with violence that made me connected with the characters.) 

My Meme Posts

• Cover Love #5 - The Program by Suzanne Young
• Top Ten Tuesday - Bookish Goals for 2013
• Wishlist Wednesday #8 - Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
• Cover Love #6 - That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard
• Wishlist Wednesday #9 - Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi 
• Top Ten Tuesday - Settings I'd Like To See More
• Wishlist Wednesday #10 - Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Other Fun Posts

• My blog feels pretty, oh so pretty... (where I show off my amazing new blog design created by Lisseth from ReadAHolicZ!)
• Giveaway Roundup (where I present you with wonderful links so you can enter in some awesome giveaways) 
• Discussion: Two girls + one guy love triangle
• YA Giveaway Hop (STILL happening, folks! Giving away $10 book from TBD.) 

Stuff I Won

• Prophecy by Ellen Oh (from Cari at Cari's Book Blog) 
• Supernatural by Kiersten White (from Miriam Forster at Dancing with Dragons is Hard on Your Shoes)

Stuff I Was Given

• Shadowlands by Kate Brian (NetGalley)
• Also Known As by Robin Benway (NetGalley)
• If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (NetGalley)
• Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg (NetGalley)
• Geek Girl by Holly Smale (NetGalley)
• The Theory of Everything by J.J. Johnson (NetGalley, although accidentally requested)
• Broken by Susan Jane Bigelow (NetGalley)
• Double Crossed by Ally Carter (NetGalley) 
• Hooked by Liz Fichera (NetGalley)
• Don't Expect Magic bookmark (Alice from Alice in Readerland)
• The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (ARCycling)
• Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (ARCycling) 

Stuff I Bought

• Uglies, Pretties, and Specials by Scott Westerfeld (Buy 2, Get 1 at the bookstore. But they were all $10 and I had a $20 gift card so I essentially got them for free!)
• The Different Girl by Gordon Dahlquist
• Valkryie Rising by Ingrid Paulson (both of books for a total of $3.50 since I got them from a blogger and I only needed to pay media mail shipping!) 

Whew. So many books, so much reading to catch up on. Of course, I wish I could highlight EVERY book I read this month but never got around to reviewing or every book I received from the library, but haven't read yet. Since this is my first time doing this meme, I'm going to keep following Shelver's pattern until I can get the hang of it. Besides, it's very organized.

A Few of my Blog Moments I Wish to Share

• New followers on both Twitter and here. Thank you! I love seeing those numbers go up. 
• Connecting with bookish people. A couple people I got to know more well are: Alice from Alice in Readerland as she is so sweet and writes amazing posts (and gives me a free bookmark). Also, Emily from Forever Literary who parties on Friday nights with me by emailing (look out on here for an interview with her soon!). 
• Talking about how great it'd be to eat Mexican food while discussing nun assassins with Robin LaFevers on Twitter. (I love moments with authors. They make my day.) 
• Of course, my new blog design! 
• Authors Robin Benway and previous mentioned Robin LaFevers thanking me for awesome reviews. 
• Encouraging comments on my Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013 post. You all are so sweet.
• I have to mention my discussion post about the two girls and one guy love triangle again. I love discussions so I was happy to talk about it. Added to that, you all gave WONDERFUL opinions, insights, and of course, flattery. So thank you. 

As always in life, I feel as if I'm missing some important things in this month to highlight. But I hope you all had a fantastic January as well. Now have an even greater February!