HAPPY NEW YEAR'S

Oh my gosh guys, another year has passed.

Another year.

ANOTHER YEAR OF FUHREAKING AMAZING BOOKS AND COVERS AND NOVELS AND AUTHORS. Eeeeeep this is so exciting! So what's going to happen this year? Who knows. But I bet it'll be awesome! (Speaking of? Follow the YA Valentines (@YA_Valentines on twitter. HERE is their website) because they're seriously some of the most amazing people ever!)

By the way, anyone have any romantic kisses at midnight? Anyone see the fireworks? Anyone see the ball drop?

ALSO. GUYS. Some things are going to change around the blog. If you'll notice at the bottom, I've made a new signature that's significantly bigger than my last one. Also, my review format has completely changed! I've also made a few new graphics. I may alssoooooo be moving to WP soon! EXCITED? YES. YES I AM.

Anyways, here are a few of my 2013 accomplishments I must brag about. :3

Accomplishments

• I was quoted in Penguin's catalog for VENOM
• I was quoted on Fiona Paul's website (here)
• I was quoted on Lili Peloquin's website (here)
• I was quoted in the "Praise for Death and the Girl Next Door" section in DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES by Darynda Jones! 
• Business cards? I GOT EM. AND THEY'RE GORGEOUS
• Merp Squad (here) opened up (and I got a group of amazing BBFFs!)
• I became a Paper Lantern Lit (here) Blogger
• EILEEN RAN A TWITTER PARTY FOR MY BIRTHDAY. IT TRENDED IN TWO COUNTRIES AND OUTTRENDED THE BACHELOR. 
• I went to my first authors event in Texas! 
• I got books from Harper, Hyperion, and Random!
• I WAS INTERVIEWED BY PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY. HOW EPIC IS THAT. (HERE)
• I reached 1000 followers! EEP! 
• I was a YA Crush Tourney advocate for Perry @ Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. EEP!
• SARAH BETH DURST EMAILED ME GUYS. 
• I met several bloggers and authors this year! AWESOMENESS IGNITED. 

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Resolutions

• I WILL GO TO AUSTIN TEEN BOOK FEST. 
• I will meet at least five author friends.
• Move to Wordpress! 
• Write more snarky reviews
• I will reach 1500 followers
• I WILL EVENTUALLY TALK TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS ME. 
• I'll move to Wordpress
• I will, eventually, get 150 scheduled posts
• I will get a 94+ average in all my classes. 
• IN HIGH SCHOOL, I will not be antisocial. I WON'T. 

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Week of a Fiction Freak + #NYE14Reads

Hey guys! Before we get into my week and my book haul (long overdue!) I wanted to tell you guys about #NYE14Reads!

It's almost 2014 y'all! And that means...

TWITTER PARTY! 

Or something of the like! Authors will be tweeting about other authors' books (linking Goodreads pages and the like) and we encourage you to do the same! Chat with authors, tweet about your most anticipated books, or just squeal about your excitement for 2014! 

It'll go throughout the day from noon to night. Support the 2014 debut authors and HAVE FUN! 

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So a) I made a new banner because the old one was...weird to me. So, yeah. 

WINTER BREAK!! HALLELUJAH. I think my midterms went pretty well (97 on History, 100 in English, 97 in Math, 88 in Art--we had an actual freaking written exam. What?, 95 in Science, and...Gym. Uh.)

It's been a pretty awesome break but this week, all my relaxing goes away and I have to start working on a giant project due the week we get back from break. So ugh. But anyways! 

Library

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Bought

Control by Lydia Kang

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Losing Lila by Sarah Alderson

Publisher

Ink by Amanda Son

Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

These Broken Stars by Meagen Spooner and Amie Kaufman

Gifted

The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Giveaway

Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs

The Chance You Won't Return by Annie Cardi

Caminar by Skila Brown

There Will Be Bears by Ryan Gebhart

I got my friend to check these two out for me (I asked her to get some others for me, but she couldn't get them SIGH.) since I lost my library card...ahahahaha...haha...anyways I read Amy and Roger's already and I ADORED IT SO MUCH. I need to get my own copy soon! I loved Matson's other book, Second Chance Summer, so I had high hopes for Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. Now, I'll officially read anything by Morgan Matson.
CONTROL! I'm so excited to read Control by Lydia Kang. I've been aching for a sci-fi lately, so this is perfect! I also stopped by Half Price Books and picked up Flaw, which seems heartbreakingly emotional, and Losing Lila, the sequel to Hunting Lila. I've been eyeing the series for a while and I jumped at the chance to get the sequel since it wasn't available in the US. Now I have to get my hands on a copy of the first book and I'll be good! 
INK! I got Ink from Harlequin Teen's Panel and I already had an ARC copy, but the finished copy is gorgeous! And I read both These Broken Stars and Fire and Flood--loved both! Reviews to come soon! (These Broken Stars though omg. I need a Pandora, btw.)
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO JESSI FOR THE NIGHTMARE DILEMMA! Read and loved and review shall come! Thanks to Eileen for Pivot Point which I've been DYING TO READ lately and THANKS SO MUCH to Inky for The Coldest Girl in Coldtown! 
I won a Candlewick Press Giveaway and WAS SO EXCITED TO READ THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER. Which, by the way, is as strange and beautiful as the title suggests. I absolutely adored it. 

I also got a rather epic Secret Santa gift from my Merp Squad Secret Santa, Annabelle! She's a pretty awesome gift giver guys:

Bag of Jolly Ranchers (Actually Inky also got me a bag of Jolly Ranchers! I LOVE JOLLY RANCHERS)

Turquoise Maybelline eyeshadow

$20 B&N Gift Card

See's Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle (it was delicious)

Blue/Purple Scarf

CHRISTMAS CANDY! 

Loved this gift! <3 Annabelle is so sweet! 

AND THEN GUESS WHAT ELSE I GOT. WAIT FOR IT. WAIT FOR IT. (It being the terrible photo, but...)

I BOUGHT TEDDDDYYYYY BEARS. I couldn't decide so I got my mom to get one for herself. Then stole it from her. You know. (Hey so they're both the same but with different shades of brown. BUT THE SHADE OF BROWN IS IMPORTANT DUDE.)

HIATUS!

Hey guys! Sorry to throw this on you, but remember when I hit rock bottom about 5 months ago? It made me realize how much of a hiatus I needed and well...here's the post. Sorry guys, but I'm going to be MIA until the 16th! Yes, 2 weeks. Hey. I threatened half a year before! Be thankful! LOVE you guys, but you know how school is. Also, I feel awkward sometimes when I post a review on Valentine's. Or any holiday. Like on Thanksgiving. I was just like "errr...should I post something else?" but whatever. I'm rambling. I'll be back! But for now...
BYE!!!
-Nikki

Also, I have some of the most epic reviews after this.

Book Paparazzi News!!!

So...remember my Random Musings post about Book Paparazzi and how it would make an awesome blog name? Well I came up with an idea where all bookish news will be posted on that site! That means cover reveals, links to author interviews, author tour stops, blog tour stops etc. My blogger buddy, Lisseth from Read-a-holicz will also be helping out and we decided to do a launch giveaway which will be live tomorrow! The prize? 5 mystery books. Don't worry, they're all YA fiction. But click on over here to go to The Book Paparazzi! (And give a round of applause to Lisseth for helping me with this little blog!)

 

Cover Reveal: Nightmare Affair

I have waited SO FREAKIN LONG FOR THIS!!! You have no idea how much I want The Nightmare Affair! Ever since I first heard of it from my recomendations on Goodreads, I've been pining for this book! And now a giveaway is under way and the cover has been revealed! AAACCCKKK!!!
Where did I learn about it? At Icey Books! Here's the cover:


Isn't it just....ACCK!!! I WANT.

Cover Reveals!

Some more covers were revealed this week!


Rise by Anna Carey


Hidden by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Neferet’s true nature has been revealed to the Vampyre High Council, so Zoey and the gang might finally get some help in defending themselves and their beloved school against a gathering evil that grows stronger every day. And they’ll need it, because Neferet’s not going down without a fight. Chaos reigns at the House of Night.












Everbound by Brodi Ashton (Back Cover)

Two months ago, the Tunnels of the underworld came for Nikki Beckett. That night, Nikki's boyfriend, Jack, made the ultimate sacrifice. All Nikki wants is to save Jack before it's too late. All Cole wants is to find his queen - and he thinks Nikki is the one. Both determined, both desperate, Nikki and Cole form a tense alliance, leading them on a dangerous journey to The Heart of The Everneath.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Some things are going on that you should've heard about by now. If you haven't, no worries! It's all here:

YA Crush Tourney Nominations
The nominations are starting for the annual YA Crush Tourney, hosted by the YA Sisterhood. Do you know your top ten swoon-worthy boys? The enter them here!

Lost Prince Release Date
We have the actual date now! Count down the days until October 23rd to buy the spin-off Iron Fey book!

Need Some Giveaways?
The famous Clear-your-shelf giveaway is here where bloggers are giving away their extras/unwanted books! I've entered at least 75% of them already! Find the links here!

New Book Site!
A new site has been launched, all about books! I was contacted and given the early access code which I'm allowed to pass on, so yes, this is allowed. The code is discover_books. Just type that in here and explore!

Awesome Cover Reveals
A few absolutely stunning covers were revealed. Click here to see my post of them!

On a personal note...

2-2-Too Late Giveaway
I've decided: If I reach 350 followers, I'll add in a winner. So then two winners will each receive two books!

Summer Goal!
I finally came up with my yearly summer goal: Collect all five Breathless Reads in ARC form! I already have 2/5. This'll be a cinch! I hope.

An Anti-Twilight? Richelle Mead?

So it's been going around that Richelle Mead is the "anti-twilight" which may or may not true. You can draw your own conclusion.

But it might help to read this article the Sun Sentinel wrote that definitely helps put things in perspective. I'm really not a giant fan of Twilight, but LOVE Richelle's books. It's not hard to guess what I think. Well have fun!

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Check it Out!

Hey, check it out! It's my interview with Kimberly Sabatini, author of Touching the Surface, one of the many titles I'm dying for! Except this time, it's opposite. Miss Sabatini interviewed me! Check out my Baby Blogger Interview! And don't forget to check out her book! It sounds absolutely AMAZING.

Life altering mistakes are meant to alter lives…

When Elliot dies for the third time, she knows this is her last shot. There are no fourth-timers in this afterlife, so one more chance is all she has to get things right. But before she can move on to her next life, Elliot will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the mistakes of her past, Elliot must earn the forgiveness of her best friend and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.




Does that, or does that not sound absolutely amazing?

A New Way to Follow!

If you didn't notice, I finally added Linky Followers and am trying to figure out NetworkedBlogs! I would love some help! And for the 111 Giveaway, if you follow Linky, click and get 2 more entries! Good luck again!

A New Meme

From now on, I will not be supporting The Story Siren or her meme, In My Mailbox, because of a recent scandal. (You can find my post about it here.) Someone recommended Showcase Sunday, and I decided to participate in this meme! All In My Mailbox tags will be replaced, and I hope there will be no confusion!

Credit goes to Books, Biscuits, and Tea and to find out how to join, click here!

This meme is similar to In My Mailbox, where bloggers share our newest books and swag, whether they were won, bought, given, traded, borrowed, or downloaded to an eReader! Don't forget to share your links! I love seeing what others get!

For Review:
                  

Bought/Given/Borrowed:
                   

NetGalley:
N/A

Traded:
N/A


Forgiven and Fated were given to me by St. Martin's and I am so thankful! I absolutely loved Demon Trapper's Daughter and Soul Thief, so I can't wait to get started! Fated has been on my wishlist for a while and I will definitely be reviewing this one as soon as possible! Dreaming Awake I bought last week and it was so amazing! I absolutely have to review it!

Like I said, Fated and Forgiven were given to me by St. Martin's. Anna Dressed in Blood, I received from the library, and I can't believe I haven't read it yet! I guess it was the ominous cover htat creeped me out. I wasn't much of a ghost girl when it came out. Well, obviously, now I am!

Sadly, I didn't get to read Romeo Redeemed or Unspoken because my laptop broke. I know, I know, I need to buy new electronics. Boo. My money is always on books theses days! Well, one of my friends is working on it, so it should be good by next week!

I did not trade this week, though I do have a few pending. Hopefully, we'll go through with them!

You're Kidding Me!

I had always admired Kristi at the Story Siren, but in light of recent events, I an shocked and apalled! I am so thankful I had stumbled across this.

If you haven't known, Kristi had plagiarized off of several bloggers. Click here, here, and here to find out exactly what happened.

Things like this make everyone unnerved. If she copied those pieces then who's to say she hasn't copied anything else? I don't know what to think. Kristi definitely lost many fans, though I do think that some aare being to harsh. She's only human. On the other hand, what she did was wrong and her denies have inflamed my irritation. Evidence has been shown and still, she says she didn't plagiarize! Her apologies aren't apologies. There's no "I'm sorry I did this" it's "I'm sorry even though I did NOT copy". I don't know why, though I suspect it has something to do with her image. It may be ruined in the blogosphere, but perhaps not in the publishing world. Making this worse is that Kristi had always been against plagiarism, and this just...well, I hope no one does this again

What's worse is the fact that so many people looked up to her. The Story Siren had great influence in the blogging and book world and could've gotten any book she wanted a year early and publishers jumping at the chance to have their books reviewed by her. But it's not only that. It's that she wrote amazing reviews and wasn't afraid to share her opinions. Admittedly, I wish to be as great a book blogger like her. I am still confused as to WHY she has done this. EDIT: Nocturne Romance Reads has written this post about the TSS scandal and I agree with her completely!

And because of this, I no longer will continue In My Mailbox until things are settled and Kristi has FULLY apologized. Now, I still need a mailbox meme. Does anyone have a suggestion? I am thinking of Mailbox Monday, but I'm up to other suggestions as well!

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Thank You + Giveaway

<center><a href="http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2012/04/thank-you-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Fiction Freak" src="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p566/Nikki_Wang/untitled-2.jpg" /></a></center>

I have 113 followers! I cannot believe how far my blog has gone. Honestly, I never expected to get many followers, and definitely not over 100. Thanks to all of you who stumbled across my blog and followed and to my friends who followed as well! And a special thanks to all those bloggers who helped me by giving me tips or sending me ARCs! I hope that you all discovered some amazing books here! And for all of that, here's a GIVEAWAY!

Rules:
1. You must be a follower since this is a gift to them!
2. You must live in one of the countries that The Book Depository ships to for FREE
3. If you have a false entry, you WILL be disqualified
4. There will be one winner, but if I manage to reach 222 followers before the giveaway is over, there will be TWO winners!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Favorite Publishers

Here's the first of the fun posts. you didn't catch the last post, I have no access to a CPU, so I'm doing this via smartphone so I can't do reviews. Which sucks. Anyways, this is a list of my favorite publishers, 1 being the best, and 5 being the worst.

1. HarperTeen-

HarperTeen has published most of those books on my wishlist, including Defiance, For Darkness Shows the Stars, and Unraveling! Oooh, I absolutely need those books!

2. St. Martin's Griffin/Press

They have some amazing books! Examples: Shadow Falls series, Fated, Glitch, and This is Not a Test. Not to mention the Trylle Trilogy which I still need to read!

3. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

I love their books! An they also have a lot on my wishlist like Grave Mercy. Eep!  I need to buy that SOON.

4. Penguin

This is the "mother branch" of so many amazing publishers! That includes Dial Books which publishes Treachery of Beautiful Things. Gasp! My most awaited book of 2012

5. HarlequinTeen

They published the Iron Fey series and Immortal Rules. Who wouldn't love them?!

There. My top 5 publishers! What are YOUR favorite publishers?

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Quick Update

I'm feeling better, so I should be posting soon. Either Saturday or Monday, and everything will be back to normal. And thanks for all the well wishes!

And 108 followers! Amazing! Thank you all for supporting this blog. And be on the lookout for a giveaway when I get 111.

One more thing: I'll be posting some random things this weekend to make up for lack of reviews. Hope you enjoy them!

-Nikki

(P.S. Don't forget to preorder your copy of Fated to get a pair of Soul Seeker inspired earrings!)

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