Feature and Follow Friday #115

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

Belles by Jen Calonita

Belles by Jen Calonita
Release Date: April 10, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Source: Library

Summary

Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

Jen Calonita is a master of light contemporary girl-centered novels. I fell in love with her Secrets of My Hollywood Life series and have since read every single one of her books. What do I mean by girl centered? Her stories feature girls in various - often unusual - life situations, who are dealing with the same problems as every teenage girl. Family drama, peer pressure, friends, forming a self-identity, boys. Romance is present in each book, but the heart of the stories is always the girls themselves. Jen's books are always fun to read and I finish them feeling satisfied.

My European Vacation

I just returned from a 3 week trip to Europe. It was fabulous! We started off in Munich, then went to Milan then Rome. After a few days in Rome, we took a week long cruise that stopped in Genoa, Cannes/Monaco, Barcelona, Mallorca, and Valencia. We were in Rome for a few more days after the cruise ended and finally spent a couple of days in Barcelona.

Here are a few outtakes from the trip:

Munich 

As wonderful as seeing Germany is, the real reason I wanted to go to Munich was to visit Danny of Bewitched Bookworms. Danny and I (and our husbands) spent the weekend together. They were such great hosts!

We loved Munich. It was so interesting and also felt really livable. It was our favorite place that we visited in Europe.

Danny and Me

We saw all the highlights of Munich, including the city center cuckoo clock tower, lots of churches, the Hofbrahaus, the Viktualienmarket, the spot where Octoberfest is held, Nymphemburg Palace, and much more. On Sunday, we drove out to Chiemsee, a beautiful lake with one of King Ludwig II's palaces.

Milan

Our next several days were spent in Milan, where my husband attended a conference. There's not a huge amount to do in Milan other than shopping. I enjoyed walking around the main shopping areas and loved looking at the Duomo - the big Cathedral. 

Rome

We took the train to Rome on Thursday. We had a day and a half before our cruise and then another two and a half days in Rome after our cruise. We filled our time with lots of site-seeing and great food. We saw the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, and much more.

The Colosseum

The Trevi Fountain

Vatican Square

 Genoa

Our first cruise stop was a little underwhelming. Actually, I think Genoa would be a very cool place, but not on Sunday, when everything is closed. Still, we got to see some nice Cathedrals and Christopher Columbus's house.

Cathedral of San Lorenzo

Christopher Columbus's house

 Cannes/Monaco

We did a cruise excursion to Monaco when we were docked in Cannes. Unfortunately, it was raining torrentially so we didn't get to see as much. I wish we'd docked in Nice, so we would have had time to look around there.

Monaco/Monte Carlo

Princess Grace's grave

 Mallorca

The Spanish island is a popular vacation spot. There's not that much to see in the town, but just enough. I wish we'd had time to go to the beach too.

Palma de Mallorca Cathedral

Old Mallorca castle

 Valencia

The third largest city in Spain isn't exactly a tourist mecca. We did see a nice cathedral, a great market, and a really cool silk market. But what I'll remember of Valencia is our lunch. We went to Carosel and got a 3 course meal for about the equivalent of $20 each. The best part was the paella, a dish that originated in Valencia.

Gazpacho, fried fish, something with pumpkin in it, squid salad, and bread with tomato

Paella with fish and garbanzo beans

 Barcelona

The last few days of our trip were in Barcelona. It was quite an adventure getting there. We took the train from Rome to the airport. When the train stopped at the airport, I fell back and hit my tailbone really hard on the armrest. The shock of the pain from that caused me to faint! I got to ride in an authentic Italian ambulance. It was very exciting, other than the extreme tailbone pain and nausea. Luckily, I was fine and we actually still made our plane.

We loved Barcelona. It was a close second or maybe a tie with Munich for our favorite place. There's so much to see. We loved La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's unfinished cathedral), all the Gaudi architecture, the Barri Gotic and more. The food was great too.

La Sagrada Familia

The interior of La Sagrada Familia

The Catalan flag - September 11 is their independence day and more than a million people were on the streets demonstrating for independence.

Churros y xocolata

Guell Parc - designed by Gaudi

 We had such a good time in Europe. Three weeks was a little bit long for my taste, but I can't wait to get back to the continent again!

Have you been to Europe? Or do you live in Europe? What's your favorite place to visit?

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: BEA

Summary

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

At the end of every Maggie Stiefvater book, I think “she can’t possibly better than that.” And with each new book, I am proven wrong. The Raven Boys is one of the best written young adult novels I’ve ever read. Although it’s entirely different, it stands on equal literary footing to books like The Fault in Our Stars and Jellicoe Road. The quality of the writing, the complexity of the plot, and the detailed character development set it apart from most novels.

Manga Mondays #120: Skip Beat vol. 21 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Manga Mondays Meme!

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Skip Beat! vol. 21 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Summary

Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Kyoko is basking in the glow of working a Christmas miracle and getting some birthday booty of her own. But she's so unused to this kind of joy that she ends up late to the script reading for her new drama. Now her whole day is a mess and Ren is mad at her! Can Kyoko balance revenge, a career and her own happiness? (courtesy of the back cover and Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

We finally see Kyoko screwing something up. She oversleeps and shows up late to work. The girl is human after all! She feels terribly guilty. And being Kyoko, she is not so much afraid of being scolded. Instead, she's upset that she wasn't scolded enough and that she didn't have time to properly apologize to her co-stars.

Feature and Follow Friday #114

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

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How To Become a Featured Blog?

We pick our featured blogs randomly each week from the blogs who participated the week before.

Please be sure to feature your e-mail address clearly on your blog. Either on the main blog, on a Contact page, or on an About Me page. If I can't find your email easily, I will choose a different blog to feature.

Our Feature -Escapism From Reality

1. When did you start blogging?

I started blogging on and off last year, but have been doing so seriously since that last 6 months.  

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

I love expressing my views and thoughts about my passion in life. I can be myself and and my blog is my own little corner where I can gush and fan girl as much as I want. I also get to meet so many bloggers who have been great and supportive throughout.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

This is going to become such a long list that I will only mention the type of books I read which is mainly Fantasy, Dystopia, PNR, Urban Fantasy, Historical Romance and YA.

4. What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

I recently received a paper ARC from a publisher which was the first time I ever received one. I was really pleased as it meant that someone read and liked my reviews to think me worthy enough for a paper ARC.

Q: What hyped up book do you think was not worth all the talk?

I wasn't a huge fan of the Hush Hush series or the Fallen series. For something more recent, I liked but didn't drool over Pushing the Limits as much as most other readers. I also wasn't a huge fan of Shatter Me.

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Now for the Follow Fun!

With GFC going the way of the dodo bird for many bloggers, there is no better time to start following blogs via RSS feed. If you use a reader, it would be great if you followed my RSS directly.

We have a new button, so update your blogs if you are used to doing this meme!

<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a>

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

CAPTCHA:

If you have CAPTCHA word verification enabled on your blog, please take it off. It makes it much more difficult for readers to comment. Please look at my CAPTCHA Eradication Post to learn how to get rid of it.

Happy Follow Friday! Come back at midnight CST for the Facebook & Twitter hop!!

Guest Post - 3 Books Till I Walk the Plank!

*While I'm in Europe - It's the end of my trip! I fly home today :-( - I've lined up some fabulous guest posters. Please welcome Becky from Becky's Barmy Book Blog!

I'm Becky from 'Becky's Barmy Book Blog', I have been running my blog for almost 2 years. I mainly focus on YA fiction with the odd bit of Children's and Adult thrown in. I post regularly and love my blog and all it's become, never imagined it would grow so much. I have more followers than I ever thought I would have. I like to keep my blog simple but honest. And I try to do a variety of posts.