5 Reasons Why I Love Blogging

Hello everyone! This week's Top Ten topic is Ten Reasons I Love ___ and you can pick a subject and say 10 reasons why you love it. I had so many different ideas but I ended picking one that is pretty general but something I don't think I've done before.

Everyone is so nice! I am probably one of the most introverted person on the internet and I have to constantly remind myself to comment on other people's blogs, but everyone is so friendly and encouraging!!

I can talk about anything! When I started blogging, I didn't know that I was going to focus on books so I came up with the title Forever Obsession because I wanted to be able to talk about anything that was on my mind. Granted, I spend 95% of the time talking about books, but I love that I can post anything that's on my mind.

I can have a book portfolio! While there are amazing sites such as Goodreads, I like that I can go back to 2013 and take a look at some of my first reviews of books that don't interest me now. It's so cool to see that progression of my reading taste across the years.

I always have something to read! I love spending hours surfing through Goodreads or looking at a book blog and finding about new books. My TBR list is crying because it's so big, but I love having so many options and recommendations.

I have people to share all my feels with. While I confess that I will sometimes take hours to edit a review so that I seem more calm, it's so relaxing to be able to rant after a book has completely broken my heart.

So that's my list! It's a bit short, but I think it covers the basics. I wanted to do an entire post featuring this particular sticker set from LINE and I was running out of images to pair with my thoughts so I'll end it with 5. You can get this set HERE if you're interested. 

Let me know in the comments why you love blogging and what your topic was this week!

BLITZ: Bound by Birthright

Bound by Birthright
by Janeal Falor
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: June 6th 2016
Summary:

Elven princess Arabella is set to marry the human Prince Phillip but her countrymen do not hesitate to express their anger with her parents' attempt to improve relations with the humans. With death threats plaguing her, Arabella is forced into hiding.

When her sanctuary is usurped by pirates, Arabella goes on the run with humans who vow to help and keep her safe. She finds herself drawn to one of the humans, the dashing Robert, who steals her heart.

Arabella would like nothing more than time to get to know Robert better, but with pirates attacking and her wedding date approaching, time is one thing she doesn't have. Arabella's on a flight for her life and must reconcile with the truth—she can never be with the one she wants.

If only her heart would agree. 

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Buy Links:

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Excerpt

My hand brushes his.

I should pull away. I will pull away.

Only, before I can do so, he leans closer.

My breath becomes shallow and catches in my throat. A flame kindles in my heart. It’s small at first, but then bursts into a blaze coursing through my body. I tilt my face toward his, and time ceases to exist as I’m aware of nothing but him.

My own breathing matches the rapid rise and fall of his chest. I can't help but take him in, from his chiseled jaw line all the way to his distinguished brow. From his angular nose to a small scar above his mouth—a sharp line that cuts across a portion of his upper right lip. I'd noticed it before, but never paid much attention to it.

Now it consumes me. My fingers want to touch it. My lips want to brush against it.

We stay locked in a halfway almost-there-but-not-quite kiss. With his strong arms, he pulls me in closer. The warmth of his body fills me, fighting against the chill in the air. His lips hover just above mine. He reaches up and strokes my face.

As we gaze into each other's eyes, I melt into him, losing myself. The spell I cast on my eyes falters, and they change to their true hue.

Stiffing a cry of pain, I bend my head down and reactivate the spell. My eyes fill with tears from the stinging, but they'll no longer appear as my own. The crushing ache is much worse in my chest, though I can't tell if it’s from not kissing him or almost doing so.

About the Author

Amazon best selling author Janeal Falor lives in Utah with her husband and three children. In her non-writing time she teaches her kids to make silly faces, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and attempts to cultivate a garden even when half the things she plants die. When it's time for a break she can be found taking a scenic drive with her family or drinking hot chocolate.
Author Links:
   

GIVEAWAY:

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TOUR: The Lantern

The Lantern by Chess Desalls

ISBN: 9780997122718
Pages: 118

Source: YA Bound Book Tours

Publication Date: December 11, 2015

Initial Reaction: 

Five days before Halloween, all sixteen-year-old Tori has on her mind is vacationing with her family and scoring lots of candy. Her grandmother’s estate, with its Gothic spires and trails that lead out to the woods, holds an unexpected secret: a lantern that lights up for Tori and nobody else. Certain that it’s a ghost or a prank, she investigates further and discovers a mysterious life that shines in the darkness. 

Before I get started, this book is currently free on Amazon so if you're interested in picking this up then click the cover! The Lantern follows Tori who is vacationing at her grandmother's estate which literally sounds like a dream with its fantastic Gothic architecture and woodsy surroundings. She finds a lantern that strangely only lights up for her and she decides to investigate the mystery to see if it's just a prank or something mystical.

This is a novella so keep that in mind when you're reading because I got caught up in everything that was going on and didn't notice that I was getting close to the end. The author does a really good job in creating a mysterious and suspenseful air around the characters as Tori tries to figure out the secret of the lantern. The story starts off with Jared, a lantern maker with a prosthetic leg, before fast forwarding to present times.

I read a review that compared the set up of this book to a Tinkerbell/Pinnochio cross and I can kind of see that. Jared has some wooden parts and just longs to be full functioning again and he's stuck in this lantern and has a fairy-like characteristic. To be honest, I didn't really put that idea together but after reading the review, I can definitely see some parallels. Regardless, Chess Desalls creates these really interesting characters that play out their role in the story.

Tori is a teenage girl and she has a very gentle and sympathetic nature. At the same time, she is also extremely courageous in how she maneuvers her way through the story when things get a bit tricky. The overall story just radiates the idea of bringing hope to others and helping them find courage when it seems hard to go on.

This story was fun and fast paced and I definitely wish it could have been longer but overall, I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see more from the author.

Click on the banner for links to other tour stops!

GIVEAWAY

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chess Desalls is the author of the YA time travel series, The Call to Search Everywhen. She's a longtime reader of fantasy and sci-fi novels, particularly classics and young adult fiction. Her nonfiction writing has led to academic and industry publications. She’s also a contributing editor for her local writing club’s monthly newsletter. The California Writers Club, South Bay branch, has awarded two of Chess’ stories first place for best short fiction. When she's not reading or writing, she enjoys traveling and trying to stay in tune on her flute.
Travel Glasses is YA fantasy filled with metafiction and other literary twistiness. Sign up for Chess' newsletter to receive updates on giveaways and new releases.

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3 out of 5 stars

Stationary Haul #1

Hello everyone! Today I've got something a bit different but I love collecting stationary so I thought I'd share with you guys some of the new things I picked up!

So I've been drooling over cute stationary for the past month but the prices always seemed to kill me because I'm going back to Taiwan for the summer and stationary there is so cheap. Then I stumbled across Aliexpress.com which is basically heaven for all things cute. I was a bit skeptic at first because the prices were so cheap, but I ended buying a couple of things.

I know I'm going to Taiwan in less than a month and I can get millions of stickers there but when I saw these, I think my heart stopped. I've been watching Jen from JentleStrength's Diary Deco videos lately and felt inspired to start one. In order to do that, I obviously need to get the same stickers she has right? Either way, Pony Brown is so adorable and the Molang stickers are a guilty buy because I love all things bunny.

Pony Brown Planner Stickers - $0.98

Molang Planner Stickers - $0.81

I also decided to pick up some cute envelopes because I wanted to write small letters for my friends to include in their graduation gifts. I'll be honest and say that these turned out to be a lot smaller than I thought they would be, but they're still so pretty and I love the vintage design.

12 Piece Retro Envelopes - $0.89

Did I mentioned that I absolutely adore bunnies? When I saw this cute bunny washi tape, I almost died. It's so adorable and I swear it looks so similar to my baby bunny Ivory minus the color cause she's a white snowball. The gold foil heart is another guilty buy because I saw Charmain Dulak use some similar ones in her planner videos and she got hers from Michaels and it was so expensive.

Bunny Washi Tape - $1.00

Gold Foil Heart Washi Tape - $1.37

So that's my little haul! All of these things qualified for free shipping and I bought them all from different stores. The shipping time ranged from one to three months so I was a bit concerned I would never get these, but they actually came pretty quickly. I placed the order on May 3 and I got everything by the end of the month. 

May Wrap Up

Hello everyone! It's June. Can we all just take a moment to reflect upon the fact that the year is flying by so quickly and that I'll be graduating high school in 23 days?!?! On a second note, let's not reflect because I'm starting to freak out just thinking about it. Anyway, May was a FANTASTIC reading month and I read so many absolutely amazing stories so let's jump into my wrap up!

Summary (Linked to Reviews)

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky - 4/5 stars

Above the Flames by Cassandra Fear - 3.5/5 stars

The Society by Jodie Andrefski - 3.5/5 stars

The Moorigad Dragon by Debra Kristi - 3/5 stars

Reap Not the Dragon by Debra Kristi - 3/5 stars

Asleep by Krystal Wade - 3.5/5 stars

Death in Neverland by Heather C. Myers - 3.5/5 stars

The Midnight Sea by Kat Ross - 4/5 stars

Plight of the Dragon by Debra Kristi - 3.5/5 stars

Blue Lily Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater - 4.5/5 stars

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani - 3/5 stars

The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon - 5/5 stars

Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani - 3.5/5 stars

The Broken Crown by Amryn Cross - 4/5 stars

Dark and Twisted Games by Heidi Acosta - 3.5/5 stars

The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater - 5/5 stars

Total Pages: 4941

Reading Progress: 62/100

I can't believe I read 16 books and out of those, I have 6 favorites (bolded). I also can't believe that I finished the Raven Cycle. My reviews for The Bird and the Sword and The Raven King will be up as soon as I can think about them without crying. Anyway, let me know in the comments what books you read and which ones were your favorite!