Frustration

So APPARENTLY, if you change your blog URL, your followers can't see a thing you're doing because it doesn't show up in the 'Reading List' function on Blogger. Way to be, Blogger! So I'm changing back to the old Karen's Addictions URL for now until I can find a way around it. I think I'm going to keep the new name on the header though, I haven't decided yet. Just going to lick my irritated wounds and try again!

Thanks for sticking around through all the insanity. Hoping this works! *crosses fingers*

Favorite Books of 2014 (so far!)

2014 is almost a third of the way behind us (where does the time go?) so I thought it was time to reflect on the books that have impacted me the most so far this year. Admittedly, I've only read 24 books so far which is well below my average but I had my first baby January 6th so I'm still pretty proud of those 24! I'm also not reading a lot of newly released material because I am devastatingly behind on my TBR pile. It's actually quite ridiculous how many books I own that I haven't read! So I made a deal with myself to use 2014 to try to put a dent in those books and only buy the ones that I simply MUST read (you book addicts know what I'm talking about!). So looking at the year so far, here are the books that I would most recommend to a friend:

I am actually recommending this ENTIRE series because it's very, very good. The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting centers around Violet, a teenage girl with a super creepy ability... she hears the "echoes" of dead bodies and is driven to locate them. And these bodies are no ordinary "died of natural causes" bodies, the echoes Violet hears are from bodies that were murdered. Violet's ability naturally places her into intense danger as not all killers want their murdered victims discovered. In addition to her dangerous ability, readers get to watch Violet fall madly in love for the first time. The series progresses nicely and readers will see Violet deal with several dangerous and scary individuals, while dealing with normal teenage angst. This series is entertaining, riveting, suspenseful, and definitely worth a read.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is one of those books that everyone should read. And I know I am WAY late to the party on this one and I want to kick myself for waiting so long to read it! The book centers around Clay, a teenage boy who has been given thirteen cassette tapes from a classmate, Hannah, who recently committed suicide. The tapes give the reasons why Hannah took her life and this book is POWERFUL. I work as a high school counselor and it really saddens me because I see some of Hannah in so many of the students I work with. I think every high school student should be required to read this book so they can see the impact that small, seemingly unimportant things, can have on others. This book will REALLY make you think. I struggled to put this one down.

Two other books stood out as 'Honorable Mentions' so I'm not going to devote a whole lot of time to talking about them but if you're looking for a great contemporary romance, I'd highly recommend How to Love by Katie Cotugno. More in the mood for a supernatural romance with some mystery mixed in? Check out Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan M. James.

If there's been a book that you just LOVED this year, please let me know in the comments section! I'm always on the lookout for good recommendations. Happy Reading!

Temporary Redesign

I've got a temporary new look, y'all! I'm in the process of working with the fabulous Lori from Imagination Designs to create an original and awesome look for the blog, but wanted to get rid of the old look in the meantime. While there's definitely nothing snazzy about the look I'm rocking right now, I'm happy to be getting things organized for this relaunch. Content will be added much more frequently now and I'm SO EXCITED to start posting about pregnancy and parenting which have become such passionate topics for me as of late.

And books... the books!! Reading is still my favorite hobby and I'm in the midst of reading The Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. I had read the first book AGES ago and am just now getting around to reading the rest of it. Definitely enjoying the adventures of Kaylee, Nash, and the rest of the gang and can't wait to see where things go next. And oh yeah, I just HAPPENED to give Rachel Vincent a little bit of insight into high school counseling for one of the books and am thanked by her in the credits which is just AWESOME. Cannot wait to read that scene since I had only skimmed it before since I didn't want to be spoilered. SQUEE!

Hope everyone had a fantabulous weekend! Cheers!

COMING SOON!

I'm BAAAAAACK! *tosses confetti*

I've decided that I miss blogging and am plotting my return! Decided to shake things up a bit with a new name and some exciting changes in content. Not to worry though, books will still be a MAJOR part of things on the new Simply the Simmons Life page, but I also plan on dishing about food, movies, pregnancy, labor, raising a child, and managing the chaos of life while balancing family, friends, and work responsibilities. Should be quite a ride! Hope you stick around, I'm really excited to take things in a new direction. Plan to go live with new stuff soon so stay tuned. Cheers!

Sabbatical

I've been mulling this over for weeks and the truth is, life is just getting in the way of blogging. I work full-time and I'm expecting my first child in January so preparations are well underway. I'm barely making time to even READ these days, much less keep up my blog about it. I'm sad at the thought of letting it go but if I'm being honest with myself, there are just more important things for me to be doing right now.

So it's with a heavy heart that I'm signing off... for now. I hope to be back one day, a day where I have some time to devote to this. Right now, I'd like to focus on finding time to actually just read again. Reading is a passion of mine that has been on the back burner for over a month now. As I embark on the amazing task of becoming a parent, I know it's important to remember to carve time out for myself as well.

So off I go! Nursery painting and decorating await. Cannot wait to meet our little girl in January. I know she will be well worth the wait. Hope you all achieve everything you'd like to in the coming months and that you stay passionate about the things that really matter to you. And as always, HAPPY READING! *XOXO*

Back-to-School Hiatus

Back-to-school time for an educator means INSANITY! Wanted to explain my absence, been working really hard to get this new school year off to a productive and positive start. Things seem to be calming down just a bit so I hope to be back to normal posts next week. Hope you're all having a wonderful September. Almost Fall, y'all! Enjoy! *XOXO*

*REVIEW* Conjured

Synopsis:

Eve has a new home, a new face, and a new name—but no memories of her past. She’s been told that she's in a witness protection program. That she escaped a dangerous magic-wielding serial killer who still hunts her. The only thing she knows for sure is that there is something horrifying in her memories the people hiding her want to access—and there is nothing they won’t say—or do—to her to get her to remember.

At night she dreams of a tattered carnival tent and buttons being sewn into her skin. But during the day, she shelves books at the local library, trying to not let anyone know that she can do things—things like change the color of her eyes or walk through walls. When she does use her strange powers, she blacks out and is drawn into terrifying visions, returning to find that days or weeks have passed—and she’s lost all short-term memories. Eve must find out who and what she really is before the killer finds her—but the truth may be more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

I was really excited to read this one because the premise sounds fresh and intriguing... and for the first three-quarters of the book, Conjured did not disappoint. However, the twist at the end and the truth about Eve's past KILLED this book for me. Highly disappointing and the very end only barely managed to salvage a book that had great potential.

Conjured introduces us to Eve, a teenage girl in the witness protection program who has severe memory loss issues. Eve can't remember anything about her past, except for these terrifying dreams she has when she falls unconscious from using her magical powers. Eve isn't sure if these dreams or visions are real or imaginary, but she knows that they terrify her and that there are horrors in her past that the witness protection program agents would do anything to discover.

Eve meets some new people along the way and begins to be unsure who she can really trust. When a serial killer starts killing again, it becomes more important than ever that Eve recover her memories of who she really is... but will she be able to handle the truth? Or will it be more shocking than she ever thought possible?

This book had a lot of potential and I was EXTREMELY interested in what really happened to Eve in her past. Unfortunately, reality fell far short of expectations and the twist of Eve's identity nearly made me want to put the book down. I'm all about interesting plot stories, but this one was VERY far out there. That being said, if you don't mind things getting a tad bit strange, this could be a great book for you. It releases tomorrow, enjoy! *XOXO*