Monthly Archives: April 2016

April 30, 2016

Monthly Recap: April + Looking Forward To: May

~Life~

This month has just been pretty much unbearable. Just seriously every single thing that has happened has just made me so, so done with this year. I’m going to go into detail about this a little bit regarding BEA in a later post, because that’s caused a huge amount of stress.

We’re still dealing with a situation at home, so that’s…not fun. More stress there.

I’ve been having a lot of anxiety as well just about everything this month, including BEA, so once again, not fun.

Really, I’m just trying to keep myself in one piece. Haha.

Due to all of this, I’ve gone on a hiatus since the 10th. Fortunately though, I think I’m back. I hope I’m back. I can’t go to BEA when I’m on a month long hiatus, that’s silly.

Here’s hoping May gets better, but I have a feeling it’ll be getting a bit more rockier.

~Stats~

WordPress Followers: 210

BlogLovin’ Followers:

# of Views/Visitors: 2,010 / 1,603

# of Blog Posts: 3

# of Likes: 14

# of Comments: 14

Most Viewed Post:

From This Month: Indefinite Hiatus

Overall: Interview with Leah Thomas

~Book Stats~

# of Books Read:

I haven’t finished any books this month, sadly.

# of Books Started:

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Run by Kody Keplinger

# of Books Bought:

Kindle:

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

# of Books For Review:

Run by Kody Keplinger
- Via Scholastic for me being on the Run blog tour hosted by Irish Banana! I’m ridiculously excited.
The Joey Parker Movement by Joey Parker
- Via Jolly Fish Press

~What I Posted~

Feature:

Monthly Recap: March ’16

~Music Section~

~Favorite Songs~

~Album I Wish Had Gotten More Love~

I still haven’t properly listened to Honey by Katy B, my most anticipated album of the month. Sadness.

~Music Videos~

Boyfriend by Tegan and Sara (Shown above)

~Fantastic Videos~

Lip Sync Conversation with Ariana Grande (And Jimmy Fallon)

~Book Related TV/Movie News~

None of The Above is going to TV and will be written by Liz Maccie and directed by STEPHEN CHBOSKY.

The Handmaid’s Tale is going to be adapted into a series on Hulu.

~Music Purchases~

Purchased:

Coheed and Cambria – The Color Before The Sun

Trivium – Silence In The Snow (Special Edition)

Halestorm – Into The Wild Life (Deluxe)

Zella Day – Kicker

Freebie:

Black Sabbath – Paranoid

~DVD Purchases~

Boy Meets World Season 7

My collection is finally complete.

~What I’ve Been Watching~

I watched a couple episodes of Stuck In The Middle, K.C. Undercover and Backstage on Disney Channel.
I really like Backstage and need to watch the past two week’s episodes. Backstage is a Canadian show done by one of the producers that used to be on Degrassi.
Game of Thrones returned but I haven’t watched the episode yet. I may just wait until Monday so I can watch two episodes in a row.

~Looking Forward To: May ’16~

Okay, since there are so many book releases, I’m just going to highlight the ones I’m most excited about. If you’re interested in what else I’m looking forward to this month, you can go to my 2016-May shelf (for future references, I organize all my books by month on there, if you ever want to see).

~Books~

May 3:

Girl About Town by Adam Shankman and Laura Sullivan

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

May 10:

Jerkbait by Mia Siegert

May 17:

Girls On Fire by Robin Wasserman

This Is The Part Where You Laugh by Peter Brown Hoffmeister

It Wasn’t Always Like This by Joy Preble

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

May 24:

Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee

Please Don’t Tell by Laura Tims

May 31:

The Language of Stars by Louise Hawes

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

For Review: Suffer Love, Some Kind of Happiness, 100 Days of Cake, Even If The Sky Falls, Frannie and Tru, The Way Back To You, Girl Against The Universe, Ask Me How I Got Here, Meet Me Here, 26 Kisses, The Fall of Butterflies, Tone Deaf, and Whisper To Me.

Read: 100 Days of Cake, Gena/Finn

Reading: The Star-Touched Queen

~Music~

May 6:

Beyonce Lemonade (CD)

Goo Goo Dolls Boxes

May 13:

American Authors What We Live For

Corinne Bailey Rae The Heart Speaks In Whispers

Meghan Trainor Thank You

May 20:

Ariana Grande Dangerous Woman

Bob Dylan Fallen Angels

Fifth Harmony 7/27

May 27:

Band of Skulls By Default

Lacuna Coil Delirium

~Everything Else~

I guess I’m looking forward to BEA and BookCon. Hopefully I’ll talk to some publicists, go to some panels, meet some people, and get a few ARCs you know, the general expectations of BEA.

So…How has your past month been? Do you have anything you’re looking forward to? How do you deal with stress? Are you excited for any new music or movies? The latter of which I did not include in this post as I couldn’t find anything. Are you going to BEA?? Let me know. 🙂

2 Comments | posted in Looking Forward To, Monthly Recap, Uncategorized

April 10, 2016

Indefinite Hiatus

By Amber (YA Indulgences)

Hi everyone.

So…starting today, I am going on an indefinite hiatus. This may end tomorrow, it may end in a week from now, I could start blogging again in May or maybe October. I don’t know at this point. A big situation has came up at home and I can’t handle blogging at all with it going on, unfortunately.

So in case I take a while to return, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has read my blog, commented or talked to me on Twitter. You’re all great.

14 Comments | posted in Uncategorized

April 7, 2016

Monthly Recap: March ’16

By Amber (YA Indulgences)

~Life~

This month has really been something…Let’s just say it’s been pretty draining to sum it up. Something came up and it’s just like, the worst thing ever. No worries though, no one died and no one is sick or injured in any way. It’s just a really, really inconvenient thing right now.

Other than that, life’s been pretty much the same as it always is. I need to find something to do during the day, I think this every month though. Hmm, I’ll go into this in another post (I know, I say that all the time, ha).

Anyway, I finished buying clothes and shoes for BEA. And it only took buying…three pairs to get it right!

Yeah. I’m a bit ridiculous. You try to find a size 2 and a half in children’s only to discover you can also fit SOME 3s, but mistakingly think you can fit ALL the threes only to find out you CAN’T.

Anyway, I found shoes.

I bought my BEA pass and my BookCon ticket and my business cards and almost everything I need.

Except for like, a portable charger and oh yeah, my train ticket! I’ll be buying those this week. BEA will be really…interesting this year. Let’s just say some plans have sort of changed.

~Stats~

WordPress Followers: 207

BlogLovin’ Followers: 144

# of Views/Visitors: 2,883 / 2,140

# of Blog Posts: 12

# of Reviews: 3

# of Likes: 53

# of Comments: 50

Most Viewed Post: Buying & Selling ARCs: Is It Ever Justifiable? (249 views)

Most Viewed Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman (615 views)

So, my ARCs post made a big reappearance last month. That was quite fun. And interesting. . .

~Book Stats~

# of Books Read:

# of Books Started:

# of Books Bought:

Kindle:

# of Books For Review:

VIA HarperCollins from Edelweiss

VIA Simon & Schuster from Edelweiss

VIA St. Martin’s from Netgalley, for blog tour.

VIA Swoon Reads from Netgalley, thanks to SST.

~What I Posted~

Features:

Monthly Recap: February ’16

Looking Forward To: March ’16

All The Watery Covers (WCW #51)

Reviews:

In Real Life by Jessica Love

Where You’ll Find Me by Natasha Friend

Kill The Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

~Favorite Post~

I liked my review for Kill The Boy Band a lot. It has a lot of gifs.

~Blogosphere Participation~

I participated in the #YAAuthorAsk Twitter chat with Laurie E. Flynn and Mia Siegert. And I won a bracelet. Which I am still waiting for, but no rush! (I just hope it gets here safely).

~New Music~

I DISCOVERED THE WONDERFUL R&B STYLINGS OF MYA WHOM I NOW ADORE. Seriously, my heart went boom.

Oh, speaking of R&B, Meghan Tranior came out with this song No which is like TLC’s Scrubs and all those other similar songs. I kind of love it, though it’d been done before.

I discovered a treasure trove of unreleased Kelly Clarkson music and I just adore it.

Speaking of unreleased treasure troves, have a Jojo song:

Numbers reminds me of Beyonce’s Irreplaceable like a ridiculous amount. Apparently they were recorded two years apart.

Deep End by Birdy is my song.

Albums I Listened To This Past Month:

Tegan and Sara Heartthrob
- This song contains Why Don’t You Want Me? which is on The Duff soundtrack and I love it. I’ve been a previous fan of Tegan and Sara, but I never gave this album a listen before. Let me just say, I adored it.
Shinedown Threat of Survival
- I listened to this album for like the second time all the way through. I like how “uplifting” it is despite having a harsher-ish sign. I will say that I preferred Amarayllis, their previous album, and then even the albums before that one. But this one is still good, when I’m in the mood for it.
Breaking Benjamin Dark Before Dawn
- Yep, this album has made another appearance this month. It’s just so uplifting and I love it a ton. Also, I discovered they shall be in my sad state twice next month, I believe, but still not in my current city, so, I’m sad about that. Very sad.
Coheed and Cambria The Color Before The Sun
- I finally gave this album a listen after just wanting to hear some new music. This is the band’s first non concept album, but I still see a running theme running throughout the album, which is about growing up and becoming a man. Despite (probably) not being a man, I related to it a lot and I loved it! This was my first time listening to this band.

~Favorite Album~

Unfortunately, this is not the Breathe In. Breathe Out. of ’16 and I’m just a bit disappointed with that. There are a few songs that I’m just meh about and actually questioning. But there are still a few high points. I love Me Without You, Used To Love You and Truth.

~Album(s) I Wish Had Gotten More Love~

I did love what I’ve heard of both of these album, but I haven’t listened to them as much as I wanted. I just finished listening to Birdy’s album, it’s very ballad heavy which I adore so much. My favorite songs were Keeping Your Head Up, Deep End, Wild Horses and Beautiful Lies. Now to listen to Aurora’s album..

~Songs That Represented My Month~

Sick of It All by Finger Eleven

~Fantastic Videos~

~Interesting Articles~

MTV thought the Carly Rae Jepsen #RunAwayWithMeme vine was going too far, but I I think that’s just a very delusional and silly thought.

On the other hand, Buzzfeed acknowledged this greatness as the amazing thing that it is.

~Music Purchases~

Shinedown_Threat_To_Survival Silversun_Pickups_Better_Nature

…

~What I’ve Been Watching~

I watched the season 2 finale of Girl Meets World and I am really scared of what’s going to come.
watched the movie Heathers solely so I could use it in my review for Kill The Boy Band. I loved it.
I lived through the Pretty Little Liars season 6 finale! After realizing it was the finale only a week before watching, ha.
I’ve watched two episodes of How To Get Away With Murder since it came back and it sounds interesting.
I also lived through this past week’s episode of The 100!
I watched a bit more of Grey’s Anatomy. I finished season 6 and watched a bit of season 7 which I like a lot more. And then i stopped because I couldn’t watch it anymore because there’s nowhere in the house to watch it quietly. 😦 Plus my Netflix ran out…

So, how has your month been? Has anything exciting happened? Did you listen to any music? Is there any music you’re excited for? Have you seen any of the shows I’ve seen? Did you read any awesome books?

1 Comment | posted in Uncategorized

April 5, 2016

The Perfect Prank (A Guest Post by Kurt Dinan) + Giveaway

By Amber (YA Indulgences)

Dont_Get_Caught_Blog_Tour

Hey everyone! I am part of the blog tour for Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan. Kurt will be doing a guest post. Of course, with a few revisions. 😉 First though, I’ll share some information about Don’t Get Caught along with a few links. There will also be a blog tour wide giveaway shared at the end where you can win ONE of THREE finished copies of Don’t Get Caught.

Dont_Get_Caught Don’t Get Caught

Kurt Dinan

Publisher: Sourcebooks (April 1st, isn’t the the most perfect date for this book?)

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 340

Goodreads Summary:

10:00 tonight at the water tower. Tell no one. -Chaos Club

When Max receives a mysterious invite from the untraceable, epic prank-pulling Chaos Club, he has to ask: why him? After all, he’s Mr. 2.5 GPA, Mr. No Social Life. He’s Just Max. And his favorite heist movies have taught him this situation calls for Rule #4: Be suspicious. But it’s also his one shot to leave Just Max in the dust…

Yeah, not so much. Max and four fellow students-who also received invites-are standing on the newly defaced water tower when campus security “catches” them. Definitely a setup. And this time, Max has had enough. It’s time for Rule #7: Always get payback.

Let the prank war begin.

Book Depository / Barnes and Noble / Amazon

~Guest Post Topic~

Describe what you would consider to be the perfect heist and how it would be pulled off.

~The Perfect Prank~

In writing DON’T GET CAUGHT, I had to be thinking of bigger and better capers that could be pulled for Max and his friends in the novel. For this post I was originally asked to consider the perfect heist, but look, if we’re going to steal something worth stealing you’re risking prison, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not someone who would do well in prison. BUT, what if you could pull off a major prank with a worldwide audience? Something that would NEVER be forgotten? That’s something worth the time and energy, right? And if you could create a prank where no one really got hurt, no major laws were broken, and would therefore avoid a long prison sentence, that’d be even better, agreed? So with that in mind, I present The Great Super Bowl Prank.

***Disclaimer: This is a terrible idea that won’t work, so don’t really do it, okay? DON’T DO IT. Got it?***

Don't 1

The Target: The Super Bowl

If you’re going to pull a prank, I say go big. Regardless of whether or not you like football, it’s undeniable that the NFL’s championship game is always one of the most watched events on TV every single year. Possibly one hundred million viewers? You can’t ask for a better event to prank.

Stadium

When: Halftime

Every year, a major star headlines the Super Bowl halftime show. Beyonce, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, U2… regardless of musical genre, they always put on an over-the-top stage and light show. One part of this show is the opening moments when the football field is flooded with fans rushing to the stage. There have to be, what?, at least 250 fans out there as well as flag wavers, dancers, and that weird shark guy on stage with Katy Perry. Mixing in with that crowd is your best way of ending up on the field.

Halftime Show

How: Part 1

I’m betting everyone on that field, even the fans who only have to yell and scream, has gone through a security check and run through countless rehearsals. Getting the right security passes to get into the stadium and onto the field though is going to be difficult, but essential. You’ll need someone staking out the stadium during the week of the Super Bowl when these practices are going on, and then have that person approach the fans as they exit the stadium. My plan–mix in with this crowd, sidle up beside someone who looks friendly but is off by him/herself, and start crying that you’ve lost your pass. Not to be sexist, but a girl asking a guy to see his pass is a lot more likely to be successful than vice-versa, because let’s be honest, guys are much more gullible than girls. Maybe you take a picture of his pass, maybe we have you scan it somehow, or maybe you swap his pass with a fake one, but ultimately we’re looking for a way to duplicate the pass needed to get into the stadium on game day.

Security Pass

How: Part 2

So somehow the five of you–heist crews are usually made up of five–have made it into the underbelly of the host stadium on Super Bowl Sunday, and are waiting for halftime. The trick here as I write about in DON’T GET CAUGHT is to follow Rule #2 – Be cool. No one is checking you out thinking you’re suspicious, so don’t give them a reason to think you’re suspicious. Mix in with the rest of the fans, make pleasant chit-chat, talk about how excited you are, and whatever you do, keep your back to the wall so no one notices the weird shape that appears to be there!

Be Cool

Showtime!

This is it! The first half is over, the players are heading into the locker room, and the crew is out setting up the stage. An announcement is made, probably by some really tense person with a bullhorn, that it’s time to head out. You and the rest of your crew bolt onto the field with hundreds of others to the cheers of over fifty thousand people. You each take up different positions apart from one another in the stage area, and the show starts. The halftime show is always around fifteen minutes long, so let’s be nice and allow the band a couple of songs before we become the focus of the show, shall we?

The Moment

So much can go wrong when you’ve planned out a prank. But somehow you’ve made it onto the field, the halftime show is in full-effect, and no one is paying attention to you. This is exactly what you hoped for. Now, kneel down, take the lighter out of your shoe and the collapsible floating lantern out from under your shirt. Yes, one of those paper lanterns that you light at the bottom like a hot air balloon. From the time you light the burnable patch to when the balloon achieves liftoff we’re talking about a minute. If you’re lucky, the lantern launches. If you’re unlucky, you get tackled by security and are an embarrassment to your family as you’re dragged off the field. If you’re super unlucky, one of the military snipers on the roof shoots you. But let’s think positively. The five lanterns you and your friends have successfully launched are now floating slowly into the sky. Congrats!

Floating Lanterns

“Wait?! That’s it?”, you’re shouting at me. “Stupid floating lanterns? How is that cool?” Because you can also write on those lanterns before getting to the stadium, duh. Your message will be seen by one million viewers. What do you want it to say to the world? This is your chance! “Donate to the Humane Society?” “Will you go out with me, (insert name here)?” “Be nice to each other.” Or if you want to be my best friend, “Read DON’T GET CAUGHT!” 

The Aftermath

Look, there’s no getting around it, you’re going to get arrested. There are too many cameras in that stadium and someone’s going to have you on video. So yeah, we’re talking fingerprints, mugshot, angry parents, the whole deal. But, and I’m not a lawyer but I’ve seen a lot of episodes of Law and Order, I’m pretty sure you’re only looking at a fine and maybe some community service, especially if you get a judge with a sense of humor and you play the “Gee, I was just having fun and no one got hurt” card. And in a perfect world, you achieve some sort of cult status and get to appear on Jimmy Kimmel or Good Morning America and soon the celebrity of your choice is inviting you out to LA or New York to be their best friend. One can only hope.

paparazzi

And one final time–Remember, don’t do this! It’s a terrible, terrible idea that will not work!

Don't 2

So, I guess my heist plans will have to be put on hold as Kurt did not play along nor give me any ideas. I am also pretty disappointed that his Super Bowl prank didn’t involve getting Carly Rae Jepsen to perform in the halftime show. Sigh. Now if I were to do this prank, I’d somehow make sure Carly performed and if I were unable to do that, I would fill these floating lanterns with notes about Carly’s wonderfulness and all would be right in the world.

However, in regards to this prank who wouldn’t want to be on a talk show all over tv and then being asked to be a celeb’s best friend? Can I pick Carly? She’s not exactly a celebrity because she’s very unappreciated as well as a singer, but I can dream as well as hope, right?

P.S. I kept having Boy Meets World and Carly Rae Jepsen vine flashbacks.

Thank you for that entertaining post, Kurt! And happy book release month!

Kurt_Dinan

If you’d like to find out more about Kurt:

Kurt Dinan is a high school English teacher living in Cincinnati. His debut novel, DON’T GET CAUGHT, will be released in April of 2016. He is represented by Kerry Sparks of LGR.

Twitter / Website