December 2011 Recap

Books
Books read to date: 44/50
Pages read to date: 15854

Finished
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (review here)
Lover Unbound (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #5) by J.R. Ward (review here)
Lover Enshrined (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #6) by J.R. Ward (review here)
Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #6.5) by J.R. Ward (review here)
Started

Crescendo (Hush, Hush, #2) by Becca Fiztpatrick
Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)  by J.R. Ward

Savings

Monthly savings: $27.53

Year-to-date savings: $377.64

44/50: Father Mine by JR Ward

Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Bella and Zsadist! This little novella wasn't long enough. I stayed up late to finish this one. Seeing Zsadist struggle with being a father and mate and all his inner demons was heartbreaking. He is an amazing mate to Bella and has come so far since we first met him in Lover Awakened. This little story made me fall in love with him all over again. Warms my heart to see such a savage man at the beginning of book 3 end up as this loving father.

Ward did well tying in all these bits and pieces of the previous books so I knew exactly where this story fit in with the rest. Reading a scene from a different perspective in a room always has its benefits.
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43/50: Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not my favorite in the series. Still good, but definitely not because of the main story. Phury was annoying, whiney and OMGGETOVERYOURSELF!!!!
His character made me angry and if it wasn't for the rest of the characters I may not have finished it. I found myself skipping over a lot of his story just to get to the other stories.

I found that his love towards Cormia just wasn't up to snuff with the rest of the Brothers. For one, he didn't ever really get that "mine" thing going on that the rest of the Brothers had. He did have brief moments of possession but he supressed them. There was very little hot and steamy sex which, really that's what drew me to these books in the first.

All that negativity said... the other characters in the book were amazing. John Matthew where is your book?! You are like a miniture Brotherhood gang with Qhuinn and Blay that I want more of! I cannot wait to read more about him. Revhenge has grabbed my attention this book and the war with the Lessers is really amping up. I'd consider this an inbetween book. You have to read it to get through to the next ones. It sets a lot up for future books.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE 2011!!!

Merry Christmas internet friends!!! 

I hope your holidays, whatever you may celebrate are wonderful and full of joy.

Frenchie and I have had pre-Christmas with his entire immediate family. A surprise since we didn't think we would see anyone but the oldest brother. It was wonderful to see everyone.
We've opened up our gifts, enjoyed some wonderful food and lots of games and fun.

We are heading to my family today (Christmas Eve) to spend Christmas with them and a few days after.

We do the whole switch years thing and I think it works for the most part.

Sep/Oct/Nov 2011 Recap

I've been majorly slacking on the recap blogging so you get 3 months worth in one post.
I'm still writing a lot of my reviews for this year. Hoping I can push through them so they are up before the end of year. Things aren't looking good though.
My reading has been lacking big time. I'm not going to reach my goal of 50, but I have still read some amazing books this year.

September 2011 Recap

Books read to date: 33/50
Pages read to date: 11219

Finished
Feed (Newsflesh #1) by Mira Grant (review here)

Started
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Savings

Monthly savings: $9.99

Year-to-date savings: $311.54

October 2011 Recap

Books read to date: 37/50
Pages read to date: 12341

Finished
How to Be a Good Wife by Bodleian Library
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (review here)
Pink by Lili Wilkinson (review here)
Lover Revealed (Black Dagger Brotherhood #4) by J. R. Ward (review here)

Started
Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp

Savings

Monthly savings: $27.02

Year-to-date savings: $338.56

November 2011 Recap

Books read to date: 40/50
Pages read to date: 13657

Finished
Lola and The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp (review here)

The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons

Started
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Savings

Monthly savings: $11.55

Year-to-date savings: $350.11

Remember that wrist thing?

I'm not sure how many of you remember anything about my wrist problem, but I'm finally getting some answers. For the past 6 years I've had issues with wrist pain. It started in my wrist and has since then morphed into a whole forearm/elbow thing. At this point I get pinching pain in my inner forearm, sharp pain near my inner elbow and I often feel like I'm typing through jello or mud.

In the past year I've finally convinced my doctor that enough is enough. She is convinced that I had carpal tunnel because I had wrist pain. All the tests for CT were always negative. I asked for some new tests and to know what the issue is. Let's review:

• Carpal tunnel tests - negative
• X-ray - showed nothing.
• Ultrasound - showed nothing
• Nerve Conduction test - showed nothing
• MRI - booked for this coming April

 

The only thing good to come out of all this is that I know I don't have any bone issues or pinched nerves in my actual wrist. I also know that I have no nerve damage, which is great news since nerves can take years to heal. This is all great news, but still doesn't explain why I'm in pain.

Thankfully I was able to ask the Dr that did my nerve test some questions. He told me that based on my symptoms it's likely that I have a pinched Ulnar Nerve.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Anatomy_of_Ulnar_nerve.JPG

Funny part about that is that my friend who's in medical school said that ulnar nerver entratment is likely what I have over gchat. Rant: It took 3 tests, 6 years and 2 Dr's to tell me what a med student did in a matter of weeks. Something is wrong with that picture. The something wrong is that I'm a young person and clearly there couldn't be anything wrong with me. And if it's wrist pain and I work on a computer, I must have carpal tunnel WHICH IS NOT THE CASE!!!

Because there is no nerve damage there isn't anything medical that they can do to help the nerve. I have some options to help manage and hopefully relieve some pain. Doc suggested to buy an elbow pad ($ version) or use a sock (cheap version) to keep my elbow straight while I sleep. He explained that although I'm on a computer all day, likely the damage is happening while I'm asleep. Doc recommended wearing the elbow pad to keep my arm straight at night for about a month and see if there is any improvements.

My biggest fear in this whole thing is my livelyhood. I'm an IT professional. I work on a computer all day to make money. What happens when my body says enough and I can't work anymore? It's bad enough that right now I can't hold my nieces and nephews with that hand. In the mornings I can barely twist the cap off my face lotion let alone hold a glass. If a small solution like an elbow brace at night will help relieve the pain and I can start to build strength I'm all in. At this point I'll do anything to help.

42/50: Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward

Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't like this one as much as the others. I did like V's story and learning the background of why he is the way he is. It seemed to fall a little flat on the love side of things. While the steamy scenes were in fact steamy, I didn't feel like the love between V and Jane was as stong as the other stories. It felt like Ward tried to stuff too many story lines into one book. I liked them, but it was as if there wasn't enough time spent on each one. I can see there is a set up for more stories to come and that makes me excited to know there are more books in the future. The amount of characters and endless possibilities makes me giddy.
I'll be starting Lover Enshrined soon! Ward definitely knows how to pull you into the next book right away. I am excited to read about Phury and can't wait to get to John's story.
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41/50: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I snagged this one from the library after it being recommended by a fellow book nerd. I completely forgot it was catagorized as a Paranormal YA until the end. It seemed like a regular book, not paranormal, if that makes sense. Usually when I hear paranormal I think of different creatures and such. This one didn't have that, and it was refreshing.

Mara is in a new place dealing with the aftermath of her 3 friends being killed in an accident and she is completely unharmed... physically anyways. She doesn't remember a thing only that something isn't quite right. There is more to the accident than her brain is letting her remember.

Reading this book was so confusing, but in a good way. It was very well written in the sense that I was completely in Mara's head and as confused about what was going on as she was. I kept having to reread pages to see if I read them right or missed something. It was mentally exhausting and I loved it. I would be reading and everything was making perfect sense until there was an aftermath of a situation that made me think I must have missed something. At which point you accept it and move on until you get to the end and go "OOOOOHHhhhhhh I get it. Whoa. Didn't see that coming. Where is the next one?!"

Noah Shaw: Hello yummy! Wasn't quite sure what to think of him, but turned out to like him in the end. Could Mara really trust him? He's a rich playboy by reputation and that's the last thing she needs, but I think it just took the right girl.
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40/50: The Bronze Horsman by Paulina Simons

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book had some amazing recommendations. (Thank you book pushers, you're feeding my addiction well) I love historical fiction and I haven't read any in Russia.

The Bronze Horseman was heartbreaking beautiful. I'm not usually one to cry during books but this one did it. As much of a love story between Tatiana and Alexander as this book was, that wasn't the part brought tears. The life that Tatiana had to go through during the war broke my heart. The descriptions of how those around her dealt with the life they were living really hits you. Nothing quite hits home like Tatiana losing family members. After reading parts of this book I wanted to call my family and tell them I loved them. The next time I saw my sisters I hugged them and felt so thankful we don't live in a time like this book.

Aside from the family drama and chaos, the descriptions Simons gives of the world around Tatiana was so vivid. The part that struck me the hardest was when Tatiana was going to get rations and she passes a man. When she looks back, he falls down and dies. The writing was so amazing that you couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sadness.

I couldn't give this book 5 stars for one reason. Tatiana irritated me so much! I get that she is only 17/18 years old but given the timeframe of the novel, I would expect a little less tantrum-child and a little more woman. I got so frustrated near the end that I was just wanting to finish the book.

A lot of my book pushers went on to read the next books in the series, but I won't be. The story wrapped up fairly well, and it didn't give me any desire to continue.
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