Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

About the Book: Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High-from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance.

Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death-and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

About the Author: Lauren Oliver is the author of Before I Fall, which ALA Booklist called a "compelling book with a powerful message [that] should not be missed." A graduate of the University of Chicago and the MFA program at New York University, Lauren is now a full-time writer and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Delirium is her second novel.

My Thoughts:  Initially I found pieces of Before I Fall to be a little bit unrealistic. The behaviors of the teenagers weren't what I found unrealistic but the fact that it seemed like the parents were never around and all the kids did was get drunk. Then I thought back to when I was in high school and realized that I did go to high school with a lot of people like that. After that realization, it was easier for me to get through the book.
Throughout the book, I kept thinking that I would never want to relive the same day over again seven times. I liked that the author didn't have Sam automatically become this nice person on day one of her recurring days. Sam had to go through a number of days going through different emotions and realizing different things, even at the risk of losing her best friends. 
Before I Fall was very well written and I think each and everyone of us can relate to what went on in the halls of Thomas Jefferson High School in some way shape or form. I was hoping that it would have ended differently and that be the only thing that I didn't really like about the book.  It wasn't a bad ending but I wanted it to be different :-)

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I purchased on my own.

Random Thought

I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful day. This is my favorite time of year besides summer. Although I hate the commercialization of Christmas, I love the holiday. I like the smell of Christmas trees, I love holiday music and I love to look at the lights and decorations on people's houses. I also like that it's a low period at work for me...LOL


Anyway, the point of this post is to find out how often people go through dry spells in reading. When they do go through one, what do they do to get back in the swing of things? I think I may be going through a dry spell. Everything I've tried to read in the last two weeks have been nothing but the sound of Charlie Brown's teacher in my head. The bad part about it is that these books have gotten great reviews and under normal circumstances would catch my interest. I'm not sure what's wrong. I thought that once I was done with school I would have so much more time to read and would be able to put a dent in my TBR pile. Anyone have any advice?

Totally Postal Thursday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Well, this week was once again a fantastic week. I did not spend any money on books this week. Some great things happened this week though. Barnes and Noble started shipping their Nook color, no I didn't get one but I'm such a gadget freak I feel like I WANT one. I've been good though. My giveaway seems to be going well so far...thanks everyone who have entered so far. This is a short week for work and even though Thanksgiving isn't technically a holiday I grew up with, I'm happy to celebrate and give thanks. Oh, and I almost forgot, Barnes and Noble provided us with an upgrade to our Nooks that I think is a pretty neat upgrade. 

• Three Seconds - Anders Roslund (B&N First Look book club ARC)
• Skinny Cocktails - Free Friday Nook Book

So what made you totally postal this week? You can make a post on your own blog, list all the books you’ve received since last Friday and then tell us how you got them and where on your TBR list they will be and then link up (direct URL, please) here:

Random Thought

I've been trying to read Room by Emma Donoghue for the past month and haven't been able to. I know the book has gotten great reviews and I'm really not that far into it but I cannot get over how the little boy Jack speaks. I was suppose to read it for a Nook book club but the dialogue is very difficult. Is that bad? Has anyone else had trouble not being able to read a book that got great reviews because of some reason or another. If so give me some tips. I think I'm going to set it aside and come back. Any encouragement to keep going is welcome :-)

Night of the Vampire - Heather Graham

About the book: As a soldier, Cole Granger fights to restore peace to a world divided by war and evil. His extraordinary talents are enlisted to prevent the president's horrific premonition from becoming reality. Nothing—and no one—will stop him from fulfilling his duty. Especially the mysterious young woman who claims to be his comrade's sister. Enemy or ally, he can't yet determine. But one thing he knows for certain is that he must keep her close. Very close.
Megan Fox's quest to uncover a family secret leads her to the center of vampire riots in West Virginia. To find the answers she needs—and clear herself of suspicion—she must join forces with Cole. They work undercover to bring justice, but they can't disguise the potent attraction and need that draw them together. Yet trust doesn't come easily for Cole…and when Megan unearths the grim, dark truth, can she trust him to believe her?


About the author: New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels, many of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. An avid scuba diver, ballroom dancer and mother of five, she still enjoys her south Florida home, but loves to travel as well.


My Thoughts: This is my very first time reading Heather Graham although I do have a couple of her books sitting in my TBR pile. I found this story to be full of action and a very easy read. I also found that with the setting being during the Civil War, it was interesting to read how she combined history, mystery/thriller, romance and paranormal all in one to make a captivating story of a sheriff, an ex-military, a half-breed vampire fighting the war, not the war of the North v. South, but a war against the spread of the blood disease that humans are being infected with. Then we meet the sister of the half-breed vampire who tries to gain the trust of these men and help them fight the war.
Although there were a few times where the incorrect name was being used in a scene, the story flowed very well. The characters were well developed and the historical pieces of the story seemed to be well researched. What I enjoyed much about the book was that it was not predictable and although I'm known to read the end of a book before I get to the end, I did not do that with this books. The story moved quick enough that I didn't have time to think about who was changing people into vampires. At the end, I did not expect it to have been the person it was.

I GIVE THIS BOOK:

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated to review this book. These are my opinions of a book in which I from Harlequin through NetGalley.

Totally Postal Thursday

I am EXTREMELY proud of myself this past week. I did not purchase ANY books. Yes that's right, none. But I did download one free book on my Nook. I figure, it's free so why not that still counts as me being good. I think the fact that I'm trying to read a couple books at once got me distracted. The book I downloaded is

• Michael Tolliver Lives - Armistead Maupin

So what made you totally postal this week? You can make a post on your own blog, list all the books you’ve received since last Friday and then tell us how you got them and where on your TBR list they will be and then link up (direct URL, please) here:

50 Followers Giveaway

Well, I’ve made it to 50 followers. I know to some that’s not a big deal but I was excited when I noticed that I had 50 followers. Due to this, I decided to do a giveaway, to show my thanks to my followers. In honor of reaching that benchmark, I will be giving away a $20 gift card to Amazon(e-card), Borders(physical card) or Barnes and Noble(physical card). This giveaway is open to U.S residents only and will end on December 5th. Winner will be announced on December 6th.

Mandatory Entry: (you must do this one first or I will be forced to remove all of your entries)

Become a Follower of One Page At A Time

Please include your email address in your comment. (feel free to use the antiSPAM version - yourname[at]yourserver[dot]com)
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2. Follow me on Twitter: @SapphireReads

3. Either tweet about the giveaway or post it on your blog and let me know where your tweet or post is about it.

 Good Luck