Hi Everyone!

Just stopping by to wrap up the summer of posts as part of the Summer Blog Promo Tour! I had alot of fun posting on the others' blogs and having them post here! I hope that you enjoyed it too! It is nice to mix things up now again! :)

 So just wanted to take a minute to say thanks for all you that made it happen! I am glad that I got to meet some new people, check out some new blogs, and I look forward to the future! :)

Thanks again!
-Valerie

#SBPT with Kat from Perks of a Book Nerd

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's continue this process with Kat from Perks of a Book Nerd! She is sharing with us today some of her favorite travel spots! Please help me by giving her a warm welcome!

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Hi guys, it's Kat from Perks of a Book Nerd. Over the past fifteen odd years I've travelled quite a bit. I love to go on holiday, so sue me! HA! If it's in England, it doesn't count. So here we go:

My top 5 places I’ve visited.

San Francisco, USA:
When I first did a tour of the states, I included San Fran (as the natives call it. :P ) and fell in love with the place instantly. The sights are magnificent, especially around Fisherman’s Wharf, and lots of places to shop and eat at. I’ve since been to San Francisco 3 times, i believe. Maybe four. It’s definitely tie for first place with San Diego (which I’ve been to 6 times for Comic Con).


Wales:
Wales might be only next door to England, but it’s still a distance, and I always get excited whenever I get a chance to visit. I’ve been to both ends, Prestatyn (North) and Pembrokeshire (South) and they’re both equally as beautiful. I first went to Wales with my dad; we went to Tenby and I spent time playing mini golf and archery. Wasn’t much, but it was a trip I won’t ever forget.

Halifax, Nova Scotia:
On my tour of Canada, Halifax was my first stop, as I was visiting a friend who lives near there. Canada is so nice: the people; the scenery; quaint, too. I’ve wanted to go back, but it’s expensive and there’s plenty other places I’d love to go to as well. Halifax stood out more because of how old everything seemed, more so than other places. I spent a week there and loved every moment of it. 

Rome/Venice:
On a cruise many years ago (I think i was about 16/17) we had a day in Rome, and though I didn’t get to see much, I still saw the Spanish Steps and a couple of museums. The food is amazing and I wish I’d had more time because man, it’s a sight to see. There was one place where I had home made pizza. I know. Pizza! Haha, of all foods! But really, it was great. Many people think pizza and pasta is the only Italian food out there, but they’re wrong. That brings me to when I went to Venice and over ate Pizza for a week. Didn’t eat anymore for about 4 years. True story. Venice is also very lovely with the sights, the fact you have to go by boat to most places. I did feel a little sea sick for some of the time, though. Always feeling, even on mainland, that I was at sea.

Malta:
I’ve been to Malta about three times and each time I love it. Though one year I spent a birthday there and was ill for half the holiday. It’s not necessarily the food or the people that I love (though those are good too) but the sights as well.  Some of the buildings are so old and everything’s so awe-worthy. Definitely a country worth going to if you ever get the chance. 

Thanks so much to Valerie for having me! :)
-Kat

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Makes my wanderlust go a little crazy! :) Thanks Kat for being here today!
 

#SBPT with Brooke from The Cozy Little Book Nook

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's continue this process with Brooke from The Cozy Little Book Nook! She is a new blogger and I thought it would be great to hear from her about her experiences so far :) Please help me by giving her a warm welcome!

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Hi everyone! I’m Brooke from The Cozy Little Book Nook and I’m super happy to be here on Valerie’s blog today!

So if you didn’t know, I recently hit my 6-month blogiversary a little over a month ago so we thought it would be super cool for me to write about what I have now learned about blogging. If you want to see what I accomplished in those 6 months, you can check out this posts here.

Many people are wanting to start blogs now and are pretty timid about actually getting a start on it. Don’t worry, I was the same way. It actually took me 2-3 months before I actually committed to my blog. And even then, I didn’t take blogging seriously (like post on a regular schedule and connect with others) until about 3 months ago. But with that said, here are some of my tips:

(Just a warning, this post seems a little bit on the negative side, but trust me, blogging is great and I’m so happy to be part of this community)

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1. Don’t be afraid to speak your opinion

The number one thing about blogging and writing book reviews is to not be afraid to express your opinions. Don’t feel like you have to give the book a good rating just because you received the book from the author or publisher in exchange for a review. The reason publishers and authors are willing to give bloggers books is because they want your HONEST opinion. Alongside with that, as a blogger, you will most likely write discussion posts at one point or another.  With these discussion posts, majority of it will be your own opinion so don’t be afraid to say what you think. Of course with that said, you might want to refrain from talking about anything that others may be offended by.

2. Social media is your best friend

In this day and age, everyone has a social media account. The best ones that I have found that will benefit your blogging is Twitter and Instagram. Both of these are awesome for you to connect with other people, and people who follow your blog. Also this way, people can get to know you and know you outside of your blog. Instagram is perfect for showing off your books and even behind the scenes bonuses. (At least I use them for that purpose although most people don’t do that).

In order to not give away too much personal information and to stay on brand, I highly recommend you create a separate Twitter handle and Instagram account for your blog, that way it doesn’t get mixed up with your personal account’s feed and information.

Also, Twitter has so many different chats that you can join in on. I met most of the people that I now associate with on a constant basis at these chats. Everyone on there are usually super nice and want to meet other as well. So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and talk to new people. (But most importantly, don’t forget all other internet safety rules that you have learned before such as not giving out personal information).

3. Bloggers are actually really nice

Other book bloggers are all really nice and are always (for the most part) happy to talk with you and give you tips on how to get started. Everyone started at the beginning and knows how hard it was to get started and can help you with any issues you may have. With that said, if you are rude to them, the chances of them helping you are incredibly slim.

4. Don’t expect to get a bunch of followers right away

When you’re just starting out, you are not going to be super popular right away. All those big and successful blogs out there have been working on their blog for years and years. I’m not saying that you will become a failure but there will be times in your blogging experience when you will feel like you are getting nowhere with it and you should just give up. My recommendation for that is either to put in extra work and if that’s not a possibility, just take a couple days, or weeks, or months off of your blog. Of course, you’re stats during this time will drastically fall, but the entire reason you take a break is to not worry about all that.

5. Never give up

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

This really applies to blogging. If something doesn’t work out the first time just locate the problems and fix those and you should all set to try again.

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Remember, your blog is your own personal brand so do what all other brands out there do, have a goal (motto to stay on track of) and have fun! You have no hard deadlines and everything on around your schedule. If anyone wants to know more about starting a blog, or just about anything, feel free to go over to my blog or my social media accounts (I will have them listed a little further below) and chat with me. :)

~Brooke

Blog: thecozylittlebooknook.weebly.com

Email: thecozylittlebooknook@gmail.com

Twitter: @BrookeEvans2001

Instagram: @thecozylittlebooknook

Facebook: Brooke Evans

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Thanks Brooke for stopping by today! :)

#SBPT with Flo from Book Nerds Across America

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's continue this process with Flo from Book Nerds Across America! I asked her if she would share with us about her New Kids on the Block Obsession. When I was a kid, I had the Jordan Knight doll, so when I found this out about her, I knew I had to ask about it! :) 

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Hi! I'm Flo from Book Nerds Across America...and I am obsessed with New Kids on the Block. Legit obsessed. I can't even play. Book Nerds Across America is co-run by 3 of us in different states. I met Jacque on a New Kids on the Block cruise (she was my roomie!) and that's how we became friends and she eventually joined Mary and I on the blog. Yes, New Kids cruise. I have been on...5 of them, I believe. And whenever they tour, I go to one or two shows. 

All this to say I was SO EXCITED when Valerie told me that a NKOTB Book Tag post was a Thing. I've never heard of posts like this, but I already love this one and any others. Have you done one? Link it up in the comments so I can see! 

Anyway, here is mine:

Didn't I (Blow Your Mind): We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I think I've talked to people who said they either predicted the ending or this book or had it spoiled for them (sad!), but I had NO IDEA. I literally closed this book thinking, "What just happened?!?!" I was completely floored, and remained so for several days.

New Kids on the Block: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig. I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at BEA and we reviewed it on the blog in June. We are loved it, and we all love him! (You should follow him on Twitter, he is fun and hilarious and so sweet!) I am excited for it to be out in the masses, so everyone can get caught up in the mystery of it.

Cover Girl: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I read this book based on the cover alone. I didn't read the synopsis before I started reading it. I saw the cover, I loved the cover, so I read and reviewed the book.

Hangin' Tough: So many these days, which is awesome! Another fun fact about me is that I am on staff at Down With the Capitol (www.hungergamesdwtc.net), which is a Hunger Games fansite. My obsession with the Hunger Games is just about on par with my obsession over New Kids on the Block. So I have to say Katniss here. In fact, I just painted her yesterday at one of those wine and canvas classes. 

Twisted: Anything by Cassandra Clare. Every time I finish one of her books, I'm left at the end re-reading the last page or so just to make sure I really did just read what I thought I read.

Crash: Get ready for what may be an unpopular opinion here....50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James. I wrote kind the ranty review on this one. I just can't with this book. I can't.

Miss You More: Wow, what was my most recent book hangover...? Wait a minute -- BRB.

Ok, I'm back. I'm going to say Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is nonfiction, but it really inspired me not to give up on my writing.

Fighting Gravity: Red Rising by Pierce Brown. In fact, I almost want to go back and change my last answer to Golden Son, which was the second book in the Red Rising trilogy. Actually, Golden Son was a Miss You More and a Twisted and a Didn't I Blow Your Mind! Anyway, this trilogy is amazing -- go read it if you haven't!

Single: I am glad this is on here, as I love standalone books and don't think they get enough love! I am going to go with Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen. What a feel-good story! I want to hug all the characters!

2 in the Morning: The last book that kept me up past my bedtime was One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank. It's a new release -- a love story set in Paris, and it's absolutely adorable!

​ Lights, Camera, Action: The Gallagher Academy series by Ally Carter. This might actually be better as like a Freeform TV show? A little cheesy maybe, but overall a lot of fun!

Put it on my Tab: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! This book releases on July 31st and as you read this blog post, I already own a copy. (I'm getting it a midnight release party.)

Please Don't Go Girl: Vampire Academy and Bloodlines. I flew through those 12 books in no time!

This was so much fun! Thank you to Valerie for hosting me today! And if you have any questions about New Kids on the Block, I am your girl ;-)

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Thanks Flo! This was fun. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Reading! 

#SBPT with Jessica from the Book Bratz

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's kick this off with Jessica from the Book Bratz! We both have a love of John Green books, so I created a tag for her to answer of books based off books of his :) 

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The Fault in Our Stars is a Beautiful Book about a girl with a terminal illness. What is a beautiful book with a moving story that you would recommend?

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios. It's a really moving story about falling in love with someone that you think is the opposite of good for you, but in them, you see all the happiness in the world. It was one of my favorite reads of 2015.

Paper Towns is a romance story that also has some adventure. What adventure book would you recommend? 

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid! Tons of adventure on an epic road trip. You get to meet a lot of awesome and quirky characters.

An Abundance of Katherines is about Colin and him coming to sense with his breakups. What is one break up or romance book you would recommend?

A good romance book (that's also a little sad, mind you) is Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith. It's about two teenagers in love spending their last night together before leaving for college. It's pretty relevant in my life right about now.

Looking for Alaska is a powerful book about seeking greater understanding? What is a book that has helped you make sense of the world around you?

Looking for Alaska is my favorite book of all time. It's taught me so much about how there's more to the world than what meets the eye, and that it's good to want to be destined for greater things. Another book that helped me make sense of the world around me was The Fault in Our Stars. (Another John Green book, I know.) You learn a lot about love and death and moving on and picking yourself back up even when life knocks you down repeatedly. You can take a lot of life lessons from that story.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a book of two people with the same name. What are two books that you felt were similar and/or what two books do you think go well together? (Maybe a particular series?)

The Selection series and The Jewel series both are pretty similar, about royalty and competing for status. When I read each of them, I'm definitely reminded of the other. 

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What a lot of fun! Thanks Jessica for coming on the blog today!

Happy Reading!

#SBPT Peyton from a Bookish Mess

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's continue this process with Peyton from A Bookish Mess! I asked her if she would share with us a little about how she manages to keep it all together being the busy person she is! I hope you enjoy the post as much as I did :)

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Hi everyone! :)

I hope you have all had a blast during the SBPT Summer Blog Tour! I want to take a second to thank Valerie for having me on her blog today! If I don't bore you to sleep with my post; hopefully you can enjoy my ramblings of how I manage my work, home and blog life!

I try in vain to set schedules.. I even have 2 separate planners. One for work and life things and one for blogging. I have a 9 year old and a 3 year old. I also work Monday-Friday, so that takes up tons of time as well. My husband is military, so we are constantly doing something or having people over.. Brotherhood and all of that lol.

I take a few hours each morning after my son is in daycare and my daughter has gone to school (or during the summer while she's hanging out around the house), and I work on my blog. I will schedule things, hang around on Twitter to talk with everyone, update my Goodreads and check in with the Facebook page. I will also take about 30 minutes in the morning to go through my emails.

Once the day has calmed down and the kids are in bed, the house chores are done and I have a bit of free time to myself, I will take 2 or so hours to catch up on things as well. This is really when I get into my emails and respond to everyone, sort the inbox and all of that good jazz. I also spend some of this time going to other blogs and commenting! I try as much as I can to be on Twitter/Facebook during this time as well, but for some reason I do not get to as much as in the mornings.

My cell phone kind of helps me out throughout the day. I use it for my blogs Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and even my Goodreads. I do some emails throughout the day as well. I try to stay as active as I can when I can during the day. Between school events, speech lessons, Girl Scouts, Cheerleading, park trips, daycare events, house chores, adulting all over the place, and work – things tend to get a little stretched sometimes!

It doesn't always work out the way I want it to either! Take this week for example. I had a root canal – missed some work – and only blogged for TWO days. Seriously; that is the worst I have done since I started this blog! I normally blog 6/7 of the days, with some weeks being all 7 days. Life kicked my butt this week, but I am trying to get back on track! The main thing I should have stated in the beginning is have a plan. Plans get your far. Planners get you even farther. Committing to the plan gets you exactly where you want to be!

It's been a joy stopping by here! I would love to hear how all of you keep up with your blog and your busy life! Feel free to contact me if you would like to stay in touch!

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Thanks for coming by the blog! :) I hope you will leave her a comment or visit her on her blog! 

#SBPT Lefty from Left-Handed Book Lover

Hi Everyone!

Happy Summer and welcome to the Summer Blog Promo Tour hosted by The Book Bratz! I am so excited to have been selected to be part of the tour in which I get to help promote other bloggers to you this summer on Sundays during the months of July and August! I also get the fun opportunity to post on their blogs, so I hope you will check out their posts as well!

Without further ado, let's kick this off with Lefty and some her favorite things!
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Hi there, everyone! My name is Lefty and I'm the evil mastermind behind The Left-Handed Book Lover. I'm so excited to be on Valerie's blog today and talk about my non-bookish loves.

So, here are a few of my favorite non-bookish thiiiiiings.

MUSIC

Confession: I'm a ginormicus choir nerd. Choir was my life in high school, and it still plays a significant role in my life now that I'm in college. I'm fairly certain if I weren't an English major, I'd be a vocal music major. (I'm literally the only person in my friend group who isn't a vocal music major.) I've gone to music camps, conventions, and competitions. I've performed solos. I've traveled to New York City and toured Ireland with my high school choir. Choir has opened my heart to new people, places, and ideals.

(this is a picture of me and my friends being weird in our choir uniforms)

But it's not just choral music in my heart. You can pretty much always find me with headphones in, listening to either Twenty One Pilots, Vinyl Theatre, Regina Spektor, or Catfish and the Bottlemen (but mostly Twenty One Pilots because they are everything to me!!!!). I'm pretty much always singing something, and my dad thinks I know every word to every song that's ever been written, and he's probably right.

NETFLIX

AKA the best investment I've ever made in my entire life. I love binge-watching TV shows on Netflix almost as much as I love reading. When I'm feeling exhausted, I turn to Netflix for relaxation. Sometimes it consumes my entire life and being. No big deal. In May, I posted about some of the shows I'd been devouring, and I think it's about time for an update. 

Thanks to Netflix, I've fallen in love with too many shows to count. But here are some biggins: 

• Doctor Who

• Sherlock

• Merlin

• Gilmore Girls

• Orange is the New Black

• Pretty Little Liars

• Hart of Dixie

• The Office

(an actual image of me, 8 hours deep in my Bob's Burgers marathon)

CLOTHES, SHOES, JEWELRY, ETC.

Um, so, maybe, just possibly, I might have a shopping problem. When I'm not spending all my money on books, I'm spending it on clothes. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM YOU HAVE A PROBLEM OKAY GET OFF MY BACK. 

I pay for several subscription boxes and I have multiple online shopping apps on my phone. When my dad and I were talking about moving and looking at houses, my first question was always about how big the closet was. In my dorm room, I do not have space for all the clothes I bring and buy throughout the year. Also, I'm constantly running out of hangers. 

I can spend hours on pinterest, just looking up clothes and shoes and jewelry and other accessories. 

(My different pinterest boards dedicated to fashion)

At the moment, my favorite accessories are watches. My favorite summer look is a cute tank tucked into shorts with some sort of cardigan or jacket. Boots will always be my favorite shoes (I just counted--I own 11 different pairs of boots). 

Basically, the moral of this story is that I own an unnecessary amount of clothes, shoes, and accessories. 

Those are my top non-bookish obsessions. If you can relate to any of these, HIT ME UP. DM me on Twitter and we can chat to our hearts' content.


YOU CAN ALSO CONNECT WITH ME ON: 
MY BLOG
GOODREADS
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

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 Thanks Lefty for coming on the blog today! Hope you guys will go check her blog out too! Until next time...