This past week on FYFA (and in my life):
Sorry this post is late, but I headed out to Boston on Friday for a fun girls’ weekend with some friends. I had aspirations of finishing this post (and my 2018 goals post) before I left and scheduling them, but that didn’t happen, so I just decided not to worry about it until today.
While I was in Boston, we also spent a day in Salem, which was really interesting. Of course, everyone knows about the witch-related stuff there, but I also really enjoyed visiting The House of the Seven Gables, which is the original house that Nathaniel Hawthorne used as inspiration for his classic book of the same name. I thought it was fascinating to learn about the history of the house, which was originally built in 1668 (you can still see some of the original features of the house today). One thing that’s interesting about it is that at the beginning of the 1900s they restored the house but also made some renovations so that it would match details in Hawthorne’s book. I know historians might be sad about the historical house being altered, but I actually think it makes the building all the more fascinating—there are so many layers of history that make the place what it is today!
Here’s what you may have missed on the blog this past week:
- Bite-Sized Reviews of Love, Life, and the List, The Young Queens, Seriously Wicked and The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series
- Timekeeper and Chainbreaker by Tara Sim: Review & Sim’s Top Ten Addictions
- Year-End Wrap-Up Round-Up Giveaway (With a Make Me Read It Twist)
Next week on FYFA:
- 2018 Goals
- Some bite-sized reviews? (I’m really not organized right now, obviously.)
For Review:
I received Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe from Disney and Everywhere You Want to Be from Blink. Thanks so much for both of them!!
Great Discussions/Goings On Around the Blogosphere:
- Check out this awesome Warcross “book defacing” (and also check out the rest of Olivia’s Twitter feed—she has lots of these, and they’re all AMAZING!)
- Also on Twitter is the cover for Cait @ Paper Fury’s debut A Thousand Perfect Notes. So pretty!
Pre-Order Deals:
Listed in order of release date. Any new deals that I just added to the list this week will be denoted with a *** so you can easily find them!
Please note: Almost all pre-order giveaways run “while supplies last,” so I can’t guarantee that they’ll be open until the date listed. Pre-0rder early for your best chance to get all the goodies!
- Pre-order BLOOD AND SAND by C.V. Wyk to receive a signed bookplate, bookmark and stickers, plus a chance at a grand prize giveaway. (ends 1/15)
- Pre-order TRULY DEVIOUS by Maureen Johnson from select bookstores to receive a signed copy and an exclusive Maureen Johnson Detection Club sticker (ends 1/15)
- Pre-order LOVE, HATE AND OTHER FILTERS by Samira Ahmed to receive a custom button set! (Plus a signed, personalized copy and a hand-lettered art print, if you pre-order from Anderson’s) (ends 1/15)
- Pre-order IRON GOLD by Pierce Brown to receive an exclusive art print featuring the book’s characters! (ends 1/16)
- Pre-order ZENITH by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings to receive a Zenith necklace. (ends 1/16)
- Pre-order REIGN OF THE FALLEN by Sarah Glenn Marsh t0 receive a set of 7 beautiful character art cards, a bookmark and a signed bookplate. (ends 1/22)
- Pre-order MOONLIGHT SINS by Jennifer L. Armentrout to receive a limited edition signed swag pack. (ends 1/29)
- Pre-order LOLA DUTCH IS A LITTLE BIT MUCH and receive a digital package that includes: Coloring Pages, Paper Puppets, Mini Guided Learning Activities with Lola and much more! (ends 1/29)
- Pre-order REIGN THE EARTH by A.C. Gaughen to receive an exclusive map poster. (ends 1/29)
- Pre-order THE HAZEL WOOD by Melissa Albert to receive an exclusive set of 10 “tarot-inspired” character cards. (ends 1/29)
- Pre-order LOSING BRAVE by Bailee Madison & Stefne Miller to receive an exclusive swag pack, including a Bonus Chapter, exclusive video from Bailee Madison, and signed book poster! (ends 1/29)
- Pre-order ASSASSIN OF TRUTHS by Brenda Drake to receive a signed bookplate, bookmark, and locker magnet and will be entered into a grand prize pack. (ends 2/6)
- ***Pre-order AMERICAN PANDA by Gloria Chao to receive 2 extra scenes, a chance to name a future character, Easter Eggs, an Ask Me Anything section, and a first look at the upcoming American Panda cartoon. Plus the chance to win more! (ends 2/5)
- ***Pre-order PEOPLE LIKE US by Dana Mele to receive a signed bookmark and a chance to win more! (ends 2/20)
- Pre-order HEART OF IRON by Ashley Poston to receive 1 of 4 (or all 4, depending on where you order from) ultra-exclusive holographic character prints and a signed bookplate. (ends 2/26)
- Pre-order THE CASE FOR JAMIE by Brittany Cavallaro to receive a signed book and exclusive Charlotte Holmes swag. (ends 3/5)
- Pre-order THE MIDNIGHTS by Sarah Nicole Smetana to receive a postcard showcasing the beautiful cover, a fun bookmark, one randomly selected circle sticker, a signed bookplate, and the chance to win a grand prize pack! (ends 3/5)
- ***Pre-order CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi to receive a limited edition poster! (ends 3/5)
- Pre-order IN HER SKIN by Kim Savage to receive a laptop decal and to be entered to win a custom-made Eponine Funko, as well as a Kindle Paperwhite! (ends 3/26)
- ***Pre-order ACE OF SHADES by Amanda Foody to receive three bookmarks with exclusive art inspired by the City of Sin, a signed bookplate, and a bonus quiz revealing which gang of New Reynes you’d claim as your own. (ends 4/9)
Other Current Giveaways on FYFA:
(Besides the ones listed with this week’s posts)
- December Discussion Challenge Link-Up & Giveaway – Last chance to link up December discussion posts and enter to win the giveaway!
Even More Awesome Giveaways on Other Sites:
- Head over to We Live and Breathe books for a chance to win The First to Know by Abigail Johnson audiobook & swag!
- Austine is celebrating her 7th year of blogging! Head over to Novel Knight for a chance to win ARCs of REIGN OF THE FALLEN and REIGN THE EARTH (US) or a book of your choice from TBD/Wordery (INT)
- Head over to It Starts at Midnight to enter to win a Signed Hardcover copy of YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE by Rachel Lynn Solomon
- Lots of blogs participating in the January New Release Giveaway Hop!
- Xpresso Reads is giving away a Kindle Paperwhite and a $50 gift card
- Read It Forward is giving you the chance to win The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
Lots of good stuff! Have any giveaways or great discussions happening on your site right now? Feel free to share them in the comments!
One of our kids went to school in Boston. We visited her once in late October. It was a very cool time of year to visit Salem, which we did. They were ramping up for Halloween.
I’ve heard that Halloween in Salem is crazy—and awesome if you’re a fan of the witchy tourism there. 🙂
That sounds like such a fun trip, especially the Salem stop! And I love that the house was renovated to match the book.
I thought it was a really part of the history of the book. And, as the tour guide pointed out, without that literary connection, the house probably wouldn’t have been preserved at all.
What fun! That’s really cool that they renovated the house to match the book. Love it! Hope you had an amazing weekend, and thank you for including my giveaway on your list. Also, I want to read both those books you received, especially the Christina June book, because I really enjoyed her debut. Can’t wait to hear what you think.
I really enjoyed June’s first book as well!
How awesome you got to visit Salem. I’d love to go there sometime. What a fun girl’s weekend. Ooh I hadn’t seen Cait’s cover; pretty!!
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Isn’t the cover awesome? I love it!
I got Everywhere You Want to Be this week as well! The trip to Salem looks very interesting. It’s on my list of places to go. Thanks for sharing that!
The history there is really interesting—both the witch trials stuff and its other history!
I hope you had tons of fun in Boston! I’ve never read that book, but the house looks pretty cool. I love old houses.
I actually haven’t read it either, but now I want to. I figured I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see a little bit of literary history. The inside of the house is even cooler, but you weren’t allowed to take pics inside. If you Google it, though, you can see a bunch. 🙂
I love Boston! I’ve been there a few times and really enjoyed all the historical aspects of the city.
Yes, the Freedom Trail was a lot more interesting than I even thought it would be.
Boston is such a magical city. Salem is on my bucket list. I so want to visit in October one year. Glad to hear your had a great time. Have a great week!
It’s a huge draw in October. A lot of things were closed in January, but we had time to check out the Salem Witch Museum and The House of Seven Gables.
Love the sound of your girls weekend! I’ve done that a couple times with my mom and sisters but it’s been years. (Note to self: look into planning something this year!) I follow Olivia’s Booktube channel and her defacing videos are amazing. She’s such an artist!
I definitely need to do this girls’ weekend thing again sometime—I’m thinking my mom and I could go somewhere fun (and warm!). I’ll have to go watch the defacing videos—I don’t do much Booktube, but I want to see her in action!
Aw what a fabulous trip to take with friends! I’ve never been to Boston before, although Andy and my Dad have for work, and if I ever get back there I’m putting that house on my must visit list. Thanks for the heads up!
I’d never been there before either, but it was such a great trip!