What do I remember from the month of June?

You know, I knew going in that May was going to be a crazy month, but June too?  It was a good kind of crazy though...

Books I read in June:
1. Unexpectedly Yours by Shannon Stacey (5 stars)
2. Undeniably Yours by Shannon Stacey (4 stars)
3. Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey (5 stars)
4. Beg for Mercy by Jami Alden (3 stars)
5. Storm Born by Richelle Mead (4 stars)
6. Thorn Queen by Richelle Mead (4 stars)
7. Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead (5 stars)
8. Dark Swan Graphic Novel (first two of four issues) (4 stars)
9. Wish You Were Here by Phillipa Ashley (3 1/2 stars)
10. Forgotten by Cat Patrick (3 stars)
11. Bastian by Elizabeth Amber (3 stars)
12. Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods (3 1/2 stars)
13. Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (4 1/2 stars)
14. Dark Awakening by Kendra Leigh Castle (3 stars)
15. Reveal Me by Cari Quinn (3 stars)

I read the Shannon Stacey books strictly for pleasure so I didn't do a review, but I've got to say that if you like contemporaries, or want to try a contemporary - they're fabulous!

I also read the Dark Swan books by Richelle Mead for pleasure and loved them as well - I am now firmly on the "go fairies" side of the fence, whereas before I wasn't interested.  I've since read the Iron King series and have started Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series as well.

You may have noticed I've got a new friend hanging out at Book Addict from time to time - Pam. Pam graciously offered to help me climb out of my TBR hole and try to get back on track. When she's not reading, Pam plays the piano, kayacks, and is a chocoholic. She stays up late to read, averaging around 3am, which is how she came up with the name @moonlightreader for twitter - go say hi!

I also participated in the Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl again, and this year I wrote my letter to Molly Harper.
Go check it out to see why she's one of my favorite authors!

The highlight of June for me was that the American Library Association came to New Orleans! It was amazing - I met fellow book bloggers, publishers, and, let's be honest, came home with a bunch of books!  Read here to see which bloggers I met, what books I got, and why I was e-mailing my sister-in-law from the bathroom at the bar.

Have you entered my giveaway to win an ARC of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater? It's the final book in her Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy - click here to enter.

June Wrap Up - again

(Whoops! Apparently I forgot to move the post to today, so it showed up as having been done a week ago. I don't know how to move it without losing the comments,so here it is again!)

Wow, June was a great reading month! I discovered a few new-to-me authors I'm currently stalking ;) Here's the rundown:

1. Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch (5 stars!)
2. The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon (4 stars)
3. The Wolf Next Door by Lydia Dare (4 stars)
4. Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon (2 stars)
5. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (5 stars!)
6. Necking by Chris Salvatore (4 stars)
7. Skin Game by Ava Gray (3 stars)
8. Fortunate Harbor by Emile Richards (3 1/2 stars)
9. Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine (3 stars)
10. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (5 stars!)
11. The Beast in Him by Shelley Laurenston (3 stars)
12. The Mane Squeeze by Shelley Laurenston (4 stars)
13. Pieces of Happily Ever After by Irene Zutell (3 1/2 stars)
14. Jude in Chains by KZ Snow (4 stars!)
15. When He Was Bad by Shelly Laurenston/Cynthia Eden (3 stars)
16. Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory (3 1/2 stars)


AND True Blood started again! Woo Hoo!! I'm so thrilled, although Vampire Bill is already getting on my nerves....

Also in June I traveled to Lake Charles to meet 3 other bloggers (my SIL Hannah, Cecile from All I Want and More, and Hell Kat from Paranormal Fantasies). We had a great time and I'm looking forward to seeing Cecile and Hannah again over Labor Day weekend for the Writers for New Orleans event - I contacted the New Orleans area bloggers I'm aware of, but if anyone else lives near New Orleans - think about going!!


Lastly, I received a couple of awards this month:

Julie over at Yummy Men and Kick Ass Chicks gave me an award - and a very cool award it is:


1. As with any other blog award, you should post it and mention who presented it to you along with a link to their blog. 2. You must then award it to 2 to 5 other bloggers that you have been following for some time and that you find inspirational to your blog. You may want to mention why you chose them, but it’s not necessary. (Feel free to award it to someone who has already won it. They should know how many people are inspired by their work. If you’ve won it before, you don’t have to pass it on again, but you should still mention who gave it to you.) 3. Contact these 2 to 5 bloggers and let them know that you have granted them the “You’re My Inspiration blog award”. (There may even be tears of joy involved…okay, maybe not.)
Who are my inspirational bloggers? There are so many but here are a few:

1. Blodeuedd - she reads such a varied selection of books, her reviews are interesting and she's always so friendly.
2. Cecile - Cecile has got to be the friendliest Book Blogger I've ever met! I don't think there's anyone in the community that doesn't smile when they hear her name.
3. ALPHA Reader - I'm not going to say anything about her because I think at this point I'm a borderline stalker. Okay, I will admit I wish I could write reviews like this chick - she's very, very good.
4. Parajunkee - Parajunkee is a NOLA blogger, so she's got that going for her, but aside from that she's very friendly and I love her helpful posts - I've made several improvements to my blog that I would not have been able to figure out without her.
5. Lea - Lea's got a great blog and I like her reviews. She's friendly with everyone, and Tori is adorable!


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And Christine over at The Happily Ever After Blog gave me this award:



The Award Criteria: This award is awarded to those bloggers who: 1~post almost every day, if not every 2~reply to every comment that's posted 3~just down right LOVE blogging! The Award Rules: Share one extraordinary thing that's happened to you then pass this award to 5 Xxtraordinarly bloggers.

One extraordinary thing that's happened to me, hmmm...that's harder than it sounds! Okay, meeting my husband and having my wonderful children is a given. I'm going to go with something else and say - meeting all you wonderful Book Bloggers! I have a very reserved personality, and am therefore very shy, but being able to "meet" you all online - and talk about books, no less - is something I never would have imagined happening. It's very special to me.

And five bloggers I'm passing this on to:
1. Pattepoilue at One Book Away From Heaven
2. Sullivan McPig at Pearls Cast Before A McPig (I'll admit I'm a lurker but love the posts!)
3. Larissa at Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life
4. Monroe at Monroe with a Twist5. Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews (she's always got something going on!)


Oh - how could I forget? June 13 was my one year blogiversary! I've done a few giveaways - the last one is ending today - and will announce those winners next week!

So, my June was awesome - how was yours?