One Year Blogoversary!! (& Giveaway)

It is so incredibly difficult for me to believe that exactly a year ago today I sat down and wrote/published my first post on this blog. The idea for this book blog had been in my head for several months before I actually took action. I loved writing, and obviously reading, and I had been reading so many book blogs already. It seemed like a wonderful thing to do, but I had no idea how any of it really worked since I had never done it before. Still, I worked for a couple of weeks to come up with a blog name, get it setup, and slowly figured out how things were supposed to work. After I had it looking decent (at least I thought so), on February 8, 2014 I decided it was time to say hello. It was terrifying, hitting the "Publish" button. I had no idea what was going to happen, or if I would even be able to/want to keep up with the blog once I started it. 

Things weren't always easy, of course, as I am sure most of you can relate to. I still didn't know what I was doing for awhile. I signed up for WAY too many blog tours at first because I was so excited. Requested WAY too many books on Netgalley because I thought that it was the coolest thing ever. And spent WAY too much time trying to figure out how Twitter actually works (still working on that one, actually...still need to improve). Despite all of the difficulties and occasional frustrations, I am so glad that I have stuck with it. It has become a wonderful hobby, and something that I absolutely love. I don't know what I would do without it now! 

I thought I would just very quickly break down some of my stats/accomplishments from my first year of blogging. I know in comparison to some "big" book review blogs these stats probably aren't impressive, but I am very pleased with how this blog is going! 

Roughly 20,600 Total Page Views

804 Published Comments

386 Total Posts 

119 Published Book Reviews

149 Bloglovin' Followers

95 GFC Followers

718 Twitter Followers

542 Instagram Followers

I also had the privilege of hosting several other bloggers on my Blogger Spotlight post

Have begun hosting Author Spotlight posts

and have been a Beta Reader for an author friend EV Fairfall whose book comes out this month! 

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you, my wonderful readers/followers, for taking the time to read and comment on my blog over the past year. It has been wonderful to get to know some of you, and I look forward to talking even more in the future. I have HUGE plans to focus on commenting and communication much more this year, so I hope you're all ready to hear from me A LOT! Thank you to those of you who always stop by to leave a sweet comment, and for those who have read books because you trusted my recommendations. You guys make this blogging thing SO amazing. 

I also want to say another HUGE thank you to my family, most of whom follow and read my blog almost daily. It means so much to have your support, especially since this hobby means so much to me. To have you guys mention my blog posts and read books based on my reviews, it really does mean a lot to me. I love you guys so much. 

Naturally, this would not be a real celebration without a GIVEAWAY!! 

I am so excited to host my first official giveaway here on the blog (one that's directly from me, and not a blog tour), and it's going to be a good one! It is for US only (sorry to my international readers, but shipping just gets so expensive!). Here is what you could win!

A STACK OF BOOKS TO INCLUDE: 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Paperback)

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (Paperback)

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall (Paperback) 

The Duff: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger (Paperback)

AND YOUR CHOICE OF BOOKMARK FROM CRAFTED VAN ETSY - UP TO $13 VALUE

You get to pick which set you would like, as long as it is under $13 (most of the sets are) 

You can see the selection here, so you know what you might be interested in! 

**Here are the rules/other information you need to know before entering**

US only

Must be 13+ or have parental permission

I am not responsible for packages lost/damaged in the mail

No PO Boxes

There will be ONE winner chosen by Rafflecopter. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected.

I reserve the right to disqualify any entries I see unfit.

Please don't cheat (I check each entry!) 

Giveaway starts today and ends February 22. 

Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

a Rafflecopter giveaway