Blogoversary Celebration Day 2: Now & Then

Welcome to day 2 of my blogoversary celebration. Since yesterday was just the launch/announcement, today is the first actual post and it's going to be about what kind of year I had; where I've been, what happened, what changed.

Then

This adventure all started on September 9th, 2011 when I started Xpresso Reads and posted for the very first time *sniff*. It's safe to say I had no idea what it all entailed. I had been reviewing on Goodreads for a year, and before that I was using some lame Facebook App for a couple years. So I wasn't new to reviewing, but blogging was a whole new world for me. I had heard of book bloggers but I didn't know much about what it was like to have a book blog; let's just say I had to learn fast. I loved every minute of it! Tomorrow I have a FAQ post where I will be going in more details about how I put myself out there, but I had a ton of fun going around and making friends. A lot of you guys will be my friends for life and this was worth it if only for that one reason!

Where was I this year?

-Interviewed at The Teen Book Guru
 -Interviewed at Reading A Little Bit of Everything
-Interviewed at One a Day YA
-Guest posted for Zombies vs Unicorns month at YA Bookmark
-Guest posted for My Reading Spot at Bewitched Bookworms 

Firsts:

-My first review on Xpresso Reads: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
-My first WoW: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Eep I still haven't read it O_O)
-My first book haul post: IMM (1)
-My first Netgalley approval: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (And by the time I got to it it had expired :( See! Learning experience! >.<)
-My first print ARC: Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones (From St. Martin's Press)
-My first review request & first interview: Michelle Madow for Remembrance (loved it!)
-My first Fresh Batch post: Sept 25th - Oct 1st 2011 

-My first sidebar tour banner: Touch by Jus Accardo
-My first commenter: Amy from Following the Reading (and I still talk to this girl! She rocks!)

Now

Yep, my blog has had quite the makeover à la Parajunkee. She did an amazing job and I highly recommend her if you're looking for a makeover. Aside from the design, I have grown quite a lot as a reviewer and a blogger. It was a big learning curve and I'm happy to have gotten so many supporters - some of you I have known from my very first week! I will be mentioning a few awesome people later this week! ;) I hope there will be many more years to come, and a lot more friends to meet!

I'm sure most of you have heard by now, but new very recently is the launch of Xpresso Design where you can purchase banners and buttons for any type of use or event. Find more details here! I absolutely love working on my sidebar banners and event buttons, so after several requests, emails, and friend suggesting it, I decided to start this little design venture and we'll see where it goes from there.

Where do I stand after this year?

-308,000 Page views
-135,000 Unique visitors
-2,900 RSS Subscribers
-20,002 Total comments
-526 Posts
-238 Reviews

Yup, it was quite the wicked year!

Stop by tomorrow for a FAQ post where I will go into more details by answering frequent questions I get about followers, comments, ARCs & more.

Now, to fit today's theme, you can win two of the earliest books I ever received for review on the blog, and two of the most recent.

Review: Fang Girl by Helen Keeble

Fang Girl

Helen Keeble

Publication date: September 11th 2012

by Harper Teen

 

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Helen Keeble’s riotous debut novel combines the humor of Vladimir Tod with Ally Carter’s spot-on teen voice. With a one-of-a-kind vampire mythology and an irresistibly relatable undead heroine, this uproarious page-turner will leave readers bloodthirsty for more

*A copy was provided by Helen Keeble for review purposes*

A ridiculously funny vampire comedy, Fang Girl brings us a fun read with a surprising lot to offer - aside from the humor, we've got a witty protagonist and a entertaining plot which has a good amount of substance for such a frivolous novel.

When Jane wakes up and realizes she's in a coffin, has super speeds, and fangs, her mediocre life is no more. 15 year old Jane is a surprisingly compelling character; her charm and wit throughout her ordeal is constantly entertaining, brimming with laugh-out-loud quotables, while her innocence and insecurities convey her teenage years perfectly. Additionally, Jane's family has a big role in this story which is much appreciated. Though kookie at times, the parents become instantly likeable if only for their immediately support for Jane's... predicament. Their characters really enrich this novel. They would do anything to help their daughter and I adored the way they handled all the sudden, bizarre situations they're thrown in. Jane also has a brother who is an absolute darling with his enthusiasm for these antique beings. We meet a slew of secondary characters along the way as well who have a satisfying amount of development and great charisma. For a novel that is so humor-based, I wasn't expecting to see such strong character presence.

Ridiculous in an almost vampire parody style, Fang Girl is a perfectly gratifying read that is amusing to no end. This book is never to be taken as a serious vampire novel, it's a comedy through and through. Sure there is an intriguing plot-line with turns that completely caught me off guard, but in the end, it's meant to be comical. Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with how interesting the story itself truly was. Too often in a comedy do we see plots shoved aside, becoming secondary to the humor. In Fang Girl, however, the plot is exciting as well as diverting, with a touch of romance to spice things up. I especially enjoyed how blunt some plot developments were. One page you're all happy and dandy, and the next you have to take a picture of the page to text to your friend who previously read the book because you accidentally mailed it to them *deep breath* to ask if this really just happened. True story! It's not all unpredictable, and some of it may be cheesy, but it's the good kind of cheesy that makes you snort unattractively, which is always cool!

Fang Girl is the perfect book for the beach, a plane ride, to hide behind your math textbook; it's effortless and extremely high in entertainment value. If you're looking for a fun, refreshing novel, I would recommend this one in a heartbeat!

4 Hot Espressos

Waiting on Wednesday (37)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

My pick this week:

Fang Girl

Helen Keeble

Release date: September 11th 2012

by HarperTeen

Add it to your Goodreads

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Helen Keeble’s riotous debut novel combines the humor of Vladimir Tod with Ally Carter’s spot-on teen voice. With a one-of-a-kind vampire mythology and an irresistibly relatable undead heroine, this uproarious page-turner will leave readers bloodthirsty for more

Eternally pasty!!
I don't know about you, but I think this sounds hilarious!  I love humoristic books and this one has an awesome sounding heroine and a ripped vampire hunter!? Yes please!

What's did you pick this Wednesday?

Link me up! :)