Courtney Summers Read-Along, Month One: CRACKED UP TO BE

Hi everyone!

Today is the day! Welcome to Day One of the Courtney Summers Read-Along! I am really excited to be hosting this event, and hope you guys are too. If you don't know about the read-along CLICK HERE and it'll give you all the information. If you're interested in participating and you haven't already signed up, just mention in the comments or leave your link in this month's link-up!

This month we are going to be reading CRACKED UP TO BE, Courtney Summers' first published novel. It's also a special month because one of my very awesome friends is going to be co-hosting this month with me! Please welcome, Crimson!

I'm Crimson, and I co-blog over at moonlightgleam.com. Anyone who knows at least a little about my taste in books knows I'm a giant Courtney Summers fan. As unfair as it might be to other books, I do sometimes have a tendency to hold up Courtney Summers books, unconsciously or not, as the standard by which all contemporary books I read must compete.

CRACKED UP TO BE was the first Courtney Summers book I read, so I'm excited to be hosting the first month of the Courtney Summers Read-A-Long, CRACKED UP TO BE month.

CRACKED UP TO BE is one of those rare books that achieves the perfect balance between crying-I'm-laughing-so-hard and crying-my-heart-is-being-shattered. Narrated by the unapologetically "unlikeable", and deeply sympathetic, Parker Fadley, CRACKED UP TO BE is like the perfect guide on how to lose friends and alienate people, as well has how to laugh and cry and break your heart and maybe even put it back together again.

Brilliant writing, dynamic characters - this books is the perfect introduction to Courtney Summers and, I'm sorry but I have to say it, it's definitely all it's cracked up to be. 

When "Perfect" Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter's High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher's pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?

Parker doesn't want to talk about it. She'd just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her conselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there's a nice guy falling in love with her and he's making her feel things again when she'd really rather not be feeling anything at all.

Nobody would have guessed she'd turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.

Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

So, here's how the month is going to work. Each week we'll be reading designated chapters from the book (the list of chapters is below)! Every Sunday, there will be a discussion post about that week's chapters! You can read as fast or as slow as you want (aka you don't have to follow the schedule, that's just how we'll be separating the discussions), and I hope you guys will participate in the discussions on Sunday. Throughout the month, there will be guest posts, reviews, and other cool things (including giveaways)!

CRACKED UP TO BE Chapter Breakdown

Week One: Chapters 1 - 7

Week Two: Chapters 8 - 12

Week Three: Chapters 13 - 17

Week Four: Chapter 17 - end

Add the link to your review/post/etc. below if you have one and hope you guys have fun!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

Series Catch Up Challenge: Month 1!

Hello all you awesome people!

Today marks the start of the Series Catch Up Challenge! I'm insanely pumped to kick off this awesome challenge and hope all you guys are too! At the bottom of the post is where you link-up your reviews for this month! You can post as many reviews as you'd like (just make sure to tag each review with either a number or the title)! So get those series tackled and enjoy this month of catching up!

And if you haven't signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? There's no minimum number to read and everyone has a series to catch up on! SIGN UP HERE!


Happy January all!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

Beautiful Creatures Series Challenge: Month One!

Today marks Month One in the Beautiful Creatures Series Challenge! I'm ridiculously excited to finally read this book, and see what everyone else thinks of it! If you'd like to sign up for the challenge CLICK HERE and add your link! (I'll love you forever!) Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to read and review (or post about) the first novel in the Beautiful Creatures series!

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Guys, I love this summary. It's so interesting! I can't wait to finally dive into this world, and I hope you guys are excited too!