My (Goodreads) Year in Books 2015

I thought a fun end of the year post would be My Year in Books according to Goodreads. It’s a nice breakdown of what I read because I didn’t start this book blogging thing until May 2015.

I hope everyone has an amazing New Year’s Eve and 2016! I’m looking forward to reading all the posts in 2016. 🙂

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Deanna

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TOTALS

259 books

70,396 pages

 

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SHORTEST BOOK                                                                             LONGEST BOOK

28 pages                                                                                              559 pages

Tempted By A Kiss                                                                          Grey

by Anna Durand                                                                               by E.L. James

AVERAGE LENGTH

310 pages

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MOST POPULAR

733,731

people also read

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins

LEAST POPULAR

1 person also read

Tempted By A Kiss

by Anna Durand

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MY AVERAGE RATING FOR 2015: 4.4 Stars

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HIGHEST RATED ON GOODREADS

Tempted By A Kiss

by Anna Durand

5.00 average

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MY 2015 BOOKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You read 259 out of 200 books.

130%

Congratulations! You’re really good at reading, and probably a lot of other things, too!

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So that was my year according to Goodreads. What did I learn going back through all of the books I read this year? I read a lot of books whose covers had shirtless men with cut abs on them. I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed about that or not?!?!

Happy 2016!!!

 

 

 

 

  

WP’s 2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,500 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Review: A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

A Different Blue

Author: Amy Harmon

Publication Date: March 25, 2013

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Genre: New Adult

Goodreads Synopsis:

Blue Echohawk doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn’t attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don’t know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can’t love you back might be impossible.

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5 / 5 Stars

 

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I borrowed A Different Blue from the library without reading the book description. I simply wanted to read another book by Amy Harmon. I’m happy I didn’t because I might not have read it.

I’m not much for student-teacher relationships. They’re one of those taboo relationships that kind of gets to me. It’s easier to understand when it’s a younger teacher and a high school student, but there’s just some lines that shouldn’t be crossed and I believe this is one of them. Maybe it’s becoming a parent. Maybe it’s knowing how many lives would be ruined in the aftermath. Maybe I’ve heard way too much of the Mary Kay Letourneau story (my mom was a teacher in the district when/where it happened). It’s just a relationship I can’t stomach.

But, like I said, I’m glad I didn’t look at the description. I would have missed out on a great book because this wasn’t a student-teacher affair story. While the story begins while Blue is in high school, it jumps time. Blue and Wilson’s friendship may have began while she was in high school, but any romantic feelings were left for the future. This was the inspirational story of a broken young woman coming to terms with what life threw at her and who she really was.

Nineteen-year-old high school senior Blue knows what everyone thinks of her. She’s a mean slut. But Blue doesn’t care. She doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.

Her mother abandoned her when she was two. She doesn’t even know who she really is. Her “father” died several years later, leaving his sister to care for Blue. There’s no one that truly cares what happens to her. Well, except maybe for the new history teacher–the young British teacher all of the girls except Blue are hot for. And Mr. Wilson probably just wants her to graduate so he doesn’t have to deal with her anymore.

As the school year goes by, history quickly becomes Blue’s favorite class. The more she learns about history, the more she begins to discover about herself. But just when Blue thinks she knows where her life should be headed after high school, life throws a wrench in her plans.

Blue’s stuck turning to the one person she’s been fighting the entire year, Wilson. She suddenly gets why all those girls have been giggling all year.His friendship will help Blue make it through the year, but her crush on him might just ruin her.

Oh, this book. It almost had me in tears so many times. As inspirational as the story was, it was so hard to see Blue struggle. She was so lost as a person due to her past and just when she would start to figure things out, something big would change her course. I kept hoping for some happiness and hope for her, but it seemed always just beyond her grasp. I wasn’t sure how she would ever be who she wanted to be.

I adored Wilson and the way he tried to help Blue. He frustrated me at times, but the way he cared for her was so sweet.

I would highly recommend A Different Blue to NA readers who love inspiring novels. It has a great message and a sweet, slow-burning romance.

WWW Wednesday: December 30, 2015

Welcome to the last WWW Wednesday of 2015! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at Should be Reading but is now hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

So here we go…

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Currently reading:

I read The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott a couple of weeks ago (My review is here.). I’m starting it’s sequel, The Aftermath, today. I know it’s going to be amazing!

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Recently finished:

The beginning of last week was super busy for me with the Christmas holiday. I was grocery shopping, baking, cleaning, grocery shopping, baking, cleaning. It was never ending I tell ya! So, I didn’t get as much reading done as I would have liked. I did get to read A Different Blue by Amy Harmon. I love her books. If you haven’t read one, you should really check one out. My review for it posts today and can be found here.

The day after Christmas I was being lazy relaxing and read All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder. I’ll be posting my review for it Friday. Then, I read one of the books I got for Christmas The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick. That review will post some time next week.

Last but not least, I just finished Nuts last night. So funny…

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Reading Next:

I’m finally going to read one of Patrick Ness’ books! I’m so excited! I have seen so many great reviews for all of his books. I can’t wait to get started on A Monster Calls!

I was super excited to find Yes, My Accent is Real…and Some Other Things I Haven’t Told You under the tree last week. I love The Big Bang Theory and watching interviews Kunal Nayyar gives. He’s so funny! I can’t wait to start it!

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What are you reading next?

2015 End of Year Book Survey

I’ve seen a few blogger friends complete The Perpetual Page-Turner’s 2015 End of Year Book Survey and I thought it would be a fun thing to do before 2015 ends. I am apologizing in advance because I know a couple of my favorite books from 2015 are going to take over my survey answers! So, here we go…

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Number Of Books You Read: 258
Number of Re-Reads: 0
Genre You Read The Most From: New Adult

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?

I have two. Well, three really.

Bright Side by Kim Holden

Nine Minutes & Out of Time by Beth Flynn

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Too. Much. Hype.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

 

Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn. I had no idea I would love this book so much. I thought it would be too disturbing, but it wasn’t.

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Yes, again. Everyone I told to read this that did was hooked.

 5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?

Series started: Nine Minutes  & Bright Side (again!)

Best Sequel: Out of Time (Nine Minutes #2 — Are you seeing a trend?)

Best Series Ender of 2015: Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness #2) by Claire Contreras

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?

One? Here are a few of them:

Sarina Bowen

Claire Contreras

Beth Flynn

Amy Harmon

Kim Holden

Elle Kennedy

Ali Novak

Ginger Scott

Kasie West

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I’m not really a fantasy person, but I loved Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

 

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Seriously, people. Read this series.

 9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

I don’t re-read much but I will be re-reading Nine Minutes & Out of Time by Beth Flynn before the third book in the series comes out. I need the twists and turns to be fresh in my mind.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?

The Sugar Skulls cover is even more beautiful in person. The colors really pop.

11. Most memorable character of 2015?

Kate from Bright Side. I think about her all of the time. I try to apply her philosophy to my life now.

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?

Honestly, I could have picked any of the books I read by Amy Harmon. Her writing is beautiful and each book has a special message. I chose Infinity + One because it’s the first book I read of hers and it started my love affair with her novels.

And it’s Bright Side again. I can’t help it. So beautiful.

 

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?

Did you see this coming? It was almost as thought-provoking as Me Before You by Jojo Moyes for me. Bright Side was definitely the most life-changing book I read this year.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read? 

Why did I wait so long to read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver?

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

“The Easter Bunny could have come down the chimney armed with machine guns and opened fire on the house, and everyone would have been less surprised.”

-Kelly Oram, Cinder & Ella

I have a ton of favorites. They’ve been posted on the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenges and a Top Ten Tuesday post. I just chose this one randomly because it was fun.

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?

Shortest: Tempted by a Kiss by Anna Durand (28 pages)

Longest: Grey by E.L. James (559 pages)

 

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Yes, these two again. The twists were insane. Oh, and…

My husband thought I was nuts because I yelled, “OH, $h!t!” at the end of The Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick.

 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

Tyson Preeter and Cass Owens from You and Everything After.

 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

I love the friendships between all of the characters from Jay McLean’s More Than series.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Sound of Glass by Karen White

 

21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

You have my Goodreads Young Adult Contemporary Group buddy readers to thank for these two books hogging most of the questions on this survey.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?

Uh…I’m horrible at the whole book boyfriend thing. I love a bunch of different male characters. I guess if I had to pick one for the year, I would probably pick Gus from Bright Side.

23. Best 2015 debut you read?

I loved Catherine Doyle’s Vendetta. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

All of Kasie West’s books are fun to read, but I especially loved On the Fence.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?

Oh, man. I think I cried for the last 1/3 of this book. My husband was so concerned he asked if I should stop reading it.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Yep.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The characters in Stephanie Kuehn’s Delicate Monsters did it. I can’t even explain it.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?

 

I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like Marcus Sedgwick’s The Ghosts of Heaven. It was mind blowing to me.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. The MC’s decisions drove me mad.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?

I dislike this question. It’s my first half a year of blogging and I have loved all of the bloggers I have met so far. I hate singling anyone out or hurting anyone’s feelings by not including them. So know that I love and appreciate you all! Your blogs are all amazing!

I am going to give a nod to the first four bloggers I met when I started because they made me feel welcome and included right off the bat:

Kelly @ Here’s to Happy Endings

Sky @ Bookish Night

Erika @ Erika in Bookventureland

Giselle @ Hardwork Boulevard

And I can’t leave out a couple of guys I met along the way whose humor, wit and male point of view I have appreciated:

Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts

Jesse @ Books at Dawn

But really, I could have listed everyone I follow. I appreciate you all!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?

I can’t choose one!

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

Confession: I Read Too Much and I Don’t Care

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I love The Broke and the Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday. It’s so much fun reading everyone’s lists weekly.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?

Starting my blog and meeting all of the awesome bloggers out there!

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Not letting it consume me and all of my time.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Well, beside my home page and about, it was my Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books That Would Be On My Syllabus If I Taught New Adult 101.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Any of them, I guess. They’re all posts I put time into.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Bookbub! The daily deals emails kill me. I have gotten so many great books for free or cheaper thanks to Bookbub.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

Yes, I reached and surpassed my Goodreads goal for 2015.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?

 

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?

I’m awaiting a ton of books but The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, Never Never Part 3 by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, and Nine Minutes #3 by Beth Flynn come to mind immediately.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?

 

Same answer as #2. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, Never Never Part 3 by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, and Nine Minutes #3 by Beth Flynn.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?

I want to read the books I already have on my Kindle. They’re stacking up way too fast!

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016. Here are the releases that I can’t wait for this upcoming year.

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1. Nine Minutes #3 by Beth Flynn

There’s no title, book cover or blurb yet for the third book in this amazing series, but here’s a picture from Beth Flynn’s Twitter account for a photo shoot for the album cover.

Grizz, I mean @lasselom took a break from the Nine Minutes Book 3 cover shoot to sign some bandannas. Who wants one? pic.twitter.com/KjzLPiSMl9

— Beth Flynn (@AuthorBethFlynn) November 7, 2015

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2. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

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3. Never Never Part 3 by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

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4. The Score (Off-Campus #3) by Elle Kennedy

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5. Appealed (The Legal Briefs #3) by Emma Chase

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6. P.S. I Like You by Kasie West

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7. Just Kiss Me by Rachel Gibson

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8. It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Yet another book without a cover or description, but I don’t care! CoHo writes it, I read it. The less I know, the better actually.

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9. Under the Lights (The Field Party # 2) by Abbi Glines

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10. Kick Back (Kick Lannigan #2) by Chelsea Cain

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Are you waiting for any of these, too? What books are on your 2016 wish list?

Review: The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott

The Hurricane (The Hurricane #1)

Author: R.J. Prescott

Publication Date: February 16, 2015

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Goodreads Synopsis:

Emily McCarthy is living in fear of a dark and dangerous past. A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree.

Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of an old boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.

Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell is cut, tattooed and dangerous. He is a lethal weapon with no safety and everyone is waiting for the misfire. He’s never been knocked out before, but when he meets Em he falls, HARD. Unlike any other girl he’s ever met, she doesn’t want anything from him. Just being around her makes him want to be a better person.

They are polar opposites who were never meant to find each other, but some things are just worth the fight.

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5 / 5 Stars

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In The Hurricane, college student Emily is on the run from her past. She keeps her head down and to herself. She thought it was what she needed to do, but lately Emily’s began to feel a little lonely.

Then one day fighter Cormac O’Connell walks into her diner. When he sits down next to her favorite customer, Emily can’t help but be intimidated by the hulking guy. Not only is he huge, but he’s the hottest guy she’s ever seen. There’s no way he’ll ever notice a shy, plain waitress like her.

But Cormac O’Connell is definitely into her. He’s so into Emily that he makes it his mission to become her friend — and a whole lot more.

The Hurricane sucked me in from the beginning. Not only was it a NA romance, but it was a story of survival and determination for both Emily and O’Connell. I was pleasantly surprised that there was even a little suspense and thrill to this story. I didn’t want to put this book down.

Emily was sheltered and afraid of everything, but she also had strength. I admired her ability to move on with her life. O’Connell was very rough around the edges, but he had a sweetness to him that made me swoon. They were so cute together! I loved watching them fight for each other and their love. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Readers who enjoy New Adult romances about fighters are sure to love this one. Also, keep an eye out for my upcoming review of the sequel to The Hurricane, The Aftermath.

Review: By Degrees by Elle Casey

By Degrees

Author: Elle Casey

Publication Date: August 4, 2014

Publisher: Elle Casey

Genre: New Adult Romance

Goodreads Synopsis:

Celebrities all suffer from the same disease. I call it the create-your-own-reality disease. Most of them start out normal, like you and me, but somewhere along the way they lose sight of up and down, left and right, and then eventually right and wrong. It’s my job to fix that.

Who hires me, Scarlett Barnes, otherwise known as ‘The Normalizer’? Agents usually. Producers sometimes. They know they can trust me to be professional, discreet, and above all, not personally involved with my clients. I come in, I take over their lives, and I get them back on track. Help them remember what it’s like to be an average Joe.

My latest job acquisition? His friends call him Tear-It-Up Kilgour, but I just call him Tarin – lead singer and guitarist for the band By Degrees. I have thirty days to get his butt back on planet earth before he loses his record deal, his movie contract, and possibly even his life. I’ve never failed so far, and I don’t plan on failing this time either, even if Tarin has other ideas.

Content Warning: This is a New Adult Romance, perhaps not suitable for younger readers due to foul language, sexual situations, drug use, and obnoxious rock-n-roll musicians.

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5 / 5 Stars

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 By Degrees is the story of a young woman who lost her one true love to fame and has now made it her mission to save others from the same fate.

When Scarlett is hired to rein in out of control superstar Tarin, she gets more than she bargained for. I loved Scarlett’s no nonsense approach to her clients. Her hard exterior was fun to read — especially when it started to crack from Tarin’s advances. As much as she tried to stay all business, Tarin began to creep into her personal life.

 Tarin was exactly what you would expect from out of control rock star with a guilty conscience. I would have been just as annoyed as Scarlett dealing with him, but he made for a very interesting story. I loved the way he relentlessly pursued her and pushed her buttons.

Tarin may have been a jerk on a path of destruction, but Scarlett quickly discoved there’s more to the man than she thought. Their lives were connected in ways she never imagined. Some of those ways were good and others would change Scarlett’s perspective forever. It would be up to Scarlett to decide if she can let go of the past and have a future with Tarin.

By Degrees captured my interest from the Prologue and never once lost it. I loved that it was a take on the NA rock star romance that I had never read before. This fast-paced love story made me laugh so many times. Even when the characters were self-destructing, it was fun to read. I absolutely loved By Degrees. I would highly suggest it to New Adult romance readers.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve & Christmas to all of my book blog friends and followers out there! And if you’re not celebrating Christmas, I wish you the happiest of whatever holiday you’re celebrating! 🙂 I hope you received all of the books your heart desired.

Deanna

Predict My Life in Books Tag

Thank you to The Orang-utan Librarian for tagging me to complete the Predict My Life in Books Tag. This one looks like a lot of fun and I’m excited to do it. So thank you! 🙂

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1. Soulmate

This is so hard for me! I don’t know if I truly have any book “boyfriends”. Or maybe I have too many of them. I don’t know. For the sake of the tag, I’m going to pick Gus from Bright Side.

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2. How You’ll Meet

Since Gus is a rock star, we’ll meet when he’s on a tour stop in Seattle.

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3. Where You’ll Meet

At Starbucks, duh. There’s like one on every corner here.

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4. Job

Since he’s already a rocker, I become his muse. Or I could be his tour manager. Or maybe a roadie. Or I could be one of those girls that follows the band from city to city. So many choices…

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5. Final Story – Create a story to fill in the gaps in your story (how many kids you’ll have if any, how you die, etc. You can still reference books for this part).

Hmm…Well, we meet at Starbucks and Gus asks me on a date. We spend an amazing day together and he asks me to come on tour with him. I say I can’t because I’m not a freeloader. He offers me a job as the assistant tour manager, so I go with him. We travel the world while he makes music and then we return to his hometown of San Diego. We winter there and summer in Seattle. We have a couple of kids and they’re named Kate and Gus, Jr. We live to be 95 and die holding hands minutes apart.

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That was fun! But why do I just feel like I cheated on my husband? Lol. Hope you enjoyed my little story.

I tag:

Amy @ Curiouser and Curioser

Claire @ Art and Soul

Jesse @ Books at Dawn

Joey @ Thoughts and Afterthoughts

and anyone else that want to join in!