{Birthday Blogaversary Bash} The One Who Talks and Gives Away Things [CLOSED]

Wow. Today marks one year of blogging. ONE YEAR. It's a bit surprising that I've lasted this long with it, really. I had my other blog for about a year as well (what? You didn't know I was the HairNinja?), but I had pretty much quit months before. So the fact that this one is still going, and I have plans to keep it that way in the foreseeable future, is a big deal. There have been ups and downs, but in the end, I have absolutely loved every moment of this blogging experience and I wouldn't trade it.

So let's just talk about the past year, shall we? For those of you who didn't know, I started out with a co-blogger. Yep, that's right. Her name is Dallas, she's my very best friend, and...she ditched me. Understandable, considering we were transitioning into college, and she just didn't have time for it in her life. But then I had to learn how to balance this blog by myself and college and being adult all at the same time.

So, I'm going to share a few things I've learned over the past year. Bear with me, will ya?

It's your blog--do what you want
That is not meant in an arrogant way at all. What I mean by that is, only you can do YOU. You don't have to look at other people, other blogs, other stats. I know I'm not the only one who feels like this. Don't feel pressured to post every day, to post only reviews, to join every meme, etc. Find the best fit for you and for your blog. It took me a while, but I feel like I finally found a rhythm. With school and work, I just can't read and blog as much as I would like to, and I have to be okay with that. I've just found a way to make it work.

It's okay to take a break
Some of you might remember, but back in November, I took a break. Before that, my posts weren't regular, sometimes didn't have the quality I expected out of myself. I was posting things because I felt like I still needed to, instead of just taking the break I needed. But when I finally let myself take a break, I felt so much better. And my posts after I came back were a lot better too. Even now, if I miss a day or week of posting, I have to tell myself that it's okay. In fact, when I've started expecting that it's going to happen the week I have an exam or a huge assignment due, I don't stress out as much.

Make friends!
Ah, this is probably the most important one and the one I've failed at most. Make friends! The blogging community has been so kind and welcoming and just plain awesome. I will admit, I suck at making friends, or just talking to people in general. So if I don't really chat much, it's because I'm not very good at it/don't really know how to. But I am super grateful for the awesome people I have met so far, bloggers and authors alike. I've discovered so many great books/authors I wouldn't have heard about otherwise!

Some notable posts:
Our First Reviews: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare by me; Leviathan by Scott Westerfield by Dallas
Viewer Favorites: Reviews: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan and Jesus > Religion by Jefferson Bethke (kind of surprising)
Viewer Favorites: Short Story Sundays: Son of Sobek by Rick Riordan and Assassin and the Princess/Captain by Sarah J. Maas
Viewer Favorites: Waiting on Wednesday: Isla and the Happily Ever After and Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
My Favorite Reviews: Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
My First Guest Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green on Read.Sleep.Repeat
Notable Guest Posts: Meg Collett talking about writing and Mary Crockett talking about Sherlock
For Fun: A Reading Questionnaire Dallas and I did, and Our Graduation!

Well, that's enough talking. How about I just...GIVE THINGS AWAY! Yes, I think that's a great idea.

I decided go by categories, and give away a favorite in each one. So, the things I'm giving away are...

Look at all the pretties!

Contemporary: Y'all know (or you should by now at least) how much I LOVE The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. And, it just came out in paperback! So, I'll be giving away one of those, and the winner will get to choose which cover they want.

Fantasy: You guys should already know how obsessed I am with the Throne of Glass series. So, one winner will be receiving The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas!!! I am so jealous of whoever wins this. It's SO gorgeous.

Paranormal/Horror/Mystery whatever: I don't really read much in this genre, and I'm not sure what genre this book falls under, but I want to give one away because I love this series so I am so deal with it. One winner will be getting Hollow City by Ransom Riggs! (I got one of my real-life friends into this series, muahaha)

Dystopian: I actually just finished this series, and I loved it so much! One winner will be getting Champion by Marie Lu!

Retelling: Yes, this is a category, deal with it. I LOVE retellings, so it was hard to choose, but I'll be giving away Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen! It's amazing and Robin Hood and Scar and you need this book in your life.

All those prizes are US only because shipping, guys, but I wanted to have prizes for my INT followers as well. So I will be giving away some ebook prizes in categories as well:

For Contemporary, one winner will get BOTH The Romeo Club and Solving for Ex. Because if you haven't seen me flailing over these books, I don't know where you've been.

For Angel books (because that is totes it's own category), one winner can choose Angelfall OR World After 

And for Dystopian, one winner will get BOTH Destroy Me and Fracture Me

So, add these to the prizes already up for grabs in the big blogaversary giveaway, and that makes... 12 winners!! Gracious. That's a lot of winning! 

Some basic housekeeping, because I haven't really mentioned the rules before. The giveaway will run until the end of the month. The first winner chosen will get their pick of the prizes, the second winner will get their pick of what's left, so on. I realize this isn't ideal, especially for the last winners, but it is what it is. This also means, it might take a little while for the winners to be notified.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen
• Please check your SPAM folders
• 13+ or have parent's permission, please
• If your prize is coming from one of the lovely guest reviewers who provided a prize, your address will be shared with them and them only
• We are not responsible for lost packages
• The rest of the rules can be found under Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter

WHEW. Now that I'm done talking, enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway