Our 5th & 6th Liebster Awards!! :D

Hi everyone!  Rose here.  We've been getting back into blogging after a summer vacation away, and are excited to share a double Liebster Award post with you!

We were nominated for our 5th Liebster award several weeks ago, by Cynde @ Falling For Books!  Much thanks to her for the nomination.

While we were preparing our post for that award, we were nominated again, by Ellen @ Random Smiles!  Thanks to her for the nomination!

So, we decided to join the two, and limit redundant topics and posts.  We are going to answer both sets of questions from our nominators, however we're only going to have one set of random facts, one set of nominees, and one set of questions for our nominated blogs/bloggers to answer.  We love this award, but goodness, 22 facts, 22 blogs to nominate, and 22 questions is a bit of a daunting task! haha

For those of you who haven't heard of the Liebster award, it was created to help recognize new bloggers, and is passed along from blogger to blogger.

You can click here to learn more about this award.

Here are the Rules:

1. Link and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2.  List 11 facts about yourself.

3.  Answer the 11 questions that the person who nominated you asked.

4.  Nominate 9 bloggers with less than 300 followers and leave them a comment letting them know they've been nominated.

5.  Ask 11 new questions for your nominees.

6.  No renominating the blog that nominated you!

So, here we go!!

~ 11 Random Facts About Rose ~

1.) I am married to my best friends.

2.) Some of my hobbies are reading, cooking, writing, making music, and singing.

3.) I am currently a stay-at-home-wife and pet mommy.

4.) I am addicted to Pinterest and Shelfari.

5.) I have very few friends, but the ones I have are true.

6.) I have moved more times than the number of years I've been alive.

7.) I can not live without music.

8.) My favorite genre of books is Young Adult Paranormal.

9.) I have violet eyes.

10.) I love to travel.

11.) I have spent a lot of my life acting, directing, and working on sets for plays and commercials.

~ Questions from Cynde @Falling For Books:

1.) Why do you blog?

As an outlet to share and express the things I wish to critique, rave about, and discuss. 

2.) Why do you love to read?

It's a great escape from life, into a world not my own.  The same reason for why I love acting and music. 

3.) What is your favorite genre?

Young Adult Paranormal/Supernatural.

4.) When did you fall in love with books?

Before I could even read.  I learned to read at age two, because I already loved books, and wanted to know what was inside them :)

5.) Paper back or eBooks?

If I have my choice, I'd rather read a paper back book.  However I have to admit, I tend to read eBooks more often, as they are more convenient and often on sale for free or very inexpensive.

6.) Where do you like to read?

Curled up in my favorite chair, or in a tree/hammock :)

7.) What is your favorite book and why?

I don't have a favorite book.  That's one of the questions I dislike the most, because there are simply too many great books out there, in too many fantastic genres, and I can't pick just one. 

8.) What do you do when you are not reading?

Listen to music/sing; play with my dogs; hang out with my best friends; travel & explore; write in my own books.

9.) What about a book makes you choose it?

Usually the synopsis, genre, or the author.  I often assess the cover as well, and sometimes that does influence whether I read a book or not.  

10.) What is your favorite movie?

Again, there are too many great movies out there to choose from, and too many genres.  Being an actress myself, I'm not able to pick one favorite!

11.) If you were to write a book what would it be?

I am writing several books at the moment, and the majority of them fall into the Young Adult/ New Adult Paranormal genre.

~ Questions from Ellen @Random Smiles:

1) What book would you like to cast for a movie and who would play the lead roles?

Wow, that's a difficult question!  One of the many books I'd love to cast for a movie would be the Taken Trilogy, by Jessica Frances.  I'd cast as follows:

Zoe: Alexis Bledel

Charlie: Alexander Ludwig

Rose: Ashley Greene

William: Tahj Mawry

Blake: Corbin Bleu

Stan: Gary Oldman

Martha: Jaime Pressly

~*~*~

2) What is your favorite reading genre?

I love Young Adult/New Adult Paranormal.

3) Who are your TOP 10 authors?

Not in any particular order:

10) Jason T. Graves
9) Lanie Jordan
8) Jessica Frances
7) J.H. Walker
6) P.T. Michelle
5) Scott Westerfeld
4) Ally Condie
3) Andrea Cremer
2) Sophie Davis
1!!) Blank!  I actively choose to not have a favorite author.

4) What are your TOP 5 books?

Not in any particular order:

5) The Academy Series, by C.L. Stone
4) Rewrite Redemption, by J.H. Walker
3) Talented, by Sophie Davis
2) The Uglies Series, by Scott Westfeld
1) Blank!!  I actively choose not to have a favorite book.

5) What is your favorite children's book?

I don't have a favorite children's book.  I always enjoyed the Nancy Drew series, The Babysitter Club books, and the Animorphs series.  I also really love a book called Scared Stiff - great book to read around Halloween, if you want the bejesus scared out of you!! haha

6) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go to meet an author?

I think it would be a ton of fun to meet authors in France.

7) Where is your go to reading spot?

The love-seat in my living room.  It'll be the hammock we'll have in the back yard, if we ever get one.

8) If you could write your own book; any genre/topic, what would it be about?

I am writing several books at the moment, and they're mostly YA/NA paranormal, with very PG romance background stories.

9) Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate?

I adore hot chocolate in colder weather, but not in the summer.  Hot weather is definitely tea weather :)

10) What is your favorite season of the year?

Winter!!

11) What was the last random thing to put a smile on your face?

A text from my guy :)

~ My Nominees ~

Wandering Meander

Lost In The Pages Of A Book
Read Write All The Time
Booksihly Devoted
My Book Filled Life
Fastidious Reader
Just Reading For Fun...and stuff
Between Paper and Mind
My Book Universe
A Book Paradise
A Secret Reading Garden

~ My Questions For My Nominees: 

What is your blog about?

What kind of books do you enjoy reading the most?

What kind of music do you enjoy?

If you could write a book about anything, what would it be about?

Where is your favorite place to get comfy and read?

Do you like to eat/drink anything while you read?  If so, what?

What book/series are you looking forward to the most?

What is your favorite book-turned-movie?

What book would you love to see made into a movie?

Who would you cast for the above movie, if it were up to you?

Just for fun: are you doing anything for Halloween?

Thanks again to my nominators, and congrats to our nominees!  Hope you all have fun! :D

Ciao for now!

Our Fourth Liebster Award! :D

Wow!  So I was nominated for a fourth Liebster Award this week- awesome!  *does a happy dance*  I don't care so much about awards, but it's great to know people like my blog, and I love answering the questions!  Yes, I'm a nerd...*shrugs* :)

I was nominated by Tina Marie @ Tina Marie Says- thanks so much sweetie! :D

Ok, so this award post has some different rules (actually, just an added rule, but whatevs).  The rules for accepting this award are:

~Link back to the blog that nominated you.

~Answer the questions they set for the blogs they nominated.

~Nominate 10 blogs of your own & let them know with a link to your post.

~Ask 10 questions for the blogs you nominate to answer in their post.

~*New! Share a couple random facts about yourself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~My Questions Set By Tina Marie:

1. Any new and exciting things happening in your life that you would like to share?

Actually, I do!  My blog has expanded recently, and become not only a blog for tour hosting, but it's own tour service!  What's cool though, is we tour not only books, but music and art as well.  We're getting off the ground at the moment, and are looking forward to our first book tour, which starts tomorrow!  Eeep! :D

2. Do you have children?

Nope!  Can't have them, and I'm good with that :)

3. Do you have any pets?

Many!  Dogs, cats, turtles, and some strays that stick around for some extra love ;)

4. Are you finished with your Christmas shopping, and did you purchase any books as Christmas gifts? 

Yep, finished with Christmas shopping.  I did get a few books as gifts!  They're the best thing to give as gifts, I think :)

5. Do you follow any long time holiday traditions?

Not really.  We do something different every year, depending on where we're living that year.

6. Do you like the winter season?

I LOVE the winter season!  I love being cold, and snuggling up with a book, hot chocolate, and one of my furry critters :)  Plus the snow, and the clouds, just everything is so much prettier during the winter.

7. Are you an avid reader?

Oh yeah...have been since I was 2 :)

8. What kind of books do you like to read?

Anything really, as long as it's not erotic.  I don't mind tasteful romance, but I don't like reading scenes that are meant to be behind closed doors.  Most anything else though, fiction or non, I'll read and enjoy.  I like YA Paranormal and Supernatural the most, I think. :)

9. Do you review books after you read them, and how long do you wait before you review them?

I always review after reading.  I have to write the review right after I finish reading, otherwise I can't move on.  I have a photographic memory, and getting my thoughts out in a review is the best way for me to put what I've read away, so I can move on to another book :)

10. Name one of the books you have read this year that has stayed with you, that you still think about.

Wow, that's a really hard question!  I've read so many great books this year- I think any of the books I've rated 4 or 5 roses (stars) have stuck with me.  All of them have though, really.  Books never really leave me, they just become a part of me :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~A Few Fun Random Facts About Me:

~I have violet eyes

~I generally wear about 14 rings, and have 7 ear-piercings (soon to be 8, maybe 10).  I don't wear them in a gaudy way- I just adore jewelry, and they're all completely special and sentimental to me :)

~I'm completely eccentric and bohemian- you know Pheobe from Friends?  Think her, brunette and short...at least, that's what people tell me :)

~I've moved more times than the number of years I've been alive.

~I'm married to my best friend, and he's my prince :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Blogs I Nominate:

1.  Emma Taylor @ Confessions Of A Book-worm

2.  Katie @ An Amateur's Library

3.  Michelle @ Michelle Congdon

4. Ashley @ Memories in a Box

5.  The Bearded Scribe

 6.  Jannat @ Living An Eternal Fairytale

7.  Emilyann @ Anything Imagined

8.  Ashley @ Ashley's Book Corner

9.  Alex @ Fastidious Reader

10.  Amie @ Magic of Words

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~10 Questions for My Nominees:

1.  What's your blog about?

2.  What do you do for fun?

3.  What's your fav kind of music/band/song?

4.  What's your fav book (or top 5, if you can't pick just one ;)?

5.  Are you doing anything special for Christmas?

6.  Do you enjoy the winter season?

7.  Best memory from this year?

8.  Any New Years resolutions?

9.  Anything exciting happening in your life at the moment?

10.  Book you're looking forward to reading next year?

~*~

Congrats guys- hope you accept your award, and have fun!! :D

Thanks again Tina Marie- this was fun! :D

Third Liebster Award!

Desert Rose Reviews was nominated for another Liebster Award recently, making it our third!!  Thanks so much to Amanda Bartolini @Fangirls Of Fiction- I'm honored! :)

I used a different Liebster Award logo in my other award post, but just had to copy this one from Amanda's post- it's so cute!!

I had done research for the previous award post on what the Liebster award is (see that post here), and I found that it's basically a fun way to recognize and support up-and-coming bloggers and new blogs with an award.  Generally the blogs that are nominated have fewer that 200 followers, and need support.

~ Rules For Accepting The Award ~

~Link back to the blog that nominated you.

~Answer the questions they set for the blogs they nominated.

~Nominate 10 blogs of your own, and be sure to let them know, with a link to your post!

~Ask 10 questions for the blogs you nominate to answer in their post.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~ Questions Set By Fangirls Of Fiction ~

1.) What was the first book that made you realize you loved reading?

Probably If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, or Harold and the Purple Crayon.

2.) If you can live in one book for a day, what would it be?

Ooo, hard question!  That list is sooooo long...I guess the one I'd pick at the moment, would be a tie between Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer, and Firelight, by Sophie Jordan

3.) Who are your top five fictional boyfriends?

I was asked this for one of my other Liebster Awards, and the answer is the same: "Haha well, sorry to disappoint, but I don't have book boyfriends. I pick one guy I think the girl would work with better when there's a love triangle with two guys, but I don't do the whole "book boyfriend" thing.  I did when I was younger, but I'm happily married now, and I haven't found a guy in a book that compares to what I've got in real life :)"

4.) Who is your favorite author and why?

Ah, yes, fav author.  Honestly, I really dislike this question :/  I don't have a fav author- there are way too many authors out there for me to pick just one.  I have "Top 10" lists based on genres, such as "Classics" or "Romance" or "YA Paranormal" and such, but that would be a pretty long answer.

5.) Favorite book of 2013?

Yet another question I dislike answering.  There have been so many great books this year!!  Top 5 would be:
~Morning Stars by Jason T. Graves; 
~The Ambrose Beacon, by Alena Gouveia; 
~Holding On and Letting Go, by Lucy Kelly; 
~The Dreamwalker, by Lillian Bishop & Constance Williams;   
~City of the Gods, by S.J. McMillan

6.) What book are you most excited to read in 2014?

Several sequels to books and series I've read this year- again though, I don't have a top book :P

7.) What female character is most like you and why?

Ooo good question!  I still haven't found one that's a totally close fit, but I think I'm a mix of several characters. Such as, Jade from The Breed Chronicles, Calla from the Nighshade series, Samantha from Prophecy Girl, A.J. from Rewrite Redemption, and Nara from The Brightest Kind of Darkness series. 

8.) What is your favorite movie adaption of a book?

I know it's probably the most used answer of all time, but it's a tie between the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films, and the Harry Potter series.  They're just so entertaining!! :D

9.) If you could be one character from a book for a day, who would it be and why?

I'd love to be Jacinda, from Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.  It would be amazing to experience life as a dragon/draki.  The ability to fly, shape-shift, and breath fire for a day- that would be pretty awesome :)

10.) If you ever wrote a book, what would it be about?

Actually, I have started several books, and they're all in the YA Paranormal genre.  One is about aliens, another is about shape-shifters, and another is still getting worked out, but will be quite an adventure when it's finished :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~ My Nominations ~

Jen @Ebony Ink Reviews

All the gals @Almost Faemous

Adrienne Reiter @Adrienne Reiter's Blog

Rosa @Bajan Rosa Books

Julia Barrett @Adventitious Reading

Liv @ Lived One Thousand Lives

Margaret @Literary Chanteuse

JoAnne McMaster @Any Good Book

Tanya @A Book Paradise

Elizabeth @Afternoon Book Party

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~ Questions for My Nominees ~

1. How long have you been blogging?

2. What kind of stuff to you post about?

3.  What's your favorite book?

4. What's your favorite movie adaptation of a book?

5.  If you could travel to any book land, where would you go?

6.  What book character is most like you, and why?

7.  What made you want to start blogging?

8. What's your favorite kind of music?

9.  Who's your favorite band/artist?

10. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I hope you all except the award, and have a ton of fun!!

Ciao!

First Two Liebster Awards!!

Wow, so I was nominated for two blog awards in the last few weeks.  Mainly feeling surprised and humbled- thank you so much to the gals @The Indigo Quill, and to Monique @Mo Books!  I'm flattered you'd nominate Desert Rose Reviews for an award :)

This prompted me to do a little research on it though, since I'd never heard of the Liebster award.  Thanks to the research work of Sopphey @Sopphey Says, I got some answers.  You can read what she found here: http://sopphey.onimpression.com/2012/05/liebster-blog-award-origins.html.

Basically, just a fun award to recognize and support new up-and-coming bloggers- pretty neat :)  I also found that Liebster means ‘dearest’ in German.

~ The Rules For Accepting This Award ~

- Link back the blogger that tagged you.

- Answer the questions of the one who tagged you.

- Nominate ten other blogs/bloggers.

- Ask ten questions for the bloggers you nominate.

- Let your nominees know of their awards and tag backs.

~ My Question Set, by @The Indigo Quill ~

1. What is your favorite genre and why?

~I generally tend to favor YA, particularly paranormal and supernatural.  For me, reading is an escape from reality- the chance to experience living another life, for a while.  Paranormal and supernatural stories tend to be the best and most exciting escapes :)

2. How long have you been book blogging?

~I started this blog in the beginning of May, 2013.  I guess that puts this blog at a little over 4 1/2 months old.

3. What is the one book you think everyone needs to read? Why?

~One book?  I don't think there's any one book that everyone needs to read.  However, authors are another matter.  I think life is incredibly dull without including the incredible works of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Charles Dickens, to name a few.  Basically any of the classics.

4. Hardcover, paperback, or eBook?

~Hardcover.  I have a lot of eBooks and paperbacks, but I adore hardcover books.

5. Who has been your blogger-inspiration?

~I know it probably sounds pretty bad, but I don't have one.  I get inspiration from a lot of different places, but no one place in particular.  I suppose any blog I follow has probably been some sort inspiration for me.

6. Name 3 things you enjoy doing other than reading.

~Singing, cooking and spending time with my family.

7. If you could own an entire series, which one would it be?

~I already own most of the series I'd dream of having, haha.

8. Coffee, tea, or something else while reading?

~Tea, water or Mt. Dew

9. What is your favorite movie adaptation of a book?

~Ooo, hard question, b/c I don't like most movie adaptations of books.  I guess the best would be the overall Lord of the Ring series or the Hobbit, which is probably the most used answer ever, but there you go.

10. Which book are you looking forward to coming out in the near future?

~I honestly can't think of any that are coming out in the near future. Most of the books I'm looking forward to are sequels to books I've recently read, and won't be published til next year.

~ My Questions, set by @Mo Books ~

1. What are you currently reading?

~ Nothing at the moment- I just finished a book for review, and am spending the day working on the blog and other hobbies.

2. What is your favorite book(s) of all time?

~ I can't say I really have one.  I have a top 10 list, and most of those are YA paranormal. 

3. How did you come up with your blog's name?

~ "Desert Rose Reviews" is a metaphor for me and my life.  It has several hidden meanings in the name, that only me and a few others get, and it's also an anagram :)

4. Who are your top 3 book boyfriends?

~ Haha well, sorry to disappoint, but I don't have book boyfriends.  I pick one guy I think the girl would work with better when there's a love triangle with two guys, but I don't do the whole "book boyfriend" thing.  I did when I was younger, but I'm happily married now, and I haven't found a guy in a book that compares to what I've got in real life :)

5. Do you have a favorite book quote?

~ Many.

6. Do you have any of your own personal memes on you blog?

~ Haha in all honesty, I'm still trying to figure out the whole meme thing- still haven't gotten into those yet, so I guess the answer is no.

7. If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be?

~ Oh wow, that's a long list.  I guess I'd adore meeting William Shakespeare, or Geoffrey Chaucer.

8.  Have any bookish pet peeves?

~ It irritates me when people toss books around, or treat them dis-respectfully.  I also don't like books that aren't written well, but still published...books should be handled with care and respect in both writing and reading.

9. What are your favorite genres?

~ YA, paranormal, supernatural, fantasy, sweet/blush romance (nothing that should be kept behind closed doors), dystopian, steampunk...just about anything fiction, that isn't erotic.

10. If you could be a character from any book, travel to any world, who would you be? Where would you go? And (again from any book) who would you bring with you?

~ If I could travel to any world, I'd probably travel to Middle Earth (Lord of the Rings) and I'd be happy to bring any of the heroes from that story.  Same with Harry Potter, although not quite as much.  I don't think I'd want to be a character from any book- I'd want to create a character based on me :)

~ My Nominations ~

Paperback Wonderland

Wag the Dog

This is the Story of My (Reading) Life

Becca Anne's Book Reviews

Writing Under Falling Blossoms

Lost In Wonderland

Blue Eyed Book Reviews

Enchanted By A Book

Diane's Book Blog

I Read Ergo I Write

~ Questions for the bloggers I tagged ~

1. What inspired you to create your blog?
2. How long have you been blogging?
3. What is your favorite book genre?
4. Do you have a favorite book?  If so, what is it?
5. Do you have a favorite author?  If so, who?
6. Do you have a favorite book character?  If so, who/what?
7. Do you remember the book that sparked your love of books?  If so, what book was it?
8. What is your favorite film adaptation of a book?
9. Hardcover, paperback or eBook?
10. What are 3 things you enjoy doing, besides reading or blogging?

Congrats and have fun! Don't forget to read the rules before re-posting! :)