5 Year Blogaversary!!!!!

Today marks the blog's 5th birthday. Five years ago, I posted my first review on this blog. Previously, I posted a couple reviews on my personal blog but then started this one. I copied and pasted those reviews over here. My first review unique to this blog was posted shortly thereafter. 

Jax joined me after a few months and Steph about 3 years later. We've done individual reviews, dual reviews, and group reviews. I like having company and talking about the books I read. We chat quite a bit on Facebook via messenger about books and authors. 

Mostly we do reviews but we, okay, I, love posting excerpts to share. We also host author guest posts and the occasional interview. I have yet to get Steph to interview an author but I haven't given up! And of course, giveaways! There's even a giveaway at the end of the post. :)

The design has changed over the years, from free Blogger themes to a custom design by Rachel at ParaJunkee. I have no skill for coding so I rely on the kindness of other bloggers when I have a question or encounter a problem. <3 <3 I have begun attempting to do some graphics but my skills are still rudimentary at best.  

As a result of a review I did on the blog, I was offered a job with Astraea Press, now Clean Reads, as a copy editor. I've since branched out and work as a freelance copy editor and proofreader. I also started my own virtual author assistant service, a year ago this month.

I've been a contributor over the years to Book Lovers Inc (now defunct), BookTrib, and most recently, Romance at Random. 

1. The blog hit a million page views (Blogger stats) this week on September 2nd.
2. There are 2,239 published posts, including this one, 4 scheduled posts, and 30 posts in drafts.
3. So far, there are 15,840 published comments, averaging 7 comments per post. 
4. We've published 1,237 reviews, averaging 4.75 a week. Though, some of those review posts reviewed more than 1 book so really, we've reviewed probably around 1,250 books. 
5. Since I started using Stat Counter in November 2011, we've had over 103,000 unique visits.

And of course, all of this is due to all of YOU - the readers, commenters, and visitors. Without all of you, Jax, Steph, and I would be talking into the void. I appreciate all of you and hope you'll continue to enjoy the blog and keep returning.

I have 2 giveaways today, one is US only and the other is international. Both giveaways end Saturday, September 12th at 11:59PM EST.

GIVEAWAY #1 - 

This giveaway is for US residents only. No purchase necessary. VOID where prohibited. Please read my Giveaway Policy and my Privacy Policy. You will need to provide a mailing address for shipping if you are chosen as the winner.

Thanks to Avon Books, I have 2 copies of Playing Dirty by HelenKay Dimon to give away; 2 winners, 1 book each. You must be a US resident to enter this give away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY #2 -

This giveaway is open internationally. No purchase necessary. VOID where prohibited. Please read my Giveaway Policy and my Privacy Policy. You will need to provide a mailing address for shipping if you are chosen as the winner.

I'm giving away one book of the winner's choice, up to $10US, from Book Depository. PLEASE make sure they ship to your country before entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway