Bloglovin' Review!

Hello Everyone! I just found out that Google Follower Connect (GFC) is going away. Well, I didn't just find out....I've just been to lazy to post about it before now. So I would like to invite all of my wonderful followers to start following me on Bloglovin' before Google Followers disappears into the pages of history forever! (Sorry, I just had to be a little dramatic there!) If you are like me, you want to get all the facts before you sign up or switch over to something new, so I thought I would practice my review skills and do a Bloglovin' review, that way you can get all the facts and decide for yourself. Here we go!

First Impression: As the saying goes, The first impression is the one that sticks. Your first impression of Bloglovin' totally depends on what kind of blog posts they are displaying on their front page. Let me warn you, if today was my first day of checking this site out, I probably would not have signed up. : / Hopefully you understand what I mean. So the best thing to do is hurry up and sign up without looking to long at whatever blog posts they are displaying at the time of your arrival. First impression is definitely not a big plus.

Signing Up: The signing up process is definitely easy. No adds or such to deal with.  The best thing to do when you first sign in is to click on the top right hand corner where it shows your username and click "My Blog" from the drop down menu. The instructions for claiming your blog are very clear and easy to do.

Follow Your Blogs: The second thing I would recommend is setting up all the blogs you follow in your account. I started out doing it the hard way...by typing in every blog title and clicking follow. But if you click the drop down menu again and click "following", there should be a button that allows you to sync the blogs you follow on GFC with Bloglovin' which is WAY easier than typing in all the blogs you follow! So the whole setting up process is amazingly easy to do and the instructions are very clear.

The Design: Once you are signed in and all set up, the overall look of your account is very refreshing. It's not crowded and filled with adds. It is also not big and fancy, which is why I like it.....very quiet and refreshing. I give the designing a big thumbs up!

Gadgets: The gadgets they provide and all that fancy extra stuff that us tech. people love is very moderate and useful. I love the way you can split up blogs into groups. It is also very nice how you can type in the name of a certain blog you follow or post name and it will pull it up for you. You can also set up your own profile with your picture and such, so that when people type in your blog they can read all about you and your blog. (If you want that) So far so good.

 Buttons/Counters: Then we come to the buttons. I am extremely displeased with their selection. The first two buttons are just plain awful! (I wont go into any more detail) This leaves one more button. The last button is of the Eiffel Tower. I thought the Eiffel Tower was very cute and the way it flashes made it an "attention grabber", but it being that I am not a big Eiffel Tower type person, it was not fit for my blog.

 

 So that left me with the plain 'ol "Follow this blog with bloglovin'" rectangle.



 The counters that they had were also very plain but at least they had two different colors, unlike the button, so I at least had a choice.




The button and counter selection was highly disappointing to me, so much that I am considering making my own "Follow With Bloglovin'" button.

Updates: Last but not least, Bloglovin' sends you an email every day with all the new posts that have come out from the blogs you follow. I do not really use this much right now since GFC is still available. The only thing I do not prefer about this, is that they only send you one email a day, so whenever another blog publishes a new post, you must go into your Bloglovin' account to view it....or wait until the next day for the next email.  I still like receiving the emails anyway since I will need them when GFC goes away.

So in conclusion to this review, I definitely think the good outweighs the bad and once you sign up you are in for a fun experience. So if you are wanting a more advanced way to follow your blogs I would absolutely recommend Bloglovin'. And please keep in mind, that GFC ends July 1st, (If I am wrong someone please correct me) so you may just have to swap anyway.  I hope y'all have a great day!

So long friends!
     Evangela Grace

Kaleb Herschel--MC Overview

What had only a couple days ago seemed like a normal, beautiful Spring day for the people of Belgium, has now turned into a nightmare. Kaleb Herschel is a 16 year old boy living in Belgium when a horrid black spider takes over his country. At first, it acts as if it is willing to cooperate with them....and perhaps leave them in peace? But when it begins to show its unrelenting, unmerciful power, the Herschel family must try to survive...together. With fathers careful plans and mothers love, the Herschel family prepares to abandon all hopes of the spiders withdrawal and begin preparations to leave their beloved home, but when Kaleb's closest friend ruins their plot, Kaleb finds himself surviving alone in a dark and unforgiving world....and not only in the world, but in his heart. After joining a group of saboteurs who help him to stay alive, he finds himself suddenly in the hands of his enemies, and as he prepares himself for his end, he nearly misses the very opportunity which could not only turn out to be his freedom, but the freedom of his entire country, if not the whole world. But as with every decision, there is a decision behind itself. In Kaleb's case, he must give up what seems like his only defense in the hopes of finding himself free in the end. But what if? What if his captor and only possible means of escape is a set up.....totally fake and meant to drive him into some kind of trap? Why else would his captor share such valuable information with him? Will he risk his life to rescue his family and nation or let the ever suppressant spider, better known as the Swastika of the 3rd Reich, stomp out their very existence? 

So this is a short overview of my MC (Main Character) Kaleb Herschel. Hopefully you all were able to get a little glimpse at the kind of life my MC has. Sadly, I feel this overview does not really hit on his feelings and emotions as much as the tragedy and dilemma Kaleb is facing. I am not quite sure which is better though. Which do you prefer....Emotions and feelings or tragedy and dilemma? Oh...and what do y'all think about the black spider? For those of you who are wondering....yes, I did first hear of that on The Sound of Music but I thought it was sort of mysterious so I added it! 

Alrighty! I hope you all have a super day! 

The Black Spider

For My Sister....

Hi Everyone! I am posting this entry for my sister Gabby who does not have a blog yet. She created this book cover for a contest at Designed To Inspire. Thank you Ruby for letting us enter a little late!  Here is her entry: