I am super excited to be a stop on the tour for EASY by Tammara Webber. I knew when I first spotted this book that I would love it and it is truly one of my all-time favorite books. It didn't surprise me at all to hear that it was picked up by Penguin. If you are interested in a New Adult title, you gotta pick this one up!
Tammara Webber’s TOP 5 YA Novels:
The Truth About Forever
Please Ignore Vera Dietz
If I Stay/Where She Went
Lea ving Paradise
Graceling
Easy by Tammara Webber Publisher: Berkley Trade (November 6th, 2012) Reading Level: New Adult Paperback: 310 pages Rescued by a stranger. Haunted by a secret Sometimes, love isn’t easy… He always saw her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…
The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.
Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.
Prize:
1 winner will receive a paperback copy of EASY.
Rules:
You must be at least 13 to enter.
Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
Contest is US Only and ends November 16th.
Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
The form must be filled out to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
B arnes & N oble | A mazon | I ndiebound
Next Tour Stop Monday, November 5th — GONE WITH WORDS blog (http://www.gonewiththewords.com/)
So when I made my "melting snowmen" cookies this weekend, I also attempted these Andes Mint Cookies (Pinterest Link) .
In comparison to the snowmen cookies, I thought these guys would be the easy ones. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Again, the original recipe calls for ingredients that I (mostly) had lying around in the pantry:
1 cup unsalted butter — softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
49 Andes Créme de Menthe Thins
Although I definitely did not make 49. First of all, maybe it's just for the uncreative, but the dough wasn't easy to work with. My cookies in NO way turned out "pillowed" (like the recipe says) and the pizza cutter thing did not work (at all). I basically ended up improvising and taking some dough, flattening it out, putting the Andes Mint on it, and then taking more dough and squishing it together. The end effect is not aesthetically pleasing:
While I am impressed with the golden browness of my cookie, the overall effect was that there was a little bit of mint in an otherwise bland cookie. This was not as easy as it looks and took more time than the super cute Snowmen Cookies and even though these cookies are easy to transport — I'm going to have to call this one a Thanks, but No Thanks as a Final Verdict. Also, Pinterest Update: Remember when I made that Christmas Card Wreath and I was undecided? I'm going to have to with BUST. It's not pretty by itself and it's completely chaotic with actual cards on it. I'm okay with a little chaos — but this is too much for me. There's also not enough space for all the cards I've received.
Yes, I'm still grading papers. Thanks for thinking of me.
Everneath by Brodi Ashton Publisher: Harper/Balzer + Bray (January 21st, 2012) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 370 pages Source: Publisher Series: Everneath #1 Rating: 4 of 5 stars Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.
She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.
As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's… Review: I gotta say, Brodi Ashton sure knows how to put a new twist on an ancient Greek myth. I've never been the biggest fan of these retellings but this is way up on the list for my favorites I've read. When we meet Nikki she has been in the Everneath for 6 months (our time) but much longer than that in her reality. She had let heartbreak and sorrow lead her down a path and pointed straight at Cole — the new rock star with a few special abilities. Cole was able to give Nikki what she needed at the time and she made the decision to follow him.
Now Nikki is back, sort of. She doesn't feel completely normal and her friends have no idea what she has went through. She just wants a chance to make it okay before she is forced back into that world. Mostly, she wants to do the right thing for Jack, the guy she was dating when she went under.
The beginning of this story was a little confusing for me but that was part of the reason I kept reading. I'm new to these myths so I was interesting to see where everything fit. Nikki struggled to find her place and the only person who understood what was going on with her was Cole. At first I didn't feel really connected with Nikki. I wanted to really grasp why she had fought so hard to be back on the Surface but I didn't at first. The details came later and I felt much more connected with her as the story progressed.
One thing I really liked about the story was the way it was structured. We get to see Nikki as she progresses through her 6 months on the Surface, but we also get to see the time she spent before she went to the Everneath. By the end we have a much clearer picture of what happened and why so many people seem hurt by the situation. Jack was the one who went through the most and he really grabbed my heart. Who wouldn't want a guy like that? Jack was just so kind and mature, and it was so easy to see how he felt for Nikki. There were no games involved-- he just loved her!
It's easy to think that you could and should just hate Cole. He's the bad guy, right? But oh no, I didn't hate him. I felt so bad for him. Darn you Brodi for making him so enticing!! I really felt I understood Cole's actions. He was just doing what he was supposed to do and he didn't plan anything like what had happened with Nikki, not really. He's really a fun character because he has so many"sides".
Brodi did a fabulous job with this modern retelling. The story was easy to follow and the characters really made the story shine. Even without a ton of action, I never had a problem keeping focus on this story. The mystery behind it and the history among the characters was too fascinating for me to even think about putting the book down. Everneath was a surprising read for me and one I that kept me highly entertained. I'm excited to see what happens with this series. Brodi Ashton has created a fabulous debut novel!
Recommended: Greek Mythology fans or fans of the paranormal. Very good read for young teens.
Website | Goodreads | Twitter
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Everneath is the February book pick for the new feature Blogger Talk: Novel Exposed. Each Saturday of the month Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I will be posting something new from Everneath or its wonderful author, Brodi Ashton.
A while back I was contacted by a representative of CSN Stores and asked to do a product review. They have so many amazing products and it took me a while to decide which one I wanted. Since my daughters birthday is coming up, I decided to buy an organizer for her bedroom. I went with the Honey Can Do Sort and Store Organize — SRT-01603.
I ordered it October 15th and it arrived Thursday, the 21st. Very fast! The box was in great condition.
(My daughter's hand- she was very excited! lol)
All of the pieces were in perfect condition, no scratches or parts missing, and the sides and bars seem very sturdy. My husband put it together while I did homework, ha! And even with my daughter helping it only took about 15 minutes. It only required a screwdriver to place the bolts in and install the bars.
The buckets are bright and easily sit along the bars to hold toys. The handles on the sides make it easy to move the organizer from place to place if needed. The buckets come off if you'd like to have a few out for a while or move them to different sections.
This was exactly what I needed for the small toys my daughter has! CSN carries different colors and designs of this organizer so it's easy to find one that fits your needs. I am thrilled with the product, delivery time, and experience with CSN. It was my first time using them and I am so happy I did! I would absolutely buy from them again and recommend them for purchases. They have pretty much any item you could think of and it's very easy to navigate around their site. Rating:
ORDERING
DELIVERY
PRODUCT
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Thank you Jason from CSN STORES for contacting me!
* CSN provided a discount for a product of my choice if I reviewed it on my blog. This review is 100% my opinion and a reflection of my own personal experience with CSN stores.
Welcome to the 2nd Back to the Basics class! If you missed the first class on inserting an HTML direct link to your blog into comments — make sure to check it out (much like this):
This week we are talking about the same thing but with an added bit of civilization: commenting.
Small Review brought up a good point last week — how to comment, leave a link, and not be spamming.
I replied with following but I want I think that she brought up a very solid point. It seems like every comment I get on my Friday Meme posts are spam.
The question then becomes how can you leave a direct link to your blog (to make it easier for the blog owner to return the comment love) but not be spamming?
Like I said last week, the point of many memes is to visit new blogs and get your name out there (especially for the Book Bloggers Hop, hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books and Follow My Book Blog Friday, hosted at Parajunkee's View) . But you need to comment. Last week I pointed out that it was easier for the blog owner to visit your blog by leaving a link; what I left out was the apparent need to leave a valuable comment. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am talking comment etiquette.
These two comments, while they leave me direct links to their blogs, are not "content rich" comments. They tell me nothing about the blogger or their responses to my own post. They give the impression that they didn't even READ my post, just copied and pasted a generic comment in an attempt to gain me as a follower.
Well, sorry folks — life don't work that way (grammar cringe). If you're going to comment (and I hope you all do), leave a valuable, content rich comment. Not something generic that you leave on all 400 blogs that participate in any given meme. The second commenter at least tried, but really... that's all you're going to give me? Now, this does of course depend on the blog owner's ability to write a "content rich" post worthy of valuable feedback — but that's for another time.
When you leave comments like those above you do yourself and your blog a disservice by misrepresenting yourself. You think you are only leaving a harmless comment but in reality you are marketing yourself as a shallow, self-centered, and basically bad blogger (not to mention spamming). I'll admit it: when I receive comments like those above I don't waste my time visiting that blog (even if it easy to find via the direct link). Why would I waste my time to visit another blog (much less follow), when they can't even leave a legitimate comment! The inability to leave a valuable two sentence comment proves to me that blogger's inability to write a content rich post.
So what's a blogger to do?! It's simple: leave a good solid comment responding to the post's content (show me that you read it!) and then leave a link. Sonette from Sonette's Bookworm Blog has mastered this technique! I mean look at this comment! It's full of content and opinion and she even mentions a previous comment! Plus, she still makes it easy to find her and return the blog love!
So, please boys and girls, if you want to present yourself in a professional likable manner the next time you blog hop, take it from me and take the time to leave a "content rich" comment. Not only will your fellow bloggers be more apt to return the comment and blog love, but you'll be presenting yourself in a welcoming and warm manner. Yes, it's easy to copy and paste the same comment on hundreds of posts but it won't get you very far: do your blog a favor take the time to comment right. If you have a question please fill in the form for next week!
A while back I was contacted by a representative of CSN Stores and asked to do a product review. They have so many amazing products and it took me a while to decide which one I wanted. Since my daughters birthday is coming up, I decided to buy an organizer for her bedroom. I went with the Honey Can Do Sort and Store Organize — SRT-01603.
I ordered it October 15th and it arrived Thursday, the 21st. Very fast! The box was in great condition.
(My daughter's hand- she was very excited! lol)
All of the pieces were in perfect condition, no scratches or parts missing, and the sides and bars seem very sturdy. My husband put it together while I did homework, ha! And even with my daughter helping it only took about 15 minutes. It only required a screwdriver to place the bolts in and install the bars.
The buckets are bright and easily sit along the bars to hold toys. The handles on the sides make it easy to move the organizer from place to place if needed. The buckets come off if you'd like to have a few out for a while or move them to different sections.
This was exactly what I needed for the small toys my daughter has! CSN carries different colors and designs of this organizer so it's easy to find one that fits your needs. I am thrilled with the product, delivery time, and experience with CSN. It was my first time using them and I am so happy I did! I would absolutely buy from them again and recommend them for purchases. They have pretty much any item you could think of and it's very easy to navigate around their site. Rating:
ORDERING
DELIVERY
PRODUCT
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Thank you Jason from CSN STORES for contacting me!
* CSN provided a discount for a product of my choice if I reviewed it on my blog. This review is 100% my opinion and a reflection of my own personal experience with CSN stores.
"An easy, fast paced read, this book demands readers' emotions and (if most are like me) readers will have no problem handing them over. Several times throughout the book I had to shut it to regain my composure (the true sign of a great book)." — Miss Remmers
From Amazon.com...
"If Kate were Lady Brett Ashley, the devastating heroine of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, she'd spend her summers careering around the Riviera in her coupe, breaking hearts by the dozen--because why not? In reality, Kate's never even had a boyfriend, and she'll be spending the summer abetting her mom's lame ploy to make her dad jealous: running off to Cape Cod and crashing at the seaside home of her wealthy friends, the Cooper-Melnicks. To add to the shame, the Cooper-Melnicks' gorgeous daughter Sarah is a bit like Lady Brett, and she seems less than thrilled to hang out with her new houseguest. Any dreams Kate once had of a perfect summer are ruined.
That is, until Sarah's cute, witty friend Adam starts drawing Kate into the fold--and seems intrigued. With Adam around, Kate feels like she just might have a bit of heartbreaker potential after all. But when a breezy summer romance quickly grows more complicated can Kate keep pretending her relationship with Adam is just a carefree fling? Or will she take the risk and tell him her real feelings? Suddenly Kate is asking herself a question she never thought she'd stoop to: Is she girlfriend material?"
What a great book! I started and finished this book in one night. I found myself laughing out loud (despite the parents being asleep down the hall), blushing along with the protagonist, Kate, being a complete girl with my out loud "awwws," and being just as disappointed as Kate with the opposite sex. An easy, fast paced read, this book demands readers' emotions and (if most are like me) readers will have no problem handing them over. Several times throughout the book I had to shut it to regain my composure (the true sign of a great book).
The characters and plot were believably real and intriguing. I couldn't help but love this novel. The above description doesn't do this book justice at all. While the themes of the novel are pretty generic (friendship, love, family, relationships in general) this book identifies a key concept or issue that many growing readers deal with on a daily basis: divorce. For a while it seemed every YA novel dealt with divorce in way or another, but, come to think of it, this is the first book I've read since June (when I started this blog) that addresses this issue directly. Many young adults, like Kate, believe that their parents are happily married and then find out that it is somewhat of a facade. It is this indirect theme of relationships that really sets this book apart: the relationships between Kate and her mother, Kate and her father, Kate and her sister, and between Kate's parents. This book is about a lot more than being a girlfriend, but about surviving life as a teenager.
A light, easy read that addresses several issues without being preachy and direct, I would highly recommend this novel.
Favorite Quotes: "Apparently he was too busy living his own life to be a character in the imaginary novel that was mine" (61). "You must think I'm about as sophisticated as a Big Mac" (156). "I felt at home in a library. Novels, writers, readers. These were my people" (190). "Who needed boys when you had books?" (190).
Last week I conquered the Christmas Stockings on a Curtain Rod project, this week I attempted to conquer conquered the Christmas Card Wreath. Remember I'll leave a link to how to do the project, but this post is more or less meant to show you how it actually turned out for an uncreative, not artistic person.
When I saw this Christmas Card Wreath (link to the Pinterest Page) , I knew I wanted to try it. I had just received two Christmas cards in the mail and wanted to display them but didn't know how. While I did have to purchase most of the supplies for this project, much like the Stockings on the Curtain rod, the supplies were not expensive. I had a wire hanger in my closet but I did have to buy clothes pins, red beads, ribbon, glue, wire cutter (strong pliers), and green spray paint (for a complete list of supplies and the step-by-step instructions, please visit Gwenny Penny) .
The first thing I think you should know (that is left out) is that if you are only making one wreath — a small can of spray paint will do. However, if you are planning on making a wreath for a gift or (as I am) are throwing a "Create a Christmas Card Wreath" Party — you'll need multiple cans of spray paint. I started out with a small can and I ran out and had to purchase more. The clothes pins were easy to find at Walmart and were very inexpensive, as were the rest of the supplies. I did have to purchase a wire cutter (pliers) as my pliers were a flat end and didn't really cut through anything. I also bought Krazy Glue, but I'm wishing I would have just bought fabric glue*.
You should also know that spray paint is sticky. I painted the clothes pins on Thursday night and by Saturday night, while they were dry, they were still a bit sticky and it was very hard to get off. Maybe creative people know that, but as an uncreative person who doesn't deal with spray paint often — this would have been nice to know.
Actually putting together this project was fairly easy: red bead, green clothes pin, red bead, green clothes pin and so on and so forth. When I got to the last few beads and pins it got interesting. The Krazy glue I bought wasn't sticking to the metal clothes hanger. So I ended up manipulating the clothes hanger to wrap around the end (in a very unattractive way) and then wrapping the hanger with the red ribbon. I then used the ribbon to make a make-shift hanger (not like in the original post directions) and used the Krazy glue to put the two pieces of fabric together*.
Here is my project:
I'm not 100% happy with it as my hanger is less circular and more "hot mess." Also, I think I'm going to add a bow to make the wreath a bit more complete — but I haven't figured out how to create a bow yet (something the original post left out or assumed I would know how to do). Some of my pins put pressure on the other pins — I don't know if this is because my hanger is too small or not, but the pins are a bit cramped.
As a person who doesn't deal with clothes pins on a regular basis, I also wish someone would have told me that they won't stay "pin down" on the wire, they constantly need to be manipulated. But once they are hung the pins use the wall as support and stay where I put them. I also wish I would have spent more time painting the pins. But because I had people coming over on Sunday to make the wreaths and I didn't know that the spray paint took so long to dry, I didn't have time to turn my box with the pins on it upside down and get the underside of the pins green as well.
Overall Verdit: This project definitely wasn't as easy as it looked and my finished product is no where near as beautiful and put together as the example. But it doesn't function well and once I figure out how to make a bow, I think this project will come together quite nicely. I'm glad I attempted it, but it was definitely a "figure it out as we go" type of deal in regards to the left out helpful pieces of information.
Also, my ribbon is probably too big.
Edit: I tried my best to add a bow. I'm still not very happy with it and have changed my Verdict to BUST. There are some other great ideas to display Christmas cards and I'm just not feeling it. It's not circular and the bow is and ribbon is complete chaos — you can call me an uncreative perfectionist if you'd like.:) But unless it's perfect and I'm proud of it, I'm just not sure I want to display it in my house as part of the decor haha.
Welcome to the Back to the Basics class! If you missed a previous class, here are the links:
Insert an HTML direct link to your blog into comments
Comment Etiquette
Twitter: Relationship Builder and Marketing Connoisseur
Today we are going to continue last week's discussion on Twitter. First of all, ever wonder how other tweeters tweet a link and it doesn't look like www.googlereview.com/12/11/blahblahblah? Condensing links when tweeting is vital in order to utilize your 140 characters to the maximum potential. Condense your urls by using a URL shortener; a few different (FREE) sites are Google URL Shortener, Tiny Url, Ow.ly, or (my favorite), Bit.ly. I prefer Bit.ly simply because this site remembers all of my shortened links and I find it very easy to use — but to each their own.
Besides saving you characters (that, oh I don't know, you could use to describe your link), it's my opinion that tweets with shorter links look more professional and I'm more likely to click them.
Again, just me, but I'd be much more inclined to click the second link than the first. An easy thing to do is bookmark your favorite URL shortener — this way it's one less step to condense your links. You can even take the character space to @ the author and/or publisher! This is a great way to get in contact with publishers and authors as well!
The other thing about Twitter that I want to mention is tweeting photos. I love clicking links on Twitter for photos — whether the photos be of family, books, snow, whatever! You can of course do this through your smart phone, but you can also do it via your computer with an application like Twitpic. It's easy to use and it adds dimension to your tweets.
I hope these Back to the Basics classes help. The purpose is not to push my thoughts onto others and I am not presuming to know everything or of being this amazing blogger; my hope is simply to help bloggers like myself with what I struggled with as a new blogger. If you have a question that you think I can answer — please fill out the form below.
"Have you ever wondered what makes "seventh heaven" and "cloud nine" so blissful and the number 13 so unlucky? Or why "fourth-dimensional" thinking is really out of this world? InsideEasy as Pi, you'll find the "4-1-1" on:
>Seventh heaven and what makes it so blissful
>The number 13 and why it's so unlucky
>Imaginary numbers and how they exist
>The binary system and how it manages to say so much with only two numbers
>How your bedding has nothing to do with being "three sheets to the wind"
>The burning literary question: Why did Ray Bradbury name his novel Fahrenheit 451?
>A block of Social Security numbers that will never ever be assigned to anyone"
I LOVE these types of books! "A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi " and "I Used to Know That " are fantastic reads that I KNOW my students are going to love — as is "Easy as Pi."
Fast paced and interesting, this is a great non-fiction informative read. I loved finding out where some of the numerical sayings I find myself repeating come from! This will be a book I recommend to a student who loves numbers and loves language. This book could be flipped open everyday before class as an icebreaker or attention grabber (and I plan on using it!) to get students interested and thinking about what they say, what it means, and where it comes from.
Fantastic read!
Originality: 10/10 Ending: NA Characters: NA Plot: NA My reaction/enjoyment: 10/10 Theme: 10/10 Imagery: NA Setting: NA Voice: NA Style: NA Tone: NA Cover: 10/10 Overall: 40/40 A+
Welcome to the Back to the Basics class! If you missed a previous class, here are the links:
Insert an HTML direct link to your blog into comments
Comment Etiquette
This week I'd like to address the wonder that is Twitter. Yes, Twitter. We've all heard the news reporters quote Twitter and we know all about Snooki's bad Twitter grammar. Oh, wait, you haven't heard of that? Well, for your enjoyment and my pure amusement — here you go:
Okay... back to the point. Many people would have you believe that Twitter is very much like Facebook's status updates where you can type what you are doing in 140 characters or less. The reality of Twitter, and I think that those who use it religiously would agree, is that it is much more of a message service (like MSN Messeneger, AIM, or Yahoo Messenger) where you can communicate with hundreds of people who have the same interests as you. For instance, I follow all my favorite blog reviewers, authors, publishers, etc on Twitter. It's also a great marketing tool (again, here's a for instance, all of my posts are automatically fed to my Twitter account with a link and the title). In my opinion, as all of these classes are, Twitter is a great tool to "put yourself out there" and get involved in the book blogging community.
I am currently following 514 people on Twitter — most are book bloggers, many are authors, and the rest my favorite publishers and agents. Because I live in the Midwest and the Twitter craze hasn't exactly caught on yet — my Twitter account is solely for books and blogging. Does that mean I don't send random "tweets" (I hate that word) about my life or the wedding? No, but the primary focus is books and marketing.
If you don't use Twitter (again, to each their own) I think you're missing out on a lot. By "tweeting" back and forth with different authors and reviewers your begin to build relationships that you don't necessarily get from commenting on a post. The response is obviously quicker and you can have more in-depth conversations, despite the character limit. I have received books from authors, publishers, and other reviewers because of Twitter. I've been more aware of what is happening in the book blogosphere because of Twitter. Sheila and I were also the one of the few who attended the first debut author get together at BEA last year due to a quick tweet from Shannon Delany (author of "13 to Life ")! We had the opportunity to talk to so many authors one on one! It was fantastic!
Yes, I'll admit it: I've become addicted to Twitter! I love the conversations, the ability to "stick my nose" in other people's business, to find out the latest bookish news, to connect with bloggers I read consistently, to connect with authors I love... etc. But there's also the business/marketing side to Twitter that is extremely beneficial to blogging.
First of all, before I forget — quick plug to "follow" me on Twitter via @google, send me a quick tweet by putting "@google" at the beginning and mention that you read this post so I can follow you back!
If you've bought into the concept of Twitter, after you've signed up and installed the Twitter app to your desktop for easy and consistent viewing, find a Twitter Button to add to your blog. Mine can be found in the right sidebar. Then, if you really want to go all out, add your Twitter updates as well (again, mine are posted on the right sidebar).
This next part is vital and one of the best parts about Twitter: synch your blog feed to Twitter. Meaning, every time you post (even if it is a scheduled post and you aren't at your computer), the title and link to your post will be automatically tweeted to all your followers. This is a great way to get yourself out there even if you, like most people, are at work or school during the day and can't be on Twitter to get your link out there. I use (and LOVE) Twitterfeed. Another great service that I've used in the past is Google's FeedBurner. Both services are free and easy to use and, like I mentioned, can do wonders for marketing your posts and blog.
You can also synch your Goodreads account to Twitter so that every time your rate, review, or mark to read a book it posts to Twitter automatically as well. You can do this by going into "My Account" and then into "Feeds." Again, this is a simple but extremely effective way to market yourself and your product (blog, reviews, posts, etc).
The next step (if anyone is still reading) is to go out and begin following people. Don't know where to start? Who to follow? Here are a few of my favorite "Tweeters" (link goes to Twitter page):
@BookaliciousPam from Bookalicious
@BookJourney from Book Journey
@MichelleBall from Hooked To Books
@GReadsBooks from GReads
@brokeandbookish from Broke and Bookish
@thestorysiren from The Story Siren
@shanynlee from Chick Loves Lit
@booksandwine from Good Books and Good Wine
There are also quite a few fantastic authors on Twitter who you can @ when reviewing or talking about their novels. It's easy to search Twitter to find your favorite author but a few of mine are:
Shannon Delany — author of "13 to Life "
Lauren Oliver — author of "Before I Fall " and "Delirium "
Julie Kagawa — author of "The Iron King "
Denise Jaden — author of "Losing Faith "
Make sure when you follow someone to send them a public tweet (put @ in front of their Twitter name — ex: @google) and say a quick hello and introduce yourself. If you don't respond to their tweets with "your own two cents," they won't know you are there! Twitter is the place where jumping into conversations isn't rude, putting your opinion out there isn't presumptuous, and linking your blog consistently isn't spam (always in moderation people). Give it a try! I was a skeptic before and am now addicted to all things Twitter. If you make an account or already have an account, link it below (please link to your Twitter profile — not your blog).
As always, if you have a question please leave it below!
This week I've been giving you some mini-reviews from Indie/New Adult books that have been released over the past year or so. I'd read a ton of them so it's easier to review a few at once. Monday had the books that got a 5 star review from me and yesterday featured the 4 star books. Today is another batch of 4 star books. Hopefully you will find a few you'd like to add to your list.
Fallen Crest High by Tijan Add to Goodreads
As far as new adult authors go, Tijan is not one that pops up often. I happened to find this book while browsing one day and was so glad that I did. This is really one of those books where the characters stay with you. You may not love every aspect of the story, but you can't help but keep reading till it's finished. Mason and Logan (the bothers) were great in their own ways and Sam has the misfortune of living with them after her mom decided to marry their dad. This book is pretty complicated with all the plots, sub-plots, and characters but I definitely want to see what happens in the new book.
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Add to Goodreads This one is easy to spoil because there is a lot going on. Tons of tragedy! When Sky meets Dean she has no idea of their past. Sky has been through more than many people could imagine. It was sad to see how broken she was but I was glad that Dean could be there for her. At times the drama seemed a bit too much but it was still a well written story with a lot of great moments between the characters. Dean was my favorite. You can't help but love him and hope that these characters can somehow find happiness through all the heartbreak. Not sure when/if I'll read the next one but so many people loved this one.
Play With Me by Piper Shelly Add to Goodreads You know how sometimes you just want a light, sweet book to read? This one is perfect for those times! This was one of the cutest romances ever. Liza is a cutie! Poor girl has been in love with her best friend Tony forever and he comes back from soccer camp in love with another *sigh*. So, she has a plan to become sporty herself in hopes he will notice her. What she doesn't plan for is the soccer captain, Ryan, to start paying attention to her. They have so many of those cute moments that have you saying"awww." The ONLY complaint I had about this story was that it was just too short! I wanted more! Of course, there is now a version in Ryan's POV but still… I wish this one would have been a bit longer. But, I totally recommend it.
If You Stay by Courtney Cole Add to Goodreads Some books say they have bad boys but this one is really bad. Pax is a jerk, 100%! He has money to burn but is rude, disrespectful, and has a whole slew of drug issues. Not the easiest character to like but I liked that there was no doubting his personality. Everyone knew immediately what type of guy he was. Mila is a sweetheart who can't help but try to help Pax. Even though she is told to forget about ever changing him, she can't help but have hope that he will get better. It took a while for their sparks to really heat up but I liked seeing Pax change. Much is the story is from his POV and it was easy to see how Mila got under his skin. Courtney Cole is a great author and I look forward to reading more from her.
Someone to Love by Addison Moore Add to Goodreads This is a light story and a nice college-age romance but there was something lacking. Maybe it was depth for the character? Not sure. But, in this book, Kendall wants to be a player and she goes to the king of all players, Cruise, for help. She says she's determined to learn how to play guys. The overall story was fun to read but I'm not sure I fully bought the whole"wanting to be a player" thing. I think that with more work this book could have hit it out of the park but for something light and fluffy, it's a pretty good read. I've seen other people with some mixed feelings about this title.
Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker Add to Goodreads This is a very intense story. Kacey has had a really hard life and all she wants to do is find safety and take care of her little sister. They move into a rundown apartment and she starts working to try to take care of the bills. Then Trent moves next door. Kacey tries to brush off her feelings for him but they are drawn to each other. I really enjoyed this book and all the side characters/plots too. It's depressing at times but I couldn't stop reading. The overall idea is a bit predictable but I still found myself rooting for the characters and wanting to find out what will happen next. I will probably check out the next book in the series because it focuses on Kacey's sister.
After Tuesday by Renee Ericson Add to Goodreads This book is about Ruby, a young girl dealing with an alcoholic father. I liked this book for a lot of reasons. One big reason is that her dad, although sick, wasn't a complete jerk. He seemed like he wanted to be a good dad and that's something rarely seen in YA books. Then Ruby gets to know Brent, a guy from school, and she's forced to balance her real life with that of a normal teenager. She tries to hide her issues at home but that isn't easy. Soon both collide and she has to rely on someone else. Sometimes I just wished she would have been honest with Brent early on instead of hiding things. But I did like the way the author portrayed the relationship and the issues Ruby had with her dad. He wasn't just thrown to the side like some novels do.
Breathe Into Me by Amanda Stone Add to Goodreads This was another complex story and in the end I was scratching my head a bit. Kelsey had some really craptastic luck. She had a horrible tragedy 6 years before she heads to college and all she wants is to escape it. She has her best friend Jessi, who I loved, and soon she meets bad-boy Kane. But Kane isn't really bad. He was actually much nicer than I expected. Sometimes I wanted to shake Kelsey for being so darn trusting of guys-who-shall-remain-nameless, especially after what she had been through. Plus, I wasn't happy with the fact she judged Kane so quickly when something happened with him. I don't want to spoil anything but I do think this is definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
Picture Perfect by Alessandra Thomas Add to Goodreads It's pretty hard to find a good story that doesn't involve a girl who is a perfect size 4. Cat used to be a model but now she can't fit into anything in her closet. She had an accident and, after sitting for nearly a year, she's going back to school as a size 12. One thing I really liked about this story is that all of Cat's friends didn't shun her because of her size. It's not like it's the worst thing in the world so it sucks when books act like the character can't have friends if she's beyond a size 10. Cat did have friends and, really, she is the biggest issue blocking her own happiness. When Nate steps in Cat finally starts to see herself as more than a size. He helps her break down her walls and be happy again. Sometimes I just wanted her to get over things but I tried to understand where she was coming from. This book was really enjoyable and had a very unique plot (and twist).
Unbroken by Melody Grace Add to Goodreads This book has one of my all-time favorite lines ever… "Mom always told me there are two kinds of love in this world: the steady breeze, and the hurricane. Emerson Ray was my hurricane… " Love it! This book is great for a summer read. Juliet is forced to go back to her summer beach home for a while and she runs into her old flame Emerson. I enjoyed this story but nothing really stood out to me as memorable. There is some cheating, which I hate, but it didn't ruin the book for me. The characters definitely have chemistry and there are several hot moments to enjoy. ALL OF THESE BOOKS WERE RATED
This is a super hard list for me. I've read a huge number of books this year. 154 books as of today! Picking 10 of my favorites makes me break out in a sweat! But I will try my best.
Title: Deity Author: Janenifer L. Armentrout Publisher: Spencer Hill Press Add to Goodreads "History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time."
Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner… and so is Aiden.
If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time"training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.
But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed… and destroyed.
Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate.
Title: Easy Author: Tammara Webber Add to Goodreads A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?
When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.
Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex's frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night--but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.
When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he's hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.
Title: Onyx Author: Janenifer L. Arme ntrout Publisher: Entangled Publishing Add to Goodreads Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
Title: Partials Author: Dan Wells Publisher: Balzer + Bray Add to Goodreads The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.
Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them--connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.
Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question--one where our humanity is both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.
Title: In Honor Author: Jessi Kirby Publisher: Simon & Schuster Add to Goodreads Honor receives her brother’s last letter from Iraq three days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn’s celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her.
Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn’s last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn.. and ruggedly good-looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn’t. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn--but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?
Title: Taking Chances Author: Molly McAdams Add to Goodreads Eighteen year old Harper has grown up under her career Marine of a father's thumb. Ready to live life her own way and experience things she's only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father's unit; she's on her way to college at San Diego State University.
Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family and emotions. Some she wasn't expecting yet, and others she never knew she was missing.
She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with her boyfriend Brandon, and her roommate's brother Chase. Covered in tattoos, known for fighting in the Underground and ridiculously muscled… they're exactly what she was always warned to stay away from, but just what she needs. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both adore and would do anything for Harper, including stepping back if it means she's happy.
Her first year away is turning out to be near perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.
Title: The Secret of Ella & Micha Author: Jessica Sorensen Add to Goodreads Ella and Micha have been best friends since they were kids. But one tragic night shatters their friendship and their lives forever.
Ella used to be a rule-breaker with fiery attitude who wore her heart on her sleeve. But she left everything behind when she went to college and transformed into someone that follows the rules, keeps everything together, and hides all her problems. But now it's summer break and she has nowhere else to go but home.
Ella fears everything she worked so hard to bury might resurface, especially with Micha living right next door. If Micha tries to tempt the old her back, she knows that it will be hard to resist.
Micha is sexy, smart, confident, and can get under Ella’s skin like no one else can. He knows everything about her, including her darkest secrets. And he’s determined to bring his best friend, and the girl he loves back, no matter what it takes.
Title: Born at Midnight Author: C.C. Hunter Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Add to Goodreads Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…
Title: The Edge of Never Author: J.A. Redmerski Add to Goodreads Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.
Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.
With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.
But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?
Title: Anew Author: Ch elsea Fine Publisher: Firefall P ublishing Add to Goodreads Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery… until she met a boy with a familiar voice.
Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer.
Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past… might just be the death of her.
Now it's YOUR turn! Link up your list using the Linky below! Lisa from A Life Bound By Books is hosting the giveaway for today!! Note: This is the SAME Linky on all FIVE Co-hosting blogs.
Sleight by Janenifer Sommersby Publisher: Accendo Press (March 23rd, 2011) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 328 pages Source: Author (Thank You!) Series: AVRA-K #1 Rating: 5 of 5 stars Her mom is dead. Ghosts follow her around. Her best friend is an elephant. And she’s about to meet the biggest game changer of all: a boy. With a secret.
When circus-dwelling Gemma Flannery learns she will be attending public school for the first time in her seventeen years, little does she know that fitting in with her 12th-grade classmates will be the least of her concerns. A pro at hiding her knack for seeing the dead (“shades”), Gemma is grieving the recent suicide of her mentally ill mother, a process eased by the introduction of her first real love interest, the charming and painfully handsome Henry Dmitri, who is harboring his own collection of dangerous secrets. Together, they will be presented with a frightening challenge: to assume their roles as heirs to a 3000-year-old magical text, the AVRAKEDAVRA, a book the über-rich, sleight-of-being master Lucian Dmitri would do anything to get his hands on. As each terrifying layer in her new reality melts away, Gemma unearths truths that her quiet, nomadic life with the Cinzio Traveling Players is not at all what she’d always cherished. Gemma and Henry must rely on each other to stop Lucian’s diabolical plotting that will bring the world to its tired, scab-riddled knees, and are sent on the flight of their young lives, to save themselves, their families, and the world from the darkest kind of destruction.
Let the chase begin. Review: Sleight was a wonderful, unique tale and I can't wait to see where it goes with the next book. It is about Gemma, a young girl who knows no life beyond what she has while traveling around with circus. They have become her family and that is more important than ever since her mother just passed away. But things are more complicated for Gemma because she can see ghosts.
Soon Gemma learns that the circus will be settling somewhere for a while, which means Gemma has to go to school. Fitting in isn't easy when people know you are with a traveling circus. I have to say that this setting was wonderful because I've never read a book about a circus. I was fascinated with how Gemma lived and what experiences she had while working there. Perfect setting for this story!
Henry is the son of the man investing in the circus and he is immediately interested in Gemma. But the gorgeous Henry isn't exactly the"player" people may think he is. He typically avoids everyone and that makes many of the high school girls angry. People know his father Lucian pretty much owns the town and although he is super hot, no one grabs his attention.until Gemma comes around.
But as they get closer, more secrets are revealed. I was shocked by many of the new developments that occurred throughout this story. Gemma and Henry were easy to love. Their chemistry was strong from the beginning and it was great to see where their relationship went. The other side characters, like Ash, Janie, Ted, and Marlene, were just as wonderful! It could be assumed that people in the circus may be eccentric but they all fit together perfectly and made a great family unit. I couldn't imagine a more non-traditional family, or one that seemed to have as much love for one another.
The secrets and adventures in this book never stopped! I was truly on the edge of my seat. Sleight is action-packed, full of imagination, and highly suspenseful! Janenifer Sommersby created a story unlike any other I've read and I will be anxiously awaiting the next book!
As part of Wedding Week (I'M MARRIED), today we are featuring Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit! Shanyn basically saved me during the planning process. She helped with invitations, save the dates, wedding music, and overall wedding moral. Shanyn, I can't express enough how much your support, excitement, and enthusiasm literally made this process for me. Thank you!! ********************** I'm not going to lie to you guys — I was not a girl who had all of her wedding details picked out by age ten. It's not that I hated weddings, but I hadn't been to many and didn't really understand why some girls were obsessed with planning something that had no future date in sight. So when I went to college, I went in with a major that would require me to work quite a bit right out of college — I hadn't met anyone and just figured I'd get married after I had done all of that. You can guess what happened next, I'm sure — I met my future husband at college, and kind of changed that whole willing to work eighty hours a week thing (and, looking back, I'm really thankful that it happened this way — I have worked forty hour work weeks and even that was tiring)!
Shanyn, this picture is literally to die for! I love it! I met Steve my second year of college while playing frisbee. It was a casual meeting — we both hung out with lots of the same friends, as many relationships start — and a few months later we were 'official.' He proposed at a Coldplay concert a few years later (it was awesome and I was totally surprised), and about five years after we started dating we got married. Even through all of this I hadn't started fantasizing about any details — I'm pretty easy going in general. This didn't change much throughout our engagement or any of the planning stages — my biggest concern was that I was marrying Steve, so as long as we got that all sorted I was okay with everything else.
PS: Shanyn, I am also SO jealous of this picture! It's perfect! This doesn't mean we just signed the documents in a backyard (and I didn't want to do that). Steve's sisters and mom loved the wedding process, and we did lots of crafts and shopping and trips. I found my wedding dress in one try (I love that dress so much I wish there were another occasion I could wear it!), my flowers were done by a friend (my only request was that they included lilies), and we laid decorations out on their kitchen table to play around with table decorations. Since I had a degree in graphic design, I made our save the dates and invitations, and our church happened to change the scenery in the sanctuary to something perfect right before our wedding day.
Thanks to a little luck and my and Steve's easy going attitudes, I think our wedding day went perfectly. The weather outside didn't help with travel (it was very icy, as we had a January wedding), but we had a very small list of friends and family that couldn't make it because of that — and the snow outside made for beautiful pictures. Everything from flowers to decorations to food was excellent. Most importantly, I was able to marry my love Steve, which was my goal in the first place:)
My attitude about weddings has changed a little now — I can't wait until Steve's sisters get married because I can't wait to be on the 'other side' of things to help with food, cake, crafts, dresses. I love to hear about my friend's weddings, and am always willing to offer my opinion or experience on wedding related things now that I've gone through it all (though I'm careful to not inject my opinion when it's not wanted, I know some brides are very particular:) ) .
I am very excited for Miss Remmers and I can't wait to hear all about her wedding when it's over. I've been able to hear a few things about it during the planning process, but hearing about the actual day will be awesome. Congratulations, Miss Remmers:) I hope that your day goes exactly (or at least pretty close) to how you want, and that you'll be able to share a picture or two with us afterwards:)
********************** Shanyn, I'm the same way. The theory to my wedding was "let's wing it" because I didn't really know what I wanted. I figured I wouldn't get married until I was in my fifties! I love all of your pictures and how everything came together! Congratulations!
This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win! Today I am featuring Kelly Hashway, Molly Cochran, and Elizabeth Holloway. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter giveaway, too!
1. Can you tell us a little about the Ophi line from your Touch of Death series?
The Ophi are descendents of Medusa and they are all born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. Medusa’s blood had both the power to restore life and the power to kill, so each of the Ophi in the Touch of Death series has those abilities as well. Their blood, sweat, and tears are poisonous to humans, which means they can’t be around humans without posing a danger to them. The Ophi are also feuding with Hades, the god of the underworld, because the Ophi raise the dead. So life’s not easy if you’re an Ophi.
2. There is a bit of a love triangle in Stalked by Death. Can you share with us what makes Alex and Chase different?
Alex and Chase couldn’t be more different. Other than being Ophi and both being hot, the only thing they have in common is their interest in Jodi. Though even that is different. Alex truly cares about Jodi, while Chase has other motives. (No spoilers.) Alex is what I’d call a good Ophi. He doesn’t abuse his powers, and he trains hard to learn how to use them. Chase abuses his powers every chance he gets. He’s constantly pushing his abilities to the limit and trying to make Jodi do the same. Both guys can offer Jodi something she wants, while costing her something in return.
1. The Legacy series deals with a lot of magic. What magical spell would you want to try out and would you be a good witch or a bad witch?
ANSWER: I would most definitely be a good witch. I believe that the purpose of magic is to improve the lot of living beings. That being said, the spell I wish I could do is from SEDUCTION, the third—and not yet published—book of the series, in which Katy uses magic to wash dishes after a dinner for twenty. It wouldn’t improve the lot of living beings, but it’d surely come in handy!
2. Can you tell us a little about the boarding school life Katy has to deal with in your books?
ANSWER: Boarding school kids are generally sophisticated beyond their years, so there are cliques and intrigues everywhere. I’ve tried to simplify these demarcations into two main groups: the Muffies, who are rich, spoiled, and used to getting their own way, and the witches, or townies, who have magical powers that they’ve learned to keep secret. There’s always tension when the two groups come together.
1. Can you tell us a little about the main characters in Call Me Grim?
Libbi Piper is a high school junior, an aspiring artist, and not the greatest student. She’s snarky and stubborn, but full of heart and humor. In Call Me Grim, all of those qualities combine to get Libbi into a ton of trouble.
Aaron Shepherd is the local Grim Reaper. He’s handsome, mysterious, and looking for a replacement. He hopes Libbi will accept his offer to become the next Grim Reaper, but Libbi isn’t easy to convince.
2. What is your favorite line from the book?
“A chill runs through me and my teeth chatter together. Something strange is about to happen, more strange than a crazy guy miraculously predicting my death and saving my life. I can feel the strangeness seeping through the closed door.”
a Rafflecopter giveaway Follow the tour on Twitter: @TheCrossroadsBT And Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Crossroads-Blog-Tour/218310244897337
Deeper We Fall by Chelsea M. Cameron Published: DRC Publishing (January 24th. 2013) Reading Level: New Adult ebook: 280 pages Rating: 5 of 5 stars Summary: Two years after her best friend was involved in a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury, Lottie Anders is ready to start her freshman year of college. Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart.
Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again.
Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face.
Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves"To Kill a Mockingbird" as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen.
The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.
Review:
Wow, Chelsea M. Cameron never fails to amaze me. Lottie is going off to college but a big part of her is right back in her hometown. Two years before, her best friend was in a horrible car accident with two brothers, Zach and Zan. Lottie remembers every detail of that night and had tried to get her friend to not leave the party with them. When the book first begins we get to look into what happened.
Now, Lottie is going off to college. Her best friend will never be the same and, after suffering a horrible brain injury, she barely even knows her friend. She has outbursts often and Lottie sometimes has to stay away because the least thing can set her off.
She's trying to get used to the idea of being away for so long while at school and that is made more difficult when Zach and Zan are there. Zan is just getting accustomed to being in college and away from the punishment he has had since the accident. He doesn't expect to see Lottie there. While he seems heartbroken over what happened that night, his brother Zach is nothing but cruel and cocky. It's easy to see the differences between the brothers and I was happy to see that Zan was nothing like that.
Lottie has some amazing friends there to support her. She has a twin, Will, and his hilarious roommate, Simon. I think it's easy to connect with them and wish for friends like that in your life.
Lottie often finds herself face to face with Zan and, over time, it becomes easier to face him. They, very slowly, start to talk and learn more about each other. I really loved their connection and how the relationship slowly builds. This wasn't a situation where insta-love is possible, which was good! I really felt like the characters got to know each other for who they really were, despite the conditions.
There's a lot that goes on with this story and I really enjoyed every single page. Chelsea's writing is so relatable and well-developed. I look forward to reading Faster We Burn to see what happens with some of the other characters.
"It's definitely a page-turner-my-palms-are-sweaty sort of book." — Miss Remmers
Release Date: May 3rd, 2011 Publisher: Simon Pulse Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge and 2011 eBook Challenge Review of "Shade"
"Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.
As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart." I kept repeating "I need the next book" when writing my review of "Shade. " This mentality hasn't changed with the second story in this series. While the plot only takes place a short time after the first book, Aura, Zachary, and Logan have all matured tremendously. The added maturity made this book uniquely feel like the characters had matured right along with it's readers (unless, of course, you read these two books back to back). By this I mean, it's been five months since I've read "Shade" and in those five months a lot has happened — I've grown as a person. It's nice to read a novel where the characters have grown right alongside me.
I'm definitely still "Team Zachary" — but I very much appreciate Logan's maturity and his new attitude. It can't be easy to be him right now; a famous ghost who humiliated his (ex-girlfriend), a shade who can't "unshade," and a young male whose love is loving someone else. Now, does this mean he is completely innocent? Absolutely not. Even in "Shade" he still makes some pretty selfish and self-absorbed decisions that impact everyone around him. But I said his character grew, not became perfect. I'm glad that he still makes these mistakes, it's what shows that me that he's still the same person.
Zachary, surprisingly, made some serious mistakes in this novel. But he was the vision of (almost) perfection in "Shade" having waited patiently for Aura to make up her mind all those months; you can't blame him for getting frustrated.
The one thing that sort of still bothers me about these stories is the perception of love (prepare for a tangent). Yes, I was "in love" when I was a teenager and no, he is not the man I'm marrying almost a decade later. In retrospect, when I was sixteen I had no idea what real love was and I had assumed that love was meant to hurt rather than run smoothly (overall). I don't deny that some people are extremely lucky to find their "Prince Charming" at the playground, but I struggle with how absolute Aura's love for these two gentleman are. It seems that she believes that if she likes someone she loves them and if she loves them that she's going to marry them. What about dating? What about, oh I don't know, getting to know each other? Why does it have to be so absolute?
But that's just me.
Overall, for any reader who loved "Shade," "Shift" is a fantastic sequel. Some questions get answered. New questions arise. It's definitely a page-turner-my-palms-are-sweaty sort of book.
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A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young Publisher: Balzer & Bray (June 21st, 2011) Reading Level: Young Adult Hardcover: 252 pages Source: ARC tour Rating: 5 of 5 stars Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.
There have been others before who’ve felt the Need, but they’re gone—erased from the memories of everyone whose lives they had touched. It's as though they never existed. This is the fate that awaits Charlotte. But the last thing Charlotte wants to do is disappear, to be Forgotten. She wants to stay with her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend’s arms forever. She wishes she could just ignore the Need, but she can’t. And as everyone important in her life begins to slowly forget her, she has to decide if she’ll fight the Need in order to remain herself—no matter how dark the consequences. Review: This story is breathtakingly beautiful inside and out. I laughed, I cried, and I connected with the characters in a way that is rare and wonderful. Charlotte has not had an easy life. She's been in a foster family since she was young and has no real memory of where she came from. She has the Need, a driving force that leads her to helping complete strangers. She doesn't know where it will take her, or what she will face while she's there but the urge can't be stopped. Once she's at her destination, she gives the person a message that, in a major way, will change their destiny.
Charlotte is realistic in a sense that she is not perfect, but her personality takes amazing form throughout the book. She might be an angel but she is far from having an angelic personality. She is head-over-heals in love with her boyfriend, Harlin. Once you read this story, it's easy to see why. Harlin is intense, caring, and swoon-worthy beyond many male characters I have read about. His love for Charlotte is deep and meaningful. I never questioned their intense love and affection for one another. I knew from the beginning how they could have been so drawn to each other.
Harlin helps Charlotte in ways no other character could. He wants to be her protector but knows she is keeping something from him. For Charlotte, confiding her dark secret to Harlin is a scary thought. This brings conflict in the story because beyond Charlotte's true identity, she has lived her life as a normal teenage girl in all other aspects. The changes occurring in Charlotte's life, physically and mentally, are having her question her own destiny.
Several other characters help to perfectly round out this story. Her best friend Sarah brings in a great dynamic and her foster family, although rarely seen, help the reader grasp the other parts of Charlotte's life. Throughout the story Charlotte learns more about her identity and it brings her life to a halt. The thought that she could be forgotten, forever, is something she can't begin to grasp.
Suzanne Young's writing paints a clear picture of a girl fighting to survive. A girl who doesn't want her friends and family to forget she ever existed. A Need So Beautiful forces the reader through several emotions as they feel what Charlotte goes through during her journey. This is an angel story like no other, and I'm excited to see where Suzanne Young takes us during the next installment.
This weekend I did some baking and I thought these cookies (Pinterest Link) were super cute! The recipe (direct link to recipe and directions) calls for almost everything I had in my home with me — all I really needed to buy was the cookie icing.
1 package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
10 large marshmallows
Betty Crocker Cookie Icing (white and orange)
Wilton Decorating Icing Tubes in Black, Red, Green, Blue and Pink (although I only used orange and black)
Unfortunately, for the uncreative, these cookies were not as easy to make as the pictures make it seem. First of all, I think I bought the wrong icing — I bought the icing in the can that you squeeze out so it didn't really have a "puddle effect."Also, the marshmallows I had in my closet were more of a "gag" gift this summer (as I love smores) and I think they were a little bit too big. Here's what I actually came up with:
I like this guy because he looks like he is actually melting
So as you can see, without the right icing and the small(er) mallows, these snowmen don't really have the "puddle effect."
Now, these cookies weren't exactly hard to make — they were actually pretty easy and they are adorable! But the reason the Final Verdict is BUST is because these cookies are impossible to eat (and retain their cuteness) and impossible to transport (and really, who is going to eat ALL of these cookies!). So in conclusion — despite the cuteness, it's just a sugar cookie and mallow so unless I'm going to show them off to others (in which case I'd need to transport them — which is impossible) — it's kind of pointless. Very cute cookie but not worth it (in my opinion).
