Month: October 2012

(Meme) Top Ten Tuesday -Rewind!

Posted on by Cindy

As you can probably see I don’t take part in every Top Ten Tuesday but when I see I topic I like I love to take part. This is an original meme that is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish blog. Be sure to head over there to see their blog.

This week’s topic is:

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND (pick a past topic that we’ve done that you missed or just want round 2 of!)

When I checked out the list of previous Top Ten Tuesday topics I was overwhelmed and realized I missed out on some great topics. How is that possible?

So for today, I figured since I am on a book buying ban that perhaps I should highlight my Top Ten list of books I had to buy that are currently sitting on my shelf to read waiting to be read.

As a book blogger you encounter numerous blogs that review so many fantastic books and you are saying I need to read that for one reason or another so here is my list:

From the bottom going up:

  • The Night Circus- I bought this because of the cover (both inside and out) and because this was raved about last year and at the Random House event I went to.
  • Everneath- This is another one I bought because of the cover
  • The Selection- I have to admit that I bought because of the cover.
  • Graceling- Cindy B from Tynga’s Reviews said this was really good and that I should read it.
  • The Girl in the Steel Corset- I read so many great reviews and had to buy it
  • The Pledge- Another buy because of the cover and I have the authors other books sitting on my shelf to be read
  • Wildefire -At the time I loved the synopsis and wanted to read it but just never got to it yet
  • Daughter of Smoke & Bone- I have always wanted to read Laini’s books and this cover was so pretty
  • Born Wicked- i got this because of the reviews and the synopsis
  • The Marbury Lens was another one I admit to buying because of the cover.

Do we share similar lists? What book should I make the effort to read right away?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

A favor to ask you my blog readers

Posted on by Cindy

Tonight I was on Facebook and on the page of one of my favorite Canadian groups when I discovered that one of the members had made the comment about being listed in the first round of the Canadian Blog Awards.
I hopped over to check it out and was reading the list of blogs and well low and behold guess what?  I am one of the contenders in the first round. Isn’t that exciting? This is the first time I have been nominated in anything like this and so thrilled.

So I have a huge favor to ask all my readers. If you could CLICK ON THIS AND VOTE  (the lettering in caps will take you to the site to vote) in Best Personal Blog and vote for me I would truly appreciate it. You have until November 1st to vote in the first round.

Thanks in advance I truly appreciate it.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Favorite Covers #1

Posted on by Cindy

When I first saw the cover for The Selection by Kiera Cass I fell in love with it. I made it a point to go out and buy it on its release date (April 2012). I just have to say that the cover is by far prettier in person. I haven’t read the book yet and really want to and perhaps I will have to slip it in sooner.

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Last week Kiera was able to reveal the cover of her second book in the series The Elite. Its expected to release April 2013 and you know I will be out there buying this on release day.

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection. Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea. America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide. Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

I love the cover? What do you think? I am sure this cover is probably prettier in person like The Selection was. Have you read the first book yet? What did you think of it?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Meme) Sunday’s in Bed With…. #18

Posted on by Cindy
I am working on getting some posts scheduled in advance and figured I would add a  Sundays In Bed With…. post since its going to be a busy weekend this weekend.

The awesome blogger behind this is Kate from Midnight Book Girl   not only is she an awesome blogger but she is was one of my roommates for BEA. YAY!!

Midnight Book Girl

Sundays In Bed With….is a meme I’ve started to share the book we’re spending the morning in bed with, or the one we’d like to stay curled up in bed with all Sunday if only our busy lives would allow! For fun, take a picture of the book in your bed, or simply write up a post or comment below sharing your Sundays in Bed With book. Quoted from Kate’s blog

As I write this post I am thinking that I might possibly be able to stay in bed a little bit longer since we don’t have to be at hockey until noon. This week I decided to dip into my own TBR pile ( I have two one for review books and one for books I have bought).

I am thinking of starting this:

I love the cover and this is a perfect book for this month with it being Halloween.

What will you be reading today and possibly this long weekend?
Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Review & Tour) Breakaway

Posted on by Cindy

Title: Breakaway
Author: Michael Betcherman
Pub Date: September 2012
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)
Pages: 352

Source: I received an ARC from Razorbill for my participation in the book tour.

About the book: Sixteen-year-old Nick Macklin’s life has been divided in two. Before and After. Before his father went to jail, and After. Before, he was a talented hockey player, an A student, in love with his girlfriend, Sherry, and had the greatest dad in the world, a man who not only was there for him after his mom died of cancer, but who was also a star player for the Vancouver Canucks. Then the bottom fell out. His father was convicted of murder and given a life sentence for a crime Nick is convinced he didn’t commit. Now living with his dad’s agent, the only thing that keeps Nick going is a burning desire to seek justice for his father. Who framed him? And why? Drifting away from everything and everyone who matters, Nick spends his days roaming the city, looking for the bald man with a limp who is the key to answering these questions: the man his father swears planted the evidence that led to his conviction. Finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack – until Nick stumbles on a very real clue, an eye-opening revelation that just might save his father… and himself.

Photobucket

One of the best things about blogging is getting the chance to discover a book you might not have known about otherwise and this was the case. I have to admit I never heard about Breakaway until I was contacted by Razorbill asking if I would like to be a part of the book tour. I read the synopsis and instantly said yes. I have only seen this reviewed on a few Canadian blogs so far but I am hoping that will change after our reviews get out there because this is a great book for the male young adult reader who likes books about hockey and a little mystery.

The book opens up with Nick sitting in a courtroom hearing the verdict of is father, Steven’s, first degree murder trial. From that point on I had to read to find out what happened, who did his dad kill and why. 

One of the things I loved was the mention of the Vancouver Canucks, they are our second favorite time, we are Hab fans all the way.

Nick is sixteen years old and is facing almost a life without his dad as he knows it. Thankfully he is close enough that he can go and visit his dad in jail and they do keep in touch. Nick is sure his dad didn’t kill anyone and that he is being set up. There is one person out there in the city of Vancouver that knows exactly what happened that night and its a bald man with a limp and Nick is determined to find him and prove his father’s innocence.

Nick has been told to stop looking for the man by his dad and to accept what is the new reality of his dad being in jail. So Nick tries to get back to a normal life (or what can be as normal as expected) with getting better grades, getting back onto his hockey team and possibly getting Sherry back but he is still looking for the man responsible with only his friends knowing what he is really doing. But deep down inside Nick will never give up the search and some how he will try to prove his dad’s innocence but can he before his dad looses hope?

I really enjoyed the book and Michael has asked to read it when he saw the cover of the book but I have told him no not for awhile as its not appropriate for his age. I enjoyed it and I was curious to find out if Nick would be able to pull it off and find this man in a population of 2,000,000 + people. I was also curious to find out why his dad was being set up and for what reason. Do we find out? That you will have to pick up the book to find out.

I think this is great that there is actually a book written for male readers which is few and far between in young adult books in my opinion.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Mini Make Up & Nail Polish Haul

Posted on by Cindy
 
I was recently out with a friend and we did a little shopping. Its nice that I have an electic bunch of friends but it can sometimes be bad on a budget since it seems like I am on a book buying ban and I have been replacing that with make up and beauty products.

So anyways I thought I would share with you what little goodies I picked up.

Wet & Wild nail color. I love both shades alot and they will be perfect for the summer. They are in the shades of Bijou Blue (it looks like a bright shade but its not overly bright) and the other one is Lavender Pearlescent (this one also isn’t very bright)
Essie’s Trophy Wife. I saw a swatch of this in store and for some reason it appeared darker then when I did it at home. Perhaps if I put a few more coats on it will be darker but I really like that shade.
My friend was joking about these polishes because she knows that I have been longing for a NYC trip and May just won’t come fast enough so I grabbed these two and I’m not sure what the regular price is but they were under $2 each so I went ahead and grabbed them. As you can see the first one is in the shade of Empire State Blue (there is some green hues to it and the color isn’t very dark) and the other is a top coat with sparkles and its in the shade of Big City Dazzle. This would work with all the polishes I bought.
Finally the last thing I picked up with this FIT Me pressed powder is Classic Ivory because I have been told you should put a pressed powder over your face to seal your make up so I figured I would try this one out to see if I liked it and its by Maybelline.
 
Are you a big make up person? What are your go to products? What about nail polishes?
copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Sweet Delight Divalicious Fall Sample Box

Posted on by Cindy
  • This is a quarterly sampler box. (Comes out with the seasons)
  • It sells for $26 Canadian and it includes shipping
  • Ships to Canada and US only
  • You can expect to receive 10-15 samples but it could be more depending on how many business owners send in.
  • This is not a recurring charge. You have go onto the website when they announce the sale of the box
  • They are one of the longest running sample/beauty boxes in Canada
  • The samples are mostly from independant business (alot of Canadian businesses but a few big names can be included

I was truly lucky enough to get into the fall Sparkle, Shimmer and Shine box because they sold out within 57 minutes of going on sale. This is apparently a new record for them.

This is my second box from Sweet Delight, I got the SUMMER box in June and loved it and was truly impressed with that box so I was super excited to find out what was in this fall box.

Shipping was really fast. I ordered it last Tuesday and when I came home from the school on Friday it was sitting between the doors. It was coming from New Brunswick. I wish some of the other beauty boxes would ship like this.

This is what I saw when I opened the box. Everything is packed so nicely.

This little loot bag is jammed packed.

Hmm I wonder what is inside this cute pink wrapped package?
I am going to start with the items that weren’t wrapped and loose in the box.

The first item is the Revlon medium length press on nails in Sequins. This is a full size product and its from their Runway collection.

 
Something that I loved right away was the John Frieda Frizz Ease Shampoo, Conditioner and hair serum sampler. This will be perfect to travel with since this is my daily shampoo and conditioner.
 
Kalo Post Epilating Spray. This is by NISIM and its a full size product and its valued at $57.40 so this covered the price of the box. Upon reading this when ever you remove hair you use this product and the hair is suppose to be gone.
 
Roystone Soapworks sent a cute little soap sample in the scent of Pumpkin Pie. This smells so good.

The Pink card is from Sample Delight thanking me for the order and hopes I enjoy all the items.

The next little pouch I saw was samples from Spa Resource with included a coconut hand cream (4ml) vanilla Grapefruit hand & body wash (7ml) x2, vanilla sugar hand cream (4ml) and moisture foor cream (4ml)
 
The other sample is Amedaya Natural Bodycare and its a little sample of the Sweet Orange & Vanilla body butter.
 
This is a new to me company and its Sister’s Keeper Products and its called Dip Hair & Body Moisturizer. Its perfect for all hair and skin types.
 
The following was inside that loot bag.
Ola Hawaiian Body Products graciously provided small jars of their Vanilla Ginger Cane Sugar Scrub and it smells delicious.
 
Simply Natural Kosmetiks graciously provide sample packs of a 15ml cleansing milk, 15ml skin toner, 8ml jar of rich cream and 8ml jar of mycellium rejuvenator along with their brochure.
 
Bugs and bubbles Soap Company gave us a guest size soap in Amber Romance Fragrance. This smells amazing.
 
Feminine Charms provide generous samples of their body butters and I got Enchanting Jasmine.
 
One of the best packaged was the eye cream from Renu Derma because it was packaged in a blue puffy organza bag.

The following were wrapped up in the pink tissue paper package.

 
Gold Canyon Candles sent the beautiful packaged tealight and it smells good.
 
Bees Knees Body Works sent in full sizes of their Shimmer Sticks. We all got Buttercream Frosting and I just have to say that this is delicious on the lips.
 
Monaco International sent full size products of their lipsticks. I got Coffee Hazelnut from their Coffee Lipstick Collection. This smells just like the name and I am trying hard not to use to much of this cause its so good.
 
D & E Handmade Cosmetics provided a full size of their Rose Petal Lipstick. I love this company because they make Vegan Make Up from the Island of Hawaii. This is another item I love and the color is great.
 
Another company who provide a generous sample was Vi-Be and they sent a mini solid perfume. Its a solid and paraben free, no alchol or colorants. Its made with shea butter, vitamin e and bees wax.
 
The ring is from I Candy Crystals and its a faux pearl adjustable ring. I really like this. This came in a organza bag.
 
The cute little earrings are from Cross Wires Jewelry . This came in a cute organza bag.
 
The necklace is from Vivid Jewelry Design and this came in a cute organza bag.
This is just a closer look at the colors of the lipsticks.
This is the close up of the ring. Isn’t it pretty?
This is the front of the ViBe solid perfume. Isn’t the packaging pretty.
This is the back as you can see I got the scent Sweet Like Candy and it smells really good. This would be perfect to shove in your make up bag when traveling or even your purse.
This is what I got in the Fall box and I am truly impressed so many great products to try out.

I can’t wait for the winter box to come out since I have loved the last two I have gotten.

If you click on the company’s name it will take you right to their pages. If you see something you like please go out and buy the item. I have seen a few businesses I have to order from.

 
copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.