Year: 2015

Library Loot… November #1

Posted on by Cindy

librarylootnew

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

 

I have decided that I think I am going to make an attempt to get back into going to my local library on a weekly bases. I know I should have continued this when September rolled around and the weather was still nicer and I honestly think once the snow comes it might not happen as much.

I realized that apart from my coffee dates with Jennifer and my monthly breakfast dates with Tina that I am pretty much in all day apart from going to get the mail at the community box on my own I should say I do get out with hockey, errands and groceries etc.. I hope you know what I mean, do you?

Anyways for now I did go to the library and walked around and I managed to pick up:

This is Josh Groban’s newest cd and I was thrilled to see that my library had it on hand so I picked it up to listen too.
I also spotted One Past Midnight by Jessica Shirvington in the new YA section so I also picked this up to read. I have it for 3 weeks so I am hoping to get to this within that time frame.
In the 7 day borrow section I spotted Second Life by S.J Watson. I have been anxiously waiting to get this one and numerous times I have picked it up at chapters but always put it back so I am happy to get this and I have seven days to read this before I have to bring it back.

Do you borrow books from the library? What about music? What do you like to borrow from your library?

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday Secret Santa Edition #2

Posted on by Cindy

waitingonwednesday

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and its spotlights upcoming books that we are eagerly waiting for. I plan on including upcoming releases and books that are already released.

This week I am featuring another 5 books and they are:

  • The Boy With The Hidden Name by Skylar Dorset
  • Hardwired by Lindsey Currie & Trisha Leaver
  • Sweet Madness by Lindsey Currie & Trisha Leaver
  • Unraveled by Gennifer Albin
  • Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Review/ Myles and the Monster Outside

Review/ Myles and the Monster Outside

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ Myles and the Monster OutsideMyles and the Monster Outside Series: Weird Stories Gone Wrong #2

by Philippa Dowding
Format: ARC
Published by Dundurn on September 19th 2015
Pages: 128
Goodreads
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Monsters, Young Adult

Book Summary:

The second instalment in a series of scary tall tales from acclaimed children’s novelist Philippa Dowding. I will never leave this car, the back seat reeks of everything my little brother has ever eaten, and that thing is still out there ... Myles and his family have been driving for four days. It’s their final night on the road, but Myles knows they will never arrive at their new house. It will never stop raining. And even if they do get there (which is doubtful), he knows he will never have friends again. He also knows that something is following them in the dark, rainy fields outside their car. Something monstrous. Once the monster arrives, things go very wrong. Myles and his family get lost, their car keeps breaking down, and a strange old man and his dog turn up, again and again. Then things get really weird. Myles is pretty sure it’s all his fault: he’s the only one who can see the monster. He’s the only one who can hear the monster. And hardest of all? He’s the only one who can make it go away.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I should begin this review by saying yes this is the second book in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series but they are totally stand alones meaning you don’t need to read the previous one to know what is happening. The first book is called Jake and the Giant Hand and it came out last year.

One of the great things about getting to work with Dundurn Press is being exposed to some great and talented Canadian authors which I truly need to read more of.

Reading Myles and the Monster Outside brought me back to when I was a child and leaving my grandparents house in Montreal to return to Bathurst (NB) during summer vacations and driving at night along some pretty dark and scary roads so reading this I instantly remember that I was exactly like Myles and thinking there was monsters outside my window because you always saw something that would look like something scary.

Myles is a twelve year old boy who is traveling with his mother, sister and baby brother to their new home. Its a long four days of traveling for the family. Myles is excited to see his dad who is relocating the family to a new city for his job.

Myles can’t wait to get out of the car because its beginning to stink of everything imaginable because the family has practically been living in the car since they left their old house.

The trip is going good until they take a ferry ride on a cold stormy day and Myles see’s something looming near by. In the mist he sees what looks like a monster shaped like a man with red eyes and you know that this is the beginning of the tension and suspense that is about to happen. Myles doesn’t say anything to anyone because at first he doesn’t believe it but gradually he begins to think that is real.

Once off the ferry they are back on the road and its seems like they are headed for diaster because if its not one thing its another and this basically has Myles freaked out and I think had I been in that same situation I would have been the same way.

Finally with all these things happening Myles decides to speak up and of course no one believes him and there were telling it like it was and not playing along with Myles. Finally after a weird encounter with a old man in the middle of the night in the rain wandering around has the family believing him.

Philippa Dowding did an amazing job telling the story. She was very descriptive with the book and I think most people probably has experienced the same things as Myles did in the book in their real lives. Granted mine was never like Myles’s but I did think there were monsters or something chasing us.

Review/Dumplin'

Review/Dumplin’

Posted on by Cindy
Review/Dumplin’Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Format: eARC
Published by HarperCollins on September 15th 2015
Pages: 384
Goodreads
Genres: Adolescence, Dating & Sex, Emotions & Feelings, Social Issues, Young Adult

Book Summnary:

For fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell comes this powerful novel with the most fearless heroine—self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson—from Julie Murphy, the acclaimed author of Side Effects May Vary. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.Dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . .  until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.  Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Dumplin’ was a book I had picked up at BEA 2015 this past May and I finally managed to sneak it into my reading pile mainly thanks to Tina who wanted to borrow it to read so now I can officially tell her she can read it and pass it along.

I really like the cover its simple but it stands out when you look at it and I love “Go Big, Or Go Home!”

Dumplin’ has been labelled as the must read book of 2015 and I have to say that I am happy that I was to get this to read and review. Its also be optioned for a movie and I have to say that I will definitely watch that one when it comes out.

Willowdean otherwise knows as Willow (to her friends) or Dumplin’ (by her mother) is your typical high school girl who works part time at a fast food restaurant, she has a crush on one of her co-workers (Bo) and a best friend Ellen. She has a huge obsession with Dolly Parton.

One of the things I loved about Willow was that she was comfortable in her skin and she won’t change for anyone no matter what. Willow is a big girl with hips and curves. I think alot of girls will be able to relate to Willow.

Dumplin takes place roughly six months or so after her aunt Lucy dies. Aunt Lucy was a big girl as well. Willow’s world is slowly changing and she doesn’t like it. Willow lost the only person she felt like she could confide in and knew what Willow was going through and her struggles.

Willow’s mom is the complete opposite of Willow and her late aunt. She is thin and was a former beauty contestant winner and she makes it a point to run the beauty pagent every year. So you can see that they have a strained relationship.

Willow and Bo begin a summer romance where everything is kept on the down load and no one knows about them even Ellen has no clue about Willow and Bo. Willow was questioning why a cute guy like Bo would be interested in her when he could clearly have any other girl. Its at this point where she decides she needs to quit her job and get away from Bo because she can’t take being his secret girlfriend or the lies and the secretiveness.

Then enter Mitch who is the high school jock that plays football who takes a liking to Willow. I wish Willow would have given him more of a chance instead of using him like she did. I think Mitch could have been good for her.

You can tell Willow’s confidence is falling and she knows it too so she takes it upon herself to enter the beauty pagent and along the way other kids who are different begin to enter as well and they all look to Willow to guide them. Will Willow be able to follow through with the pagent or will it prove to be too much for her?

So much is going on in the book as you can tell from the book summary that it will keep you reading until you are done.

If We Were Having Tea…… #1

Posted on by Cindy

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I recently saw Jennifer from Mrs.Q Book Addict post this on her blog and I thought it was an interesting idea so I thought I might do this as well. I hope that is okay Jennifer?

If we were having tea….I would tell you that this has been a busy weekend. Yesterday Michael’s hockey team had their 6th game yesterday and they won 6-1. So we are now 2 wins and 4 loses. I would tell you that I love watching Michael skate. In a future post I will share a clip of a game.

If we were having tea….I would tell you that I am taking part in a Literary Tea today with my friend Jennifer who has author John Farrow/Trevor Ferguson coming to her house to speak to about 15-20 people about his books.

If we were having tea….I would tell you that I am so tired and once again this time change has kicked me in the butt. I am waking up at 5:30am every morning and by 8:30pm I am exhausted and I want to go to bed. I would ask if this is effecting you too?

If we were having tea….I would ask if you are doing any Christmas shopping yet? I want to start but I just don’t feel like I have the energy to do so. Its been a rough year with my father in law passing last December and then my mom this past August. We are already talking about a tree and you would think by now my family would know its not happening until after December 5th (my birthday)

If we were having tea….I would tell you that I feel like I am back to my regular reading again and enjoying it. I am slowly making head way through my BEA 2015 books and it feels good to slowly be going through them.

If we were having tea…. I would tell you that I enjoyed today and I look forward to next week in seeing you again.

Review/ Dangerous Lies

Posted on by Cindy
Review/ Dangerous LiesDangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick
Format: eARC
Published by Simon and Schuster on November 10th 2015
Pages: 400
Goodreads
five-stars
Genres: Love & Romance, Mysteries & Detective Stories, New Experience, Social Issues, Young Adult

Book Summary:

A teen is forced to make a fresh start after witnessing a violent crime—but love and danger find her anyway in this novel from Becca Fitzpatrick, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush saga.Stella Gordon’s life is a lie. She does not belong in Thunder Basin, Nebraska. As the star witness in a murder trial against a drug dealer, Stella is now in the Witness Protection Program. The small town locals can never know who she really is. Not even Chet Falconer, the one boy who makes her want to reveal her true self. She knows that telling the truth will only bring violence to this safe haven. Despite how hard Stella tries to stay under the radar, danger is fast-approaching. Criminals have a way of getting rid of witnesses, and Stella may have made the one mistake that could lead the cold-blooded men hunting for her right to her doorstep.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was recently contacted by Simon & Schuster Canada asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing this for my blog and I instantly said yes because its been a book that has peaked my curiousity since first hearing about it.

I recently saw the hardcover of the book and I have to say that I love the cover. The rain drops on the final cover are all embossed and it makes the book stand out although I have to say that I feel the cover really doesn’t go with the book per say but I did love it just the same.

I know I am going to get some flack when I say this but I have never read any of Becca’s previous books (The Hush Hush Sage and Black Ice) and I do own them all and I think I might have to dig them out to read because I loved Dangerous Lies.

Dangerous Lies was pretty much a quick read for me. I started it Wednesday night at bed time and by Thursday night I had finished the book. I literally could not put it down because it was a fast paced action thriller, mystery book to say the least.

Estella (AKA Stella) is placed in the witness protection because she is suppose to testify against a drug cartel that her mother was involved with. She stumbled upon a dead body in her living room and witness the killer kidnapping someone.

Her mother is sent to rehab and Stella is sent to Thunder Basin, Nebraska. Stella is not happy to say the least because she is basically dropped off in the middle of no where USA and placed with a lady, Carmina who thinks she knows whats best for a soon to be adult in a few months and has laid down the ground rules for Stella staying with her. Of course Stella tries  to rebel but gradually things begin to change between these two stubborn headed girls.

When Stella lands in Thunder Basin its basically until she turns 18 and then she is out of there but I think once she is there she just might have a few people who will change her mind such as Chet. I loved Chet and I think he was the perfect match for Stella. In the beginning Stella was trying to remain true to Reed her boyfriend from back home who was also placed in the witness protection program because he also was there and he actually witnessed it all. Then gradually Chet broke down the wall and Stella realized she couldn’t resist him.

I have to admit at first I didn’t care for Stella because of her attitude and I got it and it sucks being torn away from what and who you know and resume your life as a new person but still have all those previous memories. Gradually I did warm up to her and I loved that she was going to make the changes so that this process could work.

I don’t want to say much more because I feel as though I will give it away but I will say that the last part of the book is insane and you will literally be glued to the pages because you can’t and won’t be able to put it down. The ending/plot literally threw me for a loop and left me saying “WTH”  as I did not see that coming.

I really hope there is a book two because I don’t think this story is done. I would love to know what happens to Stella and Chet as well as Chet’s brother Dusty and his girlfriend, Inny.

 

five-stars