Cindy

Review/ Every You, Every Me

Posted on September 2, 2014September 3, 2014 by Cindy

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan
Published by Alfred A. Knopf on 2011
Pages: 248
Goodreads
Genres: Dating & Sex, Love & Romance, Mysteries & Detective Stories, School & Education, Social Issues, Young Adult

In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts to discover a series of unnerving photographs—some of which feature him. Someone is stalking him . . . messing with him . . . threatening him. Worse, ever since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he's been unable to sleep, spending night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as it sounds, Evan's starting to believe it's Ariel that's behind all of this, punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself. Creatively told with black-and-white photos interspersed between the text so the reader can see the photos that are so unnerving to Evan, Every You, Every Me is a one-of-a-kind departure from a one-of-a-kind author.

As you may or may not know September is National Library Card Signup Month. This fun event is being hosted by Felicia from Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and Jennifer from The Book Nympho . Be sure to stop by their blogs this month to see all their fun and exciting posts.

I mentioned in my post yesterday we are big fans of the library and we all have library cards that we use quite frequently but I have to admit that the cards are used the most June, July and August because that is when the summer reading program begins at our library. Over the course of the three months we borrow alot of books.

Michael picks out things he would like to read and for me I tend to pick out books that are on my wishlist to read or books that I have been meaning to buy and just never did. So this month I am posting reviews of books I have borrowed from the library.

Every You, Every Me was one of those books I had wanted to read when it came out and I admit every time I went to the book store I would pick it up and walk around the store with it and then would put it back. Needless to say it never came home with me.

Image my surprise when I was walking around the library and spotted this book just sitting on top of the trolley, I picked it up and decided okay this time I need to bring it home and read. I quickly checked it out and decided to sit and read while Michael was doing an activity.

I am not going to get into a big review of this book just because I am sure every one has probably read this already.

I feel bad for saying this but I have never read anything by David Levithan before this and after reading Every You, Every Me that this was probably not the best book to start off with. It was a quick read which was nice but I didn’t really enjoy the book. I am probably in the minority on this one right?

I liked the concept that Jonathan Farmer had sent photos to David with no idea on how the book would play out and that was a unique concept and David wrote the book based on that. I don’t think this has been done before, correct me if I am wrong please.

I never fully understood the ~~strikethrough~~ that was happening through out the book. At times I found it very confusing and that might have been one of the reasons I didn’t really like the book. Did this bother anyone else?

When I started to read the book I was interested because you had no idea who anyone was right away and then slowly we find out who people are and you begin to wonder what could have happened to Ariel and who was sending those photos. I think I would have liked to have a little idea of what could have happened in the beginning and not the end. I was thinking that she perhaps ran away/ disappeared or she killed herself and its not revealed until the end.

I was wondering who was leaving the photos and why and I guess I was expecting more of a bang at the end over this and it just felt like that never happened.

Will this stop me from picking up another book by David to read? Nope I am still curious about this writing and books and I do believe I might possibly have one of his books in a box that I will have to dig out once I am done renovating the basement to read.

What is the next book I should pick up by David Levithan to read?

Review/ Way to Go

Posted on September 1, 2014September 16, 2014 by Cindy

Way to Go by Tom Ryan
Format: Hardcover
Published by Orca Book Publishers on 2012-04-01
Pages: 224
Goodreads
Genres: Adolescence, Dating & Sex, Friendship, Homosexuality, Social Issues, Young Adult

Danny thinks he must be the only seventeen-year-old guy in Cape Breton – in Nova Scotia, maybe – who doesn't have his life figured out. His buddy Kierce has a rule for every occasion, and his best friend Jay has bad grades, no plans and no worries. Danny's dad nags him about his post-high-school plans, his friends bug him about girls and a run-in with the cops means he has to get a summer job. Worst of all, he's keeping a secret that could ruin everything.

September is National Library Card Sign Up Month.

Every time I have moved to a new city I always made it a point to go and get a library card. Since living in Montreal I have had four library cards at four different libraries but when the island of Montreal merged alot of the local cities didn’t so now you have to pay to be a member of these libraries so now I only go to the two libraries that are in my area because as a resident I don’t have to pay.

I have noticed that over the summer we borrow alot more books then any other time of the year and that is due to the fact that Michael does various library activities and it makes returning books so much easier then other times of the year but thankfully as a parent volunteer at my son’s school I have complete access to that.

So this month I plan on reviewing only library books. I managed to pick up a whole bunch of books that I don’t think I would have picked up otherwise. I was introduced to a whole new bunch of books as well as you will find out this month.

The first book I am reviewing today is Way to Go by Tom Ryan. He is a Canadian author. He was originally from the East Coast of Canada but he currently lives on the West Coast of Canada.

This is Tom’s first novel. I had no idea about this book until I was looking for Tag Along (that review will be coming up this month as well) which is Tom’s second novel. Seeing it on the shelf I decided to pick it up.

Danny has just finished grade 11 and he has no idea who he is or who he wants to be. He is looking forward to spending the summer with his friends Jay and Kierce. Sounds like a great summer for any teen but what his friends don’t know and its not revealed until almost the end of the book is that Danny is gay and he has been trying so hard to fit in with his friends and not have them thinking he is gay.

I could totally understand that because he lived in a tiny little village in Nova Scotia in the 90s and you just didn’t hear about those things happening in tiny little areas. You knew it happened in bigger cities.

So throughout the book Danny is struggling and trying to keep this secret. He tries to hook up with girls but its just not happening for him. Yes the girls do fall for Danny because he is cute. One night at a party Danny gets drunk and he hopes that this could be it but when he goes into kiss a girl he dumps his beer all over her and she freaks out.

Danny takes off when gay comments are thrown at him he gets stopped by Kierce’s day who is a cop. Danny goes home to tell his mom and figures the only way to keep her son on the straight and narrow is to make him get a summer job and its in this summer job that Danny realizes who he is and what he wants to be.

Thanks to an old of his mom’s who hires him to work at her new restaurant he meets Lisa. He is in awe of her and I think he thinks she could be the one. You can see the flirting going on between them. I think had Kierce not stepped in perhaps something could have happened. Lise is like no other girl he has meet before. She is a bit older, has travelled the world and comes from NYC. She gets Danny to open up and be who he is and its thanks to her that Danny had to courage to be who he is.

I am excited to start Tag Along.

Challenge/ Foil Sample Challenge 2014

Posted on August 31, 2014August 28, 2014 by Cindy

Earlier this summer I decided to do a massive clean up of my bedroom. I literally pulled everything from my closet, dressers, bins etc and decided it was time to purge and get rid of clothes that no longer fit, purses no longer used, shoes no longer worn, etc because you know what I mean, right?

I wish I would have gotten photos but I was too busy getting rid of things because I had known had I stopped I would be in trouble.

The whole clean up took almost a week to complete and I still have some rearranging to do.

What I did when it came to the the make up I put everything into a bin and from there I organized it (once I am done I will share pics of the final look) into three piles on the bed, stuff to keep, stuff to donate, stuff to trash and then all the foil pack samples was a whole other story.

This is where I had an eye opening experience and I don’t have pictures because what I am about to say/write I don’t want proof of, (denial perhaps) but looking at the piles on the bed sat literally hundreds upon hundreds of dollars of make up/other kinds of products that was either not open, opened but not used, used & didn’t like, expired and using. I was in total disbelief at this and shock my head.

In order to tackle that I quickly trashed all the expired stuff (you know that mascara you opened years ago and really liked but never finished it, eye shadow you first had when you started wearing make up in high school, etc) I mean there is really no need to hang onto that any longer and I trashed the used and didn’t like as well because I don’t like to give used make up away.

Then from there I tackled the rest I kept what I really wanted and would use and donated the rest so that someone else or others that could get use out of it.

So now that I am aware of all this I decided that I will:

get back into doing my make up ban and this will begin Sept 1st until May 24, 2015 when I go to NYC. I figure I can finish up a few things and make a dent into other things and if I buy anything when I am in NYC it will only be things that I can’t get here in Canada.
will make monthly empties posts/vlogs and I think once I start using up things I will feel like I am accomplishing my goals
I think I am going to start doing either a weekly what’s in my make up bag or a monthly one and pick out either enough make up for that week/month and use only that for that period.
I have cancelled all my beauty box subscriptions and currently only have Beauty Box 5 (monthly) and Fortune Cookie Soap (this one is quarterly)

That is a good way to use up what I have and perhaps either finish up or make a dent into items.

Now for the foil samples that I have, I have gone through them and already bagged the ones that have expired and for the rest of them, I am making it my mission from Sept 1 to Dec 31, 2014 to use them up.

Here is my list that need to be used up:

2 body smoothers
20 various make up samples
90 various skin care samples
13 various hair care samples
13 perfume samples
25 hand/body samples
3 food item samples
3 biore strip samples
4 breathe right strips
5 crest strips samples
6 sunscreen samples
16 various other samples (a mix of an assortment of samples)

I will be putting the finished up packs into a monthly post/vlog.

Am I the only one who has a stash like this?

Meme/ Catch, Read and Release! #9

Posted on August 31, 2014August 29, 2014 by Cindy

What it’s all about:
Adding books to your shelves each week is fun for all book lovers, but at some point, when our piles get a little too high, when our bookshelves are double stacked, and every nook and cranny in the house has already been filled with stacks of books, we all need to make room for more. There will always be new titles added to our never-ending TBR list, including upcoming releases, debuts, and the next instalment in a book series, so why not share/highlight the books you let go of, either through donating, selling, lending, or give away. We think it’s just as important to share the books we pass on, because in the end, they help feed our book additions by giving up their space on a bookshelf, table, or night stand so we can fill it up with something from our wishlist. Catch, Read, Release! was created to share the books we add to our collection, showcase the books we’ve read, and most importantly, highlight the books who sacrifice their spots so we can buy more!

Disclaimers: This meme was inspired by Tynga’s Reviews‘ Stacking The Shelves. I’d also like to give credit to Cindy @ Tynga’s Reviews for creating the awesome Catch, Read, Release! meme graphic and for helping us with picking the name! Thank you!

How you can participate:
Create your own Catch, Read, Release! post and link back to Moonlight Gleam Reviews to spread the word so others can join the fun!
Moonlight Gleam Reviews will be hosting Catch, Read, Release! each Sunday, but there’s no set date for you to join. You don’t have to commit to post each week either, just as often as you want!
Don’t forget to visit each week and add your Catch, Read, Release! direct URL so others can visit your post!
Visit other participant links.
Don’t forget to have fun! 🙂

Lucy, a local Montreal blogger has come up with this great meme that I am going to try and take part in on a weekly bases if possible.

The above information is taken from Lucy’s blog Moonlight Gleam Reviews.

What did I catch this week? Please check my previous post to see the books we bought this past week. I am currently posting this Friday night just in case we spend the night in Plattsburgh.

This week I read: I am currently reading Wild Within and Queen of Hearts for review.

This week I am didn’t release anything.

Thanks Lucy for hosting this be sure to check what Lucy has done this week and others as well. Until next week have a good week everyone,

Book Blitz/ Love at First Sigh

Posted on August 27, 2014August 27, 2014 by Cindy

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Love at First Sigh
AUTHOR – Elodie Parkes
GENRE – Contemporary erotic romance
PUBLICATION DATE – August 16, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 45 pages, (two stories within)
PUBLISHER – Hot Ink Press
COVER ARTIST – Elodie Parkes

BOOK BLURB

Two sizzling contemporary romance stories

Handy Hubby Hire
Tired of the maintenance jobs mounting up in her house, Sara hires a handyman. She never dreams someone like Griffen Fox will show up to fix the faucets and back yard gate. Sparks fly, but will they lose their heart to each other?

Pina Colada
When Emma takes a long weekend vacation in a warm beach resort, she meets the very handsome Matt Tyler. They spend an idyllic few days together. Will this only be a holiday romance?

BUY & TBR LINKS

Amazon Geo-link / GOODREADS

EXCERPT (Exclusive excerpt, not posted before)

From story two, Handy Hubby Hire 18+ rated excerpt

Sara got through the front door before she lost her composure. Smiles wreathed her face. She grasped the business card and looked at the words embossed there. She read it aloud focusing on the name. Griffen Fox, and what a fox he is. He is…gorgeous. What will happen tomorrow? I know what I’d like to happen. Will that be it, he’ll rock up, do the jobs and disappear as if we didn’t have sex, as if we didn’t gaze at each other and want more, want to fuck each other’s brains out all night? She sighed. She sat at her desk and relived his kisses. Her nipples hardened. She pictured his huge, hard cock. Her pussy clenched and drenched her fresh panties. She licked her lips. I wish I was with him now. I want his lips on mine, his hands on my ass. This is probably not good for me. I’ll crave sex again now. Damn it.
Sara remembered the months after Jem left. She missed him, their conversations, their walks, but she missed sex more. She missed the hard shape of a man’s body, the taste of his cum. She missed it badly and she’d craved it until she despaired. There’d been no one else. She didn’t meet men in everyday life.
She went to make more coffee. I’m addicted to this stuff.
That night Sara tossed and turned. She considered masturbating because she needed release, but she knew she longed for a man’s fingers, a man’s mouth on her breasts, preferably Griffen’s. Her own fingers wouldn’t do, not after sex with Griffen. Sometime just before dawn she fell asleep.
She sat bolt upright as the sun streamed in through her bedroom window. The angle of the rays told her it was quite late. She leapt out of bed and checked the time on her cell phone.
Half an hour to shower before Griffen Fox arrived. Her heart started beating faster as she daydreamed about his kiss and his mouth on her skin. She raced to shower and dress.
Her hands shook as she made a cup of coffee. She went to look out of her front windows and watch for his arrival. “Calm the fuck down,” she told herself aloud, but when his truck pulled into her driveway her heart thumped.

Copyright Elodie Parkes 2014 Hot Ink Press All Rights Reserved

AUTHOR BIO

Elodie Parkes is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often with a twist of mystery, paranormal or suspense. Her books are always steamy — cool stories and hot love scenes.

Elodie lives in Canterbury with her two dogs. She works in an antique emporium by day and writes at night, loving the cloak of silent darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.

Elodie writes for, Hot Ink Press, Moon Rose Publishing, Eternal Press, Secret Cravings, Evernight, and Siren Publishing.

She has also released titles as an individual indie author.

FIND ELODIE ONLINE

BLOG – TUMBLR – FACEBOOK – TWITTER
GOOGLE+ – PINTEREST – YOUTUBE – AMAZON USA
AMAZON UK – SMASHWORDS – BARNES & NOBLES – ARe
BOOKSTRAND – EVERNIGHT – TRR – MANIAC READERS

Blitz Organized By

Today We are Celebrating…….

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Cindy

I literally almost missed doing this post and acknowledging that Cindy’s Love of Books is actually turning 6 today.

I went back over the past 6 years to see my other posts from this date and it looks like a few are missing which I find really strange so I am going to have to try and track those ones down to put in.

As I sit here writing this post I am still amazed that I am actually still doing this. So many blogs have come and gone during this time .

I have to admit though at times I didn’t think I would continue. If you are a blogger you know exactly what I mean, its alot of work maintaining a blog with doing reviews and trying out new things. At times I have thought of throwing the towel in and just go about life but I can’t, I love my blog.

Over the past six years I have been blessed with meeting so many great bloggers in real life at meet ups or at BEA.

Speaking of BEA. I have been lucky enough to attend 3 (2010, 2012 and 2013) and visit one of the most amazing cities I have ever been too, NYC. I can never get tired of the hustle and bustle of city. Every year there is always a special memory that makes me remember that trip. Like the first year the Montreal group we went in saying okay we aren’t going to look like tourist and we blended in until the last day when Tina and I got lost well needless to say we whipped out that map to try and find out where we were.

The second trip since it was only Tina and I going, I was on the hunt for roommates and I ended up with three fantastic bloggers and needless to say that was a memorable trip. What happens in NYC stays in NYC 🙂

Then finally my last trip which I thought was possibly the last trip wouldn’t be because I got to hang out and room with a blogger I have been following for a long time, Sheila. It was so nice to hang out with Sheila (I am sure I drove her bonkers at time). I just have to say what you see online is what you get in real life.

I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to attend BEA 2015 since it will be the last time its will be in NYC before it moves to Chicago the following year (2016). So if you are planning on going or thinking of going and might possible be looking for a roommate please let me know…

Through blogging I have gotten to know so many wonderful bloggers the Montreal Ladies, Kate, Kim and Kelly (awesome roomies) Kathy, Sheila, and the list goes on and on.

I have gotten to work with so many publishing houses, publishers and reps. I have been lucky and gotten to meet them in real life Chris, Paul, Nikole, Miriam and the list goes on and on as well.

Over the past 6 years my reading has changed drastically as well and discovered so many fantastic books and authors and genres I must admit that I might not have read on my own. With that my TBR has increased drastically and my home is filling up with books.

Over the past year or two I have also had the chance to do other things and attend events that aren’t solely based on just books and for those I am grateful because I would love to incorporate some of my other interests into my blog. So if there is anything you would like to see please let me know.

Finally I don’t think I could be where I am without you guys. I appreciate all the time you put into commenting and I have been working on really going back to commenting on your blogs. At times I admit I thought no one was reading but I realize you are so for that I truly appreciate that.

So to show my appreciation:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blogger Challenge/ Back To School day 9

Posted on August 26, 2014August 29, 2014 by Cindy

Today’s topic is Day 9 Share with us the story of your favorite teacher or mentor.

I was lucky when I went to school. I had quite a few amazing teachers and its hard to pick just one but if I have to it would have be my grade one teacher Ms Brown. She was a young teacher and you could see she loved teaching.

I was very nervous when I started school because I was literally the new kid who had just moved to the area that summer and I was shy and very quiet (yes that is true as hard as that might be to believe LOL) she made sure that the kids played with me and after a little while I turned into that kid who was fearless who had her bubble burst fairly quickly.

Ms Brown was very caring and she cared about her students. I remember that winter of grade 1 I had slid down an ice hill on my stomach and well needless to say that wasn’t a good idea. She sat with me while I was crying because my mouth was bleeding, she kept telling me it would be okay and hearing that made me feel a little better.

She was the kind of teacher who didn’t allow kids to pick on other kids.

It was a small school from grades 1 to 6 so roughly 120 kids and it was nice because everyone looked out for everyone. Plus I have to admit being the tinyiest one had its advantages LOL