Cindy

Spending the day with a local blogger

Posted on September 5, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Today I was lucky enough to get to spend the morning with an awesome Montreal blogger, Lucy from Moonlight Gleam . Even though Lucy lives about 20 minutes from me it seems like we never get together nearly enough because we are always busy so I was happy when we were able to nail down a date to meet up.

The last few times we have met up for breakfast we have gone to Moe’s which is a fantastic place because it always seems to be quiet and they are never in a rush for us to leave. I wish I would have taken pictures to show you guys the food (next time) but I went with a waffle, with fruit (strawberries, kiwi, banana and these blue small beads -not sure what they were) and an english sause and it was so good.

It was so nice to sit and talk with Lucy because so much has happened since we last seen each other in July. It was great to catch up personally, we talked about books, blog content, politics (since we had a provinical election this week), the book signing we are going to next week and the problems we have encountered but happy to say its been resolved and finally a little bit about BEA.

We are talking about sharing a room for BEA in May. I am already in my planning stages and have started to put money on the side to go.

After breakfast we went to Chapters and browsed around the store. I have to admit I caved and bought a book but it was okay because Lucy gave me permission to (HEHE). I bought

The reason I bought this is because Rosemary Clement-Moore is coming to town next Saturday for a signing and I would love for her to sign it for me. I actually love the cover of this and didn’t realize she had this new book coming out.

After chapters we ended up going to Second Cup for coffee I ended up grabbing two drinks one was a pumpkin spice latte (although the one I had last week was much better) and as I was waiting to pay I noticed that they had a spiced apple cider so I ordered that to drink later. It was so decilious and I think this could possibly be my favorite fall drink. Thnkfully its not super close to wear I live and out of the way so I think I will enjoy it that much more.

While we were at Second Cup, Lucy told me that her post for the Simon & Schuster Canada Blogger Spotlight was up and I was so happy for her. If you want to check it out click on this and it will take you to it. She is an awesome blogger.

Then after that we quickly ran back to Chapters because I wanted to check to see if they had this magazine RT Book Reviews because when I was in the US (July and August) I was able to pick up Sept and October issues and really enjoyed reading them but sadly they didn’t so we popped over to a magazine store and Lucy was so excited because they had books on sale so she was looking at them while I was looking for the magazine which they didn’t carry.

Before you know it, it was time to leave but before we did I got an amazing package from Lucy. She gave me the following books:

Birthmarked by Caragh M O’Brien
Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Between by Jessica Warman
Broken by Kelley Armstrong
Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Thank you Lucy for the books. Not only did she give me books but she gave me some awesome goodies. I was like a kid in the candy store when I got home to open everything up.

This is a little goodie bag she gave me from her trip to Disney. It contains a pen, soap, shampoo, shower gel and body lotion. I love how its all labelled Disney. Thanks so much Lucy love this and it was so sweet of you to give them to me.

Inside that bag there was also the above goodies. So many great things I am looking forward to trying such as the concealer and the lipglosses as well as the lotions.

It was an awesome day hanging out and I look forward to doing it again so. The next time I will see Lucy will be on the 15th of this month for the author signing.

You know I will be writing about that.

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)Surviving Hig School

Posted on September 4, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Surviving High School
Author: M. Doty
Pub Date: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Poppy (a division of Little Brown)
Pages: 272

Source: I received a copy of this when I attended BEA 2012 from the publisher.

What’s the secret to surviving high school?

Freshman Emily Kessler needs perfect grades, a rigorous training schedule, and record-breaking swim times. She survives by limiting her fun to lunch with her best friend Kimi and the rare Friday-night sleepover. But when she starts to fall for Twin Branches High’s heartthrob, and secrets about her sister, Sara, start to surface, Emily begins to question the strict path her life is on. Maybe there is more to high school than just studying and swimming. But if she breaks a few rules, will she survive the consequences?

The hit mobile game Surviving High School comes to life in an original novel about perfection, failure, and following your dreams.

When I was making my list of books I would love to get at BEA this was one of them and I was so happy that I was able to pick this up. It sounded really good. Well I read this in almost one sitting and it was good. There was so much happening that it sucked you and made you want to read it to find out what was happening.

The book is based on the mobile game Surviving High School. Which I have never played or heard of until I came across the book. I am currently looking for that app as we speak.

Emily is just beginning high school and she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Not only is she trying to get through school with perfect grades but she is also having to train rigorously to live up to the expectations of an Olympic dream. One that her dead sister, Sara was trying to achieve.

You can almost see that this really isn’t Emily’s dream but that of her coach/dad. Emily is trying to fit in and be a normal teen and to perhaps do all the things that Sara wasn’t able to do or did she?

Emily tries to be a normal teen dispute the rigorous training schedule and that includes having lunch daily with her best friend, Kimi and having the montly sleep over. Its when she spots and falls for the cute boy, Ben that things begin to change for Emily. Emily begins to find out secrets about Sara that she never knew and this sets in motion an almost new Emily.

Emily begins to question things and before long she is sneaking out with Ben, breaking the rules and having fun like a normal teenager.

As you know sooner or later you will get caught and that is exactly what happens. Will this be a good thing or a bad thing for Emily?

I really enjoyed the book and it brought back so many memories of high school for me. Its hard to fit in as a new comer but probably more so when everyone knows your sister. That sometimes could be a good thing or a bad thing.

I have to admit that I really liked Ben. I thought he was perfect for Emily because he made her see that there was more to life and she could be who she wanted to be.

I was pleasantly surprised by Nick and wasn’t sure about him at the beginning because I thought he was pretty shady but as the story progressed I really liked him and being able to find out what really happened to Sara was nice because it was no longer a mystery about why and how she died.

I am curious to read future books by M. Doty should he choose to write more and I did find out that there is a sequel that will come out later in 2013. So excited for that.

He also has another book available but its only on Kindle and its called Almost Kings along with a dvd movie of the book as well.

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.

(Q & A) With Author Kristine Grayson

Posted on September 3, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Two of my favorite things about book blogging is:

Discovering new books
Discovering new authors and being able to interview them (well I guess that wold count as three right?)

When I first heard about Kristine Grayson’s book Wickedly Charming, I knew I wanted to read it:

He’s given up on happily-ever-after…

Cinderella’s Prince Charming is divorced and at a dead end. The new owner of a bookstore, Charming has given up on women, royalty, and anything that smacks of a future.

That is, until he meets up with Mellie…

But she may be the key to happily-right-now…

Mellie is sick and tired of stepmothers being misunderstood. Vampires have redeemed their reputation, why shouldn’t stepmothers do the same? Then she runs into the handsomest, most charming man she’s ever met and discovers she’s going about her mission all wrong…

It’s only natural that sparks fly and magic ensues when these two fairy tale refugees put their heads-and vulnerable hearts-together…

I read it and loved it and was so happy because I found more books to love. Since then I have been quick to jump at requests when I see Kristine’s books on the list and as of today I have read: Wickedly Charming, Utterly Charming, Throughly Kissed and Charming Blue (watch for my review this week).

If you enjoy a modern spin on fairy tales I highly recommend these books. You won’t be disappointed.

When I found out from Sourcebooks that Kristine was going on a virtual book tour I had to have her on my blog again. I loved interviewing her the first time and this time around had a whole bunch of other questions to ask Kristine. I hope you enjoy it and please help me welcome Kristine to Cindy’s Love of Books once again.

Cindy: Hi Kristine,
I am such a huge fan of your books and so happy that Sourcebooks introduced me to them.
Thanks for taking the time out to answer some of my questions. I look forward to having you on the blog again.

Kristine: Thanks for asking me again!

Cindy:Having written a few fairy tale stories is there one you dying to write about?

Kristine: I can’t wait to tell Cinderella’s story. What went wrong? Why is she so mean? But I don’t think she’ll be the heroine. I suspect that will be Gussie, one of the stepsisters. That book is bubbling, so I’ll probably write it in the next year or two.

Cindy: Who is your favorite author? What is one book they wrote that you would recommend?

Kristine: I have so many favorites. In mystery, I like Michael Connelly and Ian Rankin. With Rankin, start with The Complaints. Any of Connelly’s will do. As for romance, I buy everything Mary Balogh writes. Love her work. I’m reading Julia Quinn right now. Her Smythe-Smith series is wonderful and funny! I’m also reading a lot of P.N. Elrod. I know that she’s urban fantasy, but I think of her work as closer to mystery. And in sf, I can’t get enough of Jack McDevitt. Wide open vistas, lots of space stories.Seeker is a good place to start. I suspect, though, if you ask me tomorrow, I’ll give you a different list.

Cindy: If we were too look at your desk what would we be surprised to find or discover?

Kristine: Besides how messy it is? You’d probably be surprised to discover just how much really technical/text-booky nonfiction I have there. And the little stuffed alien in the corner that my cat keeps finding and knocking down.

Cindy: What are you currently reading? (If you are) What are you currently listening to?

Kristine: This is a tougher question than it should be! I’m currently reading a biography of James Tiptree Jr. (the female sf writer), another nonfictionToo Big To Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance edited by Lee Child, andGeneration Loss by the marvelous Elizabeth Hand. Next up is Mary Balogh’s newest, but I’m saving it until I’m done writing the current book.

Cindy: Are you working on anything new? If so anything you can share?

Kristine: I’m finishing my next Kris DeLake novel for Sourcebooks. Then I focus on a series featuring the Interim Fates. If you’ve read the other Grayson series,Simply Irresistible, Absolutely Captivated, and Totally Spellbound, you’ll discover the inept Interim Fates whose father, Zeus, installed to keep an eye on true love. They end up in a difficult place at the end of that series, so they need their own stories. The first,Tiffany Tumbles, will be out from WMG Publishing next spring. If you want to see the series, it’s out in trade and ebook from WMG. There’s also an ebook edition calledThe Fates Trilogy that has all three books in it. You can always find out more about my work on my overall website kristinekathrynrusch.com or on the Kristine Grayson website, kristinegrayson.com.

Thanks so much for inviting me back to the blog!!!

Best,
Kris

Kristine I want to thank you once again for stopping by and taking the time out of your busy schedule to sit down and do this with me. I love forward to reading your other books. No matter what they are.

Thanks to Beth at Sourcebooks for arranging this interview for me.

If your looking for something fun and exciting to read then I highly recommend this author and her books.

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) Sundays In Bed With….#13

Posted on September 2, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

I was just getting some posts ready when I realized I had to do a Sundays In Bed With…. post.

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!!

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

Sadly by the time this goes up, I won’t be in bed reading this

The reason I won’t be in bed reading this is because I am on my way to Burlington, Vermont for the day. It was a last minute trip south of the border but one I am looking forward to. When I say its last minute I mean its last minute. I have been joking about going to do some grocery shopping and hitting the Olive Garden again when low and behold I was told we are going in the morning. So yea

I am bringing this book and another one (not sure yet) to read in the car.

Hope your having a good long weekend and that you manage to find some time read this week. Its hard to believe that this is the last long weekend of the summer. Where did the time go?

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.

2012 Book Buying Ban

Posted on September 1, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Today I start one of the hardest things ever, I am putting myself on a book buying ban starting today, September 1st/2012 until at least just before BEA in May 2013.

I have come to realize (as I look around me and see boxes upon boxes upon boxes of books in my basement and books stacked around the desk, book case, cedar chest etc) that I really have way to many books (review and bought/given) and I think I am pretty close to appearing on one of those hoarder shows.

Plus I am trying to save some money so that I can go to NYC/BEA in 2013 which could possibly be my last time going. So its important to start now as we go into the fall.

The exceptions to this book buying ban will be:

-anything bought for Michael from scholastic. Its not fair to put him through this

-If I recieve gift cards for my birthday & Christmas and I use them to buy books.

I know this will be hard and I am sure I will be tempted daily from your blog posts LOL anything that I see that I think I would like or want is going to go on a wishlist and I will check my library to see if they have any available to borrow.

Wish me luck guys cause I honestly will need 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.

25 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Posted on August 30, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Since its my 4th blogoversary I thought that I would do this fun thing so that you guys can get to know me a little bit more. This is actually inspired from a weekly feature in US Weekly.

So not only do I have a booking problem, I also have a magzine buying problem as you can see from the above picture that I swapped from bookshipper.blogspot.com (I passed them on to her). I love buying those trashy tabloid magazines. As you can see from the People, In Touch, US weekly and Life & Style stash. As for Women’s World I love reading them.
I read every night for about an hour or so before going to bed. I find its a great way to relax before sleeping and unwind from a busy day.
I constantly check my cell phone to see if I missed a call or a text.
I love buying shower gels even though I have way to many already. If I love the scent I want to buy it just in case they don’t carry it anymore.

I have an obession with owls. Its more the drawing kind then the physical owl.
I love Tim Horton’s Ice Caps and I usually have one every day. (more so in the summer)

I spend way to much time on Youtube checking out videos.
When I use a pen, I can only use that one until it runs out. I hate using different pens.
This one you might already know but I suck at writting reviews. As I sit here and look around I see a bunch of books I need to review soon.
Apart from M&M’s the only chocolate I can eat is Lindt.

I love taking pictures and I think next month I will do a weekly post with what I took that week.
I love traveling and wish I could do it more. I have been to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia (Halifax), New Brunswick (Moncton, Sackville, Edmunston, Miramachi and Bathurst), Quebec (Quebec City and Montreal), Mississauga, Toronto and Milton (Ontario), Lake George, Vermont, Chicago, Detroit and New York City.
Whenever I visit some place I have to get a souvenir from that place ie magnets, cups, tshirts etc

These are tshirts I picked up in Lake George for Michael and a Lake George hoodie and tshirt for me.

I love shopping in the US.

Love clothes shopping in the US cause its cheaper there then it is here. This is our Lake George haul.

I love trying new kinds of food and this ties into why I love shopping in the US.

This is what I picked up this time when I went to the US. Its foods we can’t get here in Canada. Michael loves those pasta salads for lunch.

Goldfish crackers isn’t thing we stock up on since we don’t get all those flavors here. The pretzels are my favorites with the cupcake and smores the next.

I don’t understand why we can’t get some of these in Canada since we carry their brands. I only wish I would have picked up more of those Quarker cookies cause they were delicious. That Apple Cider is calling my name, this is the perfect fall drink.

Some canned stuff for Michael’s lunch which we don’t carry here.

I love music and I always have it on. In the house, in the car where ever
I love sending cards or buying little things for friends as a just because.
I always have a ton of notes lying around with things to buy, things to do, plans etc
I hate having my picture taken.
My all time favorite classic books are Wuthering Heights and To Kill a Mockingbird.

There is only a few movies I can watch over and over again and they are Grease (first one), Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Top Gun and The Breakfast Club. I am sure there is others that I can’t think of right now.
I am not a summer person expecially when its hot and humid.
I am not a winter person. I hate when its freezing cold. Funny since I live in Canada right?
I love going for drives. Especially when its the spring and fall.
Last but not least, unless you know me on facebook and have access to my personal page, I got a new (semi) look. I just got new glasses.

So there it is, some things you might not have known about me. Anything else you would like to know? If so please leave it in the comments and I will be sure to answer 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.

(Product Review) Shirley J’s Whisk Bliss

Posted on August 29, 2012April 14, 2014 by Cindy

I was recently asked by MediaGuest if I would be interested in reviewing something that is definitely not book related and I when I saw that it was Shirley J’s Whisk Bliss I quickly jumped at the chance because if you know me, you know that I love trying new products and especially so if it involves food. I am so thankfully that my family is like that too in trying new food and recipes.

I grew up eating the basic stuff with parents who had no desire to experiment with food or recipes. Even though I tried several times so I always vowed that when I left I wouldn’t be like that and honestly I am not I love trying new things so I was thrilled to try this out.

When we got the package in the mail we sat down to figure out what to make with it. On the back of the package it gives three recipes you can make with it and they are Pasta Alfredo, Old-Fashioned Gravy and Broccoli and Cheddar soup. All three sounded really good but we finally were able to decide on the Broccoli and Cheddar soup.

Please note that this isn’t my pic, for some reason my computer ate the pic because I can’t find it in my album and its been deleted off my camera. I found this online.

I think I might have swayed the decision only because I had just bought some fresh broccoli a few days before getting this in the mail so what perfect way to use up the broccoli and this. Plus we always have a ton of cheese in the house because this is one of our favorite snacks in the afternoon.

All the recipes were easy to make and there was nothing complicated about them because its one package of the Whisk Bliss with two cups of water then depending on what you are making will depend on what you add.

For the Broccoli and Cheddar soup I ended up adding more broccoli then the recipe called for and I used mild cheddar cheese (marble) in the soup and sprinkled on top and it tasted delicious. I made this for supper and there was enough to feed three people. It was super easy and fast to make which was perfect because we had plans that evening and were in a rush to get out.

Seeing how quick and easy this was I quickly had to check out http://www.shirleyj.com/en/ and was pleasantly surprised at the site and how much they had to offer. I did find out that they are currently only in the US but if you are in Canada you can still order from them but shipping would be a little more then in the US but if you happen to visit the US you can always check the store locator to find out where the closest one is. I am seriously thinking of perhaps placing and order because there seems to be alot of neat productst that I would love to try.

Disclosure: Thanks to Shirley J and MediaGuest for sending me this product for review. I was not compensated in any other way, this is my honest and sincere review.