Category: blogging

Review: Names In A Jar

Review: Names In A Jar

Posted on by Cindy
Review: Names In A JarNames in a Jar by Jennifer Gold
Published by Second Story Press on September 14, 2021
Pages: 336
Goodreads

Twelve-year-old Anna Krawitz is imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto with her older sister, Lina, and their father. Happy days spent reading about anatomy and science in Papa's bookshop are long gone, and the knowledge they have is used to help their neighbors through the illnesses caused by starvation and war.
With no hope in sight and supplies dwindling, Anna finds herself taking care of an orphaned baby. With a courage she didn't know she had, Anna and the baby leave behind all they know and go into hiding with a Catholic family, changing their names to hide their identity, but Lina is not so lucky and winds up in the infamous Treblinka Camp. Can Lina survive and find her way back to Anna? Will the two sisters even recognize each other after such a long time?
A story filled with hope, courage and reconciliation.

Thank you Second Story Press for providing an eGalley of Names in a Jar by Jennifer Gold so that I could review this book.

Names In A Jar is told from the points of view of sisters Anna and Lina and it opens up in 1939 just before WWII begins. The girls and their father live in Warsaw. Sadly the girls’ mother died shortly after she gave birth to Anna.

I loved reading about Anna and Lina. Lina being the big sister took pride in raising her little sister always looking out for her. She only ever wants the best for Anna. Anna has so much love for her older sister and knows she does things out of pure love.

When the German soldiers attack and force the Jewish families to the ghetto you see how bad life was for them. Lack of food and medicine being available they realized that had to do something about that. This is where small children were enlisted to sneak out and smuggle things back but that comes with a risk of being killed. I am sure at that point everyone was willing to take the chance to help their families. Anna wants to do it and I am sure every time she was late Lina worried about her.

When a chance is presented Anna’s father decides Anna needs to get out of the ghetto to have a better life and goes ahead with a plan to have her smuggled out. I was thoroughly surprised and impressed at how well Anna took it. Armed with a new name she went to live with a wonderful couple who could not have kids but treated her like their own as she was growing up. I was thoroughly impressed by Anna/Maria and how she stepped in to help the farm animals. I admit this was when I was squeamish.

Lina remained in the ghetto with her father until his passing and until the soldiers came and moved the Jewish people to the concentration camps. We see Lina’s brief life in the concentration camp and how her ability to speak another language is what saved her and the chance meeting of Jerzy. With plans of escaping will Lina and Jerzy get out safe and sound?

Without going into too much more of the book I do wish there was more of Anna and Lina’s story. I am hoping that perhaps another book is coming because there is so much more to their story.

This was such an emotional read and I could not put it down. I read this pretty much in a day. I thought the writing was beautiful and we all know what happened during WWII and I am happy that Jennifer doesn’t take the book in that direction. Jennifer focuses on showing the strength and determination of these two sisters.  Definitely, a must-read.

I will never look at a jar the same way after this book.

 

Review: Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World

Posted on by Cindy
Review: Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide WorldSydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World by Deborah Hocking, Jacqueline Davies
Published by Clarion Books on February 2, 2021
Pages: 80
Goodreads

Best-selling author Jacqueline Davies tells the story of two unlikely friends: Sydney and Taylor, a skunk and a hedgehog who strike out to discover the great unknown, despite how afraid they are of it. Charming full-color illustrations and a laugh-out-loud story make this chapter book perfect for fans of the Mercy Watson and Owl Diaries series.

Sydney is a skunk and Taylor is a hedgehog, but no matter how odd the pairing may seem, their friendship comes naturally. They live happily in their cozy burrow . . . until the day Taylor gets his Big Idea to go see the Whole Wide World. From mountains taller than a hundred hedgehogs, valleys wider than a thousand skunks, to the dangers that lie in the human world, Sydney and Taylor wanted to see it all. With a map and a dream, they bravely set off, soon discovering that the world is much bigger than they realized . . .

I was recently introduced to these wonderful and cute characters, Sydney and Taylor when I had attended PW Book Show (May 2021). I was given an eArc of the series upcoming book 3. At the time I didn’t realize that it was the third book and it was only afterward that I discovered it and quickly went to see if I could find the previous books.

Thankfully I was able to pick up a copy of Sydney and Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World through my local library. This is the first book in the series.

I loved reading this because this is the epitome of true friendship. We all need best friends like Sydney (the skunk) and Taylor (the hedgehog)  in our lives because no matter what one bestie wants to do or how crazy it might be you go along with them.

Taylor comes up with the brilliant idea to explore the world and to see what is beyond Miss Nancy’s potting shed and yard. Now Sydney is not the biggest fan of Taylor’s brilliant ideas but he always goes along with him and in this case, it’s a good thing because Taylor has packed up everything but the kitchen sink to take on this journey. Sydney tells him that he doesn’t need all that. They head out on this journey.

This journey doesn’t go quite as planned because Taylor can’t really read the map he brought and they get lost. Then they take a break to rest and eat only to discover that Taylor didn’t pack any food after all. Not once has Sydney gotten cross with his friend and suggest that they are capable of hunting for their food and go on the hunt. Only that doesn’t go quite as planned.

Will Taylor and Sydney be able to make it back home safe and sound?

The illustrations by Deborah Hocking are gorgeous and colorful. I loved the mapped end pages. I definitely can’t wait to read the next book, Sydney and Taylor Take A Flying Leap which came out in August 2021.

Cover Reveal: All I Want For Christmas

Posted on by Cindy
BOOK DETAILS:
All I Want For Christmas is the Girl Next Door
by Chelsea Bobulski
(All I Want For Christmas, #1)
Publication date: October 28th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Holiday, Young Adult
Synopsis:

It’s a Wonderful Life meets Wish Upon A Star in this Christmas-themed young adult contemporary romance.  

Graham Wallace has been in love with the girl next door for a decade. Unfortunately, she’s been dating his best friend for the past two years. Out of sheer desperation, Graham makes a wish on a shooting star—all he wants for Christmas is Sarah Clarke.

When Graham wakes up the next morning, everything has changed, and he’s the one who’s been dating Sarah for the past two years, not his best friend. Graham assumes the wish would have only come true if he and Sarah were meant to be together, but as it becomes clear that he and Sarah bring out the worst in each other, not the best, and as he starts to fall for the new girl in town, Graham wonders if some wishes come true in order to show us what’s not meant to be.

“A town called Christmas. An iffy wish come true. A new girl who could change it all. Chelsea Bobulski’s The Girl Next Door kept me on my toes, turning pages from the start, and loving each revelation as it unfolded. Deep, funny, and real—this holiday romance will completely warm your heart and remind you that not all wishes should come true.” — Nova McBee, author of the Calculated Series

AUTHOR BIO:

Chelsea Bobulski was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised on Disney movies, classic musicals, and Buckeye pride. She’s always had a penchant for the fantastical, the stories that teach us there is more to this world than meets the eye. She has a soft spot for characters with broken pasts, strange talents, and a dash of destiny in their bones. After graduating from The Ohio State University with a degree in history, she promptly married her high school sweetheart and settled down in Northwest Ohio with her notebooks and daydreams and copious amounts of chocolate. THE WOOD is her debut novel.

Author links:

September is Library Card Sign Up Month

Posted on by Cindy

September is National Library Card Sign Up Month. This year’s Library Card Sign-up Month Honorary Chair is Marley Dias. Marley is an author, executive producer, and founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks. 

Do you have a library card? If not, now is the time to sign up for one.

Every time I have moved to a new city I always made it a point to go and get a library card because they are free to get and you can borrow books, magazines, video games, DVDs, music and so much more. Since living in Montreal I have had five library cards at five different libraries but when the island of Montreal merged a lot of the local cities didn’t so now you have to pay to be a member of these libraries if you are not a resident, so now I only go to the two libraries that are in my area.

So for the month of September, I know I have to renew my card and I plan on reviewing only library books. I love borrowing books from the library because I always manage to pick up books I haven’t heard of before, ones I don’t think I would have picked up without seeing them and books that I have had on my wishlist and never bought because I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy them.

Do you take advantage of your local library? What do you tend to borrow the most?

Just remember that:

  • There is nothing more empowering than getting your own library card. It gives you access to technology, resources, and services to pursue your passions and dreams.

To Annotate or Not to Annotate?

Posted on by Cindy

Happy Blogiversary to me.

I should start off by saying that today, Cindy’s Love of Books is officially 13 years old today.

I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long. So many fantastic things have happened during that time, meeting bookish friends near and far (IRL and online), attending 4 Book Expo conventions in NYC, working with authors, publishing house/reps, reading so many fantastic books ( I am sure I have read well over 1500 books within that time), taking my blog from a free platform to self-hosting, and so much more.

Anyways, on to today’s post.

Do you or do you not annotate your books? Please let me know in the comments down below.

To be honest, up until last year I have never ever annotated any of my books. The thought of doing that freaked me out because I take care of books and if you look on my shelf you would think some of them were never read because of the condition they are in.

Then things changed as I was reading this year. I started to use post-it tabs on the page to indicate my favorite quote or scene. I was content with that process and not every single book I read gets tabbed. It was only ones I was truly loving. As you can see in the photo below, I am sharing just a few ways I have tabbed a book. Those tabs indicate favorite quotes, scenes in a book, one book is actually a book club read and the chapters we read each week are tabbed and the heavily tabbed book is a bullet journal guide that I have used in the past to try different things in my bullet journal. BTW this is just a few of the annotated books I have.

Every person who annotates their books uses different tools. Here is what I use currently that works for me:

    • A Highlighter: My personal favorite is the Zebra Mildliner. As you can see in the photo I have every single one that is currently available (one is missing from the photo as I was currently using it). When selecting which one I will use I tend to pick one that will match a color on the book. Then I will highlight quotes with it. Right now I tend to just use one highlighter per book until I feel comfortable using more for different things.
    • Pens/Pencil: For underlining, writing notes in the margins, or drawing I will use Papermate Ink Joy gel pens with a 0.7 nib that also matches a color on the book cover. I have been using these pens since they came out and I love how they write.
    • Post-it tabs/page flags: I love using these to mark a favorite passage in a book or something I want a quick reference to. I have been using this method for a little over a year now with book club reads, especially if we have broken the book down into x amount of chapters to read each week. It’s a great way to keep track of the chapters I need to read.

If you annotate your books what are your go-to supplies?

I have always thought about writing in my books but that thought really freaked me out. That was something I couldn’t jump into until really recently and I will explain how I made the jump to doing that. You might be familiar with Canadian author S.K. Ali. She is the author of Saints and Misfits, Love From A to Z, and her newest release Misfits In Love. She decided to put together a traveling arc tour for Misfits in Love and wanted everyone who read the book to annotate it. I was excited and instantly jumped on board. How fun would it be to read everyone’s thoughts or comments? Or to even add my own thoughts and comments to a book?

I was surprised at how easy it was to write my thoughts, comments, or opinions in the margins. As you can see in the photo above,  I shared some of the ways that I annotated Misfits in Love.

Not sure if it was because someone gave me permission to do it or what but I think it has encouraged me to actually start doing that to my own books.

Since I am back posting this post I should let you know since writing this post up I have actually annotated a book. This is my very first personal book annotation.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Hello (from here) by Chandler Baker & Wesley King and figured this was the best time to practice annotating.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do it and it turned out that I basically ended up having a conversation with the book, I circled character names and how they were related to the character, places and made all kinds of comments all over the pages, underlined words/sentences and highlighted favorite quotes. I am quite pleased with how my first book turned out. I definitely will keep doing this moving forward.

Just remember there is no right or wrong way to annotate your books. What works for one person might not work for the next. Do what makes you feel comfortable and what appeals to you. Remember they are your books.

 

Cover Reveal: Chasing Alys

Posted on by Cindy

Today Morgana Bevan and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover for CHASING ALYS, the first book in her new rockstar romance series which releases September 28, 2021! Check out the awesome cover and enter the giveaway!

 

On to the reveal!

 

About the Book

Title: CHASING ALYS (True Platinum Series, #1)

Author: Morgana Bevan

Pub. Date: September 28, 2021

Publisher: C Bevan Publishing

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google Play Books, All other retail sites

PRE-ORDER  THE EBOOK NOW FOR 99CENTS!

Check out a preview of CHASING ALYS! 


When love’s song takes over, I’m forced to find the beat.

 

Heartbreak has been my dance partner for years, but I’m done. Love is a complication I no longer want. Especially from a rockstar.

 

Ryan Evans is the very definition of heartbreaker. Women line up so he can rock their worlds.

 

Not me. I’m determined to resist his charms.

 

Who cares if he has striking blue eyes and a voice that lights me up? Our beats are thoroughly out of sync.

 

I am definitely, one hundred per cent, never again waking up to a stupid thank you note, for a night that probably shouldn’t have happened, with a guy who’s already on a plane out of here. Except, there’s something about Ryan’s charming determination
that gets past my defences. He creeps into my heart… and my bed, until I’m so wound up in him, there’s only one way it can possibly end…

 

Heartbreak! Mine. Again.

 

Chasing Alys is a full length steamy rock star romance. It is the first book following Rhiannon and the first in the True Platinum Series.


Excerpt

“I’m sorry about that.” He gestured back to the club. “That doesn’t normally happen. I don’t understand why it did tonight.” He dragged a hand through his hair, frustration darkening his eyes.

I shrugged, magicking up an air of nonchalance from somewhere. “You’re an up-and-coming rock star. It was going to happen someday.”


“I know, but not here. We don’t have a following in Cardiff.”


My eyes flicked back to the club. I could still hear the music; the bass vibrated down the street. They were lucky this was a commercial
zone. The complaints would have been constant.


“Looks like you just got one.”


My words didn’t ease the tension in his face. I didn’t know how to do that or why I felt the need to comfort him.

 

“I’ll be better prepared from now on,” he said, his tone dripping with desperation.

Despite the situation, my lips twitched. “What are you going to do? Wear a disguise?”


His nod was swift. “If it’ll help, absolutely.”


“I appreciate the suggestion, but maybe this was just a sign that it wouldn’t work out anyway.” I took a step back, towards the waiting
taxi. “It was a fun couple of days, Ryan,” I said, trying to inject some light into his sad expression.


The truth in those words took me by surprise. I had had fun with him, even if our interactions were brief. I’d miss his easy smile and the way he seemed to draw me to him like a magnet.


Wordlessly, he stepped around me and opened the taxi door.

With a grateful smile, I slid in and buckled up.


Fun or not, I couldn’t give in. At this point, it felt like I needed to prove that I could be happy without a man messing with my head.
Breaking a promise to myself for a guy who had women tracking his every movement would be foolish.


I was giving the driver my address when Ryan knocked on my window. He gestured for me to roll it down and I hit the button, frowning.


Ryan leaned forward until his head was level with mine.

Something had eased in him and he had that determination shining in his eyes again. My stomach dropped at the sight. In that second, my wishes to be a mind reader came true. I knew what he was going to say before he uttered the words.


“There’s something important here and I’m not giving up yet.”

 

About Morgana Bevan:

Morgana Bevan is a sucker for a rock star romance, particularly if it involves a soul-destroying breakup or strangers waking up in Vegas. She’s a contemporary romance author based in Wales. When Morgana’s not writing steamy rock star and movie star romances, she’s working in TV production in the UK.


When not writing, she enjoys travelling, attending gigs, and trying out the extreme activities she forces on her characters (see Instagram for evidence!).



Sign up for Morgana’s
mailing list!

 

Website  | Facebook | Facebook Group  | Twitter  | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Giveaway Details:

3
winners will receive an eARC of CHASING ALYS, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Week Blitz: Seventeen Butterflies

Posted on by Cindy

I am so excited that SEVENTEEN BUTTERFLIES by Anna Katmore is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes an awesome giveaway courtesy of Anna, & Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, check out the giveaway info below.

 

About The Book:

Title: SEVENTEEN BUTTERFLIES

Author: Anna Katmore

Pub. Date: August 23, 2021

Publisher: Anna Katmore

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 136

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Read For Free With A Kindle Unlimited
Membership!


The embarrassment of being the only “un-kissed” girl in senior high is something Sandy Cardington refuses to accept. The first kiss project is her foolproof plan to finally get rid of the status at her birthday party while her parents are out of town.

With several kissable boys on her guest list, this should be a walk in the park. But she didn’t reckon on her older brother returning from college days before her 17th birthday, putting a spoke in her plans. To make matters even more complicated, he has a friend in tow, and the cute hockey player stirs unexpected butterflies in her stomach every time their paths cross.

While Sandy moves heaven and earth to make her party and project come true, she doesn’t know that Thane Griffyn is making his own plans to teach her the real meaning of a first kiss.

A compelling, sweet high school romance, perfect for fans of Kelly Oram, L A Cotton, Cassie Mae, and Erin Watt

Teen & young adult contemporary romance New adult romance

EXCERPT:

“Since you’re up anyway, do you have any plans for today?” Thane asks quite casually again as he moves closer and grabs the jar. I can feel his chest gently aligned to my side. Sinking into the shelter of his body, I drown in yet another cloud of melting-snow scent. Boy! How can somebody smell so good and not be turned into a brand of perfume?

“I’m meeting up with Adrian after lunch,” I answer in a surprisingly shy voice, turning my head just slightly so I can look at him around my upstretched arm.

“That means I could borrow you until…let’s say noon?”

“Why?” For heaven’s sake!

As I lower to my feet, we both bring down our arms slowly, then Thane passes me the raspberry jam. “Because that’s probably how long your brother will sleep.”

True. Hang a half-naked girl on a swing frame in front of his window, and he’ll be up in a flash. But that’s not what I meant. I drag my eyebrows down a little, trying to understand. “No. I mean, why borrow me?”

Thane shrugs, and it seems this is the on-switch for his pretty-please-smile. “Because I’d love to see a little more of this town, and
you’d surely make a great tour guide.”

Scrunching my face as I uncap the jar, I study him from the corner of my eye. “You wanna go sightseeing?” This is Oakspeak, for goodness’ sake. We’ve got exactly one town hall and a slowly declining train station. That’s it. “I don’t want to disappoint you, but there’s really not much to see.”

“It’s either sightseeing or hanging out on the couch doing nothing until your brother returns from the dead,” he says, leaving my side and heading around the kitchen island. But then he grins at me over his shoulder. “I don’t think you could disappoint me.”

I believe it’s only because of the warm feeling he gives me that I murmur, “Okay…”

Thane takes a seat on one of the barstools, an even more hopeful look on his face than before. “Could I get some sugar for my coffee, please?” He looks like the cutest little boy asking for presents when he doesn’t know whether it’s already Christmas or not.

My cheeks crinkle with a rising smile. “You know what?” I take a seat next to him. “Since you’re going to live here for the next few days, I guess it’s okay you feel at home. Sugar is in that cupboard, yellow bowl.” I point to the one above the coffee machine. “And when you’re hungry, just come down and grab whatever you want yourself.”

His black eyebrows knit together. “Without asking?”

I bite the corner of one toast. “Mm-hmm.”

“Really? You mean everything?”

“Yes, I mean everything,” I assure him, laughing now while I chew.

“Except my Oreos. If you want to live, don’t touch them.” This is a warning he should take very seriously. I’m addicted to the cookies.

As his gaze drops to my body and rises within a millisecond, I roll my eyes because I realize I ran right into that one. To his credit, he holds back his gamy smirk ninety percent. “Got it. Can eat everything. No Oreos.” Leaving his mug on the counter, he slides from the stool and grabs the sugar bowl.

After he comes back, now standing beside me, he adds a careful spoonful of sugar to his brew then reaches over and snags my untouched second slice of toast.

My eyes widen in sharp protest. “Hey!”

“What? You said everything.” And there’s that dimple again on his left cheek. With a shower of mischief in his star-blue eyes, he arches his brows and takes a bite from the toast. Then he leans in really close, keeping our gazes locked with his intense stare. “Be thankful that I didn’t eat the Milky Way.”



About Anna Katmore:

“I’m writing stories because I can’t breathe without.”


Anna Katmore lives in an enchanting world of her own, which allows only those to enter who are ready to hand in logic and rationalism. But beware, if you dare to step through this door, you’ll never want to leave again…


Disney is her attitude towards life, and if she could, she’d save the world
from itself. Her patronus is a wolf, her wand the broken twig of an apple tree,
13 inches long with a unicorn hair core. Glitter on her shoes is a must, though
she doesn’t care for Cinderella’s glass slippers. Too risky that something
might break…

For more information, please visit www.annakatmore.com

 

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 Winner
will receive the entire Grover Beach
Players series in ebook format, International.

3 Winners
will receive 2 eBooks of their choice from Anna’s entire collection, International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway