Category: Books Read-2010

Merlin’s Harp Tour and Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Merlin’s Harp
AUTHOR: Anne Eliot Crompton
PUB DATE: March 1, 2010
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PAGES: 256
GENRE: Young Adult

Among the towering trees of magical Avalon, where humans dare not tread, lives Niviene, daughter of the Lady of the Lake and apprentice to Merlin the mage. Her people, the Fey, are folk of the wood and avoid the violence and of man. But the strife of King Arthur’s realm threatens even Avalon’s peace, and Merlin needs his apprentice to thwart the chaos devouring Camelot. And so Niviene must use her special talents to help save a kingdom and discover the treachery of men and the beauty of love. A mystical love story, now back in print, sure to become a modern teen classic.

MY THOUGHTS:
When I started blogging over a year I told myself that I was going to step outside my comfort zone to read other genres. You never know you could stumble across a certain book that you might not have read otherwise that is a hidden gem.

This is a book that I might not have picked up on my own to read unless it was facing me on the shelf because I have to say that I love the cover. I think its a pretty cover. Don’t you?

The book is about a subject that I know nothing about the King Arthur period. I did recognize quite a few names such as Lancelot, Arthur etc.

Merlin’s Harp is told in the perspective of a woman. Although she isn’t a normal woman she is a Fey. The story is told by Nivienne and she ends up helping Arthur’s kingdom during their war with the Saxons.

I have to admit when I started to read the book for some reason it felt like I was reading another language and had a hard time to get into it. After struggling to get through the first chapter I decided to check what others on the tour were saying so far about the book and I felt much better realizing I wasn’t alone.

I decided that I wasn’t going to abandon the book and that I would push forward in reading it and once I past that hurdle things seemed to be going good. Saying this I liked the book but its not a favorite for me.

Here are some bloggers who enjoyed the book:
Book Journey
Bookalicio
Books and Literature For Teens
Today’s Adventure
Sarah’s Random Musings
Biblio File

I liked the premise of the story and how Anne Crompton told it and I think perhaps if I knew more about that period of time I might have enjoyed it more.

Thanks to Paul from Sourcebooks Fire for sending me this book to read,review and for allowing me to be part of the tour for this book. This is another new release under the Sourcebooks Fire imprint.

If You would like you can read the First Chapter.

UPCOMING STOPS ON THE TOUR:
http://dolcebellezza.blogspot.com/ 23-Mar
http://www.capriciousreader.com/ 24-Mar
http://examiner.com (Portland) 25-Mar
http://www.theveronicaproject.blogspot.com/ 26-Mar

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.

Waking up in The Land of Glitter Tour and Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: Waking Up In The Land Of Glitter
AUTHOR: Kathy Cano-Murillo
PUB DATE: March 2010
PAGES: 336

Thank You to Miriam from Hachette for allowing me to be a part of this tour and for allowing me to review this book.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
With glue guns, glitter, twigs, or yarn, the ordinary can become extraordinary . . . especially at La Pachanga. Owned by Estrella “Star” Esteban’s family, the restaurant has a rep for two things: good food and great art. La Pachanga brings people together-even when it looks like they couldn’t be further apart.

One ill-fated evening, Star jeopardizes her family’s business, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her future career. To redeem herself, she agrees to participate in a national craft competition, teaming up with her best friend, Ofelia-a secretly troubled mother whose love for crafting borders on obsession-and local celebrity Chloe Chavez-a determined television personality with more than one skeleton in her professional closet. If these unlikely allies can set aside their differences, they’ll find strength they never knew they had, and learn that friendship, like crafting, is truly an art form.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kathy Cano-Murillo is a lifelong writer and artist. Her crafts have been carried by hundreds of retailers including Bloomingdales, Target, and Hallmark. She is a former entertainment reporter for The Arizona Republic, and has authored seven books including Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing. She is the founder of CraftyChica.com, a wildly popular web site to inspire women to brighten their lives with clever craft ideas. She has a web series on LifetimeTV.com, and can be seen on HGTV and DIY Network.

This is the official site for http://craftychica.com/

MY THOUGHTS:

This is Kathy’s debut novel. I am really looking forward to reading her future books. I also love the cover and I admit the picture doesn’t do the cover justice. The glitter details added to the book cover.

While I was reading this book I have to admit and I don’t know if any one else felt this way but I had the sudden urge to start crafting or doing something creative. Which I have to admit I have started to work on a few things. I guess a confession is going to happen here- I am creative but sometimes in my head its way better then what is actually produced. I think the one thing I can actually say I am good at is cross stitching hands down.

It was really nice to find at the back of the book a glossary of Spanglish (Spanish/English)definitions that were used in the book. Some of them I figured out on my own and others I wasn’t so sure so it was nice to know that.

In the book Star makes a love shrine (which BTW happens to be a actual store name in NYC) and I was curious to what it was and what it ensued thankfully Kathy mentioned what and how to make one. Also in the book the group has to make centerpieces for a national craft event and they decide to make glittered cactus which Kathy tells us how to make one of our own.

The book opens up with Star getting set to be interviewed on tv about a vandalism crime to a mural that has been painted on the family restaurant/art museum but Crafty Chloe. A lady Star doesn’t really like. Within the first few pages we discover who actually spray painted happy faces on the mural and the family and artist are very happy when they discover who did it.

Star is a twenty eight years old and does what she wants, when she wants and lives the life of a typical teenager basically. She lives at home with her parents. She has something good that could possibly be happening in her life but gets scared and ruins it and quickly realizes what she has done and tries to fix it. Can she get what she lost back?

Olfie is her best friend with a crafting addiction. She buys craft supplies like I buy books. Yes we are both addicts. The only thing is Olfie thinks her crafts are the best but in reality they aren’t that good. This is where I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Chloe is a young newscaster who will do anything to matter the cost or how it effects her just as long as she is the best and gets what she wants. She will use and step on anyone who gets in her way. Chloe in reality hates crafts and anything to do with crafts. Before long her secret is revealed and could possibly blow up in her face.

I loved how the bond of friendship was developed and carried on through out the book.

I have to say that once I started reading Waking Up in the Land of Glitter that I was hooked and had to read on to find out what kind of trouble these friends could get into, would they be able to over come all the obstacles that ended up in their way and be able to make all those centerpieces with just the four of them. I found it to be a quick and easy read.

Some Other Bloggers reviewing this book today:
http://www.renees-reads.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com/

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.

Beautiful Dead Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Beautiful Dead Books 1-Jonas
AUTHOR: Eden Maguire
PUB DATE: March 2010

SOURCE: Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me an ARC of this book.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Not alive. Not dead. Somewhere in between lie the Beautiful Dead.

Something strange is happening at Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to die within a year. His street-fight stabbing follows the deaths of Jonas, Summer, and Arizona in equally strange and sudden circumstances. Rumors of ghosts and strange happenings rip through the small community as it comes to terms with shock and loss.

Darina, Phoenix’s grief-stricken girlfriend, is on the verge. She can’t escape her intense heartache or the impossible apparitions of those that are meant to be dead. And all the while the sound of beating wings echos inside her head…

And then one day Phoenix appears to Darina. He tells her that she must help Jonas—the first of the four to die—right the wrong linked to his death. Only with her help can Jonas finally rest in peace. Will love conquer death? And if it does, can Darina set it free?

MY THOUGHTS:

Thanks to Paul at Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an advanced readers copy and for allowing me to be part of the blog tour for this book.

This is the first book in a four books series. The idea behind this series is that within a year four students from Ellerton High have been killed and they are Arizona, Summer, Phoenix and Jonas. Each book will tell the story of how each one was killed.

In the first book we are introduced to Darina right away and learn that her boyfriend Phoenix has just be killed. She is heart broken, grief stricken and trying to come to turns with the death. One of the things Darina does is go for drives to think and on this particular day she ends up wondering around a field and she hears a banging door in the wind. She goes off in search of it and stumbles upon an deserted house and barn.

She goes up to the barn and looks in. Its your typical old barn but in the middle is a group of people standing around in a circle. She spots her boyfriend Phoenix and they quickly spots the three other kids who were killed this past year. When the door bangs again she makes a run for it before being spotted.

Although it doesn’t take her long to go back to the spot again to find out what is going on and wondering if what she saw was real. Is what Darina saw real?

When she is asked to help Jonas to get justice for his death and bring the person who is responsible forward will Darina be able to help Jonas before his time is up?

I really enjoyed reading this book and I have to admit it was a quick read at 271 pages. At the end of the book the first chapter of book two which sounds just as exciting and I am dying to read that one when it comes out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eden Maguire lives part of the time in the US, where she enjoys the big skies and ice-capped mountains of Colorado.

An abandoned farmstead two hours south west of Denver gave her the perfect setting for The Beautiful Dead. “It was as if time had stood still,” she says of her first chance visit to the ranch. “The kitchen still had the old rocking-chair and iron stove, the ancient barn door really did blow open and shut in the wind.”

It was here that the seed for a series of paranormal romance mysteries was sown. Eden Maguire’s lifelong admiration for Emily Bronte’s timeless classic, Wuthering Heights, ties in with her fascination for the dark side of life and informs her portrayal of the restless, romantic souls in The Beautiful Dead.

Away from her interest in the supernatural and the solitary pursuit of writing fiction, Eden’s life is lived as much as possible in the outdoors, thanks to ranch-owning friends in Colorado. She says, “Put me on a horse and point me towards a mountain – that’s where I find my own personal paradise.”

COVERS OF UPCOMING BOOKS:


Book 2 is Arizona
Book 3 is Summer
Don’t you just love the covers? I do

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.

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven
AUTHOR: Susan Jane Gilman
PUB DATE: March 2009 (Hardcover)
PUB DATE: February 2010 (Trade Paperback)
PAGES: 320

ABOUT THE BOOK:
In 1986, Susan Jane Gilman and a classmate embarked on a bold trek around the globe starting in the People’s Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent backpackers for roughly ten minutes. Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche and Linda Goodman’s Love Signs, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads–hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, and under constant government surveillance. Soon, they began to unravel–one physically, the other psychologically.

As their journey became increasingly harrowing, they found themselves facing crises that Susan didn’t think they’d survive. But by summoning strengths she never knew she had–and with help from unexpected friends–the two travelers found their way out of a Chinese heart of darkness.

UNDRESS ME IN THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of naïveté, friendship, and redemption told with Susan’s trademark compassion and humor.

MY THOUGHTS:

Susan Jane Gilman is a new to me author who I heard about last year but never had the chance to read. She is the author of two other non fiction books called Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, and Kiss My Tiara. I have read Kiss My Tiara and my review will be posted soon. I still have to read Pouffy White Dress.

I am not a huge fan of non-fiction/memoirs but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I was reading this. I have never gone on any road trips with girlfriends in my entire life but that is going to change in May when I head to NYC with my fellow friends. After reading Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven I know our road trip will be nothing like Susan’s.

Susan has just graduated from Brown with her friend Claire (Van Houten). On a whim the girls have decided that they will backpack around the world for a year and return when their student loan payments start.

Susie and Claire both admit that neither one of them had really traveled much. With only the Lonely Planet in hand they decide where they want to go. They decide to begin their journey in China.

China in 1986 was just beginning to allow tourists in but you had to go through Hong Kong in order to get into China. Things are good until they land when realization hits Susan. They have decided that they were basically going to rough it no fancy hotels and do what the locals do. They have no reservations anywhere and are basically using the Lonely Planet book. I cringed reading the description of the room in Hong Kong.

Along their travels they meet alot of interesting characters. Such as an American woman travelling with two kids and you wonder why they are travelling in the fall instead of being in school and a few others that make you raise an eyebrow at and go hmm wonder what the story is up with that?

Both girls go through alot, discover alot and they struggle but in the end they tough it out and make the best of their trip and root for each other. Just what friends should do.

I want to thank Miriam from Hachette for sending me this book and for allowing me to be a part of the February Blog Tour for the book. Thank You Miriam.

Here are some bloggers who are also reviewing this book today:
http://booksiesblog.blogspot.com/
http://thedivinemissmommy.com/
http://booknaround.blogspot.com/
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/

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.

Anything But Normal Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Anything but normal
AUTHOR: Melody Carlson
PUB DATE: January 2010
PAGES: 256

ABOUT THE BOOK:

She thought she’d left the summer behind . . .

This year should be the best of Sophie Ramsay’s life. She’s friends with all the right people, she’s a shoo-in for editor of the school newspaper, and she’s managed to turn the head of one of the hottest guys in school.

But something’s not quite right. Sophie has a secret–one she won’t be able to keep under wraps for much longer.

MY THOUGHTS:

As you know one of my favorite authors is Melody Carlson and whenever given the chance I always except offers from reps asking if I will read and review her books. I always enjoy reading her books and I have to say that I tend to devour the book either in one sitting or over two days.

Anything but normal is right in that category. I managed to read it during a snowy cold day.

The main character is Sophie and seventeen year old girl getting ready to tackle her last year of school. She is a girl who has it all, the ideal friends, the ideal family life, works on the yearbook committee and the school newspaper. She will soon be editor of the school paper.

One the outside it looks like Sophie is living the ideal typical teenage life but its not tell she comes back from summer camp when her world gets turned upside down. Sophie has a huge secret that she is trying to keep to herself but she will soon realize that the beans are about to be spilled.

What is Sophie hiding? Will she be able to come to grips with it?

Anything but normal is now available at your local bookstore from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell/Baker Publishing Group as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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.

Katy’s New World Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Katy’s New World #1
AUTHOR: Kim Vogel Sawyer
PUB DATE: February 2010
PAGES: 203

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Katy Lambright is given the opportunity to attend a secular high school outside her Mennonite community, she is ecstatic. But as Katy begins to adjust to life outside her community and begins to make decisions for herself, her relationships with her family and lifelong friends become strained. Can Katy balance her new world with the Old Order?

Katy has always enjoyed life in her small Mennonite community, but she longs to learn more than her school can offer. After getting approval from her elders, Katy starts her sophomore year at the public high school in town, where she meets new friends and encounters perspectives much different than her own. But as Katy begins to find her way in the outside world, her relationships at home become restrained. Can she find a balance between her two worlds?

MY THOUGHTS:

This is the first time I have heard of Kim Vogel Sawyer she is the author of numerous Christian fiction books. I am looking forward to reading more of her books.

I am always fascinated with the Amish/Mennonites and I love reading books based in that setting. This is a genre of books I discovered last year and I have to say I really enjoy reading them and I can devour them rather quickly.

Katy’s New World is the first book in the series. Katy is given a rare chance to attend a local high school. She is the first one in her community that has been given this rare chance. Katy loves school and learning.

Katy is just like any kid trying to fit in to a new school. It doesn’t help that she stands out dressed in her plain clothes. She is given an escort to show her around school and to help her out if she needs it. Her escort is Shelby. The girls soon become the best of friends which doesn’t sit will with her best friend Annika that she grew up with. Shelby’s father is a Baptist minister.

Through out the book you see Katy struggling with her faith and wondering how she will be able to remain true to her beliefs when she sees what the outside world is really like. She is like any other teenager struggling with life.

Will Katy be able to remain true to herself in a world of temptation?

You can check out Kim Vogel Sawyer on her website.

The second book in this series Katy’s Debate is schedule to be released June 2010. I can’t wait to read it. This is what book two is about:

Katy’s Debate is the second book in the Katy Lambright Series by bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer, which follows sixteen-year-old Katy as she adjusts to life outside her Old Order Mennonite community in Kansas. Katy’s dad is courting Rosemary Graber, and Katy decides to use her new debate skills to end the romance before it can go any further. At the same time, Katy is developing a crush of her own.

Katy Lambright’s life transforms when she leaves the Mennonite school and enters a local high school. Is she prepared to face the secular world and teenage life beyond her community? New Club, New Crush … New Mom? From bestselling fiction writer Kim Vogel Sawyer comes Katy’s Debate, the latest in the Katy Lambright series for young adults. Just as Katy is feeling settled in her new school, everything falls apart at home. Her father, believing she needs a mother, starts courting a woman Katy refuses to accept. Tensions rise as Katy schemes to send the woman packing. Meanwhile, the pressure builds at school as Katy joins the debate team, encounters a teammate’s scorn, and faces her growing feelings for a boy her father will never accept. Can Katy prove she doesn’t need a mother’s guidance even as she discovers more of what the world offers?

Thanks to Revell/Baker Publishing Group for sending me this book to read and review.

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.

Just Another Girl Review

Posted on by Cindy


TITLE: Just Another Girl
AUTHOR: Melody Carlson
PUB DATE: January 2009
PAGES: 221

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Aster Flynn wants a life of her own.

At seventeen, she’d like to date, hang with friends, maybe even find a summer job. Instead, she’s stuck at home with her younger sister–who seems to get needier by the minute. Her older sister is all about, well . . . herself. And Aster’s parents . . . Don’t even ask.

But things are about to change. Or so she hopes. Enter: a cool guy and some new friends, and Aster is ready to get out and grab a slice of normal life.

But will her family get in her way?

MY THOUGHTS:

Just Another Girl was a book I received from Library Things Secret Santa exchange this past Christmas. I was so thrilled to get this book as I am a huge Melody Carlson fan and I am slowly starting to read all her books.

Aster is not your typical seventeen year old girl but she wishes she was. She longs to date, to hang out with her friends, to have a summer job and well basically be a teenager and do what teenagers do.

Aster comes from a single parent family. Her dad isn’t in the picture and you wonder why he isn’t there until much later in the book.

She has an older sister, Rose. She works and has a boyfriend and is looking forward to the day she is out of the house. She tells Aster that she needs to develop a back bone and to stand up to her mother.

Her mother works to support the family and even when she comes home, it seems like she can’t be bothered with the family.

Aster has a younger sister, Lily. Lily is mentally handicapped. Aster is basically her care giver. Making sure Lily is feed, bathed and dressed. Which is alot of responsibility for a young person to have.

The book opens up with Aster trying to get Lily dressed and out the door for her summer day camp. As they are rushing down the street they are stopped by Owen. He offers them a ride but as they are going to the rec center they see the bus pulling out of the yard. Owen offers to drive them to the Stanley Pool.

Once Lily is safely with the group Owen and Aster make plans to go for a bike ride. Aster is finally happy but how long will this happiness last? Will Aster be able to finally stand up to her mom and make her realize that Lily isn’t her responsibility?

This was such a cute and funny book. There were many parts of the book that I was laughing out.

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.