Category: Books Read-2011

(Early ARC Review) Sally’s Bones

Posted on by Cindy

Sally's Bones
Title: Sally’s Bones
Author: MacKenzie Cadenhead
Illustrator: T.S. Spookyytooth
Pub Date: September 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Source: I received an advance readers copy of this book from Sourcebooks Jobberwocky for my honest and sincere review.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Bones is the dreadfully delicious girl’s best friend who helps solve this Burton-esque mystery. Sally is a quirky character who loves Death Rock and faded blue jeans. She fits in better with the Addams Family than with a clique of catty sixth grade girls. After her mother’s death, grief-stricken Sally begs for death…and death is exactly what she gets: a tail-wagging skeleton dog called Bones. A gift from beyond the grave, Bones is a dreadfully delicious girl’s best friend. In this cleverly written, alliterative tale the neighbourhood’s dog treats go missing and everyone blames Bones. Sally must solve the mystery to save her cadaverous canine from puppy prison. “This unusually clever, fun teen comic is based on the novel premise that parents don’t just seem evil, they actually are evil supervillains… story with clarity, a dollop of drama and just enough pizzazz.” — Publishers Weekly praise MacKenzie Cadenhead’s The Runaways Vol 1 Grades: 4-7

I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it to everyone.

I absolutely loved the main character Sally Simplesmith and not just because of her last name. You can’t help but not fall in love with Sally. She is one of those kids you just want to take under your wing and love her.

She lost her mother when she was very young and her very busy father is raising her the best that he can do. Its only when old friends have come back into the picture (Vanderperfects) that poor  Sally wishes nothing more then “Give. Me. Death.” on her mother’s grave. Viola has made it her mission to make Sally feel like the outcast that she already feels like because Sally isn’t like most of the girls in the sixth grade.

The gift from beyond the grave (a dead dog made of bones) makes Sally’s day and probably her year because for the first time she is happy and decides that no one will bring her down even though they try. No one knows about her dog, Bones and she tries her best to keep him a secret but Sally quickly realizes that someone knows her secret because notes are suddenly appearing, who is behind them?

Sally tries her best to keep Bones her secret but before long her secret is revealed and purely by accident and its this new found friend that has peaked every ones interest and before long Sally and Bones have become the center of attention.  For once Sally feels what she has always wanted to feel, accepted.

But we all know that happiness comes at a price and it seems like there is someone (who isn’t happy about the latest development) out to get Sally and Bones because before Sally can blink and enjoy her new found popularity, Bones is being framed for stealing dog bones from all the dogs in the city. I have to say I really thought it was one person and ended up completely blindsided when the real person was revealed. You will too when you find out who did it and why.

I loved the fact that no matter what the dog looked like Sally loved him no matter what he looked like and I think more people need to realize this too. Its whats inside that really counts.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me this lovely book to read and review and for allowing me to be a part of the tour for 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.

(Review) The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan

Posted on by Cindy


Title: The Lover’s Dictionary
Author: David Levithan
Pub Date: January 2011
Pages: 240

Source: I borrowed this book from my local library.

Publisher Comments:
A sweet and touching modern love story, told through dictionary entries

basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesn’t pass, thats it you’re done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes its even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lovers face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

For some reason I thought this book came out sooner then it was. I guess thats one of the things about being a book blogger is getting to read and review before the book comes out which wasn’t my case because I have been eyeing it since I first heard about it and I was actualy waiting for it to come out in paperback (January 2012).

If you are a YA reader you already know who David Levithan is, but if this is your first time hearing about him, he is a famous (must read) YA author that has written some great books such as Will Grayson,Will Grayson and Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. Both books I have sitting on my TBR shelf. This is David’s first adult book.

This is actually my very first book I have read by David (yea I know) and I enjoyed it. This was a super quick read and was written in the format of words like in a dictionary and the “definitions” are either a single sentence or a paragraph of the situation that the narrator feels that goes with the word.

The book is about the narrator meeting a person (both are unnamed and non gender specified) who they have met through a online dating services (Did you know that 1 out of 5 people have used a online dating service?). As in any typical relationship couples hit rough spots and this is covered in the book but as you read you wonder if they will stay together or break up.

There was so many entries that he wrote about the I could relate to and I am sure many people could to. I even have to say some of the entries are funny and though provoking.

This was a nice read and break from my regular reading. So if you are looking for a quick read or something to break up your regular reading then this is the book for you.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

autonomy, n.
“I want my books to have their own shelves,” you said, and that’s how I knew it would be okay to live together.

deciduous, adj.
I couldn’t believe one person could own so many shoes, and still buy new ones every year.

tenet, n.
At the end of a French movie, the lover sings, “Love me less, but love me for a log time.”

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) Sisters of the Sari

Posted on by Cindy


Title: Sister of the Sari
Author: Brenda L. Baker
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 352
Pub Date: June 2011

Source: I received a finished copy of the book from Penguin USA for my honest and sincere review.

About the Book:
A debut novel about an American woman and an Indian woman who are about to dramatically change each other’s lives-along with the lives of those around them.

While vacationing in India, Kiria Langdon, the opinionated and driven CEO of a major company, meets Santoshi, a former slave who now works as a cleaning lady and lives in a shelter for homeless women in Chennai. Appalled by the conditions in the shelter, Kiria becomes obsessed with the idea of building decent housing for poor working women in India. Santoshi reluctantly agrees to help, even though she thinks Kiria’s ideas are too crazy to succeed.

Embarking on a rich journey of personal discovery, both women will learn invaluable lessons about themselves as they forge a powerful bond of sisterhood across the barriers of language and culture-a bond that makes anything possible.

I was instantly drawn to the cover when I got pitched this book. I love the pink and the bangles. The premis of the story also intrigued me so I accepted the request to review the book and knowing that Brenda lives in Canada now always was a huge plus for me.

I managed to read the book pretty quickly. I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn’t and this will be surprising to my readers because I always seem to enjoy or love the books that I read here so this is rare for me.

Kiria (the main character) is a successful American woman who is the CEO of NOVIO, her own company. Kiria has no ties so nothing holds her back so she does what she wants even taking a trip to India.

During a trip to India she meets Santoshi by a chance encounter. Kiria is drawn to this woman and is determined to find out more about her and she almost stops at nothing to find out what she can. She finds out that alot of the women live in a shelter system instead of living on the streets. Although some will turn to the streets to live because they have no other option.

There is something about Santoshi that draws Kiria to her and she wants Santoshi to become better and more independent for herself. With her sight set on helping out Santoshi, Kiria decides that the other women need that same chance so she decides to open her own shelter that would allow these women to become dependant individuals.

Kiria’s friends are sure that this venture will fail but she is out to prove them wrong. Things come to a head when Santoshi informs Kiria that she will not live with anyone below here and that many of the women will feel the same way. This hits Kiria the wrong way and she is not going to turn anyone away that can use her help. Will she be able to help these women out or will she get burned in the process?

I have to admit that there was alot happening in this book with numerous characters being introduced with there own story lines and at times I was a little unsure how they would fit in. Perhaps this was one of the reasons I didn’t really enjoy the book.

I feel bad that I didn’t enjoy the book more because I know tons of people who loved the book from reading their reviews.

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 & Give Away) Heart of the Highland Wolf

Posted on by Cindy


Title: Heart of the Highland Wolf (book 7 in the Werewolf Series)
Author: Terry Spears
Pub Date: June 2011
Pages: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Source: I received an ARC copy from the publisher for my honest and sincere review. Thank you Danielle for sending this my way.

About The Book:
It’s a matter of pride…

Modern day werewolf laird Ian MacNeill reluctantly allows a film production company to use his castle, but he knows his secretive clan has a big problem when a beautiful red werewolf female who insists she’s working on the film keeps showing up in the wrong places…

And a matter of pleasure…

Julia Wildthorn is not who she says she is—she’s sneaking into Argent Castle to steal an ancient relic for her grandfather and to do research for her next werewolf romance novel. When she catches a glimpse of Ian, she realizes he’s the perfect hero…

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will notice that I don’t read/review romance books and that is only because its a genre I never really got into until I read To Tempt The Wolf. I fell in love with the book and the author. Terry’s books are the only romance books I will read and highly recommend.

Heart of the Highland Wolf did not disappoint. I devoured this book within two days and if I could I think I would have stayed up all night to read it. After reading this I had a sudden urge to want to visit Scotland.

What I love about this series is that you really don’t need to read the previous books in order to follow along because each book deals with a different set of characters and yes some characters carry over into other books but its nothing major. Each book is fresh and exciting.

Julia the main character is a romance writer who writes about werewolves. She has developed writers block and thinks that hopping on a plane to Scotland with her friend Maria and the film crew will help her over come this. They are going to Scotland to film a historical movie at Agent Castle. Little does everyone else know but Julia is also going over for another reason. Its sort of like a secret family mission.

Although once they land in Scotland strange things begin to happen to Julia. A strange man at the airport who Julia feels is being a little to possessive in his manner and then a car accident. Are all these things linked or is it just a fluke? Is there more to this then Julia realizes?

In Julia’s eyes she is hoping that Ian (Laird, Ian MacNeill) will become the hero in her book and little does Julia realize that during the course of time he will become that and then some for her in real life.

Ian has given up on ever finding his true love because in the past something has always happened and he was left behind to pick up the pieces but when he sees Julia he knows that she is the one. He knows there is more behind her then she is telling. What will he do when he uncovers the truth?

For me I loved Julia and Ian. There relationship started out light and flirty but quickly heated up. One thing I love about Terry’s books is that she leaves alot to the imagination. There isn’t alot of over the top sex scenes just enough to satisfy the reader.

I am really looking forward to discover more about the MacNeill brothers such as Duncan, Gutherie, and Cearnach in her upcoming highland books.

Other Books in the Werewolf series:
1. Heart of the Wolf
2. Destiny of the Wolf
3.To Tempt The Wolf
4.Legend of White Wolf
5. Seduced by the Wolf
6. Wolf Fever
7. Heart of the highland Wolf
8. Dreaming of the Wolf (December 2011)
9. The Wolf and the Seal (2012)
10. Highland Wolf in Paradise (2012)
11. Hero of the Highland wolf (future release)
12. Silence of the Wolf (future release)
13. Rogue of the Highland Wolf (future release)

Give Away time:

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Danielle I am able to give away 2 copies of Heart of the Highland Wolf to 2 lucky readers. So that means I will be giving one away to a Canadian reader and a US reader with a valid mailing address. Sorry no PO Boxes.

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) The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses

Posted on by Cindy


Title: The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses
Author: Ty Drago
Pub Date: April 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Pages: 465

Source: I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher for my honest sincere review.

About the Book:
On a sunny Wednesday morning in October, a day that would mark the end of one life and the beginning of another, Will found out his grouchy next door neighbor was one of the walking dead. When he turns around expecting to see something familiar, and instead sees something else altogether, it takes a little while for his brain to catch up with his eyes. He calls that the ‘Holy Crap Factor.’

Forced to flee his home and family, twelve-year-old Will Ritter falls in with the Undertakers–a rag-tag army of teenage resistance fighters, who’ve banded together to battle the corpses.

I think this is the very first zombie book I have ever read and reviewed here. The cover is very appealing and eye catching but I am not sure I would have picked this up on my own. Thankfully the ever so awesome Kay from Sourcebooks pitched the book just right and after reading it I have to say it peaked my curiosity so much so that I had to accept the request.

I am so happy that I did because I loved the book. I loved the writing, the action, the suspense and the characters. I think this book would appeal to both boys and girls 10+. The girl characters Helene and Sharyn were strong female characters and ones I think girls could look up to and admire.

Will Ritter is a twelve year old boy who was living the typical kid life until one day when he woke up and realized he was surround by zombies, his neighbor, the principal and even some of his teachers were zombies. This has Will totally freaked out and he wonders why not everyone can see what he sees. Is it just him? Is he loosing his mind?

Will quickly realized he is special and not just anyone can see zombies only a few selected ones can. They don’t know why but the ones he can have formed a special team called The Undertakers. Will is thrilled to realize he isn’t alone but quickly realizes that life will never been the same and he can never go back because he can jeopardize the safety of his family.

Will The Undertakers be able to take down the zombies?

I was amazed at how everything progressed through out the book and it left me turning to read constantly and I had a hard time to put the book down. There were a few questions left unanswered and after reading it I had to check out Ty Drago site and I found out that its going to be a middle grade adventure series. So this little cliff hanger has left me wanting more and I can’t wait to read upcoming books from this series.

There is also a site dedicated to The Undertakers and you can click HERE to check it 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.

(Review) Instructions for a Broken Heart

Posted on by Cindy


Title: Instructions for a Broken Heart
Author: Kim Culbertson
Pub Date: May 2011
Pages: 304
Publisher: sourcebooks Fire

Source: I received an ARC of the book from the publisher for my honest review.

About the book:
Top Twenty Reasons He’s A Slimy Jerk Bastard

Jessa:
To help you get over your train wreck of an EX, I’ve enclosed 20 envelopes. Each one has a reason why Sean is a jerk and not worth the dirt on your shoes. And each one has an instruction for you to do one un-Jessa-like thing a day. NO CHEATING!
Ciao! — C

When Jessa catches her boyfriend, Sean, making out with Natalie “The Boob Job” Stone three days before her drama club’s departure to Italy, she completely freaks.
Stuck with a front-row view of Sean and Natalie making out against the backdrop of a country that oozes romance, Jessa promises to follow all of the outrageous instructions in her best friend’s care package and open her heart to new experiences.

Enter cute Italian boy stage left.
Jessa had prepared to play the role of humiliated ex-girlfriend, but with Carissa directing her life from afar, it’s finally time to take a shot at being a star.

This is Kim’s second YA book. If you remember yesterday I reviewed her debut ya book called Songs For a Teenage Nomad which I enjoyed but I have to say I think I enjoyed this one much more. Instructions For a Broken Heart had my laughing through out the book.

Being a teenager in high school is tough but when you throw in a boyfriend who you discover has been cheating on you is pretty rough and then you are all scheduled to go on a class trip is even rougher because you are basically front row to this new romance that is brewing.

Thankfully for me that never happened in that way for me. There was a guy a liked but he was nice enough to break my heart gently (I see that now but didn’t at the time) but shortly after that he started going out with someone so having to go through my own heart break and to watch this on a daily bases was pretty touch and I wish I had a friend like Carissa then to help me through that process would have been nice.

Jessa is your typical high school student who is dabbling into everything that her school has to offer with all the projects and different clubs she is involved with. As busy as she is she has two amazing friends Carissa and Taylor as well as a boyfriend Sean.

The schools drama club is just about ready to head over to Italy for a class trip but its not going to be as Jenna had hoped it would be because three days before they are scheduled to leave she catches her boyfriend in a compromising position with another girl in drama club called Natalie.

Jenna realizes that this trip will basically be like hell on earth for her and wonders if she should go to Italy but in the end but realizes that Sean can’t take this away from her so she heads out wondering how she will survive the next twenty days in Italy with a broken heart and Sean and his new girlfriend as well.

Carissa comes to her rescue and offers Jenna a package that contains twenty sealed envelopes. Inside each envelope contains a task that Jenna must do over the next twenty days to show her how much of a jerk Sean has really been in their relationship. Little does Jenna know but Taylor is also involved in this and he must make sure Jenna completes each task. Will she be able to complete each task or will it all be too overwhelming for her?

I have to say I loved the idea behind the envelopes because it allowed Jenna to do things she probably wouldn’t do on her own plus in some there was confessions and secrets that Jenna had no idea about. Will these secrets tear apart her friendships?

Eventually Jenna did a 360 turn and realized that she shouldn’t let Sean dictate her life and ruin her trip. No matter how much she hated him I think she realized it was for the best and I think it made her grow as a person.

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) Instructions for a Broken Heart

Posted on by Cindy


Title: Instructions for a Broken Heart
Author: Kim Culbertson
Pub Date: May 2011
Pages: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: I received an ARC copy of the book for review.

About the book:
Top Twenty Reasons He’s A Slimy Jerk Bastard

Jessa:
To help you get over your train wreck of an EX, I’ve enclosed 20 envelopes. Each one has a reason why Sean is a jerk and not worth the dirt on your shoes. And each one has an instruction for you to do one un-Jessa-like thing a day. NO CHEATING!
Ciao! — C

When Jessa catches her boyfriend, Sean, making out with Natalie “The Boob Job” Stone three days before her drama club’s departure to Italy, she completely freaks.
Stuck with a front-row view of Sean and Natalie making out against the backdrop of a country that oozes romance, Jessa promises to follow all of the outrageous instructions in her best friend’s care package and open her heart to new experiences.

Enter cute Italian boy stage left.

Jessa had prepared to play the role of humiliated ex-girlfriend, but with Carissa directing her life from afar, it’s finally time to take a shot at being a star.

If you remember yesterday I reviewed Kim’s debut novel Songs For a Teenage Nomad and I did enjoy it but I have to say that I enjoyed Instructions For a Broken Heart more.

Jenna is your typical high school student. She is involved in all kinds of school activities and you wonder how could she possibly have time for a boyfriend, Sean? I think that is exactly what Sean has wondered, how does he fit into her busy life.

With three days to go before the drama club leaves for Italy for 20 days, Jenna things that things are perfectly fine and that Italy will be a blast. Hanging out with her friend, Taylor and being with Sean but little does Jenna know she is about to walk into a situation that will make her think about her trip to Italy and change the way she sees her boyfriend, Sean.

Jenna catches her boyfriend, Sean in a very compromising position with Natalie (another girl in drama club). The world as Jenna knows it has crumbled and she is contemplating whether she should go to Italy in the end because she doesn’t want to be front row and center for this budding romance that will happen right in front of her. Thankfully in the end she decides that Sean and Natalie won’t ruin this trip for her.

Sadly during the first part of the book she has let their relationship ruin her trip. I understand that this would be hard seeing your ex who you caught cheating on you with another girl who just happens to be on the trip as well. She is so focused on them that she isn’t seeing what she is missing. The beautiful sights and scenery of Italy.

With the help of her best friend, Carissa, she tries to make Jenna realize what a jerk Sean has been. With the help of Taylor, Carissa has sent a package to Jessa and inside are twenty number envelopes that Jenna must open daily and complete the assigned task. I think when Carissa was doing this she thought that they way to go was with revenge and setting out to embarrass Sean. Some of the tasks were pretty mean such as pouring a drink over Sean’s head.

Will Jenna be able to complete that tasks?

I think we all wish at some point in our lives we had a friend like Carissa who would make us do something out of the norm to get us back on track.

I really enjoyed this book and managed to read it in pretty much one sitting. I was curious to see what each envelope contained and wondering how Jenna would go about doing each mission. I love how the scenery in Italy was described and hoping one day that I will eventually make it there to see if for myself.

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.