Books Read-2014 – Page 3 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Review/ I Didn’t Do My Homework Because…..

Posted on April 27, 2014April 28, 2014 by Cindy

I Didn't Do My Homework Because... by Davide Cali
Format: Hardcover
Published by Chronicle Books on 2014-03-04
Pages: 44
Goodreads
Genres: Beginner, Humorous Stories, Readers

How many excuses are there for not doing homework? Let us count the ways: Giant lizards invaded the neighborhood. Elves hid all the pencils. And then there was that problem with carnivorous plants.... The excuses go on and on, each more absurd than the next and escalating to hilarious heights. Featuring detail-rich illustrations by Benjamin Chaud, this book is guaranteed to amuse kids and their parents, not to mention anyone who has experienced a slacker student moment—and isn't that everyone?

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Its been awhile since Michael has gotten any books to review and he was thrilled when he got the package of 5 picture books to read and review for the blog.

Even though he is 11 years old he still loves to read picture books.

I wish I would have filmed him when he was reading this one because he was literally laughing the whole way through it.

Out of the five books I got to review from Raincoast books I have to say that this was my favorite one.

Before I talk about my review I just want to say that Benjamin Chaud did a fantastic job with the illustrations.

I Didn’t Do My Homework Because… begins with the teacher asking the boy why didn’t he do his homework and the boy gives you a million reasons why and with each reason why it gets more elleborate.

Some of my favorites are:

I was abducted by a UFO
Elves hid all my pencils.
I gave my pencils to Robin Hood
My brother and I were kidnapped by the circus.

There are a few more but I don’t want to give away all the excuses so you will go and buy the book to find out what the rest were.

Thank you Raincoast books and Crystal for sending this book to me. I really enjoyed it.

Review/ The Offering

Posted on April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 by Cindy

The Offering Series: The Pledge #3

by Kimberly Derting
Format: ARC
Published by Simon and Schuster on 2013-12-31
Pages: 304
Goodreads
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Girls & Women, Love & Romance, Young Adult

True love-and world war-is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy.

Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She's done admirable work to restore Ludania's broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she's mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks.

When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom.

But things aren't always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap-one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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The Offering is the last book in the Pledge trilogy. The other books in the triology are The Pledge and The Essence .

I am really looking forward to starting Kimberly Derting’s other books The Body Finder Series (The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead, The Last Echo & Dead Silence) and she has started a new trilogy called The Taking. Which sounds really good. Have you read any of Kimberly’s books?

With this being the last book in the series I am going to try and avoid going into too much detail about the book. I will say that I really enjoyed and I loved the characters and the story line. I was sad to see it end but happy with the way it ended.

I loved watching Queen Charlaina of Ludania grow. She started out the first book as a vendor girl with probably no expectations of ever becoming a queen although I wonder if she ever dreamed of becoming a queen? When she became queen she didn’t let it all go to her head and I loved that about her. She was looking out for the best interests of her and her queendom.

She wanted the Queendoms to have peace and get along but Queen Elena made sure that wouldn’t happen and she tried everything in her power to make sure that would happen. Queen Charlaina will do anything to protect her Queendom, her family and friends even if that means sacrificing herself.

The Offering was were Queen Charlaina shined in my opinion. She has grown up alot since The Essence. She is a strong character that knows within herself she can think for herself and can fight. She manages to push the essence of Sabara and she can keep her at bay even though you can tell Sabara is fighting to win.

There will be some shockers in the book that you won’t expect as I was but it was nice to see things all come together. There was no loose strings lying around.

I really enjoyed the series and happy that I finally got to read the books that I had sitting on my shelves since the first book came out.

I have to say that I absolutely loved the covers for the books.

Did you read this series? What did you think of them?

Review/ Greater Than Angels

Posted on April 18, 2014April 28, 2014 by Cindy

Greater Than Angels by Carol Matas
Published by Scholastic Canada on 2013-10-01
Pages: 160
Goodreads

An unforgettable reminder of the resilience of human compassion, even in the face of the worst horrors of our history.

In the autumn of 1940, Anna Hirsch and her friends and family are rounded up by Nazis and deported to Gurs, a refugee camp in the south of France. Food is scarce, and the living conditions inhumane. Even worse is the ever-present fear that they will be relocated once again -- this time to one of the death camps.

But when word comes that Anna and the other children are to be moved, their destination is not Auschwitz or Buchenwald, but Le Chambon-sur-Lignon: a tiny village whose citizens have agreed to care for deported Jewish children.

Based on the true story of a French village that banded together to protect the Jews during WWII, this unforgettable tale honours the contagious goodness that permeated one corner of a region otherwise enveloped in evil, and celebrates the courage of all those who put their lives at risk to save others.

Shortly after going back to school from March break (in March) Michael came home to tell me that he (being in a grade 5/6 split class) was going to have to a Holocaust project with the grade 6ers and that he would have to do this project again in grade 6.

I honestly have to say that I am not very pleased with the teachers he has and the school for not giving the parents a heads up that this was going to happen with the grade 5s. That Monday back she started to read this book and honestly Michael was a little upset about the whole thing.

If you know Michael in real life you will know that he is a sensitive child as he takes things to heart. For him to discover this in the way she was teaching it, it was a shock. She did not sugar coat anything and she provided all kinds of information to the kids. Needless to say I wasn’t happy about it.

He then proceeded to tell me that on top of this book being read in class that they were going to have to read a book on their own and if he didn’t have one by the middle of the week she was going to assign one. Which I have to say really upset me because we had no list of suggested books and the ones she was suggesting in class Michael got confused because she was saying this one was good for grade 5 and this was good for grade 6 etc.

I sent a note telling her I needed the age appropriate and school board approved list and no book was to be assigned. Needless to say we were able to pick one and that review will be coming up later on the blog.

Enough of my rambling here is my review of Greater Than Angels.

Michael told me that the teacher was reading this in class and when I looked it up online its listed for grades 6 to 8 so I quickly bought it for my ereader because if there was going to be any issues I wanted to confront the teacher with it because she seems to forget that there is 9/10 years old in that class. I have to say I worried when I saw that grade level because thats an age group of 11 to 14 years old.

Greater Than Angels is a fiction book but its based on a true story of a little French village named Le Chambon that took it upon themselves to help, protect and hide Jewish children from the Nazi’s.

The main character, Anna is fifteen years old when the Nazi’s come to round up the Jewish people. She is taken with her mother and grandmother. The males and females have been separated and they all presume the worst.

They are taken to Vichy, France to a concentration camp. Anna is shocked at what she sees, there is no food, no running water, no bathrooms, no beds just a limited amount of straw and due to the rain its cold. muddy and damp. Everyone is hungary and cold. Sadly its in this camp that Anna’s grandmother dies.

A year of living like this the Swiss Red Cross has offered all the children an opportunity to live in a home by them. The mothers quickly give their children over because they hope they will have a better life then what they have now. This is where the generousity of Le Chambon sur Lignon comes into the story.

Things at Le Chambon are looking up for the kids. They are all healthy, happy and warm. They are allowed to attend school and live a pretty normal life or one that can be expected considering the circumstances.

The war is still continuing and its not looking good. Anna receives news that the camp her mother is at is being sent East so Anna is given permission to go and see her mother and its at this point you know this will be the last time Anna gets to see her.

Eventually things become to dangerous in Le Chambon and the child are forced to run and hide. Will Anna be able to make it or will she get caught?

Review / The Kelley Diaries

Posted on March 28, 2014April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title: The Kelley Diaries Book 1: Lawson
Author: Morgan Black
Publisher: Metamorphosis Books
Pub Date: February 2014
Pages: 30

Source:
I was given an ebook for my review.

About The Book:

Kelley Carson is successful, beautiful, and celibate. But that last part certainly isn’t by choice. Seems every time Kelley meets someone who might be able to help her scratch her physical itch something always goes terribly wrong.

Then she meets Lawson; a hot real estate attorney, who by the looks of him doesn’t have a problem getting ladies into bed, and she desperately wants him to take her home.

Will she make it through one date without totally screwing it up? Or will she go home alone again?
This is Kelley’s first entry in her diary of her dating mishaps. Look for part two in April 2014.

*This is a short erotic romance, not suitable for readers under the age of 18*

This is the first in what I think will be a series of ebooks. The next book is coming out next month and I can’t wait to read it.

The Kelley Diaries are told in a diary format which is always fun. This was a fun quick read which I have been enjoying alot lately because with a busy hockey season I feel as though I haven’t read alot of books and reading some novella’s makes me feel like I am still doing alot of reading.

Morgan has several books under her name such as The Fireside Series (Ablaze & Flames), and Afternoon Delights. She also writes under the name M. Black. This is the first time I have heard of the author but I think I would be interested in checking out her other books eventually but I do know I want to read book 2 in this series.

Since its a quick and fast read I really won’t go into a full review because I will give the book away but if your looking for a funny read I have to suggest this. It was no stop all the way through and it wasn’t that over the top with a far fetched story line.

This is more of a book for 18+. I couldn’t help but hope that Kelley would make it through her date without screwing it but you know how all first dates go. I liked Lawson but he is definitely not a one lady guy and comes off knowing he is hot and could have any one he wanted. Will Kelley be the next one?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
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Review/ Shadow Town

Posted on February 27, 2014April 14, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Shadow Town (Maggie Lane Chronicles #1)

Author: Robyn Jones

Published: January 29, 2014

Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Summary:

By day, nineteen-year-old Maggie Lane is property manager of Pearl Estates, a posh housing community owned by her father and occupied by Shadows. By night, she’s a waitress at a local dive. When a girl at her night job disappears, she dives into Scooby mode. She might be able to handle a missing waitress on her own, but when a new Shadow moves in next door and turns her into a blushing, flirting, love-crazed girl, her need for answers unearths nightmares from her past and monsters of the here and now. It’s possible her bad attitude might not be enough to carry her through.

Robyn Jones is the author of several books and this is my first introduction to her and her books.

I am always excited to read new authors. When I read the summary of the book I had to say it peaked my interested and I couldn’t wait to read and review.

I have to start off by saying that I did find it started out slow for me because I was confused as to who and what the Shadows were and I wish more information was given about that but it was slowly given throughout the book.

I thought for sure I wouldn’t finish the book but then I got to the point where I literally couldn’t but it down. I realized that was why Robyn did what she did and I am happy she did.

This is the first book in the Maggie Lane Chronicles. I want to say its part paranormal romance and mystery because that is what this book is. Its got paranormal things as well as many mysteries that need to be solved and eventually it all comes together.

Maggie is the main character in the book. She is a young, tough, brave, and fierce woman. She has put up a wall around herself to protect herself because we discover that she didn’t have the ideal life in fact you can say someone like her didn’t deserve to have gone through what she did. She was abused mentally, physically and emotionally.

The only one person she can truly rely on is her best friend Branden. He is the kind of friend everyone wants and that is really the only male in her life that she allows in. What will Maggie do when she realizes that there is more to him then she actually knows?

She has sworn to fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves. I don’t want to call her a bully but she would be the kind of friend I would want in my corner and to protect me.

Now Maggie has a special ability and that is seeing the Shadows. Its only as the course of the book goes on that Maggie realizes there is more then meets the eye. Can she handle what she is about to find out?

I loved how Robyn wrote Shadow Town because it was fantastic. As I was reading I literally could picture this very posh community. The characters were all great and fitted into the story very well and there was a few such as Damon and Michael that I hope will make an appearance in the next book because I would love to know more about them.

Losing Logan An Early Book Review

Posted on February 20, 2014April 12, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Losing Logan

Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Pub Date: May 6th, 2014
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing

Source: Sherry sent me an earc of her book to read and review.

About the book:

What if the one thing you never meant to hold on to, was the one thing you couldn’t let go of?

Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem. Mostly because he’s dead.

As the only person he can make contact with, he talks Zoe into helping him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy

I literally just finished reading Losing Logan, the newest upcoming release by Sherry D. Ficklin.

I was lucky enough to be asked a little awhile ago to take part in her cover reveal and I quickly jumped on that because Sherry is a new author to me that I was lucky enough to meet her when I went to BEA last year. She was so much fun to meet and hang out with.

Sherry is the author of numerous YA books and I think she is an author to be on the look out for. I am excited to check out her other books now and Losing Logan will be one book that I will be purchasing when it comes out in May.

When I took part in the cover reveal I got to find out what the book was about and I knew this was one book I had to get my hands on ASAP, I probably would have sold my first born to get a copy of this, thankfully it didn’t resort to that because shortly after posting the cover reveal Sherry sent me a earc of the book.

Like her first book, Extracted that I read last year I really wanted to take my time reading this book and devouring every word. I love the way Sherry writes because she makes her books sounds so real and believable. The writing was fantastic in my opinion.

I love the cover of the book and her dedication inside. You will have to pick up the book to find out more about that but all I have to say is Sherry you showed them.

Okay, what can I say about Losing Logan? The only words that came to mind are breathe taking. This is by far one of my favorite reads of 2014 and I’m not just saying that because I know Sherry. I really really loved the book.

Zoe, isn’t your typical high school girl. She isn’t popular but she is active within the school and her only friend is Carlos. Shortly before school begins her childhood friend, Logan is found dead. Its been years since Logan and Zoe where friends. They stopped being friends when they hit middle school when in reality it seems like alot of the friendships changed. I know it did for me. Did they change for you?

Zoe doesn’t want to be at the viewing and gets Carlos to cover for her and its when she is leaving that she gets the shock of her life. She can actually see Logan. She thinks its all a joke at first but the quickly freaks out. How can she be seeing dead people? Logan assures Zoe that he is really dead and needs her help to find out why he is still there. Why is he there?

For me this was a page turner because I was curious to see why he was there. Losing Logan kept me awake a few times because just when I thought I was going to put the book down and go to bed something would happen that would make me continue reading.

I was curious to find out how Logan really died and so was Logan. He pushed Zoe into his group of friends and it was within that new group of friends that Zoe grew into a beautiful character. I wish my high school experience could have been like hers with the exception to seeing dead people of course.

Zoe quickly meshes into her new group of friends, gains so girlfriends and even nabs the cute lacrosse boyfriend, Kyle. I know Zoe went into this group with the plans of finding out who was responsible for Logan’s death but she walked away with so much more.

Throughout the book you can see that Zoe thought more of Logan then just a friend and so did he and its too bad it didn’t happen before but I have to say that as much as I loved Logan I really loved Kyle. He was the perfect boyfriend for Zoe.

I was totally surprised when we discovered how Logan was killed and why and by who because I thought it was someone else and was completely shocked when it was revealed but it all made sense in the end.

Just a little FYI if your going to read this book please make sure you have some tissues handy because you will cry as well as laugh out loud.

I really loved reading this and I think you would too. If your looking for something new and exciting to read then I highly recommend this, you won’t be disappointed.

Review/ The Essence by Kimberly Derting

Posted on February 16, 2014April 12, 2014 by Cindy

Title: The Essence (book 2)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: Pledge
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pub Date: HC January 2013 & Paperback December 2013

Source: I bought The Essence when it came out last year.

About the book:

“Danger, dread, mystery, and romance” (Booklist) continue in the second book of The Pledge trilogy, as Charlie’s reign is under siege from the most unusual of enemies.At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen-and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms-an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset-she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

This is the second book in The Pledge series by Kimberly Derting. The first book is The Pledge (you can click on the title to bring you to my review) and the third is The Offering, which I will be reading very soon.

The Essence picks up right where The Pledge left off which I really enjoy since I am reading the books back to back.

Charlie is still getting use to her role as the Queen and she finds it difficult but I think she is adjusting very well. Its alot to learn and she is still dealing with the essence of Sabara that is within her. I have to say that I love that Kimberly didn’t change the character once she became the Queen and she wrote showing how much of a struggle it is and that Charlie just didn’t adapt quickly into this position.

I loved how Charlie is still staying true and her wanting to make a change for the people. I don’t feel as though she is going about it too fast but I am sure their are some people of Ludania who think she is going about it too fast and they want her gone from the throne. The don’t agree with what she wants and that is too be expected because the people of Ludania don’t know anything else.

The Essence is mainly about Charlie going to the Summit to meet the other Queens of Queendoms. Charlie is nervous because she knows she is the youngest and worries about how they will except her, if they except her. Along the journey to the Summit, Charlie discovers there are people out there plotting to assassinate her.

Will Charlie be able to escape this assassination? Will she discover who is behind it before its too late?

For me this was a real page turner and I had to keep reading because I needed to find out who the assassine was. I thought at points in the book I had it figured out but then was completely wrong. I loved how the characters didn’t know right away either.

I also have to say I loved how all the characters were brought back into the book and more of a storyline was given to them. You got to know the characters much more and the story behind them which I love because when I am reading a series especially I want to know how the relate to the main character and story of the book.

I’m looking forward to finding out the history between Sabara and Niko a little more. Thankfully I have The Offering so I will be continuing the series.

I have to say that I am really impressed with Kimberly’s writing and I am pretty sure after I am done this series I will have to dig out The Body Finder series that I have of hers.