Category: Challenges (past)

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.

Lessons in French Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Lessons in French
AUTHOR: Laura Kinsale
PUB DATE: February 2010
PAGES: 480

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Laura Kinsale’s unique and powerfully written love stories transcend the romance
genre. In this, her first new book in five years, she delivers a poignant,
funny, sexy, Regency romance sure to delight her many fans and attract a whole
new readership.

Trevelyan and Callie are childhood sweethearts with a
taste for adventure, until the fateful day her father discovers them embracing
in the carriage house and, in a furious frenzy, drives Trevelyan away in
disgrace. Nine long, lonely years later, Trevelyan returns. Callie discovers
that he can still make her blood race and fill her life with excitement, but he
can’t give her the one thing she wants more than anything—himself.

For
Trevelyan, Callie is a spark of light in a world of darkness and deceit. Before
he can bear to say his last goodbyes, he’s determined to sweep her into one
last, fateful adventure, just for the two of them.

MY THOUGHTS:
I have heard of Laura Kinsale and when I worked in a bookstore she was a top romance seller and most requested. I have never read any of her books mainly because I am not a historical romance even a romance reader as you can see by my blog. When Danielle at Sourcebooks was looking for reviewers for this book I figured I would attempt to read this book and give this genre a chance. This is reading outside my comfort zone.

It was a good story but I just didn’t get the pleasure out of the book like I have in so many other books. I stuck with the book and read it and didn’t abandon it.

Lessons in French is about Callie and Trev. Its a story about a friendship and a first love that is never lost. Even though Callie and Trev were apart for many years because of certain things that happened they never forgot each other. Which can be said in alot of our lives. Do you still remember your first love? I still remember it and to this day it will always be remembered.

In all books we always hope for a happily ever after and you can’t help but wonder if that will happen for Callie and Trev because at times you don’t think it will be something comes up that causes you to think differently. Will Callie and Trev get their happily ever after and the second chance at love again?

Callie is a heiress and Trev is a frenchman. They have been separated for nine years. During those nice years Callie is now 27 years old and has had three fiancés along with three broken engagements. She is still mourning the loss of her father. Trev has returned because he loves his mother and she is very ill and he is concern. He is surprised to see Callie and even more surprised when he finds out she is not married.

Here are some bloggers who enjoyed the book:
Katie from KBGBabbles
Cindy Reads Romace
Chris from bookarama
Kaye from Pudgy Penguin Perusals

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Sourcebooks. 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.

Legend of the White Wolf Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Legend of the White Wolf
AUTHOR: Terry Spear
PUB DATE: February 2010
PAGES: 367

ABOUT THE BOOK:
In this fourth in Spear’s series, Private Eye Cameron MacPherson and Faith O’Mallery are both on quests that lead them into the world of magical wolves.
Cameron arrives in the Canadian Arctic to search for his partners in his P.I. business who are late returning from a hunting trip. Faith is there to discover what her father had seen in the same area years earlier that had made him lose touch with reality—man-wolves, he called them.

The two tumble into an icy world of enemies bent on destroying the lupus garou kind. As they turn into lupus garou themselves, and bond with the pack that only they can rescue from destruction, Cameron and Faith find their soul mates in each other.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is only the second book I have read in the series and so far I have enjoyed reading them but I am making it a point to get and read Heart of the Wolf and Destiny of the Wolf. I am sure these books can be read as stand alone but I am a little lost in who the main characters are.

I am not a big romance reader as you probably can tell from my blog but I guess its because its marketed differently that has drawn me not that the cover hasn’t did that. I actually like all the covers for this series.

I love that this book has love, romance, action, suspense and mystery. I had a hard time to put the book down at times because I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen.

Another thing which I picked up in the book was the fact that different areas have their own kind of wolves. Something that I have to admit that I never really thought about. The White wolf is from the Arctic.

Cameron and Faith meet by accident while they are spending the night in Maine. When I mean by accident its a funny kind of accident. The hotel they are staying in gives Faith the wrong keys to her room. She accidentally walks in on a naked Cameron.

Both Faith and Cameron are in Maine for different reasons. She is trying to locate her former boyfriend Hilson Snowden who stole her father’s research paper. What was the research about? Why would Hilson want it so badly? Her father has warned her not to read the papers once she gets them back. Why?

Cameron is a private investigator from Seattle seeking his missing two partners. Where are they?

There is an instant attraction between the two and they both try really hard to let it go any further. When they both arrive at Back Country Tours in search of answers they realize that in order to solve the mystery of the murders they both agree to work together. Before long they are both in over their heads and don’t expect what happens to happen.

PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THIS SERIES:
-Heart of the Wolf (Book 1)
-Destiny of the Wolf (book 2)
-To Tempt the Wolf (book 3)

UPCOMING BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
-Seduced by the Wolf (pub date August 2010) (book 5)
-Wolf Fever (pub date Fall 2010) (book 6)
-Dreaming of the Wolf (pub date 2011) (book 7)
-Taming of the Highland Wolf (pub date 2011) (book 8)

This book was provided for review by Danielle at Sourcebooks.

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.

Spring Breakdown Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Spring Breakdown #7 Carter House Girls
AUTHOR: Melody Carlson
PUB DATE: February 2010
PAGES: 206

ABOUT THE BOOK:
The six Carter house girls plan to join Mrs. Carter in Florida for a “quiet” spring break, but quiet is impossible when Harry and his guy friends stay in a condo nearby. Focused on her new found faith and sobriety, Taylor is trying to behave, but Eliza has no such intention. In an attempt to win Harry back, Eliza continues to push the envelope and her partying spins out of control. When Eliza goes missing, everyone is left worried and afraid for her safety. Will Eliza wake up and see that her life is built on sinking sand? Or will this quicksand claim her instead?

MY THOUGHTS:

I have been lucky enough to get the chance to read and review this series by Melody Carlson. I have to admit that I am no longer the young teenager that the books are for but I can relate to them just the same. When I was in junior high and high school alcohol was very much an issue back in the 80s as it is now for teenagers.

Thankfully the friends that I hung around with never were into alcohol so I never had to worry about it ever being an issue with us. I have to say growing up with a father who drank alot and other family members it was very much a turn off for me. I never got drunk and whenever I did drink (in my 20s) I always drank just enough to get that buzz but still be in control. Even as an person in my 30s almost 40s I rarely drink and if I do its a reasonable amount.

Now to the book I would have thought with Taylor going to rehab in the last book that the girls would have learned something but Eliza sure didn’t. She is still very much the party girl. When DJ and Taylor throw a party at Taylor’s boyfriends place they stress no alcohol will be allowed. Eliza didn’t like that and set out to make Taylor’s party a bust by lying to the friends so they wouldn’t show up.

The Carter House girls are heading down to Florida for a swimsuit shoot and spring break. The only one not going is Kriti who has decided she wants to stay home with her parents. I wonder why?

Once in Florida, Mrs Carter discovers that the girls boyfriends are going to be down there as well and has no idea what is going on and she is delighted that they will be around. Little does she realize what is about to happen. I think Mrs Carter is in way over her head.

Eliza gets into a fight with her boyfriend because he told her that he wishes she was like DJ. Eliza flips out and is furious. She accepts a date with a guy and we discover that she never comes home that night. Its only the next day that they get a phone call demanding ransom money. Eliza has been kidnapped. But by who and why? Will this episode change Eliza for the better? Will she realize her drinking is the problem? Will Mrs Carter ever put her foot down with these girls?

I really enjoyed the book and there was enough action that made me want to keep reading it. I am curious to find out what will happen with Eliza when she gets back home and if she will admit she has a drinking problem.

Book 8 in the Carter House Girls series is called Last Dance and its scheduled to be released March 2010. I tried to look up online to see if that would be the final book in the series or not but couldn’t find anything.

This book was provided for review by Bridgette Brooks of ZONDERKIDZ.

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.

The New York Challenge

Posted on by Cindy

I wasn’t going to take part in any new challenges but this one sounds super easy, you only need to read one book, but you can read more if you want too and hey its about New York whats not to love. This May will be my very first trip to NYC and I am so excited.

I first saw this posted on Bermudaonion’s Blog (kathy) for the mini challenge for February which sounded like alot of fun. Continue reading to find out what the mini challenge is.

The person behind the New York Challenge is Fuzzy Thoughts and you can check out her blog for more info and/or to sign up.

-The Challenge runs from now until May 15th, 2010.
-All you have to do is read ONE book set in New York and post your review. It can be any book and in any genre as long as its about New York. Hey you can even review a travel guide.
-When you post your review go back to Fuzzy Thoughts and add the url to Mr Linky.

FEBRUARY’S MINI CHALLENGE:

For the month of February, your task (should you choose to accept it) is to
compile a list of ten things about New York. It can be a reading list, a list of
songs, restaurants, places to visit (or that you’d like to visit), places to
avoid…whatever you want to share. After you’ve written your post, come back and
leave the link in Mr Linky.

If you take part you have the chance to win some cool New York themed prizes.

Here is my list of 10 things about New York:

  1. Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys and Jay Z. I just discovered the song the other day on my local radio station. The one I actually heard was done by Alicia Keys. I have found both versions on youtube. I have to admit I listen to Alicia’s version all the time and its getting me in the NY mood.
  2. The Strand. I have heard so much about this bookstore that this is one of the places I really want to go and shop at.
  3. The View. I would love to see this live show.
  4. The Museum of Natural History (I believe that is the name of it) I really want to go and see this because there is this dinosaur on display that both my brother in laws worked on when they first moved to the US.
  5. Central Park. I would love to roam around here.
  6. A broadway play. You really can’t go to NY without seeing something on or off broadway.
  7. Empire State Building
  8. Take the Staten Island Ferry
  9. Times Square at night
  10. Central Park Zoo. This is on strict orders of a 6 year old who said “Mommy you have to go to Central Park Zoo to say hi to the Madagascar gang for me.” He thinks that those cartoon animals will be there.

You have seen my list is there something I should do in New York when I am there in May thats not on my list?

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.

Spin Review

Posted on by Cindy

TITLE: Spin
AUTHOR: Catherine McKenzie
PUB DATE: January 9, 2010
PAGES: 419

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Katie Sandford has just gotten an interview at her favourite music magazine, The Line. It’s the chance of a lifetime. So what does she do? Goes out to celebrate — and shows up still drunk at the interview. No surprise, she doesn’t get the job, but the folks at The Line think she might be perfect for another assignment for their sister gossip rag. All Katie has to do is follow It Girl Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop (and complete the 30-day program without getting kicked out), they’ll reconsider her for the job at The Line.

Katie takes the job. But things get complicated when real friendships develop, a cute celebrity handler named Henry gets involved, and Katie begins to realize she may be in rehab for a reason. Katie has to make a decision — is publishing the article worth everything she has to lose?

MY THOUGHTS:

The only way I can describe Katie in this book is a train wreak happening. She might not want to really admit it but she has a drinking problem and it causes alot of problems for her that she really isn’t aware of or wants to admit to.

She finally gets the interview for her dream job to write for The Line. She has wanted to write for them for a long time but she manages to basically manages to screw that up by showing up to the interview late and drunk. Which of course is never a good thing.

Katie is afraid to face reality with herself and everyone around her. She is a party girl who has yet to really grow up and is going around lying about her age. She hangs around university kids so that she can feel like she fits in while her friends that her age are out making a real life for themselves and working.

A few days later Katie gets another call from another boss at The Line called Bob. He is offering Katie another job with the company but its for the gossip magazine and promises her that if she does good on this job then he will hire her to work at The Line. Her job will to go to rehab as a patient and spy on IT Girl, Amber Sheppard. She is the hottest thing in Hollywood. She agrees because she will do anything to work for The Line.

At first Katie goes with the flow and takes it as it is, not really taking in the rehab. She is there to do a job and doesn’t feel she has a problem. As time goes by Katie begins to see it and admits she does have a problem. She finds herself friends with Amber and admits that she likes her.

Things are good while they both are in rehab until they are released and Bob informs Katie she has an article to write. Katie is stick if she doesn’t submit this article she can be sued and if she does submit the article she looses her friendship with Amber. What is Katie to do? Will she risk it all?

I have to say that I really enjoyed reading the book. Luanne from http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/2010/01/spin-catherine-mckenzie.html describes this book like a bag of patoto chips and I have to agree. For it me it was like a accident waiting to happen and I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. It was addictive.

This is Catherine’s debut novel and her second book is coming out in 2011.

If you are interested in checking this book out before you buy use this link and it will allow you to access up to 20% of SPIN. The Browse Inside link is http://browseinside.harpercollins.ca/index.aspx?isbn13=9781554687589

This book was provided for review by Harper Collins Canada.

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.