Cindy's Love Of Books

Top 8 Books from Book Expo America That I Would Want To Read #1

Posted on May 4, 2014June 2, 2014 by Cindy

With BEA being only a mere 26 days away (give or take) I am starting to get a little envious of those that are able to attend this year. I have to say that in the beginning I was perfectly fine with it but when I heard about all these fantastic books that will be given out I am totally jealous.

Sadly I will be unable to attend this year due to real life events that have happened but I will be there in spirit.

With that being said I thought I would share with you my top 8 weekly book picks every Sunday until the week of BEA. The last one will be the books that I would die to read and will be buying them once they are released.

So in no particular order here is my top 8 books:

If You’re Reading This by Trent Reedy
Can’t Look Away by Donna Cooner
Press Play by Eric Devine
Blackfin Sky by Kat Ellis
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Belzhar by Meg Eloitzer
Pack of Dorks
Sway by Kat Spears

Do any of these books interest you? If so, which ones?

Review & Giveaway / Spun Blog Tour

Posted on May 3, 2014May 5, 2014 by Cindy

Spun by Catherine McKenzie
Format: eARC
Published by HarperCollins Canada on 2014-04-29
Pages: 150
Goodreads
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, General, Romance

In this funny and touching novella, bestselling author Catherine McKenzie returns to the story of Amber Sheppard, It Girl and celebrity train wreck from McKenzie’s reader-favourite novel, Spin.

Life has been rough for starlet Amber since leaving rehab. She’s been two years sober, but no one seems to believe her -- not the gossip media, not casting agents, and most certainly not her spotlight-loving parents. With her friendships ruined by betrayal and her career at a standstill, Amber’s just trying to get her life back on track. It doesn’t help that her former love, movie star Connor Parks, keeps trying to draw Amber back in, not just to their relationship but to his hard-partying ways.

One fateful night, Amber breaks down and agrees to join him on board his private jet as it readies for take-off -- a decision that will change her life forever and expose her to a whole new level of scrutiny and heartbreak.

“Short, sharp, sophisticated, you'll want to read it all in one breath. Spun is the next best thing, and should vault Catherine McKenzie to the top of the charts again, right where she belongs.”—Gwendolen Gross, bestselling author of When She Was Gone

“I’ve loved everything Catherine McKenzie has ever written, but this one tops them all. The voice is lively, the dialogue is snappy, and the pace is perfect. Spun is a story I’ll read over and over.”—Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times bestselling author of On the Island and Covet

“For anyone who read Spin and wondered, ‘What happened next?’ Spun is a short story that is long on compelling, believable drama. An arresting tale that pits impulse against intellect and desire against need, Spun explores the importance of caring as much about tomorrow as today. Its suspenseful conclusion will make your hold your breath through the very end. I loved it.”—Therese Walsh, author of The Moon Sisters and The Last Will of Moira Leahy

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.

I was recently contacted by Catherine McKenzie to see if I would like to review her newest book/ novelle Spun and you didn’t have to twist my arm or ask me twice because as soon as I got the email I wrote back with a yes please.

The first book was Spin and I loved it and when it ended I was left wondering about the Amber, Katie, and Connor so it was nice to see that Catherine had written this novelle to sort of bring a little update on them.

I won’t get into Spin but if you want to know what I thought you can click HERE and it will take you to my review.

Spun is told in Amber’s point of view. It was really nice to hear Amber’s side. Amber has completed two years of rehab and she is very proud of herself for what she has managed to accomplish. Its been hard for her because at every turn there is someone who is trying to put her down and not believe her. I mean she says she is clean and sober but when you see someone stumbling around you have to wonder, right?

Even though Amber has moved on with her life and is trying to get her life back on track, she is still drawn to Connor, who she realizes is toxic to her recovery. You can see she wants to be with him and wants him to get help. She drops everything to rush to him when he calls her. Little does she realize that this will be the last time she sees him.

When she hears the news she is upset wondering if she had stayed could things have been different? Its a tough call to make and one that I think she regrets making. Would you be able to stay or would you walk away?

Since its such a quick read I don’t want to give away too much but if you loved and enjoyed Spin then I highly recommend you pick this up to read.

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Review/ The Silver Sickle

Posted on May 2, 2014May 2, 2014 by Cindy

The Silver Sickle by Ellie Ann
Format: eBook
Published by StoneHouse Ink on 2013-07-31
Pages: 354
Goodreads

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.

THE SILVER SICKLE is for fans of steampunk, cyberpunk, Veronica Roth, Scott Westerfield, and Allie Condie.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .

Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.

For some reason I thought this was Ellie Ann’s debut novel but I was wrong. She is one of the authors of the Sarah Steele thriller books.

I am going to be completely honest with you and let you know that I don’t read alot of fantasy or sci fi books and that is just because I never really found the one that would draw me into the genre of books. I have tried several times with various authors and sadly never got to my 50 page limit in those books. That was until The Silver Sickle showed up in my email.

Now will I continue to read this genre of books, I think if I had the right one I would pick it up to read. With that being said I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I went in with the attitude of hey just read it and give it a try and I am happy that I did. It wasn’t a super quick read for me and that was mainly because I paced myself. I wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Ellie Ann did an exceptional job of creating this world of Dyn for her characters. It was a world that you could actually invision happening. I loved the characters and the way they were told in the story.

I think one of the things that really drew me in was the main character Farissa. She was a kick ass character and it was nice to see a book with a strong character like that. Can I just say that I loved Zel. You could so see how much he cared and admired Farissa and he would do anything for her. Little does Zel know but Farissa feels the same way but she doesn’t want him to know because she loves him enough to want to protect him. I loved these two characters.

The Silver Sickle is told in the point of view of the three main characters of the book Farissa, Zel and Gira. Gira is the leader of the Amar and this group basically wants to take over the world. Will the Amar succeed?

There is so much more I want to tell you about the book so I think she should pick it up to read so that you can find out for yourselves how good a book this is.

Book Tour/ The Silver Sickle

Posted on May 2, 2014May 7, 2014 by Cindy

Young Adult Sci-Fi

Date Published: February 14, 2014

The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .

Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.

About The Author:

Ellie Ann was born in the jungles of Thailand, was raised in a small farming village in Iowa, lived in the middle of a Texan desert, and now abides in the Ozarks.

She is an award winning snake charmer, goat cheese maker, and nose flutist. She also likes to make up tall tales, so you can’t trust everything she says. But from some deductions and second-hand accounts, it looks like she’s an author of science fiction, comics, thrillers, and multi-media adventure stories.

She’s a producer for Noble Beast, an enhanced book publisher, and an editor for Stonehouse Ink and several bestselling clients. You can find her new multi-media fairy tale, Slice of Life, on sale for iPad at iTunes.

Come say ‘hi!’ she doesn’t bite. Unless she’s been turned into a zombie.

Ellie Ann is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of science fiction, thrillers, and comics.

Connect with Ellie Ann:

Website: http://ellieann.net

Facebook: Ellie Ann Author

Twitter: @elliesoderstrom

BUY LINKS

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Sickle-Ellie-Ann-ebook/dp/B00DR0SARU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393621922&sr=8-1&keywords=the+silver+sickle

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-silver-sickle-ellie-ann/1115916541?ean=2940016482583

Other: iTunes (receive free song by Radical Face at the end of the book) https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-silver-sickle/id669607572?mt=11

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR – April 20 – May 2

April 20 – Reading Addiction Blog Tours – Kick Off

April 20 – Mom With a Kindle – Excerpt

April 21 – Bookwyrming Thoughts – Guest Post

April 22 – D’eBook Sharing Reviews – Excerpt

April 23 –Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock – Review

April 24 – Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews – Excerpt

April 25 – Clutter Your Kindle – Guest Post

April 26 –Rhythem Poets – Review

April 27 – The YA Lit Chick – Review

April 28 – Kindle Obsessed – Guest Post

April 29 – Simplistic Reviews – Review

April 30 – Avid Book Collector – Excerpt

May 1 – Indie Authors You Want to Read – Excerpt

May 2-RABT Reviews – Wrap Up

CD Review/ Love & Hate Joan Osborne

Posted on May 1, 2014April 25, 2014 by Cindy

Band/Artist/ Joan Osborne
Title: Love and Hate
Date: April 2014
Label: Entertainment One

This is Joan Osborne’s eighth studio album. Love and Hate has got it all in regards to genre. There is soul, blues, pop etc you name it its there.

I have always been a fan of Joan Osborne so when I was given the chance to review this I quickly jumped on it. I have listen to the cd several times since getting it and I love the entire cd. This is one of the cds that is currently playing in the house during the day.

Joan has written and co-written all the songs on this album. There is 12 songs on the album and each one is different from the other but yet the album blends so well with the songs.

As much as I love every song on the cd and I have to say that it changes almost every time I listen to the cd and you will agree once you hear it but for at this very moment I have to say that I really like: Where We Start (love the lyrics and the music), Mongrels (up beat and a song that makes you want to get up and dance), Up All Night (love the beat in this, finger tapping), Kittens Got Claws ( love the title of the song and the lyrics) and Raga (the lyrics are beautiful and the music is just so relaxing).

Where We Start
Work on Me
Mongrels
Train
Up All Night
Not Too Well Aquainted
Thirsty For My Tears
Love and Hate
Kittens Got claws
Secret Room
Keep it Underground
Raga

Joan Osborne will be going on tour to promote her cd. If you get the chance I hope you will check her out. I think had there been a Montreal date I might have gone to hear her sing.

Tour dates (with additional dates to be announced shortly)

April 3 Bay Shore, NY   Boulton Center
April 4 South Orange, NJ   SOPAC
April 6 Beacon, NY   Town Crier Café
April 9 Wilkes-Barre, PA   Kirby Center
April 11 Ewing, NJ   Trinity UMC
April 12 Annapolis, MD   Rams Head
April 15 Alexandria, VA   Birchmere
April 17 Natick, MA   The Center For the Arts
April 18 Londonderry, NJ   Tupelo Music Hall
April 19 Lebanon, NJ   Lebanon Opera House
April 25 Norfolk, CT   Infinity Hall
April 26   Philadelphia, PA   World Café Live
May 15   Austin, TX   One World Theater
May 16   Dallas, TX   The Kessler Theater
May 17   Cherokee, TX   Creek Music Fest.
May 29 – June 1    Seattle, WA   Jazz Alley (w/Holmes Bros.)
June 5   San Francisco, CA Kanbar Hall (w/Holmes Bros.)

I want to thank Eric from eOne Music for sending this along to me to listen to and review. I really enjoyed it and will end up purchasing the cd now.

Review/ I Know Lucy

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Cindy

by Melissa Pearl

Title: I Know Lucy
Series: The Fugitive Series Book 1
Author: Melissa Pearl
Pub Date: April 2014
Publisher: Evatopia Press
Pages: 272

Source: I received an ebook from Mark My Words Book Publicity.

About the book:

Lucy Tate is on the run. After witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, she’s spent five years in hiding — taking on different personas and faking her way through life. The authorities can’t be trusted, so she remains in the shadows, always one beat ahead of the man who is forever hunting her. That is, until she meets Zach Schultz, a senior at Monte Vista High and the one guy she can’t bear to leave. Suddenly her natural instincts to lie, cheat, and run are overshadowed by something else…the desire to stay and perhaps, love. It’s her one shot at a normal life.

Curious by nature, Zach is immediately drawn to the new girl at school. How can a person look both confident and vulnerable all in the same moment? Determined to figure Lucy out, he sets out to unravel the mystery that is her and soon finds himself caught up in a cat and mouse game. For the first time in his life he is faced with the reality that the truth can no longer set him free…if anything, it’s going to get him killed.

I knew right away after reading the synopsis of this book that I wanted to read it. I am going to say that this is probably one of my favorite reads of 2014 to date. Yes its that good. If I used a rating system I would have to say its 10+. I love the storyline, I loved the characters and I loved the authors writing.

I Know Lucy is told in the point of view of Zach who does the story telling in present day and Lucy who does the story from the time of the murder . Each chapter indicates who is telling the story which makes it so much easier from the get go. I didn’t think I would like the back and forth of the book but I have to say that it added to the book because like Zach we were wanting to find out more about Lucy.

I read I Know Lucy in two nights and probably if I had allowed myself I would have read it in one sitting. Right from the first page its non stop action and page turning. Which I love in books.

I Know Lucy opens up with Lucy being a happy go lucky thirteen year old girl. She lives in a nice house and has two loving parents and Lucy’s life couldn’t get any better until one night when there is a knock on the door and her mother goes to answer it. Her father knows that this isn’t good and tells Lucy to go and hide. Before Lucy knows it her life is going to change drastically. Both of her parents are brutally murdered and she knows that if she doesn’t leave then and there she is next.

With no where to run to because she knows the killer knows all about her and her family and she doesn’t want to risk the ones she loves, Lucy runs and doesn’t stop. Along the way she steals what she can to survive.

Over the years Lucy has developed many different looks and identities to protect herself and to stay under the radar because she never knows when it will be over. She has learned from the beginning that you can’t trust anyone and no one will have your back but you. All that is about to change when she meets Zach.

I have to say that I love Zach. For some reason you think he is this dorky kind of guy who is everyone’s friend and we are probably right but I have to say that this is the kind of guy I love…I am sure if I went to school with him I would totally be crushing on him.

Zach is curious about Lucy and he knows there is more to her then meets the eye. Will he be able to get Lucy to trust someone again or will she completely push him away and run?

If your looking for a really good suspense book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to turn pages and not sleep then I highly suggest this.

I can’t wait to see what is next in this series.

Blog Tour/ I Know Lucy

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Cindy

Genre: YA Romantic Suspense

Lucy Tate is on the run. After witnessing the brutal murder of her parents, she’s spent five years in hiding — taking on different personas and faking her way through life. The authorities can’t be trusted, so she remains in the shadows, always one beat ahead of the man who is forever hunting her. That is, until she meets Zach Schultz, a senior at Monte Vista High and the one guy she can’t bear to leave. Suddenly her natural instincts to lie, steal, and run are overshadowed by something else…the desire to stay. It’s her one shot at a normal life.

Curious by nature, Zach is immediately drawn to the new girl at school. How can a person look both confident and vulnerable all in the same moment? Determined to learn more about her, he tries to get close, but is thrown into a world of lies and confusion. The only thing that becomes apparent is that discovering the truth may get him killed.

About The Author

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Author Blog / Book Blog / Pinterest

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan… not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. “Best. Year. Ever!!” She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book is coming out in February 2014 – True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six books planned for 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.

“I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love.”

Ibooks:https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/i-know-lucy/id845190459?mt=11

Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/421073

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-know-lucy-melissa-pearl/1119129181?ean=2940045810746

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Know-Lucy-Fugitive-Melissa-Pearl-ebook/dp/B00JRPGE9U/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397861804&sr=1-1&keywords=I+Know+Lucy

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