tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52344096789051226152024-02-19T06:53:35.345-08:00Mom Reads My BooksAmie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.comBlogger208125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-6668553504492556722013-08-22T00:00:00.000-07:002013-08-22T05:15:33.816-07:00The Morning Star (The Katerina Trilogy Vol III) by Robin Bridges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be
known as a doctor, not as a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women
to attend medical school; his interest in Katrina extends only to her ability
to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to
thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar
Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on
the throne. Katrina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the
realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the
Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.</i></div>
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<i>Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she
must travel to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>
to do so. Along the way, she puts up
with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo,
and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But
with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina’s focus remains on the sword.
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>’s
fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the
final blow (summary courtesy of Goodreads).</i></div>
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<i>The Morning Star</i> is the third book in the Katrina Trilogy,
which includes <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Katerina #1 and <i>The Unfailing Light</i>
(Katerina #2). I have absolutely loved each book in the series. Robin Bridges has
managed to make this series one worth reading. This doesn’t always happen with a
young adult trilogy. More often or not, the second or third book in a trilogy
will be lacking in story or action. Not so with <i>The Morning Star</i>. Bridges was
able to bring Katerina’s story full circle and write a satisfying conclusion to
a very good story.</div>
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As in the first two books, Robin Bridges brings the world of the paranormal to life in 1890s Russia. It is such a seamless blending of two worlds that you might forget that vampires and werewolves didn't walk the streets alongside fairies and necromancers in the Imperial Court of St. Petersburg. That is one of my favorite things about this trilogy; how easy it is to believe that this was truly Katerina's world. </div>
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I was worried about getting back into that world, but
Bridges is such a fantastic writer that she eases you back into the world and
you are engrossed before you know it. I
love Katerina; she is such a strong female character. I thoroughly enjoy
watching her kick butt. And she does
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Katerina must fight against enemies, both familiar and
unfamiliar, while traveling through a country she knows very little about.
Every minute is a struggle to survive and every second brings the lich tsar
closer to taking over the throne. Katerina must use everything at her disposal
to stop Konstantin from taking over her beloved <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>. Not only that, but she must avoid the unwanted attentions of her former fiance, Prince Danilo, deal with the changes her mother has gone through and fight for the love of George Alexandrovich. Katerina's plate is so full it's overflowing. </div>
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If you are a fan of the Katerina trilogy, <i>The Morning Star</i>
is a must read. And if you haven’t picked up this wonderful series, do it now!
It is beautifully written, rich in history and overflowing with romance. I love
this series and I hope others will enjoy it as much as I have.</div>
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My grade for <i>The Morning Star</i> by Robin Bridges:</div>
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Want to check out other reviews on The Morning Star blog tour? Check these out:</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">August 18<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://thehidingspot.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Hiding Spot</a><br><b>August 19<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://www.yabibliophile.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">YA Bibliophile</a><b><br>August 19<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://bibliophilesupportgroup.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bibliophile Support Group</a><b><br>August 21<sup>st</sup>: </b><a href="http://www.candacesbookblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Candace’s Book Blog</a><b><br>August 22<sup>nd</sup>: </b><a href="http://momreadsmybooks.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Mom Reads My Books</a><b><br>August 23<sup>rd</sup>: </b><a href="http://marmaladelibby.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Marmalade Libby</a><b><br>August 24<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://adkwriter15.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">My Life is a Notebook</a><b><br>August 26<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Imaginary Reads</a><b><br>August 26<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://www.readergirlsblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Reader Girls</a><b><br>August 27<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://www.caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Kimba Caffeinated</a><br><b>August 28<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://www.pageturnersblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Page Turners Blog</a></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">August 29<sup>th</sup>: </b><a href="http://bookrookreviews.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;" target="_blank">Book Rook Reviews</a></div>
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Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-40238869410858510662013-07-02T07:34:00.000-07:002013-07-02T07:34:13.173-07:00The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(book jacket photo courtesy of Goodreads)</span></div>
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<i>In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one...except the "thing" inside her. When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no "normal" Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...</i></div>
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<i>Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of "them." The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.</i></div>
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<i>Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help--and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.</i></div>
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<i>But The Machinist wants to tear Griffin's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on--even if no one believes her (summary courtesy of Goodreads). </i></div>
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I am just venturing into the world of Steampunk. I read the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare and LOVED it, but I never actually got the fact that it was considered Steampunk until just recently. I was too wrapped up in the Shadowhunter world. But I digress. Anyway, I honestly consider this my first "official" Steampunk novel. And unfortunately, I was disappointed.</div>
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I really wanted to love this novel. Just looking at the gorgeous cover makes you want it to be good, makes you want to devour every word. But, <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset </i>fell short for me. </div>
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Let's start by saying, I know I am reading a Steampunk novel. That's one of the reasons I'm reading it. Please don't remind me every few pages that not only is this Victorian England, but there are things here that are just not possible, like the automatons. I got the impression Ms. Cross felt the need to constantly remind her readers that this is a novel set in the past and filled with improbable gadgets. It got very tiring, very fast. Every time a new gadget was introduced, I was reminded that this was not probable during that time period. I know! Let me read the book and have the story be so amazing that I am drawn into the world you created. Don't tell me, <i>show </i>me.</div>
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Also, a little research goes a long way. If you are going to set a novel in Victorian London, make sure you know what you are writing about. I got the impression that Ms. Cross didn't know that much about the time period she chose for her novel. One of the reasons I have been excited to read Steampunk is because of the time period it is set in. I really felt like the story was a modern story plunked down in the late 19th century, with little to no effort expended to help the reader feel as if they were in 1897. And in this supposed "proper" world where there is constant worry about anything inappropriate happening, a lot of "inappropriate" things happen. As a way to remind us that this is the 1890s in Victorian London, the author tosses in frequent references to improprieties and the inappropriateness of the characters' actions. Though she seems to ignore those improprieties just pages later. Not only that, but I felt like she didn't know that much about the country she chose as her setting. Most of what she wrote about London could have been read on Wikipedia. And the couple of references made about Queen Victoria could have been pulled from the episode of Doctor Who about her. "I am not amused" is perhaps the most over-used line for a non-fictional character ever. And it's used in this book. Very disappointing, considering the Queen is an oft-wrote about part of this book. </div>
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Perhaps the biggest issue I had with this book was the lack of character development and character consistency. Now, I know this is a YA book, and they are notorious for character development issues, but I felt like the characters and relationships could have been better written. The various characters' back stories could have been an entire book themselves. I felt as if I walked into a story already in progress and I had missed a lot of what I needed to know. The most emphasis seemed to be placed on getting Sam's back story out. While it was important to the plot, so were other stories, in particular Griffin's. I felt as if he was glossed over and I was just supposed to like him because he was the male lead of the story. I liked Emily, but unfortunately we never learned much about her. Jack Dandy was another interesting character with little to no story, as was Griffin's Aunt Cordelia. Another character with a lot of potential was the American, Jasper. Unfortunately, he came off very stereotypical, with his "Howdies" and his cowboy boots and hat. Incidentally, my least favorite character was Sam, one of the characters the most time was spent on. I found him whiny and annoying. And don't get me started on the two, yes TWO, love triangles evident in <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset</i>. Both of which were very under-developed or downright unlikely. How exactly does one fall in love with a girl they have met once and talked to for 10 minutes? I guess when you need a love triangle (though I'm not sure exactly why there had to be one), the improbable will happen. As the reader, I was never shown that the characters were falling for each other, I was told they were. I was supposed to accept it based on being told it was happening, rather than watching it come to fruition on its own. </div>
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Finally, this novel tries to throw too much in the pot at one time. It's Steampunk, it's paranormal, it's romance, it's science fiction. There are too many things overlapping and struggling to be included. Ms. Cross borrowed heavily from other books, in particular the Infernal Devices series (the use of runes on the body, the flesh on automatons) as well as comic books (superhero powers and super-healing). </div>
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There was one thing that did stand out for me and that was Ms. Cross's knowledge of mechanics and various machinery. Perhaps the most well-written parts of the book were those written about the automatons, the velocycles, and the various other gadgets she created for this story. If only that effort had also gone into building the characters as well, this would have been a much better book.</div>
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My grade for <i>The Girl in the Steel Corset </i>by Kady Cross:</div>
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Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-58233803080264256732013-06-28T20:29:00.000-07:002013-06-28T20:29:13.888-07:00I'm Back! With Sincere Apologies and Lame Excuses.I feel awful. I mean really awful. I have neglected this blog for nearly a year. But I do have my reasons.<br />
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What started out as a fun hobby and a place to showcase books I enjoyed rapidly turned into a very time-consuming job that I wasn't getting paid to do. That is completely my fault. I took on far more than I could chew (so to speak). <br />
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First of all, I agreed to read and review more books than any sane person could read in a year, let alone the short amount of time I was giving myself (roughly six months). Again, totally my fault. I can't say no. I get an email asking me to read and review a book, I say "Sure! Why not?" I had my list of books to read at well over 150 books. This included books I agreed to review and books I just wanted to read. That list of books would have required me to read roughly one or more books A DAY. Not going to happen. I do love to read, but I also have a life.<br />
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Second, I got a new job. In my previous job, I could read frequently during the day. I mean, I could read A LOT, sometimes for hours at a time. Unfortunately, it paid practically nothing. And I couldn't afford to keep working it. So, I found a new job with more hours and more pay. But, no more reading at work. I barely have time to take my lunch, let alone pick up a book to read. When I get home, I have to cook, clean, chauffeur my kids around and be a mom and a wife. I was only grabbing time to read for about a half an hour before bed and a lot of the time, I fell asleep while reading. Oops.<br />
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Finally, I was trying too hard. I was trying to write reviews that were earth-shattering. Ground-breaking. Amazing. And too much work. I realized I just needed to tell people what I thought about a book. Did I like it, love it or hate it? Was it just "meh?" I needed to stop trying so hard and just write the review. I'm not Shakespeare or Jane Austen or Emily Bronte. I'm Amie, a mom who reads the books her kids read and writes reviews about them. I need to embrace that and run with it.<br />
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I am re-dedicating myself to this blog. I can't promise a new book review every week or even every other week. But I am going to try to post reviews at least once or twice a month. I'm also not going to work so hard at posting a review. I am just going to write what I think about a book, instead of killing myself to write some masterpiece.<br />
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Hopefully I haven't lost too many of you. I apologize to those who were frequent visitors to my blog and I let you down. I hope I can regain your trust.<br />
Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-49764719477181991642012-09-30T21:00:00.001-07:002012-09-30T21:00:28.996-07:00Review and Interview: Robin Bridges' The Unfailing Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**book cover courtesy of Goodreads**</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was given the privilege of interviewing Robin Bridges for
a blog hop in support of her new book, <i>The
Unfailing Light</i>, book two of the Katerina Trilogy. I didn’t want to ask Ms.
Bridges the typical questions normally seen in author interviews, so I spent
some time perusing her web site to get some ideas for questions. I also wanted
to keep it short and sweet, as I am including a review with the interview. I
don’t enjoy reading long drawn out blog posts that drain my brain. I want to
get in, read what I came to read and move on to the next thing on my to-do
list. I try to do this on my own blog; give them want they want and don’t go
overboard!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First a little bit about Ms. Bridges. She is a writer by day and a pediatric nurse
by night. She lives on the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place> with her husband, a
soon-to-be teenager and two Mastiffs. She enjoys playing video games and Jane
Austen books <i>(biography courtesy of robinbridges.com)</i>.</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is your favorite thing about
being an author?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s
kinda like playing with Barbies. You
dress them up and make them kiss. And
bring people back from the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw on your web site that you
like video games. I love to play the Lego video games. What is your favorite
video game?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dragon
Age! I’ve played and replayed both the
first one and the sequel several times.
I am madly in love with Alistair.
And Fenris.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is the best piece of advice you ever received about writing?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #4f81bd;">“Don’t give up your day job.” And also “add more smooching!”</span><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the setting you have chosen for the Katerina Trilogy. It seems so
grand and beautiful. Have you ever visited <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not yet, but I hope to once I learn to speak Russian!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a genre
filled with paranormal stories, you have managed to create</span></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> an original,
never-read-before world. What was the most challenging thing </span></span></i></b></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about creating
Katerina’s world?</span></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Making the setting as accurate as possible was
challenging. The one time I decided to </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">be lazy and make up the name of a street, the copy editor told me I’d spelled</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the street name wrong! It took some
digging, but I finally found what the street </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">had been called in the 1890’s. (It had changed names several times since the
Revolution.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, are you
excited to bring Katerina’s story to a close or will </span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #2a2a2a;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you miss her and the world
she lives in? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both. I’m excited
about working with a new cast of characters in a new story, </span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: #4f81bd;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but I will
definitely miss Katerina and George. And
Danilo!</span></span><i><span style="color: #4f81bd;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #4f81bd;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"> And now for the review:</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Title:
</b>The Katrina Trilogy,
Volume II: The Unfailing Light<b> </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Author:
</b>Robin Bridges<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Paranormal/Historical Fiction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s Books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Imprint:
</b>Delacorte BFYR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b>Release Date: </b>October 9, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Having had no
choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces,
Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever
used her special powers. She’s about to
set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she
discovers that Russia’s arch nemesis—that she thought she’d destroyed—is still
alive. So, on imperial orders, Katerina
remains at her old finishing school. She’ll be safe there, because the empress
has cast a spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants that are bent
on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina’s horror, the spell unleashes
a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any of the
creatures trying to get in. <i>(Summary
courtesy of NetGalley)</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><i>The Unfailing Light</i> is Robin Bridges’ second volume in the
Katerina Trilogy (you can read my review of the first book, <i>The Gathering Storm</i> here). The second
book picks up just a few months after the end of Volume I. Katerina has spent
the summer resting with her mother, aunt and cousin, counting the minutes until
she can begin her dream of attending medical school and trying to forget the
night she discovered she was a necromancer and the danger she could put
everyone around her in, especially the man she loves, Grand Duke George
Alexandrovich. But an unfortunate
discovery in a dark cave forces the emperor to send Katerina back to the Smolny
Institute for Young Noble Maidens, the finishing school she thought she was
finally able to leave behind. Practically imprisoned for her own safety,
Katerina must now deal with the constant scrutiny of the Montenegrin Princess
Elena, the moody new girl—Princess Alix—and a strange presence threatening the
safety of every girl at Smolny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">More often than
not, I have found the second volume in a trilogy to be the weakest,
disappointing me in more ways than I can count (best example—<i>Crossed</i>, the second book in the Matched
trilogy). I am always hesitant to pick up the second book, (even though I
almost always do). Well, Bridges doesn’t disappoint, instead she has written an
engrossing novel that kept me flipping pages late into the night. She does not disappoint, keeping Katerina’s
story flowing and interesting, without that boring lull that often appears in a
sophomore book. If anything, I enjoyed <i>The
Unfailing Light</i> more than <i>The
Gathering Storm</i>. Maybe it was because this time I didn’t have to muddle
through the various houses of Russian royalty, trying to remember who was who.
While there are still a lot of characters to keep straight in this book, it
seemed much easier this time around. Bridges also keeps the action coming,
throwing things out that aren’t expected and keeping the reader on the edge of
their seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Katerina next. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I find Katerina to
be a very strong female character, especially considering the time in history
in which she lived, but she did seem a bit more vulnerable in this book. I actually liked that; I felt that after all
that happened to her in the first book, Katerina would be struggling to find
her way. Watching her grow more and more confident in herself and her decisions
just made the book better. Bridges manages to show that growth, along with the
doubt and vulnerability Katerina experiences while never taking away what I
liked about Katerina—her willfulness and
independence. She just let those
characteristics grow more pronounced as the book progressed. Katerina continues to be a character that young
adult readers can look up to and enjoy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><i>The Unfailing Light</i> is a fantastic addition to the Katerina
Trilogy. It keeps the story moving forward, it’s entertaining and it is
beautifully written. Just as she did in the first book, Bridges weaves a beautiful
world, one made even more fascinating by the fact that it is based on actual
people and history. I loved this book and I cannot wait for the next (and sadly
last) book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Please take a look at the other blogs in the hop!</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 2<sup>nd</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.magicalurbanfantasyreads.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Magical Urban Fantasy Reads</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 2<sup>nd</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://bookreviewclub.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Book Review Club</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 3<sup>rd</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://bookreviewclub.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Book Review Club</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 4<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Kimba Caffeinated</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 4<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://adkwriter15.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/review-the-gathering-storm-by-robin-bridges/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">My Life is a Notebook</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 5<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://adkwriter15.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/review-the-gathering-storm-by-robin-bridges/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">My Life is a Notebook</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 6<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.candacesbookblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Candace’s Book Blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 7<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.readergirlsblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Reader Girls</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 8<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Bookish</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 8<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://readingwithstyle.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Peace, Love, Books</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 9<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.yabibliophile.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">YA Bibliophile</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 9<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.readergirlsblog.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Reader Girls</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 10<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.wastepaperprose.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Wastepaper Prose</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 10<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Imaginary Reads</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 11<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Imaginary Reads</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 12<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://wellreadwife.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Well Read Wife</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 15<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://marmaladelibby.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Libby Blog</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 16<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.crackingthecover.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Cracking the Cover</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 17<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://abookishlibraria.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">A Bookish Libraria</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 18<sup>th</sup>:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <a href="http://www.anovelreview.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">A Novel Review</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 19<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://inthebestworlds.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">In the Best Worlds</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">October 20<sup>th</sup>: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://trippingbooks.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Tripping Over Books</a></span></span></div>
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<br />Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-37400119099741120472012-08-22T20:23:00.000-07:002012-08-22T20:23:21.524-07:00Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337173096l/12924188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337173096l/12924188.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo courtesy of Goodreads)</span></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>Don’t You Wish<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author:
</b><st1:street w:st="on">Roxanne St.</st1:street> Claire<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Contemporary<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s House<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>Digital Galley via
NetGalley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b> July
10, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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What if your mom
had married someone else? Would you still be you?<o:p></o:p></div>
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When plain and
unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions,
she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same
mother but a different father—and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her
high school.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In this universe,
Ayla lives in glitzy <st1:city w:st="on">Miami</st1:city> instead of dreary <st1:city w:st="on">Pittsburgh</st1:city> and has
beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her
friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are
exhilarating…and illegal. Here she’s got a date to lose her V-card with the
hottest guy she’s ever seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But on the inside,
Ayla is still Annie.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So when she’s
offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to <st1:city w:st="on">Pittsburgh</st1:city>, will she take it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The choice isn’t as
simple as you think. <i>(Summary courtesy of
publisher and NetGalley)</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wasn’t too sure
about this book at first. It seemed very predictable: not-so-popular girl gets the chance to live
the dream and become every thing she ever wanted—rich, beautiful, popular, and
(unfortunately) mean. I decided I wasn’t going to like this book and I would
read it just to finish it. But then it changed, it became something more than I
ever thought. Have you ever read a book that took you totally by surprise and
wasn’t what you expected at all? This was that book for me. Only one word came
to mind when I finished <i>Don’t You Wish</i>
and that word was “Wow!” <o:p></o:p></div>
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After a somewhat
terrible day, Annie gets a shock when one of her inventor-father’s gadgets
sends her to a parallel universe. She wakes up not as Annie, but as Ayla—rich,
beautiful and living in gorgeous <st1:city w:st="on">Miami</st1:city>.
But inside she is still Annie, and she discovers that she is nothing like Ayla.
Annie becomes more and more frustrated as time goes on, but can she get back
home? And does she really want to?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<st1:street w:st="on">Roxanne St.</st1:street> Claire is an extremely good author, with a
phenomenal gift for characterization and a strong voice that truly brings her
books to life. I felt like I was in <st1:city w:st="on">Miami</st1:city>
with Ayla/Annie and I felt like I was living her life right there beside her.
After finishing <i>Don’t You Wish</i>, I did
something I had never done before, I emailed the author. I just couldn’t resist
telling her how much I loved her book. I even told her I was going to force my
girls to read her book because it was that good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, if you’re
looking for a really good book, I highly recommend <i>Don’t You Wish</i>. You will not regret it. Pick it up, read it and
pass it on to someone you know who loves to read. But a word of caution: don’t
give up on this book, keep reading. It’s totally worth it!</div>
Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-11007394762200433942012-07-19T19:47:00.001-07:002012-07-19T19:47:47.518-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #40<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkybtym1eqklrdL3cVs4vKHTZ_G7H7f4BUPYJ0W8gHpHOEKMNJklVqYXUKvXYHEDakLG9Z0vmdQf_fmA7nvmnFrslOaH3EU2dQ0aNMs_GCYT8AZ0uGa-e9u1JU4z0Lx3Lk1aksdvJoI8/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkybtym1eqklrdL3cVs4vKHTZ_G7H7f4BUPYJ0W8gHpHOEKMNJklVqYXUKvXYHEDakLG9Z0vmdQf_fmA7nvmnFrslOaH3EU2dQ0aNMs_GCYT8AZ0uGa-e9u1JU4z0Lx3Lk1aksdvJoI8/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel
at <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/">Parajunkee’s View</a></b> and Alison at <b><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/07/feature-and-follow-friday-106.html">Alison Can Read</a></b>. It is a great way for
bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog,
follow ALL the instructions and then add your link to the list. It’s just that
easy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week’s question:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Christmas in July! Someone gives you a gift card for two books (whatever that costs). What two books will you buy?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would definitely buy <i>Insurgent</i> by Veronica Roth, because I still haven't bought it and I really need to get it. And I would get <i>Gone Girl</i> by Gillian Flynn because I have heard it is amazing so I really want to read it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would you buy? Leave a link to your Feature and Follow Friday in the comment section and I will stop by and check it out!</span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-43020624818699496422012-07-18T08:37:00.001-07:002012-07-18T08:40:08.907-07:00Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1339010771l/12716010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1339010771l/12716010.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*cover photo courtesy of Goodreads*</span></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>Rapture<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Author:
</b>Lauren Kate<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Paranormal<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s Books<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>Digital Galley from
NetGalley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>June 12, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i>*Please note, Rapture is the
fourth book in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. If you have not read the
previous books, this review may contain spoilers.*<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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The sky is dark
with wings….Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel.
To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where angels fell
to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do
this—live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they will face an
epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies…and angel dust. Great sacrifices
are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For
she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has
always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she
makes now will be the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who
will win? The astonishing conclusion to the <i>Fallen</i>
series. Heaven can’t wait any longer. <i>(Summary
courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Oh, the <i>Fallen</i> series. I first fell in love with
this series right after the first book came out. My oldest daughter was reading
it and she suggested I read it. Well since mom reads their books, I did, and I
thoroughly enjoyed it. The first book in
the series, <i>Fallen</i>, came out in
December of 2009, the second, <i>Torment</i>
in September 2010, followed by <i>Passion</i>
in June 2011 and now, at last, the final book, <i>Rapture,</i> was released June 12, 2012. Waiting two and a half years to finally read
this entire series, felt like, well, an eternity. I was really glad to finally
get to the bottom of Luce’s story and find out the truth behind her love for
Daniel. Lauren Kate managed to deliver a book full of twists and turns and
revelations the reader just didn’t see coming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was a bit worried
about reading <i>Rapture</i>, because I
really had a hard time with <i>Passion</i>.
I didn’t love it like I had the previous two books and reading <i>Passion</i> felt like a chore. That may have
been because the chemistry, love and honestly, the passion between present-day
Daniel and Luce was missing. The flashbacks of their previous lives and their
love just wasn’t working for me. I was worried that <i>Rapture</i> would fail to bring that chemistry back. Fortunately, it
didn’t fail. I really enjoyed the relationship between Daniel and Luce in this
book, mostly because I felt like it came full circle. Luce was no longer just
going along loving Daniel with no concept of the consequences or the
circumstances of their previous lives. She finally understands what it means to
love Daniel and she is okay with it. They are actually on equal footing in this
book, which is a refreshing change. Daniel doesn’t always seem to like it
(mostly due to his concern for her safety), but he deals with it fairly well.
Luce falls easily into the role of Daniel’s equal, a place I believe she was
always meant to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I would like to
point out that if you read the summary, you saw that Luce was meant to be with
someone else. Say whhhaaaattttt? That’s right, someone else. Not Daniel. Umm, I
cry foul, good author, because as far as I’m concerned, Luce belongs only with
Daniel. But apparently, that is not the case. This little fact added a whole
new dimension to the story and kind of threw a monkey wrench into the great
mechanism of destiny. So Luce isn’t actually destined to be with Daniel? How is
that even possible? Oh, and guess what? Luce’s other love is NOT who you think
it is. It might surprise you who it is. It did me. Can you say serious plot
twist boys and girls? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Rapture</i> takes us, the reader, on a crazy ride. Kate pulls no punches with this
book and no one is safe. People and angels die. I won’t say who, but be
forewarned, not everyone makes it out alive. Sad, but true. I will admit that I
shed a few tears as I read this book. The end really pulls at your heartstrings
and puts forth a final test that left my mouth hanging open. Be prepared,
because the rollercoaster ride starts as soon as you open the book and goes
non-stop all the way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I enjoyed Rapture,
but I am glad that it is over. So many books stretch their stories out over
years and at times it can very frustrating waiting for the next book (ahem,
Mortal Instruments, ahem). Especially
when you realize as you are reading that the books actually only span about a
two week time span. A two week time span that took more than two years to read.
It’s nice to get to the end of a series, and have it end satisfactorily. If you
haven’t read the <i>Fallen</i> series, I
recommend reading it, especially because you can read all four books straight
through. So grab it, settle in and get ready for an amazing ride.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>Rapture</i> by Lauren Kate:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXS46RpmJeH-DzWTJXnuGob_ULfzA8Wk-0FjTbZDhyAiUaZKFNDqTdWZuA2Ox0NWmyVaHO2QaxZMrutnFLcL8riRHsKFSVyq4_0o2E6D8TxIxeEiTCC54TKnmf0XvEhAfH3oLWOTM6noU/s1600/B+plus+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXS46RpmJeH-DzWTJXnuGob_ULfzA8Wk-0FjTbZDhyAiUaZKFNDqTdWZuA2Ox0NWmyVaHO2QaxZMrutnFLcL8riRHsKFSVyq4_0o2E6D8TxIxeEiTCC54TKnmf0XvEhAfH3oLWOTM6noU/s1600/B+plus+small.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-74279948439290009022012-07-15T17:09:00.001-07:002012-07-16T06:07:57.782-07:00Review: The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes<br />
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332896174l/12384972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332896174l/12384972.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*book image courtesy of Goodreads*</span></b></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>The Princesses of <st1:state w:st="on">Iowa</st1:state><b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Author:
</b>M. Molly Backes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Realistic Fiction<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Candlewick Press<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 8, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Sheridan
lives the perfect life. She’s pretty, rich, and popular, and her spot on the
homecoming court is practically guaranteed. But when a night of partying ends
in an “it-could-have-been-so-much-worse” crash, everything changes. Her best
friends start ignoring her, her boyfriend grows cold and distant, and her once
adoring younger sister now views her with contempt. The only bright spot is her
creative writing class, led by a charismatic new teacher who encourages his
students to be true to themselves. But who is Paige, if not the homecoming
princess everyone expects her to be? In this arresting and witty debut, a girl
who was once high school royalty must face a truth that money and status can’t
fix, and choose between living the privileged life of a princess, or owning up
to her mistakes and giving up everything she once held dear <i>(Summary via NetGalley)</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When you first
start reading <i>The Princesses of Iowa</i>,
you get the feeling that it will be another Mean Girls in print form, where the
nasty mean queens that rule the world and school get their comeuppance in the
end. Yes, there are nasty mean girls, and some of them do get their comeuppance
in the end, but there is far more to the story than that. Instead of hearing
the typical story of the bullied girl, the reader is given the unique
perspective of the popular party girl who realizes this can’t be all that life
is about. After walking away from a horrible car accident and being banished to
<st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city> to work
as an au pair (aka: slave labor) for the summer, Paige returns home to discover that
things have changed. Or maybe she has changed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige is an amazing
character. Her ability to turn her life around and not succumb to the pressure
put on her by her parents, friends, and teachers is nearly inspirational. But
she did it in an understated manner. Backes manages to teach a lesson without
shoving it down your throat and making it obvious from page one. She subtly
suggests that being the person you want to be is the most important thing in
the world. She deserves applause just for managing to do that while keeping the
book interesting at the same time. At first Paige lets her friends and in
particular her mother, define who she is and really who she wants to be. She
doesn’t make decisions for herself, she wears what her mother tells her, she
takes classes based on what her friends take, she drinks because her friends
drink, she acts the way she acts because her friends act that way. She is
almost like a robot, spouting out pre-programmed words according to what others
want to hear. But all of that changes when Paige takes a creative writing
class—coincidentally because she thought her boyfriend was taking it—and meets
Mr. Tremont. He encourages her and the others in the class to embrace the world
around them, to see the truth and to write what they feel. Paige starts to realize
that maybe she can be the person she wants to be, not the person every one else
thinks she should be. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I found Backes to
be a really good writer, able to create characters that are very realistic.
Paige, Lacey and Nikki are the epitome of the pretty, popular girls who grew up
in a small town. They reminded me of many of the girls I went to high school
with in my small <st1:state w:st="on">Montana</st1:state>
town. The teenagers in the book even remind of those I grew up around, with
nothing better to do than drink, gossip and fight. Paige’s mom, Jacque, is probably one of the
vilest mothers I have ever come across in a book. She is very critical about
superficial crap—looks, weight, what people are wearing—most of which is
directed toward her daughters. I could not find one redeeming quality in this
character; she epitomizes all the bad parents in the world. But how much I
hated her is a testament to Backes writing, she created a character I could
really feel passion about. Backes also captured the attitude of people in a
small town perfectly. The people of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Willow
Grove</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Iowa</st1:state></st1:place> embody
many of the prejudicial attitudes of small mid-western towns. Beware, there are
a lot of homosexual slurs in this book, some of which can be offensive. Sadly,
that is how some of these tiny towns are and how the people in those towns
raise their children. Backes really portrays this well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was actually
surprised that I enjoyed <i>The Princesses
of Iowa</i> as much as I did. I was coming off of a long run of reading
contemporary young adult fiction, and I was a bit worn out from reading so much
of it. So I started reading this book already a bit prejudiced toward it, for
no other reason than it was contemporary fiction (I tend to prefer paranormal
fiction). I am glad I let go of those prejudices and was able to enjoy the
book. It’s very good and I highly recommend it. There are some themes in the
book that would be better for older teens, so I suggest this book be read by
high school age and up. I think they will enjoy it.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>The Princesses of Iowa</i> by M. Molly Backes:<br />
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<br /></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-71198508330262345192012-07-12T19:15:00.001-07:002012-07-12T20:45:23.384-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #39<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/2012/07/feature-follow-105.html">Parajunkee's View</a></b> and Alison at <a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/07/feature-and-follow-friday-105.html"><b>Alison Can Read</b></a>. It is a great way for bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog, follow ALL the instructions, and then add your link to the list. It's just that easy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's question:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>What drove you to start book blogging in the first place?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have several reasons. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1) I really do feel that I have something relevant to say about books. I am a mother of teenagers and I work with hundreds of teenagers as well, so I feel sort of qualified to discuss what books they might like to read.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2) To be h</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">onest, one of them was to get my hands on more books. One day, I was talking to a good friend of mine who is a librarian in NC and she asked me if I belonged to NetGalley. I responded with "What the heck is NetGalley?" After she told me about it and how she was able to read books BEFORE they came out, I nearly broke my fingers going to the website! I registered, looked over the books and sent in about four requests. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3) I had been batting the idea of a book blog around for awhile and I think that discussion about NetGalley was the push I needed. I had been posting reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing for quite awhile and I really liked it. I figured, why not? Somebody might want to hear what I have to say, right? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I came over here to Blogger and spent about twenty minutes trying to figure out what to call my blog that would be original and memorable. I finally settled on the name and wrote an introduction post. I posted a few reviews--which make me laugh when I look at them now--for books I had recently read and waited to see if I would get any of my books from NetGalley. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I started blogging more and more, I realized that I could really promote parents reading the books that their children read. I strongly believe reading brings people closer and my daughters and I are living proof. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did you start blogging? Leave a link to your Feature and Follow Friday in the comment section and I will stop by and check it out!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-85061792206685786992012-07-09T09:51:00.002-07:002012-07-09T09:51:42.895-07:00Fun Times in D.C.My girls and I have returned from our excursion to the nation's capital. We had a great time! Of course, we would visit when the city was experiencing record highs. There is something to be said for Arizona and it's dry heat! This was the last trip my oldest daughter would make with the marching band, as she graduated high school in May. Here's a few pictures from our trip:<br />
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This is my girls and I in front of the White House.</div>
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We sat on the Capital lawn for the fireworks. This was our view; so gorgeous.</div>
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The girls in front of part of the FDR Memorial. It was 105 and horrible humidity. We were ready to come home.</div>
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The last morning at the hotel. Very tired, very hot and ready to leave.</div>
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My girls in front of the United States Marine Corps Memorial--Iwo Jima. Very impressive memorial.</div>
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The girls at the Lincoln Memorial.</div>
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This is me giving a dinosaur a drink at King's Dominion Theme Park.</div>
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This is only six of the almost 400 pictures I took. We had a lot of fun, but we are glad to be home. I will resume posting reviews later this week! Hope you all have a great week!</div>
<br />Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-53466760272477201412012-06-29T20:49:00.000-07:002012-06-29T20:49:15.326-07:00Look Out D.C. Here We Come!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Monday, my daughters and I will be leaving for Washington D.C. Their marching band, the Gilbert Tiger Pride, has been picked to represent our state in the National Independence Day Parade. We will have an exciting five fun-filled, activity-packed days in our nation's capital. I am chaperoning ninety-four teenagers, along with several other parents. As always, it should be fun and interesting. We are very excited, especially since we have never been to D.C. before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realize my blog has been seriously lacking in posts over the last month and for that I apologize. There has been a lot going on around here and I have been trying to make some decisions. Hopefully, once I get back from the trip, I can buckle down and get my act together. In the mean time, thanks for sticking with me. I genuinely appreciate all of my readers, as well as my fellow bloggers. Thank you so much!</span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-82957902886566542612012-06-25T21:53:00.000-07:002012-06-25T21:53:37.128-07:00Guest Post by author Andy Gavin and an AWESOME GIVEAWAY!!<h1>
The Magic of <i>The Darkening Dream</i></h1>
In constructing <em><a href="http://www.blogger.com/dream">The Darkening Dream</a></em> I wanted the meta-story to play off conventional tropes. Broadly, a cabal of ancient supernatural beings has sent one of their number to recover an artifact needed to destroy the world. And surprise, it turns out a group of teens are all that stands between them and Armageddon.<br />
How much more <a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2010/11/03/tv-review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer/" title="TV Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer – part 1">Buffy</a> can you get?<br />
But that's just the high level. I also wanted to ground this preposterous scenario in real history and legend. So as a methodology, in designing my array of supernatural beings and occult practitioners I turned to historic sources. Before our modern science and technology rendered magic quaint, it was the domain of religion and superstition. Of belief.<br />
And each spiritual and magical system has its own framework. Proponents wrote out of certainty, out of faith. I merely dig up their writings and take them at their word.<br />
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Villains</h4>
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/osirisbook.gif"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-5745" height="261" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/osirisbook.gif" title="osirisbook" width="216" /></a><br />
<i>Osiris as king in the west</i></div>
What binds a group of ancient evil beings together? Not some grand principle of villainy. Evil is just extreme selfishness. But hatred can go a long way. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So who from the ancient world has suffered the most?<br />
Might it be the old gods? Or those who worship them? Who offers sacrifice anymore to Osiris? Who fears the shadow of Anubis as they step from this world into the next? Who believes the beetle god Khepri drags the sun across the sky behind him?<br />
No one. And those that remember the glory days are pissed off.<br />
So who's been lurking around since the time of the pharaohs?<br />
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/220px-Count_of_St_Germain.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-5746 " height="278" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/220px-Count_of_St_Germain.jpg" title="220px-Count_of_St_Germain" width="220" /></a><br />
<i>The comte at Versailles</i></div>
The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_of_St._Germain">Comte de St. Germain</a> has, or so he told everyone in the court of Louis XV. Apparently, at the very least, he is party to the secret magics of Osiris, Son of the Earth, King of the Dead. The elixir of Osiris is said to prevent death. And so the comte, which is but one of his many names, has been lurking about for some time. But the old magics are not what they once were. Their power has diminished with their gods. So he whispers in the ears of kings, pulling on what strings he can, seeking allies where he can find them.<br />
And old gods may fade, but as long as a single soul still believes, they never die.<br />
Even the ancient blood gods and their vampire acolytes. Born in ancient forests of the north where men offered midnight blood sacrifice. Of their king, their Ancient Master, raised from the dead a hundred centuries past, nothing remains but pure fury. Hatred for the burning sun, hatred for his mortal prey, hatred for the new world of foul brick and lifeless steel.<br />
But in hatred, perhaps, there is common cause.<br />
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<h4>
The Artifact</h4>
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/abrahamisaac.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5750" height="220" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/abrahamisaac-300x220.jpg" title="abrahamisaac" width="300" /></a><br />
<i>Observe the all important Ram in the Thicket (lower right)</i></div>
Clearly, the physical goal of our baddies had to be something really big. Something useful to them in their plots. The fall of antiquity was not about barbarians at the gates of Rome. No. The rising tide of monotheism was what really swept away the old order.<br />
So it is against God that our villains lash out.<br />
And I found the perfect legend in the most unlikely of places. I was passing the time during Yom Kippur services by reading the story of Abraham offering Isaac for sacrifice (Genesis 22). This has always been a passage of particular interest to me, dealing as it does with the nature of the relationship between man and God and the meaning of ritual sacrifice. But it was in the commentary that I noticed something peculiar, a cryptic remark that "the Ram in the Thicket is but one of ten special things created by God on the eve of creation."<br />
How's that for a magic seeker's wet dream.<br />
Back at home I dug into this and discovered that on the eve of the first Sabbath, before the creation of world, God created ten special things (which besides the Ram include the rainbow of Noah, the staff of Moses, and other goodies). These items are eternal, having existed before the universe, they have no temporal beginning or end. God, it seemed, placed the Ram into the trust of the Archangel Gabriel, who kept it in the Garden of Eden until Abraham needed it at Mount Moriah. Afterward, nothing of the Ram was wasted. Gabriel took the horns and brought one to Moses so that he could sound the arrival of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The other was kept by the archangel, hidden in the Garden, so that at the appointed time it might be brought to Elijah to sound the End of Days.<br />
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Angel-for-blog-10004.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-5749" height="300" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Angel-for-blog-10004-232x300.jpg" title="Angel for blog 10004" width="232" /></a><br />
<i>Gabriel and his trumpet</i></div>
This notion of a horn blast sounding the end of the world is a highly persistent meme. It's found not just in the Jewish traditions regarding the Messiah, but in the Revelations of John where seven angels (including presumably, Gabriel) sound the end of time and the Last Judgment. And also in diverse mythologies such as the Norse, where the Gjallarhorn shall announce the onset of Ragnarök.<br />
In the world of <em>The Darkening Dream</em>, all beliefs are simultaneously true, as brought forth and conceived by their believers. This means that anything as consistent as the horn legend is doubly true. Archetypal truth made manifest.<br />
And what of Gabriel's Horn? Eternity is a long time and the archangel flits hither and yon. Might not a busy seraph misplace such a thing... if only for a short time?<br />
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<h4>
The Myriad Layers of the Esoteric World</h4>
How to properly envision a world in which vampires, the Archangel Gabriel, witchcraft, and Egyptian gods all exist? Many might just toss them together arbitrarily, but I wanted to find a framework consistent with traditional mysticism. Having read hundreds of religious and magical texts I have identified numerous consistencies in the thought patterns of the esoteric mind.<br />
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/joeseph_snake-tree-600.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5751 " height="300" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/joeseph_snake-tree-600-300x300.jpg" title="joeseph_snake tree 600" width="300" /></a><br />
<i>The Tree of Life</i></div>
By way of example, let's place ourselves in the mind of my protagonist Sarah's father Joseph. As a Rabbi, scholar, and mystic Joseph draws his world view from the <em>Zohar</em> and other great texts of the Kabbalah. In this conceptualization, which can be summed up as "hidden and not revealed," the world is a many layered thing, like an onion, with the portion we perceive merely the lowest of ten modalities, all simultaneously overlaid. The pure conceptualization of God pervades everything, and is the highest. Yet the human mind can not fully comprehend this level of divine and celestial purity. In between are various layers that express important truths like "Beauty" and "Wisdom." In Joseph's orthodox world, God is all powerful, so powerful that even the Archangel Gabriel is but a manifestation of His Strength. The angel is not an independent entity, but a protrusion of God's will into these middle layers of reality. Joseph might actually see the angel, but in his mind, this is just his perception of an aspect of God leaking into the mortal layers. The human mind cannot comprehend the divine, so God softens the blow with the angelic form.<br />
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tumblr_lcym00Bjhu1qzd7qpo1_1280.jpeg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5752 " height="300" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tumblr_lcym00Bjhu1qzd7qpo1_1280-217x300.jpg" title="tumblr_lcym00Bjhu1qzd7qpo1_1280" width="217" /></a><br />
<i>Sitting down to the witches Sabbath</i></div>
As hard as this might be to get your head around, it seemed reasonable to extend this kind of framework to many forms of magic in the book. The villainous Puritan warlock, <a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/the-darkening-dream/characters/parris/" title="Pastor John Parris">Pastor John Parris</a>, works a school of traditional witchcraft, yet it too is based on layered perception of reality. For him, the magical realm is twisted into a less spacial form, with objects and people adjacent not just by physical proximity, but by the likeness of their form and nature. So, a person's hair, separated as it might be from their body, provides magical access to the owner. Likewise, his religious conceptualization allows for the layering of hell dimensions, separated by flame. With the help of his succubus lover he is able to step through these fiery gateways and bend the rules of time and space.<br />
While occasionally, as is the case with the Horn, the mythological drives the story, most often the structural needs of my plot demanded esoteric action. I therefore required interoperability between diverse magic systems in order to make the action work. For example, when Joseph wishes to protect his home from the intrusions of the evil Parris and the <a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/the-darkening-dream/characters/al-nasir/" title="Ali ibn Hammud al-Nasir">ancient vampire al-Nasir</a>, he prays to invoke the archangels and align the physical rectangle of his house with the metaphysical form of King Solomon's Temple. For him this is an act of faith drawing on protective aspects of God's divinity.<br />
But Parris too is able to perceive this change in the nature of reality, albeit in his own terms. His plans to gain entry requires the construction of an elaborate ritual analog. Like a voodoo doll for a building. Just as the limbs of the doll can be broken, the metaphysical walls of the temple may be breached.<br />
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Succubus from the source</h4>
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CompendiumMaleficarumEngraving24.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-5753" height="236" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CompendiumMaleficarumEngraving24-300x236.jpg" title="CompendiumMaleficarumEngraving24" width="300" /></a><br />
<i>Learning from the mouth of devils</i></div>
For each of my supernatural beings I strove to draw upon classical source materials rather than rely on 20th century pop culture. My warlock, Pastor Parris, is a man of repressed passion based on serial killer profiles. His only emotional connection to the outside world has been through a series of dominating female figures. First his puritanical grandmother, then following her grisly demise, his succubus lover Betty. Like all magic in the world of <em>The Darkening Dream</em>, Betty is a conceptual product of her beholder. So I turned to <em>The Malleus Maleficarum</em>, the rantings of two 15th century clergymen, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger. This book, which translates as the <em>The Witch Hammer</em>, was used by the Inquisition as a handbook for identifying and persecuting witches and demons.<br />
Along with a five page essay on the mechanism by which Succubi and Incubi transfer semen, the <em>Maleficarum</em> has this to say about Succubi:
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Devils have no lungs or tongue, though they can show the latter, as well as teeth and lips, artificially made according to the condition of their body; therefore they cannot truly and properly speak. But since they have understanding, and when they wish to express their meaning, then, by some disturbance of the air included in their assumed body, not of air breathed in and out as in the case of men, they produce, not voices, but sounds which have some likeness to voices, and send them articulately through the outside air to the ears of the hearer.</blockquote>
From this passage, we know that one of the means of identifying Succubi is that they do not move their lips when speaking, but manipulate the elements of fluid air near their mouths directly. Hence, in my novel, Betty does not open her mouth to speak, but the air in front of her shimmers as she does. In keeping with my fast paced action oriented novel, I never make an issue of this, but like thousands of other details in the book it is informed by the source. Clearly brothers Kramer and Sprenger knew what they were talking about, as they inspired thousands to burn at the stake.<br />
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<a href="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/osi+khepri.jpeg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5754" height="211" src="http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/osi+khepri-300x211.jpg" title="osi+khepri" width="300" /></a><br />
<i>Khepri and Osiris in the good old days</i></div>
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The Power of the Word</h4>
With each different school of magic I tried to extract the historic flavor and mindset of past occultists. The mysterious Khepri, another of my villains, practices an ancient Egyptian magic entirely different from Parris' devilish thaumaturgy. The spirit of Egyptian magic often derives from the use of secret names and the spoken word — nay command. The sorcerer/priest orders, by way of his secret magic, the very gods and demons to do his bidding. So it is that when Khepri invokes the miniature sun which is his weapon, he cries these words from <em>The Egyptian Book of the Dead</em>:
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Re sits in his Abode of Millions of Years. The doors of the sky are opened for me, the doors of the earth are opened for me, the door-bolts of Geb are opened for me, the shutters of the sky-windows are thrown open for me. I know you, I know your names; Release him, loose him!</blockquote>
By sheer force of his sorcerous will he demands the sun yield to him. And so it does.<br />
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Truth is Stranger than Fiction</h4>
By writing a modern fantasy adventure, but by grounding the magic and supernatural in tradition, I wanted to prove that the old adage really is true: Truth is stranger than fiction. The twisted imaginations of our ancestors, devoid of the distractions of the current age, were often far more creative than the half-assed creations of Hollywood and the like.<br />
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A Big Giveaway for The Darkening Dream</h3>
This week, through June 29th, Author Andy Gavin is running a big giveaway to celebrate his 99 cent promo sale.<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/" id="rc-c655100">The Darkening Dream Rafflecopter Giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js">
</script>
<br />
Tweet, like, follow, share, blog and grab a copy of his book to enter.<br />
<h4>
About The Darkening Dream</h4>
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As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.</div>
An ominous vision and the discovery of a gruesome corpse lead Sarah and her friends into a terrifying encounter with a fledgling vampire in 1913 Salem, Massachusetts. Eager to prove themselves, the young heroes set out to track the evil to its source, never guessing that they will take on a conspiracy involving not only a 900-year vampire but also a demon-loving Puritan warlock, disgruntled Egyptian gods, and an immortal sorcerer, all on a quest to recover the holy trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel. Relying on the wisdom of a Greek vampire hunter, Sarah's rabbi father, and her own disturbing visions, Sarah must fight a millennia-old battle between unspeakable forces, where the ultimate prize might be Sarah herself.<br />
<h4>
The critics love it</h4>
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"A vampire novel with actual bite." ~The Kirkus Reviews</div>
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"A gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying tale." ~Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)</div>
<h4>
<a href="http://bit.ly/xXVxXS">Read the first two sample chapters here.</a></h4>
<h4>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006PIMYLY/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=sale-week-1-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B006PIMYLY">Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.</a></h4>
<h4>
About the Author</h4>
<img height="128" src="http://andy-gavin-author.com/headshot-small" style="float: left; padding-right: 0.5em;" width="128" /><br />
Andy Gavin is an unstoppable storyteller who studied for his Ph.D. at M.I.T. and founded video game developer Naughty Dog, Inc. at the age of fifteen, serving as co-president for two decades. There he created, produced, and directed over a dozen video games, including the award winning and best selling Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter franchises, selling over 40 million units worldwide. He sleeps little, reads novels and histories, watches media obsessively, travels, and of course, writes. Find out more here.Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-8593568608823022672012-06-23T08:55:00.000-07:002012-06-23T08:55:21.349-07:00Review: Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334930557l/12962924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334930557l/12962924.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*book jacket photo courtesy of Goodreads*</span></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>Welcome, Caller,
This is Chloe<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author:
</b>Shelley Coriel<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Realistic Fiction<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>ABRAMS<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Imprint:
</b>Amulet Books<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 1, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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Big-hearted Chloe
Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation
and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is
forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, so she joins her
school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too
queenly. Ostracized by her BFs and struggling with her beloved Gram’s mental
deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the
station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends
radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and
off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy
in everyday life <i>(Summary via NetGalley)</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I adore Chloe
Camden! She is loud, brash, tells jokes, loves shoes, wears her heart on her
sleeve, and never stops talking. Chloe is precariously balancing everything in
her life and you just know that eventually it will crumble. She really cares
about the people around her—her parents, her friends, her fellow students at
the radio station (even though they don’t really like her), her former best
friends, and especially her Grams. Chloe desperately tries to keep all the
people in her world happy, and that doesn’t always work out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a nutshell, I am
in love with this book. It is probably one of the best YA realistic fiction
books of the year, right alongside <i>Freshman
Year and Other Unnatural Disasters</i>. It’s funny, it’s heartfelt and it’s
entertaining. Coriel manages to create characters the reader can really care
about, not to mention one character I found incredibly vile and I couldn’t
stand. But a good writer creates characters we love or we hate, and Coriel does
manage to do that. Chloe is an obviously dynamic character that changes as the
book progresses. In fact, most of the characters grow and change as the book
progresses. Character-driven books are among my favorites, and <i>Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe </i>is
definitely that. This book gives the reader an opportunity to laugh, to cry and
to just enjoy reading. What a joy it is to read a book that makes you
appreciate reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I will be
recommending <i>Welcome, Caller, This is
Chloe</i> to everyone. I will be putting it on my favorite books of 2012 as
well. It is so good; it just needs to be read, by as many people as possible.
Add this book to your to-be-read pile, no matter how big it is.</div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-5675415301382886792012-06-21T21:28:00.000-07:002012-06-21T21:29:12.439-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #38<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOKToftxvnzOf4PYyyPE7X6AdWVkUDLHkuFVlXD3gz4dRwRz_cO-17Wh2TrBOJUL6TlEr0oIX5aPPOFIAdxb4gI7qtG_2E1ejQ1BbVWX3bT97hFgmMXfbWI5pSAQgyvFC-mjrmlhrFO0/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOKToftxvnzOf4PYyyPE7X6AdWVkUDLHkuFVlXD3gz4dRwRz_cO-17Wh2TrBOJUL6TlEr0oIX5aPPOFIAdxb4gI7qtG_2E1ejQ1BbVWX3bT97hFgmMXfbWI5pSAQgyvFC-mjrmlhrFO0/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/2012/06/feature-follow-102.html">Parajunkee's View</a></b> and Alison at <b><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/06/feature-and-follow-friday-102.html">Alison Can Read</a></b>. It is a great way for bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog, follow ALL the instructions and then add your link to the list. It's just that easy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's question:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b><i>If you could "unread" a book, which one would it be? Is it because you want to start over and experience it again for the first time? Or because it was just THAT bad?</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sure there are a lot of books I would like to "unread" but I have blocked them from my memory because they were that bad. The one that comes to mind that I have recently read that I wish I could unread is </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New Girl</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> by Paige Harbison. It was by far the worst book I've read in ages and it still ranks as the worst book I've read in 2012. I finished it and wished I hadn't, it was that awful. Yuck!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I picked a book to unread because I hated it, I'll pick one that I loved. I would love to unread the Mortal Instruments series. I love this series so much. I remember when I first read City of Bones; it was like stepping into a new and fascinating world, one I never wanted to leave. I loved that book so much, I can't even begin to describe it. I would love to have that feeling again.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leave a link in the comment section to your Feature and Follow Friday and I will stop by and check it out. Have a great weekend!</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-20640768992523511332012-06-14T19:30:00.001-07:002012-06-14T19:30:06.889-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #37<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxuJW6AGHN6tjSVM3vaSSziFItzy1ECYsc1GKK3MAxnqY1woKsnlmxjwDuNdUHoYSVt4LXqoETdZyKqk-vbkHNMz96rq7Mj9EPn8zuc1Fgv1SrPTjZFJOL2oDDaaMDqC_HtaMzqmpmk-w/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxuJW6AGHN6tjSVM3vaSSziFItzy1ECYsc1GKK3MAxnqY1woKsnlmxjwDuNdUHoYSVt4LXqoETdZyKqk-vbkHNMz96rq7Mj9EPn8zuc1Fgv1SrPTjZFJOL2oDDaaMDqC_HtaMzqmpmk-w/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel
at <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/2012/06/feature-follow-101.html">Parajunkee’s View</a></b> and Alison at <b><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/06/feature-and-follow-friday-101.html">Alison Can Read</a></b>. It is a great way for
bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog,
follow ALL the instructions and then add your link to the list. It’s just that
easy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week’s question:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Happy Father's Day! Who is your favorite dad character in a book and why?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have several fathers that I like. Here they are in no particular order:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though he is not actually her real father, I love Luke from the Mortal Instruments series! He cares deeply for Clary, even though she is not his daughter. He does his best to protect her, her mother and her friends, he doesn't take any crap from anyone and he makes an awesome werewolf! Luke is a great father to Clary, something she really needs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also like Charlie and Carlisle from the Twilight series. Again, they are protective of their children and will go to any length in order to protect them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, Stephanie Plum's dad, Frank, from the Janet Evanovich series. He is so funny, without trying. I love his relationship with Grandma Mazur and how frustrated he gets with his crazy family. He makes a great straight man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who are your favorite dads from books? Leave a comment and I will stop by and take a look!</span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-49529539808527155282012-06-12T06:11:00.001-07:002012-06-12T06:11:47.674-07:00Teaser Tuesday June 12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTYaw0GX9-JjXY7ASq3IQRQYf3mjooSHfYKLN026yPUD8IABuzaP-ZD3e4QK0BUM_d5XN1wpm4bcdMCMFW9mKaqSpvf3qooNkveI9417LcCu5AeEl_WacwjMh-UIcIXsHC4K9JnB2GTw/s1600/Teaser+Tuesdays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTYaw0GX9-JjXY7ASq3IQRQYf3mjooSHfYKLN026yPUD8IABuzaP-ZD3e4QK0BUM_d5XN1wpm4bcdMCMFW9mKaqSpvf3qooNkveI9417LcCu5AeEl_WacwjMh-UIcIXsHC4K9JnB2GTw/s1600/Teaser+Tuesdays.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Teaser Tuesdays</span></i></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> is a weekly bookish
meme, hosted by MizB of <b><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/teaser-tuesdays-june-12/">Should Be Reading</a></b><i>.</i> Anyone
can play along! Just do the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Grab your current read<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Open to a random page<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that
page<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (<i>make sure that what
you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for
others!</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Share the <b>title & author</b>, too, so that other Teaser
Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your
teaser!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><br />
My teaser this week is from:</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1329254478l/12701339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1329254478l/12701339.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><i>"You know that curiosity killed the cat isn't just a saying, right? Alex whispered to Charlie. "It's a warning that we should leave when something's wrong." </i>Kindle location 16%--quote subject to change before publication.</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">What are you reading this week? Leave a link to your Tuesday Teaser in the comment section and I will stop by and take a look.</span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-70442029894044041022012-06-07T19:55:00.001-07:002012-06-07T20:05:54.614-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #36<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZcnemr-f7R-Olt-kQyyJqtnqtWe99ZpaVPJS6bFTP4aNGiUkzcXyaHnCglW1V0Ee5XApEwhp0e_btIqZoSshBDgGHehnClxEqRLAN3kblFCKGCv_r98Oh1U8MmPnSX3vqSfklzTvW9s/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZcnemr-f7R-Olt-kQyyJqtnqtWe99ZpaVPJS6bFTP4aNGiUkzcXyaHnCglW1V0Ee5XApEwhp0e_btIqZoSshBDgGHehnClxEqRLAN3kblFCKGCv_r98Oh1U8MmPnSX3vqSfklzTvW9s/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This week, Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/2012/06/feature-follow-is-100-ff100.html">Parajunkee's View</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/06/feature-and-follow-friday-100.html">Alison Can Read</a>, </b>is celebrating it's 100th week! Congratulations! In honor of their 100th week, they are hosting a Giveaway Hop to celebrate! Here is the list of participating blogs, good luck!<br />
<br />
<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=143511" type="text/javascript">
</script>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-33267917598672966432012-06-04T21:07:00.000-07:002012-06-04T22:01:59.958-07:00Teaser Tuesday June 4<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyPytxP06wj4JM_3PNRwXIicZ4pITfwD9SItAHLjIyoufEHQ3ZaV4tK8FFqYKAb-ddEjpl0esgzjUfccmbBlRjZkwnyYrhl8ZOxU-n-RC8DjrkOIUBxdZsQ60kM8HzLVPJj4UDvrBRqU/s1600/Teaser+Tuesdays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyPytxP06wj4JM_3PNRwXIicZ4pITfwD9SItAHLjIyoufEHQ3ZaV4tK8FFqYKAb-ddEjpl0esgzjUfccmbBlRjZkwnyYrhl8ZOxU-n-RC8DjrkOIUBxdZsQ60kM8HzLVPJj4UDvrBRqU/s1600/Teaser+Tuesdays.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">Teaser Tuesdays</span></i></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;"> is a weekly bookish
meme, hosted by MizB of <b><a href="http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/teaser-tuesdays-june-5/#comment-49603">Should Be Reading</a></b><i>.</i> Anyone
can play along! Just do the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">Grab your current read<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">Open to a random page<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that
page<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;"> (<i>make sure that what
you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for
others!</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial;">Share the <b>title & author</b>, too, so that other Teaser
Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your
teaser!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br />
My teaser this week is from:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337796960l/4671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337796960l/4671.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden; old men pushing young girls in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably, and keeping in the corners--and a great number of single girls dancing individualistically or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps. By midnight the hilarity had increased." </i>page 34-35</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The other day, I saw the trailer for the movie version of this and I realized, I have never read it. So, I borrowed it from my daughter and am taking the plunge. So, w</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">hat are you reading? Leave a link in the comment box and I will stop by and check it out!</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-67151666780612677012012-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:002012-06-02T08:31:25.020-07:00Review: The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher<br />
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333578336l/12858678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333578336l/12858678.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*book cover photo courtesy of Goodreads*</span></b></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>The Unbearable Book
Club for Unsinkable Girls<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author:
</b>Julie Schumacher<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Realistic Fiction<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s Books<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Imprint:
</b>Delacorte Books for
Young Readers<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digitial
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>May 8, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m Adrienne Haus,
survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn’t want to join. My
mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer with my knee in a
brace. CeeCee’s parents forced her to join after canceling her <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city> trip because she bashed up their car.
The members of “The Unbearable Book Club,” CeeCee, Jill, Wallis and I, were all
going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren’t friends. We were
literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If
you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person
being dead, you can probably look us up under <i>mother-daughter literary catastrophe</i>. Or open this book and read my
essay, which I’ll turn in when I go back to school <i>(Summary courtesy NetGalley)</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable
Girls </i>is written in the
form of a creative essay for an A.P. English class. Adrienne Haus is
summarizing the reading list and therefore her summer, for her teacher. Each chapter begins with the definition of a
literary term, but not the type of definition you would expect. Instead the
definitions are snarky and witty, for example: “<i>subplot—This is sort of like the plot’s younger brother, the one who
tags along behind the big kids who are hogging all the toys and having most of
the fun. But mostly it means a less important plot” (</i>location 720, subject
to change). These were actually my favorite part of the book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I thought that a
book about forcing four girls with nothing in common into a book club for the
summer would be really fun to read. It started off great; at first I felt a
connection to Adrienne because she had no father, loved to read and really had
only one friend (who was gone for the summer). Unfortunately, a few chapters in,
that connection was gone. I thought the premise of the book was interesting and
I felt it had a lot of potential. But the book really ended up fizzling for me
and I found myself struggling to get through it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t think that
the characters connected in the way the author wanted us to believe. CeeCee,
your quintessential popular girl, latched onto Adrienne immediately. But CeeCee
opting to spend time with Adrienne outside of the book club seemed very
unrealistic. They have absolutely nothing in common aside from their forced
participation in the book club. And Adrienne accepting CeeCee friendship also
seemed farfetched. I’m not sure anyone would put up with a “friend” who rifles
through her stuff and frequently insults her. As a matter of fact, none of the girls
really seemed to get along. Jill doesn’t trust CeeCee and Wallis doesn’t trust
anyone. The mothers even seemed to dislike each other. I just couldn’t connect
with the characters as the book progressed because the characters couldn’t
connect.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The synopsis of the
book suggests that a great deal of it takes place at the pool. Ummm, yeah, not
so much. In reality, I think that the girls were at the pool maybe three or
four times. And one of those times was the climax of the story. I felt like the
pool was supposed to have some kind of great significance to the story, but
because so little time was actually spent there, it was lost on me. Adrienne
spent more time at home than she did at the pool. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While I appreciate
the use of imagery in a story, sometimes an author can go overboard. Schumacher
really loves her metaphors and similes, so much so that she uses anywhere from
three to four per paragraph. It really got old after awhile. Sometimes it’s ok
to describe something without comparing it to something else. Or leave it out
entirely. I really didn’t need to know that the scouring pad was “like a slimy,
silver wig for fish” used to scrub the “islands of burned rice” (location 1887,
subject to change). I don’t think the reader should notice the imagery; it should
be so seamlessly interwoven into the story that its use doesn’t affect the
reader at all. I might have been more appreciative of the imagery if it had not
been extremely overused. I started to feel as if the author was trying to write
the “next great literary masterpiece” in young adult form. She was just trying
too hard. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I can’t say I
enjoyed <i>The Unbearable Book Club for
Unsinkable Girls</i>. It was readable, but certainly not something I would read
again or recommend, especially to my pickier readers. It’s just not interesting
enough.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls</i> by Julie Schumacher:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxsn7LGHEz_F4UOWgqcpW0jyF0fhjYqcU5XVhFBP2Z-poT-qv3B0hku2fVmP8xCXtAMQQvg92ore8ARBolZA9Ns7GDJaqSGv7zv8SkdaAJqjlJrEqIU4_KK7teg4t5aAa8gnWe1bjhTI/s1600/C+minus+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxsn7LGHEz_F4UOWgqcpW0jyF0fhjYqcU5XVhFBP2Z-poT-qv3B0hku2fVmP8xCXtAMQQvg92ore8ARBolZA9Ns7GDJaqSGv7zv8SkdaAJqjlJrEqIU4_KK7teg4t5aAa8gnWe1bjhTI/s1600/C+minus+small.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-42863831570710493132012-05-30T19:50:00.001-07:002012-05-30T19:56:50.301-07:00Review: The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks<br />
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<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320532083l/11148249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320532083l/11148249.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*photo courtesy of Goodreads*</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b>Title:
</b>The Girl in the Park<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author:
</b>Mariah Fredericks<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Mystery/Social Issues<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s Books<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>April 24, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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When Wendy Geller’s body is found in <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Park</st1:place> the night after a rager, newspaper headlines scream, “Death
in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled.” But shy Rain, once Wendy’s best
friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just “party girl.” As she struggles
to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain
becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder <i>(Summary courtesy NetGalley).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>The Girl in the Park</i>
is a quick, interesting read, pulled directly from today’s headlines. This
could be the story of any girl, anywhere. It is also a story that shows how
gossip, innuendo and assumptions can affect everyone. </div>
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Wendy Geller has a reputation as a party girl. She isn’t
well liked at her elite private school, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Alcott</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
And it’s no wonder; she is demanding, bratty and she has a tendency to go after
the things, and the people, she can’t have. After Wendy is found dead in the
park, the rumors just get worse, often times fueled by the media. The only
person who seems to be a voice for Wendy is her former friend, Rain, who is
determined to find out who really killed her friend.</div>
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Mariah Fredericks manages to write a taut mystery, while
also telling the story of girl that no one seemed to understand. She weaves all
this together with a lesson in how gossip, and everything that goes along with
it, can destroy a life. <st1:city w:st="on">Fredericks</st1:city>
definitely knows how to tell a story and keep it interesting. I was constantly
trying to guess who the real murderer was. Every time Rain moved on to a new
suspect, I was right there with her, agreeing with every assessment she made
and convincing myself that this time she had to be right. <st1:city w:st="on">Fredericks</st1:city> is a clever enough writer that you
can’t help but agree with Rain’s thought process. She is also quite effective at keeping the
story moving, rather than going off on unnecessary tangents, which would have
been very easy to do with this story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did find there to be a lack of characterization in the
story. Even the main character, Rain, and the dead girl, Wendy, were not
fleshed out well. It was difficult to understand Rain’s motivation in
discovering Wendy’s killer when she had not been friends with Wendy for quite
some time. I really felt that if <st1:place w:st="on">Fredericks</st1:place>
had spent some additional time allowing the reader to get to know her
characters, those character’s motivations would have been a bit clearer. That’s
not to say that the lack of characterization takes away from the story, I just
like to really get to know the characters in the books I am reading.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, <i>The Girl in
the Park</i> is a good read. It is definitely worth a look, especially if you
are a fan of a good mystery.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>The Girl in the Park</i> by Mariah Fredericks:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcumWShmOakTt1IUIc6fETmCcpG0G74IGVDjvkVzy8aM2alWk4yWm-2UnmmIDZLhTv20pleONQulyr5_ec3G5eWmvR2HBSr-MCzfzwyVf34aeSXTeS2RIzUSqYhxUq4JZnDUTGxlSynk/s1600/B+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWcumWShmOakTt1IUIc6fETmCcpG0G74IGVDjvkVzy8aM2alWk4yWm-2UnmmIDZLhTv20pleONQulyr5_ec3G5eWmvR2HBSr-MCzfzwyVf34aeSXTeS2RIzUSqYhxUq4JZnDUTGxlSynk/s1600/B+small.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-71284965549982941892012-05-28T06:17:00.000-07:002012-05-28T06:23:26.578-07:00Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323357921l/10215349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1323357921l/10215349.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*photo courtesy of Goodreads*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Title:
</b>The Immortal Rules<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Subtitle:
</b>Blood of <st1:city w:st="on">Eden</st1:city> Book 1<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Author:
</b>Julie Kagawa<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Dystopian/Paranormal<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Publisher:
</b>Harlequin<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Imprint:
</b>Harlequin Teen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Release Date: </b>April 24, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>“Sometime in your life Allison Sekemoto, you
will kill a human being. The question is not <i>if</i> it will happen, but <i>when</i>.
Do you understand?”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>I didn’t then, not really.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>I DO NOW.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Allison Sekemoto
survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and
her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some days, all that
drives Allison is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood
cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate
choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Faced with her own
mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the
rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood and you
will go mad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then Allie is
forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a
ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease
that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless
creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But it isn’t easy
to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster
inside her. And Allie must soon decide what—and who—is worth dying for. <i>(Summary courtesy of NetGalley and
publisher)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I may possibly be
one of only a few people in the world who has not read the Iron Fey series, so
this gave me the unique perspective of reading Julie Kagawa’s new series
without any expectations. You know what I mean; when an author you love comes
out with a new book or series, you read it expecting it to be just as good, if
not better, than their previous work. It has a lot to live up to. Well, I have
to say, if Kagawa’s Iron Fey series is even half as good as <i>The Immortal Rules</i>, I must read it!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kagawa weaves an
amazing story of vampires set in a dystopian future, a world where many humans
have died from a horrifying disease and vampires now rule. Humans are seen as
cattle to be used and, well, eaten. The only way to not become a vampire’s dinner
is to remain unregistered—a human without the mark of a vampire master. But
these humans live in horrifying, depraved conditions—little to no shelter,
starving and fighting amongst themselves. This is how Allie lives everyday. She
refuses to become a “pet” serving the vampires. There is nothing she hates more
than the vampires that have destroyed everything she has ever had or loved.
When Allie is forced to choose between death or becoming a vampire after nearly
dying in a rabid attack, she begins to question everything she ever believed
about herself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The world Kagawa
has created is very complicated and detailed. There is a vampire hierarchy,
beginning with the master vampire and progressing down from there. There are
humans of various sorts—pets, registered humans, unregistered humans and those
who don’t fit anywhere. A disease has killed off most of the human population.
But somehow, Kagawa manages to write so flawlessly that following the
intricacies of the story is not a problem. She is a master storyteller; you
don’t feel like you are reading a story so much as you are living it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>Kagawa’s vampires
are more the traditional type—they must sleep during the day, drink human blood
or face madness and they are able to create other vampires. I loved that Kagawa
kept her vampires as the traditional type and went so far as to explain certain
things about them to better help the reader understand how they live. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The characters in <i>The Immortal Rules</i> are nothing short of
amazing. Kagawa brings them to life so flawlessly that I began to feel as if I
stepped into the pages of the book and was living side-by-side with Allie. She
is the perfect protagonist—she learns and grows as the novel progresses, she
has flaws, but they make her a better person and she’s realistic (even after
she becomes a vampire). Allie’s struggles to learn to accept what she has
become are monumental and watching her overcome them is nearly heart-wrenching.
The reader can feel the good seeping out of Allie, touching everyone around
her. She is definitely not your normal vampire. Zeke is also another fascinating character. So
much about him is a mystery, and as the layers are peeled back, you grow to
love him. The “bad” vampires, Sarren (aka psycho vamp) and Jackal are pure
evil, but sympathetic because the reader can almost understand how they got to
be the way they are. I for one want to learn more about them. Even minor
characters are written so they are interesting enough to help carry the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I absolutely loved <i>The Immortal Rules</i> and I am anxiously
awaiting the next book in the series. I want to see where Allie goes and what
she does. I want to know what happens with Allie and Zeke. I want to know what
happens to Allie’s vampire creator. While the book had a satisfying end, it
still left a lot of unanswered questions. It will be nice to get them answered.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a definite
must read. Kagawa has done a great job combining the paranormal with the
dystopian and I look forward to learning more about the world she created and
her vampires.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>The Immortal Rules</i> by Julie Kagawa:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEML979crvdPpqGVlaze4pM83DvfdJqG2oAzWSBi088f2dVECW1GU2MiVbyMoGGX8rPV7jfIH0-Z3Us88bjJKSE8ro6lLPXzDjsoFGy3jHLkmy1LSfEw3gsJSFso1Rjlw0QkUxDs0qk6s/s1600/A+plus+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEML979crvdPpqGVlaze4pM83DvfdJqG2oAzWSBi088f2dVECW1GU2MiVbyMoGGX8rPV7jfIH0-Z3Us88bjJKSE8ro6lLPXzDjsoFGy3jHLkmy1LSfEw3gsJSFso1Rjlw0QkUxDs0qk6s/s1600/A+plus+small.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-14582973500664664792012-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:002012-05-25T10:39:35.560-07:00Review: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334338932l/11378763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334338932l/11378763.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">*book image courtesy of Goodreads*</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Title:
</b>The Book of Blood
and Shadow<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Author:
</b>Robin Wasserman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Mystery/Thriller<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Publisher:
</b>Random House
Children’s Books<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital
Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Release Date: </b>April 10, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>One girl is determined to find the truth and
avenge the dead.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was like a
nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best
friends and one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her
hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when tranquilizers pierced her
veins and left her in the merciful dark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next morning it
was all still true: Chris was dead,
Adriane, his girlfriend and Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s
sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming was gone. He was also a murderer—at
least according to the police, her parents and everyone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Desperate to prove
Max’s innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It
ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into
a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad
desire to possess something that might not even exist <i>(Summary via NetGalley).<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have very mixed
feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it at first, but then I got
overwhelmed trying to keep the storylines, the languages and the various
characters’ lies straight. It started to seem like work to read this book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris, Max and Nora
work as research assistants trying to decipher a 400 year old book, the Voynich
manuscript. Nora, who knows Latin, is put to work translating letters from a
girl named Elizabeth Weston. At first the three friends don’t take what they
are doing very seriously; they take naps instead of working, Chris disappears
with his girlfriend Adriane (also Nora’s best friend) for hours and Nora and Max
start to explore a new relationship. But all that changes when Nora stumbles
upon something she shouldn’t know and suddenly her life is turned upside down.
Chris is dead, Adriane seems to have gone crazy and Max is the main suspect in
Chris’s murder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sounds great,
right? It was, until the story moves to <st1:city w:st="on">Prague</st1:city>.
That’s when stuff started to move so fast and to become so convoluted, that I
couldn’t keep it straight. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wasserman uses a
variety of languages in <i>The Book of Blood
and Shadows</i>. The most prominent is Latin and later, Czechoslovakian. At first, when the Latin was just used to
describe the letters, I was able to keep up with what was happening. But again,
after the move to <st1:city w:st="on">Prague</st1:city>,
it became extremely hard to follow. Wasserman chose to write out phrases and
the like in either language and then put an English translation. I don’t know
about you, but when a foreign language I don’t speak is used in a book, I tend
to skim past it, knowing full well I can’t read what it says. Unfortunately, I
kept missing the English translations in this book, in part because there is A
LOT of Latin and Czech in this book. With so much foreign language being used,
Wasserman might have been better served saying it was written in a certain
language and then just putting the English translation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The constant
shifting of locations was also difficult to follow. Wasserman seems to be quite
familiar with <st1:city w:st="on">Prague</st1:city>,
so much so that I felt like she was taking me on a sightseeing tour of the
city. There were in-depth, historical
descriptions of a great many areas of the city. At times this felt like a
distraction, and honestly, I don’t think it will hold the attention of your
average teenager. And sadly, if a teenager loses interest in a book, it is
usually going to be put down and not picked back up. While I admire Wasserman’s
attempt to infuse culture into her young adult readers, particularly in regards
to a city they know little about, I’m not sure a book meant to be read for
enjoyment is the place to do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you dig
underneath all the language and all of the tourist information regarding <st1:city w:st="on">Prague</st1:city>, you will find a
book worth reading. Unfortunately, I’m not sure a lot of today’s “instant
gratification” teenagers will do that.<br />
<br />
My grade for <i>The Book of Blood and Shadow</i> by Robin Wasserman:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVu3r6Xj7Z0FnGMGR2J6V_XPrh4Q30EwnIjC0I_nsd8BxAGtk-cO8xz8izQQrugs3hYQ8u41RDcMIb4LOUzReunr3TugcFG9VML_mfpTxfZ9CN9JcS-yfaImEcCo5DwGKIyb3U13FDGnA/s1600/C+plus+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVu3r6Xj7Z0FnGMGR2J6V_XPrh4Q30EwnIjC0I_nsd8BxAGtk-cO8xz8izQQrugs3hYQ8u41RDcMIb4LOUzReunr3TugcFG9VML_mfpTxfZ9CN9JcS-yfaImEcCo5DwGKIyb3U13FDGnA/s1600/C+plus+small.jpg" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-16025203425268734872012-05-22T20:22:00.000-07:002012-05-22T20:25:17.814-07:00Review: Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/netGalley/PUB22438/3629gravemercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/netGalley/PUB22438/3629gravemercy.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">photo courtesy of publisher via NetGalley</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Title:
</b>Grave Mercy </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Subtitle: </b>His
Fair Assassin, Book 1<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Author:
</b>Robin Lafevers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult,
Historical, Fantasy, Magic<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Publisher:
</b>Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Format:
</b>NetGalley Digital Galley<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Release Date: </b>April 3, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Why be the sheep, when
you can be the wolf?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an
arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the
sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death
himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she
chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as
a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of
others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into
the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not
only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible
choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target
who, against her will, has stolen her heart? <i>(Summary via NetGalley)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Historical fiction is probably one of my favorite genres.
When it is mixed with romance and a bit of the supernatural, I like it even
more. <i>Grave Mercy</i> is a perfect
combination of romance, magic and fantasy set hundreds of years in the past. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Grave Mercy</i>
includes a very tender and sweet love story that doesn’t overshadow everything
in the book. A lot of the time, the romance between two characters is the main
focus of a story, so much so that everything else is pushed to the wayside. Lafevers
seems to understand that this story is so much more than just its romance, and
she writes it so that the reader is satisfied with every aspect of the story. I
enjoyed reading a book whose author seemed to realize that while her readers
enjoy a good love story, they don’t mind seeing a bit of action and intrigue as
well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The characters in Grave Mercy are very well-written. I cared
about what happened to them—the sisters at the convent, the people in the high
court of Brittany, even the soldiers working with Duval. I especially liked
Anne, the duchess. She had a spunk to her that is not always seen in women in
historical fiction, especially one raised to be royalty. Ismae was a complex,
charismatic character, flawed and vulnerable, yet strong and feisty at the same
time. Of course, there were characters I disliked as well, in particular Madam
Dinan, the duchess’ guardian. She is a cold and calculating woman, and written
so well that I absolutely hated her. I believe the sign of a good author is
their ability to create a hateful character and to get the reader to hate them
as well. Lafever did just that with Madam Dinan. I almost enjoyed hating her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Above all else, Grave Mercy is a story of intrigue, fantasy
and magic. All three of these elements are flawlessly woven throughout the
book. I was never quite sure who to trust, what was real and what was magic.
That made this a great book to read. It keeps you guessing and it keeps you
interested enough that the guessing isn’t so bad. Lafever is off to a great
start with this series. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really liked <i>Grave
Mercy</i>. Lafevers writes beautifully and I was quite impressed with her debut
novel. I look forward to reading more regarding the Fair Assassins of Mortain’s
convent in the future. <br />
<br />
My grade for <i>Grave Mercy</i> by Robin Lafevers:
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzUExqTKfirjBHZCTbtjmDmZPKRBtBTQiZqsT610SudEVwmhtGLHR0_yTbBn4sWm176g0JfK5IWPZEwyL6Y_oiJYSVJYfZUgSDCPqZ6DxcPAxeu1ypqOvebmhI35n1YZgZIypf4OHw6I/s1600/A+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzUExqTKfirjBHZCTbtjmDmZPKRBtBTQiZqsT610SudEVwmhtGLHR0_yTbBn4sWm176g0JfK5IWPZEwyL6Y_oiJYSVJYfZUgSDCPqZ6DxcPAxeu1ypqOvebmhI35n1YZgZIypf4OHw6I/s1600/A+small.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-10853581844568858992012-05-18T04:02:00.000-07:002012-05-18T04:05:23.531-07:00Review: Night Sky by Jolene Perry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been given the great pleasure of participating in the Night Sky Blog Tour! I am very excited to be a part of this tour. I was able to read the book and I get to share my review with you!<br />
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<b>Title:
</b>Night Sky<b> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author:
</b>Jolene B. Perry<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Genre:
</b>Young Adult
Contemporary, Romance<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Publisher:
</b>Tribute Books<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Format:
</b>Kindle<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Release Date: </b>March 1, 2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Girl I’ve loved, girl I’m falling for. Now
that they’re both in view, the problem is clear.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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After losing Sarah,
the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native
American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive
fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction—his dad leaves for another woman,
his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep
his hands off of her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As he spends time
with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with
drums—she becomes way more than a distraction. Jameson is falling for her fast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But Sky’s need for
honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story—and Jameson just may need more
than his new girl to keep distracted from the disaster of his senior year <i>(Summary courtesy of Goodreads)</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love a good love
story, but who doesn’t? But it really needs to be a good love story, one I can
really believe and get into. <i>Night Sky</i> is one of those stories. I
absolutely loved it! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Night Sky</i> is a wonderful lesson in the benefits of being honest, wrapped in a
clever, enticing love story. Without being preachy, Perry lets her readers know
that without true honesty in a relationship, it will fail. I really liked how a
message seemed to sneak its way into what is also a very good story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Above all else, <i>Night Sky</i> is a wonderful love story. It
is poignantly told from the point of view of Jameson. It was a refreshing change to have a male
point of view. I just fell in love with Jameson; he is vulnerable, tender and
sweet. But at the same time, he is a young man who is hurting, and he expresses
that hurt and pain in a way boys generally do—getting angry, yelling and even
sometimes punching things. Sky is funny, smart and she seems to not take any
crap from anybody. Their growing relationship is a delight to read. Their
struggle to remain honest with each other is very realistic and
thought-provoking. Imagine starting a relationship under no pretenses or with
any false ideas about the other person. That is what Jameson and Sky are trying
to do. And we as readers get to watch and learn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wish that we had
been able to learn a little bit more about Sky and her background, particularly
because it becomes very important to the story. Also, fleshing out Jameson’s
parents would have just added to the story. Their relationship is an integral
part of the plot and I would have liked to learn a bit more about them. Other
than these couple of things, I didn’t have any complaints about this book. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I thoroughly
enjoyed <i>Night Sky</i>. It is
well-written, has an excellent plot and wonderful characterization. You feel for
these characters, you cry with them and you long to comfort them. I never felt
like I was reading a book, I felt like I was experiencing something almost
indescribable. I wanted to spend every minute possible with Jameson and Sky and
I was terribly sad when my time with them ended. That is what a good book
should do—pull you in, hold on and take you along for the ride. Thank you
Jolene Perry for giving me that kind of book! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I highly recommend
this book, you will not be disappointed!<br />
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My grade for <i>Night Sky</i> by Jolene Perry:<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234409678905122615.post-23866255225262940932012-05-17T20:20:00.001-07:002012-05-17T20:20:25.686-07:00Feature and Follow Friday #35<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcD9pKvGd8V2a06O9irV7ltyLfdwPqKRr-M28yh5sbNXwHlem8RpNKLhelpFXs1dd6s7CLb1zxetdgj6G_ybnJ2cAM-D8vATQigpuOSf1LbRUvK8PNDNvGcsop0a06pFA4cpXoIwNZTE/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcD9pKvGd8V2a06O9irV7ltyLfdwPqKRr-M28yh5sbNXwHlem8RpNKLhelpFXs1dd6s7CLb1zxetdgj6G_ybnJ2cAM-D8vATQigpuOSf1LbRUvK8PNDNvGcsop0a06pFA4cpXoIwNZTE/s1600/Feature+and+Follow+Friday.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel
at <b><a href="http://parajunkee.com/2012/05/feature-follow-97.html">Parajunkee’s View</a></b> and Alison at <b><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/2012/05/feature-and-follow-friday-97.html">Alison Can Read</a></b>. It is a great way for
bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog,
follow ALL the instructions and then add your link to the list. It’s just that
easy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week’s question:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Summer break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading and relax?</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite vacation spot is actually in Montana. My in-laws have a beautiful ranch nestled in the mountains. It's peaceful and absolutely gorgeous. I love to sit on their patio and read. I have managed to read up to 10 books while on my vacation. It's the best!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tell me your favorite vacation spot! Leave a comment in the comment section and I will stop by your blog and check it out!</span><br />Amie@Mom Reads My Books!http://www.blogger.com/profile/03751331654194241147noreply@blogger.com15