Thursday, 31 January 2013

Christa's Great News

I want to give huge congrats to my uber-talented critique partner, Christa Desir, on the sale of her second book to SimonPulse!! The title is BLEED LIKE ME, and I've read an early draft of it. It's a heart-wrenching, agonizing (in a good way) read.

The details are here. So, don't stick around on my blog. Sprint over to Christa's and tell her congratulations!

Weekend Wrap-Up & Giveaway Winner!


Weekend Wrap-up is where I share what I read this past week, am currently reading, and hope to read this coming week, and (when applicable) the current giveaways/giveaway winners. Occasionally I'll post some other stuff as well.

Feel free to join along and post your own Weekend Wrap-up on your blog/site (if you do, please leave the link in a comment so I can stop by) or, in a comment, share what you've accomplished (reading-wise) this past week. :)

 What I've read this week:



What I'm currently reading:


  What I hope to read next week:


Reviews posted this week:

Giveaway Winner!



The winner is...

 Kay!*

*Winner has claimed her prize.


Just a reminder. Christian Bookshelf Reviews' 2-Year Blogoversary Party starts Monday! Hope you'll stop by. :)

There you have it, that is what I accomplished (reading-wise) this week! What about you?

Who Is Marcus Finch? Clue #9

In honor of The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead releasing February 12th, my blog is part of a campaign to introduce you all to Marcus Finch. Each day (minus weekends) you are going to get a clue about who this mysterious man is. I hope you'll join me as we go over the clues and there may or may not be a copy of the book for one lucky winner at the end of my 15 clues. So let's get to work detectives!

Welcome to day 9 and congrats for finding the 9th clue! Here's your clue today:


Just can't wait for more The Indigo Spell fun? Check out these sites here:
See you tomorrow detectives!

Happily Ever Endings... Once by Anna Carey

Happily Ever Endings is a synopsis of the ending of a novel that is part of a series. It is so that you can refresh yourself as to what happened in the last book so that you can be ready to read the next in the series!

Once by Anna Carey
When you're being hunted, who can you trust? 
For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America. 
But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America. 
Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever. 
In this breathless sequel to "Eve," Anna Carey returns to her tale of romance, adventure, and sacrifice in a world that is both wonderfully strange and chillingly familiar.
Click "Read more" to read the ending of Once so you'll be ready for the next installment of the series!

After accidentally spending the night together, Caleb and Eve are woken up and have to rush back to the castle. Eve tells Caleb not to come but he insists. They move through the streets and almost make it to the castle but are caught. Caleb is beaten as Eve is rushed inside. Eve asks her father to release Caleb but he refuses. In order to get her father to release him, she offers to marry Charles who her father deems a worthy match.

She visits Caleb one last time and he tells her that she isn't the only one in the paper. Eve searches the paper as her wedding draws closer but can't find anything and begins to feel stifled by all of the speculation. On the night of her engagement party, she finally sees Curtis serving. He offers her tea and disappears. As Eve tries on wedding dress the next day, she notices an ad in the paper for tea and realizes it is in code. She decodes the message and realizes that the King lied and Caleb is still imprisioned. Clara steals the paper but promises to help Eve escape when she realizes Eve doesn't love Charles.

Through a series of coded messages, Eve learns that the tunnels are almost done and she arranges to escape with Caleb on the day of her wedding. Before leaving, she decides to visit the orphange where all the babies are going. She sees they are well taken care of but can't be happy knowing where they have come from. She then convinces her father to let her go back to her school where she speaks to the girls. The teacher who helped her escape slips her the key to the building over the lake where the graduated girls are being held. Eve arranges to visit with her friends and slips Arden the key, confident that Arden will get Pip and Ruby out.

The day of her wedding, Beatrice and Clara help her sneak out. She makes to the hanger with no problem but is ambushed by the King's soldiers. Caleb and his friend come in and both are shot as Eve is escorted back to the castle. There she finds the king who screams at her and Beatrice reveals that she had to tell the king or he'd kill her daughter. Reginald, the Head of Press, reveals himself as Moss and tells her that Caleb is dead and she must go through the wedding so that she can kill her father. From there, Eve is put in her wedding dress, escorted to the church, walks down the aisle. We leave just as the ceremony is about to begin.

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Review: Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling


Breaking Free by Lauraine Snelling
FaithWords / 2007
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:

Bestselling author Lauraine Snelling crafts a poignant story of hope and restoration for a newly paroled mother rebuilding her life after the loss of her son.

Maggie Roberts is starting over again after her reckless driving led to a 10-year prison sentence and the devastating loss of her son. Having learned to repurpose retired thoroughbred racehorses through an inmate training program, Maggie finds a way to rebuild her life. But it's not until she meets single father Gil Winters and his wheelchair-bound son, Edward, that she finds her calling. In helping Edward with his therapy using horses, Maggie finds herself coming to life again. But when a shadow from the past returns, Maggie is forced to choose between her newfound freedom and getting Edward the life-saving help he needs.

My rating:
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My thoughts:

Breaking Free was a great book with a really good story! I liked all of the facts about training horses and how second chances were a major theme in the book. The characters were nice and I enjoyed the little bit of romance that was in Breaking Free.

Overall, a great book! I recommend it if you enjoy contemporary reads with animals being a big part of the story. :)

I borrowed this book from the library. I was not required to write a review, but chose to. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

Who Is Marcus Finch? Clue #8

In honor of The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead releasing February 12th, my blog is part of a campaign to introduce you all to Marcus Finch. Each day (minus weekends) you are going to get a clue about who this mysterious man is. I hope you'll join me as we go over the clues and there may or may not be a copy of the book for one lucky winner at the end of my 15 clues. So let's get to work detectives!

Welcome to day 8 and congrats for finding the 8th clue! Here's your clue today:


Just can't wait for more The Indigo Spell fun? Check out these sites here:
See you tomorrow detectives!

Review: Scream by Mike Dellosso



Scream by Mike Dellosso
Realms / 2009
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:


Otherworldly Screams... 
A Madman on the Loose... 
This Time the Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

While talking to his friend on the phone, Mark Stone is startled by a cacophony of otherworldly screams. Seconds later, a tragic accident claims his friend's life. When this happens several more times--screams followed by an untimely death--he is compelled to act.

Battling his failure as a husband and struggling with his own damaged faith, Mark embarks on a mission to find the meaning behind the screams and hopefully stop death from calling on its next victim. When his estranged wife is kidnapped and he again hears the screams as she calls from her cell phone, his search becomes much more personal and much more urgent.

My rating:
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My thoughts:

Scream is the second book I've read by Mike Dellosso and, like Frantic, I loved it! Scream was such a great suspense novel that had some supernatural elements. The book definitely made me think about how everyone has an appointment with death and the importance of trusting in Jesus alone for salvation.

I really liked the characters. I was surprised that women were kidnapped in Scream (I obviously didn't read the description well), but I have to say, I did guess who "Judge" was early on in the book. Still, I found myself "on the edge" of my seat in suspense a LOT (especially towards the end).

The whole screams aspect of the story was very weird, but it did make the novel more intriguing.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Scream and definitely recommend it if you enjoy suspense books that have some supernatural elements.

*I did not get this book for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*


Wordless Wednesday: What Happens When You Cram College Friends in a Photobooth


Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Who Is Marcus Finch? Clue #7

In honor of The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead releasing February 12th, my blog is part of a campaign to introduce you all to Marcus Finch. Each day (minus weekends) you are going to get a clue about who this mysterious man is. I hope you'll join me as we go over the clues and there may or may not be a copy of the book for one lucky winner at the end of my 15 clues. So let's get to work detectives!

Welcome to day 7 and congrats for finding the 7th clue! Here's your clue today:


Just can't wait for more The Indigo Spell fun? Check out these sites here:
See you tomorrow detectives!

Monday, 28 January 2013

Happily Ever Endings: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Happily Ever Endings is a synopsis of the ending of a novel that is part of a series. It is so that you can refresh yourself as to what happened in the last book so that you can be ready to read the next in the series! Is this not the HEE you need? Check out the master list here.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
Click "Read more" to read the ending of Beautiful Creatures so you'll be ready for the next installment of the series!

Ethan wakes up on Lena's birthday and knows he needs to go to her. He can sense how dissheveled she is. He goes to get the Book of Moons out of his closet but it isn't there. He doesn't have time to look for it. At her house, Lena family is desparate because Lena won't let them in her room. Ethan tries to go up the stairs to her room but she removes them and he falls to the ground. He yells up that if she does that again, she will be in hure trouble. She allows him to pass and he makes his way to her room. She opens the door and he sees how upset she is. He crawls into her bed with her and gives her her birthday gift, convincing her that if it really is their last day together, they should send it with each other. They lay around in her room and eat lunch. The day passes nicely but soon Lena must go downstairs. There, they cast a protection spell on her and as it finishes, there is a knock on the door. Lena answers it and it is Riley with all the people from her school who are entchanted to be nice to her. Lena asks to go to her party but Macon forbids it and Lena yells at him, telling Ethan to just go.

Outside, Ethan hangs out with Link and is ready to see his new band play when Lena appears, telling him she snuck out. They agree to only be out for a few minutes but stay out for a lot longer than planned. Link rushes over after his band takes a break and tells Ethan that his dad is standing on a balcony above the battlefield and threatening to jump. Ethan tells Larkin to get Lena back into the house and runs with Link to get his dad. Inside the house, Riley is there controlling his father's mind. Ethan asks her to stop but Riley says she is only following orders. Link finally believes Ethan about Riley being bad news and tackles her so Ethan can save his dad. Riley reveals that this was only a distraction for the main show.

Link and Ethan race back and find Lena and Larkin out in the "not safe" zone where they could be hit by gunfire from the Civil War re-enactment. They follow and find Link's mom who reveals herself to actually be Saraphina, Lena's mom. Saraphina has been using Ms. Lincoln's body though she is not harmed. Lena and her mom square off with magic but Lena can't hold her mom off long. Uncle Macon shows up and tries to help Lena but his brother appears and attacks him. Uncle Macon gets beaten but not before revealing that what Lena's mom says is true: Lena maybe able to choose whether she goes Light or Dark but if she chooses Light, all the Dark casters, including Macon, will die. Her mother tells her that she also won't be able to be with Ethan physically or she will kill him but that the Dark casters have figured out for a way for them to be together. Lena doesn't know what to do but Macon gets hurt and she tells Ethan to go find him and Ms. Lincoln some help.

Link and Ethan can't get back into Ravenwood mansion so they go to the underground caster library instead. There, Miriam leads them through the tunnels to Ravenwood. Ethan asks for Ryan to go with him to heal Macon and Ms. Lincoln but Gramma goes instead, absorbing Ryan's powers. They go back and Ethan finds Lena on top of a mausoleum. He climbs up to her and is instead struck and killed with a knife by Lena's mother. Time stops and we switch into Lena's perspective. She sees Ethan dead and finds Amma in the graveyard with them. Amma brings Lena into the mausoleum where the Book of Moons is waiting. With Amma's help, they bring Ethan back to life but Amma warns Lena that it will cost her dearly.

When time speeds back up, Ethan and Macon's body are switched. Ethan is recovering from Gramma's healing touch and Macon lays dead on the ground from a knife wound. Lena's mother, Larkin and Macon's brother leave them to their dead and the claiming moon disappears without Lena choose which side she is on. Lena mourns the loss of Macon, knowing that their switch was her price. The next day, Ethan wakes up, doesn't remember about the switch and finds Lena out where Macon was laying. She says she feels awful that the last words she said to him were hateful and Ethan understands how hard it is to go on without someone you love. He also notices that one of her eyes is yellow and the other is green.

Ethan decides to walk home and thinks that they can figure out a way to pick up the pieces. Then he notices a new song on his Ipod about 17 Moons.

Did I miss anything important? Let me know in the comments below!

Who Is Marcus Finch? Clue #6

In honor of The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead releasing February 12th, my blog is part of a campaign to introduce you all to Marcus Finch. Each day (minus weekends) you are going to get a clue about who this mysterious man is. I hope you'll join me as we go over the clues and there may or may not be a copy of the book for one lucky winner at the end of my 15 clues. So let's get to work detectives!

Welcome to day 6 and congrats for finding the 6th clue! Here's your clue today:


Just can't wait for more The Indigo Spell fun? Check out these sites here:
See you tomorrow detectives!

Review: Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble



Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble
Hope Beach: Book One
Thomas Nelson / 2012
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:


Welcome to Hope Beach. A place of intoxicating beauty . . . where trouble hits with the force of a hurricane.

Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the Outer Banks could be a dream come true for Libby. The inn cries out for her restorer’s talent and love of history. She’s delighted to learn of the family she never knew she had. And the handsome Coast Guard lieutenant she’s met there on the island could definitely be the man of her dreams.

But Libby soon realizes that the only way she can afford the upkeep on the inn is to sell it to developers who are stalking the island. The father who willed her the inn has died before she could meet him, and her newfound brother and sister are convinced she’s there to steal their birthright. Worst of all, her best friend and business partner has been kidnapped before her eyes, and Libby’s under suspicion for the crime.

Libby’s dream come true is becoming a nightmare. Her only option is to find her friend and prove her innocence, or lose everything on the shores of Hope Island.

My rating:
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My thoughts:

I've read a lot of Colleen Coble's books and she is a favorite author of mine. Although Tidewater Inn isn't my favorite of hers (that would be Abomination), I did still like it and found it to be an enjoyable read.

Something I particularly loved was how Bree, her family, and search & rescue dog, Samson, showed up in Tidewater Inn and played an important role in the story! I'm so glad Colleen brought back these characters and I hope they will be in some of her future novels as well.

I didn't care for how the story seemed to repeat things often and, at times, seemed inconsistent. I liked the characters and my favorite was probably Alec or Libby (I'm excluding Bree and her family because, of course, they are favorites).

There were quite a few times I was surprised by things in Tidewater Inn - which I really liked.

Overall, I enjoyed Tidewater Inn and look forward to reading book two in the Hope Beach series when it releases. If you enjoy mystery novels with some sweet romance, then I think you might enjoy Tidewater Inn as well. Good read!

*I received a complimentary eBook copy of the book for my review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

Teaser Tuesdays ~ Jan 29



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:

"Draw the guy out. Take his focus off the girls." 
- Page 70, Too Close to Home by Lynette Eason

Find the book on: Amazon, Goodreads, B&N.

FYI, this book is FREE right now on Amazon Kindle and Nook!!

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 563 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (December 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316042676
ISBN-13: 978-0316042673
Series: Beautiful Creatures #1
Source: Bought at Books-A-Million
Cover: This is cover love for me. Ever since I saw this first cover, I've been smitten with these novels, especially since they work so well for the Gothic Southern feel of the books. However, I wish the font were purple since this is narrated by a boy and yellow and green are so important to the story. But those angry grey tree silhouette are a little slice of heaven!
First Sentence: There were only two kinds of people in our town.

Mini-Review: A delightfully Southern Gothic read that is intensely romantic and hard to put down

Summary:
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. 
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. 
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
Review:

Beautiful Creatures is a delightfully Southern Gothic read that is intensely romantic and hard to put down. I didn't expect to write that a book told solely in a male's point of view would be romantic but by the end, I was a complete believer. With a setting that oozes mood and charm, a cast of finely tuned and wildly interesting characters and a plot that keeps plenty of twists in its pages, it is one hard book to put down.

I've read other reviews that have had a real problem with the main character Ethan. They state that he just isn't believable because of how crazy he is for Lena, how polite he is to grown ups, how interested he is in what Lena wears and how he spends his Saturdays helping out with his trio of crazy old Aunts. I can understand this point of view, I just don't agree with it. Boys don't have to just like sports and not notice what a girl is wearing. They come in a variety of flavors and I loved that Ethan was so varied. He was a pretty good basketball player though he wasn't in love with the game but he also liked to read classic books. Yeah, he noticed what Lena was wearing sometimes but he also realized that she dressed to match her mood. I think that these things made him special and allowed girls to relate to him as easily as men. So I had no problems with him. He was from the South and he was bred to be a well mannered Southern boy who respects his elders and says "ma'am".

I thought Lena was just as good of a character though I did have a few problems with her. I understood that she'd been bullied her entire life but a lot of the time, she got mad or upset and I had NO clue why, I was just as baffled as Ethan. I just had a hard time understanding her motivations. I did love all of her corky characteristics though. I thought her necklace full of junk and the way she loved to play with the clouds was brilliant.

The authors did an awesome job really making Gatlin seem like a character in the book. It felt alive and breathing to me. Sometimes it was way too small with its one stop shop and how everybody knew everyone else's business but then we'd get a little chapter about the scenery and I'd be blown away but just how beautiful and mysterious it was. It really was the perfect setting to add mood to the book. I could picture all the hanging moss and Ravenwood as if I drove past it every single day. All of the Southern food and customs  really helped bring it to life. How everyone knew their family tree, referred to the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression and were more interested in how the North was unfair than what really happened in history. I felt like I lived there with Ethan.

That's why finding out about Lena and her families' power felt so magical. People often criticism Twilight for being long and showing mundane things about Bella's life but without knowing those, we wouldn't fully appreciate how amazing and magical The Cullen's existence was. This goes the same for the setting in Beautiful Creatures. We saw the Gatlin Ethan grew up in and felt as it shattered away into something all together magical when he met Lena. We saw that right below the streets and houses was a vast Caster library. We saw that Ravenwood may look like a dump but that it's really enchanted. And we were just as enchanted with everything else as Ethan.

The entire Casters system was pretty neat. I read a lot of paranormal so it wasn't completely unique but it was fun. What made it really special and stand out for me was the curse on Lena's family. You get no say whether you go Light or Dark. The power just takes you on your sixteenth birthday. I loved the idea that one day, someone could be as sweet as pie and the next they went black. It made for such an interesting concept and it was for that reason I kept reading so intently.

I think the plot was really well done. I wasn't expecting the ending AT ALL so that really shocked me. What I was expecting was a re-incarnation story. With all the flashback to the past, I was sure that was the way this book was going and I kind of wish it was. The flashbacks were revealed to be important but I'm not sure they were important enough to warrant so much intention. Having it be a re-incarnation story would have really made those flashbacks vital. This is just a personal preference though. I liked how the past and present and even the future never felt too far away. They all sort of blended into one thing. For me, that is a lot like the South so it was perfect.

I was also really impressed that this novel was written by two authors. I can't tell where one started and the other took off. Their voices blended perfectly to create Ethan and I never noticed the writing getting too different. I thought I might and I really did try but it never got to that. I will say that I did think this novel could have been cut down. There were places that really drug for me. I know it's nice to know that they spent a lot of time looking for answers but right before it got to Lena's birthday, I almost lost interest. I felt it could have been trimmed there and a few other places to help with pacing but by the time I got to the end, that didn't really matter for me.

Beautiful Creatures really does weave the magic the South offers into one hell of a debut. Blending the past, present and future into the novel really creates a sense that anything can happen and the sweet romance between Ethan and Lena is guaranteed to make you smile. Dripping with charm and chills around every page, Beautiful Creatures is one book you won't mind if it "ma'am"'s you!

Rating:

Favorite Sentences:
When she was in one of these moods, my mom used to call it going dark--religion and superstition all mixed up, like it can only be in the South.
--Pg. 8 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
I felt a steamroller plow into my back. and Emily pushed through the doorway as if I wasn't standing there, which was her way of saying hello and expecting me to follow her to the back of the room...
--Pg. 34 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
When I looked at her, I was farther away from Gatlin than I'd ever been.
--Pg. 53 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
I tried not to look surprised , but I'm pretty sure it gave me away when I almost jumped out of my skin.
--Pg. 120 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
"You can't jump  off a cliff when you've already fallen off a bigger one." (Ethan)
--Pg. 183 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Old paper, which my mom used to say was the smell of time itself.
--Pg. 224 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Darkness, real darkness, was something more than just a lack of light.
--Pg. 295 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
It felt like the Book was stealing a little bit of my breath each time I inhaled.
--Pg. 350 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
It wasn't my mother's smile, but it was one of my mother's favorite smiles.
--Pg. 423 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
"I have never loved you any less than I do, right this second. And I'll never love you any less then I do, right this second." (Ethan)
--Pg. 561 of "Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Book Trailer:


Movie Trailer:

I Recommend: Cowboy and Octopus


I haven't done an I Recommend post in a long time (in which I recommend a picture book my family has enjoyed). As you know, I'm the mother of many small children, so I read more than my fair share of picture books. With joy and pleasure, I might add. I love this genre!

And I adore this zany collection of tales by Jon Scieszka. If you like Scieszka's humor (who wouldn't?) you will love Cowboy and Octopus. It's totally weird and hilarious. We borrowed it from the library and kept it out as long as we could. My son would carry it around the house reciting bits and pieces from it.

And we'd all laugh. The entire family. Over and over again.

We now own a copy, so we can live in the Land of Mirth. Permanently.

Have you read any Jon Scieszka books? Which is your favorite?

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Who Is Marcus Finch? Clue #5

In honor of The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead releasing February 12th, my blog is part of a campaign to introduce you all to Marcus Finch. Each day (minus weekends) you are going to get a clue about who this mysterious man is. I hope you'll join me as we go over the clues and there may or may not be a copy of the book for one lucky winner at the end of my 15 clues. So let's get to work detectives!

Welcome to day 5 and congrats for finding the 5th clue! Here's your clue today:


Just can't wait for more The Indigo Spell fun? Check out these sites here:
See you tomorrow detectives!

In My Mailbox 107

In my mailbox is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren that encourages other book bloggers to share what they bought, won, begged for or borrowed. It is usually held on Sundays!
From Simon and Schuster:
From Books-A-Million:
I got three awesome books this week and I can't wait to read them all. I've been waiting like a mad person for my bookstore to get in a copy of Through the Ever Night and they finally did this week! I did a little happy jig right then in the store.

What did you get in your mailbox?