think out loud #2: when i die

Hey everyone! I'm now going to join Think Out Loud hosted by Thinks Books. With this meme, you can post anything you want! Click on the link to go to her blog and sign up. :) You can also post any day of the week you want, and when you go to her blog, vote on which day you'd like her to post Think Out Loud. Anything goes. :D I personally voted for Thursdays. :)

When I die...have a party! I really don't want people to be sad and depressed, though I think that will probably be inevitable. I haven't attended a funeral that wasn't prim and proper and full of sadness. For mine,I want you to dress however you want, play loud ass rock music, and talk about funny memories. Or else I'll haunt you! ;D

Feature & Follow #3

I'm so excited to finally be joining Feature and Follow Friday!! This is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where they each feature a fellow blogger and ask a question which can be answered by participating bloggers. If you aren't already following the two hosting bloggers, please visit their blogs to follow them, the bloggers they're featuring, and enter your own blog in the linky. Hop around to other blogs - find new blogs to follow and gain some new followers as well. :D

Q: What is a book you didn't like that all your friends raved about or what book did you love that wasn't popular?

One of my favorite authors is Augusten Burroughs, and I talked my sister into reading all of his books. She liked them but wasn't in LOVE with them like I am. Running with Scissors is probably his most well known book since it was made into a movie. The book didn't really get the kind of reviews I thought it should have, but I absolutely love him and the way he writes his memoirs. I own just about all of them. :D I can't seem to talk any of my friends into trying out his books. They don't know what they're missing, lol.

How about you? I'd love to hear your answers! :D

IWSG #7 ~ March 2013

I meant to post this on the day I was supposed to, which is the first Wednesday of the month, but that obviously didn't happen, lol. So here I am on Friday night!

This group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. I'm so happy to have been referred to this group by my friend and author, Michael Pierce. Thanks to both of you! I've met and made friends with many cool writers and have been able to share my feelings and worries about the process without fear of judgement.

Lately I've been freaking out over writing reviews, so I'd like to see what you guys have to say about writing them and if you have any advice for me. :)

I guess the more reviews I write, the more I worry that I'm repeating myself, especially with books I love. I don't want to say "this book blew me away" in every review for instance. Do you know what I mean? Then I think about whether I am getting my point across clearly, or am I being confusing? Am I including what "should be" in a review? Should I be formal or should I write as though I'm talking about the book to a friend? As you can tell, I've thought about this a lot! Maybe too much, lol. So, I need to know - what do you think?

Cover Reveal ~ Endless Summer (Summer #2) by CJ Duggan

Hey everyone! I have an awesome cover reveal for you today through Ashley the Zombie Queen at The Bookish Brunette.

I love it! Very hot!

An Endless Summer (Summer #2) by CJ Duggan
Expected pub: July 17th 2013

Sean looked out over the lake, squinting against the sunlight. He turned to me, his expression sobering as his eyes flicked over my face in a silent study.

"Come on Amy, I saved you once, I’ll save you again."

I met his stare unflinchingly. "I don’t need saving."

A wicked grin formed slowly. "Don’t you?"

After a rebellious summer night that almost claimed her life, Amy Henderson – the Onslow publican’s only daughter – is sent away to suffer a fate far worse than any other punishment: Boarding School.

Three years on, a now nineteen-year-old Amy returns to Onslow for the summer. What once was a cauldron of activity with live bands, hot meals and cold beers, the Onslow Hotel now lies dark, deserted and depressing. All fond childhood memories of loitering on the hotel stairs and eavesdropping on customers’ colourful conversations are in the distant past.
How had her dad let it come to this?

With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.

In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.

Goodreads Link:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16301141-an-endless-summer

Author Bio:

C.J. Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia.

The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series. For more on C.J. and 'The Summer Series', visit http://www.cjdugganbooks.com/.

Author Links:

• BLOG: http://can-duu.blogspot.com.au/
• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/#!/CJ_Duggan
• FACEBOOK (The Boys of Summer): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cj-Duggan-The-Boys-of-Summer/207724915934429
• GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5779034.C_J_Duggan
• Amazon (U.S) Digital: http://www.amazon.com/The-Boys-Summer-Series-ebook/dp/B00AOA4VMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357719262&sr=8-1&keywords=c.j+duggan
• Amazon (U.K) Digital: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Boys-Summer-Series-ebook/dp/B00AOA4VMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357719428&sr=8-1
• Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-boys-of-summer-cj-duggan/1114044270?ean=2940045139755
• Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-boys-of-summer/id586702213?mt=11

The Boys of Summer (Book 1 Summer Series)
by CJ Duggan

It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.
To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.
How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group oflocals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.

Warning: sexual references, and occasional course language.


Goodreads link:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13562232-the-boys-of-summer

Buy link:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Boys-Summer-Series-ebook/dp/B00AOA4VMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357719262&sr=8-1&keywords=c.j+duggan

~Ashley~

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review ~ the twenty by claudia carozza

Title: The Twenty (The Barronlands Trilogy #1)
Author: Claudia Carozza
Pages: 233
Published: April 10, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopia, Science Fiction
My Copy: Kindle edition for review
Average Rating: 4.00 / 5.00
My Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

Add to Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis

Imagine living in a time when infertility runs rampant and babies are no longer being born. The world is crumbling around you as people start talking about the end. This is the world Hazel DeSales grew up in. After her mother dies from a mysterious cancer, Hazel finds herself taking care of her younger sister Netty and alcoholic father.

It's not until twenty women, known as the Elect, become pregnant all across the Barronlands when things start looking up. Hazel and Netty apply for jobs working as domestics in the Antioch Center where the Elect will be taken care of and protected. Hazel feels change in the air and her outlook for the future starts to improve.

But she soon learns that change is not without consequence. Rumors are brewing about a government cover up and Hazel finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. So begins the unraveling of secrets that uncover things from her past and, threatening her future. Hazel is determined to seek the truth and promises herself to do whatever it takes to succeed.

My Thoughts

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review through the Making Connections group on Goodreads.

As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book, and I was not disappointed! The concept behind it seemed so plausible, it gave me chills just thinking about it. Cancer affects so many people, both survivors and victims, and many women are affected by infertility. In my mind, it wouldn't be a stretch for cancer and infertility to run rampant one day. That's why the idea behind this book is brilliant and at the same time scary. It seems realistic, something that could really happen, and if it did, would our society become like the one the main character, Hazel, faces?

I fell in love with Shane right away! When he rescued Hazel from a group of dangerous men in the first ward, it only endeared me to him even more. I liked the easygoing, natural relationship that blossomed between Hazel and Shane. He hates the Officials, and he is rebellious. He brings up ideas and thoughts to Hazel that open her eyes to the way life is for them, but she also seems to accept things the way they are and goes on. He wants change. He wants to do something about the conditions they all live in. And he wants Hazel to be by his side taking action along with him. I admired that.

Hazel is hired as a nurse while her sister Netty is hired to work in the kitchen taking care of the twenty pregnant women. I worried just as much as Hazel did about Shane forgetting her while she was away doing this job because he hates the Officials so much and wasn't exactly supportive of her new job. While I loved Shane right away, I found myself liking Lukas but also feeling wary of him. He and his friend Chris work for security, and I was skeptical of security being needed for the Elect because the building seems to be really secure as it is. I had a feeling security was more for the workers and the pregnant women themselves--in case anyone got out of hand or discovered something he/she wasn't supposed to know or find out about. I didn't always trust Lukas and Chris.

Elise is eighteen, and the girl to whom Hazel is assigned to care for. Elise's character was a surprise--she has a certain vulnerability but is also strong. I would like to think I could be as strong as she is, but I'm doubtful. She finds herself in a situation I couldn't even imagine, and I don't think I would've handled myself as well as she did. She and Shane are definitely the two characters I found myself drawn to.

Throughout the book, there's an undercurrent of sinister plans for the girls and the babies they are about to have. Will the babies be taken from them? Will they be tested and/or experimented on? I loved the suspense and action--I had all kinds of theories as to what is going on. I love it when I'm reading a book and I know that absolutely anything can happen.

The only thing keeping me from giving this book five stars instead of four was my disappointment that the summer months were skipped over, but there's always the chance of flashbacks in the next book. I think skipping three months was jarring to the story and some momentum of the story was lost. I can't wait to read the next installment of this trilogy and find out where the story will take me next!

Buy the Book:    Amazon    Barnes & Noble   

About the Author

Claudia Carozza graduated with a degree in Writing Arts. She writes YA & New Adult fiction.

Find the Author:  Goodreads  Website  Twitter  Facebook  

think out loud #1: white rabbit

Hey everyone! I'm now going to join Think Out Loud hosted by Thinks Books. Click on the link to go to her blog and sign up. :) I just signed up literally a minute ago, lol, and though she posted this question on Monday, I still want to answer it for this week. I loooovvvveee music! There was no way I could pass this one up! :D

This is really hard for me to answer. I'm completely obsessed with SongPop, and my favorite genre to play is the 60s. Plus, when I read Splintered by A.G. Howard, I had this song stuck in my head much of the time. :)

"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger

And one pill makes you small

And the ones that mother gives you

Don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits

And you know you're going to fall

Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar

Has given you the call

To call Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up

And tell you where to go

And you've just had some kind of mushroom

And your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice, I think she'll know

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead

And the White Knight is talking backwards

And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"

Remember what the dormouse said

“Feed  YOUR HEAD...

 Feed your head”

What do you think about this song? I think I was born in the wrong decade. :D What's your favorite song? Does your favorite song change at times like mine do?

Feature & Follow Friday #2

I'm so excited to finally be joining Feature and Follow Friday!! This is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where they each feature a fellow blogger and ask a question which can be answered by participating bloggers. If you aren't already following the two hosting bloggers, please visit their blogs to follow them, the bloggers they're featuring, and enter your own blog in the linky. Hop around to other blogs - find new blogs to follow and gain some new followers as well. :D

Q: Confess your blogger sins! Is there anything as a newbie blogger that you've done, that as you gained more experience you were like -- oops?

When I first began posting reviews of books on here, I didn't include links to buy the books, add to Goodreads, info about the author, and ways to contact the author. I don't know why I didn't think to incorporate all of that into my reviews in the very beginning because now I realize it's easier for readers to click on the links to find out more about the book and the author or even buy the book. I know I've read a review of a book, then clicked on the link provided in the blog and bought the book in a hot second!

I need to work on reviewing books as soon as I've read them. That way, the experience I had while reading the book is fresh in my mind! I thought that reading several books then writing the reviews would be a good idea to get my reviews out faster, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I've learned that isn't the best way for me to go, and now writing reviews has become easier than it was before. :D

I'm dying to hear your blogger sins, lol! What are yours? :D

review ~ hotblood (house of slide #1) by juliann whicker

Title: Hotblood: A House of Slide Novel
Author: Juliann Whicker
# of Pages: 298
Published May 10, 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal
My Copy: Kindle edition
Average Rating: 3.94 / 5.00
My Rating: 4.00 / 5.00

Add to Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis

He stole a kiss from the wrong girl…
Left without a soul, 17-year-old Dariana Sanders waited to die. There was nothing left to live for, nothing to feel besides the aching cold that never stopped. Her parent’s marriage was in shambles, and her brother, the only one who understood, the only one who knew how to make the cold go away, was gone forever. The only thing Dariana knew with absolute certainty was that nothing could possibly be right again. Enter Lewis Axel Nialls. Luckily for her, impossible is right up his alley. He can save her from the forces that wish to destroy her. Of course who’s going to save him, from her?

My Thoughts

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through a read and review group on Goodreads.

From the very start, I knew this was going to end up being one of those books I absolutely adore. The premise was different, and I couldn't wait to begin reading it! Right away, I was drawn right into the story. Darianna is a character with whom I immediately connected. She has an interesting family, to say the least, and is facing not only realistic everyday problems but supernatural ones as well. I loved how Darianna became kick ass, going out to hunt and discovering a dark side of herself.

I didn't like Darianna's uncle, Satan, at first, but he grew on me and ended up becoming one of my favorite characters. He was in a foul mood quite a bit in the beginning and is completely reckless, but he's hilarious! It became obvious to me how much he loves and cares about his niece. The dialogue he had with Darianna and other characters was a riot--completely hysterical!

I was ambivalent towards Darianna's mother--I don't understand how she can be okay with what Darianna's brother did to her. She didn't know how to deal with her daughter and came across as cold and unfeeling. Darianna's father seemed to be an absentee dad who didn't care about his daughter, but then you find out why he wasn't able to stay. I didn't agree with his decision to leave, but I understood why he did it. I only wish he had been in the book more.

I don't know what to think of Lewis--was he a good guy? Was he a bad guy? There was so much action with twists and turns around every corner. I absolutely cannot express enough how much I loved this book! I'm excited to find out more about him in the next installment of this series. With the way the book ended, I have no idea what to expect for the next one, and I'm dying to find out what happens next!

Purchase the book: Amazon    Barnes & Noble    IndieBound

About the Author 

From Smashwords:

Juliann Whicker was raised with chickens, goats, and a cow named Mrs. Mooley who everyone (neighbors included) chased down the street in a small college town. She now lives in Southeastern Ohio with her four children, husband, and all the ticks and poison ivy a soul could crave.

Find the Author

 

Blog

 

Twitter

 

Goodreads



Cover Reveal ~ Imaginable by J. Meyers

I'm so excited to be a part of today's cover reveal! From J. Meyers, the author of the Intangible series, comes the unveiling of her next novel in the series, Imaginable, due out April 2013!

Ta da! It's absolutely gorgeous! I love it!! 

Add to Goodreads

Blurb:

Twins Sera and Luke Raine’s unusual abilities are growing. Sera is healing vampires now, making them human again. And, at times, Luke can actually change the future he Sees.

But Sera’s healing has dangerous consequences, and though Luke is altering the outcome of more visions, he can’t control them yet.

Now Sera is in danger as the dark creatures of the Realm seek to use her. As Luke struggles to master his gift in order to save his sister, he discovers even more about his powers.

And what he learns just may put him in greater danger than Sera has ever been.

Get on the Mailing List!

You know, the wonderful people on J. Meyers’ New Release Mailing List are the first to find out when a new book comes out. If you’d like to join them, sign up here. She won’t ever share your address, and will only email you when a book has been released or is newly available.

~The other books in the series~

"Intuition" (Intangible #0.5)

Indomitable (Intangible #0.75)

Intangible (Intangible #1)

   I canNOT wait to get my hands on Imaginable (Intangible #2)!! How about you?     

Stacking the Shelves #1

Hey everyone! First of all, I want to thank all of my followers--new and old. Without all of you, I would basically just be talking to myself, lol. I'm grateful for all of you, and to show my appreciation, I'll be holding my very first giveaway coming up soon. Stay tuned! :D

Today is my very first Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Just wait until you see what I got this week!

I went to Half-Price Books and bought the following seven books:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Jonas (Beautiful Dead #1) by Eden Maguire  

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi 

Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block 

The Rising (The Rising #1) by Brian Keene

Violet & Claire by Francesca Lia Block 

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) by Simone Elkeles 

My copy of this book is in hardcover, and it was on sale for ONE DOLLAR! $1! A hardcover copy!! :D

My husband and kids also bought books at the store, but I forgot to take photos of them, lol, so I am including pictures from Goodreads. :)

My husband's purchase:

The Star Trek Encyclopedia 
by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda

He got a crazy good deal on this one, too. Originally $60, it was marked down to $7!!!

My ten-year-old daughter picked out this book: 



Sailor Moon SuperS Vol. 1 (Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon #12) 

by Naoko Takeuchi

She finished it today, and I'm definitely planning on reading it as well.

My three-year-old son picked out this book:

Rock with Mickey  by Publications International Staff (Editor) 

We've read this several times already, and we just bought these Saturday evening. :) It's one of those books I really enjoy reading to him, and as I mentioned the other day, he's a huge fan of Mickey. Plus, it has music! :)

I received this pin from The Hippie after reading Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter and participating in the Snowflake Project. I love it so much! <3 I'll post my review of the book plus let you know what the Snowflake Project is all about and how you can participate also.

I also bought these two ebooks from Amazon:

 

The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto 

Leaving Paradise (Leaving Paradise #1) 

by Simone Elkeles 

Well, that's it for me this week. You can tell who has the book "problem" around here, lol. I say it isn't a problem; however, my family does. I guess they feel this way because everywhere you look in our house there are piles and piles of books. I tell them all I need to do is get organized. That's all. :D

I'd love to know what you guys stacked your shelves with this week! Let me know in the comments and link me up to your post! :D