Tom T's Hat Rack - On Sale for just $.99!

Tom T's Hat Rack 
By Michele Spry
Pub Date: Jan 2013
Genre: Childrens

Shelby Summers has a zest for life that can't be tamed... Tom Tucker has a dream of helping others who are facing the challenges he faced not too long ago. Join Shelby and Mr.T as they join forces to give back to their community, and be challenged to do the same for yours!

Add on Goodreads | Buy a physical copy on Amazon | Buy a physical copy on Barnes and Noble | Michele Spry's Facebook Page

Many of you have heard me talk about my boss who's a Children's author (and she is also going with me to B.E.A. in New York! So exciting!) Well, until April 2nd her book, Tom T's Hat Rack kindle ebook is on sale for just $0.99! I wanted to share this with you all so that you can pick up your own copy! I highly recommend this story to parents, aunts and uncles, really just anyone that has a child in their life. While reading this story, I could definitely see why parents would want to share this amazing story of paying it forward to their children. It teaches such great lessons about little acts of kindness!

If you want to buy your ebook just click here! (I mean come on, $.99? That's less than a soda!)

Also, if you are like me and have a Nook instead of a kindle, you can download the free iPad or phone app to read it! That's what I do!

Also if you want to buy a physical copy I put the links for Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well! If you buy one and you're going to B.E.A. make sure and bring your copy and Michele will sign it for you!

Let me know in the comments if you plan on purchasing it! I'm so excited to share this amazing sale with you guys!

Wedding Pictures

Here are a few of my favorites from our wedding! I plan on making some sort of picture slideshow in a video with music playing so you will see more pictures very soon!

 

Half Bad by Sally Green

Half Bad
By Sally Green
Pub Date: March 4th, 2014
Series: Half Bad Trilogy #1

Half Bad by Sally Green is a breathtaking debut novel about one boy's struggle for survival in a hidden society of witches.

You can't read, can't write, but you heal fast, even for a witch.

You get sick if you stay indoors after dark.

You hate White Witches but love Annalise, who is one.

You've been kept in a cage since you were fourteen.

All you've got to do is escape and find Mercury, the Black Witch who eats boys. And do that before your seventeenth birthday.

Easy.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't love it either. It was okay.

The idea of this story is interesting. White (good) witches and black (evil) witches hating each other.. a son of a white AND black witch trying to find his father.. The idea seems pretty interesting. The main character is so mistreated and abused that you definitely find yourself rooting for him and hoping he escapes.

However, I felt like a lot was left out of this book.

We never really learned why white witches hate black witches. Is it because they kill people? OH, you mean killing, like the white witches do? They TORTURE people, so this "good witch" stuff is a load of crap.

Everyone just seems to hate everyone in this book... because? We don't know. Most of the time it seems to be because of a grudge after someone killed someone's great, great grandmother or something.

Another thing that I wish we would have gotten more of is character depth. Most of the characters I read about, I didn't really care about. Even NATHAN at times, and he is the main character! I don't know if it was the story or the author but I had trouble connecting to this story...

I WANTED to feel bad for Nathan (and I did at times, but not as much as you would think seeing as everyone hated him and he was tortured in about every chapter.) I WANTED to like the love story, but that too, was just okay. I did like his half brother Arren, and his friend Gabriele, but they were such small parts of this story.

Unfortunately, the ending felt a bit rushed (while the beginning 3/4 kind of dragged on a bit for me). I'm not sure if I will continue or not. I feel like this first book was just an introductory book and so I MAY continue on, now that the foundation has been set. I am interested in seeing what Nathan is capable of now that he is free, sort of. I'm curious to see what his gift will be, so I may continue.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral

Chopsticks
By Jessica Anthony, Rodrigo Corral
Pub Date: Feb 2012

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."
But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along...

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

This book is told through pictures, Instant Messages, and there are even links to different videos as well. It's a book that you fly through, and then feel dumbfounded by the ending. I ended up flipping back through the pages and had to even look up some discussions of the book online before it really made since to me. On the back of the book it says, "But nothing is what it seems. And we must decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along..." 

I recommend this book if you are a fan of picture books and definitely if you're a fan of psychology. I don't want to say too much. Just check this out from the library or spend a half hour at a bookstore and read through this. Definitely an interesting read that makes you think!

The rest of this review is going to contain spoilers, so only continue reading if you have read the book please!

The open ending is pretty frustrating. From what I can gather from other reviews, not many people can figure out where Glory went.
Most people, like myself, agree that after Glory's mother died, around two years later, she is put in a facility called the Golden Hands Rest Facility. Throughout the book Glory's mental state declines and by the end I believe she might be schizophrenic. She has basically made up Frank Mendoza in her mind from the wine bottle called Franciso de Mendoza from Argentina (which is where she said that Frank was from.) We see a painting of a flower towards the first half of the book that was apparently by Frank, however, we see Glory painting it towards the end of the book. We also see a bunch of pictures and drawings on a wall that we assume are Franks as well, but if you look in the corner you can actually see Glory's name. She made up Franks school to match the same stationary as the ones for the Golden Hands Rest Facility where she lives. She heard a boxing match where Sergio "The Marvel" Martinez was fighting. Then, the next page she is sewing the letters to her robe which was supposed to be his towards the beginning of the story, I believe. There's more connections than I've listed, and I'm sure that every time you flip through this book you will find more. The ending is, of course, up for discussion and many other parts of the story are ambiguous as well. 

Over all this was interesting and makes you think, I'll give it that.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

The Archived
By Victoria Schwab
Pub Date: January 2013
Series: The Archived #1

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

Blindfolded Book Challenge!

This was so much fun to do! (and really, really hard!)

[Christine's video]

The Archived Live Show!

by Melody (melowdee)

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

I've Got Your Number
By Sophie Kinsella
Pub Date: Oct 31st, 2011

I’ve lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :)!!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

This was my first Sophie Kinsella book and I REALLY enjoyed it! I borrowed an audiobook from my library and hope to someday buy the book! As far as the audiobook goes, I thought that the reader was fantastic! She has a British accent(which was obviously appropriate since Poppy is British) and I really enjoyed listening to her voice!

Footnote: Which of course is a very important factor in choosing audiobooks. I mean, I listened to this lady talk for 13 1/2 hours.. I had BETTER like her voice... (ha! see what I did there? Okay, so what if it's not at the bottom of the page. I'm writing a review, OKAY?)

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading about Poppy's life, and although this may make me sound insanely selfish, I was kind of enjoying that fact that someone was having a worse day than I was. I may think that school is really terrible and hard right now, but the things that Poppy goes through in this book are hysterical. For example, the part with Wanda's birthday gift had me laughing out loud!

I loved the character development in this book, and found it really neat that two imperfect people found each other, and together become more of a complete person. (I don't think I'm making any sense..) Okay, so basically I liked that Poppy became more sure of herself and learned to stand up for herself. I myself am pretty similar to Poppy in that I always try to help others and I struggle with being assertive and getting my own feelings across sometimes. It made me feel really good about myself as well and kind of made me feel empowered. I think it's really important to stand up for yourself.

This book surprised me and I was very pleased with how it ended. I definitely didn't see a few things coming which is always nice in books like this.

The rest of this review is now going to turn into a rant/discussion. If you haven't read this book, and are a fan of chick lit I highly recommend this book!

I was a tad annoyed though. I mean, REALLY annoyed at some parts. (This was probably the main reason for the -half a star). Although I really liked her, I was SO frustrated with Poppy at times. Like towards the end.. HE CHEATED ON YOU AND HE SUCKS AND WHY ARE YOU MARRYING HIM OH MY GOODNESS. YOU DON'T NEED A MAN IN YOUR LIFE. JUST BE SINGLE AND WAIT FOR SAM. Ya.. I was freaking out a bit. Poor Sam is just texting her and he asks her to go get a cup of coffee, and she's just like hey, lets snap a picture of myself in my wedding dress and give Sam a heart attack. Okay. (Sorry I'm rambling a bit. This is why I'm going to film a video about this book.) 

This book brought out A LOT of emotions from me, good and bad. I'm so happy that I ended up reading this book and can't wait to read more by her in the future!

Let me know what you thought of the book in the comments below!

Fan of Sophie Kinsella? Recommend some more books by her to me!

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress
By Marissa Meyer
Pub Date: Feb 4th, 2014
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #3

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.

My Rating:

My Thoughts:

I LOVED this book. This is definitely one of my favorite series ever. I LOVE fairytale retellings and Marissa Meyer does such a fantastic job of keeping all of the parts we love, yet adding in her own fantastic storylines! I love that our main character Cinder (Cinderella) is a cyborg and a mechanic. Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) is also a super fun character. BUT CRESS. Oh man. I fell in love with this new character so quickly. I found myself feeling so much sympathy for her being by herself for so long. I was laughing out loud when she was describing her little exercises she would do and I thought that Little Cress was precious. I also found her crush on Captain Thorne really endearing.
I HIGHLY recommend this series! It has everything I love and want in a series! (By the way, the fourth book Winter is probably #1 on my most anticipated reads now.. come ON February 2015...)

The rest of this review is going to turn more into a discussion of Cress, so please only continue if you have read the book! I love this series so much and can't help but want to gush about some of my favorite parts!

I really, really enjoyed all of the chapters with Cress and Thorne. SO ADORABLE. I felt TERRIBLE for Thorne though when he lost his sight... and he took it so well! I think that shows a lot about his character.. I love that he was trying to be patient with Cress, but also make her realize reality at the same time like with the crying in the desert, for example. I thought it was so precious how Cress would get SO EXCITED about all of the trees and animals and things. Her innocence was really enjoyable to read about. I definitely love them as a couple and I can't wait to get to read Winter when Thorne finally gets his sight back (and hopefully Cress and Thorne will finally get together).

I'm SO happy that Prince Kai knows about Cinder now. I admit I got pretty frustrated when he was thinking that Scarlet was the lost Princess.. He took it pretty well in the end and I'm excited for them to finally get to Luna and start the rebellion!

I'm still really worried about Scarlet and Wolf. I think that Wolf will save Scarlet, but I'm just hoping he doesn't let his temper get in the way.. Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid.

Speaking of Scarlet, let's talk about her new little FRIEND, shall we? I haven't been this interested in a character in awhile. These months are going to just crawl on by until I get to finally read about Winter! I'm in love with the story of Snow White ALREADY and the fact that she is MAD?! I can't believe she has been choosing to not use her powers EVEN THOUGH she knows what it's doing to her mind.. I think that shows a lot about her. I hope she finds a way to help Scarlet (and the rest of them) and hopefully she can get Jacin back! I believe that Cinder will obviously have a HUGE part in this rebellion on Luna, but I can't shake the feeling that Winter is going to have a MASSIVE part as well.. I think that the people on Luna already love her (and I bet that many feel sorry for her) while not as many people know Cinder.. I don't know! Guess we will have to wait and see!

In case you missed them:
My Cinder/Scarlet review & discussion
BookTuber Liveshow discussing Cress! (with LittleBookOwl, Katytastic, and Ermahgerd Berks!)

Let me know in the comments what you all thought!!