Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Review: What If... All the Boys Wanted You


What If... All the Boys Wanted You by Liz Ruckdeschel and Sara James

Release Date: September 26, 2006
Publisher: Delacorte for Young Readers
Genre: Choose Your Destiny
Series: What If...
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Buy It: Amazon
Haley's back at Hillsdale High after a New England vacation with her family. She's got a new haircut and some great new clothes, but the same problems--and the same people--continue to follow her. Coco and Whitney want to groom her to become the next Coquette now that they've kicked Sasha to the curb, but is Haley ready to make the changes they demand? Meanwhile, Sasha seems to be in serious trouble, and Irene is still willing to take Haley to San Francisco with her. So many possibilities! So many choices! Haley's future is in your hands--choose wisely!
I read Choose Your Destiny novels a bit differently than most people. When I come to a choice, I tear off a small piece of paper and mark the page, so once I make it all the way through I go back and go through each choice until I've completed them all. It does take a little while, but I like to see all of the various combinations and stories I can get! This one was kind of odd, in that each group of people was so drastically different. I find it hard to believe that Haley can conceivably be friends with all of these different people. Overall, I liked the Irene and San Francisco storyline the best because it was nice to bring in old friends while keeping her new ones.



I received this book as a gift from a friend. I was not required to post a review.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why


Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: YA Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Buy It: Amazon

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

Thirteen Reasons Why is the gripping, addictive international bestseller that has changed lives the world over. It's an unrelenting modern classic.
This book hooked me from the first page. I had heard from other bloggers that it was eye-opening, but I had no idea just how much. Clay is forced to lie to his mother and his best friend in order to make it through these tapes, and is fueled on by the knowledge that he is somehow in these tapes and has a part in Hannah's suicide. Clay has no idea what to expect, and is catapulted into memories, many of which he does not want to remember. This novel is heart-breaking, but it really gives insight into how anyone can treat people and things to do to help possible suicide victims. Definitely a must-read!



I received this book from a giveaway. I was not required to post a review.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Mini Review and Blog Tour: The Haven


The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Release Date: August 1, 2012
Publisher: Revell
Genre: Christian Fiction
Series: Stoney Ridge Seasons #2
Pages: 314
Format: Paperback
Buy It: Amazon

When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision--one that goes against her very essence. Yet it's the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.

Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation--and his relationship with Sadie.

College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons--courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.

The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie's heart.

Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. Readers will enjoy every surprise in Sadie's story as they search for the truth hidden within these pages.
I feel like love triangles are becoming cliche ever since Twilight, but I really enjoyed this novel! I've loved Fisher's novels since I first got my hands on one, and she has not disappointed me yet. Granted, she does tend to write the Amish novels I'm partial to, but she blends in romance and intrigue and sometimes even danger! This book was no exception. Her story-telling abilities hooked me from the first page and kept me hooked until the ending sentence. Definitely a fantastic novel!

I received this book free for review from LitFuse Blog Tours. I was not required to post a positive review, simply an honest one.

Enter Today - 8/13-8/30!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Review: Too Blessed to Be Stressed


Too Blessed to Be Stressed: Inspiration for Climbing Out of Life's Stress-Pool by Debora M. Coty

Release Date: August 1, 2011
Publisher: Barbour Books
Genre: Devotional
Pages: 224
Format: Ebook
Buy It: Amazon

Do your to do lists have footnotes? Has your fam suggested a rabies shot because your bite has surpassed Rover’s?

Maybe it’s time for a healthy dose of truth gift-wrapped in humor. With her own offbeat brand of wit and near-wisdom, inspirational humorist Debora Coty addresses the heart-needs of desperate women drowning in the churning everyday stress-pool of busyness.

In Too Blessed to Be Stressed, you’ll find simple, practical steps for attaining the peace that you crave as you struggle with the stresses of finances, health, career, relationships, self-image and family. You’ll discover healing, refreshment, and revitalization for your own spirit, body and mind through heart-changing real life stories, biblically based insights, and short chapters for on-the-run convenience.
This book is such a blessing! The title says it all. I have always been a stress-prone person, and I freak out over little things that really don't matter. This book takes one common stressor per chapter, and breaks it down. Debora gives tips one how to first accept the stressor, and then slowly combat it and remove it. Each chapter is specifically designed for each stressor, so there's definitely chapters for everyone!

This book is a great resource that I plan on keeping for reference for years to come.



I received this book free from the author for review. I was not required to post a positive review, simply an honest one.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Mini Review and Blog Tour: The Stars Shine Bright


The Stars Shine Bright by Sibella Giorella

Release Date: July 17, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Christian Fiction
Series: Raleigh Harmon #5
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Buy It: Amazon

After the FBI suspends her for bending its rules, Special Agent Raleigh Harmon is looking for a chance to redeem her career and re-start her life.
Sent undercover to a thoroughbred horse track, Raleigh takes on a double life to find out who’s fixing the races. But when horses start dying and then her own life is threatened, Raleigh realizes something bigger—and more sinister—is ruining Emerald Meadows.
She’s never felt more alone.
Her one contact with the FBI is Special Agent Jack Stephanson, a guy who seems to jump from antagonistic to genuine friend depending on the time of day. And she can’t turn to her family for support. They’re off-limits while she’s undercover, and her mother isn’t speaking to her anyway, having been confined to a mental hospital following a psychotic breakdown. Adding insult to her isolation, Raleigh’s fiancĂ© wants them to begin their life together—now—precisely when she’s been ordered not to be herself.
With just days left before the season ends, Raleigh races to stop the killing and find out who’s behind the track’s trouble, all the while trying to determine if Jack is friend or foe, and whether marrying her fiancĂ© will make things better—or worse.
Raleigh is walking through the darkest night she’s faced, searching for a place where the stars shine bright.
I was excited to start this novel, based on how the last one ended. I really liked Jack, once he became a true friend and I honestly liked him better than Raleigh's fiance. I think that part of the story was what kept me hooked most!

I did like how intense this story was in the action department. The other books did have the actin, but this one certainly kicked it into gear! I thought it was an interesting setting as well, since you wouldn't expect too many deaths at a horse race.

I was really upset with the family portion of the story. Raleigh's mother has always been my least favorite character, and now that she blames Raleigh for her meltdown I like her even less. I think that woman is a bit too crazy if you ask me.

Overall, the action intertwined with the romance made for a great next novel in this series, and I was very much impressed!

I received this book free for review from LitFuse Blog Tours. I was not required to post a positive review, simply an honest one.


Novelist Sibella Giorello is celebrating the release of the latest book in her praiseworthy Raleigh Harmon series by giving away a Kindle Fire! 

Find out what the reviewers are saying here!


One grand prize winner will receive:
  • A brand new Kindle Fire
  • The entire 5-book Raleigh Harmon series.
Hurry, the giveaway ends on 8/25/12. The winner will be announced on 8/27/12 on Sibella's blog!

Just click one of the icons below to enter. Tell your friends about Sibella's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Enter via E-mail Enter via FacebookEnter via Twitter

Sunday, August 5, 2012

IMM/Mailbox Monday: 8/5/12

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Kristi at The Story Siren, and Mailbox Monday is hosted by a group of bloggers! We share books we received this week, whether we bought them, got them in the mail or checked them out from the library.

Won:
The Host by Stephanie Meyer (Thanks Teens Read and Write!)
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien (Thanks !)

For Review:
When a Woman You Love Was Abused by Dawn Scott Jones
Almost Amish by Kathryn Cushman

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Mini Review and Blog Tour: Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan


Love Find You in Mackinac Island, Michigan by Melanie Dobson

Release Date: July 1, 2012
Publisher: Summerside Press
Genre: Christian Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Buy It: Amazon

As the Gilded Age comes to a close, Elena Bissette's once-wealthy family has nearly lost its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, where they will spend one last summer in the hope of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. But Elena is repulsed by the idea of marrying for money.

Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls, Elena spends most evenings escaping back into Mackinac's rugged forest. There she meets Chase, a handsome laborer who shares her love for the night sky. The two begin to meet in secret at an abandoned lighthouse, where they work together to solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary.

As Elena falls in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly contrives to introduce her to Chester Darrington, the island's most eligible bachelor. Marriage to the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes' financial woes, and Elena is torn between duty and love.
I love that Elena does not want to marry for money, but for love! In that time period, that was so rare that women would stand up for themselves like that. Elena knows what she wants, and she finds a way to go after it! I also love that Chase isn't rich, he's a simple worker who does what he has to to get by, and I think that's what draws Elena to him. This is such a sweet romance!

I received this book free for review from a LitFuse Blog Tour. I was not required to post a positive review, simply an honest one.


Celebrate with Melanie by entering her Kindle Fire Giveaway!




One grand prize winner will receive:</ span>

  • A brand new Kindle Fire
  • Signed copies of Melanie’s Love Find You books: Love Finds you in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa, Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana.
But hurry, the giveaway ends on 8/4/12. The winner will be announced on 8/6/12 at Melanie's blog!

Just click one of the icons below to enter! Tell your friends about Melanie's giveaway on FACEBOOK</ a> or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Enter via E-mail Enter via FacebookEnter via Twitter
 
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