Monthly Archives: June 2013

Musing Mondays (June 17)

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 8 comments

MusingMondays5Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!


My Musing: 

In the world of technology we have many new ways to read books.  The traditional paperback in either hard or soft cover, the many ebooks Kindle, Nook, Kobo etc.  You can download onto your PC or IPhone or tablet or pretty much endless devices.

My question is what do you do most of your reading on?  And what do you prefer and why?

I will always love the traditional Hardcover books.  There is something about the smell and feel of these books that makes me love them.  However the price for these is a little steep, therefore I do most of my reading these days on my Kindle.  It is funny actually that I bought a kindle (which is an american product) when I live in Canada.  When I downloaded a book I had to do the conversion from American to Canadian on my credit card.  This was a big downer which influenced my buying a KOBO for my kids.  I love the kindle more.  More variety, more free books etc.  I was delighted when Amazon came up with an Amazon.ca with all the same features.  I now avoid the whole money conversion and absolutely love my Kindle again.  I just wish it was a Kindle fire or one of the newer versions with a back-light.  Can’t have everything I guess…lol

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your musing in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Monday Musing  is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

8 Comments

Posted in Musing Mondays

Tagged

Friday Finds (June 14)

Posted on June 14, 2013 | 2 comments

FF2_MdFRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

I was checking out a bunch of websites this week and came across these free ebooks that I couldn’t help but download on my kindle. I can’t wait to read them. I will post reviews as I get through them.

Product DetailsEnchantment (Channie #1) by Charlotte Abel

Sixteen year old Channie Kerns leads an idyllic life of seclusion and magic deep in the Ozark Mountains … until her family is forced to flee for their lives.

They leave everything and everyone behind to start over in Louisville, Colorado. Magic is forbidden while they are in hiding, but Channie can’t resist the temptation to enchant a group of local boys. When her overbearing parents catch her flirting with these “sex-crazed, non-magical delinquents,” they slap a chastity spell on her to protect her virtue.

The spell is triggered by lust, so just navigating the halls at her new school is an ordeal. She can’t even touch a boy she’s attracted to without blasting him with a jolt of magical energy that feels like a taser.

When Channie falls in love with Josh Abrim, a BMX racer with dangerous secrets of his own, she rebels against her parents and turns to dark and forbidden magic to break the chastity spell … with disastrous results. (Goodreads Excerpt)

Product DetailsFive (Elemental Enmity Book 1) by Christie Rich

Rayla Tate dreams of escaping her ordinary world for a bright future in the art world. Throw in an overbearing aunt who is keeping major secrets, a disgruntled best friend tagging along to college, and a bunch of fae warriors waiting in the wings to claim her the minute she leaves her sleepy little town, and Rayla’s dreams are about to shatter.

She soon discovers she is a coveted Elemental with power she never knew she possessed—a power that could change the world. Everywhere she turns another man tries to woo her. The weird part is she’s drawn to each one of them. Who are these strange men, and what dark power do they hold over her? Rayla must quickly learn to fend off these beautiful and seductive pursuers using any means necessary or find herself lost to the fae world forever. (Goodreads Excerpt)

Product Details13 on Halloween(Shadow #1) by Laura A.H. Elliott

Roxie has the best night of her life until the popular kids decide they want to celebrate her birthday in a way Roxie never expects––in her attic, with a gift that’s out of this world, and a pact to never tell a living soul what happens next.

Twelve-year-old Roxie wants to be like Adrianne, the popular girl who gets everything she wants––a flock to prowl around the mall with; invitations to parties; and for Hayden, the cutest guy in the eighth grade to, you know, notice her. When Roxie invites all the eighth grade peacocks (code word : popular kids) to her first ever thirteenth birthday party on Halloween, they all come and give her a gift that’s literally out of this world. Roxie astral projects to Planet Popular where she becomes seventeen instantly and gets everything she’s always wanted, but nothing is as it seems. Being a high school peacock is complicated and Roxie will risk everything to be who she thinks she wants to be. Oh yeah, there’s Prom, doppelgangers, a mysterious map, and lots of bad peacocks too. (Goodreads Excerpt)

All three of these were on sale on Amazon for a limited time. Awesome find if I do say so myself. If you have heard of them or read them please leave a comment.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Friday Finds post, or share your ‘finds’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Friday Finds is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

2 Comments

Posted in Friday Finds

Tagged , , , , , ,

19 Things Successful People Do on Social Media – via Forbes

Posted on June 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

To all my social media friends. Enjoy this article by Jan Moran.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Are You Being Busy or Fruitful?

Posted on June 13, 2013 | 1 comment

Good article by Kristen Lamb author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media

Product Details

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

We’ve talked about entropy a lot lately. How the dishes are never done and the laundry multiplies when left alone too long. My inside sources (The Dust Bunnies) tell me the dirty laundry, when left too long to their own devices start forming cults, particularly “The Whites.” According to The Bunnies, laundry apparently must sacrifice a sock to their god—Dry-Er—every load so Dry-Er will not smite them.

Um what else did you think Dry-Er lint was made from?

With the proper sacrifice, the laundry can be fruitful and multiply. “The Reds” have been known to give a blood sacrifice on occasion. Yes, your husband’s undershirts will be pink, but the laundry is then blessed with more generations of progeny.

The Dust Bunnies swear on their lives this is true, so they’ve bought a little time. That and the vacuum bags Hubby ordered don’t fit.

So aside from the occult activities…

View original post 984 more words

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Help Me, I’m Drowning

Posted on June 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Another Awesome Post by Kristen Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media.

Product Details

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

Many writers feel overwhelmed. We’re frequently trying to balance a day job, family, special occasions, emergencies, blogging, social media, laundry and even BATHING. It seems like just about the time we get a good juggling rhythm, someone tosses another bowling pin in our hand (sick kid, car breaking down, computer crashing).

I’d love to say that I’m perfect at these tips I’m about to offer, but I’m a lousy liar. But, I will say that though I’m not where I’d like to be, I’m far from where I used to be (again, thank you Joyce Meyer).

Sometimes We JUST Need to Outsource

I do a fairly good job of at least keeping the house looking like it was hit by a Category ONE Hurricane and not a KATRINA. But, do I have time to scrub all the floors properly and dust the blinds and make the shower sparkle like new?…

View original post 1,069 more words

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

WWW Wednesdays (June 12)

Posted on June 12, 2013 | 12 comments

WWW_Wednesdays4To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:
Product Details Currently Reading:  You are Mine by Janeal Falor.  So far is is amazing.  Really liking it.
Product DetailsRecently finished: Spirit (Elemental #3) Absolutely fabulous book.  I love the entire series.  Review is posted.

Next?Product DetailsProduct DetailsHalf blood (Covenant) by Jennifer Armentrout and maybe  Enchantment (A magical YA Paranormal romance) by Charlotte Abel.  Both are on my Kindle  waiting patiently for me to read them.  Will post reviews upon completion.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

12 Comments

Posted in WWW Wednesdays

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday (June 11)

Posted on June 11, 2013 | 10 comments

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:

I’m not going to be punished? Why? Not that I wanted it, I only wanted to know what it took to get it and how bad it would be.  I fork a strawberry while pondering it.

You Are Mine (Mine, #1)      You are Mine by Janeal Falor

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

Related articles

10 Comments

Posted in Teaser Tuesdays

Tagged , ,

Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

Posted on June 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Product DetailsSpirit (Elemental #3) by Brigid Kemmerer.  Published May 2013 by Kensington Books.  CDN $6.99 Kindle Edition.

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…(Goodreads excerpt)

Awesome!  Again another truly great read in the series.  I was not a big fan of Hunter when I started this series; something about him just didn’t ring as well as the brothers did. Perhaps it was his giant ego, or the chip on his shoulder that he carried around, well not anymore.  Brigid did an awesome job of getting us to see the depth of the real Hunter, flaws and all.  I like the comment she makes in the Beyond the Story section.  ‘This book isn’t about Hunter finding romance.  It’s about Hunter finding himself.’  It is truly an amazing read, different in some ways from the other stories but equally compelling.

I liked the female lead in this book Kate.  She is spunky and full of life and charm and the perfect character to draw Hunter out.  I liked how Hunter and Kate related to each other and I laughed each time Kate bested Hunter at something.  I felt empathy for her situation as well and wanted them to end up together.

I was a bit shocked at the twist towards the end (I won’t give it away) as it wasn’t typical of Brigid, but it made sense and fit well with Hunter’s story, making me feel even more empathy for Hunter.  I love how the story of all of the elementals keeps evolving with each book.  I loved that the brothers took Hunter in and made him one of them.  In the other books he was always an outsider and now he feels more like a fifth brother.

Brigid is truly an amazing writer and I love this series.  I can’t wait for the next book.

5 stars for me.

 

Related articles

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged ,

Musing Mondays (June 10)

Posted on June 10, 2013 | 9 comments

MusingMondays5Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!


My Musing: 

My Musing this week is about the Series or the Standalone…which do you prefer?

I think I prefer the standalone book.  I hate waiting all that time for the next book to find out what happens in the story.  Having said that I think my favorite is a series that each book is independent of each other.  For example: The Elemental Series by Brigid Kemmerer:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

Each story is an independent story on its own, but still relates to the overall story as a whole.  This way you still anticipate the next book, but your not left waiting for what happens next.

Note:  Brigid also wrote short novella’s in between each of the stories each about 50-60 pages long to keep us until the next full length book:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

What is your favorite Stand alone book or Series?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your musing in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Monday Musing  is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

9 Comments

Posted in Musing Mondays

Tagged , ,

Feisty Female YA Tournament 2013 – Round Two!!!

Posted on June 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Feisty Female YA Tournament 2013 ~ Now Open!        

    It’s that time of year to vote for the females that have carried their many weapons with care, have taken out more bad guys than you can count on both hands and have shown the world that women are not to be messed with!
It’s also a chance to acknowledge that heroines don’t have to be simpering, weak or girly – they can have iron backbones and save the day better than any man can 😉

Voting will be open 31 May – 31 July. There will be 7 Rounds:

– Round 1 – top 15 move to Round 2
– Round 2 – top 10 move to Round 3
– Round 3 – top 6 move to Round 5
– *Round 4/Gatecrashers* – top 6 move to Round 5
– Round 5 – top 6 move to Round 6
– Round 6 – top 3 move to Round 7
– Round 7 – WINNER IS ANNOUNCED 31 JULY

 

CURRENTLY IN SESSION: ROUND 2
VOTE HERE (click)

This tournament will be going on here, on Goodreads, and via Twitter.

My support (and hopefully my fans) goes out for Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins  – She is one tough Female with alot of spunk!  Let’s all get out there and show our support -vote for Katniss!    

                                             

“We had to save you because you’re the mockingjay, Katniss…While you live, the revolution lives.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Friday Finds (June 7)

Posted on June 7, 2013 | 4 comments

 

FF2_MdFRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

So, come on — share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

I went searching to see what I could come up with for this weeks Friday Finds and came across this book that looks absolutely amazing.  It is now on my TBR list.  If anyone has read it please let me know how it was.

Product DetailsParallel by Lauren Miller.

Abby Barnes had a plan. The Plan. She’d go to Northwestern, major in journalism, and land a job at a national newspaper, all before she turned twenty-two. But one tiny choice—taking a drama class her senior year of high school—changed all that. Now, on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Abby is stuck on a Hollywood movie set, miles from where she wants to be, wishing she could rewind her life. The next morning, she’s in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. Overnight, it’s as if her past has been rewritten.

With the help of Caitlin, her science-savvy BFF, Abby discovers that this new reality is the result of a cosmic collision of parallel universes that has Abby living an alternate version of her life. And not only that: Abby’s life changes every time her parallel self makes a new choice. Meanwhile, her parallel is living out Abby’s senior year of high school and falling for someone Abby’s never even met.

As she struggles to navigate her ever-shifting existence, forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn’t choose, Abby must let go of the Plan and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that’s finally within reach. (Goodreads Excerpt)

This is another  one I found but am not sure if I want to read it.  It reads like the Hunger Games (which I loved) but maybe too much!  Let me know what you think and I will decide.

The TestingThe Testing(testing #1) by Joelle Charbonneau

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies–trust no one.

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust. (Goodreads Excerpt)

These are both new releases.  If you read them please leave me a comment on your thoughts.  Happy Friday!

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Friday Finds post, or share your ‘finds’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Friday Finds is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

4 Comments

Posted in Friday Finds

Tagged , , , ,

Feisty Female YA Tournament 2013 – Now Open!

Posted on June 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Feisty Female YA Tournament 2013 ~ Now Open!        

    It’s that time of year to vote for the females that have carried their many weapons with care, have taken out more bad guys than you can count on both hands and have shown the world that women are not to be messed with!
It’s also a chance to acknowledge that heroines don’t have to be simpering, weak or girly – they can have iron backbones and save the day better than any man can 😉

Voting will be open 31 May – 31 July. There will be 7 Rounds:

– Round 1 – top 15 move to Round 2
– Round 2 – top 10 move to Round 3
– Round 3 – top 6 move to Round 5
– *Round 4/Gatecrashers* – top 6 move to Round 5
– Round 5 – top 6 move to Round 6
– Round 6 – top 3 move to Round 7
– Round 7 – WINNER IS ANNOUNCED 31 JULY

CURRENTLY IN SESSION: ROUND 1

VOTE HERE (click)

This tournament will be going on here, on Goodreads, and via Twitter.

My support (and hopefully my fans) goes out for Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins  – She is one tough Female with alot of spunk!  Let’s all get out there and show our support -vote for Katniss!    

                                                                                 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

When Will I Get My Breakthrough? Making It Past “The Dip”

Posted on June 6, 2013 | 1 comment

Awesome post from Kristen Lamb.  Kristen is the author of

Product Details We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media.

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

If you stick with writing long enough, you will make it to The Dip (thank you, Seth Godin). The Dip is that span of suck right before the big breakthrough. The Dip is a killer and it seems to go on and on and on, but The Dip serves a number of important purposes.

The Dip Weeds Out the Uncommitted

Writing is the best job in the world. I love what I do and, frankly it’s a huge reason I struggle with resting. My work rarely feels like work…unless I’m in The Dip, which I’m in now. We writers also call these “revisions.” I’ve read my new book so many times, I swear I could recite it from memory.

But there’s a missing comma. Oh, and where did that extra period come from? Wait, the subject and verb don’t agree in that sentence. Doesn’t that need a citation? All…

View original post 939 more words

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

WWW Wednesdays (June 5)

Posted on June 5, 2013 | 11 comments

WWW_Wednesdays4To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:
 Currently Reading:  Spirit by Brigd Kemmerer.  Just started but love this series so expecting to love it.
Product DetailsRecently finished: The Second Sign by Elizabeth Arroyo.  Truly awesome story.  Absolutely loved it.  Review is posted.

 

Next?Product DetailsProduct DetailsYou are Mine by Janeal Falor and Half blood (Covenant) by Jennifer Armentrout.  Both are on my Kindle  waiting patiently for me to read them.  Will post reviews upon completion.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

11 Comments

Posted in WWW Wednesdays

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Teaser Tuesday (June 4)

Posted on June 4, 2013 | 16 comments

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:

“I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”  He gave her a breathtaking smile.  Nice and handsome.

She almost hated to kill him.

Almost.

Product DetailsSpirit by Brigid Kemmerer.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

 

Related articles

 

16 Comments

Posted in Teaser Tuesdays

Tagged , ,