2016 and two babies later - maybe I will post a review again??

It has been a while! I just checked the date on my last post and it was almost TWO YEARS ago.  That is a little crazy.  Time sure does fly when you are busy and having fun! 

My life has changed a lot since first starting this blog.  Back in the day I had this awesome thing called "free-time". LOL.  Now my life is filled with all things MOM.  I have two adorable baby girls and am the luckiest person on the planet.  Of course I still enjoy reading, but rarely find the time to manage it.

I plan to keep this blog as long as possible and just add to it when I have the time.  Even if it may be AGES between postings.

I can't leave a decent review at the moment for any books (I am sneaking this post in during a rare naptime where BOTH girls are asleep), but below are a few books I have enjoyed lately (ha! more like in the past two years) you should check out! 

FREE YA Audiobooks for the summer!

I personally am a huge fan of audiobooks.  I was a LONG commuter for a few years and audiobooks helped keep me sane while stuck in hours-long traffic jams.  Audiobooks are great for summer road trips or laying out by the pool/beach.  So of course when I heard about SYNC I had to share it with you!! So awesome! 

SYNC is a free summer audiobook program for young adults. From May 15^th to August 13^th, SYNC gives away two complete audiobook downloads a week – a current young adult title along with a thematically paired classic or required summer reading title. Sign up for email and text alerts and be first to know when new titles are available to download at www.audiobooksync.com.

So fabulous! I can't wait until May 15th. The SNYC title lineup looks pretty awesome to me and I am looking forward to listening to novels written by Eoin Colfer, James Patterson , Agatha Christie, William Shakespeare, Ally Carter, L.M. Montgomery, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Elizabeth Wein... etc!

If you haven't ever heard an audiobook go preview the titles here!  It will give you a small taste of what each book will sound like.

ENJOY!

A Snicker of Magic

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd 
Genre: Mid-Grade (Family/Friendship, Fantasy & Magic)
Publication Date: February 25th 2014         
Publisher:  Scholastic Press 
Age Range: 8-12+
Pages: 320
Book Source: Review Galley from Scholastic
 

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.

Peppermint Pattie's Review:

This story caught me up in it’s magic right from the beginning.  Felicity Pickle, a collector of words, needs disparately to find the lost magic of Midnight Gulch and break the curse that keeps her family forever wandering.  This was an awesome first book from Natalie Lloyd.  It left me happy in the heart. I can hardly wait to read more from her. 
 
Grade: 

Welcome Peppermint Pattie!

For years I have run this blog on my own, but have always invited my book-loving family and/or friends to post reviews of books on my site if they are interested.  I enjoy this hobby and I am always trying it share it with others.  I finally have a taker!

Introducing...

Peppermint Pattie!

Peppermint Pattie has a passion for reading and is excited to share her love of books with you! 

Currently Peppermint Pattie spends a lot of time reading board books (to her new grandbabies), but her favorite genre is murder mystery novels.   However, Peppermint Pattie can be persuaded to read a variety of clean, engaging novels outside of that genre.  She enjoys fiction and nonfiction alike.   She was recently convinced to read The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and loved it.   

 
Peppermint Pattie will be posting occasional reviews, or whatever else she feels like saying in regards to books. 

Welcome Peppermint Pattie!

Maze Runner Movie Trailer!

I read James Dashner's Maze Runner books pretty much as they were published (or earlier!)... so of course I was excited they were making it into a movie.  But with the -blah-  recently produced out of all the YA-book to movie attempts I was a little worried about how it might turn out. (I mean honestly, I read the Divergent book series and the trailers don't even make me the tiniest bit excited about that movie).  But the Maze Runner trailer seems to have settled those fears for me.  *crossing-my-fingers* that the movie turns out well!  I don't know who any of the actors are (which I think is a good thing) and it looks like they may have a done a decent job on it... It will probably be a cliff-notes and less gruesome version of the books. I hope it does work out well because I enjoyed the series.  It can't be worse than what they did to Twilight...

CHECK IT OUT!

Haven't read the Maze Runner Trilogy yet?? 

Check out my reviews below!

The Maze Runner

The Scorch Trials

The Death Cure

Kindle Fire HDX Giveaways!

There are 2 Kindles being given away
(or if preferred the winners can choose a $229 Amazon Gift Card or $229 in Paypal Cash)


To enter to win the 1st Kindle Fire HDX you use the rafflecopter form:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0a00961232/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway



There is a second Kindle Fire HDX (or gift card or paypal cash being given away).  This one is available only to those who post about the giveaway on their blog.  You can post anytime from now until April 15th!

Go check out I am A Reader's Blog for more details and to enter!

Feeling Lucky? Bag-o-Swag giveaway!

Over the handful of years of I have been book blogging I have collected a lot SWAG (see picture).

Which is awesome.

BUT all of the swag has been hanging in a book bag in my spare closet. Collecting dust.

Shameful!

And I have come to realize there won't really be a time in my life (or at least not the near future) where I will have a place to put all of the random bookmarks, posters, buttons, etc that I have collected.

However, I am SURE there is someone out there in the blog-o-sphere who has THE WALL.

You know the one.

The wall that is covered with all of their favorite inspiration things; quotes, pictures, book jackets, autographs, etc. (I had THE WALL as a teenager. It was madness and I loved it).

Therefore, I want someone to ENJOY my bag-o-swag.  I picked out a handful of precious (to me) items and I am giving the rest away! It is nothing fancy, but there are some fun autographs in there; Lauren Oliver, Jeri Smith-Ready, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Lisa Desrochers, Kiki Hamilton, Sophie Jordan, Kirsten Hubbard, etc..

Just enter the rafflectoper below for a chance to win.  And if you do win and just happen to have THE WALL you should let me know.  I would totally love to show it off on the blog after you have received a boost of my collected swag for your collection.

ENJOY.


 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Knight Assassin Release Day!

Today is release day for four amazing Entangled Teen titles and I am excited to share one of them with you! Today Knight Assassin is on sale for just $.99 for a limited time so be sure to pick up your copy before it goes back to full price!

 

About the Book

Title: Knight Assassin

Author: Rima Jean

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pub. Date: March 4, 2014

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

Seventeen-year-old Zayn has special powers she cannot control—powers that others fear and covet. Powers that cause the Templar Knights to burn Zayn’s mother at the stake for witchcraft. 

When a mysterious stranger tempts Zayn to become the first female member of the heretical Assassins, the chance to seek her revenge lures her in. She trains to harness her supernatural strength and agility, and then enters the King of Jerusalem's court in disguise with the assignment to assassinate Guy de Molay, her mother’s condemner. 

But once there, she discovers Earic Goodwin, the childhood friend who still holds her heart, among the knights—and his ocean-blue eyes don’t miss a thing. Will vengeance be worth the life of the one love she has left? 

Find Rima Online:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Belated Book Birthday: The Shadow Throne

Oops! I missed a good one.  

One of the books I have been highly anticipating was released yesterday. 

Wahoo! A day late, but its the thought that counts .... right?!

Happy Book Birthday!!

The Shadow Throne (Ascendance Trilogy Series #3) 
by Jennifer A. Nielsen

One war.
Too many deadly battles.
Can a king save his kingdom, when his own survival seems unlikely?

War has come to Carthya. It knocks at every door and window in the land. And when Jaron learns that King Vargan of Avenia has kidnapped Imogen in a plot to bring Carthya to its knees, Jaron knows it is up to him to embark on a daring rescue mission. But everything that can go wrong does.

His friends are flung far and wide across Carthya and its neighbouring lands. In a last-ditch effort to stave off what looks to be a devastating loss for the kingdom, Jaron undertakes what may be his last journey to save everything and everyone he loves. But even with his lightning-quick wit, Jaron cannot forestall the terrible danger that descends on him and his country. Along the way, will he lose what matters most? And in the end, who will sit on Carthya's throne?

Rousing and affecting, Jaron's adventures have thrilled and moved readers in The False Prince and The Runaway King. Journey once again with the Ascendant King of Carthya, as New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen brings his story to a stunning conclusion with The Shadow Throne.

Goodreads

B&N

Amazon

Jennifer A. Nielsen's Blog

Waiting on Wednesday (59): Death Sworn

Time for "Waiting On Wednesday" weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine! Waiting on Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating! 

 

 

  Coming Soon...

 

 

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

To Be Published: March 4th 2014 by Greenwillow

 

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

 

 

My Ramblings on Death Sworn: I have not ever read anything by Leah Cypess, but I know that her Mistwood series is popular.  This new Death Sworn series sounds pretty interesting and I like the cover art!  Magic, assassins, lost love... sounds like a fun read to me! I am game.  Only a few more days and this one will be hitting the shelves!

 

 

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

Genre: Picture Book
Publication Date: August 28th 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers 
 Publisher:  Atheneum Books
Age Range: Children +
Pages: 40
Book Source: Baby shower gift!
 

Synopsis (via Goodreads): In this picture book starring the world’s most imaginative pig, Olivia embarks upon a quest for identity with very lofty goals—and being a princess is NOT one of them! Olivia is having an identity crisis! There are too many ruffly, sparkly princesses around these days, and Olivia has had quite enough. She needs to stand out! She has to be special! She wants to do more than just fit in! So what will she be?
 
Join Olivia on a hilarious quest for individuality, and rest assured, you won’t find THIS pig pleased to be in pink!

Scoot’s Review:

Having just recently started reading picture books again (yay for a newborn expanding my horizons) I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Olivia is a spunky girl (pig), with a personality that stands out.  Olivia wants to be unique and the story follows her mental journey through a day of deciding what she wanted to "be".  As an adult reading a lot of infant board-books it was refreshing to read a story to my three month old that didn't rhyme and had 'big' words.  Any children's book with the word corporate malfeasance is generally going to make me smile.  As for my little listener she seems to enjoy the mostly black and white art work with splashes of red and pink.  This is a book I don't mind reading to her again and I enjoyed the moral of the story; be yourself, be unique and dream big! If you haven't already tried an Olivia book for your young reader be sure to check them out.  Olivia and the Fairy Princesses is a great way to start.  

Grade: 

Waiting on Wednesday (58): Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Time for "Waiting On Wednesday" weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine! Waiting on Wednesday spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating! 

 

 

  Coming Soon...

 

 

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor

To Be Published: April 8th 2014 by Little, Brown & Company          

 

 

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

 

 

My Ramblings on Dreams of Gods & Monsters: There is not really too much you can say about this book without spoiling the other two... but I AM SO EXCITED that reading it is just around the corner! I loved the first two books and can't wait to find out the conclusion.  I am actually going to be a little sad that it is over because the characters/world building is SO GOOD. Love it.  The cover is a bit 'meh', but I am sure the story inside will be amazing.  Can't wait!!

 

 

Family of three + a dog! And still reading..

This past year I have taken a pretty long hiatus from book blogging.  All in the name of one sweet baby girl!  I am so excited to be a new mother and I love spending time with my precious girl. 

But now I am back at work again and it looks like life has organized itself into somewhat of a routine.  So for now, I am back to blogging again! My book blog is a hobby and I occasionally get burned out/tired of the hassle... but I feel a lot of energy and excitement about it again, so I want to get back into the swing of things! My love for reading never fades, so even when I am not posting about books I am still reading them.  I am looking forward to sharing my book-reading-journey with you again!

And just for fun I may throw some infant/toddler books on here too. Because, lets be honest - I am reading A LOT of those now.  And I have discovered that not all board books are created equal.

WARD AGAINST DARKNESS Cover Reveal!! & Giveaway!

Today Melanie Card and Entangled Teen are revealing the cover for book 2 in The Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer Series, WARD AGAINST DARKNESS. Also enter below for a paperback of the book or an eBook!

On to the reveal!

Blurb:

The last thing Ward de'Ath wants is more trouble. On the run from both the law and the criminal underworld, Ward and Celia flee Brawenal City only to stumble into the mansion of a powerful evil necromancer. And when Ward discovers the man possesses a dangerous grimoire, his duty leaves him no choice. He can't allow the necromancer to keep the grimoire. But the mansion is filled with monsters--human and undead--and Ward has no way of telling who's friend or foe. The only person he can trust is Celia who dominates more of his thoughts and feelings everyday. But there are still laws in the way of anything but friendship. She's still dead and he's still alive . . . for now.

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/The Book Depository

About Melanie:

Melanie has always been drawn to story telling. In fact, she can’t remember a time when she wasn’t telling a story in her head or on paper. In grade school, they had journal writing time which she turned into story telling time, weaving tales of magic and adventure that mimicked the fairy tales and myths that she loved to read. It was there, with the help of two very special teachers, that she nurtured this love and started her journey as a writer.

She writes fantasy, paranormal romance, and everything in between, seasoned with a good dash of adventure and mystery. Join her on my tales of magic, adventure, and romance.

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you haven't heard of this series yet, be sure to check out my review of Ward Against Death (the first book in the series) HERE!!
 

THE PLANET THIEVES: Tour Stop & Giveaway!

Hello and welcome to a giveaway stop on The Planet Thieves book tour!  I personally haven't had a chance to read The Planet Thieves yet, but I have only heard great things about it so of course I can't wait to get my hands on it!  Check out this great sounding start to a series below... 

The Planet Thieves by Dan Krokos

The Planet Thieves is the first thrilling installment of a new middle-grade series by Dan Krokos.

Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.

But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.

With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: the Egypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.

Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.

• Read an Excerpt! 
• Add it to Goodreads!
• The Planet Thieves is out now, and available for purchase! 
• This series has already been optioned for film by Warner Bros! HeyDay Films will be handling it, who also handled the Harry Potter film franchise!Yay!
• Be sure to check out the first stop on The Planet Thieves blog tour at The Midnight Garden and follow it from there!!  

 

About Dan Krokos
After pumping gas for nine years to put himself through college, DAN KROKOS, now twenty-six, writes full-time. He enjoys watching TV, playing MMORPGs, and drinking coffee. His YA novel, False Memory, debuted from Hyperion in Fall 2012. Currently, he’s hard at work on the next book in the Planet Thieves series. Find him online at dankrokos.com

• Dan Krokos Website
• Dan Krokos Blog
• Dan Krokos Facebook
• Dan Krokos Twitter

* Giveaway *
Thanks to Tor I am lucky enough to be giving away a copy of The Planet Thieves! Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.

- Must be over 13yrs old to enter.
- Must have valid US or Canada mailing address.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Coming this fall...

In case you were wondering why I have been such a blog-slacker lately...

We can't wait!

What was your favorite children's book??

I need to make sure my future minion has all of the best reads.

World Book Night 2013!

What is World Book Night?
"World Book Night U.S. is a celebration of books and reading held on April 23, when 25,000 passionate volunteers across America give a total of half a million books within their communities to those who don’t regularly read. In 2012, World Book Night was celebrated in the U.S., the UK, Ireland, and Germany and saw over 80,000 people gift more than 2.5 million books." (Source)

I am a Book Giver! I was chosen again this year to be a Book Giver and I can't wait to start handing out books to reluctant/new readers!  I live right by a college campus and in a big city, so I am sure it won't be an issue to find new readers out and about today.  However, I am only one person and can only go so far. BUT with this blog I can reach a national audience so I have decided to give away two copies of my World Book Night book right here!  I was lucky enough to be chosen to hand out copies of John Grisham's Playing for Pizza!

A small stack of my books ready to find new homes!

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
 "Rick Dockery was the third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In the AFC Championship game against Denver, to the surprise and dismay of virtually everyone, Rick actually got into the game. With a 17-point lead and just minutes to go, Rick provided what was arguably the worst single performance in the history of the NFL. Overnight, he became a national laughingstock and, of course, was immediately cut by the Browns and shunned by all other teams.

But all Rick knows is football, and he insists that his agent, Arnie, find a team that needs him. Against enormous odds Arnie finally locates just such a team and informs Rick that, miraculously, he can in fact now be a starting quarterback. Great, says Rick—for which team?

The mighty Panthers of Parma, Italy.

Yes, Italians do play American football, to one degree or another, and the Parma Panthers desperately want a former NFL player—any former NFL player—at their helm. So Rick reluctantly agrees to play for the Panthers—at least until a better offer comes along—and heads off to Italy. He knows nothing about Parma—not even where it is—has never been to Europe, and doesn’t speak or understand a word of Italian.

To say that Italy—the land of opera, fine wines, extremely small cars, romance, and Football Americano— holds a few surprises for Rick Dockery would be something of an understatement."

My thoughts:  I read Playing for Pizza by John Grisham a LONG time ago - way before I started my book blogging, so I don't have a full review of it posted on my site.  However, it is a great novel.  A little different from John Grisham's norm Playing for Pizza is a contemporary fiction about a not-so-great football player that ends up in Italy playing football for "pizza" and learning what is really important in life.  The novel is heartwarming and very well written. I highly recommend it! It is a great book to start reading if you aren't a big reader.  Not too heavy or challenging, with an interesting plot and likeable characters. 

Giveaway
Are you a reluctant reader or have a reluctant reader in your home that needs a little motivation?  Or do you not have easy access to books?  Then be sure to enter the rafflectoper below for a chance to have one of my copies of Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
-Must be over 13 yrs old to enter
-Must have valid US mailing address.

Divergent Book #3: Title Reveal and Countdown!

It's time to start counting down.

Divergent Book #3...

ALLEGIANT

comes out this fall!

See the title reveal video here!

Allegiant is definitely on my pre-order list. I can't wait! I know October seems far away, but it will be here before we know it.

In My Mailbox (31)

"In My Mailbox" is a weekly Meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Yay for new reads! 

I got some great new reads in the last week or two so I am really excited to share them with you. 
Check them out below (not all are pictured)...

For Review

Icons by Margaret Stohl
Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr

Prizes 

Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni 

Purchased 
Foretold by Jana Oliver
Soul Thief by Jana Oliver
Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Gifts
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde 
The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Steel by Carrie Vaughn
The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern 
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin