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

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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.


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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.