My Love for Reading Keeps Growing: January 2015

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

REVIEW FOR BETWEEN NOW & NEVER BY LAURA JOHNSTON

pic and description taken from Goodreads

DESCRIPTION:

Buh boom, buh boom.

My heart thrusts with a force that takes me by surprise. Telling me something I don’t understand. A splitting pain, a longing to slip back under. They tell me I was in a hit-and-run, but I can’t remember what happened that night. All I know is that I woke up with pictures in my pocket, a card from one of those photo booths in the mall. And I’m in the pictures. Cody Rush. Me and…

Julianna.

Her brother was there that night, and my dad, the FBI agent, was the one who put her mom behind bars. What’s the connection? And why won’t Julianna talk to me now? Somehow, she holds the key to it all, and getting close–real close—to her for the answers I need will be no hardship at all…

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

Well Laura Johnston does it again! This book is fantastic. There are so many things I love about this book, but probably the number one thing is that it takes place in my hometown. It was so much fun to read this book, and know exactly where things were happening. I have shopped in the mall in the book, I have driven the streets she talks about, and even attended one of the High Schools in the book. It is so awesome.

The characters in this book are wonderful. Cody, son of an FBI agent, and all around good guy. Julianna, daughter of a convict and a good girl, with messed up circumstances.

This story is told from Cody's point of view and Julianna's point of view, and it is wonderful. Cody and Julianna come from two different worlds, and when their worlds collide it gets electric.

Cody is involved in a hit and run, and looses his memory. The only "real" clue he has to what happened to him is a pack of pictures of him and a girl in a photo booth.

Cody is in search of a tutor for his art class, and Julianna happens to be the girl who is his tutor. The unlikely friendship starts from there. It is wonderful.

While trying to find the answers to what happened in his hit and run, Cody and Julianna's lives become intertwined more than they already were. Cody's memory starts to come back in flashes, and this is when it gets really exciting.

Julianna's brother Vic is bad news, and he has something to do with Cody's memory loss. As the story unfolds it is so exciting. Drug deals, hit and run, drug dealers, hidden secrets, and a lost memory. This makes for such an exciting story, and it has romance to boot.

Don't miss out on this great book. Johnston has become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is beautiful, and full of life.

Source: I received this book in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in anyway for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO PRE-ORDER:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

pic and bio taken from Goodreads

Laura Johnston is the author of REWIND TO YOU and BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER, contemporary YA novels published by eKensington. She fell in love with the young adult genre both through her experience in high school as well as her job later as a high school teacher. Laura enjoys running, playing tennis, sewing, traveling, writing, and above all, spending time with her husband and kids.

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Here are our participating blogs. Thank you so much for posting!

Library of Clean Reads

Essentially Italian

The World As I See It

Man of La Book

Back Porchervations

Bookfan

Deal Sharing Aunt

View From the Birdhouse

Celtic Lady's Reviews

Celiticlady's Book Recommendation

fundinmental

Storeybook Reviews

Frugal-Shopping

JBronder Book Reviews

Katie's Clean Book Collection

Bound 4 Escape

Bound 2 Escape

Pinky's Favorite Reads

One Frugal Girl

Story Matters

This That and the Other Thing

DeDa Studios

Nighttime Reading Center

So, I Read This Book Today

A Madison Mom

A Bit Bookish

Pure Jonel: Confessions of a Bibliophile

Sincerely Stacie

Lovely Reads

WOrkS of FiCTioN

Words and Peace

Coffee, Books & Art

fuonlyknew

Svetlana's Reads and Views

Clean Romance Reviews

Seaside Book Nook

Mary's Cup of Tea

Rockin' Book Reviews

Melina's Book Blog

Chronicles...An Avid Reader and Indie Author

Working Mommy Journal

BlueRose's Heart

2 Kids and Tired Books

Bookroom Reviews

Life With Katie

My Love for Reading Keeps Growing

Girl With Camera

bookfairy

iRead Book Tours

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

12 DAYS LEFT FOR THIS GIVEAWAY :)

12 DAYS LEFT :)

IT'S A GIVEAWAY AND INTERVIEW! WOO HOO :)

Can you tell I am excited about doing this ? hehe Please welcome Author, and my dear friend A.J. Baczek to my blog today. She so kindly is letting me do a giveaway of one of her books, and I am super excited. I was suppose to do it a long time ago but with the holidays and some other things going on around here, I am only now getting to it. So, without further ado, here is my interview with A.J. Baczek. This particular interview is for her awesome book WITHOUT CONDITION. I loved this book! LOVED IT! You can read my review here.

(seriously the sweetest cover)

ME: Is there a message in your novel that you want

readers to grasp?

A.J.: Without Condition is a novel about learning to love unconditionally, but also about learning to receive that same kind of love. It's about learning to let people in, and learning to let go of the past. I would hope that readers could walk away from the story with a sense of hope, with an understanding of what it means to be loved, or to love someone else, through the hard times, mistakes, and rough emotions.

ME: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

A.J. This was a tough question. I guess I would say the hardest part of Without Condition was making sure I portrayed a genuine relationship between Jason and his son. As a woman, and as someone who is not a parent, I wanted to make sure I painted a believable picture. I also found myself asking some random questions of my friends who do have children, simply because I wasn't even sure if my portrayal of a six-year-old boy was anywhere near accurate.

ME: If you had to choose, which writer would you

consider a mentor?

A.J.: I hope she doesn't mind me admitting it here, but I'd have to say Michelle D. Argyle. Her friendship came about sort of randomly, and I've learned a lot from her both as a writer and as a person. I've been known to go back through her blog posts when I need inspiration in a certain area. She's also been kind enough to help me through some of my own writing dilemmas. She's a wonderful person and a very gifted writer. Sometimes I still can't believe a "real" author is friends with someone like me! :)

ME: I love Argyle as well. You both inspire me :)

ME: What genre do you consider your book(s)?

A.J.: It might be boring, but I tend to throw my work into the general fiction/contemporary fiction category.

ME: I don't think that is boring...I love fiction and contemporary fiction :).

ME: Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to

them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to

deal with the bad?

A.J.: For the sake of keeping this short, I'll say yes, I read them, and no I don't respond. As for handling negative reviews, the biggest thing I tell myself is that readers are entitled to their opinion. As a reader, I have books I adore, and books that I absolutely hate. It's a matter of personal preference, and in the end it's impossible to hit that five-star target with everyone. I have to release a product that reflects me and the story I want to tell, and if it doesn't resonate with every single reader, that's okay.

ME: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others? Love? Action?

A.J.: I would say scenes that involve emotional tension (namely anger) are probably among the toughest (but they are also a lot of fun!) There is an intensely emotional chapter in Without Condition that took me months to piece together. I had to keep walking away from it, and finding the right words to portray what was really going on was a challenge. In some conflict scenes, I've found it easier to knock out dialogue, then go back and fill in movements and internal monologue later.

ME: Do you have any strange writing habits (like

standing on your head or writing in the shower)?

A.J.: Someone gave me a waterproof notepad for Christmas as a joke, so if I wanted to write in the shower, I totally could! My quirkiest habit is probably texting or emailing notes to myself in the middle of the night. If I get a brilliant idea after I've gone to bed, I'll grab my phone and type myself a quick note. I've learned the hard way that no matter how much I believe I'll remember it in the morning, I never do. The best part is knowing that those notes to self would probably be complete gibberish to someone who's not living in my head.

ME: How much research do you do?

A.J.: It really depends on the story. My research for Without Condition was pretty limited. Most of it came down to some basic Internet searches for fact checking, and I did consult friends who were able to give me insight into subject matter I wasn't familiar with. I've found that first-hand experience is way cooler than anything you find online, so if I know someone who can give me a real, personal perspective on a certain topic, I'll talk to them.

ME: Why do you write?

A.J.: Because it is SO MUCH FUN. I love telling stories, and if I could never share them with anyone else, I'd still write them. My characters demand to be heard in one way or another.

ME: I love being able to talk to you about your characters and know that you understand how real they are to me also. Even when I might not like them...hehe

ME: Tell us about the cover/s and how it/they came about.

A.J.: The cover for Without Condition was designed by the talented Michelle Argyle, under her design name Melissa Williams Cover Design. It was an honor to work with her--she knows her stuff! Plus, she spent extra time adding "beautiful man hair" to the stock photo to make it more closely resemble my main character. I still swoon when I look at it. ;)

ME: Argyle is indeed talented. I love that you worked with her, and then I got to see the end result before anyone else ;)....hehehehe It is such a sweet cover.

Thank you so much A.J. for visiting the blog. I adore your writing and am looking forward to the next book. I love being able to tell people I am friends with an author. Makes me feel happy inside. Keep writing and I will definitely keep reading :).

This giveaway is for US participants only. Sorry about that. It's for shipping reasons. Please enter though :) You will love this book.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

REVIEW FOR UNSTRUNG BY KENDRA C. HIGHLEY

pic and description from Goodreads

DESCRIPTION:

Lexa Pate, seventeen-year-old thief extraordinaire, has burned a bridge or two in her life. You don’t make a career out of stealing other people’s property without making enemies.

When a risky job goes from bad to worse, Lexa and her adopted family find themselves on Precipice Corporation’s hit list because they’ve accidentally stolen the wrong thing—plans for a new model of genetically-engineered super humans. Now every bounty hunter, cop on the take, and snitch in the city is after them.

Lexa’s world crumbles around her as she fights to keep her family safe even as someone strolls out of her forgotten past. Quinn says he knows who Lexa really is, but can she trust a stranger she met while robbing his boss?

More importantly, does she really want to know what Quinn has to tell her?

Based on the fairy tale Pinocchio, UNSTRUNG takes you into a near future world where the lines between fake and real are blurred, all that’s pristine isn’t always innocent, and being a criminal isn’t always wrong.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

This book was so much better than I thought it would be. Lexa is a 17 year old who can break into any building and retrieve almost anything for her boss / father figure Turpin. She works with her best friend Joel as well. They are quite the trio.

Lexa is plagued by dreams that don't make any sense to her. She keeps dreaming about a little girl in a white room. She keeps getting flashes of this girl over and over. She cannot understand them. Lexa cannot remember where she came from before finding Turpin and Joel.

After a job goes bad Lexa's life starts to get way more interesting. She lives in a world of Humans and Bolt's (artificial humans). Bolts are considered to be the lowest of the low.

Lexa is kidnapped and finds out that her life isn't quite what she thought it was. This seriously is when the book gets even more interesting. This is when we meet Quinn....I love Quinn. I am going to leave it at that. You have to read it to find out :).

This book was so intense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Especially the last few chapters. I felt like I was holding my breath. It was so fantastic. I love it when a book does that to me. I was on pins and needles. Now I cannot wait for the second part of this story! Seriously when it ended I was like "WHAT!". I hate cliff hangers. Okay not really, but right now I am hating the cliff hanger, because I just want to read on.

This book is exciting, and it's full of some very interesting characters. It's a strange world, and fantastic.

Source: I was given this book in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

(as of today this book is $0.99 on Amazon and B&N)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

pic and bio taken from Goodreads

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to two self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes chocolate is a basic human right, running a 10k is harder than it sounds, and that everyone should learn to drive a stick-shift. She loves monsters, vacations, baking and listening to bad electronica.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

REVIEW FOR THE RECIPE HACKER BY DIANA KEUILIAN

pic and description taken from Goodreads

DESCRIPTION:

Have your cake and eat it too! (and your pizza and your tacos and lots more.) This mouthwatering collection of healthy recipes takes out all those troublesome ingredients like gluten, dairy, cane sugar, and soy and leaves in all the flavor and indulgence.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

In this house this year, I am trying very hard to help us all eat healthier. When this book came up for review I was super excited. Let me put it to you straight...I hate cooking! I know, so why would I sign up for a cook book review. Well, like I said we are trying to eat healthier this year, and this book had all the right qualifications :).

There are ingredients I thought I would never find myself buying in 100 years. Things like coconut flour, flax meal, coconut amino's.....Like I said, things I never thought I would buy. Now I look forward to it, because there are so many great recipes in this book.

The one I am particularly excited about are the coconut flour tortillas. I LOVE tortillas, and what better way to enjoy them. These can be used for taco's enchiladas and burritos. Who knew right?

There are so many great recipes to try! Things like Beef Stew, Crispy Orange Chicken, Beef Brisket, and so many more. All made in a healthier way.

If you are in search of a healthier way of cooking and serving things your family will love this is a great cook book for you. Definitely one we will be finding more of our dinners out of!

Source: I received this book from the author in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

pic and bio taken from Amazon

Hi, I'm Diana Keuilian. They call me the Recipe Hacker. I'm so glad that you've made it to this web page :)

Since 2009 I've been hacking America's favorite recipes, which pretty much means I've made them healthier and fat burning by removing all of the grain, dairy, soy, sugar and gluten from each recipe.

But make no mistake about it, every recipe is still delicious and full of flavor!

Such as...Sunday morning Cinnamon Rolls, Old Fashioned Spaghetti, high energy Granola Bars, Fiesta Tacos, Teriyaki Beef Bowl and Dark Chocolate Coconut Cookies.

In fact, my recipes have been featured on Shape.com and are used by thousands of fitness professionals worldwide, who want their clients to eat delicious, healthy, fat burning meals so that they will lose weight and permanently keep it off.

If your goal is to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle, without having to count calories, diet or endure another tasteless meal then order your copy of The Recipe Hacker today and enjoy over 100 delicious, healthy burning recipes.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

REVIEW FOR GRAVEDIGGERS BY CINDY M. HOGAN

pic and description taken from Goodreads

DESCRIPTION:

Seventeen-year-old Billy thinks his father’s murder will never be solved — until he stumbles across an old ammo box while digging a grave in his small-town Tennessee cemetery.

What he finds leads him to question everything he knows, and his search for answers will uncover more than he bargained for: lies, secrets, and conspiracies — and behind them all, a dangerous truth.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

This was such a great book to read. Billy is the kid from the "poor" side of town. He lives in a very small town where everyone knows everyone.

Billy and his best friend Henry work for Pastor Higby digging graves. When Billy and Henry were out digging a grave one hot afternoon, Pastor Higby runs out towards them yelling and screaming that they were digging in the wrong spot.

While digging in the wrong spot Billy comes across a camo box, but didn't figure taking it out of the spot would be a good idea. This box began to weigh on Billy's mind. It seemed super intriguing.

Little did Billy know that when he found this box it would open a whole other Pandora's box for him. Things start to get a little strange.

Billy's father had been killed 10 years earlier in a hit and run. Billy had decided he wanted to work for the FBI so that one day he would have the power to ask questions about his fathers death and find out who actually hit him. Billy finds out that there is more to his fathers accident than any one is willing to share.

This story was so interesting. I had no idea it would get so twisted and complicated. It was fantastic. So many great characters, and the mystery was awesome. So much happens at the end of this book, and things begin to connect that it was hard for me to put down.

This book kept me interested and excited. I kept thinking I knew who the bad guy was, and then come to find out that they are just "misunderstood" ;). Really a great mystery.

Source: I was given this book in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this review. These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

pic and bio taken from Amazon

Cindy M Hogan graduated with a B.A. in education. She is inspired by the unpredictable teenagers she teaches. If she's not reading or writing, you'll find her outdoors or spending time with her husband and two daughters. Most of all, she loves to laugh.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

COVER REVEAL FOR BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER BY LAURA JOHNSTON

Today we get to reveal Author Laura Johnston's Newest book BETWEEN NOW AND NEVER!

Laura is an amazing author, so let's get to know her first:

Laura Johnston lives in Utah with her husband and two children. Growing up with five siblings, a few horses, peach trees, beehives and gardens, she developed an active imagination and always loved a good story. She fell in love with the young adult genre both through her experience in high school as well as her job later as a high school teacher. Laura enjoys running, playing tennis, sewing, traveling, writing, and above all, spending time with her husband and kids. REWIND TO YOU is her debut novel.

You may be curious about what this fabulous book could be about, well here is the back cover blurb:

A convict’s daughter should never fall for an FBI agent’s son, certainly not a teenager like Julianna Schultz who is furious over her mother’s incarceration and the injustice of it all. But that’s exactly what seventeen-year-old Julianna finds herself doing when Cody Rush, the cocky son of the FBI agent who put her mom behind bars, moves into her hometown of Gilbert, Arizona.

Cody Rush—studious, principled, athletic, good looking and blond to boot—is everything Julianna hates, or so she thinks. Yet a series of ill-fated events one night brings them dangerously close, entangling the futures of two people who were never meant to be.

And now for the Fantastic Book Cover!!

Fabulous right!?!?

Grab your copy at one of these fabulous sites:

AMAZON:

BARNES AND NOBLE:

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING:

BOOKS-A-MILLION:

eBOOKS:

KOBO BOOKS:

EXCERPT:

PHOTO BOOTH

We listen to the monotone voice reel off instructions. Four pictures. A light will flash before each picture is taken. How I ended up in this position I’m not sure.

“Quick,” I say, “what should we do?” A flash of light. Picture one down. Both of our mouths were hanging open, blank stares straight ahead.

We burst into laughter and can’t stop. A second flash. Picture number two: both of us laughing.

Our gazes meet and we pull ourselves together, his eyes never veering from mine. He leans toward me, coming halfway before pausing, his eyes seeking permission. I regard him with equal parts terror and anticipation, the intimacy of the situation whispering a thrill. He closes the distance between us and glides his nose through my hair. My heart rattles around as though this is the first boy I’ve ever been close to.

“Now smile,” he whispers into my ear. My cheeks burn despite myself and I feel the corners of my lips tugging upward. A flash of light signals the third picture and I am totally seduced.