Thursday, September 22, 2016

TBR READ-A-THON - UPDATE AND REVIEW




Daily Updates Format

DAY OF THE CHALLENGE/DATE

Day 11 - September 23, 2016

Books Reading: 1

Books Listening To: 1

Pages Read: 237 

Chapters Listened  To:  114

Total Books Read: 1

Total Pages Read: 237

Finished Books: 1


I entered late, so I am not as far as most.

This is the review for the audio book I finished.

24396858
pic and description taken from Goodreads

DESCRIPTION:

Three students: dead.
Carly Johnson: vanished without a trace. 


Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, "the girl of nowhere." 

Kaitlyn's diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn't exist, and in a way, she doesn't - because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson. 

Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It's during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it. 

Debut author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves together a thrilling and terrifying story using psychiatric reports, witness testimonials, video footage, and the discovered diary - and as the mystery grows, the horrifying truth about what happened that night unfolds.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

This book was so interesting.  I don't think I have ever read a book about DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder a.k.a. Multiple Personality Disorder).  It was fascinating and scary at the same time.  

Carly and Kaitlyn are the same person.  One lives in the day and one lives at night, and they both think they are real.  They leave messages to each other in their diary, so they know what each of them are doing. 

Carly and Kaitlyn are being treated by a Psychotherapist who is convinced that Kaitlyn was developed to protect Carly from the trauma in her life.  Carly knows that something has happened, and that she can Kaitlyn and their little sister Jamie are just trying to survive.  Jamie has been sent to live with someone else, and Carly and Kaitlyn have been sent to a school.

I cannot even begin to tell you how creepy this book was for me.  The mind is such a fascinating thing.  To go through this journey with Carly and Kaitlyn was so intense.  They have a lot of issues, but things in their life seem to just keep going wrong and neither of them can figure it out.  Carly's therapist is trying to have her integrate Kaitlyn and deal with the trauma she has blocked so that she can get better.

There are forces in this book that are far more determined to not let that happen.  

This is a mind trip of a book.  Which I have to admit was kind of awesome.  Nerve racking at times, but awesome.  If you like intense, and psychological thrillers this is a good one.  I don't think the actual book was scary, it was the disorder, and all the things that came with it.

Source:  I bought this book for myself.  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

Content:  Some language, some talk of sex, and a few acts of sex.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

    

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dawn Kurtagich
pic and bio taken from Goodreads

Dawn Kurtagich is a writer of creepy, spooky and psychologically sinister YA fiction, where girls may descend into madness, boys may see monsters in men, and grown-ups may have something to hide. Her debut YA novel, The Dead House, is forthcoming from Hachette in 2015.

By the time she was eighteen, she had been to fifteen schools across two continents. The daughter of a British globe-trotter and single mother, she grew up all over the place, but her formative years were spent in Africa—on a mission, in the bush, in the city and in the desert.

She has been lucky enough to see an elephant stampede at close range, a giraffe tongue at very close range, and she once witnessed the stealing of her (and her friends’) underwear by very large, angry baboons. (This will most definitely end up in a book . . . ) While she has quite a few tales to tell about the jumping African baboon spider, she tends to save these for Halloween!

She writes over at the YA Scream Queens, a young adult blog for all things horror and thriller, and she is a member of the YA League and Author Allsorts.

Her life reads like a YA novel.





TOUR / REVIEW FOR - ELLA'S WILL - BY JESSILYN STEWART PEASLEE


Welcome to my stop on the Ella's Will Blog Tour!

30270331
pic and description taken from Goodreads


DESCRIPTION:


Will Hawkins is just a mere stable boy. How can he ever think to woo Ella, his once-wealthy childhood friend who is stubbornly independent, especially when his competition is the prince? Without any magic or fairy godmothers, Will must show Ella that he is her true prince charming in this perspective twist of the Cinderella story.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

I just finished Ella and knew I had a tour coming up for Ella's will.  I am so glad I got to be part of this tour.  This book was so good.  

In this re-telling of Cinderella we get to see Will's view of the things that have happened.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE when an author lets us see the "other" side of the story.  It is one of my favorite things.  It doesn't happen too often, but when it does I always grab them and devour them.  I wish we could have all the characters view on the story.  It would be amazing.  Not realistic, but amazing.

Will, is an amazing man.  He is the (bring him home to meet mom and dad) kind of boy.  He and Ella have been friends since they were young.  Will loved Ella's father as his own.  He worked with Ella's father until his death.  When Ella's father died the step mother fired everyone or just quit paying them so they left.  

Will went to work at the Palace in the stables.  Everyone seemed to like him, and he was working hard on his own home "shack" to make a place for him and his family.  Ella had no idea those plans included her.

Will tried to keep quiet in the ways he helped Ella.  He knew that if Ella's step mother knew Will was helping her she would get punished.  So he did things early in the morning or late at night.  Little things so as not to be noticed by anyone but Ella.

When it is announced that the Prince has returned from his travels, and plans to have a ball to find his future wife, Will begins to panic a little.  He has been working up the nerve to tell Ella he loves her.  But this new blip has caused him to reflect whether or not he would be good enough for Ella.

You think you know where the story goes now right? Not with this Cinderella story.    The ending is so wonderful.  You will have to read for yourself to see how it turns out!

Source:  I was given this book as part of a blog tour.  I have not been compensated in any way for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

Content:  CLEAN and wonderful!

A Special Thanks to :  Cedar Fort Publishing for allowing me to participate in this blog!


MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

An image posted by the author.
pic and description taken from amazon.com





Wednesday, September 21, 2016

TBR READ-A-THON DAILY UPDATE AND CHALLENGE


Daily Updates Format

DAY OF THE CHALLENGE/DATE

Day 10 - September 21, 2016

Books Reading: 1
Listening To: 1

Pages Read: 237
Chapters Listened To: 98 out of 114

Total Books Read: 0

Total Pages Read: 237

Finished Books: 0

Umm...today was not a good reading day...Maybe tomorrow will be better :)

===================================

TODAY'S CHALLENGE

FALL CHALLENGE

This one is fairly easy. Pick books that are in fall colors and create a picture.

Well this one was a little more challenging.  I found out I don't have very many "fall" colored books.  Here is what I came up with any way. (lame, but that's all I got)




RANDOM PAGE AND PARAGRAPH CHALLENGE - FOR TACKLE YOUR TBR READ-A-THON



WELCOME TO MY CHALLENGE FOR THE TACKLE YOUR TBR READ-A-THON

I am so excited to be part of this.  Tressa @ Wishful Endings always does such a great job organizing this every year.  So, my challenge is.....

RANDOM PAGE AND PARAGRAPH CHALLENGE

For this challenge you can take any book, or the book you are reading and select a page and paragraph to share with the group.  Please don't give any thing away though.  Please leave the name of the book and the page you chose :).

You can either post on your blog and just leave a link in the comments or leave your page and paragraph in the comments...I will be using Rafflecopter to choose a winner.  What do you win??????


So, you MUST have a valid email address for me to send the gift to you.  The winner will be picked at the end of the TBR Read-a-Thon.  You MUST participate in the challenge to be considered.  The gift will be sent out 24-48 hours after the last day of the TBR RAT.


My Random Page AND Paragraph comes from:

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

Page:  212

Paragraph:

Professor McGonagall:  Harry, are you sure this is the right decision?  Because far be it from me to doubt the wisdom of the centaurs, but Bane is an extremely angry centaur and...it's not beyond him to twist the constellations for his own ends.

Cannot wait to see what you all have to add to this challenge!

TBR READ - A - THON CHALLENGE



SEPTEMBER 21 CHALLENGE:


THE CHALLENGE: Create a flag using books. (Taken from http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com)

Break out some books with red, blue, green, yellow, black, white, orange, gray, purple — arrange them so it looks like a flag.
Will you use the real flag of your nation? Or perhaps a flag from something you’ve read?
Remember— the object is to arrange some books to recreate a flag, NOT to just find a book with a flag on it!



Get your picture (real pic, collage from searching covers online, bullet journal drawing with book titles, etc) and put it online publicly for us to see. Use the hashtags #BookFlag and #TackleTBR when you post. Leave your link in the comments.

This was really fun to do, so thank you jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com for hosting this fun challenge!

Here is what I came up with :)


Flag of Germany

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

TACKLE YOUR TBR READ-A-THON - DAILY UPDATE AND NAME CHALLENGE



Daily Updates Format

DAY OF THE CHALLENGE/DATE

Day 9 - September 20, 2016

Books Read/Listen To: 2
Pages Read: 210 and listened up to Chapter 71 on my audible

Total Books Read: 0

Total Pages Read: 210
Finished Books: 0

I entered late, so I am not as far as most, but I will hopefully have two done by Wednesday or Thursday!

======================================
Name Challenge:

This challenge is all about your first name. Find a book that begins with each letter of your first name and spell it out. You can list the books or take a picture to share.



B - Brotherband by John Flanagan

E - Erasing Time by C.J. Hill

C - Cinder by Marissa Meyer

C - Cress by Marissa Meyer

A - As You Are by Sarah M. Eden

Thanks Tressa - that was a fun challenge


Monday, September 19, 2016

TACKLE YOU TBR READ-A-THON from WISHFUL ENDINGS!


I am a little late but have decided to enter this RAT!  This is my favorite.  I am a week behind, but I am going to hop on the train!  I copied this info from Tressa @ Wishful Endings

I don't have any real goals, because I hadn't planned on doing the RAT this year.  I have been swamped with family and daily to do's in my life.  I need a reason to read, and this is giving me that reason!!!!



Read-a-thon Info

  • From Monday, September 12th, to Monday, September 26th, wrap-up on the 27th
  • Sign up in the linky below (you must be signed up and then post a final update at the end of the RAT to be eligible for the giveaways I host
  • Participate from anywhere. If via the Goodreads group, put "Goodreads & Name" in the linky. If via commenting on my blog, put "Commenting & Name" in the linky.
  • Read anything. Comics, print books, ebooks, ARCs audiobooks, in any genre
  • There is not requirement for how much you read. Read as much as you can, even if that's one book.
  • You can sign up through September 24th
  • I'll be posting daily updates. You are not required to do the same, but please feel free to leave your update in comments to mine. Here is a suggested format:
Daily Updates Format

DAY OF THE CHALLENGE/DATE
Books Read:
Pages Read:
Total Books Read:
Total Pages Read:
Finished Books:

Schedule

This is the schedule for the read-a-thon, including challenges and giveaways (there is still some room for challenges where my blog is listed, so let me know if you'd like to host one by signing up on the original post here):

9/12: Kick-off
9/13: Wishful Endings First Line Challenge
9/14: Jemima Pett & Janette Rallison
9/15: Wishful Endings Duo Color Challenge
9/16: Katherine Reay on Wishful Endings
9/17: Hidden Worlds Books
9/18: Operation Awesome
9/19: Mid-Point Check-In & Twitter Chat (9 PM ET/6 PM PT - 10 PM ET/7 PM PT) using #TackleTBRChat
9/20: Wishful Endings Name Challenge
9/21: J. Lenni Dorner
9/22: Wishful Endings Fall Colors Challenge
9/23: The Book Monsters
9/24: Wishful Endings Random Book Challenge
9/25: Katie Teller's Stories
9/25: Challenge giveaway ends (for the challenges I'm hosting)
9/26: Read-a-thon Ends (no challenge)
9/27: Wrap-Up (giveaway won't close until the end of day to allow everyone to link up)

REVIEW FOR - ELLA - BY JESSILYN STEWART PEASLEE

26090582
pic and description taken from Goodreads


DESCRIPTION:

Reserved yet resilient, Ella Blakeley lives with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, without hope of escape—until the day Prince Kenton announces a ball that changes everything. Even without mice, magic, or fairy godmothers, Ella might discover a life that’s better than she ever dreamed. This intricately woven twist on Cinderella is an enchanting book you won’t be able to put down.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

When the description says you will not be able to put it down, it's true.  I started late Friday evening, and went into the morning because I couldn't put it down.  I devoured this book.

I love re-tellings when they are done well, and this one is done very well.  Cinderella is one of my all time favorite stories, so I knew when I opened the book I was in for the long haul.

Ella, is such a sweet, loving, kind, hardworking, and compassionate character.  She works all day to provide for her stepmother and horrible step sisters.  Her best friend in the world is Will Hawkins.  They grew up together, but when Ella's father died, her step mother fired most of the staff or just quit paying them so they left.

Will, is also an amazing character.  He is humble, kind, hard working, and obviously handsome.  His only real friend is Ella and although they don't spend much time together they obviously care for each other.

Will works at the Palace, and the Prince has just returned from travel and plans to have a ball to find his princess.  He invites the whole kingdom, peasants, and royalty to attend.

We all knows what happens from there right?  Well this one has a little spin on the ending, which I love more than anything.

This is such a fun read.  I enjoyed every moment of this book.  I cannot wait to read Ella's Will next!  Stay tuned for my review on that one :).

Source:   I bought this book for myself.  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

Content:  CLEAN and wonderful!

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

An image posted by the author.
pic and description taken from amazon.com







Sunday, September 18, 2016

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW FOR - THE WITNESS - BY NORA ROBERTS

12716613
pic and description taken from Goodreads


DESCRIPTION:

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever. 

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller -- and will leave people hungering for more.

MY REVIEW / THOUGHTS:

This is my first Nora Roberts novel, and I do have to say it was fantastic.  Elizabeth in this book reminds me of Bones from the show Bones.  She is so intelligent, yet cannot decipher sarcasm from reality.  She is awesome.

Elizabeth witnesses the murder of her friend and the man they went out drinking with get murdered.  She ran away from the scene and called 911.  She was put right into protective custody.  While in protective custody, she becomes very close with one of the Marshall's in charge of watching over her.  Elizabeth has an eidetic memory (a.k.a. photographic memory).  She remembers every detail of the night of the murder.  Every word said, every face, every name, everything.  Being the Key witness in the murder has put her right on the Russian Mafia's hit list.    

When in the safe house, Elizabeth has her first "real birthday" ever.  Her Marshall's brought her a cake and gifts.  When Elizabeth goes to change, her world is turned upside down again.

Soon we meet Abigail Lowery.  She is a quiet woman, in a small town.  She is a freelance programmer and likes her quiet life.  She prefers to be along, and has a top notch surveillance system.

The Sheriff of the town is quite intrigued by this quiet girl who only comes to town for groceries, and then retreats right back to her home.  No one really knows her, but Brooks hopes to change that.

Little by little Brooks breaks Abigail's walls down and they get closer.  This is when the book get interesting.  Like even more interesting.  When they finally form a relationship, Brooks and Abagail become a team.

We learn more and more about Abigail and more about the this little town she has been living in.  She has come to love it.

It only gets better and better the more you read in this book.  Roberts is a fantastic author.  Her characters are awesome, and so complex.  She makes you love and hate them very well.  You will love getting lost in this story.

Source:  I bought this book for myself.  I was not compensated in any way for this review.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

Content:  There is language and a few sex scenes that are descriptive.

MY RATING:

WHERE TO BUY:

    

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nora Roberts
pic and bio taken from Goodreads

Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. She began writing when a blizzard in February 1979 kept her in her hilltop home with a three and six year old for nearly a week of canceled kindergarten and dwindling chocolate supplies. 

During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write a story for her own entertainment. From the first page, she knew it was what she was meant to do. Several manuscripts and rejections later, Irish Thoroughbred was published by Silhouette in 1981.

The Liar, published in April 2015 by Putnam, is her 214th book. She hit the NY Times Bestseller list in 1991. Every book since 1999 has made that list.

Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist."

In 1995, she began writing a police procedural series featuring Eve Dallas, a NY homicide cop, and set in the near future under the J.D. Robb pseudonym. Devoted in Death, out in September 2015, is the 41st entry in the series