Blog schedule…

Image from RealTime.

Due to some sick little ones I am behind on my blog schedule

I hope to catch everything up soon.

I hope you all are reading amazing things,

Stacking The Shelves #24

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, won, borrowed or were gifted.

New to Richard’s Shelf

I went to one of my favorite independent book stores, McDowell’s Emporium, to pick up a few books for Rebecca to give out on World Book Night and…they were having a bag/sidewalk sale!  Everything I could fit in a bag for $1!  What what!
 
Here’s what I got from the bag sale (all covers link to Goodreads):

 
I realize this is a random assortment of genres, but I was in that kinda mood.
Inside, they have a sale table, and these were on it…for $1.50 each:

 
And for “regular” price:

This edition has such a beautiful cover!  I was so excited to find it!  I was looking for a new series for Riah, and thought she might like this.  Rebecca has already started reading it to the girls!
 
I love a good used bookstore (McDowell’s also sells new books, but I didn’t even look at them!) and a good price on used books is even better!
 

New to my shelf

I only got one new book this week.

Thanks so much to Quirk Books for sending me this review copy. I haven't read all the way through The Resurrectionist yet but I have flipped through its pages. Y’all this book is a piece of art! I can’t wait to really give it my attention.

I hope everyone has a great book week.

Broken Sound (Brothers of Rock #2) by Karolyn James

About two weeks ago Karolyn stopped by the Spine to talk about her new series Brothers of Rock. I am excited to inform you that the second book in this series is now available!

Broken Sound

Brothers of Rock #2

Karolyn James

Rockstars expect women to show up at their hotel room, but when a woman shows up with an infant and tells Davey he is the father, his world is turned upside down.

Anna is a teacher and part-time waitress, desperate to make enough to pay off debts left to her by an ex-boyfriend who made her life a living hell. When her boss schedules her for an extra shift, he tells her it's her job to take care of a special guest... lead guitarist of Chasing Cross, Davey. The second Anna meets eyes with Davey, she feels something she's wanted for a long time. But with someone famous? That's impossible. Besides, Davey is there with a date.

When Davey returns to the restaurant, sans date, he asks to see Anna. She doesn't understand what he would want with her. He is a man with a big heart, kind eyes, and the true power that only a real rockstar could have. Then Anna learns the truth of Davey's life, from his haunted past to his rocky present. Still, she longs to be part of his future. But when Anna's own past turns potentially deadly, life and love suddenly collide in a way that could hurt everyone and leave someone dead.

Goodreads – Amazon

About the Author

 

Karolyn James is the pen name for award winning author, Karolyn Patterson.  This is a different side of Karolyn, one that doesn’t just explore relationships, but the sexuality within those relationships.
Website – Goodreads – Twitter

 
Happy reading,

Today is the day!!!

Click WBN image to go to site and look into being a giver next year.

I have been so excited for this date since I found out I was a book giver months ago. I will be going this afternoon to my old middle school to hand out copies of…

I know! I got an awesome book to give!!!

I got to give out my very first book this morning to my sweet neighbor. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks about it.

I can’t wait to share with you all the fun I have today.

To all the book givers and all those receiving books I hope you have an awesome day.

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Blood and Snow by RaShelle Workman

Click the banner to be taken to the tour site.

Blood and Snow: The Complete Set
RaShelle Workman
Publication date:  2013
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Goodreads   Amazon

Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White.

Snow isn't an ordinary girl. She doesn't know that yet.

When Snow gets bitten by a Hunter, her life is thrown into a whirlwind of change where instead of worrying about what to eat, she has to fight not to drink the blood of fellow high school students. She becomes a revenant - not quite human, not quite vampire.

With the help of an eccentric old Professor, his seven adoptive sons, and her best friend, Snow learns to control her blood craving. Sort of.  She drinks a bloodlust tea, but she'd rather drink from her Hunter.

Or, a human.

She also discovers a whole other realm, one filled with fairies, dragons, and magic. And not only does the Vampire Queen want her, but there's a pendant called the Seal of Gabriel created for Snow by the Vampire Queen's twin sister. And Snow's supposed to use it to restore balance to all magical creatures. Including vampires.

Review

When I saw that Blood and Snow was coming up for a blog tour I got very excited. I had already read the first four novellas a while back and was ready to continue this series as Workman tends to end each part with a cliffhanger to keep you coming back for more. I enjoyed this set of twelve novellas. If you are like me and love fairytale remakes and can handle a story being out there with all kinds of twist and turns… I think you will enjoy this too.

Workman’s writing style for her novellas made me feel like I was watching a thirty minute modern day fairytale show more than reading one book. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all! I had fun spacing out each episode and learning what was going to happen next in Snow’s life.

All the usual suspects are in this version of Snow White, and a few brand new ones. I had a love hate relationship with Snow in some of the episodes of Blood and Snow simply because she tended to not heed any advice that was given to her by people that cared about her. (Yes, I know this is YA and that’s just how it works.) Overall throughout the series I did like Snow and came to appreciate her growth as the story progressed. I enjoyed Workman’s take on the Seven Dwarfs! The seven “brothers” and their “dad” brought a comedy and sweetness at times when the story needed it. And of course Charming and the Queen are in Blood and Snow as well, but almost any info I give you on any one character will be a spoiler So I will stop that line of thought here.

I have to say the thing that keeps you coming back for more is constantly trying to figure out who Snow’s “True Love” is because so much of the story will dwell with that answer. My head felt a bit like a ping pong ball from episode to episode trying to answer that question for myself as there are more than two possibilities. To be honest I didn’t root for the same love interest throughout Blood and Snow which kept things fun and interesting.

Happy reading,

  

3 to 4 Moons:

This one was hard for me to rate because it is 12 novellas in one. I liked some of the instalments better than others, but overall I enjoyed the out there quirkiness of this Snow White remake.  

About the Author

RaShelle Workman is the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series ("Sleeping Roses" is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series. She's sold over two hundred thousand copies of her novels worldwide in the past year, including Japan, Canada, and Europe. You can find RaShelle all over the web, but the best place to start is on her blog: www.rashelleworkman.com.

 
Rashelle's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

Giveaway!

 

1 Amazon gifted e-copy of Blood and Snow: The Complete Set.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Children’s Review: Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart

Animal Grossapedia
Melissa Stewart
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Release Date: October 1, 2012
ISBN-10: 0545433487
ISBN-13: 978-0545433488
Source: Birthday present
Goodreads   Amazon

Think all animals are cute and cuddly? Read this book to discover just how disgusting they can really be!

There are plenty of books out there that focus on "gross" substances in the human body, but many animals use these same substances in ways that will surprise and fascinate kids! Did you know that Komodo dragons use their saliva to poison their prey, but mice use their saliva to heal their wounds? Could you guess that vomit is used by the sea cucumber to startle enemies and also by bees to make honey? Young readers will walk away grossed out and with an understanding of how different animals use spit, vomit, slime, poop, urine, and blood to survive.

What I thought about it

I got Animal Grossapedia for my birthday from my Grandma, I’m eight at last. When I pulled this book out of the gift bag I thought awesomeness! I knew I would love it because I LOVE learning animal facts and learning the gross animal facts looked like fun.

The cool thing about this book is…

Animal Grossapedia has lots of pictures that goes along with all the facts about the animals. I also liked that I could look up the different animals in the front of the book and go right to them.

Some of the things I learned…

There are actually Vampire birds called, Vampire Finches they live on the Galapagos island and actually eat blood. That’s creepy and cool! I have always known what Mosquitoes are but I didn’t know their wings beat 600 times a second, or that after they fill up on blood the back of their body turns red. Another fact I learned was a spider’s blood is blue not red, because they have different proteins than us.

Would I recommend other kids read this book?

Yes! kids that like learning about animals, or just like hearing gross stuff will like this just as much as I did.

Have fun reading,

 

4 Moons: I enjoyed learning about all these animals

 

Reviewer

Come back next Sunday for more kids reviews from an eight year old.

Stacking The Shelves #23

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, won, borrowed or were gifted.

What I got this week

Title: The Repeat Year
Author: Andrea Lochen
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-425-26313-6
Page Count: 400
 

Everyone has days, weeks, even months they wish they could do over—but what about an entire year? After living through the worst twelve months of her life, intensive care nurse Olive Watson is given a second chance to relive her past and attempt to discover where she went wrong… After a year of hardships, including a messy breakup with her longtime boyfriend Phil, the prospect of her mother’s remarriage, and heartbreaking patient losses at the hospital, Olive is ready to start fresh. But when she wakes up in her ex-boyfriend’s bed on New Year’s Day 2011—a day she has already lived—Olive’s world is turned upside down. Shouldering a year of memories that no one else can recall, even Olive begins to question herself—until she discovers that she is not alone. Upon crossing paths with Sherry Witan, an experienced “repeater,” Olive learns that she has the chance to rewrite her future. Given the opportunity of a lifetime, Olive has to decide what she really wants. Should she make different choices, or accept her life as she knows it, flaws and all?

 

Thanks so much to for providing me a copy! I am on tour and will be hosting a giveaway May 24 if you are interested.

 

So excited about this!!!

 

I totally got my box of books for World Book Night. On April 23, I will be giving out copies of The Lightning Thief to middle school kids. I am so flippin excited for this event! I cant wait to share my experience with y’all. 

Happy Reading,

Book Tour Review: All the Kings Men by Kat H. Clayton

Ok, y’all, continuing with the awesomeness that is this series, I am more than excited to be on this tour!  Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours and Kat Clayton!  Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of my review!

Title: All the King’s Men
Author: Kat H. Clayton
File Size: 501 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00C2H0XWE

Goodreads | Amazon

After a certain point, money is meaningless. It ceases to be the goal. The game is what counts.~Aristotle Onassis

There's a mystery floating in Charleston, South Carolina and it revolves around one word...Kythera. To anyone outside the city limits it means nothing, but to those who live there it's a word whispered in awe and respect or jealousy and hate.

Welcome to a world where money isn't the only name of the game.

All the King’s Men is the sequel to The Kings of Charleston and continues the adventures of Casper and Cal as they try to escape Kythera and the mysterious group looking to destroy the “K”. Will they leave behind everything they've known or will their association with Kythera destroy them before they can escape?

The Kings of Charleston asked, are you in? All the King's Men asks, will you survive? [Goodreads]

Review

All the King’s Men starts off with a bang.  And stuff happens, which I can’t really talk about because it will ruin so much, but basically, Casper and Cal are torn apart.  And Casper does the angsty-teen-pining-over-lost-love thing.  She goes to school, does her little social requirements; completely the opposite of Bella.  Which is good.  ‘Cause you all know how I feel about that codependent loser.  Where I had my reservations about Casper in The Kings of Charleston, I began to fall in love with her in All the King’s Men.  Rebecca and I had a long discussion about how teenage girls fall in love, etc.  And I began to see Casper through a different light, and it gave me a little more understanding into her character, how she acted…basically, I liked her better in this installment.  Her inner-strength and independence really shines and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for her in book 3!

I just wasn’t into the romance part of the story at all.  It felt sort of forced to me.  And even at the end, still felt a little one-dimensional.  Maybe it’s because I have never been a teenage girl.  Regardless, I was into everything else.  The mystery and intrigue both had me in their grasp.  What was going on with Casper’s mom?  Would Casper be able to complete the task given to her by Kythera?  What about this mysterious other group?  How many people would have to die? [Yes, lots of people die in this book!]

We also meet some new characters, one who I hope reappears in the next book: The bodyguard Brandon.  He was such a fun addition to the oh-so-serious cast of players.  He and Casper had a great brother-sister kind of rapport and I really like their scenes together.  It was natural and relaxed, removing some of the ever-building tension of the story. 

The other new one is Dev.  [I wrote these notes down while reading the book, as I often do; the answer to this is revealed by the end of the book!  No, I’m not going to tell you…read the book!] I can’t wait to find out what is up with Dev.  Is he CIA? FBI? A spy for a third group? Just a normal, sane high school guy?  There’s something about his character that I like, beyond Cal or Brandon or Casper.  I truly felt he was real and I connected with him and his story.  Though, I did keep waiting for something bad to happen to him. And what happened shocked me just a little, though Clayton hints about it toward the end of the story.  Just a little.  I was like, “Hmmm, is that what’s going on?”  But I wasn’t sure enough to settle on it.  So it still caught me by surprise!

Oh, the ending to All the King’s Men!  Kat, you outdid yourself!  You had me hooked with The Kings, now I’m addicted!  I want book 3 now!  Not in the Fall!  Wave your magic-word-wand that all authors have and whip this book out.  ‘Cause I need it.  I’m already going through withdrawal. 

All the King’s Men has some blow-your-mind twists, turns I never saw coming, and punch-in-the-gut action.  If you at all have thought about starting this series, DO IT!

4 Moons

Get to reading,

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Kat has been a writer her entire life, but never pursued a writing career until the characters from a short story she wrote in high school refused to go away. Finally, she sat down and wrote their story which would became The Kings of Charleston series.

Kat has been an avid reader her entire life. She enjoys all genres, but particularly Mystery and Young Adult. Mary Higgins Clark is one of her favorite authors who inspired her love of mysteries.

When she isn't writing, Kat loves to travel, try out new recipes and hang out with her husband. She is originally from Kentucky, but currently resides in South Georgia with her husband, a cat named Frank and a dog named Lil.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter