Skyping with Erin Berlin

Over on my librarian blog, I'm sharing our 4th and 5th grade book club finale - reading The Potato Chip Puzzle and skyping with the author. Check it out! 

Christmas in the Summer: YA Hot Chocolate Romance

Inspired by Ginger at GReads, I'm sharing my work in progress...here's the first page. I have a few more detail to work out before it's complete...but what do you think?

Chapter One: 21 days until Christmas (Saturday)

The two boys run past Kate, almost knocking her over. Instead of telling them to slow down, she watches their mother run off after them.  Turning away from the family, Kate notices a car pulling into the lot.  She grimaces as she recognizes Lila’s car.  She has no desire to get into a tussle with her arch enemy, especially in front of her mother. Neither does she wish to act as if Lila hadn’t just tried, unsuccessfully of course, to seal her boyfriend. 

Plus under her mother’s eye, she’ll have to behave perfectly.  Kate looks around and spies a family coming off the farm with their chosen tree.  Kate hurries forward eager to help them.  As she moves, her foot catches a piece of ice.  Kate tries to balance herself, but before she can, her feet slide out from under her.  She lands hard on her butt, dazed for a moment. She glances up to see Lila smirking down at her.

“Do you think you can help me, if you’re not too busy attempting to ice skate?”

Kate grits her teeth and smiles, “Of course.” She hauls herself up, taking care to brush off her butt, wincing at a tender spot.  “What sort of tree are you looking for?”

                “The perfect one, of course.”

                “Of course you are. Now, what shape are you looking for?”                        

                “Did I not just say the perfect tree? Maybe I need someone else to help me.” Lila looks around.

                Kate catches her mother’s eye who looks at her questionly.  Kate can’t afford another customer mishap.  She holds in a sigh and recovers, “I meant, how tall and how wide of a tree are you looking for?”

                Lila nods and thinks for a moment.  “Well it has to be the focal point of the room.”  Kate nods in understanding.  “I’m having a party, you see, and everything must be perfect.”  Kate nods again.

                “What room will you be placing the tree?”

                “The parlor of course.” Lila looks at Kate as if she’s stupid.

                Kate fights the urge to roll her eyes. Only Lila would call their living room a parlor. “What about needles, do you want short or long?”

                Lila shrugs, “Whatever’s best really.”

                “Do you want to look in our lot or would you like to see our selection of pre-cut trees?”

                Lila gives me a look, “I don’t think you really understand. I want you to find me the perfect tree. God is that so hard?  I’ll be in my car. Don’t take too long either.”

                Dumbfounded, I watch as she flounces towards her car.  Rooted to the spot, my mom startles me, “What was that about?”

                “That was Lila, I’m supposed to find her the perfect tree while she waits in the car.”

                Not surprisingly, my mother doesn’t comment on the rudeness of Lila’s behavior or commiserate that picking out trees is not in my job description.  Instead, she mutters, “We get all kinds.  Your Dad just brought down some fresh cut trees and put them in barn. Why don’t you start there?”

Adult Review: Ashford Affair

Addie and Bea grew up together, although they were cousins, they were as close as sisters. Addie knew that she would never have a debutante ball like Bea.  Then the war came and it changed everything.

After the war, they hit a rough patch. They didn't speak for several years, until Bea invites her to Kenya.

In present day, Clemmie's learning just how little she knows about her grandmother's life. As a high profile lawyer, she's put her entire life on hold to work for promotion. But the more she learns about her family, the more she begins to question her life choices.

As the stories weave together, the reader learns what happened to cause the rift between Bea and Addie and how they grew apart and why Addie went to Kenya to try to salvage their relationship.

My Thoughts: I loved the weaving perspectives and the shift in time periods. I loved reading the about the cousins' life. There was so much emotion: wary, anger, rage, sadness, and happiness. I couldn't put this book down! I wanted to uncover the truth about the relationship of Addie's and Bea. I wanted to find out what destroyed them. I wanted to understand why they did the things they did. Their whole world crumbled after the war as did their lives through the choices they made. I felt sorry for Addie for most of the book and I strongly disliked Bea.  I found Bea to be spoiled and expecting everything to go her way. While they were as close as sisters, it's clear that Bea was always the leader, always the important one while Addie was in the background. I enjoyed Clemmie's story -both her personal story and her quest for understanding and uncovering the truth about her grandmother's life. I love how bits and pieces unraveled. Such a wonderfully written tale that swept me away. 

Cover Thoughts: Not a huge fan
Source: My Library

Getting Ready for BEA: part 4

Now that BEA is officially here, the excitement is starting to grow! I'm so excited to talk with everyone about books and to meet new and old friends! I'll be sharing my tips each week until the big event! 

The last few things to talk about:

Phone: The wireless in the building is terrible - it will eat your battery. Double check that you have your charger because you WILL need it! Also think about taking the wireless capabilities off of your phone for the day. It will save your battery - somewhat. 

Manners: Don't forget these at home. It's hard when there are so many people, but we're all book people and we all just want to talk about books. Treat everyone with respect and don't push your way through. 

Fun: Have a blast there! It's meant to be fun. Yes it can be exhausting, but it's also like Christmas - getting to meet so many awesome people and talk about so many books!

Get your face out there: It's a week away! A lot of peoples' names I might not recognize, but I know your blog name. Add your blog name to your name tag. Add a photo of yourself to your blog:

This is me, say Hi if you see me, and I'll promise to do the same!

What's On My Hold List (49)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold at the library. I usually have 20-40 items checked out 

Five Summers: Sounds like the perfect summer book and I Love the cover!

Dad is Fat: Love Jim Gaffigan! Excited that he has a book. He talks a lot about food!

Tea Rex: Looks SUPER Cute!

Bones Never Lie: Sounds intriguing. 

Tween Tuesday Review: Wig in the Window

 * Comes out June 18th *

Sophie and Grace host midnight spy missions to improve their spy skills. Grace has wanted to spy on Sophie's school counselor Dr. Agford for ages. Grace has always found her suspicious, but Sophie never wanted to get too close. Dr. A has a reputation at school and Sophie doesn't need her attention.

They decide to peek in her windows, a one time exception. They see blood everywhere - and immediately call emergency services claiming to have witnessed a murder.

The next day at school, Sophie's called to the principal's office where her parents, Dr. A, and a police officer gather to talk about the incident the night before and the proper punishment. Now more than ever Sophie distrusts Dr. A. Could she be hiding something significant? If so, can Sophie figure it out without getting into more trouble?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book: spies, potential murder, and the investigation made it hard to put down. I wanted to uncover the truth about Dr. A. The many twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. The relationship between Sophie and Grace added tension. With Sophie being a public school and Grace being home-schooled, they had various view points of both school and social interactions. They also had different groups of friends. I found Trista entertaining, especially her prank. I hope there are more Young and Yang myseries planned as this was fantastic!

Cover Thoughts: Great
Source: Sent for review

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Book Covers. I'm going to talk about my top ten summer romance covers. It's hard not to judge a cover, but I love the covers that make me wish I was there. - enjoying the sun, the waves, and the magic.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Picture Perfect

Sleepaway Girls

Boys Next Door

Drive Me Crazy

Along for the Ride

Five Summers

We'll Always Have Summer

My Life Next Door

All I Need

This is What Happy Looks Like

Review: Our Song

Olive died for a little less than three minutes following a car accident. When she awakes in a hospital - her world has drastically changed. Three weeks later, she's beginning to understand.

Her mother no longer trusts her. Her boyfriend never came to the hospital to check up on her. The only people standing by her are her best friend and her younger brother. People talk about her at school. She can't sleep.

Her mother believes she needs to talk to a professional. She decides to travel outside her area to attend a Near Death Society support group. It's weirder than she ever imagined, but that's where she meets Nick.

Nick makes her feel things. The more time she spends with him, the better she feels. She might be neglecting her best friend and making her parents unhappy, but she's trying to find herself. Should she try to fall back in line or make her own path?

My Thoughts: I loved this book - I loved unraveling Olive's story and the layers of relationships. I liked the relationship between Olive and Annie. I like how Annie supported Olive, but wasn't afraid to tell her the truth. I enjoyed the side story of Annie's photography and Olive learning to like taking pictures.  Nick and Olive's relationship is adventurous, soul-searching, and sweet. I like how Olive's parents and her understanding of them changed throughout her journey. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute, but doesn't match the book, which is darker.
Source: My Library

Similar Read: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Mini Adult Review: Happily Ever After

At BEA two years ago, someone told me I should read the Bridgerton series. They were RIGHT, I devoured this series. I loved every book. Here's a new book of short stories sharing what happened after the books ended.

The Good: I love this family for their loyalty to each other, their quick wit, their banter, the strong female characters, and the humor. These stories made me laugh and made me sigh with happiness. If I had to pick, I think the pall mall story made me laugh the most. I love their competitive streak. All in all, it was perfection!

The Bad: There's nothing bad about this book, except it makes me want more!

If you haven't read this series, START THEM! The Duke and I is the first one.

* Even the puppy liked, he licked the book as it smells good! *

Tweets of the Week

Today on the HUB, is a round of tweets you might have missed this week.

Review: How Zoe Made her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

Zoe and her cousin become interns at Fairyland Kingdom.  Jess has her heart set on being a Princess, but Zoe's just amazed that she was accepted in the first place. It's been a rough couple of years, following the death of her mother. Jess has been with her every step of the way. Together, they imagine a summer filled with fun. 

Jess doesn't win the coveted Princess role, leaving her a very small chance of winning the $25,00 scholarship. Zoe isn't given a cast role, instead she's a Lady-in-Waiting for the Queen. She's the Queen's minion. 

She learns very early in the summer tips and tricks to make the Queen happy. She tries to obey at all times, even though she doesn't agree with the policies. It hardly makes her popular with the other interns. Still she tries hard to make everything run smoothly. If only she could figure out the identity of the boy who rescued her as he could be her Prince Charming. 

My Thoughts: Full Confession - I read this one day when I needed something happy and cheerful. It was just what I needed! I loved this book; I devoured it. I loved the "insiders" tips on the casts. I liked how the accommodations were different for the various cast levels. I like how the princes have access to an exclusive perfume. I liked learning all the rules the cast members have to obey. I liked watching Zoe try to figure out ways to thwart the rules while making sure the park runs smoothly. I also enjoyed her try to figure out the identity of her prince charming. I loved her interactions with Jess. All in all, a great fun read that made my heart happy. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library