Mysterious Saturday Review: Final Sentence

 * first in a new series*

Jenna Hart's leaving her old life behind to help her aunt open The Cookbook Nook - a cafe and cookbook store. She even found the perfect celebrity chef for the grand opening - non other than her college roommate Desiree Divine.

Desiree comes to town with her entourage and shakes things up. Before she and Jenna have a chance to really catch up - Desiree ends up dead.  As Jenna's the one to find her body and it's revealed they had a fight, she becomes the number one suspect. It doesn't help that the police chief's mother points the finger at her and accuses her of the crime.

Now Jenna doesn't know what to do - but she needs to get to the bottom of this and clear her name.

My Thoughts: A fun start to a new series.  I love the small town charm and how Jenna's returned home. I love the Cookbook Nook - the blend of cook books, fictional foodie cozies, and cooking tools sounds amazing. I love the cafe and all the goodies Katie creates. It sounds like the perfect place. I liked learning more about Jenna's past and learning about the people of town. She had a heart-breaking few years and I liked seeing her gain her strength back. I can't wait to see what comes next for her and for the store. 

Cover Thoughts: Love it - especially the author's fictional books on the bottom bookshelf
Source: My Library

Friday Focus: Summer Reading Programs

With Summer Reading Programs in the news (here and here) and the wrap-up happening in so many libraries, I thought I would talk about that. Here's my post about the READING part of it. 

The programming part is different. This summer, I had to cancel most of my programs.  The library placed a rule in effect last August where  if there were not 5 teens at a program, the program would be canceled. There were a few bigger programs mixed in with small programs like movies or craft programs from leftover supplies.

Still it hurts turning away teens. After a while, the teens became frustrated and stopping coming. And I understand why. 

The kick-off program where we made monster brownies was very well received, as was monster marshmallows, and the finale party where teens had a chance to win prizes with raffle tickets earned by reading also had a good turnout. Everything else - not so much.

I had a few passive programs that four or five teens took advantage of - and won some small gift cards. I had a mix of movies, craft programs, and food programs - mostly with a monster/zombie theme.  Most of the programs were found from pinterest and seemed fun to me....so what gives?

Were the programs terrible?

I thought they were cool. I ran them by three teen interns during the school year and they thought they were cool too. 

Did they not know about the programs? We had a video PSA running at the schools for a least a week. I had at least a dozen kids ask me if I was that lady from the video in the first week of summer.

Were they too busy or the library not cool enough? Could be.

Could it be something else?

I'm at a loss here. Obviously next year, it's going to be revamped. I'm thinking about a kick-off and a finale program. AND THAT'S IT.  I just don't know what else to do and while I would hate not offering programs, I hate turning away teens even more.

Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about fun fiction... And this is the last week of Teen Reviews - until next summer.

Bunheads: 4 stars

Even regardless of the focus on ballet, I think "Bunheads" was a wonderful novel. I'm not a dancer, but Hannah's struggle shows the importance of pursuing your dreams and listening to your heart. The book also gives great insight about the huge effort it takes to be a dancer, which I never considered before reading this novel. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who are interested in dancing, sports, etc. because most likely you'll make a big connection to the main character.

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight: 4 stars

One of my main concerns about reading this book was off the bat, the fact that Oliver's mystery study was no mystery at all. After all it is the title of the book itself.

But as you read, you follow the life of Hadley who is having a hard time dealing with her father's new marriage. She is sent away to be a bridesmaid in England which she abosutely dreads until she meets cutie Oliver, an English student at the airport and who she instantly has this sort of connection with.

The two of them end up sitting next to each other on the plane and speak for hours.

It's a nice quick read for those who enjoy the "fluffy" romance scene. It takes place over a course of 24 hours.

The story is pretty short and the reading level isn't that high. If you'd enjoyed a novel similar to the Notebook, this would be for you.

Infinityglass: Contest

Earlier in the week, I reviewed INFINITYGLASS and now you have a chance to win your own copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What's on My Hold's List (58)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold .

Grumpy Cat: How could I resist?

Atlantis Rising: Love that idea of Atlantis and I love T.A. Barron.

Mug Cakes: I just bought this for the YA Collection - can't wait to test some out while finding a fun program idea! 

If You Like Pins (5)

At work, I made a few similar reads pins for our Pinterest page...

Going Too Far and books about older teens...

Wintergirls and books about serious topics

Princess Diaries (enough said)

Tween Tuesday Review: Unstoppable

 * first in a new spin-off series *

Six months ago - Amy and Dan stopped an evil plan and now they're dealing with the consequences. Someone just tried to kill them at a funeral. Just as they escape, they spot someone taking their picture.

Now it's posted on a gossip site. After researching the site, they figure out the owner. What they find is worse than expected. The owner seems to have a personal vendetta against them.

If his goons aren't trying to ruin their reputation, they're trying to scare them or worse - kill them. Soon the pieces of the puzzle click into place for Amy.

She doesn't know this man - but he rose to the top awfully quick. Pierce must have the serum. Amy doesn't know what he's planning to do with it, only that it's up to her to figure it and stop him.

My Thoughts: I love the 39 Clues books - lots of action, danger, and suspense. It's hard for me to put the books down. In this new spin-off series, I feel for Amy. She's trying to grief for the ones she lost and for her romantic feelings. She's feeling inadequate and yet has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Pierce is a formidable villain - cunning, ruthless, and dangerous on the inside, but charming on the outside. I liked the addition of Waldo and am curious to see where that's going to go. A fantastic start to a new Cahill series. 

Cover Thoughts: Fun
Source: BEA
Release Date: October 1st

Top Ten Tuesday:

This week's topic is secondary characters -that maybe should have a book of their own! I had a tough time with this one, making me double curious to see what everyone else came up with and what books I forgot.

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Hermoine - love her as a character and will always want to read more!

Janco and Ari from Poison Study

Lissa from Vampire Academy series (I actually thought her story would be Bloodlines)

Daphne from Mythos Academy series

Hale from Heist Society 

Bea and Neerja from Smart Girls Get What They Want

Doe from Forgive My Fins series

Rob from the 1-800-Where R You series

Review: Infnityglass

 * Book 3 in the Hourglass trilogy (Hourglass and Timepiece)*

Hallie has always lived a sheltered life -without knowing the real reason. When Dune comes into her life, she believes he's the new security detail.

She gives him the slip but he finds her. She pesters him, until he comes clean and tells her the truth.

It turns out - she could fix EVERYTHING - but only if Hourglass can keep her safe. People want to use her as weapon, including her own mother.

Hallie knows the dangers, but she's not about to go down without a fight.

My Thoughts: I really love this trilogy - for the romance, the nerdy references, the danger, and the intrigue. I love the idea of time travel. I found Hallie to be snarky and amusing, always pushing the envelope to get attention, but also tough and lonely. I admired her - for her strength and determination.  I love Dune - with his sad past but potentially bright future. I love how he took Hallie's challenges head on. I enjoyed the dual perspectives. I'm sad to see these characters go...

Cover Thoughts: Pretty
Source: Sent for review.

If you want to read this book, stay tuned for a giveaway later this week.

Adult Review: Rose Harbor In Bloom

 * Sequel to The Inn at Rose Harbor *

Jo Marie has an open house on Sunday, but before she can worry about that, she has a weekend full of guests at the inn and a rose garden she wants planted.

Annie's been planning her grandparent's 50th anniversary party; helping keep her mind off her own broken engagement. She wants everything to be perfect, but she never counted on her grandparents bickering all the time. What happened to the couple who looked at each other with love?

Mary shouldn't have made the trip - but she couldn't resist. She used to be so happy on the west coast and then on the east coast. Now everything's changed.

Was the ghost of Paul right - could Inn be healing everyone who stays there?

My Thoughts: I devoured this book - I love seeing old friends from Cedar Cove pop up and meeting new friends. I love the relationship between Jo Marie and Mark. I love Mark's gruff behavior but sweet nature underneath. My heart broke for Mary and George but I love the way the book ended for them. I liked Annie and her grandparents. They were sweet, but funny when they give each other a hard time.  I liked learning more about Oliver and his relationship to the family. I like the tiny tidbits we learned from the inn's previous guest. A huge fan of these books, I'm already anticipating  the next book in the series. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: my Library.

Mysterious Saturday Review: Heirs and Graces

* Book 7 in the Royal Spyness series* 

Lady Georgiana and her mother were all set up in a house in London, when things changed. Her mother decided that her memoir was simply too juicy to share, Plus her boyfriend wanted to rent a house in Switzerland.  Off she goes, leaving Lady Georgiana on her own.

Lady Georgiana has no idea where to turn. She doesn't want to go back to Scotland and her sister-in-law's forbidden her the use of the London House. Finally she wrote to the Queen - who asks her for tea with an old friend. The Queen's friend needs help teaching a long lost heir English manners.

Off Lady Georgiana goes to a country house, where the Duke isn't interested in either his family nor his duty continuing the line.  The lost heir from Australia arrives and days later the Duke is murdered.

Now the party's stuck at the house while the police investigate. Lady Georgiana stumbled upon the body and has quite a few opinions about the murder. No one likes to be stuck in a house with a murdered on the loose - or worse in the same house. 

My Thoughts: I love the Royal Spyness series - in this addition I love that Lady Georgiana landed a plum assignment (with a nice house and plenty of food.) I was impressed that she did ask the Queen for help and I love that the Queen sends her on these little assignments. I liked the differences of viewpoints between the Duke and the Dowager duchess- a relaxation of the rules and the struggles to maintain tradition. I loved the moments with Belinda - she adds a spark of humor. I loved that Darcy dropped in, unexpectedly as always. He's rather dreamy. So looking forward to the next book to see what scrapes Lady Georgiana will get into next.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library.

Friday Focus: Summer Reading

With Summer Reading Programs in the news (here and here) and the wrap-up happening in so many libraries, I thought I would talk about that.

I love the idea of summer reading because it allows teens (and kids) to read something for fun. 

This year, 107 teens signed up at the library and read 704 books in 6 weeks. They were required to write a mini review in order to log their books.  These are the reviews you see featured on Teen Thursday Review, next week will be the last one.

I love seeing them come into the library and leave with a huge stack of books. I love talking with them about books and offering suggestions. It's awesome when they come back looking for more. I LOVE that so much reading happens.

Then there are the rewards. I have mixed thoughts on rewards. Are they necessary? Will teens read without them? Maybe, but they won't let you know it. After switching to online software, my numbers jumped. I had 3 times as many teens reading and reviewing for prizes. It was also the first year that we had money to spend on prizes and didn't rely on donations. Coincidence? I think not. I'm not crazy about reading incentives, but they do seem to work. My teens really enjoyed them

The candy is always a big hit. This year rolls of duct tape made lots of them happy. 

As for the prizes - I've changed things up over the years. It used to be weekly raffles. Then it was a store. And for the past two years, it's been a tier system.  The tiers have worked out great. The first tier is a box of candy you would take to the movies. The second is a smallish prize, $5 or less. The third tier is book. The fourth, fifth, six, and seventh tier is a choice between a book or raffle tickets.  The raffle tickets are used at the finale event for bigger prizes. This year, for the first time, we had a finale prize of the Blu-ray player. Plus we had several smaller prize packages with books, posters, and gift cards. The cost for this year was roughly $500 - not including the books. All of the books were donated by me (books that I get because of this blog), books from BEA, or some gently used books donated by the public. If the prizes were not taken, I use them throughout the year for other programs or save them for next year.

While at the finale, one person can take home the majority of prizes, but everyone goes home with something. I bake goodies, buy candy, and throw a small party. It's fun and the teens who attended loved it!

The Reading portion for the summer was a complete success - teens read lots of books, which is my goal. It's nice where there are a lot of teens reading. I had less teens reading this year, but more teens reaching the end goal of the program. So the teens who liked reading, read several books and some read a small amount. I count both as a win. The teens who read had to come into the library to get their prizes, many of whom aren't the normal teens who come into the library in the school year. They get to see the teen room, which is great. 

Mostly, I love seeing teens reading and books in their hands.True, it's a very small portion of teens participating when looking at the numbers from the schools. Does that diminish the success of it? Not in my eyes. Teens reading = awesome. And if it takes a few prizes, I'm willing to figure all that out. 

(Summer Programming is a different story - up next week)

Kids Book: How Roland Rolls

Roland loves being a part of the ocean, but he's scared that once he comes across shore - that will be the end of him.  He has too many adventures to finish and too many friends that he doesn't want to leave behind.

My Thoughts: I really liked it - it was cute. I liked the rhythm of the story (reminded me of the Night Before Christmas).  I liked the message - how you're just a bigger part of something else. Plus you're never alone; there's always someone nearby.

Illustration Thoughts: I liked how the words became part of the illustration. Several pictures are amazing. I wasn't a fan of the ones with all the eyes - but I think kids will like them. 

I really liked the photos of the faces at the end of the book, which the illustrator used. Love the idea of kids making their own Roland faces and posting them online.

Overall: A fun book that's a little different and that kids will love.  It's quirky and fun! Welcome to the book world Jim Carrey!

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Sent for review
Out September 3rd.

Favorite Mugs

Last week, I enjoyed Epic Reads mug post and decided to open my cupboards and post my favorite mugs.

Library of Congress: 

Library Goddess: 

Well Behaved Women:

Minnie Mouse

Snowmen - perfect for huge cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Of course a Harry Potter Mug:

What's on your shelf?

Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about fun fiction...

Farewell to Charms: 4 Stars

"A Farewell to Charms" was actually a book I had been anticipating to read when it came out. As a part of the "Princess for Hire" series that I have also read before finally indulging in this fairy-tale-like novel, there is a bit of background to this book. However, Lindsey Leavitt explains all the details from prior books at the beginning of every new edition so you don't actually have to read the entire series. "A Farewell to Charms" is a story about Desi Bascomb who works for an agency known as Facade, whose service is replacing royals with magical substitutes when royals want to escape from their daily life. Desi keeps this secret unknown until she meets Reed, a prince substitute, who she falls for. Unfortunately, her best friend, Kylee, also has a crush on him. When Desi decides to act on a dark secret of Facade's, she bonds with Reed and together they embark on a risky journey to ensure magic isn't stolen. While some of the mistakes Desi makes can be slightly annoying, I enjoyed this book- probably because of my love for fairy-tales and anything related to fairy-tales.

The Thirteenth Child: 4 stars

This book revolves around a set of magical twins, maybe the most powerful twins in their time. One twin struggles with being unlucky with her immense magic, while the other excels in all his subjects. It's an interesting book, though sometimes slow.

What's on My Hold's List (57)

My Librarian friend Jess from I Read to Relax came up with a great idea.  It's to highlight the books on hold .

Hunter Moran Saves the Universe: Looks super cute!

True Spies: LOVED Lord and Lady Spy! Can't wait for more - did you see the trailer?

To be Perfectly Honest: Love her books!

If You Like Pins (4)

At work, I made a few similar reads pins for our Pinterest page...

Game of Thrones - one of my favorite series of all time

Alex Rider - a fun action/thriller series

Eragon - dragons and fantasy

Here's where you can find the rest.

Review: Dangerous Girls

Anna and her friends are celebrating Spring Break in Aruba and having the time of their lives.

Then everything changes: an intense, out of control vacation turns deadly.

Elise hasn't been answering her phone. They're worried about her. Finally they break into her room - and discover Elise lying in a pool of blood- murdered.

The house hasn't been vandalized, except for the balcony door.

Anna's friends have alibis. Her alibi is her boyfriend Tate. The police question them - hard. It's revealed that they weren't together the entire afternoon.

Now Anna's on trial for murder. She had no idea how this happened, but she's fighting for her life. 

My Thoughts: I read this book weeks ago, devouring it in one sitting and I'm still thinking about it. I like the set-up of the book - the timeline and how it goes back and forth from the time Anna and Elise met throughout the trial. I liked learning about their friendship. I loved trying to uncover what really happened that afternoon.  That ending - slammed into me and made me think. A perfect ripped from the headlines book that teens will gobble up - just like I did.

Cover Thoughts: I like it!
Source: my Library.

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic is Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier 

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

The Library - I get most of the books I read from the library. As a librarian, I'm a HUGE supporter of libraries. I love the cooperation between them and the inter-library loan system. No one library can buy all the books, so it's great sharing.

Goodreads Reading Challenge: I love being able to track the books I've read during the year and I can go back and look at them.

GoodReads: tracking the books in my TBR pile

Twitter: I love getting book recommendations from friends

Twitter and Facebook: I love being able to share my blog posts and to find interesting posts from other blogger friends.

Authors and publishers: for getting the word out about books I can't wait to read.

Reading Challenges: Joining a challenge makes me more aware of the books I'm reading or can get me out of my comfort zone.

Book Memes: Joining in makes me really part of the blogging community 

Happy Flicker and Burn Day

I really enjoyed the sequel to Cold Fury - check out my review here.

Plus, watch the trailer! 

 
Official Flicker and Burn Book Trailer from T.M. Goeglein. Subscribe to the Cold Fury channel on Vimeo.

Review: Symptoms of My Insanity

Izzy can't turn off her brain. She can't stop  thinking of all the things she must finish for her art portfolio. Her BFF wants her to help out with a play. Her mom needs help with the dance fundraiser she's hosting. Between all this and homework, Izzy barely has time to breathe.

Plus she worries about the message her body's sending, she worries about her mother's health, and she's a hypochondriac.  When looking at her computer, she spies a support group chat room, where her mother's made a post; Izzy worries about her mother's cancer returning. She doesn't understand why she's keeping it a secret.

The only bright spot in her day is losing herself in her act. But with all this pressure p it's hard to get anything done.

My Thoughts: It's not a book that I would have normally picked up on my own, but I'm Glad that I read it. I really liked Izzy and my heart went out to her and her struggles - I liked following her brain and her thought process. I wanted to hug her over her body issues, especially for what she had to go through. I admired her strength and her courage. I loved her friends standing up for her. A heart wrenching and very real contemporary novel filled with family drama, friendship drama, and romantic drama that warmed my heart. 

Cover Thoughts: I like the cleanness of it and the red title pops.
Source: Sent for review

Mysterious Saturday Review: Grace Takes Off

 *4th book in the series *

Grace and Bennett have spent the last two weeks in Europe.  They end their journey with a visit to Bennett's oldest friend. After looking at Nico's impressive art collection, Bennett becomes uneasy.  It isn't until the next day on the plane that he confides in Grace that the piece is a fake.

Before they have time to discuss it further, Grace uncovers one of the passenger's trying to kill Bennett.

They didn't know anyone on the plane and that plane wasn't their original way home. Why would someone want to hurt Bennett? As usual, Grace isn't about to let this go. 

My Thoughts: The 4th book in the series leaves me wanting more. I love Grace - her openness, her loyalty, and her passion.  I love her interaction with people from Bennett to Francis to her roommates. I love Francis and her sharp tongue. I like the way they work together now. I love how Bennett helped her gather her strength from the last book. I found Hillary amusing but irritating. I can't wait to see what happens next between the family. 

Cover Thoughts: Cozy
Source: My Library

Top Ten Tuesday: Spin-off

Tuesday's list dealt with Settings - I picked England. Here's the list of teen books I love set in England.

Courtesy of  www.freeworldmaps.net

Here's my adult list - I have to confess that with adult books, I have a harder time picking favorite books, so I'm dividing the list between authors and books. Most of the books are regency romances with a few contemporary ones. 

Jane Austen

Julia Quinn

Sarah MacLean

Sophie Kinsella

Wallflower series

From Notting Hill with Love Actually

Bridget Jones

I"ve Got Your Number ( Love Sophie Kinsella's book)

Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior 

Lord and Lady Spy

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

Friday Focus: E-ARCs

After reading this post: Requesting ARCs - I thought I should talk about my feelings on E-ARCs. It's not exactly collection development, but I do use ARCs as a means of deciding to purchase books for the library...so it is relevant.

While I understand the cost of printing ARCs and using E-Galleys, I'm not just that targeted audience.

At first I thought I could read them. I even bought a kindle after years of refusing. And...of course I barely use it. I've read less than a dozen books on it since purchasing at least two years ago.

Reasons Why I Don't Read on my Kindle:
1. There never seems to be a battery charge (This could be because I rarely use it)
2. I much more prefer holding the physical book.
3. I forget about the books on it when looking for the next book to read and head right for my bookshelf

While there are great books on Netgalley, I've found myself not using their servcies. I used to feel bad about this because there were books I wanted to read so desperately...but then I wouldn't. Or I would start them, but wait until the book came out to finish. Recently I've come to terms with the fact that ebooks just aren't for me.  I no longer feel bad about waiting for the book to be published before reading it.

There are always going to be books I'm waiting to read - it's part of the fun.

Thoughts? Am I alone in this? 

Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about fun fiction...

Oh My Gods: 4 stars

This was a very fun book about the modern world mixed with ancient Greek Gods. A very nice teen read with a mix of mythology. I enjoyed it.

Prisoner B-3087: 4 stars

This book is great! It is based on the true story of a Holocaust survivor. It describes his experiences during the Holocaust.

Take a Bow: 5 stars

As a music-obsessed teenager I really enjoyed the novel. This book reminded me of the amazing book, "lemonade mouth" which is probably why I liked it so much.

Relic from SohoTeen

CHRONICLE: Before the Books of Eva tells the story of Madeline, the very first female to participate in the Testing for New North, after the Healing drowned the world...
 

Each year, the finest Gallants in New North embark on the Testing, a harrowing rite of passage through the frozen wastelands to recover Relics, artifacts from the evil time before the Healing. About these Relics the Testors construct their Chronicles, illustrating mankind’s depravity, his Vanity, his love of Tech, his sins too numerous to count. All true Chronicles are collected and made part of the Lex’s Holy Truths, year by year.

The Chronicle.  Nothing is more vital to the resolve of the inhabitants of the New North, the last inhabitants of an Earth flooded by the Healing. But not all Chronicles are deemed True. And not all Testors are Gallants. One year there was a Maiden, Madeline, the first but not the last. Braving the perils of the Testing, she discovered a Relic that, if Chronicled, would be the New North’s downfall...

Go here for more details: RelicTheBook.com.

Books I'm Dying to Read: October Edition

Here's a list of books I can't wait to get my hands on come October!

Allegiant: Can't wait to read the end of this trilogy - but at the same time, I don't want it to end.

Princess in the Opal Mask: 2 Girls trying to uncover the mysteries surround their upbringing.

Lost in London: Looks super cute, plus love books in England

Unstoppable: The next series in the 39 Clues books (I actually scored this at BEA and loved it - review coming soonish)

Exile: Loved the first book in this series- can't wait to read more!

Home for Christmas: I can't believe this is the final book in the Canterwood Crest series. Happy that it's a Christmas special!

Sum of All Kisses: LOVE Julia Quinn - I especially love the how the characters are all woven together.

The Arrangement: I really liked the first book in this series. 

Governess of Highland Hall: Sounds like a Downton Abbey type novel - in the same era.

Longbourn: Love anything to do with P and P - got this one at BEA and can't wait to devour it!

Premeditated: Dinah's cousin killed herself over a boy - and that boy is going pay.

Red: Felicity needs her red hair to win a pageant - except her hair isn't really red and someone knows her secret.

Unbreakable: Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code = sold!

Golden Malicious: Love this series set in a New England town and perfect for fall

Poisoned Prose: I quite enjoy this bookish series

Billionaire Blend: Love this coffeeshop series

Russian Roulette: The final book in the Alex Rider series. I thought that last one was the final book, but I'm happy there's one more.

History Decoded: This looks intriguing! 

Snatchabook - heard lots about this a BEA -sounds sweet

Take Me Home for Christmas: Love this charming small town series and Christmas stories

Starry Night: Love Debbie Macomber books and again - Christmas