Top Ten Tuesday: Hard to Read

This week's topic is books that were hard to read. Most of the books I have a hard time reading because I know they're going to make me cry or give me all the feels. But sometimes it's the main character; if we do click, then it's hard for me to like the book. That includes some of their choices which I have a hard time getting past...

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

 

 

 This is probably the biggest one, but I read it this summer and I loved it even though it did make me cry

 

I wasn't expecting this to be a YA Nicolas Sparks novel

 

Powerful and sad that this was  based on a true story  

 

I had to read this one, but it wasn't my cup of tea at all. 

Took me a while to get into these - mostly because of the characters and their flaws. While I ended up liking them overall, they made me hesitate.

 

 

Tween Tuesday Review: At Your Serivce

Chloe Turner wants to be just like her dad - a concierge extraordinaire.  She and her dad live at the Hotel St. Michele in New York City. Chloe loves the perks of loving in the hotel and she loves helping guests, especially those closest to her age.

In fact, after a successful trial run, Chloe's proven herself, becoming a Junior Concierge. So when a royal family comes to town, Chloe's excited to show them around her city.

Unfortunately, all her plans aren't interesting to the royal kids. As much as Chloe attempts to plan something for each of them (2 princesses and one prince), no one ends up happy. The youngest princess has a habit of slipping away. When determining where to go next, the group realizes that she's missing. Instead of telling their detail, they slip away themselves desperately trying to find the princess before something happens and before their father finds out and everyone gets into massive amounts of trouble. Will this be the first epic fail in Chloe's career?

My Thoughts: I really liked this book - it's a super cute read with great characters. I loved Chloe - for trying to make the hotel guest happy. I loved the moments in the hotel - and Chloe being able to use it as her playground. I really liked her best friend Paisley. I liked how the royal siblings took Chloe out of her element, but how she fought back to make them see how great New York City can be. The two siblings and the two best friends running around New York City was entertaining and I learned a little bit more about the great city. Friendship, a little romance, trying to do the right thing, and chasing your dreams all add up to make this book a winner.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library  

Blog Tour: Devil's Intern

I'm happy to be hosting today's spot on The Devil's Intern blog tour. Thanks Donna for hanging out with us. Let's started.

1. If you could travel backwards in time, where would you go?

I love British history, so it would be either the time of the Tudor court, or to the time of Queen Victoria. I'm a bit of a monarchist.

2. Would you rather travel backwards or forwards in time?

Definitely back. I don't want to see the future. I don't want to see my past either! I'm going way back to someone else's past.
 Same - I would love to travel back to Renaissance Italy or Jane Austen's era.

3. If you could take one item back/forwards with you, what would it be?

I'd love to travel back in time, and so I'm taking toilet paper! I'm a bit of a princess and definitely couldn't rough it!
 Love this answer! And Yes, that's a great object to bring back

4. Have you ever had a really bad job or interview?

My worst job was washing up in a bakery. I was fourteen years old and washed the kitchen equipment for 8 hours a day. It was awful. The boss was a total creep too. I didn't realize what he was doing at the time was harassment, so as I've grown older and more experienced, I've taken steps to ensure I'm in a position to protect co-workers who are the victims of harassment and bullying. My advice to any teen in that situation is tell someone, preferably a parent. No one should have to suffer in silence. Regardless of age, you deserve to be treated with respect.
 Oh, that's awful!

5. What book are you reading now?

I'm reading Cassandra Clare's MORTAL INSTRUMENTS series. I'm on book 5. I'm also rereading Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER series. I reread books a lot, but to be honest I'm just counting down the hours until BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE by Maggie Stiefvater is released. I'm a huge fan.

6. Do you have a favorite book from childhood that influenced your writing?
 The one book that has really stayed with me is THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. There are parallels between that and THE DEVIL'S INTERN: magical traveling, four main characters, but I've gone to great lengths to ensure no religious allegory, even though my setting is Hell! A great book makes you want to live in its pages, and I definitely checked my grandmother's wardrobe until I was well into my teens for the entrance to Narnia!

7. What's your favorite (or one of your favorite) Harry Potter scenes?

The moment in PRISONER OF AZKABAN when it's revealed that Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew! That scene just blew me away. It's my favorite book in the series anyway, but the time-traveling aspect is faultless. And J.K. Rowling's use of foreshadowing is inspirational. 

About the Book:
“How did you die?”

It's the most popular question in Hell, and Mitchell Johnson has been answering it ever since he was hit by a bus at age seventeen and inexplicably ended up in the Underworld. Now Mitchell is The Devil's intern in Hell's accounting office. Lately, he's noticed a disturbing trend: the volume of new arrivals is straining Hell's limited resources. Then Mitchell overhears his boss discussing plans to limit newcomers with a legendary time travel mechanism. With a device like that, Mitchell realizes, he could change history and prevent his own death.

Mitchell's plot goes awry when his three closest friends—Alfarin, the Viking prince; Elinor, from 17th-century London; and Melissa, from 1960s San Francisco—insert themselves into his plans. It soon becomes clear that the fates of all four are entwined in dangerous and unpredictable ways. With unforgettable characters and a thrilling premise, this original novel is by turns funny, poignant, and thought-provoking.

Learn More:

·         http://holidayhouse.com/

·         https://twitter.com/HolidayHouseBks

·         https://www.facebook.com/HolidayHouseBks

·         http://www.pinterest.com/holidayhousebks/

Prize Package:
offered only to U.S. residents ages 18+.
Win a copy of the book!

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Nonfiction Review: Football then to Wow!

I fully confess that I don't know much about football. I watch it occasionally and usually with a book in my hand. I know the basics of the game and how it's played, but I don't know the history of the sport. I'm not one to memorize STATs of the players, but I appreciate a good player.

I found this book fascinating. I liked learning more about the history of the sport, although probably the set-up of the book helped too. The timelines were great - not overcrowded with too much information, illustrations to help make the points, and humor.  The book talked about the rules, how the ball's changed, the different type of equipment used over the years, the Stadiums, the fans, the salaries of players, and the STATs. Important players through the decades were highlighted and the book talked about how the positions have changed over the years as the game grew. They talked about coaching styles and if offense or defense won more Super Bowl championships. I enjoyed the part of how technology changed the game, especially Draft Day.

A remarkable book for football fans of every age or for anyone wanting to learn more about the sport. Great book for libraries!

Mysterious Saturday Review: Raging Heat

* Book 6 in the Nikki Heat Series *

Nikki Heat catches a case of an illegal immigrant falling from the sky and crashing into a building - with his hands tied his behind his back. As she digs into the murder, she finds herself a suspect.

Unfortunately, the man has clout - he's the Commission of the Port Authority. As the case widens, Rook believes that Heat's arrested the wrong man. His doubts, shared with others lead to a whole lot of trouble.  The man's let go and Heat finds herself accused of a witch hunt.

The clock's ticking on her murder investigation, especially since a hurricane's making it's way up the coast. Sandy's due to hit and everyone's predicting a major storm.

Can Heat get her murder investigation and her romance on track before taking cover for the storm?

My Thoughts: I really love this series - I love how it follows the show to a certain extent, but it also wildly different. I liked the setting of this book against Super Storm Sandy, it gave a sense of urgency to the book.Lots of action, danger, and romantic issues kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I needed to see how everything was going to turn out - and oh - what an ending. I can't wait for the next book to see how Nikki adapts. If you're a Castle fan of if you like a great mystery with lots of action - read these books.

Cover Thoughts: Great
Source: My Library

Top Ten Tuesday Spin-off: Adult Books

This week's topic is the top books in your fall to-be-read pile. I view fall as October/November or the last week in September since the books haven't arrived yet. So here we go...

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

 

Giveaway: In the Afterlight

              

 IN THE AFTERLIGHT by Alexandra Bracken

In stores October 28^th  

BOOKS in the SERIES

Book 1: The Darkest Minds

eBook Novella 1.5: In  Time

Book 2: Never Fade

eBook Novella 2.5: Sparks Rise

Book 3: In the Afterlight

 

ABOUT SPARKS RISE (The Darkest Minds: 2.5 e-Book release)

Available online September 2, 2014

This New eBook Novella connects the last two novels in The Darkest Minds trilogy.

Sam didn't think things could get worse at Thurmand rehabilitation camp. Then the Reds arrive. Everyone assumed the kids with firepower had been killed years ago. Instead they were taken away, brainwashed, and returned as terrifyingly effective guards. To her horror, Sam recognizes one of them: Lucas, the one spark of light in Sam's dark childhood. 

Lucas has a deadly secret--he beat the brutal training that turned his fellow Reds into mindless drones. When Sam defends herself against an attack by a vile PSF guard and faces a harrowing punishment, Lucas must risk his everything to save her.

ABOUT IN THE AFTERLIGHT 
Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. Only Ruby can keep their highly dangerous prisoner in check. But with Clancy Gray, there's no guarantee you're fully in control, and everything comes with a price.

When the Children's League disbands, Ruby rises up as a leader and forms an unlikely allegiance with Liam's brother, Cole, who has a volatile secret of his own. There are still thousands of other Psi kids suffering in government "rehabilitation camps" all over the country. Freeing them--revealing the governments unspeakable abuses in the process--is the mission Ruby has claimed since her own escape from Thurmond, the worst camp in the country.

But not everyone is supportive of the plan Ruby and Cole craft to free the camps. As tensions rise, competing ideals threaten the mission to uncover the cause of IANN, the disease that killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others with powers the government will kill to keep contained. With the fate of a generation in their hands, there is no room for error. One wrong move could be the spark that sets the world on fire.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandra Bracken was born and raised in Arizona, but moved east to study at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.  She recently relocated to New York City, where she worked in publishing and lives in a charming apartment overflowing with books. 

LEARN MORE

Visit Alexandra online at www.alexandrabracken.com

Follow Alexandra on Twitter & Instagram

Like Alexandra on Facebook

Follow Alexandra on Tumblr

Visit Hyperion Teens at the Official Site & on Twitter

PSI GROUPS

All 5 PSI groups have their own prize packages. I'm representing the RED PYROKINESIS group. Take a look at some of your other favorite book bloggers for more prize packages (more than 50 blogs are participating this month and next month)

 
 PRIZE PACK

RED PSI PRIZE PACK (PYROKINESIS)

Set the world on fire! Enter for your chance to win a custom Darkest Minds candle and The Darkest Minds series and tote bag.

Prizing and samples courtesy of Disney-Hyperion

Giveaway open to US addresses only

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What's on My Holds List (91)

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 at the library and another 20 items on hold. 

Christmas Stories: I love the start of October when Christmas romances start to appear.

Mr Miracle: I love Debbie Macomber's book and the first Miracle books were super cute.

 Christmas Wedding Ring:  A promised love affair down the road could turn into so much more

Christmas Bouquet: I adore this series and the O'Brien family. I will always read about them.

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR

This week's topic is the top books in your fall to-be-read pile. I view fall as October/November or the last week in September since the books haven't arrived yet. So here we go...

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

 Tween Books: 

Teen Books: 

What books are you waiting to read this fall?