Tween Tuesday Review: Prince of Denial

Casey's parents split up. His mother couldn't handle taking care of his father anymore. She and his sister moved to Maine. Casey hasn't been the same since. He comes home straight from school to clean up the kitchen to make things as normal as possible.

He never know the mood his father will be in when he comes home from work- normal or angry.  Casey never knows if he will drink just one or two beers, or a whole six pack. They used to do things together, but now Casey spends most of his time in his room.

His Aunt knows a little of the situation and she wants to stage an intervention. Casey's not sure this is the right course of action, but he knows that things are only getting worse.  Will things ever get better?

My Thoughts: A hard book to read, but at the same time hard to put down. My heart broke for Casey having to deal with his father, while trying to the fact that he's an alcoholic. There were two horrific scenes in the book - both pulling at my heart strings. I liked how Casey eventually found himself able to trust people with this secret. I can't imagine how his mother left him, asking him over and over again to take care his father, how could you leave that up to a tween?  The book does't sugar coat the horrors of dealing with an alcoholic parent; it doesn't tie everything up in a pretty bow - but it is hopeful. It's an important story that needs to be shared and discusses. Be sure to get it when it comes out in October.

Source: ARC from the author
Cover Thoughts: Great
Due: October 7th

Top Ten Tuesday

This week's topic Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition. This topic is so hard, because there are so many authors. So here's a few authors that I want more books from...immediately because I Loved these!. 

- meme from The Broke and the Bookish

Tera Lynn Childs. Catherine Clark, Rachel Hawthorne, Emma Harrison, Catherine Hapka

Hailey Abbott, Angie Fraiser, Y.S. Lee, Abby McDonald, Lisa and Laura Roecker

Review: Crown of Midnight

  * sequel to Throne of Glass*

Celaena battled in the tournament of assassins in the previous novel. Now she has a contract with the King. If she doesn't do his bidding, her friends will forfeit their lives.

The King believes there's a plot against the throne.  He's giving Celaena names, asking her to take care of the situation in three months time. The newest name is someone from her past.

Celaena gives Archer three months to feed her information - information that could be useful. As she gathers intelligence, she becomes aware of something going on inside the castle -something to do with Wyrdmarks and forbidden magic. Will the plot against the King cost Celaena everything she holds dear?

My Thoughts: This book is hands down in my top books read for the year. I adored Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight was better (if possible). It was full of moments that were sweet, heart wrenching, and fierce. My heart ached for Calaena - for her past, her present, and for what must come in the future. The ending makes me long for the next book immediately. 

I loved Celaena's small rebellion. I liked the multiple perspectives - especially those of Chaol and Dorian. I feel as though all the characters became more rounded and complex during this installment. I loved the winter setting and the danger around every corner. A fantastic world, strong characters, and emotions that pull at your heart strings. I don't ever want to leave this series.

Cover Thoughts: Fierce
Source: ARC from BEA
Book comes out August 27th - Be SURE to grab it!!!

Blog Tour: Final Sentence with Recipe

Today I'm part of the blog tour for Daryl Wood Gerber. She also writes under the pen name Avery Aames - writing the Cheese Shop Mysteries - which I love! The 5th books comes out in early February 2014 entitled Days of Wine and Roquefort. I can't wait to read her newest book!

* First in a new series - Cookbook Nook series * 

Check out this recipe from the author! 

I believe I discovered this recipe in the LA Times Food section. I can’t be sure. Once I “discover” a recipe, I often copy the ingredients into a computer file. I used to keep all the old clippings from newspapers in a recipe file, but I’ve moved so many times that I finally realized hording paper was a thing of the past. Most are streamlined into my computer now, except my mother’s favorites handed down over time. 

However, I do horde cookbooks. I’ve got a growing collection. Why? Because I love them and because I’ve started a new series called A Cookbook Nook series. The first, FINAL SENTENCE, debuts soon. I hope you’ll join the cast of fun characters in Crystal Cove, California. Jenna, the protagonist, is a former ad executive who returns home to help her aunt open a culinary bookshop. Jenna seems to have all the right ingredients for a fresh start—until someone adds a dash of murder.
 
As for this recipe, goat cheese, coffee, and chocolate go fabulously together. You’ll see. This recipe is too good to pass up. 
Savor the flavor!

GOAT CHEESE AND COFFEE BROWNIE

 

Ingredients:

Brownie:

7 oz. dark chocolate

2 sticks butter, unsalted

1 ¾ cup brown sugar

4 eggs [For gluten-free make this 3 eggs and 2 egg whites]

1 1/3 cup flour  [For  gluten-free make this 1 1/3 cup gluten-free flour plus 1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum]

¼ tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Goat cheese topping:

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 oz. goat cheese [used Laura Chenel’s Chevre]

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and eggs.  Slowly stir into chocolate mixture.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder into bowl and combine with chocolate and egg mixture.
4. Pour batter into a greased, 9-inch square baking pan and set aside.
5. Whip together softened cheeses and sugar until smooth.  Add coffee and stir.
6. Place large spoonfuls of mixture on top of batter and swirl with a butter knife.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until set.  Brownies will still be gooey in middle.  Let cool before cutting.

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Review: Awaken

*Final book in the Abandon Trilogy*

Pierce and John have been through a lot together in a short amount of time. Now they have to face the biggest test of all.

Something's happening in the Underworld - things aren't running as smoothly as they should be. Maybe John has taken a few breaks to go with Pierce to the real world, but those breaks wouldn't cause the havoc. His actions might have though...

The balance of life and death has been thrown off. If they can't fix it and soon, things in the Underworld and the real world won't exist much longer.

My Thoughts: I really have come to love these characters -they're sassy, funny, and loyal to each other.  I don't want to say too much in case of spoilers, but I really enjoyed the last part of the trilogy. I loved the part where John met Pierce's parents. I liked Pierce's interaction with the dead who were waiting for the ferries. I love how Pierce can make the best of a bad situation and gather people around her who are happy to help. I loved the ending!

Cover Thoughts: Dreamy
Source: ARC from BEA

Teen Thursday Review

Divergent: 5 Stars

This book was AMAZING!!!! 

It is very similar to the Hunger Games in comparison that it is in the future.  The story follows a girl named Beatrice who lives in Chicago that is made up of five so called factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent.  She is of the faction, Abnegation, where she was born.  ON her sixteenth birthday she is allowed to choose whether or not she wants to go to a different faction where they uphold a different virtue of humanity.  She goes through an aptitude test to see which faction she fits into only to find out she shows an equal aptitude of three: abnegation, erudite and dauntless making her DIVERGENT.

What's On My Hold List (53)

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

 When Dashing Met Danger: I loved Shana's other books and wanted to keep reading her books

The Summer I Turned Pretty: I've heard such good things about this series.

Deadly Heat: Love this series, looking forward to the next one.