Shhh! Mommy's Reading

Just A Quick Update On Life

2014-05-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Sorry I have been away so long. Sometimes it seems like life struggles are hiding behind every corner. But I'm hoping that everything will start to calm down soon. For now, I am excited to announce, that I have a working laptop and internet. I am hoping to start blogging again soon! I have ready many awesome books since I have been away. I need to reread them so I can share them with you. I hope everyone is doing well! God bless you all!

Long Time No Post.....

2013-09-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I just wanted to publish a quick post to let you know that I am still breathing. I am still reading! I'm just not reviewing right now because I don't have the internet at home due to some financial issues my family are going through. I promise I will get back as soon as I can. I just spend too much time in my reviews to do them say at the library. I hope this post finds you all well and happy. God bless you all!

The Rising

2013-04-03T01:38:00.002-07:00

Hello again everyone! If you have been looking around my blog lately you may have noticed that I am reading the Left Behind series right now. I have always wanted to read this series, but have never had access to the whole thing, and I'm not the kind of reader that can read one or two and wait for the next one. I want to read the whole thing at once. Well, I finally got the last book to complete my series collection last week and couldn't wait to get started. I thought it it being Easter time, it was the perfect time to start. As a Christian, I do believe that the signs are all around us that Christ is coming soon. I personally can't wait to meet my Lord. So if you are not a Christian, I beg that you indulge me this one. I am not the kind to force my views on anyone. But at the same time, I am a proud Christian and I pray that those who don't know Christ will come to know Him before it is too late. I love everyone, no matter their religious beliefs. So with that said, I give you The Rising by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins . It is the first of three prequels to Left Behind. And please don't post a bunch of anti christian or hateful comments. My comments are regulated and negative posts will not be allowed. Thanks.

The Authors

Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
http://timlahaye.com/
http://www.jerryjenkins.com/
http://www.leftbehind.com/

Tim LeHaye

For 25 years, LaHaye pastored one of the nation's outstanding churches in San Diego, Calif., which grew to three locations.

It was during this time he also founded two accredited Christian high schools, a school system of 10 Christian schools, San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College), and assisted Dr. Henry Morris in the founding of the Institute for Creation Research, the nation's foremost exponent of creationist materials.

LaHaye has written more than 60 non-fiction books on a wide range of subjects such as: family life, temperaments, sexual adjustment, Bible prophecy, the will of God, Jesus Christ, and secular humanism with over 14 million in print, some of which have been translated into thirty-two foreign languages. His writings are best noted for their easy-to-understand and scripturally based application of biblical principles that assist in facing and handling the challenges of life.

The Left Behind fiction series, co-authored with Jerry B. Jenkins, have broken all publishing records with a total of 80 million in print. These books have appeared on the best-seller lists of The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Christian Booksellers Association. Based on the Bible’s book of Revelation, the apocalyptic thrillers follow the lives of those left behind after the sudden disappearance of millions of believers.

Dr. LaHaye designed the LaHaye Temperament Analysis that has been used by over 30,000 people; many have found it to be a life-changing tool for self-improvement.

LaHaye holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and the Doctor of Literature degree from Liberty University.

LaHaye and his wife Beverly, who is chairman of the board and founder of Concerned Women for America, have been married for over 60 years and live in southern California. They have four grown children, nine grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren.

Jerry B. Jenkins

Jerry B. Jenkins, former editor of Moody Magazine, vice president for publishing, and now chairman of the board of trustees for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, is the author of more than 180 books, including the 63,000,000-selling Left Behind series. Jerry has been awarded honorary doctorates from Bethel College (Indiana), Trinity International University (Illinois), Colorado Christian University, Huntington University (Indiana), and Tennessee Temple University.

The Breakthrough, Jenkins’s most recent novel, is the final book in his Precinct 11 trilogy. It released from Tyndale House Publishers in September 2012.

Jenkins’s writing has appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Guideposts, and dozens of Christian periodicals. He also serves as contributing editor to Writer’s Digest.

Jenkins and Tim LaHaye were featured in a May 24, 2004 cover story in Newsweek magazine as “The New Prophets of Revelation.”

Jenkins’s nonfiction books include many as-told-to autobiographies, including those of Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Joe Gibbs, Orel Hershiser, Luis Palau, Meadowlark Lemon, Walter Payton, Nolan Ryan, and Mike Singletary. The Hershiser and Ryan books reached The New York Times best-seller list.

Jenkins also assisted Dr. Billy Graham with his memoirs, Just As I Am, also a New York Times bestseller. Jerry spent 13 months working with Dr. Graham, and considers the project the privilege of a lifetime.

Jerry owns Jenkins Entertainment (www.Jenkins-Entertainment.com), a filmmaking company run by his son Dallas, which produced the critically-acclaimed Hometown Legend, listed as one of the Top 10 family films of 2002 by Good News Communication’s MOVIEGUIDE. Jenkins Entertainment also produced Midnight Clear starring Stephen Baldwin, winner of the Special Jury Prize for “Best First Feature” at the 2007 Cinequest Film Festival.

What If…, starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and John Ratzenberger (Cheers, Toy Story), Jenkins Entertainment’s latest feature, released to theaters in 2010 and on DVD in 2010. It was nominated for Best Family Picture of 2010 along with other such features as Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me.

Jenkins also owns the Christian Writers Guild, which aims to train tomorrow’s professional Christian writers and has more than 1,000 members worldwide. The centerpiece of the Guild are correspondence courses tailored to fit the busiest adult lifestyle. Each student is personally mentored by a seasoned professional via e-mail throughout the two-year program. Courses are also available for writers aged 8-12 and for teens.

In January 2013, Jerry launched Christian Writers Guild Publishing (CWGP). Students take a six-month mentored course to guide them in writing their manuscripts, then CWGP publishes their books.

Jerry Jenkins wrote the nationally syndicated sports story comic strip, Gil Thorp, from 1996-2004.

He speaks widely, primarily on writing, and is a sought-after humorist.

He and his wife Dianna live in Colorado and have three grown sons and eight grandchildren.

The Book

The Rising: Antichrist is Born

Marilena Carpathia has only one dream: to be a mother. So when a mysterious clairvoyant promises the fulfillment of this dream, Marilena does not hesitate. Through genetic engineering and the power of the prince of darkness himself, Marilena is about to become a chosen vessel, one who will unknowingly give birth to the greatest evil the world has ever known.

Halfway around the world, God s plans are subtly being carried out too. Young Ray Steele is determined to avoid one day taking over the family business. Instead, Ray sets his heart on becoming a pilot. . . .

Soon Carpathia s and Steele s lives will intersect. And good and evil will clash in an explosion that will shake the world.

I thought this was interesting and informative. I will be reading this series in this order. If you would like to read along with me, you can follow along using this time line. The last book is called Kingdom Come.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Black

Black is the absorption of all color and the absence of light. Black hides, while white brings to light. What black covers, white uncovers. We all use black at various times to hide from the world around us in one way or another. Some of us use it to hide our weight; others among us use it to hide our feelings, our fears or our insecurities.

In color psychology, black means power and control, hanging on to information and things rather than giving out to others.

Black is intimidating, unfriendly and unapproachable because of the power it exudes. It can prevent two-way communication because of its intimidation. The salesman wearing all black will make a lot of sales, but no friends! It radiates authority, but creates fear in the process.

Black implies self-control and discipline, independence and a strong will, and giving an impression of authority and power.

Black absorbs negative energy. It is useful to carry something black with you to protect you from harm and negativity when traveling or when going about your usual daily activities outside your home.

People who like black may be conventional, conservative and serious, or they may think of themselves as being sophisticated or very dignified.

The color black is often seen as a color of sophistication, as in 'the little black dress', or 'the black tie event'. Affluent and success orientated women often choose black as it can give an impression of elegance, sophistication and confidence.

Too much black can cause depression and mood swings and create a negative environment. Combined with white only, it can create an argumentative atmosphere. It is best to use some color with black to lighten and brighten its energy.

Black is the end, but the end always implies a new beginning. When the light appears, black becomes white, the color of new beginnings.

This book is about the birth of the antichrist, that is why I chose the color black. Often in Christianity white and light represents God and Christ, and black and darkness represent the devil. The coming of the antichrist is almost like the coming of Satan himself. He will bring darkness with him and spread it to everyone around him. The only way to escape this darkness will be to turn to The Light. I believe what this says about black being the end and bringing a new beginning.I think the antichrist will bring an end and Christ will bring the new beginning. That is why I chose black for this book.

I was really intrigued by this book. There was a lot of jumping around which almost always drives me crazy. the stories were both very interesting, I just didn't really like reading them simultaneously. But that's just me. I tend to get interested in one story and want to skip ahead to see whats next instead of reading the in between. I try to fight it, I really do, but sometimes I don't win lol. So there was some going back to pieces I missed from time to time. But other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

This book is about a woman that has always been a seeker of knowledge. She has always been fulfilled by her life as a teacher and scholar until now, and now, her motherly instincts have kicked in full force.

Marilena and her husband have never wanted children together. He has children from his previous marriage and she has always been happy learning what she could from him. A child never even entered her mind. They didn't have room for a child in their lives. But now, a baby was all she could think about. She is desperate to find something to get her mind off of her longing to be a mother when she comes across a flier advertising a group for people who are looking for more in their life. How much more, Marilena could have never guessed.

After several meetings with this group with predictions of a child in her future, she decides to approach her husband about it. Instead of getting the answers she was hoping for, he takes their conversation in a totally different direction and it seems that she will soon find herself single. But it doesn't lessen her need for a child any more. She is still determined to be a mother and as it turns out, the leader from the group that she has joined wants to help her. How can she say no, when it seems her dreams of being a mother are within her reach? But will motherhood be all she has ever hoped it would be? This seems a little too good to be true.

Also in this book is a story about the life of a young boy named Ray Steele. Ray's family is a middle class family. His parents are older than the other kids and his father is a small business owner. He has always envied the kids with money. What he would give to have the things they have and live the lives they did. That will be his life someday he thinks. Somehow, he will make it happen. Ray has always gone to church with his family, but he has never really gotten it. In his church they don't teach salvation, everyone is just trying to live the best they can and hope that it is enough. But when his friend asks him if he is saved, he becomes a little consumed by it, but his parents don't want to talk about it with him. That stuff is for the holy rollers, not for them. They are just supposed to do the best they can to live like they should. But is that really enough?

As Ray grows, he goes through many different stages in his life. At first he is popular and a star athlete, then he went through his awkward stage. By the end of school, he was the star athlete again. All he has ever wanted is to be a pilot or a professional athlete. With his fathers help, he has been taking flying lessons and will be a licensed pilot before he graduates high school. But it seems that it may be too late for catch the eyes of any college scouts to make it as a pro athlete.

With college in his future and ROTC his college years are shaping up to be very interesting. Will his life turn out to be all he has ever hoped for? I guess you will have to read and find out.

There are many twists and turns in this book that you won't want to miss. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

For The Rising "Randomness Review" I am going to be looking at page 107

On this page, Marilena is setting up a meeting with her husband and the leader of her group Viviana, after having prayed to Lucifer and having her hopes confirmed that he will give her the gift of a son. She is excited at the prospects, believing that he must truely be God if he can give her the gift she so desires. But when she goes to bed that night, she feels a pull like the spirit is trying to communicate with her again. Though this time, it is not Lucifer, it is God! He is giving her a warning to ignore the devil and he will leave her alone. But she is torn between the truth that He is giving her and the gift that she has been promised. He tells her that He is coming soon and that he will bring his reward with him, but will she be able to find the truth that He is giving her and turn away from Lucifer? I guess you will have to read and find out. I chose this page, because to me, I can't imagine anything more precious than to have a conversation with The Father! To hear him speak to you and be able to answer. It would be such a wonderful gift, one that I look forward to having myself someday when I meet my maker.

The Rising "Funny Lines" are

The Marilena! Marilena much tall the Ray there Marilena. Ray the as Fredricka Planchette fax get Marilena. Marilena the had Nicky the Ray though by when Nicolae.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed? (I have noticed that I tend to have lots of I's in a row sometimes, so I have started to add the word after I's as well to keep from having several in a row.)

Curious about the coming of the antichrist and what his life will be like? Get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Insurgent

2013-03-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

So, in our house we have been in cookie mode..... Girl Scout Cookies that is. It has gotten me a little behind with my reading and blogging. But I have to say I am so proud of my little Daisy Scout! She sold 1500 boxes of cookies!!!! Not bad for a 7 year old huh! We are so proud of you miss Kennedy! Everyone please support your local Scouts! You have no idea what your support means to these girls, of all ages. With that said, I have really enjoyed this series and am looking forward to reading the next book that follows! I hope that you will enjoy it too! So, I give you Insurgent by Veronica Roth.

About the Author

Veronica Roth
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011) and INSURGENT (May 2012). The third and final book in The Divergent Trilogy, which doesn't have a title yet, will come out in Fall 2013. In the meantime she will spend endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of bland breakfast cereal.)

About the Book

Insurgent

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Red

The color red is a warm and positive color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. It exudes a strong and powerful masculine energy. Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action.

It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power.

Being the color of physical movement, the color red awakens our physical life force. It is the color of sexuality and can stimulate deeper and more intimate passions in us, such as love on the positive side or revenge and anger on the negative.

At its most positive it can create life with its sexual energy, or use its negative expression of anger and aggression to fuel war and destruction.

Being surrounded by too much of the color red can cause us to become irritated, agitated and ultimately angry. Too little and we become cautious, manipulative and fearful.

Positive and Negative Traits

Positive keywords include: action, energy and speed, attention-getting, assertive and confident, energizing, stimulating, exciting, powerful, passionate, stimulating and driven, courageous and strong, spontaneous and determined.

Negative keywords include: aggressive and domineering, over-bearing, tiring, angry and quick-tempered, ruthless, fearful and intolerant, rebellious and obstinate, resentful, violent and brutal.

Red Represents:

Energy: it boosts our physical energy levels, increases our heart rate and blood pressure and prompts the release of adrenalin.

Action: it is fast moving and promotes a need for action and movement.

Desire: it relates to physical desire in all its forms- sexual, appetite, cravings.

Passion: it means a passionate belief in an issue or undertaking, including passionate love or passionate hate. Anger is negative passion.

This book is filled with situations of war between factions, there is blood shed and a struggle for power. For me, the natural choice for this book is red. Would you have chosen a different color? Tell me what you think!

Like its predecessor, I really enjoyed this book. Though I enjoyed it somewhat less than Divergent, I still really enjoyed it. It just didn't keep me glued to it the same as Divergent did. With that said, I am still loving this series and really looking forward to the next book. I am excited to see where this new information will lead and what is next for these characters.

In this book, the factions have taken a real blow. The Erudite have decided that they want to rule the factions and they have the ability to do it thanks to their connection to technology and their ability to control the Dauntless through simulation. Its the perfect scenario. The Dauntless can't even fight back, they have no idea what is happening. They are seeing something totally different inside their minds. But there is one little problem...... The Divergent. They can't control them like they can the others. Tris and Tobias are two perfect examples of that. Thankfully, they were able to shut down the simulation that the Erudite put in effect to destroy the Abnegation faction and their leaders, though it was not without lives lost. Tris watched her parents die in the attack on Abnegation and was responsible for the death of a close friend. Now they are trying to deal with the effects of that attack.

Tris and Tobias, along with the loyal Dauntless and Abnegation have found allies in some unlikely places after the simulation attack. One of which is Tobias's father, Marcus. Though, Tris can tell that he is hiding something and she is determined to get to the bottom of it. He has some kind of information, information that her parents died to protect. She will find out what it is if it kills her. They find shelter in the Amity sector for a time, but it is soon obvious that they can't remain there when the Erudite come looking for them. Bad thing is, Tris can't even bring herself to use her gun after using it to defend herself against Will and taking his life. So she can't defend herself against the Erudite either. Luckily they get away and make their way to the trains.

On the train they find themselves in a car full of factionless who insist on taking them with them to one of their safe houses to meet their leader......This is a twist you won't want to miss! Then from there they went on to Merciless Mart, the home of Candor. They can't go home to their Dauntless headquarters because there are too many camera's that are too closely watched. The Erudite would have no problem figuring out how to make them do their bidding again through simulation there. So Candor for now will have to be their home.

When divergent traitors show up looking for more divergent something has got to be done. Candor sets up a meeting with Erudite to find out their demands. But even if they meet their demands, will that ever be enough? What about the information that Tris's parents died trying to protect? The Erudite have got to be stopped! Will Tris and Tobias be the ones to do it? Will their new allies be behind them or will they end up on their own in this fight? I guess you need to get a copy and find out! Cause I'm not telling!

For the Insurgent "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 151

On this page, Tris and Tobias have just arrived at Merciless Mart, though upon their arrival, they have been arrested for assisting with the simulation attack. The Candor have video of Tobias running the computers at Dauntless headquarters and Tris coming in and fighting with him. They think that they are on the side of the Erudite. But there is one way to prove their innocence. On this page, they are doing just that and Tris has been injected with truth serum. Because she is divergent, she is able to fight it and tell the versions of the truth that she wants them to know. Though at the end, they ask her what is her biggest regret. Instead of fighting, she decides to tell the full truth in what happened with Will even though it will hurt the people that she loves. She really needs to get it out. She needs them to know what happened even if they turn their backs on her for it. Can you imagine being given a truth serum and being asked to divulge your deepest darkest secrets? If you were divergent and had the ability to choose what you said, would you tell the truth or keep you secrets hidden away inside? I think its really something worth thinking about.

The Insurgent "Funny Lines" are:
I wake, I open that biotechnology after that the we one I run. They I will, I rise, okay the I shift Tobias quiet. That I check, I stand Shauna not blood someone, something I weave when I forgot I read that. I wake Beatrice once. This but he I take, oh, the by everyone Christina the I Tori my.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed? (I have noticed that I tend to have lots of I's in a row sometimes, so I have started to add the word after I's as well to keep from having several in a row.)

Ready to face down the Erudite with Tris and her friends? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Divergent

2013-03-07T00:35:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I just read an AWESOME book! It was so good that I read it in 2 days! I couldn't put it down! So I am so excited to introduce to you Divergent by Veronica Roth..... Hehehe not just because it was soooo good but also so I can move on to Insurgent!

About the Author

Veronica Roth
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads

About the Book

Divergent

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Magenta

The Color of Universal Harmony & Emotional Balance

The color magenta is one of universal harmony and emotional balance. It is spiritual yet practical, encouraging common sense and a balanced outlook on life. It helps to create harmony and balance in every aspect of life; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

A combination of red and violet, magenta contains the passion, power and energy of red, restrained by the introspection and quiet energy of violet.

Magenta influences our whole personal and spiritual development. It strengthens our intuition and psychic ability while assisting us to rise above the everyday dramas of our daily life to experience a greater level of awareness and knowledge. This color is an instrument of change and transformation; it helps to release old emotional patterns that prevent personal and spiritual development and aids us in moving forward.

Magenta is uplifting to our spirits during times of unhappiness, anger or frustration.

In the meaning of colors, magenta represents universal love at its highest level. It promotes compassion, kindness and cooperation and encourages a sense of self respect and contentment in those who use it. Gentle and caring in its approach, it generates acceptance, tolerance, support and patience.

The color magenta is a color of cheerfulness, happiness, contentment and appreciation for what you have acquired and achieved. Most people feel more optimistic when in the company of magenta.

Magenta is the color of the non-conformist, the free spirit. It pushes you to take responsibility for creating your own path in life and increases dream activity while assisting you in turning your ambitions and desires into reality. A strong and inspiring color, magenta can appear outrageous and shocking on one hand or innovative and imaginative on the other. It is creativity inspired by beauty.

Magenta is spontaneous and impulsive, yet resourceful and organized. It is invaluable in negotiating peace and calm in those who are at odds with one another.

From a negative perspective, magenta can promote depression and despair in some, and prevent others from dealing with challenges - it may be just too relaxing for introverts and the chronically depressed.

Being surrounded by too much magenta energy can generate arrogance and bossiness making us feel overwhelmed, irritated, anxious and intolerant.

An excess of magenta energy can be balanced by introducing green into your surroundings.

I chose this color because it represents many of the ideals that are found in this book. Many of the hopes among the different factions is for universal harmony and balance amongst them. And even though Tris wants so much to please her family, she knows that her fraction is not the right one for her. As she tries to make the transition from her old faction to her new one, she finds herself dealing with new challenges and surprising excited by her progress. She also finds herself with a new found appreciation for the original values of her new faction. But will it remain that way when she is officially a member? Would you have chosen another color besides magenta? Tell me about it!

OMGOODNESS did I love this book! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I never knew what to expect or what would happen next. I didn't even want to put it down to sleep, or riding in the car (I have terrible motion sickness but I read anyway). Looks like I have another series to add to my LOVE list!

So this book is about a girl named Beatrice who is a part of the Abnegation faction in her home of Chicago. But not like the Chicago that we know now. In search of a completely peaceful existence they have closed off the city and split into 5 factions with different values with one main goal of peace.

At the age of 16, everyone must be evaluated and make a choice as to what faction they want to dedicate their lives. Beatrice has always belonged to the Abnegation faction, who values selflessness above all else. But she has never felt like she fit in there. She doesn't believe that she is selfless enough to remain there, even though her family is there. Though she puts others first in most things in her life, it is not her first instinct. She is also very curious which is frowned upon in her faction. When the results to her aptitude test come out inconclusive, she has a decision to make. She is Divergent, she could easily belong to several different factions. Will she want to stay in Abnegation? How can she spend her whole life in a faction where she will constantly be reprimanded for not being enough? The answer is, she can't. At her choosing ceremony, she leads her life in a different direction. She will be Dauntless and will be known by the name Tris.

At first it seems like Dauntless and Abnegation are totally different in their beliefs. Abnegation is selfless and would never hurt anyone, though with Dauntless, one the the first tasks Tris must learn to shoot a gun. She would have never been allowed to possess a weapon as Abnegation. She would have always put others need before her own. The more she learns about Dauntless though, the more she comes to understand that true bravery and selflessness are really very similar. The bravest of actions are always selfless acts. Maybe it will work in her favor after all that she was raised Abnegation. Then again, its obvious that many count her upbringing against her and think less of her for it.

Tris has many obstacles to overcome in her quest to become a member of the Dauntless faction. She must complete these tasks all while keeping her Divergence a secret. Will she be able to complete her tasks and prove herself as a Dauntless? Or will those that don't want her to succeed stand in her way? Will she be good enough to make the cut and remain in the Dauntless headquarters? Or will she end up in poverty as a factionless on the streets? Well, I guess you will have to read and find out.... my lips are sealed and I am on to the next book!

For my Divergent "Randomness Review", I am going to look at page 163.

On this page, the Dauntless initiates have been doing a knife throwing exercise. Tris's friend Al has been having some trouble with getting his knives to stick into the target and as his punishment, one of the leaders has decided to punish him by making him stand in front of the target while knives are thrown at it. It is against Tris nature to stand by while someone needs help and when she speaks up, she is invited to take his place in front of the target. She can trust Four, she knows that he will not hurt her. So she steps up to the place. All she knows is that if she doesn't, Al will have to and she can't watch him go through that. Will she make it through the exercise unscathed or will she regret opening her mouth for her friend? Guess you better read and find out! :)

The Divergent "Funny Lines" are:

There the I wake, I reach the I train when the since that the I crawl the today visiting that. It's as when I breathe the I open. I don't, Tris! I stand hand. The I pull, I have, I am The! I watch, I try, I lean, I wake three Erudite. Tobias's the....

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed? (I have noticed that I tend to have lots of I's in a row sometimes, so I have started to add the word after I's as well to keep from having several in a row.)

Are you ready to learn about Tris and her "peaceful" city? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Just had to share this!

2013-02-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hastings is having a 2 day up to 40% off on Used Books Sale!!! Use the code TREATYOSELF. Enjoy!!!

Tiger's Destiny

2013-02-10T02:39:00.001-08:00

Oh my goodness is all I can say! I am so glad that I have gotten to share this series with you all! It is truly one of my favorites! I have been hooked since the very first book and I will be hooked until the last. So now introducing the 4th, and apparently not so final book of this series, I give you Tiger's Destiny.......Colleen, I have no Idea where you will be going from here, but I am anxious to find out.

About the Author

Colleen Houck
http://www.tigerscursebook.com/
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinteres t

Colleen Houck is first and foremost a reader. She loves action, adventure, sci-fi, and romance, and her favorite books include a little bit of each. After getting an Associate’s Degree from Rick’s college and transferring to the University of Arizona, she dropped out of school to go on a church mission where she met her husband. Since then, she’s had a variety of job titles including; Group Home Advocate, Donut Sprinkle Girl, Chinese Kitchen Manager, Salad Bar Maven, and more recently American Sign Language interpreter. She also considers herself an expert in the assembly of Big Macs and Big Bacon Classics and yes, the Food Network Channel is her favorite station. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and her giant stuffed white tiger.

About the Book

Tiger's Destiny

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. A smart phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website.

My thoughts
I gave this book

My colors for this book is Gold.

The color gold is the color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the psychology of the color gold implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance.

Gold in its physical state, by its very nature, denotes wealth and prestige in every country, culture and market in the world today - it is probably the most valuable and easily traded commodity available in the global market place. Gold has long been associated with royalty throughout the world, along with purple.

This color is linked to masculine energy and the power of the sun. Optimistic and positive, gold adds richness and warmth to everything with which it is associated - it illuminates and enhances other things around it. At the uppermost level, the color gold is associated with higher ideals, wisdom, understanding and enlightenment. It inspires knowledge, spirituality and a deep understanding of the self and the soul.

In the meaning of colors, gold is generous and giving, compassionate and loving, the benefactor or patron, sharing its wisdom, knowledge and wealth with others. Confident, passionate and eye-catching, gold draws attention to itself. Gold is the color of the winner - first place medals are always in gold.

Gold is a warm color that can be shiny, glistening and happy as well as dull, muted and traditional. The brighter shades of gold catch the eye with their brilliance while the darker muted shades are deep, warm and intense.

Being surrounded by too much gold can lead you to become egotistical, self-righteous and opportunistic in your quest for greater power and influence. If living under the negative of the color gold, you may not trust easily, have a fear of success and wealth, or even exhibit a fear of failure. You may be selfish and demanding, lacking kindness and generosity, even to the extreme of being miserly.

I chose this color for this book because it is the final stretch of this journey that we have been on with Kelsey and her tigers. They are conquering their final tasks and looking forward to their coming rewards. They have all given up so much to complete this task and are looking forward to its completion. They will finally be able to breathe without worry of what is coming next. Or at least they think they will. That is why I chose Gold for this book.

Like all the other books from this series, I LOVED this book. I just love the adventure. I love that there is never a dull moment when you are just reading to get to the next exciting thing. Its action packed from the beginning to the end, whether is part of their quest or Kelsey fighting to decide what to do about her feelings toward the brothers. At the same time, this book was hard emotionally for me to read. I have grown so attached to these characters and to know the end has possibly come for some of them, it definitely hurt my heart. I definitely shed some tears on this one!

In the beginning of this book, Kelsey of coarse has been kidnapped by Lokesh. He is holding her at a far off location, hoping that the princes will not be able to find her. He wants her to become his wife and have a heir for him, a son that will be strong and posses both of their powers. Kelsey plays along, pretending that she was only using the tigers. Stringing them along on her quest for power. Though, we all know this isn't true. What we know, is that she has a tracker embedded in her hand, and her princes are on their way to her. But it seems they are on their own. Mr. Kadam and Nilima have been lost somehow during their war with Lokesh on the yacht. There is not even a blimp for them on their tracking device. They of coarse show up just in time to save Kelsey from her ruse of a wedding and whisk her off to the safety of their home.

When they get home, it isn't long before Mr. Kadam and Nilima return as well. It seems the family is all back together again. Except something is different about Mr. Kadam. He isn't his normal self and seems sad. He stresses how important it is for them to get started on their quest as soon as possible and they head off to the temple for Durga's blessing. Though it quickly becomes apparent after they leave that this quest will be different than the others. Lokesh will stop at nothing to get his hands on Kelsey and gain her piece of the amulet.

As it turns out, that is not the only difference in this quest and the others. Mr. Kadam will not be able to aid them on this quest. He has helped prepare them as best he can, but this is a journey he will not be able to take with them. He sends Nilima in his place, but she as well can only go so far. They will have to trust what they have learned and their instincts and do they best they can with what they have.

The first part of their quest leads them down into a volcano, where they must go below into the "Pit of Hell" in search of the Rope of Fire. They come upon many obstacles here, but Kelsey also feels very connected to her surroundings here. The trees can sense the fire within her and literally reach out lovingly to brush against her as she walks by. It isn't long before they come upon their first test. This is one for Kelsey and the one who will test her is none other than a phoenix. She must become a sati wife in order to pass the test. She must cross burning coals without succumbing to their damning heat, but in order to do that, she has to answer some questions as she crosses. Her honestly will be the difference between making it across alive and dying there on the coals. But to do that, she has to be honest not only with the phoenix, but also with herself about feelings that she has tried so hard to lock away. How can she admit them now and keep them locked inside? If she is honest, the phoenix will save her, not only from the coals, but from herself. He will give her a chance to start over. A chance to live her life and not waist anymore of it. But will she heed his warning, or will she be as good as dead?

There is so much more to this book, but I can't just give it all away, so I must stop here. But I promise you that you will love this one. It takes us on a action packed emotional roller coaster that ends all too soon. There is one more book to come for this series, but it seems we will have to be patient because we have a while. This book ended pretty well and tied up lots of loose ends, so I really have no idea what will come in the next book. But it doesn't mean I want to read it any less than the ones I already have. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. It will definitely be interesting to see where this story goes now that the quests are all complete. I am praying that Tiger's Dream will be a book that leads to a spin off series. I guess only time will tell!

For my Tiger's Destiny "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 125

On this page, Kelsey has gone for a walk to clear her head, and look for Ren after he saw Kishan propose to her on the beach. Instead of ren, she finds herself with an old woman who had fallen and spilled her "heart fruit" on the ground. Saachi, as she calls herself, says that she spilled her fruit near Kelsey and that it is a bad sign, and wants to know why Kelsey is heartbroken. She tries to explain her heart to the woman, explaining about her love of both of the brothers. But the woman wants to know which brother she is IN love with. She admits that it is Ren who really holds her heart, but that she is afraid that she will loose him because he is always the first to run off into danger in order to protect her. She has lost so many in her life and she can't bare to loose him too. When she finally confesses what is in her heart, the woman's voice changes into the voice of one of her princes. She has been tricked. What will she do now?

The Tiger's Destiny "Funny Lines" are:

All rocking the I we while the Kishan piercing, walking it as the finally with Ren. As I a when atop disguised Ren I get a Ren Anamika the if a the Kelsey to Ren.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Dying to know what happens next with Kelsey, Ren and Kishan? You can get your copy here:

Hastings
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Powell's Books You can sometimes find signed copies of Colleen's books on this site.

Tiger's Voyage

2013-02-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to bring to you Tiger's Voyage, partly because it was so good, and partly because, I get to move on to Tiger's Destiny. It is the last one from the series and one that I have not read yet, but have been absolutely dying to read. So now, I give you Tiger's Voyage!

About the Author

Colleen Houck
http://www.tigerscursebook.com/
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinterest

About the Book

Tiger's Voyage

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections--leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

You can read chapters 1-4 of Tiger's Voyage here!

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Orange

Orange relates to 'gut reaction' or our gut instincts, as opposed to the physical reaction of red or the mental reaction of yellow. The color orange relates to social communication, stimulating two way conversations. A warm and inviting color, it is both physically and mentally stimulating, so it gets people thinking and talking!

With its enthusiasm for life, the color orange relates to adventure and risk-taking, inspiring physical confidence, competition and independence. Those inspired by orange are always on the go! Orange brings spontaneity and a positive outlook on life and is a great color to use during tough economic times, keeping us motivated and helping us to look on the bright side of life. Orange offers emotional strength in difficult times. It helps us to bounce back from disappointments and despair, assisting in recovery from grief.

Orange aids in the assimilation of new ideas and frees the spirit of its limitations, giving us the freedom to be ourselves. At the same time it encourages self-respect and respect of others. The color psychology of orange is optimistic and uplifting, rejuvenating our spirit. In fact orange is so optimistic and uplifting that we should all find ways to use it in our everyday life, even if it is just an orange colored pen that we use. Haha, maybe this is why its my favorite color!

I think once again, orange is perfect for this book from the Tiger's Saga because of the adventure held within its covers. This one holds the most exciting quests yet, and they are back to back to back! Not to mention the competition building up between Kishan and Ren for Kelseys heart. I think orange is perfect for this book!

I have loved this book, as I have the others for the 2nd time. It has been a while and I have forgotten so much. Its like falling in love all over again I suppose. And I have with this series. I am just as excited now to read the next book as I was to read this one when it came out. I know that you are going to enjoy it as much as I have.

Keeping with the other books from this series, the love triangle between Kelsey, Ren and Kishan isn't the only problems they have. They have another quest to go on. And this one involves dragons, not 1 but 5 of them! Not to mention a HUGE shark!

In this book, Ren has lost his memory of all things Kelsey. He can not remember anything from their life together leading up to when he was rescued from Lokesh. He can't remember the love they shared, but that doesn't keep him from feeling drawn to her anyway. He wants to get to know her better, but there is a problem. Being in close proximity to her makes him physically sick, and touching her is all but out of the question. It seems that a friendship may be the most they can do. This calls for a visit to one of my favorite characters from this series, Phet, to see if he knows a way to fix Ren's problem. But it seems that Ren has done this to himself and there is nothing that Phet can do to help him. Kelsey is outraged that he would do this to her. It also seems that Kelsey has a decision to make. Phet says the time is coming when she will have to choose between the brothers. Her heart of coarse belongs to Ren, but Kishan would be a good choice too. How can she make a decision like this, especially with their next task so close at hand?

There are many preparations that must be made before they will be ready to head on this adventure, and part of that includes them moving onto the family yacht. This is not just any yacht. This thing is huge and has everything on board that they could possibly need. Not to mention, they have to bring a scuba instructor on board as well so that they will be prepared if they need to dive on this quest. This particular scuba instructor is a cowboy from Texas. Lets just say, he does not help with the overload of testosterone on the boat. Jealousy is running rampant! But when Kelsey hits her head on a rock on a training dive and Ren isn't able to help her, he removes himself from the equation. Always trying to be noble. It really only makes things worse for Kelsey. Especially when he starts flaunting his new found freedom to be with other women. How will they be able to focus on the matters at hand when they can't even be near each other.

The more Kelsey considers her situation, the more she begins to turn to Kishan. Maybe this will be their chance to see where their relationship could lead without Ren standing in the way. Kishan is of coarse over joyed at the prospect, but doesn't want to rush things. They are taking their time. Spending time together when they can, while training for the next mission. Just at things start to heat up between them, is it time for them to begin their first quest. They begin this one like any other, with a trip to a Temple of Durga, to receive her blessing over their journey. On this particular trip to the temple, Durga worries about Kelsey and tells her that she shouldn't become stagnate without Ren. She should move on as soon as possible. Maybe this really is the time for Kelsey to open her heart to becoming more than friends with Kishan.

Kishan and Kelsey are making the best of their new found relationship when the time comes for them to go on the first journey of their quest. This time they will be heading to the red dragons castle in the sky, where he will help them on their journey, only if they help him with the matter of a broken star. How can they fix his star? Is their another bargain they can make? While Kishan goes to work on negotiations, Kelsey and Ren begin trying to figure out what can be done. Kelsey tries to use her lightning power, but it just isn't strong enough. Her power falters and begins to go out, when Ren touches her and it strengthens again. Its like a explosion within her and her power pushes forth stronger than it has ever been before. Will their power combined fix the star so that they can move on to the next quest? What could this mean for Kelsey and Ren? Kelsey has already given her heart, or whats left of it to Kishan, can she hurt him and turn back to Ren? Plus, this is only be beginning of their quest. How will they be able to make it through this journey with so much hanging in the balance? Well, hurry and get your copy so you can find out! I promise you won't be sorry!

For the Tiger's Voyage "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 109

I chose this page, just because I think it is one of the sweetest things I have ever heard of. I wish that we did this here in the US. On this page, they are all visiting the Star Festival. Its basically like valentines day. But on this day, single women write their wishes for love on a paper and tie to to a tree in hopes that the gods will grant their wish. They go with their father and only leave him when he gives his permission for them to do so. They dance with different men that line up to have their chance to meet them. Then, when its over, they release a lantern in hopes of finding the man they wish to marry. I think its a very sweet tradition. But as sweet as this tradition is, what Ren does for Kelsey is even sweeter. He puts thousands of wishes on a tree for her. They are all the a variation of one thing. That he will be able to find a way to be with her once again. She wishes the same. But how can they get past the many obstacles standing in their way? Would that even be possible?

The Tiger's Voyage "Funny Lines" are:
Behind is a the I dragons, Nilima. Mr.Kadam, we there? I by don't after I we're if I Kishan we all in perhaps the good-bye. Good? Whoa! Voices the.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to go with Kelsey and meet the dragons? You can get your copy here:

Hastings
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Powell's Books You can sometimes find signed copies of Colleen's books on this site.

Just something I wrote

2013-02-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

My life has become and empty void
where sunlight can barely pierce the dark.
I've lost myself, I've lost my hold
on things that I once loved.

Their smiling faces help me deal
with emotions that I can't explain.
They help me to remember, to feel.
My smile gives me a place to hide whats real.

In this life there must be more.
This can't be my only song.
How do you make yourself even move
when your insides are always torn and no longer strong.

I want to be better. I want to be me.
But am I the me that I once knew?
I don't really know her anymore.
Everything has changed. Become new.

2 little girls give me reason to breathe.
2 little hearts my only true joy.
Even if I am no longer me.
For them I will always push forth.

Tiger's Quest

2013-01-28T21:17:00.002-08:00

I am so glad that I am finally getting a chance to review these books for you all. It is far overdue. They really are some of my favorites of all time. So no, I am happy to introduce to you, Tiger's Quest!

About the Author

Colleen Houck
http://www.tigerscursebook.com/
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinterest

Colleen Houck’s New York Times bestselling Tiger’s Curse series has received national praise with the fourth book, Tiger’s Destiny, debuting September 2012. Colleen is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Formerly a student at the University of Arizona, she has worked as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter for seventeen years. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

About the Book

Tiger's Quest

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest--this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse. Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER'S QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

Winner of a Parent's Choice Award!

You can read chapters 1-4 of Tiger's Quest here!

My Thoughts
I gave this book

My color for this book is Red.

The color red is a warm color associated with our most physical needs and our will to survive. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. It is a very emotionally intense color.

Red is energizing. It excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. It is a color found in many national flags.

It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power.

Being the color of physical movement, the color red awakens our physical life force. It is the color of sexuality and can stimulate deeper and more intimate passions in us, such as love on the positive side or revenge and anger on the negative.

Being surrounded by too much of the color red can cause us to become irritated, agitated and ultimately angry. Too little and we become cautious, manipulative and fearful.

In Eastern cultures such as China red is the color for good luck. In Indian culture it symbolizes purity and is often used in their wedding gowns.

In this book we see both sides of red. We see the positive side of red in Kelsey and Ren's love for each other. Even when they try so hard to live without each other, their thoughts are always of how much they love the other. We see the passion and determination that Kelsey has for her quest even after Red is kidnapped. She thinks of nothing more than completing her task and finding the man she loves.

We also see the negative side of red in the ambition of Lokesh. He is manipulative and powerful. He is ready to do whatever it takes to get the other pieces of the amulet. He causes Ren much pain and strikes fear in the heart of Kelsey.

I think that you will see that red is the perfect color to describe this book. Is there another color that you would choose as well?

I am loving going on this journey again with Kelsey, her tigers and Mr. Kadam. Its kinda like traveling the world with my best friends! I mean, who wouldn't want to travel to see India, the Himalayas, and Mount Everest? Not to mention Shangrila! I know you are going to love this adventure!

In this book, Kelsey has left Ren in India and headed back to the US so that he can have a chance to find out what he really wants out of like. She doesn't want to tie him down. He has been a tiger for so long that she thinks that he is choosing her only because he has been given no other choices. She thinks she is doing what is best for him, and in the long run for herself. Leaving him has been hard on her, but she has really tried to move on. She has started dating, she even has met a guy that she really likes. She just can't help but compare him to Ren, and against Ren, no man can compare.

When Ren shows up at Christmas, things are a little awkward at first. Not only is she dating guys from school, but Ren wants her to date him as well. But as time passes with him there, she can feel her life becoming whole again. Its gotten its missing piece back. It seems that life can only get better from here. But is seems Lokesh isn't going to let that happen. He has tracked her down and it is going to take both of her tigers to protect her. But she isn't able to protect them. While Lokesh is trying to get Kelsey and her piece of the amulet, Ren sacrifices himself to get her to safety. What if she has lost him forever?

Determined to find Ren, Kelsey and Mr. Kadam decide that the only way to possibly find out where he could be is to complete the next mission and hope that when she is able to acquire the next gift that they will again see Lokesh in a vision. Maybe they can get some clues as to where he is by looking at his surroundings. But its not going to be easy. They must make their way through the Himalayas and see the Ocean Teacher. Then they must make their way up Mount Everest to find the doorway to the next magical land.

They will have many challenges standing in their way and they won't end even when the quest is complete. They have got to find Ren and bring him. That is if its not too late. I could really go on and on about this book. BUT if I did I would give it all away. So I'm just gonna end with this.... This one is gonna keep you on your toes folks. I promise you aren't going to want to miss it! And you might even want to have Tiger's Voyage on stand by, because if your like me, you won't be able to wait..... It took all the will power that I have not to immediately being the next book and I have read them before! That is saying something!

For my Tiger's Quest "Randomness Review" I am going to look at pages 101
On this page, Ren and Li are fighting it out over Kelsey.... literally. They are both determined to win her heart. What better way to show a girl you love them than by trying to kill each other with martial arts right! Both men are very skilled in the craft and make the battle amazing to watch. Its one of those times when you really should look away, but your eyes are glued on the action. Its obvious that neither one wants to concede the fight and it doesn't help that it is happened right there in front of Kelsey and all her wushu classmates. But really, it must be awesome to know that two people care about you so much that they are willing to fight for you. That Kelsey is a lucky girl!

The Tiger's Quest "Funny Lines" are:

I the ...the date now wrapped I the Ren with Kishan. The it we... we, Mr. Kadam the I... I, we fanindra's after the after. I my I...I with the.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to face Everest with Kelsey and face Lokesh to rescue Ren? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Powell's Books You can sometimes find signed copies of Colleen's books on this site.

Tiger's Curse

2013-01-19T02:57:00.000-08:00

This is one of my all time favorite series! I am really excited to finally be able to bring it to my blog. It is far far overdue. So I introduce to your Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck.

About the Author

Colleen Houck
http://www.tigerscursebook.com/
Follow her on Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinterest

About the Book

Tiger's Curse

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

You can read the chapters 1-7 of Tiger's Curse here!

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Orange

Ok, so truth be told, I was really tempted to go with blue just because who could get the piercing blue of Ren's eyes out of their head. But what I love most about this book is the adventure! So orange it is!

Orange relates to 'gut reaction' or our gut instincts, as opposed to the physical reaction of red or the mental reaction of yellow. The color orange relates to social communication, stimulating two way conversations. A warm and inviting color, it is both physically and mentally stimulating, so it gets people thinking and talking!

With its enthusiasm for life, the color orange relates to adventure and risk-taking, inspiring physical confidence, competition and independence. Those inspired by orange are always on the go! Orange brings spontaneity and a positive outlook on life and is a great color to use during tough economic times, keeping us motivated and helping us to look on the bright side of life. Orange offers emotional strength in difficult times. It helps us to bounce back from disappointments and despair, assisting in recovery from grief.

Orange aids in the assimilation of new ideas and frees the spirit of its limitations, giving us the freedom to be ourselves. At the same time it encourages self-respect and respect of others. The color psychology of orange is optimistic and uplifting, rejuvenating our spirit. In fact orange is so optimistic and uplifting that we should all find ways to use it in our everyday life, even if it is just an orange colored pen that we use. Haha, maybe this is why its my favorite color!

So maybe the book isn't the color orange, and neither are Ren's gorgeous eyes, but I think you will find that orange is the perfect color to describe Tiger's Curse. It is filled with these qualities. You are going to love going on this adventure!

As I mentioned before this is one of my favorite series EVER and that is saying a lot. As a self proclaimed reading addict, I read A LOT. Probably way more than I should. When there are book like this out there waiting to be cracked open, who can help themselves? After dealing with the kiddos all day and the running here and there, nothing makes me happier than get lost in an adventure life this while setting in the school car line while my little one naps in the back seat. Ahhh mommy quiet time. Its priceless.

In this book we meet Kelsey, a seemingly normal teenager fresh out of high school. She doesn't see anything particularly special about herself. She is a bit on the fluffy side (which I LOVE by the way. Why do the heroin's always have to be skinny?) She is a avid reader and loves the classics. The only think about her that isn't your typical everyday teen is that her parents passed away when she was younger and she has lived with a foster family since then. She loves them, but she has never really belonged there.

Kelsey needs a summer job so she goes to the local employment office and gets a job at the circus that is in town for a couple weeks. Its her job to help with selling tickets and souvenirs. She was also hired to help out with the animals, mainly one Dhiren the tiger. How could she know that this seemingly normal tiger would be a cursed prince that holds her destiny in its paws?

She feels an instant connection to the tiger and starts spending a lot of time with him. She even nicknames him Ren. She writes about him and sketches his picture in her journal. She even reads to him. But as the days pass, her heart hurts for him. It isn't right that he is being held captive when she should be free to run far away in the jungles of India. Its when she wishes him free one day that things really start to get interesting, and a business man shows up at the circus to take Ren away to a refuge in his home country.

Mr. Kadam needs someone who knows the tiger to accompany him to India to help care for Ren. He wants him to be as comfortable as possible. So he makes Kelsey and offer that she can't refuse. A week in India to get Ren settled in his new home, plus an all expenses paid vacation there once she completes her task. Who wouldn't take the job?

As it turns out, the trip to get Ren to his new home is not without hiccups. She finds herself following him through the jungle going who knows where, only knowing that she has to stay with him until she can get back to civilization and help him find his way to where he belongs. But Ren has other plans. He takes her to a small cottage where he show her who he really is and begins to explain the situation. As it turns out, she is Durga's chosen one. The one who can break the curse and help Ren to become a man again after spending 300 years in his tiger form. Its not going to be easy. She has got some tasks to complete for Durga before he can be a man again. But can she complete this tasks without letting the feelings that are developing between her and Ren get in the way? This is where the adventure begins.

One thing that I love about this series is that Colleen has done her research. These are real places that they go to. Ones that you can actually see in pictures if you take the time to look them up. I never was a history buff, but there is something about reading a fictional story with a hints of truth to it that get me excited. I love the thought that its actually possible to visit these places that have real history to them. And that some of the stories we read about here are ones that are believed in India today. Things that I never thought I cared about actually had me wanting to find out more about them. Who knew I would like a book with so much actual history in it!

Now I can go on and on about this book but if I do I am going to give it all away. And I really want you to read it for yourself. I promise that you will love this book. Actually, make that all of the series for that matter! Its a real page turner. One that you will love reading over and over again!

For my Tiger's Curse "Randomness Review" I am going to look at pages 85&86

I chose these pages, because I think they are such a turning point for this story. This is where Kelsey sees Ren for the first time as a man. She has spent days lost in the jungle with this tiger that she loves so much that she blindly followed him into the jungle with no other thought but for his safety. Hello! That tiger is loose, he could kill her with well placed one slap from his paw if he wanted. But she followed him anyway. When they come across a cottage, she hopes that she can finally get some help getting back to civilization and getting Ren to his new home. But as she goes to approach the house, it occurs to her that she should tie Ren up so that he doesn't scare the occupants of the home. As she heads to the house she hears "Is this really necessary?" and turns to see not a Tiger but a man standing there in his place. Not any man, but a gorgeous man..... with her tiger's eyes. He reaches out his hand and says "Kelsey, its me Ren". Golly can you imagine? I think I would have probably passed out. Good thing Kelsey is our heroin and not me! :)

The Tiger's Curse "Funny Lines" are:

The I my the two the I. How the I well the I the Kelsey? The Dorothy miss Mr. Kadam on we. We When it the ... the.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are ready to go on this amazing adventure with Kelsey and Ren? You can get your copy here:

Hastings
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

Powell's Books You can sometimes find signed copies of Colleen's books on this site.

Finale

2013-01-18T00:12:00.000-08:00

Finale?.... Finale!! Nooo! How can this be the end of our journey with Nora and Patch? Sigh... This is sooo bittersweet, but I guess all good things must come to an end. So now I give you... Finale.

About the Author

Becca Fitzpatrick
http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com/
Follow her on: Her Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Becca Fitzpatrick's first book, Hush, Hush, debuted as a New York Times bestseller. She graduated college with a degree in health, which she promptly abandoned for storytelling. When not writing, she's most likely running, prowling sale racks for shoes, or fulfilling her mission to taste every flavor of ice cream under the sun. She lives in Colorado, the lone girl in a house filled with boys.

About the Book

Finale

Will love conquer all?

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My colors for this book are Black and Red

True to the rest of this series, this book has the same qualities we all love, that keeps us coming back for more. Mystery, confusion, power, danger, passion, and love. Short and sweet and to the point. But what else is there left to say. You've read it all before. Lol. But I promise you this, you are gonna love it!

What did I think about this book? I LOVED it of coarse! Reading it has been a little bittersweet, knowing that it was my last adventure with Nora and Patch. I tried to take my time. I tried to savor every page. I rushed through it as quickly as I could because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I was actually talking about this book with a friend the other day and she said that it was rushed. But after we talked about it, we agreed that it wasn't rushed, it was just the adrenaline. It gets your heart pumping and you just can't help but rush yourself.

Nora is now a full blooded nephilim, she swore the crossover oath. She is now the leader of the Black Hands army, she was forced to swear a blood oath to lead it to save her mother's life. Nora is now immortal, she decides what happens with the nephilim army, everything should be easy going from here, right? WRONG!

It seems the highlight to her new life is that she is guaranteed to live forever with Patch. Not so fast! Nora can't be seen with Patch. he is the enemy! Well technical. The nephilim and fallen angels are going to war. Cheshivan is fast approaching and if she gives them a reason, the nephilim will replace her as leader of the army. If that happens, her oath is breached and its goodbye Nora AND her mother! She doesn't have a choice. She has to lead the arms or she will die and so will her mom. Thankfully, Scott and her new 1st lieutenant, Dante, are on her side. Dante comes up with a plan, he is going to pretend to be her boyfriend and help her get into shape. This just might work to keep her in her position as leader. If she and Patch can pull off a public fight, they should be in the clear. But how to call off this war?

Nora doesn't want to fight against the fallen angels. What about Patch's safety? But at the same time, Nora is starting to want freedom for the Nephilim race. She is one of them now. Could she be forced by a fallen angel to swear fealty? She can't let that happen! She shouldn't have to share her body and neither should anyone else! She has to find peace for her people! they deserve freedom from the fear of having to be a prisoner in their own bodies. She knows that the fallen angels will never willingly stop possessing the Nephilim. How is she going to pull this off?

To make matters worse, a archangel named Pepper is now after Patch. He will do anything to get to him, including kidnap Nora. Then, there is also the infamous Dabria. She is always stepping in to cause tension between Nora and Patch. How can they make it through all of this and still come out on top, together? Is it even possible? Nora couldn't ask Patch to turn his back on the fallen angels, but after living the nephilim life, she can't turn her back on them either. Even if she didn't have the blood oath hanging over her head. She wants peace for them. She also had her mom and Vee to think about. With all this pressure, how can Nora make it out of this and convince the black Hands army that she is worthy of her title? Will she be able to find peace for her people? Or will she die trying to keep everything in balance, and loose her leadership position? You better get to reading, cause I will never tell!

For my Finale "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 97

On this page, Dante is training Nora. The subject of the day is strength training. How are they training you ask? By uprooting a tree! Yes, thats right! Nora is trying to uproot a white cedar. She has tried "pushing it over, digging it out, kicking it into submission, and futilely beating her fists against it". Its just not working. She can't do it. The tree has won. All the while Dante has been laughing it up. Just before she admits defeat, she grabs Dante's shirt and wipes her face with it, then blows her nose on it! Disappointed with herself, she admits defeat with a quivering lip. Dante admits that he knew she couldn't do it. He had set an impossible goal on purpose. Nora is fit to be tied! Want to know what happens? Read! :)

The Finale "Funny Lines" are:

Scott, I'm a when I twelve no. Vee, one I... I at shortly Friday. I... I after he's my I Thursday. I turning the I... I... I'd what Scott but at Scott sure knowing I what a I... I.... I the Dante's okay.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to take this final journey with Nora and Patch? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books A Million

Silence

2013-01-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

Sooo, I have exciting news! I am typing this on MY laptop! Whooo Hooo! Guess who is excited! The loaner was OK, but there is really nothing like using your own I think. I have really missed my poor sick baby lol. I have been trying to space these out for you all so your not bombarded with information all at once. Though I have already read and hand written reviews for the whole series. Yep, I love it that much. I am almost finished with the first book in the Tigers Saga, so I better get a move on with these reviews so that I will be ready to post that one when I am done. Sooo now, I introduce to you, the 3rd book in the Hush Hush Saga. Silence!

About the Author

Becca Fitzpatrick
http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com/
Follow her on: Her Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads

The nitty-gritty:

The summer before I entered second grade, my family moved to North Platte, Nebraska, and I warmed up to school. I also discovered Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. Heather and I kept flashlights under our beds and our nights were spent reading about the mysterious and frightening adventures of our favorite girl sleuths. Eventually Heather grew up and needed her own bedroom, and I moved in with my younger sister, Christian, who introduced me to Roald Dahl. I loved books more than ever, and found myself split between the zany imaginative world of Roald Dahl, the spine-tingling world of Nancy Drew and the historical adventure of the Little House on the Prairie books.

Everything came to a crux in third grade when I watched Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. There was no turning back: I knew I wanted to be an author. Of course, I thought all authors flew to Colombia to rescue their sister from Bad Guys, hunted for treasure, and fell in love with a sexy dangerous guy in crocodile boots, a.k.a. Michael Douglas.

I have a lot of vivid memories from my high school years, which probably explains why I write YA. I ran cross-country, played clarinet in the marching band and was a member of VICA and National Honor Society. I'll let you make the call as to whether I was a nerd. My sophomore year, a friend blackmailed me to try out for the basketball team, and I still remember the coach telling me (through clenched teeth) that due to the unbelievably low number of girls trying out that year...I survived the cut. Everyone did. I think he actually thought I coveted a spot on the team. The truth is, I hated every minute of those three-hour practices. And to this day, I resent the coach telling me I looked like I was dancing when I was on the court. Coach: It's called shuffling. Thankfully, I was much better at academics than at sports, and I graduated valedictorian of my class in 1997.

I always held on to my dream of writing, but went through a phase in college where I wanted to be a spy. I stalked the CIA website and filled out at least a dozen applications. I thought being a spy was dangerous and sexy. I didn't want to be the girl who got a degree, only to settle down and do house-ish things...like answer telemarketers' calls and choose between Spanish or Ladybug Red for the kitchen walls.

In December 2000, I married my Philadelphia-native husband, Justin. In April 2001, I graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Community Health and went to work as a secretary-slash-teacher-slash-accountant at an alternative high school in Provo, Utah. I loved the students at the school, but having the principal call me in on Saturdays to operate the copy machine was a different matter. In February 2003, my husband surprised me by enrolling me in a writing class for my twenty-fourth birthday. On that day, I went from the girl who wrote stories daily in the privacy of her journal, to the girl who wrote stories and shared them with people outside of the worlds in her head. It was also in that class that I started writing HUSH, HUSH.
Five years, one baby, and one move to Colorado later, I had a book, and it was just about as sexy and dangerous as the spy-life I'd always dreamed about.

In June 2008 I found my agent, Catherine Drayton, and in September 2008 she sold the book to Simon & Schuster.

--Becca

P.S. I recently painted my kitchen walls Spanish Red. Oh, and the telemarketers? Three calls today and counting...

About the Book

Silence

Nora Grey can't remember the past five months of her life. After the initial shock of waking up in a cemetery and being told that she has been missing for weeks - with no one knowing where she was or who she was with - she tried to get her life back on track. Go to school, hang out with her best friend, Vee, and dodge mom's creepy new boyfriend.

But there is this voice in the back of her head, an idea that she can almost reach out and touch. Visions of angel wings and unearthly creatures that have nothing to do with the life she knows.

And this unshakable feeling that a part of her is missing.

Then Nora crosses paths with a sexy stranger, whom she feels a mesmerizing connection to. He seems to hold all the answers...and her heart. Every minute she spends with him grows more and more intense until she realizes she could be falling in love. Again.

My Thoughts

I gave this book:

My colors for this book are Black and Red

I know! I know! Its not so original of me. But I have come to realize that those are the

colors of this whole series.

In this book, Nora is thoroughly confused....Black!

There is mystery and secrets, evil and death, power and overwhelming situations... again Black!

There is danger, rage, and anger.... Red!

There are even moments of passion, desire, longing and love.....Red again!

Would you have chosen other colors? Tell me what you think!

Once again, I am loving this series all over again! I love how despite all the struggles in these books, love conquers all. I have always believed this is true myself. If love is real and true between two people, they will be able to overcome any obstacle standing in their way. This seems to be the case with Nora and Patch.

They have been through a nightmare in the last book, trying to live their lives apart. Fighting their feelings for the good of each other has gotten them no where..... except into MORE trouble. When they finally gave in to their feelings and it looked like things were looking up.... BAM! The Black Hand was waiting to pull them apart again. Now, Nora has been kidnapped and the only way Patch can protect her is to swear and oath betray his fellow fallen angels and give him information against them. The only way to get her back is to let them rip out his wings. He does it willingly for her. All he cares about is getting her back home as soon and safely as possible.

When Nora returns, she finds herself in a graveyard with no memory of how she got there. Actually, she has lost 5 months of her life. She can't remember school ending, going to summer school, of the crazy events from the summer. Lost to her seemingly forever are the details leading up to and throughout her kidnapping. Worst of all, she has no memory of Patch. Their love for each other has been erased from her mind as if it never happened. But her heart still remembers. She can't remember his face, but she remembers his eye. She remembers the way he makes her feel every time she things of the color black. Will that be enough to bring them back together?

Nora is really struggling with loosing her memory. It seems as if everyone is hiding things from her. Even her best friend Vee isn't telling her the whole truth about what happened over the summer and she knows it. How can she regain her memory if no one will fill in the blanks for her. On top of that, her mom has started dating Hank Miller, the father of the only person that she has ever really hates, Marcie. Now all of a sudden, Marcie wants to join forces and split their parents up. Turns out Nora has something Marcie wants, Patch's archangel necklace, or at least Marcie THINKS she does. How far will she go to get it?

When Scott shows up back in town, he helps Nora to put some of the pieces back together, but everything he says seems so far fetched. Can she really trust him to tell her the truth? She isn't sure, but she has a feeling that she can believe his stories. She feels like she already knew their truth from before.

With everything fighting against her and regaining her memory, can Nora find justice for her kidnapping? Can she somehow piece her memory back together? Is there someway to make her feel safe again or will she always have to look over her shoulder? Most of all, will she find her way back to Patch, or is his love lost to her forever? Well, you better get to reading if you want those answers, cause I'm not tellin!

For my Silence "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 96

on this page, Hank Miller has taken Nora and her mother out to celebrate her homecoming. While at the restaurant, Marcie and her mother walk in and the you know what hits the fan. Nora tries to excuse herself, hoping that her mom will come with her so that they can avoid the embarrassment of a public altercation between Marcie and her dad. Instead of her mom leaving with her, Marcie takes her arm and goes with her into the bathroom. Marcie proposes a truce. They can work together to break their parents up. They finally have something in common. Seeing them together makes them both want to "vomit out their eyes".

The Silence "Funny Lines" are:

The even I, my I! I at I... I... The Jev, when following Saturday after back Scott's. Scott as... as my... my I after... after it.... After it Hank, I... I... It my Patch the.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to follow Nora on her journey or enlightenment? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Books A Million

Crescendo

2013-01-13T19:26:00.001-08:00

Continuing with the Hush Hush Saga, I am thrilled to introduce to you the 2nd book of this great series Crescendo.

About the Author

Becca Fitzpatrick
http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com/
Follow her on: Her Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads

About the Book

Crescendo

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it. A mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever (if that's possible) and what's worse, he seems to be spending time with Nora's archenemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.

If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My colors for this book are Black and Red

I know, I used these colors fro Hus Hus as well, but they really fir this series. Crescendo , like hush hush contains a lot of confusion and turmoil. There is a lot of anxiety. Nora is always searching and 2nd guessing herself. She is looking for her fathers killer and reliving the hurt that his death caused. She is trying to live without Patch, she broke things off with him to protect him. All of these emotions are represented by Black.

Nora broke things off with Patch because she loves him and doesn't want to risk him being chained in Hell by the arch angels. Hell has what? Fire. She is looking for the identity of a powerful Nephlil. One that wants to start a war. She is determined to fin her fathers killer. Someone bleeds... all Red.

Is there another color that you think would work better? Let me know what you think!

This is another great book from this AWESOME Saga. I am really enjoying rereading this series! It amazes me just how much I have forgotten.

In this book, once again Nora has found herself in trouble. This time however, it seems she is on her own. In trying to protect Patch from the archangels, she has broken up with him and fired him as her guardian angel. Being on her own with her problems doesn't keep her from making more of them for herself.

When an old family friend, Scott, moves back to town, her mom is determined to get them together. That is until she realizes that there is something off about him over dinner on night. Nora wants nothing to do with him either, but he always seems to show up when she needs a distraction or to get back at Patch. Especially sense it seems that Patch has moved on with her arch enemy Marcie.

One day she gets a message while out with Vee that says the Black Hand killed her father. The message has a ring with it. Who could this Black Hand be? She is also being followed. Is the Black Hand after her? Does he want to kill her like he did her father? She has to find out who he is. Maybe with a little snooping she can find out! Like its possible for her to do that without creating more trouble for herself.....um no.

This is another page turner that I know you re going to love. Between the suspense and Nora's emotional situation with Patch, I couldn't put it down...... for the 2nd time. I hot that you will enjoy it as much as I did!

For my Crescendo "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 170

On this page, Nora has gone to Battle of the Bands with Vee and Scott. Turns out Marcie is there as well and not alone. She is there with Patch! While they are getting some drinks, Marcie starts being her normal hateful self, she starts calling names and making sideways comments. This time though, it turns into more when Vee tosses Nora's drink on her. Trying to stop things from going further, Nora gets between then, only to find herself on the floor with Marcie pounding on her for various childish reasons. After Marcie dumps her drink on Nora, she has had enough. Marcie has hated her her whole life. She has done everything she could to make her life miserable. To make matters worse, now she has Patch. Nora has had enough! She balled up her fish and clipped Marcie in the jaw. FINALLY!!! But before she could take it and further, Patch was pulling her away. I say way to go Nora for standing up for herself. Seems to me it was a long time coming.

The Crescendo "Funny Lines" are:

The Patch for I. The Scott I. The Vee holy an Monday. Tuesday the once I three after. I... I... I... I... Darkness as Rixon, Nora.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to help Nora find her fathers killer? Maybe even go snooping to find out something about Scott? You can get your own copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon
Books A Million

Hush Hush

2013-01-11T23:54:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to introduce to you all some of my favorite books! I fell in love with this saga just after the release of the first book. It had been a while since I had a chance to read it, but after my laptop tragedy, I was so excited to read it again. Especially since my "adopted daughter" bought me the final book of the series Finale. But to get the the Finale and share it with you all, I had to start at the beginning with Hush Hush. So now, without further ado, I give to you Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

About the Author

Becca Fitzpatrick
http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com
Follow her on: Her Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads

My love for telling stories started in kindergarten. I was not a big fan of kindergarten. I'll even go so far as to say I hated it. My older sister, Heather, attended third grade at the same elementary school in Centerville, Utah, and shared my feelings for school. It wasn't that we disliked school so much as we disliked a handful of kids who went there: Think mini Mean Girls. At night when we were supposed to be sleeping, Heather and I would make up new episodes in an ongoing tale called THE BUS ADVENTURES. The stories were usually morbid tales of us locking all the mean kids on the school bus and driving it over a cliff. (We always let the bus driver off firstè¬¡e liked him.)

The summer before I entered second grade, my family moved to North Platte, Nebraska, and I warmed up to school. I also discovered Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. Heather and I kept flashlights under our beds and our nights were spent reading about the mysterious and frightening adventures of our favorite girl sleuths. Eventually Heather grew up and needed her own bedroom, and I moved in with my younger sister, Christian, who introduced me to Roald Dahl. I loved books more than ever, and found myself split between the zany imaginative world of Roald Dahl, the spine-tingling world of Nancy Drew and the historical adventure of the Little House on the Prairie books.

Everything came to a crux in third grade when I watched Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. There was no turning back: I knew I wanted to be an author. Of course, I thought all authors flew to Colombia to rescue their sister from Bad Guys, hunted for treasure, and fell in love with a sexy dangerous guy in crocodile boots, a.k.a. Michael Douglas.

I have a lot of vivid memories from my high school years, which probably explains why I write YA. I ran cross-country, played clarinet in the marching band and was a member of VICA and National Honor Society. I'll let you make the call as to whether I was a nerd. My sophomore year, a friend blackmailed me to try out for the basketball team, and I still remember the coach telling me (through clenched teeth) that due to the unbelievably low number of girls trying out that year...I survived the cut. Everyone did. I think he actually thought I coveted a spot on the team. The truth is, I hated every minute of those three-hour practices. And to this day, I resent the coach telling me I looked like I was dancing when I was on the court. Coach: It's called shuffling. Thankfully, I was much better at academics than at sports, and I graduated valedictorian of my class in 1997.

I always held on to my dream of writing, but went through a phase in college where I wanted to be a spy. I stalked the CIA website and filled out at least a dozen applications. I thought being a spy was dangerous and sexy. I didn't want to be the girl who got a degree, only to settle down and do house-ish things...like answer telemarketers' calls and choose between Spanish or Ladybug Red for the kitchen walls.

In December 2000, I married my Philadelphia-native husband, Justin. In April 2001, I graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Community Health and went to work as a secretary-slash-teacher-slash-accountant at an alternative high school in Provo, Utah. I loved the students at the school, but having the principal call me in on Saturdays to operate the copy machine was a different matter. In February 2003, my husband surprised me by enrolling me in a writing class for my twenty-fourth birthday. On that day, I went from the girl who wrote stories daily in the privacy of her journal, to the girl who wrote stories and shared them with people outside of the worlds in her head. It was also in that class that I started writing HUSH, HUSH.
Five years, one baby, and one move to Colorado later, I had a book, and it was just about as sexy and dangerous as the spy-life I'd always dreamed about.

In June 2008 I found my agent, Catherine Drayton, and in September 2008 she sold the book to Simon & Schuster.

--Becca

About the Book

Hush Hush

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My colors for this book are Black and Red

Black is cloaked in mystery. We hunger to know its secrets, yet we fear what may be revealed. Being simultaneously drawn to and afraid of the mysteries withing black, its often shrouded in confusion. Black represents the unknown. It can represent evil, death, and grief. Black denotes power, strength, and authority. It has a powerful presence and can be overwhelming. Black also has a positive side, providing a sense of potential and possibility. Black is actually a protective color. It can be used to calm and ground.

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with war, danger, strength, power, & determination. It also stands for passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. Red is used to indicate courage and willpower. It also represents rage, anger, and malice. In love, red represents longing, joy, passion and sensitivity.

Most of these things can be found in this book. There is a new emotion waiting with every turn of the page. I know this will be one emotional roller coaster you are going to LOVE!

I love this book! It keeps you on your toes from the first page the the last! I couldn't put it down the first time I read it, and this time was no different! I really had a great time getting to know the characters again and I hope that you will love meeting them too!

Nora is your everyday, ordinary, average girl. She has lived her whole life as the definition of a good girl. The only thing that could be defined as bad about her is that her father was killed the year before. She is trying to deal with it, but she still struggles with his death. She goes to counseling but it doesn't really help. She avoids it as often as she can. She doesn't get into any trouble and her main concern is keeping her GPA up and getting into a good college. Her life should be smooth goings! But that's all about to change.

For starters, Nora is fighting her feelings for her bad boy biology partner Patch with all shes got. Patch, is bad news. But you know girls and their bad boys! There is such a mystery to him that she can't help but want to find out more. She knows she should stay away but she just can't help herself. But then there is also Elliot. He is new at school and he is great too. He seems to be the safe choice but is he really? Looks can be deceiving. Maybe he is just too good to be true.

There is also all the strange happenings around her that have her concerned. It seems she is being stalked. She constantly feels like she is being watched even when she is at home. It doesn't make her feel any better when she notices that she is being followed. It seems like everywhere she goes, there they are. Why would someone be so interested in her? For the most part, she is just a normal teenager. After her friend Vee gets attacked pretending to be her so they can find out who is following her, she is determined to find out what is really going on and why. She is becoming afraid for her life and the lives of those around her. Could her bad boy bio partner be out to get her? What exactly is he hiding? I guess you will have to read and find out!

For my Hush Hush "Randomness Review"I am going to look at page 181

I love this part of the book! Its so funny to me. Nora has just gone to the restaurant that patch works at with Vee on his day off, trying to collect information about him. She has changed into a disguise to that no one will be able to blow her cover and tell him that she was the one asking about him. On this page, she has been caught red handed by Patch who just happened to be filling in for someone on his day off. He has seen right through Nora's disguise and followed her into the bathroom to get some answers. She has some explaining to do, but she wants answers from him too. But what will she do when Patch takes her list of questions she had to ask the bartender? "Does patch have a restraining order against him? Is Patch a felon?" How is Patch going to react to her trying to invade his privacy with such personal questions? Will he give Nora any of the answers that she is looking for?

The "Funny Lines" for Hush Hush are:

Chauncy, I ... My coach, flying can the it. I... I... I...Monday my the I you Vee. There, on I... I... Outside! Twenty? I .. I... After it, who? Five I a!

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to meet Nora and Patch and take your seat on the Archangel roller coaster? You can get your copy here:

Hastings

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books A Million

Posting Soon!

2013-01-11T14:16:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone! So sorry I have been away so long! I have not heard from any of my authors that had submitted work previously. I hope that I will hear from them soon. I still don't have my laptop back.... But, On the bright side. I have a loaner laptop to post some reviews with soooooo, as soon as I hear back from my first author, I will start posting away as I have been writing my little fingers to the bone to make sure that I didn't get behind. So I will be posting my reviews for the Hush Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick as soon as I hear back. Then I will be moving on to the Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck. I hope that you will love these books as much as I do! I am really looking forward to sharing them with you! Hope everyone is having a very blessed day! Take care!

Sad Day

2012-12-26T17:37:00.002-08:00

Today I have to report a Shhh Mommy's Reading tragedy to my followers and the wonderful Authors that have submitted your work for review. My laptop hard drive crashed... And I don't mean a little crash where I take it to the repair guy and he magically brings it back to life I mean the kind of crash where all is lost. Files, emails, pictures, and sadly for me, ebook files :(. My review list, all my books, and author emails were saved in my incredimail so I will have no back up of those. I am so sorry! If you were waiting on a review, please send me your info and book again. This is only for preexisting requests as I am not accepting any new titles for review at this time unless they are from series that I have reviewed for in the past.I do not have my laptop back yet and am not sure when that time will come, but as soon as I do, I will start to respond to your emails. Until that time, I am going to try to look at this in a positive light and do something I wish I had done in the beginning... My book shelves are filled with books that I love that I have yet to write a review for. Why is that you ask? Well, you all know my love of series, and as most of my favorite books come from series, they all turn into one long magical story for me. My mind can't tell you what details come from what book. Honestly, until I "Stumbled Upon" Goodreads, I sadly and honestly had never thought of writing a review. I am ashamed to say that some of my most beloved books, I have never reviewed because I need to reread the series from the beginning to be accurate. So that is what I am going to do. Starting today, I am going to reread my favorites before I do any more submitted reviews. I hope that you will understand. These are the books that I love that I have been neglecting. So as inopportune as it is for me to loose all of my files, it does give me an opportunity to introduce some of the books that made me want to do this in the first place. It may be a little while before I have my laptop back, but there is always pen and paper until then. As soon as I possibly can, I will start answering emails and posting reviews. I hope that you all have had a Very Blessed Christmas! May your 2013 be filled with many blessings as well!

Supernova

2012-10-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaack!!! Boy how I have missed it. Praying that now that things are starting to fall into place, that I will be able to keep it going. So, a few weeks ago, I went to Scarefest in Lexington, KY with a paranormal group that I joined and met some amazing people! I finally got to meet the AWESOME Marley Gibson there and her FANTIBULOUS hubby Patrick Burns! I was completely AWED at a Chip Coffey gallery reading. I was Blessed by the wonderful Bishop James Long. Just as exciting as all that, I met some other AMAZING authors there as well! Soooo, today, I am going to introduce you to one of them! Meet C. L. Parker and her FABULOUS book Supernova!

About the Author

C.L. Parker

http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/authors/detail/20

C.L. Parker is a paranormal romance author who writes smut and knows how to use it. She smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish, and cusses like a sailor because she used to be one. She does none of these things around her three beautiful children.Having been the outgoing sort for all her life - which translates to “she just wouldn’t shut the hell up” – it’s no wonder Parker eventually turned to writing as a way to have her voice, and those of the people living inside her head, be heard. She loves hard, laughs until it hurts, and lives like there’s no tomorrow. In her world, everything truly does happen for a reason.

About the Book

Supernova

Somewhere between the first twinkling of stars in the night sky and the break of dawn, two souls from two unique worlds collide, creating an everlasting supernova.

Kerrigan Cruz and Dominic Grayson are among the chosen few who have the gift, or the curse, of being able to walk between two worlds. It is on the cusp of where these beings meet that everything changes, and life as they know it is turned upside down. Fantasy becomes reality and what shouldn’t be, is.

Forced by destiny, their chance encounter is breathed to life by the one thing that can make even the most impossible of impossibilities a reality. Something so complex in nature, yet as simple as a flicker of thought to exercise. Most normal people go about their everyday lives never even suspecting its existence. But it is out there…it is the Light.

The universe has granted the power of the Light to a chosen bloodline charged with the responsibility of protecting our right to choose our destiny. But in the shadows, darkness wreaks havoc in the lives of the unsuspecting. Yes, another world does exist, and it holds secrets beyond what the most vivid imagination can comprehend.

I also have a Super Awesome Swag Giveaway for this book!! It includes a Bookmark, Postcard, Flier, and a Rack Card! Thank you C. L. Parker!!! To win this Awesome Swag, simply share my blog post on facebook, twitter, or any other site of your choosing, and post a comment this post letting me know where you shared it with a link to where I can find it. You will get 1 entry per share and the winner will be drawn at random. Give away ends on October 18, 2012 at 11am. "Why then?" you ask.... Very simple, My mail runs at 12 and it will give me time to get it right out to you!

My Thoughts
I gave this book

My color for this book is Green

Green is life. Abundant in nature, green signifies growth, renewal, health, and environment. Green is the color of nature. On the flip side, green is jealousy or envy (green-eyed monster) and inexperience.

It is a restful color with some of the same calming attributes of blue. Green symbolizes the master healer and the life force. Green also symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony.

Green contains the powerful energies of nature, growth, desire to expand or increase. Balance and a sense of order are found in the color green. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green. Because of all the green in nature the color is reminiscent of Spring. It's also the color for "go" on a traffic light. Grow and Go with Green.

Green with blue produces echoes of nature - water and forest and can denote new beginnings and growth.

Put some green in your life when you want:

a new state of balance
feel a need for change or growth
freedom to pursue new ideas
protection from fears and anxieties connected with the demands of others

I chose Green for this book, because of the nature of Kerrigan and Gammy Availia's gift. It is renewed by nature and light. When Kerrigan first begins to practice using her powers, some of her very first successes were in her garden with plants. Its also in her garden where she regains her strength when she as used too much of her energy. Plus, we must not forget that the irresistible Dominic has amazing eyes of green as well. Would you choose Green for this book too? Or maybe there is another color you think fits it best. Tell me what you think!

Warning: This book contains some language and adult situations that are not appropriate for young readers.

There.... Now that that is taken care of, let me say, despite being a little out of my comfort zone with some of the situations, I really enjoyed this book! As a matter of fact, I am DYING to start the next one in this series! It was killing me so much that I , because my hubby was on the laptop, hand wrote my review first so that I could get started on the next one. Yes, I know I'm wired and impatient. But you all know that series are my weakness!! The bad thing for me is, I just can't stop myself and if I try to review them after I have gone off the handle and read the whole series in a weekend, which I am known for doing, than I can't separate the books in my head to review each of them individually. Soooo, I HAD to go ahead and write it out... It was that or drive myself crazy with wonder. Its just too tempting when I have the next one sitting there waiting on me. Ok, soooo here it is.......

This is a great book, about a girls journey to self discovery. The discovery of family secrets. The discovery of abilities she never knew she had. The discovery of true love, even when you are both fighting it with all you have. The discovery of life as Guardian of the Light.

Kerrigan Cruz and her Grammy Availia have always had a very special connection. Grammy was Kerrigan's rock, the one she always went to with her problems. She could chase away all her worries with one a few bars of "This Little Light Of Mine". They were so close that as Kerrigan grew older and didn't get to see her Grammy as much, she often had very real dreams about her. On one night in particular, it was Grammy's death that she saw in her dreams, on her birthday no less. As hard as it was for her to accept, she knew that is was real. It wasn't long until she got the call to let her know that Grammy had in fact passed away. Grammy had left everything to her in her will, so she and her best friend Gabe decided to move to her house in St. Augustine. She was also given a letter explaining to her that she had a house guest living with her and she needed Kerrigan to let him stay and protect him in her absence.

Kerrigan worked in a law office in Chicago, which is where she met Gabe, and was seeing Jackson. She had been wanting to break up with Jackson, but had been afraid of disappointing her father. Turns out her Grammy's death gave her the out she was looking for. Upon their arrival at St. Augustine, Jackson showed his true gold digging colors in front of her parents. He was only with her for the money and during his little rant, he put his hands on Kerrigan. Even though he didn't know Kerrigan from a hole in the wall, Dominic Grayson, Kerrigan's new house guest, stepped in and saved the day. Jackson was history. Besides, the minute that Kerrigan laid eyed on Dominic the handsome stranger, it wouldn't have mattered anyway! Whoo ladies! This guy would the man of any girls dreams!

Kerrigan and Dominic were automatically drawn to each other. They tried both tried to fight it, but neither could deny the connection that they had. As a matter of fact, they weren't the only ones that couldn't deny it, it was obvious to everyone around them. Gabe, and Kerrigan's childhood friends Livi and Sydney could all see the attraction between them. They were supposed to be protecting each other. They had promises to keep to Grammy. But how could they keep them when they were so consumed with each other? Plus, Dominic has secrets, how can he be with Kerrigan, knowing what he is hiding from her? He can't think of how she would even want to look at him if she knew. His past has many horrible things in it, things that still effect him daily. He thinks that if she knew, she would think he was a monster. He thinks she would never accept him. He also knows secrets about her. Things that her Grammy never got to tell her. He has got to help her discover who she really is. How can he help her learn about herself while keeping his secrets at the same time? Will their feelings for each other stand in the way of Kerrigan reaching her full potential? Well..... I guess you will just have to read the book and find out now wont you!

I did truly enjoy every minute of reading this book. I love books that make you feel what the characters are feeling. This one definitely did a good job of doing that. C. L. Parker did a great job of describing things, emotions, frustrations. There were parts when I wanted to cry right along with Kerrigan. Parts when I laughed along with her and parts when I was so frustrated with Dominic that I wanted to reach in and smack him upside the head. As a stay at home mom, reading is my escape from the world. When I read, I want to get lost in the story, become a part of it. And I am happy to say that I did with this book. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did!

For my Supernova "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 138

I LOVE this page. It is so playful and fun. Kerrigan has been out in the garden with her friends while Dominic has been painting the living room. Kerrigan comes in to check on things and bring him a cool drink. While admiring the walls, she also notices that he has gotten quite a bit of paint on himself. Naturally, she can't help herself and wipes her finger across a glob that he is wearing and rubs it right across his nose. After that it is on! They both reach for the paint brush, but Kerrigan gets to it first and paints a big slash right across his chest. Then again the other way making a big X. All I have got is say is X marks the spot. This guy is hot! i believe that Kerrigan has found her treasure! Trust me, he gets his revenge ;).

The Supernova "Funny Lines" are:

Kerrigan Chicago arriving! Kerrigan, it the at so William's Kerrigan rise Gabe. It's mornin! So I'm let Kerrigan when.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to meet Kerrigan and the hunky Dominic and find out all their secrets? Get your copy here:
The Writers Coffee Shop Publishing House
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

I am soooooo sorry!

2012-08-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know some of your are wondering what the heck happened to me. Well, we have had a pretty crazy summer at my house. I just want to apologize to everyone who has submitted books for me to read and I have not yet had a chance to get them reviewed. My family and I have been thrown some struggles over the summer that we have been trying to get taken care of and honestly, I have tried to read along with it, but there has just been so much on my mind that it just wasn't getting through. I swear I have read the same chapter of the same book a hundred times, and I couldn't tell you much about it, much less write a review. It seems to be a good book. I just haven't been able to concentrait. So with that said, as things are starting to calm down and get back to normal. I promise I will do my very best to start getting some books read and reviewed as soon as possible. I feel so bad about not getting them done. I hope you will all understand! God bless you all!

The Keeper

2012-05-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I would like to introduce to you a book by Natalie Star called The Keeper.

About the Author

Natalie Star
http://www.authornataliestar.com

Three years ago, if you told me one day I would love to read and write, I would have told you you were crazy-out-of-your-mind. Since then I have read 150+ books and written 2 complete novels (one of which is being published) and I have 3 more in the works.

When I'm not reading or writing, I can be found with my husband supporting my two children on the soccer fields. Or maybe running around with my camera taking photos while camping and/or hiking. Or lastly, and most probable - I'm watching movies on Netflix while simultaneously perusing Facebook.

Our family resides in the state of Virginia along with our old-unintelligent-diabetic cat named Lucky

Fun facts:

I love snow.

I've had pets all my life (cats, dogs, fish, ferrets, hermit crabs) now I only have one cat and she is old, has diabetes, and needs insulin twice daily. At first I was terrified to give her a needle but now it's easy as can be. She's used to it as well, and we have a nice schedule worked out.

This spring has been like National Geographic in our yard. We've had ducks, a pair of robins that had four eggs (but something ate them), a dove who had two babies (they flew off last week), and lastly (that I know of) a kitty had four babies in the roof of our gazebo. The ducks and robins are the norm for us so the others were a nice perk.

I love photography! Not just taking photos, but looking at others work.

About The Book

The Keeper

The morning of her sixteenth birthday, Billie feels blessed despite the reoccurring nightmare that wakes her. Loving parents, a caring boyfriend, and great friends surround her until an heirloom necklace throws her into a world she never imagined.

“Gifted” with supernatural powers and an unexpected destiny as the Keeper, Billie and a mysterious boy from her past must work together to find answers. But, as they begin to discover feelings for one another, he disappears leaving her to fight evil alone. Her life spirals out of control. She breaks up with her boyfriend, Tony, and alienates her best friends Arianna and Jocelyn to protect them from the truth.

As dark forces pursue her, Billie longs to run away from it all, yet a need to do what’s right compels her to face the future as the keeper of more than her own fortune.

Excerpt

“I have something special for you. Sit, I’ll go get it.” And before I knew it, she rushed down the hall.

“Hurry, Mom, I have to get to school!” I yelled after her. She was back in a flash. “Here, honey.” She handed me a long narrow velvet jewelry box, maroon in color, the coloring faded from age and use. I flipped back the lid and saw a gold chain with a charm hanging from it. Definitely nothing I would have handpicked, nice enough I guess, but it looked older than dirt itself. There was a yellowish gemstone, citrine I think, no larger than a nickel and it was set on top of a golden sunburst. She explained, “It’s been in our family for years. It’s been handed down from generation to generation on the sixteenth birthday.”

“Um, thank you. How old is it, and where did it come from?” I questioned because it even smelled old.

“No one in recent memory knows the answer to either question. We do know it is an honor to receive it, and you have to wear it for your whole birthday, no matter what,” Mom explained.

“Or what, I will have seven years bad luck?” I didn’t know what else to say.

“No, worse, a whole life of bad luck.” Mom said it so seriously.

“Well, if that isn’t convincing enough, put it on me!” I was not superstitious but why take chances?

I lifted my flat ironed hair out of the way, and Mom placed the chain around my neck. The second I heard it click into place, I felt funny, and I swear the jewelry’s temperature rose. I stood up in a state of a panic as it warmed and the heat spread from my neck throughout my body. Everything went white, and then pulled out.

“Billie!” Mom screamed.

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this books is Red

Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is a very emotionally intense color. It enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It has very high visibility, which is why stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red. In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage. In Feng Shui color theory red means energy, good luck, courage, passion, marriage, faith and communication. The emotions that it is associated with include anger, irritation, passion, courage and outrage. These are many things that you will find in The Keeper as Billie learns to use her gifts and what they in tale. She must constantly be on alert for dangers that may come her way, and all the while, she hows great strength and determination. While learning to deal with and understand her new life, her emotions are on high alert as well, she has strong feelings her her Watcher, ones that she shouldn't give in to, feelings that make it even more dangerous for the both of them. Would you choose Red for this book as well? Let me know what you think!

So, let me first say that I did enjoy this book. I know this rating is a little on the low side for me, but its only because I just couldn't really get into it like I like to. The problem might have been that it was a little repetitive. But it wasn't like I hated it. Its definitely worthy of your To Read pile.

This book is about a girl named Billie, who has a strange dream every year on her birthday. When she wakes up on her sixteenth, her bad dream has come once again. But even stranger, when her mother passes down a family heirloom to her, she passes out when the necklace is put on her. At school, things seemed pretty normal except "Freak Boy" talked to her, She knew he had always been in her class, but she honestly couldn't remember his name, or even recall hearing his voice. Somehow though, after he spoke to her that first time, she felt drawn to him. So when he suggested that she meet him, she couldn't resist. She skipped lunch with her friends and boyfriend to see what he had to day.

As it turns out, "Freak Boy" is actually Tyler Reynolds, her watcher. He had been watching her throughout her whole life. He had seen her the day that "the Mist" was gifted to her and he knew someday change would come to her, and when it did, he had to help her understand it. Though, he didn't have all the answers for her, he helped her get through the basics and work on using her gifts.

As Tyler and Billie became closer, the attraction between them was undeniable. As hard as they tried to fight it, it was impossible. As fate would have it, her boyfriend walked in on them one day while they were training and misinterpreted what he saw. As much as it hurt her, even after making him understand that it was innocent, she used the opportunity to break it off. She really wanted to be with Tyler. The bad thing was that not only did she loose her boyfriend, but her friends became distant too. To make things worse, Tyler couldn't stay forever, eventually, he would be called back and the Tyler that she knew would go back to being the boy that he lived inside. That day came sooner than she thought though, when he helped her save her dad from a fire at his office and was hurt pretty badly. Then not only did she loose her Tyler to a Tyler that didn't even know she existed, but she also lost her dog Sam when the building after him to save him.

With this strain of loosing her watcher and her beloved dog, and the distance between her and her friends, things became hard for her. Hey ex boyfriend was back in her life, and was trying hard to keep a watch on her for her watcher, but it was very stressful for him. Billie was starting to fight against evil forces and terrible creatures would come up out of nowhere. She only knew they were around when her necklace grew cold. She needed her watcher. She needed her protector that she knew was supposed to come. How will she learn to use her gifts if she doesn't have anyone to show her how? All she really wants is a normal life. Is there anyway for her to back out of being The Keeper? I guess you will have to read and find out.

For my The Keeper "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 95

On this page, Billie has just fought a huge guy in the woods and beat him resulting in him disappearing in a large puff of red smoke. Unbeknown to her, her brother Dan had been there to witness it. Her ex-boyfriend Tony, had been there and tried to keep him from going after her, but he had punched him and took off after her. She is going to have to explain to him what is going on. Will he keep her secret?

The Keeper "Funny Lines" are:
I surprisingly grades I the on the first. I, Tyler......Tyler it in first the....the.....the.....The days Mom at ten even come as sitting days. It the I...... I at dress sitting I things summer days I Tyler.

Are you ready to kick some evil butt with Billie and Tyler? If so, you can pick up your copy of The Keeper here:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Smashwords

Driven

2012-05-24T01:38:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to introduce to you another book from the Full Throttle Series by the Wonderful Lisa Nowak! So without further addue, I give you, newly released, Driven!

About the Author

Lisa Nowak
http://lisanowak.wordpress.com

In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smart- - -. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wei wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron.

Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, four feline companions, and two giant sequoias.

About the Book

Driven

The last thing on 16-year-old Jess DeLand’s wish list is a boyfriend. She’d have to be crazy to think any guy would look twice at her. Besides, there are more important things to hope for, like a job working on cars and an end to her mom’s drinking. Foster care is a constant threat, and Jess is willing to sacrifice anything to stay out of the system. When luck hands her the chance to work on a race car, she finds herself rushing full throttle into a world of opportunities—including a boy who doesn’t mind the grease under her fingernails. The question is, can a girl who keeps herself locked up tighter than Richard Petty’s racing secrets open up enough to risk friendship and her first romance?

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Black

I know what your thinking, black is such a dark color. Well, yes and no. There are several very specific reasons why I chose black to represent this book. When I was doing some research on colors for this book, I discovered that among many other things, black represents chaos, knowledge of hidden things, potential, protection and rebirth. Sound familiar? In this book, Jess's life is full or chaos. Her mother makes her home life almost unbearable. Despite her talent with mechanics, Jess feels like that is a part of her life that she can't share with her mother. She goes to great lengths to keep it hidden from her so that her mother doesn't make it even harder on her. Not only does she struggle to keep her job hidden from her mom, she struggles as well with keeping her mom hidden from everyone in her life. She can't have people know about how her mom treats her. She won't let anything stand in the way of the life she is building for herself. When Kacey discovers her potential and offers her a job, Jess is over the moon! Her life is finally starting to go right. Until her mom takes off and leaves her to fend for herself. But she can't tell anyone. She can't risk being put into foster care. Despite all the care that she takes to hid her secret, everyone sees that someone is wrong and they want nothing more than to protect her and help her have a good life. In the end, things are looking up. Its like she is being reborn into a new life. The life she has always dreamed of having. So you see, black does actually fit pretty well I think. What about you? Would you chose black for this book as well? Let me know what you think!

So, if you have read my many of my blogs before, you know that I AM A SUCKER FOR SERIES!!! Yes I am! And the Full Throttle series is one that I have enjoyed so much! So when Lisa asked me if I would be interested in being part of her blog tour, I was very excited and honored! I have REALLY enjoyed this series! Trust me, I was totally skeptical when I read the first book. Cars? I thought. Really? How am I going go enjoy a book about cars and racing. BUT I did! I not only enjoyed it, I couldn't wait for the next one! And I sped through it as well. So of coarse, I couldn't wait for Driven to be released! And boy was it totally worth the wait!

In this book, all of the beloved characters are back, only not so much in the fore front. This book is about a teenage girl named Jess and her life and love of the race track. Jess has had it rough for most of her life. Her dad left when she was 8 and after that, her mom turned into a alcoholic and was never able to fight her way out of that addiction. Adding her failed relationships with looser after looser who mistreated her did nothing but add to her reason for depression and continued drinking. This only made life harder for Jess. As soon as she was old enough, she started to work and even began to hide money in a book so that she could help cover the bills if they were ever in a situation where they needed it. Living with her mom was like walking on egg shells. She never knew what her moms mood would be from one day to the next so she mainly just tried to stay away as much as possible. This lead her to the race track where she found herself one Saturday night at the right place at the right time.

She had always had a love for cars, pretty much as long as she could remember. When she was very young, she used to watch her dad work on them and eventually, he gave in and started showing her the ropes. She carried on her love affair with them even after he left and when she was in high school, she even took shop class so that she could learn more. When she got a car of her own, she talked her shop teacher into letting her use the class to change out the motor in her pinto to a 351 Windsor. (OK, so I admit, I have NO CLUE what that is, but it sounds tough.) So as fate would have it, on this particular trip to the track, Jess bought a pit pass instead of a seat in the stands to take a look at the cars before the races began. On this particular night, Teri Sue, a female driver of the baby blue number 70 camaro, was having problems with her car and her crew chief and as it turned out, Jess could help. Before the night was out, Teri Sue had offered her her dream job and what would turn out to be a very special friendship with Teri Sue and her family.

Over the next weeks, Jess became familiar with a lot of the other racers as well, and after an accident with Teri Sue, Cody made his way quickly to Jess's crap list. She even tried to fight him in the pits. She couldn't stand the sight of him, and to make it worse, he started coming around Teri Sue's when she was there working on the camaro. Every time she laid eyes on Cody, her blood began to boil. Why did he have to come around all the time? They had work to do. But then, the more he came around, the more she got to know him and the more she started to realize that maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she even liked him a little......maybe a even a little more than that. But Jess was such a private person. She was really struggling with letting these people into her life. How could she trust these people she just met, when she couldn't even trust her own parents?

One night after working on the car, Teri Sue invited Jess to a camp out at her house and just as Jess started to loosen up and have some fun, she got a call from her mom. She was in jail for a DUI. How could she tell them what had happened. She rushed off with only a quick goodbye and prayed they wouldn't ask too many question. But with Teri Sue, that was nearly impossible and her questions nearly ended their friendship. But after some time, Jess found herself wanting to open up about it, to of all people, Cody. She had seen how devoted he was to his uncle and had learned a lot about what he had been through due to Race's wreck the year before. She felt like she was safe with him. Before she knew it, she found their relationship getting closer. And things at home were even getting better, until, well, they just weren't anymore. Her mom went from sober back to drunk again before she even realized it was happening. Jess couldn't take anymore and she finally opened up to her mom about how she felt. Only to find herself alone and broke a few days later. Her mom just took off and left her alone. What was she going to do? How could she make it all on her own? She couldn't turn to anyone and let them find out what was going on. She could loose everything she has worked so hard for. But at the same time, she was just a kid, how could she get through this alone? Well, you are just going to have to read and find out.

Like the other books in this series, I really loved Driven. These characters are so full of heart, even behind their tough as nails exteriors. I think that's what makes them so much fun to read about. At first, you only see their tough exterior, but as you read on, the layers begin to peel back and you finally get to see whats really in their heart. Lisa is such a talented writer in this way. To begin with, her characters are the one that if you met them on the street, that would probably be the people that you would love to hate. But if you ever really took the time to get to know them, you would be amazed at how much you will love them in the end. So maybe the next time that you see someone like Jess on the street, shy and closed off from the world, say hi and give them a smile. You never know when they might really need to see that someone cares.

For my Driven "Randomness Review" I'm going to look at page 101

On this page, Cody has taken Jess to his house to watch a race with him along with Race and Kasey. After the race is over, Kasey asks if she can take a look at Jess's car, having heard about the modification that she has made to it. After admiring Jess's work and attention to detail, Kasey offers Jess a job in her shop. Jess is so excited! Kasey is her idol. She is everything that she has ever wanted to be and now she gets to work with her! I think this is really awesome! I guess to me as a singer, it would be like Garth Brooks asking me to open for his concert........yea, I can dream right! But here, one of Jess's dreams came true and even better, is she really deserved it!

The Driven "Funny Lines" are:

If while on Teri, Teri? Saturday when I..... It ......It, outside! Sunday anxiousness I, on the..... The Cody! I Saturday up the.... The at, Whoa! Friday in the I the Kasey I when Kasey's in. What? As Sunday Dad's.

Ready to read a true tale of strength to overcome with Jess and her friends? You can get your copy of Driven here:

Get it at Barnes & Noble

Get it at Amazon

Get it at Smashwords

Ghost Huntress : The Reason

2012-05-02T18:18:00.001-07:00

Making her 4th appearance here on Shhh Mommy's Reading, once again I give you the Fantabulous Marley Gibson and the 3rd book from her Ghost Huntress Series, The Reason!!

About the Author

Marley Gibson
http://www.marleygibson.com/
http://www.ghosthuntress.com
Follow her on her blog, Facebook, & Twitter

Marley - Part 3

After graduation, I began college at The University of Alabama. I had a great college experience. I was a Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity sister, a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, was on the school Spirit Committee, on the SGA and active in politics. My best buddy and I spent hours riding around Tuscaloosa, singing songs, and hanging out with the football players. It was the setting where we wondered what in the world we were going to do with our futures.

After college, I moved to Washington D.C. and worked on Capitol Hill in my first job (which happened to be for my parents' congressman). I booked tours for constituents, handled military academy appointments, wrote correspondence, got the congressman cheeseburgers and milk for lunch and even had the opportunity to drive his Mercedes out to Arlington to collect a lawnmower part for him. (Just don't ask me to tell you about the Thanksgiving turkey he left in said Mercedes that his wife found…at Easter!) It was a great first job out of college and I was living in DC! I loved the history of the area and the architecture. So many awesome restaurants and activities in the DC area. Plus, my sister lived in Baltimore, so it was great to have family nearby, as well.

After D.C., I moved to Austin, Texas where I worked for the local congressman, J.J. "Jake" Pickle. On a daily basis, I would churn out letters on the congressman's behalf. It was our job as caseworkers to help with any problems with federal agencies and facilitate communication for our constituents. I was definitely putting my writing skills to work every day in that job.

About the Book

Ghost Huntress : The Reason

It’s not everyday you have a premonition of your own demise. But two months after Kendall had a vision of her own death, all is well in her world. Maybe some cosmic wires got crossed. Then Kendall gets a request by the mayor of Radisson to investigate the mayoral manor. Emily and Loreen warn her against it: This spirit is dangerous. But not even they can see just how dangerous. But during the aftermath of her run-in with the spirit Kendall learns a life-shattering secret. Now Kendall has an even bigger problem. Somehow, she’s got to pull her life together if she wants to cleanse the mayor’s mansion and bring peace to the home—and herself.

“Every young woman needs to read this!” – Steve Gonsalves, star of Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters Academy, SyFy Channel

Click Here to read the first chapter.

Also you will totally want to check out the series website! Do you have any ghost hunting stories that you want to share? http://www.ghosthuntress.com/

For those of you who need a little stress relief in your life, Marley also offers these AWESOME DagNabIt Dolls!! If your having a bad day, you just hit it on something and say DagNabIt DagNabIt DagNabIt until all your frustrations are gone! I promise, they work great! I am the proud owner one myself ! To check availability, you can message Marley here - www.dagnabitdolls.com. They are Super Cute and A Lot of fun!

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Black

I know I know, I've used black already, but this book has some pretty powerful emotions going on. Black for one represents power. In this book, there is a pretty powerful spirit. Kendall can sense her strength even from the very first time that she thinks she sees her through the window, and Emily doesn't like her either. She tells her to stay away from there. Another thing that black represents that we see in this book is death, and even people attempting to that their life and the life of another. Kendall sees Emily's death in a vision as well as her own. Which brings us to yet another emotion represented by black, fear. Kendall practically becomes afraid to breathe. her vision was a little vague and she is afraid of when and how her death will occur. Kendall is in danger. The spirit from the Mayors house does not want her there and will do anything to make her leave. They are all in danger the minute they walk through the door for their investigation. The last things that made me choose the color black is the ending of relationships and grief over it and leaving loved ones behind. Things are definitely changing for this group. What will their future bring? Would you use the color black to describe this book? Let me know what you think!

Again I say I LOVE THIS SERIES!! This book is full of suspense as Kendall has had a premonition not only of her spirit guide, Emily's death, but also of her own. Can you imagine how scary that would be? Knowing that is was coming and what you would look like as you are dying, but not exactly how it was going to happen and when. All that you know is that it is coming soon. Is it possible to prevent it from happening? Is there anything you can do to save yourself?

Kendall is again learning more and more about her abilities and how she can use them to help others. Loreen, who has started to date Father Mass, has even let her "hang out a shingle" at her shop where she now gives readings and is even learning more about energy healing. She has even started to give readings to the mayor of Radisson, Donn Shy. Its while she is speaking to her one day on the way to Divining Woman that she discovers the ghost that is haunting the mayor's house. Just from the quick glimpse she gets of her in the window gives her a bad feeling, and Emily feels the same way. The mayor is having some back problems and Kendall suspects that they are caused by the spirit and though she is able to help with the pain with her energy healing, she knows that she is going to have to help the mayor get the spirit to cross over and get her out of her house.

Things are getting a lot better for Kendall both at home and at school. Her mom is doing her best to accept her abilities despite her religious beliefs. Courtney Langdon is even treating her better after the help that she and her friends gave her with the spirit that was oppressing her. It seems like just as things are falling into line in her life, it could be coming to an end. She tries to keep her vision to herself but but she feels like she has to tell someone. She can't tell her parents, they will never even let her out of the house after that. She decides that she needs to share if with Jason, though that also puts him on edge and he doesn't give her much more space then her parents would have. He even tells her that he doesn't want to her to investigations anymore. But she knows that this is what she is meant to do. She can't stop helping spirits just because she is afraid of what could happen.

Kendall continues to push Emily for information about her life. She doesn't understand why she wont tell her more about herself. Who was the man in the car when she died, what happened to her unborn baby? And why did her mom freak out when they showed her the picture of Emily that Celia drew? Is she hiding something? Could she have known Emily before she died? Emily refuses to talk about it and this sends Kendall to Celia in search of more information. She gives her all the information that she has from her visions hoping that somehow she can find out who Emily really is, and Celia is on the case! Not only is Kendall having visions about Emily and herself, but also a boy she has never seen before. Who could this guy be? She doesn't have time to worry about that though, they are doing research for the investigation at the mayors house. But while they are going over what they have Kendal gets a call from Jason. His mother has tried to commit suicide and things aren't looking good. The investigation is put off for a while.

After things start to look up with Jason and Taylor's mom, the investigation is back on. Loreen warns Kendall that the spirit is vengeful and dangerous. That they should proceed with caution. Emily echoes her warning as well. But Kendall fells like she has to do this, she has to face whats coming no matter what it may mean for herself. Will Kendall and her team make it through this investigation safely? Will Kendall ever find out what it is that Emily is hiding about about her life? What will happen with Jason and Taylor's mom, and will their lives ever be the same again? Well, those are questions you will have to answer for yourself!! This is definitely one that you are going to want to read! Like the others from this series who came before, I couldn't put it down AND I couldn't wait to begin reading the next one! Which is why I am playing catch up now! I promise you that you wont be disappointed by this series! Run Run Run and pick up these books and start reading! You are going to love getting to know Kendall and her friends!

For the Ghost Huntress : The Reason "Randomness Review", I am going to look at page 56

On this page, Kendall and Jason have just had near misses with accidents on the way home for a ball game, both happening at almost exactly the same time. Kendall barely missed hitting a deer then has a vision that Jason is in trouble. Jason almost hot hit by a eighteen-wheeler, but he would have been the cause of the accident because he was distracted. He had a feeling that Kendall was in danger. The guy he was riding with screamed and got his attention and he was able to avoid the truck. As they are both telling the other what happens, Kendall realized that they must have a deeper connection than she ever realized. To me this reminds me of a mothers intuition. I don't care how far away from your child you are, if they are hurting you just know it. I love that we are able to have these kind of connections, but it also makes it that much harder when we have to be apart from each other.

The Ghost Huntress : The Reason "Funny Lines" are:

It's Sarah. Can I? That how, thankfully the Jason don't. Celia the....the....it's....Hold! Beep! Who's? We are Monday. I.......

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to enter this world of spirits with Kendall and her friends? You can get your copy here

You can get a signed copy from Marley herself

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Ghost Huntress : The Guidance

2012-05-02T00:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have been sick sick sick this week, so I got LOTS of reading done! Finished this whole series as a matter of fact, because, well I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING else! But hey, who can complain with a fantastic series like this one! So today I'm gonna be reviewing the last 4 books in the series, but sadly yes on 4 different posts that way I can still keep them all separate and finish the info I started sharing on Marley! So once again, I give you the AWESOME, Marley Gibson, along with book 2 from the Ghost Huntress series, The Guidance!!

About the Author

Marley Gibson
http://www.marleygibson.com/
http://www.ghosthuntress.com
Follow her on her blog, Facebook, & Twitter

Marley - Part 2

In high school, I was involved up to my eyeballs in extra-curricular activities: varsity cheerleader, first trumpet in the marching/concert band, honor society, class officer, high school sorority, head photographer for yearbook staff, girl's softball, and more. I also took tap, toe, ballet, jazz, gymnastics, and baton. I’m still a little bitter that my mother sold my cheerleading pom poms and my batons in a garage sale.

The summer between ninth and tenth grades was challenging as I discovered I had cancer (in my leg – periosteal osteosarcoma – and had to spend a month in the hospital undergoing three surgeries, chemo, and radiation). My imagination kept me going and I remember telling my mother I could write a story about it one day. I lost all of my hair, but it was the year our football team decided to shave their heads because they thought it made them "tougher." So, all the opposing schools just thought one of the cheerleaders had so much school spirit, that she shaved her head, too.

Senior year, saw me named as Senior's Who's Who as "Most School Spirit" and "Most Talented". And okay…I got "Most Talkative," too, but we won't go there.

About the Book

Ghost Huntress : The Guidance

Kendall and her ghost hunting team is the talk of Radisson, Georgia, but one person isn’t so pleased. Courtney Langdon doesn’t appreciate Kendall’s new popularity or her relationship with Jason, Courtney’s ex. So Courtney begins dabbling in the paranormal world. At first it’s all a game to draw attention away from Kendall. But Courtney doesn’t know what she’s getting into—or what wants in her. This is one game that’s about to turn deadly serious.

“Real-life ghost huntress Marley Gibson pulls no punches.” – Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, stars of SyFy’s Ghost Hunters

Click Here to read the first chapter.

Also you will totally want to check out the series website! Do you have any ghost hunting stories that you want to share? http://www.ghosthuntress.com/

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Green

I chose green for this book because, well it symbolizes two very important traits that we see in it. Jealousy and being new to something. In this book we see a lot of jealousy coming from Courtney Langdon. It seems to consume her and so she makes life very hard for Kendall. Which make it seem like Coutney's jealousy is also consuming Kendall. Its not like Kendall needs anything more to worry about in her life as she is just starting to learn about her abilities and how to control them. She is really struggling to keep it all balanced and in control. Green can also symbolize strife or conflict as we see with the confused spirit in this book. Its angry at the world because of confusion of certain circumstances that occurred before his death. Circumstances that made him question the love and loyalty of the woman that he loved. I know green means a lot of positive things too! For example, green also stands for peace, safety, and stability...... we see those things in this book too, but first you have to get through the good stuff :). What do you think? Does green represent this book to you too, or would you choose a different color? I would love to hear your opinion! Let me know!

I am soooo in love with this series! Not only did it REALLY keep me company while I was laid up in bed with this crud, but they characters are doing things that I have always wanted to do. Things I have ALWAYS been fascinated by. I've always been on the fence about these things though because, really I don't know how to look at it. whats right and wrong. But looking at it from the books perspective, Kendall really has these abilities and she uses them for good. To help people and earth bound spirits. Though, the things that Kendall's mother has been taught, well, I have been kinda taught too. I mean, no one has ever came right out and told me you are not supposed to get involved with psychics or things that are paranormal, its always just kinda been understood. But then again, I also feel like if things like psychics and ghosts exist (and I do totally believe they do) then just like everything else, there can be a good side and a bad side. So yes, I TOTALLY believe in ghosts. And I think it would be AWESOME to go on a investigation or be part of a ghost hunters team! Though, I have never had the opportunity. I have never known a psychic, met one, or talked to one. But I do think that there is probably a place for them in this world and if they are here, well there abilities must be God given and it is not for us to judge. So now that I have gotten all that out of my system, let me tell you some about the book. In this book, things are really starting to come together for Kendall. She is learning more about her abilities and word is getting around about the Ghost Huntresses. Their first case is REALLY awesome! As they help a family find their lost loved one. And no I don't mean lost as in he has passed away, but that its true, what I am talking about though is that his body has literally been misplaced! Can you imagine! HOW COOL!! But as they begin to investigate this case, there is another spirit present. A soldier, and he is very angry. They sidestep him for now and are able to speak with the spirit of the man they are trying to locate. But this will not be the last they see of this soldier.

While everyone in the community is coming to love Kendall and the Ghost Huntresses for all the aid they are giving to those who need it, there is one person who is not happy about Kendall and her new found abilities. Courtney Langdon. She is supposed to be the most popular girl in school, she is the head cheerleader after all! She is supposed to be dating the hottest guy (which happens to be Jason Tillson), and he is now with Kendall too. Her jealousy beings to bubble over and she starts to make Kendall's school life really hard, calling her Ghost Girl and ever spilling her food on her on purpose. Things come to a head when they are assigned to be partners in their physiology class. They actually have to work together, and Courtney is not going to make it easy. Taking some advice from Loreen, Kendall gives Courtney a book on understanding psychic abilities, thinking that if she understands whats going on with her that she will be a little more understanding. WRONG!!!

Kendall tries her best to make the best of things and not let Courtney get to her. She has other things to worry about, like the doctors visit and tests that she promised her mother she would go through to confirm that her abilities are actually real and not some medical problem. But even with that hanging over her, she is also trying to just be a regular teenager. She tries to have a normal night out with her friends and boyfriend, but a ghost has another idea and it turns into an unexpected investigation at the bowling alley. Courtney and her friends are there and she is not one bit happy as once again, the attention is turned to Kendall.

With info about Kendall's abilities in her hand, now Courtney can pretend that she has them as well! And she really tries and for a while, it gets her the attention that she is looking for. Until Kendall and her friends learn how she is receiving information and set out to prove to everyone that she is faking. In front of the whole cafeteria, they prove her to be a fraud, so the gig is up, and once again every one's focus lands back on Kendall instead of Courtney. Halloween is coming up and there is a big party planned at Stephanie Crawford's house and everyone is invited. Kendall is even going to be giving readings there as a favor to her new friend. Just as the party is starting to get good, Courtney takes a group to the study and begins to hold a seance. Not only does she try to contact the spirits, but despite Kendall's warnings and efforts to stop her from holding the seance at all, Courtney invites the spirits to use her to communicate. And there the soldier is waiting to jump inside of her and push her aside.

The soldier oppresses Courtney and though they think that he has left her when Loreen and Father Mass show up, it was only temporary. He continues to control her and make her do things that she wouldn't normally do and it seems only Kendall and her team can make this right, or can they? As things start to get worse with Courtney, they start doing their research. Will they be able to rid Courtney of this angry spirit? Will they succeed in helping him find the light and move on from this world to his final resting place? Well I'm not telling. But I will tell you that I like the first, I totally LOVED this book!! I loved it so much that I decided I couldn't wait for the next one to come in the mail and immediately grabbed my nook and bought all the rest that were available for it. It was almost a blessing that I was sick because I got to lay around and read non stop. Oh yea! And it was a good thing because I don't think I could have stopped myself if I had wanted to!

For the Ghost Huntress : The Guidance "Randomness Review", I am going to look at page 139

On this page, Courtney has taken her jealousy to a whole new level. She is pretending to be psychic as well to take some of the attention away from Kendall. But Kendall is on to her, and they have a plan. So they make sure that one of her friends is listening in the bathroom and Kendall tells Celia that Jason has broken up with her to go back to Courtney. Here, Courtney is pretending to have a psychic message about the breakup and is pretending to feel Kendall's sadness. As she begins to express her sympathies to Kendall, Jason comes in totally unaware of whats going on and sits down by Kendall. Showing everyone in school that Courtney is a big fake because they never broke up at all! I laughed so hard at this that I put myself into a coughing fit (I was already sick as it was). Courtney totally got what she deserved! :)

The Ghost Huntress : The Guidance "Funny Lines" are:

Only you when this...... this it's.... I on in. I'm tonight. I'm this after. I'm roll, Emily. Just anyone. What glass like on I?

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to enter this world of spirits with Kendall and her friends? You can get your copy here

You can get a signed copy from Marley herself

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Ghost Huntress : The Awakening

2012-04-25T22:08:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am officially loving me some Marley Gibson!!! So here is another Amazing book from her! I give you, Ghost Huntress: The Awakening!!

About The Author

Marley Gibson
http://www.marleygibson.com/
http://www.ghosthuntress.com
Follow her on her blog, Facebook, & Twitter

Marley - Part 1 :)

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember — from the time I picked up a crayon and starting writing my ABCs. I used to write short stories when I was a wee kidlet and “auction” them off to my family for like a quarter or something. My sister asked me recently why I did that. Who knows? Maybe I was gearing up for my publishing days? LOL!

My inspiration for being a writer was my grandmother Helen (a writer herself), who taught me early on to use my imagination. She said that our imaginations could take us to far away worlds and we could be anyone we wanted to be. And what a tool this imagination thing was! I wondered if everyone knew about this!

My imagination carried me to creating a whole world in my room with my many, many stuffed animals called “Animaltown," complete with families, a mayor, a school, and frequent beauty pageants. On my brother's Royal typewriter (complete with manual carriage return and no correction tape…hello, it was the late 70's!), I typed out the full names (of course everyone had middle names) of all my stuffed animal families from oldest to youngest. We had weddings and births and proms and New Year's Eve parties (stay with me…this gives you an idea of where my professional career was headed) and Animaltown even had a high school with a football team, cheerleaders, and a school paper. I used to take pictures and write the paper, complete with articles, gossip, and pictures.

In kindergarten, I’d write stories nearly every day. I'd make the stories into illustrated books and bind them with brackets or braided ribbon. Always a voracious reader, I plowed through all the classics at least ten times each. In a summer reading contest, I took first prize in my age group, and won a stuffed frog and a $50 gift certificate!

At the age of twelve, I discovered romance novels when I snuck into my sister's room and swiped her Kathleen Woodiwiss and Colleen McCollough books. I devoured books like Ashes in the Wind and The Thorn Birds. Then, I fell head over heels for the First Love line by Silhouette. Sure, I'd been sneaking my older sister's Harlequin and Silhouette books, but I knew these First Love books were meant just for me – in my blooming teenage years. Stories of ordinary girls in all-American cities hanging with their friends, meeting boys, doing teenage things and falling in love for the first time. I was moved to write one myself and managed to churn out 50, single-spaced pages of what I considered a “complete” book. And when First Love announced a contest for cover models, I was there. They wanted "regular looking" teens from across America to compete and win a cover. My mother ton of pictures of me in my grandmother's backyard – me with my long, winged-banged hair, white painter pants and a lot of cheesy poses. Hello, it was the 80s!

Want to learn more about this incredible author? I will share more with my next review, Ghost Huntress : The Guidance. Or Of coarse you can always check it out on her website!

About The Book

Ghost Huntress : The Awakening

Meet Kendall Moorehead, a seemingly typical teen. When her family moves from Chicago to the small historical town of Radisson, Georgia, her psychic abilities awaken. She’s hearing, feeling, and seeing things that seem unbelievable at first, but with the help of the town psychic, Kendall is able to come to terms with her newly emerging gift. So, together with her new BFF, Celia, Kendall forms a ghost hunting team. They’ve got all the latest technology. They’ve got Kendall for their psychic. Now they’re going to clean up Radisson of its less savory spirits. The story is fiction. The science is real. Welcome to a new reality.

Click Here to read the first chapter.

Also you will totally want to check out the series website! Do you have any ghost hunting stories that you want to share? http://www.ghosthuntress.com/

My thoughts

I gave this book

My colors for this book are Red and Black

Since this book deals very much with psychic abilities, I thought we would start by looking at the meanings of these colors as auras.

A red aura represents determination, survival, frustration, the life-force, anger and a sense of importance. Those with red auras also typically experience being overwhelmed by change.

Black centers on mystery, the holder of magic, and what goes on behind the scenes. It also can relate to unresolved karma, death and lack of forgiveness and self-compassion

I think that both of these would represent many of the characters in this book. Kendall is going through an extreme change in her life. She is definitely overwhelmed and frustrated, but she is also drawn by the mystery of the situation and the importance of the tasks that she is starting to take on.

The color black is often associated with power and sophistication and is often chosen for business wear, such as suits. Black is also the color of mystery and invokes a sense of the unknown. People who choose black as their favorite color are often artistic and sensitive. While these people aren't introverts, they are careful with the details of their lives and do not share easily with others preferring to wait until they are comfortable to share their feelings. Black also represents the boldness of rescuing what's forgotten in the shadows.

I think both of these colors are in one way or another a great representation of things that the characters in Ghost Huntress are going through. They represent many of the characteristics of this book in general as well. Some that are seen quite often throughout the book is energy, danger, strength, determination, passion, desire,love, courage, communication, mystery, the unknown, sensitivity, and boldness to rescue. These colors I think definitely work well here. What do you think? Is there any other colors that you would use?

This was a really awesome book! I have always wanted to go ghost hunting. I think it is so fascinating! I mean really, how awesome would it be to help a spirit that is trapped here move on from this world. Well, if you are interested in it, but never had the opportunity to do it yourself, some of your questions will be answered in this truly awesome book! Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is a spine tingling story about a young girl named Kendall Morehead that has moved from the big city of Chicago and is trying find her way in a small town. It doesn't help that with her move comes sleeplessness. Its too quite in her new town of Radisson, Georgia. She misses the noise of the big city, the familiar sights and sounds, and most of all her friends. How is she ever going to get used to being so far away from her home.

In an effort to help his daughter finally get some rest, her dad buys her a white noise machine, and this is where things start to get interesting. The very first time that she turns it on, the unthinkable happens. No, I she doesn't get sleep, not even close, she hears a voice. Its says, "I'm here"!!! But that is just the beginning of strange things that begin to happen for her. She starts to feel things, what other people are feeling. She even feels a boys broken bone, like it is her own, before she ever even sees him. what the heck could be happening to her? Not to mention the dreams that she is having about totally gorgeous "Dasani - Blue - Eyed - Boy", and the vision that she has of her dad getting hurt at work. This is all so new to her, she doesn't know what this all means or how to deal with it. She had made a new friend, Celia, but how can she tell her what is going in with her? Will she think she is crazy? She accidental lets it slip about the voice that she heard inside her house and Celia is totally cool with it. She wants to go to school to study parapsychology and she is totally into paranormal phenomena. They decide that they must investigate this voice further so they set a camera up in her room to see if they can catch it on tape.

One day while exploring her new town, after having more strange occurrences she stumbles into shop called the Divining Woman. There she meets a psychic named Loreen. Loreen tries to explain to Kendall what is happening with her. She tells her that they are kindred spirits and that there is a reason that she happened into her store. She explains that she is going through her psychic awakening of sorts. She explains to Kendall that all the things that she is going through are normal ans she is starting to be able to access her gifts. She will just have to learn how to use them and control them. She even gives her a pendulum that has stones on it that will help her communicate with the spirits as well as protect her. Kendall just isn't buying into it. Not yet. This can't possibly be whats is really happening with her.

After she comes clean to her friend Celia that she thinks she might be psychic, Celia is super excited. Kendall is stunned that this girl barely knows her and yet, its ok with her that she is psychic. This combined with the ghostly figure they see on the video from Kendall's house is just what they need and the Ghost Huntress' are born! Now they just need to form the rest of their team and get the equipment that they need to do their investigations. Despite her twin brother, Jason's , reservations, they recruit Taylor Tillson as their photographer and after some obstacles end up recruiting Rebecca Asiaf as their sounds person (for EMF readings) and as real twist even recruit Justin himself as their sceptic.

After her premonition of her dad getting hurt coming true, they have their first investigation to hold. Will they be able to make contact with the entity that is causing problems at the city all? Can they help it move on from this world so that it will not hurt anyone else? Will their group even be able to last until the investigation when things get heated between them for reasons that no one could have seen coming (well except maybe Kendall). Well, I can't tell you. But I will tell you that is this an book that you absolutely must read if you are interested in parapsycology. Especially if you are like me and totally get lost in the books that you read. In your mind, you can be right there! I know this is going to be one you won't want to miss! I really loved it! BTW, what a coincidence it is that I am writing this review while watching Ghost Hunters on Syfy??? LOVE TAPS!

For the Ghost Huntress : The Awakening "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 194

On this page, Kendall, Celia, and Taylor have gone to a nearby cemetery to see if they can locate the grave of Emily (the ghost in her house). But it turns out to be more than they bargained for. They go without protecting themselves and when they get there, Kendall finds herself if a bad situation. There are spirits everywhere fighting for her attention. One particularly aggressive spirit wants inside her. He wants her to channel him. She fights him with everything that she has but he is to strong for her and she is loosing the fight. Taylor wants to call for help but what will she tell them? Kendall does the only thing she can think of to do, she starts calling to Loreen in her head, praying that she will hear her and come to her rescue.

Can you imagine knowing that there is a spirit trying to enter your body and you are helpless to stop it. No matter how hard you fight against it, you are too weak to keep it from happening. That would be so terrifying! Will help get to her in time? You will have to read and see.

The Ghost Huntress : The Awakening "Funny Lines" are:
It's you, Kaitlin! His I well there's Kendall. I okay after Kendall I.... You okay? I, that's Saturday two. I it's after.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready experience the world of the paranormal with Kendall and her friends? You can get the book here:
You can get a signed copy from Marley herself
Barnes&Nobel
Amazon

The White Lilac

2012-04-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here is another good one for ya! Introducing The White Lilac by Christina J. Adams!

About the Author

Christina J. Adams
Follow her on
her Blog, Facebook, Goodreads & Twitter

Christina J. Adams finds inspiration in the green rolling hills and farmland surrounding her home in Maryland. She loves hanging out with children and teens and gets more excited about a new book coming out, from one of many favorite authors, that it’s probably not good for her health. She didn’t think being a writer was a serious profession until after high school, but has since decided it is the best career ever. The White Lilac is her first novel.

About the Book

The White Lilac

Fifteen year old Caryn Tobin is willing to sacrifice her life to save the world, and to atone for her part in the death of a friend. Kai Garrett will risk everything to discover his past and why he was abandon. When their paths join, they form an unlikely friendship that could change everything. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Sound interesting??? You can read the first chapter here. But here is a little sneak peak

If I do this I will only have one week left to live. I stand near the edge of the practice aquarium unable to step forward. My heart pounds in my chest at the sight of the gray water and I am overwhelmed by the desire to hyperventilate again.

“Caryn, you need to focus,” Seventh Official Anderson says from somewhere behind me. “Are you listening?”

I swallow and nod, but I can’t take my eyes off the water. He steps between me and the aquarium and my focus readjusts to his dark blue suit and buttoned shirt. His tie is missing, like usual, probably stuffed in his pocket and his brown hair has been brushed through with his fingers one too many times so it sticks out beyond the dress code allowance. The dress code is not always enforced, but for today with so many important people watching, it could get him in trouble. The practice aquarium may look empty, like any other day we practice here, with its white concrete walls and quiet, stone floor leading from the entrance, surrounding the aquarium track, and ending at the showers, but I’ve seen the rooms that ring around the tinted glass of the underwater track and I imagine they are filled with people. All those people stuffed in rooms, unable to move freely, needing air.

“Listen,” Anderson says, snapping me back. “I know this is the Tournament and you are racing for the position, not for practice, but you need to breathe. I don’t want to carry you to Dr. Vos’ office today. Close your eyes and concentrate.”

The air in my chest shakes its way out of me as my eyelids close, yet the water still seems to glitter before me and the vice around my lungs keeps me from breathing in. I can’t help remembering the day Heather drowned four years ago. The sensations are too real, the weight of the water, the lack of oxygen, the sense of helplessness. All my nerves are on fire and already I can feel the water around me, suffocating me like it did her.

And it only gets better from here I promise! And if you are a series lover like me, well, I happen to know that there will be a part 2!! YEAY!!!

My Thoughts

I gave this book

My color for this book is Gray

Gray is the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. It is perceived as long-lasting, classic, and often as sleek or refined. It is a color that is dignified, conservative, and carries authority. Gray is controlled and inconspicuous and is considered a color of compromise, perhaps because it sits between the extremes of black and white. Gray is a perfect neutral.

Gray unsettles you and creates expectations. People who like Grey tend to be neutral about life. They like to protect themselves from the hectic world in a blanket of non-commitment preferring a secure, safe, balanced existence. They work hard and are the "middle of the road" type of individual. They have often made compromises in their lifestyles. They are practical and calm and do not like to attract attention.

Driving a gray car sends the message you are elegant, love futuristic looks, and are cool.

In this book, the two main characters, Caryn and Kai are an in between part of their lives. Caryn's choices have always been clear cut and laid out for her. She has never really had a choice in what she has to do. What will she do now that she is asked to make a choice on something so important that it could effect her whole word? Kai has always kind of been on his own. He is an orphan and grew up without parents, in an orphanage, that is until it was shut down and he ran off on his own. He doesn't really know how to feel about life except that he doesn't want to be part of a gang. He wants to do his own thing. But what is that exactly. How can he know what he should do with his life when he really doesn't even know who he is.

These two characters go through a lot of learning and changing. They are trying to find themselves in a world where they never really had a choice about who they could be. Where things in their lives have always kinda been black and white, there is now a confusion about their futures. New possibilities and expectations. This is why I chose gray for this book. Other than this, here are a few gray references from the book:

gray water, gray wooden crates, gray clothes, gray/white coat, grayish tint of the sky, a gray box, a gray orphanage and these are just to name a few.

OK, so The White Lilac is about a Beta Earth that exists WAY in the future. And on this Beta Earth, there are these fish called jiggers that release this toxin into the air during their mating season. I mean, this is a major toxin that is so bad it kills anyone that isn't given a cure for it. Where does the cure come from you ask? Well it comes from the jigger eggs of coarse. They are laid inside an anemone that is fatal if you are stung by it and must be gathered by a willing, well trained candidate when the cure gets low. This candidate is called The White Lilac. And this White Lilac is named Caryn.

Caryn has been bred to be the White Lilac, genetically engineered even. She can swim faster and hold her breath longer than any candidate before her other than Heather, her partner how drowned during training. Heather was her best friend. She was like a sister to her. Her loss has really taken a toll on Caryn. But when she is given the chance after the competition to go to Highton, its one that she can't give up. Heather would have wanted to go. As unsure as she is, she knows Heather would have jumped at the chance. So she feels like she must go, for Heather, and see it for her. She can't even imagine how 3 days in Highton is going to change her life.

When she arrives there she is greeted by the mayor and taken to meet her companions and doctor who will be with her during her trip. Something is off about her companions and she requests to choose her own. At which point, we meet Kai. Kai isn't actually supposed to be there in the room with the approved companions. He has snuck in in search of a rare Betan ruby. He needs to steal one to get information from a gang leader named T-man about his family. Kai is a orphan and has been on the streets most of his life. He doesn't know anything about his parents or where he came from. He only knows that he can hold his breath longer than most people. And that he must stay away from T-mans gang at all costs. He doesn't want to be a part of that life. But when they give him the chance to find his family, he can't help but give in. Just this one time. One job for them and he will finally know who he is. Kai isn't really interested in being Caryn's companion, but they tell him that they will give him anything he wants if he will do so. A chance to get the ruby, without having to steal it, and a ticket out of town is more than he can refuse. So of coarse he accepts.

At first things aren't so bad, Caryn and Kai have some fun together sight seeing. Caryn gets to see the White Lilac memorial in person for the first time in her life. She is in awe of the people that have come before her. She is honored that her name will soon be among those who have given their lives to gather the cure to save the lives of so many. She is not afraid. She has been trained all her life for this. She knows it is something she must do. While sightseeing they have a run in with some very angry people. They don't want to cure and when they realize who Caryn is, they chase her and Kai. This is only the first of a long list of reasons that start to make her doubt the things she has been told by the compound. They mayor of Highton also takes her to a hospital where there are many people with mental and physical problems that have been caused by the cure. The compound doesn't only give the cure to those who need it, but they make them sign a waver that they can be experimented on in order to receive it. The cure that she must gather, the compound is exploiting for their own gain. What she will give her life to obtain for the good of others, they will use for the personal gain of the compound, not for the good of the people.What if gathering the cure isn't the right thing to do?

During these days, Caryn and Kai are getting closer. They have a connection that is undeniable. The enjoy swimming together in the lake and have a great time racing each other. They have dinner at one the the nicest restaurants in town and watch the suns set together. For both of them life without the other in it is starting to be unimaginable. Though Caryn knows that her life will soon be over and tries to accept that as best she can. She isn't sure that she wants to do it anymore. She even imagines exploring the galaxy with Kai. But she knows that she must gather the cure, she just doesn't know if it should be for the compound or the city. So many people around her are starting to get sick. Young children that she has come to love. What should she do? Can she really let them die in order to take control from the compound? Can she bring herself to gather the cure, a task that will kill her, at all and have to leave Kai after coming to know him? This is a decision that she has to make alone. What will she do? You will have to read and find out. I truly enjoyed this book. I was never board at all and I loved getting the story from two different points of view so that you know what both are thinking. I loved getting to know the characters and see their relationships form. And the ending, wow, so didn't see that coming! I can't wait to see what is next for Caryn and Kai, and the other candidates from the compound as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

For The White Lilac "Randomness Review" I am going to look at page 108
On this page, Kai wants to show Caryn the sunken ships in the lake. She is a little apprehensive, so he goes first to check them out and make sure that nothing dangerous is around. As he is about to swim back to her when he notices something silver shining in the sand. Its a coin! What luck! So he tries to put it out but it is stuck. So he pushes on the mast of a boat to pull it out. After he pulls it free, the mast falls and in his struggle to get away he gets caught in a net that is being weighed down by a tackle box and he sinks to he bottom of the lake. Sure he can hold his breath longer than most people, but not forever. Can you imagine knowing that you can't get up in time before you air runs out? Will Caryn realize he is in trouble and come for him in time? Well, I guess you will just have to read and see :).

The White Lilac "Funny Lines" are:
If I first the Kempton you no we. Kai I.... Kai you jump..... Kai there, what the? There. the it in the I. Kai...... Kai, Good! I, Kai, May drool. I'm something Anderson the.

Funny lines are built from the first word of each chapter, in order. Can you rearrange it into some literary genius that I missed?

Are you ready to go on this adventure with Caryn and Kai? You can get your copy of The White Lilac here:
Amazon