Well Hi There

Remember me?

I have been a bit negligent these last couple weeks. We moved into our new house the weekend before last and it was crazy during the weeks before the move. Since we’ve moved it’s been even MORE crazy.

We got a new roommate. He’s pretty awesome. We get along great! Thank God for that!

Sunday was pastor appreciation. That was good times!

Since Sunday after church, Kaitlynn has been here. She’s staying until this Sunday. We also had McKenna over one night and Marley is over tonight. (They’re all our youth kids, in case you’re confused.)

So, yeah it’s been good, but busy, times.

I haven’t finished unpacking. Major fail on my part. I just can’t seem to get motivated. Probably has something to do with having a Wii now!

Yup, we got a Wii! We also got a hard drive with 147 games, so I’m hooked. I’ve been trying to get at least SOMETHING unpacked before I get sucked into playing, but I’m not always successful. If I could focus I could probably rock a lot out pretty quick.

Next week is camp! YAY! I’m so excited. I made up an AWESOME theme and we’re going to have a great time. I can’t wait. I wish Mikey was going, but maybe next year. I’ll put up some pics when I get home. I always end up taking a TON.

Ok that’s all that’s going on with me. I got a couple books from the library that I’ll read and hopefully review and I still have quite a few books that I need to read and review. So hopefully I’ll have some after camp!

Ok see ya!

Dream– Online Book Giveaways

DREAM

Online Book Giveaways

Book lovers can get new book releases for free if they share the book on Facebook & Twitter and write a short review. Dream enables authors and publishers to giveaway promotional copies of upcoming book releases.

Check it out here.

Unwritten Rules by M.A. Stacie Review

Unwritten Rules

by M.A. Stacie

Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House

Synopsis:

Elle is an energetic, independent woman with a successful business and new start in the big city. The bustling streets of New York are not what she expected, yet she finds the freedom exhilarating. One interaction at the mailboxes with her shy, strikingly handsome neighbor is all it takes to turn the strong- willed young woman into a bumbling mess.

Jonah Quinn is withdrawn for good reason; he harbors a dark secret. He lives his life in the shadows, playing his music in late night bars and hiding himself from everyone but Elle’s cat. His tattoos bear his pain while his music is his outlet, but it is his silence that keeps his shame at bay.

Can one night of passion between the two of them lead to more than casual glances exchanged at their mailboxes? Will Elle be strong enough to help Jonah with his personal demons. And will Jonah break his silence regarding a past that haunts him?

The Rules for this relationship are Unwritten.

Unwritten Rules by M.A. Stacie

Review by Me!

4.5 Squees/ 4.5 Squees

First off I have to say, if you don’t fall in love with Jonah Quinn, there is something wrong with you. Or you are a heterosexual male. Seriously though, he is the perfect combination of sweet, sexy, dark and troubled. The author couldn’t have made him more amazing.

I love Ellie too. She is an awesome leading lady. Her character was written, so well. She was a strong female lead (swoon) and she had some great lines.

In all honesty, all the characters in this book were pretty amazing. I can tell M.A. Stacie really spent time building her characters and getting to know who she really wanted them to be.

There’s a lot of squee moments in this one too. Like I said before, I absolutely adore Jonah. There is also quite a few naughty bits, so this one isn’t for the kiddies.

All in all, this was a great read and I highly recommend it.

Mistakes by A.M. Hayward and L.J. Holder Review

Mistakes

By A.M. Hayward and L.J. Holder

Publisher: The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House

Synopsis:

Mistakes…

Everyone makes them.

We are only human.

Some of our mistakes are small…

like the times you stay up till 2 am studying for a test that you end up failing because you are too tired to think.    

Others are so catastrophic that they change your life…. forever….

Maddison regrets not listening to her parents, not being a ‘good girl’ and not staying at home like she was supposed to instead of sneaking off with her friends for a Spring Break getaway.

How she wishes she could turn back time; then maybe she wouldn’t be in the nightmare she is in now. Kidnapped and taken to a different country unaware of where she is or what these men want with her.

Maddy’s parents can’t help her, in fact they aren’t even aware she is in Mexico. Who can save her? Or can she save herself?

Mistakes by A.M. Hayward and L.J. Holder

Review by Me!

5 Squees/ 5 Squees

I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a book like this. I am one to usually read happy, fluffy books and the darkest I ever go is vampire and werewolf stories. This book was intense. I had a hard time with it because it is so real and there was some moments that were hard to read.

This book was amazing though.The writing was so perfect that I was enthralled the whole time. I had to know what was coming next and I had to continue on to know how Maddy was. I usually don’t like books where women are abused, but this one was something that needed to be read. So often we’re quick to ignore things that happen to people because we don’t want to know it. Human trafficking is real and this novel made it even more so for me.

The authors made me love Maddy in the beginning and weaved this warm happy story from the start. Everything was good and light and fun, and then it wasn’t. Things got bad suddenly and though I knew it was coming from reading the synopsis, I was not prepared.

This book was hard and it will be hard for anyone to get through, but it is worth the read. It reminded me a lot of the movie Taken, but it seemed more real to me. I was drawn in to this book a lot more than I was into that movie.

The ending was awful though. Ok, it actually was pretty brilliant, but I have to wait for the next book to see what happens. I hate being left in suspense. This is definitely a must read, but only if you can handle tough situations. I wouldn’t recommend this for the faint of heart or weak minded. This is an emotional book. I cried, a lot.

I can’t wait to get my hands on book two.

The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch Review

The Magnolia League

by Katie Crouch

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

Synopsis:

When her free-spirited mother dies in a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Alexandria Lee is forced to leave her West Coast home and move in with a wealthy grandmother she’s never known in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful if unwilling member of the Magnolia League-Savannah’s long-standing debutante society. But white gloves and silk gowns are a far cry from the vintage t-shirts and torn jeans shorts she’s used to.

Alex is the first in decades to question the Magnolia League’s intentions, yet even she becomes entangled in their seductive world. The members enjoy youth, beauty and power…but at what cost? As Alex discovers a pact between the Magnolias and the Buzzards, a legendary hoodoo family, she discovers secrets-some deadly-hidden beneath the glossy Southern veneer.

The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch

Review by Me!

3 Squees/ 5 Squees

I’ve read a bunch of reviews of this book and I even read a couple BEFORE reading the book. When I first received this book, it sounded interesting enough, but I had other things I wanted to read first. Everyone seemed really into this book, but I just didn’t feel the same way. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t my favorite.

I didn’t mind the character of Alex. As a character, she was a pretty strong person and was great to read about. You all know how I feel about strong female leads, so I was very pleased with how she handled herself. That was in the beginning though and during some points throughout the book.

I didn’t like how things played out in this novel. Everything was very random and jumpy to me. I felt like things were happening that didn’t make a whole lot of sense and didn’t really fit into the flow of the book. I also didn’t like how Alex just goes along with things at a point even though she fought them so much. I also didn’t like the time lapses. I felt like time went by so fast and so much detail was left out of those time gaps.

I also didn’t feel like the secondary characters were developed enough. Thaddeus could have had a lot more depth to him. He just seemed like he was there to fill the “male” role and not really anything else.

I enjoyed the plot though. I like the concept of a debutante “secret” society of women. I also liked the mixed in stuff with the hoodoo. I wish that the Buzzard family was brought in and explained a bit more. There was just too many gaps and unexplained things going on for me to be really drawn in.

I plan on giving Katie Crouch a second chance and reading the next book in the series. If it’s as mixed up and random as this one though, I won’t be reading on. All in all there was a great opportunity here and a great plot line, but there was just to many holes for me and too many “why” moments. I hope to see things explained and a more even flow in the rest of the series.

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy Review

OyMG

by Amy Fellner Dominy

Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: 

Jewish girl. Christian camp. Holy moley.

Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, she’s sure that if she wins the final tournament, it’ll be her ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country. Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA is hot-literally. His name is Devon and, whether she likes it or not, being near him makes her sizzle. Luckily she’s confident enough to take on the challenge-until she begins to suspect that the private scholarship’s benefactor has negative feelings toward Jews. Will hiding her true identity and heritage be worth a shot at her dream?

OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

Review by Me!

4 Squees/5 Squees

This book was a fairly simple read. It was a cute story about a Jewish girl going to a Christian day camp and her experience. I like that it dealt with prejudice and racism that is still happening in today’s society. It may not be as extreme as it used to be, but it still happens.

I like Ellie, the main character. She was a strong character who was dealing with herself and who she really was. Her strong-willed religious grandfather was an amazing character. I liked that he was very sure of who he was and very outspoken about what he felt. He was there to challenge Ellie and he did just that. I don’t know how I felt about Devon. He was an ok male lead, but I don’t feel like he was as strong as he could have been.

There was a good balance between the old way of thinking, the grandparents, and the new way, the kids. There was a definite obvious difference between how they both viewed religion and how they lived their lives. I like that it was so real to the way things are now. The older generations are more open to how they feel, while the younger ones are more worried about fitting in.

The ending to this one was obvious, but still great. I was proud of Ellie and I enjoyed watching her reach her decision and in doing so, become an independent person.

This whole story was very believable and I enjoyed it. I would have like to see more depth to Devon, but otherwise a great read for middle grade readers.

Donate to DV8!

My husband and I are youth leaders at our church. We are raising money to send our kids to camp! We have a lot of kids and lots of money to raise. All donations are extremely helpful!

We have a Shoot-A-Thon coming up on the 22nd and I need sponsors! You can sponsor me per free throw I make, out of 50 or you can click the donate button below and sponsor me with a flate rate. The more sponsors we get, the more kids we can send to camp!

Thank you and God Bless!