Hello readers! Exciting news! Sophie Davis, author of the AMAZING Talented series, is releasing new covers!!! They are sooo utterly gorgeous!! Take a look below!!!
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Next read: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Goodreads Synopsis:
Spirited Elizabeth Bennet is one of a family of five daughters, and with no male heir, the Bennet estate must someday pass to their priggish cousin William Collins. Therefore, the girls must marry well—and thus is launched the story of Elizabeth and the arrogant bachelor Mr. Darcy, in a novel renowned as the epitome of romance and wit. Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen’s masterwork, an entertaining portrait of matrimonial rites and rivalries, timeless in its hilarity and its honesty.
With an Introduction by Margaret Drabble And an Afterword by Eloisa James
Review of Witch Child (Witch Child #1) by Celia Rees
Goodreads Synopsis:
Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary’s startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared?
Four out of five stars
My review:
I believe that this is the first book I’ve read that I wouldn’t usually go for and like, but I surprisingly stuck with it. I typically read books that are not set in the 1800’s and before simply because I find it dull. I’ll be honest and say that yes, it did take me awhile to really begin to enjoy this book. After awhile it did intrigue me about her (Mary’s) life and what would become of her after her journey from traveling from England to embracing who she is. I liked how Mary wasn’t of the norm in society during that time, which of course got her into trouble. Even though it did take me awhile to enjoy, I liked how the author wrote. I wasn’t confused by any means of what was going on in the story. This is one of the main factors as to why I don’t read stories during these eras, but this book, luckily, was an easy read. If you like books set in this time period and like books about witches, you will definitely enjoy this book.
I will say that I will read the sequel Sorceress (Witch Child #2)
Review of How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
(Free stock images found on pixabay.com)
Goodreads synopsis:
It’s the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.
Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?
If dealing with that weren’t enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it’s Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.
My review:
Five out of five stars
This has been one of the best books I have read this year. It’s has been months since I’ve read something and stuck with it. There’s a funny story with how I came to have this book. I was actually on Facebook and came across the book trailer. I ended up sending the book trailer to one of my really good friends, who loves anything involving the paranormal, because I figured she would be interested in the book. Months later, I come to find out that she actually bought me the book for a Christmas present! I was so stoked and couldn’t believe she got it.
I was so engrossed in this book that I really didn’t want to put it down. This book has a nice flow to it and well written storyline. It follows a teenage girl, who alongside her step mother, move back to Salem Massachusetts, where her family originally come from. As soon as she moves to town, strange things begin to happen. The townspeople begin to believe that she is the one to blame for all the strangeness happening, as well as the students who are direct descendants of those hung during the Salem witch trials.
I found this book so interesting to read because the author compared the behaviors of people during the Salem witch trials to that of bullying in modern times. I never thought of this as a parallel until the author explains this in the Authors Note. It is intriguing how similar these events are in how one/many can accuse something of something, convince others (whether true or not) and isolate the person being targeted.
I enjoyed how suspenseful the book was because you had no idea who the “bad guy” was in the story. It was fun to try and piece together the clues and to figure who was committing all the gruesome events throughout the book. There was never a dull moment when I was reading this and I almost wished it never ended. The story flowed very smooth and you felt as though you were a part of the events that Samantha experience and not as though you were simply reading a story. The author also includes actual historical people and events, such as what occurred during the Salem Witch Trials during the 1600’s).
I am looking forward to reading the second book that the author is currently writing.
Oh and very cool side note. The author is actually the 12th descendent to someone that lived and played a big part in the Salem Witch Trials. Definitely read his book if you’re a fan of paranormal and historical fiction!
Author websites:
Buy Links for my children’s book Tate’s Tale
Here are the three buy links so far for my children’s book Tate’s Tale!!
Synopsis:
Ever had a goal in mind that you have set to accomplish? Well, here is the story of Tate, the fastest dog in the neighborhood. Join Tate, alongside her friends and family as she sets out to accomplish her goal in… Tate’s Tale!!!
Tate’s Tale: Written by Jaclyn Shuster; Illustrated by Samantha Lindsay
Hello Readers!!!
I have some MAJORLY exciting news for you today!!
For between four and five years, I have been working on a children’s book loosely based on my reading therapy dog. Once I finished writing it, I got the name of an illustrator who is friends with someone I went to undergrad with. Her and I worked back and forth for over a year regarding what each page would look like and making sure each picture matched what I wrote.
After struggling for a few months on getting the front and back cover PERFECT, I FINALLY finished my book! So today’s the day!
I present to you Tate’s Tale!
Tate’s Tale is the story of Tate, the fastest dog in the neighborhood, and her wish to become a better reader.
I say this book is loosely based on real life because I have a therapy reading dog named Tate. She is a Belgian/German Shepard rescue dog that we bring to schools and libraries for children to read to her. This is such a great opportunity for the children because it calms them down by reading in a judgement free zone with a dog.
I am so excited to be sharing this with you. I hope that this will interest you in getting a copy. This book is perfect for children ages 5-10. I will post the link below for you!
Ever had a goal in mind that you have set to accomplish? Well, here is the story of Tate, the fastest dog in the neighborhood. Join Tate, alongside her friends and family as she sets out to accomplish her goal in… Tate’s Tale!!!
I will let everyone know when the book becomes available through Amazon!
And ps…. if you’re a blogger and happen to order a copy, I will love you forever if you review it 😀
SBPT 2016: favorite quotes from Sophia of Quality Fangirls
Hello readers!! Today is the
7th Sunday of the Summer Blogger Promo Tour 2016!! Today we are welcoming Sophia of Quality Fangirls where she will share some of her favorite quotes and tells us why they are her favorite!
One of the great things about reading is that it leaves you with an infinite amount of memorable quotes. Things that are important and significant to each and every one of us. Here are some of my favorite quotes!
“Or maybe it’s not a miracle. Maybe this is just life. When you open yourself up to it. When you put yourself in the path of it. When you say yes.”
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
I find this quote to be so important because a lot of the times the only thing holding us back is ourselves. We make our own lives complicated, we find reasons why we cannot rather than finding reasons to say that we can. The only way to really live is to just do it. Is to push ourselves out of our comfort zone and say yes to all the things that we want to do.
“Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to leave this world.”
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Just like the last quote this one is along the same lines (just slightly morbid). It important to remember that we won’t be here forever. Morbidity is only scary when we don’t channel it to push ourselves to make the most of it. We don’t ever know what’s going to happen day to day and therefore we should always be making the most of our time.
“The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This quote is sooooo true. Once we’re comfortable and secure in who we are everything else falls into place. The people who know themselves the best are always the ones that don’t get thrown off by other people’s comments. When you know who you are and what you want no one can take that away from you.
-Sophia
Thank you so much Sophia for sharing your favorite quotes! Be sure to check out Quality Fangirls websites!!
Quality Fangirls
Next read: Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow
Goodreads synopsis:
In Strange Angels, Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.) Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?
Lili St. Crow websites:
Review of After You (Me Before You #2) by Jojo Moyes
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!! SO IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ME BEFORE YOU, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW
Favorite Quotes:
“With Will I had never had to consider what I said; talking to him was as effortless as breathing. Now I was good at not really saying anything about myself at all”.
“I want to tell him then. I want to tell him that I don’t know what I feel. I want him but I’m frightened to want him. I don’t want my happiness to be entirely dependent on somebody else’s, to be a hostage to fortunes I cannot control.”
“It was as if a light had gone on: the only way to avoid being left behind was to start moving.”
“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit, it always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone… There is a hunger in you, Clark. A fearlessness. You just buried it, like most people do. Just live well. Just live.”
“You never know what will happen when you fall from a great height.”
“”You have a sweet smile, Louisa Clark. It’s one of the several hundred things I like about you.”
“”His smile was slow to come, but when it did, everything fell away from me, as if I had been carrying a weight I hadn’t known.”
“You know, Lily, perhaps some things just take longer than others.”
“‘ You don’t have to let that one thing be the thing that defines you.”‘
“I didn’t think about anything. I just let myself exist in that moment, the deep, deep pleasure of being there next to him, of feeling the weight of him beside me, the space he took up i the atmosphere.”
“And you throw yourself into everything and try not to think about the bruises.”
“Our eyes locked. And in that moment everything shifted. I saw what I had really done. I saw that I could be somebody’s center, his reason for staying. I saw that I could be enough.”
“‘There’s no point… I’m not going to jump through hoops to convince you to be with me.”‘
“”That’s life. We don’t know what will happen. Which is why we have to take our chances while we can. And… I think this might be yours.””
“But then I knew better than anyone how the persona you chose to present to the world could be very different from what was really inside. I knew how grief could make you behave in ways you couldn’t even begin to understand.”
I promise, those are the last of my favorite quotes from this book 🙂
Goodreads Synopsis:
“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”
How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?
Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.
Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future…
For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.
My Review:
I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars
When I first mentioned that I was going to read this book, I had said that it took me awhile to decide to read it. I decided to finally read it because I was curious as to was happened to Louisa Clark after the events that occurred in Me Before You.
If you read Me Before You, you’ll recall that we left Louisa off when she had gone to Paris as per Will’s request. He had hoped that she would move on and continue living her life, even if he was not there to see it. In After You, you get to observe what Louisa’s life has been like two years (I believe) after losing Will. I did struggle reading what she was going through without Will because he brought out a different side to her in Me Before You and helped her to see what she was capable of. And yet, without him, she wasn’t the same person she once was. It was so heartbreaking to see Louisa just existing rather than living her life as Will wished she would do. The parts regarding Louisa and her trying to get over her grief of losing Will was extremely well written I felt as though I was going through the motions along with her. This is the second book I have read by Jojo Moyes and I love how she is able to grab the reader right from the start.
There are parts about this book that were absolutely unexpected, which I can’t exactly go into detail about because it is a huge part of the book. This is one of those books that allows readers to see that when you spend so much time with someone, pieces of you are given to them and when they are gone, you feel as though pieces of you are missing. However, it is up to you to decide whether or not you should move on and fill those missing pieces yourself no matter what.
I would definitely recommend reading this book, especially if you loved Me Before You.
New books!!
Hello readers!!
I am so excited! My amazing friend went to a book sale where they were giving away the leftover books and she got a bunch for me!!
Comment below if you have read or heard of any of them!! 🤗🤗
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