Empty - K.M. Walton

This book needs to be read by everyone. It should really be a mandatory book to be read by anyone who is in high school. I am not in school and I was still able to relate to parts of this book.

Adele, Dell, is a junior in high school with a best friend, Cara, who is on the quest to become a popular girl. Cara no longer seems to notice Dell or understand her and is simply out for herself at this point. Several incident occur in the beginning of the book that show Cara is desperately trying to get the 'cool kids' Taryn, Emma, Melissa, and Sydney, to notice her. Dell has this deflection tactic where she acts like a sumo wrestler and moo's like a cow so that people laugh with her, not at her. After doing this bit for Brandon Levitt, the popular boy who dates Taryn, Dell and Cara are invited to Melissa's house for a party.

Spoilers ahead... Now, I remind you this is an extremely good book. Beyond words can describe how deeply this book was able to reach me. KM Walton was able to write in a way that at times I felt like I was Dell, and it was me who was living this hellish life. The book is truly touching so have a box of tissues ready.

Dell is on the softball team, mostly you find out because it is the only thing that really makes her feel like her dad ever cared about her. She is cut from the team after her first game due to her weight an inability to actively participate.

After school Dell goes through the motions of caring for her younger sister, Meggie, while her mom is in a drug induced stupor at work or around the house. Her father messages her letting her know he is engaged to his new girlfriend and that it is not his fault she is over weight. After more binge eating to hide her feelings Dell leaves to go to the party with Cara.

At Melissa's house Dell is ditched by Cara almost immediately for two other girls. Brandon, that 'super hot popular guy' talks to Dell and asks her to come upstairs. After a lot of beer drinking and flip cup reffing Dell finally makes it up there where Brandon shows her a youtube video of a sumo wrestler falling and not being able to get back up. Once it ends Brandon starts kissing Dell and she asks him to stops. It goes further and further until Brandon rapes Dell. Ashamed and guilt ridden Dell leaves the party and does not mention the incident to anyone, not even Cara.

Cara continues to go on her power trip for popularity and Dell continues to spiral downward into depression. Her eating continues and her mothers drug use is starting to effect her moods and how she is toward Dell. The only thing holding Dell together is the smell of her younger sister Meggie. Cara's hot and cold emotions toward Dell confuse her when Cara signs them both up for the talent show. Dell decides to do it so that she can make Cara happy and convinces herself that Cara must care if she signed her up and wants everyone to know she has an amazing voice.

Right before the talent show Taryn starts spreading the rumor that Dell raped Brandon. Dell has an out burst in the hallway in which she ends up breaking her toe. Determined to go on Dell takes several of her mom's Valium to deal with the pain of her broken toe so that she can make it to the talent show to sing. Dell is very intoxicated at this point but still manages to sing like a pro and everyone cheers for her. In the end some a-hole in the audience moo's and in a drunken stupor Dell does her impression and everyone laughs except Dell. Cara, who egged Dell on to do the sumo thing, is ecstatic when they are invited to another party but does not even put up a fight when Dell declines the invite and just wants to go home.

Once home Cara continues to text Dell from the party advising her that the pictures from the night have been uploaded online. Dell finds pictures of herself singing and feels great about her self, but the happiness only lasts a moment. She sees many comments for Cara telling her she was amazing and looks great. This makes Dell want to scroll down to her own comments where she sees people calling her a Whale and tagging her in all the pictures as a Whale. Cara quickly takes all of the photos down but not before Dell has seen them.

It is at this point Dell feels most alone. She was just looking for anyone to reach out and fight for her but there was no one there. She was all alone and she makes the decision to kill herself so that the pain will come to an end. She feels a burden to her mother, who has no money, no job, and has to keep feeding her overweight daughter. She thinks her father no longer wants anything to do with her since he has only seen her one time since the divorce. And her best friend has new popular friends that she has always wanted. Gathering more of her mothers pills she drives back to the auditorium where the story concludes mid sentence. We do not know if Dell took the correct amount of medication which she states several times that she is afraid she doesn't have the right amount due to her large size.

I wish I knew what happened. This book was really moving to me. Words hurt.

Author Book Signing

The Princeton Barnes and Noble hosted a book signing event where part of the proceeds to book purchase went to save a local library. Needless to say I was in my glory with my stack of books. I convinced Corey to drive me over 2 hours up the road to meet Amy Ewing, the author of The Jewel. We hung around for about 2 hours (me stalking the shelf like a weirdo) waiting before we had to head back home. Here is a group of authors. I personally purchased Pandemic, Providence, Empty, and A Tragic Heart.

Here are the messages that the authors wrote in my books :)

Now although I did not get to meet one of my new favorite authors I did get a happy ending!! After we finally made it home Corey took me for a walk in the local nature trail and proposed to me *yay* Now I get to start my own happy ending. And start planning my literary themed wedding!

The Styclar Saga: Lailah - Nikki Kelly

Currently reading :)

Nothing to special about the cover. I'm more of a fan of less is more.

My boyfriend loves batman, so I was so excited to see this as the first quote before the book started!

Ok it took me about 2 days to finish this book but that does not mean that it was not good. This book held a lot of suspense in it. The main character, Lailah/Cessie/Francesca, has a weird 'dark guardian angel' following her that seems to appear when ever she needs help. The beginning is hard to get into, but that is only because you are left just as confused as the main character. With each flash back of memory that Lailah has you become more interested and curious as to what she is and where she came from.

Now, Lailah comes across a vampire, Jonah, who is of course hot like all vampires are described. With the saving of Jonah she comes into contact with Gabriel. I am bias because I am a sucker for true love and I just wanted her and Gabriel together right away. As the book goes on though you start to feel for Jonah. Jonah is a vampire trying to redeem his soul through the help of Gabriel. Something in Lailah makes Jonah act more human than he has before and he is so sweet and cocky all at the same time. I don't like that he openly is with other girls which makes me love Gabriel more.

Gabriel in this book is so shut off and secretive. It gets frustrating especially knowing how Lailah feels about him automatically. You eventually learn why is was the way he was but sometimes things may just be too late. The book ends in a complete cliff hanger that I don't want to ruin because this is an up and coming author. So seriously go read this book because it was unlike anything I have read before. I love original plots and deep characters. It gives me hope that there is a magical world out there somewhere that has yet to be discovered.

This author came to be up and coming through this site called the Wyatt App. This is the second book I have read that is a product of this site and I am again not disappointed!

Perfect Ruin - Lauren Destefano

Well I am done already, and if you have ever read a book by Lauren Destefano I am sure you can understand why. This novel is slow, yet fast paced at the same time. The character growth is slow but the plot progresses quickly. You start with Morgan, a 16 year old girl who has a dysfunctional family. She has a best friend, Pen, who also has a dysfunctional family. After a mysterious death their perfect world, or island in the sky, starts to go crazy. Heightened security has the girls on high alert and soon you find out things are not what they seem in their perfect world.

Daphne is the girl who is murdered within the first chapter of the book. Soon after you meet her sister, Amy, who is seen posting her dead sisters essay all over town for everyone to read. Next thing you know the local flower shop catches fire. Now all we are told as the reader is that it is believed to be a boy named Judas, Daphne's betrothed. You think that would be weird in the book but it actually works. The people put together really seem to be meant for one another. Especially our main character, Morgan, and her boyfriend, Basil. So back to the story...

Morgan finds Judas and tries to help him, which kindles her friendship with Amy. Story progresses where things get worse and worse in the city and people start showing up dead. Morgan and Basil get home from school and she immediately checks on her mother who appears to be sleeping. Morgan is overcome in pain so Basil takes her to her bothers apartment.

Back story on her brother, Lex, he is an ex-pharmacist, who has a wife, Alice. Lex tried to jump over the edge of the Island after Alice had to have her pregnancy terminated for being out of turn. He was left blind from the incident and almost died. From that point forward Lex hated the government and the King.

Now that I caught us all up... because of Morgan's family history we find out she was poisoned, as was everyone in her family as well as several other people. Lex and Alice no longer take their medications from the government so they are safe. Morgan's mother and father are both dead and Lex is barely able to save his sister. Lex, Alice, Morgan, and Basil now all have to go in hiding because they are supposed to be dead. Morgan wakes up to find herself underground in a 'bird' (plane) meant to help rebels leave the floating island. In a fit of rage over her parents she leaves the bird followed by Judas to kill the King. She realizes this is ridiculous when she gets to the surface and decides to just write a message to Pen.

Pen is already at her and Morgans secret spot and the two get to talk. It is here Morgan realizes the Pen truly loves living on the Island and believes every word of the history books. Morgan decides not to tell her about the bird and just wanted to say good-bye. Before she can leave they are shot with darts by the Prince and Princess and rendered paralyzed. They are captured...yada yada yada, they escape and make it back to the bird. The group realizes it has to leave now or be killed. As they reach the end of the floating Island they find the Princess has been stowed away in the bottom of the bird with Pen's betrothed, Thomas.

Pen has a melt down about leaving the Island but it is too late and the bird is in the air. They make it to the ground where they are greeted by other people. The book ends here!!!!!!! Ugh don't worry the sequel comes out March 10th. So, not too long of a wait. I gave a crazy simplified synopsis because you have to still be able to enjoy reading it! Lauren Destefano is an amazing author and I recommend reading anything she is willing to write.

Currently reading Perfect Ruin! Now I was a huge fan of the Chemical Garden Trilogy so I am hoping Lauren Destefano will have written just as well here.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but this art work is simply amazing.

In side flap with more artwork.

Pretty stars in side the book.

The back of the book. I really can't get over how great this looks. So simple yet it sucks me in.

The One & Only - Emily Giffin

Well I don't know what to really say about this book other than I was really into it, and then all of a sudden I wasn't. I cannot review this book without including spoilers to accurately describe why I almost wanted to puke toward the end. Lets start with the basic plot line and go from there...

Shea, main character, lives in a small Texas town where Football is religion. You eat, breathe, and sleep, Walker Football. Her best friend, Lucy, is the daughter of infamous Coach Clive Carr, for Walker's team. Lucy's mother dies in the very beginning of the book and set the mood for the teams year that they need to win all the games and championship in her honor. Shea is a reporter that covers Walker Universities sports teams for the Post. She is dating an ex-football player, Miller, who is now a gym teacher. She is essentially in a rut going no where because she is too loyal to her football team to pursue anything else.

Now onto the story...

With the death of Connie, Lucy's mom, Lucy and Shea's mom push Shea to break up with dead beat Miller and move on in life. Coach Carr, who Shea has always looked up to and seen as a father figure, agrees with them. Taking Coach's advice she does break up with Miller and in turn Coach gives her the phone number of a guy in Dallas to offer her a better reporting job so that she can actually do what she wants. Through this job Shea means Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, Ryan James, who she went to college with at Walker and was home visiting to watch the game. Ryan asks Shea out and from there they become a couple.

Things get serious fast and Shea starts to notice Ryan is a little possessive. At first she sees it as just jealousy, but she also thinks it is her mind playing tricks on her because she is starting to get a crush on Coach Carr. Grosssssss. I was really hoping that was just going to be a glance over that she would get over and move on.

*Disclaimer - I am a huge Cowboys fan*

So me being the fan I am, I want Shea and Ryan to work because that would be amazing. But Shea starts talking to Coach more and more and they get closer. While her and Ryan's relationship is still growing Ryan often becomes angry at her if she is found to be talking to other guys. At the end of the book Ryan grabs her arm and belittles her in the bar in front of her friends. Ryan storms out of the bar and Shea goes home. Coach calls to check on her and she asks him to come over and keep her company. By the time Shea is done showering Ryan is in her apartment waiting for her and starts apologizing. Shea asks him to leave and things start to escalate. Low and behold, Coach Carr, arrives just in time to save the day. With Ryan gone Shea and Coach admit they have feelings for each other. *vomit* They end up meeting up later and kissing in his office.

Here is another part I was not happy with. Lucy saw Ryan get hands on with Shea and saw the marks on her arm. Yet, Lucy still asked if there is any way that Shea and Ryan can work it out. What kind of friend is that? No kind of abuse is acceptable. But, lets continue on. Lucy and Shea have been slightly on the outs because Lucy is jealous of the relationship Shea and Coach have.

Christmas Time is upon us and the Carr family plus Shea are over Lucy's house decorating. Lucy leaves the room and Shea and Coach have an intimate moment. Unsurprisingly, Lucy walks back in the room and catches this moment causing a blow out. Shea and Coach go back to his house where she asks him to 'make love to her' because it may be the only chance. They don't, thank god, and they leave. The next day Shea is called by her mother stating Lucy is making Shea choose between their life long friendship or her love for her father, Coach Carr. Shea goes to Lucy and tells her she chooses Lucy which Lucy is of course elated over. Shea then goes to her job and tells her boss she quits/gets fired because she cannot be impartial due to her love for Coach Carr and Walker Football.

Now in my opinion Lucy is 100% right. I mean her mother hasn't even been dead for a year yet in the book... and Coach has been like Shea's dad growing up. What a sick and twisted line to cross. He is an old man and she is in her 30's. How can he do that to his own daughter let alone a young woman who looks to him for advice on life. And how can Shea even be mad at Lucy or her mother for being upset about the whole situation. Shea and Coach break it off and Shea runs off to New York to stay with her dad and get over her 'broken heart'. Lucy continues to call her and act like life is just perfect these days. Shea eventually comes home for the final Walker Football game where they win the championship for Connie.

What is disgusting is that Lucy tells Shea she finally is ok with her and her dad being together. Coach Carr gives this nice speech about how they did it all with Connie's help (you remember his dead wife) and then kisses Shea right there in front of everyone. HOW THE HELL DO YOU THANK YOUR DEAD WIFE AND KISS YOUR SORTA DAUGHTER.

The book ends there where you don't know what happens next and I really hope she doesn't write a sequel to this because I was appalled with the gross love triangle. To me it was like she was hitting on her step-dad.... You may not agree but this is my opinion... again I was skeeved out by this book and felt dirty after reading it.

Hollow City - Ransom Rggs

Just in from the library!! Currently reading. Review to be posted

The cover of the 2nd book. You meet this peculiar girl in Part Two.

Update 11/17 almost done! Sorry its taking so long, life is hectic right now

Not much more to go now

Well its almost 5am here and I am finally done the book. I will say the first few chapters drug along with the childish bickering, but the story gained momentum fast and did not stop until the very last page. In this book the children are set out to find a way to cure Miss Peregrine who is stuck in bird form. We come to find out almost all of the Ymbryne's have been captured by the Wight's. The children find their way into an old Loop where peculiar animals live. Their ymbryne Miss Wren has fled to London in hopes to help her sister ymbryne's who were under attack.

From there the children, who need a ymbryne to help Miss P, make a long journey to London and hit lots of hiccups along the way. When they leave the loop they come across a group of gypsies and manage to hide on the back of a wagon for several hours before they are discovered. At first the gypsies shove the children in a cage and threaten to harm them however suddenly one of the men steps forward and chooses to hide the children when the wight army comes looking for them. You soon find out the gypsy man has a peculiar son who is rapidly turning invisible. With a new found understanding the gypsies agree to help the children get to the train station. They make it but are soon taken by the wights and are forced to fight their way free.

Once free they manage to catch back up to their train where they indeed finally make it to London. London is under attack because it is still 1940 where they are and World War II is still happening. They follow clues hidden in the Peculiar Stories that lead them to St Paul's Cathedral. Here they go searching for pigeons as mentioned in the story they are peculiar and help lead the children to Miss Wren. They find the hidden loop in the crypt of the church and find themselves at a side show event where they go searching for other peculiar people. They find a boy who tells them the name of an intersection which the children follow and low and behold finally find Miss Wren. They give Miss Wren the peregrine who is their ymbryne in hopes to heal her. Now at this point the bird who is Miss P has become aggressive and been acting more bird like. The children fear this is her losing her humanity and becoming more animal.

While staying inside the building, which is covered in ice thanks to a peculiar girl, the children learn that peculiar's are teaming up in hopes to fight back against the wights and save their ymbrynes. The group is torn down the middle and some decide to stay back where it is safe and others choose to let Miss Peregrine decide what they should do. Emma tries to convince Jacob to go home at this point which he actually agrees to do!! I was appalled at this because he is just starting to truly understand his ability to feel the hollows.

**Spoiler Alert**

It's show time. Miss Wren is about to break the spell keeping Miss P a bird when suddenly it is not Miss Peregrine, but her brother who is peculiar and can also turn into a bird. You learn that the wights from the first book tricked the children into taking Caul, and letting them think it is Miss Peregrine. The whole time Caul sat listening to the children and learning of all of their weaknesses and abilities. Caul has the building surrounded and ends up taking everyone captive by killing the peculiar girl who makes the ice. The large group is brought to present day London when they exit the loop and are being stuffed on a train when a fight breaks out. The bendable man slips out of his cuffs and makes a run for it. The wights shoot him of course causing chaos in the subway. Emma uses this as an opportunity to fire up her cuffs and melt them off of her. She and Jacob fight several Wights before being knocked out by the blind brothers screaming. Jacob is semiconscious when he sees the Wights shoving the last of the group onto the train and Addison dragging him to safety. When Jacob comes to he learns Addison's loop had been invaded by wights and he fought his way out of it. Jacob takes a call from his father where he tells him he is alive, he loves him, and he hopes to return one day. A hollow shows up, which only Jacob can see, and some how Jacob realizes he has another peculiar ability, he can talk to and control hollows.

The book ends there which still leaves us with questions of course. I am looking forward to the third book mostly because of Jacob's life like premonition dreams. At first I was convinced they were what was going on in the real world in current time but then at the end I was convinced I was wrong. Jacob dreamed he was being burried and could hear his family and friends talking about him. I thought this was due to the fact he was from the recent times but was stuck in the past. Then, at the end of the book when Jacob takes the call from his father, you find out his parents are in London looking for him. I also want to point out that his phone had 177 missed calls from Dad. Not 1 from Mom... his mom was very strange from the first book and almost seemed happy to have both men leave her house. I predict something comes of that. Now back to the dreams... Jacob has a dream from his grandfather which was obviously him saying you can control hollowgashts. I want to know if this is some ability Jacob has or if it is something his grandfather is able to do.

Well, on to the next book!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

I started reading this book one day at work because it was available as an e-book through my local library. I wasn't sure I would even like it, but the cover sucked me in. Yes I choose books by their covers.

I will say I was instantly trapped in this book and found myself not even noticing when people were talking to me. You start off hearing these wonderful stories from Jacob's grandfather, Abe. Now as a reader you automatically think these are fake and the main character grows to stop believing in them as well. One day Jacob's grandfather Abe is killed by wild animals near his home and Jacob is the one to find him. This leaves him terribly disturbed and has to seek counseling to try and work through the incident.

This counseling leads Jacob and his father, Franklin, to the island where Abe was living as an Orphan. From here the book seriously picks up pace and you find out that yes, all of the stories were true. Also, all of the kids in the photographs also exist and they have yet to age. Jacob becomes familiar with all of the children and Miss Peregrine as well as the dangers they face. Not long after Jacobs continued visit to the Loop, the Hollows end up finding them. Hollows are what they call the bad wights because they lost their souls during a dark magic type ordeal.

The book ends with a cliff hanger and some unanswered questions. I look forward to reading Hollowed City to see what happens next. The only thing I will comment on the book is the righting style is definitely that of a younger reader however the content is more for an older reader, if that makes any sense.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, again I read it through my Kindle. The book has such good creepy photos to go along with the story.

The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks

Currently reading! Review to be posted.

My copy of the book I picked up at the local Walmart for about $6

Just update I am still reading it is October 20th. Here are some pictures of some lines I liked in this book so far.

I really liked these parts of the books describing how different characters felt about the town they lived in. I could relate coming from a small (minded) town myself.

This is another quote seriously relating to my town and I am sure many other peoples towns as well. The closest city to me is Philadelphia, so unless you are a township worker or you run your own business there really isn't a way to earn a high salary around here.

This one made me think of a lot of different things. Any time I am upset and cry Corey (my boyfriend) will always tell me crying won't change things, you need to focus on the positive and move forward. I like the way it is explained in this part of the book.

November 5, 2014

So I actually finished this book several days ago but I just haven't quiet been sure what to write. This is my first Nicholas Sparks book and wow I am impressed. The author switches between all of the characters in the book allowing you to understand where each person is coming from when they make the decisions they make. I was not prepared for the ending even though I could feel it coming. The whole book you are rooting for these two people to be together, at the same time you can feel Amanda's torn heart about the feelings for her husband, and family. The ending is heart breaking yet great at the same time. It reminds me of an Emily Giffin book. I don't think I will be reading another Nicholas Sparks book anytime soon though. I liked it being relatible and all that, just I enjoy a more happy book. This was on the darker side and left me feeling depressed and sad.

Redeemed - PC Cast & Kristin Cast

Currently reading... Review to be posted

Well sorry it took me so long, I had life going on and got a little side tracked. This book was actually good. I know I haven't reviewed the other 11 books on this blog or the 3 novellas but if you are on shelfari you can find me (sgamble187) and read my reviews on them there.

Rant time - I wish it didn't take P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 12 books to finally do what readers have been complaining about since the second book. My biggest issue with this entire series has always been the redundancy. By the time I hit book 6 and they were still explaining why Grandma called Zoey u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya I wanted to slam the book down and be done with it. If I didn't love books so much I just might have. And it wasn't just with Grandma, it was with everything that could possibly have been related to a previous book. I wanted to scream to the authors that we are obviously several books in, we get it, stop repeating yourself. I won't continue on about the previous books and what angered me because this book was actually really good and I am happy I stuck it through to the end. Again just read my shelfari reviews if you want to see my opinions.

*spoilers ahead*

So, Redeemed. Zoey finally gets her shit together. If you are an avid reader of this series you will get the little joke I made there. (for those who haven't read the series Zoey does not curse). When I first started out the book I was so afraid it was going to be the who is Zoey going to have sex with saga all over again but it was not! In the beginning Zoey turns herself in because she believes she murdered two men in the park (Revealed). Now we, the reader know Nefret is the true killer. Don't worry Zoey doesn't waste the book away in there, she is actually out in a few chapters. The #1 thing I have always loved about this whole series is how it changes narrators so you can see where several characters are at once. I loved getting inside Nefret's head and see just how crazy and deluded she had become.

Crazy Pants Nefret decides the Mayo (a hotel in town) is now her temple where people should worship her. She honestly thinks that the people inside are waiting to worship her... She uses her little darkness worm things to take over peoples bodies and make them do her bidding. Nefret is easily upset and lashes out on the receptionist Kylee just because she doesn't immediately refer to her as Goddess. Nefret goes on throughout the book just proving how crazy she is by throwing people off of her balcony and making her worms burst through peoples bodies. One human, Lynette, does not get taken over by the worms and pretty much becomes Nefret's personal assistant. Lynette is only saved by the fact that she herself is power driven and uses that to her advantage to please Nefret. In the end she dies like all the other people trapped in the Mayo but seriously it's Nefret I wouldn't have expected it to be any other way without it seeming cheesy.

Kalona goes on to prove his worthiness of forgiveness to everyone. His story is more of a wrap up of the novella Kolona's Fall. So I did enjoy his part in the book just to see how far he really has come and why he has been so jaded over the years.

Shaunee and Erik end up together. While the characters in the book don't find it weird I certainly do. Erik was always a cry baby to me in the books. Shaunee is a strong character, her affinity is for fire for goddess sake! ;) I do like the turn in personality Erik took not being so self centered like he has been but that is the running theme of the book. People changing and coming to see what is truly important in life.

This book should have been called Zoey Redbird Finally Stops Whining. This is the first book that I have liked Zoey's character. Being in jail finally makes her snap into reality and make some major decisions that needed to be made 6 books ago. I do understand why she was so annoying in the other books because obviously they wanted to show her growing as time went on. And now that the last book has been written I can appreciate the annoying Zoey in the earlier books. She really does come a long way and starts to act like an adult.

My favorite quote in the book I took a picture of sorry if it is grainy. It is at the end of the book before the big showdown which is in the last 50 pages. I started to panic thinking how on earth can this book be done and have all my questions answered in 50 pages. Well they do it, and they do it well. That is why they write books and I read them.

So that is the end. I will try and do better reviews like this for future books too.

Witch World - Christopher Pike

Now this book took on a theme I hadn't really read before. I usually read books about the supernatural because who doesn't want to escape from reality from time to time. The main character, Jessie, and all of her friends have recently graduated high school. The main setting of the book is in Las Vegas, where the entire senior class has agreed to spend their first weekend as graduates. Jessie's ex-boyfriend, Jimmy, tags along with her group as planned by Jessie's best friend Alex, so that they can work things out.

Jimmy reveals to Jessie why he broke up with her out of the blue and stopped talking to her. Jimmy's ex-girlfriend, Kari, became pregnant and they had a baby boy named Huck. When Jessie asks why he is there and not with Kari he states Huck passed away 4 days after he was born. Jessie feels bad for Jimmy but is still mad for not including her in his reasoning for leaving and she storms off with Alex to start their night of fun.

Skipping ahead in the story some Jessie meets Russ who cryptically tells her to find him when she does not know what else to do. Jessie is later kidnapped and locked in a meat freezer until she passes away. When she wakes up she is in Witch World, a world that runs parallel to the real world. Jessie, now known as Jessica, finds out she is part witch, and she now is able to control herself in both worlds. In Witch World Jessica finds her and James (Jimmy) have a baby girl, Lara. Witch World and the Regular World share events with one another but sometimes those events don't always match up. Hence, Jimmy having Huck and James having Lara.

Lara is an extremely rare powerful baby with all 10 of the known witch genes. Now a story needs a bad guy so here is where that comes in. The bad group, the Lapras, kidnap Lara in hopes to turn her evil. Long story short it doesn't work. Jessie is tempted by evil only to have Jimmy, yes Jimmy not James, help her through it. She overcomes temptation... this time. Witch World II, Black Night, comes out December 2, 2014 and I am certainly interested to see what direction Jessie takes.

The main things that bothered me in this book was that these kids are all newly 18 and have kids themselves. It is not exactly promoting a good idea to young readers. I get it is just a story but it was weird none the less that Jessica's father was totally cool with her having a kid at 18 and even helped the Tar push her and Jimmy together. The only other thing that was a tad bit odd was that turns out all of Jessie's closest friends have the Witch Gene. It is lamely explained in the book as people who have witch genes and don't know it are often drawn together...

The story line was very good and the dialect was easy to read and believable for someone who is 18. I like that the book for the most part gives you closure on the main characters and even some of the back characters. They didn't disappear like in some books once the story gets going.

Bound to You - Christopher Pike

Bound to You by Christopher Pike is two of Pike's books published together, Spellbound and See You Later.

This book honestly took me forever to finish because Spellbound just did not captivate my attention at all. The book is about a group of friends in high school who find out their one friend is a monster who kills people. That is all fine and a plot I am used to reading. The problem I had with the book is that everyone is described as breathtakingly hot and extremely athletic. Of course our main character is a football cheerleader who dates the quarterback of the football team. All of the kids driving amazingly fancy cars and have nice big houses up in the mountains. Oh and their parents, they don't mind the kids staying out all night long or anything. The main characters parents even hide in their room so their son can have a girl over at 1 in the morning. The whole premise just frustrated me.

See You Later is a whole different story. I loved this story and found myself not able to put the book down once i started it. This is about a boy who meets this girl Kari, and eventually gets her help in getting a date with a girl he really likes. There are a few plot twists I don't want to ruin because wow this story took crazy turns. The ending leaves you sad but satisfied.

If you can find these books separately, which is how they originally were published, just skip Spellbound.

Kiera Cass - my first meet and greet

So this past summer I was able to meet one of my favorite Authors, Kiera Cass, who wrote the Selection Series. A recent post on her website reveals she is adding two more, that's right TWO more full length novels to the series. The Heir is set to release May 5, 2015 and there is no title or date on the last book.

The Selection is about a girl, America, who is put into a pool of girls to try to win Prince Maxon's affection in hopes to be the new Queen. The setting is in the future in the United States where we have reverted back to a King and Queen instead of a President. Also, the people have been broken down into a caste system of numbers where what ever your number is will decide what type of work you can preform. America is currently a 5 which are artists and musicians. Maxon is the son of the current King and Queen making him a 1. Aspen, America's long time friend and neighbor, is a 6 which is the lowest of the Castes and he is a laborer. In the Selection America deals with the fact that a lot of people cannot see past the number she once was. Once you are chosen for the Selection you are bumped up to a 3 which is where most other famous and wealthy people are. I dont want to say to much more without giving it away.

The Elite continues on with America deciding if she can win Maxon over or if she will risk it all for Aspen. She also bumps heads with Maxon's father and realizes there is a lot more going on outside of the Palace with the caste system than the King is letting on. Again, if I say more I will surely be giving too much away.

The One, as you can probably guess Maxon has to narrow his choice down to 1 girl and choose his bride and the future queen. This book was better than the first two, which is very hard for most authors to pull off. Kiera Cass really does an amazing job at keeping you interested right up to the very last chapter. I wanted to cry at some parts and SCREAM at Maxon and America in others. This last book really makes you feel what the characters are feeling.

Now there are Novellas in this series as well.

The Prince is about the first time Maxon comes into contact with America. Honestly this just made me love Maxon even more than I thought I ever could. I love novellas told from the opposite sex's point of view. You read about Maxon's struggle to win over his Father and yet make is own decisions to make an attempt for real love.

The Guard is told from Aspen's point of view when he joins the Guard, making him a 2 and being in the palace with America while she is dating Maxon. I wasn't fond of Aspen but this book did give me a soft spot for him.

The Queen is being released in 21 days and will be about The Queens time in the Selection. How she came to become the Queen and the bonds she made with the other girls she competed with.

The Favorite is to be about Marlee. I am not sure what this is about because I have not really researched too much about it. I did pre-order the Queen/Favorite combo pack and will make an attempt to update after I have read them both.

The Jewel - Amy Ewing

Since I am terrible at blogging apparently I am going to attempt to keep up to date reactions to all of the books I read. You can visit my shelfari page and see what i am reading there as well as what I plan to read in the future. [sgamble187]

I recently read The Jewel by Amy Ewing. WOW is how I would sum up this book in 1 word. If you have read the Chemical Garden Trilogy (Wither, Sever, Fever) or The Selection Series (The Selection, The Elite, The One, -The Heir* not yet released) Then I have no doubt that you will also love this new and up coming series.

The Jewel isn't a piece of Jewelry, it is actually the center of an island or the capital of this 'country'. The book never really says exactly what the world is only that water surrounds all of the land, and that is where the poorer families live. Then there are stone walls separating each class of citizens basically until you reach the center, which is the Jewel.

The people of the Jewel are royalty and you soon learn that for what ever reason they cannot conceive children of their own. Have no fear though, because they are royalty they have tons of money and can afford to buy girls to carry their children for them. They even have the technology to choose to have a boy or a girl. But this isn't even all of it...

The story follows Violet, a girl who is chosen to become a surrogate after a blood test shows she basically has magic in her. They call magic Augury in this book. There are 3 different kinds, the ability to change colors, the ability to change shapes, and the ability to make life or growth. The royals buy these girls and use the Augury magic to have the perfect children. The girls are forced to use the magic to make the child look how their owner wants them to look.

There is a love story in this book, however the main focus point is on Violets struggle to take charge of her life. She realizes very quickly that she has never been able to decide on anything since she was chosen to become a surrogate. When she is purchased she is even more limited and must listen to what The Duchess of the Lake tells her to do. When surrogates do not listen they are punished and in some cases even put to death. The whole book you are put on the edge of your seat waiting for The Duchess to hurt Violet for disobeying her. Lets just say it finally happens at the end of the book and you have to wait for the next one to come out around 1 year from now :(

Now to the writing style. It is told from a 16 year old girls point of view, but thankfully Violet does not act like a younger girl as in some other young adult books (I'm looking at you House of Night novels). There are very long descriptive parts about the scenery and the background on what is going on. I am the type of person who usually skips this part of the book and looks for the next set of quotation marks to pick back up on the story. This town, country, whatever it is, is seriously so interesting to me that I didn't skip any details. You as a reader are pulled right in to this story by the first few pages. I just needed to know more about Violet and the Jewel. I read this book in a day, which sadly is not unusual for me when I find a good book like this. Amy Ewing really sold me on her first book she had published. I have high expectations for the second book which does not yet have a title but is set to release September 2015.

Update 9/22. If you write to Amy on her website AmyEwingBooks.com she will respond!!! So insanely cool that she takes time out of her day to do this!

Emily Giffin

So I have a new favorite Author, Emily Giffin. The movie Something Borrowed was on at work before I went out for surgery and I have always been meaning to read the book the movie was based ok. I have never read an "Adult" type book before and I am so happy the first one I read was by Emily Giffin. Something Borrowed was the most realistic book I have read that wasn't overly done or at all silly. I could not put this book down, and I know I probably say that about almost every book I read. If you haven't seen the movie the book is about a girl, Rachel, who is in love with her friend Dex. Dex is engaged to her best friend Darcy. Long of the short, Rachel and Dex have an affair and the whole issue comes to a head. There is a big twist at the end and wow I loved it.

The follow up book Something Blue was just as addicting! I hated Darcy all through Something Borrowed and she actually grows on you through this sequel. You fall in love with every character, even the miniscule ones. Something Blue made me want to pack up and move to England! I can't say too much without giving away the ending to Something Borrowed, so if you haven't read it do not read ahead! Darcy is pregnant with Marcus' baby and surprise surprise, Marcus doesn't want squat to do with her. Darcy's mother disapproves so alone and pregnant Darcy runs away to live with Ethan in England. Darcy finds love in England and then realizes who she is actually in love with. Lots of surprises!

Next up is Baby Proof. WOW. Now this is a new set of character who struggle with a change of heart. Claire does not want to have children and her husband Ben has a change of heart and wants a child. I don't want to spoil anything but all I wanted to do while reading this was fast forward to the end. This was more suspenseful than most young adult books I have read. The cute part about this book is about two sentences toward the end they mention Ethan! They give you a cute little update about him and Darcy. There was actually a part in this book near the end that i teared up reading because you think, oh no this really is it, it's too late.

Then I read Love the One You're With. This book was honestly a struggle. Corey told me to push through it because he knows how I get when I don't finish a series I am reading. I am happy he told me to push through it because about 3/4 of the way through I couldn't stop reading. It was a shame it took me that long to really get into it but the ending was worth it. Having personally been in a crappy relationship myself for 5 years (who hasn't) Ellen made me so angry. She has the perfect husband, Andy, who loves her to death. She chooses to flirt along the line of cheating with her scummy ex, Leo, just because she isn't sure what she wants. Maybe I just couldn't get into the book because I after getting out of that relationship I couldn't ever imagine risking what I have now to go back to being miserable.

Heart of the Matter. Now it is 5/30/2014 and I have completely forgotten about my blog that quickly. So I will finish this post. This book was a fast read for me because the story line was just that good. Valerie is a single mom who has no dating life what-so-ever because she devotes her life to work and her son Charlie. Tessa Russo is a stay at home mom of two married to a surgeon, Nick Russo. I can't give too much away but Tessa and Valerie's lives cross in a way that has you feeling for both characters. You can't seem to pick which one you want to 'win'. This is a great book for someone who has been in an unfaithful relationship because you really see both sides of the story here. In the end you are happy even though it isn't exactly a happy ending. The ending is real though and that is what I love about these books.

Now on to, Where We Belong. Unfortunately this book was another struggle for me. It is about a girl, Kirby, who goes in search of her birth mother, Marian. I loved all of her other books and even towards the end I still could not really get into it. It was too unrealistic in comparison to her other novels. It does have a somewhat real ending, in that they all stay in touch. Kirby is just your typical annoying teenager which is what I was trying to get away from by reading Emily Griffin books. Marian was a good character to read and you could really feel her struggle with wanting to be involved and also wanting to keep everything that she had worked so hard to obtain. My heart really breaks for Kirby's parents because they try so hard to make her happy but she is just a typical know-it-all teenager. Honestly this is a book you can probably skip...

Mini pies and fresh dinner rolls

So I recently had my gallbladder out and now my diet has changed. But inspite of that here are my most recent attempts at trying new recipes.

The dinner rolls turned out so amazing!!! Corey absolutely loved them and I don't think we will be wasting money on the store brand any more. This recipe makes far more than 16 rolls. I split my dough in half and froze the extra rolls i made so next time we want them we just pop them in the oven. I had to use a lot more flour than the recipe called for. I am not sure if it is because my house was very cold and it calls for a warm area for the dough to rise or what... either way definitely give these a try.

Next up are the pumpkin pie bites i made for a family dinner we are attending tonight. They were simple enough to make however again It made more than the recipe suggests it makes. I didn't have an exact 2 1/2in cookie cutter. I just used a mason jar we use for drinking to cut out the circles. They fit perfect in the mini muffin pan i just purchased at the Acme. I think you can use less than 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I was able to do the swirly designs and all that and has a ton of chocolate left over. Corey is a chocolate nut however he was at work and I feel guilty just trowing it all away like that.

My finishing result, I went a little crazy with the chocolate topping :)

New casserole attempt

So I didn't take a picture of my finished product, sorry. However it did end up looking just like the picture I mean it's a casserole kinda hard to mess up. Now here is my review on it.

It was definitely a super easy meal to make. Its also one you can mix together ahead of time and have someone throw it in the oven for you before you get home. My boyfriend, Corey, loved it! He said he would want me to make it again. I however wasn't sold on it. The bacon was good. Cheese was good. Noodles good. To me personally I expected more flavor! After I put all the ingredients together I just thought it would be like a cheesy explosion on my fork. I was disappointed and I am going to make some changes to this recipe next time I make it. I will make it again because it did taste very good I just think it needs more umf. This casserole would really be perfect for a BBQ or family gathering instead of typical baked ziti.

My first book post! Son by Lois Lowry

Well first off I will be writing spoilers about this book. So beware what you read if you plan on reading this book.

Back in my high school we had to read 'The Giver' which I will sum up for anyone who forgets. The Giver takes place in a Utopian Society where no one can see colors and the government decides everything for you. You are given your career at 14. The main character Jonas starts to see things like an apple differently than he has before. On the day of his placement for a career he is chosen to be a Giver. His family has been temporarily caring for a child who Jonas believes to be gifted like he his. The government decides the baby is too different and sentences it to death. Jonas and the baby escape leaving you to wonder what happens next.

Part I
Now onto Son. The book starts off with a girl Claire who is 16 and she was made a birth mother. She gives birth to the product, which is how families in this society get their children. Something goes wrong during her birth and they end up doing a c-section to get the baby out. After this incident Claire is deemed not a good vessel to carry kids. Before she leaves she is able to find out from a nurse she had a son and he is number 36. She is then sent to work at the hatchery which is where fish are genetically engineered and grown. In her free time Claire visits her son at the childcare center. She cannot tell anyone that he is her son or that she has feelings for him because it is against the rules. Claire finds out that the man at the center who has been caring for her son is the father of Jonas from 'The Giver'. We learn Jonas escapes with her son who we thinks name is Abe at this point. Claire finds a way out of the community during the commotion brought about by Jonas escape.

Part II
Claire ends up washed ashore in an unknown village where she is cared for by a woman who never had children of her own. Her Claire slowly regains her memory and trains to get herself ready for the journey to finding her son. Claire is tought about colors, medical things, and cooking while staying in the village. (I summed this up it wasn't interesting to me)

Part III
After Claire makes it over the mountain she trades her youth with The Trade Master so she can be with her son again who is now fairly old. Claire turns into an old lady and struggles with the decision to talk to her son who we learn is Gabe. This part is told from Gabriel's point of view. Jonas has told Gabriel as much as he can remember about the society they originated from and Gabe cannot come to terms with the fact he was essentially a factory made baby. Close to death Claire finds Jonas and confides in him the truth of why she has come to the village. Jonas tells Gabe who goes to find the Trade Master so he can save the mother he has been wishing for, for so long. Gabe defeats the Trade Master and reunites with his now young again mother.

This is a very short summation and all I can say is I am so happy I read this book. It has been a while since I read 'The Giver' and I have forgotten how opened ended it was. Once I got into reading it I didn't want to stop. It was especially interesting the parts of the story that happened at the same time The Giver happened. To read the stories as they cross paths and intertwine was so amazing considering the books are by two different authors. Long of the short is if you have read 'The Giver', read 'Son'.

Cadillac

So for valentines day I decided to make Corey something I knew he would like and use. He loves his car... a Cadi... and he is always leaving his uniforms all over the house. So to kill two birds with one stone I made him a wooden plaque and attached two hooks on it so he can hang his uniforms from it. Sorry if the pictures are blurry I took them when I still had an iPhone4 :( have no fear though I use a Galaxy S3 now so they won't look like this ever again I hope.

So as I stated before I am a dispatcher. Between calls on my night shift I spent time practicing how to draw the Cadillac symbol.

I then practiced on the actual wood and used some crayons for color. I even drew where I wanted the hooks to go. To transfer the image I drew I placed my paper over the wood where I wanted it to be and pressed down hard over all my lines. I leaves an indentation in the wood so all you have to do is trace the lines with a paint brush.

So here is how far i got. I started with the black and then the grey.

I used painters tape to make the edges perfect. I also used the sharpie paint markers at first. NOTE TO ANYONE DOING THIS DON'T USE THE PAINT MARKERS!!! They bled out everywhere and it was such a hassle to try and fix. I ended up going to Michaels and just buying the regular wood paint and redoing it all.

This is almost finished!

I bought stencil letters at michaels and added his last name at the top to make it more personalized.

All colored in

This is the finished product! I hand painted in the dark grey accent leafs that cadillac has. We went to lowes the day I gave it to him and I had him pick out the hooks he wanted on it and we mounted it to our wall :) He uses this everyday and now I don't have to keep picking up his uniforms and he doesn't have to wonder where he last put them.

Movie weekend

So Corey and I spent the weekend watching movies on demand. I want to share my thoughts on these movies to either convince you to watch them yourself or help you avoid the suffering I withstood.

The Prestige

A movie about two dueling magicians who once worked together. 1 magician (Hugh Jackman) had his wife killed in an accident while performing some magic trick where she was tied up under water. The other magician (Christian Bale) is the one who tied the ropes so naturally Hugh Jackman spends the whole movie trying to kill Christian Bale or ruin his tricks. There is a twist ending and the whole movie you are trying to figure out how they do these tricks. Short of it all WATCH THIS MOVIE. I wasn't a believer and didn't really want to watch it but Corey talked me into it because he has seen it before and I am happy we watched it.

Lawless

This movie I thought was going to be your typical boy movie (since those are the types of movies Corey likes). But let me just say that this is probably one of my favorite movies ever. Shia LeBeouf is a whiny annoying kid the entire time but other than that it is amazing. The story is about a family of moonshiners during the prohibition trying to make their living while the 'law' is trying to stop them. The oldest brother played by Tom Hardy is a man of few words yet he is such a family man. The middle brother played by Jason Clarke is the enforcer of the family who basically kicks anyones but who hurts or upsets his family. There are two love stories in this that aren't prominent but they do play a part. Mostly the entire movie I was on the edge of my seat cheering for the bad guys. And working in law enforcement it is very odd for me to do that. This is 1 movie you should watch on a date night.

Zero Dark Thirty

After reading about my friends and co-workers seeing this and talking about how good it was a truly looked forward to watching it. If it wasn't for the fact that this is all based on real events and having all lived it we know what happens, I wouldn't have been able to follow the movie. I spent a lot of the movie asking Corey, 'What did they just say?'. I mean I know it is a movie that is pro america and all that but it was confusing. The one good thing about it was that hottie Jason Clarke (middle brother from lawless) was in it.= with Jessica Chastain (the waitress from lawless). This is a movie that made me really appreciate living in America because I couldn't imagine living the way people do in other countries. This movie is take it or leave it for me. It was free on demand and it was a date night for us so I don't mind having watched it but I don't feel I took out of it what my friends who have seen it took from it.

Sooo thats my reviews of the movies we watched this past weekend. If you feel differently about any of them that ok we are all different people and will view things differently. This is just my interpretation on the movies.

Safari Cake

This was my first attempt at using Fondant and I decided to make it as well. So a little back story. It is my amazing boyfriend Corey's sisters Sweet Sixteen and we were throwing her a surprise party. We were in charge of a safari cake with a blue to match her streamers. The picture below is Corey rolling out the fondant. For the cakes I just used box cake because we had to make 3 separate cakes and I made them all double layered. It helps to make these a day early, ice them, and then place them in the fridge to set.

Fondant is 1 package of mini marshmallows + a ton of powdered sugar. I have a fondant mat i purchased from Walmart for $10. I suggest you invest in one if you plan on doing fondant cakes because it made my life so easy. Take about 3/4 of your powdered sugar and make a volcano like mound with a large hole in the middle. Mini marshmallows are microwaved for 30 seconds at a time stirring every 30 seconds until it is creamy. This is when you add the food coloring. I made several batches on fondant so what ever color you want add how ever many drops you need, and stir!!! Now for the very hot and sticky part. You can choose to use Crisco on your hands and the mat to help with the sticking but honestly it still sticks to you. i just used it mostly on my spatula. So you keep folding in the powdered sugar into the marshmallow until it basically becomes like play-d'oh. That's when the handsome helpful boy friend comes into play with the fondant mat.

Now my 2nd layer cake was 9" So all he had to do was roll the fondant out to the marker on my mat but really you just want the fondant as thin as possible so you can do without the measurements. I then laid the mat over my cake. I peeled the mat off and smoothed down my fondant starting from the middle of the cake and going in a circular motion toward the edge. Don't force the fondant it will go itself. I watched about 25 videos on this before I attempted it, and since i don't do video posts I highly recommend you do the same. So once my fondant got toward the bottom you just cut along the edge of the cake and push it in toward the cake to give it a finish.

As you can see her name is Kemlyn. I made some black fondant, rolled out and used cookie cutters to spell out her name. Add a little water to the back and they stick right onto the other fondant.

Layer 1 was Zebra. This is a 12" cake triple layered. I rolled out the black fondant and used a pizza roller to cut thick squiggly lines. You don't want them to go all the way to the center because it will make the middle layer cake uneven.

As I placed on the middle layer i cut the excess of the zebra stripe off to make it seem like it goes right into the cake.

Top layer was giraffe! Corey was not home at this point so I had to do the picture taking by myself so not many shots of this. Basically it is yellow fondant with brown fondant cut into odd shapes and placed all around.

I used a black icing piper to add some finishing touches around the layers.

Here it is with the candles!

And the proud big brother and the birthday girl with the cake!