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 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.

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!

Fun With Wooden Letters

Another stolen Pinterest idea. Wooden Wreath from Michaels $4.99, Giant Wooden 'S' $3.99, Flowers $2.99. I had the paint and blue striped ribbon already from a pervious craft so I did not have to purchase any for this craft. I started off using painters tape on my big wooden letter. And by big wooden letter I mean the biggest they had. This letter was not in the section with all the other wooden letters it was across the store by these wooden wreaths. I placed the painters tape on my letter in a stripe design and painted the blue between the tape. After two coats of paint I let it dry for an hour. The problem I encountered was when i peeled the tape off. The original white paint (at least I thought it was paint) peeled off with the tape leaving these odd brown patched behind. Luckily I had white paint handy as well and simply painted over these brown spots. Next time I will be priming the letters myself prior to painting. After that problem was solved I took a yellow Sharpie Paint Marker and outlined my blue stripes and the entire letter around the edges.

I wrapped my blue striped ribbon around the top part of my wreath. Then i took a hot glue gun and glued the S to the wooden wreath. I took the fake flowers I purchased and just pulled them off the stems. You can choose to leave the stems and just fish them through the wreath, I did that prior to borrowing a hot glue gun to make them stick. Once I had the hot glue gun I just put a lot of glue on the stem of the flowers and pushed them through the sticks and held them til they stuck and the glue dried.

And wha-la! this is my summer wreath hanging on my door. :)

Below is a cute little decoration I made for our bedroom. Originally we had a large painting of a purple flower, but we were tired of it being on this wall so we moved it to another and my boyfriend left me to do what I pleased to make the wall look nice. Now, my first attempt at the above wreath a purchased and painted the S shown below. I realized it was way to small to fit on the wreath but I had already painted it and was sure i could find another use for it. So I went back to Michaels and bought a few wooden cut outs: C, heart, and a frame with hearts carved into the edges.

I painted the frame black, the heart red, and striped the C to match the S and just used blue paint for Corey. I rent my house so I use Command strips to hang everything so I don't put holes in my walls. Hanging this was easy-peasy. 3 .5lb Command strips on the sides and top of the frame and stuck it to my wall. 2 1lb Command strips on the tops and bottoms of each letter, and I stuck them to the wall in the frame. Last, 1 .5lb Command strip on the back of the heart stuck between the letters. I was more than pleased with my new 3D wooden art as was my boyfriend.

Corey <3 Suzie