Happy Book Birthday!

Happy book birthday to ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME by Julie Berry!  I will be reviewing it next week, but wanted to post it on here because opening week is an important time for books and this book is made of AWESOME!

BLACKMOORE Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to Random.org we have our random winner,

Teri Christensen!

And our second place winner, who will receive a surprise book from my piles:

Chris 

Thank you to all who participated!  It was a hard contest.  After all was counted up we had 235 entries! 

Winners look for a package in the mail soon!

Thursday Three

1) I wasn't gonna do a post, but thanks to my review and giveaway of Julianne Donaldson's BLACKMOORE (see previous post) I hit 300 followers!  Which is awesome!  Cause I have so much to bring to you in the next while!  So, as part of that I am going to give away another book, yet to be determined what book, to a second place winner from the giveaway!  So go check that out!

2) How do you feel about not finishing a book?  If the beginning is slow, or the story just isn't grabbing you, how long do you give a book before you put it down for good?  Have there been books that you've read that took a while to get into?

I felt that way about Stephenie Meyer's THE HOST.  I mean until page like 120 it was SLOW.  But once I got there past that internal information going on inside Mealine and Wanda's newly combined head, the action of the story started and I was really into it.

So now I hesitate to not keep going.  In hopes that it will get good in the end. 

What do you think?

3) So not book related, but who is so excited that Fall is pretty much here!  I sure am!  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays in the universe.  I am SO excited!

Happy reading this weekend you guys!

Book Tour and Author Signing Event for BLACKMOORE by Julianne Donaldson (Plus a Giveaway!!!!!!)

Big post today guys!  First, my review:

BLACKMOORE

by Julianne Donaldson
Page Count: 276
Genre: Regency Romance
Book Brand: A Proper Romance
Published by Shadow Mountain

Placement in the Pile: Top of the Stack!

Summary:

Kate Worthington knows she can never have her heart’s desire and so believes she will never marry. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore on the cliffs above the seashore, where she must face the truth and the man that has kept her heart captive.

Set in northern England, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn to follow her heart. With hints of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, Blackmoore is a page-turning tale of romance, intrigue and devotion.
 

Review:

Oh how I love Julieanne's books!

In this novel we find a young lady not so naiive in her world of social classes and how one can be ruined by unsatisfactory behavior from family members.  Kate has grown up in a not so happy home, and finds herself drawing closer and closer to her childhood friends, the Delafields.

However something changes in all of their relationships.  Sylvia's friendship turns cold, and Henry... well what can be said about Henry but SWOON!  But both Kate and Henry's mothers have plans of their own.  And Kate soon learns how far she is willing to go to set herself free of it all.


Blackmoore will not disappoint fans of all things regency and romance. 

Book signing:

Now here are some awesome photos of the book signing event the Julianne had at The King's English in Salt Lake City!  It was an open reception with some amazing handsome regency men to hang out with and take photos with, and Julianne looked absolutely beautiful! 

Me and Julianne!  She was just glowing!

Handsome man #1

The beautiful cake, and to the left there were awesome period treats, that I didn't manage to get a good picture of.

Handsome man #2.  He was my fave!  They were so fun!

Signing the copy of Blackmoore I'm giving away today!

Me and Julianne once more!

And last but not least!  A giveaway of one of my ARC copies! *Edited:  Giveaway closes on 9/17 11:59 PM MST, winner will be announced 9/18! (Another edit -- got my month numbers mixed up!)

USA Today interview with Veronica Roth

I thought this was really great!  I am so excited for this movie, and for the third book!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/09/04/veronica-roth-allegiant-interview/2760099/

Thursday Three

Today's Thursday Three is all about teasers, cause I HAVE been reading, I've just been reading things for specific date reviews that haven't happened yet!

1) Regency

2) Push Broom

3) Truth

Make of those what you will.  See you next week for some super exciting stuff!

Thursday Three

1) In a very non-book related activity, we've been playing a lot of our new Disney Infinity game over at our house.  My two girls are sick so my Kindergartener is home giving us lots of opportunity for play!  It's a super fun game and we are loving it! 

Easy enough for my 5 year old to play (mostly, sometimes she needs help, but she's not a big gamer and has never really played a game like this before -- so if your child is good on other games this would be perfect!)  but so entertaining enough  that my hubs and I have stayed up till past midnight the last few nights playing.  We had a good long laugh when we kept falling short on a challenge mini-game and at the end of one Jack Sparrow announced "Well that was horrible" just before the "Nice Disney narrator guy" said "Good try!". 

Plus, here's another little plug.  My husband helped code the game.  His company had a contract job with Avalanche (the main creators).  So go check it out!  And a hint -- buy the figurines NOW if you're gonna save the packs for Christmas or something.  They are on sale at walmart (but they don't advertise it in the store! They're just cheaper at checkout!)  Just an FYI. 

For more on the game go to: https://infinity.disney.com/

2) DOWNTON NEWS!!!!  I love this show!  And although I wasn't super in love with season 3...I am still very much looking forward to season 4.  Masterpiece has released the three new male cast members, and a bit of who their characters are.  Check that out here:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Downton-Abbey-Men-1069333.aspx

3) And lastly, do you remember that AMAZING movie I went to go see with my friends at Sundance?  AUSTENLAND?  Adapted from Shannon Hale's novel?  Well it's out in theaters and being released all around the country and I am SO excited to see it again!  Here's the link so you can find it in your neck of the woods!

http://www.sonyclassics.com/austenland/dates.html

Thursday Three

1) Do you read books in verse?  I have read only a few and most of them I have loved.  The addition of verse to tell a story is like a living breathing element.  The words seem to mean more.  Their arrangement on the page a visual aid to the story. 

Some of my favorites are:  SONG OF THE SPARROW by Lisa Ann Sandell, GLIMPSE by Carol Lynch Williams, and our book club's pick this month INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai has been magical so far.  There's a reason it was a National Book Award winner!

2) I have been thinking about Harry Potter a lot lately.  I think I need to crack them open and give them a read again.  I think I want to start reading them with my daughter.  They are magical wonderful novels and I just adore them.  I wish she'd write something else for the children's world, or even like a Harry Potter the 2nd generation books! 

3) I absolutely LOVE book orders from schools.  It was something I loved participating in when I was in school, when I was getting my teaching degree, and when I was subbing.  Now my daughter is in school and I get her first book order and...

it was very underwhelming.

A list full of books that we already own or that she would have no interest in.  There's 2 books on the list I think I'll get.  But when I saw that flier I was hoping for more.  There was a time that book orders were a place for me to find NEW authors, NEW books.  Not just where to order the set of books of the movie that's coming out.   I sure hope they get better.