Interview on Danyelle Leafty's blog

Today I was interviewed on Danyelle Leafty's blog.









Danyelle is the author of the Fairy Godmother Dilemma Books. Catspell is the first in the series:

Thanks so much to Danyelle for having me on her blog today! It's always fun to meet new authors and find new blogs to enjoy.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse is the 3rd book in the Twilight series. I think that next to Twilight it may be my favorite in the series even though Jacob is a total pain in the butt in this one. I have to laugh every time I read when Bella punches Jacob's jaw and breaks a bone in her hand! Again though I feel sorry for Jacob. He loves Bella so much but even though she loves him, she cannot live without Edward. Gotta give the guy props for trying to gain her love though! I'm not a fan of Bella trying to use her whiles to get Edward to have sex with her and to also get out of marrying him. But still this is one of my favorite books in the series.

I re-read Eclipse because Breaking Dawn Part I came out on video and so I thought I would re-read all of the books. Sometimes I just need a little fluff to read and that is where I found myself while re-reading this. Also it counts towards my goal for the Contentment Reading Challenge:


I think this is my 3rd or 4th time reading the Twilight series. Yes, I enjoy it that much! And confession: I like the movies too! As cheesy as they are I just like them!

Curveball The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

Peter and his best friend AJ are the best baseball pitchers for their team. Their pitching skills are going to take them far. When Peter is pitching, AJ is catching then when AJ pitches then Peter is catching. They are quite a duo. That is until Peter messes up his arm and is told he can no longer pitch~EVER.

This does not seem to be Peter's year. Not only can he no longer pitch, but he is also starting his freshman year of high school. Also, there seems to be something disturbing going on with his Grampa. Peter's Grampa is a famous photographer. He has taught Pete everything he knows about cameras and taking the perfect picture. When his Grampa seems to miss the most perfect shot of all and then up and gives Pete all of his equipment Pete knows there is something terrible going on. His Grampa also seems to be frequently forgetting things.

Pete's mother insists that he enroll in an introductory photography class. Since he can no longer play baseball then she feels he needs to be in a "club" of some sort. Pete meets Angelika in class. They are soon put together as partners and things start to look up for Pete. Even though Pete has always told his best friend AJ everything he somehow can not bring himself to tell AJ about not being able to pitch again. The only one he really talks to about that is Angelika. She encourages him to not only be honest to AJ about his arm, but also to talk to his parents about what is going on with his Grampa.

Once again I love the emotions that Jordan Sonnenblick explores in his stories! Peter's relationship with his Grampa is so special and you feel for him as he watches his Grandfather fade into the world of Alzheimer disease. You feel for Pete in his awkward 9th grade self wondering what he is going to do with his life now that he can't play baseball. You admire AJ and Angelika for being Peter's best friends and helping him through his emotions. I have to say that once again Jordan Sonnenblick was able to bring a smile and tear to my eye in Curveball The Year I Lost My Grip.

I received my copy as an ARC from ALA in January.

Always The Wedding Planner Never The Bride by Sandra D. Bricker

More weddings are being planned at the Tanglewood hotel. This time around Sherilyn(Emma Rae's best friend from college) has been hired as the new wedding planner for the hotel.

Sherilyn and her fiance Andy have moved back to Atlanta, both with new jobs. They soon find the house of their dreams but has Andy gotten cold feet about marrying Sherilyn? And what's up with Sherilyn losing two wedding dresses?!

This second installment of the Emma Rae creation series was just as much fun as the first one Always The Baker Never The Bride. Each chapter has helpful hints for wedding planning and also some yummy recipes that Emma Rae bakes up in the story. I was quite pleased with the way the romance played out and the interaction of the characters. Looking forward to the next installment!

I downloaded my copy for free from Amazon. This is the 3rd book I've read in the Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge.

Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

Lucy Marsh is on her own trying to raise her young brother and sister. When circumstances become dangerous for this young family Lucy finds the only thing she can do is accept a proxy marriage to Nate Stanton.

Henry Stanton is Nate's father. He has come in search of a young Christian woman to marry his son. His offer helps get Lucy, Jed and Eileen out of a dangerous situation. She believes this is an answer to her prayers to protect her family.

Nate has problems of his own. The Stanton's and the Larson's have been enemies for years. Every since Henry bought out Larson land. Drew Larson is bitter about losing his family land and will never forgive the Stanton's.

Nate is not happy when his father brings Lucy home as Nate's wife. He cannot fathom how any woman would ever agree to marry a man by proxy. The marriage is legal and binding and Lucy has no intention of shirking her wifely responsibilities. She sets out to prove to Nate that she can do whatever it takes to help him run a cattle farm. 

Lucy has been relying on her own abilities for too long. Her independence immediately causes some friction between her and Nate. Lucy must learn to trust the Lord and relinquish her controlling nature to Him, which is hard for her to do since she has had to be in control of her sister and brother's care for so long.

I really liked the development of the love and attraction between Nate and Lucy. There was also a bit of mystery and suspense that in my mind played secondary to the relationship between Nate and Lucy, but added a bit of spark to the story and kept the pace moving along nicely. I really liked Nate and Lucy's characters. They both were willing to seek the Lord in their relationship. Nate was willing to be the man of the family and become a father figure to Jed and Eileen. Lucy learned to let go of her control issues and allow Nate to be the head of their family.

Blogger Interview

Crystal over at Just Another Book Lovin' Girl interviewed me today on her blog. Go check it out here: INTERVIEW

Thanks so much to Crystal for this feature that she has on her blog. I have enjoyed getting to know fellow bloggers through her blog!

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

That's the teaser on the back of this book. Of course it had me hooked!

Jazz is no ordinary teen, although he knows how to act like one. But when you have been raised by the world's most horrific serial killer it is hard to be "normal". Especially when your dad has taught you everything he knows in order to groom you as his successor. 

"Dear Old Dad" is now behind bars. Jazz really is trying to lead a normal life now. He has a girlfriend, he's in the school play. But Jazz' life is anything but normal. He lives with his crazy gramma, trying to keep the child welfare people from sending him to a foster home, his best friend Howie is a hemophiliac, and he lives in fear of becoming just like his father.

When a woman is found dead in a field with 3 fingers missing Jazz knows right away that another serial killer is on the loose. Unfortunately he can't get the law enforcement to agree with him before another murder is committed. Jazz joins forces with the police to catch the murderer. Jazz knows how a serial killer thinks and he wants to prove to himself that he is not like "Dear Old Dad". But it's a fine line he is walking because he understands the cravings to see a person's last breath seep out of them.

This is one of those books where I wish I had half hearts to give out. I would have given this a three and a half rating. I vacillated between really liking it and "it was just okay". I really liked the suspense of the story and the not knowing who the killer was until almost the very end. I disliked that this is a YA book. The theme was pretty horrific and sometimes goes into some gory details about what the killer did to his victims. Surprisingly the author kept the language fairly tame. I was offended by his use of Jesus, and g** d*** but other than that there really wasn't a lot of language, maybe because the theme was harsh enough? 

I Hunt Killers is published by Little Brown and will be out for sale in April 2012- I received my ARC copy at ALA in January.