Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Book Review- Where I Belong

16 May, 2012 by in Uncategorized 1 comment

Where I Belong
by Gwendolyn Heasley
Paperback, 289 pages
Published February 8, 2011
by HarperTeen
ISBN: 0061978841
Book Source: bought
3 stars

Summary from Goodreads: A heartwarming and witty debut novel about a spoiled city girl whose life is turned upside down when her father loses his job and she’s shipped to Broken Spoke, Texas. Who knew country-living could melt this snobby ice-queen’s heart?

Cathy’s Review: Corrinne is a big city kind of girl. She lives in New York City. Some of her favorite things to do are shopping in the exclusive Barney’s, going clubbing with her friends, riding her horse Sweetbread and drinking without getting carded. She’s looking forward to going to a fancy boarding school and hopefully rooming with her best friend, Waverly. That’s all about to change, because due to the recession her father has lost his job. He will be moving to Dubai to work at another lower paying job. They will be selling their apartment in the city. And Corrinne and her little brother Tripp will be headed to a very small town in Texas, a town so small that it’s not even on Google Maps to live with the grandparents that they’ve only seen a few times. No malls, no credit cards, no friends and no boarding school. Corrinne is determined to hate Broken Spoke, Texas, kids at school, and her grandparents in no particular order. But she soon learns that the best things in life don’t have to come from an exclusive store and cost exorbitant amounts of money, sometimes the best things in life are free! This book had such a great premise. I loved the idea of a big city girl going really, really small town. I can’t say that I liked Corrinne at the beginning. She was an extremely spoiled brat, who pretty much always got whatever she wanted, no matter the cost and she was really rude to her brother, parents and grandparents. I liked the lessons that Corrinne learned through the natural course of losing everything. And by the end, I did like Corrinne and I thought that she had found that there was a decent person in her body that even she didn’t know existed.

Content: mild swearing, underage drinking, kids sneaking out to go drinking

About the author: Gwendolyn Heasley is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned her master’s degree in journalism. When she was a little girl, she desperately wanted to be the next Ann M. Martin- the author of the beloved The Baby-Sitter’s Club series. She’s incredibly grateful that the recession rendered her unemployed and made her chase her nearly forgotten dream. She lives in New York City, teaches college and eats entirely too much mac and cheese for an adult. She’s also currently at work on her third novel for Harper Collins.
Find out more about author Gwendolyn Heasley Goodreads/ Twitter/ Website

Read it now for 2.99
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Until I Die Swag Winner

15 May, 2012 by in Uncategorized 1 comment

Congratulations to Amy Kwan who won our Until I Die giveaway as part of the Amy Plum/ Mundie Moms blog tour for a set of author signed bookmarks plus an additional Eiffel Tower bookmark. Thanks to all who entered!

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The Chaperone Book Tour

14 May, 2012 by in Uncategorized 2 comments

We are so happy to be today’s stop on The Chaperone’s Blog Tour
hosted by TLC Book Tours.

by Laura Moriarty 

ARC, 367 pages 
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Riverhead Books 
Book Source: TLC Book Tours
ASIN: 1594487014 
Genre: Historical Fiction
5 Stars
SUMMARY 
(from Goodreads)

“A captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both. 

Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she’s in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever. 
For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.”
Margie’s Review:
Laura Moriarty’s writing and style is impeccable and leaves nothing out.
When Cora was walking around and taking the subways and experiencing the endless hot days and not so wonderful smells that NYC has to offer and the historical sights – I felt like I was right there walking alongside with her. In my mind, every description and detail was picture perfect.
The Chaperone is about a 30-something housewife, Cora Carlisle, who volunteers to accompany a rebellious 15 year old, Louise Brooks, to New York City in the summer of 1922 – during the time where the 19th Amendment had just passed, the Prohibition was in full force and the Klu Klux Klan were seeking members to expand across the South. 
At first, we think that Cora is leading the perfect life – her husband, a lawyer, who adores her and supports her, twin sons that had just graduated and were off working on a farm before attending college in the fall, the perfect house and clothes – life seems too good to be true for Cora. 
As the story goes on, we find out that Cora has her own reasons for going to New York and her life is far from perfect. 
Moriarty touches upon hard subjects that were not only not talked about, but to most people, weren’t even aware that such evil things were happening around them and the innocence and ignorance in those times. It is amazing to see how times have changed… back then, girls were frowned upon and talked about if their skirts weren’t long enough, if they didn’t wear gloves even on hot days, and if they weren’t chaperoned to any place day or night. 
At times I had to remind myself that this was a book about Mary Louise Brooks, the American Dancer, Model and Actress from the 1920’s who made the “bobbed haircut” popular, but told through the eyes of someone who briefly lived with her and then followed her career, which gives us a better understanding as to how and why Louise the person that she was. 
For all of you that love historical fictions, I highly recommend this book.  

MARGIE 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
(from Goodreads) 
Laura Moriarty earned a degree is social work before returning for her M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Kansas. She was the recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. She currenly lives with her daughter in Lawrence, Kansas, and is at work on her next novel.
A Promo/Book Tour for:
http://tlcbooktours.com/
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Autism Awareness Giveaway Hop

11 Apr, 2012 by in Uncategorized 18 comments

Fire and Ice is pleased to once again be a host of the Annual
Autism Awareness Giveaway Hop
from April 11th to 17th
Hosted by:
Lindsay @ Just Another Book Addict
Heather @ Fire and Ice
Pixie @ Page Turners
April is Autism Awareness Month. To help spread the word about Autism we are hosting a giveaway hop.
Each participating blog is hosting a giveaway. You will find lots of variety among the prizes. Some of the blogs are giving away prizes that relate to autism, other blogs are giving away gift cards or other prizes and posting information about autism to help make others aware.
We realize the causes and treatment of autism can bring controversy. The point of this giveaway hop is simply to make people more aware about the subject by sharing information and experiences.

Currently 1 in 88 children in the Unites States is diagnosed with autism according to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 1 in 54 boys. In my home state the statistics are staggering, One out of every 47 Utah children have been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder, the highest rate in the country, according to new data released by the CDC. I have two children on the autism spectrum and my goal is to reach out to other parents to make them aware that there is hope.

You can see our story at http://www.parentingpartner.blogspot.com/.

Our giveaway: I have included books that include an autism spectrum character or are resources for children, teens and adults here. We are giving away one book of your choice up to $15 from the list to Fire and Ice readers.

To enter our giveaway fill out this form. Good luck 🙂

For More Information about Autism check these sites:

http://autism-resources.com/

And be sure to check out the over 75 other blogs in the linky for more giveaways!

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Book Review- Untraceable

09 Apr, 2012 by in Uncategorized 3 comments

Untraceable
by S.R. Johannes
Kindle Edition, 315 pages
Publication Date: November 29th 2011
by Coleman & Stott
ASIN B0069Z9A74
Book Source: publisher
5 Stars
Book summary from Amazon:
Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.
When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.
One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.
Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves.
Crystal’s Review: Wow! I sit here in awe after finishing Untraceable. This is by far one of the best books I have read lately. I love a strong female heroine and Grace fits perfectly into that title. The books starts 3 months after her father, a forest ranger, goes missing during a routine patrol. Everyone in town easily accepts the possibility that he drowned while on patrol. Grace seems to be the only person who has not given him up for dead and refuses to stop looking for him until she finds him or finds out what really happened to him. There are so many twists and turns in this book it is hard to keep up. That is one of the things that makes it so great. Every time I thought I had it all figured out something else would happen that would make me rethink my assumption. This story definitely tugged at my heartstrings as I found both Grace and Mo easy to relate to. The world building was marvelous and really helped me to picture some of the perilous situations Grace was in. Every page I read I was hoping to get answers and I was unable to put the book down until the very end. I devoured this book in two days and I will be eagerly awaiting the second book in the series! What are you waiting for?! Go get this book!
Content: Very minor swearing ,Sexual tension, Violence
Crystal

About the Author: When Shelli was younger, she spent all her time outdoors, hiking, camping and living the Girl Scout Way.

Somewhere along the way, she got away from nature and earned an MBA in Marketing, kicking off an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America.


Eventually, Shelli traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She started her own marketing & communications business, www.bilaninc.com, where she worked with Spanx, Goody Hair Products, Chick Filet, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.
In addition to juggling nap schedules and client meetings, Shelli focuses on her writing. She is a frequent speaker on marketing and book publicity at SCBWI conferences across the U.S, and runs a popular book marketing blog, Market My Words.

In her spare time (yeah right!) and if the kids allow (yeah right!), Shelli obsesses over movies, reads children’s books (over and over), and still dreams of sleeping in on the weekends. But most importantly, she is finally getting back to her roots by running her own Girl Scout Troop in Atlanta, helping girls get back to nature.

She currently lives in Atlanta with her dog (Charley), British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess that someday will change the world.

Find the author on her :Email/ Blog/ Twitter/ Author Facebook/ Author Goodreads/
Read Untraceable now for 2.99
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