Great Reads and Baby Stuff: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Family Reunion

I was lucky enough to be able to spend this Christmas with my family. The best part was that it was (almost) my ENTIRE familly (we were just 3 people short). We were all able to take some time out of our busy schedules to have an amazing time together. It was really nice to get to spend 10 days with all the family that I haven't seen in years. Not only that, but it was really great seeing how everyone just fell in love with my little girl Adrianna.

OH! And there was so much food that we were able to eat the next day from it too. I ate so much that I thought that I would pop!!

I took SO MANY pictures that I almost filled an entire photo album with them (it holds 280 pictures). There are more, but I just didn't have the chance to send them all to be printed.

I'd love to know how everyone spent there Christmas. Did you do anything out of the ordinary? Travel to see family?

I'll be posting pictures of our vacation later on so that everyone can see what a great time we had!

Friday, December 16, 2011

REVIEW: Happy Birthday to YOU by Brian Rowe

Title: Happy Birthday to YOU

Author: Brian Rowe

Publisher: CreateSpace

Format: Ebook

SUMMARY:

Newlyweds Cameron and Liesel Martin aren't able to celebrate their wedding bliss for long. Not only is Liesel unexpectedly pregnant... they're also facing the end of humanity!

Liesel's evil witch sister Hannah has cast a spell to make all humans on Earth age a whole year with every day. It's up to Cameron and Liesel to stop her... and save the world! Who will survive? And who will perish?

REVIEW:

Ok! This book was so incredibly amazing, I'm not sure where I should even begin. Happy Birthday To Me I enjoyed, Happy Birthday To Me Again had a terrible cliffhanger (and by terrible I mean that it was almost a "cruel and unusual punishment" to have to wait so long for book 3 to come out...Yes it was that good) and finally, Happy Birthday To YOU was in short, nothing of what you would have expected, and everything you wanted. Brian Rowe was so unbelieveably creative with this final book. Once again Brian Rowe creates this entire world with an abundance of detail and draws you in so deeply that for a second, I forgot all about my surroundings and felt completely sucked into the world he painted.

We start off were book 2 finished, and from the very beginning the action developes fairly quick:

1. Cameron and Liesel are married, and she gets pregnant almost immediately.

2. Liesel's diabolical sister Hanna is out for revenge against EVERYONE by casting a spell that makes the entire world age.

3. Cameron finds out more secrets Liesel had been hiding from him and also learns of things about himself that he didn't know.

In Happy Birthday To YOU, you run into some of the characters from the other books, and while some encounters are brief, others you read about again later. Each and everyone of those characters are very important to this book no matter how short and brief their moment may have been. There were numerous surprises in this book, many of which literally made my jaw drop in shock, and as for the ending?? As readers, we tend to think of how books will end while we're still reading. I do this all the time. Sometimes you guess right, other times you were close, and on rare occasions you are completely wrong. For me, I was 100% WRONG! I had imagined hundreds of ending and never expected what I got. Obviously I'm not going to say what it is, but I will tell you that I cried. Yes, that's right, I CRIED!!

I have a couple of series or trilogies that I can say are my favorite, but Brian Rowe's Happy Birthday trilogy is definitely top 3. (I'm not saying which of the 3 he is, if you want to know for yourself, READ THIS TRILOGY!)

RATING:

5 of 5 Hearts. I dont even have to think twice about it. Brian Rowe, you did an amazing job with the series.

I will definitely be looking out for any more books he might have coming out next.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: December Moon by Suzy Turner (INTERNATIONAL)

This is my very first interview and giveaway, and I'm really excited that all of you could be part of it!

First off, I'd like to thank the wonderful Suzy Turner for allowing me the chance to interview her on what has become one of my favorite sagas. I have had the chance to read both Raven and December Moon, and I cant wait for book 3 to come out.

What do you think readers search for in a book?

Other than a great cover to draw them in, I think most people want to be transported to another world. I know I do! Pure escapism, that's what I look for in a great book.

Who is your favorite author, and are your writing styles similar?

I can't say that I have one particular favourite author, I have many! JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Shalini Boland... I could easily go on! I don't think our writing styles are similar though as we are all individual and unique in our own ways (but it would be wonderful to be compared to them, of course!).

What was your inspiration behind Raven and December Moon?

I would say it was a combination of my love for the Twilight Saga and a visit to western Canada in 2009 when I found myself in the most beautiful and eerie location where my imagination went wild.

I know there's a book 3 in the Raven Saga, but are there any other books your working on right now? And if there is, can you tell us a bit about them?

I've actually been working on a Chick Lit book called Forever Fredless... I'm hoping to finally get it finished next year. I'm also going to be starting another YA urban fantasy series set in England, which I'm quite excited about because England is such an inspiring place with historical castles, cathedrals, beautiful gardens, etc. I hope to visit again next year for even more inspiration!

Suzy, thank you so much for such a great interview. I cant wait to get my hands on book 3 in the Raven saga!

Thank you! It's been a real pleasure!

Now, IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!! There are 2 ebooks, thats right, 2 up for grabs. And YES, this giveaway is international. (AND its easy)

Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite part of the interview was.

Write a post about this giveaway and leave a link

GCF Follow

Thats it!! Each is worth 2 entries, and the winner will be drawn out at random by myself. Have fun!!

GIVEAWAY ENDS 1.30.12

Monday, December 12, 2011

AMAZING GIVEAWAY!! LINK BELOW

There is an amazing giveaway going on at Sparkling Review RIGHT NOW, and if you like winning things, try your luck and you might win. HAVE FUN!!

http://www.sparklingreviews.com/2011/12/falalala-giveaway-panasonic-31.html

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Blue Sky Days Tour Schedule

Hello my lovely lovers of books! I am more than excited to share with you all the links for what I know will be a fantastic tour. The best part of all, is that if you read carefully, you'll see that I am a part of it!! (I'm so excited!!)

I will be having a guest post, interview, review and... (drum roll please) a GIVEAWAY!! So, stay tuned and come back if you want to win the Ebook Blue Sky Days from the lovely debut author Marie Landry.

Tuesday January 17th: Jessica from Thoughts at One in the Morning {Review, excerpt, and giveaway}

Wednesday January 18th: Michelle from Much Loved Books {Review and giveaway}

Thursday January 19th: Molli from Once Upon a Prologue {Review}

Friday January 20th: Michelle from Much Loved Books {Guest post and excerpt}

Saturday January 21st: Tana from Tana Rae Reads {Interview and giveaway}

Sunday January 22nd: Michelle from Book Briefs {Review}

Monday January 23rd: Sharon from Obsession With Books {Review}

Tuesday January 24th: Sharon from Obsession With Books {Guest post and excerpt}

Wednesday January 25th: Christy from Love of Books {Review}

Thursday January 26th: Mist from Bookaholics Book Club {Guest post}

Thursday January 26th: Kimberlly from Ultimo Romance {Review and interview}

Friday January 27th: LizzieBeth from Lissette E. Manning {Review}