Christmas Cards

Every year, I love to send out photo Christmas cards.  I love trying to take the best picture throughout the year, and Kory will often ask me if a certain picture will be on the Christmas card.  We took an awesome picture in front of Cinderella's Castle at night, and of course, I'll have to add a picture of Bella!  Shutterfly has some great photo Christmas cards.  I had a fun time trying out all of the different styles with pictures that I liked. (it's so easy to lose track of time playing around on the site!) There are so many that I'm having a hard time choosing which one I like best.  I'm thinking of deciding between these two

But Shutterfly is great all of the time!  They also have great birthday cards, desk calendars, and cute gifts like photo mugs.  Now I just have to sit down and decide which card I definitely want to get.  I was originally looking at the cards with three pictures, but I think I might go look at the ones with just two and take out one of the pictures of me and Kory. Anyways, I can't wait to get them in the mail!

Book Review- Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

I finished reading Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan for an Around the World Tour.

From Goodreads:

"I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.
 
First off, let me say that I love the plot of this story.  I mean really, really love it.  I love scavenger hunts and I love anything romantic and this story kind of tied both of them together.  I think it would be incredibly neat to find a notebook and leave clues and notes for each other around a city.  (Anyone want to tell my boyfriend this?  *hint hint*)
 
But for some reason I didn't really get any of the characters.  Dash was okay.  He wasn't your stereotypical male lead character--wasn't a jock, wasn't big into drinking, wasn't a player.  He was a sensitive soul.  But I didn't really care for Lily.  Once again, her character seemed too young for her age.  I don't know, maybe she was just too eccentric for my taste.
 
That being said, back to the plot.  I loved reading about all of the places that Dash and Lily went to leave the notebook or to get it.  I love NYC so reading about the touristy (and the not-so-touristy) spots were fun.  And I liked how the book ended.  Not too far-fetched but just right.
 
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 156
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 121
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 110
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Wednesday Wordle- December 8, 2010

Here is a screen shot of my Wordle for the week (Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from words that is seen on my blog)

Waiting on Wednesday- December 8, 2010

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:


Bloody Valentine
by Melissa de la Cruz
Publication Release Date: December 28, 2010

From Goodreads:

Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even the strikingly beautiful and outrageously wealthy Blue Bloods, has total control. In Bloody Valentine, bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz offers readers a new story about the love lives of their favorite vamps - the passion and heartache, the hope and devastation, the lust and longing. Combined with all the glitz, glamour, and mystery fans have come to expect, this is sure to be another huge hit in the Blue Bloods series.

Teaser Tuesday- December 7, 2010

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

My two teasers:

"(Pull my wimple! PULL MY WIMPLE!)"
~pg 31, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (ARC)

Mailbox Monday- December 6, 2010

Mailbox Monday: Here's what came in my mailbox this week


WEDNESDAY

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares- Rachel Cohn & David Levithan--review for an Around the World Tour

The Secret Lives of Dresses- Erin McKean--from publisher

THURSDAY

Choker- Elizabeth Woods--accepted request from publisher

Darkness Becomes Her- Kelly Keaton--accepted request from publisher

Ten Miles Past Normal- Frances O’Roark Dowell--accepted request from publisher

The Sunday Salon- December 5, 2010

The Sunday Salon


I didn't get much reading done this week (or much sleep).  Having a puppy takes up so much time!  But I wouldn't trade it for anything!  Here's Bella's Christmas photos.  My normally wild puppy sat so still the whole time I was taking pictures of her.  She must love to have her photo taken!

I finished and reviewed the following books this week:

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block












This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 155
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 120
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 109

I am just starting Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan and after that is Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton.

Book Review- The Frenzy

I finished reading The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block for a Book It Foward ARC Tour, but I just got a chance to write up a review now.

From Goodreads:

Liv has a secret.

Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.

But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.

While Corey and Liv’s love binds them together, Liv’s dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who—or what—she really is. And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws. . . .

Unfortunately, this another book that just didn't do it for me.  I didn't like the writing.  It seemed very juvenile and like the main character was a lot younger than she really was.  I just couldn't make any connection with the story.

I didn't really care for any of the characters.  I wanted to feel bad for Liv but I just didn't care that much.  And I guess I did like Corey.  But not enough to make the book work for me.

But it was a nice change of pace to have the main female NOT fall in love with a werewolf and to stay in love with the boy she'd been in love with for a while. 

I felt that the plot jumped around a lot.  It was pretty choppy.  There was a whole other plot line with Pace, Liv's best friend.  But it only hints at us and leaves us wanting to know more about him and the situation.  And I felt the ending was wrapped up too quick and I wasn't satisfied with it. 

I gave this book a rating of 2.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 155
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 120
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 109

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Book It Forward ARC Tours.

Wednesday Wordle- December 1, 2010

Here is a screen shot of my Wordle for the week (Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from words that is seen on my blog)

Waiting on Wednesday- December 1, 2010

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Where She Went
by Gayle Forman
Publication Release Date: April 5, 2011

From Goodreads:

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the futureÑand each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.