Picture Book Review: Marty and the Christmas Eve Surprise by Sharon Durgin

marty

Title: Marty and the Christmas Eve Surprise
Author: Sharon Durgin
Illustrator: Joan Coleman
Publisher: Lanier Press
Date: July 1st, 2016
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Marty is a little mouse who has lots of fun with his friends as they
get ready for Christmas. But when the house cats get involved, you can expect a little bit of mischief. Can Marty save the day in time for Christmas?

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Book Review:

This is a really short picture book, so I’ll keep my review short as well.

What first grabbed my interest when it comes to this book is the art work on the cover.
That little mouse with a christmas hat and schal was just too cute to pass.

And let me tell you, the art work through the whole book is just plain beautiful.

This is a story about little mouse and his friends who are preparing a performance for Santa Claus.

The story itself is solid and I think many children will enjoy it.

I would recommend this book for parents with toddlers, to read it to them in an anticipation of Christmas.
I also think it is a great choice for kids who are just learning to read and for kids who are learning English as a foreign language.

My rating:

Story: 3

Art Work: 5

Waiting On Wednesday (#15): A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom

wow

Waiting on Wendesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases we can’t wait to read.

This week I am eagerly anticipating:

a-year-and-a-day

A Year and a Day by Isabelle Broom

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: November 17th, 2016

Summary:

Three women. Three love stories. One city.

For Megan, visiting Prague with her friend Ollie is just business. Nothing more. Because if she admits the truth she might lose everything.

For Hope, this trip is a surprise treat from Charlie, her new partner. But she’s struggling to enjoy the city when she knows how angry her daughter is. And that it’s all her fault.

For Sophie, Prague has always been magical. And now she’s counting down the moments until her boyfriend Robin joins her in the city that holds so many of their memories . . .

Why am I waiting?

This year I read Isabelle Broom’s My Map of You and fell in love with her writing style and the story in general. My Map of You is honestly one of the best novels I have read this year, so I can’t wait to read Broom’s future work.
She did such an amazing job describing Greece and making me want to visit there. Now, her new book is taking place in Prague, the city I actually visited once.
I am the most curious about how Broom’s going to describe the beauty of it using words, but am also intrigued by the plot and I can’t wait to meet Megan, Hope and Sophie.

Book Review: The Lost Cats and Lonely Hearts Club

the lost cats

Title: The Lost Cats and Lonely Hearts Club
Author: Nic Tatano
Publisher: HarperImpulse
Date: August 26th, 2016
Pages: 250
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Swapping Prada for purrs…

While covering a story, feisty network reporter Madison Shaw gets more than she bargained for when she rescues a box of orphaned kittens. Suddenly the glamazon of the Manhattan news room is doing two am feedings to keep these furbabies alive!

This is certainly a change of pace for the high maintenance workaholic she’s become and taking care of the kittens makes Madison realise how far off track she’s come—after all, she was a stray once too…

When a video of her caring for the kittens goes viral, she knows her image as a hardnosed reporter is shot to hell. What Madison doesn’t expect is the media circus that propels her and the kittens to stardom. And the domino effect that has on her, her career and her love life—especially when she meets sexy Officer Nick Marino…!

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Review:

Imagine finding four little orphan kittens, too small to take care of themselves and without a mother to feed and bath them. What would you do?

If you’re a person with a good heart, you would take them under your roof and do your best to give them what they need to survive.
And that is exactly what Madison did.

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Disclaimer:

I will have to start this review with a disclaimer and say that I will be totally subjective when it comes to expressing my thoughts. This story is very special to me and I observed it from a different angle then usual because I experienced (almost) the same thing as the main character of this story, but was also in a situation that in parts reminds of the one  character Nick was in.

I really don’t want to make this review about me, but I think it would be fair to tell you that, because my personal experience is what led me to percieve the story in the way I did.
So I will just briefly mention that I have two cats that were only 13 days old when they lost their mother and I bottle fed them and took care of them. They are healthy now and are best cats in the world.
Also, five years ago I had a car accident and I was unable to move for weeks. Those days all I could do was lie in bed and sit with someone’s help, so I know how the recovery process looks like.
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Now, on to the real review…

Lost Cats and Lonely Hearts Club tells the story about a reporter called Madison. She is a real career woman. One day when reporting from construction aera, she and her cameraman find four kittens and a dead cat. In order to save kittens’ life, she takes them home and starts taking care of them.

Although she did not plan to, she keeps them and becomes their second mother because she got atteched to them, especially  to the tortoiseshell one.
For Madison, cats are not just company. They (or should I say tortiseshell one) help her see what kind of person people around her are so she ends up breaking up with her cold hearted boyfriend the same night cats move in.
As the story progress, we follow Madison and her three friends living a life in New York, dating and helping the world make a better place.

This book warmed my heart. When I say it, I really mean it.
There were so many memories that came back to me thanks to this novel.
And although it wasn’t the best read ever, I certenly enjoyed reading it.

The writing style was really good, easy to read and you can read this novel pretty quickly.
It is written in first person, from Madison’s point of view.
What surprised me is the fact that the writer is male.
I don’t usually pay attention whether I read male or female authors, but it really blew my mind how Nic Tatano perfectly described women’s way of thinking.

Character development plays a big part in this story.
Madison really changes through the story and even if that change is mentioned more then few times by side characters, readers can also see it in Madison’s behaviour.
However, I have to mention that I wasn’t on best terms with some of her actions.

The story itself was naive in parts in a way that everything went so easy for Madison, but I will assume that the purpose of this book is to bright reader’s mood.

It also had some flaws and unexplained things that I just feel like they have to be metioned.
I will write them down in the spoiler section  so I wouldn’t ruin anyone’s reading experience without their permission.

Overall, this book was pretty good and it really left me in a good mood.
I think that cat lovers would enjoy it so if you are one of them, I suggest you to give it a try.

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Spoiler Alert!!!

  1. We never got an explanation why mother cat died. I know some things we’ll never know, but somehow I wish we got to know what happened to her.
  2. Tortoishell cats are basically always female. Male tortoishell do exist, but they are so rare, finding one is like finding a niddle in haystackes, and male can’t produce due to their chromosomes. I wish vet said that to Madison bc I have a feeling many readers will just assume that the writer didn’t do his homework because „all tortoishells are female“.
  3. Nick had an accident where he lost the ability to walk and had to use wheelchairs. I feel like his situation was described unbelievably too easy. Madison could have just leave him alone for hours and it was like there was no fact that he is human and therefore has to use toilet, has to take a bath. Madison once told him he can just roll into the shower but guess what? He has to take off his clothes, wash himself and use a towel. Without help, that is impossible.
    I feel like the whole thing could have easily be fixed if there was a nurse to help Nick.
  4. Although it maybe is not a big deal, I wish getting rid of parasites was also mentioned.
  5. I wish tabby, rushian blue and tuxedo cat were more present in the story. They were in the tortoishell’s shadow.

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3,5

I am back and here is my July Wrap Up + Book Haul

Hi guys, long time no see! I took some time off blogosphere, as you probably noticed.
The reason for doing so is that my life just got pretty busy and hectic and I felt like I needed a pause from everything.
I thought I’d just take few days off from reading and blogging, so I could recharge my inner batteries.
Few days turned into week and then even more then a week, but the good thing is I am back now and I do feel better, so I guess taking a little pause when it comes to blogging wasn’t a bad idea.

Now, I have some catching up to do. I guess it will take some time to visit all of you guys on your blogs, but it doesn’t matter.

I plan to post on regular basis from now on and I hope to have at least 2 book reviews per week. I also plan to do some tags and other book related posts. Movie Monday will also be back and of course, some giveaways are planned as well.

Ok, now when I said everything that was on my mind here is my

July Wrap Up:

In month of July I read 1 graphic novel, 1 short story and 6 novels.
Short story turned out to be my favorite read of the month.
This is what I read:

i.d. in a new york minute the fire child The Couple Next DoorThe Paris secret the name I call just kiss me the one that got away

 

Book Haul:

Here are the books I collected in July:

Freebei: in a new york minute

For review: the hating game just kiss me the one that got away love notes for freddie the summer that melted everything the name I call the moment she left The Couple Next Door

Three Short Book Reviews: The Unexpected Everything, The Nearly-Weds and Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There

Recently, my good Goodreads friend and a blogger, Lola from Hit or Miss Books , gave short reviews to multiple book in the same post. You can read it here.

I really liked that idea and because of Lola I got an inspiration to do similar thing.

I decided to post three short reviews for book I read but didn’t feel like writing full lenght reviews about them.

 

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

the unexpected everything

The Unexpected Everything was a really fun summery read. It follows the story of Andie who is a politician’s daughter. Because of the scandal behind her father’s name, her summer plans changed and she finds herself a job as a dog walker.
Along the way, she meets a cute guy and you can  all guess where the story goes from there…

The story also focuses on friendship and how, with time, we can just grow apart.
With some cute scenes, swoony moments and some predictble situations handled in an unimaginable way, this book is one that should be on your tbr list for this summer.
I highly, highly recommend it to every ya contemporary lover.

Who could say no to this adorable cover anyway?

3,75

The Nearly-Weds by Jane Costello

the nearly weds I had some fun time reading this book.

The story takes place in Boston where our main character Zoe goes as an English Babysit.

If you didn’t know, this book is a winner of Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Comedy Award.
That being said, I don’t think I have to tell you it is full of funny situations and toughts.

Zoe was a great narrator and I think it would be awesome if there was movie based on this book.
Who knows, maybe one day we’ll have a chance to see it.

4

 

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

alisa I had the strangest dream.
I dreamed I found myself in Wonderland, went there trough the looking glass, but while I was there, I couldn’t remember what Wonderland looked like.

After I woke up, I decided it was the best time for me to finally read this book and find my answers.

When I was growing up, I liked watching Trough the Looking Glass animated movie better then Alice in Wonderland, even if it wasn’t Disney’s.

Now when I was reading it, some pictures from that movie came to my mind, I was reminiscing about some scenes I complitely forgot about.

What took me by surprise was how I knew some quotes even though I couldn’t have know them from that very movie.

Also, I noticed how some characters that weren’t in the first book, but were in Disney’s movie for the first time showed up here, in Trough the Looking Glass.

When I look at them only as books, I can’t say I’m sure which story I like better.
I think this one made me smile more often, even if I think that Alice in Wonderland has better quotes in it.

5

Hot and Nerdy 2: Book Blitz + Giveaway

Hot & Nerdy 2
Shannyn Schroeder
Published by: Lyrical Press
Publication date: May 24th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

Adam, Hunter, and Free have a lot in common, like geeky passions and not exactly great track records when it comes to dating. But a New Year’s Eve bash will bring everything they’ve ever wanted–and so much more . . .

His Work Of Art

Adam Hayes has never met a girl like Reese. She’s sassy, smart, and loves talking comics, although he can’t see why she’d choose DC over Marvel. He’s thrilled to finally put his artistic chops to use in their upcoming comic project. But when the two combine forces, they churn out magic in more ways than they had planned . . .

His New Jam

There’s something unusual about the sarcastic percussionist Hunter Reed hired for his band. For one thing, she’s impervious to his advances. But when Hunter sees how passionate Sydney is behind the drums, he orchestrates a plan to find out if she kisses like she plays. What he doesn’t anticipate is falling so hard . . .

His Dream Role

Free Mitchell loves the theater. When he’s masquerading as Dr. Who or Sherlock Holmes, he feels he can escape his shy, dorky persona. But nothing’s prepared him to play boyfriend to a gorgeous girl like Samantha Wolf. The more time they spend together, the more they seem to be going off the script, and the hotter everything gets . . .

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / GooglePlay / iBooks / Kobo

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Excerpt:

Hunter walked into his bedroom and bounced on the bed, waking Sydney.

She grunted at him. “It’s Saturday. And we played a gig last night. I should get to sleep in.”

“You did sleep in. It’s almost noon.”

She rolled over. “I hate morning people.”

Hunter laughed. Then he leaned over and kissed his way up her spine. “I have to go to Comic Con. I promised Adam I’d help out today.”

“So go.”

“Don’t you want to come, too? Free and Sam will be here soon. We’re all driving together.”

She rolled over and opened one eye to look at him. “Comic Con?”

“Adam and Reese are selling their book. It’ll be fun.”

She sat up and opened both eyes. “What the hell are you wearing?”

He stood and straightened his jacket. He picked up the hat he’d left on the dresser and posed. “I’m Indiana Jones.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s Comic Con. Dressing up is half the fun.”

“I thought dressing up was Free’s thing.” She reached for the coffee he’d set on the nightstand for her.

“It is. Except for today. I think I look good.”

“Yeah, except you’re wearing a leather jacket. In August.”

“The convention center will be air-conditioned.”

The doorbell rang. Hunter pointed at her. “You coming?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He ran to let Free and Sam in. Free was wearing his god-awful Riddler costume. Of all the things Free owned, this was the one Hunter hated. “Really? You had to wear that?”

Sam stepped from behind Free. “What would go better with Batgirl?”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “You’re such nerds.”

“We’re nerds? You’re dressed up, too,” she said.

“First, I borrowed this costume from your boyfriend and his nerd closet. Second, Indiana Jones is cool.”

Free pointed at him. “He’s a college professor and an archaeologist. I think by definition, that’s nerdy.”

“Whatever.” Hunter turned and yelled toward the bedroom, “Are you ready, Syd?”

Sydney came around the corner a minute later, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. “What the hell?” She waved her pointer finger at them. “I am not dressing like that.”

Hunter shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He drove to the convention center since his minivan was more comfortable for them all to fit. This weekend was a nice break and end to summer. School was starting for teachers in a week and he couldn’t wait. Free had started working for his dad as expected right after graduation. Adam was the only one still in the same place.

Hunter really hoped the convention would give Adam the kick start he needed for his career. One of Adam’s biggest problems was that he was too cautious. He overthought everything. Hunter had really thought that adding Reese to his life would make Adam a little more easygoing.

Once they got into the convention center, Free said, “Adam and Reese are in Artist Alley. I’ll come by in a while. We have a couple of panels we want to get in on.”

With a nod to Hunter and Sydney, he grabbed Samantha’s hand and pulled her through the crowd. When he was gone, Sydney said, “He really gets into this, doesn’t he?”

Hunter nodded. “It’s easy for him to pretend to be someone else.”

“I haven’t seen him in costumes much lately.”

Hunter pointed them in the direction of Adam and Reese. “That’s because Cary doesn’t need the distraction at the health club anymore. And Free has Samantha, so he doesn’t need to impress anyone else.”

When they walked down an aisle of Artist Alley, Hunter saw Adam and Reese sitting behind a table. He sighed. Holding Sydney’s hand, he said, “They really need our help.”

“What?”

“Nobody’s paying attention to them.”

Syd smiled. “Maybe they should’ve worn a costume.”

Hunter stopped in front of the table. “How do you expect to sell anything sitting there like that? Where are your book things?”

“Dude, we tried talking to people. You have any idea how exhausting it is to try to grab someone’s attention?”

“Yeah, yeah. Gimme some books.”

Adam came around the table with an armful of the sample booklets they’d printed and stapled. “I’ll come with you. Sydney will stay with Reese, right?”

Syd rolled her eyes but nodded. She and Reese weren’t exactly friends, but they got along. As he and Adam stepped away from the table, Hunter heard Syd telling Reese about Free and Sam and the costumes. The girls’ laughter followed them down the aisle.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I told you I would be.”

“I know you’re busy getting ready for the school year. It’s cool that you made time for this. And convinced Sydney to come.” Adam blew out a breath.

Hunter took a moment to smile at a couple of women dressed as aliens and offer them a booklet. They each took one.

“It’s been a crazy couple of days,” Adam continued. “Reese and I split up yesterday to sit in on some workshops and I did pitch sessions.”

“Any luck?”

“Yeah, but that’s part of the problem. I think Reese and I went into this with different expectations. Or at least we have different ones now.”

“How do you mean?” Hunter paused again beside a group of women. “Excuse me. My artist friend here and his girlfriend wrote a really kick-ass comic. Here’s a sample.”

At first they looked startled that Hunter had interrupted them, but then they relaxed and each took a book. When he resumed walking beside Adam, he said, “And that, son, is how it’s done.”

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Author Bio:

Shannyn Schroeder is the author of the O’Leary series, contemporary romances centered around a large Irish-American family in Chicago and the Hot & Nerdy series about 3 nerdy friends finding love. Her new series (For Your Love) will release this summer with the first title Under Your Skin. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing, she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Giveway (US and INTL):

  • 2 print copies of the first Hot & Nerdy anthology (US only)
  • 1 digital copy of the Hot & Nerdy 2 anthology (INTL)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Spring Reading: 10 books I want to read this Spring

Happy first day of Spring, everyone!!!

I did some blog hopping these days, and got an inspiration for this post.
I know this was a theme for TTT, but since I don’t do TTT and I still wanted to write about my Spring reads, I decided that first day of Spring would be a perfect day..

My main inspiration came from the post by Liv from curlyhairbibliophile .

Without further ado, these are 10 books I want to read this Spring:

 

  1. The Second Love of my Life by Victoria Walters

the second love

This book comes out on April 7th. I already read it’s short story prequel, The Summer I Met You (you can read my review here) and liked it very much, so I can’t wait to see what Walters cooked for us in her full-lenght debut.
I hear this women’s fiction story is a real tearjerker so I’ll make sure to prepare some tissues for myself.

 

2. The Winner’s Triology by Marie Rutkoski

winners

I want to read this series for some time now and, since the last book is coming out soon, I figured it would be the best to just marathon the whole series. I want to do it ASAP, so that’s the reason why I’m choosing to read it this Spring.

 

3. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

the raven

Another series I want to marathon. First thing that bought me as a reader is the gorgeous cover for the last book in the series (yes, I know, I am shallow like that).
Second thing is, one of my favorite booktubers, Daniella from Pixie Tonic chanel said this is the best ya series outthere at this very moment, and I trust her opinion more they anyone’s.

 

4. Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

Summer Nights at Moonlight hotel

My favorite author is coming out with her new book on March 24th. This book is the first one from this list that I’ll be reading, and I plan to do that on it’s releasing day, if TBD delivers it on time. I am too excited for this one!

 

5. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

the glittering court

Another book I plan to read on it’s releasing day, April 5th (if TBD delivers it on time, that is!). Richelle Mead is also one of my all-time favorite authors and I can’t wait to see what she prepared for us this time!

 

6. Warrior Witch by Danielle L. Jensen

warrior witch

My favorite on-going series is coming to an end and I can’t wait to see how it all’s going to wrap up, but am also sad to say goodbye to this world and it’s characters.
I am sure this series will be the one I’ll re-read many times in my life.

 

7. I heart London by Lindsey Kelk

I heart london

I am the worst reader ever, because this is my favorite chick-lit series and I still haven’t finished it.
I just HEART Angela Clark and Jenny Lopez and can’t wait to hang out with them again this Spring.

 

8. The Girl Against the Universe by Paula Stokes

girl against

I simply can’t wait for this ya contemporary to come out. It sounds like it is written for me and I hope it will live up to my expectations. This one comes out on May 17th.

 

9. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

anne

This classic is the one I want to read very soon. I never got the chance to read it in my native language, so I bought it in English. I can’t wait to see how I’ll like the book that is loved by so many people in the world.

 

10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

pride

Once again I am the worst reader ever. This book that is loved by so many people in the world is the one that is still not on my “read” list.
I plan to change that this Spring in a hope that I’ll like it.

 

What books do you plan to read this Spring?
Tell me all about it in comments. 🙂
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