Books, Movies, and Chinese Food

Around the World in 80 Kisses : Smooch Stop #9 The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams is the story of four best friends: Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy--the misfits of Paris, Texas. Their whole lives, they’ve dreamed of escaping small-town life and seeing the world. So when Piper is the victim of an embarrassing prank that goes viral online, she gets the idea that the girls should escape via the school’s international exchange program, in search of fun, love and internet redemption. Emily McKay along with writing partners Shellee Roberts and Tracy Deebs writes under the pseudonym Ivy Adams. They shop, gossip and watch movies in Austin, Texas. Top Ten Movies to watch when you’re home alone sick. I have to preface this blog with a story. Back when my hubby and I were newly married, I had to have eye surgery for a detached retina. Most people who detach a retina doing something cool and active, like sky diving or rappelling. Not me. My big hobbies are reading and baking and yoga. So ...

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted by Savvy Verse and Wit this month. Here are the books I got this week. For Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott The Bone House by Stephen R. Lawhead Waking Hours by Lis Wiehl with Pete Nelson Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire From Paperbackswap: Love Finds You in Nazareth, Pennsylvania by Melanie Dobson

Well, in case you noticed (or maybe you didn't) I haven't been blogging in a while. Even more of a shocker, I haven't been reading either. It's quite absurd I know. The result of me not doing either has been a snowstorm in October on the East Coast! That's how off balanced I made the world! No seriously, I just haven't felt like reading lately. I'm not apologizing by any means. Obviously this is my blog and I can do what I want! Ok back to being serious, I'm just in a slump. It's not because of what I'm reading because I was reading some fantastic books and I got a bunch of great ones lined up. I think I was just pacing myself too much by trying to have a book reviewed every week day and if life got in the way, my schedule got screwed up. I think I will take things a bit more easier. I don't have to compete with other book blogs and it's not like the publishers/authors/publicists will kill me if I don't put up a review when ...

Congrats to the winner of Reasons to be Happy by Katrina Kittle: Julie from Booking Mama

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted by Savvy Verse and Wit this month. Here are the books I got this week. For Review: Unexpected Dismounts by Nancy Rue Desired by Ginger Garrett Here's to Friends by Melody Carlson Composing Amelia by Alison Strobel A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn A Marriage for Meghan by Mary Ellis The Rivals by Daisy Whitney Say You'll Be Mine by Julia Amante Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

Summary from BN.com: When young widow Lydia Gale helps a French prisoner obtain parole, she never dreams she will see him again. But just as the London Season gets under way, the man presents himself in her parlor. While she should be focused on getting her headstrong younger sister prepared for her entrée into Society, Lady Gale finds herself preoccupied with the mysterious Frenchman. Is he a spy or a suitor? Can she trust him? Or is she putting herself and her family in danger? I don't why international stories don't fare as well in Christian fiction but I adore them. I especially love stories that take place during the Regency era. While I'm not a huge regency buff, I do enjoy the time period, fashions, customs and history of the era. In this book, readers are introduced to characters who are debating with being loyal to their country or helping out those truly in need. A masquerade ball takes on more than one meaning as national alliances are tested. Romances with...

Summary from BN .com: Katie Ann Stolzfus lives in the small Amish community of Canaan, Colorado. At forty she is widowed and raising her first child. But baby Jonas will never know his father, and Katie Ann wonders if her Heavenly Father hasn't forgotten about her as well. Is it really God's plan for her to be a single parent? Eli Detweiler has come to Canaan for a wedding and a long vacation. Having raised six children following the death of his young wife, Eli is finally an empty- nester . He's enjoying the slower pace of having no one to care for but himself. When Katie Ann and Eli meet, there is an instant connection. Yet as strong as the attraction is, they both acknowledge that a romance would never work. He is done parenting, while she has just begun. But as their friendship slowly blossoms into feelings that are as frightening as they are intoxicating, Katie Ann and Eli question if the plans they made for themselves are in line with God's plans. Can Katie Ann...

Congrats to the winner of Holy Ghost Girl by Donna Johnson: Beckie from By the Book

Summary from LitFuse Publicity: Dottie Morgan has no desire to share her home - or her heart - over Christmas. After all, her Christmas spirit froze over when Dottie lost her son in World War II. But when a blizzard of the decade traps Dottie in her home with four near strangers, she just might discover that opening her door just might open her heart a Christmas miracle...and a new reason celebrate Christmas. Yes, if you read this book you are going to have the title song stuck in your head pretty much the entire time you read it and long afterwards. Interestingly even though the song has been around for a long time, I only first discovered it after the movie Elf came out. I personally seem to have different connotations of the song than most people but I will admit that it is catchy and you can't get it out of your head. It's just like this story. Even though Susan May Warren is a favorite author of mine, lately I've been a little lukewarm towards her books. They...

Summary from BN.com: Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression. Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal. But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and mystery--and especially romance--are far better than her...

Summary from BN.com: In 1904 Texas Ranger Luke Palmer arrives in Brenham, Texas, with one goal--to capture the gang of outlaws led by Frank Comer. Undercover as a telephone repairman, he uses his days on the range to search, not realizing there's another pair of eyes watching him. Georgie Gail, switchboard operator and birder, heads out on a birding expedition, but instead of sighting a painted bunting, her opera glasses capture her telephone man, armed and far away from telephone lines. Palmer is forced to take this alluring troublemaker into his confidence and unwittingly puts her in harm's way. The closer he comes to the gang, the further she works her way into his heart--and into trouble. Soon it's more than just love that's on the line. It's always funny how something can happen in real life and then you pick up a book and then find the same thing happening in the book. Over the past weekend, I had gone to see the movie The Big Year, which is a movie about ex...

Summary from BN.com: Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever? I can now declare that Janet Gurtler is one of my top five favorite YA contemporary writers of all time. Seriously, after reading her two books, I am totally in love with her writing. She pushes issues that teens deal with and need to be brought out in the open. Since I read a lot of Christian fiction, one thing that I have major problems with that market is that it tends to be very few POC (person of color) main characters in the stor...

Congrats to the winners of Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan: Beth S. from A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust Pam K. Carol W.

Summary from BN.com: REASONS TO BE HAPPY 21. Cat purr vibrating through your skin 22. Jumping on a trampoline in the rain 23. Raw cookie dough 24. Getting yourself all freaked out after a scary movie 25. Dancing like an idiot when no one is watching What happened to the girl who wrote those things? I miss that girl. She used to be bold and fun. Now she's a big chicken loser. How could so much change so fast? Let's see, you could be the plain Jane daughter of two gorgeous famous people, move to a new school, have no real friends, and your mom could get sick, and, oh yeah, you could have the most embarrassing secret in the world. Yep, that about does it. So, the real question is, how do I get that girl back? Ok, the colorful cover fooled me into thinking this was going to be a light read. I was expecting a cute story about what it means for a young teen girl to be happy. I thought that this would be a quick read where I would go about my day after reading it. I got a 1/4 of th...

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Beth Webb Hart and the book: Sunrise on the Battery Thomas Nelson (October 11, 2011) ***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: With a B.A. in English Literature from Hollins University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, Hart serves as an inspirational speaker and creative writing instructor at conferences, retreats,...

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and is being hosted by Savvy Verse and Wit this month. Here are the books I got this week. For Review: Remembering You by Tricia Goyer The Puppy that Came for Christmas by Megan Rix There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones Dangerous Mercy by Kathy Herman Forsaking All Others by Allison Pittman What Came First by Carol Snow Contest Win : Record Collecting for Girls by Courtney E. Smith Minding Ben by Victoria Brown That is All by John Hodgman From Paperbackswap: Sweet Sanctuary by Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen-Coloma An Ocean Away by Lisa Harris

Summary from BN .com: Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister. And that's okay. Kristina is the sporty one, Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. But, the smiles of her picture perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if she doesn't hold it together, who will? As a lover of contemporary YA, I get very excited when I hear a new one has been released. I had been hearing good things about Janet Gurtler and her books so I was very eager to read this one. Let me start off by just saying, I loved how the inside of the cover of the book is a light shade of green. You rarely see color INSIDE the book! It was just a very nice touch. And it set the setting for a lovely read. Tess's beautiful and popular older ...