August Reading Review

Here's a roundup of all the books I read in August 2016. Which ones have you read?

One Green Omelet, Please!
A fun children's book about discovery and appreciation.



Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids
A memoir chronicling time spent as a K-12 substitute.
Read my review



Pasadena
A murder mystery grips a group of high school friends.
Read my review


The Velvet Hours
Two stories intertwine to show the power of love.
Read my review


I Love You!
A sweet children's story.


The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
A YA novel that asks the question: do we really know who a person is inside?
Read my review


 Private Beach
A graphic novel following Trudy Honeyvan.
Read my review


My T-Rex Gets a Bath
A cute bedtime story for children.

Guest Post: Meet the Callaways and Author Barbara Freethy

#1 NY Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy talks strong women, hot guys and family series… Check out what she has to say then Read on for more information about this blog tour and all its great prizes!

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Eleanor Roosevelt: "A woman is like a tea bag. You don't know how strong she is until you put her in hot water."

This quote perfectly describes the heroines in my new connected family series: The Callaways. I love to write about ordinary women who get caught up in extraordinary adventures. My heroines don't always know what they're made of until they're tested.

While we sometimes associate strong female characters with over-the-top roles like vampire slayer or some other kick-ass profession, I believe most women, even the quiet ones, have a superhuman core of strength that enables them to change the world they live in and also to change the men who love them. In my books, the heroine's strength is enhanced, not only by a new and powerful romantic relationship but also her personal journey to find herself.

In the first book in the Callaway series, ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS, the heroine, Sara, has grown up in a troubled family and is estranged from her father. She grew up next door to the chaotic, fun-loving Callaway family and often envied the relationships she saw on the other side of the fence. She also had a huge crush on the second oldest male in the family, Aiden Callaway.

While Sara was a studious, serious girl in high school, Aiden was the charming rebel. As teenagers they were not ready for each other, but now they meet again as adults and both are facing pivotal moments in their lives.

Aiden is recovering from an injury he acquired as a smokejumper and grieving for the loss of his best friend, who died during their last jump together. Sara has come home to repair the relationship with her father, only to discover that there are family secrets that will change everything she thought she knew about her past and her parents.

Sara has to find the strength within herself to risk her heart on a man who could quite possibly break it, to face a terrible lie and to find a way to forgive her father. Aiden also has to find a way to deal with the secret that took his friend's life. Together these two characters find strength within themselves and also draw strength from each other, which is, really, what love is all about.

As a reader, I love books that have layers: romance, mystery, adventure and surprises. As a writer, I strive to bring those same elements to all of my stories. My heroines have to be as strong as the heroes. And I always hope that they inspire my readers in some way, too.

I grew up reading books about strong female characters, and I know those reading experiences helped shaped some of my own attitudes about the kind of woman I wanted to be.

Who are some of your favorite female characters? And what do you love most about them?

About the Callaway Blog Tour & All Its Great Prizes!

This is the week you finally meet the Callaways! Not only are they all over the web as part of their extraordinary blog tour, but they are also out and about in your neighborhood. That's right; we're celebrating the print launch with Ingram by throwing a party all over the world! Make sure to follow this tour closely for your chance to win gift cards, swag, autographed books, and other incredible prizes.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment—easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Callaway novels by Barbara Freethy (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that's where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Callaways: The Callaways were born to serve and protect! In Barbara’s new connected family series, each of the eight siblings in this blended Irish-American family find love, mystery and adventure, often where they least expect it! Each book stands alone, but for the full enjoyment of the series, you might want to start at the beginning with On A Night Like This! Get the eBooks via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Kobo.

About the Author: Barbara Freethy has been making up stories most of her life. Growing up in a neighborhood with only boys and a big brother who was usually trying to ditch her, she spent a lot of time reading. When she wasn’t reading, she was imagining her own books. After college and several years in the P.R. field, she decided to try her hand at a novel. Now Barbara is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author loved by readers all over the world. Her novels range from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Learn more on her website, Facebook page, or in her Street Team.

May Reading List is Here

Okay, I'm promised to post my reading list for May, so here it is:
Dracula in Love , by Karen Essex 

 

House of Rejects: A Novel , by Devin Hobbes

 

Birds of Paradise , by Diana Abu-Jaber

A Simple Winter: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel , by Rosalind Lauer

These are the ones I'm hoping to complete, but if I do there are much more on the way. I still have two shelves of unread books, so I think I'm still good for the next two months or so. 

Switching It Up

After I get my required reading out of the way (hopefully that will be finished in May) I really need to get back into my genealogy research full time. And it just so happens that there are plenty of local history and genealogy books to read in order to do that. That means I get to kill two birds with that infamous stone.


an acorn is a chav

eReaders

Okay, I'm going to jump in on the debate--what do you think of ereaders? I'm still a little bit on the fence about this topic. On one hand, I do have an ereader. On the other, it was a present and I would have never even considered buying one myself. I do like the convenience of being able to carry around 100+ books with me, but I rarely travel. I can also carry around my manuscripts, making notes and having a good way to see what the finished product will look like.

I really do enjoy the feeling of a book in my hands. I like seeing my library grow on my crowded bookshelves. And of course there's the perks of a regular book--you can get it signed by the author. You can highlight your favorite passages.

What's your opinion on ereaders? Do you think traditional books will ever go away for good?

May's Book List Coming Soon!

April is almost over. Can you believe it? And again, I must report that I am still behind on my yearly reading goal of 100 books. As of this moment, I am 12 books behind. I definitely plan to catch up over the summer reading season. Maybe I'll slather on some SPF and take the pile of books outside. Who knows? What I do know is that Tuesday I'll be listing my May reads. Let me know what you're planning on reading for May.

Current Reading List

With my recent move, I have been hard-pressed to find time to read. Now that I am settled, I'm back! I have a lot to catch up on, and it may be a week or two before my next book review, but in the meantime I would like to share with you my current reading list. I tend to read a lot of different books at the same time, so there's a genre for everyone if you want to read along with me.

Life happens

Now that I have a significant amount of free time because of the end of my project at work, I can finally return to reading. I'm still working on three books: The Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein, Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, and Tom Brokaw's Boom!. It seems like a lifetime since I've picked up a book, but I'm going to pick one up today. Work is extremely slow and I don't have to worry about getting things done for the next few days.

And after finally logging into Entrecard today, we have another book review at Book Review Bin. You can check it out in the left column under Book Reviews.

Have a great week!

Summer Reading List

Pretty soon, I'm going to get organized and update my Summer Reading List. While I'm digging through the piles of unread books lying around the house, feel free to share some of the books that will be part of your Summer Reading List.