Archives for July 2015

REVIEW | Things You Will Find in Silver in the Blood

July 10, 2015 Comments : 3

Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George
July 7, 2015
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
* ARC from ALA

Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.

With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.

myreview

First sentence: “Dacia picked up her book and put it down again.”

Remember when I wrote a letter expressing my glee of Silver in the Blood? Oh how I want to slap past-Cee in the face.

Silver in the Blood has everything I’m interested in—society girls, family secrets, a wicked secret society (of sorts), and shape shifters—but somewhere along the way, it took a wrong turn in the road. Set in the late 1800s, the book follows two cousins from affluent families, Dacia and Lou, as they are forced to visit their mother’s home country, where they get to know their Romanian roots and discover a shocking family secret of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke that changes their entire world. The two girls try to navigate the new world they’re thrust into, even if it kills them.

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER | Trend: Cassette Tapes

July 9, 2015 Comments : 10

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe) and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

Remember when cassette tapes were popular?

Be prepared to get kind of nostalgic about cassette tapes (but not really). It was a big part of my childhood like most people born pre-2000s. I remember going on family roadtrips and listening to old cassette tapes my parents were force us to listen to; pulling the magnetic tape from its case just because; and watching the spools go round and round.

Thinking about cassette tapes made me wonder if it would be a popular cover trend. And voilà! These are my favorite from the small batch I could find.

TREND: Cassette Tapes

Reviews

(DNF) REVIEW | Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat

July 7, 2015 Comments : 2

Between the Notes by Sharon Huss Roat
June 16, 2015
HarperTeen
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
* E-ARC courtesy of Edelweiss + HarperCollins

When Ivy Emerson’s family loses their house—complete with her beloved piano—the fear of what’s to come seizes her like a bad case of stage fright. Only this isn’t one of her single, terrifying performances. It’s her life.

And it isn’t pretty.

Ivy is forced to move with her family out of their affluent neighborhood to Lakeside, also known as “the wrong side of the tracks.” Hiding the truth from her friends—and the cute new guy in school, who may have secrets of his own—seems like a good idea at first. But when a bad boy next door threatens to ruin everything, Ivy’s carefully crafted lies begin to unravel . . . and there is no way to stop them.

As things get to the breaking point, Ivy turns to her music, some unlikely new friends, and the trusting heart of her disabled little brother. She may be surprised that not everyone is who she thought they were . . . including herself.

Debut author Sharon Huss Roat crafts a charming and timely story of what happens when life as you know it flips completely upside down.

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Edelweiss + HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “I came home from school on a Thursday in early September to find my parents sitting on the couch in the front room, waiting for me. “

DNF-ed at 11% (but also read last three chapters)

First impression: Boring. Forgettable.

Typography

YOU’RE JUST MY TYPE | {29}

July 6, 2015 Comments : 3

I love fonts. You can say I’m obsessed with collecting them all. It’s no secret to those who know me. You’re Just My Type is a new feature where I showcase the fonts I absolutely adore and use. And hopefully, you will love the fonts I pick. Add all of them to your font collection! Let it grow!

Monday fun day! I’m kicking off the week after July 4th with awesome new fonts you need in your life!

Go forth and add these fonts to your font book!

(Remember, when you download the fonts, look at the license to see what you can and cannot do with it. Majority of these will have Dropbox download links, so if it doesn’t download at first click, click it again.)

JOHANNA

Johanna is designed by Adrià Gómez.

Reviews

(DNF) REVIEW | Why Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer Did Not Work For Me

July 3, 2015 Comments : 2

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
June 2, 2015
HarperTeen
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
* E-ARC courtesy of Edelweiss + HarperCollins

Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.

After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.

Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.

Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.

Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.

myreview

First sentence: “Just do it. Now, now, now, Zoe thinks as she blows loose strands of her blond hair off her sweaty forehead.”

DNF-ed at 25%

Proof of Forever is pretty unremarkable, and that’s very disappointing.

Four girls—Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe—used to be the best of friends, but in their final summer at Camp Okahatchee, something happens, forcing them apart. A couple of years later, the girls meet up again and are somehow transported back in time to the summer that changed everything via a photo booth. This is like their re-do of their actions when they were fifteen. Will they make it back to the present?
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