Friday Night Date Night

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

 

When browsing through Netflix I came upon this movie and decided to give it a try.  Winter's Bone is based on the book with the same name by Daniel Woodrell.  Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is the main character and she's burdened with raising her two younger siblings when her dad runs off and leaves their home as collateral for his bail. 

 

This movie was not for me.  The acting was good, but the whole thing was sad and depressing.   Maybe it was the mood I was in, but I wanted to be entertained and this movie just made me feel sad and hopeless.  It was, however, interesting to see the harsh reality that some people live in and how it's almost their own culture in the deep Ozarks.  Someday I'd like to learn more about this culture, but I guess I was expecting a little more action and adventure.    

 

I definitely think this is a movie you need to be in the right mood to watch, but it would make for a great discussion after watching it. 

 

Has anyone else seen it?  What did you think?

 

 

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

It's the 30th Anniversary of Banned Books Week!  How cool is that...30 years of celebrating the freedom to read whatever we want!  To celebrate I've joined the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books. 

On to the prize...I'm giving away one of the frequently challanged books of the 21st century of your choosing.  

Giveaway Rules:

The contest runs until Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 11:59pm (CST)

You must be 13 years of age or older to enter

This contest is open to participants both from the US and Internationally

Once the email is sent to the winner they will have three days to respond or a new winner will be chosen

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Good Luck!

Review of Better than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts

Title: Better Than Chocolate
Author: Sheila Roberts
Published by: Harlequin
Pages: 372
Source: Little Bird Publicity/Author
Format: Paperback ARC
Available: September 25, 2012
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:  Sweet Dreams Chocolate Company has been in the Sterling family for generations, ever since Great-Grandma Rose literally dreamed up her first fabulous recipe. But now it looks as if they're about to lose Sweet Dreams to the bank—and that would be a disaster, not only for the family but for the town of Icicle Falls, Washington. Can Samantha, the oldest daughter and new head of the company, come up with a way to save it? After Samantha does some brainstorming with her mother and sisters, inspiration strikes. They'll have a chocolate festival! Time's running out, but the Sterling women are determined and the town's behind them, so everything's bound to go smoothly….

Or not. Events seem to be conspiring against Samantha, and her mother's attempts to help aren't helping. To make matters worse, the fate of her company is in the hands of her archenemy, Blake Preston, the bank manager with the football-hero good looks. It's enough to drive her to chocolate. But Blake's also enough to convince her that (believe it or not) there's something even better than chocolate.

I love chocolate!  So when I came across this title I was instantly intrigued, because there is only a couple things I can think of that are better than chocolate and I wanted to know what Sheila Roberts thought was better than chocolate. 

If you are looking for a light, cute read this is your book.  You will instantly fall in love with Icicle Falls and all it's quirky residents.  Samantha can sometimes be pushy and overbearing, but she's got a company to save.  I can't imaging the pressure on Samantha's shoulders and while at times she acted irrationally I think I would have too, especially towards Blake.  While reader will love Blake from the instant they meet him, it is easy to see why Samantha blames him for everything.  It seems like he is in the way of saving Sweet Dreams and in turn ruining her life.  I loved to see Blake struggle, not only with Samantha's wild mood swings, but also how to make things right.  He's genuinely a good guy and we need more of those around.

The rest of the characters are just as fun.  They are unique and each bring their own spin to the story.  We do get to see into Samantha's family a bit, but I'm sad to say not as much as I wanted.  There are some loose ends, especially involving her sisters that I want answered.  I'm not sure if there is going to be another book or not, but there should be.  I want to know what happens to Cecily and Bailey's love lives.  These sister need some luck in the love department..  

The story itself was intriguing and hard to put down.  There was so much detail about running a chocolate factory and how it was built and passed down through the family.  I loved hearing about all the different candies and other creations that were made with chocolate.  The chocolate festival that Samantha and the town organized sounded amazing, but I think I would need a gallon of milk and some serious exercise after a weekend there.  To make sure that you didn't feel left out of the goodie fun, the book features some of the recipes of the creations talked about throughout the story.  I love when authors include recipes when they talk about interesting food.  I'm super excited to try the Lavender-White Chocolate Scones.  Don't they sound wonderful?

Whether you're in the mood for something sweet or just a fun read, try Better Than Chocolate.  Oh and if you make any of the recipes in the back make sure to send some my way! 

Book Launch: Uncontrollable by S.R. Johannes

Released today: Uncontrollable by S.R. Johannes

Book Summary

As 16-year-old Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program".

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants.

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues.

Little does she know, she is being hunted too.

 

News and Giveaways!
Uncontrollable is the second book in "The Nature of Grace" series by S.R. Johannes. Untraceable, the first book in the series, has won and been nominated for several awards including Winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award (YA), 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (YA Nominee), and a finalist in The Kindle Book Review's "Best Indie Book of 2012 (YA)".
Kirkus reviewed Untraceable as "A thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance.  The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page."

 If you like a page turner, you will love this series!

 Head over to Mundie Moms for a Big Uncontrollable Launch Party with tons of prizes and then over to SR Johannes blog for even more.

To continue on with the blog tour, check out the line up! Where SR talks about anything from marketing to writing to her books to personal interviews and giveaways.

Author Bio
S.R. Johannes is the author of award-winning and Amazon bestselling Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and new tween paranormal, On The Bright Side. She has also published short novelettes as well as a teen romance anthology with 16 other authors titled, In His Eyes.  Uncontrollable, the sequel to Untraceable, is scheduled for September 2012.

S.R. Johannes is a winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Awards (Young Adult) and was also recently nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (Young Adult). Untraceable was also recently named a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Indie Book of the Year (YA)

After earning an MBA and working in corporate America, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. 

Friday Night Date Night

Friday Night Date Night is a feature on my blog that showcases movie reviews (mostly movies that were adapted from books). Hopefully some of these reviews will help you decide what to watch on your date night or a night of relaxing at home.

Sticking with my theme of Marvel characters I decided to check out the movie Thor.  Now I've heard some good and some bad things about Thor (both the movie and the character) and I wanted to check it out for myself.  While others may portray Thor as arrogant and impulsive, this movie not only shows that aspect of his life but also shows how he grows as a person and a future king. 

As for the movie itself, I wasn't a fan.  It was darker than I expected and I wanted more comedy and romance.  There was a lot of fighting and it was more Sci-Fiction/Fantasy than I'm used to.  However, I love how all of these Marvel/Superhero movies seem to set the scene for The Avengers.  I really like how all The Avengers had their own movies first and parts of their movies contain background for the movie The Avengers. 

One good thing about Thor was Chris Hemsworth.  Yikes he is major drool worthy in this movie, especially when his shirt is off and I'm kind of digging the longer shaggy hair.  He played the part of Thor well and I was easily convinced he was the almighty Thunder God.  The acting was great in this movie, the plot just wasn't for me. 

However, I still suggest seeing this movie if nothing else at least for the tie-in for The Avengers.

Thursday's Name Game: Cecily from Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts

When I first started blogging I did this feature called Thursday's Name Game and as I was going through my posts I realized that I had a lot of fun putting the posts together so I thought I'd try it out again.

Essentially I just take whatever book I'm reading, pick a character and research a little about their name. So here it goes...

Name: Cecily

Gender: Female

Character From: Better Than Chocolate

Origin of Cecily:

Latin and thought to represent Saint Cecilia.  (I've also read it means dim-sighted or blind, but I'm not a fan of those so much) 

Places named Cecily:

Cecily, a fictional Alaskan town from T.V. show "Northern Exposure"
 
Characters named Cecily?

• Cecily Giraffe, a character in Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys by H.A. Rey.  This was the first book to feature the infamous Curious George.  
• Cecily Temple, a character from "The Gemma Doyle Trilogy" by Libba Bray
• Cecily Cardew, a character from Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Ernest"
• Cecily, an alias for Halfrek a vengeance demon from the show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Have you heard of these gals?

• Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the "Gossip Girl" series
• Cecily Neville, Duchess of York

Do you know of anyone named Cecily or any famous Cecily's I am missing?

*adapted from http://www.babynamewizard.com

Review of The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Title: The Eleventh Plague
Author: Jeff Hirsch
Published by: Scholastic Paperbacks
Pages: 288
Source: Won
Format: Paperback ARC
Rating: 2.5

Summary from Goodreads:  In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing--and their lives--forever.

Jeff Hirsch makes a name for himself with his debut novel The Eleventh Plague.  I hadn't heard much about this novel, so for once I felt like I was completely looking at a novel with fresh eyes.  While the premise of this story was entertaining, it wasn't as original and unique as I was hoping.  This seems to be a reoccurring theme and while I do enjoy dystopian novels I want ones that catch my attention or bring something new to the table.  

Stephen is an enjoyable character that is loyal and a bit of a rule breaker.  After coming to Settler's Landing he wants to start over, but he has trouble trusting others and can't seem to go of his past.  Jenny on the other-hand is a fantastic character.  She’s charismatic, spunky and full of life.  She's got an edge to her and you can tell she's completely comfortable with who she is and what she wants.  I'm actually kind of in awe of her and wish I could be as confident as she is.  Jenny's a bit of an outsider too so when she teams up with Stephen trouble is sure to ensue.

The other characters were not very memorable.  I did like Jackson, Derek, and their quibbling along with the rest of the teenage characters was fun.  It was nice to see light-heartedness in this hopeless world.  One thing I did really enjoy about the story was when the teens got together and played baseball.  It seemed such an ordinary thing to do and I loved that they kept up a small amount of normalcy despite the disarrayed world around them.   

As for the writing, I enjoyed the style though it was a bit simplistic.  It was an extremely fast read and when it was over I felt that it was almost too short.  I think there could have been more detail and pages devoted to certain situations and feelings.  I felt that the romance was a little rushed and I wanted to know not only what the characters did, but also how they felt. 

The Eleventh Plague was a bit darker than I was expecting, but not so much that it shifted to horror.  While this book didn't do it for me, I'm interested to see what Jeff Hirsch comes up with next.