Graphic Novel: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

A quick review :)

 When Jacob Portman was a boy, his grandfather regaled him with stories of his fantastic life at Miss Peregrine's home during the Second World War, even sharing photos of the remarkable children with whom he resided. As Jacob grew up, though, he decided that these photos were obvious fakes, simple forgeries designed to stir up his youthful imagination. Or were they...?

Following his grandfather's death - a scene Jacob literally couldn't believe with his own eyes - the sixteen-year-old boy embarks on a mission to disentangle fact from fiction in his grandfather's tall tales. But even his grandfather's elaborate yarns couldn't prepare Jacob for the eccentricities he will discover at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children! 

Amazon

Audiobook: The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson

“In that other life, I am the center of my world. Of course, I love and care about other people—many other people. But at the end of the day, my thoughts and actions are mainly about managing my own life and my own emotions.”
― Cynthia Swanson, The Bookseller

Read by Kathe Mazur

Duration: 11.5 hours

Nothing is as permanent as it appears …

Denver, 1962. Kitty Miller has come to terms with her unconventional single life. She loves the bookshop she runs with her best friend, Frieda, and enjoys complete control over her day-to-day existence. She can come and go as she pleases, answering to no one. There was a man once, a doctor named Kevin, but it didn’t quite work out the way Kitty had hoped.

Then the dreams begin.

High Summer Read-a-thon Wrap-up!

The High Summer Read-a-Thon was hosted by Seasons of Reading. I enjoyed this one a lot because it was laid back. I could go on my own pace yet at the same time it encouraged me to finish some old reads and start on new ones. 

So here were my goals:

Read 2-3 physical books
Listen to 2 audiobooks

Did I accomplish them? 

I finished reading these (no reviews yet):

Little Free Library Adventures #2

Hello everyone! 

I was asked to cover some belly dance classes at the Atomic Ballroom in Irvine, California this past Saturday. I had a lot of fun teaching the three levels of dancing and I got a good workout out of it. With all the adrenaline running through my veins, I decided to go on another small adventure in search of Little Free Libraries (especially since I am hardly in the Irvine area).

So I ended up stopping at two:

Four Friends by Robyn Carr

I finished reading this last week and I am barely getting to the review. *sigh* Better late than never. :)

Gerri can't decide what's more devastating: learning her rock-solid marriage has big cracks, or the anger she feels as she tries to repair the damage. Always the anchor for friends and her three angst-ridden teenagers, it's time to look carefully at herself. The journey for Gerri and her family is more than revealing—it's transforming.

Andy doesn't have a great track record with men, and she's come to believe that for her a lasting love is out of reach. When she finds herself attracted to her down-to-earth, ordinary contractor—a man without any of the qualities that usually appeal to her—she questions everything she thought she wanted in life.

Sonja's lifelong pursuit of balance is shattered when her husband declares he's through with her New Age nonsense and walks out. There's no herbal tonic or cleansing ritual that can restore her serenity—or her sanity.

Miraculously, it's BJ, the reserved newcomer to Mill Valley, who steps into their circle and changes everything. The woman with dark secrets opens up to her neighbors, and together they get each other back on track, stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.

Amazon

Cover Reveal: Colourblind by B.L. Wilde

Hello friends!
It has been a while since I have participated in a cover reveal. I am actually not accepting any reviews or any types of promotions right now due to my hectic personal life. 

HOWEVER...I couldn't say no to this new book.

I have read the Seductors series by B.L. Wilde and I have LOVED them! When I heard that she had a new book coming out and that it was not an erotica, I knew that I simply had to get my hands on it!

High Summer Read-a-Thon!

Okay, I saw Sarah over at Flood of Books join this read-a-thon and I figured, why not? I've been doing horrible with my reads. I've only been reading 1-2 physical books and listening to 1-2 audio books per month. This is no bueno!

The High Summer Read-a-Thon by Seasons of Reading is pretty laid back. She does not require you to constantly update, which puts me at ease knowing that I don't have to post something even if I have not accomplished anything. However, she does expect a wrap-up post. This means that I really must get my read on!

Little Free Library Adventure #1

I used to visit a Little Free Library behind our Herbie's store years ago before I knew what Little Free Libraries were all about. I thought it was just a neat way of sharing and trading books for free that the store created. However, I stopped visiting Herbie's once Sprouts opened up in my area and I completely forgot about the book trade...until I visited the blog, Captivated Reader.

When she visits a new area, Captivated Reader likes to stop by the nearest Free Little Libraries. I thought this was a neat idea! I commute and travel often, so I should do it too!

Being inspired by Captivated Reader, I decided to blog my little adventures as I visit these cute little book stops.

My first adventure...my neighborhood (sorta)!!

When I looked up on the Little Free Library site to check for the nearest libraries, I was stunned to see how many there were.  So my sister and I decided to hit four for now on our way to a cafe.

This one was our first stop:

Summer Reading Program 2016

Have you joined the Summer Reading Program at your local library? 

I know many libraries hold the annual reading program and the one here at the Los Angeles County, it has upgraded. What do I mean? Well, it is more interactive for the adults now. :D

I remember being envious of the awesome children's and young adult's programs that the libraries ran. These programs had games and neat prizes for the non-adults. The only thing that the adults had were review opportunities with the chance to earn either a pen or a mug. At the end of the program, about 5 adults from ALL of the LA County's libraries will win an iPad. Do you have any idea how many libraries are in LA?! Jeesh.

My July 2016 TBR Reveal

My To-Be Read List is hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading. Each month you pick three books on your TBR list and people vote on the one you should read that month. What a great way to get me to read more from my pile, right?

 ***

So what book with the beach on the cover got the highest vote?

 Well, here's a description of the book:

Death by Chocolate by Carol Lee

Things are brilliant for baker and recently divorced Myra Bailey. Living the typical life in her sleepy little town of Fish Creek Falls she’s finally opened up her dream coffee shop bakery, Dessert First. She is excited things are going so well… until she stumbles over the body of Barbara the owner of the only other bakery in town.

Suddenly Myra finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation (her chocolate cake was found at the scene of the crime!) headed up by her hunky neighbor Detective David Bentley. With the help of her best friend Lizzie, together they are armed with their smart phones and their natural wits, Myra decides to take it upon herself to find the real murderer in order to clear her name and drive customers back to her bakery.

As things heat up on the murder trail, in the kitchen and between Myra and the Detective, it’s a race against time to put the real murderer behind bars and get back to baking.

Get your free ebook copy at:

 B&N  

Teaser Tuesdays #119

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat.

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

My TBR List: July's Vote

My To-Be Read List is hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading. Each month you pick three books on your TBR list and people vote on the one you should read that month. What a great way to get me to read more from my pile, right?

***

Okay, okay...I'm a little late on June's review. I actually finished the book three days ago but I've been lazy to write a review for it. But I finally wrote it! If you are interested to read it, then click here.

TBR- UnEnchanted: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale by Chanda Hahn

“Not every tale has a happy ending. In fact, many of them are grim.”
― Chanda Hahn, UnEnchanted

Mina Grime is unlucky, unpopular and uncoordinated; until she saves her crush's life on a field trip, changing her High School status from loser to hero overnight. But with her new found fame brings misfortune in the form of an old family curse come to light. For Mina is descended from the Brothers Grimm and has inherited all of their unfinished fairy tale business. Which includes trying to outwit a powerful Story from making her it's next fairytale victim.

To break the fairy tale curse on her family and make these deadly occurrences stop, Mina must finish the tales until the very Grimm end.

Amazon  *  B&N