Review: Once Upon A Christmas Eve

Read by Ashford McNab
Duration: 3 hours

Adam Rutledge, Viscount d'Arque, really rather loathes Christmas. The banal cheerfulness. The asinine party games. And, worst of all, the obligatory trip to the countryside. His grandmother, however, loves the holiday - and Adam loves his grandmother, so he'll brave the fiercest snowstorm to please her. But when their carriage wheel snaps, they're forced to seek shelter at the home of the most maddening, infuriating, and utterly beguiling woman he's ever met....
Sarah St. John really rather loathes rakes. The self-satisfied smirks. The sly predatory gazes. Oh, and the constant witty banter rife with double meaning. But in the spirit of the season, she'll welcome this admittedly handsome viscount into her home. But as the snowstorm rages, the Yule log crackles, and the tension rises, Sarah and Adam find themselves locked in a fiery, passionate kiss. If love is the true meaning of Christmas, it's the one gift this mismatched pair can't wait to unwrap.

Goodreads

Audiobook: Sal & Gabi Break the Universe

Read by Anthony Rey Perez
Duration: 10 hours

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a brilliant sci-fi romp with Cuban influence that poses this question: What would you do if you had the power to reach through time and space and retrieve anything you want, including your mother, who is no longer living (in this universe, anyway)?

How did a raw chicken get inside Yasmany's locker?

When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn't under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal's office for the third time in three days, and it's still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. She is determined to prove that somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany's locker, even though nobody saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared.

Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. When Gabi learns that he's capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken--including his dead mother--and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with. There's only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.

A sassy entropy sweeper, a documentary about wedgies, a principal who wears a Venetian bauta mask, and heaping platefuls of Cuban food are just some of the delights that await in his mind-blowing novel gift-wrapped in love and laughter.

Goodreads

Little Free Library #9

My husband and I went hiking the other day near the Azuza area and we happened to pass these two LFLs on our way to the trail: 

Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld. 

Goodreads

Latinxathon Wrap Up

And that's a wrap! So how did I do?

*sigh*

Not so well but then I kind of knew that my personal life was going to affect my reading.  I just did not expect the extent of the chaos of returning to work was going to be. But hey! I survived my first week back at work and I did read somewhat. :D

Here's what I got done:

Audiobook Review: American Street

On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life.

But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.

Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?

Goodreads

Review: America Volumes 1-6

At last! Everyone's favorite no-nonsense powerhouse, America Chavez, gets her own series! Critically acclaimed young-adult novelist Gabby Rivera and all-star artist Joe Quinones unite to shine a solo spotlight on America's high-octane and hard-hitting adventures! She was a Young Avenger. She leads the Ultimates. And now she officially claims her place as the preeminent butt-kicker of the entire Marvel Universe! But what's a super-powered teenager to do when she's looking for a little personal fulfi llment? She goes to college! America just has to stop an interdimensional monster or two first and shut down a pesky alien cult that's begun worshipping her exploits before work can begin. Then she can get on with her first assignment: a field trip to the front lines of World War II - with Captain America as her wingman!

Goodreads

Latinx-a-thon! TBR

It is Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th. To kick it off, I will do my best to participate in the Latinx-a-thon from September 15th to September 24th. This read-a-thon encourages participants to read books by Latinx authors. 
(For more information about this read-a-thon, you can check out my post.)

Now, let's see what books I finally decided to tackle for this Latinx-a-thon:

Audiobook Review: Big Little Lies

Narrated by: Caroline Lee
Length: 16 hours

Big Little Lies is a story of murder, lies and betrayal. As the celebration in Priwee Public Schools annual Trivia Night ends in tragedy with one person dead and a riot breaking out, the townsfolk tries to collect themselves after the events. However, it appears that all is not what initially appears to be and what appears to be an unfortunate accident may in fact be cold blooded murder. Big Little Lies dives into the issue of broken families, broken relationships and parenting in this thought provoking fiction from bestselling author Liane Moriarty.

Caroline Lee is able to breathe life to this bestselling novel and fill it with pure emotion that will surely have you at the edge of your seat and leave you pondering the story’s message.

Goodreads

Review: Murder on the Orient Express

What more can a mystery addict desire than a much-loathed murder victim found aboard the luxurious Orient Express with multiple stab wounds, thirteen likely suspects, an incomparably brilliant detective in Hercule Poirot, and the most ingenious crime ever conceived?

Goodreads

My Thoughts: This is the the tenth book in the Hercule Poirot series but my second book that read from the series. I read the first one, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, years ago and I remember liking Hercule Poirot but not the writing style. However, I was told that Agatha Christie's writing improved with each book and that I should try a different one. What better way to try her again than reading her most famous book, Murder on the Orient Express?

Book to Movie Review: Ready Player One

FILM INFO FROM GOOGLE:

From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS…

Release date: March 29, 2018 (USA)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Box office: 582.9 million USD
Budget: $155–175 million
Production companies: Village Roadshow Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Partners, Warner Bros. Pictures

Review: Kisses on a Paper Airplane

Drama student Hannah Evans isn't kissing any frogs on her path to find Prince Charming. She's determined to share the perfect first kiss -- with the perfect boy -- in the perfect place -- or she's not kissing anyone at all. When Hannah meets a cute ginger-haired boy in first class lounge in the London airport, she knows he's 'The One.'

Pop star Theo Callahan is on the road to get as far away as possible from his back-stabbing best friend, and his supermodel girlfriend who broke his heart. Until one shy smile from Hannah has him rethinking all of his travel plans.

Theo is smitten, but he's worried she's just a groupie in search of the ultimate selfie. Can Theo learn to trust Hannah in time to share one perfect first kiss, or will Hannah be forced to kiss a frog?

Goodreads

Latinx Book Bingo & Latinx-a-Thon

From Sept. 15-October 15, it is Latinx Heritage Month. I wanted to start reading more books written by Latinos so I searched for any book challenges that would encourage me to do so. I encountered the Latinx Book Bingo and their read-a-thon. I know I can do the Bingo. I am going to attempt the readathon since that's the week I return to work.

Blurb about Bingo:

Ebook Review: Sweets and a Stabbing

After a messy divorce, forty-four-year-old Amelia Harley has taken back her maiden name and decided to sell homemade cupcakes out of a food truck. With the help of her two teenage kids in picking out the name and color of her truck (pink, of course) and using social media to help spread the word, Amelia is ready to roll in Food Truck Alley.

However, a man is found stabbed to death in the dining area, and the young man from the burrito food truck next to Amelia’s is arrested. Matthew is a big, tattooed former gang member, an obvious suspect, but Amelia believes he is innocent.

Can Amelia save an innocent man? Can she make her food truck a success and make her children proud?

Goodreads

Audiobook Review: Forbidden

Read by Kim Staunton
Duration: 9 hours 27 minutes

Rhine Fontaine is building the successful life he's always dreamed of—one that depends upon him passing for White. But for the first time in years, he wishes he could step out from behind the façade. The reason: Eddy Carmichael, the young woman he rescued in the desert. Outspoken, defiant, and beautiful, Eddy tempts Rhine in ways that could cost him everything . . . and the price seems worth paying.

Eddy owes her life to Rhine, but she won't risk her heart for him. As soon as she's saved enough money from her cooking, she'll leave this Nevada town and move to California. No matter how handsome he is, no matter how fiery the heat between them, Rhine will never be hers. Giving in for just one night might quench this longing. Or it might ignite an affair as reckless and irresistible as it is forbidden . . .

Goodreads

Little Free Library Adventures #8

I went for a drive this weekend and encountered a couple of cute Little Free Libraries (LFL). Here are the two that I found:

La Habra area

His and Hers Review: Kubrick's Game

Danny read this book first and encouraged me to read it. So here's both our reviews:

Shawn Hagan, a college film student obsessed with legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, discovers hidden clues in his movies which lead him on a harrowing quest toward a mysterious treasure that Kubrick left behind. Endangered by sinister groups on the same quest, Shawn has no choice but to claim the prize first because in the wrong hands … "It has the power to change the course of history."

Goodreads

Bout of Book 26: Wrap Up!

And that's a wrap!! It was so much fun being able to participate in the Bout of Books Readathon! My goal for this challenge was to be able to read at least 1-2 books and get back into posting on my blog. Well, not only did I accomplish my goals, but I surpassed them!

I read a total of five books: 2 physical books, 1 ebook, and 2 audiobooks. I also published at least 8 different posts this week, which is a lot since I only posted 2 this entire year before. 

Bout of Books 26: Day 7

Challenges

Stretch Goal

It's the last day of the readathon, so today's challenge is to take a look at the goals you set for the week (if you have them) and decide a) how you can stretch yourself to complete them or b) how you can revise them so you can meet them. Because yes, you can revise your goals! If you didn't set goals for the week, set a small one for yourself today!

My goal for this week is to get back into reading, finish one book, and start writing more blog posts. Guess what? I think I accomplished these goals already. :D In fact, I am reading more now, I finished two books so far, and I've posted a few blog posts. So for my last day of the readathon I'm going to see if I can finish one more book, either audio or physical.

Instagram Photo a Day

For those of you who use Instagram, don't forget to post your daily Bout of Books photo. Find out more on our Bout of Books Instagram page!

Today: Shelfie

Mine: 

Bout of Books 26: Day 6

Challenges

Leave a Review

Did you know? Book reviews help other readers discover new books. For today's challenge, we encourage you to write a review of a book you've read during the readathon (or recently) and publish it where other readers make their purchasing decisions (e.g., Amazon, Goodreads, etc.). Be sure to share it with us.

Mine:

Bout of Books 26: Day 5

Challenges

I Want This Book!

We get excited about books getting adapted into TV shows, movies or plays, but what about media that you want to see as books? Tell us about your favorite story (can be anything - play, TV show, movie, podcast, web series) that you would like to be adapted into a novel!

Thanks for the idea, Ruthsic!

Mine:

My Book Themed Wedding

I got married on June 14th to a wonderful man.

We wanted a simple wedding but our families insisted we put on something a little bigger. Danny and I discussed about this and agreed that it will be bigger but the wedding will depict what WE wanted.

So we decided to have a Literary Themed Wedding, simple but a beautiful one filled with people we loved and of course...books (oh...and belly dancing too. *not pictured in this post*).

Here are some of the book themed items in our wedding:

Bout of Books 26: Day 4

Challenges

If This, Then That

Put your recommendations hat on, #boutofbooks-ers. For this challenge, pick a book, author, or trope (or whatever!) from your TBR and suggest similar books.

Example 1: If you like Sarah McLean, try Lenora Bell.

Example 2: If you like a modern day, romantic twist on Greek mythology, try Staci Hart's Hearts and Arrows series.

Mine:
If you like to listen to audiobooks read by more than one reader, then you should try The Magnolia Story by Joanna and Chip Gaines. This production is read by both authors and they read their memoir as if they were telling you stories on a warm summer night while barbecuing. It was fun listening to this book!

You can check out my review of this book here. 

Bout of Books 26: Day 3

Challenges

Recreate Your Favorite Book Cover

Pick your favorite book and recreate it OR reimagine the cover either live (with yourself or a willing participant as the cover art) or drawing, sculpture, crafts, painting, etc.

Thanks for the idea, @vintagevixon94

Mine:

I have so many favorite books so I decided to challenge myself by picking Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I searched for "Geisha with Fan" (Yes, I know...the book did not have geishas) on Google then used my phone app Photo Lab to create my cover. What do you think? 

His and Hers Review: Ready Player One

Here's another book both Danny & I read. He read the physical copy while I listened to the audiobook.

It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

Goodreads

Bout of Books 26: Day 2

Challenges

Adaptation Aspirations

What book would you like to see adapted for another medium? What would be your preferred format? Movie? TV Show? Broadway musical? Something else? If you want to elaborate even further, who would you cast to play the characters? Who would you want to write the script/screenplay? Write the music? Direct? Are there adaptations that exist that you think could be better? Tell us all about your aspirations for the perfect adaptation!

Thanks for the idea, Emma @ Emma Reads Things

Mine:
Hmmm...it seems that almost every book is being or already has been adapted to another format. Let's see...I would like to see Lincoln in the Bardo to be turned into a movie.

It was not an easy read for me. So many characters and so much jumping around but you know what...the story was haunting. I'm still thinking about it! And the idea of President Lincoln going to his son's grave and opening it was just heartbreaking. After watching the small 360 video on YouTube, I would like to see how a director would portray the ghosts into a movie.

Book Review: Dream Lake

They say that opposites attract. But what happens when one has been devastated by betrayal and the other is so jaded that his heart is made of stone? Enter the world of Friday Harbor, an enchanting town in the Pacific Northwest where things are not quite as they seem and where true love might just have a ghost of a chance….

Alex Nolan is as bitter and cynical as they come. One of the three Nolan brothers who call Friday harbor home, he's nothing like Sam or Mark. They actually believe in love; they think the risk of pain is worth the chance of happiness. But Alex battles his demons with the help of a whiskey bottle, and he lives in his own private hell. And then a ghost shows up. Only Alex can see him, Has Alex finally crossed over the threshold to insanity?

Zoë Hoffman is as gentle and romantic as they come. When she meets the startling gorgeous Alex Nolan, all her instincts tell her to run. Even Alex tells her to run. But something in him calls to Zoë, and she forces him to take a look at his life with a clear eye and to open his mind to the possibility that love isn’t for the foolish.

The ghost has been existing in the half-light of this world for decades. He doesn’t know who he is, or why he is stuck in the Nolans’ Victorian house. All he knows is that he loved a girl once. And Alex and Zoë hold the key to unlocking a mystery that keeps him trapped here.

Zoë and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow. But sometimes it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark, and sometimes love can reach beyond time, space, and reason to take hold of hearts that yearn for it…

Goodreads

Bout of Books 26: Day 1

Challenges

Introduce Yourself #insixwords

The challenge is simple: introduce yourself on Twitter, Instagram, or on this post using six words, no more, no less. Use the hashtags #boutofbooks and #insixwords so we can learn all about you.

Example: "Needed for survival: books, dogs, coffee."

Mine:  Lover of books who is stubborn.

Instagram Photo a Day

For those of you who use Instagram, don't forget to post your daily Bout of Books photo. Find out more on our Bout of Botoks Instagram page!

Mine: 

His and Hers Audiobook Review: The Spy

Here's the first book that my hubby and I listened to together. :)

Read by Hillary Huber & Paul Boehmer
Length: 4 hours

In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history's most enigmatic women: Mata Hari.

HER ONLY CRIME WAS TO BE AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN

When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Within months she was the most celebrated woman in the city.

As a dancer, she shocked and delighted audiences; as a courtesan, she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men.

But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917, she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees, and accused of espionage.

Told in Mata Hari’s voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to defy convention and who paid the ultimate price.

Goodreads

Audiobook Review: The Magnolia Story

Read by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Length: 5 hours

Are you ready to see your fixer upper?

These famous words are now synonymous with the dynamic husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. As this question fills the airwaves with anticipation, their legions of fans continue to multiply and ask a different series of questions, like—Who are these people?What’s the secret to their success? And is Chip actually that funny in real life? By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper, they have become America’s new best friends.

The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.
They both attended Baylor University in Waco. However, their paths did not cross until Chip checked his car into the local Firestone tire shop where Joanna worked behind the counter. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Soon they were married and living in their first fixer upper. Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garners the attention of a television producer who notices her work on a blog one day.

In The Magnolia Story fans will finally get to join the Gaines behind the scenes and discover:

-The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby -Joanna’s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children -When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck -Joanna’s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home -Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple -Memories and photos from Chip and Jo’s wedding -The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do -The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way

And yet there is still one lingering question for fans of the show: Is Chip really that funny? “Oh yeah,” says Joanna. “He was, and still is, my first fixer upper.”

Goodreads

Bout of Books #26

Yay! It's that time and I really need to do this. It is pathetic how little have read this year, let alone how little I have written reviews. My goal for this read-a-thon is not only read, but to write my reviews as well. Wish me good luck!

Here's a blurb about the read-a-thon:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Want to join, click here.

Can't wait to see what everyone else reading this week!

HAPPY READING!!!  

Surviving (Literally)

Hello Readers,

I know, I know...I sound like a broken record when I say that I was busy and that I'm going to start blogging again. But I promise...So much has happened since my last post. 

First off, I got married. :)
I had a Literature themed wedding so I'll be creating a  separate post showing all the wonderful book themed items in my wedding. 

Review: Lincoln in the Bardo

Very slow start but I at least finished one book this year!

February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returned to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy’s body.

From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a thrilling, supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory, where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.

Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction’s ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices—living and dead, historical and invented—to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end?

Goodreads

Little Free Library Adventures #7

Hello, everyone!
I'm here to share with you a recent Little Free Library adventure that I had while taking a stroll nearby. The first one was in La Habra.

This was a simple library in a corner near an elementary school. It was filled with both adult books and a few children's books. 

New Year, New...

Hello friends!

It has been a very, very long time since I've blogged. Please forgive me.
So much has happened in my personal life that prevented me from blogging and simply reading. 
And I mean so much!

First off...