Summer wrap-up readathon; my goals........

This starts today (4th August) until 12th August (end 6pm Pacific time) I am not sure whether to just go on my uk time which is ahead of this or just to convert time so that i am starting and stopping at the exact same time.  Infact, i am going to stick to UK time and i will just work out the challenge times :)

This wrap-up is hosted by Jennifer @ Some Like it Paranormal and Jude @ In Between. 

So thanks to them :)

This readathon looks fab! loads of ppl have signed up to participate, there is a twitter hashtag #swur so get to meet new bloggers, and also there is LOADS of challenges etc planned. The schedule is here on the host's post.

Anyone wanting to sign up, you still can and here is the post.

MY GOALS.

Recently i pretty much failed at a readathon, for various reasons.  I am determined to be successful with this 1.  Therefore, I am focusing on my reading, i will do some challenges but not all and i may not update daily on my blog but there will be an update during the week.  I will be on twitter when i can but i am adamant it will not become a distraction again lol. 

Books to read-

I did a August TBR list here and i am also participarting in Review Copy clean-up this month.

So from that, i hope to read 3.5 books this week. (I don't get that much time to read with a young family and living with a medical condition which leaves me in pain, sleeping or at hosp appts- sorry needed to heads up so ppl didn't think i was lame :()

*Finish- Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry 

*Thy Neighbor:A Novel by Norah Vincent.

*The Next Best Thing:A Novel. by Jennifer Weiner.
*January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield.


These are all books that will be published in August, and are the nearest to publication on my reading list.  

Happy reading and enjoy!!!!

July wrap-up and a August TBR

It's AUGUST and i'm EXCITED!!

because there is SO much going on in the book blogging world. Oh and yes i am slightly behind with everything as normal, but blogging may take a back place soon as i have A LOT of reading to do, so PLEASE bear with me ;)


July Wrap-up......
I did alright in July actually hehe......i planned on reading 5 books and i managed to read 3.5. I was pretty impressed when my goal was 5.  I know it is not a lot compared to some people's reading but life just doesn't alow me that much reading time :( and i have being playing 'Sims' alot.....ekkkkk! Sorry but i am addicted! Also i have being reading my stack of TBR magazines which i buy but never read!


So the books i read are...........

*'Temptation' by Karen Ann Hopkins.

*'The Line Between Here and Gone' by Andrea Kane. (review in process)

*'One Breath Away' by Heather Gudenkauf.
*Pushing the Limit by Katie McGarry. (currently reading)
(links are for the reviews i have completed)

In August, i am participating in;

 *Review Copy Clean-up, *Summer Readathon  and *Bout of Books 5.0 readathon. 
Due to the readathons i am setting an ambitious goal-
I plan to read 8 BOOKS! ARGH!


*Finish reading-Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (not counting in numbers)
*Between the lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer.
*Speechless by Hannah Harrington.
*Over You by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus.
*The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman.
*The Next Best Thing:A Novel. by Jennifer Weiner.
*January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield.
*Confessions of a Angry Girl by Louise Rozett.
*Thy Neighbor:A Novel by Norah Vincent.


I would like to read if i got the chance;
*Cinder by Marissa Meyer.
*The Far Out Cafe by Stuart Chambers
*Whatever it takes by Adele Parks
*Some of Joanne Clancy's books.

A super charged month!!!!


What is everyone else reading this month? What blog events are people participating in?

Friday thoughts #4

This is why i love blogging and all my fellow bloggers :)

Review clean-up goals.........

It's here!!!!!! 

This post is a day late unfortunately but nevermind.  Yesterday, was the start of 'Review Copy Clean-up', hoested by the Celine from 'Nyx Book Reviews' and Vicky from 'Book, Biscuits and Tea'.  I did my sign-up post not long ago to say that i was joining this because i thought it was a great idea.

I have a massive pile for review- mostly electronic arcs and also some hardback/paperbacks that i have purchased which i really want to review soon for my blog.  I am not sure whether you are meant to count books which you have purchased yourself in this blog event but i am hoping too.  I have two read-a-thons this month and hopefully they will mean that i get through more books than i normally would.  

Therefore, my goal is to read at least 8 books- this is a lot for me. I am not sure what 8 books i want to read - i have more than 20 on my netgalley and 10 on edelweiss so i will just see how i feel to be honest.

I may do an update post halfway through and then a wrap-up post at the end of the post.  I will be regularly posting on twitter and will update there more frequently with the #RCclean-up  hashtag :)

It is not too late to join!

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) #9

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Trooper.

This is my 9th Waiting on Wednesday (WoW), 

therefore my #WoW may not correlate with the linked post.

This meme is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the spine.

US Release.

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525952365
• ISBN-13: 978-052595236

UK Release.

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orion (3 Jan 2013)
• ISBN-10: 1409127737
• ISBN-13: 978-1409127734

From Goodreads.

The bestselling author of This Is Where I Leave You returns with a hilarious and heart-rending tale about one family's struggle to reconnect.  Silver has begun to accept that life isn't going to turn out as he expected. The exwife he's remained friends with is about to marry a terrific guy Silver can't quite bring himself to hate. And his Princeton-bound teenage daughter has just confided in him that she's pregnant—because he's the one she cares least about letting down. As the wedding looms and the pregnancy sinks in, this broken family struggles, bonds, and wrestles with each member's individual anxieties. Lives begin anew, change radically, or, in Silver's case—as he discovers that he could die at any moment without an operation he refuses to have—may be about to end in an instant.

One Last Thing Before I Go demonstrates yet again Tropper's deft touch with the darkest of materials and his ability to make readers laugh out loud in one paragraph and move them to tears in the next.
From Amazon.

Meet Silver. Forty-four, divorced and living alone. His once celebrated music career is now a faded memory and his ex-wife is about to marry another man. The only good thing in Silver's life is his Princeton-bound teenage daughter, Casey - and she would probably say the exact opposite about him. So in Silver's opinion, things could be going better . . . a lot better.

Then Casey drops a bombshell: she's pregnant. Yes, it was her first time, and, no, she hasn't told her mom. Silver knows things have got to change, and when he discovers he has a fatal heart condition that means he could drop dead at any minute, he decides it's time to make a list:

1. Be a better father

2. Be a better man

3. Fall in love

4. Die

But the question is, can Silver rebuild his life, regain the respect of his family, and be there for Casey when she needs him most, or has he left it all too late?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I have to say that this is not my normal kind of read.  It doesn't have a cover that really interests me and just didn't grab me so that i would read the blurb.  This is an adult read rather than a YA read, but this doesn't deter me.  I actually read a review on a blog after hearing some great things on Twitter about it.  I checked it out and knew instantly that i had to read this.  It has got fantastic reviews so far, it seems so full of emotion, both happiness and sadness, and may even be a difficult read in parts.  An author who can make a reader laugh one minute and then cry the next must have an incredible writing style to convey words into an emotion in others.  It is difficult for me to fully explain why i want to read the book because it is so different to the other type of books i read or want to read, i just knew i HAD too after reading the 'blurb'.

Review- Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins.

Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen; Original edition (26 Jun 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037321054X
• ISBN-13: 978-0373210541

Firstly, kind thanks to the publishers, for granting me the permission to review this book via Netgalley, for no charge, for an honest review.  This book was read on my kindle.

Book Description
Your heart misleads you.  That's what my friends and family say.  But I love Noah. And he loves me.  We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be  ROSE & NOAH forever, easy. But it won't be. Because he's Amish. And I'm not.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My Review.

Firstly, many thanks to the publishers for granting me access to review this book, for which it was kindly received via Netgalley. This was read on my Kindle.  When i saw the cover i was instantly drawn in because i thought it looked quite 'dreamy' and i loved how the sun shone onto the couple who were in a close embrace.  Obviously i knew it was a love story from that and I'm a sucker for a bit of romance.  Then with the title and the brief sentence on the front i realised it was about forbidden love- which i love even more than just 'love stories' and romance.  I knew i wanted to read it before i had even had read the 'blurb', after reading that it just cemented that i had to read it.  There is so many forbidden love stories out there but this was different, i have never read a love story where there was an Amish and Non-Amish couple, and actually i have never read a book which has featured the Amish community.  This made it more interesting for me because i know about the community (this community is also referred too as a culture, religious group, cult and even an anti-feminist group) and have watched documentaries, but to feature in a novel was different for me. 

Now i had no expectations for this book at all, i did think i would like it and enjoy it. However, this book was one that threw me a little and i have waited 2 weeks post-reading to write this review because i couldn't articulate my feelings or what i wanted to say here. I didn't know how i would even rate it or if i would write a review without a rating.  This book is the first book which i have loved but hated at the same time, and i don't think i can even explain my reasoning completely without giving spoilers!  It is one of those books whereby you need to read it yourself and i do recommend that people read this BUT stick with it. I did almost give up with the first third of the book but i just had to keep reading. and i did get used to what was irritating me.

The basis of the plot is that Rose and her family move into the house next door to Noah's family following the death of her mother and her dad (a doctor) getting a new job in the area.  Rose (Non-Amish) and Noah (Amish) meet quickly and the focus is on them and their 'relationship'. To be honest, I am not too sure there is anymore plot than just the desire they have to be together.  It has romance at the heart of book and does have other aspects such as the relationships they each have with their family and the dynamics of each family-the Amish one was of interest for me  and i found it fascinating to read about! But in regard to plot, there was little of one as i said just before.  It didn't taken the shine off the book for me though because watching the relationship develop was a compelling journey to be taken on full of raw emotion.  It doesn't seem like the couple will ever be able to be together given the difference in their cultures and the aversion of the Non-Amish from the Amish.  The ending is interesting and yet some what annoying.  This book works well as a stand-alone book, which I thought it was, but it will actually be a series.  I cannot wait to see what happens next and I am excited for the next book! This says a lot about my feelings for this book really.

This book is well-written by Hopkins, beautifully descriptive and i loved her writing style.  She is able to evoke feelings in the reader, which isn't an easy thing to do.  For me I found it slow paced for the first three quarters of the book, but after a very significant event it vastly improved.  This significant event was quite shocking really and  featured 'something' that brought tears to my eyes.  The story is written in first person perspective but a dual one, as it is told by both Noah and Rose.  This is my favourite kind of style for a novel because you find out different viewpoints of a situation and there is some overlapping of time between the 2 perspectives.  In this book, this works perfectly because we get to know what both of them are thinking, their feelings towards the other and their understanding of each others culture.  Not only that but you get an inside view of what they expect from the other and from the relationship, some of it is quite hard hitting and shocking in my view, but then you have to remember they are only teenagers.

So, onto the main characters, Noah and Rose, who are both well written to reflect their community.  Rose is only 16, living with her dad and brothers following the death of her mother.  I liked her, she is sweet, caring, strong willed, thinks for herself, pretty, as well as quite naive and innocent when it comes to love.  Noah is 18, and being Amish this means that he is at an age to take responsibility for a wife and family.  He is a caring and kind towards Rose, family orientated but at the same time, he seems controlling, selfish and does have anti-feminist views.  I know it isn't his fault and these traits are probably due to his upbringing in this community, but still, it frustrated me.  What he said made me really angry and I have to say that I didn't actually like him for most of the book if at all.  These next quotes from his dad show the influence Noah is under being Amish;

"We have become used to not having outsiders living so close by. I am sure it will take some adjusting to."

"English children will want to make friends- which creates a very difficult situation for us." "The father important -don't want to offend him." "But neither will I have my   children spending much time with the English, being influenced and corrupted by  them"  

The words used by Noah and his family to describe Non-Amish and even Rose's family drove me crazy, especially in the beginning, I did get used to them, but wow did they grate on me, it felt like it was racist almost.  The terms used were 'the English' and 'outsiders'.

To demonstrate Noah's controlling ways I have provided such quotes which made me so uncomfortable.  Also on the 'first date' he showed his controlling and argumentative ways, this was towards Rose dancing! Rose actually picked up on the edge to his voice when he used the term "the English". I'm sorry but first date and now matter how much you fancy someone, that sort of behaviour would send you running!  

"I didn't think she'd be receptive to being told what to do directly. I'd have to be subtle about it and make her think she was doing what she wanted" Wow that is scary! How devious is he, that is just mind games!

"I didn't have authority over her.  That really troubled me more than I cared to admit" "take charge of her" 

Aside from that, another aspect that I didn't enjoy, which I know a lot of readers also do not like, is this 'insta-love' as the love story.  Straight away there were comments and references from both of them as being lovestruck, experiencing electric from touching and thoughts of when they are living together.  Even thoughts of having a baby! The wanting, needing, pining that went on, urgh, it got sooooo repetitive and as I said their desire to be together was the plot really.  I have to say that I believe Noah's feelings and thoughts to be more reliable and true due to his age and responsibility, whereas I feel Rose is swept along with the lust and excitement, she seems so young to be on the same wavelength as Noah in regards to a relationship. I had to laugh prior to one of their meet-ups and Rose is getting ready and looking in the mirror, it was such an argh!! moment but so typical of a teenager really

"Turning sideways I was surprised to see how I was filling the shirt out this year.  I certainly didn't remember looking so.......developed in it last year"

 Overall, this book is a lovely read, an emotional exploration of love that is forbidden.  It is sweet and full of want and desire.  There is obstacles and problems throughout it, there are moments when you want to scream and times when you laugh and go awww.  I found this book difficult to review as i said but then I've written an essay so obviously i had lots to say and i enjoyed it more than i originally thought.  I would recommend it to people but i would say that this will be a book you may love and hate at the same time but give it chance.  I will definitely be reading the sequel.  I have to give a rating of 3 out of 5 :)

Thanks for reading.