Book Review: Branding Yourself

So this book... It was my hurricane reading material!! I started reading it during Hurricane Florence and I finally finished it today while watching Hurricane Micheal run through North Carolina! That may seem like a long time to finish a book, but this book is so jam packed with information I was constantly taking notes and attempting to try out methods suggested in the book so you only get through a few pages at a time!

Branding Yourself by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy is an incredible source of knowledge for anyone who runs a business or simply wants to land a new job! They provide details on all of the leading social media sites, but also include how to bring your brand into the real world.

I could reread this book 10 times and purchase still get more information that is useful to me each time!! They include up to date sources and links to allow you to further advance the information they provide!!

So if you are looking to invent yourself or your business this is the perfect book for you to read!! 10/10 recommend it!!

The Kidney Donors Journey: 100 questions I asked before donating my kidney; A book review

This book was sent to me to read for review, and I wasn't sure if I was going to accept the offer. It isn't something I would usually read. I love novels and stories, but I thought it might be something interesting to learn about. So I picked it up and gave it a shot.

I was afraid going in that it was going to be chalked full of medical terms, and things I wouldn't understand; However, right away I was drawn in my the light-hearted appeal of the author. He told his courageous story through humor, and honest feelings.

I think this book is a essential to anyone who has ever considered donating a kidney, to a family member, or stranger. Or even to someone who wants to do some majorly self-less act of service to another person.

Everyone is born with 2 kidneys, and our bodies only need 1 to function. So it is one of the only organs we can donate while still alive and utterly self-less! This book answers all the questions you might have and the author provides all the research you will need to do on your own, in one simple, fun and easy to read book!

This book gets a 5 out of 5 for me!!! It was written incredibly, with lots of information. Yet you aren't drowning in facts, and medical terms!

Book Review: The Unlocked

Guys guys guys, I am so excited about this one I bought the next two in the series minutes after I closed this one. We are talking its THAT GOOD!!! I was sent this one to review, and I am so glad she sent it my way!!!

This book is so good from the first page all the way through and ended on a cliffhanger that made me NEED the next book.

The main character Charlie is lovable and so real. You are immediately drawn to her and can't wait to see where her story leads. Finding out she has super powers and is likely not the only one is so exciting, and when she finds the school she belongs in the adventures just keep coming.

Without giving away too much story line, you will be drawn in from the very start and the author gives away nothing as far as where the story will lead next. There are so many exciting twists and turns!!!

If you love a little sci-fi, and mystery get this book now. While it is still free for Kindle!!!

Book Review: Serenity

This is another book I was sent by the author to read, and give an honest review!

Serenity the first book of a 3 part series by Craig A. Hart is a mystery thriller book.

I wasn't totally sure where this story was going to lead when I dove in. I have a varied interest in books, and I am always down to help an author out by checking out a book they think I would enjoy.

This book started out like any other mystery novel. By introducing a bunch of characters, digging in deeper on a few of them, and then learning how their lives all intertwine. Craig Hart does a great job of introducing his main characters, but I have to say some of the other characters who make an appearance through out the book are a little shallow and hard to understand how they become part of the main story line. Or if their appearance is necessary at all.

The thriller part of the novel did not disappoint. I had a hard time setting it down when I had to. You never were quite sure what was about to happen, and even up to the very end you can't believe how things play out.

If you are looking for a good mystery novel, something quick to read, and keeps you in suspense, this novel is for you. If you are a huge fan of deep characters, and all loose ends of the story being tied by the end of the book perhaps you may not enjoy this book as much. I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume things become much more conjoined when you read the second book.

My over all review 3 out of 5. I am just a huge fan of characters that when I finish the book I feel like I lost a friend, someone I really knew, and this book didn't give me that, and doesn't really make me wanna run to Amazon right now and buy the second book. But it was a very good read other wise.

Book Review: Another Place at the Table

This great book was passed onto me by my older sister. She read it, loved it and passed it on. And I am really glad that she did. This book on it's own is not one I would have just picked up if it hadn't been suggested to me.

Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison is a book about a family who has fostered something like 100 kids in their time working with the system. It is a personal look into how the foster care system works, and those involved in the well being of children in our country.

I have gained a whole new perspective on people who are willing to help children who are part of the foster care system live somewhat normal lives while their lives seem to be collapsing. I was inspired by this book, although we are in no place in our lives to be foster parents, the thought of protecting and showing these children really pulls on my heart strings.

I think this book is an important book for anyone wanting to foster or adopt. The unbiased stories show the good the bad and the ugly of the foster care system. Kathy doesn't try to make it seem like everything is perfect, and isn't trying to influence others to join in. She simply is telling her true story, and allows you to feel how you will about it.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 and highly recommend it to anyone. If you want a copy I would love to pass mine on!

The Girl on the Train Book Review

Hey you guys, I know its odd that I really let this poor blog go last year, and here it is the 6th of 2017 and I still haven't posted. This used to be my main "social media" but over time my focus has progressed to my Facebook Page.

I am trying to keep up with my blog a little more this week, along with the reemergence of the "Our week in review". This will be increasingly entertaining as the madness of our lives is about to spiral out of control!!

Anyways back to the subject at hand.

The Girl on the Train




So my mom handed this book to me, it wasn't even one I really had heard of. Yes I know I am off the radar obviously seeing as its a movie!!

I had the semester off and thought what the heck once I finish my last book I will give it try.



Review:

So this book is a very interesting one, I don't think I would say it is in the category I would usually read. But I was so intrigued by it. I wasn't sure what to think for most of the book, the author does an incredible job at camouflaging the climax of the story!! You really don't even see it coming, and spend the majority of the book thinking other people was the suspect.

I do have to say that the way the book is written is kinda hard to comprehend and you don't exactly catch on until about half way through the book. I did a lot of flipping back to check which character was talking, and what the date was they were talking in. So that was a little frustrating at first but ever so necessary for the story to be so mysterious!

Over all Rating? 9 out of 10. Because it was hard to follow for a while. But it was AMAZING so if you haven't already you need to pick this book up and go for a ride on The Train!!

The 5th Wave Book Review

Wow yes that just happened. I read a HUGE book in just over a week. Didn't think my first book review of the year would be on the 3rd that is crazy!! But off to a good start on that resolution!!

So The 5th Wave was my Christmas present from Dustin this year. I saw the preview for the movie and it said it was based off a book, so I knew I needed to read it. I'm a huge fan of reading books first, if you haven't already noticed. 

Anyways this book was obviously GOOD, and it's so hard to put down, I wanted to read it straight through. But I'm really glad I had time to read it before I start classes next week! The 5th Wave is the first book in a trilogy and is about the end of the world. But not in the same, humans brought it upon themselves sense as like Divergent, and Hunger Games, but rather brought on by an alien mother ship that appears one day. 

This book was so action packed and you have no clue as to what is really going on until you are over half way in, they keep the mystery rolling. It's such an intense book, and I really hope that the movie will do it justice!! In all the action and crazy twists there is a strong family tie, that shows throughout it all blood really is the strongest!! I can't say too much without giving away a lot of how the story ends up going. But if you are looking for a new book to read this year.....I highly recommend you read The 5th Wave!!!

Over all this book is a 5 out of 5!!!!!

Book reviews!!!

Just finished books 10-13. Yup by the end of April just 4 months I have read 13 books!! Maybe I have no life, or maybe I am trying to spend less time on Facebook, I don't know. But I am enjoying the fact I have read so many!! And plan to read a bunch more over the next few weeks once all our belongings are gone.

Alright here are my quick descriptions and my opinions on them!! Hope I help you find some thing new to read!! For my past reviews follow this link:

American Sniper by Chris Kyle

So this one isn't something I would normally pick up, but Dustin had read it in a matter of days and so I thought it must be a really good book. Plus I really like to read books before we watch the movie in most cases it is far better that way!! However, in my opinion this book was SLOW. I had a hard time reading it and went many days not reading because I was just not intrigued. I enjoyed learning more about Chris Kyle and find him an interesting person, and it also gave me a bit more of an insite into what goes through my husbands mind. But to me he spent too much time telling every detail about every gun he has ever shot, every vehicle he has ever driven etc...and it got old for me. I think the movie will be excellent as it will skip all those details and just show the action part of his story! So if you aren't into slow moving autobiographys pas up the book and just watch the movie.

Worthy of Love by Sally Gerard

This book I read in the middle of reading American Sniper, I needed a break from that book for a little bit. And when Sally who is a mentor of sorts, someone I have always looked up to, put up a request for a few people to read her newest book and review it I jumped on the chance. You all read my review about her previous book Windows in the Loft, and I really enjoy the way she writes. So not really knowing what the book was about I began to dig in right away. The book follows the story of a young woman who has always lived with the guilt of her mothers death (from her birth) and her father has done nothing but blame her for it her whole life. When she finally has her life on track she meets a man and begins to fall for him, but will she ever be able to stay with him? I really enjoyed this read and finished it in less than a week. It was a bit predictable which isn't always a bad thing, and in the case of a book like this is actually nice to read and just relax into the plot, you feel right at home with the characters like you have known them your whole life.

Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

This book caught my attention when I was browsing through Oyster and not really knowing what I wanted to read next I picked it up!! The story follows a young teenager, trying to make her way through high school, and the struggle of living up to her parents expectations as well as really figuring out who she is!! The story was very easy to read and I found it quite enjoyable. I do think however the story is more relatable to younger crowd than I relate with any longer. The plot twist is not what you expect!! Great story, bit of a tear jerker in parts, over all if you want an easy read and a good story and still find teenagers relatable READ IT!!

The Giver by Lois Lowrey

I am sure by this point most people have picked up this book or watched the movie. With that being the case I won't tell you much about the plot. Not that much can be said without giving away a lot of the story! I am fairly sure in Highschool I was assigned this as a book to read. And we'll with working after school and just frankly being a teenager, never actually read the book, probably just skimmed to get the gist. And I am ashamed of that, because after picking this up I read it in just a few days!! It's an amazing book and the story is eye opening!! If you haven't read it do!!

Delirium trilogy review

So my constant reading has continued!! This doesn't come as a surprise, as I spend a lot of time at night nursing, and I am okay with that!! So while we are up I just pick up my tablet and read a couple chapters! And when the books are easy reads like these I finish them really quickly!! This series although slightly similar to other ones I have read was very interesting take on a futuristic/post apocalyptic type story line. Although the Deleria that "takes over" isn't what causes the state of the world so much as how "the cured" people choose to run the world afterwards that creates the world they now know.

There are three books to the main portion of this series that follow the story of Lena, a teenager who is coming of age. But the meaning of that in this series is oh so different as her whole life is about to change and be decided for her. The story is really good and I would recommend anyone picking it up. It was written by Lauren Oliver who also wrote Before I Fall that I wrote about in my last book review!! Along with this series she also wrote three tag along books that follow three different characters who catch the delirium and their stories. Unfortunately Oyster only had 2 of them which obviously I read too!! They were just short stories and each only took me like 2 hours total to read but were written the same format as the original 3 so were really good to read. Hopefully the third will later be added to Oyster so I can pick it up!! If you are keeping count that is now officially 9 books by the end of February. 

I have already started another book and have a whole list of To Read books on that app so many more reviews are to come!!

The year of reading!!

While I was trying to keep my feet up and my mind busy while we patiently waited for Darren to get here, and while recovering from surgery, reading has been my go to activity!!

If you have never heard of Oyster you should really look into it. It is like a Netflix for books, just like Netflix it doesnt have every book you ever wanted to read of course and often does not have the newest hit books. But regardless it has thousands upon thousands of books for you to read from self help to kids books!! I challenge you to not find something you enjoy.

Anyways, so now that I have access to thousands of books for one low price I have been reading everything I can! This year already I have finished 4 books!!

The first was Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's soul. I am obviously not going to write a review for that one. If you are not familiar with the Chicken Soup series, it's just books made up of short stories, so no review necessary.

Than I picked up what is more considered a youth book, which is why it only took me like two days to read. But I had never had a chance to when I was younger. Number the Stars by Lois Lowery. I really enjoy reading stories about historical events, specially if they are based off of true stories. This book is based on how the Danish families came together during WWII to protect their neighbors. It was really good!! And even though it was written for a younger audience and the main character was an elementary age girl, I felt like I was still able to relate to the story. Very well written, and something everyone should read!!

My third book this year was a really good book, I had a very hard time putting it down at night and may have spent a few nights staying up way to late reading it. I finished this book almost as quickly as I finished the last. The book told the story of a man traveling by foot across South Dakota and Missouri stopping at many places of historical interest, many of which I myself have seen. I was so into this book and was really enjoying his journey. Until I finished the book. And found out that I had just read the 3rd book of a series without having read the first two and having known the ending I couldn't bring myself to start the first two! So I am bummed since this book was so good that I will never be able to read the first 2 books. But if you get a chance to pick up the Series that starts out with the book: The Walk by Richard Paul Evans you really should and read the whole series as I imagine started at the beginning it will be even better!!

The fourth book was one I found on a list on Facebook, and I just randomly chose one of the books to see if I could find something interesting!! And boy did I choose a good one!! This book introduced me to an author who I now am reading a trilogy from as I really like the way she writes.

The book was called Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. It follows the life of a popular high school girl on Valentines Day. Which follows a typical story line of rebelion and school girl drama. But as the story progresses and they end up at a party that night you are suddenly surprised by how the evening ends. And the days the follow will have your mind very confused trying to figure out the puzzle. If you are looking for a story that will make you wonder the whole way through what is going to happen next read this book. Even after finishing the book you will still sit and think about the characters and wonder how it lead to where it did.

All 4 of these books are really great reads and I would recommend them all. They do all have very different story lines and themes so there is a little of something for everyone. Up next will be my review of the trilogy written by Lauren Oliver, And I will just say, its a good one!!! So stay tuned!!!

Book Review: I've got your number by Sophie Kinsella

This book is a really cute one and something a little different that what I usually pickup. But a long time ago I read the shopaholic book series also by Sophie Kinsella and really liked her writing. So this book I believe I either found at a garage sale or thrift store for cheap and decided why not? And it was a good choice.

This book is a very fun playful mystery, romance type novel that keeps you wondering what will happen next with out being too predictable. It's a nice light read and really lets you get into the world of the characters and forget about the world you are currently living in.

This is book 8/12 for my resolutions!! And I just finished reading book 12/12 last night haha so I am a little behind on writing reviews. But this one is a 4.5/5 for good reads!! If you need something easy to pick up and just enjoy for a while this is a good one!

Yonana's Review

So as many of you know with this pregnancy I have had a sensitivity to dairy products. Luckily it seems to finally be getting better!! But all I wanted was what I couldn't have!! And ice cream was the number 1 thing!! Soy Ice Cream was just not cutting it and Sorbet didn't have the same texture!! But I was online watching YouTube Videos when one girl I am subscribed to did a review about her Yonana's Machine. You can see that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnyzBJVWg2M&list=PL5A6K4T29SbXpgJakFt3UcpcR9Mc7LqRy 

 I looked it up and was so excited, Ice Cream made with no Dairy at all but with the texture and flavor of ice cream. It only took me a couple days to decide I was gonna buy one. It took about a week and a half to get here, Yay for living over seas haha. And than we had to buy bananas and wait for them to get ripe. Than had to freeze them. So it took us a little while before we got to use it the first time!!

It is super easy the main ingredient you need is Bananas (however you can make it without bananas it just wont have the creamy texture just more of a sherbert feel) and than frozen fruit of you choice. You can buy them fresh and freeze them or we just buy the already frozen kind.

Once you have frozen your fruit, you need to than set them on the counter for about 15 mins you want them to be defrosted a little bit before you start to use them or you ice cream is gonna be very crispy which ours was the first time!!

After defrosting you simply stick the fruit in the hole at the top, and out the bottom comes the yumminess!! Than you just simply mix it all up until its well blended and creamy!! And add toppings if you choose, I think like pineapple chunks would have been awesome too!!

Note that I had not mixed it up yet so you can see where the banana flavor and raspberry are separately...

Obviously since I am doing this review in a positive matter I was pretty darn pleased with this machine. Cleaning takes a whole like 3 mins its very easy to clean if you use hot water and all the parts that actually touch food are all machine washable too of course!!

I give this puppy an A+ its worth buying!!!

Book Review: Divergent

I started this series and I am very excited to continue reading the other books, but just have had a busy summer!!

But if you are looking for a new series, which btw are going to be movies, than Divergent is the way to go!! This young adult novel has more than enough story line to keep even adults interested in it.

It covers a whole new version of post apocalyptic America and how our world could end up looking in the future.

In this version of the world society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

Each child is born into one of these factions but once they come of age they are allowed to make a choice on their own of which faction they believe fits their moral standards and no one can change their minds for them. From than they have to pass different test in the faction they choose before becoming an actual member. If they fail they will become homeless.

This story is absolutely well written and the detail makes you feel like you are right there in the story the whole time.

I totally recommend it and hope you will pick it up if you haven't
already!

Book Review: Shine

Book 6 of the 12 this year was the book Shine by Lauren Myracle. I picked up this book at a garage sale a year or so ago as it looked interesting and you can't do much better than 50 cents for a book :D It ended up sitting on my bookshelf for a while being forgotten about for far too long. I had just finished the Maze Runner series and needed something completely different to read, so I could try and move on.

Book Description from Amazon:

When her best guy friend falls victim to what seems like a vicious hate crime, 16-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.

My opinion:

I was surprised to find out who had committed the hate-crime. It took the whole book to finally get to who it was!! I was reading this book just as fast as I had the previous books this year!! I have to say I have gotten lucky so far on having picked good books that I can't put down!! And I hope I have given a couple people some new books to read!!! Half way done with my goal and its only April!

Book Review: Maze Runner

This book series really deserves a long drawn out review! But the thing about a suspense thriller like this trilogy is that if you do a review and people read the review they are gonna totally get spoilers and I think EVERYONE should read this book series with out having any idea what is going to happen on the next page.

I read this entire series in a matter of 1.5 months that is like 2 weeks each. I would sit down and just read for hours at a time. I even got Dustin really into this book. I can't tell you much about the story lines due to the fact that any hint will give away a lot of the story. But basically this book is about a boy named Thomas and his fight to survive.

I would rate this book series a 5 stars out of 5. It was suspenseful all the way to the end. There was action all the way up to the last page of the last book. I was sad to have the series end but the ending was actually satisfying! I think anyone who has the chance should pick up this book now. To make it even more exciting, they are putting out a movie this summer of the first book. So read it now so you can be ready to watch the movie in time!!!

Book Review: Labor Day

So I have really been on the ball this year reading books, if I keep at this pace I will have all 12 books read by summer.

This book I picked off my list of books at random.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.
But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.
In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.


MY OPINION: I really liked the way this story was written, the book flowed and kept you reading the whole way through. It is a coming of age story so I guess you should know ahead of time that it reads like a memory, and not much action is involved. If you like a story that has you on your toes wondering what will happen next this probably isn't a book for you. The ending of this book was a bit different than I expected it to be. Whether that is a good or bad thing I will leave up to your imagination.

OVERALL: I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I think you would be better off seeing the movie and skipping the book. And I am a huge fan of reading the book before I see the movie...NOT THIS TIME.

Book Review: Windows in the Loft

Would you look at that, its February!! So how is everyone doing on their resolutions this year so far? I'm pretty sure some statistic somewhere probably says something about people quitting most of them by now....but don't quote me. As you read earlier this year I had quite the list. I am happy to say that I have been keeping up with MOST of them. I have dropped one as its time consuming and I just never plan far enough ahead to keep up with it. I will not being trying to do a new recipe a week. I am going to maybe do one a month, but not really too concerned about sticking to that one. I also improvised the 365 project down to 52 week project again. And I am currently attempting to think of something cute for the 4th week. Other than that I have been on the ball.

With that being said, one of my goals was to read a book a month. And surprisingly I have managed to finish almost 2 already!! And I thought what better way to check them off my list than to do a quick review and rating of them as I go!

Windows in the Loft by Sally Gerard.

Twelve year old Isa knows horses. She's grown up with them on her family farm. When her mother dies soon after her father, Isa is left in the care of her family's farmhand, Frank. But Frank isn't the man Isa's mother thought him to be. He has his own agenda for the farm and young Isa.
One peaceful morning turned into something unexpected when she encountered Captain Bane Lucas from the Space Alliance who was looking for a good horse. Intrigued by Isa's profound equestrian knowledge, Captain Lucas opens her eyes to new possibilities of traveling in space.
While the stars offer hope and a new way of life for young Isa and a way to escape her oppressor, Frank, the farm is all that remains of her family. Can Isa leave her home planet and beloved horses to explore a completely different world or will she stay on her family farm where so many of her memories remain?
Isa's courage and faith are tested as her decision forces her to discover herself anew.(the description from Amazon)

I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this book and the twist of horses with sci-fi was something I had never seen before and it really made it feel like a very fresh story. The entire time I was ready this book it was like I was living the story, I could picture everything that Isa was doing and loved all the characters she met along the way. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves horses as much as I do, you will fall in love with Isa and all the horses she works with along the way!! I can't wait for the sequel that this story leads up to, it is gonna be a good one. The only thing about this book that bugged me is I felt the ending 1/4 of the book seemed to be rushed and lost a lot of description that had been so detailed throughout the first chunk of the book. But it wasn't something that would keep me from bragging on picking a great choice for my first book of 2014!!

Fun fact: Sally Gerard has known me most of my life and has been a mentor to me. We worked together at a horse camp in Colorado, I was surprised when she wrote this book, and our relationship in no way biases how I feel about this book!