August 2013

Book Review: Assured Destruction: Script Kiddie

Assured Destruction: Script Kiddie is the sequel to Assured Destruction which I reviewed in April.  In this book Jan needs to fulfill 2000 community service hours and ends up on the High Tech Crime Unit of the police force, in hopes she can use her skills to help solve crimes.  She is first put on a case about credit card numbers being stolen but after going a bit over the top with her “undercover” research she is instead given a laptop to profile a murderer.  When there is a mix up with the laptops she thinks that she will be serving at a soup kitchen instead because her “services” are no longer working out for the police.

Meanwhile, she tries to find out information from a hacker forum which leads to her school being hacked and of course, blame gets put on her.  One of her classmates also tries to get her to help because she met a guy online that won’t stop bugging her.  When the friend tells Jan to back off that everything is fine, Jan of course doesn’t believe her and hacks into his computer and web cam.  When she goes to retrieve the data, things get really, really crazy.

I really love the character Jan and how she just can’t help herself from getting into these wild situations.  She seems to have everyone’s best interests in mind, but no one else seems to think that is the case! She is learning how to use her skills as a hacker and since she is only 16, if she keeps at it, she will probably do something big!  Now if only she can manage to not miss any more school, so she doesn’t have to repeat!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to participate in the blog tour. I was not otherwise compensated.

Assured Destruction: Script Kiddie Book Summary:
Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn’t need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.

But that’s not all.

A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend—maybe even her life.

***

“A fun, fast-paced thriller guaranteed to distract teens from Facebook …”
—Kirkus Reviews, on Assured Destruction, book #1

Michael F. Stewart’s Bio:
After crewing ships in the Antarctic and the Baltic Sea and some fun in venture capital, Michael anchored himself (happily) to a marriage and a boatload of kids. Now he injects his adventurous spirit into his writing with brief respites for research into the jungles of Sumatra and Guatemala, the ruins of Egypt and Tik’al, paddling the Zambezi and diving whatever cave or ocean reef will have him. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and SF Canada, and the author of the Assured Destruction series, 24 Bones, The Sand Dragon, Hurakan, Ruination and several award winning graphic novels for young adults.

Book Review: Of Words and Water

Of Words and Water is a compilation of various short stories, songs and poems from a group of authors.  This started as an idea on Good Reads and the various authors all donated their works to put this compilation together to help out WaterAid.  The common theme of everything in the book is water.  It is available for purchase on SmashWords  for FREE! and in return it is asked that you make a donation to WaterAid at http://www.justgiving.com/Of-Words-And-Water .  (Justgiving is a  a tried, tested and trusted site). Every penny helps 🙂

About the Book

Published in support of WaterAid, a delightful selection of varied short stories, poems, and song lyrics from an international group of top class authors, that features Peggy Seeger, noted singer and environmentalist. The cohesive theme is Water, something most of us take for granted. For millions of people clean drinking water is a luxury. Together we can change that.

Book Review: Island Dreams

Island Dreams is a photo book with great images of different Islands. So beautiful.  It also has inspirational sayings with each photo to be motivational for you to make your life what you want to make of it.  I can certainly see myself going back to read this book time and time again when I just need to relax and take a moment to myself to think about my choices and where they are leading me and need a moment to center myself again.

It is a short book, under 30 pages so it is easy to read or flip through when you just need a moment to yourself and to pretend you are on a beautiful island!

About the Book

ISLAND DREAMS
is a Motivational Photography Book created for your inspiration and daily meditation.
DREAM about paradise! RELAX and INDULGE in the beauty of the island world of the Bahamas.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review: Zebra Stripes go head to toe

 Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toe is a book about squared and stripes to teach young children. There are a lot of images in the book to help show what is a square and/or a stripe as well as some poems and key words to help children learn.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

This little book shows children / That squares are here and there. / And if they keep an eye out, / then stripes are everywhere.

A perfect companion to Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots, the fun, simple text and vibrant design of Zebra Stripes Go Head to Toeexplore the concept of squares and stripes. Using words such as “cube,” “block,” “line,” and “band,” short poems encourage readers to spot the similarities (and differences) between the shapes of the stripes on a zebra and a colored striped sock, for example, or between a square soda cracker and cubes of cheese.

Whether paired with Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots or read independently, this innovative book is a great way to introduce the concept of shapes to young children.

Book Review: Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest

Helen and Troy are about to embark on an epic road trip.  They both worked together at a restaurant and after their boss tries to sacrifice Helen to a hamburger god, Helen saves herself.  In the process, herself and Troy get cursed and they now must go on an epic adventure across enchanted america and complete various quests.  If they don’t succeed, they will be killed.

Along the way they get a 3-legged dog that they name Achillies.  They have to battle a cyclops, they meet up with the Fates and buy some items from their store that they hope will help them, solve mysteries, deal with dragons and all sorts of other mystical creatures.  Did I mention that Helen is a minotaur?

They drive around America looking for really vague “you’ll know it when you see it” types of signs.  Honestly, how they find these things I don’t know.  I guess it seemed obvious to them but I can’t help but think that I would fail miserably!

Along the way, Troy starts falling for Helen but she is very self conscious (being a huge hairy girl, it makes sense) and doesn’t really want to be anything more than friends with him.

Will they end up together? Will they even survive the quest? Check out Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Quest to find out!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Witness the epic battle of the cyclops!

Visit the endangered dragon preserve! Please, no slaying.

Solve the mystery of The Mystery Cottage, if you dare!

Buy some knick knacks from The Fates! They might come in handy later.

On a road trip across an enchanted America, Helen and Troy will discover all this and more. If the curse placed upon them by an ancient god doesn’t kill them or the pack of reluctant orc assassins don’t catch up to them, Helen and Troy might reach the end their journey in one piece, where they might just end up destroying the world. Or at least a state or two.

A minotaur girl, an all-American boy, a three-legged dog, and a classic car are on the road to adventure, where every exit leads to adventure. Whether they like it or not.

The Wanted at Sands Bethlehem Event Center

Saturday night my friend Shea and I made the trek down to PA to see The Wanted.  Shea and I have known each other since we were 6 and she calls me her “oldest friend”, but the last time we went to a concert together was LFO when we were in high school!  She recently decided she liked The Wanted after watching their show on E! and I obviously love all boybands so we figured it would be a fun trip and I’d also get to case the place out for when I go see Hanson there next week.

When we arrived, we had no idea where to park and ended up going in through the casino and then walking through to the event center where the line was INSANE.  We talked to the box office about ADA seating and got that all squared away and the woman at the box office recommended we grab a bite to eat rather than standing in the huge line since our seats would be saved.  So we headed to the food court and grabbed a bite to eat and by the time we got back the line was much, much smaller.

There was a DJ on for a while playing the same old crap.  Then he said he had 5 more minutes left so we got super excited that The Wanted would be out next – but they ended up coming out like half an hour after that!  Their set was a bit different than when I had seen them last year (actually, exactly a year ago!) due to the new singles they’ve released and all that – but they still have so, so much fun on stage that you can’t help but feed off their energy and then they must feed off the crowd too and it’s just so fun!!

We sang at the top of our lungs and probably made the whole rest of our section annoyed, but we had such a blast!  Shea had said that since I meet everyone, I had to take her to meet The Wanted and I had warned her that I’d do what I could but I’m not a magician.  We grabbed a spot at the barricade near the buses and I told her that this would be our best shot.  She thought I was nuts at first and a couple times we made a “if they don’t come out we will leave at this time” pact – that we didn’t stick to.

All 5 guys ended up coming out and we ended up getting photos with all 5 of them and chatting with them for a bit.  Getting pics was kind of a pain with such tight quarters – which meant the flash was too close to my face and I blinked in a couple of photos… but whatever. (And my pic with Jay came out great and we were hoping for pics with just ONE of them so the fact that we got all 5 was just ridiculously amazing)

We left about midnight and went back around to get the car and then Shea said she’d pull around to see how we can get to that lot so we can park closer next week for Hanson and Siva and Nathan were STILL out there signing, trying to make sure that everyone who waited got something.  They were so gracious and sweet and Shea was asking if I thought it was an act or not but I truly think they are just so happy that people come out to see them and that they get to tour everywhere!!

We drove back home after and got home about 2:30am but it was beyond worth it!

Invincible
Lose My Mind
Lightning
Walks Like Rihanna
Heart Vacancy
Radio
The Killers Medley
Gold Forever
Chasing The Sun
I Found You
All Time Low
We Own The Night
Glad You Came

Book Review: The Five Flirting Styles

The Five Flirting Styles says that it is a game changer.  There are 5 actual flirting styles and you need to learn how to figure out what one works best for you and to use it, flirting is not a one size fits all type of thing.  The 5 styles are – Physical, Polite, Playful, Sincere and Traditional.  There is actually a website that will help you figure out your own flirting style (http://flirtingstyles.dept.ku.edu). It is recommended that you go to the website and get your report first before reading the book so that you know which is your style so you can choose to focus on specific chapters that focus on your style, if you so choose.

If you’re interested – my results are 30-40% Physical, 30-40% Traditional, 10-20% polite, 10-20% Sincere and 70-80% playful.  If I was going to pick one out before finding out my report – I probably would have guessed I’d have been considered Playful. Although, I don’t think I’d have considered myself not at all polite or sincere!

Each style is expanded upon in its own chapter with tips on how to spot each of the flirting styles and what demographic is most likely to be each of the styles.  After you learn about each of the styles and how they work, then there are some tips and hints in the following chapters so that you can figure out what styles work for what kind of a relationship you are looking for.

Certainly an interesting read and if you are single and not sure why your attempts at flirting just aren’t working out for you, you may want to find your style and read the book to find out a bit more about why it’s not working for you.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Flirt Smarter. Date Better. Love Happily Ever After. 
Do you always attract the wrong type? Have a hard time making relationships last? Or get stuck being friends instead of lovers?
There’s no one right way to flirt, but how you flirt says a lot about your chance at love. Dr. Jeffrey Hall’s groundbreaking survey, the Flirting Styles Inventory, caused a media sensation when it pinpointed five different flirting styles. First sampled exclusively with eHarmony members, it has since helped tens of thousands of people discover their flirting style and provided a wealth of information on how your style affects your love life.
Based on Dr. Hall’s cutting-edge research, The Five Flirting Styles shows you how to identify your natural flirting style—physical, playful, sincere, traditional or polite— and use it to flirt smarter and attract the love you really want. Discover:
• Where to look for love based on your style
• How to tell if someone is interested and avoid missed opportunities
• How to tell if someone wants a serious relationship or a quick fling
• If you’re sending all the wrong signals—and what to do instead

Book Review: Take Me Now

Take Me Now is the first book in a trilogy by Faith Sullivan.  it centers around Ivy and Eric.  Ivy has just started an internship at the Gazette where her good friend’s Ryan’s stepsister is the boss.  Eric owns a landscaping shop and is a bit of a local celebrity because recently he lost his fiance and baby to cancer and he has kind of been in hiding since.  Ivy has to interview Eric as one of her assignments for the paper and they end up developing some sort of relationship.  But her boss Lauren will stop at nothing to keep them apart because Lauren wants Eric all for herself.

Meanwhile, Ivy is also talking with Will – a guy that she had a crush on that is back home working at the movie theater and setting up a screening.  She wants to help him too but does he have feelings for her as well or is he just using her to further his own agenda?  Ryan also tells Ivy some personal things he has been thinking about her and now it seems that she has too many guys interested in her and Lauren is of course trying to use this all to her advantage to keep Eric and Ivy apart.

Ivy knows if she continues things with Eric – she will lose her internship and possibly screw up her whole college career in the process because Lauren won’t be wanting her to stick around.

This was a relatively short book but it had a lot going on in it.  I really enjoyed it and I am interested to see how things continue in book 2 and what will happen with some of the “twists” that were revealed. (That I won’t reveal here because you need to check out the book for yourself!)

I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

How do you survive the internship from hell?
Don’t fall in love.
Ivy thought being a reporter-in-training at the Independent Gazette would be her dream summer job. Little did she know, interviewing Eric, a landscaper with a heart of gold, would derail her plans. It turns out Ivy’s boss, Lauren, has been eying his chiseled physique for quite some time.
But at twenty-four, Eric already has a tragic past, one that he is still reeling from. Even though his ordeal turned him into some sort of local celebrity, it’s been a while since he’s shared his bed with anyone. When he comes to Ivy’s rescue out of the blue, it’s not long before the two of them start seeing each other behind Lauren’s back. When they get caught, Ivy’s journey toward a college degree is jeopardized and her relationship with Eric is severely put to the test.
Career versus love? In the end, a shocking turn of events provides Ivy with a revelation she never saw coming.

Goodies : July

July’s Goodies box was by far the best one that I have received. In fact, I ate it all in one sitting.  Probably not my best moment.

The contents were:

Grain Crisps Original by Crunchmaster

Packed with tasty toasted seeds, these healthy rice crackers are tremendously crunchy, delightfully nutty and completely gluten-free.

Caramel by Cosmo Creations

Pillow puffs of melt in your mouth oven baked corn, wrapped in a crisp coating of buttery caramel; you’ve never tasted corn this heavenly before.

Fresh Corn and Sea Salt Chips

Sweet, fresh corn kernels right off the cob raise corn chip to a whole new level. Taste the delicious difference of authentic ingredients.

Black Raspberry by Coca-Cola

Add sparkle to your day with refreshingly sweet-tart bubbles in Black Raspberry Fruit Water, a smart calorie-free, vitamin-rich alternative to soda.

Cherry Lovers by Gimbal’s

Bing cherry, chocolate cherry, kiwi cherry, oh my! With nine unique flavors made with real cherry juice, each fruit chew is tastier than the last.

American Idols Live 2013!

I didn’t think that I would be seeing the Idol tour this year – and was a bit disappointed in myself that I hadn’t won any tickets.  I had debated going to the Mohegan Sun show because tickets were cheap but ultimately decided against it.  Earlier in the week the Webster Bank Arena had tweeted that Star 99.9 was doing a twitter giveaway for tickets.  I was too late for the first giveaway of the day, but of course won the second!  When I picked up the tickets I looked at the seating chart backwards and thought that the seats were in the back – which was fine because I would be there and for free and that was what mattered.  Turns out I was looking at the seating chart backwards and they were actually the section right by the stage (where I try to buy my tickets) and about 8 rows up.  Not bad at all!

The show was supposed to start at 7:30, but things got kicked off a little late.  The show opened with the girls singing Little Mix’s “Wings”, it started out just 4 of them but then Kree and Candice joined them.  It was nice to see Kree and Candice out before the intermission – I always hate when they hide them until the end!

Aubrey was up next – for those of you who don’t remember her she was the one that got voted on the tour with the sing off.  She did “Sweet Dreams” and had some of the girls on background vocals. (They have long since done away with backup singers and just use the other Idols now.)  I feel like Aubrey was on stage the most out of everyone. She always seemed to be there in the background.

Then 3 of the boys came out and did Justin Timberlak’s Suit and Tie – Curtis, Burnell and Devin.  Paul came out and did Carrie Underwoods Blown Away and then did Summer Nights and was joined by Janelle and Kree. (The country crew)

Curtis did When I was Your Man but was way on the other side of the stage for the whole song which stunk. (As did the lighting to get any pics of it) Amber had center stage next and did We Found Love and The Way.

Then, half an hour into the show, FINALLY, Lazaro made an appearance. (I was kind of surprised and did check my watch!) They all did Locked Out Of Heaven.  Then Devin came from and center and talked a little bit about how all the others thought his speech was boring so he switched it up.  He also mentioned he hadn’t been to Connecticut before and we were crazy.  Except for the fact that they had a show in CT just last week 😉  He did his English/Spanish song about things being Impossible.

Then the non-top 2 girls came out and did Blurred Lines.   I was kind of surprised it was the girls who sang this, but it was fun. (Although “everybody get up” didn’t go over well. In fact, no one really got up at all except to give Candice a standing O after her set.)

Burnell came out and was on my side of the stage (to balance out Curtis earlier I guess) and did Everybody Knows.

Then for the final song of Act 1 they did We Are Young / Live While We’re Young mashup.

After a brief intermission it was time for Angie who did a set of Mamma Knows Best, and 2 original songs You Set Me Free and Put It On Me.

Janelle did her country songs – Better Dig Two and Where The Blacktop Ends.

Then it was time for Lazaro! Hooray! He did Feeling Good and The Edge of Glory and a couple times shouted out “How you doing Bridgeport!” (Or something similar) and an “I can’t hear you!”

Kree was up next and did Up To The Mountain, Hold on and then her single All Cried Out.

Then our latest Idol, Candice, took the stage and did End of Time, I Am Beautiful (her coronation song, which I love the message of) and her new single The Middle which was very catchy! And then Lovesong.

Then it was time for the last mashup of the night – which started with NSYNC’s Gone. And I didn’t even recognize it.  While I am obviously desperately in need of an NSYNC reunion – there was just no excuse for that.  They went in to Kelly’s Since U Been Gone (ugh. So sick of this song from years back) and then When I’m Gone – aka the Cups song which Aubrey and Angie played the cups for… and then of course – my favorite (if you can’t tell, major sarcasm) Gone, Gone, Gone from Phillip Phillips.

I thought in years past then they each had come out to take a bow, but the lights went back on and that was that!

Overall, a fun show and if you have the chance to check it out – do it.  Especially if you can get free or super cheap tix on Stub Hub the day of 😉

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