Book Review: Clay Play! Jewelry

Katie January 22, 2016 0 Comments

Clay Play! Jewelry is a craft book with over 40 awesome clay projects included.  Making something out of clay has always been a bit of a bucket list item for me, but I’ve never managed to get the supplies to actually do it.  With this book, now I know what kind of tools go into it as well as have many ideas for things that I can make!  The first part of the book is all about your tools and supplies as well as how to keep everything organized and what hardware you need to turn your clay creations into jewelry.  It then goes into the basics of using Polymer clay and then the basics of making jewelry.

The book then shows you all the different designs that you can make, starting with tasty treats. Hope you’re not hungry because some of these look good enough to eat! (Don’t eat them. They are clay.)   The section for each item has what kind of clay you need as well as a size chart so you can make your clay pieces as big as you need followed by the step by step directions.  There are also photo instructions included so you can follow along to make sure that your clay looks how it should.   Other sections of projects include: Animals & Birds, Seasonal Sensations, Beads, and finally Jewelry Design Ideas.

I don’t know about you, but now I have a ton of ideas! If only I had some clay…

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

About the Book

Transform simple balls and coils of polymer clay into fabulous wearable art! Just follow these full-color, step-by-step photos and clear directions to create more than 40 whimsical jewelry projects plus 10 types of beads. Playful possibilities include tempting food charms (cupcake, burger, and other favorite snacks); cute critter earrings and pendants (butterfly, dog, frog, penguin, and more); plus other fashionable tiny treasures.
Projects are graded according to level of difficulty, and each comes with a list of materials consisting of colored clay and common household products. Instructions feature numbers that correspond to color photos of easy-to-follow examples. Crafters of all ages will love these fun-filled projects and their charming results, which make great keepsakes and unique gifts.

Book Review: The United States of Us

Katie January 15, 2016 0 Comments

The United States of Us was a miss for me.  The book has an interesting approach to the narrator, as it is told by Robin who is dead and our main character Mia’s friend and first love. He is always with her, a ghost that she can’t seem to shake.  The story starts on Utopia Island in Italy where Mia is spending some time.  One day before she is set to leave, she meets Zak and they seem to have a connection.  Zak wants her to stay, but Mia can’t.  They end up keeping in touch through social media and emails.  Zak wants Mia to come visit him in the USA and Mia ends up working to save enough money to go see him and be reunited.  She goes to the USA to meet him and realizes that things are not what they seemed with Zak.  He is distant at times, has mood swings and seems to have email conversations with not only her, but many other girls encouraging them to come visit him.  With nowhere else to go, Mia stays in town.  I actually checked out of this book pretty early on, but really wanted to see if they explained Robin and how he died and why he was still haunting Mia.  That finally came about 75% in to the book.  I didn’t really like the writing style of this book and couldn’t really get myself as involved in the story as I would have liked.  I guess that is what I get for choosing a book because it had backpacks on the front cover and I just bought a new backpack. (I really should do a blog series on how I pick books to review and how it sometimes doesn’t work out! lol)

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

About the Book

A heart-rending story of romance and self-discovery

This is a story about soulmates, not where it began, but where it needs to begin: twenty-two year-old Mia pressed against the forest floor by a man shielding her from the crazed bear bellowing in her ear. This is a story about love and the power of actions over words. A story of how one day can change everything.

Mia Hart’s childhood sweetheart, Robin, has been watching over her ever since his death. Haunted by the devastating incident that killed him, Mia spends three years travelling the world.

Discovering the island of Utopia, a retreat in the sparkling Tyrrhenian Sea, Mia meets Zak, a dashing American musician. After a whirlwind romance, Zak asks Mia to come and live with him in the faraway Midwest. Swept up by infatuation and desperate to be free from Robin’s ghost, she accepts.

Braving a move to River Valley, a small town in the American wilderness, Mia soon discovers the fairytale Zak promised her is anything but. Worried she’s made a rash decision, but too proud to leave, Mia must confront her past before she can find true happiness.

Vivid, beautiful, and packed with unforgettable characters, The United States of Us is a riveting and intense tale of love, loss and letting go.

Book Review: YouTube Famous

Katie January 15, 2016 0 Comments

YouTube Famous is a book about, you guessed it, famous YouTubers.  The book has bios on 20 of the most popular people on youtube – only 2 of which I had ever heard of before! (But I don’t spend too much time on YouTube, so I figured I would have no clue.  Also missing from the book the 2 youtubers that almost got me stampeded at a concert a couple of years ago.)  The biographies are meant to inspire you so that you can do something similar to achieve your dreams.  If your dream is to also be on YouTube, throughout the book is tips on how to launch your own channel and build your own audience!  Good luck!

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

About the Book

YouTube has revolutionized the viewing habits of millions of people around the world and looks likely to continue doing so. YouTube Famous presents case studies of 20 of the world’s most successful YouTubers providing original content to inspire those who might want to set up a channel of their own – it’s also a book which will be enjoyed by fans. Complete with tips to produce your own programs, it shows how YouTubers built up their channels from scratch and developed content to please their growing fanbase. With a growing online world and more and more people tuning in to the internet, particularly young people, this is the book you need to read for the secrets of success.

Book Review: Not Okay, Cupid.

Katie January 15, 2016 0 Comments

Not Okay Cupid is about Hazel and Felix. Although, not at first.  Hazel and Jay have been high school sweethearts forever, they are going to go to colleges near by each other to easy transition their high school romance into a college romance and after that they’ll get married and start a family! It’s perfect!  That is until at lunch time Hazel sees Jay flirting with… HER BEST FRIEND!?

Enter Felix, Hazel’s best friend’s brother.  The two hatch up a revenge plan that has Hazel fake-dating Felix in order to make Jay and Kimmy jealous.  But it seems that Felix has actually had feelings for Hazel since they were kids!  Does Hazel feel the same about him or is she convinced he is a Man-Beep?

This book alternated chapters between Hazel’s perspective and Felix’s, so throughout you could tell that each were beginning to like each other for real, but weren’t saying anything to each other in order to finish up their revenge plan.  But throughout the whole book I found myself wanting to scream at them “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER! TELL EACH OTHER HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!” which made it a bit frustrating to read through at times.  I can’t tell you how it ends and if I am happy with what happened or not… you’ll just have to read it yourself to figure that out.

This was a quick read and the events in the book only spanned about a weeks worth of time – though it seemed to be a lot longer than that.  It started with Hazel getting excited for the Valentine’s Day dance… and then realizing she no longer had a date, or did she? And it ends just after the dance.  But I guess a week when you’re in high school dealing with all sorts of love drama – it can seem like it’s a lot longer than a week!

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

About the Book

Her wicked revenge, or his wicked heart…

Hazel McCallister loves her life. Perfect grades. Perfect best friend. Perfect boyfriend. Until her perfect boyfriend cheats on her with her perfect best friend. Now Hazel’s in free fall—until her best friend’s brother, Felix, gives her the perfect idea. Reclaim her power by taking revenge on her cheating ex.

Felix James loves his life. Casual relationships. Loads of surfing. He’s as drama-free as they come. But he can’t stand by when his sister steals her best friend’s boyfriend, and the dude insists it was Hazel’s fault. So Felix vows to help turn Hazel into a girl her ex can’t resist—so then she can break his heart.

With an alliance in place, Hazel’s revenge is all but assured. But with each piece of payback, she feels a stronger attraction to Felix, even though revenge will turn her into a girl Felix could never be with. And soon Hazel has to make an impossible choice: revenge…or Felix, the boy who’s stolen her heart.

WARNING! This book contains betrayal, revenge, and that most tempting vice of all, the bad boy you know you can’t have.

Book Review: Kiss Kill Love Him Still

Katie January 15, 2016 0 Comments

Kiss Kill Love Him Still is a mystery novel, which I certainly like to throw in the mix here and there.  Online reviews said it was similar to Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, etc which are a few of my favorite TV shows so I figured it would be an enjoyable read for me.  The story is told from the perspective of 4 girls – all of whom were having some sort of a relationship with Jackson Landis who has wound up dead and no one is sure why.  Since Jackson knew secrets from all 4 of the girls – any of them could be a suspect and they aren’t sure if he took their secrets to the grave with him or not.  There is Val – who is dating Jackson’s roommate Paul, is always drunk and once had a threesome with Jackson and his girlfriend – which was recorded and Jackson has been blackmailing her over the video.  There is Livie who is Jackson’s girlfriend and also a kleptomaniac and once again Jackson has some videos of her stealing.  There’s Haddie – the chubby girl from the library who wears a purity ring but wrote papers for guys in exchange for sex. And finally, Reggie, the campus drug dealer who gives Jackson drugs for free and then they have sex.  All 4 of them are trying to piece together what happened with 2 of them pretty sure it was not them who did it and 2 of them not really sure what might have happened that night.

The book was a pretty quick read and I got into it, despite pretty much hating all the characters in the book.  Only one problem – this is the first in a series so the end of the book has a theory as to who might have done it – but the book doesn’t end so there is no closure!  The next book won’t be out until Spring and I bet that whatever theory they had working near the end of this book will be thrown out the window in the beginning of the next… (especially if it takes the Pretty Little Liars route – the books could go on forever!)

I did enjoy the book enough and the crazy characters to give the next book a try in Spring.

I received an e-copy of this book through Kindle Unlimited (despite requesting it through NetGalley where it expired on me and Tomoson where I was never sent a copy – I wanted to read it that badly) in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Jackson Landis kept secrets. It’s how he got girls into bed, the grades he wanted, and a reputation for being the life of the party.

But now he’s dead, and no one knows how or why. Especially not the four girls whose secrets he protected. Secrets so scandalous they could cause each girl to lose something valuable. Secrets so dark, someone may have killed for them.

The four girls – a campus drug dealer, an overweight bookworm, a closeted lesbian, and a spoiled princess have one thing in common – they’re terrified the things Jackson knew may not have died with him. As Reggie, Haddie, Val, and Livie try to piece together her own role in Jackson’s death, each girl realizes Jackson had some not-so-pretty skeletons of his own.

Which makes a girl wonder, who really wanted Jackson Landis dead?

Book Review: Firsts

Katie January 8, 2016 0 Comments

I found Firsts to be almost 2 stories in one. I guess I picked the right spot to stop after one reading session and pick up again (just about half way through the book).  In the first half of the book, Mercedes who is 17 has been helping boys at her high school lose their virginity so she can give them tips on what to do and what not to do when they finally decide to have sex with their girlfriends.  Mercedes swears that no one will ever find out, but has been keeping track of all her secrets so far.  At first she had just wanted to pay it forward and help 5 guys, but the number keeps increasing 7, 10…

I was a bit disturbed that this was the subject matter for a young adult book, although I am sure that stuff like this does really happen in high school.  The second half of the book made it out to be more of a cautionary tale.

Mercedes best friend Angela is waiting until marriage and thinks that she has the perfect boyfriend who also wants to wait.  But when he finds out about Mercedes services, well – there’s a lot of drama and I’m not sure I could even recap it if I tried – and it’s worth reading the book to find out how everything unfolds for yourself. But Mercedes finds out that this guy is not at all what he says he is, but isn’t sure how to let Angela know.

Eventually ALL Mercedes secrets come out and she has to figure out how to recover from it all.  But she tries to get by with a little help from her friends.

Overall this was a good book, well written, and you couldn’t help but feel for Mercedes, who was certainly acting out due to the situations she had been in earlier in her life and her home life with her parents.  Although I thought I figured out part of what had happened to her while it was happening, turns out there was a lot more going on than I had even seen coming.

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

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time-the kind Mercedes never had herself.

Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy – so far. Her mother isn’t home nearly enough to know about Mercedes’ extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won’t even say the word “sex” until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn’t bank on Angela’s boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn – or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.

When Mercedes’ perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her own reputation -and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn‘s Firsts is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

Book Review: Girls Who Travel

Katie January 8, 2016 0 Comments

Girls Who Travel was not quite what I was expecting from the title (there’s really only one girl who travels in the book) but I did end up quite enjoying this story.  The main character is Kika Shores.  She had been traveling the world and buying different items and selling them on her website which was doing pretty well but then her year tour was up so she came back to New York.  In New York she is working in an office and finds her cubicle far too constricting.  When she forgets to schedule a meeting for her boss with the head of a big company, she calls the assistant in hopes that “The Vile Bae” will bail her out.  Bae agrees to as long as Kika runs some errands for her, but when Kika’s boss shows up Bae tells him that Kika dropped the ball, again.

Kika ends up losing her job and while her Mom seems to think everything happens for a reason, Kika isn’t so sure.  She wants to get her website back up and running but in order to do that she has to save money to travel to pick out the items to sell!

Kika’s friend Elsbeth ends up calling her and asking if she wouldn’t mind coming to London to au pair for her daughters, Gwen and Mina.  Kika agrees and is off to London with nothing but a backpack.

Meanwhile, she keeps reminiscing about her love Lochlon, an Irish man she met while traveling that she hasn’t seen in quite some time. But now that he is home in Ireland because his father is sick, maybe they can meet up since they aren’t that far apart anymore.

She also seems to have a love-hate relationship with the guy next door, Aston, who she ends up finding out is the heir to the big company that she messed up the meeting with.  She might be interested in him, until she finds out that he doesn’t like to travel! Is that a deal breaker?

But she can’t worry about Aston yet, Lochlon is coming to visit!  And… it’s all down hill from there.  But with a couple of weeks without her cell phone due to a no-technology trip with the family she is the au pair for – will she be able to have her happily ever after?

As I said earlier, I think the title of this book was a bit deceiving, but I did enjoy it.  I couldn’t help but relate to Kika – wants to travel but stuck in a cube just trying to save up enough money to travel. Then she is traveling with Lochlan who has some big secret – Kika thinks it means he was involved in porn but I could tell from the moment he starts telling his story – he was in a boyband!  This was a quick read and very enjoyable.

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

About the Book

A hilarious, deftly written debut novel about a woman whose wanderlust is about to show her that sometimes you don’t have to travel very far to become the person you want to be…

There are many reasons women shouldn’t travel alone. But as foul-mouthed, sweet-toothed Kika Shores knows, there are many more reasons why they should. After all, most women want a lot more out of life than just having fun. Kika, for one, wants to experience the world.

But ever since she returned from her yearlong backpacking tour, she’s been steeped in misery, battling rush hour with all the other suits. Getting back on the road is all she wants. So when she’s offered a nanny job in London – the land of Cadbury Cream Eggs – she’s happy at the prospect of going back overseas and getting paid for it. But as she’s about to discover, the most exhilarating adventures can happen when you stay in one place…

Wise, witty, and hilarious, Girls Who Travel is an unforgettable novel about the highs and lows of getting what you want—and how it’s the things you least expect that can change your life.

Book Review: Uncle John’s Factastic Bathroom Reader

Katie January 8, 2016 0 Comments

Uncle John’s Factastic Bathroom Reader is back in its 28th edition of the book.  The book has over 500 pages of random trivia and fun knowledge that you can learn while spending some time in the bathroom. The reader has information on a ton of topics, to things to Beatles did first and how the Monkees influenced Star Trek. (ok so maybe I only paid attention to thinks involving boybands)  There is a lot of fun stuff to read and you’ll be sure to impress your friends when you repeat some of what you learned to them. Just don’t let them know where you were when you learned it 😉

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

About the Book

Uncle John got a Factastic facelift for the 28th all-new edition of this beloved book series — now with a classy cloth cover on the outside and a sleek style on the inside! All of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader favorites are packed into these 544 glorious pages – from little-known history to the origins of everyday things—plus odd news, weird fads, quirky quotes, mind-bending science, head-scratching blunders, and all sorts of random oddities. Oh yeah, and thousands of incredible facts! Feel smarter (and a bit more dignified) as you settle into:

• Weird Body Parts of the Rich and Famous
• The Wild Man of Borneo
• Cryptic Movie Titles Explained
• “Pathological Generosity” and Other Real Medical Conditions
• How to Perform CPR on Your Dog
• When Postal Workers Go Rogue
• Start Your Own Country!
• Animals Under the Influence
• Welcome to No Mans Land
• The Mad Potter of Biloxi
• Saved From the Trash: The “Lost Leonardo”
• The Ten Longest Wars in History
• Stomach-churning Food-Safety Mistakes
• You Swallowed What?
• Incredible Stories of Survival
• The Case of the Stolen Bridge and Other Weird Crime Reports

And much, much more!

Book Review: Happy Birthday Chris P Bacon

Katie January 8, 2016 0 Comments

Chris P Bacon is 2 and this is a great new book that tells you all about his life and how he ended up going from being ready to be euthanized due to malformed back legs to becoming an internet sensation! I really like how Chris P Bacon (funny name for a pig, huh?) helps other kids with disabilities and are different because he is different too.  This is a sweet pig and I was happy to catch up with him and wish him a happy 2nd birthday!

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

About the Book

Chris P. Bacon is one remarkable pig. Born with malformed hind legs, he was taken to a veterinarian to be euthanized—but luckily, that vet was Len Lucero, who saw that the little guy was special. Chris P. went home with Dr. Len and within a matter of weeks became an Internet sensation and a media darling, winning thousands of hearts all over the world. Before long, he was a famous author, too!

In Chris P.’s first two books, Chris P. Bacon . . . My Life So Far and How to Roll Like Chris P. Bacon, readers watched him treat his pals to ice cream cones, decorate the barn for a hoedown, bake a batch of Pigs in Mud cookies, and much more. Now he’s back—and it’s his birthday! He is turning two, and, boy, is he excited. He can’t wait for a day full of fun, friends, and family (and grapes and Cheerios, of course!). Follow Chris on his big day, starting with his morning rounds on the farm, where he shares his contagious happiness with all of his friends. Watch him prepare for his big party, and finally join him in the celebration and see what his furry and human friends have to say about Chris’s first two years as everyone’s favorite Pig on Wheels!

Book Review: Win or Lose I Love You

Katie January 6, 2016 0 Comments

Win or Lose I love you is a story about Lulu and Max. They are having a Field Day with their animals friends in the woods.  Some of them are being poor winners and some of them are being poor losers so they have to teach everyone how to be a good winner and a good loser. Win or Lose, I love you!

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

About the Book

Win or lose, one thing that’s true . . . No matter what, I love you!

Competition can bring out the worst in us, but it can also be an opportunity to learn impactful life lessons. That’s why it’s so important for kids to understand how to handle winning and losing!

Join Lulu and Max as they help Bear-Bear, Goosey, Coyote and the rest of their animal friends in the Field Day contests determine who will be the leader of Lulu’s forest.

But as the animals soon find out, not everyone can win. Sore losers, unkind winners, flaring tempers, and a few tears are taking the fun straight out of Field Day!

Just like Lulu and Max help the animals navigate the ups and downs of the day, with Win or Lose, I Love You parents will be equipped to help children:

• Replace the selfish characteristics of competition with an understanding of how to treat others fairly
• Overcome the tendency to display poor sportsmanship by using Biblical truths to develop a Christ-like attitude
• Reject the labels of winning and losing and embrace that they are loved no matter how they perform.
• Win or Lose, I Love You will show your child that, no matter what, their value is tied to who they are, not how they play!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”