January's Newest E-Book Additions

(I've seen this idea on several different book review blogs that I have been reading. This is where the idea Stacking the Shelves comes from Tanga's Reviews)

January has been a good month for me buying E-books. My mom gave me a gift card for Amazon for Christmas. (She knows how much I love my books!)

I like actual physical  books too. But I have a small house and not a lot of space since I already have at least 4 bookshelves overflowing with books (including piling them up on top of the shelves as well). So I try to limit my physical book purchases....

Most of my E-book purchases have been Kindle Daily Deals. Or other books that have been marked down on sale.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Perfect Ruin by Lauren Destefano

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Starters by Lissa Price

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
My Review: Click Here

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Pivot Point by Kasie West

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Tempest by Julie Cross

Sofia the First by Catherine Hapka

Title: Sofia the First
Author: Catherine Hapka
Illustrator: Grace Lee
Length: Approx. 40 pages
Publisher: Disney Press
Classification: Children's Book, Princess

Release Date: October 30, 2012

Source: Hardback

Meet Sofia, a little girl who lives a rather ordinary life. But everything changes when her mother, Miranda, marries the king. Overnight, Sofia becomes a princess, moves into the castle, gains a step-brother, a step-sister... and the ability to talk to her new animal friends thanks to a magical amulet Now, life is anything but ordinary for Sofia the First. 

GoodReads |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

Cats' Night Out by Caroline Stutson

Title: Cats' Night Out
Author: Caroline Stutson
Illustrator: J. Klassen
Length: 32 pages
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/ Simon & Schuster
Classification: Children's Book

Release Date: March 23, 2010

Source: Hardback

From two cats waltzing to twenty cats in a conga line, dancing felines take to the streets, the fire escapes, and the rooftops in this charming concept picture book that is part counting and part introduction to music, dance, and rhythm. The short rhyming text makes it a perfect read-aloud treat, and with vivid illustrations from a breakout DreamWorks animator, readers and listeners alike will be thrilled to see what happens one night on Easy Street when a pair of cats start to groove to the beat.

GoodReads |  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

The Wet Brush (Product Review)

(source)

The Wet Brush. 

















My Rating: 5 stars

Cutie Pie's Rating: 

I am the mother of two little girls. And Cutie Pie has hair that falls well below her shoulders. So brushing hair can be a nightmare. We have tried a lot of different styles of brushes to try to keep her from crying so much, but none have really worked.

Then over the summer she saw the commercial for this as seen on TV hair brush. I looked into it, but didn't want to pay that much for a hair brush if it wasn't going to work. After seeing several negative reviews for the brush I looked on Amazon and found the Wet Brush. And it had several good reviews.

I still waited and thought I would check the hairbrush section at our local Target store. And I found this brush there.

It was only $8.99.

So I let Cutie Pie pick out which color she wanted and said that we would give it a try.


And it is pretty AWESOME!!!

We have been using it everyday for almost a month now and I think this brush is exactly what we needed. Cutie Pie no longer cries when we help her brush the tougher tangles out of her hair. And she even likes brushing her hair herself now (without many problems and without getting the brush stuck in her hair several times).

It even works for our little Pooh Bear's hair. She still cries sometimes, but I think that is more of her not wanting to get her hair brushed then actually hurting. When she is distracted while getting her hair brushed, she doesn't even notice.

I have used it on my long hair a few times as well, and although it can sometimes hurt when I pull it a certain way, over all it works really well for tangles that I sometimes get in my own long hair.

I am very satisfied with the purchase!

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Title: The Madman’s Daughter

Author: Megan Shepherd

Length: 437 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 

Classification: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction

Release Date: January 29, 2013
Source: e-book

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.
Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.
Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

GoodReads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Books-a-Million 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
(Shatter Me #1) Author: Tahereh Mafi
Length: 357 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Classification: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian        
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Source: e-book

I have a curseI have a gift
I am a monsterI'm more than human
My touch is lethalMy touch is power
I am their weaponI will fight back
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

GoodReads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Books-a-Million

Books I Want to Read This Year

There are a lot of books that I want to read this year. Some are books that are coming out and some are books that I have just been wanting to read and haven't had the time to do so yet.

1. Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi I am so excited to read this book. I have entered several contests in hopes of winning an ARC, but I unfortunately have not. So I have to continue to be patient and wait until January 28th for it to be released. Or I can just cross my fingers and hope that I win one of the 10 copies that are being given away on Good Reads on Friday...
2. Cress by Marissa Meyer I cannot even begin to tell you how MUCH I want to read this book. I have entered a lot of contests (some done by Mrs. Meyer herself) to try and win an ARC because I am dying to read it, but alas, I have not won. So I am patiently counting down the days until February 4th! (Which is 20 days in case you were wondering yourself...)
3. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski From what I have read about this book, it is pretty good and it sounds extremely interesting. I am looking forward to reading this book.
4. The One by Kiera Cass This book will be coming out in May. I am going to have to go back and reread the first two in the series. And when I do I will have to write up some reviews for them. I have really enjoyed the series so far and I am very interested in how it is going to end.
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green I have seen some really good reviews about this book, so I think that it is time that I give it a read.
6. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater I have had this book on my kindle for what feels like a while now, and I haven't read it yet because I tend to not read series that I know I will like until more than one are out. I sometimes try to wait until all of the books are out so I can just devour them one after another. But I have decided that I want to get it read this year. And the second book in the series just came out last year.
7. The Dust Lands by Moira Young This book was recommended to me I think on Good Reads because of the other books that I have read, then it went on sale for the kindle as one of the deals of the day a while ago so I bought it. I am not really sure why I have been putting off reading it, but it is time to enjoy it because I just bought the second book in the series.
8. Rebel Heart by Moira Young
9. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson I have already started reading this book, and I really like it so far. I am excited to finish reading it this year.
10. The Diviners by Libba Bray
11. Legend by Marie Lu I have been waiting to read this series, and I finally have the first two books, so I am ready to get the third one and read them all.
12. Prodigy by Marie Lu
13. Champion by Marie Lu
14. In the After by Demitria Lunetta I bought this book because it sounded interesting and it was on kindle's deal of the day a couple of weeks ago. Then I saw that it was recommended for me on Good Reads, so I am really interested in reading this book.

The rest of these books on my list are Kindle Books that were on sale or part of the daily deals in the past month or so and I bought them because they all sounded interesting. I am looking forward to reading them all as well.

1. Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
2. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
3. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau 
4. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd 
5. Crewel by Gennifer Albin
6. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
7. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

I definitely plan on reading more than just these books, but this is just a list to share the books that I am looking forward to reading so far this year. 

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Title: Confessions of a Murder Suspect
Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Length: 387 pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller                       
Release Date: September 24, 2012
Source: Hardback (won from Goodreads First Reads giveaway)

James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family... and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.
On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: She was the last person to see her parents alive. The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. She can't trust anyone -— maybe not even herself. 
Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous -- and revealing -- game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of? 

GoodReads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Books-a-Million

I received this book as part of the Good Reads First Reads program.

14 Goals for 2014

I have decided to have 14 goals for this year. And I hope that I am able to complete all 14 of them!
Some of them relate to reading, writing, and this blog. But there are several personal ones as well.

1. Blog More- I started this blog late in 2013 and I think I have more drafts then I do published blog posts. I tend to devour books and then start a new one without taking the time to sit down and write out what I thought about the book. So I want to change that. I want to make sure I post at least once a week.
• Review at LEAST one book a month.
• Review at LEAST one children's book a month with my Cutie Pie.
• Review more movies. 
• Share thoughts on TV series, even individual episodes.
• Share thoughts about games.
2. Finish my first draft of the story that I started writing during NaNoWriMo- I stopped writing the minute it became Decemeber 1st. And I have yet to look back....well that is not completely true, I have looked at the document a couple of times, but I have not added to it or revised it in any way. So this year I will finish the story and complete my first draft.
3. Do NaNoWriMo again!- I was so excited when I finished it last year and I felt so great, proud, and elated after I finished, so I want to do this again this year. 
4. GoodReads Book Challenge- I want to complete my GoodReads Book Challenge for 2014. This year I bumped my goal up to 75 books. 
5. Get My House Organized- I hate clutter and feeling unorganized, so I hope this year I am able to reduce some of the clutter in the house and just overall get everything organized. I know having children can make it a lot harder to do. I used to have to put toys away a certain way and it would drive me nuts when Cutie Pie would mess up my system. But I have since been able to go with the flow a little bit more. Letting things not be perfect all the time. But I do want a bit more organization.
6. Craft More- I love to craft. I love making finger puppets out of felt for my girls. I have also been working on some crafts for my little cousin. I don't get to work on my projects as much as I would like, so I hope that I will be able to make the time to craft more this year.
7. Learn To Use Sewing Machine- I think it is absolutely pitiful that I have not been able to figure out how to correctly use my sewing machine. So this year, I want to take the time to sit down and figure out how to use it!
8. Read More of a Variety of Books- I usually stick to Young Adult Dystopian books. I love to read them, so I think I need to try and switch it up some and read more of different genres. 
9. Catch Up On My Non-Kid Friendly TV Shows- There are so many shows that I either LOVE to watch and haven't been able to, or shows that I want to START watching but haven't been able to. And the reason is because they are not kid friendly (at least in my opinion) and so I tend not to watch them often because I am pretty much always with my girls. Some of these shows include: The Walking Dead, Supernatural, Grimm, and The Following. As well as others that I can't think of off the top of my head.
10. Catch Up On Scrapbooking- I have scrapbooks for each of my girls and a ton of pictures to put in the scrapbooks, but I have not done it. So I hope to get those pictures done and start their scrapbooks for this year.
11. Write Everyday and/or Keep a Journal- I really love writing. (Even if I don't do it well...) So I want to try and write a little something everyday, even if it is just me keeping a journal.
12. Exercise More- I don't exercise enough, so I am challenging myself to exercise more this year.
13. Drink Less Soda- I drink too much Coke-a-cola. And I need to slowly cut it out. It is not good for you and I mostly drink it for the caffeine, so I need to try and find a new caffeine source.
14. Find Time For "ME" Time- I have a hard time doing this one. I am pretty much always with my kids or doing something for my kids. And I feel like I don't get much time to myself. So I want to try and find some time every few weeks to do something either by myself or time to hang out with my two best friends. 

So those are my goals. I really hope that I am able to accomplish most of them if not all of them.