Category: Uncategorized

I recently read three stories by a young adult author, Janette Rallison, that I really enjoyed. She focuses on high schoolers and the reading is just light, funny, and clean (I think she’s LDS). I read the first two books in possibly one sitting (late into the night). Her third book took a little longer to get into since it was slightly different from her other ones.

My favorite one so far is:

Then this one:

This last one was more of a fantasy book and started off a little boring for me, but got better halfway through.

I think they’re fun books to read on vacation. She has at least 5 other YA books out that I’m hoping to read this summer. And apparently (after visiting her blog) she also writes books under the name Sierra St. James. Who knew?

A month ago I posted about a new book series I was addicted to. The third book, City of Glass, was about to be released at the end of March.

I am one of those cheap people who doesn’t like to buy new books. The thought of paying $15-$20 for a book that I can find used in a year or two for less than half that amount makes me sick. An even better option is getting it at the library for free. So I waited about a week to see if it would show up at either of my libraries (the Lincoln library or the Rocklin library). It didn’t, so I finally called the Lincoln library and asked them if they were going to buy it since they had the first two books in the series. The lady immediately responded that they would since it was part of a series.

Two or three weeks went by without the book showing up.

The Rocklin library finally happened to get the book…but only on CD. I was a little bummed, because I really prefer to read a book. I feel like I always end up missing something while listening. My mind wanders off or the voice of the person reading the story is annoying.

I kept checking the library’s site everyday to see if the book had come in, but finally decided to start listening to the story while deep cleaning my kitchen last week. It was great! Cleaning is so much better when you are listening to a good book. I actually kept doing random things in the kitchen way longer than I would have normally just because I wanted to keep listening.

So I loaded up on 3 more audio books to listen to while I begin the HUGE project of repainting the rooms in our house. I started tonight in the guest room with the primer and enjoyed listening to the third book in The Underland Chronicles series, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods.

So far so good!

A fun new series I’ve been reading.

I started City of Bones on Monday during naptime and immediately was pulled in and put a movie on after naptime so I could keep reading. Then I stayed up until 2:30 that night finishing it.

Tuesday I went to the library to pick up City of Ashes and didn’t let myself start it until the kids were in bed for the night. I read about half of it until 1am and finished the rest of it today during naptime and video time.

The books aren’t amazing, but they were very entertaining to read and fast-paced. I don’t think they’re as good as the Twilight series, but they are similar with werewolves and vampires. The main girl, Clary, starts to see people that others can’t see and finds out she is a Shadowhunter – someone who hunts and kills demons. Many reviewers match it to Buffy and the Vampire Slayer. It’s also similar to Harry Potter.

There is a love triangle (of course). There are twists and turns (a few too many for me). And there is lots of action and some really good dialogue. Sometimes Clare’s descriptions are confusing, but it still kept me hooked.

And luckily I started this series at the perfect time. The 3rd and final book comes out next week.

For those who don’t know, Deliciously Clean Reads has moved. The blogger, Emily, had too many different blogs to maintain so she combined them all into one new one. It is called Homespun Light and I’m really enjoying her posts so far. She writes about her family, clean books, crafts, or whatever strikes her fancy.

She currently has a book giveaway as well for Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. Check it out here.

This book will not be for sale until March 24th, but I received an Advanced Reader’s Edition through LibraryThing.

Serendipity is a story involving 4 generations of women. The book begins with Carrie, who has just lost her mother, Rose. Carrie has never been able to follow through with things; a chocolate business she started with her best friend and then sold, an engagement that was called off, etc. She decides to investigate her past and find out why her mother hadn’t talked to her grandmother in 35 years. She visits all the people she can think of until she finally has to visit a grandmother she’s never known.

It’s a story of famous ancestors and secrets revealed. And for Carrie, the knowledge she gains about her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother gives her the power to move on with her life and the understanding of where she comes from.

The actual characters in the book were not women I admired or respected. Most of the women were selfish and proud and wanted to be famous. I understand there are women like that in the world, but I can’t really relate to women who can’t hug their own daughters or give them the love and attention they desire. It was, however, an interesting read. We can’t pick who we come from, but we can learn from their mistakes. I was pleased with the ending and the book did get better further in. I couldn’t stop reading once I was deep into the story.

I am interested in more books by Louise Shaffer, but would probably not read this one again.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.