Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden

Title: Annie On My Mind

Author: Nancy Garden

Where I Got This Book: Public Library!

Why I Read It: I actually saw a review for it on someone else's blog (Sorry, I don't remember who -- I will start paying more attention!) and was interested in reading it.

Rating: B


Annie On My Mind is about two 17 year old girls who meet up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purely by accident. Eliza (Liza for short) is touring the Museum and hears another young girl singing. Liza is enthralled by this beautiful voice she is hearing, so she follows the sound and comes across Annie. They start talking to each other, hanging out, exchange phone number and addresses, and become fast friends. However, as the time goes on, they become more than friends, they fall in love with each other. Liza has never felt so strongly for someone before Annie, and Liza is scared, confused, and doesn't really know what to think about it. Once Annie and Liza finally come to terms with the fact that they are definitely in love with each other, they still cannot be open about it. They don't want anyone else to find out for fear of being ridiculed, and because in the 80's (When the book was published) it was considered wrong, and immoral. Unfortunately, nowadays haven't changed that much.

It isn't until someone actually does find out that Annie and Liza are dating, and are a gay couple that Liza understands how much her relationship really affects, hurts, and threatens others, as well as their relationship. Liza begins to doubt her feelings for Annie  and only months later after they both gone to College, on the opposite sides of the country, that she realizes how much Annie really means to her, and when she finally fights for their love.

This book was actually a very good book. It was written well, and it gave you an insight into what people go through when they're in relationships like that, or other circumstances that may be similar. I could sort of relate to this book because I was in an interracial relationship for 7 years and my Mothers side of the family did not approve of us at all. When my mom first found out, she freaked out. She kept telling me how I had broken her heart, and how wrong it is, and how God thinks it's wrong, etc. Even back then (which was actually only 8 years ago this November) I couldn't realize how or why it broke HER heart when it wasn't her that was in the relationship, it was me. And even now still, I can't bring myself to understand or realize how or why she was hurt by me falling in love with someone outside of our race. I found myself yelling at the people in this book for not accepting Liza and Annie, I felt anger towards them, I felt sadness for Annie and Liza and kept routing for them to stay together, and kept hoping they'd be reminded that you just can't help who you fall in love with.

The only reason I am giving this book a B, and not an A, is because I feel like the actually story of how they fell in love, was missing a lot of needed details. I felt like it was a bit scattered and choppy, but it is definitely a book that should be added to your TBR pile.

I hope others read this book and come out feeling the way I did. I also hope some day that discrimination is a lot less than it was, and is now. One can dream right?

My Rating:

P.s. I Love You By Cecelia Ahern

Title: P.s. I Love You

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Where I Got  This Book: Public Library! ( Where I get all of my books! )

Why I Read It: In all honesty, I mostly read it because I saw the movie and wanted to know how the book was!

Rating: A


Let me first start off by mentioning that this is the book to the popular movie, P.s. I love you! I didn't realize that the movie was a book, until just recently and I wanted to check it out. For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, or read the book, let me tell you what it's about.

This story line consists of two main characters by the names of Holly and Gerry. They are married, and have been together for a very long time. They have the kind of love/relationship that everyone envies. It's what most people call falling in love with your best friend, soul mate, and finding your first true love. Unfortunately, at the young age of 30, Gerry is diagnosed with a terrible illness that causes him to lose his life. Gerry has left Holly a series of letters, that are instructing her to do things that she wouldn't normally do without having Gerry right beside her. Hes made these letters for her so she can move on with her life after he's gone and so she's able to live again.

This story is funny, heartwarming, sad, heartbreaking, and teaches all a lesson. I can sort of relate to this book. Not in the aspect of losing someone I love dearly due to death, but in the aspect that I did go through a break up about a year or so ago, with my first true love, my best friend, who I was with for 7 years. This books shows us how challenging it is to lose someone that has been your everything for quite some time, whether it's through death, or just because you've separated into your own lives. It shows us that even when you think that you just can not go on living without this person, you really can. It's all about grieving, and eventually finding that inner strength inside of you to take a deep breath, say "I will be okay!" and start living your life to the fullest again. You pick yourself back up after hitting the ground, and you LIVE! Because sadly, the world doesn't stop for a broken heart.

I can also relate to this book as in the fact that Holly did everything with, and for Gerry. She wasn't her own person, she couldn't go anywhere without having him right there besides her, she wanted him there always. She wanted to experience every single thing with him, or not at all. That's how I was when I was with my boyfriend for 7 years. I didn't know how to live my life as an individual. Once you lose that person who was literally your everything, you learn how to be independent, do things on your own, and be happy again! And let me tell you, it's the most amazing feeling ever when you finally realize this.

While Holly is going through this rough time in her life, she's able to get through it with the help of her two best friends, and her family. Holly is faced with troubling times when she is still grieving and has to watch her two best friends get married, and the other one is having a baby. Holly know that's suppose to be her and Gerry having the baby, so she goes through a selfish period where luckily, her friends understand that she's just having a rough time. While Holly is faced with all of these emotions, ups and downs, times of success and triumph, she has to realize that it's what Gerry wanted, which takes her a long time to realize. She feels as if she can't move on, fall in love again, or be happy without Gerry. That's why he wrote the letters to her, to show her that he wants her to move on, and live life.

I absolutely loved this book. As I said, it's funny, happy, sad, heartwarming, heartbreaking, but all in all, it's a fantastic book that teaches all of us how to move on, be happy and to live life to the fullest, no matter what.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. And of course, watch the movie as well if you haven't already!

Book Blogger Hop!

Well, it's Friday again folks! That means it's time for Book Blogger Hop! In case you aren't aware of this weekly meme, it's created by Jennifer over at Crazy-for-Books! It's where you post an entry similar to this one on your blog, and then you head on over to her blog, and fill out the linky widget so other people can hop on by your blog, and so you can hop by theres as well! Every week there is a question that goes along with this meme, and this weeks question is:

Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

Yes, I do use a rating system for my reviews. It's basically your average 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars! 1 being horrible, and 5 being amazing! I don't have anything cool with it right now, because I don't know how to do it yet! I am new to blogging. So, if you know how and can help me.. please let me know!!!


Well, that's it for this Book Blogger Hop! So, head on over to Jennifer's blog by clicking HERE and read the rules!

Amazon.com Affiliate

Hey all! I just wanted to let you all know that I decided to add some ads to my blog. Mostly it's just the Amazon.com Affiliate stuff. I am doing it because I would like a little bit "extra" money, and I was also wanting to some contests/giveaways and figured that most, if not all, of the money could go towards that. So, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could possibly help me out by visiting links throughout my posts, and buy something from amazon.com, or tell other fellow bloggers about this!!! =)

I also wanted to mention that the other blog, The Broke and the Bookish, that I do reviews on is also doing the amazon affiliate stuff to put money towards contests/giveaways on there as well. It's where I got the idea, so if you could stop by there and maybe check out the links and/or buy something, that'd be cool!

Please don't think that I am FORCING you to do this, or expecting it from any of you. I totally understand that some, if not all, are just not able to do this! I just wanted to post an entry letting you all know that I am doing this, so you're aware that the opportunity it there. Where my entires say "Title" and then the title next to it, is where you can click on the link if you so desire to. Again, I am not forcing, or expecting any of you to do this, I just wanted to throw it out there as a possible opportunity!

Thanks everyone!

One Lovely Blog Award!

WOW!!!! Missy over at Missy's Reads and Reviews gave me this awesome award called One Lovely Blog Award!!! This is my first ever blog and I am super excited and honored to receive it! Thanks Missy!!!

The rules of the award are as follows:

1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.


Here is a list of the 15 bloggers that I've chosen::

To Read Or Not To Read

The Book Swarm

Super Librarian

Reading with Tequila

Parajunkee's View

Oodles of Books

My Reading Room

Love To Read For Fun

Niki's Book Reviews

Just One More Chapter

Emily's Reading Room

I'd So Rather Be Reading

For The Love of Books

Emilie's Book World

Crazy for Books

Please note that you do NOT have to pass this award on. I know that some of you don't have the time and/or energy to go through 15+ blogs to find the ones you enjoy. Just simply leave me a comment letting me know that you at least checked out this entry and know that you won!! Thanks everyone!

200 Followers in 2 Months Giveaway!!

Hey everyone! Over at the other blog that I am apart of, The Broke and the Bookish, they're doing an AWESOME giveaway for reaching 200 followers!! All you have to do is jump on over to their blog, read their rules and decide which prize pack you'd like if you won!! They have 5 different prize packs to choose from, with a link to every book so you can read what they're about first! You do not have to be a follower of their blog to enter this contest, however, they'd like it if you did check out some of the past entries myself and my other fellow bloggers have posted! So, what are you waiting for!? Hop on over to their blog by clicking HERE and enter!!!

Have a Blessed day!!

1000 Follower Giveaway!

Hey all you fantastic bloggers! Reading with Tequila has reached her goal of 1000 bloggers (she now as OVER a 1000)! She's doing an awesome giveaway at her blog, which you can find by clicking here. All you have to do is go on over to her blog, read her entry about the giveaway, and follow her rules and instructions! She's picking quite a few winners, and she has a whole list of books for you to choose from. Great books to be exact! So, go ahead and jump on over to Reading with Tequila and start following her and entering into the contest!

Follow My Book Blog Friday!

Here's another weekly meme called, Follow My Book Blog Friday, and every Friday, you post an entry like this one, and when people come by your blog, they can leave a comment saying they're following your blog, then you visit their blog and follow back, also letting them know via comment! This is a really cool idea created by,Parajunkee's View! If you would like to participate in this weekly meme, visit her blog by clicking here and follow the simple rules!!

Happy Blogging and following!!! Don't forget to leave me a comment stating that you're following me, and I will follow you back!

Book Blogger Hop!

It's Friday!!! You know what that means?? It's book blogger hop time!!! In case you aren't familiar with this, it's a weekly meme created by Jennifer at Crazy-for-books.com! It's where you post a blog entry, answer the weekly question, then add your name to her Linky on her site so other people can visit your blog! It's a lot of fun!! If you would like to participate in this weekly meme, please visit her blog by clicking here and follow her directions!

This weeks question is: How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?

My answer is: 24. I am actually slightly slacking on this list. =/ When I go to the library, I always forget my list, so I just get random selections of books that aren't on my life! However, the last trip of the library was very successful, I've got three of them from my list! =)!

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Title: Sizzling Sixteen

Author: Janet Evanovich

Where I Got This Book: Public Library!

Why I Read It: Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite authors, and it's the newest book in her Stephanie Plum series! So, of course I had to read it!

Rating: 5 stars

Janet's Stephanie Plum series is about this girl named Stephanie, who's a Bounty Hunter. In case some of your don't know what a Bounty Hunter is, it's a person who goes around their area, searching and locating criminals who have failed to appear in court, otherwise known as an FTA. If and when these people are caught, they're taken to jail, and kept there until a new court date comes along. The Bounty Hunter gets a certain amount of money from capturing that particular FTA. And, that's exactly what Stephanie does!

Stephanie works for her cousin, Vinnie, who is an absolute creep! And Stephanie's two best friends Connie, and Lula also work at the same bonds office. Stephanie is assigned certain FTA's and her and Lula set out to go find these people.

This series is the best series I've ever read. It's the type of series that literally makes you laugh out loud. It's hilarious, scary, and makes you glad you aren't Stephanie Plum or have to deal with the things she does!

In this particular book, her cousin, and the owner of the Bonds office has been kidnapped by some bookies. He has a huge gambling problem, and he owes them $786,000. As the days go on, Connie gets updated phone calls from this bookie, saying that the price is going to keep rising, and by a certain date, if they don't have the money, Vinnie will be killed. So, Stephanie is off to hopefully find and capture Vinnie along with the random FTA's that she has to find.

Lula is probably the funniest character in this book, and all of the Stephanie Plum books. She's an crazy, loud, size 16 woman who tries to fit into size 4 pants, and small shirts. She's got dark caramel skin and wants to shoot everyone and every thing that gets in her way while they're searching for Vinnie, and whoever else they're looking for. Oh, and she's a former 'ho!

Stephanie, Lula and Connie have to come up with all of the money to free Vinnie, and they're not sure how they're going to do it. They end up having a huge sale at the Bond's office where the entire area shows up, but they still don't have all of the money. They need to find another way to come up with the money, and quick.

I probably should also mention Morelli and Ranger. These are two men in Stephanie's life who she can't decide who she wants to be with. Morelli is her on again-off again boyfriend of a few years, and in this book, they're mostly off again. He's also a plain clothes cop. And Ranger is a very dark, sexy and secretive security agent with his own bat cave.

This book is full of laughter, love, friendship, loyalty, and lots of dangerous, firing exploding, stink bombs and trip bombs that Stephanie has to go through in order to save her cousin Vinnie. Does she do it? Does she come out of the situation alive? This is a must read to find out! And that's why I gave it 5 stars!

Side Note: You do not have to read this series in order. All of her Stephanie Plum novels mention enough in the beginning of each book to understand what's going on. I didn't start reading them in order until her 10th book came out. She has 16 books in this series in total, along with a few random Stephanie Plum book that aren't apart of the series, but are still wonderful to read! And, as one more FYI, she has numbers in her titles, because those are the numbers of FTA's and/or bad guys, that Stephanie faces in each book! Nifty huh!?

Promises To Keep By Jane Green

Title: Promises To Keep

Author: Jane Green

Where I Got This Book: Public Library!

Why I Read It: In all honesty, the cover caught my attention first, then after reading the inside flap and read there was a Chef in it, I decided to read it!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Description from Barnes and Noble (I returned the book before getting the inside flap description): "From the New York Times bestselling author-a momentous new novel about a family suddenly thrown together Callie Perry is a successful family photographer living in upstate New York. She adores her two daughters, has great friends, and actually doesn't mind that her workaholic husband gets home at 9 p.m. every night-that is, when he's not traveling six months out of the year. Callie's younger sister, Steff, on the other hand, has never grown up. She's a free spirit, living in downtown Manhattan and bouncing between jobs and boyfriends. Lately, she's been working as a vegan chef, even though she can't cook. Lila Grossman is Callie's best friend and has finally met the man of her dreams. Eddie has two wonderful children, but also a drama queen ex-wife who hates Lila. And then there are Callie and Steff's parents, Walter Cutler and Honor Pitman. Divorced for thirty years, they rarely speak to each other. The lives of these colorful characters intersect when they each receive a shocking note that summons them together for one extraordinary summer in Maine and changes their lives forever. This novel is about the hard choices we have to face, about having to be your parents' child long after you've grown up, and about the enduring nature of love."

So, now that you've read the description, I need to tell you why I gave it 3.5 stars. The reason is, because this plot/book has WAY too many characters. In fact, all of the characters listed in the description, are all of the characters in the book excpet for a few random character who pop up in the book. Each character plays a huge role in the story, and I feel like because that's the case, it makes this book very hard to follow, and it becomes boring quickly, and very confusing. I remember getting to chapter 5 and it starting off with a certain character and I was like, "Who is this!?" It wasn't until Chapter 7 that it FINALLY put together each character and helped you SEE how the characters were tied together. Basically, the book is written with way too many perspectives, and it jumps from person to person so quickly that you find yourself forgetting what you read, and being very confused. It also jumps into the narrator explaining something, right in the middle of that person talking, so you get confused that way as well.

However, I don't want to ramble on about the negative things. There were some good points in the book too. The actual story line is pretty good -- what the book is about. The description of the book doesn't necessarily explain what this turn of events is that happens, and you don't find out until well after Chapter 7, but once you do, you find yourself wanting to keep reading, to find out what's going to happen. I'm not sure if I should tell you all what the turn of events is, so what I'm going to do is say that if you want to know, leave me a comment and I will comment back on your blog, letting you know! I'm not sure if it'd be a spoiler, or not.

But, this story is about loving unconditionally, and having true friends, and family who stick by your side no matter what, and keep all of their promises to you! It was very heartwarming, and alluring to read. You do find yourself routing for the character, Callie, as she goes through her rough time, and the turn of events that happens, and you find yourself smiling quite a bit at home her family and friends are all so true.

I wouldn't say it's the worst book ever written, or the worst book I've ever read, but I wouldn't tell you to go out and buy it. It doesn't really fall into the category of a must read, but if you're looking for something new, then it's definitely worth checking out of your local library.

One other thing I do want to mention however, the ending is pretty abrupt. I didn't think it would end that quickly, and I didn't really like the ending at all. I found myself reading and reading, waiting to see what happens, and but the ending came so quickly, I felt like it didn't tell us the whole story, and that there was some missing information that was needed. But, you can be the judge of if the ending was suitable or not.

So, in summation, the reason I am giving it only 3.5 stars is mostly because of how the ending was, and how there just was too many characters, with all of the different perspectives and it jumped around too much. It was just confusing to follow and understand.

Follow My Book Blog Friday!

WOW! What an AWESOME idea this weekly meme is! It's called, Follow My Book Blog Friday, and every Friday, you post an entry like this one, and when people come by your blog, they can leave a comment saying they're following your blog, then you visit their blog and follow back, also letting them know via comment! This is a really cool idea created by, Parajunkee's View! If you would like to participate in this weekly meme, visit her blog by clicking here and follow the simple rules!!

Happy Blogging and following!!! Don't forget to leave me a comment stating that you're following me, and I will follow you back!

Friday Book Blogger Hop!

It's Friday!!! You know what that means?? It's book blogger hop time!!! In case you aren't familiar with this, it's a weekly meme created by Jennifer at Crazy-for-books.com! It's where you post a blog entry, answer the weekly question, then add your name to her Linky on her site so other people can visit your blog! It's a lot of fun!! If you would like to participate in this weekly meme, please visit her blog here and follow her directions!

This week's question is: Do you listen to music when you read? If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

No, I don't listen to music while I'm reading. I have to have complete silence when I read, other I can't pay attention to what I'm reading. I will want to hear and pay attention to what other people are saying, or the other noises around me.

I can't wait to go through the blog hop!!!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Where I Got This Book: From the library, of course!

Why I Read This Book: My roommates and I were having a Twilight Saga movie night (No, we aren't obsessed, promise!) and we were talking about the movies, and how they pertain to the books. My roommate had mentioned Stephenie had another book out in the series, so I checked it out!

Rating: 5 stars!

If I honestly had to pick the order in which I liked the Twilight Saga series the best, I think I'd have a hard time! Especially since I read this book now, too!

This book is actually an extended-like book off of the book Eclipse. Stephenie intended this to be a short story that would be inserted into an Eclipse type guide magazine, but the story ended up being 200 or so pages long, so she had to make it an actual book/novella!

If you've seen Eclipse and/or read the book, then you know who Bree Tanner is. She's a new born vampire who comes into Eclipse as an character. However, we don't really learn WHY or HOW she became this new born vampire, so this novelalla explains her life story.

It starts off in the beginning of her 'career' as a vampire. Where she's staying, how she hunts, etc. And it goes into her becoming fast friends with a fellow new born vampire (who is a little bit 'older' than she is) and they end up telling each other exactly how they became vampires to begin with.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, because I don't want to ruin it for those who have not read this book, Eclipse, or seen any of the movies. Or even read the first two Twilight saga books!

If you have read this Saga, or intend to, I highly suggest you add this to your to-be-read lists ASAP! It's a great book, it's entertaining, interesting, and alluring. It makes you wonder if the facts are actually true, or if they're fiction. The only down fall I would say about this book, it wasn't long enough. I didn't want it to end, and I wished it went on for at LEAST another 100 or so pages!

Now, run out RIGHT NOW and get this book!!

Above The Line - Take Four by Karen Kingsbury

Title: Above The Line Series, Take Four

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Published by: Zondervan

Where I Got This Book: I actually won this book on Karen's Facebook page, when she did a contest. However, I would have read it even if I didn't win it!

Why I Read This: Karen is one of my all time favorite authors, and I had already read the first three in the series!

Rating: 5+ Stars

First of all, I know I've said this in a recent posting, but I have since changed my mind. This is by far the best book I've read, all summer! Actually, no, this is the best book I've read all YEAR. So far, anyways!

You know you're reading a fantastic book, by a fantastic author when he/she can make you laugh, cry, get angry, etc. That is exactly how I felt through out this book.

This book is the fourth book in a series by Karen. It's a series about two missionary, Christian guys who decide they want to take their talents of speaking about God, and how wonderfully powerful he is, and make films about Christianity and how it can change ones life. Take Four is the last book in the series, and it brings together the first three books into the most powerfully written book of all time. On the cover of the book it says: "A story of hope, heartbreak, and the search for happy endings." And that's exactly what this book is.

While reading this book/series, you're going to get the feel of many different characters. However, almost every character in this book (and there are a lot) is essential, and meaningful to make the book as good as it is. It shows to the readers how a REAL family, who has God in their life, should be. They have family get togethers frequently, they pray as a family, and they're there for each other, no matter what. They understand that people mess up, and make mistakes, they never judge or leave your side.

I'm not trying to ramble on in this post, but I'm trying to tell you what you need to know in order to want to read this book, without giving too much away. However, I do suggest you start with the first book in the series, Above the line series Take One.

As I mentioned, this book/series is about two missonaries who start their own production company, and start making life changing movies. These books talk about how life can throw you ups and downs, but God always finds a way to make everything right. Karen has colaborated quite a few characters into this book from other books/series that she's written. Characters by the name of Bailey Flanagain and her family, Cody Coleman (her long time crush), and of course, the entire Baxter Family. Every character in this series/book, makes you feel like you KNOW them in real life, like you're apart of their families. While these missionaries are creating these life changing films, they've asked the most popular actor in the movie business to star in their Christan film called, Unlocked. This actor is named Brandon Paul, and in this book, he's the Edward Cullen and Jacob Black of our world! Brandon is a trouble making, out of control actor who swears up and down at this film, and anyone involved in it, will not make him a bible believing Christian. By God, and those around him have other hopes and plans! Also in this book/series you're going to find the trials and tribulations that a Christan girl going off to college for the first time might go through, how the "real" world can change someone even who has a strong background and faith, into someone who does things they shouldn't be doing.

I highly recommend this book/series to anyone who is interested in Christian liteature, inspirational writing, and/or anyone who just wants to feel amazing after reading a book.

I laughed, and I got angry at the characters, I yelled at the book, and I cried. I cried happy tears, emotional tears, etc. If you've got a heart at all, and you read this, I highly suggest you have a box of tissues near by. Especially towards the end.

All of Karen Kingsbury's books feel you feeling GREAT after reading them. You know shes a powerful, life changing author when she can make you feel like a brand new person after finishing one of her books.

So, with that said. I give this book, and the entire series, 5+ stars!

Please visit Karen's site by clicking here to learn more about her, and her books. Also, join her facebook page by clicking here, or the link at the beginning of this post!!