Friday, January 20, 2012 | 1 Comments
Posted by AshleyMy thoughts: So this book has consistently caught my eye since it started making the rounds last year and for some reason I never fully read through the synopsis. I'd look at the cover and think it was one thing, but that the synopsis disproved that, so I'd put it back. Then, I read the reviews and realized that this is one of the most perfect, accurate covers in quite a long time. So naturally, as soon as I realize this and rush to get it, it's sold out of all my neighborhood (and every neighborhood between in a 30 mile radius). Sigh.
Christmas Eve, I found it and snatched it. 3 hours later? I was done. What a seriously amazing story/plot. This is what I hoped Pretty Little Liars could have been. The suspense, the surprises, and the all around storyline were compelling, and there were messages and points in the novel that came through without sounding all preachy. A good read on many different levels for many different reasons, this will be a book that I keep around for a long time. The ending elicited a very loud, shocked gasp and a couple tears. I bet it will do it again on the next read.
Thursday, January 19, 2012 | 1 Comments
Posted by AshleyThe synopsis:
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 | 0 Comments
Posted by AshleyArgh, I've already slipped on at least half of my blog-related New Years Resolution (the timely reviewing aspect), BUT I have devoured wayyy too many books already this year, and couldn't resist leaving Target with just a few more yesterday.....
Purchased & received earlier in the week from Amazon:
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances… a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.
So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life…and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last….
Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.
Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.
Monday, January 9, 2012 | 1 Comments
Posted by Ashley

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everybody had as fantastic a year as Holly and I did this year! While she hasn't had time to review as much, my adorable nephew Beckham is an excuse I will gladly accept, though I certainly miss receiving so many of her reviews and recommendations!
As for me, I've found a whole new genre (or two) of books that I'm obsessed with this year, as I moved into home ownership, and having a place of my very own to decorate. As a renter, I never got the nesting urge I have now, because it's only temporary (though I lived in mine for 5 years). I wanted it to look nice, but I never felt the need to leave my mark on it. Now? I can't go to Lowes without picking several must have books (eye roll here). I treated myself to these 4 recently as a pre-Christmas present. Love love love the cottage style book and the common sense storage is uber helpful (moving into a stacked townhouse does mean I have much more space than I did in my apartment, but there is still finite space).
I hate doing negative reviews, but there were some books this year that I just tried and tried to love, but I couldn't do it. I had to put them to the aside without even seeing our fight through. It's not them, it's me. I just didn't have the energy to give them my all. It's a shame, but maybe somebody read them and will tell me to ride it out, and I'll feel that the end result justified the means??
Some of my favorite books of the year are to the right of this very sentence. I tried to choose one from each genre, but I couldn't. So, if you want a funny book that will probably have you guffawing embarrassingly loudly, do yourself a favor and grab Mindy Kaling's first book. Just do it - I won't make you any promises or try to bribe you because it will surpass any recommendation I can give you. She's that funny.
Hot men and demons more your thing? Grab the first two of Darynda Jones Grim Reaper Charley series (hint: not the real name of the series), First Grave on the Right and Second Grave on the Left. I'm 98% sure Third Grave Straight Ahead is being released in mid January and not a moment too soon. Seriously, I can't get enough of any.single.character. Not one. The plots and subplots are awesome, the humor is on point, the dialogue is sharp, witty and hilarious (no I don't think this is redundant), and the romance is pretty much guaranteed to up the heat in your own room while reading (but not in a smutty way).
The Best of the Rest - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, Hourglass (the sequels should be worth the wait, but do not want the wait.) Catching Jordan and Anna and the French Kiss. So good.
I tried a new (sort of) genre recently too, because the book has caught my eye several times at Target, and though I've never read anything of hers, the author has that name recognition cache going for her. I'm not sure if I'll review the book, because it was enjoyable enough, and I did really like it, but I just don't know. The book was I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg.
That's enough gibberish from me for now, wishing all of you nothing but great reads, and only the best of everything in 2012!
Labels: about us Tuesday, January 3, 2012 | 1 Comments
Posted by Ashley
The synopsis:What did a paranormal investigation uncover at the Stanley
Hotel in Colorado, the hotel built in 1903 that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining?
What is the chilling history behind the Rolling Hills Asylum in Batavia, New York?
What happened when a man was overcome by an evil entity as Jason and Grant surveyed his home?
How can a Connecticut woman seem to exist in two places at once?
In
this hair-raising omnibus, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, founders of
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (T.A.P.S.), reveal the memorable and
spine-tingling cases featured in their smash-hit collections, Ghost Hunting and Seeking Spirits. From
their never-seen-on-television adventures as budding paranormal
investigators to the behind-the-scenes accounts of heart-pounding
supernatural encounters featured on their popular show, these
fascinating and frightening real life tales will keep you up at night!
My thoughts: I am obsessed with ghosts, so I was super excited to read this even though I've never watched Ghost Hunters. I was somewhat disappointed when I read that they approach everything as it being untrue, until that can be disproven, but in the end, that made it even more enthralling when it was a case where there was no way that the events happening could be explained away. Some of the stories was fantastic and had me wishing that the details weren't so sparse.
Labels: reviews, supernatural Thursday, December 29, 2011 | 0 Comments
Posted by AshleyMy thoughts: I loved this book for a bunch of different reasons. There's a lot of intensity in many, many different facets of Holly's life, starting with the fact that she's essentially the caregiver of her little sister, her mom, and now her grandfather. And she's wrestling with coming to terms of the loss of her boyfriend, in an accident she was in with him, on both an immature - and mature - level. The fact that it's also written from the perspective of Rob - which provided a completely different story than I've read before- and Jason, who was not only falling for Holly but was Rob's best friend and realizing that Rob was the glue that held a lot of things together, and dealing with the fallout of seeing things in a different light without Rob holding it together. It could have been a great story from that alone, but adding in not only the grandfather, and then the grandfather and Rob's relationship? One of the most unique, and best, stories of this year.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 | 0 Comments
Posted by AshleyMy thoughts: Nicholas Sparks (whose books are a guilty pleasure of mine) has nothing on DiLallo and Patterson. I gobbled up this book in less than two hours. Romance is a huge part, but the overwhelming theme is the testament of love and family, and what better way to tell that story without the fear of it being labeled cheesy/corny than to tell it at Christmas? I'm not one to find these stories cheesy or corny, but rather endearing and enduring. And as much buzz as Jason Wright's books have gotten for their message, I hope this story finds its way into the hands of the same buzzers. As famous as Patterson is, his stories vary dramatically based on who his underwriter is. And DiLallo certainly fleshed out an amazing, upbeat, funny tale that really embodies what Christmas is about.
Sunday, December 25, 2011 | 1 Comments
Posted by Ashley
The synopsis: Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is
dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with
"Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever
after? Yeah, right.Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.
But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?
Labels: critical review, reviews, teen reads Monday, December 19, 2011 | 1 Comments
Posted by Ashley










