Feature and Follow Friday (4)

I am always game to play in the Feature and Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. I have found myself some great new blogs from here!

This weeks question is:

Q: What is the best book you’ve read in the last month? What is the worst book you’ve read in the last month?

Best book in the last month = Cinder by Marissa Meyer ( I finally got it and man was it worth the wait)

Worst book in the last month = Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman (in all honestly it wasn't horrid just a bit to much for me)



So head over, and join the fun!

The Gilly Salt Sisters

Title:The Gilly Salt Sisters

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pub Date: March 14th, 2012

Author: Tiffany Baker

Received From: NetGalley  






In the isolated Cape Cod village of Prospect, the Gilly sisters are as different as can be.  Jo, a fierce and quiet loner, is devoted to the mysteries of her family's salt farm, while Claire is popular, pretty, and yearns to flee the salt at any cost.  But the Gilly land hides a dark legacy that proves impossible to escape.  Although the community half-suspects the Gilly sisters might be witches, it doesn't stop Whit Turner, the town's wealthiest bachelor, from forcing his way into their lives.  It's Jo who first steals Whit's heart, but it is Claire--heartbroken over her high school sweetheart--who marries him.  

Years later, estranged from her family, Claire finds herself thrust back onto the farm with the last person she would have chosen: her husband's pregnant mistress.  Suddenly, alliances change, old loves return, and new battle lines are drawn.  What the Gilly sisters learn about each other, the land around them, and the power of the salt, will not only change each of their lives forever, it will also alter Gilly history for good.




The Gilly sisters have a place in the town of Prospect that they don't really want. Being the keepers of the salt, but really what is so important about salt? This is not your typical, my family farms something story, the salt isn't a necessary item for livelihood to the town, but it is a necessity in that it holds power. The salt that the  Gilly sisters tend, and sell has a power over them, and quite honestly the town as well.

This book has a focus on the lives of three women, Claire, Jo and Dee  It has ups and downs for each of the women and ways that their lives intertwine with one another. I was pleased to find although in the beginning the character Claire was not one I really cared for, she grew as a woman found a passion and took on some amazing roles in the book. Jo was a solid rock, through hardship and heartache, Her character is one I love to see in a book. Young Dee was innocent and naive while also being a bit of a fire-starter. I have to say though I hate the way her story played out in the end.  I really enjoyed this book but I found the last bit to be hard to follow and disappointing. I would have preferred to have left some of the ending to the imagination!

Yellow Crocus

Title: Yellow Crocus

Publisher: Flaming Chalice Press

Pub Date: December 17, 2010

Author: Laila Ibrahim

Received From: NetGalley

Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as
quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. Although my family
‘owned' her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her
deepest affections lay elsewhere. So along with the comfort of her
came the fear that I would lose her some day. This is our story...

So begins Lisbeth Wainwright's compelling tale of coming-of-age in
antebellum Virginia. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her
enslaved black wet nurse, Mattie, Lisbeth's childhood unfolds on the
line between two very different worlds. Growing up under the watchful
eye of Mattie, the child adopts her surrogate mother's deep-seated
faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition
of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring. Yet
Lisbeth has freedoms and opportunities that Mattie does not have,
though the color of the girl's skin cannot protect her from the
societal expectations placed on women born to privilege. As Lisbeth
grows up, she struggles to reconcile her love for her caregiver with
her parent's expectations, a task made all the more difficult as she
becomes increasingly aware of the ugly realities of the American
slavery system. When the inequality of her two worlds comes to a head
during an act of shocking brutality, Lisbeth realizes she must make a
choice, one that will require every ounce of the courage she learned
from her beloved Mattie. This compelling historical novel is a richly
evocative tale of love and redemption set during one of the darkest
chapters of American history.

The Yellow Crocus opened my heart in a way that few books ever have! I was instantly intrigued by the life of Mattie, a slave in the south, who was to be a wet nurse for the babies in the promenant Wainwright family. From the moment young Elizabeth, called Lisbeth by her wet nurse, was born these two developed an unbreakable bond. A bond that you will see withstand some tough tests and really bring the beginning and the end together so nicely in this book. 


I was instantly a fan of Lisbeth, from her early days of being tied to wanting Mattie, to her kindness and love shown to those enslaved. To the way she carried herself with grace, while trying to uphold the things she must as a young woman in her family and also stand her very own ground for the beliefs that she had. I am sure there was a slight cheer coming from my mouth with some of the decisions that she made. I felt proud of her and pleased that this book really brought out a tough subject with a ray of sunshine! 


Kudos to Laila Ibrahim for writing such a great  book!

Chai Tea Sunday

Title: Chai Tea Sunday

Publisher: ECW Press

Pub Date: April  1st 2012

Author: Heather Clark

Received From: NetGalley

explore the true resilience of the heart and our raw determination to find goodness in a world fraught with adversity

One Woman’s Courage in the face of personal tragedy is at the heart of Heather A. Clark’s debut novel. Thirty–three–year–old Nicky Fowler thought her whole life was mapped out — a rewarding career as a third grade teacher, an adoring husband, and the perfect house in the suburbs — but complicated fertility issues lead to a devastating tragedy. Nicky’s marriage crumbles and she’s left unable to cope with her now–changed life.

When Nicky accepts a volunteer teaching position at an orphanage in Kenya, she finds that life there is unlike the world she’s known. Drought has brought famine, violence is everywhere, and the jaded orphanage director takes out her hatred on the parentless children.

But Nicky finds strength in Mama Bu, her host mother, who provides wisdom and perspective over cups of chai, Kenya’s signature drink. Nicky comes to realize that she must do much more than teach the orphans — she must save them.

As I started reading this book I could not put it down. I was originally drawn to learning about the relationship of Nicky and her husband, then I was torn as they battled difficulty. As Nicky moved her life accross the country to try to regain a sense of herself I packed my bag to join her. 


The life lead in Kenya was one I haven't had the opportunity to glimpse into often and I truly enjoyed the Historical aspects, the understanding of life there and the development of some amazing characters. I was really drawn to Mama Bu and how she leads her life and treads so lightly around the issues of the orphanage. All the while she is really planting the seeds in Nicky for her future and making sure to right the wrongs and better the lives for the children at the orphanage! This was a fantastic book and one I am so glad I got the opportunity to read and review! 

Cinder

Title: Cinder

Publisher: 

Pub Date: January 3rd  2012

Author: Marissa Meyer

Received From: Purchased

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.


Cinder is an amazing book, I've heard that time and again but I finally got the chance to read it this week. Well ok, really I got the day to read it, because I was so intrigued by the story once I started it I could not put this book down. 
A futuristic Cinderella story, a woman even more abandoned than the original Cinderella, a Prince with a life we finally get to glimpse. What here is not to love!


I give major kudos to Marissa Meyer as the author who made the Step-Sisters, not the typical drones, Each had a different personality and I loved it. Really all of the characters were amazing and detailed and I felt like I really knew something of their lives. When you add in threats of war from another planet. Ruling leaders who quite honestly scare me before I even meet them and a new emperor who is just not quite sure how to balance on the beam of his new life you have a fantastically spun tale. I am thrilled that this book is a series and cannot wait for book two! Until I can get my hands in it I'll spend my time dreaming of the future I want to see for Cinder!




This book is to dang good to not pass on, so that I will do!


Enter below for a chance to win my copy of Cinder. 

Nicole O'Dell- Author Interview

I had the privileged of getting to interview Nicole O'Dell the author of one of my favorite new books, which is actually the second book in The Diamond Estates Series. You may recall my review of The Embittered Ruby. I think you'll find both Nicole and her stories unbelievably real and amazing!

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

I’m a mom of six—three of the kids are three years old. They’re triplets! I’m also a student working toward my degree to teach English or writing at the college level. I’m married to Wil—he’s an amazing artist and singer and just an all-around good guy. J

How did you come up with the idea for the Diamond Estates Series? 

When I was a young teen, I started making some really bad choices in response to some things that happened to me. My life spiraled out of control and I got to the point where I didn’t think I’d get it together unless I got out of my circumstances. I went to live at a residential home for girls called Teen Challenge. I lived there for about eight months and so much of what you read about Diamond Estates is how it was at Teen Challenge in many ways.

Olivia’s story, in book one, The Wishing Pearl, is not completely my own, but her life and the lives of the girls she meets at Diamond Estates (and the ones in books two (The Embittered Ruby) and three (The Shadowed Onyx) are all sort of a conglomeration of all I saw and experienced.

In The Embittered Ruby Carmen makes a significant choice to lie to her loved ones to try to better her life, What in your life gave you inspiration to build her character?

Our enemy is so good at telling us the lies we’re programmed to believe.

When they crop up, it’s often hard to recognize them as lies because they’re the things we’re most afraid we’ll see in ourselves. Inadequacy, inability, insecurity, etc. All things that are the exact opposite of what God says about us and what He wants us to see in ourselves.

When there’s a disconnect between the truth of how God sees us, and what we really believe, lies are at the heart of it. It starts with those we hear and believe, and then becomes those we tell. It’s in desperation for love and acceptance that people (in this case, teenage girls) pretend to be someone they aren’t or lie to make circumstances what they wish they were.

Did you grow up in a home like Carmen's New York life, or her New Jersey life? 

I’d say it was a cross between the two. I never wanted for anything. I was pretty privileged, but it wasn’t to the extreme and there were times of cutbacks for one reason or another. I think I personally identify more with the New York life than I do with the New Jersey one. And, spiritually, my home was kind of divided sometimes, like Carmen’s was.

You seem to have a good knowledge of the mind of a teenager, can you describe yourself as a teenager in 20 words or less? 

Confused. Wise.

Dependent. Independent.

Victim. Villian.

Faithful. Faithless.

I felt pulled to extremes and couldn’t find myself in the balance.

What books have been an influence to you in your writing? 

There are so many! I love books. Fiction has been a big part of my past and my personal growth, but studying the Bible has been the biggest influence on me. As far as my writing, James Scott Bell wrote a book called Plot and Structure that really did me a lot of good.

Connect with Nicole
Facebook

Twitter

Website

Thank you Nicole for being willing to chat with me! I can't wait to read the next book!

Caring is Creepy

Title: Caring is Creepy

Publisher: Soho Press

Pub Date: April 3rd  2012

Author: David Zimmerman

Received From: NetGalley




I was tossing and turning trying to finish this book, It was so real and honestly scary that I felt it got into my brain! Really that is pry a sign of a very good author. But all I could feel reading this book was sadness. I started out with sadness for the relationship Lynn had with her mother, then the add in of the druggy boyfriend of her mothers. The uncertainty of her mothers role in the current issues! When Lynn met Logan I felt like I'd soon be reading a fairy tale ending. How far from that thought was I? OH Man! The character of Logan was an interesting one and the ways that Lynn interacted and in a sense controlled him were not what I was expecting but I found them interesting to read. Dani as Lynn's good friend I thought was sort of dropped from the story but for one or two small tie ins. I would have appreciated to see more of her and more of that relationship. I am not a true fan of bombs that drop at the tail end of a book, so I think that may have made me frustrated with the ending. All in all it was a interesting read and for someone who loves a little mystery it is pry a top notch book. I am glad I stuck it out and finished the book, while a bit out of my comfort level it was a good story and one that could be happening right next door to you!