SPAM and cheese sandwich
SPAM and mac and cheese
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
Can’t get enough about donuts? Check out these blogs and let me know about any other cool donut centered blogs
Dunkin Donuts Behind the Beans Blog
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Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Book Review: Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton
Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles #1) by Ripley Patton
A Speculative Fiction/Paranormal Novel published by Ripley Patton (11/28/12)
Summary:
“Don’t think about it. Solve the problem. Get yourself out.” (Page 86).
Olivia was born with a ghost hand. It’s rare to have PSS (a ghost body part), but Liv isn’t the only one. The ghost hand wasn’t that bad, if you didn’t mind being a freak in the middle of a small town, but after new kid Marcus shows up, the hand starts acting up. Olivia just wants to live her life, hide her hand as much as possible, but now she can’t. There are people after her who want to forcefully extract her PSS and if she wants to live she’ll have to team up with the new boy and his band of PSSers.
Keywords:
Rare, Ghost Hand, Power, Hunted, Freak, Not Normal Teenagers, Hiding, Escape, PSS, Research, Small Town, Gossip, Rumor, Distant Mother, Friendship, Leader, Strategy
My Review:
I loved the main character, Olivia. She might freak out, as any normal teen under these circumstances should and would, but she doesn’t let that stop her from trying to find a solution. She’s a girl of action. She’s a real superhero and a model main female character. She’s funny, snarky, and thinks fast on her feet. She never lets the situation get the better of her in the end. She may get bad things thrown at her left and right, but she’s always trying to think of a solution and doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She is the strong underdog you’ll love to root for.
I laughed out loud more than once! The dialogue between the teenagers is so realistic and the things they say are hilarious! I especially loved and laughed at the scene where Olivia eats some salted almonds.
I very much appreciate books where the genders of the main characters could have been flipped and the book would hold true the same way. Olivia isn’t overly feminized or put into a gender corner. There was a romantic element, yes, but Olivia could have been Marcus as easily as Marcus could have been Olivia. I like the way Patton wrote this book the way it is written because I loved Olivia as a strong female lead. Marcus was also a strong character and a strong person, but his role was not as large as Olivia’s. She was the protagonist of the story.
Thank you, Ripley Patton for giving us more than just the usual paranormal fare. I was intrigued and fascinated throughout the entire story with Olivia’s ghost hand and the whole concept of “PSS” and I didn’t even mind not getting a thorough explanation for how PSS came about. Sometimes things are just unknown. I loved how this PSS concept is fully developed in this book and the characters discover more about it at the same time as the reader, so we gain a full understanding (but not right away). I believe there’s more to PSS than we know about from the first book and I wholeheartedly await reading more about PSS and hopefully Olivia, Marcus and the gang of PSSers in book two and beyond.
The PSS Chronicles are currently available for FREE in epub and mobi when you sign up for Ripley’s Booklist, the author’s discount YA/NA ebook newsletter (similar to Bookbub but smaller and friendlier). You can sign up here now to get your FREE books: http://eepurl.com/bfMiy9
This novel was published by Ripley Patton on November 28th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00
Links for more information:
Festival of Literature for Young Adults (Zero) in Portland Aftermath
FLYA Zero is the inception event for the Festival of Literature for Young Adults.
Facebook event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1047694628587066/# , stay tuned for next year’s big FLYA 1 event
Portland Event! FLYA Zero at the Doubletree Hilton in Portland TODAY 03/19/16
FLYA Zero is the inception event for the Festival of Literature for Young Adults! Come on down to the Doubletree on Saturday, March 19th, 2016 and celebrate YA Lit writers and readers with us – and get the conversation going for the 2017 event!
Purchase your tickets here for just $10!
https://squareup.com/store/steampunk-filmfest/item/flya
Facebook event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1047694628587066/#
Where: Doubletree By Hilton Hotel Portland Oregon
1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, Oregon 97232
When: 11AM – 7PM
Foodie Fridays: Happy St. Patrick’s Day with burger cupcakes!
Recipe can be found HERE
All About the Donuts: Donuts in an Empty Field (For the Love of Donuts Book 1) Publication Day June 3rd!
It’s time for a little excerpt from the book!
My thoughts linger on Dad, but I push them away.
I grab four soufflé sample cups and expertly fill them with our more seasonal flavors: candy cane, eggnog, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon roll. I swoop up to Nichole at her table and present the four with a flourish.
“I noticed you went right for vanilla, for a wild child that is highly unusual,” I say to her.
She drops her spoon back into her cup with a clunk. I pick up the first sample cup.
“Candy cane aka peppermint. A familiar flavor disguised as a seasonal favorite. It goes by many names throughout the year: mint, Girl Scout cookie something or other, etc., but ultimately it is recognized during the holiday season in its home as candy cane.” I hold out the miniature serving and whip it back and forth under her nose, as if scents are wafting up from the yogurt. She inhales deeply and scrunches up her nose. “Come on, Nichole, you can’t go through life as a Plain Jane vanilla. You have to branch out.”
“I branch out with everything that I do, can’t you leave my ice cream and frozen yogurt blandness alone. I LIKE vanilla,” she counters.
“Ok, well you can’t deny this next one.” I set down the candy cane and pick up the eggnog. “THIS is a classic and undeniably a favorite. For three out of twelve months it makes its debut and everyone is clamoring for it.”
“Ugh, not the pumpkin spice!” Nichole interjects.
“No! You Starbucks peon. Anyways, that’s the next one. No interrupting. I’m working on my sales pitch here.”
Nichole tips her head toward the door as its familiar tinkle brings me back to reality. Working a real job is not as much fun as I thought it would be. It’s just full of interruptions and cranky people.
Letting go of anger is life’s greatest challenge.
Vanessa Smith hasn’t been the same since her father’s death. A hero until the end, he died saving a restaurant owner’s wife and son from a burning building. Nessa has always blamed the boy, Ben, for her loss, and her thoughts are consumed with ways to make him as miserable as she is.
Nichole Adams knows Nessa can never heal until she learns to let go of her hatred, but bringing back her best friend is proving more difficult than she could’ve imagined. In a last ditch effort to break Nessa’s obsession, Nichole hopes signing up for the local food challenge is just the thing to bust her out of her shell.
A single choice defines the road ahead for Nessa. Doing the right thing isn’t easy, but living with the consequences of doing nothing might be worse.
Wildlife Wednesdays: After the Rain
Book Review: Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French
Backyard Dragons (Spirit Knights Book 2) by Lee French
A Fantasy Novel published by Clockwork Dragon (03/11/16)
Summary:
“Everything about her was different from every other Knight. She had a different build, a different weapon, a different sprite, and different challenges.” (Kindle Locations 2034-2035).
Claire is a Spirit Knight and even though she still isn’t accepted by everyone in the male-dominated group, she wants to show them that she is really a Knight. After she gets a dragon as her sprite and has won a weapon from the Heart of the castle, Claire is ready to begin training. But, before she can truly prepare, things start to go wrong. There are mysterious things going on and Claire and Justin must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.
Keywords:
Spirit Knight, Fantasy, POV Change, Fighting, Responsibility, Unsafe, Strange Things, Horse, Trust, Hope, Death, Problems, Taking Charge, Discovery, Personal Sprite, Dragon, Friendship, Family
My Review:
I found the pacing good, the tension good and storytelling solid, but there were a few characteristics of this book I didn’t like. Justin felt almost like a villain when he was supposed to be supportive of Claire. There were a few scenes where his thoughts about his family were less than positive and that made me uncomfortable. I thought he was supposed to be the hero passing the torch to the new girl? I believe that there are outside forces that influence how he perceives the things he loves, but I wish he had remained the underdog hero instead of the villain’s assistant. Justin is your average knight, but even so, he was easily manipulated and seemed to get caught in the simplest of traps that Claire was able to figure out immediately! How can one be a Spirit Knight, when one is so easily undone! This did let Claire be the hero and this is her story. I did like that there were average knights like Justin and that he tries to be valiant, that he tries hard all the time.
I liked most everything about Claire. The scenes between her and the Heart of the castle were awesome! I loved how in every situation she found herself in, she didn’t give up, even if she had no real weapon. She wasn’t afraid to use her fists!
Dragons. Super cool. I liked how the dragon actually had his own backstory and personality.
I found the twist of the main plot to be obvious. The clues were so good that I guessed what was going to happen quickly. All new information led directly to this obvious ending, which was still satisfying even though I knew it was coming. It was the logical ending.
This novel was published by Clockwork Dragon on March 11th, 2016 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00
Links for more information:
Book Event at Third Place Books with Tiffany Belcher 03/12/16
What an exciting author event this past Saturday! I’ve read Tiffany Belcher’s first book, Sara Supernatural, and loved it and now the second in the series is available. I observed the event to get good ideas for my own Third Place Books event in June.
Here’s what I learned: The Den seats about 26. They have a projector and screen available. They have a nice podium and sound system. People can’t see this area from the door, so a big sign and arrow would be handy.
Here are some neat pics I took from the event. I loved seeing Tiffany Belcher again and she had quite the lovely, entertaining, and useful presentation.
Throwback to when I first met Tiffany and bought her first book at St. James Espresso in Kirkland… 04/15/2015
Rachel Author Barnard 