Reading Update & Book News

News:

The giveaway of The Destiny of Shaitan by Laxmi Hariharan is going on this week. Just go to last Friday's Friday Fun post and enter the rafflecopter at the bottom of the page.

This coming Friday, join me on The Indie Exchange Book Bloggers show as we chat with Katie Robison, author of Downburst (see my review).

I participated in The Indie Exchange's Read-a-long this weekend. We read Scribbling by Jonathan Gould. The book won't be out until this fall, but you can read my review here.

There are still a few spots on the Millicent Marie Tour with Karen Pokras Toz. If you review middle grade books, you will want to be on this tour - we have a lot of fun planned including a few live events. Sign up here. (this tour is paid for by the author)

Finished:

For Stella Richards, life in the charming town of Virginia Beach is not as magical as one would think. Sun, fun, and sand only guarantee one thing: unwanted visitors. Stella learned long ago to never befriend anyone visiting the beach. They're here; then they're gone, drifting in and out as the tide ebbs and flows. She vowed to never connect with anyone vacationing in Virgina Beach - until spring break. Stefan changed everything.

Stefan Sterling lives life never knowing where he will end up next. Bouncing from one Military base to another has hampered his ability to connect to those around him. That's what happens when your father is in the military. Raised in a world of discipline, control, and strangers, Stefan never expected to find anyone he'd want to be close to - let alone love.

A family curse verses a loving abnormality promises to keep Stella and Stefan on their toes. Was it an accident or could it be destiny? Will they be able to survive their families? And, is there ever a time when you can fully let go of the person who awoke your soul?

A story of love, sacrifice, and growing up before it's time. From Goodreads.com

Read my review. Get Mocked by Destiny at Goodreads and Amazon.

An explanation on how to use StumbleUpon to drive traffic to your online content. From Goodreads.com

Read my review. Find StumbleUpon Exposed at Goodreads and B&N.






Reading:

In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come. From Goodreads.com

Find The Mine at Goodreads and Amazon.

In Attached, Levine and Heller reveal how an understanding of adult attachment-the most advanced relationship science in existence today-can help us find and sustain love. Pioneered by psychologist John Bowlby in the 1950s, the field of attachment posits that each of us behaves in relationships in one of three distinct ways:

Anxious people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back Avoidant people equate intimacy with a loss of independence and constantly try to minimize closeness. Secure people feel comfortable with intimacy and are usually warm and loving.

In this book Levine and Heller guide readers in determining what attachment style they and their mate (or potential mate) follow, offering a road map for building stronger, more fulfilling connections with the people they love. From Goodreads.com

 Find Attached at Goodreads, IndieBound, and Amazon.

Listening:

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to stay out of trouble. But can he really be expected to stand by and watch while a bully picks on his scrawny best friend? Or not defend himself against his pre-algebra teacher when she turns into a monster and tries to kill him? Of course, no one believes Percy about the monster incident; he's not even sure he believes himself.

Until the Minotaur chases him to summer camp.

Suddenly, mythical creatures seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. The gods of Mount Olympus, he's coming to realize, are very much alive in the twenty-first century. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy has just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property, and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. On a daring road trip from their summer camp in New York to the gates of the Underworld in Los Angeles, Percy and his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–will face a host of enemies determined to stop them. To succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of failure and betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. From Goodreads.com

Find The Lightning Thief at Goodreads, IndieBound, Amazon.

This Week:

Tuesday: Review of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Wednesday: Guest post by Gary Kassay
Tips on Thursday: Giveaway Rules
Friday Fun with Pavarti Devi
Saturday: Review of The Mine by John A. Heldt

Related articles

• Blog Tour: Mocked by Destiny
• Not Worth the Money: StumbleUpon Exposed
• Guest Post & Giveaway: Dare to be Indie - Laxmi Hariharan