Book Review: Crane

"She walks the Earth, a plague on mankind,
searching for he, her rotted heart doth pine."

We first met Ireland in Crane, the first book of the Legends saga. Poor girl has a cape and a curse. In searching for answers to try to get her life back to normal, she is swung into another literary mash-up. And man, is it clever!  

This book kept me on my toes while reading.  (Ok, you caught me, I was always sitting. But you know what I mean. )   I love how Stacey manages to weave humor into her dark, complex story. You've got to give this ongoing series a read, because I don't know how to describe it in a way that gives it justice. 

Go give Stacey some love and check out her books. You won't regret it. 

Daven Says

We're having a day home from preschool/daycare and work because Daven had a rough night with a tummy that just wouldn't settle. While sick days from my childhood were spent watching The Price is Right, we've been spending our day watching movies on Netflix. By his request, we turned on Baby's Day Out, a movie from the 90s about some bad guys kidnapping a baby and end up getting outsmarted by an infant. 

"Momma, I want a baby sister. " 

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah and I will want to name her Rocket Raccoon even though she won't actually be a raccoon; she'll be a baby. "

Daven Says

Over this past weekend, we made a family trip to Target to buy Bubby some pants. It turns out that ALL of his 4T pants are too short, and that no matter how hard I try, he's not going to stop growing. Although daddy and Daven didn't last very long in the clothes section before going to look at toys, we were treated to a little gem. 

We walked past the shelf with packaged underwear: "Wow, check out this underwear!  Look at those ninja turtle ones!  Look at those!  (I can't remember exactly what the next design was)

Wait for it...

"Oh, look at THOSE!  They have frozen characters on them!  Mommy, aren't you so jealous?  Aren't you jealous of those frozen underwear?!"

Yes buddy, yes I am. Sadly, they do not make Elsa and Anna underwear in mommy's size. No Olaf on my undies...

Daven Says

We watch a little Disney Jr. in the morning before school. Usually it's Mickey Mouse Club House while I have my first cup of coffee and he has his milk or juice.

This morning he comes up on the couch and shoves a handful of stuffed animals on me. "I'm the daddy and you're the mommy and these are our babies. "

"Honey, protect our babies. I'm going to shoot Clarabell. "

What?  I guess she DID have it coming with all of those nursery rhymes...

Daven Says

What's one Halloween movie that can be watched every year without getting old?  For me, it's Hocus Pocus. (Although I'll admit to being a fan of Halloweentown as well). In years past, I've always scurried to catch it a few times on ABC Family. But this year - everyone give my husband a round of applause - he ordered the movie for me!! (Thanks, boo)

My plan was to watch it with my friend and coworker, Samantha while Daven and her son, Conan were over to play. I picked up Daven early yesterday since I only worked a half day and told him in the car what we would be watching that night. 

"Hocus Pocus?  Wouldn't it be funny if it was Hocus Tookus?"

I laughed. Where does he come up with this stuff?  At which point, he repeated it a good ten times. I couldn't help but think that this must be the title of an adult version of the film, where the three sisters...ew. Hocus Tookus - definitely not what Disney had in mind!

Also, I'll go ahead and note that I had to ask Adam how to spell tookus. Yep, that happened. 

Daven Says

"Mommy, mommy!  Do I look like Jesus now?"

Because if church daycare has taught him anything, it's that man + headband = Jesus. 

And what is it exactly that he has around his head?  Oh, you know, just a piece of weed eater string!

Book Review: Who We Were

 "...sometimes memories of the past are hardest to part with" 
- from book description on Goodreads

I was so excited to be one of the privileged people who got to read Christy Sloat's new book before its official release date.  This is her first book-writing experience in the genre of contemporary romance for YA, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Who We Were officially releases on September 15

Sadie is attending summer school - by choice.  While most teens are there to make up for slacking off the previous school year and failing, Sadie wants to get ahead so that she can begin taking college credit during her senior year.  The class that she needs is at a different school than she attends, and the peers that she meets there will shape her summer into something much different than she could have ever thought.

This book has so much hurt hidden between the pages.  I wanted to reach through the pages of the book (OK, you caught me - I was reading on my iPad mini) and shake some sense into one of the characters.  I don't want to write any spoilers, so I won't go into detail.  But just know that this book is more than just a typical romance.  

Friendship.  Football players.  Parties.  Twins.  

On a bit of a side note, I just want to applaud Christy Sloat for not taking the "true love waits" approach to teen romance.  It irks me to no end when reading a YA novel and the main characters rush to get married so that they can stay pure, or only kiss once - I know that people will disagree with me on this, but I think that view point is simply unrealistic.  Once upon a time I was as big of a prude as the come, but lets be realistic; teens show affection. 

Alright, stepping down from my podium now.

The last page of this book gave me all the feels.  In a good way, though.  Who We Were is so different from her other books, which really goes to show how Christy Sloat can capture audiences across multiple genres.  I'm so thrilled to be a part of helping celebrate her release and can't wait to see what she writes next!

Pre-order your copy on Amazon