Falling into Fall {#3}

     This one is going to be sort of short.  Anyway, welcome to the third post for Falling into Fall.  This time I'm going to briefly discuss movies.  Part of what I do during fall is watch certain reruns of movies/TV shows that I will always love.  One of them would be Hocus Pocus, it's one of my all time favorite witch movies, and I watch it at least once a year.  Another one is The Nightmare before Christmas.  I always like the whimsical style of Tim Burton's animated films.  So it shouldn't be hard to guess that another one of my favorite movies is The Corpse Bride. I really like the story of that one, and the animation. (I'm I sucker for animated things.) Here's a classic one...or two: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown & A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. I will always like the Charlie Brown specials, because...well just because.  And Casper (1995), I love this movie, end of discussion.

     As you can see, I tend to like festive movies and TV shows, especially the ones that come on every year. Well that's basically it, but check back Thursday November 13 for the next Falling into Fall post. Question: What are some of your favorite fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving movies/TV shows?

*All post links can be found on the Features Page

 
   

Falling into Fall {Extras}

     The Falling into Fall Extras edition. Dun, dun, dun.  No, actually its just a post I'll occasionally put up between other Falling into Fall dates. Where things that didn't make it into the main post or were just overlooked end up.  Since the last post was all about food here are two more recipes I forgot about. So here they are:

Parmesan Potato Wedges @ Tablespoon, Recipe by Girl Who Ate Everything Seriously, this is my favorite recipe for oven baked fries.  I had these yesterday and they were delicious. I highly recommend this recipe & its supper simple.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars @Averie Cooks I love this recipe, its another easy one to make, and equally delicious.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix @Averie Cooks While I don't make the entire trail mix, I certainly used the candied nut recipe.

     So that's basically it. Don't forget to check back this Thursday for the next Falling into Fall post!

Review: Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane

Title: Crystal Fire
Author: Jordan Dane
Source/Formate: won, paperback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, November 26, 2013

Amazon      Barnes & Noble     Goodreads     Audible     Book Depository

     I had reservations about Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane since I was unfamiliar with the author. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed this book, and would consider picking up its predecessor Indigo Awakening. The concept of the story was fascinating with its take on psychics, and paired with writing that flowed nicely with a good pace. Crystal Fire ended up being a quick read. As I said, the writing—third person—had a nice flow to it with descriptions that helped me visualize the setting and major events. The characters were developed with backstories that shaped who they were.  With plausible worries, and emotions that made them seem more real. Their bonds with one another played out in a spectacular fashion that only served to enhance the story. One part that I found hilarious was the way the main characters decided to deal with one of the villains, and for some reason I just couldn’t stop laughing at it—it was so sudden that it was almost ridiculous. It was one of the most…um colorful endings to a villain that I’ve ever read. I’m not going to specify on what happened exactly, but it was funny. Since I’m unfamiliar with the series I was left wondering how certain things and characters got to where they were. But the story was easy to get into once I got past my initial confusion as more details were revealed over the course of the book. The plot and the concept were well-developed with a satisfying ending. All in all, Crystal Fire surprised me in a good way, and I will definitely check out other works by Jordan Dane.

Falling into Fall {#2}

     Welcome to the second Falling into Fall post. Food, that’s right, I’m here to talk about food today which has nothing at all to do with books. Unless, of course, I was talking about cookbooks which I’m not so they don’t really apply. Anyway I’m just going to move on. One of my main goals this year is to make more candy/desserts/food. I’ve seen plenty of recipes floating around with simple explanations on how to make some of my favorite treats/dishes. I’m going to leave a few links so if you want to try some of them as well.

Homemade Reeses Peanut Butter Cups @Lauras Sweet Spot This is a different recipe than what I used last time.  But I have made peanut butter cups before, and they were delicious. So I want to try them again with this recipe.

Homemade Butterfinger Eggs (only 3-ingredients) @Raining Hot Coupons   This is just one of the many recipes I really want to make.

Homemade Twix Bars @And They Cooked Happily Ever After There are just so many things I want to make, and this is another one of them.

Chocolate covered pretzels…does this one really need a recipe? I think it’s pretty straight forward.

Dark Chocolate Nutella Brownies @ CookiesCakesPiesOhMy  This is the typical recipe I use for brownies, the texture is always good, and I’ve used it multiple times with different swrils—i.e. Nutella, peanut butter…sometimes both. I’ve also doubled the recipe to make a larger pan (Also had to cook it a little longer) and used just normal cocoa powder instead of dark chocolate.

French Bread Rolls to Die for Posted @Allrecipes.com by JOCATLIN Oh gosh, what should I even say about these easy French rolls?  Well for one, forget buying them, this recipe is awesome. And yes, I’ve tried these before and they were marvelous.

Cranberry Shortbread Bars @ Joy of Baking I have made this with canned cranberry sauce—shortcut—with jellied and at another time with whole berry. Both turned out to be delicious and I look forward to making this again.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili @The Girl Who Ate Everything  CHICKEN QUINOA CHILI, that’s all I’ve got to say on it. I haven't tried it, but it looks delicious.

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili @True Life Kitchen I’ve had this one before and let me just say that it was delicious and I want more. With the colder weather coming this is the perfect dish.

Cheerio Muddy Buddies a.k.a. Puppy Chow @This Little Light Blog Actually, I tried this one just this morning and it was awesome—and I had to include the link on this post—so if you like Muddy Buddies then I definitely recommend trying this recipe.

    Out of all of those links I have yet to mention anything pumpkin...oops. Well here's one...ok two before I wrap up this post. Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake @Sally's Baking Addiction & Pumpkin Waffles @Kitchen Meets Girl So that's all, check back on October 30 for the next Falling into Fall post. Question: what are some of your favorite fall desserts/dishes?

Congratulations: Stacey O'Neale + Giveaway

Congratulations Stacey O'Neale! I'm excited to announce that she won three Howey Awards at IndieReCon Live!

List of awards:

• Best Young Adult Book for Mortal Enchantment
• Best Book Boyfriend for Rowan
• Most Breathtaking Kiss for Rowan and Kalin in Mortal Enchantment 

From Stacey O'Neale:

"These awards mean a lot to me because they were voted on by readers. They said they got over 28,000 votes and over 300 novels were nominated. Thank you so much to anyone who voted for my books or characters. It really touches my heart to know that people out there enjoy what I do. You can see the full list on winners HERE."

If you haven't read the series, The Shadow Prince is available for FREE on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Now the giveaway.  To celebrate on her wins, Stacey O'Neale is giving away 1 $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card PLUS Five additional winners will get signed copies of her entire Mortal Enchantment series, which includes Fragile Reign. Sounds awesome, right? So stop reading this and just enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Friday 56 (12)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"Suddenly two eyes seemed to spring at them out of the darkness; it was the moonlight striking on Mrs Who's glasses."--A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Source/ Format: freebie, iTunes ebook edition
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, September 25, 2012

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble

     Alice in Zombieland, yeah, I don’t know where to begin with this one. It wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm not sure if that was such a good thing. I finished this book over the weekend and it took me a few days to sort out my feelings on it. For the longest time—I couldn't decide on how I wanted to rate this book. I wrestled over the choice between 3 or 2.5 stars. Because Alice in Zombieland was by far, not the worst book I've read, but I didn't love it either. It was in this sort of weird place between average and below for me.

     What I liked about the book was the zombies, they were different, and I did enjoy the storyline surrounding them. Actually, the story wasn’t half bad. It was ok. The writing was also just ok and I don’t really have much to say on it. What I didn't like so much were the characters. Alice…*sigh*. Seriously, I get that she was hurting and grieving in her own way, but some of her choices weren’t that smart. I know that she was put into some situations that were out of her control, but I just didn't like her much. She almost seemed to be a typical YA heroine. Now Cole, he was the typical YA bad boy with a chip on his shoulder and a secret compassionate side. Did I enjoy reading about some of his actions? No.

    Alright, so I admit that I might have judged this series based off its titles. So I was expecting a little more Alice in Wonderland vibe than what I really got. It was a zombie book—I don’t really have any other way to describe it. So while I had high expectation for this book, in the end I was left feeling indifferent. So I’m going to give this a 2.5. That’s all.

Musing Mondays (11)

     

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

Since I want to keep it short today, this week I'm sharing another book I'm waiting for: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep. After reading the final book in the Mythos Academy series I have to say that I'm really looking forward to this one.


Question: what books are you desperately waiting for?

On Sale: Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale

Starting from October 6th to the 13th, Stacey O'Neale's Mortal Enchantment will be on sale for $0.99! Get it while the sale is still going.  Click HERE for $0.99 Kindle Deal!

And don't forget, the prequel novella, The Shadow Prince is still free!

                                           Summary

Sixteen-year-old Rowan has spent most of his life living among the mortals—learning to control the element of fire, impatiently awaiting the day his vengeful mother, Queen Prisma, will abdicate her throne. When he finally returns to Avalon for his coronation, his mother insists he must first prove his loyalty to the court by completing a secret mission: Kill Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental daughter of the air court king.

Willing to do anything to remove his mother from power, he agrees to sacrifice the halfling. He returns to the mortal world with his best friend, Marcus, determined to kill the princess. But as he devises a plan, he starts to question whether or not he's capable of completing such a heinous task. And what price he will pay if he refuses?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Friday 56 (11)

     The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"They worked in tandem, deflecting attacks, dispatching foes, and pivoting to lend each other assistance."--Spirit Animals Book 1: Wild Born by Brandon Mull


After Alice in Zombieland I decided to read something different. I'm in the middle of this one, and so far it has an interesting concept. What are you reading this week?

Falling into Fall {#1}

    This is just an introduction post, so there won’t be much to it. But I'm pretty sure none of its going to be book related. Well, it’s officially fall—hooray for cooler weather—right?  Well it sucks since I’m in California so it’s still hot at the moment, but whatever. Falling into Fall is an idea I had since I wanted to share about some of  the things I want to do and/or are planning to do. It’s going to run from today until the end of November.  It will only be posted on every other Thursday—dates below—surrounding one or more topics. 

Dates:

• October 2 (Today)
• October 16
• October 30
• November 13
• November 27

     When fall is mentioned I generally associate it with several things: the cooler weather, Halloween, food, family time, crafts, new book releases, and sweaters.  Except I won't be wearing sweaters until it cools down a little more, but everything else is alright. So what are you doing to fall into the fall season?