Falling into Fall {#5}

     Thank you to everyone who stopped by & took a look at the Falling Into Fall posts. First, Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you're all enjoying your day. Second, this is the final Falling into Fall post of 2014.  Who knows, maybe I'll dive back into it next year. Below are the links to all previous posts which can be found on the Features Page.  Thanks for following along and happy reading!

Roundup of links:

October 2 Introduction
October 16 Food/Recipes
October 28 Falling Into Fall Extras
October 30 Halloween/Movies/TV shows
November 13 Craft Links
November 27 (Today) Wrap-up. 

 

Musing Mondays (13)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about something book related each week. 

My Musings for the Week:

     Today I'm going to share a few books that I would like to reread but don't have the time to.  They're all my favorites, so order on the list doesn't really apply because I love all of them.

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there by Lewis Carroll
2. Mythos Academy Series by Jennifer Estep
3. Mistborn & The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
4. Double Vision Trilogy by F.T. Bradley
5. Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
6. The League of Princes series by Christopher Healy
7. The Archived by Victoria Schwab 
8. Dante Walker series & Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott
9. First 3 books in the Agency series by Y.S. Lee
10. Daughter of Smoke & Bone & Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
11. Kat Incorrigible series by Stephanie Burgis
12. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
13. Ink by Amanda Sun

     Well, those are just a few of the books I absolutely loved and would like to read again if and when I have the time.  Question: What are some of the books you would like to reread, but might not have the time to?

The Friday 56 (14)

     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

""Don't wait too long," Kate said. "Hollywood is like any other place. People will take what they can get before someone else does.""--Double Vision: The Alias Men by F.T. Bradley


What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Title: Midnight Thief
Author: Livia Blackburne
Source/Format: Won, Hardcover
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Disney-Hyperion July 8, 2014

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     I have read awesome books and I have read terrible books, but Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne fell in between the two. The characters were alright, the plot I found to be a tad bit predictable at times, but overall it wasn't half bad. Kyra was an ok main character, but she was special with an ability that set her apart from everyone else, essentially making her a good thief because of it. She could climb walls—basically up the sides of buildings like she was some kind of squirrel on caffeine. Her loyalty was suspect, but some of her decisions and hesitations I understand considering the circumstances. Tristam was mildly interesting, I guess, he was a young palace knight who experienced tragedy which motivated him to do what he did in Midnight Thief—but I felt like he sort of lost his way, as in his judgment got a little clouded when Kyra was around. James…oh James *sigh* he was shady, and honestly I didn’t like him, period. I felt like he wanted Kyra to be something she was not. As I said before the plot was alright, but halfway through I figured out what was going on. The writing was pretty good with enough descriptions to hold my interest in the world. All in all Midnight Thief was pretty average for me, and I would consider reading another book by Livia Blackburne.

Falling into Fall {#4}

    Welcome to the next Falling into Fall post.  This post is all about fall themed crafts.  The first craft is tote bags.  Over the past year I've seen an array of tote bags from those with themes based on books, to just those that are simple, or more complex with intricate designs and patterns. Tote bags are simply awesome and below are links to those and other easy projects: 

Kate Spade Inspired Bow Tote @Flamingo Toes (A Creative Blog) This tote bag looks a little more complex, but easy enough to do.  I like the design and would like to make one if  and when I have the time and supplies. (Just with fall colors)

A Simple Six-Pocket Bag @Better Homes and Gardens There are lots of pockets on this one, so if you need to carry books...um...more books,  maybe a wallet or something.

DIY Monogram Tote Bag @Sweet T Makes Three (Homemaking in the Heart of Dixie!) This one is cool. I like how it's personalized with the monogram.

How To: Make A Simple Tote Bag @Cardboard Cities This one is simple and looks quick and easy to make.

Exquisite DIY Bookmarks @Shelterness I don't think its possible to have too many bookmarks, and the ones found at Shelterness are so pretty.

DIY Safety Pin Bracelet @Redfly Creations I really like how they crafted the safety pin bracelets and want to try it eventually since it's super simple.

Easy to make Pencil Holder @Happy Happy Nester I think this is a great and simple way to organize all of those spare pencils and pens.

Duct Tape Accordion Style Clutch Wallet @ JWallets Youtube Channel Okay, this is a really unique use of duct tape--it's a duct tape wallet.

Tote to Backpack @ Sincerley Kinsey  Oh, and finally, I just love this tutorial on how to easily transform a tote into a backpack!

     Well that's it. Check back November 27 for the last post. Question: what are some of your favorite crafts?

{All current post links can be found on the Features Page}

Musing Mondays (12)

    Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about something book related each week. Want to join?  Visit the link above. 

My Musings for the Week:

     I haven't done a Musing Mondays in a while, so here's one for today.  Since I want to keep this simple, I thought I might do something a little different. So I thought book quotes that I would want as bookish jewelry would be a fun topic. There are so many quotes that I've come across that I absolutely love, but here's just three I would want as jewelry in my jewelry box.

1) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: ""Would you tell me, please," said Alice, a little timidly, "why you are painting those roses?""

2) The Rithematist by Brandon Sanderson: ""You'll deal with unicorns--maybe some flower people and a Pegasus or two-- and you'll like it.""

3) Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: "Though we find the comparison to cats a bit infuriating, don't we Tazza?"

     Those are my three quotes, but there are many more.  Which quotes would you want on a piece of your jewelry?

     

The Friday 56 (13)

     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

""Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
"No, I give up," Alice replied.  "What's the answer?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.
"Nor I," said the March Hare."--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
     I have to say that I do love this edition from Barnes & Noble, and this quote is actually from page 71, but I like it.  Anyway, what's on your page 56 this week?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Today, I'm happy to take part in the cover reveal for Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott!  Check out the cover below, but don't forget to stick around  till the end of the post for a giveaway. Alright then, scroll down:

Tada, the cover.  I like this cover, especially the mountains, and it matches with the new paperback cover.

You can Preorder now on

Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Goodreads  

And not to forget the new cover for the paperback version of Fire & Flood! I like this one a lot.

Barnes & Noble     Goodreads     Amazon

Don't forget to visit Victoria Scott

Website    Goodreads     Twitter









Wait, before you go don't forget about the giveaway. Below you can enter for a chance to win a signed Salt & Stone galley, Landry Park galley, Vendetta galley, signed paperback For Darkness Shows the Stars, Everything Leads To You galley, Breaking Butterflies hardcover, or signed Fire & Flood Swag.  Whew, that's a lot of prizes up for grabs!  It's an awesome giveaway, right?  Well, go forth and enter.

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Review: Double Vision: The Alias Men by F.T. Bradley

Title:Double Vision: The Alias Men
Author: F.T. Bradley
Source/Format: Author, Hardcover
Age Range: Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: HarperCollins, October 14, 2014

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     Double Vision: The Alias Men by F.T. Bradley is probably one of the best spy novels I’ve read, and easily one of my favorite books this year. Linc was back again for another adventure centered on the latest mission Pandora has assigned him. There was no lack of danger and suspense as they worked against a tight deadline that had me flipping the pages as fast as I could read them.

     Lincoln Baker (Linc) was back to his old antics, getting into some trouble, but mostly he had grown as a character across the trilogy. Benjamin Green (Ben) was back as well and as usual he was stiff and all about following the rules. Sometimes he was too in-the-box, rather than thinking outside of it. But having both Linc and Ben interact with one another is a part of what makes the Double Vision series great. I mean, how would you feel if you had to deal with a lookalike? Oh, and Henry, the tech guy was back. I love Henry and his gadgets! As always, Henry had an assortment of cool and useful gadgets for Linc to use. And Agent Stark, I liked how more of her past was finally revealed. Linc’s family was great as well—especially the grandfather.

     The plot begins as they all do: with Pandora contacting Linc with a new mission. So really, this book picked up right where the last left off. It seemed so straight forward at first—so easy—but alas that was not to be. Things weren’t easy for Linc—this Dangerous Double case was a complicated one. There were all sorts of twists that had me believing that I knew who the culprit was, but the ending was unpredictable—my assumptions were wrong. I like it when books surprise me, and Double Vision: The Alias Men had no shortage of surprises. There was an equal mix of action, humor, and a well-developed plot that kept me reading till the end. My only wish is that I hadn’t read it so quickly. I love this series and I’m sad to see it end, but the ending was awesome and wrapped things up nicely. All in all, this was a fantastic end to the trilogy.

This copy was provided by the author for review, thank you!
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