I think I am finally out of a bit of a reading slump with........

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

This little beauty came in a box along with some other YA ARC's a little while ago.  Most of the other books in the box are of the angsty-I'm-in-love-with-a-dark-and-brooding-possible-mythical-creature-who-treats-me-like-crap-but-I-can't-stay-away variety.  But THIS one.....

tres cool. 

First of all it is a period book, which is my favourite book to read.  It is set in the 1800's, so it had me at "hello".  Second the story is unfolding in a deliciously mysterious way in that I am not entirely sure what is happening but I can't put it down.  And not to mention THE COVER. 

Georgous.

And can anyone say Book 1 of 3 and WOOT?  If this book lives up to the glory that is its first 20 pages, I am going to be one happy camper.  I'll keep you posted.  And since I TOTALLY missed Tuesday Teaser yesterday, I'll have to post about it next TT.  But here is the blurb from the back cover:

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.


When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.


Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

And on Facebook, ever heard of it?  There was a little thingy that popped up of a book with a dog on the cover.  Now, you may or may not know that I am into learning about dog training and love dogs in general, so as IF I didn't click on it immediately.  Well, it turns out that it is for a book called "A Dog's Purpose" by W. Bruce Cameron and there is quite a bit of buzz about this one, and here's the proof.  On Amazon.com there have been 92 reviews.... 91 of them have been 5 STARS!  And the other one was for 4 STARS!  So AS IF I am not going to click-click!  And you know what that means... yup, I'm adding yet ANOTHER book to my Kindle which has 7 books on there that have yet to be read.  Sigh. 

For more about this book visit the website A Dog's Purpose...

GIVEAWAY OVER AT BOOK BLAB FOR KIDS!

Hey all!

I think I probably MAY have mentioned, ONCE OR TWICE (cough) that my 10 year old daughter has her own book blog called Book Blab for Kids.  She has just announced her VERY FIRST giveaway with a twist.  The twist is that for every follower that enters the contest our family is going to donate $1 to a GREAT charity that was started by another 10 year old girl named Molly.  You see Molly and Ellie both have siblings adopted from Ethiopia, and Molly is raising $8000 to purchase a clean water well in Ethiopia and we want to do our share!  ( You can visit Molly's Facebook page called H2O for Ethiopia to learn more about her foundation)

All you have to do is enter the contest and WE will put $1 in.  Done and done. 

SO, click here to enter to win a copy of the 2nd book in the Dork Diaries series,which is an entertaining romp through young girlhood. 

NO PRESSURE.  But you really don't want to make not one but TWO 10 year old girls cry, do you? 

DO YOU?!!!  :0)

All kidding aside, she would just love it if you stopped by and entered, or had a look around. 

Thanks everyone!

REVIEW: LOSING IT BY VALERIE BERTINELLI

Losing It - And Gaining My Life Back One Pound

at a Time 

By Valerie Bertinelli

KINDLE Edition

I don't know about any of you, but I have always had the weirdest relationship with my own self image in relation to my weight.  You know, the same thing that millions and millions of women have, that stupid and annoying 10 or even 20 pounds that keeps making a reappearance in my life and on my butt.  Every single time I work on a movie I drop 10 pounds in a month or two, without any effort.  I hadn't worked for 3 years, and my body showed it.  For most of the 3 years I tried to replicate my work environment at home, but it's almost impossible to be literally on my feet walking around for 15 hours, and cut my calorie intake by half. Not to mention being outside freezing most of the time.   So this time when I dropped some weight at the end of my 4 week show, I was determined to not let it creep back.  

HELLO, FAT ASS. 

It's all back.  All of it.  Once again i realized that I need to take a good long look at myself from the inside out.  And then I picked up a copy of Prevention magazine with Valerie on the cover.  I like her.  She seems very down-to-earth and normal, eventhough she married a rock star.  It piqued my interest and I ordered her book on my Kindle.  (Hence why I am IN LOVE with this little device, eventhough my bank account and my husband aren't!)  I read it in four days. 

Her book is a very easy and short read, filled with anecdotal advice on how to live a more authentic life. She is extremely candid about her history, and has this uncanny and almost creepy way of remembering her exact weight and how much she has gained and lost throughout her entire life.  And I thought I was bad!  Her book is exactly what I needed to see that A)I'm not alone and B) a person CAN overcome their obsession with food and how they look, or at least manage said obsession.  

Not only is it a very good book about her self discovery, it's super titilating too!  Who wouldn't want to know what it would be like to be married to Eddie Van Halen?

Immediately after I finished I clicked-clicked and bought Finding It, the next book.  It is not as riveting, but still good.  It focuses on her maintenance and how her life AFTER losing the weight is actually WAY HARDER than initally losing it.  Huh.  A BIT depressing.  BUT that being said, it is super motivating... and just take a look at the evidence:

BEFORE Jenny Craig called and said, "Hey fatty!  Wanna be our spokesperson!" (I'm paraphrasing, but she said something along those lines when the phone rang)

To THIS:

ISN'T THAT AMAZING??!!!!  And YES she did Jenny, and she is very dedicated and loyal to Jenny, but she also worked her butt off to get that body, and I think this photo was taken when she was 48!  YOU GO, VAL!  Just looking at the green bikini shot makes me want to do a sweaty jig around the block. 

ANYway, I think for any woman who would like to peek inside Valerie Bertinelli's life for a time and perhaps even have an aha moment or two, this book is worth the click-click.

RATING:  4/5

SUNDAY UPDATE

Good morning all!  I apologise for the lack of posts lately, I was working a bit and then went to Vancouver to see a friend of mine in the play Glengarry Glen Ross with Eric McCormack.  It was fabulous!  It runs until August 22nd and if you have a chance to see it you must!  But it is selling out every single day so get your tickets early.

I am in a bit of reading limbo at the moment... you know how it is.  I took my Kindle along but just couldn't grasp any reading.  I also am starting my 3rd re-read of the Outlander series so I brought book 1 with me as well.  I just love that book. 

I don't have much else to report, just that I am back home now and looking forward to getting back into routine.  My oldest daughter is in year round school and started last week, so it is fab to get back into the swing of things!

Have a lovely Sunday!