Read / Write / Shoes

This is a great young adult novel. Katie Cox feels that her life is changing - her parents got divorced, her dad moved to America, her mom has started dating someone new and now they all live together, along with her sister. Even her best friend feels to be slipping away. Imagine the excitement when a video of her singing in her bedroom goes viral one day. Everyone in town is talking about it, and eyes all over the world have seen it. A London record company comes calling, and Katie's whole world is about to change! I thought this was a great story that felt very realistic. In this day and age, where the weirdest things can become viral hits one day and misses the next (remember that Friday song?!) this is a story that not only shows how one family can be affected by viral superstardom, but also how those around Katie react as well. This is one I can recommend to all young adult fans! I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hello dear blog! I'm back! It's been over a month since I updated, and I wish I could say it was because I found a job. Alas, it was all for the weddings and honeymoon planning. Thank goodness it is all behind us! When we last left off, I had the third interview with the company I was excited to be interviewing with. After my last post, I had a fourth phone interview with the girl who would be my counterpart. HTB and I found her LinkedIn profile the night before, and I questioned how she ever got the job given she barely had any experience. We wondered what in the world she would ask that she didn't on the second interview, and why it was with her rather than with the person who would be my boss. On the interview she seemed really distracted and hostile. She gave me time to ask questions, which I did, and she seemed irritated. She then asked me 3 questions THAT SHE HAD ASKED DURING THE SECOND INTERVIEW. I answered them all again as though they were the first time I had he

I thought the job interview went well. It felt more like a conversation than a formal, uncomfortable marketing campaign. I spoke with a woman who would be someone I would be working closely with. It's a job that is the next step up from what I have been doing for so long. More strategic and less paper pushing. I feel ready. I feel happy that there is this opportunity to use my 12 years of knowledge for something that can make a difference. I felt good after I hung up the phone. And now...I wait. We spoke on Wednesday. The boss man is in a different time zone and was gone for the day, so he would have received the feedback on Thursday. It's now Friday. Thumb twiddling time.  The job with my old boss? I have heard nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Which makes me feel bad because she told me she would tell me one way or the other. I should have known she would be too scared to. It's business - you already told me to my face I was overqualified and you would be cutting my salary,

It's strange how much things can change over a very small period of time. Where should I start? Firefighters in my house at 1am? An unplanned Scotland trip? How my job search is going? Oh I know - let's start with an author attack! (1) I had my first author attack a review of mine because I did not like her book (if you could call it that)! I didn't think my review was horrible. I explained that it wasn't written in a style I like so it just wasn't for me, but also I felt that the stories needed more details. How awful of me to want MORE from an author rather than shouting to STAY FAR AWAY FROM ME. She left me quite a lengthy reply on Goodreads that indicated that she had not read my review, and that it was a canned response that was summed up with "Jenny McCarthy LOVED my book!" Jenny McCarthy also scared many moms with her idiotic autism claims which she has since recanted, so pardon me if I don't take your glowing review of that to heart. I'

Oh Devlin sisters. I love your family so much. How I wish there were so many more books in this series so that I can stay in this world a little while longer.  This book picks up a few years after Me and My Sisters ended, and everything has changed. Julie and her family has come into money and now deals with problems of having money. Sophie and Jack split up and Sophie has to deal with the problems of Jack's new girlfriend with her daughter. And Louise is raising her daughter, but is struggling to accept the truth of her new life. At first it was hard for me to read, as I hated to see the changes that occurred. But with style and class, Sinead Moriarty spun another tale that kept me turning pages and wanting more.  Chick lit fans - start with the first one and then pick this one up immediately! Then let's all petition for a third book in the life of the Devlin clan! I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

To anyone who loves chick lit books - grab this one IMMEDIATELY! I loved loved loved this book and I wonder if I can give the book justice with my review. This is the first book in the Devlin Sister's series, where we get to meet the Devlin family and catch a glimpse of their life. Julie is married to Harry, and they have 4 sons. Three of them just happen to be triplets. YIKES! She is a stay-at-home mom (or mum since the book does take place in Ireland) who is struggling to find her identity and finds herself turning to her online chat groups for comfort. When Julie discovers a secret about Harry, could it change everything? Louise is a married-to-her-job successful lawyer. Single. In control of everything and no surprises with her! Except...whoops! Hi I'm pregnant! Not realizing she cannot control a baby, she tries to juggle both career and being a single mom. Yeesh... And last, but not least, is Sophie, who is married to Jack. The so-rich-I-can't-even-read-about-h

If the word "vagina" makes you squeamish, then this is not the book for you. Can I even call it a book? It clocks in around 66 pages, at the most, so it does make for a very fast read. That should have been my first red flag. For those that know me, I enjoy reading nonfiction books about other ways of life. That is why I always enjoy reading celebrity autobiographies or biographies. I will never live life that way, so it is interesting to see what their version of normal is. From Natalie Wood, to Jodie Sweetin, Melissa Joan Hart and Holly Madison, I soak it all in. When there are books about careers I would never dive into, I like to read those as well. I want to read about the one the ER doctor wrote. Kitchen Confidential, Waiter Rant - maybe I wanted to work in the culinary arts in a past life? I even read a book on the history of diners - ok I started skimming that one because it was a bit boring. So when I found a book about life as a bikini waxer, I requested it. Let&#

Lexi is a spoiled rich girl who, in the fashion of The Bling Ring, enjoys risky stunts with her equally spoiled friends and brother. Who doesn't go base jumping off of a skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles? Don't we all?  When her father is arrested for illegal activities at a bank he worked at, Lexi will do anything to help his boss also receive justice.  Christian is a teenage bank robber - he has to or else the gang that rules his hood will kill him and his family. The gang declares that one of the biggest jobs they have ever done is about to go down - with Christian and his friends a part of it all. How fateful that the two of them meet when they both want to take down the bank... For what it was, I really enjoyed this book. I have read reviews about people being upset that it was not realistic, or that it made it seem too easy to rob a bank. I don't know about you, but I don't read these types of stories as a "how-to" - well I don't even read how-t

I'm too overqualified for this job. It was a panel interview with my old boss and 2 girls who would be coworkers of this position. My last job did not only my job, but also the work of one of those coworkers. This is getting to be difficult now to even find the enthusiasm to search, much less put myself out there this much for something. This has me really looking at my past jobs, and I can see where I went wrong. Promotions I should have turned down. Opportunities at the time that didn't pan out and made my resume weaker. I'm not able to move up the ladder as I don't have experience, there's nothing at my skill level due to outsourcing, and no one wants me down the ladder. So here I dangle. Off to go watch The Ghost Whisperer...

Yesterday was day 2 of this 30 day hell...errr shred...OW OW ow ow OW! I could barely move! Of course that meant my baby girl was all over the place wanting to be chased, and oh yeah LET'S CLIMB THE STAIRS MOMMY! AGAIN! I spoke with my old boss again at length about the company she now works for. She says "I was up all night trying to think of the good things to tell you." Well that sounds promising. At the end of the conversation though, she asked if I was ok to work with her again. I said I was. She has not been a manager for very long and does not know ANYTHING about my job, so I don't receive much guidance. I told her if I wasn't ok, I would not have called her back. I then made a comment of "as long as you are ok to work with me!" Silence. Uh-oh. She then started to ramble about how our old company was so stressful and it was difficult times. Ohhhhhh so she is holding a grudge that I was friendly with the other manager that she did not get along w

Today was a day that I would classify as...interesting. It started out as what has become my new normal. I wake up, wake up HTB to go shower, snooze and then shower time at the same time baby girl wakes up. I rush to get ready as HTB feeds her, then he leaves for work and I either spend the day playing with her, or I drop her off at daycare. Today was a daycare day. I then walk one of my dogs (my other dog is too old and can't handle a walk anymore) and make some breakfast. Today I decided I was going to binge watch The Ghost Whisperer. Sounds exciting right? Then I make my rounds. Facebook. Goodreads. Twitter. NetGalley. You my little blog. TMZ. And don't forget the oh so fun job search. Somehow I started Googling how to lose weight quickly for a wedding. Don't ask me why. Up until now I have been pretty lazy about losing the baby weight, and made sure my wedding dress would hide the unflattering bits. I found a website though that gave away the secrets. It specified t

FINALLY - This book has been a long time coming. I, like so many others, fell in love with The Nanny Diaries. Naturally, I would read the follow up books that the authors churned out, only to find that the magic of The Nanny Diaries was gone. I tried, and tried, again, but each book left me more disappointed than the last. I did buy TND's sequel, but I have been too afraid to read it and find out that it steals some of the original shine. I don't know why I continued to try - but I am finally happy that I did. Amanda Luker grew up in a trailer park with a less-than-stellar mother who always looked for a man to save her. Amanda found that she was also looking for a way out as well. As luck would have it, Amanda meets a politician named Tom Davis and his wife Lindsay. Having just lost her job, due to a wealthy man and his friends, Pax Westerbrook, upon meeting the Davis', Amanda hustles her way into volunteering and works her way up into the world of politics and the lives

Ouch. I remember before HTB was around that when I was dating I would feel the pain of rejection after dates didn't go well or relationships would break up. The happiness of leaving those days behind me was huge! Never again would I feel the sting of rejection! I found my happily ever after! End of story! Move me into my princess castle! And then fast forward to the job search. Back comes the sting of rejection. I went on this interview a few months ago after being contacted on LinkedIn. I wasn't happy where I was so I figured I would go and see what the job and company were about. Just like in the past, I fell hard after being pursued. Love was in my eyes (**insert emoji of that face that has the hearts for eyeballs!**) They pursued me, told me how much they cared and wanted to start something, and like a person afraid of commitment, they pulled the rug out from under me. "It's not you - it's me. And me wants to pursue other people." Not even a phone ca

I am such a sucker for books about a fish-out-of-water transplant, and reality TV themes for books. Guilty pleasure? So when I read the synopsis for this one, I knew I had to read it. A.J. Stewart moves to Nashville from the backwoods of Tennessee after the death of her father. She has 2 older brothers and is more of a grease monkey than a makeup hound. Kate Kelly grew up in Nashville surrounded by expensive fashion, extravagance and being perfect in her private school. Hmmm two completely different girls from two different worlds? We can all see where this is going... A reality TV show is a possibility, and what could be better than contrasting Kate and A.J? Sprinkled throughout are thoughts on God, losing your faith and finding it again. With all that being said, as I viewed an ARC, I'm not sure what has changed between what I have read and the synopsis that is posted as of the date of my review on both Goodreads and NetGalley. It discusses Kate's brother Val (not his name in

And with Friday comes...a potential job interview!!! When I first started my career, I remember being called saying "We like your resume so come meet us face to face." All that has changed over the years to now "We won't waste your time coming in if we don't like you so PHONE INTERVIEW!" I just got the request for a phone interview for a job I applied to earlier this week. Phew! With all the resumes flying out of here and no phone calls I was starting to worry. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I will be speaking with them on Tuesday! HAPPY WEEKEND!!!! Read : Time to start a new book! Fighting between a book by someone from Duck Dynasty (Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson) (never saw the show but I was impressed by her credentials!) and a book by the women who wrote The Nanny Diaries. Scared of the second one though, because while I loved TND, I haven't enjoyed ANY of their follow up books. Ever the reading optimist, I will give it a go tho

Jill Stevens was working towards having it all. She was a high flying lawyer struggling to make partner, while living with a fellow lawyer in New York City. It all comes crashing down when she is unexpectedly fired, and then catches her boyfriend cheating on her. With nowhere else to go, Jill moves back home with her parents. There she finds a list she made when she was 18 -  30 things to do before she turns 30. With only a couple of these items crossed off, she begins to check them off one by one. I really enjoyed this one! I remember when I turned 30 *cough cough - wasn't that last year? cough* I had a lot of the same feelings that Jill did. I wasn't married. I had no kids. I was at a crossroads in my career. I really identified with the feeling lost sensation, and I wish that I had friends like Jill's to help me through. I didn't have a list, but I still was forcing myself to try and do at least one new thing a month. This book reminded me a lot of "The Next

Hello my little blog! Let's play catch up for something other than a NetGalley review! Read:  I have SO many books that I want to read!! Where will I ever find the time to read them all? I have quite the backlog for my favorite authors, and also a few new authors. The book I have been dying to read is "Diary of a Haunting" by M. Verano, but I really want to wait and read it at night curled up in bed. Sarah Mlynowski's new one has come out that I also want to read. YIKES! I can't even list all of the series I need to finish, or the books sitting on my shelves gathering dust. But first? I am determined to get an 80% feedback rating on NetGalley, so I have about 20 more books to read to clear off my shelf. Right now I am laughing along to "Thirty Days to Thirty" by Courtney Psak (review to come soon as I should be able to finish this soon!) Write: Happy Father's Day! Right now I am finishing up publishing a book that was written by my daughter (ok

Holly and Lawrence. Bella and Sam. Olivia and Ross. Harry and Rachel. One by one the relationships crumble, and Holly finds herself joining a club with Bella, Olivia, and Harry that started out as a joke, but turned out to be a lifeline - the Break-Up Club. Who better to cry to, to laugh with and to meet every Sunday to support each other to stop wallowing and start living life? You get to see the progress, and regression, of each character in the club as they figure out, not only how to move on from their break ups, but also about their jobs, their friendships, and seeing if they can move on to new relationships. When I started reading this book, I had a preconceived notion that this was going to be, what I call, a light beach read. People break up. They get lost. They find love. I was pleasantly surprised when there was more depth to the story than I originally thought. There were times when I was reading it, where I thought the story was close to an end, only to have a new sto

Attention all chick lit fans who love to laugh - pick this book up immediately! Lizbeth Bates moves from the UK to America to live with her American friend Phoebe Hawkins and they find themselves without a job. The road to a new job has never been funnier. In a case of mistaken identity, they find themselves employed with a website running a "Dear Abby"-esque column (which PS I am so jealous of and wish it was my reality!) Will they be found out? Will they be fired? Will they ever find a filter from telling it how it is regardless of the situation?  This book had me laughing one minute, shaking my head the next, and then laughing again. I will be looking forward to finding the sequel, and hope that this becomes more of a series. This was my first "new adult" book, and if they are all like this, then I will be looking for more. I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I had known that this was book 3 of a series before I started reading it. Had I known, I would have sought out the other two books to read first. The one thing that kept me from giving this a 5-star rating is that the book makes an extraordinary amount of references to events that occurred in Daphne and Greta's past, but barely explains what those are. One can only surmise that these events are referenced in the first 2 books of the series. If you ignore those references and remind yourself that everyone in your life has a past that you are unaware of, then you can read this book as a standalone novel. Daphne Saito is living the dream in LA - writing screenplays that sell and hanging out in exclusive clubs that her friends own. Due to events from Daphne's past, she has trouble letting people in, but after breaking up with someone, she meets the man that may be able to see past all that. But where Daphne goes, trouble always seems to follow. With people out for revenge,

This book was marketed as "Parenting and Families" and being a new mom, I requested to read this to see what challenges my daughter may be faced with when she enters school. What would she want her teacher to know? My idea of what this book was about could not be more off base. While a few cards were shared (my favorite being "I wish my teacher knew that I love nachos") that was not the focus of this book. The focus of this book was on Kyle's research about how to be a better, more engaged teacher to those in less affluent areas. While I am not a teacher, a lot of this I could not relate to, and I found myself skipping pages. Schwartz provides real world examples of the ideas she speaks about, which was about the most interesting part of the book. The saddest part for me was that I never found the area where they talked about the kid who loved nachos, yet that card was displayed with every chapter. Nacho-loving child - I feel you! You were the only part of the

I didn't think that I would enjoy this book as much as I did, so it was a nice surprise when I found myself so engaged I couldn't stop reading! I'm extremely tired this morning as I write this as I stayed up for most of the night to finish the book. I had to see how it ended - I was not disappointed! Every year, Annie and some of her friends get together for a week away in the Hamptons, away from husbands and kids. Newly divorced, Annie finds herself with 3 of her friends going on their annual trip, only this time she is ready for adventure! She finds herself agreeing to go stake out a celebrity so her obsessed friend can meet him. Imagine her surprise when they meet that celebrity, Jason Wilde, have a few drinks with him, watch him pass out, and take him home so he can sleep it off. Before they know it, they are being wanted for kidnapping him! Police are involved, and when some misunderstandings occur, the FBI gets involved as well! How's that for an adventure? At

I loved this cute story for middle grade children! When my daughter is older I can see this being a series that I would be OK with her reading. Of course I am biased even more, as I really enjoy books that are told in a diary format. When I read the synopsis and saw it was a children's book told in a diary format, I knew that I had to read it. In this story, Valentine's Day is upon us (ick!) and Pippa's mom doesn't have a Valentine. Enter Pippa to save the day  while also completing her Valentine's Day Project. What are the three things you love the most? I definitely recommend this book for girls in middle grade! If this book is like the rest of the books in the series, then I will be finding the other books for me to read - oh yeah, and also my daughter! I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well here is a blog post that I never thought I would write. I remember when I used to write on My Dear Diary (before the days of blogs) and I would write all about my college days. Parties I went to, sorority life and, of course, dating. I always dreamed of settling down and having a family, and now that it is happening I still can't wrap my mind around it! It's been 10 months and my daughter has fallen in love with Play With Me Sesame. Not Sesame Street - PLAY WITH ME SESAME. Of course she did, because they took it off of Netflix and I can't find it ANYWHERE! There are 5 DVD's that exist of some excerpts of the show. We only own 4 of them that are played on constant rotation. My husband-to-be (HTB) and I can recite each segment by heart. We know which songs stop baby girl short and which characters make her laugh. So color us happy when we heard that Grover and Cookie Monster were going to be at the LA Zoo! I thought we might get a cute picture of me holding baby

Oh to be 25 again. To be so young, so free of responsibilities. You can be what you want to be, go anywhere and do anything you set your mind to! I was skinny! I worked all day and partied all night! I dated and then dated some more! I lived...with an ex-boyfriend because we couldn't afford to live alone and we didn't want to live with strangers (ironic since we became like strangers during that time).  Work? I had a mountain of debt from college and no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Relationships? What relationships? Just a lot of awkward dates trying to find a relationship. Partying? Ok - that was fun. 25 Sense was like taking a trip down memory lane to a time when I was in my early 20's. Claire Malone is an aspiring television writer working as an assistant on a TV show. She finds herself flirting with her married boss which leads to an affair. Turning 25, she finds herself feeling lost with love, with work, with her family and where she fits in with it all. 

As I am trying to get my blog off the ground, I was excited when I was selected to review this book. I wouldn't say that I'm blocked, but any inspiration would help. Well that, and if I could find some extra time in my day (as any writer would say). With that thought in mind, I dove in. Right in the beginning, after reading the introduction, I was hit with an advertisement page - buy my companion book! I know I was given this for free in exchange for my review, but had I spent money on this book, it would irritate me that now I need to spend even MORE money to get something out of this. I don't even know if I like this book - so let's begin. In going through the 62 blog posts, I didn't find a way to overcome bloggers block. Instead I was reading 62 different types of blog posts, and then a real world example. While there were a couple of good ideas listed that could work with my blog, many wouldn't. This book reads better for those that are just starting out and

Remember that time when your dreams of the future collided with the present day, and you have to reconcile both of them? That moment is captured in The Museum of Heartbreak. Seventeen-year-old Penelope Marx is at the point in her life where friendships are beginning to change, new relationships are forming, and old friendships may be left behind. Penelope experiences heartbreak for the first time in multiple fashions, and in coming to terms with it develops the Museum of Heartbreak. The story is told with each chapter showing how a piece of the museum came to be a part of Penelope's heartbreak, one item at a time. It weaves together Penelope's tale and all the players involved. I first heard of this book in a Buzzfeed article of YA books to read and thought that the idea of it sounded great. After all, who hasn't experienced heartbreak? When I began to read the book, I really liked that an item from the museum was displayed, and it's story shared. I haven't se

Nina is defnitely not OK! I finished this book an hour ago, and I am sitting here still trying to process the roller coaster of emotions this book brought out of me. I felt so much while reading this - contentment, embarrassment, anger, laughter, and the ending brought tears out of my eyes, both happy and sad at the same time. There has only been one other book that made me sob the way this one did (here's looking at you Marley & Me!)  I always say that any book that can produce these types of emotions while reading is a great book. The author, Shappi Khorsandi, introduced me to the world of Nina being not OK, grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Anytime I had to step away from the book I would wonder what was coming next. When it seemed like the story was over, another speed bump would occur.  Nina's story starts right off the bat with an event that propels Nina into a downward spiral. She was already heading there, but this guarantees her free fall. We are invited in

We all know the tale of Freaky Friday - mom and daughter don't understand each other and through magic are each moved into the others life to live without a road map. Big? 13 Going on 30? A youth is now an adult bumbling through life. Who doesn't love these stories! Enter Life Swap... This is a book I judged by it's title and cover. The cover looked whimsical and, based on the title alone, I wanted to dive in. After reading the plot summary I was hooked! "This should be great!" I thought. Two people who are upset with their lot in life get to swap lives only to find out the grass isn't always greener. Do they swap with each other? Do they swap with others? Is this anything like the show Wife Swap where they get to critique each other afterward? And so I began... The first 100 pages or so of the book introduced us to Simon and Polly and showed us just how bad their life had become. Memories of the past are sprinkled throughout. Simon is turning 50 soon and

I loved this book! Like a breath of fresh air, it felt nice to read a story with an idea I have never seen before. Even better - I never saw the ending coming! To help her sister out, Grace finds herself in Amsterdam working as a celebrity impersonator who also strips for the first time in her life, all the while hiding it from her fiance. With a star-studded (albeit impersonators) cast of characters, this book made me laugh and had me intrigued with shenanigans that can happen in this world. Highly highly recommend to all who are looking for a book that can make them laugh, is a quick read  and is hard to put down! Paige Nick has a fan in me, and I look forward to any new novels from her in the future! I received this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every since I resigned my position, on the days I send my daughter to daycare, I have felt a bit lost. Someone suggested since I read so much and always review it on Goodreads, and had been thinking of beginning to use my blog to do reviews as well, that I should join NetGalley. I am so glad I did! So far I have reviewed 3 books and I was able to connect with one author. That is amazing! More reviews to come!

This charming story made me nostalgic for that time in your childhood when you begin to mature and you go crazy not understanding why your friends are acting strange, and why you begin to see people you knew your whole life in a different way. Charlie, having just started year nine (that's 13 years old for those who don't know) is going through a lot - her friends since childhood are changing (Max, Toby and Allie), her Aunt is sick and she's starting to have very vivid dreams that start coming true causing her to find out family secrets, and the thoughts of her friends.  When I read the summary, I thought this was going to be a fanciful tale of "I dreamed I could make people fly and look there they go." I'm so glad it wasn't. No one turned into a vampire. No one changed into an animal of any kind. No wizards, witches or bullying. Am I the only one who is getting sick of that? I feel like every time I walk into the young adult section, I am bombarded with H

Years ago, I saw the movie The Princess Diaries and, as I always do, I had to seek out the book. After reading The Princess Diaries, I fell in love with Mia and her world. I read all 10 of the books in the series, and as many of the companion books that I could find. So when Meg Cabot announced that an adult novel of Mia's wedding was to be published, I cheered louder than anyone could imagine! Once it was received, I could not read it fast enough. And now there was a new princess, and half-sister, in addition to Mia? Well, hello Olivia! I welcome you to Genovia and the family that I almost feel that I am a part of as well! I became a fan of Olivia's books as well ( From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess) . Now, a e-short story will be released in early May before Olivia's second story comes out!  Note: If you have not read  Royal Wedding  yet and plan to, this short story (and my review) may provide spoilers! Like a soft, comfortable and familiar blanket, Roya