December 2, 2014
The Publicist Book One by Christina George #AudioBook #review #giveaway
A young, independent woman trying to find her way in the publishing world in New York. The Publicist Book One by Christina George in audio book format has it all: adventure, finding oneself and a forbidden love.
About the Book
There is always more to every story.
A young woman wants to change the age old institution of publishing. Will she succeed? Maybe not but Kate sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system – books that don’t always sell and author egos that are often as big as the island of Manhattan!
Enter the star Editor, MacDermott Ellis. MacDermott is tall, handsome, charismatic as well as married. He is always ready to save the day. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be leading her decisions. Then there is Allan Lavigne, once a revered author, now as forgotten as yesterday’s news and his nephew Nick, who wants to sweep Kate away from New York for another coast, California.
As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, the over the top author expectations and the careful dance of, “I’m sorry your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week”, she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more celebrities and more scandal.
My Thoughts
This was my very first audio book (no lie – my Dad is a huge fan of them but I have never listened to one before) so I was super excited to wind down each night with this book.
When I first saw the novel I thought it would be solely a romantic novel but I was pleasantly surprised. While there was a strong focus on the sparks between MacDermott and Kate, we are able to see into Kate’s life as a young publicist trying to make a difference in the world. She is like any other young woman trying to find her place in the world – she struggles, she loves and she cares for those around her. Sometimes it is her caring heart that causes her to be hurt in turn.
I loved the audio book format of this book – the narrator was excellent truly bringing each character to life. It was so easy to fall into the story this way – I was able to close my eyes, lay back and let her bring them to life. This is definitely one book that will not disappoint!
About the Author
Christina George has worked in publishing for twenty years (give or take). Here’s what this book isn’t. It’s not a slam against publishing (though it is broken) and it’s not a slam against authors (though some of them are crazy). This book is not autobiographical though many of the stories are true. No you won’t know which ones, cause it’s more fun to guess, right? George continues to work in publicity and helps authors because at the end of the day she does love books, she loves publishing, and she loves authors. She hopes you’ll enjoy this romp through Kate’s world as much as she enjoyed creating it.
Rating: 5/5
Make sure to follow Christina on Twitter and Facebook.
Giveaway Time! Enter below to win your own spa basket or Amazon gift card!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I received an audio book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 1, 2014
Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Headphones For Your Active Lifestyle and Giveaway #HolidayGiftGuide
Tweens and active individuals alike will love the Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Headphones! Sleek, easy to use with a great charge life these headphones will be the perfect gift under the tree this year.
Kinivo BTH240 bluetooth headphones is the new re-design of the popular BTH220 headphones. Kinivo took customer recommendations into consideration and the new design includes: increased battery life, micro USB charging port, sleeker design as well as a reduced LED brightness.
It was easy to fall in love with the sleek wrap around design of the BTH240 headphones. The headphones wrap around the back of your neck allowing a comfortable fit without it getting in the way or feeling uncomfortable. Pairing with our devices was simple (thank goodness!) – press and hold a button until the light is flashing, go to settings on your device and link to the headphones.
What impressed me the most about the BTH240 headphones was the battery life. Unlike many other devices these have lasted several days on one charge. The box states that the battery life is ten hours but I think they are much longer than that. They have stayed charged longer then the device they are connected to!
The sound quality was impressive for their size – everything comes through crystal clear.
Kinivo is giving my Canadian and American readers the chance to win their BTH240 Bluetooth headphones! This will definitely make someone happy this holiday season! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below – good luck!
Disclosure: I received a pair of BTH240 bluetooth headphones in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 1, 2014
DIY Christmas Advent Calendar
December 1st is just around the corner and every year we like to count down to Christmas Eve in a special way.
This year we made our own Advent calendar (along with their Kinder chocolate calendars – we can’t not have those ones!). We put together a list of all the activities we wanted to do together as a family before Christmas and began our new craft.
You will need:
- Christmas bowl, basket or bucket
- 24 candy canes
- white paper (or a colour of your own choosing)
- ribbon
- hole puncher
- scissors
Directions
Print out your choice of daily activities for the month. Some of them we repeated (like the crafts, cookie baking and colouring).
Cut out each item into a rectangular shape. Fold the paper in half. Using a hole punch put a hole in the top left corner.
Cut out twenty four equal lengths of ribbon.
Thread the ribbon through each rectangular note and tie each one onto one candy cane for a total of twenty four times.
Number each note making sure you are being realistic with what you will be able to accomplish for each day of the month – we knew we wouldn’t be able to build a gingerbread house during the week so these activities were saved for the weekend.
After they are numbered place them decoratively in your bin or basket and display in a prominent place in your home.
Ideas for your family activities (we repeated a couple of these because they are so much fun!):
- write a Santa letter and mail
- make homemade tree ornaments
- bake cupcakes
- colour in a Christmas colouring book
- watch a Christmas movie with popcorn
- read Christmas books together
- bake Christmas cookies
- put together a Christmas gift for our teacher
- build a gingerbread house together
- visit Santa Claus
- have a Christmas-sing-a-long
- bake cookies for Santa
- hot chocolate and movie night
- wrap family gifts
- put on a Christmas play at home
- crafts together
Most importantly – have fun with your ideas! How do you like to count down to Christmas?
November 29, 2014
The Chrysalis by Bindu Adai Mathew #review
Love, loss and finding oneself amongst different cultures – The Chrysalis by Bindu Adai Mathew has it all!
About The Chrysalis
Our main character, Sarai must walk the fine line between honouring her Indian heritage and being true to her own Western mindset. Her story unveils the kaleidoscope of human emotion from ecstasy to heartbreak to triumph, along with every nuance in between.
What begins with a story of a young Indian girl who faces the pressures of an arranged marriage quickly crescendos into a complex story of family, love, friendship. What Sarai learns is that life is truly a journey.
My Thoughts
I fell in love with The Chrysalis within the first chapter. Bindu has an intimate way of writing where you feel like you are having a conversation with your best friend, Sarai. She makes you laugh out loud, cry and even challenge your own beliefs.
In this novel, we find Sarai having to recover from a significant loss in her life. A loss so great that it changes the path she had drawn out for herself. Suddenly Sarai is left lost, afraid and so unsure of what she should do. She questions her own beliefs, her actions as well as the beliefs of her family.
Sarai is a first generation American whose family holds strict beliefs on how a young Indian woman should behave, when she should be married, who she should marry and the list goes on! I am sure many individuals can relate to her story as she tries to adjust to life in America, her own values and beliefs while honouring her culture and family. She is a young woman on a road to self discovery and it was a pleasure to be able to share this journey with Sarai. A definite must read – I can not wait to see what other novels Bindu has in store!
You can find The Chrysalis on Bindu’s website as well as on Amazon.
Rating: 4.5/5
About Bindu Adai
Bindu started college as a pre-med student but diverted from the traditional path to pursue her love of books and writing. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and double majors in English and Mass Media. She has completed her first novel, The Chrysalis along with 38 Candles, a personal memoir about the rediscovery of her dream to write a novel and her journey to publication. She is currently working on her next novel, Almost Paradise: Book 1 of the Garden of Eden, a young adult novel.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
November 29, 2014
Swept Away by Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven #review
The past and present collide in Swept Away – will our two main characters be able to come to peace with their past in order to love in the present?
About Swept Away
Sara doesn’t think she wants to have to love in her life. Her Grandmother has different plans for her.
Sara Morgan is trying to balance teaching with caring for her stubborn and unwell Grandmother. When school lets out for the summer, the plans are for Grandma to teach Sara to quilt. But as many of us know, things do not always go as planned.
Andrew is hiding from his past and his future. He works as a handyman to pay the bills but his heart loves his art – designing homemade brooms. When Sara’s Grandmother hires him to renovate her home, sparks fly between Drew and Sara.
Still it doesn’t take Sara long to see Drew isn’t what he seems. Questions arise and she starts to research him online! What she discovers could change her life and her heart forever.
My Thoughts
A lovely story of two individuals who given any other chance meeting would never have looked twice at each other. Instead they are tied together by Sara’s Grandmother, their need to look after her and their own sense of loss. Both of our main characters, Sara and Drew, have been dealt blows in their life through a loved one passing away and are still fragile from these losses. They are learning to trust and put themselves out there again. Sara’s Grandmother sees how well they would suit and adds that comic relief in the novel with her matchmaking skills!
A very unique story of accepting their past in order to live in the present, Swept Away is a true treasure to enjoy.
You can find more reviews on Swept Away on the Litfuse blog tour here.
Rating: 4/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.