Category: giveaway

February 28, 2017

The Hottest TV Shows Rounded Up on DVD with Shout Factory

My kids love their favourite television shows and to be honest it brings back great memories of when I was a kid. My siblings and I would spend hours together on the weekend and sometimes after school enjoying our favourite shows together. Shout Factory has released some of the top rated television shows during the month of February on DVD.

Here is the Hottest February TV Show DVD Round Up:

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Exploring the Crystal Empire

My Little Pony – Friendship Is Magic: Exploring the Crystal Empire is coming to DVD on February 7, 2017 in the U.S. and Canada from Shout! Kids in collaboration with Hasbro Studios.

Join Twilight Sparkle, everypony’s favorite studious princess, and her very best friends – Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike – as they explore the wondrous arctic kingdom, the Crystal Empire! Old enemies return and new friends are made in this collection of episodes that will have you exploring the Crystal Empire with magical adventure!

Episodes Include:

The Cutie Re-mark, Part 1
The Cutie Re-mark, Part 1
The Cutie Re-mark, Part 2
The Crystalling, Part 1
The Crystalling, Part 2
The Times They Are A Changeling

Littlest Pet Shop: Pet Stars

A pet star is born! On February 14, 2017, buddy up with Blythe and her superstar pet pals with Littlest Pet Shop: Pet Stars on DVD from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios.

Sinister king cobras, comedy festivals, pet hotels and a monkey on Mars?! It is all here, as Blythe and her best friends – Russell the Hedgehog, Pepper the Skunk, Zoe the Spaniel, Minka the Monkey, Sunil the Mongoose, Penny the Panda and Vinnie the Gecko – share one outrageous adventure after another in The Littlest Pet Shop: Pet Stars!

Episodes Include:

Heart Of Parkness
Standup Stinker
The Secret Recipe
A Night At The Pawza
Sue Syndrome

Transformers Rescue Bots: Protect and Explore

Get ready for big adventures and rescues in the great outdoors! Transformers Rescue Bots: Heroes of Tech will be released on DVD on February 21, 2017 from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios. Featuring five episodes that the whole family can enjoy, this DVD is priced at a suggested retail price of $14.93.

When a mysterious iceberg is spotted off the coast of Griffin Rock, it brings both danger and the interest of an old nemesis. On a nature hike, the Rescue Bots team will have to battle escaped snakes. And when the Burns family is stranded at sea by a swarm of jellyfish, the Bots must control miniature souvenir replicas of themselves. Enjoy these adventures and more in Transformers Rescue Bots: Protect and Explore!

Episodes include:

Tip of the Iceberg
Buddy System
No Place Like Dome
Thieves Like Us
The New Recruits

Now my Canadian and American readers can now enter to win a prize pack that includes all three of the above mentioned DVDs! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received copies of the above mentioned DVDs. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 14, 2017

Let’s Try This Again Book Review

In Let’s Try This Again we have one girl and two guys. It’s complicated. And hot.

About Let’s Try This Again

First there is Isaac, the ex-boyfriend who threatens her move to a sunny new life on the west coast when he suddenly comes back into the picture. The chemistry is intoxicating and Josie starts eating, breathing, and sleeping with him again until the move. Things are hard enough saying goodbye to her childhood home and very best friends, but when Isaac makes it seem like he might actually want her to stay, Josie wonders if she’s giving up on him too quickly.

Josie takes the plunge and moves to California.

Then comes Carter. Sweet, doting – and, oh my god! – former boy band heartthrob, Carter. Josie’s new life falls into place, with new friends and a job working as the personal assistant for Carter as he plans the re-launch of his career. When it seems like there might be something between Josie and her new boss, she can’t help but hold back in fear of crossing a line and, worse yet, getting her heart crushed. Once again.

What spirals into a complicated, heart wrenching, unexpected love triangle forces Josie to face a decision that she is not sure she can make. Carter or Isaac. Or – who knows?

It’s Sex in the City meets Bridget Jones Diary under the Hollywood sign. A masterful debut novel of love, sex and rock & roll in the New Adult genre.

My Thoughts

Oh my goodness – Let’s Try This Again is hilarious, honest, emotional and full of hope. We have Josie, who is like your best friend. The one you love with all your heart but who makes the same bad decisions over and over again. You want nothing more than the absolute best for her but can’t help her when she makes the same decisions over and over again (like going back to the bad ex-boyfriend who makes her feel used and unloved). You just have to be there for them with the ice cream and wine. And that’s what her friends do in this hilarious novel.

Just when you think she can’t make any more bad decisions when it comes to her ex, Josie decides to move to California. Some of this was to make him jealous and another part for a fresh start for her. This is when it gets really steamy (and a tad bit confusing and fun!). She meets her teenage crush, Carter, and actually begins to work for him. This slowly becomes a little bit more until a romance emerges. A huge part of me kept rooting for her and Carter – he seemed so perfect for her! But she feels conflicted every step of the way. Carter and Isaac. And then back again.

This novel was awesome – fun, sexy and felt like a conversation with your best friend. Hearing it described as Sex in the City meets Bridget Jones Diary is the exact way I would describe it. If you are a huge fan of those movies, you will love Josie and the adventure she gets herself in. A definite great read that you will fall in love with over and over again.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo books and iTunes.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Jordyn Woodtke is an exceedingly gifted new author who is destined to take the New Adult genre by storm with her debut novel entitled Let’s Try This Again.

A graduate of NYU, she majored in screenwriting with a minor in bottomless brunching, skills she took with her when she moved to Los Angeles to follow her dream of becoming a writer. Jordyn started writing poetry and plays in high school, garnering prestigious awards and accolades from the Hartford Stage, Drexel University, the Waterbury Young Playwrights Festival and the national Scholastic Art & Writing awards, among others.

Now, on any given afternoon you are likely to find Jordyn petting random dogs on her street, noshing at any of the numerous brunch spots in LA, or bingeing Netflix on her couch. She’s grateful and dedicated to the art of storytelling because it lets her say all the things she wished she’d said when she had the chance.

And if Let’s Try This Again is any indicator of future success, Jordyn will get to keep saying them for a long, long time.

Connect with Jordyn on her website, Twitter and Instagram.

Cinematic Scene

Book Trailer

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 7, 2017

Canadian Release of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir #Giveaway

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is set to release on DVD in Canada on February 7th!

About Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybuy and Cat Noir is coming to DVD in Canada on February 7, 2017, from Shout! Kids, in collaboration with ZAG. The release features seven incredible episodes, bonus features, and a French language track – très bon! Wildly successful on Nickelodeon in the United States, and now airing on the Family Channel and YTV in Canada, its legions of fans worldwide know that Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is superhero super fun.

Marinette and Adrien, two seemingly normal kids live what appears to be an ordinary teen life in Paris with daily encounters that create amusing circumstances in school, with friends, family, and even with strangers. But when the evil Hawk Moth threatens their beloved city of Paris, they transform into the superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir using super powers gained with the help of their magical friends. Hawk Moth is using his evil energy to transform normal people into super villains, so our two heroes need to use all their skills to defeat him.

Becoming Ladybug is a complicated process. First, Marinette needs a “Kwami,” which is a tiny magical assistant (called Tikki). She also needs a “Miraculous,” which is a magical accessory (her special pair of earrings). Tikki uses the Miraculous to transform Marinette, but her Ladybug super powers only work for a limited time!

It is a good thing that she gets a little help from her superhero partner, Cat Noir even though she insists she doesn’t need him. If only she knew Cat Noir’s true identity – her school crush, Adrien! It will take a lot – friendship, teamwork and skill – to outwit Hawk Moth. Will Ladybug and Cat Noir be able to balance their double lives and keep Paris safe? Will they ever find out each other’s true identity? Until then – there is a whole city of baddies to defeat… SPOTS ON, CLAWS OUT!

Episodes:

The Bubbler
Mr. Pigeon
Stormy Weather
Timebreaker
Copycat
The Pharoah
Lady Wifi

Bonus Features

Episode Animatics
Sing-Along
Cast and Crew Interviews

Our Thoughts

We love the tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir and was super excited for this Canadian release. Where else can you find a funny, strong female superhero that both boys and girls will love. The graphics and animation are fantastic and well suited to young children. The humour is the best – appropriate for young children, slightly older children and adults (which is a must for the shows that we watch together). This DVD is perfect for after school fun, PA days and holidays.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Canadian readers can now enter to win their own special Canadian release of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir via the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this DVD in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 6, 2017

Grimm Woods Book Review

A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm’s fairy tale.

About Grimm Woods

A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm’s fairy tale. Trapped in the wilderness, the remaining counselors must follow a trail of dark children’s fables in order to outwit a psychopath and save the dwindling survivors before falling prey to their own gruesome endings.

Drawing on the grisly, uncensored details of history’s most famous fairy tales, Grimm Woods is a heart-pounding thriller about a deranged killer who uses traditional children’s stories as tropes in elaborate murders. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Michigan, it’s a journey through the mind of a dangerous zealot and a shocking glimpse into the bedtime stories you thought you knew.

My Thoughts

A horrifying, suspenseful novel that has some of the most famous fairy tales at the heart of the story. I knew most fairy tales have a more twisted and scary original version but I never realized how much so! I actually had to look some of them up after this novel and I was a bit shocked. He wove these fairy tales so well into the story with just enough history and just enough explanation on how each fairy tale related to the murder. You can fully appreciate the amount of research and planning that this must have taken to work out the plot in this novel. He did an amazing job.

The story itself is well thought out – the ending was not at all even remotely what I thought was coming. The murderer was someone I did not even see coming and it was a curveball that I loved. Each chapter had something new and I could not stop reading this novel. You just had to know what was happening next.

While it is a horror and there is a some graphic murders, it is actually not as gruesome and descriptive in the deaths as some horror novels that I have read. There is also a good balance between the intense moments with calmer moments as we get to learn more about the characters. Grimm Woods is a fantastic read for horror fans! Happy reading.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

D. Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town that few people have heard of and even fewer have visited. While most of his stories are for adults, he also enjoys terrifying younger audiences from time to time, as seen in his series of twisted picture books for children. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris, Stoker, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to horror. For more information, visit www.dmelhoff.com.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

February 2, 2017

Celebrate Family Day with Kidapalooza!

Family day weekend is all about fun, family and being together. Kidapalooza brings all of this to the table and more.

So what is Kidapalooza? It is a three day celebration of the imagination that will have families creating, exploring and playing together. It provides a hands-on, creative experience for families from all across the Greater Toronto Area. The event takes place indoors at the Markham Fair Grounds, so no need to worry about the cold weather we are currently going through. The event runs Family Day long weekend, from February 18-20.

The event has expanded this year to include 45,000 square feet of activity stations, play zones, interactive inflatables, performance stage, dance parties and vendors. There is an endless list of activities for you and your child to do together.

My readers can now enter to win their own family pack of tickets (two adults and two children) to attend Kidapalooza. Please make sure that you are close enough to the event to attend as transportation and accomodation are not provided. GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out the Kidapalooza website for more information and contest to win a Springfree Large Oval Smart Trampoline (valued at $2,749). Don’t forget to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with event details, giveaways and more.