Secrets in Phoenix Sneak Peeks

Hello there everybody! So, this post is for something very exciting. As some of you may know, I love watching BookTube videos. One BookTuber that I enjoy watching a lot, BenjaminofTomes, has just announced something very exciting. He has started up his very own micro-publishing company, called OfTomes Publishing!

You can find OfTomes Publishing at these following places:

Tumblr: http://oftomespub.tumblr.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/oftomes/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/oftomes?lang=en

So, the first book for this new publishing company is, ‘Secrets in Phoenix’, by Gabriella Lepore, which is very exciting. There is not much that has been released about this book yet, however I am here today to share with you the few things that have been released.

The first thing being the actual name of the book, the author of the book, and of course, the release date of the book.

As you can see, the book will be coming out on the 13^th of October, which is coming up very soon! I am definitely very excited for it to come out!

I am also very excited to give you the synopsis of the book, so that you can hopefully get excited to own it yourself when it comes out!

 

 I don't know about you, but this synopsis sounds extremely intriguing.

 Here are just a few words that make it sound like the book is going to be completely amazing and I just know that I am going to enjoy it a whole lot. 

                                                  

The last thing that I have to show you is a drawing, which looks like it is mostly likely meant to be a picture of the boarding school that Sophie, Sam and Todd are going to be attending. Which is just super exciting to get a visual of something from that is in the book!

Overall, I know that all of these sneak peaks into 'Secrets in Phoenix' are making me that much more excited to read it when it comes out. Along with showing you guys these sneak peeks for the book, I've also been given the chance to be one of the few people to release the book cover tomorrow, so look forward to that! I was really excited to be given the chance to do this by OfTomes Publishing, so thank you very much for allowing this!

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and I will talk to you all later!

Review: It's Raining Cupcakes, By: Lisa Schroeder

Have you ever read a book when you were little, and absolutely loved it, but then when you go back and try to read it again when you're a little bit older, and it's not as good as you remember it being? Yeah, that's what happened for me with It's Raining Cupcakes.

I'm pretty sure that I got It's Raining Cupcakes for my birthday one year, and I remember reading it straight away and absolutely loving it. I used to be really into cooking and baking. I still am, just not as much. I also used to really want to become a chef/baker (now I'm leaning more towards becoming an editor/publisher/author). So, reading a book about baking and opening up a cupcake shop, was mesmerizing to me. It made me want to pursue baking and cooking even more than I already did. At the back of the book there are cupcake recipes that are mentioned in the book, and I remember loving making them, and knowing that I was making the same cupcakes that Isabel and her mom were making in the story.

It's Raining Cupcakes is a book about a girl named Isabel who lives in a very small town in Oregon. She's never left, and she would do pretty much anything to go somewhere other than where she is. So, when she gets the chance to possibly go to New York through a baking competition, she jumps at the chance. However, with her mom opening up her own new cupcake shop, she's not getting to make what she wants to make for the competition. Her mom wants her to make cupcakes, but she wants to make something a little bit different. 

As you can tell, this book is more of a middle-grade, children's book. Like I said, when I was little I loved It's Raining Cupcakes. However, when I picked it up this time, I wasn't as wowed by it. Sure, it was the same story, but it just wasn't as interesting anymore. The writing wasn't that good, and it felt like it was written for little children, who wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between good writing and bad writing. Don't get me wrong, it's not the worst writing I've ever read, but it definitely could have been better. With me being sixteen, I've read books from amazing authors, that could write about anything and their writing style and use of words would make me want to read it. Lisa Schroeder's writing just didn't have that same effect on me.

I know that a lot of this critisism isn't going to be that surprising, as this is a children's book, but some children, or middle grade novels are really well written and do have interesting storylines. This just unfortunately isn't one of them for me anymore. I do have some books that I read when I was little, that I will still read and enjoy to this day, It's Raining Cupcakes is not one. I find this kind of funny, because in my very first blog post ever, I said that I could never get bored of this book, but here I am saying that I've gotten bored of it.

I read It's Raining Cupcakes in probably just over an hour, because it's less than 200 pages, and honestly, I don't think that it was a complete waste of my time, because yes I did enjoy the storyline still, and I did enjoy the baking aspects, but I don't think I will be reading this one again. At least not for a while. I would however like to check out some of Lisa Schroeder's YA books, because I'd like to see if they would change my opinion of her as a writer. 

Lisa Schroeder is the author of over a dozen books for kids and teens, including the YA novels I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME and ALL WE HAVE IS NOW and the middle grade novels IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS. She loves tea and cookies, flowers, family hikes, books and movies that make her laugh and cry, and sunshine. Living in Oregon, she doesn't get nearly enough sunshine, but the hikes are amazing.

I am Mercy Cover Release

Hello everybody! So, for today's post, I actually have something really exciting to show you. I watch a BookTuber named Mandi Lynn on YouTube, and she is actually an author. She has written one book that she self-published called Essence, and **DRUM ROLL PLEASE** She has a new book that is coming out called I am Mercy AND I have been given the cover and the sypnosis to show you guys! So, without further ado... The cover of I am Mercy is:

 I actually really, really like this cover, and I am hoping that it will match well with what's inside the actual book!

As mentioned above, I also have the official synopsis to give you guys! Here it is:

"Imagine livng every day, knowing your family doesn't love you. Imagine living a life in a world that looks at you as a curse. In 14th century France Aida is accused of being a witch when teh Black Death wipes through her village. Abandoned by her family she is surrounded by death and disease, but when a woman who may actually be a witch tells her how to cure the plague it may mean uncovering a dark magic. But if that means being able to save those you love, wouldn't you do it? Even if they didn't love you back?"

I don't know about you, but that synopsis gave me complete chills, and I can not wait to be able to read it! I am Mercy is a Historical Fantasy novel, which usually isn't the type of book that I would reach for, but the synopsis just completely intrigues me.

I really hope that I have gotten at least a few of you guys interested in reading this book, because I for sure am! If you would like to see the video where Mandi herself revealed the book cover, you can click here! Also, if you would like to follow Mandi on any of her social medias' then you can find her at these links:

Website: http://mandilynn.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mandilynnvlogs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandiLynnAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mandi_Lynn_

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/14881658-mandi-lynn

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mandilynnwrites/

Reading Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thereadingowls/

Mandi Lynn started writing her first novel at thirteen, and at the young age of 17 her first novel, Essence, hit the press. Since the debut of her first novel, Lynn has taught writing workshops, appeared on television, newspapers, and most importantly, graduated high school. While attending college, Lynn works part time at a salon as a stylist and continues to write future novels. Lynn can be found online creating YouTube videos about books, publishing, and all things reading.

Well, I hope that you guys liked this little bit of a different post today, because I really enjoyed creating it! I'm really looking forward to reading I am Mercy and I hope that you all are too! I am hopefully going to be having some new blog posts up in the next few days, as I have a few book reviews that need to be done. Other than that though, I will talk to you guys later! Bye!

August 2015 TBR

Phew, it seems like the last few months have gone by so fast! How are we already in August already? I thought that since I did it last month, I would try to start making this a monthly thing and do a TBR post each month. 

So, this month my TBR is a little bit different. I thought that this month I would try to particpate in a bit of a reading challenge over on Instagram. This one was created by Nicole over at @nicole_in_neverland, and it's called the August Bingo Book-A-Thon. Basically what it is is that you make a 5x5 bingo board, so it has 25 spaces on it, and you fill it in with books on your TBR. You then put all of the names onto little pieces of paper and put it into a jar, or in my case a mug and you pick out a book to read. Once you have read that book, you cross it off on your bingo board. The goal of the month is to reach 5 in a row, and get a bingo.

 I'm sorry if some of the spaces may be a bit hard to read, but this is my bingo board for the month of August. These are the books that are on the bingo board:

The Truth About Celia Frost by Paula Rawsthorne

Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp AKA JK Rowling

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Children of the Lamp by P.B. Kerr

Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

The Institute by Kayla Howarth

My Not So Still Life by Liz Gallagher

The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The Lovely Chocolate Mob by Richard J. Bennett

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan

Perfections by Kirstyn McDermott

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Faking 19 by Alyson Noel

Eon by Alison Goodman

Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

I have actually already finished three of the books on this list, and those are: It's Raining Cupcakes, The Institute, and My Not So Still Life.

I really hope that you enjoyed this short little post about what I will be reading this month. I am hoping to put up a review for every single book that I finish this month, so we'll see how that goes! Bye!