Donna's Reading Chair

Book Review: I Hate Everyone But You @gabydunn @AllisonRaskin @WednesdayBooks @MacMillanUSA #YoungAdult #LGBQT #College #EMail #Text #BookWorm #MomsWhoRead

I love young adult novels and I don’t read them nearly enough…thank you to the book blogging world for turning me on to I Hate Everyone But You. Just before I sat down to write this I requested Please Send Help (I Hate Everyone But You #2) from my local library…I’ve never been denied a request yet, so fingers crossed they’ll be ordering the next in the series soon!

This was such a fun and unique read! This story is about two best friends who end up in two very different places for college (one stays in their home state of California and the other goes to Massachusetts). We read all about their adventures through e-mails and text messages. It was so much fun and made for a fast read!

This book is really all about finding and identifying yourself in college…one friend decides to go against every fiber in her body and join a sorority to make friends and the other friend decides to dabble in a little bit of drugs and discover her true sexuality. Each friend is there for the other and it felt like I was spying on someone with how real it was.

I didn’t know if I would enjoy the format of the book, but I did! It made it hard to find places to stop…ok, who am I kidding…I read this book in a day while I waited for my husband to come home from helping a friend. I found myself very invested into the lives of Ava and Gen.

This book also tackles the subject of sexuality in a manner so absolutely appropriate. One friend is left a little stunned and speechless (and filled with some inappropriate questions at times) and the other is finally happy to be able to express her sexual freedom. The conversations felt very real and it had no fictional feel to it at all! Amazing!

I wish this book tackled more of Ava’s mental illness. We know and are aware that Ava has some OCD and anxiety issues, but I felt that they were brushed over a little bit. Given the format of the book, it made sense. I just would have liked a little more of that in the book.

Solid 4 star book. If you are looking for a quick, fun, and different read, this is the book for you! It reminded me of my journey across the country to go to college…I just wish I had kept in better contact with my best friend like they did. We did write hand written letters to each other…imagine that! Haha. I hope you pick this one up and enjoy it as much as I did!

Title: I Hate Everyone But You

Author: Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin

Genre(s): LGBQT, Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Release Date: September 5, 2017

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Handle With Care @HelenaHunting @Goodreads @StMartinsPress #Romance #Steamy #MomsWhoRead #BookWorm

Thank you to Goodreads for this advance reader copy of Handle With Care! Keep entering those giveaways on Goodreads, I promise real people win!

This was my first book by Hunting and I can promise you it won’t be my last! I laughed out loud and kept hoping the slow burn would turn into something full on…and let me just say that this book certainly detailed the hook up. Despite the fact that I was reading by myself I am pretty sure I was grotesquely blushing.

Wren is a handler for Moorehead Media where she handles the image and PR for Armstrong Moorehead (the son of the CEO…who is a train wreck). When Mr. Moorehead suddenly passes away, his widow offers Wren a hefty pay increase and contract extension to stay and be the handler for her other son, Lincoln.

You see where this is going…Lincoln is a do good kind of guy. He is pulled from his humanitarian builds to come in and try to help run the company. He fights being involved with Moorehead Media with every ounce of his body. He also tries to fight off feelings for a certain woman he is working closely with…

I was a little worried that this book would be all about sex; however, despite one scene in this book, that was it. It isn’t raunchy or completely inappropriate. I am usually not a fan of romance novels, but this had a different feel. Almost like it was a family drama with a sprinkled romance story line.

I found myself rooting for Lincoln and Wren and hoped there would be a happy ending. The drama with his family is what made this book amazing. Yeah sure, it’s a romance book, but it was refreshing to have drama outside of the relationship. So often with romance novels the conflicts lay with the couple, but not in this book. Wren and Lincoln are two AMAZING, caring people that are the reason there is good in this world.

Solid 4 star book. If you are someone who enjoys a non-mushy romance, brace yourself for one crazy descriptive scene, and dig in to this novel. Seriously…this surprised me with how awesome it turned out to be! It’s officially released tomorrow so make sure to snag your copy then!

Title: Handle With Care

Author: Helena Hunting

Genre(s): Romance, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: August 27, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 4 #FreeNewsletters #Free #Kindle #FreeReads #Amazon #FreeEbooks #Ebooks

I have previously done a post on this over at Book In The Bag where I would do weekly guest blogs. Not much has changed as far as my discovery of free newsletters has gone, so aside from a little updating, it will be pretty similar!

The focus of today’s post is FREE EBOOKS! Yes, 100% (and even access to some cheap reads) ebooks you can download to your Kindle (and yes, other ereaders). I find some of these are repetitive, but hey I won’t turn down a free book!

Newsletter: Book Bub

Web Address: https://www.bookbub.com/welcome

My Thoughts: This was the first eBook newsletter I was exposed to. They offer a few free ones here and there (not as many as other newsletters), but have many offerings from 99 cents to $3.99, great deals!

Newsletter: Freebooksy

Web Address: https://www.freebooksy.com/

My Thoughts: This is my favorite newsletter. This newsletter is always filled with 100% free books. You just need to make sure you read it on the same day because the books are usually only free for one day! I LOVE the format of their email too, it’s very eye pleasing!

Newsletter: Voracious Readers Only

Web Address: http://voraciousreadersonly.com/

My Thoughts: You sign up with your e-mail and mark off the genres you enjoy (you can always change these later). The send out individual e-mails when they get a new book and you can click on the link and then get the free eBook. Many times when you click the link you are also signing up for the author’s mailing list. I don’t feel they send out too many e-mails and they offer different ones I haven’t seen on any other newsletters. They DO expect feedback on the books you select to read…you can’t just hoard these on your ereader and expect to read them at your leisure. Only agree to read a book if you’re going to start it soon and will give them a small review!

Newsletter: Ereader News Today

Web Address: https://ereadernewstoday.com/

My Thoughts: Again, you sign up with your e-mail address and select the genres you wish to receive. Remember, don’t limit yourself, maybe you’ll find a book in a new genre you’ll fall in love with! They offer free and heavily discounted priced books! I love the ability to pick the genres I want in my newsletter.

Newsletter: Early Bird Books

Web Address: https://earlybirdbooks.com/

My Thoughts: Early Bird Books offers great discounts on popular reads! Yes, on occasion they have some big name authors! If you’re looking for a deal, this is the newsletter for you. This will have more bestsellers priced usually from $1.99 to $3.99 (and occasionally free).

Newsletter: Many Books

Web Address: http://manybooks.net/

My Thoughts: Many Books offers a website filled with free eBooks, as well as a newsletter, which highlights free and discounted eBooks. I am not really a fan of this newsletter and I’m not sure why. It would be the layout or that I don’t find many eBooks I’m interested in. But it is still something to take a look at.

Newsletter: Book Adrenaline

Web Address: https://bookadrenaline.com/

My Thoughts: This is for all my fellow thriller and mystery lovers out there!! Book Adrenaline offers free and discounted mystery and thriller books. You will not find any other genres here. I love mysteries and thrillers so this is right up my alley. I have put so many books from here on my amazon wish list I have yet to figure out when I will read all these books!

Newsletter: Pillow Talk Books

Web Address: https://www.pillowtalkbooks.com/

My Thoughts: Where are all my romance lovers? This is a newsletter just for romance books! They sent out a daily newsletter with cheap and free romance books. If romance is your genre of choice, you definitely need to sign up for this newsletter!

Newsletter: Bookzzle

Web Address: https://bookzzle.com/

My Thoughts: Another newsletter for free & bargain priced fiction and non-fictions reads. You cannot pick and choose what genres you are interested in, they just send you a newsletter with the deals for the week!

Newsletter: The Fussy Librarian

Web Address: http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/

My Thoughts: Last but not least, my other absolutely favorite newsletter: The Fussy Librarian. They make sure you sign up and get the books YOU want. They also have 2 lists; one list is for bargain eBooks and the other is for mainly free eBooks. Pick the genres you like, the days you want to receive e-mails, and away you go! Yes, you can pick what days you want the newsletter! If daily is too much you can pick any combination of the days of the week! AWESOME!

I would like to note that many of these offer their books on multiple platforms (Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Google, etc) so don’t worry about how you’re reading an eBook, there will be books for you within these newsletters!! Do you know of another newsletter? Let me know about it in the comments! Are you a member of any of these? Tell me how much you love them and which one YOUR favorite is! I tried to be as all encompassing as I could be and for research sake, I am on every single one of these lists. I have created a monster of a Kindle library (thanks to these newsletters) and just need about 1,000 years to read all the books I have now! At least I can say I will never not have a book to read or a plethora to choose from! Next Sunday will be Part 5 in the series: Kindle Unlimited. Happy Sunday!

PAST AMAZON SERIES POSTS

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 3 #Kindle #AmazonPrime #Amazon #Reading #Ebooks #Perks

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 2 #Kindle #Amazon #KindleTips

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 1

Top Of The TBR: August 17th #TBR #WishList #WantToRead

I stumbled across this thanks to Literary Elephant. I love this idea and I’m jumping on board!! Here is her description of Top Of The TBR (TBR by the way, for those who may not know, means To Be Read)…

But what is Top of the TBR? Good question. It’s a weekly post that will showcase any new books I’ve added to my Goodreads TBR recently, with a short explanation of why each title caught my interest. I’ll aim for 5-10 books per post; in weeks that I’ve added more than that, I’ll hold some back, and in weeks that I don’t have enough, I’ll include titles I haven’t discussed yet. Each title will be linked back to its Goodreads page for anyone interested in exploring further, as I’m not a fan of copy/pasting synopses. Anyone who wants to take part in this series with me is absolutely welcome! Please link back to any of my Top of the TBR posts so I can see what you’re reading!

Personally, my Goodreads TBR is filled with books that I have entered giveaways for. My TRUE TBR list is on Amazon. Here is the last book I added on Amazon…

I’m going a little rogue with not following the exact Top Of The TBR protocol because I would like to vent a little. I discovered this book through The Bookwormery and fell in love with the review! Is the book available in the US? NO!

I can’t tell you how many books I have found that aren’t available in the US. I know there are books I blog about that aren’t available in other countries and…why is this guys? I know I can buy on-line through websites and get these books, but in a day and age where technology runs rampant, why are books not more widely available in eformats?

I know not everyone has an ereader, but I would think books could be available world wide with this method easier…I understand there’s a reason why books are limited in release and sometimes only to certain countries, but as a consumer it just frustrates me!

I want to read ALL the books!

I’ve actually debated to research and see if I could pay for use of a library card in the UK to gain access to ebooks. There are libraries here in the United States that offer paid membership to those who don’t live in the immediate area. Crazy? Maybe…but I follow bloggers all over the world and get SOOOOO jealous of the amazing books I see you all post about that I just can’t stinkin’ read without jumping through a hoop!

Anyone else feel this way? Have you ever come across a book that wasn’t available in your country??

First Line Fridays: August 16th @HelenaHunting #HandleWithCare #FLF #BookQuotes #BookWorm

As always First Line Friday comes courtesy of Hoarding Books Blog. I discovered this magic thanks to Crystal at Must Love Reviews. This week I am featuring a book I won through a Goodreads Giveaway (YAY), Handle With Care by Helena Hunting (being released next week)!

I am really getting the hang of that app on my phone! Look at the quote this week! Yes, I’m tooting my horn, haha. Look for my review of this one on Monday!!!

What is the first line of the book you’re reading this week?? Drop me a line or link to your First Line Fridays post and I’ll check it out! Thank you for stopping by!!!

Book Review: The Reason I Jump #Autism #DisabilityAwareness #AutismAwareness

As you may know, I am a special education teacher so this book has been on my radar for awhile. One day I decided to check and see if my local library had it and since they did, I checked it out!!

I don’t want us to get off on the wrong foot so I am going to preface this with my true opinion…I really did not care for this book at all. What bothered me the most was that I just did not trust that Yoshida & Mitchell accurately translated this book. It did not have the sound of a thirteen year old. I don’t doubt that Higashida had the ability to write this, I truly believe he did, I just question the translation.

I did like some parts of this book. The following quote is my mantra with my students with disabilities.

Children with autism are also growing and developing every single day, yet we are forever being treated like babies. I guess this is because we seem to act younger than our true age, but whenever anyone treats me as if I’m still a toddler, it really hacks me off. I don’t know whether people think I’ll understand baby-language better, or whether they think I just prefer being spoken to in that way.

I’m not asking you to deliberately use difficult language when you talk to people with autism – just that you treat us as we are, according to our age. Every single time I’m talked down to, I end up feeling utterly miserable – as if I’m being given zero chance of a decent future.

True compassion is about not bruising the other person’s self-respect.

My biggest pet peeve is when people treat my students like babies. I firmly believe they understand me and respect the fact that I talk to them like they’re a typical 20 year old kid. Do they enjoy watching “baby” cartoons/shows? Yes, but that doesn’t mean to talk to them like they’re 3 or 5. I myself enjoy watching sitcoms on the Disney Channel, that’s certainly not age appropriate either, but my friends and family still talk to me like the adult I am in my 30s.

I didn’t like how Higashida made the assumption that EVERYONE with autism is like him. He answered a lot of questions with, “All people with autism…” and I just didn’t like that he assumed everyone else with autism is like him. I appreciate the insight and I am sure many are like him, but I just don’t think that 100% of the people of people with autism are the same. My personal opinion. I also don’t think that anyone should blanket statement a group of people because everyone is different and we can’t speak for anyone else but ourselves. I am of the mantra, “If you’ve met one person with autism, congratulations, you’ve met one person with autism.”

I felt that there was some repetition throughout this book. Overall, I don’t think I would recommend this book to very many people. It was a 3 star read for me, I was very disappointed with it. It just didn’t live up to what I thought it would. Have you read this one? What are your thoughts?

Title: The Reason I Jump

Author: Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell)

Genre(s): Nonfiction, Memoir

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Love, Life, And The List @KasieWest @HarperCollins #YoungAdult #CuteRead

Fun fact: I got hurt at work in July and I spent quite a bit of time in the doctor’s office. Thanks to all that waiting I was able to breeze through Kasie West’s novel Love, Life, And The List. I borrowed this from my local library and I am already on a wait list for another one of her novels!

This young adult novel actually has a pretty inspiring undertone. These teens are wise beyond their years and for that, I so, so, so appreciate this book! Many people look past young adult because they think, “it’s for teens,” but often times what people miss out on with that outlook, is a darn good book! I’d like to highlight a few of my favorite quotes first…

It’s fine. Art is subjective, that’s what makes it great…We each get to love or hate something on our own terms.

You feel the same way. You’re missing that piece when you look at me too. The piece that makes you feel something.

My personal favorite…this one just struck me. It might be simple and self-explanatory, but I felt it on a deeper level.

“I’ve heard the coldest time of day is right before sunrise—that moment in time when the earth has been without light the longest. And then the sun rises and slowly warms up the world again.”

The premise of the book is Abby (who is in love with her best friend) needs to find a deeper meaning in herself. She is striving to be in an art show, but is told her work doesn’t have any emotion in it. She devises a list filled with out of the ordinary experiences in order to gain a deeper meaning of life. The self journey she takes, aka The Heart List, is amazing. It helps when she’s a sarcastic riot…and when she’s around her grandfather you won’t be able to hold your chuckles in.

The book was fairly predictable; however, I thought it spoke about experiences that many of us, even in older age, have never faced. Face your fears and search for that emotion in your life. This was such a well written book and I mean, I read it over the course of 2 days, so, you know it must have been a good one! This is a perfect read if you’re looking for something light and fun. Ok…it did bring tears to my eyes a few times. It was such an emotionally powerful book!

Overall, this book gets 4 stars from me. I was cheering on Abby and hoping, HOPING, she would get to where she needed to be. I hope my own children have as good of a head on their shoulders as she does at her age. You won’t regret picking this book up!

Title: Love, Life, and the List

Author: Kasie West

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Harper Teens

Release Date: December 26, 2017

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Things You Save In A Fire @katherinecenter @StMartinsPress #5stars #MustRead

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advance reader copy of Things You Save In A Fire. I am now a HUGE Katherine Center fan! This book was absolutely amazing!

I laughed, I cried, and at times I held my breath through this tale. It’s a true feel good story where a woman conquers and achieves something in a male dominated field. I was so proud of Cassie as a female firefighter she held her own and did what she had to do to prove herself…and she’s a damn good firefighter.

Enough about that. Her mother (with whom she has a strained relationship) has asked her to live with her for a year as she’s having some medical issues. Her father guilts in to going and so she ends up moving from Texas to Massachuettes to help her mother.

What ends up happening is Cassie herself grows a lot as a person. She ends up repairing her relationship with her mother and ends up finding love as well. She has never been in a committed relationship (and she’s 30), but she finds herself fighting love and her mother helps her to see what life is really all about.

This reminded me of a Hallmark movie. I know this book won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy feel good stories with some romance and a happy ending…pick this book up now. I loved it, but I love these kinds of stories. The growth that Cassie has in this novel is unreal. Towards the end the book got a little cheesy and far fetched, but again in all things Hallmark, it’s totally acceptable and appreciated. If you’re looking for a more realistic tale, this may not be for you.

5 star read. I could not put this book down. It stirred up every emotion in me. There’s a FANTASTIC epilogue at the end so we can see a few years into the future. Everything about this book just makes me so freakin’ happy. I want to hug this book and relive it over and over again. Maybe because I love a kick ass female lead, or maybe it’s because of the amazing writing, either way if you love this kind of book, pick it up TODAY because guess what…IT’S RELEASE DAY!!!!

Title: Things You Save In A Fire

Author: Katherine Center

Genre(s): Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: August 13, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Book Review: Sunset Beach @mkayandrews @StMartinsPress @MacMillanUSA #BeachRead #Romance #Mystery #4stars

I picked up Sunset Beach through my local library…it ended up being a 2 month wait; however, it was worth it!

Mary Kay Andrew, Queen of Beach Reads, does not disappoint with this novel! It has the allure of a budding romance and the captivation of a mystery, all rolled in to one.

Drue Campbell’s life is in a bit of shambles. She just lost a job, broke up with her boyfriend, and has nothing going for her. Her mother passes away and her father shows up, 20 years later, at the funeral, looking to reconnect. Mind you, he remarried one of her ex-best friends…oh the drama that lies there!

Drue ends up leaving one coast of Florida to move to the other, into the house her grandparents used to own that her mother left to her. The house is in shambles and needs a lot of work, but if her mother kept the house instead of selling it (and she wasn’t a sentimental woman), there was a reason so she would keep it. She ends up working for her father, a prominent lawyer, and breaks open a police case while uncovering a family secret.

This book was an exciting read and all the while you kept hoping for Drue to follow her stubborn heart. There’s a quick burst of romance in the beginning that fizzles out immediately, but no worries, we’ll get that romance at the end! I also struggled to actually figure out the entire mystery (I couldn’t)…it’s woven in multiple layers which makes it a book hard to put down! Is there ever some heart racing exciting stuff in here too!!!

4 star read. I loved the progress Drue makes with her life in this novel. She figures things out and eventually just goes for it. She lets go of grudges and resentment and really starts to shine…great character growth! The ending to this novel is absolutely crazy and action packed; such a solid ending!! If you’re looking for a great summer read with a touch of romance and a heart pounding mystery, pick this up now!

Title: Sunset Beach

Author: Mary Kay Andrews

Genre(s): Mystery, Romance

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: May 7, 2019

Find it here on Goodreads and Amazon

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 3 #Kindle #AmazonPrime #Amazon #Reading #Ebooks #Perks

Welcome to Part 3 of my series…

Amazon Prime & The Kindle (Bonus: Matchbook Pricing)

Here is the biggest perk with Amazon Prime and The Kindle…you do NOT need to own a Kindle to get the perks of the Prime Reading Library…you simply need to have an Amazon Prime Membership and the Kindle app (fun fact: this is how I first got my feet wet with ebooks, I used the app on my phone with some free books through the Prime library and look at me now).

Prime Reading Library

That link will take to Amazon’s Prime Reading Library where you are able to check out up to 10 books at a time!

As long as you see this logo, the book will be checked out for free!! Sometimes when I’m browsing I will get out of the actual Prime Library so, just be warned if you end up browsing outside of the library…make sure you see THIS logo otherwise it isn’t free with your Prime membership!

Here is something else that is unique and only offered to Amazon Prime members as well…

At the beginning of every month, Amazon releases some titles early, exclusively for Amazon Prime members! Each month you can pick ONE book for free and then pre-order others at a discount! It is an awesome opportunity to read a book before it’s released to the general public!

Amazon First Reads

That link will take you to the page where you can browse each month’s titles. I get excited when the calendar hits the first of the month because free book time!!!! Honestly, these offers alone make my Prime membership worth it!

I promised you some bonus content…I want to make sure I cover all my bases and I was reminded to make sure I discuss Amazon’s Matchbook Pricing! What is that? If you have bought a print edition of a book through Amazon (not a third party seller), you may be able to purchase the Kindle edition for $2.99 or less!

Here’s a link to more info.

If you follow the link it and are signed in to your account it will automatically pull up Matchbook titles you are able to buy! Pretty convenient! **DISCLAIMER: You do NOT need to be a Prime member to enjoy this perk!!!

I hope some of you are finding this helpful and resourceful. If there is anything else you can think of I need to add, let me know. If this has helped you, let me know that too! I wish when you bought a Kindle it came with a helpful tips booklet so this was common knowledge for all!

Tune in next Sunday, August 18th for Part Four: Free Newsletters For Kindle Reads!

PAST AMAZON SERIES POSTS

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 2 #Kindle #Amazon #KindleTips

Amazon & The Kindle: Part 1