Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie Week
Favorite Fairytale Retellings

brought to you by: the broke and the bookish

Jeni's picks:

1. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George: This is my favorite retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. 

2. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I owned this book for awhile before I finally read it and wish I would've picked it up earlier. I really enjoyed all the twist she added to the tale. 

3. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson: Snow White is one of my least favorite fairy tales but I love Melanie Dickerson so I gave this book a chance. I loved how she changed the story especially the twist with the seven dwarfs. 

4. The Merchants Daughter by Melanie Dickerson: Another retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This is the first book that I read from Melanie Dickerson and I loved it. 

5. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: I absolutely love this retelling of The Goose Girl.

Emily's Picks

1. Entwined by Heather Dixon. This is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses.  But the princess doesn't have a wear soilder come to rescue her.  She has to do it one her own.  And I liked that.
2. Beauty by Robin Mckinley. This book is amazing, and Robin Mckinley, I think, is it at her best with this book.  She revisted this story, with Rose Daughter, but Beauty is still the better re-telling.
3. Spindle's End by Robin Mckinley, this is Sleeping Beauty with a twist.  It's pretty good.
4. Unenchanted by Chanda Hahn. This was a free book on my kindle.  And you know, free books can be a gamble but I'm glad I went for it.  This is a story about all the fairy tales, woven in.  It's about a girl cursed to finish the tales.  I liked it.
5. Hook by Terry Brooks This is a retelling of Peter Pan, when he is older.  It's based on the movie of the same name.  I liked the book a lot better, as usual.  

Waiting on Wednesday: 

Lady of Willowgrove Hall

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

release date: October 2014

           Willowgrove Hall is full of secrets, but soon everything hidden is brought to light.

Cecily Faire has a secret—and she intends to keep it. But when she arrives at Willowgrove Hall to serve as a lady’s companion, she comes face-to-face with the only person who knows the truth about her past.
          As the steward of Willowgrove Hall, Nathaniel Stanton is dedicated to serving those around him. Nothing escapes his notice—including the beautiful new lady’s companion. He is certain the lovely Miss Faire is hiding something, and he determines to uncover it. But Nathaniel has a secret of his own: he is the illegitimate son of Willowgrove’s former master. Falling in love was not part of his plans . . . until he meets Cecily Faire.
           When Willowgrove’s mistress dies, everything changes. Fear of exposure forces Cecily to leave under the cover of darkness, embarking on a journey to finally find her long-lost sister. When the will is read, Nathaniel’s inheritance makes him question his future plans. Cecily and Nathaniel are forced to make decisions that will change the course of their lives. Is their love strong enough to survive?

Why I am waiting: I liked her first book The Heiress of Winterwood. Her second book The Headmistress of Rosemere was even better so I have high hopes for the third book in her Whisper of the Moors series. 

Top Ten Tuesday: 

Books about Friendship

  brought to you by: the broke and the bookish

Jeni's Picks:

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead: (Friendship between friends.)  I read this book to my girls and they loved it.  One of those books that was hard to put down at night. 

2. One for the Murphy's by LInda Mullaly Hunt: (Friendship between Foster mom and foster daughter.)  I loved the relationship between the foster mom and foster daughter. It took a lot of work to get the daughter to trust the mom and along the way they become friends. Great story. 

3. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah: (Friendships between best friends) I'm not a huge fan of Kristin Hannah but this is my favorite book that she has written. My best friend and I have known each other for 20 years. We haven't been through some of the crazy stuff that happens in this book but its been a fun journey and I can't imagine the last 20 years without her. 

4. Fliipped by Wendelin Van Draanen : (friendship between a boy and a girl) This book is a fun read. So many great quotes. The  movie is just as good. My favorite quote "One's character is set at an early age. The choices you make now will affect you for the rest of your life. I hate to see you swim out so far you can't swim back." 

 5. Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay (friendship to love) They say you should marry your best friend and in this book they become friends before they fall in love.  Great retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 

Emily's Picks

1. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan. Percy starts out as a misfit, with only one friend, who he thinks he needs too protect, and in the end, he becomes a hero, with the help of friends.  

2. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowlings, Harry is friendless at the beginning of this series, and meets Ron, and then Hermione, and they are the center of this series, without their friendship, Harry would not have been able to do what needed to be done. 

3. Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher: Loved this book, and Judith needed Loveday to enter into that strange world of the wealthy to understand what she had. 

4. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray:These girls get into all sorts of trouble because of friendship.

5. The Green Rider by Kristen Britain I would say the most enduring friendship in this book, is between the rider and her horse. 

Waiting on Wednesday: 

Dearest

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Release date: February 3, 2015

In her third book about the delightful Woodcutter sisters, Alethea Kontis masterfully weaves "The Wild Swans," "The Goose Girl," and a few other fine-feathered fairy tales into a magical, romantic companion novel to Enchanted and Hero.

Readers met the Woodcutter sisters (named after the days of the week) in Enchanted and Hero. In this delightful third book, Alethea Kontis weaves together some fine-feathered fairy tales to focus on Friday Woodcutter, the kind and loving seamstress. When Friday stumbles upon seven sleeping brothers in her sister Sunday's palace, she takes one look at Tristan and knows he's her future. But the brothers are cursed to be swans by day. Can Friday's unique magic somehow break the spell?

Why I'm waiting: 

I love fairy tale retellings.  Enchanted and Hero  were fun reads and I can't wait to learn friday's story. 

Top Ten Tuesday:

 Ten Books I Almost Put Down But Didn't

  brought to you by: the broke and the bookish

Jeni's picks:

1.  The Green Rider by Kristen Britain: I'm not much of  a fantasy person so when my sister recommended this book I dragged my feet a bit. It was entertaining in the beginning but it took me about 1/3 of the way through to really appreciate it. I'm glad I read it. 

2. Where She Went by Gayle Forman: I didn't like Adam's point of view at first and had a hard time getting into this book. I was so nervous I wouldn't like the ending that I almost took a peek just to make sure I wouldn't be disappointed.  Great book and Gayle Forman is an awesome author to meet. 

3. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: This book took me forever to like. There were too many characters to keep track of but I kept going and ended up loving the story.  

4. In the Hall of the Dragon King by Stephen Lawhead: Another fantasy novel. My dad asked me to read this book and swore I would like it. It started off slow and I was doubting my dad but I really liked the ending and finished the whole trilogy. 

5. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:  This is one book I wish I would've put down. Halfway through I wanted too but all my friends kept telling me to finish because it would be worth it.  I wanted to throw the book across the room when I was finished. I was so mad at all the characters. I hated this book and  was furious that I wasted all those hours reading it when I could've read something else.  

Emily's Picks
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyers.  I had not ventured into the world of YA since high school before this book came out, and vampires were not on my top ten to read list, so when my sister told me to read this book, I was leery, and then I started reading, and had to just dig in and read.  I can say I was a fan of the first book...and then the rest of the series came out.  But i will say that this book introduced me to YA again, and I'm glad that it did.

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth.  This book was a struggle for me.  It took me until the middle of it to really get down and dirty with the characters. I think I was just tired of all the dystopia novels at the time.  But I dug my heels in, and gave it a try.  Please do not tell me how the 3rd book ends!

3. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.  I tend to steer clear of these type of books, ask my sister.  But she gave this book a glowing review, and I trust her judgement,  And I started this book. I wasn't sure, but I was glad I read it.

4. Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper.  This was a free book on the kindle.  And out of this list, it is the only one I have yet to finish, in fact, I deleted it from my kindle.  It was horrible! And I do not understand why it has such glowing reviews on Goodreads. I would not recommend this book to any one. Phew, I got that off my chest.

5. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.  This has appeared on my lists before.  I'm sorry, this book was yet another horrible read.  I will never understand the glowing reviews of this book. One, the main character was the least sympathetic and the most horrible heroine ever written, 2, the use of the "f" word was unforgivable.  I understand the use of a slang word, believe me there are times when  you might need to use it, but I also believe that an author has the power of the English language, (or any language,) at their finger tips, and they should express that, without having to use a swear word.  That's why we have expressive words...RANT OVER. (there were other problems with this book, but you know, this rant is way too long as is)

Waiting on Wednesday: Atlantia 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Release date November 4, 2014

From Goodreads:

A standalone YA novel.

"In Atlantia, the heroine, Rio, is thrown into a precarious and upsetting situation after her twin sister, Bay, opts to leave their underwater world for "Above" first. Since only family member can leave for the surface, Rio is then, as PYRG executive director of publicity Shanta Newlin explained, 'left with increasingly dangerous questions about the complex political and religious system constructed to govern the fragile divide between land and sea.'"

Top Ten Book Covers I'd Frame As Pieces of Art 

  brought to you by the broke and the bookish

Jeni's Picks:

1.

I love this picture. It would be fun to have my daughter dress up for this shot and hang it up in the family room 

2. 

I just like this picture. 

3.

This would be a fun engagement picture. 

4.

We always love taking pictures at the beach. This would be a fun slightly spooky photo shoot. My girls would love it. 

5.

I would love to get a  wedding day picture of my daughter like this. 

Emiy's Picks

 1. There is something haunting and beautiful about this picture that I love.

2. I like slightly creepy and strange things, and having a snake around your neck, this will do.  I think this could be considered modern art. Don't you?

 3. There is something haunting in this cover, that I love.

4, I love any picture with a grove of trees, so pretty, and this one has a pretty dress, so you really can't complain.  Love this.

5. I love the covers in this series, and this one, well, I love it.  :)

Stacking the Shelves #8

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

I host a book club for 9-12 year old girls and this week was the Scholastic Warehouse sale. It's better than christmas shopping on Black Friday. I go every May and December and almost all books are 50% off. 

Icefall by Matthew Kirby

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Deep, Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Kindle buys