It's the small things

99% of the time it is the small things that make me happy. There is nothing like coming home to flowers and a card after along trying week. My husband can be a manchild of few words....so cards mean the world to me...words that he can't seem to say but can find in cards. January was a hard month and actually February will be as well. In January I think Josh was home a total of 8-10 days. So with work, the commute, the girls, housework, cooking, cleaning, grochery shopping, laundry, walking the dog, shoveling the drive way clean of snow, etc..etc.. etc..., I can get warn down quite fast. It is nice to feel appricated for all that I do :) Thank you baby, I love you always.

Snow Day

So those of you that are from NOVA know that when the weatherman even mentions snow, it could be in passing or a joke, the entire state shuts down. I find this to be funny and ridiculous all at the same time. It is GREAT when it actually does snow and I didn't sit in traffic for hours to drive the 23 miles from my work home because everyone wants to get home and to the grocery store to buy cases of toilet paper, frozen pizza and milk. Last week we actually had snow....not the 5-10 inches Mr. Weatherman promised but it was snow none the less and I got a snow day with the girls. We made snowmen, actually a whole family, did some sledding in the front yard and made snow angels! Then we had to have hot coco milk.

Madison on the Left and Kaitlin on the right

Yay for snow angels

Ready Set Go!!

Even the Puppy got to play

Flecks of Gold by Alicia Buck

3.5-4.0 Stars.

My thoughts: Overall I liked the story line. It has everything I like in a book, adventure, girl meets boy, secrets and the twist---magic. I loved Mary's strong, sarcastic, but loving character. I did feel the plot was easy to figure out, it didn't really keep me guessing once you connected the first couple dilemma’s Mary was in and the rest where easy to figure out. There were several typo's & repeat sentences in the book, which bothered me for whatever reason. At times I felt there was too much detail that then confused me and at other times I felt there wasn't enough detail. About a third of the way in I figured out the parts that confused me and then I didn't mind the overage of details. But with that said I did enjoy the book.
From that back cover: Mary Margaret is not the type of girl to fall in love, especially after seeing what a string of bad relationships has done to her mother. That's why it's so weird when Mary finds herself strangely attracted to Kelson, a guy at her new school. It's almost . . . unnatural. What she doesn't know is that she's been put under a spell. And when Kelson kidnaps Mary's mother and takes her to his home world, Mary will have to rescue her by relying on something she never knew existed, magic. Flecks of Gold is an enchanting blend of fantasy, action, and even a little romance. Get lost in this world where magic is commonplace and danger lurks where you least suspect it.
My Summary: Mary has always stayed in the shadows, with one thing standing out her gold eyes. Her dad left before he knew her mom was pregnant. As long as Mary can remember she has always been more like the adult and took care of her mom. Mary doesn't mind and she has a great relationship with her mother. Mary has always seen 'flecks of gold' on the outside of her vision but never understood what it was until Kelson kidnapped her mother. Mary follows Kelson to another world to find her mother. She finds out that this world has magic there. Also that the color of one’s eyes, is a way of telling/showing your status (King/Queen, Noble, etc.) There is a language barrier Mary runs into, as well as this new world is nothing like earth. There are no cars, TV’s, radios, nothing that is technology related. Books are rare but there is the magic. Mary learns to use the magic quickly with the help of others. She is a fast learner and has rare magically powers. She surprises everyone she meets since she should not have any magic at all let alone the rare magical powers she posses. Mary has a long trip ahead of her to get her mother back and discover who she really is and meant to be.
I believe this is the authors’ first published book and look forward to reading more from her in the future as she grows her writing.

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Crusade

4.5 Stars

From the back of book: For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.

Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated — and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose.

Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself — and her heart.

My thoughts....there is a lot more to this book then the back cover can even begin to cover. Jenn is constantly fighting with her Dad over their difference in opinion about the vampire race. Her Dad is supporting the vamps, playing safe, and will not allow Jenn to speak unkindly of the vamps for fear of what might happen. That sad part is that I believe her Dad actually wants to or does believe there are good vamps not all are bad. Jenn cannot believe her Dad since he was raised to stand up for the better Cause, which in this case would be the human race. Jenn has always been close to her grandparents and respect who and what they have done.

Jenn runs away to train at Spain's Sacred Heart. She wants to be a hunter; actually she wants to become The Hunter. Jenn is always second guessing herself though. Every class that passes the rigid training has one person that is chosen to get a special elixir that gives the human great strengths. This class is different than the rest though, one person will become "The Hunter" and 5 others will become "hunters". With the Vampires gaining more strong holds there is a high turnover rate of hunters, so hopefully sending team out will help solve that problem.

When Jenn has to return to the US for her grandfather’s funeral, she realizes how much worse of the US is then Spain,  the vamps have taken over in the states and the humans have let them. Jenn fears for her little sister. The story sucked me in at the point that Jenn returns to the US and I could not put the book down until it was finished. Once in the US she is betrayed, loved ones die, someone special to her is taken, and Jenn is going to have to trust herself or more people she loves could be hurt.

This book has a little of everything....Falling in love with the wrong guy, vampires, werewolves, witches, magic, priests.....and then some. For those of you that are love reading about the supernatural this is a great book. Just start it early in the day so when you get to about pg 50 or so and get sucked in you have time to finish book at a decent hour of the night.

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The Lost Saint

4 Stars

From the back cover: A family destroyed. A love threatened. An enemy returns. Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with he werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger -- in more ways than one. Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her -- not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

My thoughts...Daniel and Grace's relationship is going great. Daniel is training Grace on how to use her new found abilities and teaching her the balance those abilities so that the wolf doesn't have too much power over Grace. Life is starting to get back into a normal pattern for every one. Grace's Dad is constantly gone following up on leads to where Jude might be. Grace's Mother is not taking well that Jude ran away, so she is either completely withdrawn ignoring the whole family or being a hyper protective parent involved in everything, this changes on a daily basis. But Daniel starts to be secretive and seems to be pulling away from Grace. Which in turn sends Grace running to Talbot for help....then the trouble all begins.

A couple of things that bug me, I know this is a young adult/teen read so this might just be my age speaking but it bothers me how fast Grace runs off to Talbot, It was a week maybe of Daniel being secretive, and all Daniel said was that he just need a little time and he would explain everything to her. But the first chance she gets she is off with another boy, and keeping just as many secrets from Daniel as he is keeping from her, I thought Daniel and Grace loved each other. The other part that bothered me as well was that when Daniel became secretive it was very abrupt and mean to Grace, if he needed a little time that is all he should of said. But I guess that is teenagers for you.

I can't wait for the third book to come out and see what happens next.

Sick Kiddo's

This always happens when my husband travels, the girls get sick. Kaitlin was up all night with a fever. She just kept crying and crying. I felt so bad there was nothing I could do to make her comfy. Gave her some Motrin and luke warm baths so to try and break the fever but I couldn't get it under 102. Today was long since I was up all night. Since Kailtin was sick, Madison too had to act sick, but then she ended up get a fever later in the day also. We needed to go to the store to get more Motrin, but Kaitlin didn't want to go. She told me that she could stay home with Siris ( the dog) that he could watch her. I finally had to bribe her with getting a toy just to get her dressed and in the car. We ended up with an elephant humidifier and 2 scary dolls for the girls. I will have to post these scary dolls that Madison is obsessed with. I guess they are from a book series for teens called Monster High, they are a little scary for a 4 year to be playing with but oh well, whatever makes my babies happy. Hopefully they will be feeling better in the morning, hopefully they sleep all night because I could really use some sleep myself.

The King's Mistress

4 Stars

From the back cover: History has not been kind to Alice Perrers, the notorious mistress of King Edward III. Scholars and contemporaries alike have deemed her a manipulative woman who used her great beauty and sensuality to take advantage of an aging and increasingly senile king. But who was the woman behind the scandal? A cold-hearted opportunist or someone fighting for her very survival?

Like most girls of her era Alice is taught obedience in all things. At the age of fourteen she marries the man her father chooses for her, dutifully accepting the cost of being torn from the family she holds so dear and losing the love of her mother forever. Despite these heartbreaks Alice finds that merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and the two settle into a happy life together. Their bliss is short-lived, however, unraveled the dark day a messenger appears at Alice's door and notifies her of Janyn's sudden disappearance.

In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many dangerous secrets—secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall fron grace. The whispers and gossip abound, isolating Alice, who finds unexpected solace in her love for the king.

Emma Campion paints a colorful and thrilling portrait of the court of Edward III—with all of its extravagance, scandalous love affairs, political machinations, and murder—and the devastating results of being singled out by the royal family. At the center of the storm is Alice, surviving by her wits in this dangerous world where the choices are not always of her own making. Emma Campion's dazzling novel shows that there is always another side to the story.

My Thoughts: I would give this book a 4.5. I would have given it a 5 but the last 50 or so pages I could barely make it through. I understand the importance of those pages because they tie up every last tid bit for the book but it wasn't attention grabbing.

This is the first historical fiction I have read, and I must say I loved it and will continue to read this type of books.

I feel for Alice's character. Being married at 14 and throwing her heart into that marriage, then finding out that marriage will determine the rest of your life. I give it to her for making the best she could out of every situation that she was put in. She did what she thought was best for her and her children's future and in alot of the situations she was put in she didn't really have a choice being not of noble blood, but she still did what she could to better the situation.

I liked that this was just one book, not a series of books. Most of the YA books I read have book after book, so it was nice to know I only had to read one book to have the full story!

Nightshade

4.5 Stars

From the back cover: Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything-- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

My thoughts: I love Calla's character. She is strong, sexy, and confident alpha wolf of her pack. She is soon to be Ren's mate and is excited & scared all at the same time. As a female alpha she is not allowed by the keepers to ingage in any type of physical activities with boys, and being a 17 yr old with raging hormones this is proving hard for her to do specially since Ren keeps throwing himself at her. Ren being a male alpha does not have the same rules, he does not have to remain "pure" until he is united with Calla. I love Ren's character, he is a sexy, confident, cocky but funny character that really does have feelings for Calla and she is starting to realize that the more time they spend together.

The problems start when Shay enters the picture. Calla had saved him from a bear and then did the unthinkable by giving him here blood to save him. That is against the rules she is only allowed to give her blood to pack members, not only that but she shifted from human to wolf in front of him. When Calla show up to school on Monday, Shay is a new student and this freaks out Calla even more, since she thought she would never see him again. Shay has the hots for Calla and is not not scared or intimidated by the wolf like most humans are. Shay also is living with a Keeper which brings up the question why is the human living with a keeper. Calla & Ren's pack has been instructed to keep an eye on Shay as well to keep him safe. Calla has been instructed by her keeper to spend time with him because he likes her. As she spends time with him she starts to question everything that she has been taught and believed her entire life. She also starts to have feelings for him which she shouldn't....she is promised to Ren....she is starting to fall for Ren as well the more time they spend together....so who will she choose????

I can't wait for the second book to come out so that some of these questions are answered. I read to escape life for a while and this book defiantly did that for me.