Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

Title: Between the Lines

Author:  Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Published: June 26, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 358 pages

Source: Library

Read: October 22-26, 2012

In  A Few Words: Sweet, creative story

My Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads: Add this book to your TBR shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

Melissa's Musings:

As some of you may know, I'm a big Jodi Picoult fan. I have read several of her books. This one was a lot different than her usual fare, and we have her daughter to thank for that. 

Instead of court battles and medical and family dramas, we're presented with a modern day fairy tale of sorts. Delilah and Oliver are both kids who've grown up without their dads, and that's part of the reason why she's so drawn to this fairy tale. She feels that she can relate to Oliver through that shared fact.

That's what we all look for in books, I think. We're constantly looking for ways to relate to the characters. There are certain characters that we like over others, because we feel a sort of kinship with them through shared experiences. You know how people are always talking about having book boyfriends/girlfriends? I think the opposite is true here. It's almost like Oliver has fallen in love with Delilah, so he has a  "reader girlfriend"

It's very sweet to see how much he cares for her, and all the different lengths that he's willing to go through to be with her. At one point in the story, Oliver writes Delilah into his world. While she does enjoy being with him, she learns an important lesson when she realizes just how much she misses her mom: You never know what you've got til it's gone. 

There are also more interesting methods of integration of life lessons into the story. For example, Socks, Olivers' trusty steed in the fairy tale seems to have body image issues, always thinking that he's fat or talking about low hay carb diets. It was a very unique way of incorporating real life issues into a story.

One thing I didn't really care for was that some of the details were very exaggerated, like the fact that in the beginning of the story Oliver claims to have spent his days learning 17 languages. A few languages, I would have believed, but 17 is just too many, even for a fairy tale character.

I enjoyed all the little details put into this book like the small drawings on the pages, and the different color fonts to differentiate between characters in the story. I haven't read any stories written by multiple authors in a while, so it was nice to read this story. In the introduction it's noted that they took turns writing lines, but I wonder just how much of Van Leer's contributions were polished by Picoult and/or editors.

Overall, I would recommend this story to anyone who's looking for a nice read, and of course to all Jodi Picoult fans.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Published: January 10, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 318

Source: Library

Read: November 20, 2012

In A Few Words : Powerful

My Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads: Add This To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Melissa's Musings:

This is my first John Green book. I checked out An Abundance of Katherines once, but it got lost in the stack of library books and had to be returned before I could read it. Now that I've read The Fault in Our Stars, I want to gobble up the rest of Green's books as fast as I can if they're all as powerful as this one.

I've been seeing reviews of this book around the blogosphere for months now. Nearly all of the reviews have raved about it, so I was the tiniest bit skeptical that it would live up to all the hype, but it definitely did.

The Author's Note for this book is one of the more interesting ones I've seen.

"This is not so much an author's note as an author's reminder of what was printed in small type a few pages ago: This book is a work of fiction. I made it up.

                Neither novels or their readers benefit from attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea that made-up stories can matter, which is sort of the foundational assumption of our species.
                  I appreciate your cooperation in this matter."

When I first read this I thought it was strange that he would point this out. But, as the story goes on, I see why he did. I'm not sure that I fully agree with this point, though. Simply because I'm always wondering what an author's motivation is for writing a story they way they do and whether there are any hidden facts inside stories. As the saying goes, "Write what you know" so in many cases some of these stories must contain hidden facts. I don't, however, think that these efforts, should any reader choose to pursue them, attack the idea that made up stories can matter. If I did, I doubt I would have been nearly as attached an emotionally invested in this book as I was.

This book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, so be prepared. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you may even laugh while crying, like I did. This book packs a serious punch.

Hazel is such a great character. She's sharp, witty, philosophical, and yet still teenagery at times, as her mother puts it. Hazel might seem bitter or cynical about her diagnosis to some, but I took it more as realistic than anything. Her voice in the story is real. It's natural and the dialogue, especially her internal monologues, flow so smoothly.

Some of Hazel's quotes are deep. I know this one has probably been quoted a million times, but it really speaks volumes about the story and about how Hazel feels.

"I'm like. Like. I'm like a grenade, Mom. I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?"... "I'm a grenade" I said again. "I just want to stay away from people and read books and think and be with you guys because there's nothing I can do about hurting you; you're too invested, so just please let me do that, okay? I'm not depressed. I don't need to get out more. And I can't be a regular teenager, because I'm a grenade." (Green, 99)

This quote speaks volumes about how it must feel to live with cancer. I couldn't imagine it. And when I read this, I felt like I'd been punched. Hazel is realistic about her diagnosis. She doesn't like it of course, but she seems to have reached a place of acceptance.

And then there's Augustus. The oh so cute boy who happens to walk into the support group that Hazel and Issac attend. And he's interested in her.

I loved Augustus' character. He was the perfect mix of sweetheart and bad boy. I also love the touch of him having an unlit cigarette in his mouth all the time, and the reason for not lighting it. You'll have to read it to see what I mean. Augustus always knows just what to say. And I love how he calls Hazel "Hazel Grace" I don't know exactly why I love this so much, but I do. Their romance is solid, steady, and real. 

A quote of his that I really loved:

"I'm in love with you," he said quietly.

"Augustus," I said.

"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you. 

 (Green, 153)

Isn't that just perfect?

I also love that Hazel and Augustus bond over books. Hazels' love of a book called An Imperial Affliction. Though they do bond over the book (and much more) it's their experiences surrounding it that have taught me never to put authors I love on quite as high a pedestal because you never know what may happen to change that rose colored view of them.

There's so much more that I could say about this book. But it really is one of those books that you just have to experience for yourself. It's an amazing story that deals with so many important ideas and themes, that are not only important to teens but to adults as well.

This has definitely become my new favorite book of 2012 and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a powerful, moving story.

Cadence Beach

Title: Cadence Beach

Author: Linda Juliano

Publisher: Self Published 

Published: January 30, 2012

Format: E-book

Pages: 190

Source: Received from author in

exchange for an honest review

Read: December 12, 2012

In  A Few Words: Action-filled

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads:  Add This To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Most of the time it's exciting to discover we resemble someone else enough to be their twin, but sometimes it's deadly, as Josie Gianni learns after she moves to Cadence Beach, Oregon and is immediately thrust into a strange and chilling interplay with a demented stalker who believes the soul of the wife he murdered has returned through Josie. 

Fueled by jealousy and fear of betrayal, the stalker's intentions grow increasingly dangerous when Josie falls for Gordon Forrester, the aloof, attractive owner of the local bookstore. 

Will Josie's wit and Gordon's love save her, or will Josie fall victim to the madman's destructive behavior as he attempts to reclaim his wife's soul?

Melissa's Musings:

This story jumps right in and doesn't let up. It leads right off with the murder of Suzanne, who has been caught cheating on her husband.  Let me tell you, Suzanne's husband is one sick, sick man.  Because you are thrust right into the action with this story there definitely isn't a lot of background or world building but the action itself prompts you to keep going.  

It's definitely a page turner from the start. Despite the fast pace, I noticed that the dialogue seems stiff. It's very formal, and proper, not quite what I would have expected from a romantic suspense story. It made the characters seem a little less real, at least to me.

On that same note, the characters aren't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked. They're nice enough, but in some cases they're too nice. When Josie first moves to Cadence Beach I find her trying to hard to fit in. She's too nice, and pays a few too many compliments, like "Oh this house is so beautiful you're such a great designer and on and on to her landlord Bonnie. One or two compliments is fine, but this felt like too much, and it doesn't just happen with Bonnie.

I also wondered about Gordon's motivation and what he really sees in Josie. We get a little bit of his background but I felt like he was just a bit lost.  He's a very quiet and reserved character.

Despite this, it's very easy to fall in love with the environment and the people of Cadence Beach. They are very nice, and it feels like a classic, scenic, beachfront town. There key environments that the majority of the events take place in are well described and it's easy to picture them as you read.

As much of a page turner as this book was, I felt kind of cheated at the end. The ending felt hurried, and it just wrapped up a little too nicely. I can't honestly say what I was expecting at the end (not helpful, I know) just not what happened that's all.

There were some  moments where I was creeped out enough reading this that I was peering out the window to make sure no one was outside. Overall, despite the formality of the language and the other issues I noticed this is a nice read, so I would recommend it to those who like fast paced stories.

Volunteers for Literacy-*There May Be Spoilers*

Title: Volunteers for Literacy

Author:  Gretchen Elhassani

Publisher: Self Published

Published: September 1, 2012

Format: E-book/Kindle

Pages: 190

Source: Received from the Author in exchange

for an honest review.

Read: December 5 2012

In A Few Words: Fast paced

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads: Add This Book To Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

Amanda Smith never learned to read. A local tutoring program called the City Volunteers for Literacy agrees to provide her with a free tutor. The first time they meet at the downtown library, Amanda is energized; the second meeting is horrifying. As Amanda struggles with sight words in a remote tutoring room, bank robbers burst into the library to escape from the police. Amanda must use her survival skills to save her tutor and the innocent people who are caught at the library that day.

Melissa's Musings:

Volunteers for Literacy will certainly make you think twice about the safety of a public library. 

The initial story is well rounded and believable. Amanda is a single mom, working as a manager of a local burger joint, not able to advance any further as she left school at a young age and cannot read. She has a 5 year old daughter to care for, and even her daughter knows that the stories her mom "reads" to her are made up.

Amanda finally decides to help herself and goes to the Volunteers for Literacy program to be matched up with a tutor.

On the second visit there the library is invaded by robbers. These same group of people have come into contact with Amanda before, or at least one of them has.  Anthony helps to kidnap Sara, one of the employees at Burby-Q where they both work

The action is quick paced, and as a character, Amanda is quick on her feet and fast thinking. I don't care for the fact that a few of the other characters insulted her because she can't read. But it's obvious that what she lacks in reading skills she makes up for in problem solving ability.

As quick as the action is, it could have been cut some as well. It seems like overkill when they are finally about to escape the library just to have the other robber in the group finally come looking for the rest of them with Sara as the hostage and then having to outwit him too. 

I was shocked by one of the actions of the character at the end of the book partly because the action seems so unrealistic, and partly because it's out of character for him. ***SPOILER ALERT***

When the robbery is going on, the senior librarian, Erik, seems like a nice, respectable guy. He wants to protect his patrons and colleagues throughout the ordeal. One of the robbers brings the stash that they got from the bank and tells the hostages to cut out the middles of books and stuff the cash into it. (I cringed when I read this because I cannot imagine destroying books like this) Then they are to tape up the books and send them through the inter library loan program. Well, Erik is the one doing the processing. 

Then once it's all said and done the situation ends and everyone goes back to their normal lives. There's a ceremony to reward Amanda, Anthony and Erik for their actions. Amanda gets a 2 year scholarship to a community college, Anthony is allowed to say a few words and Erik gets a mere plaque. Amanda makes a note that this doesn't seem like enough.

That is until Erik disguises himself and goes to the library that the hollowed out books were sent to and goes to retrieve them. The end of the book is left asking whether he will turn the money in or not, but it's almost a given that he would take it, so it's kind of silly to end it by asking the question in the first place. Otherwise why would he have disguised himself.

This doesn't even seem like a realistic scenario because it's unlikely that the police would have just forgotten about the money that the thieves stole as it is.

This ending did detract from the story a bit, but overall this is a good book. After reading this I'd say that I hope there are hidden rooms and passages in my local library like there are in this one. One, because they just sounded neat, and two because you never know what could happen.

Just a small word of warning, some of the instances of violence in this book may be a bit gruesome for some readers.

I don't think I've read a book where the characters spend a lot of time in a library since I read A Discovery of Witches  so I really enjoyed this setting.

Have any of you read this book? Or, can you recommend any other books where one of the main settings is a library?

The Sunday Post 26th Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly Meme hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

It's a chance to share news, 

a post to recap the past week on your blog,

 showcase books

and things we have received and

 share news about what is coming up 

on our blog for the week ahead

Last Week on Melissa's Midnight Musings:

(Click Links to be taken directly to the posts)

• I reviewed Four in the Morning by Christi Goddard
• I reviewed Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay
• I hosted a tour stop for the book Crazy for Cowboy by Roxy Boroughs
• Author Addison Westlake stopped by to share her thoughts on baking for the holidays
• Faye of A Daydreamers Thoughts stopped by to Talk YA, Be sure to check out her video for Round 2 of the Mira Ink competition for a paid blogging position!
• Author Marc Johnson stopped by for an interview. There is a giveaway going on for 2 E-copies of his book, Catalyst.
• For Behind the Blog I talked about True Crime

Giveaways and Other Important Notes:

As I mentioned above, be sure to enter the giveaway for Catalyst by Marc Johnson

There will also be 2 additional giveaways posted this week! Details to follow in the "Coming up this Week" section.

I just wanted to forewarn you guys that I have A LOT of posts coming up in the next few weeks. I've been picking up a lot of Christmas freebies in addition to my regular reading schedule, so there will probably be a lot of times throughout the rest of December when I'll have two posts in one day so that I can keep up with these holiday books as well as the other books I need to review. I'm going to try my best to limit it to no more than two posts per day so that you all don't get bombarded with posts from me.

Coming Up This Week:

• I'll be announcing the winners of the What I Did on My Midlife Crisis giveaway, and the giveaway for The Man Who Loved Jane Austen and Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen.
• Review of Heaven or Hell by Roni Teason
• Cover Reveal
• Interview with Loren DeShon author of Redemption on the River
• Author Interview with Paulette Mahurin, author of The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap
• Review of Beautiful Wild Rose Girl by B. Magnolia +Giveaway
• Behind the Blog: This week's theme is still being decided on, but once it's available I'll post it to the Melissa's Midnight Musings Facebook page and twitter. Faye, Kathe and I would love to have more bloggers join us for BTB so feel free to check out the tab at the top of this blog to learn more about it and join in if you'd like to.
• Melissa's Midnight Musings Turns ONE! My blogoversary is on Friday so I'll have a recap post and a giveaway. I've tried to do something a little different with the giveaway and some of the entry options, so hopefully you guys will enjoy that
• Review of The How and What of Gift Giving by Antonio Hajden

It really doesn't need to be said, but this week is so full of great posts. I hope you'll stop by and check them out!

This Week's Book Haul:

Clicking the links will take you to Goodreads' descriptions

*all book cover photos and links credited to Goodreads unless otherwise noted

Free* Amazon Kindle Download:

*I'm not sure if any of these are still  free, be sure to check the price before you download them

Silver Bells by Sadie Hart

A Christmas Miracle by Willow Cross

All I Want For Christmas is You by Lisa Mondello

Bah Humbug! A Romantic Comedy Novella by Heather Horrocks

How to Host A Holiday by Katleen Kitson

You Never Called Me Princess by Elaine Babich

Received for Blog Tour:

Deep Connections by Rebecca Graf

Received From Author/Publisher for Review:

Starting at top left:

Newspaper Diapers* by M.T. Johnson

*Link goes to Amazon

Background Noise by Peter DeMarco

Hoodie by S. Walden

Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby

Caarina the Cooking Fairy by Julia Dweck

A Parent's Playbook for Learning by Jen Lilienstein

I want to say a huge thank you to all the authors/publishers who sent me books this week!

From the Library:

Shadows of Night by Deborah Harkness

I am beyond excited to read this!

Have any of you read any of these? Or are you planning to?

Be sure to leave links to your hauls so I can check them out!

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

Title: The Casual Vacancy

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Published: September 27, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 503

Source:  Library

Read: November 1-4, 2012

In A Few Words: Disappointing and Depressing

My Rating: 2 Stars

Goodreads: Add this to your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

Melissa's Musings:

I want to preface this review by saying, I love J.K. Rowling. Really, I do. But, I most certainly did not love this book.

When I first saw the cover for this book I thought, "That's it? What a boring, bland cover."

Now, it makes perfect sense. A boring cover to go with a bland book. I'm usually a quick reader, but I truly struggled in making my way through this book. I had to coach myself through each hundred pages. I strongly considered calling it "DNF" at one point, but I soldiered on. I can't honestly say that I'm happy I finished it. 

The first fifty pages is interesting, because we're all trying to figure out what's going to happen to the town now that Barry Fairbrother is dead. There are a lot of unkind, even vindictive  thoughts at his death, which initially, are intriguing. What these thoughts end up being are a precursor to all the pettiness and jealousy that the townspeople have for one another. After that initial 50 pages, it feels like the rest of the book just descends into pettiness and jealousy with teenage angst thrown in.

There are a lot of different issues thrown into this book, and sometimes it feels like it's just too much altogether. There's the politics of course, but then there are subjects like rape, incest, drug use, suicide, cutting, adoption, relationship issues, drinking, etc, the list goes on. It almost felt like Rowling was trying to cram every negative subject that she couldn't talk about in the world of Harry Potter into this book. 

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There's also a lot of swearing in the book. I have absolutely no problem with swearing in adult novels. Even in Young Adult novels, mild-moderate swearing is fine with me. I've read a few reviews where readers have a problem with the fact that there's any swearing at all, which I don't really understand given that this is an adult book. The swearing itself doesn't bother me, but it again feels like Rowling was just trying too hard. There's a lot of it, to the point of bordering on slightly excessive, and it just feels unnecessary in some spots.

There are also too many characters in this novel. There are too many relationships to navigate through. My guess is that Rowling was trying to underscore the point that everyone, especially in small towns is connected, and that something like a death can have a ripple effect and affect many people in a variety of different ways. I completely understand that. I don't feel it was necessary to use quite so many characters/families to make this point.

One character that I did feel drawn to, in a way, was Fats. He has this idea of being his genuine, true self, no matter what that means. I found this to be an odd concept, for a teenager that is. The teen years, and into one's 20's  are meant for finding out who you truly want to be and who you really are, and it appears that Fats has done that. It is explained that he has spent a lot of time inside his own head, getting to know himself and the layers of his own personality. He doesn't completely follow through with this personal ideology of his throughout the book, but for the most part, he sticks to it. It's nice to see someone taking charge of themselves and their actions, especially a character as young as he is.

As I mentioned before, the first 50 pages of the book are great. But then as you slog through the rest, it's just depressing, vindictive, and somewhat boring. I didn't feel anything emotional at the end of the book. I won't spoil what happens, but lets just say it leaves you feeling somewhat depressed. It left me thinking "What was the point of even reading this?"

The only thing that saved this book from getting a 1 star rating was the quality of the writing. As usual, Rowling is able to compose intense, descriptive passages. For example:

"Disgust rose in Samantha like vomit. She wanted to seize the overwarm cluttered room and mash it between her hands, until the royal china, and the gas fire, and the gilt-framed pictures of Miles broke into jagged pieces; then, with the wizened and painted Maureen trapped and squalling inside the wreckage, she wanted to heave it, like a celestial shot-putter, away into the sunset. The crushed lounge and the doomed crone inside it, soared in her imagination through the heavens, plunging into the limitless ocean, leaving Samantha alone in the endless stillness of the universe." (Rowling, pg. 275)

 I could see that in my mind, as I read it. Unfortunately, the writing wasn't quite enough to make me truly  like this book.

I'll admit, there had to have been some expectations that filtered into my reading of this novel. I don't think there couldn't have been. But, overall, this just falls flat on it's own, J.K Rowling or not. Maybe if she had published other adult works between the Harry Potter books her readers would be more used to this serious side of her, and understand her adult works a bit more. Since the Harry Potter world was her sole focus for so long, though, I think it may be slightly too difficult for us as readers to disentangle ourselves and look at a book that contrasts so starkly with HP. It might have also helped to not have your very first book center on something as serious as politics.

Overall, I would say that this book is very well written, if boring. I would recommend checking it out from the library or borrowing it from a friend rather than buying it, though.

The Sunday Post 22nd Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly Meme hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

It's a chance to share news, 

a post to recap the past week on your blog,

 showcase books

and things we have received and

 share news about what is coming up 

on our blog for the week ahead

Last Week on Melissa's Midnight Musings:

(Click Links to be taken directly to the posts)

• I reviewed Twelve Months by Steven Manchester. I highly recommend this book. I'd also recommend having a box of tissues nearby when reading it.
• I reviewed Anthology I: The Other Side by Hamidah Gul.
• For Behind the Blog I talked about Mental Health
• If you're looking for Christmas themed books to read be sure to check out the promo post for the Christmas Creche collection
• I'm trying to spread holiday cheer. If you'd like a holiday card, please make sure to Fill out the form in this post

It's been another jam packed week on the blog and the upcoming week is just as busy!

But first, here are some search terms that brought people to the blog this week:

Fun Search Terms:

"ben and jerry's rocky road ice cream" Gotta love when people find this blog through thinking about food

"my birthday is special 10/11/12" Yes, this was a special birthday for me too. Anyone with an upcoming sequential birthday next year on 11/12/13?

Coming Up This Week:

• Review of Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire by Marc Johnson
• Review of 34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues
• Interview with Carol Cassada, author of the Westmore Series
• I'll announce the winners of the Love and the Living Dead and The Ghosts of Nagasaki giveaways
• Behind the Blog:  This week is Free Choice Week. You can write about anything you'd like. The linky list will be available for you to link up your posts.
• Review of Scrambled by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones
• Death By Bourbon Tour Stop

So, as you can see, it's going to be another jam packed week here at Melissa's Midnight Musings. I hope you'll all stop by and check out these great posts I have lined up. I have to say that the blog has really taken off lately and I really love being able to have all these great posts for you guys.

This Week's Book Haul:

Clicking the links will take you to Goodreads' descriptions
*all book cover photos and links credited to Goodreads unless otherwise noted

Won:

Angels Landing by Rochelle Alers
 I won this in a giveaway held at CMashReads

For Review:

Scrambled by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones
I have actually already read this since it was next in line on my review request list. The review will be up later this week.


Falling in Love by Stephen Bradlee



Four in the Morning by Christi Goddard


From the Library:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I've heard amazing things about this book so I can't wait to read it.

What did you get? Be sure to leave links so I can check out your hauls!

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Breaking Dawn 

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Published: August 2, 2008

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 756 

Source: Library

Read: September 2-4 2012

In A Few Words: Fell Flat

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads: Add this to your TBR shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

WHEN YOU LOVED THE ONE WHO WAS KILLING YOU, IT LEFT YOU NO OPTIONS. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to a werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life - first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse - seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed...forever?

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.

Melissa's Musings:

There's not much I can say that hasn't  already been said about Breaking Dawn, so this review will be short and sweet. I'm so late on the Twilight train, having only started the series last year. I enjoyed the first few books in the series much more than I enjoyed this one.

The story just seemed to fall flat for me. It was more teenage angst, with the dialogue to go with it. For some reason the dialogue in Breaking Dawn seemed a lot more immature than it did in the other books. After the 4th or 5th time I read Jacob saying "'kay" I was more than a little irritated.

Plus the whole love triangle between Edward just seemed ridiculous, especially after Bella was pregnant and still breaking into a smile and wanting him to be around all the time. Of course, that made more sense when Renesmee came along, but even that whole dynamic was weird. He can't have Bella so he imprints on her daughter instead? Certainly a dysfunctional family unit if there ever was one.

I have to say that I was glad to see that Bella finally grew a little bit as a character. She was less whiny, and more decisive in Breaking Dawn. More than likely that's because of Renesmee, becoming a mom was a big change for her, both literally and figuratively.

I was actually most captivated by Renesmee, just like everyone around her. She seemed so interesting, so unique. Meyer definitely did a good job bringing her character to life and making her likeable. (Minus the whole being soulmates with Jacob thing.)

In the end, I think I was expecting a different outcome. While I liked the story, it all wrapped up a little too neatly for me.

The Sunday Post 20th edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly Meme hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

It's a chance to share news, 

a post to recap the past week on your blog,

 showcase books

and things we have received and

 share news about what is coming up 

on our blog for the week ahead

Last Week on Melissa's Midnight Musings:

(Click Links to be taken directly to the posts)

• Ilana Walters, author of The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt stopped by for an interview
• I reviewed An Imperfect Wife by Grace Wen. A good story, but I was disappointed by 
• I hosted a stop on the Stories of Chance Romance blog tour
• I reviewed With Honors by Grace Wen. Another good story, but again I was disappointed by the ending
• In this week's Behind the Blog post, I talked about some Halloween Traditions
• I hosted a spot for the Mything You Book Blast
• S. Harper, author of Love and the Living Dead stopped by to do a guest post on zombies. Be sure to enter the giveaway to win 1 of 3 copies of the book

It's been another super busy week on the blog and the upcoming week is just as busy!

Coming Up This Week:

• Review of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
• Guest post by author Sally Smith O'Rourke with giveaway
• Review of Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman
• Giveaway of  The Ghosts of Nagasaki by Daniel Clausen
• Review of Sebastian's Poet by Kevin Craig
• Behind the Blog: The particulars for this week's topic haven't been decided yet, but it's likely going to have to do with Bonfire night. Once the questions are decided, they'll be posted on twitter and the blog page.
• I'll announce the winners of the giveaways for Unforeseen and the It's All in the Numbers Birthday giveaway

So, as you can see, it's going to be another jam packed week here at Melissa's Midnight Musings. I hope you'll all stop by and check out these great posts I have lined up.

This Week's Book Haul:

Clicking the links will take you to Goodreads' descriptions
*all book cover photos and links credited to Goodreads unless otherwise noted

Won:

I won a copy of The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle Mcquerry in a blog giveaway from Lisa @ Turning Pages She also sent an awesome note.

I won a copy of The Hiding Place by David Bell in a giveaway from Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

I won a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Boost Your Brain Power! by Marie Pasinksi with Liz Neporent in a giveaway over at Simply Stacie

From Author/Publisher for Review:

From the top, left to right:

Peach Creek: A Briarcliff Lane Novel Volume 3 by Adler Duncan (link goes to Amazon)

Strike: Dawn of the Daybreaker (The Strike Trilogy, book 2) by Charlie Wood

Rally Round the Corpse by Hy Corland

Broken Christmas  by David Henderson (link and photo credited to Amazon.com)

The Rainbow Stick Boy by Michael Santolini

E Learning 101: It's Not As Tough As it Looks by Dr. Liz Hardy

Hera: Queen of the Gods (Goddess Unbound #1) by T.D. Thomas

From the Library:

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

I can't believe this one came to my turn in the hold line as quickly as it has.

That's all for me this week. A big thank you to all the authors, publishers, and bloggers that I received books from this week. What did you get this week? Be sure to leave links so that I can check out your hauls!

The Sunday Post: 19th Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly Meme hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

It's a chance to share news, 

a post to recap the past week on your blog,

 showcase books

and things we have received and

 share news about what is coming up 

on our blog for the week ahead

Last Week on Melissa's Midnight Musings:

(Click Links to be taken directly to the posts)

• I mentioned that Blogger stats disappeared Thankfully everything seems to be back to normal now.
• Dr. Lesley Phillips stopped by and shared her thoughts on Past Lives
• I reviewed Phoebe Who? by Emma Harrison
• I reviewed Dream Magic: Awakenings by Dawn Harshaw. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this one, so it didn't quite work well for me.
• For Behind the Blog, I talked about my siblings
• I reviewed Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright which I really enjoyed.
• I announced the winners of the giveaway for copies of Rick and Wylies Fantastical, Magical, Adventure

It's been another super busy week on the blog and the upcoming week is just as busy!

Coming Up This Week:

• Author interview with Ilana Walters
• Stories of Chance Romance Blog Tour stop
• Book Blast: Mything You by Greta Buckle
• Review of With Honors by Grace Wen
• Review of An Imperfect Wife by Grace Wen
• The topic for Behind the Blog  is still being determined. The topic will be posted on the blog's FB page and on Twitter as soon as it has been decided upon.
• Guest post with author S. Harper

So, as you can see, it's going to be another jam packed week here at Melissa's Midnight Musings. I hope you'll all stop by and check out these great posts I have lined up.

Also, don't forget to enter my It's All in the Numbers Birthday Giveaway which is open INTERNATIONALLY

It will be ending this week, as will the giveaway for Unforeseen by Lauren Grimley. That is also open internationally.

This Week's Book Haul:

Clicking the links will take you to Goodreads' descriptions
*all book cover photos and links credited to Goodreads unless otherwise noted

From Author For Review:

Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke

Westmore by Carol Cassada

Westmore: The Aftermath by Carol Cassada

Westmore: Broken Ties

From The Library:

Son (The Giver Quartet #4) by Lois Lowry

I can't believe this book is finally out, it will be interesting to see how it all ends.

So that's all for me this week. A bit of a lighter week but that's definitely a good thing, I need to do some catching up!

What did you get this week? Be sure to leave links so that I can check out your hauls!

The Sunday Post 18th Edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly Meme hosted by

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

It's a chance to share news, 

a post to recap the past week on your blog,

 showcase books

and things we have received and

 share news about what is coming up 

on our blog for the week ahead

Last Week on Melissa's Midnight Musings:

(Click Links to be taken directly to the posts)

• I wished my readers and everyone else I know who lives there, a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving
• I reviewed A Whisper to A Scream as part of the Women on Writing Blog Tour for Karen Wojcik Berner
• I featured an Interview Plus Giveaway with author Lauren Grimley
• I had a second stop on the WOW blog tour where I reviewed Until My Soul Gets It Right and Karen posted a guest post entitled "Masquerade"
• I turned 27 I'll be sharing some of my birthday gifts as part of this week's haul.
• For Behind the Blog  I explained how It's All in the Numbers
• I brought you all some information about For Keeps by Aaron Lazar as part of the books' virtual blog tour. 
• I reviewed The Twelve Days to Christmas by Michele Gorman

It's been another super busy week on the blog and the upcoming week is just as busy!

Coming Up This Week:

• Review of Phoebe Who? by Emma Harrison
• I'll announce the winners of the giveaway for Rick and Wylie's Fantastical, Magical Adventure by Andi Katsina
• Review of Dream Magic: Awakenings by Dawn Harshaw
• Review of Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright
• Dr. Lesley Phillips, author of The Midas Tree will be stopping by to share her thoughts on past lives.
• The theme for Behind the Blog this week is Siblings: Every family is different. This week we’re asking you about yours. Do you have any siblings? If you do, can you tell us anything about them? If you don’t, did you have any friends who felt like siblings to you? How has the ideas surrounding brothers and sisters shaped your life?
  In relation to media; are there any sibblings in books or films that you truly love? Any that you wish were your own?

So, as you can see, it's going to be another jam packed week here at Melissa's Midnight Musings. I hope you'll all stop by and check out these great posts I have lined up.

Also, don't forget to enter my It's All in the Numbers Birthday Giveaway which is open INTERNATIONALLY

Search Terms:

I'm only going to do the top three this week

"happy thanksgiving" There were 7 different people who found this blog using that search term.

"dirk danger loves life" This is really funny book. You can find my review of it HERE

"Canadian thanksgiving memes" That one is pretty self explanatory.

Now onto the books! This week will also include some other media as well since I got a few pretty cool gifts for my birthday that I wanted to share.

This Week's Book Haul:

Clicking the links will take you to Goodreads' descriptions
*all book cover photos and links credited to Goodreads unless otherwise noted

Won:



Torched by Andrea Lynn Colt
I won this in a blog giveaway over at Lost in Literature


All Things Different by Shawn Underhill
I won this in a giveaway over at Getting Your Read On



The Wedding Cake Girl by Anne Pfeffer
I also won this in another giveaway over at Getting Your Read On

I won Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay in a contest that I saw on Facebook. I wasn't notified that I won beforehand, so this was an awesome surprise. This actually came wrapped in red tissue paper inside the envelope and it came with that card in the corner as well as the angel ornament. This came in the mail on my birthday so it was like an extra present to open.

From Author:

Frank Nappi was kind enough to have his assistant send me an early copy of his newest novel called "Nobody Has to Know" The cover info and links for it aren't available yet but it is supposed to be released this coming Tuesday.

From the Library:

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and in Business by Charles Duhigg

Both of these were on hold for me at the library after waiting several months for them.

Media and Books From My Birthday:

I have some awesome presents to show you guys. Some of it is book related, some of it is more on the media side.

This is the  Charmed: Deluxe Limited Edition Set 

My awesome, amazing, wonderful boyfriend bought this for me because he knows I've wanted it for a long time. It's full of replicated pages from the "Book of Shadows" and has the whole show on DVD (I already have the whole show and will eventually be getting rid of individually boxed seasons)

He also got me:

Dirty Dancing: The Ultimate Edition

This is a classic movie.

He got me lots of other things too, he really spoiled me, but those are the only media related items. I'm lucky to have such a fantastic boyfriend.

My family got me:

The Big Bang Theory Trivia Game 

I love TBBT and can't wait to play this game

The Artisan Soda Workshop. 

 I love soda and now that we have a sodastream I'll love trying out the recipes in this book to make homemade soda.

My family knows how much I love to bake so they got me this awesome baking cookbook full of delicious recipes 

They also got me a great case for my Kindle so now it'll be protected. I got a bunch more stuff, because my family is awesome and really spoiled me, but that's all the book/media related gear. I'm very lucky to have such a wonderful family who knows me so well.

So, that's all the books and other great stuff I got this week! What did you get in your book hauls this week? Leave links and I'll be sure to stop by!