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Hush Hush Book Review

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date:

Series: Yes

Rating: 1

Cliffhanger: Not Really


I don't think I can properly describe how much I did not like this book. There will be Spoilers below because I don't think I can do this review without them. I'll try to do a smaller one without spoilers and mark the point where they really start.

Hush Hush is about Nora Grey, an average girl with an average life until she meets Patch. Nora is drawn to Patch even though she doesn't know him well. After some scary things happen to Nora she is not sure who to trust and is frightened by how much Patch seems to know about her. When she goes looking for answers, she finds herself learning something stranger than she ever imagined. She gets caught in the middle of an ancient battle that may cost Nora her life.




Now I wasn't going to read this book at first. When I first came across this book the series wasn't finished and since I have no patience to wait years to finish reading a series, I wait for all the books to come out. I was really excited for a book with fallen angels. Paranormal, fantasy, etc. are always a lot of fun and there are not as many popular and/or well known angel books as there are vampires and werewolves. But I ended up reading some reviews that were not that good and decided that I did not want to read Hush Hush. And of course I forgot all about what I had decided when I was having a book lull and didn't know what to read. The series was finished, it was about fallen angels, and I didn't have anything else to read. So of course with no self control I got the book.


No major spoilers
This is sort of one of those insta-love stories where the main character and her love interest don't know anything about each other but by the end they would do anything for each other. Nora is also annoying and naïve. And I mean so stupid that when there are two flat tires in the car she was using her first thought is she ran over two nails. Never mind that the car hadn't been moved since it was driven to that spot and she is being followed by someone trying to kill her.

"I can't believe it!" I said. "I drove over two nails?"

Nora and Patch had a very confusing "relationship" and I put it in quotes because to me they didn't have one at all. The summary on the book implies that they fall in love and that is a big part of the book but I just did not get that. Nora and Patch didn't seem to have any kind of real conversation about anything important or informative about each other until close to the end of the book. Sure they were lab partners in a class but that didn't help the narrative move in any direction.


The book is supposedly about fallen angels but angels aren't even really mentioned until about 60% into the book. When they are mentioned it is mainly the name of a roller coaster ride and a nickname and a really bad article. Hush Hush also has too many villains. It takes away from what little story there is by having to keep track of too many stuff.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILERS BELOW~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~








































Nora was one of the worst characters I have ever read about. She is the girl in the horror movie that you yell don't go in there run away. At every moment she was doing or thinking something stupid. Nora and Patch meet in their science class when the assigned seating is changed and they become lab partners. While Nora is drawn to Patch he is a mystery. Nora's idea is to investigate and find out more about him. When trying to find out more about Patch Nora decides to talk to people at his job. But of course she can't just simply ask she has to make it complicated. What she does is arrange with Vee to go to his work, at a restaurant, then she goes to the bathroom to change into a more revealing outfit and a WIG. Yes she put on a wig! Her plan was to change so no one recognized her (like anyone would care) and flirt with the bartender for information. And of course the bartender happens to be a 30 something guy and Patch catches her.

"I was forced to accept that maybe now want the time to rely on the logical half of my brain."

"With my heart thundering, I jumped on the first conclusion that presented itself."

And her relationship with Patch wasn't even a real relationship. She doesn't really know anything about Patch, hasn't had any conversation of substance with him, can't get any real answers from him, thinks he is stalking her, thinks he might have attacked her friend Vee, is outright scared of him, and thinks he might have beat up mean girl Marcia the night before and still she goes out on a date with him! Patch was trying to kill Nora, at first. I mean he was always mean to her and she was still drawn to him for no reason.

"You're giving me too much credit. It was all you, Nora. If your mind wasn't so weak, I couldn't have done a thing. Am I making you feel bad? Is it discouraging to know that out of all the minds I've invaded, yours tops the list as easiest? And most fun."

And Nora's best friend Vee was just as bad if not worse. At first I could see that Nora's best friend Vee was going to fill the obligatory quirky best friend role. After a while she just got annoying. And what king of best friend keeps pushing you towards a guy that scares you. And I mean that literally like Nora stated at one point that Patch out right scares her. Vee has no regard for Nora's well being. Vee doesn't even seem to care and makes excuses for someone, another person who ends up scaring Nora, manhandling Nora.

“He  dragged me out the front door and shoved me against the house.” “But he was drunk, right?” “Does it matter?” I snapped. “Well, he has a lot going on. I mean, he was wrongly accused of being messed up in some girl’s suicide, and he was forced to switch schools. If he hurt you—and I’m not justifying what he did, by the way—maybe he just needs . . . counseling, you know?” “If he hurt me?” “He was wasted. Maybe—maybe he didn’t know what he was doing. Tomorrow he’s going to feel horrible.”

At around 60% the book finally starts to talk about fallen angels. Nora had seen Patch's back with his scars and then later that night while talking to Vee. Vee asks "was he an angel" as in did he try anything on their "date" so all of a sudden its like OMG angel, Patch has angel scars, I'll look up angel scars and find a really stupid article that will put me on the path to learning the truth.

"I crammed everything I’d read into a mental folder and filed it away. And stamped SCARY on the outside of the folder."

And on top of all the other crazy and stupid stuff that happens in the book there are not one but four bad guys. Yes at one point or another there are four people that want Nora dead. It's bad enough that a book about fallen angels barely has any fallen angels in it but trying to keep track of who is stalking, attacking, and or trying to kill Nora at any given point is exhausting. Since Nora is always jumping to conclusions and there are so many villains the story drags from all the things that Nora has to investigate.

Yes Please

Title: Yes Please

Author: Amy Poehler
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Rating: 4


When I first saw that Amy Poehler had written a book I thought it would be amazing and funny, kind of a mix between SNL and Parks and Recreation that would be filled with laughs. Then remembering it was a memoir of sorts and reading the overview and a review that started with "This is not a comedy book" made me think differently. And that review was right, this is not a comedy book. That doesn't mean that there are not a lot of funny parts in the book but it was not written with the purpose of being all laughs all the time. 

“Saying “yes” doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying “please” doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.”

 Yes please is a combination of stories from Amy's life, life lessons that she has learned, advice, and some additions from people in her life. It is very hard to classify this as a specific genre because it has many different aspects. Once I let go of the expectation that this would be that all laughs book I enjoyed it. To me it almost read like a collection of short stories that were along the timeline of one person.

“However, if you do start crying in an argument and someone asks why, you can always say, "I'm just crying because of how wrong you are.”

Amy doesn't hold back on anything in this book, except her divorce. She is extremely frank on everything from sex to drugs. The reason that she does not talk about her divorce is because she says that it is too painful and that is ok we don't really need to know about it. She also does not go into too much detail into Parks and Rec because she was still filming at the time. Those were the two things that were not really discussed much but there were good reasons and the book did not suffer for it.

"A lot of people don’t know I am always thisfuckingclose to doing some crazy shit.”

One of the few issues I had with this book is that it seemed a little disjointed. Although the book covered a large range of Amy's life it was out of order. Maybe if there was a timeline somewhere to connect all the points of her life that are hit in the book it would make more sense for me. I haven't read a non-fiction biography type book in a while so I might just be not used to that style of book. However, the jumping around in time made me a little confused on the order. So I would be reading about SNL and then about something in Chicago and back to New York the Upright Citizens Brigade.

“Telling me to relax or smile when I’m angry is like bringing a birthday cake into an ape sanctuary. You’re just asking to get your nose and genitals bitten off.”

The only other issue I can think of is that the parts with SNL, Awards hosting, Parks and Rec, and other memorable parts of Amy's career were too short. That's not to say that what was in the book was bad, I just wanted more. Although there was a really good story that involves Amy sitting on George Clooney's lap. Her entire run on SNL was reduced to on chapter. The Parks and Rec stories were also reduced to one chapter with just a paragraph for each character.

Overall I think it was a really good book and if you like non-fiction/biography/advice/whatever else then this one is worth a read.

“People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.”

All quotes are from Amy's book, Yes Please, obviously :)

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Job Interviews!

A job interview is like a first date. You dress to impress the other person whether it is in a business suit or casual wear. There are always questions you think up ahead of time that you want to ask to get to know the other person better. And there are always butterflies and the hoping that you will get a second interview or even get the job right then.

Well I have two interviews this month. There is the big mi
x of nervousness and excitement that I may get a full time job and move to a new city. There will be a lot involved with getting ready including getting a new outfit (and I am not a clothing shopping person) and researching each place thoroughly. I will be crossing my fingers that I am offered one or both of the jobs.

What I hope these workplaces remember is that they are on the date with me. This means that they are being interviewed as well. I am look at the type of environment and people that I may be spending a lot of time in soon so I want it to be a place I can enjoy and thrive in.

I had an interview in the past with three people interviewing me. This interview was probably one of the worst interviews I had ever had. No one smiled the entire time I was there and they put out this vibe of we are so much better than you and you need to work extremely hard to prove yourself to us (the kind of hard that is impossible to achieve). Now there is only a certain amount of rudeness and intimidation I can take before I know that no matter what I will not be working there. I'm sure that they didn't care one way or the other but even if they had I would not have continued on with them in any aspect.


For all you who are looking for jobs and going on interviews, I hope you find your dream job. And for those who are interviewing people don't forget to be kind and professional and remember that you are on that first date too and should try to make a good impression.


You have Brains in your Head.
You have Feet in your Shoes.
You can Steer yourself an 
Direction you Choose.
- Dr. Seuss

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“For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!” - John Lennon

Honest Trailers

Lots of people have wasted hours of their time in YouTube looking at random videos. I myself have gone on YouTube with the intent to watch one, maybe two videos, and have ended up spending 5 hours browsing anything that looks interesting. Occasionally I find something really interesting that I subscribe to. One day I came across an Honest Trailer for a movie. What followed was hours of fun for me and then all my family and friends that I told about it.

   I'm not sure how to properly describe Honest Trailers so you will just have to check it out for yourself.

What Am I Doing Now?

Every time I see someone that knows I graduated college this past December I am asked the same question, "What are you doing next?" My reply is the same, "I don't know yet". I, along with many other 20 something recent college graduates, am unsure what I am going to do with my life. There are so many job options and yet so few. When I spend time looking for jobs I run into many problems, some of which include a great job in the wrong company or place or great companies that are not offering jobs that I can apply for. There is also the dilemma of needing experience to get a job and needing a job for the experience. All of these obstacles have gotten in my way.

Now I am being more proactive. I am not going to let my fear of the unknown get in the way of the next stage in my life. Thinking back to my new years resolutions I am going to do what I want and go after things. Being the organizer and planner that I am I created a plan. Step one of my plan is to gather information. This will include finding the places I would like to live, companies I would like to work for, and jobs I would like to or be interested in doing. Step two is to apply everywhere. This means that any company or job on the list that I gather will be applied to in any job, in any city, in any field that I can work. Step 3 is to wait. This will probably be one of the hardest steps because I don't like the suspense of waiting. I want to know. Step 4 hopefully to have multiple job offers so that I can pick whichever one I like most. Step 5 is to freak out and hopefully start my new job!

Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it

 - Katherine Whitehorn

New Year's Resolution

New Year's Resolutions seem to be really popular. Growing up my friends were giving up chocolate, soda, procrastinating on homework. I never made resolutions. I knew that I would not keep them and that there wasn't really anything that I wanted to give up or do better or more on.

Now I am graduating college with no clue what I am going to do for the rest of my life and not liking most of my options so far. What I do know is that I am going to make a resolution this year. I am going to make a resolution and I am going to keep it. My resolution is to do what I want.

Doing what I want it a very broad resolution and there is a reason for that. The reason is that I want to do a lot of things. I want to do more crafts and learn how to sew. I want to learn more about design and the design software. I want to cook more. I want to paint more. I want to travel more. I want to meet more people. I want to get a job I like. I want to start my own business. I want to follow through with all of my crazy fun ideas. I want to live my life in reality and not just in my head.

For years I have planned to do all of those things and not done them because I had multiple part time jobs and a full time school schedule. Well this year I am graduating and I am using these next few months to do all the things that I possible can that I want. Hopefully I will keep up with all of this on here to improve my writing skills that I also want to work on.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.- Mark Twain

The Joy of Books

I started this blog because my friend was telling me about a blog she has and it sounded like so much fun. I started this blog mainly because I liked decorating it. The my friend and I decided to make a blog about books with another friend of ours. Our blog is about books because we all love reading and go to some sort of book store at least once a week. We have long lists of books we have read, books we want to read, and books ot suggest for others.

Some times we come across other book lovers but often times people look at us like we are crazy for stayin up until 3:00 in the morning reading. They don't understand how that we get so caught up in the book we still think it is only 8:30 or that the book is so good and we are so close to finishing that we just have to finish it tonight. Books are awesome and everyone should take some time to read a book, any book!

This is a video that I saw and has become really popular and is a lot of fun! It is called The Joy of Books:

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~Author Unknown

Veronica Mars

My post on Alias inspired me to do another post of a show my sister got me addicted to. Veronica Mars. This show is also really awesome. It is about a girl who uses her investigative skills to solve her best friend's murder and other mysteries thoughout the series. This show got me hooked from the beginning. I love Veronica, she is a strong female character that is not often seen on TV.

While I was in class one day a was on the internet and I saw an artice on televisionwithoutpity.com about Veronica Mars. The article was about how Veronica is a good show for teenage girls to watch and I agree. I really like this article and have read it a couple of times. Here is the link to read it which I highly suggest.

http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/brilliantbutcancelled/2011/08/veronica-mars-thinking-twice.php

Now for lots of quotes: Quotes from imdb.com    I put lots of quotes in again,  couldn't help myself.

Wallace: I suddenly feel like I'm in a scene from "The Outsiders".
Veronica: Be cool, Soda Pop

Meg: You believe me, right?
Veronica: You are the last good person here at Neptune High. I believe cartoon birds braided your hair this morning.

Keith: How's about an early peek at one of your Christmas presents?
Veronica: What about our strict "Christmas morning only" rule?
Keith: This Christmas, we make our own rules. Follow me!
Veronica: [following Keith to her bedroom] I'm so impressed you fit a pony into my room!


Meg: All of a sudden everyone's running up to me, saying how they never believed I did those things...
Veronica: I'm glad. Funny, no one's come running up to me.
Meg: It's because people are afraid of you.
Veronica: Then something's working...


Veronica: Look at you, all helpful.
Logan: Hey, your peskiness being unleashed on Conner brings me joy. Annoy, tiny blonde one, annoy like the wind!

Jackson Douglas: I hear you do detective stuff for people.
Veronica: I do favors for friends.
Jackson Douglas: I can pay.
Veronica: Sit down, friend.

Veronica: [surprising the Tritons with a camera] Hi, everyone! Say "repressed homosexuality"!

Mr. Tom Daniels: [walk in to find Weevil and Logan playing cards] Is this Reno or detention?
Logan: Can you believe the best of both.
Weevil: [Daniels takes away their cards] Oh, come on, man.
Logan: What the hell, we were playing a game here.
Mr. Tom Daniels: This is punishment gentlemen, not party time.
Logan: Well, that would explain the absence of balloon animals

Veronica: It's all fun and games till one of you gets my foot up your ass.

Troy: I'm Troy, by the way.
Veronica: I'm Veronica.
Troy: Really? Veronica. Okay, yeah, that does make a lot more sense.
Veronica: Makes more sense how?
Troy: Ah, it's nothing. I just should never listen to those guys. I mean, really, who names their daughter Trampy McBitch?

Veronica: You prank-called Mandy?
Lenny: What if I did?
Veronica: Well, I want to congratulate you. Shake your hand. Congratulations! You've been named the world's biggest cockroach. This award is given in recognition in your unparalleled lack of decency and humanity. Bravo. You're going to die friendless and alone.
Lenny: Hey, everyone knows you're the biggest...
Veronica: Shut up! If I want you to speak, I'll wave a Snausage in front of your nose. You use Mandy again to convince yourself you're not a loser, I will ruin your life. Got it?

Wallace: Oh, you don't even want to mess with me on that today. I just about murked my mom's lazy no-rent-paying tenant this afternoon.
Veronica: That guy is sleazy. So I hope murked means something bad.

Duncan: Great game the other night, man. 18 points and 8 assists.
Wallace: On the streets, we call those dimes.
Veronica: Streets? You live on the corner of Pleasant Valley and Marigold.

Veronica: If I ever die, do me a favor. Go on Oprah and tell the world that I loved kittens.

Cliff McCormack: [to Logan] My name is Cliff, and I'll be your, "If you cannot afford an attorney" attorney.

Veronica: I saw Meg.
Duncan: What do you mean, you...
Veronica: Meg's pregnant.
Duncan: I know.
Veronica: You know?
Duncan: There was a letter, from her aunt. I guess Meg had asked to live up there and raise the baby.
Veronica: Oh my God, Duncan, how could you...
Duncan: Last spring, before we broke up...
Veronica: OK, stop, I was shown a diagram once, I know how it works. But you knew, and you didn't tell me?
Duncan: This has nothing to do with us.
Veronica: Oh, no! Nothing. Your secret illegitimate child gestating in the womb of your comatose ex-girlfriend affects neither you nor me.

Wallace: Underneath that angry young woman show, there's a slightly less angry woman who's just dying to bake me something.


Logan: Excellent. A bar so low we can step over it.

---

Veronica: If there's a justification for my actions right now, it's this: I have gone completely mad.

ALIAS

What to do on New Year's Eve. This is a question I usually ask myself every year. What I always end up doing is just hanging out with friends or around the house during the day and at midnight I either have fallen asleep or I am watching TV only to look at the clock and it is 12:15. I'm not a much of a drinker or party person so my tradition of doing nothing suits me just fine. So while I was thinking of what I was going to do all day I looked over at the book I wanted to finish and the complete series of Alias that I own. And I decided to do both. So after I finished my book I started to re-watch Alias starting in the middle of season 1.

Now if you haven't seen Alias you need to. It is about spy named Sydney Bristow. And let me tell you it is addicting. It is one of the shows that my sister got me addicted to. When I decided to watch it again to waste some time I thought I would watch one maybe two episodes. Three one and a half seasons later and I am still watching Alias while writing this. That is how addicting this show is. There are so many cliff hangers that there is no way to not watch at least one whole season. The series only has five seaons and the first two maybe three are the best. The show starts lacking in the forth season and seriously lacks is the fifth but is still worth watching. I have rewatched the entire series completely at least three times now going to be four. This is one of the many shows that I think everybody should watch at least once.

Here are a couple of quotes that I love from the show: quotes from imdb.com   I kinda went a little overboard with the quotes but I was drunk on Alias all day and I liked so many that I had to put them in!


Vaughn: Let's take things one step at a time. This is a charge of C4. I can tell because there's 'C4' written all over it.


[Marshall has accidentally shot a man; they need the man's eyes for a retinal scan. Marshall digs into one eye with a letter opener]
Agent Marshall Flinkman: Oh god. It's oozing. It's oozing everywhere, sir.
Agent Jack Bristow: [via cell phone] That means you've ruptured the macula. The eye is useless, abandon it. Approach the second one gently, like a soft-boiled egg. You're going to need a digging instrument to assist with this.
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [looks in a drawer] I've got a spork.
Agent Jack Bristow: [bewildered] What's a spork?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: It's like a half-spoon... half-fork, will that do?
Agent Jack Bristow: That will work.


Agent Marshall Flinkman: Syd, this guy buried you alive.
Sydney: Yeah, but he cheated, he hit me with a car first!


Weiss: Jack is going to shoot you in the face.
Vaughn: Just give me a half-hour head start. Tell him that she called your phone and you gave it to me. We only have ten hours to find Kaplan.
Weiss: If we end up sharing a cell in federal prison, I'm not giving you a drawer.


Francie: "Dear Aunt Stephanie. Unfortunately, as my mother has informed you, the wedding is off so I am returning your kind gift of a coffee maker because, as it turns out, the man to whom I was engaged is a deceitful, two-faced, sex-crazed jackass. All my love, Francie."
Sydney: It's not too harsh.

Vaughn: Now, the guys say it's bitchin, so I assume it's... bitchin.

Sydney: I just wanted to rip his finger right off again. Does that make me a bad person?

Sydney: Why does that guy have such a guilty look on his face?
Francie: Yesterday, Ginger told Rod that Gavin was Ruby's pimp, but Rod didn't even know that Ruby was a prostitute...
Sydney: Who's Gavin?
Francie: Ruby's father.
Sydney: Ew.

Sydney: I'm gonna shoot you with adrenaline - we have got to run.
Vaughn: No. Don't do that.


[Sydney and Marshall have just talked their way past a security post]
Sydney: What did you say to him?
Agent Marshall Flinkman: [nervous] I don't know. I think it was "Go away I can smell you from here" in Ewok.


Vaughn: Are you romantically interested in anyone?
[She looks at him weirdly]
Vaughn: It could be a question.
Sydney: No, I'm not.
[Machine jumps to 56]
Vaughn: Interesting.
Sydney: Wait, ask me that again.
Vaughn: No, I don't have to. We have our answer right here. That's very good. Moving on.

[about Kendall]
Agent Jack Bristow: Legally he's right, Ethically he's an ass.

Vaughn: You're probably gonna say no to this, but I wanna go to India.
Kendall: Go.
Vaughn: "Go"? What... Are you trying to get rid of me?

Sydney: You didn't think about it. Not once. The possibility that Rambaldi could be right about me.
Vaughn: No. I didn't.
Sydney: Why not?
Vaughn: Because I believe in you. Do you think I'd just throw anyone in my trunk?


Vaughn: Yeah... I'll break into the Vatican with you.


[the assassin Sark is introduced as an ally]
Marshall: Hi. Welcome. Don't kill me.

Weiss: Okay, whenever you want to have that talk...
Vaughn: What talk?
Weiss: About the cologne or whatever the hell you're wearing.
Vaughn: I'm not wearing cologne.
Weiss: Well, something's going on. No man naturally smells as good as you do right now.

[talking about Sydney]
Weiss: So she gave you a drawer, huh?
Vaughn: It was a gesture of convenience.
Weiss: And, uh, what did you put it in?
Vaughn: Why do you care?
Weiss: What do you mean, why do I care? Do you know how spoiled you are? You know, a drawer! I wish I had a girlfriend to say 'Hey, do you want a drawer?'
Vaughn: I'll give you a drawer at my place.
Weiss: I don't want a drawer at your place.


Sydney: You know any jokes? Because I could use one.
Vaughn: This grasshopper walks into a bar and the bartender says, "Hey, we have a drink named after you." And the grasshopper says...
Sydney: You have a drink named Doug?
Vaughn: Well, I was gonna use Phil

Go take a Photo

 

 

This past semester at school I took a photography class and it was AWESOME!! It was great to take photos around town. We took  field trips for some classes and just had fun editing photos in class. Even if you aren't artistic anybody can point a camera and click a button. Taking photos and just messing with them on photoshop or just leaving them can be a lot of fun. Just see what kinds of things turn up. Many or my photos were acidents or I got the idea for them by acident like my dancer photo on the bottom or the clouds in the boat photo on the top left. For both of those I was just playing with photoshop and my camera and I got some really cool pictures out of them. So if you are board then go take a tour of your town, explore and take some photos. You never know what you might end up with.

                                                

   

The Tony Awards

Let me just say if all awards shows were this awsome I would actually watch them. These are two performances from the 2011 Tony Awards. This is why Broadway Rocks!!!

The opening number



and a duet between Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris

“Most convicted felons are just people who were not taken to museums or Broadway musicals as children.”    - Libby Gelman-Waxner quotes

The Healer's Apprentice

I love books set in a different time period. I think my favorites are probably ones with princes or princesses. That is what drew me to The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson.

Overview:

Two Hearts. One Hope.

Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her—a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill.

When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.

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When I first started reading this book it was a little confusing and hard to keep the names straight. For the future Duke character Dickerson switched between calling him Lord Hamlin and Wilhelm without explaining in the beginning of the book that it is the same person. At first while reading it seemed that they were two different characters rather than the same one with a formal and informal name. Once I made it farther into the book it picked up with Wilhelm pushing Rose toward his brother thinking he would be better for her. Of course that could not work out. My only real problem with this book is the incorporation of religion for the characters. Now don’t get me wrong I am not against religion and I believe that everyone has the right to believe what they want. My problem with the religion in the book is that the characters relied on religion to much. When someone was sick they would be stitched up and then a prayer would be said. What is strange about that is the characters expected God to fix the wound like the stitches were just a precaution. When Rose was in danger Wilhelm prayed more than he did anything. I wanted more action and less sitting around praying about stuff hoping God would just fix it for them.  This is a good book if you like time period pieces and you can deal with all the praying. If you don’t like those things then this isn't the book for you.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

I have read a lot of books in my life and I have loved a lot of books in my life. One of my all time favorite books of all time is Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson.

Overview:

Amy Curry is having a terrible year. Her mother has decided to move across the country and needs Amy to get their car from California to Connecticut. There’s just one small problem: Since her dad died this past spring, Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger, the nineteen-year-old son of an old family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute . . . and dealing with some baggage of his own.

Meeting new people and coming to terms with her father’s death were not what Amy had planned on this trip. And traveling the Loneliest Road in America, seeing the Colorado mountains, crossing the Kansas plains, and visiting diners, dingy motels, and Graceland were definitely not on the itinerary. But as they drive, Amy finds that the people you least expected are the ones you may need the most — and that sometimes you have to get lost in order to find your way home.

“One of the most touching, irresistible, and feel-good road trips I’ve been on in a long, long while.” —Deb Caletti, National Book Award Finalist

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This book is a must read! I can't even express how much I loved this book. Matson did a wonderful job of incorporating a journey for the main character Amy in her life as well on the road with Roger. I have to say that I liked that the romance came gradually and did not overpower the rest of the story. It seems that in so many of the popular books today a guy and girl meet they talk for two minutes and then they are in love and can't function without each other. This book has the added bonus of playlists through out the book to check out for your own road trip.  Amy is strong even in her grief and repairs her self in a believable way. I have read this book at least three times. This is a book that everyone needs to read at least once and maybe more if you love it enough as me. I don't know about anyone else but this book makes me want to have a cross country road trip and also read the book again.

It's Not The Destination, It's The Journey- Unknown

The Book of Awesome

If you are ever having a bad day then The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha is for you. This book is just like it says on the cover AWESOME.

Overview

The author behind 1000awesomethings.com celebrates the good things in life- by the sheer power of their awesomeness. Based on the award-winning blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a high five for humanity and a big celebration of life's little moments and the underappreciated, simple things that make us happy, from popping bubble wrap to hitting a bunch of green lights in a row, to waking up thinking it's Monday and realizing it's Saturday. With wise, witty observations from writer Neil Pasricha, this treasure trove is filled with smile-inducing musings that make readers feel like kids looking at the world for the first time: AWESOME!                                                                                             Pasted from <http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book-of-awesome-neil-pasricha/1100043510?ean=9780425238905&itm=1&usri=the%2bbook%2bof%2bawesome>  

This book is perfect for when you are having a bad day. Why? Because it is a good reminder of some of the awesome things in life. If you don’t have time to be reading an entire book you can just flip through the pages randomly and remind yourself about some of the awesome things out there. It is a sure way to make you smile and feel better when you are having a bad day.

 A Few of my favorites in the book include:

When you push the button for the elevator and it's already there

Licking better off the beaters of a cake mixer

Blowing out the candles on your first try

A long hug when you really need it

Laughing so hard you make no sound at all

Absolute perfect silence

The smell of books

At Last

This is one of the Vegas solo auditions by the season 7 winner of So You Think You Can Dance Lauren. This is another must see dance. It is amazing. And although I love the dance itself and her technique is flawless, I think the judges' reactions to her dancing makes this video even better. One of the moves in Lauren's solo even inspired a move in a dance I was in this past year. So You Think You Can Dance won't be back until next summer but at least we can watch dances from past seasons online to hold us over until then.

Psych

If you have never seen Psych starring James Roday, Dule Hill, Maggie Lawson, and Timothy Omundson you need to. This show is one of my all time favorites after having only seen three episodes. I have since spent days watching the series non-stop from the beginning on Netflix. Netflix offers the first four seasons on their instant play and the sixth season will be premiering on USA network soon. I am so excited I can't even stand to wait anymore. The description of the show on IMDb is:

A novice sleuth (Roday) is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend (Hill) the duo take on a series of complicated cases.

The chemistry and comedic timing of the cast is amazing. The two main characters Shawn Spencer and Burton 'Gus' Guster have been best friends since childhood with the witty banter to match. The writing is incredible and even makes me want to learn all the skills to be a fake psychic. If you're tired of the same old detective show with the same murders and the same characters, well this is not it. What makes this detective show so much more fun is that the main character is not a cop. Where other shows rely on drama Psych relies on drama. In the words of Shawn Spencer "He's calling me snarky!" from the episode An Evening with Mr. Yang.