Review: Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

 

Temptation 

by Karen Ann Hopkins

Published by Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: June 26, 2012

Pages 383

Source: Author










Your heart misleads you.
That's what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah.
And he loves me.

We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms.

It should be

ROSE & NOAH

forever, easy.

But it won't be.

Because he's Amish.
And I'm not.

My Thoughts

She was experiencing her first love. He had found his forever love.

As someone who doesn't like spoilers, there are very few times when I want to skip to the very end of a book to read the ending. After reading just the back cover and the preface, I wanted to do just that. I had to know what was going to happen with Noah and Rose. I didn't skip to the end and I am thankful that I didn't because I think I would have missed on all of the anticipation of this compelling story.

The chapters alternate from both Rose and Noah's perspectives sharing the characters thoughts and emotions of their relationship. I was immediately drawn to Rose and her rowdy disposition. She is the middle sibling with two brothers who she is constantly bickering with. It is during one of these fights with her younger brother, that she first meets Noah. They are instantly intrigued with each other because of their differences. Noah is calm and quiet - not like any teenaged boy she knows. Rose is loud and lively - the complete opposite of the girls in his Amish community where boys and girls are kept separate until they begin courting. 

Hopkins gives a lot of insight into the Amish community with her detailed descriptions. The Rose chapters offered the outsiders perspective into this community that seemed so unusual and whose ideas were somewhat primitive. The Noah chapters painted a different portrait - one of custom, but both communicated the overwhelming sense of calmness and order. At first I wanted to read through the descriptive parts and would seek out the dialogue and action, but then I realized these descriptions served a larger purpose in helping understand the Amish ways and how that related to the overall story. It was as though the Amish community was its own character and affected Rose and Noah's relationship.

Rose and Noah's relationship got pretty intense very quickly. The bashful glances and hidden smiles, quickly became secret meet-ups and hand-holding, and then passionate kisses, all forbidden in the Amish world, but worth attempting again and again. Hopkins captures these moments so sweetly that there were times I felt I had butterflies in my stomach. One of my favorite moments that did make me flutter a bit was when Noah's family invited Rose's family to dinner to welcome them to Meadowview and they have just bowed their heads for a moment of silent prayer:

 "Everyone in the room followed suit, and so did I, cheating a little bit when I glanced up with my eyes, without raising my head much, to spy on Noah. I quickly put my head back down after seeing he was staring at me with eyes wide open and his head only partially bowed. I could have sworn, before I looked away, that he had grinned at me." (pg. 46)

Yet with every one of these special moments, there is another moment (or person) reminding Rose and Noah why they can't be together. As Rose was beginning to experience her first love, she had all of this idealist perspective that they would make their relationship work. Noah, who thought he had found his forever love, was desperate to find a way, any way, to keep them together.

* * * *

I'm afraid that if I keep sharing my thoughts I'm going to reveal too much. I need to avoid those spoilers that I first mentioned at the beginning of the post. I enjoyed reading Temptation more than could have ever expected. Their story is intense and passionate and overwhelming. I'd think that anyone who likes contemporary YA romance would enjoy this book.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the book provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Labor Day Read-a-thon - Final Update

Amanda at Letters Inside Out is hosting a Labor Day Read-a-thon. 

Details can be found on her blog HERE.

My last read-a-thon was a bust, so I'm giving it a shot with this one. 

I'm not setting any goals except to read, read, and read some more.

If you don't have any plans (or have a couple hours to spare here and there),

sign up at Letters Inside Out!!

Updates:

Day 1, Friday: 
No reading, busy day

Day 2, Saturday:
read Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge, 169 pages

read Dead to You by Lisa McMann, 243 pages

Day 3, Sunday:
reading From What I Remember by Valerie Thomas and Stacy Kramer, 385 of 462 pages

Day 4, Monday:
finished From What I Remember, 77 pages (0f 464)
read Lush by Natasha Friend, 178 pages

Totals
Books: 4
Pages: 1052
Challenges: 1

All-in-all a pretty successful read-a-thon.

Waiting on Wednesday: Collateral

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

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Collateral

by Ellen Hopkins

Published by Atria Books

Publication Date:  November 13, 2012

Written in Hopkins’s stunning poetic verse style, Collateral centers on Ashley, an MFA student at San Diego State University. She grew up reading books and never dreamed she would become a military wife. One night she meets a handsome soldier named Cole. He doesn’t match the stereotype of the aggressive military man. He’s passionate and romantic. He even writes poetry. Their relationship evolves into a sexually charged love affair that goes on for five years and survives four deployments. Cole wants Ashley to marry him, but when she meets another man, a professor with similar pursuits and values, she begins to see what life might be like outside the shadow of war.

Collateral captures the hearts of the soldiers on the battlefield and the minds of the friends, family, and lovers they leave behind. Those who remain at home may be far away from the relentless, sand-choked skies of the Middle East and the crosshairs of a sniper rifle, but just the same, all of them will sacrifice a part of themselves for their country and all will eventually ask themselves if the collateral damage caused by war is worth the fight. (from Goodreads) 

I usually have a least one book by Hopkins on my bookshelf that I don't read until her newest book is published. It is a weird habit that I developed. I've done it with almost every book. Until now. I just finished Triangles and with no other unread Hopkins books on my shelves, it left me wanting more, more, more! Her latest YA title, Tilt, will be out in a few weeks - which I am excited about, but I'm even more excited about her new adult verse novel Collateral. Reading Triangles made me realize that I am craving more adult stories, situations, and scenarios. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Confessions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists. I am too so that is why I am participating this week.

Bookish Confessions 

1. I failed my English final my senior year of high school.

2. I started the series Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready, didn't absolutely love it, gave away my copy and didn't consider finishing the series. Then everyone started raving about Shift and I had to give it chance - FREAKING LOVED IT and now I am TEAM KILT forever! (I'm more embarrassed to admit this than #1)

3. I've called in late to work just so I could finish a book that I didn't want to stop reading.

4.  I spend a lot of time reading blog posts without commenting.

5. The first time I read Moby Dick was in college and I was so clueless that I didn't pick up on all of the sexual references in Melville's writing. We had to write discussion questions and mine were always (unknowingly) about the sexual references. 

6.I don't read many book reviews of books that I haven't read but plan to. I'm afraid that there will be the slightest bit of information that will be revealed that might be a spoiler - whether big or small. I'll usually read the first 2 or 3 sentences and look at the star/number rating. I always intend on returning to these reviews once I've read the book to further the discussion but that doesn't always happen.

7. I have a book on my shelf that I friend loaned to me over 12 years ago and I haven't even opened it. 

8. Before meeting David Levithan at a book signing (not his), I had to down a glass of wine before I was brave enough to go say hello.

9. I will watch Eclipse any time it is on HBO/Cinemax/Showtime just so I can watch Taylor/Jacob say, "Hold up. What damn army?"

10. I don't like my nook all that much.

Guest Post and Giveaway: Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Your heart misleads you.
That's what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah.
And he loves me.

We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms.

It should be

ROSE & NOAH

forever, easy.

But it won't be.

Because he's Amish.
And I'm not.

Temptation, the debut novel by Karen Ann Hopkins is available now from Harlequin Teen. I am pleased to host Karen on my blog today as she shares her experiences and impressions of the Amish youth. She used her own experiences in living with the Amish community for the basis of her story of Rose and Noah.

Welcome Karen Ann Hopkins!!

When I moved to Mays Lick, Kentucky four years ago, I had no idea that my life was about to drastically change. Like most other people, I’d seen Amish occasionally.  I knew the basics, such as the culture’s choice of living electric and motor vehicle free.  What I didn’t realize was that I would become immersed in the primitive culture.  Within days of moving to our new farm, a steady-stream of Amish teens arrived to welcome me and my five children to the neighborhood.  The Amish adults were friendly too, but the younger members of the community were the ones who really made us feel at home.  The bond that tied us all together was the horses.  I’d brought twenty-one of them with me from the riding lesson business I owned in Tennessee and the neighborhood kids were anxious to observe and eventually learn a more disciplined form of horse-back riding from the bare-back escapades they were used to.

It didn’t take long for me to notice the interesting dynamics going on between the Amish kids and the non-Amish ones who rode at the farm.  Along with some obvious flirting, there were also late night visits from Amish teens who simply wanted to watch a movie on my TV or play video games with my kids.  

Eventually, the community elders restricted the amount of time that the teens could spend at the farm.  The adults were worried that their children were interacting too much time with Englishers (that’s what the Amish call anyone who isn’t Amish) and the group gatherings in the arena were against the already established rules.  You see, the Amish youth don’t enjoy the freedom of assembly that we all take for granted.  They are only allowed to gather for church services and organized Amish events.  

Most Amish youth go through a state of rebellion where they question of whether they will remain Amish is decided.  This self-discovery time is called rumspringa.  Not all communities allow the young people to practice this tradition though, and my own community is of the stricter societies.  

The Amish teens surrounding my farm have two choices.  They can either follow their community’s rules, or sneak around.  A fair amount of the kids choose the later and suffer the consequences when caught.  The punishment for watching a movie, playing a video game, taking pictures, or using a cell phone can be severe, so the art of sneaking is a required skill for every Amish teen.

Time is a major factor that limits the trouble most of the teens get into. There is just too little of it. Upon graduation from school at the end of the eighth grade, a typical boy will go straight into the work force, either employed by a family business such as building, welding or farming or they’ll work for another family in the community.  The girls might take an outside job, but many stay home to help care for their younger siblings and the household.  The ones that do work outside the home, might take a job at the community butcher shop, bakery, or do babysitting or house-cleaning for their non-Amish neighbors.  Most of the teens who earn an income will subsequently pay their parents approximately ninety percent of that income.  The remainder of their earnings is spent of personal items or saved for their future married lives.  The teens will continue to pay a large portion of their earnings to their parents until they turn twenty years old or when they themselves are ready to marry, which is usually between eighteen and twenty-one years of age.  

Even though the teens work forty hour work weeks, they also have daily chores to do at their homes.  These tasks include farm work, child care, cleaning and laundry.  You’d think with that kind of schedule, they’d have no energy for fun, but they still do.  Each week they participate in an organized youth activity, which is held at community member’s home.  Singing hymns and eating a basic meal are normal for the gatherings.  Following fellowship, volley ball nets are raised or a softball game begins.  The youth are well supervised and there is little mingling between the girls and the boys at these gatherings, but the teens still look forward to the time to relax and have some fun.

In my own community, I’ve watched a group of teens go through the rebellious period, begin courting, get married and have babies, all in the course of four years.  The seasons of life move quicker in the quiet country landscape of the Plain people than they do in the outside world.  But for all the negatives that non-Amish people might perceive with the culture, the Amish themselves appear happy and content.   And in the end, that’s all that matters. 

Find Karen: Facebook Harlequin Teen Goodreads

Thanks Karen for sharing this. It's good to know more about what inspired your story, especially when it involves a community that I know almost nothing about. I will be reviewing Temptation on the blog next week, but until I am hosting a giveaway for a copy of Temptations for one of my readers.

Giveaway Rules
Must be at least 16 yrs or older
Open to U.S. address only
Following is NOT required
Fill out the form below
one entry per person 

Contest ends September 6th 2012 11:59 EST

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Waiting on Wednesday: Over You

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

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Over You
by Amy Reed
Published by Simon Pulse
Expected Publication: Summer 2013











Max would follow Sadie anywhere, so when Sadie decides to ditch her problems and escape to Nebraska for the summer, it’s only natural for Max to go along. She is Sadie’s confidante, her protector, and her best friend. This summer will be all about them. This summer will be perfect.

But that’s before they meet Dylan.

Dylan is dangerous and intoxicating, and he awakens something in Max that she never knew existed. No matter how much she wants to, she can’t back away.

But Sadie has her own intensity, and has never allowed Max to become close with anyone else. And Max doesn’t know who she is without Sadie.

There are some problems you just can’t escape.
(from amyreedfiction.com)




After finishing Crazy (my review here), I couldn't wait to find out if and when Amy Reed would have a new book coming out. So when she announced Over You earlier this month, it immediately made it on my TBR list. Even though it is almost a year away, just knowing that she has a new book on the way is enough. I am such a fan of her stories on tough topics because her characters are so compelling. I just can't get enough and her newest book sounds like it will be beyond incredible - lifelong friendships, possessive relationships - one in the same?  I'm in.

What are you waiting on this week?

Guest Post and Giveaway: Feeding the YA Monster by Tiffany Trent

 

Today I am happy to host Tiffany Trent, author of the YA steampunk fantasy The Unnaturalists. Her book is out now. I have my copy! Do you? If not, check out the giveaway I am hosting at the end of this post.

Please welcome Tiffany!!

Feeding the YA Monster

I remember the exact moment I started writing YA.  I remember that moment because it had a particular feel—a particular crackle—as if the air snapped around me and the world, which had always been slightly off-kilter, suddenly righted itself. I’d been trying to write adult for ten years, diligently chipping away at the same epic fantasy novel because I thought I had to.  I had many, many other ideas, but I shoved them all aside, slavishly devoting myself like Tolkien to this monstrosity that very nearly consumed my every waking thought (and some of my sleeping ones, too).

And then, I was offered the chance to write a young adult series. I took one of those half-formed ideas and threw it onto the potter’s wheel of my imagination. And I realized that the books I loved most were what are considered young adult by today’s standards. I realized that the books I went back to read again and again were books I’d plucked from the “juvenile” shelf or that my mother had carefully picked for me. The Blue Sword. A Wrinkle in Time. The Chronicles of Prydain. The Tales of Nedao. DragonLance.

Oh, there were others more adult I loved—the aforementioned Tolkien, The Mists of Avalon, and so on. But it was the voice and pace of young adult—a world I’d not explored for many years—that just fell into place with a click for me.  

I don’t know why it never occurred to me before. Maybe I wasn’t aware of it as a possibility. I was very embarrassed for a long time about my love of genre and, after a few stings in various writing classes, wrote science fiction and fantasy in secret.  But on the day when I was offered the chance to write YA, it seemed like all my nebulous long toil solidified into a path I could actually walk instead of a bog intent on drowning me.

It isn’t outside the realm of possibility that I’ll one day write something adult—I’ve written a few adult short stories—but YA feels very much like home.  And YA science fiction and fantasy are definitely my favorite rooms in the house.  I think Patricia McKillip says it best here:

“I write fantasy because it’s there. I have no other excuse for sitting down for several hours a day indulging my imagination. Daydreaming. Thinking up imaginary people, impossible places. Imagination is the golden-eyed monster that never sleeps. It must be fed; it cannot be ignored. Making it tell the same tale over and over again makes it thin and whining; its scales begin to fall off; its fiery breath becomes a trickle of smoke. It is best fed by reality, an odd diet for something nonexistent; there are few details of daily life and its broad range of emotional context that can’t be transformed into food for the imagination. It must be visited constantly, or else it begins to become restless and emit strange bellows at embarrassing moments; ignoring it only makes it grow larger and noisier. Content, it dreams awake, and spins the fabric of tales. There is really nothing to be done with such imagery except to use it: in writing, in art. Those who fear the imagination condemn it: something childish, they say, something monsterish, misbegotten. Not all of us dream awake. But those of us who do have no choice.”

And that too is why I write YA. It’s only wise to feed the golden-eyed monster what it wants. Life is much more pleasant that way.  

Thank you Tiffany for stopping by!!

Find Tiffany: Website LiveJournal Facebook

To celebrate the release of The Unnaturalists, I want to giveaway one copy to one of my readers. Check out the giveaway details below.

Giveaway Rules
Must be at least 16 yrs or older
Open to U.S. address only
Following is NOT required
Fill out the form below
one entry per person Contest ends September 3rd 2012 11:59 EST

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Recommend A . . . book with a blue cover

(altered from Chick Loves Lit) 

“Recommend A…” will have a new prompt every week, which Shanyn will have posted ahead of time on the Recommend A… page. All you have to do is Recommend with Chick Loves Lit on Mondays, following the prompt, and link up so Shanyn (and everyone else) can see what you’ve recommended!

 This week's prompt:

book with a blue cover

 

The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls 

by Julie Schumacker

Published by Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

 I'm Adrienne Haus, survivor of a mother-daughter book club. Most of us didn't want to join. My mother signed me up because I was stuck at home all summer, with my knee in a brace. CeeCee's parents forced her to join after cancelling her Paris trip because she bashed up their car. The members of "The Unbearable Book Club," CeeCee, Jill, Wallis, and I, were all going into eleventh grade A.P. English. But we weren't friends. We were literary prisoners, sweating, reading classics, and hanging out at the pool. If you want to find out how membership in a book club can end up with a person being dead, you can probably look us up under mother-daughter literary catastrophe. Or open this book and read my essay, which I'll turn in when I go back to school. (from Goodreads)

I've read a few reviews of The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls and readers either liked it or just didn't think too much of it. I, for one, enjoyed it a lot and think that more readers should check it out. It it is great for a book club discussions (not just mother/daughter book clubs). The cover is a little misleading because it makes it more seem like it is just a summer fluff read, but it is definitely more than that. Check out my review here.

Bout of Books 5.0

 

 (from Bout of Books)

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 13th and runs through Sunday, August 19th in whatever time zone you are in.  Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.  For all Bout of Books 5.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. -From the Bout of Books 5.0 team

Time Devoted to Reading

I plan to read EVERY day.

My Goals

• Read at least 1800 pages (up 300 pages from the last BoB goal)
• Participate in some challenges
• Participate in a Twitter  chat
• Write at least one review
• Meet some new bloggers and cheer them along
• Have Fun!!

Books to Read

• start Pride and Prejudice (part of Austen in August) I started it!!
• finish Dear Bully COMPLETED!!
• one e-book
• one library book (my choices: Stolen, Bitter End, or I Am J)
• at least one review book COMPLETED!!

Updates I will post all of my updates here and on Twitter. So that I don't feel bad about myself, I'm going to count the number of pages read instead of total of books. 

Updates format created by Amanda of On a Book Bender.

Monday
Number of pages I've read today: 138
Total number of pages I've read: 138/1800
Books: finished Dear Bully, started All about Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

Tuesday

Number of pages I've read today: 90
Total number of pages I've read: 228/1800
Books: still reading All about Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

Wednesday

Number of pages I've read today: 59
Total number of pages I've read: 287/1800
Books: still reading All about Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

• I haven't completed any challenges YET, but I plan to get to it this weekend. Work and real life have been busier than I anticipated, but thank goodness for the weekend. 

Thursday

Number of pages I've read today: 58
Total number of pages I've read: 335/1800
Books: All about Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

Friday

Number of pages I've read today: 61
Total number of pages I've read: 396/1800
Books: FINISHED All about Daisy - first complete book!

Saturday

Number of pages I've read today: 0
Total number of pages I've read: 396/1800
Books: none, but I did watch The Hunger Games

Sunday

Number of pages I've read today: 265
Total number of pages I've read: 661/1800
Books: started Pride and Prejudice and started Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Recap:

So this readathon was pretty much a bust. No excuses, I just didn't give it the time I wanted to. I read one-third of my pages goal but I did finish 2 books and start Pride and Prejudice - 4 pages, but still I cracked it open. I didn't participate in any challenges or twitter chats. Oh, but I did watch The Hunger Games!! All I can do is keep reading and try harder next time.

And the Winners Are . . .

The Winners Are . . . 

Cynthia R.

Summer Giveaway Hop

and 

Sharleen

Celia on the Run e-book giveaway

Winners were selected using random.org and have been contacted by email. 

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and entered.

Review: Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt

Double Clutch (Brenna Blixen #1)

by Liz Reinhardt

Publisher: self-published

Publication Date: September 28, 2011

Pages: 267

Source: Purchased









(from Goodreads)
What happens when you fall in love with the perfect guy... twice... in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she’s back in the States, she’s determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn’t know why he can’t get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake’s sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna’s willing to handle.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies... and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school’s rising punk band, keeping up her grades in both academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice. But how can she when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other’s?

My Thoughts 

This review started out to be just about Double Clutch, but there are mentions to the other books in the Brenna Blixen series. Don’t worry - there are no spoilers to the follow-up books.

Double Clutch is a story about finding love, but it neither plain or simple. On her first day back to school, Brenna meets two very interesting and very different boys, Jake and Saxon.  I wouldn’t say that she is boy crazy, but she is all about these two boys. This is straight up about a love triangle, but the story is more than how she decides which one she likes the most.

Brenna is a fun girl - smart, creative, witty and has a lot going for her.  And the boys are smart too, and sexy and mysterious - definitely appealing to fifteen year old Brenna.  

There’s Parental Involvement. At first, I was just a little bit annoyed by Brenna’s mom which was completely uncalled for because she was a caring and involved, and it is realistic portrayal. She had a strong influence over a lot of Brenna’s decisions and even made many for her. I’m just so used to the absent parent or utterly flawed parent in many books that I read (and they do exist in Double Clutch too through other characters).

Things I loved: Brenna, Jake, Saxon - those are a given. Her self-designed T-Shirts - I want to see them! Characters who are always reading (when they weren’t kissing). There are many books mentioned and discussed. ALL OF THE KISSING. Liz Reinhardt writes some of the best kissing scenes EVER!

Things I didn’t love so much: The continuity seemed off - this is a reference to other books of the series. There were events that seemed to happen within days of each other, but then you were supposed to believe that it happened weeks before or weeks after. This was distracting but not a deal breaker.

Double Clutch is just the beginning of the wide ride for this series. I’ve already read the other 2 books: Junk Miles and Slow Twitch, and am in love with their story and hope that there will be more. I was entertained and got caught up in Brenna’s life and friendships. There is a lot of kissing and reading and making out and traveling and fighting and sneaking out and kissing and sneaking in and even more kissing. The series evolves to be more than just a love triangle as new characters are introduced and new friendships and relationships are formed.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the e-book version which I purchased for my personal library. I was not compensated in any way for providing this review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Austen in August: Intro Post

When I saw that Adam from Roof Beam Reader was hosting the Austen in August reading event, I figured that I would sign up. At the beginning of the year, I added Pride and Prejudice to my 2011 reading goals list. At the end of July, I still hadn't read it. So here we are. I'm giving myself the entire month to read it and it is the only book that I plan to read for Austen in August. Adding anything else would just be a set up for failure.

As of today, August 5th, I have not started reading Pride and Prejudice, but I have the whole month. I will updating my progress on Twitter at @ActinUpwb using hasting #AustenInAugustRBR

Summer Giveaway Hop

The Summer Giveaway Hop is here and I'm more than happy to be offering two of my favorite books that I've read this summer: Wanderlove or On the Island. Like many, I want to have a choice in the books I read. So if you've already read On the Island or Wanderlove or you just want something different, I'm also offering a $10.00 Barnes and Noble gift card.

Thanks goes to I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and Bookhounds for hosting the Summer Giveaway Hop.

The Prize

 a choice of one of the below

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (my review)

or

On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves (my review)

or 

$10.00 Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Giveaway Rules

 Must be at least 16 yrs or older
Open to U.S. address only
Following is NOT required 

Fill out the form below 

one entry per person

Contest ends August 7th 2012 11:59 EST

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED