Saturday Snapshot - wet and cold Homecoming Night!

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

It’s easy to participate – just post a picture

that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

Marc and his girlfriend, Shelby were the Junior Representatives for this year's Homecoming. The weather was horrible! The wind was blowing, the rain was slanted (literally), and the field was muddy as you can tell by looking at Marc's pants!! His team was victorious with a hard fought battle over their rivals for the Division Title. We won 6-0 and it was a nail-biter! Marc played one of his best defensive games ever and Shelby looked beautiful the next night at the Homecoming Dance. You can't see her pretty dress because it was pouring out and all the girls were covered up! Marc is waving to my nephew and NEW daughter-in-law who braved the weather, and a grueling 2.5 hour drive!! One of the best nights of the year!

'Utterly Charming' by Kristine Grayson

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This time when Sleeping Beauty wakes up, she wants nothing to do with the man who kissed her. Consoling Alex Blackstone, the rejected suitor who is a brilliant magician but inept when it comes to women, falls to modern career woman and lawyer, Nora Barr. Nora now has to deal with Beauty's evil stepmother, and the discovery that Alex just might be her own personal Prince Charming...

First thoughts when I finished: "Not what I was hoping for."

I read Wickedly Charming earlier this year and loved it, so when Sourcebooks was offering another Grayson book I just had to read it. What I've gathered since finishing the book is that she wrote Utterly Charming way back in 2000. Why is this relevant? Because she wrote Wickedly Charming eleven years later and boy has her writing skills improved. I'm very glad that I read her later work first because if I had started with Utterly Charming I might not pick up another book written by her. This story just lacked charm. The charm that drew me to Wickedly Charming was nonexistent in this book. I never really felt that I was in a 'fractured fairy-tale' and the whole premise, once I was knee-deep in the book just never came to fruition. I didn't find Prince Charming irresistible and honestly, I didn't really care for the main character Nora in the least. The story revolved around legalities of fairyland versus the real world and it bored me to tears! I found myself skimming the last third of the book, which is never a good thing!

Recommend?   I have every confidence that her later works are better than the one I just finished so I would read this author again but I would hesitate to recommend this one to my friends. Instead, I would direct you to Wickedly Charming which was everything I wanted and more!

Rating: 5/10


As always, I like to give my readers other viewpoints of books that I didn't care for, so here they are!

The Romance Reader: "This light-hearted romance stands behind its title 100%: it is utterly charming. It's also somewhat uneven and not without faults, but the charm goes a long way towards compensating for any shortcomings."


Royal Reviews: "Overall, this book was a fun read and I believe that it will make the perfect fall read. A light romance that will leave you happy as a lark."


Bitten By Books:"Utterly Charming has all the elements of a typical fairy tale and will keep you enthralled to the very last page!"


Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson
Source: review copy from Sourcebooks
Genre: Fractured Fairytale Romance
Pages: 320
Published: re-release October 1, 2011 Sourcebooks
ISBN:  9781402248511
*Uncorrected ARC


Disclaimer:Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MYexperience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Waiting on Wednesday Pick- John Green has a new book coming out!!!!!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event,

hosted 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:

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

Published date Jan 10, 2012 by Penguin Group

The book focuses on a girl named Hazel who is suffering 

from terminal cancer and is forced by her parents to attend a support group.

I love John Green and so does my son Marc! You can be sure that we both will be reading this one! Here's what little I could find out about the book on Wiki.

The Fault in Our Stars is the upcoming fourth solo novel by author John Green that rose to #1 on the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists in June 2011 shortly after its title was announced.^[1]

The book's title was revealed in a post on Green's Tumblr blog on June 28, 2011. In the post, Green stated, "The title is inspired by a famous line from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar. The nobleman Cassius says to Brutus, 'The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.'" This was also stated on his YouTube vlog.

The book shot to number 1 on the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists, even though an official release date and cover had not yet been released. Green also promised that every copy of the first printing will be hand-signed by him. He proposed that the general public vote on the colorSharpie he will use to sign the book. The voting resulted in him signing the books with a variety of Sharpie colors, each in proportion to the amount of votes received for that color. He has also been allowing fans to submit their book cover designs.^[2]

The book focuses on a girl named Hazel who is suffering from terminal cancer and is forced by her parents to attend a support group

What book are you anxiously waiting to be released?

First Chapter~First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

Every Tuesday, Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

 posts the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book

 she decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).

 Feel free to grab the banner and play along!

My selection for this week is Cross Currents by John Shors. I've read so many wonderful reviews of his work and John sent me an autographed copy of this title. I will be reading this one in November...for your viewing pleasure I also added a video that John created for his book. Enjoy!

  Saturday, December 18

  Lek opened his eyes, though his body remained as still as the gecko on the ceiling. He watched it, as he often did, admiring its patience, aware of its seemingly perpetual hunger. The creature was the length of his forefinger, and the color of mahogany. Lek enjoyed gazing at the gecko, though he was jealous of its speed. If a moth landed nearby, the gecko moved as if lightning filled its veins. Yet in the absence of insects, the gecko was without motion, a silent sentinel that protected Lek's home from airborne invaders.

Would you continue reading this one based on the opening paragraph?

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday....What Are You Reading?

Mailbox Monday 

is a gathering place for readers to share the books that

came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. 

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

October Host:

Serena of Savvy Verse and Wit

Kindle purchases that were influenced by book -blogging friends!


The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons- I read a fantastic review of Tatiana & Alexander on Kailana's blog, The Written World. She mentioned The Bronze Horseman being the first in this trilogy so I knew I had to start at the beginning. Picked it up for $1.99!

Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye- Mary's (Bookfan) wonderfully moving review of this title had me clicking immediately at Amazon. Purchased for 7.99

Here Home Hope by Kaira Rouda- I loved Mari's review of this book on her blog Bookworm With a View...so much so that I immediately bought it for $2.99!

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Hosted by 

Sheila @ One Person's Journey Through a World of Books

We discuss the books that we've read 

and what we're planning to read for the week.

Read and reviewed last week:

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins- not her best work IMHO.

1105 Yakima Street by Debbie Macomber- this is a series that you MUST read in order!

Reviews for this week:

Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

Upcoming: P&P variations

'1105 Yakima Street (Cedar Cover #11) 'by Debbie Macomber

Dear Reader,

You don't know me yet, but in a few hours that's going to change. I'm inviting you to my town of Cedar Cove because I want you to meet my family, friends and neighbors. Come hear their stories--maybe even their secrets!  Cedar Cove--people love it and sometimes they leave it, but they never forget it! 

First thoughts after finishing this book: "Wow, that was like a daytime soap opera!"

I have been reading Debbie Macomber's books, most especially The Blossom Street Series, over the past couple of years but I've never read her Cedar Cove series. I think I made a huge mistake by reading this book out-of-order. I had a hard time getting all of the characters together in my head and the number of people involved in this book was a bit overwhelming. I'm not going to blame Debbie for any of that. I should have done my homework and passed on the NetGalley review copy and started with book one.

Recommend? Overall, it was a fun read but I did feel a bit overwhelmed with all of the different story lines. I found myself wishing several times that I had started at the beginning!

Rating: 7/10


Author: Debbie Macomber
Published: October 18, 2011
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Fiction
Source: NetGalley/MIRA


Disclaimer:Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MYexperience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

"Triangles' by Ellen Hopkins

Teaser Synopsis: Three female friends face midlife crises in a no holds-barred exploration of sex, marriage, and the fragility of life. As one woman's marriage unravels, another one's rekindles. As one woman's family comes apart at the seams, another's is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman's up is another one's down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.

The Three Reasons Review is a simple way to get your thoughts out there about a book.  The reasons are as follows complete with fancy button:

1.) Reasons you chose this book

I've been a HUGE fan of Hopkins' writing from her very first YA book. I wanted to read this because I was curious if I would like an adult novel written by her.

2.) Reasons you liked or disliked this book

I didn't dislike this book, but I can honestly say that I wasn't overly impressed with it. I guess I can handle angst in teens way better than in adults. I really didn't make a connection with any of the three women in this book, and I'm sad to admit that the verse got a bit boring and stale at various times throughout the story.  I also felt that at times it just wandered and was "out there" if you know what I mean? Like, she was trying to go uber deep on some sort of emotional level and I was just not feeling it. I also felt that it was too long and too wordy. Lose about 100-150 pages and get rid of the nonsense verse and it would have worked so much better for me.

3.) Reasons you are recommending this book

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Ellen's work, but I honestly believe that it just wasn't to the caliber that I've grown accustomed to in her YA works.

Rating: 7/10

Author: Ellen Hopkins
Published: October 18, 2011
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Fiction
* Uncorrected ARC
Source: Atria Galley Promotion


Disclaimer:Thank you to Atria Books for sending me a review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are my personal reflections based solely on MYexperience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.