Crank (Crank #1) by Ellen Hopkins

This is a story about a monster. Not a dragon or a mythological beast, but a very real, very destructive monster--crystal meth--that takes hold of seventeen-year-old Kristina Snow and transforms her into her reckless alter-ego Bree. Based on her own daughter's addiction to crystal meth, Ellen Hopkins' novel-in-verse is a vivid, transfixing look into teenage drug use. Told in Kristina's voice, it provides a realistic portrayal of the tortured logic of an addict.

My Review - WOW! This is a book that I for sure judged by the cover. I've eyed this book for years when going into a book store or seeing it wherever. I'd had it on my TBR (to be read) list for years! Since 2008 to be exact. But this book was so good! I loved it and am already halfway through the second book. I want to smack Kristina and her Dad! But then again I feel sorry for her. I've never personally been around drugs and this book was an eye opener and made me very thankful that I haven't been around them. Hopkins is an awesome author!

Quick share...

of a picture we took of Maddie yesterday! :)

Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever seen!?

Letters to Elise by Amanda Hocking

In My Blood Approves, Peter Townsend fell in love with Alice Bonham, but she wasn't his first love. In a new novella told through his letters, his history is revealed.

My Review - at first the letters to Elise were almost sickening. All the lovey dovey stuff is not my cup of tea in books usually. haha. BUT it got better and better throughout the book. I do wish that I had of read this book in between books 4 & 5 of the My Blood Approves series. But overall still a good book! :)

So....

I haven't been blogging much and I'm sorry. I absolutely hate the new Blogger layout (not a fan of change). And Maddie's been keeping me busy. She's almost 7 months old and she's just recently grown two teeth. And she's getting up on her knees and rocking! :) I love it! Here are the monthly pictures...Enjoy, and I'll try to be better about blogging more then just book reviews...

Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James

In age of elegance and excess, Lilly Westbrook longs for a love both true and eternal.

Newport, Rhode Island, 1899, is a place of shimmering waves, sleek yachts, and ladies of leisure. Of opulent mansions that serve as summer cottages for the rich and famous. Home of railroad magnates and banking tycoons--dashing young men and the women who aspire to marry them.

But it's not the place for lady novelists. Especially not those who pen disreputable dime novels. This poses a problem for Lilly Westbrook, because that's exactly what she does.

No one in Lilly's social set knows she pens fiction under the "nom de plume "Fannie Cole. Not her family or the wealthy young man about to propose to her. And especially not Jackson Grail, the long-lost beau who just bought her publishing company...and who stirs her heart more than she cares to admit.

But Lilly must put aside her feelings and follow the path that will maintain her family's social stature and provide the financial security that everyone is depending on.

Now Lilly faces a double dilemma. Can she continue to protect her secret identity? And will she have the courage to choose the man who will risk it all just to win her heart?

My Review - although this book was slow moving at first, the last 50 pages were intense and fast paced. I liked how it kept mentioning Irene's secret but you didn't know what it was until the very end. And I liked Jackson's character. Harlan was a drag though! I kept thinking to myself while reading it, my how times have changed. In this time era you went somewhere with an escort. Now that's not expected...Something to ponder...Overall a pretty good book and hopefully one day I'll get around to reading the other books in the series.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2) by J.K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling continues her phenomenally popular Harry Potter series with yet another tale of magic, mirth, and mayhem. Like its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is chock-full of fascinating characters, frightful events, and fun wizardry.

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and WIzardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl's bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone - or something - starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself?

Rowling packs this tale with plenty of adventure and action, keeping the pace fast and furious. There's plenty of humor, too - both subtle and bold - as well as a few moral lessons. With overlapping themes that range from the simple to the sophisticated, Rowling's Potter tales should appeal to readers of all ages - the young as well as the young at heart.

My Review - I still can't believe I've reading the Harry Potter Series. But I am and I'm kind of liking it! haha. It's good to get into an imagiative state once in a while and then be snapped back to reality by an "adult" book. I love the fact that Rowling waits until about the last 25-50 pages to really reveal all that needs to be revealed. BUT even still it'll keep you guessing until the very last page.