Review: The Dark Witch

This is my first book toward my witches and witchcraft challenge for 2014.  I always think of Nora Roberts as more of a romance novelist.  I've read a few of the "In Death" series she wrote as JD Robb and they were good but I usually stayed clear of her other stories because I prefer romance to be the back story in the books I read, rather than at the forefront.  This book, Dark Witch, however, got good reviews and also seemed to feed my need for the paranormal.

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Feature & Follow Friday

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by AlisonCanRead and Parajunkee, its a simple way to get to know some bloggers you may not have visited before and to revisit blogs you enjoy.  If you want to follow, that would be great and I'll be sure to follow back.  If you just want to visit to see my answer to this week's question, that's ok too.  Feel free to leave a comment!

Q. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING IN 2014?

Waiting on Wednesday

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

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

Pimping my Blog #2

No work today due to the snow, so while I'm rearranging some things in my sidebars, I found myself slightly annoyed because there seemed to be so much extra space between each widget/item.  I wanted my widgets to be closer together so that less space would be wasted and people wouldn't have to scroll down so far to find everything.  I just thought it would look nicer and be more efficient so I began to research if this was possible.

So easy!  I love the way my sidebars look now.  I thought other "newer" bloggers might want to fix this as well so I thought I would share how simple it was so that you can do it too.

Step #1:
Go to "Design" in Blogger.  Choose "Template" and click the "Customize" button
Step #2:
Choose "Advanced" and then scroll down to "Add CSS"
Step #3:
Add this code (you can change the 5px to a larger number if you feel items are now too close):

.widget {
    margin: 5px 0 0 0;
}

*Make sure you hit "enter" on your keyboard after the last line.  Finally, apply to your blog.  That's it!

 I think it makes a nice difference.  Enjoy!

                                                                     

Review: Hollow City

The long awaited (at least for me) sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was completely worth waiting for.  Hollow City by Ransom Riggs came out last week and I snatched it up right away.  I would have read it in one sitting if I didn't have to work and take care of my children... lol.

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix of YA fantasy and vintage photography that enthralled readers and critics alike. Publishers Weekly called it “an enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters, a believable Welsh setting, and some very creepy monsters.”

This second novel begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.

Complete with dozens of newly discovered (and thoroughly mesmerizing) vintage photographs, this new adventure will delight readers of all ages.

And delight me it did!  From the beginning, I was entranced.  I think what really pushes this book and its predecessor above and beyond is the photos.  I am consistently reminded of the eerie fascination of an old time carnival or a Ripley's Believe it or Not where the "peculiar" people are exhibited as freaks who we believe cannot possibly exist in real life.  Except, in this story, they do exist, and we are thrust into their world as they try to survive the cruelty of the people who want to use them and their special talents.  Every one of characters is fascinating.  We have Emma, who can make fire with her hands, Olive, who will float away if not weighted down, Hugh, who can house bees in his stomach and call them up at will, and many more. Reading about them is mesmerizing and almost makes you wish you had a peculiarity of your own.  These characters, who are all mainly children and teens, only have each other and when their beloved caretaker is hurt, their quest is one that demonstrates love, loyalty, and determination to restore her to her former self.  A few new characters are introduced in this story who were not in the first book and I found it particularly interesting that the girl on the cover is only in a very small portion of the story.  I'm betting she will reappear in the third book.  I certainly hope she does!

The story moves quickly and I often found the adventure very difficult to put down.  Because there are time loops in the story, it has a historical aspect to it as well, which was an added bonus for me.  The setting when the children are in London during the German bombings was both interesting and a reminder of how people really suffered everywhere during this time.  The Wights and the Hollows were described each time they appeared in the story with a style that almost has you shivering in fear along with the children.  I found myself praying each time that the main characters would find a way to defeat these creatures/villains or escape from them in order to continue their journey.  When I finally thought they were going to have a huge victory, the book took a huge turn that I didn't see coming and left me astounded, and just a tad cranky that I have to wait for the third book to find out what happens next.

This is a five star book for me.  I truly loved it and will be on the lookout for the release date of the next installment.  I certainly hope it is sooner rather than later!  

Pimping my blog #1

One of my goals for 2014 as a blogger was to learn some new techniques to improve my blog.  My first goal was to create my own signature for my blog posts.  I've been seeing a lot of them lately and of course, because I am who I am, I wanted one for myself.  It was actually really easy and so I've included the blog site where I got the directions in case any other newer bloggers want to give it a shot as well.  If you want to try it, go to Hubby Jack's Blog Attack.

Have fun! And check out my cool new signature!  :)

2014 Ebook Challenge

I'm signing up!  One of my goals for this year was to join some reading challenges aside from Goodreads. I've already joined the Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge and now I am adding the 2014 Ebook Challenge as well. Since I use my Nook and iPad for almost all of the books I read (otherwise I would be drowning in paper books), I figured this would be the perfect challenge for me.  So, I'm in and I'm going for somewhere in between the "Memory Stick" level of 50 books and the "Hard Drive" level of 75.  

If you would like to join also, just click on the photo above.  :)