What I plan to read next: The Next Always by Nora Roberts


Now for the MEGA Giveaway!!!! Enter below using the rafflecopters:

Prize Pack Un:

$15 Chelsea Cecelia Etsy shop credit from The Big, Beautiful, and Broke Blog
$10 value 2 months “Just Browsing” ad space from Tales of a 20 Something
$10 Amazon gift card AND $10 value large ad space from Wannabe Green
$20 value 2 months “Venti” ad space from Swell & Stylish
$10 value featured ad space from Discover.Create.Live.
$10 value VIP ad space from Girl Booklet
$15 value Ooh Baby Designs infinity scarf from Oh That Emily
$10 Nordstrom gift card AND $5 Starbucks gift card AND $5 value ad space from The Pretty Pinhead
$20 value Stella and Dot swallow stud earrings from The Casual Stay at Home

$12 value ad space from By the Porchlight
$10 value set of 8 customized wine bottle tags from Making Life Whimsical
$5 value top position large ad space from The Burghal Girl
$30 value 3 months medium ad space AND $10 Target gift card from Lulu & Sweet Pea
$10 Etsy gift card AND $10 value ad space from Champagne & Cardigans

$10 value ad space, guest post, and g+ or skype chat from Bold Butter Baby
$65 value Estee Lauder advanced night repair eye cream and 2 spa products from My Fashion Forward Blog
$15 value “Sweetly Sassy” ad space from Glossy Blonde
$10 value 200 x 200 ad space from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
$12 value Buying Erica pair of hair bows and MUA nail polish from Being Erica
$20 value 2 months medium ad space from A.k.a. Chymecindy
$70 value prize pack including: $10 Target gift card AND $10 Starbucks gift card AND Caress prize pack AND 2 months of ad space from The Mustache Diaries
$20 value 2 months medium ad space from Satisfaction Through Christ
$13 value Starbucks gift card AND ad space from Newborn Mama

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$8 value chevron mug hug from Chevron Stitches
$16 value medium ad space from Whispering Sweet Nothings
$10 Paypal cash from The Dreamy Meadow
$20 value 2 months large ad space from Antlers & Roses
$12 value digital portrait from What Peggy Said
$5 value set of 5 hair ties from Lovely Life of Leah
$10 value large ad space from Come What May
$90 value 3 months extra large ad space from Rolled Up Pretty
$10 value custom blog signature from Yours Truly

$8 value medium ad space from Wifessionals
$10 Starbucks gift card from This Vintage Grove
$10 value 2 months ad space from A Humble Bumble
$5 value ad space AND $10 Lush gift card from Spunky Real Deals
$6 value ad space from The Eclectic Grab Bag
$10 value ad space AND $10 Starbucks gift card from Ashley Brooke
$10 value ad space from The Domestic Geek
$10 Starbucks gift card from Letters to Sophia
$25 The Sepia Puppy Etsy shop credit from The Sepia Puppy

$15 value large ad space from Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl
$15 Bath & Body Works gift card from Provocative Manners
$6 value large ad space from Happy Pretty Blog
$15 Paypal cash AND $8 value ad space from Lara’s Vintage
$30 value clutch purse AND $15 Etsy shop credit from Kitty & Buck
$10 value medium ad space from We Took the Road Less Traveled
$12 value J Crew hot pink planner from Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles
$20 Amazon gift card from Oh So Amelia
$10 Target gift card AND $10 Target photo gift card from Whatcha Makin’ Now?

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Prize Pack Trois:

$20 featured ad space & partnership from The Charming Blog
$5 Target gift card from Helene in Between
$8 value “Wedge” ad space from Lipgloss & Crayons
$5 Starbucks gift card from Southern Sunflowers & Coffee Beans
$30 value personal online styling session with 4 outfits from Because of Jackie
$15 value large ad space from Comma with a K
$10 Starbucks gift card from The Chiffon Diary
$15 value small ad space from Sugar & Dots
$25 value silver bracelet from NYC boutique from Sparkles & Shoes

$12 value 200 x 200 ad space from Living in Yellow
$25 value custom reclaimed wood sign from Home with the Urick’s
$50 value bottom post ad space from Messy Dirty Hair

$10 Starbucks gift card from La La Lists
$12 value “Hot Mess” ad space from A Beautiful Mess
$6 value 200 x 200 ad space from Nugget on a Budget
$25 value custom state embroidery hoop art from Ten Feet Off Beale

$7 value ad space from For Lauren and Lauren
$20 value infinity scarf from Gypsy Bee Handmade
$10 Starbucks gift card from A Day in a Joyful Life
$10 value ad space from Fortune Favors the Brave
$35 value set of 5 bracelets from Sensational Creations
$12 value ad space from My Crafty Crazy Life
$45 value eiffel tower necklace from The Anna Delores Blog
$25 value Valentine’s themed wreath from Finding Michelina
$23 value set of soaps and ad space from You Are the Roots

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Andi’s Giveaway

In 2012 I read 33 books. Not too bad, however, this year I have set a goal of 50. I better get to reading! 🙂 I’ve reviewed some of the books I read and you can check out all of my books/ reviews under my “Bookshelf” page. Here are my 10 favorites that I read in 2012 in no particular order:

I cheated by adding two series, but I can’t just pick one book out of these series. It’s impossible. If you haven’t read Kate Morton, I suggest you jump on the bandwagon! I love her novels. These were my top ten from this past year. I hope to have an even better reading year in 2013! Cheers to a new year!

Do you have any recommendations for me?

*40% off all ads using promo code HAPPYNEWYEAR!

What I plan to read next: Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani (Book #2 in the Big Stone Gap Series)

Happy New Years!! What are you reading this week? 

What I plan to read next: Weekend in Paris by Robyn Sisman

What are you reading this week? 


I hope y’all have a Merry Christmas! God bless.

The Bellwether by James W. Nelson
2011

Format: e-book

First Line: “Gaze out straight, Aaron Hodges,” Four Crows said, “Try to envision Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce people in their last days of freedom.”

Synopsis on Goodreads: Think of the 1800s, the wagontrains, and the people who crossed the prairie looking for a better life. Now fast-forward to the new millennium and the worldwide economy totally crashing, causing unbelievable chaos and violence. Through Native American prophecy, Aaron Hodges sees it coming and envisions building a hidden colony to ride out the likely decades-long crisis.
When the crash came nobody could point a finger and blame a specific thing. The United States and the world were locked in drought, stagnant economy, and rampant pollution. Too many people were wasting too much, demanding too much standard of living, and too much money created too much free time and entertainment, for, as one height was reached boredom prevailed, and more and greater thrills were demanded.
More wood, more metal, more food and drink, and more oil.
The oil flow stopped.
Then the flow of supplies stopped. The civilized world found itself trapped inside a steel, concrete, and plastic wasteland with no utilities, no food, no water.
And no gasoline.
Aaron Hodges is the bellwether. He sees the future through the prophecies of his Nez Perce friend, Four Crows. As Aaron sits on a log, Four Crows makes a symbolic painting on the back of his suede shirt, and speaks to him with a ghostly voice from the past, and future, a future that will see the unification of the Native American and the civilized world falter. Consequently, Aaron makes preparations early, but, unable to believe such a disaster could really occur, he gets sidetracked with a factory job, a Las Vegas gambling trip, buying a small farm, fighting environmental battles, but does stumble onto a beautiful location for a hidden self-sufficient colony. The people he attempts to recruit for colonists also cannot visualize such a bad thing happening, especially Caroline.
When the crash happens, martial law is declared. No taking a caravan down a hardtop road.
So some 60 people go cross-country in 16 covered wagons each pulled by a 4-horse team, over fields, prairie, and forest, about 40 days and 300 miles from southern Minnesota farming country into northern Minnesota wilderness.
Caroline Jentner is the love of Aaron’s life. She has a partly-crippled, seven-year-old daughter, Jennie. Little Jennie doesn’t have a big part, and doesn’t appear until chapter 12, but when she does appear she will capture your heart. You will come to love her, and she helps Aaron and her mom finally get together near the end of story. Caroline often has the viewpoint, and sees the world quite differently from Aaron.
George, a senior citizen hobo, is picked up by Aaron just outside a truck stop at Cheyenne, Wyoming; he has no last name and a peculiar body odor. Aaron and George will both get a job at the same factory where Caroline works, George will help Aaron and Caroline get together after an absence of 19 years. Later, George will become Aaron’s handyman at his small farm, and throughout their relationship George serves as Aaron’s living conscience.
Set in the near future, novel runs for two years. Background themes include the economy, environment, and a shadowy “master race” organization. This novel is character-driven, just normal people loving and finding love, surviving, and reacting to circumstances as best they can. You will like the characters, you will care what happens to them, and at the end you will cheer.

My Thoughts: The Bellwether is an exciting novel that takes us on a wild ride through the end of the worldwide economy and one man’s actions to get through it. If you like adventure with some romance thrown in, this book will capture your imagination. 


The book started out a bit slow for me, but it picked up towards the middle and grew very exciting. There are many characters to become acquainted with but the author includes a character reference at the end that is very helpful. Although it is fairly long, the author does a good job of keeping the story moving and preventing the reader from getting bored. Overall, this book was a good read. If you want something that will keep you entertained, check out The Bellwether. I gave this book four stars.

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Taylor’s Giveaway

Tarole’s December Giveaway

Vote for Chelsea to be Chicnova’s “it” girl

What I plan to read next: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien


What are you reading this week?

Adulation by Elisa Lorello
Amazon Publishing
2012

Format: e-book

First Line: Of all the things Danny Masters was told he should be afraid of- terrorists and E. coli and Toyotas yet to be recalled and the so-called homosexual agenda- nothing frightened him as much as the blank screen.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Celebrity screenwriter Danny Masters has the world at his feet. He’s dating a movie-star bombshell and his latest screenplay is a shoe-in for an Oscar. But he’s empty.


With few accomplishments to her credit, longtime bookstore employee Sunny Smith celebrates her fortieth birthday by setting forty goals for herself. Sleeping with her writing idol, Danny Masters, makes the list.


At the premiere of Danny’s new film, the two have a brief but enchanting exchange outside the theater. And after Danny insults the audience during the post-screening Q&A session, he’s thrilled to see Sunny in his autograph line. But as he gently takes her hand, Sunny spits Danny’s insults back at him.


The next day, to her horror, Sunny discovers a video of her tirade has gone viral. Instead of being angry, Danny is more determined than ever to find Sunny — and apologize. And once their lives intersect again, there’ll be no turning back.


My Thoughts: This was my first time to read Elisa Lorello, and it will not be my last. I have fallen in love with the way she writes. I loved this story because it was about real people that anyone could relate to and real situations that more and more people are having to adapt to this day in time (divorce, children, having a hard time putting yourself back out there after divorce). 


Danny Masters is the “Master” of screenplays. He has won several Emmy’s and other awards. He is divorced, has a daughter named Ella and is dating the beautiful actress, Charlene. At his premiere of Exposed he runs into aspiring author and stockroom girl, Sunny. Sunny is divorced and has had a hard time getting back into the game of dating. For her fortieth birthday, her two best friends, Georgie and Theo, take her to the premiere after giving her a major makeover and creating the “40 in 40” list.  She is crazy about Danny but he wouldn’t ever notice a girl like her…or would he? Sunny has had a hard time overcoming her past as her ex humiliated her in front of all of Long Island. Danny can’t forgive himself for an accident no matter how long ago it happened or how much he does and gives as reconciliation – it will never be enough.


This book is about forgiveness, confidence in ones self and overcoming the past. If you enjoy romance novels, you will love this book. Adulation was anything but dull. It was fun, romantic and exciting. It made me laugh and made me cry, then gave me chills. I read through this book very quickly because I couldn’t put it down. I really hope there is a sequel to this book because Lorello left me wanting to read more.  I gave this book five stars.

Christmas Giveaway!!!!!

What I plan to read next: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

What are you reading this week?

Christmas Giveaway