Devil's Food Cake

From Goodreads:    Its been years since author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the committee who invited the bestselling writer to speak at the library fundraising benefit, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect right down to the homemade devils food cake she baked herself. Certainly, murder was not on the menu.











My Thoughts:

-    This was a fun and exciting mystery! This is probably my favorite so far. It was clever and thrilling to read. 

-    Another murder though? I'd like a different mystery. How about Sadie could visit a haunted house, catch a burglar, or anything else!

-    Sadie is a bit of a busy body who thinks she can do a better job than the police. I get that she is curious, but she goes beyond that! 

-    I don't like that the police are pretty useless. I like to have a bit more faith in my police officers! They know how to do things! 

-    I liked the thrilling parts of the story where Sadie was running or fighting for her life! I couldn't read fast enough. I wanted to know what happened next! Some parts of the book are a little slow, but it makes up for it with the action!

-    A lot happens in one night! Wow! I love that everything but the last couple chapters occur in one evening!

-    I liked how the last book had Breanna in it, and this one had Shawn in it. I like getting to know Sadie's children, and I like seeing the relationship Sadie has with her children. It is nice. 

-    I liked the new character, Eric, a lot! He was right there when Sadie needed him, and he stuck by her for the rest of the crazy events! I would totally dump Pete for him! Women like men that they can count on and will back them up!

-    These culinary mysteries make me hungry! I love that recipes are added in the book, and i really want to make everything! They sound SO yummy, and it makes me crave it! If there is one thing Kilpack can do, it is to work up an appetite in her readers! 

-    These are fun books, but I can see how I could get bored with them. For now, I'm still interested, so I'll continue to read. 

Previous Book in the Culinary Mystery series

(click on the cover to see my thoughts)

 

Character Challenge

Mini Challenge

Here is how you play:

I will give you clues to the identity of a character from a book written by a Utah author.  

You must guess the character and what book they are from.

If you play, you will get an extra entry in my giveaway on August 23!

Thanks for participating! Take Luck!

Mystery Character #1

 

-    I lost my memory.

-    I wake up trapped in a rising elevator

-    I became a runner after a horrifying experience.

-    You'll be able to see my story on the big screen in 2014.

-    My friends and I are named after famous historical figures.

Mystery Character #2

-    I hate math but love running!

-    I loathe my father, but can't stand to disappoint him.

-    My book is a debut novel that came out this year.

-    My friends and family have super powers.

-    I am the only one of my kind.

Mystery Character #3

-    I only have 6 months before I'll be sucked away from everyone I love.

-    My boyfriend is my anchor to this world.

-    I am irresistibly drawn to an immortal who takes my pain away.

-    I am destined to become a human battery.

-    My emotions have been fed upon.

Top Ten Tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

This week's top ten is one I've been really looking forward to listing!


This book was SO good, but I felt like it was really open ended and I didn't get closure!


Did they have a future together? Did their family issues get resolved fully? I still have questions!


I would love to see more Josie and if she makes her dreams of college and a better future come true!


I would love to see what happens to Bod after he leaves the graveyard.


I am really bothered by there not being a sequel to this! What happens to Kyra? Does she find Josh? What about her family? AH! I can't stand it! I need to know more!


I felt like the ending just ends. There is a little epilogue, but I want to know how the characters got to the epilogue. I want to know how they were liberated! I want to know how Lina finds that boy again!


I don't know if this counts, but I want a different sequel. I loved Delirium and hated the other 2. Plus, the 3rd book doesn't really end.


The ending says there is more! I want more! I want another adventure with Virginia and Wolf!


I like this as a stand alone, but I wouldn't mind a sequel.


I loved this book, and I just need more!

Story of a Girl

Goodreads Synopsis:    When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend--Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past. With subtle grace, complicated wisdom and striking emotion, Story of a Girl reminds us of our human capacity for resilience, epiphany and redemption.









My Thoughts:

-    This was a pretty depressing book! I blame a lot of it on the main character. Deanna made a lot of stupid choices, and while I kind of felt sorry for her, I thought she brought a lot of it upon herself.

-    Deanna's dad was JERK!! He has serious issues and should get counseling. 

-    There is a lot of heavy language in this book. There were a lot of f-bombs and other uncomfortable words. There was also a lot of talk about sex. I wish a lot this had been cut down. I don't think the language was needed, especially for the target audience of this book. 

-    I felt like the whole story didn't go anywhere. It was just a piece of this girl's life and there was no conclusion. I don't feel like things got better. She resolved one or two things in her life, but overall, not a lot changed.

-    I feel grateful for the family I have! 

-    Most of the boys in the book were perverts! I can't believe other people didn't step in to help Deanna when boys were being mean to her. 

-    I've heard a lot of people rave about Sara Zarr's books, but I haven't really enjoyed the 2 I've read. I'm not giving up though, so hopefully I find one I like.

Ally Condie Spotlight

Author Spotlight

Ally Condie

Author of

I feel like Ally Condie and her books are pretty well known in Utah, so instead of talking about how awesome her books are, I want to do something a little different. I'm going to spotlight her fans!

Raving Reviews:

Matched

It's All About Books:  "The best thing about this book is that it makes you think about how important our every day choices are, and how we should never never take that for granted."

Alison Can Read:  "I read the first two pages of Matched, smiled, and said 'I'm going to like this.' Ally Condie is a fabulous writer. She created a Utopian dystopian love story with strong, likeable main characters."

Crossed 

Squeaky Books:  "The first thing that struck me was how poetic this book is. Matched has a lot of poetry, and it's a big theme in the book. Crossed IS poetry. Some of the chapters are actually written in stanzas! The story flows together beautifully, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time."

Emily's Reading Room:  "Honestly, this book ruined me. After reading it in back in September I still have not been able to find a book that spoke to me as much as Crossed did...Each page of this novel is a work of art. With each turn of the page I found myself pointing to a passage and saying, 'Yes! I've felt this way before! That's exactly what it's like.' And what is remarkable is that I don't live in a dystopian society where everything is chosen for me. Ally does a magnificent job of taking a society so different from our own, and relating it to the human experience that so many of us share."

Reached

Books: A True Story:  "All of the characters are reaching for something.  Some of them make it and some of them don’t.  I loved how significant the title was to the whole story.  The colors red, green, and blue are woven throughout the narrative, tying the whole thing together in a beautiful way."

Rampant Readers:  Overall, Reached was a great story about fighting for whats right, becoming leaders, and giving the chance to choose; about reaching and being reached.

Fan Art:

Utah Book Month

August is going to be a month long celebration of Utah, Utah books, Utah bloggers, Utah authors, and anything else related to our awesome state! This is one of my favorite blogging events!

Here is my schedule for the month:

Ally Condie Spotlight - Friday, August 2

Character Challenge - Wednesday, August 7

Stephanie Spotlight - Tuesday, August 13

Giveaway - Friday, August 23

For the whole schedule and other fun things about this month visit Utah Books.

Here are the Utah books I hope to devour this month:

   

  

  

The X-Men: Volume 4

Goodreads Description:    Collecting the original tales of Marvel's merry mutants, we have milestone after milestone prepared just for you, and it all starts off-of course-with the Juggernaut! That's not the only earth-shaking tale in store, though. There's the X-Men vs. Spider-Man; an underworld battle against the Mole Man and Tyrannus; and the culmination of the Factor Three epic featuring the Changeling and the unbelievable Mutant Master. Also featured are the "Origins of the X-Men" backup features that reveal the beginnings of Professor X and his teen mutant team supreme! And we're not afraid to go out with a bang. That's right, on top of the X-Men's cool new costumes, in our heartwrenching conclusion the brutal beast Grotesk kills Professor X before the eyes of Cyclops and the X-Men!


My Thoughts:

-    I love seeing how The X-Men comics evolved. They just keep getting better and better.

-    I really liked the Dr. Strange cameo! He is so awesome!

-    Spiderman gets an X-Men ish!?!? That was different, but fun. The X-Men still make an appearance, but the majority of the comic is about Spiderman. What is with the little web wings on Spiderman? That was weird.

-    The new costumes were a surprise! I think Cyclops' and Jean's costumes were a cool improvement, but Angel's costume is awful! He looks like a dork. I'm not digging the colors either. 

-    I love how the origins parts were added. It was fun to read about how Professor X found Scott and made him Cyclops. I hope they keep adding those at the end of each issue. I would like to see origins on all the characters.

-    Along with new costumes, The X-Men get new toned muscles as well. Each of them are more defined. 

-    The last issue is a killer cliffhanger! Professor X cannot be dead!! 

Previous X-Men Volume

(click on the cover to see my thoughts)

  

The Mystery of Lilac Inn

From Goodreads:    Teenage detective Nancy Drew finds herself in danger when she sets out to track a jewel thief.
















My Thoughts:

-    This book was really fun! It had a lot more dangers in it that the previous books.

-    Nancy is the victim of identity theft, but as the story continues Nancy find out she has a doppelganger out there!

-    Nancy's life is constantly in danger in this story. There are people out there trying to kill her! She gets a spear thrown at her, she gets run off the road, she gets a rock thrown at her head, and more!

-    I really like Nancy's relationship with her father. They are close and can openly talk with each other. I love that they trust each other implicitly. 

-    The story and mystery are more complicated than the previous ones. I really feel like this book stepped it up a notch.

Previous Nancy Drew Book

(Click on cover to see my thoughts)