Friday, April 30, 2010

Review - Motherhood is Murder by Diana Orgain on Kindle

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Motherhood is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery)

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Nights out are hard to come by for new mommy Kate Connelly. So when Kate and her husband are invited to a dinner cruise hosted by her new mommy club, Roo & You, they jump at it. But when the president of the club takes a deadly spill, everyone becomes suspect-and Kate's on deck to solve the mystery.

My Review – 4 Great to the last drop

I will use one word to describe this book – CUTE

I am new to the genre – Cozy Mystery. My favourite is Suspense, Mystery, Thriller but I had never read what was considered cozy, I don’t think anyways.

This is the perfect read for new moms, expecting moms and grandma’s with new little bundles of joys to spoil.

The main character Kate has a 2 month old and all new mom adventures are explained brilliantly, I smiled a lot and once I was laughing out loud, I had to stop reading to fully enjoy the moment. The description of her real first meeting as a PI, just think of the first day going back to work. What to wear, a bra for the breastfeeding boobs included, shoes that will fit and a purse that is not the diaper bag, oh how I remembered my days not so long ago.

I also liked that the action started from the first chapter and so we knew what Kate had to solve. Each chapter started with Kate’s To Do List, a mixture of mommy duties, wife duties and for the investigation, eg. Buy book, PI hints for Dummies, lmao

I enjoyed this one, just a fun cute read, cozy mystery.

Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Teaser Tuesday - Motherhood is Murder

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com






· Grab your current read


· Open to a random page


· Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


· BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


· Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!




Motherhood is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery)


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Nights out are hard to come by for new mommy Kate Connelly. So when Kate and her husband are invited to a dinner cruise hosted by her new mommy club, Roo & You, they jump at it. But when the president of the club takes a deadly spill, everyone becomes suspect-and Kate's on deck to solve the mystery.




My Teaser


The phone rang, interrupting my second set of squats. Hey, I could add a third thing – mothering, exercising, and talking on the phone. I was a multitasker extraordinaire.

So far this is a cute cozy mystery with lots of laughs.



Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce



Sunday, April 25, 2010

It's Monday, What are you Reading?


It's Monday, and it's time for What are you Reading, hosted by Sheila over on

Go over and network, Sheila also has an incentive to having fun while networking and adding to your TBR list. You get to enter to win a prize, just for networking, how cool is that.

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I'm currently reading..........
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Motherhood is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery)
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Nights out are hard to come by for new mommy Kate Connelly. So when Kate and her husband are invited to a dinner cruise hosted by her new mommy club, Roo & You, they jump at it. But when the president of the club takes a deadly spill, everyone becomes suspect-and Kate's on deck to solve the mystery.
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This week I finished.........
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Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
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What is next? Help me choose and participate in my poll please. For book descriptions please read this post.
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Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Review - Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane


Book Summary
In 1954, US Marshals Teddy Daniels and his new partner, just in from Seattle, Chuck Aule take the ferry from the Massachusetts mainland to Shutter Island where Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane dominates the landscape. The law enforcement officials are assigned to investigate the disappearance of a convict (patient to Dr. Cawley) Rachel Solando, the Berkshire killer of three children she first drowned then “shared” breakfast with them in her kitchen.

Teddy and Chuck wonder how the woman could escape from a locked room on the third floor with guards all over the place and no hideaways on the island itself and swimming the distance to the nearest land in the treacherous Atlantic seems monumental. A hurricane is coming, which when it hits will totally isolate the island from the mainland. They begin to find evidence of illegal drug therapy and surgery, but little about the vanished Rachel. As they uncover more proof of wrongdoing Teddy and Chuck wonder if they will get off the island alive.
My review
So I had high hopes for this one, I am sure I will enjoy the movie but now I am a little upset I read it, sigh
This is definitely a book that will mess with your mind, what is real, what is fantasy, you may even feel dumb and think I should understand this. All of this was amazingly well done.
All the characters were interesting, the Marshals, the Chief in charge, Psychiatrist, Doctors, Nurses, Orderly's, Patients and Convicts.
I won't say to much in case I give something away and spoil it for you.
What happened for me actually is I figured out something so the amazing ending that everyone talks about as being a remarkable climax wasn't for me, sigh. And I didn't figure it all out but what I did made me not have the surprise shocking element.
So thats it friends, I don't know what to say really.
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I give it a 3 - More Sugar Please
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My recommendations
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If you enjoyed Shutter Island, you should read Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
and another Psychological Thriller
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The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer - I LOVED THIS ONE
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Emidy has a great review on Shutter Island, go over and check her out.
Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What should I read on Kindle next?

Thanks for voting and commenting for my current read, Shutter Island, should complete and have review up this weekend. 20 voted and 9 were for Shutter Island.


I try to switch from book to ebook so my next read is on Kindle - so what should I read next? These are already downloaded, my goal is no more buying or downloading for the rest of April and all of May :-0


See Poll on Sidebar please.







All Summaries/Reviews taken from Amazon


The Gin Closet


Starred Review. Jamison's beautifully written debut follows independent young New Yorker Stella and her estranged aunt Tilly as they form some version of a family. Stella is disenchanted with her life and job as a journalist's personal assistant; Tilly is a professional lost soul, a former prostitute, and an unsuccessful recovering alcoholic. To all appearances, Stella is the savior, finding Tilly, who's been shunned by the family, to rescue her; but through alternating first-person accounts, the reader grows to view the two women as equals. Their experiences with men especially mirror one another's; Tilly has merely had worse luck. Stella describes wanting a man, any man, who could offer his face as a label for my loneliness; later, recalling men she's been with, Tilly says, most of them I didn't even like that much, but they seemed like the easiest way to change my own life. The relationship between Stella and Tilly is compelling, as are their relationships with auxiliary characters, like Stella's brother and Tilly's son, but what truly drives the novel is Jamison's gorgeous prose.


Dead Game



In this Video Game, "Game Over" Means You're Dead

In her independent efforts to catch child killers, Emily Stone discovers the evidence that the cops can't - or won't - uncover. Now, this covert investigator is back on the hunt for the world's most sick and twisted murderers. But even with help from ex-police detective Rick Lopez, this time she's facing her most dangerous opponent yet.


The Pleasure was Mine




Starred Review. "My wife has gone. I can't say that I blame her. ... She had probably had enough of my temper, my dark moods, my foul mouth, my all-around disagreeable self. ... She had probably had enough of what most everybody wondered and some, over the years, were rude enough to ask: How in the world did a tall, thin, fair-skinned beauty and one of the most respected high school English teachers ... in all of South Carolina ... wind up married to a short, dark, fat-faced, jug-eared house painter?" That pithy summary sounds like the prelude to a typical novel about divorce and infidelity, but for Hays it serves as a setup for the transformation of a family in which an older man cares for his wife during her descent into Alzheimer's.





The Murderer's Daughters



A beautifully written, compulsively readable debut that deals with the aftermath of a shocking act of violence that leaves two young sisters with nothing but each other—in the tradition of White Oleander, this haunting novel is a testament to the power of family and the ties that bind us together, even as they threaten to tear us apartMama was “no macaroni-necklace-wearing kind of mother.” She was a lipstick and perfume-wearing mother, a flirt whose estranged husband still hungered for her. After Mama threw him out, she warned the girls to never let Daddy in the house, an admonition that tears at ten-year-old Lulu whenever she thinks about the day she opened the door for her drunken father, and watched as he killed her mother, stabbed her five-year-old sister Merry and tried to take his own life.


What do you think I should read, which ones have you heard of, do any peak your interest?






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Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Teaser Tuesday - Shutter Island


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Shutter Island
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Teaser from the Prologue on page 1
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'She said once that time is nothing to me but a series of bookmarks that I use to jump back and forth the text of my life, returning again and again to the events that mark me, in the eyes of my more astute colleagues, as bearing all the characteristics of the classic melancholic.'



Free Kindle Book if interested - Rooms by James L. Rubart


I realise Kindle books sometimes are offered for free so I thought I will start sharing them when I come across them. How great of Amazon and the Publishers.

Rooms Summary

On a rainy spring day in Seattle, young software tycoon Micah Taylor receives a cryptic, twenty-five-year-old letter from a great uncle he never knew. It claims a home awaits him on the Oregon coast that will turn his world inside out. Suspecting a prank, Micah arrives at Cannon Beach to discover a stunning, brand new nine-thousand square foot house. And after meeting Sarah Sabin at a nearby ice cream shop, he has two reasons to visit the beach every weekend. When bizarre things start happening in the rooms of the home, Micah suspects they have some connection to his enigmatic new friend, Rick, the town mechanic. But Rick will only say the house is spiritual. This unnerves Micah because his faith slipped away like the tide years ago, and he wants to keep it that way. But as he slowly discovers, the home isn-t just spiritual, it-s a physical manifestation of his soul, which God uses to heal Micah-s darkest wounds and lead him into an astonishing new destiny.

A review from Cheryl's Book Nook - I saw her review and added it to my TBR list.

http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/2010/04/rooms.html



Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Friday, April 16, 2010

What should I read next? See Poll





Friends, I am in a little reading slump, not a negative as I am online networking more but I decided I think these are the few I may consider next. What would you recommend for me?
See poll on sidepanel to vote.


All except the Anita Shreve will be a new author to me. If you have reviews of them please share, I will be happy to include it with my review.


BTW - these are all books I bought but my Kindle has taken over :-0 I have said no more downloading until I read more of my books on the bookshelf but as one addicted book reader to another, I'm sure you understand.


Body Surfing: A Novel by Anita Shreve
Tell Me Something True by Leila Cobo
The Halo Effect by MJ Rose
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane



Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Never to late for Book Blogger Hop


Welcome to Tea Time with Marce, I appreciate you coming to visit. I started networking on Monday evening from last week and my intention is to complete last weeks list. So this is the post from Monday and updated on Wednesday, but I am using it for April 16.

So I haven't been networking as much lately and didn't do the last 2 Blog Hops because my laptop was in the shop BUT I got it back today, yaaaaay.

So for the last 2 hours I have been networking and I found these new blogs to me. BTW, I will go through all, I visited up to #60 and there are 184 posts, WOWSA.

I love when Bloggers list there 2010 reads and/or their 2009 favourites. This helped me decided quickly if we had similar taste and I will follow.

My new finds, thanks to you Jennifer, Crazy for Books

Just One More Paragraph http://tweezlereads.blogspot.com/

My Random Acts of Reading http://myrandomactsofreading.blogspot.com/

Obsessed http://paranormal-obsession.blogspot.com/

Lori's Reading Corner http://www.lorisreadingcorner.com/

With a good book http://withagoodbook.com/

Ms. Martin Teaches Media http://msmartin-media.blogspot.com/

Fragments of Life http://shusky20.blogspot.com/

Bookworm with a View http://www.bookwormwithaview.com/

The Cajun Book Lady http://thecajunbooklady.blogspot.com/

Book Crazy http://www.book-crazy.com/

The Bookshelf Sophisticate http://bookshelfsophisticate.blogspot.com/

Additional Networking on Wednesday, Visited up to #95 - My Finds

http://thefictionenthusiast.blogspot.com/
http://candacesreadingblog.blogspot.com/
http://daisychainbookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://littlebookish.blogspot.com/
http://proudbooknerd.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookquotes-bookquotes.blogspot.com/
http://www.superreadergirlreviews.blogspot.com/
http://the1bookblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.foreveryalit.com/


Anyone new to blogging my advice would be to network. Link to the Book Hop but then go and visit, comment etc. http://www.crazy-for-books.com/2010/04/book-blogger-hop-april-9-15-2010.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+crazy-for-books+%28Crazy-for-Books%29


My eyes are tired now but I am excited to have my computer back. I was spending to many work hours on my blog and networking :-0


Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Monday, April 12, 2010

Review - Blog Tour for Prophecy Sisters by Michelle Zink


Summary from Inside Cover

An ancient Prophecy divides two sisters…..

One Good

One Evil

Who Will Prevail?

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents’ deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.
Lia and Alice don’t know whom they can trust. They just know they can’t trust each other.

My Review

I am a part of the Book Tour (http://internationalbooktours.blogspot.com/) for Prophecy Sisters. I enjoyed this book so much I am sad that I have to pass it on, I will buy this one for my collection.

Prophecy Sisters reminded me of the show Charmed which I am a huge fan plus thriller and suspense is my favourite genre to read, so you guessed it I loved this story. The research of a prophecy, sibling rivalry, family history with drama and a love romance that was a secret to all….

Prophecy Sisters is a dark mystery, every chapter gave you a little more to the prophecy you are trying to figure out along with the Lia. The more she digs, researches the more the story captures you. The story is told from Lia’s point of view.

I want to share this passage with you, it is not a spoiler for the book. I had it bookmarked and constantly went back to it while reading. This definitely is a book to buy not to read on an ereader. Found in an old book and Lia’s boyfriend translated it for her.



Through fire and harmony mankind endured
Until the sending of
the Guards
Who took as wives and lovers the woman of
man,
Engendering His wrath.
Two sisters, formed in the same swaying
ocean,
One Guardian, One the Gate.
One keeper of peace,
The other
batering sorcery for devotion.
Cast from the heavens, the Souls were
Lost
As the Sisters continue the battle
Until the Gates summon
forth their return,
Or the Angel brings the Keys to the Abyss.
The
Army, marching forth through the Gates.
Samael, the Beast, through the
Angel.
The Angel, guarded only by the gossamer veil of protection.
Four
Marks, Four Keys, Circle of Fire
Birthed in the first breath of Samhain
In
the shadow of the Mystic Stone Serpent of Aubur.
Let the Angel's Gate swing
without the Keys
Followed by the Seven Plagues and No
Return.
Death
Famine
Blood
Fire
Darkness
Drought
Ruin
Open
your arms, Mistress of Chaos, that the havoc of the Beast will flow
like a
river
For all is lost when the Seven Plagues begin.



If this passage intrigues you at all, I recommend you pick this one up and enjoy the mysterious journey.

The two concerns I had that was odd to me was that it was set around the 1800’s, it felt modern to me and every time the period was mentioned I kind of raised my eyebrows but this wasn’t a big deal to me but it may be to others. Also, as much as I enjoyed all of the characters, Michelle Zink did a great job with them. There was a major event that happened near the end and all except Lia didn’t seemed affected, it was just weird.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this one. Sometimes I found myself daydreaming after a chapter and trying to think ahead, twice I even said ‘I knew it”.

I give it 4 ½ Great to the last drop.

Guardian of the Gate will be released August 2010, I can’t wait.


Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Friday, April 9, 2010

Surprise - your all winners, Thank you Badge commenters


I decided I am going to give a thank you to all of you. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on the Badge post but also just to be a commenter and follower. You have welcomed me to the Blogging Community, assisted me with understanding blogging techniques etc and helped my TBR list get longggg :-)
I would like to split this over 2 months though. I will do those bolded with * 1st during April and the other blogging friends during May, this I can afford.....
Please go to http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ choose what you would like under $15, many great choices are between $10 - $12 then email me your choice and address at
marceblogspot(at)hotmail(dot)com
  1. bermudonion
  2. Juju at Tales of Whimsy*
  3. Angela
  4. Jennifer(Crazy for Books)
  5. Christina T
  6. Emidy*
  7. Jeanne C*
  8. Christa @ mental foodie
  9. Ann Elle Altman*
  10. Jennifer (Reading with Tequila)
  11. StephThe Bookworm*
  12. Fredmans*
  13. Jennifer G
  14. April
Thanks so much for being a Follower of Tea Time with Marce, HUGS

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Grab My Badge


So this is it Blogging Friends.

I really appreciate all the comments to help me choose, I didn't expect that much response so a huge thank you.

This is what I would like to do as a token of my appreciation.

Allow (1) winner to choose books of your choice up to $50 worth from Book Depository

or

Allow (5) winners to choose a book of your choice maximum $15 from Book Depository


Tell me what you think is best, one huge winner or spread the love, I wish I could do all but I can't afford that at the moment, sorry.

These are the followers I want to thank for responding and who will be put in the thank you winnings. The * is for those that responded to both posts.

  1. bermudonion
  2. Juju at Tales of Whimsy*
  3. Angela
  4. Jennifer(Crazy for Books)
  5. Christina T
  6. Emidy*
  7. Jeanne C*
  8. Christa @ mental foodie
  9. Ann Elle Altman*
  10. Jennifer (Reading with Tequila)
  11. StephThe Bookworm*
  12. Fredmans*
  13. Jennifer G
  14. April


Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Review - Letter to my Daughter by George Bishop on Kindle


Book Summary

Dear Elizabeth,

It’s early morning and I’m sitting here wondering where you are, hoping you’re all right . . .

A fight, ended by a slap, sends Elizabeth out the door of her Baton Rouge home on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. Her mother, Laura, is left to fret and worry—and remember. Wracked with guilt as she awaits Liz’s return, Laura begins a letter to her daughter, hoping to convey “everything I’ve always meant to tell you but never have.”

In her painfully candid confession, Laura shares memories of her own troubled adolescence in rural Louisiana, growing up in an intensely conservative household. She recounts her relationship with a boy she loved despite her parents’ disapproval, the fateful events that led to her being sent away to a strict Catholic boarding school, the personal tragedy brought upon her by the Vietnam War, and, finally, the meaning of the enigmatic tattoo below her right hip.

My Review

Let me first say, I was surprised a man wrote this, what a beautiful writing style, just real genuine warm feelings. George Bishop did a fabulous job and many women will be pleased that men do know how to communicate their feelings.

I enjoyed this story and it immediately made me think about writing letters to my daughter yearly to give to her when she is older.

This book is about the emotions a mom and dad have when they don’t know where their child is. Did she run away from home, is she just angry and letting off steam, will she come back, is she hurt, is she with a lover, when do we file a missing person, etc. The mom decides to write a letter to help her through the waiting but also to give to her daughter on her return. It was oh so cute and true on how the father dealt with it.

The mom writes about her memories as a teenager, I found this fascinating and it made me question myself. Would I want my daughter to know about my first love, her dad and I’s love journey, about my tattoos, my childhood etc and even minor details about my sex life, yup George Bishop went there but it was touching.

We didn’t get to see Elizabeth’s reaction to the letters or even if Laura gave them to her. I would love to know what happens next and this is why I didn’t give it 5 stars, I really missed this part of the story.

What was really beautiful was how Elizabeth got her name, which is the kind of thing we should write to our children if it has any story or meaning behind it.

If you want a beautifully written story that will make you look at your parenting style and how your childhood affects you, this is for you. Have you ever said I will never be like my mother and then realize you are?

This is a fabulous Mother’s Day gift and I don’t think it is only for mothers with daughters, mothers with sons would appreciate it also.

I added this to my TBR list after reading Zia's review on My Life in Not So Many Words. http://ziarias.blogspot.com/2010/02/letter-to-my-daughter-review.html

If you enjoyed this I would recommend reading The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright.

Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Book Badge - which one do you like?

(A) or (B)


Which one do you like best? I can change the size of text on the 1st one.


Choice (A)

or

Choice (B)


Thanks so much with helping me choose, the last one definitely wasn't going to work, so I appreciate your comments.

Teaser Tuesday - Letter to my Daughter


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!


http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com



Just do the following:


· Grab your current read


· Open to a random page


· Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


· BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants





Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop


You can see the cover on my sidebar.


Teaser at 15% on Kindle


But my parents couldn't very well come out and say the truth, which was, "We're here because we hate the coloreds and we caught our daughter having sex on the living room floor with a trailer boy."


My review will be up tomorrow.


I will be reading The Prophecy Sisters next for a Book Tour




Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce



Friday, April 2, 2010

Review - Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher on Kindle


SYNOPSIS

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

My Review

3 - More Sugar Please

I have to be honest, I think I am to old to enjoy this one. Also, if I had a teenager I would not want them to read it. It was sad, depressing and at times just didn't make sense but as a whole I understood how some teenagers may think suicide is the answer. And I love emotionally sad stories, this is why I think I am just to old for this specific story.

And it was a little confusing to me though, she seems so intuitive, so bright to consider suicide to be the end, maybe I can't get passed that.

I love the message in the book - you have to be careful of your actions because you never know how someone will react and the consequences.

I am unsure who to recommend this one to but for me I realised I may stop reading the young adult books, it is hard to put myself in the mind frame of a teenager again. I will defnitely read them when my 3 year old wants to start reading YA books though.

I guess this is not much of a review and I hate to only give it a 3 but I didn't really enjoy it. I felt sorry for Clay who received the tapes. I also really wanted to know more about her parents, their reaction etc.

Please share your review if you have read this one, I know many loved it. And if you are willing, how old are you? I am 34 BTW.


Thanks for visiting Tea Time with Marce