GoodReads Blurb

I’ve Loved You Since Forever is a celebratory and poetic testament to the timeless love felt between parent and child. This beautiful picture book is inspired by New York Times bestselling author and Today show co-host Hoda Kotb’s heartwarming adoption of her baby girl, Haley Joy.

With Kotb’s lyrical text and stunning pictures by Suzie Mason, young ones and parents will want to snuggle up and read the pages of this book together, over and over again.

In the universe, 

there was you and

there was me, 

waiting for the day our

stars would meet. . .

My Review

A beautiful book that has such a spectacular meaning. Being a parent for the first time is a spectacular moment. The title was perfect for this book. I loved how each animal had their baby with them and at the end it’s Hoda holding her baby girl Haley. The illustrations are very colorful, meaningful and were exactly detailing to the story. A fun book for children. I rated 4 out of 5 stars.

GoodReads Blurb

From Hoda Kotb, the Today show co-anchor and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I’ve Loved You Since Forever,comes a book about gratitude for the things in life—both big and small—that bring us happiness.

As mama bear and her cub cuddle together before closing their eyes for a good night’s sleep, they reflect on the everyday wonders of life that make them happy.

Inspired by her own nighttime routine with her daughter, Haley Joy,Kotb creates another beautiful treasure for parents and children to enjoy together. With charming and lush illustrations from bestselling artist Suzie Mason, this soothing yet playful lullaby explores the simple joy of taking a moment to be grateful.

Perfect for fans of Ainsley Earhardt, Kelly Clarkson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jimmy Fallon’s books for children.

My Review

So far this book has become my favorite. Hoda loves the evenings she gets to spend with her daughter. This storybook truly shows that happiness a mother has when she gets to spend time with their child. They go through wonderful adventures together while learning from their mistakes as they grow. I love the illustrations. Very colorful and fun. I rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Author Biography

Award-winning co-anchor of NBS’s Today Show and correspondent on Dateline NBC. She is an author of several books. Proudest moment is the adoption of a baby girl, Haley Joy.

Found this adorable shirt at Zulily. These are the books I am currently reading. I should be posting a review tonight for Field Notes on Love.

Found these lovelies at Barnes & Nobles.

This beauty arrived today. Can’t wait to read and start a discussion next month.

Blurb from Goodreads

When the dawn breaks, a hero rises.

His power is beyond imagining.

Clark Kent has always been faster, stronger–better–than everyone around him. But he wasn’t raised to show off, and drawing attention to himself could be dangerous. Plus, it’s not like he’s earned his powers . . . yet.

But power comes with a price.

Lately it’s difficult to hold back and keep his heroics in the shadows. When Clark follows the sound of a girl crying, he comes across Gloria Alvarez and discovers a dark secret lurking in Smallville. Turns out, Clark’s not the only one hiding something. Teaming up with his best friend, Lana Lang, he throws himself into the pursuit of the truth. What evil lies below the surface of his small town? And what will it cost Clark to learn about his past as he steps into the light to become the future Man of Steel? Because before he can save the world, he must save Smallville. 

Blurb

When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time.

It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings—fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona—emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love. 

A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose—and sometimes rescue—the ones we love. A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, it is also a beautiful meditation on the power of stories—how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.

My Review

Unfortunately, this supposedly romantic novel is no where near romantic. It took me quite sometime to finish this book. I just couldn’t focus on the story. We start with 2079 and go back to 1981, the beginning of the story. In 2079, it seems like the world is ending which has nothing to do with the story. Author didn’t elaborate on what really was happening in 2079. It was pretty slow with irrelevant rambling. Many thoughts, questions or ideas were left unanswered in her plot. She has a nice amount of characters in which she could have developed a superb story. None of the characters really were likable. When their father passed the unfortunate events spiraled from there. Fiona was the most annoying character in this family. She was a huge cause of most of the dilemmas they lived through. I was hoping they would grow up with fantastic lives after having to live in the circumstances they endured. I had my happy ending after I finished this book. I rated 2 out of 5 stars.

Author Biography

Tara Conklin was born on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands and raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Yale University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and New York University School of Law. A joint US-UK citizen, Tara now lives in Seattle. Her first novel, The House Girl, was a NYTimes bestseller, #1 IndieNext pick and Target book club pick. Her second, The Last Romantics, will be published February 5, 2019. 

This is am amazing opportunity to meet authors and make new book friends. I will be attending a couple of these events. Check it out!

February 2019
 

Corpus Christie, TX: Teen Book Fest By The Bay
Date: February 16
Website: http://www.teenbookfestbythebay.org/

Detroit, MI: Detroit Book City African-American Family Book Expo 2019
Date: February 24
Website: http://www.detroitbookcity.com/expo-2019

San Antonio, TX: National Latino Children’s Literature Conference
Date: February 28 – March 3
Website: http://education.utsa.edu//conf_nlclc/home/

March 2019
 

San Antonio, TX: National Latino Children’s Literature Conference
Date: CANCELED
Website: http://education.utsa.edu//conf_nlclc/home/

Tucson, AZ: Tucson Festival of Books
Date: March 2-3
Website: http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

Murfreesboro, TN: Southeastern Young Adult Book Festival
Date: March 7-9
Website: https://www.seyabookfest.com/

Ontario, CA: Ontario Teen Book Fest
Date: March 9
Website: http://www.ontariotbf.org/

Warrensburg, MO: Children’s Literature Festival
Date: March 17-19
Website: http://clf.ucmo.edu/

Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Festival of the Book
Dates: March 20-24
Website: http://www.vabook.org/index.html/

Washington, D.C.: Apollycon
Dates: March 21-24
Website: http://www.apollyconevent.com/

New York, NY: New York City Teen Author Festival
Date: March 24-31
Website: http://nyctaf.com/

Arlington, VA: NoVa Teen Book Festival
Date: March 30
Website: http://novateenbookfestival.com/

League City, TX: Teen Book Con
Dates: March 30
Website: http://www.teenbookcon.org/

April 2019
 

Denver, CO: Colorado Teen Literature Conference
Dates: April 13
Website: http://coteenlitconf.wixsite.com/ctlc

Palm Beach, FL: Palm Beach Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: http://www.palmbeachbookfestival.com/

Columbus, OH: Ohioana Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: http://www.ohioana.org/programs/ohioana-book-festival/

Chicago, IL: Chicago Young Adult Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: http://chiyabookfest.com/

Irving, TX: North Texas Teen Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: http://www.northtexasteenbookfestival.com/

Bowling Green, KY: Southern Kentucky Book Fest
Dates: April 26-27
Website: https://sokybookfest.org/programs/childrens-day/

Mendota Heights, MN: Twin Cities Teen Lit Con
Date: April 27
Website: https://teenlitcon.org/

Montgomery, AL: Alabama Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/welcome.html

Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Dates: April
Website: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/

Berkeley, CA: Bay Area Book Festival
Dates: April
Website: https://www.baybookfest.org/teen/

May 2019

Santa Monica, CA: YALLWest
Dates: May 3-4
Website: https://www.yallwest.com/

Hudson NY: Hudson Children’s Book Festival
Dates: May 4
Website: http://hudsonchildrensbookfestival.com/

Kansas City, MO: Lit Up Teen Book Festival
Dates: May
Website: http://litupfestival.org/

Rochester, NY: Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival
Dates: May 18
Website: https://www.teenbookfest.org/

June 2019

New York, NY: BookCon
Dates: June
Website: http://www.thebookcon.com/

Queens, NY: Queens Book Festival Youth Day
Date: June
Website: http://www.queensbookfestival.nyc/home

August 2019

Easton, PA: YA Fest PA
Dates: August 10
Website: http://yafestpa.com/

Jackson, MS: Mississippi Book Festival
Date: August 17, 2019
Website: http://msbookfestival.com/

Decatur, GA: Decatur Book Festival
Dates: August 30 – September 1
Website: https://www.decaturbookfestival.com

Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress National Book Festival
Date: August 31
Website: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

September 2019

Orlando, FL: BookNet Fest 
Dates: September 6-7
Website: http://www.booknetfest.com

Winston-Salem, NC: Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors
Dates: September
Website: http://www.bookmarksnc.org/

Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Book Festival
Date: September
Website: http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

Bedford, PA: Allegheny Regional Festival of Books
Dates: September
Website: http://alleghenyregionalfestivalofbooks.org/

Pasadena, CA: Pasadena Loves YA
Dates: September
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pasadenalovesya/

Boston, MA: Boston Teen Book Festival
Date: September 22
Website: http://www.bostonteenauthorfestival.com/

St. Louis, MO: BookFest St. Louis
Date: September
Website: http://bookfeststl.com

Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Book Festival
Dates: September
Website: http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/

Fredericksburg, VA: Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival
Date: September
Website: http://www.fredbookfest.com

Chattanooga, Tennessee: YA-hoo Fest
Dates: September
Website: https://www.yahoofest.org/

Costa Mesa, CA: Orange County Children’s Book Festival 
Date: September
Website: http://kidsbookfestival.com

October 2019

Brookings and Sioux Falls, SD: South Dakota Festival of Books
Dates: October 3-6
Website: http://sdhumanities.org/festival-of-books/

Morristown, NJ: Morristown Festival of Books
Dates: October 11-12
Website: http://morristownbooks.org/

Las Vegas, NV: Las Vegas Book Festival
Dates: October 19
Website: http://www.vegasvalleybookfestival.org/

Collingswood, NJ: Collingswood Book Festival
Date: October
Website: http://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/

Austin, TX: Texas Teen Book Festival
Date: October
Website: http://www.texasbookfestival.org/texas-teen-book-festival/

Fairfax, VA: Fall for the Book Festival
Dates: October
Website: http://fallforthebook.org/

Nashville, TN: Southern Festival of Books
Dates: October
Website: http://humanitiestennessee.org/programs/southern-festival-books-celebration-written-word

Sheboygan, WI: Sheboygan Teen Book Festival
Dates: October
Website: https://www.sheboyganteenbookfestival.org/

Bowling Green, Kentucky: YAS Book Con
Dates: October
Website: https://2018.yasbookcon.org/

Greenville, SC: Read Up, Greenville
Date: October
Website: http://readupgreenville.com/

Cincinatti, OH: Books by the Banks
Date: October
Website: http://booksbythebanks.org/teen-scene/

Naperville, Illinois: Anderson’s Young Adult Literature Conference
Dates: October
Website: https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/young-adult-literature-conference

Pickerington, Ohio: Pickerington Teen Book Festival
Dates: October
Website: https://pickeringtonlibrary.org/event/pickerington-teen-book-fest-2018/

Austin, TX: Texas Book Festival
Dates: October
Website: http://www.texasbookfestival.org/

November 2019
 

Littleton, CO: Colorado Teen Book Con
Date: November
Website: http://www.tatteredcover.com/colorado-teen-book-con

Charlotte, NC: Epic Fest
Date: November
Website: https://foundation.cmlibrary.org/epicfest

Charleston, SC: YALLFest
Dates: November
Website: http://www.yallfest.org/

Buffalo, NY: WNY Children’s Book Expo
Date: November
Website: http://www.monkeysread.com/wnycbe-home

Portland, OR: Portland Book Festival (formerly Wordstock)
Date: November
Website: https://literary-arts.org/what-we-do/pdxbookfest/

Miami, FL: Miami Book Fair
Dates: November
Website: https://www.miamibookfair.com/

Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Book Fair
Date: November
Website: https://www.kyhumanities.org/kentuckybookfair.html

January 2020
 

Belmont, CA: YANovCon
Date: January
Website: https://smcl.org/yanovcon/

February 2020
 

Philadelphia, PA: The African American Children’s Book Fair
Date: February
Website: http://theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org/

Let’s have a giveaway. I have decided to give a $20.00 Amazon gift card and a $10.00 Amazon gift card. We will have two winners. Please follow my blog and leave a comment below to enter. Good Luck!!

Blurb from Goodreads

Promising to be the debut novel of the season The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive…

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him…

My Review The thriller of a century with a frightening twist. I am as silent as Alicia. I cannot fathom the words to speak after running to save Alicia and keeping my sanity. Alex truly created a master piece that will drag you through each corner with intense detail but with hidden tips. It will leave you thinking who is the killer, what is the truth and why keep silent. At the end you will be stunned from your silence and be awaken to the terror of the truth. Don’t walk to the bookstore but rather run to get this mind blowing story. Will you be silent in the end? I rated a 5 out of 5 stars.

Author Biography

Born in Cyprus to a Greek-Cypriot father and English mother, studied English literature at Cambridge University and got his MA in screenwriting at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. He wrote the film The Devil You Know (2013) starring Rosamund Pike and co-wrote The Con is On (2018), starring Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Parker Posey and Sofia Vergara. THE SILENT PATIENT is his first novel.

Received this early review copy from Penguin Random House.

Here is more information on what the book is about from Goodreads:

Having just been dumped by his girlfriend, British-born Hugo is still determined to take his last-hurrah-before-college train trip across the United States. One snag: the companion ticket is already booked under the name of his ex, Margaret Campbell. Nontransferable, no exceptions.

Enter the new Margaret C. (Mae for short), an aspiring filmmaker with big dreams. After finding Hugo’s spare ticket offer online, she’s convinced it’s the perfect opportunity to expand her horizons.

When the two meet, the attraction is undeniable, and both find more than they bargained for. As Mae pushes Hugo to explore his dreams for his future, he’ll encourage her to channel a new, vulnerable side of her art. But when life off the train threatens the bubble they’ve created for themselves, will they manage to keep their love on track?

My Review

What a wonderful love story. This story had so much emotion. It kept my attention through out the whole book. It had some wonderful times, some sad times, times of enlightenment and love. I loved that the adventure took place in a train across America. I give them credit because I think I wouldn’t take a train with a total stranger. Two strangers decide to take an adventure before they start college due to some unexpected circumstances. They both were recently heartbroken and needed an adventure. Mae was a strong young lady that knew exactly what she wanted to do in her future. She was determine to be part of USC Film school. She wasn’t going to give up on her dream. I loved Mae’s Nana. She was hilarious and always searching for an adventure. Hugo was also a very interesting character. I loved how his mom would compare him to the Paddington Bear. He was always getting lost or losing stuff. They didn’t feel like he could be responsible and go off on his own. He was a sextuplet and was looking to find his happiness. I love how an unexpected adventure can open your heart and lead you to happiness. I rated 4 out of 5 stars.

Author Biography

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of eight books for young adults, including WINDFALL and THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. She earned her master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her writing has been translated into 33 languages.

This is a captivating story showing proof how a woman in the 1940’s was a brilliant inventor but because of her gender, her invention was not put to good use. The military preferred to keep the torpedoes that kept on having issues then using a perfectly good invention to good use. 

“Leaving a hollow, if beautiful, shell. Perhaps the shell was all this world wanted from me”.

Brilliance and beauty couldn’t coincide for women in the 1940’s. Hedy Lamarr couldn’t shake away how people perceived her. Her beauty is all people cared about. She had brilliance, intelligence but was treated like a trophy to be viewed but not to be touched or spoken to. At first I thought Mr. Mandl was Mr. prince charming. Rich, attentive, fun and supportive. Once he and Hedy married he became a terror. She was trapped with an egoistic psycho that abuses women. After reading this novel I see Hedy for what she truly was an inventor with star power, strong willed and ready to fight for what is right. After so many years we now use her invention every single day. Beautifully written with plenty of emotions. Powerful statement with girl power at its core. I rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Marriage is mostly filled with love, but in certain circumstances love can turn into lies, deceit, betrayal and revenge. Rebecca and Paul had everything you can imagine. Everyone would think their marriage was perfect, but unfortunately feeling lonely or broken can lead you to look for love in other places. Rebecca as a character truly annoyed me with her dependence in pharmaceutical drugs. If she was more attentive she would not have to have went through what destroyed her and Paul. Paul was also as damaging as Rebecca. Found an escape with Sheila that led to a total obsession. The twist and turns of events in this book will leave you stunned. Love can truly blind you!!! Will the love triangle survive? I rated 3 out of 5 stars.