Thursday, June 6, 2013

A New Winner and Some Snack Size Reviews!

We have another winner for the Love's Miracles prize pack (prizes described in this post)!

Rafflecopter chose again, and the winner is...

Veronica Sternberg!

Congratulations, Veronica! I've sent you an e-mail, and you have until Saturday evening to contact me before we pick another winner. 

And now for some assorted snack size reviews!

"Season"-ed Snack Size Reviews

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Rating: Spring/Summer

This is a totally sweet escape read with an endearing heroine and a charming hero reminiscent of Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey fame. The setting is a Jane Austen dream, and certain lines and scenes are really delightful. The plot is fun and romantic. My quibbles stem from the hero's occasional attitudes or actions that rubbed me the wrong way a bit, a little like Tilney. That, and a little too much idealism for my taste.

My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Rating: Spring

I adored My Fair Godmother, so I was eager to give the sequel a try. It turned out to be another highly entertaining read, this time with Robin Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, and some important lessons about true wealth. The hero is quite dashing (although I'm not sure he came across as "country boy" as he later claimed to be), and the story is fun. Didn't love it quite as much as the first, but I'd certainly love to read a third if Rallison writes it! 

Un-"season"-ed Snack Size Reviews


I found this in the gift shop of the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park visitor center, and I'm so glad I picked it up! I read it in preparation for diving into the edits for Bleeding Heart, and I discovered some wrong assumptions I had made and some facts (etc.) I might want to add to the story. As far as wonderful anecdotes and an obvious passion for the history goes, this book is super helpful! But what might have made it more so would be more dates and clarification (especially during the middle sections of the book) that would give a more detailed timeline. 

I have to note a line from the epilogue: "I realized that Falk, and all it stood for, would be preserved only in memories and photographs, for nature and civilization had conspired to wipe out the last vestiges of the town and the way of life it had represented." I have found this to be the case during my own visits to the site - so very little remains to indicate anything like a town had ever existed in that place. I hope that perhaps I can add "fiction" to that list of ways through which the town will be preserved.


My only experience with Star Trek before seeing the two newest movies within days of each other was seeing one of the older movies that had something to do with whales a while back. But I was curious enough to want to see Into Darkness (and yes, I'll admit that it was because of Benedict Cumberbatch). This movie and its predecessor are visually appealing, and the acting is really quite good. And the music for these new movies...very epic! I confess to wanting a bit more from Cumberbatch's character (I longed for more depth and complexity, but Cumberbatch's acting still didn't disappoint). Long-time fans will probably appreciate these movies the most, but after seeing this movie's predecessor, I at least felt a strong connection with the characters and an interest in the story, despite the fact that I'm not a sci-fi fan. (As a heads up for fellow squeamish movie-goers, my eye-closing moments mostly involved bone-crushing scenes - so just realize that there's not a whole lot of grossness, but rather more action violence.)

Note: "Seasoned" or "unseasoned" is in reference to my book rating system. Thanks to Juju of Tales of Whimsy for the inspiration regarding mini reviews!

10 comments:

Heidi Reads... said...

I loved Edenbrooke! It's my favorite new read of the year so far :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

I love My Fair Godmother so I was glad to read this review. Thanks for your honesty. :)

Rissi said...

Great collection of reviews, Amber!

I think I (finally) ordered Edenbrooke. Excited to be able to crack open its pages given how much praise that's been sprinkled on the book. I suspect it'll be a lovely read and one that will be a keeper. :)

Sandra Leesmith said...

Hi Amber, Thank you for announcing our new winner.

Love the snack size reviews. How delightful.

I've been enjoying your cover reveal tour. What a great group of supporters you have.

Thanks again.

Amber Holcomb said...

Heidi,

It was a great read! Very enjoyable. :) My favorites so far are Grave Consequences by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Recalled by Cambria Marie Hebert... But there have been some other really wonderful reads, too! Blessed to have so many stories to enjoy. :)

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Juju,

Both books in the series are so fun!! Even though I loved the first one more, this one was still really sweet and entertaining. :) I sure hope Janette writes the third book!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Rissi,

Aww, thank you! :)

And hooray!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Love how excitement spreads throughout the blogging community and gets us all to read some of the same great books. :) Can't wait for Blackmoore, Julianne's next book!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Sandra,

Not a problem! ;)

Glad you enjoyed the reviews! And yes, I'm so blessed by all of these dear friends and supporters! The book blogging community is a welcoming and happy place to be. :)

~Amber

Kara said...

Goodness, I'm behind on reading your blog! Bad Kara.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed Edenbrooke. Since you've compared it to NA, I'm really intrigued to read that one now. :)

And Janette Rallison is such a great writer, isn't she? I always have fun in her stories.

Haven't seen either Star Trek, but really want to someday soon!

As always, LOVE these snack reviews, Amber! So fun. :D

Amber Holcomb said...

Kara,

Please don't feel bad - goodness knows how many blogs I don't comment on nearly as often as I should!

I did really enjoy Edenbrooke, and I hope you enjoy NA! Gotta love that Henry Tilney, all in all. :)

Yes, I'm loving Janette's books! Any others you've read that you really recommend? I've just read the two in this series and A Long Time (and at one point illegal) Crush. All good!

I'm not a Trekkie (is that what they're called?) or a sci-fi fan in general, but I actually really did enjoy these movies. Pretty good stuff!

Aww, I love yours, too, Kara, and I appreciate you taking the time to read mine! :)

~Amber