Sandwiches! by Alison Deering

This book is awesome.  I love how the book is broken up into skill levels. From skill 1 which are easy sandwiches like ham and cheese and PB&J to skill 5 which are more on the gourmet scale like Italian Beef.  Even if you are skill 5 you can learn new recipes from the other skill levels. There are also tons of tips and tricks throughout the book.  Like with the fish sandwich it tells you who and when it was invented, the number of Fish sandwiches sold by McDonald's the first month it was on the menu and things like that. The books shows you the ingredients of each sandwich and how to put it together. it also give tutorials like when you start level 4 it gives you a stove tutorial. The book seems to be written to and for older Children say 10 to 13 but as an adult I fund several delicious recipes.


I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Te Quiero, Querido Dragon / I Love You, Dear Dragon by Margaret Hillert

I have read a couple of the Dear Dragon books by Margaret Hillert to the kids.  These books are exceptional. They do not just tell a story but she adds multiple lessons to the book. The book is written in both English and Spanish on the same page. The pictures are very inviting to little eyes. In this particular book the story is mainly about discovering the color Red, the pages show different red items, like a bird and a fire truck. It also has a safety lesson about the red light and it's' jobs.  Towards the end it also shows things about Valentine's day.  The words are easy for beginning reader's and the younger ones loved looking at all the busy pictures.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

You Are Three by Sara O'Leary

Very cute book about all the wonders and changes of being 3 years old. My Grandson loved this book we read it twice. He was able to relate to this things in the book like coloring pictures and playing with his stuffed animals.  It is a short books so great for a quick bedtime story or when you are just cuddling for a few minutes.


I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

The Land of Reverse: Where Sleep Is Just a Matter of Letting Yourself Go... by Dave Manousos

A really cute bedtime story for the little ones from ages I would say 3 to 6. The drawings are very busy and entertaining. The kids kept stopping me from turning the page so they could look at the pictures. The kids really enjoyed the story as well as the pictures. The story is written in rhyme. It is a very short story as well.

The story is about Sam who could not sleep one night. He let his mind wander to the Land of reverse. Everything Sam thought of  in reality was backwards. Your hands are your feet, cars drive on the sidewalk, the animals in the zoo have the humans caged and feed them.  Sam returns back to his bed happy and cannot wait to return to the Land of Reverse.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Big & Fabulous: The Life and Times of Brenda Cankles Blog Tour

Title:
BIG & FABULOUS, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BRENDA CANKLES

Author: Randi Sherman

Publisher: Friesen Press

Pages: 282

Genre: Humor Fiction

The time for BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of
Brenda Cankles is now! The emphasis is on positive body image, Big &
Fabulous is a truly entertaining story that’s strongly written, funny,
insightful and bitingly smart. Inside it’s covers, readers will find no
shortage of acidly hilarious accounts of the highs and lows of living life
inside a big and fabulous body.

Imperfect, impervious and improving Brenda Cankles is an
unlikely heroine. Unfazed by the enduring censure of society, she is determined
to realize the fabulous life that she has always believed is her destiny.

Brenda’s story – written in unflinching first person – is
utterly unvarnished. Here, find a fantastically real person, sometimes
struggling to fit in, but mostly giving the rest of the world the mother-lovin’
bird. From her clunky childhood, through her stumbling yet optimistic
adolescence to her full figured and unapologetic emergence into adulthood.
Brenda is a special brand of warrior. She is big, bold and beautiful. While the
quirky cast of characters who surround her is eternally insistent that Brenda
live her life in the background and fit into society’s mold, she will have none
of it.

Author, Randi Sherman’s experience as a stand-up comedienne
is evident as she delivers, BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda
Cankles, the hilarious, often laugh-out-loud novel about the inner most thoughts
Brenda Cankles, a very real character who is confident and brave enough to
expect the world to accept her on her terms.

BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda Cankles is Sherman’s
fifth novel, her fourth THE LOBBY has won 17 Awards for Humor and General
Fiction.

Watch the book trailer at YouTube.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Amazon
| Barnes
& Noble

Book Excerpt:

DEAR SOCIETY,

We have a big
job ahead of us. In elementary school, I will be "the fat kid" with a
wild imagination. In high school, I'll try to fit in but won't. I will be an
outcast, considered lumbering and awkward. No one, including my family, will expect
much from me because I won't be like the other girls. Being a big and a
bold  and a brash  girl, I will be  the focus   of
your attention as you advise me to stifle myself, adjust my enthusiasm, and be
grateful for any attention I  receive.

To  the
bullies and doubters, let me be the  first to  thank  you in
advance for continually reminding me that I have the potential to end up as
someone's dusty spinster aunt who shares a can of bargain tuna with seventeen
cats, or that weird neighbor you see but try desperately to  avoid.

Although it's
hard to believe, I will cherish our relation­ship because you, Society, will
never ignore me. I don't know what I will do or have done to garner so much of
your atten­tion and devotion. I'm sure you have other and more impor­tant
things to do, like creating jobs, housing the homeless,
raising money to cure cancer, and feeding the
hungry. But, no, you will dedicate television shows and magazine articles to
me, and spend your valuable time and energy compar­ing what it is
that you consider "perfect" to my reality and encourage me to change
into someone "typical." I know it will be exhausting for
you.

I have to
admit that there will be times when my self-­esteem will be tested. Other
times, I'll be a non-believer, and want to give up, possibly disappointing you.

Because of
your often obsessive yet unwavering attention and dedication to making me aware
of my shortcomings­ or, worse, your condescending and hollow and self-serving
attempts to encourage me to accept my "inadequacies" and situation -
you will present me with a challenge. It will take all of my strength and
determination, but I will dig deep within myself to realize I have the
potential to be fabulous.

Like fine
wine, opera, and stinky cheese, I am valuable, an acquired taste, and, like all
treasures, I should be appreciated and celebrated.

Like it or
not, whether you intend it or not, I just might turn out to be a wise,
compassionate, creative, funny, gener­ous, and a kind person. You see, I have
the ability to learn and grow.

Yes, I am big
and I am bold, and I accept your challenge. Be forewarned. I will be a force to
be reckoned with because   I am special. I am beautiful and I am
a superhero. Now, get the fuck off my cape. I have things to do.

Sincerely,

Brenda
Merle  Cankles, "The Big One"

My Review:
As a not so little woman I found this book awesome. It is kind of like a Bible for fat girls. This book had me laughing and rethinking my attitude towards my body and closet. i love Randi M Sherman's attitude of writing. Parts of the book I felt kind of sorry for our heroine Brenda Cankles in the book and the way she was raised but I loved the way she basically over came it. I love the way she got beyond the size of her clothes as well. 

As a child I was not a super model myself and ow that I am grown  definitely not. I wear my extra large sized clothing more proudly now and I don't care what anyone else thinks. I think everyone who wears a size 12 and above should read this book. 

About the Author

Randi M Sherman is the award winning author of humorous
fiction books.

With an eye for detail, an ear for well-tuned dialogue and
an incredible grasp of the obvious, all honed while performing stand-up comedy
in Los Angeles and improvisational
theater in San Francisco, Sherman
adds just enough bawdiness to deliver character-driven contemporary novels that
will have the reader laughing, thinking and connecting with the characters in
her books.

A native Californian, Randi makes her home in California's
wine country. Trying her hand at country living Randi describes herself the Eva
Gabor of the Sonoma/Napa area.

Randi earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Chapman
University.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

NBTM Tour: Call to Honor by Tawny Weber

Call to Honor: A SEAL Brotherhood Novel, #1

by Tawny Weber

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE:  Contemporary Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

“No man left behind” is inscribed in the DNA of every SEAL and Lieutenant Diego Torres is no exception. But with a team member killed—and the body missing— Diego’s honor is sorely tested. Now his career and reputation are on the line, and a traitor is hiding among them. Diego wants answers...and only one woman has them.

Single mom Harper Maclean has two priorities—raising her son Nathan and starting a new life. Her mysterious new neighbor may be impossibly charming, but Diego asks too many questions about her past—and about the father of her child. Questions she fears will reveal her burning attraction for Diego, and ultimately put them all in danger’s path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt Two:

IT PAYS TO be a winner.

And Diego Torres was a big believer in winning.

But it was the winning that he liked.

The competition.

The thrill of testing his skills, pushing his limits. Of knowing he was better than his adversary.

Yeah. He liked knowing he was the best.

He didn’t do it for reward.

Especially not when the reward came by way of the pomp and pageantry of a ceremony like today. Standing onstage in front of the various platoons that made up SEAL Team 7, listening to Admiral Cree pontificate was a pain in the ass. What made it worse wasn’t the couple hundred sets of eyes inspecting him or the discomfort of his dress whites, too tight across the shoulders.

It was the damned shoes. Diego’s toes pinched in the mirror-bright black patent leather, begging him to flex. He didn’t, of course. Not while standing at attention. But damn. Give him a pair of combat boots any day.

As the sun baked through his cap and the heat of the morning swirled around, he wondered what yahoo had decided to hold this ceremony outdoors. And why it felt so much hotter standing in the San Diego sun in whites than it did in the Afghan desert in full combat gear. Probably because combat gear fit him better.

Diego had spent a large portion of his life fighting over the wrong things. He’d fought over turf. He’d fought over gang colors. Hell, if the mood struck, he’d have fought over just how blue the sky was. It’d taken a bullet barely missing his heart to clue him in to the fact that maybe the things he was fighting over simply weren’t worth dying for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling author of more than forty books, Tawny Weber loves writing about sexy heroes, most notably her popular Navy SEALs series.  Her sassy, emotional romances are filled with men dedicated to being the best—and women determined to have the best.  Tawny credits her ex-military alpha husband for inspiration in her writing, and in her life.   The recipient of numerous writing accolades, including Romantic Times Reviewers Choice and in addition to the NY Times and USA Today bestseller lists, Tawny has also hit the number one spot on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  

A homeschooling mom, Tawny enjoys scrapbooking, gardening and spending time with her family and dogs in her Northern California home.

You can find Tawny on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.   

Website:  http://tawnyweber.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TawnyWeber.RomanceAuthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TawnyWeber

Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/tawnyweber/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/513828.Tawny_Weber

Call to Honor : http://tawnyweber.com/cth

Amazon : http://tawnyweber.com/CHaz1

B&N : http://tawnyweber.com/CHbn1

iBooks : http://tawnyweber.com/CHiB1

Kobo : http://tawnyweber.com/CHk1

Harlequin : http://atwnyweber.com/CHh1

Goodreads : http://tawnyweber.com/CtHG

Interview with Tawny Weber

Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

I did have two imaginary friends when I was young.  They were ghosts and lived in the walls of my bedroom.  Their names were Pinky and Blue (not very original, I know) and they were always there with great advice and a shoulder to cry on.  When I was 6 and ran away to live in the tree in the front yard, they went with me.  

Do you have any phobias?

Oh, so many.  On good days, I like to credit them to my vivid imagination.  

Do you listen to music when you're writing?

I do –I create a playlist for every book I write. Or in the case of CALL TO HONOR, the playlist has spanned the first three books in the Team Poseidon series.  You can check it out at http://tawnyweber.com/team-poseidon

Do you ever read your stories out loud?

No.  I don’t listen to books on tape, either.  I’m just not a strong auditory ‘reader’ so it’s not something that clicks for me.  That said, I don’t read my books after they’re published, either.  In part because I’m usually pretty deep into a new story by the time the last one is out, but also because I’d want to revise or tweak or change things and not being able to would bug me.  

Tell us about your main character and who inspired him/her.

My hero, Lt. Diego Torres is the main focus of CALL TO HONOR.  Most of his personality and backstory are from my imagination, but his sense of honor and determination are inspired by my husband.  He has such a passionate belief in honor, in respect and in doing the right thing because its right. So as Diego’s honor was challenged, I asked myself how my husband would deal with it, how he’d feel about it, and drew from that to create Diego’s reactions.  I hope they came through as strongly as I’d imagined them.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

Tawny will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Digging in the Stars by Katherine Blakeney blitz

Digging in the Stars
Katherine Blakeney
Published by: Blaze Publishing
Publication date: March 28th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

A lost ancient civilization and the tomb of a legendary king lie buried beneath centuries of ash on the volcanic planet Thror, but that’s not the only reason sixteen-year-old Carter has tricked her Archaeology of Outer Space class into coming here. Her best friend Conrad has just disappeared on a trip to Thror, leaving behind little more than a broken vintage camera. The strange and disturbing photographs she manages to extract make her suspect Conrad’s disappearance is somehow connected to the hidden tomb of the last king of Thror.

Unfortunately, the ludicrously over-friendly ‘Furry Giants’ who have taken over the planet’s barren surface would rather offer her cheap souvenirs than answers, and the local officials insist they have no record of Conrad’s existence. Inspired by fear for Conrad’s life and the chance to make the greatest archaeological discovery of the century, Carter and her friends follow Conrad’s footsteps deep into the mountains of Thror’s forbidden Black Zone and launch an illicit excavation.

Coded messages, stunning ancient ruins, and clues left by Conrad himself begin to surface as the young archaeologists fall victim to an alarming series of accidents staged by the increasingly hostile Furry Giants. Piecing together a history of dictatorship, terrorism and disguise, Carter glimpses the horrors beyond Thror’s flamboyant façade and startling revelations about the friend she thought she knew. The masks of Thror hide devastating secrets, and the golden tomb buried deep in the frozen core may claim the lives of everyone she loves.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

—

TEASERS:

“Please remain seated as we begin our descent into Thror. Welcome, and enjoy your stay.”

The time for action was at hand, and she still didn’t feel ready. The flight felt much shorter than she’d expected.

The girls exchanged bewildered looks across the aisles. Stunned silence. They couldn’t have missed that final announcement. Avoiding Professor P’s gaze, Carter still felt the look of shock the professor shot across the cabin. Once, Carter had seen herself arriving on Thror as a great explorer. Instead, she would be remembered as a half-baked deceiver and kidnapper. The Throrians would have called her a scent-changer.

* * *

Carter had been so close to her goal. She saw that crack with her own eyes, a portal into a lost ancient world, chambers filed with carvings, images that had never been recorded or reproduced. The greatest discovery of this or any other century, waiting less than twenty feet away. Waiting for her. And Conrad had been there first. The moment she thought it, she felt guilty. She was allowing herself to get carried away by archaeological fervor, mentally competing with Conrad, when he might have paid a terrible price for his discovery.

Author Bio:

I am an author and independent filmmaker/stop motion animator with a BFA in Stop Motion Animation from the School of Visual Arts in New York and a PhD in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland, UK). My thesis focuses on silent film adaptations of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Gothic novels, with a special emphasis on psychological and aesthetic representations of the Monster figure. My debut novel, a YA Sci-Fi adventure called Digging in the Stars, is forthcoming with Blaze Publishing on March 28, 2017.

Raised by an Egyptologist mother, I grew up among museums and excavation sites, where I developed an unhealthy fascination with ancient art and mythology. I divide my time between bringing 12”-tall people to life in my studio in Edinburgh, excavating ancient tombs in the Egyptian desert, and researching Gothic literary monsters in silent film. I have worked for more than 10 years as photographer and videographer for the South Asasif Conservation Project, an archaeological expedition in Egypt and I have published numerous articles on film and archaeology.

I write, direct, design, and animate short films and commissioned projects in my studio in Edinburgh, Scotland and have been employed as an animator, screenwriter, modelmaker and art director for studios in Edinburgh, South Korea and Qatar. I have produced commissioned projects for IdeasTap in London, the Arts Trust Scotland and the British Library. My shorts have won competitions and screened at various international festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe. In 2015, my short film The Burglar With the Yellow Hand was nominated for an Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) Research in Film Award.

You can find out more about all aspects of my work on my website, http://yorwickcastle.com

My new blog http://KatherineBlakeneyStardigger.blogspot.com is all about Digging in the Stars and my references and inspirations as a writer.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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