Waiting on Wednesday

One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt


Release Date: July 2010


Note: After searching google forever, I finally found a synopsis for this book on Serenehours's blog. (Thao also featured this book for her WOW pick at one point.) 


Four dares


Two secrets


One night 


Eliza is in a full-blown panic. Her notebook has been stolen—the one that lists everything she wants but is afraid to go after. And the absolute worst person in the world has it: her ex-boyfriend, Cooper. Like it’s not enough Cooper was lying to Eliza for their entire relationship, now he and his friends are blackmailing her. They’re giving her just one night to complete the most humiliating tasks on her list or they’ll post her secrets online—including the ones that aren’t just about her. Eliza’s sure of only one thing: she isn’t going down without a fight. Cooper may have what’s left of her dignity, but she’s not the only one with something to hide.... 

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Lauren Barnholdt became one of my favorite authors when I read Two-Way Street. It was one of the most comical books I'd ever read - I could not stop laughing! I also enjoyed Reality Chick (which will be under the title Watch Me this summer). I've been looking forward for another of her older YA books to come out. I cannot wait to see what's in store for these characters. Plus look at the cover - it looks scandalous! 

♥amber

A Hush, Hush Christmas - Speical Message From Patch

My comment: Love the pool stick ;)


♥amber

Been There, Done That by Carol Snow

Been There, Done That by Carol Snow

Publisher: Berkley Trade
Released: August 2006
Pages: 336
Genre: Women's Fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥

Plenty of thirtysomething women would be thrilled to look like a teenager. But journalist Kathy Hopkins wishes she could be taken a little more seriously-or, at the very least, order a glass of wine without producing ID. Now her youthful appearance is forcing her into an undercover assignment she could do without: posing as a freshman at a small liberal arts college where, rumor has it, a secret prostitution ring is flourishing.



It could mean a career-making exposé. But right now, pretending to be eighteen means dealing with a Clay Aiken--obsessed roommate, late-night parties that test her aging body--and most embarrassing of all, a massive crush on a guy who's just turned legal. Suddenly, Kathy's got the chance to do it all over again, hopefully better this time. Fortunately she's a quick learner.

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The beginning of this book came across a little slow for me. Once Kathy was unleashed into her new college life things started to pick up and get very interesting.

I thought I had Kathy pegged from the start. She was a smart and funny type of gal who was still pining over he ex (though I could tell he was a troll right from the beginning), and just trying to boost her own career. When her life turned into a crazy twist of suddenly becoming eighteen again, her true personality came out. I loved she had so many layers. Give this character some booze and force to tell lies and there is no telling what she'll say or do!

The pace of the book was pretty steady. It did a good job of weaving in Kathy's past with her ex-boyfriend, Tim, and how that affected the present. The people she meets during her college stay were a nice add espeically one guy in paticular - Jeremy. I'd love for him to get my RA if ya know, I went to college. The spin of what she was there to report and what was going on always kept me wondering how the end was going to turn out.

My only big complaint is that in a lot of the present scenes the author would sum things up instead of leaving the reader right there with the characters in the scene. This also happened a lot towards the end where I felt some information could have been left out and parts didn't need to be summed up.

All in all I thought it was a great read. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys women's fiction with a mix of humor and smart characters.


♥amber

Rock This! Thursday with The Page Flipper

Rock This! Thursday is a weekly feature where we focus on books that are about or centered around one thing we cannot live without (besides books): music! Once in a while we'll even throw in a concert story, music you should hear or have an author stop by to hang out with us. If you are an author or blogger that would like to praticipate in Rock This! Thursday, shoot us an email: justyourtypicalbookblog(at)hotmail(dot)com

This week I got to interview Chelsea from The Page Flipper. Her answers were super fun, and don't forget to swing by her blog if you haven't already.
 
You're walking down the street, what song is following you?

Geesh, I have a creepy stalker song? I think it'd be Turn Around, Look at Me by The Vogues. "There is someone walking behind you", "There is someone watching your footsteps". Yeah, very stalkerish.


What's your favorite book that is about or centered around music?

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway. It's great. I also really liked I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert. Very different from each other, but equally awesome in separate ways.


Who's your favorite band/singer? Why are they you're favorite?

The Beatles. Because they're The Beatles!


You've been given two free tickets to a concert you've been dying to go to. The only catch is you have to take an author with you. Who's it going to be?

Hmm. I actually think Stephanie Kuehnert would be a lot of fun, since she's a music fan. She probably wouldn't hesitate to crowd surf with me. Or Elizabeth Eulberg - I'm reading her book, The Lonely Hearts Club, right now and loving it. She's a fellow Beatles fan, so I'm sure we'd both have fun at the same concert.


Tell us a song you think would make a great book.

"Where is My Mind?" by The Pixies. Actually, I think I'm writing that one.

If you could meet one musician - dead or alive - who would it be? Why?

John Lennon. He seemed like a cool dude, and, you know. He's Lennon.


What was the first CD/tape you bought?

Oh, man, what an embarassing question. I think it was something by Christina Aguilara? Yeah, shut up.


We're always up for new music. Tell us five songs we should be listening to:

Gladly!

"Above and Below" by The Bravery

"Wake Up" by Arcade Fire

"Mad World" by Gary Jules

"Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur

"You Only Live Once" by The Strokes


Lastly, what is one thing you love most about music?

Excapism would probably be my first answer, but that's not exactly correct. I listen to music when I want to get my mind off of things, sure, but I love how it just...calms you. Turns off everything else and lets you just ride with the lyrics and sound. Part of that's escape, and part of that's just pure feeling.

Waiting on Wednesday

Rules Of Attraction By: Simone Elkeles

Pub date: April 27th, 2010

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado.

Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.

---

 

I know I say I'm so pumped to read a lot of books, but this one is one of the top books I cannot wait to come out next year.  LOOK AT THAT COVER! How awesome is that? I cannot get over it. Perfect Chemistry is one of my favorite reads, and this one sounds so good!

Rock This! Thursday with YA Bliss

Rock This! Thursday is a weekly feature where we discuss books that are about or centered around another thing we love: music! Once in a while, we'll throw in a concert story, interview an author or blogger, or just tell you about a band/singer you should be listening too. If you would like to participate, shoot me an email: justyourtypicalbookblog(at)hotmail(dot)com

Since I started blogging, I've gotten to talk to a lot of awesome people. One of those awesome people is Sab who runs Crystal Reviews. Today she's hanging out to discuss some music. If you haven't checked out her blog, you must! I always trust her reviews and she also has a fun featured called:  News 4 Yabookaholics!

You're walking down the street, what song is following you?

There’s this song by Santana that has my favorite lyrics of all time and it’s called Satellite. That one or either Affirmation by Savage Garden or Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. They probably don’t “describe” me but I bet every single one of my friends think about me when they hear them. That’s the best way a song can describe you!


What song do you think would make a great book?

Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down

We're always up for new music. Tell us five songs we should definitely be listening to:

I’m behind on music so this may not be the most recent songs but they rock!

- Daniel by Bat for Lashes (That’s my hubby’s name so I love it)
- Uprising by Muse
- Ever Fallen in Love by Nouvelle Vague
- Paparazzi by Lady Gaga
- Fireflies by Owl City

Do you have a favorite book that is about or centered around music?

Yes, Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert! Another one I love is Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.


Who's your favorite band/singer? Why are they your favorite?

Tricky question. I don’t think I have ONE, I have thousands! Some I love are Matchbox 20, Sublime, 3 Doors Down, Bob Marley is one of my music gods along with Johnny Cash and MJ and I LOVED Savage Garden back in the day! I also love James Blunt, Alanis Morissette, Blue October, DJ Tiesto, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne… Yeah, way too many.

What was the first tape or CD you bought?

The first one I remember (a tape) was Keep the Faith album by Bon Jovi, but I clearly remember having a New Kids on the Block shoes so I guess I had that tape before Bon Jovi’s.

(Amber: Can I just say, I am very jealous that you were walking around in NKOTB shoes. I just had a couple shirts a rain coat.)

Tell us about the first concert you attended?

I think the first one was Shakira when she wasn’t very famous yet, she only had Spanish songs (I’m venenzuelan and it was back in my country) But the first American band that I liked and actually went to my country was the Backstreet boys!! Back when they did Quit Playin’ Games (with my Heart) – God I’m old!

If you could hang out with one musician - living or dead - who would it be and why?

Kurt Cobain, duh! Because he’s THE dark/sexy bad-boy of music and left too many unanswered questions behind.


Lastly, what is one thing you love most about music?

I LOVE lyrics as much as I love writing, reading and any type of words thrown together. Plus, It has an amazing magical ability to take you back to any moment of your life in half a second!

**Sab's photo was taken by: DH photographer

Writers Wednesday - NaNoWriMo Style

I didn't think I would really be able to do it. I kept pumping myself up to write like crazy, but in the back of my head I just knew I'd never really get it done. Then on Saturday, I realized I was getting really close to hitting 50K. After a couple hours of writing on Sunday, I hit that little button on my WORD doc, and almost fell out of my chair.

I wrote over 50K!

I’ve never been so close to finishing any original story of mine, but now I’m doing it. This is CRAZY!

One thing I learned during the process of NaNo is that it's okay to have sucky days where you write pointless scenes that you have no clue where they’re going. I’m not saying all 50K of my novel is crap – though some people could disagree with me here. But I know I would have never written so many scenes if I just didn’t go for it. Before I would just get too frustrated with my characters or where things were going and just toss it aside. (This is also why I have 30 something stories floating around that only have a beginning.)

While I’m still all pumped that I’m so close to finishing, I've taken a break to do some re-writes. This is usually where I get myself in trouble, but I have to weave out the crap. I know what needs to change so the story flows nicely. And ya know what? I like re-writes. It’s all there just waiting for me to either add, take out, or re-do.

So sure, my novel might be a bit of a hot mess right now, but it’s an almost finished hot mess. I owe it all to NaNoWriMo and everyone else who read my snid bits. You've all given me the swift kick in the butt I needed. Thank you!

If anyone is interested in reading more about what's going to be happening to my novel I've made a blog just for that. You can follow me by clicking here.

♥amber