Review- Relatively Famous

Meet Dani McKinley: A typical teen whose world is rocked when she finds out that her father is a famous Hollywood action star. Now meet Mark Ocean: A self-serving actor with a floundering career who sees that a daughter is just what he needs to reinvent himself as a family man and get back on track. When the two decide to spend the summer together, they must not only wrangle their own love lives, but try to figure out who they really are to themselves and to each other.

Now armed with credit cards, club memberships, and a new wardrobe, Dani learns that what Mark has in wealth, he sorely lacks in parenting skills. Trying to show Mark that parenting is about more than loading her up with Prada bags and taking her to movie premieres is challenging enough, but she's also got her hands full with her new friends. Oh, and the boys... Dani meets Jason, a gorgeous young personal trainer who is easy on the eyes and wildly flirtatious. But is this smug hottie the one for her? Or will she ignore her friends eye-rolling and go for the goofy but sweet surfer?

While juggling her own complicated love life, Dani tries to set her father up with someone less likely to appear on a VH1 reality show, and someone more... well, normal. And age-appropriate. And dressed in anything but a thong bikini. But whether Mark is able to heal old wounds and move forward with anything more than a meaningless fling remains to be seen.

Can Dani fit in with this new, fast-moving California crowd without losing herself? With the world at her fingertips and hot boys now after her, staying grounded gets tough. And can Mark drop his egocentric approach to life and learn to appreciate how truly wonderful his daughter is? As driven as he is to get that A-list acting role, he's willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even if it means using his daughter. Or is he...? Mark and Dani's relationship hits a few highs, but the question becomes whether the lows are too much.


My Review: Cute story, quick read and extremely hot and lovable characters. 

Dani starts out with her regular happy life, only to have her father show in her life... completely out of the blue. 

A cute story I would recommend to anyone looking for a carefree cute story.

CSN Review

Again the OH, so lovely people at CSN contacted me about doing a review! These guys certainly are spoiling me, let me tell you that.

If you have not heard of CSN stores yet, then let me tell you this place has well over 200 stores from everything to furniture like beds, chairs and the every so wonderful stool
Which in our new kitchen would be wonderful as we have a small little island would be a good idea to grab 2 of them so we can sit up at the counter.

Something like this would be PERRRFECT!!!

Keep an eye out as I will have to let you know what i get in the next few months... once I finally decide what to get for the house.

Review - The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June

by Robin Benway

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 281 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill (August 3, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159514286X

I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.
Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.


My Review: A tale of sisterhood with a fresh spin. This tale takes you through the fights the love and the romances that bloom within these sisters lives.
Throw in a nice curve of the paranormal powers and you end up with this lovely tale of sisterhood, through each obstacle. A refreshing story that kept me hooked from beginning to end.

TBR- Scourge by David Burton

 Release Date - Monday November 29th 2010

The book synopsis:

Two dads, five siblings, and goggles!

Grim Doyle has always known his life was not exactly "normal", and things get even more curious when he discovers a set of stones that sweep him and his family to the fantasy, steampunk world of Verne - a place they had escaped from years ago. Now that they've returned, Grim and his siblings hide from the evil Lord Victor and his minions. And while learning about Jinns, Mystics, and the power of absinth they try to discover who is trying to kill them with the deadly Scourge.

Scourge is the first novel in the Grim Doyle Adventure series by author, David H. Burton. He can be found online at http://davidhburton.com
---------
The link to purchase:

Amazon Kindle release is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Scourge-Grim-Doyle-Adventure-ebook/dp/B004AHKCVQ

Print version should be released in 2 weeks time.

---------
Book trailer:


--------
Personalized version of Scourge:


David is offering a personalized ebook version of Scourge at his site. With it comes an autographed dedication page as well as a fun feature where he alter the name of one of the minor characters in the story with the name of the purchaser.

The link to purchase is here: http://davidhburton.com/?page_id=4113

Coming soon.... A Christmas Giveaway

Good Morning all my lovely blogging friends, I have decided to do a Christmas Giveaway

However, I am having a hard time deciding how to do it exactly, so I have put up a poll on the right top sidebar... where you can tell me what you want. I have it running until tuesday morning, the largest numbers of votes will be what we do. So please please vote and help me out with the choice.

Holiday Wishes from Us to You!

From us here at Star Shadow Blog... well basically Myself and Matt, we want to extend best wishes for a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

May you have wonderful times with friends and family and many safe returns as the holiday season begins.

And of course as you have noticed... I am now in the Christmas Spirit, thanks to Melissa @ Freyja Silver Designs my layout is up for the winter season!

Final Thanks Week Post- Lisa @ A Life Bound By Books & Giveaway

Its, been a week already hard to believe. Tonight we have our final poster and a giveaway. Joining us is Lisa @ A Life Bound By Books

Thank you so much for doing this final post as I think it is a great way to wrap it all up. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you get to spend many happy moments with friends and family.

Thanks week from Lisa at A Life Bound By Books

It’s easy for me to feel Thankful for people & things, but expressing what that is with just the right words can be rough. However, when Star asked me to be part of her “Thanks Week”, writing a guest post about how I’m Thankful to fellow bloggers, authors and books as a whole, I knew I had so much to say. I just hope I do each of you – yes you – justice.

For me being thankful to my fellow bloggers came, well before we were actually fellow bloggers. Your reviews and amazing content brought to me so many epic authors, titles and characters into my life. It was then, almost 2 years ago now that I was thankful to each and every one of you who gave me something without even really knowing it. Many of us who blog, do it for ourselves in the hopes that maybe we can encourage one person to pick up and read a book. We blog with hopes of giving back, such as myself and we blog to wear our love for books more like a badge of honor. So, for me it’s more then easy to find reasons to be thankful to each of you – and I am just that – Thankful.

Without my fellow bloggers I’d be left in the dark. Never knowing about so many authors! And how horrible would that be? It’s through our shared love for books I’ve found some great friends near and far, some great friends that make the squeeeing over anything book or author related worth more then even I realized just how much it would mean to me. For that I am Thankful.

I’m thankful for authors for many reasons. One and this is a huge one, thank you for giving me mini vacations within the worlds you have created and the character who I’ve come to love or love to hate. It’s you who are the driving force behind many readers’ book addictions, which is usually a bad thing, but when it comes to reading, there’s nothing bad about being addicted to books. You put your blood, sweat and tears – often literally – into the words you write and the characters that are born within your imaginations, it’s there for everyone to see in black and white. For your kindness with interviews and guest posts, funny tweets and chats, donations and lets not forget your time, I am more then Thankful.

Also, a few words about the Publishers, big and small. Without you the world would be lacking such a fundamental part of who so many of us are. With your hard work and dedication to authors and their words you bring their worlds and the characters to the masses. Your support of the book blogging community is another added ingredient to just what makes blogging a part of each of us. From one department to the next, it’s each of you who help to bring some of my favorite books old, new and yet to be heard of out into the wild and for that, I am Thankful.

Thanks for having me Star, for hosting such a great event, reminding us all we have much to be Thankful for.

Lisa has so graciously offered to give away an ARC of Low Red Moon to a wonderful follower of mine. As well as some Misc. Swag. 

The winner will be drawn on Friday the 26th

This is a US and Canada only giveaway sorry to the international folks. 

Entry Form can be found Here!

Thanks Week - Phaedra Weldon & Revenant Giveaway

Howdy ya'll.

Star was nice enough to ask me to give a short message on reviews and how they've affected me.

When WRAITH published in 2007—the review I saw was before it came out (the first review I EVER saw in my life at that point) was forwarded to me by my agent. It was from Publisher's Weekly. And…it was glowing. I can't even relate how good it made me feel—that a reviewer from PW liked my debut novel!

And then, of course, a different reviewer commented on SPECTRE, the second in the series. Ouch. That's when I learned the truth behind different strokes for different folks—and different levels of sarcasm doth abound. Luckily I looked up that second reviewer and discovered they sort of took that same snarky attitude to everything they reviewed. I was part of a much larger target.

After that, I pretty much left reviewers alone. I don't discount them—not at all. But I don't read them, unless they're sent to me by the reviewer (mostly it's by reviewers I know). But as a writer, I think it's best if we don't go looking for what's said. There's nothing that'll kill that muse faster than a tersely written review of something we put time and love into. Instead, we find someone we trust that can look through the reviews and find the good ones, the ones that will help us feel better and more charged and motivated about continuing our adventures with characters a part of the reading public enjoys.

If I'd have let that second review kill my muse the way it nearly did, there wouldn't have been any more books. No PHANTASM, REVENANT, or even GRIMOIRE. But what's that to readers who did enjoy them? And for every bad review, five good ones can be found.

If you find a reviewer you trust, and I've found several, be good to them. Because even if you as a writer don't listen to them so you can keep your writing alive—you know, so Tinkerbell doesn't keel over from some bewb who says he doesn't believe—readers do.

And, not every reader is going to like every book. Do you?

Phaedra Weldon
www.phaedraweldon.com


Thank you so much Phaedra for agreeing to do a post for Thanks Week,  Phaedra also has so nicely offered to giveaway a copy of Revenant to one of my wonderful followers.

Rules:
1 comment per person, state what you are thankful for this holiday season!
US and Canada Only, Sorry to you international folks.
Be Sure to leave your email addy for contact purposes.
Winner will be announced on November 26th.

Thats it let the fun begin

2011 Debut Author challenge

So Kristi over at The Story Siren is hosting the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, How Exciting right?  Make sure you head to her blog here.. if you are interested in participating.

So there are atleast 12 books that I want to read in the first 4 months... so i will just put those down... however I will be attempting more than 12 total!

1.  Unearthly by Cynthia Hand - January
2. Warped by Maurissa Guibord - January
3. XVI by Julie Karr - January
4. AngelFire by Courtney Allison Moulton - February
5. Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harrison - February
6. Haven by Kristi Cook - February
7. Entwined by Heather Dixon - March
8. Clarity by Kimm Harrington - March
9. Wake Unto Me by Lisa Coch - March
10. Falling Under by Gwen Hayes - March
11. Enclave by Ann Aguirre - April
12. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder - April

Thanks Week- Leilani Loves Books

Today, we have the pleasure of Leilani from Leilani Loves Books, participating with her take on how blogging and authors/reviews have affected her life.

Hi guys! 

Im Leilani from Leilani Loves Books and the lovely Star has invited me here to talk about what im thankful for when it comes to all bookish things!

Im thankful for all authors, bloggers, publishers, and reviews. 

If there weren't reviews, how would we know what books are good or not?!?! I know of many cases where I was excited for a book, looked at some reviews and they say the book wasn't as great as it sounded. It saved me some time, and some cash for a book that does sound great and it was great!

If it wasn't for these amazing authors, then all of us reviewers and readers wouldn't be doing what we do! Being an author takes a lot of out people. Im doing NanoWrimo and im not a published author but it sure is hard work! Think of all the amazing movies that were originally books. You might not even know that the movie was a book, but it was! If it weren't for that authors hard work, then you probably wouldn't be watching this amazing movie. 

Bloggers need to be thanked! For those real dedicated bloggers, it can take a lot of time and work to get your blog ready and looking pretty. Pre-posting things can take a lot of time out if your day but it must be done! Or even if you just post everyday, it can still be very tiring. Think of all the blogs that you visit each and every day. Go ahead, ill wait. *waits* What if those blogs ceased to exist? You might not think about it very much but if bloggers weren't here anymore your day could be very strange. Not even just reviewers but the others that have blogs! We follow them, we love talking to them and feel like they actually care enough to talk back to us. Authors have lives to, they can just write what they have to write and move on with their day, but some of them don't! They go above and beyond to please and get to know their readers! 

Without publishers, there would be no books! Publishers do most of the hard work after the authors writes it! They make the covers, make the tours, and do a lot of the promotion. Not to mention they make the ARC's! And every book lover knows just how much we love our ARC's! For all of the reviewers out there, think of the times that publishers contacted you. What if they never did? How would that affect you and your blog? 

While I consider myself a fairly new blogger, I must say that blogging has changed my life. Not only do I get to do what I love, READ!, but I've met so many amazing people and met so many amazing authors because of it. Most of the books I read and loved I probably would have never read if it were not for blogging. It also helped me set my future job! (Though family insist it'll be a hobby. They don't understand) Which is to be an author! I love writing just as much as I love reading and I hope one day that people will love my writing and I get to see my book on bookshelves. Blogging may not have had this much of an impact on your life, but it has on mine!

Thanks so much for having me!

Leilani

Thanks Week - Jennifer Laurens

How Reviewers Have Educated Me

An interesting topic and, oddly, one I’ve been dying to address but haven’t had a platform in that I usually only do giveaways on my blog. So, this was a chance I couldn’t pass up.

I say reviewers have educated me, because I’ve learned some vital things from the writing and reviewing process: to write what I want, first. To not care what anyone says about it second.

That may sound cheeky, but, if I’m being true to myself and to my muse, that’s my first and most important consideration. I have excellent critique partners – 8 – of whom I rely on for comments along the writing process. When I turn out a story, it’s the way I want it to be – after having been through the “wash” ( editing, re-writing process ) countless times. At that point, I release myself from the project and move on.

It’s at that point, however, that reviewers come along, read, and leave their thoughts. After the fact. It’s not like you, as an author, can go back and make plot changes just because somebody didn’t like the end of your book. Some will like a book, some will not. We’re all different, so why would we expect everything to appeal to everyone? We can’t.

But just as there are billions of people in the world, there should be as many options for artistic enjoyment.

Early in my writing life, I read reviews. The negative ones bothered me for days, squashing the muse. Above all else, I adore writing. When I was disabled from one person’s opinion, I realized how absurd that was. One person’s opinion was one person’s opinion. We’re all entitled to them, but we don’t have to let them matter.

I decided then not to read reviews.

That one decision has been the best thing I’ve done. It’s freeing. There’s no negativity to weigh me down ( like life doesn’t have enough as it is? I didn’t need to add to it unnecessarily ) Any creative artist has to choose how much someone’s opinion is going to weigh in on their creative process. If they’re smart, they create their art for the love of it and that, in and of itself, is enough.

My philosophy on reviewing stands: Read and let read.

Then again, that’s just my opinion. 

Jennifer Laurens

Thanks Week- Jennifer Murgia

Thanks for having me on your blog today! After mulling over what to babble about, I decided to go with the flow. Most bloggers are running Author Appreciation posts right now, so . . . let’s turn the tables and talk about Blogger Appreciation!
Bloggers . . . reviewers . . . those awesome sites on the web that suck you in with the amazing backgrounds and beautiful covers of the latest novel – catering to the specialty of the house. Is it YA? Romance? Urban Fantasy? Getting your latest novel into the hands of one, or even many, is a dream come true to an author. It promotes not only the book, but your self-esteem.
I really want to step back and stress what these incredible girls (and sometimes guys) do. What busy lives they lead!
Blogging comes from the simple act of loving books. To read the latest novel hitting the shelf is a rush, but to post your reaction- your thoughts- is another entirely, and the decision on how to rate it is not an easy task – exciting yes- but I cannot imagine it being easy at all. Not only does it involve reading countless of books piled in the corners of their homes, it’s the effort to obtain those books. The e-mails, the requests – not to mention the United States Postal Service must love them! On top of it all are author interviews to arrange, the guest posts to schedule and the giveaways and contests they run not only for the public, but among themselves.
These incredible people have not only their blogging responsibilities – which I can imagine is full time and can quickly sprout legs and run away when their backs are turned – but they have jobs and families as well. Let’s throw into the mix the constant hum of internet interaction. Twitter, Facebook and book sharing sites. The deadlines when they run or participate in ARC tours . . . it all boils down to the simple realization that you clearly believe in your passion for books as much as authors.
So authors and followers – take the time to think about the job these girls do and appreciate them. Shoot an email and say “great job!” because they truly deserve it. I’m in awe of you all. J

Thanks Week - Amy @ My Overstuffed Bookshelf

Today, we have the wonderful Amy from My Overstuffed Bookshelf, sharing with us her experiences with blogging.

How Authors, Bloggers and Reviews have affected me

When I was approached to write this blog post, I didn’t even know how to begin. So much has affected me in my reading since I have started my blog.

I guess I will start with the authors. When I first started reading again, I knew authors only by a name written on a book. As I enjoyed the books I was reading, I never thought about contacting authors about the stories they have written. When I started my blog, I was amazed at how some bloggers were able to host interviews with some authors. I always thought authors fell in the celebrity scheme of things. Even though we will probably never see authors like Stephenie Meyer, Stephen King or Nora Roberts participate in interviews for book review blogs, I am still in shock at seeing other authors spend their valuable time in participating in them. I finally got over my fear and started emailing some authors and participated in online chats with them. It was hard to believe that they actually wanted to interact with fans! After many interviews and many tweets with authors, I finally had enough to courage to ask one of my favorite authors for an interview. When Lynsay Sands agreed to let me interview her, I almost passed out! Then I was given the chance to interview Lara Adrian! Again, dizziness took over and I thought my heart would stop!

Then came the book signings! I had the chance to meet authors face to face! I know I looked like a crazy paparazzi when I met them. I was clicking more pictures than I have of my children! I rambled on and on about how much I loved their books! I was so scared to even ask for a bookmark or a picture with them! When Alyson Noel toured near me, my husband took me to the signing! I was over the moon with joy and anticipation! It was one of the best presents ever! What surprised me the most was how friendly she was and I didn’t scare her off! Then I got to meet author TK Richardson and even had Starbucks with her afterwards! I kept looking for bodyguards to haul me away because I just knew I looked like a crazy stalker because I was so giddy with excitement!

As for other blogs and reviewers, I am always so amazed at the friendships you can develop within this large community of reviewers. I have made some wonderful friends through networking and having common interests with others. I now know that I am not alone in having too many books, ignoring my family in exchange for hours of reading, and sharing what books we get each week. I am not alone in starving my family at dinner time because I just have to finish one more chapter! I haven’t even purchased new jeans or shoes in over a year because I save every bit of my spending money for the following weeks new releases! I no longer hide my addiction to reading because I know that there are other out there who have the same addiction.

I will also include that publishing companies have affected my reading as well. They always tease you with new trailers, book review requests and such. I always have an ongoing list of books to buy that never seems to shrink. They answer questions for you when you just need to know the next book in a series and its release date, and they fan the fire for our addiction with kindness and new authors for us to stalk.

Have book reviewers and authors affected me? Heck yeah and I am glad they have! I now read more books in one week than I did through 4 years of high school! If my blog encourages just one person to open a book, then what I am doing makes it worthwhile.

Thanks Week - Jessica Conant Park

Thanks week is going on for the next two weeks. It
will feature bloggers and authors explaining on Blogs, Reviews and Authors have affected each of there lives.

This first post is being done by the Author Jessica Park, who has written the Gourmet Girl Series, as well as the new release of Relatively Famous.

When I officially joined the writing community with the publication of STEAMED (A Gourmet Girl Mystery), I had no idea what I was in for. I thought writers just, you know, wrote. Obviously I was inexcusably brainless about what it would mean to be published, and totally unprepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The best parts? The people I’ve met, and the friends that I’ve come to love. Really. And then it’s those “firsts.” The first time I saw my book in a bookstore was just amazing. Getting my first review from Publishers Weekly, getting nominated by RT for “Best Amateur Sleuth.” Oh, and most importantly, the first time Harriet Klausner reviewed my book and misspelled all the characters’ names and gave away the ending and made bad puns and… Oh, you all know the drill.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one disappointment: Finding out how rude and nasty a few people are. It’s the negative side of the internet. I don’t expect everyone to like my books. I don’t. I have no issue if someone writes a review that essentially says, “Eh, I didn’t care for this book, and here’s why. This is what the book is, and this is what the book is not.” But I cannot understand what possesses someone to go to Amazon or a blog and behave like a monster. People hide behind the anonymity of the internet and say things they would never say in person. I’ve had my share of crummy reviews, but the ones that sting are the ones that hit below the belt. I had someone on Amazon question my relationship with mother; she wondered what kind of mother would write such “smut” with her daughter. Although I was completely amused that she was so offended by the idea of a twenty-something woman ever having sex, and so this reader only read five pages before she had to run to the computer and type up something obnoxious. And it’s not just my own reviews. I’ve seen so many cases where a “reviewer” clearly has no compassion, or maybe no understanding, that authors read their reviews. Authors actually have feelings and are not here just for you to insult. I know, shocking, right? It’s pretty easy to see when an online reviewer is on a power trip, delighting in criticizing someone else’s work for the “fun” of it. And most people who read those reviews are smart enough to see through someone’s nastiness and judge for themselves how valid the review is.

There seems to be a bit of a taboo on authors speaking out publicly about bad reviews, but the truth is that absolutely everyone gets them. So there is no point in pretending it doesn’t happen. And now I’m at a point where I can actually laugh at some of them. I’ve had two letters from readers who basically wrote me to say how much they hated one of my books and then detailed why it was so awful. Um… really? I wrote back and said, “So, you wrote me to say how terrible my book was? That’s interesting. And unusual. I’m not sure how to respond other than to say that presumably no one has a gun to you head, forcing you to read anything else of mine.”

So let me publicly thank all the reviewers who behave themselves and do not act like lunatics. I am sending you all awards via Miss Manners.

In good news, I’m routinely astounded by the incredible generosity of so many bloggers and readers. I recently self-published a young adult novel, RELATIVELY FAMOUS, and offered up free PDF copies of it to bloggers. So many lovely people wanted copies, and I deeply appreciate the time and energy they spent reading, writing thoughtful reviews, posting their reviews to online bookstores, and doing interviews with me. What an amazing group of people.

The community of writers and readers is almost unbelievably wonderful. I had no idea that other authors would be so generous and supportive. Despite tough markets these days, I have yet to meet an author that has demonstrated any sort of selfish or competitive spirit. I’ve made great friends, many of whom I’ve never actually met, and authors have been so willing to give me blurbs, help me with plots, get me through writer’s block, etc. And the readers? I love my readers. Love, love, love my readers. Getting positive (and unsolicited!) feedback from fans is just… well, there’s nothing like it. I had one woman who wrote me to say that one of my Gourmet Girl books got her through a terrible day at the hospital while her husband was there having a litany of tests. She said that if it weren’t for the laughs that she’d had, she wouldn’t have made it through the day without coming unglued. I love that.

I am so fortunate and so grateful to be part of such a wonderful network. I can’t imagine another line of work that would put me in touch with such a supportive and fun group of people.

Brief Vacation

So I just wanted to let everyone know that for the next week or so I will be on a brief vacation, once I return things will continue as I had them going including a ton of book reviews.

See you all soon have a great week. Once I return I will be starting Thanks weeks for two weeks before thanksgiving.