Book Review: You Always Change The Love of Your Life (For Another Love or Another Life) by Amalia Andrade + Giveaway

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You Always Change The Love of Your Life (For Another Love or Another Life)
Author: Amalia Andrade
Reading Level: Adult
Genres: Non-fiction | Self-help | Interactive | Illustrated
Released: December 31, 2018
Review Source: Penguin Books Original

A delightful interactive roadmap for getting over a broken heart, with quirky illustrations, song lyrics that totally get it, recipes for eating your feelings, the unique comfort of making lists, and much more A broken heart can feel like the end of the world, but bestselling author and illustrator Amalia Andrade knows this simply isn’t true. Change is not a defeat or a surrender, but rather a promise. Because if the “love of your life” doesn’t work out, there is always a chance for something new—a new love, or a new life. In these pages, you’ll find the secret code for interpreting text-message read receipts, loving odes to Beyoncé, the ideal playlist for crying in the shower, and much more.

This book is not your typical self help book. From the very beginning the reader is taken through a journey of not only self care, but also self discovery. Amalia Andrade, the author, takes you on a path of humor and heart break as she guides you through heart ache.

Now when you think of this genre of book, fun and engaging typically are not adjectives you would supply. This book is not just perfect for a once over read through. I read this book several times before starting my review and wish it was around when I went through my own heart aches.

The illustrations and activities in the book themselves are quite helpful. Amalia supplies you with her versions of helpful tips and allows the reader to supply their own. Throughout the book you can read her personality and know she writes this book from a place of love and wants to help those around her.

To summon up, this book is one to hold onto. We might be wise away from a relationship and heart ache, but this book will guide us back to be the self we love.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amalia Andrade was born in Cali, Colombia, in 1986. She studied literature at Pontifical Xavierian University in Bogotá. She’s been drawing forever. She’s written for several magazines in both Colombia and the United States. She believes strongly in the power of keeping a diary. When she grows up, she want to be a mix between Sylvia Plath and Tina Fey. She lives in Bogotá with her cats.

Beyond the page, Andrade has many more stories to share—from her upbringing under the Cali cartel to attending rehab for love addiction. She is available for interviews.

GIVEAWAY:

Open to US resident only.

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Blog Tour: Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers + Guest Post

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Here We Are
Author: Oliver Jeffers
Reading Level: Picture Book
Genre: Contemporary
Released: November 2017
Review Source: Penguin Young Readers

Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you’ve only just got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let’s explore what makes our planet and how we live on it.

From land and sky, to people and time, these notes can be your guide and start you on your journey. And you’ll figure lots of things out for yourself. Just remember to leave notes for everyone else...

Some things about our planet are pretty complicated, but things can be simple, too: there are lots of us on here, so be kind.

Creatures that Live in Thin Air

Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers is a sweet book that introduces kids to the world, our world. Children are able to learn about space, our land, the sea, air and other facts about our planet. So to add to this introduction, I thought it would be great to talk about couple of creatures that live in thin air.

Alpine swift are known to be able to stay aloft in the air for up to seven months! They have very short legs which are used for clinging to vertical surfaces. They drink on the wing, but roost on vertical cliffs or walls.

Llamas! Yes, these creatures live in grassy open spaces at very high altitudes of 7,400 - 12,800 feet. They have more red blood cells per unit volume of blood than any other mammal.

Himalayan marmot is a marmot found  throughout the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau at elevation from 3,500 to 5,200 m (11,500 to 17,100 ft). They dig large burrows, which generally restricts them to areas with light-textured and adequately deep soil.

Yak (Bos mutus) are  long-haired domesticated bovid in which their coat helps to insulate them in their cold environment. They can lives up to 6,100 m (20,000 ft) and make their homes in treeless areas which are on mountains and plateaus.. Their horns are used to break through the snow and reach
plants.

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Oliver Jeffers makes art.

From figurative painting and installation to illustration and picture-book making, Oliver Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in multiple cities, including Lazarides Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Brooklyn Museum and Spring Break Fair (Armory Week) in New York, and Gestalten Space in Berlin.

Oliver’s picture books — including The Incredible Book Eating Boy,  This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day Crayons Quit  and its sequel The Day The Crayons Came Home ( both #1 NYTimes Bestsellers)  and Once Upon an Alphabet — have been translated into over 30 languages. Working in collaboration with Studio AKA, Oliver’s second book Lost and Found was developed into an animated short film that has received over sixty awards, including a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film.

Picture book awards include the The New York Times Best Illustrated Books, Smarties Award, Irish Book of the Year, The Red House Book Award, British Book Design Award, and The Blue Peter Book of the Year. Oliver won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo. In 2013 Oliver co-directed with Mac Premo the video for Ordinary Love by U2, and more recently made art for, and helped art direct, U2’s Innocence and Experience World Tour.

Oliver is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Book Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

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Me Before You
Me Before You #1
Author: Jojo Moyes
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: April 26th 2016 (Movie Tie-In)
Review Source: Penguin Books

The beloved New York Times bestseller—with more than five million copies sold—by the author of One Plus One and The Girl You Left Behind

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

“I’m not employed by you, I’m employed by your mother. And unless she tells me she doesn’t want me here anymore, I’m staying. Not because I particularly care about you, or like this stupid job, or want to change your life one way or another, but because I need the money. Okay? I really need the money.”

Will Traynor’s expression hadn’t outwardly changed much but I thought I saw astonishment in there, as if he were unused to anyone disagreeing with him.

“Oh hell, I thought, as the reality of what I had just done began to sink in. I’ve really blown it this time” 

(CH. 4, pg.57)

Louisa Clark had a pretty normal life – so when she is called upon by a Job Center advertisement for what she thought might be a nursing home job, she was definitely caught off guard. For someone who liked living a seemingly normal life and liked the simplicity of a low key, uncomplicated life, she never expected to have to care for someone like Will Traynor, whose life was going to collide with hers in a way that was unimaginable to Louisa.

The more time that Louisa spends caring for Will, she shows him that there are still so many things in life that are too beautiful to miss out on, and Will helps her become more daring, and that she should take risks and chances she normally wouldn’t think of doing. Life is too short to stay stuck in a comfort zone.

Reading this book left me feeling mixed emotions. First off, it really made me think about how fragile anyone can be, and that although we want our loved ones to live a full life, it truly is every person’s individual decision how they want to live their life. We can only control ourselves and take it day by day.

If you’re looking for the Disney-type, fairy-tale ending, youre not going to find it in this book. But what you are going to find is a book that makes you look deep inside yourself and you will question who you are as a person and you’ll ask yourself, “What would I do in that situation?” I think it’s going to take me some time to get over this book – it’s the type to stick with you. Jojo Moyes – you sure know how to enrapture your readers! 5/5 stars for this incredible, heartfelt book.

Book Review: Dreamseeker by C.S. Friedman

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Dreamseeker
Book 2 of the Dreamwalker Series
Author: C.S. Friedman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: November 3rd 2015
Review Source: Penguin

When Jessica Drake learned that her DNA didn't match that of her parents, she had no idea that the search for her heritage would put her family's lives in danger, or force her to cross into another world. In an alternate Earth dominated by individuals with unnatural powers called Gifts, Jessica learned that there was a curse within her blood, one so feared that all who possessed it were destroyed on sight. For she was a Dreamwalker, and the same dark Gift that would allow her to enter the dreams of others would eventually destroy her mind and spread insanity to all those around her.

Now she is back with her family, but there is no peace to be found. Her childhood home has been destroyed, her mother's mind is irreparably damaged, and the Gift of the Dreamwalkers is beginning to manifest in her in terrifying ways.

When a stranger invades her dreams and creatures from her nightmares threaten to cross into the waking universe, Jessica knows she must return to the alternate Earth where she was born and seek allies... even if doing so means she must bargain with those she fears the most.

Dreamseeker is the gripping sequel to C.S. Friedman's Dreamwalker.

This is the sequel to Dreamwalker and I enjoyed reading this one more than I did the first one, hence the four trees this time. What I liked most about this story is that it was a little more action packed and, although it still felt like it dragged in some moments, it was still more fast paced -which I liked. Blame it on my ADHD, but when books start to go on and on about the same thing, I easily get bored and lose complete interest in wanting to find out what else is coming next in the story. Yet, C.S. Friedman, despite sometimes going round and round on certain topics, always kept me wanting to find out more of what was happening.

In the second installment of the Dreamwalker series, Jesse starts to realize from early on that her powers -or, as is called in the world where she is from, her gift -are developing. It started with seeing that someone was invading her dreams, which showed to be dangerous because then there were creatures attacking her and, when she would wake up, she had the physical signs of said attacks. Eventually she is able to control her gift better and is able to go into other people's dreams, which proved to be useful, for she was able to find out information she needed to help succeed in her plan through this method.

The one thing that really shocked me as much as it did Jesse was to find out the horrible truth about someone she trusted. It was very shocking because we all thought this person to be faithful and on her side. Yet, the one you least expect to actually be on her side, was. This is one of the reasons I liked this installment better and made me want to find out even more of what's to happen to Jesse. Will she be returning to this alien world yet again? Will she be able to accomplish everything she wanted to accomplish in this book? Like that, I have many other questions, which is why I will be reading the next book when it comes out for sure.

Book Review: Dreamwalker by C.S. Friedman

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Dreamwalker
Book One of Dreamwalker
Author: C.S. Friedman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: February 4th 2014
Review Source: Penguin

All her life Jessica Drake has dreamed of other worlds, some of them similar to her own, others disturbingly alien. She never shares the details with anyone, save her younger brother Tommy, a compulsive gamer who incorporates some aspects of Jessica’s dreams into his games. But now someone is asking about those dreams...and about her. A strange woman has been watching her house. A visitor to her school attempts to take possession of her dream-inspired artwork.

Why?

As she begins to search for answers it becomes clear that whoever is watching her does not want her to learn the truth. One night her house catches on fire, and when the smoke clears she discovers that her brother has been kidnapped. She must figure out what is going on, and quickly, if she and her family are to be safe.

Following clues left behind on Tommy's computer, determined to find her brother and bring him home safely, Jessica and two of her friends are about to embark on a journey that will test their spirits and their courage to the breaking point, as they must leave their own world behind and confront the source of Earth's darkest legends – as well as the terrifying truth of their own secret heritage.

The moment I read the synopsis for this book I said, "Yes!" I love anything fantasy and otherworldly and this book was everything I hoped for and then some. It had fantasy, aliens, other worlds, adventure, and some action.

As you can read from the synopsis, Jesse (which is what Jessica, the main character, prefers to be called) has some amazing dreams that transport her to other worlds and have her see certain things she isn't supposed to. She never thinks anything of them, but tells them to her little 13 year-old brother Tommy so he can implement some aspects of them into his online video gaming. This leads to someone becoming interested in Tommy's "dreams" and manifestation of his gift, as they call it. This is the main reason there's a fire at her house, as a diversion for her brother to get kidnapped.

Jesse has the good idea of grabbing Tommy's laptop before the fire finished burning her house to the ground and, thanks to this, she is able to figure out clues to go find her little brother. This is where the adventure starts (it's hinted it's coming by some events that happen right before and the new friends she makes); Jesse and two of her friends follow Tommy into this alien world, which is a parallel one to ours, where she makes some new friends (or are they?) and learns so much about how many worlds there really are out there. There's also quite a bit of action and the author definitely did a good job in making you feel anxious for the heroes and what will happen next.

The only reason I did not give it a higher rating was because, despite it being a good story, there were parts that I felt lagged a bit, it was just giving too much filler instead of just getting to the point or to the action. For example, a few of the chapters are told from another character's perspective that gives you a little more information about this alien world that Jesse doesn't get to find out, or so it seemed. Once I finished reading the book I realized those chapters weren't really necessary because they only provide a small amount of information more than what Jesse ends up finding out (because, at the end of it all, Jesse learns all of that info anyway). Also, some of the explanations of how things were in the alien world in which Jesse was trapped in were a little confusing to me and I admit some of them I had to read two or three times to understand. Maybe it's just me, but that's how it felt like to me. 

Book Review: The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

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The Book of Life
All Souls Trilogy #3
Author: Deborah Harkness
Reading Level: Adult Fiction
Genres: Paranormal | Supernatural
Released: May 26th 2015 (box edition)
Review Source: Penguin Books

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches--with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

The Book of Life is the third and final book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  To say that this book was suspenseful and kept you on the edge of your seat until the very end is an understatement.  We have followed these characters throughout this series in their search of long lost history, withstanding the odds cast at them by their enemies, and the development of relationships and love that made it important to us as readers that they fulfill their journey and come out on top in the end.

The major theme of all three books in this series, is historian and witch Diana Bishop and her mate, vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont searching for the missing pages of Ashmole 782, the sacred alchemy book that holds vital information to the survival of vampires, witches, daemons and humans.  In book two they traveled back in time to search for the lost pages, and in book three we begin by them returning to the present in their continued search of those sacred pages.  Of course upon their return there is no lack of other obstacles awaiting the two of them.  Diana and Matthew are now mated, something not normally accepted between witches and vampires.  Diana is also pregnant with twins,  which will not be looked upon fondly by the congregation of vampires, witches, and daemons.  They also have to worry about how crossbreeding between their two species (witch and vampire) will affect their offspring once they are born.  As if all of that weren’t enough Matthew’s son from a previous relationship is stalking both Diana and him and has the goal of murder on his mind.

The last book doesn’t just wrap the series up in a boring, expected, nice, neat little package with a bow on top.  It explodes across the pages in action, mystery, history and romance before leaving us at a point of contentment for the characters we have loved to follow from the beginning.  I dare to say that Harkness even left the tone a bit open ended and we can only hope that means she has eventual plans to continue the series, or at least spins off or a possible novella down the road.  Whatever the future holds for this amazingly well written trilogy, you certainly want to make sure that these three books are part of your present.  So don’t walk, but run to your nearest bookstore, computer, or e-reader and get these books as soon as possible!  They will be a great companion at the beach this summer vacation, or even curled up in front of a fire come this fall or winter.  This book and this whole entire series get a big thumbs up, A+, and five stars!  Well done Deborah Harkness!

Check out Pauline's 5 star review of A Discovery of Witches (book 1) & Shadow of Night (book 2).