A Saturday Moment with Deitre

Sometimes our week can be filled with happy moments and sometimes our week can be filled with great challenges.  How we cope with those challenges are all up to us as an individual. We choose to surround ourselves with family, friends, and engage in much prayer to get us through those rough moments.  A couple of us on the team has been hit with those life changing challenges this week, and acknowledging that was on my mind this morning, as we take the path of recovery.

What's a good distracter from the outside world?  A novel.  Holding a book in your hand, feeling the pages.  Or an e-reader that clicks along when you finish each page.  In many cases before you know it you are finished, and ready to move on to the next good book.  I never leave home without one.

Next, I want to bring your attention to a post this week.  I made a minor mistake on a giveaway for Some Like It Wild, by M. Leighton. When you read the post, the giveaway wasn't open to enter.  Check it out again, it's been fixed.  So sorry about that.

Lastly, A Leisure Moment is still going strong after going public in January.  Thank you for your support by either following us or sending a friend over that specifically enjoys children's book and middle level too.  The A Leisure Moment Podcast is live.  I'm going to give you guys a huge heads up.  Tomorrow's podcast will be a casual conversation with Robin Constantine, author of The Promise of Amazing.    Find us here, subscribe and please leave us a rating on Itunes.  Until next week...

Happy Reading,
Deitre

A Mid-Week Moment With Deitre | Book Signing Giveaway

It has been a little over two solid weeks since I've made "A Saturday Moment with Deitre" post. I feel like I have neglected you guys, but let's just say when life calls, sometimes, we have to stop what we are doing. Even if we are on that super awesome page that we simply can't break away from, and answer to the calling. Can you believe it, your teen reviewer Josh has some big decisions to make. I can't believe that graduation is quickly approaching and he will be heading out to the big world without his parents looking over his shoulders. He will no longer hear me say, "where is your review Josh, Yara needs to post it!" He won't be there to open up the boxes of books that we get to sift through and see who gets what. I guess it will just be me doing that, unless I recruit the siblings to take over his place and Yara's younger one as well. We have to start them at some point. So I'll give you a hint of his choices. Which one do you think he will choose? (Leave a comment below, we would love to see your guesses.)

Lastly, A Leisure Moment has been very busy. I can't even try to take all the credit, but my wonderful husband wanted to try his hand at podcasting and the rest is history. I'm so grateful that authors have taken the time to speak with us and have a casual conversation about their love for literature. Recently we attended The Lovestruck Tour and boy are you going to be in for a treat. OUaT and A Leisure Moment is giving away a signed copy of one of the books from the signing. This is what we need you to do. You can head on over to iTunes or Stitcher, subscribe to the podcast, listen to some amazing discussions and leave us a review. It's that easy. I must say that you will feel like you were right there with us. As a bonus when you sign up for the giveaway, we will automatically include you in on our custom newsletter that A Leisure Moment puts together about twice a month. For your convenience I've added the links to our latest podcasts and author conversations. Be sure to check them out! Until next time...

Happy Reading (and Listening)

Deitre

{PODCAST} EPISODE 01: THE LOVESTRUCK TOUR WITH ROBIN CONSTANTINE, MEGAN SHEPeRD, KASIE WEST AND MEGAN MIRANDA

{PODCAST) EPISODE 02: A CASUAL CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR KAREN ANN HOPKINS

  

{PODCAST} EPISODE 03: A CASUAL CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR MELINDA LONG

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The Lovestruck Tour: "Fall in love with a good book."

So guess who will be at the Love Struck book tour and signing at Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC?  A Leisure Moment and Once Upon a Twilight will!!!  We will even have a few moments before the event to interview the authors.  We can't wait to share with you what they have to say about all things books!  So stay tuned for some pretty awesome stuff!  Check out the Love Struck Blog for a online giveaway that is currently going on.

Lovestruck Tour Giveaway

About the Authors

Kasie West lives with her family in central California, where the heat tries to kill her with its 115-degree stretches. She graduated from Fresno State University with a BA degree that has nothing to do with writing. She is the author of PIVOT POINT, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, and SPLIT SECOND.

Megan Miranda spends a great deal of time thinking about the "why" and "how" of things, which leads her to get carried away daydreaming about the "what-ifs." Megan has a degree in Biology from MIT and currently lives near Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two young children. She is the author of FRACTURE, HYSTERIA, and VENGEANCE.

Megan Shepherd grew up in her family's independent bookstore in North Carolina. An avid reader and world traveler who spent several years in the Peace Corps, Megan now lives with her husband in Asheville, North Carolina. She is the author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER and its sequel, HER DARK CURIOSITY.

Robin Constantine is is a born and bred Jersey girl who moved down South so she could wear flip-flops year round. She spends her days dreaming up stories where love conquers all, well, eventually but not without a lot of peril, angst and the occasional kissing scene. She is the author of THE PROMISE OF AMAZING.

Book Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing
Author: Robin Constantine
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: December 31st 2013
Review Source: Balzer + Bray

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

The moment I first saw the cover of this book I just couldn’t help it but fall in love it with. I just love the cover and even the letters of the title. When I received my mail from Yara and saw this book I just thanked her right away! Because yes, I’ve been anticipating this book! Just look at that adorable cover! Now to the honest part… I didn’t love the story as much as I love the cover.

Why?

Okay, I did like the beginning of the story because it was funny and a bit unique. Who starts a book with someone hurling all over someone else’s shoes? Robin Constatine! I found this a bit comical. This happens when Wren Caswell saves the life of Grayson Barrett.

My issue after this is… Grayson just became obsessed with her. The non-cute type of obsessing. Life after meeting Grayson became also obsessively for Wren. He is all she thought of.

Their relationship was rushed and with lack of chemistry.

There are many things I didn’t like about Grayson. One of them was a gift he gave to Wren. A gift that wasn’t his to begin with. Not really romantic. At all.

Then, Wren forgives him easily, she seriously was foolishly in love with him. I just didn’t get their relationship. It was just confusing and rushed.

Overall, I felt this story was all over the place. I usually don’t mind the “insta-love” attraction between characters as long as we get a good deal of swooning moments. Sadly, this story just went straight to the weird obsessing and confusing stages. Truthfully, I didn’t hate the story, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I was anticipating.