Life:
I have come to realize that my youngest son, Jacob, has an obsession with Ranch Dressing from Trader Joes. And I kid you not, he eats it on everything. Spanakopita, hot dogs, corn dogs, meat sandwiches, pizza, bean cheese quesadilla, etc…he puts ranch dip on all of it. And lately he has been asking to have it with his pasta and chicken. I try my hardest not to cringe, but *shudders*. I just have to keep reminding myself that when he was a toddler, he would put chocolate chip cookies in his spaghetti, olives in his ice cream etc. Seriously lol. The only different food tendency I have is that I can drink Orange Juice with anything. Even pasta. And for some reason that grosses out my husband. So maybe Jacob doesn’t fall too far from the tree. 🙂 Do you have any weird food tendencies too?
In case you aren’t familiar with our Friday Star Posts, we like to take a look at what’s happened around here in the last week, what’s coming up that we are excited about and anything else that we may have to share!
♥ Enjoy!
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Giveaways:
Enter to win 1 of 10 copies of THE BACHELOR AUCTION by Rachel Van Dyken in Paperback. Enter → here.
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Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card with Guardian of Secrets by Brenda Drake swag pack. International winners will only get $50 GC. Enter → here.
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Enter to win A copy of Frostblood by Elly Blake & branded nail polish duo in shades of fire and frost. Enter → here.
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Just Finished and Loved:
Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2) by Brenda Drake → Jen’s Review
5 Stars! I laughed, I fell in love, I sobbed and I closed the book with the hugest smile on my face!
The story continues! In the first book, Thief of Lies, Gia Kearns would rather fight with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, suddenly disappears. While examining the book of world libraries he abandoned, Gia unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a photograph and transports them into a Paris library, where Arik and his Sentinels-magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books-rescue them from a demonic hound.
Jumping into some of the world’s most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t busy resisting her heart or dodging an exiled wizard seeking revenge on both the Mystik and human worlds. Add a French flirt obsessed with Arik and a fling with a young wizard, and Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik’s world and her own, before both are destroyed.
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Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake → Chelsea’s Review
5 Stars! The first chapter broke my heart immediately making it clear from the start that the author didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. I like that. I like that a LOT, and, even more than that, I respect it immensely.
Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.
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Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall → Chelsea’s Review
4.5 Stars! Finding an authentic novel that not only shows you a deep, introspective look at a mental illness, but also lets you see that people understand, that people can be kind, that falling in love is a possible thing, no matter the restrictions or stipulations, is so very rare, and it’s just as captivating as any other love story. I find that fantastic and just plain beautiful.
Norah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can’t step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He’s sweet and funny, and he just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did.
Norah can’t leave the house, but can she let someone in? As their friendship grows deeper, Norah realizes Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can lie on the front lawn and look up at the stars. One who isn’t so screwed up.
Readers themselves will fall in love with Norah in this poignant, humorous, and deeply engaging portrait of a teen struggling to find the strength to face her demons.
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2.5 Stars:
Wintersong by S. Jae Jones → Jen’s Review
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Reading Next:
Love Story (Love Unexpectedly #3) by Lauren Layne
When Lucy Hawkins receives a job offer in San Francisco, she can’t wait to spread her wings and leave her small Virginia hometown behind. Her close-knit family supports her as best they can, by handing over the keys to a station wagon that’s seen better days. The catch? The cross-country trip comes with a traveling companion: her older brother’s best friend, aka the guy who took Lucy’s virginity hours before breaking her heart.
After spending the past four years and every last dime caring for his sick father, Reece Sullivan will do just about anything to break free of the painful memories—even if it means a two-week road trip with the one girl who’s ever made it past his carefully guarded exterior. But after long days of bickering in the car turn into steamy nights in secluded motel rooms, Reece learns that, when it comes to Lucy, their story is far from over. And this time, they just might have a shot at a happy ending.
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Upcoming Releases:
The Valiant (The Valiant #1) by Lesley Livingston (Releases 02/14)
Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar.
On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in her father’s war band. She never gets the chance.
Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.
Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, deadly fights in and out of the arena, and perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier and her sworn enemy.
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Love Story (Love Unexpectedly #3) by Lauren Layne (Releases 02/14)
When Lucy Hawkins receives a job offer in San Francisco, she can’t wait to spread her wings and leave her small Virginia hometown behind. Her close-knit family supports her as best they can, by handing over the keys to a station wagon that’s seen better days. The catch? The cross-country trip comes with a traveling companion: her older brother’s best friend, aka the guy who took Lucy’s virginity hours before breaking her heart.
After spending the past four years and every last dime caring for his sick father, Reece Sullivan will do just about anything to break free of the painful memories—even if it means a two-week road trip with the one girl who’s ever made it past his carefully guarded exterior. But after long days of bickering in the car turn into steamy nights in secluded motel rooms, Reece learns that, when it comes to Lucy, their story is far from over. And this time, they just might have a shot at a happy ending.
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Sales:
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Freebies:
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Trader Joe’s is EVIL!😈
Evil in the best way possible lol! I always can fill up not only my whole shopping cart and each of my boys push one of those kiddy carts around and theirs are filled up too. I love EVERYTHING in that store!!!!! I’m on my last box of Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s and I think I might cry since we won’t get more till December of this year boooooooo.
OJ and ranch, eh? Yep, that’s some weird taste in food XD Must be genetic! I don’t like anything particularly weird, although I do go through phases. Currently, I can’t get enough Mediterranean food- hummus please! Before that, it was kimchi. Before that, it was lentils.
Yay, UTNS on sale! I just bought it for my Kindle, thanks for pointing it out!! I’ve been wanting to reread it for forever.
LOL. I go through phases and I adore hummus and lentils too. Ohhh have you tried the Tomato & Basil Hummus Dip from Trader Joes?! It’s SO good! I could eat the whole container by myself lol.
Have fun stepping back into the UTNS world.! That’s definitely a book I want to reread someday too. 🙂
I definitely think there are much worse things to be obsessed with. Basically, anything from Trader Joe’s is good in my book! 🙂
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Sunday Post & Giveaways Galore – 2/12/17
That’s exactly how I feel about Trader Joes! It makes me feel less guilty when I buy Joe-Joe’s, Cheddar Rockets and lots of other goodies from Trader Joes instead of Raley’s lol. 😉