Tag: Stephanie Kate Strohm

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My Summer Reading Plan 2019

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My Summer Reading Plan 2019

Posted on by Jaymie

Last summer was something of a summer reading “FAIL” for me even though I read 69 books. I only read 2 of the six family challenge books I was assigned (I finally read a third later in the year). So this year, we are simplifying yet again for the Family Challenge. Here are some of the things I plan to read this summer.

Family Reading Challenge

We decided that this summer each of us will read the entire Harry Potter series again. It has been ages since we have read the whole thing, although my teen and I have re-read single books here and there. I might even read a couple of them from the illustrated versions we bought but haven’t enjoyed yet.

In addition to Harry, we are only picking one challenge book for each of the other people in the family. I gave both my husband and my teen a stack of books to choose from. If we were doing 2 or 3 books, I would have picked myself but I didn’t have “that one” book I wanted either to read. I have challenged my teen to read Powerless and my husband to read Polaris Rising. My husband and I both were thinking of Scalzi’s Lock In for the teen so he assigned that one. My teen chose #MurderTrending for both parents. And my husband chose Long Road to Mercy for me.  He’s always trying to get me to read more Baldacci!

We are also putting in “prizes” for this year, too, to see if that helps us actually finish the goal by July 31.

#Bookaday

Teachers, librarians and other book fanatics all over social media (Instagram, Twitter) choose to read a book each day of summer vacation. My #bookaday will run from June 1 to July 31, so 61 books in 61 days. And to help with that I have a Kindle full of Advance Reader Copies and my personal TBR pile for the summer.

TBR Books

My top priority for the summer is to get ahead on my review copies. These are some of the ones I am most excited to read.

 

These are some of the new books coming out in June and July that I hope to read.

 

And finally, these are some of the books I want to RE-READ this summer. I am craving a re-reading binge like no one’s business. I am hoping to get ahead on as much as I can in June so I can spend July on reading old favorites – some to get ready for sequels (Ash Princess, Kill the Queen, Lady’s Guide…) and the rest just because I love them.

Aliens Abroad
Ash Princess
It’s Not Me It’s You
Kill the Queen
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder
A List of Cages
The Names They Gave Us
The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You
Polaris Rising
Prince in Disguise
The Way to the Stars

What are you planning to read this summer?

REVIEW: Love à la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

REVIEW: Love à la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Henry and Rosie first meet on their Chicago to Paris flight. They are both on their way to the École Denis Laurent, an exclusive cooking school. They are both excited about the opportunity, nervous about wanting to do well, and happy to have met someone who understands their love of cooking.

But things are a little more complicated than they seem at first blush. Henry’s mom wants him to go to a traditional college. She knows how hard it is to run a restaurant. She and Henry’s dad have done it for years. His mom meddles, convincing his academic teachers that he wants to do extra, more advanced work when he really just wants to cook. And if he doesn’t keep his grades up, she says he will have to come home.

Rosie’s true love is baking. But the École is all about cooking – tasks like breaking down a whole chicken and the uniform cutting of vegetables in fussy, precise ways. She’s the only student there who doesn’t have her own knife kit, and she starts to wonder if she even belongs there. If she can’t find a way to shine in the traditional areas of cooking, she may be sent home at Christmas.

The sparks between Henry and Rosie are undeniable, but their personal struggles might pull them apart before they even get a chance to see what they might be together.

Review

This was so sweet! (Pardon the pun.) I loved Henry and Rosie right from the start. They have terrific chemistry. As is often the case in romance stories, they have to learn to communicate if they’re going to have any chance at a future.

I didn’t understand a lot of the fancy cooking terms, but the love each of the kids has for his/her craft was obvious. I loved the scenes when Henry and Rosie – and the other characters – got to just enjoy and savor food together, either around Paris or at school. It was pure joy for them. They were in their element.

While Henry and Rosie are great characters, the ensemble around them is also terrific. The other kids come from a variety of backgrounds. There are the catty girls you would expect, some good friends, and a possible rival for Rosie’s affections.

This is a fun celebration of Paris, food and friendship – as well as friendship that could become something more. I’ve come to expect fun stories with endearing characters from Stephanie Kate Strohm (Prince in Disguise, It’s Not Me It’s You). And her latest book does not disappoint!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2017 Favorites

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: My 2017 Favorites

Posted on by Jaymie

I read a lot of books every year.  I like to keep track of what I read every year and see how it stacks up to years before. Here are some of my reading statistics for 2017.

2017 Stats

Through the course of 2017 I read 308 books.  There were 26 more that I started but did not finish.

Of those 308, the break down for target audience is

  • 127 adult
  • 98 middle grade
  • 63 teen/young adult
  • 10 picture books/early readers
  • 9 transitional chapter books
  • as well as 19 graphic novels for various ages

The genre breakdown (some books are counted in two categories) is

  • 77 mystery
  • 73 realistic
  • 72 fantasy
  • 35 science fiction
  • 18 romance
  • 17 non-fiction
  • 6 Christian fiction
  • 5 Christmas
  • 4 historic fiction
  • 3 memoirs/autobiographies
  • 2 dystopian
  • 3 suspense

This year most of the books I read were from the library (104). I read 59 books from my To Be Read shelves (which are overflowing), as well as 58 advanced reader copies from publishers. I also re-read 47 favorites this year.

I read more fantasy and nonfiction last year and more realistic fiction and science fiction this year. And I can see what difference not teaching has made in my reading. Last year I read a lot more picture books and early readers. This year there were more books for teens and adults.

 

2017 Favorites!!

I read a lot of books every year. I often don’t remember all the details, but I remember how they made me feel. I remember which books follow me throughout the year – how I feel when I see them in the bookstore or library or online. These are the ones I want to go back and read again. These are the ones I recommend over and over and over.

You can see my list of favorites from 2016 here. Last year I had five middle grade books, two YA books, and three books for adults (all fiction). When I went back through my list of the 300+ books I read in 2017, I came up with 50 that were candidates for the best of the year. I whittled that list down to ten – only one middle grade this time, five YA books, two adult fiction books and two nonfiction. And here they are:

10. Nothing to Prove – A fantastic non-fiction book. I hope to read it again this year and complete the Bible study that goes with it. You can read a little about this here and my full review here.

 

 

 

9. Barking Up the Wrong Tree – I loved this romance book, second in a series. I reviewed the third and final book in the series earlier this week. You can read my review of book one here. Book 2 is even better than the first! I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters.

 

 

 

8. Draw the Circle – This is a forty day prayer journey. This is one I will go back to again and again. You can read a little about this book here. I’ll be doing a full review later in 2018.

 

 

 

7. Alien Education – This is book 15 in the Alien series by Gini Koch. This is my favorite fiction series. I included book 14 in my list last year. Book 16 releases in February. I just finished a re-read of the whole series, and I was struck again by how fun this particular book is. I know it is because so much of the story centers on the kids. I can’t wait to see what happens next!  You can read my thoughts about this book here.

 

 

 

6. The Names They Gave Us – This book stuck with me all year because there were so many times in it where I felt known and understood in the description of the main character. You can read my review here.

 

 

 

5. It’s Not Me, It’s You – This book was not at all what I expected – in all the best ways! I loved the unusual format and the terrific characters. I actually have two books by this author on my list for 2017! You can read my review here.

 

 

 

4. Greetings from Witness Protection – This has a fantastic premise and the main character is a delight. I hope there will be more books with these characters. You can read my review of this one here.

 

 

 

3. Letters to the Lost – Another fantastic book for teens and young adults. I am chomping at the bit for her new book that comes out this spring since this one was so great! You can read my review here.

 

 

 

2. Prince in Disguise – This was a late addition to my list as it came out in December. Reading it was like eating a favorite dessert. I savored each page, giggling. The writing is so smart and the characters are delightful. This is the second book I have on my list from Stephanie Kate Strohm. You can read my full review here.

 

 

 

#1 – A List of Cages – Oh, this book. Whenever I see it I think about how the characters impacted me. They have followed me all year long. It’s a difficult read, but worth every tear and every tissue. You can read my review here.

 

 

 

As always, if you are looking for even more fantastic books, you can always check out my Five Star Reviews to see all of my favorites! I had a hard time choosing only 10 from all the terrific books in 2017. I have high hopes for great reading in 2018!

 

REVIEW: Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm

REVIEW: Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

It’s hard for Dylan to live in her sister, Dusty’s, shadow. Dusty is tall and gorgeous and popular and confident. She was Miss Mississippi. And now she is marrying Ronan, a Scottish lord-to-be that she met on the Bachelor-style reality show Prince in Disguise. Next to Dusty, Dylan feels geeky and awkward and out of place.

This is especially true when she finds herself at Ronan’s Scottish castle for their Christmas Eve wedding. First, the best man leaves her standing in the cold for almost an hour, waiting for a ride to the castle. She’s rescued by another groomsman, Jamie. At least he’s her age, smart and funny. But at the castle, she feels the cameras all around her. Dusty may be fine with all the TV attention, but Dylan wants no part of it.

The wedding-prep days include a lot of surprises for Dylan – things she’d like to keep off camera and to herself. Not the least of which are her feelings about Jamie. But she may find there are more important things than protecting her own privacy.

Review

I’m not sure I have words big enough for how much I loved this book! It was outstanding! I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a book like I did this one. It’s SO funny! It’s romantic. Sweet and fun and fiesty! I wanted it to go on and on. I loved the characters and wanted to spend even more time with them. This will definitely be a re-read for me! If the author decides to write a sequel, I will be the first in line to buy it!

Everything worked for me in this. The reality TV plot was terrific. It forced characters to decide what was for public consumption and what wasn’t. And how they would handle the difference. The family relationships changed and developed in the story in great, realistic ways. The chemistry between Dylan and Jamie was endearing. I loved them together. There were some fun surprises and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. This could easily be my favorite book of 2017.

Many, many thanks to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of this spectacular book in exchange for an honest review. I honestly adored it. I read another book by Stephanie Kate Strohm earlier this year – It’s Not Me, It’s You– and I loved it too. That book made it onto my Holiday Hint List for 2017 – and if I had read this before I published the list, Prince in Disguise would have been on there, too.  Hand both of these books to the teens in your life – especially the ones who might not want books with the language and mature content found in some other books for teens and young adults.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥+++

REVIEW: It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

REVIEW: It’s Not Me, It’s You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

When Avery Dennis is dumped just a couple weeks before her senior prom, she is stunned. Avery is chair of prom committee! She’s ultra popular. She’s smart and pretty. She has had a boyfriend almost non-stop since the first day of middle school.

Avery Dennis does not get dumped!

But Fortune smiled on Avery because she was dumped at the same time she was assigned an oral history report for History. Maybe, if Avery can look back at her own history, specifically her dating history, she can figure out how she is now date-less right before the prom. It’s probably not the assignment her teacher had in mind, but this is important!

Review

Wow. I loved this book! I was intrigued by the premise. Honestly, I expected Avery to be something of a mean-girl diva type who goes through this process to see herself as others see her. But that’s not really Avery at all. She’s smart and earnest and genuine. Yes, she has shallow moments. But those make her even more endearing as you see her trying to gain insight and mature.

I had no idea this would be so FUNNY! Avery has such a fantastic “voice,” enhanced by the format of the book. All of the characters – the best friend, the exes, the lab partner, the nemesis – are all so well written. There are great sarcastic moments, pop culture references, and just funny moments between the characters as they relate to one another and respond to what they learn in the project.

I was so delighted by this story! I will absolutely read this again and tell everyone I see about how fun this was. And I will be checking out the author’s other works.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥