The Same Deep Water excerpt tour!

Sometimes, believing the lies we tell ourselves is easier than dealing with the truth.

Once, I wanted to die. That was the night I met Guy.
The strange man with flowers stepped from the shadows and saved my life.

Guy. Dimpled smile. Body of a surf god. Smart and funny. Running out of time.

We became travelling companions through life, ticking off items on our bucket lists. I'd hidden from happiness for years and kept my life under strict control. Guy showed me how to step into the world and experience more, he brought light into the shadows and helped me through the darkness.

I became Phe again. I lived.

There's just one problem.

We fell in love and this wasn't part of our plans.

I thought we could face the future together, but Guy has a secret which changes everything.

The Same Deep Water is a standalone New Adult romance set in Western Australia.

Buy- Amazon 

Excerpt

The purple and blue of the Milky Way leads a pathway through the night sky, bright and surreal; they rise behind the tall rock formation adding to the sensation of sitting on another planet. I tip my head back and the bright stars above fill the darkness and dizzy me.

“You’re quiet,” says Guy.

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” I whisper. “I can’t believe this is so close to where I live.”

“Technically, what you’re looking at is light years away.”

I elbow him. “You know what I mean.”

Guy wraps an arm around my shoulder and I shuffle across the roof so he can hold me closer. “How incredibly sad that something so beautiful shines the brightest just before it dies,” he says. “Some of the stars are long gone, with the light from their death just reaching us.”

“Don’t say that.” The stars appear to swarm across the sky and I focus, wishing for a shooting star. “The stars aren’t all dead.”

“New stars are born all the time, there’ll be many burning at this moment that we can’t see yet because their light hasn’t had time to reach us.” He laughs softly. “I tell you to forget the past and we’re looking straight at it.”

“Stop analysing what could be a romantic moment,” I say with a sigh.

“Out here we’re alone, kissing under the light of thousands of stars.” He tips my face toward him and places a gentle kiss on my mouth. “In a world where I’m disconnected from everything but you. Is that romantic?”

“Better.” I touch his lips then look around. “We could be on Mars.”

“We could, but I’d rather not.”

I pull away and lie back attempting to make out the constellations around. “You’re right, I do feel disconnected. Looking at what’s out there we know nothing about is overwhelming.”

“Why are you afraid?” asks Guy as he lies next to me, staring upward too.

“I’m not afraid.”

“We’re both afraid of life and what it has to offer when really we should just ‘be’ together.”

I twist my head to him. “But you do that. You live for today.”

Guy continues to look upward and takes hold of my hand. “Todays like this, yes. Other days, I’m afraid. I worry that I’ve made another bad decision.”

“What about?”

“Lots of things.”

I squeeze his hand. “Can we stay with the stars?”

“If tomorrow we can watch the fire of a new dawn.” Guy says the words quietly, as if talking to himself.

“Why are you always so serious in the dark?” I whisper and touch his cheek.

“Because you can’t see me properly.”

“I think I see more of you than you realise.”

Girl in the Woods

SO good. That's all an intro I can give.

Girl in the Woods - Aspen Matis


Girl in the Woods is Aspen Matis's exhilarating true-life adventure of hiking from Mexico to Canada—a coming of age story, a survival story, and a triumphant story of overcoming emotional devastation. On her second night of college, Aspen was raped by a fellow student. Overprotected by her parents who discouraged her from telling of the attack, Aspen was confused and ashamed. Dealing with a problem that has sadly become all too common on college campuses around the country, she stumbled through her first semester—a challenging time made even harder by the coldness of her college's "conflict mediation" process. Her desperation growing, she made a bold decision: She would seek healing in the freedom of the wild, on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail leading from Mexico to Canada.

In this inspiring memoir, Aspen chronicles her journey, a five-month trek that was ambitious, dangerous, and transformative. A nineteen-year-old girl alone and lost, she conquered desolate mountain passes and met rattlesnakes, bears, and fellow desert pilgrims. Exhausted after each thirty-mile day, at times on the verge of starvation, Aspen was forced to confront her numbness, coming to terms with the sexual assault and her parents' disappointing reaction. On the trail and on her own, she found that survival is predicated on persistent self-reliance. She found her strength. After a thousand miles of solitude, she found a man who helped her learn to love and trust again—and heal.

Told with elegance and suspense, Girl in the Woods is a beautifully rendered story of eroding emotional and physical boundaries to reveal the truths that lie beyond the edges of the map.

I know, the first thing you are going to say is, "Sara. Come on now, Cheryl Strayed did this with Wild and it was so good they made it into a movie" and I'm going to tell you SHUT UP. I say that because I fully understand why Wild was as popular as it was and that's because it came at a time where us card carrying vaginas needed a woman to show us what being a true adventuring, independent woman was. Unfortunately, I really hated that book because Cheryl wasn't like-able. Just a series of terrible choices because her mom died. I mean, I get it, your mom dies and that's awful but to leave a really great guy for a drug addled loser and then hike off into the woods and be fully shocked at how hard life is? Shut up and move over. 

Here we have Aspen, who growing up as Debby really struggled. Her parents loved her but they didn't parent her well. Her two older brothers had it better but her mother treated her as a mute. Not just a mute but a mute fully incapable of caring herself. A passage close to the front of the book reads, 

"Through middle school, I didn't shave my legs or use deodorant. Girls began to ask about my hairy legs. One day in eighth grade, I found deodorant in my locker with a note written in girlish handwriting, unsigned. It told me I smelled. It was true. I was hurt. But after that I still didn't simply commit to wearing deodorant daily, instead passively subjecting myself to adolescent years of whispered disdain. Basic hygiene was a terrible struggle. Anything my mother didn't do for me, I didn't do for myself."

She goes on about how she wasn't allowed to dress herself and any attempt to do something on her own was shut down immediately by her mother who, for whatever reason, wanted to control literally every aspect of Debby's life. When it comes time to go to college, Debby picks Colorado College. Far away enough from home but in the woods she loved as child. She sees it as a fresh start, finally free of the oppressive home that held her back. She remembers how her parents met- on the second night of college, and she holds this is a fairy tale of sorts. 

But for her, the second night of college turns her into a rape victim. Not just a rape victim, but one who questions herself, who is let down by the college and even worse- shamed by her own family. She reaches out to her mother who gives her icy silence and treats it as nothing. She reaches out to her brother, the one she's closest to, and he asks her what she had done to bring it on basically. 

Stunned and frozen, she decides that she is going to drop out of college and hike. She has big plans to hike the PCT and be a thru-hiker (one end to the other) and she is looking at The Kickoff as a new beginning. Like the first  night of college. She wants to find herself and be more. Her parents reluctantly agree to help her financially though it's obvious they have little faith that she'll make it very far. 

One of my favorite passages reads, 

"Looking into my reflection above the sink, I dreaded what I already understood to be true: I wouldn't reinvent myself at Kickoff. Just being some place new couldn't just suddenly imbue me with new confidence. Fleeing to the desert didn't transform me into the poised and lovely woman I wished I were. I was here- on the PCT at last- and I was suddenly aware of how uncomfortable I still was in my body. I was awkward in Newton and at college, and here on the trail I remained just as uncool. This place wouldn't change me. Nowhere could." 

Amen. Seriously. She figures this out at the very beginning of her hike and this is something a normal person (looking at you, Cheryl Strayed) doesn't figure out until some mid way point in the hike. 

So much of this book spoke to me because I get it, I felt like I really understood the author. She was so much easier to relate to. She was more of an average 19 year old girl setting off on an impossible journey and I found myself rooting for her. 

Don't even get me started on how damn happy I was when Dash comes along. But I won't go into that because it ruins the ending for you. But Debby is DAMN LUCKY to have survived because shortly before Oregon she gets a weird infection, thinks it's no big deal. She reluctantly has to go home to have it taken care of and as it turns out, it could have been fatal. But it's that trip home that reminds her of what she left behind. Her overbearing mother suffocating her. She does return to the trail because she is adamant she will finish and I was thrilled. So much of this book is absolutely amazing. It is far and above, a thousand times better than Wild. It just is. I know I'm in the minority on my dislike for Wild but whatever. I just really enjoyed this book. I also have to say, I learned far more about the PCT from this book versus Wild so there is that as well. 

It almost makes me want to hike it. BUT, let's be real, I'm pro nachos and ice cream. I would never make it. In the meantime, you can find this book on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble. Happy reading, lambs! 

If you loved this review and want to read more, follow me on BlogLovin' and don't miss a beat! 

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head

It's not too often that I get to review a book aimed at late elementary/middle school age group, so I was pretty excited that this new one showed up in the mail! Of course this book is geared towards ages 8-12, where my kids happily land, so we used it as a family read and I've even got a little input from my own children, always a nice bonus!

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head - Lauren Oliver & H.C. Chester

What you will find in this book:

– A rather attractive bearded lady
– Several scandalous murders 
– A deliciously disgusting Amazonian shrunken head
– Four extraordinary children with equally extraordinary abilities 
– A quite loquacious talking bird

Blessed with extraordinary abilities, orphans Philippa, Sam, and Thomas have grown up happily in Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders. But when a fourth child, Max, a knife-
thrower, joins the group, it sets off an unforgettable chain of events. When the museum’s Amazonian shrunken head is stolen, the four are determined to get it back. But their search leads them to a series of murders and an explosive secret about their pasts. 

This sensational new series combines the unparalleled storytelling gifts of Lauren Oliver with the rich 
knowledge of the notorious relics collector H.C. Chester. 

What you will NOT find in this book:

– An accountant named Seymour
– A never-ending line at the post office
– Brussel sprouts (shudder)
– A lecture on finishing all your homework on time
– A sweet, gooey story for nice little girls and boys.

I will say I've read a few YA books from Lauren Oliver and they surely did not disappoint, nor did this one! It's absolutely impressive that an author can switch up her writing based on her audience and there aren't many out there that can do that and do it well. Lauren Oliver is at the top of the class in that subject, easily. 

Jackson was totally impressed that this chapter book had pictures. There aren't a ton but the ones that are included just add to the oddity of the book. The author also did a fantastic job at describing not only Dumfrey's Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders but also the characters. Not joking, but if I saw an ad for this place I would feel compelled to go, it's like a weird road side attraction you want to say you've seen. Olivia was totally engaged in the story and said it reminded her of the show The Haunting Hour we've been watching on Netflix and created by the great R.L. Stine because this is really up in that same genre. The only complaint both kids had was a bit of a cliff hanger at the end and I had to assure them there is likely another book coming so that just means we'll have to keep reading. I was able to figure out who the killer was but they could not, probably because they aren't a seasoned reader like I am. 

All of the characters are endearing in personality but what really sets them apart are their "gifts". When Max shows up everything seems to go awry, but the most important incident is when the shrunken head is stolen. It's their newest main attraction and with that gone, money dwindles and their future is at stake. It's not like any of these people can really just get jobs somewhere else, this is their livelihood and their home. So they set off to solve the mystery and along the way see some questionable things and things no child should ever see. The protective parent in me says no thank you to my children reading about corpses. BUT... the child in me says I read R.L. Stine and read all about murdered cheerleaders and bodies that were rotting in the water and I feel like what Lauren Oliver and H.C. Chester give you in this book is nothing compared to that. 

If you have a child in the 8-12 range who enjoys a good mystery, they will love this book. Absolutely love it! It doesn't get released until September 29, 2015, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you loved this review and want to see what I'm reading next, follow me on Bloglovin' and stay tuned! 

Try It Sunday: Chicken Tacos!

It's Sunday so that means I am playing along with Stacy Homemaker and her weekly Food Stars Link Up party! If you are looking for some fun new recipes to try I highly encourage you to visit her blog and see what the rest of us are cooking up.

This week I am making what is maybe my favorite meal as of late: chicken tacos in the crock pot! This is also probably the easiest recipe I have in my arsenal and it's so good to have as tacos but with the left overs you can have nachos for lunch the next day, use the chicken in a salad, use it in a lettuce wrap or in a pita pocket, it's so versatile even as leftovers.

 All you will need is:

• One pack of chicken boobs
• One pack of taco seasoning
• One jar of salsa, whatever kind you like
• Optional: black beans or corn if you want a little extra in your tacos

If you are short on time in the morning this is the recipe you need to have on your menu because it takes less than five minutes to make! All you have to do is place your chicken in the crock pot. Pour your salsa in as well as your taco seasoning, stir together so the salsa and seasoning are mixed but they also coat your chicken. If you want to add corn or beans to this, do that now but drain them! You don't want all of that extra juice all up in your chicken. 

Cook this on low in your crock pot for 6-8 hours. Once you get home and get everyone settled, take a couple of forks and shred your chicken. After you have it shredded, give it a good stir so all of your chicken has your salsa mixture on it. 

Serve your tacos however you like. Since Olivia has braces I pretty much only use the soft tortillas because it's easier for her. I took a picture of Jackson's taco, he only likes chicken and cheese because he's weird. But Matt's would have lettuce, sour cream, sometimes extra salsa and chopped raw onions. It's so delicious and it's so easy. It also heats up the next day really well!

Are you looking for more budget and kid friendly recipe ideas? Follow me on Bloglovin and join me again next Sunday. I'm going to be trying a Sweet & Sour Chicken Stir Fry. Shenanigans may ensue again, just like with my pasta salad.

Starlight on Willow Lake (and giveaway!!) and a winner. WOOT.

So before I get into my next book review and the next giveaway for my readers, let's announce the winner of the Come Away With Me book giveaway, shall we?

I had Olivia draw a name because Penelope wanted to eat them. It's hard to tell but the winner is...

Mattie @ Northwest Native!

YAY!! You are going to love this book so much, I just know it!

Let's talk about my next review, which I am also going to give away a copy of this as well, so you'll want your chance to enter. Your odds of winning are super high because not a ton enter so that's awesome for you, am I right? Woo hoo!

Starlight on Willow Lake - Susan Wiggs

When caregiver Faith McCallum arrives at the enchanted, lakeside estate of Avalon's renowned Bellamy family, she's intent on rebuilding her shattered life and giving her two daughters a chance at a better future. But she faces a formidable challenge in the form of her stubborn and difficult new employer, Alice Bellamy. While Faith proves a worthy match for her sharp-tongued client, she often finds herself at a loss for words in the presence of Mason Bellamy—Alice's charismatic son, who clearly longs to escape the family mansion and return to his fast-paced, exciting life in Manhattan…and his beautiful, jet-setting fiancée. 

The last place Mason wants to be is a remote town in the Catskills, far from his life in the city, and Faith McCallum is supposed to be the key to his escape. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet strong-willed caregiver as a live-in nurse gives his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to return to his no-attachments routine. For Faith, it means stability for her daughters and a much-needed new home. When Faith makes a chilling discovery about Alice's accident, Mason is forced to reconsider his desire to keep everyone, including his mother, at a distance. Now he finds himself wondering if the supercharged life he's created for himself is what he truly wants…and whether exploring his past might lead to a new life—and lasting love—on the tranquil shores of Willow Lake.

I am so late to the Susan Wiggs party and I feel like an absolute loser. I actually own a bunch of her books I got at our local library sale because a lot of my friends heavily recommend her, but I have only read a small handful. Bottom line? I need to change that because I absolutely loved this book. So much. I feel the same way about Dorothea Benton Frank books as I do Susan Biggs now. 

The great thing? That although this is #11 in The Lakeshore Chronicles series, it's a full stand alone, you will be fine jumping right in here. I loved the characters as well. Sure, Mason is kind of a jerk to his mom (though he has his reasons and I can see why he acts the way he does but STILL. That's your mother, you know??) I root for him. I felt from page one that if he had a decent girl he would soften up and see what the beauty in life can do for a person. Then we have Faith, who I immediately adored because she reminded me so much of my own mom. Faith is a single mom with two kids and living paycheck to paycheck isn't even close to an adequate description. She needs this job as caregiver because her and her kids are homeless, but she also won't compromise on standards or taken advantage of. She's also fiercely loyal to her children. 

Then of course, Alice Bellamy is a heavily handicapped woman after a horrible accident and is unhappy having lost her freedom and independence. She relies solely on a caregiver to live and she struggles with the hardships of losing dignity, privacy and the ability to get up and go when she wants to. But she sees something in Faith, and her children, and though she doesn't make it easy, it's the catalyst for new relationships and futures. 

The great part about this book? Is that yes, it is a romance and it's everything you want in a romance. It's steamy, it's endearing, it has it's trials, but it endures. Instead, the best part of the book for me is Alice. I used to work with senior citizens and though not totally similar, seeing Alice liven up and transform during the story was similar to what you'd see with lonely seniors who get to volunteer with kids all of the time. It's the basic human connections and engaging someone no matter the barriers that is truly remarkable. It was such a delight to see Alice's journey as well as Faith's. I rooted for Faith so hard and I am so glad she got the ending she did. Absolutely more than deserving. 

Honestly you guys, this is going to be up there in my top ten reads of the year so far. I better start making my list now and I'm telling you it's going to be SO hard! If you are a Susan Wiggs fan, I'm sure this is right up there with her other books and you won't be disappointed but you will love to be reunited with the little town of Avalon. If you are new to Susan Wiggs, this is a great book to start at, I'm sure you'll be as hooked as I am. 

You can find Susan on Facebook, Twitter, and her website. Starlight on Willow Lake is available on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble. 

But now it's time to giveaway a copy (US/Canada only) to one reader! 

All you have to do is leave me a comment with your latest read, and leave your email address! I'll draw a winner on Friday, September 11. Good luck! 

Spelled

Alright lambs, you're lucky I'm a fast reader because I squeezed this one between my other review books just so you could get the full effect of my Lit-Cube. If you missed that, then go back and just check that out because it's pretty neat bundle of things you get.

Spelled - Betsy Schow

Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.

Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.

Talk about unhappily ever after. 

Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse...before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.

I am the first one to tell you I totally judge a book by the cover and this cover is absolutely stunning. Nobody can say this book is not stunning and if they do, punch them in the face because they are a moron. What isn't totally super, over the rainbow stunning, (you see what I did there?) is the story. I KNOW. I just kind of deflated your balloon, didn't I? The story is not awful, I was real doubtful, but honestly the last third of the book is the best part. 

I'm normally a fan of re-telling of classic stories and you know my top re-telling of ALL TIME is and will forever be Lisa Jensen's Alias Hook. That book is near and dear to my heart, I love it more than I would love my own book, if I ever finish it. But Spelled is not so much a re-telling, but more a different take of The Wizard of Oz. And not even that, to me this is more like the movie that came out with James Franco and everyone said was crap, but I actually totally loved it. 

So we have Dorthea, who is a spoiled rotten brat who is too cool for school and boys, and she's basically locked up in her castle because there is a curse on women in her family but nobody knows who really is cursed, so let's not take any chances. Of course, Dorthea is willful and bratty so she tries to make a run for it, and fails. She's informed she'll be marrying  Kato, who looks like a dirty gardener and far from a Prince Charming. (And I'm sorry, I read the name Kato and all I could think about is the OJ Simpson trial and that kind of ruined all chances of me thinking this guy is any kind of hot.) So she takes a wishing star from a child and hell breaks lose and Dorthea is on the run presumably to save her life AND set the story right. 

I know this is kind of picky of me but using words like "pixed" instead of "pissed" and "Grimm" instead of "damn" and a variety of other fairy tell vocabulary to replace swear words is kind of ridiculous. I know it's supposed to be kitschy and go with the story but I found it distracting and I think ultimately did a disservice to the book. This book would have worked as a really dark romance novel and I feel like the author was afraid to go there and instead opted for cutesy and it just didn't work for me ultimately. Also, one of the characters that I thought was just a blip in the story, Hydra, actually has a large part in the novel but she's also.. well she's different. She has a flair for multiple personalities as she changes heads but some of the dialogue from her is so bizarre and difficult to read at times, almost like she has a really bad Creole accent? I mean, that's what it sounds like in my head as I read it. I get that is the character you are portraying but again, so hard to read. An example is on page 264 where she says, "She be havin' a point. But  ya should alsa know, if ya be growin' inta a full beastie, der be no changin' back for ya." That was one of the easier sentences, but you have to read the words phonetically for you to understand it. 

BUT. 

I'm not telling you to rule this book out because at 344 pages, this books is kind of a steal of a deal and worth the purchase price of $9.99 or less on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I will say again though, The Bookworm Box had amazing books, each one of them were 5 stars and so far, for my first Lit Cube book I have to give this one 3/5. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't tremendous either. So stay tuned because I do have another Lit Cube coming and I'll review that book again as well. 

Lit-Cube Oz Box Reveal!

If you remember correctly, a few weeks ago I gave you a good run down on several Book Subscription boxes that are available. If you missed that and are a fan of books and fun mail, definitely check that post out and maybe find something that will work for your budget and tastes. In that post I told you I had signed up for Lit-Cube and I already received my first box. I missed the original sign up for the Oz box, but if you follow them on Facebook, sometimes they have extras and you can order them after the fact, and that's what I did. So here is what my $34.98 (after shipping) got me:

The box! Admittedly, I pretty much almost tackled the mail man off of my front porch. He was not pleased.

Inside is a glossy printed card detailing the items in your box, their value, and where to get more should you want to. I absolutely LOVE this detail because one of the items is from an Etsy shop and I love that advertising, but also because you know where your money went. If I added up the value, it comes to just under $44 worth of items, and my total was $34.98 but that included the shipping of the box to me.

So you'll see I was getting a book, a handmade necklace, a book mark, a poster and a magazine- not a bad haul!

This is what the box looked like once I opened it up, packaged very nicely.

A Dorothy Poster (11x17) which I'll get a frame for and hang up in my library/office room.

Oh, all of my stuff laid out. I also got a sucker, a couple of magnets and a signed book sticker from the author, which I put in the inside cover of my book.

Kind of a nice touch to have your book basically signed!

Let's talk about my favorite item in the box- the "oz inspired Origami necklace" from STCHandmade. I think my favorite thing about the LitCube is that they feature from things, often from Etsy shops and you know I love Etsy. The necklace itself is absolutely gorgeous, the packaging is top notch and I'm not even keeping it for myself. I know someone who would really love this and let's cross one thing off my Christmas shopping list!

Tomorrow I'll formally review the book Spelled for you, so come back for that, but a teaser... I didn't LOVE it. It wasn't awful, but I didn't totally LOVE it. If I have to compare LitCube to The Bookworm Box? I love LitCube's stuff and The Bookworm Box's books. I am still signed up for The Bookworm Box as it takes a hiatus in September, and I'm also signed up for LitCube. The next box is "We Will Never Be Royals" theme and a shirt is going to be included. I am ridiculously excited!