Saturday, May 28, 2016

#StackingtheShelves #37 with updates, week's end and #Vaping here at the #blog! 5-28-16


Thanks to our Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews!

First, let's find out HOW Stacking the Shelves works! 

Hello everyone! It's that time of week again, that time to do an awesome "SHOW AND TELL" of the books I have been given, from authors, from publishers, I bought, borrowed, or received somehow, the library, a yard sale, or some way this past week! I LOVE showing books off like this! This is one of MY favorite posts to write!!
I also use THIS POST EACH WEEK to do somewhat of a wrap-up AND to post my NEW REVIEWS, NEW GIVEAWAYS, and whatever else I should bring to your attention!
After you are done reading HERE, click on the Sponsor's name up above and see THEIR post for Stacking the Shelves, too! They have a link-up with OVER 100-200 other blogs that also participate!
I'm also finding OTHER PLACES TO LINK UP TO AS WELL! I'm finding these places from other blogs, and they are GREAT ideas! The following NEW one is Talk of the Town where we can add ALL THINGS BOOKISH! Check it out! I still plan on joining in on other link-ups, too, I just haven't had the chance to do it all yet! I'll get there!!


My NEW books I received this week are much further down, but first, I would like to discuss Vaping, also known as Electronic Cigarettes and the FDA's NEW deeming regulations that will WIPE THEM OUT! WE MAY HAVE "NO" FUTURE OF VAPING AT ALL. THE FDA HAS DECIDED TO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO BE ABLE TO GET THEM OR TO SELL THEM OR TO MAKE NEW ONES, AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO USE THEM TO QUIT SMOKING WHEN IT IS "PROVEN" THEY WORK AND ARE PROVEN 95% LESS HARMFUL THAN SMOKING TRADITIONAL TOBACCO CIGARETTES! THAT SAYS "EVERYTHING" RIGHT THERE! YES! YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY! 95% LESS HARMFUL THAN SMOKING TRADITIONAL TOBACCO CIGARETTES!!!

I WAS ABLE TO SAVE MY LIFE WITH ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AND I WANT OTHER PEOPLE TO HAVE THE SAME CHANCE I HAD! THIS IS WHY YOU WILL SEE ME ADVOCATING FOR VAPING, AND TO THOSE OF YOU IT BOTHERS, I AM SORRY - BUT THIS NEW INVENTION HAS TAKEN THE WORLD BY STORM, AND IT WORKS, AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO WIPE OFF TRADITIONAL TOBACCO CIGARETTES OFF OF THIS EARTH!!! DEATH BY CIGARETTES CAN NOW BE STOPPED! HOWEVER, Big Tobacco does NOT LIKE THIS!!! Government does NOT like this - why? HUGE LOSS OF $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$! EVERYONE INTO TOBACCO IS NOW LOSING MONEY! IF THINGS GO AS EXPECTED WITH VAPING (ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES) THEN THE RISK OF TOBACCO "ALMOST" GOING AWAY IS WITHIN REACH!!! THIS MEANS SAVING ONE BILLION LIVES THIS CENTURY!!! HOW, HOW, HOW CAN YOU SAY "NO" TO THIS?
THANK YOU, IF YOU HELP SUPPORT US OR NOT, EITHER WAY! JUST BY READING THIS, YOU ARE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

THERE IS A WAY TO SAVE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES, AND I WILL GET TO THAT NEXT, BUT IT TAKES "YOU" TO CONTACT YOUR CONGRESS PEOPLE AND ASK THEM TO VOTE "YES" FOR BILL HR2058! MOST REPUBLICANS 'ARE' SIGNING THIS BILL - NOT "ONE" DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS PERSON HAS SIGNED THIS BILL! WE CANNOT GET ANSWERS AS TO WHY THEY WON'T SIGN IT????? WE ARE CLUELESS!!!! IT'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE TWO GROUPS PLAYING 'STAND-OFF'! ENOUGH ALREADY, I SAY! GROW UP DEMOCRAT CONGRESS PEOPLE! NOW YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIVES NOW! IT'S NOT FUNNY! IT'S NOT A GAME!!!! THEY ALL JUST LOST MY VOTE!!!


We need YOUR Congress people to help support Bill HR2058!!! Further down there is a LINK to CASAA.org that helps you ask your Congress people to support Bill HR2058 without ANY effort on your behalf, aside from filling out a form! Its SO simple! Go there NOW and fill it out! ALL of those organizations that are shown on that photo are EXCELLENT! The one called "NOTBLOWINGSMOKE.org" is EXCELLENT for articles that are scientific in nature! Check it out!! Thank you from current people who are trying to quit smoking and for the upcoming smokers who will want to quit but WON'T BE ABLE TO!

You may or may not know that I am an advocate FOR electronic cigarettes, and I am telling you this because many of you who also follow me on Twitter or other various social media outlets may see me posting a LOT of things about it lately. It IS near and dear to me because I WAS a smoker for over 30 YEARS! Yes, I started in my EARLY teens by stealing cigarettes out of my mother's packs, but hey, there were 20 in a pack, she wouldn't miss a few! Yes, SADLY that is what I did and my reasoning for it so I could look "cool"! Other girls would look up to me because I smoked! NOT after you are SO addicted to them you can't live without them, and that WAS who I became. NOTHING on the market to help smoker's quit worked, and I had a HORRID REACTION TO CHANTIX! They talk about people wanting to commit suicide on that medication, they are RIGHT! I never attempted it, thank God, but I had it ALL planned out! THAT WAS THE SCARY PART! I IMMEDIATELY QUIT THAT DRUG after I realized what I was doing! I later did learn I was right, that it was truly the medication. I would NOT suggest ANYONE take that NASTY DRUG!!!
So then I was stuck, and like my Grandmother had always said, I also agreed with her. I would smoke and continue to smoke until I hit my grave. Unbelievable, smoking did NOT get her! She lived until the age of 72 without ANY side effects of smoking! Unbelievable because here I was using an asthma inhaler and a breathing machine 4X per day! I wheezed so bad it sounded awful! My Grandfather quit, but not before the damage to him was extremely permanent and took his life. He had an Aortic Aneurysm, the huge vein in your stomach. He was looking at death in it's face as he took the ambulance ride down to a Detroit hospital to have surgery (it had already exploded and he was bleeding internally) but the odds that he would survive that surgery were ONLY 5%! He KNEW he was going to die right then and there! THAT made a difference to me! As SOON as I heard about electronic cigarettes I started using them ASAP! I started using them on January 12, 2012, so it's been 4-1/2 years now that I have been SMOKE FREE!!! Thank God for that!!! They DO WORK!!! I was a DIEHARD SMOKER, TOO! If they worked for ME, then they can work for ANYONE!!
The FDA had now put out their deeming regulations, which is what I am fighting! They essentially are going to TAKE AWAY ANY AND ALL ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES AS WE HAVE THEM TODAY!! THIS IS WRONG! DID I GET TO TELL THEM MY STORY FACE TO FACE? NO!!!!! I have emailed my story of SUCCESS to them, but HOW do I know if they are going to take the time to read it? They are NOT!!! It starts with our Congress people. We could REALLY use your help! If you could PLEASE go to CASAA.org to learn MORE about CONSUMER'S INFORMATION AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP KEEP VAPING (vaping is the act of using electronic cigarettes, in case you wondered!) AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC! Otherwise, the way the FDA has it written up NOW in their Bill is they have practically handed the complete industry over to Big Tobacco who will ONLY SNUFF IT OUT - COMPLETELY! 

Each and EVERY PART of an electronic cigarette will have to be okayed by the FDA. Companies will have to submit their plans to make electronic cigarettes and pay MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to have them approved. If, after it has been on the market and the company needs to change out a washer because the device is leaking in an area, the company will have to resubmit NEW plans and AGAIN PAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO HAVE THE DEVICE RE-APPROVED! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!
This is ALL because EVERYONE WHO IS ANYONE THAT MAKES "ANY MONEY" AS IT RELATES TO THE TRADITIONAL COMBUSTIBLE TOBACCO CIGARETTE, THEY ARE LOSING TONS OF MONEY RIGHT NOW AS I WRITE THIS, AND THEY DON'T LIKE IT!
The Government OR even your own DOCTOR should admit that ANYONE TELLING YOU TO QUIT SMOKING REALLY DOESN'T CARE IF YOU DO OR YOU DON'T, IN FACT, THEY WOULD PREFER YOU DON'T! IT'S JUST SOMETHING THEY LEGALLY HAVE TO SAY and "ACT" concerned about!

IT IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN ABOUT THE "HEALTH" OF THE AMERICAN CITIZEN OR THE LIVES OF ANY OTHER PEOPLE IN ANY COUNTRY, BUT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH TOBACCO CAN MAKE OFF OF THOSE OF US WHO SMOKE TOBACCO CIGARETTES! HOW MUCH TAX CAN THEY ADD ONTO EACH PACK? HOW MUCH CAN THEY MAKE THE "LOOK" AND "ACT" OF SMOKING APPEALING TO PEOPLE SO THEY CAN MAKE MORE AND MORE AND MORE MONEY!!! THAT IS THE ENTIRE GOAL - TO MAKE MONEY!!! IF "ANYTHING" GETS IN THE WAY OF ANYONE MAKING MONEY FROM TOBACCO CIGARETTES - AND THAT IS THE ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE - THEN IT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN AWAY, BANNED!!!! REMOVE IT, TAKE IT OFF THE MARKET, DON'T ALLOW ANYONE ACCESS TO IT!!! WE WANT OUR $$$$$$$$$$$$$ AND WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP IT COMING IN!!!
I could explain so MUCH MORE about that, but I won't. I think you get the idea. THIS IS WRONG!!! I PUT MY FOOT DOWN AND SAY NO MORE!!! MY OWN PHYSICIAN WAS AGAINST MY USE OF VAPING TO QUIT SMOKING!!! AND I ENDED UP QUITTING!!!! HE TRIED TO BULLY ME INTO NOT USING THESE, TO USE MORE PRESCRIBED MEDICATION THAT HE GETS A KICK-BACK OF MONEY FROM, A PERCENTAGE ANY MEDICATION HE WRITES PRESCRIPTIONS FOR IF I WERE TO BUY ANY OF THE MEDICATION HE WRITES PRESCRIPTIONS FOR! NO! NO! NO! ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES WORK, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT DOCTOR TELLS ME BECAUSE I AM NO LONGER A SMOKER THANKS TO ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES!
So it is a fight right now - us and them! For the sake of FUTURE SMOKERS, THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO VAPE TO QUIT SMOKING!!! THEY CANNOT AS OF AUGUST.
If you don't mind helping to save the lives of a BILLION PEOPLE THIS CENTURY, then PLEASE go to CASAA.org and follow their SIMPLE directions on how to ask your congress person or people to VOTE YES FOR HR2058! THANK YOU!!!!

ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I WROTE - PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! I WILL TRY TO HELP ANSWER THEM!

THE FUN PART!!!! Here are the AMAZING books I got for review this week!!! (Actually, these are ALL from the Buzz Books 2016 Fall/Winter book! I reviewed this book a week or two ago - you can check my Archives! (Ooo! Maybe it was last month, even? WOW!!!) I LOVE that book because we get to read a few chapters of each book! ALL 3 of these books sound REALLY GREAT! After reading the chapters given, most always (except for the occasional book will NOT allow us to request it! BUMMER!!!) we are able to request the books directly from NetGalley! I LOVE that, and you will, too!


Gridley Girls by Meredith First - NEW RELEASE due out on June 21st, 2016


Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra - NEW RELEASE DUE OUT 9-20-16!


The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff - due out on January 31st, 2017 (which is most likely why there is not a cover yet!) We have a LONG wait! Excellent book so far, though! A woman and her friends find out she looks EXACTLY like another woman who was kidnapped when she was in her mid-teenage years, and now, almost a decade later, she is still missing. The news station that did the piece on this kidnapped woman showed a photo of what the woman would look like today. This girl in this book and her friends were STUMPED! This girl looked EXACTLY like her! Flash forward a few months, and this woman finds herself in trouble and in the police station being questioned for shoplifting. Her answer: I am the girl who was kidnapped years ago.
WHOA!!!!!!! I MUST READ THAT BOOK!!!

Thank you SO MUCH for reading my LONG post today! I really appreciate it!!! As do the smokers of today who WANT to quit tomorrow and want to be SURE ALL electronic cigarettes and their parts, right down to O-rings so tanks don't leak ARE available to them! THANK YOU, AGAIN, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!
With sincere heart-felt thanks,
Laurie

Friday, May 27, 2016

Splash into #Summer #Giveaway #Hop! 5-28 to 6-8! INTL!

Thanks to our Sponsor Bookhounds!

INTL
'1' Winner
'1' book
I am giving away '1' INTL copy of the NEW ...

"Everyone Brave is Forgotten" by Chris Cleave!
Author of Little Bee!



INTL - will receive an ebook
US - will receive a print copy!
Again, '1' WINNER
'1' copy

How do you enter this? Fill out this form! 
Good Luck and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I hope you come back often! Espeally when all is quiet!

Fill out this form! You may need to scroll the side of it up and down!






Here are the other blogs in this Hop just below this sentence!



Saturday, May 21, 2016

#StackingtheShelves #36 plus blog updates and week's end! HUGE HAUL!


Thanks to our Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews!

First, let's find out HOW Stacking the Shelves works! 

Hello everyone! It's that time of week again, that time to do an awesome "SHOW AND TELL" of the books I have been given, from authors, from publishers, I bought, borrowed, or received somehow, the library, a yard sale, or some way this past week! I LOVE showing books off like this! This is one of MY favorite posts to write!!
I also use THIS POST EACH WEEK to do somewhat of a wrap-up AND to post my NEW REVIEWS, NEW GIVEAWAYS, and whatever else I should bring to your attention!
After you are done reading HERE, click on the Sponsor's name up above and see THEIR post for Stacking the Shelves, too! They have a link-up with OVER 100-200 other blogs that also participate!
I'm also finding OTHER PLACES TO LINK UP TO AS WELL! I'm finding these places from other blogs, and they are GREAT ideas! The following NEW one is Talk of the Town where we can add ALL THINGS BOOKISH! Check it out! I still plan on joining in on other link-ups, too, I just haven't had the chance to do more! The following will explain a few reasons why, life can just get in the way!

It is Saturday morning right now, and I'm JUST NOW getting this post written. I had 2 migraines this week, and yesterday's was the absolute worst I have EVER had. I have always suffered from migraines, and DAILY cluster headaches, too, but WOW! I couldn't even LIFT my head yesterday. There is no reason for getting these, except I did have exceptional stress this week with my phone which would not work, and then my computer went haywire! Turns out it was I who accidentally hit a button that turned my laptop into a tablet! "I" did it! Ooops! LOL! So the stress with the telephone was so HUGE because we had to sign up for a NEW healthcare plan, and Wednesday night by 11:30pm was the deadline! Here it was Wednesday night at 8:45pm and the company closed at 8:00pm! My husband was SO upset! He couldn't sleep that night! The next day I called Comcast/Xfinity and they fixed our phone, EASILY! Grrrrrr! WHY couldn't we have it fixed the night before? I don't have a CLUE??? Signing up for health insurance the next day went fine for my husband at his place of employment! THANK GOSH! Bummer part is then the migraine! Yes, I got one on Thursday, but it wasn't much and went away. The one on Friday was HORRENDOUS!!! Thankfully this morning, so far, is GONE!!! Let's HOPE it doesn't come back! 
Do any of you suffer from migraines or constant headaches? What do you do/use for yours? I usually use Excedrin Migraine, but sometimes even that does not work. Thankfully, it's not often that does not work. I find that a miracle drug! LOL! It IS! Let me know what you do! Thanks!

REVIEWS: 
The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews HERE!

GIVEAWAY BLOG HOPS:
Love in Bloom NOW to May 29th! I am giving away a book you WILL fall in love with learning how to make those AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, HANDMADE SOAPS! I recently bought a gift set of soaps made out of goat milk. WOW!!! The bummer part - ONE BAR on it's OWN would cost me $15 PER BAR!!! Not anymore!! Now I can make ALL I want!!! Plus, I did not like most of the scents for the bars of soaps that were scented. I thought they were SO STRONG! I felt like an old lady who overdoes the bottle of perfume! LOL!!!! I DID!!!! The plain soaps, though, WOW!!! LOVE!!!!!! So I HAD to buy the book! One book kept rising in price on Amazon, but the BOOK looked pretty, and that is NOT what I wanted! I wanted a book that would REALLY TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE ANY KIND OF SOAP I WANTED! I found it! You can find that Blog Hop so you can ENTER TO WIN THE BOOK HERE!

Here are the books I got over the last two weeks. (I missed a few of these books last week.)

The Fallout by Tamar Cohen - (print book) Previously published as The Broken in the UK - in case you are wondering. NEW RELEASE AS OF MAY 31st, 2016.
This is currently a FREE audio book BUT YOU MUST START A FREE TRIAL of Audible. That is the catch, but here is the link if you want it as The Broken: http://amzn.to/1swaI3r  I don't know if there is anything different or if the book is COMPLETELY THE SAME OR NOT??? Only someone who read it before would know.

I WILL be putting this book (The Fallout) in some type of Giveaway (and I am contacting the publisher to explain and thank them for the book). I don't know which giveaway yet, but if you do win this, if you don't mind writing a review for it? Thanks!! I cannot read this book because it's about a VERY nasty divorce. I went through a MORE than nasty divorce, but one that probably tops A LOT of divorces out there, and I cannot BEAR to possibly re-live ANYTHING that might be in this book, or should I say I CHOOSE not to re-live anything. The divorce was MORE than horrid, so much so that I cannot BEAR to read about another nasty divorce in a book such as this one. It WAS "that bad". 


Debut novel - Literary and Speculative Fiction (print book) 
The Story Plant brings us this NEW RELEASE MAY 24, 2016!
Description:
Parts of the world have disappeared. For a while, nobody notices. Or cares. But as an increasing number of voids disrupt the fabric of reality, threatening the foundation of our world, they propel some of the greatest minds on the planet to determine what force, godlike or human, is behind the change. Now they must race to stop a dread emptiness before it leads to global oblivion.


Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - Author of "Little Bee"! (print book) Goodreads Giveaway!

Description:
From the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Little Bee, a spellbinding novel about three unforgettable individuals thrown together by war, love, and their search for belonging in the ever-changing landscape of WWII London.

It’s 1939 and Mary, a young socialite, is determined to shock her blueblood political family by volunteering for the war effort. She is assigned as a teacher to children who were evacuated from London and have been rejected by the countryside because they are infirm, mentally disabled, or—like Mary’s favorite student, Zachary—have colored skin.

Tom, an education administrator, is distraught when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair, an art restorer, has always seemed far removed from the violent life to which he has now condemned himself. But Tom finds distraction in Mary, first as her employer and then as their relationship quickly develops in the emotionally charged times. When Mary meets Alastair, the three are drawn into a tragic love triangle and—while war escalates and bombs begin falling around them—further into a new world unlike any they’ve ever known.

A sweeping epic with the kind of unforgettable characters, cultural insights, and indelible scenes that made Little Bee so incredible, Chris Cleave’s latest novel explores the disenfranchised, the bereaved, the elite, the embattled. Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, loss, and incredible courage.


I see QUITE the future for this book! It is an excellent read! I can't wait to share the review when I am done reading this one! This is one of those books, though, that you want to read it slowly and take it all in. This book is SURE to be a bestseller, win awards, and will be talked about for a LONG time to come! This author had excellence with Little Bee, and now this one, WOW! 
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THIS BOOK!

This NEXT book has 2 covers: 


AND


Watching Edie by Camilla Way
I don't know which cover they will end up going with, but I like the 2nd the best! It's SO mysterious!


The One Man by Andrew Gross
A man must sneak into Auschwitz, find a man, and escape. WHOA!


I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows
About living in the Dust Bowl (the Great Plains) and how it affected families, friends, and the challenge it took to live there. I'm DYING to read this one and to learn more as to how they were able to stop the storms. I believe this will be very interesting!


Bay of Sighs, Book Two of The Guardian Trilogy by Nora Roberts
I got to read Book One and can't WAIT to read this one, Book Two! There is a 3rd book after this one!


Now and Then Friends by Kate Hewitt


The Faces of Strangers by Pia Padukone
I missed showing this one I received a while ago. 

I will see you NEXT WEEK! HAVE A GREAT WEEK AHEAD AFTER YOU ENJOY THIS WEEKEND!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

#Book #Review "The Weekenders" by Mary Kay Andrews


Description:
Some people stay all summer long on the idyllic island of Belle Isle, North Carolina. Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.

So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.

Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.


MY TAKE:
5 Stars!
Who can go one summer without reading a Mary Kay Andrews chick-lit summer read? Not I! She does it again with this book as her characters head over to Belle Isle, North Carolina. This book even includes more mystery than what she has been adding in lately! I was in my element! She also always finds a way to add some humor in all the right places, too. It’s always nice, too, for a little romance! That made this book even all that much better for my liking! Grab your copy of this book for your summer reading today! You won’t be disappointed at all! I look forward to these every year!
I want to thank St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review of my own opinion.

Monday, May 16, 2016

#Love in Bloom #Giveaway Hop! NOW to May 29th! Come #enter ALL the #blogs!


Welcome to the #Love in Bloom #Giveaway Hop! Now to May 29th at midnight! Come on over and enter ALL the different blogs' #giveaways!

I am giving away:

1 #print #book TO
1 US winner - scroll on down to see it!

What could possibly be better than to show your love to someone OR TO YOURSELF than by making handmade soap! I fell in LOVE with this book, and thought I would share it! 
I also recently came across a GREAT DEAL on one of those television shows where they sell things! Yes! I KNOW! I fell victim! LOL! I bought a mixed box of different scented Goat's Milk Soap (mostly all unscented, but some were just plain, while others had oatmeal - and a LOT of oatmeal in it! One bar had invigorating eucalyptus in it! WOW!!! There were MORE, too! I just fell in LOVE with these soaps! However, the price tag for '1' bar of soap is $15! Yes! I will spell that out! Fifteen dollars! I want it! I LOVE it, but there is no WAY I can afford to pay $15 for ONE bar of soap!!! Yes, I could just buy Dove, but why not SHARE THE LOVE at gift giving time with these GORGEOUS BARS OF GLORIOUS SOAP?! If you can't beat 'em, you join 'em! I thought you all might like to try this, too! So here is the book! This author, Gregory Lee White, from reading reviews on other books that are about the same thing, have often mentioned that "White" is the way to go! So here we go! One for YOU, and one for ME! We will go on this journey of love together! Oh! You don't want to give this soap you make away? THAT'S FINE! KEEP IT! I AM!!! WE have to try the soap out first, of course! See how nice our skin turns out from this, etc! You let me know how well this works and I'll let you know! We can message each other and see how AMAZING this is! (I am sorry ahead of time if I have given you something to do that you have absolutely fallen in LOVE making! That happens! Just enjoy it!) LOL!


With a no-nonsense approach and easy to follow directions, professional soap maker, Gregory White, shares his experience (and recipes) for creating cold process soaps. White takes the reader step by step through the process of making natural soaps for family, friends, and for profit. Easy to understand and master. This second edition includes extended directions for first time soap makers, new recipes, how to make soap in small and large batches and a guide to using essential oils. Includes tips and advice for how to cut and cure soap, how to sell your soaps, packaging and labeling, and how to set up at a craft fair or market. Over 45 soap recipes from luxurious to economical.

Authors Note: I listened closely to all of the reviews I read here and also the feedback directly from readers. From their feedback, I included all the things that readers/reviewers felt were missing from the first edition: more instructions on STANDARD soap making, more recipes for standard soap making, how to swirl colors in soap, how to sell soap, how to cut and cure soap, how to set up a booth at a craft fair or market.

The original "Bubbles and Bull" section where I described past business relations that went south has been greatly edited to only two stories, leaving more room for soap talk and soap recipes. The second edition also includes a section for those who want a few recipes using animal fats.

Thanks so much,
Author
Gregory Lee White
 



HOW TO ENTER?
FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW!
You will have to use the scroll bar on the right side of the form!






Here are the other blogs in this Hop! Make sure to enter ALL of them to WIN more Giveaways! Good Luck! Have FUN!!!


Saturday, May 14, 2016

#StackingtheShelves #35 plus blog updates and week's end!


Thanks to our Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews!

First, let's find out HOW Stacking the Shelves works! 
Hello everyone! It's that time of week again, that time to do an awesome "SHOW AND TELL" of the books I have been given, I bought, borrowed, or received somehow, some way this past week! I LOVE showing books off like this! Especially when the books have AWESOME COVERS!! That is MY favorite part!!
With THIS POST I am often always finding MORE amazing books and adding them to my TBR list! That list is longer than my life already, but that's okay! What's life without a list with reading on it longer than my life? There is NOT ONE!!! I also LOVE to see other books and I like to look for trends! How do I do that? When I see the same book on other blogs quite often, I KNOW that book HAS TO BE GREAT!! That's the BEST way to spot an amazing book!

I'm also finding OTHER PLACES TO LINK UP TO AS WELL! I'm finding these places from other blogs, and they are GREAT ideas! The following NEW one is Talk of the Town where we can add ALL THINGS BOOKISH! Check it out!

GOODREADS: Make sure to ADD any books you find you want to read to your TO BE READ list on your Goodreads page! Why? Goodreads will send you a NOTICE telling you "a book on your To Be Read list" is in a Giveaway" . . . for however long! Nice, eh . . . ? Oh, yes!!! You get to go over to Goodreads and ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Want to see MORE books than just my stuff each week? Okay! Awesome!! Many of you who do not go to the Sponsor's blog on Saturday's are missing out and may not know you really should go there to do the following:
When you are done here, go up to the top of this post where I thank the Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews (that is the Sponsor) you really w and click on that sponsor's name. Once at Tynga's Reviews, find HIS/HER POST and follow the Arrows TO READ the post, "Stacking the Shelves" meme, which is usually ALWAYS the first post on the LEFT of her blog. Click on the arrow! You'll get to see what he/she got, BUT, what I'm after to show you is to SCROLL DOWN FURTHER, and you'll see usually a VERY LARGE and LONG Linky-List of blogs GALORE!!! Blogs ADD their names to this list ALL DAY LONG!! I've been known to add mine close to midnight on Saturday! Visit a few blogs! You're now ADDICTED to Stacking the Shelves! (Sorry - not really!!! LOL!!!)
Enjoy!

REVIEWS
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh (click on the titles to see the reviews!)
The Last Good Girl by Allison Leotta - WITH GIVEAWAY!!!
May I Suggest . . . #Giveaway Blog Hop! To 5-19!

GIVEAWAYS
In the LEFT SIDE COLUMN!!! Go for them!

This week I had to get some things done I needed to do for myself, so I just had the one review. I have to say that book, The Last Good Girl by Allison Leotta was SO GREAT, I was spoiled by her writing and did have a hard time starting a NEW book! I did, though! Don't worry!

I AM CURRENTLY READING (releases this Tuesday):
I LOVE Mary Kay Andrews for a GREAT beach read!!



Last week my blog went down due to coding errors and I believe I made it happen! Ooops!  Now instead of just typing lauriehere.com you MUST type in www.lauriehere.com OR that might have been MY fault! Most likely! LOL!

Here are a few MORE books I've gotten over the last 2 weeks!

             

Liar Liar by MJ Arlidge releases June 7th!


Watching Edie by Camilia Way - Releases August 2nd!


The One Man by Andrew Gross (WWII but so engaging!)


I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows - about the dust bowls of the US Midwest


Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - From the Publisher - Paperback! - about the war in London and takes the misfits (so sad) plus a love triangle. I'm anxious to start this one!


What We Find by Robyn Carr - From the publisher - Hardcover! Can't wait!

Sunday, May 8, 2016

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2016!!!!


   HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!!
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL DAY!!!
NOW DO SOMETHING JUST FOR "YOU"! ENJOY!!!

Thursday, May 5, 2016

#AMAZING #BOOKS #GIVEAWAY HOP! 5-6 TO 5-19!



'1' US WINNER OF '1' PRINT BOOK IN HARDCOVER FORMAT!
THE LAST GOOD GIRL BY ALLISON LEOTTA!


NOTICE: This book has NOTHING IN COMMON OR TO DO WITH THE GOOD GIRL. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AUTHORS AND STORYLINE, TOO! THANKS!

DESCRIPTION:


In the bestselling tradition of Jodi Picoult and written “in a style that’s as real as it gets (USA TODAY), this ripped-from-the-headlines novel features prosecutor Anna Curtis as she finds herself again at the center of a national story involving a freshman girl at a prestigious university who disappears after filing rape charges against a young man in a powerful fraternity.


Emily, a freshman at a Michigan university, has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar near Sigma Pi, the prestigious and secretive fraternity known on campus as “the rape factory.” The main suspect is Dylan Brooks, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. But so far the only clues are pieced-together surveillance footage of Emma leaving the bar that night…and Dylan running down the street after her.


Anna Curtis is on the case when she discovers the video diary Emily kept over her first few months at college, exposing the history she had with Dylan—and accusing him of rape before she disappeared.


Emily’s disappearance gets media attention and support from Title IX activists across the country, but Anna’s investigation hits a wall. Now Anna is looking for something, anything she can use to find Emily alive. But without a body or any physical evidence, she’s under threat from people who tell her to think hard before she ruins the name of an “innocent young man.” Inspired by real-life stories, The Last Good Girl shines a light on campus rape and the powerful emotional dynamics that affect the families of the men and women on both sides.

TO READ MY AMAZING REVIEW ABOUT THIS BOOK (lol!) 
PLEASE CLICK HERE!!! AND GET A 2nd CHANCE TO #WIN THIS #HARDCOVER #BOOK! YES! I HAVE 2 OF THEM TO GIVE AWAY!

NOTICE: ONE BOOK IS THE BOOK I READ - YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TELL I EVEN READ IT - BUT I PUT HAND LOTION ON AND YOU CAN SEE A "FAINT" FEW FINGERS! SO SORRY! HECK, BY THE TIME YOU GET IT, IT COULD DISAPPEAR BY THEN, TOO! LET'S SEE!

NOTE: YOU WILL NEED TO USE THE SCROLLBAR THAT IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FORM. ROLL YOUR MOUSE OVER THE FORM AND YOU WILL SEE HOW THAT WILL SCROLL DOWN!

NEED HELP? YOU MAY CONTACT ME AT:
laurieisreading at gmail dot com - but if you follow the directions above you should be fine! ALLLLLL the BEST to you!
Thanks!!
Laurie






***WANT A 2ND CHANCE TO WIN THIS BOOK? SURE! CLICK HERE!!
WANT TO WIN MORE BOOKS? LOOK IN THE LEFT SIDE COLUMN AND CLICK ON THE BOOKS!!!
GOOD LUCK!
HAVE FUN!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
LAURIE


HERE ARE ALL THE OTHER BLOGS IN THIS HOP!

#BOOK #REVIEW #GIVEAWAY for '1' #PRINT #HARDCOVER #BOOK! "The Last Good Girl" by Allison Leotta! NOW to 5-19!



NOTICE: This book has NOTHING IN COMMON OR TO DO WITH THE GOOD GIRL. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AUTHORS AND STORYLINE, TOO! THANKS!

DESCRIPTION:


In the bestselling tradition of Jodi Picoult and written “in a style that’s as real as it gets (USA TODAY), this ripped-from-the-headlines novel features prosecutor Anna Curtis as she finds herself again at the center of a national story involving a freshman girl at a prestigious university who disappears after filing rape charges against a young man in a powerful fraternity.


Emily, a freshman at a Michigan university, has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar near Sigma Pi, the prestigious and secretive fraternity known on campus as “the rape factory.” The main suspect is Dylan Brooks, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. But so far the only clues are pieced-together surveillance footage of Emma leaving the bar that night…and Dylan running down the street after her.


Anna Curtis is on the case when she discovers the video diary Emily kept over her first few months at college, exposing the history she had with Dylan—and accusing him of rape before she disappeared.


Emily’s disappearance gets media attention and support from Title IX activists across the country, but Anna’s investigation hits a wall. Now Anna is looking for something, anything she can use to find Emily alive. But without a body or any physical evidence, she’s under threat from people who tell her to think hard before she ruins the name of an “innocent young man.” Inspired by real-life stories, The Last Good Girl shines a light on campus rape and the powerful emotional dynamics that affect the families of the men and women on both sides.

FROM THE PUBLISHER - A PAPER WAS INCLUDED WITH MY BOOK THAT HAS JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS BOOK 
These are OUTRAGEOUS BUT "TRUE FACTS" THAT WORK AGAINST WOMEN, ESPECIALLY FOR THE YEAR 2016! THESE SURELY TICK ME OFF AND I'M SURE YOU, TOO! HERE THEY ARE:
**A disproportionate number of rapes happen in the first week of college; experts call this time "the Red Zone"
**6% of young men commit 90% of the rapes on campus
**1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted during their time in college
**Rape is the most under-reported crime in America; over 80% of victims never report it!
**Men who join fraternities are 300% more likely to rape women than other college boys
**If a student files a sex-assault report through the university, the charges are typically sealed and confidential ; the suspect NEVER has a public record of the allegations against him.
**Universities are concerned about application rates DROPPING if a rape report GETS OUT! They have a vested interest in keeping records sealed and reporting 0 rapers per year. Dartmouth college's application rate dropped 14% after a rape allegation.
**Universities can be sued for kicking a boy out - but NOT sued for letting him off, which is why suspects are so often found "not responsible"!


MY TAKE:
5+++ STARS! - My FAVORITE for 2016 to date!
This is by FAR my favorite book of 2016 so far! I just LOVED reading this book! There were a variety of reasons I loved this book so much, but the most outstanding one is this author's writing! This book read so well, you would start reading and the next thing you knew 50 pages just flew by! This author kept you glued to the pages in this book! Anything could have happened around you while you were reading this book and you wouldn't have even known it! She described things extremely well, the characters interacted very well and it was easy to know who was talking, whom they were talking to, and when a new character joined in or the scene changed. Overall, from start to finish this author never disappoints us as we are reading this book that is so simple yet at the same time very complex and a very detailed and complicated story, I call this 'reading through butter', meaning it reads so smoothly and with such ease! 
This is Book Five of the Anna Curtis Series, (she works at the FBI and works whatever cases are given her), but this being Book Five means 'nothing'. This is a "stand-alone" book well worth your time and effort to read! I will be collecting her other four novels and I very much look forward to reading them and all her future books! Anna has a love interest, and she just made a huge decision, so I really want to learn more about that!
So what happens? This book is about rape that happens on college campuses, and in this case, it happens at a Michigan university, right where a particular student lives, a woman named Emily Shapiro. Emily actually grew up at this university because her father is the President of it. Amazing, huh! We learn some pretty shocking statistics in this book about rape, and other shocking information about fraternities, too. I always knew college fraternities do get a little crazy, but not quite like the one in this book, but then again I never did go away to school. This is downright scary to think of some of these things are going on at our colleges. We have seen movies show us what some college fraternities focus on, and that is strictly on and about women, and we are not made to look very respectful, and that is how women are treated and demonstrated by a certain fraternity in this book. It's quite shocking. This book takes place at The Tower University in Detroit, Michigan. This campus has a clock tower which has turned into a special gathering place for the students, and a landmark on and for this campus (a lot of campuses have this.) Yes! Our good ‘ole state of Michigan does have a college in Detroit called Wayne State University, and yes, they also have a clock tower too, called 'Old Main', built in 1894! (There are so many similarities between this book's universities (colleges) and three others here in Michigan I thought it was pretty neat since I live here and know what and where the colleges are! For a college to have a clock like this is considered a status symbol. This author graduated from Michigan State University, and they have a clock tower on it's campus, too, built in 1928 and is referred to as the Beaumont Tower! The name Beaumont here is HUGE in our state, or at least in the suburbs of Detroit. It is a huge hospital system and more. It is SO large it's difficult to find whatever it is we need, and I say this from experience. It's amazing to me how colleges are so intertwined with other businesses, etc., in the states they are located in. Since there are so many similarities between the colleges here in Michigan, I thought this was pretty neat since this book takes place here where I live, and I know what colleges are here and where they are located, and I am somewhat familiar with the city of Detroit, etc.! When you read about a book based in and around the area you live in it is really neat! 
And yes! There truly “ARE” farms in the middle of Detroit! They are seasonal, of course, due to our weather, and some of them can be quite large. Since the city of Detroit has fallen by the wayside, and is no longer the ‘auto capital of the world' as it was once known as the 'Motorcity’, people in Detroit have had no choice but to reinvent Detroit all on their own. Homes still get burned down to the ground left and right, and usually it's always arson when that happens, and is truly pathetic because those old homes were more than beautiful! The art in the woodwork and the stained glass windows alone! The care people used to put into their AMAZING homes! If only people had kept them up instead of letting them go and then they turn into blight in the city perfectly waiting for someone to come along and ignite them - UGH! You just are not and/or were not safe. Jobs still are still scarce, so people started claiming the land on their blocks (yes, sometimes and most of the time their house is the ONLY house on their entire city block when prior to that the houses were almost one on top of the other) and they are reinventing their blocks, their jobs, and turning their houses into farms! Yes! When you read that, it IS happening like that and the author is NOT stretching to making this up, nor is this some type of Apocalyptic thing! Why am I talking about the community in Detroit? They ALL come together and help look for Emily Shapiro after she disappears. It's amazing! At this point, the only thing to look for is her dead body. There would be no way for her to be able to remain alive with the weather elements the way they were at the time. No one has heard from her, no one has seen her, and it's been months. She's gone. Here's what happens. As I said above, this book is about women who go off to college and unfortunately are raped. Their risk of rape is extremely high especially in the first few weeks of school starting. This is SO sad! It's wrong and needs to be stopped, and it's books like THESE that bring out the truth that will do it! Koodles to this author for writing about this in this book bringing it to the attention of everyone who will end up reading it, most likely millions upon millions of people who will also feel like I do and want this stopped and there WILL BE ACTION TAKEN TO STOP THIS when in the past it was looked away from and more! You'll learn more about that in the book. This NEW action will result in NO ONE being able to keep rape a HUSH-HUSH SECRET ANY LONGER and this WILL be taken extremely seriously from now on! Emily Shapiro attended her first college party the very first night she moved into her dorm. She got ready with her other two suite roommates and they were off to party at a frat house! Emily ended up with a guy named Dylan and she is raped. Emily was not flirting with this guy, she just found herself with him. How? As she lay underneath of him and was being raped, she felt drugged as she could not stay awake, and she kept falling asleep, but why she was being raped? How? What was happening to her? She was aware of what was happening, but she felt helpless to fight him back. When she woke up the next morning, she definitely knew what happened, it was not a dream. A few months later, she fights for her rights after being raped by this guy, even if it did take her a few months to do so, but he keeps getting off free? Why? After a very short while, Emily disappears. She doesn't just go missing and is found at a friends house, she is completely gone for months and months and months with ZERO clues as to where she could possibly be. Is she dead? The FBI gets called in. No police department, including college security likes when this happens. The FBI takes over this investigation, in particular, Anna. Anna is from Michigan, too, so this is nice in that she gets to stay with her family while she is working this case. The problematic part for Anna is that her former fiance' is also HERE in Michigan, and he is HOT! His name is Cooper. One night Anna caught herself thinking how good it feels to be back home (with Cooper). Whoa! Stop! She cannot be thinking like this because she is not going to marry Cooper. Oh, problems. Now the last time anyone ends up seeing Emily is getting longer and longer since the last time. It is seriously time to start searching for her and NOW! Thankfully, due to traffic cameras and some cameras at a few people's houses, including recordings Emily made herself for homework for her one Professors. Emily had to post her videos on a special server called Blue Tube and she was able to keep them set as "private" until others found them and someone took the videos down at that point. Anna was able to see Emily and also Dylan on camera chasing her down the street past anything where she might have found safety at until they get to the last place anyone wants to go or end up at, and that is “The Pit”. It happens to be an area at the college where construction has been going on for quite a while now. It’s more off to the side of the college where accidents have happened before. They do find some of her personal items in The Pit, but they don’t find her or her body in there. At this point, all that's left to try to use is DNA matching. This is GREAT! Maybe she still has a chance? Everyone IS HOPING she has that chance, but they can’t find her no matter what! The FBI does now know for a fact Emily was chased into The Pit by Dylan as it's on tape. They do get a search warrant and now they have one LIVID man at the frat house and college. More detective work goes on and more discovery is made, and some things will completely catch you by surprise! All in all, yes, the subject matter in this book was dark, edgy, and grimy, but you KNEW that it had to be like this so that eventually ALL of this bad and evil secret keeping done intentionally by the fraternity houses will stop! Especially with the FBI on this trail, you KNOW justice will prevail! We just don't how or when, who would get hurt, if Emily is alive or not, and on and on with the questions. This book was one heck of a suspenseful one! Again, this author is VERY talented, and it made reading this book an outstanding experience despite the subject matter. I LOVE books like these where the author has you so hooked into their books and you end up reading one like this in ONE DAY! (300 pages which normally doesn't happen that fast for myself!) This book is just SO good, I could NOT put it down! My nose was buried! So . . . there is so much more information you will learn from this book, hold on for the ride! I have to admit I have seen this same 'that doesn't happen here' thing that is in this book about rape at colleges/universities on TV news reports, and in hour long documentaries, too. It's about Universities don’t want ONE WORD uttered that 'THEIR' college was a part of or had some type of problem with the act of "rape". I never knew it was because they were worried about the numbers game! The number of students who want to enroll versus the number who drastically don't want a thing to do with a college any longer. It makes a HUGE difference! Plus, these shows I saw did not come out with the complete truth like this book does. It was so wrong to try to keep this so hush-hush! This is a book about to change all of that. MAKE SURE TO SHARE THIS BOOK WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY! THIS INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE SPREAD AROUND! YOU KEEP YOUR DAUGHTERS SAFE THE MORE YOU BRING THIS TO THE PUBLIC'S EYES, or else there is more, just like in this book! No, it's NOT OVER YET! Enjoy! I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Touchstone, A CBS Company, (and I thank them very much!) in exchange that I read then write a review about this book/what I read. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but to just enjoy the sheer pleasure of reading this book and then writing an honest review about what I thought about this book, regardless if my opinion is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.
 
Please scroll down to enter to win ONE HARDCOVER COPY!
Want to try to win a 2nd time? Then enter in the May I Suggest #Giveaway Hop! Just CLICK HERE!



ebook:       $ 5.99
hardcover: $19.72






WANT A CHANCE TO WIN A 2nd COPY OF THIS BOOK? CLICK HERE!
WANT TO WIN MORE BOOKS? LOOK IN THE LEFT SIDE COLUMN AND CLICK ON THE COVERS OF THE BOOKS!!! GOOD LUCK!
ENJOY!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
LAURIE

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

#BOOK #REVIEW - "I Let You Go" by Clare Mackintosh


DESCRIPTION:

The next blockbuster thriller for those who loved The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl...a novel with "an astonishing intensity that drags you in and never—ever—lets you go." (Daily Mail, UK)
On a rainy afternoon, a mother's life is shattered as her son slips from her grip and runs into the street . . .
I Let You Go follows Jenna Gray as she moves to a ramshackle cottage on the remote Welsh coast, trying to escape the memory of the car accident that plays again and again in her mind and desperate to heal from the loss of her child and the rest of her painful past.
At the same time, the novel tracks the pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of this hit-and-run. As they chase down one hopeless lead after another, they find themselves as drawn to each other as they are to the frustrating, twist-filled case before them. Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner, says, “I read I Let You Go in two sittings; it made me cry (at least twice), made me gasp out loud (once), and above all made me wish I'd written it . . . a stellar achievement.”

*Peter James, author of Want You Dead

MY TAKE:
5+++ Stars!
WOW! I literally 'just' finished this book, and if I could recommend a book MORE, it would be to read THIS BOOK! WOW! The TWISTS! I NEVER saw what was coming come along! I could not believe it! Not just once, either! I am not a person to be so surprised when the twists came, either, until THIS BOOK! To miss this story, if you're a Thriller lover like I am, this Thriller is so different from an ordinary Thriller that that gave it a twist all it's own!
I am not going to go into much detail about this book at all because I can't without giving too much away. I don't want to ruin this book for you. ONE SLIP and that ruins it! NOPE! I can't do that to you!
Believe me when I say this is a full, satisfying read you will enjoy reading very much. You will read a lot of backstory you really need to know about in order to understand this book. This book alternates between current chapters and time in the past for someone, but you really DO need this info, and what happens with the police and what they find with a suspect. The ONLY reason they even happened upon a Suspect was because they did a public cry for HELP! "Help us put the murderer of this child behind bars!" at the one-year mark. Wa, la! One witness comes forward. That's all it took to change ONE life. You know there is more to come, and this is when we wait for it! (When is it coming?! Suspense!) I have to say the suspense in this book is written so differently than anything else I have ever read before. It truly was a refreshing read.
Okay! That's ALL I can tell you! I know this does not tell you much, but believe me, ONE slip and I ruin the entire story! I cannot do this to you. Enjoy reading this book! It might feel long to you in places, but believe me, you need to know it ALL!
I received this book for FREE and I thank the Publisher, Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange to read and write a review about it. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but just to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading this and giving my own honest opinion in the form of a book review no matter whether my opinion is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.



ebook: $12.99
print:   $17.77