This newsletter still needs a name. Ashleigh's YA reads just doesn't sound that great. Or does it? I would love to hear your ideas. I know, I know. There were a LOT of technical difficulties with the last newsletter, but I have the entry form up and running so, let's see your ideas. Just a reminder, the people who nominate the top four names will receive subscriptions to the Hammerhead Gold or Silver Club. You can read more about this in my last email.Nominations close on April 30th! Okay. Full disclosure. I probably won't start working on the next newsletter until May 3 or 4 so you may be able to squeeze in your nominations after April. But, don't wait too long. As soon as I start working on my next newsletter, the nominations will close. Vote for your favorite name! My next newsletter will have a link to a poll where you can vote for your favorite names. Winners will be notified in the middle of May and announced in the May 21st newsletter. Ready to submit some names? Enter them into the form below. You may enter as many names as you like. I'm looking forward to seeing your suggestions. |
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Last week marked the end of the first season of Hartfield Chronicles. Here's a quick recap of what you missed. - Episode 29: Mysterious things are happening at Hartfield
- Episode 30: When Melinda figures out who pulled the fire alarm, she has a tough decision to make.
Season 2 premieres May 4th. |
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With his movie finally finished filming, Pat can't wait to return to Hartfield to spend some time with his brother. But, Walter would rather pretend they are complete strangers. At least Walter's friend doesn't seem to mind him hanging around.
Melinda has just about figured out how to balance her schoolwork with her new dance class and time with her friends. She's even managed to spend some time with her boyfriend, Eliot. Life should be perfect, right?
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Except for the fact that Eliot doesn't like the fact that Melinda's best friend is a boy. Or that Melinda happens to be friends with a famous actor.
And just when Melinda thinks her life can't get any more complicated, an unexpected kiss forces her to reexamine the way she thinks about one of her friends.
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Hartfield Chronicles follows the lives of Melinda, Pat, and their friends as they navigate their way through boarding school life. Each episode features two stories, one from Melinda's point of view and one from Pat's, along with an excerpt from Melinda's writing journal. New episodes are published every Tuesday and Friday. |
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Want to receive an email when the next episode is released? |
Sign up for email updates and, as a thank you,
you will receive a bonus chapter from Season 2 of Hartfield Chronicles. |
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A Glimpse at Ashleigh's Bookshelf |
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Every Wednesday, I review a new book on my blog. Last week I reviewed a cozy mystery, but this week I reviewed a YA.
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Of Wicked Blood
Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz
Slate has lived a difficult life, shuffled from one horrible foster home to another, earning a living as a con man an thief. When someone offers him a full scholarship in Brume if he claims his inheritance, he doesn't see the harm in swindling one more person. Until he puts on a ring that won't come off, setting off a series of tasks that will result in his death if he or his crew fails. Cadence has spent her entire life in Brume and knows all the stories, but she's never been sure whether magic is real. Until a mysterious boy shows up with the ring he stole from her mother's grave. If she doesn't help him, magic will be lost forever. Is she willing to take that risk? |
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Let me start by saying that I really did like this book and am looking forward to the next one. However, it was incredibly difficult to read. It took a long time to get to the heart of the story. While the descriptions are excellent, they are also plentiful and distract from the story. They interrupt dialogue, making it difficult for me to follow the story. There are also many times when things are explained or summarized instead of shown. I would have liked to have seen more dialogue and have things told to me a little less.
This book also receives an inkspot for the excessive amount of swearing. I understand that there is a warning in the description, but I still did not feel that the swearing was necessary. While I understand Slate's anger, I found his swearing excessive and offputting. It is one of the many reasons I had trouble reading the book. I noticed that the area where I became more engaged was when he started swearing less.
That said, there were a lot of things I liked about this book. I enjoyed the quest for magic and watching the characters grow. The end of the book left me with many questions, so I will have to read the next book to find my answers.
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Wondering what to read next? Try these |
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Complex Solutions
Math is easy for Lexi, but complex emotions are difficult, and A.P. Calculus won't help her overcome fear, guilt or self-destructive behavior.
When Lexi learns her parents proved a famous math theorem before their deaths, she must find the proof before the man stalking her for it does. But seeking help from a guy she’s falling for, means opening up and revealing her own secret of self-harm
Sixteen-year old Lexi Thompson believes she should’ve died in the car accident that took her parents. Now she slices her guilt into her skin, aggravating an already dangerous cutting habit. When Lexi is contacted about her parents’ lost proof of a famous math theorem, her guilt over her parents’ deaths intensifies. Math was her parents’ passion as well as her own. Lexi enlists her friend and fellow math whiz, Joe, to help find the proof. As their relationship deepens, Lexi struggles to keep her self-harm secret. Further, she realizes she’s not the only one interested in her parents’ proof. A mysterious man hangs around her family’s vacant home and lurks in the woods where she runs with her dog. The stalker's presence exacerbates her anxiety, along with the frequency and severity of her cutting. The more she tries to conceal her self-harm, the more she pulls away from Joe and from finding the proof. If she can’t let go of her fear and open up to Joe, she may lose him as well as the proof to a man who’s intent on stealing her parents’ legacy.
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Shade Oracle of Senders Book 1 Welcome to Camp Wanagi, where all the ghost stories are true...
For fourteen-year-old Callum Silver, seeing dead people is a curse. Forced to live his life surrounded by searing pain, sickening smells, and desperate moans from the long deceased, Cal's existence is as lonely as the murdered spirits who seek him out. When he's offered a place at Camp Wanagi, ten weeks in the French countryside isn't a vacation—it's a lifeline.
Run by a mysterious group known as the Oracle of Senders, Camp Wanagi brings together teens from around the globe who possess the unique ability to interact with the dead. Cal is excited to meet others like himself and prove his ability can offer more than years of solitude and therapy. But he quickly learns that everyone experiences spirits differently. Some of the campers revere their abilities and don’t understand his hesitation. Others—like quiet bookworm Meander Rhoades—have good reason for wishing they could get rid of their gifts.
Cal is not sure he wants to learn more about ghosts. But when an unmarked grave reveals aspects of his ability he never knew existed, he's forced to decide if being a part of the Oracle of Senders is necessary, dangerous
. . .Or both.
Start your journey with the Oracle today.
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Would you like a free book? Would you be willing to write an honest review? Check out these books! |
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