The 2013 Canadian Reading Challenge

Welcome to the sign-ups for The Second Annual Canadian Reading Challenge! For those of you who remember the challenge last year, it’s going to be much the same this year, except for two major things:

1) I have two co-hosts this year! I struggled with whether to host the challenge this year and when I put the call out for co-hosts, I got an immediate response from two lovely ladies who I’ve known since I first started blogging: Sarah from Workaday Reads and Patricia Lynne, YA author. I am so psyched to have these girls on board - thank you Sarah and Patricia!

2) Last year, you had to read a minimum of three books for the challenge. This year, there is no minimum. I know how bogged down a lot of bloggers get with review books (myself included), and I know a lot of you have reading schedules planned out weeks in advance and there’s no way you could squeeze in three books. I doubt I’ll even be able to read three with my ever-growing review pile.

So... 

 

Here’s the challenge in a nutshell (there are more detailed guidelines below): Between July 1st and July 31st, read as many books as you can either by Canadian authors, or set in Canada. Post reviews on your blog (or, if you don’t have a blog, GoodReads, Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, Barnes & Noble, etc., will do), then post the link in the Linky that will be posted on all three hosts' blogs on July 1st.

PURPOSE OF THIS CHALLENGE:

To bring attention to Canadian authors and show the love! I'm sure a lot of people will be surprised that some of their favorite authors are Canadian, or that authors they've heard of but haven't read yet are Canadian.

CHALLENGE GUIDELINES:

• Please follow all three of your hosts in some way (GFC, BlogLovin’, Networked Blogs, email, whatever is available and whatever your preference is)

• To complete the challenge and be eligible for the prizes, you must read and review at least one book either by a Canadian author or set in Canada. Each book read and reviewed counts as an entry in the giveaway, so the more books you review, the more chances you have to win. You can find a list of Canadian authors here (if you know of any others, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll add them to the list - this list was made last year for the challenge and hasn’t been updated since).

• A Linky will be posted on July 1st for you to add your reviews to. Reviews must be posted for the first time between July 1st and July 31st to count toward the challenge.

• You can sign up anytime, as long as you follow the rest of the guidelines. Sign-ups will remain open until July 30th so that people who see this in July and want to participate won’t be left out.

• This challenge is open to everyone. You don’t have to blog to participate, as long as you can post your reviews somewhere (GoodReads, Amazon, etc). Also, you do not have to be Canadian - our co-host Patricia is American, which I think is pretty cool!

• Audiobooks, ebooks, and novellas do count for this challenge.

• Be sure to grab the button and add it to your sidebar so people know you’re participating and can find the challenge. You can link back to either Ramblings of a Daydreamer, Workaday Reads, or Patricia’s blog. You don’t have to make a post on your blog, but if you want to, that’s great! 

GRAB THE BUTTON!

PRIZES:

There will be two prizes this year: one winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card (or book of choice from The Book Depository up to $10 as long as TBD ships for free to your country) and a second winner will receive a $5 Amazon gift card.

Winners will be selected at random, and will be contacted at the beginning of August. The giveaway is open internationally as long as you can accept Amazon gift cards or The Book Depository ships to you.

SIGN UP:

Are you interested in participating in this challenge? Simply enter your information in the Linky below (for example, Marie @ Ramblings of a Daydreamer), and don’t forget to follow all three hosts! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

*This particular Linky is not for your reviews - that Linky will be posted separately on July 1st. Please leave the link where you’ll be posting your reviews (blog, GoodReads, Amazon, etc). Also, you only have to sign up once. The Linky is the same on all three hosts' blogs. 

OTHER STUFF:

• If you’re on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CdnRC to find fellow participants and share what you’re reading, along with your reviews. You don't have to follow us on Twitter, but all three hosts are available there: @SweetMarie83, @wrkreads, @patricialynne07
• Patricia wonders if there’d be any interest in a Twitter chat at some point during the month? If that’s something you’d be interested in, be sure to let us know in the comments!

We hope you have fun with this challenge, and maybe even discover a few new authors along the way!

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What's Happening + Stacking the Shelves June 25th

Golden by Jessi Kirby {GoodReads}

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen {GoodReads}

Georgetown Academy Season One by Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Embree Schwartz {GoodReads}

The blog was pretty quiet this week. I posted a review for GOLDEN by Jessi Kirby and gave it 5 stars.

My other two posts were basically cries for help lol. My first plea was on the behalf of Charlotte and Ezra, the main characters in my latest novel, WAITING FOR THE STORM. Sales for the book have been really slow and it’s breaking my heart that people aren’t experiencing Charlotte and Ezra’s story. It’s my favourite book I’ve written, and the reviews that have come in have been awesome, there just aren’t many of them. I’m having a fan appreciation even where I’ve reduced the price of my first novel, BLUE SKY DAYS, to 99 cents until July 11th, and I’m offering people who review WAITING FOR THE STORM a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card and $25 PayPal cash. I’d be so grateful if you’d check out the Fan Appreciation Event and consider either buying BLUE SKY DAYS on sale, and/or buying and reviewing WAITING FOR THE STORM. My second post for help was about the Canadian Reading Challenge where I asked whether there was enough interest and if anyone would be willing to co-host with me.

 

 

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

 WON:

From Nitzan at Drugs Called Books - thanks again, Nitzan! :-)

 

 On Dublin Street by Samantha Young {GoodReads}

 FREEBIES & BOUGHT:

The Robber Bride by Jerrica Knight-Catania {GoodReads}

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leaviit {GoodReads}

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells {GoodReads}

I'd never heard of The Robber Bride before this week, but it's about a girl who's a Robin Hood-type character (I've been obsessed with Robin Hood since I was, like, three), plus it was free! I've been wanting to read Going Vintage and The Summer of Skinny Dipping for ages, so I was excited to find them both on sale this week on Kindle.  

What books did you get this week? Tell me in the comments below or post a link to your Stacking the Shelves/Book Haul/In My Mailbox/Showcase Sunday, etc. Happy reading! <3

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To host or not to host: the 2013 Canadian Reading Challenge

As some of you will remember, last July I had a huge event to celebrate Canadian authors and bloggers. For the entire month of July I had reviews, guest posts, interviews, and giveaways spotlighting Canadian authors, books set in Canada, and some of my favourite Canadian blogging friends. I also hosted a Canadian Reading Challenge from July 1st-31st. It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work.

This year I'm not doing the whole event again but I'm still debating whether to host the Canadian Reading Challenge. I posted about it on Twitter and several people said they would be interested in participating. The thing is, with the Get Ready for Summer Giveaway and the Fan Appreciation Giveaway, I'm kind of short on funds, and I don't want to host the challenge without a prize. To me, a prize is incentive to participate - I know I love challenges that have a prize.

So I'd like your opinions: would you be interested in participating in the challenge? Would you do the challenge if there was no prize? Would you like to co-host this event with me? Co-hosting would be pretty simple - you'd just create a post about the challenge, I'd make a button with our names on it, we'd link to each other's blogs, there could be a following requirement for the challenge, and we'd either both donate something or split the cost of one prize. Last year I think I did a Canadian book of the winner's choice up to $10 or $12. Would you like to donate a prize? Donate a couple bucks toward a prize? Do you have any other thoughts?

I'd love to hear from you guys and see what you think!

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Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

Golden by Jessi Kirby

Series: Standalone

Published: May 14th, 2013

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

277 pages (hardcover)

Genre: Contemporary young adult

Acquired this book: Bought

Warning: May contain spoilers

{GoodReads || Buy this book: Book Depository || Amazon || Chapters/Indigo}

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

 

After having read and loved Jessi Kirby’s debut novel, Moonglass, I was eager to read Golden. I’d been hearing nothing but glowing things about it, and how it was affecting people on an emotional level, so I couldn't wait to dive into it and experience it for myself. I'm glad to say that this book is worth every bit of the hype surrounding it.

Parker has lived her entire seventeen years doing what was expected of her. She’s been a good student, hasn’t gotten in trouble, and has tried to please her mother by living up to her incredibly high standards. When she finds the journal of a girl who died ten years before in a car accident and discovers that her perfect life wasn’t really as it seemed, Parker begins to question not only her own life, but the accident that killed her town’s golden couple. What follows is a story that encompasses all the best things about contemporary young adult - self-discovery, friendship, romance, adversity, change, a mission for the main character to focus on - as well as elements that make Golden unique, like its mystery.

Parker reminded me of myself in so many ways. While I wasn’t as driven as she was in high school, I was still the type to always try to do the right thing, make people happy, not rock the boat, not speak my mind. I understood Parker’s realization and then regret about letting things pass you by because you’re too afraid, too shy, too worried about the consequences or being embarrassed or getting hurt. Her personality, her inner dialogue, her reactions and revelations, all really resonated with me and felt completely genuine. I was invested in her story and in her success, and I wanted to see her burst out of her self-imposed bonds and really live, which is exactly what she did.

Golden is the type of book that quietly creeps into your heart and makes you feel every little bit of it. It poses questions - what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life - it makes you think not only about the choices you make and how each decision can affect your future, but it also makes you stop and evaluate your life, where you’re going, what you want. When faced with those big questions, Parker realized she wasn’t happy with the direction her life was taking, and she set out to change it, even if she didn’t quite realize at first that that was what she was doing. She broke rules, did things for herself, took chances, and I loved every minute of her journey.  

  

Just like every good contemporary YA book, Golden is about change. It has this almost bittersweet feeling to it at times. Maybe it’s because I’m older than the characters and my high school years are far behind me, and even though Parker’s story was different from mine, it felt like getting a glimpse into the past and seeing your own life as it was at seventeen, with huge changes on the horizon. Parker’s changing relationship with her mother, her best friend, her love interest, even herself, are both beautiful and poignant, while also making your heart ache. I can remember my last year of high school and thinking nothing would change between my best friends and me, but nothing was ever the same after high school, and Parker’s best friend knew that.

I also loved the thread of romance throughout the story. It was understated but so well done. It almost took a backseat to the romantic element of the mystery Parker was trying to solve, but I enjoyed every one of Parker and Trevor’s interactions, the slow burn of it, the will they/won’t they feeling of anticipation. This was a love story in so many ways, and it left me feeling satisfied and happy. Plus Trevor had some pretty swoonworthy moments. In a way I wish we'd seen more of him, and yet the way it was done was perfect and I wouldn't change it.

If you enjoy contemporary young adult, read Golden. If you enjoy coming of age stories, read Golden. If you enjoy stories about self-discovery, read Golden. If you enjoy a good mystery that will keep you guessing while holding you completely captivated, read Golden. Basically you just need to read Golden. Beautifully written and engaging, with the ability to both warm and break your heart, I defy anyone to read this story and not come away changed in some way. 

Favourite Quotes:

"...I've got this pang of regret when I think of how much I have probably missed out on in the last few years because I was too scared to take a risk, or too shy to speak up, or too worried to be bold." ~ page 85

"...come Monday, I'll be on the road, somewhere between who I've always been and who I want to be." ~ page 170

"True love, meant to be, fate, destiny, serendipity, kismet. They're all big, romantic words. Words saved for movies and books and fiction. Not for real life. In real life parents get divorced, and people live unfulfilled lives, and love goes unrequited, and there are no second chances, or do-overs, or perfect moments." ~ page 213

"And now I don't know what comes next. I can't know until I walk the road I've chosen." ~ page 266

"Up until tonight, I thought that making big choices took courage - more than I had. But what I realize, here, now, is that it's not actually making the choice that takes courage. It's facing it afterward. Owning up to it, whether it's good or bad." ~ page 267

 

 

 

{Read my review of Moonglass}

 

 Have you read Golden? What did you think? Do you know what you want to do with your one wild and precious life? Have you read either of Jessi's other books (Moonglass and In Honor)?

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Fan Appreciation Event: Sale & Giveaway!

I’m going to tell you guys something that isn’t easy for me to admit. WAITING FOR THE STORM, my third novel, isn’t doing so well sales-wise. The few reviews that have come in have been mostly amazing, and all my beta readers loved the book. Most people who have read my other two books agree that WAITING FOR THE STORM is my best one. I think it’s my best work. I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a writer and I’m incredibly proud of this novel. I love Charlotte and Ezra and it’s breaking my heart that so few people are experiencing their story.

I’m so incredibly grateful to all the people who have shown support and encouragement over the last year and a half since I published BLUE SKY DAYS. I’ve met some incredible people, and I’ve even been lucky enough to make some wonderful friends. I appreciate every person who buys my books (or requests them) and takes the time to review them on their blog, GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Being an indie author is something I love, but I don’t have tons of money to spend on advertising, and I don’t have a team of people whose job it is to promote my books. I hate asking for help, even though I know the blogging community is generous and will often give help while expecting absolutely nothing return.

But...I'm going to ask for help. I need it, and Charlotte and Ezra need it. Besides needing your help, I want to show my appreciation to all the people who have bought my books, reviewed them, hosted me for features, or helped spread the word in any way. How am I going to do that, you ask? With my biggest giveaway EVER. What can you win? Well, there will be TWO winners - one person will win a $25 Amazon gift card and a second person will win $25USD PayPal cash (or if you don’t have PayPal, you can choose $25 worth of books from The Book Depository as long as they ship to you). AND if by some miracle I can reach 50 reviews of WAITING FOR THE STORM on Amazon before this giveaway is over, I’ll throw in another $25 Amazon gift card - that’s THREE chances to win!

Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her beloved mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

Want to know why you should buy and review WAITING FOR THE STORM (besides the fact it's only $2.99, which is about the price of a cup of coffee)? 

“Waiting For The Storm is a beautiful story. It has the right mix of humor and life and love. By the time you reach the end, you're just swelling with this unimaginable joy. Marie Landry made me fall in love with yet another story of hers. If you want a compelling and sweet contemporary read, I say go for this story. It is brilliant and you WILL enjoy it. A LOT.” ~ Jessica from Thoughts at One in the Morning 

“I read an early version of this as a beta reader for Marie, and from that alone, I can say it's her BEST work to date. Everyone prepare for an incredibly poignant, sweet, heart-melting story! Marie knows how to write swoon-worthy boys for sure, and I can't wait to get my hands on the final version of WAITING FOR THE STORM!” ~ early review on GoodReads from Molli of Once Upon a Prologue

“Have you ever had one of those books where you wouldn't change a single thing about it because it was just that good? Well, this novel is no exception and should be added to everyone's "to-read" list immediately. This book had no flaws, and I can't stress that enough. The characters were real, raw, and wonderfully written; and the plot was extraordinary and flowed very nicely...there was never a dull moment. Ms. Landry's writing is beautiful and perfect.” ~ Wendy, GoodReads reviewer 

“Waiting for the Storm shows Marie’s talent for writing amazing, heart-warming stories with beautiful, believable characters you can’t help but love. This book was emotionally gripping with a satisfying ending to a wonderful tale. I enjoyed every moment!” ~ Sharon from Obsession With Books 

“Beautiful writing, memorable characters, and a well told story blend together to create something truly special. Waiting For The Storm has everything I love most about contemporary YA and more. I can't recommend this highly enough.” ~ Kathy from I Write, I Read, I Review 

“Powerful, emotional, moving, and unforgettable! Definitely the best book I’ve read in a long time!” ~ Jaimie Admans, author of Kismetology and Afterlife Academy

Buy WAITING FOR THE STORM:

{Amazon || Amazon Canada || Amazon UK || Smashwords || Barnes & Noble || Kobo}

Because this is a fan appreciation giveaway as well as a cry for help of sorts for WAITING FOR THE STORM, there is a mandatory entry to review the book. Once you've done that, there are other ways to enter, including daily entries to tweet and share on Facebook. 

• Only Rafflecopter entries count. Please don't leave your email address or any other personal information in the comments. All entries will be verified so please be honest!
• Open internationally as long as you can accept Amazon US gift cards and PayPal cash (or if you choose the Book Depository option instead of PayPal cash, be sure that TBD ships to your country)
• Must be 16 or older to enter, or have parental permission

• I would love full-length reviews but I understand not everyone entering will be book bloggers who are used to writing long reviews. Amazon only requires something like 20 words for a review, so if you can't write a full length review, you can write whether you liked the book or not and what you did or didn’t like about it.

• Please note that reviews DO NOT have to be positive to count in this giveaway. I want reviews that are 100% honest, whether you loved the book or hated it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As part of the Fan Appreciation Event I've marked BLUE SKY DAYS down to 99 cents. 

As of the time of posting this, the price has only been reduced on Amazon and Smashwords, but it should be available everywhere for 99 cents soon. If you don't want to wait, you can buy the book in any format on Smashwords.

Buy BLUE SKY DAYS

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An author would be nothing without the people who read their books, and I am so incredibly grateful for your support. It's because of you guys that I keep writing and publishing books. I hope to have something new for you all very soon!
 

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What's Happening + Stacking the Shelves June 8th

I reviewed Born of Illusion by Teri Brown and gave it 3.75 stars

I reviewed Linked by Imogen Howson and gave it 3 stars

I talked about how I’ll be slowing down on the blog for the summer

 

In Distractions from Reading I talked about the reasons I haven’t been reading as much lately 

On my personal blog I shared my tips (along with a bunch of photographs) for DIY maternity photography; I talked about visiting Toronto and going up in the CN Tower; this week was week one of my new feature called Gilmore Girls Mondays; and I talked about being in the delivery room when my nephew was born

 

I'm an aunt again! My very first niece, Maddison, was born Thursday morning at 4:43am. She weighed 9 pounds, 12 1/4 ounces and she's all roley poley and crazy dark hair. We went to visit her in the hospital, and since the visiting hours on the maternity ward are pretty lenient, we ended up staying for four hours. I got to hold her for about two hours on and off (talk about aunty heaven!), and we got to see her big brothers seeing her for the first time (my nephews are 3 and 10). I'll be talking about it more and sharing more pictures on Lost and Found this weekend. 

Also, this happened:

Sarah Dessen has been one of my favourite authors since I was 16 and first read Someone Like You, so this was pretty exciting for me! A new long-awaited Sarah Dessen book (see below), a niece, and a tweet from Sarah all in the same week! :-D

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

I got a ton of great books this week - a couple for review, won one, got a few ebooks, and I went to my local Alzheimer's Society book sale and got a bunch of books. Here's my haul for this week:

FOR REVIEW:

To Be Perfectly Honest (A Novel Based on an Untrue Story) by Sonya Sones {GoodReads}

Georgetown Academy Season 1 (books 1-4 in the series) by Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Embree Schwartz {GoodReads}

WON:

From Ashley at Ashley Loves Books

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger {GoodReads}

BOUGHT:

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen {GoodReads}

The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse  {GoodReads}

The MacGregor Grooms by Nora Roberts {GoodReads}

The MacGregors: Serena and Caine by Nora Roberts {GoodReads} 

The MacGregors: Daniel and Ian by Nora Roberts {GoodReads} 

The Calhouns: Catherine, Amanda, Lilah by Nora Roberts  {GoodReads} 

Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts {GoodReads} 

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon {GoodReads}

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon {GoodReads}

The Witches of Willowmere by Alison Baird {GoodReads}

Atonement by Ian McEwan {GoodReads}

From the Ground Up: U2360 Tour Official Photobook {GoodReads}*

On Every Street by Karina Halle {GoodReads}

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover {GoodReads}

*The U2 photobook was this year's U2.com subscriber perk. It's a huge book with pictures from the 360 tour (which I went to), four lithographs, 4 bookmarks and a CD

*A big thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, Coliloquy, and Ashley*

What books did you get this week? Tell me in the comments below or post a link to your Stacking the Shelves/Book Haul/In My Mailbox/Showcase Sunday, etc. Happy reading! <3

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