Book Review - The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser #1)

Book Review

The Godwulf Manuscript (Spenser #1) - Robert B. Parker

Bookshelves: Mystery, Crime, PI

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (It was ok)

Recommended Age: 18+ 

     This is definitely an adult novel.  It's full of adult themes, scenes and innuendos.

This book was not my favorite.  I have yet to find a PI book that I love.  Maybe that's just my issue.  Our narrator and PI is super sarcastic, and your typical tough-guy PI.  I just didn't love him.  This novel is also very detail oriented.  When he goes to find a girl in a college class I got a description of all these other kids milling around the quad.  While it did take me back to that time, it also was pretty distracting as I forgot who he was supposed to be looking for in the first place.  This one wasn't my fav because I'm not a fan of the era the story is set in and all the campus radicals and hippies just kind of annoyed me.  I also didn't see why these women were throwing themselves at him when he really did nothing to deserve their lust, but of course he had to accept their advances.  What PI throws away a mother-daughter combo giving it up within the same two day period?  As far as the mystery goes, I had a hard time understanding the motive.  I get the who... but why?  I hear his series gets so much better though so that I should try him again farther into the series, we will see, the to-read list is awfully long.  

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - This is What Happy Looks Like

Book Review

This is What Happy Looks Like - Jennifer E. Smith

Bookshelves: Young Adult, Teen Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: 14+ 

     This is very light on the romance.  The kids seemed to have more of their act together than the parents in this story.  (As I would recommend talking to your kiddo about internet safety first though.)

This was a very light hearted romance.  It was a quick read and I found it cute.  It reminded me more of Win a Date with Tad Hamilton than the other romances I saw it equated to.  It was cheesy and sweet and there wasn't very much of a plot.  If you are looking for something that actually happens in real life, this probably isn't it.  There isn't really much that is actually solved, which doesn't always need to be, but some people have issues with that.  It kind of reminded me of Eleanor and Park.  I enjoyed the romance, but that's really all there is and there's no ending.  You are left wondering what happens next.  It's got that small town setting which a lot of people love and some fun characters, however they aren't too present other than our two lovebirds.  This is my first by Jennifer Smith, but I will check out some of her others which I hear are even better.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Obsidian (Lux #1)

Book Review

Obsidian (Lux #1) - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Bookshelves: Series, Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Aliens, Teen Romance

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (It was ok)

Recommended Age: 17+ 

     This book is full of language and sexual tension.  There's not much actual romance but the lust for it is intense and on almost every page.

This book was good.  Aliens are a new one to the ya romance scene, at least for me.  This book was written well and kept me going but it's not something I'd want my daughters reading until they were much older.  There is a lot of language, but that wasn't my biggest reason, the lust and sexual tension just jumps off almost every page.  Dameon is a complete jerk but he's hot, so our fair heroine is constantly thinking of him and his rippled abs.  I'm not a fan of romances where the male is a complete jerk, thinks it sends a bad message to those young girls reading, but I know many will argue he has a background that "makes him" act like that.  No one ever has to be a jerk, no matter the circumstances and the authors that can write a character who has a reason to but DOESN'T is what really sells me.  But even though I didn't find Dameon's doucheness attractive, I still really liked the story.  I liked how our heroine is real and not perfect and screws up and risks her life for her friends and sense of duty.  She doesn't sit around and mope that he's a total tool 99.9% of the time, that, I like in a heroine.  I'm curious with the ending and it makes me want to continue to the next.  

Happy Reading!

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Book Review - Die For Me

Book Review

Die For Me (Revenants #1) - Amy Plum

Bookshelves: Series, Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Zombies

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (It was ok)

Recommended Age: 15+ 

     There is some death in this one, some pretty ugly deaths.  There is very mild romance and not much language.  There are positive influences, however some of the situations the girls put themselves in are pretty risky.    

I enjoyed this book. I really liked how this book had a new twist. The revenants were an interesting concept. I now believe any fantasy creature can be spun in either a positive or negative light. Evil angels and now life saving zombies. If you are looking for your typical zombie, parasitic eating and killing people type, this is not your kind of book. It is a typical ya romance in that you find a girl with little to no self confidence completely struck by this "god-like" boy who falls for said girl. I did like how Vincent didn't have to treat her like trash for some reason or another, and although she was hurt, it wasn't by any of his choosing. There was some stalking type romance involved. This amuses me because it's become pretty big in ya and I guess I'm not in the norm but that doesn't strike me as romantic, more creepy. I enjoyed the side characters. The plot was pretty predictable but it didn't bother me so much I skipped ahead or stopped reading. I've never been to Paris, so the fact it was set there didn't do anything for me positively or negatively.  I liked how the ending closed up but there were still some unanswered questions that want me to continue on. I was pleasantly surprised that there were positive influences all around. (Not sure what was up with granny giving the go-ahead on the sleepover though, it didn't seem to really fit.) Not too much romance and no language. Will continue to the next.

Happy Reading!

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Free Sample - Energems Energy Candy

Free Sample - Energems Energy Candy

Head on over to their facebook page HERE and like them and then enter your info to get a free sample. Don't forget to hurry, these go fast.

Thanks Krazy Coupon Lady

Free Sample - Airborne

Free Sample - Airborne Supplement

Head on over to Target's Sample Spot and fill out the survey for a free sample of Airborne.  I got a 4 ct Berry Chewable sample.

FHE - Love Through Obedience

Family Home Evening - Love Through Obedience

Since we moved our family in the summer and took a break from a lot of our rules and schedules we've had a really hard time getting back on track once school started.  Having a child with autism and another with ADHD, not to mention the fact they are all 8 and under, we have to get pretty creative to help teach our kids those basic skills most kids pick up a lot faster.  They really have a hard time staying on task and focusing until the end.  This FHE will actually be quite a few lessons to remind the kiddos what we expect of them and what consequences they will receive with their actions.  We are big believers in consequences in this house.  Notice I didn't say "punishment."  We talk about consequences positively and negatively.  My daughter always reminds us, "Good choices get good consequences, bad choices get bad consequences."  It's a simple concept for her to remember and if we are showing how every choice is attached to a consequence it helps the kiddos realize that they are actually choosing their consequence and it's not just mom and dad being mean or picking on them. We started with an FHE lesson we found on Showing Love Through Obedience found HERE at a Year of FHE. 

After the lesson, we re-introduced The 21 Rules of This House.  We have already spent time introducing one new rule each week when we lived in Roosevelt, so this was a refresher course.  We ordered ours as a PDF (I can no longer find it on amazon like that, just the book) and I printed them out on cardstock and colored them all.  It's broken down into very simple rules such as "When someone is sad, we comfort them," "When we have something nice to share, we share it," "When we turn something on, we turn it off," "We don't create unnecessary work for others."  The book is basically these rules and then coloring pages with illustrations for each rule.  For me, it was really helpful because instead of broader concepts such as "Clean up after yourself" it breaks it down smaller for younger kids and special needs kids.  There were some rules we had to add for our family and some we don't use as much as others.  The very last rule talks about accepting discipline when we break a rule and the picture is a little boy sitting on his dad's lap and dad's got a paddle in his hand.  Ok, every negative review I've read is about that dang paddle.  We don't paddle our children, we have another form of consequences which we will go over next week, but I don't see that paddle and think this plan is to beat your children. If that would bother you, don't purchase the book, or simply draw your own for number 21.  If you aren't an artist, a very simple idea is to even TRACE rule 21 and simply leave the paddle out.  Dad's just sitting there and the boy is sitting on his lap crying.  Nothing wrong with that picture, looks like he's talking to Dad and he's feeling bad for breaking a rule.  The other 20 pictures are worth it.  I'm happy with our purchase.  As I mentioned before there were a few rules that we added because I couldn't find which of the 21 these would fall under and they are some my kids struggle with a lot.

The Love one is actually in the 21 rules, but it never hurts to repeat that one over and over.

If you don't have a set of rules for your house, I suggest you make some.  It would be a good FHE to talk about what rules you think you should have.  Make sure the children understand the rules and why.  Focus on how they affect others.  Give examples of how others can get hurt or things broken or money wasted when we don't follow the rules.  This helps the kids understand the rules are there for a reason and not just an "I told you so" type of reason.  Even preschoolers will be able to loosely link reasoning behind rules.  When kids can grasp this concept they will have a better understanding and hopefully obedience for rules as they get older and will still understand the importance of following them when mom and dad aren't around.

So what do we do when our kids break one of the rules?  Sometimes it depends on the child and the rule broken, but most often it results in either a time-out or picking from the consequence jar.

We will go over the consequence jar next week.  But basically we have small consequences on strips of paper the kids need to choose from.  Some of these are extra chores, doing something kind for someone else, taking time alone, some type of physical exercise, some form of extra learning type work, sometimes a fine from their piggy bank, and some of them are downright silly.  We also have some freebies.  So we don't repeat the same ones over and over, once a consequence is completed, it goes into the other jar until the first jar is empty and we start over.  The kids never know what they are going to get which is much like life.

I find it shocking how many parents in today's society think that setting rules and consequences for those rules are a bad thing.  As parents, it is our job to raise children who learn to respect and honor rules, to accept the consequences of their actions.  It amazes me the parents who plead with judges and officers for freebies when their grown child has broken the law.  Life doesn't work like that, and if it did, it would be a very scary world.  As adults we have consequences attached to every choice we make.  If we work extra hard, follow the rules and maybe take some extra classes or training we can earn a promotion or a raise.  If we choose to party the night before a Monday meeting and we are late or miss it, we could lose our job.  If we love our kids we need to raise them to realistically and happily thrive in the real world when we aren't around, because we won't be around forever.  Teaching them obedience at a young age is a very important start.

Free Sample - Organic Salt Free Spice Sample

Free Sample of Engage Organic Salt Free Seasoning Blends

Hurry over HERE to order your Free Sample Pack of 8 Different Engage Organics Salt Free Seasoning Blends!

Thanks Hip2Save!

Free Sample - Garnier Fructis & Maybelline Foundation Stick

Free Sample Of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition 

Hurry & go HERE to the Walmart Sample Page to request a sample of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition.

(The request form is a block-up, make sure it's not blocked.)

Free Sample Of Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation Stick

Hurry over HERE to the Walmart Sample Page to request a sample of Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation Stick.
(The request form is a pop-up, make sure it's not blocked.)

Thanks Hip2Save!

Free Sample - Tums Chewy Delights

Free Sample Of Tums Chewy Delights

Go to the Target samples page HERE and request your free sample of Tums Chewy Delights.

Thanks Hip2Save!

Friday Freebies

These are the freebies/samples I scored in the mail this week.

I got a box from Costco that had a bunch of Kirkland samples inside including, Baby Wipes, Daily Facial Towelettes and Surface Wipes.  I think Costco ones are my favorite because they give you a decent size, not just one use.  You must be a Costco member to request these.

I also received a Target sample of Puffs Tissue and Boogie Wipes, the best part of Target samples is they almost always come with a coupon, usually a Target one, which you can stack with a MFG one!

And then a perfume sample, these are usually one time use postcard type samples but it's nice to try something new.

I also received this Advil sample from Walmart.  These are great to keep in your purse and my hubby loves to keep them in his patrol car for when it's needed.  Also a nice high value coupon to go with it.

Shopping Trip Week of 09/02/13

Shopping Trip

Week 09/02/13

This week,was a case lot week for my local grocery stores.  So I stocked up on some essentials for cooking.  I had some money left from a couple weeks ago so I went a little over.  If I didn't have that extra in my money envelope, I would've skipped on the Crunch Bars & Drumsticks from Target since they were one of the most expensive things I purchased in regards to ounce and necessity.

My first stop was Walgreens and the only thing I scored there was turkey bacon.  So why was it worth the trip? I was going to Smiths anyway (they are right next door), AND the bacon was only $0.03.
That's not a typo.  I merely had to pay tax.

Walgreens $0.03

Turkey Bacon (6 oz) = $1.00 (with WG card) - $1/1 coupon = $0.03 (tax)

*Please know that the cashier must change the price of the item to $1 instead of .99 because they don't do overages.*

(My daughter had to pose to show she helped shop.)

Smiths $64.36

Tillamook Shredded Cheddar Cheese (5 lb) = $11.99 (Case Lot Sale)

Maruchen Ramen Noodles (24 ct) = $4.00 (Case Lot Sale)

Cabo Fresh Guacamole (12 oz) = $3.50 - $3/1 = $0.50

Gatorade Protein Recovery Shake (11.16 oz) = $2.49 - $2.49 (e-coupon) = FREE

Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal (12.25 oz) = $1.49 - $1/1 = $0.49

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal (12.2 oz) = $1.49 - $1/1 = $0.49

Fiber One Granola Bars (6 ct) = $1.49 - $1/1 = $0.49

Kroger Black Beans (24 cans) = $13.20

Kroger Pinto Beans (24 cans) = $13.20

Libby's Sweet Canned Corn (12 cans) = $7.20

Kroger Orange Juice with Calcium (1 Gallon) = $2.50

Meadow Gold Milk (1 Gallon) = $2.50 (Not pictured)

Van's Gluten Free Waffles (6 ct) = $2.50 - $1/1 = $1.50

Gala Apples = $0.99/lb

Oakdell Eggs (5 dozen) = $4.99

I also had a $5 off when you spend $50 Smiths coupon.

 Target $19.79

Crunch Girl Scout Candy Bars (7.8 oz) = $3.38 - 5% (CW) - $1/2 = $2.71

M&Ms (9.9 oz) = $1.48 - $1.50/2 = $0.73

Nestle Drumsticks (4 ct) = $3.29 - 10% (CW) - $1/1 = $1.96

Barilla Plus Pasta (14.5 oz) = $2.14 - .75/1 (TG) - .55/1 = $0.84

Windex Touch Up Cleaner (10 oz) = $3.14 - 10% (CW) - $1/1 - $1.50 = $0.42

Purell Hand Sanitizer (8oz + 2oz) = $1.74 (clearance) - $1/1 = $0.74

Advil Jr. Tablets (24 ct) = $4.99 - $1.50/1 - $5 GC/2 = $0.99

Advil (24 ct) = $3.49 - $1/1 - $5 GC/2 = FREE

*The $5 GC can't be used with the order received, but if you do 2 transactions you can use the first GC to pay for the 2nd transaction.*

Harmons $37.49

Langers Apple Juice (8 bottles 64 oz) = $10.32

Old Orchard Juice (12 cans) = $12.00

Western Family Ketchup (16 bottles 24 oz) = $14.08

I usually purchase Ketchup at Costco, but in this case, this case lot was actually cheaper.

Walmart $3.54

Kraft Recipe Makers = $2.98 - $2/1 = $0.98

Coconut Milk = $1.48

Gillette Shave Gel = $1.98 - $6/3 = FREE

(The coconut milk wasn't on sale and I didn't have a coupon for it, but I'm trying out a new recipe and it's not something I normally keep on hand.)

Albertsons $14.30

Whole Chicken Fryers = .98/lb

Milk (1 Gallon) = $1.88

Hot Dog Buns = $0.99

We have a separate budget for Back to School Stuff (backpacks, shoes, school supplies, etc.), so it's not counted in the $500 but I just had to share the great deals I scored at Staples.

Staples $0.00!!!

Hammermill Copy Plus Paper (500 Sheets) = $6.99 - $3.99 Easy Rebate - $3/1 Coupon = FREE

Staples Multipurpose Paper 10 Ream Case (5000 Sheets) = $49.99 - $28 Easy Rebate - $21.99/1 Coupon = FREE

(Easy Rebates mean you have to pay for the price, but then fill out a simple form online and within usually a month or less you get a paypal deposit, or a check mailed to you.  In the case of the Case haha, they send you a VISA Debit card for the $28, which can be used anywhere VISA is accepted.)

Free Sample

Free Sample Of Rogue by Rihanna Perfume

Go to the Perfumes by Rihanna Facebook Page and LIKE the page then request your free sample of her new perfume.

Thanks Hip2Save!

Book Review - The Elite

Book Review

The Elite (The Selection #2) - Kiera Cass

Bookshelves: Series, Fairy-Tale, Dystopia, Young Adult, Teen Romance

Rating: 3 of 5 stars (It was ok)

Recommended Age: 13+ 

     This one is still pretty superficial, has mild romance, and some violence (not much), there is some drinking, but there are a lot of positive influences and there is some good moral messages inside.

I must admit I really liked The Selection.  I knew what I was getting into, and enjoyed the "Bachelor" type story.  I enjoyed most of the characters and it was a good intro to the series.  The Elite didn't quite hold up to my expectations.  In this book I was hoping for more.  More from the rebels, more revealment on what's really going in the country and war, more from America.  

What we got was a very long drawn out love triangle.  The entire book focused on America being wishy washy between Maxon and Aspen.  I get the point of love triangles, but there is a point when they are being dragged out too long.  I actually began liking both boys less and less as the story progressed.  One of them telling her she doesn't have what it takes to be a princess and the other getting intimate with another girl just because he doesn't know what she wants? Really? I would hope that if I were America I'd walk away from both and find someone like Carter.  But they bother me even less than America herself.  She continuously doubts herself to the point that I don't know if she's actually feeling anything.  She makes a decision, then doubts it, then cries, then makes a different decision, then doubts it, some more crying.  It's like she just wants whatever is easiest no matter who that puts her with.  Stand for something for goodness sake.

That is really almost my entire review.  While the writing kept me moving and I still finished this book in a day, I felt like I read an in-between book of a series.  Nothing happens.  In the first we go from what? 35 to 6 and in this book we go from 6 to 4.  And one of those was by default.  The rebels attack a couple of times (should they not have a better system for keeping that place locked down?) and a few people die (but no one who is even given more than a few sentences of description), some books are taken and some of the palace is ruined for a day, but that's it.  There are no demands, no kidnapping or even picketing or boycotting.  What is the point?  It says on the excerpt that "the violent rebels are determined to overthrow the monarchy."  Really? How? By stealing a few books? I suppose it will all happen in the final book, which is my point.  What was the point of this one? It could have been made into one or two chapters and tacked to the beginning of the third book.   While I enjoyed the first, and will read the final for a conclusion, I'm wondering if this book can simply be skipped.

Happy Reading!

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Crochet - Make Your Own Reusable Swiffer Wet Jet Mop Cover

Swiffer Wet Jet Mop Cover

So my swiffer is well loved.  So loved in fact, it's missing it's handle.  And the battery compartment is broken, so we don't actually use the sprayer, just spray with whatever cleaner we have currently.  So my swiffer is loved, but I have not bought those mop covers in an incredible amount of time.  One day I decided what a waste of money!  I could make one and then just throw it in the wash when I'm done, no buying new ones, no wasting!  So I just did a simple double crochet rectangle the same size as the bottom of my swiffer.  Since there's velcro on it, it stayed on pretty good and cleaned just as well as those disposable ones.  But then, last week, it disappeared.  My son was mopping and he put it away and he says the cover went in the laundry but it never came out.  Must be hiding out with numerous socks.  Regardless, it was time to make a new one.  My boys always complained that the cover would fall off, I never had this problem, but I'm not swinging around the mop, keeping it on the floor tends to help keep it attached ;).  So I decided to make another one, but this time I was going to make it so it would hold on.

I found all kinds of ideas.  I found a lot that involved lots of different types of stitches, some with bobbles and fringe, most of which included just extended the rectangle and then folding up the edges and sewing those to make pockets that held the swiffer on.  That was super great, except, when I made mine, I made my pockets WAY too deep and it was so difficult to get on, not something I envisioned my kids being able to do.  It also covered up those little sprayer holes.  Now remember, I don't currently use the sprayer holes, but when I do get a new one, I would like to, since I found a way to fill the bottle so I'm using whatever cleaner is cheapest and not the expensive swiffer brand.

Then I found this picture on google of a brilliant idea from Inner Child Crochet and it had straps! How smart?! What great inspiration.  Now her pattern is free, and it's a great one, but I wanted something a little simpler.  She uses front and back post stitches, which aren't hard, but more time consuming for me and I really found my basic double crochet stitch to do a great job and didn't want to complicate matters.  There was also one small part I couldn't quite follow toward the end, because on her pattern, all last 5 rows are done in round, so on one side there would be no space for the spray.  Perhaps I am misreading or something but anyway, I tweaked it just a tad, and came up with this.  I did mine is super bright orange to hopefully prevent future losing of said mop cover.  (Just now realizing I probably look like a crazed Lakers fan.)

PDF Version of Pattern HERE

Pattern

Rnd 1: Ch 32. Slip stitch in 1^st ch to join. Ch 2, hdc in each. Join. (32 hdc).

{ You will be beginning and ending this pattern in a round.}

Rnd 2: Ch 2; hdc in each. Join. (32 hdc).

Rnd 3: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Turn work. (16 st).

Rnd 4: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Ch 16; sl st in 1^st stitch to join round. (32 st.)

Rnd 5: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Hdc in next and each across. St st to join round (32 st.)

Rnd 6-15: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Turn. (16 st.)

(This is what it will look like a little less than halfway.)

Rnd 16: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Ch 16; sl st in 1^st stitch to join round. (32 st.)

Rnd 17: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Turn. (16 st.)

Rnd 18: Ch 2; {alternate hdc & dc across} 8 times. Ch 16; sl st in 1^st stitch to join round. (32 st.)

Rnd 19: Ch 2; hdc in next and each across. Join. (32 hdc.)

Rnd 20: Ch 2; hdc in next and each across. Join. (32 hdc.) Finish off.

Sew round 1 and round 20 to form pockets for sides of mop.

Weave in ends.

HAPPY CROCHETING!

Book Review - Something Rotten

Book Review

Something Rotten (Thursday Next Mystery #4) - Jasper Fforde

Bookshelves: Alternate History, Fantasy, Laugh Out Loud Funny, Mystery, Series

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (It was good)

Recommended Age: 16+ 

     A lot of young adults just won't understand some of this book.  If your teen loves all things literature, has read numerous classics and enjoys wit then they might love this one.  It's not full of romance, violence, language, deep issues or any of the classic reasons I don't recommend for kids, it simply might be out of their league, then again, maybe not.

I love Jasper Fforde.  To me, he is amazing.  His books aren't like anything else I've ever read.  He has the amazing ability to take classic literature and bring these characters to life.  He creates a world inside of books that is unmatched.  His creativity is astounding.

In the last novel we were left with Thursday as bellman of Jurisfiction, the leading authority in the book world.  The wild and crazy shenanigans she deals with, in addition to raising her son, Friday, prove too much and she decides to retire and return to Swindon, England.  Here she hopes to put an end to Goliath, Yorrick Kane and reactualize her husband, Landen, who was eradicated in the last book.

This one jumps right in with the good stuff, getting you excited for what's to follow.  I must admit when I realized she was actually leaving the book world I was worried that good ol England wouldn't compare and I'd be disappointed.  This was not the case.  After leaving the book world, Thursday's adventure just begins.  I love the political pokes and the game show, "Evade the Question" was one of my favorites.  That's exactly how I feel about watching debates during election time.  Politicians finding everything going wrong in England somehow being blamed on the Danish.  The political satire is thick with this one.  I loved the intro about the Volvo that no longer was the safest car because the vents did not protect against poisonous gas and when dropped from a height of sixty feet most occupants suffered neck injuries.  

I would have to say that the last half of the book was my favorite and all my favorite characters made debuts. I even loved to hate Kane and the Hamlet is now one of my new favorites.  I was a little disappointed in Landen.  He just seemed like such a one dimensional character and I wish there was a tad more on Friday instead of just his nonsensical one liners.  But considering I'm talking of a character who was just brought back to existence and a two year old, I'll wait for another book before making rash judgments.  The ending was good and I love how even if during, you are a bit confused, it all comes together.  Definitely continuing on.

Happy Reading!

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