Hiding In Sunshine - John Stuart & Caitlin Stuart

Hiding In Sunshine - John Stuart & Caitlin Stuart

3.5 stars

Goodreads blurb:
This taut thriller follows a family’s eleven-year odyssey on the run under assumed identities, where survival skills are paramount, but so are friendship, cooperation, and resilience. HIDING IN SUNSHINE celebrates one family’s abiding courage in the face of abject treachery -- and a young girl’s faith in the triumph of the truth.

 

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I recieved this book from Influenster as a special bonus in my Holiday VoxBox. I was so excited, because I LOVE BOOKS. Upon seeing the cover, and reading the synopsis... I was very skeptical. Right off the bat I will tell you that I would not have picked this up in a bookstore, just by the cover. Being a YA/NA Addict, I was thrilled to find out that it was in fact YA.

 

Reading the first 5 chapters was kinda painful. I get that the authors were trying to set up the imagery and  the backstory, and a little world history... but *yawn*. I had to pick this up on several different occassions, to get through the first 50pgs.  [Apparently, everyone else on good reads feels this way as well!] After Chapter 6, I was pretty intrigued. I get that way with books though, So I've learned that I need to REALLY give a book a chance, every since I read half of the Host [Stephanie Meyer] then picked it up a few years later, re-read it and loved it. [Thank you Ms. Kait :)]

 

Hiding In Sunshine follows Gavin and Lisa, with  their two young children. I liked them as a couple, but not so much as parents. They are shuffled off into the Witness Protection Program and are forced to take on new identities and begin a new life away from everything they know, after being the target of a kidnapping. Living your life as a technology expert, then going off the grid? I can't even imagine. No. I DON'T WANT to imagine.

 

I wasn't sure how I felt about the father/daughter duo writing. I read the House of Night series, by P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast, and towards the end [it's still not over...] The characters got whiny, annoying and repeatitive. So yeah, I was a bit hesitant about this combination. To my surprise however, The Stuarts did a fantastic job. This novel is very well written, and flowed very nicely.. even though you can pretty much tell who is writing what. I was happy with the suspense and 'danger' level that the authors braught into this book. Oh, and the ending...  Yeah, Twists and turns. but, i'm SO anti-spoiler.. I would not want ruin it for anyone!

 

<3 Beth

 

The Taste: Tuesday at 8|7c on ABC

MUST

SEE
T.V!!!!!

THE TASTE
Tuesday's @ 8/7c

Judges:
Ludo Lefebvre
Nigella Lawson
Brian Malarkey
Anthony Bourdain

Synopsis:
One blind spoonful could change everything on ABC’s “The Taste.” This new cooking competition show is literally all about taste.

Sixteen competitors, from pro chefs to home cooks, whip up dishes attempting to impress four of the world’s most notable chefs. The catch is all the dishes will be judged in a blind taste test. In this pressure-packed contest, the taste of a single spoonful can catapult a contender to the top or send him packing.

“The Taste” features no-holds barred chef Anthony Bourdain, British food star Nigella Lawson, expert chef and author Ludo Lefebvre and restaurateur Brian Malarkey. Each of the four culinary superstars and “Taste” mentors – Bourdain, Lawson, Lefebvre and Malarkey – will coach a team of four competing pro and amateur cooks chosen from a nationwide casting call as they vie to create the best tasting dish.

In each episode, the groups will face team and individual challenges with a variety of culinary themes through several elimination rounds. At the end of each episode, the mentors will have to judge the competitors’ dishes blind, with no knowledge of whose creation they’re sampling, what they’re eating, how it was prepared or whom they could be eliminating.


Seriously, If you liked Gordon Ramsey's Hells Kitchen. I think you'll like this! It's really cool how you only get ONE BITE to decide. In my experience, it takes more than one bite to fully decide if you like something or not! Good luck to all the Competitors on here, they're gonna need it with this tough Crew of Judges!

Review: Kiss NailDress

NailDress by Kiss

 

Fashion that Sticks

Perfect for natural nails! 28 Nail Strips in each pack - Fits all nails and lasts up to a week. Goes on in minutes, off in seconds without remover. Cut up your leftover strips and use them as nail art.

REVIEW:

5 STARS

I absolutely love this product. I've had it for a little while now, and I didn't have an occassion to wear them to, so I didn't put them on until now. I have a book blog event tomorrow, in Boston. I decided that I wanted my nails to look presentable for some of my favorite authors!So above is a photo of my nails with the BABYDOLL KissDress. I LOVE THEM! Oh did I mention that it was super easy to put on and shape!? I totally saved my leftovers [it was a lot since I have very short nails!] so that I can do this again, but french mani style.

Love Love LOVE this product!

 

 

 

Other's I intend to buy!