Delicious Reads: Black Moon

{February}

The Snow Child

by, Eowyn Ivey

What a magical book we found in "The Snow Child". Eowyn Ivey did an awesome job with this book. You think you have it figured out what is really going on in the book and then something magical happens and you change your mind and start thinking something else. This happened to me several times. Did the snow child really live in the woods alone or was she magic in some way. You will have to read and decide for yourself.

Our Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

{March}

Carter Beats the Devil

by, Glen David Gold

We loved, loved, loved this book, "Carter Beats the Devil" . Glen David Gold is a great story teller. This book has lots of twists and turns and then it all comes together in the end. The book takes place in a fun time in history where magic is mystical and the mystery behind who did it is amazing. Leigh Bardugo of the Grisha Trilogy introduced us to this book and we will be forever grateful for her recommendation. Thanks Leigh. Oh and Glen David Gold we want more books from you.

Our Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

{April}

Walt Disney: An American Original

by, Bob Thomas

We all love going to Disneyland and so we thought this book "Walt Disney: An American Original" by Bob Thomas was the perfect book to read so that we could do a Disney themed book club. We went all out crazy for this book club. It was so interesting to learn about Walt and where he came from the ideas behind the iconic Disney things we know today. Walt Disney was an amazing, creative, driven, and talented man.

Our Star Rating: 3.7 Stars

Disney Giveaway

{May}

The Husband's Secret

by, Liane Moriarty

Oh we loved this book. "The Husband's Secret" was a fun book to read for the summer. Reading about how the women's lives in the book came together was a twisty and unique way to tell the story. I really loved in the end how she tells the what ifs because when do we ever get to actually hear about the what ifs?

Our Star Rating: 4 Stars

{June}

The Goldfinch

by, Donna Tartt

We were asked by Little Brown Publishing to read and do a book club on "The Goldfinch" . But they didn't have to bend our arm too much because we had been hearing buzz about this book and we were glad to switch up our book picks a bit in order to read this book. This is a book with a long story lasting around 30 years. So there is a lot of information you need to know and build up of characters but even though it is quite long it is well worth the length. We were a little mixed on our liking it or not liking it therefore the 3.5 star rating but it was a unique story and very interesting to learn about the history of the artwork. This would make a great book club read.

Our Star Rating: 3.5 Stars

Art Gallery Hors D'ouvres

{July}

The Golem and the Jinni

by, Helene Wecker

We had such a fun time putting this book club together. "The Golem and the Jinni" was a fabulous read and such a great book to do a whole book club around. We made golems out of clay. We dressed in our best jinni attire. And we discussed the book under a tent that looked like we were in a genie bottle. This was a fun book club to be at and everyone thought the book was really good.

Our Star Rating: 4 Stars

{August}

Ruin and Rising

by, Leigh Bardugo

Oh Leigh Bardugo really brought her "A" game when she wrote this series. We are in love with her!!! "Ruin and Rising" was a great last book in the Grisha Trilogy. We can't wait to read more from her. She has another series in the works that is somewhat related to this series and we will for sure read it.

Our Star Rating: 4.1 Stars

Make Up and Dress Up Ideas

Book Club Menu Ideas

Interview with the Author

Kelly's Goodreads Book Review

{September}

The Haunting of Hill House

by, Shirley Jackson

We try to read a couple Halloween type books this time of year and so we thought we would try the classic tale of "The Haunting of Hill House" . But for most of us this book didn't quite give us the haunted feel that we craved for this time of year. It was an okay book. Our star rating reflects that a bit. But you can always find fun ways to throw your book club to still make it a great night.

Our Star Rating: 2.75

{October}

Black Moon

by, Teri Harman

"Black Moon" is the second book in a trilogy and it surpassed all of our expectations of a second book. Sometimes (well most of the time) the second book in a series is not my favorite. Teri did not disappoint in the second book of her series. This is a great witchy, Halloweenie book. Pick up this series and read it. You will be glad you did.

Our Star Rating:

{November}

Shadow on the Crown

by, Patricia Bracewell

Oh "Shadow on the Crown" how we love you. Plus book two comes out in February so we won't have to wait long to read the next book. This book is set in 1000 AD England and so there is so much you can do for your book club with decorations, food, and plus you can always email the author Patricia Bracewell and ask her to Skype in with your book club to answer all your questions. You've got to put this on the list for your book club.

Our Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

{December}

The Eye of Minds

by, James Dashner

"The Eye of Minds" is the book we are discussing next week but I will update this post when we have our review, ideas and star rating done. Let's cross our fingers that maybe we can get James Dashner to come to or Skype book club that night.

Our Star Rating: 3.5 Stars

I hope this gave you some good ideas for your book club or the next book you might want to read. Enjoy!

xoxo'

Kellie

Thursday, December 11, 2014

2014 Delicious Reads Book Club Retreat

Welcome to our first annual Delicious Reads Retreat!

This retreat has been in the works since the very beginning of the year. I have been fussing over it and worrying about all the details for the whole year because I wanted to spoil my members and kick off the holiday season with a BANG!

{Swag Bags}

I envisioned from the beginning of planning that I wanted to give each of our members a Swag Bag of goodies to take home with them and that's just what I did.

We came up with this tote that looks like a piece of paper. One of our members sewed them all and we will post a DIY for them very soon which I will link to!

Thank you to all the companies that donated items to put in our swag bags!

CENTS OF STYLE for the darling colored stud earrings

RUBY BLOOM BOUTIQUE for the gold chain necklaces

THE BEST IN UTAH for the gift bags full of LOTS of fun surprises

BELLE ROSE CONFECTIONS for the delicious "Hot Chocolate on a Stick"

I also want to thank the people who donated items for our raffle that went on all night long, awww yeah!

*THE BEYOUTY BUREAU for donating the awesome gift bag full of cosmetic goodies!

*UNFORGETTABLE JULES for the darling gold flamingo necklaces

*THE KINGS ENGLISH BOOKSHOP for donating a gift bag along with a $15 gift card

*PUREZA SALON & MEDI SPA for donating three gorgous Frankie Rose lipsticks and some Kerastase hair product.

DELICIOUS READS donated some Harney and Sons pumpkin spice tea (one of my favorites), some library themed thank you cards, "Sense & Sensibility" book and a cute Jane Austin reading quote. {FREE PRINTABLE AT THE END OF THIS POST!}

*CLASSY COSMETICS for donating a coupon good for a 1 time makeup application.

*RUBY RIVER STEAKHOUSE for donating two $50.00 gift cards!

*PERSNICKETY PRINTS for the $25.00 gift certificate

AND a big Thank You to all of the Book Club Members who helped in getting donations!

Our newest book club member is sweet baby "Ryo" Summers son. He was in baby heaven being surrounded by so many women who wanted to hold and snuggle him!

{Author Visit}

One of our favorite authors, Teri Harman, came up to our retreat to talk about her new book that we read for the month of October, "Black Moon"
See our review of Black Moon, our meeting details and photos with Teri HERE.

We had a delicious spread of food to devour (which we did no problem)

{Italian Soda Bar}

We had to have an Italian Soda Bar! If you're looking for Syrup check out the Holiday Syrup on Amazon: (2 Vanilla, Hazelnut, Peppermint, Gingerbread and Caramel) or you could go Traditional (with Caramel, French Vanilla, Vanilla, Raspberry, Peppermint and Hazelnut)

{Decorations}

We brought a few decorations to celebrate "Black Moon" the 2nd Book in The Moonlight Trilogy but we kept it simple since we were not having a typical meeting.

But, you should check out the over the top book party we threw for Teri's first book BLOOD MOON if you'd like ideas and inspiration!

{Birthday Wishes}

One of our members and blog contributors ROBIN had her actual birthday at the retreat so we wanted to make sure we celebrated it with her. She is so dedicated and we love her for spending her special day with us!

{Photo Booth Shenanigans}

You can't have a girly get together without a photo booth!

Find these free printable word bubbles for your photo booth HERE

We stayed up photo boothing, painting our nails, listening to dance music, and talking about anything and everything until the wee hours of the night. We went to bed so late, like 4:00 am late, but we had to get some sleep because we had the important task of picking out our books for 2015 in the morning!

Oh and I am so excited for all the books we choose to read!

All in all I think we had a FABULOUS retreat that we will continue to do year after year!

{FREE PRINTABLE}

To download just click on the image you prefer and save to your computer.
Each print was designed as a 5x7.
Enjoy!

CREDIT**All photos were taken by the talented Summer Nicole Photography

Thanks again to Teri Harman for coming to our retreat,we always love having you!

DONATIONS:

CENTS OF STYLE

RUBY BLOOM BOUTIQUE

THE BEST IN UTAH

BELLE ROSE CONFECTIONS

THE BEYOUTY BUREAU

UNFORGETTABLE JULES

THE KINGS ENGLISH BOOKSHOP

PUREZA SALON & MEDI SPA

CLASSY COSMETICS

RUBY RIVER STEAKHOUSE

PERSNICKETY PRINTS

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Author Interview with Teri Harmon about "Black Moon"

Teri

Title of the Book: Black Moon

Author: Teri Harman

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Number of Pages: 416

Year Published: 2014

Reading Level: Young Adult-Adult

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Synopsis: Simon Howard accidentally killed three people. Four months later, the nightmares won’t stop. Willa Fairfield, his girlfriend, his soul mate, wants nothing more than to help him move on. But guilt isn’t the only thing getting in Simon’s way.When unexplained earthquakes hit the small town of Twelve Acres, and dozens of people go missing, the Light witches discover their most feared enemy, Archard, is still alive. Employing the twisted, dynamic magic of a legendary witch known as Bartholomew the Dark, Archard plans to exact his revenge and take control of the Powers of the Earth on the night of the black moon, a rare lunar event infamous for Dark magic.As the Light Covenant fumbles to defend against Archard’s sadistic intentions, Simon’s magic grows inexplicably more powerful, even dangerous. Willa throws all her efforts into solving the mystery of Simon’s transformation, but when the events of the past storm into the present, the couple’s future changes forever.

We invited Teri Harman last year at the launch of Blood Moon, the first book in her Moonlight Trilogy. Check out these links to read all about OUR BOOK REIVEW OF BLOOD MOON and SEE THE HUGE WITCH PARTY we threw for her in 2013!

This year she came to our first Delicious Reads Retreat!

We read Black Moon for our Halloween selection and loved catching up with Simon and Willa. We were able to get some insights from Teri on the creation of Black Moon.

First, we asked if she had actors in mind when she created her characters because we had so much fun doing that for The Goldfinch!

But Teri said she created her characters from scratch. There are characteristics from certain people in her life, but she didn’t want to base them on actual people. If she had to pick actors for her characters, Jonathan Rhys Meyers would be Archard and and Jensen Ackles would be Simon.

Delicious Reads, Black Moon, Teri Harman, Book Club Retreat, Witches

Teri is a big Buffy the Vampire fan. Buffy is what influenced her to create a strong female character. Willa was actually named something different in the first draft, but it didn’t quite fit. Willa means “protector” and she wanted Willa to possess that quality, so the name fit perfectly.

Her books move back and forth between times and so we wondered what her favorite era to write the story was.

Teri loved writing from Bartholomew’s perspective He wasn’t always going to be a main character, but he had this voice that captivated her and she knew his story had more depth and that it needed to be told.

We asked her about her writing process. When she started writing the series, she had young children. Her process revolved around a desk that they purchased from Ikea. It was supposed to be painted, but it never happened and they put inspiring quotes on it. Now she loves it so much she won’t ever paint it. Eventually she created a home office which is where she writes now.

We were curious if she had met people that practice some of the Wicca spells and rituals. She has, and they describe their practices as another version of a religion. They invoke power from the moon or from the spells in a similar way to prayer. A black moon is very important and is almost its own religion. A black moon is the second new moon in a month and it happens every few years.

Each full moon every month has a specific name and specific things that are attached to it.

(image source)

She added in the psychic mind and dreams to the powers of the moon. If she could have one of the powers, it would be the gift of dreams. She has very vivid dreams and many of them have been incorporated into the books.

We asked her about the terminology “witches.” Some of us thought that a male witch would be called a “Warlock.” But she told us that according to Wicca, the term “witch” is used for both men and women.

One of the most difficult things about writing Black Moon was the trying to avoid the second book slump. She wrote forty-five thousand words (as a reference, most young adult books are about sixty-five thousand words) and then decided it wasn’t the story she was supposed to write. She did a very brave thing that no writer wants to do—she trashed the whole thing and started over. Then she came up with the twisty plot that is now Black Moon! All and all, Black Moon went through about ten different drafts. She said the toughest part was to make the story feel fresh with the same characters as the first book. She worked really hard to make the second book even better than the first.

Her work paid off when she got this Kirkus Review:

"A dark, realistic and intriguing story that evades the second-book slump.

Unusual and absorbing."

What’s next for Teri?? She has written a stand-along book called The Painted Life. It’s about a girl who is trapped in a painting and it comes out next June! We are so excited to see what this book is all about!

Black Moon was a perfect Halloween/Fall book chock-full of twists and turns. We had a great time with Teri at our retreat. She has already finished the last book in her series and it’s in the final editing stages. We can’t wait for it to come out!

Your Writerly Ranter,

Brooke