Review: I Love My Hair: A Coloring Book of Braids, Coils, and Doodle Dos by Andrea Pippins

Hello, book-nerds! 

I'm starting something new on my blog and that is reviewing coloring books! I've had a lot of requests to review them lately ever since "adult" coloring book popped onto the scene. I don't know about you but I absolutely love to color, even as a kid. It's always been such a fun and relaxing activity. 

Today I will be reviewing, I love my Hair by Andrea Pippins.

Hope you enjoy my first ever coloring book review. :)

I Love My Hair: A Coloring Book of Braids, Coils, and Doodle Dos

by Andrea Pippins

Paperback, 84 pages

Published November 10th 2015 by Schwartz & Wade

For fans of Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest comes a hip, gorgeous doodle coloring book about all things hair. Unlike other adult coloring books, which depict nature scenes and cityscapes, this title celebrates strong, confident women with a passion for style, design, and fashion.

Revel in the mesmerizing patterns and intricate details of Andrea Pippins’s delicate pen-and-ink illustrations, ready for you to color, complete, and embellish. Lose yourself in page after page of bold hairstyles and accessories, from rows of braids, to Mohawks, to sweeping updos, to cascades of ribbons and beads. Be transported to another world as you ink in Medusa’s slithering coiffure, Cleopatra’s elaborate headdress, and Marie Antoinette’s towering bouffant.

Perfect for experienced color-inners and newcomers alike. Coloring enthusiasts of all ages will love this empowering and stylish book. So go ahead—let your hair down, grab some pens or pencils, and add some color to your life.

Purchase at: Amazon / B&N / Publisher / Indiebound

Let me first talk about the overall designs featured in the book. 

After receiving the book I went through it page by page checking out what types of things I would be coloring and I must say I was blown away by how remarkably gorgeous the art work truly is. There was so much detail and time that went into designing these pages. I can't begin to image how much work goes into designing one of these for others to enjoy coloring in. Author and Illustrator Andrea Pippins did such a beautiful job capturing the essence of beauty through the use of hair in all cultures and points in time, like the one above of Marie Antoinette. 

Take a look at this page with butterflies and flowers as hair. I used Prismacolor colored pencils to make use of shading and to add some contrast to make it stand out. The curves (lines) were easy to color in and heavy enough to be able to standout around the color. Just those few butterflies I colored took about 20 minutes because of the attention to detail.

I love how unique this page is too. She looks like she is peeking out beneath her hair, but also blending into herself. Almost like she's hiding a secret only her hair butterflies know.

The page below I colored with my best friend, Courtney. I colored the left side and she colored the right. This one was taking a lonngggg time to color. There are so many small spaces to color in that it took a while to each one. While although we did not finish, it looks stunning so far. Don't you think? Once again the usage of flowers is added to give it a special touch. 

Throughout the book, there is also a lot of words and sayings about hair and self-image. All of which are positive for young girls and adults, saying not only to love your hair you were born with but to love yourself. 

I used markers on this page. I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome the colors came out. Even more so I was happy to see the colors did not bleed through the pages. The book has nice and thick paper used with is great for coloring with markers, which can normally run through page onto the other side.

Here is one I finished coloring. Yes, it's a mermaid. Her hair is luxuriously full of sea-life and seashells. I used colored pencils again for this page. I went with purple and blue for the base colors of her hair. Some light shading was scattered throughout. The attention to detail is outstanding. There's so much going on on this page but it all ties together beautifully to create this mysterious mermaid who rules the seas.

 

A closer look

I love my hair coloring book is full of richly designed art work but easy to color with your tool of choice. I preferred the colored pencils because I can shade with them but markers work perfectly too for a nice bright pop of color. I highly recommend this coloring book to everyone who enjoys coloring or for those who haven't colored since they were kids. It's a definite time killer and a great way to express your creativity. All of the pages are exquisitely illustrated with such detail right down to the smallest of curls to the largest of hair brushes. 

I had so much fun coloring in I Love My Hair and I think you will too! 

Let your imagination take you into a world of hairbow and clips, pigtails and perms, words of love and motivation, and of course HAIR!! 

Totally EPIC! One of the best coloring books I have colored in.

Book Blitz: The Departed by Kristy Cooper + Giveaway!

Welcome to the Book Blitz for

The Departed by Kristy Cooper!

Looking for your next read? Look no further!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

     

The Departed by Kristy Cooper 

Publication Date: July 6, 2016 

Publisher: Olivier

Genre: YA Paranormal

What if someone tried to fake the rapture?

When hundreds of thousands of people disappear in the middle of the night, including sixteen-year-old Gwen's best friend Lana, no one knows why. Some believe they were taken in the rapture, while others are convinced that it can't be true. Doomsday prophecies abound that involve horrifying tales of plague, famine, earthquakes, and more. 

At first, Gwen doesn't know what to think. While she is busy mourning Lana, many people around her are getting taken in by the cultish True Believers Temple, including Gwen's dad and her friend Mindy. It is clear that more and more people are going to be pressured to join this church, as it starts taking over the media and the government, gaining zealous followers all over the world. 

Then Gwen starts receiving emails from Lana. She claims to have been forced into hiding with thousands of others in an underground compound. Gwen is convinced the emails are real and the only other person who also believes her is Isaiah, her moody crush. Together they resolve to find out where everyone is hiding and help set Lana free.

Available for Purchase: Amazon

   

The first strange thing that happened was that my best friend Lana didn't text me back that morning. This is the kind of statement that makes adults roll their eyes, and at first I didn't think anything of it either. We usually exchanged about twenty-plus messages every morning before we got to school. I figured that she may have just gotten in trouble and her parents had taken her phone away, which happened pretty often. One time they took her phone away because she had been caught texting during a church service. Another time they took it away just because her lip gloss looked too "lipsticky"—whatever that means. They were super strict like that.

The next weird thing that happened was when I came down to the kitchen for breakfast and found my mom completely absorbed in her tablet. This was only weird because she had a rule about anyone using devices during "family time," which the ten minutes it took me to eat breakfast were supposed to constitute.

Normally, she would immediately put it down when I came into the room in order for me not to think she was being a hypocrite. Instead she continued her concentrated scowl in the glow of her tablet's screen, despite the fact that I had already poured my cereal and was sitting across from her at the table.

"Ahem," I finally said with my eyebrows raised.

Mom looked up at me sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Gwen," she said, putting her tablet down. "What do you have planned for today?" I figured whatever she was looking at must not have been that important if she didn't think it was worth mentioning.

"The usual. You know, going to school and stuff." I knew how much my mom hated vague answers to specific questions. She prided herself on having open communication with her teenager.

"Okay, I deserved that."

I smiled. "I think Lana is in trouble again," I offered.

"What else is new?" she laughed.

"She hasn't replied to me yet all morning."

"Holy rollers can be such buzzkills. Aren't you lucky to have cool parents that are not punishing you all the time?"

"Yeah, you guys are so cool . . ." I said, rolling my eyes. I considered that maybe I should find some friends whose parents were obviously cooler so my mom didn’t let it get into her head that she is such a "cool" parent. "There's totally nothing cooler than parents who point out how cool they are all the time."

"Well, if we don't point it out, you might forget," my dad said as he walked into the kitchen. "What's going on this morning?"

"Lana hasn't texted Gwen back yet this morning. So obviously something catastrophic has happened," Mom answered.

"You know, she could just be in the shower or something?" Dad pointed out. "Or do you guys bring your phones in the shower now too?"

"Yeah, it's been like a half hour. No one showers that long."

"Well, I would if I didn't have to go to work every morning."

"Great story, Dad . . ." I said and took another bite of my cereal.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Kristy Cooper found herself often contemplating unusual what-if scenarios and knew it was time to start writing them down. She worked as a librarian for years and is now busy raising small children and writing YA novels. Stay up to date with her books at kristycooper.com.

   

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

Giveaway Information:  Contest ends  July 27, 2016

• One (1) winner will receive a digital copy of The Departed by Kristy Cooper (INT)
• One (1) winner will receive a physical copy of The Departed by Kristy Cooper (INT)

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Mini Review: Marrow by Tarryn Fisher

Title: Marrow
Author: Tarryn Fisher
Kindle, 296 pages
Published: April 10th 2015
Publisher: N/A
Genre: NA - Contemporary Romance, Thriller, Mystery
Source: Bought via Amazon

In the Bone there is a house.

In the house there is a girl.

In the girl there is a darkness.

Margo is not like other girls. She lives in a derelict neighborhood called the Bone, in a cursed house, with her cursed mother, who hasn’t spoken to her in over two years. She lives her days feeling invisible. It’s not until she develops a friendship with her wheelchair-bound neighbor, Judah Grant, that things begin to change. When a neighborhood girl, seven-year-old Neveah Anthony, goes missing, Judah sets out to help Margo uncover what happened to her.

What Margo finds changes her, and with a new perspective on life, she’s determined to find evil and punish it–targeting rapists and child molesters, one by one.

But hunting evil is dangerous, and Margo risks losing everything, including her own soul.

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Kobo 

This book was seriously messed up just like other Tarryn Fisher books, and I therefore crown her the queen of all beautifully messed up stories.

When I started reading Marrow, I had no idea what I was getting into - I didn't read the synopsis nor check out the categories that it was under. So naturally, I was thrown off guard by what this book is about. I expected a messed up romance, but what I got was a psychological thriller.

Margo is a vigilante - she hunts down murderers, rapists and child abusers. The main character is messed up, and the story is gory. To be honest, I wouldn't have read this book had I known that. I found it hard to get into this book at first, but after a while, I got used to the story and I started getting into it. However, I still wasn't completely having fun because I was just completely thrown off guard.

I must say, the twist in the end really made me like the book more. It was very unexpected but at the same time made so much sense. I didn't like that there were still questions left unanswered in the end of the book, but overall this story is enjoyable.

2 stars. Ah, it's okay. 

Blog Tour: Life After Juliet by Shannon Lee Alexander | Guest Post + Giveaway!

Hello, everyone! 

Welcome to the blog tour for Life After Juliet by Shannon Lee Alexander! Today is my stop on the tour and I bring you a great guest post from the author all about writing about her favorite character in the book. There is also a fabulous giveaway going on too so be sure to enter that below to be able to win some amazing prizes! Enjoy!

Book Title: Life After Juliet

Author: Shannon Lee Alexander

Release Date: July 5, 2016

Genre: Contemporary YA

Becca Hanson was never able to make sense of the real world. When her best friend Charlotte died, she gave up on it altogether. Fortunately, Becca can count on her books to escape—to other times, other places, other people... 

Until she meets Max Herrera. He’s experienced loss, too, and his gorgeous, dark eyes see Becca the way no one else in school can.

As it turns out, kissing is a lot better in real life than on a page. But love and life are a lot more complicated in the real world...and happy endings aren't always guaranteed.

The companion novel to Love and Other Unknown Variables is an exploration of loss and regret, of kissing and love, and most importantly, a celebration of hope and discovering a life worth living again.

Purchase at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | Entangled Publishing

I’m not sure how long I’ve been back in school. I don’t really do days anymore. Time is measured in pages. I’ve read 3,718 pages since Dad dropped me off on the first day. It’s been 108,023 pages since Charlotte died. I’ve read 150 pages since I stepped on the bus this morning. It’s been ten pages since I thought of Charlotte.

She’s not coming back, and I don’t know what else to do, so I keep turning the pages.

However long I’ve been back at Sandstone High, the advanced literature and composition teacher, Mrs. Jonah, informed me yesterday that I am no longer allowed to “sit like a bump on a log, reading books” in her class. I find this strange, but then, I don’t understand the real world. I’ve given up trying to make any kind of sense of it. Today in class, I am sitting like a bump on a log, staring out the window.

Sandstone is a typical high school, unlike the fancy math and science school on the other side of town that Charlie graduated from last spring. It’s the kind of building that’s been pieced together—add a wing here, convert a gym there, dump mobile units here—throughout the decades as the town’s population grew and it had to be quickly expanded. There’s no one defining style. It’s a mishmash. The kids who go here are also diverse, so it’s not hard for me to fade into the background.

Lit and Comp is a junior course. The guidance counselor signed me up for it at the end of last year. She described it as a lively class full of opportunities for personal and artistic growth. In other words, it’s my worst nightmare. I’ve decided growth is overrated.

Mrs. Jonah’s classroom is long and narrow, with a wall of windows down the side. She’s decorated the wide windowsill with spindly spider plants, stacks of books, empty vintage Coke bottles that catch the sunlight, and a bust of Sir Isaac Newton, which is strange since she’s not a science teacher.

Mrs. Jonah raps on her desk now to get our attention. She stands and brushes invisible lint off her black pencil skirt. Tall and unafraid of wearing high heels, she towers over everyone in the school, even the basketball coach. Her pixie haircut and makeup are always perfect. She’s the most with it human I’ve ever seen.

“Time’s up,” she says. “Please, pass your quizzes forward.”

I’ve been done with my quiz for what would have been about twenty pages, if reading were still allowed in Lit class. I pass my paper to the boy in front of me. He runs his hand through his choppy black hair and smiles. His lips are chapped, and the smiling pulls the raw skin too tight. It makes me wince. I instantly feel bad, because I remember this guy.

Max. He was in Mr. Bunting’s World History class with Charlotte and me last year. He was the only student at Sandstone who spoke directly to me after Charlotte died. He came right up to me in history, cleared his throat so I’d look up from my book and said, “Sorry for your loss.”

I remember I got up and left the room. It was either that or start crying.

He’s still looking at me now. I should say something, something nice, like “Thank you for your condolences.” Instead, I look out the window again.

Max sighs, soft like the riffle of book pages, as he turns around and passes our quizzes forward. I’m used to that sound. It’s the sound of my father when I refuse to put my book down and come join my mother and him. The sound of my mother when she realizes I’ve been listening to the book characters in my head instead of her. Lately, I’m really only safe lost in the pages of a book. Outside, in the real world, it’s like I’m walking around with no skin. Everything hurts.

 

I asked author Shannon Lee Alexander to pick her favorite character in her novel and talk about why she chose him or her. What was most fun and what most challenging to write about for them, etc... Here is what she had to say.

As a writer, I’m a pantser. I don’t plan my stories before I start. I generally begin knowing who the main characters are, where they are beginning, and a vague idea of where I may end up at the end of the story. Everything else is always a surprise to me as I’m writing.

When I began LIFE AFTER JULIET, I knew the swoony, sweet Max Herrera would be an ally for Becca Hanson. And I knew Darby Jones would be her worst nightmare. What I didn’t know was that just as Becca was going to fall for Max, I was about to fall in love with Darby Jones in a big way.

Darby started out as a caricature—the typical mean girl stock character. But almost immediately, she began to take control of her scenes (in true drama queen style) and direct them in new and amazing directions I hadn’t considered. She diligently corrected all my misperceptions about who she was and what her purpose in the story was to be.

The more I wrote her, the more I loved her. And I wanted readers to get to see the real Darby, behind the Queen of the Drama Club persona she wore so often. 

The biggest gift Darby gave me was the understanding that I wasn’t trying to write a love story for Becca, even if she happens to fall for a guy in the course of telling the story. For Becca (and for Darby, too), this story was about finding herself. Darby helped me see that. And then, she helped Becca see it, too.

Darby is never going to be an easy character for anyone to like. She’s direct, unfiltered, and unapologetic. She’s driven and demanding. She’s kind of a pain in the butt, but she’s also loyal and caring and kind to those she loves. You just have to get to know her to see it.

Characters like Darby are my favorite thing about writing. The way they grow and change a story really reflects the way writing can help you grow and change as a person, too. Darby is a reminder that you can’t judge a book by its cover, or a drama queen by her eye rolling either.

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Shannon Lee Alexander is a wife and mother (of two kids and one yellow terrier named Harriet Potter). She is passionate about coffee, books, and cancer research. She spent most of her time in high school hiding out in the theater with the drammies and techies. Math still makes her break out in a sweat. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.

Giveaway Information:  Contest ends July 15th, 2016

Open internationally, but prize packs ship only to US. International winners will receive Amazon gift cards (listed below).*

• Grand prize: Hyperboles are the best EVER! tote bag, a 4oz. Novelly Yours Antique Books candle, Toe-meo and Juliet Shakespearean socks, Life after Juliet poison and dagger necklace, Velveteen Rabbit note card, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate*
• 1st Runner Up: Hyperboles are the best EVER! tote bag, a 4 oz. Novelly Yours Antique Books candle, Toe-meo and Juliet Shakespearean socks, Life after Juliet dagger earrings, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate*
• 2nd Runner Up: 2oz. Novelly Yours Antique Books candle, Life after Juliet dagger earrings, Velveteen Rabbit note card, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate*
• 3rd Runner Up: 2oz. Novelly Yours Antique Books candle, Life after Juliet dagger earrings, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate*

*All contests are open internationally, but international winners will receive the following:

• Grand prize: $25 Amazon gift card, signed signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate
• 1st Runner Up: $20 Amazon gift card, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate
• 2nd runner up: $15 Amazon gift card, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate
• 3rd runner up: $10 Amazon gift card, signed Life after Juliet bookmark and bookplate
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Cover Reveal: Long Way Home (Thunder Road #3) by Katie McGarry

   

Being released on January 31st, 2017, the highly anticipated third book in Katie McGarry's Thunder Road Series has a cover that we can't wait to share with you! LONG WAY HOME is a Young Adult Contemporary Romance being published by Harlequin Teen! Pre-order your copy of the next book in this emotionally charged series, and don't miss Violet and Chevy's story!

 

Seventeen-year-old Violet has always been expected to sit back and let the boys do all the saving. 

It’s the code her father, a member of the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, raised her to live by. Yet when her dad is killed carrying out Terror business, Violet knows it’s up to her to do the saving. To protect herself, and her vulnerable younger brother, she needs to cut all ties with the club—including Chevy, the boy she’s known and loved her whole life.

But when a rival club comes after Violet, exposing old secrets and making new threats, she’s forced to question what she thought she knew about her father, the Reign of Terror, and what she thinks she wants. Which means re-evaluating everything: love, family, friends . . . and forgiveness.

Caught in the crosshairs between loyalty and freedom, Violet must decide whether old friends can be trusted—and if she’s strong enough to be the one person to save them all.

"An intoxicating and unforgettable story that kept me glued to the page."

—Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Walk the Edge

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

LONG WAY HOME Pre-Order Links:

Amazon | Kobo | BAM | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound

   

And Don’t Miss the First Two Titles in the Thunder Road Series!

NOWHERE BUT HERE

WALK THE EDGE

 Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.      

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