In yesterday's announcement of our first Fall Readathon, I mentioned that there would be a reading bingo challenge. Below, you will find two bingo cards (one full size and one mini). The goal is to complete a bingo on each card which will take care of the eight books set as the overall goal for the readathon. One of the bingo cards has more traditional reading challenges, while the other has a variety of book genres. Alternatively, if you do not feel like participating in reading bingo, you can pick eight challenges from the cards and just do those instead. Under the Bingo cards is a more in-depth explanation of each challenge.





Challenges - This is just explanations for the challenges on the Bingo cards. If you have decided not to do the bingo but still want to participate in the readathon, pick eight of these to do.

1. Published This Year - Read a book that has been published during 2017.
3. Book Set During Fall - Read a book that takes place during Autumn.
4. Manga/Graphic Novel - Read a comic, manga, or graphic novel.
5. Banned Book - Read a book that has been banned at some point.
6. Tree On Cover - Read a book with a tree on the cover.
7. Longer Term TBR - Read a book that has been a long term resident on your TBR pile.
8. Book Turned Into Film - Read a book that has been adapted into a movie and then watch the movie.
9. Underhyped Book - Read a book that you think is not talked about as much as it probably should be.
10. Orange On Cover - Read a book that has orange on the cover.
11. Favorite Color On Cover - Read a book that has your favorite color on the color.
12. Children's Book - Read a book meant for kids.
13. Best Selling Author - Read a book by a best selling author.
14. Book Of The Month - Read Skuggi Drago's Book of the Month. (Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff)
15. Annoyingly Long Title - Read a book that has a title that is way longer than it should be.
16. Book From A Friend - Either borrow a book from a friend or read a book recommended to you by a friend.
17. Overhyped Author - Read a book by an author that you think people talk too much about.
18. Red On Cover - Read a book with red on the cover.
19. Favorite Author - Read a book that was written by your favorite author.
20. Reread - Choose a book you have already read before...and read it again.
21. Indie Author - Read a book by a self-published author.
22. Yellow On Cover - Read a book with yellow on the cover.
23. Author's Debut Book - Pick an author and read the first book they had published.
24. Random Pick - Pick anything!!!
25. Author New To You - Read a book by an author whose books you have never read before.
26. One Word Title - Read a book with a title that is only one word.
27. Horror - Read a book from the horror genre.
28. Fantasy - Read a book from the fantasy genre.
29. Science Fiction - Read a book from the science fiction genre.
30. Biography - Read a book that is a biography or memoir.
31. History - Read a book about history.
32. Romance - Read a book from the romance genre.
33. Classic - Read a book considered to be a classic.
34. Drama - Read a book that would be categorized as a drama.
35. Mystery - Read a book from the mystery genre.

*For the genre specific challenges, it can be any form, so Adult, YA, Middle-Grade...it is up to you.

We are proud to announce that in September we will be hosting a relaxed readathon. It will begin on Sunday, September 3rd and go through Saturday, September 30th.

The ultimate goal for this readathon is to read two books each week for a total of eight during the month of September. While this may seem like an easy goal to reach for some, those of us going back to school and or beginning to prepare for the insanity of the upcoming holiday season will probably find this to be a bit more difficult.

Epielle's Hydrating Socks claims to relieve dry and rough skin. Do they? Let's find out.

A coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world. (IMDB)

Children Who Chase Lost Voices, also known as  Journey to Agartha or Hoshi o ou kodomo, is a backup to our original Movie of the Month. The plan was to watch Okja, but due a lack of research, we were forced to change the movie a little last minute. This led to a conflict in schedules, which is why we only have two thirds of the authors participating and why the post is going up a little later in the day than usual. Seeing as this is the first installment of the MotM, I think that it is actually quite surprising that we have not had more problems.

Jenny: I really enjoyed the movie and found it to be interesting even though I did not understand all of it.

Jenny's Rating: 9/10

Sarah: This was the second time I have watched this movie. I originally watched the subbed version, but decided to watched the dubbed version as a refresher. As with most anime, the dub is not very good. The voices do not match the characters very well and the emotions feel forced (especially with Asuna). Both the animation and story are very close to being Studio Ghibli quality and a good portion of this film feels like it could easily be a tribute to the legendary animation studio. It does have a few plot issues and several things are left unanswered. I also found the lack of character growth to be a little frustrating. The score, while absolutely beautiful, sounds the same as all of the other scores in Makoto Shinkai's films (lots of melancholy yet hopeful piano and strings). As a cat lady, I am always very judgemental when there is a feline (or feline-like) character. It is probably a strange pet peeve to have, but I want the cats to actually be believable. Thankfully though, it seems like pretty much every Japanese animator has a very good understanding of how they move and how their personalities can be.

Sarah's Rating: 8/10

Watch/Buy: Amazon, Vudu

What do you do when you discover you’re a witch... And that using your new powers destroys your soul a little each time?  Set in the Swiss countryside, this story blends ancient folklore with a coming of age tale about a young witch on the brink of womanhood. (Goodreads)

I went into reading this book mostly unaware of what it was about. I knew it was a middle-grade fantasy and expected a cute story about a girl who finds out she is a witch. I was very wrong about the cute part and found myself quite surprised at how dark it was. While the story is told from the perspective of a girl who has just turned 13, it does not come off as completely childish at all and found it to be a very enjoyable read even though I am in my late twenties.  The story has great lessons in both showing kindness to others and the battle of good and evil that we all fight within ourselves.
The only problem I had with this book was the constant references to Anne Frank and Malala Yousafzai. At first, I thought it was sweet that Anna Sophia looked up to them, but as the name dropping continued and after a bizarre reference to The Hunger Games, it began to feel less genuine and more like product placement in a tv show.
With all that being said,  I would absolutely love to see a film adaptation and I plan on reading not only the next book in this series but more from this author very, very soon.

*I received a copy of this book from hiddengemsromance.com in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are legitimate and not influenced by this fact.*

Rating: 4/5
Buy it: Amazon

A seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death. (IMDB)

With the desire to come out on top in their coffee chain war against Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts has released a new and improved frozen coffee drink this summer.  The beverage is the replacement for the restaurant's "Coffee Coolatta," which had been around since the 90's; and let me just say, after trying the new frozen treat, I will not miss the Coolatta at all.

The new drink is made with a much higher concentrate of coffee than any of their other drinks, resulting in a more genuine coffee flavor. This is a more satisfying product compared with the Coolatta, which had an artificial, syrupy taste and left something to be desired.

While I really enjoy this drink, I have to take off a point from my rating due to Dunkin Donut's unfortunate consistency issue. While I've heard that Starbucks has got their measurements down to a science, Dunkin Donuts products tend to taste significantly different from one day to another depending on who is making them.
 
According to the Dunkin' website, a medium frozen coffee without any added flavors comes in at a whopping 630 calories, but lower calorie options are available (small with whole milk instead of cream is 380 cal). However, Don't even consider getting the skim milk version, because without the fat from the milk, the drink just doesn't hold together at all. (see right) The whole milk version, however, seems to keep its texture quite well, and results in an even stronger coffee flavor.

Overall, this drink is for the coffee customer who wants something sweet, simple and delicious for summer without breaking the bank.  This is the coffee drink I have been waiting for.

Rating: 9/10