Sisters Studying in the Sun and a Linky

Since we live in South Africa, below the Equator, our seasons are opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. This past weekend we hit 40°C (104°F) two days in a row, which is unexpectedly early to get such hot days. Our girls decided to sit by the pool on Saturday morning before it got too hot to study for their final exams. Jessica is in her second year at university and Samantha is in her final year at high school. Typically, the school year ends early December and the new school year begins mid-January.

*** If you want to comment or join the linky, then please make sure this page's permalink loads as http and not https! Also, my blog is hosted by Blogger, which uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and is best viewed in Google Chrome. ***

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Here's a peek at
my latest post

on 1camera1mom:

Paradise Grille and St. Pete Beach

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My Latest Book Reviews:


The Mark by Edyth Bulbring

Dragon School Books 19 and 20

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Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

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This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.
Please load page as http and not https.

How to use the linky widget:

First make sure that you load this page as http and not https if you want to see the linky. Type in the name of your blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see the hops that I often link up to.

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Dragon School Books 19 and 20

Dragon School:

Starie Night

About the Book:

Title: Dragon School: Starie Night | Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson | Genre: Fantasy Adventure | Pages: 85 | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

In the black of night, hope shines.

A new story from USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson

With Amel a captive in the hands of Starie Atrelan - the false Chosen One - and Amel's beloved dragon Raolcan missing, all seems to be lost. But is it?

Amel still has the prophecies and her wits and she's not afraid to use them to score the victory the Dominion desperately needs.

Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon will love Dragon School.

STARIE NIGHT is episode nineteen of Dragon School. Expect a new episode every eighteen days!

Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Pre-Order on Amazon

My Review:

Dragon School: Starie Night is Book 19 and things aren't looking good for Amel and her friends. Starie is using Amel as bait and Raolcan is missing. Starie also has control of the Pipe of Wings. Her followers, The Dusk Covenant, believe in the prophecies, but their version is different to the Lightbringer's. Amel has an epiphany when facing the end. She realizes that she is so much more than a cripple. This episode ends on another cliffhanger.

Dragon School:

Ascendant Light

About the Book:

Title: Dragon School: Ascendant Light | Author: Sarah K. L. Wilson | Genre: Fantasy Adventure | Pages: 86 | Recommended Age: Young Adult

Book Description:

The end has come.

A new story from USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson

The end has come. But will it bring victory or defeat? And what will it cost Amel, Raolcan, and their friends?

With the fate of the Dominion - and likely the world - on Amel and Raolcan's shoulders, they must show once again that honor, truth, and self-sacrifice are more than ideas - they're something to give your life for.

Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon will love Dragon School.

ASCENDANT LIGHT is the final episode of Dragon School. For more adventures in the Dragon School world, watch for DRAGON CHAMELEON.

Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Pre-Order on Amazon

My Review:

Dragon School: Ascendant Light is Book 20 and the final episode in this well-loved Dragon School series. Starie is battling against Savette, but Savette's armies aren't doing as well as Starie's and her Ifrits. Amel has to make a critical decision, save one man, Leng, or save the entire Dominion by helping Savette. The ending is powerful and it has a twist. Readers won't be disappointed. I've already pre-ordered Dragon Chameleon, the first book in the new series!

More Dragon School Books:

First Flight (Book 1)

Initiate (Book 2)

The Dark Prince (Book 3)

The Ruby Isles (Book 4)

Dragon School Books 5 and 6

Dragon School Books 7 and 8

Dragon School Books 9 and 10

Dragon School Books 11 and 12

Dragon School Books 13 and 14

Dragon School Books 15 and 16

Dragon School Books 17 and 18

More Books by Sarah Wilson:

Unweaving Chronicles

The Ex-Pacifist

The Splitting

The Matsumoto

FREE Dragon School Wallpaper
by Sarah Vaughn

About the Author:

Sarah K. L. Wilson

USA Today bestselling author, Sarah K. L. Wilson, hails from the rocky Canadian Shield in Northern Ontario where she lives with her husband and two small boys. Her interests include the outdoors, history, and philosophy. Her books are always about fantastical adventures in other worlds.

Website | Twitter

Disclosure: I received an ARC for each book. These are my honest and voluntary reviews.

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The Mark by Edyth Bulbring and a Linky

Most of my regular readers know that I'm a volunteer reader at the Blind Institute here in South Africa. All of the reading I do is in a sound room and most is related to school. I just finished reading the book depicted below for Grade 10, which you can find on Amazon, but with a different cover design.

*** If you want to comment or join the linky, then please make sure this page's permalink loads as http and not https! Also, my blog is hosted by Blogger, which uses cookies to improve your browsing experience, and is best viewed in Google Chrome. ***

The Mark

About the Book:

Title: The Mark | Author: Edyth Bulbring | Pages: 237 | Genre: Dystopian | Recommended Age: Young Adult | Trigger Warning: Extreme Violence

Book Description:

In the future, the world has flipped. Ravaged by the Conflagration, the State of Mangeria is a harsh place where the sun beats down, people’s lives are run by a heartless elite and law is brutally enforced. A mark at the base of the spine controls each person’s destiny. The Machine decides what work you will do and who your life partner will be. Juliet Seven – “Ettie” – will soon turn 15 and her life as a drudge will begin, her fate-mate mate will be chosen. Like everyone else, her future is marked by the numbers on her spine. But Ettie decides to challenge her destiny. And in so doing, she fulfills the prophecy that was spoken of before she even existed.

Purchase on Amazon

My Review:

The Mark is a dystopian novel that takes place after the world has burned and the sun beats down mercilessly. It is hell on earth in more ways than one. The elite few have all the privileges and use their power to dominate everyone else. There are horrific human right's violations in every chapter. One of them is to discard people once they lose their usefulness.

A girl named Juliet, who goes by Ettie, is raised as an orphan and trained to do menial labor as a drudge. She has learned that to survive, you have to be a nobody and trust no one. She blends in so well, that people assume she lacks intelligence and has no feelings. She also pretends not to know how to read, since kids like her aren't taught that skill.

The story is told through her eyes and her thoughts are dripping with sarcasm. Ettie uses concepts from classic books and fairy tales to describe her world. She calls her handler, Xavier, a tricksy hobbit and the doctors in lab coats Frankenstein 1 and Frankenstein 2. She also uses lines from nursery rhymes, which point to happier times and which are in stark contrast to her harsh reality. It's her love of stories that helps her connect with one of the children of the elites.

Ettie, like everyone else, has a number on her back to keep her under the control of the elites. For years she has been trying to find a way to remove the mark, but without success. The Machine tracks her mark and determines what work she will do and who she will marry, but she doesn't like being controlled by the Machine or by a vague prophecy. She has a purpose to fulfill; a prophecy that is whispered by a scattering of rebels. No one believes that the prophecy is about her, except for the hadeda ibis birds. These are large ugly birds whose eyes have been cruelly removed to trigger their ability to foretell the future. Whenever Ettie is near, they screech at her warnings about her future.

This is a well-written story. There are twists and turns that will keep you guessing. The use of sarcasm is the right choice of humor for this hell on earth. If you're looking for a happily-ever-after, then this book isn't for you. It also doesn't have a complete ending. It's written for young adults, but because of the brutality, it should come with an age restriction of 16 and up.

About the Author:

Edyth Bulbring

Edyth Bulbring is an award-winning writer of Young Adult novels. She was born in Boksburg and grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. She worked as a journalist for fifteen years and was political correspondent at the Sunday Times of South Africa covering the first democratic elections. She likes dogs, trees and junk shops.

Website

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My Latest Book Review:

Free Coloring Pages and a Review

Amanda

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Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #288

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

<center><a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.co.za/" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaX10yWr7xxEQ5BBMhOqdZxobJ0omJBq-v8ENFn3YNNebsnsYBHwcGyje-XzSlHSJOIlZ1rEOp89LyNI97XrPFZtdeH_AvaNV3F8hOvHfsuwe29ALNQw75ibK34buYq7nhpGGZJ8UTnoB/s150/Make+My+Saturday+Sweet.jpg"/></a></center>

Weekend Linky

How to use the linky widget:

First make sure that you load this page as http and not https if you want to see the linky. Type in the name of your blog or blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.

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12th Grade Art Exhibit and a Linky

Amanda and Samantha

Today's photos are of the 12th Grade Art Exhibit that showcased their work over the last two years. One of Samantha's elective subjects is Visual Arts. She has one final art theory exam left for the school year and then she'll be finished with art. 12th Grade is nearly over!

*** If you want to comment or join the linky, then please make sure this page's permalink loads as http and not https! Also, my blog is hosted by Blogger, which uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and is best viewed in Google Chrome. ***

Samantha with her art

Samantha with her art

Samantha's Art

Samantha's Art

The art below is from other students. The Art Center offers other subjects too like Photography and Graphic Design. Samantha is depicted in two of the photography works. I also included a piece that Amanda made at her school this year in Grade 4. She drew the rhino freehand.

Samantha

Samantha

Girl statue outside the Art Center

Amanda's Rhino

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Here's a peek at
my latest post

on 1camera1mom:

St. Petersburg, Florida - Part 8

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My Latest Book Review:


Free Coloring Pages and a Review

*********************

Now on to my blog hop...

Come link up your Wordless Wednesday

(with or without words) or any picture post

at this Picture Perfect Party Linky.

Join me on this fun and easy blog hop!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

and

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow me on one or more links above or via email.
• Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like.
• If possible, copy the button code below and add it on your linked post or blog's side-bar.
• Tell others about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

<center> <a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitS14XLc-z2uSUW00dIvyZc7lEfLP2tkPgO3qmU3NWi_UObDs_d7XqpYhjp0BBeROyZot-8YlEFU9rguELrZYu3arN1qHHNpB4_ezrb-TlBlfHRSOvP7pBA0VI-j1RkUkF77wJxUc7M7ye/s150/Picture%2520Perfect%2520Party%2520Linky.jpg"/></a></center>

This is a Wordless Wednesday blog hop.
Please load page as http and not https.

How to use the linky widget:

First make sure that you load this page as http and not https if you want to see the linky. Type in the name of your blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see the hops that I often link up to.

Read More

Free Coloring Pages, a Review, and a Linky!

*** If you want to comment or join the linky, then please make sure this page's permalink loads as http and not https! Also, my blog is hosted by Blogger, which uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and is best viewed in Google Chrome. ***

Amanda and Samantha

Amanda

Samantha's Coloring Page

My Coloring Page

Hide it In Your Heart Coloring Calendar

Hide it In Your Heart in 2019

This 2019 calendar features a Bible verse for each week in creative fonts that can be colored in. A wide variety of holidays are listed, both traditional and unusual. (Do you know when Appreciate a Dragon Day is? How about Lost Sock Memorial Day?) You’ll have plenty of room to record your activities and appointments in the section for each day and week. After every month, you’ll find word puzzles featuring key words from that month's scriptures and holidays.

Prepare for a year full of coloring and fun that will help you hide God's Word in your heart in 2019 without even trying!

Purchase this calendar from Amazon now!

My Review

Hide it In Your Heart is a unique coloring calendar created by Annie Douglass Lima. There are 53 Bible verses and 24 word puzzles for adults and kids. We found the pages lots of fun to color and there's a variety of pictures to choose from. Some of the details in my picture were almost too fine, making it more challenging than I had expected. Other pictures have less details for the younger ones. Amanda's page was perfect for a 10-year-old and Samantha (age 18) loved her sea themed one! I recommend this calendar for the family. It will brighten your year!

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Here's a peek at some sample pages!

(In the actual calendar, each page is 8 1/2" x 11".)

Links to download Bible verse coloring pages:

Matthew 6:25-26

I John 4:7-8

Psalm 103:2-4

Psalm 96:12-13

Psalm 103:13

Job 12:12

Books by Annie Douglass Lima:
The Nameless Soldier
In the Enemy's Service
Prince of Malorn
The Collar and the Cavvarach
The Gladiator and the Guard

The Krillonian Chronicles

About the Author:

Annie Douglass Lima

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published seventeen books (four YA action and adventure novels, five fantasies, a puppet script, six anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

Email | Blog | Facebook | Twitter 

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Welcome to my weekend blog hop -

Make My Saturday Sweet #287

Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.

Now on to my blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

I would love for you to follow me on

Google+

Twitter 

Facebook
Instagram

Here are the easy rules:

• Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
• Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
• Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
• Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
• Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.

Blog Button Code:

<center> <a href="http://abooksandmore.blogspot.co.za/" target="_blank"><img alt="Amanda’s Books and More" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaX10yWr7xxEQ5BBMhOqdZxobJ0omJBq-v8ENFn3YNNebsnsYBHwcGyje-XzSlHSJOIlZ1rEOp89LyNI97XrPFZtdeH_AvaNV3F8hOvHfsuwe29ALNQw75ibK34buYq7nhpGGZJ8UTnoB/s150/Make+My+Saturday+Sweet.jpg"/></a></center>

Weekend Linky

How to use the linky widget:

First make sure that you load this page as http and not https if you want to see the linky. Type in the name of your blog or blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!

Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.

Read More