I've made all the final changes to the new site and will no longer be posting on this one. Please update your subscriptions with my new site: www.jennsbookshelves.com

At the age of six years old, Bran Hambric was found inside a sealed bank fault. He had no memory of how he had come to be in the vault. As a matter of fact, he couldn't remember anything. The only clue that lead to his identity was a torn piece of paper found with him, which stated: "Bran Hambric, born June 17." Hambric was found by Sewey Wilomas, an employee of the bank.

Eight years later, Hambric is living with the Wilomas family. The Finder's Keepers Law required that, since Sewey Wilomas found Bran, he is theirs "forever or until the End of Time, whichever comes later." Bran lives in the attic of the Wilomas home. He and Rosie (Mabel Wilomas' distant cousin) are essentially the Wilomas' servants.

The Wilomas' live in the City of Dunce, a town where magic and magical creatures have been outlawed. The slight mention of magic or mages (those that practice magic) can result in imprisonment.

One night Bran and Sewey are attacked by a creature who refers to himself as Shambles. During his attempt to take Bran, he mentions the name Emry Hambric, Bran's mother. This is the first Bran has heard anything about his past.

For the first time, Bran begins to question his origin. It doesn't take him long to discover he is not a normal boy. His mother, Emry Hambric, was a mage who risked her life to save Bran's. Emry helped create the Farfield Curse, a curse known to be powerful but hasn't been spoken of for the past eight years. The mages who helped create the Curse are now after Bran, for he is the only one that can awaken the horrible power that can unleash this curse. Bran must stop at nothing to prevent this Curse from occurring.

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse was a very thrilling tale. The suspense builds and builds and comes to a powerful climax near the end. I literally read this is one night, nothing was able to pull my attention away. While technically considered a YA novel it is one that can be enjoyed by adults as well. Now, I would be remiss not to mention the similarities to the Harry Potter books. They do exist, but Kaleb is able to hold is own on this one.

The most impressive thing about this book is the author, Kaleb Nation. Kaleb was only fourteen years old when he started writing Bran Hambric, and it took most of his teenage years to complete it. This is a truly impressive feat. The dedication and focus Nation gave to his writing is clearly evident in this book.

The winner has been contacted. Thanks to all who entered! Check back next week for some exciting new giveaways!

My blog redesign and move to self-hosting took less time than I expected! The new site, Jenn's Bookshelves is live and ready for visitors!

And to celebrate my redesign and move to self-hosting, I'll be hosting some great giveaways (Hint, Hint: Catching Fire!).

Be sure to check it out and let me know what you think. Please update your subscriptions as well for I will stop posting here by next week. Thanks to all your support!

I was so excited to see Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings had posted about his famous RIP (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril) Challenge, September 1-October 31! I've wanted to participate for some time, but this is the first I've been able to. I always try to read a lot of great horror and thriller during the Halloween season, and this challenge gives me another excuse!

RIP challenges you to pick books from the following categories:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

There are also certain levels (perils) to this challenge. I will be participating in:

Peril the First states that I must read four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories.

Now, since my favorite genre is horror, I have a huge bookshelf that is literally packed (I'm talking at least 200 books) full of horror fiction. So, I have a great pool of books to choose from.

Following is my tentative list. I will be adding to this list, I'm certain, depending on the mood I'm in!



Any suggestions for other books I should add to my pool?

Fall is definitely in the air, however. A welcome change to the sweltering heat! I've noticed that the mornings are cooler. The sun is rising later. I can almost feel Fall trying to scoot in. I love fall. It's probably my favorite season. I love the changing colors of the foliage. In the area in which I live, it's like driving through a watercolor painting. The colors are so vivid and bright. And I absolutely love back to school shopping! I loved it as a kid, and I love it still as an adult. We start early, in July, so we don' t have to deal with the horrible crowds and digging through the leftover supplies. And, oh how I wish it would be acceptable for me to carry a trapper keeper to work! Or use glittery pencils with multi-colored erasers!

A big thing we do at our house this time of year is reorganize! With the fall, not only does it bring school but it also begins my busy travel time of the year. So, buy organizing and decluttering, it helps make our days run smoother and our lives less hectic.

I was ecstatic when I was contacted by CSN Office Furniture inviting me to review one of their products. Several other bloggers were contacted and decided to review bookshelves. Now, I could definitely use another bookshelf, but keeping in line with this whole theme of organizing, I decided to review an item that would keep our family more organized. Because not only does CSN home office furniture sell bookshelves and other office equipment, it also sells some great organizational pieces! So I began to think of an area in our house that could stand a bit of organizing. I instantly thought of my son's room, specifically his video game console/collection.

• 39 Clues series (currently 5 books in this series)
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Savvy by Ingrid Law
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation
• Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman
• Ghost in the Machine (Skeleton Creek, Book Two) by Patrick Carman