Indigo Fall Party 2011!

So last week on twitter Chapters Indigo ran a contest to attend the preview of their new Fall 2011 Lifestyle Collection. Originally it was supposed to be 25 winners, but due to overwhelming demand, they opened up more spots for people to attend. I was one of those lucky people invited to the Chapters Indigo HQ for this event. For those of you who don't know, Chapters Indigo (this also includes Coles stores) is Canada's answer to Barnes & Noble. They are Canada's leading chain for all of your books, music and movies!

I was able to bring a +1 to the event and since the lovely Evie from Bookish is in town, I decided to bring her along. We met up with a bunch of bloggers and awesome people (Brenna, Jenn, & Gwen) that we know from twitter and were able to partake in great food, conversation and get a sneak peek at some of the wonderful merchandise that Chapters Indigo will be selling this fall in stores and online.  There were prize giveaways (apparently I won a copy of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, but due to my needing to leave early the prize went to someone else they are actually going to send me a copy!), and everyone received a swag bag at the end of the nigh

A  bove are photos of some of the merchandise offered as part of the Fall 2011 Lifestyle Collection as well as the swag we received at the end of the night.  As you can see, Chapters Indigo has really taken this collection to a whole new level.  The items are fun, functional, excellent quality and all at a great price!  If you haven't already done so, I urge you to check out the new Fall 2011 Lifestyle Collection from Chapters Indigo.  You won't be disappointed.

In My Mailbox #15: August 21- 27, 2011 Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

The purpose of the meme is to highlight books that you have received in your mailbox over the past week. So let’s see what I got in my mailbox this week!

So I have been slacking on the blog lately!  I am so sorry guys, but I promise that the reviews are on their way back.  Preparing for the upcoming school year the University has been so hectic this year.  No, I am not a student, but I do run to Engineering Undergrad Programs!  I think everything is sorted out now, and it's back to blogging.  So let's see what I received in my mailbox this week!

L.A. Mental by Neil McMahon [Goodreads | Amazon] ARC Copy
Drama: An Actor's Education by John Lithgow [Goodreads | Amazon] ARC Copy
Irma Voth by Miriam Towes [Goodreads | Amazon] ARC Copy
Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror Series #1) by Karina Halle [Goodreads | Amazon] Finished Copy
Red Fox (Experiment in Terror Series #2) by Karina Halle [Goodreads | Amazon] Finished Copy
The Edge of Grace by Christa Allen [Goodreads | Amazon] Finished Copy *Blog Tour coming up*

Review: The Sixes

Title: The Sixes
Author: Kate White
Genre: Fiction & Literature
Rating: PG
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: August 2, 2011
Pages: 384 pages
Source: ARC Courtesy of the Publisher
My Rating: 5*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

Kate White rises to the pinnacle of modern suspense with The Sixes, a page-turning stand-alone thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Hush, and the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. With taught prose evocative of Laura Lippman’s Life Sentences and Dennis Lehane’s Moonlight Mile, White paints the sinister picture of a quiet Pennsylvania college town left shaken after a mysterious death precipitates a cascade of evil events on campus. When new teacher Phoebe Hall undertakes the dangerous quest of uncovering the truth behind the ghastly recent happenings, her investigation will send her into the clutches of a deadly secret society—the Sixes—and unearth the dark relics of her own long-buried past.


My Thoughts

This is the first book I have read written by Kate White.  I have to say, if they are all like this, then I need to read more of her work.

The Sixes, like The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon, is a book about a murder and secret society of mean girls.  Actually girls aren't just mean, they are sociopath's.  Sociopath's with far, far too much time on their hands.

Phoebe Hall is a famous writer recently a part of plagiarism scandal.  As a way to lay low and recover from this scandal she is offered a place teaching a writing class at Lyle College by her long time friend who is now the head of the school.  Shortly after her arrival, a girl is found drowned in the river just off campus.  During the investigation into her death, the school administration gets wind of a secret society of girls that may be operating on campus.  Desperate to contain possible damage to the school, Phoebe is tasked with using her journalistic talents to investigate The Sixes.

Phoebe's investigation, predictably, stirs up a hornet's nest and makes her the target for this group of mean girls on crack.  It's actually scary the complete lack of respect for authority or personal safety that The Sixes show in their bid to intimidate Phoebe from finding out the truth about them.  In the course of investigating The Sixes, Phoebe unwittingly becomes involved in the investigation for the killer that appears to be haunting Lyle College, its students and Phoebe herself.

Kate White has done a phenomenal job in weaving all the different back stories together into one cohesive and dynamic thriller.  I guarantee that this is one ending that you won't see coming.

This review was done after reading an uncorrected ARC copy courtesy of HarperCollins New York. My priority is to you, and I honour that commitment by being honest! I don’t do reviews for payment, nor do I guarantee favourable reviews for any book/galley/ARC sent to me for review.  I promise to stay truthful with you and all opinions represented here are my own. If you are uncertain what this all means, I urge you to read my Review Policy for further clarification. You can also contact me at contact@nicoleabouttown.com.

Review: The Twisted Thread

Title: The Twisted Thread
Author: Charlotte Bacon
Genre: Fiction
Rating: PG
Publisher: Voice
Publication Date: June 14, 2011
Pages: 352 Pages
Source: Digital ARC from NetGalley
My Rating: 3*

[Goodreads | Amazon]

When beautiful but aloof Claire Harkness is found dead in her dorm room one spring morning, prestigious Armitage Academy is shaken to its core. Everyone connected to school, and to Claire, finds their lives upended, from the local police detective who has a personal history with the academy, to the various faculty and staff whose lives are immersed in the daily rituals associated with it.


Everyone wants to know how Claire died, at whose hands, and more importantly, where the baby that she recently gave birth to is a baby that almost no one, except her small innermost circle, knew she was carrying.


At the center of the investigation is Madeline Christopher, an intern in the English department who is forced to examine the nature of the relationship between the school s students and the adults meant to guide them. As the case unravels, the dark intricacies of adolescent privilege at a powerful institution are exposed, and both teachers and students emerge as suspects as the novel rushes to its thrilling conclusion.

*Warning* May Contain Spoilers!

My Thoughts

A book about secret societies?  A book about secret societies of girls?  A book about secret societies of girls wreaking havoc on those around them?  I am so in.  Add in a murder of the girl who is rumoured to be the head of said secret society and it should be a great read.

Well, it didn't work out as well as I had hoped.

The book begins with scatter brained Madeline who now has a new job at the prestigious Armitage boarding school as a teacher, despite being little older than the student's she is in charge of.  Within the first few pages of the book, a student named Claire, is found dead in her dorm room.  It soon becomes clear that Claire was not only murdered, but that she had recently had a baby.  A baby, that none but a select few were aware she was even carrying, and a baby who is now missing.  From there is not only becomes a case of whodunnit, but it also becomes an investigation into the secret society that Claire was rumoured to run.

The story itself, at least the idea of it, was good.  It's the execution that falls a little short.  For some reason, we are introduced to 15 characters or so it seemed..  Characters, whose stories are so developed, and more often than not irrelevant to the central plot of the story.  I often found myself having to flip back and forth trying to remember what they brought to the story.  The answer: nothing!  I felt like I spent too more time trying to keep all the back stories straight than I did trying to figure out who killed Claire.  The fact that a girl was murdered and her baby was missing got lost in the back story until the last 40 pages.

I will say this, I really didn't see the ending coming and the culprit never even made it to my suspect list.


This review was done after reading an uncorrected ARC copy courtesy of Voice Publishing and NetGalley. My priority is to you, and I honour that commitment by being honest! I don’t do reviews for payment, nor do I guarantee favourable reviews for any book/galley/ARC sent to me for review.  I promise to stay truthful with you and all opinions represented here are my own. If you are uncertain what this all means, I urge you to read my Review Policy for further clarification. You can also contact me at contact@nicoleabouttown.com.