Preview to Summer Book Swap! Link-up Here =]

Today's the day! We're all linking up for Preview to Summer: A Blogger Book Swap!

Thanks for coming on this journey with Me, Maria, Serena, Martie, Nina and Nicole.

We have loved having you as participants and we hope that you enjoyed your time blogging about books, your love for reading, and meeting other bloggers who love to read.

My swap partner was my fellow co-host, Maria, and I could not tell you how excited I was to have her as a swap partner.  All the link-up graphics and the banners that you saw throughout the entire process were created by her and she did a phenomenal job as a co-host.  Maria blogs over at I Believe in Story and has her own shop with really adorable prints.  Apart from being an awesome blogger and shop owner, Maria is a genuinely kind-hearted person who has fielded numerous e-mails from me throughout this process.  She is always there to offer a kind word and gentle encouragement.

So of course I wasn't surprised to receive a care package that is just as sweet as she is and when I opened it, the first thing I saw was this adorable card filled with mixed media ice cream cones.  Maria wrote out such a thoughtful note and although she is already one of my favorite bloggers long before I started book swaps, it only further cemented my admiration for her.

I could not stop smiling after the first thing I saw was this tote.  I love The Great Gatsby and Maria picked out this adorable bag from the company Out of Print and I was strutting about the house with it.  I may or may not have squealed with excitement.  Yes, squealed.

Maria has some great attention to detail because a long time ago (or in blogger terms, a few weeks ago) I said that I really loved this specific print from her shop and when I opened a brown folder in the package, there it was.

someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again
There is something so sweet and innocent about that phrase.  It feels like a verbal hug :)

She also included postcards of different covers, which I love!

Maria chose this darling book with short stories about summer.  This fits perfectly for our book swap theme! I adore this cover, it's so cute!  I haven't tackled too many books with short stories in the past and so I'm really glad that she has given me an opportunity to expand on those experiences. 

She also included one of her favorite books, Of Bees and Mist.
Here's a plot synopsis:

Of Bees and Mist is an engrossing fable that chronicles three generations of women under one family tree and places them in a mythical town where spirits and spells, witchcraft and demons, and prophets and clairvoyance are an everyday reality.

Meridia grows up in a lonely home until she falls in love with Daniel at age sixteen. Soon, they marry, and Meridia can finally escape to live with her charming husband’s family—unaware that they harbor dark mysteries of their own. As Meridia struggles to embrace her life as a young bride, she discovers long-kept secrets about her own past as well as shocking truths about her new family that push her love, courage, and sanity to the brink.

Erick Setiawan’s astonishing debut is a richly atmospheric and tumultuous ride of hope and heartbreak that is altogether touching, truthful, and memorable.

I am always excited to start a book with a strong recommendation from a friend.  Seeing that this is one of her favorites, I'm hoping to love it just as much as she does.  The elements of spells and witchcraft remind me of a fairytale and everything seems to tie nicely into the themes of the care package.

Finally she included a CD of a Canadian pop/indie group called Hey Ocean!  I love when people send me music from bands that I've never heard of because I'm always down to listen to great music.

Maria did such a great job and I could not be more thrilled!  If you love that print as much as I do, make sure to check out her shop because there are tons of other great prints as well.

Make sure to link-up below!