I blinked and now it’s 2020!

 

I feel like as I get older, the years go by quicker. 2019 was a year where if you blinked, you missed it. Maybe I’m the only one that feels that way, but it felt like every time I turned around, it was a new month. This year I had some health issues pop up, which slowed down my reading to practically nonexistent. There was also a moment where I thought I would have to move again, and I was dreading it, but thankfully everything worked out and we could stay where we are for a couple more years. I experienced Disneyland for the first time, and it was magical. I enjoyed it so much, that my bestie from NY came out to visit and we went to Disneyland. We ended the year with taking in a kitten that was found in the middle of the night, in the middle of the desert. We’re still fostering her, but our cat has not been happy, regardless of how many pheromone diffusers I bought and put up around the house. To say that this year was a bit chaotic would be putting it mildly. I didn’t get a whole heck of a lot of reading in this year. I read 58 books when I set my Goodreads goal to 125. However, I’m hoping that 2020 will be the year of books for me.

 

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Review: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

On the Come Up
by Angie Thomas
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: Feb 5. 2019
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least make it out of her neighborhood one day. As the daughter of an underground rap legend who died before he hit big, Bri’s got big shoes to fill. But now that her mom has unexpectedly lost her job, food banks and shutoff notices are as much a part of Bri’s life as beats and rhymes. With bills piling up and homelessness staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it—she has to make it.

On the Come Up is Angie Thomas’s homage to hip-hop, the art that sparked her passion for storytelling and continues to inspire her to this day. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; of the struggle to become who you are and not who everyone expects you to be; and of the desperate realities of poor and working-class black families.

 

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Review: Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

The Right Swipe
(Modern Love #1)
by Alisha Rai
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: Aug 6, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:

– Nude pics are by invitation only

– If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice

– Protect your heart

Only there aren’t any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night… and disappears.

Rhi thought she’d buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won’t fumble their second chance, but she’s wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…

 

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Review: Faker by Sarah Smith

Faker
by Sarah Smith
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Oct. 8, 2019
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she’s tough as nails–the complete opposite of her easy-going real self.

One thing she doesn’t have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie’s friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can’t stop staring at his Thor-like biceps…

When Emmie and Tate are forced to work together on a charity construction project, things get…heated. Emmie’s beginning to see that beneath Tate’s chiseled exterior lies a soft heart, but it will take more than a few kind words to erase the past and convince her that what they have is real.

 

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Review: Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau

Kingdom of Exiles
(The Beast Charmer #1)
by Maxym M. Martineau
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: June 25, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:

Exiled beast charmer Leena Edenfrell is in deep trouble. Empty pockets forced her to sell her beloved magical beasts on the black market—an offense punishable by death—and now there’s a price on her head. With the realm’s most talented murderer-for-hire nipping at her heels, Leena makes him an offer he can’t refuse: powerful mythical creatures in exchange for her life.

If only it were that simple. Unbeknownst to Leena, the undying ones are bound by magic to complete their contracts, and Noc cannot risk his brotherhood of assassins…not even to save the woman he can no longer live without.

 

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Here’s to some holiday cheer


I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Another month, another adventure. This past month was crazy. I started the month by attending and participating in my first ever parade. The national park that I work for was participating in the Palm Springs Pride parade and I was invited to walk the parade route with my coworkers! It was a lot of fun and a huge honor to get to participate. My best friend from back home flew out for a week of fun. We went to Disneyland, I got to show her the national park that I work at, and then we took off for my husband’s huge work event in Vegas. Oh yeah, and on that trip we got into an accident. Everyone was okay, but my car took a bit of a beating and is still in the shop getting fixed. I also rescued a kitten last month. A wonderful lady found her, but was unable to hold onto her and care for her while an owner was found, so I took her in and gave her a warm and safe place to hang out. Unfortunately, it appears that she was dumped in the desert, so now we are just fostering her until she finds her forever home. To say that November was a bit chaotic would be an understatement. It’s already December, which to me is usually the busiest time of the year, and I’m already exhausted. I had planned on putting up holiday decorations today, but I’m currently typing up this post while I wait for a plumber to come and fix my leaking sink. LoL December is not starting off on a good note. :\

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Review: Find Me Their Bones by by Sara Wolf

Find Me Their Bones
(Bring Me Their Hearts #2)
by Sara Wolf
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: Nov. 5, 2019
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

No one can save her.

In order to protect Prince Lucien d’Malvane’s heart, Zera had to betray him. Now, he hates the sight of her. Trapped in Cavanos as a prisoner of the king, she awaits the inevitable moment her witch severs their magical connection and finally ends her life.

But fate isn’t ready to give her up just yet.

With freedom coming from the most unlikely of sources, Zera is given a second chance at life as a Heartless. But it comes with a terrible price. As the king mobilizes his army to march against the witches, Zera must tame an elusive and deadly valkerax trapped in the tunnels underneath the city if she wants to regain her humanity.

Winning over a bloodthirsty valkerax? Hard. Winning back her friends before war breaks out? A little harder.

But a Heartless winning back Prince Lucien’s heart?

The hardest thing she’s ever done.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Breakup Boot Camp by Beth Merlin (Giveaway)

Breakup Boot Camp
by Beth Merlin
Publisher: Firefly Hill Press, LLC
Publication: Nov. 19, 2019
Genre: Romance

After weeks of training to whip Joanna Kitt into shape for her big day, her picture-perfect engagement to her high school sweetheart is torn in two, and Joanna is left out on her perfectly toned rear end. To put the past and her heartache behind her, she sets off for two weeks at the renowned Retreat House Breakup Boot Camp in Topsail Island off the coast of North Carolina.

Despite her sadness, Joanna throws herself into the experience hoping surfing, yoga, spa treatments, meditation, and talk therapy will be enough to help her get over the one man she’s ever loved. But she soon learns the Boot Camp is only the first step to healing her broken heart. Joanna will have to come to terms with the career she abandoned, the loss in her life she never fully accepted, and the role she played in the ending of her relationship.

When she meets Todd Aldrich, the handsome and mysterious hotel chef, she has the chance to take her renewed heart out for a test drive and see if she is ready for new beginnings and new love.

Will 12 steps be enough to get her life back on track? Or will her getaway to get over him prove healing the heart takes a whole lot more?

 

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The Bookworm Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

The Bookworm Crush
by Lisa Brown Roberts
Publication date: Oct. 1, 2019
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating:

This spinoff of The Replacement Crush featuring Amy and Toff is sure to melt your heart.

Shy bookworm Amy McIntyre is about to compete for the chance to interview her favorite author, who hasn’t spoken to the press in years. The only way to win is to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight, but that level of confidence has never come easy.

The solution? A competition coach. The problem? The best person for the job is the guy she’s secretly crushing on…local surfer celebrity Toff Nichols.

He’s a player. He’s a heartthrob. He makes her forget basic things, like how to breathe. How can she feel any confidence around him?

To her surprise, Toff agrees to help. And he’s an excellent teacher. Amy feels braver—maybe even brave enough to admit her feelings for him. When their late night practices become less about coaching and more about making out, Amy’s newfound confidence wavers.

But does Toff really like her or is this just another lesson?

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Stolen Princess by Nikki Jefford

Stolen Princess
(Royal Conquest Saga #1)
by Nikki Jefford
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Nov. 11, 2018
Genre: New Adult Fantasy Retelling

She sacrificed herself to save her family from poverty…

I finally regained my freedom, but it’s being threatened.

It wasn’t enough to kill my mate, heir to the throne. My obsessive Fae brother-in-law wants the crown. And he wants me ruling by his side.

I thought I was done with romance until a certain pompous elf reappeared in my life at the illustrious Monster Ball. A little teasing led to bruised lips and captured hearts. No one wants Jhaeros and me to be together, not even my favorite sister, Melarue. She thinks he’s a drag. But she’s a teenager just coming into her elemental powers and discovering boys—the wrong kind—the type I want to shoot arrows through.

My royal in-laws are playing a treacherous game, and my brother-in-law is determined to get what he wants. But this princess no longer has a master. I don’t want a crown. I want freedom, family, and the love of a lifetime. But love might be the one thing that destroys us all.

*Recommended reading after the prequel novella “Enemies and Lovers” in The Monster Ball Anthology. Part of a duology, but can be read as a standalone.

 

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