Review: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

26 February, 2018 1:13 am , 16 Comments ,

To Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: March 6, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

 

Read More →

Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Car troubles galore

25 February, 2018 12:21 am , 44 Comments ,

 

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

 

You know what is always fun? Car trouble! Yaaay! Nothing like waking up in the morning to a vehicle that goes “ritititititit” instead of turning over. So, we had plans to fix the Jeep this weekend. Woke up, had breakfast, I saw on my local Buy Nothing group that one of the members was offering up clippings from their succulent garden. So, we stopped by in our other vehicle to get some new plants. Yay, right? Wrong! When I was finished taking plant clippings I realized that our other vehicle wouldn’t start-up. Thankfully the girl allowed us to take her car to run home and get tools and jumper cables to try to get our vehicle running again. I still can’t believe she let a complete stranger take her vehicle. Anyways, one call to AAA later, a few trips to Autozone, and I think… I HOPE that we finally have both vehicles up and running.

Later today I plan to go to a book launch party for Fire and Bone. You know, the book about the demigoddess that I recently featured on the blog? Anyway, I’m really excited that she’s coming nearby for her launch party. I met her last year at another book signing, and she’s really cool and sweet. So, I’m happy that I get to be there for the festivities. Let’s just hope we have no more car troubles.

 

Read More →

Posted in: meme

Review: The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

23 February, 2018 1:10 am , 30 Comments ,

The Valiant
(The Valiant #1)
by Lesley Livingston
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: Feb. 14, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

Princess. Captive. Gladiator.

Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king, the sister of the legendary warrior Sorcha, and the sworn enemy of Julius Caesar.

When Fallon was a child, Caesar’s armies invaded her homeland, and her beloved sister was killed in battle.

Now, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is eager to follow in her sister’s footsteps and earn her place in the fearsome Cantii war band. She never gets the chance.

Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival.

Now Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries and deadly fights—in and out of the arena. And perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her forbidden yet irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier.

 

Read More →

Posted in: Uncategorized , Tagged: ,

Sneak Peek Wednesday: Devil’s Gold by Amanda McKinney

21 February, 2018 1:45 am , 15 Comments ,

Devil’s Gold
(Black Rose Mystery #1)
by Amanda McKinney
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: Feb. 13, 2018
Genre: Mystery Thriller

Death and Darkness are the norm at Black Rose Investigations . . .

Despite being chronically late, occasionally disheveled and a tad disorganized, Dixie Knight is one of the top private investigators in the country, and when a young woman goes missing in the small, Southern town of Devil’s Den, Dixie takes the case. She expected it to be another ordinary missing person case—until it takes a brutal turn.

While visiting relatives on his two-week leave, Marine Liam Cash bumps into Dixie at the local bar, and his attraction to her is immediate. When he becomes suspicious that Dixie’s current case is connected to two unsolved murders in his hometown, he steps in to help investigate, and keep Dixie safe, whether Dixie wants him to or not.

As the bodies start stacking up, Dixie turns the town upside down looking for the killer—could it be the rumored witch that lives in the mountains; the rich, neurotic doctor’s wife; or the perky, blonde receptionist at the local medical clinic?

Time is running out and Dixie knows she has to put the pieces of the puzzle together before another body turns cold in Devil’s Den.

 

Read More →

Posted in: Mystery, Thriller , Tagged:

Review: Fire and Bone by Rachel A. Marks

19 February, 2018 8:40 am , 19 Comments ,

Fire and Bone
(Otherborn #1)
by Rachel A. Marks
Publisher: Skyscape
Publication date: Feb. 20, 2018
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Rating:

Sage is eighteen, down on her luck, and struggling to survive on the streets of Los Angeles. Everything changes the night she’s invited to a party — one that turns out to be a trap.

Thrust into a magical world hidden within the City of Angels, Sage discovers that she’s the daughter of a Celtic goddess, with powers that are only in their infancy. Now that she is of age, she’s asked to pledge her service to one of the five deities, all keen on winning her favor by any means possible. She has to admit that she’s tempted — especially when this new life comes with spells, Hollywood glam, and a bodyguard with secrets of his own. Not to mention a prince whose proposal could boost her rank in the Otherworld.

As loyalties shift, and as the two men vie for her attention, Sage tries to figure out who to trust in a realm she doesn’t understand. One thing’s for sure: the trap she’s in has bigger claws than she thought. And it’s going to take a lot more than magic for this Celtic demigoddess to make it out alive.

 

Read More →

Posted in: NA Fantasy, YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Happy Lunar New Year!

18 February, 2018 1:12 am , 47 Comments ,

 

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

 

This weekend we celebrated the Lunar New Year. We live in a predominately Asian neighborhood, and every year they put on a huge festival near our house. On Friday we walked down for the opening night festivities, and had a blast. We got to watch the lion dances, dance team competition, and stayed for The Ha Brothers (DJ) afterwards. I’ll be honest though, I’ve never felt so old before. There were so many young teens there, dancing and having a blast, and I felt like I was out past my bedtime.

Speaking of the Tết Festival, if you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my story on Friday night that had a short clip of one of the lion dances. While I’m still learning the ins and outs of this smartphone thing, case in point I accidentally did a 2 second live video on Facebook when I was just trying to take a normal video, I am loving the fact that I can share a more personal side to your guys of what I’m up to, without it bogging down my feed with a ton of posts.

 

Read More →

Posted in: meme

Review: Shot on Gold by Jaci Burton

16 February, 2018 1:36 am , 22 Comments ,

Shot on Gold
(Play-by-Play #14)
by Jaci Burton
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: Feb. 13, 2018
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Will “Mad Dog” Madigan is making his second trip to the Winter Games, and he couldn’t be happier. Hockey is his life and playing for the U.S. team is a privilege. Then he meets U.S. figure skater Amber Sloane. She’s beautiful, ambitious and driven–everything Will desires in a woman. He would love to show Amber how hot life off the ice can be.

Amber has skated her entire life, sacrificing everything in the hopes of one day winning gold. Now she’s competing for the third and final time. She intends to win, and nothing’s going to get in her way–until she meets Will. He’s an irresistible charmer, and before long Amber is wondering if this sexy hockey player is the perfect guy to show her some moves outside the rink.

But after all the medals have been awarded, Will and Amber will have to decide if what they have together is just a fling or a real shot at true love.

 

Read More →

Posted in: Erotic Romance, Romance , Tagged: ,

I read romance…. get over it

14 February, 2018 1:45 am , 32 Comments ,


 

Happy Valentine’s day, everyone!

 

Today’s the day of love. Although, I don’t fully understand Valentine’s day nor do we celebrate it… but that’s a post for another day. Today I’m talking about romance novels and how they are perceived to the general public. Because seriously, what’s the deal with people hating on romance novels? I love them! I mean, there’s so many sub-genres to romance that it’s pretty much everywhere. In the Star Wars franchise there was Hans and Leia, and Anakin and Padme. Indiana Jones had Marion. Heck, even in Lord of the Rings there was Arwen and Aragorn. Now, I’m not saying all stories have romance, but there are movies out there that I gravitate to because of the romance that the Mister loves because of the story line. So, how come when I say that I like romance I immediately get the look that says, “Oh, you like those books.” Just because I like romance, I’m automatically put into a box full of books with Fabio on them. Even if all I read are Fabio romances, what’s the big deal?! It may not be an autobiography on Eleanor Roosevelt, but at least I’m reading something.

 

Read More →

Posted in: Ramblings

Review: Baby on the Bad Boy’s Doorstep by Victoria James

12 February, 2018 1:24 am , 20 Comments ,

Baby on the Bad Boy’s Doorstep
(Shadow Creek, Montana #4)
by Victoria James
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
Publication date: Feb. 12, 2018
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Connor O’Leary knows nothing about babies, families, or good women, yet he’s up to his ears in all three. Coming to Shadow Creek, Montana was meant to be a new start for this former oil rigger, but he had no idea that fresh beginning would include a baby on his doorstep and a hot nanny he can’t stop thinking about. Diapers, feedings, and late nights soothing his little bundle of surprise were definitely not on his itinerary.

The last thing Haley Thomson expected to see is the reclusive Connor with a baby in his arms. Before she knows it, she’s volunteered as nanny—temporarily. Helping out with baby Rosie is a dream come true and fills a space in her heart she believed will never be filled. But falling for Rosie’s hot and sexy bachelor daddy is not on her to-do list…but boy would she ever like it to be…

 

Read More →

Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,

So many cacti, so little time.

11 February, 2018 12:01 am , 48 Comments ,

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

 

 

Last Sunday I had an early Galentine’s brunch with a group of girls. I had a ton of fun. Since I’m new to the whole smartphone thing, a couple of friends went over Snapchat (which I don’t plan to get), different apps, and even showed me how to boomerang. Which is why there’s a random story on my Instagram account of the three of us. It’s probably the only time you’ll see me without my wig or my face obscured. I guess I’m not so anonymous anymore.

Yesterday was the cactus & succulent event. The cactus & succulent society puts together this event where local nurseries bring in their plants to both sell and put in for a judging competition. Last year we came home with quite a bit of plants. However, this year I reigned myself in and didn’t buy anything. Although, I took a ton of photos of the plants and plan to maybe check out the various nurseries in the area to see what else they have. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my story showing some of the plants at the event.

Speaking of which, I’m thinking I will use the Instagram stories as a way to show updates on my personal life. I posted photos from the succulent event as well as a birthday party I attended last night for a friend’s thirtieth birthday. I’m not sure if I want my feed to be just books, or if I want to mix in personal photos. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing over there. Ha!

 

 

Read More →

Posted in: meme