This week's theme is: Favorite Movies or TV Shows.
Besides The Top Show Which Is My All-Time Favorite Show Ever, The Rest Are In No Particular Order.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Top Ten Tuesday - 10 Favorite Tv Shows
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and it's a way to share what you're loving in list form. The topic changes every week, so there is always something new to discover!
This week's theme is: Favorite Movies or TV Shows.
Besides The Top Show Which Is My All-Time Favorite Show Ever, The Rest Are In No Particular Order.
This week's theme is: Favorite Movies or TV Shows.
Besides The Top Show Which Is My All-Time Favorite Show Ever, The Rest Are In No Particular Order.
Wednesday, 9 July 2014
Book Review (361): Summoned (Redemption's Heir #1) - Anne M. Pillsworth
Summoned (Redemption's Heir #1)
Publication: 24th June 2014
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 320
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
When the Elder Gods extend an invitation, be wary of the strings attached
While browsing in a rare book store in Arkham, Sean finds an occult book with an ad seeking an apprentice sorcerer, from a newspaper dated March 21, 1895. Even more intriguing, the ad specifically requests applicants reply by email.
Sean’s always been interested in magic, particularly the Lovecraftian dark mythology. Against his best friend Edna's ("call-me-Eddy-or-else") advice, he decides to answer the ad, figuring it’s a clever hoax, but hoping that it won’t be. The advertiser, Reverend Redemption Orne, claims to be a master of the occult born more than 300 years ago. To prove his legitimacy, Orne gives Sean instructions to summon a harmless but useful familiar—but Sean’s ceremony takes a dark turn, and he instead accidentally beckons a bloodthirsty servant to the Cthulhu Mythos god Nyarlathotep. The ritual is preemptively broken, and now Sean must find and bind the servitor, before it grows too strong to contain. But strange things are already happening in the town of Arkham....
While browsing in a rare book store in Arkham, Sean finds an occult book with an ad seeking an apprentice sorcerer, from a newspaper dated March 21, 1895. Even more intriguing, the ad specifically requests applicants reply by email.
Sean’s always been interested in magic, particularly the Lovecraftian dark mythology. Against his best friend Edna's ("call-me-Eddy-or-else") advice, he decides to answer the ad, figuring it’s a clever hoax, but hoping that it won’t be. The advertiser, Reverend Redemption Orne, claims to be a master of the occult born more than 300 years ago. To prove his legitimacy, Orne gives Sean instructions to summon a harmless but useful familiar—but Sean’s ceremony takes a dark turn, and he instead accidentally beckons a bloodthirsty servant to the Cthulhu Mythos god Nyarlathotep. The ritual is preemptively broken, and now Sean must find and bind the servitor, before it grows too strong to contain. But strange things are already happening in the town of Arkham....
My Thoughts.
Summoned is the first book in an all new young adult series Redemption's Heir by Anne M. Pillsworth, set in the fantasy genre, with a hint of mythology thrown in as well.We are introduced to teenager Sean who with his best-friend Eddy are browsing in an occult book shop when Sean comes across an extremely old book which when opened is found to contain a newspaper clipping from 1895, what's strange about that you may ask, well there's a circled ad for somebody searching for an apprentice sorcerer, applicants are asked to email to request an interview, thinking that it's a very well thought out joke, although Eddy is wary they email only to discover that Reverend Orne seriously believes that sorcerer's and witches are real, and even claims to be a sorcerer himself born 300 years ago!
To determine whether Sean has any inkling of magic he sets him a task of performing a summoning spell, against his better judgement and ignoring Eddy's warnings he goes ahead with it, and that's when everything goes catastrophically wrong.
Accidentally summoning a servitor who is a servant to the Cthulhu Mythos god Nyarlathotep, who's main source of sustenance are animals and if given the chance humans, Sean is terrified and unintentionally let's the servitor get away before he gets a chance to bind the creature to him.
Sean must find a way with the help of his family and friends to find a spell to counteract the summoning spell to send the servitor back where it came from before it's too late and Sean is driven crazy by the constant melding of their minds.
While this was an enjoyable read I felt more excited by the concept rather than the actual story, I do plan to carry on with the series though as I'm curious to see how this series turns out.
I would have liked to see a section somewhere in the book with pronounciations of the names, as a lot of them were hard to figure out and it would have made reading it a little more easier.
I give this 3/5 stars.
I was born in Troy, New York, but I currently live just outside Providence, Rhode Island, at the head of beautiful Narragansett Bay. New England has long been my spiritual home, and the region informs much of my fiction. One day I hope to find Lovecraft's portals to his mythical towns of witch-haunted Arkham and Kingsport, shadowed Innsmouth and accursed Dunwich. Until then, I'll just have to write about them..
I am a member of SFWA and HWA and a rabid Austenite. Don't those three always go together?
Apart from writing, I like gardening, swimming, king cobras, jumping spiders, and cats. No cobras or cats at the moment, but the jumping spiders are always with us. In spite of maintaining a mental age of between twelve and sixteen, I have just married my partner of more than thirty years. Thanks to the RI Legislature for finally living up to Roger Williams' philosophy of crabbing at people he disagreed with but never denying the primacy of the personal conscience.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Official Dead In The City Cocktail Contest.
Official Dead in the City Cocktail Contest
Before Monday, July 28th we’re asking readers to submit their unique cocktail recipe to Casablanca@sourcebooks.com for a chance to have their creation named the official Dead in the City cocktail and have it featured in Sara’s next Dead in the City title, Vampires Never Cry Wolf (March 2015). Sara will announce the winner in a video where she makes the drink!
Additionally, everyone who sends us their recipe will also be entered in a random drawing to win a Dead in the City themed prize pack including martini glasses, drink supplies, and other sweet treats!
Be sure to follow Sara Humphreys on Facebook, Twitter, and her Website for more details on her latest release, Vampire Trouble, including exclusives and MUCH MORE of her fabulous paranormal romances!
Sunday, 6 July 2014
(ARC) Book Review (360): Undeniable (Country Roads #2) - Shannon Richard
Undeniable (Country Roads #2)
Publication: 24th June 2014
Publisher: Forever
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
THEIR LOVE WAS UNDENIABLE
Grace King knows two things for certain: she loves working at her grandmother's café and she loves the hunky town sheriff. She always has. As she bakes him sweet treats, Grace fantasizes about helping him work up an appetite all night long. But whenever she thinks she's finally getting somewhere, he whips out some excuse to escape. Growing up, he never looked twice at her. Now Grace won't rest until she has Jax's undivided attention.
Jaxson Anderson can't deny that his best friend's kid sister is the sexiest woman in Mirabelle, Florida. Unwilling to burden Grace with his painful past, Jax keeps the sassy blonde at arm's length. Yet one heated kiss crumbles all of his carefully built defenses. But when a town secret surfaces, threatening to destroy everything they believe in, can the man who defended Grace from bullies as a child protect her now?
Grace King knows two things for certain: she loves working at her grandmother's café and she loves the hunky town sheriff. She always has. As she bakes him sweet treats, Grace fantasizes about helping him work up an appetite all night long. But whenever she thinks she's finally getting somewhere, he whips out some excuse to escape. Growing up, he never looked twice at her. Now Grace won't rest until she has Jax's undivided attention.
Jaxson Anderson can't deny that his best friend's kid sister is the sexiest woman in Mirabelle, Florida. Unwilling to burden Grace with his painful past, Jax keeps the sassy blonde at arm's length. Yet one heated kiss crumbles all of his carefully built defenses. But when a town secret surfaces, threatening to destroy everything they believe in, can the man who defended Grace from bullies as a child protect her now?
My Thoughts.
Undeniable is the second book in the Country Roads series by Shannon Richard, contemporary romances set in the small town of Mirabelle.Each book features a new couple, this time around the focus is on Grace and the town's sheriff Jax, growing up Grace always had a crush on her older brother Brendan's best-friend Jax, but he has always denied his feelings because of his parents and they way they've made him feel worthless and unwanted all his life, which has given him the opinion that no one could ever love him least of all Grace, it will take all she has to convince him, that his parents were wrong all these years and he deserves to be happy too.
Throughout the story there is a subplot involving an increasing spate of robberies around town, and there is an investigation into who is responsible for these crimes.
Featuring appearances of characters from the first book, they make a welcome and entertaining return.
Love never runs smoothly in these books, there are hurdles each couple need to overcome before they get their happily ever afters.
Shannon has crafted a series that will keep you entertained on so many levels, I adore these books and characters and devour them in one sitting.
I loved Undeniable more than I did the previous book, and I look forward to continuing on with this series for what I hope is a very long while to come.
I give this 5/5 stars.
All About Shannon
Shannon Richard grew up in the Panhandle of Florida as the baby sister of two overly protective but loving brothers. She was raised by a more than somewhat eccentric mother, a self-proclaimed vocabularist who showed her how to get lost in a book, and a father who passed on his love for coffee and really loud music. She graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s in English literature and still lives in Tallahassee, where she battles everyday life with writing, reading, and a rant every once in a while. Okay, so the rants might happen on a regular basis. She’s still waiting for her Southern, scruffy Mr. Darcy, and in the meantime writes love stories to indulge her overactive imagination. Oh, and she’s a pretty big fan of the whimsy.
Website + Facebook +Twitter + Goodreads
Friday, 4 July 2014
(ARC) Book Review (359): Delicious (Big Sky Pie #2) - Adrianne Lee
Delicious (Big Sky Pie #2)
by Adrianne Lee
Publication: 24th June 2014
Publisher: Forever
Pages: 240
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
Workaholic Nick Taziano is the proud owner of a successful marketing company in Montana. But his career takes a backseat when he learns his dad plans to remarry his ex. Nick fears she'll break his heart . . . again. And he doesn't like being reunited with her obnoxious daughter-until the all-grown-up beauty kisses him at the engagement party. The kiss might be a mistake, but once he tastes Jane's lips, nothing-not even her famous blueberry pie-compares.
A promising chef at Big Sky Pie, Jane Wilson never, ever wanted to see Nick Taziano again, but he's just been hired to do the pie shop's marketing. How's a girl supposed to bake the best pastries in town when he's a constant reminder of their steamy chemistry? His chocolate eyes and sexy dimples heat up the kitchen-and every part of her body. Jane has no room for a man in her life, yet sometimes the most delicious dishes don't follow the recipe . . .
A promising chef at Big Sky Pie, Jane Wilson never, ever wanted to see Nick Taziano again, but he's just been hired to do the pie shop's marketing. How's a girl supposed to bake the best pastries in town when he's a constant reminder of their steamy chemistry? His chocolate eyes and sexy dimples heat up the kitchen-and every part of her body. Jane has no room for a man in her life, yet sometimes the most delicious dishes don't follow the recipe . . .
My Thoughts.
Delicious is the second book in the Big Sky Pie series, focusing on the love lives of the employees of the Big Sky Pie cafe, the new pastry chef Jane who was lucky enough to get her job straight out of culinary school is dealing with the fact that her Mom is remarrying her second husband Romeo, at their engagement party to avoid talking to him she kisses a complete stranger, not realising till afterwards that it was Romeo's son Nick, her despised ex step-sibling, sparks ignite and there is certainly chemistry there.The grand opening of Big Sky Pie isn't very far away so they decide to hire someone to do some promotion and marketing of the cafe, that turns out to be the owners son Quint's best-friend Nick, much to the horror of Jane after the embarrassment of their kiss, and while Nick is only too willing to see where a relationship could go, Jane has no such plans for a relationship in the near future, especially with Nick, but he is determined to change her mind no matter how long it takes.
This series is so much fun, the characters are extremely likeable, and the romances are sweet with obstacles in the couples way that they have to overcome before they can have their happily ever afters.
Adrianne's books are a joy to read which leave you grinning from ear to ear, I look forward to the other books in this series, and hopefully many more couples to come.
I give this 4/5 stars.
I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart since those good old rock and roll days when Elvis was The King and The Beatles were galloping over the horizon. We live on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula; the Olympic mountains range is the eye candy out my office window.
My adopted cat, Spooky, is always curled up near me as I create my stories thesedays.
My career as a writer started in junior high school in the form of poetic rhymes and continued to my senior year, when I contemplated writing a book, dreaming up characters disturbingly reminiscent of my classmates. But other than a few notes, the book never left the planning stage. I had a discouraging experience in a creative writing course I was taking at the time and being a sensitive teenage girl. . . I didn’t attempt writing stories again for twenty years. I restarted my writing career by taking a community college writing 101 course. The teacher was wonderfully encouraging and luckily for me, I met my first critique group in that class. At the time, I was writing Mysteries and the others in my new critique group were all writing Romance. Since I’ve always been a romantic at heart, I ended up adding romance to my mysteries.
Lots of romance.
Or as one of the characters in my new story would say, “Sex and Murder!”
I call my Romantic/Suspense and Mysteries “Sexy Whodunits.” Romantic Times calls my Contemporary Romances “HOT!!!”
I love to hear from my readers, and welcome you to email me. Visit me on my Amazon Author Page for more updates & book information!
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Book Review (358): The Marriage Pact (The Brides Of Bliss County #1) - Linda Lael Miller
The Marriage Pact
(The Brides of Bliss County #1)
Publication: 27th May 2014
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
Book Depository | Chapters | HarlequinIndieBound | Powell’s
The women of Bliss County are ready to meet the men of their dreams! See how it all begins in this enthralling new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller...
Ten years ago, Hadleigh Stevens was eighteen and this close to saying "I do," when Tripp Galloway interrupted her walk down the aisle. Now that she's recovered from her youthful mistake and Tripp's interference, Hadleigh and her single friends form a marriage pact. She doesn't expect Tripp to meddle with her new plan to find Mr. Right—or to discover that she's more attracted to him than ever!
Divorced and eager to reconnect with his cowboy roots, Tripp returns to Bliss County to save his ailing father's ranch. He's not looking for another wife—certainly not his best friend's little sister. But he's never been able to forget Hadleigh. And this time, if she ends up in his arms, he won't be walking away!
My Thoughts.
The Marriage Pact is the first book in the all new The Brides Of Bliss County by the incomparable queen of western contemporary romance Linda Lael Miller.I adored this book and I devoured each and every page, the writing is so well done it's hard to put this book down, it's even harder once you've realised that you've reached the end, and won't get to read the second book till next year.
I love the idea of this series, three best-friends who make a 'marriage pact' that no matter how long it takes they will all marry their true loves and have a family.
This definitely appeals to Hadleigh Stevens, who is all alone in the world with no family left alive, enter Tripp Galloway back from years away (ten to be exact) running his own private charter company which he recently sold to come back home to help his Dad who's been sick with their rundown farm.
Hadleigh and Tripp have quite a bit of history between them, best-friends with Hadleigh's deceased older brother Will, he took it upon himself ten years ago to kidnap her from her own wedding to save her from making the worst mistake of her life, having been in love with Tripp for as long as she can remember, she hoped that maybe they could be together, except for one shock revelation that put an end to her hopes and dreams.
So when Tripp finds his way to her door, it's fair to say that Hadleigh is far from happy to see him, but Tripp is determined that this time he will do things right, and convince her that they were made for each other and that they belong together always, he just has to find a way to get Hadleigh to agree.
This was such an exciting start to a series, from the gorgeous cover, to the storyline and the extremely loveable characters, this book is one of my favorite books of the year, highly recommended.
I give this 5/5 stars.
About Linda
As the daughter of a town marshal, Linda has come home to the western lifestyle that gave birth to one of today’s most successful authors. She left Washington years ago and pursued her wanderlust, living in Arizona and London and traveling the world. Now the author of more than 100 novels, the “First Lady of the West” is glad to be back home, writing contemporary and historical stories that have earned her awards and placements on all the national bestsellers lists.Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold FLETCHER’S WOMAN in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Linda's current contemporary Big Sky series—Big Sky Country, Big Sky Mountain, Big Sky River, Big Sky Summer and Big Sky Wedding—have all hit the New York Times bestseller lists. Linda will continue to follow the lives of the Parable, Montana, residents in Big Sky Secrets, a January 2014 release.
Website + Facebook + Twitter
Book Review (357): The Vanishing Season - Jodi Lynn Anderson
The Vanishing Season
Publication: 1st July 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 256
Genre: Mystery
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.
The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.
I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.
All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.
From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.
The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.
I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.
All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.
From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.
My Thoughts.
The Vanishing Season is a mystery within a contemporary setting with a paranormal twist.Maggie and her parents have just moved to Door County, just as a slew of murders of teenage girls begin, Maggie soon becomes friends with Pauline and Liam, two teens who have known each other most of their lives, tension is high as everyone and anyone is a suspect for the murders, interspersed throughout the book is the thoughts of a ghostly presence that seems to have taken up residence in the cellar of Maggie's house, we and the ghost don't find out who this is until the very end with it's shocking and totally unexpected ending.
With a love triangle forming at one point with the three teens, that on contemplation plays a role in the events that will leave you stunned, this is a book with so many elements to it, it should appeal to those that like a blindsiding twist that you will never see coming.
I thoroughly enjoyed Jodi's writing style which gives this book it's haunting quality, once started this book is hard to put down again, and will leave you thinking about this book long after you've read the last page.
I give this 4/5 stars.
I write books about vaguely magical peach orchards, resorts in the afterlife, enigmatic island princesses beloved by Tinkerbell, and...civics! I was an awkward and strange child who kept lots of secrets. Now I live with a sweet Basenji dog named Peanut who loves to eat shoes, and a sweet husband who is good at all the things I'm bad at, like being organized and thinking things through. I've loved writing and reading about mythical and strange things since I can remember
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