Book Trailer Saturday (39) Stepsister

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sigh...

Isabelle should be blissfully happy – she’s about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn’t the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince’s heart. She’s the ugly stepsister who’s cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella’s shoe ... which is now filling with blood.

When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.

Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.

Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.

Let's Discuss: Life and Blogging

Blogging is fun- a stress reliever really. It's my own little place, space, and I don't have to share it with anyone except my readers.  Sometimes though, with my family, work and well reading the blog goes to battle with real life.  It isn't pretty- there is no mercy when it happens.  One is going to get knocked out and one will remain standing.

What do you do though when life and blogging collide?

I cannot tell a lie- when life and blogging go to battle, blogging loses big time. Just look at this past week. I am in charge of something at work, a co-adviser to something else, on top of it being homecoming week. The kids have practice three nights a week, and homework to boot. It is not that reading and blogging are not priorities. They are, they just are not as high on the list as well feeding my kids. Let's be real, I have to work to feed all of them so works is above blogging too. If you clump the hubby in with the kids you understand where one the list of priorities blogging is. Third! I promise now that the kids are in bed the house work is not getting done (although the dishes are running- put them in the dishwasher while the kids were awake). But I have four laundry baskets right next to me as I am typing this post. Yep! The blog comes before housework.

Does it make me feel bad?

Of course, it does. I decided though, that it shouldn't. If it did then it was just something else added to my to-do list. I don't want my safe place, my happy place, my mental she-shed to be a chore. Which is why on Tuesday instead of blogging- I argued with other fans of The Coven: Academy series. The spoiler post for The Frozen Witch finally was posted and by the time I got on it had over 500 comments. I had to read and respond.

How not to be like me:

You could pre-schedule posts. Often times I do, not this time and the blog took the hit. You could review the books you read right away instead of waiting and marinating over the ending. I marinate, can't help it. Don't want to help it, which is why reviewing is sometimes not as frequent as other blogs. Or you could do you! Blog how you want if you blog and if not, read what you want and comment on author's spoiler post. Either way in the end you will be happy. Now I am off to fold a load of laundry then to bed since this human taxi starts early tomorrow morning for cheer and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Book Trailer Saturday (38) The Blacksmith Queen

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sigh...

When a prophesy brings war to the Land of the Black Hills, Keeley Smythe must join forces with a clan of mountain warriors who are really centaurs in a thrilling new fantasy romance series from New York Times bestselling author G.A. Aiken. 

The Old King Is Dead

With the demise of the Old King, there’s a prophesy that a queen will ascend to the throne of the Black Hills. Bad news for the king’s sons, who are prepared to defend their birthright against all comers. But for blacksmith Keeley Smythe, war is great for business. Until it looks like the chosen queen will be Beatrix, her younger sister. Now it’s all Keeley can do to protect her family from the enraged royals. 

Luckily, Keeley doesn’t have to fight alone. Because thundering to her aid comes a clan of kilt-wearing mountain warriors called the Amichai. Not the most socially adept group, but soldiers have never bothered Keeley, and rough, gruff Caid, actually seems to respect her. A good thing because the fierce warrior will be by her side for a much longer ride than any prophesy ever envisioned …

Autumn Tag

I got this one from Jessica who is not sure where she first saw it.  I loved the images already to I kept them.

Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

Can I go with a comfort series/ author?  Jaymin Eve The Supernatural Prison series (shifters,vamps, fae, mages) or Chandelle LaVaun's The Coven Elemental Magic or The Academy series (arcane, shifters,vamps, fae) tend to bring me comfort. 

Pumpkin Carving – what is your favorite creative outlet?

I like to draw or be crafty.  I do not like to create originals but I can copy a drawing like it is no body's business.

Falling Leaves – changes that appear bad but you secretly love?

Ummm... if done right, I love a good love triangle.  I know, I know I am suppose to hate them but I mean the drama, the angst.  I love them.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte – something you love that others tend to judge

Indie authors- I get it, I love them.  No, they may not be for you.  They may have poor editing ability but they can still tell a story.  No, it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the story if there is grammar errors.

Bonfire Night – what makes you explode with joy?

Finding new series, Tuesdays (book release days) and academy books that are not reverse harem.

Fright Night – favourite scary book or film

I tend to stay away from scary books/movies.  Bad experience once ruins it for us all.   I do adore Signs by M. Night Shyamalan.

Halloween candy – favorite thing to eat

Caramel Apples from the State Fair are high on the list!

Scarves – your autumn ‘must have’ accessory

My kindle and boots.  There is nothing sexier than a good boot.

Fire – a book or film that burns your soul

The Frozen Witch by Chandelle LaVaun, the ending was just WHAT?  So, now I sit and wait for the next one to come out to find out what happens.

As for movie, Runaway Jury is my go to movie for fighting the establishment.  It is perfect for those days where you have a co-worker that you want to side eye.

Toffee apples – a book or film that seems one thing but really has a different inside

Origins by Ilona Andrews, I started reading this one thinking it would be like Kate Daniels or the Hidden Legacy series and no.  Just no!

The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead was another one where I thought it was one thing and it was completely different.

Waiting on Wednesday (38) The Bookworm Crush

Hey y'all, thanks so much for stopping by my WoW! 

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

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 a dream scholarship, and the only way to win is to transform from sidekick to the heroine of her own life. 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? 

Why am I waiting?

The first book in this series was cute. Sometimes you just need an adorable read to pull you out of your current reading obsessions.

Teaser Tuesday (38) The Frozen Witch

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Teaser One

I wasn’t a tag-along anymore. I wasn’t an intruder. I wasn’t Tegan’s annoying best friend who wouldn’t go home. I was one of them.

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Oh, Bettina! I didn't even realize you thought that. You were always one of them.

Teaser Two

Tennessee reached down and picked it up. All the way up. Like it was nothing. Like it was any normal sword. He whistled and held the blade up in front of his face, then swung it around a bit. “Wow, I’ve never felt a sword like this. That’s for sure.”

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If anyone can lift it, Tenn would be the man.

Teaser Three

Tenn looked down to Tegan like he had absolutely no idea how to handle a crying girl who was determined to go into battle while actively sobbing. It was actually kind of adorable. 

 Tegan jumped up and stood beside me. She nodded. "No better way to work through your pain than to inflict it on someone else."

Tenn frowned and shook his head.  "Yeah, no.  No, that's not how that goes."

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I mean a gal has gotta do what a gal has gotta do.

The Frozen Witch: Reactions to Chapter One to Nine in Gifs

I live tweeted my reactions in real time when I started this book. I had been waiting for it FOREVER!  Okay, not forever more like two months but still when you ship a couple as much as I ship #BETTSON than you would totally understand.  Here are the tweets I sent out... (a few were changed- as is the nature of technology.)

Chapter One

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Chapter Two

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Chapter Three

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Chapter Four

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Chapter Five

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Chapter Six

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Chapter Seven

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Chapter Eight

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Chapter Nine

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Book Trailer Saturday (37) Five Dark Fates

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sigh...

After the battle with Katharine, the rebellion lies in tatters. Jules’s legion curse has been unbound, leaving her out of her mind and unfit to rule. Arsinoe must find a cure, even as the responsibility of stopping the ravaging mist rests heavy on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone. Mirabella has disappeared.

Queen Katharine’s rule over Fennbirn remains intact—for now. But her attack on the rebellion exacted a high price: her beloved Pietyr. Without him, who can she rely upon when Mirabella arrives, seemingly under a banner of truce? As oldest and youngest circle each other, and Katharine begins to yearn for the closeness that Mirabella and Arsinoe share, the dead queens hiss caution—Mirabella is not to be trusted.

In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

The fate of the island lies in the hands of its queens.

Waiting on Wednesday (37) The Burning Shadow

Hey y'all, thanks so much for stopping by my WoW! 

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with The Burning Shadow, the steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux―only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is―and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.

Why am I waiting?

You apparently did not read the first book in this series, The Darkest Star. Go one-click it and I promise you will end up waiting on this one too.

Teaser Tuesday (37) Night Shade Academy

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Teaser One

“Rule number one,” she said. “Never let your guard down. Rule number two: don’t trust what you see. Rule number three: show no fear. And rule number four: always fight back.”

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I may just like this new roommate of hers. Nova seems to know what she is talking about.

Teaser Two

“I don’t know. You lost about a hundred and eighty pounds that were weighing you down, you learned the truth about the houses, you have a roommate who doesn’t want to kill you, and best of all, you met me.”

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Way to say: you are glad you met her, dude! The part about Nova was nice and lets be real the ex, is an ex for a reason. Plus her response is pretty funny.

Teaser Three

“I think you’d be crazy to fall for a girl who could wipe your existence off the face of this earth. And that it makes more sense to use my attraction as a tool for an unattainable goal.”

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Girl kinda has a point. Sometimes the hard truth is the one that you need to speak.

Book Trailer Saturday (36) Rated

Some people believe you can fall in love at first sight. When it comes to books I believe those people. Book trailers are an excellent way to fall in love at first sight. I hope to feature a book trailer here every Saturday to help you fall in love at first sigh...

Societies thrive on order, and the Rating System is the ultimate symbol of organized social mobility.

The higher it soars, the more valued you are. The lower it plummets, the harder you must work to improve yourself. For the students at the prestigious Maplethorpe Academy, every single thing they do is reflected in their ratings, updated daily and available for all to see.

But when an act of vandalism sullies the front doors of the school, it sets off a chain reaction that will shake the lives of six special students -- and the world beyond.

Let's Discuss... Books Vs Movies

Is the book always better?

In general, I would agree the book is better sometimes though I find myself coinciding that the movie was well better. There is no rhyme or reason to it, it just happens- across all genres.

When the movie was better...

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I was forced to read The Princess Bride in high school, and while it was okay. It wasn't until the movie that I actually liked it. What makes it even more amazing, is that the author is the one who wrote the screen-play. So he really did up the ante.

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The Shawshank Redemption was another where I felt that the movie added so much more. This is probably cause the book was really novella length.

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A Walk to Remember...my first Nicholas Sparks book and the only one I finished. Mandy Moore and Shawn West were perfect for the characters.

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The Notebook was one of the first books I DNF. I decided while reading it that Nicholas Sparks and I just did not mix. Yet, when the movie came out a bunch of friends and I went to see it. It was good, darn good. One of my favorite romantic movies ever- granted I rarely watch pure romantic movies.

The Pelican Brief, one of the first book to movie adaptions I saw. I was blown away with how well the characters were portrayed. Julia as Barby and Denzel as Gray were seriously the best casting choices ever.

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I know I am going to get backlash for this one but The Hunger Games the movie was so much more than the books. It could be due to me watching the movies first, and then being begged to read the books by my students. I read the first two- the movies were better so I passed on reading the third.




When the book is better...

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Vampire Academy Any doubts that the book was better is crushed when you look at the sheer numbers of books and spin-off books verses the number of movie adaptation. Although the movie entertained me to no end- just saying.

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Beautiful Creatures Is it even fair to compare when they were so drastically different?

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The Mortal Instruments so much left out, that I can't even. If you want me to go there though ummm no mention of parabatai, demons in the institute and Cary/ Valentine with the cup to start.

Waiting on Wednesday (36) The Orchid Throne

Hey y'all, thanks so much for stopping by my WoW! 

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spinewhich spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

A PRISONER OF FATE

As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Euthalia will do anything to keep her people free—and her secrets safe—from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of her father’s, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her heart, she knows that it’s up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor’s bride. But in her dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world—a man whose spirit is as strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own…

A PRINCE AMONG MEN

Conrí, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Euthalia holds so dear to her heart. When the two banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their eyes—nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?

Why am I waiting?

I loved The Twelve Kingdoms series by this author. I binge read The Uncharted Realms series by her as well. I am betting that this series will be just as good.

Teaser Tuesday (36) Supernatural Reform School

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Teaser One

“Always remember that self-defense isn’t about fighting with honor. You’re not in a boxing ring with rules and referees. Chances are, whoever you’re defending yourself against will be fighting dirty. Always be ready.”

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Without their powers they probably should be running away from a fight. At least I know I would be.

Teaser Two

“It’s not your utter weakness that makes you so dangerous to you and others around you. It’s the fact that you’re too proud to admit that you’re weak. That’s going to get someone killed, and what’s worse, it probably won’t even be you.”

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Sometimes the hard truth has to come out. Maybe Cade will be faced with it now, or maybe she just won't care. Still dying to know why Sebastian doesn't like her.

Teaser Three

When I reach for him one more time, he grabs my hands and suddenly we’re laughing and play wrestling in the middle of the sidewalk. That’s when I see Sebastian. He stops and his mouth drops open briefly before he seems to catch himself. Clamping his jaw shut, he keeps walking toward us because we’re standing in front of the door to the academic building.

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Man, Kurt may be on to something. Sebastian does seem to be a tad bit jealous.