Musing Monday: January 4th

Musing Mondays is hosted by A Daily Rhythm and is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What do you do when you finish a book? Do you immediately start another one?

Well, I have to say it is hard to only choose one of these questions because I really could write about all of them.  I'm currently reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, and although I procrastinated for months about starting it, I finally decided to push it to the top of my list since the movie is coming out toward the end of the month. I'm really glad I picked it up.  I was completely hooked as soon as I began the story.

Do I start a book right after I finish the previous one? Sometimes. It really depends on how much I loved the book I just finished and want to dwell in it's awesomeness.  I rarely wait more than a day or two though because withdrawal quickly begins to set in.  :)

Have a great week of reading!                                                                                                                  

Review: Library of Souls

As much as I loved Library of Souls, finishing it is slightly bittersweet because it is the last book in the Miss Perigrine trilogy as far as I know.  Finding a book or series that really has that special something, one that you never tire of rereading or recommending, doesn't happen very often.  Miss Perigrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City, and Library of Souls, all by Ransom Riggs, all go into my top books of all time, especially the first book in the series, which included amazing photos to accompany the story.

Library of Souls continues where Hollow City left off, with our main characters Jacob, Emma, and their companions searching for Miss Peregrine and the other captive Ymbrynes and friends.  All the while, they are either avoiding or being chased by Hollowgasts or Wights.  The story is fast-paced and full of suspense as you wonder if some of the characters we have come to know will live or die. There are some fabulous photos in this story also but I didn't find them to be quite as intriguing as they were in the first two books. However, I loved that this book really focused on Jacob and his growth as a peculiar.  He spends a lot of time doubting himself but finds that when it really counts, he is able to achieve.  He also learns that it is ok not to be the hero all the time and no one feels less about him when he fails.  Jacob basically finds his place in the world and everything wraps up nicely.

Although there could be the possibility of other adventures for Jacob and his friends, it does seem as though it is over.  I will however, be returning to the world of the peculiars often to visit and these books by Ransom Riggs will always be fondly remembered.

Synopsis from Amazon:
The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.
 
They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

#Sixtybooks in 2016 Reading Challenge

The #Sixtybooks Challenge is hosted by Laura@thebookjunkie (that’s me!) and Melissa@www.melissamorrisinoa.com.  We have also created a blog dedicated to the sixty books movement at www.sixtybooks.com. The goal is simple:

Read #Sixtybooks in 2016 and share your reading to motivate and inspire other people to make reading part of their daily routine.

Join us by clicking here! Then, decide how you will keep track of your books. You can log you reading however you like. Some options include: Joining Goodreads to track books, keeping a paper log, using a Google Map or your own Google Form, or whatever method you choose.

There will be updates and activities each month. To stay connected, you can:

1. Follow Laura’s blog
2. Follow Melissa’s blog
3. Join our #Sixtybooks group on Goodreads
4. Use #Sixtybooks on Twitter
5. Follow us on Twitter @lagnella and/or @mmorriswrite

We love comments!  Let us know you joined below and about any books you are excited about reading this year.  I already have quite a few books in my TBR pile ready to go.  

#Sixtybooks in 2016, here we come!

Review: Enticing Violence

This is the second book in the Empyrean Chronicles and it was generously given to me in exchange for an honest review after my request to continue the series.  The first story, Enchanting Revenge, was quite engaging and I needed to find out what would happen to the characters next.

Synopsis from Amazon:
Lily and Alec are only pawns in a war much larger than they'd imagined. 
Lily still wants to complete her mission: Avenge her parents. But when Lynn- the leader of the Rebels in Muircadia- is captured, and Rita- daughter to the evil Lord Nettles- is sentenced to death, it's up to Lily, Alec, and the very select few Fae they trust, to try to save them all before it's too late.  When all you do is fight for your life, how do you find time to live? How do you love when hope is always slipping away? 

As I said in my review of the first book in the series, I often find it to be a turn off when a fantasy novel goes overboard. In many fantasy novels, I become bored with the extreme attention given to world building. I find however, that Theresa Jones makes the story the main focus and that's why I read a book.  Of course we learn about setting and history as the story moves forward but it isn't explained in pages and pages of intricate details.  Enticing Violence is a fast moving adventure with stops along the way to appreciate the scenery and learn more about this new realm that Lily is still adjusting to.

The story is hard to put down.  The pacing is fast as the characters desperately search for their friend. There is quite a bit of violence (hence the title) and fighting and some really creative characters, my favorite being the White Stag, who was not only written beautifully but could become invisible and travel to different places in seconds.  I loved how it spoke to Lily telepathically.  Lily and Alec are still the main focus and I also like how the author didn't follow the typical romance path of putting the couple together just to rip them apart over and over again.  While they certainly had a few bumps in the road, they stayed strong for the most part and weren't separated for long periods of time.  I liked the show of power they demonstrated together.

I'm not sure how many books are planned for the series but I will definitely keep reading them.  Lily is on a mission and will eventually take her rightful place on the throne.  I look forward to seeing how it all plays through and what final path each character chooses to take.

                                                                                                                                        

Top Ten Tuesday: 2015 Top Reads

This Week's Topic

Top Ten Best Books We Read In 2015 (you can do it by only 2015 releases,  overall , by genre (top ten fantasy books I read in 2015), etc. however you choose to make your BEST list)

I'm choosing to list my top 10 favorite books of 2015.  Although my goal was 60 books, I came up short by about 10.  That's ok.  I'm still proud of, not only how many books I read, but about the fact that I set aside specific time to read almost every day, even if it was only for a few moments.  Some of the books I read will be remembered forever and others forgotten and that's ok too.  Here are my most cherished books from this year:

Novella November Wrap Up

I didn't have a chance to post this week until today but I did have a chance to read two more novellas before November officially ended on Monday.  I quite enjoyed this month of short novels.  I felt like I caught up on my reading goal a bit and I was able to experience some really wonderful stories that I may not otherwise have had the opportunity to read.  So, my final two novellas were...

 

The first one, Ninja at first Sight, is part of the Knitting in the City series which I love.  It was a quick fun read about how two of the characters in the series first met back in college and sets us up for their full story which comes out in 2016.  I think I smiled throughout almost all of the story, except for when Fiona's mother was around, when I cringed instead.  I would have liked the book to continue.  It could have easily been a full length novel.

The second and last novella of the month was an old favorite that I first read years ago to my class when I taught 4th grade.  Walter, The Story of a Rat, is a story about friendship plain and simple and beautiful.  It is a book that gives you hope, and leaves you with a overwhelming feeling of contentment.  I read it at least once a year and it never loses its appeal.
                                                                                                                                        

Novella November Continues...

This week, I have added four more novella's to my Novella November challenge. Two in the cozy mystery genre and two more suspense stories a bit on the darker side.

I started my weekend with the cozy mysteries. First, The Mutt and the Matchmaker, which I think is my favorite of the four books read this week.  It's a sweet little mystery with a bit of humor and some furry friends to add to the appeal.  It was fun and ended on a happy note.  There are two more books in this series but they aren't novellas so I will add them to my TBR list for future reading. The second book, The Saint Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre was also fun and had some humor to it but for some reason, I just didn't connect to the characters or feel invested in the plot.  It was enjoyable, but just didn't quite keep my attention as the first book did.

The two darker books were quite engaging.  I began with The Man on the Bench, which I thought was going to be a straight forward murder mystery.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story was very much like one Stephen King or John Saul might write.  It had just a bit of fantasy to it but wasn't overdone. I really liked it and read it in one sitting.  I highly recommend it.  Finally, Blackwater Lake was a murder mystery where a man finds out that his parents had quite a sordid past and investigates a murder they might have been involved in.  I did figure out the ending before it happened but the author kept me guessing for a while. Also worth the read if you are looking for a quick murder mystery.

I have one week left and several novellas left on my list. Hopefully the holiday weekend will give me some added reading time so I can get to them all.  Click on any of the photos above to see the books on Amazon.

                                                                                                                                       

Giveaway and Guest Post for The Immortals by Tori Eversmann

A Day in the Life of an Author

When I was in the middle of writing my first novel, The Immortals, a woman-writer friend of mine who’s published three books said to me, “As a female writer, you must demand the time to write. Male writers don’t have to demand the time; it’s just accepted that they go off and do their thing. For women, we must fight for the time. Don’t be afraid to take it.”  She was right. When I researched successful authors’ writing habits, I found a varied list of each artist’s routines. Some writers craft at night, some scribble as soon as they wake up, some carve out certain hours each day, and some write when the mood strikes them. It seemed to me that as long as I was writing, even if it was the proverbial “shitty first draft”, that there was no wrong time to write. But did you catch that word in the last sentence that gets many of us writers hung up? Time.

In addition to being a writer, I’m a wife, a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a volunteer, the CEO and head chef of our household, just to name a few of my prominent titles. I have four pets, two of whom are energetic Labrador Retrievers who stare at me and follow me everywhere until I take them on their daily walk. While I do covet routine, everyday is truly new. On Facebook I recently posted that I’d [stupidly] forgotten that if you want to make God laugh, make a plan. While I’m all for God’s laughter, as a writer this is not good news. Deadlines and plans are necessary, if not mandatory guidelines, otherwise the stories I want to craft and the words I want to play with are jailed in my brain. To some this may seem safe but a published writer it does not make.  Furthermore, I have some unsavory family members whose sole campaign is to keep the keys to my creativity and productivity hidden. They are very jealous and possessive. So let me introduce you to my rogue cousins, the Time Bandits, who love to invite themselves over unannounced and unwanted.  

First there are the Figurative Wrinkles: there’s no escaping them. They are the most benign cousins from that side of the family. The Figurative Wrinkles are the unavoidable hiccups, urgencies, emergencies, phone calls from old friends whom I haven’t heard from in four years, escaped dogs running down the road looking for a tryst, or the disposal of some animal or bird carcass eviscerated by one of my cats that he left for me at the back door in case I decided I want some extra protein that day. The Figurative Wrinkles delight in showing up looking for a spot of tea and a good chinny-wag just as I’m about to sit down and bang out a few clever sentences of really impressive words that I hope will unite and form coherent paragraphs and brilliant stories that other people want to read. I don’t dislike most of these cousins and sometimes even enjoy their company, but they are really hard to shake some days.

Besides the Figurative Wrinkles, my ankle-biting cousins the Procrastination-Pests live next door and don’t understand the word ‘boundary’.  They conspicuously arrive and ceaselessly remind me that laundry needs to be washed and folded or an email needs to be answered immediately or that I forgot to buy my mother’s birthday gift that’s still two weeks away; or, the best one: that now is the perfect time to organize the thousands of photos from my forty-five years of life that I have stashed in several large cardboard boxes out in the garage. They always offer to help me organize the photos which makes it hard to say no. They sabotage all writing effort, sometimes for hours with their nonstop chatter and desire to hang out with me, until I remind myself that they live next door and I can tell them, “Go home. I need to write.”

But the worst Time Bandit offenders are the Insecurity Ogres. I’m not sure where they live because I’ve never been invited over but I suspect it’s a dank cave with slimy algae that looks similar to snot dripping from the ceiling. The Insecurity-Ogres are my evil cousins because they not only show up uninvited but also lurk in the corner waiting to sling their vomitus insults at me and then cackle when they see fear on my face. With startling ease, they con me into believing that I should have a large glass of wine or two with the Procrastination Pests because my words aren’t as good – never will be in fact – as the outstanding writers I revere. Sometimes they chant, “You don’t deserve success” or “You’re not clever. You’re not witty. You’re not smart. No, not ever!” so quietly but profoundly that I believe them. In their charming voices that I imagine are similar to the Sirens on Cape Pelorum, they hypnotize me into believing that no one will like what I’ve written so what’s the point. The Insecurity Ogres also possess the uncanny ability to make my brain go blank like they sucked all good ideas out with a Dyson vacuum and paralyze my fingers so I’m unable to type a single letter. Subtle manipulation and covert operations are their main forms of warfare. I’ve lost a lot of time to the Insecurity Ogres. Can you tell I don’t like them?

So what have I learned? The Time Bandits are my prodigal cousins. However, I have another set of shy, yet spiritually brawny cousins called The Muses. They’re knowledgeable and embody all the qualities writers love because they invoke powerful inspiration when they show up at my door. The Muses smell like blooming jasmine to me; however, they are fetid to the Time Bandits who often hold their noses with clothes pins when the Muses are here. I’ve seen them in fierce arm wrestling matches that sometimes go on for days. When the Muses win, it’s a celebration no doubt and the Time Bandits retreat and go back home to sulk. To be honest, I cherish the Muses and wish they weren’t so elusive.

The talented and creative John Cleese calls it the “time-space-oasis”, and if you haven’t seen his thirty-minute talk on creativity, I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for that sneaky extra time in the same twenty-four hours we’ve all been granted. The door is bolted shut to the Time Bandits when I’m in my oasis. There is no bouncer with a secret word of the night to let them in. And if I listen patiently, my demure Muses tiptoe in and without realizing it, we’re all together enjoying each others’ company for an hour or more. However, as I’ve pointed out, plans change – and that’s ok. But let me caution you, those Time Bandit cousins, if you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. Do you have any cousins like mine? Maybe we’re related.

Thanks to @TravelingWithT for some of these images. If you want to know more about Tori Eversmann, choose one of the links below and don't forget to enter the giveaway below!!

https://twitter.com/torieversmann

https://www.facebook.com/TheImmortalsNovel?ref=hl
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26831595-the-immortals
https://www.pinterest.com/torieversmann/
https://plus.google.com/118348985127941134911/about

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Novella November Review: The Uncommon Reader

This is my second book for Novella November and certainly a good choice! My mother is from England and, although I have yet to visit, I have always loved everything English, especially the Queen and the late Queen Mum, who shared my birthday which made it extra special each year.  

This book was a joy to read from beginning to end.  As soon as the Queen's badly behaved dogs ran into the traveling library and she discovered it's existence, I was hooked.  Her transformation from nonreader, to passionate reader, to writer was truly beautiful to read.  One of the most delightful parts of the book was how the Queen's advisors tried to secretly sabotage her reading and her reaction to their attempts.  

One of my favorite parts was when she hid her book behind the cushion in her carriage during an event. When she returned, the book was gone.  When she found out that her security had thought the book might be a "device" and destroyed it (really it was just hidden from her), she simply declared that a new copy had better find its way to her desk by morning and continued her journey, leaving behind a very unhappy staff member. It was a perfect moment.

I often found myself chuckling out loud as I read some of Her Majesty's responses to her staff and their bumbling attempts to discourage her reading. I will not give away any more of the story but I highly recommend picking this book up.  I may even read it a second time!

Synopsis from Amazon:
When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.

                                                                                                                                      

Feature and Follow Friday (August 21st)

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by two blogs, Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.  This week, I have the honor of being the featured blogger... yay!!

Part of my job as a feature is to answer a few questions about my blogging life so, here are my responses:

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging about three years ago and it was instantly addicting.  It was an entire new world of ways to share my book thoughts with others who share the same passion. Love it!

What is your favorite part of book blogging?

My favorite part of book blogging is the ability to share my thoughts.  When I read a good book and I come across something that strikes me, I want to share that moment with others. I don't come from a family of readers so I now feel like I have a community or readers who blog just for the purpose of sharing their books and thoughts with others.

What type of books do you blog about?

I review a lot of the books I read, some ARC but mostly my own purchases. I especially love anything with a paranormal element to it.  I also enjoy many other genre as well.  You can see from my blog archive that I have a mix of YA, Urban Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Historical fiction, etc... Right now, I'm reading The Girl on the Train and it is fabulous!  I often participate in other memes such as Teaser Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday.

What are your favorite books?

Favorite books, hmmm.... that's tough so I will just list a few that I love (well, maybe more than a few).  Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley, Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, and Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Oh! and all of the Percy Jackson books, Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments... too many to choose from!

What has been one of the best things that has happened to you because of book blogging?

One of the best things to happen in my blogging world aside from just joining this great community of readers is becoming part of the She Reads Blog Network at SheReads.org.  I love being part of this group and sharing the reviews for our club reads with other bloggers.

And now... this week's question

If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would you pick?

Well, I think I would choose a Savannah Cat.  

This is a mix between a wild Serval and a domestic cat.  It's big and acts more like a dog and has beautiful markings.  You can read about them here if you like. 

Feel free to add your link below and leave a comment. 

I always follow back! :)

Audible Reviews: The Silenced and The Forgotten

Have you ever gotten stuck in a book series and each time a new installment comes out, you have to grab it right away? Even though you know that every book in the series follows the same pattern? You know there will be a happy ending, boy gets girl or vice versa, and the mystery is solved, but you still keep reading?  The Krewe of Hunters books are that series for me. Now, it might seem from what I wrote above that these books may not be good but that is not the case at all. I actually love them!  

For those who have never read a book in this series, there are a few things to know. First, all of the books follow a specialized unit of the FBI called the Krewe of Hunters, who investigate cases that have an element of the strange or paranormal.  Each member of the Krewe has an ability that lends to the solving of these cases and new members are being added to the group all the time.  So, even though new characters are the focus in each new installment, the original characters are almost always play a role in the stories as well. Second, if you haven't figured it out already, every book in the series has a paranormal element to it. While they do follow a basic crime-solving mystery format, most of the books have a mild horror element to them and almost always involve the ghosts of the dead helping to lead the way.  Some of them also have a historical element to them as well, which is an added bonus for me. Finally, the two main characters always become involved with one another about midway through the story so there is definitely some romance as well.  Usually, the books are in sets of three but almost any of them can be read as a stand alone. 

These are fairly quick, fun reads and perfect if you need a book for the beach or a weekend getaway.  I love to read them in between deeper books because I know I can count on Heather Graham to give me a spooky story that won't disappoint.  The next Krewe of Hunters book comes out in September and I will await it as patiently as possible.

I listened to both of these books on Audible.com.  I've just started listening to books but I still enjoy reading the actual books more. When I read, I imagine the voices of the characters and it adds to my enjoyment of the story.  When I listen to one person do all of the voices, including those of the opposite gender, it just isn't quite the same so I'm not totally sold on audio books yet.

Click on either of the books to see the synopsis for each on Amazon.  Click here to see all of Heather Graham's books, including the Krewe of Hunters books and their order on her website.  Enjoy!