#BookMail

Oh man! My beloved Mac finally died beyond repair and needed tp be replaced. I don’t do well with change in general but switching over from Mac to Windows has been near heart attack inducing for me. lol

Any-hoo, while I get the hang of all this, there will probably less reviews for a week or two. But I did get some new shiny books and that’s always a good thing to share!

For review from Mac Kids Books: 

Goldfish | Whatever | The Art of Being Normal | Unscripted Joss Byrd | A Week of Mondays

Bought – click on cover to view on Goodreads (quick thoughts added if I already read it):

Freebie: Geeks, gaming & romance! A few editing issues but cute!

Zombie apocalypse/romance. Very low sexy times heat level (kissing only), good zombie action but I checked out when the hero started calling the heroine Baby girl after two minutes of meeting her.

Love Rebecca Rogers Maher’s realistic characters and writing.

Release day mini mash-up: Historical romance, sci-fi and NA

All three of these books are out today!

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Duke of My Heart (Season for Scandal #1) by Kelly Bowen
Scandal can be handled...
Captain Maximus Harcourt, the unconventional tenth Duke of Alderidge, can deal with tropical storms, raging seas, and the fiercest of pirates. But he's returned home from his latest voyage to find a naked earl—quite inconveniently deceased—tied to his missing sister's bed. And he has only one place to turn. Now he's at the mercy of the captivating Miss Ivory Moore of Chegarre & Associates, known throughout London for smoothing over the most dire of scandals.

Miss Moore treats the crisis as though it were no more serious than a cup of spilt tea on an expensive rug. As though this sort of thing happened on the job every day. Max has never in all his life met a woman with such nerve. Her dark eyes are too wide, her mouth is too full, her cheekbones too sharp. Yet together, she's somehow...flawless. It's just like his love for her, imperfect, unexpected—yet absolutely true. ~ Goodreads

Source: e-ARC provided by publisher for review

My thoughts: I love, love, LOVE Bowen’s characters, especially the heroines, and Ivory Moore was no exception. She is whip smart, resourceful and kind. I wish the story held up as strong.
There’s scandal, romance and mystery in Duke of My Heart and it was good – just not un-put-downable good like other Bowen books I have read.


Inversion Point (Chaos Station #4) by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen

Zander and Felix's relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander's death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary. A high honor, but he could do without the group of would-be cultists following him around the galaxy.

When a recently discovered species destroys a stin probe, Zander's new role soon commands all of his time and focus. The human ambassador—Felix's ex-lover, much to Zander's annoyance—pulls them into strategy talks aimed at preserving galactic peace. Soon everyone is relying on Zander's Guardian tech to telepathically communicate with the strange aliens.

Only Felix seems concerned with the strain piling up on Zander, but he has his own resolve tested when the very stin that imprisoned him show up to a summit. Zander and Felix will both have to find a way to face their doubts and preserve their love—while preventing another galaxy-wide war. ~ Goodreads

Source: e-ARC provided by the publisher for review

My thoughts: This is one of my favorite series and perfect for a binge read if you haven’t started it yet (My Speed Date Review of the first three books in the series).

I thought Felix & Zander had already hit their breaking point by now, but the authors manage to surprise me with each installment, pushing our heroes a little bit further.

While it's hard to watch them hurt (again!), I like how it makes F&Z confront difficult issues. Theirs isn't an easy relationship. Finding each other again, after so many years apart, was just the beginning. This is the installment where they need to decide if staying together to work things out is worth it - even though it would be easier to walk away.

As always, the action was pulse pounding, with a few surprises, that promise an epic conclusion in the upcoming last installment of the series. It will be sad to see it end but these two (& the crew) deserve a HEA..

There were several repeated phrases that were a tad annoying but otherwise another solid installment in the series.

Anatomy of a Player (Taking Shots #2) by Cindi Madsen

This bad boy is about to get played…

After getting her heart broken by a player again, Whitney Porter is done with men. She's focusing on her future career and her first assignment at the college newspaper: Posing as a sports writer for an exposé on the extra perks jocks receive. But Hudson Decker, the bad boy of the hockey team, is about to test her resolve. To keep herself from breaking her no-sex rule with the temptingly tattooed athlete, she decides to use him for a side project: Anatomy of a Player, to help Whitney—and women everywhere—spot a player, learn what makes him tick, and how to avoid falling for one.

With his life spiraling out of control, Hudson Decker's looking for a distraction. When his teammates bet him that he can't land the gorgeous but prickly new reporter, he accepts the challenge, boasting he'll have her in bed by the end of the semester. But Whitney is so much more than Hudson expected, and soon enough, he's in too deep. The last thing he needs is another complication, but staying away isn't an option. One thing's for certain: this girl totally throws him off his game. ~ Goodreads

Source: e-ARC provided by the author for review

My thoughts: Anatomy of a Player is book #2 in the Taking Shots series. I loved book #1, Getting Lucky Number Seven, and Cindi is an auto-buy author for me. She takes on old, tired tropes and gives them a fun, fresh twist. I did like the first book a bit more than this one, but you can’t go wrong with Madsen or Anatomy of a Player if you’re a fan of NA or looking for a hot hockey player romance!

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*Do you have new releases you would recommend?

Mini's: Review Housekeeping...

There were a few books that I read in 2015 that I never managed to write reviews for – so I’m doing a little review housekeeping.

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Please Remain Calm (This is Not a Test #2) by Courtney Summers

In this gripping sequel to THIS IS NOT A TEST, Rhys and Sloane are headed for a safe haven when they get separated along the way. Rhys is determined to reunite with Sloane until he discovers people who might need him more--people who offer him the closest he'll get to everything he's lost, if they can just hold on long enough.

Rhys thinks he has what it takes to survive and find the girl he lost, but in a world overrun by the dead, there are no guarantees and the next leg of his journey will test him in unimaginable ways ... 

(Source: Purchased) ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: You do need to read the first book IMO – & this is novella length (96 pages) but holy shit des it pack an emontional punch! Raw, brutal, heartbreaking and a little traumatizing but a MUST read if you’ve read This is Not a Test!


Breathless (Sea Mist Series) by Jessica Bayliss

A brush with death brings Leah closer to the ghosts she longs to find and throws her into the arms of the troubled scuba instructor who saves her.

Dale, an Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran, is haunted by his own restless spirits. He's on a hunt for forgiveness, and the Caribbean Sea is his hunting ground.

The peace they search for lies in the bond they never suspected they shared.

(Source: copy provided by the author in exchange for a review) ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: This  a very short story at 35 pages but manages to be enchanting, bittersweet and a touch magical. I thought this might be a series but then I saw that the author said it was a stand alone. Although everything isn't perfectly tied up by the end of this novella, this particular story arc is and ended on a lovely note. I would look forward to following Leah and Dale's journey if the author ever decided to continue with it.


I Love Him, I Love Him Not (Westgate Prep #2) by Ella Martin

Talia Nicoletti’s life has been turned upside down–and that’s probably an understatement. Her mother goes off on a business trip… and comes back married! Her estranged father wants to be less estranged. And her best friend Jake DeSantos suddenly has a new confidante who Talia doesn’t want to like but kind of does anyway. (Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review) ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: I adored the first book, Will the Real Prince Charming Please Standup, of the Westgate Prep series, but this book fell a little flat for me. Martin does an excellent job at portraying teens and their problems in a a realistic, non cliche, way but this particular story felt dragged out in the angst department. For me anyway – I still highly recommend this authors books to teens who no doubt will relate better than I to Talia’s issues.


Losing Romeo by Cindi Madsen

When Rosaline Capulet takes a pill Romeo Montague gave to her in a love letter and goes to the Capulet party to find him, the last place she hopes she’ll end up is jail. Before taking the drugs Romeo gave her, Rosaline had always followed the rules. So she doesn’t understand how her only mistake lands her a one-way trip to Middle of Nowhere, Arkansas. Forced to live with her aunt, the threat of military school hanging over her head, she’s sure she’s ruined her life—all over a boy who disappeared from the party with her cousin Juliet.

Bryson Mercer’s motocross career was destroyed the night he was attacked, his knee shattered. Now he can no longer race, the thing he loved most in the world, and has to walk with the help of a cane. He’s kept to himself for a long time, but then Rosaline moves in next door with her aunt. Even though Bryson’s sure the girl’s trouble, as well as out of his league, he can’t deny his attraction to her… ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, from Rosaline’s POV. I loved the romance between Rosaline and Bryson but was less enthused with Romeo. I felt some of the things he did were really bad but not treated as such but luckily that wasn’t the focus. As for the retelling – tbh, I don’t remember more than the very basics of the original so a lot of that was lost on me so I’m not the best person to judge how it stacked up in that regard.


A Hundred Thousand Words by Nyrae Dawn

Tobias Jackson grew up in Coburn, a town where the gay population equaled exactly one: him. Add that to the fact that his dream guy was his best friend's jerky older brother Levi Baxter, and it made hooking up virtually impossible.

Now home from college for winter break, Toby is a different person. He left Coburn for San Francisco, where he wasn't the lone gay guy and the only black kid in town. And yeah, he took advantage of what the city had to offer.
Apparently Toby isn’t the only one who’s changed. Levi’s not acting like the self-centered guy with all the answers that Toby remembers from growing up. Oh and Levi’s realized he's bisexual, which makes things a lot more interesting…

Heading back to college, Toby doesn’t expect to meet up with Levi again, despite him being in med school not far away. A surprise visit from Levi blows that assumption out of the water. As they spend more time together Toby sees Levi as more than just the fantasy. He’s complicated, unsure…he’s real. But if Toby can’t get out of the past and find the words he keeps locked inside himself, he’ll lose his chance at Levi for good.

A gay, new adult, interracial romance. (Source: Purchased) ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: *In love with my best friend’s older brother* trope I’m not sure why I never reviewed this one. Nyrae is an auto buy author and this book made my top books of 2015 list. The writing and romance was beautiful (as usual), a tad heartbreaking with a well earned HEA.

Karen’s Adventures in Cooking { & eating}…Slow Cooker Beef with Root Vegetables

I’ve been making this slow cooker pot roast for years and it’s become my favorite go to cold weather meal.

Several of my friends and relatives have tried and love too and it’s a huge hit with kids because the sauce is a little sweeter than usual. The spices add a little heat but are not overwhelming and it’s SUPER easy!

Just add chopped root vegetables and onions to the slow cooker, toss the beef in flour, whisk together tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, garlic powder and pour over beef and veggies then cover and turn on high for 8 hours.

Complete recipe –> Slow Cooker Beef with Root Vegetables - Food Network

Tweaks and substitutions: This recipe uses root veggies but if you don’t like rutabaga or parsnips – subsitute with whatever you like or usually cook wiht your pot roast. If you aren’t a fan of sweet sauces – you could cut back on the brown sugar – or you might want to skip this recipe.
If I have the time I brown the beef after tossing it in flour before adding to the slow cooker but it’s fine if you can’t. I like the extra flavor it adds though.

Review: Kate Daniels Magic Shifts (Kate Daniels #8) & Magic Stars 8.5 (Grey Wolf #1) by Ilona Andrews

In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…

After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.

So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.

An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece… ~ Goodreads

Source: Purchased

*SPOILER WARNING*  There are no spoilers for this book, but I do refer to the previous books in the series that may be considered spoliery, even though I tried to avoid it.

Review:
I love this series. Really I do. But this installment draaaaaged on and on for me. I set it aside, thinking that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the moment but every time I went back to it I still found myself mostly bored.

I always love revisiting this motley crew and no one does world building or side character development as well as Ilona Andrews. But I found there to be too much recapping and useless descriptions this time around. There’s no way you can jump in as a new reader with book #8 so recapping each character & past event slowed the pace down and had me skimming. Then there are all the descriptions of weapons, why Kate chose a certain one, how it was made, how her donkey, Cuddles, moved…zoned out.

To be fair, this is how most of the series is written so it’s not anything new – or anything that really bothered me in the past. That’s Kate’s voice. It’s how she thinks/talks and processes things. I guess after all the upheaval in the last book I expected something different. Something fresh, that showed them from a new perspective. Something that pushed everyone out of their comfort zones or even had them more settled.

Instead, it was the same old. Kate jumps into every single battle without thought to those she might be leaving behind, Curran is basically building himself a new Pack, they get their asses kicked EVERY SINGLE DAY. No – literally – every single day. And that might be the key to my annoyance this time around. I’m getting bored by the constant fighting. Sure they are detailed, thrilling fight scenes but I feel like I need to nap on their behalf.

It’s not like Kate and company can walk away from danger or anything but this book in particular felt like a setup for the future, instead of pivotal, right now. It was just more of the same old – take on a case that only they can solve, more creatures to kill, Roland is evil yada, yada...

There were a lot of big moments. Confrontations and bomb shells that were kind of awesome but never went anywhere. Maybe they’ll come back around in the next book? Despite not loving this one – I’ll be there. I still love the character dynamics and hope that they get to take a breath and think instead of just run around like chickens with their heads cut off, fighting non stop. There was actually a hint of that near the end. Where they mention that they have to fight “smarter”. Yes, you all really do. Because the near death stuff is getting old and doesn’t have the same impact on me as it used to.

 ***

 
From award-winning author, Ilona Andrews, an original novella, set in the New York Times #1 bestselling Kate Daniels World and featuring fan-favorites, Derek, and Curran and Kate’s very independent ward, Julie.

Scarred, solitary Derek Gaunt has separated from his Pack, and istruly a lone wolf. With no family he answers to no one; but is fiercely loyal to a chosen few. So, when several of those close to him are murdered, he’ll stop at nothing to hunt their killer through the magic-drenched streets of Atlanta.

Never one to be left on the sidelines, equally determined—some might say stubborn—Julie Lennart-Olsen soon joins in his pursuit; and what began as revenge turns into a race to save the city. Their search pits them against powers they never imagined and magic so old, it predates history. It may cost Derek his life, but there are things for which even he would risk everything. ~ Goodreads

Source: Purchased

Review:
Now this is what I was looking for with Magic Shifts! Magic Stars is a novella set in the Kate Daniels world but from Derek’s POV, featuring him and Julie.

It has the same pulse pounding action and world building as the series but the fresh perspective from Derek is welcome, after only seeing things from Kate’s pov for so long. Especially seeing what it’s truly like being a shifter and the battle Derek constantly fights against loup. Being in Derek’s mind is a dark place to be but also fascinating.

This is not an optional novella IMO. It’s necessary to the series. In fact, I would go so far as say, that it was more revelatory than the full length novel, that proceeds it, Magic Shifts, and pulled me right out of my disappointed feeling after reading that one – I’m all excited for #9 again!

#FitReaders Update…

#FitReaders hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About.

I had a meh start to the week – I was sick for a few days and then I’ve been on a mad house reorganizing bender and the days just slipped away from me.

But... I walked my 5k for January, got back on the daily workout wagon & finished strong.

It's peak season at my Farmer's Market (I live in FL so winter is the good veggie/fruit season) so we picked up all this yummy stuff! We'll be eating great all week.

Music: X Ambassadors–Unsteady

Just when I was getting kind of burned out on Renegades, the X Ambassadors released this gorgeous song. Enjoy!

YouTube | Website

Karen's Adventures in Cooking: Primal Twice Baked Caulifower

I’m starting a new cooking feature here to catalogue my cooking hits and misses.

I also want to organize and clean out my growing pile of cookbooks and cooking magazines. So I’ll be trying a few recipes from each one to see if it’s worth keeping on the shelf.

My first recipe is from SparkRecipes – Primal Twice Baked Cauliflower. Kind of a weird name but I thought it would be a good recipe to kick off 2016 since that’s when everyone is clamoring for healthy recipes after months of indulging in holiday goodies.

This recipe was easy peasy! You microwave the cauliflower, then pulse it in your food processor until it’s a whipped, mashed potato consistency. I was kind of surprised how much it looked like real mashed potato.

Then you stir in your usual twice baked potato additions – in this case a little butter, low fat yogurt, reduced fat sour cream, reduced fat cheese, garlic and bacon bits, Pop it in the oven to bake – then broil for a few minutes and voila!

Verdict: I love anything veggie so this wasn’t a hard sell for me. I knew I was going to like it but my husband is not a fan of cauliflower so I let him be the judge. He liked it! Like, REALLY liked it - went back for a second serving. I call this one a success! It wasn’t *quite* mashed potatoes but it didn’t taste like boring cauliflower either. It had a great, twice baked, mashed potato like, texture and the sour cream/yogurt added a nice tang. And of course cheese! You can’t go wrong with cheese.

Even though this is intended as a healthy substitute for twice baked potatoes, I thought it was delicious and stands on it’s own. I will definitely be making it again.

*My adjustments. I cooked up my own bacon instead of using bacon bits and used a 24oz Corelle baking dish instead of the four ramekins. I used full fat cheese because…c’mon! Also my head of cauliflower seemed a little small so I used the whole head instead of half as the recipe called for.

I think I might try a different cheese the next time. Maybe Blue cheese. Mmmmmm…

Tips:
Freeze extra bacon in serving size packages so you can pull out just what you need. Here’s a tutorial but I’m lazy so I just stick it in a bag rather than go through those steps. lol

Cook bacon in the oven! This is the best way to cook bacon – each slice is perfect every time. Add a little brown sugar sprinkled on top if you want to make it a little fancy.

#FitReaders 2016 - A look back at 2015 and goals for 2016

#FitReaders hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog and That’s What I’m Talking About is one of the only goal oriented groups that I consistently participate in. It’s low pressure – workout how you want, check in whenever you want, eat what you want, set your own goals – and acts as more of a motivator/support group. I usually do my updates on Twitter but you can blog, tweet, Facebook – whatever…

First a look back at how I did last year.

My goals for 2015 were:

~ 3 days of toning (weights/resistance bands/or body weight)
~ 2 days of stretching/yoga (besides warm ups cool downs)
~ 2 –3 days cardio
~ 1 day adding something for a stubborn area – legs/butt/abs

I hit almost everything out of the park! I’ve really increased my weight/toning workouts, cardio and stubborn area workouts. I kept up on walking at least 1 mile per day.

However – I had done really well pre-2015 with stretching/yoga – mostly because I’m lazy and hated harder workouts lol but that slipped to once a week or never last year and as a result I ended up losing a lot of flexibility. And that’s really important to me as I age (I’m 50) and because my father had Parkinson’s so I know how important balance and flexibility are.

I started 2015 with major back issues so that meant mostly low impact cardio and no squats or lunges. Then I discovered *standing ab workouts*. (Here’s a basic rundown of possible exercises but just type Standing Abs into any of your favorite YouTube workout search engines & you should find something). After a few weeks of doing these types of workouts my back started improving and I haven’t had a problem in over 8 months. An added benefit is I’m beginning to get that sculpted 6 pack look. An outline anyway. lol Same for my hubby. All without ever hitting the floor. In fact, I still can’t do floor ab workouts without causing my back pain to flare back up.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do high impact workouts because of my back/knees but I have been able to add the squats and lunges back in (with small modifications) and after years of massages and different therapies my back no longer hurts!

Of course this may not apply to all back issues and check with your Dr. first.  And also – go easy on the spinal twist type exercises at first! I found the side bend ones to be more beneficial and less painful for my back problems.

Goals for 2016

Same as 2015 but really work on incorporating that stretching into my workouts.

#FitReaders has added a new feature this year, The Virtual 5k, and I’m going to try to get in a few of those during the winter months. I know it isn’t happening in the summer in FL!

So sign up for the #FitReaders Commit to Exersice for January with me!

Friday Fast Five: Five things I did to get my blogger groove back

First it was the Great Reading Slump of 2014 – then it was The Great Blogging Slump of 2014/15. Thankfully, I got over the reading slump which was terrifying! Who the hell am I if I don’t read???? I used to love it! The blogging slump took longer to get over but I think I’m there – here are a few things that worked for me…

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Five things I did to get my blogger groove back

#1

ARC Gut-check

This is just my own opinion - but I think so much blogger burnout is due to ARC’s. The quest to get them. The pressure to read/review all of them. The jealousy of being left out. It all stems from ARC’s. Which takes all the joy out of blogging and strains the connection that the community used to have.

I took a long, hard look at my desire for ARC’s. Did I actually get to them all? Did I even like most of them? Did I die if I didn’t get them? The answer was a big resounding NO to all of those questions.

Do I still accept ARC’s? Yes. But I try to stick with what I think I will like – not request a book just because all the cool kids are reading it first and if I don’t I WILL BE LEFT OUT.

I request two at a time on Netgalley and no more until I read/review.

This isn’t a judgment on anyone – if you can read and love all the ARC’s go for it! I’m just talking about when it turns you into something ugly or you feel so overwhelmed that you don’t know if you can blog anymore. So much of that is self inflicted pressure that has an easy solution.

#2

I stepped away

I pretty much gave up all of my old hobbies for blogging. Ignored my husband and dogs! (I can never ignore Figment (my cat) because he won’t let me lol) There’s no time! I have posts to schedule damn it! People need to know what I think! Um…no they don’t. The world keeps spinning, people keep reading without your opnion.

Now I take breaks when I need to. I started watching more TV, got out in the yard to play with Indy & Beau. After a few days I miss the blog and reading and I come back refreshed with even more to talk about. But on my own terms - not because I think I need to.

I’m not sure why blogging comes with so much guilt. I think all of us understand when *other* bloggers take time off. We’re still there when they come back – so we should go easy on ourselves too.

#3

Mini Reviews

I love writing and reading mini reviews! They feel spontaneous - which is a relief when I’m totally burned out on reviewing. Writing and formatting reviews can kill my blogger soul.

#4

PicMonkey/Variety

I’m about as un-creative as it gets but I can spend hours on PicMonkey making new headers, SN icons, buttons…I know I don’t get professional looking results but I’M HAVING FUN and that’s all that matters.

Sometimes For What It’s Worth will be a book blog – then it might be all music and dogs for a month. I don’t know and I’m not worried about it anymore. I started this for fun and it’s finally feeling that way again – once I stopped trying to fit it neatly into a blogging rule box.

#5

ZIP IT

This should probably be #1 or #2 in level of importance because next to ARC's the constant negativity is so exhausting. I use Tweetcaster and they have a zip function that includes zipping #'s. Saved. My. Sanity. Fights, book hype, spoilers, scandals, haters, assholes - ZIP THAT SHIT UP.

I unfollowed everyone that feels the need to jump into every online drama. I may even agree with them but it's so damn draining after awhile and skews how we view the community - as if it's all negative - and it's not.

***

I do know that while so many others have quit – I’m not ready to. I haven’t found another platform that allows me to meet so many cool people like blogging has and I love talking to all of you. I just need the obligation part to go away. lol

Have you ever been in a blogging slump? How have you gotten out of it?

Coming Soon: The Secret Life of Pets

The Secret Life of Pets is in theaters this summer and anyone who has owned a pet should be able to relate to this trailer!

By Illumination

And I have to include the hilarious Holiday Greeting video they made. SO funny! Watch until the very end…

By Illumination

Movie website

Guest Post: Ann Aguirre – Five Favorite Blogs

As you may have known, I celebrated my 6th year Blogoversary in December. I asked my favorite authors to join me throughout the month with posts about their five favorite things.

The holidays kind of took over and I didn’t want this awesome post (& author) to slip through unread so I carried it over to the new year.

Ann Aguirre is a total rock star in my book. I’ve always loved her books whether she’s taking me to the far reaches of space in her romantic science fiction Sirantha Jax series and it’s spinoff Dred Chronicles (which TOTALLY bad ass!) or to the harsh, post apocalyptic, zombie infested world - and my absolute favorite YA dystopian trilogy ever – Razorland (Enclave, Outpost, Horde).

She can write anything! NA, steampunk, paranormal romance, contemporary romance and one of the biggest thrills of my blogging *career* has been beta reading for Ann. It’s seriously like Christmas in my Inbox whenever I get a new chapter to read!

I want to send a BIG thank you to Amy Jo Cousins, Laura Florand, Jeri Smith-Ready, Alexandra Diaz, Tammara Webber and Ann Aguirre for sharing this milestone with me.

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Five Favorite Blogs:

There's a lot of talk about how readers and authors are separate and never the twain shall meet, but I love certain blogs and trust them as a reader. So when I see my favorite bloggers squeeing over a book, I immediately add it to my TBR. This impacts my writing in the sense that I often need to refill the well and nothing does that better than reading an amazing book. 

Sometimes when I finish an incredible story, I'm inspired and I desperately want to try to match the greatness I've just experienced. Other times, I finish a book and stare at it with this incredible sense of melancholy because I know I will never create anything so beautiful. Those books do put me off writing for a day or two, but eventually I come crawling back like a junkie because no matter how much I work, I never seem to get tired of creating worlds and trying to entertain others. The most meaningful emails I've received are from readers who tell me that my stories have taken them out of a painful part of their life and given them a much-needed break. I don't need awards; those emails are enough and they make me tear up, knowing that my imagination made someone else's life a little better for a short while. 

So without further ado, here are the five blogs (in no particular order) I read regularly looking for reading recs:

The Nocturnal Library

Any book that Maja loves needs to end up my list, period. While she tends to be a little more literary in her tastes than I am, I've never disliked a book she loves. I discovered Casandra Rose Clarke and Cat Winters through her. And I adore their work. Lately she is super busy with her Phd & I miss her!


The Book Swarm

Mary always has fantastic book recs, plus I get TV news here too. I'm considering Jessica Jones because of her review. I love her mix of genres and authors; I can usually find something good here to read based on her squees. Sidenote: I love the pages where reviews are listed by author name and book title.


Too Fond of Books

Stacee and I are usually on the same page with regarding to taste. I've never seen her rave over a book I hated or vice versa. So it's really important for tastes to sync up when you're reading a blog for personal reading recs. I also love Stacee's sense of humor, which illuminates her posts.


Maf's Crazy Book Life

Marifer has great, eclectic reading taste. I love the mix of books she checks out on her blog, though she's busy with college now. It's also nice to get an international perspective, and she's hilarious too. I can count on a fresh opinion in her posts, and I think her fangirl ways are <3.

FWIW

Karen's blog might be listed last but it is certainly not least. I respect her opinions and like Maja, anything Karen loves, I know I need to check out. We often get angry about the same books, which means lots of outraged DMs flying back and forth. I always get lots of yummy recs from FWIW too.

As an aside, I've been lucky enough to meet four of five of these bloggers in person, which is really cool. So far, Maja hasn't invited me to Croatia, though. I don't know why. *stares until everyone is uncomfortable*

Bloggers are an incredibly important to writers and here's a big thank you to my five favorites.


via GIPHY

Happy New Year, everyone!

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About Ann:
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. She likes books, emo music, and action movies. She writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens.

Website | tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

Things I’ve learned watching Hallmark Christmas movies…

I’m a hardcore Hallmark Christmas movie binge watcher. I’ve been known to watch 10+ hours a day if I have the opportunity. I’ve seen every movie at least twice – sometimes a dozen times. So I’ve learned a few things over the years that I’d like to share. I’m poking fun but it’s all out of love…

#1 ~ The city is an awful, horrible place filled with rude people ready to sell their souls for money. No one is happy. There are no good relationships in the city. If you choose the city then say goodbye to family and happiness! 

#2 ~ Related to #1 - Women are not allowed to have a “city job” and be happy. If you want to get married (& every Hallmark heroine does!) you need to move to small town America and take a job similar to your original dream but on a much smaller scale. 

For example – If you were a high powered event planner for a top corporation – you might want to scale back a bit and plan a cookie sale to benefit the local school children or the elderly. 

Top surgeon in the country? That will NOT make you happy. Try opening a small practice in your old home town. 

#3 ~ Listen to the animals and children! Within 5 minutes they will know who your true love is. They try to tell you over and over again by running away and showing up on said true loves doorstep. But do you listen?? Nooooo. Instead we waste two hours watching you bumble along – resisting what your kitty has been trying to tell you all along. 

#4 ~ Be friends with your elderly/widowed neighbors! Sure it’s the right thing to do but you never know if they have a hidden art collection that’s worth millions or thousands of dollars stashed in their cookie jar which of course they leave to you because you were the only one nice enough to visit. 

Since this is a Hallmark movie you won’t go hog wild buying things for yourself – you will donate all the money to save the town. From the evil city people of course!

#5 ~ You can find your true love and get married after only just meeting and seeing each other a total of maybe 3 times and after one kiss. What could go wrong???

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Do you watch Hallmark movies? If so which one is your favorite? What are your favorite cliches/tropes from them?

I think this years favorite for me was Christmas Land. Although I usually leave logic and irritation for tropes at the door - the one that made me kind of stabby this year was Family for Christmas. They literally took her family away for wanting a career. lol

I still have a few to watch that I DVR’d so we’ll see if my choice changes at all. But the cheesiest of them all – we’re talking giant cheese wheel here – is A Christmas with Holly – and I adore it! It gets me every time. So maybe I’m not a grinch after all.

* WARNING - If you don NOT life cliffhanger endings and long waits for sequels. DO NOT watch Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge. This is a two part movie and part 2 will not be on until December 2016. I guess if you can handle that go for it but I am beyond peeved since I didn't know beforehand. (Had to do a google search to find out where the heck the rest of the movie was...) Not cool Hallmark. Not cool.

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But wait there’s more! Hallmark’s Winterfest 2016 is coming for the month of January!