Feature and Follow Friday


 A Weekly Blog Hop Hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read

Question of the Week: What books would you give to newbies in your favorite genre?



Okay, so this is a really hard question. There are SO many books and SO many genres. So I am not picking just one.

YA Contemp - Anything Sarah Dessen. This got me through my high school years. Love her.

YA Fantasy - Ender's Game. I have only read book one, but it was amazing. It will pull you ring in.

NA Fiction. Foreplay by Sophie Jordan or Easy by Tammara Webber. Both great books to get into the genre with.

Waiting On Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: The Hit List
Author: Nikki Urang
Publication Date: November 11th, 2014
The Los Angeles Conservatory for the Arts is supposed to be a new beginning for Sadie Bryant. Moving across the country is exactly what she needs to escape the gossip surrounding her injury, the devastating betrayal of her ex-partner, and to rebuild her career as a solo dancer.

When the school announces that the annual Fall Showcase, a performance that secures a spot studying in London, will now require each dancer to have a partner, Sadie’s fresh start is a nightmare. Now she has to dance with Luke Morrison, the school womanizer with a big ego. Sadie doesn’t know how to trust Luke enough to dance with him after her last partner left her broken, but Luke is determined to change that.

Then, The Hit List comes out. A game of sexual conquest where guys get points for all the girls they hook up with—and it seems like every guy at the school is playing.

The girl worth the most points? Sadie.




Why Am I Waiting?

This just sounds really great! I love New Adult contemps and I love dance! Just so excited!

Stacking the Shelves


Weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews.



Bought Books:



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Books For Review:

Onyx Review


Warning:This book is the second in the series. If you haven't read the first, please do not read this review. I do highly recommend the first, though if you haven't read it, this review might spoil you on some things.






13047090Title:Onyx
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
This was a very hard book for me to rate. There are several things I didn't like about it, but I still really loved it over all. So I decided it is more of a 3.7.

What I Liked:


  • The Characters. As in the first book, the characters were great. Very well rounded.

  • The Cuteness. There was a lot more cuteness in this book with Daemon and Katy. I really loved the Thanksgiving part. A lot of awwww or OMG moments that I enjoyed. 

  • Different Side Of Daemon. In this book we got to see a different side of Daemon. We got to see his caring side, his playful side, his protective side, and his seductive side. All of which I loved way more than his asshole side!

  • Bethany and Dawson. I loved the back story on these two. In the first book you are left wondering about them and a lot of this book is based on what really happened to them.

  • The Surprises. This book is full of them! Give that I did spoil myself on purpose, because I needed to know if I was right. Other than that, there were surprises around and behind every door!
  •  

 What I Didn't Like:

  • The Cover. So, this really didn't take anything away from the book, but I really hate the covers in this series. The guy on the front is hot and all, but the cover looks sloppy and could have been done a lot better. I do a lot in graphic design, so it kills me to see a cover done like this. For a book like this, it needed an awesome cover that it didn't get.

  • Love Triangle. So I do like some love triangles, I am not going to say I hate them all. But this one didn't make a lot of sense and was really too cliché. 

  • The Last 25 Percent. So, I flew through this book really fast up until the last twenty five percent of the book. It seemed to drag on and every time I thought it was about to end, something else would happen. In my opinion a lot of this could have been put into another book or just taken out entirely. 

  • Absent Mother. I know Katy's mom works a lot and weird hours, but it seems when she gets a new boyfriend she stops paying attention to Katy. I mean really paying attention. It is like she doesn't know her daughter is getting all these bruises or that she is extra mopy.



    Will I Read The Next:


    Yes. I will be reading Opal.

NanoWrimo!

NanoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, for those of you who don't know. It happens every November (They also have Camp NanoWriMo that happens twice in the summer). The point of it is to write a 50,000 word (or more if you choose) novel in 30 days. NanoWriMo gives you a word count that you need to write each day to accomplish your goals. In the beginning, it seems really easy, but don't fool yourself. It is crazy madness!

So I am sharing today what I am doing to prepare and to share some websites and tips that I have picked up along the way that are helping me. 

Now you can't write anything on your novel that count until November 1st, but you can plan out your novel during October. I suggest you do this! This isn't required, but it helps a lot. Especially when you have writers block (which always happens) to know what you had planned. 

My "Survival Kit":
Scrivener and Scapple! - Everyone seems to be using this, it is suggested by NanoWriMo. This program was made by writers for writers. It is amazing when planning out your novel. Scapple is a great way to brain storm and character build. It allows you to create mind maps which are so useful.

Flash Drive - I go back and forth from my PC to my laptop to my work computer a lot. So I keep all of my story on a flash drive so when the mood strikes me I can plug it in and pick up where I left off. This also allows you to have a backup copy, in case anything happens and you lose your story on your main computer.

Notebooks and Pens - I always carry a notebook on me, even when I am not working on a specific project. Just in case an idea hits me and I don't have access to a computer. And a lot of the time I like to write everything out on paper before putting it onto a computer, just to see how it is going to sound.

Writing Buddies - Support is a major thing of getting through this. I don't have anyone around me that gets my passion for writing, so I do rely on the internet for that. Join a writing group or get buddies on NanoWriMo that are going to help cheer for you along the way. My NanoWriMo is Trulybritt . You can click that and buddy me, I would be happy to help cheer for anyone that needs it!

Spotify - Sometimes I want everything quiet while I write, but other times I can't stand the silence. So, spotify and youtube help me with this. I also use Pandora on my phone when I disconnect from the internet. Spotify have all kinds of "writing playlists" and you can make your own if you don't like the ones they have.

Food - So when you are "in the zone" it is hard to remember you need the necessities of life, like food and waters (or, in most cases of NanoWriMo, caffeine). I usually have a bowl of Halloween candy next to me (left overs from the 0 trick or treaters I get each year) and soda stocked in the fridge. Simple and easy pop in the oven dinners are a must for me, too. I know this won't be possible for those of you with kids.



I have never won a NanoWriMo, last year only missing it by 5,000 words. This year is my year though. I have a new account and a great idea. Which is where it all starts. An idea. So moving on.


You have an idea, now what? Plan out your novel! How do you do that? I have created my own way. I have taken parts of each thing below and made my own. 

Katytastic - This is a youtuber and she has a whole playlist devoted just to NanoWriMo writing and revising. She has a few outlines she does with Scrivener that were majorly helpful to me. I now use her 3 Act outlining process. Here are a couple more of hers: (click them to take you to the video)
Revision ideas and Resources Galore - This video she talks about ideas and stuff. She shows a cool way to use index cards to keep up with your ideas and scenes.
Those are just two of my favorites, but she has a whole playlist of great videos that help a lot. She has a series called "Factors of a Great Novel". If you like her advice I suggest watching before NanoWriMo begins. She even has advice on how to plan at the last minute.

The Writers Craft - This is something I stumbled upon the other day, that I feel like everyone already knows about. So just in case you didn't! It has great advice for writing and the aftermath. Also, it has great worksheets! I use their character worksheet for my characters.

Write or Die - Another one I feel like I was late to the party to. This is a website that you go to and you set yourself a limit and an intensity. For that time limit you will write and if you stop for a certin amount of time(That depends on the intensity your chose) the program starts deleting the words you have written! It s a great motivator, because nobody wants a single word deleted when it comes to NanoWriMo! We need those words!

Save the Cat - The Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet. Okay, so I haven't used this yet, I only found it yesterday. But it is a spreadsheet that is suppose to update when you put in how many words you have written. It is a way to keep up with all of your story. It has a place for everything and if you have more you can add it. It tells you what chapter and spot you have your plot twist or the finale. It looks like it will be a lot of help, if I remember to use it!

Everyone can win NanoWriMo! So lets do this together!

My goal for this November: 60,000 words of a Young Adult novel! 

Please let me know if you are going to be participating! I am also going to try to do as much twittering through the process as possible, along with the actual NanoWriMo people. So if you aren't already following me and you would like to, you can do that in the contact buttons in the side bar.


Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Title: Dead of Winter
Author: Kresley Cole
Publication Date:  January 6th 2015
Can Evie convince her rival loves to work together? Their survival depends on it in this third book of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole’s Arcana Chronicles, a nonstop action tale of rescue, redemption, and a revenge most wicked.

Heartbreaking decisions
Evie was almost seduced by the life of comfort that Death offered her—until Jack was threatened by two of the most horrific Arcana, The Lovers. She will do anything to save him, even escape Death’s uncanny prison, full of beautiful objects, material comforts…and stolen glances from a former love.

Uncertain victory
Despite leaving a part of her heart behind with Death, Evie sets out into a frozen and perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland to meet up with her allies and launch an attack on The Lovers and the vast army they command. Such formidable enemies require a battle plan, and the only way to kill them once and for all may mean Evie, Jack, and Death allying. Evie doesn’t know what will prove more impossible: surviving slavers, plague, Bagmen and other Arcana—or convincing Jack and Death to work together.

Two heroes returned
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Evie just doesn’t know where she stands with either Jack or Death. Will this unlikely trio be able to defeat The Lovers without killing one another first?

Why I Am Waiting


I just finished the second book. I really love this series and I can't wait to see what happens next! January hurry up!


Stacking The Shelves


 Weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews



 Bought Books:




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Posion Princess Review



20759393Title: Poison Princess
Author: Kresley Cole
She could save the world;or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can't do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally trust Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side.

In Poison Princess, New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole introduces a dark and intriguing world, full of unspeakable danger and irresistible romance




So, I really try to steer clear of apocalyptic books. I think I have only read half of the fifth wave, well listened to it, before giving up on it. I will read it, but at one point I just couldn't pick it back up. And with this book I feel that it wasn't given the proper rating. I do believe it shouldn't be young adult, though it isn't “New Adult”. But I do think the reader should be over the age of sixteen when reading this. There are a lot of graphic things in this book, not just sex.


What I Liked:

  • The Writing. You can't really go wrong with Kresley Cole. She is an amazing writer. She has a beautiful way with words.
  • The Story. I loved the entire idea of this story. From the way it started and then looked into the past. I loved how tarot cards came into play. It was all very clever. 

  • Evie. She was such a great character. Though I do admit, she was a bit weak at times, but she was only sixteen. She was a great female lead character. Such strong emotions. And actual fears that one would worry about in an apocalypse.

  • Cliffhanger. So this is a like only because it was so good. But it drove me crazy. It's like how do you leave it like that? I need more! I stayed up until 5 am reading this and that is how you end this book! Seriously? But it is reactions like that one that sell the second book.

  • Selena. Like the cliffhanger, I only liked this one because it was such a great character. I hated Selena with every possible being in me. I was supposed to, that was the author's intent. From the moment she showed up you are supposed to hate her and I did. I was rooting for her to die. Not going to lie.

What I Didn't Like:


  • Jackson. This was a big one for me. He kept going in and out of character. I know a lot of time that was just him, but there was one point that I wrote him off. You can't do what he did and expect people to just get over it. From that point on I wasn't a fan of Jackson. I see that in the next book she might have a new love interest, so I am hoping it is a good one.


Would I Recommend:

Yes. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 16 that is looking for a good apocalyptic novel.

Feature and Follow Friday!

A Weekly Blog Hop Hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read


Question of the Week: Share the song you can't stop listening to.


Lately, this would have to be For the first time in forever, from the movie Frozen. Not the first one, but the second one when Anna goes to meet Elsa in the ice castle.







You're going to a Halloween party and you're going to take a book along just in case you get bored. What book would you bring? 


At the moment, I would take Girl of Nightmares. It fits the season and it is a book I need to finish up a duology.
 
 

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!


I am giving away a $10 gift card from amazon. I looked around for awhile, trying to find a good book to giveaway, but people like different things. This way you can pick out whatever you like.

Happy Halloween!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Made in Nashville Book Tour









Title: Made in Nashville
Author: Mandy Baggot
An on-stage attack left Honor Blackwood with more scars than just the one on her face. It’s been ten years since she left her spot as Nashville’s brightest country music star. Is now the time to return? And is she brave enough to do it?

Country rebel and rock star, Jared ‘Jed’ Marshall is hot property on the Tennessee music scene in more ways than one. He’s wild, he’s sexy and everybody wants a piece of him. But when he sets his sights on Honor, is it pure attraction or just distraction on his mind?

Honor’s record label sign the ex-boyfriend that dumped her and suddenly going back to her old life is harder than she thought. Can she get a new contract? Will she get to perform at the Marlon Festival? Or will Dan Steele destroy everything?

When a secret from the past becomes public knowledge it’s no longer just about the music. Are all the people in her life lying to her to get what they want? And who is really behind the anonymous gifts she keeps getting sent?

Join the country scene to find out!



Mandy Baggot is an award-winning romantic fiction author, writing hot heroes and emotional reads.

Represented by Kate Nash of the Kate Nash Literary Agency she is also a contributor to writing blogs, magazines and short story anthologies and regularly takes part in fiction festivals and literary events.

Mandy loves mashed potato, white wine, country music, Corfu, shoes and handbags. She has appeared on ITV1’s Who Dares Sings and auditioned for The X-Factor.

Mandy is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband, two daughters and cats, Kravitz and Springsteen.

Review

I was excited about this book. I am from Tennessee and I just love to read books that are set here. I also love country music, so this book seemed to be right up my alley.

It didn't disappoint. Baggot hit the country scene spot on.  She wrote in a way that you could feel everything that was going on. That you were actually a part of the book, which makes for a great book. Her characters were great, very well rounded. There are several country stars that I pictured Jed as, which made it all more amazing. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun fast read that wants to read about the south and country.

The Younger Gods Book Tour!






Title: The Younger Gods
Author: Michael R. Underwood
The first in a new series from the author of Geekomancy (pop culture urban fantasy) and Shield and Crocus (New Weird superhero fantasy).

Jacob Greene was a sweet boy raised by a loving, tight-knit family…of cultists. He always obeyed, and was so trusted by them that he was the one they sent out on their monthly supply run (food, medicine, pig fetuses, etc.).

Finding himself betrayed by them, he flees the family’s sequestered compound and enters the true unknown: college in New York City. It’s a very foreign place, the normal world and St. Mark’s University. But Jacob’s looking for a purpose in life, a way to understand people, and a future that breaks from his less-than-perfect past. However, when his estranged sister arrives in town to kick off the apocalypse, Jacob realizes that if he doesn’t gather allies and stop the family’s prophecy of destruction from coming true, nobody else will…




Michael R. Underwood is the author of Geekomancy, Celebromancy, Attack the Geek, Shield and Crocus, and The Younger Gods. By day, he’s the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books. Mike grew up devouring stories in all forms, from comics to video games, tabletop RPGs, movies, and books. He has a BA in Creative Mythology and East Asian Studies, and an MA in Folklore Studies. Mike has been a bookseller, a barista, a game store cashwrap monkey, and an independent publishers’ representative. Mike lives in Baltimore with his fiancée, an ever-growing library, and a super-team of dinosaur figurines and stuffed animals. He is also a co-host on the Hugo-nominated Skiffy and Fanty Show. In his rapidly vanishing free time, Mike studies historical martial arts and makes homemade pizza. He blogs at MichaelRUnderwood.com/blog and Tweets @MikeRUnderwood.   








Excerpt:
I’d never met lycanthropes before. There were no packs in the Dakotas.
My father and grandmother had seen to that
years ago.
I was starting to understand why. Our family’s sorcerous might was
unmatched, but a wolf moving through thick brush, especially with a pack
at her back, could make quick work of an unprepared sorcerer, unless the
sorcerer was willing to bring down an entire forest to protect themselves.
It’s what Grandmother had done.
One of the many races made by the gods in the first days, lycanthropes
could move among humans without notice, only revealing their power
when they wished. When their creator, the moon, was strongest, so were
they.
Antoinette cleared her throat. “I am Antoinette Laroux. And a friend
told me to show you this.” She produced the Nataraja statue, holding it
out in the scant inches between herself and the looming wolf­woman.
The woman chuffed once, very canine in that moment, all pretense of
humanity cast aside. She looked Antoinette dead in the eyes, then sized her
up, gaze going to her feet and then
back up to her eyes.
She took a single step back.
“So you know the Nephilim. Fine. Why are you here?” “Someone’s
after the Hearts. She’s trying to awaken the
Younger Gods.”
The wolves snarled as one.All of them, the woman included. “And
you’re here, what, to warn us? As if we aren’t always on guard? There’s
precious little of the earth left in this place.
You think we aren’t always vigilant?”
“We want to help,” I said, breaking with Antoinette’s request.
The woman snapped at me, baring her teeth. “You smell of the Deeps,
boy.”
Again, judged before I was known. Even thousands of miles away from
my family’s center of power, I was just a Greene to them. Even if I
bested Esther, would I ever be rid of that stain, or would I carry it with me
my whole life, my family’s sins painted clearly across my face with the
distinctively bland look of our family?


Stacking the Shelves


weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews.


So I did end up getting quite a few books this week. The total was 11 books that I bought myself and 1 book I received for review.

Books I Bought:








The first four are the four I got when I ran into the mother and the dicussion about the not finishing thing, so they are first in a series. I don't plan on starting any of them until I finish some of the series I have up. I didn't know the Nightmare Affair was a series, until just now when I looked it up. I thought it was a standalone. So a bit disappointed with that. And Glow was only 99 cents, and I couldn't pass that up. But the others are squeals to series I am trying to finish up. Except for Let it snow. I saw that one at Walmart and had to have it for the Christmas Season!