Monday, February 29, 2016

February Wrap-Up

Oh geez. So much happened and didn't happen in February.

Things that didn't happen
I did not get anything done for the #RockMyTBR reading challenge. Fail.

I did not finish writing a draft of Spy Project

Things that did happen
I got some feedback on Iron Curse and have been revising studiously ever since.  This is the reason I haven't been working on Spy Project (it's a rather intensive rewrite).

I listened to a bunch of audiobooks.

Aaaaand I bought a crapload of books (at least for me).

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Review: Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Into the Dim (Into the Dim, #1)Title: Into the Dim
Author: Janet B. Taylor
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 1, 2016

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing. Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail,Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens.



Sunday, February 21, 2016

Sunday Discussion: On Revising

I thought I would write this week on revision, since I'm really heavy into revisions on Iron Curse at the moment.  I can't even remember what day I started (I just looked it up it was Feb 3rd) and as of typing this post--an hour before it goes live--I'm not even halfway through my revisions.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Audiobook Review: Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes

Frozen Tides (Falling Kingdoms, #4)Title: Frozen Tides
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Narrator: Fred Berman
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: December 15, 2015

Rebels, royals, and monsters wage war over the Mytican throne in the shocking fourth book of the Falling Kingdoms series, from New York Times bestselling author Morgan Rhodes.

CLEO: Reeling after a bloody showdown in Limeros ending with Amara’s abduction of the water crystal, and a vacancy in the Mytican throne, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a Queen.

MAGNUS: With the kingdom in chaos, Princess Lucia still missing and quite possibly in danger, and a shocking realization about Cleo, the steely prince is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he’s strong enough to rule his people.

LUCIA: The young sorcercess has had her vengeance after the cruel death of her first and only love. Heartbroken and unable to trust anyone, she allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge.

JONAS: After escaping death by the skin of his teeth, the defeated rebel—along with a mysterious stranger–leader reunites with Princess Cleo, only to find himself a mere pawn in a dangerous hunt for the elusive Kindred.

KING GAIUS: Abandoned by Melenia and betrayed by his own children, Gaius flees Mytica and sails to Kraeshia, where he attempts to ally with the famously brutal emperor across the Silver Sea.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (42) Poisoned Blade

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're excited about.

This week, I'm excited about....

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's theme is all about books and music.  My theme is... Top Ten tragic songs I wish were books!

Monday, February 15, 2016

Random Rant

So this has nothing to do with books. I just really need to rant because I had a terrible day at work and I have nowhere else to rant.  I guarantee I am likely to lose you in this rant.  Because it's all work shit.

First off, if you didn't know, I work in an environmental lab.  Second, my supervisor, boss and the entire QA (quality assurance) department were not in today for some unknown reason.  For those not familiar with QA in science, they basically exist to make my life harder.  They tell me what I can and can't do, what is acceptable, what's ethical, etc.

So I had this batch of samples.  I processed it and everything (which by the way was a pain in the ass because everything about this entire run was generally fucked up).  I uploaded the sample results to our system to find something was very awry.  I was missing one.  And I had an extra one as well.  One that should not be there.  Confused, I had some of the other analysts check it over with me.  We couldn't figure it out.  I checked the prep department.  The prep tech was not in today.  So I checked for the physical batch she used.  Nothing was in a particular order, and both samples were found in the same box as being prepped. I was even more confused.

Now, it must be said that we are currently short-staffed.  And people called out sick today as well in the prep department.  So I figured (along with the prep supervisor) that nothing would get done tonight.  I sent an email to the project managers explaining the situation without explaining what had exactly happened with the samples.  It was very confusing to write in an email.  Things happened and my email got forwarded to the general manager and he ended up calling the prep supervisor to yell at him.

This of course turned into the prep supervisor yelling at me for not including him in the email chain.  Well what did I do?  I just emailed the project managers to tell them the samples would need to be recollected.  That had nothing to do with his department.

Things went back and forth and we got the prep tech on the phone.  She explained what she thought happened and the prep supervisor came and got me from lunch to fix everything.  I only had ten minutes of lunch.  After dealing with this for four hours already I was really needing a break.

I go to check on the prep batch and see that what she told him was not matching up with what I remembered from Friday night.  You see, I remembered this batch.  That one that was not supposed to be there that was?  She had me remove it because she couldn't find it.  And now she was saying that she prepped it.  But she told me and another analyst she didn't prep it.

So I was again confused about what happened.  Since we had no clear idea about what was going on, my entire department discussed the issue and decided the entire thing needed to be redone.  The prep supervisor disagreed and started yelling at us.  And we tried to explain that since there was an error, we couldn't be sure where it happened.  Then he screamed at me.  I later received an email chain from him and the general manager with him saying he thought certain samples were okay to report.  I tried to politely respond by explaining why I was not comfortable reporting the batch at all.  Well I never heard back from any of them.

And so the decision was made that the only person in the prep department tonight was to reprep everything.  Even though there was certainly no time for him to do so.  He is likely to be working an 18 hour shift today because of everything that got added to his plate today.  All because of one project manager emailing the general manager instead of me.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I have had a migraine all day and why I have been seething most of the day.

Sorry this wasn't normal blog content. But I needed to vent somewhere.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Sunday Discussion: On Binge-Reading Series


Wow, it's been a while since I put up a discussion post.  Been way too busy.  But an idea came to me just now so I wanted to talk about it...

It has to do with binge-reading series.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Review: In Real Life by Jessica Love

In Real LifeTitle: In Real Life
Author: Jessica Love
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: March 1, 216

Hannah Cho and Nick Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade. They talk for hours on the phone, regularly shower each other with presents, and know everything there is to know about one another.

There's just one problem: Hannah and Nick have never actually met.

Hannah has spent her entire life doing what she's supposed to, but when her senior year spring break plans get ruined by a rule-breaker, she decides to break a rule or two herself. She impulsively decides to road trip to Las Vegas, her older sister and BFF in tow, to surprise Nick and finally declare her more-than-friend feelings for him.

Hannah's surprise romantic gesture backfires when she gets to Vegas and finds out that Nick has been keeping some major secrets. Hannah knows the real Nick can't be that different from the online Nick she knows and loves, but now she only has night in Sin City to figure out what her feelings for Nick really are, all while discovering how life can change when you break the rules every now and then

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday (41) The Shadow Hour

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to highlight upcoming releases we're really excited about.

This week, I'm waiting on...

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Review: Beyond the Red by Ava Jae

Beyond the RedTitle: Beyond the Red
Author: Ava Jae
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: March 1, 2016

Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her brother’s would-be tyrannical rule.

Eros is a rebel soldier hated by aliens and human alike for being a half-blood. Yet that doesn’t stop him from defending his people, at least until Kora’s soldiers raze his camp and take him captive. He’s given an ultimatum: be an enslaved bodyguard to Kora, or be executed for his true identity—a secret kept even from him.

When Kora and Eros are framed for the attempted assassination of her betrothed, they flee. Their only chance of survival is to turn themselves in to the high court, where revealing Eros’s secret could mean a swift public execution. But when they uncover a violent plot to end the human insurgency, they must find a way to work together to prevent genocide.


Monday, February 1, 2016

January Wrap-Up

So January is over, eh?  Oh dear...  Well things happened. And other things didn't.

I'll start with what I did reading-wise this January.  Most of my books were on my RockMyTBR list (i.e. books I already had).  I didn't get through everything I wanted to, but that's life.

I did read a total of seven books toward my TBR and one review book.

In other news, I finished a many'th round of Iron Curse.  I'm currently 25k into my next WIP: Spy Project.

So now for the haul...