January Wrap-Up

I can't believe January is over already. 

So, let's get through this as quickly as possible. So, I know I've been fairly absent from the blog recently, getting behind on things. But I do have a reason. I've been going through some health issues that have made it difficult for me to do stuff. 

My Reads

I've gotten back into listening to audiobooks while at work. So I listening to both ACOTAR and ACOMAF this month. I also wrote a discussion about Tamlin, which you can find here.

Aside from those audios, I've been making my way through Jennifer L Armentrout's Covenant series. I did an audiobook review of the first book here. In a word? Meh. But since it's an audiobook, and I like the narrator, I wanted to finish the series anyway.

Physical books and ebooks I read are fewer. I read S Usher Evans' The Union, I officially DNF'd Nevernight after being on page 24 for months. I DNF'd Because of the Sun, my first read of the year (that bodes well) because of an intolerable main character, and I reviewed A Tangled Web. 

Review: The Union

Title: The Union
Author: S Usher Evans
Publisher: Suns Golden Ray Publishing
Release Date: February 14, 2017

Fifty years of war have led to this.Prince Galian spends his days ministering to the sick in Kylae, but his nights strategizing how to change hearts and minds of his people. With the death camp closed, the country is becoming more volatile, and even King Grieg may not be able to maintain control over the warring factions.

Across the Great Madion Sea, Theo Kallistrate seeks an audience with the Raven rebels, rumored to be brewing insurrection against President Bayard. But they don't trust her, and progress has been achingly slow. When the war takes a major turn, Theo and Galian find themselves front and center in a political firestorm that could end with their union…or their funeral.

The Union is the final book in the Madion War Trilogy, which readers have called, "fast-paced," "compelling," and "not to be missed."

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads|Kobo|TBD

Weekly Snippet

Weekly snippet is a fairly new feature where I share a small portion of a WIP. This week, you can see something small from Nightmare Project, my 2016 NaNoWriMo project. Most of what I have will be overhauled, but I like to share anyway :p

Do you like this feature? Want me to continue? Let me know in the comments!

Super Special Awesome Blogaversary!

If you get my reference, then cheers! If not, I'm a sad panda. But I still love you.

Anyway, today is the last day of the Midwinter conference in Atlanta, and it also happens to be my second blogaversary! I can't believe I've been doing this shit for two years. WTF.

ALA this weekend!

Greetings! Today I am driving up to Atlanta with my best friend for the ALA Midwinter conference. 

It will be most fun. We will be sharing an AirBnB with notable bloggers such as Tracy, MC, and Emily.

So because of this, I won't really be around all weekend. I won't have a review up Monday (I know, I know, I've been so behind lately). But I will have my super special awesome blogaversary post up! So be sure to check back!

When you can't ship "The Ship"

I know I've read multiple books where I just couldn't get behind the ship. In all likelihood, you have too. The love interest is controlling, or he's just not right for the heroine.

And that's the thing. It's happening again...

I'm reading a series where I just can't with the ship. I read through the synopses of all the other books in the series, and it continues as it is, shipped as such. So what do?

If I had known from the absolute beginning about what Bardugo would do with the Darkling, would I have continued on with the series? Probably not. He's one of my absolute favorite characters, and seeing him turned into such an awful villain was painful. Almost as painful as seeing the ship with Mal (because honestly Mal is a douche canoe).

So when there is the suggestion of a possible other ship that I like sooooo much better, but I know it will go no where? WHAT DO?

I got lucky with ACOTAR. I was never 100% behind the Tamlin ship, and when ACOMAF came around, I was happy to leave it behind. But now I don't know what to do. I haven't been on this end of shipping very often, mainly because I'm very good at calling the ship. And okay. I did call the ship. I just don't like it.

The thing is, as a writer and a reader, I do not like love triangles. So if there is an alternate love interest (there is one introduced in this case), I find myself going crazy. WHY does there have to be a love triangle? Of course, then you look at the fandoms for these different books (let's take Twilight for example) and see how vehemently the fans support one or the other. So even though I know this ship of mine ends up badly, I still want to route for it. But personally, as a writer, I avoid doing love triangles, because it just feels all kinds of wrong. And so now I leave you with a question.

For those of you that still ship with Tamlin, or those that hate Rowan. Those that can't get behind a ship. What should I do? Should I continue on with this series? 

Audiobook Review: Half-Blood

Title: Half-Blood
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: October 18, 2011

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is.

If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads|Kobo|TBD|Waterstones

Weekly Snippet

I'm not sure how long I'm going to continue this series. We'll see. This week, I decided to just do a screenshot, since I apparently can't be bothered to check for typos when I'm copying things over by hand lol.

This is a tiny snippet from my project that's currently in revision, Spy Project. Let me know what you think in the comments. Should I continue with this feature?

Monthly Giveaway Hint

Welp, I think a lot of people are a bit stuck on what the book of the month is. So here's a reminder of what the first line is:

"She'd never killed before tonight."

And here is your hint:

It's the first in a six-book YA fantasy series, the fifth of which released last year. And it is not Throne of Glass. Enter in the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a US hardcover of My Lady Jane (US/Can only, full details here)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release Day Blitz: Roseblood

I am so excited that ROSEBLOOD by A.G. Howard releases today! I love Phantom of the Opera so much, so this is extremely exciting.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed Roseblood poster and a mask courtesy of A.G. and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Review: A Tangled Web

Title: A Tangled Web

Author: M.L. Sparrow
Release Date: February 1, 2017

Japan, 2011

Taiyo is a normal high-school girl living with her Grandmother in Sendai. She goes to school, partakes in club activities and hangs out with her two best friends, twin brothers Ryuu and Kairi. However, her perfect world is shattered when she begins dating Kairi but quickly discovers she's already in love with Ryuu.

A tangled web of lies surrounds the pair, but everything is suddenly knocked into perspective on March 11th when they are caught up in a natural disaster that devastates the country and robs thousands of their homes, their possessions and their lives...

Amazon|Goodreads

Discussion: ACOTAR

I want to talk about all the things ACOTAR. Because we all remember how much I loved ACOMAF, and with ACOWAR coming out later this year... well yea.

If you're not in the know, I am talking about A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J Maas. This will be a very spoilery discussion for both the first and second book. So beware. If you haven't read both, you might not want to continue.

So. Let me first link you to my original review for ACOTAR, here.

Weekly Snippet

Welcome to the Weekly Snippet, a new feature on my blog where I show you a small excerpt from one of my WIPs. This is the first time I have a feature on my blog that focuses fully on writing instead of reading, so we'll see how it goes haha.

This week, the snippet is from Iron Curse, which you can find online here.

Cara shivered when she thought back to her sister—bright and beautiful, powerful and protective—murdered by those half blood abominations. She choked back a tear. No, she hadn't cried over Talia in a century, and she wasn't about to start now just because of a missing petulant little girl.

The brat needed to be found, and she knew without a doubt that Jifanya pay for what Fildor and Vantaria had failed to do—stop the wizards from existing.

Let me know if you like this feature. I can share more of my WIPs in the future.

2017 New Years Resolutions

Again, Happy New Year!

So this year I have a few things that I really want to do between my personal life, blogging life, and my writing life. So let's take a look at them, shall we?

1. Finish revising Spy Project - I've been working on this project on and off since last January. I'm currently somewhere around 63k words, and I still have a while to go. But I'll never finish if I don't sit down and actually work on it. I haven't done any writing in a while, and I need to do something about that.
2. Finish a first draft of Nightmare Project - This was my NaNoWriMo project that went horribly wrong lol. I have around 10k words, and a lot of it will need to be rewritten, because a major plot point has completely changed since I discovered it doesn't make any sense. But the big problem was that my computer broke during the second week of November, so that was pretty much when I stopped writing. I need to get back to it.
3. Go back and do a final round of revisions on Iron Curse - I really want to get this one published. It's been sent to one agent, so I'm hoping she can see I'm very willing to revise. But if she's not interested, I need to send to other agents. And for that, I need to make some big changes.
4. So that said... My final writing resolution isn't to get published, but to query agents - I can't get published without an agent. Well, I can lol. I could self publish, and some indy publishers accept submissions from unagented writers. But the first step to getting published, aside from writing the MS, is querying agents. It's a long and arduous process, so I need to start at some point. I'm really wanting mostly to query Spy Project. I have what I think is a decent query, so we'll see :)
5. Read 75 books - Last year I set my reading goal really low at 55, and I surpassed it easily, even though I spent a lot of time writing. This time I want to spend more time writing, but I want to read 75.
6. Get to 300 blog followers - I know this isn't likely, but it would be nice. Still, who knows with my writing where the future of my blog will lie. I have enough trouble getting posts up as it is.
7. Stick to a diet - Lol. This last one is definitely my personal life. So over the past two years I have gained a lot of weight. I had lost a lot a few years back, but now with my job I've gained a lot back. I think I may actually be at my highest ever. So I really want to get back down to a healthy weight. It's just a matter of sticking to a diet, actually cooking real food, going out for walks, etc. It's harder than it sounds!

What are some of your new years resolutions?

2016 Wrap-Up and End of Year Survey

I can't believe it's 2017. IT'S NOT 2016 ANYMORE PRAISE THE LORD OF DARKNESS.

I'm going to start here with my December Wrap-up, and then move on to my 2016 end of year survey. Because of how long this is, I'll have a separate 2017 goals post up tomorrow.

December Wrap-Up

So the first two weeks in December were all about Indie publishing, as I last-minute took over co-hosting the #ReadIndie Challenge. Because it was so last minute, It didn't do all that much for the challenge, but Tracy and I have some special things planned for next year, because we had a great time this year. 

So that will take place again next December (I know it's a long way away!), so if you're interested, keep an eye out. We'll probably be announcing it earlier to give people time to get things read.

So I read a total of four books in December. I know, I've been slacking. I didn't listen to any audiobooks, and I didn't do any work on my manuscripts. For January, I've already finished one book, started an audiobook, and I've worked through some MS problems in my head. I need to sit down and work on them. 

Review: Because of the Sun

Title: Because of the Sun
Author: Jenny Torres Sanchez
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: January 3, 2017

Dani Falls learned to tolerate her existence in suburban Florida with her brash and seemingly unloving mother by embracing the philosophy Why care? It will only hurt. So when her mother is killed in a sudden and violent manner, Dani goes into an even deeper protection mode, total numbness. It’s the only way she can go on.

But when Dani chooses The Stranger by Albert Camus as summer reading for school, it feels like fate. The main character’s alienation after his mother’s death mirrors her own.

Dani’s life is thrown into further turmoil when she is sent to New Mexico to live with an aunt she never knew she had. The awkwardness between them is palpable. To escape, Dani takes long walks in the merciless heat. One day, she meets Paulo, who understands how much Dani is hurting. Although she is hesitant at first, a mutual trust and affection develop between Dani and Paulo, and Dani begins to heal. And as she and her aunt begin to connect, Dani learns about her mother’s past. Forgiving isn’t easy, but maybe it’s the only way to move forward.

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads|Kobo|TBD

January Giveaway!

Okay guys, sorry I've been so slow. Work has been really bad lately. So first, my wrap-up post will be up on Tuesday, January 3.

Second, the winner of my December giveaway was Annie. I've just emailed you (I know I'm behind lol). Please email me back within 48 hours with your choices of the selected books.

Next, in case you didn't know it, December's book of the month was Poison Study by Maria V Snyder. If you haven't read this series, you definitely should.