Wednesday, November 30, 2016

November Wrap-Up

This month seriously flew by. I don't even know how...and I'm too tired to go put my header on oh what is wrong with me lol.

Well I guess I will jump right into it. So of course you remember that I was doing NaNoWriMo? HA! My computer died during the second week, and I was already behind. I tried using my old laptop, but it's sooooooo slow it would freeze literally every time Scrivener autosaves. Which is every three seconds.

So yea. I didn't do so well with NaNo this year. I did about 10k words, but I'm still okay with that. Now I can continue on with this story that I'm super excited about, and I don't have to feel super rushed to finish it.

Another quick reminder: Read Month ends today on Swoon Reads. So if you were thinking about reading my MS for Iron Curse, you can do that here.

Another awesome thing that happened is that I am now co-hosting the #ReadIndie Challenge, beginning tomorrow! Check out the post to see how you can participate.

You of course all remember my trip to YALLFest this year. So that brings me to what I've read...

It has been a light month for me even with my computer not working. I read a grand total of....

One book. Lol! I read A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi. I started some other books and worked on getting some more posts ready.

I have a few more books I want to read in December. Especially the January releases, but I'll be focusing mainly on editing Spy Project so I can have it ready in January or February.

Monthly giveaway you say?
Why yes. Indeed. November's book of the month was Angelfall by Susan Ee. I'm actually pretty happy, everyone guessed correctly. The winner of the pre-order was Ashfa! Congratulations, I've emailed you :)

Be sure to come back tomorrow to check out a new giveaway for December.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - I'm such a black sheep

Image result for fantastic beasts

So who else has seen this? I feel like I was one of the last ones. I'll try to make this spoiler-free, but I make no guarantees. 

By now we should all know what this is about. Newt Scamander goes to NYC and some of his beasts get loose. At the same time, attacks are happening all over the city. Blah blah blah you know how it goes.

So I will start with what I loved. Eddie Redmayne for one. He's just wonderful lol. Colin Farrell was excellent, and I almost wish he were in the original movies. It was great being back in the wizarding world and seeing a whole new side--the American side. The only glimpse we ever got in any of the books was (I think) a group of Americans walking by Harry during the Tri-Wizard tournament, so it's nice to get to know how more of the word does magic. The graphics were excellent as was the score. My main issues I had were with the plot.

So let's go there. The biggest problem I had with Fantastic Beasts was how cheesy it was. Even in the early Harry Potter books and movies where the characters are all so young, it didn't feel quite as campy and corny. Sure, they had their amusing moments, but this felt like it was trying to lighten up everything with a joke. An example is when Newt's bowtruckle is mad at him and sticks its tongue out at him. A lot of these parts just seemed unnecessary and made the mood of the film far less serious.

My next issue has to do with its predictability. There are two main twists throughout the film (if you can call them that), but I found them so glaringly obvious, I had seen one of them coming from the very first scene of the movie. 

The final thing I had trouble with was [possible spoiler] ------- the romance. I love romance in my books, but I've never really liked the ones in the wizarding world (Sorry Jo). To me, this fit in exactly with how I felt about the ones in the original story--contrived and forced. 

I went to see this with my friend, and he really liked it. He told me he actually wasn't a big fan of any of the original movies (hilarious since we went to a bunch of midnight openings together). So if you're on the fence about seeing it, still definitely try it. You may love it.

As for me? Eh, it was enjoyable, but I nowhere near loved it. I'll want to see the next one when it comes out. But at this moment I wouldn't go see it again or buy the movie whenever it's released.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Review: A Crown of Wishes

A Crown of Wishes (The Star-Touched Queen, #2)Title: A Crown of Wishes
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: March 28, 2017

Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes—a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.

Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.

Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.


Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Monthly Giveaway Reminder

Hey guys! The month is more than halfway over. So you know what that means, right?

Yep. A reminder about the November Giveaway! For full rules, please see the Rules Page.

This month's giveaway is international and is for a pre-order of your choice (up to $20). To enter, simply follow my blog and tell me the book whose first line I'm quoting - 

Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious.

That's it! Enter the rafflecopter below :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The Tale of YALLFest 2016

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I had such a great time in Charleston this year. It was beyond exhausting, but it was still more relaxed and chill than last year. So how about I tell you the things.

This tale starts on Thursday afternoon as I got up for work at 3pm. I packed and eventually went to work. By 4:30am, I left work and was on the road to my sister's house. She was kind of mad that I got there so early lol. But what are you gonna do, right? 

So let's move forward in this story. We were getting ready to leave her house. We had about 2 hours before we really had to get out of there, and we were going over our schedules. That was when I realized I forgot all of my Sabaa Tahir books at my house, because I'm a dumbass.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Blog Tour: Timekeeper


Welcome to the FBCYA Blog Tour for Timekeeper, by Tara Sim! Be sure to check out the giveaway below :D

Timekeeper (Timekeeper, #1)
Title: Timekeeper
Author: Tara Sim
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release Date: November 8, 2016

Two o’clock was missing.

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny’s new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower’s clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield’s time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he’s fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he’ll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.


Thursday, November 10, 2016

YALLFest This Weekend


Hey people! So YALLFest is this weekend in Charleston, SC. Will I see you there?

So I will be fairly away from social media this weekend as I hunt down signatures and such. But if you see me, say hi! I like making new friends. 

And I must say,  I'm excited to have a (not-so) relaxing weekend off to chill with my sister and forget this week ever happened. 

So, are you going to YALLFest?

Monday, November 7, 2016

Review: Fate of Flames

Fate of Flames (Effigies, #1)Title: Fate of Flames
Author: Sarah Raughley
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: November 22, 2016

Four girls with the power to control the elements and save the world from a terrible evil must come together in the first epic novel in a brand-new series.

When Phantoms—massive beasts made from nightmares and darkness—suddenly appeared and began terrorizing the world, four girls, the Effigies, each gained a unique power to control one of the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Since then, four girls across the world have continually fought against the Phantoms, fulfilling their cosmic duty. And when one Effigy dies, another girl gains her power as a replacement.

But now, with technologies in place to protect the world’s major cities from Phantom attacks, the Effigies have stopped defending humanity and, instead, have become international celebrities, with their heroic feats ranked, televised, and talked about in online fandoms.

Until the day that New York City’s protection against the Phantoms fails, a man seems to be able to control them by sheer force of will, and Maia, a high school student, unexpectedly becomes the Fire Effigy.

Now Maia has been thrown into battle with three girls who want nothing to do with one another. But with the first human villain that the girls have ever faced, and an army of Phantoms preparing for attack, there isn’t much time for the Effigies to learn how to work together.

Can the girls take control of their destinies before the world is destroyed forever?

Sunday, November 6, 2016

NaNoWriMo Update

NaNoWriMo
Here we are, almost a week through NaNoWriMo, and I'm sitting here writing a blog post.

For those that don't know what I'm talking about, November is National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo.

If you are me right now, you are currently very behind. You work weird hours and had trouble getting anything written. You were out of town, and now you have a one-day weekend to make up for it. You will also be at YALLFest next weekend, so RIP writing time.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

A Quick and Simple Schedule Change

This is just a little update on my schedule. I'll fix the "Schedule" page later when I get a chance, but I'm moving my weekly reviews to Monday. My personal schedule makes it much tougher to have a review every Saturday, and I keep pushing them back to my back-up day, so I figured I may as well just switch it.

So, my normally scheduled review of Fate of Flames will be up Monday :)

Friday, November 4, 2016

#ReadIndie Sign-Ups are Open

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I promised you guys a sign-up post this week. So here we go!

Welcome to the first ever #ReadIndie challenge! This event was created to promote indie authors who we think are amazing! What is this challenge, you ask? #ReadIndie is a two week time span in December during which we will only be reviewing and promoting indie titles. My co-host for this event is Tracy from Cornerfolds! To help out with this #ReadIndie, Tracy and I have also recruited a team of reviewers to help promote some amazing indie books!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

November Giveaway

Hellooooooo another month starts now! Fall is in full swing here in Florida (and by full swing I mean it's still mostly hot as hell except for like one day a week that it's actually cold), and with it comes a new giveaway for the month of November.

Last month, my giveaway was US only, for three random books from my shelves. The book of the month was A Court of Thorns and Roses, which may not be a favorite of mine, but it certainly has one of my favorite first lines.

This month, my giveaway is international! YAY! It's for a pre-order of a book of your choice (yes it must be a pre-order), as long as Book Depository ships to you.

Release Day Blitz: Blood for Blood



Guys, I am super excited to share with you today BLOOD FOR BLOOD, which releases today. I have heard nothing but amazing things about this series, so I can wait to get started on it.

If you haven't heard of it, check it out below, as well as a giveaway for 4 finished copies of WOLF BY WOLF. Check it out below!