Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Blog Tour Review: Before She Ignites

28524058Title: Before She Ignites
Author: Jodi Meadows
Pages: 496
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: September 12th, 2017

Before

Mira Minkoba is the Hopebearer. Since the day she was born, she’s been told she’s special. Important. Perfect. She’s known across the Fallen Isles not just for her beauty, but for the Mira Treaty named after her, a peace agreement which united the seven islands against their enemies on the mainland. But Mira has never felt as perfect as everyone says. She counts compulsively. She struggles with crippling anxiety. And she’s far too interested in dragons for a girl of her station.

After

Then Mira discovers an explosive secret that challenges everything she and the Treaty stand for. Betrayed by the very people she spent her life serving, Mira is sentenced to the Pit–the deadliest prison in the Fallen Isles. There, a cruel guard would do anything to discover the secret she would die to protect. No longer beholden to those who betrayed her, Mira must learn to survive on her own and unearth the dark truths about the Fallen Isles–and herself–before her very world begins to collapse.

US Amazon | UK Amazon |Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Friday, August 18, 2017

Mini Reviews: A Goodreads Cross-Post Part 1

So as I mentioned in my last update (forever ago), I've read a fair amount of contemporary romance lately. And, of course, I didn't review any of it lmao. I did, however, post super short reviews on Goodreads for many of them, so I'm just cross-posting the few sentences to few paragraphs, in case you guys were curious what I've been reading and what I thought.

I'm going to keep these as short as possible. So no jacket copies, no buy links. Click on the cover picture to bring up the GR page.

So this book uses one of my favorite tropes, but with a twist. It's a combination of fake romance and friends to lovers. And it was excellentttttt. I love those tropes.

On the first day of school, Jenny and Chance fool everyone into thinking they've known each other for years. In a surprise assignment where they have to talk about their summer vacations, they play off each other so well, that their entire class believes they have been best friends all their lives. And when they decide to continue on with the lie, no one thinks twice.

I loved Chance and Jenny together so much. They were hilarious, and the way they interacted constantly made me smile. Their fake friendship blossoms into one where they are truly best friends. Since they had never even spoken to each other before, it seems that it's just easier for them to talk to each other. And as they get to know each other, they challenge each other with different stories, rules, and dares.

I had one real gripe about this book, and that was that it was not diverse at all. My high school was 95% white, so I get that this does happen. But there was also no sexual diversity, and that seems unlikely. Not everyone in life is blond and straight.

Of course, I'd personally rather no diversity than having it handled poorly (just my opinion). But it was still a disappointment.

Overall, I thought it was a cute and fast read. I loved the characters, and couldn't get enough of them.

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This one was just okay for me. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't get all the touchy and tingly feels about out main couple. I don't know, I just didn't connect with them the way I would've loved to. Still, it was a cute and fast read. If you like these romance books with fake relationship tropes (like I do), definitely give it a read.





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It's not secret that I've been on some kind of contemporary romance kick lately. Especially when it comes to fake relationship books. And this is probably my favorite of my recent reads so far.

The romance is cute and sweet, and I loved Oak and Vaughn together. The story was definitely typical of the trope, but it wasn't 100% predictable. And I loved seeing the relationship between Vaughn and her siblings. I admit it, I'm a sucker for happy sibling relationships.

So as a struggling family in LA, Vaugh and her older sister are working hard just to make ends meat and send their little brothers to college. So of course when Vaughn gets offered and absurd amount of money to play the girlfriend to obnoxious rock star Oakley Ford, she says yes against her better judgement. But maybe Oakley isn't quite as bad as she initially thought. Even if he is a jerk.

One of the things I loved was that we got to hear from Oakley's POV as well as Vaughn's. I love reading from the male POV in books, and this was no exception. Seeing their relationship blossom was heartwarming, and I would have loved an even longer book or a follow up novel about the two of them. Can't wait to read other things from this author.


Saturday, August 12, 2017

Super Quick Update!

Omg guys it's been... a long time. I suck! I'm not 100% prepared to be back, but I have missed blogging, so I thought I'd share some quick updates about how things are going in the life and times of Christina.


Errr... Ignore that.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Beautiful People - Writing Process


I have literally never participated in a writing meme before. But with me trying to focus more on said writing, it seemed like a good idea. In case you didn't know, it's a monthly writing meme hosted by Cait @ Paperfury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Pitch Wars #Pimpmybio Mentee Bio


As you may know, I've decided to enter Pitch Wars this year. I've wanted to do it for a while, but the timing has never been right. I think I've got my timing right this year, though. So I cannot wait!

 So let me introduce myself. My name is Christina, I live in Florida. It is way too hot here. And humid. I went to Canada once years ago, and ever since then, I want to live there.

This year, I'm submitting for a YA fantasy project. Okay, it's YA fantasy romance. Because pretty much anything I write always has romance. Most of what I write is YA, and that's how this project began. It's gotten more and more into the upper YA, in fact, that I was convinced it was NA until I was told otherwise.

Here are some books that I absolutely adore:


Well that list is getting long. I'll stop now. Even though there are so many more that I want to list haha.

I absolutely love Avatar: The Last Airbender!! Zutara for life!


Oh! I work as a scientist. I test water and soils at an EPA certified lab.

I have three cats. I'm fairly certain two of them are evil, and the other is just there as a foil to them. 

My favorite genre to read is fantasy, but the only genres I don't read at all are horror/thriller and mystery. 

I was formally trained as an opera singer back when I was... not as old as I am now. Yes. Let's say it like that. I still love to sing and make sure I do it in my car every chance I get. I will listen to almost any music, but my weak spot is for alternative and prog metal. 

Aaaaanyway, this is getting kind of long. If you want to know more about me, you can see this interview I did with myself last year! Thanks for stopping by :)

Monday, July 3, 2017

Review: The Shadow Hour

Title: The Shadow Hour
Author: Melissa Grey
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: July 12, 2016

A battle has been won. But the war has only just begun.

Everything in Echo’s life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.

The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.

Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she’s already overcome.

She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.

Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature—or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what’s left of her world to the ground?

Welcome to the shadow hour.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

June Wrap-Up

I'm a terrible person and am typing this just before midnight at work o_o

So I want to do a really super quick wrap-up for the month of June!!


Giveaway Winners

As you may remember, I had two giveaways for June. One was US only for a July Shelflove Crate box. The winner of this was Austine from Novel Knight.

My second giveaway winner was Jo, the winner of the International only $25 book on Book Depository. I've just emailed both of you (I'm running behind this month, I know), so get back to me as soon as possible!

In case you were wondering, the book of the month with the opening line "The Sorcerer arrived on a Saturday" was A Shadow Bright and Burning, by Jess Cluess. 

Reading Things

I really suck in that I read almost nothing. I finally made it all the way through The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey. Gray? I honestly don't even know at this point and I can't look it up xD Please no one hate me lol. I usually try to spell things correctly, but I'm at work and have limited access to the interwebz.

I just started reading Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows, who is (as you probably know) my favorite author of absolute ever. I am going through pretty quickly, which is nice, since I've been in a bad slump lately.

Life Things

Yea, so contributing to that slump is definitely work. I worked over 60 hours last week. Not to mention all the health issues. I won't bore you with the details, but I will say my doctor is concerned. Which is, you know, awesome. 

Writing Things

I have another draft of Spy Project back from beta reading, and I'm ready to get down to business on revisions as soon as I'm done reading BSI. I want to get heavy into edits all through July to hopefully be ready for Pitch Wars in August. This means I will not be reading anything all through the month of July. I will still have some posts, but very few reviews. I might get through an audiobook here or there, but I'll be mostly on hiatus for the month of July.

I think that's it! How was your month?