Tuesday, December 31

2020 Romance Bingo Reading Challenge



Hosted by: Blodeuedd @ Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell
                                                                            Carole @ Carole Rae's Random Ramblings


Blodeuedd and I decided to host our own reading challenge again this year! We went a little "simpler" this year and did ONE bingo sheet: Overall Romance. 

We are doing a bingo sheet to mark our reading progress! The rules are below. 

Rules:

- It HAS to be a romance novel. 
- One bingo box per book (if your book meets a couple of these you have to pick just one)
- You can try and read all of them or just do one BINGO line. 
- There is one FREE SPACE
- Bingo Starts 1/1/2020 and ends 12/30/2020
- Join whenever




You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

Monday, December 30

2019 Challenge Wrap-Up

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And here we are again....the end of the year. 2019 is turning to 2020 in just a little while. Woah. Let us take a look at how I did in my 2019 challenges!



Challenge 1:
Read 30 - 40 Audiobooks

This year I ended up at....................60!!!! 

Blew past that goal. Woot!

Challenge 2: 
Goodreads reading challenge to read overall 140 books

This year I ended up at...................






Challenge 3:
Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge to read 16-25 books

This year I read..........21!!


Challenge 4: 
Historical Romance Reading Challenge. Try to get a bingo. 




Got 1 bingo. Close to a couple of them though. :) 


Challenge 5: 
Contemporary Romance Reading Challenge. Try to get at least one bingo. 


Waahhh Didn't get a bingo for this one. I slightly let this one go whoops. D: 

Blog Goal:

Had a couple of challenges I did for blog posts. One was Blog All About It. Had to post the prompt each month. 

Jan- First
Feb- Pink
Mar- Luck
April- Sweet
May- Bloom
June- Risk
July- Heat
Aug- Sky
Sept- Crunch
Oct- Shiver
Nov- Thankful
Dec- Twinkle

If you wanna check them out, here is the link!



Did a Get Your Shit Together challenge in October. I got a lot done. Not everything off the list, but a lot.  Here is the link to check them out!



Personal Life Goals:
I wanted to stay active this year. I've done pretty okay. The last two months I've been bad, but I feel decent. I even started a Jillian Michaels work out DVD. :) 

I also wanted to paint more. I've done some painting. More so at the beginning of the year, but pretty constant. I've even done some crafting! 





I will be announcing my favorites of 2019 Jan 1st :) Keep an eye on that! Also, I'll be announcing my challenges soon too (still deciding what to join this upcoming year). 


Thanks, everyone for the love and support in 2019! See you in 2020! 








Sunday, December 29

2-in-1 Short Story Reviews: Her Christmas Bonus & Gingerbread Wishes


Her Christmas BonusAuthor: Rain Danvers 
Title: Her Christmas Bonus
Genre: Short Stories, Romance
Pages: ebook
Published:  October 28th 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon freebie)



Sage has been working at a high-tech firm in Newport Beach, CA for over two years as the only female director among three men. She is highly valued by her boss and she loves her job, but there's a problem - she's totally attracted to him and the stress is killing her. She's taking three days off for the Christmas holiday and has posted her availability online, hoping to find a job when she returns. Before she can leave, she has to find her cell phone and she doesn't know where she left it.

Terrance is the founder and owner of Templeton Designs and considers Sage so valuable to the company, he can't afford to acknowledge the feelings he has for her. He's stuck at the company this year when normally he would be enjoying the holiday in a warm, tropical location. It may be the year he finds a way to acknowledge the woman who holds his heart captive


On a short story xmas binge! Downloaded a bunch so I'm getting through them for the holiday. 

Sage has been working for a firm in CA for over two years. She is highly valued by her boss and she loves her job. All seems perfect...but she is in love with her boss. Terrance is the founder and owner of the firm. He considers Sage so valuable to his company that he has been avoiding his feelings for her. Things happen and Christmas miracle may just happen for them. 

I liked this a lot. It was quick and cute. I felt bad for Sage and Terrance. Dating your boss is a rocky, rocky thing especially when the boss owns the entire company. 

Things happened quickly and they made things work. The ending "twist" was a little too much though. 

Overall, this was a good one. Short, sweet, and xmas-y. The twist was a little over-the-top though. I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 











Gingerbread Wishes (Sugar & Spice Bakery #1)Author: Linda Carroll-Bradd
Title: Gingerbread Wishes
(Sugar & Spice Bakery #1)
Genre: Short Stories, Romance
Pages: ebook
Published:  December 21st 2013 
Where I Got It: My shelf (Amazon freebie)



Tora Hammond can't wait to sell the family bakery run by generations of Hammond women and seek excitement outside of Dorado, Texas. Widower Jordan Dawson, the town's star quarterback from a decade ago, returns to his hometown with plans to develop a sporting goods store. He also hopes a small town Christmas will cheer up his five-year-old daughter, Jenna, still recovering from the loss of her mother. Will the spark of interest Tora sees in Jordan's eyes be the excitement she's looking for





Gingerbread! Couldn't resist this one. 

Tora can't wait to see the family bakery and seek life and excitement outside of Texas. Jordan is a widower and the town's star quarterback from a decade ago. He decides to return home and open a sporting goods store. The two meet and sparks fly.

This was okay. I was annoyed with Tora. I get WHY she wanted out of town, but not really. Go on a vacation or something. Don't sell the family bakery! It's been in the family for generations!! I liked Jordan though and his daughter. She was cute!

It was short and limited drama so it worked for what it was. A quick romance for the holidays and food! There were little annoyances for me. Maybe if the book was longer?

I want to try that recipe at the end of the book. Sounds yummy!

Overall, not bad. Some little things annoyed me, but it was cute and xmas-y. Perfect for the season. 3 stars. 










Saturday, December 28

Audiobook Review: Midnight Vows by JE Taylor

Midnight Vows: A Night Hawk Short StoryAuthor: J.E. Taylor 
Narrator:  Felicia Faraday
Title: Midnight Vows - A Night Hawk Short Story (Night Hawk 3.5)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: Audiobook
Published:  August 29th 2016
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)



Welcome to the wedding of the millennium.

Before she met Damian Andreas, Naomi Hawk always envisioned her wedding on a beach at sunset. She never thought she’d get married in the mountains under a canopy of stars, but being a vampire bride makes logistics, such as dress shopping and finding a location willing to book a midnight ceremony, difficult to navigate.

Is her wedding going to be everything she dreamed, or a disaster of epic proportions?

Whoops. Reading book 3.5 while not reading the others! Oh well. 

The story follows Damian and Naomi. They are about to have the long waited marriage. She had always wanted a beach wedding at sunset, but being a vampire bride makes that a little bit hard to do. Will their wedding be everything they both want? Or a disaster?

This was super cute and super sweet and super short. Even though I had no idea who these people are, it warmed my cold heart. They were adorable and it seems like they went through a lot. 

I really want to go back and read from the beginning. I am curious about this world and these people. I do feel like I missed some of the references, BUT that is my fault for not realizing this was part of a series at first. 

The narrator was good. She sounds familiar. But yes - I would listen to more. 

Overall, this was really good even though I had not read the first three books. A random find that worked out well in the end! I'll give this 4 stars. 







PS - Happy bday to me! 28 on the 28th! ^_^



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Friday, December 27

Audiobook Review: Selkies are a Girl's Best Friend by Molly Harper

Selkies Are a Girl's Best Friend audiobook cover artSelkies Are a Girl's Best Friend audiobook cover artAuthor: Molly Harper
Narrator:  Amanda Ronconi, Jonathan Davis
Title: Selkies are a Girl's Best Friend
(Mystic Bayou #3)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: Audiobook
Published:  August 27th 2019 
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)



Sonja Fong isn't afraid of a little chaos. As director of the league's research center in Mystic Bayou, a tiny town in Louisiana that's home to supernatural creatures and humans alike, she's responsible for making sure things run smoothly. It's not an easy task when her daily memos include lines like, "new equipment is needed because the old equipment was destroyed by a temper tantrum involving dragonfire."

Her job puts her in the path of Dr. Will Camody, a mysterious shifter who's returned to Mystic Bayou after a long absence only to find that he's now considered an outsider. To make matters worse, the rift - a tear in the fabric of the universe that is leaking supernatural energy into the bayou - is unraveling at an alarming rate. Now Sonja and Will must team up to fix the rift and save Mystic Bayou from certain disaster, all while their own romance is heating up. Can they have a future together while the whole world is falling apart?

Book 3! Been itching to get started on this one since I adore Sonja. 

The story continues with Sonja and Will. Sonja is responsible to make sure everyone runs smoothly at the research center in the Mystic Bayou. Will is the new doctor who has agreed to come home and be the town's doctor. He has been gone so long he is pretty much considered and outsider. Can the two have a future together with the rift getting worse? Will they be able to get over their issues of trust? 

Love Sonja. She is fun. I wanted her to get a HEA. 

Will was meh for me. I get WHY he had issues....but dude...grow up. Once he got over himself and proved himself, I was able to like him then. But ugh. I liked his brother better. I want his bro to get a HEA now!

The story was good and it was a slow burn. There was insta lust, but the love took eons, but it worked. 

The ending drama seemed to be too easily fixed for my liking. However, it has sparked me to be needing the next book! WHEN IS THAT COMING OUT!!!!! EEEEEE

The narrators are amazingggggggggggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!! I hope they do the next one!

Overall, I liked this. It was nice to see Sonja find her HEA even though it took me a while to warm up to Will. I am legit excited for the next book. WHEN!!!??? I'll give this 3 stars. 

Thursday, December 26

Blog All About It: TWINKLE






This month's prompt is:  TWINKLE

Last prompt of the year! I cannot believe 2019 is coming to a quick and speedy end. Where has all the time gone? Now...how to end this challenge? 

Twinkle? Mmmm. Let's see. What should I do for this prompt?

I will dedicate this post to my love and best friend. He truly makes me happy even with our ups and downs these last 7 years. We just celebrated our 7th anniversary on the 16th. He is the twinkle of light in my life. We have really grown together. I really must thank him for the love and support over the years. Especially this year. It has been a hard year with the loss of one of my best friends who died suddenly. He really was there for me and held me through so many tears and anger. As cliche as it is...he has been my rock not only for this year but for the last 7. Sure it hasn't been perfect but we really have grown so much. 

Love you my dear! Thank you for everything. 

Now...I'm going to share some of my favorites of us throughout the years ;) 


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Image may contain: Carole Rae and Jip Higashi, possible text that says 'PIC.COLLAGE'

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Image may contain: Carole Rae, smiling

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Image may contain: Jip Higashi and Carole Rae, people smiling

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