Sunday, May 31

Book Review: Portrait Of A Snow Queen by Micah S. Harris

Portrait Of A Snow Queen: Being A Memoir Of My (Not So) Fairy Tale Romance (The Chronicles of Aarastad Book 1)
Author: Micah S. Harris
Title: Portrait Of A Snow Queen: Being A Memoir Of My (Not So) Fairy Tale Romance (The Chronicles of Aarastad Book 1)
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, SciFi
Format: ebook
Published: November 14th 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion) 

Summary:
An epic fantasy of forbidden romance that chronicles the coming of age of a princess who is possessed by the Snow Queen and fated to rule her kingdom with a strong hand and icy heart.

As a child, Princess Freyja looked into the Snow Queen’s cursed mirror - and was changed.

Now an aloof and difficult young woman with a wit as sharp as her tongue, the future monarch is in need of a tutor. And Ambrose, a failed poet, is in need of a teaching position. He just never suspected how dangerous the extracurricular activities would be!

Soon, Ambrose finds himself on a grand adventure fighting to save the vexing but alluring princess from the court occult conspiracies that have targeted her. He is opposed not only by sorcerers and the evil Snow Queen, but also the icy royal damsel who holds his heart.

Will Ambrose’s love cause Freyja to thaw…or will she put him in the deep freeze instead?



Sensuous, suspenseful, supernatural and filled with witty banter, this romantic fantasy will both turn up the heat and leave you thoroughly frost smitten!



Review:
The cover drew me in and then the summary had me wanting to check this out. 

This an epic fantasy of forbidden romance and a coming of age of a princess who is possessed by the Snow Queen. Ambrose finds himself teaching and helping the princess in more ways than way. 

The format of the book was very interesting and fun. I loved how the author really made this world. It was easy to follow along because it was outlined so well. 

It was a little hard to get into at first. There was a lot of character-building and world-building. WHICH I liked, but it did take a little while for me to get into the story. After a certain scene, I was intrigued and rushed to finish this. I had to know what was going to happen! It is a BIG book, but it worked because there was a lot of story, and building that length was for sure needed. 

I liked Ambrose a lot. Very sweet. The princess bugged me sometimes and I wanted to shake her, but I liked her overall, especially at the end. I loved their banter!

Overall, this was a good one. Long and had a lot of content, but I was hooked after a scene and had to finish this as quickly as possible. I adored Ambrose and the princess needed a good shaking here and there, but I liked her too. I highly recommend it for those that love the blend of genres and a good intricate read. I'll give this 4 stars. 









Thursday, May 28

Book Review: Secret Santa by Fern Michael, Laura Levine, Marie Bostwick, & Cindy Myers


Secret SantaAuthor: Fern Michaels, Laura Levine, Marie Bostwick, Cindy Myers
Title: Secret Santa
Genre: Anthology, Romance, Mystery
Format: paperback
Pages: 400
Published: January 1st 2013
Where I Got It: My shelf (Library book sale)




Christmas is the time for miracles, mayhem, and holiday romance in these wonderful stories from four of today's most beloved authors…



"Mister Christmas" by Fern Michaels


A week before Christmas, attorney Claire O'Brien is summoned to Ireland to change her wealthy client's will--only to encounter resistance from his handsome nephew. Will Claire be forced to spend the holidays up close and personal with her irresistible Irish nemesis?


"The Yellow Rose of Christmas" by Marie Bostwick


Though Miss Velvet Tudmore wrote off romance years ago, rumor has it she has a secret admirer. And when her surprise suitor promises to reveal himself at the annual Christmas ball in Too Much, Texas, Velvet starts to wonder: is it ever too late to find love?


"Nightmare on Elf Street" by Laura Levine


Aside from the mortifying costume, how bad can a gig as a mall Santa's elf be? Jaine Austen finds out when she's teamed up with the Santa from Hell. But things go from bad to worse when he's found murdered on the job--and Jaine is a suspect. Now all she wants for Christmas is to find the real killer…


"Room at the Inn" by Cindy Myers


When a Rocky Mountain blizzard forces Barb and her husband to spend Christmas in a remote Colorado cabin with their fellow travelers, Barb struggles to cope--especially when her husband reveals troubling news. But sometimes a holiday shake-up is all a woman needs to discover what she's truly made of…. 







Reading a Xmas book in May? Sure! Why not!

"Mister Christmas" by Fern Michaels

This started out so strong! Xmas time set in Ireland? YAS! However, I started yawning partway through. I barely remember much of what happened. Next thing I knew the two were together and in LOVE and then it ended. I feel like I missed what had happened. Meh for me. 2 stars.


"The Yellow Rose of Christmas" by Marie Bostwick

Cute, cute, cute, CUTE! This was a really cute one. The names were funky....super funky...but it is a funky town with a funky town name. All makes sense. I liked the ending! Did I mention this was super cute? 4 stars.


"Nightmare on Elf Street" by Laura Levine

This was a fun one. Completely different than the others. We had a murder mystery and no realy romance here. We had some sparks, but that was about it. I'm bummed we didn't get see Jaine in lovvveeeee, but I did enjoy the mystery. I loved that dang cat! She was a little devil. 3 stars


"Room at the Inn" by Cindy Myers

At first I was bored and didn't really care about these characters, but then a certain event happened and it made me sit on the edge of my seat. I grew to adore everyone here. There was a romance, but not your typical one. Barb and her hubbie are given a second chance. On top of that Barb realizes she needs to make herself happy too. I really enjoyed this. I think this is ended up being tied for first place. I'll give this 4 stars. 


OVERALL
I really liked this. I think I needed a nice book full of Xmas miracles and joy. Like everyone I have had my bad days because of the social distancing and lock down we are in. This was nice and needed. I'll give this 3 stars. A couple really good, one okay, and one...not for me.










Challenge(s):

- #16 for Pet on cover




Wednesday, May 27

Wordless Wednesday



Image may contain: 2 people
I know I'm breaking the whole prompt ;) But these are my grandfathers from WWII. Grandpa Carol on the left and Grandpa Bob on the right. <3 

Monday, May 25

Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Avengers - Endgame (2019)

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Writers: Christopher Markus (screenplay by), Stephen McFeely (screenplay by) | 
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo 

3h 1min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi 

By now all know that some of our heroes died. One death, could not have cared less. Another, you mofos! WHY!?

It was too long, too long winded too, too repetitive.

Hawkguy is still boring as dirt.
Why did Cap cut his beard, he was finally interesting!

Thor is the greatest! I love Stark.

Sadly others were dead so not around, hmmm.

Also Cap Marvel is so powerful that it is stupid. She could have ended this ages ago, I kind of hate her now. Ugh, worst character ever.

Recommend
I mean I had to watch, but rec, eh, only if you have watched the others


Friday, May 22

Book Review: Nightmare City by PS Newman


Nightmare City (Nightmare City, #1)Author: P.S. Newman 
Title: Nightmare City
(Nightmare City #1)
Genre: UF, Fantasy
Format: ebook
Pages: 359 
Published:  November 26th 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Netgalley)



In post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, dreams come true. So do nightmares. 

 Ever since a shift in reality twenty years ago, peoples' dreams and nightmares come alive, spreading chaos and destruction. Monsters ravage cities, bottomless chasms split roads, and gold rains from the sky - the possibilities are limitless, unpredictable and often deadly. Eden Maybrey is a hunter of these "shades". When a friend tasks her with tracking down and eliminating an evil shade, the hunt threatens to expose Eden's deepest, darkest secret. To find her prey, she is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor, a hunter who hates shades with a passion - and who won't hesitate to put a bullet in Eden's head should he figure out the truth.



I could not resist this one! The concept is so cool! It fell on the back-burner for a while, but I am so glad I was able to finallllyyyyy get into this one. 

The story is set in LA after a terrible event happened years previously. Dreams AND nightmares can come true LITERALLY. It's unpredictable and can be deadly. They call these manifestations "shades". We follow Eden who is a hunter of these shades and is tasked to get rid of them. There are many other hunters out there, but there is something different about our Eden and she cannot let the world know what it is. When a friend manifests a shade, he hires Eden to take care of it, because it is dangerous. So dangerous it puts Eden and everyone she loves at risk. She is forced to team up with Vaughn Taylor is who is anti-shade that even fellow hunters worry about him. 

Loved Eden. She was kickass! 

Loved Cece too. She was kickass. 

Aunt Vy the sword was a hoot and she was certainly a fun "character". 


Sean was fishy to me. 

Loved David. He was so sweet to Cece and her baby sister. 

Bella.....hate you. Hate you, hate you, hate you. I get you are a teenager who really went through some stuff. But you are manipulative and terrible. Someone needs to kick her ass. Maybe Eden will one day. But seriously Bella...get your head out of your arse. 

Besides for my loathing for that snot-nose kid, I really enjoyed this. I could NOT read this fast enough especially near the end. THAT TWIST! I guessed it, but I thought I was just being a negative nancy and cynical, but OMG. Danggg I need book 2 now!!!!!!


Okay - okay. Overall...this was awesome and fun. I highly recommend it. 5 stars. 






PS - Yes, I was bored so I had a little fun with doing HTML and formatting lol. Let me know if you like it! Maybe I'll force myself to not be lazy for future reviews/posts ;)




Tuesday, May 19

TMST: Giving 2nd Chances

TMSToption2Blue

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. 




  
if a book disappoints you by an author that you read for the first time, how likely are you to try that author again?

Honestly...it all depends on the situation and the author. I'm always open for 2nd chances and trying a book or author again. However, there are times I will put my foot down and say no. Those are rare examples and I can only think of one off the top of my head....I won't name names ;)

But yes - this is a hard question to give a solid answer. It all depends. 


Image may contain: plant
Practicing at watercolor ;) 





















Monday, May 18

Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Shazam! (2019)

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word - SHAZAM - this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the grown-up superhero Shazam.

Director: David F. Sandberg
Writers: Henry Gayden (screenplay by), Henry Gayden (story by) 
Stars: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel

 2h 12min | Action, Adventure, Comedy 

This started slow and I was not impressed, but then it got funny and honestly, best superhero movie in quite some time. Take that marvel movies who have been boring!

Levi was great too!




Recommend:
Yes, but beware of that slow beginning. It was a fun movie for the whole family.


Friday, May 15

Book Review: Miranda and the D-Day Caper by Shelly Frome


Miranda and the D-Day Caper
Author: Shelly Frome
Title: Miranda and the D-Day Caper
Genre: Mystery
Format: ebook
Pages: 338 
Published:  March 1st 2020 
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip’s unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run and, in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina. His predicament stemmed from intercepting code messages like “Countdown to D-Day,” playfully broadcasting the messages on his radio show over the nation-wide network, and subsequently forced to flee. At first, Miranda tried to limit her old childhood companion’s conundrum to the sudden abduction of Duffy the cat. But the forces that be were hell-bent on keeping Skip under wraps by any means after he stumbled close to the site of their master plan. Miranda’s subsequent efforts to decipher the conspiracy and somehow intervene placed both herself and her old playmate on a collision course with a white-nationalist perpetrator and the continuing machinations of the right-wing enterprise, with the lives of all those gathered for a diversity celebration in nearby Asheville and a crucial senatorial vote on homeland security hanging in the balance. 








I've been excited about this one! It's been a minute since I've had a really interesting mystery to read!


The story follows Miranda Davis who is a small-town realtor. Her whimsical cousin, Skip, has come to town unexpectedly. Well - not for a family visit, but it turns out Skip is on the run and needs Miranda's help. He intercepted a coded message and had no idea it was a code or what it is about. Now he is on the run and Miranda is his only hope. 


Ooooo Miranda. I feel so bad for her! If it was me I don't know what I would do if one of my cousins came knocking on my door and was on the run. Bless her heart for wanting to help! Maybe that is why I liked her so much. She is so sweet and smart and just so cool. I would want to be her best friend in real life! I adored her. 




Skip...well...he was Skip. 


Duffy the cat was cute. I wanted more time with Duffy!


This was a fun mystery and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I finished this in just a couple of sittings. I had to know what was going to happen next!!


The beginning took a little bit for me to get into though. Once Skip showed up and the mystery started getting interesting, then I was hooked. 


I wanted more from the ending too. I wonder if there will be more for Miranda!



Overall, this was a nice mystery to read while it has been rainy over here. Fun characters and an intriguing mystery! I for sure recommend. I'll give this 4 stars. 








Thursday, May 14

Audiobook Review: Dangerous Secrets by Abbie Zanders


Dangerous Secrets (Callaghan Brothers, #1)Author: Abbie Zanders 
Narrator: Aiden Snow
Title: Dangerous Secrets
(Callaghan Brothers #1)
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Set, Romantic Suspense
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 356 
Published: November 19th 2014
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)



Two secret pasts... one passionate love story.

Taryn Malone is stranded, broke, and desperate for help. But even if the sexy bartender she's been eyeing offers her a job for the evening... even if he seduces her with his impossibly intense blue eyes... even if every fiber of her heart tells her to stay with him... she can't.

Because Taryn Malone doesn't exist.

Jake Callaghan has been running the family's Irish pub for years now. When he sees Taryn standing out alone in the rain, he does what he's been trained to do as a SEAL - he rescues her. It has nothing to do with her full, firm curves, or her loose, golden-blonde hair, or the way she brushes against him that sends lightning bolts through his body. It's just the right thing to do.

Really.

But both Taryn and Jake are hiding secrets from each other. Dangerous secrets. And neither one of them knows just how dangerous it can be to fall in love...


Gotta love randomly stumbling on something that will match up with pretty much every reading challenge. Whoo! 

The story follows Taryn and Jake Callaghan. Taryn survived awful things and has been in hiding for 10 years until she runs into Jake. Jake runs his family's Irish pub, but he is hiding secrets too. He is ex-SEAL, a soldier for his family, and a womanizer. They fall in love and their secrets will put them in a lot of danger. 

Oh Taryn. You poor thing. When you find out what had happened to her and her whole family it really does make you sad. I even teared up when we got the full story. SOBS!

Ugh. Jake and his family. Don't get me wrong...I liked them...but TOO alpha. I like alpha more than I should, but even I have a limit. Meh. You can't lie to Taryn like that. NOT okay. And omg they do not respect women AT all. All the brothers wanted to bang Taryn. Good lord. She is badass and cool, but leave the poor woman alone! I'm glad Jake did step up and say MY WOMAN, so they all backed up and think of her as a sister now, but GOOD LORD. 

I also found it super, duper weird that Taryn UNKNOWINGLY was forced to hunker down with Jake's older brother. 1...ummmm Taryn is BOUND to find out you tricked her. 2....I began to feel like Jake was no longer the love interest. Taryn spent a good chunk getting to know the older brother. We even stopped having Jake's POV for a while and got the older brother's POV. Ummm. Okay. I had to double-check the summary of the book and yes - Jake is the male love interest. Mmmm  super weird. So I felt like I didn't BUY that Jake and Taryn were in love even when they were reunited. 

The suspense and thriller parts were good. I was on the edge of my seat and even with my issues - I had to know all the secrets and what really happened and what WOULD happen to our characters. I was so worried about Taryn! 

I liked the narrator. I feel like I have heard him previously (so bad at names). I do wish he had more variances for the male voices. They all sounded pretty close though. I did have to really pay attention when there was more than one male in the room. 

Overall...this was just okay. I had some issues with the plot and the TOO alpha-ness of the brothers. I'll give this 2 stars. Not sure if I'll continue the series tbh. We shall see. 








Challenge(s):

- #22 for Audiobook Challenge

- #5 on THE BAD BOYS OF ROMANCE challenge

BadBoysOfRomanceChallenge

- #15 for Romantic Suspense