2020-08-05 Jolie

WWW Wednesday: August 5th 2020

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Personal:

This past week has been a whirlwind. My kids schools (I have 3 in 3 different schools: High School, Middle School, and Elementary) needed an intent form filled out. Will they do virtual learning or do the blended learning plan? Miss R and Mr Z will be staying home (please pray for me and them!!). Miss B is determined to go to school. Since her HS is a Career/Magnet school, they only accepted 75 kids in for freshman year. Then they weed the kids out from there. The upper classes only have 15-20 kids in them. I am comfortable with her going to school and being able to social distance. Then they dropped a bomb on us with the dress code. We went from uniforms (polo shirts/khaki pants) to regular clothes. Which I wasn’t happy about. I had already bought Miss B and Mr Z their uniforms for the year. So, that money is down the drain….grrr.

Saturday, we headed up to the mountains to shop (they have outlets). We spent way more money than we should have but the kids have school clothes.

Sunday we spent taking our pool down. Somehow, it got a tear on the bottom and was leaking everywhere. So, down it went. I was a bit irritated by that but oh well. It lasted us 3 months (which was longer than our previous pools)

Monday and Tuesday were spent cleaning out closets and getting rid of clothes that were too small, plus all of my regular chores. I also have gotten back into the habit of watching Judge Judy on TV (when Miss R allows it. She has her shows she likes to watch). BK and myself have been watching Cursed and Stargate Atlantis after the kids go to bed. We want to start the Umbrella Academy but I told him to wait until after school begins and they are exhausted by 8pm. That way, we don’t have to pause it when Mr Z or Miss R comes in.

Today, Mr Z had his orthodontist consult (he goes every 4-5 months). Unfortunately, not so great news. He has to get two baby teeth pulled. His adult teeth are taking forever to come in and there is one adult tooth that the ortho is concerned about. On top of that, the ortho said that he might have two more teeth pulled if they aren’t out in 5 months. Grrrr. With Miss R having oral surgery and Mr Z getting teeth pulled, I am spending some quality time at the dentist/oral surgeon in the next month.

Miss R started her horseback riding lessons back up today. Her instructor was exposed to COVID and cancelled all lessons until her results came back. Fortunately, they came back negative and seeing that she had spent 14 days in self quarantine, I figured it was safe enough for Miss R to start up again. She didn’t get to trot (her favorite thing). Instead, she was working on turning the horse (who was being a jerk….lol).

What I am currently reading:

Based on the life of a Jewish prophet, “Woman of Flames” is a sweeping epic of how faith, lust, and revenge can drive nations into war. As a child, Deborah must convince those around her that her visions are a gift from the Hebrew God, whom she is called to serve.

As she matures, Deborah battles the prejudices of her people to achieve the position God has ordained, that of a spiritual leader for Israel. Growing in power and confidence, Deborah accepts God’s promise to use her to free her people from their oppressors. One man stands in her way—Sisera, general of the Canaanite army.

With nine hundred chariots, thousands of soldiers, and the help of a sadistic priest, Sisera relentlessly pursues his one objective-total annihilation of the Israelites. After he captures Deborah, his life is altered in ways he never dreamed possible. Attracted to her power and consumed by her beauty, Sisera’s single obsession becomes to possess Deborah, body and soul.

Deborah fights against the temptations of her enemy, and her own fears, to ignite a fire of rebellion that could set her people free.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BN | AbeBooks | Alibris

I recently finished reading:

Sophie Morrigan inherited many magical gifts from her death goddess mother. Most of them inflict torture, except the most beautiful. That one kills.

As an agent for the Faerie Affairs Bureau, Sophie loves retrieving dangerous magical objects. The job lets her indulge her covetous nature, and most importantly, it pays the bills. But when a routine job goes south, she finds herself struggling to keep her deadly magic in check while fleeing the wrath of an enraged dragon.

In a desperate search for answers, Sophie stumbles across Owen, a fae nightclub owner who’s as sexy as he is irritating, but just happens to hold the key to her problems.

Sophie wants nothing more than to get her magic under control and return to her normal life, but first she’ll have to face off with all the dangers Faerie can throw at her. Can she fight her way back home? Or will both she and Owen fall prey to a crazed death cult?

Bound by Faerie features a gutsy, kick butt heroine, a broody and dangerous hero, and a ton of magical mayhem.

Purchase Links: Amazon | BN | AbeBooks | Alibris

They say money can’t buy love. Fortunately, it can buy everything else.

A week ago, I didn’t know who Nathan Turner was. That’s because he doesn’t own deals; he makes them instead. He’s the man behind the curtain — more powerful even than the man in front of it.

He’s a multi-billion-dollar networker. A connector, in his own words.

Nathan’s job is to pull strings. And when I butted my way into his office, he told me he planned to pull my strings, too.

I thought I could make my own deal with Nathan, but now I’m in over my head.

What he’s connecting now isn’t a takeover or a buyout.

I think he’s forming a secret society instead: a Syndicate of billionaires who want to pool their assets into a trillion-dollar pool, then rule the world.

I’m not up to this. I’m just an 18-year-old girl.

But there’s no way Nathan will let me out now.

The Connector is the first book in the Trillionaire Boys’ Club series by Aubrey Parker. Each book tells the story of another of the Club’s powerful members … and you’re going to want to collect them all.

Purchase Links: Amazon | AbeBooks | Alibris

What books I think I’ll read next:

A Girl With Skill

Outlaws have gunned down Randy Carter’s pa to get revenge from his long past Texas Ranger days leaving the sixteen-year-old girl not only wounded, but on her own. The Anthony brothers didn’t leave unscathed though. Fearful they’ll come back and seek revenge on her too, Randy heads West with her temperamental horse Al, her gun Pearl, and the ashes of her family as her only companions.

A Horse Thief With Heart

All Trevor wants is a decent horse. When he sees the best looking horse he’s ever laid eyes on, he tries to steal it. He finds himself in an awful predicament when he discovers he wasn’t fighting a boy, but a very sick girl. He decides to save her life instead and is smitten.

The Real Journey Begins

Before the pair make it out of the New Mexico Territory, they run into an old family friend who knows Randy is a great shot, a skilled sharpshooter of the likes of Annie Oakley. As he exploits her amazing skill, her name quickly rises to fame across the West. Because no one knows the little sharpshooter’s pa is dead, not only are the Anthony brothers after her, but all the outlaws that had it out for her pa are out to get her too.

Randy didn’t plan becoming legendary as Miranda Carter or falling in love. With a growing mob of outlaws on their tail that are dead set on revenge, how much will she sacrifice to find the peace she was looking for?

Purchase Links: Amazon | AbeBooks | Alibris

Three Abductions and an Earl: A Regency Romance Novel (Parvenues & Paramours Book 1) by [Tessa Candle]

London-hating dreamer, Lydia Norwood, has failed spectacularly as a débutante. Now an encoretante whose family has lost a fortune, Lydia discovers that the beau monde is hard on a nouveau riche social climber, particularly one who is no longer riche and only wants to climb trees. Lydia must stave off the effrontery of rakes and conniving competitors long enough to make a good match, or else incur society’s scorn by earning her own money. Falling for the unattainable Lord Aldley is a distraction she cannot afford. But they share such an enchanted history, how can her heart resist?

The tragically virtuous Earl of Aldley is tired of ambitious families hurling debutantes at his head, but cannot hide in France forever. He returns to London to seek out the mysterious tree-climbing girl who once saved him from a scheming chit, and finds more than he bargained for. Abductions, seductions, trickery and injury all endanger Lydia, but Lord Aldley’s heart is imperiled beyond rescue. He has only just found her; will he lose her forever to his enemy, his best friend, or his own dangerous mistake?

Three Abductions and an Earl is a full length novel and the first book in Tessa Candle’s Parvenues and Paramours series.

Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Walmart eBooks

Screams of Steel (The Cacophony Blade Book 1) by [Mike Stagg]

A magic sword with a terrible price unleashes chaos in an honorable man’s life.

Torant has spent his life as a Stone Warden upholding the law. After being warned by a legendary sorceress, Torant must take down a mad bandit lord who wields a fearsome greatsword. When the sword falls into Torant’s hands, he learns it’s secret – the sword gives him the strength of the last person it killed at the cost of hearing that person’s soul. Now magically bound to the sword, Torant finds himself trying to thwart a plot against him while an angry soul whispers and screams in a voice that only he can hear. As his honorable life unravels, Torant fights to keep his oath, his sanity, and his life.

Screams of Steel is a Cacophony Blade Novel, the first in a series of stand-alone, sword and sorcery adventures that follow Torant, his friend Laden, and the Cacophony Blade. Dive into a world of fast-paced tales of magic, steel, and monsters in the tradition of Leiber and Moorcock.

Purchase Links: Amazon

No Prince Charming (Secrets of Stone Series Book 1) by [Angel Payne, Victoria Blue]

Once upon a time, there was a girl who dressed up and went to a big party at the palace. When she was there, she met a prince. They danced and fell in love…

Damn good line. Too bad I don’t believe a word of it anymore.

My name is Claire Montgomery, and I’m not a princess. I’m a fighter. I worked hard to earn my place on the emergency image repair team for one of the biggest public relations companies in the country. We’ve been called to the renowned Chicago headquarters of Stone Global Corporation, where it’s our job to clean up a heap of the Stone family’s filthiest laundry. Our success will be the biggest victory of my career. I’m on my game. I’m ready.

Why doesn’t ready include a contingency plan for Killian Stone?

Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Audible | Walmart eBooks

Brooke

Nothing about my life has been easy, but that hasn’t stopped me from living it. So when someone sets out to steal that life from me, they better come heavily armed and with an army close behind, because nothing short of nuclear warfare is going to stop me from protecting what’s mine.

When my mom gets taken, I set out to find her and missing pieces of a puzzle I didn’t even know existed start to fall into place.

I might end up paying the price for someone else’s sins, but there’s no turning back now. I’m far too invested in this now – in finding my mom, in untangling the web of lies surrounding me, and more than anything else, I’m far too invested in the sexy, secretive and seriously annoying man helping me.

Grant

As an ex-SEAL that’s seen and endured horrors the majority of civilians think only exist in Hollywood, I really thought there wasn’t much that could surprise me anymore.

Then Jack, my boss and closest thing I have to a dad, goes missing.

He goes missing on the same day a pint-sized little spitfire that makes waterboarding sound relaxing compared to her relentless persistence shows up. She shows up someplace she doesn’t belong and claims to be looking for her mom, who was abducted the same day Jack went missing.

Her arrival starts looking less and less like a coincidence and more like karma looking to punish me for decades of sins I didn’t even know I’d committed.

She fights me at every turn. Challenges me in the worst ways. And turns me on like no woman has before.

Not that I have any plans of hooking up with the nuisance who lives to make my life difficult. I’d have to be a giant dumbass to get into bed with her before knowing if she’s friend or foe.

Apparently I’m a giant dumbass.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Walmart eBooks

2020-08-04 Jolie

Beautifully Wounded (The Beaumont Brothers: Book 1) by Susan Griscom

Publisher: Amber Glow Books

Date of publication: April 9th, 2014

Genre: Romance

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Audible

Series: The Beaumont Brothers

Beautifully Wounded—Book 1 (Previously published under The Fawn)

Beautifully Used—Book 2

Beautifully Undone—Book 3

Format read in: eBook

Trigger Warning: Spousal Abuse and Rape

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sometimes the only way to salvation… is to take a leap of faith.

What would you do if you had no place to go and no one you could trust?

“The lyrics are about you, Lena,” he confessed, and I watched his mouth as the tip of his tongue moistened his lips before he leaned his head down. Then those beautiful lips were on mine, soft, tender at first, then his tongue glided over my lips, breaking the seal. My pulse throbbed and quickened as his tongue swirled around mine. Taking and controlling, and… and I wanted this, needed his touch. I went limp in his embrace, and the heat rose under my skin, my body vibrated against his strong powerful one. Was this really happening?”

Jackson Beaumont prides himself on being a nature-loving, guitar-strumming, carefree sort of guy. When the mysterious Lena Benton walks into his bar looking scared and defeated, it’s not something he can ignore. He’s immediately consumed by concern for her and driven by his desire to help. She’s just so beautiful. So wounded.

After being shuffled from one foster home to another growing up, Lena Benton dreamt of finding her prince charming. When the captivating Troy Harington sweeps her off her feet shortly after high school graduation, she’s certain she’s found her happiness. Unfortunately, Troy’s true colors surface shortly after their marriage and things turn ugly. Lena only has one choice. She has to leave him. She has to run…

Lena’s escape has brought her to Jackson, and he clearly wants to be there for her, but can she trust anyone again after what she’s gone through? And will Jackson be able to help her heal without losing his heart?

18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

First Line:

He opened the front door.
Beautifully Wounded by Susan Griscom

First Impressions:

I am going to start with the trigger warning to start this review. Usually, I will touch upon TW’s at the end of the book. But, because of how this book begins, I feel that it is appropriate to put it at the beginning.

I am not going to mince words. Beautifully Wounded starts with Lena being raped and beaten by her husband when the rape fails (because he loses his erection halfway through the rape). I won’t lie, it is very graphic. But, it set the pace and the mood for the first half of the book.

Lena’s flight from Troy was heartbreaking but empowering. I felt her terror and urgency as she fled. She was terrified that he would find her. She was terrified of what he would do. She did everything to throw him off her trail. She cut up credit cards, abandoned her car, used a fake ID that her best guy friend gave her, used cash to buy a new car, and drove as far as she could with her injuries. It was breathtaking and made my heart pound. I was on the edge of my seat that first couple of chapters because of the unknown.

Then Jackson was introduced. Not a lot was said about him except that he owned a local bar with his brother, Brodie. That was fine with me because all of my attention was on Lena and her flight from Troy. When Lena walked into the bar, her appearance caught Jackson (and eventually Brodie’s) attention. Jackson, who had a soft heart of injured animals and people, took one look at her and decided that she needed his help. He brought in an ex-Army medic/current firefighter to look at her. That is when the extent of her injuries was shown. Broken ribs, a concussion, bruises everywhere, and one eye was swollen completely shut. Even Doc (the firefighter) was horrified. I was fighting back the tears during that scene. I made these weird snuffly noises that my husband took notice of and asked if I needed a tissue.

I liked that Lena was learning to trust Jackson. What I loved was her instant connection to Rufus (his hound). She spilled her secret to him, unaware that Jackson was listening outside her door. It was a heartwarming scene that again made me fight back the tears. That poor girl.

By the middle of the book, though, Jackson did start to creep me out. He began to become obsessed with Lena. I understand wanting to help. He helped so much and in so many ways. He set it up so Lena could file for divorce without disclosing her location. He helped file for a restraining order (including taking her pictures). He got her clothing and someone to dye her hair. He. Was. Always. There. When he started falling for her, I was like, “Oh no honey, please. Wait until she’s healed.” But he didn’t.

Mid-Book Impressions:

The middle of Beautifully Wounded focused on Lena’s healing process and her emerging relationship with Jackson. I liked seeing her regain her self confidence and self-worth. The little tidbits of her life with Troy left me shaking my head. What made me shake my head, even more, was that she witnessed her mother being abused and then killed by her abuser while she was growing up. Lena thought she knew what she was looking out for, but instead, she got blindsided. I truly felt awful for her.

I liked seeing her and Jackson connect on a deeper level. Seeing her fall for Jackson was sweet, but at the same time, I felt that she didn’t need to fall into another relationship. But, thankfully, Jackson took it super slow and allowed Lena to call the shots.

Their relationship did heat up during this part of the book. But nothing happened until after Lena received her divorce papers.

Jackson was still acting creepy. He had this whole “I’ll let her come to me” vibe, but he moved her into his and Brodie’s house and spent all of his time with Lena. And, again, I didn’t blame Brodie for blowing up at Jackson. I did feel bad that Lena had to overhear it, though. Brodie did apologize, and Lena did tell Brodie that she was sorry, even though it was Jackson’s fault.

There was an undercurrent of anticipation regarding Troy. And it wasn’t the right kind. I kept wondering when he would turn up. I didn’t blame Lena for wanting to run. She was terrified that Troy would hunt her down and kill her.

End of Book Impressions:

The last half of Beautifully Wounded was insane. So much went on in a few short chapters. I couldn’t read it fast enough.

Jackson and Lena’s relationship went to the next step, which wasn’t awful in the grand scheme of things. In book time, two months had gone by, and they spent everyday together. So, when they had sex, I wasn’t grossed out. I was still a little skeeved by Jackson, but even that went away. You could tell that he cherished Lena.

Lena’s worse nightmares were realized when one of her best friends (pre-Troy) came to the bar and let her know that Troy knew where she was. Then it was a waiting game as to when he would show up.

And yes, Troy did show up. My heart was pounding for Lena during those scenes because of what he was saying to her, where he was taking her and what he would do to her (implied). I will say that Rufus was the real MVP during this part of the book. That nice, sweet dog lost his SHIT when Lena was taken. And I ugly cried when Jackson caught up to Lena and Troy, and he saw what happened to Rufus.

Of course, there was a confrontation between Jackson and Troy. In my mind, I called it the battle between Good and Evil (because it was). There was a point where I was concerned for Jackson and a little WTF. Jackson was an ex-cop. He should have known how to take someone down. Yet, he didn’t, and it frustrated me. It was who took Troy down that took me by surprise. It also took Brodie by surprise (he was way too late).

The epilogue was fantastic. I liked seeing where Lena and Jackson were a year later. Oh, and Rufus’s fate was disclosed!! I also loved the lead into Brodie/Gabby’s story.

My Overall Thoughts on Beautifully Wounded:

I enjoyed reading Beautifully Wounded. It had a fast plotline with characters that will stay with you after the book is finished. I will warn that there are parts of the book that are hard to swallow. Some parts are unrealistic. But, it didn’t affect me. Instead, it made the book more enjoyable to read.

I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book. There is graphic violence. There is a rape scene at the beginning of the book that is graphic. There is sex, but that is not graphic.

2020-08-04 Jolie

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colours in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:

She assigns each Tuesday a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

I was excited for this weeks TTT!!! I love colourful things (and people!!).

Hope you enjoy.

Blackbird by Slade Karver
Starting Over at Blueberry Creek by Annie Rains (Review)
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi (Review)
The Red Death by Birgitte Margen (Review)
Red Dawn Rising by Margaret Watson (Review)
An Indigo Wind by Margaret Watson (Review)
White Stag by Kara Barbieri (Review)
Black Diamond Fall by Joseph Olshan (Review)
Golden Skies by Juan Zapata (Review)

2020-08-03 Jolie

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and er… add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn here at The Book Date.

What I Am Reading Now:

Bait.
That’s all she is.
Nothing more.
Nothing else.

And that’s why she’s wanted,
And in danger.

Lauren Owens is so much more.
She’s everything.
Falling for her was never my intention.
But, I couldn’t resist,
Her charm,
Her vulnerability,
Her spirit and drive,
And her unimaginable innocence.

And that’s exactly why my father wants her,
For his own gain.
Now, it’s up to me to take him down,
Stop him once and for all,
Protecting her every step of the way.

Saving her would mean only one thing:
I won’t get to love her.

Beautifully Wounded (The Beaumont Brothers, #1)

Sometimes the only way to salvation… is to take a leap of faith.

What would you do if you had no place to go and no one you could trust?

18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

Sophie Morrigan inherited many magical gifts from her death goddess mother. Most of them inflict torture, except the most beautiful. That one kills.

In a desperate search for answers, Sophie stumbles across Owen, a fae nightclub owner who’s as sexy as he is irritating, but just happens to hold the key to her problems.

The Connector (Trillionaire Boys' Club, #1)

They say money can’t buy love. Fortunately, it can buy everything else.

He’s a multi-billion-dollar networker. A connector, in his own words.

Nathan’s job is to pull strings. And when I butted my way into his office, he told me he planned to pull my strings, too.

I thought I could make my own deal with Nathan, but now I’m in over my head.

What he’s connecting now isn’t a takeover or a buyout.

I think he’s forming a secret society instead: a Syndicate of billionaires who want to pool their assets into a trillion-dollar pool, then rule the world.

I’m not up to this. I’m just an 18-year-old girl.

But there’s no way Nathan will let me out now.

2020-08-02 Jolie

#SixforSundays: Wintery Colours

#SixforSundays is a meme hosted by A Little But A Lot. Every month there is a theme and that is broken down on Sundays into categories.

August’s theme is Let’s Celebrate Colors. Broken down by date, the categories are:

2nd: Wintery Colours

9th: Spring Colours

16th: Summer Colours

23rd: Autumnal Colours

30th: Your Favorite Colour

Today’s prompt is:

Wintery Colours:

Between Mountain and Sea: Paradisi Chronicles (Caelestis Series #1)

Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas (River Ranch, #3)

Agent Jack: The True Story of MI5's Secret Nazi Hunter

Snowfall on Cedar Trail (Sweetwater Springs #3)

2020-08-01 Jolie

Monthly Wrap Up: July 2020

Personal:

July was a good month. Boring but good. Here’s some of the highlights:

We set off fireworks on the 4th. It wasn’t anything spectacular but enough for the kids to go crazy for. We also had sparklers, which were a bigger hit than the fireworks.
We got our money’s worth out of our pool. Unfortunately, it got a hole (in the bottom) and we had to drain it. And, with our luck, it was in the middle of a 20 day heatwave.
Miss R started doing very well in her horseback riding lessons. According to her instructor and the owner of the barn, she has great form and she catches on fast. She was trotting as of her last lesson!! Unfortunately, we had to put the lessons on hold because her instructor was exposed to COVID at a horseshow. As soon as she is done with quarantine (and gets her results back), we’ll be starting them back up again.
We found out what was going on with school. 4 weeks of virtual learning followed by either a blended learning plan (and high school is different than middle/elementary) or virtual learning. Miss B and Mr Z are doing the blended plan and Miss R will be doing virtual.
On the same subject, the school changed the dress code for grades 6-12. Before, the kids had to wear a uniform. Now, its regular clothing. That is the only thing I wasn’t happy about. Why? Because I had already bought the darn uniforms.

Reading:

I was pretty psyched to get back into blogging after my hiatus. I am still not accepting books for review (and probably won’t until my kids go back to school in person). But I am enjoying reviewing books at my own pace.

Books I Read in July:

A Letter From America by Geraldine O’Neill

Simmer: An Inferno World Novella by Measha Stone (Warning: X Rated and extremely taboo subject matter. 18+ only)

The Passage by Irina Shapiro

A Noble Affair by Jennie Goutet

Fatal Desires by Theresa Hissong

Pretty Reckless by Jane Anthony

Blackbird by Slade Karver

Shallow Graves by Patrick Logan

The Draig’s Woman by Lisa Dawn Wadler

Control Freakz by Michael Evans

The Grid 1: Fall of Justice by Paul Teague

What Haunts Me by Margaret A. Millmore

Beware the Ranger by Debra Holt

Qualify by Vera Nazarian

Compete by Vera Nazarian

Win by Vera Nazarian

Survive by Vera Nazarian

Crossroads by Scott Hungerford

Arrival of the Traveler by A.L. Tyler

Of Lords and Commoners by Lynne Clark

Smolder by Desiree Douglas

From This Moment On by Debra Clopton

Free Falling by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

The Cinderella Arrangement by Vanessa Waltz

True Light by G. Bailey

Alice Isn’t Well by Amy Cross

Shameless by M. Malone and Nana Malone

One Ride by Chelsea Camaron

Nobody Gets the Girl by James Maxey

The Midwest Witch by Flint Maxwell and Martha Carr

Reviews I did this month

A Letter From America

A Noble Affair

Control Freakz

The Grid 1: Fall of Justice

Of Lords and Commoners

Weekly Posts

WWW Wednesday: July 1st

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By

WWW Wednesday: July 8th

WWW Wednesday: July 15th 2020

Its Monday! What Are You Reading?

WWW Wednesday: July 22nd

Weekly Wrap Up: July 19th through July 25th 2020

Its Monday! What Are You Reading?

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Most Recently added books to my TBR pile

WWW Wednesday: July 29th

2020-07-29 Jolie

WWW Wednesday: July 29th 20202

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I am currently reading:

At his kingdom’s darkest hour, the lost heir returns. A pity he can’t remember who he is …

To save his people and the forbidden magic they’re sworn to defend, Wardin Rath surrenders his birthright and his past. For seven years he’s held at the court of his deadliest enemy, oblivious to all he’s lost. Until one day, the spell that stole his memories begins to crack.

On the heels of a harrowing escape, Wardin’s quest for answers leads him to the last magistery, where he studied magic as a boy. But he’ll find no safe haven there—or anywhere. Plagued by threats and suspicion, hunted relentlessly by the king who will stop at nothing to crush him, Wardin is soon battling for his life, his home, and the survival of magic itself.

And this time, the enemy will take no prisoners.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Audible | Walmart eBook

I recently finished reading:

One Ride: Hellions Motorcycle Club (The Hellions Ride Series Book 1) by [Chelsea Camaron]

Their forbidden attraction couldn’t be denied.

Can one ride turn lust into love?

Delilah “Doll” Reklinger has never been in danger before. As the only child of Roundman, Haywood’s Hellions motorcycle club president, she has always been protected.

When a threat to Roundman’s club gets too close to his precious doll, he does the only thing he can think of—sends her away until his enemy is in the ground.

Talon “Tripp” Crews lives his life from one ride to the next. As the Catawba Hellions motorcycle club chapter president, he doesn’t hesitate to answer Roundman’s call for help.

One ride across the country sounds simple enough.

One ride tempted by a forbidden desire is far from easy.

One ride changes everything for everyone.

Nobody Gets the Girl: A Superhero Novel (WHOOSH! BAM! POW! Book 1) by [James Maxey]

Richard Rogers was an ordinary man until the super-genius Dr. Nicolas Knowbokov built his time machine. On the machine’s maiden voyage, Dr. Knowbokov accidentally changes history so that Richard is never born. Now trapped in a world that has no memory of him, Richard is an invisible, intangible ghost to everyone but Dr. Knowbokov and the scientist’s two superheroine daughters, Rail Blade and the Thrill.

Assigned the codename Nobody, Richard becomes the world’s ultimate spy, invisibly battling the super-powered terrorist army run by the mysterious mastermind Rex Monday. The fate of the free world is at stake as the superhuman battles escalate, wiping entire cities from the map, threatening the survival of all mankind.

Who can save us from the looming apocalypse? Nobody!

What books I think I’ll read next:

The Midwest Witch: The Revelations of Oriceran (Midwest Magic Chronicles Book 1) by [Flint Maxwell, Martha Carr, Michael Anderle]

Welcome to the Midwest, America’s Heartland, home to a hidden community of witches and wizards.

When Maria Apple receives a strange music box for her nineteenth birthday, everything changes.

She begins to showcase odd magical abilities, glowing blue, seeing ghosts, and talking to creatures that shouldn’t be able to talk, all while trying to juggle the task of being a typical teenaged girl.

Now, not only does Maria learn she is a witch, but her grandfather Ignatius reveals he was once a famous warrior from a planet named Oriceran.

Throw in a world in between the two worlds, a ghost bringing Maria an ominous warning, a race of giant spiders determined to claim the music box for their own, and Maria Apple realizes she’ll never be a typical teenaged girl again.

After all, it’s just another day in the Midwest, where magic is real and the stakes never stop rising.

Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran.

A magical world tied to Earth, and nothing like it.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

They say a soul is the immaterial essence, the animating principle, the actuating cause of an individual life.

But what if you had to share yours with the one person you hated the most?

The soul mate principle states that for every one soul there is another that will recognize its match, hence creating the perfect union.

But what if you had two soul mates, which would you choose?

What if your choices had eternal ramification?

Deceived, the debut novel in the Soul Keeper Series, is a modern day love story about the implications of having more than one soul mate, and having to choose between the two of them. The decisions of the gods has left the next generation, their heirs, torn between fate and reality, and the balance of the future hangs in anticipation of what’s to come.

Purchase Links: Amazon | AbeBooks | Alibris | Audible

Rush: The Riptide Series Book #1 by [Brooke Page]

Bait.
That’s all she is.
Nothing more.
Nothing else.

And that’s why she’s wanted,
And in danger.

Lauren Owens is so much more.
She’s everything.
Falling for her was never my intention.
But, I couldn’t resist,
Her charm,
Her vulnerability,
Her spirit and drive,
And her unimaginable innocence.

And that’s exactly why my father wants her,
For his own gain.
Now, it’s up to me to take him down,
Stop him once and for all,
Protecting her every step of the way.

Saving her would mean only one thing:
I won’t get to love her.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Sometimes the only way to salvation… is to take a leap of faith.

What would you do if you had no place to go and no one you could trust?

“The lyrics are about you, Lena,” he confessed, and I watched his mouth as the tip of his tongue moistened his lips before he leaned his head down. Then those beautiful lips were on mine, soft, tender at first, then his tongue glided over my lips, breaking the seal. My pulse throbbed and quickened as his tongue swirled around mine. Taking and controlling, and… and I wanted this, needed his touch. I went limp in his embrace, and the heat rose under my skin, my body vibrated against his strong powerful one. Was this really happening?”

Jackson Beaumont prides himself on being a nature-loving, guitar-strumming, carefree sort of guy. When the mysterious Lena Benton walks into his bar looking scared and defeated, it’s not something he can ignore. He’s immediately consumed by concern for her and driven by his desire to help. She’s just so beautiful. So wounded.

After being shuffled from one foster home to another growing up, Lena Benton dreamt of finding her prince charming. When the captivating Troy Harington sweeps her off her feet shortly after high school graduation, she’s certain she’s found her happiness. Unfortunately, Troy’s true colors surface shortly after their marriage and things turn ugly. Lena only has one choice. She has to leave him. She has to run…

Lena’s escape has brought her to Jackson, and he clearly wants to be there for her, but can she trust anyone again after what she’s gone through? And will Jackson be able to help her heal without losing his heart?

18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible

Sophie Morrigan inherited many magical gifts from her death goddess mother. Most of them inflict torture, except the most beautiful. That one kills.

In a desperate search for answers, Sophie stumbles across Owen, a fae nightclub owner who’s as sexy as he is irritating, but just happens to hold the key to her problems.

Purchase Links: Amazon |Barnes and Noble | AbeBooks | Alibris

They say money can’t buy love. Fortunately, it can buy everything else.

He’s a multi-billion-dollar networker. A connector, in his own words.

Nathan’s job is to pull strings. And when I butted my way into his office, he told me he planned to pull my strings, too.

I thought I could make my own deal with Nathan, but now I’m in over my head.

What he’s connecting now isn’t a takeover or a buyout.

I think he’s forming a secret society instead: a Syndicate of billionaires who want to pool their assets into a trillion-dollar pool, then rule the world.

I’m not up to this. I’m just an 18-year-old girl.

But there’s no way Nathan will let me out now.

Purchase Links: Amazon | AbeBooks | Alibris

2020-07-28 Jolie

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 most recently added books to my TBR pile (Freebie: July 28th, 2020)

How it works:

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday was a freebie and I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted to do. After reading a few posts, I decided to share the last 10 books I added to my TBR list.

Hope you enjoy

Until I Find You by Rea Frey
Books 2-4 of The Shameless Series by M. Malone
Books 2 and 3 of From the Stars Series by G. Bailey
My One True Cowboy by Soraya M. Lane
Shadow City by Francesca Flores
Books 2, 3 and 6 of the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong
Books 5 and 6 of The Great Devil War by Kenneth B. Andersen
Books 1 and 3 of the Something Dark and Holy series by Emily A. Duncan
Books 2 and 3 of the Moonlight and Murder series by Reily Garrett
Secret Nights with a Cowboy by Caitlin Crews

2020-07-27 Jolie

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading: July 28th, 2020

What I Read this past week:

Portraits have been removed from the walls, and areas of the house are off limits. Some rooms even seem to have been walled off completely. No one will talk to her.

It’s been a difficult year for Abilene Collins. Since her father’s death, her whirlwind life of adventure and travel has come to an end.

Now, she’s living with her mysterious uncle. He’s a man with secrets, living almost alone in a ridiculously large mansion that he doesn’t own. He doesn’t like questions, and when Lena starts asking about his job, it isn’t hard to tell that he’s keeping some family secrets from her.

The young and ambitious groundskeeper has become her only friend, and one day he tells her that she was stolen from her mother years before. Lena’s family are all telepathic, and that isn’t all…they’re a religious pillar of the Silenti society. Her grandfather has used his standing to gain political power, decimating his rivals along with anyone who gets in his way.

Suddenly thrust into a life of political plots and religious fanatics, Lena finds herself struggling to navigate her own life. Some people aren’t fond of the Darays, and the family has nearly died out through assassination.

It appears Lena is the latest target.

Of Lords and Commoners (Lords and Commoners #1)

Humans Have Always Had to Fight Plagues …

The only future Vallachia could have imagined, as well as her wonderfully simple life disappears when she finds herself in a struggle to figure out the rules of a strange new world.

She longs for her old life and the one she truly loves remains out of reach, as she embarks on an inconceivable journey.

Vallachia quickly finds herself on the wrong side of a brewing battle for vampire domination. Not knowing who to trust could have fatal consequences … for millions of people.

Hurt by her failed marriage and dashed dreams, Cali Sinclair returns home to Windswept Bay with her heart wary and closed to the dreams of true love she so desperately wanted. Determined to never again risk her heart, she throws herself into running the family’s small boutique resort on the Florida coast, a place so full of romance that it’s a reminder every day of what she’ll never have. But when renowned artist Grant Ellington shows up to paint a mural on the wall of the resort, she’s swept away by her response to the artist. Suddenly, every time he looks at her, Cali finds it harder than she ever thought possible to keep her heart protected.

Grant Ellington loves his ranch, his horses, and his life as a sought-after artist. But after walking away from a plane crash that killed his best friend and the young pilot, he’s still struggling with survivor’s guilt as he heads to Windswept Bay. Painting a sea life mural at the resort started out as a favor to his neighbor, but one meeting with the beautiful Cali and he feels alive again—and determined to spend time on the moonlit beaches with her in his arms…

But, like him, Cali has her own emotional scars—can they learn to trust the love that sparks between them and move forward from this moment on?

Scarlett Barrington left the small town of Greenshade behind forever, along with unspeakable emotional wounds. She is preparing to begin her dream job when she’s called home to help her estranged mother, a hoarder, clean out her mess or risk losing her house.

Reluctantly returning home, nothing prepares her for the shock of coming face to face with her first love. Brody Finch may have been Greenshade’s glorious football legend, but he is also the man who deserted her a decade ago, when she needed him the most.

As Scarlett attempts to handle her combative mother, she’s forced to come to terms with airing her family’s dirty laundry on the reality TV show, Packrats. Community members with agendas of their own rally to help, harm, or just plain gawk.

Unexpectedly, the cold case murder of her sister comes back into focus, and Scarlett finds her own life in danger as she struggles to discover the truth about what happened so long ago. In the midst of this chaos, a serial arsonist brings the small town to its knees.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Can Scarlett and Finch find the love they once shared and lost? And if they do, will she live through the process?

When David and Sarah Woodson take a much-needed vacation with their ten-year old son, John, their intention is to find a relaxing, remote spot to take a break from the artificial stimulation of their busy world back in Jacksonville, Florida. What happens within hours of settling in to their rural, rustic little cottage in a far-flung spot on the coast of Ireland is an international incident that leaves the family stranded and dependent on themselves for their survival. Facing starvation, as well as looters and opportunists, they learn the hard way the important things in life. Can a family skilled only in modern day suburbia and corporate workplaces learn to survive when the world is flung back a hundred years? When there is no internet, no telephones, no electricity and no cars? And when every person near them is desperate to survive at any cost?

Fake Cinderella. Real Romance.
Luke Pardini is many things: playboy, tabloid fodder, ridiculously attractive billionaire. He’s the Prince Charming every woman dreams of.

And he wants me to be his fake girlfriend.

I don’t want a relationship, even a make-believe one, but I do need the money. Writing isn’t paying the bills, and I hardly have time for a second job, let alone a romance. But he’s offering me a dream-come true.

I’ll get the fancy dresses, the formal dinners, the full Luke Pardini experience. I get to be Cinderella for a few weeks, then I’ll trade in the shoes. No problem, right?

Except I don’t have to pretend when he touches me, but he’s made it clear I only get to play his girlfriend for a few weeks. When midnight strikes, our Cinderella Arrangement is over.

He promised the arrangement would be simple.

I promised I wouldn’t fall in love.

“There are lots of demons in the sky above London. The problem is, this one came crashing down to earth.”

Ten years ago, Alice Warner was attacked and disfigured by an attacker in her own home. She remembers nothing of the attack, and she has been in a psychiatric hospital ever since. When she’s finally released, however, she starts working as a security guard at an abandoned shopping mall. And that’s when she starts to realize that something is haunting her, keeping just one step out of sight at all times… Meanwhile, seventy years earlier, a little girl named Wendy is left orphaned after a World War 2 fighter plane crashes onto her house. Taken to a monastery, Wendy is quickly singled out by the nuns for special attention. They say she has been possessed by a demon, and that there’s only one way to save her soul. Fortunately for Wendy, however, there’s someone else who seems to know far more about the situation. What is the shocking connection between Alice and Wendy, reaching out across the years? Does a demon really lurk in the girl’s soul? And who is Hannah, the mysterious figure who tries to help Wendy, and who seventy years later begins to make her influence felt in Alice’s life too?

Alice Isn’t Well is the first book in the Death Herself series, about a dark figure who arrives in the night, promising to help deal with the forces of evil whenever they appear.

I am the thing that goes bump in the night. I am a liar, a protector…a killer… I am Noah Blake.

There is only one light in my darkness, one bright ray in the storm of my life. Lucia DeMarco. And I’ll do anything for her. Anything except show her who I really am…an assassin. Well, former assassin. I don’t really do that anymore…usually.

It would be easier if she didn’t call me names. Asshole, control freak … shameless. It would also be easier if she didn’t look at me with those trusting gray eyes. If I didn’t dream about the perfect curve of her — never mind all that. The point is she’s digging into my world, my secrets, and it’s going to get her killed.

But first, we have another more immediate concern. Lucia is going on a date—With someone else…

And I’m not allowed to kill this one.

Noah’s Cliffhanger Warning:
Ladies, I know you want to see the full package. But I have to tease you first. So I’m just going to open a few buttons so you can take a peek. And while you’re at it, hold onto your panties because I like it dirty. (The Shameless series unfolds over the course of three books)

What I am reading now:

Their forbidden attraction couldn’t be denied.

Can one ride turn lust into love?

Delilah “Doll” Reklinger has never been in danger before. As the only child of Roundman, Haywood’s Hellions motorcycle club president, she has always been protected.

When a threat to Roundman’s club gets too close to his precious doll, he does the only thing he can think of—sends her away until his enemy is in the ground.

Talon “Tripp” Crews lives his life from one ride to the next. As the Catawba Hellions motorcycle club chapter president, he doesn’t hesitate to answer Roundman’s call for help.

One ride across the country sounds simple enough.

One ride tempted by a forbidden desire is far from easy.

One ride changes everything for everyone.

What Am I Reading Next?