Grim Reaper Week: Seventh Grave And No Body by Darynda Jones - An Excerpt!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

To continue with our celebration of the Charley Davidson series and Grim Reaper Week we're sharing two excerpts today, one right here and one on Emma's blog: Never Judge a Book by the Cover! So be sure to check out both our blogs and do not forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of Seventh Grave And No Body!

"When I stepped past the threshold of our room, our beds still butted up against each other, since he’d taken the wall separating our rooms out a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by the picture that met me. Reyes lay across both beds, propped up on several pillows, shirtless with only his dark lounge pants, his legs stretched out in front of him, his feet bare, a drink in one hand, and a book in the other. It was like one of those “at home” photos with models that looked like movie stars. 

I almost came at the sight. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. And I’d seen a lot of sexy lately. Would I ever get used to just having him? To just being able to look upon him and know he was mine? Know that I didn’t have to share him unless I got really kinky as I got older and decided to get into threesomes. But I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to share the man before me. I got jealous of his talking to a departed woman today. Granted, she was a gorgeous departed woman. 

“Be still my Betty White,” I said softly.
“What?” he asked without looking up, one corner of his mouth lifting playfully. 

I walked forward and stopped at the edge of the bed. “You. Reading. That is probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen a man do.” 

His mouth widened and he finally looked up at me, closing the book in his hand and setting it aside. “Clearly you’ve never seen me pole dance.”

I have to agree with Charley, I'm not sure I can think of a sexiest sight than Reyes Farley, half naked AND reading!! *fans self*

I cannot wait till Emma and I can start our Seventh Grave readalong!

Happy Halloween/Samhain again! 

US Trip 2014: New York City!!

Hello guys!!

As you might have noticed, the blog has been rather quiet for the last two weeks, and even if I returned this past Tuesday, I still haven't unpacked the suitcase or even started editing all my photos!

But, I must say that this trip was exactly the therapy that my broken heart needed! I took a trip on my own, enjoying my own company, did exactly what I felt like doing all the time, attended book events, met awesome people finally in person... all in all, now I can say that I closer to being finally okay than I've ever been since the beginning of the year.

This first post is gonna be all about my 4 days in New York City, and it will include 2 book events, one amazing Broadway musical and a stroll at Central Park with the adorable and lovely Nikki Kelly!!


Day 1: Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake Release party at Books of Wonder!

I arrived close to 2 pm and navigating JFK, going through immigration and reaching my hotel took a while, but soon I grabbed my printed Google maps directions and headed to Books of Wonder for my FIRST EVER book event! It was a lot of fun and Kendare Blake was amazing (so were the croissants, I must say!) and I loved hearing all about what inspired the series, and also I'll never be able to look at a T-rex the same ever again, from now on I'll picture them as gigantic red and yellow chickens... And it's all Kendare's fault!!

Then when the signing part happened I started chatting with Kendare telling her I was the Spaniard on Twitter that had just landed that day and then a super nice fellow book lover (and I'm sure book blogger) took a picture of us despite the non-cooperation of my phone (thank you!). It was simply fantastic! I came back to the hotel, and tried to fight jet lag to read Mortal Gods, but I only managed 2 chapters before crashing!

Day 2: Fierce Reads Tour at B&N Tribeca

My second day started with me waking up at 4 am in the morning, finishing Mortal Gods and then deciding that I needed to go grab some cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery (that was super close to my hotel), try to find a Body Shop and the metro/subway station to go to TriBeCa to the Fierce Reads event!

I tried two cupcakes at Magnolia, and although the Apple Harvest cupcake was very nice (although didn't really taste of apples at all), the red velvet cupcake was quite a disappointment for me... too dry and compact and made with vanilla whipped icing which was too sweet for my taste, I prefer the red velvet made with cream cheese icing! *sadface*

Then was my time to try and find the damned and hidden red line 1 subway station! It took me close to half an hour but I found another bakery to try the next morning! ;) Finally I was on my way to TriBeCa and then after locating the right B&N, I had sushi lunch at Good Foods and then went to camp at the store to await the event time to arrive! I met Amber from The Book Bratz and fellow Founder Member of the Styclar Street Team and then we grabbed our seats on the first row!

When the authors arrived and took their places Nikki spotted us and she was all "Piliiiiii!!" and telling all the other authors that we were founder members for her street team and that I had travelled all the way from Spain! She was beyond aadooorableee!!

The whole event was a LOT of fun!! All the ladies were amazingly funny! Nikki was particularly adorable with her Queen's English and cute accent! We also were very lucky to have Ksenia Winnicki in the audience as well as the model for Lailah's cover! 

Then came the moment of signing books and swag collecting and in general forget to take pics with everyone for me... I didn't get photos with Jessica Brody, Gennifer Albin OR EVEN NIKKI HERSELF! Thankfully we took a Team Styclar one!

With Marissa Meyer! And sporting my beloved Pivot Book Tote painted by the awesome Becca from Pivot Point Reviews!

Styclar Team: Amber, Nikki & myself, taken by Ksenia!

 And my loot from all the book events!! All signed books!! *FLAILS*

 Day 3: Hop On & Hop off and WICKED!!

I started by 3rd day in NYC with tea made with hot water from the tap because to my shock and horror there was no kettle on my hotel room!

The day was spent doing touristy things like visiting places via the Hop On, Hop Off tourist buses and taking loads of photos all over the place, that I will need to edit soon!

And then in the evening, another milestone for me! I finally got to see Wicked The Musical, after wanting to see since 2008 when I read the book, which happens to be one of my favourites (and I feel like I need to re-read soon!!). I went completely overboard with buying swag but I felt like the experience required it! It was simply beyond amazing! And I'm listening to the soundtrack while writing this!

My Ozmopolitan in a souvenir cup! Green and with this amazing artwork that I love!

 
All my Wicked swag!: Program, CD, Playbill and totebag! 

 
 And this was the amazing curtain down look! And the mechanical/clockwork dragon!



 

Day 4: Baked by Melissa and Central Park with Nikki Kelly!

On 4th day and last full day in NYC I started a very rainy morning with some souvenir buying and some Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes for breakfast! And by some, I mean 12! I ended up doing a proper tasting at the hotel hall! ;)

All in all, a much better experience than the Magnolia Bakery ones! If you're in NYC, go visit!!

Then I had sushi for lunch in my hotel firescape while listening to the main title of Outlander... One of those fun things that had to be done! I loved that my window was on the firescape side, it's so typical from that side of the ocean! Then I met with Nikki at my hotel and we walked towards Central Park hoping to come across a bookstore, but weren't lucky!

We took a walk around the park, chatted about how hard it is to make proper tea in the US due to the usage of "creamer" instead of regular milk, we chatted about the Fierce Reads Tour and about the upcoming Styclar books but because I'm all NO about the "Spoilers Sweetie" she only told me that I better prepare myself for book 3 since it's gonna be the wildest of rides! And then Nikki had to go back to her hotel for more meetings, but I'm hoping I'll get to the UK soon-ish to visit her (and will bring cupcakes).

Then I returned to my hotel where I ended up crashing early... damned jet lag! Up at 7 am at the latest and off to bed at 9 pm at the latest! Where's my usual night owl gone to??

And the next day I was off to Chicago, the Windy City but that will be a post for another day!! Probably Saturday!! This one is so bloody long already!! Thank you for reading till here, you're champions!!

Waiting On Wednesday #66!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!


And this week I have one of those aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-I-want-this-book-now-already-pretty-please books that I haven't been waiting for as long as other people but still the wait is a killer! Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers!!!

Goodreads Summary:

"Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has..."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Mortal Heart? I've always been a great fan of historical fiction and earlier this year I finally decided to read Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph and loved them to bits! So now I just cannot wait to read the final book and Annith's book at that!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Let's Celebrate Halloween with Grim Reaper Week AND an INT giveaway!!

Hello guys!!

I'm finally back from vacation and what better way to come back than with a bang and celebrating my favourite holiday: Halloween!!

The lovely Emma of Never Judge a Book by Its Cover decided that we needed to share and celebrate our love of everything Charley Davidson (and let's not forget Reyes Farlow!!) by Darynda Jones and Halloween and decided to do so in the best way possible with Grim Reaper Week!

Emma and myself have a very fun week planned to share our love for the series! We'll share the history of the Grim Reaper, excerpts, fave quotes, some reviews and a very special INTERNATIONAL giveaway for the latest book in the series: Seventh Grave and No Body!

This post should have been up yesterday along with Emma's, but since I was still on vacation and my blogger app in my tablet was acting up... it ended up saved as a draft with wonky bits... But here it is today! The second part of the legend of the Grim Reaper!

The tale begins over at Emma’s blog… here. 

When he stood up, smoky shadows, which spun around in the air like snakes covered his body until they formed a black tattered robe. Then, Life held out his hand and more of these smoky shadows gathered and formed the Death blade, a tall scythe that was black as night, and the blade formed a crescent moon that was half as long as the staff from which it extended. Life gently touched the blade to his hand and then pulled back as a black colored blood dripped down from his hand. He looked to Azrael in his new grim appearance and said in deeply dark but extremely tired voice “Take this scythe and cut down those whose time has run out,” and then he disappeared.

Azrael then began his duty and carried it out extremely well; he became feared and gained a new name as a result, “The Grim Reaper”. As time went on the Reaper grew very tired of following the orders from Life. The Reaper decided he would follow Life through the Omphalos, and take all the power that life controlled for himself. When Life came to Ora to give the Reaper more orders, he was attacked by Azrael. Life became very injured and tried to flee through the Omphalos, but was caught off guard and by surprise on the other side of the Omphalos when the Reaper appeared. The Reaper used his scythe to cut a hole between the universes and bypass the Omphalos, and was able to get to Axiom before Life. He then destroyed Life’s body and absorbed his power.

As the newly born Reaper absorbed this energy and power he laughed out a happy shriek of enjoyment, but then his boney body throbbed, the forces of both Life and Death could not be contained in his weak soul as well as Life’s soul could contain them and his soul shattered into fifty pieces ending him, and giving birth to the Ascendant. The Ascendant was a shade or a ghost who was the remaining power of Life and Death. However the Ascendant could not keep time flowing, he could watch life and deliver it from the creator, but not give death, so he gave one of the fifty shards of the shattered Reaper’s soul to fifty different families, and every Millennia they must fight and collect the shards from one another to become the next reaper.

Darynda was incredibly generous to offer a copy of Seventh Grave and No Body to celebrate Halloween and Grim Reaper Week!

Terms and Conditions. 

It is an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!

It will run for one week and will end midnight on Halloween. 

Once it finishes I will select the winner and email you. Then I will pass your details directly to the publisher so you can receive this prize. 

Good Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting On Wednesday #65!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Now, what book am I absolutely pinning over this week and hoping it'll get on my hands already?? Talon by Julie Kagawa!!!

Goodreads Summary:

"Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Talon?? Well, DRAGONS!! Do I need to say more?? Also, Julie Kagawa has become one of my auto-buy authors, so this was very much a given!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Waiting On Wednesday #64!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Sooooo, what book am I absolutely dying to get my hands on this week?? Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater!!!

Goodreads Summary:

"There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Blue Lily, Lily Blue? I've fallen in love with Maggie Stiefvater's writing since The Raven Boys and I this series is simply fantastic and after the cliffhanger at the end of Dream Thieves I've been dying to read this one!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Cover Reveal With Xpresso Book Tours: A Different Kind of Fine by K.K. Hendin!!

Hello guys!

Today I'm very pleased to be part of the cover reveal for K.K. Hendin's next book, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!


Before I let you see the pretty pretty cover designed by Icey Designs, I'm gonna tell you all about the book and about K.K. herself!



A Different Kind Of Fine by K.K. Hendin
(Twelve Beats In A Bar #1.5)
Publication date: November 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:

Hayley and Nate’s story continues…
(Blurb and cover to come)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the author:

 KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.
She spends way too much time on Twitter (@kkhendin), and rambles on occasion over at www.kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com.

Twitter | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

Showcase Sunday #47 & hiatus announcement!

Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (physical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

Once again it's been a few weeks since the last Showcase Sunday, and although I don't have as many phyisical books pending, I have been getting my usual preorders for my Kindle app, and those I just cannot seem to keep track enough to add here anymore!

I've been busy and stressed and generally not doing as well as I would have wanted and on Monday I'm leaving for my vacation to the US, so the blog will be going on a small hiatus. I'm hoping to manage a few scheduled posts for the days I'm gonna be away, but aside from the Waiting On Wednesday posts, I cannot promise anything!

But before I show you what books I've got in these past pair of weeks, I want to introduce you to someone that just arrived this week!

Meet Morrigan (also known as mini-Ember), the newest addition to the team of blog mascots!
 

She's my second purchase due to loads of luck and fast finger-clicking from the very talended & crafty Julie Kagawa! Not only she's one awesome author but she also makes this amazing clay dragons and sells them on her Etsy store!

Dylan wasn't as surprised this time, since he's got time to get used to Mini-maug, but poor Morrigan wasn't sure about meeting such a big sheep! Maybe the friends not food rule won't be that hard for her given how in disadvantage size-wise she is!

And then Mini-maug and Morrigan met and it was quite okay, but as you can see, Dylan is already shipping them!! They are still wary of each other but I hope they'll be good friends as long as they don't decide to team up against my poor dear Dylan!


And now after goofing off, here come the books!

Purchased

I got myself a signed copy of First World Problems by LeighAnn Kopans and she sent me an extra copy, so that means I will have a giveaway for that copy when I return from my vacation/hiatus!

I preordered My True Love Gave To Me both in Kindle & physical copy, and I was lucky enough to have got the UK hardback because it's gorgeous and it also arrived before release day for one! Thank you The Book Depository!

And my latest Book Outlet order! A physical copy of The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett and the Razoland trilogy by Ann Aguirre: Enclave, Outpost  & Horde!

For Review (via NetGalley & Edelweiss)

 I got approved for two eARCs via NetGalley, so a big thank you to Random House UK and MacMillan, and an even bigger one to the Fierce Reads on Twitter for the heads about The Ghosts of Heaven being a read it now for the 50 first people on NetGalley!

And then I saw a very intriguing book that was open for instant download on Edelweiss and although I really shouldn't have I clicked it, at least release date is for next year! Thank you Tin House Books!!

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller

And that's all for now guys!! I'll be back with a probably big haul on return from my vacation & hiatus, cause I plan to attend book events and buy books and some preorders will arrive while I'm away! See you soon guys!!

Saturday Pages: ARC Review of Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke!!!

Sometimes books are so powerful and resonate so much with you, even if you are not in the same place that the character is, that you need a break because otherwise you feel like you might drown in the emotions that book is stirring within you. This Saturday Pages' book is one of those books.

I discovered this book through Jenny from Supernatural Snark, since she designed the utterly gorgeous cover and so when I saw it on NetGalley I requested it, and luckily was approved by Spencer Hill Press, so a BIG thank you for them! As an ARC this one will be counted towards my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge and I hope it'll continue to help with my NG rating!

Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one amazing and powerful book. If you've ever felt sad and had any insecurities, you will feel connected with Imogen in one way or another and will feel like her pain is your pain.

I am not clinically depressed and I have not Imogen's issues but I have dealt with insecurities before and even if I'm much better know, there's always a lil something in the back of my head, and now dealing with the emotional distress of a massive heartbreak... Reading this book has meant a lot of anxiety flaring for myself too because I was connecting so much with Imogen, but has also meant a lot of warmth and happiness as I saw every little bit of improvement.

Imogen has been fighting depression since her mother's death, seven years ago, and she was spiraling down to clinical depression for a long time, but things have been getting a little better as of late, getting out of the darkest part of her dark hole, but then a new change comes into her life, only with not the best of intentions.

Gen has a stepmother that has very good intentions and tries to help, but it's still an awkward situation for Imogen since she feels like she's a burden for someone without a real obligation towards her, a father that has written a book about living with grief (about Gen's mother) and is more out of the house than in because of promotion and the new addition, Carmella or Ella, the stepsister.

Seems like the stepsisters situation will be once again like the usual ones in the fairy tales, the beautiful one gets the prince and the ugly stepsister gets nothing. And Gen feels like the ugly and worthless stepsister way too often without Ella helping pushing her down with a vengeance. But Gen is not alone, she has friends and she has Grant, her best friend since childhood, the one that has seen all the worst and the best that she has, and the one that keeps on trying to help her out her dark places.

Gen's journey is a very slow and dark one and with her anxiety and her sadness and self-deprecation and self-doubts. She's her worst enemy and her journey to discovering that and to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel is a tough one to read, but it is never without hope and that's a wonderful message to take from this book, mental illness is a real illness, it's not something you can simply "snap out of it" but with time and the right help and people around you that love you, you can find hope again and you try and go towards the light at the end of that dark tunnel.

Very well deserved 4.5 stars to this one, a wonderful and powerful debut. The ARC didn't have all the enhanced artwork and music that the final book will have, and I am very much looking forward to get my hands on a finished copy!



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Friday Reads: ARC Review of Of Scars And Stardust by Andrea Hannah!!

As the second entry on this week's Friday Reads I'm having an ARC I had been super excited about but that totally caught me unprepared because September was a weird & busy month and most October ARCs are still unread and when did it become October?? Where did summer go??

A big thank you to Flux Books for always approving my requests on NetGalley and giving me the chance to read this one! As an ARC it is counting towards improving my ratio on NG and also for my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!

Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is gonna be a hard book to review, mostly cause I don't want to spoil anyone the surprise and the wondering and the confusion and the trepidation this book caused to me and I believe a big part of how the book manage to get me under its hold was going into it knowing as little as possible.

The summary does a great job giving you the bare bones of what's this about without hinting at any of the issues underlaying in the book and if you want to feel the wild ride that this book is for your brain, you'll stop reading right here, knowing that it is one of those books that keeps you guessing, turning pages and lefts you reeling by the last page. A proper psychological thriller through and through. And in case anyone is wondering, nothing paranormal or fantasy about this one.

Claire is out main character and we start the story with her 15th birthday and her best friend planning to leave and a tragic event involving her sister, all of it surrounded by stories of wolves that like cherry flavour and the periwinkle colour. Then Claire is sent to NY with her aunt, to a private school and a counselor and she seems to live in a fog, still scared of the wolves and feeling guilty for the past.

And then something involving her sister again makes her return to her hometown and face the mystery of what happened to her sister and what is really going on with the wolves. And that's such a wild ride... I kept suspecting everyone all the time and I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't and it simply didn't get any better the longer the book went on! You think your suspicions are right, and maybe they are but not in the way you expected at all!

And that ending? Well, you think you are making sense of things finally and even if you are thinking "woah, this was messed up" then you get to that ending and the definition of messed up changes! A fantastic book that makes you really thinking about mental illness, the powers of the mind and delusions and that will simply unsettled you and leave your mind reeling for a while. Very well deserved 4 stars!



View all my reviews

Friday Reads: Earth Flight by Janet Edwards!!!

Hello guys!! Happy Friday!!

I'm working today and the weekend BUT on Monday I'm starting my vacation, so I'm not gonna complain, nuh huh!

Starting this week's Friday Reads is another of those awaited final books in a series and since I've been doing so poorly at it, I'm gonna be counting it for my 2014 Series Challenge, even if I don't remember if I put it there on my original list!

Earth Flight by Janet  Edwards

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had been postponing reading Earth Flight cause we sometimes do that with final books in series we love, cause we fear the conclusion won't be good enough or we don't want to say goodbye to the characters.

And although I feel sad saying goodbye to these characters and would love to read more stories about them and what's to come, I can also say that this was a satisfactory book and a great way to end this trilogy.

One of the things I've loved the most about this trilogy is how much fun to read the books are when at the same time they raise these poignant and necessary questions about humanity. The main question raised here is one about discrimination and segregation, and goes to show us people in the now that it seems that we don't learn our lessons and people in the future will continue to discriminate other human beings for any reason whatsoever like in this case, their immune system.

Jarra has been working so hard to prove herself to the "norms" and then after realizing she was prejudiced herself, she's simply fought so hard to be treated equally and to do what she loves, even if she can't ever leave Earth. She has to fight for her relationship, the position she earned in the military and the right to finally join her birth family and in this book that's the main point of focus, how prejudice works, how encroached some beliefs are into society that we won't see beyond a word and would do anything to hold onto those beliefs even if they're wrong.

A lot of stereotypes and prejudices are shattered in this book and by doing so we are forced to take a look at those prejudices and stereotypes that surround us and see how easily we judge without thinking.

I loved that Jarra and Fian had a strong relationship and that even if they had their quarrels whenever they were thrown a curve ball they worked together to face it and defeat it. And I really loved that Jarra continued to find people in her corner even if it was fighting for something that at first seemed to have more opposition than support.

We get some new characters that I grew to love and we also get a resolution to the alien mystery introduced to us in Earth Star and although I was a teensy bit disappointed on how that plot line was resolved (I guess I was expecting something more Contact like, I dunno...) I was glad how it also served to show how unprepared the human race can be to meet other kind of intelligent life if we can't see to understand and accept all of us humans as equals.

A book that was a fun and quick read but with a deep message, quite an unlikely combination that worked so very well for me! Science fiction at its core, using the future to make us think of the issues of today! A very well deserved 4.5 stars for this final book!



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First Chapter, First Paragraph #13: Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke!!

First Chapter, First Paragraph is one of the two memes that I will be alternating on Thursdays in place of my Ink & Batter posts during the summer, when I won't be baking due to the heat!

I discovered this meme via the ladies of My Shelf Confessions, and it is hosted on Tuesdays by Bibliophile by the Sea. But since I already have my blog tours posts and Tell Me Tuesdays, I thought that it'd work best on Thursdays for me!

The idea of this meme/feature is quite self-explanatory from its name, we share the first paragraph of the first chapter of our current read! Quite a good teaser for others to read and see if they'd be intrigued!

This is another of those ARCs that I was more than happy to get but that somehow its release date sneaked on me! So I'm now reading it and hoping to finish it soon so I can schedule the review for my vacation time!

Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke

"They've been lying from the start. From the first time we read the words "once upon a time", we're fed the idea that these girls - these gorgeous, demure, singing-with-the-wild life girls - get a happy ending. And I get it. Poor thing had to do some chores around the house, fine. But the idea that she needs a magic old lady to come down and skim off the dirt so the prince will see her beauty? That's ridiculous. Maybe she should have been working on her lockpicking skills instead of serenading squirrels. She could have been busted out, hitched a ride to the castle, and impressed the prince with her safe-cracking prowess."







What do you think? Would you want to know more?
What are you reading right now?

Waiting On Wednesday #63!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Now, what book am I super excited and is-it-here-yet about this week? Seventh Grave And No Body by Darynda Jones!

Goodreads Summary:

"Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there’s that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she’s ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life. But all of that combined barely scratches the surface of her problems. Recent developments—and a few distressing prophesies—have forced her to become a responsible adult. Exactly the kind of adult she’s never aspired to be. To conquer such a monumental task, she’s decided to start small. Really small. She gets a pet. But how can she save the world against the forces of evil when she can’t even keep a goldfish alive?

A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it.

We’re doomed."


Why am I eagerly awaiting Seventh Grave And No Body? Weeeell, this is one of my favourite urban fantasy series and both Charley and Reyes are fantastic characters, the books are hilarious and after the BIG surprise at the end of the last book, I CANNOT wait to see what happens in this one!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?