Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Her Secret Inheritance by Jen McConnel!

Hello everyone! Happy Monday!

Sometimes Mondays are cool days, trust me, they really are when you have the day off after working the weekend! After all the cupcaking and celebrating and photo editing for my friend's wedding, I'm a bit behind on reads and reviews, so this week I'm gonna stick to just one book & review per day, so this is the one and only entry for Mark This Book Monday!

As this is an ARC review it counts as part of my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge! Thank you so much Bloomsbury Spark and Jen McConnel for sending me the ARC of this book!

Her Secret Inheritance by Jen McConnel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


After reading The Secret of Isobel Key, I joined the author street team on Facebook, so I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this novella sequel for review!

Her Secret Inheritance starts 5 years after the end of Isobel, and before I talk any more about the book, be warned, it's likely that there will be spoilers for the previous book. Lou is once again on her way to Scotland, and this time her reason to go there is not as happy an occasion as it was the previous time.

It seems that despite the sort of closure we got by the end of the last book about the ghosts of the past, not everything was set to rest, and so Lou finds herself involved in unexpected paranormal happenings. Not only that, she has to face her choices in the past when she meets Brian again, the boy she left behind when she chose to find herself and get to know her biological family.

That was actually one of my favourite parts of the last book, how finding a guy she liked and could love and that could be in love with her was not all the answers that she needed. Of course that means that meeting Brian again is tough to face for her, and not at all easy for him either.

Once again we switch perspectives from the present to the past, and from Lou to Brian, and that helps presenting a fuller picture of the whole story, not just for this book but also for Isobel Key. I'm thinking I really want to read a purely historical fiction book from Jen badly, because she writes about the past so wonderfully!

Brian was not as charming in this one as he was on the first book, and to a point I can understand him being wounded and unhappy about being left behind without much of an explanation, but he acting a bit too much like an ass on a couple of occasions. Lou has grown up, she's found herself and what she loves and she's grown, but she hasn't lost her tendency to not stand up for herself when the going gets rough. She should have called Brian on his bullshit a lil earlier for my taste, and maybe simply talk about things first to clear the air, no matter how hard it'd seemed.

I was glad to read how everything was wrapped up, how Lou decided on her path once again on her own reasons, and not just for a swoony guy, no matter how swoony he might be, but at the same time I liked how the possibility of a second chance is presented.

All in all, a quick read that reminded me of my love for Scotland and that was quite a satisfying sequel. Well deserved 3 to 3.5 stars.



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Showcase Sunday #36!!

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!

As it would happen, I didn't do a SS  last week due to being busy baking and having a wedding on Saturday and being super tired on Sunday, and now I have quite a big haul to share with you all this week! I got a lot of awesome book mail that I had been waiting for! I didn't have any preorders coming these two weeks but I also got a few new books via my kindle app! And I also got a few ARCs, one from Edelweiss that always gives me a quick! As well as some ARCs for taking part of blog tours & blitzes.

Purchased (via The Book Depository)

Dylan and Mini-Maug love posing with books!

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

Eona by Alison Goodman

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Purchased (via Book Outlet)

My orders from Book Outlet are finally coming and I'm extremely happy to have discovered this awesome shop!

Skinny by Ibi Kaslyk

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman

Altered by Gennifer Albin

Rush by Eve Silver

Arclight by Josin McQuein

Purchased (via Amazon.es)

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Won in a Giveaway

A while back I was super lucky to win a giveaway on Miriam Forster's website and won her first book signed!

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Purchased (via Kindle app)

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

(this one is June's book The Midnight Garden readlong)

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

Stardawn by Phoebe North

The Fear Trials by Lindsay Cummings

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

For Review (via Edelweiss)

I was rejected the first time I requested Winterspell on Edelweiss but I tried again a pair of days later and was sooooo very lucky to be approved for it!

Winterspell by Claire Legrand

For Review (via Xpresso Book Tours)

Bad Blood by Nikki Jefford

Her Secret Inheritance by Jen McConnel

Wow, that was a huge haul! The one time I decide to skip a week and I get overwhelmed!

What all did you guys get this week?

Saturday Pages: Foretold by Rinda Elliott!!

Hey there! Welcome to this week's edition of Saturday Pages!

This week I have a book that I discovered thanks to Jenny from Supernatural Snark! She reviewed the book on her blog and I loved how it sounded. And since me and Jenny have quite similar tastes, I knew I had to read it! This is another of those "me" reads, that are not part of any challenges.



Foretold by Rinda Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I discovered Foretold when I read the review for it on Supernatural Snark, Jenny's blog! I love Jenny's reviews cause they're fantastic and her taste is quite similar to mine, so when I saw that she had loved this one... I knew I had to read it!

Foretold starts with Raven Lockwood, the eldest of the Lockwood triplets, trying to find and save the life of a warrior that might have been prophecised to kill her. Because of that prophecy, the triplet's mother has left to find the warriors (one for each sister) and kill them before they have a chance to kill the girls. The triplets have the souls of the Norns inside them (some sort of reincarnation) and the amount of Norse mythology that permeates the pages of this book is amazing!

We follow Raven while she tries to find her warrior and to save his life in the middle of the beginning of a freak summer snow storm, that could be the beginning of Ragnarok. As it happens, the warrior finds and rescues her, and they find themselves fighting an unknown enemy, even if Raven suspects her mother.

The book keeps you turning page after page, building the suspense and keeping it full of action, with a few moments when we get some necessary information and world building, that luckily never feels like info dumping. I loved reading all the Norse mythology references and I loved how the connection between Raven and Vanir developed.

It might have seemed a bit like insta love in any other case, but aside from the hormones insta attraction, there's more to Vanir and Raven than just themselves, since they have parts of old Norse gods inside them, that have a connection between them. I really loved reading about Raven and Vanir together, even when it seemed that the little bits of intimacy that they kept on stealing might have not been at the best of times.

I also loved how important family was in this book. Even if we're following Raven, she never forgets about her sisters, Coral and Kat, and through the little snippets of information we gather every time they get in touch, I cannot wait to read the other sisters' books and see what's up with them! Vanir's family is also very important and very present, and a central part of the climax battle. And even more key to everything is Dru, the triplet's mother.

If you love a good bit of romance with a few swoons, Norse mythology and loads of action, this books is perfect for you! Very well deserved for stars for this one and I already have book 2 and 3 preordered!



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Friday Reads: Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas!!!

Hello everyone! Happy Friday!

This week has been a bit a mad, with the hangover from all my baking for the candy bar for my friend's wedding and the wedding and the recovering, and work being crazy... but I'm trying to get this week on track and I finally have a review up on the blog for this week's Friday Reads! Not part of any challenge or anything, so it was a well deserved "me" read!


Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


For a non-fan of contemporaries, I've found myself reading and enjoying quite a few as of late, and Ask Again Later was the perfect answer for the "what to read tonight, I want something quick paced and fun!".

And Ask Again Later completely delivered! I flew through the book and not only it had me smiling a lot, but I was laughing out loud at 3 am! It's fun, it's light, it's fluffy without being ridiculous and isn't filled with unnecessary drama!

Heart has decided to go to prom with her group of friends but her plans change when she gets two unexpected invitations. Both aren't exactly appealing from the romantic front but she feels compromised to accept one of the two invites and not go ahead with her original plans. How can she choose? Tossing a coin! And from then on, heads or tails shows us the two very different proms that Heart goes through with each of her dates, until the moment both narratives converge together again.

Heart is such a wonderful character! She might be a bit clueless and a bit easily pushed into doing something she didn't want, but given her family and her general attitude to try and keep drama free, I could understand how she seemed a bit of a push over when it came to her brother. Her obliviousness was rather endearing and her no dating rule to make sure she wouldn't repeat her mother's mistakes? It might seem very silly, but I did something similar focusing on a celebrity crush to avoid dating for a while, and I was over 20 at the time!

I found both alternative realities very entertaining and I loved seeing the different perspectives and interactions between Heart and her friends and Heart and her brother's crowd. I found the "tails" perspective more adorable and fun, since she spends more time being herself with her friends, but the "heads" perspective is totally hilarious even if I felt like smacking people now and then!

I really wasn't expecting the merge of both alternatives quite as seamlessly as it happened and I loved how much banter and adorableness there was in it!

If you are looking for an entertaining, fun and feel good book, do not hesitate, go grab Ask Again Later! You'll thank me (later if you want!) ;) Well deserved 4 to 4.5 stars!



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BEA and All the Books I Never Knew I HAD to Have!!

Going to BEA is one of those dreams for any book blogger and book lover, but we can't always make it true. A lot of us have been living BEA 2014 vicariously through tweets and posts from fellow bloggers that were in NYC.

One thing Kristen from My Friends Are Fiction, Crystal from Crystal in Bookland and myself noticed, is that by looking at the book hauls from our fellow bloggers in BEA, we've discovered books we now have been added to our TBR list that we hadn't heard of before, or hadn't paid attention to before!

And this is what this post is all about! Kristen, Crystal and myself are gonna be showing what books we discovered we must have after seeing them in BEA book hauls! Check Kristen's post HERE and Crystal's post HERE!


My list is not very long cause I have tried to control myself, too many books and too little time, but here are 5 books that I saw and knew I wanted!

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

Zodiac by Romina Russell

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

Jackaby by William Ritter

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Are there any books that you've discovered in BEA if you attended, or like Kristen, Crystal & me, through BEA book hauls?

Ink & Batter #5: The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M.G. Buehrlen!!

Welcome again everyone to a new edition of Ink & Batter!

This week I've based my decorated cupcakes on one heck of an awesome debut book that is all about past lives and time travel: The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by M.G. Buehrlen!! Upon finishing the book I was quite inspired and started pondering how I'd decorate the cupcakes, and what recipe would be the most fitting for it.

After some thought and looking at the cover of the book, I opted for the Chocolate & Guinness cupcakes with Baileys buttercream! (My own twist on a recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and a recipe by Alma Cupcakes). It's a favourite for a lot of my friends, and with black cupcake liners it'd work pretty well for the base of the cover. Dylan wanted to help but he ended indulging a bit too much on the leftover Guinness!

And now, the finished cupcakes!

I wanted to make one or two cupcakes to represent the cover and what that cover is, but I don't want to give too many details as not to spoil anything for those who haven't read the books. I also wanted to make three cupcakes, each with one of them with things pertaining to each one of Alex's missions and finally one with the Nerd glasses (that the author herself suggested via Twitter, thanks M.G.!!).

I hope you guys liked these ones and I highly recommend you read the book if you haven't done so yet! Also if you have any suggestions for future Ink & Batter posts, shoot me a comment!

Stay tuned for more cupcakes on next week's edition of Ink & Batter!

Waiting On Wednesday #45!!

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!

What book am I not-so-patiently-waiting-for this week? The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson!!

Goodreads Summary:

"Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind."



Why am I eagerly awaiting The Vanishing Season? Well, I've heard so many great things about the author's other book, Tiger Lily, but it's a retelling and I'm not usually very keen on those. But when I read the summary for this one it sounded very intriguing and creepy and much more down my alley, so I cannot wait to check it out!

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

First event debut for Piwicakes!!

Hello everyone!!

After a very exhausting weekend I don't have a review ready for today, but instead I've decided to share some photos from the first event that my little cupcakes have been part of!

This Saturday was one of my best friend's wedding and she asked me if I could do a few mini-cupcakes for the candy bar she was setting up. We decided on 4 different flavours: Mango Lassi, Green Tea, Red Velvet and Chocolate Guinnes & Baileys.

Even if I'm not sure if I'm gonna do this as a side job, continue as just a hobbie and do it for friends and family, I decided I needed a name and logo and here it is! What do you think guys?

I have to give mad props and all the THANK YOU's in the world to Deb from On Cupcake Moon that made this logo for me, it's SO perfect!

And now, a few cupcake photos! Pictures taken of the candy bar table as it was just set up, before the mob got hint of the cupcakes and a stampede ensued! And I was worried about what to do if there were any cupcakes left... HA! Not even the crumbs!

I'm super pumped to continue baking after this successful event! And if you want more cupcakes, don't forget I'll have new book inspired cupcakes in this week's edition of Ink & Batter!