Challenge: 2019 Retellings Reading Challenge Sign-ups!

I have always loved retellings. Both fairytale retellings and retellings of popular or classic stories. Authors can get so creative with retellings and make the story something truly unique. I'd like to see how many adaptations or retellings I can read in 2019. This challenge is hosted by Cornerfolds. You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Warrior Princess > 6-10 Retellings

Rules for this challenge:

- This challenge will run from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019.

- Books must be read and reviewed in 2019. (You don't have to review books to count towards your goal, but you do have to review them if you want them to count as giveaway entries.)

- Audiobooks, e-books, re-reads, short stories, novellas, and graphic novels all count, and you can read adult, YA, and middle-grade books for this challenge.

- It's also totally fine to use books from this challenge to fulfill other reading challenges and vice versa. 

- ALL retellings count! 

- You don't have to be a book blogger to participate! You can link up and track your progress on Goodreads, Instagram, Youtube, or wherever you share books!

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Will you be participating in any reading challenges in 2019? Do you plan to read any retellings in 2019? What are some of your favorite retellings? If they aren't your thing then let me know why not. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Challenge: Dancing with Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Okay, so I really enjoy Bingo reading challenges. Heck, I love Bingo period. So I thought that this challenge was kind of cool. This one is more about completing an entire Bingo card instead of getting a Bingo for every line but that just makes it more challenging, right? This challenge is hosted by A Dance with Books. You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Complete at least one of the three Bingo cards.

Rules for this challenge:

- You can do 1, 2 or all 3 sections.

- With each section, you are allowed 1 Double-Up. Double-Up means you can use 1 book for 2 prompts. Preferred is not to at all but if for some reason you are struggling with time or a prompt you can.

- In the general sections, you can use both fantasy and sci-fi books but not other genres.

- Graphic novels, comics, audiobooks and novella’s are allowed.

- Rereads count.

- You can step into this reading challenge at any point. I’m starting it in January 2019 but in reality, this is a reading challenge you can fit for yourself in any way you like. If you want to start in May and end April the year after, that is totally fine.

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Will you be participating in any reading challenges in 2019? Does Bingo excite you or do you find it boring? Are you taking part in any Fantasy or Science Fiction reading challenges in 2019? Let me know in the comments!

Challenge: 2019 Library Love Challenge

The 2019 Audiobook challenge is hosted by Angel's Guilty Pleasures. I didn't do so hot with this challenge in 2018. I did read several books from my Kindle Unlimited membership (which I count as a Library membership), but I didn't actually get to go to my local library because of the hundreds of dollars in late fees that my kids and I racked up. So yeah. This year's goal is to pay those off and get back to loving my library. It's one of the things that I love about living in a larger metropolitan area - there are multiple branches of the public library to choose from!  You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books

Rules for this challenge:

- Challenge runs January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.

- The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. 

- Any format will work for this challenge (prints, ebooks, or audios); as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.

- Books can be any genre.

- Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads.

- Optional tag is #LibraryLoveChallenge

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Will you be participating in any reading challenges in 2019? Do you utilize your public library or use Kindle Unlimited? Or are your bookshelves overflowing and your pocketbook empty? Let me know if you are participating in this challenge this year!

Challenge: 2019 Audiobook Challenge Sign-ups!

The 2019 Audiobook challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and Hot Listens. I have participated in this challenge for the last two years and I have been enjoying it. I have been able to knock more books off of my TBR by listening to books while I do everyday things like commuting to work, doing chores, tinkering on the interwebs, or taking a walk. You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Stenographer (can listen while multitasking) 10-15 books

Rules for this challenge:

- Challenge runs January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.

- Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)

- ANY genres count.

- Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.

- You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Will you be participating in any reading challenges in 2019? Do you listen to any books on audio?

Challenge: 2019 Bookish Resolutions Challenge Sign-ups!

This challenge is a little different from most reading challenges. This challenge consists of making resolutions geared towards your reading and writing goals for the new year. You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goals/Resolutions:

~ Improve Netgalley ratio by ten percent.

~ Complete Goodreads Challenge for 2019.

~ Read at least 60 Backlist titles.

~ Read at least 40 Indie/Self Published titles.

~ Participate in NaNoWriMo in 2019.

~ Complete storyboard for one writing WIP.

~ Complete first draft of one writing WIP.

~ Read at least 12 new-to-me book series.

~ Finish at least three book series that I have already started.

~ Read at least two classics.

Rules for this challenge:

- Challenge runs January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.

- Sign-up is between December 11, 2018 to February 28, 2019.

- Create between 3 or more resolutions related to books/book blogging/writing.

- You can have as many resolutions are you would like. There is no limit.

- Goals must have longevity since this is a yearly challenge. Pick a goal that will take you no less than 4 months to complete.

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Do you have any reading resolutions for 2019? I'd love to hear them! Do you ever feel overwhelmed with your reading resolutions/goals?

Challenge: 2019 Tackle My TBR Challenge Sign-Ups!

The Tackle My TBR challenge is hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads. I am already doing another backlist title challenges, but this one is set up a little differently so I'm doing both. The more the merrier, right? Like most readers, I have a backlist that is of monstrous proportions and I need to focus most of my reading time on knocking out that backlog. You can sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Touchdown > read 61+ TBR books

Rules for this challenge:

- Challenge runs January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019. You can join at any time.

- The goal is to read at least ONE book from your TBR every month. It can be an ARC, ebook, audiobook or print – your choice.

- You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. You can track your progress on Goodreads, Insta, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube… wherever you want!

- Optional hashtag is #TackleMyTBR2019

I will be adding more challenges to my 2019 Challenge Page as I sign up!

Will you be participating in any reading challenges in 2019? Do you read many backlist titles or do you mostly stick to new releases?

Bout of Books 24!

Bout of Books 24

January 7th - January 13th 

The next Bout of Books Read-a-thon starts January 7th and ends on January 13th! I am super excited for this one since I have missed the last several read-a-thons. They are always a fun way to push myself to read as many books as I can. It turns out that I am quite competitive even with myself! I will try to keep track of how much I am reading and post updates on the blog.

If you would like to sign up for this Bout of Books or for more information you can go here.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: For the Blood (For the Blood #1) by Debbie Cassidy

Title: For the Blood
Series: For the Blood #1
Author: Debbie Cassidy
Publication date: December 27th, 2018
Genres: Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Stay alive at all costs. No attachments, no looking back, no emotion.

The last thing my father gave me was a key. No explanation, no details, just a key. The last thing he asked of me was to take the key to a set of co-ordinates. But survival in a fallen world filled with Feral isn’t easy. The Fangs and the Claws, once upstanding members of society are now slave to the virus, hunting indiscriminately under a perpetually full moon.

There is no hope. There is no haven. Not alone. Not until them.

They are a new breed of monster—beasts of both fang and fur. Unaffected by the sickness, they crave only one thing, and it runs through my veins. Survive, my father said. Look out for no one except yourself. But sometimes the only way to survive is to make attachments. Sometimes the only way to live is to accept a dance with death. And right now, for me, the path to survival is in the blood.


Here’s to hoping it doesn’t kill me.

The Vampire Diaries meets The Walking Dead in this Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy with a slow burn Why Choose romance

Goodreads / Amazon

Had the stars always been this bright? Or maybe impending death was lifting a veil from my eyes. The steady pump of my blood seeping out of my many wounds and into the dry, cracked earth and my ragged, irregular breath were the only sounds in the cold, still night. The Feral were down, but they’d taken me with them.

Laughter bubbled up my throat, a sound filled with life, if only I could move.

It would be over soon. No more fighting. No more loss. No more pain. The stars called to me, and I watched, counting them as my vision blurred in and out of focus, as my life blood fled my body as if it were a curse. How long before a person bled out?

Sunshine and the scent of freshly cut grass. Kisses, sweet kisses and toffee popcorn, hot cocoa under the stars in the compound garden… Memories of safer times. Happy memories that usually made me feel better, but nope, sorry, still feeling bad.

So sorry, Tobias. So sorry, Dad.

The crunch of boots echoed through the silence, invasive and intrusive. A shadow fell over me. Cold hands touched my face and startling gray eyes blocked out the stars.

The Fang from the storeroom, the one who’d bit me. Uninfected but hungry. Was he going to finish me off? But he was surveying the land around me, his brow creased in a neat frown. He was big, and his rugged, stubbled face hid the perfectly formed lips that had sucked on my neck not long ago.

“You Fang …” The word ended in a slur. “Bit me …”

His attention snapped back to me, and his eyes shone like pennies in the dark. I reached up with a strength I didn’t know I had and touched his chilly jaw. My fingers, deathly pale against his tanned skin, left a bloody trail as they slipped away. My blood had put color back in his cheeks and now that same blood was seeping into the ground, wasted. Was it getting darker?

Arms slipped under me, and my body was torn from the cold, dead earth. Where his hands had been chilled, his body was warm. He cradled me against a wide, muscular chest, and the heat seeped into me, reviving, urging me to live. The scent of cedar competed with the coppery smell of my blood. His nostrils flared, and then he pulled me close, dipped his head, and swept a rough tongue over the wound at my neck. The wound he’d made. Fire shot through me, searing my veins and tearing a hoarse scream from my throat. His mouth latched onto me and horror swelled my heart.

No. Not again. But there was no bite. No draw of blood. This wasn’t the kiss of death, it was life.

Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head - in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Dating Alternative by Jennifer Woodhull

I am so excited that THE DATING ALTERNATIVE by Jennifer Woodhull is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Jennifer Woodhull, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International, courtesy of Jennifer and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Title: THE DATING ALTERNATIVE

Author: Jennifer Woodhull

Pub. Date: December 26, 2018

Publisher: Jennifer Woodhull

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 288

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

Brie picked the wrong guy—gave him the
wrong finger. 

When her fiance walks out three weeks before their wedding, she slowly picks up
the pieces with the help of her friends. A serial monogamist, she's not quite
ready to start dating again. There are some things she misses about having a
boyfriend, though. Her friends convince her to try something more casual.
Random hookups have never been her thing. When a guy she has flirted with for a
while offers his services to solve her dilemma, she can't help but be
intrigued. Now she's trying to keep things casual, but when she's wrapped in
his arms, it's hard to remember she's not supposed to be falling for him. 

Max has had a few hookups since he split with his last girlfriend. Lately,
though, he feels like something is missing. He has crushed on the girl he
affectionately calls Cheese for years, but the timing was never right. When he
finds out they're finally single at the same time, he is poised to make his
move. Unfortunately, she's only looking for something physical. Of course, Max
is happy to oblige, but the more time they spend together, the more certain he
becomes that she's the perfect girl for him. 

He pulls out all the stops, and just when he's about to make his move from the
friends-with-benefits zone to serious dating, Brie completely ghosts on him.
Now he has to figure out if she has really walked away, or if something more
serious is keeping him from the girl of his dreams. 

Funny, sexy, and satisfying, The Dating Alternative is a standalone new
adult/contemporary romance. 

Chapter
1 Excerpt – Sabrina

As I lay on the bed, wearing my ex-fiancé’s t-shirt and remembering the night he left me six months ago, I realize that tears are slipping silently down my cheeks.

I’ve done reasonably well, too. The first week, I was catatonic. The first month, I was practically a zombie. In those days, even showering on my day off had been a challenge. Within a couple of months, though, I was doing better. By the ninety-day mark, I could be mistaken for someone who hadn’t been virtually left at the altar.

Now, lying on the bed six months after Grant had thrown away our life together, I was almost indiscernible from a normal girl. Looking at me most days, you would never know that my life had been ripped apart by an exotic Olympian named Isabel and my former fiancé, Grant.

I sit up, realizing how far I’d come since that night. I put the back of my hand up to one cheek, then the other. No more.
That asshole doesn’t get another single tear from me. Control-G-Delete.

Chapter 1 – F*CK YOU by Cee Lo Green

Chapter 2 – We All Want Love by Rihanna

Chapter 3 – I Don’t Need A Man by Pussycat Dolls

Chapter 4 – I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick

Chapter 5 – Me Without You by Gwen Stefani

Chapter 6 – Closing Time by Semisonic

Chapter 7 – Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

Chapter 8 – Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by The Police

Chapter 9 – Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon

Chapter 10 – Toothbrush by DNCE

Chapter 11 – After You by Meg Myers

Chapter 12 – Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding

Chapter 13 – Time To Get Closer by Foster the People

Chapter 14 – Bonfire Hearts by James Blunt

Chapter 15 – Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B. Hawkins

Chapter 16 – Waiting for the Weekend by The Vapors

Chapter 17 – Isn’t It Ironic by Alanis Morrissette

Chapter 18 – In Between Days by The Cure

Chapter 19 – Stronger by Kelly Clarkson

Chapter 20 – It’s My Life by No Doubt

Chapter 21 – Freedom by George Michael

Chapter 22 – Halo by Beyoncé

Jennifer Woodhull is based in the Southern United
States, spending time in her second home of England, and traveling as often as
she can. Her love of travel permeates her work, and her characters often find
themselves exploring new and foreign surroundings.

A keen observer of human behavior, Jennifer often
draws inspiration from something as simple as a fleeting connection, or the
glimpse of a unique trait or characteristic. Her favorite place to write is on
airplanes.

"The drone of the engine, the scores of people,
all traveling to something or from something, and being disconnected from
digital distractions are a combination that provide the perfect place to
write," she says. "If you see a woman in seat 9F who is balancing her
Macbook on her lap because it's time to close your tray table, please have
patience. I'm just trying to finish one more sentence."

Join Jennifer’s Newsletter!

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

1 lucky winner will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card, International.

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