Sunday, December 30, 2018

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.


Saturday, December 29, 2018

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



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.



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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

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!



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


Monday, December 10, 2018

Challenge: The Bad Boys of Romance Challenge


Okay, so I am going to give this challenge a go in 2019. This year I have latched on to contemporary romance. A lot of these books have the bad boy trope so I figure, why not? I would definitely like to broaden my horizons and read outside my comfort zone a bit. Even if it is only a handful of books. And since I have started to get into contemporary romance where I didn't before, I might actually do better with this challenge than I think!


This challenge is hosted by Delighted Reader. Sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: Level One - 5-9 Books - Capturing the Bad Boy

Rules for this challenge:
~ Minimum goal of 5 books.
~ Books must feature a bad boy hero: Rock stars, MC members, streetfighters, assassins, mafia, loners, geeks, etc.
~ Only romance series accepted. Any sub-genre of romance accepted.
~ Sign-ups close November 30, 2019.


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 books with bad boys? If so, who is your favorite or most recent favorite bad boy?

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Challenge: Beat the Backlist 2019 Sign Ups


Sign-ups have opened for the Beat the Backlist Challenge! I adore this challenge and the mini-challenges that are included. I love reading backlist titles so this challenge is right up my alley.



This challenge is hosted by Novel Knight. Sign up for this challenge here. 

Goal: 75 Backlist Books

I will be taking part in the Hogwarts Mini Challenge on Team Ravenclaw!


Rules for this challenge:
~ The challenge runs from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.
~ Only books published in 2018 or earlier will count.
~ All books must be started and finished in 2019.
~ Any novel, novella, graphic novel, manga, or anthology bind-up counts for this challenge. If it's considered a book on Goodreads, it's fair game! (i.e. a short story would not count but a novella or bind-up of short stories would.)
~ Rereads are okay!
~ Optional hashtag is #BeatTheBacklist or #BeatTheBacklist2019


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

I don't have an official TBR set up for 2019 yet, but here are a few things that I plan to read.

~ Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
(Reread books 1-5.)
~ Obsidio by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
~ The Lotus Wars series by Jay Kristoff
(Reread book 1.)



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

Monday, December 3, 2018

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: The Dating Alternative by Jennifer Woodhull



Today Jennifer Woodhull and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for THE DATING ALTERNATIVE, her New Adult Contemporary Romance which releases December 26, 2018! Check out the awesome cover and enter the giveaway!

On to the reveal! 


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.





About Jennifer:


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!



Giveaway Details:

5 lucky winners will receive an finished
copy of THE DATING ALTERNATIVE, US Only.


Thursday, November 29, 2018

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson


Welcome to the Release Week Blitz for

Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson

presented by Entangled Teen!

We've got 2 fabulous giveaways available for you at the end of the post!

CONGRATULATIONS, CINDY!


I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My room is paper. My world is paper. Everything outside is fire. All it would take is one spark for me to burst into flames. So I stay inside. Where nothing can touch me.

Then my mom hires a tutor. Jackson. This boy I had a crush on before the world became too terrifying to live in. Jackson’s life is the complete opposite of mine, and I can tell he’s got secrets of his own. But he makes me feel things. Makes me want to try again. Makes me want to be brave. I can almost taste the outside world. But so many things could go wrong, and all it takes is one spark for everything I love to disappear…






Cindy lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and loves using Colorado towns and cities as inspiration for settings in her stories. She's the mother of three girls, who provide plenty of fodder for her YA novels. Cindy writes speculative fiction and YA fiction, filled with a healthy dose of romance. You'll often find her hiking or listening to any number of playlists while she comes up with her next story idea.





 

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