September 2018 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Sunday’s in Bed With..

Posted on September 30, 2018September 29, 2018 by Cindy

This is being hosted by two of the sweetest people I have the privilege of knowing in real life, Kate and Kim. Sadly we don’t talk like we use to because you know real life happens but there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of them both.

Good Morning Everyone. Hope everyone had a good week this past week. Its been a busy weekend so far but that’s okay because its a long weekend for us here in Quebec. Monday is our provincial election day here in Quebec. Who to vote for is always tough?

Last week I read the following:

Currently finishing up:

Then this week I need to read:

2018 ARCtober Reading Challenge-Book Goals-

Posted on September 30, 2018September 29, 2018 by Cindy

Earlier this month I posted that I was going to take part in the ARCtober Reading Challenge being hosted by KimberlyFayeReads Brittany & Elizabeth’s Book Boutique ,Samantha @ The Book Disciple and Nancy @ Tales of the Ravenous Reader . You have until October 5th to sign up, just click on one of the bloggers names to take you to the sign up page.

As I was sitting here trying to write up this post I realized that my reading goals for October are huge and not sure I will be able to get to them all but I am really hoping that I can make a dent in my stash. Every little bit helps right? One book at a time.

I thought I would share some of the ARC’s that I am hoping to read in October and you might see that the first four are featured in my TBR for October and that is because those were sent from publishers and I really want to get to those first and then my older arcs will follow.

Since I didn’t get to finish these arc’s in September I am carrying them over to this month:

All The Things That Could Go Wrong by Stewart Foster (currently reading this still)
Rule by Ellen Goodlett
The Exes’ Revenge by Jo Jakeman

I know its seems like a lot but I am hoping that since a few of the books are under 250 pages that I can breeze through them.

Have you read any of these books?

Review/ The Forsaken Royal, The Forgotten Royal & The Fearless Royal

Posted on September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 by Cindy

About Book 1:

Title: THE FORGOTTEN ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 1)
Author: Anna Hill
Pub. Date: August 11, 2018
Publisher: Anna Hill
Formats: eBook
Pages: 237

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Annabelle has always been happy with her quiet, normal life. Like most people in Elderan, extreme poverty is all Annabelle has ever known. After humans seized power from the witches 100 years ago, Elderan collapsed along with the witches’ reign — but Annabelle has everything she needs in her boyfriend and parents.

Until one day she doesn’t.

When Annabelle’s parents are mysteriously murdered, she finds herself barely able to keep it together — and it only gets worse when a wolf shifter named Angelo arrives and explains to her that she’s not nearly as normal as she once thought.

Annabelle is a witch, the last of her kind, and it’s her destiny to help return Elderan to its former glory. But how can she focus on saving her entire country when she’s coming apart at the seams? How can she trust Angelo and his pack mates, Lio and Rhyion?

…and how can she keep herself from falling in love with them?

Title: THE FORSAKEN ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 2)
Author: Anna Hill
Pub. Date: August 27, 2018
Publisher: Anna Hill
Formats: eBook
Pages: 237

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Annabelle doesn’t know who she has left to trust. After being captured by King Robert of Elderan, a brutal ruler who will stop at nothing to make sure witches never rule the country again, Annabelle has been cut off from everyone and everything — including her powers as a witch.

Until Angelo, a member of her shifter guard, arrives to save her.

When the attempt fails, Angelo’s left mortally wounded and the King is determined to make Annabelle pay. While Annabelle nurses Angelo back to health, the other members of her guard, Lio and Rhyion, devise a plan to overthrow King Robert — and Annabelle finds her feelings for all three members of her guard deepening as intensely as her desire to see King Robert fal.

Annabelle is a witch, the last of her kind, and it’s her destiny to return Elderan to its former glory. But how can she focus on saving her entire country when she’s worried about Angelo’s safety? How can she topple an abusive King when he is equally as powerful as her?

…and how can she stay focused as she’s falling even deeper in love with the men who protect her?

Title: THE FEARLESS ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 3)
Author: Anna Hill
Pub. Date: September 10, 2018
Publisher: Anna Hill
Formats: eBook
Pages: 126

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

One woman, three men — and their desire to reclaim their kingdom.

Annabelle is so close and yet still so far from defeating King Robert. The closer she gets to finding the key to overthrowing him, the more complications seem to rise up. But she is determined to destroy him because if she doesn’t her home country of Elderan will rot in poverty and turmoil forever.

Up until this point, Annabelle has only been focused on one thing: destroying King Robert and saving her country of Elderan from his wrath. But now that she is actually close to defeating him, she has to learn more than magic.

One of the members of her royal guard, Rhyion, helps to teach Annabelle everything she needs to know about the government of Elderan. As Annabelle considers what kind of Queen she is going to be, she also has to consider that her feelings for Rhyion are growing. But she’s already in a relationship with the two other members of her guard, Angelo and Lio, is it greedy of her to want Rhyion too?

…and can she balance her love of the three of them with the responsibility of being Queen of Elderan?

This steamy reverse harem urban fantasy is the final book in the Annabelle’s Harem series! Readers will be absorbed in the action, adventure, and romance in the last book of the series.

Before beginning my review I quickly have to thank Rockstar Book Tour for allowing me to be a part of the blog tour for this series and for sending me the books to read.

I love looking in my emails daily to see what various blog tours are promoting. This is a great way to discover new books, authors and genres. As you can see my reading taste are all over the place and I love discovering new books in very different genres from what I normally read. Which I think is good because you get to taste a whole new world in books and personally for myself I find I always need a break from reading the same things over and over. I tend to feel like some books feel like deja vu so when I switch things up I get a whole new perspective.

Since this is a three book series I won’t give a personally review for each one just because I know I will end up giving spoilers away.

These are a super quick and fast read. I managed to read all three of the books over a three day span.

Our main character is Annabelle. On the outside she looks like your typical girl who works as a waitress, lives with her long time boyfriend and trying to deal with the lose of her parents. Annabelle looks and feels (well almost since her parents death she is on medication to numb those feelings) like everyone else but what she doesn’t know is that she is not like everyone else.

Annabelle lives in a world where magic is against the law and you could go to jail for life if your caught using it. But, for Annabelle she has decided that she needs to find out how her parents died and will stop at nothing to find out why even if that means searching for someone who has magical powers to help her. She has sent aside money and is getting ready to go and get the answers when her boyfriend discovers her hidden stash. They fight and she takes off only to end up in this abandon house. What will Annabelle do when she realizes that there is actually more to her boyfriend then she realizes?

She thinks she is safe until someone comes in to try and kill her. Thankful someone comes in to save her and tells her to trust him. They manage to get away before anything else can happen. Annabelle soon realizes that things aren’t what they are suppose to be and discovers so much about who and what she is. Can she embrace who and what she really is?

As as each book progresses so does the story line giving you more insight into the world and the people. Everything moves along at just the right speed. Anna does a fantastic job and making it all seem seamless and believable. I loved how each book blends right into the next one.

When the third book wraps up you get all the answers you have ever thought of while you were reading the book. It was nice to see that Annabelle was embracing her powers. It was nice to see everyone rally around her to help her through this since she had no clue or idea who she was because she was numbing herself.

This is definitely a series you need to read from book one. I definitely want to read more by this author and within this genre.

Blog Tour/ Annabelle’s Harem

Posted on September 28, 2018September 16, 2018 by Cindy

About The Book:

Title: THE FEARLESS ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 3)

Author: Anna Hill

Pub. Date: September 10, 2018

Publisher: Anna Hill

Formats: eBook

Pages: 126

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

One woman, three men — and their desire to reclaim their kingdom.

Annabelle is so close and yet still so far from defeating King Robert. The closer she gets to finding the key to overthrowing him, the more complications seem to rise up. But she is determined to destroy him because if she doesn’t her home country of Elderan will rot in poverty and turmoil forever.

Up until this point, Annabelle has only been focused on one thing: destroying King Robert and saving her country of Elderan from his wrath. But now that she is actually close to defeating him, she has to learn more than magic.

One of the members of her royal guard, Rhyion, helps to teach Annabelle everything she needs to know about the government of Elderan. As Annabelle considers what kind of Queen she is going to be, she also has to consider that her feelings for Rhyion are growing. But she’s already in a relationship with the two other members of her guard, Angelo and Lio, is it greedy of her to want Rhyion too?

…and can she balance her love of the three of them with the responsibility of being Queen of Elderan?

This steamy reverse harem urban fantasy is the final book in the Annabelle’s Harem series! Readers will be absorbed in the action, adventure, and romance in the last book of the series.

Title: THE FORSAKEN ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 2)

Author: Anna Hill

Pub. Date: August 27, 2018

Publisher: Anna Hill

Formats: eBook

Pages: 237

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Until Angelo, a member of her shifter guard, arrives to save her.

…and how can she stay focused as she’s falling even deeper in love with the men who protect her?

About Book 1:

Title: THE FORGOTTEN ROYAL: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Annabelle’s Harem Book 1)

Author: Anna Hill

Pub. Date: August 11, 2018

Publisher: Anna Hill

Formats: eBook

Pages: 237

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Annabelle has always been happy with her quiet, normal life. Like most people in Elderan, extreme poverty is all Annabelle has ever known. After humans seized power from the witches 100 years ago, Elderan collapsed along with the witches’ reign — but Annabelle has everything she needs in her boyfriend and parents.

Until one day she doesn’t.

When Annabelle’s parents are mysteriously murdered, she finds herself barely able to keep it together — and it only gets worse when a wolf shifter named Angelo arrives and explains to her that she’s not nearly as normal as she once thought.

Annabelle is a witch, the last of her kind, and it’s her destiny to help return Elderan to its former glory. But how can she focus on saving her entire country when she’s coming apart at the seams? How can she trust Angelo and his pack mates, Lio and Rhyion?

…and how can she keep herself from falling in love with them?

About Anna:

Anna Hill spends most of her time writing at home where she lives with her boyfriend and cat. She finds immense joy in spinning together dramatic tales of paranormal love. Her stories are full of mystery, action, romance, and strong female characters as well as the men who love them.”

Facebook | Facebook Group

Giveaway Details: All International

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

Ends on September 26th at Midnight EST!

Rafflecopter Code:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/17/2018- Twirling Book Princess– Excerpt

9/17/2018- Jaime’s World– Spotlight

9/18/2018- BookHounds– Interview

9/18/2018- Writer of Wrongs– Excerpt

9/19/2018- Reese’s Reviews– Review

9/19/2018- Patriotic Bookaholic– Excerpt

9/20/2018- Two Chicks on Books– Excerpt

9/20/2018- Parajunkee– Excerpt

9/21/2018- Ace Reads– Excerpt

Week Two:

9/24/2018- Bri’s Book Nook– Review

9/24/2018- Bookish bibliophile– Review

9/25/2018- Books a Plenty Book Reviews– Review

9/26/2018- Smada’s Book Smack– Review

9/26/2018- Adventures Thru Wonderland– Review

9/27/2018- Lisa Loves Literature– Spotlight

9/27/2018- Angel’s Guilty Pleasures– Interview

9/28/2018- The Reading Life– Review

9/28/2018- Cindy’s Love of Books– Review

Cover Reveal/ Blastaway

Posted on September 27, 2018September 28, 2018 by Cindy

Today Melissa Landers and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for BLASTAWAY, her new Middle Grade Sci-Fi which releases Summer 2019! Check out the awesome cover and the excerpt!

On to the reveal!

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: Summer 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover,
eBook

Pages: ?

Find it: Goodreads

Pitched as “Home Alone in space,” a young science prodigy who runs away in his family spaceship must team up with a plucky mutant to save the Earth from destruction.

Scheduled for publication Summer 2019.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with
drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no
longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant
stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by
the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I
checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon
that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on
accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep.
And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it
would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my
parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the
sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought
about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this
trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a
secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate
that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into
whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could
turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had
no intention of returning.

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram
| Facebook | Goodreads

Books for the Season of Autumn

Posted on September 27, 2018September 28, 2018 by Cindy

Since Jennifer’s last blog post of recommendations of books for babysitting did so well Jennifer has decided to do one for the fall season. So here is her suggestions for some fall books. We hope you enjoy this and get some ideas to read this fall.

Summer has finally decided to bow out and autumn has blown in with its chilly winds. The leaves are showing off their multicolour coats and cinnamon and pumpkin spices linger in the air.

Living in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving during the month of October. Therefore, many of our autumn traditions are combined with those of Thanksgiving. For example, every year, the whole family meets up at our favourite apple orchard. We hitch a hay ride through the orchard and then pick and eat apples to our hearts’ content. Apple donuts and apple fritters are consumed on our way to the car. A quick stop at the farmer’s house where we choose pumpkins that will soon become jack o’ lanterns. Seasoned veggies are purchased at great prices and with cars full, and bellies content, we all head over to my parent’s home where Thanksgiving dinner will be devoured in the hours to come. I wouldn’t change this for the world.

Despite the ages of my children, 14 and 11, this time of the year gathers us together to reminisce in childhood picture books and stories of thanks. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few of the books we read year after year and has become a part of our autumn tradition.

“The Falling Leaves” by Steve Metzger and illustrated by Jill Dubin is an all-time favourite. My kids still cheer for Yellow Hickory. Your kids will too. Thanks to the wind, nothing is as the other leaves had anticipated.

“Leaves” by David Ezra Stein beautifully illustrates the changing seasons through the perspective of a little bear.

“Thanks for Thanksgiving” by Heather Patterson and Mary Jane Gerber is a beautifully illustrated book about a family’s Thanksgiving traditions. It is similar to that of our own which is most likely why it is a favourite.

As my children got older and understood more, I added “Thanksgiving Day in Canada” by Krys Val Lewicki and illustrated by Ana Auml to our autumn selection of books. Narrated by grandparents, this book is informative and historical surrounding the customs of Thanksgiving. I would read this one to children in grades three and up.

In a couple of weeks, these books will be read, if they haven’t already. I am grateful that my children still appease me in this tradition, for I know, as they grow, traditions will need to change and grow, too. Happy Thanksgiving. –

What are some of your favorite fall books?

Book Blitz/ Because You’re The Love of My Life

Posted on September 26, 2018September 22, 2018 by Cindy

Because You’re the Love of My Life
Sarah Kleck
Publication date: September 25th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

How do you recognize the love of your life? Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Do you see showers of sparks and fireworks as soon as he steps into the room? Or, is your big love composed of something quieter?

Annie longs for nothing more in her life than someone to love her with his whole heart. With Holden, this wish seems fulfilled, and the two build their own world. But how much pain can happiness bear? When something utterly shocking happens, Annie’s life becomes unstable, and nothing is as it once was. Then, she unexpectedly bumps into her teenage love Seth, and her life is completely thrown off balance—especially when fate intends its own tragic story.

From the Editor:
Because You’re the Love of My Life is a story of love, heartbreak, and more love—romantic and otherwise. As a senior in high school, our protagonist, Annie, takes charge of her life, and she bravely separates herself from a difficult mother and home life, and from recent heartbreak. She moves across the country—without financial or familial support—to attend college at Harvard. “I felt at home in Boston in a way I never had . . . This was right for me,” Annie says.
And, it is true: she blossoms personally, academically, and, then, professionally. Though she fumbles at times in ways that seem utterly human and familiar, she forges friendships, commits to a relationship, and navigates through profound tragedy.
Annie narrates from a point well past when the events of the novel took place and with the perspective gained from that time. Yet, Sarah Kleck renders Annie’s narration so vividly that it seems as if these memories are unfolding in present time. Sarah Kleck’s devotion to Annie’s story shines through sharply written dialogue, authentic detail of culture and place, and a cast of richly rendered characters—among them Grace, Annie’s sassy best friend, and the various loves of Annie’s life.
Because You’re the Love of My Life made me wish I could accompany Annie beyond these pages, and it left me hungry for Sarah Kleck’s next novel.
– Rebecca Friedman, Editor

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Good evening, what can I do for you?” The pharmacist greeted me at the counter.

“I . . . um . . . need a laxative,” I said embarrassed. I would’ve preferred to pick one on my own, but I didn’t have a clue which was best, so I went straight to the pharmacist.

“How long have you been constipated?” she asked, unfazed.

“About three days.”

She nodded. “Are you drinking enough fluids? Do you exercise and eat a healthy diet?”

“Yes,” my voice was becoming stiff, “normally my digestion works just fine.” Couldn’t she just go and get the stuff? I didn’t feel like discussing my bowel movements with her. This was downright humiliating.

“Well, for acute constipation, the drugs for that should only be taken over a short—”

“Just give me something that’ll help me go to the bathroom by tomorrow morning.”

“Fine,” the pharmacist answered and went off to get my laxative. At that moment, I heard a strange clicking sound. I turned around. It was Holden, on crutches, and he had a big white cast on his left leg.

“Hi,” he said with a big smile. At least he seemed happy to see me.

“Hi,” I forced a smile. “How’s your leg? It looked pretty bad during the game last Saturday.”

“Clean break,” he said, gesturing toward his leg. “The good news is,” he continued with a sly grin while pulling a crumpled-up prescription from his jeans pocket, “my doctor prescribed the works for my pain.”

Just then the pharmacist returned with a box of Dulcolax in her hand.

“Have you used this before?”

Oh no . . .

“Yes,” I answered quickly, hoping she’d shut her damn trap and let me pay before Holden saw what I was buying. My wish was not granted.

“Just take one tablet this evening. That’ll soften your stool overnight. After six to eight hours, the constipation will have loosened up.”

Oh God! Take me now!

While I blushed beet red, I could see Holden looking at me from the corner of my eye—with the broadest grin you could imagine.

I’m gonna die!

“If this is a particularly bad case of constipation,” the pharmacist continued mercilessly, “you can take two tablets. Don’t take more or you’ll have diarrhea.”

What the fuck was wrong with this woman? She wasn’t a doctor, and this wasn’t a goddamn doctor’s appointment!

She packed the little box into a small plastic bag. I dared to hope it was finally over—but, no, she started right up again. “Your intestines will void completely after intake, so don’t expect another bowel movement for two to three days.”

What have I done to deserve this?

Since I couldn’t think of anything to say in the face of this humiliation—especially in front of him—I just nodded silently while my ears were burning.

The pharmacist rang me up and handed me the bag with a cheery “Have a good evening.” Then she turned to Holden. “What can I do for you?”

I didn’t dare look at him. I mumbled a goodbye, squeezed by him as quickly as I could, and headed for the door.

“Bye, we’ll get together sometime,” he replied, while clearly trying to suppress a grin. “Oh, Annie,” he called after me before I could complete my escape from this hell.

I stopped on the spot but didn’t turn around. “Yes?” my voice was trembling with shame. I shut my eyes.

“Good luck!”

Author Bio:

Sarah Kleck was born in 1984 in Southern Germany. She studied education, psychology, and sociology at the University of Augsburg. Today, she lives with her husband and their daughters in Germany near Lake Constance.

Sarah caught the imagination of 120,000 readers worldwide with her first novel “The Concealed” and its sequel “The Revealed”. After this successful fantasy series for young adults, she is now entering new territory with “Because You’re the Love of My Life”. Already a bestseller in Germany, this novel is now being published in English.

Facebook / Goodreads

GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway