Showing posts with label 2016 Reads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016 Reads. Show all posts

Monday, January 2, 2017

December Recap

Hi, ladies!

I can't believe we're in 2017, and it's time to set a new Goodreads reading challenge and decide which other challenges to participate in. This year I'm setting my Goodreads goal to 100; keeping it nice and simple!

It's also time to recap what I read in December, and give a final update on 2016's challenges. I was in a strange sort of reading funk for most of December, but luckily my last book kicked that!

Let's get right to it!


Books Read















Total - 13 

Total for 2016* - 190
*including rereads


Challenge Updates


188 of 130, 145% complete!


Audio challenge

Binge Listener (20-30) pledged
63 audiobooks for 2016, and goal met!




71 books knocked off my TBR!!




The one that was my favorite




The one that made me cringe



The one that left me conflicted



The one that made me laugh



The one that surprised me 



The one that broke my funk



Book Boyfriend of the Month

Mad Rogan!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Top 16 of 2016: Favorite Quotes

Hey, everyone!



I'm so excited to participate in Kimberly Faye Reads' Top 16 of 2016 event! Today's topic is favorite quotes of 2016, and wow, this one was tough. Let's jump right in!

Much like yesterday, these aren't in any sort of order until numbers five to one.


16. 

The magic is in the tiny moments. The small touches, the gentle smiles, the quiet laughs. The magic is about living for today and allowing yourself to breathe and be happy.

15.

Tops come off at the oddest times. Like, oh, hey, the music started? Let me rip my top off and shake what my mama gave me.
Or my plastic surgeon. Same difference. 

14.

To be a muse is to be a wonder in someone else's eyes, flaws and all.


13.

Maybe he thinks I've insulted his manhood. I consider his manhood - and how much I hate the word manhood. In Alex's case, bigger is awesome. The only drawback is how hard it is to walk after his manhood plunders my womanhood.
I need to cut it with the historical romance references.

*giggle snort*

12. 

So far I had the god of evil and the god of terror on my side. My good-guy image was taking a serious beating. Maybe I should recruit some unicorns.

11.


Respect the written word and all that, but you have to have fun too, find the joy, and most of all, forget about everything else. Forget about the other book. Forget about the future. Writing is about the now, is it not? It's about putting down words and creating worlds and really, that's it. Worrying about how the book will do, how it will be received, about if it will all be worth it is just a waste of time and takes away from the creation of it all. 

10.

It wasn’t love or lust, but something we both recognized as a possibility of something. It was so pure, so uninhibited … We just threw ourselves into it. These moments that were little pockets of perfection. It was like nothing else mattered. Just us.

9.

She looks into my eyes and I'm lost. Wrecked. There's no thought, no desire - expect to please her. Make her see stars and touch heaven. 

8.

Thank god for e-readers; you can read the filthiest shit and pretend you're engrossed in War and Peace. 

7.

You are my greatest weakness because I have no defense when it comes to you. 

6.

Amazon’s Top 100 list is the best indicator of how books are selling and the moment I peek at the Top 20, I’m a little mind-blown. Professor Dumbass is not such a dumbass after all. About half the books in the Top 20 are cheaply priced erotica, ranging from 99 cents to $2.99. They all seem to feature the same guy, too, in various stages of undress. A few have Jesus beards and tattoos, more are cut off at neck level because I’m guessing their faces are hideous, and all are baring their steroid-pumped chests. Shit, I don’t want to think about how small their balls must be.


5.  

He made me forget the world around me. He was enough. And, together, we were everything.


4.

I was only limited by my ignorance, by my fear, and by my own sense of right and wrong. 

3.

I want her. This fearless, stunning woman. And I want the kids. Those perfect, awful, amazing children - whom she loves with every inch of her soul. I want them to be mine. Mine to hold, mine to protect and teach. Their joy, their laughter, their love. I want to come home to it, bask in it, be the reason for it. But even more than that, I want to deserve them. To be worthy.

2.

The worst thing you can do in life is to ignore an opportunity out of fear. 

1.

I have loved you every moment of every day, and I will love you until I cease to be. Bird, man or kind, I love you and I will always love you. 

Monday, December 12, 2016

Mini Reviews Monday

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews launches a brand new Hidden Legacy series, in which one woman must place her trust in a seductive, dangerous man who sets off an even more dangerous desire…

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.
4.5 stars!
This was such an enjoyable book! It was one of those urban fantasy that's not so over the top and confusing that it's not enjoyable; it was firmly based in the real world and it made it easy to fall in to. The characters had great chemistry, the tension was fantastic, and the action spot on. The narration was incredible too. 





My childhood was perfect.

I’ve led a charmed life, and I’m not going to blow it now by picking the wrong guy.

I’ve got my sights set on my brother’s best friend.

He’s known my family for years. He’s reliable and kind and handsome.

Sure, he’s been avoiding me since I was six.

I’m a bit aggressive for him, maybe.

But he’s the one… right?



2.5 stars!
Eh...? It was just okay. The thing with two out of these 3.5 books is that it feels like it's trying too hard. Trying too hard to be funny, relatable, sexy...just trying too hard. The heroine was incredibly immature and ground against my nerves, and hero was a douche when the conflict happened. 



To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.
 


3 stars!
The Italian setting was absolutely gorgeous, and made me want to hop on the next flight to Italy and spend my days exploring grape vines, stuffing my face with delicious food, and then burning off those calories with horseback riding and sex. ;)
That said, I struggled to connect with the story. Neither protagonist really worked for me, and I felt like the writing was far too flowery, taking away from the story and the characters.


What happens when your life goes to crap the week of Christmas? You invite a hot Marine you met in an airport bar to come home with you for the holidays, to distract your crazy family from the truth. 

With a handsy aunt, a meddling mother and a father concerned for the wellbeing of his daughter's eggnog, there's no chance Sam and Noel will have time to fall in love...or will they?

The Stocking Was Hung is a standalone, Christmas story that will make you laugh, make you HOT and maybe even make you say, "Awwwww" a few times.

3 stars!
This was funny, sexy and a quick read. Parts were a tad over the top, even for Tara Sivec, and the romance was quick, but it still worked for the story and I had a fun time. Plus, that title!



Sunday, December 11, 2016

The Sunday Post/It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Hey, ladies!



The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. 

A mostly laid-back and very chilly week! Several days it stayed in the upper 50s/low 60s, with nights getting down to around 35-32 (Floridian here, so that's freezing cold). Lovely weather that everyone is enjoying. I've found myself sleeping with the window open at night, burrowed under heavy blankets and stealing the dogs' warmth. ;) It's quite cozy!

Finally got a tree this weekend, and I have to say that it's quite a hideous thing. Since you won't find a Christmas tree farm here (or at least not one that produces the classic fraser fur), the choices are limited to Lower and Home Depot. The Home Depot here had all their trees bound up, and it wasn't clear that this tree is pretty much just the middle of the tree. It's more of a Christmas bush than a Christmas tree, in all honesty.



It's literally the middle of a tree.

"If you ask me, we should've gotten one of these. They're actually suppose to be small."
My dog is judgmental. 




Oh, well! It works, and it's kind of growing on me, haha. 



I've relaxed a bit with my fitness routine, in a good way. Rather than pushing myself for a minimum of 10,000 every day, no matter how I feel, I'm focusing more on doing what feels good and targeting what needs it that day. Hitting that number or higher is still ideal, but if I'm feeling too bad, I'm exhausted or sore (I twisted my knee last week and it still twinges), I relax on that and do something that doesn't aggravate me...or sometimes I just rest. It's nice to find a good balance!

Sunday - 10,154
Monday - 7,573
Tuesday - 12,724
Wednesday - 12,703
Thursday - 11,456
Friday - 11,183
Saturday - 7,064

Total - 72,857


This Week's Recap








Coming Up

Mini Reviews Monday

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Looking Forward to For The First Half of 2016

Waiting on Wednesday

TBR Thursday

Cover Lust, No. 49


Read This Week

3 stars!
Gorgeous setting and tons of potential. Fell flat and far too flowery in writing for my tastes.
3.5 stars!
Funny, quick, and sexy, but a tad over the top.
3 stars!
I'm not sure what I think of this one....


Currently Reading

About 4 hours into this audiobook, and I'm shocked at how much I'm enjoying it! It's so not my usual thing, but that hasn't stopped the fun.
Not far into this audiobook, but the narration is good. Not blown away by the story yet!


What Will I Read Next?





Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors for 2016

Hey, guys!



It's Top Ten Tuesday by The Broke and The Bookish! This week's topic is top new-to-me authors you read for the first time in 2016. Let's get to it!


10. Lauren Blakely

Funny, sexy, great male POV, and just really enjoyable reads.


9. Helena Hunting

My guilty pleasure author, and my god these books make me laugh!


8. Patricia Briggs

She'd been on my TBR for a while, and I finally took the plunge early this year. Such a great urban fantasy series!


7. Chloe Neill

She has a really enjoyable writing style and I'm kinda addicted.


6. Emma Chase

Where has this author been all my life?!


5. Diana Gabaldon

Okay, so this one was really just for the first one and more than a little bit because of the show, but... Jamie Fraser. Enough said. 


4. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Together they're a good duo!


3. Kristen Callihan

I'm sure no one's surprised here! Sexy, perfect banter and my wet dream hero.


2. Jay Crownover

I've read a few that I've really enjoyed, but this one I absolutely loved and can't recommend enough!


1. Amy Harmon

I freaking loved this book and can't wait to read From Sand and Ash!