EmberShane

Took me a while to read this book in its entirety since it was broken up into segments and I'd read other things in between them. But I loved this book. Loved the relationship between Silas and Charlie. Loved that they kept relearning each other over and over. Loved how it showed us we are capable of change and to focus on the things that really matter. I listened to the audio version, and both narrators gave an excellent performance. Five stars.

Great intro into a new series for me. People have been suggesting Frost's work to me for awhile, and I'm glad I've finally checked into something by her. Strong female lead. Hunky, strong, romantic interest with an accent. Just two vampires... er.. excuse me, one vampire and one half-vampire... out to change for the world for the better. Loved it!

My last post before my involuntary hiatus from internet, I was working like mad trying to save for a down payment on a house.  I was working two full time jobs.  I was tired all the time.  I was barely writing, if at all.  And I was cranky.  A lot has changed.  About a month ago, I flew out to Connecticut to spend time with my boyfriend.  We'd been talking about getting married, but I was pretty sure I was comfortable with a nice, autumnal wedding in October.  But after a rash of unlikely events while I was visiting, we decided we really didn't want to wait.  I was married June 21st.  As he was currently living in New Hampshire at that time and had no idea he was about to be married, nothing was packed.  Between packing him up and moving all my things from storage to our new town home, it's been non-stop labor.  My legs and arms are jellied.  How many days will this continue?  LOL.  How did I accumulate so much crap?  At least I've all but quit my second job, and I'm hoping to begin writing again as soon as more boxes have been unpacked and the house is in a more workable condition.  I've been sleeping more, which is nice.  And I am no longer cranky on a consistent basis.  And best of all, I'm quite enamored with my husband.  =) 

I've always found the idea of broaching the Comics/Graphic Novels genre as daunting.  There are so many options and I know so little about any of them.  But the other day, my husband and I were out on a quest.  A quest to find expansion card packs for Munchkin.  Does anyone know this card game?  ADDICTIVE.  Our search drove us to new-to-us local comic shops.  As I eyed the rows of comics on my way to the back of the first store, I found I could hold out no longer.  In particular, this comic caught my eye.  I bought the first three in the series.  Dark and steampunk and paranormal?  Yes, please.  Can't wait to run through these.  The artwork is gorgeous. 

**Children's Sci-Fi/Fantasy**

After I finished reading this with my son before bed last night, he declared it was the best book he's ever read. He's a bit of a bookworm (like his mother) so this was a fairly weighty statement. I too was impressed with this sci-fi children's fantasy. It begins with the mother going away to a work conference and leaving the father to take care of the children alone for a few days. They run out of milk and the father runs out to buy some more. However, he takes longer than the children expect, and upon his return tells them of his wild adventures on his way back. I laughed out loud in several places. The drawings were a great addition.

One of my favorite exchanges:
"I think that there should have been some nice wumpires," said my sister, wistfully. "Nice, handsome, misunderstood wumpires."

"There were not," said my father.

~Five Stars~

Oh, how I love this series. And this could quite very well be my favorite installment. I will admit to crying openly (and in public!) when a certain something is revealed about Shazam and Dani. I had to stop and wait until I got home to finish it. For avid readers of this series, make sure you don't miss this one!

Of High Treason's book video trailer!  =D  Finally finished it up last week and so excited to share!

I've been a little scarce lately.  Okay, maybe a lot.  I'm still working at the hospital full-time, still home schooling my son, and trying to squeeze in his martial arts classes.  But on top of that, I've recently started another job that was intended to be PRN (as needed) but has been more part-time/full-time hours.  My writing, reading, and sanity have all taken a beating in response.  When I am home and not working with Xavier with school, I pretty much just want to sleep.

Ironically, the reason for the second job is so that I can eventually cut my hours to devote to writing.  I'm saving up for a down payment on a house this summer.  The mortgage will be nearly one-third of what I pay now, thereby allowing me to decrease my hours.  If I can just survive until then.  =|  In the meantime, I am still reading.  I am still writing.  Just at a much slower pace.  Hope everyone is doing well!!

*YA Gothic*

This YA novel is based off of the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe... which just happens to be one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) of Poe's works. However, you don't have to have read the short story in order to follow along. Actually, 97% of this story takes place prior to Poe's setting of the story and from a different perspective, so there's not really any overlap between the two tellings. The writing for this novel was amazing. Lyrical and haunting and gothic. There was never a moment where I was bored. The one thing I wasn't crazy about was the numerous, short chapters... 147 chapters in all, many of them only being a page or two. Also, in the first half of the book, the chapters are not in chronological order. When the book opens, you see Madeline as she is at the end of the book, and in the next chapter, she is years younger. I didn't mind this as writing technique in itself. The chapters are entitled as to how old Madeline is during that chapter, so the confusion is minimal as to which time period you are in. But because the chapters were so short, I felt like I was just settling in for the time change when the chapter would end and I'd be thrown forward in time again. All in all, The Fall is a beautifully written novel and I can't wait to read more by Griffin

*Suspense*

Highly enjoyable read! Stokes, the anti-heroic MC, comes across a fat chunk of money. He thinks it's his lucky day until being mistaken for someone else on the phone and learning that the money was intended to save the life of a little girl. What to do; What to do? This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Great writing, great plot.  I listened to the audio book version, and I also enjoyed the narrator.

*Horror; Short Story Collection*

Nicely done. Very talented writing. Fast-paced with some twists. Probably not something you want to read if you're at home by yourself in the middle of the night. I might have gasped a time or two while gripping the edges of my Kindle.

I appreciated the disclaimer/warning at the beginning. Included were warnings that the following stories contained "death, graphic violence, profanity, blasphemy, sexual content, and other themes and images that commonly disturb". This statement should also probably include these themes as also related to children.

Of the eleven stories, my favorites include The Clinic, My Own Personal Monster, and The Hitch.

The Clinic, while definitely fitting into the horror genre, also flirts with crossing over into the psychological thriller genre. The MC is basically an evil child who is coming into adulthood and his parents are at a loss as to what to do with him. They've run out of options. I would have loved this story to have been longer. If Weber ever rewrites this as a full-length novel, I'm definitely all in.

My Own Personal Monster... because no horror collection is complete without a sasquatch story. Not only the subject matter, and the engaging writing, but I also very much enjoyed the ending. I really thought it was going to go another way.

The Hitch is about a hitchhiker who seems to be having some problems. I can't say too much without giving away the spoiler, but I can say I appreciated Weber's craftmanship of the story/narration.

My least favorite of the eleven stories was Bobby's Holiday Wish List. It was well-written. In fact, it was even one of the stories that made me audibly gasp. It's only my least favorite due to the subject matter being a little too dark for my taste.

I also feel compelled to mention that the editing on this book was impeccable. Props to the editor. And cover designer.

Five stars!!

Awesomely morbid spin on the Alice in Wonderland story line. The Cheshire Cat is going around on a murder spree while it's up to Alice and "Pillar the Killer" to stop him. I loved all the little tidbits of info Jace included about Lewis Carrol into the novel. Can't wait to read more of the series!

I've been incessantly chipping away at my TBR pile, but I don't suppose that makes much difference when I'm adding to it faster than I can reduce it.  Free books, sale books, gift books, borrowed books, bought books.  I'm drowning in a sea of novels and fear I might have to go on an adding freeze because I can't handle this kind of stress.  

Initially, the cover of this book caught my eye. I'd never read the Fablehaven series, which this book is a companion to, but it made me want to learn more about the series. Inside, the book is filled with awesome drawings and amusing little notes "left" by the MC's of the series. It's divided into sections such as "Creatures", "Dragons", and "Artifacts & Items" just to name a few. It took me almost a couple of months to read and review this book because I was so impressed by it, I wanted to begin reading the actual series before I finished the companion book. I'm now on book 2, and I can see this as a handy book to come back to skim over and reread certain passages as needed. This is everything I could want from a companion book!

Homemaking Valentines today with my son.  =)  We're both pretty excited there will be another Alice in Wonderland movie releasing this year. 

*Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance*

Written in a Brontë/Austen style, this novel delivers a blend of Gothic mystery and romance. The heroine, Elinore, sets out for the estate of Ravenwood which is to be her new home. The carriage is besieged and she and her driver are stranded. As she seeks help, she's bitten by a wolf in the forest. Problems and romance ensue.

I loved the strong female heroine in this story! I loved her romantic interest, Caleb. I loved pretty much everything about this novel. Gillis has perfectly blended my favorite literary genres and created something that is modern but feels like it's been around since Jane Eyre was published. I'm all in if this continues as a series!