Book Review: Forgotten Violets by Martin Niewood

Surrounded by hundreds of miles of frozen tundra, Meadow and her friends have been picked up and imprisoned, and hauled into court to determine just what they’re doing here, because the only other people they’ve found until now that weren’t hostiles, were lost and died in the cold, or have been delivered to them burnt to a crisp. But why?

2/5 Stars 200 Pages Published October 14th 2017

With a rare ability to eat a strange fruit called elsyn, Meadow will eventually play a huge part in uncovering exactly what secrets are really going on here. There are wars, there’s a monster, and there’s a ghost of a man terrorizing civilians, and creating cults. But it goes much deeper than that, and it’s going to tear the entire fabric of the world apart.

That being said, and as interesting and unique as this book is, I had a lot of problems with it. I felt really confused for most of the book. I had this feeling the whole time that I was just dropped into the middle of a series without an explanation. Because of that, I couldn’t fully immerse myself into it, and had problems getting through it. I just was so lost that I wasn’t able to fully pay attention. That being said, maybe this book just wasn’t for me.

The setting was interesting and the plot was very unique, and for those reasons I would say if you’re fourteen and up and enjoy strange fantasy books, why not give this book a shot? It has a beautiful cover, and I can see people really enjoying it. Just because I didn’t, doesn’t mean you won’t either.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!

Hope you’re doing well and staying cool out there!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Cover Reveal: Flawless (A Diamond Doms Novel #8) by Ivy Nelson

Flawless
Ivy Nelson
(A Diamond Doms Novel, #8)
Publication date: July 27th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Matthew Bruce has a lot of secrets. He’s legally married to royalty, he’s in love with his wife’s little sister, and he’s not really dead like everyone thinks. To top it all off, it turns out his recently deceased grandfather was part of the international underground organization his friends at Club Solitaire have been tracking down.

Faking his death hadn’t been part of the plan, and having Kendall Livingston, his wife’s sister, track him down most definitely wasn’t in the plans.

Now he has to keep them both safe and keep Kendall out of his bed.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Ivy Nelson is an emerging contemporary romance author, hopeful romantic, and passionate advocate who is versed in all things steamy, sultry, and sensual. It all started back when she read her first steamy romance novel at the age of fourteen. From that point forward, it became her favorite genre–one she wanted to write in herself someday. Sylvia Day’s writing style cemented that passion, and gave her just the inspiration she needed to be an author herself. In December of 2018, Ivy published her debut novel, Power Desired at the age of 32.

Most recently, Ivy completed the “D.C. Power Games” series and the prequel to her forthcoming “Diamond Doms series” titled “Hard” (currently available for pre-order). In a not-so-distant past, she was a student affairs professional at a university and earned her political science degree, which explains her politically-driven romance debut.

When she isn’t penning steamy scenes or attending writing conferences, you can find this contest-winning karaoke singer and bookworm passionately supporting human rights or growing her Sims 4 empire. She is also a wine aficionado and certified whiskey taster (no really, she has the certificate to prove it). All that aside, Ivy loves spending quality time with her amazing son and husband of three years at their home in Houston, TX.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Hosted by:

Guest Post: Books & Rain by Charles Sterling

Why do we love to read and write when it’s raining?

When it’s a rainy day outside, it gets darker, the sound of the water drops hitting your window fill your ears and tranquility fills the room. People often refer to the saying “the calm after the storm”, but I love calling it “the calm during the storm”. It’s as if the angel of sleep came into your house and told you that you’re free to do whatever you want… because it’s raining.

Now there are several psychological and scientific reasons for why rain makes us feel calm, but let’s address the most important reason first; it has nothing to do with science or psychology, we just really love the rain! Rain is awesome, and even if the science-y reasons didn’t exist, we would still adore it.

The Psychology Behind It

This might be the simplest and most relatable thing to explain. When it rains, things are often cancelled. You can’t go outside, you can’t visit people, activities get postponed, and you have to stay at home and just wait for it to end.

Now even on days when you don’t have anything to do, the rain gives you the same feeling of ‘stay at home and enjoy the rest of your day’. Not to mention, when it’s raining outside, it’s cold and wet. Staying inside during the rain gives you the feeling of being ‘safe’, much akin to hiding under your blanket when you felt scared of the monsters under your bed.

Photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

The Science Behind It

Rain makes us feel sleepy. When it rains, the dark clouds mightily block out the sun’s evil rays, causing our body to produce melatonin, which makes us sleepy. That, and in general a darker room provides a cozier atmosphere for us to relax in a lot easier. Although not everyone might feel ‘sleepy’ during the rain, but the reduction of melatonin would definitely make us feel a bit less active.

The next reason is the music that the rain produces. The rhythmic sound from the rain enters our brain and produces alpha waves, which again, make you sleepy! This is only feasible when scary thunderstorms aren’t present, scientifically speaking. But to me, the sound of thunder is like delicious cream on coffee. I’m all for it!

Other reasons might include the smell of rain and the negatively charged air that relaxes the body.

How it all relates to books

A book is notorious for demanding a calm atmosphere, and rain is notorious for producing said calm atmosphere.

Photo by Brianna Martinez on Pexels.com

Whether you’re writing a book or reading it, you know you’re about to allocate an amount of time into it. During this time, you would rather not be disturbed, because what if you’re in the middle of a good part?

Back to the psychological aspect of the rain, it gives you the feeling of that ‘free time’, because it cancels your events and tells you to stay at home and enjoy yourself. This gives you the perfect opportunity to get on your favorite couch and do book related things!

A big factor for me personally is, when it rains it gets a little cooler, which might make you want a hot cup of tea! Hot drinks and books are like a match made in heaven.

I for one love the rain so much that on hot sunny days I make my room colder and darker and put on the sound of the rain just to give myself those cozy feelings. Who needs drinks and parties when the rain can make you feel just as good? Just kidding; we all obviously need drinks and parties. But when it’s writing or reading time, the rain just does it best.

Book Tour & Excerpt: Dead Calm (Grave Talker #3) by Annie Anderson

Dead Calm
Annie Anderson
(Grave Talker, #3)
Publication date: June 29th 2021
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

There’s not enough coffee or tacos in the world to deal with Darby Adler’s family.

If it’s not her death-dealing father, her back-from-the-dead mother, or her ghost grandfather, it’s her long-lost siblings and their bid for power.

With the ABI radio silent and her siblings to find, Darby’s got a major problem on her hands—especially when the local coven figures out that her father is no longer bound.

Can Haunted Peak, TN handle this family reunion?

Goodreads / Amazon

 

Author Bio:

Annie Anderson is a military wife and United States Air Force veteran. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a southern girl at heart, but has lived all over the US and abroad. As soon as the military stops moving her family around, she’ll settle on a state, but for now she enjoys being a nomad with her husband, two daughters, an old man of a dog, and a young pup that makes life… interesting.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest

 

GIVEAWAY!

 

https://kingsumo.com/js/embed.js

Hosted by:

 

And here’s an excerpt from the book!

I needed a vacation.

That was the headline that blasted across my thoughts as I stared at the note that had been so carefully placed on my counter. I was supposed to be going on a teensy getaway with Bishop. After the bullshit we’d gone through over the last few days, taking some time off had seemed paramount. Taking a brief pause from my contemplation, I found my shirt and yanked it back on before continuing my internal deliberation.

As I stared at the cardstock, the devil on my shoulder was making a solid case for ignoring literally everything in my life, packing a bag, and hightailing it to some undiscovered corner of the map with no cell service which could only be accessed by boat. At this point, I was considering moving into a yurt or something just to not have to deal with the utter shitshow that had become my life.

Angel Darby began arguing in favor of staying to find my psychopath of a brother, while Devil Darby was still painting pictures of Bishop and me wearing very little clothing in a hut on the beach, sipping Mai Tais. I had to admit, Devil Darby was winning that fight, hands-down. And what did the line “Your mother can’t protect you anymore” mean?

As far as I knew—and that wasn’t much when it came to Mariana, but still—she hadn’t done a damn thing to protect me a day in her life. This damn note was a taunt—a dare. And I didn’t like it one bit.

Without much thought on my part, I yanked a paper towel from the holder and picked up the note to inspect it. There wasn’t a damn clue to be had on the thing, at least not to my naked eye.

You know that means you could just pretend you never saw it, right? Just drop it like a hot potato and scamper off to a cabin in the woods with Bishop.

See? Devil Darby had a solid plan.

And what happens when X doesn’t just stop at notes? Then it’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre time with a side of Halloween for dessert.

And there was Angel Darby coming in for the buzzkill.

Book Review: Eden’s Serum (Eden Lost #1) by Angelique S. Anderson

4/5 Stars 310 pages
Published April 6th 2017 by Creative Angel Design and Publication

Encapsulated in a beautiful cover, ,this horrific story tells about a world where tech has advanced far beyond the need for identification and money, and even illness. Eden’s Serum is one that only the richest of the rich can afford, offering youth, health and above all, immortality. But as Adam is about to find out, not everything is as it seems, and his ultra rich bachelor life may not b as satisfying as it once was.

After developing a kind of super card that took the world by storm, dubbed simply the Identicoin, the book begins with an emergency. And Adam is headed head first into the bomb threat at his workplace to do whatever he can to save his life’s work. Interesting enough, this opening scene really sets the pace for the rest of the book, if you can believe it. Because two years later, the Indenticoin has completely taken over the world. And Adam has more money than he knows what to do with babies are now assigned an Identicoin at birth, holding all the important paperwork they could ever need for their upcoming lives, and are required to wear it at all times in public by law.

Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com

The next technological leap that Adam wants to take with his life is making himself immortal. Through injection and claimed to be made from plants, it seems safe enough, after all, Adam’s genius must stick around as long as possible so that he can continue to change the world with his inventions. But is it truly safe? Has it even been fully tested? And why do the doctors preparing him for this next part of his life seem so sketchy? What are they hiding?

Aside from these everyday problems; Adam’s work turns out to be spying deep into his personal life, which he’s obviously not happy about, but is willing to put up with it for a cushy promotion, new house, and a workplace he’s allowed to run, by himself. But not long after his injection, he goes to work hiring people for his new office, and begins experiencing horrible blackouts, accompanied by blinding pain.

Photo by Naveen Annam on Pexels.com

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. I love things about tech and the future and everything like that, and this book fits that perfectly. It was mysterious and exciting, and all the characters were very realistic with their good and bad traits showing for everyone to be hyperaware of. I was very interested in uncovering everything that was hidden by the higher-ups in this story, and the big adventure that Adam and Evelyn have to o through to really get to know what’s really going on was extremely gripping and easy to get into. I think this was a really great take on the classic Adam ad Eve and the Garden of Eden story. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next in the series, and I think to put it simply, this is a great story about trusting y our gut and your own intuition. If you like science fiction and are sixteen plus years old, and also not squeamish about violence, I would say definitely give this book a shot!

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here through my link!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well, and maybe don’t trust an injection that claims to make you immortal.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Cover Reveal: A Collection of Scars by Heather Hataley

A Collection of Scars
Heather Hataley
Publication date: Fall 2021
Genres: New Adult, Speculative Fiction

Yonah has a life-changing decision to make.

Ever since she was sold into slavery and separated from her brother and sister, all she’s ever wanted was to reuinite with them. But Yonah grapples with an unwilling attraction to her temperamental master, Naris, who has swiftly fallen in love with her.

Whispers of rebellion can be heard throughout Harasa and the slave population wants to see an end to their subjugation. Yonah has an opportunity to do her part, which will threaten her relationship with Naris and potentially hinder her ability to find her brother and sister.

Can she find the strength to defy her master?

Add to Goodreads / Author Website

Hosted by:

Review: The Devil Whispered by Shawn Starkweather

3/5 Stars 413 Pages (in paper) Published February 1st 2021 by Shawn Starkweather Publishing Company

Honestly as great as the plot and the characters were in this book, I had the hardest time getting immersed into it. For whatever reason, I still haven’t figured it out over five hundred pages later, I Just couldn’t keep my attention on this book. Whether that’s a me problem or a book problem I’m not sure, but I do have these good things to say about it. If you’re looking for an action packed cyberpunk mystery novel mixed with military personnel, robotic limbs and internal computers, and crazy body mods and just crazy tech in general, than this is definitely something you should look into checking out next.

At the beginning of this book we find out main character, Jacobi, hunting down a man for some kind of mob boss. He finds him surrounded by drugs and girls and easily apprehends him, and brings him back to his father. This is just the beginning though, because the favour he gets in return will really help him out later in the book. What’s really going on here, Jacobi learns after visiting his friend in jail after he has brutally murdered his wife, is that someone seems to be hunting down the members of his old army team. But why would someone do that? Their names and team were all under lock and key, not just anyone would be able to have that information. But his friend says it wasn’t his fault and that someone made him do it. How could someone just control another person like that? All these questions and more are all wrapped up by the end of the book.

Out of all the characters I think I like Risa and his other friend with the robotic limbs the most. I read another review that says this book seemed sexist, and while that opinion is valid, I really didn’t get that vibe from it. I would say the vibes I got from this book were more military James Bond with all the cyberpunk goodness and crazy tech we love that comes along with that genre. The world around the characters wasn’t explained in depth, and honestly neither were the characters themselves, and maybe that might be why I had trouble really getting into it. That being said, though, I did enjoy it, and I don’t think I lost any time while I was reading it. It just took me longer than usual to get through it because of those things.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Overall, If you’re looking for something exciting and action packed, with lots of tech and storylines within the bigger storyline, than this might be something you want to check out next. I would say that anyone aged sixteen and up would be able to read this, there’s not really any explicit scenes, and what very little sexual scenes there actually are in this book, I counted two, they’re glossed over very quickly and don’t get too in depth with them other than saying yeah, they did this. Which I appreciated. I don’t think that this is one of those kinds of books. The plot twists were exciting and everything weaved together really nicely in the end. And I’m left wishing I had an internal computer or robotic limbs, or those cool night vision mods that turn your eyes all black.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here!

And if you’d like to follow the author on Twitter, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Too many hobbies?

I might have overdone it with the hobbies. I started gardening, painting, tiktok, walking an hour a day and drawing again in the last few months and that’s already on top of my cleaning, selling things, reading, book reviewing, blogging, playing video games, and anything else I’ve forgotten.

I just have these times where I want to do everything at once, and I keep it up for however long I can, sometimes months, and then all of the sudden it’s too much and I just sit around playing sims. Does this happen to you?

I’d love to find a happy medium and keep up with everything, and I’m learning. Hope you’re having a great day.

Review: Villainous by Stonie Williams, Jef Sadzinski, Giovanna T Orozco, & Chris Fernandez

A unique take on a superhero comic book, Villainous is an exciting and very interesting story to read. Following a girl who looks like a reptile, tail, scales, claws and all, she finds her way through the world as she works toward her goal, being a superhero. But she really doesn’t know what she’s in for, and honestly neither did I. A beautifully done book, I really enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

4/5 Stars 112 pages
Published May 4th 2021 by Mad Cave Studios

Matilda is a girl who’s excited to start her apprenticeship with the local superhero troop, The Coalition. But it’s not exactly what she expected. Mostly doing gopher errands, she feels like her new identity as Rep-Tilly is hidden in the shadows. But things turn around quickly for her when she finds out that they don’t just save people, they also kill the people that they deem bad enough to kill. And she’s not sure how she feels about that. She just wants to be a hero, and heroes don’t kill people, right? That’s until they set her up as a terrorist to the world for finding out their big secret.

This book was an exciting story of how things can go wrong at the worst time, and people aren’t always who you think they are. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and I feel like things wrapped up pretty well at the end of the book. I’d love to know more about them and their world, but you know, it’s just one graphic novel, and there’s only so much story that you can pack into it. I feel like the art really fit the storytelling as well. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, and if you like superheroes.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here.

And if you’d like to follow some of the creators on Twitter, you can here!

Stonie Williams

Giovanna T Orozco

Jef Sadzinski

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and reading comics.

Days Like These?

I think it’s no surprise that I’m very mentally ill. Though I haven’t talked about it in depth here, more than just my anxiety and overall lack of motivation, but it’s a real problem. The problem being, that I’m always going to be like this. And that’s not a great thing to have stuck in your head.

I’ve had trouble keeping friends and family around because they just don’t want to have to deal with me when I have episodes. And I understand why. I don’t want to deal with them either. I’ve been told that I’m too stressful to be around when I get anxious, that I’m too clingy, and that I’m just overall too much for people. And it really hurts. So I’m mostly alone. And I guess that’s just the way that it has to be. I make everyone leave eventually, I’m too much for them.

I can’t keep track of my hobbies because I’m either 100% into them, or I’m 100% out of it in general. I try my best, but I just can’t hold down a “normal” life no matter how hard I try. And people don’t want people like that around. So I stay in my house and I paint, and I read, and I distract myself. But how much of my life is distraction and how much is actual living?

I guess this post doesn’t really have a point. But I think that there are people out there like me, who just feel completely squished down by the things that have happened in their lives, that have made them the people that they are today, and the things that people say to them when they’re feeling not so great. But it’s just another one of those days. It won’t be forever, right? That’s what I try to remind myself anyways. My entire being is an all or nothing point of view, and it’s too much for me too.

Anyways, I just want you guys to know me a little better, I guess. Why I’m here and then suddenly I’m not, because it’s not just my blog that’s like that. It’s every aspect of my life. I’ll be around all the time and then suddenly I’ll be missing for a couple months. I hate it, but that’s just how it’s always going to be, I guess.

Thanks for listening to me.

-Aurora