Monday's Beginnings (163)

I think each Monday is getting harder and harder to get my butt to work these days. *groan*

So, I did not get back to working out.  By the time I get home after the kids sports and get dinner done there's not much left for working out, blogging, reading, and house stuff.  I didn't even make it on every day last week to visit and comment as the house is a little in disarray, okay a lot of disarray.  He should be finishing up at the end of the month, then into NaNoWriMo I go.  So it's looking like I'll be a weak link for a while.  Sorry.

I've been trying to get ready for another NaNoWriMo round.  I've decided to go ahead with NaNo again this year, a whole month of nothing but writing.  So that means I'll be slacking here and visiting you all.  I'll try to post here and there with updates in November, but I'll not be around much.  Hope you all don't forget me. :)  Because I'll be back in December, and excited to see you all again.

I am nervous with this round of NaNo.  I'm not as *prepared* as last year, not that I was prepared last year at all, but I had more of a mental base set for the characters and world.  This year I'm really pantsing it.  It's a new idea and not much laid out for it yet, but it's grabbed on to me and won't let go, so I'll give it a go.  Here's hoping I'll get the 50,000 words to win again.  I'm thinking I will, one way or another, I'll get to the finish line.  I'll make up something along the way, and will just have to go back and fix it all up later. *sigh* But for me that's the fun part, finding something I enjoy and having fun with it.


But, on to the bookish stuff from last week now...

Current Read:
Fathom by Merrie Destefano

Finished Last Week:
Endgame by Ann Aguirre
The High Priestess by Katee Robert
House of Grey Vol. 2 by Collin Earl

Reviews to Come:
Stitch by Samantha Durante
Soul Trade by Caitlin Kittredge
Harmonics: Rise of the magician by Collin Earl & Chris Snelgrove
House of Grey Vol. 1 by Collin Earl
House of Grey Vol. 2 by Collin Earl
The High Priestess by Katee Robert
Endgame by Ann Aguirre

Book Reviews Posted:
Just a Man by Seleste deLaney
Badlands by Seleste deLaney
Protector of the Light by S.A. Archer & S. Ravynheart

Podcast Reviews Posted:
Avalon Revisited by O.M. Grey ~ Chapters 11 - 12

Movie Review Posted:
No movie review, sorry, been running out of time.

Books and Covers Shared:
Have you Heard?  A new book in a loved fantasy world.

Special Posts:
UF Book Chat, Final Stop on Endgame
Freebies and Deals, on Nook too (27)

I did not do a Flash Fiction Friday.  The week really got away from me with running.

My WANT List...Hmmm, well...um, looks like I've not added any!  That's so hard to believe.  But true.

Received Last Week:
Free for Nook:

The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
Goodreads Synopsis:
Dev is a smuggler with the perfect cover. He's in high demand as a guide for the caravans that carry legitimate goods from the city of Ninavel into the country of Alathia. The route through the Whitefire Mountains is treacherous, and Dev is one of the few climbers who knows how to cross them safely. With his skill and connections, it's easy enough to slip contraband charms from Ninavel - where any magic is fair game, no matter how dark - into Alathia, where most magic is outlawed.

But smuggling a few charms is one thing; smuggling a person through the warded Alathian border is near suicidal. Having made a promise to a dying friend, Dev is forced to take on a singularly dangerous cargo: Kiran. A young apprentice on the run from one of the most powerful mages in Ninavel, Kiran is desperate enough to pay a fortune to sneak into a country where discovery means certain execution - and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent Dev from finding out the terrible truth behind his getaway.

Yet Kiran isn't the only one harboring a deadly secret. Caught up in a web of subterfuge and dark magic, Dev and Kiran must find a way to trust each other - or face not only their own destruction, but that of the entire city of Ninavel.

Winnings:
I won these from a giveaway on Skyla Dawn Cameron's site.  Thank you!

Of Course I Try by Seleste deLaney
Goodreads Synopsis:
Love is a wonderful thing. Unless you don't get a choice in the matters of your own heart.

Jocelyn has loved Max since the day she met him. Even when he scares her enough to leave, she can't resist going back. No matter how many times she tries to break free from him, she ends up in his arms and bed again. 

Not this time. Jocelyn needs to be free, and Max isn't going to stop her from walking away -- no matter how hard he tries.

The Ghost of Vampire Present by Seleste deLaney
Goodreads Synopsis:
Jocelyn has finally found her knight in shining armor in Chad, and ghosts are the last thing on her mind. Even when one shows up in her bedroom on Christmas Eve...



Gift:

To My Demons by Sarah-Jane Lehoux
Goodreads Synopsis:
The link between Heaven and Hell is nothing less than a soul. Fleeting…fragile…easily corrupted. And the thing that goes bump in the night is nothing more than a heart, pounding out songs of desire, obsession, and fear.

To My Demons is a haunting examination of dark side of the human condition. Some of the stories have been previously published; some have not. Some have a decidedly supernatural element, while others are all too real. From a murderer’s ghastly recollections, to rotting, shambling reminders of a man’s misdeeds, to a modern day fable of oppression and liberation, To My Demons is an exercise in exorcism.

Review:

The Weird Girls by Cecy Robson
Goodreads Synopsis:
Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird… 

The Wird sisters are different from every race on earth—human and supernatural. When human society is no longer an option for them, they move in among the resident vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region. Could this be the true home they’ve longed for? Um, not quite. After the sisters accidentally strip a witch of her powers in a bar brawl, they soon realize the mistake will cost them. Because to take on a witch means to take on her coven. And losing the battle isn’t an option.

Includes a preview of the first full-length novel in the Weird Girls series, Sealed with a Curse—as well as introductions to the Weird World, and a letter from the author.

This is The House of Grey volume 4 & 5 by Collin Earl I received as I've blown through volumes 1 & 2 and really enjoying this world.  They reviews are to come.  You'll see. :)
Goodreads Synopsis:

Fantasy, friendship, and fate await you in Collin Earl’s The House of Grey, based on the popular audio fiction by the same name. 

14-year-old Monson Grey faces the same challenges that any freshman high school kid would: difficult classes, weird teachers, food fights…girls. Except, Monson Grey is not Monson Grey. At least, when he looks at himself in the mirror, the scarred face staring back is not someone he recognizes. 

Now he finds himself attending an extraordinary school, the recipient of an incredible scholarship, among ridiculously rich classmates, all with no memory of how he got there or what to expect.

All he has from his former life are the flashes of haunting images that plague his dreams and the echoing voices that he hears, but cannot see. 

Luckily, Monson finds fast friendship in two of his classmates, Casey and Artorius. Little does Monson know, they too carry their own skeletons. Yet, as bizarre events start to unfold around them, Monson wonders what secrets lay buried in his mind or if he will ever be able to share his true fears with his newfound friends.

Join our three heroes as they roam the halls of the most prestigious high school in the country, finding love, mystery, and answers to their algebra homework- all while peeling away the layers of Monson’s shadowy past. 

Author’s Note: The House of Grey was originally a serialized audio fiction. Volume 3 continues the written adaptation of that story told in a six part series. Individual volumes do not contain the complete story.

So, how did last week go for you?  I seem to keep running out of time lately, which happens about this time of year and work's getting busy too.  Hope next week looks like a wonderful week for you.

Here's wishing you all the best in words and pages.