Sunday Post #176

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share new about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

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I didn't post last weekend because we went away to a wedding, and when we arrived I was BEAT. lol.

This week has been a blur as we attempt to get caught up on things. It's been crazy, and I don't think we got accomplished what we'd hoped. Ugh! My husband was off at one job this week, but worked his second as well, so that kinda changed the routine around here too. I'm really hoping this week will be back to a semi-normal routine. Kiddo has started football camp and college soon and I've been busy with wedding photo touch-ups.

This week I plan on getting through the wedding photo touch ups and working on pay editing work. My book has been set aside with all that we've been doing so maybe I'll get back to it after the photos are done. I've also received an inquiry about doing sit down photos for a friends daughter's baby's 1st birthday. I'm going to do it! :D Exciting.

Our local used book store will be closing. She's not getting the book stock in or selling as much with the ebooks now. She doesn't have a definite sell date as it depends on when her store sells. She could be open weeks or months or a year. I went with my husband we he picked up a few small books on making furniture and items and I picked up two books. I think I'm going to try to get there on Saturdays to pick up a book or two. She has many I want.

I need to get through my emails and get organized. I'm hoping to do that this week.

I plan on getting some visiting in this week, so hope to see ya all on your blogs!

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The Fit Booker:

Goal:  Workout in any form of exercise (or on Wii Fit) 2x's a week. (to feel better and hope to drop a few pants sizes)

How did I do last week... Seriously!? What's exercising?!?! lol. It's been to chaotic around here to get exercising in. How do others do this? Raise a family, work, AND exercise? O.o

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What's Happening in Books:

Current Read:

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews


Current Audiobook:
Greatshadow by James Maxey

Current Podcast Book Listen:
Stonebriar Casefiles: Bad Alchemy by Laura Nicole Spencer (You can listen for free too!)

Finished Last Week: 

Assassin's Rival by A.F. Grappin

Audiobooks from Audible:

High Fantasy by Harmon Cooper
The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer
Beacon by Chess Desalls

Finished Podcast Book Listen:

Nothing yet.

DNFed:

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Last Two Weeks on the Blog:

Cover Reveals: (click titles to go to post & learn more)

Holly Danger series 1st 3 books! By Amanda Carlson

Guest Posts:

Posts:

Spellbound in a Flash:
I've started back up again! I'll work on more pictures.


Challenged Writers:
July Update. How'd Camp NaNoWriMo go?

Around the Internet...

Reviews:

Malaise Falchion: The Spade Case Files by Paul Barrett

"This story is plain fun. You have your fantasy beings - Orcs, Ogres, Dwarves, Elves and more. Then you have your noir mystery feel as Spade is a PI. Then you throw in skeletons and zombies! LOL! Yes! What a combo in one story!"


Queen of the Night by Craig Schaefer

"This book is...just... wow. Craig does an amazing job of taking us through the end of the book and then some, tying up all threads. I had to take a few days to digest all I experienced in this book. Wow."


Unleash by Lauren Harris

"Somewhere along the way, I fell, with Helena, for Jaesung. And grew to love the characters here - Helena, Krista, and all present. I love the magic created here with the mandalas. There is a blend of different cultures in this creation that have me loving it. Very interesting. I look forward to more books with Helena and her friends."


Assassin's Rival by A.F. Grappin

"I liked the way the book moved through the months with Luc. We know of the classes, see examples, but we don't get stuck getting the classes. Thank you. This is done in the best way to show us the classes but keep the book moving with Luc as he grows here, and lives through troubles that stir with fellow brothers and sisters. And there is troubles."

Podcast Review:

Mama Bitchstress Reviews:

GIVEAWAYS:

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This Week to Come on the Blog:

I will write up two reviews and schedule.

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Received In Last Two Weeks:

(Note: Links to Amazon are buy links where I could earn commission, in case you are interested.)


For Review Consideration:

The Dragon Lords: False Idols by Jon Hollins
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hobbit in this rollicking fantasy adventure series. 

The Dragons who once ruled over the land are dead.

The motley crew that stumbled through that revolution are rich and praised as saviors.

Everyone gets to live happily ever after, right?

Right?

Well, it might have worked out that way if the dragons in Kondorra had been the only ones. If they hadn't been just the tip of the spear about to fall upon the whole world...

The Tourist by Robert Dickinson
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Goodreads Synopsis:
"A novel that's as fresh and compelling as it is high concept....Immensely enjoyable." ---SFX (four stars)
THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
It is expected to be an excursion like any other. There is nothing in the records to indicate that anything out of the ordinary will happen.
A bus will take them to the mall. They will have an hour or so to look around. Perhaps buy something, or try the food.
A minor traffic incident on the way back to the resort will provide some additional interest - but the tour rep has no reason to expect any trouble.
Until he notices that one of his party is missing.
Most disturbingly, she is a woman who, according to the records, did not go missing.
Now she is a woman whose disappearance could change the world.
With breathtaking plot twists that ricochet through time, this is the most ingenious conspiracy novel you will read this year.

Of Flame and Fate by Cecy Robson
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Taran Wird, who commands the power to wield fire and lightning, is an oddity in the supernatural world. But neither Taran nor her unique sisters compare to the bizarre entity known as Destiny. And Taran is assigned to protect her.

Born of two witches, Destiny is revered among the supernatural elite for her acute ability to predict the future. Her biggest prophecy involves Taran’s sister, Celia, whom Destiny decreed will bear children strong enough to take on the evil that’s rising. Yet Destiny is not alone in her predictions, or individuality.

When Johnny Fate, a rock star among humans and a male version of Destiny is discovered, his powers and Destiny’s clash, triggering the start of Destiny’s demise and altering the fate of Celia’s unborn children.

Taran, her werewolf lover Gemini, and their allies must determine if it’s Fate who will decide what will become of Celia’s children, or if their lives and the world will perish with Destiny.


Audio Books Requested for Review:

EverRealm by Jake Bible
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Goodreads Synopsis:
In the 23rd century, the world is at an end, and a group of gaming and programming friends decide that their only way to survive is to discard their bodies and send their minds into the quantum matrix of a virtual gaming world. They have created the Domains and there they plan to reside forever. 

Except, the nightmares of reality have followed them into their new quantum dimension and those nightmares threaten to destroy it all! 

Now it is up to one of them to help navigate the quantum platform known as EverRealm, a fantasy MMORPG of epic proportions, in order to complete a quest he neither wants to complete nor knows how. With the help of his friends, and a lot of luck, he will have to face trials and tribulations like he's never faced as a player! Because now it is no longer a matter of Game Over, but of life or death! 

Can he survive it all and come out a winner? The only way he'll know is if he plays the game to the bitter end!

Hero of Thera by Eric Nylund
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Goodreads Synopsis:
BE A HERO IN THE ULTIMATE GAME 
Are you a top-rated gamer? 
Then you might have the skills to play the Game … where players are sponsored by actual demon lords, gods and goddesses, or Lovecraftian nightmares. 
Enter Thera, a real kingdom at the crossroads of many other worlds, but with all the augmented-reality interfaces, character progression, and game mechanics that players know and love. 
And the stakes of The Game? 
Nothing less than Creation—every world in every universe and reality. 
So … no pressure. 
Thus Hector Savage, gamer extraordinaire, comes to Thera. Nothing can prepare him, though, for the schemes of Abyssal Lords, 
rampaging barbarian ghosts, and a host of nefarious forces who want him dead—before he can even make fifth level!

Paying the Price by Terry Mixon
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Goodreads Synopsis:
No good deed goes unpunished… 

Admiral Jared Mertz and Princess Kelsey Bandar saved billions of lives and staved off an invasion of the Terran Empire, but not everyone is cheering their success. Their triumphant return sets off a chain of events that threaten not only their lives, but everyone they hold dear. 

Crown Prince Ethan Bandar, heir to the Imperial Throne, will stop at nothing to claim his birthright. He won’t allow anyone to stand between him and ultimate power. Not his sister. Not his half-brother. Not even his father. 

Kelsey, Jared, and their battle-hardened allies must fight to survive his insidious attacks and race to stop a looming civil war. With the future of humanity on the line, can they save the world they love from blood and fire?


Purchased/Winnings/Gifts:

Book:

Dominion Rising: 23 Brand New Novels
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Find the Science Fiction and Fantasy reads you’ve been craving! Whether it’s alien invasion or dark fairytales, heart-pounding galactic adventures or cyberpunk romance, Dominion Rising will satisfy with a thrilling mix of 22 BRAND NEW FULL LENGTH novels set in fantastical realms. 

Sword and sorcery, far-flung galactic empires, alternative history, epic magic, slipstream futures: this collection of carefully selected, exclusive novels is sure to please and delight readers of speculative fiction. 

Over five thousand pages packed with aliens, faeries, vampires, gargoyles, warriors, telepaths, space pirates, starship captains, hapless mercenaries, street urchins, robots, cyber-enhanced humans, badass heroines, and lost princesses. These award-winning, New York Times, USA Today and International bestselling authors have left no stone in the science fiction and epic fantasy universe unturned to bring you the very best escape from planet Earth. 

All the novels are only available in the Dominion Rising collection, so grab a copy today!

Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier
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Goodreads Synopsis:
In this gorgeous, dark fantasy in the spirit of Jacqueline Carey, a princess and a duke must protect the people of their nations when a terrible threat leaves everyone in danger.

With the Mad King of Emmer in the north and the vicious King of Pohorir in the east, Kehara Raehema knows her country is in a vulnerable position. She never expected to give up everything she loves to save her people, but when the Mad King’s fury leaves her land in danger, she has no choice but to try any stratagem that might buy time for her people to prepare for war—no matter the personal cost.

Hundreds of miles away, the pitiless Wolf Duke of Pohorir, Innisth Eanete, dreams of breaking his people and his province free of the king he despises. But he has no way to make that happen—until chance unexpectedly leaves Kehara on his doorstep and at his mercy.

Yet in a land where immanent spirits inhabit the earth, political disaster is not the greatest peril one can face. Now, as the year rushes toward the dangerous midwinter, Kehera and Innisth find themselves unwilling allies, and their joined strength is all that stands between the peoples of the Four Kingdoms and utter catastrophe.

Venom by Jennifer Estep
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Goodreads Synopsis:
What kind of assassin works pro bono?

It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most. 

To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists. 

At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer . . . who is about to save her life.

Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep
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Goodreads Synopsis:
I’d rather face a dozen lethal assassins any night than deal with something as tricky, convoluted, and fragile as my feelings.

But here I am. Gin Blanco, the semi-retired assassin known as the Spider. Hovering outside sexy businessman Owen Grayson’s front door like a nervous teenage girl. One thing I like about Owen: he doesn’t shy away from my past—or my present. And right now I have a bull’s-eye on my forehead. 

Cold-blooded Fire elemental Mab Monroe has hired one of the smartest assassins in the business to trap me. Elektra LaFleur is skilled and efficient, with deadly electrical elemental magic as potent as my own Ice and Stone powers. Which means there’s a fifty-fifty chance one of us won’t survive this battle. I intend to kill LaFleur—or die trying—because Mab wants the assassin to take out my baby sister, Detective Bria Coolidge, too. 

The only problem is, Bria has no idea I’m her long-lost sibling . . . or that I’m the murderer she’s been chasing through Ashland for weeks. And what Bria doesn’t know just might get us both dead. . . .


Audio:

Free Ebooks:
(On my Kindle and Nook App) Links to books under title. They may or may not be free at this time.

Save Me by Anna Santos
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Young Camille’s dreams are shattered when she’s rejected by the ruthless and abusive Alpha of the Shadow Pack. Her only chance at survival is to arrive in Paris and pray that what her brother told her about the angels is true. 

Chased and almost killed upon her arrival, she’s saved by the mythical creatures who protect the city. Plus, Fate gives her a new mate. The one she always dreamed about. But with a price. 

Jacob had been waiting a long time to be matched to a rejected soul so he could break his curse and become a full angel. Camille is everything he’d been looking for in a mate—she has a good heart and she’s extremely brave. Running against time, they have thirty days to fall in love or he will turn into stone, forever. 

Peril strikes when Alpha Simon wants to reclaim Camille. In a mad quest for power, he wages war on the other packs. Now more than being saved, Camille needs to be the savior.

The Hostage Bargain by Annika Martin
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Goodreads Synopsis:
When small town girl Melinda Prescott is taken hostage by three hot bank robbers, she quickly discovers that a life of bank heists, luxury hotels, and kinky menages is way more exciting than working on the family farm. She should be scared of her dominating, fierce captors…but there’s something wicked inside her that’s craving to obey their every dark desire.

Melinda eagerly throws in with her three smoldering fugitives…and soon realizes that these are no ordinary bank robbers—and that bad guys aren’t always who they seem. But will her delicious captors overcome their own demons enough to let her in? And can these underdogs fight an evil conspiracy that’s larger than all of them?

Warning: This book contains a sexy bank-robbers-and-their-captive sandwich, light bondage, spanking, teasing hints of domination, and a little play-time in a hot tub. Oh, and some all-too-delicious alpha heroes who bend the heroine to their will.

Bound: A Doyle Witch Cozy Mystery by Kirsten Weiss
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Bound by magic, bound by love, bound by murder… 

The Bonheim triplets live seemingly ordinary lives, hiding their magic from the neighbors in the small, mountain town of Doyle, California. But when a body is found in big sister Jayce’s coffee shop, Karin, the practical one, is determined to prove Jayce innocent. 
A murder isn’t the only bizarre event in Doyle. Why are hikers vanishing in the nearby woods? Why are some people cursed with bad luck and others with good? And why is Karin’s magic the weakest of the three sisters'? 

As Karin digs deep to uncover the truth and regain her magic, her family is thrown into peril. Will her power return too late to save the people she loves the most, or will it be the cause of disaster? 

Bound is Book One in the Witches of Doyle Trilogy. 

Spells included at the back of the book!

The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer
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Goodreads Synopsis:
India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill.

Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won't tell India why any old one won't do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London's best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she's certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she'll find herself unemployed and homeless again - and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life.



Free Audio Books/Stories:

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Reviews to Come:

Soulless by Skyla Dawn Cameron

The Sentinel by Chris Lester

The Muse by Chris Lester
Metamor City: Making the Cut by Chris Lester
Metamor City: Whispers in the Wood by Chris Lester

Lex Talionis by Starla Huchton

Spark by Starla Huchton
Heir to Kale by K.L. Bone

Tales from the Archives Vol 4 #5 - Old Sinner's Bones

The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan

High Fantasy by Harmon Cooper

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

Beacon by Chess Desalls