Sunday Post #180

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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This is a two week post. I've been keeping myself busy with keeping up around the house, football, and events here. An example was yesterday. We got up, had a few hours to ourselves so I got to chat with kiddo (before he left) and husband then off to watch kiddo's football game. When we got home, I cleaned up and we went out to dinner at a local Applebee's that had a few bands I wanted to hear on the patio. Sweet. When we got home, we watched our weekly movie and went to bed. Was a long day. Today I'm working up this post, worked on a few pictures, and will go visit my dad and hope to get to the mountains for some fall pictures.

I got SUNBURNT at the football game. Yeah, I haven't been this bad in a few years. We are having some HOT weather this week, and week to come. In the 80F here. It was starting to cool and the leaves were starting to change, then last week hit. Wow. Those shiny stands and beating sun...yep, terrible combo.

What the week brings... I'm hoping to get to Phipps Conservatory Monday evening as it's Free admission day. I've never been there and would love to see and take pictures. The week's going to be busy. I have an eye doctor appointment and I think a few other things in the evenings.

Here's to a great week!

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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... I'm reallllly hoping the change of weather will bring time for exercise for me. I neeeeed to get back at it. How do you do everything in one day!?

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What's Happening in Books:

Current Read:

Will start a new book on lunch Monday.
AND Content Editing work

Current Audiobook:
EverRealm by Jake Bible

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

Finished Last Week: 

Of Flame and Fate by Cecy Robson

Audiobooks from Audible:

Paying the Price by Terry Mixon
The Biscuit Witch by Deborah Smith
End of Days by J.F. Penn
EverRealm by Jake Bible


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)

Guest Posts:

Author Post: Countering the Lone Wolf Heroine Trope

Posts:

Volatile Bonds is here!

Spellbound in a Flash:
Kaelber

Spellbound in a Flash now has a Facebook Page!
Football season has started, so you can catch my photos of the games at the Facebook Page.

Challenged Writers:
(I need to update)

Around the Internet...

Reviews:

Fantasy Online: Hyperborea by Harmon Cooper

"It's neat how the game world is connected to the real person. "

Paying the Price by Terry Mixon

"I love how each book builds on the previous events yet it is its own story. This is not a repeat of what we've already read, it's more. This is what keeps me thirsty for this series, along with the amazing characters and writing."

The Biscuit Witch by Deborah Smith

"It's a sweet story with Tal who's drawn to bake all sorts of goodies with heart and memories. Family and friends are everything, and will help you when you are in need."

End of Days by J.F. Penn

"Penn has crafted her stories to give details of the most important moments, wasting no time in telling us about what we are looking for and the connection through history and religion. (Mind, the story is NOT preaching, it's actually an interesting twist on Religious beliefs and history.) Her characters, Morgan and Jake along with Martin and others, are well versed in the beliefs and legends so all their logical connections is explained. I love that there is always action or worry of danger when at different sites."

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:

A Dark and Twisted Heart by Merrie Destefano
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Amazon Synopsis:
Katrina is so beautiful, she’s almost perfect. She only has two flaws. She’s possessive. 

And she’s dead.

William adores Katrina, but he almost forgets about her when he meets Adelle, with her gentle smile and winsome ways.

So what’s he to do? He certainly can’t be faithful to a dead girl. 

Even though he loves her, so much so he visits her grave every day. 

Even though she haunts him and constantly reminds him of the terrible thing he did.

Even though she might just drive him to do something terrible again. Very soon.


Audio Books Requested for Review:

Primordial by David Wood & Alan Baxtor
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Sometimes, the legends are true. When eccentric billionaire, Ellis Holloway, hires renegade marine biologist, Sam Aston, to investigate the legend of a monster in a remote Finnish lake, Aston envisions an easy paycheck and a chance to clear his gambling debts. But he gets much more. There is something terrible living beneath the dark waters of Lake Kaarme and it is hungry. As the death toll mounts, Aston faces superstitious locals, a power-hungry police chief, and a benefactor's descent into madness as he races to find the legendary beast of the lake.

Air and Ash by Alex Lidell
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Master and Commander meets Tamora Pierce in a seafaring adventure of duty, love, magic, and a princess’s quest to protect her kingdom on her own terms. 

After a lifetime of training, seventeen-year-old Princess Nile Greysik, a lieutenant on the prestigious Ashing navy flagship, sails into battle with one vital mission—and fails. 

Barred from the sea and facing a political marriage, Nile masquerades as a common sailor on the first ship she can find. With a cowardly captain, incompetent crew, and a cruel, too-handsome first officer intent on making her life a living hell, Nile must hide her identity while trying to turn the sorry frigate battleworthy. Worse, a terrifying and forbidden magic now tingles in Nile’s blood. If anyone catches wind of who Nile is or what she can do, her life is over. 

But when disaster threatens the ship, Nile may have no choice but to unleash the truth that will curse her future. 

Steamborn by Eric R. Asher
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Jacob, a tinker's apprentice and sometime thief, has lived his entire life in the mountain city of Ancora, protected by the city walls. These towering barriers keep the Deadlands creatures at bay, but the monsters move higher into the peaks every year. More and more, they breach the defenses of the Lowlands while the Highlands rest easy.

A swarm overruns the walls and wreaks utter devastation on the Lowlands. Charles, the old tinker, suspects the attack may not be natural. With help from Jacob's closest friend, Alice, and Samuel, one of the city's elite spider knights, Jacob and Charles will uncover a terrible darkness at the heart of their city.

Steamforged by Eric R. Asher
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Goodreads Synopsis:
There are old wounds in the forgotten places of the world, and some are soaked in blood.

Jacob and his allies flee into the Deadlands after the fall of Ancora. Charles, the enigmatic smith, hopes to find answers in the desert city of Bollwerk that could prevent a war.

Their enemies are many, and here Jacob will learn the cost of life in the Deadlands.

The Half-Assed Wizard by Gary Jonas
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Goodreads Synopsis:
A couple of jerks wake me up at the crack of noon. Seems my klepto uncle stole an ancient deck of Tarot cards from a high-powered wizard, and too many losers want to ruin my day to get them back. 

The cards are cool, so I check them out, but my magic-happy cousin, Sabrina, tells me I'm not supposed to touch them. Oops. Too late. Now the damn cards are tuned to me, and if someone else wants to use them, I have to die. Why couldn't she have led with that information? 

Magic was never my scene, but my dad is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so I've got unrealized potential if I ever bother to apply myself. I'd rather power nap, but with wizards, gunslingers, and cannibalistic shark dudes coming at me, that's not gonna happen. 

They say I'm a half-assed wizard, but if I don't play my cards right, I'm gonna get my whole ass killed.

Purchased/Winnings/Gifts:

Book:

Elementals by Lindsey R. Loucks & more authors
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Elemental Magic has never been so terrifying.

What do you get when 14 Kick-Ass Urban Fantasy Elementals are set to face a horde of Bad-Ass villains with enough magic to end life as they know it?

14 spell-binding, earth-shattering, electrifying tales of magical mayhem and destructive power from today’s New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling authors.

Each one of the brand new, exclusive stories in this anthology transforms the elements into something magical…and more than a little frightening.
This explosive anthology is on fire! 


Audio:

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

The Yarn Spinner by Deborah Smith
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Goodreads Synopsis:
A Crossroads Café Short Story 27 pages long
She's destined to love Gus MacBride--if she survives her first year in the Crossroads Cove.
A thread of hope is all she needs.
Damaged, confused, alone. Cathy Deen Mitternich recognizes her old self in the fragile survivor huddled in the sheep barn's storage room at Rainbow Goddess Farm. Former art teacher Lucy Parmenter may be beyond even the tough-love magic of the farm, a live-in counseling center for abused women. Afraid to set a foot outside, drugged on medication, and filled with despair, Lucy needs the big biscuit magic of the Crossroad Café's Delta Whittlespoon. Together, Cathy and Delta search for a lifeline that represents Lucy's best hope of holding on. 
Their search ends in Lucy's new home at the barn. When Lucy discovers the magic there, neither she nor Cathy will ever be the same. 

Daring the Devil by Natasha Larry & Lindsey R. Loucks
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Hell hath no fury like its princess… 

Every sixteen-year-old thinks her mom is the Devil sometimes. But Kiera Morningstar’s mother really is the Queen of Hell. And she expects Kiera to earn her right to the throne by taking a soul. When Kiera fails—again—her mom banishes her from Hell to live among humans. 

At least, that’s what she wants Kiera to believe. 

When Kiera lands at Miss Molly’s School for Troubled Teens, she learns that someone is dead set on de-throning the Morningstars by any means necessary, including stealing the key and opening the Gates of Hell.

Now, demons are free to roam the earth—and both Kiera and her mother are in danger.

Even stripped of her powers, Kiera refuses to be a meek princess. With the help of angels, saints, and an oddball group of human friends, she sets out to recover the key and close the gates. 

But what she finds instead could change Heaven, Hell, and everything in between. 

DARING THE DEVIL is Game of Thrones meets The Godfather meets The Exorcist--get your copy now for a Hellish good time!

Night of the Chalk by Samuel Gately
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Two spies. Five nights. A weapon that will change their world. 

Cal has been squandering his time on cards and drink since his old partner Aaron Lorne vanished. A midnight summons changes all that. Aaron is back in the city, enemies on his heels. Dragons have returned to the world. And Aaron holds the secret to unlocking their loyalties and claiming the skies. 

Greedy government agents, entitled nobility, and ruthless street gangs all hunger for a piece of this new power. On top of that, the stunted, shadow-loving Chalk have been sighted in the city. Together, the spies must scheme and fight for their prize. And keep themselves out of a shallow grave. 

Night of the Chalk, first in the Spies of Dragon and Chalk series, combines elements of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels and crime noir into a thrilling world of epic fantasy.

Venture by Riley Russell
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Growing up in a world ruled by the elite Crested Warrior class, Venture and Jade are inseparable. But there is no escaping the terrible truth—he’s a lowly bonded servant, and Jade is Venture’s wealthy master’s daughter. The world tells them that Jade must marry a Crested man, and that Venture will always be bonded scum. 

Venture will do anything for Jade, anything to prove them wrong. And the powers that rule their world will stop at nothing to keep him from winning the title that could change his life and the world as he knows it, forever. That title is nothing less than Champion of All Richland. 

Venture must leave behind everything he knows and become what everyone tells him he can never be—a champion prize fighter. Little does Venture know, his quest will put those he loves most in terrible jeopardy and rip the powerful nation of Richland apart. 

Readers call VENTURE “gritty without being dirty, smutty, or gory.” Some say VENTURE “reminds me of The Princess Bride, but more serious—and with prize fighters!” Set in an alternate world, VENTURE is filled with colorful characters who will capture your heart, packed with action, and complete with twists you’ll never see coming. 

Embellish by Demelza Carlton
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Goodreads Synopsis:
A maiden dying for adventure. A prince on a perilous quest. Monsters that must be slain. 
Once upon a time… 
After losing a battle with a dragon, George is desperate to salvage his reputation. Only he can’t do it alone – he needs an assistant. 
Royal tailor Melitta longs for adventure, so when she hears of a job opening for an apprentice hero, she jumps at the chance. Slaying monsters must be more exciting than sewing. 
Can the unlikely pair still succeed at their quest – or will they fall for each other instead? 

Beyond Dead by Jordaina Sydney Robinson
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Dead less than twenty-four hours, with a job that doesn’t pay, a fashion disaster for a uniform and more afterlife rules than she can shake a stick at, Bridget Sway thinks it’s as bad as it can get. And then she finds a dead ghost stuffed in her locker.

Since the police are desperate to arrest her for murder, Bridget’s new best friend convinces her the only way to save herself from an eternity in prison is to solve the murder themselves.

With a handsome parole officer watching her every move, an outlaw ghost befriending her and two persistent mediums demanding her attention, solving the murder is not quite as easy as it sounds. And when “murder” turns into “murders” Bridget needs to solve the case … before she becomes the next dead body stuffed in her locker. 

Beyond Dead is the first book in a paranormal cozy murder mystery series set in a ridiculously bureaucratic afterlife. It is rife with cozy humor (or more accurately cosy humour) that cozy British mysteries are famous for. 

The series follows the newly dead Bridget Sway as she tries to adjust to her new life as a ghost while solving the odd murder along the way. Bridget exhibits all the best virtues of cozy mystery women sleuths in terms of wit and humor but, as the amateur sleuth of a cozy ghost mysteries series, she is something most others are not – and that’s dead.

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things by Martina McAtee
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Goodreads Synopsis:
17 year old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie. Standing in the cemetery that’s been her sanctuary, she’s threatened by the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she’s special, that she has a supernatural gift like them…they just don’t know exactly what it is. 

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember’s life takes a turn for the weird. She’s living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember’s powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death. 

As Ember’s talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her. What’s worse, saving Ember has put her cousins in danger and turned her friend’s lives upside down. Ember must learn to embrace her magic or risk losing the family she’s pieced together.

The Vesik Series Books 1-3 by Eric Asher
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Goodreads Synopsis:
This collection includes Days Gone Bad, Wolves and the River of Stone, and Winter's Demon! That's over 800 pages of Damian's darkest, greatest, and occasionally hilarious urban fantasy adventures.

Days Gone Bad (Book 1) My name is Damian Valdis Vesik. I am a necromancer, an ability feared and hated as much as the powers my master and I set ourselves against. We've vanquished many evils, but now something is releasing an old darkness, forcing us to hunt an enemy beyond anything I’ve faced before. I was already busy enough with vampires, fairies, witches, Watchers, weddings, and … damn, I need a vacation.

Wolves and the River of Stone (Book 2) Philip, Zola’s boyfriend from one hundred and fifty years ago, is not nearly as dead as we thought. I really wish he was. Not only has he kidnapped Zola, but he’s raising an army to scour humanity from the earth. Hopefully the local werewolf pack will help. What could possibly go wrong?

Winter's Demon (Book 3) Some things can never be undone. The horrors I've defeated—or even caused—with my own hands … they are nothing compared to what’s coming. Philip Pinkerton has brought his madness upon my family, my own blood. His army of necromancers is on the move, harbingers of a great darkness. I fear the war has begun... and damn, I don't get paid enough for this.



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

EverRealm by Jake Bible
Of Flame and Fate by Cecy Robson