Sunday Post #182

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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Some days I feel like throwing in the towel. I have been hoping and looking for things and life to relax. But it doesn't seem that's going to happen. I don't even know what I do each evening of the week that my days are slipping away far to fast. I know in weekends what's happening, but during the week... Gah. I'm going to have to start writing down what I do each night to keep track of it all.

It seems that two weeks is becoming my normal for Sunday Posts. With football on Saturday's and doing photos for the games, my time is creeping away from me on Sunday's.

I've been going rather, RATHER, slow with reading. Time hasn't been a very good friend these days. Why couldn't we have that extra hour a day? Ugh. I would be so exhausted if the day was 25 hours long. lol. But! We could require that hour to be reading hour. You can read anything you want, but you have to read.

So, on with the fast moving weekend I go. Have a great one all!

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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:

Danger's Halo by Amanda Carlson
AND Content Editing work

Current Audiobook:
Air and Ash by Alex Lidell

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

Finished Last Week: 

Hoping to get done reading this week.

Audiobooks from Audible:

Steamborn by Eric Asher
Reconnaissance in Force by Terry Mixon
Primordial by David Wood & Alan Baxter


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:

Posts:

Spellbound in a Flash:
Sunset through a Window.

Sports: Little League Baseball

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:
August and September Update

Around the Internet...

Reviews:

A Dark and Twisted Heart by Merrie Destefano

"Merrie has created a story in one moment of a person's life. This moment is one that will change his life forever."


EverRealm by Jake Bible

"I really like that they are leaving the "real" world behind for virtual ones, and the reason behind it all. This gives the solid reason for coming to the gaming worlds in my mind. "


Hero of Thera by Erik Nylund

"I found I was drawn into the creation of the realm of Thera. The way Hector is drawn to it, it's like a game but oh so real. You live or die here, but it's the adventure and action that everyone who's played video games could ever want."

Podcast Review:

Mama Bitchstress Reviews:

GIVEAWAYS:

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This Week to Come on the Blog:

I have two reviews schedule.

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Received Last Week:

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


For Review Consideration:

Malice of Crows by Lila Bowen
PICK UP AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Ranger known as Rhett has shut down a terrible enterprise running on the blood of magical folk, but failed to catch the dark alchemist behind it. And now the Shadow refuses to let him rest.

Rhett must make the ultimate transformation if he has any hope of stopping the alchemist or fulfilling his destiny; he must become the leader of a new Rangers outpost. 

To save his friends, and the lives of countless others, he'll first have to lead them on a mission more dangerous than anything they've ever faced.



Audio Books Requested for Review:

Hunter, Healer by Lilith Saintcrow
PICK UP AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:

Their first mistake? Kidnapping her lover. Their second? Thinking she wouldn't do something about it.

The black-ops government agency known as Sigma has shattered the resistance, destroyed its infrastructure, and taken its best operative captive. It's about as bad as it can get, but Sigma's forgotten one thing: Rowan Price.

Rowan is no longer a civilian in the shadow war. Her talents are fully trained, and she's become something she never dreamed of—a cool, clinical, lethal psionic operative. Working as Henderson's second-in-command, she's utterly focused on two things: repairing the Society's infrastructure and rescuing Justin Delgado. Yet under her shell of calm and gentleness, her rage is simmering...and it's about to break loose.

Delgado knows he can't remember something important. He puts up with Sigma's beatings and questioning, the pain and the torture...

Deadlands: Boneyard by Seanan McGuire
PREORDER AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:
The newest book based on the hit Weird West RPG franchise Deadlands!

Step right up to see the oddities and marvels of The Blackstone Family Circus and Travelling Wonder Show! Gasp at pit wasps the size of a man’s forearm. Beware the pumpkin-headed corn stalker, lest it plant its roots in you!

Annie Pearl is the keeper of oddities, the mistress of monsters. Her unique collection of creatures is one of the circus’s star attractions, drawing wide-eyed crowds at every small frontier town they visit. But Annie is also a woman running from her past . . . and the mother of a mute young daughter, Adeline, whom she will do anything to protect.

Hoping to fill its coffers before winter sets in, the circus steers its wagons to The Clearing, a remote community deep in the Oregon wilderness, surrounded by an ominous dark wood. Word is that a traveling show can turn a tidy profit at The Clearing, but there are whispers, too, of unexplained disappearances that afflict one out of every four shows that pass through the town.

The Clearing has it secrets, and so does Annie. And it may take everything she has to save her daughter―and the circus―from both.

A gripping tale of the Weird West, set on the haunted frontier of DEADLANDS, the award-winning game from Pinnacle Entertainment Group.


Purchased/Winnings/Gifts:

Book:

The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
PICK UP AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:
From the creators of the award-winning steampunk series comes a new adventure set in the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences world. 

Before the Maestro launched his sinister plan to rule to world… 

Before the Phoenix Society attempted to unleash the Mechamen on the Empire… 

Before Ministry archivist Wellington Books was captured by the House of Usher… 

…there was Verity Fitzroy and the Ministry Seven. 

They were all orphans, each with their own stories and their own demons, enjoying the run of London. Then they came under the care of Agent Harrison Thorne of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and a whole new adventure began for them all. Now calling themselves The Ministry Seven, they serve at the behest of Her Majesty in between the odd con job or two. 

While Verity Fitzroy loses herself in magical mechanications and fantastical science of London, she harbours from her fellow street urchins secrets of the death of her parents, of a mystery she can't leave alone, and of a power over machinery that both excites and terrifies her. 

When an Egyptologist from the British Museum is kidnapped, and the only clue leads to an elite school for gifted, young scientists, the Ministry Seven are called upon to go where their agents cannot. Within the walls of the Delancy Academy, Verity uncovers an ancient evil that could herald the end of the world as well as the truth behind her father’s most trusted confidant. 

The Seven set down a dangerous path of intrigue, mystery, and murder; and find that ancient curses are especially difficult to contend with when you have assignments for Chemistry class due the following day.

Portion Disaster by Zoe Arden
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Murders are never far from cupcakes in Sweetland Cove... 

Ava Fortune is celebrating her twenty-second birthday with just a few witches, a few sweets...

And a murder.

When all eyes in Sweetland turn to Polly Peacock as their prime suspect, Ava will have to decide who to believe.

Polly's dangerous.
She's a criminal.
She should be back behind bars.

That's what most of Sweetland says but is it true? 

There's more happening in Sweetland than simple murder.
Everyone has a secret, and no one wants to share.

And Polly's not going back to prison.
Ava can't trust her but then she can't trust anyone.
When Ava finds herself among the suspects, she turns to her boyfriend Colt Hudson for help.
Soon Colt's life is in danger, too. 

Can Ava figure out who the real villain is before it's too late, or was the town of Sweetland Cove right all along?
If Polly's not the killer, then who else could it be? 



Audio:

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

Fly: Goose Girl Retold by Demelza Carlton
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Two princesses. One prince. And the war has just begun.
Once upon a time...
Princess Ava was sent to a neighbouring kingdom as a lady-in-waiting to her sister, their future queen. Until a runaway horse, a case of amnesia and a cold-hearted king conspire to bring her to the prince's attention.
Now the prince believes Ava is his bride, and her sister is just a serving maid. One thing is certain: the prince must marry one of the princesses, or there will be war.
But when all's fair in love and war...who will win the battle for the prince's heart?

Beneath Northumberland by K.T. Bryski & P.C. Haring
PICK UP AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:
Taking pity on the plucky intern in the Archives of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences might not have been the best choice for Agent Brandon Hill. What seemed like a simple kindness has brought him to the bottom of the Northumberland Straight, and into a very peculiar kind of Canadian danger. 

Tales from the Archives are short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. They explore events mentioned in the novels, characters seen and unseen and may include novel teasers of things to come.

Snowfall and Secrets by Kimberly Loth
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Goodreads Synopsis:
Tess escapes from Florida with a secret as big as Miami. She needs to find someplace to lay low and hide from her overbearing family. Mackinac Island, Michigan, should be the perfect place to hide out. However, her timing is a little off, it's the dead of winter and she's never been in temperatures below fifty degrees. Just her luck, her landlord, Lukas, is as hot as the sun. He's also moody and hiding secrets as well. Which suits Tess fine. A man is the last complication she needs. A Michigan blizzard leaves them trapped in the same house together and things heat up, fast. Tess finds herself falling for Lukas, in spite of the secrets that could ruin everything before it even begins.

Witch Slap by Val St. Crowe
PICK UP AT AMAZON
Goodreads Synopsis:
Welcome to Ravenridge College. 
Get drunk. Make stupid decisions. And kick serious interdimensional butt. 

Petra Brightshade was under the impression that college meant going to, like, classes. But she was recruited to this “prestigious mage college” because she’s something called a primal. Her innate magic is uniquely suited to fighting monstrous creatures from another dimension. Those creatures are pouring through a breach in the fabric of the universe right into the college’s library. 

Petra would rather carve the word “primal” into her own stomach than fight those freaking creatures. She’s been fighting them her whole life, and they haunt her nightmares. 

But that hot gargoyle that recruited her said that she was pretty much the only hope to save the world. And he’s intriguingly straight-laced. She can’t help but want to loosen him up a bit. And it’s true that the other primals seem to subscribe to the philosophy, “Fight hard. Party harder.” 

So, Petra’s in. She’s going to fight. As soon as she gets some coffee, that is.

Dancing Days by Val St. Crowe
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Goodreads Synopsis:
If Hogwarts was more like Woodstock, and Voldemort was your childhood sweetheart turned abusive boyfriend...

As long as Nora Sparrow can remember, Owen has protected her. He’s been there through years of miserable foster homes and snobby mean girls, always whispering to her that she doesn’t belong here. Telling her that this is the mundane world, and someday, he’ll get them back to Helicon, the world of the muses. The world where they belong.

But Nora’s fifteen years old, and she isn’t sure she quite believes it anymore. When he begs her to try another ritual to open the dimensions, she agrees mostly to humor him. Owen’s rituals never work.

But this one does, and Nora is flung into the whimsical, bohemian land of Helicon, where she’s expected to do nothing more than create and inspire. With the help of her new muse friends, Nora sets out to discover who is creating holes in the fabric of Helicon and draining away the muses’ energy.

Everything would be perfect, if only Owen’s protectiveness wasn’t starting to seem so...obsessive. 

The Toil and Trouble Trilogy, Book 1 by Val St. Crowe
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Goodreads Synopsis:
The jettatori are male witches. They make and sell illegal magical charms. Their underground network controls the city, and it’s boys’ club—no women allowed. 

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Calabrese is tough as nails. She not only wants in, she wants to be boss. 

She’s got the pedigree. Her father ran the crew until he was arrested and locked up. 

She’s got a secret weapon. Brice Ventresca—super powerful, super gorgeous. 

Now all she has to do is survive the competition against her cousin and scrabble her way to the top. 

Except her cousin’s not playing fair. He whispers something to her that throws her off track. Says that her dead mother wasn’t killed by stray bullets from the police, like she thought. It was a hit, one ordered by her father. 

Now Olivia’s determined to find out the truth. 

And gorgeous Brice? Well, he’s contracted a magical virus that makes him turn into a rage-filled monster every night at midnight.



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

Steamborn by Eric Asher

Reconnaissance in Force by Terry Mixon

Primordial by David Wood & Alan Baxter