Books and What Not

I've started off reading slow this year. Or at least not finishing books that I've started. I have a few of those that I really need to sit down and read. So far this year, I've only gotten through a whole five book and a collection. There was a whole week where I was busy with family that cut into the reading time. Not that I'm complaining. So anyway I have finished two other books by Scott Hildreth and two books by Jo Raven.

Rough and Dirty are books two and three from the Filthy F*ckers MC series by Scott. I talked very little about Hard in a previous post. I enjoyed the book lots and made me want to continue to read the author and this series in particular. I think as of right now Rough is my favorite one. (I could always change my mind at a later date.)

Something about the series I enjoy, is the realism in the stories. They, especially book two for me at least, also invoke serious emotions. I think I ended up crying through the last 10 percent of book two. It's definitely an emotional story. Love and loss for sure. But certain elements actually mirrored something in my own life so therefore the story hit harder than I thought or knew it would. Plus Pee Bee and Tegan are an awesome couple.

The books by Jo Raven were more of a fun romantic read without there being too much drama. In short, the opposite of the Filthy F*ckers. Candy Boys and Candy Boys Ever After were fun and flirty. They are about Candy and her two "boys" she ends up in a relationship with. I had fun reading Candy's POV along with the boys. There was some struggle among the characters, but there was also a lot of humor. Something that I was looking for at the time, along with hot scenes.

I've been bouncing back and forth between several books since I've finished the ones I've listed so by the time I write another post I should have a few more books to mention. As I've said before, me and reviews are not friends. I don't feel as if I get the words right. But the above books are awesome.

On another note, I watched Underworld: Blood Wars and man was that an intense movie to see in the theater all by myself. Kate does a great job. I have enjoyed the entire series and there is just something about how she kicks butt in the movies that's enjoyable to watch.

Now I am also looking forward to seeing the new Resident Evil movie. I've never played the games, but I'm good with that. I don't play games well, even if I have a few. It's been almost two months since I've done anything with ESO and I love my dark elf. He's a blast to play!

Now, back to reading and to my own writings that I hope one day I say are done.

MC Romance and Lady Grey

One of the genres I enjoy reading is MC (motorcycle club) romance. I've read several of Joanna Wylde's Reaper series. Something that I have done for many years and with many many book series is that I didn't actually start with book one when I found this author and began reading her. Nope I started with book two. Reaper's Legacy got me into a really good book series. Thank you Books A Million for your bargain section cause I would have missed out.

Not sure when I started getting into this genre but it was in the last few years, this I know. Since then I have read Devil's Game (book 3), Reaper's Stand (book 4), Reaper's Property (book 1), and Reapers and Bastards (anthology). I'm in the process of reading book 5 Reaper's Fall. That will only leave me with a couple of her books left to get and read. Something I'm looking forward to doing. I mostly read the books in order, though I found it wasn't super imperative to do so, it would still be a good idea due to characters and timelines. Pesky details and what have you. (Important pesky details.)

Reviews are actually very difficult to write for me. It's good buy it are the perfect way to get friends to try something. Having to come up with reasons as to why one should buy something with examples is hard for me. Motorcycles, humor, romance, and action. Those are good key words to the books I've read. Emotional response is another thing I experienced while reading. Being able to get sucked into a story and care about the character's it a big thing for me. Though depending on my mood I sometimes switch books because my headspace changes. One reason I have too many books I'm in the middle of reading.

In review, these books are kick ass and really read written. This is also a series that I've gone back to to reread. I love books that allow me to do that. The males have made me wish I could hit them upside the head on occasion while going "What in the hell are you thinking?". Though what well written book doesn't have you wanting to strangle the characters. It's a way to really get into a book.

Reading these different books I don't have a favorite because they are all different and I like them equally due to this. All the men are awesome and have a quirk or action that makes you love them and want to keep reading. The women all have reasons why they are strong, each in their own way.

Onto a separate note, I have tried both the Prince of Wales and Lady Grey teas. Each was very good, but the Lady Grey trumps Prince of Wales at this time. The Earl Grey was just Earl Grey (still a good tea mind you), but Lady Grey is the winner so far. I still have a few more to try and debate on. I have a feeling I will choose teas based on how I'm feeling and not just the taste. (Coffee still rules the mornings, but I did have an entire day of drinking Lady Grey, so point scored there. lol)  

Tea!

Recently I was at Epcot at Disney World and wanted to hit up the Twinings tea store in the United Kingdom portion of the World Showcase. I was running low on my good tea such as Earl Grey and this was just a tea store. Granted it was only a single brand of such tea, but that's okay.

I stepped in and looked around and they had a Jasmine Earl Grey which I will be trying soon. I love Jasmine Green Tea so I assume I'll love this one. I picked out four boxes and one had several flavors. I love the names of the tea as well. I have one called Lady Grey and there is the Prince of Wales. They had some others I wanted to get just based off of the names.

I am looking forward to drinking this tea and reading. This past week I have read very little due to a family reunion and lots of stuff was going on. I mean lots. Disney happened every single day. Rides, food, and fun. It was a blast. Now, I'm back home and can get lost into words again. So many words.

Yummy looking!

Gaming has been happening a lot however. We got a new game called Orleans and it's a pretty fun game to play. Lots of moving parts going on. It's not a quick game, but it's pretty in depth and fun as you race to score more points than your opponent. The game can be played with 2-4 players. What's kind of cool is that this is a German game that a company has translated into English so that all the tiles and rules are in English. There's even a way to get a 5th player for the expansion of the game, but it has to be bought from the German game website. lol.

I've been reading a lot on the Kindle app, but I'm itching to read a paperback right now. I'm in the midst of several books and must decide on one to read and finish. Just depends on the mood I'm in as to what genre and style.

Until next time. Then I'll have a book I've read and tea I've tried.

Happy New Year

Hello once again. I can't believe it's been basically a year since I've posted anything. Especially, since I've done a ton of reading. When I say a ton, I mean around 60 plus books (this includes shorter and longer works). I have many in various stages of being read. Many on Kindle, but several in paper format.

2016 was a weird year and I'm glad it's over. With that being said, it means I should make some kind of list and knock stuff off of it. Such as shows or movies I want to watch, books I want to finish or begin, crafts I want to craft (because I totally have a ton of free time to craft #notreally), and anything else I'm forgetting because... something shiny.

Honestly, I have drafts of posts I intended to post and well didn't. I really thought I would have. I found some great new authors last year and watched some awesome new shows. One of the posts was about Stranger Things. A show that I fell in love with. I'm looking forward to Season 2 and can't wait to see how they use Dungeons and Dragons in the new season.

Ah, gaming. Another hobby I have acquired. (See above something shiny.) I love DnD because its fantastic. I also play Elder Scrolls Online (ESO). Dark elves rule! Yes, I'm a weird player that loves doing weird stuff. Like being the only dark elf warlock in a group of good doers. Well, there's a cleric and a band of how the hell did we all become a group. Oh right, tavern plus job for money. Off topic about books, but if we want to get technical, I can tie it together with coffee (or tea depending on the time) and books. Though now I'm also playing tabletop games with the hubby.

See, I need to make lists.

Anywho, as I was saying. I've been finding lots of good books from either other authors on Facebook, or randomly stumbling onto them because they were free on Kindle or by some other means aka friends. I mean if you can't trust friends to give you good advice on books to read then who can you trust. 😺

Now that I've rambled for a bit I'm thinking I'll maybe post books and authors I've currently read or something.

For 2017, I've finished one book that technically I started in 2016.

Hard (Filthy F*ckers MC Romance Book 1) by Scott Hildreth

This book was put on a list back in July and I know I had to have seen it from Facebook, cause that's basically where I get all my wishlist books from, though I'll never be able to figure out where I saw it. No matter. It went on sale and I got it. Then well you know, I read it. Took a couple of days. (Work and other things in life like 12 hours of tabletop gaming with friends oh and New Year's Eve. Pesky people wanting me to participate in the real world with real people.)

There's a disclaimer somewhere and I could see why it was there. It's listed in Erotica, but I found it to be pretty realistic for the most part and a fast paced read. I had to stop for a few moments before picking it back up. It was a great book. A bit gritty and raw. This was also the first book I'd read by this author and won't be the last.

That's it for now. Have a great start to the new year. Now if only Florida would act normal and cool off. Seriously, it's too hot outside.

Happy New Year!! (Really Late)

The new year has started and there are so many things that I'm already behind on. One of them is being posts to this page about the books I've been reading and I've been doing my fair share of reading. The backs of cereal boxes not counting. Seeing as I don't eat cereal but drink coffee and tea then I should say those containers. Anyway, I've read some great stuff off of Kindle recently and not so recently.

I made myself a to do list about reading and doing posts and I managed to get one thing done. My mind sometimes has an issue staying on task. I mean I do my best, but there is always something that distracts me. The Internet is a big culprit. This includes Facebook and Netflix, plus games like mahjong and Warlight. That hasn't helped my cause one bit. *smiley face*

One of the books I read before the new year was, Victoria Ashley's Royal Savage. I picked up some of her other books and read them and loved her writing style so when I read this book blurb and saw the cover (Josh Mario John), I couldn't wait for it to come out.

Royal is the leading male and he is a something else. Raw and dirty, but he's been hurt and he's dealt out pain. Of course a sweet woman crosses his path, Avalon, and sparks fly. As I read this book, I didn't want to put it down. Reading both of these characters was fantastic and I loved the way she flipped back and forth. Royal owns a tattoo shop and bar and he rides a motorcycle. What's not to love about that?

This book hit lots of emotions and it was fantastic. The characters are well thought out and described. Their emotions come across the page and engage the reader which is something that I personally enjoy in the books I read. I want to cry, laugh, sigh, and all the hundreds of other emotions that only the written word can invoke when written correctly.

There's something about good books and good authors that stick with you and this is one of them. I have several others from this author that I have read or that I need to read. I haven't read a ton this year, but my reading will pick up. I'll have more reviews and random posts. So watch out. I have a plan, it's there. The question remains on whether or not I will be able to do it.

Club Alpha and a Nano Update

It's a beautiful afternoon and it's time for another post. One of favorite authors, Marata Eros is releasing her newest novel Club Alpha on November 19th, but I was able to score an ARC of the book while I was on vacation. It took me longer than I wanted to read it because vacation. I wasn't able to hole up on a chair or couch with my coffee (caffeine is a must) and read through it quickly. When I did read it, I was turning the pages quickly.

I mean with a tag line, "Would you pay fifty million for your soul mate?" how could it not be good. It's a combination of mystery, suspense, and just a bit of romance. Marata Eros's blurb is amazing as well:

Francisco “Paco” Castillo is a bilingual billionaire with unconventional ideas about love, sex and possession. He believes there is no other half to make him whole. Paco dreams of experimenting with a dangerous reality not of his own making. Club Alpha owner, Zaire Sebastian, can make Paco's vision a reality—for a price.

Greta Dahlem is an extreme sports executive whose ambition masks a terrible secret. When her mentor Gia Township, sponsors her as a player in Club Alpha, Greta's unsure she can survive the inherent risk of the game Zaire weaves. But in her heart, Greta yearns for a man who will complete her, and erase the brutal tragedy of two years ago.

As the fantasy progresses, Greta comes to realize she is the loose string in a plot of murder and deception that begins to unravel. Without knowing who to trust, Greta must decide between two men. When the three are thrown together, the lines of reality and fantasy blur.

Is there any way for her to know what is real?

 This book is on the darker side of the spectrum just because of some of the material is graphic and isn't suitable for all readers. As always, she has posted disclaimers about the violence. Having read her work, I had a good idea of what I was getting myself into. Nothing could prepare me for the intensity of this story however. Everything is the book builds on itself and the violence isn't there just to be there, it is an integral part of the story line and of the character of Greta.

Paco is a wonderful alpha male and his friend/ bodyguard, Tallinn throws in the comic relief that's needed for such an intense story. It's gritty and real in a way that brings the story to life. I was on the edge of my seat with a pounding pulse as I flipped the virtual pages on my Kindle.

Something that Ms. Eros is able to do is create complex characters with different cultures attached to them. It brings rounded characters to the forefront. Paco and Greta don't stay on the page in a one or two dimensional way but they pop off the page and make you care about their journeys.

In the writing world that is NaNoWriMo, I'm slow and steady and behind. Does that mean I won't be able to finish? Not at all, it just means that the 1667 a day word count is more like 2200 words a day for me. It's still something that I can manage. It's not like its day 25 and I've written nothing. 10K a day might be a bit a of hurdle. I mean I guess it's possible. Speech to text would make it super easy I think, but the stress would be crazy.

I've been writing various things for a long time and it never fails to amaze me that once I start a story and I think I know where it's going to go, it goes onto a path I never even thought about. I swear the characters take over and I'm helpless to do anything about it. I'm also a writer that sits down and writes. No outline, with just a vague this is what I want.

That's the quick update on my nano novel halfway through the month. I's at least in the 15-16K range and my fingers are itching to keep writing.

May the new week start out bright and good.

Taking the Challenge... Write a Novel in 30 Days

This blog has been about books I've currently read, for the most part. However, I'm not just an avid reader of just about anything, I'm also a writer. Granted, I am a procrastinating writer. I have yet to actually finish a novel to it's final stages for it to be published, indie style in my case. Though, I do have a few completed rough drafts.

I can say that I wouldn't have those drafts if it wasn't for a site called NaNoWriMo, aka National novel Writing Month. This month happens to be in November and in those 30 short days the site is challenging the writer to write 50 thousand words. I did it for several years and I enjoyed myself because I was challenging myself, but more than that, I was writing a novel. It didn't have to be perfect, it just had to be written.

I love the image of a man or woman sitting in a coffee shop, bookstore, or the like with a cup of coffee or tea, writing or reading. I love being that person actually. I basically do that from the comfort of my couch, but the image is there and it's awesome.

For the last couple of years, I haven't been able to do Nano because of life. Even this year seems to be daunting, but I'm going to try. I would rather try and fail, than not to have tried. On the bright side, I'll have some sort of manuscript by the end of it and that's nothing to scoff at. As long as one can maintain something like 1667 words a day or so, one can write 50k in 30 days. Plus they have nifty badges to let the world know you are doing the challenge.

I will still be trying to read as much as possible as well. There are so many books and so little time. I have several I am in the middle of right now. They are in different stages of being completed and as I finish them, I'll list them and tell you what I think. I might even tell you where I'm at in this challenge, so watch out for the insanity to ensue.