What I'm Reading: January to March

I LOVE reading. I am a proud, self-proclaimed bookworm (hence the blog title), and I can spend an entire weekend doing nothing but reading and be completely happy. A big part of this blog is writing book reviews for books that I've enjoyed reading, but I read so much (more than one hundred books a year) that I don't have time to review every single book. So, I've decided to do a monthly post dedicated to the top books I've read each month but didn't have time to review.

For this post I'm sharing my top six (not-reviewed) books from January, February, and March! Here you go:

Title: Lost Girl
Series: Neverwood Chronicles #1
Author: Chanda Hahn
Stars: 5 out of 5
For fans of: YA, Fantasy, Peter Pan Retellings
Blurb:
Wendy doesn't remember anything about Neverland—or the experiments done on her there as a child. Seven years later, all she wants is a normal life, but shape-shifting shadows plague her dreams and turn her life into a waking nightmare. When the shadows attack at a football game and a boy disappears right in front of her, she realizes these wraith-like shadows are real. They’re not just haunting—they’re hunting.

A mysterious boy named Peter, his foul-mouthed sidekick, and a band of misfit boys intervene before Wendy faces a similar fate. But can they trust Wendy enough to take her to Neverwood Academy and reveal all of their hidden secrets when she's hiding a secret of her own, or will the dreaded Red Skulls find her and drag her back to Neverland?

Title: Born in Fire
Series: Fire and Ice Trilogy #1
Author: K.F. Breene
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: Adult, Urban Fiction/Fantasy, Kick-butt Heroines
Blurb:
Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn’t the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don’t have many options. If people found out what I could do—what I am—I would kiss my freedom goodbye.

So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.

Knowing I’m poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I’ll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case.

Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I’m stuck. As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn’t know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.

Title: The Rose Mark
Series: Black Rose Sorceress #1
Author: Connie Suttle
Stars: 5 out of 5
For fans of: YA/NA/Adult, Fantasy, Strong Heroines, Scarred Heroes
Blurb:
Sherra 
We belong to the King--those of us with the black roses tattooed on our left wrist, directly over our pulse. As if every beat of our hearts reminds us that we are not our own. 

All the women with the fire burning within them are culled, tattooed and taken to the warriors, to provide more energy. Energy that the warriors will then use to defeat the barbarians from the ocean of sand. Women with black roses on their wrists are emptied of their power by those warriors, who care not that they die a shrunken husk. 

In the King's library, The Book of the Rose says to honor the tattooed women. More than anything, I want to spit on its pages. 

As for running--there is one thing worse than having a black rose on your wrist. That is for the enemy to find you and see the black rose on your wrist. Your death will be slow and excruciating at their hands...

Title: Playing with Fire
Series: Standalone (but I hope the author writes a sequel)
Author: R.J. Blain
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: Adult, Urban Fiction/Fantasy, Sassy Heroines, Unicorns
Blurb:
Warning: This novel contains excessive humor, action, excitement, adventure, magic, romance, and bodies. Proceed with caution. 

What do you get when you mix gorgons, an incubus, and the Calamity Queen? Trouble, and lots of it. 

Working as the only human barista at a coffee shop catering to the magical is a tough gig on a good day. Bailey Gardener has few options. She can either keep spiking drinks with pixie dust to keep the locals happy, or spend the rest of her life cleaning up the world’s nastiest magical substances. 

Unfortunately for her, Faery Fortunes is located in the heart of Manhattan Island, not far from where Police Chief Samuel Quinn works. If she’d been smart, she never would have agreed to help the man find his wife. 

Bailey found her, all right—in the absolutely worst way possible. 

One divorce and several years later, Bailey is once again entangled in Chief Quinn’s personal affairs, and he has good reason to hate her. Without her, he wouldn’t be Manhattan’s Most Wanted Bachelor, something he loathes. Without her, he’d still be married. 

If only she’d said no when he asked her help, she might have had a chance with him. While her magic worked well, it came with a price: misfortune. Hers. 

When Quinn’s former brother-in-law comes to her for help, he leaves her with a cell phone and seventy-five thousand reasons to put her magic to the test. However, when she discovers Quinn’s ex-wife is angling for revenge, Bailey’s tossed in the deep end along with her sexiest enemy.

Title: Clam Jam
Series: Standalone
Author: R.C. Boldt
Stars: 4.5 out of 5
For fans of: NA, Romantic Comedy, Roommate Romance
Blurb:
Clam Jam 
Definition: the female equivalent of a cock block. 
Example: You're chatting with a guy you're interested in and your friend comes along and lays claim to him. 

Maggie
That's my life except it's worse. My friend who keeps jamming me is my gay roommate, and if that isn't a W.T.F. moment, I'm not sure what is. 
Fact: He went home with three yes, three of the guys I had been so sure were into me. 
Fact: He's really pissing me off. I mean, hello? I'm trying to get back in the saddle, but I'll never manage to get a boyfriend before the age of fifty if he keeps this up. 
Fact: Secretly, I wonder what it would be like if he weren't gay. Why do all the hot, sweet, tender-hearted guys have to be gay? 
Fact: My gay-dar needs a serious tune-up. 


Ry
The day I interviewed for the room to rent, everything changed. I knew I had met the girl, except there was one small problem: she didn't want anything to do with men. I recognized a top-notch force field when I saw one. She'd been burned badly and didn't want to deal with a heterosexual guy as a roommate. I could've turned around and found another place to live, but I wanted to live there with her. 
So I had to go undercover. 
Fact: I'm in love with my roommate. 
Fact: I'm a likely candidate for carpal tunnel surgery since all the action I've had for the past year has been my hand. 
Fact: She's going to hate me if I come clean now. 
Fact: I'm not giving up. Which means I'll just have to continue to run defense until I figure out a way to get Maggie to see the real me. 
The me that loves her. 
The me that would never do her wrong. 
Until then, I'll keep running off every guy who shows any interest. 
Until then, I'll continue to Clam Jam. 

Title: Trigger 
Series: Origin #1
Author: Scarlett Dawn
Stars: 4 out of 5
For fans of: NA, Post-apocalyptic, Shifters, Soul-mates
Blurb:
New York Times bestselling author, Scarlett Dawn, has created a fresh and magical new adventure for romance and paranormal lovers alike. Shifters rule the world through corporations after the humans all but destroyed Earth. It's too bad humans are still oblivious. They have no clue terrifying beasts run their broken world.

And then along came a human. A beautiful and klutzy human.

She's the trigger the shifters have been waiting for...
But beware of the soul-sucking darkness soon to follow.

Author Interview: Katherine Davis

Yay! It's time for another author interview! I always feel so honored when I reach out to an author and they agree to do an interview for my blog. This time I'm interviewing the wonderfully creative Katherine Davis.

Katherine Davis is the author of the Child of Fate series, which currently has two books out and available now: Serendipity's Daughter and Karmic Justice. You can read my review of the second book HERE. She is a self-published author currently living in Missouri, US. The proud mother (a.k.a. “survivor”) of three boys, she’s an admitted, unrepentant addict of books, laughter, games, learning, and the glorious World Wide Web.

Now let's get this interview started! 

What inspired you to write the Child of Fate series?  

I have always had this odd thing about Karma and Fate.  It's fascinating for me and I often mused about "what if" Fate was real, not just as a concept or ideal, but a real person and thing.  When I finally summoned the courage and oomph to write my own story, this was the easiest place to begin.

What is your favorite scene from the books so far?  

That's a good question.  I'm not sure I can put one above all the others, although there are a couple that do stand out for me.  I really like the scene in Serendipity's Daughter that first introduces the guys, when they're all in their room picking at each other before Kismet so rudely interrupts.  There's another one in Karmic Justice towards the beginning when Kismet gets mad at her Guardians and has had enough that I always found empowering.

How many books will be in the series?  

Four.  That's the plan anyway!  I was originally only going to write three in this series but the story needed more room than that.

Do you have any other writing projects in the works or plans for another story once the Child of Fate series is finished?  

Definitely!  I have so many stories inside my head and notebooks filled with ideas, characters, and concepts.  I'm not sure which one will snag me and my Muse once this series is over but I'm forcing myself to concentrate fully on the Child of Fate series for now.

What is it like being a self-published author?  

Whew.  Heavy question.  It isn't easy, and yet it is.  I love working from home, dictating my own hours, essentially playing pretend with imaginary friends.  This is my dream job and has been since I was in grade school.  It's great that my kids get to see me following and living my dream, it teaches them they can do the same if they really put their mind to it.  Now for the but...  I grew up in a heavily blue collar family and small town where a "proper" job meant working 9-5, Monday - Friday, at a place that offered health insurance, retirement benefits, and the occasional company picnic.  That means being self-employed in a career without guaranteed stable income is...hmm...not exactly frowned on but thought of as odd.  There are these moments now and then when someone asks me what I do that usually end with an awkward moment of silence and an eventually muttered, "Oh."  Once in a while though I come across someone who is genuinely fascinated by what I do and it sparks a fun, energetic conversation.  The most important part is that I'm doing what makes me happy, my fiance is very supportive, and my kids think Mom is "cool."

Do you have any advice for writers, especially writers considering self-publishing?  

Do it!  I'm not just stealing that from Nike, either.  If you can imagine a story in your head, you can write it.  I think what holds a lot of people back is being too intimidated by the process, but you can get used to that.  The first and most important step is sitting down and doing the work.  Do some research, ask authors personally, find a writing community online like NaNoWriMo for example, and learn how to write a book.  The information is out there if you go look for it, then just...do it.  Everyday.  Write.  Write long handed or type it out, whatever you have to do to get words on a page.  It takes a lot of self-motivation and determination, but if you really want to and you're willing to do the research and work, then go for it.

Thanks again Katherine for allowing me to interview you! I wish you luck as you continue writing.

Writing Practice Prompt #4

For this writing exercise, you will look at the word cloud below and write down the first four words or phrases that you notice. Then, you must outline or write a story that incorporates those four words/phases. How you choose to incorporate them is up to you but make sure to use them all. 

Have fun! 

How did you do? Feel free to share your story by commenting! If you found this too easy or too challenging, you can pick more or less words from the word cloud to change the difficulty of the exercise.

"Hunted" Book Review

Title: Hunted
Series: Standalone
Author: Meagan Spooner
Stars: 5 out of 5
Blurb:
Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast? 

***

Hunted by Meagan Spooner just might be my new favorite YA retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." I am a huge fan of fairy tales and retellings but not every retelling is done well. Authors have to manage a tricky balance between using enough of the original and adding enough twists to make the story unique. In my opinion, Ms. Spooner handled the balance wonderfully.

One of the biggest changes in this retelling is that Yeva, aka Beauty, is not a delicate rose, but a fierce hunter who tracks the Beast and tries to kill him in order to avenge a loved one. Yeva's father used to be the best hunter in the land before moving to the village and becoming a businessman to appease his wife, who worried about him doing such a dangerous job. Yeva is the youngest of three sisters and when her family went to the old hunting cabin, Yeva's father would teach her to hunt in the forest. Now that Yeva is older, her father and sisters encourage her to act like a lady and take her place in society. But when a risky business venture fails and her family loses everything, they are forced to sell their possessions and move to the old hunting cabin in the winter. Yeva's father returns to hunting but he doesn't allow Yeva to join him, though she practices hunting anyway while her father is gone. One night, her father returns rambling madly about a beast in the forest that he must hunt and when he leaves and does not return, Yeva sets out to track him down and bring him home. Yeva soon learns that the beast her father spoke of really does exist and she is captured and held prisoner by Beast, who needs her to hunt a creature to break his curse.

There is so much to love about Hunted and I will begin with the characters. Yeva is close to her two sisters, Asenka and Lena, and I love how the author portrayed their caring relationship. The sisters look out for each other, and when Solmir, a man that Asenka is smitten with, proposes instead to Yeva, Asenka sets aside her own hurt to support Yeva's good match. When Yeva's father loses everything, the sisters work together to prepare for the journey and turn the old cabin into their new home. The relationship between Yeva and her father is done equally well. The depth of Yeva's love for her family is the basis for her reactions and actions later on in the story when she tries to find her father and is trapped by the beast. That brings me to the next most important character - Beast. Between each chapter from Yeva's point of view is a short passage from the Beast's point of view, which gives an interesting look at his perspective and inner struggle. As with the original story, Beauty does eventually fall for Beast, but she has to overcome her hate for him that stems from something worse than just holding her father prisoner and then taking her in exchange, as is the premise in most versions. I won't say, however, what exactly drives Beauty's hate and need for vengeance because I don't want to give any spoilers.  I like the way Spooner portrays Beauty's fluctuating emotions and guilt when she realizes her hate for the beast is waning. While Beast is struggling to overcome the beastly nature inside of him, Beauty is struggling with her feelings towards Beast.

Hunted is more than just its characters though, and the plot itself is just as worthy of praise. While the basics from the original are there - a beast under a curse and unable to speak of it, a beauty who must save the beast, and Beauty and the Beast finding their happily ever after - Spooner has added many new elements to make the story fresh and exciting. The biggest element, as I already mentioned,  is that Beauty is a hunter.  Another is that in this world, there are many other magical creatures, and beyond the normal forest where Yeva hunts is a magical forest where these creatures and Beast live. To break the curse, instead of Beauty needing to fall in love with the beast, she must hunt down one of these creatures, but Beast can't tell her what that creature is. The way Beauty has to break the curse is different because the reason for Beast's curse is different.This story is also different in that there are no invisible servants or servants turned into objects (sorry to anyone who was hoping for more talking candlesticks and clocks) to nudge Beauty towards loving Beast. The relationship that develops between them is due solely to their interactions with each other and not because of the influence of outside forces. Lastly, something that I really enjoyed was that at the end of the book, both Beauty and Beast realize they faced the same struggle all along, and they both learn the same lesson.

Of course, it would not matter if the story and the characters were amazing if the book was poorly written. Spooner makes the tale worth reading through in-depth world-building, vivid descriptions, complex characters, and well-crafted prose and dialogue.

Hunted is a book that I would highly recommend to YA readers as well as adults who enjoy fairy tale retellings.

Contemporary YA Book Giveaway!

Who doesn't love free books? Nobody that I know!

In this giveaway you could win a pack with these FIVE contemporary novels: The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares, Once and For All by Sarah Dessen, After the Game by Abbi Gline, The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins, and By Your Side by Kasie West.  

If you want a chance at winning these awesome books, then click HERE to enter! The deadline to enter is March 23rd so don't wait too long.

(P.S. This giveaway is open worldwide so don't worry about not being able to enter due to where you live.) 

"When the Dead Come A Knockin'" Book Review

Title: When the Dead Come A Knockin'
Series: The Veil Diaries #2
Author: B.L. Brunnemer
Stars: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Book Blurb:
My name is Alexis Delaney, and I’m your average 17-year-old girl. Except I’m a Necromancer. Which means I can see the dead, talk to them and help them move on. Well, I used to be able to. Someone has sealed the Veil. Now the dead are stuck here. And with the extra energy floating around town, the ghosts are getting stronger. 

It’s been two months since I came to Spring Mountain to live with Uncle Rory. And the guys, my five best friends, have done everything they can to help since. Things for once were almost normal, my issues with the dead had become routine. Until they all found girlfriends. Now I’m back to hiding everything again. With ghosts leaving their haunting grounds at will, new people asking questions and trying to build my link to the Veil, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to pull this one off. But it can’t get that bad, right?

***

When the Dead Come A Knockin', the second book in The Veil Diaries series by B.L. Brunnemer, starts up just as school is ending for winter vacation. It might be vacation time, but Lexie can't catch a break. The ghosts are impatient to cross and Lexie pushes herself even harder to open the Veil when she finds that a certain ghost with a connection to the guys is stuck. There's a big heap of relationship drama adding to her stress on top of all the ghost problems. The guys all have girlfriends now and not all the girlfriends are happy with how close Lexie is to the guys. And the guys aren't the only ones in a new relationship; things heat up between Lexie and Dylan (who was introduced in book 1). There's trouble in paradise though as jealousy and secrets start breaking up couples. As if that's not enough to keep you interested, there are hints of a mysterious secret admirer that will probably have a larger roll in the third book. 

The strength of this series is in the main characters. Lexie and the guys are well-rounded characters with their own unique flaws and strengths. I love reading about the group dynamics and interactions. In this book, Lexie learns more about the guys, particularly about the painful parts of their pasts. Lexie supports the guys and helps them deal with their own issues just as much as they help her. The way Brunnemer describes the characters and writes the dialogue really helps them come to life on the page.

Another thing Brunnemer does well is writing vivid descriptions. In this book, Lexie finally accesses her center and she starts the process of opening the Veil. The author paints a clear picture of what the Veil looks like and I was easily able to imagine this new place and how Lexie's actions affected the ghostly realm. Characters are also described in detail, though sometimes the descriptions were almost excessively detailed. 

When the Dead Come A Knockin' is much longer than the first book (over 400 pages!) but the story moves quickly and I hardly noticed the time passing. The book is well paced and there are plenty of scenes with fun and laughter interspersed among the moments of drama, danger, and struggle. The book ends on a melancholy note, but the epilogue and two chapters from the guys' (Asher and Miles) points of view lifts the tone a bit and hints that the platonic friends-only dynamic between Lexie and all the guys might start changing in book 3. 

While there were many things I liked about this novel, there were still some issues that detracted from my reading experience. To begin, there were still the same issues with paragraphs, punctuation, and grammar that I saw in the first book. There is an improvement in paragraph organization in this book compared to the first, but some paragraphs were still too lengthy and dialogue sometimes gets lost in the paragraphs. There were also some inconsistencies in the story, like it being Thursday at the beginning of a chapter and then one paragraph later, Lexie is waking up on Saturday, or Lexie being so surprised that the guys can see a ghost at one point when it is not the first time it has happened (they saw the really evil ghost when she haunted them in Miles' living room in book 1). 

Additionally, there is the issue of Lexie's coffee consumption, which goes to the extreme at one point in this book and results in the guys pinning her down to try and make her nap (a scene which seemed too excessive and not well justified, in my opinion). As I pointed out in my review of the first book, Lexie's coffee addiction goes well beyond the safe and healthy limits. There are several times where she easily drinks enough coffee to give a grown man a caffeine overdose. 

Lastly, I was not a fan of how the guys' girlfriends are portrayed. With the exception of one, they all hate Lexie and act really nasty. While the main characters are well developed, the side characters either end up falling in the pro-Lexie camp and are really nice and great or in the anti-Lexie camp and are horribly mean and petty. I wish there was a little more development of the side characters so that they could be as interesting as Lexie and the guys. 

Even though When the Dead Come A Knockin' needs some more editing, it is still worth reading. It's an interesting story with engaging characters and I look forward to seeing what happens next in the following book in the series. 
 

How to Give Constructive Feedback

While most of the advice I give on this blog is geared toward helping writers, I decided to switch things up a bit today. This post is for anyone who helps writers by reading their work and giving feedback. We've probably all gotten well-meaning, but bad advice at some point in our lives. Writers also get a lot of well-meaning but not useful or un-helpful feedback about their work.  If you are someone who helps other authors as an editor, beta-reader, or a general writing buddy, check out the tips below to make sure you are giving the best feedback possible.

To begin, lets review the different types of editing. There are many types of editing and they can be called different names or defined differently depending on where you look or the industry. For simplicity, I've described the three main types of editing below:

1. Substantive/Developmental Editing - I think of this type of editing as "big picture" editing. At this level, you are looking for problems of organization, coherence, logical consistency, etc. Are there plot holes, scenes that don't makes sense, key information that seems to be missing, or characters acting, well, out of character? 
2. Copy/Line Editing - In copy or line editing you are taking a closer look at the text. This level of editing includes checking for errors in grammar, punctuation, style, word usage, repetition, etc. 
3. Proofreading - This is the last step in the editing process and involves looking for any typos or minor mistakes that might have been missed earlier on in the writing/editing process. You might also look for formatting errors. I find that it helps to read the text aloud at this stage as your brain is less likely to skip over errors when you have to say each word. 

As an editor/beta reader/writing buddy, you may be doing any combination of the above three types of editing. If it makes you feel uncomfortable to point out errors in a writer's work for whatever reason, remember that you are not insulting the writer when you find errors or saying that their writing is bad. If you've been asked to read something and give feedback, it is your responsibility to help the writer produce their best work. By pointing out errors, you are giving the writer a chance to not only improve their work, but also their writing skill. 

While you are always on the lookout for errors and things that need correcting, I believe it is important to balance constructive feedback with positive feedback. Let the writer know what needs to be fixed, but also what they are doing well and that they should keep doing. 

Lastly, when giving feedback, it is crucial that your comments be specific and clear. You should explain what is working or not working and why. Saying "this is good" or "this is bad" doesn't give the writer much to go on. Try rather to say, "I like this dialogue because it sounds natural and flows well" or "This dialogue sounds unnatural because the character uses slang that is not from the time period." If you have a suggestion that could be a possible solution, go ahead and offer it, but remember you are offering a suggestion that the author can choose to use or not. For example, if an author uses the word "great" so frequently that it becomes obviously repetitive, you might point out, "You use 'great' very often. Try using synonyms like 'excellent' or 'impressive' to add variety to your writing." 

That's all for now folks! I wish you luck as you go forth and provide the best possible feedback to every writer you help.