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Showing posts from February, 2018

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes- 2.3 Stars [arc review]

Fawkes, Nadine Brandes Hummm.... I am a little stuck for words here guys. I don't really know how to feel about this book.  It wasn't bad... but it wasn't good either. The idea behind the book is good, but the execution was not always on point. Sadly the first 2/3 of the book bored me... it was long and dull. The last third of the book though pick up pace and got a lot better. Thomas Fawkes is the main character in the story and the focus is almost solely on him. There is very poor secondary character development.  Thomas is turning to stone due to a plague, he flees to London to join his father on a plot against the king that will apparently end the plague. Needless to say, things don't go as planned. If you haven't figured out yet, this is loosely based on Guy Fawkes, who here is Thomas father and the one who will be responsible for setting off  36 barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament against the Igniter King of England.  I really didn

November 9 by Colleen Hoover - 5+ stars

This is only my third book by Colleen Hoover, and going into it I wasn't sure what to think because I didn't like the sound of the blurb. On top of that, when I shared with people that I would be reading it there were a few negative come backs.  I am so so glad I still read it. The book was GREAT! I really don't get or agree with all the negative comments... To me the book was sweet, romantic, full of drama, entertaining... all a New Adult novel should be. I read it in one sitting, 5 hours I think... I tried to put down twice at least and ended up going in for just 'one more chapter' both times. Obviously that trick didn't work 🤣 Here is the Blurb: Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relation

Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) by Sylvain Neuvel - 4 Stars

My feelings towards this book are very similar to Sleeping Giants, it was an entertaining sci-fi with a fast pace story, good plot, good characters, and just enough mystery and action. Once again, the audio-book for this was phenomenal. The many voices used for all different characters worked really well! I have the kindle arc for the last book (coming out this May) and I will miss the audio format. So... the story picks up 9 years after Sleeping Giants, and it does so masterfully. I would argue (even though I am giving both books 4 stars) that Waking Gods is a little better. We already know the characters, some of the background...we go right into the middle of things, there is a palpable tension (yes, that is possible on books 🤣) from the very first pages. There were more sci-fi elements in Waking Gods, which should please all sci-fi lovers out there. And the stakes are higher, a lot higher. It is no longer a matter of how much damage the robot humans found can make, but

Play (Stage Dive #2) by Kylie Scott - 4/5 stars

This was interesting. I wasn't sure when it started, but half-way through I was teary eyed. GOSH! Mal Mal Mal Mal... you have my heart! Book Blurb: Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl.  Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it? Another great book by Kylie Scott. Mal and Dave's story certainly lived up to David and Eve's (Stage Dive #1). To start I struggled a little. Mal made a joke out of everything, than proceeded

Lick (Stage Dive #1) by Kylie Scott- 5 Stars

Lick by Kylie Scott, audio-book cover I am a big fun of Kylie Scott's romance books and this did not disappoint. The real question is: Why haven't I read this before? I am looking forward to the next one- luckily for me this is not brand new and I can dive straight into it! "Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this." Evelyn Thomas's plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man in her room, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened. In Kylie Scott's Lick, one thing is certain: being married to one of the hottest rock stars on the planet is sure to be a wild ride." (Book Blurb) I thought it was hilarious how this book started and adorable how it ended.  "Let me get this str

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh - 5 Stars (audiobook)

I am not sure why it took me so long to read this. Oh, wait... I know: my TBR is the size of a mountain! 🤣 "In order to hate, one must first love." I read The Wrath and the Dawn two months ago and fell in love, as soon as I was finished with that amazing duology I decided I needed to read Flame in the Mist. I think I still prefer The Wrath and the Dawn, but I did love this book as well. Renee Ahdieh is most certainly a must buy writer for me now. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. For the blurb go  here The book as a whole was really well written. The world Renee created was fascinating and there were just enough descriptions and details to leave you wanting more. The characters, both main and secondary were really well thought out. I couldn't help but fall in love with every single one of them. Mariko was a fun main character. She is very smart, albeit slightly naive at times due to her privileged background.  Her desire for freedom fro

Baking Lessons by Katie Allen - 4 Stars [arc review]

Baking Lessons by Katie Allen The pastry chef in me (done that for 12 years) and the romance lover in me are in awe! This was a sweet read in every way. Leah is a lovely chatty and fun character, someone I would not mind have as a friend in real life 🙂 She loves her bakery and gets immense satisfaction from feeding people. Her landlord however is uptight and difficult to deal with. She makes it her mission to annoy me him till his eyes twitch. It helps he is obsessed with her sweets. Hamilton, the landlord in question, is uptight and he knows it. He is rigid and keeps to himself. Leah's messiness unnerves him, heck, her whole being unnerves him! Underneath all that though he has a heart of gold. When Leah needs most he is always there to help her. And when she is threatened by an unwanted admirer, he intervenes. And with that, Hamilton becomes part of her life and her of his.  These two are adorable together. The friendship and relationship they built in her

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (audiobook)- 4 Stars

I was happily surprised by this book! I got a copy as a gift about a year ago and never read it. Decided to let the audiobook play while painting the other day and now I am dying to read the next book ( Book 3 comes out this year, May 1st. I have the arc now, so I really need to get on with book 2 😄) ! The basic story-line goes like this: there are pieces of a humongous metal robot -who just happens to be female- scattered around our little planet. A team is put together in a top secret mission and it is tasked to finding the pieces of the robot and of putting her together. Oh, and making her work... that last bit though is easier said than done.  The way the story is told reminded me of the Illuminae files, another great sci-fi book. Sleeping Giants is told in a series of interviews/reports submitted by an anonymous interviewer who appears to be the one en-charge of the mission for the most part. The story is very easy to follow and it is rather entertaining. And I am so glad

Guest Author Q&A with Jessie Donovan- Queen of Supernatural Romance!

Hello Sunnies 🌞 And Happy Saturday!  As most of you know I have three book genre passions: YA fantasy, New Adult Romance, and Supernatural Romance! Today I bring you one of my all time favorite Supernatural Romance writers: Jessie Donovan!  Her Stonefire Dragon series alone has already 11 books and I am very proud to say I read every single one of them in one sitting. If you haven't checked her out yet you don't know what you are missing. Q&A with Jessie Donovan Stonefire Dragons Book covers by Jessie Donovan Hello Jessie! I am thrilled to have you on my blog! I discovered the Stonefire Dragons series last year by accident and have not been able to stop reading them. I am proud to say I have read all 10 of them and all 4 Lochguard Highland Dragons too. They are sooooo good! One day I shall get to your other series too. When did you start writing? Was it a hobby at first or did you always wanted to be a writer? I’ve been writing stories since I was

Monster Among the Roses: A Beauty and the Beast Story by Linda Kage- 5 lovely stars

Monster Among the Roses, Linda Kage WOW!  This was so so so good! It delivered in every possible way. "I trust you with my heart. Giving you the truth was easy" It is hard to find well written retellings for adults, young adults? yah... there are tons. New Adult/Adult not so much. Even less retellings not involving fantasy and magic. THIS however, THIS was pure perfection. I loved every single thing about it!  Here is the blurb for you sunnies: “Do you know how to get to the rose garden?”  “No, you can’t go there. A monster lives there.”  Shaw Hollander is desperate.  Broke, unemployed, and determined to help his ailing mother, he falls on the good graces of a wealthy benefactor who is willing to give Shaw a job at his mansion in order to pay off his mother’s debts. Suddenly finding himself surrounded by lavish riches, he has no idea what his duties truly entail until he’s sent to the rose garden and meets the tragically mutilated Isobel. 

#prettyboymustdie by Kimberly Reid- 1.5 Stars [arc review]

This book hurts my intellect!   I almost didn't finish reading it, it took a lot of mental pep-talk. The blurb for this book is great, I was very much looking forward to it, it sounded fun... it disappointed in every possible way. Here is the blurb for you all:  A CIA prodigy's cover is blown when he accidentally becomes an internet sensation in #Prettyboy Must Die, inspired by the #Alexfromtarget story. When Peter Smith's classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo--along with the caption, "See the Pretty Boy Run,"--Peter knows he's in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter's pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency. Because he's not really Peter Smith. He's Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he's on a

Chasing Eva by Camellia Hart - 3.5 Stars

This was a pleasantly surprising read. I have never read anything by this author and I really enjoy this story. It was fun, sweet, and had a good dosage of suspense to it too. I was disappointed when it ended because I wanted to know more. So needless to say, I will be reading the next book. So... the story is mainly about Eva and Clive.  Eva's father died and left her his interior design business. Even though she finished culinary school and has made a name for herself in the industry, she takes over the company to honor her father's wishes. What she doesn't know is that her father had contacted the FBI and her company is being investigated for fraud.  Clive owns the company next door and the book pretty much begins with Eva receiving a dismissal letter from them.  The attraction between Clive and Eva is instant, specially when he realizes he knows her from his childhood... but I won't tell you guys more not to spoil the story for you. I liked both ch

Guest Author Q&A with Tijan- Just my all time favorite romance writer!

2018 has started really well here at Glimpses Of My Books!  Last month I had one of my all time favorite Young Adult writer gracing us with her presence ( Morgan Rhodes ), this month I have the author that has in a very short period of time became my ALL TIME favorite romance writer (seriously... I have read about 10 of her books and just bought another 4 this week)! To think I didn't know her this time last year... sacrilege!  If you like sexy romance stories with depth and great characters give her books a go! Check out this post for the review on her latest book,  Ryan's Bed Some of Tijan's books that I have come to Love I am so very excited to do this Q&A with you! Ever since I found your books (thanks to a bookstagram friend) I have been hooked. And your last book, Ryan’s Bed, was pure perfection! THANK YOU!!! When did you start writing? Was it a hobby at first or did you always wanted to be a writer? This will make me sound crazy, b

First Wrap Up of 2018!

Hello sunnies! It has been a busy month in my art room and I am slowly learning to appreciate having audio books on while I paint! If it weren't for audio books and rereads I would not have managed that many books this month. Any-who, bellow are the books I read this month and the rating (in the order they were read). For full reviews just visit the home page, they are all there (well, Sleeping Giants will be there tomorrow!) 🙂 Anna dressed in blood by Kendare Blake (audio)- 2.5 ⭐⭐ The Mortician's Daughter by CC HUnter- 4.75 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Losing it by Cora Carmack (audio)- 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ One is a Promise by Pam Godwin- 2.5 ⭐⭐ The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (reread)- 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco (release date: March 20th)- 5+ 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Faking it by Cora Carmack (audio)- 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lover Awakened by JR Wards- 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dirty by Kylie Scott (audio)- 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Cruel Prince by Holly Black- 3.5 ⭐⭐⭐ Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes (reread)- 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gathering Darkness by Morga