BOOKS AND BLOGGING PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is defined as a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought. Well, my theory is if I can add at least 10 new books to my Wishlist and move at least 5 older Wishlist selections to my TBR list every month, then life is a ice cream sundae. And if I can find those 10 books from at least 5 new blogs each month then that's the cherry on top.

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!
Well, I've made it almost 5 years now, so for better or worse, I continue on. I tend to blog in spurts as the urge to be creative erupts. As I don't have an artistic bone in my body, you will see very few changes in the layouts. Hey, I'm a reader not an artist like so many of the awesome bloggers I follow. I know you don't always have the time but if you stopped and looked, take a half a minute and say your piece. Recommend a book that you have enjoyed or hated for that matter. Thank you to all who visit.
Oh, and I moved my Google Friend Connect info and share this buttons to the top, as without our friends, who are we?


Friday, June 30, 2017

Tour For NOT HIS DRAGON by Annie Nicholas


Not His Dragon
Not This Series #1
Annie Nicholas
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Annie Nicholas
Date of Publication: 7/2016
ASIN: B01FP2XSE2
Number of pages: 224
Cover Artist: Janet Holmes

 Here be dragons.

Eoin Grant hasn’t encountered a female of his race in decades, and this crazy person’s scent declares her unmated. Fate set her in his path, and he won’t let this opportunity slip through his claws. No matter how wary she is of him. After all, how many chances does a dragon have at finding love? But fate can be a crueler mistress than his perfect mate. Of all things, she thinks she’s human.
Business is taking off for Angie Weldon. She put her freakishly sharp nails to good use when she opened her back-scratching spa in downtown New Port. The local shifter community pounced on her skills and she’s knee-deep in shed fur. By the end of the year, if lucky, she could afford to move out of her crappy apartment.
Dollar signs flash before Angie’s eyes when a dark, brooding stranger books her solid for a week but she notices the possessive fury in his glare. She’s been around enough shifters to know the look, and she won’t go down that road again. Angie is literally swept off her feet by the intense shifter and he wants more from her than she’s willing to give. She figures it’s best to avoid eye contact and back away slowly. Until he changes her life by insisting she’s a dragon.

On Sale for 99 cents until 7/1/17
Excerpt:
Only one block separated Angie from her workplace. Her lungs burned. No matter how much air she sucked in, there didn’t seem to be enough oxygen.
A tall, slim man smoking a cigarette watched her from half a block away. How did she
notice him in her state of asphyxiation? Because his pale, blue gaze cut across the distance and met hers with such intense fury that it scorched her retinas.
She slowed her pace, glancing over her shoulder, but saw no one. Why was she the focus of his death glare? Maybe he was friends with the jackass in the truck who’d cat-called her and didn’t appreciate her attempt at sign language? If so, he could take a number and get in line with all the other things wanting to destroy her life today.
As Angie jogged closer, she couldn’t help but notice the brightly colored tats peeking out from under his long-sleeved dress shirt. His business attire looked out of place with his shaved head and a cigarette hanging from his lips. He’d never be the poster boy for GQ Magazine, but he sure fit her bad boy fantasies.
He strode into her path, blocking her way. “What are you doing here?”
She tried to brake, but flip-flops weren’t made to stop on a dime. The front ends folded
under and she scraped the tips of her toes along the concrete sidewalk. “Mother fucker, son of a bitch…” She hopped on one foot to rub her bloody toes, then repeated the process on the other foot. “What’s wrong with you?” She planted her hands on his chest and shoved, propelling herself backward.
Pinwheeling her arms, she caught her balance. Great, a supernatural. She had a better chance of pushing the Hanover Tower. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her kissing-close. “Don’t do that again.”
Her blood smeared across his white shirt where she’d laid her dirty hands. She couldn’t
help but notice a small blue symbol tattooed by his left eye. From this angle, she couldn’t see the design completely.
Try as she might, she couldn’t jerk her arms free. Her heart hammered. “Let go.” She
glanced around for help, but no one seemed to want to meet her desperate stare. They crossed the street, gazes glued to the ground. The pedestrian population thinned out quickly as many of them found stores they just had to enter. The scent of fear filled the air and only some of it was hers.
“What are you doing in my city?” His whispered question sent chills down her spine.
“Your city? No one owns New Port.” Oh God, she couldn’t stop her mouth. All she had to do was apologize profusely for whatever imagined transgressions and he’d most likely
let her go. Angie stared at the shaved dark stubble on his head, since she couldn’t take his penetrating glare. He kept his hair cropped real close. Almost like velvet. She caught her hand before she reached to touch him. Her senses said he was some sort of shifter, but she couldn’t tell what. She
suspected she had a little supernatural blood in her lineage, so her skills were limited. Definitely not werewolf. Her ties to the pack were close enough that she knew them at least by sight.
Unfortunately, humans didn’t hold the monopoly on criminals. Supernaturals had them too and Ryota had shown her how to best defend herself. She slid her free hand into her front pocket. “I said, let me go.” She gave her arm another jerk.
He gave her a condescending smile that would have frozen the Eastern Ocean. “Or what?”
She withdrew her hand, aimed at his face, and pulled the trigger on her pepper spray,
remembering at the last moment to close her own eyes and mouth.
He let go and roared an inhuman sound. The noise rattled the windows. She thanked God that
she’d emptied her bladder before setting the kitchen on fire.
Shit, shit, shit.
She geared her ass to holy-shit-it's-going-to-eat-me speed and didn’t think the soles of her
flip-flops hit the ground until she reached the door to her own little business.



Annie Nicholas writes paranormal romance with bite. She has courted vampires, hunted with shifters, and slain a dragon’s ego all with the might of her pen. Riding the wind of her imagination, she travels beyond the restraints of reality and shares them with anyone wanting to read her stories. Mother, daughter, and wife are some of the other hats she wears while hiking through the hills and dales of her adopted state of Vermont.








Tour For GRAVESTONES AND WICKED BONES by D.D. Miers and B. Crow



Gravestones and Wicked Bones
Shadow Creatures #1
D.D. Miers and B. Crow
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: D.D. Miers and B. Crow
Date of Publication: June 13th 2017
Number of pages: 175
Cover Artist: Fantasy Book Design

Half Fae. Half Demon. 100% Badass Bitch.
My sisters and I weren’t born with magic. No, we were forced into it. Betrayed into it by the one person who was supposed to protect us. Now we’re living in a shithole desert town at the mercy of a sexy-as-hell Fae named Bastian.
So far, I’ve been able to buy Violet and Jade time to live freely, without being held to Bastian’s constant call. I’ve been doing his dirty work for five long years, but my sisters’ freedom is wearing thin. Soon he’ll summon them, just as he did me—and I can’t let that happen.
Bastian’s latest assignment offers an escape for my sisters, and I’d be a fool not to take it. But my target is more powerful than any man I’ve faced before, and doubly seductive. He draws out my inner demons—literally—and evading this attraction might prove more difficult than finishing what I started.
The first book in a New Series by Award-Winning Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Author D.D. Miers & B. Crow. Perfect for fans of Mercy Thompson, Jane Yellowrock and Alex Craft!

D.D. Miers is an ardent book lover, coffee enthusiast, and die-hard romance fan. When she's not writing, she can be found snuggling on the couch with a good book in hand, planning a Harry Potter themed party, or dancing very badly to music. She currently resides in beautiful Southern California with her wonderful husband, a crazy toddler, and the many different characters in her head.







Follow on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rdaFdQ





B Crow has held multiple positions, but now manages the best one--Mommy. 
When she isn't wrangling in her three monsters, she is creating worlds of magical mayhem, romance, and paranormal activity. 
After years of ghostwriting bestsellers, she's decided to pursue her true calling and step into the limelight, hoping to share a little of her magic with the world.







Thursday, June 29, 2017

Tour For SLIPSPACE: HARBINGER by P.C. Haring





Slipspace: Harbinger
Book 1
P.C. Haring
Genre:  Sci-Fi/Space Opera
Date of Publication: 5/1/17
ISBN: 978-1545253663
Number of pages: 336
Cover Artist: Starla Hutchton

  The War went cold a decade ago…


A fringe colony world has gone dark, and Captain Cody Amado and the crew of the ISPA’s newest battle cruiser, Mjöllnir, must respond and investigate. No one is prepared for the destruction that awaits them.

Agendas collide as the bonds of duty, loyalty, and family are tested, and the major governments position themselves to prepare for what is to come next. With interstellar tensions rising, the crew of the Mjöllnir race to discover the connection between the colony’s destruction, an alien society so reclusive it has only been rumored about, and an enemy that disappeared a decade prior.

Is this merely an isolated incident, or is this a harbinger of much darker things still to come?

Excerpt:

October 13, 2832
06:30

Mjöllnir -
Captains Quarters


Morning came too soon for the Amados, much to Nira’s chagrin.
Together, she and Cody made their way through the endless
corridors.  With the Mjöllnir just a few
minutes out from Artez, the decks were buzzing with activity as the crew
prepared for as many contingencies as could be planned. 

They exchanged a brief kiss before going their separate ways- Nira towards the Med-deck and Cody  to OpCom as Cassie’s voice echoed
through the ship’s public address system announcing their pending arrival and setting the ship at condition two.  He stepped through the hatch and found the ship’s command center no exception to
the activity about the rest of the ship.
The traffic on deck paused to give the Captain room to move to his
station and log in. 

“Give me a sit-rep,” The Captain ordered.

Cassie stepped to the opposite side of the central station.
She betrayed no anger or frustration.
Any animosity she had towards him lay buried behind as much
professionalism she could muster.

“We can’t find an exit aperture. According to navigational charts, we’re well within range of the outer guide-buoys, but there’s no sign of them.  We’ve also tried to raise the gate on comms, but no luck.”

“Deploy a replacement buoy,” he spoke to Cassie.
“We’ll have to make a blind exit.
Hopefully it won’t be in the middle of an engagement.” 

He paused and reviewed the data.  “Still, best be prepared.” 

He stepped away from the console and turned to the deck.
“Sound General Quarters!  Set
condition one throughout the ship!”

The order relayed through the chain of command.
The Mjöllnir’s klaxon rang out only seconds later and the already busy
decks burst into further action.  Two
minutes later, Cassie turned from her console.

“All rail positions are manned and armed.  Main
cannons are charging.  ECM is charging
and calibrated full negative; frequency coverage at ninety seven percent.  Replacement nav-com buoy has been
deployed.  ETA to Artez...,” she paused
to check her watch. “Three minutes.”
“Good work.”

“Captain, we’re close enough to pick up preliminary data,” the navigator reported.  “Without the buoy, we’re without detail, but
I’m detecting over one hundred separate energy signatures.  The data is too obscure to plot an exit trajectory.”

The display in front of Cody updated, a wave of distortion sweeping out from center, erasing old information and leaving new data in its wake. 

“There go my hopes of not walking into a fight,” Cody muttered.  “Pilot, overshoot the combat area!  Tear us an exit to normal space and double
back!”
“Aye, Skipper!”

The deck rumbled as the ship tore itself into normal space.
Without the aid of a functioning gate, the transition came with far more
violence.  The ship shuddered and bucked,
throwing both Amados off balance, and a few crewmen to the deck.  Cody and Melor exchanged looks of tepid
relief.  He noted that even as an
emergency maneuver, one within the ship’s tolerances, the blind exit always carried dangerous risk. 

Power transitioned to the Mjöllnir’s sub light engines as the pilots brought her about and proceeded on course at flank speed.

As they approached the edge of the zone, the first signs of debris floated past the ship.  The pilot and navigator avoided it
with ease but soon found the ship surrounded by hull fragments from broken fighters.  This was no surprise as
fighter wings always took high casualties.

“ECM to full, activate all fixed weapon positions and roll the Gryphons onto the tarmac,”
Cassie ordered. 

Cody continued to study the out-of-focus holograms on the central display.  The objects still showed as general spheres,
indicating the sensor’s inability to obtain a full resolution scan.

“Can we clear up this interference any time soon?” Cassie asked.

In response, Melor turned to a secondary console.
“I’m trying, Commander.  There are
a lot of cross signals out there preventing us from getting a full resolution
scan on the area.”  She transferred a
data module from one console to another.
The device whirred to life as she accessed its programming.  “However,” she muttered as she worked, “I
have a couple of algorithms up my sleeve.
I’m bringing them online right...”

At the same time, all screens and displays showing the battle zone refreshed to show its
data at full resolution.  Melor, Aler,
and both Amados looked to the center and watched. 

“My God,” Cassie muttered.

No one responded.  Everyone’s eyes locked on the
displays and the sensor returns.  Op-Com
fell silent save for the humming of the ship’s engines and the beeping of the computers.  No one moved, as they stood
locked in a trance of awe and horror.
The Mjöllnir’s engines powered down as they arrived at the
coordinates.  What should have been a
fully functional slipgate was little more than a field of burning hulk and
slag. 

“The station...it’s just gone,” Cassie said, to no one in particular.

After what seemed like an eternity, Melor turned back to her console.  “Sensors are detecting no weapon signatures,
no power signatures...”
“This isn’t a battle zone,” Cody stated. “It’s a graveyard.”

About the Author:

A fan of Science Fiction from an early age P.C. Haring has always been one of those who looked up at the night sky and wondered “what if…”

P.C. Haring made his debut as a writer and podcast novelist on 01/01/10 with Cybrosis. This production met with a strongly favorable response that propelled it to number four on the Podiobooks.com Top Ten list when it was re-launched there that October. His audio fiction can also be heard in Scott Sigler’s The Crypt: Book 1 — The Crew and in Philippa Ballantine’s Chronicles of the Order anthology. His contribution for Tales from the Archives, co-produced by Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris, won him the 2012 Parsec Award for Best Short Story. This momentum propelled P.C. Haring into publishing Cybrosis as well as his latest project, Slipspace: Harbinger independently.

When he isn’t developing new projects for podcast and publication, P.C. Haring works as a corporate accountant in the Chicagoland area and as a husband to his beautiful wife.











Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Review For DUKE WITH BENEFITS by Manda Collins-5 *

Title: Duke With Benefits
Series: Studies in Scandal #2
Author: Manda Collins
Genre:  Historical Romance
Rating: * * * * *
Publishers: St Martin's Paperbacks
(Jun 27, 2017)
Paperback: 320 pages
FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley


LADY + DUKE = TRUE LOVE?
Lady Daphne Forsyth is a brilliant mathematician with a burning passion for puzzles. When she learns that the library belonging to her benefactress houses the legendary Cameron Cipher―an encrypted message that, once solved, holds the key to great riches―Daphne is on the case. Unfortunately, her race to unlock the cipher’s code is continually thwarted by a deliciously handsome distraction she hadn’t counted on. . .and cannot resist.

Dalton Beauchamp, the Duke of Maitland, is curious as to why Daphne is spending so much time snooping around his aunt’s bookshelves. He’s even more intrigued by her bold yet calculating manner: She is unapologetic about her secret quest. . .and the fiery attraction that develops between them both. But how can they concentrate on solving a perplexing enigma once the prospect of true love enters the equation?
I loved this newest book in the Studies in Scandal series. I love a good mystery but take that and wrap a delicious romance around it and you've got a great five star read. Daphne is socially oblivious and a brilliant mathematician. Her blunt manner often had me laughing out loud. She and Dalton were great together. Though this book can be read as a standalone, it was so much better as a part of this series. 

Manda Collins spent her teen years wishing she'd been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. An affinity for books led to a graduate degree in English, followed by another in Librarianship. By day, she works as an academic librarian at a small liberal arts college, where she teaches college students how to navigate the tangled world of academic research. A native of coastal Alabama, Manda lives in the house her mother grew up in with two cats, sometimes a dog, sometimes her sister, and more books than strictly necessary.


Studies in Scandal

1. Ready Set Rogue (2017) My review here





Review For RACE AGAINST TIME by Sharon Sala- 4 *

Title: Race Against Time
Author: Sharon Sala
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Rating: * * * * 
Publishers: Harlequin
(Jun 27, 2017)
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0778319979  
FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Sometimes fate brings you together…only to tear you apart 
Growing up in the foster system, Quinn O'Meara made a point of never getting involved. But when she discovers a crying baby amid a fiery crime scene, she knows she has no choice. Suddenly in way over her head, Quinn turns to the police, unintentionally positioning herself in the cross-hairs of a deadly human-trafficking ring. 
The last time homicide detective Nick Saldano saw Quinn, she was still the young girl he'd shared a foster home with. The girl who'd loved and cared for him when no one else had. Now here she was, gorgeously all grown-up—and in terrible danger. 

Unwilling to lose her again, Nick insists on keeping Quinn close, especially when the bond they once shared heatedly slides into desire. Quinn finally has someone worth holding on to, but what kind of future can they have when she might not live to see tomorrow?

I thought this book started out with a bang but the last half of it seemed to drag some. There were a couple of inconsistencies that kind of bothered me but the whole human trafficking aspect  of it was heart breaking and so sad that it almost had me in tears. 
I'm generally not a fan of a book that is from different POVs but it definitely worked here. There is a lot of suspense and I found myself gripping my Kindle for dear life on numerous occasions. I loved the romance between Quinn and Nick and thought the mixture of romance and suspense to be a great balance. Quinn was the kick-ass person every woman wants to be.

With over fifty books in print, award-winning author Sharon Sala, who also writes as Dinah McCall, still has to remind herself from time to time that this isn't a dream. She claims that, for her, learning to read was a matter of evolution, but learning to write and then being published was a revolution. It changed her life, her world and her fate.

Review For COMEBACK COWBOY by Sara Richardson-4 *

Title: Comeback Cowboy
Series: Rocky Mountain Riders#2
Author: Sara Richardson
Genre: Cowboy Romance
Rating: * * * *
Publishers: Forever Romance
(June 27, 2017)
Paperback: 368 pages
FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

"Filled with humor, heart, and love, this page-turner is one wild ride."
--- Jennifer Ryan, New York Times bestselling author on Hometown Cowboy



A WOMAN NEVER FORGETS HER FIRST COWBOY . . . As a single mother, Naomi Sullivan is used to doing things on her own. She's finally saved enough from working at the Cortez Ranch to buy a lovely home for her and her little girl. Life is going as planned. But when her high school sweetheart comes riding back to town, this self-sufficient woman feels something she hasn't felt in years: red-hot, unbridled need for the handsome cowboy who left her behind.

Lucas Cortez doesn't plan on being in town long. Yet when he sees Naomi again-the gorgeous girl he never stopped loving-he's tempted to hang up his hat and stay awhile. He's already charmed his way into her daughter's heart, but he'll need more than sweet talk and roses to convince Naomi to give them a second chance-especially when she's hiding a secret that could change their lives forever . . .


As a lover of cowboy romance and second chance love, this story was right on the nose. I loved the smalltown ambiance, both the good  and the bad. Coming from a very small community myself, it was very realistic. Naomi was a wonderful character and I loved seeing how determined she was to make a good life for her daughter. I just love a woman who can stand on her own two feet. While I know  that the "secret" is simply a plot device, I'm just not sure that in real life I'd  ever be able to truly trust and forgive someone that kept one that life changing from me.


Rocky Mountain Riders




Sara Richardson grew up chasing adventure in Colorado's rugged mountains. She's climbed to the top of a 14,000-foot peak at midnight, swam through Class IV rapids, completed her wilderness first-aid certification, and spent seven days at a time tromping through the wilderness with a thirty-pound backpack strapped to her shoulders.

Release Day Blitz & Giveaway for COMEBACK COWBOY by Sara Richardson


Title: COMEBACK COWBOY
Author: Sara Richardson
Series: Rocky Mountain Riders, #2
On Sale: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Forever
Mass Market: $7.99 USD
eBook: $5.99 USD


"Filled with humor, heart, and love, this page-turner is one wild ride."
--- Jennifer Ryan, New York Times bestselling author on Hometown Cowboy


A WOMAN NEVER FORGETS HER FIRST COWBOY . . . As a single mother, Naomi Sullivan is used to doing things on her own. She's finally saved enough from working at the Cortez Ranch to buy a lovely home for her and her little girl. Life is going as planned. But when her high school sweetheart comes riding back to town, this self-sufficient woman feels something she hasn't felt in years: red-hot, unbridled need for the handsome cowboy who left her behind.

Lucas Cortez doesn't plan on being in town long. Yet when he sees Naomi again-the gorgeous girl he never stopped loving-he's tempted to hang up his hat and stay awhile. He's already charmed his way into her daughter's heart, but he'll need more than sweet talk and roses to convince Naomi to give them a second chance-especially when she's hiding a secret that could change their lives forever . . .



My review is HERE



BUY THE BOOK HERE


THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RIDERS SERIES

HOMETOWN COWBOY, #1
COMEBACK COWBOY, #2
RENEGADE COWBOY, #3