Publisher: Penguin

The Weekly Recap (134)

Posted July 1, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

This week was a pretty quick one for me. I spent as much time as I could with Caiden because he went back to his Utah home on Friday but I also got some books read that I’ve been meaning to read for ages now so all in all, it was a pretty good week. Brenna went camping with her friends this past weekend so I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted and I stuck close to home, refreshing Twitter to see where Kawhi Leonard lands (please say that Lakers, please say the Lakers) in his free agency. Fingers crossed that he lands back home…in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform.

I binged Mercy Thompson too and I have no regrets. Mercy is the bomb!

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

Storm Cursed
by Patricia Briggs
Series: Marcy Thompson #11
Published by Penguin, Ace on May 7, 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge

In this powerful entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Mercy Thompson must face a deadly enemy to defend all she loves...

My name is Mercedes Athena Thompson Hauptman, and I am a car mechanic.

And a coyote shapeshifter.

And the mate of the Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack.

Even so, none of that would have gotten me into trouble if, a few months ago, I hadn't stood upon a bridge and taken responsibility for the safety of the citizens who lived in our territory. It seemed like the thing to do at the time. It should have only involved hunting down killer goblins, zombie goats, and an occasional troll. Instead, our home was viewed as neutral ground, a place where humans would feel safe to come and treat with the fae.

The reality is that nothing and no one is safe. As generals and politicians face off with the Gray Lords of the fae, a storm is coming and her name is Death.

But we are pack, and we have given our word.

We will die to keep it.

I should be finishing this book up today sometime and then I’ll be moving on from this series because I’M ALL CAUGHT UP! Still, I planned on finishing this book over the weekend and the NBA Free Agency took those plans and threw them right out the window. Oh well, I’m enjoying this so that’s something.

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

4 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books

The Weekly Recap (133)

Posted June 24, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

This past week was for family in town (it seems that I’m always saying that in my weekly recaps but it’s true, ha!) because my niece Maleah graduated from high school. She graduated from the high school that I went to and so I was able to walk around my old stomping grounds while making our way toward the graduation ceremony. Caiden came into town for the graduation and…of course we talked his parents into letting us keep him with us for the week then his grandma is going to drive him home over the weekend. I am loving that he’s still here because I’m one of his favorites and he’s mine.

This weekend was also for another sibling dinner and you guys, for the first time in years, we were all together in the same space to share a meal together and it was fabulous. We even got our Dad to go to dinner with us and he never wants to go to dinner outside of the house. I had a lot of fun catching up with my siblings, reminiscing and just having a blast being in eachother’s company without a million kids running around, screaming at the top of their lungs. The rest of the night, I could have done without (freaking dumbass drama) but that didn’t take away from my sibling dinner and the quality time that I got to spend with the folks I love the most!

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

Night Broken
by Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson #8
Also in this series: Silver Borne
Published by Penguin, Ace on March 11, 2014
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 353
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge, 2019 TBR Challenge

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from a stalker. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the furthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s stalker is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

I really, really want to catch up with the Mercy Thompson series because I really like this world and though I’ve heard that this book was the book that broke the series for some reader friends on Twitter, I still want to read this book for myself and see how things pan out for me. I’m not that far into the book since I was pretty busy over the weekend but so far, I’ve already experienced some annoyance at certain people in the pack that don’t even bother to mask how much they don’t like Mercy and honestly, Mercy needs to check their asses already.

What I Read

Highland Deception by Meggan Connors | 3 out of 5
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez | 1 out of 5
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer | 3.5 out of 5

As you can tell, my reading of bad books has not come to an end and though I didn’t LOVE any of the books that I read, I did enjoy the Kemmerer so I’m definitely interested in reading more of her stuff. I’m crossing my fingers that this week will be a better week in reading for me. Wish me luck!

Eye Candy Friday

Curran Lennart
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

What I Reviewed

The Understatement of the Year (Ivy Years #3) by Sarina Bowen | 4.5 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (132)
Throwback Thursday: The Understatement of the Year by Sarina Bowen
Eye Candy Friday: Curran Lennart

What I Got

I didn’t get anything this week.

What I Got for Review

I didn’t even look at anything this week. Too busy.

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

4 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books

Eye Candy Friday: Curran from Kate Daniel’s Series by Ilona Andrews

Posted June 21, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 4 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is all about the heroes and heroines that I’m loving and wanting to spotlight right now. Sometimes I’ll do full-on gush fest posts on why I love these guys, sometimes I’ll post pictures of what I think they look like and that’s it but if they’re featured here, the one thing that will be constant is I loved the hell out of them and want everyone to know. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Eye Candy Friday: Curran from Kate Daniel’s Series by Ilona Andrews

Magic Burns
by Ilona Andrews
Series: Kate Daniels #2
Published by Penguin, Ace on April 1, 2008
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 260
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads

Down in Atlanta, tempers – and temperatures – are about to flare…

As a mercenary who cleans up after magic gone wrong, Kate Daniels has seen her share of occupational hazards. Normally, waves of paranormal energy ebb and flow across Atlanta like a tide. But once every seven years, a flare comes, a time when magic runs rampant. Now Kate’s going to have to deal with problems on a much bigger scale: a divine one.

When Kate sets out to retrieve a set of stolen maps for the Pack, Atlanta’s paramilitary clan of shapeshifters, she quickly realizes much more at stake. During a flare, gods and goddesses can manifest – and battle for power. The stolen maps are only the opening gambit in an epic tug-of-war between two gods hoping for rebirth. And if Kate can’t stop the cataclysmic showdown, the city may not survive…

Today’s eye candy is Curran Lennart from the Kate Daniels series, but more specifically from Magic Burns. Magic Burns is the second book in the Kate Daniels series and it is where a crush developed on Curran because I’ll be honest. I didn’t like Curran all that much in Magic Bleeds. I thought he was an arrogant jackass but we didn’t really see him in that book. He’s in this book a lot more and Kate knows him better and seeing the amount of care that he has for his pack is something else.

In this book, there’s a part where Curran is fighting the bad guys and he doesn’t give up. He just plows through enemies left and right and he keeps going, even if the odds are against him. He just keeps fighting and fighting to keep his loved ones safe and to give Kate a fighting chance. He won me completely over in this book because man, I loved it…and that’s why he’s this week’s eye candy. Yummo.

You can read my joint review of Magic Burns, here. I reviewed with my Book Binge team and we all liked it much better than the first book.

Hero Casting

Saw this casting floating around the internet and that definitely fits in with the image that I have of Curran in my mind. I can definitely see this guy annoying the shit out of Kate and turning into a majestic lion. Gah, I heart Curran.

Buy the Book

AMAZON || BARNES & NOBLE || GOOGLE BOOKS || THE RIPPED BODICE

Kate Daniels Series

Have you read Magic Burns? Did you love Curran as much as I did? Who is your favorite character this week?

4 Comments
Tags: Curran Lennart, Eye Candy Friday, Ilona Andrews, Kate Daniels Series

The Weekly Recap (131)

Posted June 10, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 6 Comments

This week was for celebrating my best friend’s grandmother’s 86th birthday. Grandma Lili (she shares the same name as my Mom) was a really good friend to my Mom and our families have always been close but Theresa’s family adopted to be Brenna’s other side since it’s always been just me and Brenna. So Bren and I went to celebrate Grandma Lili’s birthday. We had a really good time and it’s always good to see Grandma Lili light up whenever she sees us. Brenna and I talked about how we need to make more time to go and see her, just like we need to spend more time with my Dad while we can. They’re not getting any younger!

Aside from that, it’s been really quiet at home which is probably a good thing since last week, we crammed so much into RJ and Caiden’s time here so we’re chillin’ this week.

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune
by Roselle Lim
Published by Penguin, Berkley on June 11, 2019
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Point of View:First Person
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge

At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.

The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.

After I quit The Perfect Date (the hero was awful and the heroine wasn’t a bag of sunshine either, definitely not anything I wanted to read), I immediately started this book and though I’m not done with it, I’m still enjoying it and I’m a lot more happy with this read than the others that I DNF’d this week. Wish me luck that my luck holds, will ya?

What I Read

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin | 4 out of 5
If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann | DNF, 2 out of 5
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen | 4 out of 5
The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada | DNF, 2 out of 5

The Jalaluddin and the Dessen were both great reads and I was super thrilled that they held up their promising beginnings. The same can not be said for my reads of If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann and The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada. I thought I would get one kind of story with them both and they veered off into something else that I wasn’t prepared for and didn’t want to read so I quit them both. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Eye Candy Friday

West Ravenel
Devil’s Daughter (The Ravenels #5) by Lisa Kleypas

What I Reviewed

Then Came You (Laws of Attraction #3) by Kate Meader | 4 out of 5
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo | 3.25 out of 5

What I Posted

The Weekly Recap (130)
The Monthly Recap: April & May 2019
The Wednesday Post (13)
Eye Candy Friday: West Ravenel from Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas

What I Got

Water Bound (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart #1) by Christine Feehan
Blood Magic (Wing Slayer Hunters #1) by Jennifer Lyon
The Spymasters Lady (Spymasters #1) by Joanna Bourne
How to Date Your Dragon (Mystic Bayou #1) by Molly Harper
The Iron Duke (Iron Seas #1) by Meljean Brook
The Kingpin of Camelot (A Kinda Fairytale #3) by Cassandra Gannon
Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop

This month kicks off Book Binge’s Summer Reading Challenge so I went book shopping to load up on the books that Casee and Holly chose for me to read this summer. Lots of stuff I probably wouldn’t have read on my own but thanks to these two, I’ll finally be checking them out. Wish me luck!

What I Got for Review

Love on Lexington (Central Park Pact #2) by Lauren Layne
Heiress Gone Wild (Dear Lady Truelove #4) by Laura Lee Guhrke
Superfan (Brooklyn Bruisers #6) by Sarina Bowen

What Made Me Laugh

There you have it, my week in review. How was your week?

6 Comments
Tags: Currently Reading, The Weekly Recap, Week in Books

The Weekly Recap (129)

Posted May 27, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 10 Comments

Hey everyone!!!

Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet without a word. A bitch was busy with family stuff and busy doing everything and anything that wasn’t blogging. I ran out of blogging mojo and honestly, I was traveling from one graduation to another, making candy leis, running errands for different family parties and I still have one more high school graduation before my family is completely done with graduations for this year.

I just could not get my shit together to get blog posts written and even books read. Before last week, I had read one book in the entire month of May. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve kicked my reading slump to the curb cause your girl read hella books this week. I’m patting myself on the back for that. Yay me!

So what do you guys think about the brighter colors on the blog? I have to give some major props to my homie gee locc, Nick from The Infinite Limits of Love for hooking me up with my brand new blog header. I had a feeling that a small change in the blog look would do wonders in getting my desire to blog again up and I was right. It helped that I got a gorgeous new header so thank you, thank you, thank you to Nick for working her magic. I love her stuff and I’m grateful she hooked me up!

Before I get into my books stuff…

Thanks to all of the veterans that have served to protect all of us here at home. I appreciate your efforts and sacrifices. 🙂

Now, onto the books…

What I’m Currently Reading

Ayesha at Last
by Uzma Jalaluddin
Published by Penguin, Berkley on June 4, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge, 2019 New to Me Challenge

A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love.

Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn't want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.

Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.

I’m still grinding out these reads so that I can get my review pile down. So next up on my review pile is this book and I’m starting it on my lunch hour today. I’m looking forward to the experience.

What I Read

The Austen Playbook (London Celebrities #4) by Lucy Parker (eARC) | 4 out of 5
Passion on Park Avenue (Central Park Pact #1) by Lauren Layne (eARC) | 4 out of 5
Hot to the Touch (Brotherhood by Fire #1) by Jaci Burton (eARC) | 3 out of 5
American Witch (American Witch #1) by Thea Harrison (eBook) | 4 out of 5
Love, Chloe by Alessandra Torre (eBook) | 4 out of 5
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo (eARC) | 3.25 out of 5
Sapphire Flames (Hidden Legacy #4) by Ilona Andrews (eARC) | 4.5 out of 5
Night Pleasures (Dark Hunters #1) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (eBook) | 2.5 out of 5
Then Came You (Laws of Attractions #3) by Kate Meader (eARC) | 4 out of 5
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (eARC) | 4.25 out of 5
Bridal Boot Camp (Little Bridge Island #0.5) by Meg Cabot (eARC) | 3.75 out of 5