What We're About To Do (July 4, 2016 - July 8, 2016)

Due to the fact that the fourth of July is an American holiday, we've decided to take the day off and just hang out at home. Sorry this is late, yesterday we were invited to a lake house for fireworks and food (I mean, free food? Psft yes) and then today we were invited to the lake (same lake) to grill out for lunch. Very American, we know. So we woke up VERY VERY late and didn't have this post ready (We're never ahead), so by the time I woke up Shell was like "Get ready to go" so I'm here now setting this up while she's watching Netflix.......this post is supposed to be her job lol. SHE DOES IT BETTER!

(Review) Dark Guardian by Ammar Habib

It has been four years since Ethan Daniels stepped foot in Crown City. Four long years that he allowed everyone to believe he was dead and gone. But now he's back, and with a vengeance. 

After the gruesome death of his adopted sister at the hands of a merciless gang, there is nothing he wants more than revenge. He can't sleep, he can't think; all he hears are her cries in his ears and all he sees is her death in his mind. 

Ethan comes home to take on one of the world's most notorious crime lords in his bid for revenge, but he doesn't expect a reunion with Katrina, the girl he loved as a boy. After multiple re-encounters with her, Ethan's resolve begins to waver as he is forced to realize that he can't have both love and vengeance. Retribution exacts a price, and fate—well, she has plans of her own. 

(Review) When Night Falls by R'lee R. Coffey
My family’s secrets are like dead corpses shoved into cupboards, abandoned to rot and stew. To be forgotten.
All it took was a freak accident, the death of my best friend, to loosen the lock and let all those secrets waft out, ripe with the smell of betrayal.
In order to tell a story, you have to go back to the beginning; before things get out of control, before the cupboard door breaks open. 

And I, Lucien Kinkaid, am going to do just that.

(Review) Player by M.L. Sparrow

Let the game begin… 

After a tragic accident which leaves her tormented by guilt, Chloe Newman accepts a scholarship to study a St. Joseph’s University. Traveling from England to Texas, the last thing she expects is to meet the schools charming quarterback on her first night. However, Parker Mitchell is a player both on and off the field. 

Parker is immediately fascinated by Chloe and, after a rocky start, they manage to find a way to make their relationship work despite interference from others on campus, including Parkers jealous ex, and the ghosts that haunt Chloe’s conscience. But, the real test comes when they visit Parker’s family over Christmas break and he finds himself being pulled back into their lifestyle... 

(Review) The Spectra Unearthed by Christie Valentine Powell

Keita thought that being a princess was nothing but trouble even before the power-hungry Stygians took over the Spectra kingdoms. Now she’s on the run, hunted at every turn, and able to trust only a few other royal exiles. Of course she’d like to make her life safe again, but standing up to the Stygians means confronting Jasper Smelt. A former friend, Jasper insists he wants nothing more to keep her safe, but his pitch-black dungeon and fiery threats suggest otherwise. 


With help from her friends, Keita escapes, but there is no safe place for former princesses. Banding together despite their different cultures, the girls head into Jasper’s desert kingdom. They soon find themselves in the middle of a conflict between the Stygians and a small rebel group. Hanging in the balance is a colony of children abandoned for having abilities different than their families. Keita wants to help, and she hates feeling helpless. But how can she face Jasper, someone with abilities she couldn’t begin to fight, someone constantly seeking her out, someone who fears everything…except her?

What We're About To Do June 20-26

(Review) Strays: Red Kings #1 by: Emma Kendrick

Best friends Jackie and Tyler set out on an adventure to find somewhere to call home, hoping to escape the violent city life and settle down in a quiet place where they can make something of themselves. What they find instead is the notorious Red Kings Motorcycle Club, outlaw bikers that rule the city's criminal underground. 

Only able to avoid them for so long, the unsuspecting pair get thrown into turf wars and drug trafficking before they can even figure out what's happened. And as Tyler is dragged deeper into the club's illegal activity, Jackie remains stuck in limbo as she tries to resist the pull of one Dean Rockwell, the MC's most dangerous member. 

Torn between the tight-knit family of bikers and the safety of a normal life, can Jackie navigate the treacherous new waters without losing herself and her best friend? Or will a series of unfortunate events lead her down a path that she can't come back from?

(Review) Titanborn by: Rhett C. Bruno

Malcolm Graves lives by two rules: finish the job, and get paid. After thirty years as a collector, chasing bounties and extinguishing rebellions throughout the solar system, Malcolm does what he’s told, takes what he’s earned, and leaves the questions to someone else—especially when it comes to the affairs of offworlders.
 
But his latest mission doesn’t afford him that luxury. After a high-profile bombing on Earth, the men who sign Malcolm’s paychecks are clamoring for answers. Before he can object, the corporation teams him up with a strange new partner who’s more interested in statistics than instinct and ships them both off to Titan, the disputed moon where humans have been living for centuries. Their assignment is to hunt down a group of extremists: Titanborn dissidents who will go to any length to free their home from the tyranny of Earth.
 
Heading into hostile territory, Malcolm will have to use everything he’s learned to stay alive. But he soon realizes that the situation on the ground is much more complex than he anticipated . . . and much more personal.

(Review) Sunset Reads: William & Cristina by: D.C. Triana

Within the doors of Sunset Reads William Jameson has come home to take over his mother’s New York publishing house after her death. He’s ready to turn things around when an electrifying encounter with the company’s sexy bestselling author makes him change his priorities to more sensual plans. While his cruel stepfather has decided he wants control of the company, William tries to remain focused as images of soft brown eyes and sensual lips continue to keep him up at night.

Cristina Cruz suddenly finds herself with part ownership of Sunset Reads. Not only has the previous owner left her with part of the publishing house, but also at the mercy of her son William, the company’s handsome new CEO, who seems to be determined to drive her crazy. Not only is he annoyingly attractive, but his alluring blue eyes continue to send shivers down her spine. Working side by side with him becomes all the more torturous as his enticing looks and their heated encounters send her senses reeling. 

(Review) Capering On Glass Bridges by: Jessica Hernandez

The Utdrendans have spoken, and everything has changed as a consequence. People normally avoid the fog surrounding the cursed Kingdom of Mar, but now they are asking sixteen-year-old Kaia Stone to venture into it. The Utdrendans implied that there is something special about Kaia. They claimed that she could help free the land; she need only carry out their instructions and deliver a message to the Marian king.

Mar, however, is a land in which dark secrets abound, and many will stop at nothing to ensure that it remains forever cursed. Determined to work against Kaia, unfriendly forces have already begun to gather.

Will Kaia choose to abandon the only life she’s ever known—perhaps indefinitely—in pursuit of the greater good…in pursuit of her purpose?

(Review) Bees in Loretta's Bonnet by: Lois J Wickstrom, Francie Mion (Illustrations)

When Loretta dropped her armload of firewood on the hearth, a mysterious tube fell from between the logs. It was a leafcutter bee nest. Loretta took it back out to the woodpile and watched as holes appeared. But where were the bees?

She found more holes appearing in leaves on her rose bushes. And even some of the rose petals. But where were the bees?

Leafcutter bees are more efficient than honey bees for pollinating gardens. The book includes instructions for building a nest that may lure wild bees to your yard.

What We're About To Do (June 6 - June 12)

(Review) Determined Weeds by Samuel Tanner

My mother lost her first three babies. The first was never named. The second, Jayson, was stillborn. Christa was four months premature. She lived one week before passing away in Mom’s arms. My sister Christie was born next. She was also four months premature. Despite assurances that she would not live, Christie left the hospital after an extended stay in an incubator. Christie was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, but she survived. Doctors told my mother that she should not try and have any more children. Despite their objections, Mom gave birth to me four years later.

(Review) Rarity From The Hollow by Robert Eggleton

Lacy Dawn is a little girl who lives in a magical forest where all the trees love her and she has a space alien friend who adores her and wants to make her queen of the universe. What’s more, all the boys admire her for her beauty and brains. Mommy is very beautiful and Daddy is very smart, and Daddy’s boss loves them all.

Except.

Lacy Dawn, the eleven year old protagonist, perches precariously between the psychosis of childhood and the multiple neuroses of adolescence, buffeted by powerful gusts of budding sexuality and infused with a yearning to escape the grim and brutal life of a rural Appalachian existence. In this world, Daddy is a drunk with severe PTSD, and Mommy is an insecure wraith. The boss is a dodgy lecher, not above leering at the flat chest of an eleven-year-old girl.

Yes, all in one book.

It is a children's story for adults with a happily ever after ending.

(Review) Capering On Glass Bridges by Jessica Hernandez

The Utdrendans have spoken, and everything has changed as a consequence. People normally avoid the fog surrounding the cursed Kingdom of Mar, but now they are asking sixteen-year-old Kaia Stone to venture into it. The Utdrendans implied that there is something special about Kaia. They claimed that she could help free the land; she need only carry out their instructions and deliver a message to the Marian king.

Mar, however, is a land in which dark secrets abound, and many will stop at nothing to ensure that it remains forever cursed. Determined to work against Kaia, unfriendly forces have already begun to gather.

(Review) Murder & More by Gerald Darnell

Will Kaia choose to abandon the only life she’s ever known—perhaps indefinitely—in pursuit of the greater good…in pursuit of her purpose?Carson’s feud with a local crime reporter continues, and then suddenly the husband of his client is brutally murdered - a husband he’s been hired to investigate. Mysterious characters weave a web of blackmail and suspense, while leaving Carson with more clients than he can handle.
The Memphis police have warned Carson to back off, but an employee of a friend is missing from a murder scene and he’s determined to find her and the killer.
Follow Carson to New Orleans, Humboldt, Memphis and Florida where he chases numerous suspects trying to track down a missing person and the killer he’s been hired to find.
Enjoy this unusual adventure for Carson Reno, as he struggles to solve the case of ‘Murder and More’.

(Review) Mount Everest

Christine Zidar is a woman plagued by voices visions and delusions, but manages to keep her “business” together for a number of years, until she is suddenly forced to deal with the fact that her hoarder Mother with whom she lives has had their house condemned and she and Christine are forced with eviction.

Updates

Hello, my loves.

I am so very sorry that you guys haven't had hardly any reviews this year. We were going to get back on schedule this week (Naomi's returned from trips, I was getting out of my reading funk, and Shell was finishing up some adult things), but I am terribly sick...and, as you may know, I'm the one that stands over everyone's shoulders, breathing heavily, with my eyes bugging out of my head saying "WRITE A REVIEW! DO IT!"and I haven't been able to do that this week. I've tried to be more active on our social media because it's rather thoughtless and I don't have to leave my bed or the bath to do it, but I'm the "lay in bed and try not to cry/puke" sick, so I haven't been on my phone much.

I have finished a book, and begun writing the review, but the more I type, the more I realize that I can't focus enough to write a sound review for you or the author. I'll try to get everyone back on schedule, whether I get better or not, but I can't say whether or not I'll be able to this week. And for that, I am very sorry. I feel like we had the perfect schedule up and then winter break had to go and ruin it! How unfair!

Before my sickness got VERY bad, Naomi and I were brainstorming some new blog segments for you guys, and talking about ways to make the blog even BETTER! We are very, very excited for the new year with you guys.

Anyway, when we get these new segments up and running, we will be sure to let you know!
I was also in the middle of updating some blog pages and other key things (before my stupid body decided it needed to make me feel dreadful), so you'll get to see that, as well!

I am very, very sorry about this, my lovelies, but I'll have to blog you later.