Waiting On Wednesday (213) Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Wednesday has become my favorite day of the week because I get to share the books that I am super excited about and can't wait to read.

Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Expected publication: January 5th 2016 by Amulet Books

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to slip into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters—the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna—refuse to let them go.

Gorgeously written and based on the Brontës’ juvenilia, Worlds of Ink & Shadow brings to life one of history’s most celebrated literary families.

How interesting! The Brontë family intrigues me, not just their ability to write, but the tragedy that surrounded them. It's so sad that the father outlived all of his children.

What are you waiting on this week?

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Christmas Movies 2015 Edition

Be sure to check out my 2014 Christmas Movie recommendations.

Just as I have done in years past, I am on Christmas movie overload. My DVR has been busy recording a lot of the new Hallmark and Lifetime movies. I've watched SO many movies that they are all becoming a blur! Sadly though, I've only enjoyed a few of them. Most of them are just SO bland this year, and the characters have no personality. And they're just so nice... I know that shouldn't be a complaint, but maybe I'm suffering from sugary sweetness overload. Ack!

So far I have watched only 2 movies that I really, really enjoyed. So much so that I will watch them again (when I have more time!) The first movie is Crown For Christmas starring Danica McKellar and Rupert Penry-Jones. It actually had a plot that didn't bore me to tears. Actors who can act! And they have personalities! How refreshing.

And oh my, how I love and adore Rupert Penry-Jones. He is the 2007 movie version of Captain Wentworth from Persuasion, who is the namesake for this blog. So yes, he is dear to my heart. And not bad to look at either. Just sayin'.

The other movie I really enjoyed is Just In Time For Christmas starring Eloise Mumford and Michael Stahl-David. I enjoyed this because it was a little bit different. It's not so much a Christmas movie, but it takes place at Christmastime. And I like Michael Stahl-David. There, I said it. My shallow reasoning for enjoying this movie. Christopher Lloyd plays the grandpa and he has a great line about 'time travel', if you know what I mean.

Totally off topic, but Michael Stahl-Davis has come so far since the first time I saw him on The Black Donnelly's.

Other movies I've seen so far this year are Tis the Season for Love, Ice Sculpture Christmas, Charming Christmas, Christmas Incorporated, Northpole: Open For Christmas, Merry Matrimony, Once Upon A Holiday, 12 Gifts of Christmas, Angel of Christmas, On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, The Christmas Gift on Lifetime, and Christmas Bounty on Netflix.

I can easily say that all of these were duds for me. They're just so blah. Christmas Bounty was the most entertaining, but it wasn't a quality Christmas movie. I've now realized that I'm going to have to go back to my standard favorite Christmas movies next week to get back my spirit of Christmas. Oh, I have a whole stack of older (and really old) Christmas movies that I watch every year. The ones up above are just the new ones that came out this year.

Please share your Christmas movie recommendations with me to help me out of this rut!

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Sneak Peek and Giveaway of Titans by Victoria Scott @AuthorVScott #TITANSThursday

Titans by Victoria Scott

Expected publication: February 23rd 2016 by Scholastic Press

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan’s world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It’s not just the thrill of the race. It’s the engineering of the horses and the way they’re programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she’ll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines to ride, and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid’s who wager on them.

But when Astrid’s offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year’s derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it’s more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about.

www.victoriascott.com/

Above is a snippet of the Titan Enquirer, a gossip paper featured in Titans. The paper is printed year round in Detroit, but the news, and gossip, really heats up during the Titans racing season (June - August). This article is from this year's races (not the year Astrid competes), and talks about a jockey being injured on the tracks--something that happens frequently, unfortunately.

Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a preorder of Titans!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Waiting On Wednesday (212) Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Wednesday has become my favorite day of the week because I get to share the books that I am super excited about and can't wait to read.

Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

Expected publication: January 5th 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Synopsis from Goodreads:

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

Time travel? Yes, please. And it's only a duology? I'm willing to give this a try, even though it IS 464 pages long. 464 pages intimidates me.

What are you waiting on this week?

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BRAZEN Release Day Event

Looking for some naughty reads that are oh-so-nice?
Welcome the newest Brazen releases to your ereader today!

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Crashed Out by Tessa Bailey

Jasmine Taveras is the reason Sarge Purcell grabbed his six-string and bailed the hell out of New Jersey four years ago. She's the fuel for every song he's ever written—each one laced with bitter, hard-edged, hungry lust. Now, with his hugely successful band on temporary hiatus, Sarge is determined to prove to Jasmine that this “kid” turned into every inch the man she's always needed...

Men are slim pickings for a single factory girl in Hook, New Jersey…until tall, broad-shouldered hotness walks—or rather storms—into Jasmine's life. Sarge's return shouldn't affect her this way. He's her best friend's much younger kid brother, and the kind of rough, gritty, sexiness Jasmine has no right to taste for herself. Even if he lets her.

But lust is a blinding, insatiable force. And when it crashes, it will take both Sarge and Jasmine down with it...

Find your copy of Crashed Out by Tessa Bailey: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Entangled | Goodreads

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His to Take by Katee Robert

Erin Robinson is having an epically bad year. Her blossoming career on Broadway tanked, forcing her to crawl back to home to Wellington. The icing on her failure cake? Her former on-again, off-again fling is in town, and the sexy Marine is taking up way too much space.

Warren Davis always knew Erin was special, which is exactly why he can’t have her. A girl like her deserves something permanent—something neither of them wants. But now that they’re both back in town and she’s right there in front of him, a challenge in her eyes he’s never been able to resist, he’s questioning everything.

That challenge quickly escalates into an epic game of Truth or Dare. Erin’s sure she’s got him on lock, but as the night progresses, Warren’s dares intensify, drowning her in lust. But with the past still breathing down their necks, there’s no way either of them can win…

Find your copy of His to Take by Katee Robert: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Entangled | Goodreads

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Say You're Mine by Diane Alberts

Navy SEAL Steven Thomas has only ever been able to count on three things: waking up in the morning, going to sleep sometime during the night, and Lauren Brixton. She’s been his best friend since grade school, and what they have is the only relationship he’s managed not to ruin.

Until one drunken night puts that all in jeopardy.

Lauren’s watched Steven flit from one-night stand to one-night stand, seemingly not interested in something more. So when the long-ignored attraction between the two of them blows up in their faces, she does the only thing she can—she pretends she doesn’t want him. But all’s fair in love and war, and Steven’s not about to lose the only person in his life who matters…

Find your copy of Say You're Mine by Diane Alberts: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Entangled | Goodreads

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Movie Review: Into The Woods

Title: Into The Woods

MPAA Rating: PG

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 min

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine

Release Date: December 25, 2014

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Musical

A witch tasks a childless baker and his wife with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree.

The Bad:

What the freak did I just watch? Seriously? This was awful. Almost every song sounded exactly the same, so this was one long dragged on mess of a musical. This first half of the movie was a bit interesting, but the story just got worse and worse and darker and more depressing as it went on. I actually had to stop watching after an hour and a half and watch the remainder the following night. I don't know why I bothered because this movie was crap.

The Good:

The movie is pure agony, but the song 'Agony' is insanely awesome! Billy Magnussen? Yes, please! (I haven't seen him since As The World Turns, so this was a nice surprise.) If you care to watch below, the singing begins at 1:20.

Final Thoughts:

Give this movie a pass, it's not worth your time. I'm sorry I didn't spend my precious time watching something far more entertaining.

*Movie Reviews inspired by Chick Lit Fridays at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.*

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Waiting On Wednesday (211) The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1) by Alison Goodman

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Wednesday has become my favorite day of the week because I get to share the books that I am super excited about and can't wait to read.

The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1) by Alison Goodman

Expected publication: January 26th 2016 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Synopsis from Goodreads:

New York Times bestseller Alison Goodman’s eagerly awaited new project: a Regency adventure starring a stylish and intrepid demon-hunter!

London, April 1812. On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

If you've been around my blog before you might know that I prefer reading contemporaries. However, I'm trying to read more of a variety, so I'm always on the lookout for something that sounds different but will still hold my interest. This book sounds really good, so I'm going to give it a go.

What are you waiting on this week?

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Review: All In (The Naturals #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

All In (The Naturals #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publication Date: November 3, 2015
Page Count: 378
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Library

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days.

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team's unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes.

Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there's been a break in her mother's case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices.

The Good:

This is the best book of the series! It just keeps getting better and better. I had such a great time reading this book. Just when I thought things were going to be resolved, new evidence showed up and took the storyline in a whole new direction. Up to about the 80% mark the story was non-stop intensity, but the last 20% was SO exciting and creepy! And that ending? Holy crap, what did I just read?!?!?!

I'm loving the Naturals and their interactions with each other and how they know each other so well. They have this group mentality of one for all and all for one that works really well.

I loved that the 'triangle' from the first two books was nowhere to be found in this book. Actually, there really wasn't any romance at all in this book. And I was okay with that because it really would have taken the focus away from the story.

The Bad:

I can't think of anything negative to say about All In. I really enjoyed it!

If this were a movie:

I would totally watch it!

Final Thoughts:

JLB does a great job of keeping up the suspense and tension in All In. This is a series that is definitely worth reading!

My rating: 4.5 stars

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