Waiting on Wednesday: As She Ascends by Jodi Meadows

Posted August 22, 2018 by Jana in Book Spotlight / 3 Comments

Waiting on Wednesday is the baby of Jill at Breaking the Spine, which I participate in every once in a while. This fun feature allows us to showcase upcoming book releases that we’re excited to read! This week I’m sharing my excitement for As She Ascends by Jodi Meadows, book #2 of The Fallen Isles trilogy. These books are about dragons and greatness and a heroine who fights against obstacles in her way, be them physical or mental. I read and really enjoyed Before She Ignites last year, and can’t wait for As She Ascends‘s release!

As She Ascends by Jodi Meadows
Series: Fallen Isles Trilogy Book #2
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on September 11, 2018
Genres: Young Adult – Fantasy, Romance
Add to Goodreads
Pre-order from Amazon • B&N • Book Depository

MIRA, THE HOPEBEARER
Mira Minkoba is on the run with her friends after a fiery escape from the Pit, where she’d been imprisoned for defending the dragons she loves. And she wants answers. Where have all the dragons been taken? Why are powerful noorestones being shipped to the mainland? And did the treaty she’s been defending her whole life truly sell out the Fallen Isles to their enemies?

MIRA, THE DRAGONHEARTED
As her connection to the dragons—and their power—grows stronger, so does Mira’s fear that she might lose control and hurt someone she loves. But the only way to find the truth is to go home again, to Damina, to face the people who betrayed her and the parents she’s not sure she can trust.

Home, where she must rise above her fears. Or be consumed.

There’s an exciting pre-order campaign going on right now, so there’s really no excuse to not get reading this series!

Have you read Before She Ignites? What did you think? If you haven’t, do you want to?

Top Ten Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump

Posted August 20, 2018 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 20 Comments

The dreaded reading slump. We’ve all been there. Now, this isn’t a hangover. A book hangover is the sick feelings you get when you think about picking up another book after the crazy amazing one you just read. Eventually you move on and the hangover passes and you’re fine. But when it never passes and you can’t find anything to read that you’re even remotely interested in… and the books you’ve been soooo excited about sit on your shelf collecting dust even though you so wish you could be reading them. If you want to be reading, but are completely incapable of doing so and enjoying it, then you know you’re in a reading slump.

These slumps can last a LONG time. I think my longest one lasted for a year, and I almost died. It’s a very serious matter. When this happens, you need an amazing book that you just can’t help but love. A book that is not too complicated, and grabs you from the very first page. Hopefully today’s prompt can help the silent sufferers out there. We’ve got you.

Top Ten Books to Pull You Out of a Reading Slump

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas
Sometimes you need to travel to a really magical world. Be careful with these… A Court of Thorns and Roses was the reason I fell into a reading slump that lasted a year. But oh my, it was amazing. And A Court of Mist and Fury is even better. But seriously, BE CAREFUL.

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Maybe you need the magic of young love in the city of light. This book is pure joy. It’s light and fun and there’s a cute Parisian boy.

3. The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
A change of pace can often help. This book is just so different from my typical reads that it totally enthralled me. The writing and the atmosphere are captivating. I highly recommend listening to the audio. It’s perfect.

4. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Do you need to remember how to love words again? This book will make it happen.

5. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas
My reading slumps frequently have me turning to TV instead. Reading a book spin-off of a favorite TV show is the perfect way to get you back to your regular reading ways. Plus, this Veronica Mars mystery was awesome.

6. Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
Maybe you need to feel uncomfortable. This book is so wrong, and it makes you feel all kinds of weird things. Like sympathy for the sick-in-the-head psycho guy. I flew through this and was at the edge of my seat the entire time.

7. Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan
Sometimes you just need a crazy mystery that grabs hold of you and leaves you with no choice but to read and discover what’s going on.

8. Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare
Or MAYBE you need a really swoony historical romance that takes you away from this life.

9. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Perhaps falling in love with a sparkly vampire is all you need. This book reawakened my love of books after being dormant for over a decade, so… epic reading slump crusher.

10. Your favorite book.
Sometimes an old friend is all you need when nothing else is working for you. Re-reads are good for the soul.

What’s a book you guarantee is a reading slump crusher?

A.J. Pine’s Summer Reading Recs | Forever Summer Reading Blog Event (+ Giveaway)

Posted August 15, 2018 by Jana in Blog Tour, Book Spotlight, Giveaway, Guest Post / 0 Comments

A.J. Pine's Summer Reading Recs | Forever Summer Reading Blog Event (+ Giveaway)

A.J. Pine’s Summer Reading Recs

During the months of the school year, I’m a high school librarian. I’m also a mom of two fabulous kiddos. Add writing into that, and you probably wonder where I find time to read. The answer? Audio books! I get to “read” while doing other things like driving…or less enjoyable activities such as laundry, emptying the dishwasher, or blow drying my hair (yay earbuds!). Also, I just plain love audio books, so here are a few of my recent listens that you should definitely add to your audio list!

  • Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: I read this book for my summer book club, and it blew me away. I could talk about this book for days—and have. There’s so much to discuss, and I can’t do it justice without spoiling it, but what a fascinating exploration of self vs. projected image we let others see; of how parents see their children and vice versa; of how prejudice can so easily blind someone to the truth; and of what it truly means to be a mother.
  • Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton: Dual timelines, dual narrators, forbidden love, exile from Cuba, family secrets—this book has so much. And that cover??? STUNNING. A must read!
  • It Happened on Love Street by Lia Riley: I’m a sucker for small town romance. And men who are good with animals. So a southern veterinarian hero and a heroine who is—shall we say—dog averse? Puh-lease. You had me at Rhett Valentine and Pepper Knight.
  • Burning Up by Jennifer Blackwood: Sometimes I just need a good romcom, and Jennifer Blackwood’s humor always has me legit laughing out loud. As an educator myself, I love a strong school teacher heroine. And I mentioned before my penchant for men and their dogs. Even sexier—a man who’s a good dad. Did I also mention he’s a firefighter?
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: I just started listening to this one but know it’s going to be spectacular. Bahni Turpin is one of my favorite audio book narrators, plus the story has fantasy, magic, and romance yet also a storyline that deals very much with the reality of the world we live in. I’m sure I’ll be flailing about this one on social media when I’m done!

 

 

A librarian for teens by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. For more on A.J. and her books, please visit AJPine.com.

 

 

Tough Luck Cowboy by A.J. Pine
Book #2 in the Crossroads Ranch series
Published by Forever on August 28, 2018
Genres: Adult – Contemporary, Romance

The only girl he ever wanted was the one he could never have.

What’s the saying, bad luck comes in threes? If so, Lily Green is due for something good. First, her divorce is finalized—on her birthday, no less. Then the first job she lands for her catering company turns out to be for her ex-husband’s wedding. To top it off, she’s stuck working the event with Luke Everett, the sexy-as-hell best man who’s never been able to stand her. When can a girl catch a break?

For years, Luke has kept his feelings for Lily safely hidden. Hitting on his best friend’s ex-wife would definitely break the cowboy code of honor. But ever since an injury sidelined his rodeo riding, the two of them keep getting thrown together. It’s only a matter of time until his true feelings come to light. When that happens, it will either be the biggest mistake of his life, or a sign that his luck is about to change.

 

 

Ten of My Favorite Bookish Websites

Posted August 13, 2018 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 26 Comments

This week’s topic isn’t book-related, but it’s definitely bookish! I thought it would be fun to share our favorite book blogs and/or bookish websites (besides Goodreads because duh…) because I know I’d love to find some more blogs to add to my reader and great bookish resources to bookmark.

1. What Should I Read Next?
This fun website has you entire the title of a book you loved. The website analyzes your pick and then spits out the title of another book you’ll probably love, too.

2. BookBub
How would you like an email of free and discounted ebooks sent to you everyday? You even get to choose the genres you love.

3. Hoopla
Check out digital books, audibooks, and music with your library card (provided your library participates)!

4. Off the Shelf
If you love Top Ten Tuesday, you’ll love this place. Sooooo many bookish lists!

5. Omnivoracious
Amazon’s book review.

6. BookRiot
An awesome blog for bookish news, reviews, and merchandise.

7. Epic Reads
HarperTeen’s community and blog for young adult book lovers. They post some really fun stuf like infographics and book quizzes.

8. The Literary Gift Company
All the bookish things we need to own!

9. Hot Dudes Reading
Ok, it’s not a site… It’s an Instagram account. But I honestly think it should count in this situation.

10. The Literary Cat
It’s a Tumblr devoted to pictures of cats and books! What’s not to love?

What are some of your favorite bookish blogs and websites?

Top Ten Tuesday Link-Up: August 6, 2018

Posted August 6, 2018 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 8 Comments

This week’s topic was submitted by Rissi at Finding Wonderland, and is “Books You’d Mash Together (pick two books you think would make an epic story if combined)”! Which books would you love to smush together and read the resulting story? Or maybe you don’t want to mash-up the entire story, just certain elements or characters? Maybe you loved the world in one book and the characters in another and want to put the best of both books together. Whatever the case may be, I’m excited to see which books you’d like to mash together this week!

Unfortunately, life got ahead of me and I was unable to put enough time and thought into this topic, which is a whole lot harder than I thought it would be! I’m sorry! I promised myself I’d never let this happen! I am, however, posting the Linky so that you can still link-up and bounce around to other blogs.

Tell me some of your book mash-ups in the comments!
Also, tell me how you balance real life with blogging life because I got so behind this week!