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She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.
– Annie Dillard |
With 2018 ending soon, I thought I would touch on some of my favourite books that I read this year. Some of these books are also review books and I haven't gotten to their reviews yet. I'm still working on that and digging out my inspiration. Those are coming, bit by bit. As always, your patience is appreciated.
2018 Favourite Books
As I said, a couple will be review books that have had reviews done or are awaiting reviews. I will write a little blurb as to why I enjoyed it so much and why I'd recommend it, even if I haven't reviewed it.
The One Unspoken by Sarah Bryant
I'm still recovering from this book, even though I read it earlier in the year. 1841 with a forbidden love between a white woman and a freed slave's son. It was a beautiful tale with so many emotions right from the get go.
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
This was one of the rare times that both the book and the movie were absolutely awesome. While the zombie genre is quite overdone and it's tough to dig out new ways to spruce up the genre, this book manages to do it with ease. Graveminder by Melissa Marr The world building in this story was so inventive. It pulled you in immediately. I loved the idea of a grave minder helping a mortician with the fantasy element of keeping the dead in the ground. The Martian by Andy Weir As terrifying as the thought is to be left behind on an alien planet with dwindling food and no access to be able to tell NASA what is going on with you. But Mark Watney had to be one of the most likable characters. His sense of humour made him seem more human and I enjoyed every time he defied the experts and did things that would have probably killed him any other time. It was great. These were my 5 star reads, but many others also hit the mark of being pretty dang good. It was a good year for reading for me. I hope if you haven't read these books and that you're looking to something new to read that you give one of these reads a chance.
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![]() About the Book Is it ever too late for happily ever after? Callahan is one of the hottest guys to move into Harper’s Corner in a long time, partly because he’s also a complete mystery. He keeps to himself and leads a quiet life, rumors swirl around that he used to be in the military...but no one knows where he came from, or what brought him to their small town. When Stevie’s parents have a health crisis, she’s forced to take leave from her very New York existence: including a high-powered job at a big publishing house and explosive sex life with her wealthy, handsome and appropriately pretentious boyfriend, to step in and ensure the preservation of the family’s longstanding bookstore. With the first order of business being to fire Callahan, the unqualified shop assistant her dad hired. Though as many women from Harper’s Corner can tell you, things change when you come back home. So firing this attractive, brooding, secretive man turns out to be much harder than she originally planned… And when his past comes back to challenge him, he can’t keep hiding from what happened. I invite you to tuck into another Harper’s Corner story about finding love when you least expect it…once upon a time in a bookstore… Where to Buy About the Author I’ve worked in publishing for twenty years and I sincerely love books and authors. I started this journey with my own books planning to write just one, and then well – all I can say is the stories kept coming. My original series The Publicist, follows Kate, Mac, Nick, Vivienne and a host of other awesome characters as they make their lives in New York, amidst the chaos that publishing often brings with it. I am now exploring a fictional small town called Harper’s Corner. This series is so fun, because there are so many characters in this town, from sexy firemen and hot Army guys, to an awesome group of women that I affectionally call “the coven.” These books will explore each of these characters, and their journey to finding the loves of their lives. I love writing, and I love reading and if I’m not actively writing a book, I’m probably dreaming of what I’ll write next. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with your thoughts on any of my books. Connect with Christina
Well. That was one helluva year. And it's not even over yet. So as I posted in the beginning of the year, losing my Great Uncle was quite the slap in the face. It hit me pretty hard and I'm still learning to handle all the feelings. After some grief counseling, I feel much better but there are still instances where something or someone reminds me of him. In that time of grief, someone I cared about decided that I wasn't giving them enough of myself while I grieved and essentially kicked me while I was already down. Thanks bruh, heh.
So I stepped the hell back and I dedicated 2018 to me. Unfortunately, my blog baby suffered greatly. I struggled to make posts or even acknowledge my blog some days. Depression had gripped pretty hard. I was also dealing with changes within my personal home involving roommates moving out and stresses that come with that. Finally things are beginning to even out on that front. It feels much more like home now. So with 2018 coming to an end, the ass kicking it gave me in the beginning and my need for self-care after, I've revamped some things on my blog. Namely my request forms. At this moment, I'm still not accepting review requests. I'm still swamped. Sorry for that. However, I revamped my Featured Author form. My Featured Book form is still awesomely active. I also now have provided an option for Guest Posts with a form. So please, feel free to fill out whatever form you feel is right for you to advertise your books. I want to help while I dig my way out of my swampy book nest (even though it's super comfy here with tea, books and good music, bliss!). I would also like to apologize to authors who may have been waiting for posts that I never got to. I am sorry for that and please, feel free to send a new request in. I absolutely encourage it! ![]() Title: Defensive Play Series: A Boys on the Brink Novella Author: Jamie Deacon Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing Cover Artist: Natasha Snow Release Date: November 30, 2018 Genre: Gay YA Sports Romance Length: 21,500 words Add to GoodReads About the Book One glance is all it takes to bring his defences crashing down… Seventeen-year-old Davey has never made friends easily. Shy, geeky, crippled with social anxiety, he feels isolated from his peers, and only his position as defender for the school football team fills the void of loneliness. On the pitch, his deft footwork has earned him the respect and acceptance of his squad, though at a price. Desperate to hold onto this camaraderie, Davey conceals the truth from everyone, even his own family. Then, during the annual Brookshire football tournament, his eyes meet those of a rival player across the field and a spark flares between them, one neither boy can deny. Adam is everything Davey longs to be—confident, popular, comfortable with his sexuality. Davey aches to explore their connection, to discover where it might lead, but how can he follow his heart and risk rejection by his teammates, the closest thing to friends he has ever known? Excerpt The rain has stopped. A soft mist hangs in the air, turning the distant streetlights a hazy orange. After the stuffiness of the clubhouse, the night is bitterly cold and I pull on my sweatshirt against the chill. I sit on the steps overlooking the car park, heedless of the damp that seeps through my jeans. Elbows on knees, I rest my chin in my hands and close my eyes, attempting to clear my mind. I don’t want to think anymore. I just want to sit with nothing but the dark and the quiet for company. I haven’t been hunched there long when the door opens, ejecting a stream of warmth and thumping bass. I glance behind me, although I know who it will be. My body goes still. Adam lets the door swing shut and, just like that, we’re alone. He doesn’t seem surprised to find me on the steps. Perhaps he saw me leave. Has he followed me? My insides clench. What if Adam thinks I did it deliberately, that I meant to lure him out here. Maybe I had. Maybe, deep down, a part of me hoped Adam might come, even while the rest of me prayed he wouldn’t. This time, when our gazes connect, there’s no one to see, no football match to act as a buffer. I drink him in. Even in the faint glow filtering through the frosted pane in the door, his eyes are a vivid blue. “Hey,” Adam says. Such a simple word that expresses so much. There’s recognition there, like we’re childhood friends meeting after years apart, but uncertainty, too. He has a nice voice, I register through my turbulent thoughts—warm and slightly husky. “Hey.” My reply emerges somewhere between a croak and a squeak. Cringing, I stare down at my feet. “It’s Davey, right?” I fling him a startled look. Had this boy—this confident, gorgeous boy—actually gone to the trouble of finding out my name? One side of Adam’s mouth lifts in a crooked smile. “Well, I had to know who the lunatic was who almost took my leg off.” “God.” I bury my face in my hands. Of course Adam was going to ask about me after what happened on the pitch. “I’m so sorry.” He laughs and nudges my thigh with the toe of his trainer. “I’m kidding. Seriously, you did us a favour.” I dare a peep at him, unable to rid myself of the thought that he has pursued me out here to take the piss. That wouldn’t be anything new, after all. “It’s true.” Adam crouches on the step beside me, his expression amused but without malice. “Rob warned me about you. He said the rest of your defence was pretty solid, but probably weren’t quick enough to catch me. You were the real threat.” I grimace. “I’m guessing he wasn’t expecting me to take you out quite so spectacularly, though.” “Funnily enough, that wasn’t included in the pep talk. Still, I should be thanking you. You made our job a whole lot easier.” “Don’t remind me. You should’ve heard the guys after the match. I’ll never hear the end of it.” Adam laughs again, and I can’t hold back a smile. Here I am, having an actual conversation with an amazing-looking boy—a boy who’d caught me checking him out, no less—and I’m not making an ass of myself. The door behind us bursts open and several guys spill out. I tense, guard raised. Will they think it odd us sitting out here alone? I scan their faces, but none are from Farnstead. A moment later, they barrel down the steps without giving either of us a second look and head for one of the cars parked nearby. As they pile in and the engine growls to life, I exhale, shoulders slumping. I can feel Adam studying me and keep my gaze lowered. “You’re not out,” he says, “are you?” “What?” My entire body goes rigid. He knows. I’d already guessed as much, but suspecting it is one thing; being confronted with the indisputable truth sends me spiralling back into panic mode. Why had he really followed me out here? I’d thought…been sure I’d read something in his eyes when they locked with mine, but what if I’m wrong? Do I truly believe someone like Adam, someone popular and self-assured, would have sought me out? Unless… I see again the Brookminster players in their huddle, sniggering, moments after Adam caught me staring. I’d reassured myself they weren’t laughing about me, but perhaps my fears had been well founded. The cold certainty settles like a snowball in my gut. I’d given myself away, and now the other lads have sent Adam out here to chat me up, trick me into an admission I won’t be able to take back. For all I know, his mates are somewhere close by as we speak, listening in. “Hey.” Adam extends his palms in what is probably supposed to be a calming gesture. “It’s all right. I know and it’s all right.” “You don’t know anything,” I snap. The instinct for self-preservation, to keep my protective wall intact at any cost, propels me to my feet. “You hear me? You don’t know anything about me.” Before he can respond, I’m down the steps and sprinting into the darkness, phone already out to call my parents. All I want is to go home, crawl into bed, and forget today ever happened. Purchase Your Copy! About the Author ![]() Jamie lives in a tranquil spot close to the River Thames in Berkshire, England, and has always been just a little out of place—the only redhead in a family of brunettes; an introvert far more at ease with dogs than with people; a connoisseur of simple pleasures in a society intent on the quest for wealth and fame. Despite an outward cynicism, Jamie is a romantic at heart, and, when not immersed in a book, can mostly be found writing emotional stories where young men from all walks of life are forced to navigate the sometimes painful reality of growing up, coming out, and falling in love. Connect with Jamie Giveaway To celebrate the release of Defensive Play, Jamie Deacon is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card. For your chance to win, simply enter via the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open to entrants world wide, and closes at midnight EST on Friday December 7, 2018.
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