Indefinite Hiatus
Depression has really hit me in all the wrong, horrible places, and I don’t see an end to this anytime soon.
Taking a break from blogging for now.
Thanks for hanging out with me.
Promo Spotlight: It’s Been You by Rina Grey (Giveaway + Excerpt!)
Rina Gray returns with IT'S BEEN YOU, an all new Crush on You novel from Crimson Publishing. When the opportunity to land a lucrative deal and promotion results in a friendly competition that then erupts into an all-out battle of desire, Tiana Holliday and Nathaniel Lawson will straddle the line between love and war in this steamy must read Fall title releasing November 7, 2016!
Rafflecopter for It’s Been You Virtual Blog Tour Giveaway:
Rina Gray is offering one (1) lucky winner a Kindle Fire and one (1) runner-up a $25 Amazon Gift Card! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter!
About It’s Been You:
Title: It’s Been You
Author: Rina Gray
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Release Date: November 7, 2016
Series: Crush On You
Genre: Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9781507202180
Marketing manager Tiana Holliday just landed her dream job at an award-winning agency in New York City. There’s just one problem: cocky playboy Nathaniel Lawson, her old grad school nemesis, is her new officemate.
As the firm’s rising star, Nathan never had to compete for prime clients until all-work and no-play Tiana strutted into his workspace. When an opportunity arises to manage a lucrative sports car account and nab a big promotion, he challenges her to a wager: Loser does the winner’s bidding for one month. But their friendly little competition suddenly threatens to erupt into an all-out battle of desire.
As they straddle the line between love and war, they just might discover that challenging each other outside the boardroom is even more satisfying than advertised.
Add to your TBR list: Goodreads
Available: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Excerpt:
The crowd screamed and clapped. A few rows behind Tiana, someone started a chant for the Beast. Clapping, she chanted with the crowd. The announcer waved a hand in the air and gripped the mic with his other one. “Unanimously voted to win all four rounds and still undefeated, I give you,” he walked to the corner and raised Nathan’s arm in the air, “the Beaaaaaassst!”
Tiana jumped and clapped as he stepped away and waved his arms in victory to the crowd. This isn’t so bad.
“Tiana wants to have a dozen babies with you, Beast!” Mel screamed at the top of her lungs.
Before Tiana could renounce her Martin Luther King philosophy of nonviolence and sock her former friend in her arm, Nathan turned to face them.
A flicker of heat, and a big dose of danger burned in his gaze. A jolt of energy zapped and electrified her. Every particle and cell in her body awakened, liquefied, and then sizzled. His lips tipped at the corners into a lazy smile.
“I’ll have your babies, too!” someone yelled from the crowd. His gaze stayed fixed on her face. His dark eyes broadcasted, “I’ve seen you naked and I like it,” to anyone who cared to see. Clenching her legs together, she quivered. Nathan gave her a cocky-ass smile as if he knew he was the cause of the mini-explosions firing within her.
A ring girl stepped into the octagon, sashayed up to Nathan, and leaned in for a kiss. Tiana jerked away from their intimate moment and held her breath for a second before looking back. Much like his fight, he ducked the woman’s advances, hopped on the stool in his boxing corner, and jumped over the ropes surrounding the ring. Landing with the ease of a panther, he stalked toward Tiana.
Mel nudged her and whispered, “Brace yourself.” Taking her friend’s wise advice, she breathed deep. Her eyes filled with him. A tall, dark, sexy, and sweaty vision. This man—this sexy beast—wanted her. Only her.
“Peaches,” he growled as he snatched off his gloves and tossed them carelessly on the floor. Closing the distance between them, he wrapped one hand around her waist and cupped her face with the other. His hard, unrelenting eyes continued to broadcast a message. No going back. His tongue swiped her mouth, as if testing the waters, followed by firm, warm lips. He commanded surrender, obedience, and absolutely no negotiations. She clung to him knowing his kiss had changed everything.
Her heart slammed and knocked against her chest, and her knees buckled. She was … Damn it, am I swooning? Like a well-practiced, swashbuckling pirate, his arms snaked around her waist as he drew her body into his. Wetness pooled and flooded her lacy Vicky Secrets. Nathan had just KO’ed her va-jay-jay.
Copyright © 2016 by Rina Gray
About Rina Gray:
Rina Gray is one of the newest African American romance writers on the rise. She is also a digital marketing professional who discovered her love of writing in 2012. Writing has always been Rina’s passion, though initially, she tried to deny it. In college she served as the copy editor for the entertainment magazine and newspaper. During her tenure, she had the opportunity to interview various talented entertainers including Chris Rock and the cast from Reno-911.
Rina has always been an avid reader, sneaking to read her mother’s books she had no business reading i.e. Stephen King’s The Stand, It, and Anne Rice’s various vampire series. As a pre-teen, she received a load of romance novels from a family friend and from that point on, she devoured any book related to romance or horror. When she’s not writing, she can be found with her head stuck in a book, kickboxing, or dominating game night with friends and family. Rina resides in Atlanta with her husband.
Graphic Novel Break: Rendez-vous in Phoenix by Tony Sandoval
Autobiographical graphic novels always touch me so profoundly, and Tony Sandoval's story is among those I won't be forgetting. He shares his many attempts to cross the US border in the late 90s, legally and illegally, to be reunited with his girlfriend and pursue a career in comics. The cartoonish style stands out in stark contrast to the harsh realities he and many other border-crossers endured. The use of mute colors in the beginning to represent his despair and the gradual switch to vibrant colors is so beautiful. TW for brief sexual assault mentions ***e-copy provided by NetGalley***
Book Review: Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO EXPRESS MY ADMIRATION FOR THIS BOOK. SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA HAS DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE AND MADE ME A HUGE FAN OF VAMPIRES.
This is a super kickass story with rivaling Mexican vampire clans infused with Aztec mythology and noir. It is gritty, fun, and exciting.
Certain Dark Things is a multi-POV paranormal, each character vastly different from the other. We start off with Domingo, a homeless youth who has a huge fascination with vampires from the lore he's collected from comics and movies. He's so sweet, omg. Then we move onto Atl, a female vampire with an agenda illegally living in the vampire-free Mexico City with her dog. And maybe she's queer? There's one line that seems to hint to it.
Then we have Ana, a cop with co-workers who don't take her seriously (every lady probably knows this tale). She's working herself to death and still struggling to give her teen daughter a good life - so she ends up making an unusual ally. Rounding off our main characters is Nick, a dbag who deserves every bad thing to happen to him.
There's lots of blood, lots of feeding, lots of emotions. Certain Dark Things is hard to put down!
***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Young Adult Sunday - Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed
This heart-wrenching novel explores what it is like to be thrust into an unwanted marriage. Has Naila’s fate been written in the stars? Or can she still make her own destiny? Naila’s conservative immigrant parents have always said the same thing: She may choose what to study, how to wear her hair, and what to be when she grows up—but they will choose her husband. Following their cultural tradition, they will plan an arranged marriage for her. And until then, dating—even friendship with a boy—is forbidden. When Naila breaks their rule by falling in love with Saif, her parents are livid. Convinced she has forgotten who she truly is, they travel to Pakistan to visit relatives and explore their roots. But Naila’s vacation turns into a nightmare when she learns that plans have changed—her parents have found her a husband and they want her to marry him, now! Despite her greatest efforts, Naila is aghast to find herself cut off from everything and everyone she once knew. Her only hope of escape is Saif . . . if he can find her before it’s too late.
This literary work is gripping and harrowing and almost unreal. Sadly, while Naila herself is fictional, the things that happen to her continue to be a reality for many Pakistani girls, including the ones who have lived all of their lives in America. Written in the Stars is a heartbreaking tale with a thread of glimmering hope woven through it. Rape, drugs, and abduction play into this story heavily. So many times I wanted to reach in and rescue Naila for myself.
New Adult Saturday - Tell Me How This Ends by Victoria De La O
Brothers Jude and Ryan McAllister are inseparable. When Jude stepped in to raise Ryan after the death of their mother, it became the two of them against the world. But the scars it left were bone-deep. Then Lizzie Price comes along. Lizzie hopes Ryan’s kindness can help heal her wounds from a toxic relationship. But when she meets Jude, their powerful attraction makes him difficult to resist. The problem is, Lizzie doesn’t realize Jude and Ryan are brothers, and they don’t know they’re falling for the same girl. By the time the truth comes out, everyone is in too deep. Ryan is in love, Jude is in denial, and Lizzie wants both brothers. All of them agree that no one deserves to get hurt. But love and desire have a way of testing even the strongest bonds.
This book is so tough to review. There were so many parts of it that made me frustrated, but I think it was a good frustration. Love triangles are always going to make my heart ache, and this particular NA really squeezed the vise around my heart. Two brothers who have only ever had each other inadvertently falling for the same girl? Aghhh. At around the 50% mark, I realized I had become so invested in all three characters that I wasn't going to be happy no matter how the book ended. Lizzie is a strong and compassionate nursing student who had great chemistry with both of the brothers. Ryan is Lizzie's sweet, thoughtful literature tutor whose confidence is shaken by his stutter. And Jude is Ryan's older brother who has devoted himself to making sure Ryan has an easy life after they lost both their mother and their uncle. As I predicated, I wasn't happy with the ending. But sometimes life doesn't have tidy solutions. ***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Novella Break - Superior by Jessica Lack
AHHHHH!
This m/m novella was mega cute, cheeky, and amazing. Just what I needed to pick me up. Our flirty biracial bisexual MC, Jamie, is an unpaid intern for a superhero, which means getting kidnapped a lot. During a routine hostage situation, he meets an archvillain's lackey and quickly starts to fall for him. Their banter and chemistry are electrical. The novella has some serious moments, too (TW for drug overdose!). But mostly this is fun!
Book Review - Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs
Ever heard of Allied spy Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim woman whom the Nazis considered “highly dangerous”? Or German painter and entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian, who planned and embarked on the world’s first scientific expedition? How about Huang Daopo, the inventor who fled an abusive child marriage only to revolutionize textile production in China? Women have always been able to change the world, even when they didn’t get the credit. In Wonder Women, author Sam Maggs introduces you to pioneering female scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and inventors—each profile a study in passion, smarts, and stickto-itiveness, complete with portraits by Google doodler Sophia Foster-Dimino, an extensive bibliography, and a guide to present-day women-centric STEM organizations.
This was the most fun I've ever had reading about women in STEM fields (and espionage - is that STEM?). Sam Maggs takes women who are missing from most history books and tells their stories, highlighting their achievements and punching up the narrative with witty, sarcastic humor. Admirable women of all races, sexualities, backgrounds, and time periods are covered. Maggs is quick to point out the problematic elements of some women's stories (nobody's perfect) while still gushing over their brains and bravery. The book is divided up into sections (science, medicine, espionage, innovation, adventure) and goes into great detail of a few select ladies' lives. Then a few more pages are devoted to other women in those fields, just shorter blurbs about their achievements. Each section ends with a fascinating Q&A from someone representative in that field, women who will one day have books written about them. I was real sore when I reached the end because I wanted to learn more. Maggs's writing is breezy and addicting. This book is a must-have, for sure. ***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Book Review: Her Eternal Moonlight by Steven Savage and Bonnie Walling
This was a fun, nostalgic read! I wasn't sure what I was going to get into other than massive amounts of gushing about Sailor Moon - turns out, this book didn't really need much else than that. "Her Eternal Moonlight: Sailor Moon's Female Fans In North America, An Unauthorized Examination” is a love letter not to just Sailor Moon but also to fandom. The authors gathered a group of diverse women in North America and pieced together their stories - how they found the series, what made them fans, how the Sailor Moon and the gang continues to affect them. The book made me remember all the reasons why I fell in love with Sailor Moon and what a big deal connecting with other fans online was. It had never dawned on me how much of an impact the series had on me until I saw my story being repeated over and over again in this book. The whole experience nearly brought me to happy tears. The writing is humorous and full of love - so easy to tell the authors had poured their hearts and obsessions into this volume! I wish it was longer, but there's only so many ways to say that Sailor Moon had a positive impact on women and continues to do so. ***e-ARC provided by the authors***
Romance Release: That Potent Alchemy by Tess Bowery
That Potent Alchemy is a book I've been looking forward to since I finished the second in this series from Tess Bowery (still haven't read the first, ahhh, I need to get on that). I was beyond excited when I saw the cover too - look at how beautiful it is! Two Black leads in a historical romance! Yes, yes, yes! And when I saw it had a genderfluid ballet dancer, I had to read this as fast as possible. I love, love, love Grace to pieces. I really do. She is cautious, self-reliant, a bit snarky. But there wasn't enough discussion of her feelings on gender to satisfy me. We get lots of hints of something shifting in her from time to time, but I'm not sure I would have picked up she's genderfluid if the cover copy hadn't said so. That's just me though, hungry for all the exploration on gender and presentation. Our other lead is Isaac, an amateur chemist who works the special effects for stage shows. Most of the drama in the book revolves around these special effects, and it was so interesting to read about. The crew behind theatrical performances rarely get their stories told. I adored Isaac quite a bit too, although I liked him way more when he was around Grace. Grace and Isaac are so much fun together, and I giggled so much during their romantic scenes. I loved how Isaac threw himself completely at Grace while still respecting her boundaries. And when Grace alluded to pegging him and he didn't say no, heh heh heh, that was probably the moment I fell in love with these two. I had a few nitpicky issues with the end, particularly what one antagonist's punishment is, but most of the book was a real pleasure to read. While this is the third in the series, there's no need to have read the previous two books to fully enjoy Grace and Isaac's story. Bowery's fabulous writing makes this feel like its own standalone. ***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Young Adult Sunday - A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar. From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.
I liked this a lot! Our narrator, Jamie Watson, was utterly delightful. Foolish but passionate, a romantic from the start until the end. Our Holmes, Charlotte, was much like her ancestors - withdrawn, cold, prone to lying and hiding relevant facts. Together, these polar opposites had a lot of platonic chemistry from the start. The book was much, much darker than I had anticipated. I had expected a drug problem, but I hadn't been warned about the rape. So massive trigger warning for that.
New Adult Saturday - I See London by Chanel Cleeton
Maggie Carpenter is ready for a change— and to leave her ordinary life in South Carolina behind. But when she accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, a university attended by the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders, Maggie might get more than she bargained for. When Maggie meets Hugh, a twentysomething British guy, she finds herself living the life she always wanted. Suddenly she’s riding around the city in a Ferrari, wearing borrowed designer clothes and going to the hottest clubs. The only problem? Another guy, the one she can’t seem to keep her hands off of. Half French, half Lebanese, and ridiculously wealthy, Samir Khouri has made it clear he doesn’t do relationships. He’s the opposite of everything Maggie thought she wanted…and he’s everything she can’t resist. Torn between her dream guy and the boy haunting her dreams, Maggie has to fight for her own happy ending. In a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.
This NA made me bounce between extreme loathing and extreme love, but it was quite the page-turner. I liked the love triangle between our MC and Samir and Hugh - and I really was glad she wound up falling for the one I had hoped she would go for. This book has a refreshing international cast of characters, and I'm definitely interested in what's next for Maggie.
Anthology Release - Circuits & Slippers
CIRCUITS AND SLIPPERS, a collection of fairy tales with a sci-fi twist, releases today!
This anthology is filled with a diverse set of stories ranging from romance to horror, each one fascinating and unique. Jaylee James worked hard to make sure there was a little something for everyone in here. I'm going to touch on each story very briefly: - "The Slumbering Hill" by Diane Dubas is basically two stories blending into a F/F Sleeping Beauty with gorgeous worldbuilding details - Allan Davis Jr.'s "The Girl, the Stalk, and Entropy" is an exciting retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk where Jack trades his arm away instead of a cow for money. - Marie Piper gives Little Riding Hood an action-y YA-esque twist in "Red and Black" - "Alone, and Palely Loitering" by Nitai R. Poddar is a haunting spin on the legend of Galahad and the Holy Grail - "Prina and the Pea" by Leandra Wallace is a fun retelling of The Princess and the Pea involving a forbidden romance - Queer Latinas run the show in Sara Daniele Rivera's "Mi Sombra", a stunning retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Shadow - "The Last" by Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney introduces us to a Rapunzel where she's the last human specimen in an alien tower - "CAT Beyond the Moon" is a delightful Puss in Boots reimagination with...floating bread! Yes! Cats in space and gravity-free bread! - "China White and the Seven" is James Wood's gruesome take on Snow White in a dystopian-like setting - M.Z. Medina's "Across the Stars" takes The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd and throws them into a spaceship with cubes in this humorous romance - "Le Trotteur" by Claudie Arsenault is based off a Québécois real-life-legend Alexis le Trotteur who could outrun horses. Except in this story, Alexis is doing some sweet magnet skating. Story also features an awesome asexual girlfriend - Christopher Walker's "Some Assembly Required" is a hilarious retelling of The Fisherman and His Wife with a gay protagonist full of romantic admiration for his captain. - "Scrapefoot" by Jennifer Lee Rossman is a creepy spin on Goldilocks with experiments and fake memories - Lea Anne Guettler's "Code Red" brings us another exciting Little Red Riding Hood with holoknives and a Woodman love interest - L.G. Keltner's "Treating the Beast" is a Beauty & The Beast retelling where our heroine is a doctor charged with caring for a sick politician - Elizabeth Hopkinson takes the 12 Dancing Princesses and makes it solarpunk as heck with an agender, asexual android lead in "Fit for Purpose" - "Compatible" by C.M. Lloyd (that's me, y'all!) is another Rapunzel story, this time with an alien Prince Charming and a trans high school student Princess - "Spinward of the Sun, Handed of the Moon" by Eben Mishkin is a sweet, moving M/M retelling of West of the Sun, East of the Moon - Caitlin Nicoll's twists the Little Mermaid into a unique story of love, cyborgs, and hard decisions in "Beside the Crimson Sea" - "Voices" by Shannon McDermott is another Princess and the Pea, but this particular tale challenges the definition of a true princess Sounds pretty cool, yeah? You can order it today!
Book Review: When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
Magical realism is so beautiful and weighty in such a quiet way, and Anna-Marie McLemore really has an exceptional gift for turning a story about roses, moons, and glass pumpkins into a hard examination of family and gender identity. The book features a gorgeous friends-to-lovers romance between Pakistani trans boy Sam & Latina cis girl Miel. We also have unforgettable antagonists in the Bonner sisters with their shades of red hair. Miel and Sam's guardians are loving, supportive women. Secrets thread everyone together and create tension in a book where plot takes a back seat to the developing characters. This is a hard book to write a review for without giving away the magic. But trust me - if you like magical realism and flowery prose, you'll want this book.
I finished this book a few weeks ago, and I still find my thoughts drifting to Sam, Miel, and the Bonner sisters. The moon is much more magical to look at now than it usually is. What a great feeling to take away from a book! Trigger warning for self-harm, albeit it's kind of weird to describe this particular brand of self-harm. ***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Young Adult Sunday - How We Fall by Kate Brauning
Ever since Jackie moved to her uncle's sleepy farming town, she's been flirting way too much--and with her own cousin, Marcus. Her friendship with him has turned into something she can't control, and he's the reason Jackie lost track of her best friend, Ellie, who left for...no one knows where. Now Ellie has been missing for months, and the police, fearing the worst, are searching for her body. Swamped with guilt and the knowledge that acting on her love for Marcus would tear their families apart, Jackie pushes her cousin away. The plan is to fall out of love, and, just as she hoped he would, Marcus falls for the new girl in town. But something isn't right about this stranger, and Jackie's suspicions about the new girl's secrets only drive the wedge deeper between Jackie and Marcus--and deepens Jackie's despair. Then Marcus is forced to pay the price for someone else's lies as the mystery around Ellie's disappearance starts to become horribly clear. Jackie has to face terrible choices. Can she leave her first love behind, and can she go on living with the fact that she failed her best friend?
I wasn’t sure if I was going to be enthralled with a story about first cousins being in love with each other, but WOW. Once I started reading, I stayed up all night until I was finished.
The romantic tension between Jackie and Marcus is thick and understandably so. Add in a murder mystery and a stalker subplot, and the tension ramps up to unbelievable levels.
New Adult Saturday - Market Street Cinema by Michele Machado
Straight A’s and skilled test taking in high school did little to prepare Lita for the rigors and reality of college life. Six weeks in, and she knew she was out. Unfortunately, her parents had other ideas and offered her an ultimatum…go back to college or move out. Forced onto a fast-track to adulthood and independence, Lita has no choice but to accept and adapt to her circumstances. Taking a minimum wage job at the local mall barely covers the bills, but a chance encounter soon changes her life. Liberty is a sweet talking beauty, with a stage name and a presence that charms as much as it comforts. Taking Lita under her wing, Liberty invites her to visit the club – which soon leads to Lita accepting a job as an exotic dancer at San Francisco’s Market Street Cinema. Will her time in the dark and gritty underworld of adult entertainment put her on a path that secures her future…or will it swallow her whole, destroying everything she never knew she wanted?
Interesting NA read - no romance and very little sex considering this is about a girl who becomes a stripper. Also kind of no plot? The book reads like a series of loosely-connected events, almost memoir-ish. I absolutely loved the mentor/student type of relationship between our college drop-out MC Lita and a stripper in her mid-40s, Liberty. Liberty was such a great character! Very enthusiastic about her plans to open a tea shop of her own. Now I wasn't too fond of how the book painted stripping/sex work as a type of job that has no happy endings. The book seemed very respectful of strippers once you peeled away Lita's misgivings about it, so the end message left me pretty bitter. Trigger warning for suicide, so please read with care. ***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
Young Adult Sunday - The Unforgettables by G.L. Tomas
Neighbors and best friends Paul and Felicia hoped they'd be friends forever. But as they change, so does their friendship. She shouldn't have kissed her...He shouldn't have liked it. Starting school changed everything. ...
G.L. Tomas does it again! Sets me up to think this is one kind of book and slaps me so good with a different kind of book! The Unforgettables lives up to its name - I won't be forgetting about this YA contemporary anytime soon. - Dual POV: Paul, a Japanese/Welsh artist who is the new kid in town & Felicia, a Haitian-American with no friends who is a huge comic book nerd - Fleshed out secondary characters (Julia, Kevin, and Nala are especially amazing) - Humorous, fresh writing - Nerdy references galore! And a Sister, Sister reference, whatttt! - Multiple, healthy discussions over the emotional and physical effects of intercourse - Teens being teens, making mistakes and making me blush sometimes - Paul's Buddhist! - Strict parents but not actually villains - SUPERHERO ALTER-EGOS!!! This book was so amazing, and the ending really got me choked up.