Just Another Girl and her Books: December 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Stacking the Shelves 29 December 2018

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too, which covers the books I receive through Netgalley. So my STS post will feature all the books I've been one-clicking on Amazon.

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week. All Goodreads First Reads ebook wins unless otherwise specified.

Saving Vengeance by John Witzel
Limbo by Marko Pandza
Brief, Horrible Moments: A Collection of One Sentence Horror Stories by Marko Pandza
Demon Wars by Kenneth Van Lawrence
Elven Demon Wars by Kenneth Van Lawrence
PSYCHOlogical by Scott Hildreth
The Road Beyond Ruin by Gemma Liviero - I think I got this book as my December Amazon First Reads selection. Amazon is still showing me as able to "buy" one of those for free though so I'm quite confused right now.
Christmas Joy by Nancy Naigle - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I just couldn't resist because it's a Christmas book.
Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). After watching and enjoying the Hallmark movie based on said book, I kind of had to buy the book so I can read it at some point in the future.
A Shoe Addict's Christmas by Beth Harbison - I got this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). It's another one I simply had to buy because I recently watched the Hallmark movie based on it.
Hope at Christmas by Nancy Naigle - I snagged this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I just can't pass up a Christmas book on sale, I swear.

The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I think it's pretty obvious why I bought it.
All I Want for Christmas by Sheila Roberts - I grabbed this book for just $2.99 (still showing as $2.99, so it's possible I paid full price for it). It's a Christmas book so it was needed for my collection.
The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts - I snagged this book for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I recently featured this book as one that had a movie made on it for Top Ten Tuesday, so I figured I could get ahead of the game and buy it now and maybe read it BEFORE watching the movie (although I almost caught the movie on Hallmark a few days ago so...)
Christmas with Holly by Lisa Kleypas - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). Do you even wonder why I bought it at this point?
Being Exposed by Mae Worthington
Flight of the Forgotten by Mark Vance
Veined by Anyta Sunday - I snagged this as a freebie (no longer free) after seeing it shared by one of the Celebrity Readers I think.
Phoenixed by Anyta Sunday - I got this book as a freebie (no longer free) after seeing it shared by whoever shared the previous book.

Unstrung by Kendra C. Highley - I grabbed this book for free (no longer free) after seeing it shared somewhere. I honestly don't even know where at this point but it was probably on Facebook.
The Language of Excellence by Tom Collins
Lysandra by T.J. Zakreski
A Virgin River Christmas by Robyn Carr - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale. If you have to ask why I bought it beyond that, you're probably a lost cause.
When Knowing Comes by Valerie Savage Kinney - I got this book for free (no longer free) after seeing it shared by I think the Celebrity Readers (who I believe shared the post from one of the ladies at Platypire Reviews). I have the first book in this series though and have heard great things about it, so I wanted to grab this one while it was free.
Tomboy by Suzana Thompson - I got this book for free (maybe still free) after seeing it shared somewhere on Facebook.
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli - I got this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I've seen talk about this book on several other blogs, so I knew I wanted it in my digital library at the very least.

The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale). I already owned the first book in the series and the covers are just so gorgeous that I know I want to read them.
Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler - I grabbed this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale). I think this was an obvious book pick by me.
Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock - I got this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). While the cover of this book doesn't scream Christmas (except for the word in big bold font as part of the title), it's still clearly a Christmas book and therefore something I needed.
Season of Wonder by RaeAnne Thayne - I snagged this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale). I adore RaeAnne Thayne's Christmas stories (that I've read, all two of them) so getting her newest Christmas release on sale was a major score for me.
Pride by Ibi Zoboi - I grabbed this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale). I've seen this book on a few blogger's lists lately (I don't remember what for exactly, but it's been around) so I snatched it right up when I saw it was on sale.
Almost Christmas by Brooke St. James - I got this book as a freebie (no longer free). I'm pretty sure I saw it shared somewhere on Facebook.

Mistletoe Mountain by Frankie Love - I grabbed this book for free (no longer free). This was almost certainly a Facebook share.
Second Chances by T.M. Franklin - I snagged this book as a freebie (no longer free). It'll be a good read for the 12 Books of Christmas reading challenge at some point, maybe next year.
Let It Snow: A Holly Grove Anthology by various authors - I got this book as a freebie (maybe still free). I think this was shared by one of the contributing authors on Facebook, although I may have seen it on a blogger's page.
The Goblin's Winter by Alex Norton - I grabbed this book as a freebie (no longer free). I think I'm under the impression that it's a Christmassy book.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman - I snagged this book for just $2.99 (maybe still $2.99). I've seen so much buzz about the Netflix movie so when I saw the book for so cheap I knew I needed to snag it.
Love's Prophet by Melissa Storm - I got this book as a freebie (maybe still free) after seeing a sponsored post about the bargain price on Facebook.
Guarding Grace by Ann Omasta - I snagged this book for free (maybe still free) after seeing a sponsored post for it on Facebook.
Mourning Routine by S.E. Babin - I got this book for free (maybe still free) after seeing a sponsored post for it on Facebook.

Love's Late Arrival by Sharon Hughson - I grabbed this book as a freebie (maybe still free) after seeing a sponsored post for it on Facebook.
Love's Gamble by Emily Murdoch - I got this book as a freebie (maybe still free) after seeing a sponsored post for it on Facebook.
Blazing Magic by Ingrid Seymour - I snagged this book for free (no longer free). I'm pretty sure I saw it shared somewhere on Facebook.
Welcome to Danvers by Penne Mayer - I got this book as a freebie (still free). I think I saw this shared in an author newsletter.
Point of Impact by Kyla Stone - I grabbed this book for free (no longer free). I'm pretty sure it was shared in an author newsletter.
Meet Me In Myrtle Beach by Brooke St. James - I got this book for free (no longer free). I think I saw it shared somewhere on Facebook.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - I grabbed this book on sale for just $2.99 (no longer on sale). I've had my eye on this book since it released, and I think it's been on sale before and I passed it by. This time I gave in to the temptation.
The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles - I got this book on sale for just $1.99 (no longer on sale). I know this is a somewhat popular movie on Netflix, so I need to read the book so that I can watch the movie, because that's how I roll whenever possible.
The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristen Harmel - I snagged this book on sale for $4.99 (no longer on sale). It's set during WWII, so I've had my eyes on it for a while.
The Girl I Was Before by Izzy Bayliss - I got this book as a freebie (still free) after seeing it shared somewhere on Facebook.
Future Perfect: A Skeptic's Search for an Honest Mystic by Victoria Loustalot - I got this book as an Amazon First Reads selection (so I seem to have gotten two of those this month although I think last year in December Amazon let Prime members get all six books on offer, so that's not entirely odd I guess).

So that's all the books I picked up last week. I got a bit one-click crazy and it's really no wonder no one buys me books for Christmas presents considering all the books that I buy myself.

What new books have you added to your shelves recently? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can stop by and visit to see your new pretties.*

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Book Blogger Hop 28 December 2018

We are on to a new week for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the lovely folks over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This weeks questions is:

Did you get any books for Christmas? If so, name the titles. (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Nope. Didn't get a single book as a present for Christmas (although I've been one-clicking ebooks left and right since Black Friday it seems, which is part of why I don't actually expect to get books from other people for Christmas, because narrowing down what I don't have has to be hard). I actually still have some hope on this front though, because we haven't yet celebrated Christmas with my family (and they're the most likely to give me a book in the first place), but I won't know if they have until the beginning of February (I'm hoping my mom took the not-at-all subtle hint and got me the newest boxed set edition of Harry Potter with the covers that look almost like you're supposed to color them in yourself, but again, I won't know until February).

What about you? Did you get any amazing books for Christmas or whatever other winter holiday you may celebrate? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to leave a link to your post below so I can stop by to see your answer.*

Monday, December 24, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday Books I Want to Find Under my Tree (Dec. 25)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now.

This week's theme is books I want to find under my Christmas tree. My husband is not the type of person to buy me books for Christmas presents (because he's much more likely to just buy them on the spot if we're out and I seem particularly wistful), so I'm not really anticipating many books under my tree, at least not until we celebrate Christmahog with my family (Christmas in February), and even then I'm not highly likely to get any books because everyone knows I buy lots of books as it is. So this is not something I've put much thought into, because if I'm going to think about things I'd like to find under the tree, I'm going to limit that to things people might actually buy me.

Since I'm less inclined to buy myself coloring books, but there are still some of those that I'd enjoy, I'm going to focus on coloring books I'd love to find under the tree on Christmas morning.

Harry Potter Magical Artifacts

The Wizard of Oz

Alice in Wonderland

I Am Sick of this Sh*t

I Don't Give a Damn

Angry Swearing Cats

Calm as F*ck

Mister Sam Shearon's Creepy Christmas

Unicorns Are Jerks

Grandma Approved Curse Words

You may notice a bit of a theme with most of these...because I'm basically a 12 year-old boy trapped in the body of a (mumble-mumble) year-old woman. So those are ten coloring books that I'd love to find under my tree this Christmas. And depending on whether or not my mother sees this post and has completed Christmas shopping, I may just get one or two for Christmahog.

What are some books you hope to find (or did find) under your tree for Christmas? - Katie

*If you're stopping by from the linkup, please be sure to drop a link to your post below so I can see what you want to find when I have some downtime in my Christmas day festivities.*

31 Days of Christmas Jingle Around the Clock

Christmas is almost here and that means it's time to ramp up the Christmas spirit. I don't limit myself to just reading cheesy Christmas romances during this time of year. Oh no. I also find myself binge watching Christmas movies on Netflix and the Hallmark Channel. And I thought, why not incorporate that into my blog as well. So I give you the 31 Days of Christmas (which will be much easier to accomplish with movies than books like I've tried to do in past years).

Next up is Jingle Around the Clock.

Watched on: Hallmark

Duration: 2 hours (with commercials)

Originally aired on: 22 December 2018

Directed by: Paul Ziller

Starring: Brooke Nevin, Michael Cassidy, and Andrea Brooks

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew info.

Synopsis

Elle decides to reunite her friends for Christmas, but her plans are thwarted by an opportunity at work. She's forced to team up with Max, who has a different take on the holidays. As they work together, they find themselves falling for each other.

Review

Elle is a hard worker who decides to volunteer for a last minute ad campaign change to curry favor from her boss. She's also had her eye on a hottie she's seen at her friend's coffee shop a few times, who just happens to be from her company's New York office. Once they figure that out, things get a little testy between them.

They are both working on the same ad campaign and they can't agree on the route to take, which leads to some reasonable arguing with both feeling like they're right. The way they decide whose idea to use was cute and festive, and I was honestly surprised by the outcome. Adding to the rivalry, they've both applied for the same promotion within the company.

This movie includes an embarrassing mother, wreath making, Christmas tree shopping and decorating.

While this movie misses a lot of the typical Christmas movie events, it still feels 100% typical for a Hallmark movie and I would definitely watch it again next year.

My Rating

Check Out My Other Christmas Movie Reviews

Review

Cancel Christmas starring Judd Nelson, Justin Landry, & Natalie Brown

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe starring Lacey Chabert, Brendan Penny, & Genevieve Kang

The Princess Switch starring Vanessa Hudgens, Sam Palladio, & Nick Sagar

The Holiday Calendar starring Kat Graham, Quincy Brown, and Ethan Peck

The Christmas Switch starring Natasha Henstridge, Brian Kraus, and Cedric Smith

48 Christmas Wishes starring Khiyla Aynne, Elizabeth Ellsworth, and Maya Franzoi

The Spirit of Christmas starring Thomas Beaudoin, Kati Salowsky, and Steven A. Miller

A Shoe Addict's Christmas starring Candace Cameron Bure, Luke Macfarlane, and Jean Smart

Mingle All the Way starring Jen Lilley, Brant Daugherty, and Lindsay Wagner

A Majestic Christmas starring Jerrika Hinton, Christian Vincent, and Adaya Ariana

Finding Santa starring Eric Winter, Jodie Sweetin, and Jay Brazeau

It's Christmas, Eve starring LeAnn Rimes, Tyler Hynes, and Gwynyth Walsh

Christmas Next Door starring Jesse Metcalfe, Fiona Gubelmann, and Brittany Bristow

A Christmas Melody starring Lacey Chabert, Brennan Elliott, and Kathy Najimy

The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, and Judah Lewis

Once Upon a Holiday starring Briana Evigan, Paul Campbell, and Greg Evigan

Christmas Inheritance starring Eliza Taylor, Jake Lacy, and Andie MacDowell
The Most Wonderful Time of Year starring Brooke Burns, Henry Winkler, and Warren Christie
Sleigh Bells Ring starring Erin Cahill, David Alpay, and Dakota Guppy
Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa starring Andrew Baker, Rukiya Bernard, and Michelle Choi-Lee
Homegrown Christmas starring Lori Loughlin, Matt Hamilton, and Gwynyth Walsh
Christmas at Pemberley Manor starring Jessica Lowndes, Michael Rady, and Cole Gleason
Welcome to Christmas starring Jennifer Finnigan, Eric Mabius, and Sarah Edmondson
Christmas Wedding Planner starring Jocelyn Hudon, Stephen Huszar, and Rebecca Dalton
Christmas at the Palace starring Merritt Patterson, Andrew Cooper, and Brittany Bristow
Entertaining Christmas starring Jodie Sweetin, Tamara Almeida, and Brendan Fehr
A Gingerbread Romance starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Duane Henry, and Jordana Lajoie
Reunited at Christmas starring Nikki Deloach, Mike Faiola, and Lisa Durupt

For more info or to sign up, click here.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Review Merry Frenemies by Terri A. Wilson

Genre: Romance

Published: December 21, 2018

Goodreads

Various authors come together to bring you contemporary romance stories that tug on the chords of your heart with some holiday cheer. Cozy up on the couch with a warm blanket and a nice hot drink and delve into these romantic goodies.

I was hired to proofread this novelette. The only aspects of the story that I influenced were the spelling and grammar. If you feel that my connection to the book makes my review untrustworthy, so be it, but this is my honest review.

At the moment, Merry Frenemies can only be found in the Holiday Chords Anthology, but I've only read Merry Frenemies. As it absolutely qualifies for the 12 Books of Christmas reading challenge, I'm choosing to review it now (especially since I'd review each story in the anthology separately were I to read the rest anyway).

This book gave me all the feelings I expect from a holiday romance. It had bickering between the love interests that was obviously going to lead to something more romantic, snow, and just all the warm gushy feelings I want from a story at this time of year. I would even go so far as to say that it is Hallmark movie ready (although it would probably need to be fleshed out just a bit to fill the hour and a half of a typical Hallmark movie).

I enjoyed this story so much, that I read it in one sitting. And while it's on the shorter side so that's not entirely unreasonable, when I started it, it was late at night, and I was only planning on reading a bit while taking a hot bath to defrost (because my house is freezing due to a lack of insulation in the attic and half the outside walls), but I ended up staying in the bath for well over an hour and then sitting up in bed finishing the book because I just couldn't put it down. I'd be inclined to say the anthology is probably worth the buy for this story alone.

Overall I give Merry Frenemies 5.0673 stars. - Katie

Holiday Chords Anthology (Amazon)

Terri is a former English teacher and librarian. She taught middle and high school and college. Now she works from home homeschooling her two daughters and living out her dreams via her stories. She began escaping into books a little later than most but was hooked after the first book. It has been her dream to give back to the book world since second grade.
When she's not writing or reading, she enjoys binging on Netflix and painting. Due to her crunchy lifestyle and free spirit, she considers herself a recycled hippie. Her most important goal is to help others jump and learn to fly.
To find out more about her characters and the lives they live, check out her website, http://www.terriluvsbooks.com. Follow her on Amazon and Goodreads, or connect through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Newsletter- http://eepurl.com/dCKgkj
Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/TerriAWilson
Twitter- http://twitter.com/terriawilson
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/wilsonterria/
Instagram- http://www.instagram.com/terria.wilson/
BookBub- https://www.bookbub.com/profile/terri-a-wilson

For more info or to sign up, click here.

31 Days of Christmas Christmas Getaway

Watched on: Hallmark

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Originally aired on: 23 December 2017

Directed by: Mel Damski

Starring: Bridget Regan, Travis Van Winkle, and Raven Stewart

Please see IMDb for full cast and crew info.

Synopsis

A travel writer takes a Christmas vacation, but finds herself double-booked with a widower, his mother, and his daughter at the holiday site.

Review

Emory is a travel writer who gets roped into writing a last minute article about old-fashioned Christmas traditions, but she's never had a traditional Christmas herself. So her editor books her a cabin in a mountain town to get her in the spirit. This is where the problems start, because Scott's mother has booked the same cabin for him and his daughter for the holidays. Scott and Emory are obviously not pleased about the mixup, but due to Emory having car problems, they decide to make the best of things for a couple nights until her car can be fixed.

When Emory finds out about Katy's Christmas bucket list, she asks if she can tag along, because it's exactly what she needs for her article. And that's when the sparks start to fly between her and Scott. There's just a lot of little funny quips between them, that kind of made my heart sing a little in joy.

This movie includes Christmas tree cutting and decorating, ice skating, snowman building, a romantic rival, and gingerbread house building.

I would definitely watch this fun family movie again next year, although I wouldn't seek it out to make sure I saw it, just watch it if I caught it on tv.

My Rating

Check Out My Other Christmas Movie Reviews

Review