Spotlight: Her Personal Demons by Ginna Moran - October 16 Release

Author: Ginna Moran

Published: October 16, 2020

Pages: 430

Goodreads

When angels fall, Hell will rise. 

Lucifer isn’t Hell’s only devil. When a powerful angel purposely abandons Heaven, their descent creates a new level of torment in Hell’s Kingdom. If only it didn’t take me nearly dying by the hands of my ex-fiancé to discover this. I could’ve begged for a miracle or at least mercy. 

Now, the best I can hope for is a crappy deal with Hell’s most notorious ruler and some twisted help from my new devil soul keepers. 

Lucifer, Kase, and Dante need me to force the rest of their traitorous brethren to fall from grace and take their rightful places to bring Hell’s Kingdom to its intended glory. I’m the only one who can complete the task—whether or not I want to—because of my angel-kissed soul. I unknowingly made an angel fall in another life and am the perfect angel bait.

Corrupting some angels sounds easy...right? Unfortunately, the divine brethren aren’t the sweet, innocent angels I’ve heard about. These guys are fierce and won’t think twice before smiting me. To survive the power struggle between the angels and devils and save my soul, I need to embrace my wicked side or summon a miracle. If I can’t, my eternity is over. The rulers of Hell and the saviors of Heaven will rip me apart. My soul will burn.

This is a dark and addictive romance with possible triggering situations, gore, violence, and M/M. If you like psycho, protective men, fast-burn goodness, and a woman who doesn’t shy away from embracing her devilish side, Her Personal Demons is a must-read. Enter Hell’s Kingdom and meet the devils today!

Amazon

Ginna Moran is the author of over forty novels including the popular Academy of Vampire Heirs, The Divine Vampire Heirs, and The Royale Vampire Heirs WhyChoose novels.

She always carried a fascination for all things paranormal and wrote her first unpublished manuscript at age eighteen. Her love of the supernatural grew stronger through her adult life, and she now spends her days with different creatures of the night. Whether it's vampires, werewolves, dragons, fae, angels, demons, or mermaids, Ginna loves creating and living in worlds from her dreams.

Aside from Ginna’s professional life, she enjoys binge watching TV, crafting and design, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, mermaids, anything that glitters, learning new things, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf.

Ginna is currently hard at work on her next novel and the one after, and the one after that.

Down the TBR Hole #1 - 11/8/2020

Down The TBR Hole is a meme created by Lia @ Lost in a Story that revolves around cleansing your TBR of all those books you’re never going to read and sort through it all to know what’s actually on there.

It works like this:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more if you're feeling adventurous) books. Of course if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
• Read the synopses of the books.
• Decide: Keep it or let it go?

So I made a comment the other day about wanting to be more active on the blog again, and so Joood, my arch-nemesis, bossed me into joining this meme. I'm just going to warn you that this is going to be an exercise in futility for me, because I add dozens of books to my to-read shelf on Goodreads every day as I enter literally all of the giveaways. But that is also going to add another element to my posts, because I refuse to completely break up with a giveaway win, at least for now. I may change my mind on that in the future. But also, since my shelf is so crazy out of control and only getting worse, I'm going to have to go through way more than ten books per post. So for now, my posts will be light on graphics, and I'm only going to explain the books I'm keeping. 

Let's go, shall we?

Current To Read Count: 139,665

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - Goodbye

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - Girl, bye

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy - Au revoir

Middlemarch by George Eliot - Bye

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - I've always loved WWII era fiction, so this one stays. 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Dystopian fiction is high up on my list of favorites, so this is another keeper.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Adios

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess - It's dystopian, so it stays for now. 

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dosteyevsky - The classic literature elitist in me refuses to let this one go. 

Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith - Goodbye

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - Bu-bu-bu-bye

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin - This is dystopian that was banned in the Soviet Union. It stays. 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Boy, bye. 

Emma by Jane Austen - Farewell

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo - Au revoir

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells - Bye

Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope - Goodbye

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - I was going to get rid of this book, but the synopsis sounds like that of The Haunting of Bly Manor, so I think I'll keep it. 

Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu - Goodbye

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Bye

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - Auf Wiedersehen

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway - Adios

The Odyssey by Homer - Bye (but in Greek). 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Farewell

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare - Out, out damn spot!

Books removed: 19

Books kept: 6

It's becoming quite clear, that I'm going to have to really step up my lists for these if I'm ever to really make a dent in my to-read shelf. However, 25 books per post seems like a pretty reasonable number. I wonder, should I post multiple times a day with these short 25 book lists, or would it better better to post just once a day with a significantly longer list? I know I can't go an entire week between posts right now (possibly ever) if I really want to make some changes to size of my to-read shelf on Goodreads. 

Let me know what you think. - Katie 

Earthling Co Shampoo and Conditioner Bars Review

 A couple weeks ago I posted about how I want to make more Earth-friendly choices in my personal life. My first step is switching from bottled shampoo and conditioner to shampoo and conditioner bars, which can be packaged and shipped in biodegradable packaging. I ordered from two different sites initially,  The Earthling Co and Vunella. It took about ten days for my package from The Earthling Co to arrive (and I'm still waiting on Vunella almost three weeks later). 

The Earthling Co had some of the highest prices per bar ($15 for shampoo and $14 for conditioner), and it tied for the highest order amount to qualify for free shipping ($100). But they offered a 4&4 bundle for $93.75, and since I needed to hit $100 for free shipping anyway, that seemed like the way to go for me. I also elected to add the wooden soap dish, and an additional shampoo bar (I tend to go through shampoo faster than conditioner, and still have a couple bottles of conditioner to show for it). I wasn't entirely thrilled about the scent choices available and found myself settling on Cool Breeze as my fourth scent (the other three do appeal to me). I don't fully understand why some of the bars are packaged in boxes and others are in waxed paper, but at least there was no plastic to be found in this packaging or connected to the box these were shipped in. 

Since I wasn't really thrilled about the Cool Breeze scent, I decided to test it out first, if only to use it up and move on to scents that appeal to me more. This is a musky scent that I would absolutely buy for my husband if I thought I could possibly persuade him to abandon his Axe shampoo and body wash for a more Earth-friendly option. That being said, either the scent doesn't hang around long after washing, or I've grown accustomed to it surrounding me, because I don't notice it after my shower is complete and my hair is dry. 

This isn't really my first time trying shampoo bars. About a year ago I found some Primal brand shampoo bars at my local Safeway and bought every scent they had because they were like $5 each (and there were only like 5 scents). I would not personally recommend Primal shampoo bars to anyone. I had to use them continuously to get any sort of lather in my hair, and they only lasted for about 6-7 washes. And they seemed like decent sized bars to begin with. So when my Earthling Co bars arrived and were smaller than my palm, I got worried. I've personally held hail stones that were bigger than these shampoo bars. 

I'm happy to report that my worry was unfounded. I have used these bars four times so far, and they haven't noticeably diminished in size at all yet. With the shampoo bar, I've been running it all along my scalp and that provides enough soap for me to work up a lather in the rest of my decently long hair. I use the conditioner bar a little more extensively, rubbing it along the length of my hair a few times to ensure I've got enough conditioner (and that may be overkill, but I have thick hair with a slight natural curl that is prone to major tangling if I don't use conditioner). I imagine my conditioner bar will run out sooner than my shampoo bar, which will be so weird for me since my shampoo bottles ALWAYS run out before conditioner bottles (granted some of that is because I allow my hair to get a little greasy before washing which means with traditional shampoo I actually have to lather, rinse, and repeat to ensure my hair is clean). 

Since I started using these bars, I've noticed that my hair is a little bit more dry after washing, but that means I can go an extra day between washes most of the time before my hair starts to look too oily. My hair is also a little bit harder to brush out initially after washing, with more tangles than I'm accustomed to with liquid conditioner, but not enough more difficult that I'm ready to just abandon conditioner bars and return to bottles. Finally, I feel like I've been losing less hair in the shower than I was when I was using liquid shampoo and conditioner. That one might just be my imagination though. It's not like I've ever counted individual strands of hair lost per shower before. 

So far I'm rather pleased with these shampoo and conditioner bars, but it's too soon to tell if they are truly worth the price for someone on a tighter budget than me. I will try to remember to update this review after I've finished the first bars to let y'all know just how long they lasted for me. - Katie 

If you choose to make a purchase from The Earthling Co based on my review, just click here and you'll save 20% on your first purchase. I will also get 20% off of a future purchase, so I thank you in advance for using my link. 

Spotlight: Wicked Little Things by Emma Dean - October 16 Release

 

Author: Emma Dean

Published: October 16, 2020

Pages: 303

Goodreads

Mika took the title of Head Witch with blood and told the world about a sub-class of witches they thought were long gone. Now she has to deal with the Angel of Death, the Council, and somehow keep everyone she loves safe while they prepare for a potential war.

Where it will come from though, that's the real question. Can Mika use her new powers to keep everyone safe or will Death finally find her?

Amazon

Emma Dean is the aspie author of Draga Court and the Council of Paranormals. Juggling work, life, higher education, and a rambunctious toddler leaves little room for much else, but when she gets the chance she dives into a good book and likes to re-read the Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop every year during Christmas.

Spotlight: The Bone Carver by Monique Snyman - October 20 Release

Author: Monique Snyman

Published: October 20, 2020

Pages: 251

Goodreads

For a small New England town, Shadow Grove has an uncanny ability to attract the worst kind of trouble. Not that the residents are too concerned about the various horrors living among them.

As the leaves change color and the weather grows colder, a foul presence is making itself known by leaving peculiar gifts for the students of Ridge Crest High. At first, the presents seem harmless—and a rash of accidents seem coincidental—but when seniors Rachel Cleary and her Scottish cousin, Dougal Mackay, find a boneless body in the boiler room, things take an ominous turn.

Something vicious is on the loose in Shadow Grove, but with Orion Nebulius gone, Rachel has little hope of anyone getting out alive.

Amazon

Monique Snyman’s mind is a confusing bedlam of glitter and death, where candy-coated gore is found in abundance and homicidal unicorns thrive. Sorting out the mess in her head is particularly irksome before she’s ingested a specific amount of coffee, which is equal to half the recommended intake of water for humans per day. When she’s not playing referee to her imaginary friends or trying to overdose on caffeine, she’s doing something with words—be it writing, reading, or fixing all the words.

Monique Snyman lives in Pretoria, South Africa, with her husband and an adorable Chihuahua. She’s the Bram Stoker Award® nominated author of THE NIGHT WEAVER, which is the first installment in a dark fantasy series for young adults.

Spotlight: The Magic Ingredient by Lindy Miller - October 13th Release

 

Author: Lindy Miller

Published: October 13, 2020

Pages: 285

Goodreads

The end of summer is approaching, but even at the height of Bar Harbor’s tourist season, Eve Silver is having a hard time keeping enough dough in the bank to sustain the family bakery. Her only hope of paying past due bills is to win the catering bid for the town’s upcoming Harvest Happening festival. Otherwise, it’ll be lights out for Mount Desserts by Christmas.

Widower Jeff Perry is moving with his twelve-year-old daughter, Candy, from Manhattan to Maine with one goal: starting over. When sparks fly between Jeff and Eve as the town readies for the annual harvest festival, Candy wishes she had a love potion to help her dad fall in love again.
​
Will Eve be able to save Mount Desserts—and open her heart to Jeff—by the most bewitching night of the year?

It’ll take a lot of love, a little bit of luck … and just a pinch of magic.

Amazon

Lindy Miller is an author of feel-good love stories that are full of sweet moments and happily ever afters. She believes the best time to fall in love is during the holidays, preferably over a cup of warm tea or a delicious vegan pastry - two things she can't get enough of.

A free spirit, Lindy loves to travel and has a soft spot for Bar Harbor, Maine though she grew up at home in the South. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and bakes as often as she can for her husband, son, and pets - especially her golden retriever, Finn, who has a tendency to show up in her stories.

Lindy is represented by Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management and supported by Smith Publicity. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Romantic Novelist Association (RNA).

Ch-ch-ch-changes

 Hey y'all. So I've been pretty much radio silent for about two years now. I posted earlier this year about being back, maybe, and I'm glad I included the maybe since I was clearly not back in any meaningful way. Now I don't remember what all I talked about in that post, and I'm not going back to re-read it, so I may repeat myself some here, but please bear with me on that, since that post was written several months and a whole pandemic ago. 

Anyway, I'm transitioning this blog into more of a lifestyle blog for myself. The main focus will still almost certainly be books because they are still a huge part of my life, and pretty much a defining characteristic about me as a person, but I probably won't be posting many book reviews because I simply don't have all that much time to read books just for fun (and I've decided to stop reviewing books I've proofread here on the blog, although I may provide a star rating with spotlight posts. I haven't decided on that yet.) 

I would love to be able to sit here and give a brief idea of what I will end up talking about in the future, but honestly, my life is pretty much a hot mess express (and that was true even before Covid), so I think you're just going to have to be as surprised by my posts as I am. One thing that I currently intend on talking about here is my journey towards more earth friendly life choices. 

For example, a while back, I found shampoo and conditioner bars at my local grocery store and bought a whole bunch of them to try out. I've now gone through all the shampoo bars and need to replenish, but it's so much easier to just buy the bottles of shampoo available at the store than it is to find quality shampoo bars online (maybe, searches on Amazon don't yield super positive results in my opinion). I recently clicked a sponsored ad for shampoo bars on Facebook though, which resulted in a lot more sponsored ads in my feed, so I spent the past half hour or so comparing prices on all the different sites. For now, I kind of intend to buy at least one product from all of them, and probably a few from most of them as scent varieties are different and I'm a big fan of getting free shipping. I've already placed orders on two different sites, so now we shall see how long it takes them to arrive and just what I think of them. While a part of me is concerned about price overall, quality of product will also be a factor for me, since I can purchase from all of these sites via PayPal (where all of my proofreading income hangs out until I find something I wanna buy online where I can pay with PayPal). 

Beyond that, once again I hope to post a bit more consistently around here, I just need to figure out how that's going to look with working a day job and moonlighting as a proofreader, all while being a wife and mother as well. Wish me luck. - Katie