TGIF

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!

Musical Stories: If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form? "The Passenger" is by far one of my favorite songs since it is definitely a memorable melody yet embodies a darker outcast-feel undertone that I think could portray well into a Paranormal/Urban Fantasy story.

  "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop
I am the passenger and I ride and I ride
I ride through the city's backsides
I see the stars come out of the sky
Yeah, the bright and hollow sky
You know it looks so good tonight
I am the passenger
I stay under glass
I look through my window so bright
I see the stars come out tonight
I see the bright and hollow sky
Over the city's ripped backsides
And everything looks good tonight

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Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee

Question: What is one book that you would be nervous to see a movie adaption of becasue you think the movie could never live up to the book?

 

  Definitely any book from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon since they are so in-depth with rich characters and detailed time-spans that any movie adaptation would seriously take too much away from the overall splendor of the story.

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Goddess Interrupted by Amiee Carter

Goddess Interrupted

(Goddess Test, Book #2)

by Amiee Carter

Genre: Young Adult | Paranormal Romance

Kate Winters has won immortality.
But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Kate is returning from her summer away in Greece to Eden Manor (to catch a portal/short-cut to the Underworld) and her new mythological family (and husband!) she left months ago.  As excited as she is for her long-awaited homecoming, she is equally apprehensive because of her recent lack of confidence in her budding relationship with Henry. When her reunion does not go as planned because of discovering a new debilitating gift, the catching of a recent Underworld escapee, and the uncovering that some missing Gods are being held captive, Kate is thrust into a new home that exudes characteristics of Henry's late wife - Persephone.  With hopes of only having to devote her life to helping Henry rule the Underworld, Kate must now personally confront Henry's past and decide just where her future really leads.

Expect lots of emotional turmoil within this continuation of Kate's adventures in being Queen on the Underworld.  Not only is she trying to adapt to her new immortal status among her family while processing Henry's eluding attitude toward their marriage, but Kate is learning there are darker things out there that make even the God/Goddess tremble in fear.  Also, acceptation is a hard concept for Kate to get use to.  Her family is automatically expecting her to accept that there is a certain way to handling situations, dealing with people, or even loving someone - all of which, becomes a struggle for Kate throughout this book.  

Honestly, I am not a fan of many of the side-characters within this series, but the protagonists are spot on and really keep the story alive for me.  The relationship struggle between Kate and Henry is very realistic and captivating. Thus, it becomes quite easy for the reader to become wrapped up in their gut-wrenching turmoil as well as their blissful happiness.  The ending is suspenseful and definitely creates a thrilling problem for book #3 to solve.  Yet, sadly, as much as I wanted to support Kate's surprise revelation in the end -- it left me feeling like a prude since I often frown upon situations like that for girls her age.  But, it won't keep me from checking out the next books in the series next year though.

Likes: After reviewing Amiee Carter's website for Book #3 (The Goddess Inheritance) release date (April 2013), I was amused to find out she and I share the same birthday - Jan. 24th - Ha!

Dislikes: To me, it felt like there were almost two separate stories within this one book.  The first part that focused solely on the Underworld escapee and the second part that really centralized the story back around Kate and Henry.  There was a slight common thread between the two, but I believe it would have been a much more cohesive story if Amiee Carter would have unified the two parts better.

Reviews: Goodreads |  Barnes & Noble | Shelfari | Library Thing | Amazon

Rating:

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Embrace the Highland Warrior
( Book #2 )
by Anita Clenney

Genre: Paranormal Romance

They were driven apart by a timeless secret...

Cody MacBain let the woman of his destiny slip away.  A member of an ancient clan of Scottish warriors, he grew up beside Shay Logan as her secret protector, but his heart compelled him to become more.  Until Shay's true identity was revealed, the fated pair's chance was gone...

But danger will drive them back into each others arms...

 Shay fell for the boy next door, suspecting nothing of the ancient secrets he guarded.  After a stinging betrayal, she's determining to banish the memories of her first love forever.  But the past can't let go, and the boy she once loved has returned to her a warrior determined to protect her from the unspeakable evil fate has planned... 

When the powerful demon that left Shay for dead discovers her empty grave, he comes seeking retribution, believing she possesses an ancient book he has sought for centuries. Knowing she can’t fight the demon alone, Shay returns to her clan and the Scottish Warrior who betrayed her…the only man she’s ever loved, where she discovers that betrayal isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes it’s far worse. 

When a stalker began to haunt Shay in Scotland, she escaped to take sanctuary in a place she had not visited in over 10 years - the Virginia home she ran away from at 18.  It became difficult returning to a place that bought to life so many memories from her childhood, becasue the family/friends that concealed secrets from her since birth were still in residence. Yet, upon returning, Shay was bombarded with intense feelings for a man who once was her best friend/first love and as past mistakes slowly became resolved, a much darker force was coming...solely for her.

Honestly, I forgot I read Book #1 by Anita Clenney (which I am satisfied to say the book cover greatly improved with Book #2, hehe) and was presently surprised to catch up with past characters that I was some-what familiar with.  Shay and Cody were easy to enjoy as the protagonists, but I was more fond of them earlier on in the story than I was at the end due to their relationship being built on jealousy/mistrust/constant-bickering. Also, their earlier awkward awareness of each other was a lot more exciting and animate, for the reader, than their quick excuse for comforting relations (i.e. sex) in the second half of the book. Thus, I was discontented with the evolvement of romance in this story.  Yet, if you like lots of highlander adventures that travel through Scotland and reside in castles - this could be an entertaining read for you, but don't expect a grand epic tale.

Likes: Shay and Cody's childhood memories were some of my favorite parts of the whole story, especially the younger ones that revolved around them innocently playing together.

Dislikes: The story fell a little flat for me half-way through since I was expecting more character development (esp. with the relationship between Shay and Cody as adults) and yet there were many superficial jumps in the tale that left me dissatisfied overall. 

Reviews: Goodreads |  Barnes & Noble | Shelfari | Library Thing | Amazon

Rating:

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IO Blog Tour Hop

 

Innovative Online Book Tours is new on the book blogging scene and expanding daily.  They are open to any interested book bloggers - so have fun with this weeks blog hop and make sure to check out the other tour hosts.

Shauni's Question: What makes you happiest? 

In regards to reading -- lots of little things: being at the library and discovering a book I haven't read yet but always wanted to, free weekend mornings in my favorite cozy spot with a good book in hand, or relaxing picnics in the park with my Nook.

About Books To Bury Yourself In ...

Almost two years old, this website began as a location where I could review books for myself since I love looking back on first-impressions of a story.  But it also became somewhere fun for my girlfriends to check in on and see what I was reading and/or pick up book recommendations.  Over the years it has grown into what it is today and I love it! First and foremost, I am a fan of Paranormal Romance, followed closely by Fantasy, YA, and Historical. My favorite author is Kresley Cole since I adore her IAD series. Personally, I am always eager to check out new books and authors, so I am very excited to be apart of IO Book Tours.

Cheers!

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Libster Blog Award

I am delighted that the creative Aai, from Books with Marshmallows, selected me to receive this Liebster Blog Award...Thank you, you inspire me to be a better blogger!!

The origins of the Liebster [German to English translation: "Favorite", "Darling", or "Beloved"] Blog Award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany and is used to highlight smaller, lesser known blogs.  The idea is to spread the love from one small blog (under 200 followers) to other small blogs -- this helps to spread knowledge and readership.

To accept the award, you must:

1) link back to the person who gave it and thank them for thinking of you.
2) post the award to your blog.

3) give the award to 5 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) "Pay it Forward".

4) leave a comment on the blogs of the five people you have chosen to let them know.

So without further ado, here are the bloggers I nominated in no particular order: 

Jennifer @  A Librarian's Library

Sarah @ A Book Addict's Haven 

Rhee and Kaitlyn @ A Life Pixelated

Ashley @ Glitter Lit

Jessica @ Addicted to Novels

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The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

The Splendor Falls

by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Genre: Young Adult | Supernatural

Can Love Last Beyond the Grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

 Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

Summary: Sylvie Davis is sent to her late father's ancestral home for the summer in Alabama to recover from "The Accident" that ruined her career in ballet.  Bitter and distraught, Sylvie begrudgingly adapts to her new historical residence even though there are some unsettling rules (ex. no dogs in the house), bewildering small-town beliefs/superstitions, and two young men that she develops conflicting/unbalancing feelings for.  Even though the lush green gardens outside her home brighten her days, Sylvie's nights are haunted by a watcher in the windows and high-pitched howling noises from the nearby woods.  Any attempts to discover the secrets of her father's Old South legacy are usually interrupted by the Teen Town Council/Shawn Maddox or the local ghost town (Cahawba) archaeological dig volunteer, Rhys Griffith.  And when the legendary ghost stories begin to become reality, Sylvie takes it upon herself to set the past straight by uncovering the mysteries of Bluestone Hill.

Review: Sylvie was a rocky character for me, she either came off a stubbornly strong or frustratingly vulnerable and as much as I wanted to recognize her as an independent female lead, in my eye, she only succeeded in lacking confidence.  I know she had good reason to be gloomy, but her coarse actions towards events in the story dampened my feelings towards her.  On the other hand, Rhys was a highly witty and delightful character.  He portrayed a compelling figure that actually revealed many of the stories historical facts and much-needed revelations that moved the tale along.  Shawn also depicted a vibrant character who shined greatly as the small-town's favorite son, but who also had a darker more complex and intense side.  The side-characters were all entertaining enough (somewhat excluding cousin Paula who was more of a downer than anything else) without distracting from the main leads -- a plus!

The story had an intriguing concept full of ghosts, folk-lore, history, mythology, etc. that it instantly appealed to me, but there was almost too much going on in each of those areas that they kind of eclipsed each other.  Also, sadly, some parts that I felt were very important in the story were either anti-climatic/down-played and only slightly revealed right at the end (ex. the whole 'past-life' concept), thus I would have liked a bit more development altogether.  I was entertained though by the spook-factor created from the local ghost beliefs/visions which added a little supernatural thrill.  Plus, the romance sparks were there, just slightly hollow.

  

Likes: Personally, I did enjoy Sylvie's soy milk drinking/meat-substitute eating lifestyle since recently I've adapted to becoming a part-time vegan and got a hoot out of her reactions to the southern dishes. Also, the Welsh mythology was something all together new for me (and that's saying something for a historical/folk-lore Nut like me)!

Dislikes: The overall story's plot development was too lethargic and disordered for my reading taste. The ending left me asking questions that, I felt, weren't fully answered as well as confusion in some of the misleading directions the story took.  All in all, it left me a bit baffled!

Rating:

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TGIF

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!

Book Blogger Retreat :

If you could gather up a handful of book blogger friends to spend a weekend away talking books, where would you go? Tell us about it.

Definitely a place in the middle of nowhere since I would crave a location lushly green and/or surrounded by water that would be amazingly peaceful. Somewhere I could lay out in a hammock (with an insane amount of pillows, margaritas, and books) and read/share recommendations to my heart's desire!!

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Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee

Question :

Do you read one book at a time or do you switch back and forth between two or more?

Honestly, I am usually going back and forth between two to three books at one time! One/two books could be on my Nook e-reader while the other book/s could be loaned to me from friends, purchased for my own collection, or checked-out from the library (and secretly one/two more could be on my MS reader on my work computer *Shhhh*) Unless I get totally sucked into a story, I will easily go back and forth between reads all week depending on my mood and I love it that way!

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