Lifestyle Of Me: November 2022

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Getting Ready for Christmas// Sunday Post #44

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Last week was a long and great week. The girls got so much done for school that I am feeling like that are on track for December. Thursday we had a great Thanksgiving. We cooked so much food. Our grilled turkey turnes out delicious as always. My dad came over and hung out a while. We started watching a new show on Netflix called Wednesday about Wednesday Addams. The Addams Family is one of my favorite franchises and the movie version of Gomez and Morticia is #goals...lol. I have not seen the animated versions yet, but it is on my to watch list.

Yesterday we went shopping and we had to get a new TV for our youngest daughter's room because it used to be the main TV in our house 11 years ago and it was struck by lightning and the HDMI port was the thing that broke. We ended up giving that TV to my grandmother and uncle who has the smallest TV in their living room and when I walk into the front door, I squint everytime to see the screen. I think we finished our Christmas shopping. It is still to early to tell, but I feel I got the majority of it done.

Now onto reading, my reading mood at the beginning of the month was peaked. I was reading at a fast pace and then last week came and I read a book a week and then the same thing happened again. I started reading Wake the Bones on Sunday and just finished it 5 minutes before writing this post.

It was really creepy and spooky and it would have made an excellent read last month but I have it 3 out of 5 stars because the romance between the characters took me away from the main plot. I have a review going up tomorrow.

My next read is one that I Have been meaning to get to since last year. This character is my favorite out of the two series I have read in this universe.

I may listen to some of this on audio while I am cleaning and rearranging my living room for my Christmas tree. I used to dread putting up my tree because it was exhausting, but a couple years ago my hubby bought me a white tree with rose gold ornaments and I love putting it up now.

Now time to go spend some more time with my hubby before he goes back to work tomorrow and we begin our countdown to his week long vacation at the end of December.

I got some book mail this week. It was for a blog tour that I did a week or two ago. I can't wait to read it to my kids and I know that it will be good because one of the authors Ryan Calejo wrote the Charlie Hernandez series that is focused on Hispanic mythology and it was great and it is a favorite.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Review: The Blood Tainted Winter by T.L. Greylock

After having this book on my shelf for 7 years, I finally got around to reading this. I have had this on many a TBR this year and I made my November TBR a priority one because I was in such a reading mood. Getting started with this, it was kind of hard to get really into it, and slowed down my reading to the point where it took me a full week to finish this. I really enjoyed my time reading it and I liked the story, but there were moments when it was just battle after battle and then traveling and describing the setting and it was very boring and I couldn't picture the landscapes besides the river scenes and waterfalls and caves.

There is a good handful of characters in this that it is very hard to keep track of everyone and who is loyal to who. We start the story off with our main character Raef and his dream of going out on a sea voyage but his father not approving of it. Then his father, his father's warriors and himself go to a gathering where there is going to be a choosing for a new king. Something goes terribly wrong and half of the lords out of all that show up pick a new king on the spot which leads to a war.

This is a novel about vikings and with my kids learning about vikings last year and this year, I was interested. There is also mentions of Odin, Freya and Thor and Loki, and Valhalla is the main goal. There were some moments where I was creeped out and couldn't put the book down, but it became one of those moments that when I did put the book down, the next day it took a while for me to pick it back up.

The ending was a little cliffhanger-y and I am interested enough to pick up the sequel. I just hope that it will have more mythology and plot beside the constant battling and blood and making sure there is a weapon in the hands of a fellow warrior to insure entrance to Valhalla.

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

BLOG TOUR: The Year of the Bear by Douglas J. Lanzo

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE YEAR OF THE BEAR by Douglas J. Lanzo & Ambassador International Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THE YEAR OF THE BEAR

Author: Douglas J. Lanzo

Pub. Date: November 1, 2022

Publisher: Ambassador International

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 316

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

A remarkable story of a bear and the coming-of-age journey of a teenage boy.

Thirteen-year-old Jason is on the cusp of manhood, striving to fi nd his place at school and at home—especially after his mother has abandoned them and his father is left to deal with his own anger. When Jason and his father encounter a bear while out hunting, they shoot and kill it, not realizing that they have left a cub without its mother. When Sasquot of the Penobscot Tribe, a part of the Bear Family, discovers what they have done, he decides that Jason needs a lesson in caring for God’s creatures. Thus begins a year that Jason will never forget as he begins to care and train the cub in order for it to survive. As Jason forms a bond with the bear, he, in turn, learns valuable lessons for life.

“Fans of classic, enthralling adventure (and I’m one) are in for a rare treat.”-Josh Lieb New York Times best-selling and Emmy Award-winning author of I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President

Review: coming soon

About Douglas J. Lanzo:

An award-winning and featured inspirational author published in Vita Brevis Press’ bestselling 2021 poetry anthology and Café Haiku’s upcoming 2021 Fifth Poetry Anthology and featured in WestWard Quarterly’s Winter 2021 issue, since 2020 Douglas’ poetry has found homes in thirty-eight literary publications across the U.S., Canada, England, Wales, Austria, Mauritius, India, Australia, and The Caribbean. A graduate of Harvard College and Law School, where Douglas enjoyed writing editorials for The Harvard Crimson and articles for various other Harvard publications, he has published professional legal articles throughout his career. A General Counsel by day and writer by night, Douglas resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife and twelve-year old identical twin boys, fellow published poets, enjoying nature, traveling, biking, tennis, and chess.

Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Giveaway Details:

1 Winner will receive a finished copy of THE YEAR OF THE BEAR, US Only.

Ends November 29th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

11/14/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
11/14/2022	@jaimerockstarbooktours	IG Post
11/15/2022	Lady Hawkeye	Excerpt/IG Post
11/15/2022	Mythical Books	Guest Post/IG Post
11/16/2022	Jazzy Book Reviews	Excerpt
11/16/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post
11/17/2022	For the Love of Kidlit	Excerpt
11/17/2022	YA Books Central	Excerpt
11/18/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
11/18/2022	Kim"s Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

11/21/2022	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review
11/21/2022	Fire and Ice	Review
11/22/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review/IG Post
11/22/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
11/23/2022	Girls in White Dresses	Review/IG Post
11/23/2022	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
11/24/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
11/24/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
11/25/2022	@froggyreadteach	IG Review/Read Aloud
11/25/2022	One More Exclamation	Review/IG Post

Top Ten Tuesday: Thankful for My Library

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

It is Thanksgiving week and I am excited for Thursday. I am ready to get cooking and grilling. If you have not read my Sunday Post, I mention that grilled turkey is the best thing on Earth besides books. Which is what this post is about. I feel that libraries don't get a lot of love and I have bashed my library system a few times because for hyped books that will only have 1-2 to share between 10 different libraries in my county and the checkout is 3 weeks at a time.

But in my small little town, I absolutely love my towns library. The librarians in there know me and my family by name. When my holds come in, they make the phone call and it feels like I am talking to a friend.

So for my list, I am going to be sharing my 10 most recent library books. I am thankful for them because I didn't have to wait for any holds and there was more than 2 in circulation.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Thanksgiving Week// Sunday Post #43

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

The week that I look forward to all year is finally here. Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday right after Halloween. I love the anticipation that it brings. My kids look forward to all of the food my husband and I cook. Actually, the grilled turkey is the highlight every year. If you have never had grilled turkey, a whole grilled turkey you don't know what you are missing. It is the most delicious thing on the planet. While cooking, we always watch movies. The past two years it has been Marvel.

Speaking of Marvel, last week's post was non existent because my family and I went to the drive in to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and when I say I was emotionally dead, I mean it. I expected to cry maybe once or twice, but I was crying in the first 3 minutes with T'Challa's/Chadwick Boseman's funeral and then all the way to damn post credit scene. Black Panther is my absolute favorite superhero of the MCU and this movie just took my heart and stomped on it.

Question of the week: who is your favorite hero from Marvel or DC? If you don't have a favorite, who is your favorite actor/actress? Mine is Black Panther from Marvel and Batman from DC.

My plans for Monday- Wednesday is to focus mainly on getting as much school work done with my kids and finish projects that they are in the middle of and clean my house and outdoor area. I also want to get through some more books. As of writing this, I just finished my 6th book of the month and it was good. It was about vikings and Norse myths. My review will be up tomorrow.

It has two more books in the series and I have had this book for 7 years. It came out in 2015 and I finally had enough interest in it because my kids just got done learning about the vikings in the history course.

The next book I am planning on starting before the end of the day is a book that I got from Netgalley and have had in the back of my mind since it was available as an ARC.

As I am looking at the rest of my November TBR, most of the books I want to read are spooky, so yes I am still in the sppoky book mood. I am not really a big Christmas book reader. I will read middle grade Christmas books to my kids, but myself... not really.

What are ya'll going to be reading and watching this week. What are ya'lls' plans for Thanksgiving. If you are not in the states or just don't celebrate the holiday, I hope you have a great week.

Thursday, November 17, 2022

BLOG TOUR: We Ride Titans by Tres Dean

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WE RIDE TITANS by Tres Dean & Sebastián Píriz Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: WE RIDE TITANS

Author: Tres Dean, Dee Cunniffe, Sebastián Píriz (Illustrations), Jim Campbell, Adrian F. Wassel (Editor)

Pub. Date: November 8, 2022

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 128

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Pacific Rim meets Shameless in this sci-fi kaiju action adventure, female-helmed thrill ride where one woman must keep the monsters in check – as well as her explosive family!

It’s Mechs vs. Kaiju in this hard-hitting, action sci-fi adventure!

Kaiju hit hard. Family hits harder.

Just when you break free … you get pulled back in.

Trying to keep your family from imploding is a tall order. Titan-rider Kit Hobbs is about to find out it's an even taller order when that family has been piloting the Titan that protects New Hyperion from the monstrous kaiju for generations. With an addicted, spiraling brother, a powder keg of a father, and a whole bunch of twenty-story monsters, she's got her work cut out for her.

For fans of Pacific Rim, Mech Cadet Yu, Kaijumax, Big Girls, Ultramega, Gundam, Power Rangers, and Ultraman.

Reviews:
"We Ride Titans ... delivers something new from a genre that was getting a little played out. - Graphic Policy

"The creative team crafts a compelling hero, making the story feel fresh." - CBR

Review: coming soon

About Tres Dean:

Tres Dean is a comic author (currently writing We Ride Titans for Vault Comics and Eternal Warrior: Scorched Earth for Valiant) and culture writer from Richmond, VA. He's the author of FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON from Quirk Books. As a culture writer he's written for GQ, the Huffington Post, Men's Health, SyFy, Uproxx, AskMen, and Geek. Alongside artist Jamie Jones he co-created the comic series DODGER and with writer Stewart Jester and artist Kendrick Drews made the one-shot KILL THE DRUG WAR. He also wrote the comic debut of pro wrestling superstar Joey Ryan in JOEY RYAN: BIG IN JAPAN, also drawn by Jamie Jones. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

About Sebastián Píriz:

Sebastián Píriz is a comic book artist and creator living in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads