blog tour

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the NATURAL PASSION by Anna Durand hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: NATURAL PASSION

Author: Anna Durand

Pub. Date: January 9, 2020

Publisher: Jacobsville Books

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo

I entertain naked people for a living. No, not THAT kind of entertainment. I own a nudist resort. I'm not a nudist, but Val Silva is. And he's a human supernova sleeping in the room next door.

The man is tall, gorgeous, tattooed, and a shameless exhibitionist. As the Brazilian bad boy of the international football world, he's as famous for his sextape as for his talent on the field. Oh, did I mention he walks around naked ALL the time? A girl only has so much willpower. Maybe we can have a little fun… as long as his tabloid past doesn't mess with my quiet life.

Eve Holt is the sexiest woman I've ever seen, in those short-shorts and tank tops that make me wonder what she's hiding underneath. Most women love my wild side, but Eve thinks I'm trouble with a capital T. Okay, she might have a point there. But I always get what I want, and I want her. I didn't lead my team to Olympic gold by giving up. That's one fact about me Eve is about to learn.

Natural Passion is the first book in a brand-new trilogy of romantic comedies from Anna Durand, the bestselling author of the Hot Scots series.

About Anna:

Anna Durand loves romance, men in kilts, and cheesecake. Not always in that order. She slaves away every day writing about sexy people doing sexy things together, with heart and humor and sometimes with suspense. With paranormal stories, she explores the darker side of romance. With contemporary romance, she delves into the emotional side of love and sensuality.

Readers and reviewers have blessed Anna's books with wonderful reviews, giving her a nice glowy feeling that she's doing something right. Her books have become bestsellers on every major retail site, hitting #1 multiple times. The Hot Scots series remains Anna's personal favorite and a favorite among her fans. Who can resist a hunky Scotsman?

Anna also has a master's degree in library science, so naturally, she made Calli in Wicked in a Kilt a librarian too. For twelve years and counting, Anna has run a cataloging services company that creates cataloging-in-publication data for other authors and publishers. And when she's not doing that or writing, you'll find her binging on audiobooks, playing with puppies, or crafting handmade jewelry.

Visit AnnaDurand.com to subscribe to her newsletter for updates on her writing and other fun stuff. You'll receive a free gift as thanks for signing up!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

Five winners will receive audiobook copies of Fired Up, an erotic romance that has a lot of humor in it, Audible gift copies (US only) or Authors Direct copies (US, Canada, Australia).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/6/2020	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
1/6/2020	Jaime's World	Excerpt
1/7/2020	Cuz I’m a Nerd	Review
1/7/2020	DelightingDelilah	Spotlight
1/8/2020	Twirling Book Princess	Excerpt
1/8/2020	Books a Plenty Book Reviews	Review
1/9/2020	Smada's Book Smack	Review
1/9/2020	Reese's Reviews	Review
1/10/2020	CoffeeCocktailsandBooks Blog	Review
1/10/2020	Simply Daniel Radcliffe	Review

Week Two:

1/13/2020	Books & Other Pursuits	Review
1/13/2020	The Phantom Paragrapher	Review
1/14/2020	BookHounds	Interview
1/14/2020	Parajunkee	Spotlight
1/15/2020	Two Chicks on Books	Interview
1/15/2020	Cindy's Love of Books	Review
1/16/2020	Books_andPoetrii	Excerpt
1/16/2020	Shelf-Rated	Review
1/17/2020	Lifestyle Of Me	Review

Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I knew there was a good reason that I waited so long to read this and now I am a broken mess who has been thinking about this non stop since I finished it before 8am on Monday morning. The beginning has me teary eyed and then it made me so fucking angry, the end was headache inducing and had me crying like a baby and I have not had an ugly cry since the first episode of season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale.

This is also the third World War 2 fiction novel that I have read in less than a month and my emotions are shot. I need happy books for a good month or two or five. Who the hell knows. Anyways, this is the first Kristin Hannah book that I have ever read.

It is set in two time periods and we follow these two sisters who are living in occupied France. The oldest, Vianne, her husband has been shipped to the front and has a Nazi billeted in her house. The younger sister has abandonment issues and just wants to be loved. She wants to fight in the war and do her part. She joins the French Resistance of women.

The women are so overlooked in the history books and it is sad that they are not mentioned because they helped win the war. It wasn't just the men. I will be reading Kristin Hannah's other book set during WW2 in Leningrad.

I give this a 5 star rating but I hate it for making me have all the feels. *JK*

JULY 2017 OWLCRATE UNBOXING

• The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (exclusive OwlCrate Edition)
• "Newt Scamander" Pocket POP Keychain (Funko)
• "Urban Cities" Pocket Notebook (Ooly)
• A Darker Shade of Magic-inspired Pocket Mirror (Miss Phi)
• Looking for Alaska-inspired Art Print (Shailey Ann Designs)
• Owl Bag Tag (Mudpuppy)
• Lord of the Rings-inspired Drawstring Backpack (OwlCrate)
• Exclusive OwlCrate "Airplane" Button
• Exclusive Gentleman's Guide Author Letter, Signed Bookplate and Map. 
















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Review: A House In The Sky by Amanda Lindhout

My first non-fiction read of 2020. I am doing a global nonfiction A-Z challenge this year. My TBR was posted on Sunday where I list all of the books and the countries that they are set in in ABC order.

This book was written by Amanda Lindhout, a woman who was kidnapped and held captive for 15 months in Somalia. She goes into detail about her rough childhood and her moms various abusive boyfriends. She talks about how she got a good paying job at a gentleman's club that helped fund her first trip abroad with her boyfriend. She tells about her time in the Middle East visiting Pakistan, Afghanistan. Working for Press Tv in Iraq.

That was the first quarter of the book. The rest is about her time in Somalia and how her and her partner Nigel were yanked out of their SUV on the way to a meeting to take photographs. They were moved many times and she goes on to talk about her conversion to Islam to try to keep herself alive and how she was also gang raped.

It was very hard to get through the ending because if was very depressing and it felt like there was a stone on my chest while reading. She is an absolute brave soul to be able to go back to Somalia years later and try to educate the women there.

BLOG TOUR: Woven In Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez

I am thrilled to be hosting a stop on the WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT by Isabel Ibañez Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT

Author: Isabel Ibañez

Pub. Date: January 7, 2020

Publisher: Page Street Kids

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 384

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

A lush tapestry of magic, romance, and revolución, drawing inspiration from Bolivian politics and history.

Ximena is the decoy Condesa, a stand-in for the last remaining Illustrian royal. Her people lost everything when the usurper, Atoc, used an ancient relic to summon ghosts and drive the Illustrians from La Ciudad. Now Ximena’s motivated by her insatiable thirst for revenge, and her rare ability to spin thread from moonlight.

When Atoc demands the real Condesa’s hand in marriage, it’s Ximena’s duty to go in her stead. She relishes the chance, as Illustrian spies have reported that Atoc’s no longer carrying his deadly relic. If Ximena can find it, she can return the true aristócrata to their rightful place.

She hunts for the relic, using her weaving ability to hide messages in tapestries for the resistance. But when a masked vigilante, a warm-hearted princess, and a thoughtful healer challenge Ximena, her mission becomes more complicated. There could be a way to overthrow the usurper without starting another war, but only if Ximena turns her back on revenge—and her Condesa.

PRAISE FOR WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT

“Isabel Ibanez brings a modern story to an ancient world in her debut novel, WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT. With immersive prose, original magic, and characters as rich as the Bolivian culture that constructs the story, Ibanez delivers a wholly unique book for the YA shelf.”

— Adrienne Young, NYT Bestselling author of Sky in the Deep and The Girl the Sea Gave Back

“WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT captured me on the first page. Ximena is a fierce and brave heroine—one I have deeply come to love—and the world of Inkasisa is so beautifully rendered I never wanted to leave it. Plot twists abound, the magic is uniquely drawn, and intrigue illuminates the pages. Isabel Ibanez weaves together a spellbinding, vivid debut.”

— Rebecca Ross, author of The Queen's Rising and The Queen's Resistance

“A story that glitters as bright as Ximena’s moondust, set in a wholly immersive world that’s both whimsical and deadly. With its slow burn romance and simmering intrigue, Woven In Moonlight kept me reading long into the night. Isabel Ibañez writes pure magic.”

— Shelby Mahurin, NYT Bestselling author of Serpent & Dove

“Woven in Starlight is a lush, vibrant feast of a book, set in a world as colorful and inventive as the fierce heroine’s magical tapestries. I could have remained lost in its pages forever.”

— Margaret Rogerson, NYT Bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns

“A page-turning tale of revolution and love, helmed by a brave heroine with a big heart and set against a vibrant tapestry of Bolivian culture. Isabel Ibañez weaves magic in her debut novel.”

— Amélie Wen Zhao, author of Blood Heir

Book Trailer:

WIM Trailer HD – Final Version from Isabel Davis on Vimeo.

About Isabel:

Isabel Ibañez was born in Boca Raton, Florida, and is the proud daughter of two Bolivian

immigrants. A true word nerd, she received her degree in creative writing and has been a

Pitch Wars mentor for three years. Isabel is an avid movie goer and loves hosting family and

friends around the dinner table. She currently lives in Winter Park, Florida, with her

husband, their adorable dog, and a serious collection of books. Say hi on social media at

@IsabelWriter09

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/6/2020	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
1/6/2020	Nay's Pink Bookshelf	Review
1/7/2020	Do You Dog-ear?	Review
1/7/2020	Ramblings of a Book Nerd	Review
1/8/2020	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
1/8/2020	Cuz I’m a Nerd	Review
1/9/2020	Life Within The Pages	Review
1/9/2020	Smada's Book Smack	Review
1/10/2020	Fictitiouswonderland	Review
1/10/2020	fictitious.fox	Review

Week Two:

1/13/2020	Eli to the nth	Review
1/13/2020	Lifestyle of Me	Review
1/14/2020	Here's to Happy Endings	Review
1/14/2020	Not In Jersey	Review
1/15/2020	Fire and Ice	Review
1/15/2020	Popthebutterfly Reads	Review
1/16/2020	Portrait of a Book	Review
1/16/2020	History from a Woman’s Perspective	Review
1/17/2020	Two Points of Interest	Review
1/17/2020	dwantstoread	Review

A-Z GLOBAL NONFICTION READING CHALLENGE

I decided to do a A-z reading challenge this year with one genre. I enjoy reading nonfiction and I have been wanting to read non fiction books set in different countries. I actually found a website where there is books listed by continent and countries within that continent that takes place there or the author is from that country. It is a mix of fiction and non fiction. I chose some books or most of them from this site and the rest were google searches. Here is my TBR and the countries.

A- A House in the Sky (Somalia)
B- The Boys in the Boat (Germany)
C- The Cut Out Girl (Netherlands)
D- The devil in the White City (Illinois, US)
E- Educating Alice (Japan)
F- Fun Home  (Pennsylvania, US)
G- Grayson (Pacific Ocean)
H- Hidden Figures (Texas, US)
I- I am Malala (Pakistan)
J- Just Mercy (Alabama, US)
K- Killers of the Flower Moon (Oklahoma, US)
L- Lost in Shangri-La (Indonesia)
M- Miracle in the Andes (Argentina)
N-  Notes From a Small Island (England)
O- The Other Wes Moore (Maryland, US)
P- Persepolis (Iran)
Q- The Quest For Anastasia (Russia)
R- The Republic of Pirates (Bahamas)
S- The Statues That Walked  (Easter Island)
T- Time's Magpie (Czech Republic)
U- Unfamiliar Fishes (Hawaii, US)
V- Vanished  (Palau)
W- We Crossed A Bridge and It Trembled (Syria)
X- Xanadu (China)
Y- Yes, Chef  (New York, US & Sweden)
Z- The Zookeeper's Wife  (Poland)

Owlcrate Bookends DIY

These bookends were included in my June 2019 Owlcrate box. They are Narnia inspired and I decided to change them up a bit. My house is naturally dark living in the woods and all and the placement of my windows SUCK, I wanted these babies to stand out.

My hubby works in fabrication/ construction and he has learned a thing or two over the years. I told him I wanted to paint them white. he was against it of course, but seeing as I bought the box with my own money, I just needed his hand with the sanding part to get the already glossy shine off.

When he got through sanding them, I thought he had ruined them, but he assured me that the paint would stick and look great.

This is with one coat of paint. We had to go back over it once or twice on the bottoms and back sides. I love them and they totally bring out the Narnia inspiration.

I immediately shared it on my Instagram page for the June box photo challenge in hopes of winning a free box, but sadly I didn't but I did get a great shout out in the Owlcrate Instagram stories.