Exits, Desires, & Slow Fires by J.R. Rogue

Exits, Desires, & Slow Fires by J.R. Rogue

Blurb:

It’s going to hit you below the belt. 


You’re going to reach for the 
closest stand-in lover you can 
find
& you’re going to make 
a home in their body
& 
you’re going to pretend your 
childhood memories are hung 
in his chest
& you skinned your knee 
tripping over the curve of his arm 

& you have always been here.

Review:

Heartache

Betrayal

And the all elusive love(r)

That is the feel of the book to me. The words strung together so eloquently that they give you a glimpse into the life of the author. 

I'm not going to pretend that I know everything there is to know about poetry and composition or that I even understand everything there is to understand about them. I always base the poetry on the feel of it. And gosh did this collection of poems make me feel.

I've been following the author on Instagram for a while now and her words have always been beautiful to read. And now after reading this book it has me itching to read the rest of her poems and books. Although its been a fairly recent obsession with poems, and I don't have much to compare it to; I think this book was full of raw emotion that translated very well onto the page.

I loved this collection. This has been a fantastic read.

Reviews for The Dark Prophecy and The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan books are my happy place. Seriously, they are something I look forward to every year. I loved writing the reviews for both books together last year so here it is again. Hopefully you enjoy ^_^

The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan

Blurb:

Zeus has punished his son Apollo--god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more--by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers?

After experiencing a series of dangerous--and frankly, humiliating--trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships--with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride. . . .

Review:

I loved the book. Seriously how could I not?

I loved everything about the book - the plot, the writing style, the characters and Apollo is Apollo adorable and obnoxious. You would think those two character traits don't go together but they do. They just do. 

I want to talk about the other characters but I'm afraid I'd get ahead of myself and post spoilers. :P Also if you haven't read book one, you will definitely read spoilers. So I'm going to stop here.

Overall, fantastic read.

The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

Blurb:

Magnus Chase, a once-homeless teen, is a resident of the Hotel Valhalla and one of Odin's chosen warriors. As the son of Frey, the god of summer, fertility, and health, Magnus isn't naturally inclined to fighting. But he has strong and steadfast friends, including Hearthstone the elf, Blitzen the dwarf, and Samirah the Valkyrie, and together they have achieved brave deeds, such as defeating Fenris Wolf and battling giants for Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. Now Magnus and his crew must sail to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat. Will they succeed in their perilous journey, or is Ragnarok lurking on the horizon?

Review:

OF COURSE I LOVED THIS TOO!! This book was just glorious! Alex and Magnus are just perfect.

But here is where I have a problem. THIS IS THE LAST BOOK IN THE SERIES! 

*shouts/cries for eternity*

So I was a terrible fangirl and as usual I did not read the blurb or you know ANY posts before I finished the book. Imagine my panic when I went to Goodreads and it said that it was the FINAL book. I mean what even?! I had a panic attack and a book emergency with no one to talk to! The torture!!!

I NEED more Alex in my life and Magnus and Hearth and Blitz and Sam, and just everyone!!!!! Please tell me Magnus and Alex will be back! Pretty please?

At least there will be two more Apollo books. *sigh*

What did you think of the books. Let me know in the comments below! 

Review for The Lucky Beggar Trilogy by Craig Anderson

The Lucky Beggar Trilogy by Craig Anderson 

Blurb:

How would you behave if karma was instant? 

Luke is not a nice person. Living on the streets of London has forced him to beg, borrow and steal to survive. In the hunt for a big payday he stumbles across a scientist willing to pay for test subjects that don't ask any questions. It was supposed to be easy money, a quick jab for a stack of cash. Unfortunately fate had other ideas. Now Luke is infected with a concentrated form of karma that judges his every decision, rewarding good and punishing bad.

He'll need all the help he can get if he's going to survive murderous mimes, homeless gangs, angry bullies and hired mercenaries. His only friend is an otterhound called Lucky, a matted ball of fur and enthusiasm. Together they must find the cure before karma gets them both killed.

This hilarious romp around England contains all three novellas in the Lucky Beggar Trilogy (Getting Lucky, Lucky Shot and Lucky Break) in one handy dandy package.

Review:

I loved this trilogy! I thought that this was such a great and unique concept. It definitely was one of my most interesting reads in 2017.

The concept of Karma has been around for a while but this book has a completely unique take on the concept. The whole idea about Karma being an actual organism and how the events unfolded from there were very interesting to me and pretty fun to read. I loved the sense of humour in the book.

The book for the most part set a pretty good pace, but I felt that it did drag in certain places. Other than that I thought the book was fantastic and unique. Overall, a fun read!

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Steifvater

Blurb:

Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

Review:

So here's the thing, I LOVE the Raven Boys. Its probably one of my favourite series OF ALL TIME. Then there's books like The Scorpio Races and this gorgeous book, that are just everything.

First of all the COVER. HOW GORGEOUS IS IT!!?!?! I could just sit and stare at it for hours.

All The Crooked Saints was just as amazing as all things Stiefvater. Everything she touches is magic. There's some inexplicable magic every time I read a book by her. And this book was no different. I loved the book so much. I can't even find the right words to tell you how amazing this book was.  

I loved the characters, the writing style, everything, just everything was great. 

Go read this book. 

New YA Read

Becoming Charlie by Kristie Haigwood is out! Happy Release Day! Here's a little more about the book and the series, directly from Kristie. Honestly, I'm really looking forward to this book/series! 

I hope I didn't lose you at YA, because Charlie's story is anything but ordinary. First, I'm going to tell you my plan, and then I'll let you have a sneak peek into Charlie's world. Today is release day, and the reviews from the ARCs I sent out are rolling in, so if you don't believe me, go check them out for yourself.

The Plan:

Charlie will have two books as a teenager, and so will Sean. Same story, different POVs.

Becoming Charlie - Part One

Becoming Charlie - Part Two

Becoming Sean - Part One

Becoming Sean - Part Two

The end of both of the second parts will have alternate endings. See, this series is good for all ages, well, above 13 anyway. The first ending at the end of part two will end completely for the younger audience with a HEA, while the other will end on a pretty big cliffhanger. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that you will read both endings. And that's completely fine. You're going to need that closure to get you through until I get the ADULT book written. Yes, Charlie and Sean are 15 and 17 in part one. They are 16 and 18 in part two. They will be 25 and 27 in book 3. One book will wrap up their adult book, and yes, it will be titled...

Becoming Us.

Here's the prologue. If you decide to purchase the book and love it, please return and leave an honest review. And tell your friends. Word of mouth is the best advertisement.

Prologue

Mental pain is a real thing.

In most cases, when mental pain is triggered, the brain sends signals to the heart, causing it to contract so fiercely that it pulls the tendons and nerves—the heartstrings—that support the most important muscle in the human body. Sometimes these tendons snap, causing an intense, physical reaction. Most of the time, this type of pain stays in the chest area, settling in around the heart, making the individual who is experiencing it hyperventilate or feel extreme discomfort. Instances that might cause this to happen are getting your heart broken, losing a friend, loved one or pet, witnessing or hearing about something horrible or even reading a good ugly-cry book.

There is another type of mental pain that is so much worse. The type of mental pain I'm referring to is so severe and traumatic that, almost immediately after the mind registers what happened, it starts to shut down as a defense, and in some cases blacks out and causes the person to forget what took place, a condition also known as amnesia. Numbness and/or bouts of anger usually occur when this happens. Some triggers for this type of mental pain are losing a child, accidentally killing someone, being a victim of rape or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), to name just a few.

I suffer from the second one. Or maybe I should say that I used to suffer from the second one. The day Sean Reese walked into my life was the day I started to heal and live again. My name is Charlie Mason. If you have a little while, I'd like to tell you my story.

BUY THE BOOK HERE:

US 

UK

CA

The Becoming series will be available at B&N, Kobo, iBooks and anywhere else digital books are sold. If you'd like a paperback, those can be purchased at Amazon, too.