Cover Reveal - Rebecca's Resistance

We are excited to showcase the cover reveal for author Teresa Jones's book, Rebecca's Resistance. Teresa recently signed her first contract with new historical romance publishing house, Parchment & Plume!   Blurb: Every year Bella Plantation comes alive with the Christmas season as the prominent Bellafield family hosts their annual holiday parties. The only thing more famous than the parties at Bella Plantation is the marriages that are arranged during the parties, as well as the one marriage that has never been arranged.   Rebecca Bellafield has been introduced to the finest men that South Carolina can offer and still she has resisted each suitor. Her mother wants a marriage based on name and money, while she is looking for someone to share her life with.   When her mother announces that this year their approach to suitors will be different, Rebecca is sure that the holiday season is going to miserable that is until she gets caught in the eyes of a green-eyed stranger.   Rebecca's Resistance will be available at all ebook retailers on October 3, 2013!                   Author Bio: Teresa Jones is a native from Pennsylvania where she grew up in small coal mining towns and spent her younger years reading everything she could get her hands on.   She has been writing stories almost as long as she has been reading them and used to sit in her closet, writing in her notebooks while her imagination carried her to places far away.   She now resides in Texas with her husband and their "children", a black lab named Maximus and an orange tabby named Princess. When she is not reading or writing she is planning an escape to the coast to be as close to the ocean as possible.

Sunday Classics - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

For this Sunday Classic I thought I would review a book that in all honesty I never wanted to read. I had begged, pleaded and pouted and got my husband to join a book club I was a member of years ago. The leader always let each member pick a book from time to time, so that everyone felt they got a voice in what was being read in the group. My husband picked 'Ender's Game', a book I had not heard of before and when I knew more about it, still did not want to read it. But I'm always a good sport with the book club and I read what is picked each month, even those books that don't grab me or interest me. I am of the mindset that every book I read, whether I like it or not, I feel I am better for it. I try and learn something from each book and allow me to grow and develop. So it was a huge surprise to me that when I started to read the book, how powerful I found it to be. The author Orson Scott Card, really used metaphor to his advantage. Card also spoke greatly on the nature of politics, government and people's rights. I was blown away by the book and could not believe that I had not read this Classics before. Truly a book that changed me in a number of ways, how I viewed government's, people, political parties, roles in society and the world. The book and twists and turns that I as a reader did not see coming, from the first page to the last page I was on the edge of my seat to see what was going to happen and how the events would unfold. This was one time I happily admitted that my husband was right, he can pick some interesting and great books. This book was so 'magical' it burst with magic from every page.

Book Review Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak

This is a book in the series of Whiskey Creek by author Brenda Novak. The book revolves around Adelaide who is coming back to Whiskey Creek to help take care of her recovering grandmother, and Noah Rackham who owns a bike shop in the local town. I found this book distributing on many levels; the first issue is trying to have a romance between a victim of a gang rape at 15 and one of the rapists twin brothers. It does not make for a good romance plot of any kind. The entire story of trying to force a romance between the two was so unrealistic and painful to watch unfold it made me want to punch something when the book ended. I hardly ever after the ending of a book feel such a huge dissatisfaction with who the heroine ends up with, but this book managed to do it. I don't think that trying to resolve and deal with a gang rape when the heroine was just 16 and having most of the town try and cover it up or make it out to her fault, is a plot that naturally has a romance in it. The unfortunate thing is the author can write and write well, it just is a shame it was done in such a horrid plot wise way. If the book had been about a woman's journey to find love after tragedy it would have been fine but to always be stuck being reminded of something from her past, each and every day, after all her in laws and children's grandparents will be in her life for all time, is almost like keeping Adelaide a victim, instead of allowing her to grow and become stronger from her experiences. I cannot recommend this book to others, but I would recommend in trying to find and read an actual romance novel by the author as I'm sure in a different setting and plot the author would write a stellar book, this just is not it. I found this book to be 'mundane'.

Sunday Classics - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Recently throwback Thursday's have become popular on the interwebs of doom, but for me Sunday's have always been a day of reflection. Sunday's reflections are about what happened during the last week, what was successful and what was not, what is going to happen in the coming week, how much blessings I have, etc. I figure that Sunday would be a good day of reflecting here on my book blog. The very first book that really touched me, that spoke to my soul is the classic Little Women. This book was the first one that really truly made me laugh in joy and sob great big heaving sobs of despair. I read this book when I was young and have since read it countless times. Each time I read it I glean something new out of it. The story of the March sisters, Meg, Amy, Jo and Beth as they grow up together and the events that try to tear them apart or bring them closer together. The story of the Marches  left just as a deep of an impression the first time I read it as a child just as much as the last time I read it as an adult. This book is one of the most 'magical' ones that I always go back to time and time again. So what is one book that touched you and showed you the magic of words on a paper?

Book Review - The Wolf's Pursuit - author Rachel Van Dyken

This was my first book that I read by author Rachel Van Dyken. The premise of the book was interesting and fun - a take on Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale that most were introduced to as children. The book focuses on spies Hunter Wolfsbane and Lady Gwendolyn, the Wolf and Red are caught up in a tale of intrigue and political webs. The attraction between the two main characters practically did burn the fingers when turning the page. It was great to see the author use humor and the backdrop of espionage for the two to meet, work together and ultimately find love ever lasting. Here is another author that has the great ability to bring characters to life on the page. All of the characters introduced felt real and likeable, even the bad ones. Readers will find it easy to lost in the world the author has built up with her words. My biggest issue is one that comes from years of studying to be a historian - the history is so inaccurate and is so far from the truth that it made my historian heart ache with the issues. Honestly it felt even though the backdrop was historical but the conversations and writing made it seem like it was taking place in the modern world. I felt the book would have been better if it had a modern setting, I think the book would have been stronger and the plot more realistic. All in all though I did enjoy it enough to want to read more of the author's work and I have since. I wish I could call this book magical because of the wonderful character development, but unfortunately due to the horrible mangling of history I have to declare it mundane. I do recommend checking out other books by this author, which I would not hesitate to certify as magical and I will be doing other reviews of this author's books in the future.

~ Darklingfae

Book Review - Breaking the Rules - Author Melinda Dozier

From the start of the book it snags the reader in and I could not put it down. It was a surprisingly enjoyable and fun read. The two main characters each come with some baggage that life brought them along the way and through it all they realize that happiness is not only something that can be reached but should be reached. I liked how the relationship progressed in a real and true fashion. There were light hearted moments, laughter on dates, some real issues as well like how children deal with death of a parent,  past relationships that did not work out and end very messy, and the entire fun process of getting to know another person. The author does a great job on making the characters stop being characters and become real. The reader can feel their laughter, their heartache, their joy, their frustration in situations. The reader becomes immersed in their love story and you become friends and family with the Hope and Colin. This was the first book I read from the author and my only criticism is the story ended! I didn't want to put the book down and wanted to continue to see how the characters grow and develop. I look forward to see what other books the author has. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a fun and enjoyable romance, where the emphasis is on the romance and the growing closer as a couple, and less on sex and lust. In the end this book was a 'magical' story of love discovered.

~Darklingfae

What is Magic or Mundane?

This blog is about my love of books and reading. When I was a little girl, my mom made sure to read to me every night. I remember being so excited when I was able to get my very own library card, it was the best gift I had ever got. Reading allowed me to travel through different worlds and meet a variety of people of different cultures and countries. I created this little place in the interwebs in order to share my love of reading with others. I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings on the wide variety of books I read - from Russian and Eastern European history to romance novels. I have an eclectic library myself and I want to share a little bit of that with others. After each review I will let you know if the book was magical or just mundane, I hope that in the end you will be able to find a book or two you didn't know was out there and enjoy the delights offered from the authors.

~Darklingfae