Falling into Fall {#1}

    This is just an introduction post, so there won’t be much to it. But I'm pretty sure none of its going to be book related. Well, it’s officially fall—hooray for cooler weather—right?  Well it sucks since I’m in California so it’s still hot at the moment, but whatever. Falling into Fall is an idea I had since I wanted to share about some of  the things I want to do and/or are planning to do. It’s going to run from today until the end of November.  It will only be posted on every other Thursday—dates below—surrounding one or more topics. 

Dates:

• October 2 (Today)
• October 16
• October 30
• November 13
• November 27

     When fall is mentioned I generally associate it with several things: the cooler weather, Halloween, food, family time, crafts, new book releases, and sweaters.  Except I won't be wearing sweaters until it cools down a little more, but everything else is alright. So what are you doing to fall into the fall season?

Release Day Launch & Giveaway: The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch of Rachel Harris' THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING! THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING is the first book in Rachel's The Fine Art of Pretending Series published by Spencer Hill Contemporary.

Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo | Amazon | Amazon UK | IndieBound

THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING Synopsis

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you're friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.

With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.

But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.


About Rachel Harris

Award-winning and Bestselling author Rachel Harris writes humorous love stories about sassy girls next door and the hot guys that make them swoon. Emotion, vibrant settings, and strong relationships are a staple in each of her books...and kissing. Lots of kissing.

An admitted Diet Mountain Dew addict and homeschool mom, she gets through each day by laughing at herself, hugging her kids, and watching way too much Food Network with her husband. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, and LOVES talking with readers.  

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads | THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING Goodreads

Giveaway

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Musing Mondays (10)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     So I thought I would do something a little different today by talking about how my reviews come together, and a bit about how Our Thoughts Precisely works. First, are the reviews. Of course I have to read the books before I can even get to the review.  Once I've read the book I usually write the review in one sitting, and the length usually depends on how much I have to say about the book.  So the review could be long or short, but not based on if I enjoyed the book or not.  I could love the book, but feel like I can't say much without spoiling everything so the review would be shorter, or I could hate the book and have a lot to say on it.  It also works vice-versa.  Once the draft of the review is done I look over it for possible spoilers that might have made it in.  Once all is said and done, the reviews are posted.

     I review in no particular order, its just sort of random depending on what I do or don't want to read.  If I have review copies from the publisher I make them a priority, meaning they go first, usually.  I post when I want sometimes twice or more a week, sometimes less. It just depends, because balancing blogging with life is an important thing. In other words I've still got other things to do so blogging has fallen into my free time. Promotional post go up on the specified dates so there's nothing much to say on them.  All in all, my posts sometimes tend to be a little sporadic depending on what I'm doing at the time, or if I feel like blogging at all.
 
     Do I have someone working on the design of the blog?  Ha, ha, nope. I work on the design myself, that includes the header, background, the occasional arrows, and rating graphics. Would I considering hiring someone to do it for me?  No again. I like working on things for the blog, specifically the art.  For instance, the previous header I made was nice, but then I noticed something wrong with it later and I decided to scrap it for an entirely new look. With as many times as I want to change things, if I had to hire someone each time I would probably be broke by now.

     So that's it, a brief look into the things that happen behind the scenes at Our Thoughts Precisely.  If given the choice between making your own blog art and hiring someone else to do it, which would you choose?

The Friday 56 (10)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"No way would I mention any of this to Nana and Pops. They'd freak--not that they'd ever show me. For me, they would smile and pretend all was well, never realizing I'd once caught them whispering in their bedroom."--Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

I'm currently reading this one at the moment, and so far its ok.  What's on your page 56 this week?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Rebellion by J.A. Souders

Today J.A. Souders and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover for Rebellion, book 3 in the Elysium Chronicles releasing in June 9, 2015! And don't forget to check out book 1 & book 2 of the series.  Now, check out the gorgeous cover and enter to win the books! Now onto the reveal.

Title: Rebellion
Author: J.A. Souders
Publisher: TOR Teen
Pub. Date: June 9, 2015
Find it: Goodreads

About  The Author 

J.A. SOUDERS is the author of the Elysium Chronicles and lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and two children where she spends her time writing about the monsters under the bed, day dreaming about living in an underwater colony, and failing miserably at playing video games.

Website   Blog   Twitter   Facebook   Goodreads   Pinterest

Alright now onto the giveaway. One winner will receive Elysium & Revelations plus the e-short as well as Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas.. If you have J.A.s books already, she will do an amazon or book depository gift card of the same value. The Giveaway is International, so go forth and enter!

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Happy Release Day: The Fires of Calderon by Lindsay Cummings

Today is the release days for Fires of Calderon (Balance Keepers #1) by Lindsay Cummings! So congrats to Lindsay Cummings on her new release. First, a little about the book. Summary from Goodreads

After following a mysterious map into the woods and then under the woods, eleven-year-old Albert Flynn learns he’s a Balance Keeper—someone with special magical skills for fixing problems in three underground Realms at the Core of the earth. His new job is important; if the realms fall out of balance, the world above could be in great danger.

Albert and his Balance Keeper teammates Birdie and Leroy arrive in the Core not a moment too soon. There’s an Imbalance in the Calderon Realm and it’s threatening to bury Albert’s hometown of New York City in a mountain of ash.

The three must train hard completing mental and physical challenges, but above all, they must harness the power of their Tiles—unique superpowers given to each Balance Keeper. So far, Albert’s mastered the art of not mastering his Tile....

Sounds interesting, right? Links below!   

    Amazon     Barnes & Noble   

Book Depository 

Musing Mondays (9)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     So picking up from last week, I'm going to continue with Part 2 of my book trailers discussions.  First up is the creepiest YA book trailer I've come across so far. And that goes to The Diviners by Libba Bray.  Everything about this book trailer is creepy but it definitely fits with the book. I've read this one, loved it, and definitely recommend it.

And since I couldn't just pick one creepy book trailer, here is the one from Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan  Stroud.

 I haven't read Seraphina by Rachel Hartman but it seems interesting and the trailer is nice.

Alright, moving on. Next are the Nightmares by Jason Segel & Kirsten Miller, there are three of them but I'm only going to post one here. I really love these since I'm a sucker for animated trailers. Link for trailer #1   Link for trailer #2

So that's all for the book trailers. There are plenty more out there but these were just a few of my favorites. Since I already asked about the favorite book trailers last week I'm just going to go for something different.  What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (9)

     The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"He felt a tightening in his chest at the thought of abandoning his plans. But then, could he really join the road patrols with a clear conscience?"--Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne



Whats on your page 56 this week?

Review: Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep

Title:Killer Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: K-Teen, February 25, 2014

Goodreads     Barnes & Noble     Audible     Book Depository

     Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep was an action-packed ending to the Mythos Academy series.  Lately, I've had a hard time finding a new series that I can really get invested in, so I'm really going to miss this one. Estep never fails to deliver an entertaining story with plenty of action and touches of romance expertly intertwined with the mythology the series revolves around.

     All of my favorite characters were back and better than ever, as the final fight is literally just around the corner. Things are as tense as they should be. As everyone is bracing themselves because the Reapers of Chaos are getting bolder with their attacks. Right from page one we're back with Gwen and her friends, but the peace surrounding them doesn't last long as the Reapers are up to no good again. The action starts as a new issue arises, and the fight over the artifacts continues. But Gwen was never alone, she always had her friends—Daphne, Carson, Oliver, Alexi, and her boyfriend Logan—to back her up, along with her adorable Fenrir Wolf puppy, Nyx.  Oh, and not to forget Grandma Frost, Gwen's baking expert, sword wielding grandmother.  The characters went through some changes—hardships and everything else—but it all added up to a great story.

    The final battle—the battle to end all battles—it happened in Killer Frost, but not how I expected it to play out. The plot—all of the anticipation built up by the previous books—just sort of intersected resulting in the final conflict as Gwen and her friends face down Loki himself. It was, and I really can’t put it any other way, one heck of an epic battle that's befitting to a series like Mythos Academy! The ending was perfect and wrapped up the plot points from previous books nicely. So I have to say, Killer Frost is another exciting final book to another great series that finished in 2014. I’m going to miss this one, but since I own all of the books in print I can almost foresee a reread of the entire series sooner rather than later. But hey, I've still got Estep’s upcoming release—Cold Burn of Magic—to look forward to.

Musing Monday (8)

    

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     This is not going to be a short one...oh well, I'm just going to break it down into two parts. So here is part one. With book releases comes book trailers as a way to entice readers into wanting to read an upcoming release. I'm not judging the books based off the trailer, just the trailer itself.  Some of them go with books I've read and some of them no. (I even have a few of them on my shelf that I just haven't read yet.) Ok, so with that out of the way lets get started.  I like book trailers, they're interesting, and some of them pretty much sum up the books in question and serve as a way to pique my interest.  Since this is going to be a cheerful post, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite book trailers that I've come across at various times.  First up is the Leviathan Trilogy trailer for book one Leviathan.  I like the animation and the overall look for it.  And the part at the end always gets me, "Do you oil your war machines? Or do you feed them?" It's just so catchy.

     Ok, now these two are for Gail Carriger's YA novels Etiquette & Espionage and Curtsies & Conspiracies. I adore the whimsical theme of the trailers. The themes are just awesome.

      This next trailer is for one I haven't read but is sitting on my shelf. It's pretty cool, and it does grab my interest. The song is Fly on the Windscreen by Ane Brun & Vince Clarke, which is available on iTunes.

     As Dead As It Gets, I haven't even read any of the books, but just by seeing the trailer I'm interested. Like THIS trailer from From Bad to Cursed or the one from Bad Girls Don't Die.

     So that's all for Part 1, but check back next Monday for Part 2.  I'm also going to reveal which trailer I find to be the creepiest one I've ever seen. So I'll leave all of you with a question: What are some of your favorite book trailers?

The Friday 56 (8)

     The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"A shadow fell over the two of us, and a Black roc dropped down from the sky."    --Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               What's on your page 56 this week?

Musing Mondays (7)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

       Today is truly going to be a random sort of post. Don't worry, it's about books...um, I guess. Anyway, here goes nothing. You just don't know how badly I want it to be October. No, its not because Halloween either, I'm talking about the 1st of October, because that's when Gotham Academy by Karl Kerschl, Brenden Fletcher, and Becky Cloonan comes out. I repeat: I WANT THIS COMIC SO BADLY.
     I mean look at the characters. LOOK
     AT THIS TOO
     THIS
     THIS 
     & THIS
     And I don't normally use caps lock in posts, but this is something I just felt the need to share. So yeah, October 1st. I don't normally talk about comics on Our Thoughts Precisely, but I might, because I am so excited for this.  So, have you guys heard of Gotham Academy?  Do you plan on checking it out? And, what are some of your favorite comics? (If you have any.) Leave your recommendations in the comments.

(*Upcoming: Next week I'm going to start the two part Musing Mondays featuring some of the book trailers I like.)

The Friday 56 (7)

     The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"To Daemon, my arrival was the beginning of the end. The apocalypse. Kat-mageddon."
  --Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout




What's on your page 56 this week?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Fragile Reign by Stacey O'Neale

     Today we're thrilled to help reveal the cover for FRAGILE REIGN (Mortal Enchantment #2) by Stacey O'Neale, which releases November 18, 2014! Check out the cover below, and let us know what you think in the comments. Then be sure to visit the bottom of the post for a giveaway!

 From author Stacey O'Neale about the cover:

In case you're curious about the cover, the model represents Marcus. The background represents the woodland court and the caves at the bottom are where the members of the royal family live. I chose caves because the woodland court protects the forests of the world. I didn't think they would choose to cut down trees to make a castle, so the massive caves worked out nicely. If you zoom in, you can see where the doors and windows are cut out. The inside is very lavish. If you read FRAGILE REIGN, you'll learn all about it.

Summary

     It’s been a week since all hell broke loose… Rumors of King Taron’s weakened powers have left the air court vulnerable. Kalin is desperate to awaken her akasha powers, except she doesn’t know how. Tension within the court is at an all-time high. Pressure is mounting for her to ascend to the throne, but a halfling has never ruled over any court. To solidify her position, the council has advised her to marry Sebastian—a high ranking air elemental she’s never met and her betrothed. Will Kalin sacrifice her relationship with Rowan to strengthen her court? Rowan and Marcus return to a fire court in turmoil. Liana’s death has fueled the fire elementals’ distrust against the air and woodland courts. The unbalanced elements have set off natural disasters all over the mortal world. Rowan takes the throne to restore balance, promising to unite the fire court. But not all elementals are happy with his leadership. Many are secretly loyal to Valac, which means Rowan needs to find allies for his cause. Can Rowan unify the court of fire before the elements destroy the world?

Pre-Order on Amazon

Be sure to add Fragile Reign to your TBR on Goodreads, or pre-order on Amazon! The prequel novella, The Shadow Prince, is currently free on Amazon, and you can also read MORTAL ENCHANTMENT for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

About the Author

Stacey O’Neale lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she’s not writing, she spends her time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and daughter. Her career in publishing started as a blogger-turned-publicist for two successful small publishers. Stacey writes young adult paranormal romance and adult science fiction romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing. Stacey loves hearing from readers. Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Pinterest, and GoodReads. You can also visit her blog at http://staceyoneale.com/.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest 

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     Alright now that all the other stuff is out of the way lets move on to the giveaway.  Below you'll find a rafflecopter widget so you can enter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon or B&N gift card!  Sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, enter away:

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The Friday 56 (6)

     The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"And do not even speak to me of "Jell-O" and "sloppy joes.""--Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey




What's on your page 56 this week?

Musing Mondays (6)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     This week I want to discuss items with bookish themes & book quotes, or just things in general that appeal to readers. Recently I purchased a new sketch book with Oscar Wilde quotes on it, and I have to say that I love it. There are a lot of items out there that are book themed from T-Shirts, to notebooks, and even cases for phones, iPads, Kindles, Nooks, etc. And not to forget tote bags. I actually really like the availability of items with book covers or themes on them.  Bookmarks are always a great thing and I especially like the "Initial It! Bookmark" that I recently picked up from Barnes & Noble. (I got the one with the white cupcake that says "Sweet" on the bottom.)

     So among  the tote bags, bookmarks, notebooks, accessories, etc., what are some of your favorite bookish themed items/things that appeal to readers?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Something About Love by Elana Johnson

     Today on Our Thoughts Precisely we're taking part in Elana Johnson's cover reveal for Something About Love! But first, as a special promo Elevated, Johnson’s first verse novel, will be FREE for five days in September as Something About Love releases! So get your copy of Elevated for free from Monday, September, 15 – Friday, September 19.  Now onto the cover reveal:

About the Book

     High school senior Olivia Winging gave up her love of photography when she gave up her boyfriend, Trevor Youngblood, a year and a half ago. She broke things off with Trevor because her mom married his dad, and dating your step-brother? Creepy.

     Livvy hasn’t been on good terms with her mother since, and one of her stipulations for staying at the

Youngblood’s every other weekend is that Trevor can’t be there. When she gets nominated for the Junior Photography in Excellence award, Trevor insists she enter. She agrees—only if every photo in the portfolio can be of him. Knowing that Livvy can capture a person’s deepest secrets through her lens, Trevor hesitates before accepting the deal.

     As Livvy gets behind the lens of her camera again, her love of photography is rekindled. Unfortunately, the time she spends with Trevor also re-ignites the old flame for him she’s kept smothered for so long.

     In order for Livvy to finish her portfolio, she’ll have to face her feelings for Trevor as well as deal with the animosity between her and her mother. Livvy’s always been able to capture a person’s soul from behind the camera—but she’s not sure she likes it when the lens is suddenly focused on her. If she can’t find a way to forgive her mother and admit how she feels about Trevor, Livvy may end up losing more than just the photography contest. She could lose her heart.

Goodreads     Amazon

Praise for Elana’s Elevated:

     “The taut poetry keeps tension high. The plot is deftly paced, as past intrudes on present, like a photograph emerging in developing fluid.” ~San Francisco Book Review

     “Every word Johnson writes carries an emotional heft that lifts readers up to the highest happiness and then sends them crashing down to the depths of despair. It is easy to flow from the first word to the last without ever putting down the book. Johnson shows outstanding talent in this form, and her words are beautiful, important and deeply felt.” ~The Deseret News

 About the Author 

 Elana Johnson’s work, including Possession, Surrender, Abandon, and Regret, published by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), is available now everywhere books are sold. Her popular ebook, From the Query to the Call, is also available for free download, as well as a Possession short story, Resist. Her self-published novels include two YA contemporary novels-in-verse, Elevated and Something About Love, as well as a YA/NA futuristic fantasy series, which includes Elemental Rush, Elemental Hunger, and Elemental Release.  School teacher by day, Query Ninja by night, you can find her online at her personal blog or Twitter. She also co-founded the Query Tracker blog, and contributes to the League of Extraordinary Writers.

 Website      Twitter     Facebook     Tumblr     Wattpad     League of Extraordinary Writers     WriteOnCon  Elana on Goodreads

Now for the Giveaway! Below you'll find the rafflecopter widget where you can enter for a chance to win $15 worth of Paypal cash. Sounds good right? Well, enter away! 

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The Friday 56 (5)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"Behind us, more lights turned on inside the library, and more shouts and yells cut through the night air."--Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep




What's on your page 56 this week?

Musing Mondays (5)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the Week...

     Multiple points of view can be a good thing.  I personally like to see what's happening through the eyes of more than one character beyond the view of the MC. But, that can also present a bit of a problem especially when the voices sound so similar that the POVs start to blend together, making it difficult to distinguish which character is which.  Sometimes the characters can even introduce more subplots and make the story start to feel a little cluttered, but that's not always the case.  Personally, I prefer to to read multiple POVs in third person.  Some great books/series that contain multiple points of view:

     The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I do enjoy the various points of view throughout all of the current books. (Cinder, Scarlet, & Cress.)

     Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane, with the different POVs from the crystal children and the slightly-insane-although-they-think-they're-sane scientist of the Believers. (I haven't reviewed this one yet.)

     Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, with the views from the different memebers of the crew, especially Vin herself.

     The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys, a girl named Blue, shenanigans...you get it.

    Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I especially like how this series was done, with points of view from the Clanker side of the war and the Darwinist side. The blatant differences between the beliefs of the two sides was interesting to watch unfold as the two main characters interacted with one another.

     Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor...there's just so much to like about this series. But the varying points of view make the story that much wider, giving a look into the different sides of the war.

     I'm sure there are plenty of other great books out there that I missed that have multiple points of view.  I either haven't read them or just forgot about them.  But what about you guys, how do you feel about multiple points of view?  Or, what are some of your favorite reads with multiple POVs?

Review: Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe

Title: Foundations in Comic Book Art: SCAD Creative Essentials(Click title for synopsis)
Author: John Paul Lowe
Source/Format: Publisher, Review Copy
Age Range: Um, this is an educational book
Publisher/ Publication Date: Watson-Guptill, August 12, 2014

Goodreads     Barnes & Noble    Random House

My Thoughts:

     Foundations in Comic Book Art by John Paul Lowe was an interesting book with plenty of tips and tricks to help artist working on developing their own technique. There were easy examples to follow with exercises to help with drawing straighter lines and so on. If you're just starting out with comic book art and don't really know much about the craft then I think this book would be a good beginners guide, as it goes over some basic techniques and essentials that you need. The book had great explanations on the proper use and cleaning of brushes and nibs as well as recommendations on paper types that work best with each drawing utensil. It also offers great explanations for what to do with ink when its dried out after being left open, working with thicker inks, as well as handy tips for creating certain effects such as splatter marks on a page—and how to judge if paint brushes are good or not. Lowe presents the information in an easy to understand manner, so I will definitely keep Foundations in Comic Book Art on my shelf for future reference.

I received this book from Blogging For Books for this review, thank you!

The Friday 56 (4)

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

"The faintest of smiles touched Peony's lips. She raised a hand and waved with only her fingers."-Cinder by Marissa Meyer




What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: Courting Magic by Stephanie Burgis

Title:Courting Magic

Author: Stephanie Burgis

Source/Format: Review Copy, Ebook

Age Range: YA

Publisher/Publication Date: Five Fathom's Press, August 12, 2014

Goodreads    Amazon     Kobo     Smashwords     iBooks

Summary from Goodreads
    In Kat Stephenson's Regency England, magic is even more shocking than a stolen kiss. But now that she's eighteen, it's time for wild and magical Kat to be introduced to high society by her older sisters, whether she likes it or not...and to finally have a romance of her own! Read More Here

     Magical mayhem, humor, with the right amount of mystery and a touch of romance—Courting Magic by Stephanie Burgis had it all, and it worked perfectly. Even though it was a novella, I found Courting Magic to be highly entertaining with a well executed plot, and I was more than happy to return to the Kat, Incorrigible world. Kat was back at it again with more crazy antics, but this time she was on a specific mission while also being introduced into "Society." Needless to say, her family was slightly overbearing but meant well in their attempts to help her find a husband. I loved the way things unfolded. The mystery aspect was done well and I was left to wonder who was behind it, and when the culprit was revealed it turned out to be someone I never expected.  I was stunned, nearly speechless, it was a really good plot twist. The ending was absolutely perfect, loved it—that's all I've got to say on it. For anyone who's read any of the Kat, Incorrigible books you're going to need to read this one for sure. Or if you're anyone just looking for a quick read definitely consider checking out Courting Magic.

This Review Copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

About the Author

Stephanie Burgis was born in Michigan, but now lives in Wales with her husband, writer Patrick Samphire, and their children. Before becoming a fulltime writer, she studied music history as a Fulbright Scholar in Vienna, Austria and worked as a website editor for a British opera company. She has published over thirty short stories for adults. Kat, Incorrigible (US)/A Most Improper Magick (UK) won the Waverton Good Read Children's Award in 2011 for Best Début Children's Novel by a British writer. It was followed by Renegade Magic/A Tangle of Magicks) and Stolen Magic/A Reckless Magick. And don't forget to visit Stephanie Burgis on:

Twitter     Website     

Musing Mondays (4)

     Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading, that asks you to muse about one of the following each week:
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings for the week...

So this week for Musing Mondays I'm talking about a book I'm desperate to get my hands on since I want to keep it short today.  As you can tell by the picture to the left the book I'm waiting for is Fairest by Marissa Meyer! I mean, come on, it's a novel about Levana's back story, maybe we'll finally get some answers surrounding the evil queen. Who doesn't want that?

Well that's all for today, but what books are you desperately waiting for?

Updates

    It appears to be that time again, Our Thoughts Precisely is receiving a bit of an update. (Just a new background & header, nothing big.) I wanted to go for something a little brighter this time. So, after 1 & 1/2 days of coming up with a concept and working on it until I liked it enough to consider it for a new header, here it is!!!