The Friday 56 (13)

     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

""Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
"No, I give up," Alice replied.  "What's the answer?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.
"Nor I," said the March Hare."--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
     I have to say that I do love this edition from Barnes & Noble, and this quote is actually from page 71, but I like it.  Anyway, what's on your page 56 this week?

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Today, I'm happy to take part in the cover reveal for Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott!  Check out the cover below, but don't forget to stick around  till the end of the post for a giveaway. Alright then, scroll down:

Tada, the cover.  I like this cover, especially the mountains, and it matches with the new paperback cover.

You can Preorder now on

Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Goodreads  

And not to forget the new cover for the paperback version of Fire & Flood! I like this one a lot.

Barnes & Noble     Goodreads     Amazon

Don't forget to visit Victoria Scott

Website    Goodreads     Twitter









Wait, before you go don't forget about the giveaway. Below you can enter for a chance to win a signed Salt & Stone galley, Landry Park galley, Vendetta galley, signed paperback For Darkness Shows the Stars, Everything Leads To You galley, Breaking Butterflies hardcover, or signed Fire & Flood Swag.  Whew, that's a lot of prizes up for grabs!  It's an awesome giveaway, right?  Well, go forth and enter.

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Review: Double Vision: The Alias Men by F.T. Bradley

Title:Double Vision: The Alias Men
Author: F.T. Bradley
Source/Format: Author, Hardcover
Age Range: Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: HarperCollins, October 14, 2014

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository 

     Double Vision: The Alias Men by F.T. Bradley is probably one of the best spy novels I’ve read, and easily one of my favorite books this year. Linc was back again for another adventure centered on the latest mission Pandora has assigned him. There was no lack of danger and suspense as they worked against a tight deadline that had me flipping the pages as fast as I could read them.

     Lincoln Baker (Linc) was back to his old antics, getting into some trouble, but mostly he had grown as a character across the trilogy. Benjamin Green (Ben) was back as well and as usual he was stiff and all about following the rules. Sometimes he was too in-the-box, rather than thinking outside of it. But having both Linc and Ben interact with one another is a part of what makes the Double Vision series great. I mean, how would you feel if you had to deal with a lookalike? Oh, and Henry, the tech guy was back. I love Henry and his gadgets! As always, Henry had an assortment of cool and useful gadgets for Linc to use. And Agent Stark, I liked how more of her past was finally revealed. Linc’s family was great as well—especially the grandfather.

     The plot begins as they all do: with Pandora contacting Linc with a new mission. So really, this book picked up right where the last left off. It seemed so straight forward at first—so easy—but alas that was not to be. Things weren’t easy for Linc—this Dangerous Double case was a complicated one. There were all sorts of twists that had me believing that I knew who the culprit was, but the ending was unpredictable—my assumptions were wrong. I like it when books surprise me, and Double Vision: The Alias Men had no shortage of surprises. There was an equal mix of action, humor, and a well-developed plot that kept me reading till the end. My only wish is that I hadn’t read it so quickly. I love this series and I’m sad to see it end, but the ending was awesome and wrapped things up nicely. All in all, this was a fantastic end to the trilogy.

This copy was provided by the author for review, thank you!
Read a preview below:

Falling into Fall {#3}

     This one is going to be sort of short.  Anyway, welcome to the third post for Falling into Fall.  This time I'm going to briefly discuss movies.  Part of what I do during fall is watch certain reruns of movies/TV shows that I will always love.  One of them would be Hocus Pocus, it's one of my all time favorite witch movies, and I watch it at least once a year.  Another one is The Nightmare before Christmas.  I always like the whimsical style of Tim Burton's animated films.  So it shouldn't be hard to guess that another one of my favorite movies is The Corpse Bride. I really like the story of that one, and the animation. (I'm I sucker for animated things.) Here's a classic one...or two: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown & A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. I will always like the Charlie Brown specials, because...well just because.  And Casper (1995), I love this movie, end of discussion.

     As you can see, I tend to like festive movies and TV shows, especially the ones that come on every year. Well that's basically it, but check back Thursday November 13 for the next Falling into Fall post. Question: What are some of your favorite fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving movies/TV shows?

*All post links can be found on the Features Page

 
   

Falling into Fall {Extras}

     The Falling into Fall Extras edition. Dun, dun, dun.  No, actually its just a post I'll occasionally put up between other Falling into Fall dates. Where things that didn't make it into the main post or were just overlooked end up.  Since the last post was all about food here are two more recipes I forgot about. So here they are:

Parmesan Potato Wedges @ Tablespoon, Recipe by Girl Who Ate Everything Seriously, this is my favorite recipe for oven baked fries.  I had these yesterday and they were delicious. I highly recommend this recipe & its supper simple.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars @Averie Cooks I love this recipe, its another easy one to make, and equally delicious.

Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts Trail Mix @Averie Cooks While I don't make the entire trail mix, I certainly used the candied nut recipe.

     So that's basically it. Don't forget to check back this Thursday for the next Falling into Fall post!

Review: Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane

Title: Crystal Fire
Author: Jordan Dane
Source/Formate: won, paperback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, November 26, 2013

Amazon      Barnes & Noble     Goodreads     Audible     Book Depository

     I had reservations about Crystal Fire by Jordan Dane since I was unfamiliar with the author. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed this book, and would consider picking up its predecessor Indigo Awakening. The concept of the story was fascinating with its take on psychics, and paired with writing that flowed nicely with a good pace. Crystal Fire ended up being a quick read. As I said, the writing—third person—had a nice flow to it with descriptions that helped me visualize the setting and major events. The characters were developed with backstories that shaped who they were.  With plausible worries, and emotions that made them seem more real. Their bonds with one another played out in a spectacular fashion that only served to enhance the story. One part that I found hilarious was the way the main characters decided to deal with one of the villains, and for some reason I just couldn’t stop laughing at it—it was so sudden that it was almost ridiculous. It was one of the most…um colorful endings to a villain that I’ve ever read. I’m not going to specify on what happened exactly, but it was funny. Since I’m unfamiliar with the series I was left wondering how certain things and characters got to where they were. But the story was easy to get into once I got past my initial confusion as more details were revealed over the course of the book. The plot and the concept were well-developed with a satisfying ending. All in all, Crystal Fire surprised me in a good way, and I will definitely check out other works by Jordan Dane.

Falling into Fall {#2}

     Welcome to the second Falling into Fall post. Food, that’s right, I’m here to talk about food today which has nothing at all to do with books. Unless, of course, I was talking about cookbooks which I’m not so they don’t really apply. Anyway I’m just going to move on. One of my main goals this year is to make more candy/desserts/food. I’ve seen plenty of recipes floating around with simple explanations on how to make some of my favorite treats/dishes. I’m going to leave a few links so if you want to try some of them as well.

Homemade Reeses Peanut Butter Cups @Lauras Sweet Spot This is a different recipe than what I used last time.  But I have made peanut butter cups before, and they were delicious. So I want to try them again with this recipe.

Homemade Butterfinger Eggs (only 3-ingredients) @Raining Hot Coupons   This is just one of the many recipes I really want to make.

Homemade Twix Bars @And They Cooked Happily Ever After There are just so many things I want to make, and this is another one of them.

Chocolate covered pretzels…does this one really need a recipe? I think it’s pretty straight forward.

Dark Chocolate Nutella Brownies @ CookiesCakesPiesOhMy  This is the typical recipe I use for brownies, the texture is always good, and I’ve used it multiple times with different swrils—i.e. Nutella, peanut butter…sometimes both. I’ve also doubled the recipe to make a larger pan (Also had to cook it a little longer) and used just normal cocoa powder instead of dark chocolate.

French Bread Rolls to Die for Posted @Allrecipes.com by JOCATLIN Oh gosh, what should I even say about these easy French rolls?  Well for one, forget buying them, this recipe is awesome. And yes, I’ve tried these before and they were marvelous.

Cranberry Shortbread Bars @ Joy of Baking I have made this with canned cranberry sauce—shortcut—with jellied and at another time with whole berry. Both turned out to be delicious and I look forward to making this again.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chicken Chili @The Girl Who Ate Everything  CHICKEN QUINOA CHILI, that’s all I’ve got to say on it. I haven't tried it, but it looks delicious.

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili @True Life Kitchen I’ve had this one before and let me just say that it was delicious and I want more. With the colder weather coming this is the perfect dish.

Cheerio Muddy Buddies a.k.a. Puppy Chow @This Little Light Blog Actually, I tried this one just this morning and it was awesome—and I had to include the link on this post—so if you like Muddy Buddies then I definitely recommend trying this recipe.

    Out of all of those links I have yet to mention anything pumpkin...oops. Well here's one...ok two before I wrap up this post. Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake @Sally's Baking Addiction & Pumpkin Waffles @Kitchen Meets Girl So that's all, check back on October 30 for the next Falling into Fall post. Question: what are some of your favorite fall desserts/dishes?

Congratulations: Stacey O'Neale + Giveaway

Congratulations Stacey O'Neale! I'm excited to announce that she won three Howey Awards at IndieReCon Live!

List of awards:

• Best Young Adult Book for Mortal Enchantment
• Best Book Boyfriend for Rowan
• Most Breathtaking Kiss for Rowan and Kalin in Mortal Enchantment 

From Stacey O'Neale:

"These awards mean a lot to me because they were voted on by readers. They said they got over 28,000 votes and over 300 novels were nominated. Thank you so much to anyone who voted for my books or characters. It really touches my heart to know that people out there enjoy what I do. You can see the full list on winners HERE."

If you haven't read the series, The Shadow Prince is available for FREE on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Now the giveaway.  To celebrate on her wins, Stacey O'Neale is giving away 1 $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card PLUS Five additional winners will get signed copies of her entire Mortal Enchantment series, which includes Fragile Reign. Sounds awesome, right? So stop reading this and just enter!

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The Friday 56 (12)

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

"Suddenly two eyes seemed to spring at them out of the darkness; it was the moonlight striking on Mrs Who's glasses."--A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle


What's on your page 56 this week?

Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

Title: Alice in Zombieland
Author: Gena Showalter
Source/ Format: freebie, iTunes ebook edition
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Harlequin Teen, September 25, 2012

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble

     Alice in Zombieland, yeah, I don’t know where to begin with this one. It wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm not sure if that was such a good thing. I finished this book over the weekend and it took me a few days to sort out my feelings on it. For the longest time—I couldn't decide on how I wanted to rate this book. I wrestled over the choice between 3 or 2.5 stars. Because Alice in Zombieland was by far, not the worst book I've read, but I didn't love it either. It was in this sort of weird place between average and below for me.

     What I liked about the book was the zombies, they were different, and I did enjoy the storyline surrounding them. Actually, the story wasn’t half bad. It was ok. The writing was also just ok and I don’t really have much to say on it. What I didn't like so much were the characters. Alice…*sigh*. Seriously, I get that she was hurting and grieving in her own way, but some of her choices weren’t that smart. I know that she was put into some situations that were out of her control, but I just didn't like her much. She almost seemed to be a typical YA heroine. Now Cole, he was the typical YA bad boy with a chip on his shoulder and a secret compassionate side. Did I enjoy reading about some of his actions? No.

    Alright, so I admit that I might have judged this series based off its titles. So I was expecting a little more Alice in Wonderland vibe than what I really got. It was a zombie book—I don’t really have any other way to describe it. So while I had high expectation for this book, in the end I was left feeling indifferent. So I’m going to give this a 2.5. That’s all.

Musing Mondays (11)

     

     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...

Since I want to keep it short today, this week I'm sharing another book I'm waiting for: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep. After reading the final book in the Mythos Academy series I have to say that I'm really looking forward to this one.


Question: what books are you desperately waiting for?

On Sale: Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale

Starting from October 6th to the 13th, Stacey O'Neale's Mortal Enchantment will be on sale for $0.99! Get it while the sale is still going.  Click HERE for $0.99 Kindle Deal!

And don't forget, the prequel novella, The Shadow Prince is still free!

                                           Summary

Sixteen-year-old Rowan has spent most of his life living among the mortals—learning to control the element of fire, impatiently awaiting the day his vengeful mother, Queen Prisma, will abdicate her throne. When he finally returns to Avalon for his coronation, his mother insists he must first prove his loyalty to the court by completing a secret mission: Kill Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental daughter of the air court king.

Willing to do anything to remove his mother from power, he agrees to sacrifice the halfling. He returns to the mortal world with his best friend, Marcus, determined to kill the princess. But as he devises a plan, he starts to question whether or not he's capable of completing such a heinous task. And what price he will pay if he refuses?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Friday 56 (11)

     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

"They worked in tandem, deflecting attacks, dispatching foes, and pivoting to lend each other assistance."--Spirit Animals Book 1: Wild Born by Brandon Mull


After Alice in Zombieland I decided to read something different. I'm in the middle of this one, and so far it has an interesting concept. What are you reading this week?

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.)