Top Ten Tuesday #41

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

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Featured Freebie: The Last Enchantress

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The Last Enchantress 

by Scott and Judith Powell

YA Paranormal Fantasy

SYNOPSIS

Being nineteen for over three hundred years bites, and being single in New York with magical powers isn't much better. 

Eva is trying to live an everyday life in New York. When this fails, she takes a seemingly unmagical job as a translator for a wealthy American family in Spain. Eva cannot stay out of trouble for long as she runs into a friendly but hungry vampire named Louis. Eva feels drawn to this handsome, dangerous stranger who has problems of his own. 

Louis's life was just fine until Eva walked into his church. She smells like heaven. Or is it hell, always smelling but never partaking? Surely she is the devil coming to collect on his lost soul.

|Goodreads| |Amazon|

Book Blogger Hop (Dec 12 - 18)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is: 

How many books do you read in a week? 

How many hours a day do you spend reading?

If I had been asked this last year, I would have had a completely different answer. Even then it depended on the day and I might have read for an hour or two on no set schedule throughout the day. 

But this year is different. Much different. 

With a newborn, I have little to no time to read. I do try to read to my daughter every day, if only just a few pages of whatever I'm reading for me or a short quick picture book from the little library I've accumulated for her. 

I also now have a cheap tablet to read on which means if I'm awake in the middle of the night I'll read for a little while. In the past, I couldn't turn on a light to read without the risk of waking up the hubby. This newborn business is all very new to me, though, so I don't know how long it will all last. I could be up all night with the baby or passed out from exhaustion. For now, it's looking to be maybe a half hour tops of reading per day, though. 

Book Blast & Giveaway: Tears For A World

Tears for a World by Alexander Fernandez 

The holy artifact bonded around Marisylia Malludar's neck gives her incredible physical and magical powers—at a price. The bloody piece of vein is consuming Marisylia's body inch by inch, her skeletal hands and feet only the beginning of a slow death. A cruel sorceress and her assassins are on the hunt for Marisylia to steal the artifact. Religious fanatics, volatile and unstable in their blind faith, also seek her to exploit the vein’s most dangerous purpose—liberating the erratic Creator of the World, Lysielle, from her 1,000 year incarceration. With the vein the key to Lysielle’s freedom, Marisylia must use her abilities to survive long enough to find Lysielle first. Then her most grim challenge awaits—deciding if the Creator has truly repented for attempting to destroy all life. To achieve global peace, Marisylia must discover faith in the unpredictable Lysielle or rely on her own instincts to set the world’s fate.

Amazon

  Excerpt:

Marisylia blinked and rubbed milk out of her eyes, but the mob wasn’t finished. A stiff hand shoved her from behind and she stumbled against the table. Unfinished slices of pie and rolls of bread pelted her. With nowhere to hide, she dove into the horde and tried to shove her way out. Most of the people only yelled insults as they let her pass. Others bumped her roughly with their shoulders, tried to trip her, or pushed her around so she bounced back and forth between pairs of hands. One woman caught Marisylia and carefully steadied her. She peered into the woman’s eyes, one friendly person amid the riled swarm. The lady smiled softly, then suddenly spit into Marisylia’s face. When the saliva splattered her cheek, Marisylia stopped caring why the citizens acted like this. Whether due to fear of the religious power, worry that it would infest Three Fingers, or simply senseless anger, none of it mattered anymore since the time to quit had arrived. All of her determination to succeed had been ripped to shreds by the crowd. Each hand that shoved, every object that struck, drained her enthusiasm. Her devotion to the religion had drowned in the woman’s spit. It was all too much. Marisylia didn’t have Milick’s iron skin or Shri Lilyn’s boldness. She had nothing, only the desire to run away and forget everything. 

Praise:

"This is a fantastic story, and the various characters will blow you away. It's one of the best reads I've had in a long while." ~ Author Trana M. Simmons 

   

Author Alexander Fernandez

Alexander Fernandez was born in Santa Monica, CA and grew up in Rancho Cucamonga. Currently serving over 20 years in the United States Air Force, he lives with his wife Helem in Rocklin, CA. Alex has been writing fantasy stories since early childhood for both school and for pleasure. He hopes to make a lasting emotional impact in his readers. He thrives in the exhilaration of creating memorable characters and adventures that become a part of the reader’s life.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

 Ends 12/31/14 

 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. 

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Revisiting 2014 - Goals/Resolutions

I've already started my 2015 Resolutions/Goals list (a few months ago, to be honest) and wanted to revisit this past year's goals and see how I did with them. 

Disclaimer: I had 3 months of morning sickness that didn't even allow me to read Facebook messages let alone a book and the rest of the year was busy, busy, busy. A big chunk of my year seems to have disappeared so I did really bad on my goals! 

Let's revisit THIS Top Ten Tuesday and see how I did with those resolutions! 

1. Read 100 books

2. Read more classics

3. Read more children's books

4. Read at least 5 books from the 1000 Books To Read Before You Die list

5.  Read at least 5 banned or challenged books

6. Do the 26 book ABC Challenge

7. Dothe Book Genre Challenge

8. Take more pictures of books

9. Read all the books that are being turned into movies

10. Write more of my own book

1. Read 100 Books

Nope. Didn't happen. I cut my Goodreads goal back to 50 books and I'm currently only 2 books away from that goal. So not too bad, but I read a lot of children's books this year.

2. Read more classics

A big fail. I think I read 2-3 classics which, compared to previous years, is nothing. 

3. Read more children's books

Yay! Something I did accomplish! I read at least 20 children's books this year. Wasn't hard since I decided to read aloud to my baby girl in utero! 

4. Read at least 5 books from the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die List

Another fail. I read 2 and am currently reading 2. 

5. Read at least 5 banned or challenged books

Yay! I did read 5! Beloved, Blood and Chocolate, Child Of God, Tiger Eyes, and I re-read The Giver! 

6. Do the 26 book ABC Challenge

I did participate and keep track of this challenge but I did not read a book for each letter of the alphabet. So... fail. 

7. Do the Book Genre Challenge

This was a pretty big fail. I only participated in one month in which I coincidentally read a fairytale retelling (Cinder).

8. Take more pictures of books

I love photography but I really slacked off on this goal. 

9. Read all the books that are being turned into movies

ALL? That would take forever! I did read 13 books that were or would be adapted into movies and the 2 books I am currently reading are also adaptations. 

10. Write more of my own book

Biggest fail of all. I don't think I wrote a single sentence all year. :(

Here is a bigger list of goals and specific books that I wanted to read that I have gone back and crossed out if I got around to them. 

So, yeah, it wasn't the greatest year and I'll probably have even less time for any of these next year but it won't stop me from having outrageous goals or making lists! 

Top Ten Tuesday #40

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors That I Read In 2014

Marissa Meyer

David Mitchell

Holly Black 

Jessica Day George

James Dashner 

Catherynne M. Valente

Toni Morrison

Mitch Albom

Annette Curtis Klause

I guess 9 will have to do!

Book Blast & Giveaway: EPIC (14 Books of Fantasy)

Epic: Fourteen Books Of Fantasy 

For a limited time only! 

 The freshest voices in fantasy bring you fifteen New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors. With fourteen stories and over one million words of captivating fiction, this epic fantasy set will keep you entranced. Delve into worlds where adventurers discover forgotten lands of wonder and fight ancient evil. Worlds where dragons soar, where heroes and heroines wield sword and magic to answer adventure's call. Get one of the largest bundles of page-turning epic fantasy today…before it’s gone!  

Pre-order your copy NOW!

Amazon

Terah Edun - Blades Of Magic

As an unstoppable war breaks out, a young girl enlists to find out the secrets that everyone is trying to hide.

Daniel Arenson - A Legacy of Light

War rages in Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings, breathe fire, and rise as dragons.

Megg Jensen - Anathema

A young slave girl discovers a world of magic she never knew existed and must face her enemies as prophecy unravels.

Jeff Gunzel - Land Of Shadows

A young blacksmith, born into a simple life, watches helplessly as the world he knew crumbles before his eyes.

C. Greenwood - Mistress of Masks

When an ancient evil stirs in Earth Realm, a group of unlikely heroes must find a way to stop the wave of darkness that is devouring their land.

Dima Zales & Anna Zaires - The Sorcery Code

Blaise's magical creation is not an object of sorcery, but rather a beautiful woman who's unlike anything their world has ever seen.

Annie Bellet - Witch Hunt

A cursed elven archer and her ragtag group of adventuring friends battle witches to stop a deadly plague and save a small village.

David Adams - Ren Of Atikala

Humanity is found in the inhuman when a "monster" is forced out of her home and into the world of elves, humans, and dragons.

Joseph Lallo - Jade

A little girl, selected as a sacrifice to end a mighty dragon's reign of terror, instead finds both the protection and the family she so badly needs.

K.J. Colt - Concealed Power

Adenine has been quarantined for being the last carrier of a plague that killed thousands, but when trouble strikes, she is forced to leave her sanctuary and enter a world full of secrets, enemies, and plots.

Lindsay Buroker - Encrypted

After being kidnapped, linguist and code-cracker Tikaya Komitopis must work with her people's greatest enemy to stop an ancient evil that threatens the entire world.

Mande Matthews - Bonded

Two children--one a born leader and the other a born servant--are bonded across worlds as Soul Warriors, but they must discover the secrets of their past if they hope to overcome the darkness that threatens their future.

Brian Anderson - Starfinder

Lee Starfinder embarks on his first adventure with a sword at his side and confidence in his heart, but he will soon discover that the perils of the world are far stranger than he had ever imagined.

Ed Robertson - White Tree

A young man is obsessed with mastering death magic, but his studies make him the key to resisting a powerful god--as well as the intended prey of the god's dark acolytes. 

 

  

Book Blast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

 Ends 12/22/14 

 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. 

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway