Friendly Friday #10 - SUPER BUSY

Dec 28, 2018

Hello Rustic Beauties!


Sorry I did not have a post up this morning. This week has been super busy for me. We have had a girl on vacation at work and I am doing her work and my work plus this is a short week due to the Holidays, so I have been extremely busy.


The sad thing is, I have done NO reading over the holidays. I am still on the same current reads I was on last Friday. You can check out that read below on this page if you want to see the last books I was on.


I hope you have beat your Goodreads challenge this year. I am so happy with the fact that I have read 53 out of my 50 I set. I exceeded it by 3 so I am happy with that, but I am in the process of making a 2019 reading challenge, which is above now, for easy access. I will get this updated and try to keep it updated through out the year. I want to branch out and read several new series and some that I keep raves about. I strongly want to up my website and give your greater content next year and my big goal is also to start my Youtube channel. I have finally got my tripod and my camera, but now I need to get my lights and get my area set up. I am a bit nervous. I used to use my account for unboxings but I was not really into it and my channel was boring to me and I was just not happy with the content. I want to start vlogging, not just book vlogging, but also daily vlogging but include my reading in my vlogs. I really hope I can get my self together this year and perform for you guys. I am excited to really branch out and meet new people in the next year and join in some fun read alongs as well.


Until next time guys!!


Love ya!
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Friendly Friday #9 - Stay Well

Dec 21, 2018

Hello Rustic Beauties!


This is just a quick stop by to say, stay well during the upcoming holidays. I have been fighting a head cold and it has pulled me down.


I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday weekend and I will see you next week after all the craziness of the Holiday is over. I know I will not be able to be on between all the cooking, putting the tree up, wrapping gifts, and going to several families. I also have my work Christmas dinner and church dinner so I will be extremely busy the next few days.


I know this is not much but I wanted to make sure I stopped by to wish you all a Happy Holiday and hope you all stay well.


I will leave you with my currents reads. I have several going on right now so I will need to get all caught up on them.



Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazines iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge. Full-color illustrations throughout.


Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.
 
 
The sequel to VICIOUS, V.E. Schwab's first adult novel.

Sydney once had Serena—beloved sister, betrayed enemy, powerful ally. But now she is alone, except for her thrice-dead dog, Dol, and then there's Victor, who thinks Sydney doesn't know about his most recent act of vengeance.

Victor himself is under the radar these days—being buried and re-animated can strike concern even if one has superhuman powers. But despite his own worries, his anger remains. And Eli Ever still has yet to pay for the evil he has done.




***Thank you to the publishing company MacMillan for sending me this for review***

Twenty-six years ago Hannah had her eye shot out. Now she wants justice. But is she blind to the truth?

Christopher J. Yates’s cult hit Black Chalk introduced that rare writerly talent: a literary writer who could write a plot with the intricacy of a brilliant mental puzzle, and with characters so absorbing that readers are immediately gripped. Yates’s new book does not disappoint. Grist Mill Road is a dark, twisted, and expertly plotted Rashomon-style tale.

The year is 1982; the setting, an Edenic hamlet some ninety miles north of New York City. There, among the craggy rock cliffs and glacial ponds of timeworn mountains, three friends—Patrick, Matthew, and Hannah—are bound together by a terrible and seemingly senseless crime. Twenty-six years later, in New York City, living lives their younger selves never could have predicted, the three meet again—with even more devastating results.



Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspectres, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspectres head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn't sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world. Cassidy's powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.





Until Next Time, Love you guys!



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Dragons & Tea Book Club Announcement & January Pick!

Dec 14, 2018

dragons & tea

This was taken from Meltotheany's page. I have decided to join this buddy read and I am super excited, so I hope you join as well. See information below that was posted on her blog.


From Mel: Hello, friends! I know we’ve hinted a few times on social medial, but it is finally time to make an official announcement: Me and Amy are hosting a book club together in 2019! We are really going to focus on marginalized voices, preferably ownvoices, and boosting marginalized books! And we would be so honored if you all joined us in this new endeavor, and we are so very excited!
Moving forward in 2019, we will announce the book pick on the 15th of each month prior to the actual reading month! (Example: We will announce the February book on January 15th!)
And we hope that you all will join us in our Goodreads Group, too!



But we also will be celebrating and talking with you all on Twitter and Instagram using the (hashtag) #DragonsAndTeaBookClub!

But without further ado, our January pick is:



➽ The Dates & Breakdown:
January 1st – Pages 1 – 59
January 2nd – (The River) Pages 60 – 109
January 3rd – (The Wicker King) Pages 110 – 173
January 4th – (Burn) Pages 174 – 237
January 5th – (Flash) Pages 238 – End!

Content and Trigger Warnings for:
abuse, neglect, mental-illness (Jack has a degenerative hallucinatory disorder), codependency, anxiety, panic attacks, violence, use of ableist words like cr*zy.
(From Alienor’s amazing review!)

Mel and Amy both hope that you start the new year off with them, because they would be so very honored! And we can’t wait to read alongside with you all for all of 2019!
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Friendly Friday #8 - KU Free audiobook recommendation

Hello Rustic Beauties!


I love Kindle Unlimited. If you are a member of KU, you will know that you can check out 10 audiobooks for free at a time, that are included in the KU plan. If you see this symbol  then you can listen for free.


Here are some great listens that I have pulled off of the KU free audiobooks. You can listen to as many as you want in a month but can only check out 10 at a time. So, if you check out 10 and then listen to one and finish it and remove it, you can then check out another one giving you 10 audiobooks again.


Here is a link you can go too that will help you to find hundreds of free listens if you are signed up for KU. Amazon KU books with audio.


Sometimes this is the a way to get some great listens in. I know some people do not enjoy Indi authors but I think you are missing out just because you don't wont give them a try. They have stories to tell also and just don't have the means to go through publishing companies and then sometimes the publishing company can turn them down but if they self publish, then we still get the story.


Give some of these a try and you will find out that there are still so many books to experience.


https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B002MQYOFW/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544719329&sr=1-3&keywords=hunger+games https://www.amazon.com/Unborn-Amber-Lynn-Natusch-ebook/dp/B00IAYG688/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544719282&sr=1-1&keywords=unborn+amber

https://www.amazon.com/Angelfall-Penryn-End-Days-Book-ebook/dp/B008ELHBAO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544719223&sr=1-1&keywords=angelfall+susan+ee https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B27GAC2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch 
Born into mystery. Shackled to darkness…
Khara has spent centuries discovering everything about the Underworld―except her place in it. But when she’s ripped from her home, solving the riddle of her origins becomes more important than ever. With evil stalking her through the dark alleys of Detroit, she finds salvation from an unlikely source: a group of immortal warriors sworn to protect the city. Khara needs their help to unravel the tangled secrets of who and what she is—secrets many seem willing to kill for. But time is running out, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer necessity binds her to an arrogant fallen angel.
Can their shaky alliance withstand that which threatens her, or will her soul fall victim to the unholy forces that hunt her―those that seek the Unborn?

Angelfall by Susan Ee


It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Hidden Wings by Cameo Renae


What happens when Darkness and Light collide?

Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise.
As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm, and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.

Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.

A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously, captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.

Bonus Material: Hidden Wings Inspired Poem by Amber McCallister.


https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Scarlet-Sky-Mark-Sullivan-ebook/dp/B01L1CEZ6K/ref=lp_9630682011_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720595&sr=1-7 https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Wire-Cirque-American-Gwenda-ebook/dp/B00H9JRUWG/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720555&sr=1-2&keywords=girl+on+wire https://www.amazon.com/Am-Watching-You-Teresa-Driscoll-ebook/dp/B06Y1264PX/ref=lp_9630682011_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720595&sr=1-15

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Loon-Novel-Susan-Bernhard-ebook/dp/B07BDKJVWS/ref=lp_9630682011_1_9?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720595&sr=1-9 https://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Ring-Being-First-Rings-ebook/dp/B007978NPG/ref=sr_1_34?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720755&sr=1-34 https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Glass-Harbinger-Book-1-ebook/dp/B077D62HN7/ref=sr_1_44?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720755&sr=1-44

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013UVNZ2K/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvpv2_2?pf_rd_p=6375e697-f226-4dbd-a63a-5ec697811ee1&pd_rd_wg=Xi5Xd&pf_rd_r=JS5W3177RPX8M68FHC59&pd_rd_i=B013UVNZ2K&pd_rd_w=TqZzG&pd_rd_r=73fa5e47-f450-4f32-81e7-9eeb74ea6555&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720755&sr=2 https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien-ebook/dp/B0079KT81G/ref=sr_1_32?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544720705&sr=1-32 https://www.amazon.com/Stillhouse-Lake-Rachel-Caine-ebook/dp/B01MFGX5GI/ref=sr_1_66?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721157&sr=1-66

https://www.amazon.com/CyberStorm-Matthew-Mather-ebook/dp/B00BT4QRHG/ref=sr_1_78?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721157&sr=1-78 https://www.amazon.com/Claiming-Grace-Ace-Security-Book-ebook/dp/B01KNV4AZQ/ref=sr_1_84?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721176&sr=1-84

https://www.amazon.com/Halfway-Dead-Witchy-Book-ebook/dp/B010MZ24LA/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721472&sr=1-2&keywords=halfway+dead https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Bone-Secrets-Novel-Book-ebook/dp/B007BSFWIY/ref=sr_1_86?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721176&sr=1-86 https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Forest-Rebecca-Boxall-ebook/dp/B07FSMCTFH/ref=sr_1_83?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544721176&sr=1-83
Guys I could post so many great books here! but if you will just check it out for yourself, you will highly enjoy the audible section of the KU department.

If you would like for me to post just a certain genre in the unlimited KU audiobook section, let me know and I will gather that information for you!

Until next time!
Love ya!

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Review: Warm Up

Dec 13, 2018

Warm Up Warm Up by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was not aware of this book before I read VICIOUS but after reading VICIOUS I now know who the last person in this novella is but this was a small great start to the first book in the Villians series.

In this Novella we are met with a man that was rescued from an ice climbing venture. He was found dead but then brought back to life but since then his life has not been the same. Everything he touches is scared by his touch. With his family gone and he is not left his house in 297, he finally makes that choice to leave his home but that is the moment his life changes and we are met with one of the main characters from VICIOUS.

I think this is a small great read. This is technically my second read by V.E. Schwab and now I want to read all of her work. Her writing is very unique and I love her story telling.

I recommend this novella in the Villains world.

View all my reviews
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Review: Vicious

Dec 12, 2018

Vicious Vicious by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVED, LOVED,LOVED, THIS BOOK!!!!

I have heard so many things good about this series so I wanted to make sure I picked it up before 2018 ended and let me say!!! This did not disappoint.

Trigger warnings: I do want to state that there is an animal issue in this book. The only reason I brought this up is because I was not aware of this when I started this and I am a huge animal lover and I have 4 fur babies of my own.. But it is still worth the read.

Other Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, attempted suicide, overdosing, self-harm, drug use, murder.

“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”

First let's start with the opening of this book! I love how it opens... THUD THUD THUD!!!

We have 2 friends from 10 years ago that went to school together, Eli and Victory. Eli wanted to do his thesis on EO's (Extraordinary People). When a person is brought back from death and becomes an EO they inhabit a power. This intrigues Eli and he wants to go more into debt for his thesis and find out if his theory is true. When they begin to experiment on themselves and things go completely wrong.

Now in the present date, you have one that is out of prison and the other one is on a killing spree. All EO's are being killed off and the other is trying to stop them. Some on the powers we have in this book are, raising the dead, controlling minds, healing, causing pain, and more. This book is full of thought. There are 5 characters that have all had tangled paths that has lead them to each other. Which side will you chose to win?

“I don't need a bodyguard,” said Victor.
“I noticed that,” said Mitch.
Victor let out a cough of a laugh. “Yes, well. I don't want everyone else to notice too.”
“So what do you want?” he asked.
Victor's lips curled into that same dangerous smile. “A friend.”


I love the side characters that play a major part in this book as well. The 2 sister Serena and Sydney are wonderfully introduced. I think that Sydney is my favorite character in this book. She must be protected at all cost due to the extra powers she carries and her sister, Serena, well let just say her power is pretty amazing.

This book is dark and very interesting and that ending, left me wanting to go straight in to picking up book 2, so needless to say, tonight I will start book 2! Lets just say that this book ends with eyes wide open!

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Friendly Friday #7 - Free Ebooks

Dec 7, 2018

Hello Rustic Beauties,


Sorry I did not post last Friday. I was on vacation and took a complete week off for myself and spent some time with my husband and 4 fur babies. Speaking of "FREE" time, I thought this week I would focus on some free amazon reads.


I have notice several free reads right now on Amazon so I thought I would post them here for others to grab them while they can. All of these are free at the time of me posting this blog.


These are not a specific genre. There will be a mix of different types here so make your choice or take them all. They are free by either amazon or the author at this time.


Sit back, grab you a book, and hope you enjoy!
P.S. I am not affiliated with these authors or publishing companies in away. I posting this as my research.


1. The Pawn by Skye Warren
2. Craving by Helen Hardt
3. A very Country Christmas by Zara Stoneley
4. Tough Love by Skye Warren
5. Secret Games by J. S. Cooper     
6. Silver Bell by CJ Hunt              
7. Beneath the Mask by Meghan March        
8. Winter Nights: Ten Book Boxed Set         
9. Breathless In Love by Bella Andre and Jennifer Skully
10. Country Heaven by Ava Miles
11. Decidedly Off Limits by Stina Lindenblatt
12. One Night Stand by J. S. Cooper
13. Meant to Be by Melody Grace
14. Inside the Whispers: a tense, haunting psychological thriller by A J Waines
15. Something in the Way by Jessica Hawkins    
16. The Fireproof Girl by Loretta Lost
17. Rescuing Rayne by Susan Stoker   
18. At Any Price: A Billionaire Virgin Auction Romance by Brenna Aubrey


These are just a few that I found on amazon.


Also, if you are not subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, I recommend it. If you like to listen to free audio books you can not find on audible or scribd, you can find some here. I found some excellent listens by having Kindle unlimited. If you are subscribed, just look for the following Kindle Unlimited logo that shows a free  listen.



Alright guys! I hope you enjoyed this small Friendly Friday take on free Ebooks. If you would like for me to try to post these often, let me know and I will try to come up with a free ebook posting each week. May like Freebie Wednesday or something. I am always looking to come with something new to post here.


Thanks guys! Love ya!
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Top Ten Tuesday - Wintry Reads

Dec 4, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This is my first time joining in on this but I have seen it on MANY blogs and love seeing the different books that everyone post. So, I thought I would join in on the fun!


This week's theme is wintry reads. I honestly am a mood reader so it pretty much stinks for my TBR's, but with that being said, I will post some of the ones that I think will still be fun to read this winter. Let just hope  I can stick to them. I am the kind of person that will say, that sounds good but I am not in the mood and if make myself read a book when not in the mood, It will put me in a reading slump and then I will not enjoy the book.

Now, with that behind us, lol, let start with my Top Ten Tuesday Wintry Read Books.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.The_Final_Empire?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10194157-shadow-and-bone https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18584855-heartless?ac=1&from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23437156-six-of-crows

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23510085-fire-and-heist https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24485589-hunted https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24763621-wintersong

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27272506-the-glittering-court?from_search=true https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42205257-stolen-princess
Okay guys.. This is my to go list for the Wintry Reads TTT. Let me know what your thoughts are and what you have chosen for yours.

See you next time! Love ya!

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