Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood

I have to say, 

the best part of Spring break

is the ability to just read.

Do nothing but read.

And reading is what I have been doing.

Born Wicked is the first in The Cahill Witch Chronicles.

I originally came across the book

when I joined

The Story Siren's

YA Debut Author Challenge. 

Born Wicked is set in a late 19th Century New England. 

But it has an alternate history.

Here, witches are still persecuted

and society is ruled by the fearsome Brotherhood.

Women are repressed,

forbidden to educate themselves

and forced into marriage

or into the Sisterhood.

Cate Cahill

and her sisters are witches.

Their mother has died

and made Cate promise to protect her sisters.

Cate fears magic.

She soon learns of a prophecy 

that involves she and her sisters.

She's also falling in love

(in a sad attempt at a love triangle).

Cate soon learns

that in order to protect her sisters

she must sacrifice her own happiness.

Covet - JR Ward

Being a huge fan of the WARDen,

you know there's no way I could resist her

Fallen Angels series.

And as the series title implies,

this one is not about vampires,

but angels.

Covet introduces us to Jim Heron.

He has been recruited by both Heaven and Hell.

His job is to guide seven souls.

If they choose the right path,

Heaven wins.

If they choose to stick with evil,

Hell will win.

Jim's first assignment is Vin DiPietro,

a man who has everything

(or does he?).

Can Jim save him and help him find love with Marie-Terese?

For those BDB fans,

we're reacquainted with the Iron Mask and Tez.

Gotta love that.

For those not into vampires,

how does angels strike you?

Writer's Workshop - Instagram

4) Instagram fun! Share a photo you took with Instagram this week and tell us what you love about it.

This week, 

Ethan and I went on vacation.

Just him and I.

We had fun.

We visited old mates.

We drank coffee.

We saw the ocean.

We acted silly.

We made ducky faces!

Larkstorm - Dawn Rae Miller

I really need to stop reading books that are part of a trilogy or series,

unless the whole set is published.

Otherwise,

I get myself wrapped into the lives of these characters,

and forced to wait

before getting the HEA.

I'm all about books where the author's voice is terrific.
I love books with, not just strong characters,
but characters you actually care about.
I found that here,
in Larkstorm.

In my world of vampires,
I shifted to a dystopian world
with light and dark witches.

Lark Green has grown up in a world where she believes everything the State tells her.
She's a rule follower.
She knows she'll be bound to Beck.
She knows the State will choose her career.
She trusts them when they tell her the Sensitives are evil.
That is,
until Beck is accused of being one.

Determined to prove his innocence,
or at least learn the truth,
Lark embarks on a quest
where she learns that Sensitives means witches,
and she's one.
A powerful Dark one.
And her beloved Beck,
a powerful Light one.

Odds are,
they are destined to kill each other.
They were never meant to fall in love.

Lark must sacrifice being with the one she loves,
to keep him alive.

And I must wait,
who-knows-how-long
for them to reunite!






 

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 4

Ethan and I are on Spring Break.

Woohoo!

For two whole weeks.

Woohoo!

We've broken our break up into 3 parts.

Part one,

a trip to Dar,

which is where we are now.

Every morning

we wake up to a gorgeous view of the Indian Ocean.

We've had some great visits with mates.

Catching up on what's been going on.

(I keep forgetting  to take pictures)

I even went to get a new hair colour.

And while I sat there,

getting my hair dyed red,

I had an amazing view of the ocean.

Happiness is being by the beach after months of living inland.

\

Rex Rising - Chrystalla Thoma

This was one of those free books I got from Pixel of Ink. 

It started off a bit boring

(I read 2 other books in between)

but half way through,

when stuff started making sense

and things started happening,

I got into it. 

Undecided if I'll read the second one. 

Rex Rising is the story of Elei.

He's confused. 

He is slowly remembering where he is and why.

And since he has no idea where he is and why,

we don't either. 

We know he's been shot,

but not why, how or by whom.

He's infected with a parasite (cronion) to fight the other parasite (telmion).

Following?

Elei starts getting his memory.

He remembers his boss.

Oh, she's the one who shot him, 

and sent him to find Kalaes.

He meets Maera.

They try to help him. 

The Gulturs, who rule everything,

are after him.

Elei starts having dreams, 

telling him what to do.

As the story unfolds,

he gains his memory,

and the courage

to set Rex free. 

There is a second book,

but I'm happy with the ending,

and not too invested in the characters,

that I don't feel like I'm missing anything

by being unsure about the second book.

Conversations with Ethan

Ethan and I left Lusaka,

yesterday morning,

for a little R&R in Dar.

We flew from Lusaka to Nairobi,

had about an hour and half layover

then on a flight to Dar.

We get on the Dar flight, 

and I lean back and close my eyes.

E: Mama, are you sleeping?

Me: No luv, just resting my eyes.

E: How about I hold your hand and wake you up when we go in the air?

Now if your hand moves this way, it means I'm looking out the window, 

so you don't need to worry. And don't let go.

Maybe I can let you sleep and wake you when we get to Dar.

Oh, mama, 

how about I wake you if they bring something to eat?

Maybe we should put the pillow here,

so your hand is on something soft.

Mama, why are you not sleeping?

Me: Because you keep talking!

As we are landing,

Ethan tells me how excited he is about seeing all his mates.

But he will miss Cara.

Me: Is Cara your new girlfriend?

E: (very sheepishly) Yes.

Me: Are you going to marry her?

E: Well, if she says yes. If not, I know I'll marry Connor's sister in Chicago,

because she is also very cute.

Me: What about Brit? (Ethan's teacher's 16 year old daughter.)

E:  Well, she's much taller than me, so I don't think she'll like that.