Me being me!

Flashback Friday

Since I tend to not be on my blog Saturday and Sunday I will do a weekly flashback on Friday. So far with this being the end of July I haven’t read much. I had a very blah month. I didn’t read much. Here lately I have started to pick my old habit back up again and feeling much better.

Weekly Goals

  • Start Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • Finish Phantom of the Opera
  • Start Dracula
  • Make posts for challenges and post them
  • Finish writing review for Harry Potter and Chamber of secrets
  • Finish July Challenges

Overall Report

I did get almost everything crossed off. I decided to put off Dracula till October for my Halloween monster/horror/thriller month. I decided to put off rereading Harry Potter due to needing to catch up with a few things. I will finish a reread throughout the year. I don’t know when though.

I was only going to do two August challenges but I thought I would do a couple more and really challenge myself.

I will see all of you beauties next week. Have a great weekend.

♣Jay♠

 

Book Reviews

Review: Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

My edition: kindle

Pages: 188

Series: Stand-Alone

Rating: 4 stars

Review: Ah a classic title. Many people know Phantom of the Opera even though some have never read, seen, or heard it. I am the geek that has the Broadway and the movie (2004 version) soundtrack downloaded.

S4_article_Phantom_ofthe_Opera Some people might think of this when the Phantom comes to mind.

This is the Phantom is from the 1925 version staring Lon Chaney. (Also one of my favorites) Christine Daae was played by Mary Philbin.

 

 

THE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-1-Cooper-Grodin-and-Julia-Udine-photo-by-Matthew-Murphy-5135.jpg Some may know it off of the famous Broadway. We know the famous cast of the Phantom, Michael Crawford, and Christine Daae, Sarah Brightman.

The soundtrack that I own has this famous Broadway cast singing.

 

 

141023phantom-opera1.jpgOf course in Music Theory (when I was in high school)  we had a subsitute who had instructions to show this version. Our lovely Phantom is none other than Gerard Butler and Christine Daae was played by Emmy Rossum.

The moment I fell in love with Gerard Butler even though he could never beat out Lon Chaney. By the end I wanted the beautiful Phantom and Daae to be together. Even though I know that would never happen.

So I have watched many versions of this classic tale. (I would love to got see the one on Broadway though.) This has been on my to-read list for many years and I am just now finally getting to read it.

This is truly a Gothic horror classic. We find ourselves learning about what happened before the disappearance of Christine Daae. The Phantom or better known as Erik is in love with Daae. When a childhood friend of Daae, Raoul, comes back to Paris the Phantom gets jealous.

Now the romanticized versions that have been depicted doesn’t really show in the book. This is more mysterious. Once reading it I know why it’s a classic. I wish this had been on one of my English summer reading lists. Seriously English teachers assign this book!!!! Granted this doesn’t beat my love for Poe’s work but it is up there. It may possible be up on my rereads list which many books do not end up on. We will see in the future.

♣Jay♠

 

 

Book Reviews

Even Angels Fall by F.L. Darbyshire

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 498

Series: Stand alone

Rating: DNF no rating

Review: I got this off of NetGalley

I had problems with the writing style. I wasn’t much of a fan. I think this has a little bit to do with the British English that the story is written. I am from the middle of the United States and the jargon is different. I had to look up a few words on the internet just to understand what some people were saying.

Now that wasn’t the reason on why I didn’t like this book. I wasn’t interested. The main character came off as whiny to me. I understand that her twin brother had died and she is trying to cope with the new reality of living without her twin but she just…ugh I can’t describe it. The way she interacts with her mom  just makes me want to slap her. I got to about 30% then I put it down and I haven’t gotten any urge to pick it up again. I’m calling quits on this because I really don’t want to waste time with a book I have no interest in when I can be reading books that I do.

This one was just not for me.

♣Jay♠

Book Reviews

Review: The Billionaire’s Obsession: Simon by J.S. Scott

My edition: Kindle Unlimited

Pages:288

Series: The Billionaire’s Obsession boxset

Rating: Overall 2.5-3 stars

Synopsis: Off of Goodreads

Once a serial trilogy, The Billionaire's Obsession is now complete with a 
bonus story in this complete collection about Simon and Kara.

This complete collection of the Billionaire's Obsession includes:
Mine For Tonight
Mine for Now 
Mine Forever
Mine Completely

Down on her luck, nursing student and full-time waitress Kara Foster gets a 
massive blow to her already desperate financial situation that will surely
find her living on the streets. Needing nothing less than a miracle to save 
her, Kara gets rescued from an unknown, unlikely and overwhelming source.
Billionaire Simon Hudson makes her an offer that is impossible to refuse, but
terrifying to accept from a man that she's never met. Will the handsome, alpha
billionaire really be a solution to her problems, or will he end up being a 
major complication and a danger to her emotional sanity?

Reclusive billionaire Simon Hudson would rather be behind a computer creating
computer games than rubbing elbows with the elite and he knows exactly what 
he wants... until he meets Kara Foster. Something about Kara touches Simon
in ways he's never experienced and definitely doesn't like. For over a year,
Simon watches over Kara, but stubbornly refuses to admit his desire to posses 
her, not even to himself. But when she ends up in a situation that could 
very well be her destruction, Simon steps up to help her, not realizing 
saving Kara, he might very well be salvaging his own soul.

Review:Why do I do this? I snagged this when half asleep looking for some new smut other than my beloved smut author Alexa Riley. Well I wish I was more awake when I got this. Yes I read all of them even though I just wanted to scream.

Since this is a box set I have to put this out there.

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I will also be ranting so again.

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Mine For Tonight

Simon has an obsession with Kara who works for his mom. One night he was following her home (yeah big time creep) and she passed out. Here comes Simon to save the day and it’s creepy!!! (If you sang that last sentence in you head, you are awesome) When she comes to, she tries to go back home but she has a fever and isn’t going anywhere. When she wakes up the next morning she talks with Simon and finds out that her roommate stole almost all of her stuff and hasn’t been paying rent. Simon offers her a place to stay and takes over paying her insurance bills and school. He also calls his mother and tells her all about it and Kara has been replaced.

My problem with this story. Kara just takes Simon’s word for it. Yeah he quoted off her landlord’s name and her apartment number but he is a high-tech genius that makes his living with computers. She doesn’t even go by to check and see if he was telling the truth. Then my other problem is that he wanted one night with her in his bed. She didn’t have to if she didn’t want it. That was the condition, she had to want it. Well a couple of pages and a week later she ends up sleeping with him. Only he ties her up and puts a blindfold on her. Hmmm remind you of a certain story… Oh yeah about every damn billionaire story out there. Seriously I need to meet a young handsome billionaire and ask him if he is into the kink because that’s what happens in the books now days.

Mine For Now

This one was okay. Simon is coming to grips he doesn’t want any other woman and Kara is trying to show him that he can have control without needing to tie her to a bed. Not much really happens. The sex scenes were pretty hot. That’s a plus.

It’s only been about a few weeks and they are falling in love with each other. Takes a little bit longer than a few weeks but whatever. Then when Sam (Simon’s brother) goes to say sorry and have a talk with Kara, after he insulted her, she tells him that she doesn’t even know him. Strange since when she took the help of Simon, she didn’t know him either.

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Mine Forever

Simon now only wanting Kara to be at his condo so he can make sure she is safe, is trying to figure out his feelings for her. Kara let it slip early on that she loves Simon to him. With that on his mind Simon is waging war in his mind on whether she was serious or not.

They did work out their issues and we get a HEA. One thing I love is that the author made our hero the one with a past and he has scars on his body. What I didn’t like is that instead of magical penis, it had magical vagina. Different but still as infuriating.

Mine Completely 

This is just to add more to the HEA

Starts off with a little drama. The author also gets us ready for Maddie and Sam’s book. I might read it after I get finished with a few series that need to be finished.

♣Jay♠

Book Reviews

Review:Cold Mark by Scarlett Dawn

My Edition: Kindle Unlimited

Pages: 429

Series: Mark #1

Rating:2.5-3 stars

Synopsis: Off of Goodreads

Subject Name: Braita Valorn 
Race: Human  
Sex: Female
Age: 18
Designation: Slave
Temperament: Hostile

Thrown head first into a barbaric world she knows nothing of, Braita Valorn 
must adapt to the dark life as a slave. Her survival hinges on it. With her 
freedom stolen, her existence is now controlled by the possessive Plumas of 
the West. But what they cannot control are her feelings and the other set of
men who want her- and who are willing to use every trick they know to obtain 
her from their enemies. Only Braita never expected to fall for these two Pluma
leaders of the East. 

Braita is a fighter. She demands her freedom most of all and this slave is 
willing to use her own tricks to get what she wants. Including her men...

Review: I need to explain on why I didn’t fully like this one so I have to throw this out there.

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I’m torn on this one. I read over some of the reviews, now that I have read this, and I see why some people put a 3 star and lower while others put a higher rating. Me, well I don’t know what to do. I’m sitting here thinking it over. I have a list of pros and cons in front of me. While I can normally find more pros than cons in somethings, I have written a few cons that out weighed some of the pros.

How is that you say? Well for starts the MC Braita was a huge problem. She didn’t think anything through before she did something. She acted very childish when she walked in on her two Vaq.

Let me back up and explain a few things. Earth no longer is habitable. Humans are now on a planet called Joyal. There are two neighboring planets that host to two different alien species. One Triaz (which our MC goes to) hosts the Mian. They are a war tribe. The planet is split into two, East and West. You can tell if someone is from the East when they have a star tattooed by their right eye, while the West have a circle with a line through it by their left eye. On this planet two men rule one house. They also get a harem. They wear a ring for each female that is in their harem. The rings are connected to the cold mark which is on the female’s neck. They can tell their emotions and where they are through this ring. Vaq are bounded together. They can feel each others emotions and know where either of them is at any time of day (well night since Mian like the night). Vaq also share a Soul. A Soul is a female that is specifically made for them. They have pain if either of them are too far apart. If either of the trio were to be killed the other two die as well. (Makes you not want to be a Soul or Vaq that gets the Soul.)

Another problem for me was the BIG love triangle ish thing between Braita and the two Plumas of East and West. The Plumas are Vaq. Braita is the Soul to the Plumas of the West but she has major feelings for the Plumas of the East. At times with the Plumas of the West it seemed as they cared for her but like a sister then they would go all alpha male “she is mine”. It was confusing on their intentions.

On Goodreads this is tagged in Erotica. I don’t think it should be since sex isn’t done between the main characters near the end.

I actually like some of the plot. It seemed original to me. I haven’t read many sci-fi romances so I can’t really say if this is fully original. Now this is the second book that I have read of Scarlett Dawn. This one wasn’t as rushed as her other book seemed but there were some grammatical errors and a few plot holes that didn’t seem to get tied up. There were some funny moments. Mostly the teasing from the Plumas of the East. I’ll read the second one and finish the series.

♣Jay♠

Me being me!

Looking Forward: August

Hello everyone!

Hope you guys are enjoying the last week of July. Hope everything is going smoothly. It’s getting closer to the end of summer. Here in Kansas kids will be returning to school this month and everything starts to slow down at my work. Well when that happens I am able to read more due to me not being burnt out from work or whatever Wy has me doing. This weekend though I will be ending July with drag races. Wy won tickets at his work and we will be having the VIP care. Totally awesomesauce. Well I plan on reading more this upcoming month. I am feeling better than ever and I am in the mood to read.

Challenges

  • August 2016 Opposites Attract
  • Cities of the world: Rio de Janeiro
  • Finish What You Started
  • August Summer Olympics
  • Quarterly challenge: Diverse books

Main Goal

I am hoping to read at least 11 books. That is the goal I am trying to reach. I want to complete at least one challenge as well.

Hope you guys have a fun August and enjoy you next reads.

♣Jay♠

Challenges

Challenge: August 2016 Opposites Attract

Rules

  1. Do not plan out books
  2. books must be 75 + pages in length
  3. Re-reads are allowed

Duration: August 1st -31st

Pairs

  • First book: Shift out of Luck/ last book in series: Does a bear Shift in the Woods
  • Set in large city/rural area: The Perfect Cast
  • Female on cover:/Guy on cover:Prick
  • Gets married/Gets divorced
  • Gets the guy or girl/loses the guy or girl: The Forsaken
  • White cover/Black cover
  • contemporary/ historic
  • set on earth/set in space: Ice Planet Barbarians
  • monogamous/party girl
  • nooky in the bedroom/nooky in the kitchen
  • has kids/no kids
  • gets job/loses job
  • travels to other countries: The Cursed/ never leaves town
  • female MC: /male MC
  • Rourke or male laughed first/Eve or female laughed first
  • mountains: Rumpelstiltskin/seasideThe Little Selkie
  • Erotic The Lost Slipper/ Non-sexual (Clean Romance) Cinderella and the Colonel

7-9 pairs

4/18

Challenges

Challenge: Cities of the World- Rio de Janeiro August 2016

These are a list of places to visit in Rio. Read a book to each site.

 

  1. Christ the Redeemer Statue- Read a book that you find inspirational
  2. Jardim Botanico- read a book with lots of trees on the cover
  3. Ipanema Beach- read a book with a title starts with an I
  4. Sanat Teresa (colonial Rio)- read a book set in the past
  5. Maracana Stadium- read a book with an athlete in it
  6. Ilha Fiscal (neo-Gothic castle)-read a book with a large building on cover: Rumpelstiltskin
  7. Barra Shopping Center-read a book that you purchased
  8. Flamengo Park- read a book with a red and/or black cover: The Cursed
  9. Selaron Steps- read a book with an artist in it
  10. Sao Bento Manastery- read a book where a main character vows to do something: The Forsaken
  11. Praca XV de Novembro (city square)- read a book set in a large city
  12. Chacara do Ceu Museu (modern art museum)- read a book published in 2015 or 2016 The Damned
  13. Palacio Tiradentes (legislative building)- read a book with an elected official in it
  14. Rio water park(South America’s largest water park) -read a book with over 400 pages
  15. Lapa Arches (Romanesque-style Aqueduct)-read a book with water on the cover: The Wild Swans
  16. Sugar Loaf Mountain- read a book with a sweet character

0/10

 

Book Reviews

Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

My edition: Own book

Pages:341

Series: Harry Potter #2

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Today I’m not in much of a reviewing type mood. Nor am I in a I want to be awake right now but life goes on.

Harry is back at Hogwarts again with friends Ron and Hermione. We find out about Tom Riddle and who he is. We get Dobby and we meet a new member of the Weasley family.

I do love this one but it isn’t my all time favorite. This one has the chapter that I fear most of all. Aragog. I have a fear of big spiders. The little spiders I’m okay with because I can kill them easily. The big spiders not so much. This chapter is so scary to me because of the spiders and in the movie I hated how big and creepy they got them. I was with Ron.

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Sorry I don’t have much of a good review but this weekend has completely depleated me and of course I have to get everything ready for August both with my books and with work so I don’t have much time.

No matter what this is Harry Potter and I will reread it every year.

♣Jay♠

Challenges

Challenge: Finish What You Started (series) August

In my group we list several series that we have started but haven’t finished. Someone then chooses what series to continue on with or focus on this month. Well the person assigned to me choose the Timeless Fairy Tales series.

Timeless Fairy Tales by K.M. Shea

  1. Beauty and the Beast 
  2. The Wild Swans
  3. Cinderella and the Colonel
  4. Rumpelstiltskin
  5. The Little Selkie
  6. Puss in Boots
  7. Swan Lake
  8. Sleeping Beauty.

I will link the review on here of each one that I read and mark off as I go. This challenge will start August 1st and go till August 31st.