Class for Bloggers – Blogging 201

Feb4

One of my goals for 2015 is to devote more energy into my blog to build readership. I love sharing my opinions but it is also gratifying when others are able to share in the conversation.

To that end, I decided to look into ways to make my blog reader friendly.

I think it was serendipity that I found a post indicating that The Daily Post would be hosting a blogging class in February. During this month, I will be posting my assignments here.

What do I hope to achieve from this class?

I want to better engage my current followers
I want to learn ways to ensure my content does not seem stale or boring
I want to learn how to take my blog to that next level (i.e. more followers)

Do not worry my current followers- I am still a Reviews blog 🙂

Photo challenge- Games

Feb1

I decided to participate in a photo challenge. The next step was to look for a theme. The theme for January was “Games”. I knew I would have a difficult time taking pictures relating to the theme. I am not usually very athletic and, in January, I prefer to be inside. Instead of passing on the challenge, I made up my mind that this is what challenges are all about. I hoped this theme, while outside of my comfort zone, would help spur creativity.

All pictures were taken with my iPhone.

Picture 1
I decided to do a challenge that starts on Feb 1. It is a exercise and diet challenge from Guru of Abs. I have this listed under the “Games” theme because I think that getting my body in better shape will help me play games this spring and summer.

Picture 2
I had a Scentsy party (product party with concept similar to Tupperware sold by my friend Brittney). We were going to play games at the party. I was the hostess giving the party. This picture is right before it started when I had all the samplers organized. The Scentsy product is all about good smelling fragrances for the home, car, and body. They mainly sell wickless candles that are placed in a warmer. The melted wax diffuses the scent in the air without an open flame. I like them because they are good quality. Hubby likes them because there are no open flames (the firefighter in him will not let me burn candles). My favorite scent is Honeymoon Hideaway.

Picture 3

Hubby built a grill. The ribs that he cooked later were award winning to me. I wish he would enter them into a competition (hence the inclusion in the “Games” category).

Picture 4
My tennis shoes are Saucony brand. I love this brand because all the running shoes that I have bought from this brand have been very comfortable. This shot reflects “Games” because it is getting warm enough for me to shake off the icicles and begin training again for playing tennis in the spring. I am ready. Now that I know my size, I can buy Saucony Women’s Running Shoes on Amazon.

Picture 5
I went ice skating with my friend. While this is not a game, I decided to include any physical activity in my games category. We went skating in Greenville SC. I recommend it because it is a fun activity, especially if you have children. It costs about $10 for skate time and skate rentals. Check the website for skate times because they only have so many sessions each day.

If you want to see other variations on the same theme, this site to check out all the links.

Arabian nights with a rake

Jan30

Arabian Nights with a Rake ♥ ♥

Synopsis

This story takes place in Algeria. A British diplomat’s daughter Susannah has been captured and is held in captivity by a sheik. She was summoned to dance for the sheik and his guests (including Alex).She hatches a plan in hopes to escape. Meanwhile, Alex is enthralled by her beauty and has to have her at any cost. Fortunately for him, the attraction is mutual.

Opinion

I do not know much about Britain’s history during this period, so I did not understand the conflict. Alex’s behavior did not seem to be very “Rake” like, so the title was a contradiction to me (I sometimes get hung up on semantics). Susannah was a tough woman that did what she felt she had to do in order to survive. Knowing that the sheik’s brother-in-law lusted after her, she had to make alliances in order to elude his advances.

The book was okay but I did not feel involved in the characters. The story was too short for much character development. I feel like the story assumed the reader knew more of the history of the time period. Plus, I chose this book based on the cover art and thought it was going to be a totally different book. I thought the sheikh was going to be the hero of the book and not the source of conflict.

Besides the physical attraction between Alex and Susannah, I do not know what else they had. Their love story was not anything special. Some might find it romantic where the lead main character saves the woman and rides off into the sunset. There has to be more to it than that for me. I roll my eyes if after a day or two, the main characters are declaring everlasting love.

If you fall in love that quickly, you will probably fall out of love just as quickly.

I know I sound picky, but I have my opinions.

Should you buy? As I have said before, if you are just looking for something to fill the time during a rainy day or a wait at a doctor’s office, this is a book that can satisfy that need. If you’re looking for more than that, you might need to find a different book.

Being a Marine is temptation enough

Jan25

I received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The Marine’s Temptation (The Adair Affairs) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Carson is an ex-Marine who had to retire from his special forces team because of an injury. His father was recently murdered, so everyone assumes he will accept control for the family business. Carson has not decided what he wants to do yet.

Georgia’s stepmother Ruby was once married to Carson’s father. The marriage fell apart after their child (Carson’s half-brother) was kidnapped.

Georgia and Carson are trying to find out what happened to this child Carson never heard his father talk about. There is no doubt that Carson and Georgia are attracted to each other. Georgia is resistant because Carson’s family is so wealthy. Carson’s goal is to convince Georgia that money will not be a hindrance to their happiness.

Opinion

My absolute first thought: Can a cute rich guy take me on shopping trips and buy me lots of things?

Carson was the right mix of a down-to-earth, hunky, alpha male with a little wealth thrown in for good measure.

Truth be told, it took me a minute to figure out that Georgia and Carson were not blood relatives in any way. I first read Ruby was the mother and I totally skipped the crucial “step”. So then when I read that Carson was attracted to Georgia, I was like “Wait, wait.” I went back and re-read the first couple of pages to be clear who was who and how each person was related to the other. I would not have been able to enjoy the story if it was any icky-kissing-cousins type of thing. There are too many people in the world for people to date their cousins **getting off soapbox now**

Georgia is so anti-rich people. As far as she is concerned, they are the devil. Carson amused himself by pushing her buttons and buying her outrageously expensive gifts that she would be hard pressed to refuse. He was also trying to prove to her that wealth was not all bad.

Again I repeat, “Can a cute rich guy take me on shopping trips and buy me lots of things?”

I thought that Georgia was too traumatized by a situation that she did not experience. The way she reacted to her attraction with Carson, you would have thought that she has been the one spurned by a wealthy lover in the past. I wanted her to give the relationship a chance since it was obvious that she was attracted to him.

Because there seemed to me that was a great deal of build up with all their sexual tension; I found it surprising that little page time was dedicated to the actual love scene. They started and then they were done.

That is not to say that I wanted explicit detail of what they did to each other when they got physical. I am just saying it was unexpected. I also did not anticipate all the suspense. Between the drive-by shootings, car bombing, and other dangerous happenings, I wondered if they were going to survive long enough to declare their love. The author packed a lot of nail-biting situations in a relatively short time period.

All the story’s action kept Georgia off balanced just enough that she had a hard time remembering her reasons why she had decided not to like him. It was difficult for her to continue stonewalling him for being rich.

She wished he’d stop being a normal man, a normal sexy, hot man.

“Why should seeing him armed with a gun be so erotic?”

Should you buy? Sure. If you are looking for a sweet romance with suspense and humor, this is a great choice. I was pleasantly surprised how the story unfolded. It exceeded my expectations because I did not expect the plot to be as complex as it was. Plus, there was not a lot of cursing or explicit love scenes.

I liked this book and I am looking forward to reading the next installment of this series.

Fake to Forever sounds good to me

Jan20

From Fake to Forever (Newlywed Games) ♥♥♥

Synopsis

Two years ago, Meredith and Jason married in a Vegas wedding. They thought that they had destroyed all evidence and not filed the paperwork for it to be legal. So it was a surprise when Meredith shows up at Jason’s office asking for a divorce.

Jason’s mission in life is to become CEO of his family’s dysfunctional company. He sees the current situation as a way to leverage Meredith’s request with one of his own to achieve his goal. Moreover, Jason does not want to fall in love because he believes that love ruins everything.

Meredith does not want a man in her life because she has her own plans.

What is left? Steaming off-the-charts chemistry.

Trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?
She snorted, “Honey I don’t need alcohol for that.”

But is that enough for their relationship to go the distance?

Opinion

This is a book about a romance in the cutthroat industry of fashion.

It seemed at first that all Jason and Meredith had going in their relationship was the physical chemistry. It got to the point that I stopped counting the number of love scenes.

But do not misunderstand me. The story is more than one extended love scene.

Getting Jason to admit how he felt was the hard part. He has all his emotions bottled up so he can avoid rash decision-making like his father. His stubbornness almost got to the point where it was exasperating. He had poor Meredith on an emotional roller coaster ride, but I think he made up for it in the end.

Meredith concedes there is promise in their relationship, as in this sizzling description:

Begging for her fingers to slide through it [his hair] as she pulled him down for a scorching kiss

While Meredith is not trying to fight the attraction, she is still trying to prove to the world (but mostly herself) that she is more than a beauty queen pretty face. I understand that she feels people discount her opinions because of her looks. In the story, her character develops when she begins to own her worth, appreciating what she has to offer in the relationship. I love how vocal she became as well. Communication was not an issue for her.

Yes, there is a HEA. I am happy for that. Meredith was sweet and probably too forgiving (in my opinion) considering how Jason treated her most of the time. I am not mad at him though, because Meredith had some evolving to do before everything was said and done. All that she experienced brought her closer to that point.

Should you buy? Yes I think you should, especially if you like all things Harlequin. For me, the trying-to-undo-Vegas-wedding trope was well done and added elements using the characters’ personalities heightened the modicum of conflict. The story is moderately paced with enough energy and witty banter to keep the reader engaged. I really liked Jason and Meredith so much as people I was cheering for them.