Photo blogging #challenge January 2019 #books #photoblog

Feb1

The theme for January’s photo blogging challenge hosted by http://hoohaa.com/ was BOOKS. I thought it would be a no brainer for me because books are my life. I read all the time. HOWEVER, I realized with this challenge that I do not take pictures of my books. The pictures that I took this month are not very creative/artistic, but they do tell stories about me.

Without further ado, here are my pictures on the theme.

I love reading and I have a Kindle unlimited subscription so that I can read lots of books. My goal on Goodreads is to read over 100 books over the course of 2019. Can you guess what my favorite genre is?

 

I like the feel of physical books, but I have a Kindle too. When I made the jump to digital books, I was unsure how I would feel about it. Fast forward to now, I love my paperwhite. On a good night, I am snuggled with a blanket with my Kindle in hand.

 

Talking about a different type of book, this is a sticker book that I use for decorating my planner. I have To-Do lists a mile long and using decorative stickers helps jazz it up. My favorite brand is MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas). They always have super cute stickers. Their Free Spirit book was a recent release to their sticker book collection.  I like the style because it uses a lot of the colors I like: blue, grey, pastels, and rose gold.

 

One of my goals in 2019 is to have better time management, especially when on social media. A guy at work was giving this book away and I took it. I am looking forward to reading and gaining some insights to put into action this year!

These are my pictures for this month’s photo challenge.

Check out the website to see the other bloggers’ submissions and interpretations of this theme.

 

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The Man In The Mirror #BillionaireRomance

Jan25

Man in the Mirror

Synopsis
Brett King, Billionaire.
–
Yeah, that’s me. Once, I had everything: power, looks, fame, an obscene amount of money, a trophy wife, and a beautiful little boy. Then, in a blink of an eye my enviable life was taken away.
I was left with nothing except my dirty money and my heart of stone.
I looked in the mirror and could not recognize myself. God had a sense of humor. I was ugly inside and now I was ugly outside too. It was divine justice.

I retreated to my castle in Wales and allowed no one to come face to face with me. My staff carried out my instructions and asked no questions. The only thing left to me was to acquire more money that I would never spend.
The months passed and I grew accustomed to my isolation. As I roamed about alone I even began to appreciate the darkness of my life. I lost interest in the world outside the thick walls of my castle. Nothing held any interest for me anymore.

Until she came. Charlotte Conrad, the nanny.

At the end of every evening we communicated through the intercom system. She kept me informed about the progress she was making with my son, Zachary.

I was just an employer listening to his employee, but slowly, insidiously, I began to imagine her young body; soft and sensuous against mine.

I wanted to take her. I wanted to hear her talk dirty to me.

I wanted her to unleash the wild, unrestrained animal that was lurking inside me.

I was becoming addicted…

Opinion
I wanted to like the story because the premise was good: a scarred man and the woman who loves him.

BUT…

He is still married! Yeah, I took a heart away because he is still married when they start sleeping together. I know that author tries to set the stage and justify their actions because his first wife is sleeping around on him. Seriously, she was an awful human being. He is going to get a divorce, but two wrongs do not make a right.

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I cannot understand why Brett kept funding his first wife’s escapades. It was obvious she was not a good mother. She was drunk all the time and partied all night. He said it was out of some supposed sense of duty to his deceased mentor, but I did not see it.

Image result for why meme

If he could work, surely he could figure out how to spend time with his son. It seemed that he was over complicating matters. Obviously, his voice was like butter. He could have spoken to his son through the intercom and had a relationship with him that way. Instead, he did not have any contact with him besides what information the derelict mother deemed necessary to relay.

I liked other books by this author, but this one misses the mark a several levels.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW if you like nanny-dad romances.

Book details

Series: N/A
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥

Print Length: 300 pages

 

This post is full of Amazon affiliate links. Support my blog by clicking those links if you are thinking about ordering any of these products. Thanks!!!

I married a Dragon by Beverly Rae #romance #whattoread #bookaddict #dragonshifter

Dec10

I Married a Dragon (Para-mates)

3heart

Synopsis
Chrissy Taylor doesn’t believe in a lot of things. Her life, and her career as a supernatural myth-buster, are ruled by logic and skepticism. Love at first sight? Forget it—until she’s swept off her feet by Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious.

The next thing she knows, she’s done the most illogical thing imaginable: run off to Vegas for a quickie marriage. And Mr. TD&M’s insatiable hunger for her body is starting to feel suspiciously like an attempt to make her the one thing she fears most. Pregnant.

Even though Kaine sets Chrissy’s world on fire—literally—she can’t resist embarking on her toughest debunking mission yet. She must unearth the truth about her new husband before desire consumes the last of her reason.

Kaine Delcaluca is withholding the fact that he’s a dragon, but time is of the essence. He desperately needs an heir to save his dynasty. Plus, he has an even bigger problem. The Scepter of Fire, the only weapon powerful enough to kill a dragon, has gone missing. If he fails to find it—and knock up his new bride—within the next few days, his people are doomed…

Warning: Sizzles with graphic language, set-the-sheets-on-fire sex, and snarky personal assistant machines.

Opinion
The pace of the story was so fast. Chrissy meets Kaine and it is love at first sight. After meeting him and learning his name, it seems that they run off to Vegas to get married.

Chrissy and Kaine’s whirlwind romance meant that they did not discuss any of the important topics that could be deal breakers. A few days into their honeymoon, Kaine is telling her that he is trying to get her pregnant.

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In Kaine’s defense, he did try to tell Chrissy some things but she thought he was not being serious.

The story was told from the POV of Chrissy. She was mildly annoying to me. I thought that Chrissy could have taken to heart the adage “curiosity killed the cat” because she got herself into some sticky situations because she was too inquisitive and impulsive. It is okay to ask questions but think before leaping!

As a side point, I keep saying that I don’t prefer first POV, but it seems authors love writing in that style. I wish that they would say in the blurb so that I could mentally prepare myself ahead of time.

Overall, it was a mostly fun story and everything gets resolved.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
This is more of a BORROW or BUY AT A THRIFT STORE if you like dragon shifter romances.

Book details
Series: Paramates
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥
Print Length: 272 pages

borrow
This post is full of Amazon affiliate links. Support my blog by clicking those links if you are thinking about ordering any of these products. Thanks!!!

Foodie Friday: Sally’s Fish House #sandiego #seafood #foodiefriday

Dec7

It’s Foodie Friday

When in San Diego, it is a must to go to a seafood restaurant at least once! I decided to go with some friends to Sally’s Fish House & Bar. This is a nice restaurant in the San Diego bay. It is located behind the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Sally’s Fish House & Bar
One Market Place
San Diego, CA 92101

ph: 619 358 6740

They recommend getting reservations unless you want an extremely long wait.

Their menu changes with the seasons, so you can expect the freshest ingredients.

Our group had a 6pm reservation for 8 people. As soon as our party arrived, we were seated outside (which was fine with me). The weather was crisp but not too cool.

As the server was taking our drink order, we had fresh baked bread placed before us. I had a hard time not eating the whole loaf myself!

 

For my appetizer, I ordered the Dragon sushi roll. It has shrimp tempura, cucumber, tobiko (fish eggs) and is topped with eel and avocado. I could have eaten 10 of these. It was so good. I love shrimp tempura when it is done correctly. It maintained its crispiness even though it was wrapped.

My entree was salmon over a bed of potatoes, grape tomatoes and Brussels sprouts. The salmon was delicious. I love crispy skin on salmon. YUM! I was not a fan of the hash like mix of the potatoes, tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts. The description did not explain that it was all mixed together like that. I was not prepared!!

A couple of other guests at our table ordered the seafood tower. This consisted of oysters, shrimp, Alaskan king crab legs, and lobster tail. It is served with melted butter, horseradish, migonette, and cocktail sauce. The tower is for 2-4 people. You can also order a large tower which is for 4-7 people. It is $50 for a small and $95 for a large. They said it was worth every bite.

 

Contract by Emma Alisyn #romance

Dec5

Contract: BBW Contemporary Mafia Romance by Emma Alisyn
3heart

Synopsis
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Any publicity is good publicity, right? But when curvy Aiva, owner of Blooms In Yellow, starts a media ruckus outside her flower shop to increase business, the attention brings all the rats out of hiding.

Namely Daniel, her cousin and the loan shark who funded her startup. A loan shark tied to organized crime, who is a bit miffed when Aiva starts attracting attention. Like any good rat, he prefers to stay in the dark. The attention also attracts Leon Sudano, billionaire mogul and reformed crime lord. Of course the Sudanos, under his rule, are completely legitimate. And his interest in Aiviana is perfectly innocent…

…only it isn’t. He’s been watching Aiva for years, waiting patiently to make his first, and last, move. Because when Sudano plays, he plays for keeps. Aiva must balance her pride in being an independent woman business owner with her growing attraction for the sexy, powerful Leon, who showers her with gifts and attention… and steals her heart.
Opinion
This book had promised but then I thought about it too much and realize there were gaping holes in the plot.

Aiva borrowed money from her cousin with “old country” terms, meaning she would be an indentured servant if she defaulted.

If Aiva’s family was so concerned with her well-being and virtue, why would they allowing her to be low key sexual harassed by her cousin?

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Aiva took the “independent woman” routine to a ridiculous level. For 90% of the book, she would rather drown instead of admitting she needed a life jacket.

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Leon offers Aiva a chance to pay her debt but his interest in her contract is not altruistic. He wants her to be his wife and knows he needs to handle her outstanding debt or else it’s makes him look bad. I felt he was a real OG and my favorite character, but then my inner feminist balked at his “I choose you to have my babies” attitude. However to his credit, he did let her come to him after she rebuffed his initial efforts.

Random side note: I don’t feel the book cover matches the story.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW but buying for 99 cents is not going to break the bank. However, I don’t think it is available anymore on Amazon.

Book details
Series: N/A
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥 🔥