Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Piercing follow-up

Fractured by Sydney Landon


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Desire brought them together; tragedy may tear them apart...

Lucian and Lia attempt to deal with the aftermath of the violent attack on her by her stepfather. As events unfold in their lives, Lia finds that she can no longer be patient with the man that she loves, because his secrets are tearing them apart.

Lucian cannot deny the fact that he's fallen in love with the brave and beautiful woman who has lived a life of horror. He wants nothing more than to protect her, but soon realizes that he may be the person who will hurt her the most.

To be together, they'll have to fight demons from their pasts that threaten to tear them apart.



Rate & Take


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This is the second book in the Lucian & Lia series and it was every bit (if not more) as well written and enjoyable as the first. You can find my review of that first book here. At the end of this book it was noted that the third book will be out this spring, for that I say, Hurray!!!! I love not having to wait so long for the next in a series, because I so dislike that feeling of forgetting the direction of a story when a new book finally gets published. I also loved that this book did not end on an intense cliffhanger, I sure want more but no one is in grave peril when this story ends. If you are looking for well written fun (with a very healthy dose of steamy) this series is for you!


Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The Importance of Books

 
 
 
 
When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning


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When America entered World War II in 1941, we faced an enemy that had banned and burned over 100 million books and caused fearful citizens to hide or destroy many more. Outraged librarians launched a campaign to send free books to American troops and gathered 20 million hardcover donations. In 1943, the War Department and the publishing industry stepped in with an extraordinary program: 120 million small, lightweight paperbacks, for troops to carry in their pockets and their rucksacks, in every theater of war.

Comprising 1,200 different titles of every imaginable type, these paperbacks were beloved by the troops and are still fondly remembered today. Soldiers read them while waiting to land at Normandy; in hellish trenches in the midst of battles in the Pacific; in field hospitals; and on long bombing flights. They wrote to the authors, many of whom responded to every letter. They helped rescue The Great Gatsby from obscurity. They made Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, into a national icon. When Books Went to War is an inspiring story for history buffs and book lovers alike.





Rate & Take



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A little departure from my usual reading but so well worth it. I know as a reader the value of books to sooth, educate, excite, escape, enchant, and fall in love with. What I didn't know is what a big part of World War II they played to alleviate stress and boredom and to educate men, who in other circumstances would have never thought to turn to books. The sheer force of librarians, people on the home front, the government and military supporters, who in the end saw hundreds of thousands of books delivered to soldiers in the remotest of areas, is nothing short of miraculous to me. While Hitler was busy encouraging book burnings these A.S.E.'s (Armed Services Editions) were infiltrating a literature starved Europe and helped to keep some of the brain washing at bay. The printing of the ASE's themselves were another interesting part of this book as paper rationing and book size were two obstacles that printers had never faced before.
I can't say it loud enough...this book is a must read for anyone who loves books!! We may never again see another large scale acknowledgement and appreciation of books such as this era ignited.




Readers Note: When I started this book (I read it digitally) it seemed like it took forever to make progress even though I was reading a lot. Yes, I have become one of those people who watch the proverbial pot boil....also known as the percentage remaining in the book...a bad habit I fear I will never break. What I did not know was that the last 50% of the book listed all the books that were printed during the war years for the soldiers, both by title and author. A great resource to have. I have purchased one book from the list so far and hope to get a second soon.   











Sunday, January 4, 2015

New Fae to the mix




Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout







Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.



Rate & take


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Hopefully it is no secret that I love stories with or about Fae. I also really enjoy the books this author puts out, but I was a little cautious when I found out she was trying her hand at a Fae series. My worries were unnecessary, what was created here is fresh and new and now I can't wait for the next book in the series. The book ended with a mild cliff hanger that I did see coming but that doesn't mean I am any less excited for book two, in fact I am more excited because I want to know how this gets worked around in the story. 


Happy New Year to all! 

May 2015 be filled with great reads for us all!!