Book #Review: In the Flesh by Sylvia Day .@sylvia_day .@SylDay

Book Title: In The Flesh
Author:  Sylvia Day |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram
Publisher: Kensington

Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi Romance
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Format: Trade paperback, ebook

Cost: $9.99

Pages: 252

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: September 25, 2013
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

An infamous beauty. A daring warrior…

For five years, Sapphire has been the King of Sari’s most treasured concubine. Independent at last, she refuses to put herself in anyone’s control again. But now another’s meddling has led her into the path of proud, arrogant Wulfric, Crown Prince of the rival kingdom of D’Ashier… a man who is dangerous to her in every way.

…and a seduction that could destroy them both.

The daughter of Wulfric’s fiercest opponent, Sapphire is a prized warrior in her own right and highly skilled in the sensual arts—in short, Wulfric’s perfect match. A lasting union is unthinkable, but the bargain they strike—to spend one night together, and then part—proves impossible in the face of a desire powerful enough to bring two countries to the brink of war, and two hearts to the point of surrender…

This was a fantastic sci-fi read, a romance I didn't know I needed until I was reading it.  This takes place in a world that is technologically advanced but still a bit archaic in its societal structures, revolving around Kingdoms at war and all the political intrigue that comes with that.

The Kingdoms ar war have been at it for centuries all stemming from one section of the country rebelling and forming its own country and the former country not accepting them as a separate country even though the other countries in their world have accepted it as such.  With the Kingdoms ar war, there are people trying to bring them down, kidnappings, twisted plotlines that include jealous lover and all they will do to bring their obsessions to heel. A good majority of this also stems from a King's obsession and the consequences of that obsession.

I didn't realize the pages were flying by, because I was so captivated by the story. This was a romping good read that had all the political intrigue, mystery, and delicious sex anyone could want. Filled with memorable characters like Kate/Sapphire who is a  member of the King's Harem. This makes her the most desirable women in her country where being a Courtesan is a highly respected position. The daughter of the most famous Courtesan and the King's most trusted advisor is a woman who is well schooled in all the arts of being desirable. She's however not as happy as she could be because she's no longer being challenged in her position and she wants what her parents have; a close and intimate relationship with a partner or partners who see her as more than Sapphire.

Kate/ Sapphire is a phenomenal character, who was well rounded and strong without being harsh or lost in either side of her character.  Wulfric was a future King trapped behind enemy lines. He becomes intrigued by the woman who has rescued him and wants to know more about her. A man used to being obeyed in all things he's struggling to keep his character in check when he realizes he's further from home than he thought and also being made to be subservient to another.

Kate was a politically astute character who engendered loyalty because she was so genuine.  Wulfric was fantastic because even after all he'd been through was unbowed in who he was and what he wanted.  Their chemistry was off the charts. I loved their battle of wills and how their story unfolded.

I loved how the world was unfolded without it being an information dump. The glimpses of the differences between Kingdoms and how cultural differences can really set up relationships for success of failure was great to see.  The story just drew you in, it's filled with so many plot twists, evil characters & jealousies. I was stunned when it ended and I realized all of this happened in less than 300 pages.  I loved that this gave you a great ending for this book but was left in a way that if she ever felt like it a sequel could be written. I'm personally in the bandwagon of more, please!!

 ★★★★1/2☆

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Cyberevolution Series by Kaitlyn O'Connor

Happy Reading my loves, 

Paranormal Telly: A Discovery of Witches .@ADiscoveryOfWTV .@DebHarkness

This was a feature on my previous blog and I want to bring it over. Here I will share my favorite paranormal television shows and of course make it a bit bookish by sharing books I think go along with it. Of course, if there is source material I will also link any reviews to the original books as well.

Show: A Discovery of Witches (Season 1)
Seasons: 1
Run Time: 60 mins
Air Dates & Time: Sundays @ 9pm
Reruns can be seen: Sundance, Shutter, Amazon Prime, AMC
IMBD Link
Synopsis:

Brilliant historian Diana Bishop is a witch denying her own heritage. But when she unexpectedly calls up an ancient, bewitched manuscript from Oxford's Bodleian library, one that was thought by the creatures to be lost and could answer the mysteries of their existence, she finds herself thrown into the heart of a dangerous mystery - and into the path of the enigmatic geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont. Matthew is driven to solve the looming threat of the creatures' decline and extinction, but their unlikely alliance to find the book before it falls into the wrong hands - and their deepening relationship - threatens to violate age-old taboos and shake the fragile peace that exists between the species.

Tagline: It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with A Discovery Of Witches.

Trailer:

I absolutely loved this adaptation of Deborah's book. I watched this via Amazon prime. I watched it over a weekend and got absolutely nothing done because I was so absorbed.  Starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer as Matthew and Diana I absolutely fell in love with their dynamic, their chemistry and the way in which they portrayed the characters.

The show is a cast of characters ranging from vampire, Daemons and Witches living within a hidden world right next to ours. Diana has spent her life running from magic until of course magic comes calling in a big way.  I love that this cast of characters are diverse, and you feel the mystery of who each of them are right from the get-go. None of the characters are any less than the others and the potential for betrayal ranges high when so many are seeking to retrieve the manuscript.  Within the book, we don't get as much background about the others as we do in the show, but the show makes all these different threads come together into a wonderful tapestry of a story.

There are a few changes in the show from the book, like when events occur and who gives some information, but the bare bones match and the story doesn't sacrifice anything for the telling. I will say the characters are more real and fleshed out in the show than they are in the book and we get more back story from the side characters in the show than we did in the book, which makes this way better. 

Since this is being told from so many different perspectives and each person has their own agenda you can feel the tension escalating as the story advances. Each episode giving us just enough to make you come back for more. And that final episode??? I almost fell out of my chair. DId they or didn't they make it?? We'll have to tune into next season to find out. 

I highly recommend for my paranormal lovers and for even those who thought they wouldn't love paranormal.  

Books In Series: ALL SOULS TRILOGY 

• A Discovery of Witches (Review)
• Shadow Of Night
• Book Of Life

 ★★★★★

RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are a few books and shows that would also suit your fancy if you like this one.

Shows

• Midnight Texas
• The Originals 
• Vampire Diaries 
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Books:

• Katie McAlister (rom-com supernatural )
• Christine Feehan's Carpathian Series
• Susan Krinard
• Maggie Shayne 
• Karen Marie Morning's Highlander Series (This also contains a bit of time travel as well)

What else would you recommend my loves??? Have you had a chance to either read the book or watch the series yet?? Share in the comments down below and I'll see you tomorrow.

Monday Movie #Review: Avengers Endgame

Movie Title: Avengers Endgame
Released: April 29th, 2019
Directed by: Anthony & Joe Russo
Starring: Everybody in Hollywood named Chris (LOL)
Based on. Marvel Comics
Run Time:3 hours 2 mins

Premise: 

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe. via IMBD

Trailer: 

Hi my loves,

I haven't done one of these in a while. I really am excited to be sharing my thoughts on Avengers: Endgame. Now I will freely say I haven't been a devout watcher of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (from now on in this review known as the MCU) I sporadically watched the movies over the years. Of course, I like just about every black person the world over (hyperbolic but that's what it felt like) watched the Black Panther movie and next Avengers movie because it had Black Panther in it. That wasn't just an addition to the MCU but a cultural moment for us and I watched in theaters a good 7 times. 

With that said, let's talk about Endgame. Going in we know that so many are lost after the battle with Thanos. The few that are left are desperate to find a way to right the wrong done to the universe & not just to their planet. However, there doesn't seem to be a way to bring everyone back. And this becomes the central plot point in the show. Interpersonal relationships are explored, grief and its outcome are explored and the question of is one person's happiness worth more than the lives of billions is asked several times.  

Beloved characters are seen and everyone assembles to battle for the soul of the universe. The question of what happens when heroes fail is answered, of couse, it wouldn't be a Marvel movie it didn't have a few jokes about that.  As the story progresses we get the question of is it better to try to move on past the pain or try to bring the others back.  We know from the trailer that Captain Marvel is now apart of the team and I absolutely love her showing up when she did.  I loved how each character showed up, and we learned how each dealt with the blow Thanos dealt the worlds.  There was humor as well as the discussion of grief. My favorite being Rocket being called Rachett, and a raccoon (which is a running theme throughout). 

I freely admit to crying several times throughout this movie. One of the first times was realizing that no matter what comes after this Stan Lee won't be making his appearances like always before. I've never been so grateful to have met him at BEA (book expo america) 2014. I wasn't watching the Marvel movies at the time so I didn't know who he was but my sister was fangirling fiercely and went to meet him. I'm so glad we got that moment.  (lucky girl has met him a few more times due to going to comic con). There are hard choices to be made by each character and by the group and when the final moves are made it breaks my heart. I squealed when events happened, I cheered on the Avengers when they formulated their plan and sobbed through the ending. Once I realized it was the end for the overall theme and characters I was saddened to see the saga end. Hopefully, there will be more from this universe 

I highly recommend the series but of coirse this movie as well. I loved the way it wrapped up the entire saga. It's definitely the end of an era.  I'm going to rewatch all the movies in timeline order and share my thoughts. Have you seen it?? Let me know what you think down in the comments my loves.

★★★★★

Bring popcorn & tissues
and as always enjoy my loves,

Stacking The Shelves (2019) #7: April: 2nd Hand Haul

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page! Stacking The Shelves now has a new host and check out that new image!!

Thriftbooks:

Hate To Want You by Alisha Rai

Wrong To Need You by Alisha Rai

The Exposure by Tara Sue Me. I have been working my way through the series and this was one of the few that I didn't own, I wish to end the series so I'm snagging these as well. 

Traded books on Paperbackswap:

I have been reading my way through the Blackout bookshelves and clearing my way through some of my backlog, so I have collected a few of my favorite authors works, so I'm working on pulling in:

Rochelle Alers:

Bittersweet Love

Long Time Coming

Della's House of Style (Anthology)

And that's it. I do still have more coming in and I will be going back to slowing down, but the more I read the more I haul. How about you?? What'd you get in your haul this week?? Share in the comments down below and I'll see you next week.

Happy Reading & Haulin' my loves

Book #Review: Falling For Rachel (The Stanislaskis 3) by Nora Roberts

Book Title: Falling For Rachel ( The Stanislaskis, Those Wild Ukrainians 3)
Author:  Nora Roberts |Website| Facebook| 
Publisher:  Silhouette

Genre: Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 3
Format: ebook, Mass Market

Cost: $4.99

Pages: 253

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
Publication Date: April 1, 1993
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

Landlocked in Manhattan, rough-and-ready seaman Zackary Muldoon needed a street-smart, two-fisted attorney to save his kid brother's delinquent hide. What he got was a long-legged lady lawyer clad in sophisticated silks. Public defender Rachel Stanislaki made Zack's blood boil...and his loins ache.

No endless voyage had ever had him hungering for a female the way one day in court with this woman did. He'd have to give Rachel a wide berth...before she trimmed his sails forever...and anchored him with unquenchable desire.

This is the third siblings' story, and this is Rachel the only one born here in the US. A lawyer by trade she's living the life she wants in midtown Manhattan in a shoebox of an apartment (because really it's what she can afford on her shoestring paycheck), but she's made it hers.  I really enjoy these family stories where they get along so well and are tight-knit because that's my family, and they are also immigrants which make this also relatable. Rachel isn't the baby but she's close and she loves her family and her job. She takes on a client who has seemingly no one to help him after he gets himself involved with a gang and their crimes, and she knows if given the chance he would thrive, so she goes to bat for him.

In doing so she runs into her client's big brother who mistakenly believes she's just some girl his brother is dating. And the client doesn't help matters because even though he's nineteen he thinks he's grown and is attracted to her.  This leads to an interesting miscommunication that Rachel believed she cleared up but only made more complicated because she kept skirting the issue instead of meeting it head-on.

This story had the tightknit Stanishlaskis once again coming to the rescue of this smaller family who has little to no community.  The two brothers were wary around each other due to their circumstances growing up and the disappointment of having your hero leave you in a jam.  The two brothers were trying so hard to not need each other and yet they clearly did.  Being the awesome family that they are the Stanislaskis allow others to embrace being who they are without judgment and actually encourage the talents among them. I loved how Rachel reached Nick when he was still trying to hold himself back.

This is told from a few points of view to allow us to see how the story completely unfolds, mostly told from Rachel and Zach's POV. We get glimpses of the whole family because Sunday dinner is a thing. I loved that Kate as a baby embraced Nick and that the younger daughter was just in love.  The story has many great moments that embrace the differences in culture and what family looks like to everyone. I love Rach and Zach as a couple, as they work to figure out how they can work it out with him being his brother's guardian and she being his lawyer. I loved that she had mentors who saw what she could be and encouraged her to pursue those dreams.

In the end, we take on a bit of what happens when you embrace the streets when looking for family, what a found family looks like, what love can be and what healthy family dynamics can create. I love it and recommend highly.

 ★★★★1/2☆

Books In Series

• Luring A Lady 
• Taming Natasha

Happy Reading my loves, 

March 2019 To Be Read:

Welcome to March of 2019 my loves, we're three months in and I'm kind of slacking on the reading goal, however this month I really want to put in the work and knock down the 18 books I want to read.

Put in the reading work and achieve 150 books read.  Watching my pattern from the past few years, during the fall I don't get much if anything read, so I'm changing up the plan of attack. 

My goal this year is 150  books, if I break that down it comes out to 18 books per month, with 3 to 4  books a week. Totally doable in my books, so as the proverb says, you can eat an elephant one bite at a time, so here are my first few bites:

Read So Far this Year: 

18

TBR Pile 

150

TBR Balance:
132

Lemonade Syllabus:

1. Disappearing Acts by Terry McMillan 
2. Watch the movie adaptation
3. Shifting by Charisse Jones

Perpetual Author Challenge:

• Brenda Jackson A Brother's Honor
• Christine Feehan

Finish Series Challenge:

• Monica Murphy Savor & Intoxicated.

Men Made in America (two titles per month)

• Jan
• Jan
• Feb
• Feb
• Mar
• Mar

Black Out Challenge:

• Like Water for Chocolate~ Book Club read
• .

Sylvia Day

• .
• .

Top 19 Books:

1. Jewel Beverly Jenkins
2. .

Book Club Picks:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I know this doesn't have a lot of books listed but I'm leaving myself the room to pick up books based on mood. I'm also trying to stick within each of the topics.  I have a few books that have rolled over from last month that I need to pick up and complete. What are you going to be reading my loves?? Share in the comments down below if you have read any of these and as always

Happy Reading