Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Review - The Vampire's Accidental Wife

The Vampire’s Accidental Wife by Kristen Painter


My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“I am who I am.” She spread her arms wide. “And this is who I am.”

“Never stop being you. It’s what made me fall for you.”

“Desi kept her smile on. “I hear ginko biloba is good for that.”

Review:

5 out of 5 gnomes

This, this book was everything I love about the series. All the familiar characters and some awesome new ones.

I really liked the set up for this book. Seeing more of Julian is always a plus. He and Desi have clear chemistry and their relationship is well done. The build up of everything was great, no instalove here, it all felt earned.

Desi and Julian are a good match because they are both strong and bring out the best in each other. She's not one to take grief from anybody, like when she meets his family.

I was surprised by the bad guy and the solution they came up with. Most of the time I can tell who the big bad will be but this was not one of those times.

The Ellingham family dynamic continues to be extremely entertaining. Especially Eleanora, their grandmother.

My favorite character though, has to be Birdie. She’s just so funny and her interactions with everybody are always really entertaining. Hopefully she get’s her own book one of these days.

Overall, this was one of the strongest books in the series so far. I look forward to continuing to read more about the awesomeness that is Nocturne Falls.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Sentence Sneak Peek - The Vampire's Accidental Wife

The Vampire’s Accidental Wife by Kristen Painter

The first sentence from each chapter of The Vampire’s Accidental Wife, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

“For the briefest of moments, Julian Ellingham awoke thinking tonight was going to be just like every other night of his life.”

“My darling Desi, we had quite an evening.”

“Julian stared out the windows of his penthouse in the Excelsior.”

“Desi knew she should be dreaming by now.”

“While Desi packed, Julian stood on the balcony and stared down at the city below.”

“With her elbows propped on her knees, Desdemona let out an exhausted sigh and rested her head in her hands.”

“Desi had imagined Julian’s home would have one of two styles.”

“Maybe the women were extra clingy this evening, but Julian felt like he hadn’t had three minutes without one wrapped around him, holding out her phone for her friends to take a picture.”

“The Ryde driver glanced back at Desdemona.”

“Quarter after midnight.”

“Desi sat cross-legged on her bed, wearing a pair of leggings and an oversized tee she usually reserved for spa days.”

“Next on Julian’s to-do list was an unannounced visit to his grandmother.”

“Desdemona blinked up at the ceiling.”

“Julian had heard and understood what she’d said, but it took a moment for the words to register.”

“Julian didn’t expect her to answer instantly with a yes, but he also hadn’t expected her to sit there looking at him like he’d suddenly developed a gaping head wound.”

“Anything important?”

“The delicious aroma of coffee awakened Desi.”

“Desi watched with great interest as two very handsome men and two very beautiful women (one with a baby on her hip) streamed into the room.”

“That was… very you.”

“Desi paced the expanse of Julian’s living room while he looked at the list of names she’d forwarded to him.”

“Julian squinted at her.”

“The dreams that woke Desi were uncommon.”

“Of course,” Julian said.”

“The pancakes were everything Julian had promised, but they still weren’t quite enough to take Desi’s mind off a few things.”

“On a whim, Julian drove to Pandora’s office.”

“Julian knocked three times on the door of the Pinehurst Inn’s number five room.”

“The itch burning up the back of Julian’s neck and the cotton filling his head told him all he needed to know.”

“The lake proved a dead end.”

“Birdie parked in the alley behind the pharmacy, making the whole thing feel like some super clandestine affair, which maybe it sort of was, considering they were here for a drug with such a shady reputation.

“That way.”

“Watching Julian go after the hunter helped take Desi’s mind off the pain of having a crossbow bolt sticking out of her shoulder.”

“Hospital chairs weren’t the most comfortable things in the world, but sitting in one as Julian had been for the last few hours was still far better than the sheet of plywood he’d been strapped to.”

“After being released from the hospital the following morning, Desi had expected a leisurely day at home with her husband.”

“Julian stood between his brothers, watching Alice with great curiosity.”

“Do you, Julian Fitzwalter Ellingham, take this woman again to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Review - Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“Extroverts were nothing if not dependable.”

“You seem to have mistaken me for the movie Mean Girls,” Elena said.”


5 out of 5 gnomes

Short but incredibly sweet. Rowell is so very good at making you fall in love with characters at the speed of light.

Elena, Gabe, and Troy are a terrific trio. They’re all waiting in line for the new Star Wars movie. She expects more people to participate but it’s just her, Gabe, and Troy over multiple days.

Great character moments and humor abound. Star Wars and unexpected situations make for one heck of an interesting story. That ending was pretty pitch perfect too.

This is the kind of short story that will leave you wanting to know what happens next ASAP and imagining all the possibilities for the future of these characters.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Sentence Sneak Peek - Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

“There were already two people sitting outside the theater when Elena got there, so she wouldn’t be first in line.”


“It didn’t seem like Elena had slept, but she must have.”


“The Force awakens!”


“Something strange happened at 6 A.M.”

“Elena woke up with her head on Gabe’s shoulder.”

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Review - Alien Education


Alien Education by Gini Koch

* Provided by NetGalley for Review

My Favorite Quotes/Lines:

“It’s not easy saving the world.”

“In other words, I’m an Earth Girl, but I’ll never make it easy.”

“As I well know, everyone’s a critic. As long as you’re doing the best you can, for the right reasons, no one else’s opinion should matter.”

“Oh, never think that, Missus Executive Chief. That’s pretty much you daring the universe, and we all know that the universe loves to take your dares.”

“You don’t know us.”

“Just be yourself. That’s always the best advice I or anyone else can ever give you.”

“It’s called seeing the best in people, and some of you could freaking try it.”

4 out of 5 gnomes

This is one of my go to series. I love all the characters and the story always pulls me in aka almost makes me late to work a lot because I just don’t want to stop reading.

Yes, the mastermind was taken care of but as always there are plenty of enemies out there and a plethora of surprises.

There was danger in this book yes, but it didn’t feel as dangerous as the last one did. I liked the drama and family aspects of everything, especially what Siler and Lizzie bring to everything. Plus the politics of it all are always intriguing.

I think the talents of all the kids though could mean big trouble in the future. To use a modified song lyric let’s just say, “Mommy’s alright, daddy’s alright the kids are a little weird...” This trouble might show up when their helping goes too far.

The ending of this one seems like the calm before a very big storm.