Sunday, 5 February 2017

TV Catch Up: The Hopeless Task...


You always hear me complaining that I have so much TV to catch up with right? And you probably think I'm exaggerating in how hopeless a task it is...so welcome to my lack of TV catch up where I show you what I need to do to get up to date on all these series I want to watch. This is not even the full list, just what I can remember! Read it and weep for me...!

STARTED:
Scandal-completed season one
Elementary-started season one
Hannibal-started season one
Lost
24-completed seasons 1-6
Supernatural-watched 5 eps of season one
Walking Dead-completed seasons 1-3
Doctor Who
Torchwood-completed season one
Haven-watched 2 eps of season one.
Legend of the Seeker-watched pilot
Nikita
Prison Break-completed seasons 1-2

NOT STARTED BUT WANT TO SEE:
Homeland
The 100
Grimm
Lost Girl
Sanctuary
iZombie
Z Nation
Fear the Walking Dead
Sleepy Hollow
How to get away with murder
Stranger Things
Marvel Agents of SHIELD
The Crown
The White Princess
Downton Abbey
Strike Back
Harper's Island
Scorpion
24 Legacy 
Warehouse 13
House of Cards
Madam Secretary
The Flash
Arrow
Quantico
The Blacklist
The Following 
The Vampire Diaries
Once upon a time 
Bitten
The Newsroom
Fortitude
Continuum
Primevil
Designated Survivor
Van Helsing
Vikings
Last Ship
Last Resort
The Librarians
Legends of Tomorrow
The Strain
Teen Wolf
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Chuckles Cover Love #12


If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might mean I never look at the blurb at all. 


 This week I'm looking at the books of Lisa Blackwood and her fantasy/UF/paranormal romance series Gargoyle and Sorceress. I've read and enjoyed the first book and look forward to seeing what happens next. I also love the colours on the covers!

She has also done another series that I might take a look at though it sounds more fantasy and paranormal romance. Again, great covers!

Have you read anything by the author? What do you think of the covers?
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Saturday, 4 February 2017

Stacking the Shelves #167


Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

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! Click on the link under the book to find its page on Goodreads or Smashwords. 

Please note that I always leave a message on your STS/SP if you visit me, but if you use DISQUS or a similar third party I will not be able to leave a comment on your page. I don't allow any company access to my social media accounts and I certainly don't allow them to edit and take over the way DISQUS does. So if you use DISQUS, I can't leave comments on your page so I can't follow you back, sorry! (see below why I say NO)

Authorize DISQUS to use your account?
Disqus is a service and tool for web comments and discussions.
This application will be able to:
*Read Tweets from your timeline.
*See who you follow, and follow new people.
*Update your profile.
*Post Tweets for you.

I'm noticing that some blogs set with Google Plus are trying to force you to open a Google Plus or Facebook account before you can leave a comment. Well, I have no interest in rejoining Google Plus or joining Facebook so if your blog uses this set up, I won't be following it or commenting! And sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me so there might not be a message from me some weeks or you might get a double message sometimes! Blame them, not me but I will persevere as it only happens the odd time!
**************** 
Another week has passed and we're into a new month already...can you believe it? On the reading side of things I had a great month and really blew through those ebooks that were breeding on my ereader! It gets my E-Book Blitz Challenge off to a great start! This month I'm doing a paperback series catch up with zombies that should be fun but it will slow progress a bit as they take longer to read than the ebooks and there won't be DNFs! This week in general was about getting back to normal with the blogging as well, getting reviews posted for books I read last year so I can get caught up with it, getting ahead with my posts and getting back to my regular features. It was a bit less chaotic this week which was good! No films or TV watched though but I hope to fit in watching the dvd I bought this week...

DOWNLOADS:
The books this week are a mixture of those I found through links on author newsletters or through viewing them on other blogs!





PAPERBACKS:





GIFTS!
Thank you to the wonderful Velvet from  http://vvb32reads.blogspot.co.uk/  who sent me a gift package of goodies! No photo of the big chocolate covered biscuit as I ate that already... but here are the Game of Thrones coasters, coasters, Daenerys keyring and fun zombie book! Thanks Velvet! *hugs*






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Friday, 3 February 2017

Book Review: Wicked Revenge by DelSheree Gladden (Someone Wicked This Way Comes #4)


Secrets are unraveling, but they only bring up more questions and not enough answers. While the Roth siblings attempt to recover from the devastating confrontation with the Godlings, each one must overcome their own demons to survive.

In the midst of trying to hold their personal lives together, the captured Richiamos must be rescued from Isolde’s grasp, the Godlings must find a way to battle the traitors intent on tearing them apart, and the truth of the Godlings’ true purpose must be uncovered.

There seems to be no end to the battles they are facing, but if they can just hold onto each other and their sanity long enough to survive, they might just save everyone.

My Review:
One fight is over but the war is about to start and the Godlings are holed up in a new compound that they need to secure. It is vital more than ever that the Roths untap the full range of their powers but why can't Zander get his ability working when it is vital to their survival and his promise to Ivy? It is time to risk contacting the rogue Godlings to see if they will lend their support as both David's people and Isolde's forces are preparing to attack the compound. Vanessa is trying to understand her new powers and teach it to her fellow Godlings which calls into doubt if she is really The Gift while Ketchup's own explosive secret is going to shock Vanessa.

Prepare yourself for an emotional book that will have you on the edge of losing it in several places. Assassins are tracking Vanessa every time she leaves the building but she is determined to be there at the end with her grandmother, despite the secrets kept from the siblings which did them such harm. But an emotionally irrational decision that she takes to try and save her grandmother is going to put someone close to her in mortal danger. I'm not going to tell you what happened or to who but it was a shocking plot turn that reduced me to tears and nearly tore me apart.

All of our main characters are facing personal demons and the stress of their situation. Oscar is finding it hard to cope with being some kind of leader when all he wants is to look after his family. If the Prophecy is correct, all those unworthy will be dealt with by The Gift which Oscar believes will be the end of him and the thought of leaving his girlfriend and child devastates him. Being responsible for all the Godling kids is not what he wants but he doesn't quite trust Chris enough to let him do it. Chris reveals his story in an effort to win their trust and prove that he was trying to look after Vanessa.

I liked the introduction of the rogue Godlings, those who wanted to give their children a normal life and teach them how to control their gifts, while staying away from those like David who want to go to war. Caleb is related to the Roths and had been secretly trying to protect Emily and Joshua in case David found out about them. They agree to start training the Godlings and help the Roths to tap into their full potential. Vanessa wants to explore her healing abilities but she is going to discover that her impact on people can be truly life changing in another couple of plot twists that I never saw coming.

It's harder to write a review for this book as it is the last in the series. There was a lot happening and a lot of secrets coming out but I can't talk about most of it in case I spoil it for everyone! All I can say is that it continues to be character based, following the relationships and emotional issues of the characters, while delving into the paranormal world of the hunger and the war between the opposing factions. The big battle was brilliant and yes, it did reduce me to tears again! There is that paranormal storyline but in having characters you can relate to, there is a realism to the plot that just grabs you and drag you along. I love the continually developing story of the hunger, with the exploration of it being a gift instead of a curse if the Godlings are trained to use it that way. I loved finding out what the Prophecy was about and the back story of characters like Oscar and Ketchup.

This was a very enjoyable series that totally goes against the grain of the usual YA paranormal, proving that you can have a great story without the use of the cliche tropes and whiny teenagers!
Read December 2016.
star rating photo: Four Star Rating 4stars.png
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Book Review: Wicked Glory by DelSheree Gladden (Someone Wicked This Way Comes #3)


Faced with holding up their end of an impossible bargain, Van and Zander must choose between playing it safe and risking everything.

Zander has failed to reproduce the spectacular show of power David is so desperate to see again, which puts him on the outs with his supposed mentor. In order to keep their bargain with the Eroi, he's forced to work more closely with them, which means being subjected to Ivy's mind-stealing presence again. Fighting his hunger becomes secondary to convincing her the Eroi are wrong about her purpose.

Once the most detested of the Roth siblings, Van has now become David's pet. It's clear he intends to take her into his inner circle, but at what price? Van is forced to decide what she's willing to do in order to keep her family safe. If becoming David's protege is the only way... can she live up to his expectations without losing herself completely?

My Review: 
Annabelle's spur of the moment decision to run has caused a rift with the Roths that need to be repaired if they are to trust her again, especially Oscar who took a very dim view of her choice. The Roths are committed to work with the Eroi and Isolde and are not convinced that they can really be trusted, but Zander feels that the agreement to protect Vanessa from David will be worth it, even if part of the deal subjects him to being around Ivy to be tested by the Eroi. Ketchup knows that Zander is hiding something important from Vanessa, Oscar reveals his big secret to Zander and the truth about Noah is revealed.

Lots of interesting stuff happening in this book! Lets start with Oscar. It has been so great to have him fully involved in the story as he is such a dangerous and fascinating character. Finding out the secret that he has been keeping from his family is a bit of a surprise but it helps to show that in spite of the bad things he has done, he is actually a good guy at heart. It just made me love the character even more.

Vanessa is enjoying her training now that dance moves are being brought into it but it is a shock to realise exactly what she is being trained for. She understands now that the best way to keep her family safe is to do what David tells her, learn and resign herself to her fate, hoping that she doesn't lose her own identity and humanity along the way. Is Ketchup going to be able to keep her grounded and help her through the trauma of what she is about to do? When the two of them also uncover what Noah has been hiding from them, they are unsure what to do about it. I'm not going to say anything to spoil this part of the plot!

Zander is hating the way Isolde wants to keep testing his reactions to Ivy but getting the chance to talk to Ivy is what Zander wanted all along and he uses it to try and get her onto his side. He is starting to believe that she does care about him but how does he really feel about her after all that happened? Will she be able to help him to fight back against David? Annabelle is not happy about Zander being in contact with Ivy but after her own silly stunt, she has to concentrate on winning back his trust instead of rocking the boat further. They continue to research the history of the Eroi and Godlings, especially the prophecy about who is the Gift who will end the war.

David decides to set his plans in motion at last as Vanessa and Chris go on their first joint mission. He wants to know if Vanessa has what it takes to do his work. The mission is not something she wants to do but she fears for her family if she doesn't. And the way things go have a dramatic effect on her. David puts Zander in to fight James again, determined to find out if Zander is what he wants him to be, unaware that Zander is prepared for this with some help from Ivy. But will it be enough to stop David for good?

There are so many twists in this plot and a lot of tension! Noah's reveal and Oscar's secret provide us with vital information about the past of the Roth family. I found Oscar's whole backstory to be the best part of this book. Poor Vanessa is really put through the wringer with the mission that she is sent on and the effects it have on her are nothing short of heartbreaking. Ketchup is ready to do anything to protect her. The book builds up to the big showdown as the Roths make an attempt to take back their destiny from David with help from a few allies. It was pretty exciting and tense. I had my suspicions about who the Gift was even as our group wondered about it.

This series keeps up the excellent standard of the previous books and I am totally invested in the Roths and their struggle to survive and control the hunger!  
Read December 2016. 
star rating photo: Four Star Rating 4stars.png
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