Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody. I'm pretty sure I speak for everybody when I say that 2020 was a hard year to get through, and I'm glad that it's over. I hope everybody had a fun and safe New Year's Eve, and that 2021 treats you well!

In December, just as I predicted, I didn't post as much as I did in October and November. I only posted 5 times, and only two of those were reviews, but the holidays are always a busy time. I'm surprised I even got two reviews posted at all.

I did surpass my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal. Since I only started reading again in October, my goal was a humble 10 books, but I ended up reading 13, and a total of 3,883 pages.

I set my 2021 goal to 12 books, only a small increase, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get there.

I don't have a lot planned for this month. I should have a review posted for my current read, Everybody Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, and if I can do that, I will finally be starting Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft.

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I'm wishing everybody a happy 2021, happy reading everybody!

Synclair by Rachel Gold

Title: Synclair

Author: Rachel Gold

Publication date: November 17, 2020

Publisher: Bella Books

Pages: 212

Special thanks to Netgalley and Bella Books for granting me access to this title in exchange for an honest review!

This review is just a collection of quick thoughts as I don't feel like I have enough to say to format it as a full review!

Goodreads Synopsis

The summer before her senior year, Emma Synclair decides to find her true love: either a girl or God. Since she has a crush on her best friend―and on her best friend’s girlfriend―Synclair figures she’ll have better luck with God.

Which God? How will she know? Wicca, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity? Her atheist parents are out of the country for three months, so Synclair has the space to try some religions in peace.

Or so she thinks, until her friends decide that her house is the party house―that is: the dinner party house! How can she tell them no? She sneaks away to start her spiritual quest, but runs into her childhood friend Avery. Who grew up to be hot. And is also into girls. Is her true love Avery or God? Can she have both or is that the path to neither? Synclair vows to find out.

Quick Thoughts

I thought this book was okay. I liked all the characters and I loved that they displayed so much diversity, both with LGBTQ+ aspects and with various health issues/disabilities. It was wonderful to read a book with so much representation.

This book deals heavily with religious themes, and many different religious views are discussed. This is mentioned in the synopsis, but I want to emphasize that the religious themes are a huge part of the book, and not something that is simply mentioned a few times, so if directly exploring religious themes doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I would skip this book.

My only gripe with this book is that some of the events that take place feel a little ridiculous, like when Synclair falls into a pit and all of the events around that, or the very dramatic hail storm. At some points, it reads a little bit like fanfiction.

Overall, I think that this book was alright. If the subject matter appeals to you and you're okay with a little dramatics, you may enjoy this read. 

Chat With Me Thursday (15): Author Interview with Cherie Coyler

This week for my Chat With Me Thursday interview, I'm bringing you an interview with author Cherie Colyer, author of middle grade and young adult fiction books, including her newest,  Damned When I Didn't, which was released on November 18, 2020.

Connect with Cherie on Goodreads and visit her website, or find her on Twitter and Facebook!

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1. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m a mother of four amazing men, an avid reader, lover of nature and magic and the different wonders of the world who loves to creates new characters and invent ways to get them in trouble. I also work full-time as a senior advanced technical support engineer with people much smarter than myself.

2. When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was in my thirties. My husband and I like to go for long walks, and I was always talking about different story ideas I had. He’d chime in with his thoughts, and before we knew it, we’d have created a mini world hidden within our own. One day he asked me why I don’t write the story I talked about the most down. So I did. And I enjoyed it so much I kept going until I honed my craft and found homes for some of my books.

3. What book of yours was most difficult to write and why?

Right now, I’m going to say the sequel to Damned When I Didn’t. I’m a bit stuck on what I want to happen, which is driving me nuts.

4. Which book was the most fun?

Oh, this is hard. Once I get to know my characters, I have fun with the stories. But if I had to pick, it would be a toss-up between Hold Tight, which is the second book in my Embrace Series, and Entwined, the third book. The characters for that story came easily to me, and I always knew what was going to happen next, which made it fun to write the sequels.

5.  In Damned When I Didn't what came to you first, the plot or the characters?

The plot. I really wanted to write a book about a succubus, but I wanted to have a unique twist. Something I hadn’t read before. And I thought, what if my succubus was a virgin. Everything fell in place from there.

 6. Do you have any writing routines that you do to get yourself in the mood to write?

I write in the morning, so my routine starts with coffee and ends with me on the couch working on my latest work-in-progress. Not too exciting, I know, but it works for me. Now, if I find myself with the house to myself during the day, I gather my things (something to drink, my phone for music, a snack, and laptop) and set up outside in the shade or in the living room where it’s bright and cheery. I find it easiest to write when I’m the only one home, so I find these times blissfully perfect.

7. What do you do to ease writers' block?

Anything away from my laptop: hanging out with friends or family, yard work, cleaning, shopping, reading, watching reruns of my favorite shows. If this doesn’t work, then I open a fresh Word doc and write a day in my character’s life or let my character ramble on, spilling his or her innermost thoughts until I realize what needs to happen next in my story.

8. Are you working on anything new right now?

I’ve been alternating between playing around with a sequel to Damned When I Didn’t and revising a YA paranormal thriller I’d written a while ago.

9. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Read as much as you can, and read a little of everything. You can learn a lot about flow, characterization, plot, etc. by reading different books. And don’t give up. Writing is hard at times. First drafts often (maybe even always) suck. But that’s why we revise. So keep going, finish the first draft, and remember to have fun.

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That concludes the interview! Special thanks to Cherie for allowing me to feature her today, as always, it was so much fun!

Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart by Helene Opocensky

Title: Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart

Author: Helene Opocensky

Publication date:  October 10, 2020

Pages: 380

Quick Thoughts

I was surprised at how much I loved this book. Fantasy books are always a bit hit and miss to me. I do admit that I am pretty picky with the genre, but this one really hit the mark for me.

What I loved most about this book was the all of the worldbuilding. Every element was developed with a great attention to detail. The history, the way the magic works, the reasons behind everything that happens, past and present, nothing was left out. The writing truly puts you inside the story, so you are surrounded by it in the best way possible.

The characters were also deeply developed, so I felt connected to all of them. They all had a purpose in the story, none of them felt like they were there just to take up space, which I really liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I don't have any complaints. If you're looking for a fantasy book with lots of attention given to the world-building, this book might be for you!

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays Book Blitz + Giveaway!

Link by Link: An Anthology of Haunted Holidays
Publication date: December 2nd 2020
Genres: Holiday, Paranormal, Supernatural, Young Adult

“‘I wear the chain I forged in life,’ replied the Ghost. ‘I made it link by link…’”-Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Link by Link is a collection of 9 stories of ghosts, spirits, and creatures unnamed, all come to teach lessons we won’t soon forget. From sweet Christmas tales to terrifying holiday hauntings, these stories take a dive into the past in the hopes of creating a better—or at least different—future.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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GIVEAWAY!
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Hello December + November Wrap Up and Wrap Up Tag

Time has gotten away from me in the last week or so, so what I would usually post as three separate short posts, I'm condensing into one, very slightly longer post.

First things first, we're saying goodbye to November and hello to December. November brought with it fewer posts than October, but that doesn't surprise me because in October I was posting nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. In November, I didn't read enough to create that much content. All in all though, I still managed to post 18 times, which is still a lot for me.

I don't have a lot planned for December, and I can pretty much guarantee that I will be posting significantly less this month. I do have a few things planned though, so far I know that I have one author interview to post, one book blitz (with a giveaway!), and I'm hoping to be finishing with Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart by Helene Opocensky and Synclair by Rachel Gold, so if I do that, there will be reviews for those this month.

Last but certainly not least the lovely Pheonix at Books With Wings tagged me in her Wrap-Up Tag. I'm so happy to be tagged in her post again, just because time has gotten away from me in the last week or so doesn't mean that I would miss the opportunity post the tag again!

I would also like to once again tag CM Alsop at YA Lit Reviews for Teens and Libraries and Laura at Blue Eyed Books

To participate, just follow these rules:

• Link back to the original creator (Pheonix at Books With Wings)
• Thank the person who tagged you (Thank you so much Pheonix! I love your tags.)
• Answer all the questions
• Tag 3 people
• Enjoy!

Okay, so, here I go with the questions

A book you read this month with a strong bond (friends, family etc.)

I think I'm gonna go with Down World by Rebecca Phelps for this one, the bond that exists at the very beginning between brother and sister is very strong here, and the bonds that form throughout the book are also strong and create a found-family vibe.

A book you read this month in which the characters feasted

I think I'll go with The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. by Colleen Nelson. The feast wasn't huge, but I think it counts, there was a bunch of people gathering. There was food. There was wine. That checks all the boxes for me.

The characters you would love to invite to your house for Thanksgiving (pre-covid)

I would say I definitely want Monsieur Duval from The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. and Max from Smoke and Mirrors: The Trueheart. (which yes, technically I'm still reading, but I started reading it in November so I'm hoping I can still count itt) I think Duval and Max would definitely get in an argument about magic, but that's okay. After all, what's Thanksgiving without a little argument at the dinner table?

Chat With Me Thursday (14): Author Interview with Danielle Young

For my Chat With me Thursday this week, I have an interview with Danielle Young, author of five YA books, including her latest release, Failure, which released on April 30, 2020.

You can check out Danielle online here through her website, Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, and Goodreads

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1.Can you tell me a little about yourself?

If you ask me there isn’t much to know, but I will give it a shot. I am a mother to five incredible boys. They have been my motivation and light through everything and they are the reason that I currently have the job I do. By day, I am a high school culinary arts teacher, sharing my love and passion for the foodservice industry with youth. By night, I can be found writing or binging my favorite shows *coughs* The Last Kingdom, Merlin, Bones *coughs* or loving on one of my four cats and two dogs.

2. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I always sort of wrote as a kid. My friend and I used to lock ourselves away in closets and write stories through the night. But as I got older the desire to write was replaced with my need to be a mother. Then it was replaced with all the things that go with what society says being an adult is. I ventured into book blogging as a way to share my love of reading with others. It was that process and the connection with the Indie author community that helped stoke the writer in me back to life. I had an idea and some amazing Indie authors that I know and love encouraged me along the way. 

3. How long did it take you to write Failure?

It took me about four years to completely write Failure. I started it while finishing the finale book in my trilogy, because I just couldn’t wait to start writing it.

4. Out of all your novels, which was the most difficult to write and why?

I currently have five published books and Failure was by far the hardest to write because it is a deeply personal story to me. Every book I write has a piece of my soul, in all honesty I think every book contains a piece of the writer. But with Failure this is my what could have been story, what could have been my life if I had not accepted the loss of my mother so well in high school. What could have happened if I didn’t have a support system. So, everything about this story is me in a way. Some of the things that Chris experiences in the book are my own personal experiences. Of course, told from a guy’s POV. :) Let’s just say I cried a lot writing this one.

5. What's your favourite part of writing?

My favorite part of writing is connecting with readers and hearing their thoughts on what I wrote. If my story finds even one reader, then I consider it a success.

6. Do you have any routines that help you write?

For me it is all about music. If I don’t have the right music I struggle with the story. I have to find music that speaks to my characters, once I do that, I can write.

7. What was the publishing process like? Was it different than you expected?

When I first published I would say I thought it was both easy and hard. The overall process I found easy, it was the individual steps that I often struggled with. Of course, I have gotten a lot better at it, but I still have a lot more to learn. But I think that’s how you become successful in anything, you try it, make mistakes, then work to do better next time.

8. How do you get rid of writer's block?

I have yet to figure out the answer to that one actually. That is part of the reason it takes me so long to write a book from start to finish. All I can say is that it is okay to step away from your writing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you don’t write every day. You have to do what works for you. And for some that means writing when the mood hits. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a month, year, or three years to write a book. All that matters is that you are doing it.

9. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

My advice for aspiring authors is to write. Don’t let fear stop you. If you have a story, then tell it, you are the only one who can tell it that way.

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That wraps up this week's Chat With Me Thursday! Special thanks to Danielle for allowing me to feature her!