Rainy Days With Amanda

It's been too long since I, and the majority of readers and viewers, first learned about the Heated Rivalry universe. When it came out, I watched all of season one, bought the corresponding book, bought a t-shirt, and joined online forums dedicated to Shane and Ilya. I've been reading quite a few other books and when I found out I would be traveling alone for a work conference ( see my Tampa blog ), I knew this would be the perfect time to enjoy the second book of the Heated Rivalry series. Here's a little book talk for Rachel Reid's The Long Game . About the Author Rachel Reid is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Game Changers hockey romance series, as well as the standalone hockey romance novels Time to Shine and The Shots You Take. She lives in Nova Scotia, Canada. She has always lived there, and it’s looking like she probably always will. She has two boring degrees and two interesting kids.    About the Book " Ten years. That’s how long Shane Holl...

 When another Tui Snider book came up on the docket for the Lone Star Literary Life bloggers group, I signed up to review almost immediately. Since reading and reviewing her book 6 Feet Under Texas for the first time in 2020, I've been a Tui Snider fan. Her historic and niche books are something different and more than just another coffee table book. Here's my book talk of  Buried Dallas–Fort Worth: A Photographic Journey through North Texas Cemeteries   by Tui Snider. About the Author  Tui Snider is an author, speaker, photographer, YouTuber, podcast host, and musician who researches historic cemeteries and symbolism, offbeat Texas travel, overlooked history, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction–but then I moved to Texas!”  Snider’s best-selling books include Understanding Cemetery Symbols , 100 Things to Do in Dallas-Fort Worth Before You Die , Paranormal Texas , and many more. Snider has several books in progress and enjoys connec...

Hey Ya'll! I'm back with another Stephanie Plum novel. It's been almost a year since I read my last one. So many books, so little time. But I had an itch for my favorite bounty-hunter, so I grabbed the next book on the list and dove right back into the world of Stephanie and her bounty hunter life in Trenton, New Jersey.   *Side Note:  I'm also excited to go to Jersey next year and I will be checking to see if there is a Plum tour of sorts!    About the Author Janet Evanovich  is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall , but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a former lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter to make ends meet after losing her job. The novels in this series have been on The New York Times , USA Today , Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller lists. Evanovich has had her last seventeen Plums debu...

I love the  Crazy Rich Asians  movie, and it is my go-to movie on a flight. For our Hawaii trip, I wanted to read something more summer-y, and I thought maybe this was a great time to read  Crazy Rich Asians  and see how different or similar they. I’m here to say the book is very different but not in a bad way. Let’s talk about it. About the Author Kevin Kwan  is the author of New York Times bestsellers  Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems , and  Sex & Vanity . His books have been translated into 40 languages, and the film adaptation of  Crazy Rich Asians  became Hollywood’s highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. In 2018, Kevin was named by  Time Magazine  as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. About the Book When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and ...

   About the Author Susan P. Baker, a native of Galveston, Texas, is the author of 13 mystery/suspense novels, two nonfiction titles, and a collection of short pieces. A retired Texas judge, Susan presided over cases ranging from murder to divorce for 12 years in Galveston, later serving as a visiting judge across Texas for another 12 years. Before her judicial career, she practiced law for nine years and worked as a probation officer for two years. Her extensive experience in the justice system and Texas courts significantly influences her writing, bringing authenticity and depth to her fictional works.   About the Book  Aurora’s life seems close to perfect. She has a devoted husband, a recent move back to her hometown, and the chance to fix up the house she inherited. She has a close circle of new and old friends and finds fulfillment in her volunteer work at the local animal shelter, loving on the animals in her care. But one night, a strange sound aw...

I was completely infatuated with the first book, A Court of Thorns , so I didn't want to wait too long to read the next book. I was hoping for a good sequel, well, some people will say ask and you will receive. This rang true for this sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Mass. SPOILERS AHEAD!     A Little Bit About the Author Sarah J. Maas is the prolific, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Throne of Glass , A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series , which have sold more than 70 million copies in English worldwide and are published in thirty-eight languages. Maas is one of the most successful authors of the modern era, generating a far-reaching and ever-growing fanbase of readers, as well as a TikTok phenomenon, with the hashtag for her A Court of Thorns and Roses series having several billion views. A Little Bit About the Story Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court–but at a steep cost. Though she n...

Ever since coming back from my first European trip to Italy, I have been an avid Rick Steves listener. Besides listening to his podcast, I also consumed his TV specials (more so during the pandemic), but I had never read his books. I'm not one to read guidebooks, but when he started advertising for this book, I knew I wanted to pick it up myself, so down to the library I went. Here are my thoughts on On The Hippie Trail by Rick Steves .    About the Author  Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, empowers Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, headquartered in Edmonds, Washington, near Seattle. There, he produces a best-selling guidebook series, a popular public television show, a weekly public radio show, a syndicated travel column, and free travel information available through his travel center and ricksteves.com. Rick Steves' Europ...

 So many people recommended this series to me, and I refused to listen. Why? Because I am not one to read something super popular. I mean, I did read Twilight, but I read it well before it became popular let alone a movie. Anyway, I just didn't want to be disappointed with the hype. But alas, I was wrong.  Here is my book talk on A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas . A Little Bit About the Author 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹ Sarah J. Maas is the prolific, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series, which have sold more than 70 million copies in English worldwide and are published in thirty-eight languages. Maas is one of the most successful authors of the modern era, generating a far-reaching and ever-growing fanbase of readers, as well as a TikTok phenomenon, with the hashtag for her A Court of Thorns and Roses series having several b...

   About the Author Carol A. Taylor is a Texas poet whose work has appeared or is upcoming in a number of print and online journals, including Light Quarterly, Iambs & Trochees, Rattle, First Things, Per Contra, 14 by 14, The Barefoot Muse, Susquehanna Quarterly, Lighten Up Online, Trinacria, Tilt-a-Whirl, Concise Delight, and Umbrella Journal , and in several print anthologies  She has put out three chapbooks, " Saving for the Future" 2003, " Houston Skyline" 2006, and a bilingual collection of sonnets, " Sonetos del Inglés " in 2011.  Other credits include guest-editing the Fall-Winter 2002 issue of Light Quarterly which featured an anthology of classic jokes written into original poems collected and edited by Carol and fellow poet Tim Murphy, and serving as Administrator of the online workshop Eratosphere from 2001-2007 and as Light Verse Editor of Umbrella Journal's Bumbershoot division from 2006-2008.  Her poem “Texas Is Singin...

 Hey Ya'll! I'm back with another e-book that I picked up for Lone Star Literary Life . Side note, you should check out all the new things Lone Star is doing and planning on doing. Keep up with them on their social media, newsletter, and website! Anyway, this is my last review with them for the year as baby will be here anytime now, but it won't be forever! So I chose to read this book because I'm sucker for reading all things set in the 90's and I love to see how writers portray different eras when it comes to fiction. It also seemed like a cute book according to the synopsis, so I had to throw my hat in the ring. Here is everything you need to know about Poetic Justice by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays.   About the Author(s)  Kathleen McFall lives, writes, and plays in the Pacific Northwest. Together with Clark Hays, she has written eleven books. Their first book together was about a cowboy and vampire falling in love, which was originally published two decades...

I found this book when I was looking through a table set at Barnes & Nobles with a sign that read something along the lines of "Translated Japanese Novels." Of course, I had to take a look. This one caught my attention not by the cover, but by the title. It intrigued my interests, so I put it on my list of books to read and I was happy to be able to find a copy at one of my local bookstores. Here's a little bit about All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami . About the Author Meiko Kawakami is a Japanese writer and poet from Osaka. Her work has won prestigious Japanese literary awards in several genres including the 138th Akutagawa Prize for Chichi to Ran (Breasts and Eggs), the 2103 Tanizaki Prize for Ai no yum to ka (Dreams of Love, etc.), and so much more.  Kawakami published All the Lovers in the Night in 2011. In 2022 is when it was translated into English by Sam Bett and David Boyd.  About the Book Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirtie...

    HALLOW:  A FRACTURED FAMILY TALE A Black Orchid Enterprises Mystery, Book #5 by M.R. Dimond Mystery / Cozy Mystery / Lawyers & Criminals Humor Publisher: Rock Rose Press Pages: 321 Publication Date: May 30, 2024

 So, I've been reading this fan fic and it takes place in the Victorian era. I am not the biggest fan of reading materials from this era but I ended up loving it and now I read other fics that are set int he Victorian era. Anyway, one day the author of the main Victorian-era fic that I read posted in her comments that she was inspired by the book Persuasion , thus I put it on my Goodreads list to read and here we are. Here's my book talk blog on Persuasion by Jane Austen.    About the Author  Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary...

 I've been wanting to read Mexican Gothic for whwat seems like a couple of years now. This year, I put it on my Christmas list and was pleasantly surprised when my mother-in-laws gift was just what I wanted! I also decided to start it right away because I've been in a more Victorian/older literature mood and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was able to scratch that itch! About the Author Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination. Cachanilla and Canuck, originally from Baja California, she now resides in Vancouver. She has an MA in Science and Technology Studies from the University of British Columbia. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including  Gods of Jade and Shadow  (Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, Ignyte Award),  Mexican Gothic  (Locus Award, British Fantasy Award, Pacific Northwest Book Award, Aurora Award, Goodreads Award), and Velvet Was the Night (fi...

    COURTING MISS EMMA The Hangman’s Daughters, Book 2 by Linda Broday Western / Clean & Wholesome / Sweet Romance / Historical Fiction Publisher: Severn House Date of Publication: November 7, 2023 Number of Pages: 203 pages  Scroll down for Giveaway! Texas, 1868. Emma Taggart has finally found a place to belong – setting up Heaven's Door orphanage with her sister Maura was a new beginning for her – and one she will do anything to protect. When guarded ex-army man Stone Landry buys the neighboring land and moves in - camels and all - Emma's world changes forever. He is an infuriating man who instantly gets under her skin - in ways she never dreamed possible, and despite herself, Emma starts to wonder if, just maybe, he is man enough to take on a Hangman's daughter . . . But their newfound connection is quickly tested by violent night raids, kidnappings, and underhand tricks by powerful rancher Zeke Parker, who is intent on running them out of town and taking the land h...